Family Proclamation Project

I had a big project due in one of my classes at BYU-Idaho online.  My Mom helped me tremendously with this project.  Because of part of her is in this project as well as the subject at hand, this book means a lot to me. 

It was a labor of love, for sure, and I am really proud of it.

 

And Then They Were ALL in School!

Before Ruger joined our family, Hyrum was my baby.  I remember when he went to Kindergarten and suddenly I had free time!  I think I napped for a good 2 weeks before I started volunteering at the elementary school that the boys were at.  

Little did I know that this little guy would come trailing behind and bring me to the First Day of School/Last Day of Having Little Ones With Me Pretty Much All the Time Day!

But the day did come and boy was he happy and ready!  I mean, look at those happy eyes!

Even though he wanted to ride the bus the first day, I insisted on taking him.  Mommy needed it!  After all his complaining, the next day he finally got to get on that bus he wanted to ride so badly.  When I picked him up that day he informed me it was "soooooooooooooooooo boring!"

 

First Day of School 2020/2021

When you have to wear face masks to school because of the Covid-19 pandemic, you might as well make it funny!

Senior...yes, you read that right.

I'm not sure what I was thinking when David and I decided to have these two so close in age...Junior!

8th grade

Ruger won't start until next week but he still had to get in a picture...as well as his alligators.

These were from a few days later but they were too funny not to share!

 

Funny Gifts

"“If I were a Mormon Fundamentalist, I’d would want you as my sister wife!”
Years before I was even married, Valerie started this sister wives thing. It actually started with my sister, April. April + Elton + Valerie = True love! There is a hilarious story behind it but I’m afraid some might get offended, so I’ll keep it between them (us). But after Valerie got married to Shawn it changed over the years. Then one night, one medicine induced groggy night, I found this above saying. Covid 19 was in full swing and the face masks were born. Blame it on the medication, blame it on a hilarious friend, or blame it on my need for them to not forget how much I needed them through a very tough time last year…here you go!""

The above paragraph is what I wrote on Facebook when describing my "gift" to these girls.  The gift was, obviously the face mask, but when they all send me a picture of them in the mask I put them in a collage and ordered refrigerator magnets for each of us.  Definitely silly, but I meant what I wrote when I said that they got me through such a hard time with my Grandma's death and other stuff the year before that.  It was a hard year!  They (and another group of friends from college) kind of were like my therapy as they talked me through things through the app, Marco Polo, on our phones.

Just forever grateful.

My Dad turned 60 in July and I felt horrible when I didn't realize that it was the big 6-0!  I didn't forget his birthday but hadn't realized it was such a significant number.  So we tried to make up for it with an awesome package with the mask and shirt...

...and these stickers, below, on a bunch of Lifesavers.  The shirt was my favorite, though, because of my siblings and I running joke.  We have teased my Dad for years that he is really like a 2nd or 3rd grader because of us growing up with him pranking us, the things he laughs at, and just his kid-like, loving nature.  These are some of the things that we love most about Poppy but we still love to tease him about it!  So a shirt that says, "The first 60 years of childhood is always the hardest" seemed perfect for my "immature" father!

 A few months ago I took care of my friend's dog.  When she got back from her vacation she had made me this shirt.  So I told her I'd wear it the next time we went out to dinner or lunch.  A few weeks ago we finally got to go out.  She came out of her house wearing this, above, shirt!  You know, just in case where ever we go, people don't know who this "Amy Pitt" is!  hahahahaha!

Family and Friends

One of the nice things that David has gotten to do, while in St. George, is being able to see family and friends like the Adams, Lewis, and Hasting families.

 Whether it be going to their homes, eating out, or finding awesome spots to swim, I'm really grateful that David and Levi have them to keep in touch and keep them busy while they are down there!

No Braces!

Before

After

I am absolutely in love with this smile!

Getting braces for your child is not cheap but it is so worth seeing their confidence in their smile.

Soooooo worth it!

We Have 3 Teenagers!

On July 31st, David and I became parents of 3 teenage boys.  Honestly, I'm having a hard time writing this.  2020 has brought a lot of changes.  A pandemic, everything shutting down for a time, the boys having to end the school year with online schooling, wearing face masks everywhere you go, no church for a time, less time being physically with friends...and while these things were all because of Covid-19 there was added changes in our family.  Brigham turned 16 so now we have 2 boys who can date and drive.  Hyrum turning 13, which gave us 3 teenagers.  Levi will be starting his senior year in a few weeks.  

2020 is a year to remember for sure.

We celebrated Hyrum's birthday with rootbeer floats, opening presents from family in Oklahoma, and ended it with David and the older boys playing Roblox with him for a few hours.

The next day, David took Hyrum and Ruger up to Washington Terrace to pick up 2 of Hyrum's best friends.  They went to a trampoline place and then out to eat afterwards.  I love that even though we live an hour and half away from these boys, Hyrum still keeps them close through online games and getting together on birthdays and such.

Hyrum is my most talkative boy but only when he wants to be.  He still gives me random hugs, without me asking.  He loves playing Terraria, Roblox, and Minecraft.  He has a fascination with Japan and recently started learning the language through an app.  He is sensitive to noise and smells.  He fights the most with Ruger but interestingly he is also the one who plays with Ruger the most.  I love watching him light up and suddenly start talking more when a compliment is given to him.  But he isn't comfortable in "bragging" about himself.  He is still very literal in his words and in the way he understands information given to him.  He is not like typical boys his age in many ways and one of my favorite things to remind him is that, that is ok.  We need all types of boys who grow up to be men.  He will offer the world a unique type of man someday.  One who will be sensitive to others while being loyal.  I love this unique boy of mine very much!

 

Randomness

I'm behind in my journaling, so here I am trying to catch up with a quick randomness update.  

Rob, Erin and their children came to Utah to visit.  They spent the evening of Pioneer Day with us in the mountains to watch the fireworks along with Grandma Helen, Stephen, and Rachel.  The next day, Daddy and Ruger joined Rob and Erin's family in a hike up to the "Y."

Just enjoying Splash Summit Waterpark...

...with a "creeper" lurking behind!

Daddy and Levi drooled over some random guy's Lamborghini.  I just shook my head when I saw these pictures.  David informed me that I just didn't understand.  My conclusion: Guys are weird.  ;) 

Daddy and Levi go on hikes, bike rides, or the gym on most nights after work in St. George.  Daddy found a turtle and well, he just knows me too well.  And loves me enough to take a picture of it.