August Nuts and Bolts

08.01-08.02: What a fun, enjoyable family reunion we had on the Torgesen side. While it got cut down from our original plans, we still managed to cram in great activities, food, games, and, most importantly, family time. Every member of the family was there for at least part of the week and the girls loved their time with their cousins. Elizabeth did a lot of the planning and was pleased with the end result. We love family time! I headed back the night of 08.02, while Elizabeth and the girls headed down to…
08.03-08.06:…Lake Powell! They had even more fun being with family down where it’s hot and wet. My three girls relaxed and played in the sun. While they were gone, I caught up at work and spent some time in SLC with Sarah. We went to a few movies, went shopping, and had a great time together.
08.06-08.07: Unfortunately, my conference at Utah State just missed seeing my ladies return home. I had a very enjoyable, productive time with other Annual Giving officers from schools in UT and ID. Managed to have some Aggie ice cream…pretty good stuff! It was really good to be reunited with Elizabeth and my princesses that night. It took Kadence and Tayah quite some time to get used to being back at home, resulting in some sporadic sleeping nights and fun behavior during the day. All worth it though!
08.09: Participated in the Aspen Grove Beckham Lodge dedication, with Elder Holland speaking and presiding. What a beautiful environment for a spiritual meeting.
08.11: We really tried to pack in a lot of fun activities this month. Each Tuesday, we made it to Thanksgiving Point for fun activities. Today was the Farm Country with farm animals, wagon rides, and a chance for the girls to take a spin on some ponies.
08.12: We all enjoyed the Smith FHE at LaRae’s new house. We were thrilled to learn of Lora and John’s big news two days later. Not as thrilled to hear of LaRae’s illness, but glad she’s doing better.
08.13: We hit the Utah County fair in Spanish Fork and the girls loved riding the ridiculously expensive rides. So fun, though, to watch their reactions to each ride!
08.14-08.21: Enjoyed having our sister-in-law Ayrin and her seven kids stay with us for a week. The girls had fun playing with their Baltimore cousins and again took some time readapting to being back to status quo after they departed.
08.15: Spent a nice, quiet afternoon taking in SLC taking in the Church History Museum, Temple Square, and the Conference Center. It’s so close and there’s so much to see. We had dinner as a family at Danny and Mary Sue’s to celebrate August birthdays.
08.16: Elizabeth and I attended a wonderful Stake Standards Night with Elder Hammond, formerly of the Seventy, speaking to the youth with his wife.
08.17: Finally (six months after we ordered ours online) had our free KFC dinner courtesy of Oprah. Education Week begins (I call it the Mormon’s Mecca as thousands of people make the pilgrimage to campus).
08.18: We could not believe how beautiful the Thanksgiving Point gardens were (or how expansive…didn’t allot enough time to see it all). The girls loved meeting the BYU cheerleaders and Cosmo at the annual Cougar Kickoff.
08.21: I attended an all-day meeting at the Church Office Building for LDS Business College, followed by an interview at Energy Solutions Arena with the Utah Jazz. A few days later, I was offered a writing position for the utahjazz.com blog. It’s a side opportunity, one that I am very excited for. Go Jazz! Later that night, we went to a very entertaining dinner theater at the new Covey Center in Provo. After a nice dinner, we were treated to a improvised western play. Quite a hoot!
08.22: Hit one location after another in an errand-filled Saturday. Went out to dinner and then to visit Jordan and family at Sheldon and Sarah’s. It was great to see him!
08.23: Loved participating in the Oquirrh Mountain Temple dedication. It was indeed odd to not have any other meetings, but we had a great day together. I checked tickets for the stake and met Elizabeth inside while Dad and Donna watched the girls and stayed for Sunday dinner afterward.
08.24-08.26: As part of BYU’s University Council, I attended numerous meetings and retreats. Elizabeth and the girls came to the University Breakfast and I sang in a quartet for our BYU Advancement meeting.
08.25: The Dinosaur Museum at Thanksgiving Point left a lot to be desired of, but we can now say we took Kadence and Tayah there.
08.26: Elizabeth and I attended a ward lecture on food storage.
08.27: The whole family had a fabulous time at the bishopric BBQ. There was amazing food and plenty of water games for the kids. What a choice group of people to serve with.
08.29: Elizabeth went to Lora’s baby shower while I went to a work lunch.
Other than that, we continue to get more and more excited for our baby boy. Kadence has a good grasp on what’s about to happen, and while she talks about him all the time, Tayah is probably going to have a little shock to her world as she knows it. Elizabeth is doing remarkably well and just gets tired in the evenings. She hasn’t let up one bit with her activities, projects, and being the best mother in the world for our girls.
Kadence is a sweet little three-year old and loves playing with Tayah. She is always singing, dancing, twirling, and loves anything remotely related to princesses. She has been very up and down with her sleeping and unfortunately had a week where she was in our bed a lot. Not fun. She’s also had her many moments where she helps her parents’ hair get prematurely grey. We sure love her though!
Tayah is constantly expanding her vocabulary and it’s hard to guess that she’s just two. She plays almost better with older kids. Ever since Lake Powell, she has been Daddy’s girl and wants to follow me everywhere and to be held. Love it (for the most part)! Her red-headed disposition is impossible to ignore!
I manage to stay busy with church and work. We are loving life and look forward to autumn!