A {Semi} Spontaneous Trek to California

At some point during the summer, my sister, Kristina, got a bee in her bonnet about us coming to visit them in California.  And by "us," I mean she really wanted Cami and the kiddos to come visit them and was willing to tolerate Ellie and I coming along as well.  😆

As luck would have it, Cami was equally as excited about the possibility AND was able to easily change her flight home without penalty.   I worked on getting us some cheap tickets and thus our trip to California became a reality.   I think Cam and kids enjoyed the change of scenery about as much as K's family enjoyed doting on Lucie and Oliver.    

Oliver loved having all the floor space to scoot around and both kiddos enjoyed the attentions of  Madeline, Kristina, and the King Boys, especially Jesus and Manuel, who loved to snuggle them and try to make them laugh.  It was quite sweet to see their soft sides shining through.  

We arrived during one of the hottest weather spells they'd had in a year, with temps around 100* the whole time we were there.   The searing heat meant it was a little too toasty for hiking and such, but it was perfect for visiting Newport Beach--especially since the temps were a good 15-20* cooler at the beach too.  Here are some pics from our day at the beach. 

My nephew, Jesus, skipped school and came along with us too, a fact which made Lucie quite happy.  They played well together and I think they kept each other entertained far longer than either would have been on their own. 

It had been quite a while (maybe Hawaii in 2022) since I'd spent any time at the beach and it was a delightful day. 

I also enjoyed recreating this picture with Oliver...

Another day we headed to Balboa Island, where it was also 15ish degrees cooler.  We found some good food and enjoyed walking around together.

We also went on a whale watching cruise where we saw zero whales, but lots of baby dolphins and sea lions.   It was a bit disappointing not to see any whales, but it was still a delightful trip. 

We were only there a few steamy days, but we made a lot of fun memories together and Lucie keeps asking to go back to California, so we are calling it a success!  

Within 24-hours of  returning from California, we put Cami, Ellie, Lucie, and Oliver back on a plane and sent them back home to Birmingham, where Ellie has been nannying for them for the last month.  Our house is way too quiet and lonely without them here, but I am forever grateful for the fun memories we made while we were all together!  💗


 

A Special Day for Ellie

As I mentioned in this post, Ellie's mission call took a while to arrive.   When she realized that the timing was likely to be close to Adam's return home, she made a decision that she wanted to  attend the temple for the first time in that window while we were all together in Idaho.   She was hoping that we could attend the Rexburg temple together on the way home from Island Park, since, after a year at BYU-Idaho,  Rexburg is now a place that is meaningful to her.  Unfortunately the Rexburg temple was closed at that time.   She debated about what to do, but decided it was too good of an opportunity to pass up, so she decided on the Idaho Falls temple instead.  It was still on the way home from Island Park AND it's the temple my parents were married in 52 years ago, so there's some special familial significance as well.

So, on the way home from Island Park, we stopped in Idaho Falls for the night.  We rented an Airbnb, which meant we all got to stay together, however we had not noticed in the description that there was only one bathroom.  That seemed like a bit of a stretch for them to advertise a place that sleeps 12 with only one bathroom, but it was only for a night, so we somehow made it work.   Ellie and I got up bright and early and WALKED to the temple (one of the  big perks about the Airbnb).  As her escort, I got to be with her while she met with the temple matron and went through the pre-endowment process.  

Later, Glen, Adam, Cami, Emma, and my mom met us for the endowment session.   Garrett stayed back to take care of Lucie and Oliver.  It was a wonderful feeling to be together in the temple and I loved being a part of Ellie making those  covenants that will bring her closer to the Lord. 

My mom had taken the shuttle up to Idaho Falls the day before, so she could be a part of this special day as well.  As I mentioned previously, her and my dad had been married there 52 years ago, but weirdly, she'd never been back.  The Idaho Falls Temple was the temple for where she grew up in Star Valley, Wyoming, but after their wedding, they never lived near it again.  The Idaho Falls Temple has some unique features to it, which made it an extra special first experience for Ellie and extra special to have my mom there for it. 

We are so proud of Ellie and the decision she's made to serve a mission and to covenant with the Lord in the temple.  

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Are you familiar with the temples of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints?  If not, you may have questions about terminology and other things I've mentioned in this post.  

Here is a little synopsis that may help you understand a little more:

WHAT ARE TEMPLES? 
"Temples are places of reverent worship where members strive to commune with God. Members are taught important gospel truths, such as the plan of happiness offered by our Heavenly Father, the Atonement of Jesus Christ, the divine nature of each person and the great blessings offered to all of God’s children. The primary purpose of temples is for members to participate in sacred ceremonies rooted in the gospel of Jesus Christ."   Source

ABOUT THE ENDOWMENT:

"The word endowment means gift. Those who receive the temple endowment receive various blessings, such as greater knowledge of God’s purposes and the power to resist temptation and follow Jesus Christ.

The endowment ceremony teaches of God’s love for all of His children and His plan for their happiness. Participants make special promises with God called covenants. They covenant to obey God’s commandments and follow Jesus Christ. In return, God promises wonderful blessings in this life and the opportunity to live with Him as eternal families after this life." Source

 

Together in Island Park

Adam returned from his mission on August 21st and  fall semester at BYU was starting  September 4th, which meant we had a whole lot of things to squeeze into a little less than two weeks' time.  In addition to needing to let Adam decompress for a minute and have some time to go through his stuff, he needed to write and give a homecoming talk and we hosted an open house, we needed to get Adam settled into his new apartment before the semester began, we needed to do a little shopping for him to update the shoes and clothes he'd been wearing for 2 years straight, and, most important of all, we wanted to be able to gather all together as a family for the first time in 2 years. 

Whew!  It makes me tired just looking back and thinking about all the things we squeezed into those couple of weeks!  

I touched a little on the first few days he was home in this post, and now this post will be dedicated to capturing our family gathering we held in Island Park, Idaho the following week.  We picked Island Park because we wanted to go somewhere within a reasonable driving distance of home and also because our family has made a lot of good memories there over the years.  

We had a loose schedule for things we wanted to do while we were there, but we tried to leave some flexibility built in, so we could allow the kids (who are actually all adults) the freedom to help plan as we went along and also to allow the actual kids (Lucie and Oliver) time to take naps most days.   One of the spontaneous activities the kids got excited  about was choosing t-shirts for each other and then wearing them all at the same time. We drew names and spent a few hours wandering around West Yellowstone shopping for each other, which is where these pictures were taken. 

 The results were hilarious and we laughed as we went to dinner at the Gusher in these, then onto see Anastasia at the Playmill.   Both the Gusher and the Playmill are traditions for whenever we visit Island Park/West Yellowstone! 

 

Don't ask me how or why this next part developed, but Emma, Cami, and Adam somehow decided they were going to run a 1/2 marathon together in Island Park.   Adam was fresh off his mission and clearly hadn't trained at all.  The girls had a little more running under their belts, but it was a stretch for them as well.   They wended through cow herds and through the beautiful scenery and all three accomplished their goal.  Glen, Denali, and I met them along the way to bring them water, and to cheer them on! 

We also had an ongoing quest to eat as many s'mores as possible, which meant we had a campfire going  most nights. 

We toasted and ate a lot of marshmallows and just enjoyed the opportunity to sit around the campfire together.

Then campfire time would usually morph into appreciating the night-sky time.  The stars were amazing! 

We did some exploring in the area, including this trek to Big Springs to see the ginormous fish and gorgeous scenery. 

We saw some wildlife...

We hung around the cabin (which we'd rented on VRBO) and sent some postcards (of course)...

We took Lucie on a little nature walk and she filled a bag with all sorts of interesting things she'd found while wandering around the cabin. 

We  wandered into Yellowstone on the  last day of our Island Park adventures, including visiting Artist Point and Old Faithful.  The kiddos were very tired this day and we'd checked out of the cabin, so we kept things as easy going as could this day before trekking to Idaho Falls for the night. 

All in all, it was a great five days together and we very much enjoyed lots of good food, gorgeous scenery, and time together.  The only downside was that Spencer didn't end up being able to come.   We hoped that by picking somewhere somewhat close to home (a 5 hour drive), that he'd be able to come for part of the week at least, but, in the end, it ended up being too hard finding care for Kiwi, so he stayed home.  😢

And, no,  I'm not done yet with the late August/early September updates.  Stay tuned....

The In-Between Time

 It's been a whirlwind these past few weeks and I'm a little intimidated by all the events and pictures to sort through to even kind of get caught up here on the blog, but I am committed to try.   This post will be dedicated to the few days right after Adam got home from his mission and before we took off for our family reunion gathering (basically the time period of August 22-25). 

More than any other thing during that time,  I was really happy to just see our kids spending time and having fun together.  It makes my Mom heart joyful to see that my kids not only get along with each other, but are genuinely good friends and enjoy being together.  

My brother, Matt, and two of his kiddos were still with us during most of that time, as was our niece, McKenzie, who was in between summer and fall semesters at BYU. Their presence during this special time for our family only added to the experience.  They are all delightful people to have around and we are really happy that they were here.   Then on Saturday, Matt and kids left for Maryland and a few hours later, Cami, Lucie, and Oliver rolled into town from Alabama.    We also spent a lot of time on Saturday getting ready -baking and shopping-for Adam's homecoming and open house the next day.

With Lucie, Oliver, and Cami's arrival, our house got wild and loud very fast!   Lucie is as sassy, energetic, and talkative as ever and Baby Oliver just may be the sweetest baby I've ever met in my entire life....and I've met quite a few!     He scoots all over the place and basically only cries when he's hungry or when someone takes something away from him that he's excited to hold onto.  

Lucie and McKenzie definitely hit it off and Lucie was calling her "Auntie McKenzie" before long.  I loved, loved, loved seeing all my girls back together again and I loved seeing Spencer's and Adam's soft sides come out with Lucie and Oliver's presence.  I'd have to say that Lucie and Denali's obsession with each other was about equal and Denali LOVED all the attention she got while they were here.

 On Sunday, Adam gave his homecoming talk in our ward and we hosted an open house at our home afterward.  It was a joy to see so many old friends and to meet some of Adam's mission friends, though I neglected to get pictures of everyone that was there.  We  loved hearing him share some of his experiences as a missionary, as well as hearing him testify of Christ's love for each of us.  It was clear that he made a difference to many people over the last two years and we are proud of his willingness to serve the people of Oregon for that time.  

After the homecoming, we just reveled in our Lucie/Oliver time and enjoyed being all together as a family for the first time in more than two years.   My mom (Gramma Rosynanna to Lucie and Oliver) and my sister, Heather, were also very much enjoying all the snuggle and toddler time.  We ate a lot of family dinners all together and eventually we dropped McKenzie off at her new apartment for the fall, so she wouldn't miss her New Student Orientation. 

Next up on the agenda, our adventure to the wilds of Idaho...stay tuned...

A Big Week and a Passing of the Baton

 The couple weeks leading up to Adam coming home from his mission were a bit chaotic.  Not only did I get all sorts of bees in my bonnet about some long-ignored house projects, but we also had guests in town and lots of hiccups with the house projects.   

Despite the hiccups,  we did manage to purchase a new dining room table, a rug, some new plants, some pictures for the wall, and got Adam's room ready.   Perhaps I'll do a whole post on these improvements eventually, but for now I am just mentioning them....

We did manage to get this banner hung up....

Spent as much time as we could with Matt, Anna, and Ben visiting from Maryland.... 

and also McKenzie, who was on break between summer and fall terms at BYU.   

Then on August 21st, this handsome guy arrived home after serving for 2 years + a week in the Portland Oregon mission!    I was soooooo antsy before he got home and we were all so very, very excited to have him home again.   Matt, Anna, Ben, McKenzie, Heather, and my Mom all came to the airport to welcome him.   Then our dear friends, the Van Dams from our homeschool co-op in Virginia, happen to walk by just a few minutes before Adam's arrival, so they joined us too!  

Then, on the way home from the airport, we stopped by the Taylorsville Temple and started the next leg of our missionary family journey, when Ellie opened the mission call she'd just received the day before.    Submitting her papers and waiting for her call had been a much longer process than she'd anticipated (thanks to her health issues and a series of comic mishaps that were 100% out of her control), so the timing was different than she expected, but serendipitously beautiful--almost a handing off the baton in a way.  

She'll be serving in the California-Ventura Mission (Spanish speaking) starting Home MTC just before Christmas.   She's had  a journey in life that's been marked with challenges and I know she'll be an amazing force for good as she sacrifices time away from family, friends, and schooling to stretch herself in this way. We are so proud of her decision to serve, but are happy that we get a few more months together first.   Yay for missionaries! 💕

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Mid-August at a Glance!

It's been a crazy few weeks and we're in the midst of even more craziness, but here's a glimpse at our mid-August happenings around here! 

Enjoyed the sidewalk chalk art at Alpine Days:

Picked up Charity (Ellie's roommate) and stopped at a smoothie place on the way home from the airport.  She stayed with us for a few days!

Went to a family gathering with Bobby and Buddy's families.  I hadn't seen some of my cousins in 20+ years, so it was great to see them.  It was a full house, but fun to be there.

We belatedly sung to my Nana for her 95th birthday:

Ellie, McKenzie, Charity, and Emma dropped in for a few minutes  before they headed out for a concert in Park City.  The performer was Cody Fry, which no one had really heard about, but the four girls were excited to go. 

Went to the Provo Farmer's Market on Saturday...

Went to the Alpine Days parade and other festivities.  It was a tad bit of a let-down without any kids with us.  hahaha

We've been going on lots of walks, which one day was matchy matchy: 

We've been seeing tons of deer...

And lots of raptors lately...

 

Glen flew in his boss's private plane down for some meetings in Saint George for the day...

 

 

Emma and Ellie made us a charcuterie board for our Sunday dinner... It was quite tasty!

Denali was super cute...

I like finding pictures like this in the camera roll! haha

Can't remember if I ever mentioned the sprinkler saga, but basically we found out that our water meter and our neighbor's was switched and we were paying way too much!  It's a long story of how we figured that out, that involved not watering our grass for two weeks to prove to the city that something was wrong with our meter.  We FINALLY got it figured out and our lawn is still suffering the effects. 

Thankfully, we've had a lot more rain than usual lately.  Not quite like  rainy days in the East, but periods of time that are like a good soaking rain in the East.   We are hoping that it helps bring our lawn back to life! 

Ellie has also been enjoying the rain....

This is the least of the excitement of the last few weeks, so stay tuned for lots more coming your way...eventually!