We have returned form the land of sunshine and warmth! On the 8th we packed up and headed for Phoenix, AZ. We made it as far as St. George the first day and drove the rest of the way the following day. It was fun for the kids to track the different cities we traveled through to see how close we were getting and it was fun for Garrett and I to watch the temperature gauge in our car steadily climb higher the further south we went. As soon as we could see the saguaro cactus we knew we were close. 80 degrees the first day we were there!
Okay, so Phoenix is terrifyingly huge and there is tons of traffic. We missed our exits twice which made Garrett extremely anxious because the exits there lead you to who knows what land rather than off then back on again like here in Idaho or Utah. We did make it eventually and the drive wasn't too horrendous. Millie had to sit on my lap up front most the way but thankfully the majority of the drive was through uninhabited desert.
Garrett and Emerson ran the Spartan the first day we were there and they really enjoyed that. Garrett has two more to run this year to earn his trifecta medal. Anyone who wants to join him is more than welcome! During down time we watched some of the olympics and that was fun. People can do amazing things! I could do the olympics of there were categories like hay bale toss, wall knock down, and weed pull.
We enjoyed lots of time at the parks in the sunshine! We also went to the butterfly conservatory, lego adventure land, the aquarium, and the Mesa Temple. The day we decided to head to to Snowflake, it rained and snowed. It was great visiting the Flakes and we are grateful they were willing to put up with our chaos! While there, Garrett took Addy and Emerson to see The Greatest Showman. It was a 40 minute drive to the nearest theater but totally worth it! That movie is the talk of the town and we listened to its amazing soundtrack at least a dozen times on our drive. It is always awesome when a good, uplifting show makes the spotlight!
On the way home we stopped in St. George again to celebrate Garrett's grandma's 90th birthday. His other grandma is turning 100 this year. He has some strong longevity genes! Both his grandmas are very healthy and independent and only have a little short term memory loss. We decided to leave from the party and head home. It was a couple of days early but we needed to be home.
We had a wonderful time and it was good escape from the long winter. We are excited to see a lot of you on the 3rd for Emma and Thomas' big events!
Sunday, February 18, 2018
Flake Fun
We had so much fun with the Nilsson's. Although it was overcast and cold, we fed the horses and went on a couple of walks. We can't believe how much the kids have grown.
Other than that visit, life was pretty boring this week! I taught my relief society lesson today on Sister Oscarson's "The Needs Before Us" talk. It is such a great talk!
I did attend a class at the local community college on rainwater collection. It was fascinating! Definitely inspired me to look into some storage options.
We are looking forward to the long weekend. Hope everyone has a good holiday weekend!
Other than that visit, life was pretty boring this week! I taught my relief society lesson today on Sister Oscarson's "The Needs Before Us" talk. It is such a great talk!
I did attend a class at the local community college on rainwater collection. It was fascinating! Definitely inspired me to look into some storage options.
We are looking forward to the long weekend. Hope everyone has a good holiday weekend!
Sunday, February 11, 2018
Hyde Park Highlights
What an interesting week! I thought I didn't have much to report - just the same old, same old. But after reflecting, I realized there were a few new things on the calendar...
Dad and I went to a county-wide spelling bee to support our neighbor who was in charge of it. It was fun to watch, but really made me nervous for those children. When a hard word came along, my hands would start sweating and my heart started beating fast for those little people. Maybe we should try a spelling bee for one of our Family Olympic challenges.... :)
Speaking of spelling... It is a hoot to study Spanish with Dad! It is a riot! He is so funny! It makes me laugh just to think of it. But we are making progress and he is gifted at remembering some things. The pronunciation is the funny part, but it's coming along well. Banjo on the other hand... :/
Dad had a tooth fixed when part of it broke off. The dentist didn't have to deadened because it was on a tooth he'd had a root canal on. The tooth was dead already, so there was no nerve to worry about.
Emma has been practicing for a while with her dance group that came together after several of the fellows returned from missions. They were just in time to put together a show for a Valentine's event in Lehi. They performed Friday night and Emma had a delightful time dancing again. The flapper dresses needed some help so I spent a morning altering them. They worked out okay.
Mostly I have been feverishly working on finishing the quilt I began more than a year ago for Elise's boys. The pace has been ridiculously slow, but I'm hoping to get it off the frames this coming week. Did I write that last week? And the week before?? The boys won't even want it when I get it done because they've had to wait so long.
We thoroughly enjoyed having Emma and her friends for dinner tonight. They are great people and we had a lovely time visiting and eating. I hope they will come back again! It was great having laughter and stories and conversation!
The best news is we scheduled a time for Emma to go to the temple! She will be attending the 5:00 session on March 3rd. Those planning to attend with her should be at the temple by 4:30. They didn't give us many options and 5:00 was the only option that works for Thomas and Victoria. Please let me know what your plans are as far as who will be attending and how many children will need to be cared for. I will plan to get a couple of babysitters to help watch the little ones, if needed.
Have a pleasant, productive, practically perfect week, all!
Dad and I went to a county-wide spelling bee to support our neighbor who was in charge of it. It was fun to watch, but really made me nervous for those children. When a hard word came along, my hands would start sweating and my heart started beating fast for those little people. Maybe we should try a spelling bee for one of our Family Olympic challenges.... :)
Speaking of spelling... It is a hoot to study Spanish with Dad! It is a riot! He is so funny! It makes me laugh just to think of it. But we are making progress and he is gifted at remembering some things. The pronunciation is the funny part, but it's coming along well. Banjo on the other hand... :/
Dad had a tooth fixed when part of it broke off. The dentist didn't have to deadened because it was on a tooth he'd had a root canal on. The tooth was dead already, so there was no nerve to worry about.
Emma has been practicing for a while with her dance group that came together after several of the fellows returned from missions. They were just in time to put together a show for a Valentine's event in Lehi. They performed Friday night and Emma had a delightful time dancing again. The flapper dresses needed some help so I spent a morning altering them. They worked out okay.
Mostly I have been feverishly working on finishing the quilt I began more than a year ago for Elise's boys. The pace has been ridiculously slow, but I'm hoping to get it off the frames this coming week. Did I write that last week? And the week before?? The boys won't even want it when I get it done because they've had to wait so long.
We thoroughly enjoyed having Emma and her friends for dinner tonight. They are great people and we had a lovely time visiting and eating. I hope they will come back again! It was great having laughter and stories and conversation!
The best news is we scheduled a time for Emma to go to the temple! She will be attending the 5:00 session on March 3rd. Those planning to attend with her should be at the temple by 4:30. They didn't give us many options and 5:00 was the only option that works for Thomas and Victoria. Please let me know what your plans are as far as who will be attending and how many children will need to be cared for. I will plan to get a couple of babysitters to help watch the little ones, if needed.
Have a pleasant, productive, practically perfect week, all!
Flake Fun
Well, it has been a brutal week for me. We have had a lot of sickness and grief in our department recently and this week it just kept piling on with a mother's death, 2 hospitalizations, 1 child hospitalization and lots of flu. By the end of the week I felt like I had been beaten up but it was a good weekend so I'm ready to go back into the fray...I think. Hopefully things will calm down. If not, I'll need some extra prayers!
We had our pinewood derby this weekend which was really fun. It is always fun to be around the cub scouts. They are so excited about everything!
We also went and looked at another house (we're ready for another big project) and this one was WAY too big of a project. The wall in the living room was visibly bowed and about 10 of the 12 sky lights displayed water damage. There was a bit of a climb required to reach the kitchen and we passed it by this go round.
We are excited to see the Nilsson's this week and hope that they will enjoy our sunshine.
I was stung by a bee today. Scott was able to get the stinger out and I survived. I hope that you all have a great week.
We had our pinewood derby this weekend which was really fun. It is always fun to be around the cub scouts. They are so excited about everything!
We also went and looked at another house (we're ready for another big project) and this one was WAY too big of a project. The wall in the living room was visibly bowed and about 10 of the 12 sky lights displayed water damage. There was a bit of a climb required to reach the kitchen and we passed it by this go round.
We are excited to see the Nilsson's this week and hope that they will enjoy our sunshine.
I was stung by a bee today. Scott was able to get the stinger out and I survived. I hope that you all have a great week.
Hart Happenings
Hello all!
It's been a couple of week full of fun and family! We had the Springville Bellistons up here last weekend for a Super Bowl party. It was a blast and the kids had so much fun together. The adults enjoyed watching the kids and hanging out. We have such a great family! I am so grateful that everyone is so willing to travel and spend the time it takes to get together. We want to follow Ruth a Garrett to Snowflake now.
We're in the middle of soccer season which is fun. Jack and his team are doing awesome!
We have been celebrating Alex's birthday today. Our friends came and filled his office with 35 balloons yesterday which was really fun! Looking at all those balloons made him feel older than he would have otherwise, I think. It was quite the visual of how many years he has been alive! We went to dinner with friends, he played ultimate frisbee with a bunch of his guy friends, and ate a lot of treats.
Our challenges are going strong right now and it has been really fun reading the Old Testament, brushing up on our Spanish skills, practicing the piano, tracking our expenses, and counting our calories (that actually hasn't been that fun). Thanks everyone for your ideas and being willing to participate in these challenges. It has been really helpful to Alex and Joe as they try to flesh out their concept.
I hear that it has been nice and warm recently in Utah (so jealous). It's warmer than normal up here for February, but still only in the mid-30s. We don't have daffodils and tulips coming up like my brother-in-law tells me they do in Brigham City.
We're so excited for Emma and her mission call. She will be great!
And we're looking forward to seeing Thomas and Victoria in March. That and going to the temple with everyone will be highlights of next month.
We'll be seeing you!!!!
It's been a couple of week full of fun and family! We had the Springville Bellistons up here last weekend for a Super Bowl party. It was a blast and the kids had so much fun together. The adults enjoyed watching the kids and hanging out. We have such a great family! I am so grateful that everyone is so willing to travel and spend the time it takes to get together. We want to follow Ruth a Garrett to Snowflake now.
We're in the middle of soccer season which is fun. Jack and his team are doing awesome!
We have been celebrating Alex's birthday today. Our friends came and filled his office with 35 balloons yesterday which was really fun! Looking at all those balloons made him feel older than he would have otherwise, I think. It was quite the visual of how many years he has been alive! We went to dinner with friends, he played ultimate frisbee with a bunch of his guy friends, and ate a lot of treats.
Our challenges are going strong right now and it has been really fun reading the Old Testament, brushing up on our Spanish skills, practicing the piano, tracking our expenses, and counting our calories (that actually hasn't been that fun). Thanks everyone for your ideas and being willing to participate in these challenges. It has been really helpful to Alex and Joe as they try to flesh out their concept.
I hear that it has been nice and warm recently in Utah (so jealous). It's warmer than normal up here for February, but still only in the mid-30s. We don't have daffodils and tulips coming up like my brother-in-law tells me they do in Brigham City.
We're so excited for Emma and her mission call. She will be great!
And we're looking forward to seeing Thomas and Victoria in March. That and going to the temple with everyone will be highlights of next month.
We'll be seeing you!!!!
Tuesday, February 6, 2018
Hyde Park Highlights
I agree with Jenn - January flew by! Emma might disagree... Her mission call just couldn't come fast enough! I think that after waiting for SO long (it was really only 3 weeks after Dad pushed the button), the Hyde Park postmaster is her hero! She was so excited to go to the post office and pick it up herself, on the last day of January.
She is absolutely delighted with the whole idea and thrilled with the place, the language, the Mexico MTC, the timing, etc. She couldn't be happier about it. Thank you to everyone for making time to join us as she opened her call. What a highlight of the month!
She is absolutely delighted with the whole idea and thrilled with the place, the language, the Mexico MTC, the timing, etc. She couldn't be happier about it. Thank you to everyone for making time to join us as she opened her call. What a highlight of the month!
I have to say that I was impressed with Emma after she picked up her call. She knew that she'd be waiting a few hours before opening it and told me she just couldn't open her call in her "gubby clothes." She went home, cleaned up and put some nice clothes on in honor of the occasion. It really was a special time and I'm grateful that she felt the significance of it.
Besides all that excitement, I've just been doing regular stuff and trying to follow Ruth's example and de-own as much as I can in our house. It's going slowly, room by room. If we ever decide to move, it will be a breeze because I will have gotten rid of all the excess and unnecessary stuff! What a lovely thought.
Here we go, February.... Everyone have a tremendously lovely week! Oh, Jenn, what did the ground hog say, after all?! I was so distracted that I forgot to listen and find out how much winter we have left!
Sunday, February 4, 2018
Flake Fun
Well, it's February. Who would have thought 2018 would start flying by so fast?
Things in Snowflake have been pretty warm (in the 60's during the day) but still chilly at night.
We attended the annual ground hog day breakfast on Saturday which is always fun. Then we went over to help on the house again. It was a very productive day.
I have started transcribing another Grandma Flake journal which is really fun.
That's it for this week!
Things in Snowflake have been pretty warm (in the 60's during the day) but still chilly at night.
We attended the annual ground hog day breakfast on Saturday which is always fun. Then we went over to help on the house again. It was a very productive day.
I have started transcribing another Grandma Flake journal which is really fun.
That's it for this week!
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