June 2018 (after the Utah Trip)

Sunday, June 10th, I got up and went to church alone.  Everyone else was still recovering from our trip, but I had told one of the nursery leaders I would cover for her so...  I was glad I went.  It was Justice Stewart's missionary farewell address.  She has grown so much and will be an amazing missionary.  Nursery was relatively uneventful, but I was exhausted by the time I got home.  Steve, Naomi and I went to the pool to relax for a little bit.  Jeremy had an interview with the Stake President that afternoon to discuss his mission papers and get everything finalized.   When Jeremy was done they sent the papers off to Salt Lake.  It is only a matter of weeks before the call comes now.  That night, Steve and Nick went to a fireside for all the kids who would be attending Trek.  Nick came back excited (well, as excited as a 16-year-old boy can be) about the whole thing.  This is a good sign.  I stayed home and baked bread in preparation for the coming week.  It was weird to be back into a regular schedule.  

June 11th Nick went to cross country practice in the morning and then the air conditioning guy came by to fix our AC.  It wasn't dead (yet), just making some awful sounds.  It turned out to be an easy fix and we are back up and running.  We spent the rest of the day working in the yard cleaning things up.  The boys came out and helped because they got to use the chain saw to take down a dead tree. We finished off the day with a little grocery shopping.  The kids love coming with me because they usually find something new and interesting they can talk me into trying.   It was a fun day for everyone. 

June 12th I left the kids at home to relax (can you hear them cheering, especially after all the work I had them doing the day before).  I went to school to pick up some things and to help with filing.  It was stuff the envelopes with EOG scores day and several teachers were in helping.  We had a great time catching up with each other while working.  

June 13th after I got Nick to and from his cross country training, I got to work in the yard.  We have a corner that I have been weeding every so often just to have it grow back even worse.  This was the day to end that cycle. I prepared the area and went to Lowes to get enough sod to cover the area.  I will never have to weed this corner again.  There are not words to express how happy I am about this.  That evening I took Naomi to a friend's birthday part and Nick to his basketball skills camp.  It was a good day.  

June 15th was interesting.  Nick went on a surprise double date with his friend, Josh.  It all started with Josh called and told Nick he wanted to hang out and that it would be a double date with a girl he has wanted to go out with, but she had a friend.  Nick came back saying it was weird and awkward and he doesn't want to go on another date any time soon.  That night was the farewell party for the Hansen family.  They were moving to Utah and Nick was/is not happy about that, but...

June 16th we celebrated an early Father's Day since Steve had to leave for his national convention the following day.  We went to Tiajuana Flats for dinner and relaxed together as a family.  

June 17th Steve left early for his stop off in Knoxville to visit Sunny and Bradden before heading on to Nashville.  At church, both of the nursery leaders were out and they needed someone to step in and help ASAP.  It was insane!  When they couldn't find anyone else to help me (because everyone was out of town for Father's Day) Jeremy stepped in and saved my fanny.  He was really cute with the kids and they loved him.  

June 19th we spent the day at Linville Gorge with friends.  It was such a beautiful hike and the cool water felt heavenly in the oppressive heat and humidity.  

It felt and looked like we were hiking through tropical jungles instead of North Carolina. 

The falls from the upper trail. 

Naomi hanging out on top of the wall on the upper trail. 

Our first view of the falls from the lower trail.  

The kids found a way to climb the rocks towards the falls. They almost made it all the way.  

Nick swam to the other side of the river to explore. 

Naomi, Ari and Ido hanging out on the rocks next to the falls.  

A closer shot of the falls.  

This tree framed the trail so well.  It was like an arch we all got to walk under. 

Jeremy and Nick eating lunch on the rock.  

Cooling off in the river with our friends.  

June 20th I felt like I was driving all day long.  It started out with the trek to Rural Hills for Nick's cross country workout with the team.  Next I drove Naomi to Bella's house (which is not far from Rural Hills, but I had come home in between the two trips).  I had some time at home to get a few things done.  I then went back to Bella's to get Naomi and drop her off at home before taking Nick to his basketball camp.  I think I should be an Uber driver.  

June 21st I dragged Jeremy and Naomi with me and Nick to Latta Plantation.  Jeremy, Naomi and I went for a walk on all the trails at the park while Nick worked out with the cross country team.  He is determined to make the team this year.   

A sample of one of the trails at Latta.  It is gorgeous, but we all took turns being the lead person who would carry a long stick and knock down the large spider webs that were across the path.  

Jeremy had the spider stick and we were about to come to an open field which meant no more spider webs - YAY!!!It was pretty enough to make it all worthwhile.  

While we were walking, Steve called to tell us his team had won the lip sync contest the night before. 

A picture of the belt Steve's team got from the lip sync contest.  

June 22nd, Josh and Isaac came to hang at our house before moving day.  They were trying to get together as much as possible before the dreaded day arrived.

June 23rd we ran a bunch of errands in preparation for girls camp the following week.  One of the errands was picking out the new bathroom floor for my "beach house bathroom".  It has taken me over a year to get Steve to catch my vision, but he FINALLY did.  I ran with it.   I ran out and got some groceries while Steve did a final prep on the bathroom floor.  After I got back we put the floor down.  IT IS GORGEOUS!!!!

Before pictures.  

Another before picture. I will post pictures of the finished product when we get it done (that could be awhile because this summer is going to be spent getting Jeremy ready for his mission).  

The new floor!!!!!

June 25th, Jeremy's mission call arrived in the mail.  We waited until 5 to open it and it almost killed us to wait that long.  I don't know how people can wait several days while they plan an opening party or wait until Sunday when the family can be together.  He has been called to serve in the Brasilia, Brazil, mission and he reports November 7th to the Sao Paulo MTC.  He was shocked at first because he really thought he was going European, hopefully Germany.  After it sunk in for a bit, he was really excited.  

Happiness!!!

It must have been in the works for Jeremy to go to Brazil since he was 4 months old.  He wore the Brazil soccer shirt with pride even back then.  

June 26th, Naomi left for her first church girls camp.  She was so excited.  Tabitha had asked me to drive with her so she wouldn't have such a long day of driving on her own.  The camp the stake chose is in the Nantahala National Forest which is a 4.5 hour drive one direction, but it is well worth the drive.  

They look happy NOW - this is obviously the before picture.  

Setting up the tents...  

...in the wrong camp site.  Thank goodness they are so easy to move.  

Naomi is exploring her surroundings in her new camp t-shirt. 

Playing in the little stream that goes through the camp. 

The water was very refreshing after the hot job of setting up camp.

Once we were sure everyone was set up, Tabitha and I headed back to Charlotte.  We stopped along the way and I treated Tabitha to dinner for her birthday.  It was a fun day.  Oh yes, Steve also got a clean bill in regards to his shoulder from Dr. Connor.  He is able to start using the shoulder without restrictions now. 

June 27th was another yard clean up a day.  The boys helped and we got the whole front yard looking really spiffy.  While I was weeding in the back yard I heard some birds causing quite a commotion.  I  found two birds on the fence hopping back and forth chirping in distress and on closer examination discovered that one of their babies was stuck in the deer netting we put up around our garden to keep the bunnies and birds out.  I was able to get the netting open enough for the frightened little guy to escape.  Saving a baby bird really made my day. 

June 28th, the sister missionaries needed help with their transfer so I asked Jeremy if he would be able to pick Nick up from his cross country workout.  I had just pulled into the parking lot of the church when I got a call from Jeremy.  He had been in a car accident and was really freaked out.  No one had been hurt, but the car was pretty banged up.  Apparently, he missed his turn and was making a U-turn when the gentleman he hit tried to pass him in the left across a painted-line island.  The other people there were yelling at him and he was upset.  I told him to stay calm, not talk to the other people and be extra polite with the cop.  I tried to find another person to come and help with the sisters so I could be with him and Nick, but no one was available.  I had Alexis get Steve out of a meeting so I could tell him what had happened and he was able to leave work.  I FINALLY got the new sister and dropped them off at their apartment.  By this time Jeremy was home, but Steve and I were able to assess the damage and talk to the insurance company about what they wanted us to do.  We took the car into the collision place Safeco recommended.  The news wasn't good.  The frame of the car had been bent on impact and would cost more to fix than the car was worth.  We had no choice but to total it out and take the cash.  The only thing I could think at this time was that the accident happened for a reason.  I was doing church service at the time and Jeremy is getting ready to serve a mission. It was still frustrating though.  At least no one was hurt. 

It doesn't look too bad but Yoda had to be totaled.  

On a fun note, Nick was able to spend the afternoon with Isaac and Josh Hansen before they took off for Utah.  They goofed off and I fed them dinner.  They all enjoyed this last get together. 

Isaac, Nick and Josh.

June 29th Steve drove to girl's camp.  He wanted to see the area and help haul girls and their stuff back to the house.  I took Jeremy to work and then Nick and I chilled for the night.  

June 30th we spent the morning cleaning the house before the girls arrived at our house to clean out the tents.  Our backyard is a favorite because it is so flat and it is also large enough for all the tents.  With so many helping hands the work went quickly and the tents were cleaned up in no time.  

Cleaning off the tarps

Tent city - getting them clean. 

When I finally has some time to sit down and ask Naomi about camp she went on and on about how much fun she had and how she can't wait until next year.  Steve said he really enjoyed the drive as well.  That night, after we all got cleaned up, we went to see The Incredibles 2.  Good show.