Hiking To the Timpanogas Cave

Monday, September 5th--Nate and Elise got up super early this morning to head up American Fork Canyon to hike to Timpanogas Cave. Unfortunately, when they went to sign up to be with a group, the group was full and the next group would not head up till much later. So they decided to hike up to the cave but wouldn't be able to go inside. Elise did great! She received an explorer book and used it often when spotting various leaves, rocks, trees, etc. She and Nate had great views of Utah County. It was a beautiful day! They both wore sweatshirts but quickly shed them as it warmed up. They came home and had naps then told me they want to go back again when they can go in the cave and we should all go as a family. Sounds good to me!

A Picnic In the Mountains

Sunday, September 4th--It's Labor Day Weekend. The sun is shining, it's beautiful and a perfect Sunday afternoon to take a drive up American Fork Canyon and have a picnic. We packed a lunch and some snacks and found a great area with picnic tables and restrooms. It was so nice to be around trees! We spotted several curious chipmunks and squirrels, probably hoping we'd chuck a bite or two in their direction (we're not admitting anything!). The air was fresh and the river flowing nearby sounded wonderful! After we ate our lunch we went on a walking trail. It ended up near a visitors center. We went inside and watched a movie on caves. This excited Elise so she and Nate made plans to head up to Timpanogas cave the next day.

We had so much fun! We decided we need to do this more often!

Elise's First Egg Drop!

Friday, September 2nd--Just less than two weeks into the new school year and all the kids in 4th grade are doing the egg drop. I expected it to be in the Spring but no matter, we have been excited to work on this. I got a lot of tips from parents that have done this project with their older children. I sat Elise down and we brainstormed on what she should do. We found a box that is similar to the shape of a shoe box. She had a great time decorating it with colorful markers. While she was in school, I went to the craft store and bought a big box of styrofoam peanuts. After school she and I filled the box halfway then put an egg in a ziploc bag, placed it in, then covered it and filled the rest of the box with the peanuts. Elise sealed it up and then it was time to test. Heck no, I didn't climb up on the roof! We tested it from the top of the stairs leading to the basement. I threw it really hard! Elise retrieved it and opened it up. No breakage! WAHOO! We tested it again and got the same results.

The big day is here! Two of the 4th grade teachers collected all the various containers and then went to the roof of the school where they tossed each of them down. There were cheering 4th graders everywhere! Some of the packaged eggs were just down-right hilarious. Others were quite creative and amazing. The results for Elise? Check it!:

Intact! No cracks, no nothing. Perfectly safe! WAHOO! She was very happy! It seems like the breakdown of kids whose eggs were broken and kids whose weren't, in her class, was about 50/50. So we will be keeping the peanuts and Brady will do the same one when it's his turn!

Soccer Time! ....uh, yeah....

Monday, August 29th--It's soccer season in Eagle Mountain! Elise loves playing soccer so we signed her up again. Since Nate has coached Brady's baseball team a few times and done soccer and I've been team parent a few times, we decided to take a break from volunteering and just sit on the sidelines this season. Well, apparently quite a few of the parents around these parts have a hard time volunteering for anything so we were asked to do BOTH in a final call of desperation from the committee arranging the teams. How is it that there are 17 kids on the team and not ONE parent is willing to coach or be team parent?!?!? Those on the committe knew we've volunteered before so didn't even call us until everyone else had basically said "No". Unreal, I tell ya! Now, let me be clear, there were a small few that were already volunteering with another team. Nate was not happy to coach. Soccer is not his thing, he doesn't play nor does he know the rules. He's coached for the little kids before but that's pretty easy. Fortunately, Nate's assistant coach happens to know a lot about soccer so he's been a big help. Unfortunately, he's also coaching 2 of his other kids teams (because no one else would) so that keeps him busy on top of his already busy schedule.

Trying to get parents to sign up and follow through for snacks and bring them has been like pulling teeth. I've never seen so many parents whine! They whine about bringing snacks to practice or to the games and that they have to bring so many. They whine about our practice location. They whine about their child having to bring their own soccer ball. I tell ya, there has been no joy in this soccer season for me! I feel like contacting the sports coordinator and telling him that every single parent that has griped and whined about anything that is important for the benefit of this team should not be allowed to sign their child up for the next season. The last thing a coach or team parent needs is a parent on the side-line criticizing. It's not like we're getting paid to do this folks!

Okay, okay, off that big frustration. Elise is having a great time. She loves having her dad coach. She loves playing soccer with other kids, working together as a team. I'm happy she doesn't see how frustrating this is for me and Nate--we keep that between ourselves. She even scored a goal, with the assist of another kid on her team. It was awesome! We are proud of her!

Our Small Harvest

Sunday, August 28th--After church Elise and I went out to check on our garden. Everyday Elise asks if there are any ripe tomatos. We didn't check yesterday because we were at Lagoon. Friday many of the tomatos looked like they were turning and today there were a big handful of grape and a few Roma's! Elise was jumping for joy! I'm serious, this girl loves tomatos that much--which is a miracle since she's so dang picky! She and I picked all the ripe tomatos and brought them inside. I rinsed them and she had most of these gone by the end of the day, no kidding! Hooray for healthy things Elise loves!

Nate's Work Lagoon Day!

Saturday, August 27th--For the first time ever, Nate's company sponsored a day at Lagoon. The company brought in a new head guy that is doing wonders for employee morale. Everything is always "not-in-the-budget" and he's turned that around knowing employees need to feel appreciated. Along with passes to Lagoon, the company provided a buffet lunch and raffle prizes. It was SOOO HOT!!! Still, we had a great time! We loved some of new rides that weren't here last time we came a few years ago, including "The Odysea". We spent time going through all the buildings in Pioneer Village. I really liked the carriage house with all the various carriages. The line for Rattlesnack Rapids was insanely long so we skipped that. Much of Lagoon is just as it was when I was a little girl, coming down to Utah to visit my parents families. I have many fond memories at Lagoon and am glad to carry on the tradition of fun with my own kids.

Elise's Piano Recital

Friday, August 26th--Elise performed in her 2nd recital tonight. She's getting better and better, showing great talent. She seems to still enjoy learning how to play piano so we hope that'll last for years to come. Her teacher, Sister Mitchell, is very patient and talks all the time about how much she loves teaching Elise. Elise performed "Distant Bells" and did a great job, no flaws that I could tell. This is a song she plays quite often. We are so proud of her! Hopefully, Brady will want to start piano lessons next year.

Elise's cousin, Christopher, started taking lessons from Sister Mitchell this year. This is his first recital and he did well!

First Day of School!

Tuesday, August 23rd--Last night I packed lunches. This is Brady's first day of full-time school and, just like with Elise, I sent a loving note along with his lunch. I hope he reads it and Elise reads hers. The kids and I rode our bikes to school. It was a beautiful morning! When we got there, things were kind of hectic as we found which lines each of them should get in for their new classes. I had to take big breaths as the anxiety kicked in. Brady is in someone elses care and I've got to trust that but I'm still quite nervous. As each teacher came out I took a pic with the kids and them. Elise with Mrs. Carpenter and Brady with Mrs. Simpson. We're excited for a great year!

Back At Seven Peaks

Monday, August 22nd--Our last day of summer! Tomorrow is the 1st day back to school for Brady and Elise. We decided to end summer with a trip to Seven Peaks. We got there bright and early to get a spot. I enjoyed some quite time reading while Nate took the kids and cousin Kayla on the various water slides. We all had a great time! We ended up leaving around lunch time and stopped at JCW's for a shake. A great day for our last day of summer!

Happy Birthday Nate, Kip & Dustin (and Wendy, In Heaven)

Saturday, August 20th--Every year we celebrate the Armstrong August birthdays with one combined party. We did a special get-together at our house for Wendy's birthday. We did dinner and Jenny's delicious chocolate cake. It was bittersweet as we enjoyed each others company but sad that Wendy was missing in the celebration.

Rosemary wanted everyone to meet for Nate, Kip and Dustin's birthday celebration at a really cool park in Pleasant Grove. Quite an amazing place, built like castles, huts and all sorts of other things. It was SOOOO HOT and windy!!! We found a shaded patch of grass and set-up everything pic-nic style. Everyone brought their own dinner and side to share. Aside from the weather, we had a great visit and the birthday boys seemed to enjoy themselves too!

It's Showtime!

Friday, August 19th--After Nate's birthday celebration, I went outside to check our garden. We decided to plant a garden this year.....for the first time ever! We planted tomatos, pumpkins, lettuce, carrots and rosemary. The carrots and lettuce were a bust but the tomatos and pumpkins are growing like crazy! We've had so many tomato's grow and have been waiting for them to turn red. Tonight, I noticed a few of them had. WAHOO! Elise is going to be so happy! She eats tomatos like candy. She happily tested these ones and LOVED them! A few pumpkins are starting to grow as well. So exciting! I think we caught the gardening bug!

Happy 36th Birthday Natey-pooh!

Friday, August 19th--Nate turned 36 today! We invited Nate's parents over for his dinner of choice: beef stew. I made a cake from an amazing book called "Cake Doctor". Nate picked the one he'd like best. A vanilla cake with buttercream frosting (so yummy!). The kids picked out some Kinect games they thought he (they) would like and we got him his favorite snacks, Gummy Lifesavers. It was a quiet birthday but I think he still had a fun time. Of course, the kids wanted Nate to open the Kinect games and try them out, er, I mean they wanted to try them out so they could tell him how to play them. Such thoughtful kids! Goofballs!

Happy Birthday to my favorite person! Love you tons!

Good-bye Old Friend!

Wednesday, August 10th--Today Nate said good-bye to his old, trustworthy car, his Hyundai Elantra. He's had it since the Fall of 2002. It had fairly low mileage, considering it's almost 10 years-old and was still in fairly good condition. He wanted an upgraded car, one we could do road trips in since the Trailblazer isn't handling long distance driving as well anymore. Nate is real good at doing homework before he sets out to buy anything. He read Consumer Reports and did some internet comparisons on various cars. The best car for all of his needs and desires is the Hyundai Sonata. He was able to find one and bought it at a really good price. It's silver, has tinted windows and has a lot of fun special features that come standard on the new Sonata's. We look forward to driving it to Anaheim in October, it should cut down on our gas consumption quite a bit!

We posted an ad on KSL to sell the Elantra. HOLY MOLY, I was getting calls like crazy! It was insane! A young couple drove from Bountiful to check it out and decided they wanted it. Ad posted, car sold and taken away all within about 4 hours. Sheesh! I can't say I'll miss the Elantra, since the Sonata is so nice, but it was sure good for the purpose it served Nate and our family.

A Night At the Bees Game With Dad

Tuesday, August 2nd--At the end of Brady's baseball season, each team player was given a ticket to a Salt Lake Bees game. Nate was the coach and had a few left over. Tonight, he took Brady to watch a game. Brady said "No girls allowed!" so Elise and I had our own GNO. We went and had dinner while the boys watched their Bees game. It looks like Brady and Nate had a great time too!

Looks like Wendy made an appearance in the form of a double rainbow, much like the ones we saw a few short days after she passed away, while at an Orem Owlz game. She sure loved baseball!

A Beautiful Bride!

Saturday, July 16th--From sad to happy at the end of this week! Brady's sweet Kindergarten teacher, Cindy Sorensen, was married this weekend. She and Matt look very happy and very much in love. We attended their reception in Alpine. She is a very beautiful bride and is GLOWING! It was also a reunion--many of her Kindergarten students came with their families. Brady got to see some of his friends. We're so happy for her and Matt. They are a cute couple! Congrats to the Anderson's!

Wendy's Viewing & Funeral

Tuesday, July 12th--Last night was Wendy's viewing. It was held at the funeral home. Because she requested her body be donated to the U of U Medical Center, a casket was rented and she was dressed and "presented" just as if she was being buried. We set up a few tables full of various things in remembrance of Wendy. We were amazed at how many people had sent or brought flowers. They were so beautiful! Along with the flowers sent by Nate's company, we were touched to see flowers sent by my parents and my sister, Alishia. My other sister, Amanda, wanted to send something different so she did a huge chocolate chip cookie with a beautiful Hawaiian saying on it. Something our family requested, via her obituary, was that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. We were so happy and grateful a few people had made donations to the JDRF in her name.

Wendy looked so beautiful. During the day, Rosemary, Jenny and our SIL, Marissa, had gone to the funeral home to dress her, do her make-up and hair. They all did a great job! She even looked like she was smiling, in a way. We greeted many family, friends and her co-workers. We were told her passing was such a shock to her co-workers, grief counselors needed to be brought in. She was such a huge asset to the company she worked for. We would see co-workers come in their scrubs, straight from work, just to see if what they heard had been real. They would look at her and leave in tears. It was heartbreaking to watch. The day before she passed away she had done some work in the morning.

Later in the evening, Jenny told me something she had been watching Brady do. I hadn't noticed but she did. As she sat on a couch, close to the casket, she noticed Brady would periodically walk up to Wendy and just look at her for a moment then he would leave. He did this several times. At one point she asked him to come over to her. She asked why he kept going up to Wendy, look at her, and then walk away again. He told her whenever he went up to her she would talk to him. He couldn't see her lips move but he could hear her voice. Jenny asked what Wendy told him. He said she would say, "I love you, Brady!" Of course this got me emotional! But I am so thankful he had those special moments and I pray he remembers them for the rest of his life.

Her funeral was held at the LDS ward building she had her records in. Her parents are also in this ward. The funeral home brought all the flowers and displayed them beautifully. We had an hour before the funeral for another viewing. We were greeted by many more family members, who were not able to make it to the viewing the night before. Fifteen minutes before the funeral began, we closed off the room from visitors and it was just her family. Her casket was closed and Nate's brother, Dustin, said a beautiful prayer. I had held it together quite well up until then. From then on it was waterworks the rest of the funeral. We escorted her casket to the chapel where beautiful words and music were expressed on her behalf.

At the end of her funeral, the pallbearers, which consisted of her brothers and the two oldest nephews, took her casket to the foyer for the men from the funeral home to take her back. This part had many of us break down. Elise and Kayla cried uncontrollably, which broke many hearts. It took some time to be calm and composed again. We were blessed to have a luncheon provided by ward members. It was a delicious spread of ham, funeral potatos, salads, rolls and desserts. After we were full, Dustin had each of us be videotaped remembering some fond memories we personally had of Wendy.

Back in 2009, my grandma passed away. At her burial plot we did a balloon launch. Everyone received a balloon and we all let them go together. For several minutes we watched those balloons rise above us into the blue sky. It was an amazing experience! I asked if I could provide that same experience at the end of Wendy's funeral. Our family happily accepted the idea. Rosemary wanted us to launch the balloons from a special place in the hills above their house. Her other request was that they be pink, since that was Wendy's favorite color. I ordered 2 dozen balloons in various colors of pink. We picked them up before the funeral. The various pink colors together were breathtaking--so gorgeous! We all made our way up to Rosemary's special spot. Everyone got a balloon, even the little ones. Together we all said "We love you and miss you Wendy!", then they were launched. Just as the experience at my grandma's funeral, it was an amazing thing to watch those balloons rise up. It was a very long time before we couldn't see them anymore. The sky was blue with a few clouds. The clouds made it easier to see the balloons even when they were so far up in the sky. Many of our frowns turned to smiles watching those balloons.

We went back to Dan and Rosemary's house afterwards. We all relaxed for a while. Along with the many snacks and meals sent from gracious neighbors, I also broke open the large cookie my sister sent. We nibbled and munched for a while then decided to head home. We took home the beautiful flowers from Nate's company and my family. We also took the spray of flowers that was on Wendy's casket. I volunteered to dry all the gorgeous pink roses on the spray so everyone could have some preserved as a remembrance.