Road Trip!!!

Well it happened. Another chick has flown the coop, again. Whitney was accepted to medical school in Milwaukee, and has moved and started school. Shauntel and she were going to move her themselves but Josie decided she wanted to join the party and so they let her come along. I was happy to let them take the trip and was content with staying at home while they had their adventure, but Whitney did not have a set place to move into and no lease signed when she got there, so I decided to join the party as well. A mother has to know that her child is going to be okay and settled or there is no peace. I was glad I went. Whitney really wanted me to come and we didn't tell Shauntel until I got into the car to go. Shauntel was so surprised! It was so much fun to travel across the country with my girls. We laughed, we cried, we yelled, we changed a flat tire, well we called the police to do it, we slept, we drove, we got lost, we ate, and we moved Whitney into her hard sought after apartment.


We left on Sunday, August 2, 2009 and arrived in Milwaukee on Tuesday, August 4. Not bad, right? We spent Tuesday finding Whitney a place to move into. As it turns out there were several rental units and Whitney decided to live in a one bedroom apartment. Wednesday was left to getting her settled and buy a new couch because the one brought from Utah would not fit into the apartment. We then returned the needed but annoying U-Haul trailer and went into Chicago to sight see and have dinner. Thursday was the flight home for the three of us and I have to say that leaving my girl alone so far away was heart breaking. I did pretty good with the tears and kept them away from the girls as much as possible, because Whits was nervous and stressed and didn't need an emotional mother, but it was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. That being said, it was one of the best experience that I have had with my girls and I will treasure the memories forever.

End Of Summer

I can't believe summer is over. I returned back to school yesterday, August 25, 2009. Summer went by so quickly. I enjoyed returning back to class but I truly enjoyed my summer this year. We of course had construction going on but there was also fun with my husband, children, and grandchildren. We started the summer off with going to pickup Jake from his mission, as posted earlier, and then celebrated his homecoming with family and friends on July 19, 2009.

We spent time with Whitney who took off the summer to play before leaving for med school in the fall, more information on this event to follow. She would get a bit bored and want to take hike in the mountains. There are so many hiking trails that I was not even aware of in Utah. We took a hike above Brighton Ski Resort to two lakes, Lake Mary and Lake Catherine, well we all made it to Lake Mary but only Whit and I went on to Lake Catherine. It was beautiful and nice to spend time with Scott, Josie and Whitney. It sure beat the weeding we were doing before the hike, and we met many friendly people and animals along the way.

We had a little help with pigeon control during the summer. They like to use our house as a nesting spot, and make such a mess, so my son-in-law stood guard and scared them away. It seemed to work because we have not had any return to disrupt the construction or make any new messes.



We also had the grandchildren visit a lot this summer. Shauntel and Ryan are so generous with their family and I am truly grateful to both of them for bringing the children so often. I talk with friends and they don't get to see their grandchildren nearly as often as we do and their grandchildren live in the area. One of the fun activities we did this summer, in July, was had a marshmallow roast in the back yard with the whole family minus Ryan. We had the foundation of the addition poured and I guess J.R. thought is was a giant fire pit because he wanted the roast. He went around the yard in the morning to gather wood for the fire and later that night we started it and roasted the mellows and made Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Smores. They were delicious. It was a lot of fun. Jacob also brought his new girlfriend, Felicia, over to spend some time with us. She was still very shy but has warmed up to us since then. Of course there were smoke bombs because J.R. loves them and Uncle Brad makes sure he has some to light. What a great night.











All in all, it was a great summer and I had a great time not taking any classes and relaxing instead. I just need to figure out how I can take the whole summer off work and school then that would be heaven.

The Construction Continues

The next stage of construction has finally been completed. On July 4, 2009, Scott braved the roof to tear down the chimney. It was quite the attraction because everyone came out to watch him. Brad and David even came over to watch and help. We needed to tear it down before the the footings and foundation were poured. We finally got them poured, it seemed liked forever. The cement contractor tried to pull a bait and switch with the price. After he started the job he tried to tell Scott that he had missed measuring 13 feet and wanted to charge 2400.00 more. Scott and I were good general contractors and had two other bids. We showed the cement guy that his bid was right in line and even a little higher than the other two. Nice try cement guy. We also got back the bid back from the framing contractor. We only got one bid for the framer because he worked on our friends, Scott and Becky Harwood, house. He was over 8000.00 high so it was back to the drawing board to find a new framer. We found one to start on Monday, July 20, we hope. We have learned that it is hard to believe what a contractor tells you. It is like the old joke "how do you know a contractor is lying? His mouth is moving. I have seen the layout of my finished kitchen with the new cabinets and it keeps me motivated to stay upbeat and patient. I can't wait to see the finished project.

God Bless America

The 4th was a slow and easy going couple of days this year. We started off with a BBQ at my mom's on Friday, July 3. It was a lot of fun. All my brothers and sister was there with their kids and grandkids. Jacob is home so all my children were there and also my nephew Jared. It was the first time we have all been together at one time in years. We had great food. Aunt Brian, we call him this because he calls my brother "sister," BBQ'd hamburgers and hotdogs. It was delicious with all the salads and pot luck that was brought.

The next day we spent most of the day in the pool. Shauntel learned that her dog loves water as did JR and Carter, because she kept diving in on top of them. Bell a even learned to jump from the diving board. Needless to say, we spent lots of time in the pool with a black lab. David and his family came over to help Scott tear down the chimney so an inpromptu BBQ came about that day as well. Ryan BBQ'd steaks, made potato salad and quacamole with chips. It was such a fun day. We ended it with a movie out on the back lawn, as we have no patio right now.

I say this often and I will say it many more times, I love when I have all my children home together. It was a great day and I have not been so tired in a very long time.

Return With Honor

Jacob was released from the Merida, Mexico Mission on June 23, 2009. He did such a great job and worked so hard while serving the Lord and teaching the Mexican people for two years. Missions are such a great blessing for all, for Jacob, the people of Mexico, and us at home whom get to share his experiences and are blessed by the Lord while he is away. Scott and I felt it such an honor to support him while he served and truly felt the Lord's love while doing it. We are both going to miss this time.

Jacob would have been released on June 16, 2009 but we had the opportunity to go to Mexico and pick him up from the mission. We were able to meet many members and friends who loved and cared for Jacob. We were also able to meet with his President and wife. They are truly two of the nicest people I have met and even though we did not speak the same language it was truly a special time for me. The President and his wife were lovely and you could certainly tell they loved Jacob. The mission home was beautiful and in a great area that reminded me of a Las Vegas suburb.

We also had dinner with Elder Nemelka and his companion. Elder Nemelka (Bo) is a boy from our ward who went to the same mission about 5 weeks after Jacob. I also had another nephew, Kellan Madsen, go to the same mission just over a year before Jacob. It is a small world after all.
We had such a great time with the exception that Jacob couldn't enjoy the ocean of the water and he did not like that much. Also everyone, except me, suffered from the ED (explosive dirareah). This was amazing because of my stomache problems and IBS. Scott and I know it was because of my prayers before we left that I would not have a difficult time while in Mexico so that I would not be a burden to the rest of the traveling party. One of those missionary blessings I was talking about.