Abby’s tubes out surgery

Abby had tubes put in when she was 1 year old.  (pictured below). We were so relieved to not have her get ear infections anymore.  But then we pretty much forgot about them.  3 years later we realized they were supposed to come out.  … and they never had!  so we got to have a quick and easy surgery in June to get them out.  She was a great patient.  and guess what!  Now she swims and puts her head under the water.  She takes a bath and lays down in the bath tub.  She cant feel water in her ear! We are so grateful!

Summer hikes- Desolation Lake

After 10ish years hiking with Julie ... she didn't hike this summer.  She sent her kids whenever she could but pregnant with twins was a great excuse not to come.  She was due in August.


Desolation Lake- 4 miles one way.  Abby made it 4 miles total.  Great to have my parents on the hike with us.  It always makes it more fun when you have a crowd!   My nephew Soren and second cousin Spencer Rupp made it all 8 miles. Their little legs were amazing for five and six-year-olds

Thoughts from Darren

Quma.net (800) 622-6463 QUMA INSPIRATIONS Vol. 4, No. 60 Playing It Out Overcoming long-standing habits requires concentrated effort, patience and persistence. Those who succeed learn to break their pace down into small increments—taking things not just a day at a time, but sometimes almost a thought at a time. One person shares this insight when the addict inside tries to take over and return him to using drugs: “When I have that thought, I get scared to death. I get scared that I even entertained that thought. It’s then that I know I have to play it out and go to work on myself right then and there.” The practice of “playing it out” has proven to be a particularly effective way of conquering bad habits and fighting addictive behaviors. One recovering addict describes the hard reality he deals with like this: “I know I am only one thought away from falling back into my old ways. I know myself well enough that, within a day, I could be right back into my ugly life—my past life of drugs and alcohol. Just by acting out on one stupid thought.”  In those moments when recovering addicts are struck with the urge to give everything up for that one fleeting momentary “high,” they learn to “Play it Out.” In other words, they do not just play the movie up to the “moment of pleasure” and then stop, pretending that the high is the end of the story. They continue on to consider the aftermath, consequences, and fall-out that inevitably result once the high is gone. We’ve all seen the beer commercials that only show the fun moments in the bar when the guy meets the good-looking girl. What they don’t show is the scene an hour later, when the guy turns into a sluggish bore with slurred speech, or the scenes after that—the vomiting, the morning-after hangover, and decline of the guy’s virile physique into the always-attractive beer belly accompanied by the eventual cirrhosis of the liver.  Recovering addicts know they can fall into the trap of the “short pleasure-trip story,” and they learn to counter that trap by playing their movies out to their full end. “When I am tempted to relapse,” says one man, “I have to stop and think, ‘Okay, this might feel good for an hour or so, but what’s going to happen after? The fear and paranoia will come back. I’m going to feel guilty and like I let everybody down, including myself. Then I am going to have to talk to my wife and admit it, and that’s going to be painful. And, if I don’t do that, then I’ll be hiding out and being a liar again. When I look at all I will have to go through after I binge, it scares me, and I can see that it’s not worth it.” Then, in another classic example of redirection, he adds, “On the other hand, when I picture how great I will feel about myself when I have resisted the temptation, and I can look my wife in the eye without any guilt or deception because I refused to give into the short term high, it gives me the strength I need to stay clean.” Our ability to step out of our thinking to look back into our thinking to consider the consequences and outcomes of any thought or pattern of thought is a truly remarkable asset. The consummate truth of life is that we alter our destiny by altering our thoughts.  Dennis R Deaton Ownership Spirit: The One Grand Key That Changes Everything Else                                                                                                          "In the end, some of your greatest pains become your greatest strengths." Drew Barrymore "Even the helpless victim of a hopeless situation, facing a fate he cannot change, may rise above himself, may grow beyond himself, and by so doing change himself.  He may turn a personal tragedy into a triumph." Viktor Frankl

Cousin time with Jackson from Florida

Jackson and his parents were here for a good week.  We loved the time with them.  We had a big water day here at the house.  Lots of good food for the BBQ.  The brothers went on a bike ride and came back to be attacked by water balloons.  We missed Nellie and Jordan.  

We got to steal Jackson away for a sleepover.  Darren took them to the bike park.  I think they all had fun.  Thats why you need a dad and a mom to do fun things that the other wouldn’t do.  (It was too hot for me to go!)

They boys stayed awake to read for a bit.  This is such a happy picture!

Track! 2017

It takes skills to take pictures at track meets... I dont have those skills!  But I tried.  Tyler doing hurtles- He ran the mile.  Cousins came to cheer us on.  (Sophie Jane and Soren) Ella can run fast when she makes herself!  We loved having the Allens do track with us.  It made it fun every time.  We had neighbors there also.  Tylers 4 man relay team made it to state.  

End of School party

I decided to be the cool mom this year.  We have such a perfect place to host a party so we did!  Tyler invited 25 kids from the 5th grade.  Ella invited 7 girls from third grade.  It was hot but we managed to stay cool.  Games, trampoline, food, tumbling in the basement, playing the organ, squirt bottles, volleyball, movie outside, smores by the fire, glow sticks, and staying out late.  I think all the kids were gone by 10:30.  Fun, great, and my kids loved me!