Summer Kid Dates

We had some really fun kid dates this summer. Here are some highlights:


Lydia and David went to Oliver at the Hale Center Theater Orem. The play is a little heavier (i.e. doesn't end with a happily ever after) but they enjoyed it. 

We took all the kids out to eat at Chilis. We don't go out to eat at real restaurants very often, so this was a real treat. The kids were all very well behaved and enjoyed their food very much. 

Mom & Austin Date to Lagoon. Austin has been saving his money to take to our end-of-school lagoon trip for months and months. When at the park he realized that he had enough money to buy a bounce back ticket. We were able to come, just he and I, and it was a blast. He loved riding cannibal over and over (I rode it 8 times in a row with him until I got so sick that I couldn't ride anymore. He continued until he hit 10 or 11 times in a row). I loved that he still held my hand while we were walking around. It was my favorite day with him. 







Lydia and Mom went on a little ice cream date. We got Gelato at Harmons and sat in the over loft and read our books while we ate. A date of Lydia's dreams. 



More Ice Cream Dates. We took Austin and Lydia on separate occasions to try the new ice cream waffle place called "The Dolly Llama". They have these warm bubble waffles that they wrap around the ice cream and it is super yummy. 

Visit #1


Visit #2

I'm realizing that we didn't take any pictures of our Caleb and Lucy dates. We also took both Lucy and Caleb to get Ice Cream at Thanksgiving Point. 

We like doing kid dates and even though it's not as regular as we wish, having the one-on-one time in our schedule makes a difference. We love these kids. 

Summer of (work) travel

I typically do not have to travel a ton for my job. Since we merged with Eide Bailly I have really only traveled 3-4 trips per year. However, this year, due to some unusual circumstances, I ended up with a ton of travel this summer including 4 trips in 4 weeks. I enjoy the occasional travel and getting to see a new city and be in person with my co-workers. I also really enjoy doing training and so I end up traveling for that a few times a year now in my National Assurance Office role. Here are my trips from this summer:

June 5-8: Minneapolis for Assurance Advantage Level 4

This is probably my favorite trip of the year. I really love teaching at Assurance advantage level 4. It is fairly easy going and I love the group we have at this training. This year we stayed at the Graduate hotel which was right on the University of Minnesota campus. It was really awesome because usually on travel days you are pretty much just stuck at the hotel/conference center and you don't get outside much since there is not really anywhere to walk. I made sure to clear aside one of my mornings (usually I am working early mornings and in the evening when I am traveling for work) to go for a walk on the University of Minnesota campus. It was so fun to walk through the campus. There are a couple of bridges that connect to the campus and I was able to walk across both of them. 

July 11-13: Minneapolis for the Healthcare Retreat

July 13-16: Minneapolis weekend with Shantel

July 16-21: Minneapolis for Internal Inspection

Our healthcare retreat this year was also in person and in Minneapolis. Since my trip the next week was also in Minneapolis that made it possible for Shantel to fly out for the weekend. It was good to see a lot of these people that I work with in person since I have been working a lot in the healthcare industry the last couple of years. After our date weekend, we had internal inspection in Minneapolis which is also a really good experience. It was really great to work with a lot of the people from the NAO and spend time chatting with them. 

July 23-July 28: Detroit for Peer Review of Rehmann

No pictures of this, but this was my first chance to do a peer review and I really enjoyed it. Brian Bluhm, Ann Glenz, Scot Philips and I were all on site. It was a really great week. I was nervous about doing peer review just because it is challenging to review so much and to be at another firm, but it was a really good experience. It was also my first ever trip to Michigan, so I got to cross another state off my states visited list. 

July 31-August 4th: Minneapolis for Assurance Advantage Level 1

One of the funnest things about this trip is that we were able to go out and do something fun on Thursday night. When Shantel and I were in Minneapolis we saw the Guthrie Theater and thought it would be so much fun to go to a show. We did not have time to work that in, but it gave me the idea to see if we could go with my co-workers when we were there for assurance advantage. It worked out to go and we got to go see Into the Woods in the theater there. The theater was beautiful. 

Traveling for four straight weeks was really hard on Shantel and the kids, but I am grateful for her support. Normally I would never have all those things together, but just the way the timing worked, I ended up having all of those in a row. I am grateful to have a good job that allows me to provide for my family and to be able to travel from time to time. 

MOI Retreat - Shantel Homeschool

Last year was a difficult year for finding/having a community in our homeschool. I realize how important it is to have other people gathered around you as you walk the homeschooling path and have been making significant efforts to gather others around me. Working with Ali to create a homeschool retreat last March was impactful and helped me through a rough "are we doing the right thing?" patch. There is a group of women who I have been wanting to gather with but have been staying on the edges of that community for a while. They meet on the same night that I have my presidency meeting and even though every month I hope to be able to go, my other responsibilities take precedence. They also just started meeting with the children for activities one Friday a month, which they only decided to do once I had successfully convinced the SPARK coop to move to Friday mornings. Even though I am on the edges of this community,  I have a deep desire to join with them and when they decided to hold a retreat before school started, I knew I really, really, wanted to attend. 

The group is called a Mothers of Influence group, or MOI. 

Mothers of Influence (MOI) are women who come together to “be centered in God and recognize that He’s the source of influence as we refine the art of mothering, the art of relationships, the art of “home”-making, the art of gentleness, the art of unity, the art of civility, the art of kindness, and the art of love. Each of these is a creative expression of heaven’s light flowing through us.” (Mothers of Influence Guidebook, p. 1)

This retreat was centered on creating a joy-filled home. It was just what I needed to feel rejuvenated and begin our upcoming school year. Gathering with these ladies helped to inspire and uplift me and I am so grateful I was able to attend and begin/continue the community building process with this incredible group of women. 

The day was structured with different topics that we discussed or learned about every half/hour or so. 

The Joy of connecting with God

The Joy of MOI

The Joy of Nourishment

Creating a joy-filled life

The Joy of creating

The Joy of giving and receiving

The Joy of reading

The Joy of socializing

The Joy of homeschool

The Joy of play

The Joy of favorite things

The Joy of relaxing

David was out of town, so Matthew was kind enough to babysit my kids for me. David was supposed to pick them up at 6, but he missed his flight back from Minneapolis and didn't end up getting there until about 9 (I finished at 10). Even with the additional worry about asking Matthew to watch my kids for so long, the day was worth it. It was a day filled with connections, inspiration, and personal revelation. I feel confident that as I start this homeschool year I will be better prepared to teach and love and guide my children in creating a well-rounded life - full of mind and heart learning. And that is what I want for my children. A life where their minds and hearts, their bodies and spirits, are fed and cared for and can work together to create a happy, capable life.