Wow it has been a wonderful summer! I was able to so much with my kids and we have grown so much! We finished our home school year in mid May. My first full year with all the kids home! It was a blast! To celebrate we took the kids camping to a place called Navajo Lake! It was a blast! As many of you know I have been living with my Uncle Mike who has graciously accepted us into his life for the time being! With that I have met many of his friends! One of them is special to us and we have excepted her into our family! Her name is Lisa and we had the privilege to take her camping with us! She is awesome and fun and easy going just like the rest of us so it was a great week! All of my kids became avid photographers as my Uncle and Lisa taught them all they new about photography! We also had the chance to be missionaries while we were up there! The camp host had just lost his wife and seemed quite lonely. We had him over for Breakfast every morning and Dinner in the evening! Everywhere we go if we look and pray for opportunities to share the gospel we are given them! Even though we did not preach to him, through our example he felt of the Spirit and was drawn to us! I know that we were meant to be there for him at the time we went!
We came back and my garden was in full swing I had planted many of my plants and they were all starting to come up and looked quite well! I love gardening and being able to make my yard a productive and useful yard! As many of my family and close friends know, my Uncle does not have a yard of grass but that of a dessert look! Sand and dessert plants(weeds). We finally came to a compromise and I am planting grass in the back yard and we are xera scaping the front yard! This is exciting for me! I was so happy the day that the Elder's Quorum and High Priest came over to help me put in the sprinkler system! As many of you may also know my Uncle's work requires him to travel so the time for him to work in the yard is very limited! I defiantly do not have the same strength that I had in my 20's so the service from the brethren was quiet appreciated and accepted! I could not have done it with out their help!! I have a sprinkler system that works and this fall(September) I will be planting grass! I am so excited, and if you ask my kids they are supper excited!!
As June wrapped up, I prepared for a 2 week long road trip back to Illionios! I was able to take my sister Amy with and her and I and the kids had some fun adventures!! Are first stopped (BTW was not planned) was Martins Cove! I am a descendant of James Brigham Wright, who was left orphaned, coming across the plains with the Martin hand cart company! It was a humbling experience to visit a sacred place that had once been a place of refuge for a great great great grandfather! His life was spared and because of that I am here today! A legacy of perseverance and determination to let the Lord lead his path in life! He was one of service to God!
Our next goal was a small town near Mount Rushmore. I had only been there once before, in 1998 with my Dad and 2 brothers. I wanted to go back! The kids were amazed at the work that went into carving out the mountain and the process in which was used to do so. It was also a fun experience for them to do the Junior Ranger program, with out it it would have been an unpleasant experience! I wanted to read and learn more about Mt. Rushmore and why the men that were chosen to be part of the monument were chosen. Because of the program I was able to do so along with my kids! I encourage all that go to national parks to use the Junior Ranger program and learn with your kids! At Mt. Rushmore they had an activity book and a scavenger hunt type of book! After our Day at the monument we came back to our cabin and had dinner.... not anything fancy. Then we took the kids for a swim in the pool! It was lots of fun until Spencer threw up(Yuck). We got out and went to bed, ready for another full day of driving! We left early and drove to Kansas where we stayed with my brother Michael and Tausha. We crashed there for a few days before we all car pooled up to Pontiac Illinois. We got a phone call from Michael who had broken down on the side of the freeway near Springfield. And for the next 5 hours we were well acquainted with the side of the freeway! I was able to take everyone in my van to the nearest restaurant open on the 4th of July...McDonald's. I was less then thrilled and refused to eat there but the kids were more than thrilled with their happy meals and a place to play! After all they were there for 4 hours. I am sure that the workers were glad to see us leave, but I am glad that they were all safe while we attempted to fix my brothers SUV. In the end we called my 2 uncles. One helped pay for the towing and transporting us to my other Uncles house. I love family and like that they are willing to drop everything and come to our rescue! The next morning we ate breakfast at Uncle Peter's and then headed to Grandma and Grandpa Pouliot's whose 60th anniversary we were there to celebrate! Grandma is so much fun and I am afraid will always be young at heart! I love her dearly!! We all worked on the house, painting, doing deck work, and sorting through things in the attic. A few of my Uncles also helped with the pluming for a washer and dryer that was being installed on the main floor so that Grandma could do the laundry again! She was thrilled with this as for some years has not been able to make it down the stairs to do the laundry! While we were doing this the great grand kids worked on a large mural that represented many things that grandma had collected over the years and had given away to many of us grand kids and great grand kids! It was pretty awesome to see the talent that all the kids have!! We had great food and wonderful company! And the party on Sunday was awesome!! I was able to attend mass with Grandma and Grandpa where they renewed their vows! It was sweet and awesome! The kids had lots of fun playing with cousins and their Aunts and Uncles! It was totally awesome!! One of the highlights of the Pontiac trip was are hotel room! We stayed in a nice suite complete with a jaccize in the living room! The kids all put their swim suits on and had a blast!! What can I say kids are entertained by the smallest things!! I was grateful that we had a place to sleep while we were there, as our other arrangements( camp site was less then desirable and the was was uncooperative!) As the weekend wrapped up, we were transitioning to the next event, my late mothers family reunion. This was held at Argyle State park about 40 min from Nauvho, IL. My Unlce Mike Flew into Champin IL on Sunday night, I went and picked him up and we had the opprotunity to drive to Philo IL. That is where I lived with my mom and my Aunt and Uncle and their kids and my brothers! It was certainly a house full. The house is blue now, not white it has a 3 car garage instead of a one car garage. The corn field across the street is now houses. So differnt but good memories that will always be special to me. A place where my testimony was nurrished and seeds were planted at such a young age! I learned that Love was real and it was a normal thing! After picking up my Uncle we headed back to the hotel where we all slept that night! All 12 of us slept! Yep we are like that cramming as many as we could into our hotel room! The next morning we were loaded up and headed over to our camp ground! We got rained on that night but we were all dry in our tent! Uncle Peter took good care of us all! We ate lots of yummy food and talked and laughed and played games at Uncle Peters spot designated the meeting place! We waited for Aunt Sally and Uncle Nate to come in they had traveled all night and made it around 11:30am. We got them settled and we all loaded up and went to Carthage Jail and then on to Navhoo. So many special things at each of these places and so many sacred events that I am most grateful for! I know that Joseph Smith is a prophet of God! I can not wait to meet him and bathe his feet and hands with my tears! He did more save Jesus Christ on this earth! Because of him and his question as a young boy and his faith that his question would be answered I am here and a member of God's church! I have been endowed with power from on high through sacred temple covenants. Joseph knew of the importance of these sacred covenants and was determined to build the temple so that those early members could be blessed with those covenants as well! I love Navhoo and will never get tired of going there! It is a special and sacred place with the spirit so so strong there! We all came home that night tired and ready to go home! The next day we went to Uncle Peters house and then to Aunt Dana's Grave(she passed away in March of this year). She was not a member and Uncle Peter was waiting for all of us to be here so that he could dedicate the grave with all of us there! It was a sweet experience and I was grateful to have been able to witness it! I have gotten to know my Uncle Peter a bit better and have grown to love him more! He is a great man with a great heart! He is a strong leader in his home and my cousins are just awesome!! We went back to camp and had a family meeting turning the reigns over to my cousins(daughters of Uncle Dan)! We will have our next reunion in Or in 2016! Excited to take the kids to the coast! They will love it!! After the meeting I got ready to head out preparing to pack up the next morning and hit the road! I was tired and exhausted and had 2 more days till I would be home! The kids were ready to be home too. We loaded up said good bye and headed 5 hours down the road where we camped out at Michael and Tausha's house again! We had a fun night eating pizza and playing with my other cousin Ryanna and Tim who happened to have a hotel in Topeka! It was an extended Family reunion, cousin style! Fun times!! We all slept well and then left the next morning headed for Denver that night! Amy the kids and I swam while Uncle Mike went and got dinner for all of us! It was nice to know that we were on the home stretch of our vacation, with no mishaps!(other than Michael and Tausha not having a car anymore. PS...Uncle Peter loaned them his van) We got a good nights sleep and then headed out the next morning! We drove through the beautiful Denver Mountains my favorite drive by far! (OK well maybe the scenic byway through the South Dakota was gorgeous too!) It was a great drive until a large boulder the size of a tennis ball came face to face with my window...that was intense for me and for my brand new windshield. It did not chip it, it did not just crack it it took chunks of the glass out and I now have a large pattern of circles in my windshield. So beware of falling rocks! I was how ever grateful for the protection that we received. We were watched over and protected from danger! We dropped off Amy and then headed the 90 more min to our home! It was so nice to be home in our own beds! I love vacation and how it creates memories for us as a family but I also love that I have a home to come back to!
Among our long trip, we did a few day hikes with my sister! Also Allison and I have done a few solo hikes together! I am pleased to see my children gaining their own testimonies of the gospel of Jesus Christ! I am amazed everyday as I see another aspect of their life touched by the Gospel, the strength they have aqquired by living the standards that will keep them on the path to Father in /Heaven! (Side note, I bought a song the other day "Live Like You Believe" and as we were listening to it on the way home Gymnastics Allie said " I just want to go and knock on peoples doors and give them the Book of Mormon." She has such an enthusiasm for living and sharing the gospel!! Spending time with each of my kids has helped me to know them better and learn what their needs are and what their love languages are! I am grateful for this summer and the times I have had with them to learn more about them! They have taught me so much about myself and about Jesus Christ! Children truly are a blessing in our lives!
I was able to go camping with a friend and her children. It was fun to talk with her and help her out, she lost her Husband a year ago this last June and with that comes a lot of emotions. Although I have not lost a spouse I lost my mother almost 3 years ago, she was my best friend and it is still hard today, but I still feel her strength! We had the best camp ground ever! It was right next to a little stream, the kids played in the water all day, I even got it( it was really cold)!!
Allison is now 12 years old and her birthday wish was to go to the temple to do baptisms! What an awesome gift to want to have! We are going the end of August! I am so excited for her!! She can hardly wait! We wanted to go sooner but we had so many trips planned and other activities to attend too. I feel guilty for not putting a higher priority on this but I can not get down on myself, it is going to happen and she is thrilled!!
Our last trip before we start school again was a girls backpacking trip! It was epic! I loved it, taking my little girls out on the trail with what we needed on our backs! We were out for 2 nights! We endured a thunderstorm with hail and rain and we came out stronger! You know that they enjoyed it when they begged to keep the tent up, when it was time to take it down! I love having no distractions, just the peace and quiet of beautiful mountains surrounding us! The girls made a "hide out home" complete with a living room, kitchen, computer and tv, bedroom, dining room and bathroom! They gave me a tour of it ! They worked all day on it making a path with rocks, and moving larger rocks for beds couches tvs and such! Such creativity from their imaginations! Kids do not need screen time to have fun, mine just use rocks to pretend and it seems to work just fine!! I realize that I do not have an endless amount of summers with them and I must make the best with them!!
Among the busy summer I have also been doing lesson plans for all my kids, and it is going to be an exciting semester! I cannot wait to start, and as the kids have been watching me prepare they are eager to start their studies again! I have been in heaven getting new books from Amazon! Also at the thrift stores! After moving here from Idaho and having the kids so far ahead of the other kids I needed to help them in excel at a faster pace! I have loved having the kids home and being able to help them each individually! I love teaching my kids! They are so close to the spirit and seem to always find ways to relate the gospel to their studies and their lives! Something that I have prayed for constantly! As a mother I will never stop praying for that blessing! I will post a separate post about our upcoming home school year! It is going to be tons of fun!! We have a few more summer activites planned and then it is back to a full schedule of learning and growing!
I failed to mention that our summer devotional we Studied the 9 BE'S that President Hinkely laid out! The kids have enjoyed this as we have learned and read and incorporated them into our lives! The kids each did a journal entry with thoughts on ways to improve certain areas of their young lives, they also drew pictures of what they wrote about! It has been a peaceful and spiritual highlight of our summer! We are going to be doing a craft project with it this fall! We are just about to wrap up this devotional series and move onto the next series to start out the school year! Fun time!
Well I better be done here, maybe I can do this more often now so I don't have so much to write about! I need to be better at this! This is our "Family Journal" right now, I guess I better do a better job. I want my kids to be able to read about the things we did as a family, but even more important I want them to be able to share these stories with their children! After all we know of Lehi and Sariah because of the record that Nephi kept. It is a commandment to keep a journal. A great way to share what I/ we have learned with our families for generations to come!!
I hope you enjoyed my novel :)
Love to all!!
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