Hyde Park Hustling

Could any summer be any busier?! We have run from one thing to another every day. Dad went to Provo again to help Grandpa with some final moving of things out of his house, and to attend the annual "Cousins Reunion" for members of Grandpa's extended family. Emma went to Idaho (see Hart Happenings) and Thomas constantly runs from here to the Sports Academy, to Ogden to Bear Lake to home, to Salt Lake to the Sports Academy. It's like he's going in circles all the time! He's putting lots of miles on the cars and smiles on the faces of his students and his audiences. This week Lauren and Nick have gone from here to Kaysville to Logan to Brigham City, to Payson, to Springville, to home, and probably a lot more places that I don't even know about! I only went from here to Smithfield to Paradise to home again, all for the purpose of trying to get overdue babies here. The Smithfield baby was finally born early Saturday morning, much to mama's delight, but we are still waiting for the Paradise mom. This is the woman I referred to another midwife because she said she was due the week Lauren was getting married! She's still waiting! Obviously a situation of wrong dating. She had an ultrasound which dated her much later than she originally thought, but even that date has come and gone. Now her other midwife is out of town and I'm on call for her!

I have hopes that one of these days people will slow down and that our yard and garden will get the attention they deserve. Hope springs eternal...

My heart has been very heavy since hearing about the infamous U.S. Supreme Court Ruling defining marriage as the union between any couple, regardless of gender. What a dark day for our country! I have been very distraught as I've thought about the founders of our great land at this time of year and how hard they worked to ensure that our government was founded on true principles of freedom and goodness. I'm sad when I think of them looking down and seeing the evil and designing men and women destroying what they so carefully built. Regardless of the law of the land and the interpretation thereof, I hope that none of our grandchildren will ever be confused about the definition of marriage. I am very grateful for Grandpa's explanation at the Manning's wedding about
"legal and lawful" marriage. There is only one kind of marriage that is lawful and recognized by the Lord, and that is marriage between one man and one woman, as Elder Perry stated in his last conference talk.

Some other quotes from his talk to consider as you gather your families around and teach them correct doctrine and principles:

"We believe that the organization and government of heaven will be built around families and extended families."

"A great number of secular people have concluded that a committed marriage and family lifestyle is the most sensible, the most economical, and the happiest way to live."

"No one has ever come up wit a more efficient way to raise the next generation than a household of married parents with children."

"The older I get, the more I realize that family is the center of life and is the key to eternal happiness."

My sentiments exactly!!! I love you all!!!

Hart Happenings

How 'bout this heat?! Wow! Makes me lazy (Peter too).

 To combat both the heat and my laziness the boys and I attacked Alex while he was sitting peacefully on our bench in the shade and started the most epic water fight of the summer. I can't remember the last time I did that! Exhilarating! 

Alex wrapped up the Weight Loss challenge this weekend. Emma was a superstar to come up and help out with that.

It was great a to hear all the success stories and be a part of helping people pursue a healthier lifestyle. 

The boys took a road trip to Vegas a little bit ago and they all survived! They did a lot of swimming in the 116 degree heat and saw a cool magic show, played with cousins and enjoyed a concert in the park. I was insanely productive while they were gone but was so ready for them to get back. 

Ian is really involved in his gardening class this summer and is growing a beautiful garden. 

Jack has really gotten into the library sponsored summer reading program and is reading like crazy! It has not been an easy thing for him to learn and we are so proud of his willingness to do hard things! (Please pardon a little mama pride). 

Since we posted last the boys and Emma and I also went to the local museum to see the Pirate Exhibit. It was fantastic! You are all invited. You would love it. 

July is upon us people! Can't wait to see everyone in a few weeks!

Hyde Park Highlights

Emma is on fire this summer! She's up early taking care of the chickens, exercising, practicing and marching. She's been a trooper to help me clean the house and work in the yard. I hope we can keep it up for a few weeks! She really enjoyed going to Studio C this week - thanks to Joe! She took Alisa with her this time and they had a blast. One of her best friends, a fellow she's gone to the temple with every week for a long time, is leaving for his mission this week. It's really weird to have her friends going on missions! She's only 16, for Heaven's sake!

We've been grateful to see Lauren and Nick a couple of times this week. They are a busy pair! We went to the temple one evening with them and they came for dinner today. They always have delightful stories to tell and keep up chuckling.

I have to agree with Ruth, about the men in our lives. I was thinking about how comforting and wonderful it is to have the security of knowing that all of our children have the priesthood in their homes. I'm certainly very grateful for that blessing. Thanks to you all for the good examples you are.

This week will bring more of the same... School work, moving Emma downstairs, organizing, weeding... I think that is the ongoing schedule for the summer. Hopefully it won't take all summer to get Emma moved!

Linda Walker, daughter of Richard and Marcena, had a baby girl about the same time Ruth had Henry. The baby is now at Primary Children's waiting for a heart transplant. If you could remember them in your prayers, that would be really great.

Oh, and don't forget to put the Belliston reunion on your calendar for July 31st. It's in the same place as last year and Dad is in charge. How about we have a reunion every weekend in July?! Won't that be fun :/  
July 17-18 Biorn reunion in Manila
July 23-26 (or so) Family Gathering in Snowflake
July 31-Aug. 1 Belliston reunion in Provo.
Actually, please don't feel pressured or obligated, but just feel invited and wanted! It truly is a blessing to belong to a family that loves to be together!

Nilsson News

First of all, Happy Father's Day to all you wonderful brethren!  In a birth class I went to, I remember Sher Anderson saying, "If it wasn't for dad's, our kids would grow up being pansies."  I'm so glad that men are there to provide balance to our lives.  I know we have had a pretty hot house of female emotions and it is always a cool breeze when Garrett comes home.  Yay for the amazing men in our lives!  I just have to tell you the funny thing the bishopric counselor said when he was announcing sacrament meeting this morning.  I think he was really tired.  He welcomed all the dad's saying, "Happy Father's Day to all you dads and men and soon to be men. " I think he meant to say, soon to be dads?

Well, summer seems to be escaping.  Lately we have been acquiring things from Garrett's grandma who has moved out and from grandpa Belliston since he has also moved and sold his house.  It has been nice but at the same time has forced us to do some major clean out.  Why do we have so much stuff?!  It is great to be in a mood where I want to dejunk and simplify.
We had a good time at the dinner and evening at Grandpa's home.  That house is full of memories and it was enjoyable to talk about them.  My earliest memory I have there, was when I was about three or four and sitting on grandma Elsie's lap in the front room.  I will miss our reunions there.
Our chickens are growing and the rats have been discovered yet again.  Our garden is growing well and we are harvesting peas and strawberries.  It is hot.  I guess that is a good thing since it is summer.
Jenn, maybe we should have a softball tournament for the gathering.  I didn't realize that Scott enjoyed it so much, but it is also something the kids could do as well.  Just a thought.  Enjoy your hot summer everyone and we will see you all in a few weeks!

Flake Fun

21 June 2015 - Summer decided to show up in Snowflake this week.  By 9:00AM on Friday it was already 90!  Because of that we didn't get as much yard work done as we would have liked to this weekend but that is okay.  The garden is growing really well.  Scott was able to get the swamp cooler set up for the summer which will be really nice.

Scott pitched a good church ball game on Tuesday.  It is always fun when softball comes around.  It is something that Scott really enjoys and the ward team is a lot of fun.

I experimented on Friday with a new recipe and it turned out to be quite delicious.  It was a chicken breast marinated in balsamic dressing with a baked potato and side salad!  Perfect summer dinner.

Other than those things, we went to work. The bright side was that I worked in Holbrook every day so we were able to eat lunch together the whole week.

Home Again

Well, that was a quick trip to San Diego and back. I'm so grateful that Emma decided to go to Idaho and spend the week with Elise's clan. She would have been sorely disappointed in this trip. We met Becca there and she was a trooper. She doesn't like going, but she's a good sport - and she only has to drive 5 hours to get there. It was a good break from her over 100 degree weather! It was nice to have her there. We drove for about 15 hours to get to California (making a few stops, getting off on wrong exits, getting stuck in traffic). Visited my Dad the next morning, went to Seaport Village for lunch, then back to the hotel to rest for a few minutes. It was cloudy and cold - I wore my jacket most of the time - so we didn't even consider getting in the pool at the hotel, much less driving to the beach. We had dinner with my dad's son, Masen, and his family. The next morning Dad and I went to a session at the incredibly stunning San Diego Temple, then we went to see my dad again for a short visit. We visited a war memorial close to the rest home, then began our long journey home. We spent a long, long time going between 5 and 25 mph on I-15 to get out of California.

In the meantime, Emma was having the time of her life in Idaho. The Harts really know how to entertain! She was treated to slushies, a bonfire, a museum exhibit about pirates, jogging, shopping, movies, loads of good food and much more! It's going to be boring to be home...

Many thanks to Lauren and Nick for being our rescue party this week. They ran keys to Brigham City to meet Grandpa after he lost the keys to the truck we left at his house. Then they ran to Idaho to pick Emma up and bring her home so we wouldn't have another three hours of travel at the end of our journey. Our heroes!!

Besides the traffic frustration, the San Diego visit overall was sad for me. It was a pathetic thing for me to see such a talented life so wasted. Not wanting to seem overly dramatic, I'm just saddened to realize that my dad was so caught up in himself for his whole life that he didn't build any lasting relationships. There really isn't anyone who cares about him. It was heart wrenching for me to see a little old man (he probably weighs 95-100 pounds), lying in bed, wasting his life watching whatever happens to come across the screen on the t.v. I think he was glad we came, but didn't really want us there for very long or ask us to come back. I talked with both of his sisters and his son this week and no one had anything nice to say about him. Rhonda won't even think about going to visit him. What a contrast with the family gathering and support for Ilene's mother! Sister Tucker loved much and it was returned to her! She touched many lives and endeared herself to others. Not so for my dad. I can't help but feel sad for him. He could have had so much fun with the music in our family, with the happy, laughing children. But he chose not to. It's left me feeling a bit melancholy. I can't change what he did/didn't do. I can only do what I feel I should to stay somewhat connected.

Anyway, the rest of the summer is ahead... It will be a good summer! When we came back into the valley I was amazed at how beautiful it is, so green and lush!! This is the week to attack the weeds! And to pick strawberries - tons of them! We are looking forward to seeing some of you off and on throughout the summer. Remember what a great camping yard we have now. If anyone wants to practice for the upcoming Gathering, come on up and camp out!!! We'd love to have you!

Nilsson News

I feel like I have taken a long vacation from writing but I wasn't prepared for how wiped out I'd be after the wedding celebrations.  I'll give a recap of some of the thing we have done.
We celebrated Addy's 8th birthday on the 7th (most of the celebrating happened the day before on Saturday). Just so everyone is aware, Addy will be getting baptized on July 11th around 5:30 in the evening.  We would love to see all of you there if possible!
The Harts helped us smash open a pinata and that was a blast.  Garrett's parents came and played with the kids while Garrett and I went to our adult session of Stake Conference.  While we were waiting for the meeting to begin, we were surprised to see Shirley Manning walk in and sit down on our row!  I went and talked with her and she was there to see the gal performing the musical number.  It was fun to see her again.
This past week we decided to go on a bit of a stay-cation.  We went down to American Fork and stayed at Garrett's grandma's home with his parents.  His grandma moved into a care center even though she is still very alert and well.  She will turn 98 this year and she tells us she is ready to go.  98 is just way too long to live.  Her home is filled with a lot of stuff so I had a good lesson then and there and decided I needed to simplify my life.  Why do we allow ourselves to acquire so much stuff?  (Side Note: If anyone is looking for a fantastic read I recommend "Simplicity Parenting" even if your aren't a parent because it has sooooo many good ideas to live by.)
Anyway, we went swimming at a great acquatic center in Lehi and then we went to the curiosity museum at Thanksgiving Point.  Add that one to your list!  It is a must see!  We were there for about 6 hours and enjoyed ourselves immensely.
We are enjoying a day of rest, well, everyone except Garrett (He got a fortune cookie that read "everything is coming your way."  He said "Hmmm, sound like Sunday is around the corner).  He is busy with his calling responsibilities.  I was called today as the ward music coordinator.  It will be a good calling that will require some organization.  I teach my last relief society lesson next week.  Yay?
Well that's it for now!  We are looking forward to the gathering in just a few weeks!