We started out the month with a weekend trip to the Gardner's cabin in Heber over the 4th of July! Saddest thing, but I realized we had never done a trip before with just OUR family. We have always been with friends or extended family. We left Thursday night and came back Monday, midday. Even Winnie got to come! I had packed Costco muffins and protein drinks for breakfast to buy us a little time Friday morning before going to the store. I woke up and went running in the beautiful, mountain air and cool weather! It was glorious!
Then we took the whole family down to the little Heber market. First person we run into is Kenzlee Rogers. You know what they say about small towns! We were a circus in that tiny store, but we got all our food for the weekend and surely doubled that store's sales for the day.
Then we spent the whole day doing puzzles, swinging in the hammocks, shooting BB guns (Trav brought an automatic one that was a hit), playing Bocce Ball, watching movies and playing board games. Rummikub was a favorite that even Olive learned to play. The boys really enjoyed chess. I think the family favorite was definitely Bocce Ball though! We played that A LOT.
Collin doodled a page of all his favorite things. We took particular notice of Lilly in the top, right corner. ;)
We didn't buy groceries for dinner so we were going to try the Red Onion, but it was almost out of food and had basically 3 things on the menu. So we drove up the road to Casa Ramos and it was poppin off. We were told a 30 min. wait, but waited well over an hour. Trav started a game of charades to keep the kids from killing each other. Or more, to keep US from killing the kids, haha. After we were seated, we inhaled our chips and salsa then waited another hour for our food to come. They were just so busy from all the out of towners. Heber needs a few more restaurants!
Saturday morning was the 4th of July parade! We timed it just right. We showed up about 15 min. before it started and parked right where the parade was starting. We had no idea what we were doing, it just worked out that way. We plopped our chairs down and got to see all the floats come right out in front of us from the side street. I had forgotten to pack patriotic clothes for Collin and Weston but they had some stuff that worked. We cheered the loudest for the tractors that spun brodies and the Dairy Queen float, haha. We love us some Blizzards. Actually, I stand corrected. Weston cheered the loudest the entire time so that people would throw candy at him! I've never heard that kid make so much noise.
More relaxing at the cabin for the day. I almost never watch movies but we turned on Rudy and I loved it. You'll always get me with true stories about inspiring people. Olive just did gymnastics and interpretive dance to the soundtrack the whole time. The town put on a 4th of July festival so we went over in the late afternoon to check it out. They had lots of vendors out and some blow up houses for the kids. But it had rained earlier, so everything was wet and muddy. That didn't stop the kids! We ran into one of Trav's old employees who has a candle making business and had a stand set up. We bought a few to be nice and it ended up being the best purchase! This lavender lemon candle now sits by my bed and it is literally the best thing I've ever ever smelled. We also spent a small fortune on kettle corn, churros, specialty dog treats and a caramel apple that everyone cried about because it wasn't the flavor they wanted. The moments every parent cherishes.
After the festival we stopped at the school park near the cabin and had fun trying to do pull ups and push Dad off the ledge. The kids could have done that for HOURS. They were just determined they could get him off balance to fall. I, on the other hand, channeled my inner child and hit the swings.
We got Dairy Queen burgers for dinner for the kids and I just ate leftovers at the house. Then we drove down the highway at night looking for a good spot to watch fireworks. The Best Western parking lot won. It started drizzling so we pulled out umbrellas which caused fighting so those got taken away. There always has to be some crying and bickering or it's not a family outing! I have to say, the firework show was impressive. It was really long and had some new, fun fireworks I hadn't seen before. I really enjoyed it!
On Sunday, we went to church in mostly red, white and blue ;) and were warmly welcomed! I assumed the ward would be annoyed with all the visitors but it seemed to be the opposite. It was Fast Sunday so we got to hear a lot of wonderful testimonies and so many talked about their love for the community and how they look forward to all the visitors who come.
Had to document the caffeine free diet Pepsi we found! Trav and I rationed those out like gold.
We bent our normal, Sabbath day rules and went out to dinner. The Red Onion was completely out of food so we went back to Casa Ramos. Really, Heber. More restaurants!
This game room was a lot of fun! The kids went exploring in the woods and found a deer carcass that was VERY exciting. We could not get over the beautiful weather.
Monday came too fast. I went for another run in the morning, then we started the cleaning and packing process. Once those bathrooms were cleaned, I didn't want anyone else using them! Bushes to the rescue! We ate the last of the food for lunch and headed home! It really was a magical time together. There wasn't good service at the cabin so we weren't on our phones. We didn't have other people to visit with or be distracted by. It was just US. Our kids had our undivided attention and we bonded and made memories and relaxed and just focused on each other. It was unlike anything we had ever done before. I found out months later that this was Collin's favorite trip ever. Not Florida or Disneyland or even Oceanside with cousins. His favorite trip was a simple cabin with just our family. That spoke volumes to me.
We couldn't resist Danzeisen Farms milkshakes in Payson on the way home! The cherry on top of our perfect weekend.
A few days later was our 15th wedding anniversary. And like an idiot, I completely forgot and planned a staycation with Camilla and her kids. She had been trying to schedule one with me for months but our schedules never lined up. Finally, July 7th seemed to be a night we both had free, so I agreed to it. A few days before our anniversary I realized my blunder. I felt SO BAD. I mean, we didn't have anything on the calendar for it, but I couldn't believe I had spaced that it was our anniversary. We've never celebrated it as our family's birthday before but 15 seemed like a big milestone so I tried to make it fun for all of us. I got a big, ice cream cake from Dairy Queen so we could blow out 15 candles and we put on our wedding video to watch together. It's been several years since we've watched it, so I think it felt like the first time for Olive and Tanner. There was a really sweet spirit in the room. So much so, that Tanner ran over to me to hug me and tell me he loved me and Olive said she got tears in her eyes at some parts. You could tell that all the kids felt really loved. It was a really sweet evening together. Which is good, because the next day crashed and burned so so hard.
I don't know exactly what to chalk it up to except summer. Summers and long and chaotic and the house is always a mess and it feels like the kids are always fighting and I have to be "on" 24/7. And mostly, I was just very done with never being alone. Gosh, I just miss being alone!!! I had woken up early to do a 5:30am workout with Trav and then was trying to get us ready for this staycation with Camilla. Olive and Weston were fighting and I could hear it from upstairs. Olive's screaming just flipped a switch in me. I tried to ignore it, but she was really on one and after a few minutes I had had it. I had been patient for 6 weeks of summer and now they were going to hear it from me. I yelled like I had never yelled before. I felt like a crazy person. Then I locked myself in my room and cried and cried and cried. Sometime being a mom is the freaking worst. 95% of the time, it's fine. It's even wonderful! Hello, we had just had the best weekend together! But the daily grind. The constant fighting and cleaning up after everyone and entertaining everyone and cooking for everyone! Man. It can get to you. And honestly, our anniversary also brings up sad memories of the actual wedding day and all that yucky from my family and no matter how good it is now, it always taints it. And makes me sad and angry. My poor kids. Even in my crying I just felt so bad for losing it on them. All I wanted in the whole entire world was to stay in my bed for the rest of the day and not come out. I wanted it desperately. But there was no way to cancel on Camilla. AND I had told Grandma Ann I would come visit her. So I waited as long as I possibly could and then made myself finish the day. I dropped Olive and Tanner off at Camillas so Trav and I could at least meet for lunch. Poor Trav. Had to have lunch with his basket case of a wife at Hen House. Then I mustered a smile and visited Grandma for an hour. Then I picked up Sesily and grabbed Collin and Weston and we drove to Scottsdale to meet Camilla at the hotel pool for the rest of the afternoon. She had picked the hotel and the pool was really gross. Old and dirty and the slide was broken. The kids swam for a couple hours then we drove around getting food from Habit Burger and Salad and Go to eat back in the courtyard. There was another pool there that the kids played in until late. Our rooms were next to each other and in the morning I drove to Sprouts to get some breakfast for everyone. We had about a 30 min. drive to Hurricane Harbor. It was very crowded and very, very, very hot. Like, I swear we had angered God and he was trying to burn us alive. The ground was lava. Waiting in line for any rides or slides meant tempting heat stroke. It's a WATER park and yet the entire place emanated hell. It was possibly the longest day of my life. Time was standing still. Olive and Posey were too scared to do anything on their own so we had all of Camilla's kids and my two youngest with us the entire time. I lost track of how many times I took Tanner down this one slide. And just to add insult to injury, I waited in line 45 min. and spent $75 on the kids' lunch of hot dogs and hamburgers. I didn't even buy myself anything because I was so annoyed at the prices. I love Camilla to pieces but she is a "high energy" friend and I had as much energy as a sloth. It took everything I had to pretend I was happy to be there. Tanner needed to pee near the end of the day and I was just done. The bathrooms spelled like construction site portapotties so I told him to sit over a drain in the massive splash pad with tons of water and just go. Mom of the YEAR. Next thing I know, he's just standing in the middle of the splash area, while still keeping his swimsuit on, clearly emptying his bladder. It was too late to do anything about it. A few minutes later, we notice a worker walking around trying to ascertain where said bathroom break might have taken place. Obviously, we were tattled on. I marveled that in this place full of trashy people, turns out *I* was the one whose kid was doing the socially unacceptable thing. So enjoy the smiling pictures, they do NOT reflect the kind of day I had. We stayed until 7pm, picked up Little Caesars for dinner and trekked the hour home.
Back when we were dating, these Tiffany bracelets were THE THING. They were expensive... I don't remember how much but I want to say over $100, less that $300?? Travis must have known I wanted one and surprised me one day with it. I can't remember if it was for my birthday or Christmas or just because. I do remember he wrapped the box in newspaper which I thought was really strange, haha. I felt so special and wore it all the time. I had forgotten about it over the years but saw it recently, all tarnished and decided to spruce it up! I love wearing it again! Between this bracelet, my wedding ring and my Made By Mary bar necklace with T + S, I'm basically screaming I love Travis in jewelry.
Megan came into town from Arkansas so we got dinner in downtown Gilbert. They have these new murals now... perfect backdrop!
We got to go back to the temple!!!!! It was our first time doing an endowment session in 1 1/2 years! Crazy! Some things have changed. Only the witness couple "participate" now. I wonder if that will be a permanent change. It's shorter than ever... I think I timed it at an hour and a half. There was a limited amount of people there and we had to have an appointment but they didn't make us sit far apart or wear masks.
Olive's fancy hair and then Tanner wanted a picture of his hair too. Ha!
I substituted as the music teacher in Primary and did an activity wear the volunteers got to wear a mustache and lead the song with a ribbon wand. They loved it.
Back to downtown Gilbert to celebrate my, Shelley and Marcie's birthdays! We tried a new restaurant called The Porch. Abbey wanted individual pictures with each of us. Then Shelley grabbed Marcie's chest and we all died laughing.
Collin has been protesting hair cuts lately but I finally put my foot down! Why didn't I take an "after" pic?!
Travis finally got his smoker! I think it was a birthday present from last year, finally coming to fruition.
I wish I had time to write the whole, long story, but Bron was made stake president in Gallup. I (and I'm sure everyone who knows him) saw this coming for a long time. When Pres. Haws was called as an area authority at conference in April, we knew a new stake president would be called soon. I had been talking with Megan about it. She had had her own impression that Bron would be called in February, but she didn't tell me about it until after it was official. We were on a date Saturday night when Megan told me it was really happening. It was late and we were in bed, but we seriously considered driving all night to be there for it in the morning. Thank goodness for Zoom at least. I got to watch the whole meeting and hear Megan and Bron bear their testimonies. Our sacrament meeting was starting when Bron was talking, but I kept my wireless earbuds in to keep listening. I was a wreck. I was crying so much that Kimber McArthur came up to me afterward to make sure I was ok. I assured her they were HAPPY tears!! I can't even describe how wonderful it was to watch them both step into this position. We love them so much and to see people you love and admire, fulfill their potential... I mean, there is nothing better. Getting to talk to Megan afterward and hear about the whole process of being interviewed and choose counselors and be set apart, was so special. I was on a spiritual high all weekend. Which seems kind of silly since it had nothing to do with me. I'm just so happy for them and excited to see the good they are doing in New Mexico.
Craig came home from his mission! His two year mark would have been the end of January, but he had expressed a desire to come home now. He served most of his mission in Las Vegas, but had gone back to Honduras for a few weeks before he came home. We had a zoom call with the family about him coming home early and I had initially thought he would stay. I figured he was going through a hard time, but would get through it and ultimately stay in Honduras. About half way through the zoom call the Spirit told me he was coming home. It surprised me and I puzzled at why I would be allowed to know that. I think this experience stretched our family and we learned a lot. I was proud of us for having open conversations where our goal was to listen, understand and love. We're grateful for Craig and the time he served and his example. We were all excited to greet him at the airport! His flight got in late... I think it was after 9pm, but we let our kids stay up for it. So worth it. Just look at Weston's face when he's about it give Craig a hug! Total adoration.
After all the hugging and pictures at the airport, Marcie, Abbey, David and I went back to the house to hang up the banner and visit a little longer with him. Oh, and have a dance party in the yard when he pulled up!
My car has been having issues the past couple months with overheating and smelling like fish when I get home. I guess that's the smell of coolant?? So I finally got it back in the shop. I was brave and asked for a ride home from my ministering sister when I dropped it off but I didn't want to bother anyone when it was time to pick it up. It was just a little over 3 miles away so I put Tanner and Della in the jogger stroller and packed lots of water and spray bottles and started my run, fully confident all would be fine. I underestimated 110 degrees. After two miles and the wheel falling off the stroller at one point, I was starting to wonder if I had made a lapse in judgement. So grateful I didn't have heat stroke. Not my best idea.
The day after Craig got home, we had a pool and pizza party to celebrate. It was also a Suns finale game and they lost. As you can tell by the faces in the picture. Soooo that was a bummer.
Camilla secretly decorated my front yard for my birthday! Who does that?! I'm not even a Beehive. She's so darn sweet. Taking it down the next day took forever so I putting it up must have taken ages! Everyone needs a Camilla in their lives.
Collin would be missing the middle school open house while we are in Florida, so I had arranged to go on a school tour that morning. It was trippy for me. I remember doing this at Taylor when I was going into 7th grade! The principal was very nice and spent a lot of time with us. Collin seemed overwhelmed by how big it was. But he was drawn to the football field like a bug to a light. He's got big dreams for that field!
Marcie offered to watch Olive and Tanner for me today so I dropped Collin and Weston off at my mom's while I met Travis for lunch at Tacos Chiwas! It was my first time trying it and I loved the veggie taco. The dulce de leche cake was yummy too! As was my date. :)
After lunch I took Collin, Weston and Olive to Boredom Busters for the afternoon and treated myself to a pedicure, birthday soda and some shopping! I found the cutest Sunday dress at Downeast! Then Travis picked up the kids and met me at Joe's Farm Grill for dinner. Come to me, Farm Salad!
Then, to top off the night, my mom stopped by with some delicious Nekter juices and birthday $$ and Travis surprised me with a guitar! And surprised I was!! I actually got tears in my eyes! Travis is so thoughtful. I've wanted to learn guitar since college. Someday I'll be able to play "Stay" by Lisa Loeb. Someday!
Katie needed some extra help with Bentley this week so I had him and Marcie's kids over for her birthday! They were so easy and played happily all morning!
Have you ever found a bowl of crusty ramen under your kids' dresser? Hmm? Tanner was the guilty party.
I got up early to go to the gym but the garage door wouldn't open. Travis had left 30 min. before and it had opened for him. Wth. And this is right after getting new springs last month when it broke while Trav was out of town! I tried everything I knew but no dice. Running it was. In the rain. The POURING rain. I may as well have gone for a swim.
We had an unusually cool weekend. I think we were all looking around like, what is this phenomenon in July?! It had been record heat in June (the high temperature was over 115 degrees for a record-setting six consecutive days, topping out at 118 degrees on June 17)
June was brutal. So grateful for a nice weekend! Which meant a family bike ride to Swig! These kids impress me with biking 8+ miles!
That afternoon we took the kids to a movie at Fat Cats and dinner at Gecko with the Goodmans. We laughed when it ended up that Travis sat next to Shelley and a family from our ward saw us there. That might have looked a little strange to them, haha! It's ok, it's family!
Sunday morning dawned with Weston frozen in bed with neck pain. Any moment made him burst into tears. Travis was at meetings. I had no idea what to do. I text Janae and we somehow managed to get him in the car to her. She is a GODSEND. He admitted he has a habit of cracking his neck. All day long. How had I never noticed it? Well, this morning he cracked it and heard a pop and then shooting pain went down his neck. She massaged him for about 45 min. until their church started. Then I took him home and got the rest of the kids to Southern Estates ward to hear Uncle Craig give his homecoming talk. Jessica's mom was speaking as well, so she was there and LaRee lives there now, so it was fun to see them all! We were missing Jenni!
Kristen Arnett and I had been trying to get together to catch up for a long time. We finally grabbed gelati at the new Jeremiahs (LOVE IT) and got to see Ruth at her job!
Ok, this lady. How do I even describe this night?! I thought we were going out on a double date for my birthday but she had kept all the details a secret. When we showed up she opened the door all serious, dressed in black with Posey as her sidekick and told us to enter. She blindfolded us, took our cellphones then led us through the house to a pitch black room to sit at a table. And it really was darker than night. Our eyes never even adjusted enough to see our hands in front of our faces. She explained that we would be dining in the dark! She had prepared a 6 course meal and had night vision goggles so she could serve us. They had gone to a restaurant like this in Vegas called Blackout, and thought it was such a cool experience so she was recreating it for us! There was soft music playing in the background and with each course she'd set it down and explain a little. Like, "You have 3 bowls in front of you. They are all finger foods." Or "there is one plate and a dipping sauce at 10 o'clock. You have one fork at 3 o'clock" We had two glasses, one with water and one with Squirt, that she would refill as needed. Let's see if I can remember all the food. The first one was a bowl with some berries and hardened chocolate drizzle on top. Then there were mozzerella sticks and garlic bread with marinara sauce to dip. One course was a variety of veggies in three different bowls. Sweet potato chunks, maybe roasted broccoli and one other thing? The main course was a pasta and the dessert was a plate of something like cookie dough truffles. I think I'm forgetting a course. It was all homemade and DELICOUS. You could tell she had put so much effort into all of it. I was floored by the lengths she had gone to, to create this for us! I'm not sure how long the whole dinner took, but maybe 1 1/2 hours? And it really was so much fun. It was nice to just visit with each other and be alone together and experience something so creative and different. We cracked up the whole time too. My first sip of water I spilled all over me. And how do you not giggle when you resort to swiping the inside of your bowl with your fingers to make sure you got all the food out because you can't tell with a spoon? After dessert, she came in and gave me the night vision goggles to try on so I could find my presents she had hidden all over the room. I mean, come on! How did I land such an amazing friend?!
Tanner got to meet his new preschool teacher, Shari Goodman! He has been on her waiting list for 3 years. I knew well enough to get him on there the minute we moved into the neighborhood. Shari has been such a helpful resource over the years with natural remedies, supplements and healthy eating ideas. She is an amazing gardener and regularly has her preschool class help her in her garden and uses all the fruits and veggies during snack time. He's so lucky!
