UEA Weekend

We had a wonderful week. My sister Wendy drove down with her 5 kids, so proud of her to do it alone. We had a blast Going to Black Island Farms and riding the tractor to pick pumpkins, sliding down the Hay Bale slides and letting the kids roam the farm. I was brave enough to take the girl scout troop which was fabulous because we got a group rate. We had 20 kids, but thankful 8 adults. That night I attended Natalie Garritson's viewing with my Mother. Natalie looked beautiful and the family seemed to be holding up incredibly well. Later that night Wendy and I let Jon take the 9 kids while we did some late night sister bonding and shopping. The best part was finding a coat rack for our other sister Whitney and pounding on her door and waking her up to give it to her. I will remember that forever :) Then my dear family gave me my birthday dinner. I requested going up to Deep Creek and doing Dutch Oven. My Dad cooked it and it was delicious and so fun and warm. Loved it tons. Thanks Family. Saturday we went to Gardner Village to end with a bang. I enjoyed hanging gout with my family and my kids loved the cousins. Makenna cried Sunday morning because she missed Faith. They are like to girlie peas in a pod. Dean and Austin had fun playing tractors and being boys. What a blast. I took some 5 month photos of Lily. Well, Jon did on his phone because yes I lost our Camera ;( But they still turned out amazing. Good Times. I also posted a picture of my girls playing soccer. They are so fun and it has been a fun new adventure for us. Autumn's team is called the Little Mermaids and it is so fun to watch them, she is one killer player and scores lots of goals. Makenna is just enjoying the social aspect and being part of a team.

Camping

After enjoying a few days of rest I decided I wanted to take the family camping. So I went to Cal-Ranch and bought a dutch oven and looked up some delicious recipe's. Mountain Dew Chicken won my choice to I went and got the ingredients. Jon, myself, the kids, and my dad packed up and headed up Deep Creek to enjoy some tent camping. Whitney, Ryan and Maylee joined the group and my mom even hopped off the plane for a little while to spend the night with us. It was so much fun and something that hopefully becomes a family tradition. My dad and I cooked up a storm with the Dutch Ovens while the kids played in the trees. It was Heaven. Then on Sat. Morning we awoke to take the girls to there first Soccer game. Yep, they started soccer and wow is Autumn an athlete she scored 9 goals ???? Crazy Girl. Also one of the other weekends we went down to the cabin with my mom and dad so Jon could enjoy Panguich lake. I talked my dad into starting up my grandpa Lamar Wall's old fishing boat and we took the kids around the lake for rides. No, we didn't catch many fish, but it was sure fun. Then I took Jon to Yankee Meadows on one of the most beautiful 4-wheeler rides I have ever been on. It was wonderful. I loved the 4-wheel date I had with him. I feel so blessed to have these experiences.

Lily's Blessing

Debbie took off to Amber Mitchell's because she was about to have a baby; so now that we were alone as a family. We spent the next week getting to know each other again and the joy of being together as immediate family. It quickly became a party again tho as Jon's Dad, brother Steven and Steven's wife Marlene came to visit with there baby Mia. Jon had planned a backpacking trip to Yellowstone where he and his dad and bro. were going to hike to the scout pools at Union Falls. Richard Cottle had been exercising to prepare himself for the 20 mile hike. So Marlene and I stayed back and got to know each other better as the boys went off on the outdoor adventure. It was fun letting the kids play together and we even let Mia and Lily bathe together. They were cute and will be darling cousins. One of the highlights was going to the Church History Museum where the kids played with all the fun toys on the 2nd floor. This is where Debbie met up with us because Amber had given birth 2 days prior and everything went great so she brought the kids down on Friday night so she could attend Lily's Blessing. On Saturday evening the men came back and boy did they reak. I couldn't wait for them to shower. They had a blast and couldn't wait to watch the BYU-Utah game which sadly Utah won. The next Sunday morning was stake conference, but we had planned to bless Lily in the Home. I woke up really sick with a cold, so Jon and his family took charge and cleaned the house and prepared for the blessing which I was really grateful for. Jon conducted and Brother Lane Turner from our Bishopric presided. We started with the song, "I am a Child of God", I offered the opening prayer because I was so sick I couldn't do much else. Following that my dear mother bore a beautiful testimony and then Aunt Whitney shared her's, which she cried completely through. After which Steven and then my father Brent and Jon's dad Richard bore their testimonies. The Spirit filled the room and I was very touched. Jon then offered the blessing. Naming her Lily Kate Cottle and giving her a beautiful blessing. Afterwards Richard came up and said did you hear him say you will a be a wonderful sibling to your BROTHERS and sisters, great I guess we are going to have more kids:) After the blessing Jon bore one of the most beautiful testimonies I have ever heard him give. It was on families and he was so sweet. I even saw a tear come from his beautiful eyes. We ended with Grandma Debbie saying the closing prayer. The people in attendance where Grandma Joyce Wall McClerg and her husband Jon, Grandma Carrie Archibald, Ryan Mead, and Jon's Uncle Kent Egelund and his Family. The Spirit permeated our home and I kept thinking, "It feels like Christmas" wondering why I finally concluded it was the Spirit in our HOME.
After the blessing we had a birthday party for Dean celebrating him turning 2. I gave him underwear and a potty, but he has shown no interest. :(
After the long day I fell asleep and woke up the next morning feeling so much better. Everyone flew out or drove home and we were again left to figure out our family and enjoy the slower pace.

Returning Home and Starting School

After a few weeks of being home alone I realized I couldn't do it all. I admit I had some break down moments and one Sunday while on the phone with Jon I told him it was too hard. He quickly called his Mom and Debbie came out to stay with us again so that I could get the kids ready for school. We shopped until we dropped after she arrived picking up school clothes for the kids stocking my cupboards and just plain having a good time. I truly was blessed again by her service. Makenna was the first to start school and her first grade teacher is Mrs. Fry. Makenna loves her and school. She is learning to read and doing a great job at math. She has a few new friends Ellie Demonde being one of them. Autumn was having a very difficult time with Makenna being gone all day and I was having a hard time waiting the 2 weeks until her preschool started. When she finally went to Discovery Time with Nancy Pierce we both were elated.
Right before it was time for Jon to come home he called and said I should fly out and go to Six Flags for the end of the year adventure with the office. I quickly booked a flight and Lily and I flew back to CA to go to Six Flags with our wonderful Husband and Father. I got to ride one of the biggest and fastest Roller Coasters I have ever been on and then watched Jon ride some cool rides. We ate Crab for Dinner YUM!!! and then Jon had a surprise he had picked up a Dog from an old lady he had tried to sell. He was a Chihuahua Mini Pin mix and was adorable. We got back to the apartments and the Dog was in love with Jon. We went and got him a few things from pets mart and then started our drive back home to greet the kids with our new family member. It was a wonderfully simple drive back home. The dog even did great. When we arrived the kids were so excited it was darling. We named him Rocky and he has been a new found joy in our home.

Rancho Cucamonga California Summer #8

After spending a couple of weeks soaking up the sun and enjoying my little family. As we went to the park and swam nearly every day; Debbie came into town again to help me so I could sleep and try to catch up on some r&r after our move. She was very kind to pick up needed grocery's and take the kids on outings. After a wonderful couple of weeks. Lily and I flew back to Utah to visit her 6 week checkup and I got to spend a day with my Mom and Whitney. I decided I wanted to go Jet Skiing. After being pregnant for 10 months I wanted to take my body back and do something FUN!!! We had a blast on Willard Bay and then to top off the already great day we got a Red Robin Burger and went to the movies. Gotta Love my family, they sure know how to have fun. I went back to CA to enjoy 4th of July and going to Newport Beach and Balboa Island with my summer friends. The girls continued to swim and Autumn even taught herself which was awesome she is a little fish and Makenna is a little Mermaid. Nearing the end of the summer my mom called and said she was flying into L.A. if I wanted to come stay with her in the hotel she was stopping at for the night. She is a flight attendant for Skywest. I went of course and then the next day we wanted to do something fun before she had to catch her next flight. I decided a stroll down Hollywood Blvd. would be fun. We drove over to the street and I quickly found a parking spot because all the characters were out; Elmo, Shrek, Indiana Jones, Etc. My mom wanted to stay in the car because she wasn't sure we parked in the right spot, but I quickly encouraged her to have some fun with me and the 4 kids. We walked down visited the characters and enjoied some lunch at the Disney Cafe. We decided it was time to go back to the car so that my mom could catch her flight on time, but I walked up and down the street twice thinking I know I parked my car here. Then I looked up and saw a tour bus sign. That's right we had parked where the tour buses loaded and unloaded and in the 45 min we were gone they had towed my car. Both my mom and I were in shock and I started to cry. She had to get to work or she would be fired so she hailed a cab and left me with Lily in my arms, Dean in the back pack and a girl at each of my side. While she was driving away crying she saw a police officer and said, "Please Help My Daughter" This officer didn't know hardly anything, but he got me to another female officer that was so kind. She got me the number to the tow yard which was a mile away thankgoodness. So holding back as much emotion as I could I walked the mile with my 4 kids to the tow lot. On the way there I was walking through some rough streets and two hispanic women started to feel sorry for me. They complimented me on having such a beautiful family and then offered me to come into there homes, I declined. I thanked them and continued on my way. Once I reached the lot I was so full of emotion the lady gave me my ticket of $200 and they pulled my car forward. The relief to see my car was all consuming. I quickly loaded the kids and drove straight home to our apt. where I didn't want to leave for quite sometime after that.
Another fun adventure we had was doing the VIVINT KIDS RACE! It was so cute to have all the kids Swim, Bike, and Run. They were darling and did a great job. Heidi Fransen is big into races and we made them shirts, and numbers, and even fed them a carb meal the night before. So darling!!!!
We sadly got ready to say goodbye to Jon and our fun friends hoping never to have to do summer sales again, but happy for the memories. The day before we left Jon took the day and we went down to Newport Beach and Balboa Island where we enjoyed a most wonderful day shopping on the main drag. Soaking up the sun at the beach. We went on a Boat Tour of the Bay and seen Dolphins, some cute Sea Lions, and someone even saw a whale. We ended the day with Cars 2 the movie and I will forever love this day with my family. It was perfect and wonderful and one of those complete blissful days. The next day my dad flew in and we drove to Panguitch Lake our cabin where we spent the 24th of July. It was fabulous all the traditional festivities and even so much more. Wendy and all her kids were down there and we had a blast hanging out with the cousins. The Highlights were are annual family play this year being Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs. Of course Lexie was Snow White and my Mom was the wicked Queen the rest of the adults were the 7 dwarfs and the kids got to enjoy the play. HE HE HE! The other Highlight was taking the girls to the Tuacahn Theatre to see the Little Mermaid play. WOW it was awesome and we even took them to a Tepanyaki restaurant before and that was way fun. After having so much fun and 4-wheeling to our hearts content is was time to come back home to Morgan and get ready for school. WOW Life is way FUN!