A Stay at Home Saturday

 Not quite the day we had planned.  Dave wanted to go to Yosemite but I wasn't 100%.  So we did a bunch of work at home and then had a wedding reception to go to.  

At the reception one of Nathan's friends, Megan, came up and said hi.  I haven't seen her in 2 years at least! So fun to see here.

Meanwhile in Montana:

Carly is having a great time.  There is a pool they can go to and lots of beautiful Montana sky.

AND, some shopping - I actually think those sunglasses look pretty cool!

Meanwhile in Provo:

Nathan got to go climbing with his cousin Fletcher!!

Don't worry Sheri, they made it home safe and sound.

Family History & Some Shooting

Today I finished typing up my Grandfather's history.  

I was excited to get this finished and let others see it.  He was such an interesting man and I loved learning about his amazing mission in Canada.  So thankful for his testimony and the opportunity it gave me to be a member of the church.  Such a great blessing!

Tonight we had Paul and Ruth over for dinner.  They are such fun.  Dave works with Paul at Bently, and Nathan is dating Paul's sister Lauren.  

After dinner we did an activity that Grandpa Fairbanks would approve of.  Dad would also REALLY like Paul.  He's got LOTS of fun guns.  AKs and ARs were shot tonight!  We started off with a little shotgun action.  

Amy & Malena decided Paul has funner guns than Dave.  I think Dave would like to expand his repitiour!

Meanwhile - Carly made it to Montana with Ally!

She's excited to have a great week.

On a sad note, today LaRee Smith, my sister's Mother-in-law, passed away.  She fought the good long fight!

Our thoughts and prayers are with the Smiths.

Blood Draws - Job Lists - Running

This morning we woke up and went and had Malena & Amy's blood drawn that was requested from their doctor's appointments on Monday.  It was quick and pretty painless.  They had enough energy to help me with some jobs. 

First we sold Malena's saxophone from middle school.  Our music programs in our district and not a place for kids to be anymore.  It's sad, but we let her sax go.  A nice guy came and got it and he texted me this afternoon on how much he loves it!  So glad it went to a good home.

Amy helped plant some more of my Vinca flowers.  It's been a tough year for them for some reason.  Not sure why, but I've lost quite a few.  Probably so hot.

Malena decided that she wanted to make Aunt Sheri's 7 layer dip that we had at the lake.

It was super YUMMY!

This afternoon I got a request to take pictures of a house, so I ran up to Lake Tahoe.  This house is going to be BIG $$$ when it's finished!

After taking pictures Amy wanted to go to the running company and try on shoes.  She's had a hard time running because her legs have been hurting.  Shoe got some really nice running shoes.  Fingers crossed they work good.

Dave had High Council tonight and Carly left for Montana with Ally.

We've got another driver!

Big news!!!  This morning Malena had her driver's test scheduled.  We woke up to snow on the ground, but the test was a GO!!!

She did fabulous!

She got a 94%.  Best score our family has gotten yet!

Malena's bestie also took her test the same day, only 30 minutes apart.

Kaylee also passed so 2 new drivers on the road!

Malena hung out with her friend for the day (yes, they skipped school - it was an early out anyway!)

Car Maintenance - Work - Friends

 Today was get things done day!

We changed the oil on the Subaru and the Mazda.  We also replaced the air filter on the Subaru and Dave cut his hair.  We went for a quick walk/hike up the little hill.  

Carly had work tonight and Malena had her friend Kaylee over.

They have fun together, that's for sure.

Amy went to a stake activity at the stake center.  They played games.  She had a lot of fun with her friends.

Meanwhile in Rexburg:

Looks like Nathan was having fun with his friends too!

Volleyball Game - Sugar

 Amy stayed afterschool to watch a volleyball game.  I let Malena drive down to the school to pick her up.

She had a good time and enjoyed being with her friends.

After Dave got home from work, we planned out what to do for the weekend.  Lots of little jobs to do.  Some car maintenance, Dave needs a haircut, and some other odds and ends. 

We decided we'd work on those tomorrow.  Instead of working, Dave found this show and had to watch it.

I have a feeling we will be checking all labels for sugar content!  (I have to admit, I totally fell asleep!)

Chickens, Pictures & Chemistry

Today Amy and I felt good enough to give some attention to the chickens.  Their coop needed to be cleaned and they needed some water and feed.

They've done really well, even with the neglect we've given them the last 4-5 days!

Today I was really excited.  I got into a home that has been locked forever.  I was able to get pictures today.

Look at that shower!  Pure Luxury!!!

Meanwhile in Rexburg:

Nathan working on his Chemistry.  I always feel bad when colors are in Nathan's photos.  I'm sorry I gave him the color-blind gene.  He seems to manage pretty well.

Feeling better & Tires

Today Malena and I went to seminary.  She went to school and I went to Costco to get new tires for the Subaru!

Now we are almost as cool as Nathan - Maverik has this same kind of tire!

I also got out and did 2 house photo jobs.  It was nice to feel a little normal.  Stomach not 100% but about 93%.  It's nice to just feel ok and not have a headache.

Carly & Dave were the lone ones at home today.  Dave is better but wanted one more day to rest.  Carly has to be back to school on Thursday for some tests and Friday for a double on-demand essay.

Glad we're on the mend!

Stomach Bug Day #?? and Temple

Ok, let's just say, no one got pictures today and 4 out of the 5 of us here, were at home!  Carly got sick this morning, Malena, Dave, and me are still on the upswing, but not quite 100% yet.

Amy went to school and is doing great!

FUN FOR THE DAY:

Nathan had a friend go to the temple this morning, and there were some changes.  Nathan wanted to know and see but the Rexburg appointments were all full, but there was space in Idaho Falls.  He drove there tonight and did a session.  He said the changes are pretty cool!

Stomach Bug Armageddon - Every man for himself

This morning I woke up at 5am and said to myself, "I don't feel right!"

Sure enough, I was not right.  I got Amy's stomach bug.  So glad I wasn't scheduled to teach seminary today.  But I did promise my team teacher I'd bring in her video for her.  Carly & Malena seemed to be ok, so they went to school and I sent the Chromebook with them that had the video downloaded. 

At 7:35am, I got a text from Malena saying she was sick too.  Dave had also just woken up and he said he was sick as well!!!  Luckily I had a little bit of a lull in my upset stomach and had just enough time to run down to school, pick up Malena, drive home and then get sick again!

This is the view from my sickie spot.  Malena on the couch to my left and Dave on the couch to my right.

Amy & Carly went to school, but the 3 of us were home and not enjoying it!

So glad there are 3 bathrooms in our house.  We all got our own bathroom, and we all agreed that we love each other, but if you need anything, you're on your own!

It was a very rough day and luckily we had Psych, IceRoad Rescue, How to Catch a Smuggler, and some WWII Documentaries to see us through!!!!

Meanwhile in Rexburg:

Nathan at his climbing gym.  They made a wall a heart for Valentines.  So cute!

Church, Amy Feeling better

Amy didn't wake up until 8:15 this morning.  She slept for 16 hours!!!!

She was feeling better, but she stayed home from church to just make sure.  She watched the ward zoom meeting and did some Come Follow Me.  Dave went to the prison branch.

After church in the afternoon, Carly goes up to Carson and has a missionary prep class.

She loves her teacher and is learning a lot.  She said they spent a lot of time talking about how to do laundry, make food, grocery shop, and more.  She came home and said how thankful she was that we'd already taught her all that stuff.  (It is nice to hear!)

Meanwhile in Rexburg:

Speaking of cooking and grocery shopping looks like Nathan is doing very well for himself.  Asparagus?  So proud!

Snowball under the Sea Dance

Ok, It wasn't the Snowball under the sea dance, it was just the Snowball Dance. 

These two pretties went with their friends and had a good time.

Carly's friend Sarah snapped this one of these two together.  

Love them so much!

Malena and her friend Kaylee got together and did hair and makeup.

Then they met up with a couple other friends and grabbed some burgers before the dance.

This is Carly and her friends.  They went to Sarah's house, did hair and makeup, ate some papa muphy's pizza and then went to the dance.

They all had a great time.

It was a rainy night.  Amy is recuperating from her sickness.  She went to sleep at 4pm and is currently still sleeping.  (11 pm)

Meanwhile in Rexburg:

Looks like a pancake party to me! 

Nathan Steak Celebration - Temple - Sickie

Last week we celebrated here, at home, the girls getting straight As.  We celebrate our family wins and we called Nathan and told him to buy some steak and celebrate with us!  Tonight he did!

I'm pretty excited that my boy knows how to cook!  He said it was yummy!

Tonight Dave and I went to Reno and did a session in the temple.  It was a wonderful evening and it was so fun to be together.

After the temple, I hopped in the car and looked at my cell phone.  I got a text from Malena saying Amy was sick and was trowing up.  Well, it was a fun night, while it lasted.  

Poor Amy!

Tail pipes & Ice Castles

This morning was a fun lesson in seminary - I love the miracles of Christ and I love teaching about Jesus! 

On my way home I was sitting at a stop light and there was a horrible sound.  It was so loud, but I wasn't moving, so it wasn't me.

Figured out where the noise was coming from - the white car was dragging its exhaust pipes!  The driver didn't seem to care - 80 down the highway, sparks flying and all.   The funniest thing, as I was scrambling to get my phone to take a picture, I looked at the car next to me and he had a HUGE sony camera with a zoom lens.  He was taking pictures with his right hand and driving with his left.  Good times!

Apparently last night in Rexburg:

That looks really fun - nothing like that here, but we may be too warm :)

This is today - Nathan and his buddy Cole!

These two mate drinking kids!!!  Glad they are friends!

Ceramics - Walmart - Goldfish - Climbing

Carly and Malena are taking ceramics this year at the high school.  Malena has been talking about her stack of pancakes.

Malena said she added some cool-looking blueberries.  I told her I wanted to see it before it was all glazed and such.  She took these pictures for me.   (Nathan loves his nightly pancakes!)

Amy came home from school and took a nap.

She has been working hard in school.

Tonight there wasn't much going on, but I needed a few things from Walmart for seminary tomorrow.  I'm teaching about Christ telling Simon to put his net on the side of the boat and all the fish came to his net and broke the nets and sank the ships.  For some reason, I was craving goldfish!  So Malena drove me and Amy up to Walmart to get Goldfish.

Meanwhile in Rexburg:

Nathan is doing a lot of climbing!!!  He can even do pull-ups!  It's so impressive to me.  I've never been able to do that.

-7 & Tired

This morning was -7 degrees.  Holy Cold, but Rexburg still had us beat at -30.  So again, no on-campus classes today.

Malena has been fighting a sore throat and she decided to skip track practice today and come home and sleep.

I had a weird headache and didn't feel that great either.  Dave said he'd take care of dinner.  Papa Murphy's was a great solution.  I decided that Cowboy is my personal favorite!