It's Comin in Hot, Hot, Hot

As soon as winter is over, Dave starts lamenting about the heat and wishing for cool weather.  So, when we drag him out into the sunshine, it often ends up like this-the high temperatures just draining the poor guy and him insisting on shade.  This was at the park before the fireworks on the 4th of July.  

Earlier that morning, Brenna and Dave had run the local 5k, so the fatigue from that that probably caught up to him too ;).  Brenna has been saying how badly she wanted to run a race with her dad and of course he was up for it.  The rest of us opted out...and Brenna thinks she will opt out next year.  She did amazingly...for the first couple of minutes and then she did not enjoy it.  

Maybe she will train next time and become a runner- but for now, she is sticking with dance.  

We love 4th of July at our city park and this year was just as great as previous years- food at our house before and then fireworks and games.   Please note Harrison's tattoo right at the base of his neck.  It was displayed perfectly with his hand me down v-neck flag football jersey.

The rest of the month was not short on hot fun!  Harrison had Camp Tracy with the other little turkeys in our activity days group 

as well as the older girls in our primary.  

 

It was a warm, dusty fun morning up the canyon!  The kids canoed, played gaga ball, did archery, a mini rock wall, and shot bb guns.  Harrison's gun malfunctioned so he was not a happy camper.  

But he managed to get over it, eventually and we got a fabulous pic, so we can add that activity to the positive experiences of the day.  The next week Brenna and Katelee had girls camp at Heber Valley.  I had to drop them off and run out of the parking lot without helping them load up because I was feeling FOMO so bad.  It will be the first year in like 6-7 years I didn't get to be involved or go to a camp for the summer (covid we still did a camp day).  They had a great time and came home happy!  

Harrison and I decided to play a bit while they were out and we to see one of my most favorite productions- Newsies.  I am so happy Harrison wanted to go and he even liked it!  a lot!  He is such a fun kid to hang out with.  I always have an audiobook saved to my phone so when I drive in the car alone, I often turn it on.  I plugged in my phone the other day while driving with my pal Harry and the book automatically turned on.  Harrison said, "Ya know mom, I would listen to books with you if you would just lay off the romance and Nazis."  Sorry son, that's all there is in the world!!  hahaha.  We do read books together, so I have expanded my horizons to fantasy and juvenile non-fiction as well.  I am actually surprised he said to lay off the World War II books because he is quite the historian.  One minute he's asking me to look up spiderman and sports facts and then the next minute he legit asks me to look up which countries have "absolute monarchy" or '"fascism"  Thank heavens for Google.  

Brenna and Kate spent a week at Oakcrest.  Katelee never got to go because you know, world wide pandemic.  So, I was thrilled Brenna got to experience this once in a lifetime camp!  

The counselor they were originally assigned ended up having to leave the first day and they scored with the best counselor ever!  This amazing leader had the girls growing and loving and laughing all week.  

Core memories made for our little teenager!  

Brenna has spent her summer at Lagoon over and over again.  That season pass has come in clutch.  Katelee got to go to Lake Powell with her friend Berkeley and Berkeley's family.  She killed the wave surfing and loved every steamy minute down there.  Meanwhile, Harrison and I explored places like Kennecott Copper Mine.  

We did a full family event (minus Grant who did come home for a few weeks from Miami which was a bad experience of selling and moved on to a different company selling pest control in Louisiana).  Dave scored tickets to the Kamas demolitian derby and we had the best time!  No major injuries were observed and the smashing was spot on!  Such a classic small town summer tradition.  

We melted at our minor league baseball game while Grandma McArthur was in town.  We had to split up where we sat- we had a big group of Shannon, Paige, Jason and their kids and Brenna, Harrison, Dave and Catherine.  I had quite the uncomfortable set up with the gentleman behind me, but it gave me a perfect view of Harrison's hat he assembled and insisted on wearing to the game....

The Bees are a training team for the Angels, so it made perfect sense to wear his Angels gear with a Bees mini helmet taped on top.  We loved staying for the fireworks and checked another fun event off our summer bucket list.  

This post should be wrapped up how it began-with an outing that ended up with Dave asleep after lamenting about the heat.  We took Brenna and Harrison to the drive in to see Haunted Mansion.  It was super stuffy, I will agree to that, but it was a great time and fun movie...Dave will have to catch the ending later.  He couldn't quite catch the whole story through the snoring!  Haha

 

Swoon for June

June lived up to his summer hype this year for sure.  Grant decided to make a go at pest control sails and flew out to the Miami heat while we enjoyed a more mild climate...but still nice and warm.  

I am Harrison's Activity Days leader and we planned a 'Dress Like Your Dad' BBQ.  It was so funny to see the boys  matchy matchy with their dads.  

Harrison wanted to be truly D-Mac authentic and wear a yankees hat, even though he despises the yanks.  The collared polo with athletic pants and a hat was spot on.  Some boys/dads were in star wars gear, or tie dye, or a certain color.  It was so fun, especially when we played a game where they had to answer questions about their partner to see how well they knew each other.  These two have a lot of  fun together.  Harrison and I were talking about girls at school and he, with all sincerity, told me he IS kind of a heart throb.  I can totally see it.  It also sounds like something his dad would say- so they are twinning in that way as well as their yankee apparel.  

It was our month to go work at Fill the Pot.  We love that place.  Truly it is run by some of God's angels/hands on earth.  

Toni is one of our most fav people on the planet and keeps us laughing and inspired.  Grant was there helping one day and they happened to be filming so he was spotted on a between general conference program that highlighted their organization.  Grant can also been seen on their website sporting a very fanciful hairnet.  We need to screenshot that before they update the photos because it is stunning.  

Speaking of stunning, Blake and Lindsey are currently residing on a lake house just north of Coeur d'Alene.  They have been saying we should come visit because it is so beautiful and they have all the lakehouse toys we could use.  So, we decided to coordinate with Paige's fam and grandma and grandpa and take them up on the offer.  Sooooo glad we did...

Unfortunately, Dave couldn't join us because it was the end of his fiscal year, so I took Katelee, Brenna and Harrison to the lakeside paradise and slept in their a frame cabin on the property.  It was perfection.  

We kayaked, paddle boarded and canoed to our hearts desires and that was A LOT.  We literally walked out the door and to the dock.  There was a lot of pushing into the lake, chasing/racing each other on the kayaks and riding in Blake's friend's speed boat.  

Caleb still works for the wave runner company and got us all out on the lake riding.  

The last time he had Harrison and Brenna, they tipped- so Harrison was a bit reluctant, but this go was pure success!  Grandpa zoomed through the waves yelling "42" as that was how fast he got going.  These two posers were so adorable for pics that they almost ran into the dock, but hey they got a good photo! 

Brenna and Harrison did some rock jumping into the lake while they waited for their turn to ride and had a blast doing that as well.  We had smores along the lake, had epic Smash Bros tournament that had all the cousins crying laughing, 

some went fishing off the dock, really we just soaked up every minute in that magical place.  We did for sure miss Grant and Dad.

We stayed up super late every night in our little personal cabin and woke up to stunning views and and a couple of smashed frogs for some reason.  Ha!  Saying goodbye was rough, but due to the lack of sleep and playing so hard, some melt downs occured.  I made Brenna and Harrison sing our verison of Happy Family and she felt like Grandpa needed to experience it as well.  I am sure he appreciated it.  

Because I get car-colepsy I had to break up the drive.   Katelee was more than willing to take a turn, but we drove in Dave's company vehicle (plus I wouldn't have wanted her to...shhhhh)  so I was the solo driver.  We almost always plow through long drives when Dave is with us.  We will both drive, him with the majority of the time behind the wheel, but when it's just me- I have to break it up.  So, we had a lovely over night stop in Montana on the way back and ate super yummy food and digested it's goodness and our memories!  It was so great!

The next week Brenna jumped back in to dance training and Katelee and I got to head up to Book of Mormon Youth conference.  I had been released from Young Women's in December, but I was so looking forward to going to youth conference, so my friend Kristen took pity on me and called me as her assistant director.  

The months leading up to the event I helped her with the run throughs of each scene, casting, rehearsing, scouting out the location (luckily she had done it all before).  Right before we went up, I learned I would be the tech guy's assistant as well.  I totally just nodded my way through whatever the technology jargon was but I pressed the buttons like I knew what I was doing...and I didn't ruin youth conf!  Hooray!

I got to be Abish during the character lunch and watch so many cool scenes.  My favorite was Abinadi and Jesus coming.  They were all so fabulous.  It was so fun seeing Katelee there and watching her experience it as well.  The wards were divided into families.  Here was hers...

We made it back home for Dave's birthday!  I gave him tickets to a candlelight Coldplay concert, which was really fun.  Harrison made him this dandy hat...to accentuate his bald spot.  

I mean, we are getting up in age and the results are inevitable.  I am accepting it in stride.  Dave is in denial, but that's a-ok. He is one year closer to his goal of getting to be over 100.  Apparently Harrison is awaiting a developmental goal as well.  He gets dry, itchy skin occasionally.  All of our kids do.  I saw a spot on his face and told him he had a little eczema developing and he excitedly responded with, "oh yea.  What's that? Puberty?"  I had to explain the difference between the skin condition and maturation.  It was a good convo per Harrison discussions.  

He (we) Made It!

Ginormous milestones happening here as Grant wraps up his senior year.  Since I work in the library, I occasionally see his or Katelee's teachers.  Grant's accounting teacher approached me and asked me if I was excited for the presentation that night Grant was doing.  In true Grant fashion, he had neglected to let me know he had anything going on, let alone a big capstone project guests were invited to attend.  

When I came home and asked him about it- he laughed and wondered how I found out.  Little turkey.  We knew he had been working on a big business presentation with a partner and this was the finished product presentation night with other business students across the district.  Grant did an excellent job showcasing his work and there were multiple entrepreneurs who mentioned to his teachers how impressed they were with him.  He has a great future in sales ahead, if that's the direction he decides to go.   

  

We were so happy we got to be there to support him and get a glimpse into what it is Grant does all the time.  Ha!

We wrapped up the school year assignments, everyone enjoying some end of the year fun, well mostly fun.  I was at work one morning and received a notification that yes there was a fire scare at the elementary school, the fire department and come, all kids evacuated, and everyone was ok.  Of course I asked Harry about it when I got home and he told me about the kitchen smelling like it was burning and his class was at recess at the time.  Everyone heard the alarm and naturally, kids were crying and hysterical- either thinking they were in danger or worried about their electronics the teachers make them leave in their backpacks.  Not our Harrison though, nope- he stepped up into action mode.  He told me he started gathering the kids in his class, calling to everyone to gather and follow him.  He told me he put his arm around a girl that was crying and told her it was going to be ok.  As he relayed the trauma, he looked up and told me he felt like a hero.  

  Harrison's class had an extra recess and played kickball.  The next thing I know he comes home with full on 3rd degree burns.  Gigantic blisters covered each shoulder and we had to get some wound care help from the pharmacy.  Here's what it looked like after they popped at the morning field day.  

Harrison was very upset he had to miss the second half of field day, but we felt like attending his brother's graduation was of higher importance! 

The graduation was the last one scheduled at UVU so we had time to meet up with grandma and grandpa and go to lunch before.  

We had a lovely meal at Tucano's and zipped over to take some photos of our Silverwolf grad.  

Grant wanted to meet up with his besties and it took a long time because Kyle drove nearly all the way down to the location without realizing he needed his cap and gown.  

Once we got those pics,

 we got our seats and prepared ourselves for a 3 hour painful experience, but it was actually a fabulous graduation.  It was under 2 hours and have some really engaging and motivating speakers.  There was a minor scare where a grandpa seemed to collapse on the bleachers, but the ceremony continued.  It was a quite surreal but fulfilling day.  I know it's cliche to say time flies, but it's like time is passing and you don't even realize the speed until you look back at memories.  

So much has happened from the time of this grad

to this graduate.  It has been a journey filled with joy and pain, growth and laughter, so many unexpected experiences that have shaped not only who Grant is, but who we are as parents and as a family.  He has great potential, this guy and we are so proud of him for his high school graduation accomplishment.  On to the next phase for him- and us as he will be moving out and taking on more responsibilities.  

We just hope he knows his family will always be here to cheer him on, to lift him up and always be in his corner.  

 

Dancing All Around

Once March hit, our lives were full of getting Miss Brenna to dance conventions and competitions and rehearsals and trips and whewww.... it is a whirlwind in spring.  But, she never, ever gets tired of dance and she has never complained about going.  She is at a new studio this year and these cute girls on her team have been the best!

Brenna has been welcomed and loved and been just where she needs to be.  

Her dances have been so fun to watch- she is in a lyrical, pointe, contemporary, jazz, hip hop and new to her this year- a production number, which is Bollywood themed, so super fun.  

Brenna had a convention in Los Angeles to which she assured me she could go on her own, so we let her stay and do Disneyland with others that extended.  She felt so very mature and we felt pretty good about it- til we started getting notices on our credit card of her purchases (ie $60 sunscreen).  Girl was swiping left and right and fell in love with DoorDash.  She had a great time, but we told her to hand over our card as soon as she walked off the plane.  Hahaha!  

She and I traveled to St George for a couple nights for a competition and blasted/scream sang Taylor Swift for the entire car ride down, so it's a good thing no one else was with us!  April finished up all competitions and all that is left is the recital in May.  PHEW, we (me) are exhausted!

Katelee (and Grant) also had dances- but no so much competitions, but more along the lines of school sponsored date dances.  Grant went with Hailie, but he picked her up, obviously, so no pics there.  Katelee got some bang for our bucks and got to wear her rented prom dress to two dances.  

She went with her good friend Mason to the Riverton prom.

They were quite the stunning couple, even if Lizzy's boyfriend said Katelee's date resembled a cute golden doodle (he even provided a side by side picture to prove his point).  

At FSY last summer, Katelee met a boy named Jack that she stayed in touch with.  He asked her to go to his high school prom as well.  So, round two for the girl in blue.  It was fun, but he got sick and she ate tempura sushi...so by the end of the night they were both done.  

The drivers ed department was a little behind in getting all the road driving done so Katelee had to wait A WHOLE MONTH to get her driver's license.  It was traumatic for her, so we had to document the day when she finally did get it.  

Spring is extremely busy for her extracurricular as well- she has practice for lacrosse everyday starting January and then games started in March- around 2 a week. Sometimes it is SOOOOO cold, 

or rainy, or wet... and other times it is just beautiful....I might be rooting for Harrison to stick with basketball just so we don't have to support an outside sport in the inclement weather...esp when it's snowing.  Then I feel bad complaining from my blanket as I watch the players soaked to the bone and shivering! 

We love going to watch Katelee play lacrosse.  She has become so fun to watch.  She was hoping to make varsity, but being on the JV team has been awesome for her because he has been a key player to their team and needed all the time.  She gets aggressive, makes awesome shots and is awesome! 

Easter was the second week of the month and while we get so busy with all the places we run to, I am grateful to bring it all back and re-center.  There were talks in conference about making Easter the most important holiday to us, to prepare our family, to put effort into leading up to it.  Maybe this year I missed the boat a little, but lets see how we do next year.  That's part of the beauty of Easter though- refresh, retry again and again and I am so inspired by that.