Robert starts Internship with Tate's company

Mark and I are excited for Robert.

After the Reunion, Robert went to Provo with Jessica and Tate to start an internship at the company where Tate works.  He will have the opportunity to see jobs in the "Finance" division.  It is a great experience for him.  We are so happy and grateful to Tate and Jessica for thinking of him for this position.  We are also so grateful to them for opening up their home to house him while he is there before school starts.  

Robert starts internship in Utah

Instead of coming home with us from the Family Reunion, Robert went to Provo with Jessica and Tate. 

Tate offered him an internship position at his company.  This is awesome!  It gives Robert an opportunity to build his resume and learn from Tate and his co-workers.  

It will be quiet around the house without Robert around.  We wish him the best!!!

Family Reunion at Bear Lake - Biking Day with Marissa and Michael (Tuesday) (add photos)

 Tuesday is our last full day at Bear Lake.  Jessica, Tate and Cayson along with Robert, and Devon and Sierra had to leave last night due to work commitments today.  Robert decided to go back with Jessica and Tate to start an internship at Tate's company.  He will be working with Tate to learn more about the Finance Industry.  Mark and I are very excited for him to have this opportunity.  

Today, we are blessed to have Marissa and Michael still with us for one more day.  We started the day with a delicious breakfast and a bicycle ride.  We walked down to the bike rental place.  There we were able to rent two single bikes and a double seated bike cart (it has four wheels and you get to sit side by side while you bike).  Marissa and Michael started with the double bike cart, while Mark and I took off on the single bikes.  We were able to go far and fast.  We road them down to the lighthouse and back.  We arranged to meet Marissa and Michael at Heritage Park to swap bikes.   Mark and I road the two-seater back to the bike shop and gave Marissa and Michael an hour on the single bikes.  Everyone had a great time together.  I am so happy for Marissa - she and Michael seem to really get along so well.

After our bike ride, Marissa and Michael decided to head back to Rexburg, ID.  Mark and I enjoyed lunch at the condo, played some tennis, relaxed at the pool and hot tub and cleaned up the condo so it would be ready for our early check out tomorrow morning.  Betsy did what seemed like 100 loads of towel laundry, haha - but she got it all done.  It was also very nice to have a day to unwind and relax after a very eventful week with the kids!  

Wednesday morning Mark and I will leave around 8 AM to catch our flight back to Austin!  We had a wonderful time - literally the VERY BEST!!!

Family Reunion at Bear Lake - Kayak and ATV Day (Monday) (add photos)

 It's another beautiful day at Bear Lake - the sun is shining, there is a gentle breeze, and the lake looks amazing! 

Breakfast this morning was prepared by Marissa and Michael.  The are so sweet to make breakfast for us!  Everything was delicious.

Devon has to do online school from 10 AM - 12 PM so the rest of us left the house around 9:50 AM to allow him so peace and quiet while taking his class.  We walked over to the marina and rented kayaks and a paddle board.  Oh my gosh!  What a blast we had.  Mark and I started out in a two-person kayak, Jessica and Robert were also in a two person kayak, Tate was with Cayson in a one-person kayak, and Marissa and Michael were on the paddle board.  We had so much fun and got so many photos!  We rented the equipment for two hours.  After a while, everyone traded around so that everyone got a turn on the different equipment.  Mark and I had a ball on the paddle board too!  He sat or knelt down in the back while I stood in the front.  (It was too hard for both of us to stand).  I had done a paddle board before in the ocean with Marissa - but wow that was hard to find my balance - the lake was so much easier!  Mark and I had a great time.  We then let Tate and Robert have a go on the board.  Watching everyone have a great time in the water was all I needed to make my day!

Devon and Sierra were a little late coming down to rent the ATVs but luckily no one had rented them after us so the rental company let me move my rental from 12-2 to 1-3!  YAY!  We rented two ATVs.  Mark, Jessica, Tate, Cayson, Marissa and Michael took one ATV, while Devon, Sierra, Robert and I took the other one.  We each went in different directions.  Robert drove our ATV to Fish Haven where we found some wicked trails to ride.  He did an awesome job!!!  The Devon drove - YAHOO!  We had such a great time.  Sierra drove us down the mountain back towards Fish Haven and then I drove us back towards the rental.  We had some extra time so we found more trails and WOW, these trails were even more steep and treacherous than the first ones.  I loved that I was the driver for those.  I traded with Robert for the last drive!  We filled up with gas and took the ATV back - all in one piece without rolling it (or popping a tire - like Landon did a few years ago).  

Mark and his crew drove the trails that we found in the end FIRST!  They said it was crazy!  Dad drove the whole time.  At some point Jessica, Tate and Cayson got off because it was just a little too bumpy for a pregnant woman and for Cayson!  We met up with Mark at the gas station!  Our crew was looking for them the whole two hours we were out - so crazy that we eventually ran into them but just at the very end.  It sounded like they had a great time too! 

After ATV riding, Marissa and Michael made sliders for lunch for everyone - wow - those things are delicious!  We ate them all up!!!

The rest of the day was at the pool, tennis and basketball.  

Today has a sad ending, because - two families are leaving!  For dinner we were supposed to have pizza, but I decided to take everyone out to the Raspberry Shake place (which is a diner).  We got hamburgers, cheeseburgers and chicken nuggets along with delicious shakes for dinner.  This is where we had to say good bye to Jessica, Tate, Cayson and Robert.  Devon and Sierra left just an hour later!  It's so sad to see them go but we had a great time with everyone. 

Before they left, I asked, "What could we have done better?"  Everyone said it was GREAT!  They loved it!  That made me so happy!  I'm so glad everyone had a great time!!! 

Family Reunion at Bear Lake - Sunday (add photos)

 Sunday was such a fantastic day to have all the family together.  We were able to sleep in for the fist day on the vacation.  I love to sleep in - however I couldn't really sleep in so I went on the balcony overlooking the lake and read my scriptures in the solitude and solemnity of the beautiful morning air.  (I did have to spray for wasps once again).

That morning, Jessica and Tate made breakfast burritos - heavenly made!!  So delicious!!!  

After breakfast everyone got dressed for church.  Mark made assignments the night before so everyone knew their roll in the Sunday service.  I was so excited in anticipation of everyone being together and imagining the wonderful discussions we would have - more than just Mark and I (and Robert).  I was right - was a super spiritual experience.  Mark asked Tate, Devon, Robert and Michael to bless and pass the sacrament.  Then we shared a conference talk and discussed it.  What was really fantastic was dividing up the Come Follow Me discussion and listening to everyone contribute.  Church went a little longer than normal (2 hours) but it was fantastic, and I felt uplifted and spiritually fed. 

We had a bunch of left overs for lunch - salad, sliders, and sandwiches. 

Mark and I went for a lovely walk.  When we got back we ran into Jessica, Tate, and Cayson - we went with them to the playground where we played with Cayson and talked for a while.  It was so nice to have some one on one time with them.  I love our group, but I also love one on one time.  I am so happy for them.  They have such a beautiful family, that is rooted in the gospel and they share their love for each other and their child so admirably.  Tate is such a wonderful father and husband.  I feel so blessed that Jessica married such a wonderful man.  Jessica is truly a wonderful mother; she cares so much for Cayson.  She and Tate have a beautiful relationship!!!

For Dinner Tate and Jessica made the most delicious barbecue ribs for dinner along with fantastic sides of peas and potatoes.  We are spoiled - um um good!!!  Tate grilled the ribs outside - so good!!!!  

Tonight was also the perfect night to take family photos.

Tate picked a perfect spot on the lake shore.  As we arrived a family was just packing up - we quickly asked them if they would take the group photo, and they agreed!  It is one of my absolute favorite family photos!  Then we took a WHOLE LOT of photos of different groups!  So wonderful!  Everyone was patient while we rotated through the different combinations of photos wanted and needed.  

Family Reunion at Bear Lake - Horse Back riding Day (need photos)

 Today was fantastic!!! - It's HORSEBACK RIDING DAY!!!

I get to wear my "real" "live" cowboy boots!!!  I'm so excited. 

We started with a delicious breakfast.  Mark and I made french toast with syrup and whipped cream.  We served it with fresh strawberries and blueberries.  We also had bananas and small oranges available.  

The weather is perfect - the serene 

We drove down in two cars to Laketown to go horseback riding!  I was so excited I could hardly sit still.  Everyone except Sierra went.  She didn't want to go because she has a sunburn that hurt too much.  It was a 20 minute drive - super easy to get to, although we had to call because it wasn't marked very well.

We had to divide into two groups so that someone could always be with Cayson.  Mark, Betsy, Marissa and Michael were one group - they went trail riding first.  Jessica, Tate, Robert and Devon (and Cayson) were the second group - they did the obstacle course and grooming first.  

For our group we drove with the horses for about a mile to another part of the ranch.  From there they owned hundreds of acres.  My horse was Sassy.  She liked to eat and eat and eat.  I love riding horses!!!  Most of the time we were walking but we got to trot and gallop some one the trail.  It was a calm and peaceful ride.  Everyone just seemed to take in the beauty and joy of where we were.  On on ride it also gave us some time to get to know Michael better.  We got to ride for an hour.

Our second hour we rode different horses back at the original ranch barn.  We got to run the horses in races and through an obstacle course.  My horse did not want to cooperate - actually most of the horses didn't, but that's probably because the other kids had already done this for an hour before us, but they did enjoy eating and drinking.  Mark and I traded off taking Cayson off for nature walks, to play on the playground or find something else to do to be safe while the other group was on their trail ride.  While I was taking Cayson through the barn, Mark, Marissa and Michael got to take the horses out for a run.  WoW!  That looked fun!  Cayson got to sit on top of the roping calf - Mark pulled him around the paddock.  He was loving it.  Later, Michael, Marissa and I tried roping the calf - it's a lot harder than it looks. Michael was able to do it after about 100 attempts, I never did - nor did Marissa, but we sure had fun trying.  It was amazing that this 10 year old girl, Sarah (the owners daughter) was able to do it so fast and accurately!  She was amazing!

The other group took more of a spirited trail ride.  Robert, Devon, Tate and Jessica played around more than we did and were told to control their horses more!  Sounds like they had a lot of fun!!!  

I wish we could have all ridden together, but they only allow groups of 5-6 out at a time.  Even so it was a great experience.  

We were only supposed to be there for two hours, but she let us ride for three for the same price (mainly because the trail rides went longer than expected).  We finished up around 1:00 PM.

YAHOO!!!  What a great morning!  Extra blessing - both Devon and I did not have any allergic reaction to the horses!  YIPEE!!!

We returned to have lunch made by Devon and Sierra!  YUM stuff - They made Qesadilla and Nachos for everyone - Mexican is a win win in this family!

It was 2:30 before we finished with lunch - several people went to play tennis or basketball.  Some went to the pool / hot tub!  I enjoyed the pool and hot tub with Jessica and Marissa!  It was nice to enjoy some girl time.  I wish Sierra felt better and could be with us.  

Missing Sierra - I went back to the condo to spend some time with her and Devon - we had a great conversation!  I love how open and loving they are!  We are so blessed to have a beautiful couple like them in our family!

From there we went out to play more tennis - the weather was perfect and the courts were open - so we played doubles and singles for a while.  We were having so much fun that we lost track of time.  

Mark and I were in charge of dinner - tonight is grilled STEAKS!!!!  I invited my dad and Alison to join us - but that we were running later than expected.  They did not want to wait that long.  I misunderstood - I thought they were coming so I asked them to bring the salad.  Instead, they came (a little upset) dropped off the salad stuff and left (BOO).   Despite that, we had a wonderfully delicious dinner of ribeye steak, salad, rolls, and baked potatoes with cheddar cheese, butter, and sour cream.  YUM!  DELICIOUS!! 

What a super fantastic day - I am just sad that my dad left because he is leaving for SLC in the early morning tomorrow - I would have loved to have him come over for church.

Family Reunion at Bear Lake - Boating Day and Family Home History (need photos)

 Oh what a happy day!

I'm so excited for this day - I'm like a kid in a candy shop.  I've been looking forward to boating with the kids for EVER!!!

We got down to the dock a little late (did not make me happy - but oh well what can you do with 10 people).  I signed everything and paid everything and okayed everything  - okay let's go already!!!  I rented a 17 person Wakeboard boat, along with a tube for 3 people, wake board and wake surfer.  

Mark was designated driver of the boat - he wanted to stay in the shade. 

After I got everyone loaded up on the boat, I ran over to another dock (didn't know they weren't together) to rent the Seadoo Jet Ski.  Oh my goodness!  I love the power and speed of the Seadoo Jet Ski. 

I rented the boat and Jet Ski from 10 - 4:00 PM (should have done it longer).

Everyone had a chance to ride the Jet Ski and everyone had a chance to ride the boat!

I loved watching everyone have a blast.  Unfortunately, Devon got a little sea sickness, but nothing too bad.  He laid down in the front of the boat.

Robert, Michael and Tate did the Wake Board

Robert, Michael, Tate, Sierra, and Marissa did the Wake Surfer.  Tate was so kind - he was trying to help me get it, but I was the last to go, and we ran out of time before I could get up on the board.

Robert drove the boat while Mark and I were riding the tube.  He went, what felt super fast.  It was all fun until we crossed the wake and I went flying.  When I hit the water I heard something crack in my neck.  I went into shock/panic.  I was shaking and so scared.  Luckily, it doesn't seem to be anything of importance.

ALL in ALL - A Super fantastic day!

Devon and Sierra had Pasta Dinner for us that night - oh wow - it was perfect - we were all so hunger from a long day on the lake.

My dad and Alison came over for dinner.  They were excited to be with us and I was super excited that they could be with us.  Dinner was a little crazy because we didn't have all the ingredients, but it worked out.  

After dinner we my dad share his childhood experiences and then we went around the room having each person ask him one question - we went around twice.  Any question about work took a long time to answer.  He loved his work.  It gave him a great sense of value and pride. 

Family Reunion at Bear Lake - First Day (need photos)

 Today is the travel day -

Mark and I cleaned up the Air BNB that we stayed at in Rexburg and headed down the road to Bear Lake.  The trip would have been 3 hours - it was an easy drive; however, we had to stop at the grocery store before arriving at the Condo and that took at least an hour.

We bought $500 worth of food WOW! and that's not even all of it, but it is also a ton cheaper than eating out every night with 10 people.

Marissa and Michael arrived at the Condo before us.  She was so excited to show me the view.  She was right - I LOVE THE VIEW.

We are right across the street from the Lake with nothing interfering with our view.  The first thing we did was make room assignments.  I feel super bad - we invited Michael and in doing so it throws off the sleeping dynamics just enough that Marissa will move. 

Mark and Betsy - Master bedroom

Devon and Sierra - upstairs bedroom

Jessica and Tate - Queen bed with bunk bed in same room (for Cayson) - hopefully Marissa can sleep above Cayson (not the original plan).

Robert and Michael - two bunk beds (queen and twin). This is where Marissa and Robert were going to sleep, but then it wasn't appropriate to have Michael and Marissa in the same room, so Marissa volunteered to move out.  

Marissa ended up sleeping on a mattress in the family room.  It was just too difficult trying to be quiet and not wake up Cayson.

One by one as families arrived, I got more and more excited.  Jessica and Tate were the next to arrive.  They loved the place.  We took them around to see the tennis courts, pool, and play ground.  

Devon and Sierra are not arriving until around midnight, but I stayed up for them to welcome them to the vacation reunion!  I'm so excited that everyone made it!  It's going to be a GREAT VACATION!

Marissa Graduates from Nursing School at BYUI (add photos)

Mark, I and Robert flew out to Salt Lake City on July 21st.  We rented a minivan and drove up to Rexburg for Marissa’s graduation the next day. On the way up to Rexburg we stopped and saw Mark’s friend Walter Holiday, from Hawaii. We also stopped in Pocatello to pick up a congratulations cake at Costco. Betsy rented a house in Rexburg for the family to stay in so we could be together, however Jessica and Tate, and Davon and Sierra were not able to take a lot of time off from work so they didn’t come.  They will celebrate with us at the reunion!  

My dad and Alison drove up from Phoenix for her Graduation!  

Upon arriving in Rexburg we met Marissa and her boyfriend Michael at the hotel were my dad and Alison are staying.  We had a lovely visit and dinner with them.  

Wednesday- August 22, 2020!  Happy birthday Mark Lowe!!!  Today we got up and played tennis.  Then we met my dad and Alison to your BYUI campus.  We took Mark to Cafe Rio for a birthday lunch and then separated.  Betsy and Marissa went to get their nails done (but had no luck), Dad and Alison went to rest, and the boys went to play basketball.  

Graduation was at 5:00 at Porter’s Park Pavilion. It was a lovely program.  Betsy bought Orchid leis for Marissa!  Our Hawaiian tradition!  We are also proud of Marisa for her accomplishment and graduating from the nursing program.  She was even mentioned in one of the speeches!  She graduated summa cum laude from her program and will soon take the NCLUX and start looking for work.  

We celebrated after with pizza, cake and ice cream cake at Michael’s parents, Suzanne and Derrick Rhoton’s house.  We did zip line, played games and enjoyed the opportunity to celebrate Marissa’s accomplishment!  

Growing my Sew Amazing business

 Over the summer I took a course through the LDS Business College - How to Start and Grow Your Business.  

The purpose was to learn how to develop and improve my Sew Amazing business.  I learned so much!  

While I was doing the course - I learned so much.  I started the following practices:

- Advertising

- Record Keeping

- Accounting

- Separate account for business

- communication is key

- Charge the right amount

Implementing these changes brought better organization to my business, but better than that, it also increased my orders by 10X.

I finished the course on July 19, 2020~  What a great experience.  

My business is booming!  I now have a 1, 3, and 5 year plan!

Frisbee Golf (need photos)

Sunday activities outside are perfect in Texas.  The weather is so comforting to me.  I love feeling the sun's rays sink deep into my skin.

Mark and I started playing Frisbee golf on Saturday or Sunday evenings.  The course is approximately 3.11 miles long through some rich forest land in Georgetown.  Since Robert starting living with us, we are taking him with us.

There are 18 holes.  Robert has become a pro at flying the disc.  Mark is very good too.  I just do not have the same strength they have.  I can't seem to get my disc to fly like they can get their discs to fly.

Nevertheless, we enjoy the company, competition and the scenery.   It's a wonderful way to spend the afternoon.

Top golf (add photos)

 Another day of fun and adventure!  Today we went to Top Golf to have some fun.  Mark was given a gift card for Top Golf from Jessica and Tate so we thought it would be a good outing to do with Robert.

We enjoyed the golfing games, food and conversation.

Robert has an amazing swing and can achieve amazing distance with the ball.  He was able to hit it all the way to the back - Brown, White!!!  

The way the games work is you aim for targets.  The first targets are closer and they get farther away as the game progresses.  I was in the lead for the first half of the game getting almost every Red, Yellow and Green, but once the targets went beyond Green, I had a hard time hitting them, but both Mark and Robert had ease in hitting them.

We had a great time!  Robert won in the end!

Zipline at Travis lake with Robert (add photos)

 I'm so excited.  (We took Marissa Zip lining at Travis Lake Adventures last year, and I knew I wanted to take Robert when he got back from his mission.)  So the day finally came that we are going Zip lining with Robert.

Today Mark and I are excited to go, but Robert doesn't want to go because 1) we had to leave by 12:00 PM (he was still asleep), 2) he wants to do things with his basketball buddies, 3) probably because it's with his parents - how fun can that be. 

Anyway, we woke him and and dragged him out (not really) into the car to go.  I know once he gets there he will like it.

We had a small group, but we still had to wear our masks due to COVID-19.  The first part is taking a boat over to ZIP Island.  Then training on how and what we will do ... then it's ZIPPING from then on out.

We get to do 5 ZIP lines all together.  Two of them are small - to make sure everyone is comfortable with the process.

Then we do three super long runs - over the lake even!  The photos don't show how much fun it is! 

Such a great day with my two guys!  I had a blast!  Just as good or even better than the first time - but this time it was way more HOT!!! 

Temp job for two weeks

Perfect timing - I was offered a job as soon as I applied to work Temporary work.  It was for Independence Title.  I am the receptionist.  I clean for COVID-19, answer phones, restock the frig with drinks and the coffee machines.  I also restock all the snacks, because we offer drinks and snacks to all the clients that come in for a closing. 

I really liked working with these people and doing the CLOSING work.  The receptionist position was very boring.  I was able to bring in my computer and finish two scrapbooks while working for them!  YAY - silver lining!!!

The job ends just before we leave for Idaho and Utah - so Perfect timing!!!