First Day of School 2024

 I love the first day of school, sure I cry a little every time, but the excitement in the air is dense with nostalgia and I’m all for it. 

Our family theme this year is to Choose Good. We want to focus on choosing the harder right instead of the easier wrong. We have been incorporating the “For Strength of Youth” into our daily lives more and I’ve been very strengthened and inspired by that.

Here’s to another great school year!

Johnny is going into 8th grade. He is a part of Leadership and so he gets to be involved with orientation and running assemblies. He is playing the French horn instead of the trumpet this year. I can’t believe it’s his last year of middle school!

Matthew is starting third grade in Mr. William’s class. He was most excited to see his gang “The Bananas” at recess.

William is in Mr. Johnston’s 5th grade class. His last year of elementary school! I can’t wrap my head around that. He is growing up so fast!

Cate the sophomore! With one year of high school under her belt, this year has felt more calm and I’ve loved seeing her more confident walking into the school year. She knows her place at her school and has a great group of friends.

Yosemite

 From the airport in LA, we drove our crew to meet up with the Neville’s and explore Yosemite. It was breathtaking and majestic. A total highlight of the summer. I’m so glad we made it happen and it was a blast spending time with the Neville’s! 

Nickelmania and other Partridge Favorites

 There are a few things my parents are known for with my kids when we come visit:

1- My parents held on to all our toys when we were younger, so the boys disappear into the basement and play with all the retro toys.

2- my mom has a special pillowcase for each child with their name sewn on them and everything. (Cate and Johnny love having their own room.)

3- my dad’s book recommendations. He always has great selections and ideas of what the kids would want to read, and Cate and Johnny will stay up late in their rooms reading every night (I think this trip Cate will have finished an entire 7 book series!) He also watches a movie or two with us.

4- my mom’s cooking. She creates these multi dish meals that that taste amazing. She sets the table beautifully, with treats matching the theme at everyone’s place. 

5- nickelamania. As soon as there is a break in my Dad’s schedule we rush over and each of the kids get 5.00 to play arcade games. 

6- Macey’s king cones- they are humongous soft serve cones (think 8 inches tall.) The are amazed by this. 

7- we go to the saltwater taffy factory and everyone chooses 15 taffy’s in all the odd flavors available.

8- we love all the fun parks close by to my parents and try to hit them up in the mornings and evenings to burn energy.

9- my mom will take us thrifting, and the kids love it. She has incredible taste and a good eye for quality brands and valuable purchases. It is so much fun. 

One of favorite tradition when we visit my parents is going to the local nickel arcade. We have so much fun playing the games and earning tickets. I love playing all the old pinball games particularly. Matthew and my dad often are found in the car style games shooting pirates or zombies. William and Johnny competed on every arcade game they played and that was fun. Cate loves the king fu panda game and playing Deal or No Deal with my mom. Emma was absolutely obsessed with the merry- go-round and it was really delightful for me to play with her the whole time.

Pioneer Day in Utah

 Every Summer I prioritize a trip to visit family in Utah. This year, we were there for Pioneer Day! Utah hosts many Days of ‘47 celebrations throughout July including rodeos and parades to honor when pioneers entered the Salt Lake Valley. Back in the late 1970’s, my mom was chosen to be the Days of ‘47 Queen! There is an entire scrapbook of newspaper clippings and pictures of her speaking at firesides and attending all the different events. I think it is such a fun piece of her life story. Have had pioneer ancestry, not to mention belonging to a church that was built upon the sacrifices of pioneers, I really value this holiday. On the 21st, my mom took us to an expo center that had all the floats on display for the big parade. They were truly incredible and my kids were in awe at the workmanship each showed. There were some spiritually themed floats that filled really touched me. There was an entire replica of the Jordan River Temple (where I received my endowment.) Just very massive floats. 

Last night on thr 24th, we all went to bed at a decent time, but the fireworks were incredibly loud and unrelenting. I snuck to Johnny’s room and asked if he wanted to watch them out my window. He had a better idea. From his window we could lay across the bed and stick our heads outside and see fireworks on both sides. We excitedly pointed out the beautiful fireworks on boths sides. Suddenly the back yard reflected bright light from fireworks being lit from the front of the house. Johnny and I rushed to my bed room and we flew open the blinds and William joined us, as my parents’ neighbors set off huge Ariel displays. Emma sat up and also watched with us, pointing in excitement toward the sky. It was such a sweet and meaningful memory to me and one I really will cherish to have shared with Johnny and later William and Emma. 

Other pictures from the day: