Sept. '17- Week 2- Ward Camp Out, Anna Starts Gymnastics, Book Club, Bethany Says "Apple,"

We spent the morning getting ready go to our ward campout.  We left by 4pm and hit bad traffic and rain on the way down. We made it by 6pm and enjoyed a pot luck dinner.  The kids had fun playing with friends and especially loved being creative with all the glow sticks people brought (they made jewelry, purses, and space helmets)! We were in bed by 10:30 but Anna was up coughing quite a bit in the night.  

We were up the next morning around 7am.  There was a delicious big breakfast and we enjoyed some time with Grandma and Grandpa!  Anna apparently couldn't wait for breakfast and mooched off of some food the Jaynes family brought.  :)  Dan and I showed our respective school spirit for the big rivalry game that day.  

There's a fun park by the camp site and we played BINGO! 

We had pizza for lunch then packed up and headed home!  After laundry, showers, and unpacking, we Facetimed with my parents who decided to evacuate due to Hurricane Irma scheduled to make landfall in the Tampa area over the weekend.  They drove up to my sister's house in Alabama.  That night after kids were in bed, I worked on the blog while Dan when up to his parents' house to watch the BYU/Utah game.  

We had Webster family dinner Sunday evening and celebrated September BDs.  I watched hurricane coverage off and on that day.  

Monday I got some good snuggles from Bethany.  Our van hit a milestone--65,000 miles! 

Anna had her first day of gymnastics and was very excited to wear some new-to-her leotards McKenna used.  Anna also showed that over the Summer she gained quite a bit of confidence and improved a lot!  We then went to Costco and the girls were being silly using our paper towels as a pillow.  After dropping Anna off at preschool, I took Bethany to Sam and Lara's to nap while I volunteered in Ben's class to help with art.  We had a normal evening of homework and FHE reading scriptures about the mission of Jesus Christ.  

Tuesday Bethany had speech.  The teacher brought a tunnel and the girls loved pretending it was a slide.  We went to Bountiful Park with Swa and Ailin for lunch.  I crammed hard in the afternoon and while making dinner to listen to my book club book.  I had book club that night for the "Killer Angels" book about the battle of Gettysburg.  Overall it was a pretty graphic book at the end and difficult for me to get into, but I appreciated the personal side of getting to know the Generals in the armies form both sides.  

Wednesday I went walking with Rachael.  We picked apples on the way down the hill and Bethany said a new word! "Apple."

Of course Anna wanted a video too.  

McKenna had Camille over to play in the afternoon.  I worked on preparing Constitution day lesson stuff.  Ben also had Taggart over to play.  

Thursday I went walking with Rachael again.  I took Bethany to play at Hogan Park while Anna was at her music class.  

I had a RS activity that night.  We played a service gift exchange.  I got some FHE lessons about the First Presidency created by Melanie Olson.

Sept. '17- Week 1- Boating, Labor Day,Swimming, Anna Starts Preschool

I met Sarah Moulton and Brigette McKamey at the Jeep Posse (Brickyard) park for lunch.  Sam worked on painting our doors more.  We had a pizza and movie night as a family that night and watched "Boss Baby."  

Saturday after morning grocery shopping, we packed up, took Whitney with us, and went boating with the Stewarts at Willard!  Brynn and I traded off time on the beach with a couple of kids so that there weren't too many people on the boat.  I took a Dramamyne to see if it would help with my motion sickness and I think it did a little.  Brian was also a fairly conservative driver, which I appreciated.  I even went tubing with Joe and Henry and had a great time!  Here are my two beach buddies! 

We headed back to the Mantua house by 6:30 but didn't end up leaving to drive home until 8:30. We also had to stop at Wendy's for a late dinner.  Thank goodness the kids had lots of snacks.  

Sunday was a pretty normal day.  The kids finished "Sound of Music," and Dan happened to come home in between meetings and church which helped us big time to be on time.  Mickelle stayed for dinner and I found out that evening that a teacher friend of mine, Shaan Bartschi, moved into the Applewood condos in our ward!  

Here I am at 2 months pregnant and 3 months pregnant! 

Monday was Labor Day. After breakfast Dan started installing our NEW DOORS!!  The first three were great and overall only 3 of the 9 new doors needed to be shaved down a bit because they were too big.  While Dan did that, I worked on creating these checklists for the kids.  It's their after school routines and the hope is that I won't have to bark orders but gently remind them to check off items on their checklist.  

I also worked on changing our wall calendar for a new month.  McKenna painted the letter M she got for her birthday when she turned 8.  She chose the color teal and also did pink polka dots on it.  

Anna started coming down with a "back to school" cold.  I also organized the color books basket and started some new school paper binders for each of the kids then we went swimming as a family at the Gunnerson's.  

The Reudters stopped by to share some caramel popcorn with our family.  We ended up needing to give Anna her inhaler that night.  And after kids were in bed Dan ran to Lowe's and kept working on shaving down doors so they would all fit!  We still need to do paint touch-ups, but they look SO AWESOME!  It really updates the look of the whole house!  

Tuesday the roses I clipped so you could see our rivalry flag had started to open!  And Bethany fit into her BYU cheerleader outfit!

Tuesday we also babysat Will and Desi Alexander.  All four kids had runny noses and Desi and Anna fought a lot, so it wasn't the greatest morning.   I then took my kids to Autumn Cundick's house while I went to Anna's preschool orientation.  The kids did great with their new checklists and Ben started Gymnastics that afternoon and had lots of fun! 

Wednesday we babysat Charlie and Clara in the morning.  Poor Charlie was pretty sad most of the time... until I took him outside.  Thank goodness wagon rides and swinging helped! (Bethany has that "Ben" pose down.)  

After lunch I took Anna for her first day of preschool at Adelaide Elementary!  

She found her locker, moved her name, washed her hands, and got right to work.  The class is pretty girl heavy, and she's loving having Paisley Panter from our ward in her class.  

Bethany loves swinging too!  

McKenna was so excited for Anna that she planned a "Welcome Home" party for Anna.  

The kids played at the Alexander's that afternoon.  Dan had the priests over that evening for a planning meeting in our backyard.  

Thursday I went with Anna to her music class.  

Here's a cute video of Bethany's love for "Daniel Tiger!"

McKenna had Activity Days and Ben went to music.  We also packed that night for camping the next day.  

Aug. '17- Week 4- Mom and Dad Here, Play Dates, Sink Problem, Mantua, New Doors, Swimming at Blaser's

Tuesday my visiting teachers came over then I attended a bridal shower for Dallin and Christy Lowder (Brad Lowder's son) at the Ringwood's.  My parents came over in the afternoon and told us all about their Eclipse experience.  I attended the parents meeting for Ben and Anna's music class.  Our next door neighbor, Sadie Gunnerson, was set apart as a missionary (which Dan attended).  

Wednesday, Desi and Will Alexander came over to play.  Unfortunately Will was pretty sad most of the time.  When Rachael came to get her kids, she ended up taking Anna and Bethany back to her house to play.  I worked on paying medical bills and tracking my professional development classes for relicense points.  After lunch McKenna and Ben came home.  Jordan came over to play and Jordan and Ben traded Pokemon cards and played dress up.  I took stroganoff to the Winegar family. We skyped Emily that night.  She was feeling quite overwhelmed with all her new college classes and trying to close on her newly built house!  Dan brought me some Hokulia that night and he took some to his dad who was recovering from eye surgery.   

Thursday I attended Anna's music class with her while my parents babysat Bethany.  I also babysat Clara and Charlie Stewart in the afternoon as part of a babysitter swap with Brynn while we attend Henry and Ben's music classes.  That night we had one last dinner with my parents and siblings and watched Guardians of the Galaxy 2.  Unfortunately Dan was trying to tighten our kitchen sink faucet, thought the water was shut off, but it wasn't... :(  We used pretty much every towel in our house and still had some water leak down to the basement.  Everything seemed to dry out nicely though.  

Friday I went walking with Rachael and Melissa Roth in the morning, then we played at Lewis Park for a bit with Shelly Jaynes too.  I picked up groceries and washed all the towels we used the night before.  After kids got home from school we headed up to Mantua!  We had pizza with Sam and Lara and Grandpa then watched "How to Train your Dragon" on the upstairs deck.  We had a pretty rought night's sleep that night as Bethany came into bed with us at some point and made it very difficult to sleep.  

Saturday after a pancake breakfast, McKenna and I got dressed for the day and headed back to Bountiful for a couple hours to attend a baptism for one of McKenna's good friends, Hannah Hilbig. At Mantua, Aunt Lara had fun doing all the little girls hair matching.   

On our way back up to Mantua, we stopped by cousin Joe's soccer game.  Brynn and Brian had to divide and conquer quite a bit that day with 4 kids in soccer games, which left no one to attend Joe's game.  So we were happy to watch for the last 15 minutes since it was on our way back north.  We also stopped by Pettingill's for a peach shake.  We got back to Mantua by 1pm and had lunch.  

Because of the rough night's sleep, Bethany napped from 11-2.  I got a nap as well while Dan went swimming with the kids.  Ben had a good time laying out ALL his Pokemon cards! And of course playing Nintendo with cousins.  

That evening was the extended Webster family gathering!  Fun swimming, yummy food, and great to catch up with Dan's cousins.  

 Here's Grandpa Webster with his three beautiful sisters! 

We got home from Mantua late, around 9:45pm!  Kids went straight to bed!

Sunday We watched "The Sound of Music" before church.  We got to church a little early to practice because the YW sang our "Ask of God" song we sang at camp.  Velda Ah Yen accompanied us on her Ukulele.  It was beautiful! I got to play with Daisy Behunin during SS while Kylee taught the lesson and Nate was being set apart and trained as Dan's new Executive Secretary.  We had Webster family dinner that evening and before bed I braided McKenna's hair so it would be crimped for picture day the next day. 

Monday morning we had Samuel Jaynes over to play for a bit before taking him to his Joy School.  I also had an OB appointment and heard a good strong baby heartbeat!  I listened to my book club book while folding lots of laundry.  We did a quiet FHE lesson during dinner, then Dan started taking down our interior doors so they could be matched to make NEW ONES!!  Dan also mowed the lawn and I worked on my UEN class.  

Tuesday I went walking with Rachael and Sarah Moulton.  Afterwards, Anna and Bethany went to Rachael's to play.  I clipped our rose bush and swept outside a little.  Then I picked up the girls and went to the paint store.  We babysat cousin Ellie for a bit and I cleaned up patriotic decorations.  After school, McKenna had her first day back at Hip Hop Dance after the Summer break.  

I finished my UEN class that night and gave Dan a haircut.  

Wednesday the Alexanders and Camille Roth came over the play after school.  That night Sam came over to prep the garage and started painting our new doors.  I sanded our pantry door in the back yard.  

Thursday Sam worked some more on painting our new doors.  That night we had a good time swimming and hanging out with the Blasers and Spencers.  We took some peaches and cream to share.  It was a little chilly, but we had lots of fun catching up with old friends.  McKenna and Ben loved the giant slide!  Dan took Bethany and Anna down the slide as well and they loved it after they landed safely at the bottom.  

Aug. '17- Week 3- Grandma Cooking, Sea Quest, Olsons, First Day of School, MTC, Marianne Wedding, Stake Conference, Eclipse

Tuesday the kids had their final cooking class with Grandma.  

They made a yummy corn chowder soup and pasta salad.  

Bethany had her first speech appointment.  It went well and I got a few new strategies to try with her.  Then I picked up the kids (and Whitney) and took them to Sea Quest.  This time we fed the lizards.  

The kids pet a snake and a turtle too!  

We fed the parakeets, which Anna and McKenna were less than thrilled to be a part of.  Bethany only did ok.  

Afterwards, the kids played a little at the mall play place and then we left by 2.  We took Whitney home, then went and got Slurpees and drank them at Hogan Park.  

When we got home I did a little cleaning since we were having guests coming.  I made taco salad and we had Andy and Heather Olson over for dinner.  Andy was one of Dan's mission companions in Canada.  We haven't spent time with them in 5+ years, so it was great to catch up a little.  

Kids rolling down the hill (and getting all itchy). ;)  

Wednesday was McKenna and Ben's FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!  McKenna starting 3rd grade, Ben starting 1st!  (Anna wanted to pose in our cat costume.) 

I stayed home while Dan walked them in to their classrooms.  It's always so hard to see them grow up so fast! They both seemed pretty excited though.  

The kids said they had a great first day!  Ben said he had a scavenger hunt, was really hungry most of the day, played trains with Nate, and said he found out the boy he sits next to, Luca, is really sensitive.  I made sure Ben wasn't the cause of Luca's sensitivity. ;) McKenna said she went over rules, made friends with Olivia and liked her instructor (like a teacher's aid).  McKenna also had an Activity Days swimming party in the afternoon.  I worked on my UEN class after kids were in bed.  

Thursday Anna had Lizzie over to play.  

I got this video of Bethany bouncing and shushing her baby doll.  Pretty perfect considering she hasn't seen this in real like very much.  

We ate lunch in the car, picked up the big kids,  picked up Dan from work, then headed down to Provo for the new MTC open house.  The new buildings- are beautiful and Dan said he got a lot more nostalgic than he thought he would have.  Unfortunately our time there was a little overshadowed by the fact that Anna REALLY needed to go to the bathroom several times due to an upset stomach.  Bethany loved the shuttle ride on the bus back to the stadium parking lot (NO carseat!).  I shared a fun memory with the kids that I used to come to the MTC to the TRC (Teaching resource center) where I pretended to be an investigator and they missionaries in training would practice teaching their discussions.  

We hit pretty back traffic on the way home which made me miss a parent meeting for Ben and Anna's music class.  However, because of that, we ended up having a nice evening together as a family, eating out at Panda Express, then doing all the normal things to get ready for the next day of school.  

Friday morning we found Bethany like this in her crib.  She had somehow taken off her jammies (a snap up romper) and diaper!   It turns out she wasn't too happy about her life decision.  Thank goodness there was no poop or pee mess to clean up!  

I also got this goofy video of Bethany at breakfast.  I love how expressive her face is. Who knows what she was laughing at?

That morning I went visiting teaching to Shelly then Anna stayed to play with Lizzie.  After I picked up the big kids from their half day of school, we met Ailin and her kids and Lara and Hailey at Hokulia (purple tongue in picture for proof)!  Then we had Lola over to play for the afternoon while Ben went to Eli's house.  We painted nails and of course played dress up.  MaKayla Cardall also came over in the afternoon to do some cleaning  to earn some money.  After dinner that night we had cupcakes from a cute neighbor girl, Korie Brown, who was selling them.  Bethany definitely liked them.  

After kids were in bed, Mickelle babysat while Dan and I walked to a back yard reception for Dan's first counselor's son, Connor Koehler.  We also watched the movie "Split" that night.  

Saturday Mickelle babysat again while Dan and I went to my cousin Marianne's sealing at the Salt Lake Temple.  It was beautiful and we were so happy to be there with family!  My Grandma Jeanne has dementia quite bad and often clings to any man/male for comfort.  In this case, for a few minutes during pictures, that man was Dan.  :) 

We went and picked up groceries at Wal-Mart and saw a couple tour buses full of middle-age tourists from England who were stocking up on supplies for the Total Solar Eclipse that would be taking place on Monday up in Idaho.  Velda Ah Yen came to babysit in the afternoon as we headed to Marianne and Andrew's wedding luncheon.  My parents also made it in town for that! My parents also came to town for the eclipse.  

That evening Dan and I were lucky enough to have dinner with Elder Broadbent who was our visiting general authority for our Stake Conference, followed by the adult session of Stake Conference.  I loved Pres. and Sis. Farnes' testimonies about not "adjusting" back to real life after the mission.  They stressed the need to continually have the name of Christ written on our hearts.  

Sunday McKenna sang in a senior primary choir for Stake Conference!  They did a great job! I took an awesome afternoon nap, then we had my parents and Mickelle over for dinner.  We went for a walk as a family in the evening.  Here is Ben's drawing of the stage at Stake Conference.  He was also super excited to go through a special delivery of Pokemon stuff from neighbor Sam Moulton.  :) 

Monday was the Total Solar Eclipse!  Here are some of my favorite funny memes about it.  I stayed home instead of going to Idaho with my parents and siblings.  There were just too many unknowns to feel ok about going with 4 small kids.  The big unknown being how long would it take to get home? 

So, my original set up at home didn't work at all.  I was trying to see if the eclipse would cast a crescent shadow on the white board, but I think the circle was just too big.  Once we got some smaller circles out, you could definitely see the cool shadows the eclipse was casting.  

Grandma Sibber and Amelia came down to watch it with us.  And thankfully my neighbors, the Gunnersons, called to make sure we had special viewing glasses (which we didn't), so they shared  with us!  The bottom pictures are taken through my glasses.  

It really was amazing to feel how much cooler the temperature got and how dim everything looked. Dan was at a meeting with DCFS in Sandy and they all stepped outside for a few minutes to take in the sights. 

I loved hearing about my parents' and siblings' experience though!  They made the drive up to a small town in Idaho to see the totality.  They LOVED it and said it was "freaking awesome!"  There were cheers and it was a quite emotional experience!  The Stewarts and Dave and Laurie's family also experienced it in Idaho.  

Aug. '17- Week 2- Baby Hazel, Back to School Night, Haircuts

Tuesday McKenna had a braces appointment where she got two new brackets.  Her mouth hurt quite a bit for a few days.  

I took the kids to the last $1 movie, "Sing!"  McKenna played with her school friend Savannah in the afternoon.  I also took Anna to her Upstart testing.  I also had my book club that night for the book "Orphan Train."  

Wednesday we woke up to news that Sarah Jane was in the hospital ready to deliver her new baby girl!  Welcome to the world little Hazel!! 

I packed a lunch then headed up to Mantua for our last friends' swim day!  McKameys, Cardalls, Kylee Behunin, and the Lewises all came.  The weather actually got a little overcast and cold.  We also had an unfortunate incident with Anna in the pool.  She decided to get back in with OUT floaties and I didn't notice.  :(  I was sitting poolside and talking to one of the other moms, and all of the sudden I heard Anna crying mixed with gurgling.  She can touch in the shallow end but had wandered too far and started slipping into the deep end.  She somehow managed to get back into the shallow end and was near the side of the pool so she was pulling herself up.  I pulled her out, tipped her upside down and patted her back to try to get any water out.  She kept crying, which was a good sign (lungs functioning) and I cried a lot too! All she kept saying was that she needed floaties.  GOSH THAT WAS SCARY!   We cleaned up and were home by 5:40.  Dan had made rice-a-roni for us then headed to a Bishop meeting.  The kids had bath and went to bed fine and I cried a lot that night telling Dan what happened with Anna.  

Thursday the kids had sewing with Grandma.  They made these cute towels with gingham sewn on the ends to decoration.  Great practice sewing straight lines.  

(With Bethany)

(Without Bethany)

We packed a lunch and had a picnic at Five Points Park with Lewises till 2.  

That evening I took McKenna and Ben to their back to school night to meet their teachers (even though they both know them already).  Dan enjoyed the time alone with the two little girls.  

Ben had a sick tummy when we got home, but nothing ever came of it, thankfully.  I worked on my UEN class that night.  

(Adorable pose from Bethany.) 

 Friday all three girls got back to school haircuts! 

Better "after" picture after shower and blow dry.  

Better "after" picture after shower, blow dry, and a little curl.  

Love this Anna tummy and that she doesn't ever care or notice when it's hanging out! 

That night we had some friends over for dinner.  Scott and Kylee Nelson & Tim and Emily Hayford.  We had sloppy joes, corn, and fruit.  It was fun to get to know them better.  

Saturday McKenna had primary choir practice, Dan mowed the lawn, then Mickelle babysat while we attended a ward temple session (and we got to be the witness couple).  Dan and I had a lunch date afterwards to Plates and Pallets.  We also decided on a whim to use more of our tax return and buy and new/bigger TV for our family room (from Costco).  Since rearranging our furniture, the smaller TV really was kind of difficult to see from farther away (first world problems, right?).  We also moved some dressers around in the basement and spent the afternoon organizing.  That night we did our usual grocery pick up and eat out at Wendy's as a family.  Then we finally made it over to Winegar's to visit new baby Hazel!! 

Loved seeing all our kids swoon over her.  

We gave Ben a haircut at home that night.  After kids were in bed, Brynn and Brian came over to get the giant TV that was in our basement.  We then moved our little one down there.  I also worked on my UEN class.  

Sunday we were a little later for church and had to sit in the gym due to Max Bramall's mission homecoming and Sadie Gunnerson's farewell.  I sang a little primary song in SS for Rachael's lesson.  I took this picture after church just because they all matched and looked cute! 

We had a Webster family back to school dinner and enjoyed talking to our niece Emma about her week at EFY!  Brynn and Brian stopped by again after kids were in bed to get a few more pieces of equipment for the TV.  We chatted for a while.  

Monday- Snap Chat fun!

Monday we shopped for and organized school supplies.  After lunch I took the kids swimming at the Gunnerson's pool just for an hour.  It got kind of over cast and chilly.  That evening we had our back to school dinner with paper on the table the kids can color on.  Dan gave the kids Priesthood blessings, and back packs were loaded and ready to go (even though they wouldn't start school until Wednesday).  Bethany and I even got blessings.  I was counselled to have the Lord help me set my priorities and keep supporting Dan.  The Lord knows our sacrifices.