Cookie Grandma....

Have I talked about Cookie Grandma before? I can't remember so I'm going to include her again. There's a woman, named Carolyn Campbell, and she lives with her son and his wife. She's old and runs a few errands and always carries a bag of cookies in her white Toyota Camry. They're usually pink, vanilla, and chocolate wafer crisp cookies or knock off duplex Oreos (have a vanilla and chocolate cookie on either side). Whenever the kids are playing outside, she stops, rolls down her window and holds a gallon bag of cookies. All the kids come running. Mark says he can get up to 5 cookies.

It's about the cutest thing ever. She's so nice. She's #grandmagoals. 

Award for Aspirations in Computing

Maxine and Ellen both applied for an award for girls who excel in technology fields. There was an award banquet, with lunch, at SUU in Cedar City. I made sure to test the cheesecake right away, just to be sure it was okay. It got a thumbs up!

Maxine is standing by Ellen and a friend she made during the robotics season.

Maxine won and Ellen got an Honorable Mention.

They got cool trophies to take home. It was a nice way to spend an afternoon! Yay!

On a side note, Maxine asked me to cut her hair and we both regretted it. She wanted to get it done without getting an appointment at a salon. She wanted it longer but didn't describe it well enough and I messed up the back. Darny. Good thing hair grows back. We'll have to get it professionally styled when it gets longer. In the meantime, we got a few of those big snap clips that are in style right now. We hope that helps. (Personally, I still think it's adorable but she says it looks like an 80s haircut.) 😂

Mint 400 Race...

Merril, Wade, Ryan, and Owen decided to race in the Mint 400 down in Primm, NV. They took turns riding a KTM dirtbike. I think Merril said he rode about 50 miles. Merril had to put a sticker with their race number on his truck.

Ready to roll!

The organizers let all the teams take pictures by this cool banner. 

 They finished 11th in their category with a time of 5:17:30. All the team members received a cool medal.

Jack went with him and they were able to see Herbie. This was at the big gas station in Jean, NV. It's the world's largest Chevron.

Super sized...

Just really quick, I had a pimple at the base of my nose get infected and my upper lip became very swollen. I ended up getting antibiotics to fight the infection. It hurt like a bear but finally started to open up and releasing some of the pressure. Gross. Luckily, this didn't happen before Mikayla's baptism and we have modern medicine to fight this type of thing.

On a lighter note, Maxine said the puffy lip made me look like a who from the live-action 'How the Grinch Stole Christmas'. It would've been funny if it didn't hurt to laugh.

Little hike...

After the baptism, Merril and Jack left to go play at the dunes (I think) and the rest of the kids went with Grandma Campbell. I was at the house and wanted to go for a little hike so I rounded up Maxine. We hiked from the cinder cones by Hurricane Elementary to the river. It was the perfect length and perfect weather!

Mikayla's getting baptized!

Grandma Campbell made this beautiful dress for Mikayla and so we needed to take some awesome pictures of her by the temple. Unfortunately, our temple is undergoing major renovation. This was as close as we could get. 

The visitor's center had nice flowers to take pictures by.

We have some goofy shots because Mikayla couldn't hold them in.

She did well and they turned out super cute!

 Mikayla's baptism fell on leap day, February 29th, 2020. I think that's fun and unique! On her baptism day, our ward was the only one in the stake with baptisms. We shared the program with the Beck Family and it was really nice. Normally, the wards take turns using the font room but it was just us so we got to get right in and didn't have to wait! I help with stake baptisms and this is very rare! I felt blessed that our baptism was so reverent.

The girls and I didn't even plan a color scheme but totally matched! Score! 

Boys too!

The Grandmas served as witnesses! That's something new that was revealed in the last general conference. We thought it was fun!

Janalynn won the prize for coming the furthest. She hitched a ride with Grandpa Campbell from Phoenix.

Perfect day!

Volleyball season...

In addition to Juliet, Jack wanted to play volleyball as well. The rec center teams are co-ed so off we go. I snagged some pictures from the video I took.

Jack's are blurry because he moves fast.

Jack is a moral booster for the team and general goofball. Our team may not be the best but I think they are having the most fun, and that's what it's all about.

I asked Julie what she wanted to say about volleyball and she said, "Um...it was fun?" You heard it here first. 😊😊

Upon further reflection she said she got better at setting the ball during the season. Jack said, "It was the BEHST!"

My 40th Birthday...

I told Merril that I wanted to go hiking for my birthday and eat pie. I told him I didn't want a party. He didn't listen. He planned a surprise party at Grandma Campbell's house and invited my family and friends. Jo Anna was able to drive down from Payson because of the long President's Day weekend. So we go up to Merril's parents house, I thought because Aunt Megan and Uncle Lucas were in town. When we walked in, I was taking off my shoes and Merril practically dragged me into the living room so everyone could yell, "Surprise!" The Fluckigers, Valerie Scott, Sara Gilberg, my Mom and Dad, Jeannie, Mike and Greg, Aunt Megan, Uncle Lucas and Teddy, Justin, Rachel, and Duncan, and Janet and Mark were there. It was kind of overwhelming because I was the center of attention, but I got through. Justin made the best brisket for the party! There were rolls and fruit and veggies and pie! How I love pie!

On my actual birthday, Monday, all the kids were out of school for President's Day. Perfect! We went for a hike! Yes! Great weather for a hike. 

I've been fine with the idea of 40 for a long time. I feel good, I've accomplished good things, raised good kids and seen good places. I don't have any sort of regrets about being older, I've done a lot of stuff! I'm proud of the person I've become and the family Merril and I have made. There are good things to celebrate. Bring on another 40!

Valentine's Day 2020

Valentine's Day is the day to show my family that I love them. We had dinner together.

We had candles and I set the table nicely.

I made chicken cordon bleu. The favorite part of Valentine's dinner is dessert. Chocolate fondue with bananas, strawberries, pretzels and graham crackers. 

On February 15th, Merril got a reservation at the Top of the World restaurant in Las Vegas. We went to the stratosphere on Valentine's Day 20 years ago. He gave me a gold necklace with a CZ princess cut stone in a ring box, to make me think he was proposing (I knew he wasn't). I still wear it almost every single day. We went at the end of lunch, 3:45 p.m., and were able to order off the lunch menu. Our meals came with dessert, and even though I was super stuffed from my fish, I managed to eat caramel popcorn creme brulee. Merril got a wall of chocolate cake. 

The restaurant and casino has been remodeled and looks super nice. It always had a bit of a ghetto vibe to it but now it's updated and is very modern. We didn't stay the night. Just drove down for dinner and headed back home. It was splendid.

Mikayla's 8th Birthday!

We started Mikayla's birthday weekend with Laser Mania. She wanted to ride the bumper cars and Mark rode with her.

She chose cheesecake!

Presents included a nice set of scriptures, new boots and a Barbie. Her birthday fell on a Sunday so she was able to take her new scriptures.

Merril took her to breakfast at River Rock the next morning and she got a huge cinnamon roll! Now that she's 8, she can be baptized!

HHS Blackops...

Maxine didn't do swim team this year and decided to do robotics instead. Her friend, Ellen, is on the team too. We went to their first competition yesterday at SUU. They were struggling to get their robot together in time and it didn't do the best but she had fun anyway. 

She later said that she enjoys the people in robotics more than the people in swim or choir. She feels like these are more her type of people, so that's good. Their robot is on the other side of the red bar.

One of Maxine's teammates snagged this picture of her and we love it. She was the human player that round. She's excited about it too.

The season went well. They made it to state and even thought they didn't do very well, they won the connect award. Maxine, along with Jason, is a captain for the 2020-21 season and is super stoked. Domo arigato, Mr. Roboto. Sorry. I had to!

Mark's dead tooth...

Poor Mark has had a death tooth for a few years. He fell on some cement steps when he was younger. It had turned brown and the dentist said it could stay in as long as it didn't cause problems. It started to cause an abscess and so out it came! 

Juliet had a similar situation except both front teeth had to come out. ☹️ She wasn't numb enough and I was worried about doing this again. We've switched dentists since Juliet's extraction and this new dentist did a fantastic job! Mark didn't feel it at all! He came home and after a few hours, was off to play with friends! I'm so sorry Juliet! Juliet informed me that her pictures never made it into a blog book! What?!? She looks small and her eyes are so sad. I'm sorry my girl! Glad we don't have to do that again.

Quail Aviation Navigation Arrow...

Merril's on a Japanese tour and Maxine was at robotics so I made the rest of the kids hike to an aviation navigation arrow. I've wanted to do this for a few months but haven't been able to make it happen until today. Before sophisticated flying instruments, air mail planes had a hard time flying across the country at night or in poor weather. The cement arrows were painted bright yellow or orange and had a light beacon tower in the center to help guide pilots. As new technologies developed, the arrows became obsolete and the towers were taken town but the concrete arrows remain on mountain tops. This one overlooks Quail reservoir and points towards Salt Lake City. It was a small .5 mile hike each way on a gorgeous afternoon.  

The arrow is right next to the plateau edge. The kids wanted to sit by the edge, something that makes my insides twist in knots.

Every time Jack would shift, it made my heart jump.

Mikayla found a rock at the top that she carted all the way back down. She loves to collect rocks and sticks on hikes.

We found a rock with wood fossils stuck in it.

It was just the right amount of exercise for the afternoon.