Family get together

We had everyone over for dinner last night and it was a beautiful night. We had lots of food and more chocolate then you can imagine, but that is what this family does(chocolate). The kids had fun playing with cousins. Karl and Kristi were back from Hawaii and so why not a party. Here are a few photos that JT and Ezekiel took with Paige's camera.
Everyone left around 7pm and then I ran up to my room to finish "New Moon". I finished Twilight on Saturday and it took great strength not to sneak up at read during the dinner. But, everyone kept my attention well.

Gunnar and Qatar are back. No trophy, thanks Robert.

Well we went to bed early last night, so we missed the call at almost 10 pm. At midnight the door bell rang and the dog barked. I got up scared, woke up David and down stairs we went. It was just the boys back from camp. "Why was the door locked? We called you, you know." OK. They were tired, but seemed to have had a good time. They both completed many merit badges and Gunnar went scuba diving.
I am busy doing laundry now and boy their stuff stinks. Boys are very smelly.
It is great to have them back.
Yesterday was the golf outing that David's team has won a trophy and prizes for the last two years. Gunnar could not play this year and so David asked Robert Flatt and well bad idea. Robert blew it and they did not win the trophy this year. They lost by one point. Or won, depending how you look at it. The trophy they won before was for the worst team and this year they beat that team and came it second to last. Robert may never be asked to play in the group again. You really do not know a person sometimes. Shawn won the longest putt and so he is to blame also, if he had missed it they would have had another stroke and tied for last. David and Eric played like usual and have no blame for the lack of the trophy. Way to go Eric and David!!! I will add photos later.

Death of a friend

My first boss ever died on Sunday. Denny Maschka hired me in 1985 for a lifeguard at Ellis for the summer that the new city outdoor pool was being built. He was so nice and I was so nervous about interviewing for a job at 15 years old. That summer was lots of fun even without the tan. I made new friends with the other lifeguards and made some money.
I worked with Linda, Denny's wife, at birthright and she always talked about him when we worked together. Denny came with Linda to lots of the meetings for birthright and he had a contagious smile. I feel so bad for Linda and their family for their loss of Denny. Austin is also at a loss, Denny was the director of the Park and Rec and involved with most of the things in the community. He will be missed.
Denny's obituary

Swimming Lessons

The kids have swimming lessons at the outdoor city pool and they are having fun. All of the Austin cousins are in lessons at the pool also. We fill up most of the 10:30 time slot. They have only had one session so far and so they will repeat the same level in the next two weeks. Today the lighting started in the sky almost at the end of lessons, so out of the pool. We walked in the rain to lunch and then home. Cenny kept saying she was so sweet that she would melt, and I told her no one in this family is that sweet.
Go cousin power the power of all those kids. We also rule the Sumner lunch room from 11:15 or so. We own the Primary!!! Go Peters, Connett, Bremner, and Martin power. Martins are a distant cousins on Dad's side of the family.

Party

On Saturday the Bremner's had everyone over for a get together, because Karl, Kristi, and family were visiting from Ohio. We had dinner and the kids played and then had a slip and slide fun time. David took some photos of the event and here they are. Gunnar and Qatar were gone and I stayed out of Davids shots. He is working on a guts and butts project and I do not wish to be included.

Gunnar was back for a bit!

Gunnar came home from the DC trip at 4:45pm on Sunday, then by 6:45 he was on his way to scout camp for a week. Qatar left on Saturday am and seems to be having a great time. I will only have three kids this week. Cooking should be a breeze.
Gunnar talked about his trip and he had a good time, but they kept them so busy he is exhausted. Maybe he can rest at camp?

City track meet and Primary activity

Tuesday night was the Kiwanis first track meet of the summer and it was well attended. We also added a Primary activity to that night to encourage the kids to do their personal bests and to have fun cheering for each other. The Primary met ahead of time, had a healthy snack, a pep talk, and a long stretching activity with a famous track star.
It was a beautiful night and all the kids did great. Ribbons were won by all. The kids ran the 50, 100, 200, 400, the mile, and a 4X100 relay. There was also the softball throw and the long jump. Everyone seemed to have fun and loved the ribbons. I well post a slide show when I get it done.
Thanks to all the people who came to bring and support their children. This was a great active family activity that really promotes healthy living and fun. Thanks to all the watchers and the cheerleaders the kids loved the attention.
See you all again on the 17th of July. Lets all go for a new personal best!!!

Gunnar

Well Gunnar is off on his week trip to Washington DC with his 9th grade AP History class. He leaves everything to the end and so as I was folding his recently clean clothes I found; he only had washed 3 pairs of underwear and three pairs of socks(and they did not all match each other.) I asked about other clean socks and underwear and he did not know where any were. So off to Target we went with an hour to go before they leave. New underwear and socks. At least have clean underwear everyday in case of an accident(my grandmother always told me that.)
I left the kids at swimming lessons and got Gunnar ready to go. He packed in a small duffel bag and everything fit(even with the new underwear, a pair for everyday.) (I have to tell you that we all can pack very light. We learned one summer in a 2+ week trip. The van is not big enough for all of us and lots of stuff. But the downside is, in the photos of the trips it looks like we went every where in the same two days.) I walked and picked up the kids at lessons and then off to pick up lunch and then to the bus to see Gunnar off. Everyones parents and family members were there. Lots of hugs from the girls going on the trip, but the boys just loaded on the bus. Jay, a friend of Gunnar, got off to get something from his Mom and everyone thought he got off the bus to hug her. I yelled to him and told him to get Gunnar. Gunnar came to the door and waved, I gave him a look and he hugged me like I might make him sick and then hugged Parker.
I thought nothing embarrassed Gunnar, but I guess I do. YEA POWER!!

Austin Under Water (flood warning)

Well almost. Some of these pictures were taken in the early am before the rivers got as high as they got.
We have been up and working most of the day. Gunnar, Qatar, and I have filled sand bags at the Salvation Army and at Johnny's. We helped move office items at the Salvation Army also. We pulled soaked carpet out of a friends basement and moved lots and lots of auto supplies from low shelves to higher shelves. I know that poor auto supply store will not be able to find anything for awhile. They made us leave before we were done because the water was rising and the parking lot was flooding. At Johnny's I felt like we were using a finger to plug the hole in the dam. No matter how fast we filled the bags, they cried for more and more. At one point the river pushed the wall of sand bags down in one place.
I have blisters and a very sore back. I was holding bags for a women, who was at least 20 years older then I am and we worked and worked. My back hurt so bad and I was sure she would take a break soon, but she never did. She was not even from Austin. She told me she has a small creek in her yard in Brownsdale and when it goes over the banks she knows Austin is in trouble, so she got in the car and came to help.
Bonnie finally pulled us out and made us leave. She had picked a point when we got there and when the water topped the mark she pulled us out. She was worried our cars would get stuck in the water. The road out was covered in water and it was rising, luckily we drove through only ankle deep water.
The rivers do not even crest until tonight. I am exhausted and so are the boys. Real physical labor; squats, heavy lifting, moving large heavy bags, tying and shoveling sand. I was worried about getting exercise today because I did not have the bike paths to ride on. I got more then enough exercise today and I know I will feel it tomorrow.
We rode the bike paths yesterday and today they are all covered in water. It is amazing how fast the weather and landscape can change. Austin is very different today then it was yesterday.

Friends and lunch.

Cenneidigh invited a friend over for the day and when we went to pick her up, we picked up her little sister also. Well, we all walked over to the school for lunch and then to the library. Everyone complained it was too far and I said "Suck it up Gas is too expensive" So we walked. We played at the park and signed up for the summer reading program. Then on the way home we stopped by the eye doctor and order JT new glasses. He fell over this last weekend and the scratches are almost all the way through, and I swear his glassed are 1/2 inch thick. Then to a craft store and then home. Yea home.

Without friends to tag along today, we will ride bikes. JT learned to ride his bike in less then a week and he never had training wheels. Way to go JT. Now we are a family of bike riders.

My hip on the right side was in pain from the walking (I had walked the dog 4 miles in the early am that day). I now am on the way to the store for new shoes and I hope that will help. The last time my hip hurt this much it required a new bed. I hope it is only shoes this time.
I told David about my pain and he said he had just read about the cause of that on the internet, so the stupid person I am I asked what was the cause. He told me it was OLD AGE. HaHAHAHAHAHAH. Thanks that really helped.

Busy week

Well this week was busy like the rest. School ended on Weds. at noon and the crazy house started. Ezekiel spent the night at a friends house and we did not see him again until dinner the next day. Cenny and JT have found a new friend four houses down who goes to private school. They beg to go play there the minute they get up and the mean mom I am I make them wait until 9:30 am.
Gunnar got the grades to go on the DC trip and is now looking for odd jobs to do. He made the grades to go but not the grades for the extra spending money. Let me know if you need your lawn mowed or weeds pulled.
Qatar is still grounded and is working hard pulling weeds and mowing lawns. He is not a great bathroom cleaner yet, we are working on that.
Here is a photo from Winter Quarters and one of the master piece I made for the kids for dinner last night. I have been inspired by Heather and her Butterfly.

Time Away

David had a business trip to the big city of Fremont NE. I was able to tag along, my parents babysat the kids. YEA!!!! The first night there we went to check the movie times for the next day and David accidentally pushed the PANIC button. Well it was a rental car and we did not know how it all worked. The car went crazy, lights and horns blowing, we could not figure out how to stop it. It was embarrasing and people kept stopping by to try to help. We tried every button and finally walked back to the hotel to call the rental company. The company told us to slide a button on the remote and a key popped out. The key turned in the door stopped the alarms at last and the car worked. What a mess the alarms only lasted 3 mins, seemed like forever, but the lights flashed another 20 mins. Lucky for us we were about 1/2 a mile from the hotel so walking both ways was not a problem.
The trip was nice and the kids were not happy to see us when we returned. They liked having breakfast made everyday and movies at night. Oh well that is life.
We stopped at Winter Quarters Visitors Center and the Kanesville Tabernacle. Oliver Cowdery, my cousins on my mothers side are direct descendants from him, came back to the church at the Kanesville Tablernacle. Brigham Young was sustained as the Prophet there also.
We listened to the book "Dear John" by Nicholas Sparks while driving. It is a heartbreaking story. I should have expected that, I have read a few others and they always pull at the heart strings.
It was nice to be with David alone and without the normal distractions of life.
Here is a cute photo of Cenny and JT in costumes from the chest.