This week Jeremy and I celebrated 20 years of being married.  I have now been with Jeremy as long as I was single.  Crazy to think about and yet hard to imagine my life before him.  I cannot think of anyone who has blessed my life more.  Sometimes we look at each other and just say For.Ev.Er.  And the other person replies, I know, sometimes happily, sometimes with an eye roll.  But I am forever grateful we took that leap of faith and built our life together.

For our anniversary all we wanted to do, or should I say I wanted to do and Jeremy is just that nice, is sit on the couch and hang out all evening and eat some cheesecake.  Spencer and Allison were off at youth conference, Robyn and Taylor were sick with a cold and Jeremy showed up with roses and cheesecake.  It was great to just spend some down time together alone.

Spencer and Allison were gone Tuesday through Thursday to a youth conference.  They had a great time hiking and playing.  I had come down with a head cold at the end of our vacation and shared it with Robyn and Taylor.  But despite the sniffles we were determined to do something fun and little kiddish while Spencer and Allison were gone.  So Tuesday we took Robyn's friend Raquel and checked out the new kids' museum at Thanksgiving Point.  It was the $2 Tuesday deal they offer in August so we were there with a few other hundred people.  It was an amazingly well done museum and after 5 hours I had to drag them away.


This week was filled with all the getting ready for school and normal life routines.  Back to school haircuts, getting new shoes, getting locker and school supplies, filling up the fridge again,touring the junior highs and high schools, meeting Robyn's teacher, tons of yard work etc.  Last Sunday we realized that while we had been gone our plums had all ripened.  My kids enterprising minds got to work and they bagged up all the plums I wasn't making jam with, made signs and tables and set up shop on a nearby street.  They spent all Monday afternoon sitting outside trying to sell bags of plums and sold a few.  Then Jeremy came to pick them up and taught them the value of location.  They went to a very busy street and sold out in an hour.  Who could resist two little girls jumping around with signs with Spencer running out plums to cars?  I had a very peaceful Monday afternoon tackling vacation laundry and cleaning, we all thought it was a great summer activity.

Saturday night we left Taylor with a sitter and went to the Utah county fair to watch the demolition derby.  Jeremy was taking pictures but the three kids and I wondered around seeing all the animals (we learned what a turken is - ugly, ugly animal), 4-H projects, and the lego city that had been built.  A carnival worker offered to let Allison jump for free on the tramp, hoping I would pay for the other kids.  She said it was better than the derby!  The girls and I had never been do a demolition derby before.  I wasn't sure whether to be horrified or awe-struck but it was definitely an experience to be there!  Spencer was in pure boy heaven.


Kids are excited and stressed about starting a new school.  Spencer almost was stalking the high school corridors as he tried to memorize the lay out.  I am always grateful for those neighbors who say hello to Spencer by name and aren't put off by only getting a grunt in return.  Saturday morning Spencer and I got up at 6:30 to go on a hike together.  It took him awhile to wake up and talk but it was good to hear about how he is feeling as he tries to deal with the new transition.  Tough classes this year, and a new school have him feeling overwhelmed but he was able to do it last year so he keeps telling himself he can do it again.  Allison toured the junior high with two friends.  I think she is more worried about the new school and new friends situation more than anything else.  We went to Robyn's back to school night to meet her new teacher.  Allison saw all her school friends who are staying at the same school and it was pretty bitter-sweet.  She will do awesome at the new school but its a big transition too.  So tonight we start the early bed times and early morning alarms.  First week is always a bit tough but then things settle down.