Summer Stuff 1

I realized that I started this post back in June and never finished it up.

Ruger loves almost everything that comes out of our garden.  I juice it sometimes and even if it's mainly greens, he still loves it!  But my favorite thing to see is him and Daddy walking around the back yard with a piece of kale in their mouth.  Yes, you read that right.  Kale!

One night while reading scriptures, this happened and it was too cute not to take a few pictures.

You know the whole saying with cats: "If it fits, I sits."

Morgan Wilson had a graduation get together.

It's still weird to me that she is old enough to be graduated and in college now!

Ruger is in a pre-school type speech class once a week, for an hour.  It's usually at a school but during this one we all met at the George S. Eccles Dinosaur Park.  

And this picture is just a little too fitting:

"World's Most Dangerous Creature"

Movin' On

Just like life always does, it changes.  For some its health.  Or family dynamics.  Trials here and there.  Jobs.  Our family has seemed to see it all.  I don't feel picked on, though.  Because honestly, it happens all around us.  And when I think of that, our family really hasn't seen it all.  

I see someone post something on Facebook about something challenging happening in their lives.   Someone losing a job.  Or watching a loved one go through cancer.  Someone has been in an major accident.  Or I hear someone at church give a talk and they mention they have lost a loved one to death.  Or even worse I know of those who have loved ones that are still alive but only barely and they worry they will lose them to drugs anyday.  The pain of divorce.  The texts from friends who feel completely alone.  I have been through some of this yet some of it I'm grateful to say I have not.  And I feel I can't complain about moving for the 15th time.

Is it really 15?  I'm starting to lose track.  At least we seem to keep moving to the same states.  Only 5 states at this point.  

And we get to go as a family.  So I'm grateful for that.  David has only been on a few jobs where he went and we stayed and we are not a fan of that.  I would rather us all be together.  So off to Oklahoma we go!

So here's the scoop:

We were only back from our trip to Oklahoma for 2 days when David got a call from a headhunter.  Mind you, he wasn't looking for a job.  He likes his current job.  He tells her that he is happy where he is at but then she starts telling him that this company does temple remodels.  He perks up at that because he has done one other temple (Salt Lake City) before and he loved it.  A completely different experience when it comes to construction.  She then tells him that they are in the works of doing the Oklahoma City temple remodel.  What?  That is where David and I were married!

Later he tells me about this phone call.  I don't want to move again.  I love our neighborhood and I really like our house.  Plus, I just don't want to move our older boys away from their friends.  But he's talking about the place we were married!  That is special!  But David tells me right away that this headhunter was just telling him of places and things this company has done.  He says, "Seriously, honey, I bet there is like 2% chance of them even considering me for that.  That remodel is happening soon and I'm sure they have people in place."

Still, even though I don't really care to move, I want him to put his resume in just in case.  And what do you know?  The very next day the Vice President of the company calls David and says that they need a Project Engineer for the Oklahoma City Temple remodel!  It was funny listening to David retell me this.  He said that he literally said out loud, "You've got to be kidding me!"  I'm sure the man on the other line had to think he wasn't impressed or something at first so David quickly told him that he said that and was so shocked because we were married there, his wife's family was there and we literally just got back from vacation from there!

I could go on and on with the little things that have happened since then.  But I don't really need to.  

I don't believe in coincidences.  Well, maybe if they happened every great once in awhile but there are too many things that led to this for it not to be an obvious sign from our Father in Heaven.  I'm used to moving by now.  And I'm not even worried about it.  I did, however, really worry about Levi and credits since he is just starting high school but even that has worked out.  I have had my questions answered and all will be alright.  Just like David told me from the beginning when I started to really get worried about messing things up for Levi, his grades, and college.  Everything will work out.  

And it is.

And More Cousin Time

We got home from Oklahoma on Pioneer Day.  It was also the day that Rob, Erin, and their children were coming by to see us (they were visiting from Texas).

They brought us all dinner from Cafe Rio while the younger kids played in the back yard.

Later that night, we lit off fireworks in front of the house.

Usually we invite our friends who don't have family to spend it with or just anyone who wants to go, really.  But this time we only invited our neighbors so that we could spend more time with the Adams themselves.  And it was nice.  Don't get me wrong, I love having our friends over for things like that.  I feel like it brings us closer together but I also really liked being able to focus on our family when they come and visit and not feel like I need to mingle with everyone else.

A few days later, we went to where Rob, Erin, and the kids were staying (Park City area) and played in the pool.

The following morning, we met David's side of the family, for a reunion, at Jordanelle Reservoir.  

Its always amusing to me as we walk up to these reunions.  Amusing to me because you can not deny who is Steve's (David's Dad) brothers and sisters.  I don't know if I've seen more family resemblance than with these siblings!  

David's cousin, Zel, always brings his boat.  This was Ruger's first time on a boat.

And just like in typical Ruger fashion, he was not in the least bit afraid!

He even got out on the tube with brothers and Dad!  When he came back to the boat with me, he stood up (after the next set of people got on the tube) and said, "Me turn!"  That fearless child!  And seriously, he should have been.  When we first went out on the water (before the tubing) Zel really took off!  But do you think Ruger cried?  Not one bit!

This looks like Brigham, Levi, and Zada are about to fall off but they didn't!  Of course, this is the boy's favorite picture.  They think its hilarious.

Second cousins!  I have this adorable picture of one of the very first reunions that I went to with David and his family.  Levi was under a year old and he was in a pack in play with Zada.  He stole her binkie and then fell asleep with it!

We got another double digit boy!

This is the year that the boys choose, on their birthdays, what they want to do.  They can have alone time with a parent/parents that night or have fun with the rest of the family during the day while Dad is at work.  It took Hyrum a while to figure out how he wanted to celebrate his 10th birthday but he finally decided on SeaQuest in Layton.  It's fairly new and we hadn't been there before.  I personally have always really like aquariums.  But this is very different than the typical aquarium.  

It's an interactive experience with fish AND lizards, tortoises, birds, and the list goes on.  The main feature is the fish, sting rays, sharks...typical aquarium stuff but with so much more!  

 We got to sit under part of one of the large tanks where sting rays laid on top and more swam around us.

 My personal favorite was the sting rays that you could touch.  They are so incredibly friendly.  Hyrum was a little nervous about it.  He barely put his hand in.  Even when he was feeding them.

I, however, couldn't get enough of them.  They don't jump up out of the water.  They position themselves in a way that keeps their upper half of their bodies out of the water for quite some time while they let you pet them!  

I thought they were the most friendly creature I'd ever met!  It seriously gave me so much pleasure touching them.  I really didn't want to move on, but this was about Hyrum and not me. 

 Hyrum's favorite part was the birds.  

 He wants a parakeet now!

 We went in this enclosed room, where they gave us some seeds.  The birds quickly came to the little bowls and ate.

It was fun sharing with him that I used to have birds growing up.  So I showed him how if you slide one finger under their chest and follow it down to their feet, they will naturally get off the bowl and onto your finger.   He seriously was so cute to watch with these birds.

My 10 year old boy is still not a typical boy.  And I wouldn't have it any other way.  He's sensitive and so kind.  He cares very much about other people's feelings.  He randomly speaks of spiritual things on his own, without promptings from Mom and Dad.  He still loves cats and Minecraft.  Being tiny for his age hasn't changed and he is still proud of it!  He proudly calls himself a "gamer" but I'm so grateful that he can get off of electronic games without throwing a fit.

He is still my baby and probably always will be.

Umm....what day are we on again?

I'm not sure what day I'm on now but it's time I wrap this up because I have a birthday boy to blog about!

Our trip to Oklahoma was wonderful.  The trip out and coming home was long at times with the random shoutings from Ruger, "Geico" "Choo Choo" "Cow" "Horse" and "Walla" but it was worth it.  Watching Levi and Brigham play so easily, like no time had passed, with Elton was great.  Hearing Ronald say that Brigham was his only "competition" when it came to playing the Nintendo Switch was just another reason for me to say that I gave birth to a little Ronald when I had Brigham.  I wish I would have spent more time watching Hyrum and his dynamics with his cousins.  I know he enjoyed it though and often saw him with the O'Dair boys or Allie.  My biggest takeaway from watching my children with my side of the family was with Ruger though.

Prior to us going out to Oklahoma, I found myself exhausted with Ruger at lot.  He is just so active.  And he often gets himself into trouble, whether it be because he isn't doing what he knows he should be doing or because he is physically putting himself into danger.  Daily.  And I don't want to admit this but I was putting him in that "naughty" category.  But watching him spend over a week at Nanny and Poppy's house just play-play-playin' quickly made me realize that he is not naughty.  He's bored!  When he's bored, he gets into trouble.  I've got to keep him busy.  Which is an even more so  exhausting realization but I'd rather know what is going on.  Why he does what he does.

So lets end with a few random pictures, shall we?

See this metal cup on Ruger's head?  Nanny, Poppy, MeMaw, and Poppy had these nice drink containers that would often be on the kitchen table.  I would say that probably nightly we would catch Ruger walking around the table trying to see who's cup he could quickly take a sip from.  So just before we left, Nanny and Poppy gave him his own!  As you can see, it can be used for soooo many other purposes than the mere drinking out of it standard way ;) 

 On the night of the July birthday party celebration, we realized that Amanda's name was not on the ice cream cake that was bought.  The party was really only about the great grandkids but we still felt bad that one of the adult names was left out so on Amanda's actual birthday we got another cake.  We purposely had her name big on top!  But funny thing is, by the time we got it home, it had tipped over a bit and so Grandma's name (Judy) was smeared off!  I guess it really wasn't meant to be about the adults after all!

There was little pools and water play at both MeMaw and Poppy's house as well as Nanny and Poppy's house.

And that's all folks!  Until we meet again!