loving life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness!

Summer is hauling and there is lots to catch up on so I will just start with the most recent things and work back. Last night I took my girls to Vernal for a night out. We enjoyed school shopping for Preslie, Café Rio, and going to Wool-Mert. That is what Quinn thinks it's called and she says her 'R' really strong and it is adorable. Vernal is growing up! They have a new shopping center going in... JoAnn, TJ Maxx, Ross, Sportsman's Warehouse.. I feel like I'm in the city! Vernal is 30 minutes away and when I first moved here, it was an adjustment not having shopping nearby but now I really like it. Sometimes less options are better. Traffic in our town is mellow, and shopping isn't used as a default activity or recreation quite as much as when you live in the city. I like small town living for the great down-to-earth people, open spaces, and outdoor adventures. My neighbors are on the city council and school board; my voice can be heard more easily. This is a great place to raise my family.

While the girls were playing, Hunter was getting babysat at home by Pokémon and Dax and Mack were working in the hills, checking bear traps and taking wildlife pics. They had a great time. Bears have been keeping Dax super busy this summer.

Many are getting into camp trailers and wandering through town. The dry weather is making them look harder for food. We did get a KILLER rainstorm last week that was GLORIOUS. It hailed ice marbles for a minute and then downpoured for 20 more minutes. Everyone came outside to soak it up. We haven't had rain for months. It was wonderful!

Every summer we celebrate with the rest of the Uinta Basin at U.B.I.C (Uinta Basin in Celebration) which is held right here in our town, just a stick's throw from our house. We are lucky to have the Ute

Tribe as our neighbors and they always put on a show each year. These little boys are so cute all decked out.

 Dax's favorite brother and his family came to visit and celebrate UBIC with us! They have been coming to it for the past 4 years. I snapped this pic at the concert.. I don't know how little Ev fell asleep with all the noise! Can't wait to meet their baby #3 pretty soon.

 I watch my nephew 8-5, M-F while my brother Matt works. It has been an adjustment having another kid in the mix. Great to have him close and playing with my kids everyday. I think it has helped him learn to share and get along with other kids. Being the only child, he is used to calling the shots but it is a different story when he is at my house.. My kids shut him down really quick. They also need to learn to give and take. I have too many little bosses up in here!

 Preslie, Hunter, and Mack all took swimming lessons this summer and they all passed their levels. I am proud of each of them for the improvements they've made. They have learned a lot!

 I cleaned all the baby clothes out of my storage room and gave them away! This has been a process for me. I'm closing a huge chapter of my life; one that is very dear to me.

  I am at peace and know my job is to enjoy my beautiful kids in the here and now. I love my family and am just bursting with gratitude for the chance I have had to bear FOUR healthy children and raise them.

We had Dax's Mom come visit and stay with us for a few days and we had a ball with her. She is the

 most fun and spunky grandma ever. She was like a celebrity at our house. My kids loved having her. While she was here, she made Quinn a birthday fruit pizza and we celebrated. I love my little sweetheart so much. She is a bright spot in our family. Impossible to be sad or mad when she is around.

 We drove to Dax's bro's house on Quinn's b-day (July 24) and celebrated again with those guys. And of course, Quinn always gets fireworks on her day!

 The next day, Dax and I met my bro Tyrel, wife Kaeli, and my SIL Kenzi at Lagoon for some grown up kid time riding coasters. BLAST. Only way to do Lagoon is minus little kids. I think Preslie is old enough to go finally but we needed her to babysit Quinn. My boys played at their friends' house.

We ran down to see my parents and Dax cooked up some yummy ribs for everyone. My parents are so wonderful. My Mom's health continues to go down hill but she still takes time to play games with the kids.

 

I took Hunter in for an eye exam. He looked trippy with his eyes dialated! He will look great in glasses. 2nd kid of mine who needs glasses.. Dax and I don't wear them so it is new to us.

 Dax went to Beaver High Adventure scout camp for SIX days with his teachers quorum. They hiked, repelled, biked, went canoeing, horseback riding. It was intense. It was also intense at my house with me and 5 kids and the worst PMS week of my life. (Which came first: the PMS or the husband leaving?) The kids seems crazier than normal, the toilet in the main bath was clogged for 3 days and I just was ready to flip off the BSA. My dad called mid-week and invited us to go camping with him but I only had my crappy car with bald tires and did not feel like camping one bit. He really wanted us to come so I went and choked down the $600 bill for new tires (needed to be done anyway) and took my kids camping. I am glad we went.

My boys are great hikers. Mack wanted to climb the mountain again when we woke up the next day, so we did! My girls rode with grandpa on the 4 wheeler and Preslie was driving when she got one wheel in a rut and they tipped the machine onto themselves. My Dad was quick to toss Quinn out of the way and she came away unharmed. Preslie was bruised and my Dad was the most beat up but they are all ok.

 

Took a day trip with friends to Starvation Reservior and tubed, fished, and played on the beach. It is a fun place!

We had a round of the stomach flu the beginning of July and I'm the lucky one that didn't get it. Quinn threw up in primary on the floor in front of the Sunbeams. Great timing because our church recarpeted after that! Here's Dax on 4th of July when everyone else was watching fireworks and enjoying BBQ food...

 Earlier that day, my bro Matt and I ran in the Roosevelt RedMud Run. It was 2 miles of mud and obstacles and grueling fun. We had a blast. I hope more of my family will join in and do it next 4th.

Mangus family reunion was at Palisades State Park near Manti. My MIL planned it all and brought her new kayak to share. Fun with family swimming, eating, dancing, making ice cream and making memories.

Most of our family and friends who saw the cover of the July Friend magazine thought the girl on the front looked like Quinn.

 Preslie has a blast her first year at Girls Camp. Kinda calm at our house without her spunk.




I am sad that summer is winding down. I will miss my kids and especially Mack who will be in 1st grade all day. I will miss the warm weather and the carefree schedule. But I am excited to have some time to cook good meals and work on projects while the kids are in school. I have so so many projects I want to do: Scrapbook the kids' school years, Master Bedroom decorate, and food storage just to name a few.

 

Let's end with a Mack quote, Yes?!  So Dax taught a lesson in YM about dating and making yourself worthy for a great wife. He was telling us how it went and Mack piped up with, "I'm gonna spy on the girl I'm gonna marry to see what kinds of things she does. I don't want to marry someone nerdy who drools and falls down a lot."

Whoever coined the phrase "lazy days of summer" needs to be punched in the face.

{I lost my beloved 9-year-old camera when we visited Dax's folks back in March. So I don't have any pics of my trip to Alaska, the last month of school, or my girls' dance recital. When I got my camera back, it worked for like a day and then it died. I finally got a new one! So I feel like I can blog again.}

Holy cow! Summer is flying.
I am still working on final touches in my boys' room! It is turning out fun and I'm finally getting the hang of decorating for boys. I snapped this pic of my kids and nephew hanging out in the room. So it's functional AND hip.

 I'm remembering when my boys' room looked like this...

We've been camping SO much already since school's been out. We went up Uinta Canyon with my bro and nephew, we camped with my Dad and a few siblings near Strawberry, and then up near Preston, Idaho for a family reunion! The day after we got back from that, Preslie went to girls' camp! I hope she's having fun! I heard there's snow there!

 Great view..Strawberry Res in the background.

 My little nephew wanted to drive/ride the ATV every minute.

The McDermott family reunion is awesome! Ask Mack.. he loved the waterslide at Riverdale Resort! I loved the warm spring water in the pools! We had to drag the kids away.. As we were walking back to camp Mack asked, "Can I just look at the [waterslide] tower one more time?"

We passed through Logan on our way to the reunion.. The kids had fun at Lundstrom Park! Still a family fave!

We stopped for Aggie Ice Cream and met up with old friends. Quinn calls it "Maggie's Ice Cream Shop".

Earlier that day, Dax's bro and his wife invited me to go to their ultrasound appointment! It was awesome. I've never been on this side of it before. They're having a GIRL!

I'm sure trying to keep my kids productive this summer. I am realizing I don't like being a drill sergeant, but sometimes being a Mom requires that! Finding balance is life's greatest trick.

 I took Preslie to Vernal and we did baptisms for our ancestors! It was really neat. My Mom has been busy with family history work and prepared names for us to take to the temple. We had a wonderful time. Can't wait to do more.

 The kids making a Fathers Day sign for Dax. We gave him a weed wacker and cooked him spicey chicken for dinner.

Here is our new fence! It sure makes our back yard look more finished! Dax and our neighbor did a great job.

 Here is the before picture...

Here is the fence during construction..

And here is after!

Trees and shrubs are on our list to buy now!

That list gets longer by the day...
New tires and windshield for our old Rodeo
a new computer (ours crashed!)
camp trailer (If we keep camping this much, Mama needs a bed and a kitchen and a place to put all our gear!)
truck (to pull the trailer)

Happy busy summer!

She's got legs!

And knows how to use them! And yes, I'm listening to ZZ Top right now.

Paper clutter.. my ultimate nemesis. When school started end of August, there has been a perma pile of papers on my bar. I was always shoving them over so people could actually eat there. But the pile, no matter how hard I tried, would not disappear. The kids needed access to their papers all week to work on their homework each night. I could never put them totally away. And then my bar became a magnet for all papers and other stuff. Such a nightmare mess. I thought and thought about solutions.

Then I found this little cabinet with SIX drawers. Six to match the number of people in my family. And the drawers were the size of papers. I am so glad the organizing gods decided to intervene. I bought the cabinet and put it together. It came with casters to put on the bottom which I didn't want because 1. I wanted something more stylin' 2. I don't want the cabinet to roll around. 3. I wanted to raise the cabinet up higher.

I got online and looked for legs to add to the bottom since I thought it would look classier more legit that way. I found metal hairpin legs that I loved but they were 20+ dollars per leg. I didn't feel right about spending more on legs than the cabinet itself. I asked my siblings to keep and eye out at thrift stores or garage sales. My 2 genius little brothers told me they could just make me some. They bought the metal rods and cut and welded me 4 legs for this cabinet in like 30 minutes. The total for the supplies was under $20! My brother's are so rad. And so are the legs. I really like how they turned out.

And now I have a place to put everyone's mail, homework, magazines, church papers, scout book, personal progress, chapstick, whatever. Ya-hooo!

The other huge project that has been in the works for a looong time are my boys' curtains. I bought the fabric over a year ago at Home Fabrics in Midvale. I still love the fabric- it has a lot of energy and I love the colors.

 The curtains turned out great. SO happy to finally cross this off my list!

 One step closer to finishing my boys' room!

Art in many forms

I bought a 40 pound box of chicken for a great deal so Dax and I took an evening and trimmed the breasts so we could bag up meal sized portions and freeze them. I was facing opposite him with my own knife and cutting board and after I'd trimmed about 2-3 pounds worth of chicken, I turned to see Dax with our giant mixing bowl PILED with breasts he'd finished trimming. Is this an art or a science? Whatever it is, this guy has a secret life as a butcher!

Mack's school does a yearly spring art show and Quinn had a blast watercolor-ing with Mack and his classmates.

 The numerous displays in the halls were inspiring. I had to share...

Mack's self-portrait

 tongue depressors art- Mack's hand is pointing to the orange one he painted

 Faces painted on squares of denim and sewn together

 Dax had some conferences in St. George so we took the kids out of school and made a vacation of it. I wish my town had a splash pad like this!

 We got to be there for Grandma Beaner's birthday! She is 59 going on 20. Love her!

 Dax made his unsurpassed Eclairs. I'm ruined for all others. His are the best. An artist in the kitchen is arguably the best kind..I mean- we have to eat so it might as well be delicious.

Beaner and 15 of her teaching collegues had tickets to see Abbamania (an Abba tribute band) at Tuacahn on her birthday. She had an extra ticket and I got to tag along! Super fun! I've always admired people who can open their mouth and have a beautiful sound come out.

I will leave you with a funny that happened in the bath last night. Mack had the bar of soap and was conscientiously washing between each toe and every square inch of himself when Quinn said, "Mack, I want the soap now! You're taking too long!" To which he replied, "You can't rush art."