Darcy Gets Baptized!

Because Darcy turned 8, the age of accountability, she chose to be baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  Dad baptized and confirmed her a member of the church.  She was surrounded by lots of family and friends who love her and supported her very important decision.  Darcy wore the same dress my sisters and I wore, which was made by my Grandma, who Darcy just happens to get her middle name (Evans) from.  Drew and all the girl cousins on my side of the family have all worn this very special dress.  I hope they pass it on to their daughters someday too.  After the ordinance was performed we all came home and had a taco party to celebrate!  Always a good time when you are surrounded by fun family.

10, 40something, and 8!

Let's see if I can get this thing updated, almost 9 months later.  Mason's birthday was in May and he turned 2 whole handfuls!  And he can be 2 whole handfuls so maybe its like a golden birthday or something.  Really, he's kind of fun to have around.  He has his own brand of humor and his imagination is off the charts!  It astounds me how he can start with a "what if . . ." scenario and turn it into a meandering 10 minute diatribe which ends nowhere near his beginning, while barely taking a breath to think.  Pretty impressive.  He should definitely be a writer when he grows up.  Mase's favorite pastime is games on the computer, like ARK and Minecraft.  He also thoroughly enjoys tormenting his sisters, Darcy especially.  He loves to read nonfiction books and has a head full of useless trivia that rivals my own.  We are blessed to have his vibrant personality in our family. Things would be awfully quiet around here without him :)  For his birthday he got some camping items and head phones for his computer.  

I was lucky enough to turn 40something in July.  Blah, Blah, Blah.  Getting old isn't much fun.

Darcy turned 8 on the 8th of July.  A real Golden Birthday!  I'm not sure why all the pictures have all of us in our pj's, maybe we celebrated with cake for breakfast?  I can't really remember.  She got Shopkins, Rainbow Dash pillow and blanket, a huge set of crayons, and her own set of scriptures.  Darcy is still my sunshine baby.  Love, love, love that toothless smile!  And she smiles a lot, which in turn makes me smile a lot.  Darcy is getting so big and its hard to reconcile my chubby little redhead with this fully grown young lady.  Makes my heart hurt sometimes.  Darce is our most adventurous child, which doesn't make her a huge daredevil because in reality, we're all kind of wussy.  She'll try things though, especially food, and I would say she is a well-rounded young lady with varied interests.  She plays the piano, loves to read, play with Shopkins, plays basketball, runs, etc.  Pretty much anything you throw at her, she's game to try.  Love my Darce!

End of an Era

So the title is a little dramatic but in a sense, it was the end of an era for Drew.  She attended the same grade school for kindergarten all the way through 6th grade.  At the end of the school year she was sad to say goodbye to McBride, and anxiously looked forward (?) to starting new at the middle school.  She had a great year, her favorite she said.  She was a daily helper in a kindergarten classroom, which happened to be the class Bree was in!  I know it brought Bree a ton of comfort to know she would see her sister at the beginning and end of school.  This was Drew's first year of band, taking on the clarinet, just like her mommy.  She actually wanted to play the sax but couldn't get a noise out of it when she tried it so she settled for the clarinet instead, which she ended up enjoying.  Drew is a TAG math student so she and a good friend were pretty much on their own teaching themselves 7th and 8th grade math.  She takes after her dad in that department.  I'm so proud of Drew and all her accomplishments in the 6th grade!

Mason had an extremely rough start to his 4th grade year but ended on a great note.  Once he was able to get the anxiety under control and settle in to his teacher's ways and expectations he was able to excel like usual.  That being said, I think we were both extremely grateful he (we) survived the year with our sanity still in check.

Darcy had a great year, like usual.  She is just as driven as her big sister.  Darcy sees things in black and white, with little gray area.  That makes it difficult with social nuances, and she is still trying to navigate those waters.  I love her sense of right and wrong but it did cause for some friend drama this year.  If only girls could be nice and uplifting to one another instead of trying to drag each other down.  Darce was very sad to see the school year end.

Bree loved kindergarten, I think.  She can be up, down, and all over the place at times.  She loved her teacher, we will say :)  She has her numbers and basic addition down, and is not quite the reader I would like her to be, but she'll get there.  I was proud of her efforts all year.  It takes a lot out of a little body to be in school 6.5 hours a day, 5 days a week.

And the end of the school year marked the end of my first year as a Title 1 reading assistant at Lewis and Clark grade school.  I've been scoring essays on-line for 12 years but this was my first foray back into the work place since just before Drew was born.  I loved it!  And hated it at times, I will admit.  Well, lets just say I never woke up dreading going to work :)  At the start of the year I was in a room with other Title teachers running half-hour reading groups.  When we got back from Disney World my assignment was changed to working only with the kindergartners in their classrooms.  So I was encroaching on their territory which made it very difficult to command their respect as a teacher since their regular teacher was also in the room.  It was also their homeroom so there were many times other things much more interesting were going on than listening to boring Mrs. Erickson trying to teach them how to read.  I vastly preferred my first assignment, working with k-4th graders, but I survived, and I loved the feeling of contributing to society again.  But I can tell you now, I would NEVER be a kindergarten teacher.  Those are some choice souls who take that class on on a full-time basis!

All in all it was a memorable year, and the only year all 4 kids will be in the same school.  My that was handy.  Its all logistical chaos from now until Bree graduates in 2028!

Utah Road Trip

A few months before spring break Paul and I talked about a road trip to California and Utah, but eventually decided against it because we didn't think it was enough time to cover all the ground we wanted to.  Unfortunately, my 39 year old cousin, Matt, passed away unexpectedly and his memorial service was scheduled for the Friday of spring break in Utah.  We decided that was where we needed to be so an abbreviated road trip was back on.  Paul made a wonderful plexiglass barrier to place between Darcy and Bree so neither could invade the other's "bubble" and we were off!

 

Our first stop was Bryce Canyon, one of my favorite National Parks.  Paul and I had been there together 14 years ago and couldn't wait to go back.  We got there early enough in the afternoon to get some hiking done before the bad weather caught up to us.  There was a prediction of snow so we took a hike into the canyon among the hoodoos and orange rock formations.  It was so beautiful!  We didn't hike quite as much as we wanted to but thought we could get more in the next morning.  We were able to take a hike the next day along a snowy trail on the rim of the canyon and we drove to the highest point in the park (9,000+ feet) and caught all the look-outs on the way down.  We went back to the Inn to catch a late lunch (so we didn't have to pay dinner prices) to celebrate Paul's upcoming 40th birthday and it started to snow.  Since it was near blizzard conditions we couldn't get back up into the park so we decided to run across the parking lot in our swimming suits in the freezing, driving, snow to the indoor pool instead.  It was a fun adventure!  The next morning we went back to Bryce to see it in all its snow-covered gorgeousness.  It was 22 degrees and FREEZING but so, so beautiful!  Still one of my favorite parks.

Later that day we drove Utah Highway 12 on our way to Capitol Reef National Park, which neither Paul nor I had been to yet.  That highway was beautiful, long, time consuming, and scary.  I highly recommend it!  It takes you through the north side of Grande Staircase Escalante which was just as beautiful as the southern end that we experienced on our 2013 road trip.  Utah is a beautiful place.

While on the drive we saw this cute old couple on the side of the road enjoying the scenery.  I want to be this old couple.

 

Capitol Reef National Park turned out to be a great spot.  You don't hear nearly as much about it as the other 4 Utah parks, but it deserves to be mentioned in the same sentence.  We had a great time there that afternoon, taking some hikes, jumping on rocks, and getting dizzy looking down into huge ravines they graciously allow you to walk right to the very edge of if you are daring enough to trust the rusty little railings to keep you from falling to your death.  We did, but it was iffy and I'm usually not afraid of heights.  It was beautiful.  We spent the afternoon in that park and then stayed at Green River for the night.

The next day we spent at Arches, another one of my favorite parks.  We took Drew there when she was about 18 months old but the other kids hadn't been there before.  We took a lot more hikes to various arches and it was all just so beautiful.  Unfortunately we saved the hike to Delicate Arch, the most famous arch in the park, for last.  It was another long hike up a sheer rock face so we voted on attempting it.  Unfortunately when you have a family of 6 there is the potential for ties, and that's what we had.  So we all compromised and took the wussy, half as long trail, which didn't put us right at the arch but I guess we were close enough.  I guess. We still had a great time in the park, except for the fact they only had pit toilets, which were very well maintained I might add, but the girls refused to use them so maybe that played into their decision to vote down another long hike.  We made a pit stop at the visitors center again as we left the park and headed to Orem for the night.  Another great park!

Friday morning we drove around the area temple gazing and we came to find out that Alloa was in Orem visiting Megan and Korrin so we hooked up at Cafe Rio (YUM!) for lunch.

We also met up with Samantha in Salt Lake to visit Temple Square.  She was on her own and in town for the memorial too.  We then went to Matt's memorial service in Orem.  Matt was a few years younger than me but one of my favorite cousins.  Every summer either my family would drive to Utah or his would drive to Corvallis for a week long visit.  We always had the best time, we had 6 kids, they had 6 kids, and we all matched up pretty well.  Oh how the tears would flow the night before we had to part ways for another long year! Oh how we love our Johnson cousins!  So when we heard Matt passed away it was a no-brainer to be at his service.   He was a great guy, and judging by the many, many people in attendance, I'm not the only one who thought so.  It is unfortunate that the last time I was in Utah visiting my cousins was in 2012 for Aunt Debbie's funeral.  Samantha joined my family in staying at Andy's home (comparable in age to Sam) and getting to know his family better.  They are great people too, of course!  We had a lot of fun with them and no one was in a hurry to leave for home the next morning.  We made it to Pendleton that night and made a stop at Mutnomah Falls on the way home.  Another beautiful place in our own state.  As that day happened to be Easter, we were hoping the Easter Bunny was able to figure out where to drop off the loot the kids hoped he had.  They were pleasantly surprised to find full baskets waiting for them on the coffee table as they walked in the door at home.  What a great bunny!  We actually colored eggs a couple weeks before Easter so we could get them eaten before we left, and no one seemed too upset that there was no egg hunt.  I have some great kids.  It was a wonderful trip full of natural beauty and family togetherness, without any car troubles or stolen purses.  We could hardly believe our luck! Unfortunately the driving factor was the death of Matt, and he will be greatly missed.  I'm so glad we were able to be at his service and I'm grateful to Paul for making it happen.  Once again we were able to see this amazing country we have been blessed to live in and I'm already anxious for the next adventure!

6, 40(!), and 12

 My baby turned 6 in January.  Hard to believe everyone around here is getting so old!  You couldn't pay me to go back to baby days though.  Maybe a 4 year old.  So this cutie is 6, almost finished with her first year of school, and still as sweet and spicy as she was the day she was born.  I pretty much never know what I'm going to get when Bree walks in the door from school.  She could be full of info on her day, totally silent, crying, screaming like a banshee, or looking for a good, long cuddle from mom.  She keeps me on my toes.  She is definitely my most girly girl but she isn't afraid to get sweaty and dirty.  She loves to play legos and collect stuffed animals.  She has a love/hate relationship with Darcy but couldn't live without her.  She enjoys her "peace and quiet" and alone time just like her mom.  She is the most outgoing of all my kids but can still get shy if the situation is right, or wrong.  Bree had me try my hand at a Hello Kitty cake this year.  Eh, it was alright.  She appreciated it so it was worth it.  She got a pair of fancy boots that she has lived in since.  Also some legos, Shopkins, and Beados.  I sure do love this precious little person.

Paul turned 40 in March!  I don't feel like such a cougar now since we are both in the same decade.  I didn't notice him having any mid-life crisis per say, but he did buy a chainsaw for the first time in his life and proceeded to knock down a couple of trees in our front yard.  What an amazing guy Paul is.  His steady head is exactly what our family needs when my not-so-steady head starts getting out of control.  He is our rock.  He is an amazing provider and seriously my hero for putting up with me.  I asked him what was on his bucket list, since it always seems like I get to choose our adventures based on my wants, and he said he doesn't really have one, its all about the journeys.  We are so lucky to have Paul!

Miss Drew turned 12 in April!  Like I said, we're all getting so old!  I love this big girl!  It is so fun to watch her grow up.  She is such a blessing to our family.  She inherited Paul's steady head and she has calmed me on quite a few occasions.  She is a great example to me of drive, determination, and perseverance.  I see great things in her future.  And thankfully we can still stand each other.  I dread the day she no longer wants to talk to me and thinks I'm an idiot.  Oh my sweet Drewsy!  She finally got her phone this year.  I think that's how we lost her.  All of a sudden she has tons of friends, has late night movie parties on Fridays with some great friends, and is a total pre-teen in many ways.  I have to say I love that she has a phone so we can text nonsense to each other and have emoji wars.  This kid inspires me to be a better mom so I can keep pushing her to reach her potential.  What an amazing spirit we have been blessed with to raise.  Thanks Drew, for being the awesome young woman you are!  And oh yah, since she's 12, she is no longer in Primary at church.  She now attends Young Women's and mutual every Wednesday night.  What a fun age to be!