Back to School

In front of the new school with their good friends Lilly and Emma.  

It was an exciting day when the kids went back to school on Aug 29th.  They have been anxiously anticipating it all summer as they have watched the new school being built.
     I don't know who is more excited about the new school, me or them!!  It is only a block away- just down the street, so they can walk to school, now.  I absolutely LOVE that part of it.  The new school is also really nice.

Erika started the 3rd grade this year.    Her teacher is Mrs. Oyler.  The funny thing is that Aaron actually taught her in seminary!!  Woe!  This makes him feel pretty old.  He was pretty surprised to see her when we met her in Erika's classroom on back-to-school night.  So far Erika is loving school and things are going well for her.   She has a lot of friends and is always coming up with new games and "clubs" with them.   She still loves learning and is a great example to her classmates.  

          Kyle started kindergarten this year.  What an exciting thing for him!  He goes every day from 12:10 to 2:50.   After the first few days, he was disappointed to learn that he would only go for half a day.   He loves school and wishes he could go all day long like the other kids.   He gets pretty bored at home with me and so it is a challenge for me to find things to keep him busy.  I do love having him with me for part of the day, though, and will miss that next year.   He always says to me, "Mom, what are you going to do today while I am at school?" and "Make sure you watch out for my room so it doesn't get messed up."  One day he said really sincerely, "I hope you are not bored while I am gone.  I know you'll miss me."  What a sweetie.

Heidi is still attending school with the Early Learning Center for Development assistance.   She was bussed to the Corinne Learning Center for 5 weeks in the summer twice a week.  Now that the new Garland school is done, the Fielding school is being remodeled and so they are using the old Garland school until theirs is remodeled.  They have a developmental preschool there and so this year Heidi gets to go there!  This is great for her because it is a lot closer.  She still gets to ride the bus, but it's less than a mile away.  Last year she sat on the bus for almost an hour each way to preschool.  She also gets to go four days a week instead of two this year.    Heidi is really loving school and making so much progress.  I am so thankful for the school system and for all the help they give.  I do what I can at home to teach the kids, but I don't think I could teach them as much as what they get at school.

My First Quilt

After two years of work, I finally finished my first quilt.  I actually didn't really think I would like quilting.  I always thought it was for old ladies who had too much time on their hands and figured I would try it out someday when I was older.   But, a friend in my ward was teaching a free quilting class (and she is a very talented quilter) so I figured I would take the opportunity and learn how to do the basics.  

What I came to discover was that I REALLY like it!  (Great- just what I need, another hobby, right?  I don't even have time to do the hobbies I already have.)  I realized that quilting is just up my alley.  I love piecing things together and I really enjoyed coming up with my own patterns and doing the math, cutting and sewing, etc.  One thing I am challenged with is the color coordinating, but I guess there are helps for that.  I had a lot of fun looking around at other quilts and getting ideas from them, and then adapting those to my own.  This quilt is just a sampler of a bunch of different quilt blocks.   I was also amazed to realize the unlimited potential to create something unique.  I never thought it would be so much fun!  

So, I went to the class once a month and then worked on it little by little, and finally finished the quilt at the end of July.  My goal was to enter it into the county fair.  I have never done that before and wanted a new experience.  

I have to admit my experience at the fair was a little disappointing for me.  First of all, it probably took us at least 15 min. to even find my quilt and when we did,  it was folded up in a glass case about knee-high.  I was a little sad it wasn't displayed up on the wall where most of the quilts were and there were empty spaces up there.  I know I was a little whiney and it shouldn't have really mattered, but I had looked forward to having it displayed.   The second thing was that I had gotten second place, but the more I thought about it, the better I felt about the ribbon.  If I would have gotten first place on my very first quilt, what would be the fun in trying again the next time?   Anyway, I am pretty sure I will do it again someday.  

One funny thing about the whole experience, though, was that a few minutes before I left to turn in my quilt, Erika and Kyle said, "Oh, we want to enter something!"  So they hurried and built a little lego scene and turned it in together and guess what-  Yes- they got a blue ribbon.   Ha ha.  I was very happy for them, though.  They were really excited about it and had to have their picture taken by it.  

Erika and Kyle showing off their blue ribbon and Lego creation.
It's a little hard to see and not so clear because Aaron took it on his phone.

The Box Elder County Fair is just such a fun, down-to-earth event.  I actually think it is really neat to see the amazing things people are involved in.  It is so fun to see peoples' creativity- it's inspiring!   One thing we saw that someone made was a large sculpture of the Brigham City Temple made out of Legos, and it looked like a professional little miniature.  The legos were purchased from all over the world.  There were a lot of things like that.  People enter anything- from baked and canned goods to art or produce from their gardens!  This is so different from the Utah State fair that we went to when I was little.   I just love the small- town feel.  The kids especially enjoy the animals and the rides.

Heidi had a blast on the dragon ride.  

Parkinson Reunion at the Cabin

The Parkinson clan standing in front of the "Heber Creeper".

On August 18th-21st we had the fourth Parkinson reunion with all of Aaron's family.  We spent a few nights up at the Michel cabin up at Strawberry Reservoir.  Overall, we feel like it was a great success.  We were so happy to have those come who were able to.  We know that for a few it was a great sacrifice and we are so grateful.    Where we have all been so spread out for the last 4 years or so, it is a special occasion when we can all get together.  

We all met up at the cabin on Thursday and had a nice, relaxing evening just enjoying being together.  

The next morning,  The guys all got to go golfing together (something that hasn't happened in a VERY long time) and we met up with them for lunch at a park in Heber.  They had a great round of golf.  We had lunch and then went on board the Heber Creeper, the Heber Valley Railroad.  We have never done this before so it was a new experience.  

One thing that I thought was really fun was how they had kept the train just how it would have been.  Sitting in that old train made me think about what it must have been like when trains were one of the only forms of transportation.  There would have been some nice things about it, but I am still glad we have some nicer options now.  

Enjoying cuddling with my boy

I think Heidi was the most excited about the train out of all of our kids.  She was just giddy about the experience.  For weeks after, she has been saying, "I want to ride the train, mom."  She kept sticking her head out the window to get a good view.  She absolutely loved it!

At one spot along the tracks, the train stopped and we were hijacked by some "train robbers" who were trying to find a money box.  (Notice Kyle's face- to the right of the robber, he thought this was so real.)  

They put on a little show for us, and that was fun.  

On Saturday, we enjoyed a nice leisurely morning and then headed down to the lake.  The water was as warm as it ever gets at Strawberry and we took advantage of it.  We found a little spot by the water with some sand and set up a canopy for shade.  Then, Aaron spent hours driving people around on the boat.   The weather was pretty nice for the most part and we stayed out until it got a little windy in the afternoon.

I was surprised with how much Jared loved riding on the boat.  He actually started whining when Aaron drove away on it and he was stuck on shore with me.  He was perfectly happy to sit on the boat!  

This was Heidi's first time riding on the tube and actually more than a few feet away from the boat while out on the wake.   She actually had a lot of fun out there and if you look closely at her little face, she looks like she's just giving it all she's got.  

The kids also had a great time swimming out in the lake and floating around on the tube behind the boat and then just paddling around.  Kyle and Erika had a blast playing with their cousing Kaidynce, who they don't get so see very often.  (Kyle actually started crying when they left.)  

Uncle Ryan and Erika on the tube

The kids had a great time riding on the boat.  

Grandma and Grandpa chillin' at the "beach",
pretty-much the only spot we could find on the lake so we lucked-out.  

The kids showing off the hats they made with grandma

We're thankful for the opportunity we had to spend time with everyone and for the memories we were able to make that weekend.  We look forward to many more.   We love our family and are thankful for the influence they have in our lives.  

In Memory of Grandpa Parkinson

We made a trip up to Rexburg the weekend of August 12th to pay our respects to an amazing man.  Aaron's grandpa Merle Parkinson passed away on the day of Erika's baptism.  It was a sad but happy day in a way for many of us.   Grandpa had cancer and was not doing well for the last few days of his life.   Now he is in a better place, where he is free from sickness or pain.  He passed to the other side having seen  the blessing of generations of his posterity who love him and seek to honor his name.

      

Grandpa was a hard-working man who ran a large potato farm.  He was good at what he did.  He was a man of service.  He served as a young bishop and Stake President.  He was a good father and grandfather.  He was one who always loved a good joke.   

We had originally planned to go camping that weekend so we just changed our direction and headed up North.   We spent one night at Lava Hot Springs.   The kids were anxious to try out our new camping trailer.  We had a lot of fun in it.  We went swimming at the pool there and had a great time.  Erika and Kyle couldn't get enough of the waterslides and they were both brave enough to jump off the diving boards.  Yea!   (I was having so much fun I didn't get any pictures- darn-  or maybe I was just too busy juggling two little kids in the kiddy pool :)

Trying out the bunks in our new camping trailer. (their favorite part)

 Anyway,  the funeral was very nice.  There was such a tender feeling there and the speakers did so well!  We parked our trailer next to grandma's house on the lawn and camped there for two nights, which worked out great.  It was really nice for Aaron to see so many of his cousins, uncles and aunts.  There were some family members there that I have never met before and that was neat for me, too.   Nothing like a funeral to bring a family back together again!
       

A good number of the Merle and Evelyn Parkinson family.  

  One really special thing for me was that I had the opportunity of singing at Grandpa's funeral.  He had asked if I would do it before he died and he specifically asked for the song, "Somewhere My Love" from "Dr Zhivago".  I had never even heard of the song before, but apparently it was a big classic back in their time- ask any person from our parents' generation and they will know it. Anyway, I learned the song in 3 days and sang it at the funeral.   As I sang, I felt very close to grandpa, and it was as if he were there to relay the message to his sweetheart.  I am so grateful for such a neat opportunity.

The kids took turns pulling the old red wagon
around at great Grandma and Grandpa's house. 

I am grateful that our children had a few years when they were able to get to know Aaron's grandpa.  They got to know and love him in the time he was with them.  I am thankful for the influence he had in our lives and for the legacy he has left behind.   We look forward to the time when we will see him again.