Graduation

Well, we have another graduate in the House of Leary.

It's kind of hard to believe we have two who have graduated from high school.  My little tribe is growing up and leaving the fort.

And Kiersten received her associate's degree in the mail this week.

*I loved how the envelope said DO NOT BEND. I guess that does not apply to the mail carrier. She twisted and turned and shoved that thing in our mailbox.

Erik's principal always gives her talk centered on some movie.

At one of the tennis matches she happened to be watching, she asked an expert what movie she should incorporate into her talk. That expert was Alex, a 7 year old.


He must have told her Angry Birds because that's what she did and even made a point to tell Erik that it was Alex's idea as he came through the line.

Erik and Scott have made quite a pair over the years from kindergarten graduation to now. It's been so exciting to watch these cousins grow and mature into two fine young men who have accomplished much and will continue to do so in the years to come.

This is what we do while we wait for Erik to find us after the ceremony. Pretend we are divas.

And then duck and hide in the crowd during the ceremony so Erik can't find us. Well we didn't duck, but he sure never found us either as he continued to scan the crowd looking for us.


Two more years and we're doing this again. I guess that's the punishment for having your kids close in age . . . they tend to leave all at the same time.

A different sort of train

Like I said, we had cousins at our house for a few days and for Alex, Christmas had come a little early. He loves his cousins and loves when they come to stay. One morning they pulled out the dinosaurs and proceeded to move them from the basement to the loft area . . . one at a time, in train formation and then back down again.

As I watched them play and create and make believe, the memories of Kiersten and Erik and Nate at that age crept into my subconscious. They too loved to make trains with their toys that wound all through the house.

Oh what I would give to go back to those years of young children. They are such fleeting moments that are gone in an instant.

Summer: Our Manti trip

Well, lookee here. I found a post I never posted. Not quite sure why I never hit the publish button. Here ya go.

This is my temple. As a 9 year old I remember participating in the rededication of the Manti Temple and waving my white handkerchief.

Even though Tyler and I chose to be married in the Jordan River Temple (my favorite temple architecture), I received my endowments in this one, making it a special day since this is where I had been coming for many years to perform baptisms.

I wanted to share it with my kids and planned a trip with our Ruebush cousins to see the pageant and visit Capitol Reef National Park.

We found a house to stay at in Manti so we wouldn't be driving any long distance afterwards. For me this phone was the highlight. I was so excited to show my kids a rotary dial phone and even dialed my old phone number.

The pageant was great. I was pleasantly surprised at the quality of production they've put in to it. The pageant script was the same as I remember as a kid, but the lighting and sound system was very much improved. We happened to be there the night of Joseph Smith's birthday, June 27. The audience all stood at the beginning and sang "Praise to the Man" which was a pretty cool experience.

Capitol Reef was very picturesque and HOT! We did manage a hike to see an arch and were so grateful we brought water, Powerade, and lots of sunscreen.
 

We stayed in Ferron that night and Grandma and Grandpa's pond never felt better.