The past, the present, and the future.

Hey everyone! Here are some things we did this year that were super fun, and really awesome. Spring Break- 2012 for spring break this year we went to the Oregon Coast. It was mostly cold and wet, but everyone still loved it. We stayed in yurts for the first three nights, a cabin the fourth, and we decided to visit our old friends in Lewiston the last night. It was so fun. Some highlights of the trip include going to a light house, visiting an old museum that was all about old cargo ships,seeing seals that were less than 20 feet away, and getting to walk around and under some huge, magestic waterfalls!

A hilarious story, probably the funniest story of our trip, is one of a seven year old boy who loves the beach. The story procedes as the following. Landon, the youngest member of our family, loved walking along the beach. He, Braden, my dad and I would always go looking for seashells, usually after meals. We could go often in this one particular area because our yurt was right by the beach. So, one morning after we had all gotten ready for the day and showered, my little brothers, my dad and I all went down to the beach. While we were there we came up with a game called wait for the waves to come and then run out of their grasp. So while we were playing a particularly large wave came and Landon didn't know where to run. It was too fast. So what he did is climg onto a rock that stood one inch above the ground and wait for it to pass. Well he probably would have been ok if he hadn't decided to make a run for it at the last second. so, as you imagine, the wave knocked him down. As he was getting up another wave washed over him. In the end, my dad ran out to get him, for he could not help himself. It was sad because it was already cold in the morning and he had just gotten soaked! He was shivering as we all tried to hold in our laughter. I feel bad, but it was so funny! He showered and we made hot cocoa. What a morning that was!

Ready or not, hear I come!

Hey everybody! Sorry that this blog is outdated. That is about to change. The new publisher/writer of this blog is..... me, Weslie! My mother is way too busy to do it and I thought it would be a fun thing to do in my spare time. So if there is ever bad grammar, or spelling, it's because a teenager is in charge of the blog. Hope you enjoy hearing about the Pugh's because ready or not, here I come!

I'm going to try and keep up my blog again. It will not be easy but my desire and goal is to learn more about blogging! Anyone out there know much about blog graphics? I've been exploring many teacher blogs and feel terribly inadequate!! There are some seriously cute blogs out there. The Pugh Crew has been busy! Kendall has moved out of our home, Kaylee is graduating with her RN in Dec. AND getting married in August! AND I'm going full-time!! Many of you will understand the chaos within my heart as I enter this stage of life, many of you won't (bless you!). I will just post right now that I struggled oh so deeply to go to work full-time. My first and greatest love is to be home with my children. I'm seriously a happier individual when I am. I also am more creative and able to help others around me more. I will miss having the time to do these things but will plant my feet forward and go forth to do what I have received revelation to do. My new motto is "Be a better person today than you were yesterday!" So far, I'm gaining ground as I've learned so much the last several years from various struggles in my life. I'm so grateful for learning experiences. If my life had gone as I had planned it, I know I wouldn't be the kind of person I am today so... I'm grateful. For those of you out there who still check my blog, I hope you are finding the same growth.

A return to old values...

I haven't been on the blog for ages. I know how much I enjoy reading about my family and friends so I made it a goal to be better about keeping up this blog. It's a GREAT way to keep in touch. IF any of you family and friends are STILL out there reading... thanks for your love and support!!

2011

I started out faithfully blogging then laxed to once a month, I hope I don't end up blogging once a year. What happens in life? I fondly remember thinking how much life would be easier once the kids were old enough to dress and bathe themselves. A good friend of mine who had 8 kids smiled and patiently waited for me to glimpse what her life was like. I am now in the stage she was in at that time and again, I find myself thinking of how much easier life must be when the kids are married and I retire??! I don't want to live for tomorrow. I want to enjoy every second of every minute of TODAY!! I also have a bit more wisdom now to know that life just accelerates and the gaps are filled to the rim. What a rich life! I'm grateful for the old adage: "The older you get, the more you realize how little you know!"

Here's to all of you for this new year of 2011. May it be one of learning, loving, laughing, and lifting. If you logged on to see pictures of our fun Christmas and the New Year's celebrations . . . You will have to wait until I can download my camera which may be in 2012 at the rate life is taking me... I promise to try harder BUT I hope if you took the time to view my blog and read, you will smile and feel uplifted. Happy 2011 Everyone!!

The slacker returns . . .

OK - I know our lives have now jumped from June to November. How does that happen??!? Most of you aren't asking because like me, you are just now adjusting to writing 2010 on your checks and in less than 2 months you will have to adjust to writing 2011. OR perhaps you are not writing checks anymore??! Technology can really change a person's life.

Rather than try to catch you up on all that we've accomplished in the last several months. I will share a brief summary of the summer's events - we will then leap into November where we should be. I had to share pictures as it was Kaylee's last summer with us. We took advantage of every moment!

July: Camping, YW Girl's Camp, hike to Naomi Peak, Park City with Whit's family

August: Whit and I celebrated our 20th Wedding Anniversary! Whit's weblos hike to hidden lake, Youth Conference in Salt Lake City (I went with the 4 older kids), The Dinosaur Park, Waterskiing at Bear Lake, Jackson Hole with Jack & Terri, School Starts!!

September: Braden's baptism, took Kaylee to BYU-I, football games and dances, basketball starts for Weslie

October: UEA, The Children's Museum and the prophet's graveyard, Kaylee visits (yeah!), The pumpkin walk, corn maze

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Summer's off with a BANG!

OK - it's already three weeks into summer and we (or I should say "I") haven't been home!! What's wrong with this picture?? The first week of summer was spent moving all my classroom stuff and cleaning up then going to a training seminar for our new reading program (can't wait!). That weekend we took off up to Benjamin's (my brother Brett's oldest child)baptism in Yakima, WA. We met up with my parents and nephew in Mountain Home and had a fun road trip. The scenery was wonderful. When we lived in Lewiston, I had to brag about the drive north - once you get PAST Boise. Kaylee and Kendall headed up to Rock Springs, WY to help Grandpa Jack (Whit's dad) with renovations on Ray's (Jack's father-in-law) house so they did not come with us but they had quite a bit of fun as well.

After Yakima, we headed to Lewiston, ID early in the morning so we could attend sacrament meeting with our old ward. It was so fun to see everyone and we were able to stay for a day and visit with our friends. On our drive home, we just had to take the old road we used to travel so often that goes through McCall and follow the Salmon River. Talk about a river being high!! There were places where the rapids were quite high. It was exciting to see and we miss floating the river with our youth group but not this year!!

We got home from this trip, did some laundry, then we headed up to Park City, UT to spend some time with Whit's mom and step dad. His step dad had been in the hospital for a month so we were so grateful that they were able to spend time with us and that he is doing better. We enjoyed good food, games, and just being together.

Back from Park City, off to Stansbury Park for Davis' farewell!! He's off to Nicaragua!! You better write us bud!

This week I participated in a seminar called NUPATHS. It's funded by the federal government to help teachers master social studies curriculum (esp. US History). It was spectacular! I learned so much about our history, some of which you won't find in textbooks. If I could be a professional student for life, I would. I love learning, discussing, and creating. We also have been quite American by attending baseball and softball games for the kids. You gotta love this cooler weather for those games!

We hope you all are having a terriffic summer! We would love to just travel and spend time with you all. We're there in spirit AND our door is always open to you --that is ... IF we are home!

PS - PICTURES TO COME LATER!!!

Memorial Day

For the past couple of years we have gone with our scout pack to the Logan Cemetery the Sat. before Memorial Day to put flags on the graves of veterans. This has been a wonderful experience for our family as we honor those who have fought for our freedom. As we look for the tombstones that are marked as veterans, we find out many interesting things. This year we found a grave for someone who had come through with the Martin Handcart Company. There is also a famous poet buried there and a whole section for infants who have died. One woman is surrounded by 6 children who had all died within a couple of months of their births. The kids get very reverent and the desire to touch tombstones with your finger is amazing. We also look at dates and find dates of our own birthdays.

I took my 4th grade class there this year as part of a UT history unit I taught. The kids went on a "scavenger hunt" to find certain dates and the graves of some key historical members in our community and state. These students loved this activity and held the same respectful behavior. A few students cried as they came to the baby section of the cemetery. It was a neat experience to see fourth graders pondering the meaning of life and respecting those who have left a legacy behind them.

One down and five to go!

Just like that ... Kaylee stepped across a platform and she was done . . . GRADUATED from High School. Some moments in life are literally a BLINK and a catch of the breath. I was battling a cold so it wasn't productive for me to get emotional on the day of her graduation but I'm very certain that I will get emotional the day we drive off and leave her at college. I've heard tell that once your oldest child starts leaving home, the rest follow quickly. Some days I wish I could freeze time. Perhaps this same sentiment inspired the invention of the camera. For those of us who are sentimental, this is one of the best inventions of all time.

Here's to you Kaylee Ann Pugh!!! May the future bring you closer to your dreams and may all your experiences lead you to fulfill the potential you hold within. (Being the ever great optimist you are ... this won't be too difficult!)

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LIONS!

The month of April came in like a lion and is leaving like a lion (SNOW!!). You gotta love Northern UT! I think the whole month should be dubbed 'LION' as that best sums up the pace of things in the Pugh household this month.

We started the month with our good friends, the Bernatz's (from Lewiston, ID)! We were so excited to have them come visit and planned out our festivities for weeks in advance. Unfortunately, the plans were dashed by the weather and our 9 inches of snow. It still turned out great and we enjoyed every minute. Unfortunately again, we got sick the night before they were to leave (SIX of us throwing up at once!). Needless to say, they left in a hurry the next morning. Hope none of them got sick. This was the start of our Spring Break!

Luckily, we recovered and the weather cleared so we headed south to spend some time in the sun with my parents in St. George. Kendall drove us down thus completing his 50 hours of driving time for his license. I always say that if they can drive fine through the Salt Lake traffic and construction, they are ready! This doesn't do miracles for my high blood pressure however!

Our next big event was Junior Prom. The girls and I spent that day in Tooele at Mandy's bridal shower (my oldest niece). We got home in time to make dinner for Kendall's group. They had a lot of fun.




Weslie's performance with the Cache Children's Choir was next. Craig Jessop directed the choir and it was fabulous. They presented songs from around the world.

Shannon and Kaylee sang in church. As I listened, I realized how much we will miss Kaylee when she leaves for college in Sept. Luckily, BYU-ID is not too far for us to visit. The girls all sponsored a girl's camp fundraiser. We baked goodies and provided all you can eat soup and bread, then the girls provided entertainment. They decided to do a "spoof" using the Lawrence Welk show. They also included Braden and Landon. It was hilarious. I regret to say, I didn't film it. For family coming --- we'll definitely have to re-enact this!

Kaylee's strings ensemble went to state performing Bach's Brandenburg Concerto III. It was spectacular!!! Again, I didn't video tape --- Argh!!! They got the number one score. Her orchestra group also made it to state and will go May 15th.

Finally! Kendall completed his eagle project!! He did a bike rodeo for the elementary schools. It went really well despite the weather and he put so much prep time into it. It was a good learning experience for him as he had to address PTA groups, the fire dept. and the police. Whew!

Oh - I'm just adding to this entry. I've had it typed but haven't downloaded pictures so it has taken a week or so - I'll edit my blog this weekend SO check back.

New item to report --- Weslie got her hair cut to donate it to 'Locks of Love'. It looks really cute.

Marvelous March . . .

Yes - 'Tis True! March is here and before you blink, it will be gone!

We started the month out with special visitors from Lewiston, Idaho! Whitney's crew of friends came down for a "guys" weekend. I made them some Chicken Fried Steak, we visited Aggie Ice Cream and Gossner Dairy, they got a free tour of USU Campus, attended an Aggie B-Ball game (complete with Bill Spoat), and we (they were nice to invite me) saw the movie Sherlock Holmes (loved the movie). It was fun! (A side note - guys need to be alone with guys for it to be a proper "guys" get-a-way!) All you guy readers will know what I mean. As a family we just enjoyed asking the guys about their families and how everyone in Lewiston was doing.
























Something else - we also went to "clean the sink" at Angie's for FHE with some friends, the Haycock family. (This is a local restaurant and the sink is full of ice cream - it's a Man vs. Food Challenge). This is something we've wanted to do since we have moved to Logan. I have a list and we are slowly checking things off as we complete them. Someday perhaps I will share this list with all of you.























I'm also happy to share that I celebrated another year on this planet. It was a fun day of too many sweets to eat and a lot of phone calls from family and friends. A friend at school made me a cute bouquet of sugar cookie shamrocks, all my students were wearing my favorite color, and I had my favorite dessert - mint brownies!! I love having a birthday on St. Patty's Day as we always enjoy corn beef and cabbage, special lime salad, rolls, and lime sherbet floats. Traditions are the marrow of memories! Try it! Whitney and the kids made me a chocolate cake. That made the night complete.

Fabulous February . . .

Time for another update from Pugh-land. This month has been full of fun and frenzy. Here is our latest. . .

Shannon started out the month by turning 14. We tried to stop her but it just happened in the blink of an eye. One minute 13, the next 14! I'm always amazed by this process. She was so happy to enter the age of "Stake dances" (for non-mormons - this is the age you get to attend dances with youth ages 14-18 from around the valley). She attended her first one this last weekend. It was fun sending all three of the older children out the door and having them return full of energy at 11:30 PM. Because of our schedules, we took Shan to breakfast for her birthday. She liked this but prefers dinner.

Kaylee performed for the school musical "Oklahoma!". It was good to get finished up with those 5:45 AM practices (since December). Unfortunately, she is on to state orchestra and is now practicing again at 5:45 AM. We just accept that this is now part of life.

Kendall is finally working on his eagle project. He's doing a bicycle safety rodeo for the elementary schools in April. This is a good step as he has everything but his eagle and we kept telling him it would be a shame to let it slip by. He and Kaylee just went to the sweetheart ball last weekend. We had a day full of teens coming and going, making food, eating food, playing games, and dressing up. FUN!

Weslie finished up her basketball season in Jr. Jazz with Whitney as the coach. She is still the ball girl for the women Aggie team but is looking forward to warm weather to play other sports. She joined the Cache Childrens Choir for a celebration show they will be doing in April. Craig Jessop (Past director of the Mormon Tab. Choir) is leading this choir. Should be a great concert!

Braden started reading the Lightning Thief. I won't let my kids see movies which are based on books until they read the book FIRST! (I know - I'm a meanie!) He is so excited to see the movie. I'm reading the book as well and so far, not bad!

Landon just started reading!! We are so excited for this. He got his sounds down and is in the beginning stages of reading 3 letter words with short vowel sounds. He came to me the other day to demonstrate. I was pleasantly surprised and had to test him by writing some words for him. Now if we can just work on those motor skills and perhaps get him on a 2 wheel bike??!

As for Whit and I, we just keep up and try to stay afloat at work. Whit plays city league basketball and manages to keep up with the younger guys on the court.
I was able to go snow skiing for the first time with my fourth grade class. Weslie's class went as well. It was a lot of fun but I was so sore for a few days!

Happy late Valentine's to all of you. We love you!! XOXO

Only 10 months and 2 weeks to Christmas??!

I'm getting lax in my blogging habits. It's not that I don't WANT to blog, it's just that it has slipped lower in my priority list. I need to rearrange and make time as it is an "outlet" for me and it also allows you (my loyal blog subjects) to keep tabs on the Pughs.

January summed up:
*Return to school (sigh!)
*New Goals - (stay tuned - I may share . . .)
*COLD!!
*Whitney's birthday! (We won't mention numbers because once you hit 30, your birthday becomes just an Anniversary of your 29th!)
Whitney was in Atlanta, GA for his birthday at a conference. He had planned a fun day and the highlight was to be a great NBA game however, his traveling companions had different plans and so he ended up in the airport catching the midnight flight home. Poor guy. The kids and I tried to make up for it but we had to settle for better luck next year.
*The girls had their piano recitals and of course, they were awesome!
*More COLD, COLD, COLD!
*More Basketball, basketball, basketball!

February is here and I must admit after a week of it, I'm ready to return to January!
We had our sweet Shan turn 14! She had a party today and boy are fourteen year old girls rowdy. They had a great time and were very entertaining.

Our dryer went out this week and so we are having fun hanging our laundry around the house. Since it is a gas dryer, it will take a week or two to order one in. Hee-Hee ... with 8 of us, the plot thickens! I get to try my version of "roughing it" OR I may have to find a laundromat!

Yesterday I went skiing with my fourth grade class (my FIRST time ever to snow-ski). Six classes went. Weslie was able to go with my class. This was a blessing as she and my students got me up on the mountain (something I had vowed NOT to do)! It's awful hard to say "NO WAY" to the same students you encourage each day to TRY SOMETHING NEW! Once I got the hang of it, I had so much fun and knew I should quit but just couldn't. Needless to say, I'm sore today in places I didn't know I had! Can you all say Ibuprofen??!

I hope you all are enjoying your year, it's going to go fast and the title is just a reminder of that!

A Christmas without Santa!

This year we propositioned our children for a trip to Disneyland and Sea World in California, the catch --- Santa would not be coming this year as a result. The children didn't take much time to unanimously decide in favor of our proposition. The younger boys and I wrote Santa a letter telling him not to come this year because we would be gone. (He did deliver stockings on Christmas morning to our hotel room).

School ended on the 22nd of Dec. and so we headed out the next day despite threats of snow. We stayed the first night in St. George, UT with my parents then hit the road at 5:30 AM the next day (Christmas Eve) strait to Disneyland. Disneyland is a magical place especially IF you have children to share it with. We loved their oohs and aahhs, the comments were priceless. We had a great time together! We had decided this was the best time to go with the possibility of our children leaving the "nest" looming in the next several months. It was. (A word of advice however to my loyal readers - DON'T go on Christmas!!! It is the busiest day of the year and very, VERY crowded!) The weather was spectacular the whole time we were in California. We couldn't get over the green grass and beautiful flowers everywhere.

After spending three days at Disneyland, we spent Sunday going to church in Los Angelos near the LA Temple. We then visited the temple (I can still smell the flowers!) then we headed to San Diego to visit the temple there.

The next day was spent at Sea World. The kids enjoyed the shows and loved interacting with the sea life.

The following day we went to the San Diego Zoo then visited the national cemetery and finally ended on Coronado Island beach where Whitney and I spent our honeymoon. It was spectacular. We watched the sunset together. I should've known the kids would get wet - it's a given when going to the beach even if it is December!

Needless to say, we were worn out from all the walking but the good thing is we stayed trim doing so and we made memories to last a lifetime. The kids were ready to head home. We spent the next night in St. George again, this time visiting with Scott & Sundy and Kerri & Mark (and kids). The weather was great to return home New Years Eve and we made good time so that we could enjoy a family party of games,videos, and toasting in the New Year 2010 with ginger ale.

I must admit that I missed Christmas at home but would not trade this experience for the world. I feel so blessed to have been able to go and am thankful for supportive relatives as well.

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It's the Final Countdown!

We have a variety of countdown gadgets in our house during this wonderful month of December. There are the usual ones sent home from school - paper chains, glue the ornament on the tree, and color in the picture. The kids have two favorites that are traditional, the life-saver tree and our nativity advent calendar. The problem you run into when you have only two of these and six kids is apparent. Luckily, the teenagers aren't as picky (If it were a money tree or a cell phone minute tree - they'd be well into the competition).

Every year we try to do a number of things to help the kids catch the true spirit of the season. We go to parties, attend concerts, try to drive up to Temple Square, and invite friends over to decorate gingerbread houses. This year seems to have gone by too fast and the weather, although beautiful, hasn't cooperated well.

The kids enjoy re-enacting the Christmas story as found in Luke 2 of the Bible. Here are a few fun pictures of that.
















Now to our favorite family tradition! We have the 25 days of Christmas where, as a family, we sit around the light of a single candle and the Christmas tree and we read a scripture about our Savior and share a story about giving and sacrifice. We sing a song together, pray and blow out the candle. The kids treasure this tradition and we relish the time away from the usual craziness of bedtime and enjoy each other. My sister Kerri also added to that tradition by sewing a banner with 12 little pockets in which are stored little "treats" for the last 12 days of Christmas. I'm so grateful for traditions and for this time of year! I would love to hear from all of you regarding your traditions! In the meantime, Happy Countdown!!

The Giving Tree . . .

Don't you just love the book, The Giving Tree? I love it so much, I translated it into Spanish when I was in High School. Wish I could find where I've filed it!

This is the season for gratitude. I would hope that I can hold such a season in my heart everyday. Some days I'm better at this than others. For now, I will share my most cherished gifts and as I do so, I hear an echo of all of you saying -- YES, me too!

Health!!
A wonderful family - immediate and extended
Freedom
A Beautiful World
An Education
My Testimony of Christ
Forgiveness
and Years and years of experiences which have made me who I am (good or bad)!

Let's also not over-look:

indoor plumbing (and 2 ply TP!)
automobiles
sticky fingers blowing kisses
and these blessed but curse provoking computers!!

November came and is going, going ... go n e ! !



The kids report that all is well. We were able to spend Thanksgiving with Whit's family in Green River, WY. We had a great time. Kaylee, Kendall, and Shannon discovered the fun of crossword puzzles. Weslie, Braden, and Landon felt redemption from having missed trick or treating as grandma had plenty of sweets.
I enjoyed a good book (hoorah! - The Gift by Richard Paul Evans) and Whitney finally got to watch a Dallas Cowboys game as is his favorite thing to do on Thanksgiving. From all of us to all of you --- THANKS for being a part of our lives!!

OCTOBER FEST!!

Oh what do you do in the Autumn time, when all the leaves are . . . red, orange, yellow, and brown???

Just a quick summary again of some of the festivities for October.

We started the month with UEA weekend. I ditched going to the Teacher's Conference and caught up on some bills, school work, and housework so we could go to St. George and spend time with my family. Because it was the BIG marathon there, we couldn't get a hotel so we stayed at my parent's place along with Kerri & Mark and their family (not a very big place - 2 bedrooms). We were literally wall-to-wall people but we had so much fun! Mandy brought her boyfriend Tyler and we enjoyed getting to know him as well. We enjoyed General Conference for our church on television and cinnamon rolls (tradition) along with games and swimming. Quick trip but oh so worth it! We also enjoyed seeing Cove Fort on our way down. (I can now include that in my UT History for my 4th graders!)

We next celebrated Landon's 5th!! I get emotional as I reflect on the circumstances of his birth. Those of you who know us well, know what a miracle he is and why we affectionately call him "chub". He had his McDonald's party as is tradition with all of our children when they turn 5. (HOORAY! - no more McD's parties!!!).


























Kaylee turned 18 the week following Landon!! What an emotional month to celebrate our oldest and youngest within a week! (By the way, she can't really be 18 because I'm not that old!!) We are off to do the college tour this month and then it's scholarships and applications. Any words of sage advice are welcome! Kaylee celebrated her birthday this last weekend by having a Halloween Party here. Whit conveniently was gone to Fresno!









We attended the annual North Logan Pumpkin Walk. This is spectacular! Wish all of you could come and see it. I've included a few pics. Everything is done using squash or pumpkins. They have warm fires, cookies, and displays to fill the park and it's all free.



















We were also able to slip in our annual FHE (Family Home Evening)activity of going to the corn maze. We hurried this year as it was cold! We received a few inches of snow but this week - Ahhh . . . THE SUN!!















Now . . . a picture of the "NEW PUGH" --- It's a Boy! The kids named him Cosmo after much debate. He's a poodle, shitzu mix.