Dear
Loved Ones,
Remember all
that stuff we had planned in our last letter? Well, we did it all, except the
Layton Reunion, which is coming up this week. We are WORN OUT, but ready for
one last hurrah.
The first
Monday in August we went swimming then made dinner for two families whose moms
aren’t well. We cooked a triple batch of mac and cheese and it was HUGE. We
also watched Niles’ friend Kenny for a few days that week while his mom
recovers from surgery. Tuesday 8/4 Heidi and James had dental appointments in
Bozeman so we took Kenny with us and stopped to do some back to school
thrifting at the awesome Bozeman Goodwill. James got to go back to the dentist
on Wednesday for a tiny filling and sealants. Thursday we caught up on chores
and laundry—I had to get everyone’s church clothes ready since I’d be gone til late Saturday night.
Addie and I
got packed up and left for Utah at 4pm Thursday 8/6 to attend Jordyn Yarborough’s
wedding. We crashed at Uncle Sam Layton’s house around 11pm. Friday 8/7 Addie
and I had breakfast with Laytons and headed out to have some fun in SLC. At
home, Kelsey Gray babysat the other kids while Rich worked in the morning, then
he took the kids camping at the Madison River that night. The Jelli cousins,
the grandparents, and Uncle Mike joined them and it looked like a great time.
Meanwhile, Addie and I had Smashburger for lunch and shopped a little, then we
took Nana a birthday gift and visited for a minute. Then we headed to Jordyn’s
pre-wedding Open House after stopping at Swig for an Italian Soda and a sugar
cookie. The Open House was held in Sugarhouse in the courtyard of the chapel
Jakeob’s family attends and it was really charming (like our building in
Millcreek). The Westenskows, Tyners, and Holms were already there. Iceberg
Drive In catered the evening so there were burgers, fries, and shakes to eat
and lots of friends to visit with. There was a huge cloudburst in the middle of
the party and everyone scrambled to rescue the pretty decorations and move
everything into the cultural hall. Phew! After the open house, Addie and I
headed over to stay with Martin and Becca Buchert at their home. We had such a
nice visit, even though Eden and Soren were gone to Youth Conference and Addie
didn’t get to hang out with them. We had to get up early to get to the temple
by 7:15am, but we made it!
The wedding on
8/8 was wonderful, Jordyn looked angelic, and her new in-laws are such
excellent and supportive people. We are so grateful she and Jakeob found each other!
They were sealed by Jake’s grandfather, Elder Koellicker, and many of his
family were in the temple with them. They had a beautiful lunch reception at the
Joseph Smith Building, then they headed to their honeymoon in Florida at Disneyworld.
It was so edifying to feel all the love in the room; we are so thankful for
Jordyn’s friendship and example to our daughters. At 2:30, I picked up Ally and
Isabelle and they came home with Addie and me to visit for a week. While we
were driving home, Rich was heading home from his camp out with the kids. We
got home around 9:30pm and Rich had the camping laundry done and the boys all
bathed and waiting for us at the garage door. It was so sweet. Everyone was so
excited to see Ally and Belle, too!
We went to
church Sunday morning 8/9 and took some good solid naps—Rich and I were tired
from all the weekend fun! While we napped the big girls had Niles give them
makeovers, which was hilarious. We had dinner together, then brownies and
movies. Monday 8/10 we met up at the park for a picnic with our old friend and
neighbor, Lorraine Blatter and her new baby. It was great to see them.
Afterward we picked up trash for James’ environmental achievement thing for cub
scouts, and I brought Ammon home to nap. The big girls took a bike ride to
Chadz coffee shop and all around downtown. I ran to Costco for some groceries
and made dinner for our family and a sick friend’s family, then we had family
night and the girls played games and watched movies while we got the little
boys to bed. Tuesday 8/11 we did chores and scriptures and James finished up
his Wolf scout requirements (YAY!) and we headed for the park for the Primary Activity
from 10am-noon. The leaders planned fun relays and activities for the kids with
a hot dog lunch and it was really nice. Ammon and Niles had been up a lot
Monday night, so when we got home from the activity they both napped until 4pm,
I kid you not! Wednesday we had a bunch of playdates after chores and scriptures.
First Katy Warren and her girls came to play and have lunch. Then at 1pm Jessi
Tyner and her boys came to play. When they left, Addie and I started making Navajo
tacos for dinner, and it was time for YW and scouts. Rich and the girls got
home super late because they drove Jess and TJay back to the ranch after
stopping to get a treat—fun cousin times! Thursday morning 8/13 we had a home
visit for Niles’ preschool and go all of his paperwork done. Afterward, I
wanted to take the kids bowling but the alley is being remodeled. So we tried
mini-gold in Bozeman, but it was shut down. So we played for a while at the toy
store (yeah, me and 7 kids!), browsed for books at Barnes and Noble, and played
some games at the arcade (highlight: air hockey with Niles). Addie bought TJay
a birthday gift and we headed home to get ready for his party at the ranch.
Kelli made a yummy taco dinner with an amazing Mexican chopped salad and triple
chocolate cake for TJay. The kids played like crazy til sundown (it was SO HOT
with no breeze…like 96 degrees) and we headed home with plans to float the
river on Friday. Rich and the girls went downtown for the Livingston HOOT (a
musicfest on Main Street). Friday we did chores and laundry and got Ally and
Belle ready to go home the next day. I made some teriyaki pork, coconut rice,
and crab rangoons to serve for dinner with Kelli’s Mexican leftovers after the
kids floated the river. Rich met us at the ranch at 4:30 and we sent everybody
down the river at 5 and ate dinner at 6:30. We got home at 8:30 and got kids to
bed and Rich headed out to see a movie with his brothers (“The Man from Uncle”).
We had a freakish wind and lightning storm Friday night, but I don’t think it
ever really rained.
Saturday
morning (Happy Birthday, Nana!) Addie, Ally, Belle, and I left our house at 7:45am
and drove to Idaho Falls so Uncle Drew could meet up and pick up his girls. We
got there at 11:30 and stopped at Deseret Book, then we went to lunch at Café Rio
with Uncle Drew. We had such a good visit—I’m gonna miss those girls so bad!
When we got in the car, we realized that the play that Addie wanted to see all
her friends in had its last show at 5pm, not 7pm like we thought, so at 1:15 we
left Idaho Falls with the goal of making it to the Shane Center in Livingston
by 4:45. We got there and the show was sold out, but they put us 9th
and 10th on standby. Addie started crying. We waited for Heidi to
meet us on her bike. 10 minutes later, they called our names and gave us two
tickets and Addie and Heidi got to see the show. YES! At 7 the whole family went to Jordyn’s
reception at the church. We had fun seeing her and her family again, and my
boys had fun pigging out on candy. Sunday morning 8/16, I took Addie, Heidi,
and Niles to church while Rich took Ammon and James to Yellowstone to meet up
with his BYUH buddy Trent and Trent’s family. They met at West Yellowstone and
Rich was their tour guide on our Parks Pass. They had a Yellowstone bucket list
and it sounds like they checked it all off. Rich got home around 11:30pm. The
rest of us just did church, naps, started this letter, then had the Jones
family over for cookies and visits, then bed time. It was nice to go to bed
with a chill in the air instead of the deathly heat of last week! This week is all about school registration
and Layton Reunion, can’t wait to report on that next week. We love you all and
wish you well!
Love, Rich and Jamie and Family
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| Monday 8/3: enormous pot of cheese sauce for triple batch of mac & cheese |
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| Tuesday 8/4: James and Heidi at the dentist with their blow-up animal prizes |
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| 8/4: Niles sneaks out and climbs on Mike's construction equipment regularly, little punk. Mike is building a house right next to us! |
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| 8/5: Miki Ogao drove from Tucson to LA to SLC to our house on her cross-country road trip. She had a goal to see al 50 states before she turned 40 and she needed to see the Dakotas so we were on the way! Yay! She went all the way to Virginia and back before her birthday, which is next week. |
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| Tucson was on fire the first week of August. Here is a view looking north/northeast from downtown- Pusch Ridge was on fire...so sad. |
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| 8/6: Addie and I headed to Utah for a wedding |
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| 8/7: Addie at Smashburger in SLC |
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| 8/7: Martin and Becca bought a twinner van the same day we came to visit! |
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This is Martin and Becca. I stole this picture from them on their 19th anniversary this week.
I love them. |
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| 8/8: Jessi T. took this beautiful picture of the temple on the morning of Jordyn's wedding |
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8/8: Addie fit right in with the bridesmaids waiting outside of the sealing.
(Haylee Holm, Addie, Lisa Gillies) |
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| Addie and Me waiting outside of the temple after the sealing at 8:45am |
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| Mr. and Mrs. Ontiveros, first public appearance |
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| Melissa took this picture of Jordyn and Marissa. Marissa left for her mission to Baltimore via the Mexico City MTC the following Wednesday. |
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Beautiful Jordy with her husband and parents.
(Lisa, Jake, Jordyn, Roger) |
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At the lunch with Jordyn
(their slide show and first dance made us cry) |
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Jordyn has been like a wonderful big sister to Addie.
They love each other. |
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| Addie with Jordyn before Jordyn's mission to Tucson. |
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| Me and my sweet sisterfriend, Melissa Westenskow. |
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Jordyn calls us her "Mormon Moms"
Jessi, Debbie, Me, Melissa |
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| On Sunday afternoon, the big girls let Niles give them makeovers. Behold the beauty! |
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| 8/10: Monday Picnic with Lorraine and her miracle baby, Gabriel. Loved seeing her again! |
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8/10: Niles tagged along with Ally most of the day
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| Ally, Niles, Addie, and Belle waiting for Family Home Evening Monday night. |
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| 8/12: Playdates! Warren girls jumping with my boys |
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| 8/13: Niles with a Medusa hat at the toy store in Bozmean |
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| 8/13: TJay's golden birthday--13 on the 13th! |
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| Heidi driving the Ranger at the ranch...watch out, gophers! |
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| Teenagers! (and crazy Summer) |
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Ammon after a bath on the deck at the ranch house
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| 8/15: Saying goodbye to my girls at Café Rio in Idaho Falls |
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| Flashback: Addie, Ally, and Belle in 2002 |
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| Addie, James, Belle, and Ally in 2010 |
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| Addie and Isabelle 2009 |
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With Uncle Drew...we sure love these cousins!!!
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