Summer Adventures- Family Reunion

Hutchings Hold'Em 2008My entire family-wow there's a lot of us!

One of the really fun things we did this summer was my family reunion in Flagstaff, AZ. So yes, just three short days after arriving home form Utah, we took off and drove (AGAIN) to AZ for my immediate family's reunion. THe theme was Hutchings Hold 'Em . It was a cowboy, card fun theme and we all enjoyed it!All the nieces and nephews at the campground (background)

Flagstaff is a beautiful place, and if I ever lived in AZ, this is where it would be. There are trees and it is not as hot or ugly as the rest of AZ (I only say that cause I like green and AZ is very brown). We camped at a small KOA campground and enjoyed lots of yummy food, playing games, visiting and talking, playing with the kids, and just plain fun at the campsite. But we did not stay at the campground that much, our days were filled with lots to do. The first night we ate at a dinner theater (cowboy style). Sunday we went to church and spent the evening putting funny make-up on and making up skits for fun. Jason's group all decked out in some fun make-up!

Mindy's group who all "killed" my dad!

Monday we went to Sugarbowl (a ski resort) and rode the ski lift to the top and enjoyed the scenery and beautiful view of the area. All the nephews at the top of the ski lift : )

But Monday we also went and visited the Grand Canyon. I have been (when I was younger I think), but this was spectacular. It was truly breathtaking. The pictures do not do it justice, and I can't believe how beautiful the sunset was.

Tuesday was spent packing and heading out towards home. I t was sad to say good-bye, but I knew I would be seeing most of them shortly when they came for Grandma and Grandpa Camp (in the next edition). That is one of the benefits of living next to my parents, everyone who comes and visits them gets us, too :)

Until next time . . . .

Summer Adventures Part 1- Trip to AZ and UT

Before I backtrack and tell everyone what happened at work, I figured I would start by telling you the "good stuff" that has happened this summer. I am not sure how far I will get in telling, but bare with me.


The summer started off with a mostly solo trip from me to visit my sister who lives in Cottonwood, AZ and my brother in Salt Lake City, UT. Jason came at the end of the trip in Utah, but I did a lot of solo driving. My first stop was to my sisters. After 12 hours and almost running out of gas on a dirt road, I enjoyed four days with my sister, her husband (who amazingly was off work all four days) and her four kids. This is my first time visiting her with out her nearly popping out a kid, and it was fun. We got to have one day together just us and watched a movie, went shopping, and just had fun. I also enjoyed hiking with the whole family on Monday (Memorial Day) in Sedona which is only 30 minutes away from where they live. The picture above is of all the kids right before we left on the hike. We actually went about 3 miles round trip which was pretty good for such little legs. We even made it out without any bruises or scrapes. I was also able to play lots of games with my sister and her hubby (he's the game player, not my sister) and she even got me hooked on "The Bachelorette". On Tuesday, I allowed her and her hubby to go out on a date and watched the kids all afternoon. We went to the park and out to eat, got prizes from Family Dollar, and enjoyed some fun naps. I really had a great time there.This is a picture of my niece at the park. She looks exactly like I did when i was a kid. I have a picture of me on the swings at this same age, and we look the same : )

The next stop on my journey was to see my brother Chad and his family. It was my first time seeing my new nephew and he looks just like a cabbage patch kid!

This picture was the very first picture my nephew Kayden took in his life, so I had to post it for him-heehee.

While I was there, Chad took me on a tour of our Church Headquarters (since that is where he is now working) and it was amazing. I had really been struggling with my testimony and going to church, and it really helped remind me of everything I knew to be true. We also went on a long bike ride and enjoyed the "spring-like" weather they were experiencing at the end of May. I also took the boys to a park in Orem (south of SLC and north of Provo) where I met up with a friend i hadn't seen in a long while. I also took the boys to the mall and got them a crazy game and fun tattoos. Friday night we went to Chuck E. Cheese (kind of a tradition with these boys, I take them every time we visit them).This is a picture of my bro with his three boys winning some fun tickets! On that Saturday, Jason flew in early in the morning. After picking him up at the airport, we rushed to Eagle Mountain (where his sister Janelle lives) and saw her son being baptized. It was really neat. Right after, we headed to the temple to see her and her family be sealed together in the South Jordan temple. It was a beautiful day and we were so happy to be there. We went to a small reception for them afterwards and then headed back to my brother's to play games and sleep. We arrived home the next day which made my trip a total of 9 days! A DEFINITE much needed vacation for sure!

This is Jason kissing his niece Adella at the temple.


This is Jason with his two sisters Lynn (on the left) and Janelle (on the right) at the temple after the ceremony.

Jason's Jobs Update 7/23/08

Jason has been SOOOOOOOOOO busy this summer. He has been working two jobs and 7 days a week.

His first job is placing new home development signs for his brother’s booming business in Elk Grove and Natomas (two neighboring communities of Sacramento. It takes up Friday nights and/or Saturday mornings as well as Sunday nights and/or Monday mornings. It is hard work and takes about 7-8 hours to do, but we cannot complain about the income it provides FOR SURE. Mindy actually assists him by driving the truck so he can easily jump out and place the signs. It is the time for both of us to be together as we hardly get the opportunity to see each other and talk. It isn’t so bad once we get going, it’s the getting going that is the hardest. Jason will be keeping this job in the fall due to the great income it provides and since it will not conflict with his schooling.

The second job Jason has been doing is installing security systems for Pinnacle Security. He works Monday through Saturday and usually starts between 10am and 1pm and sometimes does not get home until 12midnight. Since the work is paid by the install, Jason is trying to get as many as he can to help with money and his end of summer bonus. It is hard work, with sometime when he is just waiting for an install usually in the area playing his PSP pr watching a movie on it. He usually gets 2-3 a day and that is great for the weekly income as well. He is hoping for a service tech position in the fall, but we will not know about it until close to fall. He would be able to do this on the days he is not in school. He has enjoyed it for the most part, but hates the fact that he really can’t spend time with me, go on vacations, or spend time with all the family that is around.

Jason is doing an amazing job. Mindy is so grateful for his efforts as it has allowed her the MUCH needed time off work right now. We are looking forward to the fall when we will be able to see each other hopefully a few more evenings. And yes, Jason will be reffing again this fall, but only on Thursdays and Fridays, not Saturdays like he did last year : ) Way to go Jason for working his butt off !!!!!!!!!!!!!

Quick Mindy Update

Work Sucked
Nervous Breakdown
Quit my job
Seeing Psychologists/Psychiatrists
Getting better

Our Birthdays

I couldn't post all negative- heehee!

Jason and I have both celebrated our birthdays recently, Jason turning 29 and me hitting the big 31 (wow, I can no longer say I am barely 30). Jason's birthday was on February 22nd. Though I had to work all day, I was able to go out and do signs with him that night and he even came and visited me at work and brought his traditional Pastrami Sandwiches. We knew it would be a weird day, and so on Saturday, we celebrated more. My dad and siblings came over and we played games, watched a movie, ate cake and ice cream, and enjoyed the day. I even was able to make him breakfast on Saturday (the day after). I did drop the ball this year, but I made sure that Jason sure felt loved, and my family helped to make it special also cause in the middle of doing signs, we stopped by the house (we pass their house twice during our sign routes) because I had to "use the bathroom" and they had a cheesecake, balloons, and sang Happy Birthday to him. They stepped up and saved me for sure!

My Birthday was on March 28th, and as mentioned below, was a truly emotional day. I only had to work a half day, and we were able to watch a movie, I took a nap (after being out until 1am the night before with my dad in the hospital), and then we went out to eat at my favorite restaurant. Jason did an amazing job and even got me two birthday gifts I really wanted. Then Jason dropped me off at my parents house where I was spoiled rotten. I got my hair cut from my mom, had a fun party with some neat gifts from my parents and siblings including my favorite cake and ice cream, received a very good massage from my brother Brendon, pedicure from my sister Nana, and hand rub from my sister Amberlyn all while watching Girls Just Wanna Have Fun (one of the classic fun movies I never get to watch). Then on Saturday, Jason continued spoiling me by giving me a very long massage, and then we went out with some friends to go bowling (my sister came too). Afterwards, we went out to eat again. I truly felt spoiled and felt as though I had been truly spoiled.

Work Update

Wanted to give everyone an update on my work status: Lots has happened since the last posting. On March 25th, Rio Linda School District (our partner with our free after school sites where we have over 140 kids) decided to switch providers on April 25th,meaning that we (Rio Linda Elverta Recreation and Park District) would no longer be providing the after school program at the two schools where we did have the free program (referred form here on out as ASES, After School Education and Safety). Quite a shock to both myself and my boss, and lots of work to be done to switch it over. Even though there were a number of factors in this decision, I myself felt directly responsible for the discontinuation of the program. I went through lots of feelings of guilt, anger, sadness, and have been trying to deal with all of these. It greatly effected my Birthday (on March 28th) and only after a priesthood blessing from my father and husband did I start to feel as though I was no longer alone in this process. I have been able to keep myself composed while at work except for a few moments of break down in my car sobbing to Jason. I also briefly broke down in front of my staff on Tuesday April 1st (yeah, nice April Fool's joke for them) when I let them all know they no longer were needed after April 25th. It was very emotional for many of them (and for others, they were upset and I am still dealing with them). Then, just last night, we had a parents meeting at the better of our two schools, and all the parents were stating how much they appreciated us and wanted to know why we were leaving because they liked us so much. When I went to ask the parents to write notes of gratitude or to let our Board of Directors know at our next meeting, I briefly cried again. But overall I have been able to keep myself in check. I am sure Jason would state otherwise, especially since I seem to take all my anger and frustrations out on him (yes, he is so patient and perfect for me). I am doing better each day, but know until April 25th that I will continue with my indigestion, headaches, nightmares, no appetite, sore back and shoulders (where I carry all my stress), and boughts of crying, yelling, and pure exhaustion. I know that the program will continue with the new provider and that the children will be taken care of which is the most important thing through this all. To quote my boss "If we can get through this, we can get through anything!" I truly believe that and am grateful through it all, my boss has been very supportive and helped me, our Board of Directors are not unhappy with me and I still have my job, that I have family praying for me, that I have such great staff that are willing to work hard until the end, I have supportive office staff who are helping me out with the paperwork necessary, a husband who is so patient and kind and willing to help me through it all, and most of all, for my Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ who I know have carried me though this whole ordeal. Until next time . . .

Mindy's Work

Got lots going on in our lives, but first and foremost right now is my work. It sure has been crazy, starting on February 19th. I am dealing with lots of major incidents with employees and kids. We have had broken bones, stitches from practicing for our parent talent show, upset and screaming parents, parents threatening to "shut us down", incident reports not filled out correctly, and more fights then I can count with the kids. I have had to deal with 12 incidents in 9 days (you do the math). It sure has not been fun, and I think I know have an ulcer and my shoulders will be permanently tense until I can get a good massage. My boss keeps telling me that I am learning lots (LOL), and that I will be so much better for this. I certainly hope so. I guess this is what happens when you are supervising over 27 staff members. Summer should be better, and I am actually looking forward to the break-heehee. I am still extremely busy getting our swim team up and running and helping another co-worker (who is over aquatics) with the summer and lifeguarding because of my background. I have my big Spring Jubilee Eggstravaganza on March 22nd and all that it entails, but actually am finding myself more organized than I thought and will enjoy the day rather than stress over it (lets just pray for sunshine that day). Our webpage takes up some time as well- you can check it out at riolindaelvertaparks.org, I am the one that does the upkeep and maintenance on it. And lets not forget our next Rec Guide will be coming out soon and I am responsible for coordinating that. Well, I guess I have complained enough for one day, but maybe some of you who have simpler lives will appreciate this. I do love my job, and if I didn't have to deal with all the issues (hmmm), my job would be perfect! At least I have more good days here then bad, and the good days are really fun! Until next time . . .