Recouping!!!

Wow! We have had a busy summer...I am glad it is almost over. I am exhausted. We have been recovering from the Trek last week. I finally got the pictures back (as you can see). Today we have to dress up in our Pioneer clothes (I really never wanted to put them on again!) for Pioneer Day that was on Friday, July 24th. I am grateful, though, that the Pioneers packed up all their stuff and left their comforts so that we could have what we have today, especially as far as the Church goes.

This is a picture of the "womens' pull". We had to come from the bottom of the hill (this picture doesn't show how big the hill really was!). It was sandy, too, and really hard to do. I was breathing heavy! You can see me in the middle of the picture with my bonnet twisted around. It was a great experience because we heard many stories where the men were dying from giving their all and it was up to the women to get them to the valley. There were many strong and faithful women. My favorite story was of a woman whose husband had died and there was no food (in the Martin Comany) and she prayed to the Lord to ask for help because she couldn't go on like this. She remembered that she had two biscuits in her jacket from when they were on the ship. She got them out and put them in a pot with some water to soften them up. Then she went to check on something and when she came back, the pot was full with these biscuits and she was able to feed her children and others in the company. After being there...there is no doubt that this happened. It's a place where people came to know their God.

This is our "family". There were 10 kids and then me and Scott. We had the Stake YW secretary with us, also. She is from our ward and her oldest daughter was in our group and so she walked with us also. It was really fun to get to know her better. You can see Scott in his get-up!

This is Martin's Cove. This is the side that they camped and around the corner is where they would take their dead every morning. The missionaries said that in the journals, the people would take their dead over there because the ground was frozen and they couldn't dig graves and then they would hear the wolves come and take the bodies of their dead. It must have been so hard! I just kept trying to picture this all white with snow. I couldn't imagine having to be out here in the snow trying to survive. I hate the snow! I can't imagine having to do this.

This is "Oscar". There is a story about him in the Friend magazine this month. He's a lot bigger in real life. The pictures in the friend don't make him look as big as he really is!( http://www.lds.org/Static%20Files/PDF/Magazines/Friend/English/2009/FR_2009_07_13___04267_000_017.pdf)
It was cool to see him in real life. Read the story about him and you will see why we thought it was a priviledge. It was funny because when other groups were taking their group pictures, he would walk over and casually pose in the picture. It was like he had done it a million times before. It was fun. The kids all knew about him and they were really excited to see him. He's a celebrity!

This next week we are going to Heber, UT to my Aunt and Uncle's cabin (thanks!). We are excited to truly have a vacation to relax. It should be fun. We are actually the only family still in St. George. Everyone is already up there. But, we have boys that will be having to go back up to Scout Camp this week and so we didn't think it would be wise that they would have to do it all on their own. Calvin is going to the camp and Derrek has his last week on Staff there. He is about ready for it to be over. Especially when he has to miss out on the Steurer Reunion (we play a lot). I don't think he has gotten to go out on the boat this summer, and if he has...it has only been once or twice. Welcome to being an adult!

Alec decided he could take the week off and come with us to the reunion. He was only supposed to work three weeks out of the summer and he ended up doing at least twice that much. I think he liked the freedom of being away from home. On the weekends he would have a hard time adjusting to being home. He would just say "I just want to go back up there". It's tough being nice to your brothers and being expected to clean up after yourself! Anyway, I am glad he is going with us. I have actually missed him and Derrek this summer. It has been a very quite summer...too quiet!

Well...hope everyone has a great week!

We are still alive!!!

Summer has hit! I remember being busy as a teenager, but never took into account that my parents had more than just me to deal with! Now I get it!

Derrek and Alec have loved being up at Scout Camp. Alec works for free and he is just in "training", but he loves it so much that he talked the director into letting him just go every week (he was only supposed to go for three weeks). They have had a friend that they met up there drive them to and from and it has been fun for them to have that little extra freedom away from mom and dad. We do have to remind them of certain consequences that come along with some of the things that they might choose to do :)

Calvin has wanted to be their age all summer. It's hard for him to be 13. But, he has been really nice to Dallen and Ashton and it's been fun getting to spend time with him as the "oldest".

Dallen and Ashton like them gone. They don't get picked on (as older brothers so lovingly do). Ashton had Scout camp this week...his first overnighter at Scout camp. As 11-year-old Scouts they go for two days and one night. I got a call about 10:15 pm, the first day, telling me I needed to come pick Ashton up from camp. He had been throwing up all day. Come to find out, the leaders had also lost his sleeping bag on the way up (the camper thing on top opened and it flew out!), and he didn't bring a lunch or water up and so he got sick. So, I went and got him (it takes an hour and a half each way) and got back around 1:00 am. The next day he was totally fine. Derrek and Alec were so nice to him and helped bring him to me when I went to pick him up. They then made him some things and brought them to him. They really wanted him to have fun up there with them. Maybe next year.

We have "adopted" a young lady to our house. Her name is Lauren and she just moved up here from California. She was going to get married and then she broke it off and tried to go back home, but there was no where for her to go because she was supposed to be getting married. So, she moved back up here on a Saturday and came to church on Sunday. Long story short, I felt impressed to talk to her and she asked if I knew where there was a room for rent that day because she would have to sleep in her car. We have taken her in and the boys have really loved having a "sister" around. She is only 4 years older than Derrek and it seems like we have met before. I told her that maybe when she found out what she would have to go through on this earth that when she made it to St. George, the Lord would direct her to our ward (of all wards to come to in St. George!) and we would help her through this time in her life. She has been in Foster care since she was 9 and has had some host families that are LDS to help her through. Scott and I both have felt that we need to help her. It's been a weird and cool experience.

Scott is almost done working at McDonald's. This will be his last week. He struggled with whether or not he should continue or not, but when he made the decision, there was an instant blessing that he received that helped him to know it was the right thing to do. He felt he needed to work there to help us through some hard times, and has really felt blessed because he chose to continue to do something to help out and the whole pride reality check has been amazing for both of us (Sunwest is still there, but it doesn't fill the whole day and we can't take full paychecks right now). We didn't think we were prideful, but having to take a job at $9/hour as a manager (I can't believe that is all a manager for McDonald's makes here!) has been humbling. Especially seeing people that work there who do it for less. We are humbled.

I had girls camp. It was really fun. I like girls camp. There was only a minimal amount of drama and it wasn't from girls that were supposed to go. I have really enjoyed being with the Young Women. It's been hard with summer, though, because there is just no one here. We only have 9 active girls and when it is summer, they haven't been here together...yet! But, they are all great girls and when I taught them in Primary, I truly grew to love them and because of that, that love it still there and it has just been really easy to step into this new calling. Next week we go on the Trek at Martin's Cove, Wyoming. My Cousin, Dave Gilgen, and his wife, Sherri, are the other "ma and pa" from our ward. They are going to hate living by us because we are going to rope them into everything we possibly can...our ward needs people to serve! We are excited that they would come, though. I know my kids are excited. They love the few times they have been around Dave...he's fun.

I also had my first root canal this week. Last Sunday my mouth started hurting really bad and on Wednesday it hurt so bad I couldn't even close my mouth. By the end of the day I was crying because I couldn't eat anything. The dentist was great in getting me in on Wednesday and was able to perform it on Thursday. I was scared, but got to watch a movie, and you tend to forget what it going on (I watched "Raising Helen"). Anyway, it is MUCH better now and just GRATEFUL I was able to have it done.

Today is my dad's 60th birthday!!! So, shout out a happy birthday to him!

Ahhh...Summer...

The past few weeks have been crazy, but good. I have decided I am going to stop feeling bad that I don't do the blog every week...I will do it when I can! Today I can!

We are now out of school. The last week of school is always so crazy because everyone just wants it to get here. The kids are excited and the mom's are anticipating their children being home ALL DAY (and sometimes not in a good way!). We love our children, but it is an adjustment. They are SOOOO BORED and can't seem to find ANYTHING to do. I constantly remind them that I seem to be able to find quite a bit to do and if they would like to help, I am sure I could help them find things to do, also. They never get THAT BORED. It works almost every time. Derrek and Alec have been doing a lot of skim boarding with friends. They are trying to get it in as much as possible because they will be leaving next week for their jobs.

I have to toot Alec's horn, though. He managed to pull all his grades up this last quarter. It was all him. Scott and I encourage, but it is his responsibility to get his grades up. We keep telling him that there are no excuses because on his end of year testing, where 4 is the highest, he gets 4's on all subjects...so it isn't that he doesn't have the brains. Anyway, he got almost all A's...just two B's. They all did really well this year, but Alec decided to step it up for himself.

We had the Bowler Adult Get-away in Pine Valley, UT. It was so nice up there. Our next door neighbor has a cabin up there and he let us borrow it for the weekend. It was perfect and we all played nicely :). There were just a couple that couldn't come and they were missed, but all ten kids in Scott's family were able to make it. It's really cool that they all get along and love each other. I know of a few families that can't stand their brothers or sisters. We did personality tests up there and that was fun to see which in-laws were like the "original" Bowlers. Scott and I are EXACTLY the same personality type. We thought that was funny. It would explain why we don't fight...we agree on almost everything! The only thing we realized is that if we have a child that is our "opposite" would we be able to give that child what he needs? Something to work on.

That same weekend (last Sunday) I received a new calling at church. I am Young Women's President. I am excited and this was my first week and it seemed to go good. I know the majority of the girls because I taught them in Primary and so it is fun to be able to go through the next stage in their lives. It's definitely a team effort, though. Scott mentioned that I will do fine because I "know their enemy"! I am in the trenches where that is concerned. Anyway, it will be good.

Well...one last story...some may think this is sick and wrong, but if you know Ashton and Scott...they have this little sick and twisted humor that goes on between them...

On Tuesday, Ashton was going crazy. They were all so bored they asked me to take them to the Library! My kids NEVER ask to go to the library. So, we filled up the day the best we could. By the time Scott got home for work, boredom had set in again. Ashton told Scott "there is nothing to do. I am so bored. Dad, do you have any ideas on what I can do?" Scott said, "you have two choices, one you will like and the other you won't like". Ashton said, "okay, what is it". Scott said, "you can do houseWORK, school WORK, clean up your room WORK, laundry WORK (etc.)". Ashton said, "Okay...next". Scott said, "Well, it looks like the only other thing there is for you to do it commit suicide". Ashton said "I think I'll go for that". Now this sounds horrible, I know...but it is all in joking...believe me! So, about an hour later we hear all this banging in the garage and it is Ashton building something in the garage. We asked him what he was doing and he said "I'm building a ladder". That led to the next question, "What do you need a ladder for?". He matter-of-factly said, "to climb up on the roof to commit suicide". Needless to say, the ladder does not reach the roof and Ashton will not be trying to kill himself (for those who are worried). No need to call child protective services, either! He at least found something to do in his weird way. He's so proud of his creation. Since work is obviously out of the question for him...he has decided to stick with building and has been working on some sweet Lego creations.