Tuesday, August 7, 2018
Cleaning up
Ethan spilled his soda the other day and didn't want it to go to waste so he grabbed a straw. It worked! He is such a crazy kid!
Spa Day
The Beehives had a spa day for YW and they had a blast. The leader's little girls are in the middle and I'm sure they are loving their mom's new calling. Courtney is top left.
Squirrel
This little guy showed up in our yard the other day. It was so fun because it was the first time we have seen a squirrel in our yard. He was playing in the grass. Bryan thought he might have been hurt but he got up and ran off when the kids went outside.
Tabernacle Rededication
I was given 2 tickets to the St. George Tabernacle Rededication. I made Courtney go took Courtney with me and it was a cool experience. We got there early and were told that the seats were all taken so we would have to watch in the basement on a TV. I noticed that the other ushers were sending people upstairs in the balcony, so we went to the other side and went up. We got great seats.
Elder Holland and Elder Snow (from the Church History Department) both grew up in St. George and had fabulous stories to tell about going to Church in the Tabernacle. Elder Davies had a sister who lived in St. George so he would come here in his teen years to visit. He explained that the Church doesn't always have a rededication for buildings that are remodeled but that he had asked special permission to do so because the area and the building are so historic.
The prayer was wonderful and the A/C worked so it wasn't hot! I was fascinated to hear about all the remodeling that had taken place and what needed to be done to make it safe. They worked to make sure it now looks as it did when it was built.
Everyone else was taking pictures so I thought I would snap a few. ;)
Elder Holland and Elder Snow (from the Church History Department) both grew up in St. George and had fabulous stories to tell about going to Church in the Tabernacle. Elder Davies had a sister who lived in St. George so he would come here in his teen years to visit. He explained that the Church doesn't always have a rededication for buildings that are remodeled but that he had asked special permission to do so because the area and the building are so historic.
The prayer was wonderful and the A/C worked so it wasn't hot! I was fascinated to hear about all the remodeling that had taken place and what needed to be done to make it safe. They worked to make sure it now looks as it did when it was built.
He's a Warrior!
Ethan's mountain bike kit came and, I'll be honest, it's weird that he isn't a Flying Monkey. But the kits look good. I'm not sure about the orange because it isn't one of our school colors (I would have preferred gold and Ethan wanted pink) but we will be able to spot them when they come around the corners on their bikes.
The man who designed the logo did a bunch of research on warriors and each element of the logo has a meaning and purpose for being there. It was fascinating when it was all explained in the meeting. But here he is as a Warrior Mountain Biker.
Because he is a junior this year, he has to do 3 laps instead of 2, so it should be interesting!
The man who designed the logo did a bunch of research on warriors and each element of the logo has a meaning and purpose for being there. It was fascinating when it was all explained in the meeting. But here he is as a Warrior Mountain Biker.
Because he is a junior this year, he has to do 3 laps instead of 2, so it should be interesting!
Rain
We have been in a drought and so we have been praying for rain. Ethan has a love/hate relationship with rain when he has to work because it comes down so quickly that they don't have a warning. They send the customers inside and shut down the rides but they usually get soaked in the process. One night he was sent home because it rained and there were plenty of workers so he got to go home early.
I had to pick him up one day from work because Bryan needed the car and it was a sunny day until...suddenly it was pouring rain!
These are the spouts outside Fiesta Fun. Luckily, Ethan was already inside before it began to pour so he didn't get wet but it was a crazy storm!
I had to pick him up one day from work because Bryan needed the car and it was a sunny day until...suddenly it was pouring rain!
These are the spouts outside Fiesta Fun. Luckily, Ethan was already inside before it began to pour so he didn't get wet but it was a crazy storm!
Pine Valley Camping
We wanted to go camping and we wanted to escape the heat so we decided to go to Pine Valley camping for the 24th of July. Bryan made reservations and got us our favorite camp spot. We were going to spend Monday night and Tuesday night camping but Ethan's work schedule ended up so he had to work early Wednesday morning. That meant that we couldn't spend Tuesday night but we stayed there late enough that it was ok.
Day 1:
We packed the truck and drove up to Pine Valley. The temperature is better up there so we were loving it. We ate KFC (our tradition), set up camp, wandered around exploring, found a really clean pit bathroom to use, and then started a fire. Courtney said she wanted smores so Bryan taught her how to make a fire. But when it came time to roast the marshmallows, she didn't want to because she likes her smore cold. Go figure!
Cute Courtney:
Courtney took her hammock with us so she could read in it. She took her Harry Potter book and her flashlight and made a cocoon. She shared with Ethan too and they both decided we need a hammock for Ethan.
Bryan is really good at roasting marshmallows and found the sweet spot in the coals.
"See, I didn't burn myself!"
When it got dark we cleaned up camp and sat around the campfire. Courtney suddenly sat up and said, "I see a raccoon or a skunk right there!" We looked and, sure enough, there was a skunk. We put the trash in the truck while the boys tried to scare it off but that was a bold skunk! It wasn't going to be scared off. They lost sight of it so it must have wandered off but Courtney was terrified. She was sure it was going to spray her in the night. So we all went to the bathroom, got in bed, and then couldn't sleep. It took a while to fall asleep but we finally did. I was nervous because Ethan ALWAYS has to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night while camping. I didn't want him to get up and get sprayed. But he was shocked that he didn't wake up to go all night long. I think it was the fear of the skunk.
Day 2:
Courtney and Bryan had plans to hike. So after a yummy breakfast, I drove them to the trailhead. There had been fires on Pine Mountain so the trailhead had maps showing where it was closed off. After looking at those and making a plan, the hikers took off for a day-long hike.
I went back to camp and Ethan wanted to go fishing. I didn't have a license so I went to watch and take pictures. He didn't catch anything because most of the fish were dead from the fire and all the soot in the water. It was pretty gross, actually. But we stayed there for a while so he could have fun casting and relaxing.
We went back to camp and Ethan read while swinging on the hammock until he finished all the books he had on his phone.
I wanted to go to Pine Valley and tour the old Church. It was Pioneer Day so they would have tours, games, etc. at the Church. I convince Ethan to go by saying that the Church would have wifi so he could download another book and we could charge his phone on the way. It worked!
They did have pioneer games, tours of the Church, and all kinds of things going on at the Old Church. It's a neat building that was built by a boat maker by trade. So the attic shows that it is built like an upside down boat. It was a cool tour.
Ethan had to watch his head quite a few times.
When Ethan got his book downloaded and the tour was finished, we decided to get some ice cream at the Branding Iron. After a quick stop to get our treat, we were back on our way to camp. There are 2 ways to get to the camp area and I decided to take the longer one to show Ethan what the old camp area looked like. As we turned a corner, with our ice cream in hand, we saw two people walking on the road ahead of us who looked familiar. Yup, we were totally busted!
The hikers had come upon some cows on the trail and Courtney wasn't having anything to do with them. So they hiked back out and were on their way to our camp. We happened to pass them just as they were crossing the road to go to another trail to the campground. What timing! So I ended up taking Courtney later to get her some ice cream.
We played games all afternoon and even Ethan had a good time playing. We had invited my parents to come up for a dutch oven dinner and they arrived with ice, cold water, and soda. We had dutch oven "Please Everyone Chicken" along with chocolate dessert. It was really yummy. It did rain on us but it cooled the temperature down.
It was then time to get pack up and go back to the really hot weather. But we had so much fun camping!
Day 1:
We packed the truck and drove up to Pine Valley. The temperature is better up there so we were loving it. We ate KFC (our tradition), set up camp, wandered around exploring, found a really clean pit bathroom to use, and then started a fire. Courtney said she wanted smores so Bryan taught her how to make a fire. But when it came time to roast the marshmallows, she didn't want to because she likes her smore cold. Go figure!
Cute Courtney:
Ethan decided to try and roast a marshmallow using his finger as the roasting stick. It's a boy thing to do. He said it roasted but I have my doubts.
Day 2:
Courtney and Bryan had plans to hike. So after a yummy breakfast, I drove them to the trailhead. There had been fires on Pine Mountain so the trailhead had maps showing where it was closed off. After looking at those and making a plan, the hikers took off for a day-long hike.
I went back to camp and Ethan wanted to go fishing. I didn't have a license so I went to watch and take pictures. He didn't catch anything because most of the fish were dead from the fire and all the soot in the water. It was pretty gross, actually. But we stayed there for a while so he could have fun casting and relaxing.
We went back to camp and Ethan read while swinging on the hammock until he finished all the books he had on his phone.
They did have pioneer games, tours of the Church, and all kinds of things going on at the Old Church. It's a neat building that was built by a boat maker by trade. So the attic shows that it is built like an upside down boat. It was a cool tour.
The hikers had come upon some cows on the trail and Courtney wasn't having anything to do with them. So they hiked back out and were on their way to our camp. We happened to pass them just as they were crossing the road to go to another trail to the campground. What timing! So I ended up taking Courtney later to get her some ice cream.
We played games all afternoon and even Ethan had a good time playing. We had invited my parents to come up for a dutch oven dinner and they arrived with ice, cold water, and soda. We had dutch oven "Please Everyone Chicken" along with chocolate dessert. It was really yummy. It did rain on us but it cooled the temperature down.
It was then time to get pack up and go back to the really hot weather. But we had so much fun camping!
Tuacahn
This has been a very unique summer for us. It is the first time in quite a while that we have seen EVERYTHING offered at Tuacahn. And we did it cheaply, which is amazing.
I have a friend who works in the box office and she was able to get us a sweet deal for Matilda tickets in June. Then she as able to get us cheap tickets for one of the preview days of Prince of Egypt. Except...they had to cancel Prince of Egypt because the show wasn't ready yet. Because of our "inconvenience", we were given free tickets to Cinderella along with a rescheduled set of tickets for Prince of Egypt. YEAH!
Ethan doesn't like to go so we didn't make him go to Cinderella or Prince of Egypt, but he missed out.
Bryan and I were able to, again, get cheap tickets for Million Dollar Quartet, which I think was the second best thing I have EVER seen at Tuacahn. (Mama Mia was the best. I don't think anything is ever going to top that show. I giggle just thinking of the guys coming out in flippers...hahaha!) Anyway, that means that we were able to see everything and it was awesome!
I have a friend who works in the box office and she was able to get us a sweet deal for Matilda tickets in June. Then she as able to get us cheap tickets for one of the preview days of Prince of Egypt. Except...they had to cancel Prince of Egypt because the show wasn't ready yet. Because of our "inconvenience", we were given free tickets to Cinderella along with a rescheduled set of tickets for Prince of Egypt. YEAH!
Ethan doesn't like to go so we didn't make him go to Cinderella or Prince of Egypt, but he missed out.
Bryan and I were able to, again, get cheap tickets for Million Dollar Quartet, which I think was the second best thing I have EVER seen at Tuacahn. (Mama Mia was the best. I don't think anything is ever going to top that show. I giggle just thinking of the guys coming out in flippers...hahaha!) Anyway, that means that we were able to see everything and it was awesome!
XBox One
So what does a 16-year old do when he gets paid? Buys a video game consul...of course! Ethan saved his first 2 paychecks and was able to buy himself an XBox One. He was giddy. You would have thought it was Christmas morning the way he was acting. He drove himself over to GameStop and bought it himself. It was a big day for him!
This is his sly face.
Being a working man pays off. Now he just has to save enough to get a game. ;)
Poor Ethan
If you want something fun to do, ask Ethan about working the go-carts at Fiesta Fun and all the crazy people he has to deal with. He has some good stories to tell!
He came home from work one day and his legs looked like a Dalmatian! When a go-cart gets stuck or someone drives into the barrier, it's his job to go out and push it back onto the track. That results in a lot of asphalt on his legs. He hasn't been hit by a go-cart (that he has told us about) but he has cuts on his hands and all kinds of close calls that he will tell us about.
So far he is enjoying his job and he loves the money that comes in from working.
He came home from work one day and his legs looked like a Dalmatian! When a go-cart gets stuck or someone drives into the barrier, it's his job to go out and push it back onto the track. That results in a lot of asphalt on his legs. He hasn't been hit by a go-cart (that he has told us about) but he has cuts on his hands and all kinds of close calls that he will tell us about.
So far he is enjoying his job and he loves the money that comes in from working.
New Leaders
After Girl's Camp, it seems like every ward has changes to their YW presidencies. Our ward was no different but it was because our YW president moved. We were very sad because she lived across the street and Courtney was good friends with their daughter. But they didn't move far so it wasn't too bad.
One of the first activities with the new presidency was to make treats and take them around to the old presidency. The girls made rice crispy treats.
I think Courtney did more watching that helping. ;)
One of the first activities with the new presidency was to make treats and take them around to the old presidency. The girls made rice crispy treats.
Acceleration
Courtney's new soccer team didn't hold practices in the summer and we didn't want her to lose her edge, so we signed her up for Acceleration at the LiveWell Center of the hospital. It's basically personal training geared towards athletes to help them get faster and stronger in their sport with the goal of avoiding injury.
Bryan had some free session cards that he received from Leadership Dixie so I used that to take her over for her initial consultation. She liked the place and the trainers said they could do a lot to help her with soccer. Soccer players tend to run funny...they run with an arm out which slows them down. They do it to block other players but when they aren't blocking it becomes a habit to run with the arm out. So the trainer said they could fix that.
She convinced her best friend to do it with her so three times a week I run the girls across town to Acceleration and they come out sweaty! They did a fit test at the beginning and, after 21 sessions, they will do another fit test to see how they have improved. It's been a great experience for them and I think they have gotten stronger.
Bryan had some free session cards that he received from Leadership Dixie so I used that to take her over for her initial consultation. She liked the place and the trainers said they could do a lot to help her with soccer. Soccer players tend to run funny...they run with an arm out which slows them down. They do it to block other players but when they aren't blocking it becomes a habit to run with the arm out. So the trainer said they could fix that.
She convinced her best friend to do it with her so three times a week I run the girls across town to Acceleration and they come out sweaty! They did a fit test at the beginning and, after 21 sessions, they will do another fit test to see how they have improved. It's been a great experience for them and I think they have gotten stronger.
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