Catching up

It has been a busy month!!  Holy Cow!!  I'm behind in many things, and this blog is one of the victims.

So, here is a quick photo recap of the past two weeks.  

Sister Rietz is thriving on the edge of the Mojave Desert!  It looks like she has finally embraced (Ha!) the Joshua Tree that she initially hated so much!  She and Sister Moon survived her first transfer and are still companions.

Sister Osborne left for Chile, via the Mexico MTC!!  We are so excited for her.  We had to hop from our ward to hers to hear her talk.  Trev and Kristin both agreed they could get into ward-hopping.  (Trev even said he's pretty sure he could be a High Counselor!  :)

We got to go boating with our good friends, the Burrups!  It is incredibly difficult to get together with them.  It probably won't happen again this summer, but it was a great evening.  The water was a little rough for some water activities, but as you can see, it was perfect for tubing.

Trevor turned 14 last week so that means several things...

It means we got to have the yummiest pasta dish for his birthday dinner!  (I strongly encourage you to try this tasty dish.  I'll even give you a link to click on.  You may be tempted to skip the zucchini, but we are here to tell you, this recipe benefits from every chunk of that grilled veggie!)

It means Trev got to head off for his first High Adventure activity yesterday!  They are hiking the Seven Devils loop, and this mama was nervous, but sent him off anyway.

It means there was a good excuse to get his friends together for a "Surprise" party to play frisbee golf, goofy golf, eat pizza and throw the golf balls up into the trees!  (Boys!!!)  (Side note - see the smokey hills in the background?  That day the valley was socked in with smoke from some of the 55 fires burning in Eastern Washington and south of us in Idaho. It was crazy smokey!!!)

It means Trev got to try his hand at homemade beef jerky.  Apparently, this is quite the art, there are many spices to choose from, and it works easiest with a jerky gun.  Who knew such a thing existed??  Although, I have lived in Idaho for 24 years, I should have known that!

 The kids and I got a chance to attend a fireside by Noelle Pikus-Pace.  See her Olympic medal in the picture?  She was the silver medalist at the Sochi olympics in the Skeleton.  She was a great speaker, who had some good advice for the kids.
1- Where are your sights set?  She talked about setting goals, and how you will end up where you set your sights.
2 - You can look back or you can move forward.  After a devasting accident involving a 4 man bobsled and her leg (guess which was the loser?) she had to decide which way to go.  She chose to move forward.
3 - Hold on to your sled - which she likened to the iron rod.  She knew if she held on to her sled she would make it through the course, although not always riding on the sled.

She was very gracious afterward and took a lot of time to take pictures with anyone who wanted to after she was done speaking.  I think my favorite part was the replay of her final run, then realizing she had won the medal and celebrating with her family!  The Olympics always make me cry, and this was no exception!  It was a really great evening.

Along with the above pictures, other things that have happened this month are
-another really sad funeral for a 14-year old boy
-continued nurturing of 90+ pheasants
-Girls' Camp for Kristin (so hot and dry but so fun!)
-so many people moving in and out of our ward it's hard to keep track, meaning many opportunities to help people get ready to move and getting to know the new ones!
-the continuing yard project in which I unknowingly drove a stake right through the pvc pipe, and thus created yet another phase to the project in which we (ok, John and Kristin) had to repair the pipe.  You should know that just looking at the piece of pvc pipe speared by the stake they took out made them smile the rest of the night!!! (I'm just here to help!)
-the launch of our Etsy store, Clabeau, which deserves a post of its own, so be looking for that soon.

And lastly, do you feel the breeze?  The winds of change are a-blowin'.  (more about that soon as well!)

On the river

Way back when I first met John, he told me his family would go water skiing on the Snake River.  Now, I did not go water skiing that often when I was growing up, but the few times I did go, we went on a lake, or a reservoir, but never a river.  The river I was most familiar with was the Platte River, and it was no where near wide enough to ski on, at least not in Nebraska or Colorado where I saw it.
Fast forward a few (ahem) years, and here we are.  Spending our hot summer Fridays or Saturdays, doing just what I couldn't imagine - boating on the Snake River.  I guess technically we are jet skiing, but we have been on boats as well. 

We have a favorite spot to go, and are actually quite put out should someone already be there.  We almost feel like we have rights to the place.  :)  It is perfect for us, as we need a place to set up camp and get to our jet skiis easily when we need to switch drivers/riders/wake boarders/tubers.  Our little rocky beach on the island suits us just fine. 

Trev and Sam being teenage boys

We got a slow start this year, and this past Thursday was our first time this summer.  Kristin was at Girl's Camp, so we beefed up our numbers and invited Trev's friend, Sam who moved away last summer and is visting, to come with us.  Here they are doing funny, teenage boy stuff.  See our set up?  It works for us. We had a nice afternoon, and as it was really, really hot, it was a great way to pass the afternoon, even if it was a bit windier than we like.

Now, you may or may not know this, but our numbers need beefing up because there are fewer and fewer of us coming each year.  And let me tell you, it is weird to not have very many people.  In fact, the four of us have commented that it is very different, and I'm not sure we really like it, but we are making the best of it.

We headed out today, with a contigency plan if someone should (heaven forbid) be in our spot!!  We decided we would load up our stuff, climb on the jet skis and go across the river to one of the small beaches we have seen in years past.  When we got there, we did have to employ our plan, and headed across, found a spot and set up for the afternoon.  Since it was on the other side, it was SHADY!!!  That was great!!  It was also much BUGGIER, and that was not so great, but the bugs we thought were mosquitoes didn't eat us alive, so it was tolerable.  

It was a GREAT day!!  The kids got in some wake boarding, John and I realized we forgot to give the jet ski driving refresher lecture, our dinner was yummy, and we didn't roast in the 100 degree heat.

One of the best parts of the day came toward the end.  We were cruising the shoreline, scoping out other spots on the shady side of the river and we spied a bald eagle sitting on the shore.  He would dip his beak in the water every so often, but otherwise, just sat there taking it all in.  We kept our distance and watched him for a few minutes, wishing we had a camera, and trying to be close, but also staying far enough away that we didn't startle him.  We thought there might be a moment of drama when a few geese paddled by, but they kept their distance also, and the eagle just watched them pass by.  In all our years of being on the river, we have never seen a bald eagle!  A little less exciting, but novel, nonetheless, was seeing a pelican fly over us.  It happened twice today, so we don't know if it was one pelican flying over us twice, or two pelicans each flying over once.  I guess it doesn't matter, but we were happy to see that bird species today.

Trev showing his stuff

And Kristin also

Our two regulars these days

It would seem that dinner was a very solemn event

Our Father's Love

It is cold here!  That is an understatement, and I know it is way colder other places, but today when I walked with my friend, it was around 10 deg.  BRRR!!  Tuesday, when I was walking with the same friend -who by the way is from Minnesota and has lived in Alaska, therefore can handle the cold - down by the river, we came across this lovely fellow.  Of course, I'm not sure he's a fellow, but I'm just going with to keep things simple.  We passed him heading one way, and my friend pointed him out to me, and when we were heading back, I told her I wanted a picture if he was still there, and amazingly, he still was.  We cracked up because his head is tucked so tightly into his shoulders.  You know there is a long neck all folded up in there.  He is all hunkered down to face the cold.  My friend pointed out that maybe its warmer on the ground than flying in the wind.  Who knows??  

I do know that I love moments like this when I come upon something in nature that is a bit of a surprise, as well as a little out of the ordinary, and I feel loved.  Being in nature reminds me of Heavenly Father's love for us.  He directed Jesus to create this world for us, to live in and to enjoy.  It is a beautiful world.  

Two other things this week have reminded me about how much He loves us.  

Our Relief Society lesson on Sunday was about Visiting Teaching.  That program which gives us a chance to minister to and serve our fellow sisters in the Gospel was instituted in the early days of the Church.  Although its methods have changed over the years (check out Chapter 7 of Daughters of My Kingdom), its purpose is the same.  This program gives us a chance to be the Lord's hands in His absence.  To minister and succor as He did when he was on the earth.

The third thing is the Atonement of Christ.  We have been reading this book,

in book club.  Wow!!!  We only read the first half because it is packed with so much information we had to break it up.  Chapter 15 is where we ended and it is titled, Infinite in Love.  Reading that chapter brought home to me how much Heavenly Father does love us.  His willingness to sacrifice His son, to let him suffer incomprehensible pain and suffering for us in mind-boggling.  As a mother, the thought of losing one of my children is unbearable to think about.  Knowing the love that both of them had - Heavenly Father to let it happen, and Christ to suffer and die for us - makes me want to be the best I can so it is not in vain.  Not taking advantage of the Atonement and repentance seems to be the greatest ingratitude I could show.  Now, having said that, I will continue to make stupid mistakes and be the human that I am, but I guess the test of how much I really believe in and am grateful for the Atonement is in the way I use repentance and make those changes to become better little by little, day by day.

Of course, there are other things that show me of His love, but in short, I am grateful for these 3 manifestations just in the last 3 days.

I feel loved!!

15 end of the summer party pictures

The frost is on the pumpkins, the clocks are set to standard time and the days are growing shorter. It seems a perfect time to revisit our end of the summer party with a post. It seems like forever ago that we had everyone home, not necessarily at the same time, but within a week of each other.

Having everyone home at the same time is really a mom/grandma's dream come true, and with everyone growing up, a few getting married, and another off to college, its getting harder and harder to accomplish.

So, here in no particular order are 15 pictures that relive the Peay/Dance/Alli/
Lewiston Rietz end of the summer, all be at home party.

Trev, Kristin, Amber and Ashley show their stuff on the wake board. Ashley is especially impressive.


Talmage and Tanner get jet ski driving lessons from Grandpa.


Tanner makes a fine "Winnie the Pooh" as he tried to get every last crumb of his treats.

Talmage had more fun keeping the slip and slide in good working order than actually slipping and sliding. We give high marks to Grandpa for finding a Toy Story slip and slide.
Brandon and Ashley took an opportunity to spend a few minutes alone while they were here. Along with a few bike rides, they took a jet ski ride or two.
The requisite bocce ball game was played, as was a touch football game in the park. Nothing beats boys v girls in bocce ball!


We really couldn't get enough pictures of Tanner and Talmage. Tanner seemed an especially popular subject. Actually, we couldn't get enough of them period. We really hated to see them go home.

And finally, a few random river pictures.





Well, if you've been keeping count, I exceeded my 15 picture statement, but really, can you blame me? How can I be expected to limit it when there was so much fun to record and talk about? :-)

Here are a few closing thoughts -
As the mama of the group, I loved this last part of summer. Here are a few more reasons why.
- Alli came home for just a few days as a surprise. She spent a lot of time in the car just to spend a little time with Ashley, Brandon and boys. It was wonderful to have her here.

-Dallin is the newest member of the family, and I was so happy he got to spend some time with the Peays so he could get to know them better. Brandon finally got a worthy bike riding partner when Dallin got here! Yay for that. And, both of them were so handy to have around when I needed just a few items from the store.

-Talmage was a good sport to go to the river so many times. He really didn't want to go after the first day, but didn't complain when we dragged him along. I really felt kind of bad for him when he would say, "I want to go home."

It is exciting to think our family will keep growing, as everyone gets married and has kids. I can't think of anything I'd rather do than spend a few days together playing, eating and just enjoying each other!

I love you guys!!!

The Most Boring Summer EVER!!!

According to someone in our house, we have just endured the most boring summer EVER!!! No fun out of town adventures, no day trips even, just hanging around home, doing chores and being hot, although not hot all the time because it took a while for the weather to catch up to the calendar. At any rate, we didn't sit and stare at each other the whole time and I have to pictures to prove it.


Exhibits 1 & 2 and 2A. Grandpa Sollenbarger's Surprise 70th Birthday Party. A quick trip to Denver to celebrate with family and Grandpa and Grandma's friends. It was a great success, marked by the fact that he survived two surprises - walking in the door of Jodi's house to many guests yelling SUPRISE! and Dawn and I walking down the stairs a few moments later. No rescue vehicles or responders were required. It was a great visit. I also got to spend a little time with Grandma Hughes which was on my list to do this summer, but didn't seem possible with schedule conflicts. Ya gotta love a two-fer.

Exhibits 3, 4, and 5. There is always the river for fun in the sun. Well, most years that is. This year was a little different. Really high and fast water combined with lots of debris in the river made for a late start. Combine that with a busy calendar (what kept us so busy?) and it made for not many trips to the Snake. We finally made it out the first week in July. You may recognize a familiar face in these pictures. Alli came home for a week from BYU. She got a well-deserved break and we enjoyed a mid-summer visit with her.


Exibits 6 & 7. Kristin and Amber channeled their creative side one afternoon and did a little cake decorating. Amber was making a birthday cake for a friend and Kristin just felt like making a tasty and colorful cake. (Can you tell what the paintbrush is made of?) You can't really see in the picture, but Amber used brown sugar to create sand in her beach scene. Nice work, girls.


Exhibits 8 & 9. Maybe the cool dude in the sunglasses reminds you of someone. Apparently, Trev decided to spend one of his summer afternoons as a model for a jean jacket company. I hope the sunglass manufacturer forwarded a good retainer. I'm pretty sure they have never had such a good looking young man sport a pair of their shades, ever! Exhibit 9 is Trev's last opportunity to wear his webelos uniform, as he is now an 11 yr old scout, wears a tan shirt instead of blue, and can actually go on a camp out or two this next year.

So, I rest my case. Clearly we didn't waste our summer away. Sure, no trips to Disneyland, no hiking, camping or any of that. We may have redefined the word "Stay-cation". Who knows.

Besides, our summer saved the best for last. Stay tuned for the up-coming post...

An ode to Allison

Okay, not really an ode, but the next best thing. A post all about Alli!

After Allison did this at the end of May...



















...she spent the summer -

- Working at Taco Time (No photo available)

- Playing at the river














-


-Getting her Young Womenhood Recognition

















- and finally, going off to college.






She was ready, she pretty much hasn't looked back, and she loves the college life.






She did take a break from Social life/School work and help Sena plan a bridal shower for her sister, Chelsie at Thanksgiving.














And most important of all, she turned 19!!! Where in the world did those 19 years go???














She has been a busy girl. Getting to know new people has given her all kinds of opportunities. Who knew she would hang out with a group of people who take her hiking, and who knew she would take a snow boarding class and love doing both of those outdoorsy type activities!

And just because she's so darn cute, here are a few more pictures of her with her friend, Erin, and family.

We love you Alli, and miss you, but wouldn't want you to be anywhere else!


































(Anyone know how to get rid of the underlining? This was not for emphasis, just an errant typing snafoo!!!)