We survived! It’s a Miracle!

We survived! It’s a Miracle!

We made it through the school year! This was a tough one. I feel that since we survived, we succeeded. The kids got out on Tuesday and my last day was Friday. We are all so tremendously happy to be done!!! We start our family fitness program tomorrow and hope to mix some relaxing in with getting some work done.

When it Rains

We have had quite a bit of rain and some crazy storms which knocked down full trees by my work. We need the rain though. Our garden and apple trees are flourishing. We planted our new blueberry bush. We planted new flowers and they are doing great as well.

On the Trail Again

We decided to do our first family bike ride yesterday. Two of the trails we wanted to go on were flooded from all the storms. So, we ended up going on the trail by the church. The weather was perfect, but the swarms of bugs attacking our faces wasn’t.

As we headed down the trail, we stopped for a second. I put my foot down but it was into a hidden hole, so I did this slow motion, old person fall right into the brush!! Oh the joys of family outings. At least it was good for a laugh and I didn’t damage anything but my pride.

I May Die…

So, I decided to go ahead and whip out my last 12 credits of grad school. I have 1 month to do it. I have been swimming in it already and I have a googly brain. I forgot a gift for Alayna’s teacher, forgot Tyler’s showchoir meeting, and forgot Tyler’s ortho apt. I NEVER forget stuff. It’s like I am literally losing my mind. But my hope and prayer is that I can focus the whole month and be done with it all. Wish me luck.

(Marisas galaxy jeans she made!)

(when you let your retainer sit in mouthwash all night)

Happy 19th Birthday to Marisa!

Happy 19^th Birthday to Marisa!

Today is Marisa’s golden birthday as she turn 19 on the 19^th. She bore a beautifully eloquent testimony in church today. It amazes me how quickly our children are growing up! Marisa we wish you the happiest birthday and are so glad you are actually here so we can celebrate with you!

More concerts

Alayna had a joint choir and orchestra concert. She did a wonderful job. She was even one of the teacher assistants that got to lead the 2^nd/3^rd grade choir in one piece they did.

Tyler had his final band concert as well. We really enjoyed it but I wasn’t able to get a good picture (due to some very rude guys in front of me). Oh well.

Projects

Hal and Corey came to visit for a few days after Nauvoo and we decided to take advantage of the extra help!

Corey helped Marisa to make her t-shirt quilt. Marisa has been working a ton in it and the top part looks so awesome!

Bob took 2 days off and he, Marisa, Corey and Hal did tons of yardwork including outing in the garden, replacing my dead roses, and planting new bushes in the front yard. It all looks so great!

More Prom Pics

 

Mother’s Day, Mom, Prom, and Happy Birthday Kris!

Happy Mother’s Day to all the women who have made such a positive difference in my life. I am truly grateful for all of you!

Our week was full of such wonderful things!

•Tyler finally got his braces off and is so excited!!

•Happy Birthday to Me! We had a fun dinner out with the kids on Monday night and a pizza place that was this little “hole in the wall” in Marion. The pizza was surprisingly good!

When I woke up in the morning I saw that the kids had decorated the living room in streamers. That night Bob took me out to Red Robin and Coldstone. When we got home the kids had cleaned and made me an oreo cheesecake. It was a wonderful birthday!

•We had 2 concerts on Thursday night. I attended Alayna’s orchestra concert and Bob attended Tyler’s choir concert. As usual, they both did a great job.

•Kayla went to the Linn-Mar prom with Blake and they doubled with Merritt and John. They were out literally all night and Kayla said they had a ton of fun.

•We had an amazingly beautiful experience yesterday as we were able to take Marisa through the Nauvoo temple to receive her endowments. It was a beautiful and emotional day. We were able to go through with her cousin Jared and his parents. The Hart Gparents were there as were Jared’s other grandparents. I hope it was a wonderful memory that Marisa will never forget.

There is beauty all around

Marisa and Jared arrived home safely from BYU on Tuesday! Jared came to visit for a couple weeks. This coming Saturday (May 11), we will drive down and meet his family in Nauvoo and take Marisa and Jared through the temple at the same time to get their endowments!

Why wont people let me take pics??

On Wednesday, Bob and I took Jared and Marisa out to lunch. Then we spent the afternoon doing Marisa’s Visa papers. We ran into a few snag’s and it took a few hours but we finally found a good notary, got all the papers notarized and then got all the paperwork sent off. Now we play the waiting game and hope that the Visa will be here in time for her departure date to Brazil, August 21.

On Thursday, Jared and Marisa were kind enough to go to “Pastries with Parents” with Alayna and be her proxy parents. It sounds like they had a great time.

On Friday, Marisa got her wisdom teeth out. It only took about 30 minutes and she was pretty lucid. I figured she would be looney after the laughing gas but she just kept asking if her face was fat. She and Jared spent the day home watching movies like Life of Pi in 3D. She seems to be healing fast and hasn’t been in much pain.

Friday evening was Mormon prom down in Iowa City. Kayla’s date was Ben Gilbert. They all met up here to do some fun pictures, but it was raining outside so most were taken inside. They had a wonderful dinner and dessert that were provided and they said the dance was fun. What no one sees was the 24 hour breakdown she had before the prom due to her not feeling well (missed 3 days of school due to a bad cold) and some issues with her dress that supposedly made it seem like the end of the world. Im just thrilled that by picture time we had found a solution and she looked beautiful and super happy.

We also had some crazy weather this week! On Wednesday I was out in the sun mowing and even got a slight sunburn. Work was unbearable because the heaters were on full blast and it was over 80 degrees outside. I was dripping. Then on Thursday and Friday, the temps dropped below freezing and we were under a winter weather advisory. It was miserably cold and raining and at work somehow those heaters that were working over time at the beginning of the week wouldn’t turn on and it was freezing outside. I was a frozen popsicle at work and I was turning purple. Stupid Iowa! Today its back to 60 degrees and sunshine. Lets hope it stays that way.