Just What I Needed

Phew. Summer is upon us, and I am not ashamed to admit that I am already overwhelmed. Not with my kids. I'd reasonably expected they would be around more often, and although we have a busier schedule this year than ever before, that is going rather well. But the blog, THE BLOG. It sits here taunting me. I have all this end of school year stuff to get on here and I seem to have no time. The first two days of summer left me not a minute to myself. It was crazy. I'm assuming all the days will not be quite as hectic, but I'm not sure when I'm going to catch up, since I will also need to be documenting current events.

So, be patient and know that I am trying oh so hard. That is all I can do.

School is out as of last Friday. We left in the afternoon to travel to Idaho and spend Memorial Day weekend with family. It was a good choice. It was perfect to unplug from the crazy schedule we seem to keep around here and relax with people we love.

We arrived just in time for a BBQ with all the family (not counting Jack and Rozz who were out of town.) Such yummy food. Steak, potatoes, baked beans, dutch oven veggies and cobbler. We were spoiled. Everything was delicious. JR and Tyler set up a tent in the backyard because Vicki was redoing the carpet in her bedroom and some of the furniture was blocking beds. We tossed four kids out there and despite the soda accident, I would say everything went well. (By soda accident, I don't mean we spilled soda, but more of the accident you get from drinking too MUCH soda. You know what I mean. My kids are not used to soda, so we made a rule: No soda after 4pm.)

I didn't get my phone out until the evening, and I'm not sure why I bothered. Robyn hijacked my phone to take pictures of "herself." My phone is starting to fill up with these.

Okay...the one on Pip is pretty funny. June and I took a regular selfie to balance out all the craziness.

Saturday we spent with family again. JR and Tyler left first thing in the morning to collect sand from the dunes. Cazier's trickled in throughout the day to play games and chat.

I was able to go out with Vicki and Kathryn and do some shopping. I like to browse around and I forgot about the fun deals you can find at places like Ross and TJMaxx. I scored a cute set of glasses for $8. Eight dollars for ten nice glasses is pretty good in my opinion. We can break three and still have enough for our family.

More sleeping in the tent that night.

June went to bed later so she missed the pictures. Robyn opted to sleep indoors. (I don't blame her.) The tent did lead to some early risers, and some people who weren't quite ready to be awake.

Sunday was another relaxing day. Some of us went to church early, some went later. (It's nice to be able to choose when you want to go.) We played music for Grandma. She is a admiring audience.

Then she asked if we would like to go water flowers at some grave sites. Some kids almost stayed but I'm so happy we all got in the car. Grandma gave me some biographies to read as we traveled. It was so interesting to learn about her grandparents, Eulalia and James Timbrel (JT) Worlton. We have not been to a lot of cemeteries with the kids. (We don't live near any deceased relatives.) It was really interesting to walk around and look at the different names and types of headstones. (Grandma is currently in the process of getting a head stone for Barry, so we were looking closer at different options.) We visited both Barry's parents and Vicki's. Vicki's mother lost many babies (probably due to a negative RH factor that was not commonly treated back then) and it was sad to see three little markers behind the main head stone. (Rula lost more than three babies, but she donated some to science. What a brave woman.)

When we returned home, Kathryn had a craft for all the girls to do. She claims not to be very creative, but I'm amazed at the things she can make just by browsing Pinterest. These popsicle stick bracelets with Washi tape are super cute. (Can you tell which arm is KJ's?)  

Monday being Memorial Day, we all went to Barry's grave. Well, not all of us. Grandma woke up feeling very ill. I was sad she couldn't be with us, but it was best for her to remain home.

Barry is in a very nice cemetery. He is on a bit of a hill. He doesn't have a head stone yet (as I mentioned) but he is easy to find. JR and Tyler sprinkled their sand to make a tiny dune for Dad. Pearl was packing it in around the pinwheel.

Kathryn brought lovely flowers.

Hinckley got front row seats. He is doing okay. He starts some intensive therapy this summer in hopes that he will be able to walk by himself by the time school starts. If anyone can do it, Hinckley can. He has so much patience and endurance. We pray for him all the time.

JR's family is doing well. He is officially out of the pump business. He is doing some management at a medical office and is also back in school. They are busy, but happy. (You can't help but love Henlee's smile and Jami's cute new haircut.)

The K Cazier's are the best. What a great family. Kaysen only has a year until his mission. That time is going to fly.

And us. We seem to have the same problem with kids growing like weeds.

We spent a lot of time walking through the cemetery. I have never thought much about what I want on my head stone, but after this weekend, I have a better idea. I don't want images/etchings of my interests or talents. (There are a lot of those. One guy had an image of a laptop on his.) I will never list pets, although I do realize some pets are very precious to people. I don't think I want a saying on mine; not even 'loving mother' or 'best wife ever'. (Although we all know those are true.) And I especially don't want a picture. I think the pictures are weird. They are especially weird when they have a little door that opens to reveal them. (I get that they are being protected from the elements, but....weird.) We called them the peek-a-boo pictures. Here is a good example.

In the end, I guess it won't matter what my headstone looks like. After all, I won't be seeing much of it. Barry has a pretty good view from his hill. He can see exactly when the cows come home. (Who could ask for more?)

The afternoon was very bittersweet. We had a wonderful lunch with Kathryn's family, including salted watermelon and BANG dice. (I like the dice...not so much, the watermelon.) We came back to Grandma's for a splendid FHE with JR and Jami. Then we were on the road again for home.

Unfortunately, whatever hit Vicki caught us before we left. By the time we hit Malad, Tyler was feeling it and he had a miserable ride home followed by an even more miserable evening throwing up. Pearl got it the next morning. Poor little duck. Everyone else seems to be fine. Fingers crossed that it is gone now.

But I don't regret one bit heading up to Idaho. It was the perfect start to my summer. A little relaxation was just what I needed before we hit the ground running. Happy Summer everyone!