So once again here is an update from our crew with lots of pictures: As a family we got to go to Lagoon in June. It was certainly unexpected that we got to go on a family vacation with all of us during Brooklyn's 18 months as a missionary. We had a great time and those 8 feet separation dots were actually pretty cool, because it kept us together for much of the time. Although there was actually very little standing in line. However, there was a LOT of hand sanitizer. They had stations to hand sanitize before you got onto a ride and just after you got off of the ride. We were also in line a couple of times when they sprayed the whole ride down with sanitizer and sent it on a run empty. In addition, only 1/2 the seats on each ride were available. They also limit the park's capacity. You have to reserve a day and an arrival time, so it's pretty easy to social distance too. Masks, hand sanitizer, social distancing, family, and rides and all in all we had a super fun time. We also spent the month of June prepping our house for my dad's 80th birthday party. It probably isn't any big secret that we have spent much of our non-work hours since March working on our house. Well we pushed it into high gear to try to get as much finished as possible before the party. I told my family I don't want to paint anything for at least a month! We have gone through gallons and gallons of paint! Here is a link to a video tour and then there are also a few pictures at the bottom of this post. Don't expect too much more to happen on the house in the next month or two. I think we are going to spend some time hiking, watching movies, and Eric will probably put together puzzles and organize his garage more. My dad's 80th birthday party was great. It was super fun to have the family together again. I love my family! And yes, there were masks, hand sanitizer, and kind of social distancing. What else would you expect from 2020! (These are now what is standard with us in all of our activities for the next while, so I won't mention them anymore, but rest assured they are most definitely part of our activities/life. Those things and also digital meetings.) Carsyn: Carsyn continued running a lot. He and 7 buddies also planned a trip to Montana. They pretty much planned it all by themselves. For 6 of the 8 who were going, this was their Senior trip. They have had this road trip in mind for over a year. They did end up changing their destination and had to have more "set" plans than they initially had in mind. Last year they had visions of going on Route 66 and just stopping where they felt like they wanted to. But instead they headed north and hiked with the bears. I think we are all getting pretty good at changing/adapting plans and pivoting right now. Here is one "fun" story of the trip. They did take bear spray because they were in the Tetons, Yellowstone area, and Glacier, BUT no one actually took the non-expired one with them on their hikes! It was tucked away in a bag the WHOLE time and they did see a lot of wildlife, including bears! Oh well, I guess it's better than when Carsyn was 12 and put his bag of pretzels under his pillow only to discover the next morning that the chips were gone, he, and his sleeping bag, were several feet away from where he started out the night, and there were mountain lion tracks leading up to him. Yup, that's what I get to live with! He is also starting a business with a couple of friends - Zephyr Clothing Co. (Zephyr has something to do with running.) You can see a picture of him in their first batch of shirts that they are selling. Oh the things to keep busy. He also got hired to build some art storage shelves for a local framing store, and he has had colleges contacting him about his running, and he has had Seminary Council meetings, and he still has his job at Tropical Smoothie where he works a shift or two each week, and he has worked on a couple of art projects. Brooklyn: The week before she went back out on her mission she went up North to visit a few people and all of the sudden got a chance to be an extra in an upcoming Hallmark Christmas movie! It's called Christmas Music Store. So watch for that when it comes out this holiday season. Who knows if any of the shots she was in will make it into the actual movie, but she had fun nonetheless. She does have the potential to be spotted once or twice, but who knows. . . More on that to come. She also spent time doing virtual meetings with her new mission, along with language studies. She also spent time with friends and family that live here, including going on a date, or two. Another thing that she did was that she, Jesse, and a friend also put together a music video. The link to that video is here. Kind of a unique mission experience to say the least . . . She left Tuesday July 7th for the next part of her mission. For those who don't know she will be in Bakersfield CA for the next few months. For two years now she has not lived in the same place for more than 3 months. (This includes transfers, so by the time she gets back it will be 2 1/2 years.) She has settled into her first area which is Lancaster, CA. She thinks they are going to be a trio next week. She is having fun with her District, as they get to do an activity on PDays. She did have a hard time on her first PDay because of the coin shortage because they need coins to do their laundry, but we have since sent her a bunch of quarters so she should be set for awhile. Ashly & Jesse: They have both been excited to get to work at least some at their various jobs. Ashly was a HUGE help in finishing the list on the house and A LOT of the design is from her. Jesse did have a very very small possible exposure to Covid 19 and so he enjoyed the Casita to himself while Ashly bunked in here with us. After a few days the exposure was confirmed as not being a thing so all is well. I will say that we are feeling blessings from the work that we have done on our property because we did have a place for him to comfortably go and we also could spend time outside with him in our outdoor living space. We even had Sunday dinner during this period of time in high wind warnings outside. It was an adventure! But isn't life itself an adventure? I also said that we were connecting with Carsyn because they had high winds where he was camping as well. He was able to do some composing as well. Jesse started a new job which will give him more consistency on the amount of hours he works each week and they both still teach private lessons. We also started a new Primary song activity where their cute little car will become an ice cream truck to deliver ice cream to our Primary kiddos! They listen to the following songs 4 times each in order for the ice cream truck to come. These are GREAT songs that we would HIGHLY recommend to anyone of any age. They will give you a Spiritual Boost.
Eric & Nicole What can I say about Eric and myself. Lagoon and my dad's birthday party were super fun during the month of June. Other than that we have been doing our regular jobs - me from home - and work on the house. Eric has done some scouts and I have kept up on this blog, and we have helped our neighbor with her house, and that's pretty much it for the month of June. Eric went to Scout Camp in July, we did our main jobs, and we tinkered with house things. We are back to meeting all together for Sacrament meeting and that has been nice to see people in person. I wanted to pass on some information that was passed onto me. This is from a friend whose friend is a nurse in a CA hospital. The following isn't researched based, but it couldn't hurt to implement it because they are healthy things to do regardless and they are things that they currently do in her hospital. 1. at least 8 hours of sleep a day 2. 10 hours of sunshine; 10 - 15 minutes at a time 3. Vitamin D and C 4. Lot's of water 5. Meals served warm They also serve diets that include these foods: 1. Avocadoes 2. Raw Watercress - this is the best one 3. Green lemons 4. Yellow lemons - especially in warm water (no sugar so pucker up!) 5. Garlic 6. Oranges 7. Pineapple Again, this is NOT scientifically researched based, BUT throwing these into your diet would probably help most of us in our day to day healthy lifestyle quests. My family is teasing me because I am discovering many health benefits of lemons! Good thing my kitchen is all decked out in lemons! Another last thought to leave you all with is this thought from another missionary mother. This is also very helpful right now: Covid-19 is part of our life plan that was made before we were even born. It is not a surprise to Heavenly Father. We were chosen to experience this and events to come, just as some were chosen to experience various wars. He did not plan a regular two year mission for any of the missionaries who are serving now. He planned a faith growing, individualized adventure that will be told for generations. He did not plan a regular college experience for any of our young people in school right now. He did not plan normal weddings and births and other life events. We are living the life we were always meant to. God is in control, and He is merciful and good. And lastly one last brand new song link: I Will Go Love you all!
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWe are just a family sharing ideas and our family's experiences with our friends and family. Archives
January 2022
Categories |