Catch Up

Fourth of July - We had a great time on the 4th which for us started on the third! Scott and I had our last softball game that night so we played in that (winning of course) and then took off to Logan with Paige in tow. Logan has their fireworks on the 3rd every year so they to don't interfere with anyone else. They put on a great show and in the past, we've been able to see them from our back yard. With the trees a lot bigger in our back yard, we now congregate on the lawn of a nearby church. We bring treats, let the kids run around, and just enjoy each others company. We met up with my family that night and got caught up with everyones lives (my dad had just shaved his head due to the hairloss from chemo. It still surprises me). We were worried about Paige and the big show but when the time came she was too tired to react. She spent most of the time lying on grandma's shoulder and gazing at the sky. Then home to bed for all of us and up early the next morning for a yummy breakfast at my parents then to the HYRUM parade. My philosophy is you've seen one parade, you've seen them all. We had a good time with lots of candy being thrown and Paige almost dead asleep. After the parade, we visited with my aunt and uncle who had come down to see my dad and then it was back to Ogden for the Roberts side of the reunion. We had his whole family over to our back yard for a bar b que It's great to have that kind of space and a covered patio so everyone's comfortable. Then we spent the rest of the night having a nertz compitition. Close to ten was the fireworks all around Ogden, so the family left. It was a great holiday spent with family!


Service - Scott and I have had a great opportunity to perform some service very close to home. Both of our parents are in need of some help with the upkeep of their homes so we both decided to devote a lot of our time this summer to helping them out. First off was my family's house. My parents have had the worst luck with sheds. The two sheds they've had have collapsed on them so we decided to get them a sturdier shed. Scott and my brother-in-law, Eric, stayed up most of the night getting it put up. Along with the help of my brother-in-law, Trent and his friend Rusty, they finished it early the next morning. Then we (my sisters and I) cleared everything out of the garage and organized both it and the shed. It was an all day project but lots of fun time spent with my family. I think when you are truly serving someone with a happy heart, the lord blesses you and I feel that especially with my family. The next project was Scott's parent's basement. The boys are finally going to finish it. It was fun to go over and spend some time with the men while they mudded, sanded, taped, and talked. I got to put in a little of my talent by priming and painting. So much got done and Scott's dad couldn't stop saying thank you for all the hard work they did. After everyone had left, we took Paige with us into the backyard to clean up the paint brushes. Paige really liked the hose and was soaking wet by the time we were done! We had such a great time with our families and love the relationships that we share with them. Scott and talk all the time about how wonderful our parents are and how we'd do anything to help them. We were grateful for the opportunity to serve back.


The ZOO - Last year we kind of started the tradition of going to the zoo with a couple of my sisters and my mom. My mom has to go down to SLC every month for a medical transfusion and we usually take turns going down with her. This time, we loaded up all the kids and headed to SLC. We started with a tour around the zoo. Then off to lunch at Hires Big H (one of our favorites. Next we took mom off to the dr.'s. Then it was back to the zoo for a full afternoon of seeing the animals. I tried to prep Paige by pulling out all her zoo books about animals. She was mesmerized by a lot of the animals and loved the elephants, monkeys, and mountain cats the best. We finished up with a ride on the carosel and a trip on the choo choo. Paige loves her cousins and enjoyed the time they spent together.

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Miss you already!

Scott and I hate saying goodbye to anyone. Last night was especially difficult because our good friends, the Crofts are moving. (They're the ones who got into the June Ensign P.65 instead of us. We got cut out :( ) They are headed to the hot and sunny state of Arizona (Mesa, specifically). They are the greatest people and we have so much in common with them. Hilary is a nurse and she and I just talk about everything under the sun together. Then of course is the relationship between Scott and Zeb (whom he calls his bff). They golf, play basketball, work together, and most importantly talk Jazz. They are true Jazz fans. They are surrogate parents to Paige and we love them and will miss them greatly. (Zeb, Scott's tears were real. He already misses you!) Thanks for being amazing friends and we look forward to next summer when Scott stays with you for his internship. We can't wait!!!

How can I be?

Scott's new favorite song for the message and the ukelele!

Reunions

We have celebrated some great family reunions this summer. Every year over father's days is the Armstrong family reunion. My dad was too ill to go up so we all went up and enjoyed the company of my dad's siblings. They were all very concerned for him so it hard trying to answer all of their questions. But we had a great time. The next weekend was the Roberts family reunion. Scott's parents have time share with trendwest so we headed up to Wolf Creek for a three day weekend of good times with the Roberts. We: ate really well, swam, played games, and just enjoyed one anothers company.. We are blessed to come from some great families!!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Forever Friends

Scott and I have been blessed to have the greatest of friends as you can see by our blog list (including those who don't post!!). We have a group of friends that we have known for about 6 years, since our days in the student married ward. We try to get together once or twice a year which can be hard with everyone all spread out. A couple of our friends were going to be in ogden for one night and it just worked out with almost all of the couples to meet that night. (Missed you Whelans!!) We gathered up in Huntsville and the amazing home of our friend, Brody's parents. They were so generous to let us come up. Paige jumped on the tramp for the first time and found it fascinating. We then pulled out the slip and slide with some pretty brave kids going down it. Next was the bar-b-que with some great food. After almost 6 months of not seeing each other, we had a lot to catch up on and found ourselves talking til the early hours of the next morning. I haven't laughed that hard for a long time. It's as if we haven't been away. Thanks for such a great night (and morning) and for the wonderful friendships we share. Here are a few great pictures.

Paige being Paige!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Busy bees

Once again, it's been too long since I've posted. A lot has been going on in our lives. Sometimes I feel overwhelmed with it all and then Scott reminds me to breath and maybe read a chapter or two in my Book of Mormon instead of my novels. First off was cleaning out the house day. Over labor day weekend, my aunts and mom hired a huge dumpster and went to town cleaning all of grandma's old junk out of the house. It was a four day process and filled the dump up completely. There is so much more room in the house now. I look around and realize it's now just my junk left. Now the house is officially for sale and I have to dejunk my house, pack up unused items, and depersonalize the home to make it appealing to buyers. All i've been doing is looking around me and sighing with everything that needs to be done. I just finished deep cleaning the house and pulling all of our pictures off the walls and countertops. Now it's time to pack them all up. Agh! Because of some of the dejunking, we got rid of a very old dresser that was falling apart. We then purchaced a new dresser to replace it, the down side was putting it together. No worries though. Little Paige got her tools out and helped Scott and I hammer in nails and dance in the partially completed chest. What would we do without her to help us out.


Our next big event is the celebration of our Anniversary. Scott and I have been married for 7 years. It's flown by. We were thinking back to our dating life and our engagement. We realize that it's even better between us now then it was back then. We we truly enjoy one another's company. I love Scott so much and cannot imagine anyone but him. He is a hard worker, loving (and fun) companion, he has such a great sense of humor, he loves Paige and is so patient and playful with her, and best of all is the kind and gentle way he treats me (especially when it can be so trying!!). I am greatful Scott and the seven years of marraige we've shared. I look forward to eternity with him.

The last big thing I have been going through involves my great dad. Three weeks ago, he was have such severe nausea and vomitting that I got him to come down here and see Dr. Lowe to try to find out the problem he's been having. He had an upper endoscopy with no findings so next on the list was an ultrasound to check for gall stones. Sure enough, some gall stones were there but so were some spots on the liver. Dr. Lowe sent dad right over to the hospital to have a ct. guided liver biopsy so they could get just the right spot. Sure enough, his bladder cancer had returned and was now metastasized to the liver. Never a good thing. In the space of one week and still a tone of vomitting, he was sent to a surgeon to have the gall bladder removed, to the oncologist to see what could be done for his cancer, and then off to surgery to take out the gall bladder and put in a port-a-cath for chemotherapy. As many of you know, my dad almost died on his first treatments of chemo by developing ARDS (Adult Respiratory Distress Disorder) which caused him to be life flighted to Ogden and spent two weeks in their ICU. You can imagine how he's feeling about repeating the chemo. Right now we wait for two months to see how the chemo is working and then we go from there. The prognosis for this kind of cancer is never good so we ask everyone out there for your prayers of quality time for my dad on this earth. Pray also for comfort to my mom because she needs it immensely. I know that seemed like a novel but I use this blog as a sort of journal so I write everything down to remember it. Thanks again for your friendships!!