Where in the World?

Where in the world have I been?

• Not doing much exciting to write about, for one thing.


• Not hauling my camera around to get exciting photos for another.


• We enjoyed all the peaches off our tree. This is the first year we were able to harvest some fruit, so a little exciting after all the waiting.


• Chloe auditioned for a play. Didn't get a part, but it was the hardest thing she's ever done in her life and I'm SOOO proud of her.


• Pulling weeds like crazy. Hurt my back, had to take a break.


• Cleaned out the summer garden (except for the basil).


• Celebrated the 222nd birthday of the Constitution. Took the girls to a "fair" and learned some fun facts. Took a quiz and got sworn in just like at Ellis Island. Sophie's been working hard reading her own copy of the Constitution.


• Making grape juice. Ok, that's Brandon's job, but I help supervise and consume it.


• We had a ward party! Yes, a real social activity. At the park. Games for kids. Socializing for adults. Food for everyone.


• Brandon changed the oil in our cars. First time in two years, since we used up our discount card we had. Sure was a nice break.


• Took the girls shopping for Halloween costumes, only to find out Sophie already knew what she wanted so when they didn't have it at the store we had to come home and order it online. I'm on the ball this year!


• Sophie got sick. Staying home from school today. Driving me crazy.

And that about sums it up.

Answered Prayers

I've had a few happy things happen lately that I thought I could smash into one post. Let's start with last night's big event. If you can bring your memory all the way back from 6 months ago you'll recall it was time to go see Keith. Urban, that is. Of course, I was very excited for the big day, but as it got closer I started to worry about getting a babysitter -- once I realized it was on a school night. I couldn't imagine many parents letting their child hang out at my place till almost midnight on a school night. But one day last week a little girl came to my door. She was soliciting babysitting services. She even had a resume and business cards with a magnet. She's only about 10, so not even considering her a real possibility, I jokingly asked her how late she can stay out. She didn't know. But about 20 minutes later she came back and told me her parents said she could stay out as late as necessary, as long as they were at home. Now I felt embarrassed, because I hadn't even mentioned to her I needed someone on a school night and how late she would be out. So after explaining that to her, Brandon offers her our phone to call her parents (we didn't want to make her run home and back again). You should have seen the shock on her face when her dad said it was fine. She was giddy to have her first babysitting job, and I was giddy to have a sitter for my concert.

Should I stop here to mention how the concert was? The opening act (Little Big Town) was not my cup '0 tea. I was really hoping the concert would improve after they left. And it did! We had seats on the first row of the upper balcony, and really close to the stage, so not bad at all. But it was a little scary thinking how easily we could fall over. Then during the concert Keith was walking through the aisle to a different stage, and these people on the lower level were reaching over the railing to touch him. Their railing was not as sturdy as ours, and they tumbled. Luckily it was only about a 3 feet fall for them. Brandon had a good time, and that's what was important to me.

Another great thing (I think) is that I found a walking partner. I had quit walking for about 2 weeks near the end of summer break (just got too busy I guess), and I think my neighbor noticed because she called me on it. I didn't have a very good excuse, so she invited me to walk with her. I was excited to have a partner, but she gets up really early, and walks about twice as far as I was used to. I was pretty sore the first few days, but I'm now used to it and other than being tired every day I think it's really good for me.

Brandon also found a buddy -- for carpooling. A new guy just started at work, and he lives only about 6 houses away from us! There's a lot of complications when it comes to carpooling, but Brandon's willing to give it a shot. The first day he noticed a big difference just due to the fact that he can use the carpool lane. He was excited about that. And then today he talked to his boss and got it approved to work from home one day a week, so that should help out his commute a little.

My other happy experience is that I got to go on a girl's weekend. The two times I was up in Star Valley this summer I got to go visit an old friend (Erin) whom I'm using as my inspiration to build us a house (but that's a whole other story). Well, the last time I was there she invited me to go to this craft fair (aka Swiss Days) over Labor Day weekend. It was down in Midway, just over an hour from my house. Her aunt and cousin from Idaho actually stopped and picked me up on Friday morning, and I spent the afternoon with them down at the Gateway and went out to lunch with them before heading over to Midway. There we met Erin, her mom and sister. These people were shoppers. I am not. So, they bought lots of fun things and I looked at lots of fun things. It was a fun time to get away and do something a little different. We saw President Uchtdorf there (apparently he lives down there). I thought after his talk on creating things he must be having a ball at a craft fair. We stayed at the Zermatt Resort (pretty fancy), but Erin has connections and got us a killer deal on a two bedroom suite. The second day there was pretty crazy. Apparently Midway is the place to be for Labor Day weekend. I had no clue. The town was packed. The bakery at our hotel was completly out of food (except for one lonely muffin which we did not all want to split), so we had to find breakfast elsewhere. The line to get on the shuttle bus was insane, but luckily it was overcast all day so we weren't standing out in the heat. It even drizzled on us a bit later in the afternoon, but it was kind of nice. We stopped and had dinner in Park City before heading out. Then I came home to find my house had been destroyed. And that was the end of my relaxing weekend.

You can't really tell in this picture, but this was taken just as it started to rain. I thought I better get a shot of us together while I could. I didn't take any pictures of Keith at the concert. I have yet to see any good concert shots, so I didn't bother hauling my camera along, and I left my phone for the sitter so I didn't even have my camera phone. We'll be ok. If anybody needs to see a picture of Keith, look back at my post 6 months ago.

Moving Day

It's official. Today was Brandon's first day at his new office building. I feel like we've been through a lot since the announcement was first made (like over a year ago), but we're still just sitting here in the same spot, not sure what to do. Brandon was pretty nervous this morning. He reminded me of a kid heading off to his first day of school. He was a little scared about getting there on time, not sure if he'd be able to find his desk. They had a big breakfast planned for everyone this morning -- I think as an incentive to get them there on time. It sounds like he's done well. Made it there in plenty of time, found his desk (amidst the maze), and enjoyed his breakfast. Now we'll just wait and see how things play out, and if our gas budget can survive with him driving 37 miles twice a day and me driving 9 miles 4 times a day. Good luck, Brandon. We sure are thankful for all the hard work and sacrifice he makes for our family.

Happy Anniversary

Today is my parents 40th wedding anniversary. Pretty old, huh? (Just kidding, mom and dad!) Shane is in denial, because that means he turns 39 next week. I feel like anniversaries are a private affair, so we've never exchanged gifts or anything, but this year my mom made a request. She wanted a family photo from each of her children (because deep down she knows it's going to take a miracle to get a photo with EVERYONE in it). So, she's settling for individual family photos. And then I believe she's going to make a collage similar to my family wall. This was a great excuse for me to get our family portrait updated. We tried to go out on Sunday to get it done, but we got rained on so we postponed it till the next night. Much nicer. And everything was so green after the rainstorm. Now I have to tell you, getting my family's picture taken is not a fun thing. It is so freakin' hard to take a picture when I'm not behind the camera, no clue what it's focusing on, setting up the tripod a billion times. Brandon asked me why I can go take someone else's pictures and come home with 150 of them, but we do our own family I get 5. Well, now you know. I would love to just hire someone to do it, but so far I can't find anyone who works as cheap as I do. Or anywhere close. I do have to say, though, that I have some great posers. My kids love to come up with ideas for us, and they're usually pretty cute. If only they didn't have to fight over who posed the last shot, or whose turn it is. And if only all my clients were so eager to tell me how they'd like to be posed. That is not one of my strong points. They all want me to tell them where to stand and where to put their hands. I definitely prefer candid shots where they just play and I can shoot at my leisure. Well, this has been quite the rambling. So, Mom, here are your pictures. Happy Anniversary!

Sweet Treats

Grandpa Fry sent Sophie a gift certificate for her birthday. It didn't take her long to figure out what she wanted to spend it on. She loves the American Girl dolls, and has been collecting them (the mini AKA "affordable" ones). She picked out Felicity, and I ordered her the book to go along with it. Whenever we order something it's the waiting period that's the hardest. Every day she would ask me where her doll was. Finally, I had to go check because it just wasn't coming. The book showed up after a few weeks, but no sign of her doll. It was back ordered for a month. Well, it finally arrived. She's pretty happy to have her doll (despite that crazy look on her face), and has already undressed every one of its little pieces of clothing a couple times. Thanks, Grandpa!



Last night we got to watch Eli again. We don't see him much since he moved, so this was a nice treat. He sure seemed grown up to me. Maybe it was the new haircut. I don't know, but we had to get a picture.

The First Day of School

was Wednesday -- 5 days ago. The first day was pretty relaxing to drop the kids off at school, then come home and get some work done. But it hasn't been the same since. I got asked to help with the Saxon math assessments. I spent ALL day Friday helping with that. It was so much fun I went back today. We're still not finished up, so I'll probably be back tomorrow. Sophie's class is the last one we have to finish up, so I want to be there for that. In the meantime, the house and grocery shopping are being neglected, but we still seem to be surviving.

Being around their friends who made negative comments about the charter school was not good for my kids. Luckily, we've been away from that for a while and they've settled in very nicely. They've had a ball picking out their uniforms -- even on casual Friday when they could wear jeans they didn't want to. I'm still having a hard time finding plain white knee high socks, though! Sophie's made friends with a girl named Libby, and Chloe told me about a girl she hung out with today. I love seeing how organized the school operates. I think it will be a great year.

Yesterday we got to attend the Oquirrh Mountain Temple dedication. That was even a little extra special since they attend a school with the same name. Look at my kids, all grown up. There's just no stopping them.

Three Weeks, In a Nutshell

The last few weeks have been crammed full, trying to fit everything in before the start of school. On Aug 4th we got to attend a 1st-3rd grade party for our new school and meet the kid's teachers. Then we left the next morning to go see my mom dance at the Lincoln County Fair. She's been dancing with this group for several years, but I've never seen her perform so we made it a priority this year to go watch her. Julie and her kids were also there visiting, so the girls had fun with the cousins. While there we received word that Shane was on his way out of Afghanistan and would be flying in to Jackson the next week. Brayden and Nicki both have August birthdays, so my mom threw a big party for them on Saturday. Even though they live in California their mom and dad have friends in SV that came to celebrate with them. I had to leave Sunday morning (the 9th). Chloe accepted an invitation from Grandma to stay for a few extra days, but Sophie wanted to come home with me. It took a couple days to adjust to just having one (very talkative) child, but we had a good time. My dad brought Chloe home the following Thursday on his way to drop my grandma off at the airport.

So after several days, we finally got the family all back together again. Only the girls had been invited to a sleepover at their friends house that very night. Nine nights they didn't sleep in their own beds! Chloe got a little wishy-washy about the sleepover. At one point she decided she didn't want to go (she needed some alone time of her own), but then when we dropped Sophie off she decided she would go. She had an activity day that night for moms & daughters, but I had my book club (and I REALLY hate to miss my amazing group) so Brandon stepped in and took my place. After the activity he took her over to the sleepover.

The next two nights (or night and day) were spent at the Davis County Fair here. We were going to go with our neighborhood friends, but that fell through and the weather turned kind of bad, but by that evening it was great so we all went out and did a couple things. We watched a fun game show (it would have been more fun if we had been chosen to participate), and then we stuck around for the comedy show. Apparently the girls aren't old enough to enjoy comedy. I think they were rather bored. The next day we did all their stuff -- the watermelon eating contest, pony rides, balloon animals, and we got to see the alligator show. We showed up about 10 minutes before the 4:00 show, but the seats were all full and you couldn't see from the back of the bleachers, so we opted to wait for the 6:00 show. We showed up 30 minutes early for that one, and the seats were STILL full. Somebody suggested the kids go sit down on the narrow strip of grass on the front row, so they did. After a while they wanted me to join them so I did. It worked out great -- other than when the guy got a little crazy in the water and completely splashed us.

Monday Chloe had to go get a cavity filled. She did really great. That night we went to our back-to-school night. It was pretty crazy with 700 students, plus all their parents, in this brand new school so nobody had a clue where they were going. We found their classrooms, got our carpool number (so I can pick them up and drop them off at school), tasted some lunch samples (even though I'll be packing lunches), and signed up for different volunteer opportunities.

Yesterday we had another family get-together. Jessica got to fly out from Indiana for her brother's wedding, and brought Makiah with her. Shane is now back on US soil, and has never met Makiah so they all came down (with the parents) and met at our place. We went out to lunch and then hung out at home for a while.