Sept. ‘23- Week 2- Dan's Webster Men Trip to Texas, Webster Girls hang out, Winegar Swimming, GF 99th, BD, McKenna Volleyball, Restful Day.

 Sept. 8th- Friday: I subbed in Ms. Johnson’s 4th grade. Gabe Naylor (the other sub) was nice enough to give me lots of tips and details. The kids were fine behavior wise. Only a few tough kids as usual. The hardest part of the day was my voice going out and nose being super congested. The 4th grade also got in trouble for leaving the lunch room a mess and had to go clean it up. *Alice's reading was improving and she often asks to have her picture taken in the morning saying, "Don't I look cute?" Once we got home, Alice went to play at Oakley Petersen's, I chatted with Ben, and he went to Luke’s. I ate dinner with the girls. We went to BlackSmith ice cream and then to the park splash pad with sisters in law and cousins. There was a not-so-great musician performing, which was kind of funny. I continued to have problems with no voice and my nose being very stuffy. Ben also went to play night games with Caleb.  Adrie came with us to ice cream and then hung out at our house after. On his trip, Dan had awesome Texas BBQ, toured the Dallas Cowboy’s Stadium, and then went to a major league baseball game. I still felt super crappy going to bed. 

Sept. 9th- Saturday: Grandfather's 99th Birthday! Ben left to go mountain biking and do the Price pre-ride with the Traeden family.  The rest of us got to sleep in. I had a rough night still being sick and congested and coughing. Also, Alice came in at 2 something. We ate around 8:30, then headed outside to weed. There were lots of bees, so the little girls were pretty nervous and didn't last long helping. McKenna came out and helped later. I stopped around 11:45. We picked up Katie and took her and Kenna to volleyball practice. I got gas in the van, took Anna to Claire’s dad’s house, picked up groceries, then picked up McKenna and Katie. We had lunch and I finished weeding a little. On Dan's trip, they attended the Utah Baylor Game which Utah won! They also visited the Dr. Pepper Museum and the Magnolia silos. Brooklyn Moulton came over to play with Bethany. Alice watched shows on the computer. Ben got back from biking around 3:30. I tried to rest a little in my room. Then we got ready to go swimming at the Winegar pool. I left to pick up Anna. We had pizza for dinner there. It rained a little while they swam. McKenna got picked up by Adire and went to Maddie’s house. Once we got home, I helped the girls with showers and baths. I stopped by the Alexander’s for John’s 40th birthday. I had fun chatting with Erin Yeates and Megan Rowe. My voice was still crappy, and I was coughing a lot, so I didn’t stay long. I picked Dan up from the airport and I sounded pretty bad!

Sept. 10th- Sunday: I was pretty awake when Dan left for church meetings at 7, so I took some cold meds and worked on the blog. Alice came in bed with me for a bit. I made oatmeal and we ate. I cleaned the kitchen and laundry room some and looked at Alice’s school papers. Anna and Bethany worked on writing their primary program parts. I showered and we were a tiny bit late for church. McKenna wrote "Alice Webster Loves Kaysen Jensen." Alice replied with "Haha, very funny." :) I had a coughing fit at the end of Sacrament meeting. Jeff Jarvis gave a great talk about the Constitution and the Atonement. Charley Alexander taught about the resurrection in the older YW class and we all had a good cry while talking about loved ones who have passed away. We had lunch and I got dinner in the crock pot. I had my family call and was so sleepy. I napped afterwards. Dan watched Line upon Line videos downstairs and also fell asleep. After we ate, I cleaned the kitchen again and we got the girls to bed. Dan and Ben and I played Sequence.  McKenna worked hard on homework and play practice. I finally felt like my cold turned a corner for the better. McKenna took these beautiful pictures of the Sunflowers in the gully.

Sept. 11th- Monday: I subbed in 4th grade again. The kids were great today and very helpful. It also helped that my voice was a tiny bit better and my nose was less stuffy.  I also finally got my ID badge, building key card, and computer! I felt so official! I also got texted this cute picture of Grandfather by mistake (thinking I was Lara). I took Bethany to her Frozen rehearsal. After school, I sorted laundry and took Anna to gymnastics. Alice had music. I made dinner. McKenna ate and went to rehearsal. I picked up the A-team, and then the rest of us ate. We cleaned up and packed lunches and then I left to take McKenna to her volleyball game. They won all three games!! Dan helped the girls fold laundry and write their primary program parts. We got to bed a little earlier than normal. 

Sept. 12th- Tuesday: I ran 1 mile to see how I felt after being sick with this cold. I felt ok. I did some push-ups and core and watched the news. I ate and showered. I had a dentist appointment, got a car wash, and bought new running shoes at DeBoer’s. I came home and had lunch and did some Instagram posts for June. I napped and did picture collages for July. The kids got home. It’s always hard to balance all of them wanting to snuggle and tell me about their day at the same time! I helped Ben with his Shrek lines. Alice did her reading minutes behind my rocking chair. I took Anna to Shrek. Dan took Ben to mountain biking. After dinner, we picked up Anna and went to Alice’s soccer game. Once we got home, McKenna did homework and I helped Bethany and Anna with piano. I got the girls to bed and worked on moving pictures to the hard drive. McKenna and I started watching the movie “Wild Hearts Can’t Be Broken.” 

Sept. 13th- Wednesday: I subbed in 1st grade, Ms. Voss’s class. I also took a picture of Kaysen participating in the assembly. Ms. Voss's class was very talkative, so my voice was tired at the end of the day. The kids had piano. I napped. I helped Alice with her checklist. Bethany had Frozen. Desi and Queensley came over to play with Anna. McKenna, Ben, and Anna ate together and left for rehearsal and church activities. The rest of us ate, then the girls had showers. I went to YWs where we painted rocks we would place on a future hike. I picked up McKenna and friends from Backstage. I scrolled Instagram with McKenna and Ben. Dan had church interviews and attended the Bishops’ meeting. 

Sept. 14th- Thursday: I woke up with a stiff neck. After the kids left, I decided not to exercise. I watched the news and then ate. I sat at the computer desk for a long time and moved picture to the hard drive, uploaded videos to YouTube, and studied the music theory book I checked out from the Tabernacle Choir. I came back to my bed and laid down for about 45mins. I ate lunch and got dressed. I tried to blog, but the pictures wouldn’t upload. *It was a very restful day and it felt so good to do whatever I wanted and rest and get caught up on things! The kids got home. I took Ben and Anna to rehearsal. I also took Alice shopping for a birthday gift for a friend. We got home and I made dinner. McKenna went to piano and was feeling nauseous. We rescheduled her babysitting for Gray.  We ate, then I picked up Ben and Anna. Dan played outside on the tramp with the kids. I blogged. McKenna did homework. We got the kids to bed and I finished blogging. Dan worked. 

Sept. Videos:

Alice soccer, UFC Gala, Price bike race, State Fair

Sept. ‘23- Week 1- Phase 1 Choir Audition Results, Mantua Mountain Biking Race, Labor Day Toy Purge, Alice Soccer, McKenna Choir National Anthem, Beth Activity Days,

 Sept. 1st- Friday: I subbed in Ms. Enquist’s class. There was one difficult little boy, but an ok class overall. I had lunch in the classroom with Ms. Loose.  It was fun to get to know her better and chat. I found out I made it to phase II of the Tabernacle Choir auditions!!! Once we got home, we finished packing and left for Mantua with the Mountain biking team trailer.  We ate at Reuben’s to celebrate my choir audition! We got to Mantua at 7:15. The kids played and got to have a night swim. We all tried to go to bed a little earlier since we had to get up so early the next day. I got a nice picture of Alice's first hole from losing a tooth!

Sept. 2nd- Saturday: We got up around 5:45am and left at 6:15 for the race. We got the trailer to the pit zone and set up all the tents, tables, and chairs. We ate breakfast there. We watched Truman’s race. Then we watched Ben’s. Ben started at 12th, and only dropped to 17th out of 56 boys! The weather was great and we had Grandma, Grandpa, and Adam and Mia there to support as well. We got back to the house around 11 and several of us took naps.  We had lunch, then the three girls and Dan swam. I sat pool side for a while. Ben and McKenna napped. Some went boating. Grandma played games with the kids upstairs. Dan napped. We left for home by 5. We unpacked and changed, and Dan and I went to Brenn Parker’s reception in Salt Lake. It was lovely to chat with lots of friends! Unfortunately, I felt a cough/cold coming on. :( Adrie and Desi came over to hang out.  

Sept. 3rd- Sunday: I woke up around 8:15. Anna came in. My cough/cold wasn’t worse, but still not great. I fed Alice and cleaned up a little. I gave her a bath and then showered. I started to feel a little better and felt fine about going to church. I bore my testimony about the song “Master the Tempest is Raging” and how I felt so strongly that Jesus is in charge and can calm any storm!  I hugged Andrea Gunnerson afterwards who was sitting on the stand because she was playing the organ for the day. She had been crying and was very emotional the whole meeting due to missing her mom who had just passed. I also felt like Sunday School was a great discussion about scriptures in Romans and Chorinthians.  I ate when we got home because I had a bad headache and needed medicine. I had my family call. After we ate dinner, we watched Relative Race and got the kids to bed. Ben and I finished watching “Pure Luck.” Dan took McKenna driving in the church parking lot. I blogged a little. 

Sept. 4th- Monday: Labor Day! Dan and I woke up to a big rain storm in the 6 o’clock hour. Anna came in with an upset stomach and just hung out on our chair with a bucket. We ate breakfast and then started on our great toy purge! We sorted and threw stuff away from 9:30 to 4ish with a break for lunch. The kids did very well and no one even cried! We did not get rid of “half” the things like Dan had hoped, but it was definitely a significant amount. McKenna worked on cleaning the girls’ bathroom and Dan's and my sinks. I kept the laundry going. Dan gave himself a haircut. We had ice cream at Spanky’s and then had left overs for dinner. We folded laundry and got the kids to bed. We got to bed earlier than normal as well. *I had no voice due to my cold. 

Sept. 5th- Tuesday: After the kids left, I showered, and took Bethany to her eight-year-old check up. She’s healthy and her eyes are fine (she thought she might need glasses).

Bethany STATS

Height: 48.2in (1.7 increase in 1 year) 15th%

Weight: 46lbs (5lb increase in 1 year) 8th%

I took her to school and then went home and changed. I texted a bunch about carpools for the week. I also started watching the “Catching the Killer Nurse” documentary for book club. I had lunch and worked on picture collages and even napped a little. The kids got home and I started dinner. I took Ben and Anna to Shrek and then Alice had an early soccer game. We had dinner once we got home and then got kids to bed. I worked on the blog and Dan worked some. My cold was still not great and my voice was definitely not 100%. 

Sept. 6th- Wednesday: I subbed in a Jr high SPED Language Arts class. It was nice because I only had 3 class periods with students. The classes were also small. Unfortunately, their main lesson didn’t work on their computers. It was hard to motivate the students as well. My cold was getting better, but I feel like I was clearing my throat more often. I had some coughing fits and a head ache by the end of the day. Anna and Bethany had piano. I went to South Davis to hear McKenna’s choir sing the National Anthem at the home volleyball game. I took Bethany and Polina to Frozen, picked up Ben from piano, and then took Alice to the Winegar’s to play. We recorded our poem for Grandfather's birthday! I made dinner. Anna played with Desi and Queensley. McKenna ate and went to Beauty and the Beast. The rest of us ate. Ben and I went to the combined YM/YW planning activity. Dan got the girls to bed, then took McKenna to her volleyball game. I went to the Beauty and the Beast parent meeting, then to the volleyball game. Ben worked on putting our videos together at home. I felt like my cold was getting worse. :( Dan helped McKenna study. 

Sept. 7th- Thursday: I watched the news and ate breakfast and decided to not go to the temple because I was coughing too much. I also decided I would not visit my mom. My cold felt worse. I started working on a grocery order and other things on my to do list. I had lunch and FaceTimed my mom. I got dressed and headed to Hoopes Vision for an eye follow-up. I was there for an hour and 40 mins, which was too long!  Thankfully, everything was fine with my eyes. I also had to get my eyes dilated which I hate!  As soon as I got home, I took Bethany to Activity Days where they made homemade ice cream in a bag. I drove Dan and the other Webster men to the airport for their guys trip to Texas for the Utah/Baylor game. I took Anna to rehearsal. Ben went to mountain biking. McKenna took Alice to piano with her. I made dinner and we ate. I picked up Anna. We got ready for the next day. McKenna worked a ton on homework. Ben showered and we talked about his weekend plans. I tried to figure out Ben’s possible pre-ride for the Price race. 

September Videos:

Mantua Mountain Bike race, Alice soccer, McKenna Madrigals choir singing National Anthem, Our video for Grandfather’s 99th BD, Alice reading, Dan’s Webster Men trip to TX, Anna’s 5th grade class reciting the LPA Paideia, more McKenna volleyball!

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.