4th of July Festivities 2013

We had quite the fun-filled 4th of July. The 4th has always been one of my favorite holidays, but to be honest, I have kind of felt out of sorts since living in Utah (it's only been 9 years- cut me some slack) because the 4th was so full of tradition in Idaho that I haven't felt that it was quite the same here. I have been back to Idaho for the 4th only a few times since living here, so it is high time that we make our own Utah traditions, right!? I think we are on our way. It still isn't quite the same as the Riddoch ward pancake breakfast, I.F. parade, swimming/floating the canal with friends in the afternoon, long nap, Riddoch BBQ, and then of course the best firework show west of the Mississippi along the Snake River (see I am nostalgic just talking about it), but we are getting there!

I am ashamed to say that I have not taken my kids to a parade on the 4th here yet. Until this year. We braved the crowds and went to the Provo parade, where we actually got front seats without camping out overnight. Us-1, them-0. Ha. The weather started out perfect, but after a while it got quite hot, which was fine because we were paraded out after about an hour. Che', Landon, Hudson, Carlie, Tim, Lynn, Barb, and Barb's daughter all met us for the parade, which was great fun.

Ready for the fun to start!

My Utah sisters

Love the Tim photo bomb on this one...

These two boys...they're just best friends and it is so cute. 

My favorite nearby Uncle :) 

Florinda has a strong affection for Tim. Carlie theorizes it is because they have the same color of skin. :) Whatever it is, she cozied right on up to him throughout the parade. 

Only in Provo, Utah would a crowd of missionaries first of all be in the parade and second of all have a standing ovation as they walked by. Serious. The vets, the governor...no one else got that.

After the parade, we walked home (so lucky that we live right by the parade route!) and got ready for our big BBQ. We had some of Devin's family over last year, so we thought we would continue the tradition this year. We had a blast with Shawna and kids, Alisa and kids, Shane and Marcene and kids, Mom and Dad, Kirston and Travis and kids, and my cousin Sarah, her husband Daniel, and baby Josh. We had great food and even better company. 

Some of the kids enjoying their hot dogs.

Cute Brynlee

Our house is not huge and our yard is not huge, but we do have a good little pavilion and some trees for shade, making it a great place to gather people. I love our little yard.

Megan

Shane refused to look, Brylee was to busy eating, so I got one person looking. Wahoo. 

Sarah, Daniel, Josh, and Hals. We love that Sarah and family live so close to us. They are great to have around.

After eating, the kids decided to play in the sprinkler, have a water balloon fight, and put on a dance party for us. Sean is a real professional as he takes clogging lessons, so he was not afraid to show us how it is done!

Hallie and Brynlee joined in...this picture is my favorite. So funny.

The kids all got a few sparklers (yes in the day-time-- Devin had to go to work so we wanted to do a few fireworks before he left). 

Our family. No need to worry that two of the three kids are in swimsuits and one is pulling her shirt off. Gotta love it. 

Shawna and Flor. So glad that they are here for the summer!

Throwing water balloons at Kayden. Really more like bouncing water balloons off of Kayden. :)

This one should be up top, but I am too lazy to move it. Cooking our mound of shish-ka-bobs...which were delicious. We just had wayyyyyyy too many! Better to have too much food versus too little, right?

Grandpa and Flor. 

lighting off some pretty lame fireworks

This picture cracks me up. Devin has always been a magnet for the kids, but for some reason  Miss Brylee  wasn't having any of him. 

Marcene, Alisa, Shawna, and me with Brynlee and sweet baby Emma

"Don't bother me while I am eating!"

Part of the crowd

just handsome

I think this is how we all felt after the partying was over! 

I debated taking the kids to the fireworks that night, but decided against it because we were all tired and the kids were a tad bit ornery. SO we opted to stay home and have a fun movie night instead, which was a good choice. Everyone had a good time, even if Hallie's face doesn't show it. :)

Hope your 4th was great!

Insta-Sample (overload) June 2013

It appears that my Instagram posting got out of hand for the month of June. I am not even posting pictures that I have already posted (below and for the Perry family get together and Linda's anniversary, plus a few others that were reposts) so this is what's left. Apparently I like Instagram a lot.

Yes, PLEASE! After hours of sorting through garage sale stuff for our annual sale, we reward ourselves by getting to pose in "the best of the worst!" These are just some of the amazing gems. And, just in case you wonder, that bird house number that Jennifer is wearing in the bottom picture? One of the first things sold. :) 

A reunion dinner with some of my best friends from the LA Weightloss days! We have so many good memories together. It has been forever since we all got together (like 5 years) because both Meg and Kim were living out of state and recently moved back to Utah. YAY!!! We are planning monthly get togethers now, which I love.

Just a little gardening, something this man loves. Our garden is huge now! Hopefully we have some successful crops. 

We love summer! Nothing epitomizes summer more than sno-cones to me... 

...and jumping on the tramp with the sprinkler underneath...

...and playing in the splash pad, going to the farmer's market, and eating out of taco trucks. So happy it is summer!!

Jace got a new hat and loves it. He wears this thing everywhere. I love it because well, I love the Braves. Guess who picked his hat out? :)

Another get together with my long lost friends! Seriously so happy that we are reunited! This time we had a play-date in the park with kiddos. Don't worry that my kids double the population. Kim W is about to have a baby, though, so then she will have two. 

Saturday morning pancake helpers. Jace's face. Ha. 

Flor and I were interviewed for a film about raising children with disabilities in the LDS church. It was a unique and fun experience. The film will be shown at Education Week at BYU. 

Happy Father's Day to this stud. I love him and so do our kids, obviously. Such a great daddy. 

Jace is all boy. He and the neighbor boy could not be convinced to stop licking the sidewalk one day. Yum. 

We had a huge crop of cherries this year and we were so excited!! Until we discovered that they had been infested with bugs. YUCK!! So mad. We need to spray the tree for next year.

On the way out the door to go swimming, the kids were all standing together and I noticed how much taller Hallie is than Flor nowadays. I posted a picture on instagram like 6 months ago where they are the same height! Jace will pass her up too before too long. I also love the diva pose that Flor has going on. 

Date night with my honey. We went to a Mongolian Grill restaurant that we love and then to the movie 42. It was so good; I highly recommend it. 

Wednesday lunch with these ladies. I am in Salt Lake for school and have a large break in between classes, so we just may be making Wednesday lunches a tradition, at least for this term. 

Cheetah breakfast! I love these ladies. Jessica is moving out of state for her husband to go to Harvard this month, so we needed to have one last get together before she leaves. It worked out perfectly that Amy was in town from Arizona and that we got to meet her fiance, Bryce, at the same time. Successful Cheetah outing! I love Amy's face in this picture-- she was struggling with the sun. haha!

When the kids are too quiet...that can often be a bad thing, but this time it just meant that they were busy dressing every animal in the house in underwear and pajamas. Too funny.

Flor loves to pose for the camera these days, which is hilarious because she used to not even look at the camera. 

Saturdays are my favorite. This past Saturday, we spent the day swimming with my friend Jill and getting sno-cones. Nothing better in 100 degree weather!

Flor gave the scripture in Primary yesterday! She learned the sign for baptism (sort of- it's a hard one!) and then did the sign while daddy read her scripture, which was about baptism. So happy that she is included in our ward in these ways.

For my play therapy class, we had to make a timeline of our own play throughout our lives. This was such a fun assignment. I realized that my play often involves dressing up, doing random things, and that there are some people who definitely bring out the "play" in me. So much fun. 

Whew. That's all for June!

Hallie-isms & Jace-isms

It has been a far too long since I have recorded the funny things the kids do and say, so I have made more of an effort lately to write things down! Here is a short, combined Hallie-isms and Jace-isms.

 Hallie:

Funny girl showing off her smencil that she bought with her own money from Uncle Steve at our Relay for Life garage sale. The pencil smells like grape and she loves it. 

*Out of the blue one day: "Mom, when I was in your tummy, it was really cold in there and you didn't even give me a blanket!"

*When I asked her to clean the basement: "But mom, the basement is a BIZASTER!" (But I have recently found that the trick to get her to do anything is to ask her to race. So, I told her I would clean the kitchen and we would see who could do our area faster and what do you know, she cleaned the basement in a flash. I hope this trick lasts a good, looooong time.)

*Me: "We need to go to Walmart today."
  Hals: (sounding exasperated) "What is war-mart?"

*We recently joined the Provo Rec Center, so I have been going there to work out and leaving the kids in the childcare area there.
Hals: "How was your exercise mom?"
Me: "Good. How was your playing?"
Hals: "It was awkward."

*At McDonald's one day: "Mom, those people next to us have the same skin color as Flor and Daddy!" (very loudly might I add...) So glad that Devin is now dark enough to be considered Hispanic. :)

*At night Hallie usually requests a song before bed. One night, she said that it was Flor's turn to pick the song and I asked her how we would know what song Flor wants. She replied, "I already know. Flor wants to sing 'Hello Kitty goes on a mission'." Uh....nice.

Jace:

One morning, Jace appeared in my room at 7 am like this. Hmm...nothing like a little early morning diet coke. Don't worry, I took it away from him. Right after I took his picture. :)

*When Devin went outside one day, he turned to  me and said, "Mom, where'd honey go?" I obviously call him honey a fair bit. :)

*In Sacrament Meeting when someone began to speak,  he shouted, "Too loud! Too loud!" Talk about too loud...

*He woke up one day in the middle of the night and when I went in to check on him, he very calmly asked, "How's Daddy?"

*Out of the blue one day: "Mommy, I loooooove you!" while giving my leg a hug. Then, "and, I pee my pants."

*As I tried to leave the bathroom one day, Jace spread his legs to block the doorway and calmly informed me that I would "have to go under". Ha. I told him that he I was too big to go under his legs, so he then decided that he would go under his own legs. I'll let you imagine how that went. :)

Cute kids. Next up, my instagram pics from June. And there are many. I posted two here, so at least there will be less later, right?

A Dream So Big by Steve Peifer {Book Review}

I know it has been a while since I last reviewed a book. I am sad to say that my personal reading time is basically nil at this point, which is sad for a reader like me. I love to read and used to read multiple books for pleasure each week sometimes. But, well, school has kind of gotten in the way. I have had this book for a few months and I just barely finished it, which is kind of sad, because I really enjoyed the book.

This book is right up my alley. Many of you know that I have a heart for the underprivileged as well as third-world countries and their children. This book is the story of the Peifer family, Steve & Nancy, as well as their children, who have lived in Kenya for over a decade now. They originally committed to be missionaries in Kenya for one year after they experienced the loss of their third son, who was born with birth defects. After their one year in Kenya was up, they knew that they needed to stay. In their time there, they have worked for a boarding school for children of other missionary families (Rift Valley Academy), as well as starting a school lunch program for children that now feeds over 10,000 children daily, and starting computer programs in many of the poorest schools in the country so as to give the children a chance in life.

I really enjoyed this book. I loved that it was written with humor and that I feel like I really got to know the Peifer family. I admire so much that they have given up everything, including their home, Steve's high-profile career, and life in America, to give back in Kenya. This was truly a story that shows the power of one person. It is inspiring to see the good that Steve's plans have done in Kenya. Obviously, everything is done with the financial support of a great network in the United States, but Steve was the one who initially saw the hunger of school children and decided to do something about it. It would be easy to say that something is so overwhelming that you aren't even going to try, but that is not what Steve did. Upon visiting some of the poorest schools in the country, Steve witnessed that many of the kids were lying on the floor. When he asked the teacher about it, she said that the children were so hungry that they were lethargic and couldn't pay attention in school. He decided to ask donors in the United States to help him start a school lunch program. The program started in just a few schools and has grown immensely. The outcomes of the students in school have increased exponentially as they are able to focus. Many of the children do not get any meals except for the lunch at school each weekday.

I also loved this book because it has an adoption theme as well. A few years after arriving in Kenya, Steve and Nancy had the opportunity to adopt twins from a local orphanage. It is sweet to read about their story and to see how these two little ones helped heal the grief of the loss of their son.

The only (small) criticism I have of the book is that it felt a little long at times. It really isn't that long of a book, but there are a lot of details packed into it. A good portion of the text comes from emails that Steve has sent to their supporters over the years, and while this was a good touch often, some of them could have been left out or reduced. This really is a small complaint though, as I am sure that summarizing over a decade of adventures, happenings, missteps, etc was really difficult.

I definitely recommend this book to anyone who wants to read a down-to-earth and inspiring book.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com® <http://BookSneeze.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Hello/Goodbye Party

Last week, we had a hello/goodbye ice cream party at Devin's parents house. Have I mentioned that his parents moved to the town next to us? Well they have and it is wonderful! Already we have seen them a lot more (and a big part of that is because they are watching the kids for us once a week-- SO grateful!) and it is so great. I really enjoy having family nearby and having get-togethers. I am so family oriented. I fear that if (when) we move out of state, the hardest part for me is going to be not having family nearby. Anyway. Last week, there was a one day period where everyone was going to be in town, except Slava and Karl. Shawna and kids flew in from Russia on Saturday night. They will be here all summer again (yay!) and Jana flew out Monday to North Carolina, where her husband just got a job (yay for them, boo for us!). So, we had a little ice cream party at Devin's parents house to say welcome to one and see you later to the other.

I meant to take more pictures than I did....but, what we have will have to do!

Tyge, at age 14 is getting to be as tall as Devin! He is probably going to pass him. Whoa. 

The girls in the family (okay some of them). Brooklyn and Brelynn in particular are so sweet with Flor. They took her outside to play and got a group together to play ring around the rosies. So cute.

Silly faces! Brooklyn, Brelynn, Katelyn, Samara, Hallie, and Flor. 

We got a picture of all the women, too, which was fun because I don't think we have ever done that before. The men weren't all present, so we couldn't have one with them. I love each of my sisters-in-law individually and for many different reasons. They are really all so great. I wish you all could have married into such a great family. Sorry. :) My mother-in-law is also so wonderful. I have talked about her before, but there really aren't words to describe the goodness of her heart. L to R: Jenny, Kim, Mesha, Marcene, Jana, Mom, Shawna, Kirston, Alisa. 

Devin and three of his sisters. Jana, Alisa, and Shawna. Kirston and Mesha had already left. 

Gotta love that face...(Devin's!)

Kylie with Hals and Jace. She is a fireball. Love her.

That's all. Lame, I know. I probably missed getting a picture of 3/4 the members of the family. Whoops.

Sorry my blog is so boring these days. It is basically just putting up pictures, but I want to at least maintain that while I am in school for the journaling aspect of it. I like to keep a history of life and this is the way to do it. This term should be a little less busy than last term, so maybe I will have more time to actually write. I do like to write, but I haven't had much time to put a lot of effort into it, other than writing one 25 page and one 8 page research paper last term. Talk about getting thrown back into the fire! :) I can post those if you want...(Haha, just kidding- how boring).

2 Years

The anticipation of hard anniversaries is sometimes just as difficult as the day of. That has been the case this week for me. I also know that technically, Linda passed away on June 22, but it is the 21st that is the hardest day for me because that's when it all happened-- the phone call, the frantic drive to the hospital, the hours-long wait for her life-flight to come in-- all the trauma centers around the 21st in my mind. That's hard because really, we should be celebrating the 21st because it is sweet Charlie's birthday. The two are difficult to separate for me, though.

Anyway, the day today has been hard, but I was determined that we should do something to remember Linda. I talk to my kids about her (and Chris, and the others who are gone) often in hopes that they will know them, somehow. Hallie, though she was only 2 1/2 at the time of Linda's death, remembers having Jack sleep over here shortly after and talks about how he was crying for his mama. Yeah, that's not exactly the memory I want to stick with her, but it's reality. Sad. Hallie at least knows Linda and has pictures with her, but the other kids don't have that luxury. I wish Linda were here to have met Flor. I can honestly say that she was probably the most excited of anyone that we told about adopting her. She was genuinely thrilled and made me feel that she wasn't anything less than 100% supportive. Somehow, though, I still think that she and Flor are aware of each other.

There was a birthday party for Charlie today in Idaho, but since we weren't there, we decided to do something here to remember Linda. We bought balloons and I had the kids draw something for Linda and then I wrote a message from each of them. I also wrote a message to her, which was rather therapeutic in a Gestalt/Empty Chair kind of way. I filled up two balloons full of writing to her. We then went outside and set them free. Hallie was very curious about this experience and kept asking how I knew that they would make it to her. She made sure that we put her name on each balloon so that they made it. She also said that she was concerned that Heavenly Father or Jesus would get the balloons first and pop them before giving them to Linda. Where she comes up with this stuff, I have no idea. She has quite an inquisitive mind, though.

After we launched the balloons (tearfully, might I add. For me and for Jace specifically. Me because well, that's obvious, and Jace because just as soon as he had released it, he determined that he did not in fact want to release his balloon and he wanted it back), we came inside and watched Linda's video. We have quite the collection of videos of our dearly departed loved ones, but I am so glad that we have something that we can watch and remember them. I cried a lot and I laughed a lot, because well, Linda was unintentionally hilarious. There are video clips throughout of her, which is so great to be able to hear her voice and to see her expressions. I also love that my kids will be able to "know" her through the video.

Ahhh...life. So hard sometimes. Here are some pictures of our balloon launch, minus my balloons because, well, no one wants to read all that.

From Hallie. She dictated the message and I wrote it, word for word for her. 

Her side. Linda, Pink, a heart, and her name, since I know that 4 year old writing is hard to decipher. Why pink you ask? Because she recently learned to write it and now she writes it all over everything, all the time.

Also written word-for-word from Jace. I guess he thinks it is important for her to know that he likes motorcycles. 

From Flor (with a little help from mom)

Ready to let them go (Dev was at work for this whole process, just in case you wonder)

There they go

And...the video watching. On our old boxy TV. I know you are jealous. :)

Time has healed some of the hurt, but in some ways, things are still just as deep and raw. We love you and miss you more than words can say, Linda. Love, Kim, Kim, Kimmie. (Brad still calls me that by the way, but  it just isn't the same!) (It's from "My Best Friend's Wedding, for those of you who are confused. It is when Julia Roberts goes into a bathroom to look for Cameron Diaz's character and she calls, "Kim, Kim" over and over and a homeless lady echoes her, "Kim, Kimmie, Kim, Kimmie". Brad and Linda have done this to me for years. Probably since I was 12 or so when they were dating and I was wreaking havoc at Linda's house for a week each summer with my partners in crime, Cortney, Che', and Jennifer. Good times. I should write a whole post about those memories. Some day.) 

The New Crazy

I just thought I would jot down a few thoughts about how school is going. I am 4 weeks in and almost done with this term (2 more weeks!). I have another summer term, which should be a bit less intense, and then August off before starting again in the fall.

Going in, I was honestly really anxious and worried. It has been five years since I have done the whole school thing and so that was my main worry. Honestly, though, I have been loving the whole school experience. Maybe it is because grad school seems to be more hands-on and less about memorizing a bunch of things just to spit them back out for a test. I enjoy all my classes and look forward to going to school every day, which is huge. I also have loved the diversity at the U. While I appreciated my undergrad years and BYU and feel that that was the perfect place for me then, I am really enjoying the perspectives and experiences of people who are not just like me. I love that each of us have different backgrounds and experiences and that we can share and learn from one another.

The practice class is my favorite, by far. It is always a really powerful (and fun) experience. You non social workers would probably not enjoy it, but I am loving it. I always come home and talk to Devin about what we have done or talked about and he most definitely would be hating it. Haha. Besides the practice class, I have a research class (not my favorite), a macro class, and a DSM class. Next term, I continue with the research class (boo) and then add a sexual abuse class and a play therapy class. yippee.

The schedule has worked out just fine so far. I go to school Monday-Thursdays. Monday is the longest day, but Devin is home with the kids all day. Tuesday and Thursday we have a neighbor girl watching the kids from 6:30 am to 1:30 pm when I get home. I get up at 5:30 (SUPER rough for me if you know me at all!) and get on the train at 6:50. The train ride is about an hour and then there is a 20 minute bus ride to campus. I use all of this time for doing my homework and reading, which has worked out great because I get almost everything done on the rides to/from school. This way, I can be home and present with my kids when I am home. Wednesdays Devin's parents have been with the kids for the same hours. It has worked out really well so far. I am home all day Friday/Saturday/Sunday and that is good because I can recharge. I am still working, but just 10 hours per week instead of my usual 20. Devin is working both of his jobs, but will be done with the golf course at the end of the summer. At that point, he will be home with the kids all the time when I am gone for the fall schedule. So, it's a tad bit crazy, but going well so far.

4 weeks down, 48 to go! :)