Aug. '21- Week 4- McKenna's First Day, Out to Breakfast, Splash Pad with Alice, Auditions.

 Aug. 22nd- Sunday: There were lots of masks in church again, which I was thankful for, due to the First Presidency's recent statement. We sang “Follow the Prophet” in primary. After church, I worked on my lesson for the next week. We had a normal afternoon. After dinner, we had treats outside, then Dan and I attended Stephanie Holdstock’s Dad’s viewing.  After kids were in bed, I watched “Don’t Miss This.” 

Aug. 23rd- Monday: McKenna had her first day of Junior High!  She walked to school with a big group of kids from the ward. I had a LASIK consultation at Hoopes Vision with Dr. Moshafar. He was actually the same doctor I saw for a consultation at the Moran Eye Center back in 2008 before I knew I was pregnant with McKenna. He suggested we wait and gather some more information from my old consult and from my Thyroid doctor. He wanted to be very thorough in checking the stability of my eyes/cornea, which I appreciated.  I worked on laundry and listening to my book when I got home. Kids did homework like normal. After dinner, we played outside and had otter pops. I introduced McKenna to the book “Echo.” Dan and I sat on the porch for a bit after kids were in bed.

Aug. 24th- Tuesday: After the kids left for school, Dan and I went out to breakfast with Alice. I had a dentist appointment then worked on cleaning out my email. I played a little and read with Alice. After school, Desi and Cooper came over to play. Anna and Desi both needed to finish a little homework first, so I called it a "study hall." Ben had rehearsal. And I put away our patriotic decorations. I also had book club that night at Amy Pugsley‘s house discussing the book “The Choice.” It was about a Holocaust survivor and how she healed and lived her life after the war.  A very good book!  (I love Alice's selfies!)

Aug. 25th- Wednesday: After kids were at school and I exercised and showered, I listened to Elder Holland‘s BYU devotional that had many people on social media upset about LGBTQ issues. After school and homework we played outside and hung out in the Moulton’s yard for a bit. We had lemonade and popsicles. Bethany had music and Anna and Ben played with Tanner and Desi. After dinner. Dan did baths and painted the girls’ nails. The YM came over for a planning meeting. I helped McKenna and Ben practice their audition songs. We also decided last minute to have Anna and Bethany audition for Young Anna and Elsa in Frozen, so they practiced as well. After they were in bed, I worked on updating their music/theater resumes and Dan worked on a lesson for Sunday. 

Aug. 26th- Thursday: After kids went to school, I exercised, ate with Alice and she watched shows while I got ready for the day. After lunch I did letters and matching games and wooden trains with Alice.  After kids got home and did homework, Dan stopped by the farmers market and Ben went to rehearsal. McKenna went to Brittana's and then her piano lesson. I also attended a "Frozen" parent meeting and the kids played outside after dinner. Dan and I also talked about our finances a couple of times during the day.

Aug. 27th- Friday: After breakfast, Alice and I went to the Bountiful splash pad with six other moms from the ward. We also watched Emmy Johnson for a little bit before Meghan could join us. We ate lunch there and after I got home I talked with Sarah Moulton a bit and Zaza came over because they were getting new flooring. McKenna went to Neilsen‘s after school with Hannah, Lyla, McKinley, and Jojo. Kelly Kump took the legacy kids to get ice cream. Dan gave himself a haircut and the kids had mac & cheese. They went to Ben‘s baseball game with my parents. Dan and I went to the Children’s Service Society Gala fundraiser. It was outdoors, beautiful weather, and the food was delicious. The fundraising games were very entertaining as well.  The event was emceed by Bob Evans from Fox 13 news. And Governor Herbert was there as well.

Aug. 28th- Saturday: I worked on picture collages in the morning, and after breakfast Ben had a baseball game which they won! We picked up groceries and Ben and Dan blew out sprinkler lines to clear out a clog. After lunch I divided chicken and the kids did a little homework. We had Hokulia and then pizza for dinner at Jake and Abril’s house. The kids stayed to play while Dan and I left to go to the Temple. Adam brought the kids home after. McKenna put them to bed and Dan worked on his lesson that night.

Aug. 29th- Sunday: We had a normal Sunday where I taught “I Lived in Heaven” in Primary and Dan taught a 5th Sunday lesson to the youth. After lunch, Ben and I made Lego gummies. I worked more on the kids’ audition forms and had my family conf call. After dinner, we played outside and I braided Anna and Bethany’s hair to get ready for school picture day. After kids were in bed, we did phone time and Dan worked on Bishop stuff. 

Aug. 30th- Monday: McKenna ended up staying home half the day because of stomach issues. Bethany ended up staying home the whole day because of a cough. Bethany and Alice watched a lot of shows. Dan took McKenna to school when he went to lunch with Jasper. I worked on laundry and watched “Don’t Miss This.” Later, while kids did homework, I worked on cleaning up the computer desk. After dinner, I took McKenna to her audition at Backstage. Ben had a headache that night and Dan worked on Bishop stuff. 

**Aug. 31st- Tuesday: After kids left for school, I collaged pictures and then had to run McKenna’s laptop to her at school. After breakfast, Alice and I went to a primary meeting at the Pugsley’s. I worked on paying bills and Primary stuff. After lunch I read books with Alice. McKenna got home from school and we found out she got a callback for a Little Red in the show "Into the Woods". That afternoon Anna and Bethany went to the Kumps to play with Leela. Cooper also came over to play for a little bit. We practiced Ben, Anna and Bethany‘s auditions. Bethany had dance and Ben had baseball. We left the baseball game a little early for the auditions. I felt so proud of all three of them especially Anna, who looked like she was going to burst into tears as she walked into the audition room. On the way home, Bethany asked when they get the scripts. I loved her enthusiasm but had to tell her we’re not even sure if they’ll make the play.

Aug. '21- Week 3- Mantua Friends' Swim Day, First Day of School!, McKenna with Dan/Practice Locker, Mabel's Play, Luke's Party

 Aug. 15th- Sunday: We had Stake Conference. I loved Pres. Farnes’ talk about "what am I letting influence and entice me?" Afterwards, we had a potluck lunch with the Moultons and Pugsleys at the Moulton's. We stayed there from 1-4pm. At home we prepped fruit and Dan went to the baptism of the that Marshallese couple, then we had our final Webster family dinner with Dan’s parents before they headed back to Hawaii for another semester of their mission. We visited outside with the Johnsons and Boes after that, then put kids to bed. 

Aug. 16th- Monday: We went to Mantua for a friends swim day! Kylee Behunin, Meghan Johnson, Erica Day, and Amy Pugsley all came. I vacuumed the clubhouse because kids were too scared to play in it with all the dead bugs.  It was still smoky up there but we had a good time talking and swimming and playing. I listened to my book on the drive home and met Dan at the baseball field for Ben’s game.  After kids were in bed we talked about flights to Alabama for Thanksgiving with my parents and Mickelle.

Aug. 17th- Tuesday: The three older kids had piano lessons we said goodbye to Dan’s parents. I weeded outside, the girls watched shows and Rai also came over to play. After lunch, Ben babysat while I took McKenna shopping. That night we did our back to school dinner (pancakes!) and the kids loved coloring on the paper tablecloth.  We had a little lesson, organized masks, and then Dan gave them a father's priesthood blessing.  After kids were in bed we had a big storm, I calendared stuff, we watched half of the movie the Martian, and we booked our flights to Alabama for Thanksgiving!

Aug. 18th- Wednesday was the First Day of School for Ben, Anna and Bethany! We all drove the kids together and walked them in even though it was rainy! Dan went to the temple after that. I listened to my book. It was only a half day and picking up kids took a long time like usual on the first couple of days. Nate Johnsen came to hang out with Ben that afternoon. I went to music with Bethany. McKenna babysat that evening for Meghan. After kids were in bed, Ben and I talked more about his audition song. I worked on my primary lesson and Dan got home late from Bishop stuff. 

Aug. 19th- Thursday: The 3 middle kids got off to school like normal. McKenna slept in till 10! I listened more to my book and blogged. I went to the North Campus to help with their summer reading reward which was otter pops and a quick 20min show called “Stick Man.” After the kids were home and we ate lunch, Tanner came over and we listened for Emmy while Meghan and Cooper were at Let’s Play Music. Later, Oliver, Ellie, and Alex Boes came here to play. Phebe Reudter and Korie Brown also stopped by. The kids played on the silk a lot. That night after dinner, Dan and McKenna went out to play night games with other kids in the neighborhood.  I continued to try to blog and worked on filling out the kids’ audition forms for Backstage. 

Aug. 20th- Friday: After kids went to school, McKenna went with Dan to work. I walked and watched the news and ate with Alice and watched Marco Polos. Every day this week the afternoon carline to pick up kids got faster and faster, thank goodness. After kids were home and after lunch, McKenna and I went with the Moultons and did a practice "walk to school." Then, we walked to all her classes again. Last, we tried her locker. It took several tried to get it figured out! It was tricky.  After we got home, McKenna went to Hannah Hilbig’s escape room party.  Ben had put together a Lego (knockoff) Book of Mormon scene with Lehi, Sariah, and Nephi. I took the middle three to see Mabel perform in Spotlight Theater’s "Descendants." Mabel played the part of Jane.  That night, we hosted an outdoor movie which was the live action “Beauty and the Beast.” It was chilly, but fun! 

Aug. 21st- Saturday: Ben had baseball practice after breakfast. I weeded and listened to my book. Dan edged and mowed and picked up groceries. After lunch, Ben went to Luke Voehl’s birthday pool party, then Eli Forbes’ swimming birthday party as well. They overlapped a little, so he split the time between the two. I took McKenns to TJMaxx for a few more back to school clothing items. After baths and the kids had mac and cheese, Dan and I went to Texas Roadhouse and ran a few errands. I cleaned up the kitchen, Dan picked up Jake and Abril from the airport. I worked on going through and deleting emails.

Aug. '21- Week 2- Family Camping, Hiking to Timp Cave, Kayaks on Tibble Fork, Prep for Back to School, Stake Conference

 Aug. 8th- Sunday: We had a normal morning at church and after church time. After lunch I felt a little overwhelmed and read books and napped with Alice. I watched some of the “Don’t Miss This” weekly video and had my family conference call. After dinner we watched the girls perform a little silks routine they rehearsed all day. We had treats outside and it was still very smoky. Dan and I both worked on creating sign-ups for back to school. He worked on Carline and I worked on Ms. Laney's Classroom sign-up. We also got news that Adam and Baylee had broken up.  :(

Aug. 9th- Monday- McKenna went to summer band and after breakfast I prepped our camping food. I finished up some classroom manager stuff as well. Dan went to Costco and picked up kayaks from the Stewarts.  We packed up and after lunch we left to go camping by 3 o’clock. We stopped somewhere to buy dry ice and made it to our campsite by 4:30. After we got set up and had dinner, we built a fire, played Skyjo, told stories, then got ready for bed. We were asleep around 10pm. I woke up several times in the night and even felt a little cold at times, but I never expect to have a great sleep while camping. *We were worried about camping with all the smoke in the air, but the amount of particulates had diminished quite a bit for us to feel a little more comfortable with it. I could even see stars in the sky.

Aug. 10th- Tuesday: We all woke up around 7, got dressed, and ate breakfast. Then we drove to the Timpanogos lodge and hiked up to the cave and took the cave tour.  The kids all loved it and thought the total darkness was super cool, except for Bethany. ;) Afterwards, we tried eating pasta salad at a park for lunch, but there were sooo many bees! So we ate in the car and then drove down the canyon to a McDonald’s to get ice cream and play at a play place.  Back at our campsite we had some quiet time in the hammocks, played games, read, and played Double Ditto.  We cooked hot dogs over the fire for dinner and sadly Dan got a small burn on his finger. We had s’mores and played more games and got ready for bed a little earlier than the night before. One of the times I woke up in the middle of the night around 2:30 or 3am, our camping neighbors were still awake. Not fun, but glad I had ear plugs!

Aug. 11-Wednesday: After breakfast we packed up the campsite and left by 10:30am. We drove down to Tibble Fork Reservoir and kayaked around for a bit. The water was very low and very cold but it was still lots of fun. There were tons of ducks swimming around as well.  We had lunch on the beach and then went out in the kayaks again and it was getting a little windy. We got home around 3 and unloaded and did laundry and everyone showered. Dan gave himself a haircut and we had leftovers for dinner. Dan had Bishop stuff that evening and Ben went hiking with his primary activity group.  While I worked on laundry, the girls watched shows, played with the silk, listened to songs, and played on the swing outside.

A panoramic shot of our campsite.  

Aug. 12th- Thursday: We had a normal morning and then Dan took the younger four to Lagoon and I went to McKenna’s junior high orientation with her. We walked around and found all her classes-- twice! Then she and I met everyone at Lagoon. We rode a few rides before having Arby’s for lunch, then we met up with my parents who joined us! We waited one hour for Rattlesnake Rapids, but it was worth it because it was so hot. Anna conquered some fears and rode several bigger rides like the Bat and the Spider. We ate a picnic dinner in a pavilion and rode more rides!  My parents were such troopers and stayed with us till 9pm!  We got frosties from Wendy’s on the way home. This was also the day the First Presidency came out with a statement urging church members to get vaccinated and wear masks at church once again if social distancing was not an option. Many, many people were upset about this and felt that this was not something for the prophet to encourage.  :(

Aug. 13th- Friday: After breakfast I took the three little girls to the store and Bethany and Alice went to Maggie and Lucy Chadwick‘s birthday party. I did some laundry. After lunch Ben went to Caleb’s and Anna went to Aspen’s. Later, I took the 4 girls for back to school haircuts. We got a bid for hardwood flooring in the office and hallway. After dinner, McKenna had Kate, Zoe, Lia, and Brinley over. They played on the silk and watched HSMusical #3 and they all left at 10. I worked on a grocery order and Dan watched “Catch Me If You Can.”

Aug. 14th- Saturday: Ben had baseball practice. I prepped for back to school by washing lunch boxes. McKenna went to Backstage for an audition clinic. I cleaned up the mud room. Dan performed a wedding for couple from the Marshall Islands who were being baptized the next day. I helped Ben look for audition songs and then he got a hair cut. Lyla helped McKenna babysit that night and Dan and I went to dinner with Matt and Emily Hartvigsen to Zupas, then we went to the adult session of Stake Conference. Brynn spoke and did a great job!  We bought Nielsen’s before hand then ate them at Dan’s parents’ house after the meeting. Elder Nash was our visiting general authority and challenged us to talk about what we learned, and what will we do about it.  I said I learned that I can do better at inviting and challenging primary kids to do things throughout the week, then follow-up the next week. On our walk home, we stopped and talked with the Moultons outside untill 12am.  Fun, and too late! :)