Pioneer Day

It has been almost 28 years since we moved from Sandy, Utah. I really miss the majestic Wasatch mountains, fall leaves, Temple Square, a few malls that are no longer there (a lot of people are missing them too! I was a teenager when we moved, I had my priorities!)  I miss it when the fog would roll into the valley so thick that you could hardly see the house next to you. I miss the smell of Lilacs, apples hanging from the trees begging to be picked, raspberry patches I could crawl into and eat my way out, corn fields tall enough to get lost in (usually on purpose!) and stories of family experiences that could take all day to tell. I sometimes even miss the snow! I miss those who have gone on and the places where their memories still linger. Oh, most of all I miss my brothers!

But one of the things I miss most is Pioneer Day. From the parade in Salt Lake to the fireworks that night, the whole day is a celebration on how we, us Utahns, came to be. The pioneers who traveled from other countries, who went through unspeakable pain and sacrifice to travel by wagons across the plains and to make it to the Salt Lake Valley. And then later moved to other places like Mesa, Arizona!

One of my ancestors, John Pack, was actually the first person to enter the valley on July 22nd. He was a major and a scout for Brigham Young and went ahead looking for it, the place to call home. He turned around and told Brother Brigham of what was ahead and then on July 24th, they all entered the valley. I can't even imagine how they must have felt! I love Salt Lake City and the surrounding area and I am so grateful that this man, and many other pioneer ancestors who came to this place in search of religious freedom. I am grateful for my heritage and for the sacrifices that were placed in their way so I could grow up there and believe without fear. And even though the Days of 47 is not celebrated here in Arizona, I gladly celebrate this holiday in my heart! After all, it really was my favorite holiday. (Christmas and Halloween don't count!) Now, if I could just convince them to do fireworks here, it would be the icing on the cake!!!

Happy Pioneer Day!

Throwback Thursday

Little boys and summer do not mix! Okay, lets face it, big boys and summer don't mix either!
As I was helping my mom with her computer issues, my sweet son came in with a magnifying glass and a not so innocent smile on his face. I looked at him, (okay, most likely glared) and asked what he was up to. 'Nothing', he says. And then that grin gets a little bigger. My kid does not know how to lie! Standing in front of me is a mischievous little man smelling of guilt holding a magnifying glass on a hot summer day. Someone was in trouble!!!

Curse that Bill Nie!

Again, he denyed it. I went outside to make sure there is no crazy fire going on in the front yard. There wasn't but you could smell the burnt leaf.  He admitted to his misbehavior and was given a swift kick in the pants and I made him promise not to do it again! (And I yelled at him too! That was the worst)

I was reminded of growing up in Sandy, in a subdivision with a gully on the north and the field on the northwest. The boys in the neighborhood had a club that met in that field. It was for boys and girls were not allowed, which made me more interested that I normally would have been.
One afternoon, my brother and cousin came running into the basement, a door from the back yard, looking really guilty. You could hear fire engines from a distance. We all went outside, including the unusually quiet boys, to check on what was going on. Summer was boring so anything was entertaining (which was probably the problem in the first place!) and we saw black billows of smoke  coming from the direction of the field. My biggest fear was it was a house fire, but the smell said differently. We all tore off on our bikes to the end of the subdivision, or as close as we could get because of the fire.
It was huge! The fire had to be fought from both sides of the gully. It went into the field. People  living in the surrounding areas were watering down their lawns and houses, just in case. About 45 to an hour later, I was younger so who knows much time it really was, all that was left were the occasional hot spots and a few fire trucks.
It was the talk of the neighborhood. My brother and cousin, normally loud and obnoxious boys, were quiet and disappeared once we reached home. It turns out those two took sparklers down to their club and were lighting them. And that is how the fire started! They never got caught, at least to the best of my knowledge. It was a hot, dry summer so maybe it could have been anything or anyone, but I am pretty sure it was the two of the them!
The gully caught fire a few other times while growing up, but that one was the worst. And, in the end, it made for exciting story to take back to your school teacher at the end of summer!
Hey, I was a kid. I had my priorities!

Service with a smile... And Ice cream!

The recent storm that came in hard and fast cracked a limb on my dad's big tree in the back yard, leaving it dangling precariously over the fence. My dad, bless his heart, tried to cut it down and it brought back way too many memories of a fall he took when I was a kid and it had him laid up for a while (another Throwback Thursday waiting to happen). After he successfully came in and called it a day, I got to thinking about Ashley and how she is serving others and then I got the great idea of having a service project there, for my parents! They needed it and my mom would be so much happier if someone else got up on that ladder!

 

I called Tami and we arranged to spend FHE at my parents and we would clean up the limb and all of it's branches (don't worry, Ash. The tree survived!) We would bring all of our cutting stuff and I would bring my green barrel.

 

My dad did cut the limb all the way down and fixed the fence. And he survived the ladder, even! All we had to do was cut it up and dispose of it.! I don't think my dad fully grasps the idea of getting help!(I think it runs in the family!)

 

Boys working hard!

 

 

 The little girls were too!

 

He's got the POWER!!!

 

 

 The big girls started strong, and then found other ways to amuse themselves. We just worked around them! LOL!!!

 

 

 

We had a lot of fun and had it all done in an hour. I even got a few things that had been there for a while. And my dad fixed his antennae so it was a win/win for him too!

And then we had ice cream! Service can be fun!!!

The Mesa Pool

The mesa pool is open! And as much as I was against it coming in I must admit I love going! The lazy river is my favorite! Maybe that's because with minimal effort, all I have to do is just hang on to the tube and let the water take me to where it wants to go.

 

 The key phrase being minimal effort!

 

 In fact, they need to have a mother's night where they open it up just for moms to be lazy and visit. And even better if they offered babysitting! They could really make a killing off of that if they tried! 

But, of course, my kids get bored really quickly and want more fun! Like the slides at the other pools! And Mackenzie really needs to find a friend to go to the pool with because she makes me go down the slides with her! Me, the beached whale! And it is quite a sight, let me tell you!!!

 

And I have discovered she likes boys and tries to flirt with them! It hurts to watch!! Ash needs to come home soon and show her first hand because she needs help! And who better that Ashley, who doesn't know how to turn her flirt off!

Ahh, summer at the pool! It's been a lot of fun!

Now, if I can just convince them to do the mothers only night, my life would be complete!

 

 

Ben Cluff's Homecoming

Benny is back!!! Do you know what this means? Yep, next is Tyler Curtis and then ... my girl!!! It is the beginning and this is one happy momma!

Sunday me and Britt went to Ben Cluff's Homecoming. And it was great because I got to see his Grandma and Grandpa, the Stouts, whom my family has known since 1987, when we first moved here! They are getting older but they are still as awesome as ever!

Ben looked great and I was so happy to see him and McKayla together again! They are so cute!!!

And I got a pic for my girl! It was a wonderful day!!!

Throwback Thursday

A little over five weeks and Ashley will be home. My dad actually has the day count but I can't do that, not yet. But as we tie down who is coming and arrangements for her are in my mind, I have been thinking a lot about before she left

. You see, I did not want her to go. I am a selfish mother and I LOVE to spend time with my kids. I love having them around, I love going to the movies with them, swimming, and mostly hanging around the house and enjoying the crazy things they come up with to entertain themselves. I tried everything to convince her to stay. My arguments were on the verge of ridiculous!
Ashley didn't jump on the mission idea until much later than most of the other girls. She took her time and, for some reason I had figured she didn't want to go. And then she started her paperwork. She is a very independent person and did all of them herself and sometimes there is no stopping her.

September rolled around and the papers, or email these days, were sent to Salt Lake. I was sure she would change her mind. But she didn't. And I was just stubborn enough to cause some tension. Again, I was not the smarted tool in the shed and I didn't want to loose her.

A few days before Halloween I was shopping at Walmart with Travis. I can remember the Halloween candy mixed amongst the Christmas stuff and we were talking about Ashley. She had gotten a letter from Salt Lake saying they saw some inconsistencies with her papers  and they wanted to further look into her ability to go on a mission. This had truly discouraged her. She was depressed and didn't know where to go from there. And as we were holding hands, talking about the situation, my sweet husband reminded me that what I wanted most in the world was to love my children and have them love me back. But instead all I was doing was causing problems because I had a hard time letting go.

I was not being supportive. I was not giving her the confidence she needed to face this. All I was doing was causing more problems. I had a change of heart that day. I remember the bags of candy corn and christmas lights made me realize I was an idiot.  I needed to be supportive no matter what! That was what a good mom does. Whether she went or not, it was my job to make sure she had support. And for those who know me really well know that I can screw up saying things quicker than a rainstorm in Phoenix so I sent her a text. I remember how good I felt sending it. I told her that no matter what, from now on, I would support her in any way she needed. And if she went on a mission, I would be her biggest fan, and if she did not then I would still be her biggest fan. And that Heavenly Father knows best and I was so sorry it took so long for me to get on board. But I was now.

She was at work with her little Lemon and it took her a bit to get back to me but when she did, I think it changed her as well. After that, things were back to normal, if not better. And then President Johnson got involved and things started rolling. A little over a month later she got that call. I remember when it came. She was at work and it was just me. I held onto it, knowing this would change ours lives, but I knew that Heavenly Father was in control and it would all turn out just fine.

When people ask me why it took so long for her to get her mission call, I tell them it was because Heavenly father was waiting for me to catch up. It seems like he is always waiting for me to catch up but I am so grateful that he does and I am grateful that He knows that about me and that my Ashley does too.

This last year has been a struggle but I think I have grown so much from it! And she has had such a successful mission and to think I almost denied her that breaks my heart. People say we learn so much from our kids. I am so grateful I learned this from her. I think it has made me a better person and a better mother.

This Week

 

Well, we ended my birthday celebrations off with going to the Drums Across the Desert, The Drumcorp show at MCC on Monday night!

(mostly because I needed to get measurements for the boxes we will be using during our show). It was extremely hot and we didn't get close enough to actually measure but I have some pretty great pics to go off of.

And, because I am OCD, we were way too early and, as you can see, there was hardly anyone there. That and we bought the cheap seats, LOL!

Great night and it was great to spend time with Britt!

Yes, Ashley, you were missed! And there were some guard girls behind us!
LOL!!!

 

 

 

 On Thursday, the little ones had their eyes tested. Guess what? Mackenzie finally has to have glasses!

(She has been hoping and praying for them!) She was so excited she danced throughout the place and gave the eye doctor a huge hug!

My silly girl! In a few years she will miss not having to use them! But we will let her enjoy this time! These are the ones she picked out. Yep, Ash, they are pink! She would not look at any others!

 

Britt needed the car that day so I took Travis to work. It made me miss the good old days of cramming the kids into the car and trying to beat the sun home so I could get another hour of sleep before the chaos started! (AWW, memories!!)

 

Anyway, I picked him up at the last light rail station by Sycamore on Main and I noticed the signs for the rest of the track down by the temple! Catch the date the stops open!

 

 

Yep! It's going to be a great day!!! But don't worry, Ash, we won't make you take it home from the airport! We will save that for FHE!!! And you get to sit by Joey and Kenzie!!

(I can feel the excitement all the way from Boise!!!)