Surpr-ice cream

 Ashlee's family left for home today.  When I went to grab something from our deep freeze, I noticed this...

Austen had left an individual ice cream cup gift behind for "Uncle Randy."  Love it!!

Moses Lake Temple Open House

Moses Lake Temple Open House

Announced: April 7, 2019

Ground Breaking: October 10, 2020

Dedication: September 17, 2023, by Quentin L. Cook

 Keilie and Dallin met us in Moses Lake after a week spent with Justin & Megan in Priest Lake, ID.  It was amazing to look around the Celestial Room at all of my kids, hoping with my whole soul that Caden was able to join us for those few minutes of peace.  It was a wonderful day!

Pool Party

As Brennon's gotten bigger, his inverted sternum has become more pronounced.  We thought it would be fun to see if it holds water.  Look at that, a swimming pool for ants at our swimming pool!  Fun!

Ashlee made mention that all of her girls have learned to swim in this pool.  Such good memories have been made in this pool!  There are times we think about selling the membership because we are getting more and more busy as the kids get older.  But when we have people visit and have such a good time in a pool that is never too crowded, I'm always reminded that this pool, with its yearly payments, is bigger than a backyard pool we'd install, and costs less than a backyard pool would cost.  So, we'll keep it for another year.  Probably.
 

Bro-date

Randy met Russ in Seattle for a pre-season Seahawks game.  I'm so glad they are close enough to do such fun things together!

Ashlee and the girls came down early, leaving Russ home to work.  Randy drove up on Thursday afternoon, meeting Russ and a few co-workers in Northgate.  After the game, Randy drove Russ down to Richland, arriving home at 2:00 am.  SEAHAWKS WON!!! We're already looking for tickets to double, they had such a good time!

Bronco Babes

Austen and I, surprise twinning!

 

Kayak

 We may have sold our boat to have more time to travel the nation in an RV, but that doesn't mean we don't want to play on the three rivers we live so close to.  So, we spent the Season buying discount kayaks this year.  We now have two small kayaks for grandkids, and enough large kayaks for our growing kids to have their own.  We get out as often as we can.  It's our favorite thing to do each night after work is done.

I was struck at this moment by my beautiful life.  They'd just made a slow-motion video of Tyson dropping a ball into the river and the verticle splash that it created.  As they looked at the video, I just watched them.  I'm the luckiest girl in the world.

Brennon had dunked his head into the water and sat up quickly sort of a reverse-Ariel move.  He asked what his hair looked like, so I took a picture to show him.  Again, I was struck by my beautiful life.  He is getting tall, becoming so mature, looking so much like a handsome man.  

He reminds me so much of Caden, especially at this age.  Caden will be stuck at this age, this height, this vitality forever in my mind.  I see Brennon, but I see Caden, too.

The kids thought we got them new kayaks because they are getting bigger.  Nope, this is the real reason...

Puppy-sit

 While Keilie is camping with the Pratts this week, we got to puppy-sit Bailey.  She is the sweetest puppy!  It's going to be fun watching her grow up with our Mira and Max, and then someday grow up with her very own human baby.

Face-to-face

 FamilySearch has an activity that does facial recognition of ancestors, both close familial and celebrity.

Pocahontas-- she was a stunner (sarcasm)

I Love Lucy-- which I don't mind one bit

However, although I expected to look like my Grandparents, I was a touch sad that I most resembled Men from my family line.  Love them, but every woman wants feminine qualities in appearance...

Beethoven-- I want his musical talent, not jawline and furrowed brow

47% Grandpa Kimber (Mom's Dad)

56% great-great-great Grandpa Freeman (Grandma Fuller's great-grandpa)

I also think it is really neat that the Song of the Year the year I was born is my parent's wedding song.

I have really, really, really enjoyed the work I've done on FamilySearch this past year.  September 15th will be exactly one year since I started going to the temple almost every day of the week.  I've already surpassed 3,000 ordinances completed with our family!

FSY

Dara and I loaded up our largest vehicles with box fans, luggage, and the best kids in the world, bound for the University of Idaho for a week at For Strength of Youth Camp!  The drive there was beautiful, the check-in process was easier than the sign-up process, and our hopes were soaring as we left that our kids would have the best time as we drove away, bound for a week without kids at home (for us anyway), playing at Empty Nesters.

L to R: Sean P., Will G., Darrel, Camdon G., Tyson & Brennon

Dara went with the boys in our caravan group and I went with the girls.  I told Brennon his first order of business was to get his bed made and his clothes hung up if possible, especially his church clothes.  He made his bed Brennon-style (disheveled and laughable as complete, but good enough for him) and did his favorite chore next-- organizing his snacks.  Proud Mom Moment.

I am so glad Brennon and Sean planned and got to be roommates-- they are so similar in personality.  It worked out well for both of them to have an instant friend at FSY.

Tyson roomed with Will.  Again, it was nice to have him choose his roommate.  Being just 13, I needed to know that he was taken care of without Brennon being his roommate.  I'm so grateful we have such good kids in our Ward to room with.

Tyson text me more during the week, whereas Brennon didn't answer a single text from our Family Thread.  I got these pictures because Dara was sent them and she shared them with me.  I had to laugh at how different the boys' week was.  Tyson text but didn't get pictures, Brennon's friends got pictures but he never text.

Shelby didn't have a roommate chosen, which was a good thing since when we signed up her best friend was Aislyn.  That friendship went up in smoke like the Bombers their school represents.

She sent me nightly texts about not fitting in, not having any friends, not liking the friend aspect, and how much she just wished she could come home.  It was awful.  Of all of the kids I drove to FSY, she was the one I hoped would find that one friend to become close with.  Not a chance, it seems.

Crazy thing-- the LAST NIGHT something changed and they all got to a point of love and harmony and "Wish we lived closer" and let's be best friends until the end of time.  They thought she hated them.  Hopefully, Shelby learns that her attitude, her "humor," her jokes, and her general outlook on situations impact how others interact with her.  They held back because of something in her demeanor, and she saw just one more situation where she was the third wheel in everything.  I'm glad it all turned out ok in the end, but the entire week previous hurt me enough to cry myself to sleep a few nights in a row.

While they were gone, Randy and I decided to take the RV camping for a night at a location that we'd been hoping to go to for a few years now.  We stumbled on it while with Ashlee and Russ and couldn't wait to check it out and see if it was Wilsterman Worthy.  

When I sent pictures to the kids, telling them that we might not have service, Tyson was excited to see Max, so I sent him a few of his cutie.  I love how much he loves his little Prince.

We got our RV leveled, fed the dogs, and went out on the Snake for some kayaking.  It was gorgeous!!!

Isn't the reflection of the sun and the rocks so neat on the water?  I was transfixed by the designs for quite a while. Everywhere you looked, it was a different picture.  Nature's kaleidoscope.

We passed the test-- we can do fun things even when we do not have kids at home to entertain.  We like to give our kids "experiences," but this week was an experience for us as much as for them.  We got chores done, projects completed, and did something we loved together because we could.  Even though it was planned for just one night, it was enough to let us know that we would forever be RV people.

I love that the KOA we stayed at has Covered Wagons to reserve!  There is air conditioning and heat, which is good with the temps we hit, but is just one of the coolest ways to camp.  We plan to come here again and reserve the two sites pictured: The empty spot for our RV and that very Covered Wagon for the kids.  What an experience THAT will be!

This little brat-face decided that he was going to jump over the back of the seat to get onto my lap.  Total ninja move that had me nearly peeing my pants and screaming my head off.  Did Randy jump when I squealed and gasped and got scared-angry at him?  Nope.  Cool, calm, and collected with a giggle over in that driver's seat.  He's a brat-face, too!

I am so grateful that our kids got to do FSY this year.  We already have plans to see if we can get them scheduled as "off-year" kids next year after all other sign-ups happen.  I'm grateful we can afford it, that we have facilities so close (it was only 2.5 hours away!), and that our kids have the desire to go to a church camp.  I'm also grateful that Randy and I are still so in love that the thought of just the two of us doesn't scare us because we are strangers.  He's still my favorite.  Forever.