July--Summer Fun!

We returned from Utah on Saturday and on Tuesday Beth & Randy Brown and family arrived for a three fun days together.  We played with them at Silverwood one day (minus Kyle, who had to work, and Andon, who got to go to a friend's house), and enjoyed the evening and mornings with them.  The kids loved being together and the adults loved visiting.

I was thoroughly impressed by Silverwood.  It was so much fun and such a nice theme park (clean and felt safe).  I loved the lazy river and braved the "big" rides with my kids.  Skyler went on "Timber Terror" with Randy early in the day and was asking me the rest of the day to go with him (he was tall enough to ride with an adult).  Finally, about 8:00 p.m., I consented.  However, I ended holding on for dear life with my eyes closed for most of the ride.  Skyler?  Well, he had both arms high in the air and was screaming with joy.  I told him I would have been no help for him had something gone wrong.  It was pretty hilarious.  He loves to tell people how much more he liked the roller coaster than me:).

Beth has two older daughters, but beginning with her third, our children are the same basic ages and genders the rest of the way down.  It is so fun when we get together!  It's pretty remarkable that we have known each other for over 20 years!

(Kylene and Nicole, Spencer and Gavin, Skyler and Ethan, Andon and Trevor)

 And here is the entire crew right before they left for home...we loved having them here!  (BTW, anyone is invited for some free housing while they go play at Silverwood.)

 Skyler purchased this SLC Temple Lego set at the BYU Bookstore.  He is still an avid builder and pretty well put this together on his own.

About an hour after the Brown's left, we also left....this time for Glacier National Park in Montana.  We first drove to our friend's and neighbor's house near Polson, Montana.  They have a second home right on Flathead Lake and had invited us to stop by and play if we ever came up there.  We decided to take them up on it and had a complete blast!  They are the sweetest people (Pam and Don) and we enjoyed swimming, playing in their kayaks, and going out on their boat and jet ski.  The kids took a turn on the tube and Kyle was in heaven on the jet ski.  It is the most beautiful, pristine lake and it was a beautiful day.

 We then continued about an hour north to our little rustic cabin in an RV park.  It was a cute little cabin with it's own little fishing pond (and very nice bathrooms!).

 Saturday we spent ALL. DAY. in Glacier National Park.  We drove the Going to the Sun Road and stopped many times for hiking, sight-seeing, and other breaks.  We brought a picnic and ate along a river.  It was a lot of fun, with gorgeous scenery and breathtaking mountains, mixed in with a little fighting in the car and other general family memory-making:).

I know it may be hard to believe, but I didn't include every picture we took;).  We got back to our cabin Saturday evening to find no electricity.  Which really was no big deal (we were "camping", after all), but it was extremely hot and we had not slept hardly at all the night before.  Kyle suggested we could just drive home.  I liked the idea, so we (literally) threw everything and the kids (Andon was already asleep) in the car, and drove home.  We arrived, exhausted, at 2:00 a.m.  It was a crazy way to end a fabulous trip, but it felt so good to be back in our own beds!

This is a long post already, so I'll finish July in a follow-up post....

Trip to Utah--2015 Barney Family Reunion

We had a wonderful 10 days together as a family, traveling to several places in Utah and seeing lots of extended family.  It began early June 18.  We drove the 11-12 hour drive to Utah via Pullman, Lewiston, McCall and Boise and thus is took 18 hours!  It was a very long day, but the kids did really well in the car.  We enjoyed time at a beautiful city park along the river, two 30-minute construction stops, and being stopped by a forest fire, among the "usual" travel stops.  It was really interesting getting to see the helicopter pick up water on the right side of our car and dump it in the canyon on fire on the left side of our car.  And even though it was definitely the scenic route, it definitely did not disappoint.  So much beauty and variety everywhere we looked!  We saw some truly gorgeous country.

We arrived at my sister, Alyson's, home in Alpine, Utah about 1:00 a.m. Friday morning.  Everyone else had arrived previously, so it was fun seeing my entire family--and all the cousins--the next morning when we awoke.  My kids were beyond excited.

 Friday was our BYU and Family History day.  We enjoyed touring the Monte L. Bean Life Sciences museum on BYU's campus, then eating lunch at the Cougareat, shopping at the bookstore, and seeing the spot (Maeser Hill) where my dad proposed to my mom.  Then we headed south to Spanish Fork cemetery and saw many of our ancestors graves.  (Mainly my dad's side.)  We then drove west to Lake Shore and Palmyra, Utah, which my ancestors helped settle.  These towns are right on the shores of Utah Lake and are still very undeveloped and rural.  There is a marker where the old Fort Palmyra was where some of my ancestors lived.  My grandparents also lived there for a time.  It was neat to see.

 Saturday morning we went to a small park/lake area near Alyson's home and had a great time kayaking and swimming.  It was very peaceful and the kids loved it.  Then we went and got all packed up and headed to Heber City.  Since we like the scenic routes (wink, wink:)), we drove to Heber via the Alpine Loop.  It was beautiful.

We then all descended upon a wonderful log cabin-style home in Heber City, where we spent the next five days.  It was a wonderful home and we had a great time enjoying the time together.  My mom did her treasure hunts for the grandkids, we played games, foosball, pool and air hockey, enjoyed the playground and lawn games, etc.  We had a skit night, talent show night, FHE, family pictures night, went on a beautiful hike, and had a Minute-to-Win-It evening.

The girls spent an afternoon out: we went to Park City and walked through art galleries on Main Street then went out to lunch at "The Eating Establisment."  The guys' afternoon out included lunch at a burger place in Heber, then hours and hours of air soft gun battles in the field behind the cabin.  It was a lot of fun.

Girls' afternoon out:).

 Pictures from our "Minute to Win It" activity:).

The lovely granddaughters (minus Katelyn, who is three) on picture night.   Mikayla (17), Stephanie (12), Alysha (16), Kylene (10), Alaina (13), Rebekah (15)

 Pictures from our hike to Stewart Falls in Provo Canyon, near Sundance.  It was a beautiful hike and so much fun.  Kyle got all the men--and several of the grandsons--to walk under the freezing cold waterfall at the top.  Insane, but memorable:).

After looking through these pictures again, it's easy to see why my kids did not want to leave when it was done!

June, minus vacations

The first half of June was busy with wrapping up the school year and a few other fun events...

Kylene & Spencer's end of year piano recital.  Kylene earned a Silver Medal and Spencer earned a GOLD medal!  He (and we) were completely surprised and excited.  In fact, he was Ms. Heather's only student to earn a gold medal!  (It is based on practice time, completed theory sheets, recital attendance, etc.)  They both progressed so much this year, and I love the sound of music filling our home.

 We finally were able to put bark down!  The final step!  The company from whome we bought the bark ended up running out, so we only got half of what we needed, but it was progress.  We did the front main area and Anneca's garden, so it was beautiful to see those two areas completely finished.  Thanks, Mark and Dirk, for your help laying the bark! What a difference a year has made in our yard!  I enjoy it every time I look out the window or walk outside. 

 Sara Edge and I participated in the Color Me Rad 5K in Airway Heights.  It was a lot of fun and a little crazy to willingly get pelted with paint and colored powder!  It was fun to see all the families whom participated.  A few hours later, we bumped into each other at Costco, both proudly displaying our new t-shirts:).

 I got to join Spencer for his 2nd Grade field trip.  They went to Riverfront Park for a picnic lunch then to Mobius Science Center.  It was a lot of fun.  (pictured below is Ryan, Noah, Aaron, Lee and Erik.)

The last day of school was Friday, June 12th.  The next few days were getting ready for our Barney family reunion in Utah, which we left for on Thursday, June 18th.  Pictures and details forthcoming!

Merry May

 The beginning of May brought another "boy's heaven" pile to our front yard.  We had 12 yards of gravel delivered to fill in the west side of our yard where we have our garden boxes and will eventually have a shed.  Skyler and Andon were great helpers!  We ended up having too much so were able to pass along some to three different neighbors/friends who also needed some gravel.  

 Here are pictures from our trip to visit Anneca's grave at Greenwood Memorial Terrace on Mother's Day.  Spencer took the neat picture with the sun behind the Savior.  Then we found some old stairs that have fallen into disrepair (no longer used) and lead to a really old part of the cemetery.  It was fun walking up them.  The kids were a little creeped out.:)

 I had a wonderful Mother's Day and felt lots of love from my family.  They made me a yummy breakfast and dinner; the dinner even came with a program!  I got to sit on the "queen's throne" rocking chair and they did a couple of hilarious skits for me and sang to me.   I took pictures with each of my little gems.  How I love my children! I feel so blessed to be a mother.

 

One May afternoon, we got a doozy of a thunderstorm.  It was a beautiful day, but as I drove to pick the kids up from school, huge, dark clouds rolled in.  By the time we got home, it was raining.  It down poured for about 20 minutes, then rained for awhile longer.  Our driveway had two rivers running down it and there were lots of great splashing puddles.  We took advantage of the opportunity to go "singin' in the [warm] rain."  So fun!

My amazing, faithful, diligent, service-oriented parents came yet again in May to help in the yard!  They were here three days and we loved it as always. We got our garden boxes installed, filled with dirt, and planted, and we got lots more plants planted in the yard.  My dad's goal was to get Anneca's garden finished before Memorial Day and HE DID IT!  It is so beautiful and means so much to us.  It is right outside our dining room window, so we can look out at her garden area often.  We have enjoyed our yard so much this spring and love sitting out in it.  It is so wonderful to have a garden again, and we love going out to see how things are growing.  We now have cherry and apple trees, strawberries, blueberries and raspberries!  I'm so excited.  Now I just hope they will grow:).

 Here we are sitting in Anneca's garden after finishing all the planting.  We have since added barkdust and it looks amazing.  It melts my heart looking out the window or sitting out there.  How I long to hold my Anneca.  I'm thankful she has a garden in her honor.  We have the stone my family gave us for her first birthday we need to put out there as well.  I will post pictures of that.

 Right before my parents left for home, we ran up to visit the cemetery.  They were getting all ready for Memorial Day. Also, below right, shows the new Christus Statue in the LDS Section very close to where Anneca is buried.

 These are pictures we took on Memorial Day.  It is so beautiful there on these holidays.  The American flags and flowers are everywhere.  There are so many people.  I love that hallowed ground.

 Our dear friend, Zack Edge, had an amazing surgery (Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy) in Seattle at the end of April.  He spent four weeks rehabilitating at Seattle Children's Hospital.  He is in Kylene's class at school, and her class did a ton to support and cheer him on while he was gone.  On May 29, he had a huge welcome back with the entire school cheering him on as he entered.  It was so exciting and unifying.  He showed everyone that he can now walk with some assistance!  He has been an inspiration to so many, including us.  He is still working really hard at physical therapy and gaining greater independence and strength.  We are so excited for his angelic family whom we love so very much.  Zack is back!  Go Zack!

We have LOVED springtime in Cheney.  It has been a beautiful mixture of warm days and warm rain.  Flowers, blossoms, and green are everywhere, including in our beautiful yard.  It is a stark contrast to a year ago when we moved in.  (We hit our ONE YEAR mark of living in this home in May!)  The kids have been outside soaking it all in and it seems as if we have been going non-stop.  Kyle has started a lot more travel with his new job (still with Dish); we miss him terribly when he's gone, and always celebrate when daddy comes home.  We're glad at least he's not deployed like many daddy's in our ward and that he gets to come home each week.  He is adjusting to the demands of this new position and is doing a great job!  Go, daddy!

Visit to Susan in Palmyra!

Friday, April 24, started my (Amyanne's) unforgettable weekend to Palmyra, New York, to visit my college roommate for two years (Freshman and Sophomore years), Susan Collie.  It was so wonderful and rejuvenating in every way.  I felt so spoiled to get to spend time with her and see the Sacred Church sites.  Thank you, Susan, for being such an amazing hostess!  I can't wait for the next trip.

I flew all day Friday--arriving in Rochester at 11:00 p.m.  The man I sat next to on my final flight said she was a really good friend to pick me up at the airport that late.  Yes, indeed!  Saturday and Sunday we played, toured, and relaxed--and slept a little.  It was so fun!  Then Monday, I left bright and early (my flight left at 5:50 a.m., so I got up at 3:30, or 12:30 a.m. Spokane time) and spent the day flying back across the country.  Even the flights, although they were long, were relaxing and enjoyable reading, listening, and watching whatever I wanted to.

The highlight of the trip was probably the time we spent in the Palmyra temple.  We were blessed to be part of a live Endowment for a cute older couple in their ward.  Then we got to go watch them be sealed, then their son sealed to them, then their parents and them sealed to their parents.  The Spirit was so strong.

 Saturday after eating lunch at Dee's, a yummy Mexican restaurant, we got pedicures together, complete with grapes and waters:).  It's become a tradition to get pedicures when we get together!  Yay!

 Pictures in Palmyra

 Susan's parent's own a beautiful farm on the main road between the Sacred Grove and the Hill Cumorah.  It is called Amsden's Ark.  Her younger sister lives next door on some acreage as well.  They have lots of different animals.  My favorite were the chickens, since I love farm fresh eggs.  I even went and helped gather some at 9:00 p.m. Saturday night:).  This is Susan with her neice, JoDee, holding one of their spring baby chicks.

 Sunday was a Northeast Regional Conference Broadcast from Salt Lake.  Elders Andersen and Hales spoke with two other general authorities.  It was so powerful and so neat to be a part of.  Susan needed to go early to warm up with the choir (she is the pianist), so two of her boys, David and Jacob, and I walked from their chapel over to the Sacred Grove.  We got a mile and a half walk in before church started that morning.  It was a cool spring morning and so fresh and peaceful to walk through the grove and around the Smith property.

We went back that afternoon and took pictures inside the Log Home and Frame Home. We also went to the Hill Cumorah and saw the beautiful Visitors' Center there.  There is such a beautiful spirit at all these places.  I loved being there.

Sunday afternoon and evening we relaxed, looked through old scrapbooks, talked and laughed. We also got chocolate chip cookies and Pringles to eat, just for memories' sake, of course:).

I am amazed that our friendship can still be as strong and fun as ever, even after almost 20 years!  I am so thankful for Susan.  Thanks for a wonderful trip!

(It was fun to come home and feel so much love from my family, too.  The entire next week I kept hearing how glad they were that I was home.  Definitely a "mommy appreciation" weekend, too:)!  I did miss them terribly.)