Madelyn

Shawn and Kellie needed to make a trip to France in preparation for their move to Africa.  Madelyn's passport didn't come through in time so . . . we got to keep her!!!  For two whole weeks!  It was the most peaceful two weeks of the whole summer.
We fell head-over-heels in love with her!

She turned two months old while with us so Kellie planned ahead and sent her "2" onesie so that we could take a few pictures for her.  We used the outfit Kellie sent but then Hyrum wanted to put his favorite bow on her.  I think she wore the thin blue bow almost every day, just for Hyrum.

When I was on my way home from Utah with our new baby girl, Erika kept texting me to see how close we were.  Since I had a couple of stops along the way I would update her and then travel on.  When we finally pulled into the subdivision Erika came running down the driveway to meet us and before I could even get out of the van she had Madelyn's car seat out and was headed for the house.  Erika came over every day for those two weeks.  She went into complete mommy mode doing diapers, feedings, fussy time, baby talk, making silly faces, and cuddling.

There was actually a little fighting over Madelyn.  Everyone wanted her.

Nathan and Hyrum each had hurt feelings because they always wanted to be the first one to feed her.  Hyrum insisted that she be by him to do his summer workbook and every morning he would sneak up to her bed and peek in on her to see if she was awake.  Even when the boys were outside playing in the pool they would pause long enough to run over and check her car seat to make sure that she was still happy and the sun wasn't shining on her.

Justin was a bit more distant but even he couldn't resist those big eyes, beautiful smile and the possibility that she might giggle for him.

Derek was receiving his Patriarchal Blessing while she was with us and because Justin was nervous about having her all by himself I decided last minute to take her, figuring that she had been awake all during church, had just eaten and was ready for a nap.  Without grabbing a diaper bag or anything else we snapped a couple of pictures of her with Derek (because he was holding her while I got the car seat and my shoes and the comparison of her tiny little body with his lengthy body deserved a picture) and we left.

This is a blessing that Derek will never forget and I'm pretty sure he will tease his younger cousin about it for the rest of her life.  She did fall asleep within minutes and stayed asleep during the first part of our conversation with the Patriarch Flamm.  She stirred a bit, opened her big eyes, gave me a grin, pushed until her face went red, and filled her diaper.  I didn't even bring the diaper bag!  Derek seemed to be the only other one who noticed it - LeRoy and the patriarch are either deaf or oblivious - and it smelled!  Her transition from breast milk to formula was doing a number on her digestive system and the results were stinky!  I had to get her out of the car seat because she started fussing but I also had to worry about a diaper blow out because she had repeated the grunting explosion a couple of more times.

Derek and I had eye contact several times while the conversation was taking place, again, with LeRoy and Brother Flamm clueless to the situation.  When Brother Flamm stood to give the blessing, Madelyn was getting fussier and fussier.  Man, I really wanted to stay!  Derek winked at me and mouthed, "it's okay".  I said a little prayer in my heart that Madelyn would calm down long enough for the blessing, I stood to carefully cradle her without putting pressure on her overfilled diaper, and popped that pacifier in her mouth.  As soon as the patriarch started, she calmed down, fell asleep, slept through the blessing and also me transferring her to her car seat to go home and she didn't wake up until I was in the process of changing her overflowing diaper.  We all had a good laugh over that, especially when the smell took over the van on the way home and Derek and I filled LeRoy in on all the details.  Ah, Madelyn, you'll never live this one down.

After we gave Madelyn back I was looking through pictures and realized that there is not one of the two of us together (unless we count the one of me giving her a bath in the little sink in the kitchen where my arms are almost visible).  All those hours and days and smiles that we spent together and not one photograph to prove it and I won't see her again for at least a year.

However, I will forever remember the cuddles, the peace, the almost-giggles, the cries, the late nights and early mornings and the love she brought to our home.  Having her with us was a blessing that I didn't know I was praying for.

As we headed down to Arizona for our family trip, we dropped Madelyn off with Kara.  Kellie would return from France in two days to get her.  It was so incredibly hard to let her go.  The boys were even begging that we take her with us and then leave her with Kellie as we returned home.  When we got to Kara's house Madelyn was more than ready to eat so while Kara gave us a tour of her new house I held Madelyn and fed her.  By the time LeRoy was in the van, honking for me to come, Madelyn had cuddled up on my chest and I just didn't want to give her away.  I realized then that the circumstances of me taking her from Kellie had been a blessing.  We had been rushed going two different directions in two different vehicles so Madelyn was in her car seat when Kellie had to quickly leave. Kellie choked up and was teary eyed as she kissed her on the head and said goodbye.  As I handed Madelyn over to Kara I was so grateful that Kellie didn't have to hand over her sweet baby to me, even knowing she was in good hands and would be loved. It would have been even more painful than kissing her goodbye in her car seat.

A couple of weeks later, Madelyn was blessed and the Boyd family packed up and moved to Africa.

I can't wait to see them all again!

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My other baby experience for the summer came more in the form of grandma training than mommy.  I went to Cami and Ben's home in Twin Falls to stay with their children, George and Sarah, while Cami had a c-section and Hannah joined their family.  It was fun to fill the grandma role while my mom serves a mission but it was strange to leave my teenage run household to join the scheduled home of toddlers.

I've only seen George and Sarah a couple of times but we became fast friends and I loved my three days with them.  We went on walks around the neighborhood, went to see the Twin Falls Temple, and walked to the hospital to visit their mommy.

Ben, Cami, George, Sarah, Hannah

Before I left Twin Falls I went to the hospital to spend some a couple of hours with Cami.  I enjoyed hearing all of the details of the delivery and meeting her Harley riding doctor.  We laughed and cried together and holding her little red-headed Hannah woke up so many memories of being baby hungry.  I admire Cami and Ben and adore their children!

July

Color in Motion 5K
Justin, Kimber, Daymia, Levi
Michelle Ray with her children Carsen, Mady and Ethan
Terra Sargeant with her friend

Even with our late night 4th of July Celebration, we were up bright and early groggy and at the "butt-crack of dawn" to walk a 5K.  It took some coaxing to get my tired body out of bed and threats to get the others to roll out of theirs. Levi and Justin were grumbling and complaining that I had forced them to sign up and made it clear that they were only there for me but when the color started flying they lightened up and joined in the fun.  The music playing throughout the park also helped.

LeRoy was our photographer.

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We bought a donkey!

Our family has been following the Dando Amor organization created in Rexburg as they have built orphanages in Ecuador and Africa.  We also keep tabs on a family that is adopting a teen boy from Ecuador and have included them in our prayers. I dream of taking my kids on a trip with Dando Amor but for now the best we can do is spy on them, watch and encourage friends as they make the trips, help in the shoe drives, help put together hygiene kits and now, buy a donkey.

Nathan and Hyrum were looking at Dando Amor pictures with me and I read to them the reasons that people buy donkeys to donate to the families and orphanage in Africa.  They ran off and I assumed were going to play.  They both came back to the computer with their spending jars and said they wanted to buy a donkey. I was more than a little surprised since they had been saving their spending money for our big trip to Arizona and by the time they pay tithing and set money aside for their long term savings, their spending money doesn't add up very fast.  They dumped their banks out onto the floor and started counting.

Later that night, which happened to be Monday night FHE, we invited the rest of the family to join us and with our combined coins, dollars and Paypal account we purchased a donkey. Two days later we were sent pictures from our friends who were in Africa helping with the donkey purchases.  The little boys now have a framed picture of their donkey, that they named Jesse, hanging in their room.  That souvenir is much better than anything they would have purchased in Arizona.

P.S. Nathan was reading a book about animals and during the quiet time he asked, "mom, what's an ass?"

I tried to hide the giggle in my voice, "that's another name for donkey".

"Oh," he replied, "so we bought an ass for that family in Africa!"

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The latest in acrobatics at our house is the 1-2-UP! that the boys invented.  Justin holds hands with them while they bounce together and when they have a good even bounce Justin hollers out 1-2 and on the UP! he gives them an extra bounce to boost them high above him.  The idea is for them to be one straight line and they get pretty darn close.

One of the boys snuck the water hose over to the trampoline while they were jumping with Levi.

They laughed and squealed and took turns being in charge of the hose.  After taking turns jumping over the water spray, Hyrum insisted on washing Levi's pits.

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I often ponder at how different Derek and Justin are and how Nathan and Hyrum seem so much like them.  They each have their own skills, talents, preferences and personalities but there is an obvious pattern among the four of them.

Justin does like to spend time outside, usually on the trampoline or flipping around in the yard but he does not necessarily like camping, gardening or yardwork. He does mow the lawn without complaint because he can sit on the mower and listen to music without getting dirty.  He does not like physical labor work with LeRoy or getting his hands and clothes dirty in the shop.  He would rather be learning and doing computer programming, working up 3D projects in Blender on the computer or watching TV series through Netflix.

Nathan is practically his twin.  He spends adequate time outside but prefers to be indoors playing the Wii or watching shows.  Rarely is he in the dirt piles or rummaging through Dad's treasures (aka, junk pile) and though he goes camping with us, he is usually grumbling that he is bored.

Derek on the other hand only does computer stuff when it's required for school or necessary for work.  He would much rather be outside building and creating, usually pulling his materials from the junk pile.  His pants always look dirty;  his pockets are always full of nails, screws and sawdust; his hands are smashed up from hammers, scarred from burns and cuts and he thrives on the great outdoors.  Winter is hard for him because he gets bored inside so he'll bundle up and go create outside until he is freezing.

Having a cast on did not slow Derek down at all. That thing was filthy and smelly!

Hyrum has shadowed Derek enough that now he wanders out to the trash pile on his own to "build stuff".  He seldom makes it through a full TV episode or movie before he is acting it out playing "magination" and he isn't at all afraid to go hang out all alone in the shed.  He easily gets restless when stuck in a vehicle for long and church is practical torture in his mind.

Derek's latest shields are built from old water heaters that he and LeRoy replaced.  He removed the insulation, cut the heavy steel bladder into thirds, attached handles onto the back, cut the shape he wanted and drew the design.

 These are HEAVY, 17.4 pounds to be exact, and very large.  That is a cello next to his shield, not a violin.  With the sword that Derek built (pictured above), he, Jacob and Chris have battles where they actually swing the long, heavy, deadly sword  and protect themselves with the equally heavy, bulky shields.  The marks on the shields are actual battle wounds (as are the bruises from misplaced hits).


Some of Hyrum's newest creations are his "Thinking Cap" and "Something Cool." For nearly two weeks he would put his thinking cap on before doing his workbook pages each morning. How does it work?

"Well, this long screw pokes into your brain and your thoughts suck up the screw into the hat part and then go down the hooks so that you can see them.  It really works!  I promise!  But sometimes it can hurt a little." - Hryum, age 6

His "Something Cool" bordered on dangerous.  I wasn't home when he finished it and brought it to the house to show Justin.  He had taken an rusty can and damaged motor fan, some plugs and odd objects and hooked them all together.  When he plugged it in the fan sparked and started running.  The sparks scared the heebie jeebies out of Justin and he wouldn't let Hyrum touch it again until LeRoy got home.  He was then given a simplified version of how electricity works and promised not to plug things in again until Dad checked them out first.

4th of July

Erika, Daymia, Sierra and I spent a Sunday afternoon getting our nails all decked out for the upcoming 4th.

The boys sat on the couches with their electronics watching our party and though it looked like they were feeling a little left out, they refused to let us paint their nails..  The longer we had the polish out, the sillier we got.  Next time we might need to open a few windows.


We began our holiday celebration with good food and great friends.  Both were plentiful throughout the entire day.

Our party included: Bret & Erika and Bret's brother Aaron; Levi & Daymia and Daymia's brother Shane and sister Jordan; Derek & Sierra and Sierra's two little brothers Danon and Colter; Spencer & Jenell Mangelson; Kate & Mike with Korben, Logan and Brooklyn; and my brother Jared.  And, let's not forget that crazy Edwards family!

LeRoy was all set with fireworks, mushy watermelons, fire crackers, dynamite, and a whole pile of junk to blow into the air.

The kids were so excited when we pulled out the watermelons.  They remembered the fruit flying all over the place last year and were hoping to get hit by it this year.

For the first watermelon they all sat "far enough away".  Not so!  They were covered in mush and so happy about it.  Mike started to take cover after that but Hyrum stood in batter stance ready to swing at whatever came his way.

How many people does it take to set off dynamite?


Things progressed to shooting tennis balls, golf balls and empty spray paint cans from a pipe.  The videos do not do justice to the height they were getting.  We did clock the air time of some of the objects and 14 seconds was the longest.  Jared and Justin tried to use physics to determine how high that meant it went but the excitement of the next explosion distracted them.  After that, they didn't care how high it went they just wanted to watch the videos until the next shot was ready.

Night time brought the less dangerous, less messy, prettier fireworks.

While the older kids played with sparks the younger kids played with glow sticks.

From the swings and chairs, the roof, the top of the car, the yard and the windows, we had a great view of our 4th of July.

Father's Day Campout

Group picture with LeRoy; Mike behind the camera.

At Fawn and Sandra's invitation, Kate and I took our families to join theirs for a weekend. Once the initial "hey, how are ya" greetings were done and the tents were all set up, we gathered in the pavilion and around the fire to eat.  A camp fire has a way of breaking down awkward barriers and once our kids and husbands started chattering together the next two days were spent in hysterical laughter, water fights, swimming, diving, basketball, scooters, shooting, Rhino tours, glow sticks, burning marshmallows, hiking, and the occasional swatting of hissing cicadas.

Taming the three-wheeled scooter was top on the agenda.  That was a tricky ride!  We all learned how to swing our hips in a balanced left-right rhythm to pick up speed and gain clapping and giggles from those watching.

 When our thighs were sufficiently shaky from the scooter workout, we watched while the others played basketball.

As we gathered around the warm fire pit, the conversation led to the diving board at the lake and Mike dared Bret to jump in, fully clothed and in the dark. He even bribed him with $20.  Mike had never met Bret but he soon learned that Bret doesn't walk away from a good challenge, especially with money attached. He did allow Bret to change and then this poor college student immediately got up, grabbed his shorts and we all walked to the lake to witness the insane bravery.

Not to be left out, Mike's son Landon also took the challenge and got $20.

The next day, the lake was the place to hang out.  The older kids went out in a canoe for a while and later they took the younger kids for a smooth, calm glide through the water.

Brooklyn did not want to be left out.  We thought she was mad because she wanted to get into the water so Kate stripped her down to her diaper which calmed her for a minute but as soon as she got in the water she was again mad because Kate wouldn't let her walk clear out into it.  We wondered if she also wanted a canoe ride so Kate started to put the life jacket on her.  As soon as she did, Brooklyn calmed down. And, she got her canoe ride.

Bret was trying to convince Derek and Justin to dive in the lake so I gave a little nudge waving a $10 bill at them.

Derek was not going to let his cast stop him from water play.  Since he was four weeks into his six week wearing of the cast, we didn't stop him.  After a few dives it was so soggy that we walked over to the tool shed and found something to cut it off with.

When he took his cast off we could see a straw marked etched down the back of his hand and across his wrist.  He kept a straw tucked down inside his cast as an emergency fix  for sudden annoying itches.

Not wanting to be outdone, the little boys begged to jump in the lake IF I also gave them $10.  I agreed, not really thinking that they would do it, and with encouragement from the whole camp they looked right past the fear and focused on Bret and LeRoy at the bottom.  I held my breath until they were safely back on shore.

Their only condition was that Erika had to do it also.  Later, she confided in me that she was terrified but didn't want to show that to the boys and she was so impressed with their bravery that she set her own fear aside.  I was so proud of her!  That is a mother quality!  One that I have yet to find when it comes to water.


When they had all had enough of the water they moved on to shooting.

 Fawn took these pictures while I stayed at camp with Brooklyn.  Mike B. laying on the ground teaching his son.  Mike H. standing behind his son, teaching in a very hands on manner.  LeRoy gives his son a gun and tells him to be careful.  I fully believe my boys have angels walking with them.

Later in the afternoon we took a hike up to the water tower on the hill.  When we got back we left our tired hikers at camp while Mike & Kate, Mike & Fawn, and LeRoy & I went on Rhino rides so Mike could show us the entire landscape, water ways, and the incredible work he has put into the campground and surrounding land.  We ended at Mike and Fawn's for a tour of their beautiful new home.

Among all of our activities there was food.  Yummy, delicious, finger-lickin' good food!

The highlight around the fire was Mike's big camp chair.  That thing was huge!  So big that the small ones couldn't get in it by themselves and the adults had to practically jump in.  It did make for a nice snuggle place.  Kate, Mike and Brooklyn proved that.

  Brooklyn's crush on Nathan became very evident as she set up the mini chairs, gathered blankets and escorted Nathan to the chairs.  If he left, she would squeal and pound on the chair until he came back.

I'm not sure who enjoyed the game more, Brooklyn or Nathan.


Crazy Cooks in the Kitchen

Cousins Everywhere

Our new tent was wonderful!  We had extra room not only for sleeping but for backpacks and shoes with room left over.  The best part for Derek was that he could actually stand up in it (thought it doesn't appear that he could from this picture).

We had such a great time that we are all making arrangements to do it again next year.

Group picture with Mike; LeRoy behind the camera.
Adam & Sandra with Tanner, Chance, Dane & Rhyse; Mike & Kate with Korben, Logan, Brooklyn; Bret & Erika; LeRoy & Kimber with Derek, Justin, Nathan, Hyrum; Mike and Fawn with Levi, Morgan, Jaden, Billie, Kyson; Mike & Ruth with Justin, Landon, Lexi, Josh, + 2 boys.  

June

The end of the school year also brought the end of the piano year for Nathan.  He was disappointed that he wouldn't be having lessons during the summer so I found a music camp that he and Hyrum could attend together.

They had Quaver Music Camp each Monday for six weeks.  The first day they were introduced to their team and with their team created a cheer that they did each week.  They learned about the grand staff, note value, rhythm and rests, and music science where they learned to play 3-note and 4-note songs on water glasses.

The final day was spent doing an Amazing Music Race to review all that they had learned.  In preparation, Hyrum spent a good hour doing practice treble clef "loopy things" so that he would be ready for the grand staff chalk-a-thon.  The finale included yummy popsicles and a carousel ride at Porter Park.

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Swimming Lessons at Rexburg Rapids

As very beginning beginners they were scared to even put their faces in the water but by the end of the session Amanda had a hard time keeping their faces above water.  Hyrum loves to be in and under and splashed with water.  Nathan tolerates it and tries to be as brave as Hyrum.  It was a good experience for them and comforting to me that they gained breathing and floating techniques in the water.  The boys used their own spending money to buy Swedish Fish and a water jug to make a thank you gift for Amanda.

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A few pictures from Vivien with her own descriptions...

On a Sunday evening with her sister, Noemi:  "By 5pm we still haven't eaten, just breakfast. We were so hungry OMG !!! Didnt even know were to go eat so after hours we decided to go to Tesco for food. I got a roll and a buttery thingy (google says *spread*) no knife to get it on the roll so we had a car picnic, dipping the roll in that spread :D felt like we were on a car trip for a day and thats everything we got. It was fun haha ! and delicious :D"

 "After a year... I HAVE MY DRIVING LICENCE!!!! okay not yet, I have to go to the police station first but I passed the test. Happy happy happy!"  This was no small feat considering the training/test cars are stick shifts; not automatics.

Spending a day with Jakub:  "He has a motobike/scooter which was a new experience for me and kinda scary first but it was fun! Except for the helmet which killed my hair and my head felt claustrofobic in it :D 

More travel pictures with Jakub and a picture from January with the first missionaries that she met in Slovakia (both of which were from Utah).   This email is one of my favorite from her because I can feel her excitement in the day.  It reminds me of when she got home from Prom and sat on the bed chattering away in her excitement or the hyper days that we bounced around from topic to topic.  I love being able to read her smile in the writing.  I'm so thankful for those two Utah boys who could take a little of the comfort of her American home to her.

Oh my heck!!!! I dont know where to start! I dont remember when I was so hyper and happy and excited last time! Probabs in the US :D

We finally agreed on going skiing!!!! We have a hotel booked. I am so excited! I am off school the last week of February (spring break) and we are going skiing!!! We agreed we will be the crazy minions on the track muhahahaa

Today I was with Jakub. Haha he is one hyper kid!! He also loves travelling. We are gonna be travelling buddies!! I had so much fun with him. We went around Galanta so many times we decided to come to my place. After a while we were like okay its time to go out and somebody rang the bell. Then my mom comes that 2 guys are looking for me. They dont speak Slovak. I was like what?! Weird. I dont hang out with hungarian guys and they would just speak hungarian. So I went to the door. I FREAKED OUT. Like in a good way. Like how the heck is that possible?!

THEY WERE MISSIONARIES!!!!!!!! Can you believe that? I asked them how did they find me. They said something about the temple square I dont know I was just amazed I didnt even know my own name. I got a Slovak book of mornom!!!! But I feel so bad cause I thought they just handed to me to look at. But they gave it to me. And I didnt even thank. I had it in my hands then I went to get my phone and I put the book down. But I thought they grabbed it. They I found it. Its mine?? I feel bad. But its cool! And so weird in Slovak :D they werennt here for long and I had Jakub over and poor boy his english isnt too good so he was just like sitting there. I started to talk to them in English automatically. But they knew Slovak. And they also read from the book. It was so cool! Althought we talked about their life in Slovakia mostly :D I asked them if they eat rolls :D and one of them said that he likes KOFOLA (you know that thingy which makes me hyper :D) and bryndzové halušky - its our traditional meal (I dont like it) like hot dogs in the US hehehe

IT WAS SO COOL!!!!! I dont know if you have anything to do with it but if you do THANK YOU! If not THANK YOU anyway that you taught me about Mormons and your church and I had this oppurtunity today!

They didnt stick around too long but we exchanged phone numbers and the guy told me he will let me know and they can come. I am excited!

They are like 25 missionaries in Slovakia. These guys were from Nitra. Its like 35 minutes away, I dont really go there, its not my city :D They even gave me a little paper thingy on which I have the street and the time when is the church. So cool! You have got to come to Slovakia and come to church with me!

I am just happy :-)))) I love this feeling I wish it would last forever! It was just a perfect day. Skiing, Jakub, US people :-)

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Cousins, Cats and Kimber

These little cousin pairs are adorable!  Hailey and Hyrum are a perfect giggly pair and Brooklyn has a major crush on Nathan.
Though the cats are supposed to now be outdoor only animals, the kids sneak them in for hairy hugs.
I joined our Relief Society for a hike up R Mountain.

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Derek is 18!!!

But, he is still our {very tall and intelligent} little boy.  I asked him several times what he wanted for his birthday and he couldn't give me even one suggestion.  The "Mr. Fix It" shirt in duct tape font was an easy choice since he really is our family fix it man but it didn't seem enough.  When we were at Kate's house and he saw the talking minion he blurted out, "please get me one of these".  So, he got it for his birthday.  And, he was thrilled.  It goes perfect with the minion posters, t-shirts, key ring and hat that he has collected over the past year.  See?  Still our little boy.

He requested homemade pizza for his birthday dinner. His minion cake was covered in white chocolate ganache (white chocolate is his favorite) and the minions (though they turned out a bit creepy - not my best work) were pure fondant.  He was in sugar heaven.