June 2014

I'm pretty sure I blinked away the whole school year away. It flew! Now here we are in June and the kids are happy to be home from school for the summer.

Life has been crazy for us—just how we like it.

We had several birthdays over the last couple months. Heidi's birthday was March 1st, Ashley and I had birthdays on April 29th, and then Jakob, Ethan, and Steve celebrated theirs in May. It's quite a run of birthdays, but I like having them all clumped up together.

I have a bunch of pictures and hopefully I get them all where they belong... Here is Easter in Idaho first.

Heidi got the golden egg. The big prize from Grandma. She wasn't sure if she was in trouble or if it was a good thing when everyone started laughing and yelling when she got it. She got a gold dollar coin!

Grandpa took the kids on a ride in the tractor. He was happy to show them that the tractor can steer on its own. He was super awesome and patient, letting each grandchild take a turn.

What's cooler than seeing the location where the final battle will happen in the books you've been writing for years? Having your brother and sister discuss where dragons can land or leprechauns can hide. Seriously. This is Phantom Falls. It's a about a two mile hike and it is totally worth every blister.

Total Lunar Eclipse! I got to watch the whole thing from the comfort of my living room. It was awesome!

Easter morning. Not sure why I don't have everyone included... I'll have to change that! The Easter bunny was super sneaky and hid everything in our rather packed unfinished basement. Some of the baskets were easy to find....

And some were not....

Easter is the anniversary of when we met our good friends, the Ellises. So of course we had to spend time with them. We had yummy food and then a big egg hunt at the park. It was tons of fun hiding all the eggs. And guess who found the golden egg again. Yep, Heidi!

The end of April marked the time for LDStorymakers. The Ellises watched our kids so I could drag Steve along with me this year. It was amazing. I got great feedback on my book about Neverland, Steve pitched his book to Tor, and we got to meet tons of awesome people. Oh, and I got to sell my books. Okay, so none sold, but at least I got to try!

Shortly after Storymakers was done, Ashley and I celebrated our birthdays. I got a few books from Storymakers and Ashley got a few things she'd asked for. Gaye came over and celebrated

I also released a book The Princess and the Prom Queen that day. Awesome, right? Cool birthday present. After we got done with the online launch, Gaye and I went to Wendy's to celebrate my birthday. It was a great day.


Andy had his wax museum day and he was Thomas Payne. He did a great job and had all his facts down perfectly. He told me he added more facts as the day went on.

Jakob had his end of year orchestra concert. He loved the class and was sad to have it end. I'm happy that he will be playing again next year!

For Jakob's birthday we had strawberry milkshakes since he could haven't cake. We were all totally okay with that!

Ethan was SO excited for his birthday. I was really hoping he would be feeling better by then and thankfully he was! Instead of wrapping the gifts this time, we wrapped him. Actually, the kids did, but it was brilliant.

This is what the kids do during every baseball game at Midvalley. There's pit of dirt and my kids come away filthy. But they couldn't be happier.

Yes, that's a handprint of dirt on Ethan's head.

 Since we were going to be in Idaho a couple days later, we went with cupcakes for Ethan's birthday. He was so excited!

We went to Idaho for Memorial Day and had a great time. The kids played with their cousins and enjoyed every second of being outside. It was warm while we were there and I was happy they had a place to play. Our yard is still dirt and weeds. Mom and I took Ashley, Jakob and Brittany to the store to pick out birthday presents from their grandma and I got gifts for Steve.

On Sunday we enjoyed church and yummy food.  Everyone opened their gifts for birthdays before having a piece of the gigantic cake I made. Steve is still waiting for his Black Forest Cake he has every year.

Taking a break during our visits to the cemeteries. We visit four every year!

School kept the kids busy with all their fun end of school festivities and I was quite relieved when they came home from the last day of school. Ethan didn't sing much at his kindergarten graduation but he was super excited to see himself in the slideshow afterward.

We have new baby kittens! We picked them up from the Ellises when we got back from Idaho. The kids adore them. We have them in our house almost as much as they're in the garage. That doesn't help when we're trying to get them used to being outside. No one is complaining though!

This right here is how I know Andy is my little boy...

So remember how I dyed my hair green in March? Next came this color. Awesome right? I also chopped my hair off for summer and man it feels good!

We started baseball in May and we've been running from one game to the next. With six kids in baseball, we knew we'd be busy, but we didn't know we'd have to figure out how to clone ourselves to get to all the games. Thankfully the kids are super awesome and don't mind if we miss a game. They know we'll get to a game as soon as we can.

Here, let me show you May 31st:

Yes, as a matter of fact that IS five games at once. Five. The good thing was that it was all done at once. The bad thing was, we only made it to Ethan's game. I had Jakob watch Heidi's game (Thankfully he doesn't play on Saturdays), and we watched as much of Gavin's game as we could before running over to Ethan's.

Oh, did I mention we're coaching Ethan's games? That was an adventure. But I love the kids. They're so much fun and they're improving a lot in every game.

I knew Jakob was going to be doing basketball camp, and I had a break when I was taking boxes to a friend, so I decided I was going to pick up the basketball standard from my sister's house. We weren't sure if it would fit in my van, but guess what—it does! 

This year for Pony Express Days I decided to make the most of the celebration. They canceled several things this year (and scheduled the rodeo for September), but I wanted to get the kids out of the house and have fun. We went to family fun night, did the scavenger hunt, went to the dollar days carnival, and then to the parade. It was a lot of fun and I was happy to spend it all with my family.

After we were done with the carnival, we drove out to Topaz mountain to find topaz. It was supposed to be a 45 minute trip and it took over three hours. Once I was able to get just a little signal on my phone, I got a map and we drove straight to it. We found some fun rocks and then took another two hours to get home. It was a long drive, but it was totally worth it.

Jakob had basketball camp all last week. We drove into Provo every day, but it was worth it. Jakob learned a few life lessons along with how to work hard. He scored twelve points in one of the games, seven three-pointers in the three-pointer contest, jammed his finger, got a bloody nose, made good friends (from Twin Falls!), and his team won the championship for his age group.

Harvey Unga! Jakob got his autograph afterward. Super nice guy.

Tyler Haws! Jakob is the short one getting his ball signed.

Dave Rose. We got this one for his Grandpa Hardy.

So, remember the red hair? Well, I promised my mom and dad I would have it back to a normal color for our Sun Valley trip next month. So first I stripped all the color out of my hair.

Steve liked it enough, he had me wear it that way to St. George. It was a little more shocking in real life and Jakob was not a fan at all. 

We had a wonderful time in St. George. The kids helped pick up leaves and other jobs for their Grandma and Grandpa Weist and they were thrilled with the $3.00 they each got when they were done. I did things for them inside and Steve did other yard work.

Because it we stayed home from church the next day with Steve's parents, his dad gave us a wonderful lesson. I knew the kids hung on every word by the answers they were able to give him when it was done. We sang a primary song or two and then watched Ephraim's Rescue. It was amazing.

That night when we got home, I went with auburn brown. I was hoping it would emphasize the brown with just a hint of brown. What I got instead was a hint of brown with a ton of red. Uh... I'm hoping to get one more attempt at brown before we leave next week.

Ethan's second tooth proved to be a little more difficult for him to take out. He had another one coming in underneath and we told him last night that it HAD to come out. So he pushed and pulled and yanked and cried. I finally held on to the tooth and he pulled on my hand to get it out. Success! The tooth fairy came and Ethan is dying to spend his money.

So that's our last couple months. Here are just a few more tidbits of information about the kids.

Ashley's soccer season ended and shortly after, we got her ankle checked out to see if it needed to have surgery done on it. Thankfully it was a simple matter of physical therapy. She tried out and made the Arsenal soccer team but decided she wanted to spend more time with the family and backed out. She'll play city soccer instead. 

Jakob is going to play competitive soccer starting this year and he's excited. He'll be playing for his old baseball coach and he's happy to know he'll have a good position on the team.

Ethan lost two teeth in that last month and it was a fight to get them out. He wanted to do it on his own and he did a great job but needed just a little more help to get it out.

Gavin has decided that the only sports he wants to play are basketball and running. I'll claim him with the basketball thing. Not sure about the running part...

Andy has been living and breathing baseball and scouts. We're doing everything we can to have him ready for his Webelo before his birthday next month. He's done a great job and only has a couple requirements left. His team is doing very well and was undefeated until the 0-1 loss last Saturday. That point was in the last inning of the game. Crazy!

And Heidi is Heidi. Her baseball coach told me that he will be happy if his baby daughter has even half the spunk Heidi does. She loves her baseball team and she is devastated when she sleeps through practice or a game. She takes a running start before she throws the ball anywhere.

Happy Mother's Day a few days early!

Last week I announced that I had started on a new book. It was part of an old book that I had gotten stuck on and because life happened, I couldn’t get back to it. That was just fine though because I needed that time to figure out exactly where to go with it. Saturday our internet went out and I had all the time I wanted to write. I got out about 2000 words that evening. 

My mom asked me when she’d get to start reading it. I sent her the book on Monday and told her it was no rush to get it back to me. She wrote back and said she didn’t know when she’d be able to get to it but she’d try.

Within an hour the edits were back. She’s awesome like that. 

As Mother’s Day draws near, I tend to cringe. I love to honor the mothers in my life, but it seems that for me, everything that can go wrong, does go wrong on this special day. We’re talking sickness, gas leaks in the church (no joke), torrential rain in Australia, and screaming kids.

But that’s not what Mother’s Day is about. Mother’s Day is a day where we can show our mothers how much we love them. How grateful we are for them. It’s not about my day. It’s about my mother and grandmother and what they’ve done for me. It’s about the sweet cards and huge smiles on the faces of my kids as they tell me Happy Mother’s Day. 

So today I want to share a little about the mothers in my life. They’re the best. No, really, they are. 

My mom raised five kids and each of us played sports, took piano lessons, my brother did scouts, and my sister did tumbling. And my mom didn’t miss a single event. And if she did, it was for something that was beyond her control. I won’t forget that. Ever. I giggled at her “Darth Vader breathing” as she got so into the games she couldn’t handle it. She took up crocheting just to give her hands something to do.

Now that we have grown and left the house, you’d think her life would have calmed down. Not even a little. Now she travels to all of her grandchildren’s activities that she can get to, takes care of her mother, teaches a lifeguard class, and travels to different National Potato Board and National Potato Council meetings. She’s been to Asia, the Philippines, and all over the United States. She got to live her dream and visit Maine last year. She’s not only making a difference for my family, but for the world as she teaches people from other countries how to cook using potatoes. 

Grandma Bartholomew is also a great example to me. Some of my favorite memories come from Grandma’s house. Fishing, hot dog roasts, egg hunts, sleepovers. You name it, we did it. I smile every time my mom takes up one more tradition that she learned from her mom. My grandma raised eight kids in a small home in Idaho. She taught them to work and how to play. I love going to visit her and hear her laugh, and see the twinkle in her eye.

Grandma Hardy was the most hilarious, sweetest lady ever. She went to all the home basketball games while we were growing up. She was honored several times for never missing an event. She sang in Sweet Adelines and took part in city events. We looked forward every year to the Cracker Jacks we would get for Halloween. She loved her family and visited with her daughter as often as she could. Christmas Eve was never complete without a visit from Grandma Bonnie. We shared favorite books and authors (Mary Higgins Clark) and loved to suggest books to each other.

My mother-in-law, Pat Weist, is one of the sweetest ladies you’ll ever meet. She raised four kids and they all have the same hilarious sense of humor as she does. She is always happy, always looking for the good in people, and loves to share stories. She sends cards, letters, and pictures for my kids to color all the time. I just need to get better at sending them back when they’re done! My kids know that when we go to visit, they’ll get to throw bread to the birds, take her garbage down to the dumpster (this is really an adventure they adore), visit the red rocks of St. George, read books with Grandma, and play Memory. She has the patience of a saint with the crazy energy of her grandkids. 

I hope that as Mother’s Day comes, you’ll take the time to thank the mothers in your life. They’re the reason you’re here. 

April 6th, 2014

Look! I did it! I wrote a blog post three weeks apart instead of five months!

March was a little quieter after my book launch because basketball finished the same day for everyone but Jakob.

He had a tournament the next week and they played very well. His team was ahead clear until the last couple minutes when the other team caught up and went ahead by one point. With 20 seconds left,  Jakob's team shot several times but that darn ball just wouldn't go in the basket and they lost by one. It was sad, but the game was intense and very fun to watch.

Ashley started up with soccer again and scored a goal in her first game back—and we were actually there this time! Every time she scored in the fall, we missed it. She wasn't feeling well but she still worked hard. She also scored in her next game as well. She loves her soccer.

Jakob started track and tried a few different events before deciding on running the 800 m. The first track meet he went to, he didn't know what to expect. He was careful all the way through and ended up in the middle of the pack. He was very frustrated with himself because he'd thought the end would be a lot harder than it was. So he learned. The next track meet he ran hard and beat all the 7th graders and some of the 9th graders! It was a rather dramatic end when one ninth grader decided to try and trip him at the end. Thankfully Jakob stayed up - and still beat the kid.

And guess what! We're in our house!!! We closed on our old house on March 27th and then closed on our new house on the 31st. We were handed the keys and I couldn't stop smiling. It took so long to get there, but it finally happened!!

We took over a few loads that day and tried to get things organized. The Ellises and Rachelle's family came and spent our first FHE with us in the new house with pizza, unpacking, and a lesson. It was nice. The next day I spent packing and taking apart beds. We grabbed the moving truck and while Steve and our home teacher loaded the truck, Charlotte and I continued packing everything. It was a long day.

Once 4:00 hit, we took the truck and a van load over to the new house but I had to run home to grab an extension cord. By the time I got back, we had twenty or people there helping unload the truck. I had to stop and wipe tears before I could get out of the car and help. I was overwhelmed by the amount of people that had shown up. Half of them went back to the other house with Steve while I quickly went through boxes with Gaye to get them to the rooms they belonged in.  Once the truck got back, we went through the process again. We thanked everyone and took the moving truck back down to Lehi before grabbing In N Out for dinner. That night we were happy to climb into our beds in our brand new house.

Wednesday, Charlotte came and helped me unpack before we finished the last truckload and quickly cleaned the old house so we could leave the house. We had our friends, Orion and Grady there to help load the truck and then Orion came over to help unload. Things were moving quickly until the poor guy got the piano dropped on his toe!! Ouch! After performing some rather mediocre first aid on my part, Orion hopped up, put on a sandal and finished helping with the truck. Amazing guy!

By Thursday I could barely move. My calves hated me and screamed every time I tried to walk. But we were done in the old house. I started in on unpacking in between editing for my book coming out at the end of the month.

That afternoon I went to Jakob's track meet, where he got first in the 7th grade again!  He also beat his last time by four seconds. Not bad at all! I was very proud of him. Gaye came over again that night and helped out with more unpacking. It was nice! By that time we could see the floor.

Friday we did more unpacking and cleaning before I went to writing group and Steve did stuff around the house. I came home to two extra little girls who decided to come and play.

Our new neighborhood has been amazing. We've had friends come over and my kids go over there. The kids love to go on the bus every day. I can't wait to get outside this next week and get our yard started.

Our view outside our bedroom window. Heaven!

For now I'll enjoy being in Idaho with family for General Conference and the family Easter Egg Hunt.