The Leake's Week-October 24, 2022

 Hello!  Another Monday edition...there is something about Sundays now...it seems too hard to write!  Anyway, I didn't want two weeks to pass me by, so I am forcing myself to pound this out.  Our life has been lived at hyper-speed for the last few weeks it seems with hardly a moment to spare.  I feel like Richard and I are hanging on for dear life from one day to the next-full of good, but a lot of good!  Here's the rundown...

Last Monday was pretty straight-forward:  music class for Gretchen, dance for Rachel and soccer practice for Marshall.  Bridget desperately wanted to have Cambria over to show her her new room, and since Bridget didn't have anything going on after school, it worked out!  Cambria's little sister, Naomi, is in Gretchen's kindergarten class and they have become good little buddies so Naomi came over too.  It was a fun and friend-filled afternoon for those two, which makes all of us happy.  

Richard had the day off on Tuesday, which was so wonderful.  He and I make a great team, and it is days like this I wish he didn't have to work!  After we got the kids off to school, we dropped the van off for routine maintenance, went to breakfast, ran errands, Richard got the flu shot, picked up the van, and then I volunteered in Gretchen's class-all by 11:00 am!  After lunch, Richard put together a book shelf for Bridget's new room and I started moving some of Gretchen's things into her old/new room.  After school, Rachel had dance and Marshall had a soccer game.  Richard was able to be there for all of it and I was able to be there for most of it.  Marshall's team ended up winning 7-0, so it was a great game!  We had a late dinner at home all together after soccer, which was nice.  After dinner we "Boo-ed" two families.  We got Boo-ed right before we left for Vernal, and the kids had all been eagerly anticipating this fun act.  I made pumpkin chocolate chip cookies and we got orange soda and Bridget took the wrappers off and drew a face for a jack-o-lantern.  Bridget, Rachel and Gretchen delivered the treats, knocked on the door and hid for our neighbors the Camps.  Richard, Marshall and I watched it all from our bedroom windows.  It was delightful to watch.  When they got back, we piled in the van and drove to Sara's house.  Marshall dropped off their goodies disguised in a beanie and gator.  :)  It was a fun evening outing and we all loved it.  

My Wednesday morning was completely delightful.  After all the kids got off to school, I went downtown and met Katie for my birthday breakfast at The Coffee Shop at the Little America.  I had the best two hours catching up with her and eating delicious food.  After kindergarten, Gretchen had lunch with Charlie and Jackson and had a great time playing with them, and I enjoyed a little bit more time to myself!  Later that afternoon Bridget had horseback riding, Marshall and Bridget both had piano lessons, and Rachel had dance...luckily, soccer practice was cancelled for Marshall!  That was honestly the best news of my day!  I lived in the van for two hours that afternoon/evening just driving around Farmington and Centerville...nuts!  Marshall also went to the YM/YW activity that night at Cross E Ranch for the corn maze.  Despite getting a little car sick on the way home, he had a great time.  Bob and Becky came and stayed at our house that night in order to catch an early flight the next morning.  We enjoyed spending some time with them before we all went to bed.  

Thursday was a day for the books.  I actually gave myself a real relaxing morning, because I knew that the second half of the day was going to be bananas.  Once Gretchen got home from school, she and I had a quick lunch and then it was off to dance for her.  I was home for a bit and then drove to the Radisson hotel by the airport and met Katie there.  Can I just say it was a true treat to spend time with Katie two days in a row?!  That has not happened in years!  Anyway, Anna was flying in for a very quick weekend trip with her mom and Georgie and the only time we could see her was to pick them up from the airport and drive them to her sister's house in Sandy!  I left my car at the hotel (relieved I wasn't ticketed!), hopped in Katie's car and we drove the few minutes to the airport.  We only had to wait a bit before they were outside and it was so great to see Anna, Georgie and Jackie, Anna's mom.  We had a short 30 minute drive to her sister's house, which we desperately wish could have been longer, but we are grateful for every minute!  Georgie fell asleep in the car and when I got her out she just kept sleeping on my shoulder-I wish I could have taken her home for Gretchen!  We eventually forced ourselves to say good-bye and Katie drove me back to the Radisson.  I picked up Gretchen from Genevieve's house on my way home (so thankful for ALL the people who helped make Thursday afternoon possible for me!) and we walked in the door just before 5:00.  Rachel was off at a group lesson for piano and Bridget was getting ready for the farm.  I made a quick dinner for Gretchen and me to eat in the car while we took Marshall to soccer.  After we dropped Marshall off, Gretchen asked me where we were.  It took me a minute to realize she was asking what state we were in.  I told her we were in Utah, and she said, "What?!  We've been in Utah the whole time?!  I feel like we drove to Las Vegas!"  We were in Woods Cross.  :)  We were home for five minutes, just waiting for Rachel and as soon as she got home, the three of us went to the church for the primary program practice.  We had a pretty decent primary turnout considering it was a week night and we were able to get through the whole program twice, it was mostly successful.  :)  We gave all the kids donuts, thanked them for their hard work, and sent them on their way.  Richard had picked up Marshall from soccer and swung by and picked up the girls.  I stayed for a primary presidency meeting and made it home about 8:45.  It was a day for sure!  But, the kids did great.  I just left them a note that afternoon telling them who was picking them up when and to be ready and eat dinner and it went well.  And like I said, so many other parents helped drive my kids around that day and took care of them.  It surely takes a village!  Needless to say, I slept very well that night!  

Richard had a very early work shift Friday morning.  He is in the depths of my cold now, so I feel bad for him.  But, thanks to Coke Zero and lots of cold medication he was able to power through.  Bless him.  Marshall had a taco truck for lunch because of his Spanish class, he loved it.  After school, my parents came and picked up Marshall for his birthday outing.  Their original plan was to go plane watching and out to brunch or lunch on Saturday, but the weather had other plans, so they bumped the plane watching up to Friday afternoon.  From what I have heard, those three had a great time.  They were able to see planes landing and taking off and with binoculars they could see flights either going to or from four other countries.  I believe Marshall told me they saw a flight from South Korea heading to Dallas!  So amazing!  Meanwhile, at home, I tried to get the girls to either do jobs or nap, but they only wanted to play, but after their busy week, I couldn't blame them.  Richard got home just after 5:00, we loaded up in the van, and drove to Rachel's piano recital in Bountiful.  My parents and Marshall met us there and we cheered on little Dokie.  She missed a few notes, but nailed the dynamics, and she did a good job.  She had two recitals in Let's Play Music, but this was definitely the most people she has ever played for.  After the recital, we drove into Salt Lake and grabbed quick dinners for all of us at the City Creek food court-something to make everyone happy!  After dinner we walked over to the Eccles for a night I have been looking forward to for months-The Lion King!  Richard and I bought these tickets so long ago.  This was my third time seeing it, Richard's second and the first for all of our kids.  I told Richard no expense spared on these seats and we sat on the main floor, right on the aisle so that we could have an unobstructed view of all the amazing costumes coming down.  It was amazing and so wonderful to experience it with my kids.  They were all riveted the entire show, and despite it starting at 8:00, everyone stayed awake the entire time...even Richard!   Ha!  It was honestly so amazing and I am so glad we splurged and did it.  Rachel and Gretchen watched The Lion King movie on Saturday afternoon and the soundtrack to the Broadway version has pretty much been playing non-stop in our house and car since we got home.  

Saturday morning everyone was able to sleep in except Bridget and me-off to the farm in the cold and rain at 8:00 am.  Lovely!  Bridget and Cambria loved it, I did not.  :)  At 11:30 my parents came and picked up Marshall for his lunch date.  That crazy kid chose sushi, and all I can say is I am so glad my parents like seafood.  Marshall came home ecstatic about lunch and talked about it the rest of Saturday.  At 2:00 pm, Bridget left to go to Cambria's house for the afternoon and then their family Halloween party and did not get home until 10:30!  She had a great time at the party and came home with loads of candy and wonderful stories.  Cambria's great uncle hosts this party and has been doing it for years.  He has a barn and a pygmy goat so of course Bridget thought this was the coolest thing ever.  :)  Richard, Marshall and I watched the BYU football game.  I have not seen Richard this upset over BYU football since Gary Crowton was the coach.  He popped a balloon (Marshall is not letting him live this down) and he turned the game off early!  Marshall and I were shocked!  This has never happened.  Thankfully, Richard channeled his anger and took apart the entire bunk bed in Rachel's room and we finished cleaning up the room and got her new queen bed all set up.  It was anger well used!  Ha!  That night Rachel went to a birthday party for a boy in her class.  His parents were brave and invited 17 kids over for dinner, games and a movie.  When I picked up Rachel and Sara, Luke's mom told me it was wild...I have NO DOUBT.  Richard and I went out for a late dinner and Marshall baby-sat Gretchen.  He was so good to her and played board games with her after they ate.  And when I got home from church on Sunday I found those two in the living room again playing games...my heart.  Anyway, Saturday was another very late night for us.  We were all finally home by 10:45, everyone was still awake, even Gretchen, but we were all sound asleep by 11:15 pm!  Gretchen even slept back in her "old room" as she calls it.  

We had a great Sunday yesterday.  It was the primary program, Bridget's last!  Bridget and Rachel both had speaking parts and Gretchen sang "Keep the Commandments" with the CTR 5 and CTR 6 class.  We had all the kids who spoke write their own talks, and they all did a great jbb.  The primary kids all sang great and there were not many dry eyes by the end.  The last song we sang was "I Will Be What I Believe", a song that was written a few years ago.  The kids sang so well and with their whole hearts.  I was sitting up on the stand and couldn't even sing with them-it was so touching.  My parents were able to come see it, and Richard was also there, which hasn't happened for all of October!  The rest of our day was relaxing and spent together, which was wonderful and what we all needed.  We also all went to bed earlier last night!  

And that's a wrap!  Here's to a new week...may it be a little calmer.  Wishful thinking!

Love to all of you!

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

The Leake's Week-October 17, 2022

 Hello!

We have had two little trips back-to-back and between packing, unpacking, doing laundry, packing again, and our busy life in general, time has once again slipped through my fingers!  Two weeks to catch up on...I will start with the trips!

On Friday, October 7th, the girls had early-out, Richard had the day off of work, we checked Marshall out of school at 2:00 pm, and hit the road for Vegas.  The kids traveled great.  We stopped in Cedar City for dinner at a very sub-par Denny's, and then got back on the road and made it to Las Vegas about 9:00 pm.  Other than some traffic going through the Virgin River Gorge our drive was uneventful and things went great.  We were at a Residence Inn close to Allegiant Stadium, which was a great location.  We unloaded the van, took a bit of time to relax, and then everyone went to sleep great-this is the biggest perk of traveling with older kids!  No more dealing with crying babies and begging hyper toddlers to settle down and be quiet!  Ha!  None of the girls wanted to share a bed with Marshall, so he lucked out and got a queen bed all to himself in his own bedroom.  The girls all slept in the living room with Bridget and Rachel sharing the pull-out couch and sweet Gretchen opted for cushions on the floor.  Both Richard and I were shocked, completely shocked, at how well she slept there both nights!  Bless her little soul.  

We all slept in the next morning, which is exactly what I needed.  After some morning snuggles with the girls, we went down to breakfast along with a throng of many other BYU fans.  :)  It was fun to see BYU very well represented in all sorts of apparel.  It was a good breakfast and all the kids were able to find multiple things that they liked.  We were in the pool at 10:00 am!  It wasn't quite as warm as we thought it would be given how hot Vegas was, but we eventually got used to it and had a lot of fun.  For the next two hours, we were back and forth between the pool, hot tub, and pool deck.  There were a handful of other adults in the pool area, but ours were the only kids and that was great!  We had a lot of fun.  After showers and baths for everyone, we drove a few minutes to Shake Shack for a late lunch.  By miracle of miracles, everyone ate at Shake Shack and was HAPPY!  We had a delightful lunch eating and talking, and then got shakes to go.  I had their pumpkin pie shake and Marshall tried their apple cider shake-we would recommend both!  When we got back to the hotel, we napped and watched shows before Richard left with the three oldest kids at 3:15 for the game.  The only angst of the trip was Marshall was dying to get over to the stadium, and started getting a bit testy about it at 2:30-two full hours before kick-off!  But, Rachel was asleep, and with her being the wild card of this game for Richard, we made Marshall stick to the 3:15 plan!  We still had to wake Rachel up, and then she was crying because she didn't want to leave me.  I sent Richard out the door with an anxious Marshall and a crying Rachel!  It definitely tugged at my heart!  Thankfully though, Richard said it took just mere minutes for everyone to settle down and find happiness again.  Great report.  While they were at the game, I had the BEST time with cute Gretchen.  She watched a Barbie movie while I read a book, we did homework, played games, went on a walk around the hotel, ordered Dominos for dinner, and had delightful dinner conversation.  She is a little gem of a human, and I loved those hours I had with her without the interruption of regular life.  As for the BYU game, lame that they lost, but Richard and the kids still had a fun time.  They were very impressed with the stadium itself, but very disappointed with the concourse around it!  They reported that it was so narrow, and really only allowed single-file walking in each direction, plus you had to make your way around big support beams and Richard said it was crazy trying to navigate it with three kids.  Rachel reported that she was smashed up against too many people's backsides!  Once they got back to the hotel, it was great hearing all of them talk about the game and the stadium, and they helped me and Gretchen finish eating the pizza!  It was fun to all be back together again for the rest of the evening.  We just had fun talking, playing games, and watching more football before going to bed.  

Sunday morning we slept in, probably longer than we should have, had breakfast at the hotel, and were on the road by 10:00 am.  We hit traffic in the canyon again, stopped for lunch in St. George and finally made it home a little after 6:00 pm.  We all went to pick up Ziggy at our friends' house and he was over the moon to see us.  No other greeting/reunion beats that of being reunited with your dog...call me crazy!  But their joy over seeing you is just the sweetest,most heart-warming and happy thing.  Love Ziggy.  

This last Wednesday began Fall Break for the kids.  They get a measly four days, and I very much wish it could be a week long.  That would be wonderful!  But, we made the most of it and the kids, Ziggy, and I went to Vernal.  Unfortunately, Richard had to work through the week and weekend, so he could not come.  We were on the road by 4:30 pm on Wednesday and had a safe drive to Vernal.  I packed a dinner for us to eat in the car, so we wouldn't have to stop with Ziggy in the car.  The drive through Daniel's Canyon and up by Strawberry was breathtaking.  So many beautiful fall colors!  If Richard was with us and driving I would have been snapping a picture of the scenery every three seconds.  We all traveled great and made it to the Leake's about 7:45, very happy to be there.  That evening we talked and the kids played and Ziggy roamed before we all went to bed.  The three girls slept in the bedroom upstairs and per their request, Ziggy slept in the same bedroom in his crate.  This went pretty well, except he would wake them up with his whining in the morning earlier than they wanted.  :)  Marshall and I shared an air mattress in the basement.  

Our Thursday in Vernal was dreamy.  We spent so much time outside in the beautiful fall weather.  We played outside that morning, Bridget rode Fred, and then after lunch Katelin came over and we picked apples, hundreds of apples.  All the kids were fantastic helpers.  We filled a wheelbarrow, a sled, and a horse trough full of apples!  Obviously the horse trough was too heavy for us to move, and we wanted to make the apple cider in the backyard, so Bob started up his tractor and moved the trough full of apples to the backyard!  Once we got everything set up, we got a great system going.  Gretchen, being the best little helper, cleaned each apple.  She would take apples, dunk them in a pot of water, and then put the apples in a bowl on the table.  Gretchen did this job with the most cheerful little spirit.  Rachel helped her some with the apples in the sled, but Gretchen emptied the entire wheelbarrow full of apples all by herself!  I am guessing there were 300 apples in there!  Becky, Katelin, and I cut the apples into halves or fourths and then Bob, Marshall, Bridget, and Rachel all worked the press.  It was the most delightful process and so fun.  Everyone was happy, everyone was helping, the weather was beautiful, the light coming through the tall trees in the backyard was magic and it was a slice of heaven.  At about 5:00, we stopped and went to Freddy's for dinner and then came back and worked for another bit before it got too dark and cold.  When we finally went inside, we warmed up some of the cider on the stove and enjoyed the fruits of our labors, literally.  It was delicious!  The Leakes don't add anything to their cider, it is just chopped and pressed apples, all varieties from their trees, and it is just the sweetest most tasty apple juice, served warm or cold!  After all of that, Katelin went home, the kids got in pajamas and watched a movie, "The Haunted Mansion" and I enjoyed visiting with Bob and Becky.  It was the perfect day.

On Friday morning Rachel slept until almost 9:00 am!  Haha!  Ziggy's whining and him jumping on her didn't even wake her up!  Once everyone was up and moving and after breakfast, we went outside to finish the apples!  It took about one hour and by the time we were all done, we had 24 gallons of apple cider!  We were all so happy with our accomplishment!  After cleaning up, we played outside for a while and then packed a lunch and drove to Bluebell to go to the corn maze.  Joe and his family also joined us, and we also took Ziggy!  Bridget was thrilled that we could take him, and he actually did better than I thought!  After the maze, the kids enjoyed all the other activities there-a big slide, shooting the pumpkin cannon, feeding goats (of course!) jumping on the giant pumpkin pillow, and other things I know I am forgetting!  We stayed for a handful of hours and had a great time.  We got back to the Leake's about 5:00, stayed for a bit, and then went over to Joe's.  We played outside in their yard until it was too cold and dark and had the best time.  Joe lives on an acre of land, and it is a fun acre.  Trampoline, swing set, jungle jim, and a zip line!  The zip line is the newest addition, so of course we all had to try it.  I even got up there and then screamed the whole time!  The kids loved it though and it was so much fun.  Ziggy was having the time of his life with their three dogs.  They ran wild around the yard and played and swatted at each other.  Joe also brought out their bearded dragon.  All my kids were brave enough to pet or touch it.  I barely touched it once and almost gagged.  A reminder, once again, that 99% of animals are not my thing-especially anything with scales!  Gah!  It is making me shudder just writing this!  Once it was cold, we sat around the fire which felt lovely.  We eventually made our way inside for pizza and enjoyed an evening of pizza and games.   Joe always has hilarious games to play, and there was lots of laughter, even from Marshall, which I always love.  :)  We got home late and went right to bed-big day!

Saturday morning we had to be up early.  Bridget got a brief ride on Fred and by 9:30 Bob, Becky, Marshall and Bridget were on their way to Provo for the BYU game.  I was on the road with the younger girls and Ziggy about 10:30 and we were home about 1:30.  It was another gorgeous drive home, those aspens above Strawberry are glowing and it is gorgeous!  Bob and Becky were so kind to drive the kids all the way home after the BYU game, which was a loss!  Despite BYU's poor performance, Marshall and Bridget said they still had a fun time.  I was happy that all of us were finally home together about 7:00 pm that night.  

Those are our travels!  I am glad we can put the suitcases away for a bit!  Here are some other highlights from the last two weeks:

I turned 39 on October 5th!  Yikes!  Last year to live it up in my 30s.  :)  The Monday before my birthday I organized a hike with friends in my neighborhood and we spent a lovely morning together.  Can you tell I love fall colors...and they seem extra bright this year!  My actual birthday was great.  We opened presents before the kids left for school and then once all the kids got off, Richard and I went to breakfast at Roots.  So, so delicious.  A friend was kind enough to keep Gretchen for me for a while after kindergarten, so we did not have to rush back.  We stopped at Nothing Bundt Cakes on the way home, and then after picking up Gretchen, we came home, and I promptly fell asleep for a long nap and didn't even set an alarm!  It was glorious.  Our girls had early out that day, so once they were all home, I took them and Ziggy to a new park we have discovered and love.  Richard did have a work meeting/dinner that night, so I was on my own to run the show with dinner and carpools, and helping with a teacher dinner, but it was just fine.  My friend did all the dance driving, and we had an easy dinner, and even though I was in and out of the car, it was a laid back evening with people eating cake slices at all different times.  :)  When Richard got home I made him dance to two songs with me out on the deck-a lovely way to end a lovely day.  Here's to another year of life!

The girls had parent teacher conferences the day after my birthday.  Their teachers all had glowing reports and the school year is off to a great start for all of them.  According to testing, Rachel is reading on grade level-she has never started the school year that way, so we are all so happy for her!  Marshall also had a band concert that night.  Rachel couldn't go because she had piano, but the rest of us were there to cheer him on.  It was fun to hear the progress the band has made since they are all playing their instrument for the second year.  Richard snuck out after Marshall's band to pick up Rachel and then we all met up at Culver's for custard-a great way to celebrate!  

We have been busy the last two weeks finishing Bridget's new bedroom.  Richard and I finished the painting two weeks ago.  I love the color choice, but a bold color with white trim is not my favorite thing to deal with!  Ah!  Last Tuesday her new closet was built and it looks great.  It is the smallest bedroom in our house and the smallest closet, but the space has been maximized!  While we were in Vernal, Richard set up her bed frame and she spent almost all of her time after church on Sunday moving things down.  She had her upstairs closet completely cleaned out before dinner!  After dinner last night Richard and I moved her mattress and nightstand down and she slept down there last night!  She is in heaven organizing everything and making the space her own-and I am loving that she can do so much of it on her own!  Soon we will have four kids in their own four bedrooms with only the two youngest upstairs by us.  It makes us feel old and that these kids are growing up SO fast.  Honestly, Richard seemed more affected by this than me last night-it was a tender moment for him last night down in her room.  Time flies!  

Okay, to end the email I just have to write two adorable things about Gretchen, both from Vegas.  She started calling her suitcase her luggage, which I don't think she has ever done before.  When we were unloading the van at the hotel she said, "Can you help me with my luggage please?  I can't carry my blankets and my luggage at the same time."  Then the next night, when she and I were getting ready to eat dinner, I opened the cupboard to get down two plates and she was completely taken by surprise.  She exclaimed, "I didn't know this hotel had dishware!"  Haha!  Dishware! Where did she hear that?!  I love her.  

That is it!  Thanks, as always, for reading.  :)

Love,

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

The Leake's Week-October 2, 2022

 Happy October!  I am thrilled that October is here, and even though it doesn't really feel like fall yet, temperature-wise, I am already grateful for a change in season.  Last night, after the kitchen was cleaned up, I lit a fall candle from Bath and Body Works.  The kids could not stop talking about the delightful scent wafting through our house, and I couldn't either!  Richard was sick of me talking about it by the time we went to bed, but yay for fall!  I am two weeks behind in email writing, so I'll do a quick catch up person by person.

Gretchen is still LOVING kindergarten.  And I am so glad, because if she ever complained about it, it would take all my self-control to keep sending her.  It has become very apparent to me that she is loving growing up and finally doing all the things she has seen her siblings do for years:  school, music class, dance class, and playing with friends.  She loves it all.  I get to volunteer in her kindergarten class every Tuesday and I am there waiting when the kids come in from recess.  This last Tuesday, Gretchen ran right up to me, gave me a hug and a kiss, and it just completely made my day.  Bless her little soul!  Gretchen has loved making new friends at school.  Last week she played at Mary Grace's house for the entire afternoon and had the best time.  She is crossing her fingers for a playdate with Naomi this week.  The girls had school picture day on Wednesday.  I started doing hair at 7:00 that morning and finally finished at 8:30 am!  Thankfully, Richard was home and took care of everything else that morning so I could just wave and curl hair on three different heads!  Gretchen chose to wear her BYU jumper that day!  She could not be persuaded to wear anything else.  So, the girl who regularly tells Richard that BYU clothes are ugly, chose to wear the one BYU item she has to school picture day!  The irony!  For the entire last half of September, Gretchen has been begging to decorate for Halloween.  I put her off until last Saturday when Rachel joined in the begging, and we pulled out all our Halloween/fall decor.  It was actually great decorating with them because they were helpful and it went quite quickly!  On Friday, the 23rd, I took the girls and two of Bridget's friends to Lagoon.  For the most part, Bridget stuck with her friends so it was mostly just Gretchen, Rachel and me.  We did two cute little Halloween areas which both of the girls ended up loving.  We rode the fire truck, and since it has been weeks since we were there, we all got exceptional tummy tickles.  We did a handful of other rides before those two were ready to call it a night.  Bridget stayed later with her friends.  It was a fun evening!

Rachel continues to completely impress Richard and me with how she is handling school, piano, and over seven hours of dance a week.  On Monday and Tuesday she has ten minutes at home after school before she is off to dance.  She has not complained once and is excelling!  Thankfully, her teacher gives very minimal homework-praise the heavens!  She has just gotten so good at managing her time and looks of pockets for time to fit in ten minutes of homework or ten minutes of piano, and then she will wrap up whatever she needs to hours later.  So, so proud of her!  On Friday night Bridget went to Eily's house to watch Hocus Pocus 2-she loved it.  A great night for her!

Bridget, per the usual, has been spending her free time riding a horse or at the farm.  :)  She is still loving horseback riding.  I went to the farm two weeks ago with Bridget and Cambria.  We started with the chickens, and were shocked to find a dead chicken!  It was gross, and once again, I asked myself, "How is this my life now?!"  Thankfully, I was not the one who had to take care of said chicken!  Bridget and Cambria were hardly phased by it.  On Saturday, the 24th, the Garlicks had a farm clean up day.  Bridget and Cambria were there for about four hours and worked hard to get things cleaned up and ready for winter.  Bridget and Cambria were back at the farm this last Thursday.  Some does are in the process of getting dried out so they can get pregnant pretty soon.  I am thrilled this is cutting down on the milking time, but bracing myself for when it ramps up again in the spring!  Ah!  Of course, Bridget is counting down until new baby goats are born.  :)  Probably the most exciting thing for Bridget is that she rode Cannibal for the first time, and I didn't even go with her!  Bridget was our driving force behind our Lagoon trip two weeks ago.  As soon as we got into Lagoon, we made a bee-line for Cannibal.  The line was short, so they hardly had a wait!  Bridget and Avery were first timers.  They sat in the front row and both came running off saying that they loved it.  Bridget's courage on rides has gone through the roof this summer.  She has become a little thrill seeker.  

Marshall's free time has been dominated by soccer.  He has done two or three practices a week for the last two weeks, including two early Saturday morning practices.  On Tuesday evening he was at soccer practice and about an hour into practice my phone rang and when I saw it was his coach, my stomach dropped.  Of course my mind went to the worst case scenario:  Marshall unconscious because of a ball to the head and an ambulance on the way!  Yes, all those thoughts went through my mind before I answered the phone!  I was completely relieved to answer and hear Marshall's voice on the other end!  Granted, he had hurt his Achilles and could barely walk, but I will take that any day over a head injury!  Richard picked him up early from practice and brought him home.  He iced it, took ibuprofen, and slept in his special boots and miraculously woke up totally fine the next morning!  He even ran the mile in gym that day.  I had told him to take it easy and jog, but of course he couldn't bring himself to do that and ran it in 6:29.  :)  He has also had two soccer games, both wins, which is also lovely.  :)  On Friday evening during dinner, we asked the kids about some specifics of their day.  Marshall reported in gym they had their last day of flag football and that day he had five touchdowns and two interceptions!  I was shocked!  He was so casual about it and nonchalant.  He went on to explain people always guard the most athletic looking kids, so he is always wide open and the quarterback always throws to him and Marshall surprises people every time!  Ha!  

The low point of my life the last two weeks is two dentist appointments, but they are done, thankfully!  I did volunteer in the Charger Store two Fridays ago, and as always, LOVED that!  Marshall liked it too because I bought him a treat!  I roped my friend Kara into working with me, and when the store wasn't open, I loved talking with her.  Last weekend we had Richard's brother, Nathan, and his daughter, Mara, stay with us.  We haven't seen Nathan since last summer and it was great to catch up with him.  On Friday night we had a ward adult social.  We got there late, but still had a great time visiting with some people without kids running around! I spent a bunch of hours on Friday and Saturday painting Bridget's new bedroom.  With the help of Stacie and her amazing color skills, Bridget found and fell in love with a gorgeous teal color, Federated Blue, by Sherwin Williams.  We decided to be bold, and paint all four walls in it.  It is stunning!  She loves it and I love it.  Now I just have to paint the trim and all the painting will be done!  Yay!  Oh, one more thing, last Sunday afternoon I took Marshall and Bridget to watch planes up at Tunnel Springs Park.  It was a fun little Sunday afternoon outing.  They are so fun to be with.  

Richard's work schedule has been all over the place.  Work from home, work late, work early, work here and there, but he has also been around more, which we all love.  He has been happy with the two BYU football wins the last two weeks.  We didn't have any of our kids go to the Utah State game on Thursday since it was a school night, but Richard went and met his parents, niece, and childhood friend, Marshall, and his wife down there.  Traffic was terrible and it took him two hours and ten minutes to get to the parking lot.  He made it inside just in time for kick off!  

Well, I think that's it!  We have a big week ahead!  My birthday is Wednesday and we leave on Friday for Vegas.  BYU is playing Notre Dame and we are all going down for it, though Gretchen and I will hang at the hotel during the game.  :)  Should be fun!

Love, 

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

P.S.  Note the picture of Ziggy scowling at his brush!  Oh my gosh, it cracks me up!  Can you tell he loathes it?!  Haha!  

The Leake's Week-September 19, 2022

 Hello All!  A Monday edition of the email.  Our last week was the usual busy, but nothing out of the ordinary.  But, it was still exhausting, and we very much enjoyed our slower paced weekend...hence I did not write an email!  Here's a quick recap...

Last Monday Gretchen and I went to her music class.  She is LOVING it and multiple times a week will ask to listen to the songs.  She loves to run to them and she will get out her bells and play along.  I have gone to class twice with her now, and it is so delightful!  Gretchen also went on her birthday outing with my parents last Monday.  They picked her up at 4:00 and took her shopping at Barnes and Noble and then to dinner at the Olive Garden.  She picked out a Peppa Pig book and got Calico Critters.  She is heaven with those things!  Marshall and Bridget didn't have anything going on that day, and they actually had some time to play outside together which was good for both of them and good for me to watch.  :)  Rachel had her long dance day on Monday, 4:00-7:15, and came home completely exhausted.  She was the last of our kids to get over the cold that had been going around and I think between school, dance, and her cold she was wiped out.  She and I got home at 7:30, she ate half a piece of toast and then put herself to bed at 8:00.  Sweet Dokie.  She is loving dance, but I worry a bit about her sustaining this busy schedule through the school year.  A few times a year, Rachel needs a recharge of sleep, and then she wakes up completely a new person.  I was crossing my fingers that with about 11 hours of sleep that night she would wake up good as new Tuesday morning, but not quite.  

On Tuesday morning, Rachel was still pretty wiped out, so I decided to keep her home for at least the morning to see if she perked up.  All the other kids went off to school and I got some things done at home.  At 11:00 I volunteered in Gretchen's class, but Rachel still wasn't up for going to school. so we called it a day for her.  Gretchen loves having me in her classroom once a week, and I am loving it just as much!  When we got home, we had lunch with Rachel and read books.  Once again, Rachel only ate a bit, and then she walked over to the couch and fell asleep!  She slept for a solid two hours and woke up totally new and feeling SO much better!  Yay!  While Rachel was sleeping, Gretchen and I went to her well-child check.  (For the record, before Rachel fell asleep, I did tell her Gretchen and I would be leaving!)  Gretchen was nothing short of darling with the pediatrician.  She answered all his questions, and kind of surprised me by knowing the name of her school!  She remains in the 5% for weight, coming in at about 35 pounds.  And in the 25% for height.  At this rate, she will top out at 5 feet and 1 inch as an adult!  Ha!  Sometimes Richard and I have conversations about predicting our children's heights as adults.  We think they will go in birth order tallest to shortest-it will be fun to see how it really pans out!  The only good thing about Rachel being a bit under the weather on Tuesday is we kept her home from dance and it helped reduce my chauffer time that afternoon and Gretchen's time in the car!  Marshall and Bridget had piano, Bridget had a primary activity, and Marshall had soccer practice that afternoon/evening.  I ended my night with a primary presidency meeting, and per the usual, got home nice and late.  :)  

On Wednesday, Rachel was completely back to herself and off to school.  Richard worked later that day, so it was great to have him around for a good chunk of the school day.  After school, Marshall had soccer and Rachel had dance.  

Thursday morning was a real treat for me.  After getting all the kids off to school, I met Stacie at Caffe Torino in Farmington.  We have been wanting to try this place for at least two years, but their hours have not matched up with our plans and schedule, but we finally succeeded on Thursday morning!  It was worth the wait.  They serve crepes, and I am still thinking about my crepe!  I ordered the French Toast crepe and it was divine.  It had a cooked egg batter on the outside and inside were strawberries, bananas, custard, bacon and then it was covered with whipped cream on the outside.  Hello.  Is your mouth watering right now?  It should be!  The salty of the bacon just blended delightfully with the sweet of everything else.  Yum, yum, yum.  If anyone wants to meet up for brunch, let me know!  After breakfast, we went to Simple Treasures Boutique and browsed and shopped.  We both walked away with a handful of things we are very excited about.  A wonderful morning!  After kindergarten, Gretchen played with our neighbors before getting ready for dance class.  She was over the moon to discover that her bestie, Genevieve, talked her mom into signing her up for jazz so that she could stick with Gretchen.  Yay!  Gretchen loved dance class and came home so happy.  We had a pretty chill afternoon.  Richard had a work dinner, so he got home late.  That night Rachel had piano, and Marshall had a late soccer practice.  Unfortunately, no one got to bed early that night!  

On Friday Rachel had a primary activity after school.  While she was gone, I stopped by my Mom's house for a birthday visit!  We had a great little chat and I am so glad I could have a little one-on-one time with her on her special day.  At 4:00, Cooper came over for a belated birthday celebration with Marshall.  Also at 4:00, the girls and I left to drive down to Provo.  By all accounts, Marshall had a great time with Cooper.  They watched some TV and then made up all sorts of games and seemed to have a fun, fun night.  They chose Chick-Fil-A for dinner and Richard picked it up for them on his way home from work.  We all adore Cooper and I sure wish Marshall and Cooper lived close to each other still, but so glad they have been able to keep this friendship up for four plus years.  Cooper is the perfect friend for Marshall.  They watch TV or play video games for a bit, but they spend the majority of their time using their creativity and doing physical things.  He is just so great and I am glad they were able to get together.  The girls and I met up with Lara and Emery Vanhille at Red Robin for our third annual dinner, Bath and Body Works shopping, and World of Dance performance at BYU.  :)  We shopped at Bath and Body Works first, ate dinner, and then drove to BYU.  The performance, once again, was completely amazing.  Ballroom never ceases to amaze me.  Such intricate movements in such close proximity-incredible.  I had favorite dances from each group and it was just an amazing night.  After the performance was done, we went to the Creamery on Ninth to eat more good food and visit a bit more.  We finally said our good-byes just before 10:30 and drove home.  Late night, but worth every single minute.  

Saturday was such a lazy and wonderful day for all of us, exactly what we all needed!  We all slept in and had waffles for breakfast together.  The girls procrastinated their jobs, but they sure had a lot of fun playing together.  There was lots of college football watching.  Bridget and I ran over to my parents' house for a bit, and then I went back to that boutique in Farmington to get something I had had my eye on, and fortunately it was still there!  At 4:30, Marshall and I left for his soccer game in Roy and at 6:00 Richard left for a work dinner.  It was a welcome dinner to all 11 people they have hired to start this year and finally all 11 are there and working.  It was a good night for Richard and he enjoyed meeting more colleagues.  My parents were able to come to Marshall's game and the three of us all cheered him on.  His team ended up tying, but we lost to them in July, so we were happy with the tie.  Marshall played really, really well, especially the last half of the second half he was rocking defense.  In the second half his coach had him take a free kick, which he came so close to making.  

Yesterday was a good Sunday.  We had tithing declaration with the bishop, and Richard also stayed for quite a while to help him.  We had Toney FHE with my family and celebrated the many September birthdays, seven in total!  When we got home, we played with Ziggy outside for a while and then got all the kids to bed at a normal time!  

Richard had today off of work, which has been nothing short of wonderful.  He and I went to breakfast this morning at Eggs in the City and it was delicious, as always.  Richard spent his afternoon mowing the lawn and working on sprinklers...the work never ends!  I went to the dentist only to find out I have a cavity and have to go back on Thursday.  If you know me, you know this is absolutely terrible news and I am trying to not let it ruin my week.  I have resorted to extreme dramatics to deal with all this emotion!  The kids all had good days at school.  Bridget got to do the announcements at school for student council, and by all reports, all went great.  Rachel had a fantastic day at dance and came home way more energized than last week, so that was very good to see.  Richard took Gretchen to music class while I was at the dentist and then she spent the rest of her afternoon playing with Charlie.  Bridget played with Avery and Marshall did homework, relaxed, and played.  A good start to the week.  

We love each one of you.

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

The Leake's Week-September 12, 2022

 Hello!

I feel like we have just lived a marathon of a weekend!  Thankfully, for most of us, today (Sunday) has been laid back and low-key, which has been very much needed!  Here's the rundown of life in the Leake residence for the last six days...

On Tuesday it was semi-nice to get back to school, work, and routine after our birthday extravaganza and three-day weekend.  Once everyone was gone, I painted the closet in Bridget's soon-to-be-new room.  Honestly, not at all how I wanted to spend my kid-free time, but it had to be done.  Thankfully, I had Marco Polo's and great music to listen to to keep me motivated.  :)  As soon as Gretchen got home from kindergarten, we took Ziggy to the groomer.  I swear he knows exactly where we are headed and as soon as we turn onto her street he moves to the back of the van!  Ha!  Once I turn him over to her though, he just licks her and is so happy to see her.  Dogs...they crack me up.  While Ziggy was getting freshened up, Gretchen and I ran up to a dance store in Kaysville.  Gretchen started dance on Thursday and needed a couple of things.  If she had her way, she would have bought every black leotard in there that fit her.  When I told her she could choose one, she resorted to eenie-meanie-minie-mo.  :)  Excellent decision making!  As we were leaving the dance store, I realized that for the first time ever, I have two dancing daughters.  And that, at least for now, I will have two daughters on stage for the dance recitals.  I am over the moon.  Seriously.  I am SO happy about it!  Who knows how long it will last, so I am living in the moment and soaking up each event.  Gretchen and I were elated to pick up Ziggy and see that his fur was in good enough shape that he didn't need a complete shave down, and instead we were greeted with a very clean and perfectly fluffy dog.  I had no idea this 15 pound thing could bring me and us such happiness.  Fortunately, the rest of our day was not the usual crazy that Tuesday is.  The only thing we had on after school was dance for Rachel.  Richard and I did finish prepping the basement that night for new carpet in the morning.  Oh, one funny thing, as I was driving Rachel and Sara to dance that day, they were having a conversation about where they wanted to live when they grow up.  When Sara asked Rachel she said, "I just want to live in a mansion, so I can live anywhere as long as that works out."  So matter of fact as only Rachel can say things.  :)  

Wednesday morning was a real treat for me...my Mom came over at 9:30 in the morning and we ate popcorn and watched the Downton Abbey movie!  It was the most refreshing and enjoyable morning I have had in a long time!  It is ten times better than the first movie.  We laughed, we cried, and we both loved it.  While we were indulging ourselves, new carpet was getting put down in the basement!  The carpet guys were done about 1:30 and it looks great!  We got the same carpet as is in Marshall's room, just a more dense/thicker version of it.  So it goes down our basement stairs, through the hallway, and into the current guest room, which is soon to be Bridget's room.  I am loving the new carpet smell as I go up and down those stairs this week.  Heavenly.  The rest of Wednesday was filled with horseback riding for Bridget, dance for Rachel, and a youth activity for Marshall.  

Thursday morning Bridget had a field trip to a 9-11 exhibit that was in Farmington for just a few days.  She was captivated with it and has not stopped talking about it.  We were hoping to get the rest of our family there during the weekend, but it was just too busy.  A few weeks ago, Bridget decided she definitely wants to go to NYC for her upcoming trip with Richard and me.  Initially, we weren't planning on doing the 9-11 museum with her, but now we are definitely planning on it.  Such a sobering event.  I volunteered in kindergarten that morning as well.  Gretchen was delighted to see me, and I was equally delighted to see her.  :)  She and I were home to eat lunch, and then it was off to dance class!  She was SO excited!  Initially, I just signed her up for a jazz class, but a couple of weeks ago, I decided to tack on ballet.  They are back to back classes, and she said she was up for it.  I am so glad I did because her best friend from preschool is in ballet with her!  Months ago, when I signed her up, I thought about reaching out to Genevieve's mom, but we were out of town when I signed her up, and brushed it off.  But in the end, it all worked out!  Gretchen had such a great time and could not wait to show me and Rachel all she did and learned.  I just ran errands for the entire 90 minutes of dance class, so that wasn't fun, but also so much easier doing it by myself!  Thursday was a busy afternoon and evening for us.  Marshall had soccer practice, Rachel had piano, I had a RS activity, and Richard went to see a Star Trek movie with some friends in the ward.  We all went to bed tired, but very happy.  

On Friday, I picked Bridget, Rachel, and Cambria up from school and finished helping Bridget and Cambria pack up for the State Fair.  One of the Garlick's daughters, Heather, was so kind to offer to drive Bridget and Cambria in for me-that was beyond helpful!  I took Bridget and Cambria to Heather's house and off they went to the fair.  They spent their afternoon bathing goats-of course they loved it!  Gretchen went to Charlie's birthday party that afternoon, and even though it was construction themed, she had a great time.  At 4:00, I coerced all my kids to get in the car and go to the fair.  With the county goat show so recent, they had zero desire to go watch another goat show, but I was insistent.  We also picked up my Dad and zipped into Salt Lake.  Fortunately, we had a livestock parking pass (this cracked me up last year and still cracks me up this year-I get to park in the livestock lot!) so we didn't have to pay for parking, and we got to park very close to the barns.  Anyway, we located the goats and Bridget and Cambria and helped Bridget make final preparations to be show ready.  The show was supposed to start at 5:00, but didn't start until about 5:15.  I forced my kids to come because I thought the whole showmanship show would be one hour tops.  I was basing it off our experience last year.  Well, I just need to remember I cannot predict these goat shows.  The first group in the ring is always the high school aged kids.  The judge spent 90 minutes judging just this group.  One group-90 minutes!  Oh my gosh.  We were dying.  We were all squished on metal bleachers (thankfully we were in a cool barn), but it was bananas.  At one point Rachel yelled, "Hey Lady!" at the judge!  Ah!  When I told her to calm down, she told me she was about to climb in the ring herself and choose a winner!  I would not put it past her!  I could not believe it.  After the first group, I gave my Dad some cash and he and Marshall walked around and got themselves some dinner.  My girls eventually buddied up with some of the Garlick grandkids that they know from school and walked around and saw some animals and talked and played.  After that first group went so long, Richard said he would come pick up the kids and take them home, but by the time he drove from Ogden down to Salt Lake, Bridget was just about to go into the show ring.  Richard quickly parked, bought himself a ticket, and ran into the barn.  So, even though we were all irritable, tired, hungry, and impatient, all of us were there to finally watch Bridget show Luv Bug!  The judge spent about 30 minutes with her group.  Bridget placed fourth out of eight.  In my humble opinion, I think she should have taken 2nd and both Marshall and I completely disagree with who the judge placed first.  I mean, we know nothing about showing goats, but still!  However, Bridget was happy with how it all went, and that is all that matters!  She got a pretty ribbon and we had her pose with Luv Bug and the rest of us for gads of pictures.  We finally made it out of there and got home after 9:00 pm!  Yikes!  It was a great introduction to goat shows for my Dad!  Sheesh!  Once we got home, Richard fed all the girls and put everyone to bed so I could run up to book club, over one hour late.  We talked about "Educated" by Tara Westover and it was a fantastic discussion.  I got home after 11:00 pm, everyone was sound asleep, and I fell into bed!  What a day!  

Saturday morning I was up at 6:15, Bridget was up at 6:58 :) and we were out the door at 7:30 to pick up Cambria.  The girls were ready for another day of fun with the goats!  I was only able to drop them off at the state fair and then I had to turn right around and head back home.  While I was not sad about missing a day of sitting and watching goats, it did break my mama heart to walk away and leave her without a parent for the day!  Thankfully, I knew she was in great hands with Cambria and the Garlicks and the Fawcett girls, and she had a phone to keep me updated, but I still missed her.  Once I got home, I got ready for the next adventure.  At 9:20, Sara's family came to pick up Rachel.  Rachel had dance choreography that afternoon, but the only way she could get there was with Sara's family, but they had a baptism to go to in the morning, so Rachel got to tag along.  :)  She loved it, just as she loves anything she does with Sara and her family!  I left at 9:30 with Marshall and Gretchen, dropped Gretchen off at Danny and Stacie's, and then Marshall and I drove up to Hyde Park for a soccer game.  That is a long drive!  Marshall's team tied 1-1, but it was a great game for them.  For a huge variety of frustrating reasons, we only had 11 players, so that meant zero subs.  We scored first and it was a very offensive first half for us.  The boys were tired in the second half, one player sat out the last 20 minutes with a head injury and two other boys needed their inhalers, but they played a man down and kept the game tied.  For the last ten minutes Marshall was the only center back and he rocked it.  We were all so relieved when the ref finally blew the whistle to end the game!  Two tender moments for Marshall that I have to record.  First, near the start of the second half, our goalie needed his shoe tied, but he had his goalie gloves on and Marshall bent down, while the ball was being played on the other side of the field and tied the goalie's shoe!  I wish I would have snapped a picture.  Towards the very end of the game, when Marshall was the only center back he booted the ball up the field and it ended up hitting an opposing player in the head, very soon after he kicked it.  The player immediately went down and Marshall was right at his side and got the ref's attention to blow the whistle.  Such sweet, considerate moments!  On our way home, we picked up Gretchen who had had a great few hours playing with her cousins.  Bless Danny and Stacie for taking such good care of her for me!  The three of us got home about 4:00, and by then the goat show was just ending.  I zipped down to the fairgrounds and picked up two very tired and hungry girls!  What a day they had had! Bridget had not had time to eat lunch!  She came home with more ribbons though and was happy with how the day had gone.  During all of this, Richard was at home, working 10:30-6:30.  :)  So, he could not help with any of the madness, but we survived!  Richard finished work just after 6:30, hopped in the car with Marshall, picked up Ricky and Duncan and made it down to the BYU game on time!  They had the best time coupled with a very late night, but had a great time and made the 2:00 am arrival worth it.  :)  The girls and I went to Arella's for dinner last night, Bridget's pick after her big day.  We really had such a relaxing and fun dinner.  I was just relieved my driving back and forth along the Wasatch Front was done!  Once I got the girls into bed last night, I caught up on all the royal news with the passing of Queen Elizabeth.  :)  

Richard had to work again today at home.  His shift was 10:30-6:30 again, so he did get to sleep in after his very late night!  But in the afternoon he found out one of the radiologists who was supposed to be working today was sick, so they asked Richard to work until 8:00 pm-long day for him!  The kids and I had a relaxing day.  We went to church, Marshall went to stake priesthood meeting with my Dad, I took a nap, and we just hung out and spent time with each other.  It was a great way to end the day.  Here's to another busy week starting up!

Love to each of you.

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