The Pollard Place: May: A Boat and a Boar

Henry played soccer again! It feels like we just did this in the fall, but here we are again and it's already May. It is so fun to see him progressing in his skills and talents! He is really liking it.

The ward did an activity on the Star Wars Train in Heber for May the 4th. There was a really tragic accident that took the life of the dad of a boy in our ward, and a brother of a boy in Henry's school class. The train owner reached out and offered free tickets for the boy in our ward (Dash) to bring some friends and make it an Activity Days activity. The owner is in our ward and he is the nicest man. I went as a chaperone and it was so fun! The kids were absolutely crazy- and I didn't help because I bought them all these light up light sabers. BUT I don't regret it because they had so much fun with them.

Della was my plus one on the train :)

There are always the most beautiful views!

Dance party!

It was branding day at the farm in Morgan! I had to go to a baptism for someone in our ward so I went up late and ended up missing all of the fun! Ah! But the baptism was really special and I was happy to be there. Rusty had a lot of fun and was very sore the next few days. Henry even helped take one down!

After all of the work we got to have lunch, ride horses, and play in the pool!

We finally got to take the boat out for the first ride! I was coming back from somewhere with Amelia (the kids were still in school) and so we met Rusty and the guy teaching him how to drive at Deer Creek. It was SO great to be able to get out on the water! I love that feeling of being free out on the lake. A boat has always been my favorite toy that I wanted when we were able to afford it. Amelia was in heaven and giggling the whole time! It was very surreal, and Rusty and I kept looking at each other like " Oh my gosh, we did it! All of the hard work, and the gambles, and the stress really worked. We got a boat!"

It was time for the Tulip Festival at Ashton Gardens again! We invited my parents to come with us (Rusty had to work) and it was really fun. This year was kind of tricky because the winter lasted so long that it pushed everything back, so I changed the dates a couple of times. We ended up going at a pretty good time! We missed the daffodils but the tulips were out in full force. I love tulips!

This year we got to spend Mothers Day at the Bear Lake cabin! Really, much of our time at the cabin has been with us being sick. So we were really hoping that this trip we could all just stay healthy and enjoy it! It was great! We went up just for the weekend and then invited Jess and Aaron and Mom and Dad up for Sunday dinner. It was their first time seeing it and it was so fun to have them there!

Because we were in Bear Lake we missed the primary singing the song they'd been practicing for Mother's Day. I was pretty bummed about it because it's such a sweet song. Rusty practiced with them and had them sing it to me at home that night! It was so sweet!

My parents took the kids for our anniversary and Rusty and I got to go to dinner and stay in the Blue Boar Inn in Midway! Then on Saturday they said they were taking them to a movie and would bring them back at 5! So we also got to go play that day. We checked into the inn and then had time to take a little nap before dinner. Each room was themed off of an author (which obviously I loved). I chose the Lewis Carroll room for us and it was all bright and cheery! Saturday morning before checkout and after the delicious breakfast I got to get a book from their huge library and go sit in a little reading nook by a window and read while Rusty took a nap. It was so great! They gave us a huge, old fashioned key and I just loved it there so much!

For dinner we went to the Riverhorse on Main in Park City. This is a really fancy restaurant that looked really tasty, so I was excited when I was able to make a reservation. They had multiple appetizers, a four course meal, and then a little after dessert- dessert haha. It was all delicious! I got the wagyu stake and it was the best I've ever had. Rusty got a trifecta of different game and thought it was yummy- not as yummy as the steak though haha!

After dinner we went and saw a play at the Egyptian in Park City. I didn't know this but they have a reputation of being a little raunchy, which was a bummer. The play was absolutely hilarious and really well done, and then they'd throw in a comment that felt really forced just to have it be "rebellious". It wasn't too often and so we stayed and finished the play and it was so good! It was called A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder.

We got breakfast at the little restaurant that was included with our stay and it was delicious! We ate it out on the balcony and I just love Midway so much. After we checked out we went home and that's when my parents said they were taking the kids until around dinner time. So we got our swimsuits on and went and met Whitney and Steve at Deer Creek to go paddle boarding!

After paddle boarding we went mountain biking! I had really been wanting to go because I haven't gone at all yet and so we squeezed it in. We were really tired though haha.

The Saratoga Springs temple open house was still going and we finally made it out there! We were really excited to be able to go through. I hadn't gone through an open house since high school, and obviously my kids never had. It was a really cool opportunity to take the kids and show them the inside of a temple. Yolanda and her family also came with us, but they ended up going through separately so they could have it in Spanish. Afterward we went and got some sushi!

It was finally the last day of school! It felt like it was never going to come but we made it! Henry was absolutely psyched, and Della was kind of sad because she really does love school. When I picked them up we went and got some ice cream to celebrate!

Towards the end of the month we went boating for the first time with the kids! It was SO cold, which was a bummer haha. But it's only May and winter lasted so long that it's still really cold. Luckily Rusty bought us all wetsuits. Rusty and I are the only ones who really got in the water, but the kids did go on the tube for a little bit!

Rusty did great at surfing!

And I got to wakeboard for the first time in a million years!

The house is still coming along! We got some garage doors and the other indoor doors were delivered! Still mad about how slow it is so I'm not going to write very much about it haha.

So. When I have a hard day, I like to drink a glass of sparkling cider. Rusty came home one day from work and said he wanted to go out to eat, and I asked if we could stay home because I had had a rough day and I wanted to stay home. He said it was important to him that we go together, so I just grabbed the whole bottle and took it in the car. I was drinking from the bottle on the way to Lola's and Amelia had been watching me asking about it. So I told her that when we got there she could have some. We parked right in front of the front door and I got her out and then gave her some of the cider from the bottle, took a swig myself, and then felt like someone was watching me so I turned around. There was a couple staring out the window at me with their mouths open. OH MY GOSH. I all of a sudden realized what that looked like, so I ran in and said, "I'm so sorry, I realized that that didn't look good. But it is just cider!" They laughed and told me that if they were anywhere other than Utah they would have called CPS. Well, the next day Lia comes up and asks me for some "f-ing cider" and I was SHOOK. Like, where have you heard that word?! After a while I figure out that she is saying "sparkling" and it just sounds almost identical to the f word haha.

We found a cool, new spot in Midway to play in the river! Because there was so much snow this year, the runoff was absolutely crazy and the river was soooo swift that I didn't let the kids do a lot of stuff in the water. But there was a little cove kind of area that they played in and had fun!

Henry's Highlights:

We went to get a car wash and Henry yells out "I CAN TELL THE FUTURE! When we drove past it I thought, 'What if they made a SUPER Lucky Duck option?' and now there is one!"
Someone kicked the soccer ball at him and it hit him in the chest, and he chased the ref and coach down and told them that it was a hand ball because he accidentally touched it with his hand when it hit him. He's so sweet and honest

Adeline's Adventures:

She dances in the mirror. Also talks to herself in the mirror a lot
She is the best sister ever! She is always so kind to Amelia

Amelia's Updates:

She always covers her eyes with her tiny hands when we open the car door to unbuckle her
She likes to tell me and Rusty to "get married" and then make us kiss. Today she kissed me and then said, "I think we will get married" and giggled haha
She found some sparkling cider and asked if she could have some but it ended up sound like f-ing cider haha. Same thing with "foon".
Went on a walk and a man came out of his house. She said "He's annoying us Mom!" And all she talked about was how everyone annoys us and she doesn't want anyone to come on our walk. On the same walk she insisted on picking up every rock along the way

She says, "Ya you're welcome" all the time
All numbers or time are still "8-6" and all days are "Wednesday": "We can ride the motorcycle on Wednesday"
Says, "Yay" suuuuuper monotone

Extra Pictures

Della drew this for Dr. Seuss day. I LOVE this Cat in the Hate

One day waiting for the kids to come to our meeting spot after school to ride bikes home, we sat under some trees and played with ladybugs! Amelia loved them so much!

So one day Della came home from school wearing shoes that were... not hers. So I asked her about that and she was like "Oh! Yeah, my shoes broke so I wore these shoes home from the lost and found. But the nurse said I had to bring them back tomorrow." WHY HAS SHE COME HOME FROM SCHOOL TWICE IN LOST AND FOUND CLOTHES?!