June is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

We've had a great week. Some minor things of greatness include:

Harris finally had his hair cut.

I also finally had my hair cut. And highlighted. This is minor-ish. I feel like my whole world changed but also realize very few people were impacted.

A big happening was June's baptism, which took place today. Grandma Sandy was able to come into town for it, and the rest of the family was able to participate via Zoom. It was awesome because family that normally would not have been able to participate was suddenly able to.

You can barely see it, but I had June wear the pearl comb I wore at my wedding. I thought I had taken a picture of the back of her hair, but I didn't. I told her that I wore that comb on a day where I made a covenant with God, and so she could also wear it on this covenant-making day.

Unfortunately Grandma Kristi and Papa were not able to come, but Grandma Kristi's influence was still felt in a major way. She made June's dress, and it was beyond exquisite. She's the most talented seamstress I know. It really made the day more special.

We were able to have ten people physically present at the baptism. Six from our family, plus Grandma Sandy, our bishop, our primary president and June's primary teacher. And then tons of Zoom support. I felt so much love from every single person. It's the best feeling a mom can have to see a community supporting her child.

June was the most active participant that has ever been baptized. When a rhetorical question was posed by a speaker, June would excitedly answer aloud. She also added her thoughts whenever she felt more needed to be added to any topic. Dan patted her on the shoulder a few times to let her know she could just sit and listen, but to no avail. By the end, I was just laughing and appreciating that she has been listening to more Family Home Evening lessons than she has let on.

Five days before the baptism, Dan tossed out the idea that Gwen should sing a special musical number for the occasion. I told him that we were probably too late to throw something together. But then I sat down with Gwen, and we sang the song "When I am Baptized" over and over again, and she agreed to sing it as a solo. She did a fantastic job.

We prepped for the baptism at our Come Follow Me lesson today, and we explained how June would be changing into a white jumpsuit for the actual ordinance. I told her it was a good thing girls wear jumpsuits these days because I was baptized in a dress, and as I walked into the font it ballooned out with air and I thought it was really embarrassing.

And then we arrived at the church and couldn't find any jumpsuits June's size. Instead we found this dress. And it was so darling and I loved it and I told her to forget everything I had said, and she agreed to wear it. And it did not balloon.

No, June's memories from her baptism will not include a ballooning dress, but she will probably always recall that the water was very hot. Dan had told her the water might be cold and had even teased her about throwing a few ice cubes in. So she was prepared for that. HOT water she was not prepared for. She grabbed on to the railing and told me she couldn't go in.

At which point I told her she needed to be brave and get in there. And she did.

When I was helping her out of her wet clothes and back into dry ones, she told me, "Mom, I feel better than excited. I feel like I did the right thing."

The baptism was completed when she received the Gift of the Holy Ghost, and Dan gave her a beautiful blessing. I know these ordinances are true, and I know that Dan holds the priesthood power to perform these ordinances.

It was a wonderful day.

The End.

Now Gwen is Six, as Clever as Clever. I Think She'll Be Six Now Forever and Ever.

Today is July 19th, Gwen's birthday. That means the end of the busy birthday season for this family. Three months off for everyone to get rested up for the grand finale--MY birthday, and then we can ease into the ease of the holiday season. HA.

Gwen requested a Dairy Queen ice cream cake because she's a very smart girl. No mess for me, and everyone enjoys the "dirt" layer of a DQ cake.

Gwen had her favorite neighbor girl over to enjoy the festivities. This 12-year old neighbor gal plays with my little kids all day long. She's amazing. And has the best hair.

Beck may be a little young to dive into an ice cream cake. He shifted back and forth between squeals of delight and shrieks of horror at the cold temp, but ultimately made the sacrifices necessary to consume an entire piece.

Dan made the customary candy bar poster, complete with the first clue to the scavenger hunt leading to Gwen's presents.

The last clue led her to the basement, behind our old trampoline box, where she discovered her gift stash.

Gwen requested jewelry and a jewelry box, and we were able to come up with some stuff she liked.

This jewelry box plays the theme from "Swan Lake" every time you open it, whether that's at 2 p.m. or 6 a.m., which we discovered and re-discovered throughout the week.

As if her room wasn't already exploding with pink and purple and every little trinket she will never throw away, let's add a PURPLE UNICORN bedspread to the mix!

Atop of Gwen is the paper dog that June made for her since they still have a meanie mom with a no-pet policy.

After presents, we settled in for a movie, during which I heard our sweet neighbor girl explain to my girls that there were no TVs when Dan and I were kids. I think my inability to get my hair colored during Covid has added about 982347 years to my face or something.

A few words about Gwen. Gwen has a range of emotions that she expresses freely. She is my biggest helper and my most stubborn fighter. She is quick to pick up on things, but more importantly she likes to work at what she's learning. She plays the piano very well for a 5 year old, and she sings all day long (but only in octaves that dogs would appreciate. SOOO HIGH!). She loves school and people and NOT cleaning, though she's a great cleaner. She makes up words all of the time. I have been called a "rooty dooty mooty" many times. Do you punish a kid for words that don't really have a meaning but are said in a harsh tone? She's basically outsmarted the system there.

She's always up for fun, and she laughs a lot. I love Gwen.

In other news, remember the bird's nest we found under our deck? Well that nest was officially "one-upped" this week, as we found a wasp's nest on the front of our house. It's like a regular ol' nature center around here.

Somewhere in Dan's unwritten husband job description exists the clause that he takes care of all habitats of insects with stingers, so he worked on that this week.

Also in Dan's job description: He's the cutter of the apples in this house. I cut apples up for the kids fairly often, but I just hack at it with impatience. Dan's apple slicing is an art form, so everyone begs him to cut their apples. This is one he brought to me this week. See the message?

I'm the luckiest.

The End.

An Ode to My Garage.

Dan painted our garage last week. My obsession with having a beautiful garage continues, and I often just open the door to the garage in the middle of the day to appreciate how beautiful it is.

I just barely let myself park the van in it yesterday. I mean, that's weird right? Not wanting to mess up your beautiful garage by . . . parking a vehicle inside of it?

I acknowledge I have issues.

Speaking of issues, my blog still won't let me publish pictures in the correct order. So this is going to be a mess again. Not unlike when the pictures actually are in their appropriate order, and it's all still a mess.

Spinning for church pictures today.

This is the pre-spin. Out! Of! Order!

And before the spin and the pre-spin. Gwen is mad because . . . I can't remember but I believe it had something to do with us telling her to get her thumb out of her mouth and also because she's always a little mad.

Also, this week we had an amazing discovery (besides the beautiful garage). A bird's nest under our deck. Everyone was so excited, but for some reason I was the most excited. It was so circular and neat and organized and everything I am trying to build for my household but can't seem to do. That bird mom knows what she's doing. I bet her blog pictures are always in order.

And then we had Gwen reach up and try to take a few pictures of it. I'm telling you--a child took these photos and that's why they look so bad. As far as the rest of my photos and their general state of blurriness and off centered-ness, I'm just trying my best here.

More house projects in the works? We are discussing having a fence built in our backyard because we kind of share a wide open space with several neighbors. We are "on the fence" (I should do stand up) about whether we should break up the big, beautiful space or not. It's fun that everyone plays together and has more space. But also, I do love my privacy, and Harris wanders off and it's stressful constantly monitoring his roaming ways. One of the big cons staring us in the face is that we have a large easement on our property for a water line. It doesn't disturb one half of the yard, but the other half (pictured below) is really disrupted because of it. I mean, look how close the fence would be to the deck. We're mulling it over.

I loved reading the account of Alma and Korihor in the Book of Mormon this week. I see examples of Korihor's arguments against the existence of God all of the time. It strengthened my testimony to know that these arguments have been around for thousands of years, and it also helped me to read Alma's testimony of the reality of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. The Book of Mormon is a huge blessing to me, and I'm grateful for the insights I receive from it as I read it daily.

The End. Unless you want to admire that garage picture one more time. I may just go do that.

Fourth of July.

The Fourth of July means a lot to me. I love my country. I've always loved reading about our history, specifically the courageous men and women who made sacrifices during wars. The stories give me chills. There are also stories that bring another kind of chills. We have evil in our past too. This year has been a good reminder for me that we cannot turn a blind eye to the imperfections of our country. But I also believe we cannot turn a blind eye to our greatness. I'm becoming more committed to the principle that I need to do my part to honor my country by being a good citizen and a good neighbor.

So I enjoy remembering my great heritage as an American on the Fourth of July. I also remember the great heritage I have as Doug Beck's daughter. My father died 10 years ago on the Fourth of July. I'm very proud to be Doug Beck's daughter. He gave me such a unique perspective on so many things. There are many times I'm sorting through an issue in my mind and I ponder on the question--What would Doug Beck's take be on this? He joked a lot. Too much maybe. I'm like that too. Sometimes Dan asks me a question and before I can respond, he says "Can we just jump to your third answer because I know the first two are going to be jokes."

But my dad could also deliver a serious, eloquent answer that came from his serious study on various subjects. He was well-read and well thought out. He truly loved learning, and he was great at getting along with lots of personalities. He was faithful to the Lord every single day. He was an amazingly good missionary. I want to honor my dad by raising my children right and remaining faithful to the Lord.

We had a great Fourth. My neighbor had a bunch of fireworks that were purchased for a show that was canceled due to COVID. So he set them off in a field down the way from all of our houses and we could each watch from our respective yards. I didn't take pictures because it was dark, but it was a really nice day. But my kids went to bed at 11, and we are paying for it today. No one wanted to get up this morning, and Harris was already back in bed before we had our family Sacrament Meeting at 9:30 a.m. Early bedtime tonight!

Beck gave Independence Day a whole new meaning when he took his first steps on that very day, not to be repeated since.

Okay, now my blog is doing this weird thing where it's erasing my photos as I use them so these are not going to be in order.

Church today. Like I said, Harris was already done for a nap, as was Beck. Which was a major bummer because Harris was the "blue" for our red, white and blue photo. Yet another photo plan thwarted by these kiddos. No one cares about my amazing ideas.

Were you a Star Crunch fan growing up? Decided to give the kids a sample of my favorite dessert as a kid. They don't seem appetizing to me anymore, but the kids loved them.

A new level of vanity for me. I took this picture to look at later because I swear everyone else looks better in their masks than I do.

Also, I'm thinking of painting my door a new color. I'm not a decorator, so I'm asking for opinions. Send me your votes. Also, shutters on the big windows on the left? Submit your ideas, and the committee will review them. Thank you.

On Monday, we went on a walking trail and my nature gals found a toad and of course picked it up. And then it peed on them, and then June dropped it, and then the toad scampered away. I may file this idea away for future use.

And of course June lost ANOTHER tooth. Five holes in her mouth right now.

And this is just pure genius. Dan and I had to take our van to get Pennsylvania tags, which meant all of the kids came along for the ride. Dan and I took turns running inside to sign the paperwork. While I was inside signing, the kids were reaching a whole new level or bored so Dan rigged up one of our masks to be a slingshot, and it filled up several minutes with fun and happiness. Dan is so good at stuff like this. I just make the kids memorize the Bible when they're bored.

Happy Fourth to you and yours!

The End.

Not much.

I hardly have any photos from this week and the hour I usually reserve for blogging on Sundays has been obliterated by Harris unplugging the internet (while Dan was teaching a Zoom lesson to the Young Men in our ward) and then having to restart my computer, and then my computer forcing me to let it make updates. So time is short.

And I'm back. Didn't know I was gone? We had another catastrophe, and I was helping a sad baby for the past twenty minutes. I know have negative 3 minutes to blog. Luckily, it's been a boring(er) week at our house.

June let me pull another tooth out. She lets them wiggle forever, and it grosses me out. But the problem now is that she's missing four teeth in a row up top. Watching her eat corn on the cob is like a Discovery Channel episode.

Do you need a good quote? Boom, I took a screenshot for you. This is a Christian homeschooling mom I follow, and she just has good things to say. Every week I'm amazed at the ease and yet profundity of her words.

Kapow. As an extremely emotional person, I found this quite helpful. 

Church today.

Jumping.

Acting like a horse.

More horse.

Up close and personal horse.

The End.

Father's Day 2020

We're that type of family who goes all out for first birthdays. Which is exactly why, a couple of days after Beck's birthday (which had up to that point been uncelebrated), I decided to whip up a cake from a box and announced that we would be having Beck's impromptu birthday party in an hour. Okay, so I'm a bit of a failure at first birthdays (and many other birthdays) but I did add a pudding packet and a cup of sour cream to the cake mix in order to make an extraordinarily good cake mix cake, complete with coconut pecan frosting.

Most of my babies have been overwhelmed by cake. They haven't understood how to go about eating it. Beck is his mother's baby and dove right in.

A few facts about 1-year old Beck:

He just learned how to go down the stairs. This picture doesn't help illustrate that because you can't tell if he is going up or down. So you'll have to believe me--he's going down.

He's teething. And when he's teething, he bites.

He's a fantastic sleeper but during wake time, he is very attached to me. Though I know it's only a matter of time until he goes the way of the other kids and turns on me. Traitors, all of them.

The summer escapades continue. The girls went to gymnastics camp this week. I forgot to take pictures, but here they are after camp one day, still in their leotards.

Also there has been a lot of jumping on the trampoline with nice older neighbor girls who insist they like playing with little kids. I was not that kid myself so it's hard for me to believe, but they are so genuinely nice. Love it.

And there is a man in our neighborhood with the largest dog I've ever seen. We call him the Bear Dog. And every time this neighbor and dog are out for their morning or evening walk and my kids happen to notice, they scream "BEAR DOG! BEAR DOG!" and run outside to greet them. And the man always waits, and the dog immediately lies down and lets the kids say hi. Sometimes multiple times a day. They are really nice.

Here's my attempt to capture the moment through a screened window while also holding the aforementioned super-attached, super-teething baby.

By the way, that cranky baby I keep mentioning is now on my lap. So this is about to go "lightening round" style. 

Harris found a millipede this week (for sure a millipede and not a centipede--I looked it up) and it was our pet for a couple of days. My kids really want a pet. 

And yesterday, I captured this sweet moment of Dan and Harris mowing the lawn.

And today is Father's Day. We are so lucky to have fathers. I'm especially grateful for Heavenly Father, my own father Doug Beck and my husband, Dan the Man Jolley.

About a month ago, I came across a box of pictures I didn't know we owned. There were tons of pictures from Dan's childhood. So this morning, I woke up early and taped them to all of the walls in our living room area. It was enjoyable because there are some real gems. Like the following:

Dan was half delighted and half horrified at what I had done. He's a good sport though.

For our Sacrament meeting today, the girls gave talks I had helped them prepare about the role of men in our lives. They also sang the children's song "Daddy's Homecoming" complete with hand actions.

For dinner we are having knock off Cafe Rio and Dan's favorite dessert. I don't know what its true name is, but it has the layers of pudding and cream cheese with a crust made from pecans. Not my favorite but I guess it's not my day.

Happy Father's Day, Dan! We love you. Yes even Harris, who doesn't look loving in these photos. And even Beck, who was taking a nap.

The End.