Saturday August 31

We have had a pretty good day.

We had breakfast at the hotel.

Then we left to find a uhaul.

We had reserved one for Evanston, but they didn't have the right size.

So they transferred to a salt lake one, but then said the wrong day, yesterday.

So we missed that reservation.

Luckily the guy at the uhaul worked with us and we got one.

Then we couldn't get the trailer lights to work.

Noticed the wires on the truck had been chewed... Probably by Mater.

After 2 hours of running to two different auto parts store, fixing fuses, fixing relays and a bunch of electrical tape, we were headed to Evanston.

The drive was good.

Made good time.

We got loaded up with the help of Cindy and Dave. 

Then Cindy fed us some cookies and we chatted a bit.

Andy came over too for a bit 😊

Then we went by the rodeo grounds to say hi to dussy boy, Doug and Sandra.

We also chatted a little bit before we headed out.

We are almost home now.

It's been such a nice little trip just the two of us ❤️❤️❤️

Friday August 30

We have had the most special day.

The kids left to school.

I helped Madi set up her quilt....

I'm so excited about that, by the way!!!

Then I ran my 5 miles.

I kicked butt too because I wanted to hurry so we could get going.

Then dad and I loaded up and we headed to salt lake.

Madi is in charge of the kiddos while we are gone .

The drive here was great. 

We had great conversation.

I just love this man!

We got to our hotel with enough time for me to iron my dress before we headed to the temple.

We haven't been back to do a session at the salt lake temple since we were sealed there almost 19 years ago.

It was so neat to be able to go again.

It will be closed at the end of this year for four years to renovate.

I'm so thankful we were able to make it here!!!!!!

Then we had a late dinner at The roof, which was amazing!!!

It was just such a great day and I'm so thankful I got to spend it with him 💕

Thursday August 29 (add sky diving pictures)

What a beautiful day to celebrate such a beautiful girl!!!

Madi Bell turned 18 years old today!!!

She is an adult!!!

Like totally grown up!

I can't even handle it!!!

We sent all the younger kids to school.

We all worked out here at home.

After lunch, we headed out to Star where Madi, Dad and Courtney SKY DIVED!!!!!

Madi has been talking about this for so long!

And today was finally the day!

We got out there and they got all harnessed up.

They took them each up one at a time.

Madi went first.
She was so excited!

Not too scared until they stepped off the side of the plane :)

It was as awesome as she hoped it would be!

Then Courtney went up and she loved it too.
Then Dad went last.

His parachute actually didn't quite fully open up for a few seconds and that freaked me out......but then it opened up and all was well.

There was a back up parachute, so all would be fine, but still my heart dropped!!!!!

It was such a great experience for all!!!!!

Brent is talking about going again and can't wait until the next time :)

We went and got shakes at the gas station and then headed home.

But not before buying a birthday cake for Madi.

I have become a lame birthday mom......I miss my crazy over the top birthdays.

But also, I don't miss them :)

We had sushi for dinner, per Madi request.

Then we had all our favorite people come over (except the Terry's couldn't make it :( ).

We have had a band of amazing families behind us as we raised this girl to her adulthood.

Moms that I look up at and have learned so much from.

From all different ages, religions, personalities…..and they are all the very best!!!

The Youngs came over, our dearest and longest friends.

We are so excited to send Madi and Kara away together.

It makes it a little easier knowing they will both have each other.

Of course the Morgan's, who have been such a big part of our life since the day they moved in.

A family that meshes so well with ours it is hard not to believe the Lord placed them in our lives for a purpose!

The Halls, who we are trying to pretend like they aren't moving away from us.

Our heart is so broken.

The Edwards, who bring so much color and joy to our family.

So grateful they moved across the street with those boys!!!!

Vern is the friend every mom needs!

Bubble and Eldon, who treat my kids like their own grandkids.....even bragging to her real kids about our kids accomplishments!

They just don't come better than the Leavitt's!

The Nielsen's have been a great addition to our neighborhood family as well.

We did miss the Terry's.

Jenni and I were in the trenches together when we knew nothing but diapers and naps.

Having her so close by during those years saved my sanity.

I am so thankful for the amazing influences these people have been!

I know Madi has a tribe that she can go to with anything that comes her way.

I will add sky diving pictures once I get them from Madi.

Happy 18th birthday Madi Bell.

You are one amazing girl!

I cannot wait to see where life takes you!!!!!!!

Wednesday August 28

I got to help at the office this morning.

This went pretty smooth saying it is only the third day of school :)

When I got home, I went for a run.

Madi slept in pretty late today because no one woke her up!!!!

I put some stain on Porter loft bed pieces....

That should be able to go up soon.

It is all his and Dads design and I am excited to see what they come up with :)

This evening Dad made us a yummy BBQ beef that he tried to make like his grandma Eastmans'....it was so yummy!

Then he took Porter to football.

Elsie and I had YW.

We had a Beehive tune-up.

We had parents sign up for a slot to have their car washed by the Beehives.

Then we sat and chatted with the parents.

Just touching base with them.

Letting them know about the challenges we give the girls each week.

We have some great ideas to implement and help with communication.

It was a really great night and I think the girls had a lot of fun getting wet and washing some cars :)

Tuesday August 27

Things went smooth this morning.

The kids all got off to school again, and happy about it.

Dad went to the gym, I ran and Madi worked out in the basement.

Then while Dad got stuff done here at home, Madi and I went and spent money :)

We went and got some more shopping done.

Only a few more weeks now!!!!

I am totally getting more emotional than I thought I would!!!!

That is pretty much what we did today.

After school we went swimming at the Morgan's.

Probably the last of our summer swims, maybe.

Stacia gets her Gallbladder out tomorrow, so she is probably done swimming.

Madi's friend, Brooklyn, leaves for BYU Hawaii tomorrow, so she is spending the evening with her little group of friends.

Cassi worked a few hours this evening and got her first real paycheck, she was excited about that :)

Monday August 26

Well, it turned out to be a pretty good day for everyone.

Everyone woke up on time, and pretty happy.

Cassi left before Porter woke up.

Madi woke up when Elsie woke up.

Then Madi fell asleep before Elsie left.....

Then she was awake to say goodbye to Porter :)

Vern, Stacia, Laura and I walked the boys to school while they rode their bikes.

My last first day of having a kiddo in elementary school!!!!

Crazy!!!

Port was a little on and off this morning.

But in the end, I think he was more excited about going than not excited :)

When I got home, Madi and I sat and talked for a bit.

Then I went for a run,.

Was gonna just run 3, but then I felt in the groove, so I went for 5.

When I got done, Madi and I did a little bit of Yoga together.

It was a really good workout!

Then we did a little meditation :)

It was quite nice.

I worked on editing pictures for a few hours today.

Port got home from school a little after 1:30.

He was only half day.

He came home happy and told me about the day.

As time went on, he was getting fidgety and worried...

I think when he gets bored he starts to think about things to worry about.

I understand that, I think I am like that too.

He actually felt pretty sick to his stomach and thought he would throw up.

We did some breathing and he said that his tummy hurt and that his had just felt all jumbled.

I feel bad for him.

I know what he is feeling, but I don't have that feeling very often, but he is feeling it more and more.

I am trying to be patient and understanding.

He came with me to Walmart to pick up my Flonase prescription and to pick up some groceries and supplies from Madi's 'need to get' list.

That helped calm him, having something to do.

Then I dropped him by the Halls house to hang for a bit.

I came home and cleaned the kitchen.

We did some breathing stuff and relaxing stuff when he went to bed this evening.

Hopefully he sleeps good and we can have another good morning tomorrow.

Sunday August 25

It was such a lovely meeting today.

The talks in sacrament were about overcoming trials......staying positive and asking for help.
Cassi received her Young Womans Award today.
So that is very exciting!
She has had it completed for a while, but finally got in to get it approved and interviewed :)

In YW, we had two Beehvies teach the lesson.

They did such a great job.

Their talk was centered on Kindness.

They talked about what kind's of acts of kindness they have been shown at school.

Then talked about ways they can show kindness in this new school year.

We watched a few videos and then the girls talked about a story in a conference talk.

The talk was "Remember this, Kindness begins with me" by Mary N. Cook.

In the story it talked about a bishop that noticed a primary kid coloring with a box of crayons.

Then he thought about how each member in the ward is their own color....each unique and different.

But all together we make such a beautiful colorful picture!

So we talked about each girl, and things we loved about them and what color we though they were and then the girls gave them the crayon.

It was the sweetest thing!

Each girl left feeling special, I know it.

We were given a challenge to perform 50 acts of kindness before the next YW class in two weeks.

It was a great lesson!

After church, Cassi went to choir.

Back at home we read the CFM scriptures.

Then when Cassi came back, we watched the 'Don't miss this' on YouTube.

I love the connection that came when they talked about each body part working together to make the whole body work.

You need an ear to hear, you need legs to walk.

Each body part has it's specific function and purpose as part of the body.

So just like the crayons from the story earlier......we are all so different, but we all work together to make one beautiful body!!!!

I hate to say it thought, the second half of my day was lousy.

I am feeling the major pressure again that comes along with sinus infections :(

They are just coming too often.

I think I might need to go back in and get reevaluated.

I am doing all I can, but they still keep happening!!!

I still DO NOT want sinus surgery :( !!!!

Anyway....we got these little ones into bed at 8:00!!!

That is great, and I hope it helps with a smooth morning!

Madi went to a fireside with Kara, with President Gong.

She came home and we talked for a while, that's why I'm not in bed early :)

I am gonna miss talking to her late at night...…..

Saturday August 24 (add blessings thoughts)

Well, I knew today would be another long run.

But I hadn't decided if I would do a 10 mile or try for another half marathon....

I had a good speed going, my knees felt good and things went really smooth.

So I went for it!

Got another 13.1!!!

Woo hoo!!!

It really is amazing what the body can do when you really work for it :)

Anyway, I didn't have a ton of energy today and I was probably a little extra emotional because of the exhaustion, ha ha....

But we did get some house cleaning done, which was very much needed.

Cassi mowed the lawn.

The Hall boys came over and rode the horse for a while.

Then Justin and Dad had to rope the cows and give them some shots.

That went okay....a little trouble with then trying to hop the fences again :)

But the job got done.

I went and did grocery shopping.

When I got home, we gathered together and Dad gave the kiddos a Father's blessing.

I recorded them and I will write more about them tomorrow.

They were beautiful blessings.

He did not give Madi a blessing yet....we will wait and do that before she leaves us :(

But the spirit was most definitely in the room.

And Dad made sure to point that out to the kids, how nice it felt to be sitting there as a family with the room filled with the spirit.

I am feeling very grateful.

Cassi had some friends over tonight for a 'Back to school' BBQ.

They are all still out there making smores right now.

Madi has a few friends over.

Dad, Porter, Elsie and I watched a movie together :)

Friday August 23

For art today, I only had two little girls.

So I invited the neighbor's, Kyra, Cannon, Max and Graham.

Then Port and Elsie joined us.

I think it turned out fun.

Definitely our hardest painting so far :)

But they turned out awesome.

Then after Dad and I went for a dr checkup, I got to take Elsie school shopping.

She was a lot of fun to shop with.

And she wanted to have EVERYTHING that sparkled or glittered :)

Then this evening, we went on a double date with Justin and Sherrie.

We went to dinner at Brick 29 and it was SOOO GOOD!!!!!

Then we went and saw the movie Peanut Butter Falcon.

Oh my goodness!!!!!

It was so good!

Like SOOO good!

I loved it so much.

We did have kind of bummer news.

Justin and Sherrie told us that they are gonna have to move

To Utah for now.

He has a better job offer there.

We totally understand, but it TOTALLY stinks!!!!

We decided that we need to make sure and take a week long vacation together every year!!!

It is a real bummer for us though :(

Oh, and I ran 5 miles this morning before art class.

Thursday August 22

Ran a straight 5 miles today.

Usually I stop and stretch after a mile or so.

But today I just kept running, I felt so accomplished :)

Art class went great.

We painted a dock sunset scene.

Cassi and I went school shopping after that.

We got her some fun stuff for school.

Port had his meet and greet.

We met his teacher and he seems like he will be a great fit.

Porter is very excited...also very excited to have Max in his class again this year :)

Then this evening, Dad and I went to the temple.

I am really enjoying the talks we have been having lately, and just the time I get to spend with him.

I am feeling very grateful and thankful I get to have him ❤

Wednesday August 21

I did get to run before class today, so that worked out.

For art class we painted a beach-scape.

I think they turned out really good.

Dad mowed our neighbors field for him, he just had knee surgery.

I took Elsie to get the new lenses in her glasses.

Same prescription, but not scratched :)

Then I got stuff together to go to mutual.

We met at 4 and we went boating.

Elsie stayed and hung out with Sierra.....

Porter hung out with the boys.

He had football tonight that Vern took him to.

Dad came with Cassi and I boating.

It was so much fun.

Just a night to relax and enjoy each other.

We tried the boat surfing.

Dad did awesome.
He always is good at anything he tries....

I, well, I got up for a little bit.

But man....I get so nervous about falling and getting water up my nose, that I DO END UP FALLING!
And I got lots of water in my nose that I can still feel up in my sinuses :(

I do think that the water up my nose is more painful than it is for others because of my messed up sinuses :)

Ha ha ha.....

But I survived.

I am happy to sit by the side and watch others do water sports :)

Madi hung out with her friends once she got the little ones to their friends houses.

It was a good day for everyone.

Cassi is still with friends.

They went hot tubbing after boating.

Tuesday August 20

I could not get myself to wake up early enough to go running before my art class!

I had time for my scriptures/journaling etc before the class though....so that is good.

The art class was fun.

We are doing landscapes this week.

Today's was a fun farm/barn scene.

After my art class, I went running.

It was very hot.....and it was an encouragement for me to get up BEFORE class tomorrow to run :)

After that, Port and I went and did his school shopping.

Oh my goodness!!!

That boy is not fun to shop with!

I mean I like being with him, but he cannot choose!!!!

It takes him forever!

Like he is worried he will pick wrong.

Or he has something in mind and everything I suggest just doesn't fit the bill....but he won't tell me what he has in mind.

I tried hard not to get too aggravated :)

We did have a fun time though.

Then this evening it was the scout family dinner thing.

Port got the religious knot award, so that is really cool.

If we work on it, he would be able to get his Arrow of Light before the whole scout thing changes here at the church.

So we might try and get that done.

Then we came home and tried to get them to bed.

I have been super tired today, but I think it is mostly because of the middle of the hot day run!!!!

Hopefully I have more energy tomorrow.

Cassi has spent the last few days re-doing her bedroom.

It is pretty cute.

But man, that girl makes a mess!

But I am glad she has a place that she loves that maybe SHE WILL KEEP CLEAN!

Monday August 19

I ran two miles today.

1, because of time.

I needed to take Elsie to speech and PT and I didn't have time to run very long.

And 2, my legs were killer sore from my 1/2 marathon run on Saturday!

So I just wanted to kind of loosen them up.

Hopefully tomorrow will feel better :)

So I took Elsie to speech, where she graduated!!!!

We have been working on her swallowing and tongue thrust.

She knows how to do it, now it will just be keeping it up as a habit!

So it was fun to have her graduate!

Then we had a hour before we had PT, so she and I ran a few errands.

Then back for PT.

She was a bit of a stinker......but then she did what Katie asked.

She is just so physically exhausted!!!

The first week of school will be exhausting for sure!

Back at home, I got my art stuff ready for my class at 1.

We did landscapes.

They turned out awesome!

It was pretty fun.

We painted Lavender fields.

After art class, Elsie and I went to Bubble and Eldon to get veggies from them :)

Then I went with Madi and her friends to take some pictures of them up Bogus Basin road.....

You know, before they all spread their wings and fly :)

Cassi painted her room today.

She has a whole room make-over planned.

So that is kind of fun for her :)

Sunday August 18

It has been a lovely Sunday.

Cassi stayed home from church.

She has been taking some medicine to help with the inflammation that is still in her knee.

It caused her a lot of tummy issues last night and she did not get sleep at all.

So we let her get caught up on sleep.

She felt much better after we got home from church and she had rested.

Still haven't decided if she should still take it....

It is a 30 day dose, but they said to a least get 16 days in.

But if it keeps causing her these kinds of problems 4 days in....I don't know!!!!

I will call the dr tomorrow and see what they suggest.

Madi said the prayer in sacrament meeting today, like a big adult :)

After church, we did some Come Follow Me.

Then the Terry's stopped by.

They hung out for a bit and then they took the Honda.

Well, when they got home, they couldn't get it started up.

Some apparent issue with the starter.

I mean seriously.....how many years have we had it with no problems and the minute we sell it, it decided to rebel!

So dumb!

We will get it figured out though.

We were invited to have dinner at the Tibbets house this evening.

The Morgan's were invited too.

It was a fun night when the kids could play and we could have adult conversation :)

It has been a nice day filled with church and good friends!

Saturday August 17

 Blogging from my phone.
I ran a half marathon today!!!!
Kind of cool!
I'm really tired though 😂😂😂
Today dad and I cleaned up the Honda.
Brad and Jenni are gonna buy it from us.
Then we went on an early date.
We left around 4.
We did some shopping before we went to dinner.
We are at izumi..... The Japanese habachi placed.
Soo good!!!!
Then we did some grocery shopping before coming home.
We picked up the little kids and met up with our neighbors for some shakes to celebrate Grahams birthday.
I just love our people ❤️

Friday August 16

Man.....I slept in again.

That means everyone else sleeps in too :)

Then when we got up, we had a neighbor come over, friends over.....

It was about 11 before I went out on my run,

Luckily it was a little breezy so the heat wasn't too bad.

When I got home and when Dad got home from the gym and he moved the sprinklers...….we went to the Morgan's for a swim.

They still weren't home yet, not until this evening….but they let us borrow the pool :)

We were there for a little while with the Edwards boys and Trent.

Dad has been moving sprinklers all day!!!

It is quite a job!

I went and picked the Morgan's up from the airport...they have been gone for like 2 weeks!

It will be good to have them home :)

Thursday August 15

So, Makenna had to cancel on me because she found out she needed to be back at school at 10:00 for blood testing for track.

So she had to leave here at 5 a.m. :(

I did still go running, just not as early.

But I did go earlier than I have the last couple days :)

When I got home, and showered, Elsie and I went to the middle school open house.

She is pretty excited for school!

Dad and I went and ran some errands.

Our car topper thing finally came that we ordered from REI.

I love it and it will be great for trips to have the extra room for stuff, since we have less room than the suburban had.

Cassi ran with Port to Walmart.

Madi took Elsie swimming with the Halls.

When Cass and Port got back, his tummy wasn't feeling very good, so he rested for a bit.

Cassi is working this evening and Madi has been working on her quilt this evening.

It is gonna be a pretty fun quilt.

She is pretty excited about it :)

We had a visit from our ward missionaries this evening.

They showed us the ward mission plan.

Now we are just waiting for Cassi to get home.

Got the little ones to bed at a reasonable time.....

Got to start getting to bed earlier and waking up earlier!!!!!

Not many more days until school starts!!!!!

Wednesday August 14

I went running late again.....but I ended up doing 7 miles.

I felt really good about it.

I am going to run with Makenna again tomorrow, so I did some really good stretching today!

I did more laundry.

Man, do I say that every day?!?!?!

Laundry laundry laundry!!!!

Never ending!!!!

Elsie finished up her cute Disney painting.

She made it for the YW talent show this evening.

Porter started his flag football practice tonight.

So today I took him to get a mouth guard and some new cleats.

I am getting a little stressed about school starting so soon!

I feel unprepared!

 I will take Elsie to her school open house tomorrow, she is excited about that.

I haven't taken anyone school shopping yet!

Hopefully I can get that done next week.

So tonight we had a fun little talent show for the YW combined.

It was so much fun and these girls are so creative and funny!!!!

Tuesday August 13

Yay for getting back into routine!!!!

We all slept in.

Some much needed sleep in our comfy beds!!!!

I ran probably too late in the day, because it was quite hot!

And it was a hard run because it has been a few days off....

But it was good to get back running here at home.

I am a definite home-body!

Dad and I got some weeds pulled and some yard work done.

Elsie did some painting.

Cassi had PT and she is working this evening.

Porter had scouts and hung out with Koy and Titan.

Madi just did some digital art all day after she had a workout.

That was pretty much our day.....besides trying to catch up on vacation laundry!

Monday August 12

We are HOME!!!!!

But it is late.

Today we got up and had breakfast.

Then we packed up.
We headed to the USS Midway to check things out there and we went to Little Italy for some yummy lunch!

After a few hours there, we had to make the drive back to LA to take our car back and get to the airport in good time.

Things went well.

We had dinner inside the airport, we were in there for a couple hours.

The flight home was great and we had Eldon here to pick us up.

We had fun, but we are so happy to be home!!!

Sunday August 11

Today was a pretty great day.

We got up and had breakfast.

Then we got ready and went to a nearby church.

It was a nice meeting.

The youth speaker was a kid that will be going to Boise state, so that was funny :)

After church, we went and took some family pictures.

The weather was not ideal, really sunny, and windy :(

But we got a few shots.

Then we changed into swimsuits and headed to the beach.

We planned to get surf lessons, but then ended up just renting surf boards and wet suits.

The girls who rented them to us was so sweet and gave them a lesson anyway.

She gave them some great pointers and they were off.

Everyone did amazing!!!

Port is a natural!

He did amazing!

It was so fun watching them!

We were out there for several hours.

Elsie and I made ourselves a cute sand buffalo :)

When we finally left the beach, we grabbed some dinner at the grocery store.

We took it to the hotel swimming pool and had dinner there and got all the sand washed off of us from the beach :)

It was a really nice day.

We head home tomorrow.

Hopefully we will do a couple more fun things before our flight out tomorrow.

This has been a fun vacation, but I am sure ready to get home!!!!

Saturday August 10

Dad and I worked out in the gym this morning.

I ran 7 miles :)

On a treadmill :(

I do not like treadmills, but it was good to get a good run!

We went to breakfast and then went and spent our last few hours in the pool and hot tub.

Then we headed to San Diego.

We had a lot of driving today...

Lots of traffic.

But the ride went pretty well.

We used up some driving time trying to find a beach to play on.

But it is a Saturday and LOTS of people going to the beach!

We ditched one beach and headed for more sand.

We found a surfing beach where there was a section for body boards too.

We had fun there and then headed to the hotel to get checked in.

We all showered and then headed to dinner.

Forgot to take a family picture of us at the beach, so we had to do it in the hotel :)

We are all watching a movie now and getting some sleep.

Gonna find a church to go to tomorrow for Sacrament meeting :)

Friday August 9

Our plans today started with a dip in the pool after breakfast.

Then we headed out to LA to visit the stars and see the Hollywood sign.

The traffic was not great and took a big chunk of the day!

But we had fun and then drove to Redondo beach for some time there.

It was a little chilly, so only Port and Cass got in the water.

But it was just nice to sit on the beach and relax before we had to get back in traffic!

The way home was a much better commute.

We got home in enough time to go for a dip in the hot tub.

We check out of here tomorrow and head to San Diego for some more fun :)

Thursday August 8 (add pictures)

Well, we made it back to the hotel!

What a fun day!!!!

So grateful we rented a wheelchair for Elsie bug.

Madi had her Apple watch on and it said we went 14+ miles!!!!

Elsie was done walking by the first hour there :)

We went on a lot of rides...Elsie and I skipped out on some of the big ones.

We went on some smaller rides and walked around.

She met Cinderella too!!!!

That was her one wish to get done at Disneyland and she got to do it!!!

So fun!

I will write more about our adventures and add pictures.....but we really need sleep right now!!!!

Wednesday August 7

We made it to California!!!!

The flight went great.

Cassi got to sit by a lady with her little baby, and he just loved our whole family :)

Elsie was so brave with the flying!

We got to LAX and we got our rental car.

We drove to Anaheim and went to Red Robin for our lunch.

We had a little shopping spree at Target to get sunscreen and towels and some treats.

Then we went and checked into our hotel!

It is such a fun hotel with a bunk bed for the kiddos and a swimming pool on the second floor!

We got in our swim gear and drove 30+ minutes to Huntington Beach.

It was really nice weather and the kids had so much fun with the Boogie boards we bought on clearance at the Huntington Walmart :)

We got home and had a little swim in our Hotel pool, mostly in the hot tub.

Then showered, we are all ready to get some sleep for our big day at Disneyland!!!!

Wahoo!!!!