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?  ;)

The Land of Short Street Signs

Thanks to our [infamous] East Winds here in Farmington, our street signs frequently get blown over.  For a few days after a windstorm, all order on the streets is gone as the signs, that usually tell drivers what to do, lay on the ground.  In some lucky cases, the sign is still somewhat close to the location where it belongs and the city workers can use the same sign to put back up and restore order.
But, when they've blown over and the poles have either broken off or are just severely bent at the base, to make it stand up again, they have to bury the *new* bottom of the pole into the ground which results in the sign being about a foot shorter than it used to be before the wind.  (I've read various reports that typical stop signs are anywhere between 7-10 feet tall.)

And then when the next windstorm comes along and knocks over the sign again, they have to go through the same process, which decreases the height of the sign again...

And then the wind blows hard again.....and the knocked down/broken pole/re-bury/put back up series happens all over again!

Until it gets to the point that, if you are driving a van/truck/SUV, you actually have to look down to notice the street signs.  I just can't get used to the short signs around here - no matter how many times I pass it, I totally notice it and think, That looks so weird!   I know! The Wizard of Oz should film in our city!

My son wants to go pose by all the signs (because I think he is taller than them in their shortened, post-disaster shape) and send those photos to his missionary brother to "prove" how tall he is!  Of course, he plans to "omit" the little fact that they are NOT standard height anymore!  ;)

Gone With the Wind

Here is a conversation that went on in our neighbor's house when they looked out their window towards our yard the other morning and saw this:

Wife:  "Why do the Brenchley's have a clump of stuff all arranged in that one spot of their yard?"
Husband:  "There used to be a shed there!"

Shortly afterwards, I got a text from our her.
Neighbor:  "What happened to your shed?"
Me:  "It was obliterated!"

The crazy thing was, we only found two [broken] pieces of it in our yard.  Did it disappear?  So where did it all go?

Well, another neighbor (who live two houses over in our cul-de-sac) will tell you it all went in their back yard (at least four bigger-ish pieces).

But, THAT wasn't all of it......

And as I've been doing my walks (for my Fitbit steps) around the neighborhood, I have found several other pieces in various sizes, small to large, all over the place!

Now we've had to move everything into our garage (boo hoo!) which also sustained terrible damage to it's door from the wind, as well.  (It's nonfunctional!)

Is it possible to have P.T.S.D. just from hearing the wind?  After what happened three years ago to our old home, too!

 The basketball standard [even with water in it's base to weigh it down] couldn't remain upright through it all, either!

#weliveinawindtunnel

What are THESE?

The temperatures have DROPPED way low here in our neck of the woods.  Thanks to the November-that-feels-like-January we're having due to the Arctic Chill that has come from the North, affecting most of  the U.S.

(Yet, ANOTHER rude awakening in returning from our Eastern Caribbean cruise.  The Islands, high 80's.  Utah, 30's.)

So, Brookelle was complaining she didn't have any warm clothes to wear.  It's true - I hadn't done the official [season changing] closet/drawer clean out project, changing all the short sleeves/capris/shorts/lightweight fabrics and replacing them with the winter clothes - it was still in the 70's when I left!

So, I pulled the big Rubbermaid tote of "Size 6 Winter clothes" out of the basement that I'd been storing ever since Katelyn outgrew them 4 years ago (AND which had many hand-me-downs of Haylee's from before then, too!)

Usually this ritual is like "Christmas," opening up a plethora of  outfits to wear; an instant "new" wardrobe!  The girls & I get all sentimental, while gushing, "Oh, I loved this!  This is soooo cute!" remembering the clothes they used to wear, and what event they wore them for, etc.

THIS TIME when Brookelle started pulling out all the long pants (the main thing she was looking for), it was NOT like that.  She was NOT thrilled or impressed or even grateful.

Her response was more like......

What are THESE?!!?

When I answered, "pants," she started to giggle.

SHE SERIOUSLY THOUGHT I WAS JOKING/TEASING (like I frequently do, and she's become pretty good at discerning when I am, based on the absurdity of what I say)
so she responded, "No, they're not!"

To which I replied, "Yes. They ARE."

She retorted, "What's wrong with the bottoms???"

I said, "They're flare jeans."

Brookelle:  "Flare???  WHY would they make them FLARE?"

Me:  "Because they're cute!"

Brookelle:  (giggling, thinking I'm joking again) "No, they're not!"

They're not?????  

But, your sisters wore them!

They used to be!

And then I realized that sometime between the last 4-6 years and the modern day, flare jeans must have gone the way of the dust.  In Brookelle's [short!] lifetime, she has never been exposed to flare jeans and, therefore, has absolutely NO understanding/attraction to them.  In her opinion, they belong in the costume box, categorized under, "clown pants" MORE THAN they belong in a sane person's closet!!
Skinny jeans are acceptable, though!  ;)

(Weird to think that I'M living through style changes!  Isn't that just for old people?)

CRAP!  Now she still doesn't have any warm bottoms to wear!  

Is Christmas too far away to wait to get new clothes?!?

This Weekend:

* Our elementary school aged children invited us to go with them to the annual V. I. P. breakfast at their school.

We "dined" on muffins, bagels, cold cereal, & fruit.

* Matt met me at the Bountiful Temple Friday late afternoon to attend

a session together.

It was nice to be there with him again - due to our schedules,

I have just been going single a lot lately.

* When we came out of the temple, it was pouring rain!

Uh Oh.  Ryan was umpiring at the ball park, and 

the plan was for us to drop him off a car to have

when he got done with his games later in the evening.

The rain forced them to call the games early, and

he was stuck in the rain without a car.

* Matt & I finished our date night by going out to dinner at our "standby", Costa Vida, afterwards.
{It's so convenient now that we have one RIGHT IN Farmington!}

* Saturday morning, my friend/photographer came out to take

Ryan's Sr. pictures.....BUT, it was raining still!

And it was MORNING! = he was NOT a happy camper!

After an hour or so, we called it good and rescheduled

for when it's suppose to be a lot better weather.

(But, then he got to go to work - refereeing soccer IN THE RAIN for 3 hrs!)

* I went to a bridal shower brunch for our Bishop's daughter.

It was really fun visiting with the ladies in attendance and the bride & groom-to-be.

This girl really "has it together" and it was sweet to hear her fiance talk about how amazing she is.

In fact, he told the story about how he's had this certain conversation with her a few times now, asking her: 

Tell me what I even have to bring to the table?  I know I'm good looking, ;) but YOU....

you've already got all these accomplishments, talent, brains, skills, & a whole list of attributes. 

(That's GOOD he's starting out with the proper adulation for the most important woman in his life!) 

Anyway, after his comment, one of the more "mature" ladies there gave a sermon reminded

them that it is Heavenly Father's PLAN for men & women to marry and have their own family!

{THAT'S WHY he's needed}

* In the afternoon, I actually started hanging up pictures and decorations
on the walls of my "new" [20 month old] home!
I finally committed and put holes in my walls - some in the wrong place and had to do over!  {sigh}

* Went to the store and then picked up Little Caesars pizzas on the
way back for dinner.
It's Saturday night, and we are trying to follow Matt's tradition
of his youth: always having pizza on Saturday night.
(Gluten-Free Haylee eats an alternative meal}

* It was our Stake Conference weekend, so we went to the Saturday
evening session, and took Ryan & Kyle since the youth were
invited this time to what is the usual "adult" session.
We had some great speakers including one who told the story of how he
 invited a gang member, in a colorful Sacramento area, to church,
then invited him to hear the missionary discussions, then invited him to be baptized!!
He accepted it all, and actually had to get the FBI involved; be relocated and get a new identity.  WOW!
Afterwards, the parents of Ryan's future prom date approached us and we met & visited with them.

* We went to Roxberry afterwards for smoothies with Kyle (Ryan left the conference early to go "crash" another High School's prom.  It's dumb, I think).
{and then I was CHILLED and couldn't wait to get home in my warm jammies & bed!}

* We got up pretty early on Sunday morning so we could leave
our home at 8:30 a.m. (all church-dress-ready) to drive out to the Conference Center
 in Salt Lake City for our Stake/Regional Conference.

It ended up we got there PLENTY early (in our seats 47 min. before it started),
but it was good, because I like to have a good seat, close & center, so I can SEE!
We didn't know beforehand who would be speaking, but we got to hear gospel messages from
several general authorities & officers of the church, including Elder Neil L. Andersen and his wife - which was really special.
Especially because usually children under the age of 8 are not allowed into events at the Conference Center,
(frequently these live events are being filmed/recorded, so they can't have too much noise)
so it was a real treat for Brookelle & Katelyn to be able to go this time - they'd never been, yet!

* We had my cousin and her family of 6 over for Sunday dinner.
She has three daughters who match up in age with my three girls,
so they got to officially meet and hang out for the first time.
They actually live quite close, but we'd never gotten together.
They are a delightful family.  And we got to pull out our high chair again for their baby!  :)
When it was time for them to go, the girls were hugging and begging
to have them stay, asking when they could be with them again!
And, of course, they tried to pull the "stowaway" trick in their minivan.
We hope to see them some more.

* We wanted to go on a walk in the evening to assist the digestion
of our turkey dinner & brownie sundaes, BUT it started to rain again!
Aaugh!
So, we just stayed inside and put our computers, TVs, & electronics to use.
(That wasn't a wise trade off! hahaha.)

3 Gatsu!

YES!!!  It's March!

{finally}

Which means the worst months (January & February) are over!

Even though our weather has been mild the last couple of weeks, and today's weather hasn't change - it's actually the same - I'm just so RELIEVED we're moving onto March!

Winter has always been my least liked season, but I think, as I get older, my feelings about it are getting worse!  It's hard for me to be upbeat.  I'm not really a fan of winter sports/hobbies, so I'm not excited for snow ever.  EVEN THOUGH Utah has been known to have strange weather - snow as late as May - I feel like we're on the way out of the woods.

So, hopefully, most of the snow/cold/inversion days are over - both where I live AND where the airline I work for flies, so that we don't have to be so crazy, busy with tons of problems at work!

Hopefully, I can start to see my peeps again!  (We quit walking our kids to school when it gets into the 30's.)  It seems like we all stay inside our houses during the winter, and I don't get to see/talk to anyone.  Seriously, one day in January, I took a walk through and down every single road in my ward (church congregation geographical boundaries) and I did not see a SINGLE PERSON out.  What?!?  Do we have an anti-social ward?!?  Or people don't like to be outside in single digits when the air quality is harmful to your respiratory system?!?  ;)

So.....now that it's March, I've got several things to look forward to:

1. Having a lunch with my [long time, no see] friends
2. Going out on our semi-annual lunch with my aunts, girl cousins, & sisters on my mom's side of the family.
3. Attending a 3-day event, Romance & Royalty, with Matt up in Midway at The Zermatt Resort  (We won it!  Valued at $950)
4. Annual dinner at Ruth's Chris with a business partner (and on his dime!)
5. Spring Break with my family in Las Vegas
6. Going with TWO of my daughters to the FIRST General Women's Meeting that includes all girls age 8 & up.
7. And maybe this scene:
   

 {OK, so maybe not in Utah}

Welcome March!

Work Woes

It hasn't exactly been a breeze at work for Matt & I lately.

MATT:
It all started on Christmas Eve.....

When THIS GUY walked into Matt's work (a Credit Union).

And THEN he proceeded to ROB one of their tellers!  He just verbally told him, "This is a robbery.  Give me all your money."  The teller looked at him like he was kidding, to which the robber clarified, "This is FOR REAL."  So, the teller complied.

(And got away before law enforcement arrived - within minutes!)

The president was out that day, so Matt spent a lot of time searching the security camera footage and prepare it for the cops and going through all the other procedural steps for robberies.  Never pleasant.

In the News:  This same guy went on to rob two other financial institutions over the course of the same week!!  Story HERE.

THEN, on Monday, just 13 days after the 1st robbery, they got robbed AGAIN.  (Different robber, same teller!!!)  We couldn't believe it!

He imitated he had a weapon, but one was never seen.

AGAIN, the president of the credit union was still out, so Matt went through the whole "recovery process" that day, as well - LIKE HE DOESN'T HAVE ANYTHING ELSE HE NEEDS TO DO!  HA!
This time the FBI was there with their masks on, collecting fibers, and the whole nine yards!
Understandably, some of his employees were VERY distraught and shook up.  They kept the outside door locked the rest of the afternoon.

Why do these thugs think they can just commit such crimes...which involve REAL PEOPLE????  (It's an epidemic - like 24 bank robberies in the last two months in our state!)  And cause all kinds of [mental & financial] damage along the way.  

ME:
My hopes to start the New Year off "low-key" at work were completely dashed THANKS TO THIS:

The first winter storm of the year has arrived bringing with it significant snowfall, strong winds and extremely frigid temperatures to the Northeast. Going into it we knew this was going to be a challenge, but boy, were we unpleasantly surprised for how big it actually got.

It caused us to deal with THIS:

Which resulted in a TON of THIS:

Which meant a "Code Red" was issued on NEW YEAR'S DAY.  A "code red" is when it is mandatory for everyone to work a certain number of overtime hours that day.  (In addition to your regularly scheduled work shifts.)
The CODE RED was still in effect for January 2.
And then another CODE RED was issued for January 3.
And another on January 4.
And on January 5.
And January 6.
And even on January 7.

But, to look on the bright side....{cue ABBA's song, "Money, Money, Money"}  I'll probably make more money in this one week time period, than I did in the last 2 months!

Finally, for the 8th, overtime will no longer be mandatory, but it is still being asked of us, on a volunteer basis, because there are still so many [sometimes irate] customers calling trying to either get a better/earlier/different flight, or get their money refunded/adjusted.  Or to just complain, cancel, compliment, cross-examine, cuss at, or confuse us!

But, we tried to MAKE THE MOST OF IT:

Good thing my friends gave me a case of this:

And this:

;)

To cope, Matt also took me away, out on a date Friday night to a steakhouse we have been wanting to try for years, and then another day I got together with The Girls for a sort of "bridge club."

Friday will be my first day off work in 11 days!  I am looking forward to it!