3rd Child

For the past few weeks, It has felt like I have a 3rd child. People have seen me lots with my niece, Daisy. I will proudly take credit for her cuteness. She is absolutely adorable! We have been spending most of our time with Daisy and Jill while they have been in town. Sadly, their time in UT has come to an end. We have been going going going doing all the things. 

We went to the aquarium on Friday, July 1 with Lindsey, Simon, Esther, Daisy, Jill, Jess, and George (not pictured). My kids whizzed through that place while others could have spent hours there.

We went to the Riverton carnival on Saturday, July 2 which was a hit. Uncle Chris instantly became the favorite when he won a blowup spiderman playing a game and gave it to my kids. There were so many rides and it wasn't crowded at all thank you triple digit temperatures. It was boiling, but we didn't let that stop the fun.

Andrew and I hosted a 4th of July BBQ for my family. All of my siblings were there and Grandma and Grandpa Denning came as well. We had key lime pie which might need to become a new 4th of July tradition, fancy Trader Joes popsicles/cookie sandwiches, homemade lemonades, and more. I made rolls, funeral potatoes, a Ditto favorite--raspberry pretzel jello, and Andrew marinated/grilled chicken. Our trampoline kept the kids entertained! The kids enjoyed sparklers and pop-its until Izzy touched a sparkler on the ground and burned herself.

Giggi and Go-Daddy

We also went hiking with the 3 kiddos and Jill which wasn't always easy. We went through many snacks and treats along the way. We hiked Gloria Falls in Little Cottonwood Canyon the morning of the 4th. I highly recommend this hike! Everyone in UT seemed to have the same idea that day. It was incredibly crowded, but so worth it. It's 2.3 miles roundtrip. Jill said the waterfall reminded her of Hawaii. It was massive! The waterfall was loud and Izzy was afraid of the sound. This hike was more treacherous than I expected (mostly at the end), but if 5-year-old James can do it, it's manageable. We were stopped by some grown men near the end who were huffing and puffing and asked if they were almost finished.

Jill and Daisy were there, I promise.

On Saturday, July 9, we hiked Donut Falls in Big Cottonwood Canyon. This hike is 1.5 miles roundtrip and was also packed. Parking here was stressful and I was grumpy about it. We lucked out and managed to squeeze into a spot right by the trailhead instead of having to park on the main road which would have doubled the length of the hike. We found a caterpillar on the trail and the kids were amazed to see it and carefully took turns holding it. We also saw 2 "chickmunks" in Izzy's words. I was surprised that in order to get to the falls, we had to use a rope to climb down some steep rocks. I was ultra-cautious and slow, especially since I was carrying Daisy. Once we got to Doughnut Falls, it was cool! Our feet were soaking wet, but it was a hot day and felt sort of good. James was a fan of walking in the water with his shoes on. We got snow cones at the end which helped keep the kids going.

Note the steep rope part. 

I love the mountains!

We went with Daisy to her first movie in-theaters. We saw "Minions" on Tuesday, July 12. Daisy did well. The last 30 minutes, she climbed up and down the stairs in the theater. I did not like the movie one bit and I can't really explain why. It didn't seem to have much of a plot? I hadn't seen a "Minions" movie before. To help pass the time, I ate so much popcorn I felt ill and was on my phone. (Which I never do in theaters. Don't worry, I dimmed the screen and nobody was behind us.)

Daisy didn't want to leave her mom and be pictured

We went swimming a couple times and the kids could have kept at it for hours. The lazy river at the rec center was a hit and James was finally tall enough to go on the big kid slide. We went to the swimming pool in Jessica's complex as well. The weather said there was a 100 percent chance of rain. We thought we could just wait it out for the predicted 10-15 minutes under the canopies, but boy were we wrong. Biggest rainstorm ever. We were absolutely drenched before we ever got in the water.

Walks became a favorite and were part of our routine. We also let the girls ride in the bike trailer a few times. We even rode to Cold Stone for ice cream one night. It was the best. We attended library storytime often. One weekend, we had Daisy all to ourselves while Jill went on a girls trip. A frequently asked question around here has been: "when is Daisy coming over?" and "Can Daisy sleepover tonight?" 

Izzy and Daisy got to go to nursery together more than once! Notice James' love for Daisy. He has a special bond with her.

The past few weeks have been a blast and a nice distraction from some hard things. I suppose it's time to get back to reality though and into more of a routine. I see you messy car. I miss my 3rd child already! (Oh, and Jill.) Until December, Denning-Plantiers!

Cruisin' Alaska

In November of 2021, we booked a trip with the Ditto clan. Debbie Ditto turned 70 years old in April of 2022 and her birthday gift was an Alaskan cruise with her children. At first, all 7 of her kids were booked to go, but unfortunately, only 5 of her 7 kids could make it. (Birch, Sara, Vaughn, and Tavia were sorely missed.) Debbie's sister, Ginnie came along too and shared a room with Debbie. I had never met Ginnie before and really enjoyed her company. Debbie cried with excitement when we told her about the trip. 

We sailed with Royal Caribbean. It was a 7-night cruise and we left out of Vancouver, Canada. I had never been to Canada and desperately wanted to finally get my passport stamped but to no avail. (Canada and the Bahamas have failed me!) 

Andrew and I weren't able to find a good flight that arrived in time for our cruise departure, so we flew in the night before. On Sunday, we attended church, and guess who we ran into?? Andrew's cousin, Christy, and her son which was a pleasant surprise. 

It was a long time to be away from our kids. We are so thankful to my parents for helping watch our children for part of the trip. They were extremely busy making final preparations to move to Brazil. Jeff and Lindsey also helped watch our kids for a chunk of the time and our kids had a blast with their cousins! They got to see the new Buzz Lightyear movie, go swimming, play at a splash pad, go out to ice cream twice, play in a bounce house, and more. It put my mind at ease knowing my kids were left in such good hands with people I trust completely who love my kids wholeheartedly. 

On our journey, we stopped at 4 ports. We lived for port days and spent as much time as possible off of the ship. It's hard for me to pick just one favorite city in Alaska. They were all stunning.

Port #1 Sitca: Tuesday, June 14

It was a chilly day in Alaska. It wasn't rainy though. At one point,  I was cold enough to put on gloves and a hat. Some warm chowder helped.

We went to a bear reserve where rescued bears live. We got to be up close to 8 bears. Watching the bears eat was hilarious. A couple of the bears were teenagers and energetic/fighting. After the bears, we saw eagles. There are so many eagles in Alaska and we listened to a well-done presentation about eagles. It was sad to hear that so many eagles get hit and injured by cars. After seeing the eagles, we hiked back toward town. I can see why "ABH" takes so long. It felt like we stopped every 5 seconds to get video footage or take goofy pics. Thanks, Kelly! We did some souvenir shopping and ate dumplings which were only so so in my opinion. Kelly bought the best popcorn and I definitely regret not buying a bag of my own. I tried to buy some in another city later on and it didn't compare.

What happens when Andrew tries to kiss me spontaneously & in front of his family.

Port #2 Juneau: Wednesday, June 15

What a sunny and beautiful day! We were told numerous times how lucky we were to have this phenomenal weather. Annie said it felt like Ken intervened and made the weather beautiful for Debbie's birthday trip. We took a bus to go whale watching. There was a money-back guarantee if you didn't see whales. It felt like a long boat ride before we got out to the whales, but then we saw so many! I was surprised they weren't blue whales. All of the whales were black. We even got to see a baby whale with her mom. We also saw a popular hangout for Sea Lions. We then took a bus to a glacier. We hiked up to the glacier and later checked out the visitors center which had lots of fascinating info about how much the glacier has shrunken in size. Apparently getting married or engaged near the glacier is popular. Once again, we ended the day souvenir shopping. We got our kids t-shirts, I picked out a sweater, and Andrew got an Alaskan sticker for his laptop. Juneau had a cute main street.

Port #3 Haines: Thursday, June 15

Another gorgeous, cloudless day. This was by far the smallest port city we went to. Thankfully, we were able to track down 2 rental cars. I don't know what we would have done without the cars. It was a tiny city with not a ton to do. We were able to drive around and see some breathtaking scenery. A few braved the cold water and climbed a tricky rock for an epic pic. It was impressive. (I did not participate.) 

Later, we drove to another area of the town and did a hike which made my heart happy. We ended up at a beautiful destination. It was basically a rocky beach. We ended up seeing a sea lion and the boys skipped rocks and probably would have kept going all day if we let them. Let me just say, I am proud Andrew is my husband. I discovered he has a hidden talent--rock skipping. Grannie survived the hike and was so proud of herself! This hike definitely pushed her limits and I think was around 2 miles. Some of us tried to find a shorter route back for her, but it was extremely steep. We stopped and ate fish and chips back in town, shopped, and of course, tasted the local fudge. Thank you, Julia! 

Andrew is so proud of this pic. Do you notice the fly?

Port #4 Ketchikan: Friday, June 16

Perfect weather once again! In fact, jackets were unnecessary. All week, we had been wanting to go ATVing and we finally found an excursion that wasn't sold out. We went side-by-siding and got to see some phenomenal views. My only complaint was that we couldn't drive faster. I do not speed in a real car (in fact, I've never been pulled over), but I go for it when adventuring. I will say I got up to 32mph which was speedier than Andrew. Our excursion included "reindeer sausages." When we got back to the city, we walked the streets, shopped, and ate more fish and chips. Good thing I love seafood-HA! I got a burger. Andrew worked in Alaska the summer we were dating. He spent 2 weeks of his time working in Ketchikan. It was neat to have him point out places he'd been. Blayre bought doughnuts for all of us to try and they were delish. Grannie splurged and bought herself a ring from a jeweler. We teased her because we never saw her actually wear the ring. It was far too precious and expensive to take out of her secure wallet. She didn't want to lose it. I wonder if she is showing off her prized possession on her finger now?

Ship Time

We had lots of time on the ship. Four of the evenings, we went to shows. We went mini-golfing. The boys played shuffleboard and basketball. There was a ping-pong table and I was not on my game.  Embarrassing. We hit the gym. After all, we had to work off the unlimited food. Karaoke happened and we went twice. Andrew performed, "Sugar We're Going Down" and much to Grannie's chagrin, Blayre signed Grannie and Ginnie up to sing, "I Wanna Hold Your Hand" by the Beatles. They were wearing nearly matching outfits (not planned) and it was hilarious. Blayre also signed the Ditto boys up to sing, "Man, I Feel Like a Woman," but they shockingly changed the song to, "Old Time Rock and Roll." There were some horrific singers. In fact, Logan got excellent video footage of a terrible singer. He legitimately hurt our hearts. We played so many games! All the games a girl could ever want-- Skull King, Rook, Family Feud, and Nerts.

Andrew displaying his 2nd place metal in the speed climbing competition

We found the game room

Up early to see the boat pass through the fjords

Bleh! I ate so much! It's hard to say no when the food is endless. We had the same waitress each night and go to know Veronika well. She had quite the story and is Ukrainian. Hearing about the hardships her family is facing was eye-opening. Veronika recently married a Russian and they ended up getting married over zoom, so he was able to flee Russia. What a story. We plan to stay connected on social media.

COVID-19

Covid definitely made cruising more complicated. Everyone who got on the ship had to take a covid test. Not any test would cut it, there were very specific guidelines. I was relieved knowing that everyone on the cruise ship was healthy from the beginning. My biggest fear was that I would get covid while traveling and miss out on time with my parents.

Things got dicey with the covid testing. Andrew's brother, Birch ended up testing positive and Birch and Sara didn't come. Andrew and I ordered special expensive tests to take in front of a proctor via Zoom and my test was missing a piece. It made for a stressful day. I had to scramble to get tested another way. Walgreens barely pulled through. I was able to snag one of the few available faraway appointments. It took longer than they said to get my Covid-19 test results, so I called. I nearly had a panic attack when they said had no record of me taking a test. Thankfully, someone else was able to find my results and I was negative. Unfortunately, they couldn't email me the results. They requested that I come to get retested. Finally, Andrew just had them print off the results and he went to pick them up. We finally had my negative covid test results in hand 1.5 hrs prior to when we left for the airport. Phew!

My worst fear happened. I brought home an unwanted souvenir--covid. At times it was mild, but other times I was pretty sick. It was devastating to miss going to see my parents get set apart by President Eyring and other events. Thankfully, I was able to say my goodbyes to my parents after they finished up at the MTC. 

My travel buddy

All in all, we couldn't have asked for a more gorgeous location to vacation. Happy 70th birthday, Grannie! 

So Long, Farewell!

My parent's departure has come. They had their farewell in May over Memorial Day Weekend, so Andrew and I could attend (our Alaskan cruise made a June Farewell impossible). I'm happy we were able to be there! Jill flew in for the event. Because it was a holiday weekend, lots of friends and family weren't able to make it. Fortunately, watching virtually was an option. Though, there were technical difficulties. They finally got zoom to work about 3 minutes into my mom's talk, and by that point we had all worked up a sweat and were stressing. 

Last J5 dinner Saturday, May 28, 2022

All of the J5's (Jeff, Jill, Joel, Jenna, and Jessica) were in town for one last time before my parents left, so we did a Brazlian dinner at Tucanos. 

Farewell Talks and Luncheon Sunday, May 29, 2022

Sunday, May 29 is my mom's birthday. I'm sure it was her dream come true to speak. The spirit was strong during both of my parent's talks. My mom said her talk was written for her thanks to her miraculous cancer experience. Jess and I performed, "I Know That My Redeemer Lives" for the musical number. She played the violin and I accompanied her on the piano. I was in charge of the food. Several of my mom's friends volunteered to help bring items in addition to family which was nice. We picked one of my dad's favorite things--cookies and one of my mom's favorite things--pizza and went with it. We purchased 10 Papa Murphy's pizzas on Saturday. We also had watermelon, fruit skewers, veggie trays, chips and dip, salad, soda, and a cookie bar. I made over 100 cookies! There was so much food! We ate leftovers all week. Jessica was in charge of the decorations and was in her element. My parent's place looked beautiful and unfortunately the pictures don't really show the full effect.  Jill had the creative idea to made a farewell book for my parents. People wrote notes on vintage Brazilian postcards to fill the book for my parents. I definitely got a workout cooking all the pizzas. I ran back and forth to the basement oven and the other 2 ovens in the kitchen many times. At one point, the fire alarm started blaring loudly. It was the perfect welcome to everyone who was just arriving.

I made these invitations and was pleased with how they turned out.

Chocolate cake--of course! It's her absolute fave. Funny story-- I bought the cake at Costco and I dropped the first one in my cart. I was very embarassed.

Making these fruit kabobs was time consuming, but they sure were beautiful and tasty! 

Only some of the pizza.

Setting Apart by President Eyring Tuesday, June 21, 2022 

Andrew and I didn't attend the setting apart in-person because I had Covid. We were grateful we could Facetime in and could hear most of what was said.      

MTC Departure Wednesday, June 22, 2022

Final Goodbye Sunday, June 26, 2022

It has been an emotional week. It was not the week I was hoping for or expecting because I was in quarantine and missed out. My mom did drop by some food from her pantry and stayed outside, far away. She said goodbye the morning they left to the MTC. She got choked up and after she left, I had a good cry. It was hard to hear my kids ask her, "Nana, where are you going?" On the phone, my grandma and I both started crying while chatting about it. 

I helped myself feel better by playing some church music on the piano. I could feel the spirit while I played which brought me peace. I know that my parents are going where they are needed and that the Lord couldn't have called a better couple. That doesn't mean that seeing them go is easy though.

My parents got out of the MTC Sunday afternoon. They were on a spiritual high after their time there and got to meet many apostles. We were able to have one final get together before their Monday morning flight. Sunday, my tears flowed on and off throughout the afternoon. I was supposed to host the last meal together, but sickness changed that, so Lindsey hosted. (Unfortunately, Jeff is out of town for work and wasn't able to be there.) Lindsey went all out and we had a spectacular meal. Due to sickness (what a week!), James and Andrew weren't able to join us. It was a big bummer and again, not what I wanted. Izzy had 4 days of a stomach bug and apparently James got it too, but to a worse degree. (Surprisingly, nobody else in our house got Covid and trust me, that wasn't due to lack of testing.) James was very emotional that he wasn't able to come with Izzy and I. Kudos to Andrew for staying home with James. I couldn't miss another event with my family this week.

The girl grandkids

Not the goodbye I envisioned, but I'm grateful Andrew was able to bring James by for a 1 minute goodbye from afar.

My Dad offered to give us Father's Blessings before he left. Wow, I will never forget the experience I had. The spirit was palpable and I cried many times throughout the blessings. My dad was very emotional (which is unlike him) and the blessings were longer than our usual father's blessings. My blessing was very personal to me. I'm not quite ready to share details on here yet, but maybe in a future date, I will be. It was such a neat experience that I will treasure forever. I can definitely tell my dad was set apart by an apostle this week and is close to the Lord. After the blessings, I felt much more at peace with the fact that my parents are leaving.  My Dad gave little Daisy a blessing (she will be 2 in September). She was exhausted after traveling during bedtime and not getting much sleep. We didn't think she would be able to sit still for even a one minute blessing. Well, she did and when the blessing ended, she asked for more! It was the sweetest thing! How could anyone say no to that? My mom then offered a prayer after that, so Daisy could have more. The prayer resulted in Daisy saying, "more" again. The spirit was there and even a 1 year old running on 7 hrs of sleep could feel it.

When I returned home and shared my experience with Andrew, I told Andrew that my dad had offered to give Andrew a blessing as well. Andrew jumped at the opportunity and rushed to my parents,so he could get a blessing too. I was able to listen in over the phone. I have never seen Andrew so emotional before. He was told that, "His dad is cheering him on from the other side of the veil." My dad got choked up as he spoke those words.  What an amazing final experience to have with my parents. In my dad's words, "I'm ready to rip the band-aid off and am sick of goodbyes." We're all cried out and ready for my parents to serve.  Although I didn't want this day to come, I am glad to put this tough goodbye behind us.

I still feel like I was robbed of my last few days with my parents (I was heartbroken to miss out on Cafe Rio Monday night and the setting apart/luncheon Tuesday), but I cherish the time I spent with them yesterday and the powerful experience I had. I'm hoping we get to see my parents in 2023! So long, farewell to my best friend and mother. Our goodbye was teary and I couldn't say much. This much I know-- my parent's call was inpsired and watching them step into this role and give their all has been an honor. 

Love this gift from my parents! Counting down the number of days until their return is quite sad, so I'm glad we're counting down the months instead which seems less daunting.

They left for the airport at 4:30am this morning.

Monthly Temple Trips

Awhile after my parents received their mission call, we decided to start going with them to the temple monthly. Why not go together since we are all going anyway? Spending quality time with my parents and sister and husband has helped ease my broken heart. Of course, food is a given when it comes to these temple trips. We've had Cubby's more than once, The Chocolate, Mi Ranchito, La Hacienda, Tonyburgers, Texas Roadhouse, and more that I'm forgetting. Give me all the food.

Temple attendance is important to me. I've noticed the blessings that come from going to the temple regularly. A few years ago, I was struggling with someone. She bugged me and I had to spend a fair amount of time around this person. I prayed and prayed to try to figure out how to be around her and see more of her good qualities. My answer was clear: go to the temple. Me:.... "but I already go to the temple!" Go more! I started going to the temple every week. I believe I was able to go 6 weeks in a row before having Izzy. It's hard to explain what happened, but the girl started bothering me less and less. In fact, I could even start to see why so many people like this person. We didn't become best friends or anything, but being around her wasn't really a burden anymore. I can attest that my heart changed because of my temple attendance.

I think part of my desire to attend the temple stems from my parents and their faithful example of attending the temple frequently throughout the years. Andrew and I recently went on a date and Isabelle asked Andrew, "Are you going to put your Oquirrh Mountain clothes on?" It was super cute and made me proud that our children notice our efforts to go to the temple.

Draper Temple (May)

We started the monthly temple trips with my parent in November 2021. We went to the temple together on November 20, 2021, December 23, 2021, January 8, 2022, February 19, 2022, March 22, 2022, April 16, 2022, May 17, 2022, and June 4, 2022. We've done a mix of sealings and endowment sessions. One time, when we were doing sealings, we were asked if we would be willing to do some of President Nelson's temple names. What an honor that was. We've gone to a variety of temples too- the Draper Temple, the Jordan River Temple, and the Oquirrh Mountain Temple. 

Some months it was surprisingly difficult to find a day/time to go together, but we always made it work. It was especially tricky to schedule temple trips after my mom's 2 surgeries and during her radiation treatment. Unfortunately, we didn't get a pic with Jess and Chris, but I promise they were with us many times! My mom has enough family names to keep us busy for eternity. I'm sad to report that we went to the temple with my parents for the last time this past weekend. A soft peanut butter cookie from Cubby's helped soften the blow.

Oquirrh Mountain Temple (June)

Last October, President Nelson emphasized temple attendance in General Conference. In his talk titled, "The Temple and Your Spiritual Foundation" he said: "The temple lies at the center of strengthening our faith and spiritual fortitude because the Savior and His doctrine are the very heart of the temple. Everything taught in the temple, through instruction and through the Spirit, increases our understanding of Jesus Christ. His essential ordinances bind us to Him through sacred priesthood covenants. Then, as we keep our covenants, He endows us with His healing, strengthening power. And oh, how we will need His power in the days ahead." I really felt the urgency to attend the temple as he spoke. I have definitely felt like I need his strengethening power in these divisive times and go to the temple more than my goal when I have the chance.

I know in July when I attend the temple, I will notice my parents absence. I also know that there is no beter place to be than in the temple. I have felt the peace within the walls of that sacred space. In 3 years when my parents return, I think they'll join us again on our temple trips and oh what a happy day that will be.