The Last First Day of School

As I was taking pictures this morning, Travis mentioned that it was his last first day of school.  I can't believe my kids are growing up so fast!  I'm proud of the people they have become.  They are good young men with good values.  Travis only needed 1 required class to graduate this year, so he has kind of a laid back schedule (I think anyway).  So, he should hopefully have a fun Senior year.  Lots of his classes this year are with Tyrel, so that is fun for them too.

Travis is taking Seminary, English, US Studies, Music Composition, TV Broadcasting, TV Production, Computer Programming, and Digital Photography.  He is also going to be the TA for Mr. Andrews for his TV production class the 2nd half of the year. 

Tyrel is taking Seminary, CoEd Team Sports, ASL 2, Computer Programming, TV Production, Physics, Financial Literacy, Ceramics, and English. 

They did both have Advanced Guitar together too, but the teacher they took it from before isn't teaching it this year, so they transferred out of it.  I'm kind of bummed about that though because I like hearing them play.  Hopefully they will still sit and play guitar in the living room together even thought they don't have the class this year.  Travis is still taking Music Composition and writing for the guitar, so I think I'm safe.  His old Advanced Guitar teacher that he loves is teaching it.

Trevin is off to a rough start in Jr. High.  Friday, they had all the 7th graders go 1/2 day by themselves before all the big kids showed up at the school.  He got on the wrong bus to come home.  He called me from his friend Garrison's house to come pick him up.  At least he made it as far as Elk Ridge with a friend so I didn't have to go all the way down there.  Then this morning, the bus came 15 minutes earlier than it did on Friday, so he missed it.    Travis and Tyrel were going to Payson to pick up some of Travis' friends for school, so they were going to run him, but they ended up finding kids at another stop that hadn't been picked up yet, so they dropped him off there.  When he came home today, he said he felt short.  It is different from last year where he was one of the tallest kids, to now being in a new school as a little kid.  Hopefully tomorrow goes better for him.  I really hope the new Jr. High in Salem gets finished so he can start there next year.  I think it will be much better, plus it is closer to the high school so if he misses the bus, then Tyrel could just drop him off if needed.  His schedule this year is Exploring Technology, Learning Strategies, Science, CTE (Can't remember what that stands for), Math, PE, Choir, Language Arts, and English. 

Jalapeno Popper Obsession

So, ever since Uncle John shared his recipe for jalapeno poppers at the family reunion, we have kind of been obsessed with them at our house.  Everyone except Travis that is, we can't get him to try them.  We have been making them every time we get peppers in our Bountiful Basket and everytime we run to the store, jalapenos are right on our list of staples along with milk, bread and eggs.  We modified the recipe a bit and have also added our own renditions of some other mixtures plus a "dessert" popper that we love even though it sounds gross.  We mixed together cream cheese and coconut, stuffed the pepper and topped with cinnamon carmelized almonds and drizzled with chocolate sauce.  It is oh oh so good.

End of Summer Activity

Since we bought the Pass of All Passes earlier this year and haven't really used them yet (Tyrel has used his quite a bit), we decided to take the boys to Trafalga for some fun before school starts.  Travis had to work, so we will have to go another time and take him.  It was windy, so Sean couldn't get the things done he needed to, so we thought it was a good time to head over while he wasn't busy.  We played miniature golf (glow in the dark) and I WON!  I was only 2 over par.  Usually Tyrel or Sean always wins stuff like that.  We watched a lame 4D movie and then we went out and the boys raced.  Sean was the winner there.  Then we headed to Carl's Jr. for some $1 big burgers for dinner.

Bottling All Day

I got the tomatoes bottled today.  My genius neighbor suggested doing it on the camp chef stove outside so I don't heat up the house, great idea, except we ran out of propane.  I got two 1/2 batches done outside, but had to do the last 1 1/2 batches in the house, but by then it was evening, so it wasn't so bad.  We ended up with 25 pints of bottled tomatoes and 3 half pints of green chile salsa verde.  I just threw things in for that, so we shall see if it is any good or not.  My back was aching by the end of the day but it's good to have it done.

Meeting Chloe

So, Heidi and I have been selling our framed prints at craft boutiques and have done fairly well.  We were really excited to be part of an event called "Ride the Brainwave" that we were invited to at the Gallivan Center in Salt Lake in conjunction with a fundraiser/5K/motorcycle rally to raise money for children with brain injuries.  It was not a good event for us.  Apparently those type of people aren't interested in what we were selling.  I think if we were selling temporary tattoo's or bandanas or something like that, we may have fared better, just not a really crafty crowd if you know what I mean.  (I believe the beer booth did ok).

Anyway, we didn't really sell much of anything and ended up packing it up early.  It was fun to see all the motorcycles and one of the children that was out raising money was none other than Chloe.  We met Chloe 2 1/2 years ago when we started designing digital scrapbook kits.  Her mother was on our creative team.  Well, we met her via internet, never in person.  So, we are sitting in our booth and who should walk by but Tara and Chloe (and a bunch of other "Team Chloe" participants).  When they finished the 5K and were coming back, we called out to Tara and introduced ourselves with hugs all around.  Luckily she had her camera with her and we got our picture taken with Chloe!  So, it ended up being a great day just because we got to finally meet Chloe and Tara in person.  Tara said they almost have the money raised to start Phase 1 of Chloe's Sunshine Playground for children with disabilities this coming Spring.  We are so excited for them.  To find out about Chloe's Playground and how you can help, go HERE.

The Nursery

I decided today that I have the sweatiest calling in church.  I know some reading this may think I said sweetest, and don't get me wrong, the kids are fun and cute most of the time, but I did say sweatiest, not sweetest. It amazes me how much of a workout you can get in 2 hours of church.  Today was especially hard because there were only 2 leaders there, not sure what happened to the rest.  We had two "cry"ers, and 15 kids total, so take out the two leaders to be with the distressed children and that leaves all the rest to kill each other.  Not good.  Luckily McKenzie came in to take roll and saw that we were short on helpers, so she came in to help us with snack time and then found someone else to help us out the last hour.  What a relief.  It still wasn't really enough though, by then, they all thought they could get away with whatever and Morgan and I were exhausted.  They all left alive though, so that is good.

Twenty Years Together

Sean and I had a pretty low key anniversary this year.  I had a gift certificate from one of the loan officers I process for, so we were able to go to Red Lobster for dinner and then we got to use Travis' perk and went to see Cowboys and Aliens at the movie theater.  It was a great dinner and a pretty good movie.  We enjoyed it.  It was fun to just be together.

Twenty years..... could it be that long already?  Sometimes it seems like we have spent a lifetime together and other times it seems just like yesterday that we were married. We have had some great times together and I know we will have more.  We have had some rough years financially, but it doesn’t matter.....I love you so much and love all that you do for me and for our family.   You are such a great husband and a fun father.  The boys look up to you so much and I’m so glad that you are a good example to them of what a husband and father should be.  I’m grateful for the bond you have formed with each of the boys and that they like “hanging out” with you.  You are always so kind and generous to me.  You think of my feelings and always seem to know what to say when I am feeling down.  I love that you take me on a date every week because I love spending one on one time with you and love being able to talk and have fun together.  Thanks for always humoring me and taking me to my favorite restaurant each week.  Most of all, thank you for honoring your Priesthood and thanks for being a good and honorable person.  I love that you look for opportunities to serve others and I especially love your sense of humor.  It is amazing that you can always make me laugh, even when I’m sad and crying and think things aren’t going to work out.  Thanks for playing your guitar and serenading me and thanks for being my very best friend.  I love you so much!