Our Story: The Bell Family

Mark is still in the thick of things with school! He’s learning to balance school work and his research. He also took a day to go to Blackfoot to help his dad dig a cellar. He enjoyed running the tractor and backhoe.

Flynn went to the groomer this week. It’s certainly not his favorite activity, but he looks really cute after!! He’s also enjoyed playing with some of the kids in our ward. He’s pretty timid around dogs, but kids are his best friends!

Wednesday evening Mark and I drove down to Murray to hear my social scientist heroes as a celebration of my graduation (and a fun date). John and Julie Gottman have studied marriage relations for 40 years and have made incredible findings and written excellent books. John can watch a couple interact and predict with more than 90% accuracy if their marriage will last– so they really do know their stuff.

We didn’t arrive as early as we had planned, and apparently the people hosting the event also had not planned very well. There was a massive line to get in the building and they just had to start the event late.

We saw a comedy group from BYU, heard from one of the Gottman Institute therapists (Laura Heck), and then heard from the Gottmans.

My biggest take aways from the conference were:

1- find ways to have fun and play with your spouse.

2- don’t fall into a routine with the types of dates you do. Trying new activities releases the same hormones that are released when you are falling in love so doing new things together can strengthen your bond.

3- dream together, and unify in working for that dream.

4- money represents different things to different people (security, freedom, fun, etc). Disagreements about money aren’t really about the money, but about what it represents.

5- conflict in marriage causes physical changes in children. (This could even partially account for the rise in ADHD in children). Parents can buffer against affects by helping children learn to identify and manage their emotions.

6- “When your partner is upset, the world stops and you listen.”

We received a copy of the Gottmans’ new book “Eight Dates,” and we are excited to go through it together.

Early Sunday morning we dropped Flynn of at my parents’ house and headed to Blackfoot to say goodbye to Mark’s little brother, Steven. Steven will leave on his mission to Sierra Leone next Wednesday! We’re definitely going to miss him! It was wonderful to hear his testimony in church and then to enjoy dinner with family after.

Sunday was a very rainy day (of course it was also the day I decided to straighten my hair) which was a little scary for driving, but fun because it reminds me of Florida. That evening we got totally soaked running from our apartment to our car!

Monday we had huge hail! Luckily not while we were walking to or from campus.

Mark is still pretty swamped with homework, and I’m keeping busy with VIPKID, WebAIM, and piano lessons! We did have a potluck with the WebAIM team this week which was fun because I usually don’t get to socialize with everyone during my work hours.

We took Friday afternoon to go to the temple. We ended up being the only ones doing sealings. It was fun to talk to the sealers. We went out for lunch afterwards to celebrate Wife Appreciation Day (which is on Sunday, but Mark decided to make it last all weekend). I’m sure grateful for such a wonderful husband!

I also got my graduation pictures from my friend! Here are some of my favorites:

We enjoyed having Labor Day to spend together. I taught piano, we went shopping, and we went to Pizza Pie Cafe with my brother Jarin and his family. We spent the rest of the day relaxing and watching movies.

It was only the second week of school, but Mark was pretty swamped with homework! He talked to his professor about the possibility of studying the predators who attack duck nests next year. That could include skunks and raccoons. His professor seemed quite pleased to see Mark’s interests and drive.

This week was the case lot sale so we bought enough canned goods to replenish our food storage! I get oddly excited about these sales, but they are really helpful for saving money and maintaining or food storage!

My highlight of the week was helping with a primary baptism for a darling little girl. It’s so fun to see the kids excited for their special day and to feel the spirit there.

USU began school this week. Mark has nine credits again. He has an online class about map making, a class on campus about the natural resources statistics software, and he will earn the last 3 credits completing research. He is working so hard in this graduate program!

He is taking an institute class, with his sister Julie, from one of our favorite teachers–Brother Jacobs. The class in on repentance and forgiveness. I’m sad I wasn’t able to make the timing of that class work in my schedule. Mark and I are taking an institute class called “The Gospel and World Religions” together on Fridays. We are looking forward to taking a class together. We met some really nice students in the class this week. We sure felt old when they told us they graduated high school last year!

The institute gives out free t-shirts, and Mark got a small. It was too small! We had our niece, Tanya, pick up a medium so we could trade.

Monday night we had another couple over for dinner. I graduated from high school with Tyler and Andrea is in my presidency. We had so much fun visiting, and I love planning and preparing meals for visitors. Flynn loved all the attention from new friends.

This week my supervisor at WebAIM was out of town. Gratefully everything went smoothly. I successfully answered questions of students, enrolled new students, and created receipts for payments. I enjoy the work when there are things to do. It has been quite slow this summer, but it’s looking like things are picking up. I was also able to donate blood this week. I like to donate, but haven’t been for some time now. The person taking my blood explained that I haven’t been exposed to a specific virus which makes blood unsafe for babies. I’m part of only about 10% of the population who hasn’t had this virus, so that’s good motivation to keep donating.

Friday night we met Mark’s parents, Grandpa, and Julie and Kaden in Richmond for dinner. It’s always nice when we can just sit and visit with them! Mark got to spend time with his dad and brother, Steven, on Saturday. Mark drove to Blackfoot so they could spend time together before Steven leaves on his mission.

While Mark was gone, I did some projects at home including making peach raspberry freezer jam. I also took advantage of having time to rest. I’ve been very tired this week with everything going on! I was also excited to receive a darling letter from one of my Chinese students. To make it even more fun, she also received the letter I mailed to her! Teaching English sure is early, but my students have become friends and I love interacting with them!

Sunday evening we had a party to celebrate my graduation with the Murray family. Everyone brought a plate of cookies to share, and we had a great time visiting.

We’ve also been trying new recipes from the cupcake cookbook I got for my birthday. This week we made blackberry white chocolate cupcakes!

Mark attended a graduate student orientation/retreat Wednesday through Friday. They spent the first night in Bear Lake, and then moved to Tony Grove. They heard from several professors, who talked about their areas of expertise. He didn’t appreciate the alcohol present, but he did enjoy meeting new professors and students.

While he was gone, Flynn did a great job keeping me company. He’s learned to sleep quietly at my feet when I’m teaching English. We were able to join my parents for dinner one night. My dad taught Flynn how fun it is to play fetch with a cucumber.

Mark finished his research with duck nests this week!

Tuesday I was brave and chopped my hair off! I’m still getting used to it, but it is fun to have something different. My niece, Tanya came with and got her hair cut too by our favorite hair dresser, Gaylene. After that I took Tanya to campus. We found all her classrooms and bought her textbooks for her first semester at USU. We had a lot of fun!

Wednesday evening I had a graduation photo shoot and we had some family pictures taken. I will share those when I get them back from my friend, Taylor! In the meantime- look how cute Flynn is!

Friday night we had our traditional backyard camp out. That’s really my favorite kind of camping, haha! We set up our tent in my parents’ backyard and stayed up late watching movies on our laptop. It was so nice to see the stars and hear the crickets.

My parents made us (including Flynn’s non-seasoned egg) a delicious breakfast in the morning.

Mark went flying over the Great Salt Lake again on Thursday. He had a great time! This time they counted all the birds they could see, but they mostly saw seagulls. The highlight of his adventure was landing on a dirt road. He was so impressed by the pilot’s abilities. Mark will now be doing these flights once a month.

The Cache County fair was this week! I earned blue ribbons on all three of my entries. I entered baby socks with crocheted beads, Gingersnaps, and currant jelly. It was a lot of fun to walk around the fair Thursday evening with Mark’s sister and brother in law. We also went Saturday morning for breakfast burritos with my parents.

Wednesday was my last day at my fieldwork site! I was able to facilitate their Parenting with Love and Logic course. I love the class and the participants were fun, so it was a great way to end my 40 hour internship!

On Thursday I quickly wrote my final paper, and Friday I edited and submitted it! This paper was an overall summary of the things I’ve learned and accomplished while working on my Master’s. I learned more about family relations, a lot about understanding research, and I learned to better prioritize my time! I’m very grateful for the support I’ve received while doing grad school the past two years! Thank you Mark, Mom, & Dad! 🙂

This week flew by! It was full of research for Mark and internship and work for me! I taught some new students with VIPKID. A lot of my regular students are traveling so I had more openings than I do usually. A couple weeks ago, one of my favorite girls sent me a letter. It was so fun! She asked me to be her pen pal!

Friday another companion came to visit me! I went to Old Grist Mill with Jessica, her husband, and their daughter. We had a lot of fun catching up!

On Saturday, Mark’s dad came to Logan with his new side by side. We haven’t had time to go up to try it yet. Mark, his dad, and his brother had a great time riding around in Logan canyon.

During that same time I helped with a baptism for a little girl in our ward, and I spent more time writing grants for my internship.

Monday and Tuesday were regular days for us, but on Wednesday and Thursday we got a MUCH needed mini vacation!! We began Wednesday morning going to North Logan’s 24th of July parade. I grew up going to this parade every year and it is so fun to go with Mark now.

That afternoon we headed up Logan canyon to another place full of favorite childhood memories- Tony Grove. Flynn was in heaven sniffing the new smells and enjoying the cool air. We ate the best food and walked around the lake.

Thursday morning Mark and I went fishing with my dad. The fish must have been hungry because we caught our limit quite quickly. We were in charge of breakfast and managed to forget the tortillas for our breakfast burritos. The hash browns and eggs were good though. Mark’s shoes were falling apart and I don’t love steep hikes so Mark worked on a leather project and I took advantage of down time and had a nap while everyone else went hiking. It was so nice to relax! Then we all headed down to the lake!! Flynn tried swimming for the first time. He did well, but didn’t want to go out on his own. We ended the day around the campfire with a fireside message from my dad about our spiritual fires.

We came home Thursday evening and went back to work Friday morning. After I worked on campus my mission trainer and best friend, Ashley came to visit! She lives in Arizona so we don’t get to see each other much, but she, her baby, sister and mom were all in Utah for the holiday!! We went to lunch, introduced them to Flynn, shopped at the DI, and ate Aggie Ice Cream. It was wonderful to be with my friend who’s example and love has changed my life!

Saturday was my birthday! It really was a fun week! Our planned hike got rained out, but I taught some darling students. Several even told me happy birthday! Mark was my hero and went grocery shopping while I was teaching so we could just have fun together. We had cake at my parents’ house and I was spoiled with presents from family and friends! We ended the day watching Annie. Somehow Mark had never seen it, but he liked it!

There wasn’t much out of the ordinary this week! Mark spent every day doing research and I spent everyday doing work and school! We had been planning to visit Mark’s family one day during their family camp, but sadly we ended up having too much to do here.

Mark’s professor, Dr. Conover, has given us a ton of cherries from his trees! We’ve enjoyed eating and drying those.

Saturday I helped sell hot dogs at discount tire for part of my internship hours. The proceeds went to The Logan Family Center. I also finished up doing preschool prep work and began applying to grants for them. After a lot of tries, on Saturday I finished my video PowerPoint presentation! That means we can have some fun next week!

It’s been pretty hot–even with our portable air conditioner. I felt bad for Flynn so I threw some ice cubes in the bathtub for him to play with! He also loves playing chase as I mist him with a spray bottle. I can’t believe we have had him a whole year! He brings so much cuteness and happiness to our home!