Our Note Writer

Kennedy will often go to a friend's house and not let us know where she's at. We've really been working with her (begging!) her to call when she arrives somewhere so we know. The other day, this cute note was left on the counter. Julie was home at the time, so later asked her why she didn't just tell her she was going. Kennedy said she just likes to write notes! She does really enjoy it and we find them all over. She likes to put ones by my bed or on Julie's counter or mirror -- usually telling us she loves us! We'll take those notes any time.

First 5K

Savanna ran her first 5K on Saturday. It was part of the Lehi celebration week. Her volleyball coach had asked the girls to run two 5K races this summer. Although all smiles in this picture, she was pretty nervous!And they're off! There was quite a crowd of runners - some running the 5K and others the 10K. Savanna said she saw parts of Lehi she hadn't seen before, and they were out in the country with farms and cows. But at least it wasn't hilly.Julie stayed to watch her come in and get pictures. I went back home and came back with Kayden, Kennedy, Jordan and Cahlin. We pulled up towards the end of the race just in time to see her grand finish. She really pushed at the end and went all out to finish strong.She was tired, but happy to have completed it and in a good time (34 minutes).

Pantry Organization

We have struggled over the years keeping our pantry clean and organized. We clean it, but within a few weeks it's disorganized and a mess again! Hopefully my new system will help. I've learned from professional organizers (yes, there is such a thing!) that you need to LABEL everything. Containers/baskets also help. One last tip is that it should be EASY to put away. If it's not, then you won't put it back in the right spot.I spent several hours on a Saturday organizing and labeling the pantry. (You'll notice that I didn't show you "before" pictures.) With clear labels on everything, hopefully the whole family can put things away where they go and we can avoid the messiness that is usually present there.

Honor Roll

Savanna has just finished her freshman year at Lehi High School. She has worked hard in her classes and got almost straight A's. She's a terrific student and a great example to her younger siblings. We're very proud of her!

And in case you forgot what it was like to have a young, teenage boy in the house--

Water Damage

This is what happens when you leave the garden hose on overnight!

I can't even blame this on the kids. I was watering flowers the night before, and am pretty sure I left it on. I do feel lucky and blessed that I saw it the next morning. A tender mercy! I rarely sit down at the kitchen table in the morning, but did so on Thursday morning and glanced out and saw some water on the sport court. I wondered why there would be some there when we didn't have our sprinklers on and I couldn't see it anywhere else. I went out to investigate and our window well was filled. It took Julie and I 45 minutes to bail water out bucket by bucket. We were feeling those sore muscles the next day! It came through both windows and we had to have pad ripped out and noisy fans going for a few days. We were glad when it was finally dried out and we could get rid of those. It was pretty tough to sleep. The company starts the restoration work this week. We had some electronics on the window sill and on the floor next to the window that we're not sure if they are damaged. We haven't been able to plug them in. We filed a claim through our insurance company so it will be covered. Not fun!