Saratoga Springs temple open house

Hi Ben,

Our summer is already going so fast. June has been busy with camps. First, Luke went to gov camp. Then the next week the girls went to girls camp. Just yesterday Mary returned from FSY at BYU and Luke is leaving for FSY at BYU tomorrow. I’m glad that they have all been able to enjoy their camps. These experiences are hopefully testimony builders and fun memories.

Luke and Sara and I didn’t do a lot while Mary was at FSY. We stayed home and I worked on scrapbooks a little bit and Luke did some reading. Sara is enrolled in IXL to help improve her math and language arts skills, so she spends time on that everyday. We paid extra for the Spanish lessons to go with it so she is learning some Spanish as well which she likes. As always Dad is doing well at work. In his spare time he is working on converting the park strip from grass to xeriscaping. He got the rest of the grass removed yesterday so that project is getting closer to completion.

We got a LoveSac couch for our bedroom. I’m not sure if I like it yet. It is quite big in that room. However, it is nice to be able to fit more of us when we watch sports or a movie upstairs. We have a few days to decide whether or not we want to keep it.

We went to the Saratoga Springs temple open house yesterday. It was lovely! Purple is a common color in that temple. It is unique and very beautiful. Many of the flowers outside are purple. Also the stained glass windows, rugs and furniture are purple. We felt the Spirit very strong in the temple and it was lovely to be in the celestial room with Mary, Luke and Sara. Mary is excited to be able to go through the temple in a little more than a year. The Saratoga Springs temple is right across Redwood Road from the first entrance to the development where we built our first house. We never would’ve imagined that there would be a temple so close to our first house. That area has grown so much.

We’re off to church now. We love you and we are praying for you as you transition this week to the new mission president.
Love you so much,
Mom

Girls camp and Teachers Quorum camp

Hi sweetie,

It was so good to talk to you on Saturday and yesterday for Fathers Day. It always brightens my day to see your face and hear your voice. I’m glad to hear you are on the mend after your yucky cold. It’s never fun to be sick. I’m also glad to hear that the baptism went well. 

We had a good week. The girls went to stake girls camp at Heber Valley camp. It’s the camp that President Hinckley built. Sister Hinckley made sure he included cabins and flushing toilets for the girls. The spirit is strong at that camp. You can tell it has been dedicated to the Lord. Dad and I went to visit twice. We drove up on Tuesday evening and again on Thursday evening with President and Sister Frank. This was Mary’s last girls camp and Sara’s first girls camp. It was lovely that they were able to attend together. Mary was a Youth Camp Leader. She named her group the Dole Whips and Sara was in her group so that was fun. It rained on the girls quite a bit but thankfully they were in cabins instead of tents so the rain was tolerable.

Luke was home alone with me and dad for most of the week. Michael had a mountain biking race in Park City on Tuesday evening so we dropped Luke off to watch Michael’s race on our way to girls camp. Michael had a great race and Luke loved cheering for him. 

Thursday afternoon Luke left for teachers quorum camp until Saturday. That means that Thursday night Dad and I didn’t have any kids at home. It was so strange and quiet. We were at girls camp for most of the night so we didn’t notice it too much. The girls came home from camp on Friday morning. Luke had a great time at camp. They camped in Hobble Creek Canyon. He said the highlight was when they built a bridge to a small island in the river.

I’m feeling really grateful for all of the youth leaders that sacrificed their time to make sure our kids had a great time at camp. I hope that they will have positive memories to last a long time and that their testimonies were strengthened.

We had a good day celebrating Dad yesterday for Fathers Day. I am so grateful for your Dad and his dedication to the Lord and to his family. There are many mornings (especially in the cold dark winter months) when he gets up early and goes to work or goes to church meetings and I wonder how he does it with such consistency. I am so grateful for his dedication and willingness to work hard and do the right things. Dad has always worked hard and made it possible for me to be home with you kids and I am so grateful. I also appreciate that dad is so much fun. He keeps us laughing and he is an awesome tour guide and adventurer. Dad is also an incredible handyman. This morning he woke up early to replace the water filter under the sink before he went to work. I don’t know where I would be without him. My heart is so full of gratitude to the Lord that our family is sealed forever.

We love you Ben. Thanks for your example and service. You are in our prayers especially as you help with the transition to the new mission president. We pray it will all go smoothly for everyone.
Have a great week.
Love,
Mom

Letter from mom- week 42

Hi sweetie,

It was so fun to talk to you yesterday while we were fishing. It felt like you and Michael were with us. I’ve been thinking about how grateful I am for technology. I love that we can be in the mountains of Utah and you can be in the subway of Barcelona and we still get to talk to you and see your face. I look forward to our weekly chats more than you know. It does my heart good. 

We had a great week. Dad was in Kansas City for work and Luke was at gov camp so the girls and I did some fun things. Dad was able to visit Liberty Jail and the Farr West temple site which is so cool. Luke had a great time at gov camp. There are some great kids in that group and we are grateful that Luke has the opportunity to work with them.

The girls and I went to the Hello Dolly play at Hale Center Theatre. The costumes and dancing were really good. We also went to see the live action Little Mermaid movie which was really good as well. Besides that, we ate lunch at Cubby’s and went shopping at Lulu lemon. It was a lot of fun.

Sadly we didn’t catch anything when we went fishing yesterday. Shore fishing is hard that way. However, we still had a great time.

After fishing, we stopped at Grandpa and Grandma Orton’s house to help them sort their garage. It was a big job and we were glad we could help. We made a path so they can get in the garage now and we cleaned off grandpa’s work bench so that’s good.

The girls are off to girls camp tomorrow till Friday and then Luke goes to High Adventure from Thursday to Saturday. It is so weird that Dad and I will be alone at home for part of Thursday and part of Friday until the girls get home. You kids are growing up way too fast!

Nate Parker had his farewell today. He leaves for Mexico City in a couple of weeks. Rachel Stewart also gave her homecoming talk today. She served in Philadelphia Spanish speaking. Ellie Simmons was there. I said hi to her and gave her a hug. I don’t know how long she has been home.

Next week is fathers day so please try to write a special email next p-day to dad and grandpas.
Love you sweetie. Have a great week! 
You are always in our thoughts and prayers.
Love,
Mom

The cookies at Hale are a favorite at intermission.

Luke at gov camp at Utah State.

I love the sweet potato fries and kale salad at Cubby's.

Fishing at Rockport Reservoir 

Letter from mom- week 41

Hi sweetie,

This week kept us really busy. It was the last week of school and the girls had their dance concert. 

But first...We had a fun time on Memorial Day. We went to breakfast with grandpa and grandma Orton and then we went hiking at Donut Falls. There was still a ton of snow. After that we had a BBQ at home and then went for a swim in Rob’s pool. Snow and swimming on the same day. It was cool.

I helped distribute yearbooks at Bingham. It was super busy but it was really fun. Mary did such a great job as chief editor. I’m really excited for you to see the yearbook one day.

The next day I helped with field day at Monte Vista. I was pretty tired after two days in the sun. It was hard to believe that was my last time as a parent volunteer in elementary school. I’ve done so much in elementary schools over the past 15 years. Strange to think that our family is past that stage now. I’m not going to lie- it was emotional for me. I will miss the innocence of elementary school. Also- Mrs. Player retired from So Jo middle school this year. I’m so sad to think that Sara won’t have her for health or history.

The girls did amazing at their dance concert. They were in 12 dances- so most of the concert. Mary was the star of the show and after her ballet pointe duet, Sara went on stage and gave her flowers. It was a tender moment and I cried. 4 of Mary’s friends came and aunt Nancy and aunt Tammie and Lyssie came too. It was so nice of them to come and support the girls.

Dad left for Kansas City after church today. His meetings start at 8:00am on Monday morning. He drove to the Farr West temple site and he said the spirit was so strong. I hope to visit the church history sites one day soon.

Luke leaves for stud gov camp tomorrow morning. He and Dad will both be gone until Wednesday night. That leaves just me and the girls at home. We plan to go see Hello Dolly at Hale Theater and maybe do some shopping.

I’m saying my prayers for you. I pray that you will not worry about the van window too much and that your mission president and others will be nice about it.

I love you so much! You are an amazing missionary. I am grateful for your example and dedication. Keep up the great work.
Love,
Mom

Hike to donut falls

Sign covered with snow still at the end of May

Distributing year books at Bingham High

Helping with field day at Monte Vista

The girls fan club at their dance recital (L-R; Lyssie, Tammie, Michael, Luke, Mom, Mary, Dad, Sara, Grandma & Grandpa Orton, Bryce, Lexi, Alex, Nancy- front; Annie and Brinlee)