Michael Gets his Mission Call!!

Michael has been so excited to get his mission call and go on his mission. He turned in his papers as soon as he was able, 120 days before he turns 19. We were told that the papers needed to be submitted and processed, the missionary committee meets on Thursdays, letters are put together and mailed on Monday, and calls are usually received on Thursday. Well, one week came and went, no call. Then the next week came and went, still no call. Finally, the Bishop told Michael that his call was on the way. We expected it on Thursday, and made plans for the family and Michael's friends to be here when he opened it. On Wednesday, I picked up the mail, and to my shock, there IT was! I was shaking so bad, I was nervous and excited for Michael. I got home and yelled that he had mail. He was just as shocked as I was. He was so excited, he wanted to open it right that second. There was no way he could wait. He called his friends, Jayme called Jenn and Dennis, I left to get Grandpa. There were a few glitches in the half-cocked plan, like life. Jenn didn't want to leave work early, Dennis couldn't leave work, Adam was on the way to Salt Lake, and JR was working.

It didn't matter though, he had to open it right this minute!! I got back with Grandpa and the cousins, Chet, Shay, Matt and Kailey were here, Jenn left work, so then we were waiting for JR. Michael got so anxious, they called JR and told him that he was opening it without him! He was just a few blocks away, so he proceeded sloooowly.....












While everyone waited nervously to see where it would be. We had a world map on the wall, and everyone placed their guesses.
















Finally, JR got here. Jenn was on the phone with Adam, and Michael read his letter. He was called to serve in the Cleveland, Ohio mission. He reports to the Missionary Training Center on August 11!! So soon! He won't even be 19 until the end of September!

After the initial letdown of not being called to someplace exotic (read Hong Kong, Russia, or Africa), we are all super excited for Michael. He realizes that this is where the Lord wants him to be and that there is a reason he is being sent there. As he keeps telling me, "God doesn't make mistakes"

I am so proud of Michael and the choices he has made. He is chomping at the bit, and so anxious to begin serving the Lord full time. We were able to go to the temple with him for the first time last week. It was a very good night with Dennis, me, Jenn, Adam, Grandpa and Bishop Peterson. Michael was a little shell shocked, but then I think we all are our first time. There is a lot to absorb, and he is ready to go back.

I am so grateful that he has good friends who support him and encourage him to be good. These boys go to the temple together, mission prep class, and help each other be better. I have always prayed that my kids would have good friends, and Michael has been blessed with the best! Go forth and serve my son, you will be an excellent missionary!!

How Did a City Girl Like Me End Up in A Place Like This?

We've been doing so much work on the yard, I wanted to take some 'before' pictures. We are on an acre, which is a ton! We were on 1/3 acre before, and I thought that was a lot! Here is the front yard from the street.




















You can see that there is lots for us to do! The ground has been totally un-tended forever. It is full of rocks and very hard clay. Fun!


















There are bumps and grades all over the lot, it's not flat anywhere. There is a slope down from the house to the street, and to the right there is a pretty good slope down too.


















This is the back, our yard goes back to the neighbors yard. You can see the back boundary by their rocks, and the fence on the far side.



















And what does everyone need to put in a new yard? A tractor of course!! It's been a great help, and Dennis and Michael love to drive it. I've tried it, I guess it's a guy thing.


















The thing I do love about living here is the feel of being in the country. We have quail, pheasant, grouse, and deer in our yard quite often. For now, I love watching the deer. Once I get my yard in and they start eating it, I may not like them quite so much.

The Return of the Swallows

When we moved into our new house, there was a birds nest under the eaves of our front porch. It was a lot bigger than in this picture and made up of grass and mud. We knocked it down and didn't think much of it. A few weeks later, we noticed that the birds had come back and were re-building their nest. Every day we would find it about this big, and we would knock it down. We thought they would take the hint that WE live here now, and they couldn't have our house anymore. WRONG!! Those persistent little things kept coming back!















This is what they look like, cute -- huh? They were either on these beams, building their nest or sitting on the ledge above the front door. One night, one even got into the house!! I slept through the excitement, but I guess it gave everyone else quite the jolt! You may ask why we didn't just let them be and build their nest.......















This is why. Bird poop. Everywhere. It doesn't rinse off either. Also, mud and grass on my front porch every day. Also, after doing some research, I learned that swallows mate for life and return to the same nest every year. If we didn't solve the problem now, they would be back forever! They may still try again next year, who knows?















Since simply knocking the nest down didn't work, we tried putting tack strip above the front door so that they couldn't perch there. Wrong, they did anyway.















Then we read that a good way is to block off the nesting site so they couldn't get to it. Wrong again, they just built on the netting.















Then we tried a fake owl. Birds are scared of owls, right? Wrong! They stayed away for about a day before they figured out that it wasn't real.















Our last ditch effort was to put netting up completely covering the front entryway. We couldn't use our front door, but hey, the birds couldn't get in. They actually did get in one time, and were pretty freaked out when they couldn't find their way out. We taped the sides and weighted down the bottom. After about two weeks or so of not having a front door, we pulled back the netting for a week, no birds. I pulled it completely off the other day and still no birds!! I hope they gave up and nested somewhere else!! Who says you can't fight mother nature? Victory is mine!!

Graduation!!

Michael graduated with high honors from Spanish Fork High School on May 26, 2010. Congratulations!! Because of our move, and the building of a new high school, Michael will be out last child to graduate from Spanish Fork. There's been good and there's been the not so good, but it's kind of strange to have him be the last one.

Here is is on the big screen.

Here he is receiving his empty diploma folder!

Michael and football buddy since 6th grade, JR Brandon.

Michael and a proud grandpa.

Mom and Dad with our graduate. Isn't he cute?
Jordyn loves her big brother!!

The whole fam-damily! Grandpa, Jayme, Dad, Jordyn, Michael, Mom, Matthew, Adam, Jenn and Ammon. Who says we never take family pictures?

Michael and favorite coach, Joe Hernandez. Joe left Spanish Fork to teach/coach at Salem this year, but he's stayed close to some of his boys. He's a great guy!

Matthew Graham, JR Brandon, and Michael. Great friends!!

Shay Johnson, Michael and Chet Harmer. Terrific friends!!

Congratulations Michael, we love you and are proud of you!!

Misc. End of Year Stuff

The end of the school year always brings lots of activities, programs and field trips. It seems like they are always trying to fit in one more thing! The fifth grade studied US history this year and put on a program to show us what they learned. Matthew had the part of Abraham Lincoln and recited part of the Gettysburg Address. They also memorized the 50 states and their capitals.

Then there was the Hershey track meet, which is a track meet with all of the elementary schools in Spanish Fork. Matthew ran the 100m and the 200m. He placed 3rd in both of his heats and long jumped.

Then they had the 5th grade mini-society. Each of the kids, either alone or with a group, comes up with a business idea, puts it together, and for one whole day they run their business and the rest of the school are their customers. Matthew and his friends had an arcade with WII games and other fun things.


Ammon needed an extra elective this semester and so he took guitar. Of course, on the first day of class, he was the one to "dibs" the pink guitar! I think he had fun and learned a little, even though he complained that it was too hard for him.


























Then there was prom. Isn't my boy handsome? Michael went with his friend, Kaylee Beckstrom. Michael has never really enjoyed dances, but he had a really good time!! They went 4-wheeling in the daytime, Tucano's for dinner, and then the dance. After the dance, they came here and played games and watched a movie. I'm glad he had such a good time!

Michael Plays Soccer???

Sometime last winter, after Michael decided not to wrestle, he was trying to figure out what he was going to do to stay in shape. He was invited to go play indoor soccer with some of his friends, so he went. Now, you have to understand that Michael hasn't played soccer for a VERY long time. He played city rec soccer from kindergarten until about 4th grade when it conflicted with football, and football won. He came home from his first pick up game, and was so excited, he had a blast! Michael kept going to these games and picked up how to play the game better, then decided to try out for the high school team. We all thought, just have fun, enjoy your senior year, maybe play a little varsity but probably mostly jv. Big surprise, Michael was a starter on the varsity team and played most of the time in every game. Who would have thought?

Fully half of the starting varsity players had never played before, just like Michael. They were pretty rough around the edges, but won a couple of games by being better athletes than the other teams. One team even complained about having a bunch of football players playing soccer! I guess they forgot they couldn't tackle? They had a tough season, but had alot of fun!

Ammon Track

The junior high just finished their track season. It was a rough season, because of the weather. They had two meets canceled because of rain and snow, and lots of times they had to practice inside, which didn't do the kids much good. Ammon ran the 200 meter, 4 x 100 relay, and experimented with throwing the discus, long jump, shot put, and the 4 x 400 relay. There was a definite lack of coaching, so he wasn't able to learn how to do anyone thing very well. That's ok though, because Ammon runs track for the social aspect. He just wants to have fun!

Here he is with some of his boys.

This is Ammon running the 4 x 100 relay. The funny thing about this picture is that right as he made the hand off, he fell and rolled over!!



Ammon could have done really well at the long jump if anyone had been able to teach him the correct way to do it. At the one meet he tried, he jumped almost 18 feet, which would have been a winning distance, but he scratched every time. We can't wait until next year when he can get some good coaching.