Unplanned

I didn't know that I would be in Utah this weekend. Mom is very sick and the siblings there have been taking care of her around the clock. They are tired and we're all worried. She isn't eating or drinking and so I flew out to take a turn and give everyone a break. But mostly I don't wanna miss time with my mom if she isn't planning on sticking around for another 10-20 years. That's really not something I wanna think about, but when we lost Dad 16 years ago, reality came in uninvited. 

So I loaded the fridge with Costco meals and hopped on a plane. 

Mom stayed in bed for just one day, and then she rallied! She wanted to go outside and work in the garden. I know exactly how she feels. It's the best medicine. The siblings that had been watching over her these past weeks a monitoring how many ounces she drank or trying to convince her to eat a little something were flabbergasted. 

I'm not sure why she started feeling better, but I won't argue! We're gonna make the most of any feel-good days she has. The garden soil worked its magic on our souls and Mr. Carrot popped out to say hello. He was definitely a Mister. (stoooop!)

Mom grabbed her binos and we went out to check the water levels and look for any winged creatures. We drove around Burraston Ponds and remember the time I forgot that I had a straw in my drink and went to take a sip and that straw stuck straight up my nose...in front of my whole Beehive class at Burraston Ponds. This is what Utah does to me.

We drove past our old Payson house on the way back to Spanish Fork. It looks mostly the same, but sadder. I wish they had kept it up. That house deserves more love. 

Back in Kansas, Mark had a run in with a stray trailer hitch on his way to Arkansas. It was dark and raining and it completely totaled his Jeep. Which sucks. But I am grateful he come through that without any injury. That easily could have flipped the Jeep on impact, or he could have been hurt out there in the dark while he was checking out the damage. 

The offending hitch: 

But he didn't let it throw off his Dad game! I still got me Sunday Sacrament Selfie

And he forced the kids outside to go swing on the swings are get away from their screens. He's my favorite.

I got to sneak in some Ethan time and he introduced me to the wonderful world of Kolaches. 

I continued the tradition of being totally startled by the scarecrow girl in her basement. Dear Heaven, that thing looks like a real kid from the corner of my eye. Never fails. 

I set off with loaves of bread in my purse. A happier trip than I anticipated on the way out, but that's how life goes. 

Sensation of spikes

 If you know, you know.

Daddy Daughter Dance

 It's just Everly and Dad this time!

Homecoming with Dad

 I have a special gift for going out of town when important things are happening at home. It's ok. I torture myself to make up for it. 

Megan is went to Homecoming while Laney and I were in Utah. I took her shopping to find a cute dress before I left. She found the perfect one at Plato's Closet! And it was 12 bucks!

Which meant we had lots of budget for KILLER SHOES. 

Gorgeous.

Now remember. I'm not there on the day of the dance. Or the days leading up to it when Megan decided she should go get a haircut. From Nicole...the lady that wants everyone to have long, blonde highlights. 

It was....a little short. 

You can see exactly home much she liked it right there in her face. We thought she was a dead ringer for Aunt Jenny when she was that age. Tell me I'm wrong. 

So the day of the dance comes. Mark is chatting with Megan and he finds out that her finds are all going to dinner without her. There was a miscommunication at some point and she wasn't included in the reservations. She said it was no big deal (classic Megan) and that she would just go get a burger on her own (oh, heck no).  Mark got dressed up and took his daughter out to dinner. 

I love how she styled her hair!

Off to the park to snap some pictures. So pretty!

Making her laugh with a fart joke....

And she was off to the dance. 

He's the best dad. 

The Flume

We took another trip out the Millcreek Streamway to escape the intense heat and let the kids do something other than beg to watch another episode of My Little Pony.

The water felt amazing and a nice breeze was coming through.

Mika was happy as a clam, sucking on her river rocks.

Mark became totally committed to clearing a path and redirecting all water into one spot so that the kids could ride their tubes down the river without any interference. He worked tirelessly and moved a crazy amount of river rock!

And it worked! The kids had a man-made flume straight to the swimming hole! I was a bit too heavy to clear it without hitting the bottom a couple times, but it wasn't for lack of trying.

Check out his handiwork!

The best gift of mother's day....

It's him.

He's the best at being my friend.

At picking me fun and interesting flowers.

And fixing our beloved old bread maker that we are pretty sure we can't live without.

And being the kind of dad that I come home and find him in the back yard playing ninja tag with the kids.

And I know there are dozens of other things he could be doing...things that are pressing and important and they're piling up in his mental to-do pile.

But he wants to spend time with his kids and he wants them to have good memories and learn and grow and bond with us and each other. He's always doing that...looking at the state of things and evaluating his own performance as a dad or a husband or doer of the word. And I'll tell you what, it's pretty great to be married to a guy like that.

Working out with Dad

My word, he is the sweetest. Spending time with him is always fun, whether it's sit ups....

running.....

or watching silly videos on his phone....

That's not to say he's perfect....

Dancing Dawn to Dusk

Today was the day...the entire day.

It's all dancing, all hair and makeup and costume changes.

Here's the schedule...lest you think I exaggerate..... Everly is in Mini, Anna and Laney are in Upper Class. That effectively covers the whole day.

There is absolutely no way we were going to be able to drive back and forth to Lawrence in between all of these rehearsals and sound checks and performances.

So we brought supplies.

We got comfy.

And we made ourselves at home. For the entire day.

We commandeered a bathroom to do the required ringlet hair. It worked great!

 The performances were UHdorable. What can be cuter than sweet little girls tapping their toes in swishy skirts.

I know not.

It was so fun to have Anna and Laney in the same class. They are so different and both so wonderful!

Everly and Dad in their Father/Daughter dance. The best thing ever.

Anna and Laney...love those swishy skirts!!