August 2020

WEEK 1 (August 1st - 8th) - August started out with a bang for the girls.  Jessica held her annual Erickson granddaughter sleepover.  It was the first time that my girls have ever gone and they said they had a ton of fun.  They had Chick-fil-a for dinner, cookies, late movie, being silly, face masks, and home church.  They loved it!

The best thing about August is garden peas!  This week we decided to try doing scripture study in the mornings before Jed leaves for work. 

Since Kinsley has decided to homeschool (virtual school) this next year we have been trying to think of fun ideas for her and Dallin.  My mom sent an idea for tubs you can turn into book boats.  We didn't do the cutting of the lids, but the kids decorated them and drew controllers on the inside and like them so far. 

 

This was a week Ava has been dreaming about.  She finished her driver's education classes and officially got her driving permit.  Now she has to drive 50 daytime hours and 10 night hours with an adult and wait 6nmonths and she can get her actual license!  She already thinks she is a pro and definitely needs to work on taking constructive criticism  - but she is a good driver and just needs practice. 

This weekend Jed, Jake, and Jace entered to rope at Jackson Hole.  They roped in the afternoon which I think is less fun - I'd rather go during the actual rodeo and watch that, but it was fun to take a trip up there for the day.  We went early and got ice cream in Swan Valley and then up to ride the chairlift up the ski-hill.  We were close to the last run of the chairlift and they warned us to not spend too much time at the top or we would have to hike down the mountain ourselves.  So we took a quick picture at the top and hopped back on.  My chairlift partner was Dallin and it was slightly terrifying for me. 

Then we waited at the rodeo grounds while they roped.  They all missed and so it wasn't a successful roping trip but still a nice way to spend the day.  Afterward we went and ate at a Mexican restaurant and then walked over to the city park.  It was a little different with everyone in masks compared to our picture by the horns last year.  Jackson Hole was still plenty busy and lots of people were out that night.

WEEK 2 (August 9th - 15th) - Sunday Jed had a really special experience.  He had a mission reunion of sorts via Zoom.  One of his Filipino companions organized it and he asked a few people to speak about the impact their missions have had on their lives.  One of the people he asked to speak was Jed.  Most of the people on the zoom call were Filipinos, but there were a few American missionaries as well and also President Smith.  Jed said he was disappointed that more of the American missionaries didn't make it a priority to come.  It was pretty early here but still.  It was really great for the kids to sneak peeks at the screen and see all those faces. The world has seemed so overwhelming lately and I've found myself really feeling weighed down with fear and confusion and frustration.  However, during this call I was just so overwhelmed with peace and comfort that the Savior knows about everything.  We are in His hands and He is mindful of us.  There can be peace in this crazy world because of Him.

Kasen has been working hard at football and this week got his pads and helmet.  He has been so brave to play tackle football and start in a group with kids he didn't know at all.  I think Ririe was a great starting point for him.  He is still pretty timid and I'm not sure he gives 110% yet but he's getting there.  He is definitely sweaty when he finishes practice though so there's definitely effort!

Dallin is just always trying to keep up to everyone.  If Kinsley is drawing then he has to draw.  If Kasen is dribbling the basketball then he goes and gets one.  If Ava is on the computer he thinks he needs to be on the ipad or phone.  He is always such a silly boy and a bright light in my day.

One evening we went down to Jake and Megan's for a cookout and Mallory showed us all her dresses she bought for school dances.  She has every school dance planned out and what dress she will wear for each dance.  Not a big surprise because Mallory has been boy crazy since the beginning of time, but still it makes me laugh that she is that organized about it.  Jed asked her what happens if she doesn't get asked to a dance and she replied that she already has it worked out who will ask her to all the dances.  Ava and McKenna helped model her dresses for us.  This week I also got my official graduation diploma in the mail and Ava tried out for high school volleyball!  She made the freshman team!

This was also a heartbreaking week.  Late one night Jed got a call and I heard him say something, "What? Are you kidding me?  You've got to be kidding me?!"  I was already in bed but the urgency in his voice woke me up as he kept repeating the same thing over and over.  I reached for my phone to see what time it was and I had a notification from Coleen in the group messages for the family that said that she was very sad to let the family know that Evan had committed suicide earlier in the day.  I just kept staring at the screen trying to process what I was reading.  Jason was who Jed was talking to on the phone and when I came out he had the phone on speaker and Jason was just sobbing and Jed was crying.  I was bawling.  It was the most awful news you can't ever believe you'll ever get.  Jed and Jake left early the next morning to drive down and help out in whatever way they could.  It was decided the funeral would be that weekend so I drove down with the kids Thursday evening.  It was such a sad thing and I've never seen grief the way I saw Evan's family grieve for him.  I've been around death but there were sounds that would come out of their mouths in moments of tears that you could almost feel coming from deep in their soul.  It was heartbreaking.  All of Gini's family and all of Jason's family were there and they said it helped a lot.  Evan had been struggling through a lot of things and he definitely had his demons but suicide is never the answer.  Never.  There will be so many regrets and unanswered questions for the rest of so many lives.  It was weird to be there with all of the cousins and watch them swim and play together because of the blanket of sadness.  It felt wrong to watch them have fun.  After the funeral Gini invited everyone to come back and swim in their pool.  While the kids were doing so one of the nieces on her side of the family went underwater.  There was so much going on that not many people were paying attention.  I think it was Will that noticed she was underwater and then Jed a few seconds later.  They ran over and pulled her out.  She wasn't young either - probably 15 yrs old.  She was not breathing and her lips were turning blue.  Luckily Jed, Susan, and another sister-in-law on the Brown side have medical backgrounds and were able to get her to throw up the water and start breathing.  Someone had called an ambulance and they took her to the hospital.  She was talking and coherent when she left but they wanted to make sure she was fine.  Because of what had just happened with Evan neighbors saw and ambulance pull up and they started coming over.  It was crazy and awful that something like that happened during the weekend.  Sunday we had an amazing home church experience with family gathered talking about the Savior.  Then everyone headed back to their homes. 

WEEK 3 (August 16th - 22nd) - Monday we gathered again but this time in Lewisville, Idaho for Evan's burial.  There was a beautiful service where thoughts were shared by so many people about Evan.  It was an open mic for anyone to share what they felt and I was very touched by so many people I didn't know.  To be honest, I still have a hard time believing it is real.  Evan was a very caring person and so many shared stories about how Evan cheered them up or brightened their day by his thoughtfulness.  Some of my favorite memories of Evan were hiding in the pantry eating frosting, never finishing his dinner, and his love of shoes.  The sunset was incredibly beautiful tonight and it brought peace to me.

It's weird to even function during the week after the events that have happened.  I'm not sure we survive anything without just moving forward one step at a time.  The kids had practices and we had dinners and driving and commitments we had to keep.  Kasen did finally pass Grandma Erickson this week.

WEEK 4 (August 23rd - 31st) - A week or so after everyone came for the burial, they all came back again to see Samantha return from her mission in Chicago.  We gathered at a big park by the Idaho Falls airport and welcomed her home with popsicles and posters.  Samantha looked great and gave everyone a big hug.  She spoke at her house the following Sunday and they broadcasted it on zoom.  The night before Dallin started feeling a little sick and threw up.  To be safe he and I stayed home and the rest of the family drove up to Tetonia to listen.  Samantha did a great job and it definitely brought back so many memories and made me reminisce about my mission. This week I also got braces put back on but I'm only supposed to have them for 6-8 months.  I also realized that Kasen's hair is out of control!

This week the kids also started their Success Principles home school study class. This time Kasen was old enough to join the group. 

 We had some nice late nights this week with warm weather.  Kinsley's cats are getting so big already.  They just love Kinsley so much and follow her around like she is the Pied Piper.  Finn is so perfectly named - he is the mischievous one of the two.  He is definitely rightly name after Huckleberry Finn.

Ava had her first volleyball game as a high schooler this week.  She actually had 3 games and restrictions were in place so only a few visitors per player.  Since one of her games was against Bonneville, Grandma and Grandpa went to watch and kill two birds with one stone and watch Avery as well.  Ava had another huge accomplishment this week too.  She finished her 2nd reading of Moby Dick.  She has been pacing herself all summer to read it before school started.  She was so proud of herself she made a cake to celebrate.

This last week was spent exploring outside, school shopping (Ava's shoes are now as long as Dallin's arm), and going on a few bike rides.  I'm really going to miss not having all the kids home together once school starts. It has been so nice not to have school start in August and enjoy these nice warm days together.