Happy Birthday to Kevin this week!  His birthday was on Wednesday, which is our ARP class, so we pretty much celebrated all week long - We had dinner Monday night to celebrate Josh's birthday, Wednesday, we went to lunch at Panera, and thanks to everyone involved when we got home from ARP there were 1970's era photos of your Dad strategically placed around the house. Thursday and Friday, we had Jake who kept us outside practicing our football throws, which according to Jake, JiChan is much better than me.  Last night we went out for gelato, which was so good!  Today we get to see Max, which is a gift in itself.  It has been a good and busy week, and looking forward we still have a dinner date for Olive Garden this coming week. YAY!  

Apparently, I am not the only one who considers Kevin a SUPER HERO - Scheels does too!  We went for a drive up there last week and they have special designated parking for "Super Heroes" which includes veterans.  We do love Scheels!!!

Thank you for your Air Force career and the many adventures we experienced because of it!

Thank you for your sacrifices to take of our family and especially your support as I am getting ready to tackle another semester of school.

THANK YOU and HAPPY BIRTHDAY Kevin - You really are the BEST!

 

I think everyone (under the age of 19) is finally back to school.  Sayre's first day as a first  grader was Friday. 

His school is close enough to their home so he and Jonathan rode their bikes.  

Happy New School Year to Everyone! 😊

BLYTHE and her friend Olivia are Hawk Pride leaders at school and helped with freshman orientation.  Love your tropical vibe!  😁🌴🎒🏄

TO MY "PAST THE TEENAGE YEARS" GRANDCHILDREN - You are amazing !!!

 Spencer has his own apartment and loves his job at Cooper's Hawk, an upscale restaurant well-known in the Chicago area. 

 Max has just moved into a new apartment in Provo and is getting ready for classes to start in a couple of weeks.  He also just had a second interview for a job with Lululemon so we are hoping that works out for him.

Emma is still working at the country club and at a law firm and proving herself to be a valuable employee at both.  She just finished redecorating her apartment and I love it!

UPDATES on the rest of our crew -

Angella is busy with work and kids.  She had to travel quite a bit over the summer but is hoping that will be over for awhile.

Josh is also busy with his work which is mostly in the Denver and some areas to the north.

Jonathan and Kate are both back at work at the University of Iowa - loving their jobs and being great parents to Sayre.

Cory and Adam are also back at work at Timberview Middle School.  They fill the roles of 6th grade Math teacher, and 6th grade counselor.  Adam is also coaching soccer for Liberty HS, and both he and Cory somehow manage to get Lily to her soccer practice and games each week.  

Kim and Chris NEVER have a dull moment with Blythe and Grant at home😀.  Kim is back to work at Roosevelt Elementary School and Chris is busy with work and travels often to Houston. 

YESTERDAY we were so sad that Grant was not able to get a flight out, but happy that Max made it and we've been able to visit with him.  Lily had a soccer game yesterday afternoon and after it was over they stopped by for pizza and ice cream.  love these guys ~    AND Lily

I love how thoughtful and kind ALL of our children (that includes all of you who are my children by marriage) and grandchildren are.  Your texts, phone calls, and surprise visits absolutely make our day! THANK YOU to Samantha who brought me a much needed elixir when I was working at Central Registry, and Paul who stopped by a couple of times to check in on us.

AND look who remembered to take a Sunday Selfie!!!

 I hope you all were able to accomplish many good things this week!  We always say in our Addiction Recovery class, that it doesn't matter what is in your past, the Savior only cares about which direction your feet are headed in now.

 

 DO something fun this week and send me photos. You  might be the BLOG headliner next Sunday 😃.  Love you all ~

    Is LILY a teenage mutant ninja turtle???? Maybe . . .because she is fearsome on the soccer field, has a killer smile, and is officially a teenager tomorrow!

  HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LILY💖. You have always brought such joy, happiness, and laughter to our family.  You are kind, thoughtful, and I love that you are always up for a trip to Noodles & Co, and/or Sephora 😀. Love you so much!!

      

 

   I have so many fun Lily videos that I had a hard time deciding which one to post so I decided to share the earliest.  It is amazing 😂

 This has been a busy week for our kids starting school after a great Summer.  

Can you believe that these two cuties are going to be Seniors in High School?

  Where did time go?  I was asking Eilis what  she thought about doing after she graduates  and she said she loves literature so maybe something along that field.  I told her I thought she should become a DoDDS teacher and see the world.  

Anyone else want career advice from Grammie? 😃

AND my "triplets" are all Juniors this year - 

 Lily is in 8th grade this year, and Jake, who has grown up so much, is a 3rd grader 😢 

 Ben started 1st grade last week, and Sayre will be an official 1st grader on Friday.

ALSO the beginning of a new school year welcomes Kate, Jonathan, Cory, Adam, and Kim back to their jobs, which they do so very well.  I know it may seem tiring year after year of working in the educational system, but I think kids, whether they are university students, or in 1st grade are so impressionable, and what you do, and the way you do it really matters. 

Kim and Selena hold down the fort at their school

The kids at Timberview Middle School are in good hands with Adam and Cory - Cory teaches 6th grade math classes, and Adam is the 6th grade counselor this year.  He also coaches soccer for Liberty so another way he has a positive influence on young people.    

 Kate and Jonathan teaching university students to excel in their talents.



 

I hope you all have a wonderfully, rewarding school year.

 ANOTHER fun "Sayreism" this week - 

 He was loading his nerf gun with AT&T darts instead of TNT darts.  😂

THANK YOU FOR THE SUNDAY SELFIES ~

One sweet story from Chicago - 

When Max was younger he forged a special relationship with Ron, an elderly man in their Ward.

Just recently, Ron's wife passed away unexpectedly, so Max went back to Chicago for the funeral.  Such a kind and thoughtful thing for Max to do, and I'm sure it meant a lot to Ron.

He also took time to see Spencer, who we definitely don't see enough of!  Miss you Spencer 💖

 I am so happy to be home this week.  Kevin has really taken care of everything from laundry to cooking to dishes and dog walks while I have been working.  I am ready to dig in and get some touch-up painting done, floors cleaned, downstairs organized, quilts to the dry cleaners, and weeds pulled.  (Dad will probably want to send me back to work).  AND we are hoping for a visit sometime in the next couple of weeks from Max and Grant 😀

Also, Max, I have a date set up for you with Sister Boren in 6 months when she gets home from her mission 😊.   Anyone else want me to be their matchmaker?  

Friday evening we went with the missionaries to visit two ladies who are taking lessons and reading the Book of Mormon.  The Elders showed a video clip from Elder Holland that was amazing.  I'm sure it was from a conference address because I remembered part of it.  The funny thing is that just this week I had been thinking about this and I was talking with someone (was it one of you?), or maybe I was talking to myself (yikes) about this exact topic.  I love the Book of Mormon!  Reading from it just truly makes my days go better - I think more clearly, I feel more peaceful, and answers seem to come when I am pondering a problem or question.  I think there are some very real practical lessons that we learn from the Book of Mormon.  This week in Primary we talked about Captain Moroni and his strategies in leading the Nephites to battle.  Please take, even if it is just a few minutes a day, time to ready from the Book of Mormon - and watch this short video (just click on Elder Holland's name).  It is only 4 minutes long but it is amazing!

Elder Holland

We pray for you everyday and hope you know how much you are loved and how important you are to our family.

 HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOSHUA!

Josh will be celebrating a birthday this Tuesday, Aug. 14th.  With his busy schedule, we don't get to see him as often as we would like, but we have such fun memories of his youth.  He didn't like grass - we could be outside in the yard with Josh on a blanket, and he would be a captive audience because he didn't like the feel of grass on his hands 😀.  He played baseball and excelled at anything that had to do with computers long before I even knew how to turn one on.  I would get an occasional call from a teacher letting me know that Josh was not turning in assignments, to which he would reply that he got A's on all of his tests so he didn't see the need to do the homework😈.  He was a great missionary, and now a great father to Emma, Eilis, Hollie, and Ben😇.  

Happy Birthday, Josh - Have a wonderful birthday week!

I kept busy this week helping out in Central Registry for District 20.  The registrars in the District Office are so busy trying to process all of the applications that came in over the summer, that they don't have time to answer their phones.  I certainly can understand why as the phone calls were consistent.  Every morning I would listen to 15 or so voicemails, and when I would hang up there would be 11 more - all day long.  The phone calls are coming mostly from parents wanting to know when their students will become active in the school system, and the answer is always "we are working as fast as we can.  Only one more week.  Yay!!!  

Dad has been a good sport - doing laundry, running errands, taking Sendai for walks, and fixing dinner.  What a guy!!

STORIES THAT WILL MAKE YOU SMILE!

  From Iowa - Jonathan, Kate and Sayre were disc golfing and some little guy came up to Sayer and asked him if he was 12 years-old.  Sayer's reply was "no, but I'm almost 12 in 6 more years 😁.

Good job with the math, Sayre!

He has grown so much!

Yesterday I was looking for a photo (without much luck) but I did run across this video that actually made me laugh outloud.  I'm not sure which is funnier - Sayre's chocolate smile, or Jonathan's comments 😀

MAX is back in Provo waiting for school to start, and currently homeless 😟.  Actually he has a great place to stay with Aunt Heather - just until he can move into his new apartment.  Apparently Heather's cat has taken a fancy to Max (who wouldn't?) so now they are besties!

I have heard rumor that Max and Grant are thinking about a road trip to Colorado.  We can only hope!!!  Maybe you could bring Spencer along and have a brother's road trip.  I sure miss these amazing young men 💖

LAST OF THE SUMMER ANTICS ~

Blythe went to Girl's Camp a couple of weeks ago and it looks to me that she is taking over where her Mom left off - in the kitchen cooking!

School starts for her this week and Kim will be back at work tomorrow. She spent some time last week cleaning out her basement, with the help of Grant, who is also ready to take some more college courses. 

We love it when grandkids we get to see grandkids during the week.  Paul stopped by Monday evening with his good friend, Ben.  Luckily we had some left-over brownies and ice cream from Sunday's dinner with the missionaries.  They were cute and we had a fun visit.  

Yesterday we stopped by Cane's to see Eilis where she just started a new job.  It was so fun to see her, and then she came by after work and had dinner with us.

I got a little of a late start tonight so I'm going to save back-to-school pictures and stories for next week.  

In our Addiction Recovery class this week, our lesson was on Service.  This is the last lesson in the cycle, and then next week we will start on lesson #1 again.  I always love this lesson and the quote by President Benson is especially meaningful - 

"Men and women who turn their lives over to God will discover that He can make a lot more out of their lives than they can.  He will deepen their joys, expand their vision, quicken their minds, strengthen their muscles, lift their spirits, multiply their blessings, increase their opportunities, comfort their souls, raise up friends, and pour out peace.  Whoever will lose his life in the service of God will find eternal life."

It is amazing what comes into our lives when we give service to others.  I love you all so much and pray that you will have a wonderful, peaceful week!