Sweet Six.

H had his sixth birthday in July, and how could I not blog about it? He requested a Ninjago cake and a game of laser tag with the family, so that's what we did. He also wanted ribs for dinner.

Favorite color: blue

Favorite restaurant: Taco Bell

Favorite TV show: Ninjago

Favorite movie: Superhero movies

Favorite sport:  soccer

Favorite food: noodles

Favorite drink: soda--lemonade and fruit punch

What he's good at: being nice

Where he wants to go on vacation: New Mexico and a country--Mexico and Fiji

What he would buy with $1000: video games, lego sets, candy, and movies

Grandma's Transition

A week ago today, Grandma S. transitioned from this life to the next. I'm alternatingly sad for me and happy for her. I wrote a little about it on Segullah last week. When I remember Grandma, I will remember Fig Newtons, HiC, my own yogurt container, Arctic Circle, the Penny Pool, Easter egg hunts, Christmas fun, generosity, her frequent soft hand presses, the way she said my name, "I can't complain," and her laughter. After her funeral yesterday, I was inspired to be more like her--more fun-loving, more attentive to the individual, more positive.

Last May when I went to Mom and Dad's for help with my article

Riding the rides at Lagoon at age 88

It's Summertime--Where's my "easy livin'"?

So, according to the song from Porgy and Bess, it's Summertime and the livin' is easy.  I'm here to say that I'm ready for the easy livin'. Because we're now 2 weeks into summer and I spent 1 at girls' camp and the other in the car, which was mainly my fault. But I didn't quite see when I was signing the kids up for summer activities that most of them were going to fall all in the second week of summer. 

This week H had swim lessons and sports camp; Sweetie had flute, piano, tumbling twice, soccer twice, activity days day camp, and robotics camp; Mister had robotics camp, band camp, and an orthodontist appointment. 

We did manage to hit the pool one day--we all changed and sunscreened up in the bathroom of the orthodontist. And J has been busy the last 2 weeks scouring KSL for used Razors, and this week, he pulled the trigger and bought us 2 of them. So we've done a few evening rides just on the trails right by our house until we get them registered. And now we're broke, so the rest of the summer, you'll find us on the Razors when we can no longer afford the gas for the Suburban (what with all of the driving I've been doing this week and last).  

  

 Playing with friends

Robotics Camp:

 

Razor-ing

 

 This week we hope to get to a few more items on our list for our Sensationally Stupendous Summer!!

Here's a pic from the first day of summer break, when the kids played Settlers of Catan most of the day. 

And this cutie, helping me vacuum yesterday

Daily Life and Deliverance

I've been struggling a lot the last few months with a professional identity crisis and a re-thinking of some of my key choices professionally (which also means personally, since you can't compartmentalize your life). As I've been struggling, I've spent hours working on revising a journal article. It's been supremely exhausting physically and mentally to do that in the middle of all of the other things going on (reference the last few blog posts!). But I have been buoyed up spiritually. This is one scripture that I read in the middle of some of my struggles that meant so much to me: 

Alma 58, verses 10-11, where Helaman says, “Therefore we did pour out our souls in prayer to God, that he would strengthen us and deliver us . . . and it came to pass that the Lord our God did visit us with assurances that he would deliver us; yea, insomuch that he did speak peace to our souls, and did grant unto us great faith, and did cause us that we should hope for our deliverance in him.”

Helaman was talking about war, but this verse seemed applicable to my own struggles and need for strength and deliverance and peace. I've wondered over the last few months if some of the things I do for a possible future in academics are worth it, even if they never lead to an actual tenure track position. Lately, I think I've decided that, yes, they are. Because they have forced me to do hard things and those hard things have led me to rely more fully on the Lord and have helped me to feel the depth of his love for me. And how can something that results in that ever not be worth it?

Taken at my parent's house with my grandma when I went up to work during the day and my mom watched the littlest crazies. My mom--always helping me shoulder my burdens when I need her. How could I have accomplished anything in life without my mom? That's a genuine question.

Taken at 12:30am after hours of work.

So, in the middle of this personal struggle and need for deliverance, we proceeded with daily life. 

Love these goofy faces, mustaches and all!

I am a mean mom who would not let her wear her sundress when it was pouring rain.

Please guess what her favorite colors are.

Reading to her doll in the car.

When brother and sister are babysitting, you get to wear whatever you want to bed.

We managed to hit the Tulip Festival for FHE for a quick hour. You can see how thrilled J was with this outing.

We also went to the Payson Temple open house:

Last day of school with big kids home for the summer from now on and morning kindergarten in the fall=H's last run with mom! Good thing. He's outgrowing the jogger and his 50 pounds are slowing me down . . . (Although I will miss his cries of excitement when we go over the bumps on the dirt trail.)

We said good-bye to our butterflies with cupcakes and a butterfly release party:

J and I celebrated 15 years with dinner at Log Haven in Millcreek Canyon:

Lastly, I just returned from Girls' Camp. I wasn't so excited to go, but I did have a great time and just soaked up the beauty of the area. This picture was taken from the Lodge we stayed in--you can see the slide that came off of it. So fun. And the next pic was before we went white water rafting on the Snake.