A Day in the Life...

Dakota’s drama is getting on Micah’s nerves. Tonight at dinner Kota had a bit of a meltdown (no real reason), so Micah quietly left the room and went into the garage. A few minutes later there was a knock on the door. When we answered it Micah said, “Is she done yet or what?”

Taryn and I just got back from girls camp.  We had a really great time at Heber Valley Camp.  I was a little worried about being gone longer than the usual long girls camp- Heber Valley makes groups go from Monday to Friday, no less and no more.  I will say this- if you're going to camp with 22 teenage girls and eight to ten leaders, Heber Valley is the way to go.  Cabins, bathrooms, showers, hot water, kitchens.  Yes- kitchens!  Well, a sink with counter and a pantry/storage room with a fridge and freezer.  There's also a lake, plenty of trails, ropes/challenge courses, and more. Our LDS prophet Gordon B. Hinckley founded this camp and dedicated it especially for girls youth camps.  A wise man, he asked his wife what women needed to camp and she nailed it- showers, toilets, and a kitchen.  The conveniences made for increased spiritual experiences and a really good time.  All of the campsites are named after influential women of the sc...

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B9UIVBL1-TuZdXJJZjFudVZiVW1QaXBTZ2E0VnlhRTFZc2Y0 We're having a great time at swimming lessons this year.  We found a place we love! Shout out to Utah Swim Academy and all of their instructors.  They're amazing! The link above shows the girls at free time, which apparently happens when lessons fall at the end of the day and there's not many people around.

Dakota and Micah made a decision to join the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints on July 6, 2019.  It was a fantastic day! The church we belong to references saints.  I want to be clear that no member is a saint, but we are all striving to become better each day, and we try to follow our Savior Jesus Christ, who lives and is perfect.  I hope that all members of my little family strive to keep the covenants we make at baptism- to remember Christ, to keep God's commandments, to listen to the spirit as we're guided through life.  I hope I can be a better example of living in accordance of Christ; I hope my children know and talk to God; I hope my extended family will put themselves in positions to have experiences with God, to know of His love; I hope we all ask Him if he's really there and how He feels about us. I'm so proud of Dakota and Micah.  In conjuction with their silliness, unpredictability, dramatic and crazy natures is a divinity that only ...

Pretty Kota at swimming lessons Sprinkler swimming with Cameron Tim did some work in my mom's back yard the other day; I tried running the machine for a bit and it was fun!  No, actually, it wasn't really.  It was okay for a minute until I remembered how hard it was!  He does a great job! The brothers resting in the dirt.  Our friend Zoey had a slime-themed birthday party and invited the girls.  Her mom filled a pool with 18 pounds cooked spaghetti mixed with slime as part of an obstacle course.  It was the best day. Micah especially liked the slime pools; it's right up her alley. Summer days are filled with sunscreen layered hair and skin, and food stuck in toes and ears.  The girls don't shower for days and days at a time because there's just no point.  But on Sunday, they actually get cleaned up and look nice.  I took a picture to prove it. I made this pretty bread. It was chock full of seeds- flax, pop...

We celebrated Micah's birthday a few weeks ago, and Dakota's last weekend.  She picked Red Robin for lunch so she could get a gigantic piece of ice cream cake, which she gladly shared.  Then she wanted to go to Nickel City and play arcade games. Some people say arcades are a waste of money and brain cells.  True and true.  We just love it.  Not just the kids- we ALL love it. I hope they have arcade games in heaven. We loved celebrating Dakota and happy to finish off the birthday week with our little family!

I love Lehi Round-Up Days and celebrating our once small but annoyingly growing and busy city. This year the rodeo and stock parade fell on the twins' birthday.  They thought it was the best birthday ever. The stock parade- sitting out in bloody hot weather watching horses go by.  It's the most boring and pathetic parade ever- literally just horse after horse and nothing else.  But it's the best and we love it.  It's always followed by the rodeo.  Maybe it's the tradition of it; all of it's a bit awful but it's also one of our favorite things. This is Taryn's hand.  She hates her picture taken. Micah comes to the rodeo purely for the food.  Rodeo food is the best.   This is Leisel the clown.  He's 80 years old and he's been the clown of the Lehi rodeo for decade after decade after decade.  He doesn't jump the fence like he used to, and he stays way clear of the bulls now, but he's funny.  An...

Birthday morning for Kota and Micah! Copper and I stayed up late the night before so we could decorate.  She made a scavenger hunt for their gifts and painted Happy Birthday signs.  Such a caring sister. Dakota's gifts are addressed to "Duckoda" because a week or so ago she was invited to a birthday party for a friend, who spelled out her name Duckoda.  So now we call her Duckie and she hates it. Ha! Micah's one gift is addressed to Scout because she always wants to be called one thing or another.  This week it's Scout but it's been Rascal, Mavis, and a number of other names in the past. I'm not sure why they don't look happy here... they were mega excited and got up at 5:45 a.m. like it was Christmas.  They requested donuts for breakfast, which we happily got. Dakota was pretty excited about her most requested gift, a kids' activity tracker.  Now she and Copper have challenges every day and she thinks it's great.  ...