August 2021

August started off hot as usual.

We were still smack dab in our busy season at work and our laundry was Out. Of. Control. to say the least.  We go off the rails twice a year...  Spring Break and late summer.  I was prepared for it and thought that we would avoid trainwreckage this summer.  What I wasn't prepared for was that one of my employees would have to have major surgery and another would go on a two week vacation with her family.  So, off the rails, we went.

One day, reality set in that we were not going to ever get a grip on things unless we started thinking outside the box and fast.

We filled up the sprinter with 80 bags of linens and headed to Dixie Spin, our favorite laundromat.

We spent $266.00 and washed 80 loads in 2 hours.

Then we spent the next whole day folding it.

I cannot lie.

It was so much fun.

We really did have the best time and we felt so accomplished.

The best part was, we got a handle on things and began to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Peyton is going into 6th grade this year, which means she heads over to the almost brand new Intermediate School.  Washington Fields Intermediate, to be exact.

On Friday the 5th, Rals and I took her to "walk the school night"

She, with her complicated schedule in hand, practiced moving from class to class 5 times, while we sat at a table in the cafeteria.  Which makes us super cool parents and not helicopter parents.  Don't get me wrong... I wanted to helicopter over her, but we let her be grown up and she was so proud of herself.

The family walked around with her at Back to School Night because that is what was expected of every parent.  There were at least 2,000 people there.  I could feel the heat coming off of people.  I could smell them.  I started feeling extremely claustophobic and a bit anxious.  Let me just say there was a rather large part of me that was grateful that we are vaxed.

Back to School night at the elementary school took 8 minutes from start to finish

This little girl.....

KK lost a tooth on a Saturday night...  Late.

And the dizzy, scatterbrained and irresponsibile tooth fairies slept in on Sunday morning instead of doing their job.  She was up bright and early and came in to give us morning hugs and we could tell something was very wrong.  

SHOOT!!!

Well, Raleigh followed her upstairs to talk to her.

She was very upset because "she needed that tooth money"

She was $5.00 short and she really needed it.

The next morning, she asked Raleigh if he could take her to Smiths.

She "just needed to go buy something"

So he took her.

And with her little wallet in hand, including the $5.00 we donated for the flighty toothfairy...

she purchased gift cards for Peyton for her birthday present.

I burst into tears when Raleigh sent me these pictures and told me what the money that she needed was actually for.  Who does this for a sister?  Every single penny that she had been saving for almost 9 months spent on a sibling.  Wow!!

Look at the pure joy on her face while she watches Peyton open her gift

We had to celebrate Peyton's birthday the night before because her birthday for the last five years has fallen on the first day of school.  And every year, gets lost in the madness of the that day.  Determined to make her feel special, we went to dinner at Sukura.  Ryker was terrified of the fire and sat in the corner during that part, which only made the chef more determined to pick on him.  I caught several tauntings on video.

We had such a fun night.

We bought last minute school supplies and spent $210 on new shoes.

She opened Airpods, that she wasn't expecting

Papa and Nana had a teeny tiny Happy Birthday Sign delivered for Peyton the morning of her birthday.

This is her Golden Birthday, so it's a pretty big deal.

The sign took up the entire front yard and caused quite a stir with all of the school kids walking by.

She and Sadie left at 7:00am to walk to the bus stop.

Papa, Nana, Rals and I watched them walk the entire length of the street.

So cute and So brave

(she even let me NOT pull her hair back into a ponytail, just this one time)

Kaleigh was excited to start the 5th grade

And she was more excited to be back with friends.  Who would have ever thought that the little elf would be the tallest of her friends?

Her "mom sandals" (she calls them) that are 2" probably helped with that

Of all of the children in the entire school, Ryker was the most excited to be back

We felt pretty proud of ourselves that we pulled this week off.

It was super intense and there was potential for failure all around us, but we somehow uncharacteristically were where we needed to be every day and on time.  We didn't forget to go to stuff like we usually do.  We were signed up and paid up and totally in control.  It's only taken us 13 years to get our crap together.

Better late than never

We even made her a "birthday shirt" to wear on the First Day of School

 Kami and Brent had Cookies delivered from Crumbl

all the way from Bagdad.

So nice and so yummy

Sam's son, Wiatt was baptised after waiting for a YEAR for stupid, ridiculous Covid Baptismal Restrictions to be lifted.  And in that time, he not only turned 9 (which meant that the missionaries had to teach him and treat him like he was totally new to the church and it ticked Sam off in the beginning, but ended up being the coolest thing) and... they also moved to Cedar City.

So we drove up to Cedar one Saturday.  And I bawled..... rather, ugly cried through the whole thing, I was just so touched.  For her talk on the Holy Ghost, she read us a little book.  I sobbed.  I don't know what was wrong with me aside from the fact that I am straight menopausal and am smack dab in the middle of some sort of horrible hormonal nightmare that I cannot wake up from.... but I have digressed.

Digressing is what menopausal people do.

Also, things that used to bug me a little bit, BUG THE HELL OUT OF ME NOW...

And because I am 50... and don't give 2 bits what anyone thinks of me all of the sudden, I openly express my bugg-ed-ness unapologetically and so a couple of my super annoying employees put in their two week notices because they couldn't stop complaining for TWO solid months about the most absurd things (like it being too hot outside and Arcadia being way too busy) and naturally (they can't work under such harsh conditions in their weakened emotional states....  blah, blah BARF) and then when I couldn't conjure up even the slightest hint of sympathy for them like we are supposed to do in our society now-a-days with these people, they felt they had no choice but to go elsewhere and work for more compassionate employers..... and I was like GOOD! And GOOD RIDDENCE too.  I don't need you, you whiners.

Bridge Burners.  Don't come back.  No good references for you.

Probably not the most professional response, I'll openly admit, but I'm old and bugged and can't get a grip on this new way of living.  I also refuse to play into this sociatal-enabling calamity we are systemically creating for ourselves, when we placate people who simply don't want to work very hard, but want to get paid like those of us who do.  Whiny, wimpy, worthless people need to go work somewhere else.

I WILL find the four people left in St George who still have a work ethic and they can be my staff and we will bang out a superior product if it kills us.  Dammit.

Flash Flood Saturday happened on the 14th

One hour of SOLID downpouring was so fun

Rals got a spectacular deal on a smoker.

So he smoked some ribs on a Sunday.

He researched techniques and recipes for days leading up to it.

He took it so seriously and they were delicious

The Harker Girls brought me cucumbers from their garden and of course they couldn't just bring them on a plate, they had to add some sunflowers to make them look pretty.

The most delicious cucumbers I have ever eaten.

They were so crisp and flavorful

I FINALLY caved and joined the cosmetic dark side...

And purchased lashes.

I found a way to have them without breaking my bank account.

I almost had an emotional breakdown putting them on, but once I got it, I was hooked.

Now there is NO turning back. 

The same is the case with my hair

I cannot go back to my real natural state, so I am trapped in the beauty snare.

And it's okay

I am being forced to concede in other areas

Like my ever increasing wrinkles and my hormonally expanding waistline... no matter my efforts.

Here is the thing...

I have decided that I have OTHER qualities, in my older and wiser age, that are more important to develop at this time of my life and I will do so, with butterfly wings fluttering about my eyes 

One of the departments that I manage is laundry services.

We do all of our inhouse linen laundering on site.

And we do so with three commerical washers and six commerical dryers.

It was extremely effective 2 years ago, when we had 20 units and weren't very busy.

But, now we have 60 units and we are very busy, so our operation has been suffering.

A lot

My motto for our laundry room was

"WE are doing the best we can with the tools we have been given"

Well... the owner of Arcadia doesn't really like to do most things half way

so, he decided to up our equipment and he purchased hundreds of thousands of dollars in machinery that will not only dry and press our sheets, but fold them and stack them.

Before we can install our fabulous new toys, our gigantic laundry room has to be built.

Unfortunately, that will take 4 months.

To get us through the next four months, a temporary laundry room was erected and temporary equipment will be put in there to increase our effeciency until we can get to the promised land.

Doubling our equipment

Quadrupling our workspace

No quantitative value on our happiness

When I think that this beautiful room is only a "makeshift" laundry room designed to pacify us until our real, intended professional laundry room is complete, I cannot comprehend what is in our future.

I plan to take my boom box and mixed tape of my favorite 80's alternative tunes over and wash and fold up some gorgeous sheet sets while educating people on what good music sounds like.  I only wish I had employees to help me fold....  but they all left due to the harsh conditions AT EXACTLY THE WRONG TIME.  Idiots.  If you would have only stuck it out for two more measly weeks you could have been a part of the change.  Oh well, have fun cooking up curly fries at Arby's.

The owner of our company treated a few of us to a convention in Las Vegas.

Honestly, the best part of the day (because the convention itself was terribly lame)

was driving there and back and getting to know each other better and feeling more unified as a team.

Lunch was pretty great too, Cheesecake Factory never disappoints

The Beehives (even tho we don't call them that anymore, except OUR ward does, becuase it's stupid for them not to have names) and the Deacons got to take a tour of the new temple....  LUCKIES!

There have already been a few really cool things that have happened with some really cool stories attached.

It's going to be so gorgeous.  One of the few temples that will face North and not East.  Our temples face East because that is the direction that Jesus will come from when he comes again.  One of the last temples to have Moroni standing on the top of it because we need to have the focus of our temples be on Jesus and not Moroni

Pheeeeewwwww!

We did it August.  You did NOT get the best of us this year.

I really feel like parentally, we have turned a corner.  

We are far more organized than we have ever been OR maybe it's because we stopped worrying about the small stuff.  Whatever it is, we are a well oiled machine, I tell you.

Huge shout out to the Lund Littles, who I have said it before and I will say it again are superior children.  I hope they always stay this way.

I have also said this, but it bears repeating...

My husband is the greatest thing that has ever happened to me.

He spoke in church on the last Sunday and I thought I was going to burst, I was so proud. 

He is just so in control and well spoken and I also think he is so sexy in his suit with the tie I bought for him for Father's Day.  But even more than that, he donates money anonymously to people and even though he'd probably LOVE to let some people have it....  he holds his tongue and is always diplomatic. But, the very best part of him is how he treats me and the little acts of service he does for me every single day.  I am so undeserving of him.  

I am thrilled to say that the crazy busy season is OVER and we are on the downward slide.

I could not be more happy about that

Gleefully looking forward to cooler weather and boots and sweaters.