Smithfield Scoop

Well, we were startled by this sound early this morning.... (Oops! Tried to paste a video of a loud, crazy hailstorm, but it wouldn't attach...) It was quite the hail storm, complete with lightening and thunder - and lots of hail! We are afraid to look at the garden. We hope it survived the onslaught. We are trying to decide if it is summer - or spring - or winter here! This week it has fluctuated from temperatures in the 90s to high winds to lows near freezing to hail and thunder today, rainstorms, etc. The plants are planted, the strawberries have been ripening, so the hope for summer is still lurking in the wings. We are holding out faith that it is definitely around the corner!

I guess the photos will have to do since the video didn't work.

Oh, Lauren, you crack us up!!! We laughed and laughed about Wesley and Chet! You are really going to have to stay on your toes with those two 😁 

We had such a delightful time with Jenn and her babies while they were here! It was a special treat to be able to be chosen by one baby or the other at different times to be the caregiver. Quite the honor! We had a good time going on walks, watching the ducks, playing in the big tub, visiting the Bennetts, shopping and being outside. Rand loved playing in the sprinkler and the flower pots that only had dirt in them. That dirt was especially tasty. Jenn is a trooper. She goes and goes and goes, day and night to care for these babies. It completely exhausted Dad and me and certainly gave us a greater appreciation for Joe and Lori and all parents of multiple babies!

It was a sweet blessing to have a spontaneous family gathering while Jenn was here. Thanks so much to everyone for coming to play and to work in our yard. It is looking so nice and fresh and welcoming. We couldn't be happier with it or more grateful for all your help! It was very satisfying to watch the cousins enjoying one another so much. It appears that everyone in our group has a pal or two to enjoy when they are together. That provides great joy and comfort to these grandparents!

We have missed the company this week. It's always too quiet here after everyone leaves. Dad enjoyed driving with Jenn and the babies to Snowflake and spending a couple of days there, planting and working in the yard a bit. He always loves holding the babies and they seem to like to have him hold them, too. He flew home and almost immediately plopped into bed, exhausted! I attended a birth while he was gone and was quite tired myself. It has taken a few days for us to feel up and going.

It was a sweet blessing to be able to participate with Peter at his baptism. What a beautiful occasion, with a wonderful young boy who is determined to do the right thing. Even over the Zoom meeting, I felt a beautiful, committed spirit. Thank you for the invitation and opportunity to feel a part of the special day for Peter and his family.

We sure love you all and hope to see you again very soon. Come any time and visit!

Manning Moolah

Well this week has felt like I'm riding a wild horse named Wesley and I am trying to reign him in. He is starting to make connections that are great but I need to be on top of things which I am definitely not right now!
He has discovered how much he wants to play with friends. Every second of the day he want to go see if he can play with neighbors even if he has already played with them for hours! I need to find more friends for him. Two of the neighbors play together often and they have been very kind to come down and ask if Wesley can play. It has been fun for him but everything else seems pretty boring in comparison.
He has really loved riding his bike and we enjoy going on bike rides together. But he discovered the joy of riding a scooter when another neighbor let him ride his scooter. Wesley wouldn't drop the issue and he kept wanting to knock on the neighbor's door to see if he could play but only wanted to ride the scooter. So I finally told Wesley if he really wanted a scooter we could could the money he had and see how much he had and he could earn some more money. He has just collected spare change we have given him. He understands that money=work but he hasn't experienced it. Anyway, we looked up how much scooters cost, counted his money and guess what? He had the exact amount! I was hoping he would have to do an extra job. Anyway, when Dad got home we all went to the store and he chose a scooter and payed for it with his change! So cute!
Since then he thinks he is rolling in the moolah. We had some neighbors who were selling lemonade and so Wesley can running home and we counted a dollar from his bank to buy some. Chet is also learning the ropes and he grabbed a handful of pennies while yelling "Money!" He handed the money to the boys and was super offended when I took the cup of lemonade. He knew he had bought it and he thoroughly enjoyed it.
So if you have any advice for staying minimalist and sane and responsible with two little boys like that please let me know.
Nick starts some work meetings this week and he is excited about that. We are loving the rain right now but very much loving the warm weather and working outside!
It was so good to see you all for a few hours last week and we hope it happens again sometime soon!

Flake Foursome

It has been a fun week spent in Smithfield.  We have had fun watching the hummingbirds and orioles on the birdfeeders, playing on the grass, toddling around the house and going on walks. The highlight was seeing so many of you while we were here.  Thanks for making the effort to come and see us.  A special thanks to Joe for being Rand's special buddy! And a huge thanks to Emma for helping with getting us up here. Just so everyone knows, she is now a pro at driving a stick shift - after only 2 lessons!!

That is about all that we have to report! Hope that you all have a great week!!

Smithfield Scoop

Well, I did write a couple of weeks ago, Ruth, but didn't finish or send it until today. That is why it is a late Mother's Day post... Oh well...

Things have been going forward here. We have been working on our GoalIt goals. It is quite helpful to have an accountability group to report to. Helps us remember to do what we really want to do, but forget about sometimes. Dad is working on some photography, which is SO great! He's trying to capture the perfect photos of birds and clouds and landscapes. I'm focusing on catching up with my extended family and contacting aunts, uncles, nephews, nieces, sisters, cousins, etc. Someone every day. It's been a blessing to speak with or text with or email with them and find them all well.

Besides that, and lots of baby deliveries, we are making an effort to improve our landscaping. Thanks to Elise and Lauren for the ideas and labor help! Ian is a rock star at wheelbarrowing loads of rocks, which was a saving grace around here! Lauren, along with Wesley, also is a marvelous rock hound and expert creator of dry river beds. So nice. Elise can tell you about any plant you  wish to know about and has been so helpful as we've shopped for just the right plants to put in the yard. We were so grateful to have them all come and help us design the yard, remove rocks, and get things going. It's going to look so different when you come visit again! You're going to love it! Lots of planting, watering, chopping, tending going on - "and loving it!"

We thoroughly enjoyed having Joe and Lori's family drop in on their way home from Bear Lake. It happened to be Joe's birthday that day, so we enjoyed the ice cream cake they brought with them - YUM! We visited on the little deck and were entertained by the humming birds and playing on the hill in the back. We loved having them, even for a little while!

As this is being written, Emma and Jenn (and babies) are driving from Snowflake to Smithfield for a week-long visit! We are very excited to have them come! We even bought a baby gate to put up in front of the stairs to keep our newest walking babies from tumbling down the stairs while they are here.

We spent some time in the cemetery today, taking flowers to Grandma Larsen's gravesite. It's always an interesting thing to contemplate the brevity of life when all is said and done. Speaking of that, we passed one large headstone that had simply the name "DONE" on it. I guess that says it all!

The forecast promises summer temperatures coming up! That will be lovely after the snow we had yesterday. Now the hope is that we can acclimate to a 40+ degree jump in temperatures in just a couple of days.... ☀ It shouldn't be too hard after waiting this long for spring to kick in! We'll just go straight from winter to summer now!

Smithfield Scoop

Happy Mother's Day to the wonderful women in the Belliston Family!!! How I love and admire all of you sweet, devoted, amazing, remarkable mothers of our grandchildren! Your examples of love and thoughtful mothering inspire me daily. Thank you for all the good you do for so many within and without your family circle. We pray for each of you daily and see the Lord's hand strengthening and inspiring you. It's an overwhelming responsibility, sometimes, to be a mom, but you all do a beautiful job of navigating the decisions and bumps and bruises of the journey. I hope you know how you are loved and appreciated!

Here are some of my favorite things about Mother's Day....

I had more photos to include, but thought I'd better just get this sent! Sorry to leave Harts, Flakes and T&T out! I didn't have any photos of your families ready on the computer and can't get them to download right now :(    I will send them when they finally find their way to my email...

Nilsson News

Okay Lauren, there may be some perks to living further south but there are a lot of perks to living in the far, far north.  Okay, yes, there are perks...  It's totally and completely unpredictable.  Some of the most awesome people you know live here, namely the Harts.  And like you said, we like to keep the seasons simple and nice and cool.

This is the snowman the kids built and properly named Olaf.  I guess snow does happen in summer just like Olaf dreams and sings about!  Thankfully after getting a good two inches of snow, the rain moved in and melted it all.  It was so soggy and mushy but by the end of the day, the storm headed on and the sun came out.

Last week we enjoyed some time down by the river and enjoyed seeing a lot of goslings.  We have also had fun picking lilacs and tulips from our yard.  The last semi pleasant day of the week, we went up to the BUYI gardens and walked around and the kids had a blast as did the adults.  This next week we will be tackling our garden.  All of the plants have been living in the greenhouse and many of them are becoming root bound.  Ground, here we come!  Hopefully, we have put winter behind us!
Addy started going to actual clogging class again which she was super thrilled about.  She also started horseback riding lessons.  Emerson is always working on some invention.  He is really trying hard to find all the parts and pieces to build a go kart.  Eliza is doing amazing things on her fiddle and is preparing for her first competition the end of June.  Henry loves to be outside banging or digging something.  Millie does everything she can to keep up with everyone else.

Can't wait to see the little Flakes walking all over!  Hope you are all enjoying the summer.  We will be soon, I just know it!

Manning Moments

It has been too long since I wrote but here I am finally. It has been a very eventful and fun lockdown I must say. I am such a homebody and can't complain about having Nick home all day! If we get back to "normal" it will feel very strange.
Some of the things we have done during this time are:
Minimizing!!!! I am loving it. Thanks Ruth! My life is forever changed.
Wesley learned to ride a bike and is learning how to read and write. He is amazing.
Chet is learning how to yell even louder. That is the normal volume when talking. It can be anxiety promoting but it is still cute. He tries to keep up with Wesley in every way and keeps everyone laughing. He is obsessed with the lawn mower and weed eater.
We have had mud fights, pillow fights, water fights and flour fights. I am getting used to parenting boys and I love it.
Nick took his hunter's education course and is dreaming about it all the time. His passion is to become a mighty hunter. He and his friend went coyote hunting and they were both clueless. When they came home empty handed they were deflated and I had to chuckle. But they will get the hang of it I'm sure.
We planted our garden and have loved the beautiful weather. It does pay to live a little further south.
Nick got me a really nice bike trailer/stroller for our anniversary and it has been a blast to ride and walk with it and the boys love it too!
We have gone the Manning's cabin a few times and have done lots of family things.
It was great to see Jenn and her cute family! We have seen mom and dad a few times and had a blast working on their yard! Good times!
I think life is very nice in the slow lane, just focusing on the essentials and being with family.
Hope you all have a wonderful Sabbath and I can't wait to see you soon!