Backyard Cookout with some new SMILES

After an incredibly crazy week of camps, blood drives, orthodontists, driveway pours, trailer purchasing, and summer schooling (for Dean), the boys were begging to have a cookout in the backyard.  My initial reaction was to turn them down because we didn't have the food we needed for a cookout, or wood, and I didn't want everyone smelling like smoke, but a little voice inside my head said to just say "YES!"  They were so determined to make it work that they scoured the yard for branches to fix the wood problem, and came up with a way to pull off tin foil dinners with what we had at home.  It ended up being just what we needed after a long week of running, running, running.  And it was fun to see how determined the boys could be when they put their minds to something.  And check out the pictures to see Tanner's new brace-less smile and Braddock's new braces grin!

Breaking in our Kayaks

In the middle of the pandemic I saw a great deal on two-person kayaks, but with everyone stuck at home with not a lot to do, they sold out FAST.  Too fast in fact, but once I knew they could be just $99 a piece of course I couldn't settle for anything more.  So I kept an eye on things until finally the price went down again.  This time I jumped on it.  They were limited to 2 per customer, so we enlisted Mom and Dad's help to snag us a third, and now we're looking forward to lots of days kayaking with all six of us.  Saturday was the perfect day for their maiden voyage.  We went out to Raccoon Creek State Park where the weather was gorgeous, the water was refreshing, and the company was pretty good too! 😉 (Why do kids complain even when you’re out trying to have fun? Asking for a friend! 🤣). And after cruising around the lake we spent some time swimming too.  

We have a DRIVEWAY

Earlier this year we got a quote on getting a driveway put in that came back WAY higher than we expected ($16,000 and they couldn't come till October!), so Dean just dug in and got to work doing it himself and ultimately saved us over $11,000. He worked countless hours prepping and making sure things were set to go smoothly. In fact he was still prepping till 1am the night before because the truck time got moved up to first thing in the morning. (I'm sure our neighbors all love us!) Thanks to the help of some wonderful family and friends, I came home from Girl’s Camp this week to a gorgeous new driveway! I never knew I could love a driveway this much! Here’s to many hours of shooting hoops, roller blading, and hover boarding in our future! #feelinggrateful

We definitely wouldn't have pulled this off without Dad's tractor and his endless hours of help!

If there is dirt involved you better believe these boys got in on the action.

I snapped this picture of the cement truck as I drove away for Girls Camp.  I was super stressed about not being there to help, but Mom filled in and drove Tanner and Braddock to the orthodontist, and brought tons of food to all the hard workers for lunch.  We have an incredible support system that we couldn't be more grateful for!  Cement crew: Will Enders, Bill and Jeff Smith, Greg Noelting, Brett Hill, and of course Dean and Dad.  

BEFORE (our driveway when we moved in 11 years ago):

AFTER:

Young Women's Camp

Camp this year was a bit different than in years past.  There was no actual camping or staying overnight, but we were thrilled that things are largely back to normal and that we could do camp at all.  We spent two days out at Moraine State Park as a Stake, and I was so happy I got to be there.  I was assigned as the leader over the 1st years and that age group is my jam.  They're young enough that they're still excited about everything and easily bond with their leaders.  We had Allie and Addison from our Ward, but the rest I met for the first time at Camp and I loved getting to know them all.  We broke the ice with a few games and then took the girls on a scavenger hunt hike.  It was fun watching friendships form and walls come down.  The Stake took care of meals and we ate really well.  That first afternoon we spent time rotating through classes and having some important discussions in our levels.  Emily Madsen killed it with her class on standards.  It helped me look at things differently from more of a "why?" perspective than a check list of do's and don'ts.  I hope it resonated with the girls as well.  The 2nd day we got to spend time out on the lake.  The girls got to take turns on kayaks and paddle boards and we had beach time too.  We participated in a service project helping the park rangers spruce up trails, and despite wheelbarrows with flat tires, we managed to spread new dirt and clear out weeds anyway.  One ranger told me they have over a million people come through the park each year and they were so grateful for our help.  We got to end the day as a Ward and man I loved being with my peeps.  I have come to love these girls SO much and it fills my cup just being with them.  I love hearing their joys and sorrows and being there for both.  I admire the courage it takes to grow up in our world today and continue to remain strong.  They inspire me and I'm forever grateful I get to be a part of their lives.  I put together a seran wrap ball full of candy and prizes that they really enjoyed and then we just relaxed at the beach for the rest of our Ward time.  It was awesome watching girls interact who usually don't, and seeing them all join in on "Big Booty" and just having fun with each other.  We had dinner and then got to hear from Bishop Petrosky.  His love of the Lord and the Youth of our Ward is apparent and it was so nice just to all be together away from the busy of our normal lives.  I'm so grateful for the Gospel, our Savior, and the strength that comes when we join together with others with our same standards and faith.  I hope everyone went home feeling buoyed up and ready to face life with courage.  

The Beaver Valley Crew...

Top Row: Savannah Bolinger, Bishop Petrosky, Allie Mitchell, Amy Petrosky, Paige Petrosky, Kate Goettman, Andrea Nelson, Emily Madsen, Nani Bolinger, Lauren Mitchell.  Bottom Row: Haley Goettman, Megan(Melanie's friend), Brooke Goettman, and Melanie Tame (not pictured: Abby Streb and Aya Larson who had to leave early)

Playing "Big Booty" with our Ward girls

Olivia Larson was a rockstar.  Despite being in the middle of chemo treatments she helped plan and perfectly execute an amazing few days for these girls.

My crew!  It was SO fun getting to spend a couple days with these ladies.  I'm so lucky to have some seriously incredible friends.  Missing Abriel Gruber who is moving and house hunting in Indiana.  We're all pretty devastated about it!

Still had to have camp songs even if there were no fires.

The First Years...