Broken

In July, Kirk's grandfather passed away.  He lived a long and wonderful life, but had failing health the past couple of years.  He died at the end of July.  We had a trip planned to Lake Powell the day after the funeral.  The twins were at scout camp, so  Kirk headed down early to see family and I waited for the twins to come home from scout camp.  Unfortunately, Kirk didn't get much extra time with family because the axle on the boat trailer broke. He got to wait on the side of the freeway for AAA to come tow him to town.  The mechanic would be able to fix it, just not in time for our trip. The funeral was good.  Kirk's dad and his siblings spoke and they all did such a wonderful job.  I wish we would have taken some pictures, but we didn't.  It was a sweet day with family.

Then we headed to the lake.  We had a great time and always look forward to this trip with our friends and neighbors.  We did miss our boat, but felt so grateful to enjoy the lake despite our troubles.  Ethan and Tyler started school as soon as we got back, in fact they missed the first day because we were at the lake.

On a quick note, Tyler has ALWAYS begged us to stop at this rock shop and we finally did!  I think he loved it.

First day of school for Ethan and Tyler.  Since we had to stop in Richfield to pick up the boat, we did a little school shopping at Christensens. And yes, Tyler picked that shirt out all by himself AND he talked Grandma into buying it for him.

And then, football started.  This year all 4 of the boys played, it was a hectic year for us.  On the last day of tryouts, David was tackled by a lineman on his team.  The lineman fell on top of him and broke his arm.  It broke David's heart as well.  Who knew he loved football so much!  Luckily it healed and he got to play for most of the season.

A couple of weeks after David broke his arm, I went to the doctor for some back pain.  Turns out I had a large fibroid tumor and was scheduled for a hysterectomy at the end of August.  For one of the first times in my life, I have been anxious to have this year over with and start a new one.  Writing about our lives the second half of the year explains why, it has been a little rough.

4th of July 2013

We had another great 4th of July in Richfield!  Next year Kirk and I get to be in the parade.

This is what 4th of July in Richfield means to my kids-lots of illegal fireworks!

My dad always made this holiday a lot of fun for all of us.

 Ethan and Tyler ran the kids one mile race and the twins asked to run the 5K with me.  Honestly, I was a little worried, they've never run that far in their lives, but they did awesome!  They both beat me:)

Tyler and I took some cousins out on the town for a little shave ice...

11 Years!

Ethan had a birthday and we went to airborne trampoline again.  I guess it really is a great place for all these boys.  At least they come home happy and tired:)  

Ethan is one of those kids who wants to be good.  He is so responsible and often times he is the one keeping track of me and helping me with my schedule.  I love him so much and am so grateful to be his mom!

Some Pics Worth Posting

I'm still trying to get caught up and I am almost there!  Last Saturday night I got out my journal and realized there are so many things I have not written about, for awhile there I was doing a good job here on this blog.  I can't afford to let my journal and my blog fail.  I really do LOVE having posts and pictures to look back on.  And my kids enjoy them just as much as me.  

 This was a double rainbow from my front porch.  I don't my why my car is parked in front of the house, but as we've changed cars over the years, I have always enjoyed seeing pictures of my old cars.  I guess maybe it has something to do with all the time I spend driving.

 The twins played in a couple of 7 on 7 football tournaments this year and they won their last one!  This tournament was especially fun for us because David got to play quarterback for the first time and also because they won.

 I always get teased about my kids falling asleep in church, I promise I have never drugged them.  As they've gotten older, they get better, but this day was they were all out.  I grabbed Kirk's cell phone and irreverently  took this picture in sacrament meeting.

 The twins spent a couple of days living in Helaman Halls at BYU and attending football camp.  I was SO excited for them!  We talked to them after their first day and I wasn't sure we did the right thing, they must have still been kind of nervous because by the end of the week, they couldn't wait to go back and I got to hear lots of fun stories about "axe bombing," and karaoke "at a bar for kids!", "they even take all the bad words out of the songs!"  You've gotta love BYU!  I'm so glad they loved it.

 Two other sets of twins they met during the week.

 Ethan played in a basketball tournament over a couple of days.  I have never seen so many basketball courts in my life, or been charged so much to see a youth basketball game, but it was all worth it, they won!

Tyler is keeping it classy at Walmart!

A New Day

I sometimes feel bad that when David and Jacob hit new milestones it is such a big deal, then the rest of the kids follow suit and its just regular old life.  I love my kids all the same, but when David and Jacob start new adventures (that everyone else will follow) it just pulls at my heartstrings and takes my mind down memory lane and I want to document things so I don't forget.  So here we go, a post without pictures, just words.

Yesterday I took the twins to their new middle school to explore, practice locker combinations, and figure a few things out.  I could tell they wanted to go, but that it also made them nervous with me there and all of us learning together.  Everything went just fine, we figured out their lockers, figured out why they didn't get in honors language arts and reading (which they tested for, got in, but I think we dodged a bullet), and found their classes.  It was fun.  As we walked the halls and explored, I saw a whole new world.  We ran into lots of the boys' friends and that was fun, but I wasn't prepared to see all the girls and their stuff.  I could not believe the shelving, carpeting, wallpapering, and decorating of lockers.  It was nuts!!!!  All we brought were some wipes to clean out Jacob's dirty locker.  It was eye opening to note the difference between the two genders at this age.  Even though I was in middle school once, decorated my locker, and eventually married a boy, I have forgotten or am learning again just how different the boys and girls are at this age.

So today I dropped them off for an unofficial first day.  It is just a half day for only the 7th graders, isn't that nice?  The girls were all dressed up and decked out.  David and Jacob took their schedules and nothing else.  I finally convinced them to take a pencil, which David stuck in his sock.  I have offered so many times to take them school shopping, but no, they don't want to go.  They just want what everyone else so desperately wants at that age, just to be liked and accepted.  I am their mom and I know I am biased, but I see they way some of the girls will notice them, they are tall, athletic, and handsome.  You'd think they would be so confident, but they aren't.  Everyone no matter how we look, act, or what we have, we all still just want to be loved and accepted.  The older I get the more I realize how life is still very much the same as middle school and high school.  The sooner you figure out how to love and accept yourself the way you are, the better life is.  So here is hoping the twins can figure that out soon!  I can't wait to go pick them up in a couple of hours and hear all about their day!

One more thing-I know the boys will be mad at me for this one, but I have to document...Ethan and Tyler started school a couple of weeks ago, so the twins have been home alone for awhile and it has been fun.  They have been good little workers and spent way too much time playing the game cube.  They dug out all of their old games and have been having a riot.  The best part was the one day when they dug out all of their legos and spent the whole day playing and building things.  It made me so happy.  Sure they are growing up, they don't even look like little boys anymore, and they are about the same height as me, but they are still little boys inside.

Best Family Vacation Ever.

All growing up, I went to the Coral Pink Sand Dunes with my family.  We would go every Easter and in the fall over the UEA weekend.  It was so much fun!  Lots of neighbors and friends would join us and I always got to bring my best friend Kim.  My senior year of high school, we were down there camping over UEA and Kirk came over from his dad's ranch in Southern Utah and rode four wheelers with me for a couple of hours.  We hadn't even been out on a date yet, so it is a fun memory to look back on.  Then we all grew up, moved north, had kids, my parents sold off the trailer, and we quit the sand dunes.  This year we managed to schedule a trip with all 7 of my siblings, their families, and my parents.  We reserved the camp ground months, maybe even a year in advance, and made this trip happen and it did not disappoint!  We had a riot!  It was like Christmas morning when we woke up early in Richfield to pull out.  My parent's culdesac was lined with trailers loaded with 4 wheelers and we were giddy!

 I couldn't stop smiling when my dad wheeled these ones out of the trailer.  I had no idea he still had the red 4 wheeler, but these were all 4 wheelers from growing up and I loved seeing them at the dunes:)

 Kirk's dad and Sherolyn came with us as well, it really was a great trip!

The latest family picture, proof that we all made it to the sand dunes.  Also, it can't be a regular trip to the dunes without an emergency trip to Kanab, something breaking down, a wreck, and helping someone who is stuck.  Luckily, between us all, our trip was complete.

Ethan had to get a wound on his forehead glued in Kanab, there were a few wrecks (I won't name names), a rented side by side broke down, and it had to get pushed and towed up some big hills to make to back.  But it was still a perfect trip!  My boys still talk about it, we can't wait to do it again!