When Two Rights Make A Right

Jay and I get tired of playing the heavy in Seth's life. We both understand the parenting concept of finding and focusing on the positive, encouraging better behavior by rewarding the good rather than punishing or complaining about the bad but I think we both struggle in its execution. I am the homework/grades, piano practice and room cleaning nag and Jay is his scoutmaster and Deacon's quorum advisor and we both feel that he hears the words, "You need to..." leave our mouths much too often. Basketball, in a way, has become a way for us to dabble in the art of positive reinforcement. We love the confidence he has gained with improved skills and we are impressed by his daily work ethic and dedication. He loves the sport. Period. Playing it. Watching it. Practicing it. Reading about it. Dreaming about it. Other than it dominating all of his free time and the cause of subsequent homework/piano/chore/scout nagging, basketball is a very good thing for all of us.

His free throw still needs work but he made it in this shot!

He's got a great outside shot even though he usually ends up playing post because of his height.

An earlier tournament from two weeks ago (this one was Saturday only) that his middle school team won.

Post tournament breakfast at Denny's.  Seth benefits when eating with his gluten-free dad and brother because he gets their toast. He loves sourdough.

For those reasons, Jay and I were both inclined to say, "Yes" when an opportunity arose to compete in a basketball tournament down in Albuquerque the weekend after Christmas. The team was a mix of players from both junior high schools and beside the fact that he would be able to continue to practice and play, we thought it would be a great chance to meet and befriend some of the boys he will undoubtedly know next year in high school. Because my parents would be in town and the tournament was a Saturday/Sunday event, Jay was the logical choice as the parent who would accompany him and bring him home Saturday night. I didn't really know any of the other parents well enough to send Seth with them and even though I'm fairly certain Seth wouldn't have chosen to play on Sunday anyway, not having to sit on the sidelines and watch others play the game he loves without him made his choice a bit easier to make.

His team won their first game but got clobbered in their second. That defeat put them in a bracket that required a 9:00 pm Saturday night game. The momager in charge assumed Seth would miss this evening game due to the 3.5 hour drive home but Jay didn't even hesitate with his response. If Seth was going to sacrifice his desires by not playing on Sunday, than he would make it possible for him to play every game he could on Saturday, even if it meant getting home in the middle of the night.

With their previous game ending at 1:00 pm and having already checked out of their hotel room, Jay and Seth had seven or so hours to kill. They went to the mall. They went to a movie. They drove to see the Albuquerque temple. They tried to nap in Jay's truck. Jay texted me a few time with pictures and warned me that they were both starting to feel a cold coming on (because there are still a few more days left in December to shore up its "Worst month of 2013" title).

Seth played tough and ended up on the ground a few times. He was more upset about the hole in his beloved basketball culottes (my word) than the painful raspberry on his knee.

In front of the beautiful Albuquerque temple.

At his happy place. Looking at all things Nike.

I wished them luck and tried to stay awake to learn the outcome of their night game. At 10:08, Jay texted, "56-20 loss. On our way home." A disappointing loss for sure, but the team they played was bigger in size and more polished from practicing and playing together for a year. The loss ended the tournament for the entire team, making the Sunday play issue obsolete - which was a relief to me. I wish it didn't matter but I hate the whole Sunday and sports issue. I would like to avoid the conflict entirely, even if it means losing.

Tournament team. I only know the names of about half of these boys.

I barely heard Jay come to bed and come morning time, we were all struggling. Well...my parents seemed fine and relaxed but all of my kids were off and grumpy and I had overslept and, in one harried hour, was trying to get myself ready, Daniel and Henry ready and in my daze of hairspray and buttoning shirts and pants, didn't realize Seth was still asleep at 8:10 am. Sam woke him up but when I saw him come downstairs, with his glassy eyes, scratchy throat and runny nose, and say, "I'm sick," I was ready to do battle. As heartless as it sounds, he had already missed church twice in the last month with legitimate illness (tis the season, I suppose) and if his dad, who was also sick, was well enough to go, then so was he. I didn't even have to say anything. Jay felt the same way and his response sent Seth angrily and upset up to his room to get dressed as fast as he could. The rest of us sat in the car and waited for him.

He came scrambling out to the garage and even though the rest of us were waiting in my car, he got into Jay's truck. With a running count of heavy sighs already, I got his attention and he switched wordlessly over to my vehicle, shirt unbuttoned, barefoot and holding the rest of his wardrobe in his hands. I had to bite my tongue from saying, "There will be no future basketball tournaments if this is your attitude on Sunday!" I knew the majority of his major moody meltdown stemmed from him feeling sick, but I still felt annoyed. Where was the gratitude for his dad's late night driving? It was a silent 20 minute drive to the church.

On the drive over, he had tied his tie and flattened down his hair but it wasn't until we were only about 2 minutes from the church that he finally started to put on his socks and shoes. With a groan and a thrashing of his head back into the front seat's headrest (Yes. His father had kindly sat in the backseat as well) he announced that he had picked up a shoe that wasn't his and he only had his right shoe. The other was an old Payless brand, black slip-on that was a size 6. It was also another right shoe.

I didn't respond but my mind made the decision that I would drop everyone else off at the building and then drive Seth back home to get his other shoe, most likely lecturing him the entire way about being more responsible, grateful, and organized. We parked and I got out of the car to get Daniel out of his carseat but left the vehicle running since I would be right back in it. Jay, on the other hand, had other plans. He efforted his way out from the way, way back and took off his shoes and told Seth to switch him shoes. I was a little distracted during this exchange, because Henry was forcing his way out and pushing the middle seat into Sam and was managing that minor squirmish but I saw Seth dash off towards the chapel in Jay's brown shoes. I didn't know what to expect when I came around the back of the car, and found Jay attempting to put on Seth's mismatched black shoes. I certainly didn't expect what had been a stressful and tense Sunday morning to become one of the most humorous and memorable of my life.

There was Jay, sitting sideways on the passenger seat, with one normal looking shoe and one much-too-small-obviously-non-matching-wrong-footed shoe. My immediate thought was to a scene in the movie "Strictly Ballroom" when a woman's husband can't be her dance partner because of his literal two left feet. That comedic genius was now Jay's reality and I laughed so hard I started to cry. He wasn't really going to church in those shoes, was he? Oh, yes, he was.

Jay usually helps the deacons with the sacrament but he didn't that day. I think he knew he might cause a scene if he attempted to reverently pass the sacrament with one foot halfway out of a shoe pointing in the wrong direction. Instead, he sat next to me and I intermittently got uncontrollable giggles if I glanced at his feet. My mom asked me what was going on and I told her and she got the giggles too. All was fine and well until Daniel sat on his squeezable pouch of sweet potatoes, making a huge orange mess on the carpet which led to his own personal meltdown. Jay, sitting on the edge of the row, swooped him up and shuffled out of the chapel as fast as his two right feet would allow.

He didn't make it back into the meeting and I don't know if it was due to Daniel's stubborn tantrum or his desire to avoid more awkward movement but I didn't give it much thought until I saw him again after the end of church. Colds that are worst in the morning had let up and both he and Seth seemed in good spirits when they returned to the car. I asked Jay if anyone said anything about his shoes and he replied, "No. Nobody even noticed. I don't think anyone checks out my feet." We all laughed and laughed at the ridiculousness of it all.

It's sort of hard to tell from even this short distance. I guess that's why Jay was able to make it through church without drawing much attention to himself.

It could have been such a different story. I could have gotten involved and fumed and fussed about privilege and priorities.  In other words, it all could have gone so poorly. I'm enormously proud of Jay's handling of the entire weekend - from the late add-on basketball game and midnight drive to the sacrifice of his personal vanity. The lesson we were going for, from the moment the invitation to this basketball tournament came, was, "We support you! We love you! We want you to be happy and you can be without ever compromising your values or breaking the commandments!" Two right shoes could have thwarted it all.  Instead, his father showed that honoring your priesthood responsibilities is always the right thing to do, even when you're tired, sick or in a hurry.  We all know that two wrongs don't make a right but two rights certainly can.

Closer up. I'm still giggling. It's like Cinderella's ugly black slipper not fitting!

Control

Quite awhile ago, I had a conversation with a friend who is going through a terrible time. As I sympathized with her about life's hard knocks and why we have them, I couldn't help but comment on her fabulous physique. I said it in jest...as a sort of, "at least you've got your looks" dumb thing to say, and she got a bit teary and replied, "It is the only part of my life I feel like I have any ability to control.  I can run as hard as I want and wherever I want and it keeps me sane."

I've been thinking quite a lot about her reasoning lately. I have been trying to get in shape and find some kind of weight-loss/healthy body mojo for months. Lots of months. Enough months wherein some motivation should have been found or pounds should have been lost. Instead, I find myself definitely stronger but horribly lacking in both calorie control and consistency. In other words, I am out of control!

But, I don't think that's how my psyche sees it. I've been thinking a lot about this and why I continue to make poor choices and I believe that, unlike my friend, who controls a portion of her life through rigorous exercise, I control it by choosing NOT to exercise on days when I can and choosing to eat whatever the heck I feel like.  I think this unfortunate perspective comes from the chaos and constant frustration I feel about the rest of my day to day activities. I  feel like what I am able to do in any given day is dependent on the whims and needs of everyone else...mostly from my children and their activities and moods but also from other outside forces. It's probably from having a toddler once again, a delightful but messy and unpredictable age, and I hover at about an eight or nine on a scale of I'm-going-to-lose-it-at-ten all day. And when I lose it, I eat. Whatever I choose. I gain some control back. Get that 10 back to a more functional 6 or 7 until the sugar euphoria morphs into body shape shame and I'm back at that 8 or 9. A ripped book, juice spill or heavy traffic will start the vicious cycle all over again.

Then, recently, a new development turned my head creating a different perspective.  While in the throes of the hardest job on earth, parenting, I produced a rare, suspended reaction in dealing with one of my children and a mistake he made. A mistake that definitely needed attention but I surprised us both when I didn't fly off the handle or cry or panic. I hugged him and said I needed to think about what to do. I apologize for the vagueness of the story but, out of respect for each of them and their privacy, I have realized I can only share my own woes now. To preface, I am acutely aware, given the ages of my boys, of how different it is to parent teenagers and toddlers. With a tween and a young boy in between them, I am frequently unsure what the most appropriate and effective method is. My stern and loud, "No!" still generally works, especially on the younger set, but I can already see its ridiculousness in more mature settings. Moreover, talks and instruction given by wise leaders about how our role as parents is not to control our children or their choices, but to teach them our values and morals so that they can succeed on the merits of their own decisions and subsequent consequences, ring true to me. It was how my parents raised me - a benefit and blessing to me but a feat and child rearing tactic that I fear is much, much more difficult to practice than I ever imagined. When this certain child made a mistake, owned up to it and patiently (and nervously) awaited my judgment, I prayed to handle this teaching opportunity wisely.

The easiest and most instinctive thing for me to do was to still shout, "No!" even after a few days. I knew I could use it with cause and regain some sense of control. I also knew this was the route my son expected me to go and maybe even was hoping for a bit. It's comfortable. Sadly, I fear I've used this technique too much over the years and it is what they are all used to. No sleepovers. No rated M games. No Sunday sports or birthday parties. If homework and piano practice aren't done, No TV or electronics. If messes aren't cleaned up, No...whatever (snack, friend, football game etc.). I am very good at No (and all those things will continue to get my "No"). But, almost immediately after asking for help to not make the situation worse, a talk given by an area authority from our last Stake Conference came to my mind and I remember him saying (paraphrased. I can't be sure as to his exact words because I am not a note taker), "You can parent military style and be an excellent general of your family, demanding perfect obedience to your rules, but when that child leaves your home and your rules are no longer the primary influence of their lives, will you have taught them to want to live the gospel or just to be obedient to you?"

This thought clamored around my head for days and I knew my go-to "No" wasn't the best option. I counseled with Jay who basically said he would support me in whatever I decided but also reminded me that, above all, we are in this parenting business to protect our children. I agree. So, it was really surprising, alarming even, when I felt strongly that the best thing to do was...nothing.

Not nothing as in not address it or act like nothing happened but to give him another chance to make a better choice next time. The acknowledgment of wrong and awareness of why was already there, provided by him, and I didn't want him to think that his courage to admit to a mistake went unnoticed by me. When I talked to him about my decision, he was surprised and I could tell that he was pleased, but what I really wanted him to know that, like Albus Dumbledore said, "It is our choices who make us who we are...far more than our abilities." I told him, ultimately, only he had control over his choices. Specifics would make this make so much more sense but I hope the generality is helpful to me in the future when I look back at this post.

You'd think an "ah-ha" moment like that would have quickly been applied to my own mistakes and choices but it took me until today to realize that I need to take my own advice (or, more accurately, several general authorities and Albus Dumbledore's). I know that I'm able. But, my choices are controlling and influencing my life much more than my abilities. I do the grocery shopping. I make the meals. I buy myself lunch (too often) and choose what to order from the menu. How much more control do I need? I wish it were easier, all of it, from my son's choices to my own. I wish both of us could make a good choice once and be done with it for forever but that's not how it works.  If I expect him to recommit to good choices daily, and I do (I told him so), then I need to expect the same thing from myself.

It's so interesting how we continue to learn all the time, isn't it? Somebody who is much smarter and kinder than me is clearly in control.  Thank goodness. 

Oh, What Do You Do In The Summertime?

Have I ever gone this long between blogging? I'm not sure. It's been 6 weeks since my last post and as every new mother knows, 6 weeks is about as long as polite society allows for time off.  So, with trepidation, out of shape thoughts and yet a need to reinsert myself into the world I know, I write.

It's been a great summer. Mostly. I teeter between relishing the freedom of our days and freaking out because, except for the 3 days of Seth's scout camp, I have been with all of my kids all day for over 60 days. Momma needs some alone time! Until that happens, though, I will continue to happily adapt into whatever summer mood the day requires of me.

For instance, June was all about getting things done. New glasses were ordered. Dentists were visited. A few had doctor appointments. Camps, camps and more camps were filled by one or more of my children. A much too large deck was sanded and stained.  We did have some fun when we had the chance to be near family during the cattle drive and when Jay's sister, Kelly, came to Durango with her kids for a week. But, I think of June as the month of "To-Do".




Aunt Maureen came and enjoyed attending Henry's Delacroze music camp up at the college.



It was so fun to see these kids respond so excitedly to music!



Henry thoroughly enjoyed it.



Haircuts was on the to-do!



So was some yearly major dental work for Henry. Ugh.



He had to sleep off the trauma later that day.



This huge baby had his 18 month check up and immunizations.



Henry went to SafetyTown



And got a free helmet.



I mowed the lawn/dirt and got very dirty.




Jay and Seth left for half a week for scout/deacon encampment.



Bye guys!



While the older boys are away, we went to serious Texas for dinner.



And played a bit of mini-golf. Daniel liked to pick his ball up with his hand and put it right in the hole. But, he would never let go of his club.




Major project was sanding and staining the deck. I was so nervous to do this by myself but the rental company totally helped me out when I went in and asked, "Do you have a large machine that will help me sand my deck?" Seth tried to take a turn but that machine was quite a lot to manage.

Almost done!



All the boys helped. Henry got the most...splashy:)



Seth worked on his basketball skills and was quite pleased that he can now palm a ball.



I helped out a friend whose husband needed emergency surgery and got a taste of what having twins is like for a night.  Bedtime was tricky!



So was naptime. Neither one wanted what I wanted, which was them sleeping in their beds!



Jay ran a half-marathon the morning of his birthday. He came in fifth.



Henry helped me make Jay a cake. He really wants to be a chef when he grows up.




Jay's fancy cake:)



It tasted good.



My hair was out of control and I wore it with this bang braid most of June.


When Kelly came, I took her to my favorite park and the kids played in the much too low (drought) creek.



Kelly is such a fun person.



We went to the lake one day and this was as brave as Henry would be - pretending to waterski on the boat.



Jay started working on our new playset.



He had a cute little helper.



It's going to be so nice when it's done!



Cattle drive time.  Henry was all cowboyed up.



Grandma helping out with the littles: Quinn and Daniel.



Grandpa chatting it up with the truck drivers.



My hunky husband getting ready to do the hard work.



We use our kids as a cow fence along a highway. Safety first!



Kelly meant busy with her three helpers!



Vaughn and Patty getting in position.



Here comes the cows!



Jay takes the high line.



Stephanie and kids man the road the cows would like to cross but can't yet.




Mama cows and calves find each other.



Then come the bulls.



Seth was so great with Daniel.



Sam did his part by keeping the cows back by tossing rocks at him. How humane.



Kelly isn't taking any bull from this bull.



Testosterone doing its thing.



More and more cows fill up our little unloading area.



So, it's time to cross the highway and get them to their summer pasture.



Seth refuses to ride a horse so he gallops himself up the road.



The rest of the kids piled into the chute and rode behind the four-wheeler until it ran out of gas.



Delanie gets some more gas and Daniel enjoys the ride.



Jay and Calrk take their boys on a horseback ride.



Little cowboys.



Daniel with his dad.



Sam and his buddy/cousin Matt.



Hey boys...loosen up.



They both enjoyed 4-wheeling.



Favorite picture of the day. A real man does all kinds of work.

July, on the other hand, was all about traveling and playing. For three weeks, we jaunted through Washington State, Montana and Utah and I saw so many lovely people. I had a ball visiting my sister, Jennifer, in the tri-cities. She is such an excellent hostess and her home is enviably calm and inviting. We were there the week of the fourth of July so my brother's family was able to come and visit as well and there was lots of hot, boisterous fun, thanks to the heatwave in the western US (It was 109 degrees one day!). We went to a few movies and visited a couple of pools but her home A/C unit did its job and I was never uncomfortable. In fact, I feel much warmer in my own home when it gets above 85.




Cousin chicken fight.



Jen took Daniel to the more shallow kiddie pool but Daniel kept going under.







Henry went to gymnastics camp one day with cousin Sadie.




Daniel figures out Aunt Jen is a good friend to have.



Jen and I hiked Badger Mountain but forgot to take a picture at the top. It was much harder than it looks. So, we took a picture in the Maverick parking lot as we got our reward sodas instead:)



Henry enjoying a suburban lifestyle. So much cleaner.



Sadie and Henry in front of Jen's pretty wildflowers.



We spent the fourth of July at a friend of Jen's who has a pool. The kids had a blast.



Cute pictre of Daniel.




So much fun lighting sparklers and fireworks in the cul-de-sac.




My vantage point.



Tara actually made the effort to cross the street to get a real shot of what we were all watching. So much fun.



The kids spent a few nights camping in open air in the backyard. The second night didn't go so well as the sprinklers went off in the wee hours of the morning.



There may have been a nerd gun war.



Seth and his muscle shirts. I'm learning to deal with it.


One of three sippy cups gone missing during the trip.


While there, I even got my hair cut by the fabulous Melanie.  She is talented and, best of all, she actually did exactly what I asked her to do with my hair! I don't know why that feat has been nearly impossible for any stylist in my local vicinity to do but, thanks to her talent and patience and follow-up questions, I do know it's possible for me to get a cut and color and not be unhappy.

On my way to Montana, I stopped and stayed with some dear, old friends in Spokane and while I know we are in the place we are for a reason and it allows for so many good things in our lives, I will always miss what might have been had we been able to stay there. We had a great day at the lake together and when I went to my old ward the next day, I was so surprised that so many people remembered and missed my family. Unfortunately, I was really unmotivated to capture many of these fabulous moments with a picture so you'll just have to imagine me sitting in a comfy salon chair in Melanie's laundry room while we caught up on each other's lives and kids (insert picture here) and laughing, philosophizing and eating with the charming Andrea, KariAnn and Melanie B. They were each so kind to put on a full meal for the entire crew! That's right, Melanie did lunch at the lake, KariAnn did dinner and Andrea put on lunch after church for all of us. And I have the smallest family with only 4 kids! They are all so generous and able. (Insert picture here).  Loved Washington State.

Spending a week in my hometown was pure relaxation. Embarrassing as it is to admit, I totally let my Dad do almost all of the meal making (breakfast and lunch always) and cleaning and my Mom do all of the shopping and laundry. You'd think with all of that free time that I would have read a book or two but I happened to start what might possibly be the worst summer book of all time (The Buddah in the Attic) which sucked all reading mojo from my brain. I opened and closed that book about a hundred times and still only skimmed to achieve a "read" status. I did spend most of the time visiting with my wise and thoughtful parents and working on making a book of my parent's recent trip to Egypt, Israel and Jordan. I also happened to be in town for my 20 year high school reunion and, much to my chagrin, I ended up attending one of the evening events after some cajoling and friendly bullying from two high school BFFs. It was mostly fun. Definitely awkward at times. Without a doubt unnecessary in the grand scheme of things but I can understand the draw to return to our high school years. It really is the end of childhood so those memories seem almost sacred. Still, I was mostly just glad to see Jill and Kari but it was nice to see a few other people as well. I also stopped and met Ana for the first time. That was really fun, even if it was quick and possibly weird for our kids. It was nice to put a voice to the woman behind the personality:)




Family home evening with my Dad.  Just a quick overview of the entire Old Testament:)



Seth and me hiked Mt. Helena - my favorite.



But, I really enjoy having discussions with my parents. I learn so much from them.



Out of order picture. Seth at Devil's Kitchen.



I signed Seth, Sam and Henry up for basketball camps the week we were in Helena.  Henry spent three days at my old Elementary school.  No more rubber gym floor!



Sam went for three hours in the morning at my alma mater.



Seth was there in the afternoon. They both thought it was a really good camp but the coaches weren't that interested in them once they realized they were just visiting.



Emily came at the end of the week and so the boys got some cousin time.



Met some of the best girls I know at Staggering Ox. They can get me laughing!



Kari, Me and Jill



After returning home from the reunion. They even had a name tag for me (I didn't RSVP). That's my senior pic. I tried to recreate the pose.



Love the bandshell concerts.



After church. Brendan, Connor and Seth all helped pass the sacrament. I love that they were all ready and worthy to do it.



Me with my favorite boys. They are so much fun to travel around with.



Ana and me in her home.

The third and final week of our summer odyssey took us to Utah. I rented a vacation home in Lehi with my sisters Emily and Jen, and their families and as much fun as several of the days were (Lagoon. Um, that might have been the only completely fun day actually), there is something stressful and anxiety producing about staying in Utah. There are just so many mormons and we all seem to want to do the same things and eat at the same places! The day we went to Provo to visit BYU campus and the bookstore, everywhere we went felt too crowded and visitor hostile. My sister, Maureen, got tickets for all of us (kids too) to attend the Pioneer Day Concert at the Conference Center and I almost had a nervous breakdown just getting there. We thought parking and eating at City Creek would be convenient but apparently so did almost all of the other 20,000 concert goers. I've never seen so many shade shirts under maxi dresses and shirts and ties in the Sbarro Line in my life! When we finally got all  17 of us to the building, I had to have it out with some volunteer grandma who was telling me Henry was too young to attend. I know those poor volunteers are just repeating what they are told but there was no way in hades I was going to say, "Oh...Ok" when the tickets did NOT specify age other than saying no babies on laps. I hope my children felt the spirit during the concert, especially when President Monson walked in right before it started and the whole room got quiet and everyone stood out of respect. I'm pretty sure Henry did not. That volunteer might have had it right as he was being so hard and loud! He finally fell asleep and I was able to actually enjoy the beautiful music, even if the dancing hip hop violinist was a bit odd. I think had she actually been playing something more...um...street, I would have been more understanding of all the frolicking and lacy hair ribbons but it seemed so weird with the MoTab standing right behind her.



Henry bumping cars.



Owen, Sam and Ian.



Lots of pictures of Sadie and Henry because I got them from Jen. The older boys disappeared for most of the day so no pictures of them.




Daniel did NOT like rides. He did like the train to see the animals however.

Seth would like to be this tall. I think it would be awkward and gross but he still dreaming.

Cousins in Legacy Museum.

Brick Oven on a wednesday is not a great idea. They feed missionaries going into the MTC that day for free so it was crowded! But, the rootbeer sure is good.



The older kids all went for the Kong Cone at macey's after visiting the BYU bookstore. That is a lot of icecream!



Em and I at the Mt. Timanogos Temple.



Henry and Owen at Little Heroes Basketball camp. I was not impressed with this camp at all.



They did a service project which took hardly no time at all but they all ended up with one of these bags too so...cool, I guess.



They spent WAY too much time doing this. Sitting around.  You can see our bored boys sitting along the chain wall.



The conference center really is majestic.

I hate that the week gets a bad rap because it was so much fun for the cousins to be together. And, of course, I loved seeing my sisters. I was determined to make it to a temple session at least once on this trip and finally managed to go to a Wednesday night session with Emily. We were quite shocked when we arrived at the Mt. Timpanogos Temple and could hardly find a place to park. We figured the place would start to clear out by the time our 7:30 session started but we didn't make the 7:30 session, even though we were dressed and waiting by 7:15 (a challenge when there was only one available locker. Em and I shared). We stood in a long, meandering line in the hallway and finally got to sit in the chapel at 7:30 when that place cleared out. There were quite a lot still behind us and we were in the very back row when we entered the ordinance room. So...here's a shout out to all those faithful Utah Saints. You may crowd us visitors out of Brick Oven, BYU, City Creek and Cafe Zupas but I didn't mind so much at the temple. Woot woot!

Jen followed me back home to Durango and you'd think after two weeks of being together, our kids (and maybe us) would be a little tired of each other's company but our week here had a totally different feel than the other weeks. The kids were happy to play outside, play board games and visit a few Durango tourist traps. My only regret is the money and time spent at Purgatory for the Total Package but one misfire is understandable during a week of fun. The good times at the Melodrama, lake, Western photo session, and triple date more than make up for it.




Getting overpriced candy at Fuzziwigs!



Ziplining at Purgatory. It took them about 15 minutes to gear up and 20 seconds to zip down:)



Sam on the bungee trampoline.



Henry trying to figure out the hamster ball.



Seth and Ansel going to battle in the balls.

Daniel doing his thing:)

The finished playset!  So much fun.



They make mighty fierce gunslingers, don't you think?

I haven't done much this past week. I still have a few finishing touches to do on the deck and would like to get my basement painted but I don't know if it'll all get done before school starts. We are busy with fair and football this week and then...it's the last week of summer break! We are ready. School supplies are all purchased (Henry already has his in his backpack), and fall sports are beginning. I love summer. I do. It just goes so fast!