Hanging Out and Holding Puppies

During the day Monday, and most of Tuesday, Eliza, Audri, Daniel and I had a great time just hanging out with Tera, Amy and Addy. It was good times, and I thoroughly enjoyed the time to just slow down, relax, and be on vacation. We didn't have planned events, we slept in, I stayed up late talking with Tera : ). It was just great. Tuesday we went swimming, which was fun. Tuesday evening the kids and I met up with our friends, the Thornleys, at IHOP. It was good to see MaryAnn and Tracy and their kids. Rick and I lived in the same 4-plex as MaryAnn and Tracy when we were first married. We became good friends, the kind you keep forever, and we try to see them at least for a little bit when we get to Utah.

As we were driving away from IHOP, we saw this guy selling Chihuahua puppies in the parking lot of Wal-Mart. Well, he was set up in the grassy area. Audri and Eliza LOVE puppies, and especially little dog puppies. I couldn't pass up the chance, so we swung in, just so they could hold one. I told the guy we were from Illinois, and had no intention of buying the puppy (there was just one left), but could my kids just look at and maybe even hold the puppy. He was fine with that, and as you can see from the pictures, the girls were in heaven.

Happy Birthday, Kevin!!

Monday of our trip was Kevin's birthday. Tera had a great idea for a way to celebrate. Those who were able met at the Provo Cemetary at 5 pm MT. Other family members across the country gathered at the same time. We all wrote messages to Kevin on helium balloons and let them off, at roughly the same time in Utah, Illinois, Missouri and Maryland. It was a great way to feel united in the celebration.

We also built a cake Kevin would have been proud of. It was a very tall cake with layers of cake, ice cream and cereal. To say Kevin liked cereal is an understatement. Kevin was a cereal fanatic. He ate cereal anytime of the day that he felt like it. So, with the chocolate cake and vanilla ice cream we layered Cocoa Pebbles. We also sprinkled them on the outside of the frosted cake.

Dallin and Dailie were in their camps at the time of the celebration, but we didn't want them to be left out. I picked up some balloons at Campus Craft and Floral in the Wilkinson Center and sent them with Dailie to her camp. She was able to release hers shortly after 5 pm. I couldn't get Dallin's balloons directly to him, so I left them pinned to a bulletin board in Rogers Hall. I thought to snap a photo of them. Unfortunately when Dallin went to get the balloons, he discovered that someone had decided to pop them. It was disappointing, but Dallin participated in thought anyway.

I hope this practice becomes tradition. It was a great way to remember a great guy. A guy who loved fun, and family, and parties, and celebrations. I definitely think he would have approved, and I think he was celebrating with us.

Dallin and Dailie Go to BYU

Sunday evening I drove Dallin to Provo and checked him into his camp at the Heritage Halls Central Building on BYU Campus. I then helped him take his things to his room in Rogers Hall. It was all very surreal to me. Rick and I met while we both were living in Heritage Halls at BYU. Memories flooded my mind as I dropped Dallin off there. Dallin attended the Young Musicians' SummerFest. Click on the link to learn more about it. It was a weeklong camp where Dallin focussed on Jazz Piano. He had a great time, and learned so much. He took classes in jazz theory, and leanred some on the organ. He performed in a jazz combo and a big band. I'll tell more about his performances later. The counselors were great, as evidenced by the welcome they gave to the students as they entered the hall.

The next morning I checked Dailie into her dance camp at Helaman Halls. This was the same camp she attended last year, the International Folk Dance Camp, only this year she was old enough to stay on campus. She stayed at Taylor Hall, and made some good friends, learned LOTS of dances in 2 1/2 days, and loved every minute of it.

I love that my kids are able to attend these camps at BYU. They love the atmosphere, and get to expand their talents while meeting great people at the same time. It does, however, seem very strange to have them living in dorms, going to classes, etc.

I Love to See the Temple

Our first full day in Utah, we were able to attend the Open House for the Oquirrh Mountain Temple. It was beautiful, and a wonderful opportunity to take the kids inside a temple. I asked them to think of two people who were not with us, as we toured the temple. First, I asked them to think of their Daddy who was separated from us by over 1000 miles. Second, I asked them to think of their Uncle Kevin, who died last August. It was our trip to Utah last June where we were last able to spend quality time with Kevin. The temple makes it possible for us to be together forever as families, no matter what may separate us now. The temple was beautiful and peaceful.

Just a few of the cute kids I saw at the temple that day....Ok, they were the cutest : ).
Here we are with Sarah and Lee, Grandma and Grandpa Jeffs and Tera. This was the main time that we got to spend with Sarah and Lee, since most of the time we were in Utah, they were in Illinois visiting Lee's family!!! Great timing, huh? It was unavoidable, and we made the most of it, by enjoying the Saturday with them. After the temple, we went out to eat and then to Cabela's, where we enjoyed the fish, animals, shooting gallery and roasted nuts- YUM!!

Here's a link to an article with some more info about the Oquirrh Mountain Temple. Enjoy!

Out West, Take Two

The kids and I have just returned from our adventure out West. If you've been following my blog for awhile, you might recall that I did this last year as well. Once again, I drove the kids by myself to Utah. I'm a little crazy. Ok, I'm a lot crazy, but you know, we made it just fine, and we had a lot of fun in the process. We missed Rick terribly and are glad to be back home with him. Here are a few pics of our trip out.

First stop was breakfast in Iowa. We pulled out of Peoria at 5 am, got about 3 hours of driving behind us, and stopped to picnic in Iowa. I was relieved that the rain had stopped by breakfast time, but it was definitely still chilly. Luckily the kids had their blankets to curl up in. The girls wanted to pose for pictures.

Next, there was a lot more driving : ). We made it through Iowa and into Nebraska for lunch. We threw the Frisbee a little, and were grateful for sunnier weather. And, we had more posing.

We drove most of the rest of Nebraska before stopping for the night in Sidney, Nebraska. We were able to get some dinner and still had time for some swimming in the hotel pool. I enjoyed a few quiet moments in the hot tub while the kids worked off some of their bottled up energy in the pool. Technology is great. We texted, called and sent photos to Rick all throughout our day, which helped us to not feel so bad about getting farther and farther away from him. The next morning, we had b'fast at the hotel, and hit the road shortly after 7. Wyoming was the state for the day, and I was relieved to drive across it without getting a speeding ticket!! We stopped at a Rest Area for lunch and were thrilled to see a HUGE prairie dog town right at the rest stop. We spent a long time observing the friendly little creatures who were obviously used to humans. They let us get very close, hoping we would feed them. The kids thought it was unfair that I said they couldn't. We pulled into G'ma and G'pa Jeffs' house in West Jordan around 4 pm, relieved to be out of the car for awhile.

Stay tuned for more info on our trip : ).

School's Out!!

Today was the official last day of school for us. Dallin's last day of Middle School, Audri's last day of Elementary School. We're jumping right into summer with a trip to Utah. The kids and I will be driving there Thursday and Friday of this week. Today I got the oil changed and tires rotated, booked hotels, did a little grocery shopping, ordered some school uniforms online, and a few other random things that needed to be done before we leave. Tomorrow we have several appointments- chiropractor and haircut for me, orthodondist for Dallin and Audri, consultation with oral surgeon for Dailie (she will be getting her wisdom teeth out at some point this summer). I'm also hoping to get a little clothes shopping done tomorrow, and maybe (this is ambitious) the rest of the grocery shopping. We'll see....

Anyway, I also wanted to report a little on this weekend. Saturday was Dailie's dance recital. My mom came over from Crawfordsville for the weekend. It was so nice to have her here, and she brought a bucket of strawberries from her garden!!!!! Yum!! Rick and I were able to go to Nauvoo for the Ward temple trip Saturday morning. That evening we all went to Dailie's recital. She danced in three numbers, jazz, tap and ballet. She is such a beautiful dancer. I love to watch her. When I go to a recital, years of recital memories flood my mind, each year adding a new one to the collection. She has always loved to dance, and I have always loved to watch her.

Music Man, Jr.

Another end of the school year event was Washington Middle School's production of Dallin and Dailie both participated. Dailie was a Townsperson and one of the Wa Tan Ye girls. Dallin was part of the stage crew and did lights. Here are a few of the pictures I got. I watched it three times. Once for the school performance, and then each of the two evening performances. The pictures are a little dark, and Dailie's eyes are weird again. Obviously photography is not a strength of mine, but they give the idea anyway.

"You got trouble"

The Wa Tan Yi girls