We went and wished my Grandpa a happy Birthday last week. We brought a picnic lunch and hung out for an hour or so. It’s nice to live by grandparents. It’s a treat to be able to see them whenever I put forth the effort.

A few facts about Arden Johnson that I copied from my cousin Sasha: Happy 91st Birthday to one of my favorite people. He’s a WWII vet. He served on the USS Missouri, he watched the peace treaty signed with japan from 20 feet away. He is a gentle giant.

AND IN OTHER NEWS: Packer earned a minion cookie for being the super helper in primary:

and we helped pick cherries at Grandma and Grandpa’s house and then Ben and I pitted and froze 15 pounds of them. I don’t even like them but the kids do and Ben loves them so we’ll see if we can make some good pies and smoothies:

The other day Raymond had gone out to the swing set by himself and the next time I looked out his cousins Mia and Luca were just playing with him so nicely. They pushed him on the swing and laughed with him and dug in the sand and it just melted my heart to see them interact with their much younger cousin that way. Cousins Next Door is as awesome as we hoped it would be!

My Aunt Carol called me out of the blue this week and offered to take the kids to the park to play with River! They had a great time at discovery park even though Ray got motion sick on the swings and barfed all over himself. I told my aunt I never push for more than 15 minutes cause I get tired, so I make them be done. She was being super Aunt and spoiling Ray and Rosie at the park. River stayed and played a little after the park – He’s a good kid.

And I love seeing this little nugget crawl across my floors. She is so little and cute. She is getting fast and adventurous. Those little legs are getting strong.

And I’ll end with a story about answered prayers. We had a super fun weekend – wave runners and parade and sleep over and church and world cup and lots of little things in between. On Monday I Washed and Dried 4 loads of Laundry and folded 8 loads. I didn’t get much else done and I was getting frustrated with my messy house and tired kids. Today, Tuesday, we got quite a few chores done, even the basement. But the house was just messy especially the main level and I wasn’t getting it done. Plus I didn’t have all day to clean cause I had a few other things I was working on and trying to get done so… I was frustrated. I finally took a bath, snuck a piece of chocolate and asked Heavenly Father for help. Then when I was going out to clean up the wave runner, (my way of avoiding/putting off the gross floors and kitchen) my brother Brady and his girlfriend showed up. We hung out, played with the dogs, finished the wave runner and next thing I knew they were totally cleaning my house. They swept and mopped everything! That’s a big job in this house. My house is back under control. My prayer was answered. I am excited to start tomorrow in a much better emotional state of mind. Thank you Brady and Monique.