Kid perspective

Maddie informed me today that when she grows up she's going to be nice to her kids. I replied that sounds good. She then defined what she meant by that. She won't make her kids do morning magnets and clean the front room. She'll do it for them so they can play and play. All I could do was smile. I'm pretty sure I said something similar when I was a kid. 😊

A Christmas Carol

It's started!! Opening night was Saturday and today will be my third out of like 24 shows. I think I finally have all the makeup and other supplies I need. Even went shopping Tuesday night after the show to pick up a few more things. 😊. I'm having so much fun and God is teaching me so much through this show and experience! He is so good!! All the little things I've thought were disasters have turned out to be blessings! And really everything is going so wonderfully!!  I'm so grateful!!

 

 

 

First snow

Monday night there was a big snowstorm! The next day we made sure all the kids had snow stuff that fit them. And of course we had to try it out!

 

 

 

 

 

Car wash

Today the boys and I made a carwash.

 

 

It was Sean's idea. And we had a lot of fun building it!

Garden wall

Here's a project we've been designing and dreaming about for a couple of months. Slowly been working on it. But Matt went crazy this week and we were able to finish it! Well a little trimming but it's done!! 

I can't find our concept picture. But here are the posts and final!

 

 

Apple pie

At school Maddie learned about how apples grow. Then they tasted yummy things made from apples. One was an apple pie and Maddie begged for us to make one. I've never made a pie before. Helped but never been the principal chef. But we decided to try. Matt picked apples and peeled and cored them and Sean washed them. But with conference starting Matt and I finished up the rest. The recipe was really easy and it was so much fun! We shared with Matt's family and it seemed well received. Looking forward to making some more sometime! 

  

 

    

 

School, softball, etc

Maddie started school this year! Kindergarten!  It took her a couple of weeks to feel comfortable. Her teacher sent pictures which made it easier to ask questions about school. Now we get long stories, songs, and chants. It's fun! 

 

First day!

Matt plays on the company softball team. They've done pretty good and he likes it! We only got to go to the first couple games but the kids liked it so much they play with him at home. Sean has gotten pretty good at bat and has a good arm! (I think it's from throwing dirty laundry down the stairs as part of chores). 😄. Collin also tries to hit the ball. 

 

Here's Collin at the game.

 
 Matt in his jersey. 

Sean and Collin and Mom were a little lost without Maddie at first but we're slowly adjusting. 😊

 

 

We're doing well and having fun!  

Oh and HUGE news!!! We bought our house!!! We've been having fun dreaming of ways to make it more ours!!  

😆😆😆😆 life is awesome!! 

A Christmas Carol

Guess what!! 😆

A few weeks ago I got an email from theHale  Center Theater in Orem about auditions for A Christmas Carol. I get their email updates. I've often gotten their emails about auditions but never felt like I could do it (I have high anxiety). But I've been working on that with God's help and when the email came this time I didn't feel myself seized with the usual doubt and fear. So after a few days and discussions with Matt I decided to call and make the appointment to audition! That alone was a miracle! 

I then had to find a song and write a theater resume. I remembered Julie had done that and that Mom had lots of experience so I texted them a lot during the process. Matt helped with my voice which presented a growing experience as my pride and fear got in the way. But God helped me see it and Matt was patient and forgiving. Some ladies in the ward helped me by playing the accompaniment so I could record it and practice with it. Again I'm not sure I would have been able to ask for fear before. 

Auditions were crazy and amazing! Everyone was so talented! I was awed to be in the same room! I made it through with only super nervous instead of passing out. God is good! I thanked Him all the way home. For me, THIS was a victory! To see how much I've changed!

A few days later I received an email for callbacks! Not for a part but for the choir. I couldn't believe it! They gave us the music Sunday for the Monday callback. With Matt and Nicole's help I was able to get a couple of hours to practice and learn soprano and alto. The speed was the killer! So fast!! 

As we warmed up at the callback, I felt I would fall over and wanted to sit down. But I knew if I did they wouldn't consider me. Said a prayer. As we sang I calmed down and it was fun! So fun to be part of a choir again! I forgot how amazing it is and beautiful!! So I decided to just enjoy singing and listening. Also God sent a wonderful friendly stranger to sit by me! We were both new to the experience and it was fun to have someone to cheer for (quietly) after we sang. God is good! 

Well the next day Matt wanted me to see if I made it in. I thought it would take days to decide so I casually opened my email. He spotted the email before I did and my heart skipped a beat. I wasn't sure I could click on it. But I did. I don't remember the last time I screamed at news!! I made it in! Alto! And I'm double cast so it won't be every night which is what I hoped for so I could be with my family during the Christmas season. 

God is so good! This experience is going to give me a lot of lessons about myself and I am excited! And it will be so fun to perform again! I love being an 'extra'! And to get to sing in a choir again!! And act!! It's so amazing!! 

 

This was the picture I used on my resume 

Flower Bed!

After several Saturday's we finally finished the flowerbed!  I will show the progression of the 4 Saturday's. 

 

Before

  

 

 

 

 

Final product!

I'm very proud!!

Aug 21, 2016

I love our little garden! It is so wonderful and brings me joy!  And when I say little I mean little. But it has been the most fruitful this year. (Each year we get one or two more plants ambitious). 😀

This year we may even have our own pumpkins! Matt's idea!  I'm excited!!

Today Matt made dinner using our own peppers and green onions and the other day I supplemented a recipe with tomatoes! It's been fun! And the kids love picking the tomatoes and our 4 strawberries. Yes! 4! That's like our entire harvest from them the last 4 years! Amazing! Our garden is wonderful! 😀

  

Appraisal and cleaning

So we're working on the loan to buy the house that we are renting. We're very excited! The appraisal was today. To get ready of course we had to clean the entire house and make sure everything was in its place and try to make it look amazing.
it was a lot of bluffing... Oh I mean staging!

So after 24 hours of cleaning and that's taking 8 hours out for sleep we finally got it done!

I was looking around afterwards wondering why we didn't have the house this clean all the time. And then I realized that my children have watched about 24 hours worth of TV. It was the only way that we could keep them entertained and not undoing what we were doing. So... I have a feeling that the house will return to some of the regular mess very quickly... oh wait it already has. :-)

The good news is we have a lot of things sorted and organized that weren't before so it's awesome!

Woohoo!

Yesterday Brian took me long boarding down part of the canyon! It was awesome! He got me a long board for my birthday. Ironically today is his.  :-)

There were a few crazy moments... I got really nervous at one point but Brian told me to trust the board and I relaxed enough to survive!  :-)

The second run it was getting dark and there were a lot of bugs impacting our faces. But the rush at times and the relaxing pace most of the time was so awesome!

Here's a picture of my board. Actually Collin is convinced it's his.  :-)

Swamp cooler addendum

When going to try and fix your swamp cooler yourself, say a prayer.... miracles can happen!!!

How to survive a broken swamp cooler

So our swamp cooler is broken right now. Everything works, the fan, the pump. But for some reason the pump won't turn on. So how do you survive when your swamp cooler does not work? Here is some practical advice.

First keep the fan running all night long. This will ensure that your house will reach as low as nature will offer on that given night. Next turn the fan off at about 7 to 8 o'clock. This is when the cool weather from outside stops and the temperature begins to go up.
At this point make sure that all the curtains are closed and that the blinds are drawn. This will help to slow the temperature gain in the house. This is not my favorite step because it makes the house dark and in the summertime you want the house lights and happy. But you gotta do what you have to do.
The next step is actually an ongoing step. Drink lots of water! Not my favorite step because I don't really like water but extremely necessary to survive the Heat!
This step is also on going. Dowse yourself with water whenever you just can't handle it. Pull out spray bottles and go outside and spray each other with spray bottles for a while. Before putting the baby down for his morning or afternoon nap get his hair wet and a bit of his shirt.
Escape the house in mid to late afternoon. This helps you escape the worst of it for the longest period of time.
Return to your house to eat dinner at which time begin spraying down the swamp cooler by hand with a hose every 15 minutes. While this does seem tedious it helps to drop the temperature so that your kids hopefully will be able to go to sleep at a decent time... Maybe before 10 o'clock today.
Before the kids go to bed give them a bath. This is not to clean them. This is to get their hair wet and their bodies cool down so that the heat will not get to them as quickly.
After the kids go to bed continue to spray the swamp cooler at least every 20 to 30 minutes until approximately 11 o'clock. Whenever you choose to go to bed yourself, prop all the bedroom doors open so that the cool air which will reach your house at about 3 a.m. will then be able to go into all of the rooms.

And there you have it a practical guide for surviving your broken swamp cooler. :-)

So...

It's been a few years... But we're doing very well! We have new members of our family and new adventures! We are currently trying to buy the house we are renting and things are going very well! Although our swamp cooler just died so we are looking to put AC in before we buy it. I recently finished Collins first year book! It was very fun to look over the last year! So much has happened! Because of that I will not be trying to write much about the last couple years but start where we are at. :-)
Pictures: Madison, collin, sean