Washing the Blanket Day

The day we wash Benjamin's blanket is always a long one around here. I have to time it just right so it will be washed and dry by the time he needs a nap. Then I pry it out of his little hands to put it in the washer.

It's a long wait...

Poor guy.

The best part is when we pull it out of the dryer, nice and warm and clean! Then all is right in his world again. Sweet boy. 

Mr. Roberts

We had some sobering news over the weekend. The beloved principal of my kids school was killed in an ATV accident over the weekend. His son, who is a classmate of Lainy's, was in the accident too but is going to okay.

We found out about the accident at church. I guess it had been floating around Facebook, but I hadn't seen it. I wish I had. My kids learned about it from their friends in Primary.

Monday morning we drove up to the school to see this:

 Someone had put a bunch of hearts around the fence. The flag was at half-mast.

I went to volunteer in Sam's class Monday morning and barely made it in the door without crying. The staff had helped students draw little notes to Mr. Roberts on the sidewalk. Some kids painted rocks. It was all so sweet. And so very sad.

Throughout the week different restaurants catered meals for teachers. Domino's sent pizza to the whole school for lunch one day. And Broulims donated donuts for every classroom in honor of Mr. Roberts "Random Donut Day". There was a sweet, almost reverent feeling there.

The funeral was Friday. They canceled school so teachers and students could attend. So many people came they opened up an overflow location.

 The kids and I decided not to attend the funeral. They had so much support. Instead, we went to the mountains on a little hike. I had heard that Mr. Roberts loved the mountains, so I figured we could pay a small tribute to him there.

All week, I've been overwhelmed with the response of the community, and by the impact one life can have. It's incredible. You are missed, Mr. Roberts.

Apple Picking

One of our favorite things to do in the Fall in Massachusetts was to go apple picking. It's the state pass-time in the Fall. We'd choose a different orchard every year. I have such fond memories of picking apples, then getting apple cider and donuts afterward.

Last year we didn't go. The girls kept asking if we were going, but Idaho is short on apple orchards. We missed it. But this year I heard through a lady on Facebook about a small orchard nearby. We had to call Mr. Brunson and set up an appointment and I jumped all over the chance!

It was a cute little orchard. Not the well-oiled commercial orchards of New England, but that was totally ok. And his prices were amazing! We picked Honeycrisp, Sweet 16, and Golden Delicious.

Benjamin kept taking one bite out of an apple, then putting it in the box. Funny kid.

We had a fun morning, picked 3 bushels, and spent the next week canning applesauce, apple pie filling, and making apple cider. It made us a little less homesick for Massachussetts.

Jenny's Lake

Memorial Day weekend we drove up to Jenny's Lake near Jackson. It's been a long time since we've seen the Tetons. They're just as beautiful as we remembered.

There were a lot of people around, but as we got further into the hike it got much quieter. Just how we like it.

About a mile in we passed a group who said they'd just seen a brown bear! They were from Nevada. They showed us pictures they'd taken of the bear and Brad and I were a little alarmed. They'd gotten really close to it! I don't think they realized how stupid that is. Lucky they didn't get hurt!

We saw no bears. Just beautiful scenery.

 

The kids hiked great. Even Benjamin did pretty well in his carrier. He got antsy the last mile and Brad took off with the girls before he totally lost it. So Sam and I just walked at our own pace. He's a good hiking buddy.

At the end of the hike we soaked our feet in the lake. It really is gorgeous. What a beautiful corner of the world.

To Alaina On Her Birthday

Dear Lainy,

You are 11-years-old today! Hard to believe. This morning I was looking at pictures of you as a brand new baby. You were so little. A beautiful baby. Daddy and I look so young too! We didn't know what we were doing! Sometimes I think we still don't know. We've all grown a lot these past 11 years.

A lot has happened since your last birthday. We had just moved to Idaho and you had just started 5th grade at a brand new school. (In Idaho your birthday is the first week of school! Do you like that, or did you prefer having it the last week of summer like in Massachusetts?) You were a brave new girl at school, and you fell in with some really awesome friends. I can't tell you how happy Daddy and I are about that! Good friends seemed to be hard to find in your grade at the Dobeare. It was the only thing I didn't love about that school. I'm so happy you've got some fun, smart, kind friends to be around here. It was an answer to our prayers for you.

You also tried a bunch of new stuff: gymnastics, soccer, softball... You would have tried more, but sports are kind of funny in Idaho. We'll figure it out. We want you to try anything you'd like. Experiment with a bunch of things and find out what you really love.

Then there was the part where you were sick for 3 months. That was so hard. I hated seeing you suffer. I was so grateful when we finally figured out that you needed your tonsils out and got your surgery scheduled. But then the recovery was so awful! I was so worried about you. I would go into my room and cry at night because I felt so helpless. But you're made of strong stuff. It was hard, but we made it.

I'm so happy you are well and whole again. I'm excited for this next year. I'm happy that you are still in the elementary school. Leah and Sam look up to you so much! It will be fun to have you all in one place. And Benjamin adores you. (Thank you for always being so helpful with him!) Daddy and I love you so much. We love that you want to talk with us and be involved in our conversations. But we also love that you still wanted toys for your birthday this year. You are growing up into such a fun young lady! Don't be in too much of a hurry, okay?

Happy Birthday sweet girl.

Love,
Mom