Seattle

We never go to Seattle.  But I had to take Parker to his lacrosse game on Bainbridge Island and convinced Henry's BFF and brother from another mother, Jack, to come with us.  We got to the ferry terminal and found out we wouldn't make it on the next ferry so Parker was going to be late to his game.  Not cool when your team needs your mad skills.  I desperately sent out a text to the team and managed to get Parker into a stranger's car who's son also plays on the team.  Hooray for nice people who don't judge my bad parenting and arrived super early to get in line at the ferry!

While we waited 45 minutes for the next ferry, Henry and Jack went exploring with me.  These two held my hands and were more than a little scared of all the people.  Seattle has completely changed the waterfront which was news to me, so there was a lot to see and these little boys were more than overwhelmed by everything.  It was kinda cute taking them into the city for the first time that they'll remember.

Driving onto the ferry is always cool

Bringing card games to play on the ferry ride is proof I'm not that bad of a parent.  On the way back we even had a bunch of Parker's teammates join us for games.  This game is called Mantis and I highly recommend it.  Henry usually beats me every time. 

Mother's Day

Do I care that tomorrow is August 1st and I'm blogging about Mother's Day?  No, I do not.  This past Mother's Day will go down in the history books as one not to be forgotten because my college boys surprised me be driving through the night to show up in time for Mother's Day.  I was expecting them late Sunday night/early Monday morning.  And I was already preparing myself for some serious praying for their safe travel and that the van wouldn't blow up and then they miraculously showed up before I could even pray for them.  God took good care of them anyway.

Driving to church with the whole fam.  Maybe my boys will be reverent when they get married!

Opening presents in my bed.  Randy got me new dishes because it was time.  I love them!

And more Glassy Babies to add to my huge collection, all courtesy of Randy 

More of my collection, minus about ten more that are on other shelves :)

We got to hang out with Marcus for a few days before he flew to Florida to sell pest control.  Ethan was around for a bit when he wasn't with his girlfriend Halle who is from the area.  Henry is almost as happy as I am when all the boys come home and took advantage of having brothers to play lacrosse and wiffle ball with.

We went to TopGolf so we could make some memories and spend lots of money on overpriced food.  It was fun. But I will probably never forget watching the awkward blind date happening next to our bay.  The guy had to be close to my age with the dad bod to prove it and the girl was probably not much older than Marcus and super cute.  It was actually so awkward it was hard not to stare.  

Henry discovered an old favorite Lego game that Marcus and Ethan used to play.  Henry still doesn't like Legos but he sure loves to play games.

We took the boat out in balmy 55 degree weather so naturally I was fully clothed and wearing a coat. 

Last day of School 2025!

School is finally over!  Snow storms and a bomb cyclone meant lots of canceled days of school so the last day of school was June 24th and it feels like it was just yesterday.  Henry is done with 1st grade, Parker finished 6th grade and was thrilled I let him miss the last day, and I didn't get a picture of Landon because he was taking a final.  Yes, a final on the very last day of his freshman year.  Our school district has got some nerve.  

We've been playing hard ever since and this is the first summer in the history of our family that I didn't create any sort of summer job chart system.  I have no regrets.  The boys aren't even doing piano lessons.  We are making the most of our 8 weeks of summer with big hopes that when it's time to go back to school (in exactly one month from today) we will actually want to be there.  It will take a miracle!

And this is Marcus who was sweating to death in the humidity of Florida as he crushed it doing summer sales.  The tan line from his hat is still strong.  Poor guy.  Ethan has been playing hard and working in Logan all summer as a dental assistant.

Easter

We made it back from Seabrook in time for Randy and I to attend a concert by Jenny Oaks Baker, an incredible violinist.  She performed with the Ensign Choir, a local choir made up of LDS singers in our area.  The performance was so good!  It was a great way to get into the Easter spirit.

We took the boys to the temple to do baptisms.  Henry hangs out with me in the waiting room and then we go out to dinner afterwards and we've been doing this almost every month.  I love it!

Easter means spring and the views outside the kitchen windows are stunning!

The boys have learned a lot about the events during Holy Week.

The 2nd Annual Easter Egg Decorating competition.  

Ethan picked the winner who was pre-selected to be Henry :) This was the first year I can remember that we didn't do an egg hunt on Easter.  It was raining and one of the families canceled because they were all sick so we just had a delicious Easter dinner instead.  A few days later the sun was out so Henry and some friends hunted for eggs.  It was actually a great idea to postpone the hunt and prolong our Easter fun a little bit.  And I never got a picture of the boys on Easter.  Oh well.  Who cares about dingy white shirts and mismatched ties?

Seabrook 2025

We went to Seabrook for a few days over spring break.  We've been there once before and didn't love it but this time was pure magic.  Now I know why people rave about this place and want to go back again and again.  Seabrook is the tiny little tourist town with quaint little beach houses that are mostly privately owned and rented out.  The whole place looks like you've stepped onto a movie set and feels surreal.  I found us a small AirBnB that wasn't crazy expensive and the weather was sunny, which made all the difference.  Randy was still recovering from the flu so he slept a lot while the boys and I played on the beach and swam in the new, heated pool.

This is just under three hours from our house.

I always get a laugh of the awkward photos Randy takes of Landon :)

Our place came with beach cruisers.  Parker and I had so much fun riding them around while Henry scootered.  We were right by the beach, the town center that had shops, restaurants, and an arcade so it was fun to just send the boy there when they wanted.  Last time we stayed farther away and had to drive every time we wanted to go do something. Location made a huge difference.

We struggled to get our kite in the air 

Randy didn't struggle.  I think the wind changed :)

We are really getting used to having three boys around.  I no longer feel like a traveling circus act.

Over priced ice cream at it's finest

You know you're the youngest/spoiled when your dad takes you to the arcade and actually pays so you can play the games.  I usually just make my kids watch.  The arcade is actually a genius idea for those rainy beach days.  But the sun was out for us so I was just annoyed Henry managed to get more screen time!

We slept in and they didn't. Notice the bag of chips in bed.

Our impressive sand dollar collection

The new pool and giant heated hot tub were so much fun.  There was also a gym and Landon showed me how to use all the machines.  We had fun working out together while everyone else was sleeping. 

The Little Things

I'm back!! Life is moving full steam ahead as we are limping along to the finish line of the last day of school.  It's definitely the calm before the storm when summer chaos/boredom hits so I'll be blogging a bit over the next few days.

Henry and Parker are still taking piano lessons.  Parker HATES it with a passion but is so close to being able to play the hymns that we are persisting and trying to be loving to each other.  It's not really working.  Henry won't admit he loves the piano but he practices every day without a struggle and he's flying through the books.  It's actually really impressive.

Henry also did something normal and age appropriate for once by ordering (and eating!) a Happy Meal.  Parker is a super picky eater and Henry is learning he doesn't have to be and actually likes hamburgers now.  Hooray for normalcy!  Henry was a little disappointed with the toy that came in the meal.   I think he was expecting something much bigger and better so that was funny.

Randy had the flu.  It was bad.  He actually had to cancel patients at the office for two days, which has never happened.   He was home in bed for about four days but was still sleeping a ton and taking it easy for more than a week.  Get your flu shot, people!

We replaced our cheap Costco hot tub that we've had for ten years and bought a nicer one that better last twenty years.  The guys installed it but didn't hook up the electrical so I took it upon myself to figure it out.  I needed Randy to do some drilling and then once he saw my much less than perfect plan, he did the work and hooked it up like a real electrician would. Go Randy!  I assisted by making two trips to Home Depot.

We got a new boat!  We sold the other one and got this one that's HUGE!  It's only a foot bigger (23') but it feels enormous, especially if it's just our little family of five in it.  We still share this with two other families and we lost the compromise on the exterior colors so sparkly blue it is.  Yay.

Parker is my only son who kind of knows how to cook.  He can make spaghetti by himself.  Here he is learning how to make a chocolate bundt cake and it was delicious!

Landon is THE MAN

Landon made the Varisty lacrosse team as a freshman!  This is a HUGE deal! It doesn't happen every year so we were thrilled when we found out.  Landon has been putting in work for years to achieve this goal.  He practices every day and has even had me drive him to the junior high late on Friday/Saturday nights so he can "hit the wall" (lax lingo for throwing the ball at a brick wall and catching it on the rebound).  His teammates all love him and are so proud of their Freshman Phenom which is what the announcer calls him every time he scores a goal.  

Here's a true story/mom fail:  I was driving Landon to his first game and I was surprised he seems to calm and not nervous.  I asked him to tell me what guy he'd be going in for and he said no one.  I got a little annoyed and told him "I know how this works.  Some other player runs out on the field at the start of the game and when he gets tired and comes off the field then you get to run on.  Who is that player so I can watch for him to run off?"  Landon got annoyed and a little mad as he responded, "Mom, there is no other guy!  I'm starting!  I'm the guy who goes on the field first!"

My jaw was on the floor.  I said, "You made varsity and you're STARTING?!?!"  I had no idea.   All this time I'd been celebrating he made varsity and would probably be a bench warmer.  I'm the worst sporty mom there ever was. Landon started in his first game and scored a HAT TRICK!  That's 3 goals which is no small feat.  I literally jumped for joy and my friend next to me said, "I'm crying for you Mel! I have tears!"  It was a great night to be Landon's biggest fan.

Trying on his new pickle suit

Celebrating our newest varsity player with dinner from Habit Burger

Landon's seminary teachers (and some of my favorite friends) came to cheer him on

Fist bumps after his first varsity game

Landon with his BFF Cooper who is the Freshman goalie.  These two are so happy to have each other and the boys are so good to them because they really are sweet little Freshman babies.

Spring break trip to Texas where the hazing was minimal

It's always easy to spot a Ball Brother in a lineup.  They are not tall!

Landon in the white, walking off the field after a win that he contributed to.   The team was losing when Landon got a tough goal that changed the momentum of the game.  We quickly scored a couple goals in succession, and another goal by Landon, to put us in the lead and lock in the win. 

Landon sets goals and knows that hard work pays off.  He wrote in marker on his mirror to make the varsity team.  He also wrote a favorite scripture next to it "I can do all things through Christ".  This boy knows how to get things done and Who to trust to get him there.