drive-ins and gettin' old

To celebrate our Pioneer heritage (July 24), last weekend we went with cousins to a drive-in. The cement was hot, the popcorn a-plenty, and the movies good. We didn't even mind the rain at midnight-ish since we all piled inside the van to finish the movie.
Here are the kids sacked out in the van at 1:15 a.m.











We also celebrated Jer's 40th birthday last weekend! When we were getting ready for the party, Griffin asked, "is 40 old?" :) We enjoyed our awesome families and friends with funny senses of humor.

Jeremy is an amazing man. He loves our children with all of his being and wants the best for them. He encourages them to be creative, to be good at sports and at school, and to read. Jeremy loves me and supports me in anything I think to try. He had some money set aside that he had worked hard for that he wanted to do something fun with. He chose to spend it on a piano for me. It's a beautiful baby grand, built in 1915, that needs to be striped and then stained. Not only is it hard earned money, it's a lot of work ahead. He takes care of our aging neighbors, attends all of his early morning meetings, speaks Spanish to our children, works tirelessly in the garden, and manages to keep up on current events. He keeps me grounded, reminds me to be keep things in perspective, and maintains a positive attitude through rough times. I feel so grateful that he is mine. He is an amazing man.

Jackson Hole & Yellowstone

The night before we left for the family reunion the kids had a late movie on the tramp. There's just something fun about watching a movie outside with your cousins late at night.

We enjoyed a few days in Jackson Hole for the Duane & Effie Wright family reunion. We rafted the Snake River (a scenic float and whitewater) and everyone had a great time. Because Griffin wanted to go down the whitewater I went along; I fell out of the boat at Big Kahuna (a first for me), and we all had a grand time. It was fun to spend time as a family and with cousins who we don't usually vacation with.














The kids became Junior Rangers at Teton National Park (this is them being sworn in) as well as Junior Rangers at Yellowstone. Zachary and Anna opted for the Young Scientist at Yellowstone which was pretty in depth--they got to time Old Faithful, take temperatures and measurements, and learn and hypothesize like real scientists.

We played at Kelly Warm Springs, Slide Lake, String Lake, went to the Jackson Hole Arts Festival, ate smores, saw Old Faithful and many bubbling, fabulous, smelly pots and geysers. We enjoyed our new (to us) tent trailer, seeing wildlife (what's Yellowstone without buffalo walking down the road?), and seeing family. It was a great week!

it's a...

BOY!!! We're happy to announce that our baby is due December 21!

father & sons = girls night out

One very important thing I forgot to include in the first bit of summer update...

The boys went to a father & sons overnighter (and had a great time! They shared their tent with some other boys from our ward and came home very dirty!) so us girls had a girls night out. We went to dinner and then Anna and Jane got their ears pierced!

This was Anna's reward for growing her fingernails out (instead of biting them). Anna asked on the way there if Jane could get her ears pierced, too. I thought quickly of what my position was, realized I had no good reason not to get Jane's done too, so they got to share this fun experience.

where does the time go?

I can't believe it's mid-July! I've posted the highlights from the last several weeks here. As a side note, I'm grateful for the flexibility of a blog. There's no deadline, no need to carefully review and edit text, and no need to post perfect pictures (even though the ones I post ARE perfect!). I'm just happy when my favorite people update their blogs so I know what's going on in their lives. Here's to the blog.

We had Rissy and Cassie come stay for a few days in June and had a great time. Zachary taught Rissy how to ride a 2-wheeler and we enjoyed racing in the church parking lot. We also took in a movie and stayed up late and had a fun time playing with cousins.

We went downtown to the Arts Festival and afterward went to the Gallivan Center to play in the water. Zachary especially had a great time and I like this picture.

Griffin got pretty wet, too. It was hot and a fun activity for us all.

























My brother, James, was home from California for the 4th of July. We went to West Point Days and saw fireworks, stayed up late, ate yummy food, celebrated Jeremy's birthday, and just had a very nice time. The kids sure enjoy hanging out with Uncle James.

Our Jones cousins are in town and we enjoyed spending a few days with them. The kids played in the water outside and just played and played. What a fun summer!

Griffin and strawberries

I couldn't not put a picture of the fabulous Mrs. Smith and Griffin on the last day of Kindergarten. Griffin said, "Mommy, Mrs. Smith loves me."

All of the kids had such great teachers this year. I feel like that is such a huge blessing and I feel very grateful.








Friday morning we picked our first crop of strawberries from our garden! They are so juicy and delicious; we enjoyed every last one of them for breakfast this morning!

school carni

Last Friday was our school carnival which my friend, Kari, and I were in charge of. It was enormous preparation and I'm grateful for a good committee, good faculty, strong 4th and 6th graders, good friends, a supportive husband, and rock star kids who all helped out.

Zachary and Anna are shown here working the snocone booth. And the kids later on in the night after playing games and dancing and having fun. I don't absolutely love the girls' orange hair, but what's a carnival without colored hair and tattoos?

My friend put her cell phone in her pocket that afternoon at 2:30 which has a pedometer on it; by the end of the night she had walked 7.6 miles! It was a busy and successful day!

the potter

The last month or so the 4th graders have been learning about many different artists and types of art. So last week Jeremy was asked to come in an give a pottery demonstration to the whole 4th grade. Zachary gave a very nice introduction and then while the kids passed around chunks of clay to feel and smell, Jeremy threw a vase on the wheel and then demonstrated a few other hand building techniques. The kids thought it was pretty cool.

lotsa music

Last Wednesday was the spring piano recital. All of my students performed very nicely which is a nice reward after lots of hard work. I've included a portion of Z, A, & G's trio, Brother John. The kids worked well together as they learned and practiced this song. I thought it was fun to see all of them at the piano together. My sister, Sarah, also played a solo in the recital and we ended together with a duet. My mom came as well as Jer's dad came and we felt well supported.


We left the piano recital and went directly to the choir concert where the kids performed very well again. I've included Zachary's solo here.


Anna's class did Jack in the Beanstalk, the musical, and Anna played the role of Mother. She had two solos and fit the part beautifully. It's a blessing to have such great kids!

fun weekend

We had a great Memorial Day Weekend. Saturday we worked hard in the garden and Sunday we had a barbeque with the Wrights. After dinner we played newspaper tag and ultimate frisbee. A highlight of the evening was Grandpa Wright having foot races with his grandchildren! Oh, to be sprinting at 70!
Monday morning, the kids sang in the school choir at a Memorial Service at Sandy Elementary. This year marks the 100th year a school has been on the property. It was a special ceremony with lots of big wigs and many, many retired teachers and former students. The fourth graders prepared a time capsule which was buried at the base of the flag pole that week. The kids are standing in front of 100 flags at the front of the school. It was a very touching ceremony and neat to be a part of it.
Later in the afternoon we enjoyed fishing at Robert & Patty's pond in Holladay. We didn't catch anything, but it sure was a nice afternoon... and a very productive and fun weekend.