Okay okay! So a few of you have mentioned that I haven’t updated in a while…and you are all right! Whoops! Sorry about that. Pretty much after Byron got home from his mission, things have been crazy. (Granted I could have made that time but ya know, I would rather hang out with my family.)
So yes, it is true! Byron got home from his mission and is doing great! He wasn’t really weird when he got back which surprised me. And he wasn’t as skinny as I would have guessed. But, when he came off the plane, he was wearing this Panama style hat which reminded me of Humphrey Bogart or some sort of Cuban drug lord-he is such a dork! He is now dating Becca Lesher, the same young lady he was with before he left for his mission, and is planning on going to Utah State in the fall.
I love having my little brother home! It had been two years since the family had all been together and lots of things have changed. But the moment we saw him, it was like nothing had really changed. He is still the Byron I remember, just tanner and reads his scriptures a lot more! I love him so much and I am glad that he made it home safely.
Since I last updated, my grandparents Jim and Diane, celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. It was really fun for all of us to get together and talk about how great our grandparents are. I had some really fond memories of them both considering I was privileged enough to live with them for two years.
My grandparents are a great example of how to make it work, even after 50 years. Things have not always been easy. In fact, there were times I would guess it was more like hell than paradise. But they have stuck through it and never gave up on each other. I am so happy for them and love them both so much! And I hope that they know how much of an amazing example they are to the rest of us. And considering so many of the grandkids are now getting married and trying to keep their own relationships strong, to have such an incredible example right in front of us, makes it that much easier. So congrats to them both! I love you guys!
Sera has also been here this summer which has honestly, taken up the majority of my time. It is amazing how much happiness she brings. Ry and I have been trying so hard to plan fun things and make sure that she has a good summer. Sadly, however, she will be going back to Arizona on Friday. I think about all the fun things we have done and it makes me a little sad to know that it is all going to be over on Friday. She is such a wonderful little girl and I consider myself lucky to have her in my life.
This past weekend was especially busy with activities starting with spending some much needed time with my cousin Nicole and her three boys. We went to her house for some hamburgers and play time. The kids spent most of the time playing games on the trampoline and swimming in the inflatable pool. It was nice just to let them play which has been able to happen much this summer.
Then Sera spent the first half of Thursday up at This Is the Place Monument with my family doing fun Pioneer activities and playing games. Ry and I didn’t go because it was supposed to be a morning only event and we decided to sleep in. So Sera went with my mom, dad, brother, and sister along with my sister’s husband and his family. According to everyone that was there, it was a great time. Now I kind of wished we would have gotten our lazy butts out of bed!
That evening the whole group, including Ryan and I, went up Millcreek canyon and had a barbeque. It was such a nice evening and we had the best spot for a campsite. We ate and relaxed and simply had a great evening. The kids played more games, had fun with hula-hoops, roasted marshmallows, and just enjoyed the outdoors. We also managed to get back into town with enough time to see some fireworks at Liberty Park. It was a long day!
Saturday Ry and I took Sera swimming to a local pool that has this great kid’s area. We had so much fun! I love swimming with Sera because she takes her swimming seriously. She loves racing and jumping from her Dad to me. She also loves to play pretend. For example, she and I were mermaids and the yellow elastic that had been in her hair was a magic ring and the brown elastic that had been in my hair was a bracelet of power. And Ryan? Well naturally he was the evil Shark Wizard that was trying to capture us and steal our magic jewelry. It was all very fast paced and mostly it was just Ryan swimming after us while we passed our miraculous trinkets back and forth. But even though it wore me out, it was still so much fun!
And Sunday Ryan and I, for some strange reason, thought it would be a great idea to take Sera to the Children’s museum. This is the first time we have gone this summer and once we are there, the screaming and whiney kids are a good reminder of why we don’t go to the museum more often. Sera, on-the-other-hand, loves that place almost more than she loves Christmas!
I don’t know how many of you are able to visit the museum, but it is packed with things for kids to do. From fake cranes, a playhouse, a grocery store, a farm, to art and crafts, and special exhibits, I don’t know how a kid could ever get bored! And I have to admit, I even find myself making sail boats out of muffin cups and playing in the water. It is a good time, once you get past all the “back ground noise.”
I am sad that it was out last weekend with Sera and I hope she has had a good summer. There have been some down times, like when she was super sick and barfing all over the place. Or when my mom and I had to remove the toenail from her big toe that she had stubbed. But I am pretty sure that she had a good time and I know for a fact, that Ryan and I did. We will miss her so much and look forward to spending the Christmas holiday with her!
So yes, it is true! Byron got home from his mission and is doing great! He wasn’t really weird when he got back which surprised me. And he wasn’t as skinny as I would have guessed. But, when he came off the plane, he was wearing this Panama style hat which reminded me of Humphrey Bogart or some sort of Cuban drug lord-he is such a dork! He is now dating Becca Lesher, the same young lady he was with before he left for his mission, and is planning on going to Utah State in the fall.
I love having my little brother home! It had been two years since the family had all been together and lots of things have changed. But the moment we saw him, it was like nothing had really changed. He is still the Byron I remember, just tanner and reads his scriptures a lot more! I love him so much and I am glad that he made it home safely.
Since I last updated, my grandparents Jim and Diane, celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. It was really fun for all of us to get together and talk about how great our grandparents are. I had some really fond memories of them both considering I was privileged enough to live with them for two years.
My grandparents are a great example of how to make it work, even after 50 years. Things have not always been easy. In fact, there were times I would guess it was more like hell than paradise. But they have stuck through it and never gave up on each other. I am so happy for them and love them both so much! And I hope that they know how much of an amazing example they are to the rest of us. And considering so many of the grandkids are now getting married and trying to keep their own relationships strong, to have such an incredible example right in front of us, makes it that much easier. So congrats to them both! I love you guys!
Sera has also been here this summer which has honestly, taken up the majority of my time. It is amazing how much happiness she brings. Ry and I have been trying so hard to plan fun things and make sure that she has a good summer. Sadly, however, she will be going back to Arizona on Friday. I think about all the fun things we have done and it makes me a little sad to know that it is all going to be over on Friday. She is such a wonderful little girl and I consider myself lucky to have her in my life.
This past weekend was especially busy with activities starting with spending some much needed time with my cousin Nicole and her three boys. We went to her house for some hamburgers and play time. The kids spent most of the time playing games on the trampoline and swimming in the inflatable pool. It was nice just to let them play which has been able to happen much this summer.
Then Sera spent the first half of Thursday up at This Is the Place Monument with my family doing fun Pioneer activities and playing games. Ry and I didn’t go because it was supposed to be a morning only event and we decided to sleep in. So Sera went with my mom, dad, brother, and sister along with my sister’s husband and his family. According to everyone that was there, it was a great time. Now I kind of wished we would have gotten our lazy butts out of bed!
That evening the whole group, including Ryan and I, went up Millcreek canyon and had a barbeque. It was such a nice evening and we had the best spot for a campsite. We ate and relaxed and simply had a great evening. The kids played more games, had fun with hula-hoops, roasted marshmallows, and just enjoyed the outdoors. We also managed to get back into town with enough time to see some fireworks at Liberty Park. It was a long day!
Saturday Ry and I took Sera swimming to a local pool that has this great kid’s area. We had so much fun! I love swimming with Sera because she takes her swimming seriously. She loves racing and jumping from her Dad to me. She also loves to play pretend. For example, she and I were mermaids and the yellow elastic that had been in her hair was a magic ring and the brown elastic that had been in my hair was a bracelet of power. And Ryan? Well naturally he was the evil Shark Wizard that was trying to capture us and steal our magic jewelry. It was all very fast paced and mostly it was just Ryan swimming after us while we passed our miraculous trinkets back and forth. But even though it wore me out, it was still so much fun!
And Sunday Ryan and I, for some strange reason, thought it would be a great idea to take Sera to the Children’s museum. This is the first time we have gone this summer and once we are there, the screaming and whiney kids are a good reminder of why we don’t go to the museum more often. Sera, on-the-other-hand, loves that place almost more than she loves Christmas!
I don’t know how many of you are able to visit the museum, but it is packed with things for kids to do. From fake cranes, a playhouse, a grocery store, a farm, to art and crafts, and special exhibits, I don’t know how a kid could ever get bored! And I have to admit, I even find myself making sail boats out of muffin cups and playing in the water. It is a good time, once you get past all the “back ground noise.”
I am sad that it was out last weekend with Sera and I hope she has had a good summer. There have been some down times, like when she was super sick and barfing all over the place. Or when my mom and I had to remove the toenail from her big toe that she had stubbed. But I am pretty sure that she had a good time and I know for a fact, that Ryan and I did. We will miss her so much and look forward to spending the Christmas holiday with her!
As far as what's new with Ryan and I, things are still on hold. We haven't made any final decisions on the whole active duty airforce situation. We both still feel like it is really the direction we are supposed to head. Now all we have to worry about, is timing and switching career feilds and filling out papers and re-training and who knows what else! But honestly, I look at all these things that other people might think of as "a lot to deal with" and I don't feel any kind of anxiety at all. I truly feel like this is what he and I are supposed to be doing. And what is really weird about our decision to possibly become a military family, is that we both came to this conclusion sepperately. One day he approached me about going active duty and I told him that it was really weird he bring it up because I had thought about it too. I would have never just suggested it to Ryan because it is his life and joining the military full-time is a big thing. I would NEVER want to pressure him into something like that. But after he said something about it, it was like a light switched on for us. So hopefully, things will work out and everything will go smoothly. I doubt we will really move forward with those plans until after the end of August but I will keep everyone updated.
Sorry again to have taken so long in between posts. I promise to try and be better! All my love to all of you!
