Date nights...

As you can see from the previous posts, it has been a busy month! Mostly on the weekends...which unfortunately means that Jeff and I haven't had the opportunity to really go out on a date in nearly a month. I know we could try to do a date during the week, but that's easier said than done. With kids going to and from activities and our own responsibilities, it makes Friday or Saturday nights the easiest choice to get away. Needless to say, I needed a date! This was one of my non-negotiable items when we got married. I knew that I would have the kids full time. I knew there wouldn't be an "every-other-weekend" with no kids. And, I knew I would need time away to connect with my husband. For some couples, dates may not be a live-or-die type need, but for me, they are. We need that time to re-connect as husband and wife, as best friends, as eternal companions...not as business partners, co-parents, etc. Don't get me wrong, we have had a blast the last few weekends! I love getting together with family, but I also need time with just Jeff. I feel so lucky to have him. He is my calm in the storm. He is my rock. He is my new pair of glasses when the ones I'm looking through have skewed my perspective. He is my inspiration and my greatest support. The way we fit together so perfectly (with all our imperfections) is nothing short of divine. I am grateful that he has also tried hard to make our date nights a priority. And I am really glad we finally got one this weekend! Tonight we went to Provo. Dallin told us about a musical that was recently composed about the life of Joseph and Emma Smith. It's debut was happening at the Covey Center in Provo so I got Jeff and I some tickets. Prior to the show, we grabbed a delicious dinner from Black Sheep Cafe then happened to stumble upon a car show! I like looking at all these old cars. I just go for the aesthetics, but Jeff knows years, makes, models, engine capacities, etc. He's not a total gear head, but he does appreciate old cars. Finally, we ended our evening with the production, 1820's the Musical. I really enjoyed it. It gave me a new appreciation for what Emma must have endured and how little credit she is given based on the fact that she didn't stay with the Saints as they moved West. I can't even begin to imagine the burdens she carried or the tears she cried. I have had similar reflections on others' lives as well. Who am I to judge their journey? How many people know the inner most struggles of my heart? I know I have wanted mercy extended to me in my times of angst and imperfections, shouldn't I extend it to others? I am thankful for the talents of others that inspire me. I am thankful for the random fun we get to embrace, but mostly, I'm thankful for my incredible husband!

Dallin's homecoming (and move out)

Does life ever slow down?! Now that Danny and Jonas are in school, everyone asks what I do with my time all day. I can assure you that I don't just sit around watching Hallmark movies and eating brownies! The first few days the boys were in school, I was still focused on getting the oldest boy (Dallin) ready so he could start school on Monday! Dallin has been so gracious and grateful as Jeff and I have helped him get ready to move out on his own. It's nice when your kids recognize that their parents no longer "have" to help them, but choose to do so because we love them. It was actually a little funny when I took him to Walmart one evening. He made the comment that our little shopping trip was probably the most we'd hung out since he'd been home...and it's true! He immediately got a job and has been hanging out with friends. I was grateful that he recognized that he has perhaps neglected us parents a little, but I also understand the stage of life he's in. Still, it has made me reflect on how often I contact my own parents and how that must make them feel. It has even made me wonder how my Father in Heaven feels about my level of connection with Him. Needless to say, while it would be nice to hang out with Dallin a little more often, I could also do better at reaching out to my parents. In any case, it was a busy weekend! On Saturday, Jonas helped Jeff, Dallin, and I get Dallin settled in his new apartment. What we thought would only take a couple of hours ended up being practically an all day ordeal! It's a decent apartment, but we needed to make a couple of small upgrades to some cabinets to allow for more storage space. Plus, we needed to make those final grocery store/hardward store runs, but he is now set...or at least as set as he needs to be to start school on Monday. 

After all our effort on Saturday, Dallin still didn't stay the night there...but he had a good reason. On Sunday (August 22nd), Dallin was finally able to speak in church to report on his mission. To say I was proud of him would have been an understatement! From the moment he started speaking, I was fighting back tears. He didn't just give a travel log of his mission adventures. He spoke of being a witness of Christ. He detailed what that means and how to be one. He spoke with love and encouragement for everyone. He spoke as someone who had lived and strives to live as a witness of Christ. I know Dallin is a little nervous for the unknowns of the future. I know he's anxious about what his roommates will be like or if he's taking the right classes. I know he stresses about what career path he's going to take or how he'll meet all his financial wants/needs. But I also know, he'll be just fine. Life is meant to stretch us but not break us. When we have a foundation of faith and family, I know we'll be just fine. After church, we invited people over to the house to mingle with Dallin. We were so lucky to have so many family members and friends come to support Dallin. I am so grateful for the group of friends Dallin made in high school that still continue to support each other now. When I asked Dallin what he wanted to serve to the people that would be joining us, he said he just wanted a bunch of cereals! I laughed...but that's what he got! Good luck Dallin with all the new adventures ahead!!

Back to school!

Today the boys started the 2021-2022 school year! Can you believe it? Danny started his junior year and Jonas started 1st grade. I think both Danny and I were ready for school to start, but Jonas was a little nervous. This was his first year going to school all day. To be honest, I was a little nervous too. Would he know how to locate his class from the playground? Would he like doing school lunches? Could he find the bus after school? Would he get bored being at school all day? Yesterday, we went to meet his teacher and address some of my concerns. His teacher is Ms. Lopez and this is her second year teaching. Jonas was immediately set at ease with her kind demeanor. She set up a scavenger hunt for her classroom so that he could locate all the important things. He was super excited to see that he is sitting at a table with one of his best buddies, Madden Wall. He was also happy to see that another friend, Emmaline, was in his class. (Winston was not.) After we explored his classroom, we walked the school so he knew how to get to his classroom from the playground and where to meet the bus after school. Both boys had awesome first days! They each came home excited about the prospects of the year (and yes...Jonas was even excited about the school lunches!). I had some Crumbl cookies waiting for them, and we went out to dinner to celerbrate (and because, to be honest, I haven't wanted to cook anything! It's been a marathon few weeks and I'm still running through at least this weekend. Once Dallin gets settled and his homecoming is over, I might be able to breathe again...short, rapid breaths. Haha!)

It has been cooler and a bit rainy so we chose Cafe Zupas for some yummy soup.

Jonas showing off his bus number written on his hand so he knew which bus to find after school.

A cute picture of Jonas that they took at school and posted to their Instagram page.

Flaming Gorge

This has been our third year to return to Flaming Gorge...and it won't be our last. This seems to have replaced our annual Santaquin Canyon camping trip. Unfortunately, Santaquin Canyon is still closed. I'm not sure when or if they will repair the road. Thankfully, we can still access our favorite hike via Payson Canyon, but it's not the same. In any case, Flaming Gorge started as an alternative camping spot for the year the canyon shut down and has now become an annual tradition. Last year, we camped with Casey's family...and that happened again this year. Scott even came back for a third year! (Sadly, Kaia wasn't able to join us.) We left on Thursday and returned on Sunday. We got up early Thursday (August 12th) in an effort to maximize our time on the lake. This was Dallin's first year to join us, but one of his best friends was getting married the same weekend so Dallin only stayed one night with us. However, life had different plans for us. On the way up, the boys were pulling the boat when another vehicle alerted them that there was something wrong with the boat trailer. Fortunately, we were right outside of Heber when it happened. After a three hour delay, the trailer was fixed and we were back on the road. We reached Dutch John (the little town by Flaming Gorge where we have stayed the past three years) around 3:00 p.m. We quickly dropped off the camp trailer, picked up Laurin & Carter (Casey stayed back to help his mom set up their RV) and headed to the lake...only to be stopped at the boat launch due to a medical emergency. We were informed that an individual had been cliff jumping and injured him/herself. A life flight helicopter landed on the launch to assist in transporting the person to the nearest hospital. It was cool to see the helicopter land and take off; it was just sad that it had to be under such circumstances. Finally, we were able to get a little more than an hour on the lake. All the boys were dying to just get in the water and do a little cliff jumping. After that, Dallin got some time on the boards before we headed back to the campsite for dinner and games.

Friday was our river day. We did two runs down the river. Dallin joined us for the first one then left after that. (Amber and Jacob made it up late the night before to join the rest of the weekend's festivities.) I always enjoy the river, and today was no exception. The second run was even better than the first. It was like we had the river to ourselves! The boys wrestled and tried to "conquer" our other boats/kayaks. Unfortunately, Amber, Kat (Scott's girlfriend), and I got stuck in the watery conquests against our wills, but we still had fun. Of course, we found places to pull the boats out of the water so those who wanted to could do a little cliff jumping. Jonas really surprised me this year. I'm not sure if it's good or bad, but he jumped off some taller rocks than last year. I'm proud of him for not allowing his anxieties to overcome him; I just hope he always uses wisdom when jumping.

Scott

Danny

Danny

Jonas

That evening, after dinner, Jeff and I decided to take the boat out for a sunset cruise. I think this has become my new favorite thing! The water was so calm (in most places) and the lake was peaceful (except for our rowdy bunch). Jonas and Danny still insisted that they needed to swim, cliff jump, and surf (for Danny), but we did get some peaceful moments of just cruising down a smaller canyon.

Saturday (August 14th), we returned to the lake for a full day of fun in the sun! I was actually surprised at how little we pulled out the boards/tubes. We never pulled out the tubes and the kneeboards were only out for a little while. Kat and Danny took a turn on the wakeboard, but the water was pretty choppy. However, we spent ample amounts of time in the water. We found this little cove where we could do some swimming and cliff jumping without being concerned about boats buzzing by. Jonas got more than enough time in the water. I'm pretty sure he thought this was the best boating trip ever! That kid just loves to swim! We ended our lake day a little before dinner because the winds kicked up, but thankfully they died down again allowing us another quite evening cruise on the lake. This time, Danny decided to stay at the trailer and Jonas had already maxed out his swimming legs for the day so we were just able to quietly cruise around the lake before pulling the boat out. 

The weekend went by way too fast! It was the last weekend of the summer. I can't believe that we only really have one more summer with Danny because the following summer he plans to leave on a mission. And, I know it sounds silly, but I only have 10 more summers with Jonas too. It sounds like a lot,  but if this summer was any indication, they go by fast! I will admit it was stressful (at times) getting ready for this trip and juggling other obligations. This was the third weekend in a row that we weren't home and that has worn on me a little, but it was worth. From the laughs on the lake, to being rowdy on the river, and everything in between, we made memories that will hopefully last a lifetime. I may make this trip sound completely idyllic; to be totally transparent, it wasn't. There was one morning Danny was so frustrated with Jeff and I (more me than Jeff) because of hard parenting choices that Danny almost didn't join us that day. There were other moments when snappy words were spoken and frustrations mounted. We are not a perfect family...but we are family. We still keep showing up. We keep loving. We keep moving forward. I am truly grateful for this family that we have created. Some people were born into it; some people married in...all are essential! Here's to another great trip and another summer in the books!

(By the way, here are a few pictures from Tyler Chisholm's wedding. Dallin was one of the groomsmen. Dallin had an amazing group of friends in high school. It makes my heart happy to see them all doing good things and moving in positive directions.)

Tanner Pope, Hunter Chapman, Jeffrey Flinders, Dallin, Tanner Dehart