The Leake's Week-August 20, 2023

 Hello!

Summer has officially ended, the kids have two days of school under their belts, and I ended up sleeping until 9:00 am on Saturday morning-bless Richard!

I have so much I want to write about and preserve in our memories!  I am going to try and organize this all in a way that makes sense!

First, my thoughts on summer.  This was a busy, busy summer!  The three oldest kids all had multiple things that pulled them in different directions and because none of them can drive, I played chauffeur all summer long it seemed!  But, I am so grateful for each opportunity these kids had and I am so thrilled that they chose to step into each one.  It has been so rewarding to see them grow and stretch themselves, and also encourage and cheer each other on and have a genuine interest in what their siblings are doing.  Because we have been so busy, I have come to love, really love, the times the six of us can be together (when I am not trying to get kids to do their jobs!)  They are all turning into human beings I genuinely love being around, all growing up, and it is fun to be a part of this older kid experience.  I woke up with a heavy and sad heart on Thursday morning, the first day of school.  I took some time to myself from 5:30-6:00 am, and then it was all hands on deck from 6:00 to 9:00!  Doing hair, helping with breakfast, making lunches, making sure Marshall had all his cross country stuff, family scriptures, family prayers, taking first day pictures...you know the drill!  I drove Rachel and Gretchen to the elementary school.  I usually love walking with them on the first day, but based on how I handled Gretchen's first day of kindergarten last year, I knew I needed a space to let my tears flow, and walking home with dozens of parents while I sobbed was not what I wanted to do!  Both Rachel and Gretchen line up in the back of the school, and I am so glad their lines are so close to each other.  I snapped a couple pictures of Rachel and gave her a big hug and kiss and then she was off with friends.  Then I walked Gretchen to her line and gave her a huge hug and about twenty kisses.  When the bell rang and it came time for those little first graders to walk inside, I got a little choked up, but held it together.  I was home by 9:00, and kept waiting for tears to come, but they never did!  My heart was still a little sad, but by 11:30 I was out and running errands and picked up a salad from Cubby's for lunch and realized I had it pretty great!  Ha!  I was over the moon though to have all my kids home together by 5:15 that night.  Love each of them.  

And since I have brought up school starting, I might as well detail each of their first days.  All four kids had a great first day at school!  Yay!  Rachel and Gretchen had early out that day, so it was two hours shorter than usual, but Gretchen still experienced two recesses and lunch at school.  Gretchen loves her teacher, Mrs. Hope.  She also has several kindergarten friends in class, and she has loved playing with them at recess and sitting by them for lunch.  She didn't seem phased by the longer school day, but we will see what next week holds for her.  Rachel has Mrs. Crowley, who also taught Marshall and Bridget.  We are all elated that Rachel has her too.  Rachel has most of her besties in class with her, so that is awesome.  Rachel loved learning more about Mrs. Crowley and had a great time being back with her friends.  Her only complaint is that the 6th graders come into the lunch room too soon, so the 5th graders are crowded and she does not like it!  Bridget had a fantastic first day of 7th grade!  She found all four of her classes, has first lunch with two of her best friends, likes all her teachers so far, got on the right bus home at the end of the day, and only heard one swear word.  :)  I'm calling it a win!  Marshall rocked his first day of 9th grade too!  He is taking two AP classes this year; he has one on A day and one on B day.  He also likes all of his teachers, and his favorite teacher from last year, teaches two of his classes this year!  He and Bridget never have the same lunch, which I think he is grateful for.  :)  He has seminary with his friend, Johnny, and we are all so happy about that.  He doesn't have lunch with Johnny, but I was happy to hear he ate with cross country kids both days.  Yay!  He has also recommitted himself to eating school lunch-we will see how long that holds.  He has cross country practice after school each day from 3:00-5:00 and the 9th graders warm-up is to run from the junior high to the high school.  9th grade cross country parents have coordinated a carpool to drive all their backpacks and such over to the high school.  The mom who drove on Thursday sent a picture of them as they were taking off running and it did my heart a world of good to see Marshall in that pack of runners.  When I picked him up at 5:00 at the high school he got into the van with a big smile on his face, which is not always the case for him.  He had had a great day!  Made me so happy!  

Richard was home from work by 6:00 pm on Thursday and we didn't have anything going on that night.  It was SO nice to sit at the table as a family and just enjoy a dinner together so the kids could tell Richard everything about their day, and Marshall also had so many questions for Bridget-it was so cute.  We soaked up our relaxing evening, and last minute Grandma Becky even came to spend the night at our house.  We will never have an evening that calm again for the rest of the school year I am pretty certain.  I loved it!  

Okay, back to summer stuff...

We had a great Saturday before school started, August 12th.  We all slept in and had a hot breakfast together.  At 11:30, Richard and I left with Marshall and Bridget for baptisms at the Bountiful Temple.  I had a goal to get them to the temple together three times this summer, and Saturday was number three.  I am so glad we met that goal!  The baptistry was not busy at all, and it was nice to have it mostly to ourselves.  Marshall has had another growth spurt, and it was crazy to see him standing next to Richard in the font, only about three inches separating them in height.  After we got home, we had lunch and then Richard and I took Marshall to get his haircut!  His last haircut was just before Christmas!  We have all grown accustomed to his longer hair, and I especially love it, but he was starting to get annoyed with so much hair just laying on his neck.  He opted to keep it longer on top and have the bottom trimmed up.  He looks fantastic!  And too old.  :)  We spent the rest of the afternoon getting things done around the house, the kids played, and I am sure I took a nap.  :)  That evening we went out to dinner as a family at the Old Spaghetti Factory to finally have a birthday dinner celebration for Rachel.  Everyone ate great and it was just so nice to sit around the table and talk.  I love this little crew of ours!  When we got home, Marshall finally told us all about cross country camp (more on that later) and then we watched some funny Instagram videos before sending everyone to bed.  It was just a day that did my soul good.  We weren't running in a hundred different directions and shuffling kids all over.  We got stuff done, had plenty of downtime, and just spent a lot of quality time together.  It holds a happy place in my heart.  ;)  

Speaking of happy, Rachel is now 10!  I sent my last email out on her birthday, and I wrote all about her and how wonderful she is, but I don't think I talked much about her actual birthday.  So, here we go!  She did have her friend birthday party the Friday before her big day and that was so much fun for her.  She has a great group of friends and those girls had the best time together.  Rachel's actual birthday was, no surprise, busy!  Marshall had cross country practice at 6:30 am, but we agreed that her sisters would wake up at 7:00 am so that she could open presents before Richard left for work.  She loved all the presents she received and felt very loved.  We had waffles for breakfast and Tim's eggs, and the girls got a bit of playtime together before I took Bridget to horse camp.  Once Marshall got home from cross country, Rachel opened his present to her, and it was a sweet moment they shared together.  :)  The kids and I picked Bridget up from horse camp about 12:30 and then we all went to lunch at Culver's, per Rachel's request.  It was a fun little outing.  After lunch, Marshall had band camp, so I dropped him off there and the girls had some time at home to play before dispersing again!  Bridget worked at the farm that evening, and I was there to help them (my Mom also brought my Uncle Steve to the farm that night) and Rachel had 2 1/2 hours of dance choreography that night!  She was perfectly happy though to spend her birthday evening at dance!  Finally at 8:45 that night, we were all home together for the first time all day.  We had a red velvet bundt cake and sang to Rachel and spent time outside on the deck.  It was a day!  Discombobulated and had us going all different directions, but I sure hope Rachel felt loved and celebrated.  We sure love her!

Tuesday the 8th was another day for my poor mother heart!  I dropped Marshall off at 7:00 am at the Centerville Park for high altitude cross country camp.  He was being so brave!  He has been brave all summer, but I felt like this was the culmination of bravery for him.  A three day, two night camp, with kids he kind of knows, but isn't close friends with any of them.  We got his stuff unloaded from the van, he gave me a hug, and I immediately started to cry.  I tried to stay composed until my back was to him and then I cried all the way home and for a good 20 minutes after I got home!  Man!  That kid and every new thing he does sends me on an emotional roller coaster!  Then, that afternoon Bridget had a dentist appointment to take care of a little weak spot on her tooth.  She had been practicing her breathing and affirmations in the week leading up to this, but was still very nervous.  I gave her a pep talk on our drive and we practiced some more mindfulness techniques.  The dentist we saw that day has a dental therapy dog named Murphy who is trained to lay on these kids, and he is so still, and he just lets them pet his fur during their procedures!  It was AMAZING.  He is a goldendoodle, but twice Ziggy's size, so about 30 pounds.  The combination of added weight on the kids and the kids being able to run their hands through his fur is so soothing!  Between Murphy and me standing right next to her and helping her breathe and listening to me say, "I am strong.  I am safe.  I can do hard things."  we got her through it!  She really did amazingly well and I am beyond proud of her!  Another positive experience with a deep fear of hers!  Yay!  After she got the numbing shot and the dentist left the room for a few minutes while that kicked in, the dental assistant asked if I was a therapist!  I took it as a huge compliment and told her I wasn't but I sure have learned a lot IN therapy!  Bridget did so well, and didn't do anything to slow the procedure down that we were in and out in 20 minutes.  

I picked Marshall up from cross country camp a little after 5:00 pm on Thursday, the 10th.  I was beyond happy to see him, and in true Marshall fashion, he did not seem that excited to see me!  He got in the car and immediately said, "That was awful.  I have a cold.  Everything hurts."  He came home and basically just crumpled into the couch.  That night at dinner he told us a tiny bit about the camp.  On Friday I had to take him to the school so he could pick up his computer.  On the way home he told me it was so hard, the hardest thing he had ever done.  They ran over 20 miles and hiked about 10.  He could tell on the first day he was starting to get a cold and by the time he woke up Wednesday morning it had hit him full force.  I listened to him talk, and then I told him it was really, really amazing that he was able to do something so hard!  Something that was hard anyway, and then extra hard because he was sick.  He told us a bit more on Friday evening, but by Saturday he was finally feeling better and he told us all the details.  They really did work those kids hard, and they let them play hard and Marshall had a great, great time!  Yay!  They stayed on a property in Spanish Fork Canyon.  The coaches and parent chaperones got to stay in the house, and the athletes were outside in tents.  Boys on one side of the house, girls on the other.  Marshall took our huge tent and shared it with several freshman boys.  It sounded like he was always with a group, doing something, and for that I am so thankful!  I hope he sticks with this for four years and ends up with a well of wonderful memories and impactful life lessons.  

Last Sunday our neighbors, the VanDrimmelins, invited us to join them at their cabin for Sunday dinner.  Their cabin is up Farmington Canyon.  When I was young, my Mom took us part of the way up Farmington Canyon before she decided our search of colorful fall leaves was not worth risking the lives of her family!  I have a distinct memory of her telling us to not talk or make a single noise as she drove us back down the canyon!  Richard has never been up there.  When I got Jamie's text I had many reservations, but she answered all my questions and Richard was the one who kept telling me we should say yes!  I found our role reversals hilarious!  I was stressed out of my mind, and Richard was the calm one!  Haha!  At 3:30 we made every single person in our family take Dramamine and by 4:15 we were on the road with the VanDrimmelins.  We split up between their two vehicles.  Richard and Marshall were with Brad in his big truck and three of the VanDrimmelin boys.  The girls and I were with Jamie in their suburban and two more of her kids.  It was a 45 minute drive from our cul-de-sac to their cabin.  I had complete confidence in Brad and Jamie's ability to get us up there.  Brad has been going to the cabin his entire life, and Jamie since they got married years ago.  They really did navigate everything so well, but it was all the other drivers on that narrow, dirt road that made me nervous!  So many tight corners and narrow passes.  Good grief.  But, we made it to the cabin without incident and I was so relieved!  Bridget still got a little carsick, but within just a few minutes of being up at the cabin she was feeling just fine.  Marshall got a headache from the bumpiness of it all, but they had tylenol at the cabin and with tylenol and dinner he was doing much better!  Anyway, we spent probably two hours at their cabin.  The kids played and explored and we had a delicious dinner.  It really is a beautiful setting up there.  After dinner and cleaning up, we drove about five minutes to a little lake up there and then hiked a few minutes to a second lake.  At the second lake the VanDrimmelins have a peddle boat and Marshall and Bridget had fun peddling around the lake with the VanDrimmelin boys.  The wildflowers were in full bloom and it was a gorgeous setting.  The mosquitos were also out in full force and none of us had bug spray, so that was a tad annoying.  We were home by 8:45 that evening after another safe drive down the canyon.  Richard and I are both glad we went, but we also never want to go up the canyon again!  Ha!  We are so grateful though to the VanDrimmelins for thinking of us and inviting us to join them in a place that is so special to them.  

The first half of this week was spent doing back to school nights, Charger Camp for Bridget, last minute school supply shopping, and just trying to get everything ready for the start of a new school year!  To make our lives even busier, Marshall's team played in a soccer tournament, so wonderful.  :)  Thankfully though, all the games were in Farmington and that was beyond helpful!  The first game was on Monday and Marshall hadn't played soccer in three weeks because of all of his camps!  He felt rusty and tired and the game ended in a tie.  The second game was Wednesday and Marshall played the majority of the game...yay!  Also, a tie.  :)  The third game was Friday evening and Richard was finally able to be there-yay!  They actually played his coach's higher level team, so all these boys know each other and practice together sometimes.  Tyler coached the higher team (lame if you ask me) and the assistant coached Marshall's team.  Marshall's team actually got the first goal (huge eruption of cheers) and the other team scored a goal in the second half to tie it at 1-1.  With just minutes left in the game, the other team scored two quick goals.  It was a bit defeating for some of the boys on our team, and overall it was a tough situation, but now it is done!  

Well, I think that is it!  We have a full week of school ahead of us.  Dance starts back up for Rachel, which will be so good for her, and Marshall has his first cross country meet on Tuesday morning!  We love each of you.

Love,

Richard, Jenny, Marshall, Bridget, Rachel and Gretchen :)

The Leake's Week-August 7, 2023

 Hello!

We have had an exceptional week in the Leake household.  Richard has had the entire week off and it has been the best.  Why do we have to work?!?!  Lame.  We have had plenty of fun, time to relax, and gotten quite a bit done.  Tomorrow (today now!) he returns to work, and I can already tell I am going to be sad about it.  A return to real life.  Sigh.  Here are the highlights from our week...

Marshall and Bridget went to cross country practice Monday morning.  Because of FSY, Marshall had missed the entire previous week of running and then he accidentally put himself in the varsity workout for Monday, but he did it and lived to tell the tale!  Right after cross country, Bridget went to band camp, which she is still loving.  Marshall and Bridget both had eye appointments later that morning as well.  For the first time ever for Marshall he does not need a different prescription-incredible!  Marshall went to band camp after the eye doctor.  After all of that and lunch at home, we all went to go see the Studio C movie, "Go West".  There were definitely some very funny parts and I laughed out loud at several of them, Bridget too.  But, exhaustion got the best of me, and I still ended up falling asleep, despite the laughter.  Richard elbowed me a few times, but to no avail, I could not keep my eyes open!  When the movie ended and the lights came up, we realized that Marshall was sound asleep!  Haha!  Glad I wasn't the only one.  :)  Rachel and Gretchen hardly seemed to laugh during the movie, but as we were leaving the theater, they both declared it their new favorite movie.  :)  We grabbed Little Caesar's pizza on the way home, Bridget and I ate quickly, and then it was off to the farm.  

Tuesday morning I went to yoga, Bridget went to band camp, and Marshall went to band camp a couple of hours later.  I do not remember anything else from the afternoon!  That evening though, Richard and I made dinner together and then I said adios!  I went out to dinner and to see the Barbie movie with friends.  We ate at a newer restaurant in Farmington, and it was delicious.  Super healthy food and very, very good.  And, as for the Barbie movie, I know so many opinions are swirling around about that movie, but I will say I really liked it!  There were so many parts that I found hilarious, Barbie World is quite amazing and that was so fun to see, and personally, I liked the message.  It was a great evening talking and laughing with friends, eating good food and sharing popcorn.  Richard held the fort down at home and all the kids were asleep when I got home at 10:30, which for this summer, is a miracle!  

Wednesday was a day!  Marshall and Bridget went to cross country again.  Richard picked Marshall up after practice and brought him home and I picked Bridget up and took her to band camp.  At 10:00 am, we gave Marshall hugs good-bye and Richard dropped him off at the church for Young Men's camp.  Another few days without him around, so strange!  Thankfully, I had something fun to look forward to, so I was forced to not dwell on his absence!  By 10:45, the girls and I were on the road, along with Cambria and made our way down to Provo.  It was our annual trip to the Provo Rec Center with the Vanhilles and we were so excited.  We both got there right at noon and had the best two hours.  The kids played and played, and with all the kids getting older, Lara and I were able to talk mostly uninterrupted and it was just the best.  At 2:00, Bridget and Cambria had to get out of the pool and change in order to make it to Kaysville at 3:30.  Richard was a lifesaver that day, because he had driven down separately and enjoyed his afternoon shopping at the BYU Bookstore (obviously not hard to get him on board with this plan!).  He picked Bridget and Cambria up at 2:15 and drove them to Kaysville so they could help the Garlicks get set up for the Davis Heritage Festival.  Right after those girls left, there was some distant thunder.  The life guards not only ordered everyone out of the outdoor pools, they made us all go inside.  Lara and I thought this was a bit extreme, but we reluctantly packed up and moved inside, along with everyone else.  We were crossing our fingers that most people would just go home, but it certainly did not seem that way.  The Provo Rec Center is amazing, and sprawling, but when everyone is crammed into two indoor pool areas, it is not that fun!  By 3:00 pm, the kids were done, and it was loud and nuts and we sadly decided to call it a day.  And it was apparent by the weather, that we had no hope of waiting out the storm!  We said our good-byes and got back on the road.  The girls and I drove in a massive rainstorm all the way home.  It was crazy!  I worried about Marshall up at camp and Bridget trying to help the Garlicks.  My word, what rain!  Bridget got home about 8:00 pm, covered in mud, with crazy stories galore of the weather and people losing their boots in literally inches of mud and fork lifts tipping over and rain water just running under the walls of this building.  Madness!  What adventures!

Thursday morning dawned bright and early for Bridget and me.  I was up at 5:15, she was up at 5:30, and we were out the door just before 6:00.  We picked up Cambria and I dropped them off at the Garlick farm.  The Garlicks were hoping to get all the goats moved over to Kaysville the night before for the county goat show, but the weather forced them to change their plans.  Unfortunately, Thursday morning's weather was only slightly better!  Anyway, The Galicks and all the girls who work at the farm spent from 6:00 am to 9:00 am loading goats and everything else they needed.  I met Bridget up in Kaysville at 9:45, and thankfully, the rain was done!  Our initial plan was for Richard to bring the other girls and my Mom was going to bring Danny's boys to cheer on Bridget, but once I heard about the mud and unfinished structures, we decided I would be the only one to go.  It was a good choice!  When I met up with Bridget at 9:45, she mentioned that she felt like she got something in her eye and it was bugging her.  The Garlicks had already tried to help her flush her eye out, but it was still hurting.  Another mom gave me two little packets of eye drops and I tried those, but her eye just kept getting more and more irritated.  Bridget was a trooper though and pushed through the entire goat show.  She placed 5th out of 7 in showmanship.  I was proud of her though!  She answered all the judge's questions and navigated all around with a red, puffy, watery eye.  Later on in the show, she was in the ring with San Tanko and she placed first in her category, so that was awesome.  The show was done shortly after 1:00 pm, and I could tell Bridget was on the verge of losing it.  Cambria was so kind and milked Luv Bug for Bridget, I called the eye doctor and got her an appointment for that afternoon, and we left for home.  Bridget kept it together until Cambria got out of the car and then she just cried and cried.  She was in so much pain and felt like she wasn't seeing well out of her right eye-she was so scared!  Richard and I took her to the eye doctor and after a very thorough exam said she didn't have anything in her eye, but her cornea was definitely scratched.  He prescribed an antibiotic drop and a lubricating drop and promised her she would wake up in the morning and notice significant improvement.  Thankfully he was right!  Thursday sure was a rough day for her though.  What ended up happening is that morning as the girls were putting hay and sawdust down in the trailer, some got in Bridget's eye.  At some point, we were able to flush it out, but it definitely did some damage.  Once we got home from the doctor, Bridget took two naps!  She was exhausted.  She slept pretty good that night, and did wake up in much less pain Friday morning, which we were so thankful for.  Once again, I was so glad Richard was home that day.  He was able to be home with Rachel and Gretchen the whole time I was gone at the goat show and it was so nice to have him with us at the eye doctor.  It took an hour and a half for Target to fill her prescription, and by the time I got home at 5:30 I was wiped out!  He made dinner for all of us while I was able to snuggle Rachel and Gretchen on the couch and take a nap!  Bless him.  That evening Richard went to a cross country parent meeting for Marshall, I skipped a RS activity so I could just be home with my girls, but I did leave at 8:00 to go to my Foxboro book club.  What a day!  

We had a very laid back first half of our Friday and it was WONDERFUL.  Bridget skipped cross country that morning due to her exhausting Thursday, which meant we could all finally sleep in...and sleep in we did!  I don't think any of us got out of bed until 8:30 am.  We got things done around the house, Richard took the girls out for lunch, he and I ran errands that afternoon and then at 5:00 we had Rachel's friend birthday party!  We pulled this party together in six days and it went so well!  She wanted a laid back, but long party.  :)  She invited six friends and five were able to come.  They played, ate pizza, played, opened gifts, had cake, played some more and watched Ella Enchanted.  Once again, beyond wonderful to have Richard around.  The girls were easy and only slightly crazy and Rachel was in heaven.  I even stepped away for 30 minutes to take dinner to a family in our ward and enjoyed a great visit with them.  Bridget left at 6:30 to go to a pizza and dance party at the fair and had the best time.  Rachel and her friends were so kind to let Gretchen join them for the movie and Gretchen was on Cloud 9.  It was a great evening for all!

Saturday morning brought another early alarm clock.  Bridget ran a 5K for cross country and I volunteered.  She and I left at 6:15 to pick up Cambria and get to the starting line behind Centerville City Hall at 6:30.  After I got my volunteer instructions I gave Bridget and Cambria a hug, wished them luck and drove to my station on the route.  Richard got to the starting line about 7:15 so he could cheer Bridget on at the start and finish.  It was a fun way to spend a morning!  Bridget and Cambria stuck together the whole time, mostly running, but sometimes walking.  They ran it in 35 minutes.  Not bad, considering Bridget made it to a total of six practices.  :)  After we got home, Richard and I got the girls situated with breakfast, and then he and I met our friends, Jared and Hannah Dance in Farmington for brunch!  We ate outside and enjoyed catching up with them.  Marshall texted us shortly after 11:00 saying he was back from camp and was at the church waiting for us to pick him up!  Ha!  We didn't know when he was coming home that day!  We quickly said our good-byes to the Dances and picked Marshall up.  :)  He was the last kid left there with the bishop.  :)  We told Marshall next time he should text us when he is on his way home!  But, we were SO happy to see him.  Saturday afternoon at 2:00 was my Mom's annual tea party.  The girls and I started getting ready at noon, all the girls wanted their hair curled!  We had the best time at my parents' house.  Per tradition, my Dad was Jeeves the butler, and he filled his role exceptionally well!  My Mom prepared a delicious spread of all sorts of little finger foods and Jeeves kept our plates and tea cups full.  After our meal, we filled 24 school kits for refugee children, and that was great too.  The girls all had some time to play with cousins before people started heading out.  We missed Audrey, but everyone else was there and it was just a delightful time.  Marshall also had fun that afternoon/evening.  He went to Cooper's birthday party and they went to a Salt Lake Bees game.  He even asked a player for a ball!  He is pretty happy about that ball.  :)  Bridget left at 8:00 to head back to the fair to help the Garlicks clean up and get their goats home.  It was quite the endeavor and she finally made it home at 11:30 pm.  Man.  Late night!

Yesterday was exactly the kind of relaxing Sunday that we needed.  It was so wonderful.  After church, my parents stopped by for a birthday visit to see Rachel (who's birthday is today).  We enjoyed talking to them, and I am sure we entertained them with all our antics.  After dinner, we wrapped Rachel's presents, had FHE, and then made s'mores out on the deck.  Marshall finally told us all about camp, and by all accounts, it sounded like he had a fantastic time!  This makes Richard and I so happy, and we are grateful he had this experience, and experienced it without Richard.  

And now, since it is Rachel's birthday, I have to write a bit about her!  Ten years old today!  Rachel continues to live with spunk and confidence.  We still have no idea what is going to come out of her mouth.  She has a quick wit.  She can still say the sweetest things, and the most caustic things.  You know exactly where you stand with Rachel and her opinion of you.  :)  She is also a deep thinker, and is the most likely of all our kids to ask the deepest and the most thoughtful questions during scriptures or FHE.  This last year she has read all the scripture picture books, and those stories have stuck with her.  Sometimes, at bedtime she is scared about something, and she has learned to play primary songs on the speaker in her room.  In some ways, Rachel is growing up fast.  She started wearing make-up at the beginning of this year, and this spring swiped my mascara!  I will say though, she does a pretty good job!  Despite the make-up though, in many ways she is young at heart, and she does not hesitate to do what makes her feel good, safe and comfortable.  For each dance competition this year, she always took her blanket and a stuffed animal and she had zero hesitation about pulling those two things out after she was done on stage.  Most girls on her team would change into cute little dance outfits after performing, while waiting for awards.  Not Rachel, the pajama pants and t-shirt came out and she was good to go.  Rachel still loves to snuggle, and it is the thing that can calm her down the quickest if her feelings have been hurt or if she is mad about something.  She is still a great meat eater, but continues to hate burgers, sausage, and bacon.  Still our best fruit eater, and is proud of it.  We are so grateful she is a part of our family!  

We are in our last full week of summer, which hardly feels like summer because our calendar is packed full!  Marshall leaves AGAIN tomorrow for high altitude cross country camp.  I am sure I will cry, because I cried the second night he was at camp last week.  :)  

Love each of you.

Richard, Jenny, Marshall, Bridget, Rachel, and Gretchen :)

The Leake's Week-July 30, 2023

 Hello!

The end of summer is upon us, and per the usual, I have two weeks to catch up on.  Here are the highlights!

*Swim lessons:  Rachel and Gretchen did one more week of swim lessons and made huge progress!  Rachel became much more comfortable in the deep end and spent pretty much her entire swim lesson in the deep end.  Her dives are so much better and she is a pro at treading water now.  And Gretchen went from hardly being able to glide on her stomach to being able to do a very basic front crawl.  You should hear her breathing during that stroke.  Every time she comes up for air, she takes a very vocal gasp of air in.  It is hilarious.  I caught a few videos of it, and even she loves to watch them and she just laughs and laughs.  I am so proud of them and the progress they made with swimming this summer!  

*Girls' night:  I hosted a girls' night on our deck a couple of weeks ago for neighborhood friends and it was a blast.  I have been wanting to do this since we moved in and it only took me five years to pull it together!  Ha!  It was a great evening though to visit and catch up with each other and eat delicious treats.  Richard was awesome to keep the kids inside and run the bedtime show.  

*Temple trips:  Bridget was able to go to the temple with the young women on the 19th and then my parents took the four oldest grand kids on the 20th!  I am so grateful to my parents for arranging and coordinating that months ago...and I am honestly shocked all three family's schedules aligned with an opening in the baptistry!  Those appointments are still so hard to come by!  

*Dentist appointments:  This is hardly a highlight but should be documented.  The kids had check-ups with their dentist several days ago.  No cavities for anyone...yay!  But, on one of Bridget's lower molars, the x-ray picked up on a spot that maybe didn't form 100% great.  It is not a cavity, but I guess prone to cavities and since she is getting her lower braces in just a couple of months, he wants to take care of that tooth with a simple filling.  This will be the first time Bridget has had extra dental work done, with the exception of getting two teeth pulled, so to say she is terrified would be an understatement!  And speaking of getting teeth pulled, she has two loose baby teeth, that have been loose for probably nine months and the dentist said if she doesn't pull them out before her appointment, he has to take them out!  This girl is so funny and has such an intense fear of her teeth falling out.  She refuses to wiggle them or work with them at all.  She literally wants them to just drop out of her mouth...which some of them have done, but the back ones just get their roots sandwiched between her molars and get stuck.  And since she refuses to touch them, the dentist intervenes.  Her appointment is August 8th, and I am hoping she can work up the courage to get those two teeth out at home before then!  I am also trying to remember to remind her to work on her breathing and positive affirmations like she was so good to do in the spring for her junior high shots.  Also, the dentist we are seeing that day has a therapy dog that she can use!  Pulling out all the stops for this girl who has some deep, deep fears!  

*Running to the V:  Marshall is doing cross country this year and our high school also offers summer cross country for 7th and 8th graders.  They only run three days a week, compared to six, and their workouts are not as intense, but obviously still hard!  Bridget really wanted to do it and she recruited her three besties to do it too.  Bridget's schedule has not totally jived with the cross country schedule, but she has now been to a total of four practices.  :)  Well, on Friday, the 21st, the entire cross country team ran to the V on the mountain above Centerville and both Marshall and Bridget did it!  The three of us left at 6:10 and we dropped Marshall off with the high school kids at a church parking lot in Bountiful; their run was 2.5 miles from the church to the V.  Then I dropped Bridget off at a home in Centerville that would be a 1.5 mile run to the V.  I was SO proud of her for choosing to go.  On this particular day, none of her friends could go because they were out of town or had cousins in town.  She was hesitant to go since it was only her second practice, but Marshall, of all people, talked her into it!  Anyway, I dropped her off, said a prayer for her and then drove up the mountain myself.  The coaches encouraged parents to either run/walk with their kids or drive up to the trailhead and walk the rest of the way to the V.  I opted for the latter!  I off-roaded in my mini van all the way to the trailhead and with every ditch I went through was wishing I had just hiked all the way up!  Good grief.  Turns out, a lot of parents chose my option and so there was a bunch of us who hiked up the 1/2 mile together.  It was so great to meet so many of these cross country parents.  Everyone was so kind and nice and once we made it to the top we had a bit of time to keep talking and getting to know each other.  The kids were all supposed to start running at 7:00, but I think they started closer to 6:50.  The high school kids had a longer run through neighborhoods, and from our view up high it was fun to see these kids from down below making their way through the streets up to the mountain.  The trail on the mountain is just all switch backs, and pretty long switchbacks at that, so it gave us a great view of the kids as they rounded the last turn and we were all there to cheer them on.  For both groups, the entire run was up hill and I was so proud of each kid who made it.  Bridget made her appearance at 7:12 am and I was honestly so relieved to see her!  Marshall came around that corner at 7:23 and I was so happy to see him!  The parents were at the end of the dirt road, but the V is up above the road, with a short zig-zag trail that takes you the rest of the way, so the kids still had a bit more once they passed by the cheering parents.  They weren't considered done until they had touched the V!  I was beyond proud of my kids and all the other kids too!  All the runners hung out up by the V as they waited for everyone to make their way up.  The coaches talked to them for a few minutes and then everyone ran back to the church where the high school kids started.  Of course, Marshall took off, but Bridget walked down the 1/2 mile trail with me to the van.  Her initial plan was to just drive with me to the church, but last minute she decided to run, and I was so proud of her.  The coaches had Einstein Bagels and cream cheese waiting for everyone back at the church and it was a fun little celebration.  What a morning!  

*Surf and Swim:  The same day Marshall and Bridget ran to the V, I took all the kids swimming that afternoon.  Surf and Swim is on our summer bucket list and the kids have been so excited to go.  Historically, we have gone with other people, but I didn't invite anyone this go around.  Early that morning, I had given Marshall a short pep talk about our swimming plans and asked him to do his best to help it be a wonderful afternoon.  You guys.  The four kids and I had the BEST afternoon.  We were there for 3 1/2 hours and we only left because Bridget had to milk at the farm that evening.  That simple afternoon in a wave pool I think will for sure by in my top favorite memories of the summer.  We had so much fun together, and for the most part, stuck close to each other and just played and laughed.  Rachel and Gretchen had just finished two weeks of swim lessons, and Gretchen, especially, was doing all sorts of stuff.  Marshall was fun and kept us all entertained.  The only glitch we had is that Rachel had lost her goggles earlier in the week and had not found them yet.  The other three kids were kind to share theirs with her at times, but there was a stretch there that if she was without goggles we all bore the wrath of Rachel, but she eventually worked herself out of her funk and got back to having fun.  I am so grateful for that afternoon, for happy kids, for fun and laughter and wonderful memories made.  

*FSY:  Marshall spent all of this last week at FSY.  He went down to BYU and his friend, Johnny, was his roommate.  Marshall was pretty stressed last Sunday about this and hardly spoke.  Most of his noises were grunts or screams into a pillow, but by Monday morning he appeared totally calm and finished packing and getting ready and we were off by 9:45!  We picked up Johnny and his mom and another boy in our ward and made the drive down to Provo.  We stopped at Wendy's to get the boys an early lunch since they weren't getting lunch at FSY.  After that we drove to campus, checked in at the Marriott Center and then drove to their dorms, Heritage Halls.  We got their keys and helped them get settled in their room, gave lots of hugs and took some pictures and said good-bye!  Brook and I went down and picked the boys up at 7:00 am yesterday!  It was so great to see them again!  Marshall was wiped out yesterday and slept for 3 1/2 hours on the couch!  He has not talked a lot about FSY yet to us, and I trust that with time he will tell us more and more, but I am 100% confident that he had a great, great time.  Me, on the other hand, was a wreck through Wednesday!  I literally cried myself to sleep on Tuesday night, so that should paint a nice picture for you!  I am so happy that he had this experience, and so happy he never texted us to tell us it was dumb and he wanted us to pick him up...but I am also SO happy that he is home.  Okay, update, this evening Marshall sat us all down and told us all about FSY!  He had such a great time!  He and his friends ate at the Creamery on Ninth every day and his friend Johnny now says he can't live without BYU Creamery ice cream.  He loved all the games they played.  He loved walking around campus.  He enjoyed the classes and even told us some things they talked about and that he learned.  His group got a unique opportunity to spend a big chunk of their Tuesday at the MTC.  They were able to walk through quite a bit of it and view some beautiful murals that are unique to the Provo MTC.  At the MTC they heard Brad Wilcox speak, the MTC President, and some missionaries.  Marshall said it was a pretty cool experience!  All of the boys in Marshall's dorm room (6 in total) were all from Centerville and they hit it off right from the get-go.  On Thursday night they stayed up until 2:00 am...yikes!  That definitely explains his 3 1/2 hour nap yesterday.  He also bore his testimony on Thursday evening and that made me so happy to hear.  He said he was never homesick and sincerely enjoyed it all!  Yay!  I am so, so glad he had this experience.  

*Life with just three girls at home:  Loud!  Richard and I could not believe how loud, and dare I say, CRAZY the girls were with Marshall gone.  Multiple times Richard and I looked at each other and wondered if Marshall actually tempers them!  Despite being loud and crazy, they had a lot of fun together, and there was hardly a disagreement.  They all slept downstairs in Bridget's room the entire time Marshall was gone.  The girls and I did take advantage of downtime throughout the week and watched three movies together during the afternoons:  Father of the Bride 2, Bye Bye Birdie, and Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.  It was so fun to just relax and watch and laugh with them.  

*Band camp:  Bridget started band camp at the junior high this week, which means she is also the owner of a trumpet now.  :)  She was so excited to pick it up on Tuesday morning.  She just goes for 30 minutes each day, so it is fast, and it is just the first year trumpet players she is with.  She was a little dismayed to find she is only one of two girls playing the trumpet, and the only student from her elementary school!  I have no doubt that she will make new friends though in this band experience!  She has played the trumpet most days at home since getting it, and I am also happy to report that Ziggy seems to tolerate the trumpet better than the clarinet!  Ha! 

*Goat shaving:  Bridget had to shave three goats this past week, and praise the heavens, my only involvement in it was dropping Bridget and Cambria off and picking them up!  Bridget was able to shave all by herself, which is a first for her, and she also taught Cambria how to do it.  The county goat show is coming up this week!  

*Ziggy's birthday:  Ziggy turned three on Thursday!  Luckily, Richard had the day off, which you know, is very important for a dog's birthday!  Ha!  Don't worry, he didn't request that day off, just luck of the draw!  Anyway, we gave cute Ziggy a great day.  I took him on a walk early that morning and much to his dismay, we were surprised by sprinklers popping up in three different yards while we were walking through them.  Terrified the poor little thing, but he still loved being out.  After Bridget was done with band camp, we all went to the pet store.  Ziggy had not been on a field trip like that since his obedience training, so he was very excited, but still very well behaved!  We practiced "wait" and "down" and he did great!  The girls picked out three new toys for him and we played outside with him once we got home.  A great day indeed.  We love Ziggy!

*Double date:  Richard and I went on a double date with some friends in our ward on Friday night, Tom and Shalaun.  We ate at Smokin' Bones, fantastic BBQ and had the best time talking with them.  We spent two hours with them at the restaurant and then two more hours at our house.  They just recently bought a Tesla and they picked us up to drive to the restaurant together and then Tom had Richard drive us home after diner.  He wanted Richard to experience the extreme acceleration that a Tesla offers and so he had him hold back on the freeway on ramp for a few seconds.  And then, bam, we took off and I honestly felt like I was being blasted off on the Incredicoaster.  I even screamed.  It was bananas!  The whole time we were with the Howells, Bridget was at the farm, and Rachel and Gretchen were playing at the Howell's house with their kids, so it was a great night for everyone!  

Alright, I know I am missing things here and there, but it is almost 10:00 and I need to go to bed!  Richard has the entire week off of work, which I am so happy about because he just finished a ten day stretch of work.  We send Marshall off again on Wednesday for Young Men's camp, we will see how I do.  :)  

Love each of you!

Richard, Jenny, Marshall, Bridget, Rachel, Gretchen :)