Pears

It is that time of year again....bottling time! There is a woman in Enterprise who has a connection to pears. Every year she has a bunch shipped in for those who want them. Last year we bought 2 boxes that were 40 pounds each and shares part of a box with my parents. This year we had some left so we only bought 1 box. Bryan and I stayed up last night and bottled.  We ended up with 11 quarts and 3 pints. Not bad. And they all sealed!!!

Courtney's Birthday Date

When the kids turn 8, we like to take them to dinner and then let them pick their scriptures. It has been crazy so we didn't get to take Courtney to dinner until Saturday night. 

She chose to go to Iggy's for dinner. She let me tell them it was her birthday so a huge group of servers sang her happy birthday. She doesn't like their ice cream dessert so Bryan and I ate it for her. ;)

Then we went to Deseret Book to get her scriptures. She wanted to be just like her big brother and get a blue set but they don't make blue anymore. So she chose burgundy. We had them engraved and she chose a soccer ball scripture bag. She was one happy girl!!

Starlight Express

In Tuesday afternoon I received an email from the publicity director at Tuacahn asking if members in our ward would like free tickets to that evenings performance of "Starlight Express." I told him I was sure some would so I sent out a relief society email. I got a lot of responses. 

Tuesday was a crazy night. Courtney had dance until 7:00, Bryan and I had back to school night from 6:30 to 8:30, and the play began at 8:45. Luckily we had family who could help.

Kathy and Don picked up Courtney from dance and brought her to our house. I went up to Tuacahn at 6:15 to get our tickets (we got 3 extras for Don, Heather and Brooklyn). Bryan biked to the Intermediate school at 6:15 to find us seats. And then I ran and joined him.

When we were finished, Bryan rode his bike home and got the kids ready. I drove home, picked them up and we all ran up to Tuacahn. We made it in plenty of time.

But it was worth it. That play was my favorite!!! It was about a little boy whose train set comes to life. The trains race to see who is best: diesel, steam or oil. It was great and they did it all on roller skates. The kids loved it and Ethan said it was his favorite.

I love getting free tickets!!

They Love School

Ethan and Courtney have really enjoyed their classes. We had back to school night for Ethan on Tuesday and got to meet his teachers. I was very impressed with them. They all seemed very nice and would be great for him. 

Ethan hasn't had homework, much to Bryan's disappointment. But Courtney has had a little.

Baptism Interview

Courtney had her baptism interview last night. It was the first one for our new bishop and he did a great job. 

Before it started the second counselor came up to me and said, "She's a spit fire, isn't she?" I told him, "You have no idea." Haha

But Courtney did awesome and answered all the questions well. She was thrilled to have "passed!" It was cute. 

Her baptism is August 31st at 10:00 am. She is the only one in our ward being baptized that day. She is so excited and we are so proud of her!!

Here she is after her interview.

Moms Birthday

It was my mom's birthday yesterday. We all went out to dinner and then came back to our house for cake and ice cream. The birthday week is now complete and we can throw away all the extra cake!

Happy birthday to everyone!!

Clean Rooms

I love the first day of school because I can "gut" their bedrooms!!! After the summer, Courtney has a ton of junk in her room and I am ready to get rid of it. But she never let's me throw things away if she is home. So I wait, patiently, until she is gone and I go to town.

It took 3 hours and 4 garbage bags but her room is now clean!!

She seriously saves everything!!

Ethan's room wasn't so bad. It only took about 45 minutes and one garbage bag.

Now we have a bin to motivate them to keep their rooms clean. I saw this on Facebook.

The First Day of School

Wednesday was the first day of school. Ethan was very nervous Tuesday night. I talked to him and he was doing better. Bryan did their day before school blessings and Ethan said it helped. But he was still pretty nervous. Courtney was fine. She was really excited because she got the teacher she wanted.

Wednesday morning they had biscuits and gravy for breakfast. I made their lunches and got them all ready. 

Ethan wanted me to drop him off his first day so Courtney and I got in the van to drive him to Lava Ridge Intermediate School. There were a lot of cars but we got in line and it wasn't bad. He gave me a smile and walked into school and .... I lost it. He is so grown up and he was so nervous that I just started to cry. From the backseat came this little voice, "Oh mom, he is still your little boy." I had to laugh. Courtney says the funniest things sometimes. Bryan was waiting at home with a hug for me. ;)

Then it was a wait until it was time to take Courtney to school. Ethan starts at 7:40 and Courtney starts at 9:00. They both love it because Courtney gets me all to herself in the morning and Ethan gets me all to himself in the afternoon. 

Courtney and I loaded up and took off for the elementary school. I took in cupcakes so the class could celebrate Courtney's birthday. We found her classroom (it's the only one upstairs!) and found her desk. There was an activity to do so she got right on that.

Then she gave me a hug and I was off.

I had I make copies for PTA stuff so I hung around the school for a bit.

Ethan walked home with Brennon after school and I waited on the porch for them to get home. I wanted to hear all about it. I could hear them coming a mile away! They had a great day!!

He loves Intermediate School!! And he was excited to tell me all about it.

Courtney also had a great day!

I am so happy they loved their first day of school!!!

Say Goodbye to Summer

Tuesday was the last day of summer break. We spent it doing our last minute school shopping and trying to buy Ethan some new glasses. He was rough housing and they got smashed. Luckily he has contacts and the glasses were only $6.

When we finished, we loaded back in the van and headed to Veyo Pool. This is such a cool place!! It's an outdoor springs (not hot) that someone cemented and made into a pool. We go there each year for Bryan's last law firms family summer party. The kids love it!!

It was completely empty when we got there so we had lots of room to play around. After a while people began showing up but it never was crowded. We bought lunch and swam. The kids went to the Crawdad river to try and catch some but they didn't have much luck.

We had been there about 30 minutes when one of the kids saw a "black thing" in the filter trap on the side of the pool. Upon closer inspection we realized that it was a bat!! So we avoided that side of the pool.

We stayed about 2 hours and then I was ready to go. We had gone with some friends so I took ethan home and they took Courtney. 

It was a fun goodbye to summer!

Family Party

Courtney had her family party Monday evening. We had a dinner of her choice: grilled chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, Grandma Pack's rolls, 12 layer jello, and salad. We had ginger ale, sprite and rootbeer to drink.

After clearing things up we had cake and ice cream.

Then Courtney requested we open presents. She got some good stuff! Grandma Pack gave her clothes, Leigh Ann gave her some Just Dance Wii games, Kathy and Don gave her some art stuff, Grandma and Grandpa Oman gave her some leapster games, I bought her shoes and Bryan bought her a beanbag chair. She was one happy girl!

People had been by all day to wish her happy birthday. Her two favorite babysitters dropped by to give her a gift.

It was a great day for her!

The new Mr. & Mrs. Pack

David and Jenny are married. I was there and I saw it so it's true.

We woke up really early, got ready and then loaded the kids and drove to South Jordan for their wedding at the Jordan River Temple. I had made 200 cookies with frosting for their Colorado reception so we took those up with us. We made really good time so we had time to stop for breakfast, change the kids into their church clothes and the drive to the temple. 

My cousin, Shannon Gillan, agreed to babysit for us. We met her in front of the temple and then we went in.

Here is Courtney in her new dress. I made this dress (it was formerly a curtain) last Monday for her to wear. I hate putting in zippers and I don't do the best job. People would tell Courtney that her dress was pretty and she would say, "My mom made it but don't look at the zipper." She is hilarious!!

The sealing began late but the sealer did a beautiful job. He gave a lot of counsel about what it means to be eternal spouses and I appreciated all his counsel.

Then we went outside to wait for them to come out. And we waited....and waited....and waited. Finally they came out and photos began.

The Pack family:

The Pack brothers:

The Temple (courtesy of Courtney):

When we were finished with our pictures and gabbing with everyone, we took off for the mall to try and get my cell phone fixed. The off button stopped working but it was still under warranty so they were going to give me a new one. It was crowded so I ended up making an appointment for later in the afternoon.

We drove to Gardner Village for a wonderful wedding late lunch. It was great food and fun to chat with family. Andrea and I had made a "Husband Instruction Manual" for Jenny and we gave it to her there. It was pretty funny!

When the luncheon was over we went back to the mall to wait for my appointment time. We had to wait for While so I took Courntney to a store to buy some shirts for school. Then I got my new phone and we were of to Provo for the reception.

It was held in a beautiful backyard in Provo. Bryan's cousin, Kelsey, was the photographer so she took some family pictures for us. Then we chatted with people until it was time for us to head back home. 

It was a long drive but with the help of soda, sunflower seeds and Hershey kisses, we made it home a little after midnight. It was a fun day!!!

Congrats to David and Jenny!

Cookie Time!

My kids are so smart.  They know that when my kitchen looks like this:

that they need to leave me alone. I made 200 cookies, and the frosting to go with said cookies, last week for David's wedding. My kitchen is much cleaner now that I am finished. 

He has braces!!

On Tuesday I took Ethan in to the orthodontist to have his braces put on. He was actually excited because everyone has braces so they are a cool thing. We had prepped him and told him that it would hurt for a few days afterward. Bryan gave him a blessing during FHE on Monday night so we were set to go.

While I paid and got everything set up, the hygienist took Ethan back to start on his braces. Ethan was awesome!! He didn't have a hard time at all and was calm through the whole process. It was pretty long too!

Here he is before braces:

Here is the orthodontist putting on the lower brackets:

He had to rinse his mouth out after each step. Here is a pic of his lower teeth after the brackets were on.

Then it was time for the top brackets. These were more involved so they put a lip stretcher in his mouth. He was pretty sleepy by this point so he kept closing his eyes. He said the whole process was making him tired.

Here he is getting the upper brackets put on: (the hygienist did the majority of the work but she was super nice and Ethan liked her)

Ethan got to pick the band color when they out on the wires. He choose dark green for the bottom and dark blue for the top (or the other way around, I can't remember). The hygienist checked his bite and his upper teeth were hitting the lower brackets so she had to put in a blue "bumper" on his bottom back teeth so he wouldn't break a bracket. It was interesting to watch the whole thing.

Here is the final look:

He looks older!! He was doing great the rest of the day but by the evening he was getting sore. He also was having a hard time getting used to all the extra "stuff" in his mouth. He took some Tylenol and went to bed after a huge dinner of clam chowder (so he wouldn't have to chew).

He woke up Wednesday morning kind of sore but he's doing great!! 

EHS 20th Class Reunion

The Emery High School graduating class of 1993 20th year reunion was last Saturday.  I have come to the dramatic realization that age is all relative.  I am way too young to be "old" but I remember going to my mom's 20th reunion and thinking everyone was so old.but that is not true now!

Bryan and I dropped the kids off at my parents house Saturday morning and then drove the 3 1/2 hours to Castle Dale.  We were early (I didn't want to be one of the first ones to arrive) so we drove around looking at all the changes in Orangeville and Castle Dale.  I had a hard time remembering where my friends' houses had been, but I was able to find a couple.

The reunion began at 1 p.m. with mingling and games for the kids.  When we showed up the school looked the same but different.  They built on another gym in the back where the parking lot used to be.  The carpet was all gone and replaced with black and white laminate.  The red brick of the hallways had been repainted white.  So it was the same, but different.

I found my name tag with my lovely senior picture on it and then started mingling.  There weren't too many people there but Liza Winget Roberts was there so it was okay.  She and I were really good friends in high school and had gone on trips to the "Big City" (Salt Lake) quite a few times during high school.  She was the only one of my friends that I knew would be there "for sure" so I was happy to see her.

Liza and I went through the temple on the same day for our own endowments.  I was at her wedding the next week in the Manti Temple.  She was at my mission farewell and welcome home. She helped at my wedding reception.  And she was a great friend.  I have a lot of memories of getting in trouble...I mean, having fun, with Liza.

Here are some of her scrapbook pages she posted on facebook.

While everyone mingled, I took Bryan on a tour of my high school.  There were a lot of changes but I could still remember what classrooms I had and which teacher taught where.  Everything was open so I even got to go into the Yearbook room closet where we would put together all the layouts for the yearbook (we didn't do it digitally).  It looked about the same and it even had the proof of our yearbook cover still stapled to the wall where we put it.  I couldn't believe they still had it there.  One other cover was on the wall also.  That means that either 1) they haven't cleaned or painted the walls in that room for at least 20 years or 2) someone was attached to our cover and put it back up.  I think they haven't painted for 20 years. ;)

Here is a group shot of those who were at the mingling and a shot of me and Liza:

We had a couple of hours before the next activity so we went to the Emery County Fair.  I have to say that the Fair was the highlight of the summer when I was a kid.  There were events going on all the time and a dance was held at the end of it all.  I have a lot of memories of hanging out with my friends in Castle Dale.

After looking at the exhibits, Bryan and I went to the main tent where they had the Hyno-Hick performing.  He is a hick who is a hypnotist.  It was pretty hilarious and the people he put under put on a really good show.  We got to see a lot of that before we loaded back in the van and went back for the final events of my reunion.

We all met in the Spartan Center, which is a huge 2-story gym they built behind the school.  It was a nice facility and reminded me of Snow Canyon's gym here in St. George.  They had a small theater there where our 1992-1993 school video was being shown.  It was funny to watch everyone as they were 20 years ago and laugh at how we were.  I think Bryan was really bored but he was a trooper.

When the video finished up we went to the cafeteria (which is MUCH nicer than it was when I went to school there) for our dinner.  More people showed up at dinner time but it was a really small turn-out which was disappointing.  Many of the kids who stayed in Emery County didn't come to the reunion. But we had fun anyway.  It was interesting to see how everyone grouped the same as they had been in high school.  I guess some things don't change.

We had a nice dinner and then had a trivia contest about when we were in high school.  A lot of people cheated and looked things up on their phones...as I said, some things never change.  But it was fun to talk about what had been going on in our lives when we were seniors.  We even got to hear more about the "graduation incident" that prohibited some from getting their diplomas until they had performed community service.  I didn't realize how many had gotten away with it.  Interesting stuff.

Then we took pictures, chatted some more and got ready to leave.  Right then Neal Peacock, one of our teachers who is now mayor of Castle Dale, showed up so I had to chat with him.  He put things in perspective when he told us that 20 years ago, when we graduated, he was only 35 years old.  He seemed SO OLD when we graduated but he was younger than we are now.  Crazy.

Here are some more photos:

I am really glad we went, even though there weren't too many people there.  It was fun to see Liza and get away with Bryan for the night.  We drove to Cedar City, spent the night then drove home Sunday morning early enough to get the kids before my parents had to leave for 9 a.m. church.

Swimmer Girl!

Courtney finished up swimming lessons today. She loves to swim!!! She did an awesome job and passed level 3 easily. Her teacher pulled me aside to talk about  how she did and she told me that Courtney is the best swimmer she has ever taught and that Courtney definitely needs to be on the swim team next summer. Courtney was pretty excited about that and can't wait for next summer. We will have to drag Ethan along and have him join too.