8/2/20
Friday we celebrated Jody’s 50th birthday at ‘Close to my Heart’, with burgers and Karaoke which was a laugh, who knew I could sing like ‘Whitney Houston’! Saturday we said our goodbyes to Taylor who will be going to school in Ohio for his football scholarship. Jason went shooting with Jared, Scott and Tyrell somewhere up a dirt road close to Tania’s home. Oh, Jay had Wednesday off and worked Friday instead. We went on a hike Wed to the Honeycomb cliff trail again where we went on the 17th so we could get his shades he left there. Then we relaxed a little and Jay set up his new hammock in between 2 trees. It was nice.
8/9/20
I didn't work on Wednesday again and worked Friday because my co-worker Forrest is recovering from gall bladder surgery and my other co-worker Dior is off on Friday. On Wed Candi and I went on a hike to Gloria Falls up Little Cottonwood canyon. It's a beautiful waterfall. We walked up around to the top and had a little snack, walked a bit further along the river, sat down for a bit then went back. It was nice. Talia stayed with us Tuesday to Saturday. She got a new kitten for her birthday from Cedrick but then got in a tiffy with Camila because Camila wanted Ariki and Alessandra to play with it outside but Talia said they could inside then Camila grabbed it off her and was squeezing it hard and Talia was upset and came to stay with us. I told Jared to come over Wednesday and let Talia unload all the stuff she has gone through that Jared and Camila would do but mostly Camila since Talia was 9. Jared was oblivious to it all. I had Talia write it all down first and told Jared just to listen and not try to place blame or try to fix it, just listen. Candi and I were crying with the crap Talia has had to go through. I hope things get better, but Camila has to change her attitude fast. If the rest of the family knew what she would do to Talia they would be furious. It was Talia's 17th birthday on Friday. She went to lunch with Jared then we had pizza and cake for her and some gifts. She went home Sunday and we went over to her house for dessert.
8/16/20
Mina and the girls went to another play that Julia is in called Into the Woods on Monday. Wednesday was the Condo BBQ. They had it catered by R&R BBQ and it was yummy. Friday Candi and I went on another hike to the Willow Heights Overview trail. It was the one we didn't finish on July 10. We sat at a bench at the destination then went to a little meadow area. It was nice. It was about 8:45pm when we headed back. The sun just went behind the mountains. We're still having church in the home. I'm happy if that continues on. I prefer it that way but we may start back in Sept. Erana and Tyrell gave our talks this week. Erana read from the For Strength of Youth about Education and Tyrell gave a talk on Repentance.
8/23/20
Friday we drove to Soda Springs Idaho to stay with Matt and Deb for 2 nights. We stopped at Lava Hot Springs to walk the town and along the river. We watched people tube down the river. It looked fun. We stopped at Arctic Circle for dinner before going to there house at around 3pm. We visited with Deb before Heman and Taeya and her boyfriend Logan got back. They were prepping the boat. It's nice to see them all again. Leilani is on her mission in Anaheim CA. But she was called Calgary, Canada but is reassigned temporarily because of Covid19. We went to their local reservoir to go boating. Heman was the driver. The kids took turns being pulled on a surfboard. You have to put your feet on the board without any straps holgin on to the rope handle in the water and when the boats goes you pull up on top and you start surfing. Tyrell got up a couple times for a few seconds. Jaxon did for a little bit one time. Mina never got up. When it was Leila's turn I said, "Watch, she'll get up right away since she's our little prodigy." Sure enough, on her first go she's standing up and lasting for a couple minutes and even doing it one handed. We were all laughing and cheering her on. After that they tried the tube. Two got on at one time. Erana and Leila had a turn. Tyrell and Jaxon were on and Heman tried to throw them off. Jaxon would fly off and Tyrell held on. Logan got on and he was really good at shifting around on it to counter-balance the weight. He got thrown one time when the air lifted it up out of the water. It was getting dark when we were done. Mat had to work late but was at home when we got there. We talked some catching up. The kids slept on the couch and on the floor on a cushy mat. Candi and I were in a spare room. We watched the Train to Busan before going to sleep.
Saturday we slept in. Deb made french toast. We went to a neighbors place that has a water slide and a swimming pond and a big field of grass. The Finlaysons invited everyone so alot of other family members showed up. Riki did, Caleb, Anna, Kiriana and Laura. The water slide was sketchy. Leila fell off her mat and was getting nicked up as she went over the joints. She have little bleeding bits on her elbows and toes. There was food and badminton and volleyball. At around 4pm we left and went to the reservoir again to go boating. I just stayed on shore. Lots of the Finlayson cousins wanted a turn on it. We were there until dark. It was a good time. Tyrell, Jaxon and Leila got up surfing the board better. When we got home we roasted hotdogs around the firepit. We chatted around the fire and went in around 11pm.
Sunday we slept in again. We were wondering what to do. Deb convinced us to go floating down the river on tubes and kayaks. We had a short sacrament service. I expressed my love and thanks to Deb (Mat was working again) and gave a short testimony. Deb did too. We love spending time with them, they are an awesome family. Deb rounded up the gear and we were off to the river just a couple miles from the house. Candi and I shared a kayak. It was a slow and sometimes shallow river so it was like a natural lazy river. It took 2 hours from 3pm to 5pm. It was nice and relaxing. Just had to steer away from rocks sticking out of the river a few times. Tyrell and Heman each had a kayak, Jaxon had the paddle board, Deb had a tube and the 3 girls had a blowup boat. Heman was towing Deb and the girls in his kayak. He would steer them away from rocks. After we went back and packed the stuff away and we loaded up and were off back home around 6:30pm. Mat was home by then. We said our good byes and took a few photos. Heman had asked Mina on a date for next week. But I feel sorry for Heman since Mina is already getting feelings for Tane Moleni. She's gone out with him a few times now. He is James Moleni's son, a return missionary and a good dude from what I know. But Heman is also a good fulla and very nice. She can't go wrong with either.
8/30/20
The kids first week at school. They have to wear masks, pretty lame. Erana and Leila said they like it. Erana walks to the bus stop with Annabelle Fitch (The Frandsen's granddaughter). Leila ate lunch with a poly girl in the 7th grade. They have school at home on Fridays. The teachers give the work on Thursday. On Friday Candi and I went to Pineview on our own. It was a nice date. We stopped at Arbys first to get lunch to eat at the lake. Got a shake too. We set up, ate our food, laid in the sun, got in the water, had a walk, took photos, laid out again then went home. Was wonderful. Friday Mina out wiht Tane again. She postponed her date with Heman to Saturday. They went skating at Classic fun center, went to the Aquarium outdoor dance things with lights under the big star fish thing then went to a park. She had a good time but was not trying flirt with him. She said he would open her doors and give so many compliments and call her Maori Queen, lol. He's really nice but I think she is still stuck on Tane. Poor Heman.
