Heidi August/September

Fall is finally here.  It's always so nice to reach October.  The nightmares of the last 8 weeks are past and now we can get settled in!  But I get ahead of myself...
August--
Em's and my business really, really, really took off.  It was very motivating to finally get some compensation for all my work!  We've been very, very busy trying to keep things going.  It got tricky once I had to start thinking about my real job again.  Year 12--how did that happen??  For some bizarre reason I decided to re-do my theme this year.  No more pirates.  Now it's polary, but very bright.  Thanks to the Illustrator Emily and I took I was able to design a lot of graphics for my room.  My word wall is polar bear consonants and colorful penguin vowels.  It's very cheery and I'm glad for the switch.  It just really put me behind schedule on the ginormous back-to-school to-do list.

Since I'd met my deductible for the year (thank you sore knee) I finally made an appointment with a hand specialist (before my insurance rebooted in September.)  I've had problems with my thumbs since I was in my 20s.  My GP said he thought it was tendonitis and gave me a big brace for it.  But it never got better so to the new doctor I went.  Well, actually to see the specialist's PA.  I got some lovely hand X-rays.

It was very strange to look at my own bones!  Apparently I have basal joint arthritis in both my thumbs.  I even have a bone spur on the left one.  :/  Not the best news I've ever gotten.  The specialist said it's really common in women over 40 who've had a child.  Hmmmm...not really my demographic.  The guy told me it's "S.T.B.Y."  (Sucks to be you--not a very helpful diagnosis!)  All those years of bending my thumb back to my wrist as a stupid human trick seem to have caught up with me.  Short-term he gave me a couple very painful shots and 2 thumb braces.  Long-term I'm looking at surgery.

Then it was full-force school time.  Em came to help for several days.  Thank heavens she did or I'd never have been ready!  I've got a big group--26.  They are sweet kids.  1 little guy with autism another with severe ADHD/anxiety.  Of course those two have become the best of friends which just compounds their issues.  Besides those 2, I have 8 kids who are below grade-level academically.  My days are very full!

September--
I've basically just been trying to teach expectations and procedures.  We're finally getting into a routine.  The PTA had the brilliant idea of having each class make a scarecrow to auction off as a fundraiser.  So basically that ruined my life for about a week and cost me $25.  My scarecrow earned a whopping $10 so that's a profit of -$15!

The next week was our first parent-teacher conference.  I had to do 9 parents on my own time on Wednesday because I can't fit them all on the scheduled Thursday night.  I've got some "interesting" parents this year.  One girl's mom knows all about Piaget's theories.  Therefore her (below-level, probably ADD) daughter shouldn't have to do homework or any sort of learning activity at home.  I have another parent with the same philosophy, but at least her son is above grade-level (he's my only one!).

Another Dad went NUTS on me about the lunchroom policy of stamping kids hands with a smiley face when they need to bring lunch money.  Apparently that's tantamount to the Nazi's marking the Jews and he's disgusted that the school system perpetrates this socio-economic bullying!  At this point his face is red, the veins in his neck are popping out, and he's about to come flying out of his seat.  His daughter can't read.  Fine.  His daughter can't do math.  Fine.  But bring up smiley faces and WATCH OUT!  But don't worry, he intends to write his legislators about this.

Our school has a duel-immersion program (English and Spanish).  This year we couldn't find a Spanish speaking kindergarten teacher, so we had to import one--from Barcelona!  Mar is just the sweetest thing and ended up moving in just down the street from me.  Because she didn't have a car, I've been driving her to and from school.  I can't imagine moving to a new country and walking into a new classroom (less than a week before school started).  And to deal with all of Utah's quirkiness on top of it all!  I've enjoyed getting to know her better and learning more about Spain.  Also I'm learning some Spanish.  Here's my newest vocabulary word: espantapajaros.  It means scarecrow!  3 guesses about how that came up...

Anyway...October, I'm so glad to see you!  **sigh of relief**    

GREAT SPOOKY READS!

If you're looking for some fun and spooky books for October, here is a great list.

KIDS (AGES 0-8)
Goodnight Goon: A Petrifying Parody by Michael Rex
We all know and love the classic bedtime book, Goodnight Moon, but what if the story was full of scary monsters and creepy creatures? That's exactly what this book is. One of the best Halloween picture books out there. Also available as a board book.
Skeleton Hiccups by Margery Cuyler and illustrated by S.D. Schindler
Poor Skeleton - he's got the hiccups. How will he get rid of the "bone-rattling," "teeth-chattering" annoyance? Find out in this quirky, funny, favorite Halloween read.
Marsipity by Barbie McConnell and illustrated by Rusty Gregory
It's Halloween night and with one bite of magical pumpkin pie, Marspity and Marlin embark on a magical adventure. With vibrant illustrations and a fun story, this is a great choice to read before trick-or-treating.
YOUNG READERS (AGES 9-14)
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
Nobody Owens is a typical boy - except for living in a graveyard and being raised by ghosts. But can his spectral family keep him safe from the man who murdered his real family and is still looking for the boy who got away? Creepy, witty and enchanting. Includes cool, graphic-novel-esque illustrations.
The Last Apprentice: Revenge of the Witch by Joseph Delaney
Young Thomas Ward is the seventh son of a seventh son and the last apprentice to the town Spook. He's always known he's different, but now he must face the darkness and all that lurks within it. This book is a delicious serving of the undead and a creepy page turner. It's loaded with scary encounters with the supernatural and completed with terrifying illustrations.
Content note: There are some intense, scary scenes in this book and it may not be suitable for all young readers.
A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness, inspired by an idea from Siobhan
Since his mother started her treatments, Conor has had the same terrible nightmare nearly every night. When a monster comes, after midnight, of course, all it wants is the truth - the hardest and most terrifying thing to give. Extraordinary, moving and atmospheric.
TEENS (AGES 14-18)
Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury
Everyone who loves Halloween should read this classic from the master of fantasy, Ray Bradbury. Friends, James Nightshade and Will Halloway, are the first to come to the strange circus that rolls into town a week before Halloween. But Cooger and Dark's Pandemonium Shadow Show is nothing that they except.
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ranson Riggs
This unique novel is a thrilling reading experience. The collection of strange vintage photography (all real, lent to the author by collectors), cleverly inserted into the narrative, elevate the creep-factor. Well-written and a great combination of fantasy and time travel, with a touch of the supernatural. Soon to be a movie by Tim Burton.
Unspoken by Sarah Rees Brennan
Since the day she was born, Kami Glass has had a best friend, someone she can talk to about everything. The only problem is that Jared is a voice in her head. Then one day the legendary Lynburn family moves back to town, including two cousins, Ash and…Jared. This is a fabulous book, with humor, mystery, supernatural twists and stellar characters. A new favorite.
ADULTS
The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe
This book is part historical fiction, part supernatural thriller, and all wonderful. Connie Goodwin is a dedicated scholar. She knows the history of the Salem Witch Trials backwards and forwards. But when she stumbles across a hidden piece of paper while cleaning up her deceased grandmother's house, she discovers a whole new kind of witch history. Howe's writing is vividly descriptive and immediately immerses the reader in the story. The romance is sigh-worthy and the mystery intriguing.
Roald Dahl's Book of Ghost Stories by Various Authors
Roald Dahl, known for his children's books, did in-depth research into ghost stories for a television series he was helping to write. After reading the first 50 stories on his list, he was shocked to find most were too bad to finish. Eventually, he found several great ones and they became this collection of 14 superbly spooky ghost stories by authors like E. F. Benson, Edith Wharton and more.
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
Erin Morgenstern's magical, mystical world of the circus that "arrives without warning" and only opens its gates at night is a magic lover's dream come true. Not only is the fantasy divine, but the forbidden love story and mystery completely engaging. Pure magical perfection.
JOLLY FISH PRESS CREATIVE FRIGHTING
If you love scary stories head over to creativefrighting.jollyfishpress.com

Van Natter AUGUST-SEPTEMBER

PICTURE HEAVY! Sorry...
So August, which was quite along time ago now... We were still up to our eyeballs in construction. Men were in and out of the house all day long. Began the month choosing paint colors. Ended the month with nearly everything done! Wood floors. New cabinets. Granite countertops. New appliances. But before that a plastic curtain hung between the kitchen and living room to keep down the dust and dirt. We still had it EVERYWHERE!!

This photo was before John tackled the living room floor. We wanted to use the same wood as the new kitchen and our wonderful contractor, Josh, got us an amazing deal to do the whole area, but John had to pull up the living room Pergo and subflooring, which was a chore. He had a couple of boys from the ward (10 and 11 years old) come help and those boys knew how to work!! We used them a couple of times and they earned every penny we paid them. They were such a big help.

In this photo above you can also see the wallpaper border that had to come down before the living room could be painted. Did it want to come down? No, it did not. It was a major chore and John tackled it in September. He got it all down in one day!

Our plan to have a mini-kitchen set up in the living room (microwave, toaster oven, frig) didn't work out so well. First off, we didn't have electricity in that part of the house for days. The frig was attached to an extension cord plugged into the bathroom! 2nd, did I mention the dust and dirt EVERYWHERE??? So we ended up with a lot of take out food. Especially pizza, which could be eaten for days. I never thought I'd be tired of pizza, but I am!

Here's Josh, our contractor and new member of the family!, installing the wood floor in the kitchen. It was one of the things he did himself instead of subbing it out. The wood is soooo pretty, but we find it scratches easily, which makes John a crazy man! You can see through the doorway to our laundry room, and the stairs up to the family room. The big kitchen window used to be on that wall.

Yikes! Did I make a mistake with that turquoise wall????

Nope! Love it with the cabinets. It's only one wall anyway. Well, an L-shaped one.
Then in the middle of all the mess, Guess who came for a visit??

Emily wanted to help Heidi get ready for school. Their first morning Addie had no option but to be stuck in the computer room because it was a heavy construction day out in the other part of the house. See the mess she had to play in?? She and Emily took off for Provo, which was a good idea!

Addie was cool as long as she had an iPad to play with!

There goes the driveway! (Yes it was taken through the window. It was HOT out!)

Here's silly Addie with my glasses. And a view of the MESS we lived with in the computer room. Wish I could say it was all cleaned up now. It's better, but not tidy. Hall closet doors are leaning up against everything still, as you can see in the background. 

Loved having Emily and Addie here, despite the mess. They stayed about 10 days. 

The day the plastic curtain came down, Josh cleaned the floor and moved furniture around while Emily and I ate our Kneaders sandwiches and made fun of him! He wanted me to see the whole picture so he worked and we ate!

In September, there was more finishing:

Fireplace in the new family room.

The deck. Sorry about all those boxes!

My favorite thing of all: the cherry red washer and dryer in the new laundry room. I am in love!

We've been using the new kitchen for about a month now. It's more roomy and open and easy to get around in. I realized why I hated cooking before - the claustrophobia of my tiny kitchen! No one could ever help with anything because there wasn't room! Now there is lots of room to move around, especially since the kitchen and living room are one big room!

Fewer and fewer workers came as the month progressed until the day when we were finally done and gave Josh that last big check. He was so easy to work with and really bent over backwards to make us happy. He even installed the baseboards in the living room for us because he knew John would struggle since he can't kneel on his new knees. And he had a new sill installed on the living room window to match the rest of the addition as a gift to us! It seems a little weird not seeing him every day! He used to just walk in, like one of the family! I saw him at church yesterday and we had a little catch-up chat!

John is still working on the living room. He painted the baseboards Josh installed by lying on the floor and scooting himself along!! He started the ceiling painting after getting the walls all patched, including the holes in the entry walls where the piano hit as they took it out of the house last Memorial Day! He has taken about one day a week off to work on projects so we can actually get this done!!

Dear sweet John wouldn't let anyone park in the new driveway for FIVE weeks!! And he won't let me park my car there yet since it has a little oil leak!! He wants to paint the garage before we park in there, so hopefully this can all happen before the snow flies!

Ian was hired by 3M. He's worked there for several months, but as a contract employee. Some openings came up in his department and he was the first one hired as a salaried employee. The boss wanted to know how to get everyone else with the same super high statistics as Ian!! He's making a great salary now and is planning to move out, probably into a town home, in a few months. He didn't follow the path we'd expected, but he learned a lot over the years with each job he took and it helped him have the skill-set to be hired by a great corporation. Of course, he'll now get to have On Call days just like his dear old dad!! He caught the flu a week ago and was totally down for 4 days. In October he has to put in 9.5 hour days due to new releases, whatever that means! This is when it's a bummer to be salaried instead of hourly!!

Heidi and I met up at the Hale Theater to see "9-5, The Musical", which was delightful! She gave me this for my birthday and I could look forward to it for months. With Zupa's for dinner, it was really a fun time. Thanks Heidi!!

And that catches up our August and September.
Hope you all are enjoying the first golden days of fall!

PACKERS August 2012

I guess this is September news, but we found out on Sept. 4th that we are having a little girl in January. We are very excited to have two girls around here. Luke wanted a brother because he said, "I already have a sister." I was very sick all summer, but luckily that has past and life is good again. Now to settle on a name...

At the end of July, beginning of August, we took a short trip to Palisade state park to do some camping and four wheeling. We invited mom and dad to come with and we had a blast. We rented a rhino so the kids could ride in the back. Sophie could even ride in her car seat. It made the trip SO much fun to have them ride with us. They were constantly screaming "weeee" in the back and laughing at each other.

We took a break at Palisade pond and had lunch and did some fishing. It was so quiet and beautiful up there in the mountains, just our family. Luke got lucky and caught some big ones with the help of grandpa! He really enjoys fishing and had more fun doing that than riding. Unfortunately, Rob didn't have the luck that day because he got stung by a wasp, right by his eye, while in the Porto potty, haha. Poor guy.

After lunch we rode to the top of the mountain and both kids fell asleep in the back. We have no idea how. It was so bumpy and loud, it was like sleeping next to a lawn mower! We wore them out I guess!

The next day we had fun swimming in the lake and playing at our camp ground and the play ground they had there. Sophie found a family of duckies and proceeded to feed them an entire loaf of bread. When we tried to leave, we found out our battery was dead and wouldn't charge. So we had to wait until Dad and Rob went to the closest Walmart to buy another one. Mom and I entertained the kids for a couple hours and the wait was nothing a few suckers couldn't help. Luckily we were on our way again.We took the kids to the Manti temple on the way home which was a nice way to end our trip.

One day we went with mom and dad down to Levan to pick green beans. Sophie loves grandpa's dogs so much. She is the only person who doesn't despise them so I guess they love her back. The next day Luke and Sophie helped me blanch and cut up half a freezer full of beans. Luke thought he was pretty cool because he found a bean that looked like a bow tie. Surprise, surprise, Sophie found one too!

 

Our friends from Florida have been living in SLC for the past 8 months for work, so before they left we decided to hike to Timp Cave. The hike is harder than we all thought. Way harder! Especially for the dads who ended up carrying kids the whole way! It was worth the hike to see the inside of the cave though. That was a VERY busy day. We hiked all morning. Then I had to drive Rob down to Orem for a 3 hour job interview. (he had to change in the car because we didn't have time to run home before he had to be there for the interview). Then that night we had a double date with Rob's brother to see Wicked! We didn't mean to plan that much in one day, but we couldn't switch anything either. We hope we never have to pack that much in a day again! haha. Wicked was fantastic! Definitely worth the price of the ticket!

Rob's grandpa was born in Brigham City and so was his dad, so we had the opportunity to take an early tour for the Brigham City temple open house. The whole family was there and Rob's dad and a tour guide took us through. WOW! It is such a beautiful temple. We learned a lot of the symbolism of the decor that was chosen. There are peach blossoms everywhere (since Brigham city is known for their peaches) from the handmade rugs to the chandeliers. It is really amazing. Afterwards, Rob's parents took us all to Peach City ice cream which is an old diner he went to as a kid. 

And Luke started his second year of Preschool! I was so excited to get back in a routine again! This was the first year he really was old enough to play with friends in the neighborhood and wow, I turned into a day care center. There were kids at my house ALL day EVERY day. To Luke, friends are better than Christmas or any toy he could ever want, so he had the best summer he could have ever hoped for, but I was ready to have my own two kids back. He is loving school and can't wait until next week when he gets to bring the snacks! (the best part of preschool)

Rob and I went to President Monson's birthday celebration at the Conference Center. The performers sung some famous Broadway songs and they were fabulous! When President Monson was walking out, he shook my nephews hand (age 10) and said, "watch this," and he then proceeded to wiggle his ears at him. HAHA. It was hilarious. He will remember that forever. President Monson really is someone who will pay attention to the "one." 

Cottrell's Ausgust

Boy, it has been busy around here and I haven’t caught my breath YET! With more craziness around the corner I need to regroup this week and remember to BREATHE!

Something crazy happened that I am going to want to remember so I will mention it here. Our less-than-a-year-old fridge stopped working and we tried everything to start it up again…reading the instructions, tripping the breaker, checking online forums, CALLING Sears…….The Sears guy told us we had done everything possible and that we had to wait for a repairman. So we went 10 days without a fridge and this happened a few days BEFORE Cousin Camp. We did bring up a small fridge for milk and eggs and we did keep our old one out in the garage for emergencies. But for 10 days this was a big pain. So the repair guy finally comes and fixes it in 30 seconds. There are 2 buttons on the front that you hold down at the same time for 30 seconds and that is all it took. Why this was not spelled out in the manual is crazy! And why didn’t the guy on the phone know to tell us this??? We were just glad that it wasn’t something major but we sure felt dumb for “suffering” for so long when we could have fixed it ourselves!!! HA!!!!!

Our furniture finally came in and that set things in motion like looking for lights and drapes. I love what I picked out for both! I was dying to try the chevron treatment above the fireplace mantel …you can see how it turned out. I love it. I used silver vinyl which I graphed and cut out myself. It was not really easy to apply, even using transfer paper….but I managed and love the look. We also painted around the fireplace as you can see.

 The middle pic is the couch where the piano used to be. I love the painting (from Pier 1) and the arc lamp. I mostly used red and lime accents but pulled in a little teal so it doesn't look so flat. The chair in the 3rd pic is a recliner. And you can't see it well but the ottomans feature a gold/gray snakeskin type fabric. They are way cool! Wish you could see the lamps better. There are chains hanging from the one on the left. And the little one features a clear glass base filled with scrunched up silver wire. I also adore the lime throw i found that has pom poms along the edges. The side panels are from Penney's and have a subtle tone on tone diamond design.

The first Cousin Camp turned out really FUN! Next year I will know to start sooner than 4 days beforehand! This made that week pretty crazy…especially because Mark and I ALSO built a karaoke stage in the playroom downstairs! We didn’t know what we were doing covering it with carpet from Home Depot but it turned out great…..(AND the kids LOVED it!) Then it was back and forth to Toys R Us trying to find a decent and affordable karaoke machine . The stage is portable so we can store it and put the recliners back in that space. The curtains also come down leaving the brackets in the ceiling. Yes, that week was nuts. 

 Cousin Camp officially started at 5 pm on a Friday. We had t-shirts for all the kids as you can see:

 Then we went to the backyard for a picnic and carnival. I had 8 different games which the adult kids manned. The little kids earned a prize for playing and tickets according to how they did with each game. Grammy was the concessionaire and was set up at a picnic table loaded with (cheap) prizes. The kids had a ball “buying” stuff, especially 4.5 year old Isaac who kept finding tickets and made quite a haul!!! 

 (Thanks to Stephanie--- and Luke's party long ago for the idea to do a photo booth!)

After a bedtime snack of Angry Bird graham crackers and milk we bedded everyone down in the playroom on sleeping bags. We told a few (true) stories and let them play with flashlights for a while. I slept with the kids which was good since 6.5 year old Austin got up crying during the night saying he wanted to go home. That made for a nice little moment for me to hold him on my lap for a bit and then he was fine.

The activities on Saturday included:

-painting wooden frames to hold their Cousin Camp photo

-a scavenger hunt in the backyard with activities like throwing water balloons, walking across a bridge over crocodile-infested water, spitting Skittles, and sucking M&Ms with a straw, etc.

- a service project which consisted of making birthday cards for a bed-ridden woman in our ward (whom Mark has home taught for the last 24 years) and visiting her and singing to her.

-an hour of quiet time with a movie after lunch. (We watched Babe)

-Then we went back out to the yard to play in the water. I had a slip n slide plus 2 sprinkler toys set up. We also had the wading pool we used for the carnival’s duck pond which worked well for loading water blasters! The kids had a ball and grandma LaLa was a willing target and got drenched! We moved the sand table from the deck down to the yard and this kept 2.5 year old Keira happy! Other than forgetting to give the kids popsicles, it turned out to be a fun activity. 

-The last thing we did was decorate the fronts of little photo albums and add pics from the carnival photo booth.

 

 The annual trip to San Diego was a fun week and this year Eileen got to go with us. The condo at Mission Beach was a little better than year’s past, so this worked well for all of us. A typical day went like this: eat breakfast/ walk on the beach/ drag chairs and boogie boards back to the beach for several hours/ eat lunch/ go back to the beach/ go for Jamba Juice and self-serve frozen yogurt/ go back to the beach/ grill chicken for dinner/ take a walk on the beach. You can see why I was able to read 3.5 books in one week….it was heaven! That and reading them while eating homemade chex mix with my feet in the sand. The guys took their own boogie boards this year and had a blast. Eileen even had a wet suit and tried it. By the end of the week Austin also got on a board….with Tahni shadowing him the whole time. 

 Other memories include the caramel popcorn which Mark made several times/ hamburgers at In n Out/ seeing the San Diego Temple at night/ spotting dolphins right beyond the breakers/ listening to Mitt Romney’s acceptance speech/ eating Brent and Eileen’s tacos al dorado/ and also going to a fun little Mexican place across the street for tacos.

One day we broke the routine by going to Disney Adventure Park. We had a fun day even though it was pretty hot. I was glad for a fountain where we could splash water on ourselves!  A few memories: Eileen got her first ever Mickey Mouse hat/ Austin got a Perry Platypus stuffed toy he wanted/ the mid-afternoon milkshakes were delish/ dinner was expensive!/ everyone got wet on the river ride.

August was a great month and September is going well too…..more on this next time! Love to all!

Stephensons August

August came and went in a blink and I can hardly remember it all! My mother's helper Ally came 2-3 mornings a week so I could work on the shop. Ally is a sweetheart but young so sometimes Addie really gives her a run for her money. Still, it was nice to have the help because there was a lot of work to do. Heidi and I have been amazed at the success our little business has had but it keeps me very busy!

Jacob's rotations were pretty good for the month. He had a couple mornings off a week for part of the month which was a nice treat. He was usually home before 7 at night.

Addie and I went to Utah mid month so I could help Heidi get ready for school. Wish I'd have known when I scheduled the trip that A- Jacob would be on a pretty easy rotation and B- Mom and Dad would be in the midst of the worst part of construction. C'est la vie!

Jacob had clinic at the time I needed to go to the airport so I had to drive myself. Luckily the Fresno airport is close and small so it was easy enough to navigate. Got there extra early and we had about 2 hours to kill before the flight, an real bummer since I'd had to wake Addie up from her nap to go. She did ok on the flight between the ipad and the activities/snacks I brought. I had 1 hr. 15 min layover in Vegas where I had to change airlines. What an ordeal. Rushed down to get our bag and check in again. I was 1 minute short of the 45 minute deadline so they cautioned my bag might not make it to SLC (luckily it did.) Then security was a bit slow and they hassled me about Addie's juice and applesauce (which they didn't care about in Fresno). I rushed through the gates, made a wrong turn, finally made it to B12...only to realize it was not my gate. I'd been looking at my line number (Southwest has you line up and pick seats) not my gate number! So I had to rush back out and over to my gate in the C terminal and got there just in time. Because of the rush I hadn't been able to change Addie's diaper and before we were to the point of the flight I could get up and take her to the bathroom her diaper had leaked ALL over her clothes. And of course I didn't have a spare outfit. She also took off her shoes and refused to put them back on. We were so exhausted when we got to SLC and it took forever for the luggage to show up. By the time Mom picked us up at the curb Addie was only wearing a diaper.

The next day there was a lot of construction and mess going on at Mom and Dad's so Addie and I headed to Springville to help Heidi at school (well Addie just made a mess.) Our friend Cassity did keep Addie for a couple of hours so we could work. She didn't nap because we were out so by the time I got her in the car to head home at 7 she'd HAD it and screamed for 20 minutes before passing right out and sleeping the whole way home.

The new room got finished pretty early during our visit and Addie loved to run around up there in the open space. She usually begged Ian to play up there with her as soon as he got home from work. She calls him "Iiiin!" She lives for "Gampy" and he gets all the love! She fell in love with the movie Iron Giant (by accident!) a couple weeks before our trip and Dad had recorded it for her. She watched it like crazy while we were there, and it's so hard to wrap my mind around because it's so not a toddler movie. But she loves it.

I spent two long days in Springville helping Heidi. We got a lot done though! Of course we had fun and got to go to some of my favorite restaurants too. I went down one last time for card night, which is so fun when it falls when I'm in town.

The last day in Utah I dropped my ipad on the tile and shattered the screen. I wish I could blame Addie but it was totally my fault. It was only 6 hours before we needed to go to the airport so I was pretty stressed. I took it in and they said it was irreparable but gave me a nice price for a replacement so I just did it. I was grateful to have it on our LONG flight home. After the fiasco flying to UT I switched my flight plans to fly to San Jose but there was a layover (with no plane change) in Portland! The whole thing was 4 hours and we still had to drive home 2.5 hours from San Jose. We didn't get home until 2 AM. How exhausting. But Addie did really well and the people on the flight were really nice. On the first leg a woman sat next to us and played with her almost the whole time. On the second leg the guy across the aisle kept making silly faces at her and telling her how pretty she was, that she was going to be an actress when she grew up (ha!) She slept most of the drive home and didn't cry at all. What a relief to get home.

My birthday was pretty uneventful. Addie and I went to a Farmer's Market in the morning. Jacob got home at 7 and brought dinner from Cheesecake Factory. Then we decided to go to the mall for something to do. Not very exciting! But it was nice. I wanted to go out on a date but we still don't really know any babysitters so it hasn't happened.

That's all from here!

I think this is finally going to work! I've tried many times to get on the blog and nothing ever worked. So sorry that no one has heard from me in 2 months. So to catch you up:
  In early July we drove out to UT for the Baker Reunion. We picked up Holly in Omaha and stayed the night in NE. We were so excited to see everyone, especially Jacob's family. We spent a day with them before we drove down to Bryce Canyon. The kids looked great. Galen is still not interested in us, but that will come with time. One the way down to BC, we stopped at the Manti Temple to view and then to Circleville, the tiny town that Mom Baker was born in. We went to the cemetary to find Grandpa Simkin's grave and found it. He was buried by his first wife. Then on down to Bryce. The weather was beautiful the whole time, even chilly at night, which suited me just fine as I'm rather warm these days. There were 85 Bakers there, all 8 of the siblings and many of their children and grandchildren. We did alot of touring the canyon area and did many hikes. Bryce Canyon is incredible. I had never seen it before and the views were magnificent. Every night we had one of Jacob's kids stay with us in the hotel room. We loved being with the kids. We also loved seeing so many of the family and catching up. On the last night of the reunion we had a big dinner and then the usual skits from everyone. Jacob did a funny one by himself, and Calvin, Holly and I did the Newlywed Game. We had each sibling pick a couple from their families to be in the game. Calvin was the MC and Holly and I wrote each answer down on boards. It was hilarious. The winners were the most newly wedded! It was wonderful to see everyone and sad to say goodbye.
  Later in July, we had a tremendous rain storm which brought alot of water into the basement, again. Poor Colin's room got flooded again. Part of Holly's closet and part of my quilting room was wet too. Calvin moved all the furniture out of Colin's room and pulled up all the carpet. Friends of ours, the Comstocks, came over to help out. Olivia and I sucked up at least 10 gallons of water from Colin's room. Incredible. We pulled out our fans and borrowed a few from others and set them to dry out the carpets for the next few days. We've yet to put the carpet back in place, we're waiting for the carpet guy to come by. That was a huge mess. The problem was because of a backed up downspot outside so Calvin fixed that and it's worked well since.
  Calvin was out of town so much in July and all of August, coming home Tuesdays so he was able to go to his Stake Meetings Wed night and then the next morning he was gone again. I don't mind him gone every week, but most of the week gets long for me.  His right shoulder started up with alot of pain in his neck which moved down into his shoulder just like it did to his left shoulder 5 years ago. And we knew what that meant: another torn rotator cuff. More surgery. Very disappointing. He finally got into the orthopedic doc who took xrays first and and only saw some arthritis and then had Calvin get an MRI which showed no tear at all. That really surprised us. He does have arthritis, along with bursitis and tendenitis too! All the 'is's'!! So out comes the 3 foot long needle (so Calvin says!) and he got a cortisone shot. Which has helped quite a bit, but he has a ways to go. Thank the Lord there's no need for surgery. We thought for sure he was heading that way.
  Later in July I went down to Indy to spend a few days with quilting friends. We've done that for a few years now. I really love getting together with them.
  I was released, sadly, from Young Women's recently and called to teach Gospel Doctrine. I was in YWs for 3 years so I guess it was time, but I sure miss the girls. I've taught GD twice now, I fretted a week before my first lesson. I've never taught adults before, except an occassional Relief Society lesson when I was president. This is a real stretch for me. Thankfully I wasn't as nervous teaching this last lesson. I guess each one will help me be more confident.
  We're making plans to go to Boston in October for a trip. We've always wanted to go and have found some fun tours to take. Hopefully we can pull it off.
  We loved the Republican Convention last week and so proud to be suporting Romeny/Ryan. How anyone could vote for Obama is beyond me.
  Poor Ethan broke his arm and collar bone recently while jumping ramps on his bike. Poor thing. He's done well with his recovery. He and Mylyn are in the 3rd grade now, and Clara is in the first grade. They started new schools so it was a bit worrisome for them. Amanda had surgery on her right knee recently too and the surgeon repaired the torn miniscus but found she has no cartilidge left in that knee so after her recovery she will be limited to certain exercises. Jacob and been busy taking care of the family. He started teaching at BYU again.
  Kelli found a new  job!! Closer to Indy and she's so excited. Especially cuz it's weekend work that's considered full time work so she gets good pay with full benefits. Emmanuel's office has moved to the north side on Indy too so they will both be closer to their work. Kelli will have no work during the week so she can have normalcy. She found a wonderful pre-school for Joseph and he attends twice a week.
  Holly had an ESL job in August working with Chinese students. They not only met during the day but did some tours of the state too, like going to Rapid City and seeing all the sites there. She didn't love the job, but it was money and that's always good. She now is teaching at the university, just one class and 2 classes at Briar Cliff College in Sioux City.
  Colin flies out to Louisville KY to interview for a job there. That's exciting. A tv station in Tucson has shown interest in him too. So good luck to him.
  Sam turns 21 next Sunday and he now has 3 more months to go on his mission. He thinks he'll be home on Dec. 1, but we've received no official notice yet. He'd like all his siblings there to greet him home so I hope it works out.
 Recently Calvin and I went out to dinner with the Indiana Mission President and wife. They're allowed a short vacation every year while on their mission but after 2 years, this is the first time they've been able to get away. Calvin talked him into coming up here so we can show him Amish country. We drove them around and they couldn't get over the beautiful countryside. Sis. Collins called it the Garden of Eden. A very nice compliment. We had a great time with them. They stayed overnight in Middlebury and then had most of the next day to shop and look around.
   Love to all the family,
Claire and Calvin