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

Tubing and Snow Cones

Ashleigh and I were just messing around with my phone. I have loved having my family here in town, especially Ashleigh and her littles, they don't get to come as much and so it is nice that she was able and wiling to make the sacrifice to come with her kids and be with us.

On Sunday Ryker gave his homecoming talk and bonus Avynlea also was asked to speak.  They both did a great job and I was grateful to have family come and listen and that family were able to zoom and watch. I got a roast and told the Petersons who were coming that we would do lunch after. I told everyone to bing a side and assumed that we would be good. Unfortunately and embarrassingly we ran out of meat and so by the time it got to the last few which was me and some in my family there wasn't any left. I thought I had bought enough and spent about $30 on the meat so it was pretty embarrassing that I did not have enough. I should have done more sides on my end but I assumed that with what everyone brought it would be enough but it was not. I think some of the family members who were first in line did not take into account that there were a lot of people after them and took more than they should have. I saw lots of plates being thrown away that had food on them which was frustrating. I guess I learned for next time to really over plan and make sure there is more than less.

Kenedy and Ty were heading out later that afternoon and I had all the kids get together for a picture before they took off. Kefford said something to Kenedy that hurt her feelings and made her cry and it was pretty sweet to see Ryker talk to her and Ty to make them feel better before they left. I love seeing the tender side of Ryker come out and really appreciate how much his mission has helped him grow.

We also took a family selfie, all together again which is how I like it. unfortunately it was short lived since Kenedy and Ty left soon after.

Ryker spent a little bit of time hanging out with Atticus who enjoyed playing in our dirt patch. 

For Monday plans we had talked about going out to Nyssa to go boating with Whitney and her family on their boat but Ashleigh was hesitant and not wanting to do the drive with her littles since the next day they were going to start the long drive home. I understood and we decided that Kefford would go with Ryker, and Avynlea,  Rylee had a babysitting job and couldn't go and the rest of us would stay here at the house.

Those left in Meridian went out to lunch and we decided on Waffle Love since most have not been there. It was delicious as always and we had fun being together one last day.

Later when the boating gang came back we went and got snow cones. Kefford and Ryker opted out but the rest of us went and enjoyed eating snow cones together.

Heather, Elizabeth, Bonnie and Ashleigh

Avynlea, Atticus and Rylee

Abigail and Ashleigh

Kefford sent me the pictures he took of them tubing and I can't really tell who is in the pictures but in the big far left picture I think it is Ally, Maddie and Avynlea

 

Mission Accomplished

After we got Ryker from the airport Kefford and I took him to the Temple so he could see his Grandparents. Bob is in the Temple Presidency and he and Alison were on shift that day so they were not able to come to the airport to see Ryker. It was nice to be able to take him into the Temple so they could see him.

The Stake President was not able to meet with Ryker to release him until Saturday in the early evening. Kefford was not thrilled with this but we didn't want to throw a fit so we let it be. Ryker wanted to go to the Temple to do a session so he and Kefford went on Saturday and then would be done in time to go get released. As the time to meet with the Stake President got closer and Kefford and Ryker were still not back I decided to just get changed and drove to the church to meet them there. A small part of me thought that I wouldn't put it past Kefford to just take Ryker on his own if they were pressed for time leaving the Temple. It was a big deal for me and my family who were there to be a part of it so we just got changed and went to the church to wait. I got a message from Kefford shortly after we left saying they were on their way and I told him where we were and to just meet us there. 

President Kroft met with Ryker on his own first and then came out to talk with all of us. He would have had us in his office but there were too many to fit in so we met in the foyer. He talked with us about Ryker's mission and then gave us all a opportunity to talk about the blessings we saw from Ryker serving. I went first and talked about how Ryker was blessed to become more positive and not to focus on the negative. I said more but I don't remember and everyone all spoke but I don't remember much of what was said. Mom started talking and as she was speaking I had the thought of how happy I was that my family could be here and be a part of this and I started crying a little. mom thought it was because she mentioned dad but it was just because of how happy I was that they were able to be here. We also told President Kroft how thankful we were that our ward still zooms the sacrament meetings because that us another way that my family could be a part of our lives. They were able to watch Ryker give his farewell talk and the ones who were not in town with us were going to be able to watch his homecoming talk which is such a blessing. 

It was a good releasing and when we were done we went outside and took some pictures.Ryker and Heather                      Ryker and Grandma BonnieRyker and Erin                                             Atticus, Ryker, Abigail and Ashleigh

A proud Mom with her returned missionary

Elizabeth and Ryker

Elizabeth, Abigail, Ashleigh, Ryker, Atticus, Erin, Grandma Bonnie and Heather

Ryker is home for about a month before he leaves for school and when asked he said yes to serving in the Temple while he was here. After he was released Kefford and I took him to the Temple so that Bob could set him apart as a Temple Worker and then Alison took us around to show Ryker where he goes to get his Jacket and meet for Prayer meeting. it was neat to see more of the inner workings of the temple.

After we were done we met up with everyone at Tin Roof Tacos for a yummy dinner.

It was a good day