Ward changes

We had some boundary changes in our stake on Sunday. That always is a scary time for the youth especially. Our ward was so huge! 200 kids in primary, 85-90 youth, etc. They looked at the numbers and decided to make a new ward, and re-align the others. In the end, all of the wards in the stake ended up with nearly the same amount of adults, primary kids, and youth. They said the goal was to have around 375 or so people in each ward now. We didn't get any new people in our ward, only had people taken away. Our YW president was one that was moved to the new ward, which means- I am out of a calling right now. :( I have so loved being in young women's. Much more than I ever thought I would. We will have a whole lot of changes in the next few weeks, so we will have to see what happens. I think this will be a good thing, just different. We had 21 beehives, so it really was hard to get to know each girl and her needs personally, when there are SO many. I think having a smaller group will just make them closer, and the leaders really should get to know them better. Thankfully, all of the kids closest friends ended up in the ward with them, so that is great for them!

Date night with Cam

Our ward had a father's/sons campout, which happened to fall on our anniversary. Matt and I decided to go out the next night to celebrate, because the boys REALLY look forward to date time and camping with Dad every year. He also volunteered to bring two other boys from the ward with him, since their father was out of town. I kept Camden home with me, since he already had 4 other boys, still isn't feeling well, and because he would not sleep very well there. They stayed in Heber, where they have cabins, which sleep 16 people, on squeaky wooden bunkbeds. He would have made everyone miserable, because he can't sleep with other things going on. He does great if he has his own space, but in a situation like that- he would have been up all night. He was SO distraught when they left. He didn't know what they were doing, only that they looked like they were going somewhere fun. He tried to sneak into the car, but in doing so, slammed his finger in the car door. He was screaming "Help me! I'm trapped!" So I ran to the garage and his poor little thumb was caught in the door. Poor kid!

He insisted on wrapping his thumb in an ace bandage, and take a picture for Dad.

The wrap lasted about 5 seconds. :)

They left shortly after and he could not be consoled that he wasn't going. He really wanted his thumb wrapped up, because it would feel better. So that helped. I promised him a date night with me. I told him he could pick anywhere, thinking for sure he would say Chuck E. Cheese or Boondocks. He picked to go to the mall, play on the playground, and to ride on the car ride.
We got something to eat, and of course a ride on the car, as promised.

Watch me jump!

Then went went to the build-a-bear type place. He was so cute in there! I tried talking him into a cute frog or monkey, but he stayed firm in wanting "a cat like Grandma has". They had one cat and it was the ugliest animal there.
But he was so happy with it. We recorded him saying "This Camden. I love you so much", before they finished building his animal. He was a little angel all night. He was walking around with that cat and telling it how soft and cuddly it was. He would pet it and say "Thank you so much for my date!"

That night, when I put him to bed he said his prayers and he included EVERYTHING that we had done. Including the sucker he got, the car he rode in, his dinner, playing at the mall playground, his "favorite Mom" and of course, Belle- his treasured cat. I sure love that little boy, and can't imagine life without him.

18 years!

I probably say this every year- but I cannot believe we have been married for 18 years. First of all, when did I get that old? And second, I can't believe it has gone so incredibly fast. We started dating over 21 years ago, and it seems like it wasn't all that long ago. I chose well! I could not have picked a better person, to compliment me. He makes up for my weaknesses, and gives me strength. He is so funny, smart, loyal, loving, creative, and hard-working. He is always thinking of how he can serve others and make them happy. How he can make ME happy. Truly- I don't deserve him, but I'm glad he hasn't figured that out yet. :) Happy 18th Matt! I love you!

Medical Issues

We are so lucky to have been blessed with generally good health. I know that this post will seem like a lot of whining. I am whining, but I really am grateful that overall we are very healthy. Dillon had a UTI a few weeks ago. His doctor was pretty concerned, because apparently boys do not get uti's generally, unless something is wrong. We took him into Primary Children's to be evaluated, and have a procedure and ultra sound done. It turns out that he does have an issue with his right kidney. He has two ureters, (only supposed to have 1) and he has grade 5 (worst level) of kidney reflux. I'm not really sure what this all means, because we have to now see a pediatric urologist, and can't get in for a few weeks. Most likely he will have surgery. Poor kid! I feel awful that I didn't know. He has complained of the same type of pain many times before, but he got over it, and didn't have the blood that he had this time.

Matt has been feeling so sick lately. I hate this! He can't go off his meds. without getting sick, and staying on them he has unwanted side effects. It is so frustrating. I can't stand seeing him so sick. He has an appointment to go in to his doctor, get blood work, and bone scans done, and to see if there is ANY other medication that he can take.

Anyway- I know things are going to be okay with them. It's just frustrating to see them go through it.

First day of school

Summer came and went so fast! I was definitely ready for a schedule, but I always get a little sad when the kids go back to school. It just reminds me how fast the kids are growing up. It won't be long before they are in college, on missions, and living their own lives. I wish I could say I can't wait for those days- but I can't. I want them to stay sweet, innocent kids that actually like to spend time with me. :) Okay- that sounds a little egotistical- but whatever! They were all ready to start school, so it's hard to be sad when they are so excited.

Morgan is in 8th grade now She already had been to the school to decorate her locker with Hailee. She had a "picking out and modeling the first day of school outfit" night with her friends. She had already memorized her locker comb., locker number, her schedules, and drawn a diagram of where things will go into her locker. Yep. She was ready for 8th grade.

Dillon, was excited for school. But only because his good friend Caden is in his class. He isn't so excited about all the rest the things that come along with starting school. Except the science stuff, of course. I was helping him decide what to wear, and he told me ,"I know you want me to wear a collared shirt on the first day of school. I don't want to though, because only nerds where collars on the first day." Hmmm... okay- just so it matches, I really didn't care.

Logan on the other hand, he wanted to wear a shirt with a collar. He likes them and doesn't think it's nerdy. He also picked out his backpack and made sure it was the same kind as his shoes, so they could match. He loves school- and the social aspect of it, too. We've heard that his teacher does A LOT of art, which is not what we necessarily wanted to hear, but he was pretty excited about.

Camden- well he cried and cried. He kept trying to convince me that he's tall enough to go to school and ride the bus. Then he would stomp his feet and say "But I am taller! I even rode the Terror Ride. I AM bigger!" He was so excited when they all came home. You would have thought he hadn't seen them all summer. It's hard being the one left behind!

Jackson Hole

We were able to go to Jackson Hole for a last hurrah before school starts. On the way to Jackson Hole, we stopped in Idaho Falls, to eat with our favorite Idahoans, the Maglebys. We loved visiting with them! The day after we got to Jackson, Matt took the kids white water rafting. Since Camden isn't old enough, I stayed behind with him. I took him swimming, and on walks, and got him lunch, while we waited. The kids have not stopped talking about rafting. They had SO much fun! While in Jackson, we also rode a huge tram to the top of the Teton Mountains. It was breathtaking! It was so beautiful. Matt and I both got huge headaches/nausea from the high elevation changes, though. The tram was 2 1/2 miles up. It is funny that the elevation changes can make you feel like that- especially so quickly!





Once we got back down, we took the kids to an area that has lots of stuff to do outdoors. They rock climbed, played at the park, jumped on a trampoline with the harnesses that allow you to do flips, played in a stream that ran through this area, and then went swimming. We actually swam a lot on this trip.
One of the cutest things was when Camden was jumping on the trampoline. He LOVED it! He was laughing, and smiling, and singing. He kept saying, "I'm jumping....Jump starts with J. The "J" says juh, The J says juh, every letter makes a sound, the J says juh!" The kid running the thing though he was so cute, that he got double the amount of jumping time as anyone else. That made for a happy Camden! :) Later that evening we took them to a "Cowboy BBQ" place. They rode in a wagon pulled by horses, and we ate in a barn-like pavillion. The cowboys sang, told jokes, and served the dinner. It was a full- and fun day! On our way home from Jackson, we stopped at Lava Hot Springs, and let the kids swim- again. They had a great time going on different slides, and jumping off of platforms. We are so lucky that we were able to do this with the kids.

Reunion

I cannot believe it has been 20 years since I graduated. TWENTY! I had so much fun catching up with people. We have lived out of state when we had other reunions, so this is the first one that I've gone to. It was fun to see people, hear how their lives have been, and reconnect with people. Matt's reunion, last year, was a little more wild and crazy than this one. There were a lot of drunk people, dancing and making fools of themselves. This wasn't like that. We just had dinner, and visited with people, until late. It seems that most of the people that I talked to have 3-4 kids and live not to far from here. I had a friend, who I was an officer with, that I haven't seen for 18 years. She saw Matt and said, "Isn't that your high school fling?" I wasn't sure how to answer that- since we started dating 21 years ago, I don't consider it a "fling." Anyway- she said, "I think it is weird you ended up with him." I asked why and basically she had thought I was married to Matt's brother, Mike. Glad I could clear that up.
I didn't bring a camera, so these pictures are ones that I got from others, and this is all I've seen so far.

Park City

We went to Park City for the day/night. I love that it's so close, but it still feels like you're in a whole different place. We went back to school shopping at the outlet mall, went swimming, and to the alpine slide, and the zip line at Olympic Park. The kids had so much fun going on the alpine slide and the zip line. Camden was able to go down the slide, but not the zip line, so that didn't make him too happy. I went down the zip line a couple of times with Morgan. It was so much fun! Dillon and Logan weren't tall enough to go on the zip line that Morgan and I went on, but still had tons of fun on the one they could go down. Matt is not feeling well again, so he didn't go on the zip line, and pretty much watched us while when we ate. He did go down the alpine slide with Camden a few times though. Camden is such a little dare devil and loved it- of course! It was such a cool weekend that the pool was FREEZING! That didn't stop the kids though. They love swimming, even when it was 57 degrees in the morning. Crazy kids! You couldn't pay me to get in the water that was that cold. Love Park City!

Bear Lake

I took the kids and Morgan's friend Hailee, to Bear Lake for the day. Matt wasn't able to get off work, so we went anyway. The kids have never been there. (Morgan went with someone a long time ago, but that's it.) Anyway, I have forgotten how beautiful it is. The water was so blue, it looked like a fake scenery backdrop. It is beautiful coming down the mountain, and seeing the lake below. We found a place to set up for the day, and had a blast. Sand castles,
a canoe,
a paddle boat,

lunch, more sand castles,
holes,
,
beach babes,
and sun. It felt like a mini vacation, because the kids kept comparing that beach to the beach in Mexico. :) We also stopped and got a yummy dinner and shakes, and then got home that night. We are definitely going to have to do that again.

Children's Museum & family fun

We decided to take the family and ride the Frontrunner to Salt Lake, to spend the day. We went to Gateway, and went to the Children's Museum. The kids always love it. Camden did not want to leave and thoroughly enjoyed playing, dressing up, pretend shopping, etc. After spending quite a while at the museum, we went and got something to eat. Afterwards we shopped, some ran through the water fountains, and went to the Planetarium. We grabbed some ice cream, and then headed back to the trains. It was a great way to spend a very hot day.

I realize I only have pictures of Camden. None of the older kids would let me take pictures. Humph....Big kids with attitude. :)

Yes- he wanted to dress up like a princes. It was his idea- so whatever!