The Pollard Place: June 2023

We got to go camping! Yay!! We decided to go to Smith and Morehouse, but the campsites were all first come first serve and so I drove up with the kids earlier on Friday and found a spot I thought would fit the trailer. It ended up being such a great spot!

Strawberry Days came! I hadn't been since I went with Rusty the summer we got married. It was so fun and magical, and I loved walking around and the fair and the summer and the delicious strawberries and cream. So I bought us tickets for the rodeo but then Rusty had to go on a work trip so the Bartons and I ended up going to it without him. I wanted to go back for the fishing in the morning and the carnival, so I just stayed the night at their house. The rodeo was really fun- the kids loved it and it felt just like summer!

The next morning we did the fishing for the kids at a pond they made in Pleasant Grove, and they had a ball!

At the end of the time, the kids were allowed to go in with nets and buckets and grab whatever fish they could! Henry was absolutely thrilled- Della and Amelia were pretty terrified.

We got to go to the zoo this month, and it was a blast! It had been a while since we were there, so it was extra fun. We rode the carousel and got ice cream! It was a great day in some great weather! I'm so ready for summer!

Rusty and I were invited to speak at The Other Side Academy. I'm still not entirely sure why we were, but it was a good opportunity to go and spend more time there! We love being there with them- it is always such a wonderful experience. I got to talk about Beckie and her struggles and how much we loved her even with those struggles. It was difficult and I cried a lot, but I think it meant a lot to the students that I was willing to be so vulnerable.

For Activity Days the boys went up and hiked Sid's Canyon. Katey Webster had printed out a paper with flower identification and we looked for them while we hiked. It was so beautiful up there!

Henry played baseball this year for the first time! He told me that he was nervous about it because he was the only kid that had never played before, and I thought he was probably exaggerating because he was only 8. But nope, he really was the only one that had never played before haha. People are weird with kid sports now and I hate it. He liked baseball but he said not as much as soccer. It was fun to watch him get better as he practiced!

Dairy Keen after a game!

My handsome baseball boy!

Chelsea came to visit and it was so great to see her! We met to do a hike called Cascade Springs and her friend that she was staying with came with us too. It was a little bit further away than I had anticipated and I felt bad for them, but it was a really beautiful drive! We got out and started down the stairs and Joe touched a plant and broke out into hives everywhere. Just a little further on the boardwalk started and then he got worse so we turned around and went back to my house so that he could shower and rinse off. The kids got to play and Chels and I got to talk for a little bit! It was the day of my speech at The Other Side Academy so I was pretty distracted.

We met up another day and went to a park, got some lunch, and ate at a different park out closer to where she was staying! It's always great seeing her and I was much more relaxed this time haha!

The kids started swimming lessons again! I found a place in Heber that does private lessons one on one, and I don't want to mess around with them being able to swim so I am willing to pay more to have them have that time. The kids loved their teachers and they made a lot of progress!

After taking the kids up Sid's Canyon for Achievement Days, I was super wanting to get Rusty and my kids up there because it was just so beautiful! I am so excited to be able to live close by and go up that trail as often as I can. One day we went up the trail and everyone indulged me in listening to the sounds of the birds chirping and just sitting quietly in a little meadow. The wildflowers were spectacular!

We did a cool hike with some friends from the ward! Someone started a hiking with friends group and I hope that we can do it a lot this summer! We went up through Huber's Grove and it was my first time up there. It was gorgeous! On our way out we saw a beautiful huge bald eagle!

I am absolutely in love with the Bear Lake cabin! Every time we go I never want to leave. We got to go up for pretty much the first time by ourselves. We played in the lot in front that we just bought and the kids found sooo many caterpillars! I just kept feeling like it was so surreal to have this space for the kids to do that. We went down to the private beach for the first time and it was nice and quiet- pretty gravelly but not a lot of people. We rode dirt bikes around, relaxed and had the best time!

Rusty had to go on a business trip, so he asked me to meet him at Top Golf for a quick game before his flight. It was my first time there and it was actually so fun! We are not great (especially me) and we couldn't stop laughing when we would completely miss haha! I love doing things like this with Rusty.

We went mountain biking and got to see some really wonderful wild flowers! We did a really fun trail just in Dutch Hollow and it was pretty simple but a ton of fun for turning. It will be really great practice for me getting more comfortable I think!

We got to go boating and I tried out wake surfing! It was harder than I thought it would be and it took me a while to even stand up, let alone let go of the rope. I didn't get to that point at all! But Rusty got up the first time and let go of the rope the third time. SO DUMB.

As something completely new, we went to the Fairy Tale Festival this year at Thanksgiving Point! I got a babysitter for Henry, and then got a table and invited Amy and Hazel Huber and Mandy and Verity Keller to come with us for a girls date. They all had a great time! The tea party was awesome and the Mad Hatter was absolutely hilarious. We walked around for awhile before the tea party and met some princesses, the Fairy Godmother, and saw some cool animals. We also saw the mermaids! Then we did the tea party and my girls particularly loved Mary Poppins. She sang a song with the Mad Hatter and we had delicious food! After the tea party we went and played on the pirate ship before we had to go.

I signed the kids up for a nature camp in Provo. There is the coolest school in Provo but with it being so far away I didn't think I wanted to commit to it for the school year. We tried it out for a week for each of them in the summer and it was FANTASTIC. If it was closer I would totally do it. I loved how they ran everything.

Henry did a cooking camp where they cooked things over the fire

Della did a pirate and mermaid camp!

It was a drop off camp so I didn't stay, but one of Della's teachers took pictures!

For Kade's birthday party they went to Classic Skating and the theme was Mario Bros. Nobody else dressed up, but I thought my kids would think it was fun! They loved that movie, and Rusty and I actually did too! It was so funny! The party was a blast and I loved watching them skate around in their costumes!

We got to go plat at the splash pad in Orem! I hadn't talked to Aubrey Wilde in forever, so I reached out to her and we met there. The kids had a blast- Henry played with Fox and Cal and the girls mostly loved laying on this rock to stay warm haha.

Della lost a tooth! Her first tooth! She was so excited! She's been waiting for this for a long time. It came out easy with no problems and she couldn't wait for the Tooth Fairy to come!

We had to immediately call Daddy!

Bryndee and I went on a date for our Christmas presents to each other. We went and got pedicures, went to get a couples massage, and then went out for Thai dinner! This is a picture of her telling me a story about her arms cramping up hahahaha.

Ashton Gardens had a really cool concert that Rusty and I went to! We got a picnic dinner and then listened to the orchestra play beautiful patriotic songs. At the end there was a wonderful firework show! I loved this outdoor concert and it was fun to do it just us this time for something new!

There was some land in Heber that was listed and Rusty really wanted it. One day we went over and looked at it and fell in love with it! I had some reservations still about the railroad track going through it and the power lines, but it was still so beautiful. We put an offer in on it but we lost out. Boo.

House stuff is coming along! I picked out the countertop for the kitchen and FINALLY found the perfect backsplash! I didn't want anymore subway tile but I wanted something a little bit more exciting but still simple. I love it!

T came and we measured out some options for the painting she is making for us!

More progress!

Henry's Highlights:

Is enjoying baseball!
He bought an airplane at Hobby Lobby with his own money and he was absolutely over the moon when he found out that it was 50% off! He talked the rest of the day about how awesome that sale was. The first night it got stuck on the roof of the pavilion in the green space, on our roof, and in our neighbor's backyard haha.
He is reading like a maniac! Currently loving the Magician's Nephew
Watching a documentary and the northern lights came on. I told him I wanted to go there and he said, "Why don't we go see it something? But we need to wear layers.

Adeline's Adventures:

Obsessed with cartwheeling and headstands. She has kicked us all in the face while cartwheeling at least once.
She has a loose tooth (her first one) and she tells everyone about it
We were talking about soldiers and how we're grateful for all they do and she said, "I thought about being a warrior, but it's sad to die."
Got a snake from Hobby Lobby with her own money and was SO happy about it
Found a choker ribbon for Cinderella in the dress up stuff and is obsessed with it and wants to wear it all the time. Calls it a "neck choker"
I told Della to clean up her toys and she started crying and said she felt like an orphan
I also told Della to take a few minutes to calm down and she sat down and did this meditation pose that I definitely didn't teach her or ever see

Amelia's Updates:

Calls popcorn "poppy corn"
Says, "I'll be chill!" any time she gets in trouble
Talked so much during her swimming lesson they could hardly get anything done
Thinks whenever two people kiss on the lips they're getting married. She will kiss someone and then get all shy and say, "I think we got married."
We went on a walk and before we left she vented for a few minutes about how she didn't like people and didn't want anyone to come. When we were walking a man walked out of his house and she yelled "HE'S ANNOYING US!" That same walk she had to pick up every single rock she saw- which was many

Extra Pictures

I had to go to the doctor in Lehi (a specialist because I was still sick) but got there and realized that Amelia had no shoes. So I stopped by Bryndee's house and stole these shoes from her front room haha.