The Pollard Place: July 2022

At the beginning of the month, my parents took the kids for a weekend! Rusty and I went out to Midway and looked at the house that we had under contract. Then we decided to go mountain biking on a trail over there. It was really fun- but then I crashed and messed up my leg really badly haha. It hurt sooo bad and I had to ride down the rest of the way. I think I went into shock because I got really dizzy and couldn't see and just started walking down the trail. I sat down and ate something and things calmed down. Because I'm writing this in November (yikes) I can say that my leg hurt for a solid two months. Sheesh. The kids had a great time playing in the water, going to a movie, and making cars out of cardboard boxes for drive in movie time! So cute!

We started packing after the kids got picked up, and it was the same day I got back from Girls Camp so I took a long nap. Then we went and saw the new Top Gun movie (which was amazing) and then got Thai food to go. We drove up to an overlook on Squaw Peak to eat!

Mountain biking in Midway!

I crashed and fell downhill into some oak brush, and my bike fell on top of me. Its the electric bike so it's pretty heavy. I yelled for Rusty and then I kind of freaked out and just started running down the trail. Then I got really dizzy and couldn't see, so Rusty told me to sit down. I think I went into shock, because after I ate something and drank some water I felt way better. I still had to ride down though, and that was not fun at all.

Our new house!

That night we went to Stadium of Fire! We had never been before, and it was so amazing that I decided I wanted it to be a tradition haha. It was fun to be with a huge crowd celebrating our country- and feeling pride in our country which is very rare now. Tim McGraw was the headliner and I have been listening to him my whole life! It was absolutely surreal to see him singing these songs. He was fantastic!

We went up to my parents the next day to get the kids and do Fourth of July with them. The kids did sparklers and played out in the pool and had a great time. Amelia was very unsure about the little fireworks that we did. She did NOT care for the sound.

My Della girl turned FIVE! I do not know how my baby is already getting so big, but she is turning into a beautiful, kind and smart little lady. She loves people and dancing and singing. On her actual birthday, she woke up and had crepes for breakfast and then opened her presents. She did my hair and makeup and we grabbed some Chick-fil-A for lunch and had a picnic with Daddy. Then we went to Coconut Cove as she requested, and got snow cones on the way home.

She wanted an Alice in Wonderland birthday party with her friends this year. We decorated and had a cute tea party for her. She was the most beautiful Alice I've ever seen! We sang the Unbirthday Song and gave each child a birthday present for their "unbirthdays", they tried to shoot the White Rabbit (Rusty), did a scavenger hunt for keys around the yard, played croquet and then watched the movie until their parents came.

ERC has a box at the Bees games every few weeks, and we got to go with the Bartons! The kids got bored about halfway through and someone turned a show on for them haha. Not my favorite, but they sure were happy about it!

My parents wanted to do a "Boys Camp" for Henry, Milo and Ollie so I drove out there and stayed for a day and then left Henry and went back a few days later to pick him up. He had a really hard time with some anxiety that trip, and struggled to sleep. Ollie teased him about ticks and Henry was absolutely terrified that he was going to get a tick. Nothing I said could convince him that he didn't have one; and even if he did it's something we can fix. I feel so bad watching him struggle with this anxiety because I know how hard it is to feel scared like that. I am hoping that we can help him by teaching him some good coping strategies. I love that little boy.

Henry had a great time at the camp! Every day they went to the Heritage Center and did things like milking a cow, making marbles, playing farm games, and riding the horses. One night my parents took them to Angie's to clean the sink! When I picked him up we met at the Pie in Salt Lake and got some yummy pizza.

They got to clean the sink at Angie's! Henry was so impressed haha!

Jessica was an angel and watched Amelia while Henry was at camp so that Rusty and I could take Della to go see Frozen at the Hale. She was absolutely entranced and in love with the entire thing! They did a really great job, especially with Elsa's costume change. You could not convince Della that it wasn't pure magic. I love watching her be so excited and happy!

We got lunch at Smash Brother's after we picked up Amelia and we couldn't get her to wake up for lunch poor thing. I think the weekend was just too much for her!

I took the girls to the splash pad in Orem while Henry was at Boys Camp and they had a blast! It is a fun place and a great way to cool off here.

One Saturday we went up to walk through the Midway house again, and on the way back stopped up Provo Canyon by Vivian Park to explore. We just went off the side of the road and found a cool area by the river. There were milkweed caterpillars everywhere! When the kids were playing in the river one of the toys got away so I went downstream to get it. It was stuck in some branches, and I bent down to pick it up. I looked to the side and there was a giant spider right next to my face! I screamed and ran away haha, and Rusty had to go get it. Nope. Not for me.

We got family pictures done with Madison Larsen again, and I love them! She did our newborn photos for Amelia and then some Christmas pictures of the kids last year. We had a date set up and we got everyone ready and up Tibble Fork and we got rained out! So we had to go up and do it a second time. I am so grateful for my sweet family! I love that you can see parts of their personalities in these pictures. Della was so happy to be able to wear these sparkly pink boots.

We went to the Provo Outdoor waterpark! This is such a fun place, and every time I come here I wonder why we don't come more often. It is a little tricky to come without another adult because the kids want to do the big waterslides and I can't do that with Amelia. It was nice to have Daddy with us! We stayed for the "dive in movie" which was Luca. The kids floated in the pool while we sat out with Amelia keeping her warm. It was so much fun! We didn't last the whole movie because it was getting late and Amelia was cold, but it was such a fun memory!

The kids earned a pool party at the Scera Pool from completing their summer reading goals! The pool was packed with people, and the weather turned really cold haha. Cold enough that when we went home the kids had a warm tub with hot chocolate haha. But it was warm enough for us to stay the whole time!

Ok, so this was in the "extra pictures" section but I think it is so hilarious it needs a place here. One day at church I had told Henry that I wasn't going to put any cars in the church bag because I was late and we needed to leave. Well, we get to church and sit down and I notice that his pockets are HUGE. I ask him why and he starts pulling cars out of his pockets like clowns coming out of a tiny car! Haha! This kid!

I went to Nashville on a girl's trip! It was so much fun! It was a reunion of sorts with the Arch House girls, and it was an absolute blast. I picked Sophia up on my way to the airport and we met Corina and Jamie there. We flew out together and got picked up by Cathryn and Chelsea. We went and checked into the AirBnb, got changed and went out to get some dinner! We went to Jack's BBQ (which is DIVINE) and then walked around Broadway a little bit.

The next day we went and had lunch at Paula Dean's, and it was so good! Everything we tried was absolutely delicious. After lunch we went and walked around the Opryland Hotel through the gardens.

That night we went to the Listening Room and heard three artists sing songs that they had written, and many of them had been picked up by big singers. It was absolutely wonderful to hear them talk about their experiences writing the songs, and what had prompted the song.

It was so hot I found a tiny bit of shade from this tree while I waited haha

After the Listening Room we had to go quite a ways to get back to Broadway where we parked, so rented electric scooters and I had not laughed that hard in so long. There were these groups of beautiful girls on girls trips all in matching tiny black or white dresses, and then there was this group of six girls riding these scooters haha. And two of us had our phones dead so we had to double up. Chelsea rode with me, which was a lot because she was very pregnant haha! Oh my gosh it was all so funny.

We went to a rooftop bar after to see a cool view of Broadway, and listened to some live music for a little bit.

The next day two people went and picked up donuts from a yummy place close by, and we took it easy just chatting and hanging out. When we got ready and went out to get in the van it wouldn't start! We spent some time on the phone with Stephen trouble shooting things, a nice stranger came and tried to give us a jump, and nothing. So we ended up getting two Ubers into town.

We went into a different part of Nashville, somewhere that had some cute stores that people wanted to shop at. One of them is Draper James, Reese Witherspoon's store. We shopped around for a while before going to the Country Music Hall of Fame.

I have really been wanting a leather jacket and I tried this on one and it was sooooo smooth! And then I saw that it was $800. Woooosh.

Our next stop was the Country Music Hall of Fame. It was cool to go inside, but probably just a one time thing. We saw lots of cool things from guitars to dresses to shoes and original lyrics written down on notepads or napkins. Then we went over into a different area and recorded our own song! That was probably my favorite part.

After that we were getting hungry! So we went to Hattie B's and got some chicken and got Jeni's Ice Cream afterward. While some girls were waiting in line for lunch (a huge line!) some of us went into a lingerie store next door and got something special for Sophia who was getting married!

Classy wall decor.

We split into two groups for a little bit here! Some of us went cowgirl boot shopping and some went to walk around some other stores. I really wanted to get some cowboy boots, but man they are expensive! I finally found some I was in love with but they only had a size 9 in stock so I didn't even try them on.

The ones I loved but were the wrong size

We walked downtown back to a good spot to get picked up and driven back to the house. Then we changed and got ready to come out for some dancing! None of us are big dancers except for Sophia, but we all had the best time! I was surprised by how fun I thought it was, but at this place they teach you the steps, start with the music slow, and then go to normal! It was absolutely a blast! Because Sophia is getting married soon we kind of did a bachelorette thing and we wore sashes out for her that Cathryn brought.

We got home and had a girls' night with face masks and scary eye things and had a great time talking and hanging out.

Our last day was Sunday, so we decided to go see a park that somebody really wanted to see because there's a replica of the Parthenon there. It was pretty cool, but you had to pay to get inside and none of us cared that much. And it was SO blasted hot. After that there was a very heated argument about seeing a movie or not, so everyone went back and kind of sulked until around dinnertime when things kind of went back to normal. We flew out really early the next morning so we all went to bed earlier than normal.

BUT I did have a realization last night that all of the boots I was trying on were small so I was ending up fitting in a size 9, which means that I could have those boots I loved! So we went back and got them and I was so happy!

Rusty took great care of the kids while I was gone! They went fishing, slept on the trampoline, and went on a bike ride! I'm so grateful to him for being supportive and helping me go on this trip!

Henry’s Highlights

Henry is having a hard time being afraid of everything. I think it is because of the move, it's caused some anxiety
Henry is reading like a crazy person
I was looking through baby clothes to consolidate them now that I'm done having babies and I started crying. I called to Henry and Della and asked them to come out into the family room and they saw me crying. Della says, "Oh my Mommy, how can I help you?!" and Henry says, "It's okay. She does this every time she looks at baby clothes."

Adeline’s Adventures

Della loves makeup and love and Walter
She uses "science" as a verb. "I like pollen cuz you can science it"

Amelia’s Updates

Lia side eyes everyone
Lia talks so much. She says OK and yeah a lot. If we tell her no to something she either throws a huge fit like she’s dying or just says “ok”. No in between
Lia poses like Della in pictures
She threw up in the middle of WalMart. I had to use my hands like a bowl to catch it and then I stood there not sure what to do. It was awful
She loves to dance to Let It Go

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