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June 2016 - camp time

The exciting news on the work front is that our new addition got occupancy in early June!  Hallelujah!  Life should settle down a little and we're all grateful.  I was the Project Manager on a massive expansion that more than doubled our corporate foot print.  With all of my construction background, it required a lot of learning.  I affectionately refer to the addition as my 4th child and I've learned a lot in the process.  It included very specialized equipment and technical requirements that made it a difficult project.  I will be happy to never work with some of the more ornery and less reliable contractors ever again, but I've also made some great friends with others in the process.  One refrigeration team walked off the job because another contractor hurt their feelings.  Being the parent of toddlers with child negotiation skills actually paid off.

The addition houses our new freeze dryers named Olaf, Elsa, and Frostbite; a massive production rail system; (2) -40 degree freezers; (1) giant -10 degree holding freezer; a corporate gym; 3 production and packaging rooms; humidity storage control; and lots of concrete, drywall, and FRP.  What an adventure.  At the opening reception our owner, Steve, had me come up for a small surprise speech and he gave me a chess piece under the premise of "King's to you" from The Count of Monte Cristo.

Here's the newsfeed on the addition.



The kids had a blast at the first annual Swingle Cousin Camp!  Emily did an awesome job planning it.  They did 3 days of water fun at Sara's, a bounce house, and 7 Peaks.  Tyler fell asleep on the way home every day, exhausted by the sun and cousin play time.

The week after, Alexa and Tyler did a City Parks & Rec Tiny Tots Sports Camp.  They practiced soccer, football, baseball, and basketball with other little kids.  Every evening they told me what they learned and demonstrated their new sports skills.




We finally had Alexa's bday party a few weeks after her 5th birthday.  Our weekends in May were busy busy, plus the Splash Pad doesn't open until Memorial Day so we waited it out.  Her most prized birthday gift was make up (!!) from Auntie Lissa.  Her wildest dreams have come true.  Kyle immediately said she is forbidden to wear it unless he gives permission, and that it will only be for very, very special occasions ;).













Along the same lines of delayed birthday celebrations, I rented a Harley for Kyle's 30th birthday gift and we took off into the canyon.  It was rainy and cold, but it cleared up after we had been riding for a while and man oh man did the rain make the mountains smell AMAZING.  It was our first time leaving Tad with a sitter so I was nervous that he would freak out, but he did great!  Alexa ran out to look at the motorcycle before we could stop her and immediately burned her foot on it.  #parentingfail.  We wrapped it up and she wore rain boots to church the next day because they're the only shoes she could get on over her bandaged foot.  However, a neighbor heard about the burn and made us some burn paste made with wheat germ oil, honey, and comfrey root powder.  We put it on Alexa's completely blistered foot Sunday night and the blisters were virtually gone on Monday.  Seriously some miraculous stuff.






For Father's Day we packed up a big dinner and had a picnic up in the canyon per Kyle's request.  Kyle is such a good Dad and has taken so much of the load with work and YW keeping me so busy lately.  I miss being home more, but he keeps the kids smiling, makes dinner, folds laundry, washes dishes, and continues to amaze and inspire me.

Alexa's Father's Day card responses:
My dad's favorite thing to do: wrestle
I love it when my Dad: smiles
My Dad is really good at: exercising
I think my Dad is funny because: he tickles me
I love my Dad because: he lets us play at the park










Alexa gave her first talk in Primary this month.  She is not shy as many of you know, and she had no problem talking to everyone about the Restoration while I held up pictures that she chose to show.  A week later, a High Councilman asked if anyone in the congregation knew the story of Noah and Alexa raised her hand.  He had her come up to the stand and tell the story of Noah.  She did a great job telling the whole story about his family, the ark, the animals, and the rainbow.  She also talked about how they "drove" across the ocean and how there was a really special bird who went to look for land.  I was walking the halls with a fussy Tad and I missed the whole thing!  I walked back in and 5 or 6 people immediately told me how cute Alexa was a what a good job she did for how young she is.  I had no idea what they were talking about and I was sad to miss it!

Aunt Luie called last minute and said she wasn't going to use her night at the Ludlow Snowbird rental, so she offered to let us go up and stay.  The kids loved swimming in the pool and staying the night in a hotel.  It was Tad's first time swimming and he seemed to enjoy it a lot.



We had Youth Conference up in Provo Canyon so I spent the day up there with Tad.  Kyle got to come as a guest shooting instructor, which was fun.  We had John Bytheway come and speak about staying on the train (the gospel) and how the church is moving faster and faster away from the world and it will get harder and harder to jump back and forth between the two.  It was fun to be able to do stuff like rifle shooting, archery, a ropes course, and bottle rockets that the YW don't normally get to do.



At the end of June we had Young Womens Camp at Mia Shalom about an hour and a half away.  Kyle brought the kids and camped at Electric Lake a few miles away.  I ran back and forth 5-6 times/day to nurse Tad and then spent the night with the family.  It was hard to be torn between both camps, but I'm so grateful for Kyle's sacrifice so that I could be with the YW at camp.  It's an awesome time to connect with them and really build relationships.  Also, it was so refreshing to be unplugged for a few days with no phone service or electronics!  The kids LOVED camping and enjoyed watercolor painting, cooking over the fire, s'mores every night, learning to fish, lots of rock throwing and a little bit of swimming and hiking.  Tad actually did really well, although this picture I captured when I came back to put him to bed one night says otherwise.
















Story of the month:

Me: Why is Tad Crying?
Tyler: I told him I was sorry!
Me: Why did you have to say sorry?
Tyler: Well, I stepped on him.  But then I said sorry right away!







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