Besties on Picture Day!

 Waiting for the bus...

Cute Little Entrepreneurs!!

Jenna got a cute miniature snow cone machine with a hand crank a month or so ago. (You can see it in the picture with a white handle and green lid). She is constantly making snow cones and trying to sell them to family and friends. So when Cortnie invited her to help with her lemonade stand she jumped at the chance! These girls sold lemonade (and snow cones -- until they ran out of ice) for about an hour (in the heat) and made about $22.00. They split up the money and each walked away with $5.50. Guess what Jenna is saving her money for? A bigger and better snow cone machine!

Bryce Canyon (Janelle)

This weekend I was invited to go to Bryce Canyon with my friends Brea Bulkley (and her family) and Ellie Kenworthy! It was a super fun trip and I'm super glad that I got to go. Brea and Ellie both run cross country and had a meet in Cedar Saturday morning, so I started by going up with Brea's family to watch them run. They both did an awesome job! 

After the meet we headed up to Cedar Mountain where Ellie's family was camping, because they had invited us to go on Razor rides with them. We had expected it to be hot and dusty, so we were prepared with bandannas to cover our hair, but they turned out to be unnecessary. It had begun to rain a bit on and off throughout the ride, but still felt nice. We went to an area called Mammoth Cave, and decided to explore it a bit. But as soon as we got out of the Razor, it started HAILING, so that was exciting! We sought shelter in the cave and explored it for a bit. After that we went on a ride being confronted by heavy rain and hail on and off. It had gotten a tad chilly, and I usually had my arm out in the rain, so that didn't really help. But it was super fun and we had a really good time! 

After the Razor rides we headed to Bryce Canyon and checked into our hotel. Brea, Ellie, and I went on a hike/walk to a place called The Point, I think. It had a cute river on the way there and Ellie managed to catch a fish in her hands! It was super pretty. When we got back Brea's younger siblings wanted to go swimming, so we dropped them off and got food. We had planned on swimming but all of us were pretty exhausted so we decided to head to bed. There was also a cool firework show for the rodeo that we had a really good view of, so that was fun. 

The next day we all got breakfast and had a little time to go shopping, and I got a few cute shirts. When we had all packed up and headed out, we did a hike through Bryce Canyon called Navajo Loop. It was a lot of fun and really pretty! It wasn't very long but pretty steep so it was still a bit of a workout. After the hike the three of us and Brea's dad kept going to Inspiration point while the rest of her family met us there. It was such an unbelievable view! I kept taking pictures but the farther I went the prettier it got. The pictures really don't do it justice. After, that we split into cars and headed back home, well stocked with snacks. :) It was a super fun weekend and such a great way to spend time with friends while enjoying God's creations!

P.S. If you're wondering about the carrot picture, Bryce Canyon has tall spires called Hoodoos that have really cool shapes, and Ellie decided to carve a hoodoo in a carrot with her teeth. It was really funny :)

Swim Party

 Jenna recently met up with one of her former friends from playgroup six years ago! We all thought it would be fun to invite Cortnie over to renew some old friendships! They had a great time swimming, playing, jumping on the tramp, making snow-cones, and then making hot chocolate with marshmallows (because they were cold from their wet bodies and snow cones, ha ha!)

Josh Soccer

 Josh had his first soccer game today at 3:00 in the afternoon in 105 degree heat!! We receive notifications on our phone everyday that St. George is experiencing a severe heat warning. (Which is pretty normal for this area in the summer, but the heat seems to be lasting longer than usual). I can't even stand to walk to the mailbox in this heat, so I don't know how those kids can play soccer for almost an hour and a half in it! 

Rick and I didn't go because we had signed up for an online interpreting workshop that day and it was at the same time. I don't think I could have handled being out in the heat that long anyway. Josh said that they won the game, 3-1. He scored one of the goals and assisted in another. His team has been practicing for a while now and he is excited to finally start games! (Especially since the season came to an abrupt halt last Spring due to Covid.) Soccer season, here we come!! 

SHAC: Jenna and Friends

Sand Hollow Aquatic Center was closed a good part of the summer while the dome was being fixed, but opened back up in July. Allison offered to bring the girls since they all had a free pass on the starving student card that needed to be used by August 31. I am so grateful that Jenna has such good friends to spend time with! 

Back to School!!

 

The kids were SO ready to start school! And I was ready too! Janelle is now a Senior, Jaiden is a Junior, Josh is a Freshman (9th grade at the middle school), and Jenna is just starting Intermediate School at Lava Ridge. It was sort of a rough first day for Jenna. Since there was a problem with the bus and a problem with lunches.

I was really glad that the bus stop changed for Jenna and Clarissa. Josh, Jaiden, and Janelle all had to walk a half mile to the bus stop on Lava Flow drive and it was often completely dark outside. I didn't feel safe having them walk that far in the dark, passing a couple of sketchy neighbor's houses on the way, and so I drove them to the bus stop everyday. Allison and I even petitioned the bus department to allow them to go to a closer (and safer) bus stop, but they refused our request. So I was pleasantly surprised when I found out that the new bus stop for our girls would be on Vineyard drive instead of Lava Flow. Now we don't have to drive them -- and we can also watch out for them better. Jenna can walk to Clarissa's house and then they can walk to the bus stop which is only a block away. It is much closer and safer. Yay!! 

Allison said that she would walk the kids to the bus stop today to make sure they knew where to go. It is a good thing she did! The bus drove right by them and didn't even stop! The five or six kids who were waiting all had to cram into a neighbor's car for a ride to school. I called the transportation office and reported what had happened. She checked on it and called me back. Apparently the driver had missed two stops on that street. She said that she would call him to let him know and it should be better the next day (and it was).

Then when Jenna came home from school she said that she went to get her gluten free lunch and they told her that she would need a nurse's note. Jenna told them that the school had one, but the lady in charge of school lunches said that they hadn't received any information or requests for gluten free lunches. They agreed to go ahead and make a gluten free lunch for her, but since they were just starting it (instead of having it already prepared and ready) it took the entire lunch period. When it was finally ready Jenna sat down to eat and then the bell rang for them to leave for classes. So she was quite frustrated over that -- and so was I! (The lunch ladies probably were too!)

I was upset because I had just called the school a day or two ago to explain that Jenna was on the list for gluten free lunches. I said that she had a doctor's note on file at elementary school and asked if the note followed her to Lava Ridge or if I needed to update it or get a new one or anything. They checked her file and said that the note was in her file and so I was good to go and didn't need to do anything. That is why I was so frustrated that this happened on the first day of school. I called the school and explained the situation. They were empathetic and apologized, but I am sure they could tell that I was quite frustrated. They said that they would let the lunch ladies know so that they could be ready for tomorrow. (And they were -- they even called Jenna down during one of her classes so that they could see exactly what her needs were. So I was grateful they got it figured out!) 

A week or so later Jenna said, "Do you know why I had such a bad day on the first day of school?" I said, "No, why?" She said, "Because I prayed that I would have a bad day in order for someone else to have good day." I said, "Well, that is really sweet -- but don't offer that prayer again! Just pray for you -- and others to have a good day!"