the fun days of summer continue...

playing at a cool new park in Syracuse 

 the boys got into the Halloween things

 

 

 

 

golfing at Swan Lakes in Syracuse

I am surprised we didn't get kicked out as the boys ran around doing cart wheels and acting like crazy boys.  Actually, it was pretty funny and we really didn't bother anyone so we just let them be kids and have fun.  We started to keep score but decided it wasn't worth the effort on the first hole.  Ethan would just hit it a few times and then use his putter to guide the ball in the hole.  Adam and Ethan keep telling Mike he needs to take them to a real golf course.  I don't think so.  That's a disaster just waiting to happen. 

 

 

 

 

 

July 12, 2015

We love you Ry !!!!

 

I bought around 15 balloons the night before to let off.   They were all flat by the next day but one.  So Ethan had fun decorating it and letting it off for his brother.  His cute little picture is priceless and so are the words he wrote.  It's adorable he accidentally spelled Ryan wrong.

 

Yes, his eyes are shut.  The sun was in them.

 

 

 

 

Mike worked in Phoenix during the middle of July.  It worked out and I was finally able to go on a business trip with him alone.  We had a very nice time together even though it was 110 degrees.  His cousin Tiffani lives in Phoenix and we had to force ourselves to have pedicures and go shopping together while our husbands worked.  Thanks Mike for taking one for the team again.  I even had a nap one day.  It was wonderful

 

 

 

 

Child labor....  we knew there was a reason we had so many kids.

We are finally finished with our back yard.  It's wonderful to be done  Too bad it only took 5 years.

We have been enjoying food from our garden this summer.  Before Ethan bit into his corn he said,  "Get that corn out of my face !!!"  Way to go Eth for this one liner!!!   (It's a line from our families favorite movie Nacho Libre.  Ok, the whole family doesn't like it.  Mike hasn't got on board with it yet.)

 

So Ethan has been complaining about his eyes and saying he needs glasses.  He is also telling us he has heart burn.  Where does he come up with these things??  He's nuts and to be honest he has a little problem telling the truth lately.  I took him in for his yearly well check up and he didn't do great on the eye test.  The doctor and I agree it's hard to tell at this age if they are faking it or not.  I will just watch him once school starts.  Later that day we were in the dollar store and we found a quick solution to our problem.  Yep, they only cost a dollar.  He looked so cute in them and right away said he could see better.  We all tried them on and couldn't wear them because they were very strong.  By the end of the day he fessed up that they hurt his eyes as well.  He's only wore them a few more times for a few minutes and he doesn't complain about his eyes anymore.  Silly boy.  I tried to tell him that having glasses is really not that fun.  I am glad it only took him a few hours to figure it out.  (FYI  We tried to break the lenses out so he could just wear the frames.  They are indestructible and we couldn't get them out.)

24th of July Parade in Newton, Utah

My dad, along with the other Veterans from Newton, were honored with a ceremony and monument and were in the Newton town parade.  We are proud of him and all those who serve and served our country.  It was fun to see my dad in the parade and he even threw us a few pieces of candy. 

 

 

 

 

The Lott Family

7-24-15

We joined Mike on another business trip at the beginning of August.  He worked in Colorado Springs, Co.  The kids had fun swimming in the pool and watching Disney shows for endless hours.  I even got some sun this time.  Yeah.  Thanks for taking us again Mike.  We had a blast.

 

 

 

 

The boys and I and a kid we met played a little basketball.  Ethan and I were on the same team and we surprised the other boys by holding our own.  It was actually pretty fun even though I am so out of shape and felt like I was going to have a heart attack. 

 

Believe it or not Ethan actually got his head stuck and I had to help him get it out.  Hopefully now he will listen to my advice not to stick his body parts into places they don't belong.  A few weeks ago he got his arm stuck in the back of a chair and totally panicked when he couldn't get it out.  It was all the kids and I could do not to bust up laughing. (Ok we did bust up laughing.  We later had to apologize to him.)   Both times he really wasn't stuck too badly.  He just needed to relax and turn his arm and his head.

 

The boys were so happy to get to see the Broncos stadium.  Ethan was disappointed he couldn't go in and play catch on the field. 

 Mike did take Alex to a game for his graduation present .  So Ethan only has to wait 13 years to go.  He wasn't happy with that arrangement to say the least.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My niece is on a mission in NY City.  She sent this in her email this week.  It was very inspiring and I wanted to share. 

 

 

This week I was sitting at the table thinking about cookies and I thought how gross it sounds that one of the ingredients for cookies is salt.  Why would we put salt in something we want to make sweet?  Because we need opposition.   If we didn't put salt into the recipe, the sweetness wouldn't be the same.  The same is in our lives.  We need challenges in our lives because opposition is what we need to grow and be happy and enjoy every moment.

 

In doctrine and covenants 122: 7&9;  "And if thou shouldst be cast into the pit, or into the hands of murderers, and the sentence of death passed upon thee;  if thou be cast into the deep;  if the billowing surge conspire against thee; if fierce winds become thine enemy; if the heavens gather blackness, and all the elements combine to hedge up the way; and above all, if the very jaws of hell shall gape open the mouth wide after thee, know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good...  Therefore, hold on..."

I know no one has it easy in life.  I know sometimes things seem like more than we can bear, but I also know that we need our trials.  We cannot hope to become what God wants us to be, by getting through life without the challenges.  I know we can grow from them.  Make the challenges a part of your life.  Accept the trials you face.  Do what God asks, because He is making you stronger.  I know that as we embrace the surprises we face, God will help us and always be there to say 'hold on'.


So, long story-short:

 

I know that sometimes God puts salt in our
lives, so we can better taste the sweetness.