A Good Gift

I'm quite certain I have shared the story of our first Christmas together in 1997, when I awoke on Christmas Eve morning with a huge frying pan in the sheets of my bed. Suffice it to say, I didn't really appreciate it, nor was I very excited about it.

First of all, it was Christmas EVE not Christmas DAY
Second of all, a frying pan for someone that has been married 8 months wasn't exactly the right type of gift.
Third of all, it was a HUGE frying pan for just two people.

For the record, I'd actually LOVE to receive that frying pan now! 18 years later, that frying pan is long gone and it was actually a pretty decent one.

I've probably even mentioned the Christmas I received a curtain rod (no curtains...), and I'll actually stop here, because Mike is a wonderful husband in SOOO many ways. Good gift giving just isn't really his thing.

I, on the other hand?

I'm a pretty good gift giver.
You can ask him.

Take the gift he received on the most recent Father's Day for example: An opportunity to drive a Ferrari or Lamborghini at top speed at a nearby motor raceway. Last Saturday, his scheduled ride arrived.

Mike had a pretty big smile on his face about the whole experience.

Not sure what his face is saying or doing here. I think it was as soon as he got finished and was expressing his enthusiasm for the experience.

(We laughed that the drivers had to wear helmets and use seat belts, but their instructor passenger didn't even wear a seat belt!)

As we got in the car to drive home in our little Audi sedan, Mike said, "I used to think this car was quite fast and zippy. Not anymore. It feels like a Fisher Price car."

Later that night, Mike went to bed with a smile on his face, but not before warning me: "You did a dangerous thing today: giving me an appetite for that." Not sure what that means; good thing his wallet doesn't hold quite as much money as a Ferrari costs.

Mike loves cars. I love giving gifts.
It was a good fit.

Luke and Mike

Merely a coincidence that the two most recent blog posts are about Luke. Onto other children later...

On Instagram recently, a friend commented on a photo, "I wish I was one of your children, I'd like to see what trip I'd get to go on."

She was referring to the fact that Luke and Mike were in Seattle, WA at the NFL kick-off game with between the Green Bay Packers and Seattle Seahawks .

Which I must explain...
In June 2013, we went on a family trip to California. We had an okay time, but for the most part, it was a nightmare.

A. NIGHTMARE.

More than once Mike and I looked at each other wondering what in the world we were doing, and I'm quite sure Mike swore on his life that he'd never go on a family vacation again.

With the combination of that less than stellar family vacation experience, and a high number of airline rewards points we have experimented with a new style of travel this year. In the winter, I took the two little boys to Disneyland, and we have been anticipating a trip to NYC this fall with our girls. One night in July, I started brainstorming about "trip ideas" for Luke and suddenly thought of a football game. His two favorite teams are the Packers and Seahawks, and so I looked at the schedules of each.

I could not believe my eyes that late Sunday night while laying in my bed, with my i-pad in my hand, when I saw that the Packers and the Seahawks were due to play each other on a THURSDAY night and in SEATTLE. (A much more desired destination than Wisconsin?) We had enough miles for free flights, and not knowing anything about typical NFL football ticket prices, it seemed like it was a trip worth making happen.

I take full credit for the idea, the booking, the accommodations, the preparation, the activity agenda, the printed directions, the instructions, the packing, etc. Mike gets full credit for paying for it.

Little did I know that when I bought the tickets, it was the NFL kick-off game. A pretty big deal in the world of NFL.

Megan is an avid football fan herself (this is just her 2nd season), but she is far more excited about an upcoming trip to NYC. She rallied the siblings around her for the big game and they watched it on tv, on slightly damp couches that had been professionally clean that day. (Our whole house was in complete disarray from the carpets being cleaned earlier in the day.)

The rest is pretty much history. Although I must make a disclaimer--that there are no spoiled children around here. These trips are no different than a family trip somewhere for the seven of us, and no trip would happen if we had to actually "pay" for the plane ticket. (We haven't "paid" for a plane ticket for a couple of years now...)

(I totally take credit for their plane seats being on the side that had a great view of Mount. St. Helen's volcano. Go me. (Sheer coincidence/luck.))

Anyway,
Back to Mike and Luke...

 (The view from their room. They're welcome. (Again...pure coincidence/luck.)

 (I loved visiting Seattle last September, and was so excited they got to see the Gum Wall that I had told them so much about.)

They spent a wonderful time together in Seattle last week. Luke wore his Packer's jersey to the game with his Seahawks t-shirt underneath. The day after the game, as they explored the city, Luke wore a Packers hat with a Seahawks shirt. Mike said he got humorous comments all day long from passers-by.

Mike loved it. And even though he did choke a little at the price of the trip, I know he is glad they went and I, we made it happen. Mike's comment to me the evening of their return?

"It was all so low-key. It was really nice, just being Luke and me. Even you there would have changed the dynamic drastically. We were both really laid-back, relaxed and had a great time."

Separately, Luke reported to me, "It was so fun just me and dad. I hope you know what I mean, but I'm even glad you weren't there."

Not quite sure exactly HOW to interpret either of those comments.

And that my friends is probably why full-seven-member-family-vacations are not really in our plans anymore.

A Non-Birthday

Birthdays are a BIG deal.
A HUGE deal.
The absolute best day of any person's year.
Who couldn't possibly feel that way about their birthday?

Mike.

Every year as his birthday approaches I ask, "Anything you want for your birthday?"
His reply is always the same, "Nothing."
And then I purchase a bunch of "stuff" that he really doesn't care about, but politely opens and either consumes, wears or uses.

A couple of years ago I quit doing balloons for him. (A Sowby birthday tradition anyone else would be devastated to miss out on.)

Last year, I quit "trying" for him, and he chose a quiet day with activities of his own choosing.

This year. I got him NOTHING.
NOTHING.
Not one single present.
Not even Hot Tamales. Or Werthers. Or Orange Slices. Or cashews. Or Cinnamon Bears.
NOTHING.

He didn't even care.
And guess what?
I didn't really either.
(I thought I would, but I didn't.)

All he asked for this year was, "Good kids."
Which he didn't exactly get, if you consider Drew's behavior during dinner. Of course in front of our out-of-town cousin/dinner guest.

It was one of my favorite birthdays of his. So was last year.  Too bad it took me 17 years of marriage to figure that out. But alas I did...July 20th won't really be anything special around here anymore except for a dinner of his choosing (maybe), and ice cream pie (definitely).

Happy Birthday Mike.
This is how he feels about it for me.

 This is how he really feels about it.

Works for him.
But if he thinks this is the new norm for birthdays when October 22nd comes around, and it is time to celebrate ME, I won't be happy.

Birthday to Remember

I believe every birthday should be a birthday to remember, but I think there is something about Ellie's 10th birthday (today!) that she will remember always.

About a week ago, Ellie came to me with a notebook page, color co-ordinated and decorated in a very typical almost-10-year-old-girl way, with the events of her birthday spelled out. She had shopping, dinner at Village Inn, and cake and ice cream all time mapped out for her Tuesday afternoon/evening birthday celebration.

Last Friday morning, Mike called me. He had just gotten off the phone with my brother Casey, and as soon as he told me that, I knew the combination of him talking to Casey, and the timing of the American Idol season that it probably meant one thing. (Remember last year?)

Casey had "tickets" to the American Idol final singing competition, Casey no longer lives in California, but that didn't stop Mike from ever pausing to question whether or not he was going to go. (Last year Mike and Casey attended the actual finale.) As soon as Mike looked at the date and saw the tickets were for May 20th, he declared Ellie his travel partner. Yours truly had to drop all of her Friday morning plans and errands for the sake of finding flights for them. Mike invited his cousin and her daughter to attend with them. (It was going to be dads and daughters, but Mike's cousin's husband couldn't attend, so he went with his cousin instead! Fun-wish I had a photo of all 4 of them.)

I LOVE that Mike flying to LA, now 2 years in a row, with just days notice is so NOT him, but so him. I love that Mike is frugal, a workaholic, and organized and well-planned, yet he has now followed a particular passion of his twice and temporarily thrown all those traits of his out the window. Enough about Mike, it is Ellie's birthday.

Mike told Ellie on Friday night that she was going to go to American Idol with him. She was very excited, but a part of her wondered/questioned/worried about "missing" her birthday.

Even Luke mentioned a couple of days ago, "I love birthdays, even other peoples. I'm sad we won't have balloons, and presents and cake." And today, Drew mentioned, "Is it really Ellie's birthday? I don't like it."

Mike and Ellie flew to LA on Monday night, and will return early on Wednesday morning. I have to say, it has been a very strange day today. I LOVE birthdays, and it has been odd to not see my child on their birthday. But on the flip side, receiving these photos throughout the day, have made me smile.

(Waiting in line with Cousin Katie to claim their tickets on Tuesday morning.)

(Cousin Karena took the girls to Starbucks to get a snack while Mike held the place in line. Apparently, Ellie got a free hot chocolate and a cake pop!)

(I wish I had a photo of Ellie holding up her sign. We could see her blue sign being held up right after Jena's performance! So cool. Side note to remember: On Sunday night when Ellie was making her sign, on one part of her poster she wrote, #americanidol. Mike came into the room and asked, "Why have you written number American Idol?" He got all sorts of negative feedback from the three oldest children, "It's a hash tag Dad, haven't you noticed that on all the American Idol shows you've been watching this season?" #mikesisnotintosocialmedia)

We can do a pretend birthday tomorrow, but I think today will remain the highlight! At least we think...Ellie isn't one to show a lot of excitement and enthusiasm. 

Happy 10th Birthday Ellie!

Why Worry? A Lesson Learned AND LIVED

Back in January when Mike sang a duet in church, I learned a valuable lesson...

I spent the whole Sunday morning before his performance nervous and anxious. I worried he'd hit a wrong note (like I would recognize that?), or that he'd trip and fall on the way up to the front. I worried he'd forget the words (they were in front of him), or that he'd open his mouth and nothing would come out. I worried so much (which I think contributed to my nervous laughter), that when it was over, I felt as though I'd missed the entire performance. I drove home from church that day with tears in my eyes wishing I had enjoyed the musical number. I wished that when people told me how well he had done, or how much they liked the performance that I could relate. But I couldn't.

Fortunately our friend had recorded it and I listened to that recording more times than I care to admit.

It is quite coincidental that his performance fell the week before leaving for our week-long cruise. As I woke up the Monday morning, five days before leaving, I tried to rid myself of all of the worry and anxieties about leaving our children for 8 days. I was committed to living the lesson I had learned less than 24 hours earlier from Mike's musical performance. As natural worries surfaced in the coming days, I tried to remind myself to enjoy the moment.

At the forefront of my mind was the determination to not spend the week of my cruise worrying about all the what ifs that had crossed/or would cross my mind. You know those silly things like, What if the ship sinks or the plane crashes? What if the kids are naughtier than they've ever been? What if Mike drowns? What if the ship gets delayed a week. And so on and so on.

(Yes. I am a worrier.)

When I got out of the car at the SLC airport to begin our journey to Florida, our friend Kellen's last words to me were, "Your kids will be fine." (Not that he was going to be in charge of them!?)

I can honestly say, as soon as I stepped onto the ground at the Florida airport, I didn't worry about the children, the ship or anything even once! (Cruises are obviously very good for my mental health.) OK, I do admit one exception, I did worry slightly that Mike had gotten separated from his snorkeling group when he was 20 minutes late meeting me at our assigned destination.)

I lived in the moment on that cruise the entire week! I basked in the beauty around me, embraced the opportunity that was ours, and had faith and optimism that all was well at home. I had no regrets from wasted energy or thoughts, or time spent worrying. I stepped off that ship feeling like I had enjoyed every moment, and the only regrets I had were that it and come to an end, and that I had eaten too much. (Oh and that I left my favorite navy blue Gap t-shirt on the sandy white beaches of the Bahamas.)

I tell you this experience for no other reason than to remind myself of this experience. I need to duplicate getting rid of my worries as I get on a plane on Tuesday afternoon and traipse across the world to Paris and London.

I know, I know! What in the world am I doing gallivanting off to Europe when I have five children and a husband at home? But opportunity knocked and I answered.

(I'm heading to Paris with my mother-in-law and sister-in-law, then I'm going to London alone for a few days to visit dear friends and places I will always love.)

Did I learn my lesson completely from January? Hopefully once I step foot in the Paris airport, I will not give a single worry about the goings on at home. I will try not to think about whether Mike will get Joshua to a birthday party on-time on Friday, or whether Mike will remind the little boys to occasionally brush their teeth, or if they will have a fruit and/or vegetable in their pack lunches, or if he'll remember to help Joshua with his homework each afternoon.

I'm going to let the worries leave my mind as I say goodbye to Mike on Tuesday afternoon. My family and life will still be here when I return on May 8th, so I am going to make the most of everyday I am in Paris and London. Like with my cruise, I want to return knowing I basked in each moment and have no regrets of wasted energy or worries.

I won't even regret eating too much this time... French pastries, baguettes, Brie cheese, fish and chips, Battenburg cake, prawn cocktail crisps, and Flakes and Double Deckers will be consumed in bounty in the coming days.

Bon Voyage!

Something to Offer

A few weeks ago in our main church meeting, Mike and I were asked to speak. Our assigned topic was "Sharing our talents and gifts." Because of my particular talents (or lack of) I made sure to emphasize the importance of recognizing the talents and gifts that are not ones to be publicly shown "on a stage". It seems the talents that can be shown on a stage are the ones we too often give the most attention to.

It wasn't until I was an adult that I realized that I really do have talents, none of which could be performed at a talent show. In fact, you likely won't see me at any talent show. Which made me have to carefully phrase certain parts of my talk, as an upcoming church party is a...talent show. (Which incidentally is safe to say the Sowby Family will not be attending.)

I have never been a fan of "talent shows." Never have and don't think I ever will. It is always the same type of outward talents being shown every time. What about the handful of people (especially children) in the group that don't have an "outward" talent to show?

Like me.

I've never been one to have talents to "show." Although I could plonk out a song on the piano as a child, I was never close to being as musical as my brother. And even though I took ballet for a few years, my mother was heard to say, she thought I had "two left feet." (Which I think is all wrapped up in my non-musical side. I can't even tell you what the beat is in a song.) There were just some "talents" I didn't (and don't!) have.

Anyway, the point I'm trying to make was one week we spoke in our church meeting and the very next week, my dear husband sang a duet with somebody! I felt like the timing of it all negated my talk. There I was last week trying to emphasize the "non-showy" talents we each have, and my husband goes and performs a duet (for the first time ever) the next week.

Let's talk about Mike just briefly...

Mike is very musically talented, but he doesn't really actively engage in any musical pursuits at this stage in his life. He has practiced and sung in our church choir almost weekly for the almost 9 years we've lived here, and occasionally he'll sit down at the piano and plonk out a song (with no music). He can also yell from the other room which note a child should be playing instead of the wrong note they played. He also accurately predicts contestants that will be in the Top 10 of American Idol each year.

Back to Mike and his duet. It was totally out of his comfort zone. He has always sung in choirs, but never in a duet. He reluctantly agreed to do it when a lady in our church asked if he would. He was pretty embarrassed about doing it, and didn't feel very confident about his ability, but he wasn't nervous about his duet debut.

I, on the other hand, was nervous for him. I was also nervous for me. You see, I sometimes have a tendency to laugh at times when laughing isn't really appropriate. Watching my husband perform a duet with a lady in front of our whole church congregation was unfortunately very close to inducing one of those inappropriate laughing episodes.

There was one small moment when I caught eye contact with my mother sitting at the other end of the pew, and I quickly looked away for two reasons. One, I was concerned it would really make me laugh and two, I was scared she'd give me "that look." You know, one of those "mom looks."  I probably haven't had one from her since I was a teenager, and the thought of her giving me one when I was 39 years old, still scared me. Maybe though, she wouldn't have given me the look, she was a little side-tracked holding Megan's head down on her lap when Megan had a brief laughing episode of her own.

I did also have to lay Joshua down at my feet for a short time until his laughing subsided.

You see, watching Mike sing a duet just isn't normal. And as proud as we all were of Mike and his efforts, it did cause a little stir among us.

After church, our friend emailed me a recording of the song. I have listened to it about 20 times since then and each time get teared up. I am so proud of Mike. If I knew how, I'd post a recording of it on here. Even though it would make him mad. (He was bugged when I told my parents he was singing, and even more bugged when I emailed the recording to his mother.)

Mike will be just as bugged that I just wrote a whole blog post about him singing a duet in church, but I consider my ability to write and record our experiences a talent of mine. He can share his talents in his way, I'll share mine, my way.

We make a good pair.

Mike, Tiffany and a "Hollywood" Debut

I recently recalled an assignment I had in a Minority Relations class at the University of Utah, almost 20 years ago. We had to list all of the "hats" we wear. College student, bus-rider, employee, sister, daughter, etc. are a few that I remember listing at the time. Our assignment was then to expound on what situations we found ourselves a minority in.

I think the reason I thought about the assignment was because while getting ready to leave the house yesterday morning, I laughed when I thought about where I was going...

To film a commercial for Caterpillar machines for Wheeler Machinery.

The hat I wore today was as an owner of a landscape construction company, and I had to give my two cents about why I love their machinery??

Back to why I remembered my college assignment....I'm quite certain that among my peers, I am a minority in some of the hats I wear...dealing with a dying goat one day, filming a Caterpillar commercial a couple days later.

The night before my filming debut, I texted a dear friend to tell her I could no longer keep an appointment. Her reply was a compliment, "Now you can add movie star to the list of amazing things you already do." It meant a lot, and I was quite flattered by her comment.

The same night, I emailed my BFF the dilemma I was facing. I asked sincerely, "So, what exactly should I wear for a Caterpillar machinery commercial tomorrow? Yes. That is my dilemma for the evening."
Her reply?
"HA HA HA HA HA!!!"

So much for the boost of confidence from HER.

Back to the commercial filming. (And no, you won't be seeing the commercial during any prime time television. It will be used primarily for Wheeler Machinery's own marketing efforts.) While waiting for the film crew to arrive, Mike walked around the job site doing what he does. I felt a little out of place. OK, kind of a lot out of place. I mean, what was I supposed to do? Start laying sod? Climb in a piece of equipment? Shake people's hands? I couldn't figure out what to do to look official. So instead I sat inconspicuously at a nearby abandoned picnic table and sent photos of myself in a hard hat and safety vest to Megan and my BFF.

The crew arrived at the most inconvenient time--just as I was calling the school to excuse Luke's absence because I left him at home providing daycare for Drew. Not that I'm embarrassed to be a mother, but I didn't want my first impression to be on the phone taking care of "mom business." I'm sure Mike gave it all away when he sarcastically said, "Oh! Important customer call?" as I approached to shake everyone's hands.

So... I'm not exactly the most "hands on" business owner, and Mike scripted me on the drive there as to why exactly I love Wheeler Machinery and Caterpillar products.

I was kind of a fake.
Well, not a business owner fake, but a lover of machinery fake.

Fortunately the recording was not live, and they told me several times they can edit the interview quite "flawlessly" to make it flow well in the final product. Which is a good thing, because there may or may not have been a few questions that I either laughed at or answered with something resembling, "Uh. I don't know anything about that."

Mike on the other hand was a natural.
A NATURAL!
Helps that he KNEW what he was talking about, but still between the interview part and the still photo shoot part, he was asked more than once if he had interview/modeling experience.
H.I.L.A.R.I.O.U.S.

Mike wanted to die when they asked him to put his foot up on the equipment and "pose."

I'm sure my hysterical laughing in the background had something to do with Mike ending up with a few bouts of the giggles himself too.

  (photo courtesy of Tom Zdunich of LENZ works)

 (photo courtesy of Tom Zdunich of LENZ works)

Then when I was asked to put on my hard hat and the photographer suddenly started snapping away at me, I really couldn't stop laughing.
Seriously?
Since when does my life include photo shoots wearing a hard hat? Or for that matter any photo shoot?!

I may be the owner of Sinc Constructors Co. on paper, but 99% credit goes to Mike who manages day-to-day operations. He's worked hard to build this company. Considering he started the company in bed while on bed rest, with instructions to lift nothing heavier than 10lbs for 6 months following his back surgery, he's come along way.

(These were not "set-up" scenes. Our workers continued to work hard on the job, while the film crews did their job too.)

I should take credit for playing a supportive (and important decision making) role.
We make a good team.

 (photo courtesy of Tom Zdunich of LENZ works)

 (photo courtesy of Tom Zdunich of LENZ works)

All in all, the day ended up being a definite highlight for Mike and me. The people we spent hours with were fabulous! I wish I'd have done the interview part later in the day when I felt much more comfortable with everyone. I loved them all! If Mike and I didn't have our own company to run, I'd definitely want to be an employee of Wheeler. But as neither of us are in the market for a new job right now, we'll stick with being their customer instead. What a company! (And no, that wasn't part of my script. I discovered that all on my own after a great day with some top notch people out there in the business world.) I'm also not much in the market for a video made about myself, but if I were, or ever am...I'll be using the same recording crew at LENZ works. Great day!

So thinking again to my old college assignment...Here's the hat I wore today.
No pun intended.

 (photo courtesy of Tom Zdunich of LENZ works)

Mike's Day

Typically, I don't enjoy Mike's birthdays much. (Remember HERE and HERE?)

It's because I try to make it a big deal, and he doesn't care much about it, and then I get irritated that I put in the effort and irritated that he doesn't love his birthday! (A serious personality flaw I may add. I mean WHO doesn't LOVE their birthday?)

A few weeks ago, Mike was excited to realize his birthday was going to fall on a Saturday. I suggested perhaps we could scatter the children across grandparents for an over-nighter.  Although the babysitting was arranged, (Thanks to my parents, we didn't have to scatter them!) Mike and I still weren't quite sure what we were going to do. Finally, in an attempt to put some effort into his birthday--I pressed him for some ideas of what he would enjoy doing.

His reply? "Dinner with Kari and Kellen (some awesome friends of ours) and see if they want to do an over-nighter with us."

Mike thoroughly enjoyed his birthday last weekend and SO DID I! The secret? Don't really plan anything special. Here's how it planned out.

Mike, Kari, Kellen and I headed up to Park City last Friday evening. We ate at our favorite Park City restaurant (of course outside!), and then enjoyed the evening together laughing, talking, hot tubbing, playing cards, eating ice cream, etc.

(ever wonder if you are the center of a stranger's photo!?)

A few of the highlights that won't mean anything to anyone that wasn't there include:

~ Mike announcing during a card game that he "settled for me." (I'm still hoping his comment just so happened to "come out wrong."

~ Eating ice cream in the hot tub.

~ Checking our blood pressures at a grocery store, and mine being dangerously high (Everyone was making me laugh, so I made people walk away to re-do it, so I could rule out the risk of me killing over any second. Remember, I'm a worrier.)

~ Kellen getting lost in the grocery store and the cashier paging him to come to register 2.

~The case of water cracking the fridge.

~ Our religious discussion that didn't quite go as planned.

~ Kellen getting locked in our bedroom.

~ The horribly clogged toilet at one of Deer Valley's most prestigious resorts

Although I was disappointed to wake up on Saturday morning, Mike's official birthday, and not have any fanfare of balloons, a birthday hat, or presents. I had to remind myself it was HIS birthday and not mine. After a relaxing morning, we eventually returned home to real life.

After a few presents, Mike went to a car dealership to run an errand. (Who runs errands on their birthday besides Mike!?) Turns out there was a Corvette car show, and of course (old) Corvettes are Mike's favorite cars. What a serendipitous birthday opportunity! Mike and the little boys returned home hours later, after the car show, learning how to use our new suburbans features, and stopping by a friend's work shop and the little boys carving wooden guns.

We later went to a favorite curry restaurant for dinner and finished up the evening on the back patio with my parents. Mike declared it one of his best birthdays in a long time, and I couldn't help but agree.

No balloons, few presents, a relaxing schedule, and just one mandatory birthday tradition request from me--he had to wear the birthday hat for blowing out the candle on his ice cream pie. (His preference. Meaning the ice cream pie, NOT the hat!)

And all I captured of it is this blurry photo.
Oh well.
It isn't a big deal to him, so I'm not making it a big deal to me.

Here's to low-key birthdays...
For Mike only.

Enough Money

It's been a long week around here. Mike has been averaging 17 hour work days, and I think we are on our 7th day of 100 degree plus weather. Not a great combination for someone who makes a living working outside. 

This last weekend, with deadlines looming and the mercury hovering right around 104, Mike worked all Saturday afternoon and evening alone in the heat. Mike's positive attitude and his ever-optimistic outlook were even more admirable this last weekend, because much of what he was doing was making up for a few "oversights" from some of his employees. As he did a couple days last week, Saturday night Mike worked until after the sun had gone down (which is saying something when the sun doesn't even set until after 9pm!) 

Mike did the same thing again on Sunday, except longer hours than Saturday. This time though, he had some good people willing to step in and help him. Definite blessings.

(The employees were well beyond regular hours and over-time and Mike knew he needed to give them the weekend to rest to be ready to hit it hard again this week.)

Enough about the not-so-good part about the weekend.

Saturday afternoon, Mike said that if any of the children wanted to come work, he had plenty of work to keep them busy. (Fortunately, Mike was working about 3 minutes from our house.) Luke is given the opportunity to work with Mike frequently, and it is rare that Mike would extend the invitation to the younger children. (Construction sites aren't exactly the safest place for children!) As soon as I mentioned the option to the children, Joshua was up, out of his chair and changing into work clothes before I finished my sentence.

You see, Joshua has really been into working and earning money lately. He has had his eye on one particular toy, and as soon as he had enough money for it declared, "Actually, I will wait until I have more money so I when I buy it I will still have more money left." Quite astute!

Joshua was proud as could be when I dropped him off at the job-site on Saturday evening to begin working with Mike. To be honest, I didn't have a lot of faith in how long he would last. Not that I didn't think he could work hard, he really can. But it was a very hot Saturday evening. Bedtime was just a couple hours away!

Apparently, Joshua worked very hard. Mike was extremely impressed with his little 6 year old work companion and his attention to the tasks given to him. Joshua and Mike returned home late Saturday night. While Mike talked to the neighbor (lining up people for Sunday), I bathed a very dirty Joshua. 

When Mike finally arrived up in the bathroom to shower, Joshua was down the hall getting pajamas on. Mike pulled out a $20 bill from his wallet and told me to give it to Joshua. Then, he quickly changed his mind and said he wanted to give it to Joshua himself.

Joshua was summoned to the bathroom and given a $20 bill. I wish I'd have had a video of the little exchange. When he was first handed it, he had a little puzzled look on his face. He doesn't get $20 bills very often (if ever!), so I'm not quite sure he knew exactly how much he had. I told him, "That is $20 one dollars." And there in all its glory was Joshua's trademark, ear-to-ear smile.

(I'm still not sure if Mike was too tired to realize the hourly rate he was paying a 6 year old, or if he was just so happy to have had some help.)

(Unfortunately this photo was the next day, and the smile isn't quite as big.)

Joshua finally decided he had enough money now to purchase his toy, and still have some left over for left-overs sake.

I should have taken photo after photo of Joshua walking into the little western tack and feed store and picking out his much desired cowboy and stage wagon set. 

I should have recorded his little voice that climbed into the car saying, "I have wanted this for a lonG, lonG (emphasis on the G) time since it was cold weather and we came here with Luke to buy goat feed."

Instead, the only record we have is this photo of Joshua holding his beloved $20 bill, and a broken stage wagon toy that Drew threw in a little fit of jealousy the day after its procurement.

It's okay though, despite my super-glue job not quite working, Joshua-much like his father with an ever-optimistic attitude told me, "It will be okay. It's just the handle that is broken, the cowboy just has to hold onto the horses' reins instead."

Lest you think we're all hard-workers and earn-for-things-we-want around here... Drew is not. Case in point, today for craft class the children painted ceramic coin banks. Drew asked for some coins to put in his, and I gave a few coins to him. His response, "Joshua look what I got. I earned it by asking Mom for it." Oh dear.

Father's Day, AKA Provo Day

Our opportunity to go to the MTC  coincided with Father's Day, and the day Megan needed to check into BYU for a Summer Music Festival (more on that later). After our Father's Day festivities that morning, albeit slightly rushed, as Mike decided that was his one day a year he was going to sleep in, we headed down to Provo.

We were not able to attend the MTC as a full family (thank goodness!). Mike and the three younger children could have stayed home and attended our own church, or even attended one of the million church services in Provo, but instead they played hooky from church services, and enjoyed exploring the many parks (with play toys) of Provo while Megan, Luke, and I got some religion.

It turned out to be a pleasant day. One of those days that made me smile. Of course it wasn't without fighting and bickering in the car, or any of the other dramas that occur when a family of seven embarks on a field trip.

(Provo LDS temple)

We enjoyed a picnic at a park, actually I think it was a school playground, but all the same to the children.

Somewhere along Mike and the children's explorations of the BYU campus, Drew acquired a sprinkler flag with BYU on it. It was funny when Drew said to Luke, "I do like BYU now not Utah." (Referring to the University of Utah/BYU rivalry.) I'm actually still trying to figure out how Drew even knows a rivalry exists, I'm sure it is due to having a big brother.

We were able to visit Mike's Uncle Sherm and Aunt Karen while we were in Provo. Later that night, the visit to "Uncle Sherm's" was among the top highlights of each of the children's report of the day. I think it was the 3 bowls of candy Aunt Karen laid out on the coffee table for them, but the children maintain it wasn't the candy. It was a very enjoyable time we spent with them, wish we saw more of them.

(Uncle Sherm took this family photo of us. Why didn't we think to take a photo of them in it!?!)

Upon arriving home late Sunday evening, sans Megan. Mike and I sat outside on the patio while the 4 children played remarkably well together for quite some time. Eating left-over ice cream cake from our Father's Day celebration the night before with my parents, I suddenly realized I never got our traditional photo of Mike and the children on Father's Day.

But then I realized, Mike was the mastermind behind much of Sunday's goodness. He willingly explored parks and the BYU campus with the younger children, he initiated the visit with his aunt and uncle, he kept the picnic food and sandwich cutting under control, and kept spirits high by doing questionable (to me) activities like driving on the BYU stadium sidewalk much to the glee of the children, and other such Mike things.

A good dad in action is far more touching on Father's Day, than a photo with children. My children are pretty lucky kids.