The Everyday

Emi and I went to story time this morning and I made a Japanese friend! It always makes me happy when I meet Japanese people in the states. Emi liked writing with the chalk they have outside the library! After story time we ran a few errands and then headed to Plum Valley Park with some friends. Mary, Summer, Annie, Kimber, and all their kiddos were there. We ate lunch and let the kids play. Emi came home exhausted from our excursion and took an amazing nap. I actually had to wake her up so we could head to another park, Civic Green, with Katye and Easton. It was fun getting to catch up with Katye and be outside. We came home from the park, ate dinner, and ran some more errands and then it was time for Emi to go to bed! 

After Chuze this morning we headed with our friends to the pool! Then we came back for a nap. I learned that pool days are really fun, but once or twice a week would be just about right for me! There's just a lot of effort that goes into making a pool day happen with a child. In the afternoon we did a grocery story run and tidied up the house a bit.  After dinner I thought it'd be fun to go to Barnes and Noble to get our summer books--some for me and some for Emi. Emi was fussy on the way to the store, and when I went to take her out of her car seat she said "Mommy Weekend" which was really funny but also really sad. These past few weekends I've been gone, we've been telling her that she's having a "Daddy Weekend," and so I guess she just assumed that because Marty's out of town she's just with me for the next bit. Poor girl hasn't had both of her parents consistently here in about a month and is just trying to make sense of it all! 

Emi and I spent the morning at the pool with Kimber, Marlow, Bowen, and Brye B. It was so much fun and we came home exhausted. Timing was in our favor, because Marty dropped by the house right after Emi and I came back from the pool. He was just here for a little bit before heading to the airport. He's headed to Chicago for work! Emi took a good nap, and we hung out and had a chill day the rest of the afternoon and evening!

 Monday through pictures: Doesn't she look so grown up holding her banana and looking at her coloring book? Trader Joe's run! Thanks to my girls trip I now know how to navigate this super confusing store.haha. Colter and Emi. Met up with McKall! She and I went to BYU Jerusalem together. She's from HR, so anytime she visits her parents we try to meet up. Marty, Emi, and I took another trip to the tile store. We still don't know what we're going to do... 

Today was filled with church and a bunch of church meetings. Ward Council, Class Presidency Meeting, YCL Meeting, and birthday visit. In the evening, Marty grilled up some steaks for dinner. Yum!

In the middle of the night last night I had to go to the bathroom SOOO bad, but I couldn't bring myself to go to the porta potties by myself. haha. So I held it! Even so, I slept way better tonight than yesterday. Today went by quick. It consisted of packing, a ward devotional, and heading home. Our bishop came up for the devotional, and it'd been a long time since I'd seen him. His son was diagnosed with cancer over the past month or so and it's been all-consuming (as one might imagine). The stories he shared with us were special and faith building. I'm always in awe of people who go through really hard things and keep their faith.  We made the drive home, with a quick pit-stop at Chick-fil-A, and that was the end of Youth Conference! I can now see the importance of Youth Conference, Girls Camp, etc. These are huge faith-building opportunities that can be life changing. I hope the girls in my group took something away from their experience! It felt good to come hom

I don't think any of us slept very well last night but luckily there was a schedule laid out for the whole day which made it easier to stay awake and engaged.  Each group had a specific rotation schedule that carried throughout the most of the day--obstacle course, escape room, service project, axe throwing and archery, learning about the importance of the temple, and learning about missionary work. It was the perfect mix of spiritual and fun. I got to know the youth in my group as well as my companion group leader better throughout the rotations. My companion group leader, James, is close to my Dad's age and pretty quiet. After talking with him I learned he has 8 children, and he and his wife did foster care for over 16 years. He is a saint! In order to keep all the groups straight, the people who organized YC gave each group a name. Our group is the "mint" group which is special to me because I love all things mint. I know sometimes people feel like God shows them H

 Emi and I enjoyed library story time this morning.  I knew we had to check out this book when I saw it! In the afternoon I headed out to Youth Conference. This is the 3rd week in a row I've left Emi and I felt like my heart was breaking on the drive over to the Stake Center. I shed a few tears even though I know she'll be just fine with Marty.  At the Stake Center, I got told who'd be my companion group leader and who'd be in my group and then we had a brief welcome meeting. Afterwards, we got in cars and headed up to Bailey, CO. I pulled out every "get to know you" question I could think of on the drive, and tried to connect with some of the teens in my group.  Once we arrived we set up camp, ate dinner, and did some get to know you games. In the evening, we did a human pinata game where each group would try and get candy taped on a male leader's shirt. I was concerned for the older bishops who were being taken down by HS football players! haha. 

It was my best friend's birthday today! Happy 27th, Marty! We woke up and did presents in the morning. Marty requested 21 Pilots' vinyls, an Apple Watch, and a fancy scale. I'm excited he finally has an Apple Watch ;) While Marty was at work, we had friends over for backyard fun and lunch. In the evening, we picked Marty up from work and headed to Sawa Sushi. It was delicious! (Although I will say I feel the strong love I developed for sushi on my mission has begun decreasing with each year I'm home from my mission...I still like it! Just not like I did right after my mission) The highlight of the meal was Emi purposely spilling water on our table, and then cleaning it up with a napkin and saying "I did it!" She also was cracking us up by saying "shimi shimi" for "sashimi." We headed back from the restaurant and did cake! Marty requested a Snickerdoodle cake like last year. Then we put Emi down for bed, and a friend came over while I went w

After Chuze, we went to the pool with our friends today. Emi LOVED the slide and went down it over and over and over again. She is brave and adventurous! She came home and took a 3 hour nap! I think we'll be going to the pool more often. haha. In the evening, I practiced setting up my tent for Youth Conference. I had a little help from Marty, but was able to do most of it on my own. I'm feeling much more prepared for YC after tonight!

Whenever I see kids doing a lemonade stand, I have to stop! I loved doing lemonade stands as a kid (maybe too much haha) and had so many kind neighbors who would always stop for me, so I try to pay it forward and stop at the stands I see.  Emi loved the lemonade! This evening we went to look at tile for our shower. We still haven't signed any contracts yet. For some reason I've been procrastinating this project. Maybe because it feels so daunting to make all these decisions?

This morning, Miss, Les, and I joined my parents at the Taylorsville Temple Dedication Broadcast at my church building. It felt special that we all happened to be here on this Sunday! After the dedication, I headed to my parent's just for a little bit, and then Bubs dropped me off at the airport. It was so fun just getting to chat with her. Then pretty soon I was back home to Denver! I missed my little family, but I think Emi loved getting to have a "Daddy's Weekend." 

Missy and I had a slow morning. Missy said Blaire was up every hour last night (I slept right through it!) so we were all fine sleeping in.  We ended up grabbing breakfast at "Harvest." It was very PCesque--granola-y. The avocado toast and acai bowl were good, but I have yet to find an Acai bowl as good as the one I tried in NYC. (I am still dreaming of that acai bowl!) After breakfast, we made our way to a hike in a random place in PC. haha. We had just started hiking along the narrow trail, when we saw a snake slithering just a few feet from us! And it was eating something. It was so gross and scary!  After we passed the snake we weren't sure what to do. The trail was a 6 mile loop and we definitely weren't going to do the whole hike, so we decided it'd be best to go back where we'd come and run past the snake. I wigged out, and ended up running away from both the snake and our car instead of just passing the snake. Since that plan wasn't working, we cal