July 2017

July was full of ups and downs.  It started out with me being called into the Stake President's office.  I was hoping it was a "submarine job".  You know, where they call the wife to make the appointment but it is really about the husband.  They do it to keep you on your toes.  No such luck.  I was called to be the new early morning seminary teacher for our area.  As much as the human side of me wanted to yell "NO!!!" and run out of the office, the spiritual side of me that had been fasting all day and praying all day knew that it was the right thing.  I asked if there was any way I could do both seminary and Young Women.  President Page looked at me and very gently told me "No. but there is someone out there who is ready to take on the responsibility of the Beehives.  Don't worry about them."  That made me fell a tiny bit better.  I still cried the whole way home (and for several days afterwards.  In fact, I am tearing up while typing this.)  Back at home we decided to have a little fun with the kids while breaking the news.  They met us at the door and asked what the Stake President wanted.  We had them sit down and I told them that Steve had been called as the new bishop.  The looks on their faces was priceless.  I wish I had the camera ready to catch this moment.  We let them think that for a minute or two and then told them about my seminary calling.  They were all relieved.  Naomi was a little upset that I wouldn't be with her in Young Women, but Nick was excited that he would just have to come downstairs every morning instead of drive to someone else's house.  In the end, it all worked out.  I told Naomi I would still be there for her activities to help out.  

July 4th we got up early and went for a walk while it was still relatively cool.  The rest of the day was spent at the pool.  It wasn't very crowded and the kids got to enjoy their friends and some of the activities.  That night we barbequed in the back yard and went to the neighborhood firework show in the cul de sac.  It was a very relaxing day.  

Setting off fireworks in the cul de sac with the neighbors.  This has been a tradition for the last 15 years.  I love our neighbors.

July 5th Steve and I were up and at the hospital by 5 am.  Steve was having his lithotripsy to break up the 13 mm kidney stone.  After I got his all settled I hurried home to make sure Jeremy and Nick left in time so Jeremy could get Nick to track practice and then get to work on time.  I picked up Naomi and we headed back to the hospital to get Steve.  He was really loopy and a little nauseated but we made it home okay and got him in bed.  I left Naomi in charge while I went and picked Nick up from practice.  On the way home, Matt called and wanted to get together with Nick so they got that all planned.  When we got home, Nick mowed the lawn and then I took him to Matt's house.  Naomi held the fort down the whole day and made sure Daddy had everything he needed.  When I finally got home from running everyone around all day I packed my things for Girl's Camp the next day.  I was exhausted that night.

July 6th I was up early in order to get Nick to another track practice and then I headed out for Girl's Camp.  It was a long but beautiful drive to the Smokey Mountains.  The area is called Nantahala and it is stunning.

My GPS sent me down a tiny side road that was a short cut.  It was very bumpy, but it was the prettiest part of the drive.  The road had a stone wall on one side and a river on the other.  I was captivated by the scenery the whole drive.  It ended up being a shorter distance, but it took me longer because I kept stopping to take pictures.  

The river on my right.

The stone wall on my left.

This waterfall reminded me of the painting my dad did for me of the waterfall in Big Cottonwood Canyon back in Utah. 

Here is the painting he did for me.  The two waterfalls are very similar.  It was a fun discovery. 

More of the stone wall.

I finally made it to camp and all the girls were so excited to see me and tell me all about their week.  I felt like a rock star the way they gathered around to say "Hi!"  They had been up there since Monday.  I was only there for Thursday and Friday to help bring the girls and their gear home.  It had rained a lot for them, but that didn't dampen their spirits at all.  They said it was the best camp ever.  I spent the rest of the day following the girls around and doing what they were doing.  We had some free time and they showed me their favorite places and told me all about their week.  That night we had a wonderful dinner of baked potatoes with chili and other fixings.  After dinner, we had our testimony meeting with the stake which got cut short by a huge cloud burst of rain.  Everyone scattered back to their camp shelters to finish the testimony meeting with just their ward groups.  By the time our testimony meeting was over it had stopped raining and was dark enough to play glow in the dark soccer.  Sister Miller had enough glow bracelets for everyone to decorate themselves so they could be seen in the dark.  The ball even glowed when kicked.  We played until we were all good and ready to sleep.  I hadn't even bothered to set up my tent because it was so rainy.  I slept in the back seat of the truck.  It wasn't terrible, but I wouldn't recommend it for a long-term sleeping solution.

My cute beehives heading to their next mini-workshop.  I love these girls!!!

I was helping the food crew move this canopy and got a bunch of collected rain water on me.  I was now initiated into the soggy club. We all got a good laugh about it  

The next morning we were all up bright and early to break down camp and head home.  I helped the girls get their stuff in order and get their tents down.  We didn't have to pack them up neatly as they were all wet and we were going to be setting them up in my backyard later in the day to get them clean and dried.  It wasn't long before we were all ready to head out.  

One last picture before heading out.  

We stopped briefly for lunch on the way home but that was about it.  The girls were SOOOOOO ready to be home and have a shower.  The last item of business was setting up all the tents in our backyard and having the girls make sure they were clean and dry.  Jeremy, Nick and Naomi helped play host by getting everyone water and popcicles to keep us hydrated and cool.  It turned out to be fun for everyone and we were done very quickly.  

Waiting for the tents to dry and enjoying the shade.  

After the girls all left I had just enough time to take a shower before the scouts started dropping off their gear for scout camp.  It was an eventful day.

July 10 the boys were all up bright and early (5 am) so they could get to camp, get settled and be on time for the merit badge classes.  They were supposed to leave Sunday after church but someone called the Stake President and complained about the boys travelling on Sunday so they had to leave EARLY on Monday.  It all worked out.)  I got daily updates from Steve while they were gone.  They got just enough rain to keep the temperature down a bit but not hinder any of the activities.  They boys all had a great time.  It was a successful camp.  The best part was that Steve did not have any problems with the kidney stones.  Hopefully the lithotripsy fixed everything.

Steve and one of his scouts climbing "the wall".

Steve showing the scouts how it is done.  They didn't think he could beat one of them up the wall.  They were wrong!

Since the dining hall had burned down after a lightening storm last year they had to have a portable kitchen this year.  Steve was on the committee to make sure the food happened.  Ironically, the food was the best it has ever been even without a full kitchen.  

Getting ready to shoot the arrow and a butterfly landed on his finger.  

Steve got a bullseye.

This year it was Nick's turn to do the ATV program.  He loved every minute of it.  

It iPhone hat Steve and Tanner designed to they could film Garrison doing the timed lake swim.  

Flag ceremony on the last morning.  

Nick sporting his rain gear.  

Every year, the Scoutmasters and Senior Patrol Leaders get to compete in the Turkey Shoot.  The team with the best combined score in shotgun, rifle and archery win the coveted trophy.  Nick and Steve won it this year!  Way to go, boys! 

While the Steve and Nick were at camp and Jeremy was at work, Naomi helped me get ready for the Personal Progress Packet activity.  We picked out fabric (she is really good with matching colors and patterns), got every thing ready, played at the pool, got a free Slurpee on 7/11, and played with Croshaw kids in their pool so Karilee could go to the doctor.  I went to a seminary meeting designed to help me get excited about teaching.  We also mowed the Johnson's lawn for Nick since he was at camp and Naomi needed the money for the cruise.  We helped a neighbor clean out a portion of their garage that had gotten scary and dangerous.  We did a little shopping for the cruise and dug up more iris to transplant.  Naomi even did some drawing.  She is getting really good.  

The girls loved sewing their Personal Progress Packets.  

We had a lot of helpers.  Everyone had a good time.  

I had to take a picture of Jeremy's car because this is what Steve's car looked like most of the time while we were dating.  It is genetic!!

July 14th the boys were back home from camp.  Nick had told me all about how much fun he had doing the ATV program and winning the Turkey Shoot.  It was fun to see his excitement.  All of a sudden it hit me about teaching seminary and not being with the youth on weeknights.  I started crying.  Nick of course was worried. I told him, "I think I made the wrong decision about seminary."  Jeremy came into the room and gently said, "Mom, it wasn't your decision to make.  You got your answer.  Trust it."  So wise for his age.  What did I do to get so lucky!!

July 15th I finally had time to take Tabitha to lunch for her birthday (which was in June).  We had both been so busy we finally had to make time to get together.  I always love talking with Tabitha.  We can be serious or silly, but we always have fun when we are together.  Back at home Tabitha had all the Croshaw kids and it was a little chaotic with extra bodies and some remodeling going on.  I offered to take a few of the kids with me.  Naomi was thrilled.  She got to spend the afternoon playing with Ashley and Haylie.  WIN-WIN!!

July 21st Steve went back to the urologist and found out he needs another round of lithotripsy.  There is still a 6 mm stone in there that will be difficult to pass.  URRRRRGGGGG!

July 22nd we went as a family to the temple for the youth temple trip.  They needed both Steve and  I to help facilitate the baptisms.  Jeremy was gone for the day with his friends which meant Naomi got to come with us and wait in the temple waiting room while we did youth baptisms.  It ended up being a great day.  I loved being in the temple with Steve and Nick and Naomi had a good time reading and exploring the temple grounds.

July 24th we celebrated Steve's birthday early since he would be having litho on his birthday.  We had flautas, guacamole, homemade salsa, queso, chips, banana bread and Thin Mint icecream.  it was a fun event.

July 25th Steve went in for in pre-op exam and found out that he has two stones (one we knew about, low down that was almost through passing and a 4 mm that had slipped in at the very top).  With two stones in the ureters the doctor cannot perform litho.  Instead he is going to go in and surgically capture the stones and insert a stent that will prevent the 6 mm from trying to pass while we are on the cruise.  Not what we were hoping for, but at least it happened before the cruise and we can get it all taken care of.  It is a good thing in that the 4 mm was slowing the flow down to the point that neither passing stone was even moving.

July 26th we were back at the hospital for another surgery.  When all was said and done (from prep to walking out the door) the whole thing only took a little over two hours.  The doctor met with me and answered my questions so I could make sure Steve would be okay while we were out of the country.  The procedure went well.  Dr. Ferraro was able to get the two stones that were stuck in in the urether and get the stent in place.  He tried to get the 6 mm while he was in there, but it was too far into the kidney to capture.  Everything looked fine for the mean time.  He even gave me a prescription for some antibiotics in case of infection while we were gone.  I was worried about that and Dr. Ferraro thought of it before I even had to ask. He is an amazing doctor.

The kids and I got Steve this awesome t-shirt for his birthday. 

He got himself a couple of kidney stones and some surgery.  Happy 50th!!

The recovery from the procedure went very well.  Steve was back up and at it the next morning, working from home, with only minimal discomfort.  The medication helped a lot as well.  Thank goodness for modern-day medicine.  

July 27th Naomi and I went to LNC to meet the new band director.  She was still upset about Mr. Venable retiring.  Meeting Mr. Scarangelli helped ease her worries a little bit.  He is going to be a great teacher.  We hurried to the church after the meet and greet in order to be there for Sam Adam's Eagle Court of Honor.  I didn't get to be there for much of it because they needed help in the Young Women activity.  It was still a good night.  I am so proud of Sam for all his hard work to get to Eagle.  He is the first in their family to achieve that rank in scouting.  His two older brothers only got to Life Scout!

Naomi's latest drawing. 

Another work in progress. 

Movie night with the Young Women.  

The month ended with the youth cleaning the church.  I love the Beehives!!!!  Every single one of them that was in town (we were only missing 2) showed up and helped get everything clean and ready for church the next day.  I love these girls!!!!

Back at home we were frantically packing, cleaning and mowing in preparation for leaving on our cruise the next day!!!!

June 2017

June started off with a lot of endings.  The middle school had their year-end awards assembly.  Mrs. Hammond, Naomi's teacher, sent me an Steve and invitation to the awards ceremony to see Naomi get a special award.  We were excited and tried to keep it a secret from her.  She was surprised to see us both sitting there in the audience with the other parents.  The day was full of surprises.  By the end of the assembly Naomi had received three awards:  Top 5th grade Band Student, Top 5th Grade Social Studies Student for the Hammond/Walker class and A Honor Roll for the whole year.  It was a fun day.  

Naomi finally noticed us.  

Receiving her Top 5th Grade Social Studies award from Principal Graham.

Receiving her Top 5th Grade Band Student award. 

Straight A's all year long. 

So proud of all her hard work.  

June 2nd was the last day of school.  Sunny and Bradden arrived late that night in preparation for graduation the following day.

June 3rd we were all up early and getting ready for the big day.  My baby was graduating from high school.  I have done a whole other blog going into the day in detail with a ton of pictures.  Check it out.  In this blog I have included some other fun pictures from our amazing day.

Mrs. Walker and Mrs. Hammond were there supporting their students who were now graduating.  Naomi took advantage of this photo opportunity.   These ladies made her 5th grade year so much fun.  

Cannon craziness

Naomi is getting excited for her graduation day...just not yet, please!!

I love this family of mine.  

Lunch at Razoos after the graduation ceremony.  Nothing like a little alligator to celebrate adulthood. 

That night was seminary graduation.  

Two diplomas in one day!  So exciting and exhausting at the same time.  

Nick wanted chicken and waffles.  I should have warned him about the exploding bags of pancake mix.  We got a good laugh over this one.  The chicken and waffles tasted even better after all this hard work.  

Naomi found this bird at the craft store and thought Jeremy might need it for his collection.  The bird found a happy home in Jeremy's crazy hair.  Time for a haircut.  

June 8th I got to go to lunch with Sandra.  I love catching up with all that she has been doing and we love to talk about her mom and what an amazing lady she was. That night was our Young Women pool party at the Arias house.  The girls had a good time just relaxing and enjoying some down time together.  

June 9th we had two graduation parties - one for Justice Stewart and one for Justin Muller.  I can't believe that all the kids are graduating.  It feels like just yesterday they were all going into Sunbeams (3 years old) at church.  Watch out world!  This is a great group of kids coming your way. 

June 10th all the scouts met at one of the pools here in Highland Creek to complete the scout swim test in preparation for scout camp in July.  Nick was one of the first kids in the pool so that I could get him to his sports physical on time.  A clinic in Huntersville was offering free physicals for kids at LNC.  We ran into Mr. McKay, Nick's math teacher, who told me that Nick got a 4 on his math EOC.  WOW!  Last year Nick got a 2 (out of 5) so this year is a HUGE improvement.  Mr. McKay was an amazing math teacher for Nick.  He had a way of explaining things that was so much easier for Nick to understand and retain than in years past.  

Back at home, after the physical, we all worked in the yard as a family for a bit.  Steve, Nick and Naomi wanted to go to the pool, but Jeremy didn't so he and I went grocery shopping instead.  It was a nice way to end a productive day.  

I think Nick might need a new scout shirt.  

Naomi and her friends took my camera and Lili's bunny, Carlos, out for a little photo shoot.  

They loved his adorable teeth.  

This was voted the favorite picture of the whole photo shoot.  

At work Jeremy was moving some really dusty boxes.  Everyone was given a mask so they wouldn't have to breath the dust.  They had fun decorating them.  He is really enjoying working in the tech department at LNC over the summer.  

June 11th we all slept in until 9:00.  We must have been tired from all the activity of the day before.  That never happens.  

June 13th Steve got up with kidney stone pain at 3:30 am.  We were off to the Emergency Room to make sure this one was passable or if he would need some help.  After 4 hours, a CT scan and 3 rounds of Morphine we were sent home to hopefully pass the 3 mm stone.  Luckily things were busy at week and Steve was able to take a couple days off while dealing with this.  

Later that night I dropped Nick off at the church.  For Youth Conference this year they were going on a tour of church history sites in New York and Pennsylvania.  Nick was super excited to have this opportunity.    

Nick and Josh waiting to get on the bus.  

Abby, Mary, Josh, Sam and Nick.  

June 15th he went to see a urologist as a follow-up.  Dr. Ferraro sent him to the hospital to have some x-rays done prior to the visit to see if there was anything else in his kidneys that needed attention.  Sure enough!!  There were two more stones waiting to make their appearance.  One was 5 mm and the other was 13 mm!!!!  The 5 was going to be tough to pass but Steve could do it on his own.  The 13 mm (the size of a marble), however, was going to need some help.  After Break Throughs (the national conference Steve organizes every year) we were going to have to schedule lithotripsy.  

That night we hosted the Deacon/Beehive activity at our house.  Every year when the older kids go to Youth Conference the younger kids get to choose an activity.  Last year we went roller skating.  This year they wanted to see the Batman Lego Movie and have different kinds of popcorn.  We packed into our front room and had a great night.  

June 17th was full of fun in preparation for Father's Day.  The Young Women were in charge of the ward gift to all the fathers.  We decided to do homemade cookies with a sign that said, "Dad, you are one smart cookie.  Happy Fathers Day!"  The presidency each baked 5 dozen cookies and we got together the morning of the 17th to assemble everything.  While we were assembling cookies, Jeremy and Steve went to our friends, the Maughans, and helped them moved tools and garage stuff to their new house.  Later that evening Steve and Jeremy went to Pippas Cafe to hear Kev Brawley perform.  The Youth Conference kids were supposed to arrive back at the church at 11 p.m.  I got a text from Nick about 10:30 that they were still about 2 hours away.   They finally arrived at 1 a.m. but they seemed to have a great time on the trip.

The next set of pictures is from Youth Conference.  Nick had a great time touring all over New York and seeing the historical church sites.  

Nick's view from the bus.  

Their first glimpse of New York. 

The Peter Whitmer Farm house.

The Hill Cumorah from the bottom

The Hill Cumorah at the top.  

Nick decided to roll down the hill.   This was his stopping point.  He didn't expect the last drop and the paved walkway.  Thank goodness he wasn't hurt.  His friends said it was epoch!

Grandin Press where the Book of Mormon was first printed.  

This is the visitors center at the hill Cumorah 

The Sacred Grove - This was Nick's favorite place on the whole trip.  He was so worried that with so many people going into the grove at the same time that it might be noisy and not sacred at all.  Thank goodness everyone felt the amazing spirit of the grove and it was quiet for all the visitors.  

Walking through the Sacred Grove.

The house where Joseph Smith lived as a boy.  

The road leading up to the house. 

This is the second house that Joseph Smith and his family lived in 

Nick loved this barn on the Smith farm.  

He also loved this pathway on the farm. 

Looking toward the Sacred Grove from the Smith farm.  

A map of the farm and Sacred Grove area. 

Nick's group finished the Joseph Smith tour early and had a minute to wait before loading back on the buses.  The leaders asked if anyone wanted to go into the grove one last time before they left.  No one wanted to go, except Nick.  He was in the Sacred Grove all by himself.  Definitely a trip highlight.  

They stayed in cabins owned by the church.  

This is where Joseph Smith and his wife lived in  

The home where Emma grew up.  

Waiting to get back on the bus

Priesthood Restoration site. 

This is the revised grave of their baby that died early, the original is somewhere else in the cemetery 

Nick took this picture while he was in the Sacred Grove all by himself.  He said it was so peaceful. 

They also visited the Erie Canal, had multiple workshops, dances, games and lots of free time, Over all in was a great experience and he is glad he went.  

June 18th was Father's Day.  We all slept in and went to church.  The cookies were a huge hit with all the dads.  Back at home we fixed a BBQ dinner.  The Maughans joined us as their kitchen was still in boxes.  After dinner was over and everyone had gone home I had a chance to talk to my dad and wish him a Happy Father's Day.  

June 19th, early in the morning, the kidney stone FINALLY passed.  

June 21st we finally went to see Cars 3.  The kids, especially Nick, have been waiting for this movie to come out since it was announced three years ago.  It did not disappoint.  We all loved it.  

June 22nd Steve had another of his scouts pass their Eagle Board of Review and become and Eagle Scout.  Way to go, Sam!!

June 25th the Priests and Miamaids had their chance to participate in the Prepare the Way program our ward missionaries have put in place.  The idea is for the youth to go door to door with a survey asking questions about what the person wants to know more about.  These turn into referrals for the full-time elders.  It has been a great success and the kids like to help out.  Today a new record was made.  Nick and Michael got 4 "golden" referrals.  That means that 4 of the people they talked to wanted the missionaries to come and tell them more.  It was pretty exciting.  

The group having ice cream afterwards.  Nick is not in the picture because he and Steve had to go and mow the Johnson's lawn immediately after they got back. 

When you have a psychology major for a son this is an example of the kind of conversations you overhear at your house.  Jeremy and Naomi were in the kitchen getting some ice water.  Naomi successfully completed the task of getting ice from the automatic ice maker.  It was Jeremy's turn and the icemaker became possessed and gave Jeremy more than he needed.  There were ice cubes all over the floor.  Jeremy got frustrated and said, "We have a passive-aggressive ice cube dispenser!  1 cube...2 cubes...20 CUBES!!!!"  Such a silly boy.  

June 26th Steve left for Break Throughs in Washington D.C.  The kids and I got to take dinner into one of their favorite babysitters.  Allie had neck surgery and wasn't supposed to move anything, lift anything, do anything for several weeks.  We took her homemade chicken noodle soup because Naomi said that would make her feel better.  We also took some of our homemade wheat bread and an assortment of butter braids for dessert.  It was so good to catch up with her.

June 28th Nick helped me move three bushes in the backyard.  We are trying to finally finish off what used to be the kids play area where the sand box and swing set used to be.  We just haven't done anything in the back corner all these years and it was time to start getting it all cleaned up.  

June 29th we did more yard work.  Many hands make light work.  We spent the evening helping the Maughans get the final things from their old house to their new house.  We were all exhausted by the end of the day.  The yard is looking amazing, though. 

I love our gladiolus garden.  All the colors make me so happy.  

This orange is my all-time favorite color out of the bunch.  

We had so many gladiolus this year that I got to have fresh flowers in the house for weeks.  

The final phase of the back yard.  The fire pit area is part of the project.  

The back corner is finally getting a makeover.  Pulling all the weeds and getting it cleaned up may be the death of us but it is going to look so nice.  

June 29th the Young Women met at Sister Miller's house to watch Alice in Wonderland (the theme of this years' camp) and to finish up any last minute things before camp next week.  There is never a dull moment with these girls.

Watching the movie with decorating their capes for the skit.  

Autumn playing psychiatrist and Naomi photo-bombing.  

Megan, Ravyn, Monica and Arias showing off their camp bandanas. 

While the girls were hanging at Sister Miller's house getting ready for camp, the boys were playing in the pool at the Croshaw's house.  Everyone had a great last youth activity for June.  

When Steve got back from his conference, which was a huge success, he and Nick replaced the tailgate hydrolic suspension piece that had broken earlier in the week while Nick and I were loading the lawn mower.  Nick loved working with tools and getting to help fix the truck.  Now the truck is ready for girls camp and scout camp the next two weeks.  

WHEW!  Busy, but memory-filled month.   We will have to see what July brings.