Summer Campfire Fun

I love where I live. We live where people come to camp. Hence, we have made a fire ring in our "side" yard. Since a lot of the Utah family hasn't been here, I'll give a brief description. We live on 1/3 of an acre, not a square 1/3. It is fairly long and narrow. Our back yard isn't very deep. We originally fenced it so the kids could play in the back and I have piece of mind knowing they weren't wandering off. Now it's to keep the dogs in. We do have a bit of "yard" to the side of our house which isn't fenced where we have our wood pile and a second driveway should we need it. Since we don't use the driveway much anymore because it's pretty washed out from monsoon rains, Amelia and I made a fire ring. I decided I wanted to do this because a lot of our friends have one. But their homes are more off the beaten path. Ours is very visible and I've been afraid that if we attempted this, we'd for sure have a visit from the fire station. Since one of the captains is in our ward, I asked him what the rule is. He said that we are allowed one warming/cooking fire without a permit. AH-HA! I can legally do it, even if someone calls the fire dept. So for Friday night, I made plans to roast hotdogs, made 3 bean salad, corn on the cob and make s'mores. The girls got to invite one friend each. Unfortunately, Mike was traveling home from his job in Mesa. I needed a friend so I invited Raymond, who would have been invited anyway. I was really anxious for this bonfire, and a bonfire it was. It also wasn't very cold. It was so hot that we had to sit several feet from the fire until the sun went down. All in all, with good food and friends, it was a blast. We can't wait to do it again.

Singing Girls' Camp songs

You Go Girl!

Amelia participated in a Triathalong on August 15th. She hadn't trained much except for doing track in the Spring, swim team over the summer and leisure bike rides through the neighborhood. I am just so proud of her for just wanting to AND finishing it. She swam 175 yds, biked 4 miles and ran 1 mile, in that order. Allie decided that she'd run with her, since we didn't know we could bike or run along side her before we arrived. Even after all the events Amelia had done, Allie still couldn't keep up with her. (Running just isn't her thing.) Way to go Mia!

Don't know this first girl, Amelia, her good friend Nicole & Allie

Utah....There We Came

One thing led to another, which led to another, which resulted in a 3 week summer vacation to Utah. I can't think of a better way to spend summer break than with family. We had a great time. It was nice to not be rushed and to cram so many things in. We started our trip with a family reunion with Jen's family and ended it with a family reunion with Mike's family at Bear Lake. Since I'm not Elisha, I didn't get many pictures. And when I did try to take some pictures, some how I got sand in the zoom of my cheap, point and shoot camera that it wouldn't take pictures and still won't. So I rely on my cell phone for nice, grainy pictures. We had many fun things we did with family in between the reunions...4th of July parade with Shan and Matt's family, fireworks with Matt and Elisha (thanks for the s'mores!), a missionary farewell with yummy roast beast, sending a missionary to the MTC and many other things I'm sure I'm forgetting. I want to share some of the things we did on our own that you might not be aware of. Mike and I attended the temple 2 times in one weekend, the Logan and Bountiful Temples. Allie got to do baptisms at Logan as well. Allie and I also did temple work at the Salt Lake Temple. Allie spent the night with Stefanie to do baptisms early the next morning before Stef had to go to work. I woke up at 4AM to attend the 6am session, so I could be done at the same time Stef and Allie were, and hopefully see General Authorities walk down the hall to a meeting, which they never had. But that's okay! We enjoyed the temple in all its glory. So that made it 3 times for Jen and 2 times for Allie. We were on a roll. We also went to the Oquirrh Mountain Temple open house. Let me pause for a moment. Being there in Utah and making a point of attending different temples and pointing the different temples out to the girls really made a difference in our trip. I realize since we've been home what a spiritual lift I had gotten during that short 3 weeks. On our trip home we passed 9 temples. WOW! I just think that's incredible. I wanted the 2 younger girls to feel the spirit of the temple and to have a picture in their mind of what temples look like. So when Mike and I go to the temple, they might be able to visitualize it and remember how they felt when they were there. What a neat experience to share with them.

Just love those doorknobs! The Garden of Eden Trees

Oquirre Mountain Temple

Hiking to Mt. Timpanogos Cave is an adventure we are all glad we took on. It was only 1 1/2 miles but it was straight up and, of course, straight down. It was tougher than I expected but well worth it. Once we left Timp, we drove to Provo via the back way through the canyon. It was so beautiful, but very windy and made Amelia car sick. We drove by Bridal Veil Falls, the Provo Temple, the MTC and, of course, we had to visit the BYU Creamery. Not before we ate at Olive Garden, on the corner of University and 2200 N. (I think that's the address). That building holds significance, in that, it used to be the Tepanyaki, where the shrimp bounced off Mike's forehead, during a celebration following his brain surgery. BYU Creamery
Fry Sauce....only in Utah
We had a quick tour of the Church History Museum, Temple Square and the Conference Center. (Thanks for coming with us Emma. Hope you had fun.) Now for a funny story. We had walked around the Museum and Temple Square long enough that we needed to feed the meter before we went to the Conference Center. When we got to the car, Amelia jumped in. She was waiting to drive there. Well, little did she know that we were parked right across the street from it. When I told her that she said, that's not THE Conference Center. Allie and I kept assuring her it was and she still didn't believe us even when she saw this sign. When we walked in, a sister greeted us and said "Welcome to The Conference Center." Amelia still didn't believe her. The only thing that convinced her was when we walked in to the huge room where everyone sits. THEN she believed it. What a silly girl!

The view from the Conference Center Roof

Church History Museum - They asked, "He's that big??"

In the Tabernacle

Cherry Pickin' Fun (Thanks Katrina!)

Total Picked: 220lbs Total Earned: $70 Total Fun: Way Too Much

Puppies getting lost in Grandpa's garden (I thought there was going to be another heart attack) How Sweet It Is
Our trip was full of so many wonderful things, I'm sure I've missed some of them. Some of these pictures describe what we did, even if it wasn't bogged about. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa for letting us intrude for so long!

Our Family Night Activity......

We have started a new FHE system. We have our lesson on Sunday night and then the activity on Monday. So last night it was my (Allie's) turn to do the activity. I had kept telling the girls "Oh, you guys are going to LOVE my activity!" However, I had just told the girls what the "activity" was going to be when the phone rang. We usually don't answer the phone on Family Night, but Dad said it was bishop so he answered it. We all listened, not very intently at first. Then Dad came back to the living room and told us that we needed to get our school backpacks and pack anything we held dear in it. It had to fit in the backpack and we couldn't have anything in our hands. He said we had to leave in ten minutes so we needed to hurry. Unknown to the two little girls, we had already planned this beforehand and that this was the activity. The girls did a lot better than we thought they would. I thought they might have complained or just plain freaked out, but they did really well. We got in the car and drove off and that's when I told them. They were a little bit mad at first, but after a while they decided that it was a good activity.

Sadie......Again.

As you all know, Sadie welped her first (and last) litter towards the end of May. She had hardly any complications except for the fact that we think she retained a placenta......not good. If a placenta is retained it can cause infections. She is still bleeding and we think it is because of a retained placenta. So today we took her in to be spayed....and it's a full hysterectomy so it would take care of the whole placenta deal. The upside is that she will stop bleeding and never have another heat again which will make both our lives and hers so much better. The downside is that she will never be able to have another litter :( She wasn't aloud to eat anything after 6pm last night so this morning she was freaking out and wouldn't calm down. We all felt so bad for her! But we know it will make her life better in the long run. P.S. This post was written by Allie.

It's a Sad, Sad, Sad, Sad Day

This reads: Here lies Little Girl.

Born 5-21-09

Passed 6-2-09 8:55am

We loved her :(

"Little Girl" is on the left. "Big Girl" is on the right. HUGE size difference.
It definitely was a sad morning at our home, yesterday. The runt of our litter, "Little Girl" passed away at 8:55am. She was loved by all who knew her. Especially Anna. She had a rough time, as you can see. She cried off and on all day. She and Amelia set up a "viewing". Besides flowers in the shoe box, they had a guest sign-in sheet. Kind of morbid, I know. But I guess it goes to show that they have been to a few funerals in their short little lives. We are in mourning. I just think Sadie had way too many babies to thrive for as little as as she is. The other morbid part is, that for a split second I thought, Darn..there goes at least 600 bucks!
Since Allie is attending EFY this week, she didn't find out until she got home last night. This is the note Anna made for her out of play dough. It's so sad! It's a great life lesson but as a mother, it is hard to see your children so sad. In case you are wondering how EFY, here's the scoop. EFY has been brought to our area. There are 4 stakes involved. It's close enough for us to drive her daily. It's only to the Show Low High School, about 10-15 minutes away. We have neighboring stakes that are participating and it is not convenient for them to come every day. We volunteered to house 3 girls. Needless to say, we have a houseful of teenage girls this week. It's all good!

P.S. As I was finishing this blog post, "Little Boy" passed away. We chose to bury him with his sister. May they rest in peace. (Shoot...there goes another 500 bucks, at least!)

The Puppies Are Here

Before

After

These are the new arrivals! They came Thursday, May 21st, starting at 7:50pm, delivering the last puppy at 10:41pm. She had 5, but we only have 4 living. That 5th one was still born. We have 2 boys and 2 girls. We've named them, Big Girl, Big Boy, Little Girl and Little Boy. (I don't want any of us to get too attached to these little things since they will be sold!) Sadie was a champ! She never freaked out, panted, whined or anything. She just popped those puppies out like it was nothing. They are so tiny. If you can believe, they have really grown in the last few days. They are still like little mice. The girls and the whole neighborhood are so excited. We have visitors on a daily basis. Sadie is doing so well. She could be awarded "Mother of the Year". She is so attentive. I couldn't be happier. I invisioned needing to hand feed these little critters every 2 hours. Thank goodness I don't need to. Whew!

Tails....or no tails....that was the question.

For the faint of heart, don't read on. As customary with Yorkies, their tales are usually docked, ie, cut off. It needs to be done within the first day or two of birth or it's too late. So, Mike being the courageous guy he is, read up on it through the internet, got the cutting board and butcher knife out and did the dirty deed. Of course, they were a bit wiggly and needed a second hand to hold the tails. Oh, it was horrible. Anna and Amelia were crying. I was holding the tail with my eyes closed and ears plugged with a shoulder and my other hand. Unfortunately, I could still feel when it was cut through the tail. Did I say it was horrible?

With tails

Without Tails
I should have layed a ruler by these too. They're not even an inch!

CONGRATULATiONS, OUR ALLiE GiRL !!!

(I'm starting to feel like Michael Phelps now.)

Ok. So, every year there's an awards assembly. I get the usual letter from the school notifying us that Allie's receiving an award and that parents should attend. Allie usually receives an award or two. I was able to go this morning with our adopted grandpa, Raymond Johnson. (Bummer that Mike was working in Mesa today and had to miss it.) Allie started receiving award after award after award. Her friends were starting to joke saying, "You should receive an award for getting the most awards!" To make a short story long, the assembly was dragging on and on with all the sports awards, etc., that I was ready to leave. I even asked Allie if it was ok that I left. She consented. But I was with Raymond and he had driven. I asked him if he wanted to go but he didn't really answer. Maybe he didn't hear me or maybe he was just ignoring me. I'm not sure which, but we ended up staying until the bitter end. Although the end wasn't bitter. It was very sweet. The last award presented was by Principal Webb for the Student of the Year. And it was awarded to.....OUR ALLiE GiRL!!! We were both sooooo surprised. I cried, making Allie cry (and she cried for almost the rest of the morning because she was so overwhelmed). She has worked so hard at her school work and in all she does. Rarely is she recognized publically. I was so thrilled (and proud) for her. Her name will live in infamy, being engraved on a plaque that hangs in the school.

WAY TO GO, ALLiE!!!