Bring on the New

Fall is my favorite time of year. I love the rich colors and the way the cooler weather makes me feel alive, awakened from my comatose state caused by the heat. And this year maybe more than ever I crave the change of the seasons. With that change in the weather, I have a hope that I can change too. That I will be able to shake off the wearing down I have felt from the changes in our lives. I hope that like the colors of the leaves I can glow just as bright and be the better, more positive person I want to be. Even though this year I am mourning the loss of the beautiful tree that stood in the front of our home in Missouri, I am excited to see the colors change on the mountains of Utah. I am so ready for fall and all it has to offer!

P.S.
These photos are taken in front of our home in Missouri last fall.

Sadness and Action

Last week I received an e-mail that made me so sad. It was a letter from the President of Borders Books. Borders has been closing down stores for a while, but this e-mail announced that the entire chain would be closing. This makes me so incredibly sad. I will admit that I don't often buy books, mostly I check them out at the library, but the reason for not buying is purely financial. If I had money I would have bookshelves full of glorious books. There is something wonderful about holding a book in my hands, feeling the pages, smelling that book smell, seeing the beautiful cover artwork. I love it when books include hand-written notes from the characters. It makes them that much more personal. When I pick up a book I feel the characters in it's weight, their situations and personalities and stories. They become real to me. Now I don't own an e-reader of any kind and have never really looked in depth at one. I can see the advantage, having a whole library in one little electronic device, being able to take that library anywhere and it not taking up space. I totally get it. But I feel this weight of sadness in my heart at the thought that this chain of bookstores is now closing. Is this what is in store for us? I sure hope not.

When I read books like Matched and Awaken where the characters don't know how to write other than on a computer and they don't even know what a pencil is, where their entire existence happens in front of the computer screen, well it doesn't seem that far off. It has been talked of recently to stop teaching children how to write cursive in school. That too makes me sick. I read on a book review blog recently that the reviewer had a hard time understanding the book because much of it was written in hand-written notes all written in cursive and she couldn't read it. To think that my children might not be able to read my Grandma's journals because they cannot read cursive is a horrible thought. I have vowed to myself that even if they stop teaching it in schools I will make sure my children know how to read and write in cursive. It's too important not to learn. I feel passionately about this.

I see things in this world spinning out of control and sometimes I feel there is nothing I can do to change it, so I sit by resigned and panicked. Like watching the talks about the debt ceiling debate. I feel horror at where our country is headed. Even though I don't have control over the debt ceiling or Border's closing, I can do my part. I can take my children to the library and keep reading books to them and teaching them what I feel is important. I can make a difference even if it is just within the walls of my own home.

Music Man

Last week was Porter's first week going to music class. My friend Emily is doing a summer music class called "Musical Me." We were out of town for the first class, so Porter took a while to understand what was going on when everyone else had already been introduced to the class. But he had a good time. Emily said she would give him an instrument and he would play it a minute then hand it back and fold his arms and watch everyone else. That's his thing lately, he's always got his arms folded. SO funny! The class was all about percussion. When he got home he showed me how they marched and he played his hand clappers. And he wouldn't take off the hat they made in class all day. This morning I told him he is going back to class today and he was so excited. "I go to music class and see all my friends!" I think this will be a great thing for him. Thanks Emily for doing it!

Party Time

The evening of Monday the 18th Jen, Gran, Oma, and Opa came to celebrate Ainsley's birthday. It was a very low key affair after being gone a week and a half. We had dinner then cake and ice cream.
Ainsley's candle actually stayed lit long enough for us to sing happy birthday and for her to blow out the candle.
Opa and Oma gave her a gift card to Wal-Mart. She was so excited to go school clothes/shoes shopping!
Jen gave Ainsley a girls day out. Ainsley has been looking forward to this since Brinnley's birthday back in January. The big day isn't happening until Friday and she cannot wait! She feels like such a big girl now!
The cake came with a few rings and other things and Brinnley was pretty excited she got one.
Gran and Aunt Linda gave her the cutest little bag filled with markers and crayons. She has been creating masterpieces every day since.
Porter is wearing the fairy wings that were in the cake.
For some reason, this birthday has made Ainsley feel so grown-up. I don't know if it's because she is going to school or what, but she keeps saying things like "since I'm five now" and "did you do this when you were five?" So funny! Love you my little lady! Happy birthday!

Family Reunion at Cherry Hill

(Easton and Christi)
We spent the weekend of the 15-17th at Cherry Hill. We had a blast! Grandma and Grandpa brought their camper and the rest of us had tents. I was lucky enough to sleep in the camper Friday night.

Friday we got to the campground with just enough time to set up camp and have dinner. Then we got the tour to see all the exciting slides waiting for us.

(Sister-in-law Tracy and nephew Brent pictured above.)
(Ainsley and Dalton)

Saturday morning we had breakfast then got on our suits and slathered on the sunscreen for a day of fun in the sun. And fun it was! My girls' favorite ride was the Double Dragon. I was a little nervous to go on it, especially with Porter in my lap, but we had fun. When we got off the slide he said, "I love water!" Chant and Ainsley went down together and Brinnley went all by herself. That girl is so brave!
(My kiddos)
During lunch we had the party for Logan and Ainsley.

After lunch it was back to the park for more play. My kids were pooped about 3:00 so we came back to our camp and played there.

After dinner and clean-up we put the kids to bed in the trailer. Grandma and Grandpa said they would watch the kids so Chant and I could play mini golf. We had a fun time! We haven't done something like that for a long time. It was nice. We met up with my brother Kasey and after we played we got a frozen yogurt and sat down to talk for a while. It was nice to have some adult time and hear what Kasey has been up to with his job as principal of a middle school.
(McKenzie and Lacey)
When we got back to camp it was about 11:30. Chant and I had been sleeping soundly for about an hour when Grandma came to our tent with Porter. She said he had been crying for an hour and couldn't get him calmed down. We took him and she went back to bed. We asked what was wrong and he said he wanted his carseat. He kept saying it over and over. So finally we got the car keys from Grandma and got into her car where the carseat was. We sat Porter in his seat then he said, "Now buckle up." We did that. Then he said, "Now get in car." So we did. "Now drive." We laughed and he said, "Drive!" Chant told Porter if we left now we would leave Brinnley and Ainsley behind. "I don't care! Drive!" That wasn't really an option. But by some miracle he fussed for a minute and then fell asleep. Buckled in his carseat. Chant folded down the backseat of the car and made us a bed so we could be in the car with Porter. We slept sounded till 7:00. Hallelujah!

(Madison and Luke. Best buddies, only one day apart. They had a great time together racing from ride to ride.)
Dad was the camp cook and he did an amazing job! Thanks for making sure we were well fed, Dad!
(Brent and Gavin)

It was a fabulous weekend and we loved being all together. It was a great idea to come here. Thanks Kasey for thinking of it! And thanks Mom and Dad for making it happen!

Happy Birthdays

July 15-17 was my family reunion at Cherry Hill. Every year my parents and all of the siblings get together for a weekend of fun in the water, also known as Whitmore Water Wars. Normally we go to West Yellowstone. This year we went water park style.

Ainsley's birthday was July 17th and my nephew, Logan, had his birthday July 21st. We did a joint party for them. Logan is such a sweet boy! Can't believe he is a teenager now!
The kids all helped put the candles on. (Lily, Brinnley, Porter, and Luke.)
(Logan, Ainsley, and Dalton.)
Because of the wind, I was only able to get one candle lit for each of them. They were lucky they got that!
After the cake we did presents. Ainsley girl was spoiled! She got a Barbie mermaid from Grandma and Grandpa.
Brinnley got her Squeenkies, themed ones from Beauty and the Beast. So fun!
She also got a Tangled doll and hair bows. When she saw the bows she got a big smile and said they would be perfect for church. And she made sure I put one in her hair yesterday. She also got Never Say Never, the Justin Bieber movie. We watched it on the way home from camping and she kept saying, "I can't believe Kasey and Tracy got me Justin Bieber!" She was so excited about everything and I think having her birthday with all the cousins at a water park was pretty amazing for her.

I love my sweet little girl so much! I still cannot get used to the fact that she will be starting Kindergarten this year and won't just be home with me all day. She is such a spunky, smart, expressive little girl. She brings me joy and I love her! Happy birthday baby!

Island Park

July 8th through the 15th the kids and I were in Ashton visiting my family. Chant was able to come and enjoy the weekend before he had to go home and back to work. Friday night we went camping in Island Park. We loaded up the camper and the 4-wheelers and took off. About the time we turned off the main road and started down the dirt road an intense hail storm started. It was so loud I couldn't hear my mom talking in the seat behind me. We were moving slow it was so hard to see. Incredibly the kids slept through it. Then when we got to the camp a beautiful blue sky appeared. We found a nice spot right by the water. The first thing my dad did was set up his fishing pole. He has quite the amazing set up. His fishing pole holder has a horn on it so when the pole is being pulled the horn honks and the kids go running.

My nephews, above, Easton and Dalton, came out when they got off work. By then things were getting dryer. My brother Kirk, sister-in-law Christi, and niece McKenzie arrived just in time for dinner.

This year everyone got camping chairs for their birthdays. I'm jealous I don't have a camo one like Kirk or an awesome lime green one like Z.
While Chant and Brinnley were riding 4-wheelers, they collected long sticks to make a tepee. The kids were put to work.

This is what things looked like at camp. Grandpa and Brinn watched the poles while Porter collected and then threw pinecones into the water, probably scaring off a lot of potential biters. Oh well, he had fun.
Brinnley proved that Grandpa is actually a good fishing partner even though cousin Tyler might disagree. She caught three fish.
Ainsley girl also caught one, which was the biggest of the bunch. It was so big Grandpa had to help her reel it in. Once she got it in, she didn't want anything to do with it. That's as close as she would come to standing by it.
The 4-wheelers were running most of the time we were there. Here are the girls with their favorite riding buddies. Dalton and Ainsley both like to go slow. Easton and Brinnley are crazies and they liked hills and going on wild trails.
We had a great weekend camping! Thanks Grandpa for going to all the effort to load everything up. It was well worth it!

Mike and Kristy and birthdays oh my

June 23-26 Mike and Kristy came to town. Mike is starting school at LDS Business College in the fall and so the purpose of this visit was to look for housing when they move. We are so excited to have them here! The kids adore them both. Porter talked about Mike for a whole week before they came, asking when Mike was coming. And then enjoyed every minute with Uncle Mike and Aunt Kristy.

While they were here we celebrated Margi's birthday, which was June 29th. I made a cake using nothing but a cake mix and a can of soda. Very moist! A little messy to serve but it tasted good!
The kids were so excited to help celebrate Gran's birthday. We haven't been able to do that in a long time.
It was a great weekend with Mike and Kristy and we can't wait to have them here! Hurry up and move already!