Soccer night

Ethan had a game tonight. He didn't play well and was very frustrated with himself. On the up side the weather was perfect and after the first 15 min or so the sun sunk behind the hills and we could see without squinting.

My niece Katy and her husband Taylor and also Rob's cousin Jess and Isaiah both live in Orlando. That side of the world has been hit hard by crazy storms. Last week Houston was put under water by hurricane Harvey. Now the Caribbean is being leveled by Irma. Florida is next and then on up the coast. Meanwhile in the west we are having blazing fires. And Korea is having nucs flying overhead. The world is crazy and full of unrest and refugees and wars and terror. It is a dark and difficult time. Rob is much more of a news follower than I. I get depressed if it's on 24/7. It is important to keep aware though. 
The important thing is not to lose hope, but to look forward with a perfect brightness of hope. The Lord is in charge and I am grateful that we can find peace even in trouble.

Hannah moved apartments today. She takes her finals this week and the new semester starts next week. Moving is a lot of work and it took her all afternoon, at the end she was rewarded with this view from her window. Nice!

I subbed 3rd grade today. The class was really good and we had a fun day. One little guy had some trouble not throwing things on the floor. The first time he did it  I had him pick up 25 pieces of trash. The second time 50 and the 3rd 100 pieces of trash. After that third time he came up to my desk and said he wasn't going to throw any more things on the floor. To which I said "good" and then he had a good afternoon, so I was glad. 

Grace had choir this afternoon. She had to wear her concert dress to see if it still fit. It did. I'm glad we don't have to buy a new one. They are working on Christmas music and I can't wait for her concert!

After dinner we went to Farley's for gelato. I always get the grisbi flavor, it is so delish!

I read a good book this week. It's called "the midwife's revolt", set in the days of the American Revolution. She's a midwife, a young widow, and a patriot. She  ends up dressing like a man and being a spy. So there is midwifery, revolution, historical fiction, strong women, women's friendships, romance and spycraft. How could they go wrong? :)

Tonight Grace and I took Z for a walk. She is fully recovered from her knee surgery and is doing really well. I am grateful and glad.

Dinner at Casa de Negro

Sunday night Tori invited all of us to dinner. They moved to Utah from Texas a year ago.  Their house is really pretty. I loved it.

Dinner was delicious and the company was awesome. 

After dinner we sat out on the porch and the kids played with bubbles on the soft grass. 

Behind their house is a lot that has goats and horses and a mule on it. The kids enjoyed petting the animals.



I love Penny's face in this picture!

Overall I have to say that the whole weekend was just a treat and so much fun and filled with joy. It was even worth the drive in the traffic... twice.

Penny's shopping trip

Penny's birthday is this week. Saturday between events we had a couple of hours of free time so I asked her if it would be more fun to get a surprise birthday box in the mail or to go on a shopping trip and pick a present. She picked to go shopping.

After lunch Hannah, Emma, Kenz, Penn and I went to Target. The big girls walked around looking at dorm stuff while  Penny and I shopped. She picked some num noms, some cute kitty boots and some cute clothes! It was a fun little trip!

When we got home the kids rode bikes and Clayton and Ethan and dad played basketball and we all sat outside watching. We had a nice afternoon.

Party

Dani turned 30 and she planned a big dance party to celebrate! It was super fun!

She had donuts and popcorn and an Italian soda bar for treats.

She rented the pavilion at the park, which was an awesome venue. The decorations were fun and festive and the music was great!

She had a glitter tattoo station, "George of the Jungle" playing, a coloring station with pictures of the guests she had printed out and we could color them and also other pictures to color. There were also lawn games for the boys.



We danced the night away and everyone had a blast. Penny and Marshall went home at 9 to sleep but Tate got to stay!

It was a good night! The weather was lovely and it was fun to celebrate!

The good thing about living far away from your family is that when you are together it is such a treat. I am always happy to see the familia!

Baptism

We are driving home and I am trying a new mobile app to blog. It let me put up pictures but not place text where I want to. I guess that's better than nothing. 

Saturday morning was Tatum's baptism. It was really special and just as nice as it could have been. She was very excited and looked so mature and pretty. 

Her cousin Carson was also baptized so that was very special. There were tons of family members there and also many friends. 

Ethan gave the talk on baptism and he did a great job. Tate's cousin Abby gave the talk about the gift of the Holy Ghost and she also did a great job. Both teens were poised and articulate and you could tell they meant what they were saying. 

Tatum had to be dunked twice because her hand didn't go under the first time. She was fine with it though:) 

When Tatum was confirmed it was very special. She had so many priesthood holders surrounding her. I actually took a little peek in the middle because the spirit was strong and it felt very special. Greg gave the blessing. Her uncles: Dave, Zach, Ryan, Clayton and Tyler stood in the circle. As did her Grandpa Rob, Grandpa Bob, Papa and maybe the Bishop. They all had their white shirts on and looked strong and protective. Little Tatum was in white, smiling, and fresh & clean in the middle. So very sweet with the promise of eternity right before our eyes.

After the baptism we all went out to the pavilion for cookies and milk. 

We took lots of pictures and had a fun time visiting. Greg's parents are leaving on a mission in November and it is as fun to see them and congratulate them. 

What an awesome & special day!! I'm so glad we could be there.

Driving

Friday after the kids math classes, both Ethan and Grace have math 2nd period, we packed up and drove to Utah.  It was a good drive but a little on the long side. We had to make a lot of stops.  We stopped for gas about 30 miles from home because we were low, then Z started whining and carrying on so we pulled over again and she did her business in the desert. Then we needed a human rest stop. Then we stopped twice at different Walmarts and one of those times was also a dinner stop. And we had another gas stop. Made it to Dani's a little after 10.

Busy day, inefficiently executed, but not unpleasant.