Men are accountable

 In Texas there is a law that bans abortion after 6 weeks and allows private citizens to enforce this law by suing anyone who facilitates an abortion.  The law also provides a $10,000 bounty for people bringing these lawsuits.  I'm not sure who pays the $10,000 but I want there to be a law that makes it illegal to impregnate a woman that does not want to have a baby.  This new law should also be enforceable by private citizens who can sue men they believe to be guilty of impregnating a woman against her wishes. 

I'm so tired of women holding all the accountability.  Men are accountable for unwanted pregnancies.  Men have to stop it by stopping themselves.

Deep Creek

 M had her first marching competition on Saturday. 

The rest of us drowned our sorrows by going kayaking.

We paddled in for about 40 minutes until we were officially in the boundaries of the preserve.  Then we had lunch! 

lP was creeped out by the many hidden logs.  I liked that we didn't encounter a single motor boat.  The creek was also very winding and you had the distinct feeling that you could get lost.  It was nice to have a phone with Google Maps to show us where we were.  Also, we saw a helicopter presentation just this week where they talked about rescuing kayakers... 

This was a very nice place to kayak and I hope we can go again.

all the snacks

 I was feeling a little awkward that we have so many snacks!  A grocery store went out of business and I did recently buy an entire shopping cart full of snacks.  But I also have tons of snacks that the kids eat regularly.  When I pick up the teenagers, they go for the snack box.  When we drive to visit grandparents, the snacks are already packed.  

I do actually cook every day, and the reason we have so many snack foods is that we never eat out.  I think the last time I remember us eating out was on our trip to NC.  That was almost 4 months ago!  We did order food while with Grandma a few weeks ago, and we had a wonderful Chinese food with aunt E and L last week.  P and G ate out I think on their trips to do hurricane clean up.  

In general, if we're going someplace, I make dub dubs and pack food.  The excessive amounts of food are part of the food planning that keeps us from having to get dinner from a fast food restaurant. 

visits

 We've been visiting GL each weekend while C and S were away.  It was so nice to spend a lot of time with her and to have C and S's home to sleep and have sleepy mornings.  When you are visiting for 5-10 hours a day there is so much more time to relax and chat.  The kids discovered the ceder tree in the back yard again.  That has been such a joy to our family over the years.

We enjoyed conference on the road and with Grandma.  When I was driving I asked the girls to take some notes for me on my phone.  lP even took some notes I didn't tell her to!

I enjoyed
We walk in circles because we don't know what way is straight.
Don't take life out of sequence.
Renlund's talk about unity
Tongan missionaries in the field ever since pandemic!
Temple changes are from the Lord.
One percent improvement.
How hurricanes are made.
If you want to change your life, change today.
I believe, help thou my unbelief.
Look down the road and you will always drive straight.
As long as you can focus on Jesus you can do anything. (Penny)
Rescue might not come immediately, but the Savior is always watching. (Penny)
Increase focus on the things that matter. (Penny)
"The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints" is the name of the church, it is not negotiable (Penny)
Mormon didn't die for my sins or suffer in Gethsemane for us.  Jesus did.  Mormon isn't my savior.
Using the full name of the church can change our lives and the lives of others (Penny)
The Spirit will show you all things you must do (Penny)
President Nelson loves you. (Penny)

G and P are in Louisiana doing hurricane Ida clean up again.

Hikes with the 3 peas

 I've been doing noom for a few months now.  I started right before school started and it was still easy to get a few miles of walking in before the kids needed me.  Now with driving the teens to seminary and school, I don't have time to get the walking in.  Last week I took the 3 peas each on a walk to get my steps in and lP and I saw a space shuttle launch as we were finishing up.  She ran from the corner to home to get G so he could watch the launch he had been obsessing over on the computer.  

The next time I went for a night time walk B said he'd help me with that and we walked 2 miles.  I started taking the boys out with me and we even wore reflective vests as it got darker.  We've gone walking in the day a few times and it's too hot still.  But we're getting more adventurous with choosing to walk.  

On Monday the 3 peas and I walked 2 miles and sang "Swinging Along", "I love to go a wandering." and other songs as we walked.  It was beautiful.

Today we parked at the downtown library and went to the library, playground, walked a mile to visit a fairy garden, and other playground, then walked back to the library.  They were such troopers.  We brought snacks and water and wore our shade hats.

We're planning to go to the circus next week then at the end of the month we'll go to the corn maze and actually do the maze.  I didn't enjoy the corn maze experience as a college student and never thought I would take kids through the maze.  But they've been so good at hiking the last 2 years, I'm looking forward to it!

Putting their shoulder to the bumper

 This weekend we traveled to visit Grandma L.  S and C are visiting B and K's family in Macedonia.  Grandma L's car wasn't working and we planned to jump start it.  We backed it out of the garage to get the batteries close enough.  After a long time charging, we realized that the starter was broken.  We worked to push it back up the driveway and called the kids to come push as well.  They loved that.

P and G are helping with hurricane clean up in Louisiana, staying with C and A.  I'm very grateful that they could go and it was lovely to video chat with C and A.  I'm grateful for my family.

I spoke in church about the song of the righteous.  P was going to speak as well but instead asked my friend JC to speak.  She and I have served together and helped each other through so many times.  She is awesome.  We both sang periodically in our talks.  It was really neat to share the meeting with her.

It was my turn to teach ASL Sunday School this week so I was trying to prepare both a talk and a Sunday School lesson this week.  So of course I also set these words to music because that was a great idea. 

With P out of town, I stayed up too late and didn't eat great.  That combination is actually great for my creativity.  I love musical revelation.  Preparing a talk and a lesson also had me in a very sensitive zone so it was the perfect time to write some music. 

kayak break and crisis clean up volunteering

 We went to a little beach on the side of the road and paddled around in the kayaks on Saturday.  Monday we hope to do the same.  It was south of the inlet and there were not crowds.  We did have to hike the kayaks to the water about 50 feet in sand, but it was so nice to just put in without dealing with crowds, oysters, parking, etc...  The little boys had worn swim clothes and they loved playing in the water.

I'm coordinating our ward's efforts to take calls for the crisis clean up for hurricane Ida.  This call center takes the details from residents and then provides those details to teams of volunteers who are able to clear debris, do muck out, tarping, and cut up fallen trees.  Margot and Geoff went last year to help in the panhandle.