Three Months of Summer - Gone?!? (Which Means it's Over!)

Sayonara, August! 

It was good while it lasted.....yes, children, we DID do something!

Here's how it went down.

Queen of the Kingdom with these lovely ladies.

This song will forever remind me of this weekend!
It cannot be played now without me breaking out into song AND dance - seriously!!

Just playin' in the rain - more like an all out thunderstorm!

Heber Valley Girls' Camp

Haylee and Matt went....Haylee as one of the "girls."  Matt as one of the "Priesthood men."

Cousins "warming up" for the backyard races

ReAL Monarchs soccer game

Farmington City Volunteer Appreciation Night at the pool

Brookelle on the high dive?!?  

(Thanks to "peer influence" she had from a friend she ran into there.)

Desert Star Theatre

"GREASE'D: Happy Days are Here Again"

Splash Pad with friends

Look what I found while shopping at Ross here in our neck of the woods......

a Virginia Tech hat - my missionary son's stompin' grounds now! :) 

Kyle ran the Davis County 5K

(in the time it takes ME to go ONE mile!)  ;)

Brookelle (navy shirt),

Katelyn (grey shirt),

and Haylee (navy shirt) all did the Kids Mud Run on the same day as the 5K.

Flips on the tramp!

Inflatable waterslide party in our backyard with the Fowers cousins!

Off the strict bedtime schedule and fallin' asleep in weird positions.

The results of new school clothes shopping

Finally got to have the full-time missionaries over for dinner!

(as "payback" for all the West Virginia/Virginia families who are feeding my boy every night)

Seven Peaks Water Park ~ jetBlue Day

ReAL Salt Lake soccer game vs. Seattle Sounders FC

School started August 24th

Kyle's first Cross Country Meet for VHS (maroon uni on left)

(an "invitational" meet in American Fork with 40 high schools!)

San Diego with Matt officially finished out August....

 Because truth be told - - I needed a vacation from [the kids and] this Summer vacation. 

{kidding/not kidding}

And, just like that: 1, 2, 3 months of Summer came to an end!

Waaaaaaaa!

and

Yaaaaaaaay!  :)

Nice Shot!

Last night was Katelyn's last soccer game of the season. Even though the last game was SUPPOSED TO have been May 19th.
But, one game got snowed/sleeted out.
And then another game got rained out.
And then the make-up game got called after 7 minutes due to lightening in the area.
And then another make up game got cancelled due to......you got it - RAIN.  Rain, rain, rain; that's been the story of our May this year.  (To compensate for all the LACK OF SNOW in January/February?)

I had my camera out and ready the whole game for all the action.  I had some problems with the delay between the time I pushed the button to take the picture (at the exact moment that something photo-worthy was happening) and the time the camera actually captured the picture (after the moment was over).  We need a better camera - or a better photographer - one of the two, or both!  ;)
I also encountered the problem of a certain coach (my husband!) who kept walking in front of the photographer (me) as he paced up and down the sidelines, coaching.
But, even in the face of these problems, I ended up with some nice shots of the coach.....OH!....uh, and of Katelyn - that's why we were there, right?!?  ;)

Here's a good shot of Katelyn's fashion "awareness."

Katelyn opts to NOT wear the [boring] red soccer socks that are provided as part of her uniform, and instead dons one of her many other, more exciting, pair of long socks for the games!

{Nice shot Exhibit #1}

Here's a shot of Katelyn's kicks off.

It didn't happen on this particular kick, but Katelyn has been known to actually score a [unintentional] goal on her kickoff; a perfect rainbow shot up and over all the heads of the opposing team, including the goalie's head, and dropping right into the back of the net!  No one was more surprised than Katelyn, herself, when that happened for she had only meant to kickoff!

{Nice Shot Exhibit #2}

Here's a shot of Katelyn dribbling.

It appears that a couple of players on the opposing team (white jerseys) are undecided about which direction they are currently going, one thinks north, the other thinks south.  ;)

{Nice Shot Exhibit #3}

Here's a shot of Katelyn's shot on goal

And she kicks and she......doesn't score (this time), 

but sent it right to the goalie.  Don't ya hate it when that happens!?!  :)

So, what d'ya say?  Do you think I got enough NICE SHOTS to keep my job as photographer?  ;)

This Weekend:

*Friday Night was Katelyn's turn for her DATE with Mom & Dad!

She picked everything we did.

We went out to dinner at The Nacho House and

then went to Get Air trampoline park.

* Saturday was Farmington Festival Days!

We started by going to the breakfast in the park.

Still the best city "chuckwagon" style breakfast we've encountered:

French Toast on thick bread, with your choice of maple or vanilla syrup

Bacon AND sausage

Hashbrown patties

Cup of fruit (watermelon, canteloupe, grapes, blueberries)

Orange Juice

Milk

Chocolate Milk

*After that the girls and I like to browse the booths.

There's always this "bag" booth that has some cute stuff,

but this year we actually made our purchase at 

a maxi skirt booth - the girls each got one - very darling!

*We went to the parade.

The other people beat us to putting out chairs and roping off sections,

(It's getting earlier & earlier every year!  Aaugh!) so we were only partially shaded.

 As always, GOOD "candy" (not taffy) was given/thrown out including:  sliced watermelon

from Harmon's grocery, otter pops, gobstoppers, Reeses PB cups, Mrs. Cavanaugh's

Mindy Mints, balls, fans, water bottles, smarties, skittles, etc. etc.

*We came home in the middle of the day to COOL off!

I read a bit & cleaned a bit.

Matt got the garden weed-free.

Katelyn went to the movie with her cousin.

Then we decided we "needed" some Costa Vida for supper.

I first tried to call in the order, but they didn't answer, so Matt just drove over.

After a little while, I tried to call again, and was able to order.  Great!  Matt won't have to stand in line.

I texted Matt, I called it in, it's under 'Suzanne'

4 minutes went by and I didn't hear from him, so I texted again, 

Did you get my message?  No need to stand in line, it's ready for pickup at the checkout counter.

And then 1 minute later, he called me.  He hadn't gotten my text.  He'd ordered on his own and was driving home with our food.
Ooops!  My called-in order was still there waiting...

(I tried calling back, but no answer.  I called again, and they guy who finally answered couldn't hear me even though I repeated myself 3 times.  Oh well....)

*We returned to the park for the music performances (singers/bands)

as we sat on our camp chairs in the shade.

 The girls spent time on the playground, too.

*While there, we got word that Ryan & Kyle had returned home from their 

4-day high adventure camp to the Wind Rivers (13 mile/way backpacking trip) with the 14-18 yr. old scouts!!
(I've never really worried about the boys going on scout camps before, but THIS TIME I did a bit.
Ryan has his mission call.  He has to go on his mission!  Please don't let him get lost, or sick, or hurt, or worse! 

*They cleaned themselves up and met us just in time for the fireworks to start.

(And Yes! It was a respectable showing, so it help in satisfying my craving.)

But, I'll tell ya - the crowd for that is growing every year, too - not so small town anymore?

*On Sunday, Matt & I were able to go to the Missionary homecoming church service

of the West Virginia Charleston Mission president & his wife who just returned.

Fun Fact: He also used to be Matt's Bishop & Stake President.  In fact, he was the

Stake President who interviewed Matt & I when we were to be married.

(Ryan will obviously have the new mission president when he is out there in a couple months, but we wanted to attend to see if there was anything we could learn.)

We learned there will be:

Squirral gravy

Windy, curvy roads

Missionary-minded local members of the church who make it their life to help the missionaries.

Miracles following a missionary's faith

*Went to our own church, too.

I taught a combo of this lesson and this lesson to my Young Women class.

And I couldn't get through this [true] story without crying.

(Try as I might.  Geez.)

*I cooked a whole chicken (with various seasonings) in the crock pot for dinner.

It was "Haylee approved" - that's always a very GOOD THING.

*I made chocolate chip cookies for Sunday night treat.

*Ryan had a girl FRIEND (two separate words) come over to watch 

the replay of the World Cup final game with us...because she LOVES soccer and missed it during church, too. 

(We hadn't watched it live, nor had we spoken to anyone to find out the results.)

*I worked on my Personal Progress program - I am SO SO close to completing it 

as a Young Woman Leader! (I already did it the first time as a young woman back in the 80's)

This Weekend:

* All my sister-in-laws (minus 5 SILs) and I went on our annual Christmas shopping excursion with my MIL

to help her get Christmas presents for her grandkids (my children & nieces/nephews) at Station Park.

We also had dinner at Zupas together.  We were able to crank it out in 5 hours this year!

* Since the night was still "young," (by Matt & I's defintion) we went out for a mini-date to 

get a treat.  Ice cream was OUT since it was SO COLD (it was in the teens!), so we

went to Bowman's for half-price doughnuts (after 7 PM) & chocolate milk.

* Matt & Ryan went to the "basketball draft" on Saturday morning for our Jr. Jazz city basketball league.
Matt is going to be Kyle's head coach, and Ryan will be his "assistant."
Kyle was "protected" due to being a coach's son, so he didn't even have to try out.
They watched the boys run through some dribbling, shooting, passing, etc. drills and were able to take notes/rate them,
then they went into the "Situation Room" and drew numbers to see who'd go first in the draft.
Since Ryan remembers everything sports/stats related, he was good eyes & brain to assist Matt in his draft picks.

* Meanwhile, I picked up my Bountiful Basket - included this time was everything to make guacomole.  Yum!

* Saturday Jobs and I started to make the stew for our ward Christmas party.

* We had told all the kids that IF they were perfect on their check marks for the week,

that we would go to the movies on Saturday.  The boys would go to Thor, and the girls

would go to Frozen.  Well, they did it! 

So, we went!
{Our ONE movie of the year.} 

Although, we arrived at the theater about 20 min. before showtime, all the good seats (by my definition)

for Frozen were taken, so we ended up on Row 3!  

(I guess everyone reserves online ahead of time these days because they definitely weren't sitting in the theater, yet, when we entered.)

It was hard for my eyes to digest everything happening on the big screen so close up.  

Needless to say, I came out with a headache.  

When I announced this to the boys, they started laughing because apparently, Matt had already "called it."
 He had just told them, "Watch, Mom's going to come out and say she has a headache."

* The boys then went over to Matt's brother's house to watch the MLS Championship game.....

only to see ReAL Salt Lake lose in a shoot out!  

{Matt was much displeased.}

* We had our ward Christmas party tonight.

It was an "Ugly Christmas Sweater" themed party, so I had gone to Deseret Industries earlier in the week to

get some for my family.  I only found some for the girls.  They didn't even have any for the boys.  

BUT, the thing was, my daughters DID NOT EVEN THINK THEY WERE UGLY! 

They WANT to wear them to school!  WHAT?!?!

Should I allow it?  

I'm hearing my mother's voice in my head, "Don't represent our family THAT WAY!"

We got to the party and realized that there were rolls and baked goodies GALORE - ALL of which

Haylee can't eat anymore as a Celiac.  Her face immediately fell - it was sad.

We didn't even think of that.....there's definitely a learning curve with this new lifestyle....we need to get used to bringing our own things to parties now.

Luckily, they had a soft serve ice cream machine there, also - she just put hers in a cup instead of a cone!  ;)
Santa Claus also came, but Brookelle was a bit nervous and "forgot" to tell him what she wanted!

 So, I helped her write an "official" list when she got home.  ;)

* I helped Ryan get the stuff to answer to Christmas Dance, and then drop it off at the girls house.

* And then he begged me to go do "donuts" and slip/slide around in the church parking lot on our way home since it had been snowing most of the day!
{I obliged}

* Churchey-church and meetings on Sunday.

My Mia Maid adviser taught this lesson.  She had asked the young women's

parents & friends about what each of their spiritual gifts were and

then shared them with the class.  It was cool because some of 

the girls didn't even realize they had those!

* In the afternoon, some of the kids watched, "Miracle of 34th Street" and then in the evening,

the family watched, "The Polar Express." 

We're trying to knock off a couple for our Family Christmas movie tradition on a 

day that everyone is home, instead of running a million different directions!
We remembered about the First Presidency's Christmas devotional at 6:45 PM - woops!
We "dropped the ball" this year - only caught the last 15 min.

* I also spent a bunch of time on the library website selecting Christmas

storybooks that I can read to my family each night this year. (another

family tradition).  The Christmas Train by President Thomas S. Monson

has a long waiting list again this year, so we're probably not going to get it!  Dang!

But, I'm excited about some of the other titles we can hopefully get to.

* We put all the ornaments on our Christmas tree (just the tree with lights had been 

up for for a couple of days) and I finished the last decorating touches in our home.

* I gave both the boys haircuts, but they both had strict instructions for me to 

leave their "wings" and their "Jedi braid" alone.

{They are totally replaying their father's adolescence.}

* One of our friends delivered one of those Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory-esque

caramel apples....that SHE made!!  It had been dipped in Oreo crumbs and

had white chocolate drizzled on the top of that!  Oh. My. YUM!

The family gobbled it down in NO TIME at all.

Seriously, I cut it up, walked out of the kitchen, and came back and it was GONE!
(Thus, no photo.)

But, the little bit I did taste, was just the right "night cap" (at least our version of one!)  ;)

Hometown Pride

Guess what made the list of the 100 best places (small town category) to live in the U.S.?

Our beloved Farmington is #12!

Yep, our secret is out, thanks to this CNNMoney report. (and now my blog post, too!) :)

Some of the reasons we were ranked so high by CNN is because Farmington is safe, quiet, has low taxes, our city is financially sound, Lagoon amusement part, close to Salt Lake City (jobs), mix of high end homes with more affordable ones, etc.

I agree with all those reasons, too, but let me add a few (or more) of the things I LOVE about Farmington....

1. Our Schools. They are high quality - I can honestly say that there is only ONE teacher in our elementary school that I (and a lot of other people) don't want their kids to get. I have no worries about all the others. We have excellent test scores - at Kyle's 6th Grade graduation a few months ago, I was amazed at how many students received the Presidential award for academic achievement (the one signed by President Obama) and then the Citizenship award given by the teachers - they just kept calling name after name after name. I thought to myself, Is there anyone who didn't get it? (There was, it's just that there are so many bright, motivated, good kids!) Our schools also have a good percentage of parent/community involvement. I like that our schools have a manageable number of students. My children are able to know (& be friendly with) almost everyone in their own grades. It is also great that our elementary school is just a little over a mile from our home. I (and some other moms) walk my kids to school every day until from the 1st day of school until Thanksgiving and then again after Spring Break. We wait around & hang out on the school grounds until the tardy bell rings for school. It is a fun time to socialize with the fellow students, parents, crossing guard, and school staff. It is safe for them to walk or bike home afterwards, as well.
2. Our athletic programs. Namely, F.A.B.L. (Farmington Area Baseball League) and Farmington Eagles Football. With three children in baseball (4 next year) and Ryan umpiring, that can make for 2-3 games/week/team, so we "live" at the ball park April - June. Not nearly as much as our league's directors, who are AMAZING btw (named Citizens of the Year 2010 by the Rotary club of Farmington), and is another reason we love being a part of FABL - the PEOPLE! We get to know so many friends through this - including other people in our town who are not at our school. Whenever we run into some of our baseball friends in public, we part ways by saying, I'll see you at the ball park! Then we get to do the same thing, with a slightly new group of people, but some are the same, August - October during football season. Even though we only have one child in football, because it is SO INTENSE (in time, attitude, commitment, etc.) it feels as if we are "living football" during these months. It requires so many volunteers and our citizens come through! I love the camaraderie we have through, not only practices and games, but our potluck dinners, parties, "Football with Dads", ceremonies, banquets, team (which parents/families are considered a part of) cheers & huddles, etc. We also have something unique, where our city has a soccer program with the option to sign up for just Fall or Spring season (or both if you want) so that it doesn't conflict with our kids' baseball or football schedule. AND our practice and playing fields are close enough for the kids to walk or ride bikes to, if the chauffeur is unavailable at any time.
   
3. Farmington Festival Days. The 2nd Saturday of July every year is always blocked out on our calendar for this event. When we first moved here 10+ years ago, it was only a Saturday event. More recently, it has expanded to include the whole week, Monday - Saturday. The parade. IMHO, it is the best around! They pass out REAL candy (READ: not just taffy, taffy, and more taffy). And those who know me, know I am motivated by candy! :) There are Jolly Ranchers, Airheads, Gobstoppers, cinnamon bears, root beer barrel candy, pixie sticks, starburst, fruit snacks, otter pops, and even stuffed animals, "Marti Gras" necklaces, and DVDs. The races. With the exception of one year when I was 6 months pregnant, and another year when I had a 6 week old newborn baby, I have run in the 5K or 10K (depending on my level of physical fitness that particular year) all of the years we have lived here. It is exhilerating to be among my "running friends." The races have now grown to include a Half Marathon and a "10K Flag Rock" (Mountain climb/run) as well. The breakfast. You get in free if you run the race! And it's not just your average breakfast. It is French Toast, big ol' sausages, bacon, cut up fresh fruit, hash browns, juice, milk, AND chocolate milk - all very Brenchley kid-approved! (and that's saying A LOT!) :) Other parts of this we don't want to miss are the Outdoor Family Movie night on the mega blowup screen, the free ice cream, outdoor concerts/bands, youth dance (not me, the teenagers!) and the Fireworks Show. And we enjoy it all amongst the familiar faces of our fellow Farmingtonites.
4. The Farmington Pool. This is an outdoor pool! (I don't like the muggy, loud, unable-to-suntan features of the indoor pools much at all) It's got a zero entry for the babes, slides for the kids, basketball standards for the hoopsters, a low dive and a high dive for.....well, I've seen ages 3 to 73 go off those, a water playground area, morning water aerobics, and lap swimming [life guards provided] for the crazies like me who attempt triathlons even though we're terrified of swimming. And I can always find an open lounge chair. (PLUS!) We can get a Family Pass for $150! And the best part? No matter when we go there, we ALWAYS see people we know! You don't have to take a friend with you - it's a sure bet the kids (& me) will have someone to play with already there.
   
5. The Farmington Trails. One of Farmington’s greatest assets is the location next to beautiful mountains...and the best part - we have trails and open space areas right in our backyard, probably less than ten minutes away! I have been able to take advantage of these trails as I've clocked some running and biking miles in training for my various events. The Lagoon trail is paved and offers lots of shady trees, bridges crossing over creeks, and a pleasant breeze to give respite to an exhausting, sweaty run.....including one section that thrills youngsters in your stroller - a fenced off area with elk, buffalo, horses, and cattle to look at. Our family has also enjoyed hiking on some of the dirt trails that allow us to "go exploring" or take us up in the mountains for a great view of our town and the Great Salt Lake.....although we did hear (and see in the bushes) a rattlesnake on a trail once - and we just haven't quite made it back to that one again! :) And I love how I often see friends (those we know, some we don't) out exercising on the trails, too, so we offer a wave and holler a "hello" as we pass each other.
   
6. Our church congregations. I feel like my family and I have a lot of great examples from people of strong faith, service, and generosity where we live. I feel like there are so many good, good, good people - just "cream of the crop" "salt of the earth" type people surrounding us. I appreciate these "spiritual giants" around us to inspire and strengthen us, and to keep us going.
7. Talented teachers at our fingertips. We don't even have to go out of town to find piano, swimming, cheer leading, preschool, or dance teachers, tutors, scout leaders, etc. It's all right here, and again, the kids can walk or ride their bikes there!
8. I can leave the keys in the ignition of my car [on accident] for many hours, and it's still there when I come back! (based on a true experience)
   
9. The recent addition of Station Park. This has been quite the excitement for us to get a shopping center here in our town since we haven't had anything like it before. The Harmon's grocery store was bombarded it's first opening weeks with all us zealous citizens eager to support it and "experience" a piece of the gourmet market history. In addition to a big movie theater, other stores include: Ross, Sports Authority, Home Goods, Marshall's, Ulta....and there's rumor about a Panda Express coming (Katelyn has her fingers crossed!)
10. Our city service people. I saw our Mayor out while I was on a bike ride last week. He was cutting down overgrown vines & such that were protruding out into the path I was on. As I passed him, he smiled at me and said, I'm just trying to clean this up for YOU! Our previous (and musically talented) mayor participated in a special [singing] concert one Christmas season and donated all the proceeds to a Scholarship Fund that has been set up in my [deceased] cousin's name.
    
11. Hometown Pride. It's not just ME! I know of so many people who have had 2 or 3 different houses in Farmington through the years. When they outgrow their home, they just can't bear to leave the area, so they either find or build themselves a bigger one in our same town. My aunt and uncle love it so much that they have had multiple houses (I lost track after seven - seriously) in Farmington, most of the time never having to leave their school or church boundaries. They don't want to live anywhere else! I also know people who had made additions or remodels to their existing homes, so they can stay in Farmington. There are quite a few "life timers" who cherish living here - and I love how they are so proud of our Farmington. And after living here, we too, have become like them - yes, our home is for sale, but we plan on staying in town, just a different home. I guess it's a possibility that we could grow to love somewhere else, too, (maybe not?) so I just don't want to risk it! :)
    

Much of my list refers to OUR PEOPLE, our school friends, our sports friends, our community friends, our fitness friends, our church friends - my love of this place is very related to them and my privilege to be associated with them, of which I am always grateful.

I don't know....maybe a lot of people feel this way about where they live...but now we've got what not everyone does...we've got the Big Honchos (CNN) validating what I know & feel to be true!

Have I convinced y'all to move here now?!? ;)