The Dyal Dish: September 2011

Hi all,

Okay, I know it's been a long time since I have blogged! I've been so incredibly busy, and blogging has been at the bottom of my to-do list, but I want to start up again. If not for anything else but to have a history of the things our family is doing.... and send updates to our family and friends. (Sorry for the upcoming lengthy letter, but stay tuned for pictures at the end!)

Our summer was a blur! It went by so very quickly!! The kids kept me busier than any other summer before. In the past, our summer vacations were all about sleeping in, being lazy, going on fun outings, and catching up on housework & projects that were neglected during the busy school year. But not anymore! Our summers are about running the kids around to all their different events, taking them to all their social engagements, and packing and unpacking for all the different places/camps they go. Not very much time is spent being lazy or working on home improvement projects, or even summer vacations. We couldn't even find an entire week this summer to take a family vacation. Oh well.... such is my life right now. And because it is, I've decided to be positive about it. It's easy for me to find myself lost and nostalgic of my past; Missing the kids when they were little and longing for when things were easier. But I also know that even though it's hectic and crazy right now, I'll also miss this time in my life someday as well. I had several 2011 goals for myself, and one of them was this -- "Become the most enthusiastic and positive person I know." Okay.... I'm still working on it, but I'm getting better.

Our summer began as it always does, with Canton's Liberty Fest -- Carnival, parade, and fireworks! We celebrated my birthday by taking the kids to the carnival, but soon realized that Spencer and Jessica were mortified to be seen with their family in such a public place. We finally let them loose to run around on their own, and I promised that next year they wouldn't have to hang around with their family. And so ends our family attending the Liberty Fest together each year! Sigh...

Then, Joshua and Jessica took off for Texas to visit Joshua's parents in Lubbock. His parents had planned to take them on a road trip to Glacier Nat'l Park in Montana. Along the way they stopped and toured southern Utah's Arches Nat'l Park, Salt Lake City, a ghost town in southern Montana, and a few other spots along the way. Up in Glacier, they went hiking, horseback riding and white-water rafting, among other things and had a fabulous time.

While the two of them were off gallivanting up in the northwest, Spencer went to Youth Conference, which was actually a trip to Kirtland to visit the church's historical sites. Spencer had a fun time even though it was raining, cold and cloudy most of the time. His favorite part was the youth dance. He said it was the best one he's been to since he was old enough to go to them. It's taken awhile, but he has finally come to enjoy going to stake dances. He doesn't love to dance... It isn't his thing. (But you wouldn't know that if you saw how super fast he is at "Dance Dance Revolution"!) I think he began liking dances more when girls started asking him to dance more than he needed to ask them. The pressure was off! Plus, he's met and knows more people in the stake now. Spencer is a very fun, good-looking guy, so I knew it wouldn't take long. Also, just recently, Spencer has surprised me by becoming more conscientious of his looks and attire. It's been surreal to see him spend extra amounts of time making his hair look just right, spraying on the axe body spray (or any cologne in his ever-growing collection...), and wanting to buy and wear name-brand clothes and shoes. And last year he took a gym class that had a course on weight lifting, and he's been lifting weights ever since... (We were recently given a weight set that we have in our basement.) But most of all, his main concern is, and always has been, being a good person and bettering himself everyday. I recognized this when he very small. Having a strong desire to do what's right is one of the many spiritual gifts he's been blessed with. He's a great example to his younger siblings. Spencer is also doing very well in school. He just begun his sophomore year in high school -- Can you believe it? I can't!! And he is very hopeful to get into BYU in a few years. He's just about ready to start working on his Eagle Scout project, probably early next year. It's been interesting watching him grow into an amazing young man.

As soon as Spencer got back from Youth Conference, my three boys and I took to the road and drove up to Traverse City, which is in northwest Michigan. We enjoyed a few days hiking, sightseeing, and spending time on the beach on Michigan's famous Sleeping Bear Dunes Nat'l Lakeshore, a place we've always wanted to see. I knew we wouldn't have very much time for family vacations this summer, so even though Josh and Jessica weren't with us, we went anyway and truly enjoyed our time together. We hope to go again next summer, this time with our entire family.

July and the first half of August was pretty much saturated with constant packing and unpacking as our kids were taking off to go to one camp or another. It started off with Spencer going to EFY in Cincinnati. He went with a handful of youth from our ward, and had the time of his life! He absolutely loved being around other kids like him; Kids who have direction, morals, and strong testimonies in the gospel. He is not use to that since he is one of only two members of the church in his high school. He is surrounded by bad language, immorality, immodest dress, and a lot more than that on a daily basis. He completely soaked up the amazing experience he had at EFY and can't wait to go again next year.

Then it was Jessica's turn to leave us and go to 'camp' -- Young Women Camp. It was her second year. She had a fabulous time, as always. Jessica is a fun, easy-going girl who loves to laugh and joke w/others, and who also attracts and makes friends easily. She regularly comes home from youth activities with a half-dozen or more new friends. Her cheerful spirit - one of her many spiritual gifts - always makes it easy for her to be positive and happy, and it rubs off on those around her. Since officially becoming a teenager a few months ago, we sometimes see an "attitude" creep up here and there, but for the most part she keeps any bad attitudes at bay. She's been asking us for a few months now if she could have a "Facebook" account. Josh and I have been reluctant to let her have one. But just recently, we decided she was responsible and mature enough to finally have one. (YIPES! It begins.....) One thing I've enjoyed doing with Jessica this summer is teaching her to bake and cook with me at mealtimes, especially on the weekends. I think she's been enjoying the skills she's learning in the kitchen, and feels a little more at ease there. Hopefully very, very soon I can set her free to make meals by herself for the family, besides ramen or macaroni & cheese, items in which she has mastered on her own. :)

After Young Women camp, we had karate classes (Alex & Logan), cub scout day camp (Alex), high adventure scout camp (Spencer), swim lessons (Alex & Logan), and marching band camp (Spencer). This was Spencer's second year at marching band camp. He was gone for a week and a half. He had a much better time this year than last year, mostly because he came home a kind of celebrity among his fellow marching band classmates. Apparently, one evening there was a skit night at camp and they decided to make Spencer the main star of the show, calling it "Spencer's Day of Thoughts". All Spencer had to do was walk around the stage while someone narrated the thoughts that go on in his head on a regular day of marching band camp. Spencer said it was pretty hilarious, and for the rest of camp, everyone was talking about it and asking him what he was thinking. He really enjoyed the attention.

Also in August, Jessica took a trip to Columbus for about a week and a half. She went to assist my mom while she cared for my sister Kim Brown's four children after the birth of her fifth child. Jessica absolutely loves to babysit... It's one of her favorite things, so she was very happy to go and help out. My mom told me that Jessica was a pleasant, considerate, and happy helper... A huge help during that time.

Towards the beginning of the summer I talked to Alex about four different goals I wanted him work on during the summer. I wanted him to complete all his Bear achievements in cub scouts, learn to ride his bike, practice and become confident with the different strokes he learned in swim class last summer (breaststroke, backstroke, freestyle), and read 3-4 chapter books by the end of the summer. I'm happy to say that he achieved 4 out of 4 goals. The hardest one was riding a bike. It was a goal I had for him last summer too, but he was incredibly reluctant to practice and gave up far too quickly. I wanted to make sure it wouldn't happen again this summer. Alex has a great sense of humor, he's fun to be around, and he has lots of friends, but one thing he isn't, is persistent when things overwhelm him. And riding a bike was very overwhelming to him..... That was, until his younger brother suddenly took off on a two-wheel bike before him. Logan IS a very determined and persistent young man, and the kind of person who keeps trying until he accomplishes goals he sets for himself. So, while Alex was at cub scout day camp all week at the end of July, Logan tried and tried, day in and day out, until he was finally riding his bike! When Alex realized what had happened while he was away, he decided it was time to ride his bike too. He practiced now and again for several weeks, sometimes with a lot of encouragement from Mom and Dad, until he could finally ride his bike too! Logan has always been a positive example for Alex in this way. The same thing happened when Logan skipped two levels in swimming class this summer, and they both ended up in the same level. Logan was out there swimming laps, climbing to the top of the pool's rock climbing wall, and fearless in all things swimming. So Alex stepped it up too and was swimming laps and climbing to the top of the rock climbing wall as well! I love it! Alex and Logan are a perfect match for each other. They compliment each other in many ways, and best of all, they are the best of friends. They are inseparable. They share a room, play together, and sometimes I think they understand each other better than I do. Of course, there is the occasional fight between brothers, but for the most part, they get along extremely well. Some of you may know the story behind my inspiration to have Logan join our family years ago... Long story short, I was in the hospital after giving birth to Alex when I felt very strongly inspired to discuss with Joshua when we should have our fourth and final child, and that it shouldn't be too long. It's apparent to me now why the two of them were to grow up together and be so close in age.

During the last two weeks of summer, Spencer and I trained for a 50-mile cycling trip that Spencer was planning to go on with his scout troop during Labor Day weekend -- A requirement needed for his cycling merit badge. First, we tackled a 12-mile trip together; then a 15-mile; And last but not least, a 25-mile trip. Our last one was unfortunately on a very hot, 98-degree day outside, and towards the end I was experiencing signs of fatigue and dehydration. Spencer, on the other-hand, was a trooper. He finished the 25-mile trip like it was nothing, and still had energy to spare. I knew he was ready for the 50-mile! He did it a few days later, along with 8-9 other boys in his troop. They were to complete it in 8 hours or less. They did it in 6 1/2 hours! It was hard, and this time he came home exhausted, but later that night he helped us move furniture into the basement, so his recovery time was apparently pretty quick!

So, as our busy summer was wrapping up, we soon realized we were in for a big change this school year. Jessica, Alex and Logan were all accepted into a local K-8th grade Charter School. This was a tremendous blessing for us because otherwise we would've had 4 different schools to juggle this school year. But now, thanks to their acceptance into the Charter School, we only have two school (the other being high school for Spencer). Just last year, our current school district redistributed itself and formed upper elementary schools for 5th-6th grades. And our middle schools were reduced to 7th-8th, instead of the original 6th-8th. So, for our family, that meant that each one of our children would be in a different school -- elementary, upper elementary, middle, and high school. But not anymore. Whew... What a load off! Although the Charter School has been a blessing, it's also been an adjustment... More to come in my next update! :)

Grandma and Jessica at Arches