August 2017

August started with a trauma. While my parents were enjoying their summer trip to England, their dog Ozzie slipped a disc in his spine and his bottom half was paralyzed so he couldn't pee/poop or walk on his bag legs. Of course we had to take him to the Pet ER to find this out, all we knew was he was in pain, trembling and not eating or eliminating. It was a 3700 dollar surgery to fix so my parents had to put him down, which was a very sad day. I happened to be there to help with Grandma, so I had the privilege of taking him to the ER with Joseph and holding him during his last moments. Ozzie was a good dog, we had a little memorial service in the back yard later. Ozzie was Justin's dog first, so he shared some cute pictures of Dextin and Ozzie as a puppy 6 years ago.

Ashlyn Snow and Santiago Ramirez were married August 5. They are our current tenants in our basement apartment as well which is great, we love having them in our ward. We had a lovely summer day wedding and Ashlyn looked just beautiful.

The next morning my niece Lexi Schauers was baptized so we had even more fun Schauers family time! Ava her sister was my little buddy at the reception and remembered me the next day. She is a riot.

By the way my parents had a GREAT time in England and its been mass chaos ever since they got home so they probably wish they were still there. Mom bought me a puzzle which I immediately put together, twas so fun so Kynsie and I traded and I did her puzzle too. Jared finished his woodworking project for our porch.It turned out lovely and we have spend some nice summer evenings sitting in it,which I will miss greatly when it gets too cold.

Weston has been into card throwing this month, he goes through these phases where he wants to master some skill and puts all his energies into it, so yeah he has learned how to throw playing cards at top speeds so they can slice through glass and such. He threw a card at one point and missed his foam target, it flew clear across the kitchen and hit Savanna in the cheek and broke the skin! He is literally going to "shoot someone's eye out."

My aunt Betty Ann and Uncle Steve dropped by one afternoon to give us a gift from Rachelle Wilkinson, personalized water mugs! It was so awesome to have a visit and get a gift as well. Betty Ann lives in Cypress, just outside of Houston so she had to live through Hurricane Harvey and her house was inches from being flooded, thankfully stayed dry, but so many down there were not so lucky. We were praying for Houston!

Fiora asked me one morning if I would like to hike to the G with her, and I said YES even though it was looking kind of stormy outside. We had a fabulous time, it wasn't too hard and the lightening and thunder and wind made it feel even more adventurous. There was not a soul besides us on that hike, which is very rare around busy Utah Valley these days anywhere you go. Fun memory.

Wendy and I got to see Dry Bar comedy one night because Jared had a young men's activity conflict. It was super fun and I super LOVE my Wendy friend. Fiora is doing well, my little flower child that she is. She seems to be happy in 9th grade so far, has been working hard in math and as a result got her first 100% on a test, which has boosted her confidence in it some. She ran for Choir class president too and we see how that turned out this week. She is a beautiful delightful girl who loves to give hugs and say she loves you, but is a little too much on her phone. ;/

  

 Jared spent 6 days over the course of two weekends at Woodbadge, adult scout camp. His troupe was the Bobwhites, ha ha. He learned a lot of great things and had a good time, but that was a huge commitment.  What a committed young mens leader he is, trying his best to be a good example and leader. Jared still loves his dog and Weston does too so I'm glad we have him.

Kaizlee Williams and Suzette Carpenter turned 1 this August so we all went to Neptune park to celebrate. I love having an excuse to play with my nieces and nephews! Heidi and Gabe ran a half marathon that morning and were still excited to party, I would have been at home dead like a truck ran over me.

 

There was a solar eclipse this month too. Of course my phone doesn't capture it but if you look close to the left you can see a tiny reflection kick back of what the sun looked like. The coolest part was how dim and cool it was outside.

 

Then there was the first day of school August 22nd. Savanna started 11th, Fiora 9th, and Weston 8th. So its back to get up early to make breakfast and run carpool, but not much different for me who has always gotten up early. Jared allowed me to buy the girls a back to school gift, birth gem stone rings to remember who they are and that we love them and are glad they were born. Jared always wants in on the back to school photos, its hilarious. The dog and cat got photos too though they are not going anywhere but hovering around my legs at home.

 

My brother Jesse and his wife Kelsy Barrett had their third baby and first daughter on August 24th, Everlight Field Barrett. I got to have a sleep over with Knightly and Bourne at my house while the birthing was happening. It was so fun to have them over, but let me tell you the older you get the more scattered your brain is when you have toddlers around all day! Somehow their needs managed to be met but I lost a few items along the way. Everlight is just as cute and precious as her big brothers!

Savanna got bangs, she looks very cute in them. She continues to bless us and challenge us every day. Sav goes to the chiropractor three times a week to fix her forward neck issue, and is still on psychotropic medication, but nonetheless still has some emotional problems and faith crisis. After having another "I feel too sick to go to school" episode, all the environmental issues came out, and she has decided that her current friends are not the best influence, she needed to divorce one of them in particular, and she was having bad memories at PG high so we transferred her to Liahona academy. Jared is still somewhat against this idea but I have hopes it will be a good thing for her, we will see. She starts next week. We really love Savanna and feel so heartbroken that this year has been so difficult for her.