August '23- Week 4- First full week of Laura Subbing, Auditions, Outdoor Movie, Splash Pad, Luke's Party, Regional Dance, Call up Choir, Elephant Rock, McKenna Volleyball, Utes Game

Aug. 22nd- Tuesday: After the kids left for school, I started on my to do list. I was feeling very motivated to be productive for my day off. I went running, watched the news, ate, prepped dinner, did laundry, listened to my book, did some cleaning (vacuumed my bedroom, bathroom, closet, stairs, family room, and cleaned a toilet), I showered, napped, and worked on the blog a little! I picked up McKenna and Ben and I took McKenna to a voice lesson. Jenni coached her for her Beauty and the Beast audition. We picked up Adrie to come hang out for a bit. Dan got Ben and Anna to Shrek. Dan went to Alice’s soccer game, along with Adam and grandma and grandpa Webster. I went to a Shrek parent meeting. We got home and prepped for Wednesday. The kids got bed and I still worked on more back to school stuff.  

Aug. 23rd- Wednesday: I went to work but didn’t sub. I sat in the office and worked on finishing some online trainings. I stayed with the half day kindergarten kids till they were picked up outside. I also had lunch duty and worked more on the trainings. It was a fun/eventful day in the office: 4 kids lost teeth, at least 2 bee stings, lots of ice packs given out for head bumps, 2 kids had to change clothes, several parents confused about the time schedule. It was a fascinating behind the scenes peak into the school. I appreciate those secretaries so much! I also loved seeing all three of my girls at lunch. We got home and I crashed on the couch, but still tried to help the girls with their homework and checklists. Bethany started having a hard time and I got super strict with her which backfired and she shut down even more. I started making muffin tin meatloaf for dinner. I apologized to Bethany and she came up and practiced her audition song. I took her to her audition and she did great!  Anna and McKenna ate then went to activity days and Backstage. The rest of us ate. Dan got home and I cried a little because I had an upcoming upcoming meeting with the Bishop. I thought he was going to call me to be the new YW's president. I hosted YW in the basement and we watched the music festival. Ben’s Deacon's activity was upstairs. They made smoothies and watched “The Fighting Preacher.” We got a good rainstorm that evening too! Dan took McKenna to volleyball and the three girls did showers and baths. The meeting with Bishop went well! He asked me to be the first counselor in YWs and I was so relieved!  I’m very willing to serve, but I was feeling majorly overwhelmed if I were to be in charge!  

Aug. 24th- Thursday: I went for a run after everyone left. I talked to Meghan outside for a while, then I got a call asking if I could come in to sub for Ms. Jacobs who was sick. I got there about 10:45. Her students were pretty good, though she has quite a few students with special needs/IEPs. It was also a tough day subbing because the students were getting used to doing their locker combinations and wanted to keep practicing! I spied on Anna at recess and took a picture of her and Claire sitting on a bench outside. :) Also, the first few days of Kindergarten caught up to Alice and she was pretty sleepy. Once we got home, I took Bethany to Activity Days where they made bracelets. I took Ben and Anna to Backatage. I ran a couple errands to Target and the Library, then I picked up Anna. I came home and made dinner. The girls folded their laundry. Alice went to play with Hazel. McKenna ate and I took her to Adrie’s. Dan picked up Ben and Alice. We all ate and they packed their lunches. Dan, Bethany, and Alice all started feeling sick with a cold, cough, and sore throat. I worked on a grocery order and helped McKenna study for a quiz. 

Aug. 25th- Friday: Bethany and Dan had full on colds.  I watched the news and Instagramed after the kids left. I ate. I made some texts and phone calls. I started working on the blog and napped a little. Dan worked from home, then went to lunch with Jasper. I ate and napped some more! It was a good day off and much needed! I showered and the kids got home. Alice went to play at Kaysen's. I helped McKenna practice for her audition. I took her and she also did awesome! Claire came to hang out with Anna. Dan and I went on a date to Kokonut grill, then to get gas and ice cream at DQ. We got home and set up for an outdoor movie. Ben’s friends Luke and Grant came over a little before the movie. We watched “Disenchanted.” Unfortunately, it did not hold the interest of half the kids, but I thought it was cute! McKenna went to Adrie’s and to hang out we found out she got a callback for Belle!! 

Aug. 26th- Saturday: I got up around 7:15 and got dressed. I did a temple session from 8:30 to 10:30 and got to sit by Autumn Cundick. I also saw Scott Bradford. Dan stayed home sick. Once I got home I took Bethany and Alice to the splash pad with some Ward friends. McKenna had volleyball practice, Anna had gymnastics, and Dan and Ben picked up groceries and a present for Luke. We had lunch and McKenna went to Beauty and the Beast callbacks. Crew Winegar and Brooklyn Moulton came over to play. I played Harry Potter Clue with Crew and Ben. Bishop Moulton took Anna, Bethany, Brooklyn, and Zaza to Five Below for a little shopping. Dan had a good chat with Greg Remington and Jake Brown. I took Ben and Crew to Luke’s swimming birthday party, then I picked up McKenna and Lucy Nelson from Backstage.  Dan and I went to a Ward adult barbecue up Mueller Park Canyon. McKenna fed the girls dinner. Dan tried to pull Alice's loose tooth but it wasn't ready. McKenna went to a Regional dance with some friends. Dan picked them up at the end and took them to get drinks at Smith's.

Aug. 27th- Sunday: I slept in till 9. I ate with the three girls then showered. I went to a YW presidency PPI with Bishop and our presidency was officially released. Thankfully, I was called to still be in the presidency with Brandie Kossin as the new president and me as first counselor. I’m thankful to still be in YWs and to work with new sisters. (Lindsay Moss, Ruth Cole, and Kyra Koehler. Marsha also stayed!) *I also had quite the spiritual moment while singing “Master the Tempest is Raging” during the call up choir. I felt the Spirit so strong testify that Jesus can calm any storm in my life!  Bridget taught the younger class in YW and we talked about how to care for our bodies. Dan took Bethany home early from church since her cold had gotten worse and she was coughing a lot.  Once we got home from church, I made cookies and prepped veggies. I also had my family call.  We went to family dinner at 4. Unfortunately, we also found out that McKenna did not get the part of Belle, and we were both quite upset. After dinner, we celebrated August birthdays and talked about a possible Webster girls’ trip. Also, sad news. There was a fire at the Applewood condos in the unit next to the Jensen’s. :(  Thankfully, no one was hurt, but the Jensen's place had significant smoke damage. 

Aug. 28th- Monday: l subbed in Ms. Higginson’s 3rd grade class. They were really good! They were patient with me while I figured out what the plan was for the day. It was also picture day! I loved being able to see Alice, Anna, and Bethany during the day!  After school, I took Bethany to Frozen, Anna to Gymnastics, I helped Alice with her homework and she had music. Ben had mountian biking at Mueller Park. McKenna had Beauty and the Beast.  Dan also took McKenna to get a wire in her braces fixed at Blake’s office. We had an easy dinner, then worked on laundry and packing lunches. After the girls were in bed, I worked on responding to texts. Dan picked up McKenna and she wasn’t feeling well, most likely due to the same cold Bethany had.  

Aug. 29th- Tuesday: I ate after everyone left. Then I hiked to Elephant Rock with Sarah Moulton for the first time. It took us about three hours, and it was awesome! I showered and ate lunch once we got home. Then I napped and did some photo editing. Dan briefly came home in the afternoon. I helped Alice with her checklist and Ben and Anna’s had Shrek practice. After dinner, Alice had soccer and they won!  I had my first presidency meeting with Brandie and the new YW presidency. Dan worked a little and I worked on computer stuff. 

Aug. 30th- Wednesday: I worked in Ms. Huggard’s class one-on-one with a boy named Riot. He is more than a “handful.” He was physically aggressive, ran away, in his own world, and super disruptive.  Thank goodness it was early out. We brought Kaysen home with us to play. I napped. Caleb Arnold also came over once McKenna and Ben got home. Jamie Atkin came over to test drive our van.  I took Bethany to Frozen and stopped by the store for some things. Dan took Ben to Mantua for mountain biking race pre-ride. I made dinner and met some other moms we’ll carpool with for Frozen.  We ate. McKenna left for rehearsal. The girls packed lunches. I left for YWs. We played laser tag at the Remington’s. Anna and Desi babysat and the girls did showers and baths. I picked McKenna up from Backstage and then took her to volleyball. She got lots of point through her serves! There was a "Blue Moon" that night.

Aug. 31st- Thursday: After the kids left, I went for a run. I ate, showered, practiced voice, made a grocery order, and blogged a little. After lunch, I took Ben’s violin to the shop to get fixed, then I drove carpool. Dan and I went to the Utes football game that night with his parents. 

August '23- Week 3- Visit with Grandfather, Alice Soccer, First Day of School, Neighbor BBQ, Queensley's BD, Soldier Hollow Mountain Bike Race, Alice's first day, Laura Back to work as a Sub

Aug. 15th- Tuesday: I went to work trainings on code of conduct, testing ethics, then a kindergarten meeting, and worked on the online trainings in Ms. Lee’s class with one of her class computers. Once I got home, we prepped to go to our meeting with Grandfather. While we were waiting, we got to meet Pres. Oakes who came out of his office right by where we were sitting. Once we go in Grandfather's office, we hugged him and sat o his couch. We walked about how the kids were going back to school in a couple days. He told us a story of him following after his sister Marjorie in school. He liked that because she was smart and polite. Grandfather mentioned how McKenna will be that for Ben. To Bethany, he thanked her for being a member of the Church (after being recently baptized). He said you will always belong here and have friends here and that he's proud of her. He told Anna she was so beautiful. Alice was shy and quiet the whole time, but at least she was happy. He told Ben he was handsome and called him Benjamin even though "you go by Ben, huh?" McKenna asked him what advice he would give as they're starting a new school year? He said follow the Prophet! Then he gave us a new Sheri Dew book called "Prophets See Around the Corner." I asked him what exciting thing he had coming up that he could share with us? He said he was going to be recording a message for Seminary and Institute students. He asked McKenna how she would see a message like that, and I told him I would show her on my social media or You Tube. We told him McKenna doesn't have social media yet, and that we're holding off as long as possible. He agreed and said social media is a "cesspool." Grandfather even asked about my parents and was glad they could be at Bethany's baptism. We all left the visit in awe and felt loved and thankful for him and his life and example to us! We dropped Ben off for his mountain bike practice. Anna went to a Shrek audition clinic and Alice had her first rec soccer game. She loved running around with the crowd of kids but didn't kick the ball much. McKenna went to swim at Caroline’s. Dan went to the kids' school to help do a carline tour with Ashley Petersen for other parents. Unfortunately, as soon as Ben and his team were about to start biking, there was lighting, so it got canceled.

Aug. 16th- Wednesday: Dan and I got Anna and Bethany ready for their first day of school! We walked them in and I got a little teary with the excitement and energy of the morning!  Dan left for work and I went for a run! When I got back, I saw Alice wandering the neighborhood with Cooper and Rai. She was a little upset she couldn’t find me, so I went over to what to do if that happened again. She was asleep when I left, so I thought she would call me on the Alexa if she couldn't find me. We ate with Ben and McKenna. I showered and we went to Grandma Sibber's house for school supply “shopping.”  I took Alice to her kindergarten testing. She was a little shy at first, but warmed up during the tour of her classroom. We got a car wash for the van. Jonathan came over to hang out!  We ate lunch, then I took McKenna shopping at Fashion Place Mall and to get her hair trimmed.  We had pretty good success. We got home just in time to take Ben to the Derrick’s house to carpool for a pre-ride for his Saturday race. I made dinner for everyone else, then McKenna and I went the stake youth BBQ. 

Aug. 17th- Thursday: McKenna and Ben started school! I took Anna and Beth to school and subbed in Ms. Stutes' 2nd grade class. She was out of town for a wedding. They were pretty good for it being only the second day of school!  It was also only a half day. Jonathan watched Alice for me. I had lunch once I got home. The girls played the switch. I sorted and cleaned out colored pencils and crayons. I picked up Jr. High kids since it was so hot and getting stormy/windy. I talked with McKenna and Ben about their day. I cleaned and sorted some papers too. I started working on a grocery order. I made dinner. We ate when Dan got home. We had no extra curricular activities for the evening, which was nice! I helped Ben and Anna work on their auditions. Once they were in bed, I kept working on a grocery order. 

Aug. 18th- Friday: I subbed in Ms. Stutes' class again. Alice went to work with Dan and crashed in the car on the way home. Once we got home and I had lunch, I took Anna and Bethany to Walmart, to get gas, and to do my Thyroid blood work. Once we got home, I took Ben and Anna to their Shrek auditions. We packed for Midway quickly, and Anna went to Queensley’s birthday party. The rest of us went to a BBQ at Scott and Kylee Nelson’s with some other neighbors.  The weather held out and it was lovely company.  We picked up Anna and headed to Midway to sleep for the night before the mountain bike race the next day. The Stewarts came up and joined us an hour later.

Aug. 19th- Saturday: Dan, Brian, Ben, and Truman left the house at 6:35.  Brynn and I and the rest of the kids left at 7:30. We made it to the bike "pit zone" and ate some breakfast. Truman had his race first and placed 14th out of 60-70 boys. We loved using our cowbells to make lots of noise when he passed!  Ben’s race was around 9:25am.  He started 3rd in the line up and finished 13th out of 67 boys his age and skill level!  Brecken, who we often carpool with, placed 4th in that same age group!  Dan and Ben watched that podium ceremony.  The whole race morning was so fun! There's so much energy and hype! We went back to the Midway house and packed up all our stuff. We stopped in Park City to have tacos for lunch.  We got home and Ben and Anna got ready to go to callbacks for Shrek at Backstage. I did some music stuff with Alice, then napped on the couch for a while.  Dan shaved and showered. McKenna cleaned her bathroom. Bethany and Alice watched shows. I picked up Ben and Anna, though Ben went home with Luke. I got ready for stake conference. We ate with the girls. Anna went to Desi’s house. McKenna babysat the little two. The adult session of stake conference was all about ministering, getting to know their story, and seeing them the way God sees them.  We had Nielsen’s at Dan’s parents house and talked.  We picked up Ben from Luke’s and stopped by the Bridlewood building to see the new seats that were installed.

Aug. 20th- Sunday: We ate breakfast together. Dan and I went to the leadership meeting of Stake Conference at 10am. When we got home, I did the girls’ hair, then we had lunch. I got dinner going in the crock pot. Dan took Bethany and Anna early to sing in the primary choir. The rest of us rode with Brynn to stake conference.  Elder Michale J. Hess was our visiting Area 70.  The kids did very well during conference. When we got home, we recorded a song for Grandfather’s upcoming 99th birthday celebration. I worked on sorting school supplies and getting more organized for the week. The kids packed their lunches. Alice was so excited to do that! We had dinner. We watched our Come Follow Me videos and did our name of Christ. We went to Grandma and Grandpa’s to see if Grandpa could pull Alice’s tooth, but it wasn’t quite ready yet. We had a popsicle and found out who Ben and Anna got cast as in Shrek!  Ben got the donkey, Anna got young Fiona!  We got kids to bed and I worked on going through emails and getting more organized for the week!  

Aug. 21st- Monday: I subbed in Ms. Lee’s kindergarten class. She had a funeral to attend. Alice had her first full day of kindergarten!  Dan, Anna, Bethany and I all walked her in. It was great to see her off and on throughout the day!  Subbing went well.  It was hard for the students to follow basic instructions and many wanted to leave early. I found out Monday evenings will be super busy. Bethany has Frozen rehearsal, Alice has LPM, Anna has gymnastics, and McKenna has Beauty and the Beast. Thank goodness for carpools! I drove here and there and attended LPM with Alice. We ate dinner as a family, minus McKenna. Ben and Dan mowed the lawn. I got the girls ready for the next day and ready for bed. I worked on signing stuff and going over disclosures.  

August Videos:

Bethany’s baptism, Alice Soccer, BBQ at Nelson’s, Ben Mountian Biking at Snowbasin.

August '23- Week 2- YM/YW Waterballoon Activity, Lagoon Day, Bethany's Baptism, Back to School Dinner,

Aug. 8th- Tuesday: I worked from 8-1, with a lunch break in there. It was fun to see all the teachers and have them be excited I was there. Our trainings were about the goals and mission of the school. I also went to a training for all the instructors. Once I got home, I switched the laundry and took McKenna to her voice lesson/audition coaching with Jenni.  McKenna met with Charley about the youth activity the next night. I made dinner and we all went to Park City. While Ben had practice, the girls and Dan and I did a little back to school shopping at the outlets and WalMart.  We got ice cream on the way home.  

Aug. 9th- Wednesday: I went to work from 8-3:30. We had a training from Infini-D (a science simulation company). I went to a training on Acadience testing. Lunch was on our own. I also did a bunch of training on my own. The last training of the day was on safety and security. I learned how to clock in and out.  While at home, the kids worked on a list I gave them. They also had grandma camp and Alice went to Kangaroo Zoo for Hazel’s birthday. After I got home, the kids practiced their song for the baptism with Chelsea Chadwick. We had dinner and McKenna, Ben and I went outside for our youth activity. We played human battleship with water balloons and water balloon volleyball. There was also a water fight, of course!  Dan and I talked a little once he got home and we put the girls to bed. I packed lunches for Lagoon day the next day! 

Aug. 10th- Thursday: We got up at 7:45 and got dressed. The kids got dressed and we all ate and left for LAGOON!  My mom and Jonathan came with us and I was so thankful for their help! We got there before “rope drop” and I really liked how few people there were in the park early on. Jonathan and Dan went with the older 4 to do big rides, and my mom and I took Alice to do the kiddie rides. We met up for lunch around 12:30 and Dan left for work. After lunch, cousins finally started to arrive!  The kids repeated tons of rides! Bethany went on Cannibal 5 times!! We went on rattlesnakes rapids with Sam, Hailey, and Will. It felt pretty refreshing. Ben, Ellie, and Mia did the Sky Coaster!

***August 11th- Friday: Dan took Ben to mountain biking at 6:30am. I got ready and picked up Ben at 7:45, then headed to school. We had whole group trainings all day with Aspen.  We talked about Panorama, social skills, engagement, and lesson planning. I met lots of new people at lunch. It was definitely hard to stay awake in the afternoon. I got home at 3:45. Ben and McKenna went to school to get their pictures done and take a look around. Ben also had film club where they had water activities. He went home with Luke. Adrie came over. I took the three girls to get their haircuts. We had pizza for dinner. Dan took Bethany to get her baptism jump suit and pick up Luke. I started cleaning and organizing to get ready to host dinner after the baptism.  Dan was super tired from not sleeping well the night before.  McKenna had Adrie, Bridget, and Whitney over. We set the tables for the baptism.  

Aug. 12th- Saturday:  Bethany’s baptism day!  I went running around 8:30 then weeded a little. We had breakfast and I went to get groceries and make a return. Ben and Dan did more yard work. I put groceries away and then weeded a little more. Dan showered and went to sit with the font while it filled. He worked out all the tech stuff with Jonathan.  I showered and McKenna kept cleaning the kitchen. I did all the girls’ hair. We got to the church around 3:30 and set things up. The kids practiced their song. We started the baptism on time, but had to stall so Grandma Sibber could make it for the actual ordinance. She was coming from a training with Elder Gong.  My mom spoke, we watched a couple videos. Ben gave a great talk and the kids sounded so lovely on their song. We got to wave at the Smiths on Zoom afterwards. Wendy (and Grandfather) texted Dan some screen shots she took while they watched the baptism on Zoom as well.  We went back to our house for a spaghetti dinner!  We had plenty of food and dole whip froyo!  We cleaned up and got kids to bed late. *I'm so grateful for family support and love on these special days!

Aug. 13th- Sunday: I ate with Alice, Ben, and Anna. Bethany and McKenna ate later. I started working on my Tabernacle Choir Audition, the application and the recording. We were slightly late for church, and Dan couldn’t join us. The three middle kids stayed after for stake primary choir and ward youth council. We had lunch and I had my conference call. Dan and I napped. Kelly Lemon stopped by to give Bethany a baptism gift, which was the same pink fuzzy blanket McKenna just bought for herself. We had a quick family meeting and gave assignments to everyone before dinner. I got a good recording to use for the choir audition. We had our family back to school dinner and talked about our scripture of the year (Romans 1:16, I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ…). We did our names of Christ poster. We got the girls to bed and I worked on computer stuff. *As we were tucking in Bethany, she asked if her baptism didn’t work because she said she didn’t feel any different. We tried to teach her that because she was already choosing to follow Jesus before she was baptized, she may not notice a significant difference. We also told her we can continue to think about and study this to come up with other answers.  

Aug. 14th- Monday: I attended work trainings by Aspen again. She taught about classroom management. After lunch, I went to a training with all the instructors about the reading program.  I took Ben to Target for some back to school shopping. Anna had gymnastics and McKenna also had her first volleyball game.

August Videos

Bethany’s baptism, Alice Soccer, BBQ at Nelson’s, Ben Mountian Biking at Snowbasin.