4th of July

Ally and her husband were in town and invited Avynlea to go with their family to watch fireworks out in Nampa. Avynlea did not want to go by herself and Kenedy did not want to go so I told Avynlea I would go with her. Jeremy and Gwen, Mikayla and Palmer, Ally and Jace and Bailey and Makayla and their kids were all there. It was super chill and casual and I visited a little bit with Jeremy and Gwen and enjoyed being with my Nieces and Nephew and their spouses. After the fireworks Avynlea and I left and Gwen sent me a picture they took with a text telling me she was glad we came and wished she would have thought to have been the one to invite us. I appreciated the thought and made a mental note to myself to also reach out a little bit more.

Ryker and Anna came to town late on the third of July and Avynlea was in town so for the fourth we went to our Wards pancake breakfast and then went out to Nyssa so we could go boating with Whitneys family. We got to Bob and Alisons house at about 10:00 and found everyone downstairs in their basement trying to do disaster cleanup. It had been raining a couple of days earlier and the water table took a while but it finally got too high and it flooded their basement. We spent a couple of hours there so they could keep helping with the cleanup and we didn't get out to the Owyhee Dam until about 2:00. Once we got out there we had fun being in the boat with Dustin and Whitney and their kids and we all tried to wakeboard. Even me! I got up my first time and immediately fell and then could not get myself up again. Kefford did good getting up and lasting a hot minute on the board as well as Ryker. Avynlea, Kenedy and Anna all got up on the boards but didn't last too long. I was impressed and I think everyone had fun.

Kefford also had fun tubing and harassing Whitneys kids and they all loved it especially Dillon, he loves his Uncle Kefford. I also went on the tube with Avynlea and we had fun screaming and hanging on for dear life.

Kefford

Anna

Avynlea

Anna, Kenedy, Avynlea, Ryker, Madi and Kinsley

 

Avynlea

Kenedy

Anna

Ryker

I made a 4th of July cake like I do every year and this year what I had envisioned in my head did not get executed how I wanted it to. I wanted it to be popsicles and fireworks and it looks more like swastikas and tampons. Oh well. Plus I look like a hot mess potato in this picture because it was taken after we spent 6 hours in the boat.

We had a delicious dinner of hamburgers and sides and then we watched fireworks, it was a fun day and night and I love being out at the Farm for the 4th.

Swimming

 Erin called me a couple of weeks ago to let me know that she was diagnosed with having Breast Cancer. I was instantly devastated for her and let her know how much I love her and that whatever she needs from me she just has to ask. She told me that she was dreading upcoming Dr appointments and I told her to treat herself to a doughnut after every appointment to help herself feel better and to give herself something to look forward to. I do it after I have my yearly mammograms and it helps me get through the appointment knowing I will get a treat after. She took my advice, got her doughnut and then sent me a picture. I was super happy to see it!

I was on FaceTime with Heather and she all of a sudden told me to hold still and she took a screenshot. She said she liked how my hair looked with the sun hitting it and wanted me to see it. I don't know that the picture does it justice compared to what she saw but it was a fun and flattering moment.

While Avynlea was in town Kenedy wanted us to go over to the Givens while they were out of town to use their pool. Kefford and I went with them and I got in the Hot Tub while Kefford just sat around on his phone. Kenedy also invited her friend Abby from work and her boyfriend. I had fun hanging with them until I got tired of being there and after taking pictures went home with Kefford.

Elizabeth and Avynlea

Elizabeth, Kenedy and Avynlea

Elizabeth, Abby, Kenedy and Avynlea

Blueberry Picking

It was time to go Blueberry picking with the Petersons again and I was happy that Kenedy was here and willing to go in a little later to work so she could come with me. Between the two of us we picked a good amount that I was able to bring home and freeze. We had fun visiting with Alison, Whitney and Brit and enjoyed being in the sunshine picking blueberries. 

 

Elizabeth and Kenedy

back row: Sadie, Kenedy, Madi, Alison, Asher

middle row: Laney, Kinsley, Caleb, Xander and Tayvia

front: Hazel, Joshua, Dillon, Leah and Garrett

I really wanted to make a patriotic bow for my door and I had an idea in my head as to how I wanted it to look. I was able to find the perfect material and it came out so cute and exactly how I wanted it.

My June Nails by Brynn. I love the colors and the polka dots, so happy and bright

 

My July nails by Brynn

I love these, she did such a good job and it amazes me that she does it all by hand, she is so talented.

Someone ding dong ditched this on our doorstep and I could not figure out who it was. When I talked to Rylee on Monday I told her about it and she said that he companions family were driving through Meridian and wanted to leave this for Kefford. Rylee had her companion make a fathers day card for Kefford using watercolors and it had a pickle on it. Rylee had the idea and her companion was able to execute it. Her companions family thought it was any and since they were driving through Meridian thought it would be funny to leave this.

I made this bow for Emily for her Birthday and had Avynlea deliver it for me. I thought she would really like the colors since they matched the vibe of her house and how she decorates for Holidays

I saw this Block of the Month quilt in the quilt shop and thought it was so cute and decided to sign up to participate. Every month I get the material to make one of the blocks and then after 12 months they will be sewn together and the quilt will be finished. The foxes are the first animals to be done and I thought my first block turned out so cute.

Fathers Day

 Avynlea is in Hawaii with some of her mission friends and she sent me a couple of pictures. She is having the best time and is loving being with her friends and the entire experience. 

Avynlea, Hugo and Marielle

Kefford wanted me to put one of our wedding pictures into chatgpt to have it clean it up and it does look better.

When I was 14 I went to Mexico as an exchange student for 2 weeks. While there I bought gifts for my family. Ashleigh was a little girl at the time and I was so excited to find a beautiful dress that I bought for her and brought home. My Mom didn't have the same opinion of the dress that I did but she had Ashleigh wear it to church. Ashleigh saved that dress and now her little girl wears it to church. She sent me a picture of Abby wearing the dress one Sunday and it made me so happy to see the dress being used again. 14 year old Elizabeth would have been so happy to know that not only did Ashleigh wear the dress she bought for her but that her little girl also wears it.

Not sure why I took a picture of this outfit but it looks cute.

Sunday we celebrated Fathers Day with Kefford. Kenedy and I made him breakfast and then had him go upstairs to see his gift. I had the idea to get him a solo stove because we had talked about getting one a while back and I thought he would appreciate it. I had Avynlea and Ryker chip in whatever they could so it would be a gift from all of us. Kenedy got tickets for the two of them to go see Shinedown, a band they both really like and he was excited about that. 

We hid the stove upstairs in Avynlea's closet and I had told Kefford to not go in there at all leading up to Fathers Day. I could tell by his reaction when he saw the stove that he already knew about it. It turns out he had to go into the closet for some reason and forgot he wasn't supposed to and saw it. Bummer. 

He was happy about it and hopefully we can have some fun times outside by the fire cooking s'mores.

After church we went out to Nyssa for dinner and Bob had got a Ninja Slushy maker for Fathers Day. It takes about an hour to freeze and the grandkids who were there spent the entire time sitting by it and watching it. It was a fun treat and fun for Bob to have.

Mama Mia

 I left Utah Friday morning, Joshua took the day off and was able to take over and Kenedy needed me to come home because she got us tickets to go see Mamma Mia at the Morrison Center. She was able to get then through Alturas for free and they were really good seats. We were in the Floor section which was a new experience for us and so fun. We loved the show and had such a good time being together and made sure to get some fun pictures before and after.

Utah Days 3, 4 and 5

Another day, another run club. I remembered to unpause my watch after every lap this time and I once again ran the entire way only stopping to write the time down after each lap.

Leona loved her hair today and I loved her outfit and entire aesthetic. She looked adorable

I took the kids to the Library but I was not able to check out any books for them because we could not find  any of their library cards. Emily ws there with us and she was nice and let them each check out a book on her card. 

I got a picture from a member in the Ward that Rylee is serving in and was so happy to get it and see my cute missionary!

Kenedy sent a picture that her friend Benj took of her and liked it a lot and wanted to share.

I gave the kids cutup apples and Leona liked making it look like a mouth and that it was talking. She also loved the cute hair I gave her on this day.

I had some confetti eggs that I brought for the kids to smash on their heads and we went outside so they could use them. They were a little unsure at first but then quickly caught on and enjoyed it a lot. We went through 12 eggs pretty quick

I sure do love these kids

Amos, Fredrick, Elizabeth and Leona

Utah Days 1 and 2

 Kenedy started working the front desk at Alturas, Rod Givens and Blake Hansen own the company and they were so kind to give Kenedy the job. Kefford likes to go into Alturas every so often to visit Kenedy and his friend Rod. Kenedy took a picture of him and Rod on one of these visits. It was pretty cute how they matched their outfits.

I was in Utah watching Joshuas kids and he told me about an advertisement he saw about a craft in the park event. The kids wanted to go to a different park but I take them into going to this one first and then we would go to the one they like the best. The crafts were ok, they just made little parachutes out of a paper they color a coffee filter and pipe cleaners. They made their craft, played on the playground for about ten minutes and then were good to go to the next place.

Leona, Elizabeth, Fredrick and Amos

Joshua once again did running club this summer before he started work and while I was in town he added me to the roster. The route was different this year than last year and the laps were a little bit longer. I made the goal to run the entire way only stopping to take a break when I had to write down my time but then I got going again. I am proud of myself for doing it and running all the laps. I forgot to unpause my watch on the second lap which was annoying but I made sure to write down my final time.

Mallory left another craft for the kids to do and they made cute 4th of July pinwheels which they then put around the house for decorations.

Wyndemere was sniffing around the kids stuff and got a sticker on the tip of his nose which I thought was funny. I also thought Amos so strange for how he chose to sit on the LoveSac

Emily, Avynlea and I went out one night when I was off duty for some shopping and then cupcakes. While we were taking a picture Avynlea caught Emily reacting to her cake falling off her fork. We thought it was hilarious.

She also found a big chunk of eggshell in her cupcake. It was just not the night for Emily.