It's our turn!  Kim and I are officially back to school - we had our fist day this past Monday.  Kim is taking a Family History class this term as well as a Digital Media Art (or something like that - she has only told me the name about 50 times 😕).  I am taking a class called the Dynamics of Marriage.  I think I am really going to enjoy it - our text book is called The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work, we use the Proclamation to the Family, and this past week we had to ready chapters from Elder Bednar's book, Increase in Learning.  We had to provide counsel to a couple on the principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities using a religious perspective, and a non-religious perspective (they call that being bilingual).  It is going to be a lot of writing, but I love what I am learning.  

Look who got to go fishing this week!  

And he caught a fish (or feesh as Jake would say)!!  Kevin spent all day Saturday on Lake George with Brother Welch and Bishop Ash.  He had a great time, but came home tired.  Bishop Ash has a fancy shmancy boat and a fish finder (I didn't know there was such a thing.  I think he goes fishing at least once a week, and usually tries to talk someone from the Ward into going with him.  If you haven't met Bishop Ash yet, next time you visit our Ward I will have to introduce you.  He is the best storyteller ever!

This reminds me of Jake telling his Mom how to catch a fish (feesh) 😁. I know I have posted this before, but it always makes me laugh ~

Tuesday this week was Soccer night for us.  We joined Cory, Lily, Sammi, and Jake to watch Lewis-Palmer (Paul), play against the Liberty team that Adam coaches.  Liberty won the game so Adam was happy.  Paul didn't get to play so he was sad, and rightly so.  He is a sophomore playing Varsity so of course the coach wanted the more experienced players in.  However, Paul is a super talented player, who plays with a lot of energy and control.  He was disappointed, but what a great life lesson - Don't give up on something you really love!  Keep working, and practicing, and your turn will come 💖

 

Back to Work

I have been substituting two days a week for the Registrar at Adam's school.  It's been fun and I'm glad I can help.  It is a good reminder though, of how blessed we are as a family.  Kids come in consistently needing to talk to their counselor, some with really sad family situations.  So glad I get to start my day with this 

Things that make me smile

Last night I got caught up in my photos which is one reason why this is a day late.  It was so fun though.  Thought I would share some ~

Such fun memories!  It makes me sad that these wonderful children have grown up so quickly.  But they all have grown into wonderful young men and women - and thankfully some are still growing.  I love you all so much!  You make me smile everyday!😁

September 10

 

 I loved my Primary class today.  When I got down to our room, the kids had moved their chairs over by the whiteboard and had left two chairs on the opposite side.  They told Kathy (the sister I teach with) and I that they were going to be the teachers today, and we were going to be the kids 😁.  Student take-over???

Maybe . . . But they were so excited so we told them to go ahead and be the teachers and they did such a great job.  You can tell how much they learned and remembered from their Come Follow Me at home this week.  They only needed help with a scripture reference and with spelling.  My favorite was the chart they made with Celestial as the Best, Terrestial as Good, and Telestial as OK.  

Family funnies from this week ~

Angella came over on Monday and shared hamburgers with us.  She showed us what happened when she tried to give Amos a haircut . . . Oops, it looks like one foot might be smaller than the other 😂.  Poor Amos!  It's good that our dogs and kids are so forgiving -

Blythe was taking a test in her history class and the teacher had told the kids that when they were done with their test they could use their phones.  So  - Blythe finished her test, put in her air pods, and proceeded to entertain(?) her class with Jingle Bell Rock(yes, she is already listening to Christmas music), because her air pods had not connected to her phone so the music was playing for everyone else to hear 😂.  This reminded me of our trip to London, and while we were waiting to get into the airbnb, she entertained us with song AND dance!

Grant brought this home from, I'm not sure where, but Kim says it's his new ride 😂. 

So this reminds me of the Summer he came to Colorado and spent time with me at School while I was finishing up the semester.  He loved the vacuum cleaner that attached to your back, driving my car in the Liberty parking lot, painting our old fence, and I actually have a video of him practicing with a wheel chair he found upstairs in the lobby -

There is never a dull moment -

 

This cute girl scored the first goal of the game on Saturday!  Way to go Lily!

 

Jake also scored during his game Saturday morning! 

Go PAUL!  Go LHS!

This Tuesday evening Paul will be playing against Adam's team - Lewis-Palmer vs. Liberty.  Who will I be cheering for?  BOTH!  😎

Ben learned how to ride his bike without training wheels this week with the help of big sister, Hollie.  Ben is so blessed to have such sweet and patient sisters!

Sayer and family made a trip to then nearby apple orchard a couple of weeks ago.  Remember when we lived in Spokane and every year we go to Green Bluff and pick the most delicious apples? and have apple cider?  Kate says they have the best apple cider doughnuts which I had never heard of before but sounds really good!

And by the way, both Kate and Jonathan were home with Covid this week! 😩

Last Thoughts

This past week in our Addiction Recovery class, we talked a little about how we sometimes live our lives in fear instead of relying on faith.  That thought has stayed with me throughout the week.  Because I am probably the best "worry-wart" ever (I got it from my Dad), I realize that I don't use my faith enough to get through those challenges that can take you by surprise.  This is my mission for the week - to walk in faith and trust in the Savior's Atonement and not worry so much about things that I can't control.

      
HAPPY SEPTEMBER TO ALL! 

It is hard to believe how the weeks just seem to fly by and our Summer months are behind us.  As I sat down to my desk today, I thought for just a fleeting minute that I saw a palm tree outside my window 🌴😎, but no, it is still the same old fir tree 🌲😊.  I can't complain though, we have had beautiful warm weather that I am hoping will last for just a little while longer ~

I got ambitious this week and cleaned out the closet in the office.  Though it may not look amazing to you, I think it is wonderful compared to what it had been.  I ended up with a bag for Goodwill, and a bag for the garbage can.  My Primary pictures and and lesson materials are organized, and I consolidated family photos, and letters.  I still have a small box of family "stuff" I'm sorting through but found quite a few gems.  

It has been fun reading old letters I wrote to my Mom and Dad.  This is part of one taken from a letter dated 11 June 1993 - "Last month Kate's third grade class went to Mt. Fuji.  I went as a chaperone- spent the night at an International Boy Scout facility located near a beautiful little resort town.  We had a nice time - didn't get much sleep - (as I remember, I woke up with a swollen eye from a mosquito bite 😐) - but we had a fun time.  She signed up for the jogging club at school this year and has already earned her 25 mile patch.  She should be in good shape for soccer when that comes around".

    "Adam and Kevin have had baseball games every Saturday.  Their playoffs start tomorrow and will last for the next three weeks.  They have won their last two games.  A couple of weeks ago, Adam's class had a field trip to Disneyland.  They didn't have the required number of parents to so so he talked me into it - actually, he didn't have to talk to hard.  I love going there and the weather was beautiful.  I had three other boys besides Adam in my group so I I just sort of followed them around all day.  I think this fulfilled my field trip duties for the year.

    "Joshua has been playing baseball this season too and his team has done really well.  Last week he had a game down at Yokosuka.  I went along and we had a fun day.  Josh played great and their team won so we celebrated with a little shopping afterward.  Kevin was able to take Josh down to Yokosuka a couple of weeks ago to get his Patriarchal Blessing.  We have a friend who lives down there whose father is a Patriarch.  He was here visiting from Alaska and was able to get permission to give blessings to those in our Servicemen's District.

    "Kim is leaving on the 18th for Presidential Classroom.  She has been busy trying to sort through clothes trying to decide what to take.  They are not allowed to wear pants, jeans, or shorts of any kind at anytime, and their dresses and skirts can't be more than 2 inches above the knee.  They will be attending seminars, meeting with senators and congressmen, and of course, lots of sightseeing.  She went to her prom a couple of weeks ago at the New Sanno.  We were having a hard time finding a dress so she pulled an old black velvet one that Grandma had sent her, out of her closet - probably 50+ years old, and a friend in the Ward shortened it a couple of inches, added scallops to the sleeves to match the neckline, and made a wide black satin belt and bow for the back.  It turned out better than anything we ever could have imagined and she looked so cute."

And last, but not least - 

"Girls camp is in a couple of weeks, and I'll be going for most of the time.  But you know me - I'm not much of a camper so Kevin made reservations for me at the lodge."  😄

It wouldn't be a week if I didn't get to see or talk to a grandchild!  

Thursday Lily spent the night because she wanted to stay after school for a football game.  It was a last minute decision, so of course, after I picked her up we needed to go to Old Navy so she would have something the wear to school the next day.  We both found t-shirts and then brought home dinner from Chick-fil-a.  When I picked her up from school I was so happy she was "BYU Proud"! 

Jake went to summer school for a few weeks in June/July, and Adam promised him a trip to Dart Wars to make it more appealing 😊.  

So here we are - ready to take on the world!  We spent an hour hiding from small children with dart guns, big adults with blasters!

We had a lot of fun and I have to say that Jake is fearless!

Saturday afternoon Hollie came over for some Grammie time.  We managed to squeeze in Target, 5 Below, and Walmart before dinner.  After dinner, we went to Barnes and Nobles and had a great time looking through books and all of the other fun things they have there.  

Hollie did a great job of getting up early to get ready for our 8:30 departure for Church on Sunday.  She looked so cute all dressed up but I forgot to take a picture so I made her pose before she went home -

It seems like ages since we have seen our California family and so I wanted to share these photos of Mike and Barbi that Mike sent this week - 

Feather River Temple Grounds

I hope you all have a wonderful week and love and enjoy your families.  I'm starting to think that Adam's idea of a family compound might have some merit.  Life can be challenging so we need to stick together, pray for each other, talk to each other, and find the good in each other.  We are always here for you so let us know how we can help!