Life in a Northern Town

Sunday, May 17, 2015

FAMILY LETTER 05.17.15

Dear Loved Ones,

Another cold, rainy May Sunday evening…I really love this weather and we need the rain so much after our dry winter. It’s making for a pretty crazy baseball season, though.

Monday I went visit teaching in the morning then took Niles and his friends to the park since the sun was out and it was an absolutely perfect spring day. I let Ammon crawl and toddle all over the park and he was so exuberant and joyful. He would stop periodically and just raise his arms and squeal and clap for joy. It was really something. That night we practiced batting for Family Night and daddy took us to Pickle Barrel for ice cream.

Tuesday was a crazy day. Addie and Rich needed to go to a broadcast for the youth at church and I needed to take the boys and Heidi to James’ baseball game in Gardiner (50 miles away). So I loaded up the kids at 4:15 and headed out—we had to grab dinner to go. I was surprise they hadn’t called the game yet because it was raining in Livingston and the Gardiner forecast said 70% chance of rain. So we headed out and just after we left town I got a text cancelling the game. We stopped at the ranch to give Grandma her Mother’s Day gifts since she had been in Idaho on Mother’s Day. We came home and built a fire and finished folding laundry while we streamed the same broadcast that Rich and Addie were at. It was a discussion with Elder Bednar and his wife and they gave great counsel. My favorite part was when Elder Bednar told the youth that they didn’t need somebody to tell them if certain actions were right or wrong because they have the gift of the Holy Ghost—if you aren’t feeling good about it, then it’s probably not good. Trust the Spirit. Good advice.

Wednesday I was supposed to have an EMG on my left shoulder and elbow but I got the time wrong and was too late, so they did a couple of other tests and went over some labs and rescheduled for later. I ran home to meet up with the family for James’ baseball game. We ate pizza dinner at the game and Rich had to leave early for scouts. James hit the first pitch on his first three at-bats and he caught a pop fly at the pitcher’s mound. It’s so fun to watch him play and I’m glad his league is so easy-going (we are definitely not competitive in this family).

Thursday I got to go to “Muffins for Mommy” with Niles. I took Ammon with me and we all enjoyed some muffins, fruit and yogurt with Niles’ preschool class. They were adorable. I came back home and finished up some laundry and mending and prepared for our first night home together all week. It sure was nice (I’m such a hermit). Friday Rich took his scouts to the Spring Camporee in the freezing rain. They camped in a quarry and learned climbing, rappelling and bouldering skills. I stayed home and learned chauffeuring skills. At 5pm, Addie went to a “Selection” Tea Party at the library celebrating the release of the newest book in the “Selection” series. She looked so pretty and had a great time. I went home and fed the other kids, then took Heidi and James to meet up with friends to see “The Avengers.” Then I took Niles out for a milkshake because he felt left out. By then it was 7 and time to pick up Addie. She helped me get the boys to bed, and then it was time to pick up Heidi and James at 9:15. I got them all to bed and settled into bed myself at 11. Then Ammon started screaming for no reason and Niles woke up crying with an ear ache and for an hour I was having stereo screaming. Soon everyone was medicated and comforted and we slept from 12:30am-5:30am.

It was pouring rain on Saturday morning, so we did chores and played games and watched movies and tried (not very successfully) to nap. Daddy got home from his scout trip at 6pm and we met him up at the church so we could clean the building for Sunday. We were done at 7:40pm and so exhausted!

The little boys seem to have a bit of a cold and I caught it. I stayed home with Ammon today while the rest of the family went to church. We slept most of the morning. Ammon seems better, had two long naps today. We need our strength for a busy week. Tomorrow I have electrocardiography with saline IV, whatever that means (they are still trying to see if I show signs of a TIA back in Feb-March). Then Tuesday is Niles’ 4^th Birthday. He is so excited! We’re also excited for Cousin Jared Melin’s baptism next Sunday, on his mom’s (Aunt Elena’s) Birthday.

Love, Rich and Jamie and Family

Ammon crawling around the park on Monday

Four four-year olds playing on Monday at the park

Monday night after family batting practice

Ammon's making a run for it...

Silly Daddy!

James playing legos on Tuesday at Grandma's

The valley on Tuesday night

Spring scenery on my drive home from Bozeman Deaconess on Wednesday

Ammon and Daddy being silly at James' game Wednesday night.

Suh-WING, Batter!

Niles, Mommy, and Ammon at Muffins for Mommy on Thursday

Ammon's hair is so curly when it's wet...
after baths on Friday night

Rich's scouts at Spring Camporee

Scouts bouldering

Scouts rapelling

Sunday, May 10, 2015

FAMILY LETTER 05.10.15

Dear Loved Ones

Happy Mothers Day to all the wonderful mothers in our lives! Hope your day has been sweet. I (Jamie) am sharing my day with Ammon today as he turns one year old!

We didn’t write last week because I was having a trip hangover. Heidi and I got home from Utah at 3:30 and enjoyed some family time, barbecued some burgers while the kids jumped on the trampoline. Later, James gave Niles a good shove as Niles was climbing onto the trampoline. Niles fell and fractured his humerus—a green stick fracture that’s in a sling for 2 weeks. Welcome home, Mom!

Our trip was great. In our last letter I was getting ready to go to Women’s Conference at BYU, taking Heidi with me for some Nana/Aunt Debbie time. Last Tuesday 4/28 I took the boys to the park and Ammon squealed with delight on the swings. It was so sunny and warm, a rare, not-windy, 70-degree day. On Wednesday, 4/29, we had scriptures and breakfast and sent everyone off to school, then Heidi and I headed out on a road trip. We drove to BYU and picked up our name badges, then back to Nana’s to sleep.

On Thursday, I left Nana’s at 7:45 and met Debbie Holm at the Marriott Center at 10:05. The traffic was busy and everything was crazy, but the meetings and classes were so worth it. The theme of the conference was Delighting in Covenants. The opening message was from Wendy Nelson (wife of Elder Neslon) and she focused a lot on redeeming the dead. Our first class was about hastening the work—reaching out and speaking up in everyday life with Joanne Pendleton and Neil Marriott. They were fantastic and motivating. The second class was keeping covenants through everyday acts, and the last class was helping teens keep baptismal covenants and prepare for the temple. Right after that, I met up with Nana and Heidi near the Marriott Center and we met Debbie and took a tour of the LDS Motion Picture Studios where her brother Scott builds sets for films and visitors centers (he built that fake Jerusalem out in Goshen for the new Bible videos). That was so much fun. We got a sneak peek at artists painting the murals for the new Provo Temple—absolutely breathtaking (like 15 x40 feet—so huge and gorgeous).

After the tour Nana headed home and Debbie, Heidi and I headed up to the Creamery to have dinner with Brandon Casper (my amiga Erin’s son, BYU student) and Debbie’s niece Sidney. Then we walked down to the Marriott Center for the evening entertainment, which was excellent. We really enjoyed The Nashville Tribute Band. We were so exhausted by the time we got home to Nana’s at 10:30, we crashed hard.

The next morning (Friday) I slept in and missed the opening session, but I also missed all the traffic so I got a great seat at my chosen first session, Teaching Resilience and Emotional Strength to our Youth, followed by Bring Out the Good in Your Marriage. We ditched the third session to just eat lunch and visit since we hadn’t had a chance. I got a Taco Bell cantina bowl cuz that was the shortest line at the CougarEat, and Carole M. Stephens (1st Counselor in RS General Presidency) was right in front of me ordering the same thing. Then Mallory from Studio C walked by with her Chick Fil A lunch. I had a double Mormon fangirling moment. I had a great visit with Debbie, then we went to the closing session with Elder Ballard together and said our goodbyes. I had dinner at Nana’s with the fam and then took Heidi, Abby, and Marshall to the mall. We went to bed fairly early so we could get up early to go to visit Jill in Mt. Pleasant.

Meanwhile, Rich was home with the kids doing a great job juggling everything with Addie‘s help. They went to a ward activity Friday night and to James’ first Baseball game on Saturday morning. It looked like a perfect day and James did pretty well. Later James helped with a flag ceremony at the depot with his Cub Scout troop. Rich was texting me pictures of all the fun while I was visiting my sister at MATR Behavioral Health. It seems like a wonderful, nurturing place with a great program. It was so good to see her and get an idea of what life is like there. After Mt. Pleasant, we went back to Nana’s, got our stuff, and headed up to Tooele to spend the night with the Laytons and celebrate nephew Gavin’s 4^th Birthday. We headed home at 8:45am and drove straight through to arrive home at 3:30…and then the broken arm thing happened.

This week has been all the regular school and activities. James had another game on Wednesday evening so we took a picnic to the ballpark and watched, then everyone hurried up to the church for scouts, young women and activity days. Niles was able to return to school Wednesday and says his arm doesn’t hurt anymore. He will be able to take it out of the sling the day before his birthday (5/18).

Friday night we had a babysitter so we went out to dinner at Zac's Barbecue. It was delicious! While we were there, Rich gave me my mother's day gift: a pretty Mother's ring with all 5 kids' birthstones in it. It was such a nice, sweet and simple date night. We had rain in the forecast so we rented some movies and did some house work and enjoyed the peace. It turned out to NOT be a rainy weekend, it was quite lovely, so we spent some time outside, too.

Sunday was Will Bowden's homecoming talk, he just returned from his mission to Portugal. The kids sang songs for Mother's Day, but Niles was in the foyer having a fit and Heidi refused to get up so only James sang today. We got candy bars from the fellas as we were leaving church. Rich made sure I got a nice nap, then Addie and I decorated Ammon's cake and had a little birthday party for him Sunday night. He seemed a little annoyed by it all, but we had a good time eating stadium brats and tater skins and Ammon's yummy chocolate teddy bear cake. He's a sweet little guy, getting ready to take off walking...he's currently taking about 10 steps then changing his mind. Our next adventure is learning to go down the stairs backward on our tummy...good times!

We wish you a great week!

Love, Rich and Jamie and Family

Mom and Heidi driving to Utah 4/29

Conference Badges 4/29

LDSMP Tour with Debbie, Scoot, Nana, Heidi, and Jamie 4/30

Watch for this building in the Priesthood Restoration visitor center film
in Pennsylvania.

Heidi touring the back lot

Heidi on King Benjamin's tower

Saying goodbye to Brandon Casper after dinner 4/30

Having a laugh with Sister Marriott 4/30

End of Women's Conference with Debbie Holm 5/1

James batting 5/2

James catching 5/2

James and his buddy Zane 5/2

Ammon discovered milkshakes 5/2
Good luck getting that cup away from him!

Visiting Jill at MATR 5/2

James having an éclair at Gil's Goods before his flag ceremony 5/2

Niles at the ER with his fractured arm
near midnight 5/3

Date Night! 5/8

Mother's Ring 5/8

Last night of babyhood 5/9

Good Morning, Birthday Boy!5/10
He was so delighted when we sang "Happy Birthday"

Cautiously eating his birthday cake 5/10

Learning that cake is good! 5/10

At out house, birthday boys eat hot dogs with their feet!
(he had grabbed his bun AND Niles' and
tried to stuff them in his mouth)

opening gifts with Mama 5/10

Ammon with his one and only birthday toy: a ball coaster
He loved it!
(and mommy loved all the clothing gifts from
the grandmas--much needed and appreciated!)

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!

Sunday, April 26, 2015

FAMILY LETTER 04.26.15

Dear Loved Ones 26 April 2015

Happy 11^th Birthday Cousin Jack. We’ve been thinking of you today. It’s cold and rainy and we’ve had an afternoon of catching up on Faith in God and Personal Progress goals and now we’re watching “Into The Woods” (again).

It’s been a pretty boring week. Lots of school, homework, meetings, etc. Monday was family night, Tuesday was doctor appointments (checkups for Addie and Ammon), Wednesday I got a biopsy on the 7-month leg rash and Rich took Addie and James up to Scouts and Young Women.

Thursday we had the missionaries over for Breakfast for Dinner: French Toast with strawberries and cream plus sausage, bacon and OJ and they said we should have breakfast for dinner every time because they never get fancy breakfasts. So, done! Afterward I went to a parents’ meeting to help choose a new principal for the primary school (which experience really made me have more confidence in my gut feelings—I knew that last one was a bad choice, but I thought it was just me—nope, it was an all-around mistake, *sigh* live and learn).

Friday was a circus. Rich had to prepare for a Boy Scout camp out at Pine Creek. I had a rheumatology checkup in Bozeman at the ungodly hour of 4:20pm, so Rich was loading up his scout trailer, I picked up the kids from school and dumped them at home and had Addie babysit while I ran to the doctor, shopped at Costco, and brought home pizza and root beer for dinner. We had a fun slumber party and watched, “Into the Woods” (in which Meryl Streep is INCREDIBLE).

It snowed on the scouts and we all slept terribly without Daddy. Saturday morning we changed beds and did laundry. Addie went up to the church to dip chocolates and twist carmels for the YW camp fundraiser. Rich came home around 10 am and we got ready for Elanor Jones’ baptism at 1pm. It was such a nice service for a sweet girl. Afterward we took a nap and had a yummy dinner. Addie and Heidi had some friends over for the afternoon and evening, and the Jones family stopped by for a couple of hours to eat cookies and hang out. Around 10pm the older girls went over to Jones’ house for a late movie and we all crashed hard.

Church was lovely today. I love Rainy Sundays so much! We had two good High Council talks about the Savior, I only caught bits of the final talk as my two-hour wrestling match with Ammon started early today. We caught up with the Lowes who were out in the foyer with their twin girls, too J We had a nice visit from our home teachers and talked about having courage. We talked about how the message of Cinderella was “Have Courage and Be Kind…” it’s a great message.

Heidi and I are gearing up to go to Utah on Wednesday for BYU Women’s Conference (we will be home Sunday). Heidi will have some Nana/cousin time while I go to conference classes and in the evenings she will be able to catch up with Aunt Debbie Holm, who is meeting me at BYU. We are looking forward to making some great memories and filling our proverbial cups. Please keep Rich and the kids in your prayers ;) I’m so grateful to friends and Grandma Melin for helping out so I can go to this. I’m finding a little “mom time” every six months is exactly what I need to be my best.

We wish you all a great week!

Love, Rich and Jamie and Family