Idaho Falls trip

On Friday, August 17th my cousin was married in the Idaho Falls temple. It was the second marriage for both of them, and they rushed to get it done as soon as they got the Temple clearance and cancellation. They literally weren't even sure if it was all going to work out, but the day of the ceremony every came together.

I've been very close with this cousin for many years, so it was a priority to go up there to see him married. It got a little crazy when Brandon and Peter had a camping trip already planned. In the end, I took Luke with me and we made it a mini vacation together.

Thankfully, I have another set of awesome cousins that live in Idaho Falls. They were willing to watch Luke for me while I went to the temple sealing. It was a fun memory, and one that I will not forget. There were only 6 family members of the family in attendance. Yet the excitement and love in the room was amazing!

I'm not very fond of driving, and the thought of driving three and a half hours was very scary for me. We took it slowly and it all and it all worked out perfectly. The first day we left home at 7 in the morning. We drove until we got to Brigham City where we took a break to go to the bathroom. Luke also convince me that he needed Cheetos. What a hot mess that made. However, it gave us a chance to be outside and stretch our tired bodies

Then we just drove and drove until we got to Idaho Falls. We arrived about 5 hours before we could check in. It was lunch time so we found a McDonald's, and enjoyed the food. We still had lots of time after that so we went to the local Zoo and wandered around for about 40 minutes. Luke was so excited about all the animals. He really loves, loves, loves animals right now. They had some really neat ones too.

Then, we went and asked if the hotel would let us check in early. Thankfully they said yes. By the time I was dressed for the wedding it was time to go and drop off Luke. My awesome cousin - Chris - took care of three kids by himself until I could get back there. It was so generous of him. Luke loved it because they had a trampoline and a cute little dog to play with (Max). Honestly, Luke has been so scared of dogs for the longest time. But, Max was so awesome and by the end of the evening Luke didn't want to leave.

The ceremony was awesome. Afterward, the bride had hired someone to come and take a few pictures. That was so nice. It was enjoyable to be with aunts/uncles that I don't often get to see. The bride and groom were just as darling as you would expect them to be.

After all the picture taking was over I went back to be with Luke. I got to stay for a yummy dinner and just rest and relax. It felt so amazing. I also got to chit chat with my cousins, which is a favorite past time for me.  Their kids are still young, so Luke and I left around 7 so we didn't mess up their bedtime routine. Their Mom is due to have baby #3 in just three weeks so I didn't want to overtax her already exhausted body.

On the way back to the hotel we couldn't resist stopping at the local DI. Luke especially loves going. I was hoping to be able to find a skirt or two while we were there, but all we found was a giant stuffed monkey. It was almost as big as Luke. We got super luck though, because the store was having their 80th anniversary celebration - so we got the money for 20% off. It cost us a whopping $1.70. Sweet!

We headed for the hotel after that and changed into pajamas and then spent a couple hours in the media room at the hotel. Luke played the video game Minecraft while I wrote my journal about the trip events. It was relaxing and just what we needed.

The next morning Luke just wanted to go down and play video games some more. So, that's what we did after we ate breakfast. We checked out of the hotel at 10am and made a stop at Walmart before heading back home. I knew Luke was going to be hungry before getting to Utah, so we stopped in Pocotello and ate at McDonalad's - again. Luke loved the play area they had. They had this platform area where he could bounce - just like a pogo stick. He was on that thing for a super long time. Across the street was a Fred Meyer. Brandon is always talking about how we had a Fred Meyer back in our childhood. So, we had to go and see what it was all about. It looked just like our local Smith's Marketplace on the inside. Too funny.

The drive home from Idaho felt like it was taking FOREVER! Drowsy driving was something that I was feeling really badly once we hit those small Utah towns in Northern Utah. So we ended up stopping at Artic Circle in Tremonton.  It was heavenly, and just what I needed to be able to finish the drive home. I highly recommend the Moose Track Shake there.

I would have liked to stop a few more times before getting home, but Luke just wasn't in the mood. He did allow me to stop one more time though in American Fork. He wanted to stop because I wanted to go to DI and see if I could find some skirts. We got lucky this time and found two darling skirts, plus a plastic organizer, and 2 awesome stuffed animals for Luke. Plus, all our stuff was cheaper because of the Anniversary sale. It was fabulous.

Rex

I just noticed that it has been a very long time since I've added a picture of Rex to our family blog. Just the other day we were learning about proper nouns in school. The boys decided that Rex had to have to have a middle name so that he could have three proper nouns in his name. So, we decided that his middle name should be Brown. Appropriate - huh.

It seems like he is growing bigger and bigger every month. On average, he sheds his skin every other month. It makes a huge mess, and I always have to change the bedding in his cage after it happens. This past shed was the best one he has ever had. That means it happens very quickly instead of lingering to fall off. He was finished in just two days. When we first got him, it took over a week. The humidity level in his cage plays a major part in how quickly he sheds. I'm glad we've improved in that area since getting him.

Ladybugs for Science

We are learning about animals for science this year. Luke is especially obsessed with animals of any kind. This week we are learning about Ladybugs. We even learned the poem about the ladybug flying home. It's been so much fun.

This morning we decided to explore our yard to see if we could find any ladybugs. We typically have tons of them in the early spring. The kids and I got excited when we discovered an exoskeleton of a ladybug. Sweet!

Eye Problems

A month ago I went to the eye doctor because my eyes have been hurting so much when I wear my contacts. Also, for about 2 years I've dealt with eye discharge that has been annoying. After an exam the doc said I had probably developed an intolerance for my specific lens type.

So, he ordered a different kind of lenses (Accuve Oasis) and a week later I went to pick them up. I wore them for a week and nothing was improving. Hum....I wasn't too disappointed because this brand of contact is expensive. I went back and he said we would try a different brand. This time it was a monthly contact which he had me try for just a week. After a week, I was still struggling. It felt like I had a strand of hair under my left eyelid. Nothing would help. I would add eye drops multiple times a day, plus wear gooey eye ointment at night. Still didn't feel any improvement.

This past Monday I went back for a checkup and explained that nothing was improving. I asked him if it was possible to get ulcers under the eyelid because that's what it felt like. He peeked under my eyelid (not a fun experience) and said there was stuff going on.

Turns out I have giant papillary conjunctivitis. Ewwww! After getting home and looking up pictures I understood why my eyes were hurting like they were. Dr. prescribed some very expensive eye drops ($77 with insurance) and said to come back in a week. He thinks it will be all cleared up and I can go back to wearing contacts. I'm really hoping so because my self-esteem can't handle wearing glasses for much longer.

Goodbye to the old - Hello to the new

July was an expensive month. Brandon began to experience car problems and I highly recommended that he take the car into the mechanic. He knew that the news wasn't going to be good, and it wasn't.

After getting the estimate back we had a decision to make. We decided it made more sense to invest in a new car now instead of using thousands of dollars to repair the one we had. Brandon did a lot of research, asked a lot of questions, and we finally went and bought a 2018 Toyota Corolla from Brent Brown in Orem. Brandon is fabulous at buying things and he got most of the additional fees waived. We walked out of that sale with the car Brandon wanted for only $1,000 more then our best projection. It is a fabulous commuter car and it should last us several years of getting him up to Salt Lake.

The only downside, in my opinion, is that we decided we didn't want a car payment. We dropped our savings account to the lowest it's been in a decade. Yikes. Hopefully, with careful planning over the next year, we will be able to replenish it.

Then, we needed to decide what to do with Brandon's car. We talked about trying to sell it on KSL, or donating it to the Kidney Foundation. In the end, we gifted it to our nephew Zach. It will be a fabulous car to get him to school, work, and around town. I'm so glad we were able to give it to him. He was beyond excited to get it.

I thought I would be super sad to see it go, but I wasn't.  That car had so many memories associated with it. When we were dating I didn't have a car. Twice a month, Brandon would come and pick me up and we would go grocery shopping together. We also brought Peter home from the hospital in it, drove it to the temple to get married in, and used it to move into our 1st apartment, our Thorneberry apartment, and finally our Springville home.

Game Nights

In October 2016, Brandon and I started hosting a monthly game night with friends. It's lasted longer then I ever thought it would. It started out with just feeding Brandon's bachelor coworkers, but it's become much more then that now.

Our monthly ritual has motivated Brandon to purchase a lot of games. It's been a lot of fun for our family. You can find us playing a game/games a few times a week. Then, once a month we gather this group together for a night of fun and food.

Brandon's former coworker at UVU, John, comes over quite often for game nights. We love having an extra adult around to play. We all consider him part of the family now. LOL.

Pioneer Day

This year I finally fit into my pioneer clothes again. It have been so much fun. I was able to use my pioneer things in Primary the past two weeks. The Primary kids loved dressing up in pioneer clothes, and learning about some of the pioneer toys and things that I have. Peter and Luke think my pioneer things are so much fun too. They especially love my wool cape. They call it their Obi Wan Ken-obi robe.

School Prep

It's crunch time over here. I'm busy preparing for a new school year, which begins for us on Aug 1st. The focus of this year seems to be Language Arts. We have different books we will be going though for writing, grammar, and spelling - plus the reading program we used last year. It's gonna be intense, but there will be enough fun things that we will plow though it.

I'm going to hold an art class for Luke while Brandon does a coding class for Peter. I'm also really hoping Peter will be able to do gymnastics again (gotta see if enough homeschool students signup). Luke needs a low-key extra curricular, so he will be doing a typing class. I'm a very structured teacher, so I've gone though each subject and book and written down our weekly assignments. That way I know the upcoming assignments and what I need to prepare each week.

Luckily, I will have time to plan our Jan-April school assignments during our December holidays. Otherwise, I would be so burnt out. Our big purchase this year was an internet filter and zoo tickets. Both items have been well used already. Yes, I still do use a paper calendar for my schedule. It's the only way I can make it all work seamlessly.

Scouts - Bear Claws

1) We used this website to help us learn about the three types of pocketknives.
https://cubscoutideas.com/4030/3-types-of-pocketknives/

We looked around our house and found two different types that we have.

2) We used our scout book to learn about knife safety.

3a) Carved a polar bear and eagle out of soap

3b.1)  Cutting a piece of twine

3b.2) Opening a box

3b.3) Opening a can 

3b.4) Using the screwdriver tool

3b.5) Opening a letter

Scouts - Baloo the Builder

1- The tools that worked best for my project were sander, hammer, saw horses, and measuring tape.

2- I decided to make a box. My Dad and I found a plan on the internet, and then modified it.

3- My useful project was building a box I can put things in. My fun project was building my model car for the pinewood derby.

 4.

Cutting out my derby car at Grandpa Thomas' house

4- I used a spray paint finish for my box. I just used a clear coat of polyurethane for my derby car.