Life Lately

Wyatt wanted to grill chicken.

Keith helped him grill some for dinner.

Amarie had a dance performance at school, so I rode to Cedar City with Mel.  We drove down Saturday morning.  We met Caitlyn and Blakely at the performance.  Amarie did such a great job, she is such a beautiful dancer. After her number Caitlyn and I left so we could have some time together.

She wanted to take me to the polygamist cafe that she loves. It was good.

After that we went to the store and then back to her apartment.  Caitlyn has been struggling this semester.  She has Chemistry and Medical Anatomy and labs for both of them. She is always overwhelmed and feels like she studies hard and can't seem to memorize what she needs to.  We took some time to look into the option of switching her major to Social Work.  We looked into different jobs she could get and she liked what she saw. She met with her counselor the next week and went ahead and switched her major.  She couldn't get into the classes she needed for nursing, so that helped her make the final decision.  She will take Social Work 1010 next semester and then she can apply to the program.  She felt relieved and is really happy with her decision.  Hopefully this can help her enjoy life more and not be constantly stressed and overwhelmed. 

Provo had their first play off game.  They had a bye the first round since they were the region champions.  They played Dixie and they won.  It was an exciting game!

Jonah played great. They were excited to be moving on in the playoffs.

Jonah was asked to speak at a stake fireside about patriarchal blessings. He told me that he wasn't going to prepare anything because "the Lord would provide."  He did prepare though and he did amazing. He talked about his experience getting his blessing and how he was putting it off because he didn't feel like he was worthy, but he realized that you don't have to be perfect.  He quoted President Monson on how your blessing is your own personal Liahona.  It was a fantastic talk. Last week he surprised me by bearing his testimony.  He talked about a conversation that he had with Matt and Lori on Thanksgiving about Hernan Cortes, who burned his ships so his crew wouldn't be tempted to turn back to avoid the battle.  He said, "Christ will take whatever we give Him, but we might as well give Him our all."  He talked about how that helped him in thinking about and preparing for a mission.  I'm amazed at the difference in Jonah in the last year.  He is figuring out what he wants and I'm so happy to see that what he wants is to follow Jesus Christ.  

Provo played Skyview in the next round of the play offs.  It was nice that the games were here at Provo.  I started getting emotional because I realized that win or lose, this was Jonah's last game at Provo High.  If they moved on they would have played at Rice Eccles Stadium.  These senior year moments hit me at different times and it was tough that night.  I have loved these last two years of Friday night games under those lights.  The sunsets are beautiful too. Unfortunately, Provo lost.  It was a tough game and we never quite found our grove.  Jonah did great and made his kicks.  It was a heart breaker to see such a good season come to an end.  It's been a great ride.

We cleaned out under our stairs and our extra room with all of the things the kids have outgrown. It was a big project.  We used this empty area in the family room to set up an art station for the kids.  We have a lot of art supplies but they needed to be cleaned out and organized.  The kids use them so much more now that they are all out and easy to access.

I loved seeing the kids down there painting and working on other projects. 

I can't remember why I took this picture, probably because Hallee is just so pretty. I look at my kids a lot and think, they are so cute and I love them so much!

Wyatt was in the school play,  The Lion The Witch And The Wardrobe. His friends were in the play, so they talked him into doing it too.  He got a part, but declined it and just wanted to be in in the ensemble.  He was out on stage a couple of times, in some fighting scenes. I think he enjoyed the time hanging out with his friends, but he said next time he wants to do stage crew. 

Mel asked me if we would want Ataiya's car for Jonah because she was going to take their van. I was shocked and couldn't believe she had just offered us a free car! Jonah was at James' cabin when Keith and I were going to pick it up so we called him on Facetime to tell him.  You can see the surprise and excitement in his eyebrows!

I'm still in shock that they just gave us the car.  It has a lot of miles on it, but it runs great and we are so grateful! Jonah has loved having a car again.  He goes to school after we are at work, so it's great that he can get himself there and back now.  He has also been working a lot for James' dad fixing up a house so it was great for that too.  He has offered to drive Wyatt places which has been so nice for me.  It helps a ton because I have to plan my trip to my parents each week around rides and cars, but now I don't have to worry about that.  Mel and Earl are so generous and acted like it wasn't a big deal, but it was a huge deal to us.  I told Jonah, we may not be rich, but we sure are blessed!

Wyatt needed to go to the orthodontist and it was a warm day so I let Jonah take him and I was able to go walk on the parkway.  It was amazing! I miss walking here every day since I started working.

Paul had his movie night. Hallee and I were excited to go see Wicked.

The movie was really well done, we enjoyed it. Thanks for the night out Tiff and Paul!

The kids wanted to hang out the next day. I had to work so Tiff came and picked them up and brought them over to her house.  I sure appreciated that!

The kids had a great time.

Tiff and Paul did a little goodbye dinner for Dante before he left for basic training.

He has been talking about joining the military for a long time. 

It was good to see him and wish him well.  

Hallee had a great time at Tessa's birthday party. 

Hallee had to take care of an egg baby for a school project.  She made her baby a bed, it was cute.