Random August

Sarah took a couple sessions of a sewing class, and this is what she made after the level two class. She learned quite a bit. 

This is what happens when you get a bunch of moms together at the pool. (There were kids somewhere, but this was about the moms) ;)

Dyed Amelia's hair "Blood Orange" (I'm glad Shannon is always cool with this) 

The boys hair was fading, so we added Titanium over it and it's my new favorite color for them. 

When I went into our front room I saw that one of our cats had a huge accident on the carpet RIGHT NEXT TO the little box. I went and got some tissue to grab the chunk before I came back to clean the spot. When I picked it up I realized it was an obsidian rock of the boys that happened to be placed just perfect to make it look like cat poop. :)

The kids decided we were going to grow corn this year so we planted A LOT. 

Imagine Dragons Concert

Mike and Steven attended the Love Out Loud concert featuring the Imagine Dragons. We're all fans of theirs, but especially Steven. After the concert he told me it was one of the best days of his entire life. Mike is hoping to make it an annual tradition.

Happy 60th Birthday Lynette!

Lynette turned the big 6-0 this year. So close to retirement and senior discounts at buffets. I'm sure she would have been happy to let it pass quietly, but we couldn't let that happen. She does so much for everyone, so we wanted to make sure she felt the love. Happy Birthday Lynette!

Total eclipse of the Heart...

So, there was a total eclipse this past year. The kids and I threw a party in our backyard and got viewing glasses. Although it was cool, the only reason I'm blogging it is so I can compare our view and Mike's.

Our View. Yay, total eclipse. So cool. Blah, blah, blah...

Mikes view. Poor guy.

The Frog collectors

The kids had heard the baby frogs were out, so we went to the pond near our house and they caught a ton. I supported them from afar. (Because I'm cool like that)

Boys 1st day of school

The boys started school the day after Sarah. Steven went into 4th grade with Miss Shaw as his teacher. (He had her in 2nd grade) Steven entered 2nd grade with Mrs. Schulz as his teacher. I tried to take a picture of them in front of the door, but the sun was up too high. We also took one in front of their school.

Sarah starts Jr High

Crazy, I know. Seriously. Sarah has been so excited for Jr High to start. At their school, they start in 6th grade. We went to back to school night and Sarah insisted we get a lot of cute decorations for her locker.

Hit me Baby one more time! (and my Dad's bday 5k)

Last August I helped fulfill one of Mike's teenage dreams: Seeing Britney Spears in concert. My parents came to watch the kids and we drove out for the weekend. I think this was meant as our Anniversary getaway but Mike was on a trip. We stayed at the Westin, which was nice, but it was under construction so we didn't even try to find the pool.

The concert was entertaining-ish. Brittany was far away on the stage and they didn't use the jumbo trons to put video up. I'm pretty sure it was her, but technically it could have been anyone. ;) She lip synced and didn't dance a lot, but it was fun.

My girlfriend Corinne texted me our first day there and said she was in Vegas for a show and wondered if I'd randomly be there since Utah is only six hours away. SO RANDOM! We got to meet up for breakfast and catch up. It was great to see her. I used to see my Oregon friends every year when we went to visit my parents, but don't see them as much since my parents moved to CO.

The drive home was uneventful except for the car that burst into flames on the side of the road. Mike was tired from Brittney running around in his dreams all weekend, so he slept the whole way home. ;)

Since my dad was in town we decided to run our annual "My Dad is old and getting OLDER" 5k. He survived, and gave me a good run for my money.

I was helping my mom set up her phone (June 2018) and saw these pics of them with my kids. While we were in Vegas they took the kids to Cecret Lake by Alta. Looks like they had fun. 

Happy 4th Birthday Erik

This year Erik turned four years old. That seems really old to me. Four year old are still really little, but are capable of getting dressed by themselves, telling stories, playing and going to preschool. It's strange to me that so much time has passed since we lost him. For his birthday we bought he and Lilly flowers and bought balloons for us to write him notes on and release. A couple years ago we tried to have balloons carry our notes, but they were too heavy. After we sent off our notes we went to see Despicable Me 3 at the theater by his cemetery.

I take consolation in knowing that every year that passes, is one year closer to when we get to see him again. I hope that doesn't seem morbid, but I know this separation is only temporary. We all love him, and can't wait to see him again.