Family Time – Page 43 – Letters from Home

Family Vacation Photos

1-IMG_2119-001 — We went to Fish Creek with Richard’s family. We didn’t get photos of everything, but if you make it through this post, you may think we got enough.

1-IMG_20140708_120432 — I love to see Sparky enjoy the ride. The drive to Fish Creek is accessible only with all wheel drive and some spunk.

1-DSC_1455 — Oh, yes. Before we left, Rob and Melinda and their kids spent the night at our house. Here we are deep in conversation in the backyard. Rob and Richard worked on doors and handles in our basement. Hallelujah.

At the top of the road, Paige, Mark, and I stopped to take pictures.

1-DSC_1460 — Mark went higher than any of us.

1-DSC_1456 — We were surrounded by insects and interesting things to collect. Then suddenly, the insects were silent and not to be found…

1-DSC_1472 — We watched the storm move in as Richard brought up another truckload of people to join us at the top of the mountain.

1-2014-07-08 (3) — The storm arrived just as everyone got there. Some people were caught in the storm, which lasted quite a while and included hail, wind, and great amounts of rain.

1-photo 3 — We huddled together under the trees. The kids, one by one, escaped to the warm cab of the truck. We had around 20 people and only one truck for shelter.

1-IMG_20140708_154039 — Grandpa, Daniel, and a few others made an expedition to the other truck which was lower on the mountain. The rest of us piled inside and outside our truck and began the drive down the mountain. There are ten people in the cab and five people on the running boards and in the bed.

1-IMG_20140708_154048 — Paige and I are on the left. Rob and Melinda are on the right. Liz is in the truck bed. We were cold, but we were having fun. We figure that this fiasco will become a family legend.

1-IMG_1955 — Once everyone dried off and had some food, many people took another evening hike. Paige and I stayed behind in the campground. Four or five carloads of Boy Scouts descended on our camp area and set up their tents just feet from us. I think the Scouts were thrilled that Paige was there. We were not so thrilled that they were there.

1-IMG_1990 — The next day we hiked to the falls.

1-IMG_2187 — There were so many wildflowers along the trails. I wish that I had brought our flower pressing kit or a big book. I didn’t want to use my Bible.

1-SAM_0179 — Many people hiked up into a cave area to enjoy the falls close up.

1-IMG_20140709_133918 — I like to see my kids being helpful to each other. This little scene melted my heart.

1-IMG_20140709_125908 — Daniel was in the water for a long time. I wonder if he can feel his frozen feet yet?

1-IMG_2038 — Timothy hung out with cousins. He has been to the falls before and remembered how cold he was, so he opted to stay dry. The hike to the falls was downhill, but for the uphill climb out, Richard ferried people on the motorcycle. Sparky ran up and down the hill to keep up with him. When we got home, Sparky couldn’t get out of the van without assistance. Loyal pup!

1-IMG_2203 — Here are the Ross men: Dale, Russ, Rob, and Richard.

1-IMG_2217 — There was a lot of motorcycling during the trip. On the first day, Richard, Daniel, and Timothy went for a 3-hour ride to the campground. This is Mark in Pine Valley.

1-IMG_2220 — Mark loves this motorcycle and keeps the helmet close by in the tent trailer when he goes to sleep.

1-IMG_2222 — Here is Shari and her husband Dave.

1-IMG_2228 — Here are Russ and Nancy, whose jobs at Dixie State University made it possible for the family to gather at the school cabin in Pine Valley for a few days after we camped.

Photos by Paige, Mark, Angela, Russ, Melinda, Shari, and Richard.

Happy summer memories hover around me. Views of mountain peaks and rivers are the backgrounds; the kids and their cousins are the focus. Sleep, mealtimes, and ordinary caution are abandoned to build memories.

I’m drawing some strength and perspective from the hills and from time spent with family.

And yes, I sing songs from The Sound of Music in my head and sometimes out loud as I look out over this beautiful world.

A few highlights of the holiday

Worst date ever: Richard in the E.R. after lunch with a severe allergic reaction to nuts. He got a shot of epinephrine and all kinds of medicine…quickly! (This is when he was feeling much better.)

1-IMG_20140702_213314-001 — Timothy shows Dad his new Lego set he bought with his lawn mowing money.

1-IMG_20140704_150007 — Grandma and Tyler are matchy-matchy.

Everyone helps out with the construction when you go to Spring Lake. Richard had to work on the 4th, so I took the kids to Provo to see the parade and the fair and to visit Spring Lake. Daniel skipped the parade and worked with my dad all day at Spring Lake. In the evening a few cousins joined us for Tank Wars. It was a fun day.

Cousins!

A few weeks ago we visited my sister and her kids, one a newborn little sweetie. I just thought I’d share the happy faces today. That is all. Hopefully these faces bring a smile to your face.

Happy Monday!

Summer Reading

1-Matt and Angie 1980 — Angie and Matt 1980

The kids and I are working hard to limit our screen time each day. This is why I haven’t been blogging much. We have been cleaning out flower beds and planting flowers. The big boys mow lawns for our house and a neighbor. We painted the basement. Wow, that was a big job. And then there is summer reading. We love to read!

The little boys spend the day reading old National Geographic Kids magazines. We have probably 12 years worth of those dog-eared fact menageries. Mark is loving The Series of Unfortunate Events books and Calvin and Hobbes. We purchased our first water damaged library book this week: a Calvin and Hobbes book that was left in the hammock and doused by the neighbors’ sprinklers. The librarian said that the positive part about having to buy a library book is that you get to keep it. That’s true, and Mark is happy to have it.

Timothy is reading The Edge Chronicles. Daniel is reading Ranger’s Apprentice books again. And Shakespeare. And anything he can get his hands on. Paige loved The Book Thief and has a tall stack of library books in her room.

Summer reading is one of my best childhood memories. I hope it will be the same for our kids.

Summer Rules

Today I feel better because my kids are back in the house. I held a morning meeting to outline expectations for this awesome gift we have called summer. I told them that summer is a time that is easily wasted if we’re not careful. We have some rules:

1. Media time (anything with a screen) is restricted to one hour in the morning and one hour in the evening. The kids will determine when these hours will take place each morning, adapting for the needs of the day.

2. Before media can be used (regardless of the time), the following jobs must be completed: read scriptures, make bed, read, play piano, do one job around the house.

3. We have specific projects to work on: next week we finish painting the basement, help with the sprinkler system, and repair a scooter with our time. The week after, we paint all baseboards upstairs… etc.

I am following the rules, too. This means that I am breaking the media rule right now to write this post, so I will end.

I want this summer to be fun. I want the kids to make real progress in their music, reading, and work skills. I want to spend time with them, focused on their faces, not trying to interact by sharing the conversation with screens. I have found that the kids set higher goals for themselves than I do. Summer is a great time to capture their zeal and help them make specific plans for their goals to be completed.

It’s also a great time to spend the afternoon reading, which is what most of us did today. Hooray!

Mark’s Baptism Day

This weekend Mark was baptized. It was a nice day with beautiful weather, lots of family and friends, talks by Daniel and Timothy, music by Paige and me, and cooking. Baptism days are always busy, but I tried really hard this last time to relax, even if it meant that the tent with bunting never got set up, my hair was not curled, and we didn’t get a proper family picture with all of the cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents who gathered. I think I got everyone photographed at dinner but three.

My sweetest memory of the day was when Richard had Mark in the font, ready for the ordinance, and Richard looked up at me. That exchange was simple, but sealed the moment. The work and joys of parenting, gospel preparation, and the new phase we are entering came into focus in a look, but none of those details of parenting were there; it mostly felt like love and joy.

Weekend Recap

We went out for breakfast one morning and discovered that we were wearing rainbow colors. Wow, that photo looks awkward. We really were enjoying being together.

Here are a few things we did together this weekend:

We planted our garden.

We delivered 200 fliers for a neighborhood social activity.

We placed flags in our neighborhood for Memorial Day.

We enjoyed homemade cookies one night when Daniel had his friends over for a movie.

I threw a birthday party for Mark but sadly only one boy that we invited was able to attend. Timothy joined the party to make things less lonely for Mark. It turned out to be a good time. I think it’s another reminder to me that I am not good at “friend” birthday parties. I will be keeping only family parties from now on. Let’s see if I can keep that resolution…

We enjoyed a neighborhood social activity where we walked among three homes where the families hosted refreshments. We met several new people and visited with many friends. The boys rode scooters and bikes.

We had a scooter repair shop on Saturday in the garage.

We attended church, 3 of us sang in the choir, and Richard was a substitute teacher in Timothy’s class.

We had fun meals, including a very colorful salad bar one night and fajitas from the grill the next night.

Mark and I made pretzels for family night. Speaking of family night, we decided to gather out beneath the trees. Things were going fine, but then Sparky lost a fight with a cat that wandered into our yard. He limped, bleeding back to the house and cowered in corners the rest of the evening. We gathered again under the trees and the neighbors’ sprinkler system came on, soaking those who were relaxing in the hammocks. Ha! That was the end of family night.

Category: Family Time

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