Roller Skating

While cleaning out Paige's room I found all these free passes for our local roller skating rink.  Roller rinks are a dying breed.  There just aren't many around anymore.  I'm sure it has something to do with liability and expense.  Plus kids have so much other stuff to do nowadays that roller skating is probably not as popular as it used to be BUT if given the opportunity most kids still like to roller skate.  This includes my kids.  So we are pretty fortunate to have a rink minutes from our house.  It has been around for ever and since it's the only one around there is no competition, they have a monopoly on roller skating in our area!   

Paige had a few friends wanting a playdate and since it was a cool and rainy day, I figured this would be a good opportunity to use those free roller skating tickets.  Ashley also came along with us.  I just sat and watched/read a book while they skated.  It's a pretty good workout, they were all very tired by the end. 

Riley, Zach and Paige

No More Braces!

The very day that Megan went home had been marked special on our calendar because it was also the day that Ashley got her braces off!  After two years, it was over.  Hurray and just in time for high school!

Her teeth look really good, it was definitely worth it.  What a great smile!

Now Dave and I have a year or two of respite before we have to start paying for braces again with Paige!

Cousin visit

Well, we did have one more big event on our summer schedule, and that was a visit from Cousin Megan.  Megan is Dave's sister's daughter and turned 12 this year.  As part of her birthday present, her parents bought her a ticket to come visit us in Chicago.

We were all excited to have her come especially the girls.  She was with us for about 5 days of fun and hanging out.  Ironically, the weekend she was here happened to be the coldest EVER in Chicago in July.  It literally was a record, we had some temperatures in the 50s!  Usually, it is scorching hot and humid.  July in Chicago is normally so uncomfortable but not this time.  Unfortunately, that created a snag in some of our swimming and outdoor plans but we improvised.

So here is a quick rundown of what we did:

1)We spent a day in Chicago.  We started out at the Lincoln Park Zoo

After the zoo, we went into the Lincoln Park neighborhood to eat at a little Italian place called the Pasta Bowl.  Pasta is Megan's favorite food.  Hey, I'm going to be the fun Aunt, if you want pasta...pasta it is.  And I'm not making you eat vegetables either!

The restaurant was on Clark Street in Lincoln Park which happens to be a street lined with independent restaurants and speciality shops.  It's very fun to just walk up and down, especially if you are looking for somewhere new to eat.

Our next stop was Molly's Cupcakes.  It's a famous Chicago shop.  They've been on and won "Cupcake Wars" on the Food Network.  I figured we were so close, it was worthing stopping by, plus who doesn't want to wash down Fettuccine Alfredo with a cupcake?

Paige had cake batter, Ashley had Boston Creme, Megan had Oreo, and I had Coconut Carmel.  Oh yeah, they were good.

After this, we went to the beach for a swim in Lake Michigan.  The temperature was barely 80 degrees,   and the water was cold but it was still fun.  Personally, I didn't go in the water.  It was just so nice to sit on the beach with a cool breeze blowing, so relaxing.  The girls however, did play in the water and sand.  They know how to have fun.

2) Bowling and shopping.  We had planned to go to a big water park but the temperatures started dropping and the high didn't even get out the 60s, so we chose some indoor activities.  It also gave us a little more time to just hang out at the house to visit and play.  It was also on this day that we introduced Megan to macaroni and cheese pizza.  Yep, it's real.

3)Paddle boats and smores.  We went to downtown Naperville for dinner one day, but also decided to do the paddle boats.  We ended up with two boats, because Paige wanted to peddle rather than just sit in the back.  Ashley and Megan had their own boat and Dave, Paige and I in the other.  Funny thing on my boat is that my fellow peddler, Paige quite after 5 minutes, so I pretty much had to peddle Dave and Paige around the lake the whole time...it figures.

When we got back home, we realized it was perfect cold weather to start a fire in the fire pit and make smores!  In fact, it was so cold, Megan had to borrow a sweat shirt.  We roasted marshmallows and the girls even had a war with marshmallow guns.

4) Crazy, busy Sunday.  Megan got to enjoy an all too-typical Sunday with us.  Ashley and I had early meetings.  Dave, Megan and Paige met us at church for Sacrament meeting.  Then (this was unusual) they all left to take Ashley and Paige to a dress rehearsal for their upcoming piano recital.  For their recital, they were playing on a grand piano and the only time they could practice on it was at a particular time on this Sunday.  After a quick piano practice they all came back to church in time for YW.  Megan went to class with Ashley.  After church we came home and had dinner then Ashley, Megan, Paige and I left for a youth fireside.  Right after the fireside, there was a ward social to wish a family who was moving farewell.  We didn't get home until after 9pm but I think the kids had fun visiting with friends and eating lots of snacks and goodies.

So these are the highlights of Megan's visit with us.  I know we all wish she could have stayed with us for a few more days, but I'm pretty sure her own family was missing her.  She was good company and it was very fun to get to spend a lot more time with her.  She's a great gal!!

Back to Life, Back to Reality

Monday morning, the vacation is over, camp is finished, real life begins again.  The big event is that Dave started work again after 4 months on short-term disability.  Its been a long road and he still is recovering but hopefully going back to work will be good for him.  I know that he wants to get working again and we are praying that he will be okay.

As much as we appreciate his job and how good they have been to him, he is in a high-stress field with long hours.  He is starting back right as things will be picking up.  That's good because it means he will have work to do and will definitely be needed.  It's not so good because he might have too much to do which could be a challenge as well.  We will just have to see how it goes and offer lots of prayers.

In the meantime, the girls and I have the job of finishing up summer.  Obviously, Dave got the short end of the stick on this.

One thing I definitely wanted to do was go blueberry picking.  We weren't able to go the last couple of years so I made sure we did this year.  I was even optimistic about how many pounds we would pick considering my kids are older and should be able to do more.  Plus both my girls brought friends so I thought that might help too.

In the end, we picked 19lbs.  6lbs. went home with friends which left us with 13 lbs.  Honestly, we probably could have done better.  This year, the weather was perfect for picking, not hot or humid just a nice 80 degrees.  Plus the blueberry crop was very strong which made for lots of berries and easier picking.  So what was our problem?  Number one, Paige apparently is not old enough to be more helpful.  After less than an hour of picking she and her friend started complaining about being hot and having heat stroke, etc.  Really?  I got after them a little for being wimps, but when you have someone else's kid how demanding can you really be?  They both only picked 2 lbs each.  To give you perspective I picked 9 lbs in the same amount of time.

Ashley picked about 4 lbs and didn't have any endurance problems, just common sense problems.  I didn't stay right with her and her friend because I had the little girls to keep an eye on.  Ashley and her friend ended up picking in the wrong direction and went in an area that had already been picked through the day before which equalled finding less berries.  Oh well.  One year we will get it all figured out.   13 lbs. of blueberries is a lot.  I learned that as I had to clean and freeze them all!

We also did a little retail therapy at the mall and have had a full house as I have been babysitting Paige's friend.

Girl's Camp 2013 - "Got Oil?" Lafayette, IN

We got back from Utah with little time to spare because the very next morning less than 8 hours after we got home, Ashley had to leave for Girl's Camp.

Knowing that we had a pretty quick turnaround, I had done most of her camp packing beforehand but there were still a few last minute items to pack and move from her suitcase to her camp duffel.  She got to bed pretty late but she was ready to go by 6am the next morning.

I have gone to camp the last two years I've been a leader, but this year, I knew that it was just going to be too difficult.  I couldn't have managed being gone for over 3 weeks and then leaving again right away.  Plus at the time we were making the decision, we weren't sure if Dave would be back at work and if he would be available to help care for Paige.  In the end, I just had to make the decision not to go and know that you don't have to be everywhere and do everything.  Life goes on, I'm not that important and there are lots of other wonderful ladies who can go to camp with my girls.

So it was kind of weird dropping Ashley off at the carpool leaving for camp and watching everyone drive off.  The first day of camp was "Techie Tuesday" which was basically dress up like a nerd.  It was pretty cute to see all the Young Women in their nerdy attire as they got ready to leave.

In the end, I was glad I made the decision I did.  Honestly, I was pretty jet-lagged from our family vacation.  It took me over a week to get all the bags unpacked and put away even with Dave helping me.  Also, the weather that week so hot and humid in the 100s that I caught myself a couple of times, thanking my Heavenly Father that I was at girls camp in the heat.

I actually got a pretty good deal, because I did drive down and spend the last night at camp.  It's pretty nice to come to camp on the last day when everyone is tired and exhausted but you are feeling happy and energetic.  I got to spend the day with girls, help prepare dinner, be at our ward meeting and drive girls home, so everything worked out.

Ashley also had a good experience.  We were a teeny bit worried because this year was her first camp experience as the only YW from our ward her age.  Basically throughout the years all the girls her age have moved away.  Ashley is pretty good socially and easy to get along with but still it's always a little hard to go without friends and have to tent with people you don't know that well.  Fortunately, Ashley hung tough and had a good time.  She made new friends and didn't have any problems feeling left out, etc.

Ashley the "nerd" and her tent mates

Farewell, Utah

After our reunion, we only had a couple more days in Utah before it was finally time to go home.

On Sunday, after church, all of Dave's family got together at the Wahlquist's for dessert.  It was a good chance to see everyone one last time before we went home.  We had rootbeer floats, donuts, and cookies.  We also played a fun game in the yard (I can't remember the name, but it's like reverse charades.)

We really are blessed with such a great family.  We feel their love and support and just have so much fun laughing and playing with them.

The next day we were all packed up and ready to fly home.  Our flight didn't leave until about 4:30 so it gave us a little extra time to spend with Grandpa and Grandma Smith.  Grandma suggested that we go to the "DUP" Daughters of Utah Pioneers Museum.  They have the largest collection on a single topic in the world.  It was pretty impressive and a great learning opportunity for all of us.

After the DUP, we went over to the Joseph Smith Memorial Building to have lunch in the Garden Room on the top floor.  There is a beautiful view of the SLC temple and we even had their famous fried dill pickles for an appetizer!

Stained glass roof, JSMB

As always, its tough to say goodbye especially when we have been so well cared for and had such a good time, but you have to get back to real life eventually!

20 Year High School Renunion

The impetus for our trip to Utah was mine and Dave's 20 year high school reunion.  20 years ago I was Senior Class President and Dave was a Senior Class Senator and that means as class officers we are responsible for reunions.  At the time, in my young mind, that sounded awesome.  Of course, the reality is that reunions are a lot of work especially when you already have a busy life and don't even live in the same state.

For our 10 year reunion, Dave and I didn't help much in fact we didn't even go.  I've always felt a little guilty about that but honestly, I was 6 months pregnant, we lived in Chicago and had just moved, Dave was taking the bar, we were closing on our first house, it was just a crazy time for us.  Fortunately, we did as much remote help as possible and other people picked up the slack.

Fast forward to our 20 year reunion, and I knew it was time for us to pay our dues.  And when I say US, I pretty much mean ME.  Lucky for us we started a whole year in advance and could use the wonders of the internet (and the marketing skills of Christina Raab!)  I also had a few wonderful people that dedicated tons of time, got people excited, and shared their talents to make it happen.  I really get teary-eyed thinking about everything they did and how the whole reunion would not have been possible without them.

So after a year of planning, a website, a Facebook page, paypal accounts, signing contracts, tons of phone calls, registrations, etc. it was finally time for the Ben Lomond High School Class of 1993, 20 year reunion.  Let's do it Fighting Scots!

We had a pretty small graduating class less than 200 people and we probably had about 75 people come to our reunion.  It was a small, but very fun.  Reunions are interesting because there can be lots of angst, emotion and anxiety surrounding them.  Honestly, Dave and I really enjoyed high school.  We were young and dumb, but overall we both look back fondly at our high school days.  Of course, not everyone feels that way, so you never know what you are going to get at a reunion.

In the end, our reunion was really great.  We had a very good mix of people who came and everyone was just happy to see each other.  Everyone was nice to everyone, none of the high school drama seemed to be there.  I think that after 20 years, most people are over it or basically have experienced enough in life to realize that what happened in high school just isn't that important.  Also after 20 years, you have probably come to accept who you are and don't care as much if you are old, fat, or what job you have, etc.

Before - 1993

After - 2013

Anyway, here is a rundown of the two days of the Class of 1993, 20 year reunion:

1)The first event was a grads only social at the high school on Friday night.  The high school had been completely refurbished and honestly, we didn't even recognize it.  In a way it was nice to see the school improved.  Even though it wasn't the same as we remembered, it would have been sad to see the halls beat up and falling apart.  This event was completely planned by Leslie Lovato, a classmate who volunteered to make it all happen.  She did a great job.  She even created a memory wall based on our favorite memories of high school.  She works for a printer and got all these cards printed up for us!

This was pretty much an evening to just visit and get to know people again.  We did take a tour of the new high school and another classmate (Deanna Gerber) but together an awesome slideshow of pictures from our high school days.  A couple other classmates also bought pizza for everyone from the local pizza hangout.  It was a tribute to nostalgia as it was a high school tradition to go to the Ogden Pizzeria after football games.  In addition to the pizza, we also had all you can eat snow cones--so fun!!

I didn't get many pictures, I was too busy and it was a bit inconvenient to carry a camera around

Shauna Mann, Jenny Vudhivadhana and Heidi Rees

the girls soccer trophy case from my glory years!

Everyone was so happy to see each other that we had to almost kick people out at the end of the evening.  Fortunately, we all moved over to a rooftop bar in downtown Ogden.  Again, we all had a good time visiting there, even though most of us didn't drink.

2)The next morning, some people started the day with a 5K run/walk.  Dave and I didn't do it because we needed to go early to set-up the park for our family friendly day.  We had park day and picnic for grads and their families at an adorable park in Huntsville, Utah.  Leslie, also used her connections and got two bouncy houses donated.  It was great.  We had a good turnout at this event too and it was nice to see everyone's kids.  I'm glad we could take our girls and they could meet some of our old friends.  They also had a fun time playing at the park.

The kid playing games

Towards the end of the afternoon, we gathered everyone up and drove about 5 minutes to the Huntsville Cemetery.  It was at this cemetery that our classmate and good friend Ray Stoffers was buried.  It was right after the 10 year reunion that he was killed in a car accident.  Ray was also a Senior class officer.  He and Dave were best friends in high school and Ray was a groomsman in our wedding.  Everyone in high school liked Ray, he was pretty much "Mr. High School" so it was important for us to visit his grave during our reunion.

Ray's parents and sisters were invited to meet us at the gravesite and they all came.  It was a pretty emotional moment to be there with his family.  Dave said a few words as did his parents, then some others just shared special memories of Ray.  It was really touching.

3)After the park, we rushed back home to clean up and get ready for the adult only dinner that evening.  The dinner was at Rickenbacker's Restaurant at the Ogden Airport.  This was the event that I worked on the most.  We had a great turnout, in fact a few more than we expected.  We also played the slideshow from the first night so that spouses and partners could see it.  Another classmate, also put together a whole playlist of music from our high school era so that was fun too.  The venue was great and it was another nice evening of catching up with old friends.  Since I was one of the organizers, I was again busy trying to make sure that everyone had a seat and that everything was taken care of, but by the end all was well.  I didn't love the food, it tasted good and there was nothing to really complain about but nothing to really rave about either.

The only reunion picture of Dave & I

Christina, Pat and Jenny

At the end of the evening, we had quite a few people approach us and say, "we need to do this more often.  Let's do it again in 5 years."  Honestly, those of us on the planning committee just looked at each other and said, "ya, whatever!"  Actually, it made us happy that people enjoyed themselves enough to want to do it again, but reunions are a lot of work and we were exhausted.