June Outing - Hiking And A Picnic With Allen

I called up my cousin Allen to see if he had some upcoming free time and if he and his wife would be interested in getting our little families together. He was very interested and even chose the activity and location for what we would do. He decided on hiking which was great because our kids love it. When I say hiking I don't mean any rigorous steep hills. Our kids move at a slower pace and it's more like a stroll through nature. It's fun because Allen and I have kids who are all the same age. Addie and his oldest is only eleven days apart. Then Hudson and his second is a few months apart and same with both of our youngest. We both ended up with one girl and two boys but our girl is our oldest and their girl is their youngest. Everyone was born the same year and I love that we see each other a few times a year and that we have always been in each others' lives. 

Trying to get six kids to smile who are all age five and under is quite a task.

Their boys thought it would be really fun to bring little Pokemon toys to have my kids hunt for because they know how much my kids love Pokemon. I don't even know if Addie realized at first that it was them who were dropping these little toys off on the pathways. They all thought it was so cool though. Everyone had their own little nets as well and they started hunting for real creatures. Addie thought she'd be able to catch a squirrel but we quickly convinced her not to try. There was a river that ran through the canyon we were exploring and we all climbed down to play near it for a little bit before getting our picnic lunch all set up.

The coolest highlight for all the kids was when we found the rattlesnake. I'm not sure who saw it first. It might have been Allen but it was really neat to see one so close and yet still safely distanced enough. Addie and Hudson are really liking snakes these days so for them to see one out in nature made their entire day.

Eventually we had our fill and while heading back to the car Danny caught both a butterfly and a dragonfly. He caught both of them within a five minute timeframe and the others were impressed with how quick he was. We didn't realize until we had already left that the canyon we were in was a national monument and that you aren't supposed to take even a stick from there and here we had left with two live creatures. I guess we now know that for next time. Overall it was a great morning.

Pest Control :)

 If you need any help with pest control I know three who can help.

🦋🐛🐜🦎🐞🐌🦗🐝🐢

I attempted a mini photo shoot with the kids the other day to surprise Danny with it as a gift for Father's Day but apparently he saw what I was doing from the window of his now home office. I thought I was being sneaky but now that he's working from home in this pandemic I need to be sneakier.

Father's Day 2020

Happy Father's Day Danny!

A little picture gift for our favorite explorer dad.

Danny's Father's Day Videos

And a bonus video of music and makeup brought to you by the Fergy Boys with help from their makeup artist Addie. :) 

This was done today while visiting Danny's parents in Mapleton.

Preschool grad upstart

Addie is a preschool graduate times two! She was enrolled in two different preschools and I'm just glad she loved both. She graduated from Waterford Upstart today which is a free online preschool program. I originally enrolled her in it in hopes that we would have a back up plan in case I didn't feel like the BYU program would be a good fit for her and needed something to fall back on; however she loved and thrived in both and that makes my mama heart happy. Her Upstart instructor even gave me a call and informed me that Addie was at a first grade reading level which was amazing to hear firsthand the progress and achievements that this program was adding to her preschool experience. Because of all the Covid 19 restrictions in place Addie wasn't able to have a typical preschool graduation. Instead she was sent a shirt, paper cap and diploma in the mail and was instructed to watch a little graduation video online. She didn't mind and didn't know any different. I think she was honestly a little happy to now just play the rest of summer.

Also she only paused briefly for this picture above to be taken and you wouldn't know it but she has a beetle in her closed hand. She immediately went back to bug hunting after I said we were done with pictures and then caught two butterflies. I love this smart little girl even if she's currently obsessed with little critters that I could definitely do without. 

Make A Wish

 Make A Wish Buddy. Make it BIG.

Never Grow Up

 Please Stay Little For A Little Bit Longer

Grant Alexander 💙

Danny's Pandemic Birthday

 Happy birthday to this guy of mine!

Last year he was still gone doing research on a volcanic island but this year he's here so I can celebrate him! Sorry you're not in paradise but we can blame that on Covid and not on the fact that I probably would've said no to another seven week long trip without me. 😘

I wish I could say that he had the best most exciting 31st birthday ever but sadly the pandemic and quarantine is still going on. It's also Sunday so that adds another element to it. I love you Danny and even though you're not on some beach somewhere I hope our home is a close second. 😊

The day started out pouring rain.

Kids enjoyed a comfy movie afternoon

Saying Goodbye?

Yesterday on Friday June 5th at 5pm I received the following text from my dad:

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

To all, 

 Camila's health has declined quickly in the past week. Today I received the following                                  from the care center: 

"We are concerned about Camila's status. We have done lab work and there are some abnormal ones but with further assessments and testing we can not find the causes. She is totally dependent on staff for all cares and needs now, she does not talk with us as well. She is not even bearing weight when they are transferring her. She is taking in small amounts of food and fluids."

Not knowing how this process will go for Camila, I wanted all to be aware. We have talked with the care center and they told us that they would allow a visit to be made to Camila for those that may be interested as long as masks, gloves, etc are worn. If any of you would like to make a visit, please let me know and we will arrange it. When she does pass we will make sure to have a viewing and service so that all will have that opportunity to show your last respects for this precious daughter of God, our daughter, sister, mother or aunt."

 . . . . . . . . . . . . .

We got a group of us together at her facility the very next day around 3:30pm. They moved Camila to a big room to accommodate us and even had some snacks provided for us as we all gathered to say the potential last goodbye. This facility has been on a strict lockdown with zero visits allowed up until this day and they were careful with taking precautions such as taking our temperature at the door and making sure we all had masks on before entering the building. It was nice that they didn't enforce an age restriction so that I could have my children with me. Amazingly they did great with making sure their masks stayed on. They did briefly take it off for when they were eating the snacks but they put them right back on without any complaints which is always nice to have one less thing to worry about. 

Seeing Camila in her current state was both sad and weird. However I did feel that she looked better than I anticipated. The initial message my dad had forwarded to me from the facility made me anticipate to find her in worse condition than she was. She is no longer able to walk which was something she could do during my last visit so that was a definite change. I sat next to her in her wheelchair but there's not much one can do or even say in this situation. Unless you're my other sister Pollyanna who seems to have a gift for knowing exactly what to do and what to say in hard times like this. I mostly just watched her and was in awe at how she was able to make everyone around us feel somewhat comfortable. It's always bittersweet when I leave these visits with Camila because I get taken back in my childhood memories of who she used to be which can leave a bitter feeling because then I'm reminded of how that's far from the state she is in now. It's also sweet because any interaction with her means she's still here physically even if it's not mentally. Seeing her kids be in that room with us was hard because they don't deserve this and have been dealt with a really hard hand at life. It's not their fault and it's not Camila's fault. I wish this was all different but it's not and it is what it is. All I can do is hope and pray that Camila can feel comfortable and comforted. The next time I see her might be at her funeral but I hope she knows that especially today she was surrounded by people who all love her and want the best for her.