June 2018
Hamilton Newsletter
FAMILY: June started in Minnesota! We were so happy to finally be there after such a long drive & ready for fun & adventures 😊 Some fun memories in MN: Grandma, mom & the aunts went for lunch and pedicures, going to “The Works” Childrens Museum where we built cars, played with gears, made castles with huge foam blocks, and had so much fun on a rainy afternoon, Mall of America – 2x. Once for lunch (it was too crowded & Kezi accidentally burned daddy with a pizza slice) and another time for rides. The girls – and Grace – all got to go on 3 rides and we walked around for a while – amazed at American Girl Doll store where they charge $25 to get your doll’s hair done! And Noelle got to meet Dora and Marshall from Paw Patrol! Professional photo shoot in the Checketts backyard, Church with the Checketts – Grandma & Aunt Tiffany bore their beautiful testimonies and it was so wonderful to be there, Park at the Mississippi River – so beautiful!, Duluth – 2.5 hr drive North – fun train ride on an old train where we could open the windows and let the breeze blow our hair, lunch at DQ, walking to a lighthouse & learning about Lake Superior, watching the bridge open (and almost getting caught on it while it did so!) and playing at the beach – we could have spent days there!, Walking to the “Wall of China” with the Checketts – then picnic at the park and watching the Goose & goslings, going to the “Wild Rumpus” bookstore after they picked up Aunt Cindy from the airport – where they each got to pick a book, and having ice cream afterwards. Other memories: Backyard memories! The Checketts have such a fun backyard – lots of grass (something we always miss!), a trampoline, a small pool, a bounce house, and a swing set (daddy even helped Uncle Adam set up a new one!), the kids mostly slept downstairs on blow up mattresses & got to have a couple sleepovers with Maddy down there, too. One night was fun when we were all settling down to sleep when “Enter Sandman” starts blaring on their nice speakers. Pretty soon, Adam comes down with his air guitar and daddy joins in and Maddy is headbanging and it’s a party! Took us a little while to get to sleep after that, but so fun 😊 Adam & Tiffany were so generous and had amazing BBQs with yummy meats and food. Tiffany also had activity bags for each of the girls! Another funny/not funny memory – Oaklyn dumped out almost all of Tiffany’s pure vanilla. Mom had to buy more! Kezi & McKinley were sad to leave early with the Potts, but we ended up meeting up with them in Grand Island, NE because Grandpa ended up having a car problem. It was a LONG driving day the next day, Saturday. 12 hours to SLC, then having to leave Kezi behind so we could take the truck. We missed her for the 4 days she was with the Potts, then the Devenishs! When we got back, we promptly got into our summer routines – including chores, active time, and our daily summer activities! For make-it-Monday, we made pull-string art, hidden message cards, and shrinky dinks. For taste-it-Tuesday, we made churros, chaco tacos, and frozen lemonade, for Water Wednesday we went to Lake at the Hills, the Gregerson Pool & the Bluffdale splash park. For thinking/thoughtful Thursday we went to the library, did science experiments, and wrote a thank you card, For Forest Friday, we hiked around Navajo Lake (& almost lost Sydney – we’re so thankful we found her!), and Alpine Trail. Other fun June Memories: Father’s Day & Daddy’s birthday (see his section for more details), face painting in the backyard, getting a frame for our swing so we can finally use it on the back porch!, roasting s’mores in the backyard, mom recovered the ugly barstools, Grandpa Potts stayed with us for a few days while he worked at the rental & then Grandma came & we went to the Folk Life festival at the Homestead Museum. It was a lot of fun! Then, the next week we went to stay with them in SLC while mom visited with friends, mom & McKinley went to Studio C, and we got to hang out with cousins! The saddest part of June was when Rainbow Truck died. We had a service for him in the backyard where we shared lots of memories. We will miss him so much! Our AC died, but got fixed!
Hamilton Newsletter
FAMILY: June started in Minnesota! We were so happy to finally be there after such a long drive & ready for fun & adventures 😊 Some fun memories in MN: Grandma, mom & the aunts went for lunch and pedicures, going to “The Works” Childrens Museum where we built cars, played with gears, made castles with huge foam blocks, and had so much fun on a rainy afternoon, Mall of America – 2x. Once for lunch (it was too crowded & Kezi accidentally burned daddy with a pizza slice) and another time for rides. The girls – and Grace – all got to go on 3 rides and we walked around for a while – amazed at American Girl Doll store where they charge $25 to get your doll’s hair done! And Noelle got to meet Dora and Marshall from Paw Patrol! Professional photo shoot in the Checketts backyard, Church with the Checketts – Grandma & Aunt Tiffany bore their beautiful testimonies and it was so wonderful to be there, Park at the Mississippi River – so beautiful!, Duluth – 2.5 hr drive North – fun train ride on an old train where we could open the windows and let the breeze blow our hair, lunch at DQ, walking to a lighthouse & learning about Lake Superior, watching the bridge open (and almost getting caught on it while it did so!) and playing at the beach – we could have spent days there!, Walking to the “Wall of China” with the Checketts – then picnic at the park and watching the Goose & goslings, going to the “Wild Rumpus” bookstore after they picked up Aunt Cindy from the airport – where they each got to pick a book, and having ice cream afterwards. Other memories: Backyard memories! The Checketts have such a fun backyard – lots of grass (something we always miss!), a trampoline, a small pool, a bounce house, and a swing set (daddy even helped Uncle Adam set up a new one!), the kids mostly slept downstairs on blow up mattresses & got to have a couple sleepovers with Maddy down there, too. One night was fun when we were all settling down to sleep when “Enter Sandman” starts blaring on their nice speakers. Pretty soon, Adam comes down with his air guitar and daddy joins in and Maddy is headbanging and it’s a party! Took us a little while to get to sleep after that, but so fun 😊 Adam & Tiffany were so generous and had amazing BBQs with yummy meats and food. Tiffany also had activity bags for each of the girls! Another funny/not funny memory – Oaklyn dumped out almost all of Tiffany’s pure vanilla. Mom had to buy more! Kezi & McKinley were sad to leave early with the Potts, but we ended up meeting up with them in Grand Island, NE because Grandpa ended up having a car problem. It was a LONG driving day the next day, Saturday. 12 hours to SLC, then having to leave Kezi behind so we could take the truck. We missed her for the 4 days she was with the Potts, then the Devenishs! When we got back, we promptly got into our summer routines – including chores, active time, and our daily summer activities! For make-it-Monday, we made pull-string art, hidden message cards, and shrinky dinks. For taste-it-Tuesday, we made churros, chaco tacos, and frozen lemonade, for Water Wednesday we went to Lake at the Hills, the Gregerson Pool & the Bluffdale splash park. For thinking/thoughtful Thursday we went to the library, did science experiments, and wrote a thank you card, For Forest Friday, we hiked around Navajo Lake (& almost lost Sydney – we’re so thankful we found her!), and Alpine Trail. Other fun June Memories: Father’s Day & Daddy’s birthday (see his section for more details), face painting in the backyard, getting a frame for our swing so we can finally use it on the back porch!, roasting s’mores in the backyard, mom recovered the ugly barstools, Grandpa Potts stayed with us for a few days while he worked at the rental & then Grandma came & we went to the Folk Life festival at the Homestead Museum. It was a lot of fun! Then, the next week we went to stay with them in SLC while mom visited with friends, mom & McKinley went to Studio C, and we got to hang out with cousins! The saddest part of June was when Rainbow Truck died. We had a service for him in the backyard where we shared lots of memories. We will miss him so much! Our AC died, but got fixed!
JASON : Happy Father’s Day & Birthday daddy! He turned 41 this year!! For Father’s Day, he got lots of cards & gifts from his girls, Kezi even made him a tie & he got all the meals he wanted. For his birthday, we decorated his truck with signs like “It’s my BIRTHDAY!” and “Caution! Old Man Driving!” Then we put a bunch of balloons in his truck and sprayed it with silly string 😊 He got his 1-2-3-4 cake and we all enjoyed spoiling him. In MN, Jason enjoyed hanging out with Adam, and the Cheketts. He enjoyed Mt. Rushmore, too. Jason had an overnight meeting in Escalante this month.
HEIDI: Heidi LOVED getting to go see her sister, and she really enjoyed the journey, too! She thought Mt. Rushmore was neat, and was giddy about getting to go to Walnut Grove, MN & see the actual Plum Creek and eat at Nellie’s Café. She will always remember the beautiful evenings sitting it Tiffany’s backyard, watching the little ones play as the sun was going down. It was such a precious time. She’s had fun with the girls at home all day and doing all our summer activities. Heidi went on her first trail run at the end of the month – Ghost Flats – and is craving more! It was an early morning run and she got to see the sun rise over the mountain. The views and workout were amazing! And Daizy had a great time, too! Heidi also LOVED connecting with friends in SLC- she got to visit with Robyn Matthews, Anna Packard, Gayla Perkins, and the cheerleaders – Kristen, Tina, Heidi, & Rochelle. She also LOVED going to Studio C with McKinley – it was SUCH a blast & she hasn’t laughed that much or had that much fun in a long time. Definitely a highlight of the summer!
McKINLEY:
-McKinley’s favorite MN memories: Mall of America (she really liked the Airbender ride), she liked Mt. Rushmore & getting to go to the Laura Ingalls Museum.
-When we were in MN, we watched a special broadcast from President Nelson, urging the youth of the church to join the youth battalion, helping to gather Israel on both sides of the veil. It was a special talk with some very specific things he asked the youth to do, including making a sacrifice for 3 weeks, having a social media fast, etc. McKinley has been praying & pondering about how to do her part in this amazing initiative.
-McKinley had the opportunity to go to the Heber Valley girls camp the 18-22nd. It was the first time one of our girls have slept over with non-family and we couldn’t communicate with her either, so we really missed her, but she had such a great time her first year of camp. She loved the missionaries up there, had fun singing the songs, was challenged (but succeeded) in the challenge courses, and felt the spirit in the testimony meeting they had. She loved it & we love that she loved it. She even spoke in church about it on the Sunday following camp & did a great job!
-McKinley was SO excited to go to Studio C! She & grandpa (what a great grandpa!) went at 9am to the broadcasting building to get our tickets. They were the 2nd in line and got to kind of meet Dalton while they were waiting. We got amazing seats – 2nd row – and McKinley & Mom were yelling & screaming so lout we could hardly talk afterwards. Definitely a once in a lifetime event! (our e-mail was picked for tickets out of 10,000!!)
-She got to go to the temple with Addison and hang out for the rest of the day.
-McKinley is having some anxiety already about her upcoming school year ☹
IRELAND:
-Ireland’s favorite MN memories: Mall of America and Duluth.
-Maddy still very much is Ireland’s shadow. She loves to be near her constantly and talks to her and asks all sorts of questions. Ireland was very cute with her and is such a great big cousin.
-Maddy had a gymnastics mat and a beam & Ireland had a fun time playing on them!
-One day Ireland went with Mahina to ride bikes on the pathway by Walmart. It was a very hot afternoon and on the way back, Mahina threw up. Ireland told her to sit down while she got help. She ran all the way to the running store and asked to use their phone. She called mom 3x before she picked up (didn’t recognize the #). Eric went to pick them up. Eric called later that day to say how glad that Ireland is Mahina’s friend and how brave she was to help Mahina. We are so proud of her – she is such a great person & friend!
-In SLC, Ireland got to go to a huge bouncy house place. She had a lot of fun, but also was a great sister. Grandma said she stayed with Oaklyn the whole time & made sure she was safe & having fun.
-Ireland’s friend, Sariah, has been over almost every day!
KEZIA:
-Kezia’s favorite MN memories: Seeing cousins, Mall of America, and Lake Superior (she got some sand & rocks while we were there)
-Kezi was so sweet to volunteer to stay behind with Grandma & Grandpa Potts while we went home in the truck (we don’t all fit & the van was in the shop). With Grandma Potts, she made cookies & gave them to their Chinese neighbor, went to the new park by their house, Made crafts, like Father’s Day cards and gifts. At Grandma Devenish’s, Kezi got to hang out with the Reeds a lot, and went to the water park and miniature golfing. She also loved playing with Sophie & Sam (grandma’s dogs). We’re glad she had so much fun, but were sure glad when we got our Kezi back!!
-When we were hiking by Navajo Lake, we couldn’t find Sydney. Kezi said she said a prayer and right afterwards she found her!! Such a blessing. Thank you for your faith Kezi
-When we went to SLC at the end of the month, mom went to meet her friend Anna, and her 2 daughters came, Hailey and Cami. After a bit, Kezi & Hailey really hit it off and had fun exploring and trying to solve the mystery of this group that was there at the park that day. Hailey asked to play with Kezi again and they had a playdate at Hailey’s house. It was fun to see them get along!
-Kezi was determined to have a lemonade sale. She mostly did it by herself – Addie helped a little & so did mom, but she baked the strawberry lemonade bars & made the lemonade by herself & set it up. She was there from about 10am-4pm!! It was a hot day and she was very tired by the end, but so determined! She made $102! (which she shared with her helpers) Way to go Kezi!
-The 25th of June was a hard day for everyone, but most especially for Kezia. She found her loved bunny, Rainbow Truck, had died in his cage. She was very distraught for a long time. Many tears. Mom and dad tried to comfort her the best we could. Daddy suggested we have a service for him, and even made a really nice program. Mom printed out some pictures of Rainbow, and we all shared memories of his life, which were a lot! Rainbow was with us for almost 5 years and we really enjoyed our memories with him. We are certain he is up there with Link and Tundra, hopping everywhere and eating LOTS of carrots and apples!
LINK:
Our beautiful son and brother… we love you so much. Mommy got a text about a family here in Cedar that lost their baby at almost a year old. Oh, how our hearts go out to them. It is so very, very unimaginably hard. Mommy enjoyed visiting with Anna, her friend who also lost her son to SIDS. We hope you are up there with her son, Charlie, having fun and encouraging us on this difficult journey. Thank you for always watching over us!!
NOELLE:
-Noelle’s favorite MN memories: seeing Grace & Maddy, (she was SO excited to see them & decorated the car on the first day with probably 30 post-it notes to give to them when we got there), going on the train ride and riding the rides at the mall.
-Noelle & Grace got along pretty good, although a lot of the time they did their own thing. One night, though, we let them sleep in the same room. HAHA! They didn’t get to bed till after 10 and woke up at like 5:30am! Crazy girls!
-One time we opened the car door on a hot day and Noelle exclaimed “It’s freezing hot in here!”
-Noelle is OBSESSED with worm hunting! In MN, she begged & BEGGED her daddy to take her every single night. Finally he did, but they weren’t lucky that night ☹ Still, she wrote on her father’s day card that she LOVES going worm hunting – so they can go fish hunting 😊
-When Noelle noticed that Kezi wasn’t with us when we got home, she was very concerned. We told her she was with Grandma Potts still. She exclaimed “Well, what are they going to do send her in the MAILBOX!??!!”
-One evening Noelle went outside while mom & dad were rocking on the front porch. It was way past her bedtime & mom kept telling her to go back inside. She wasn’t interested & kept walking around. She was rocking mom on the rocking chair when her toes got to close & mom rocked right over her big toe ☹ She cried & cried & cried for probably an hour before she could go to sleep. It was so sad & we thought she might have broken her toe, but in the end she just lost her toenail.
-One night we were watching a movie for movie night, and it was kind of a sad part & the main character said “Guess what?” and Noelle shouts “CHICKEN BUTT!” Good thing we weren’t in a real theater!
-Noelle cried when Rainbow Truck died, she was very sad, and she felt guilty & thought it was her fault that he died. We assured her that it wasn’t & gave her lots of loves. She will sure miss him, too. Some interesting things she said:
“Mom, how is Kezia going to play with her bunny Rainbow Truck when he’s DEAD!?”
“Here Kezi, I found this (cilantro). Give it to Rainbow Truck when he stops being dead.”
“Mom, Rainbow Truck likes to eat green things! …. Except when he’s dead.”
Our beautiful son and brother… we love you so much. Mommy got a text about a family here in Cedar that lost their baby at almost a year old. Oh, how our hearts go out to them. It is so very, very unimaginably hard. Mommy enjoyed visiting with Anna, her friend who also lost her son to SIDS. We hope you are up there with her son, Charlie, having fun and encouraging us on this difficult journey. Thank you for always watching over us!!
NOELLE:
-Noelle’s favorite MN memories: seeing Grace & Maddy, (she was SO excited to see them & decorated the car on the first day with probably 30 post-it notes to give to them when we got there), going on the train ride and riding the rides at the mall.
-Noelle & Grace got along pretty good, although a lot of the time they did their own thing. One night, though, we let them sleep in the same room. HAHA! They didn’t get to bed till after 10 and woke up at like 5:30am! Crazy girls!
-One time we opened the car door on a hot day and Noelle exclaimed “It’s freezing hot in here!”
-Noelle is OBSESSED with worm hunting! In MN, she begged & BEGGED her daddy to take her every single night. Finally he did, but they weren’t lucky that night ☹ Still, she wrote on her father’s day card that she LOVES going worm hunting – so they can go fish hunting 😊
-When Noelle noticed that Kezi wasn’t with us when we got home, she was very concerned. We told her she was with Grandma Potts still. She exclaimed “Well, what are they going to do send her in the MAILBOX!??!!”
-One evening Noelle went outside while mom & dad were rocking on the front porch. It was way past her bedtime & mom kept telling her to go back inside. She wasn’t interested & kept walking around. She was rocking mom on the rocking chair when her toes got to close & mom rocked right over her big toe ☹ She cried & cried & cried for probably an hour before she could go to sleep. It was so sad & we thought she might have broken her toe, but in the end she just lost her toenail.
-One night we were watching a movie for movie night, and it was kind of a sad part & the main character said “Guess what?” and Noelle shouts “CHICKEN BUTT!” Good thing we weren’t in a real theater!
-Noelle cried when Rainbow Truck died, she was very sad, and she felt guilty & thought it was her fault that he died. We assured her that it wasn’t & gave her lots of loves. She will sure miss him, too. Some interesting things she said:
“Mom, how is Kezia going to play with her bunny Rainbow Truck when he’s DEAD!?”
“Here Kezi, I found this (cilantro). Give it to Rainbow Truck when he stops being dead.”
“Mom, Rainbow Truck likes to eat green things! …. Except when he’s dead.”
OAKLYN:
- Max & Oaklyn got along pretty well for 2 almost 2 year olds! Max was always trying to hug Oaklyn, which was so cute – mommy really had to watch Oaklyn around the pool, she kept trying to climb in, but was also pretty contented to take their little watering can & repeatedly fill it with water, then dump it out. Fill and dump. Fill and dump. 😊 She was SUCH a champ on this trip! She didn’t cry at all on the trip, slept every night in every pack & play and just did SO great! We are so thankful for this girl!
-Oaklyn has had many doors open to her this month – LITERALLY! She has learned how to open every door – even the front door! One time mom found her in the middle of the road! We are trying to keep them locked now. Also, the fridge. Water messes. Every day. Also, she has learned how to climb out of her crib & naptime and bedtime have been rough to say the least! Finally mom put the white thing over the knob to keep her in her room and it’s worked…. So far. This girl has been saying she’s 2 for months now & now she’s acting like it!
- Max & Oaklyn got along pretty well for 2 almost 2 year olds! Max was always trying to hug Oaklyn, which was so cute – mommy really had to watch Oaklyn around the pool, she kept trying to climb in, but was also pretty contented to take their little watering can & repeatedly fill it with water, then dump it out. Fill and dump. Fill and dump. 😊 She was SUCH a champ on this trip! She didn’t cry at all on the trip, slept every night in every pack & play and just did SO great! We are so thankful for this girl!
-Oaklyn has had many doors open to her this month – LITERALLY! She has learned how to open every door – even the front door! One time mom found her in the middle of the road! We are trying to keep them locked now. Also, the fridge. Water messes. Every day. Also, she has learned how to climb out of her crib & naptime and bedtime have been rough to say the least! Finally mom put the white thing over the knob to keep her in her room and it’s worked…. So far. This girl has been saying she’s 2 for months now & now she’s acting like it!
-Some of Oaklyn’s frequent words: “NO!” “WHY?” “YOU’RE
WELCOME!”
-Mom was grocery shopping with all the girls and we were almost done when Oaklyn puked. All over the floor and herself. We tried to clean up the floor the best we could, but it was pretty nasty. That’s the 2nd time she’s puked in the grocery cart!
-Oaklyn has also learned stools. She LOVES to take a stool to the kitchen sink, turn on the water, and play there for hours! It’s usually worth it so mom can get stuff done – especially dinner – but she and the ground are sure wet once they are through!
-If you say “COPY GAME!” Oaklyn will do the actions and you copy her and she LAUGHS and loves it so much 😊
-Mom was grocery shopping with all the girls and we were almost done when Oaklyn puked. All over the floor and herself. We tried to clean up the floor the best we could, but it was pretty nasty. That’s the 2nd time she’s puked in the grocery cart!
-Oaklyn has also learned stools. She LOVES to take a stool to the kitchen sink, turn on the water, and play there for hours! It’s usually worth it so mom can get stuff done – especially dinner – but she and the ground are sure wet once they are through!
-If you say “COPY GAME!” Oaklyn will do the actions and you copy her and she LAUGHS and loves it so much 😊
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