Growing Up!

Okay, where has the time gone!!  I seems like yesterday that Haley was only a toddler!  Before Haley headed off to camp this week I needed to update her photos.  She turned 13 a couple of weeks ago but things have been too busy for me to break away and spend some time taking her photos.  Here are just a few of her favorite shots from our little "photo shoot" that we had tonight.   

I think it may be time to invest in some land mines!

WELCOME HOME!!!!

Haley is home!  Last night Haley returned home from Trek.  They were scheduled to arrive at 6 pm but did not actually arrive until 8:45!  Talk about a worried momma!  Anyway Dave and I were waiting at the stake center when the buses pulled in and started to unload with weary kids and leaders.  As we scanned the crowd for Haley, Dave all of a sudden said "She is over there!" (it is a good thing he is tall, I would have never seen her).  We walked up behind her, Dave tapped her on her shoulder and she spun around.  First thing she did was give me a BIG hug! She then looked up with tears welling up in her eyes and continued to hold onto me.  After digging through the piles of "stuff" we found all of her gear and headed to the car.  Again, Haley had her arms wrapped around me.  During the short drive home she was telling us that there were coyotes that were howling all night long and she did not get ANY sleep.  We were finally able to get her settled down, showered and tucked into bed about 11 pm.  I am proud of her! When others did not lend a helping hand Haley was there with a smile on willing to do anything to help out.  She set up tents, washed the dishes, stoked the fire, pushed and pulled the cart, even was the first one to take care of a womens baby after she died on the Trek west.  She helped out so much her ma wants to adopt her permanently! 

WELCOME HOME HALEY!  WE LOVE YOU!!!!! 

Last few months

Whew! I feel like I just ran a marathon!  The last few months have been a complete world wind of activities and events.  Since I last check in there have been many great and trying adventures that we have been on, here are just a few.  First for the great part of our adventures...we have been very blessed that David received a job offer the second week in May.  It is with US Bank as a branch manager for a small in-store bank located in a grocery store.  While it does not have much staff to supervise it does have it's own challenges.  This particular branch has only been open about 18 months and has NEVER made any of their goals.  Dave has been hard at work to change the "can't" attitudes into "can do" attitudes.

Haley who just turned 13 was called to be Beehive president about 2 months ago.  When she came home from her interview with the Bishop she could hardly contain her excitement!  She quickly went to work reaching out to her fellow Beehives to make them feel loved.  She even went so far as to volunteer to make the girls skirts for Trek for those who's mom's don't sew.  Yes, that is correct Haley has been preparing to go on her first Trek adventure at Martin's Cove in Wyoming.  It is required that they dressed in full pioneer attire so we were off to work making skirts, aprons and bonnets.  When we went to pick out the fabric Haley was not going to settle for just any plain or sutler fabric.  She picked out a blue and green poka dotted fabric for one and a deep red paisley for the other.  With the fabric picked it was off to work to put all the pieces together.  Haley completed both skirts by herself, the apron with a little bit of help and the bonnets where handled by more experienced hands (THANKS GRANDMA BOEHNER!!!).  With all of her gear packed into a small 5 gallon bucket Haley was off to Martin's Cove at 5 am yesterday.  I can't wait to hear her stories when she gets back...AFTER she takes a LONG shower!! 

Alissa has had fun this summer with her friends preparing for a "concert" in the front yard.  They have picked their music and are in the planning stages of the outfits and accessories.  After those are settled...on to the props.  Oh boy!  What have I got on my hands!

Dawson just got back from his first Scout Camp and is completely exhausted!  He passed off several merit badges including archery (why does that scare me a little?).

Now for the trying...my Aunt Kathy passed away last week after a year long battle with cancer.  She was only 43 when she was called home.  She leaves behind her 19 year old daughter, Larisa.  I was able to attend the funeral on Tuesday with my mother (the eldest sister to Kathy).  It was a beautiful funeral with lots of family there to support one another.  After we received word that she had passed I had so many emotions that went though me.  As I was editing some of the photos from the funeral I found myself choking back tears.  I realized that some of those emotions were those of loss for my father in law four years ago and how much I miss him and his quite support.  I also realized again how precious eternal families are. 

                                Kathy will be missed.

                        Kathryn Joyce Lindow Spurlock 1966-2010

 

Learning Curve

Alissa came home this last week with a note that she needed a pioneer outfit for the 4th grade play that they are preforming in 2 weeks. There were a couple of options, one being that we would provide a pattern and material and someone else would sew it together. The other option was to make one ourselves. With my work schedule my first choice was to send a pattern and material to school and let some one else sew it. Dave on the other hand decided to mark the option to make one ourselves. So we were off to hunt down a pattern for a pioneer outfit. After locating a pattern it was time to get the material to make what we needed.
When we asked Alissa what color of skirt and bonnet she would like to have she said "pink, the pioneers wore pink!" So pink it is! We were able to find a pretty pink floral that was a smaller print with the perfect pink solid to coordinate the apron. Alissa was soooo excited!
This morning I set out to make the pioneer costum. Haley (who got a sewing machine for Christmas) really wanted to help so I decided to let her put together the skirt. Without a pattern but with a little guidance from Grandma Boehner (thanks mom!) Haley was able to sew her first skirt that even included a ruffle! Haley also helped with the bonnet and apron. All the pieces turned out really well and the best part is, is that Alissa is so excited she is constently trying on her new costum.

After the completion of the pioneer costum Haley wanted to put together an apron for herself. Dave and I had picked up some fun fabrics last weekend and Haley had helped me cut out the pattern. So all we had to do is assemble the basic apron.

With a little guidance and support from mom Haley was able to sew her very own apron. It turned out REALLY cute! She is sooo excited that she now has her very apron that she sewed herself!

Next year in school she is suppose to take a CET class which includes beginging sewing. I have a feeling Haley will have a small advantage over the other kids. The next project she wants to tackle is a skirt for her self and possibly some pillows for her bed. Wish me luck!

Oh, 'Lisa bug!!!

Poor Alissa! She started to not feel well about 2 weeks ago and ended up staying home from school about a week and 1/2 ago. She then developed a persistent cough that we couldn't shake. Yesterday she really started to scare us. She was pale, lethargic, and she didn't want to eat anything, even when we offered her ice cream! Her only complaint was that she was dizzy.

Dave took her into the doctor today at about 9 am. She was diagnosed with pneumonia complicated by asthma. Her O2 level was in the mid 80's so they put her in an inebulizer (sp?) to try and open her lungs, then O2. Every time they took her off the O2 her levels would drop. They ran more tests and gave her antibiotics, steroids and more O2 without success. The doctor would not release her until her levels stayed above 90. Finally at about 2 pm her levels stayed above 90 long enough for the doctor to feel comfortable to release her. She is on 4 different prescriptions including 2 antibiotics, a steroid and an inhaler.

We took Alissa to Mom and Kim's house so that Kim could help Dave give her a blessing. After we got home she started to ask for something to eat (this is a very good sign). I am starting to see small improvements already, including her smiling again.

I am very grateful to have a priesthood holder in the home as well as family close to lend a helping hand. I am also grateful for the blessings that we are receiving to help us get over the speed bumps that Satan puts in our way.

Guys Night Out!

About four this afternoon my boss approached me and asked if I would be interested in using his two Utah Jazz tickets for tonight's game. I called Dave and asked if he wanted to use the tickets, with the response of an exuberant "YEAH!"... the tickets were mine. Before I got home Dawson kept begging Dave to let him go to the game. When I got home Dave and I talked and it was decided that Dawson would get to have a guys night out with Dad. I was so good with that, I truly do not enjoy watching sports but married a man who does. When we told Dawson you would have thought that he had just won the lottery! He was so excited he could hardly contain himself. Little did he know but the seats were for the 11th row from the court. They are having so much fun watching a little sports and having some guy "bonding" time. I can't wait to hear all about it when they get home.

P.S.- The Jazz WON!!!

Playing Catch Up

It has been a very long time since I have had a chance to post anything. Needless to say our lives have been full! Here is a little to catch you up. In the last post Dawson was working with Dave to complete his pinewood derby car. Well after all that hard work and excitement Dawson came in 3rd place overall. We were so proud of him!After placing at the pinewood derby Dawson had the opportunity to get baptized. This was a great day! We were lucky enough to have some of Dave's family attend. We even had Kim (Sharon's new husband) give the talk on the holy ghost. My parents were not able to attend this time however we had a real treat when my grandfather was able to attend and be one of the witnesses. On November 5th Alissa flipped off a swing at school and broke her arm. She did such a great job that we had to go the Primary Children's Hospital in Salt Lake City because they really thought that she was going to need surgery to have pins placed in her wrist. However the Lord was watching over us and as it turned out all she needed was to be in a cast for 4 weeks. WHEW!! We dodged a HUGE bullet with that one. For those of you who know Alissa, she REALLY hates needles! On November 6th Dave and I had the opportunity to attend the sealing of my Grandfather to his second wife Merline in the Mt. Timpanogas Temple. What a great day that was! Not only did I get to attend the wedding of my grandfather (how often does someone get to say that!) but I was able to spend some time getting to know my uncles. Boy do they have some CRAZY stories!!! For Dave it was like hanging out with older brothers. We were laughing so hard that by the end my cheeks hurt and I had tears running down my face. On November 19th I took Haley, Nicole and one of Haley's friends to a prescreening of "New Moon". We had so much fun giggling as we stood in line to try and get decent seats in a sold out theater.
Well, we have finally arrived to Thanksgiving where the Dave McConkie family did a first! We attended TWO Thanksgiving dinners!!! We attended the McConkie/ Sanderson dinner first where we enjoyed YUMMY food and GREAT company. Then it was off to the Lindow family dinner where again we enjoyed YUMMY food and GREAT company!! After we had recovered a little Dave and I started to make our plan for the Black Friday shopping. We usually try to stay away but with Dave still being out of work we really needed to get some great deals! We started at 9:00 pm on Thanksgiving night when one of the local malls opened up and preceded to pull an all nighter. We finished all of our shopping at about 9:30 on Friday morning and decided to to grab some breakfast before heading home to get the kids up for the day. I enjoyed spending that time with Dave fighting the crowds but I don't think I will pull an all nighter again!
Overall we are doing well. Dave and I are enjoying teasing our kids when they ask for hints of what their gifts are. Our response is typically "lots of socks and underwear!" and they usually respond "UGH! the wait is KILLING me!". Well kiddos, you have less than two weeks left and the excitement is building!

Off to the Races!!!

With Dawson turning 8 he is now a cub scout and with that comes the PINEWOOD DERBY!!!!! I don't know who was more excited to find out that Dawson just squeezed in under the deadline to enter this years derby...Dawson or David. After finding out that they had one week to put a car together they were off and running to make "the best car EVER!" First was the design...it couldn't just be a square block of wood with wheels, it had to be something worthy of Dawson's love of cars.

Next Dawson watched as Dave cut out the intricate design on the scroll saw that was borrowed from Grandma Sanderson (THANK YOU GRANDMA!)

Dawson thought it was really cool how the saw worked and it was even cooler when he saw the shape of his car coming together.

After they cut it out, glued a couple of pieces on, and sanded it really good it was time for a coat of paint. When we asked Dawson what color he wanted he did not hesitate to say "RED, nothing but RED!" So Dave hunted down the perfect red with a little "flare". I don't know if you can tell but it has "sparkles" in the paint.

They still have quite a bit of work to do on it but I have 2 very excited boys who can hardly wait to get this car on the track. I have to keep reminding both of them that regardless if they win or not it is the fun that they had together creating this "masterpiece". I will let you all know how it goes next week!

In LOVE...

With FALL!! It has been amazing the last week and a half to watch the trees along the side of the mountains change colors. From the valley it looks like beautiful streaks of red and gold running up the side of the mountains. A cold front moved in taking our high temperatures from mid to upper 80's to 50's overnight. With that came that feeling I wait for each year when the season changes from summer to fall. The cool fresh air in the morning, the sunsets that let you know that everything will be alright, the smell of fresh bread or baked goods, and oh yes the taste of hot soup on a chilly day! Today Dave made the best homemade chicken noodle soup. Maybe I can convince him to make a big pot of chili tomorrow if I promise him I will make bread bowls to go along with it. I don't think it will take much arm twisting it I make the bread bowls. Well I am off to enjoy movie night with Dave and the kids!

We Are Alive!!

I haven't posted in sooo long! Most of you know that we moved the 1st of September to Utah and things have been a whirlwind ever since. The day after we moved I enrolled the kids in school and off we went! Haley has really blossomed especially in the last few months. We had parent teacher conference last week for her. As a parent you are always ready to hear the good, the bad, and the ugly. Well it was defiantly a parent reward day because ALL of her teachers said what delight she is! They also said that she is a great leader amongst her peers. I don't know who came out with a bigger head...her or me! Alissa and Dawson too have adjusted really well. After the first day of school they both had made all kinds of friends. Dave continues to look for a job. This Thursday he has and interview so keep you fingers crossed. I have started my new job and am trying to be patient as I clean up the mess that was handed to me. I will need to do the clean up quickly because two manager gave their 2 week notice last Friday and I will be taking on more communities.

Our new ward is so happy that we are here...especially since we have a youth age child. There are not many youth in our ward and as Haley puts it...NO CUTE BOYS!!! Which is perfectly okay with her Mom and Dad. We love the area, we have incredible sunsets and views out our windows. The kids love watching the para gliders jump off the point of the mountain, I don't think I can get enough of watching that either. It fascinates me, not that I would ever actually do any paragliding but it certainly is fun to watch! Well until I can catch another few minutes...Take Care!