American Girl Doll Makeover

On Saturday we went to the farm for a visit. Sara and her family were in town and Bob had invited everyone over for Chinese. Avynlea enjoyed being with the kitties and got some pictures taken with one of them.

Avynlea and Rylee pulled out their American Girl Doll stuff and had them spread out in the living room. They were just looking through their stuff, I haven't seen the dolls out in such a long time and it was pretty nostalgic for me and I liked seeing the dolls and clothes lying out on the carpet. I left it there for a day because I liked it so much and then packed it back up and put it away. But first I fixed the dolls hair. I had seen some YouTube videos on how to restore the dolls hair and I wanted to try it out. Rylee's doll's curls had gotten frizzy and did not look good anymore so I wanted to see if I could fix it. I borrowed the curlers from Kim Hansen and after brushing out the dolls hair I dipped it in boiling water to help smooth it. Then I put the curlers in and poured boiling water over it to help set it then I let it dry in the curlers. Once it was dry we took the curlers out and the curls turned out really well, Rylee and I were both really happy with how they looked. My one lesson I learned was next time I would not pour the water over the head because it kinked up the top and it wasn't smooth anymore. I would dip each curl in the water and leave the top alone.

Avynlea needed a headshot to send in to BYUI for her ID badge, she had me take her picture but none of them were good enough for her. I thought she looked cute in each one but she was not satisfied. She finally took a selfie on her own and deemed it the best one and that was the one she used. I still liked the others we took so I kept them and put them here :)

 

Ryker starts College at Utah State

On Friday Kefford and I went with Ryker to Utah State to help him move in. Ryker was taking Kefford's pickup which is now his so I rode with him while Kefford drove the Traverse. We got there pretty late at night and we just unloaded Ryker's stuff and then left him to get himself situated. He is rooming with Ethan Paulson his first trainer on his mission who was already there. After Kefford and I left we got some food and then checked into our hotel. The next morning we went back and with Ryker walked around campus and a little bit and found the student store where I got a Utah State shirt. After that we went to Walmart-Mart to get groceries for Ryker and then we stopped at the thrift store to get him a pot and knife. Once the errands were complete we went to the creamery where I got some ice-cream and Kefford got some Root Beer flavored milk. Once that was done we took Ryker back to his dorm and said goodbye. 

 

I wanted a picture with Ryker before I left and Kefford took one and done. I didn't look at it until later and was very displeased with the face Ryker was making. He assumed his dad would take a few pictures and made a face for the only one Kefford took, not cool

On Tuesday Ryker started school and he sent me a first day of school picture. Later he called me to tell me how it went and he was making himself a chicken quesadilla. He was pretty proud of it and sent me a picture of it. I will miss having Ryker around but am glad that he is happy at school and so far doing pretty good. I guess it helps being a returned missionary as he is used to living on his own and being independent. 

Top Golf

Ryker was leaving for Utah on Friday so on Thursday we went to Top Golf for one last family together time before he leaves. Kefford got a gift card for Christmas and he decided now was a good time to use it. The first game we did was an Angry Birds game where we had to hit the ball at targets. Kefford and Ryker did not do so great at this game because they were heavy hitters and kept wanting to hit the ball hard and far. Surprisingly Rylee was the best and came in first place with Avynlea a close second behind, they were pretty proud of this accomplishment.

Avynlea

Rylee

Rylee proud of having the top score

Kefford

Rylee and Avynlea proud of getting first and second over all

After the Angry Birds game we just hit the ball, no game, this was where Kefford and Ryker showed their talent and redeemed themselves. 

We had a fun night, it was fun to be together and doing something rather than everyone off doing their own thing. When it came time to pay with the gift card we discovered that we printed the wrong email and did not have the barcode. We had to pay with our debit card and then when I got home I figured it out with Amazon so now we have a card and can go again, yay!

Back to School for Rylee

 Photos that Rylee took with the .5 feature on my phone.

It is back to school for Rylee, she is a junior, an upperclassman and I am not ready for this year, I know it will fly by and then we will have a Senior and then she will leave and I will be an empty nester...so crazy. It has been fun having Rylee home but I know with her siblings leaving and her being left the only one at home it will be good for her to have school to occupy some of her time. 

On Saturday Kefford and I went walking again and got a picture with the Meridian Temple in the background. What a blessing it is to have the temple so close.

Helping Mrs Ross

While in town Kenedy asked if I could come to Utah to help her set up her classroom. I didn't have anything going on and thought it would be go to help so Rylee and I went to Salt Lake City to help get her classroom put together. Kenedy is teaching 1st grade at a new school some had a lot to do to get the classroom looking how she wanted it. We got there on Wednesday but too late to go to her classroom so we spent time with them in their apartment and then went on a walk around their neighborhood. The area they live in reminded me of a little Seattle and it was fun to walk around and see the area. There is a whale statue in the middle of a roundabout that Ty, Kenedy and Rylee got close to so I could get pictures of them.

Thursday and Friday we spent in her classroom getting it ready. Kenedy wanted all of the green walls covered with the orange, pink and white squares and we spent a lot of time doing that. When Ty left I stopped cutting out stuff Kenedy had laminated and started working on the checkered walls. When Ty got back he didn't like how it was done, I definitely did not do it as carefully as he did, so he took his job back, redid what I had done and carried on. I didn't mind, I was just happy to not have to do the wall anymore, it was tedious and not fun.

I put together this bulletin board which turned out super cute and I also cleaned out the drawers the sink area and the utility closet and organized them all. That is the work I like to do and I felt a real sense of accomplishment.

By the time we were done we had accomplished a lot and we all felt pretty proud of our work. Kenedy. Rylee and I then went over to Emily's new house to visit and while we were there Joshua and Mallory showed up with their kids. I spent a while in the backyard with Amos, Fredrick and Leona and it was fun to have alone time with them. While we were out there I learned that Amos wants to be an engineer, Fredrick wants to be an artist but not only one who paints and Leona wants to be an astronaut when they grow up. Leona also spit in my mouth which was not fun but I told her gross and do not do it again and let it go.

Joshua's family left and Kenedy, Rylee and I went to dinner with Emily, Matt and Emily's friend Cassie. While we were eating a massive storm blew in and we watched the rain pound for a little bit. By the time we left the rain had stopped and I drove us back to Salt Lake. During the drive we got caught in another massive rain storm and it scared me because by that time it was dark and it was hard to see through the rain and I white knuckled the steering wheel most of the drive. We got back safely thank heavens. That was all Thursday night and Friday night after we were done in the classroom we went shopping at Albion  and ate dinner at Kenedy's and then walked down the block and around the corner to get a treat. Kenedy and Ty got snow cones and Rylee and I got ice cream. While on our walk Rylee found a cute Kitty to cuddle.

Rylee and I left to go back home Saturday morning and on Monday Avynlea and I went out to dinner with our Cheer Besties, Amy and Paige and Diana and Natalie. Our girls were leaving for college and we wanted to get together one last time before they did. It was fun to be with them all and hopefully we can have more opportunities in the future to come back together.

 l-r: Avynlea, Paige, Diana, Amy, Elizabeth and Natalie