July 2023

 Our July was packed with lots of fun! The Anderson's hosted a big pre-4th of July party at their house on the 1st. We played a lot of Crossnet, the kids did a slip-n-slide, we had a BBQ, and got to chat with lots of people in the ward. Unfortunately, there were big trees in the way so we couldn't see much of the fireworks from her house but it was still great to be with everyone. 

On the 4th we started the day by going to the Hilliard parade. Sarah came with us and got to try out our gigantic OSU chair! Sarah was so sweet to help us work on our bathroom and spent a good chunk of the day sanding walls. After lunch, we had a water balloon fight and got out the slip-n-slide and all the adults even got in on the fun of it! We played games and watched a movie and then ended the night by doing pop-its and sparklers in the backyard but Sarah's favorite part was catching fireflies! It was a super fun day.

Brooklyn has really loved planning parties but it's rare that she can get her sisters to participate (at least very willingly). She really wanted to plan a camping themed birthday party for her doll but for some reason Kaylee and Richard ended up not being there (I don't remember why). But McKenna and I had a blast with all the things she planned. She did a bunch of themed food for dinner and s'mores over the stove for dessert. She also sorted us into different cabins and made a label for each of the rooms telling us what cabin it was. Outside she laid out three sleeping bags and we did a few games with those, built something out of sticks and leave and then made some nature bracelets. I kept teasing her because we would move onto another activity and she kept forgetting to bring her doll. Poor thing was neglected at her own party!

We temporarily lost our minds and decided it would be a good idea to redo the girl's bathroom right before we had guests coming to stay... It shouldn't have taken as long as it did, but we ran into some trouble with the vanity and ended up having to wait longer to get one than we wanted. So even though we started in plenty of time, we finished the day before they came! It was a little stressful but I love the new bathroom and it feels so much better in there as well as gives us more storage space as the girls have gotten more and more bathroom stuff as they've gotten older.

The Awerkamps got into town super late Wednesday night so Richard just picked them up from the airport and took them to their hotel. I picked them up the next morning and we headed to the temple to do baptisms. Adam and Julie stayed home with Brooklyn and she was loving having some one on one attention right away. 

Holly and Madeline came to join the fun while Chase and Emery were at Youth Conference. The cousins mostly wanted to just play together but we did convince them to get out by taking them to the pet store because that was one thing all of Julie's kids remembered loving about Columbus last time. They built a new pet store in Upper Arlington and so we went there and it was so much bigger and nicer than the last one! Everyone, even me, held a bunch of birds, mice, and dogs. I thought everyone wouldn't last super long in there but the kids never wanted to leave! We finally had to go when Richard's allergies couldn't last any longer and we were all getting hungry for dinner. We also had to go to Amy's Donuts because Sarah tried it once before and thought they were the best donuts she'd ever had so we got a couple dozen so we could try multiple flavors. That night, we took them to Strauser's to show them all the crazy candy there and on the way back, we saw the one thing Julie wanted to see more than anything: fireflies! It was fun to see all of their reactions to the first time seeing them since we've gotten more used to them. They are pretty magical! 

The next day, we picked up a 15 passenger van and all drove up to Kirtland together! It made it a lot more fun that we could all go in the same car. We went to the Kirtland temple first and then did the Church sites tour. It is amazing what a difference you feel in one, where it feels like they are just stating historical facts (even about the appearance of the Savior!), and the other from the missionaries who are bearing their testimony about the events that happened and the Spirit is so strong. We wanted to check out one more farm that they told us was about a mile away before we headed home. All we found was a sign and a path that led to nowhere... but instead of wasting the opportunity, we found a quiet spot in the trees and Holly asked us all what our favorite part of the day was or what stood out to us. That was my favorite part of the whole day and I loved hearing everyone's different perspectives and feeling the Spirit as we shared. 

The next day was Julie's birthday so we put up some decorations and planned some party games to play. We put up our Crossnet in the back and played that most of the morning and then did a few minute-to-win-it games that we had to do in 45 seconds in honor of Julie turning 45. Madsy and Kenna really wanted to go swimming together so we went to the hotel pool and let the kids swim for a while. Then Holly and Madeline had to take off to get back home and the rest of us headed to German Village. 

We stopped at the Fudge Haus and got everyone some chocolates and then Richard decided to buy some Bacon and Cheese flavored crickets and told everyone he would pay them $2 to eat one. I don't think he expected anyone to take him up on it but everyone ate one except Todd, Julie, Chris, and Brooklyn! They actually weren't bad at all. Kaylee found a wing stuck in her braces a few minutes later and grossed the rest of us out pretty good though! Because the crickets weren't enough, Richard went back in and bought some BBQ mealworms to try. This time, even Todd joined us! They were a little more gross than the crickets but still not as bad as you'd think looking at them! 

We stopped and looked at a little gift shop while we were waiting for a table to open up at the Sausage Haus. Brooklyn decided it would be fun to pinch a cactus and got a fingerful of pokies! Richard took her to the car and found some tweezers to get them out and everyone gathered around her and was so concerned about her! Both Todd and Nathanael helped get the spines out of her finger and were so sweet and gentle with her. It was really cute to watch!

Unfortunately, the Sausage Haus took too long and we didn't have time to eat there so we had to run and grab some fast food so we could get to our last activity. The last thing Julie wanted to do for her birthday was a Game Show Battle Room. They had 3 different games to play- Family Feud, Wheel of Fortune, and some of the games from the Price Is Right. It was seriously SO much fun! 

On Sunday the Awerkamp's came with us to church and we played a bunch of games and had FHE. Chris didn't want to play games so Richard sat down at the table with him and started bouncing a ping-pong ball back and forth to each other. They started with one bounce across, then tried to do two, then three etc. They were having so much fun that everyone else wanted to join in. Eventually we had 3 games going in different directions on our main table and then another game in the playroom on our old table! It was funny to see everyone get so into it but I loved watching them all have fun together. Then we took them to Battelle-Darby Creek to walk around for a bit and the kids put on a couple plays on a little "stage" they found just off the path. On the way home stopped by a lake to see more fireflies. 

Monday was their last day but they didn't leave until the late afternoon so we played Crossnet again in the morning and then took them hyperbowling. It was super fun but we were so sad to see them go. We loved having them here so much!

That Saturday, I left for Utah with the girls. Richard had a conference in Colorado the next week so we went to Utah for the first time without him! McKenna was really nervous about takeoff and when I leaned forward to try to comfort her, I saw that Brooklyn had grabbed her hand and was holding it the whole time we were going up in the air. It was the sweetest thing! 

The next day we went to church with Mom and Dad and the Andreason's. Brooklyn went with Mom to YW and all of the older girls loved her! They kept talking about how cute she was and how they wanted to keep her. Someone in Mom's ward (who I have known all my life) asked Holly if I was her daughter :) Holly wasn't quite as thrilled but I got a good laugh out of it! After church we went to Provo and had a BBQ with all of the Henricksen's. McKenna was, of course, glued to Wesley and wanted to carry him around the whole time. She was a little disappointed that he wasn't a baby anymore though!

Monday morning, we woke up to go to the Temple to Temple run. McKenna's stomach was hurting really bad and she didn't think she would be able to do it so I stayed home with her while everyone else went. Afterwards, we went to Scott's house and hung out all day until it was time for our family BBQ that night. While we were eating, the wind started blowing really strongly and broke a huge branch off of the neighbor's tree who lived behind Mom and Dad. The rest of us noticed and thought, oh that's too bad and then went back to our party. But Scott went and quietly grabbed a saw and went to help them cut it down and cut it into smaller pieces so they could haul it away. Dad and a bunch of the grandkids saw what he was doing and headed over there to help too. It made me so proud to see all of them selflessly helping and pitching it when they didn't have to.

Dad had been given a giant chocolate covered cinnamon bear (that was really a gummy bear) by his coworkers for his retirement so he brought that out and cut it up for all of us to try. He also told us stories of his time at Sweet's and we finally got the chocolate covered cinnamon bear story on camera! 

The next morning we did baptisms at the Jordan River temple with Dad. It was really special to have Grandpa baptize all the grandkids and I love watching him in the temple. I was also so happy to take Kaylee and McKenna to my special temple that I grew up with and the one we got married in. 

Clark and Patti's twins had given Mom a few outfits and the girls decided to put on a whole fashion show. They hung up a sheet, laid out some vinyl for a runway, and even played runway music. There wasn't very many clothes so I thought it would be over quick but they were having so much fun, they just kept switching outfits so they could come out again and trying new ways to wear the same things. We even convinced Emery to get in on the fun and he entertained us with dancing and singing when they had breaks to change their clothes. 

That night we had a special retirement party for Mom and Dad. We had to make it like a graduation since that is Dad's favorite thing, and we also had to include golf and we had the theme "Third Times the Charm" since he has now retired 3 times and this is their 3rd full-time mission. We made them wear a cap and gown and had all their kids do a part of the ceremony. Scott was the emcee, I spoke about Mom, Kristi spoke about Dad, and then Julie talked about them working as partners with Christ. Then Holly sang "I Can Do All Things" while the grandkids joined her for the chorus. We all lined up and gave them hugs and then presented them with their graduation certificates. I thought it all turned out so well!

The next afternoon, we met up with all the families at Rush Funplex. It had bumper cars, go-karts, mini golf, laser tag, bowling, rock climbing, a trapeze swing, and mini trampolines into a foam pit. We had 3 straight hours of fun and could have gone on longer!

Rachel and Scott were volunteering for the traveling Tabernacle so we went over there to see it. I was glad I got the chance to see it because I thought it was so cool when they started it last year. Rachel did such a great job on her part and was pretty much the only one who didn't just read her card in a monotone voice. I love seeing my nieces and nephews being involved in good things and becoming such great people!! That night all the adults went to Kristi's house and we watched Love Again, a movie that had Celine Dion in it so of course we had to watch it with Holly! 

Thursday, we went to Kristi's house to play the candy bar game, which has become a huge hit with her kids. Then we went to Classic Skating to meet up with Laura and her kids. My kids all did great on their skates and skated pretty much the whole time. Brooklyn did switch to a scooter near the end but lasted a long time on rollerblades! Then we hurried home so all of the adults could meet at the Jordan River temple to do sealings with Dad. 

The next morning, Kaylee woke up early so she could go do baptisms for the dead with the Andreason's at the Bountiful temple before they left. It was fun because Mama Maddy met them there and her dad is the baptismal coordinator so he was able to get them in and do the confirmations for them. We spent the rest of the day shopping with Mom and then we ended the night by swimming with Emily and Peter at their neighborhood pool.

Saturday, we spent most of the day at the Awerkamp's house and they took us to a place in Provo where you can make your own soaps. It was fun to choose from all the molds and decide what scent and color we wanted them to be. McKenna, of course, wanted to be outside with the chickens every second she could. She even helped Todd dig a hole in the chicken coop to help with a sprinkler project they were doing. We stopped by Seagull Book on the way home to see Kimberly at work, which was also fun to see her in that environment. That night I went with Kristi and Scott to see the new Mission: Impossible movie. 

Sunday we went with the DuValls to church so we could watch Kai and Rachel sing and Scott give a talk. Then we went to visit Grandma DuVall who told the kids some stories about what it was like for her growing up. I was also lucky enough to be able to go to the Murry NICU to meet baby Zion! I was very grateful I got to hold him before we went home. 

Monday we met Sharon for lunch and then stopped by Julie's to say goodbye, and then went to Kristi's. She had some crafts for the kids to do and then they played night games outside until it was time for us to leave. 

We left the next day and our first flight got delayed so we were worried that we wouldn't make our second one. We had to get off our flight as quickly as we could and RUN from one terminal to another and barely made it on the plane just a few minutes before they shut the door. It was a little stressful but we made it home safe and sound and we were happy to be reunited with Richard!

June 2023

 Kaylee had gotten lice a few weeks ago from someone at school and we thought we had gotten it all taken care of. But as I was showering one night, a bug fell onto my shoulder and I was pretty positive it was lice. We tried another store bought remedy and this one was even worse than the first time and we still saw live bugs days later. I was desperate and drove to a lice treatment center and begged them to help me even though they didn't have any open appointments because Kaylee was leaving for camp in 3 days. They were so kind and patient with me and sent me home with everything we needed. I was pretty skeptical because the treatment they use is heat and then just a mixture of olive oil and peppermint. I couldn't believe how much easier this was than any of the chemical filled store bought stuff and it worked amazing! We never saw one live bug after we did it once and continued to use it for the next couples weeks just in case. It made our hair soft and smell good! I have no idea why this treatment isn't more well known but now I know if it ever happens again!

The kids were excited to do our summer challenge again and jumped right into crossing things off. I'm always surprised by how much they get done in the first few weeks and start to worry they will finish it all in the first month but the excitement wears off quickly. I love seeing their hard work and creativity though!

Kaylee has been wanting for years to help out at the Bishop's storehouse but was either too young or our turn always came up when she was at school. She finally got the chance to help me one morning and thought it was super fun. As we were driving home she was already talking about when we could come back and do it again. I wish it was a little closer to our house so it would be easier to help often!

That night we went to a big party with a bunch of families from the ward to say goodbye to the Wenn's. Brooklyn is so sad to have her best friend from the ward leave and I hope she can make some other friends at Primary Activities. After dinner, we headed to a nearby park and played whiffle ball and then ended the night with water balloons. It was a blast!

Kaylee and McKenna started the summer off right away by heading to girl's camp! McKenna was spoiled for her first time because I think this is the first time in years that it hasn't been raining most of the time. Both of them had a blast and couldn't talk about it enough but were definitely worn out. I got worried about McKenna because for the next two days, she took a couple hour nap in the afternoon and then slept 12 or 13 hours at night. When we tried to get her up for church, she kept just collapsing and falling asleep wherever she landed! I've never seen her like that before, not even when we've traveled for weeks at a time to Utah. Apparently her body needed a few days to recover from all that fun!

Brooklyn saw this desk on the side of the road and begged us to take it home and remodel it. At first I was skeptical because it was pretty beat up but it was a solid desk and I could see that it had potential. It became our project while her sisters were at girl's camp and she had a lot of fun working on it from start to finish and picking out colors and knobs for it. I thought it turned out super cute! We did some other crafts and projects while they were gone and it was good to have some one on one time with Brooklyn.

Unfortunately, the best day for us to have the Crossley's over for dinner before their move was while the girls were at camp. So even though Kaylee and Mckenna didn't get to hang out with them, we had a great last day with them! We had a BBQ and played some yard games and then went to get ice cream at Culver's. Richard and Jared even pulled out their baseball cards that they've been talking about for years and instantly became little boys again going through them and talking about their favorites, it was pretty funny to watch.

The next week, we also went over to their house to help them move. We are so sad to say goodbye to them but are grateful we've gotten to know them over the last several years and loved having them as friends. 

Kaylee was asked to take over for a nanny for a family in the Riverside ward the week after girl's camp. I was nervous it would be too much, and it was a lot, but she got through it and had a lot of fun with the kids. She babysat for almost 35 hours that week! She has made so much money from babysitting and is really good with the kids.

McKenna and Richard went on a daddy daughter date to an author visit from one of Kenna's favorite authors, Raina Telgemeier! She drew pictures for them and talked about how she draws different emotions and her process of writing books.

We heard about a Juneteenth celebration in Hilliard and wanted to go support it. However, it seemed like it was not very well announced because they had had hardly anyone show up! So we were extra glad we went to support it. They had signs up along the trail that explained the history of Juneteenth and then you could get a book that explained it at the end of the trail. They also had a ton of chalk to decorate underneath a pavilion and a craft to make these cute little people. They were supposed to have music as well but apparently the person they booked didn't show up! I was sad that it was such a sad little event but hopefully it will continue to grow.

Kaylee got a unique opportunity to volunteer at the Special Olympics! McKenna was supposed to go with her but wasn't feeling very good that morning so she decided to stay home. Unfortunately, they were the only youth from our ward to sign up so Kaylee was on her own with one of the Young Women leaders. Kaylee is great at jumping into situations like that and is fearless at getting involved, it's so fun to watch. She was supposed to be there for 5 hours but after 2 1/2 they told her they were all done! She got to help with the awards for the mini jav and shotput and thought it was really cool to present all the athletes with an award for all their hard work. I am proud of her for all the volunteering she's done this summer!

That same day, I went with a group of girls in our ward to a play at Otterbein University called Baby. It was not the most amazing play I've ever seen but I thought the actors did a great job and it was fun to go with friends. At the same time, Richard took Brooklyn to a sneak peek of a Mary Poppins community musical at the library and she loved it! They always do crafts related to the theme of the musical and they can meet the cast after, which Brooklyn also loves.

May 2023

May was full of all of the end of year things at school-field day, field trips and orchestra concerts and the end of sports seasons- track meets and soccer games. 

On May 4th, Brooklyn starred in the second grade play at Little Miss Muffet. She loved to tell everyone that she had the most lines of anyone! I was so impressed with her acting skills and she especially did a great job because the microphones weren't working so they had to yell all of their lines as loud as they could.

My birthday was super low key, as it usually has to be at this time of year. With all of their practices and games and events at school, there just isn't time for celebrating much, nor do I usually have the energy! But Kaylee did make my favorite brownies. She actually had to stay home from school because we realized the day before that she had gotten lice from someone so we had already done the treatment but the nurse asked her to stay home one more day. Because she was home from school but wasn't feeling sick, we had the best day together! She made my birthday amazing when it would have been pretty lame otherwise. I had so much fun baking, singing, laughing, playing games, and watching a movie with her. She is so much fun to hang out with!

Brooklyn started playing a new game that she was a little puppy and would crawl everywhere. She wouldn't even give it up for our walk and insisted that we put a "leash" on her. I'm not going to lie, I was a little embarrassed walking my "dog-ter" but she was dedicated to say the least!

On May 6th, we went to the temple openhouse as a family. It wasn't the amazing experience I had imagined in my head: we went through close a family with really crazy, noisy kids, Brooklyn seemed to have no interest in looking at everything and was just walking through as fast as she could, and it didn't seem like we could feel the Spirit. We had already gotten a family picture before we went in the temple but, when we got out, I wanted a family picture in a better spot where we weren't squinting into the sun but Brooklyn had to go to the bathroom. I told her we would just take a quick picture and then go inside the church to find the bathroom but she was grumpy and it was past her normal lunchtime and she was being stubborn (don't know where she gets that from!). We spent more time talking to her than it would have taken to go to the bathroom... but eventually we got our family picture with a not-so-happy Brooklyn to complete it.

Kaylee and I went to a ROX event hosted by the school district. She took ROX in 5th grade and they invited everyone who had taken it in the last couple years to come. They gave each girl a cute little side bag and a journal and the moms a super ugly keychain :) They had opening remarks and then we split into girls and moms. The girls went into the gym and did yoga while the moms listened to the creator of ROX tell us about why she created the program and what she hopes to accomplish with it. She scared some very scary statistics about what happens to girls when they hit 5th grade- their self esteem and confidence in themselves that they are smart and worthy plummets and doesn't go back up until age 45! After, they had us make bracelets that had a word that means something to us. I chose 'enough' and Kaylee chose '    '. They had one more thing at the end but Kaylee was getting a migraine and my back was hurting so we decided to leave. They gave Kaylee and shirt and both of us Crumbl cookies on our way out.

McKenna got a couple of field trips this year, which made her happy because she had never been on one before! They went to an art museum and the courthouse downtown and then they earned a bonus field trip because they had been so good and they went to the zoo. She was super happy with the group she ended up in and I'm happy she has made some good friends this year. She also got to go bowling on the last day of school. Brooklyn also got to go on a fun field trip to the bowling alley with her class and her teacher planned a lot of fun activities for the end of school like cookie painting, a read-a-thon, a game day, making pancakes and buying pizza for the class.

I have been feeling off for months and it just kept getting worse so I finally decided to make an appointment with an OBGYN. I had a lot of anxiety before I went because I have had such terrible experiences with doctors in the past, especially when I feel so awful and they tell me everything is normal and I should be fine. I had Richard give me a priesthood blessing the night before and that helped a lot. I was so blessed to get someone who was so nice and patient and actually seemed to be listening to me! She diagnosed me with PMDD and got me on some medication that I really hope can help! It's hard for me to feel like I can't take care of my family or do the things I want to do because I'm just run down all the time.

We got the best present for the summer! Sarah decided to do summer sales and found a company that was going to Columbus! She will be here for almost 4 full months and we love getting to spend time with her. She wanted to take some people from her company to the temple openhouse but mixed up the dates so we took her at the last minute on the last day of the openhouse.

Brooklyn brought home this project from school that brought me to tears. It makes me so happy to see her loving herself and for great reasons! I don't know why we lose that but I hope she can hold onto those happy things that she sees and appreciates about herself. 

Brooklyn really wanted to try pancake art again. Our last attempts haven't always ended so great- we've  had burns and fighting and tears. But we decided to give it another go! We made 4 different colors and let the girls experiment. We definitely didn't make it through without some fighting and frustration but it went better this time and it was fun to see some creativity! Brooklyn has been obsessed with Moriah Elizabeth videos so she made some of her characters and we had rainbows and animals and emojis in there too. 

Our old friends, the Schurtz family, was in town for a conference and asked if they could stop by and see us. We only had one night that we could make work and it made them get home pretty late so I felt bad but we were happy to see them! We are one of the few that have stuck around Ohio that we got close to in our townhome so it's always nice to see people we knew from that time of our life. 

McKenna is officially done with elementary school! That's blowing my mind a little bit. They had a short and sweet graduation presentation where they had the teachers say just a little bit and then showed a slideshow of the kids as babies, 1st graders, 5th graders, and answering the question of what their favorite memory from elementary school was. She has grown so much in the last two years and we are so proud of her!

Talon Anderson was celebrating his birthday very late and invited us to celebrate with them at Top Golf! I had a migraine and was struggling a little bit but it was really fun to be with friends who have been so good to us.

For Memorial Day, our ward had it's annual 5k and breakfast and then the Anderson's invited us over to their house for a BBQ that night. I was feeling a lot of fatigue and thought if I stayed home from the ward party I could go to the BBQ that night but still wasn't up for it. It was pretty depressing to miss out on all the fun but Richard and the girls had a blast! We let Brooklyn ride her bike but told her she probably wouldn't be able to do the full 5k but she could ride as far as she could. Surprisingly, she did the whole thing with the Martin's and was so proud that she proved us wrong!

Kaylee asked me to do layers in her hair and I made a big mistake that cut too much on the top layer so we had to cut a lot off the bottom of her hair to try to even it out. I felt bad that she hadn't wanted shorter hair but she was a really good sport about it and has loved her new hair!'

K has been wanting to work at the library ever since she found out teens could volunteer there in the summer. They had them fill out an application and do an interview with the two main librarians over the Volunteen program. We found out that she was accepted and went to a training. They can start volunteering starting on June 1st! She is very excited.