The Abeggs

My Village

2018-12-31T22:03:00.000-08:00

I am so grateful lately to have a village that has been so supportive. Being far away from family can be hard, but I feel like I have the next best thing here. I want to remember all these amazing people, and basically no one reads this blog anyway, so it is the perfect place for a record.

Christmas gatherings hosted by the Fallers and Leybases gave us people to spend the holidays with. The Webers having us over before Christmas to play games gave us stand in grandparents and friends.

I am working on prerequisites to start a Physical Therapy program. Mike has been so supportive of whatever I choose and in giving me time to get things done. Over Christmas break I observed at a local PT office and they offered me a job as a tech this semester so I can get some more experience and education as I make my decision about a career. That required that I change which days I teach preschool. The Bucks, Majewskis, Jones, Haltermans, and McKenzie were all so accommodating. I also have to switch my gym classes or stop teaching. My neighbor Manny has gone out of his way to offer me one of his classes temporarily if it will allow me to keep my job at the gym through this busy semester. Kendra has been so patient as I repeatedly rearrange my schedule which changes her schedule because she will be helping with Asher while I'm working.

I will also be taking Anatomy and Physiology this semester which will require me going to a lab on Fridays. I only had to ask one person to be my babysitter and she agreed enthusiastically right away. Adriann has been so helpful answering all of my questions about text books, etc. as I start back to school. Angie gave me advice for my class and even offered to study with me if I want because she just finished the class.

I am also exploring teaching options and our school principal immediately agreed to let me observe specials teachers when I asked.

For the Record

2018-12-31T22:02:00.000-08:00

This school year we started a new routine method that has worked really well. The boys have a checklist each day. We have done that before, but this time, I give them tickets for the things they finish. Anything they finish before 3pm gets triple the tickets, 3:30pm gets double, and 4pm gets single. By the end of the year, they don't really remember to ask me for tickets anymore, but they are still pretty consistent about getting their lists done. Here is what they have to do. Morning: Get dressed, brush teeth, get lunch, shoes, and ID. Afternoon: repack lunch and put it in the fridge (I LOVE not packing lunches. I still prep home made lunchables or freeze pizza rolls for them every couple weeks.), daily chore, weekly chore, homework, practice (piano/Spanish/reading or writing), reading, family and community service (this has faded away).

These documents were cluttering up the fridge, so I took pictures so we could clear off the fridge.

This was a thank you note Ethan did without prompting once, a year or more ago. "Dear Mom, Thank you for the one doller. you got me to the spy kit. I was rily itsideid about the spy kit!" The I love you because sign says "you gave me money and allowance."

"I like that ou let us have story time." "I love my mom because...she gives me hugs...she gives me yummy food...she loves me...she takes me to fun places..."

"I am thankful for my mom and dad because they keep us safe and take care of us. I am thankful for my Teddy because I had him sence I was a baby. Love Ethan"

"if you like Brith days sowt hooray here's a speshl card from Ethan to shelbat your Brith day everyday." This was probably from 1st grade.

"she loves me and I love her"

"let's me go swimming"

"2 boxs of chocolate!"

"She is sweet...She is nice...She is smart...She is loving"

December 2018

2018-12-31T19:44:00.000-08:00

We started out December at a great party at the Faller's. Mike got this fanny pack from the white elephant exchange and I ended up with a poop emoji plunger.

I spent a few months battling a rezoning case. We had a bunch of meetings and preparation over trying to get bigger lot sized and longer driveways. Seeing this stretch limo fit in its driveway made me laugh.

Mike started a project to redo our landscape lighting. The wires were laid in very strange ways, so it has been an adventure!

Ethan got back into Pokemon cards and was disappointed that the library stopped hosting its club in December, right when we were talking about finally trying it out. Instead, he invited friends over from school for his own Pokemon club. He would like to have weekly or biweekly meetings, but hasn't convinced me yet.

Ethan was chosen as Student of the Month! He didn't get that award in 2nd or 3rd grade, so he was really excited. The excitement may mostly come from the donuts.

We had a ward Christmas party that ended with cookie decorating. Asher and Caelyn are such cute little friends.

The loving gazes are adorable.

A great example of our boys' common activities. They love magna blocks and stuffed animals.

We went to get Santa pictures done and explored the farm while we waited. There was a contest that you could enter by finding the elf and taking a selfie with it.

The boys and I went out to Gilbert to buy from the Light the World Giving Machine. They all got to pick something to donate. Ethan chose toys for a family a local organization had adopted. Benton chose meals for a Food Bank. Asher chose learning toys. I chose an infant resuscitation kit, chickens, and a fish farm. Ethan used his own money to get jump ropes and Ethan and Benton both used their money to buy water (donating to a water charity).

I recognized the Sister missionary and realized that I taught her older sister in my first class. I told her I was Sheridan's 4th grade teacher and she said, "Mrs. Abegg?!? You're famous in our house-you changed Sheridan's life!" I was so touched! I sent this picture to Sheridan and got to have a fun interaction with her.

We went straight from there to the Science Center and saw Tesla coils...

virtual aliens and sand.

Benton had left his shoes at home and then got his socks wet at a fountain near the vending machines. Asher was wearing his pants pulled enough to see his pineapple socks, so we were quite a sight. I didn't want to go home after planning the whole outing, so we just stayed conspicuous so no one noticed Benton was shoeless.

I ran a Christmas race with a coworker. I failed to train for the 10k, but ran it in a 9:13 average and got 4th in my age group, so I was really pleased. As I approached the finish line I was near a guy that I had passed and been passed by during the race. I sped up to try and pass him and he did the same down the whole home stretch. I ended up crossing first and I'm going to ignore the fact that there were more strollers near him.

The Webers invited us over for a pre-Christmas activity. We ate pizza, had a Light the World lesson, and played Christmas BINGO.

The boys' school's annual Posadas at the Pointe was great, as usual.

I hosted our annual Christmas cookie party for the preschoolers and one for the big boys and their friends and the Sandhauses. I can't believe I don't have any pictures, but it was a fun event, as always.

We checked the boys out of school early on the last day and went up to the Fairmont Princess. I used my birthday money to pay for two days at their Christmas event.

It was great having to set all the Christmas preparation stress aside and just spend time together.

We started out at the pool playing in the sand and pool.

Then we hit the Christmas festivities. This is the view from the top of the Ferris wheel.

The ice slide was a good sledding substitute.

There were Christmas lights and Christmas light shows all over.

We all went ice skating. Ethan went both nights and really liked it. He improved a lot while we were there. I was proud of his tenacity.

Asher really liked the singing Christmas trees and would dance to them.

In the mornings, the boys went to Kids Club and we got to relax and exercise. We saw this hawk and then noticed his handler. This is how the resort controls unwanted birds.

One of the boys' favorite things is this giant chess set. They played for hours.

The second night we rushed to the train and rode it twice because the line got up to 2 hours long each night.

The little boys wanted to take a picture with the elf.

It took a lot of encouragement to get Ethan to get in the picture because the Elf freaked him out.

Asher wasn't big enough for the Ferris wheel, but liked the carousel.

In our trips to the sand, Ethan build Pompeii and on our last day, we built this Medieval village together.

Goofballs!

I really enjoy hiding out, watching Christmas movies, and wrapping presents. This year I also last minute found animal print blankets, sewed two pockets on, and put a matching Beanie Boo in one pocket and Teeny Ty in the other. Ethan got a leopard print with leopards, Benton got a yellow blanket with bees, and Asher got a zebra print with zebras.

On the 16th Mike and I played in church, then we played again at the Stake Musical Fireside on the 23rd. We did the First Noel for one and Oh Holy Night for the other and they were really fun.

On Christmas Eve, Mike grilled tri-tip and smoked a ham and I made rolls, sweet potatoes, Jello salad...I love that we can eat outside.

We let the boys open two gifts. We got them robes since Ethan prefers to sleep in his underwear and Benton and Asher often try to follow along, only sleeping in pants. They were super excited. It helped that while we were at the resort they were very impressed by the robes in the room.

I meant to have them open a game, but instead they opened this puzzle and were SO excited!

We also made and ate our traditional molasses ginger cookies and Danzeisen egg nog. So yummy!

Everything was ready by 8pm and we had a relaxing evening watching TV. I follow my mom's precedent of strategically placing the presents to make it look like there are more than there are.

On Christmas morning I made biscuits and gravy and ate them on the porch.

The big boys got new shoes, but Asher didn't need any, so I got him these no tie silicone laces. He still can't get these on by himself, but at least they don't have to be tied. He loves that they are "beautiful, especially with his pineapple socks".

Enjoying Legos from the Cottles.

I read Mary Poppins to the boys and we watched the original (plus I watched Saving Mr. Banks). We didn't end up reading Mary Poppins Comes Back, but we still went to see Mary Poppins Returns. We met Mike at the downtown theatre after work.

The boys wrote all their thank you cards and I was really impressed with how they just sit and write them without any input or encouragement, plus, they are entertaining, so we took pictures. Asher wrote his all by himself, too! He sometimes copied "thank you" off of the front of a card, but the rest he sounded out. McKenzie has done a lot with him with his writing and he does that for his practice at home.

Christmas Cycle!

Mike took the big boys to the drive in. Asher and I were going to do something special, but mostly he fell asleep watching a movie while I wrapped presents and worked on blankets.

November 2018

2018-11-30T20:36:00.000-08:00

The boys' school doesn't celebrate Halloween, but they did do Dia de los Muertos two days later. In a last minute effort that included driving to friend's before school to get face paint, we ended up with great outfits! I should have taken close ups; I'm pretty proud of how the paint turned out.

While Ethan had piano lessons, I took my kids and some extras to do a cleaning assignment in the church. We brought Ethan back afterwards to play basketball.

Ethan ended up being the goalie for his soccer team. I was really proud of him for staying very focused and aggressive. He was very tough when he got hit hard took it pretty well when his team lost every game (they were way out of their league).

Ethan participated in a music contest and received all 5 stars! I was really proud of him!

Shopping with Asher is cute, but slow.

The boys learned to love four square this summer at Lisa's and our driveway is divided perfectly!

Asher is very determined to finish every assignment and do so up to his high standards. He will spend long amounts of time after preschool and primary finishing his pictures in this characteristic style.

President Nelson challenged the women in October Conference to read the entire Book of Mormon before the end of the year. He also encouraged us to mark all references to Christ. Asher was intrigued by my scripture marking when he sat in my lap one day. He started asking to mark in my scriptures, so I gave him his own; he was SO excited. He would sit patiently for a half an hour or more at a time and mark certain words, different ones each time (Lord, and, etc.).

We had to remove our second and final shade tree. Our yard looks so bare and close to our neighbors now, but the roots won't be able to cause problems and the pool will stay much cleaner. We will really miss the shade this summer!

We left really early the day before Thanksgiving and arrived at the airport at 5am, 2 hours before or flight. There was no holiday rush while we were there!

I found this gem at Dad's house.

Our 2nd annual cousin gift exchange was really fun.

We also had a talent show this year. I don't have a picture, but Ethan accompanied Asher and Benton in Frosty the Snowman. Ethan did a great job pausing and catching up with his brothers.

Ruthie on viola (and piano). Claire and Rosemary played piano.

James on trombone (and he played piano).

We ran the Turkey Trot, had a great Thanksgiving dinner, had lots of Minecraft connecting between cousins, bedtime adventures with everyone in the basement, and our traditional bowling trip.

We left early Saturday morning. We had extra time at the airport, so I took the boys on the train.

I also let them play on the moving walkway.

I failed to take a picture at the Turkey Trot, which was about 20*, the coldest Thanksgiving in decades. This was Benton's first 5k and he did amazing! He and I ran on our own and he just kept on going the whole time, only taking one break, and finished in about 33 minutes. He actually beat Ethan and Ruth (running with Lisa) by almost 2 minutes. I don't know where his motivation came from because I always had to prod him along on our training runs, but didn't have to at all during the race. If Ethan had been able to see Benton, I bet he would have kept up.

That weekend we got to start Christmas decorations!

All the boys got really into decorating the tree this year (while watching The Muppet Christmas Carol, per tradition).

I had never gotten around to carving pumpkins with Asher and Benton, so we did Christmas pumpkins. Asher was set on a Jack-o-lantern because we talked about them so much in preschool, but liked the idea of having it wear a Santa hat. Asher drew the face and I cut it out. Benton wanted to carve Jesus, so I convinced him to do the nativity instead. I had to help him draw it because he kept drawing it really tiny and didn't have the concept of planning it so the picture would just fall through. I told him about when I was a kid and carved a ghost, but carved all the way around it and Gary had to nail my pumpkin together for me.

The upside of carving pumpkins at the end of November is they took longer to rot than they do in the October heat.

Dinner fail! I was supposed to take them to the church with me to set up before YW in Excellence and Mike was going to pick them up on his way home. Letting Asher wake up that much after a nap, though, would spell disaster for bedtime. So, I bribed him to stay asleep in bed and Ethan hung out to make sure he stayed asleep during the short gap between a parent being home.

Letting him watch a movie was my mistake.

I bought a DNA test during Black Friday sales so Lisa and I can find out if we are identical or fraternal.

Favorite stuffed animals. Our boys are obsessed with Beanie Boos and Teeny Tys. It is crazy how many we have, but they play with them constantly and adore them.

Benton is adorable without front teeth!

Flashback to Thanksgiving...Mormon Bridge, of course!

Ethan's head is cut off, but this is the only Turkey Trot picture I have. Benton is a slippery little guy and always seems to be wandering off. It was a little stressful trying to keep an eye on him, but we made it. Good thing he was wearing a bright Blue's Clues jacket.

Asher asleep and holding hands with his friend, Clara.

On Veteran's Day we went to Top Golf for the first time with the Leybases and Spauldings. It was a lot of fun. We also recently had a Mexican food night at the Schultzes and a s'mores night at our house.

Cute Asher

2018-11-29T05:44:00.001-08:00

Asher: I have to get ready for Kindergarten, right?

Linda: Yes, what do you think you need to do to be ready?

Asher: Um, I don't know that yet.

Linda: Are you excited for Kindergarten?

Asher: Yes, I will listen to my teacher.

Asher loves coloring right now. He spends a lot of time on preschool projects and a Star Wars coloring book. He also spends quite a bit of time marking scriptures. He saw me doing it as part of President Nelson's Booknof Mormon challenge and wanted to do it too. I gave him his own Book of Mormon and he picks a word or two and Mark's all of them. Sometimes it is "Lord" and other times "and" or "they".

Asher: Do you scribble Mom?

Linda: No, I color neatly.

Asher: Then you are a Sunbeam!

October 2018

2018-10-31T19:06:00.000-07:00

Benton's cute school picture.

We had a record breaking amount of rain in October.

With how seldom we get rain, it was exciting to walk to school in the rain, and miraculous that I was able to find the umbrellas.

YW game night.

I went running a few times in the cooler weather and loved the beautiful scenery.

I had a meeting with deputy directors of the Parks Department at the City to look into getting the park in our neighborhood built. They have an amazing view from their conference room.

Voting for my neighbor and school district.

Trip 12 to Wet N Wild, getting really cold!

Our family tradition of floating toys down the drainage lives on!

Benton bought Mastermind and The Oregon Trail with his birthday money, both games I played as a kid.

We got Benton a pass to the AZ Science Center for his birthday.

The Spauldings joined us for one trip there.

Asher and Lily picked up their relationship quickly!

Asher got his soccer socks and wore them for a few days straight.

Last October Mike and I hiked in Sedona and the leaves had all changed beautifully. I checked ahead of time and read that the leaves had changed, so the boys and I went up over Fall Break. There were patches of color, but most were still green. We hiked West Fork which was 6.5-7 miles round trip with close to 30 water crossings. I was amazed how well they all did!

Soccer season started with a super stormy day. Asher's game was first and only had some sprinking. Benton's game got really windy and rainy. We had to hold the canopy down until half way through the game was cancelled.

Drenched, we went home, not sure if Ethan was going to get to play.

I sat on the porch, enjoying some soup. We got mixed messages about whether Ethan's game would happen, so he didn't get to play.

We had tickets for a Taco Festival and got in the middle of some crazy flooding on the freeway and surface roads. We did eventually make it over to enjoy some great tacos.

There was also a funny wrestling show.

For Ethan's birthday, we got him tickets to a BYU home game while he would be there visiting Grandma Abegg.

He was very excited to get Monopoly Cheater's Edition...

and an ATM!

We always love a reason to get the Costco chocolate cake!

Because of Asher's love of his soccer socks, when we saw a pack of silly tall socks at Costco, we brought them home. He LOVES the pineapple socks he is wearing here. Here he is riding his bike to Benton's parent teacher conference. Notice the striped shirt, plaid shorts, pineapple socks, and Keens. He loves colorful "beautiful" clothes. He says that being a boy is boring and he wants to be a girl (I think because he likes all the fun colorful things girls get to wear, so we try to get him colorful things, too). At the conferences, he could yell to anyone he saw on campus, "Look! I'm have pineapple socks!" Even during the conference he put his foot up on the table and excitedly told the teachers about them.

Nana got Ethan passes to Uptown Jungle. I made it a goal to try and facilitate Ethan's school friendships to stretch to home and it has been awesome. Jacque, Cohen, and LJ (and their families) have been a great addition to our circle.

Preschool continues with our cute kiddos. They can sing about the calendar in English and Spanish.

Asher brought his blanket grocery shopping and said he was cold. He ended up sleeping all afternoon.

After falling asleep at lunch.

I ran a Margarita Madness race with coworkers. It was at 4pm and was over 90*. No water was provided and I forgot my headphones, so it was not my favorite race.

More rain! We were training for the Turkey Trot and didn't realize it was raining until I got everyone out the door, so we ran anyway.

Crazy hair day! Ethan said it had fallen by the time he got to school.

Back at the AZ Science Center.

While Mike and Ethan were in Utah for Jil's birthday, we had soccer and then went to a pumpkin patch at a local farm. It was nice to not have to drive far and to look for pumpkins in a shady orchard instead of in the desert.

We also had our ward Halloween party.

Meanwhile, Mike and Ethan had a great time in Utah.

Ethan with Elizabeth and Grandma's house.

I did a Halloween bootcamp. Every station had monster themed exercises or pumpkins instead of weights (real and weighted jack-o-lanterns).

We had a Halloween playdate. It worked out great having a half day, but ended up being at least 25 people throughout the day and pretty exhausting. We started by making costumes for stuffed animals and having a stuffed animal parade.

We made a "laser maze" and had a pumpkin toss game out back. Families came over for dinner before trick-or-treating, but I under planned on food and forgot to ask Mike to come home early, so we didn't end up going out with friends, but I was ready to go around the block and then come home and collapse!

Coaching four year olds was really fun this season. We organized teams that all practiced at the same time and place to make life easier. It was great to have multiple families all there to help each other though crazy soccer schedules. Ethan couldn't be a part of the co-op, but after the first practice, his was moved to our closest park and was able to ride his bike to and from practice on his own.

Asher was doing writing practice and wrote to Nana about his socks.

McKenzie did a fun Halloween preschool.

I've been wanting to do this costume for a long time and the boys were nice enough to agree. I should have made mine a circle because no one could figure it out, but it was easier, more comfortable and worked for my exercise classes this way. I wore Ms. Pacman for Cycle and put ghosts and fruit on my handle bars. For Bootcamp I wore all black and a witch's hat.

I liked this costume idea because I relate so much to Ms. Pacman. The ghosts are always swarming me, no matter where I run.

-isms

2018-10-07T18:45:00.002-07:00

One of the things I regret most about not bloggin regularly is that I don't record as many anecdotes or the quirks our kids have in each stage. On our way back from Utah, Mike and I brainstormed a bunch of the boys' quirks, or "isms".

Asher

Asher refused to wipe himself for the longest time. With the other boys, I would just make them wait and then they’d give in and do it themselves. Asher would sit on the toilet for 45 minutes to an hour and still not give in. I started wiping with him. Then I told him having me do it was Level 1, doing it together was Level 2, him wiping and then having me check was Level 3, and doing it all by himself is Level 4. That motivated him to “level up”. Today he was wiping himself and singing, “Keep trying, and you’ll get better!” from Daniel Tiger.

Nods with exaggerated eyebrow lifts.

Putting his finger up when he thinks.

Makes a corrective statement followed by“actually”.

Seriously?!?

“I’ll” sounds like “oo’ll”

"Oatmeal" sounds like "Ointmill".

"My old is 4." "4 my old." Instead of "4 years old".

"I have to go potty and it’s poop/pee." Every. time.

Climbs everywhere. Does front flips in the pool and trampoline and attempts them inside. He also runs to the couch, puts his hands on the seat, and flips his feet up to the back of the couch.

Likes to show people how he can hop on one foot.

Gives very long prayers that detail what is going on in his day and what he hopes will happen. He did this in Primary once for several minutes and the Primary President had trouble shutting it down.

He memorized his Primary part in once practice session: Mosiah 2:17 says, "When ye are in the service of your fellow being, ye are only in the service of your God."

Likes to wear clip on tes, sometimes more than one, even with a play shirt.

Likes to wear socks, especially colorful ones.

Likes colorful striped shirts.

Last Thanksgiving, our nephew Christian came out of his garage laughing while we were at their house. He said that Asher was hammering the car. Tim ran in and stopped him. Asher had picked up a hammer and was hitting their Mini Cooper. He said he was "fixing it". Tim told him, "we don't hit cars with hammers." Asher replied, "What do we hit them with?" Fortunately, he didn't damage the car.

Has started to love writing. He sounds out words or sentences on his own and is often at the counter or preschool table with a marker and paper entertaining himself.

Benton

Very ticklish.

Gets a puppy dog face and when I ask him why he is sad he says, “this is my normal face”.

“Eeeethann…staawwwwp!” All. the. time.

Comes home and does his homework all by himself.

Insists on wearing an undershirt when wearing a church shirt. He also folds the collar back an extra time to keep it from rubbing on his neck.

Dances and jumps around while playing video games. I've never seen someone sweat so much from video games.

Wants short hair so it does not get in his eyes.

Still loves yellow.

Is very proud of his speed banana eating skills.

Tends to take on whatever mood/tone of voice his parents are projecting.

Likes unicorns.

Likes to play basketball.

Will randomly come up and hug us and say "I love you".

Is easily taken advantage of by Ethan because Benton loves to be nice to him and is willing to give Ethan money and regularly does Ethan's chores for him.

Ethan

Does NOT want his hair cut.

Usually has pockets full of candy wrappers (but is getting better now that we have set stricter sugar rules).

Loves sweets and resists healthy food.

Reads whenever he can.

Likes to wear the same church outfit every week.

Signs his name in cursive with a bear at the end.

LOVES teddy bears and beanie boos.

Loves to draw.

Half smiles with an eye squint.

Can’t smile on command.

Very good at eavesdropping, but not at listening.

Very empathetic which can be used to be considerate or especially annoying.

Always tries to negotiate more than was offered, no matter what the offer was.

Does really well in math, usually a point or two from perfect on standardized tests.

September

2018-10-07T18:25:00.003-07:00

Mike and the friends I asked didn't want to go to the BYU game in AZ this year because it was two hours away in Tucson and in an outdoor (hot) stadium. However, the we week before Ethan asked if we could go, so I planned a trip for just the two of us.

We went to the BYU tailgate and got BYU mint brownies and Creamery ice cream.

We took pictures, played basketball, and lots of cornhole.

It was a very exciting game that we won! We both had a great time!

The team came and sang the fight song with us at the end.

Then Ethan rushed up and got to high five the team!

Ethan made a sign for his cougar to bring to the game. Unfortunately, we forgot his cougar at the hotel.

We had a few friends over for Labor Day.

Trip 10!

On Benton's birthday he had a few friends over after school to play the games he got as presents. I gave them a few bowls with chips and cheese balls. Ethan said, "games and unhealthy snacks?!? Mom never does this! I mean she, NEVER, does this!"

They LOVE basketball from Grandpa Joe and Grandma Dianne!

He requested a Costco cheesecake. They each ate maybe half a piece, so it was cut up and put in the freezer.

The next day I thought Asher should have left over Macaroni and Cheese for lunch since it was already made. He really wanted peanut butter and jelly, so I told him he would have to make it. He concentrated SO hard and was so proud of himself when he was successful!

He was very worried about making a mess during this step.

One thing preschool has helped me to notice about Asher is that he has great tenacity when it comes to completing a task. He will stay longer than anyone else to make sure it gets done up to his high standards. Spreading the jam on his sandwich is a good example of taking his time to achieve perfection. He spreads and spreads and spreads.

We got Benton an annual pass to the AZ Science Center for his birthday.

Check out the ball on its way to Benton, ironic with the values listed on Ethan's shirt.

The pass includes the planetarium, so we got to go for the first time.

On our way home we took a turn helping to clean the church.

Trip 11! This time the Sandhauses went with us.

We have a pretty good routine going of Asher sleeping during our 1pm Sacrament meeting. On this day, we didn't realize until we got to church that he didn't have shoes. He was also wearing Halloween striped socks.

Alec has gotten to swim with us after school a few times.

A week after Benton's birthday was an early release day, so we filled the van with boys and used passes Nana bought to go to Uptown Jungle!

Noah met us there.

I've started running once/week again. The scenery here is gorgeous.

I will be sad when all the fields are replaced by freeway and houses.

With the help of McKenzie, Mike and I got to go to Chicago for my stepsister Stephanie's wedding.

The night before party was at the Terrace at Trump Tower. It was too windy to be on the terrace, but we went out afterwards for pictures. Shortly after this one, the wind blew me into that planter box.

I was so excited that Uncle Dave, Vivian, Aunt Diane and Bobby were there too!

Afterwards we had a yummy dinner at a pub by our hotel.

Saturday we took bikes all over the city.

An impressive youth symphony orchestra was playing.

The "Married with Children" fountain where one of us met Dad after getting lost at the Taste of Chicago when we were kids, the stuff of childhood legends.

I loved riding around the city.

We put quite a bit of effort into finding a place to get hot dogs, which was totally uneccessary with amount of amazing food that would be at the wedding.

We quickly got ready and went over for family pictures before the wedding. Here were are outside our hotel. We stayed at the J.W. Marriott with Lisa and Dan.

The ceremony and reception were at the Ivy Room.

I love how natural we are in this candid.

We spent the cocktail hour chatting with family.

Dinner was amazing with multiple themed tables of food.

We had just enough family members to fill a table.

The dessert was insane!

And enjoyed!

Dancing with Dad.

Dancing with Lisa.

After we were all sufficiently stuffed (enough to make me sick, literally), we capped off the night at the wedding party's hotel.

The next day we packed up and went to lunch with the family and then to The Museum of Science and Industry, another childhood legend.

Few exhibits were the same, but we found the chicks!

We took the YW to a pottery class one Wednesday.

I have stopped having the boys eat breakfast at school because it is too sugary most of the time and we are trying to teach them to moderate their sugar. One of the upsides is that we have time to read scriptures during breakfast in the morning. They have things like muffins or egg squares that I've premade and frozen, or I put steel cut oats in the rice cooker the night before, or I make oatmeal in the morning. They are loving oatmeal with eggs cooked in it right now.

Preschool! I was able to change my schedule at the gym to teach at 5:45 and 8:30 on Tuesdays and then be done for the week, so preschool changed to Monday and Thursday with me and Tuesday and Wednesday with McKenzie.

Our Grand Canyon group got together for another adventure this month! Lindsay's family has a cabin in Pinetop, near Mt. Baldy, so we stayed there the night before and after our 17 mile hike to the summit of Mt. Baldy. It was a great weekend filled with fun conversation, games, eating, and hiking.

The weather and scenery were gorgeous.

Mom flew out to watch the boys, THANK YOU!!! They are excited when we leave if it means Nana comes!

Durdas, Fallers, Abeggs

Abeggs Head East, Part 5: Grand Finale

2018-10-03T12:31:00.002-07:00

Sadly, we were down to one week left in New York

We made another trip to Sea Breeze.

Enjoying a big box of ice cream treats I got from Costco in my attempt at the role of "fun aunt".

Asher standing in the rain to enjoy the novel experience.

We rode our bikes to an ice cream shop and then to the community center to practice for a youth triathlon.

While we were at the community center, Asher swam for the first time! He has always been afraid of sinking, so I put a floating noodle under him and held it. Then, I let go and showed him that he was swimming. We kept increasing how far he went but in a shallow enough area that he could stand up when he got scared.

The next day we went to a trampoline park and then went and used up a bunch of DQ coupons trying five different flavors with all the kiddos.

With school approaching, we took the kids in for haircuts.

The kids were being silly while they waited.

We were able to gather up enough vouchers to get all of the kids a discount at Build-A-Bear.

They did a whole routine with the kids making wishes, etc. for their new friends.

The kids were very into their wishes.

We had to make it to the Strong Museum at least once. It was fun seeing the boys in exhibits we've take them to over the years.

We thought the triathlon was going to be while we were in Michigan, but when we found out we'd be available, the boys were good sports and signed right up. Ethan swam 100m, biked 4.3mi, and ran 1mi. Benton did half those distances.

Both boys did great on their distances at the community center when we practiced, but struggled some in the actual pool, maybe because the pool was longer and more intimidating.

Rosemary found a good spot with shade that would allow her to see her screen.

That afternoon we went blueberry picking.

Then we set up a tent and did an outdoor movie. The kids slept in the tent the last few nights. They left the flap open one night and got covered in bug bites.

The next morning, the boys and I drove to Binghampton to meet with Nate and Cecilia's family. We went berry picking.

Benton and Gabriel made up riddles for each other.

Then we went to a fun park with a carousel.

Asher wanted to stay by Valerie all afternoon.

Then we went with them to see a dog breeder near by. These puppies were adorable and so were all the giggles from the boys.

They switched seating arrangements between the two cars every time we got in. None of these boys survived the drive to lunch.

We got some awesome BBQ and ice cream.

That night, Lisa and finally went clothes shopping together...sitting at the kitchen table...on our phones, because we're fun like that.

One last trip to Sea Breeze.

Asher zonked out while stopping for a snack.

After and hour and a half, he reluctantly let me wake him up.

The next morning we went back to a favorite park. I was trying to exercise while they played and landed a jumping exercise on this hidden log. I knew right away it wasn't going to be better right away. I spent the rest of the afternoon with it elevated.

Then I spent my time at the airports and on the planes with my foot up and iced.

We were quite the spectacle at the airport.

And, just like that, the vacation was over...sad!

August

2018-09-01T14:27:00.000-07:00

Pictures of the pictures Lisa bought at Niagra Falls.

We got home late Tuesday night and hit the ground running. I taught Bootcamp Wednesday morning, but planned it around my bum ankle.

These are Ethan's results from his first state standardized test. It makes it look like he got a perfect score on his math, but he wasn't recognized by the school, so I'm not sure what the max score was.

Trip 9 to Wet N Wild!

Mike had the furniture set up for me for my preschool room and I got it decorated when I got home. Thursday was meet the teacher for the big boys and Friday we had a meet the teacher for preschool.

The dining table moved to the front room that I previously used for preschool.

School supply shopping is always a fun time...

Mike and I had a fun date to Bobby Q's where we sat in this cozy bar area. Our table was wobbly, so as we left, a dish fell off. They gave us extra donuts for breaking dishes. It was a funny and surprising consequence.

The Monday after we arrived home, all three boys started school.

Ethan started 4th grade with Miss Bozlee.

Benton started 2nd grade with Miss Ackie and Mr. Herrera.

Asher started preschool with me and Mrs. McKenzie.

Asher and I walked/rode the boys to school for their first day.

Asher and Aden were reunited!

Our cute preschool class: Colby, Evie, Caelyn, Aden, Asher, and Payge.

6:30am feels early in 4th grade.

We got new carpet over the summer and it makes working on the floor a comfy option.

We took dinner and games to the Webers.

While I chatted with Pat, Brother Weber played with the boys. They gave Asher a playing card, which satisfied his desire to be included in Clue.

The spreadsheet I made of my routine at the beginning of the year.

We have LegoLand Discovery Center passes for these two. Preschool, plus the Discover Center makes for two tired boys.

Mike's cube.

Mike and I went to the Phoenician for our anniversary. The day before I inventoried and reprogrammed our drip line. The heat, or pokey plants, or something, caused me to get hives for a few days.

We got a monsoon the night we were at the hotel. It was an amazing lightning show that created small waterfalls on the mountain. The view from our room patio was beautiful.

We also walked around the grounds and Mike got some cool photos.

From our patio.

13 years!

A good quote from the book I read during our trip.

Asher's creative use of our hanging chairs.

With new paint and carpet in the basement, I also got some new decorations. We went with a superhero theme.

The preschool kids are VERY excited about this color chart.

I planned a trip to Antelope Canyon for our youth. It got stressful right beforehand wondering how it would work and how much it would cost, but, as the church trips always do, it worked out great. I'm so grateful for my friend Cacie and her family's willingness to help us do this trip.

We did an open air jeep drive to Horseshoe Bend. They had these sample Hogan and Navajo buildings on the way.

The formations were beautiful.

Antelope Canyon was just incredible!

This is a fossilized dinsoaur footprint outside the canyon.

Burger King dinner on the way home with a bunch of coupons made for a fun, affordable meal.

The next week we drove up to Utah. We almost didn't make it up because Mike's back went out while he had a cough. He powered through and we made the drive up. We were greeted by a hail storm when we arrived.

I love these fun pictures from Jil's memory books.

This one is from Myrlon's funeral.

Jake hosted a breakfast so he, Mike, and Adam could get together.

We went to a playground where I did monkey bars for the first time.

Jennifer and Loryn got in that night and while we were up chatting, Lexi and her boyfriend stopped by to say hi. It made for a fun evening.

The next day, Asher and I went to see Steffani. It was so fun to catch up.

That night we drove up to a hotel in Sandy. The Hanshaws were staying there too and a lot of the family dropped by to chat that night. Rachelle, Lexi, Rick, Emma, Jenn, Loryn, Kris, Aaron, Ricky, Zane, Rebekah, Mike.

The next day was the wedding. Here is a picture of all the cousins who made it (4 are from Zane's side).

After pictures, we had lunch and hung out at the hotel until the reception. I got to dance with Benton and Asher.

Cute Jilean and Asher dancing with Paige.

The next day was Kaleb's mission homecoming. Paul and Mike played with Emma accompanying.

While they practiced, we took the little ones outside to play.

We had lunch at Mignonne's and then Allie and Wes did a gender reveal. They are having a boy!

Asher got really into ties for a while because his friend Tucker and teacher Brother Wilson wear them. Asher also loves colorful and striped shirts.

Hide and seek at IKEA with the YW.

PTA Meeting (I'm Secretary).

Abeggs Head East, Part 4: Michigan

2018-07-22T20:41:00.001-07:00

*It is super frustrating how much time I have spent rotating pictures on a computer without picture editing software just to have them be a different direction when I upload them here. My only other option is to wait until I get home to update the blog, but, it'd probably take me months to get it done, so I'm posting them anyway and hoping I can get them flipped when I put them in my book.*

On Sunday we drove to Michigan. Monday was a rainy day, so we went to the Henry Ford Museum. It was even cooler than I remembered.

Here, the kids saw a model assembly line for a Model T and then got to work the assembly line.

Then they got to help assemble a real Model T.

In the airplane section they created and tested their own paper airplanes.

They had a lot of fun "fixing the red car".

Jack ignoring the barriers to see the old fire truck.

On Tuesday, we went to Stony Creek Park. They had an awesome playground.

This elevator platform was very unique.

Of course playing in the sand was what kept the kids entertained the longest.

Asher and Jack are sitting in someone else's hole and the girls kept filling it with water anyway.

When they all get together, they come up with really creative sand creations.

We had a fun evening of playing Mormon Bridge and singing songs from our childhood: Know When to Hold Em, Long Tall Texan, Dominique the Christmas Donkey, Paradise by the Dashboard Light, Pump Up the Jam, Life's Been Good, Why'd Everybody Always Picking on Me, and more I'm sure I'm forgetting.

Plenty of time was spent on devices, but at least they can connect in Minecraft so they are still interacting.

On Wednesday, we celebrated James' 12th birthday. We took up the whole patio at MOD Pizza.

We then went to Joe Dumar where the kids did an obstacle course, mini golf, bungee trampline, laser tag, and arcade games.

Ethan and Joseph on the obstacle course:

Most of the kids figured out doing a backflip.

That evening we got the slip n slide set up, which was a huge hit! Ethan and Benton both split their swim trunks. The evening ended with cake and ice cream.

Thursday we went to the Detroit Zoo. Ruthie is obsessed with penguins, so it was a priority. The penguin exhibit is really amazing.

If you look closely, you can see Mike here. He came to Michigan for the reunion.

James in peach next to Ethan and then Joseph. Dad is in the hat.

The Dinosauria exhibit was really unique and fun.

Asher kept saying he wanted to talk to the dinosaurs before walking on.

He loved the "spitting" dinosaurs. The tall dinosaurs, he said, "totally freak me out".

That night one of the babysitters that helped us out two years ago came again so the adults could go to a Beachboys concert.

Lisa and Dan got in on the dancing action. It was fun hearing so many songs I love.

Friday we took family pictures in the morning at the nature center. Some of us stayed there to play while Joe and Dad went to scope out the Warped Tour schedule.

Joe and Dan took Joseph, Ethan, and James. Ethan was very concerned about the bad language and why people would come to a concert where there would be swearing. He was also keeping count of all the swear words. Dan did a good job of making it a teaching moment.

While they were gone, Mike and I took the other boys to Pump It Up.

Lisa and Lauren took the girls to get their nails done at the insistence of Maddie.

All the kids, except Jack, slept in the basement. Some nights bedtime went more smoothly than others, but the kids had a great (exhausting time) being together.

Saturday we got some exercise in and then drove home. Lisa and I were "randomly" selected to have our car searched after a 45 minute wait in the border line. We think it had more to do with my expire passport than a random choice. When they called us up, they told us no more taking selfies because phones aren't allowed, oops.

"Quack, quack" At the end of Joe Walsch's Life's Been Good, there is a tag that goes, "Uh oh, here come's a flock of wah-wah's...quack quack quack." That is one of our jokes for this trip.

Everyone was pretty tired for church the next day. We had a low key day of letting the kids go crazy playing at home before actually maintaining a regular bedtime.

Abeggs Head East, Part 3: More NY Adventures

2018-07-15T10:59:00.001-07:00

I'm still trying to squeeze in workouts, which requires some creativity. Here I am using a boppy pillow to pad the heavy dumbbell that is taking the place of a barbell.

Another Seabreeze trip!

They love having the $2 refill slush cups.

James and Ruth did an awesome job planning a cake war based on the Nailed It! show. The 3 oldest kids worked together to make fondant cake. I worked with the 6 year olds, and Lisa worked with the 4 year olds.

The Christensens have made us feel so welcome! They even bought a second set of bunk beds. The boys all sleep here in the "barracks".

4 square forever!

Seabreeze! I love seeing the age mates couple up and play all the time.

I asked these two to give each other a hug. Rosemary turned it more into a tackle. They hit the ground right after this picture.

On Thursday we tried to go to Build A Bear's Pay Your Age day. We got there before the store opened, saw the line, and decided it wasn't worth it. Of course, while we made a stop at the bathroom, Benton wandered off. By the time we found him and everyone had used the bathroom, the stop took us 45 minutes.e

We went from the mall to the Canada side of Niagara Falls!

We had to walk about a mile each way to the boat tour. It was a constant, "2, 4, 6, 7...2, 4, 6, 7" to make sure we had everyone.

Asher was tired the whole time and on the verge of meltdown. When we got close to the car, I let him melt down rather than continue to negotiate. He was asleep within two minutes of us leaving.

On Thursday we hiked Grimes Glen. At the last hike the kids really wanted to go in the water, but that was prohibited, so Lisa planned a hike that did allow us to be in the water. The kids loved it.

These two crashed right away on the drive home.

After coming home to rest, we loaded up to go to the Hill Cumorah Pageant. First, we stopped for ice creams, which were humongous! While waiting for the pageant to start, the kids all played in the grass.

The production value in this performance was really impressive. Asher sat on my lap the whole time and kept asking me if Jesus was real or an actor and if he was dead or alive and when he would come back.

Saturday was a low key day to recover from the late nights and activities. Plus, Lisa was photographing a wedding and I went along for part of it to be a second shooter.

The cousins are still having a blast playing together.

Abeggs Head East, Part 2: Fairport Fourth of July

2018-07-08T21:11:00.004-07:00

No one is allowed to carry Asher's bag, except Asher. This was a bag given to us by Mignonne when Ethan was really into trains and her boys had outgrown them.

Cousins!!! They immediately started playing four square.

And board games. Asher and Rosemary are really cute. They are often doing their own thing separate from the other kids. They make up rules to games that only make sense to them, but they are both on board.

It is fun that they all love playing games.

On Tuesday we went to SeaBreeze, and amusement park right by Lake Ontario, so pretty!

Wednesday was the 4th of July parade and festival at the park.

Benton threw up a little when we first got there, but, fortunately was totally fine the rest of the time.

I never see graffiti this nice in Phoenix.

That night we went to a baseball game!

It was hot, but a lot of fun.

Best of all, there were fireworks after the game!

Plus, the City of Rochester fireworks were visible in the distance, so we got to watch two shows.

We didn't leave until about 11, so everyone was pretty tired.

The next day we decided to take the kids on scooter to Dunkin Donuts. Asher didn't have a scooter and it was hot and humid enough that he was not happy walking, especially way behind all the scooters. I took him back to get a bike. He usually rides a 12in and this one was a 16in. With all the hills, he was pretty whiny and needed a lot of "power boosts". Then we hit a huge downhill. He immediately was going faster than I could run. I told him not to pedal and he took his feet off the pedals. Then I told him to pedal backwards to slow down, and, luckily, he remembered how to do that and slowed his bike. He had to ride his brakes the whole way down (his favorite way to stop is to put his feet down, but his toes barely touch the ground on this bike). As we approached the parking lot, I told him not to pedal and get ready to stop. He, again, took his feet off his pedals and while trying to get them back on to use his brakes, swerved into grass that was about 6 inches below the grade of the parking lot. He hit the pavement and flew up, landing on top of his bike. He was not happy, but was tough, and still rode his bike home after getting a donut. Benton also wiped out on his way down the hill. I didn't see it, but, apparently, he did a flip in his crash. Lisa said Ethan was really nice walking with him after that and trying to cheer him up.

My boys are usually pretty nervous around dogs, but Pepper is so calm inside and so fun to play fetch with outside, that the boys love her. I keep finding Ethan sitting with Pepper in quiet places petting her.

Lisa signed the kids up for a chess activity at the library, and they were super excited.

On Friday we hit a fun new playground and then braved Costco with all the kids.

Then went to another park where they mostly played four square and I played frisbee with Pepper.

Down a trail from the playground was Lollypop Farm, where the kids could see rescue farm animals and house pets.

Saturday we had apple cinnamon pancakes for breakfast. Asher has loved pancakes lately.

The kids spent the morning playing while Dan and I did things around the house and Lisa did a photography session. Then we hiked the beautiful Watkins Glen.

Asher insisted on holding Aunt Lisa's hand the whole way back.

Sunday we went to church and then up to Palmyra to see some church history sites.

This is the log cabin at the Smith farm. The tour guide was long winded, and after already sitting through church, the kids were pretty restless.

The temple spire is in the trees.

The Smith home.

Sacred Grove Selfies

Lisa got us these fun shirts. I was trying to get a picture that showed the "#twinning" and accentuated our similarities. It wasn't terribly successful.

This picture is so sweet! I'm glad the Christensens captured it while I dealt with Benton and Asher meltdowns. We are doing so many fun things, but the boys get tired and cranky, and so do I, unfortunately.

The kids requested that Lisa change into blue to match me at church. Who's who?

(Lisa, Linda)

We got home in time for Lisa to head to a Presidency meeting. I had dinner mostly prepped, so Dan and I got the kids fed and he did fireworks with them. After just the little poppers that you throw on the ground, Pepper, was not too happy. I was an acceptable substitute for Lisa and got Pepper in my lap.

The kids' favorite part was making fire truck noises and running up to extinguish "the fire" after each firework ended.

Asher had fun with a shovel and the swing.

Sparklers!

Abeggs Head East, Part 1: Missouri

2018-07-08T20:23:00.003-07:00

Monday we hit Wet N Wild one more time before leaving.

Tuesday we did a lot of packing. Ethan was able to go to his friend Hunter's house while these two took their snack packing very seriously. Asher was so cute in his diligence to get everything I mentioned in his bag. Every time we left the house he started to bring it and I'd have to remind him that we weren't going yet.

That night we had a BBQ and swim party with the Shivers at the Schultz's it was a great way to bid farewell to Arizona, although, it did make it a little harder because we knew it would be so long before we could gather with friends again.

Wednesday started early, leaving the house at about 5am.

Asher (and nugget) were very excited to see the plane take off. This is Asher's first time not sitting in a carseat on the plane. I got nervous when he spent the first few minutes taking his seatbelt on and off and flipping the latch, but giving him a toy to hold distracted him.

It was a short, easy flight. The boys were excited to see Papa!

There was a beetle on my suitcase when it came around, which was fascinating to all of us. It was a colorful Japanese beetle.

We stopped by the Jeppsons to pick up Joseph and Maddie and Benton and Maddie hit it off right away. Benton kept calling her "Maggie". When I explained that it was short for Madeline, so it should be Maddie with a "d" he said, "she said it's ok if I call her Maggie." When Joseph answered the door for us at his house Ethan said, "Hey Joseph" and Joseph nonchalantly said, "Hey Ethan" and then they started talking about Pokemon.

This picture of Lisa and me was in the guest room at my mom's house in Clinton.

(The computer I brought on this trip is having issues rotating pictures.)

I took the boys out to show them the fireflies and they LOVED it.

We wouldn't let Ethan bring them inside, but he loved catching them and tried to trap some in a cup overnight, but they escaped. He even gave them names.

Asher was a natural at driving the gator, even completing a 3 point reverse turn on his own.

They did a great job sleeping all in the same room. I read to them from War with Grandpa each night, and they loved it.

The next day we went swimming. Maddie was so sweet the whole weekend looking out for Asher and sharing with him.

Nana and Asher had so much fun in the pool together. Asher would hang on Nana's back and she would pretend to look for him. He thought it was hilarious!

Asher is old enough that I'm not super protective of his bedtime and naptime anymore, but he definitely gets worn out. We tried to call Mike and when he didn't answer I started looking at the new on my phone while Asher was holding still. Within a few minutes, Asher was asleep.

The kids, especially Benton, loved playing Yahtzee and Splendor with Nana.

It was super humid in Missouri, so Ethan's hair had extra curl. I decided to see how puffy I could make it and with all the volume, it started to look a lot like Nana's hair!

Friday, the festivities in town started. We began with a puppet show.

Then went to the duck races. Asher got picked to race a duck.

Nana sponsored everyone in a duck race after the show.

Kettle corn! I love the good stuff in Missouri!

Then we went to a Ninja show. It was pretty miserable in the full sun, but the kids liked the show.

Then we did the duck races again and watched a magic show before heading back to the house.

Saturday morning was the 5k. Joe, Ethan, Joseph, and I ran the full 5k. Shortly after we started I heard a kid whimpering and checked on him. He was 9 and his brother ditched him, so I tried my best to stay with him and Ethan and keep them both going throughout the race. Ethan finished before Carson and I did, but Carson at least finished.

From the race, we went to a pancake breakfast at the fire station.

They loved petting the dalmatian.

After that was the parade on the square.

The boys are working on travel journals during this trip.

SO much Kindle time!

Friday night was the carnival!

Joe volunteered as tribute to get a wristband and go on rides with kids that weren't tall enough to go alone, brave man.

It is so fun that each kid had someone close to his/her age to partner with!

Asher loved the funnel cakes.

The game employees were really nice in helping the kids get what they wanted. Asher and Jack were super excited about these monsters.

Everyone else ended up with lots of exciting stuffed animals too.

Nana makes these carnivals way more fun because Moms don't buy things like inflatable hammers at the beginning of a carnival (knowing they will spend the rest of the time being hit by them or holding them). They sure had fun though!

Sunday morning was church, then we drove back up to Basehor and had some time to ~~destroy~~ play in Nana and Papa's basement. These two were hilarious on the drive. I didn't turn on a movie because I wanted Asher to fall asleep. Instead, Jack and Asher played "I Spy". I went like this. Asher: "I spy with my little eye something that is red. It's this!" Jack: "I spy with my little eye, something that is blue. It's this!" Over and over. Sometimes they would say it in unison and sometimes they would alternate phrases. Asher: "I spy" Jack: "with my little eye"...Or repeat each other. Jack: "I spy" Asher: "I spy" Jack: "with my little eye" Asher: "with my little eye"... Mom suggested we give them a snack to see if that would help them stop talking. I gave the yogurt raisins. Jack was excited and Asher said, "I almost like these!" Then he tried one and said, "Mom, I like these because I almost liked them and then I tried them!" Then they started being silly about the raisins: "I love yogurt raisins!" "I love yogurt yogurt raisins!" "I love yogurt yogurt yogurt raisins!" and so on. They were busting up laughing. I eventually took a sleeping pad that was in the car and put it up as a a wall between them so Asher would fall asleep.

Monday we took off for the next leg of our adventure! These boys are way easier to fly with now that they walk on their own, carry their own bags, get their own seats, and are completely content just playing with one thing for the whole flight.

June

2018-06-24T22:37:00.000-07:00

With check marks next to my big events: Rim to Rim and Girls Camp, we were ready for summer!

WnW #7

We had 1 final Wednesday Mutual and then went on break. Even Sundays are quiet with a lot of girls on vacation.

The first week of June, Ethan had a STEAM camp at Phoenix College from 9-3 and Benton had a science camp at Heritage from 7:30-9:30am. So, we'd leave the house as close to 7am as possible, get breakfast at Rogers Ranch Elementary, drop Benton off at Heritage, kill time for about 45 minutes, drive Ethan to Phoenix College, and then get back in time to pick up Benton. Two of those days we had extra friends. Then we would play, get our "lists" done and leave by 2:30 to pick Ethan up.

These kids just can't keep up with me!

The last day of science camp was rockets! Benton loved science camp!

We do breakfast and lunch at the school pretty much every day. I need to fix tubes on Ethan and Benton's tires, so they ride scooters and Asher rides his bike.

I kept forgetting to take pictures of Ethan's camp, so here he is in the car after his last day.

That weekend I had a PTA Convention in Carefree. I learned a lot and had a lot of fun hanging out with these ladies after the classes were over. We hung by the pool, eventually getting in, then picked up dinner at Basha's and stayed up late talking.

Aimee and I shared a room. I couldn't sleep in, so I decided to get up and try to find a scenic place to run. As I walked out the door, I saw a flyer that showed yoga was about to start, so I decided to join that instead. Then I went to their gym and it was the coolest fitness center I've ever been in.

After lunch the next day, the other ladies had to head home, but Mike told me not to rush, so I spent the day reading by the pool.

On Sunday, our area authority and his wife were visiting and we realized that they were our nephew Matthew's mission President. It was fun to hear them gush about Matthew.

Father's Day cards for Grandpas. Benton chose Batman, but then Asher wanted Batman because Benton had picked it, so Benton was nice and let Asher do Batman. Benton did Spiderman and Ethan did Captain America (his favorite superhero).

We got to the post office a little before it opened. Asher was trying to open the door with my keys and I was letting him so he would stay entertained. The post office worker came out and let Asher unlock the door and then let him go back behind the counter. They also gave him a sticker and a magnet. It made his morning.

During the second week of June I cleaned organized the kids' closets and rooms so that everything was in a drawer/on a shelf etc. to make for easy moving when we get new carpet. Mike and Benton went to Utah Thursday-Sunday to visit Grandma Abegg and I spent all the time I could find edging the whole basement and painting the baseboards.

Ethan had Cub Scout Day Camp every afternoon from 3-9pm. It made for really late nights for him, but he had a great time.

He would then get up in time to go to Heritage for Science Camp at 7:30am. I had him taking naps every afternoon so he could make it through all those longe days.

The water rockets malfunctioned on the last day of science camp, so Mr. Halterman was really nice and let them come back the next day and do water rockets for an hour!

The boys get "meal bucks" for eating at the school and can buy prizes. After the first week the prices doubled because prizes were selling too fast. The boys had already gotten their hopes up for prizes, so they worked hard to dress up on the double dollar days, etc. so they could get all the bucks possible. Ethan got a cool art kit and Benton got a basketball. Fortunately, Asher didn't have his heart set on anything because we will leave town before he gets a chance to buy anything.

I love when Mike gets to take one of the boys to Utah. I think they are forming great memories with each other and with Grandma and other family members.

Battle face for laser tag.

Benton with Aunt Miriam.

Back in Arizona, I was coordinating our ward's Patriotic Breakfast. Asher and Ethan each got $3 to spend at the .99 Store on decorations for their bikes.

We sang two patriotic songs, recognized our veterans, had a bike parade, and then played water games. I spent the whole water part filling up water balloons, I don't have any pictures of that. Actually, I left my phone at home, so these are all courtesy of Stacey and Katie.

More painting!

Lisa and I were twinning, both painting that weekend, so we traded painting selfies.

Mike had a trip to LA at the beginning of June, and one of my Laurels had offered to take our family pictures to work on her portfolio, so we had her take some pictures for Father's Day. The boys were not particularly cooperative, but we still got some cute shots.

I love this one!

And I love the ones in Mike's ties and shoes.

Ethan was too cranky at this point and tired of being posed, so he isn't in the pictures with me, but I love these two.

Our friends the Pillais invited us to go see the Incredibles 2.

Mike and Benton brought back Beanie Boos for Ethan and Benton. Ethan loves the cats, so this one was perfect.

WnW #8
We got to use buddy passes for this one. Ethan was ecstatic to have Hunter come. Aden got to come with Asher, but Alec was out of town, so he couldn't make it. Instead their older siblings Trenton and Kira came and were so sweet helping out with the kids and going on rides with Benton when he needed a friend.

Asher and Aden bring out the best in each other. If Asher starts to get upset, Aden diffuses the situation. Aden was scared of the slides, but went down after watching Asher. It is super cute.

Starting our library reading challenge!

Benton was picked to be a helper at a magic show at the library.

New pool toys from Nana!

We were invited to a Murder Mystery Dinner. As I started reading the instructions a few days before I was regretting accepting the invitation because I thought it would be super awkard. I was a saloon girl and used my bridesmaid dress from Lisa's wedding and other things I had around to make this costume. It ended up being fun for me AND Mike.

Some friends of ours were saying how they can not get this cutie to warm up to them, and then as we were leaving she reached out for Mike and wanted to go with him without every having spent time with him, so funny.

We had a few things to pick up at the store, but I sent Mike in because I'd look too crazy dressed like this at Fry's.

Collage printed on metal for Mike.

May

2018-05-31T19:36:00.000-07:00

One overdue project on our list was redoing our bathroom counter. We previously redid the flooring and paint and the sinks in this counter were damaged to the point of never being clean.

We used the fabricator that did our kitchen and he let us know when he had a scrap that would work. I really like how they turned out!

There was a sandfest at the Children's Museum. They took the left over sand and made a big temporary sandbox.

This was Asher's last visit to the 3 and under room before his 4th birthday. It seems like an end of an era since we've been taking our boys here since Ethan was a baby.

My compromise with Asher has been that he would ride on my back until my Grand Canyon trip, but he gets to hike the last quarter of a mile or so.

He loves it! He is always saying, "I got this part!" and won't hold hands.

Happy Birthday Scooptacular!

Happy Birthday Asher!

Asher invited Tucker, Aden, Lily, and Payge. We had pizza, Mac and Cheese, baby carrots, cucumber, strawberries, and watermelon.

And instead of a regular cake, a cinnamon roll cake! Asher loves cinnamon rolls!

I made way too many and started them too late in the day, but, luckily, a neighbor helped me out when I ran out of flour and we were able to get the cake together.

Trip 5 to Wet N Wild was with the YW who won the Personal Progress Olympics. Mike met me there with the boys, but I forgot to get a picture.

Trip 6 to WnW!

Mike pointed out this BYU truck on the way home and I made him maneuver so I could get a selfie because the AZ Alumni Association was offering free shirts to anyone who took a picture with a truck they spotted around town.

Asher's sunbeam teachers are awesome. They do a great job every week. The gave him a cute art kit for his birthday.

I received my Honor Bee. It requires 40 hours of service and rereading the Book of Mormon. I listened to it. The Haynie girls were great examples of how possible it is to read the Book of Mormon quickly, so I followed their example and finished it in about 2 months.

Happy birthday Asher!

He got cute dinosaurs, a helmet and horn to use with his new bike, and a fairy tale storytelling game.

Mike and I got him a bubble set, chalk stencils, and a cleaning supply caddy.

This horn from Nana plays over 20 different sounds and has a light. It is super fun for his bike. There is a remote button that allows him to make sounds while he rides.

I met a new neighbor while Asher and Aden were riding on his birthday. While I was talking, Asher took off and rode his bike all the way around the block ("past Cooper's house") by himself.

Cleaning out back with his cleaning kit. Melissa and Doug sells a set like this, but I put one together from the dollar store instead.

We spent Asher's birthday at the children's museum and then went to McDonald's for lunch. I like having the kids wear buttons or hats so that people tell them "happy birthday" all day.

I decided to join the PTA Board for the kids' school this year.

My free shirt from the BYU truck selfie!

Asher making a rocket with binder clips in the office.

Aden's mom is not going back to work next year, and I will miss having him over so often.

Way to go, Ethan! Highly Proficient in every category all year and he exceeded the math facts goals for his grade.

I couldn't attend Ethan's field trip to the AZ Science Center because it conflicted with a class I teach at the gym, but one of the other moms sent me pictures.

Peter Piper Pizza for a PTA fundraiser.

If Asher can do this, I really need to get Ethan on the job.

All the 3rd graders at Ethan's school were supposed to make four trips to the Kroc Center for swim lessons. Unfortunately, due to the teacher walk out, two of the classes only got to go once and have free swim. I was supposed to go to each trip, but I was glad I got to go to one.

The foundation that provided the grant came to do some publicity shots the day we were there. It was kind of funny having them hand out swim lesson certificates to the kids when none of them had gotten any lessons.

These comparison pictures happened on the 2nd to last day of school.

Later that day, Lisa arrived! It had been almost 18 months since we had seen each other and over 20 since we'd spent more than an hour together. Of course we stopped at Lou Malnati's on the way home from the airport, just like we did when we would visit Dad in Chicago growing up.

I tried telling Asher I was Aunt Lisa and he totally believed me. His test to see who was who was to ask, "who are your kids?" If I named Lisa's kids, he'd believe that I was Lisa.

That day we left for our Grand Canyon trip, which gets its own post.

After our trip, Lisa spoiled our kids with new Beanie Boos. They are obsessed with Beanie Boos, mostly because Ethan loves stuffed animals and the younger boys love what Ethan loves.

Asher did not want to do Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons anymore, so we started him on Bob Books.

Every once in a while I remember to do dinner outside.

I had one day after Lisa left before Girls Camp! We went to Lake Pleasant, and it was great! The water was cool and refreshing, which was what we needed in the Phoenix heat. The drought is bad enough this year that the forest our stake campsite is in was closed the week before camp, so stake camp was moved to backyards in Laveen. Our ward camp was still at Lake Pleasant, but we only stayed one night instead of two so that the girls could make it to stake camp on time.

We had crafts.

And played in the water a lot.

The camp directors did a great job preparing meals.

And we rented a boat! I was so grateful to get great camp directors. I came up with his idea and booked the campsite in December. They weren't called until March, I believe, but made the boat and everything happen.

We got a free upgrade on the boat that made it so all the girls could fit, but not all the leaders. So, we went to Dairy Queen, of course.

The leaders did get to go on a ride to return the boat. We rescued a couple who had floated far away from shore on big inflatables that kept catching the wind. They couldn't swim anymore, so we were glad we found them!

Kids? What kids? We spent most of the day having fun with other leaders.

Then we all crammed into the Allen's car and went back to camp. (There were leaders with the girls.)

During our DQ stop we went to the grocery store and I found floaties. The Beehives, especially, were in the water any chance they got.

I did not have an assignment at stake camp, so, after two trips away from my family in the first week of summer break, I decided to go home and get summer with the boys started.

Rim to Rim

2018-05-26T21:38:00.000-07:00

After hiking Havasupai last fall and enjoying it, Grand Canyon Rim to Rim was next on my list. I had thought about doing it last year, but it takes a lot of advance planning if you want a permit. If you hike the whole thing in a day, no permit is required, but I decided to camp at the bottom one night so I could take my time and enjoy it a little more. Don Porter, in my ward, has done this a lot and gave me so much valuable advice as I planned the itinerary. The road to the North Rim is closed until Mid-May because of snow, so I decided to shoot for the week after that. That meant I had to apply for a permit in December. To get a permit, I had to fill out a form with my whole itinerary, which trails, etc. and mail it in during the last 10 days of December. Then, the first week in January the parks department did a lottery of applications. Fortunately, they let you put a first and second choice date and then a range. I did not get my first or second choice day, but scored a spot in the week I listed. I had applied for 6 permits because it said more than that makes it much less likely to get a permit. After getting the permit I emailed a few people who had expressed interest in the past and found two couples to join in.

I had really hoped Mike would be willing to go, but he wasn't up for it. So, I was thrilled when Lisa said she'd fly out to do it with me. In May it is already getting really hot at the bottom, so we wanted to start early. We could have camped at the top, but it was in the 30s up there which meant we'd have to pack cold weather gear all the way across the canyon, even though the bottom would be hot. So, we booked a cabin about a half an hour from the North Rim trailhead. We could have paid for a few shuttles to get us to the trailhead, but then we couldn't have started as early. Instead, we used the money we would have paid the shuttles and paid Mike to come up with us.

We met at the Faller's the morning before the hike, drove to Flagstaff where we got lunch, and then drove to the South Rim. We left a car at the South Rim and then all drove together in our van to the North Rim. The cabin we stayed in was small and rustic, but warm and cute. When I checked in they said, "There's no wifi, no TV, and no telephone; if you want to watch TV, you can come in here (lobby with restaurant), and if you need to make a call there is a phone here."

The view was beautiful at the cabins. We all ate the dinners we had packed up and enjoyed the view, especially the amazing view of the stars. There is nothing around for miles, so we could see so many stars, even the Milky Way. We got to bed early in preparation for a 3:15am wake up time.

We didn't end up starting until about 4:30. The car thermometer said 28*. We started out on North Kaibab Trail which goes down over 4000ft in elevation in a little under 7 miles. After about half an hour, the sun was up enough for us to take off our head lamps. Within a few miles we were shedding our jackets.

Supai Tunnel

I loved the red rock views. If you look carefully, you can see the winding path down through the canyon.

I didn't know we'd be following water the whole way, but that was a fun addition for a desert dweller like me. Also, because of the hard work of past generations, there were bathrooms and drinking water regularly along the trail.

During the next 7 miles across the canyon we only went down about 1500ft in elevation.

We had read that going across the canyon in the middle of the day was risky because of the "hot box" affect of being surrounded by stone that would radiate heat (like in a parking lot in a Phoenix summer). Fortunately, most of our trip across was still shady, so it wasn't bad.

Not far into the hike across the bottom of the canyon there is a detour to Ribbon Falls. Don told us to definitely stop there. I think we were all a little hesitant to add distance to the hike, but we were SO glad we did.

The falls were beautiful! They looked like a fairy land. The pictures don't do it justice.

The water was cool and refreshing.

Adam tried out the cave first and then was kind enough to loan his water shoes to those of us who didn't bring any.

Inside the cave was a nest with very hungry baby birds. Do you see their open mouths?

We had left our packs at the bottom of the hill leading up to Ribbon Falls, forgetting about the wildlife. Lisa and I both had snacks that had been pulled from our packs and scattered. Apparently the Ravens can open zippers. When I got home I found a hole in the pocket on the waist band of my pack, but I didn't notice at Ribbon Falls, so I think the Ring Tailed Squirrels may have chewed into the empty pocket while I slept (even though my pack was hung from a pole).

The end of the hike our first day did get hot, so we were glad to see this sign saying our campsite was only 3/4 of a mile away. There was a thermometer at the entrance sign to the campsite that said it was just over 90* when we arrived.

Without the detour, our trip would have been just over 14 miles, so we guess about 15.5 for leg 1.

I didn't know much about the campground and was worried about getting there before the heat of the day and then just sitting in the heat, so I was very excited that it was on a creek. The Durdas and I brought a tent and the Fallers slept in the open air. Lisa and I didn't pack sleeping bags because we knew it would be warm. The lows were in the 70s, so we were definitely fine with the lightweight backpacking blankets we brought. Before water, my pack was 22 and Lisa's was 15, so not too bad. We think it made a big difference in how we felt throughout the hike.

The water was cold, but it felt great to cool off! My hip had started hurting some during the hike, but overall, I felt fine. The more we sat and hung out around camp, though, the more I started feeling tight.

Another nice thing about the campsite was that it was right by Phantom Ranch. We got to listen to Ranger presentations about Condors and stories of "mistakes" made by visitors to the Grand Canyon. They also had a canteen that sold lemonade and would mail postcards.

When the Ranger came by to check our permit, she told us it got to 102* and would be at least that hot the next day. She suggested we be hiking before sunrise at 5am and that if we didn't get to Indian Gardens by 10 to stay there and wait until 2 so we would miss the heat of the day. She also gave us tips on where to get wet so we could stay wet the whole way up. She had us very concerned about hiking in the heat, so we decided to get up at 3:30 and try to leave by 4am again.

By the time we packed up and ate breakfast, we didn't hit the trail until about 4:40. Lisa and I were surprisingly efficient. We had our water boiling while we packed, so I think we could have started by 4 or 4:15. Lisa was very on top of it for never having backpacked before!

We started the day by crossing the Colorado River.

The first stop had access to the river, so we soaked our clothes, as recommended by the Ranger.

Then we started the climb up. Our day would be 9.5 miles with about 4400ft in elevation gain. One of the reasons we started at the North Rim was because it is higher than the South Rim, so we saved ourselves about 1000ft in elevation gain.

Mike warned me multiple times to be careful while taking pictures and letting people by to not fall. Those seem like common stories and he said he could totally see my stepping out of someone's way and getting myself killed being polite. This picture was for him.

Lisa's artsy photographer side coming out.

The first really steep set of switchback is called Devil's Corkscrew. Lisa and I were ahead of our group because we really wanted to beat the heat, but you could still see our friends coming up the steep switchbacks below us.

See the corkscrew?

We felt great and were so glad to be damp and in the morning shade.

Remember how we got up early to get to Indian Gardens before 10am? We got there before 7.

I tend to overeat a little bit while camping on backpacking trips because I like to bring enough food that I'm sure I won't be hungry. My stomach was not ready for my beloved biscuits and gravy before we started hiking, so I packed it prepared and ate it at Indian Gardens. Actually, I ate it while walking, all 2-3 servings of it.

Indian Gardens is an oasis along the way. It gave us another chance to get wet before heading up the final ascent.

After Indian Gardens was 4.8 miles with lots of steep switch backs. I didn't get a picture, but I liked one caution sign that said, "Going down is optional; Coming up is mandatory", as a warning not to go farther than you can come up. This sign is also pretty good.

We kept reminding ourselves to stop and check out the amazing views. One of the advantages to doing this in two days is that it was still light enough for us to enjoy the views.

We were going to try to be creative and have my arms framing that big long stretch of switchbacks behind me, but, after one try decided to just finish hiking instead.

We had to stop for a mule tour, so we sat to rest, but they made us get up as they passed because apparently us sitting may be misinterpreted by the mules as us getting ready to pounce.

Steep steep

Beautiful!

There were water and bathroom stops every mile and a half, so we stayed wet and surprised ourselves with how well we did getting up. We made it to the top at about 9:40, so it only took us about 5 hours.

Adam and Amber Durda, me, Lisa, Lindsey and Steve Faller.

Pointing out the groove we just hiked all the way across. Lisa pointed out that this picture is very fitting since I planned all of the itinerary for this trip. The other two couples just showed up with their stuff. I gave Lisa a detailed list of clothes to bring, but packed everything else for her. It was a great group that was just glad to have someone else figure out the tricky logistics of this hike.

THANK YOU Lisa for coming with me! I'm so glad I got to do this hike and Lisa was the perfect companion!

Mike had driven back to Phoenix the day before and we all changed and piled into the van we had left at the South Rim. We drove to Flagstaff for lunch, got lots of strange looks at the hobbled way some group members walked, and then drove down to Phoenix. By the way, Phoenix to the South Rim is about 4.5 hours and South to North is about 4, so these days of driving were no joke!

This hike was amazing, and I can't wait to find my next adventure!

April

2018-04-30T18:10:00.000-07:00

April 1st: April Fool's Day, Easter, and General Conference!

We started the morning with our traditional scavenger/clue hunt to find Easter baskets. The boys LOVE this tradition, and so do I. This year I made Ethan's more riddle like, and it was definitely challenging for him. Asher got to read words for the first time.

Benton found his "healthy" basket first. He acted excited, but then sat forlornly in the kitchen, insisting that nothing was wrong.

Ethan liked the mini egg in the hummingbird nest.

When Ethan found his healthy basket he laughed a lot and was mock mad about getting baby carrots in his eggs. When Asher found baby carrots in the Easter eggs, he kept saying, "silly eggs"!

I only have videos of when Ethan and Asher found their basets. Ethan laughed a lot and was mock mad about getting baby carrots in his eggs. When Asher found baby carrots in the Easter eggs, he kept saying, "silly eggs"!

The boys were polite, but the event was somewhat anti-climactic. After I prompted them to put the letters in their basket together, they found a secret note.

And then received their real baskets, which they were thrilled about!

Towards the end of the first session of Conference, the Woodens arrived. Our tradition is to do Brunch instead of dinner on Easter (because breakfast food is way better than holiday food). We had almond poppyseed bread, fruit, biscuits and gravy, savory waffles, and sweet waffles.

The boys LOVED having a cousin to play with!

Ricky looks a lot like Mike in this picture!

That night we took the Woodens scorpion hunting and then they went back to their hotel. We met up early the next morning and hiked up Camelback and down the other side.

The boys playing math games for homework.

Our artificial turf and worn out prematurely, and Mike was nice enough to go along with getting it replaced even though it wasn't at the top of his house project list.

One of my young women really wanted to hike the National Trail, so I told her I would take her. This was the visual packing list.

Both girls that came were troopers to get up and get started really early!

They did great! We took an Uber back and I hopped in the pool!

And then got to read poolside. Mike had taken the boys to Wet N Wild, but it was too late for me to join them.

The teachers in Arizona started a movement to improve pay for teachers and support staff and to increase funding for schools. Arizona is 49th or 50th for school funding. Every Wednesday there was a walk in at the school

My 1st Counselor in YW loves this painting, so we found it for her for her birthday.

Asher learned to ride a "pedal bike"! I planned on getting him one for his birthday, but then our neighbors had one out on bulk trash pick up. It took me weeks to get new tubes for the flat tires. I finally took the wheels off to replace the tubes and then realized the tubes were fine and if I had just pumped up the tires, it would have been fine. After about 3 lessons, Asher could ride all by himself!

While Benton's baseball schedule was conflicting with Asher's gymnastics classes, we were able to use buddy passes to take Aden to gymnastics with us and go to morning classes. They had a great time.

I planned a progressive dinner for the youth in three wards. They had a great time walking through the neighborhood, socializing and eating.

I wear them out!

I love it when the boys find a series they get really into. Benton loved this one.

I kept Asher in this backpack while I hiked so I could get in better shape for my Grand Canyon hike. It was getting hard to get it from the ground to my back, though, so I'd get him set up in the van and then put it on.

Trip 4 to Wet N Wild!

I ended up with this cute bunch one morning and was really grateful for Target's fast online order service so I only had to go to customer service to get all the things I was there for.

REDforED demonstration.

The teachers chose to walk out and there was a huge march on the capitol.

Our school went to half days, but I kept the kids home as a show of support and because I figured the limited staff would probably result in more of a day of crowd control than teaching.

We went to the Children's Museum and brought Aden and Alec with us.

Accidental orange day.

I looked over and these two were sitting like this playing with Playdough. I love how cute they are together.

March

2018-03-31T10:56:00.000-07:00

Boys, always boys!

I went to Ethan's classroom before chaperoning his field trip and was amused by the personal library he has going on his desk.

On Dr. Suess's birthday they went to the Kroc Center and listened to players from the Cardinals read Dr. Suess books.

Ethan got to ask a (provided) question at the microphone.

A few coworkers and I participated in a bRUNch. Running and then a yummy breakfast was awesome! I last minute decided to do a 10k instead of a 5k and was proud of myself for being able to do it without running much lately.

While Ethan was at a birthday party, I took the younger kids to the Tres Rios Wetland festival. Asher did NOT want to go in the canoe, but I bribed him and he ended up liking it. Benton sat up front.

Asher wanted to sit on the ground by me. He did not appreciate that his pants got wet.

We got to go fishing!

And shoot arrows!

Our portrait wall is updated.

If we bring a blanket to church, Asher will usually fall asleep (church is at 1pm).

Benton was so so excited to play baseball. It was great having everything be on weeknights and here in Laveen. Most of our team was made up of friends, so that made it easier and more fun (Shivers, Leybases, Burninghames, Pews, Schultzes).

Personal Progress Olympics closing ceremony. Izzie and Mary got really competitive, which made it fun. The winners and a few friends got to go to Wet N Wild.

Lunch date with Ethan after he met his goal to pass of all of his multiplication facts.

The AZ Science Center came to storytime and taught about germs.

I attended the color run at the boys' school and ran around with them.

Wet N Wild opened! Asher did not like the sound of the crashing water in the big playground. It reached maybe 70* and the water is not heated, so it was a COLD day! I was determined to be fun and do whatever the boys wanted. Ethan took advantage and started picking the wettest rides.

We were so excited Benton got a 48in wristband so he could do everything. It turns out that life guards at the slides measure on their own anyway and he is actually about an inch short, so he didn't get to do everything.

More boys!

Our friends plan a Color Fight every year during spring break. Ethan is just being silly in this picture.

Asher made up a "mini golf" game hitting Beanie Boos down the stairs.

Asher started throwing a fit and fell asleep like this. After I got him up and tried to calm him down, he kept his eyes closed for 45min to an hour out of pure stubborness. We have been trying to skip naps because he has been struggling to fall asleep at night and then also wakes up during the night. If we leave him alone, he falls asleep in the afternoon, though.

Free ice cream day at DQ!

Nap time...

Last March I ran a race in the White Tank Mountains and the wildflowers were incredible, so I planned a campout for the YW at the same time of year. The saguaros and city views were still beautiful, but the drought meant that here were no flowers. I was really disappointed, but it was still fun.

Jessica and I ended up being the only ones in a huge 11 person tent. It got really windy, though, and the tent kept collapsing. We tried rotating it and restaking it and finally gave up at about 1am and slept in our cars. I suggested we flatten it, but we were joking about how it would be funny if it would still be standing in the morning after we finally bailed, so Jessica decided to leave it up. Some of the poles ended up breaking!

We went on a guided tour to see petroglyphs. The petroglyphs were amazing, but the tour guide was slow and dry.

We escaped the heat at the nature center and played games for a little while.

The second night I had my 2 man tent all to myself and enjoyed some quiet reading. We had set up enough small tents to not worry about the wind, so, of course, it wasn't windy. With ear plugs in and no wind, I slept great!

When there has been rain, there is a waterfall here. We decided to hike over even though we knew it was dry, and it was a lot of fun.

We climbed up to a shelf in the waterfall where there was still some standing water.

Trip 2 to Wet N Wild

Ethan was not happy about the pigtails, but I had fun playing with is hair during church.

Asher loved his (first?) trip to the dentist. He thought the XRay machine was fun and was very comfortable talking to the dentist.

Asher loves his gymnastics class!

Hiking on one of Mike's flex days.

Kris and Rick came out for Easter weekend and had great seats for the pageant. Mike wasn't really interested, so I took Ethan.

Of course Ethan crashed on the way home.

With Easter falling on April Fool's Day, I prepped two sets of Easter baskets for the boys the night before...

February

2018-02-28T09:33:00.000-08:00

I told Ethan to make a plan for his Pinewood Derby car and then show Mike. Here is the plan.

3rd grad "boot camp" to get them ready for state testing.

New Beginnings Olympics.

Mike was not up for doing Pinewood Derby, so Ethan and I made this. I didn't have access to tools, so we sawed the wood by hand. It took forever! Barry Halterman helped us with the wheels. Ethan was super excited with how it turned out. Unfortunately, the weights fell off the first time down (as we predicted). The worst thing about that was that without that bad time, Ethan would have gotten 2nd place, but he still had so much fun.

Without asking me (because they were afraid I'd say no), Ethan and Benton worked it out with their teachers that Ethan would get an extra homework packet and Benton would do that 3rd grade packet instead of his 1st grade packet. Benton wanted to get smarter so he could play Prodigy like Ethan, and I think Ethan liked seeing Benton actually have to try on his homework instead of getting the whole packet done on Monday.

Swimsuits: 2018

The Laveen BBQ was on Saturday again this year, yay!

Asher liked his Valentine's gift.

I got to see Hamilton!!! I listened to the audiobook and then the soundtrack and loved it! One of my young women had season tickets so that she could see Hamilton and she thought she'd be able to help get me tickets, but then it was sold out. So, I was shocked when I went to play volleyball at the church one day and someone was online buying tickets! There had been a "Verified Fan" program that required users to apply for a code the week before and then they could get tickets. I was SO bummed to have missed it, so I started reaching out to anyone who might have a connection for tickets. Lucky for me, Mandy had a code to get four tickets and was only going to get 2, so she got extras for me! Mike didn't want to go, so Daisy was my lovely date. It was awesome!

Ethan helping Benton on Prodigy. He registered himself as 2nd grade, but within a day of playing it had bumped him to 4th grade.

President's Day trip to Tempe Towne Lake. It was a rare day windy enough for flying a kite. Unfortunately, the tail eventually fell off and got lost in the water.

We promised the boys kayaking, but the wind made that super difficult. Mike was a good sport and took them in circles in the dock area that was protected from the waves. There were dead fish floating around and the water smelled terrible. Mike got a little wet from sitting in the kayak which made for a smelly drive home!

My friend Tiffany was in town from California, so she, Jessica and I met at a park.

The Phoenix Zoo came to story time.

Benton's teacher asked me to chaperone their field trip to a roller rink. It was my first time chaperoning because I usually abstain from the race to be chaperone, but this year the school seemed to be choosing instead of asking for volunteers.

Having over 150 first graders roller skating was hilarious. Hardly any of them could skate so they were falling everywhere and the concept of all going in a circle in the same direction was lost on most of them.

I bought this docking station on Christmas Day when we got the Kindles and it has been awesome.

January

2018-01-31T08:28:00.000-08:00

Lisa had been telling me about the tradition of her fried from another country in which instead of staying up late for New Year's they get up and watch the sun rise on a new year. I thought watching the sunrise on the mountain sounded like a great idea and Mom and Gary's flight was before sunrise, so after dropping them off, we drove straight to the mountain and raced the sun. It was a fun way to start the new year.

So comfy...

We moved mutual to the morning one day during Christmas Break and went on a hike on Mahatauk trail. Natalia and I went all the way up.

Asher and Aden were so cute playing with these puppets.

Ethan was Highly Proficient in all subject areas!

I love the pictures on my nightstand. It is nice to have a great photographer as a sister.

Time for a new mattress!

They never get tired of games!

Asher loves "cheese with holes" (swiss cheese), so when we ran out and he kept insisting on "cheese with holes", this is how we solved the problem.

Benton lost his first tooth!

We were able to attend a science day at the South Mountain Education Center.

We had a game night the weekend of Mike's birthday and surprised him with cake.

Mike built this bike rack and hung hooks for our hiking packs.

Sometimes I pull one of the boys from school and do a lunch date.

I made these for New Beginnings Olympics.

In the past, our stake hosted big activities on 5th Wednesdays, but they stopped this year. January had a 5th Wednesday, so I planned a 4-ward glow in the dark sports night.

The biggest thing going on in January was that Mike as on administrative leave after being chosen as the scapegoat for an unfortunate incident at Burton Barr Library in which the sprinkler system was not maintained and broke, causing major damage. After some hefty fees to an attorney who clearly outlined all the falsehoods in the City's argument against Mike, we settled with the City to avoid a long, drawn out, expensive legal battle. Mike was able to move to the position he had already verbally accepted as an engineer and the City got to call it a "demotion". We are so grateful for all of the support our friends and family gave. We also were grateful for all the extra time Mike got to spend at home. We couldn't fully enjoy it because of the stress, but we worked well together, supported each other, had some fun, and got things crossed off the to-do list.

December

2017-12-31T21:42:00.000-08:00

We started off December with the ward Christmas party. The Primary sang and Asher got to join in!

Putting up Christmas lights!

So little effect for the amount of time. I need to add to the yard.

Benton was the only one particularly interested in decorating the tree. Ethan was more interested in watching The Muppet Christmas Carol. I love that Lisa and Joe were watching the same movie while decorating their trees.

Asher and Ethan got more interested at the end. Asher said, "If I hit them really hard, they fall off!" Thank goodness we switched to plastic ornaments awhile back!

I didn't do as much decorating as usual, mostly because I didn't want to take all the time, especially taking it down!

Mike took the little boys to a snow day at the museum while I took Ethan to a birthday party for his friend from his previous school.

Ethan got to help take care of Beanie again. He is getting slightly more confident around dogs.

I made these for the kids' teachers. They had chocolate, ear plugs, an energy drink, and an inflatable ball game.

Annual cookie party! These cuties helped make the dough.

We did the little kids separately this year.

Asher's new sunbeam teachers had an ice cream social in December so the first Sunday wouldn't be so hard for the kids. Asher had a great time.

70s ride in Cycle to celebrate the weather reaching the 70s!

Big kid Christmas party.

Such a sweet Santa letter from Ethan.

We did a special cardio section 12 Days of Christmas style in bootcamp for December.

"Amazon is coming to town."

Ethan got to play a piano solo in his school's Winter Festival. It was in front of a lot of people and I was really nervous for him, but he did great! Both boys sang with their grade level as well.

The PTA put on a really fun event at the school again.

Christmas cycle class!

I got Asher and Aden matching watches.

We went to the grocery store and they kept telling me things like, "my watch says it is time to get cookies and hurry home!"

Mike took the boys out one afternoon and left me at home where I wrapped presents and enjoyed the questions-Merry Christmas to me!

On the way home they saw this crazy thing in the sky. Turns out it was a rocket launch in California, but it definitely freaked out a lot of Arizonans.

Picking up my favorite local treats.

Church on Christmas Eve with Nana and Papa.

We tried to get a family picture too.

We ate Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve. With other family members not stating strong preferences, I decided to plan some things just for me. One was doing the big meal Christmas Eve so that I could play with the boys on Christmas instead of cooking, but we'd still have the leftovers to eat. We ate outside, which was really fun. This will be our new tradition.

It got a little chilly.

All ready!

They're ready! They love beanie boos right now. Nana got the ones they are holding for them while we were shopping before Christmas. I got Ethan and Asher beanie boos for their stockings, but I got Benton a Fiesty Pet. It is a unicorn. He was disappointed to not have a beanie boo until I showed him the scary face. He jumped and then thought it was awesome.

Of course the tablets from Grandpa and Grandma were a big hit.

We got out a forgotten toy and rewrapped it for Asher. It was another favorite.

I got Ethan a 3D printing pen, which was a bust. They also got Mario Monopoly and King of Tokyo and other games that they love. Nana and Papa also got them Wet N Wild annual passes. We wrapped them in box after box, nested inside each other.

Asher loved this hover soccer set.

Spinning after getting a goal.

It was very cute seeing Nana and Papa play this pancake game with Asher.

Mike got a retro Nintendo game, so he played with his toys for a long time, too.

I made biscuits and gravy for the first time and they were delicious!!!

Beanie Boos from the Woodens! Benton will look at his elephant and say, "I just love this elephant." They all love their animals.

We got Benton a coding robot that is a lot of fun and can be dressed up like Groot. I spent the whole day playing with the boys and their toys. It was a lot of fun!

This was my favorite gift. Ethan was really sneaky to buy this from his book order and write a note for me in it, so so sweet!

Another "for me" Christmas decision. This strawberry pretzel dish departs from our traditional jello salads, but I love it!

We took a trip with Nana and Papa to the train park.

Taking down the Christmas lights is much faster because I can just pull them down, but of course this top hook stubbornly remained.

A hand on Asher and Papa put him right to sleep. One morning Asher woke up early and Papa was sleeping on the couch and Asher went right up to sit and cuddle with him.

Clue!

We took a trip to Out of Africa, which ended up being a great time. We got to feed giraffes. I put the branch in my mouth and the giraffe ate it from my mouth.

We also got to see the tigers being fed, including a baby tiger who guzzled down a bottle of milk.

I loved seeing the water show with the tigers!

Mom came with me to the gym most days while she was here. It was fun to have someone come with me and to go to the gym without feeling like I was abandoning guests.

We also got to spend a day at Tumbleweed park with Nana.

On New Year's Eve we went to the Burningham's and had a fun count down at 9pm.

November

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For one of my ComTrans races we did a color run. Kids were free, so I got to bring Ethan with me. He did great running the whole 5k happily.

He stayed in his colorful clothes while we went to Heritage to see the Junior High production of Lion King.

I got the boys slippers. Asher's are sharks. I ended up exchanging Ethan and Benton's (Mario and Minion) for Beanie Boo slippers (rainbow kitties and unicorns).

I asked my friends to come to my class for my birthday and a lot of them showed up; it was fun!

My friend Mary even brought me flowers!

Enjoying reading on my couches.

I won a night at the Princess Resort, so we tried taking the whole family for my birthday. It ended up being really fun, especially at the end when we were all playing catch in the pool. We were wishing we didn't have a group date to get back to!

We did a movie night and then put on Fantasia until they fell asleep.

The hotel brought me fancy strawberries!

There was a hallway to a closet and bathroom. In the morning we gave them tablets in the closet so we could sleep in. Someday they will sleep in, but until then, this is a pretty good compromise that lets us sleep in.

Heading out to swim in the morning.

Headed home.

That night our book club, with husbands, and other friends, went to see Murder on the Orient Express. Our friend Mandy and her husband both had their birthday that day, but Mandy had broken her neck in a car accident the week before. She was really sad to miss the movie, but we got dinner and dessert and brought it back to her rehab facility.

Laser tag from Grandpa Joe and Grandma Dianne!

Zoo trip! Asher, Aden, Lily, and I met Daisy and Santi there.

They barely stayed awake on the way to the car...

and didn't last much longer.

Working on the porch is also awesome and gives me a great tan line around my calf/shin since most days I'm wearing workout capris.

Headed to a Laurel Presidency meeting at sunrise. We meet on Fridays at 7am after seminary because they don't have school.

I took Asher to the playground by myself and he had a great time. He is strong enough for monkey bars, but scared to do them alone.

Ethan and I finished Wonder and went to see the movie. It was awesome and Ethan loves the one on one time.

We go to the Children's Museum every Tuesday, cute boys.

For Thanksgiving we went to the Hanshaw's in California. On Thanksgiving morning Asher woke up early so I gave him an iPad and went out for a run (I had run a Turkey Trot the previous 8 years). I took a lot of selfies trying to catch the beautiful view, but it was so much prettier in person.

Everyone went to a park for a Turkey Bowl and to play at a playground. Rachelle and I got to go on a walk/jog as well.

After Thanksgiving dinner, we spent the day enjoying the pool. That is my kind of Thanksgiving activity!

Cute cousins: Benton and Ava.

Bentley giving Asher a ride.

We also went to Santa Monica and rode bikes, got pizza, and hung out at the beach.

There was a park with gymnastics equipment. Asher loved it and freaked out some Chinese grandmas when he flipped around a bar.

My side of the family decided to have the cousins do a gift exchange for Christmas. The rest of the cousins were together, so they opened the gifts then. We were supposed to Facetime, but had trouble coordinating, so we just took videos and sent them to each other.

Asher played with this "computer" as long as I'd let him. Notice his first "y" that it taught him to write.

Benton, Christian, and Ethan.

Asher came up to me one day and started rolling my thighs so I could "feel better". I thought it was funny that he knows what that is for.

A few more from Thanksgiving:

Halloween

2017-11-02T19:32:00.000-07:00

While my mom was here, we made jack o lanterns. She got fancy instead.

The boys are super cute with little Mayzie when she comes to play.

I used my babysitting money to buy myself patio furniture. I had been looking into a bedroom chair for reading, but this is better because I love reading outside and this will allow me to do that year round.

Ethan and I finished reading Witches, so we watched the movie outside together.

Mommy-saurus and Asher-osaurus

Lunch with Ethan and his good friend Hunter. We were so sad when Hunter switched schools.

Funny face pancakes for Halloween with my two favorite 3 year olds.

Halloween cycle!

Then we went to the museum. Aden and Asher both, by chance, picked the same costume that morning.

My Halloween hat and nails.

Reading IN the book box.

Trick or treating!

The door of our neighbors and ward members.

Stacey was nice enough to take Asher on a preschool field trip when I needed a sitter for him.

Costumes!

We didn't get around to coordinating costumes this year, so these were all pulled from closets. Benton: Groot, Asher: Jake the Pirate, Ethan: Army man, Linda: Witch.

Our jack o lanterns.

Sedona

2017-11-01T09:17:00.000-07:00

My mom had offered to watch the kids for a week, so we booked a hotel in Sedona. I was really excited to do some hikes that we haven't been able to do because the kids are too small. If Mike planned our vacations, they'd probably look really different...

Our first item of business was dinner (Chipotle), grocery shopping for future meals, and the hot tub.

Our first full day in Sedona we went "mountain biking". We thought biking would be a good recovery day from all the hiking, but the easiest trails still required mountain bikes. I was pretty freaked out at first, but got a lot more confident as we went.

No vacation is complete without reading by the pool. Again, you can tell when I make the vacation plans. Mike went to get food, I think, and also had to go into town to handle some work drama.

The next day we went for another hike. It was a really easy, beautiful Fall hike.

Eventually the trail disappeared, but we followed the creek to try to get back to some campsites. It would be a fun place to backpack.

We cooked most of our meals, and, by "we" I mean Mike. It was awesome to not cook for a few days!

On our last day I had two more hikes on my list. First up was Devil's Bridge.

Here I am on the bridge!

On the way back we ended up accidentally taking a lot longer trail back and Mike was done hiking. This vacation ended up costing him two toenails. So, we went back to Phoenix, got our favorite tacos while it was still happy hour, and went home. It was such a great vacation!