10 Years Since the "Popping of the Question"

Labor Day, Monday, September 7th--We made our yearly drive up Big Cottonwood Canyon to Silver Lake. It is a tradition of ours as we celebrate the Labor Day Weekend that Nate took me to this very lake to propose to me. This year marks 10 years since that very special weekend. Nate planned it all on his own. He packed a picnic and we drove up there. There weren't a lot of people at the lake that day (anymore, it's always packed!). We found a picnic table in a beautiful, sunny area next to the ranger station. Lunch was delicious. Then it was time to burn off the calories by taking a walk around the lake. It's a very easy walk and you can often see chipmunks and an occasional moose or beaver. I figured Nate was going to propose to me but I began to wonder as we were nearing the end of the trail heading back to the parking lot. We came to a bench, kind of secluded, and Nate suggested we sit down for a while. We looked at the beautiful lake. I gave thanks for the fresh air and forest that reminded me of my Washington home I had just left behind to be with the man I love. We started some small chit-chat and then Nate got off the bench, got down on his knee, held my hand, and proceeded to share his feelings of love for me and then proposed. It was incredibly romantic and there wasn't a doubt in my mind that I wanted to spend forever with him. We kissed, hugged and then Nate decided we would "commemorate" this moment by "recording" it into the very bench that was involved in the decision we made that day to spend our lives together (thank goodness for sharp keys!). Sadly, that special bench is no longer there, it was old then so it's now been replaced. The first couple of years we would return we could still find it and our initials carved into the right-hand corner of the seat.

Every year we take the kids up with us. We pack a picnic and when we're done eating we take a walk around the lake. We show them the area where Nate proposed. This year we also tried to geo-cache. There was one on the geo-caching website that looked pretty easy. Nate's new GPS pointed the way but, sadly, the "treasure" was either gone or buried some where. The kids were bummed but we assured them we'd go on other treasure hunts. It was fun!

I still can't believe it's already been 10 years! Nate took me up to Silver Lake on the Saturday of Labor Day weekend then on that Monday we went ring shopping. I could have chosen a traditional diamond but decided on a beautiful sapphire instead. Nate liked it too.

We made the decision to become a family at that beautiful lake on the 1st week of September, 1999. I've never regretted that decision, it's the best one I've ever made or will ever make.

**A "Hidden Mickey" we discovered while walking around the lake. We think it's rock. It's near Brighton Ski Resort. You Disneyland/world fans know what I'm talkin' about! : )

4 Funerals and a Tree

Saturday, September 5th--Today, I attended the funeral of Lucas Nelson. He passed away of brain cancer at the tender young age of 8 months. (If you wish to read about his story, told by his parents, please read their blog at http://nelsonsforever.blogspot.com/) It was incredibly emotional seeing him, dressed in white, in his little, white, coffin--the imprint of his feeding tube was still present on his little cheek. He had just recently lost his hair due to the attempts to shrink the tumor via chemotherapy. The funeral service was just as emotional, his parents, Shannon and Aaron, honored us all with their courageous expressions of love for their little son. I went to Lucas' funeral with my friend, Kathy, and her 3 beautiful girls. Kathy's little baby son, Phoenix, died while she was in labor with him on January 4th, of this year. Lucas was born only a few weeks before Phoenix so this funeral seemed to hit Kathy quite hard, which was totally understandable. I remember his funeral too. I don't think I've ever cried so much at a funeral. Kathy stood and shared a beautiful poem she had written for her sweet, little Phoenix. Then we all listened as her daughters and their cousins sang an angelic version of "I Am a Child of God".

A month later, in February, my brother-in-law, Shad, lost his mother, unexpectedly. She had back surgery but there were complications as she began to recover. Connie, was a sweet lady but she was an alcoholic so she had kind of "checked-out" of her sons lives a long time ago. Sadly, the alcoholism might have contributed to her inability to recover.

The end of May came with the news that my grams had passed, while expected, it was still a hard time as I reflected on the memories of her and what a wonderful grandma she was. The last few years had been upsetting as we all watched her memory be affected by dementia caused by many mini-strokes. The last few months she didn't really know anyone and wasn't very coherent.

Up until this year, the last time I had attended a funeral was 2 years ago. Before that, quite a long time ago. This year, I've attended 4 funerals. There were two other funerals, within our close community, I was made aware of this year but didn't know the families. My dad tells me my grandpa doesn't have much longer to live. Then there was the passing of Sadie Huish on June 25th. I didn't learn of her story and passing till 2 weeks after she was laid to rest. (her moms incredible and touching tribute to her is here: http://sadiehuish.blogspot.com/) Sadie passed away from brain cancer too. She was 6 years old.

So you're probably wondering what the "tree" part of my title is all about, eh? This year I'm very excited about a project we're participating in with Nate's brother, Dustin, and his wife, Crystal. We're donating a tree to the Festival of Trees. Part of the inspiration for the design of the tree came from some of the sweet stories Sadies mom tells of her. Our plan is to dedicate the tree to Sadie and Lucas. In doing so, we'll be able to display a picture of each of them next to the tree and we hope to bring awareness to brain cancer in children. The proceeds of the auction of the trees are 100% donated to Primary Childrens Medical Center, where both, Sadie and Lucas, were treated. Our family has also spent time at Primarys when Brady was first diagnosed with diabetes. We were treated so well by the staff as they worked to control Brady's high glucose levels. Those that came in to teach Nate and I how to manage this "new normal" did it with respect and kindness. I remember hearing one of the educators call diabetes a "disease", that was the ultimate reality check. To this day, I still hate that word. It's been 2 1/2 years since and, while I don't like that we have to deal with diabetes at all, I still find reasons to feel blessed. It's manageable. We have scares during cold and flu season so, for that matter, please don't send your sick kids to school or church, it really can make a difference--I don't like taking my son to the ER. Other than that, Brady is a typical 4-year-old (yeah, I know he's a tall giant!). He plays, runs, wrestles and enjoys everything you'd expect him to. Should we do a tree next year, perhaps, it'll be dedicated to him and the three other family members who also have Type 1 Diabetes (Brady's cousins, Jacob & Darci and his aunt, Wendy). In the meantime, this year, as I've asked myself many times over, "What can I do?", I can continue to keep these families in my prayers but also, we can honor their childrens lives, and the tough battles they courageously fought, with a beautiful tree that thousands of people will see and their beautiful faces next to it. I hope those of you that read this, and are living in Utah (or visiting December 2-5), will take the time to attend the Festival of Trees. It is one of my favorite traditions. You will be amazed and touched! ......maybe you'll want to bid on the tree too! ; )

More to come as we prepare and get ready in the few months to come.

Armstrong August Birthdays Party

Friday, August 21st--There are 5 birthdays in the month of August for the Armstrong family: Nate's sister, Wendy, his brothers, Kip & Dustin, our nephew, Quinn and Nate's birthday. For the last couple of years we've combined all the birthdays and we do one party to make it easier on all of us. This year it was held at Nate's parents clubhouse. There's a pool there as well so we ate and then swam a while. Brady's soccer game didn't allow us to be there on time but we had fun anyway. The kids and Nate swam while I had fun holding my niece, baby Eliza. I brought an ice cream cake for the birthday boys (Wendy had to leave early) and it was a great success! They all got some fun gifts and it was nice to visit with family.

The next big birthday month comes in December: 3 on Nate's side and 4 on mine. Oy vey!

Brady's 1st Soccer Game

Friday, August 21st--Just like Elise, Brady had his first soccer game this week. His games will be every Friday through either the 1st or 2nd week of October (so much for Friday date nights, eh!?). Brady got lucky his first year playing soccer, his dad gets to be his coach. Nate was happy to accept the invitation to coach. He's never coached soccer before and knows little about it so coaching the 4 & 5 year olds is a chance to learn. Most of the kids on the team are in our neighborhood so we know them and their parents well. They've had a few practices and are slowly learning how it all works. It's so cute and hilarious to watch these little kids at practices and now at their first game. Brady got his jersey tonight and he's #7. Their team, which they decided to name the "Thunderbirds", didn't do so well tonight, as far as scoring. They scored 1 point while the other team scored quite a few more. But they all tried their best and now their coaches can go back to practice and work on the things that need to be addressed. Brady almost got a goal! He was kicking it into the goal and it hit the bar instead, then the opposing team took control. It's kind of sad to think that ball was only an inch or two away from going in!

It was quite a hot evening so we took the "mister" again and sprayed down all the kids with cool water. Once again, I was impressed with the parents cheering all the kids on instead of just their own.

Biking To School!

Friday, August 21st--(This post was suppose to go before Brady's 1st day back at pre-school but I forgot.) My neighbor friend, Kathy, and I have decided we're going start dropping off or taking our girls to school via bike. We'll alternate. I'm pretty happy about this decision as it's a part of the way I'm going to make my life more healthy. I think it'll be good for Elise too. She seems to love riding her bike anyway. We can usually get to school or back within about 15 minutes and the trail isn't bad at all, a few small hills. We'll be biking to school every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, the days Nate is able to work from home. Tuesdays and Thursday are when Nate goes into work so he can't watch Brady while I drop off or pick-up the girls. Brady still uses training wheels so it makes for slow going and I don't think that would work out well. He is showing interest in learning so maybe, soon, he'll be able to start coming along.

I got my new bike a few weeks ago and just bought a basket to go on front--great for helping Elise when her backpack is heavy or a quick stop to Chevron to get my mug filled with a fountain drink (diet, of course!).

Brady's 1st Day Back To Pre-School

Friday, August 21st--Brady has been pretty anxious for this day to come and, I must admit, I have been too! What this means for mom is 2 hours, 3 times a week, ALL TO MYSELF! What I intend to do with those hours, I do not know yet. Probably a variety of things! Brady had his open house on Wednesday. We were able to meet his teacher, Mrs. Smart. She's a very nice lady, I know she'll do great and be what the kids in her class need her to be as they get prepared for Kindergarten next year. Part of the lesson plans will be bringing home books to start reading. That's crazy to think of but also exciting too! A few hours after the open house we met with Mrs. Smart, again, and the director of Learning Dynamics, Mrs. Dipko. We sat down with them to go over Brady's diabetes care. Fortunately, there were no problems at all last year so we anticipate the same thing this year. We went over signs and symptoms to look for when Brady might be too high or too low and how to use his glucagon kit, should he become unconscious. I had 3 expired kits so I brought them and showed Mrs. Smart and Mrs. Dipko how to administer the glucagon. They did a great job and both feel confident they can do what needs to be done, should something ever happen.

As far as we know, Brady only has one friend from last years class but he says he already made friends his first day---I believe that! And on his very first day he got to be the class "special helper". When I picked him up he was all smiles! I can't believe it's only one more year before my baby is in Kindergarten! As I always say, time flies way too fast!

Elise's 1st Soccer Game of the Season

Thursday, August 20th--Because the 1st day back to school wasn't enough (6:30 am came WAY too early!), we also had Elise's 1st soccer game in the evening. She's been practicing with her team and seems to be enjoying it. She played 2 years ago and loved it--last year I missed the deadline to register. Her coach is Ryan Hart, he lives 2 doors down from us. It's so nice to know who her coach is and trust that he will do a great job with all the kids on the team. Elise got her jersey tonight and she is #4. Their first game was a HUGE success. One boy, in particular, scored many goals. The opposing team only got a few goals in while Elise's team got several. Elise came really close to scoring a goal, herself. By doing so, we saw a lot more confidence in her playing throughout the rest of the game. The final quarter Elise got to be the goalie. We had a good laugh watching as she got bored and, eventually, she ended up laying on the ground because her team kept the ball down at the opposing sides goal getting one goal after another. They only made it back to her goal twice. The team got to think of a name for themselves and they came up with the "dragons". Her games are every Thursday night till the 1st or 2nd week of October. We enjoy watching Elise and Brady play sports, it's so fun to cheer them on. With the hot weather I also bring our "mister" and spray the kids down with cool water. Elise helped me and became instant friends with all her team-mates. Hopefully, in the near future, we'll start to see some cooler Fall weather so the kids don't bake and sweat like crazy as they play their games and practice.

I was so amazed at all the parents of the kids on Elise's team! They cheered for every kid on that team, I've never seen that before. Usually the parents will cheer whenever their kid does something but keeps quiet with any other kid. It helps encourage all of the kids of the team and makes each of the parents so proud too.

Elise's 1st Day of 2nd Grade

Thursday, August 20th--I'm so thankful this year wasn't nearly as emotional as last. I was able to drop Elise off and say "goodbye" without breaking down into tears. Her teacher is Mrs. Simpson. She gets a kick out of her name since "The Simpsons" is a show Nate loves so much (obsessed is a good word too!). We were able to meet Mrs. Simpson at an open house the day before. She is new to Pony Express Elementary. She is very nice and her personality reminds me much of Mrs. Mair, Elise's amazing 1st grade teacher. Elise and I found Mrs. Mair at the open house and she assured us Elise is getting a very nice and wonderful teacher. The only thing I don't like is that Elise's classroom is in a portable this year. I've never been a fan of portables (really, peeps, year round school would solve that problem and I'm am very much for it!) so I don't like the thought of Elise being in one. I just think of her having to go to the bathroom, it's 15 degrees outside, and she has to walk outside to get to the main building to use the bathroom. Ug!

I am excited for 2nd grade and I know Elise is too. She has 3 neighbor friends (one is Adeline and she bikes with us to and from school along with her sister, Savana) in her class, two of which sit next to her. Oddly enough, no one from her class last year is in her class this year.

I packed Elise a big lunch and, just like last year, put a sweet little note of love and encouragement in it.

Our Summer Break Has Officially Come To An End

Thursday, August 20th--Before I blog about Elise's 1st day of 2nd grade I want to take a moment to reflect on our amazing summer. I honestly think it's the best summer I've had for a very long time. We didn't do our usual Washington trip but we were able to make the summer fun regardless. I blogged about a few of the things we were able to do this summer: camping, Bear Lake, lots of boating courtesy of my Aunt Maureen and my sister, Alishia and her husband, Shad, neighborhood BBQ's, Salt Lake City Pass, etc. We also had a lot of fun hanging out with neighbor friends, bringing out the kiddie pool (or our neighbors blow-up water slide) and spending the day outside having lots of water fun and I was able to visit with my neighbor friends. AND, to my astonishment I've discovered my legs CAN tan! I have never been able to get them to tan unless I used some cream that turned them orange. It took plenty of sunburns but they are tan--not dark but it's a great start! The kids and I had great times having picnics on the front lawn or the porch. I truly believe Brady and Elise will look back on this summer with fondess and smiles.
I also started a pretty major diet this summer. It's a jump start to getting on track with a much more healthier life. Nate has also began eating better and working out. To date (Saturday, August 22nd) I am down 22 pounds. I was worried I was pre-Type 2 diabetic and I knew I had to do something. I actually don't mind the changes I've had to make and I'm also amazed that I haven't craved Coca-Cola since I started this all. I've been biking, as has Nate, and I love it. My neighbor and I will take turns biking our kids to school or picking them up. As I am getting older (34 in month!) I am also coming to some realities that I know I need to deal with. I only hope I can keep up the new life change and finally be at a size that I've dreamed of for so many years. It's so wonderful to have support from Nate too.

Happy 34th Birthday, Nate!

Wednesday, August 19th--A very Happy Birthday to my amazing husband, Nate! I wish I could say we were able to make this day absolutely amazing for him but it was loaded with last-minute things to do before Elise's first day of school the next day, open houses for Elise and Brady, work, soccer practice and church meetings. Nate had a busy work day as well. In between open houses I brought out his cake (from Dippidee, the BEST!) and we sang to him, then he opened his presents. Elise and Brady gave him a piano book of popular "Simpsons" songs. I got him a GPS to use for travel but also to do some geo-caching. I figured he might enjoy doing some of that since there's quite a few places to geo-cache in Eagle Mountain alone. He seemed to like both. Then we ate that amazingly delicious cake! Right after it was off to another open house then work and so on.

The night before, since I wouldn't have time today, I made Nate his dinner of choice: homemade lasagna. I made plenty so he could eat it throughout his birthday as well.

Nate,

I hope you're able to enjoy an incredible year full of lots of good times and great memories. I love you so much and am so blessed you are such a huge part of my life! Brady and Elise love and adore you so much and have been so happy to be able to celebrate your birthday too!