Sept. '19- Week 4- Primary Program, Bethany Bring a Friend to Dance, Parent/Teacher Conferences, Ward Walk About, Ben Baseball

Sunday was our Primary Program!  My first time leading the music (with Amy Hamblin) and it went very well!  Anna said her part and never cried!  Lara got these cute pictures of Hailey and Bethany.  It was crazy to think this was McKenna's last one. :(  I felt the Spirit the most during "I'm Trying to Be Like Jesus" because every time they sing it, I truly feel like they ARE TRYING their best to be like Him!  Most of the comment cards  we read from ward members said they liked the song "I'll Walk With You" best.  My parents and siblings came to watch and spent the afternoon with us.  They also took Ben and Anna on a quick trip to see the work being done on their Condo.  McKenna wrote letters to cousins and friends and we napped.  We also watched one of the new Book of Mormon videos.  Jonathan brought some different kinds of Oreos for us to try after dinner and Bethany had some black teeth afterwards.  

Monday I exercised, drove the kids, did laundry, and Dan went to the back doctor.  I volunteered in Ben's class and worked on a UEN class.  That evening Ben had a baseball game and his Primary teacher, Chuck Thompson, came to watch.  He got 1 hit and got on first base.  He also got up to bat once and struck out, and another time at bat he never swung.  Too nervous I guess.  Later, we met with a guy and got a bid for rain gutter covers/protection.  We also talked about the $ cost $ of Dan's back treatment.  Pretty expensive and a lot to take in. : /

Tuesday morning we had a Come Follow Me lesson about the "Fruits of the Spirit."  Brynn watched the two little girls while I had a Dermatology check up and my skin looked good!  Bethany was proud of her drawing of a rabbit.  That afternoon while Bethany was at Music, the rest of us met Kylee Behunin at Bountiful Park and Anna and Beck climbed up high!  After dinner I went to a RS activity to hear an Author, Marlene Bateman, talk about stories from Pioneer Women.  Dan had to work late that day in Logan.  

Wednesday I went walking with Rachael then Autumn came to visit.  Dan came home early and worked from home, the kids had piano.  Jordan came to play and Anna had dance.  Dan had a BBQ with the youth and McKenna worked on her book report. 

Thursday I exercised and drove the kids while Dan went to the temple.  Bethany had bring a friend day at dance and took cousin Clara.  If our pantry is open, for even a second, Alice will help herself to all the crackers ("caaaack!").

That afternoon we had early out due to parent/teacher conferences.  We also went to the uniform swap and thought it was such a brilliant idea and wondered why we had never done it before.  Anna had music and after dinner we went out for ice cream to celebrate the kids awesome reports from their teachers at their conferences.  We're so blessed to have such good, smart, kids!  

Friday I woke up with a bad head ache, but still went walking with Rachael.  Then we packed a lunch and went to 5 Points Park with Brynn and Adam and kids.  After school we had Aliza and Annie over for play dates.  I did some yard work (cut back the day lilies), and Nate Behunin came over to mow our lawn for free for the last time of the season because I told Kylee about Dan's bad back.  Such a nice guy!  Ben also went to Taggart's to play.  We had pizza and watched Newsies as a family that night.  Dan also worked on painting.  

Saturday I ran 2 miles and Alice stretched with me.  Anna had Dance and Dan went shooting with my dad and brother.  I picked up groceries and McKenna tried the treadmill.  Dan worked on painting more and I went through the kids' school papers.  We cleaned the basement, vacuumed, and did baths and showers.  My parents and Jonathan babysat while Dan and I went to the Utah/Washington football game with David and Reed.  It was cold and wet (rained most of the 2nd quarter) but still somehow fun. ;)  The Utes won! 

Sunday Cody and Meghan Johnson blessed their baby girl.  We were combined during the 2nd hour and watched a video about the new youth and children program.  We had chili and cornbread for dinner with the missionaries then we had the ward "walk about."  We hosted one of the stops and served root beer floats with Sam and Lara helping and using their Hokulia ice cream.  We estimated about 70 people came by.  The kids had fun running around with their friends to different places hosting in the neighborhood.  Dan had to run quickly to a baby blessing at the Hook's that evening as well.  

Monday I went walking with Rachael.  I worked on laundry and listened to my book.  I looked over Primary music stuff and got to be first in line to pick up kids after school because Dan did carline in the morning.  Ben worked on a book report and had a baseball game that night and it was COLD!  

Here's all our videos for the month of September- 

Bethany getting her cast off, fun at the State Fair, Ben's Baseball, Bethany singing, and Bethany Ballet.  

Sept. '19- Week 3- School Pictures, Ben hit in Ribs, Dan Hurt His Back

Sunday morning Benny was reading with Alice in her crib.  Such a darling big brother!  We had our Primary Program practice in the Primary room and Anna actually got up and said her part!  She cried after, but she did it!  Later, I asked her about it and she said they were happy tears!  I also cried a lot during the kids singing "I'm trying to be like Jesus/Come Follow Me," it was powerful.  

After church, all the girls decided they were going to match with their "Webster" shirts and pink shorts.  Well, Ben didn't want to be left out, at least for the picture. :)  He changed shortly after.  We had our family dinner and then dessert at Sam and Lara's (peach cheese cake) and the kids played outside a little.  

Monday Dan worked from home, I went walking with Rachael, and then Dan conducted to Bob Goodwin's funeral.  Ben had a baseball game that night and got hit in the ribs with the ball during kid pitch, but he was tough and it hardly bruised.

Tuesday I exercised, cleaned the basement a little, and did some mending and patching while watching Grandfather's talk at the BYU Devotional.  He gave a wonderful message of LOVE.  I cleaned out my emails and registered for some UEN classes for my teaching license.  I went to music with Bethany then picked up my new RED glasses!  McKenna and I went to an Activity Days BBQ and then I went to my ministering interview at the church.  

Wednesday I went ministering to Janel.  Unfortunately, Nicole got mixed up who we were visiting first and she visited Shelly while I was at Janel's.  I made pumpkin bread before the kids were home for early out.  We got their school pictures back!  Look how cute they all are!  All three older kids went to piano (Anna likes to go and sit and listen), and Ben wanted to try the treadmill after that.  He walked/jogged 1 mile.  After dinner, our family went to the Waikoloa home (an assisted living facility in our stake).  We did a quick lesson on the armor of God and served the pumpkin bread as a treat.  That morning Dan went to stand up from the table after Come Follow Me, and his back froze up!  He was in a lot of pain all that day!  

Thursday, Dan wasn't able to walk his back hurt so much!  We gave him some meds and a heating pad and I got the kids to school.  I watched Hailey and Abby for a bit.  We played outside while Bethany was at dance.  After lunch Swa came and picked up Hailey and Abby.  I helped out with reading in Anna's class and drove Anna and Oliver to music.  After dinner, Dan stayed home with the girls and I took Ben to Cub Scout Pack Meeting.  We left early thinking we could split the time and do some of the pack meeting and some of his baseball practice (they were scheduled at the same time).  However, by the time we got to baseball, they were ending early, and when we got back to scouts, they were done and Ben had missed doing his part in their skit.  We both felt sad and mad and learned a lesson that night to NOT try to split the time and just decide which is MOST important!  After kids were in bed, Dan and I started watching "Yesterday," the movie about the Beatles.  Then I fell asleep on Dan. :) 

Friday Dan's back still really hurt, so he made an appointment to go to the chiropractor/wellness center.  I had been having some neck pain as well and used some warm moist heat to try to relax the muscles.  I was able to exercise later.  Dan worked from home and Lizzie came over to play in the afternoon and Ben went to the Lewis's. Desi later came over to play and the Alexander's picked up their ellipitcal I had been borrowing.  That night, McKenna and Brittana babysat at the Chadwick's.   Dan and I watched the Utah game.  

Saturday Dan was still taking it easy and icing his back and watched more football.  I got groceries and later my parents came to babysit while Dan and I went to an open house for the new town homes being built where Winegar's used to be.  We had a free lunch then did sealings at the temple. We got home in time for baths, tacos with Gma and Gpa and my family conference call.  Dan and I finished watching "Yesterday."

Sept. '19- Week 2- David Called as Bishop, Grandfather's 95th BD!, Entry Way Glass Gone, More Stomach Bug, State Fair!,

Sunday everyone seemed to be feeling better except for Alice.  She still seemed a little off (fussy and low appetite), though she hadn't thrown up since Friday evening.  We went to Dave and Laurie's ward to support David being called and set apart as their new Bishop!  We all waited in the foyer for the second hour and for some reason Alice was giving Uncle Brian lots of snuggles!  We also took a picture of Dan's elbow with bursitis which had started pealing.

Dan's parents surprised us by flying in from Nauvoo!  They were already planning to fly in for Grandfather's Birthday celebration the next day, and it just worked out that David was being set apart this same weekend.  We went back to our ward so the kids could be there for Primary Program practice.  After lunch Alice threw up again while she was trying to nap!  :(  So I stayed home with her while Dan took the other 4 kids to family dinner at Dave and Laurie's.  I was really bummed to miss it since Dan's parents were in town. :(  But I took Alice for a walk and listened to my book club book.

Monday was Grandfather's 95th birthday!!  Monday also started the work on our entryway!  Good bye yellow glass!  Bruce from Hanson's friend, Rodger, came and did the work.  Alice ate a little bit and had a low fever.  So we got lots of snuggles again.  Dan worked from home and I volunteered in Ben's class.  Dan took Bethany to lunch with some of the Webster family to Cafe Rio.

More Alice snuggles cause she had a low fever this day.  Finally burning off that stomach virus.  Bethany doesn't often get to be the "biggest" sister at home, so this was a sweet sight! 

After homework that day, we went to the Nelson Family BD party celebrating Grandfather!  There was yummy food, pictures, and a program where each generation was represented and shared some of our favorite memories of Grandfather.  It was a lovely evening!  After kids were in bed, we went to Sam and Lara's to hang out.  Unfortunately, that night I started to feel the stomach virus coming on!

Tuesday I rested and the girls watched a lot of shows.  Rodger came over again to finish and texture  the drywall above the front door.  We had some big thunderstorms and I swept outside after things had dried up a bit.  After being sick, that wasn't the smartest thing to do because it made me super worn out!  I ended up feeling ok enough to go to book club that night to talk about "The Blue Castle" at Erica Day's house.

Wednesday we had lots of rain!  Emi came over to play with Anna in the afternoon.  Ben went to Melek's house to play also.  We met with the siding guy from Hanson's again to finalize plans.  Unfortunately I was still feeling pretty nauseous most of the day.  Dan had mutual and after baths we cleaned up the basement a bit.  We also had our first in depth talk with McKenna about where babies come from, so that was fun.  :)

Thursday Dan finally had to go to his friend Dr. Brett Blaser to get his elbow drained since the issue was persisting.  The two little girls and I later met Dan in Farmington for lunch at Blue Lemon.  Clara and Bethany matched at preschool wearing teal and red! and Ben took this adorable picture of he and Alice.  I went with Anna to her music class while McKenna and Brittana babysat and Ben went to scouts.  Dan performed a marriage for Tyler Mudrow that afternoon.  Sadly, we also got word that Bev Gagon's son, Bob Goodwin, passed away from pancreatic cancer.  We had some more dead trees cut down in the back yard.  I took McKenna and Anna with me to a baby shower that evening for Kaitlyn Wittwer.



Friday I met a lot of ward friends at Lewis Park, then we headed to Ladies Lunch at the church.  I got a call from McKenna at school saying she had thrown up.  :(  That means everyone in our family had a version of the stomach bug except for Ben.  Ben played at Taggart's that afternoon. We had a nice Friday evening at home and was pretty productive (cleaned the entryway, laundry room, Dan set up my new treadmill!, and we vacuumed the Patio room).

Saturday we had the trees worked on some more in the back yard.  Turns out we're pretty sure we have a beetle/bug that's been killing many of our trees.  I ran two miles outside and my hip was still hurting a little.  :(  We picked up groceries, packed lunches, Dan mowed the lawn, and we left for the State Fair!  I love this tradition of ours!  Poor McKenna still wasn't feeling the best, but she made the best of it.  We ate first then went to the circus!  We did the Yellow Slide, the kids one free ride for the "Read and Win," the Helping Hands little farmers exhibit, then we tried to cool off inside some of the buildings to see the butter sculpture and the crafts.  Last, we saw the farm animals and Alice called the goats "puppies" and we ended with a peaches 'n cream treat from Ellen Irion's brother's stand.  Love those cousins! 

We went to Wendy's for dinner, Ben got a haircut, and we did baths and bedtime.  Dan did some edging outside and I edited pictures.  

Sept. '19- Week 1- Labor Day at Mantua, Alice and Bethany Well Checks, Bethany Cast Removed!, Throw-ups, Glow Dance at School,

Sunday we were on time for church and did a review singing game in Primary using an office chair and a kid as a human spinner.  After Dan got home from church we left for Mantua for the Labor Day holiday.  We had fun playing True Colors with everyone up there that night.  Brian's sister and family also stayed there that night.   

Monday we had a pancake breakfast then the older three swam and I took Alice and Bethany on a walk/jog for two miles.  My hip was feeling almost all the way better.  I started looking at treadmills to buy on KSL.  Bethany didn't want to swim with her cast, so I took Alice swimming before lunch.  After lunch, I braided McKenna's hair, cleaned up some, and then Dan, Ben and Anna went swimming some more.  We documented Dan's elbow, or "weenus" as he nicknamed it.  As we were leaving Mantua we stopped by Bryce and Tessa Coy's new house they're building up there.  That will be so fun to have them close.  We also stopped by my parents Layton condo to see the kitchen all demoed and we went out for Panda Express.  

Tuesday morning Bethany received her back to school father's priesthood blessing.  Dan started antibiotics for bursitis in his elbow.  Alice and Bethany had well checks at the doctors.  

Bethany 4 year Stats

Height: 38.5in (3in increase in a year) 23rd%
Weight: 31lbs (4lb increase in a year) 15th%

Alice 18 Month Stats
Height: 31.5in (1.5in increase in 3 months) 40th%
Weight: 23lbs 14oz (2.5lb increas in 3 months) 68th%

Head: 92nd%

I met Jonathan afterwards so he could help me look at and purchase a new treadmill!  I was so excited!  I found one that was brand new but had a little cosmetic shipping damage.  After lunch, Bethany had her first day of preschool at Adelaide!  She was so excited to have Clara in her class.

I also went with Bethany to music that afternoon.  The kids did well getting their checklists done and having a laundry folding party that evening.  

Wednesday began what would turn out to be almost a week and a half of us passing around a stomach virus in our family!  Poor Alice woke up in a dried pile of stomach bile.  I gave her a bath, she didn't really want any breakfast, then we headed to the hospital to get Bethany's cast removed!! (Video in Week 4)

I gave Alice some apple sauce when we got home and she threw it all back up.   :(  Bethany had preschool but had me call the teacher to let them know she couldn't do the monkey bars since she just got her cast off.  :)  We had our usual Wednesday afternoon with piano, dance, and then Ben's baseball that evening.  The girls loved playing in our shade tent. Ben only got one hit and unfortunately got out.  After kids were in bed, Dan and I finished watching the Jim Gaffigan special.  

Thursday Alice woke up in vomit again...basically all of last night's dinner.  I went walking with Amy Pugsley.  Bethany had dance and preschool.  Anna had music after school and Lia came over to play.  After dinner we went to the school glow in the dark family dance party.  So fun!  But with a sick Alice, it was a little difficult.  In the middle of the night Bethany started throwing up (5 times). :(

Friday Dan started not feeling well.  He went to a work meeting, then to Dirk Kossin's Dad's funeral, then he came home to rest.  We had a TV/blogging morning and I got lots of Alice snuggles.

As I went to pick up the kids from school, I got a call saying Anna had thrown up as she was walking down the hall to leave.  GREAT!  Now 4 out of 7 of us had the stomach virus.  The biggest bummer about this virus was that we had to miss Grandfather's 95th Birthday celebration concert that night at the Conference Center.  :( Thankfully it was broadcast so we could watch it on TV while some of our family was still puking.

Saturday Bruce (from Hanson's) came over to talk about our entryway work we want done.  We rearranged McKenna's and Anna's bedroom (Anna and Bethany were feeling better!).  After lunch, the kids played nice and did yoga.  Dan and I went to test drive a 12 passenger van mainly to see if one would fit in our garage, which it did. :)  After all the kids showered and ate, McKenna babysat while Dan and I went on a dinner date to Plates and Pallets.

Aug. '19- Week 4- Boating, Bethany Ballet, Outdoor Movie, Bountiful Fire, BBQ at Smith's

Thursday I went on ministering visits to Shelly and Janel.  Alice loved the chairs at the Barnes'.  I drove carpool and Anna had Let's Play Music after school.  We also noticed a color motif Ben loves (blue and lime green).  MelodyAnn Swanson came over to play but McKenna ended up going over to their house to swim for a bit.  After kids were in bed, we got a bid for siding from Hansons and then Dan met with the Mudrows as he was getting ready to marry them in a couple weeks. 

Friday I went walking with Sarah and Amy.  Arlee and David came over to play with Bethany and I worked on a grocery order.  After school, Ben went to Taggart's and Anna went to Lizzie's.  We had Cub Scout Pack meeting that night which was a pot luck dinner and skits, then I stopped by to see Andrea Walker who had organized a friends get-together at the Novak's.  Unfortunately, we pretty much missed it all due to Pack meeting going long.  We left for Mantua after that and once kids were in bed, we played games with Sam, Lara, and Adam.  

Saturday was BOATING day!  We had a yummy pancake breakfast and Alice loved some cherries! We had such a great time tubing, relaxing, and I even got up SURFING!  

 Ben was a little dare devil and stood up while tubing, followed by cousin Hailey!

 Love the napping babies and being with cousins too!

We hurried home so Anna could go to Emi Atkin's BD party and Ben could go to Eli's Forbes' BD party at the Wairhouse (trampoline park).  We spent the rest of the afternoon unpacking, doing laundry, baths, and preparing Primary music stuff.  After kids were in bed, Dan and I watched part of the new Jim Gaffigan comedy special.  

Sunday I taught "The Lord Gave me a Temple" in primary.  The girls played Legos nice after church.  Sadly, it was kind of a hard day overall with lots of fighting.  The girls also painted their nails.  My parents and siblings came over for dinner (honey lime chicken enchiladas).  We watched some of McKenna's Peter Pan and had my family conference call.  Alice wanted to be a part of it. She kept climbing up and saying "Hi!"  After kids were in bed, I talked and cried a little with Dan.  :(

Monday I went to Ben's class to help with Math Facts.  At home, I took pictures of Anna's school work from last year.  I drove carpool and we had baked potatoes for dinner.  After kids were in bed, Dan and I delivered cookies to the Koldewyn's in their NEW house!

Tuesday I went walking with Rachael, then Alice and Bethany and I played with bubbles outside.  We watched the Tinkerbelle movie, and Larry Page, the drywall guy, came to fix our ceiling settling crack.  The siding guy also came to do some final measurements.  Bethany had music and after kids were in bed, Dan and I delivered more cookies to the new neighbors, the Hoppes, who moved into the Koldewyn's old house.  That night we also found out Dan's brother David was going to be called as his ward's new BISHOP, so we talked over the phone with Dave and Laurie for a bit.  

Wednesday I worked on cleaning up the basement a bit to look for Anna's lost ballet shoe.  I also tried to get a picture of a little black eye Alice got by running into a kitchen cabinet handle.  The kids had early out and McKenna had a hard time with Piano.  

Dan came home early from work not feeling well.  McKenna babysat at Lara's.  Ben had a baseball game (his knee got hit by a ball during the kid pitch part of the game) and Dan had church meetings.  

Thursday I went again to do Math Facts in Ben's class.  Bethany went to her new dance class and had her Adelaide preschool orientation.  

Unfortunately, I started to feel a cold coming on too.  Anna had music, Ben had scouts.  Ben got some new Pokemon cards from the Bramalls.  We had another anti-pornography lesson with the kids, specifically about addiction.  That night was the BYU/Utah football game, which sadly, BYU lost again (9th year in a row!).  There was also a fire that night on the bench near 400 N.  3 homes burned down. :(

Friday Dan went to the temple and I drove the kids to school.  I watched news coverage of the fire then went for an eye exam and ordered some new RED framed glasses.  I also bought a big bag of movie theater popcorn for an outdoor movie that night.  We met Dan for lunch at Kneaders and the drywall guy came again.  After dinner, Anna and Bethany went to Hailey's for a movie night, and McKenna and Ben had an outdoor movie night with friends watching the new Aladdin.  

Saturday I got some good Alice snuggles in the morning. Dan mowed the lawn.  I went to brunch with Mickelle and Bonnie at Mimi's Cafe and apparently Alice was sad I left.  McKenna went to Kaia's outdoor water BD party.  After that party, I took McKenna shopping at WalMart and the Dollar Store for some school stuff.  That night we went to a BBQ at the Smith's.  The Alexanders, States, and Scott and Kylee Nelson were also there.