Our New Home

We are still waiting for furniture, but here are some highlights of our new home!

"The Squad" having Jazz and game night!

Sunday afternoon ping pong tournament

Nick went to scout camp with the old ward and Chris went to BYU lacrosse camp. Dan was out of town on business. Home alone, I was able to get a lot of unpacking done. It was only a teeny bit spooky being by myself.

This super tall ladder literally got built into the house. It was in the attic and then once the sheetrock was in, was too tall to get down the stairs. Whoever it belonged to abandoned it so we had to lower it out the 3rd story window.

It really does feel like home.

Hello New House!

Moving was indescribably exhausting. But using Chris and Nick and their friends to move was genius! We had several more boys volunteer at the last minute, and we were grateful for every helping hand we had! Chris & Nick; Luke, Sam & Max; their cousins, Trey & Charlie; Adler, Isaac & Will; and many of Chris' friends. We loaded the moving van 3 times over with mostly boxes.  They would bring the boxes to the van and Dan would load them up. After we got to the new house, I directed traffic and started putting kitchen boxes away. We were fortunate because the kids were happy to keep working for as long as we needed. Of course lunch in the middle was a welcome reprieve.

These photos don't do the extent of the work justice, but everyone has moved before and everyone knows what a pain it is!!

I was soooo grateful we'd divided the move up with boxes moving on Wednesday, a trip to Pagosa in between, and furniture moving when we arrived home.

I had so much adrenaline I fell into bed late at night but popped up again at 5:00 a.m. to unpack some more. However, I had a lot done before we left to Pagosa and was rejuvenated for the big furniture push and more unpacking when we got back.

Glad it's behind us!!

Pagosa Has Our Hearts

I take the same photos at Pagosa year after year because it's so beautiful, it's impossible to walk away without trying to capture it.

The highlights of this year are that Dan and the boys came with us. The low is that my Dad was supposed to be there too.  It was heartbreaking, yet the beauty of Pagosa has a healing power where everything seems all right with the world if even for a moment.  I think Diane felt it. The boys for sure did.

And if simply being there wasn't enough, a kitten appeared under the trailer and Diane and boys rescued it and brought it home with them. Later found out it was only 4 weeks old. Nobody is sure how it got there, but it definitely didn't have a mother anywhere nearby.

Courtney's friend Ashlyn joined us along with Nick's friend Will. Ashlyn keeps us laughing and is always fun to have around. Will is a good sport and up for anything.

The girls drove in Diane's car and the boys with Dan. We started out by listening to an uplifting talk by Elder Uchtdorf and later laughed so hard we were crying when listening to comedian,

It was good for us all to laugh together and also be able to talk about my dad and our feelings without it being too heavy and with each other, not having to worry like you do with other people that they may start getting uncomfortable not knowing if we're ok talking about him/death/dying/living/memories/future.

Evening ride to the old schoolhouse

Kershaw came with us and loved it!

Home Alone

Nick went to BYU Basketball camp the first week of summer.
Later in June he went on a river rafting trip with the Scouts in our new ward. That same week Chris went on Youth Conference. That left Dan and I home alone. We made a pact we would do something fun each night and not waste our evenings alone together.

See what the shirt says?

Scout Troop River Trip

Tuesday we went to the REO Speedwagon/Styx concert. So fun to sing along to some 80's favorites!
Wednesday we planned to go to a Bees game but got sidetracked when we stopped by the house to discuss some big issues that had arisen with the driveway. We missed the game, but felt good about having unlimited time to really talk and problem solve.

REO Speedwagon!

Thursday we went to the Bees game and the parking lot was empty! We realized it had actually been an afternoon game. So instead we went to the drive-in to see Wonder Woman. Funny thing was the sound in the car kept turning off throughout the movie. And towards the end, it wouldn't turn back on again. The battery was dead. Fortunately after the show some nice car neighbors gave us a jump and we were on our way without too much trouble. (Except for needing to get a new battery the next day!)

Coincidentally, the very next week some teenagers had a dead battery at 7-11 and asked if we could give them a jump. We were happy to have a chance to pay it forward. Unfortunately their car had bigger issues than a new battery and simply couldn't hold a charge. We gave them a ride to their event down the street so they wouldn't miss it. (Sadly, it was a vigil for a friends sister who had died in a car accident. She went to elementary school with Marty.)

Getting comfy at the drive-in

Friday we had a fundraiser dinner but sat on a table with friends. So we successfully went out and did something fun each night while the boys were gone and didn't spend our evenings packing!

Saturday night KT, Meghan and Jacelyn and I went to the Air Supply concert. What can I say, I'm a groupie.

Air Supply with friends and photo bomber

Other June events include:

Nick got his braces off!

Chalk Art Festival -- thinking of Grandpa because he always wanted to enter.

First day on the lake!