Grace's cousin got baptized at the beginning of the month, so she and Dad got to take a special trip down to Arizona to be with her. Half an hour after leaving, Neil called me saying he left his wallet at the gas station down the street. He and Grace were just getting on the train in Salt Lake headed to the airport and there would be no time for them to return all the way back to Lehi and still make their flight. Luckily, I had turned off the lawnmower I was using right at the time he had called. I never would have even received his call until it was too late. So, I brushed off all the dirt and grass, loaded up the three kids, and jetted to the gas station where Neil left his wallet. Realizing we had no other option but for me to drive all the way to SLC to deliver the wallet, I headed against rush-hour traffic to the airport. Meanwhile, Grace and Neil were praying that I would make it to them on time. It took a miraculous 45 minutes to drive what should have taken at least a 60 minute trip to get to the airport. Grace and Neil made their flight by the skin of their teeth and all turned out right. They said a "thank you prayer" in the airplane for God's mercy towards them.
Grace had the time of her life with her cousins. To stay cool in the 100+ degree weather, they jumped on the trampoline with the hose for hours.
It was a special experience for Grace to witness a baptism of someone she looks up to so much. Ashley has set a good example for Grace. She wants to be baptized when she turns 8 years old, too.
Looking at this picture made me realize, we really are the only cousins not in Arizona now. Good thing Neil earns lots of frequent flier miles. Maybe we can get down there more often.
Before we knew it, August came to a close, and school started.
Kade warmed up more and more to the idea of going to school. As we purchased his school supplies and uniform, he got more excited. When the first day came, he wasn't nervous until right when I dropped him off. Grace sensed his nerves and said, "It's ok Kade, I know where your class is." She held his hand and they walked inside together.
At the last minute, I decided to stick around for the flag-raising ceremony. I'm glad I did. American Heritage is so patriotic and family-oriented. I'm always inspired to be a better mother, teacher and citizen when I spend time at the school.
Neil wasn't able to be at the kids' first day of school. That really bothered him. So to make up for it, he took Kade with him on a hike with the Young Men.
We weren't sure whether Kade could pack his own supplies and walk the whole distance of the hike, but he did amazingly well. He stayed up late visiting around the campfire and had plenty of energy to hike all the way back down the mountain the next morning. He said his favorite part was "eating."
The boys came home from their hike just in time to help set up Grace's birthday party. Grace and her friends made aprons and ate pizza and lemonade. The funnest part was watching them play yard games and giggle non-stop.
Neil coached Grace to hug each of her friends after opening their presents. They got a kick out of it!
Kathryn felt so special with all the big girls. She wanted to wear a matching shirt with Grace.
As requested, I made a mint and vanilla ice cream cake which we shared with family that evening.
We had quite the thunderstorm the next day. We started walking in the rain, but as the lightning got more intense, we had to run home and take cover. It lasted just a few short minutes. Once it passed, we let Christopher play in the wet grass, and he got so dirty. This picture is a perfect representation of our busy baby boy these days--usually muddy and so full of energy!
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