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Well, we knew it was coming. It hung over some of us all summer; couldn't get here fast enough for some others - the end of summer. New school supplies, a few new clothes, a new fuel pump for the suburban (that was a surprise!), and most importantly of all, a new college freshman. (note the blue words in honor of BYU!!! ;-)
We took Chelsie down to BYU last week. We had a plan, knew which day we were leaving, got the laundry done, Chelsie was packed - we were close to being ready - when, SURPRISE, the suburban broke down. Wouldn't turn over, wouldn't budge. A bad fuel pump was to blame, and after a rush repair job, we finally got on the road Thursday afternoon about 4:00. Only about 8 hours later than we hoped.
We were anxious to get to Utah, because Brandon and Ashley (with her cute little baby bump) were there. We couldn't wait to see them. Luckily, we got there safely about 2:45 am. and the next day, the party began. We hung out at Pineview Reservoir with Ashley, Brandon and his family, the Cleggs. (I'm pretty sure the Rietz contingency was boring because we were all tired, sorry Cleggs.)
We managed to sneak in a quick visit to Grandma Hughes. She about had heart failure when she saw 10 of us lined up at her door. But after she recovered from the shock, she really enjoyed our visit, even though it was shorter than we planned. Her smile was from ear to ear.
The rest of the day, we hung out at BYU - spending money at the Bookstore, eating creamery ice cream, and walking around campus a bit. Kristin learned what I mean when I say BYU is the best place to play the license plate game, we even saw Hawaii!!! Very exciting for some of us!
After a few days at Clegg's, we drove south and spent the next two nights with Joni and Jim. Joni hosted a nice Sunday dinner and the Schreiners and Kuntz's were there. Kalli showed up for a bit, and it was nice to spend time eating and chatting with everyone. Uncle Jim took Trev fishing Monday morning. What a guy!
Monday was D-day. We checked Chelsie into David John Hall at BYU. John took the rest of the kids to a few BYU sights, and I helped Chelsie unpack, get a little settled and make a list of all the things we forgot, or didn't know she needed.
Sadly for John and I, when we're in Utah, we can't avoid shopping, so that took up most of the rest of Monday. A happy thing about Utah is that Olive Garden is close to BYU, so we met Joni and Jim, and about made ourselves sick on yummy salad, bread sticks and pasta. Jim was the only one who managed to get a refill on his pasta, the rest of us were too stuffed.
Then, the inevitable came, we had to leave Chelsie in her dorm, and head up the road. I was not ready to leave her, but really, when would I be ready. She was the only one on the floor, and I was worried she would be lonely. Little did we know, Spencer Clegg, Ashley's bro-in-law, was also in Provo, called her, and they hung out a little. Thanks Spencer. Hopefully she was able to climb into her bed without hurting herself. She wanted a little storage space under her bed, but didn't expect a bed so tall she needed a step-ladder to get into it!!!
Cleggs hosted us one more night which cut a little time off our trip, and after a little sleep, made an early morning departure. We plugged along all day, and made it safely home.
Kristin knew before we left that she had Mrs. Kinzer and Trev found out he had Mrs. Feeney. We made it home in time to get to the open house on Tuesday. Good thing because the next day was...
The first day of school! Everyone seemed to get out the door with no problem, but silly us, forgot to bring umbrellas. We can't remember the last time it rained on the first day of school, and it didn't just rain, IT POURED, just about the time Kristin and Trev had to be there, so all 3 of us got a little wet.
Amber was happy to be with her 8th grade friends. Alli was VERY happy to be able to drive herself to LHS by herself, and Michele wasn't quite sure what to do with herself at first, but we all will adjust just fine, no doubt.
Travel logs aren't much fun, and as I read this, I realize that is exactly what I have just written, so to end I'll give you just a few of our favorite highlights to maybe take the edge off the boringness.
- Ashley and Chelsie watching me try sushi. Now I can cross that off my list
- Singing to our favorite Disney songs in the car (I look once more - just around the river bend...there goes the baker with his tray like always...you've got a friend in me...lavender blue, dilly dilly. Just to name a few)
- Seeing the baby bump and feel him kick
- Olive garden bread sticks
- BYU football QUEST T-shirts. Only $5.00 at the bookstore
- Playing the license plate game at BYU
- BYU creamery ice cream
- Seeing Chelsie's reaction to all the couples holding hands on campus (She was not ready for that.)
- Being able to spend time with the aforementioned friends and family
- Pulling into our driveway Tuesday afternoon
A few other bits non-trip related. (Note the color change)
Trevor got to attend his first pack meeting last week. He received his Bobcat badge and is already working on his Wolf. Keep up that enthusiasm, Trev. All the way to Eagle Scout!!!
Also, here is a picture of our house, complete with exterior paint, gutters and downspouts. As you can see, the yard is next on the list. Not sure if it will ever be the same.
I leave you with a sunflower from our garden. A sweet reminder of summer's end, and fall close on it's heels.
Summer's End
(note: the camera has been on summer break, so you just get to read my ramblings sans pictures of my cute family. Sorry.)
Summer went all too quickly, and we are getting ready for school to start in these parts. Kristin and Trevor, mostly Kristin, can't wait to see the papers go up in Centennial's windows that will list the classes and their teachers. (How many more times do I have to tell her they will go up at the end of this week? She just can't wait!!!) Hopefully she won't expire before she gets the info, and if they should be posted after we leave for Utah this week, her friend has my cell phone number and strict instructions to call and let Kristin know. Where would we be with out cell phones? Which brings me to my next topic...
Why do we have to have cell phones? Many hours were spent this week trying to figure out the new cell phone arrangement since Chelsie is going to school. It is hard to do such a thing with parents who do not think Text Messaging is a vital part of life. To add to it all, BYU must have figured they can save a boatload of money and do away with the phone system in the dorms. (Really smart actually. Does this mean that housing costs may go down? Ha, just kidding.) So, how many minutes does a college freshman, her mom and the "kid" phone really need a month? We'll find out, soon no doubt. Hopefully, we have enough. Which brings on the next subject...
Chelsie is off to BYU -soon. She is busy buying, packing, spending time with friends (the most important thing), working a few more hours and imagining the incredible social life she will finally have when she is there. I keep reminding her she has to study while she is there. :-) It is my responsibility as her mother to do those things you know. She is excited, and although we will miss her more than words can say, I feel confident she will be in the right place doing the right things. I know she is ready for BYU but my question is this - Is David John hall (and BYU as a whole) really ready for Chelsie? I know one person who will miss her greatly at home - Allison will miss having a good buddy to share the basement with. Which brings on the next topic...
Lewiston has a new licensed driver on the road. Allison got her license Friday and couldn't be more excited. She is looking forward to being able to get herself to Volleyball tryouts this week, which she is nervous for but looking forward to. She is NOT looking forward to school. She registered this week, and her class schedule didn't elicit any positive vibes. She, as well as all the other LHS students, will have to get used to a new block class schedule. It is supposed to mean less homework, but it definitely means more classes, and for someone who doesn't want school to start anyway, more classes is not happy news. Time will tell. Speaking of registering for school...
Amber also registered at Sac Jr High, and couldn't be more excited. She'll be on the green team with the majority of her friends. She hasn't admitted it, but I think she is ready for school any day now. Soccer is in full swing for her. Her first game is at the beginning of September, and as much as her team has had practice, I'm guessing they will be ready. She won the gold medal for "speed-speaking" in Sacrament Meeting today. I think her talk lasted a whole 2 1/2 minutes, and during that time I'm not sure she breathed once, and I couldn't flash my Proud-mom smile at her because she didn't look up at all either. She did a good job nonetheless and she is glad to be off the hook for awhile. She also conquered the wake board. She has had a few successful runs and feels so glad to have that monkey off her back. Speaking of monkeys on your back....
Trev has not mastered the wake board yet, but I bet next year, he'll be a pro. He has mastered his Bobcat though, and is working hard at his Wolf in Cub Scouts. This weekend he took me on a family hike, and also signed off most of his requirements learning about tools. His week's highlight was getting his cub scout shirt. He was waiting patiently, mostly, for someone in our ward to find their son's old one. Oh happy day...which is how I would describe my next entry...
A perfect day at the river. We finally had one. The weather was HOT, the water was CALM and we had a great day. It was Chelsie's last day before she leaves, and I don't think it could have been better. The kids had a blast wake boarding, tubing, and eating. While they weren't doing any of the above, they had fun just relaxing and playing with friends. Chelsie, Allison and I all worked on water yoga. Don't be looking for a DVD release anytime soon. Just try doing the tree pose in water with your arms in the air. Not easy!!! For me anyway. It was truly a great day. Water sports reminds me of...
The Olympics and how much we have been enjoying them. Bedtimes have been pushed back to catch the action, but not far enough in Trev's opinion. He really wants to watch the swimming. Enter the internet, which he finally got to see the two most exciting Michael Phelps races on. We have also been able to watch a lot of Beach Volleyball, and will someone please explain to me why the girls barely wear anything and the men's uniforms are very modest and apparently quite functional. (A bit of a sore point with me obviously.) The Olympics will end this next week, but we have certainly enjoyed them to the fullest. We have not been watching the Olympics though during John's big project this weekend...
Fixing more sprinklers. Just when he thought he had them all working, put back together after the big moat that the builders dug in the front yard, and the big trucks coming and going for 6 months, there were still problems. He put his thinking cap on, spent a bit of money, and spent most of the day in the hot sun Saturday, but in the end, feels like things are back on track. Now he has lawn re-seeding to look forward to. No rest for the weary.
Weariness is the perfect way to get to my next subject...
I'm weary - mostly from lack of sleep due to staying up during the Olympics. That is the culprit. I'm mostly just wishing August had a week or two extra so we could prolong the College Freshman drop off, but the flip side of extra weeks would mean that much longer until we see Ashley and Brandon, which is unthinkable. We leave Thursday or Friday to head to Utah. We'll get to spend a part of our trip with them. Yay!! I can't wait to see the baby bump in person, and to hang out with the mom and dad-to-be. We plan to spend a little time with Grandma Hughes, who is excited for us to be there. Various friends and family will put us up a night or two, so we look forward to spending time with them also. We'll check Chelsie in to her dorm room a few days early, and get home just in time for school to start the next day. Which brings this blog full-circle and is my cue to sign off.
After many months, it FINALLY came! Trevor's Eighth Birthday was on July 17th and he couldn't wait. Why was he so excited, you may wonder. Well, 3 big things happened to him because of this birthday.
First, he finally is a cub scout. He has his Wolf book and has completed his Bobcat requirements already and is ready to roll. He's already been to one den meeting and looking forward to the next - a visit to a museum in town.
Exciting thing #2 was his birthday party. Not so much as a result of his 8th birthday, as just the fact that it is a birthday party year, he had a great time with 11 friends (10 boys total and 2 girls). They got to swing at a pinata, play "Don't eat Pete", eat cake and ice cream and watch the movie "Flushed Away". All in all it was a great day. Amber made his cake, we all covered the pinata, and the girls blew up balloons to help decorate. I can safely say, there wouldn't have been a party without all of their help. I think Trev considered it a great success. 
And finally...exciting thing #3 was that he was baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. His dad baptized and confirmed him. Grandma Sollenbarger flew up for a few days before and a few days after. Grandma and Grandpa Rietz came over and Grandpa stood in the circle when Trev was confirmed. We missed Grandpa Sollenbarger who stayed behind in Denver. :-(
We made it to the river twice this week, but are still waiting for the "perfect" day on the river. It has generally been pretty windy, and at times a little on the chilly side. Kudos to Grandma Solly for being a good sport and going with us for Family Home Evening while she was here. You can guess that evening was one of the not-so-warm times.
The rest of us, mere mortals that we are, didn't have exciting things like that happen to us, but fall is on the way, and that means a new school year, a new college student, fall sports and many new adventures....we'll keep you posted.
