2020 Blue Jeans Week 35

School has officially started here--in person, with masks, temperatures checks before you enter the building, social distancing and hourly desk cleaning and hand washing.  The new normal, but it has gone very, very well so far!  People have gone to so much work to make it work!  I am so very grateful for that!  Mr J was very positive after his first day and first week.  Nice to get back to school which he has not been to since March 13!  Also he started cross country practice.  Yes, that will be different, but nice to be doing it again.  Got some pictures from my college girls.  Law school starting 3rd week and regular college starts today!  Prayers they can stay in person for as along as possible!  Here is a look at our week...

Our Sunday evening family call with my three girls together. 

Mr J's first day of school--mask ready

And the smile underneath the mask!

These two had lunch together this week and sent me a pic.  Made me happy!

My laundry amounts have changed.  Got it done faster with just 3 people home now.  Kind of a happy/sad thing...

We finished this awesome book while on vacation and watched the movie together on vacation too.  So good!  We able to finish it before we left Miss E.

Some pictures from Miss E this week before she starts classes next week.  She and some of her roommates went on a bike ride up the canyon.

And Miss E and all her roommates went hiking this weekend.  Such cute girls!  Excited for them to have this opportunity!

Thanks for visiting!  Hope you all have a great week!  Stay healthy and safe!

2020 Blue Jeans Week 34

Be warned....lots of pictures in this post.  Last week was a busy week as we took Miss E to college, and spent the week there to see my oldest 2 and get a 'vacation' in the midst of all this crazy that is life right now.  It was a great week.  Miss A started law school!  We loved being all together as a family and being in the mountains and hiking.  It was great. Take a look....

Miss A has been learning how to knit and made these adorable baby booties for her cousin and his wife who are expecting their first baby in a few weeks.

Got all the stuff out of the van and into this girl's college apartment.  She is on campus but lives in a full-sized apartment so she has a full kitchen and living room.  She will be cooking her own food, no cafeteria for her.  She was excited to get there and get her room all ready!  Now just prayers she can stay there and actually attend!!!

Most of the week we spent at my grandparents cabin up in the mountains.  Love it there!

One family activity....we did some M&Ms tasting games.  I had bought several different kinds and everyone had to try them and guess what they were and vote for their favorite.  Peanut butter M&Ms won, but we all liked the white chocolate peanut ones a lot too.

Hike #1 for the week.  Love being in the mountains!

Family hike, and yes, we did wear our masks at times because it was crowded in some places.  The "new normal."

And this girl had her first day of law school the week we were there!  Go Miss A!!!  So excited for you!

Exploring with Ben's mom and dad.  Sure love them!

Family puzzle time at the cabin!

My grandparents' cabin is a place I love and holds lots of special memories!  So glad I got to take my kids here for the week!

Game time on the cabin back porch!

Hike #2 for the week....

Love the trees along this trail...

This hike went to a really pretty waterfall that felt so nice after a long, hot hike!

So pretty!  We hiked here when we were in college and dating.  Fun to do it with our family!

Love the mountains! 

Miss O playing with blocks at the cabin.  A favorite family pastime and family tradition from my grandparents.

My girls--masked and ready for school!  Can you see the big Y on the mountain behind them?  BYU freshman, junior and first year law student!

Unmasked and glad they can be there together to support each other!

Miss A in front of her law school.  Super excited for her!

Thanks for visiting!  Hope you have a great week and stay safe and healthy!!!

2020 Blue Jeans Week 33

Catching up....this was two weeks ago.  Our last week with Miss E home before we took her to college.  We are now down to one kid home which is weird and very quiet.  Take a look at our week...

Had a storm roll in and Mr J got this awesome picture of the clouds in our back yard!

Miss E and Ben in the kitchen getting ready to make some cookies!  Miss E decided to soften the butter by putting in under a hot glass?  But I guess it worked.  Cookies were good!

Me making some rolls for dinner this week.  

Mr J helping Miss E get her room packed.  A sad/happy thing to see!

Made Miss E favorite dessert as part of her last night home.  This is the NYC Magnolia Bakery's banana pudding recipe, and it is soooo good!

And we are packed up and on the road, really, really, really packed up!  Fully loaded and not room for another thing!  College here she comes!

Made it to Ben's parents house and we are together with all my kids!!!! Enjoyed spending time with them and playing some games.

Thanks for visiting!  Hope you are all safe and well!  

2020 Blue Jeans Week 32

Summer seems to be quickly disappearing!  They put off school here for an extra week, so we have 2 more weeks until it starts.  We need to get our girl to college in that time and traveling right now is kind of tricky.  Prayers all goes well!  Had a good week.  Miss E is winding up her summer jobs--one this week and one next week as she prepares to leave for school.  Some school prep in mask making.  Who would have ever thought masks would be a required item for school?  Things to remember!  Take a look at our week...

Mr J enjoying a Sunday evening at home.  Our church has finally started back up after 4 months, but because of restrictions, only half of our congregation goes every other week.  Masks required and social distancing, but it is nice to be back to physical church!

Still going strong on reading Harry Potter #4 out loud.  Our goal is to finish it and watch the movie before we leave Miss E at college.  Those books are just so good!

While admiring the evening sky a few days ago we noticed two really bright stars that we figured out were actually the planets Jupiter and Saturn.  Ben read that you could actually see the rings of Saturn right now if you had a good telescope.  Thankfully our library has this Galileo telescope that you can check out, and we were able to see Jupiter, 4 of its moons and some of its storm lines.  We could also actually see Saturn and its rings!!!!  It was really, really cool!  We also had a full moon that we could see soooo many details on the moon too.  The night sky is amazing!!!

Masks are a required item for public schools here and also college for my 3 girls, so we have been busy the last few weeks making lots and lots of masks for my 4 kids.  Finally got them all done!  Everyone has 7 to make it through a week and then wash.  Who would have ever thought masks would be a required back to school item?  Something to be remembered!

This girl has been working so hard this summer with 2 different jobs and over 40 hours each week.  She had her last day as a hospital screener, and one of her sweet coworkers got her these gorgeous flowers on her last day.  So sweet!

Weekend fun for these two.  They enjoyed an evening in the basement together playing games, watching movies, building a blanket fort and making yummy cookies!  Some good times and good memories before this girl heads to college.  It is going to be hard for Mr J to be the lone child home I think!

And Mr J has also been working hard this summer.  He has been working at the community pool.  Got a picture of him guarding the slides this week.  One more week of work for him!

Thanks for visiting!  Hope you are all well and staying healthy and safe!  Have a great week!

2020 Blue Jeans Week 31

We are all doing well here.  Everyone working hard.  Miss E and Mr J just have one more week of work each, and then they have a little break before Miss E heads to college and Mr J starts school.  Crazy!  August is here!  Had a fun week.  Went on a great bike ride and enjoyed some family time before our family shrinks again!  Take a look at our week...

Mr J made these yummy peanut butter cups from Mel's Kitchen Cafe this week.  They were so good!

 When Miss E goes to college she will live in an apartment style dorm with a full kitchen and will be cooking her own food.  We have started packing some things, and today we went through the spices to see what she would want to take and what we had extra of.

Talk about a storm front coming in!  Got this picture this week before the rain hit us.  Thought that line was so cool!

Had our dinner outside one night this week as it wasn't too hot or humid, which for us is not normal this time of year, so we were happy to be able to eat outside in the cooler evening!

Still loving our puzzles here!  

On Saturday all the kids were home (which doesn't happen often with them both working) so we loaded up the bikes and went to the city.  We did a 15 mile paved bike trail through some beautiful areas!  Lots of fun!

The trails were in a big park with a lake and we enjoyed a picnic lunch after our bike ride.  Then we hit some stores to get back to school shoes.  It was a great day!

Thanks for visiting!  Hope you are all doing well!  Stay safe and healthy!