Fourth of July 2018

We hadn't planned really anything for Fourth Of July this year as it came right after our San Diego trip. And usually we are in San Diego for the 4th so we don't have traditions that we do at home. 

Then two days ago, I got a text from Kym Harvey that Leah was going to be in town and they would have a BBQ. So we were happy to accept the invitation.

Troy and I spent several hours in the morning doing yard work. I actually enjoy doing yard work and working with Troy.  We laid pipe down the back of the yard to hope that our yard will get approved by the HOA on Monday. We also went to Home Depot to buy mulch and some more flowers for the planters. 

Two of our pine trees died in the spring so I have been cutting them down. 

It got hot and sweaty so we were happy to be able to go and swim at Villa. Miio started shivering about 45 minutes into the swim so we just snuggled together for a bit which felt perfect on the hot pavement.

Miio would also stand up on his own in the splash area and take a step and a half before falling down. He crawls toward the deeper end, so you have to be on your toes with him. However, he does like water which is fun. 

We made a quick stop at King Soopers for hot dogs, Oreos, strawberries, and grapes. It was "bring your own meat", and side dishes party so we brought berries and grapes which were quickly gone.

We had a fun evening at the Harveys with Leah's family, the Roys, Scheullers, and Brintons.

Miio was determined to climb on the hoverboard. And the coolest thing was that Miio took his first several steps. He kept doing it over and over again.  Miio was also a hit with the 9 and 10 year old girls. They took turns holding him and walking around with him. It made it a relaxing night for me.

Saku had fun hanging out with Andrew and listening to music and having impromptu dance parties. Eerika enjoyed playing Spike Ball with Troy.

I was touched that Leah wanted to see us on her way through. She is just so down to earth and kind. It felt so good to spend an evening with her.

Troy took Saku and Aleksi to watch fireworks from the Costco parking lot as they were shooting fireworks over the baseball field. It ended up pouring rain so no fireworks. Aleksi fell asleep in the car. Eerika chose not to go and fell asleep in our bed. Miio fell asleep quickly as he was up until 9 pmwith only one nap.

Sefless kids in action

Grandma made Aleksi a weighted blanket a few months ago. Eerika requested one as well and it arrived in the mail today.

Saku was sad about not having one for himself. When Troy asked Saku why he hadn't asked for one, he said he didn't want to be selfish.

Aleksi then offered his blanket to Saku. "Saku can use my blanket, I dont mind".

When Troy picked up Aleksi's stuffed dragon from the floor, Aleksi told him that Saku threw it down. Troy said "no, i knocked it down". But Aleksi insisted that Saku had thrown it. First Saku denied it, but then said "I didn't mean to do it. I'm sorry."

This is a big deal as Saku can have a hard time accepting responsibility and apologizing.

Aleksi responded,"Apology accepted".

Wisdom Teeth Removal

I got my four wisdom teeth pulled out on Thursday. This should have happened years ago but it was just not convenient. However, one of them had gotten bad enough that I finally just went for it.

Corban and Mary were nice to arrange some x-rays for me when the kids to Kids Rock so it was one less appointment that I had to figure out. And the oral surgeon was able to get me in within a week!

Troy stayed home on Thursday so he did have to work. So this is where my amazing friends came in.

Jess had Aleksi and Miio at her house while I was in the surgery.

Troy picked the boys up after he dropped me off; Miio came to nap at home while Aleksi went to Anders' house. Nicole had Aleksi until it was time to go to piano at 4:15.

The kids didn't have school on Friday, so Missie took Eerika, Aleksi and Miio to her house. They were there all day! Saku hung out here for a while in the morning and then Jennie came to get him so he could play with James. Jennie also brought me ice cream. Nicole dropped off a homemade smoothie! And Lisa bought some toilet paper for us and dropped it off here. 

On Saturday, I finally got really swollen so Troy took the kids to the library (for four hours), Fox Run Park and Chick-Fil-A.  Dani dropped off a Jamba Juice to me.  I was in bed, worked on my blog and read books and took a nap all day long.

They had a snowball fight. And Saku had said to Troy "This has been a great day. We should do this more".

Miio was pretty happy to be a big kid at the playplace at Chick-Fil-A. 

This morning (day #4) seemed to be the toughest and I was a bit worried about a complication with a dry socket but I feel better now after medication and nap. 

Missie also brought me ice cream, yogurt, applesauce, chocolate milk, and an icepack on Wednesday night. 

I feel so loved. I feel so grateful. I feel so inspired to be a better friend. To go beyond the little gestures but to truly look out for the people in my life. 

Saku on the Mountain

Saku really excelled during this ski season. He learned resilience and grit on the mountain. Troy and he would hike between peaks and ski down the mountain. 

He improved technically as well as he would ski black diamond runs, moguls, and enjoyed the terrain park. Our new gopro clocked him going 35 miles an hour. 

The best part about skiing for him is the fact that he feels happy there and good about himself while he is tackling those runs. So now I try to relate things to skiing and remind him how he does challenging runs on his skis which means he can do challenging things in other aspects of life as well.

Troy and he had an amazing day of skiing fresh powder on our 4th day in Keystone. Isaac and Jess joined them and they tackled some tree runs. Everyone described it as an epic day. 

I am sort of waiting for our first ski injury but we escaped it for another season.

Saku skied 15 days this year.  And ended up ski season with ski days with Isaac.

Eerika's First Grade Performance

Eerika's first grade performance was about snowflakes and how each one of them is unique. Her costume was her white nightgown that Grandma made for her. 

Maelle's mom, Jelena, had roses for Maelle and Maelle generously shared them with her friends. 

Eerika had genuinely thought that she might get the solo part for this performance. She was disappointed as she didn't get any speaking part; however, she knew most of her friends' parts. Her eyes started bothering her about 10 minutes before the performance was over. She kept itching them but made it through the peformance. 

We went to Lulu's frozen yogurt with the Callisters and Maelle and Jelena. The girls also invited Luke, so Luke had all the girls' attention on him and I don't think he minded. 

Eerika still seems to be crushing on Luke while she doesn't talk about it much, but she did say that she likes Luke because"he is kind and funny".

Eerika's Primary Talk on Resurrection

In a few weeks it is Easter. We celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Resurrection is your body connecting with your spirit again.

My grandma died before I was born. I am grateful that we can be resurrected just like Jesus was, .so I can be with her again.

The prophet Alma teaches us:

“Now, this restoration shall come to all, both old and young, both bond and free, both male and female, both the wicked and the righteous; and even there shall not so much as a hair of their heads be lost”



(Share Testimony)

The crazy beautiful of our lives

Today was a hectic day. Saku was supposed to go to school at 7 to watch a musical with his choir; however, when I went to his room at 6:20 and he was exhausted because he couldn't sleep well with his braces on. So he came to snuggle me in bed and we slept until 7 am. It was actually sweet to have him right there by me and to know that I was giving him comfort.

Saku has a rough time eating breakfast. I gave him some ibuprofen and he seemed okay enough to go to school. I did write a note to Senorita Jarnigan that said that I would be happy to pick Saku up if needed.

When I got the kids off to school, I got a text from Mary asking if I could watch Samantha. So Samantha got dropped off around 8:30. At first, Samantha had a really rough time but she eventually settled down and was happy and then Amy picked her up.

After Miio's first nap, we went swimming at Villa. We met Nicole and Missie there, and then I noticed a phone call from Saku asking to pick him up. So I left Aleksi with Nicole and Anders and drove to the school to pick Saku up. I called the orthodontics office on my way and got an appointment at 12. We went to the appointment and Saku's mouth started to feel much better. 

So he went back to school, and Nicole was awesome to take Aleksi home with her so after I put Miio down for a nap I was able to fold some laundry, do an instagram post and some overall cleaning. I got another call from the school and when I saw the number, I thought they were calling about Saku again. However, this time it was about Eerika. She got kicked in the eye and had a cut. She was okay to stay in school. It ended up being Ivy who kicked her, but 

Aleksi came home and we hung out for a while before big kids came home.

They were both pretty tired. Saku did go and play with Luke for a bit.

The other kids took a bath at 4 pm. We had pannukakku for dinner. Eerika was tired. Saku was hurting. It got a bit crazy for a while but we settled down ok. Saku watched some Olympics and Aleksi and Eerika watched a movie upstairs until 7:15 or so. I put Miio to bed. Saku fell asleep on the couch and I actually carried him upstairs to the guest room.

Aleksi is sleeping in Saku's bed. Troy is in Provo for a recruiting trip at BYU. I need to clean the kitchen but I wanted to write down about my life. 

Miio is all over crawling. Tonight he crawled all the way from his bedroom to the playroom and then stood up against one of our stepping stools. 

He is seriously such a sweet and amazing little baby boy. 

Saku has been truly brave during this braces situation. He asked me to be with him when he was getting the braces on. It was sweet to hold his hand. He chose black and red rubber bands because he thought it would be a "good combination".

Aleksi is so lucky to have his group of friends. He is such an articulative boy with so many clever things to say.  He plays very well with Anders. He and Jaxon are a bit more like so they either play really well or disagree and both are stubborn.