Last Bear Lake Trip of the Year...I Think

We got in one last work trip of the year. Working on windows. They kids pitched in with some cleaning. They had so much fun throwing a football out the window that wasn't in yet. It will be a little sad when they don't get to play 500 from the window. Now we need to get the deck done so they can play from there.

The kids also worked hard are their forts in the forest. There is a grove of scrub oak down the hill. Some of the kids spent hours for days working on them. They turned out great.

The kids also loved taking a ride in the telehandler. It made me nervous. I did not love seeing my babies up in the air with not much to hold on to.

We went and did a new hike. It is at the top of the canyon before you head down into Garden City. It was so pretty and the kids loved it.

Me, Mike, Jaycee, Amber, Mae, Jaime, and Josh got up early one morning and did a bike ride. We started pretty close to where we had hiked the day before. It was so fun and a little sketchy, I only fell once! The hardest part was riding up the dirt road back to the cabin. Jaycee and Mike loved it so much that a few of them went back to ride the next day.

We got home Sunday night and I had to document Vivian trying to help us all with our scriptures. She is such a good helper. On Monday we had a big wind storm that blew down trees, and knocked out the power. It was crazy driving around the neighborhood and seeing how many people lost trees. By some miracle, we didn't lose any. One of Skousen's broke in half. Amber also lost a few. It really was something else. Jaycee came to me in the morning and asked if she could go out in the backyard. I let her. Not knowing how bad it was. She and Viv came running in because they heard a loud crack. I guess going out into the forest is not a great idea in the middle of the biggest wind storm we've had since we moved in! It was crazy watching the trees the were literally leaning over the playground and the garden, I thought for sure we would lose a few trees! We were very blessed!

 

Grandma Red

 Grandma Allred passed away on the 22nd of August. She was eating lunch one minute and gone the next. We are so lucky to have had her in our lives. The kids loved to go see Grandma Red and if I went while they were at school they would get pretty mad! The last several years grandma suffered with dementia. She could always tell you were there to visit her, she didn't know who we were, but she would light up. She loved to hold the babies, which was a little scary, especially if when they were big wiggly babies! She was always fun to visit and she always would walk us to the door and tell us she loved us and wanted to go to all the kids ball games. We really were lucky to have her for so long.

She loved having the kids come! They would sing primary songs and answer all her questions, like "Are you a girl or a boy?" The kids loved it!

Several years ago we went to Chuck-A-Rama, one of my grandparents favorite places to eat, and I told my kids to stay close so I could help them with their food. Grandma said to me "I'm going to stay close too, so you can help me. What do I like?" So I was showing her some of the food. She said "Chicken, do I like chicken?" I explained that she probably did. Earlier she had also said "I've never had pizza!" and "I've never had a pain in my life!" She really was a joy to be around, everything was new and exciting! She was so positive.

Grandma loved to quilt she had piles and piles of quilts downstairs. She also had a wall hanging for every month. I always like to go in and look over the fireplace and see which one she would have up.

My mom spoke at her graveside, she mentioned how she loved serving others. How she could float in the water with no flotation device, and how she was always willing to come watch us kids when my parents went on vacation, or when my mom had surgery.  My cousin Aubrey also spoke, she talked about how she loved to play games. She taught all of us how to play Majong.

We love you Grandma Allred! Thank you for your example and love!

Lagoon

Since we came home from Lake Powell a day early we were able to go use our Get Out Pass for Lagoon before school starts for the kids.

The kids are so lucky to have cousins their age! They always have a friend to ride rides with. We had so much fun. Viv is getting more and more adventurous. Bensen will ride even if he really doesn't want to. Wesley doesn't love rollercoasters but we got him on the Colossus and he didn't want to stop. Luck for us he was able to walk on it with no lines. He had to leave early to go to football practice. He is loving football and wont miss it for anything, not even Lagoon! His eye looks worse today, but doesn't seem to be bothering him.

We had such a great, really long, summer. All the kids are ready to get back to school and see all their friends. We were able to do so much this summer with our families.

We have been very blessed.