Smithfield Scoop

 Since our last writing several weeks ago, things have been a bit slow-going around here... It turns out that sitting around recuperating from a broken rib is not exciting at all. No walks. No drives for fun. No dancing (not that we do much dancing, but absolutely not right now). No holding babies. No ping pong. Not even walking down the steps in our backyard to check out the swing. Not much besides sitting in the chair reading and making lists of things to do when I feel better. 

But it hasn't been all bad! Jenn was here for a week, which was delightful as always! The children were very patient with a grandma who couldn't do much. We did get to go to Aggie Ice Cream, as per our tradition with these Flake grandchildren - always fun and yummy! 

We loved having Harts come to visit for the day. They invited Aneesa's family to meet them here instead of going to their place in Idaho. It was like the good old days to have Aneesa and some of her boys here! Their oldest boy was just getting ready to leave for his mission in Armenia (where Aneesa's ancestors are from!) and he wanted to see Elise before he left. 

Other recent happenings include Dad going up to see the salmon run up by Porcupine Reservoir - such beautiful fish! He also picked lots of apples at an orchard owned by some friends from Hyde Park, and he's been doing all of the applesauce cooking and canning by himself. I am so slow and after a few appointments, I get worn out and just sit and watch him. 

My sister Rhonda's oldest son, Christopher, came to visit. He is on a solo motorcycle cross country road trip to figure out where he'd like to live. I think he's looking for some meaning to life and I really hope he finds it. He may end up living in St. George or somewhere in Arizona for the winter. Eventually, he said he'd like to go to Florida. He stayed for about a week and it was fun to have him here, though we didn't see much of him.

It's been fun to get acquainted with Oakley, Em and Cam's new arrival. She's a quiet, energetic, loveable little creature! It's fun to see Emma and Cam be so watchful and concerned about her. They are doing a great job being new puppy trainers and seem to be enjoying the challenge!

One of our favorite parts of the week is meeting with the family on Zoom for our Family Matters discussion. We really hope it becomes something everyone looks forward to and can participate in. We don't plan to stop doing that any time soon! Thanks for attending and listening and connecting. We love seeing you all!    

We are in the throes of trying to plan some kind of family gathering for November when everyone is home for Thanksgiving. We are still trying to locate a place where we can all stay together for some activities we hope to have everyone participate in. We will send updates as they become available.

I also wanted to thank all of you for your thoughts on what you have learned from the pandemic. It's been insightful to read and talk with you about how it has affected you. I thought you might enjoy reading what others in the family have learned...

- "If ye are prepared, ye shall not fear." I'd heard this a ton but never until last year had I put it to practice. When I went shopping for a few things, I was amazed to see the panic in so many faces when I was incredibly calm. I had what was needed at home.

- Being unprepared is a scary thing. We were okay on most things, but I hadn't thought about getting a good supply of baby things.

- I learned that I had become reliant/dependent on others for my spiritual uplift. Losing the church associations and lessons was very difficult because that was the only spiritual nourishment I got each week. I'm aware of it now, so hopefully things will improve.

- I've been trying to think of positive things that we've learned from the pandemic rather than mistrust in the government and experts and frustration. I've recognized recently just how grateful I am for things that I've taken for granted. I couldn't believe how happy I was when primary started again. I think I didn't fully realize how great the programs of the church are and the opportunity to serve. I also went to the temple and felt a similar gratitude for the ordinances there. We went to story time for the first time and it was so happy! Gratitude for those things have been brought to my attention.

- Heavenly Father will always prepare a way. I need to trust in His timing. He is eager to bless his children. The pandemic has helped me step back and see Heavenly Father's plans more clearly. He will never leave us in the dark. When he gives us challenges, He will always help us overcome them through the Savior's atonement.

- True happiness and those things that are most important happen in your family at home. I loved how everything was cancelled and so much learning took place at home.

- It used to be a bit of a hassle to get to the temple. We went every week, but had to arrange things and find a time to go, get a sitter or go separately. Now, we are very grateful to go and appreciate being there much more. 

- When our children couldn't go play with friends, they had to play with each other. They seemed much happier and got along better with each other. It was more peaceful in our home when we just had to stay here. Now options are opening up again and we are getting involved in things again, and it is feeling busy and not as peaceful. We loved having everyone here, just us enjoying each other.

- I’ve learned a lot. But the thing I’ve learned the most about is that…. IT ALL WORKS OUT. (Elucidates many challenges and how they worked out...) And here's the real clencher! Yes it worked out, but Every. Single. Time. It worked out better than I could have ever imagined. It’s not like sure, it worked out alright. It worked out wonderfully and amazingly and better than I could’ve worked it out on my own. And that’s the perfection of our Heavenly Father. We get so stuck on our littleness - our worries, occupations, technology, vacations, and even our good desires - and I’m sure Heavenly Father rolls His eyes and chuckles and says “just wait, it gets better.” And it does! And it keeps getting better! And that’s what I’ve learned. And it hasn’t just been in the past two years, it’s been taught to me over and over and over again. And I’m sure I’ll continue to learn it. Every single one of the things I mentioned either happened because of the pandemic, or were a result of the pandemic. So, pretty much it’s a huge blessing in a really good disguise!!

Nilsson News

 Well, I'm sitting at home with Millie who has been sick since yesterday morning.  Henry started to complain that he didn't feel well either so we all stayed home from church.  What better time than to post on the blog?  I honestly don't have much to write about.  We are slowly adjusting to our school routine which has been good but on occasion it will be interrupted by more harvesting.  I love the fact that in Shelley, a small town just south of us, they cancel school for three weeks because so many people are involved in potato harvest.  There are a lot of potatoes around here!

Yesterday, we began demo on our garden.  It is so much work taking out all the plants!  I'm always amazed to see how much a plant can grow in just three months from an itty bitty seed.  The kids have enjoyed letting the chickens out everyday to allow them to scratch around in the garden.  We love these beautiful fall days!  

On Friday, we were able to go to the Pocatello temple open house.  It was absolutely stunning and I highly recommend you visit it if you can.  Earlier that day, Addy and I went with Ian and Elise on our fun annual outing to the Parade of Homes.  There wasn't anything too outlandish and we gleaned some good ideas like always.  When we were on our way home, Ian remarked that as pretty as those homes were, they paled in comparison to Pocatello temple.  We have to agree!  Hope you are all doing well and enjoy next week's General Conference!

Apple Harvest

Eliza and her turban

The barn makeover, before and after!

Nilsson News

 This time of year seems to fly and it is hard to believe are nearing the last few weeks of September.  It is harvest time galore!  We were able to freeze several bags of corn, bottled peaches and pears, spaghetti sauce, and now our apples are ready to be picked.  Our watermelon harvest was a success though we ended up just giving away the melons rather than selling them.  In my opinion, this was much more satisfying!  Our little plum tree is loaded so we have been eating those like crazy as well as drying them.  Our neighbor let us have free reign of his elderberry shrubs so we were able to make a lot juice with those.  We also picked several buckets of currants and blackberries.  Crazy busy time but we are truly grateful for such an abundant harvest.

Somehow we were able to start school though it was interrupted by fruit needing to be canned.  The kids have started their extra curricular activities so everyday is pretty packed with events.  Addy decided to learn the cello and has been enjoying lessons.  She also has started going to seminary each morning which is a joy for her.  Emerson has decided he wants to learn how to play percussion and after much searching, we found a teacher who will start lessons in October.  Eliza is still taking fiddle lessons and has also returned to doing gymnastics.  Henry has really enjoyed his soccer games and is the fastest player on his team.  His games are slightly agonizing to watch and I have to remind myself that these are six year olds.  Millie has been delighted to be learning the handbells on a prodigies music program and she also loves to sit at the piano figuring out how to play small tunes.  Garrett has returned to college along with the BYU-I students and his first day of classes was a success.  I have been trying to keep up with everyone and everything.  In my stressful moments, I slip outside and plant something.  It seems to be the best way to calm my nerves.

Today was cold and rainy and it definitely felt like fall.  Hope you are all staying cozy!

Hyde Hilarities

 Hey y'all! sorry it's been awhile since I wrote, but there wasn't much change happening until recently....

School has gotten more busy for Cam which is... not fun.  He also starts a new job tomorrow with a custom carpenter guy out of River Heights, which is totally awesome and fun.  So we're both pretty excited about that!

The biggest happening happened on Thursday.  We woke up and saw that Amy, Cam's aunt, had posted about some puppies.  Amy is a dog breeder.  She breeds Cavalier's and Cavapoo's (Cavalier/Poodle), as far as I know.  She sells them mainly so other people can also breed them.  Anyway, she had a litter of 5 Cavapoos and everything was fine and dandy, until she noticed that some of the puppies would run into things and trip up pretty good.  She took them to the vet and turns out, they have cataracts.  What does that mean? they're not breedable.  You can't breed any dog that has defects :/ She wasn't aware at the time that the mama dog she bred with had cataracts.  So, she wrote this long post about these sweet puppies that couldn't see and needed homes that would be nice to them.  These puppies are worth $4,000 so I mean, it was a pretty big let down for Amy, and for the people that had lined up to take them to breed.  There were a few comments from people who wanted them, but honestly not many.  We looked at it, and I just thought that's ridiculous, why would we get a puppy? but secretly I really wanted one.  Cam went to the gym and I couldn't stop thinking about it.  He called his dad on the way there, and his dad of all people said it would be a missed opportunity not to take one.  Which is interesting, considering he's a vet. He told Cam that cataracts really wouldn't be that bad, and if they were, dogs adapt and can figure out life pretty well.  So, Cam came home and we talked about it and I was like seriously?? you want one too? (I kept my cool though, I didn't want to get too excited too soon).  Cam texted Amy and asked if any were still available and she was shocked.  She thought we'd be the perfect candidates and told us absolutely, and we could have the favorite of the litter - a little red cavapoo with lots of personality and barely noticeable cataracts.  So that was awesome.  We dropped everything and went shopping to get a kennel and some dog bowls and a couple toys, and then drove to Kaysville to pick up the pooch.  My goodness she's a sweetie! when we got there, all four of her siblings were still there, and she was the rowdiest of all of them, but Amy assured us she was just showing off for us.  Anyway, she hardly has any problems with her eyes at all (she just can't breed because of the possibility that they'll develop further as she gets older), but her other siblings had some issues.  One little guy couldn't see hardly a thing and kept bumping into things.  It was kind of tragic but also adorable because he'd follow your voice really well and that's the best he could do.  ANYWAY.  Why did we get a dog? well, we wanted one and it was a "free" $4,000 puppy.  Does our landlord know? no.  Does he need to.... technically yes because he could kick us out for violation of contract, but we're going to have her registered as an Emotional Support Animal because ya know, I have some pretty intense uh.. um... oh yeah, anxiety.  That's the one ;) haha, mom doesn't think it's very honest, but if I didn't have anxiety 3 days ago, I do now lol.  But honestly, she's a super sweet puppy and is really really smart and has picked up on a lot of things already! Sorry that was so long, but people have been asking, so that's what I tell them.

What does she like? being outside! she loves it! We took her to see the Salmon run up in Porcupine and she whined the whole time she was held because she just wanted to explore and wander around.  We took her on about a mile hike (maybe a little more) yesterday, and she kept up and squirmed when we tried to hold her over rough areas.  She's a champ and we love her.

What does she hate? the wind.  The car.  Having to go back to bed when she wakes up at 2am to go out.  

She's a smart lil gal, and is already better potty trained than Chess, so don't you fear ;)

Manning Male-ness

 I think the title says it all. And it is really great. I wouldn't prefer anything else. We have lots of sound effects, jumping, gymnastic tricks, snacks and more snacks.

The big thing lately is starting a little school. We use that term in the loosest possible sense. It is a very low key and no pressure time to do school! I just think about basic reading, writing and arithmetic and it keeps me slightly sane to plan something. Chet is learning letter and numbers. He loves to write and draw and pretend. Wesley is reading pretty well and writing and doing math stuff. Their favorite activity is jumping on the tramp while they shout what their flashcards say. It is super cute.

Little Gus is adorable. He is the smiliest baby! He snuggles and sleeps for the most part. He doesn't like the car seat so don't plan on any visits for awhile!

Nick is enjoying teaching. He has started teaching guitar in a group lesson form and seems to enjoy it. We have been talking about the best way to fit our family in our house and have talked about extending out home or moving. I keep thinking that the Harts went for 10 years in their little house with 3 boys so maybe we can do that too!

That's about all!

Flake Fun

 

What an eventful month it has been! The highlights:

James is crawling like a champ and worked his way through the scoot (still his favorite mode of transportation), army crawl and has finally mastered the normal crawl! He is also starting to walk around furniture.  I remember being concerned when Rand started to climb. James has already put Rand's climbing to shame!  He loves to climb the stairs and has required last second rescues when he tries his hand at climbing off of the couch arm and back.  Climbing onto the couch poses no problem to him.

Robin and Rand are chattering away and love to repeat anything that they hear. They had quite an enjoyable time at Grandma and Grandpa's house picking berries, going on walks and swinging on the swing.  They are still talking about the tiny snake we saw on our walk there and about the owl in the backyard.  They were also quite enthralled with the large gopher snake in our backyard.  I'm sure I am exaggerating but I'm pretty sure it was 6-7 feet long! 

Our garden struggles along. We have had a few good tomatoes, a small harvest of potatoes, some large zucchini and loads of cherry tomatoes.  Hopefully next year we'll have a better garden. 

The neighbor's house has started and it going up really quickly.  Scott has spent a couple of Saturdays helping them.  The other day Rand told me that he was building a house. I asked him what kind of house and he answered, "a neighbor's house!"

Well, I hope that you all have a great week!! Love you all.