Babysitting the great nieces and nephews

 Benjamin was in pure heaven watching the adorable Scott and Suzie grandkids. We watched Seth and Carlie’s 3 kids and Brighlynne and Benjamin’s 2 kids. Cuteness overload. I was remembering my preschool and kindergarten days. Little people are the best. We collected chicken eggs (we had to supplement because of all the baking this week) 😅. We played on the our geodesic dome and playhouse, went for a wash walk and painted feet!!

LaLa Land Adrian turns 16!!

 My baby turned 16! Her birthday was on Thanksgiving which she was less than thrilled about. But we tried to make it special. I decorated her door with hearts and written talents. We got her (what we thought were her) favorite donuts and her and woke her up with sweet lullabies. We had Thanksgiving at the Smiths. So much yummy food and family. I made her a three tiered strawberry cake which looked like the Harry Potter cake. We sang the Dutch birthday song complete with hip hip hooray. She had a birthday party on Saturday night. She has lots of different friend groups, and they all came out to support her with gifts that really showed how much they know her….sharks themes. Because it was Thanksgiving weekend we had to hustle to get the house looking Christmas themed cause that was her preference and we did it, because we love her. Hopefully she’ll remember such a perfect weekend ( or at least the efforts for it to be) because we love her so much.!!  

Adrian crushes State!!

 Adrian returned to Swim State!! This time with even quicker seed times. She has been shredding her times all season long. She got an all time PR in Butterfly at the event! She swam the 100 butterfly, 100 Back, 100 Medley (in butterfly) and the 100 freestyle relay. Both relays PRd too! Olivia was in town for it so she was able to come and cheer her on. It was a two day event so Olivia spent the night at her old besties roommate's house (Vero and Nick). Benjamin and I spent the night at Hillary and Johns place. Hillary made us blueberry lemon scones and a breakfast casserole in the morning....the best scone I have ever had! Benjamin and I went on a walk in the morning and Hillary and I went to a Christmas market after, then we went to the state race. After the meet Benjamin and Olivia and I went to Chillis and DQ for the drive home. It was a perfect day!!

At the team awards banquet she got the award of “Being most coachable.” I love that award being humble and curious to want to improve. There were very few awards given so it was quite impressive. Way to go Adrian!!

Olivia comes for a visit!

Olivia came for a whole week to visit!! She is crushing adulthood. She has a full time job working in Georgia on a special program that lets her see various business aspects of her company Siemens. She will only be in Georgia for 6 months and that time is quickly coming to an end.While she was in Tucson we hit all the favotes, Sabino Canyon, Jason's Sonoran dogs, La Herradera, the Smith's hot tub, dog walks in the wash, Adrian's swim championships up in Phoenix, Swig and Chillis...What a week of laughter, joy, family bonding and Olivia's zany personality entertaining us all. The boys came over every night to spend time with their sis. She worked remotely and baked in between tasks. Life is always better when she is here. When we were on one of our walks Olivia got the call that her next assignment will be in Santa Barbara, California!! West coast here she come in January!

I found this little gem of Olivia's she wrote this the start of third grade. It's no wonder her writing scores have always been off the charts!

 

Back to my homeland

Our dear friend Anthony married our new friend Angie and last weekend they got sealed in the Pocatello Temple. We were happy to be invited and I was excited to see Anthony's kids, who we raised our kids with. We were literally only in Pocatello for a couple of hours. We had just enough time to stop by my grandparents old house where my cousin Kenny lives. Lucky me my cousin Richard his brother was visiting. They were generous and invited us in. I haven't seen either of them for probably 30 years (im old enough to say that now).. Kenny referenced Lindsey's culinary skills and my "homestead" he really has a great memory. In truth I don't know all of my cousins names because I didn't grow up there and we didn't visit often. Kenny and Richard are two that I actually know! My mom has a special relationship with Richard, they share a birthday and he sends her flowers every year. It is so incredibly thoughtful.

Once upon a time there was a place that never rained....

Is my family obsessed with water in the creek? Yes, but unfortunately it has been one of driest years on record. We had two seconds of rain and this water was only here for a couple of days. It was enough for new puppy Wolf to check it out. I have sorely missed the running water of years past. The creek did churn up the sand a bit enough that it exposed new glass for me! Each walk Benjamin and I take provides a handful to take home to my growing collection. I used to collect the glass in large pickle jars or vases but then I found this beauty made from recycled glass. I had to have her. Pictured is years of collection.

 

Holman gets pinned!

 Holman is a loyal blood donor (just like his Dad). I am pretty consistent but there was a time that the Red Cross kept getting my twin and I's information mixed up and I couldn't donate...It took a bit to finally sort it out. Anyways I digress Holman got a pin for all his donations, what a citizen!