Summer 2014: Week 8

Oh what do you do in the summertime when all the fun is gone?! WORK! This week was the first week all summer that no one had any camp to go to, there were no visitors in town, and there was no family trip planned. I enjoyed the drastic slow down in the pace we've been keeping up, but the boys didn't quite know what to do...so Jeff put them to work. On Tuesday (22nd) and Wednesday (23rd), Jeff solicited help from the boys in pulling a well and replacing the pump. They worked hard! They have been doing little odd jobs all summer to earn money to pay off the small loans (from the bank of Mom and Dad) they used to get their upgraded motorbikes. Now they are almost finished paying those off. I am proud of the fact that they know how to work. They may not always like it (especially Danny), but when it comes down to it, they can get out there and work. The girls are in the same boat. You won't be seeing many pictures of them in the coming weeks because we hardly see them. Since they started working the graveyard shift for Payson Fruit Growers on top of their normal jobs the only time they're home is when they're sleeping, which poses a problem for me. What do I do with two rowdy, energetic boys when I need them to be quiet indoors? Bake. Luckily Jeff had the boys out of the house for two of the days, but there were still a couple afternoons that I was scrambling to know how to keep the boys entertained and quiet without the use of a TV or computer. So we made three loaves of zucchini bread one day and chocolate chip cookies another day. 

At least on Thursday (24th), I didn't have to come up with some creative plan to keep them entertained. Instead, we (along with Jeff's parents and grandparents) went up Santaquin Canyon to shoot pellet guns and have a dutch oven picnic for Pioneer Day. Jeff isn't too keen on big crowds and parades so since we did that last year, we decided to have a more quiet celebration this year.

Like father, like son.

Even Grandma Penny got in the action. One shot and she hit the bullseye!

Like father, like sons.

After we spent a few hours up the canyon, we headed back to Jeff's parents' house to cool off (because according to everyone else it was getting hot up there...they obviously haven't been to AZ in the summer!) before going to see a movie. The boys watched the new Transformers movie while the rest of us enjoy Maleficent. Once the movies ended, we finally went back to the house. I enjoyed spending the day with the family. Jeff has been really busy with work so it was nice to have him around for the day. I was sad the girls had to miss out, but am proud of them for working so hard. Still, I felt like I didn't really get to celebrate Pioneer Day. You know me - I love holidays, but I also love the reason behind the holiday. I love being able to celebrate why it is we have this day to spend with our families and have fun, so that night I logged onto FamilySearch.org. I decided to explore some of my own pioneer ancestry. Jeff sat with me as I read stories about my great-great-great grandfather, Charles Shumway. Many of the stories I had heard before. Charles Shumway was the first Mormon Pioneer to cross the Mississippi River in the exodus west. He was also in the first company to enter the Salt Lake valley on July 22, 1847 - two days before Brigham Young arrived. He was often sent ahead of the pioneers to negotiate safe passage and treaties of peace with the Indians. He was gifted with languages and was a fearless, strong man (he was also a bodyguard to the Prophet Joseph Smith in Nauvoo). What I didn't know though was that he actually lived in Payson, Utah for about a year. He was sent south to help build up settlements. One of his first stops was Payson. He helped build a saw/grist mill here. He only stayed for about a year. It was cool to think after all these years here I am in the same place he helped settle. I am very proud of my pioneer ancestry. There are so many more stories from my ancestors that demonstrate the faith and courage it took to be a pioneer. I am so grateful for their sacrifices. I'm grateful to have their examples to fall back on when I feel that my trials are too much to bear. These people sacrificed everything for a gospel that they knew was true. Why else would they have done that? I still know that this gospel is true. The people of this church may be flawed, but the principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ are true. I am grateful and proud to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Charles Shumway and Louisa Minerly

Finally our week came to a close! Another week down! Only 3 more weeks to go (and a couple days) before school starts! Saturday (26th) Jeff and I again had to scramble to find something to do to keep the boys out of the house so the girls could sleep. So...we headed to Costco to indulge in the free samples. You might think I'm kidding, but I'm not. A month or so ago, I had to come to Costco on a Saturday and Jeff and Amber came with me. Jeff was quickly introduced to the sample tables and has enjoyed going back on Saturdays ever since then. The boys didn't mind either. Silly boys! After we filled our bellies (not all on free samples - we did get some cheap slices of pizza from the Deli before we left), we spent the afternoon shopping for back to school clothes. It was fun (for me at least) to see the boys be more selective in choosing their clothing items based on their individual budgets (Jeff and I sat down with each of them to discuss needs vs. wants and to establish a fair budget.) I hope they are learning valuable lessons with finances. I hope they will one day see that this was not meant to limit their wardrobe, but to increase their financial freedom.

After we finished shopping, we dropped the boys off at the Payson pool for the rest of the evening while Jeff went home to play with his new toy. Yup...I finally gave in. He got a Blendtec. He has been wanting one for months. I should never take him to Costco. Still, if it will help him (and the rest of the kids) to eat more veggies (because their hidden in yummy smoothies), I'm ok with that. So here's Jeff with his early birthday present. Happy early birthday sweetheart! I would say that even though it was a slow week, we still had some fun.

18 months!

After we celebrated our first anniversary, I stopped blogging each month we'd been together...but that doesn't mean I've stopped counting! Jeff laughs at me because he says that our love seems timeless. I, however, feel like I've earned a new stripe with each passing month; therefore, I need to celebrate! I can't believe it's already been a year and a half. I still feel like the luckiest girl in the world to be married to Jeff. He is my perfect match. I feel like we just keep getting better as a couple with each passing month. We have had our ups and downs. Marriage has brought me the greatest joys as well as the most humbling moments of my life. I feel so much stronger, but also more vulnerable. Jeff holds my heart in his hands. I am grateful that he handles it with care. He is my strength, my rock, my refuge. I can't imagine life without him. Thank you Sweetheart for 18 months! Here's to an eternity more!

Summer 2014: Week 7 - More visitors!

Don't let the serene sunset picture fool you! This week was just as fun-filled, action-packed as the previous 4 weeks have been!! I can't believe that summer is more than half over...then again, when I consider everything we've done this summer, I can't believe we have any summer left! After returning from LA, we spent the next day cleaning the house and preparing for our next guests. On Sunday, (July 13th) my friend, Dana, and her 5 kids came up to visit. I've known Dana since my undergrad years at ASU. We reconnected when I bought my little townhouse and moved to Chandler. We served in the YW together and bonded during a few girls' camp adventures. She is such a remarkable woman. She is always serving others and is so patient and polite. She is also incredibly talented in all the areas I wish I had an ounce of talent. Sigh! Oh well...to some it is simply given to admire the talents of others. This was the first time her kids had been to Utah. They came up earlier that weekend to stay with some other friends and had already seen Temple Square and Provo. Sunday evening they made their way to our house for the rest of the week. We had dinner together then just sat out on the back deck to enjoy the sunset and plan the rest of the week. Luckily, neither Dana or her kids are very fast-paced so there were moments we were able to just enjoy sitting and chatting rather than being constantly on the go. In fact, her kids really enjoyed feeding the animals and just hanging out on the farm. 

TJ, Dallin and Danny shooting air soft guns off the deck.

Monday (14th) we spent around the house. Dana took her eldest son, TJ, to BYU for a week-long track camp (the real reasons they came to Utah). After she returned, we did a quick meal plan and headed to the grocery store while the kids enjoyed the slip-n-slide out back.

From left to right: Lydia, Natalie, Elaina, Danny, and Tyler

Once we returned from the grocery store, we took the Burnetts on a 4-wheeler ride up West Mountain. They were naturals!

The kids helping me put the tractor away after stowing the 4-wheelers in the shop.

That evening, for family night, we took the Burnetts to a couple houses in our ward to pick some fresh cherries and apricots. This was the first time Dana and her kids had even seen a cherry tree. They loved it! I had to keep reminding them to only pick what we were going to eat though. I think they enjoyed the picking process more than the eating process.

On Tuesday (15th), we took the kids to the Museum of Natural Curiosity. This museum has been opened for several months now, but is still SUPER busy! Luckily, it's a large enough museum that you don't feel over-crowded. We let the kids explore at their own pace. We brought along a picnic lunch to eat so that the kids play time wouldn't be interrupted. Again, I think these types of activities (especially if the kids enjoy them) are so fun...and educational.

Elaina, Natalie, Tyler, Danny and Dallin

Lydia, Natalie, and Danny in the background

Wednesday (16th), we took the kids to the Provo Rec Center to swim. My kids have Seven Peaks passes, but I enjoy the less-crowded Rec Center. Dana agreed that the price was better at the Rec Center and the enjoyment was just about the same. I even went down the slides with Danny and Dallin. We had a blast!

Danny, Dallin, Elaina, and Natalie

Dana and Lydia

 Wednesday evening, Dana and I got the kids set up then we went out for a little girls' night out (although we'd already stayed up chatting until 1:00 a.m. the previous morning). I took Dana to the Springville Museum of Art and out to dinner at the Art City Trolley. Unfortunately, I didn't grab any pictures (mostly because I left my phone at home), but we enjoyed our time away. Thursday (17th) morning, Dana's husband, Travis, flew into town. They spent the morning at our house while the kids showed Travis the farm, then they went to BYU to explore some more museums and watch TJ's final track meet. The kids and I decided to stay home. The girls have been working two jobs each now that cherry harvesting season has started...so when they're not at work, they're sleeping. We've hardly seen them. The boys have been enjoying all the fun activities of the last 5 weeks of summer, but I think they'd had enough of museums and needed a little rest. After returning from BYU, we waited until dark then set off some fireworks with the Burnetts. This is always a cool thing for Arizonans to do since fireworks aren't legal (well some little ones are) in Arizona.

Friday (18th) was the Burnetts last day with us. We woke up early that morning to take them on our favorite hike up Santaquin Canyon before they had to get back to pack and leave. It was so much fun having them visit. I have loved my ward up here in Utah, but I don't feel I've made many close friends as I did back in Arizona. There are so many wonderful women that live near me, but our busy lives don't lend themselves to really taking time out for a girls lunch or other activities. It was just nice to have someone visit that I've known for years. It was great to celebrate our lives together and catch up on what we've missed. Other than family, a close friend is the best company to have.

TJ, Natalie, Elaina, Jeff, Danny, Travis

Dana, Tyler, Travis, and Lydia

Danny, TJ, Elaina, Tyler, and Natalie

Jeff and I

After they left, the boys and I got to work cleaning the house before Laurin returned from her normal CNA job to sleep until she had to work at Payson Fruit Growers all night. It took a couple hours to get the house all cleaned and back to normal, but we did it. The boys are great at helping out! Sometimes they don't want to do it, but once they get started, they don't stop until we're all finished. I feel like a very lucky mommy to have such great kids! Once we did stop, this was how I found the boys! I think it's finally time for the summer to start to slow down!

Saturday (19th) everything was back to "normal" (if you can call anything the Southwicks do "normal"). The house was cleaned and back in order. Groceries were re-stocked. Weeds were pulled. The lawn was mowed...and we still found time to have some fun. Since Jeff and I bought a Thanksgiving Point membership, I've been receiving notifications about activities there. Some of the activities come at a discounted price and others are free. Well today's Jigglefest was FREE! You know me...I'm all about trying to find free fun. So what is a Jigglefest?! It is just a huge Jell-O fight. Thanksgiving Gardens decided to throw a party to celebrate all things Utah...or at least some things Utah. There was a Dutch Oven cook-off with funeral potatoes and fry sauce as well. Then, of course, you can't mock Utah without a jiggly jab at the quintessential Mormon go-to salad, Jell-O. They filled up baby pools with Jell-O every half hour then let everyone who wanted to join in a Jell-O fight. I went with the intention of joining, but after seeing the sticky, color-stained aftermath, I decided to let the boys enjoy it on their own. Once they filled the pools and let the crowds loose, I lost sight of the boys. I found out later that Danny jumped into the first Jell-O filled baby pool he came to and just started covering himself (and others) in Jell-O). Dallin was also at the same pool, but had enough sense to stay out of it and just throw handfuls of Jell-O in the air. Both of the boys were COVERED in Jell-O once it was over. Luckily, the event organizers were smart enough to turn on the sprinklers and let everyone rinse off. I enjoyed watching the boys have so much fun. At least now they can't claim I never let them have a food fight! It was a great way to end a fun week. I'm happy and a little sad that things are going to slow down. I'm also a little nervous as to how I'm going to deal with the "I'm bored" moments. Good thing there are always chores to be done on the farm. Plus, we only have a few weeks left to get the kids ready for school so there will still be plenty to do. This year we actually sat down with the boys (and will sit down with the girls) to come up with a back-to-school budget together. I don't think Dallin really enjoyed the process (because he likes spending Mom and Dad's money on all things Nike), but it was a good teaching opportunity to discuss needs/wants. I still think he was pleased with the outcome and also gained a greater understanding for budgeting. This may be an annual ritual.