Our Story: The Bell Family

This week Mark went spotlighting Monday night. They only saw five predators. Wednesday they went on a boat to shoot grebes. They dissect these birds to help with their research about the species. He’s still working on finalizing the statistics for his dissertation proposal. He has also been making graphs to show the trends in grebe population.

I was able to attend a kick-off meeting with a new, big client for WebAIM. The meeting was held through Zoom. I’ve been getting more responsibilities at work, and I’m staying very busy.

Our friends helped us discover that Aggie Village apartments have peach trees for the residents to enjoy. We picked a few peaches to eat, and when I saw the peaches were falling off faster than they were being picked I decided to make some freezer jam. We used raspberries from my parents’ yard to make peach raspberry jam. It was delicious.

On Saturday we wanted to do something fun to end the summer. After I taught vipkid, we drove to Brigham city to the bird refuge. We went over spring break, but it looks different now without the snow. It was a beautiful and peaceful morning. We saw a lot of birds. My favorite were the Western Grebes who carry their babies on their backs. They’re very cute! We came home to watch movies, went for a few walks, and got shakes from Charlie’s. It was a great way to end summer break and I think we’re ready for the semester to begin!

P.S. Mark is the BEST husband. He brought me these beautiful flowers when I was having a hard day. I’m so lucky to have him!

My oldest sister came from Southern Utah to visit for a couple days. It was fun to see her and her family.

Mark went spotlighting for predators late Monday night. They saw one skunk and two raccoons. He had a Technical Advisory Group (TAG) meeting this week as well. They discussed how birds affect nutrient cycling in the Great Salt Lake. Mark’s professor gave him a copy of the textbook they wrote a chapter for. It’s Mark’s first published work!

The smoke from wildfires has been really bad this week. I hope it will clear out soon!

Trying new, healthy recipes has become a hobby of mine. This week a friend gave me pasta made from chickpeas. It was delicious! I made a sauce by puréeing a red bell pepper, tomatoes, and garlic. We also tried cooking shrimp in our air fryer. I love making nutritious and delicious meals. Luckily Mark also enjoys eating healthy and is always game for trying something new!

Mark left at 2:30 Monday morning to go backpacking in the Wind Rivers (Wyoming) with his parents. He went a total of 180,000 steps (about 60 miles), climbed 458 floors, and his pack weighed 54 pounds when he started. He enjoyed the beautiful views and catching fish at the many lakes they visited. They were able to visit a lot of lakes they hadn’t been to before. He decided to try sleeping in our hammock and he enjoyed that. One night he was woken up to the sound of a large animal (probably a moose) walking in the lake.

He got home a little earlier than planned on Saturday morning. Flynn and I were so excited to see him.

I planned to keep myself busy throughout the week so I wouldn’t have too much time to miss Mark. I’m not outdoorsy enough for backpacking but I’m happy Mark could do something he enjoys. To stay busy, I did some deep cleaning in our apartment and put in extra hours at work. I taught vipkid classes every evening where I normally only teach Friday night.

This week I got an email telling me I was accepted to teach as an adjunct professor for BYU-Idaho online. I’m very excited they assigned me to teach Parenting and Child Guidance-one of my favorite subjects. I am nervous to figure out this new role, and I expect this first semester will be very busy as I familiarize myself with the course. But being an online adjunct professor has been my career goal so I’m excited to finally get to try it.

On Thursday I was given new-hire paperwork to complete in three days. It was a little stressful finding all the information I needed without Mark’s help, but my parents were so helpful by letting me use their scanner and helping with one part where I needed a second person to view my passport card. I also was very grateful for the help of my second cousin, Ashleigh. I needed a professional picture to submit. With a day’s notice Ashleigh took my picture and edited it beautifully so I could meet my deadline.

In addition to the help I received for my application, I was also grateful for the friends who reached out to help keep me company while Mark was away. It meant so much to know friends were aware of me. One evening I met with my niece Tanya to eat chocolate mousse domes from Kneaders. This week she announced she has decided to serve a mission. I’ll miss having her around but I’m sooo excited for the experiences she’s going to have.

Speaking of missions- our nephew left home MTC and went to Ft. Lauderdale this week. I’m so excited to have another family member serve in Florida! I’ve had two second cousins there and a cousin’s son. I think my family has almost been in every Florida mission now! Jacksonville is my favorite Florida Mission, but I might be a little biased. 🙂

Mark worked early hours every day and was able to finish his nest surveys for the summer! He will go to the refuge a few evenings to spot light for predators, but will mostly focus on analyzing the data. He’s going to have a full work load this semester with his classes and projects.

This week was the national conference Mark was selected to present at. Due to COVID-19 he didn’t get to present in person. Instead he posted his PowerPoint on the conference website for others to read.

Mark spent most of the day Friday helping his parents repair his aunt’s fence. He came home and spent more time finishing off his school work. He works so hard every day! I am very proud of all he does!

VIPKID has been a little slow for me which is odd, but that happens occasionally. I open the times I’m willing to teach but there’s no guarantee they will book (though usually 99% of my slots do get booked by my incredible regular students). President Trump’s announcement that WeChat and TikTok may be banned was sad for me and my Chinese friends. I use WeChat to talk to many of my favorite students and their families. I’m hopeful that the owners of the apps will compromise with the US so we will be able to continue using the apps. But if not, I’ll use email to talk to my friends. I love my friends in China! This week two moms offered to teach me Chinese! I’m not too hopeful that I’ll actually learn the language but it’s fun to know a few words. Another mom offered to let us stay in their home if we come to visit China, and other families want us to come see them and eat dinner with them. I’m not sure if we’ll ever travel that far, but the offers make me feel very loved. I also have several students who want to come to Utah to see me. That would be so fun! Maybe we’ll get some visitors after the virus!

This week I also helped one of my students edit her speech for a national English competition she’ll present in next month. It was so fun to help her and I can’t wait to see how she does!

Our garden continues to produce more than we can eat. I’ve been puréeing tomatoes and freezing them in ice cube trays. I love adding these to soups or spaghetti sauce for a more fresh flavor and it’s a great way to stay on top of our produce. I’ve also been making oodles of zoodles and freezing those too! We’ve had so much fun trying new zucchini recipes. This week we had zucchini lasagna and mini zucchini pizzas with turkey pepperoni.

The county fair was this week. Although it’s one of our favorite summer traditions we decided not to go. We’re still not going to unnecessary events in hopes that we will avoid spreading the virus. I hope things will be back to normal next summer so we can go to the fair every day like we usually do!

A while ago I made a comment to Mark that I wished his sister or our sister in law could make me a really pretty birthday day this year for my golden birthday. They’re both very talented and make gorgeous cakes! Mark took my comment as a challenge to make the best cake. He’s never decorated a cake before but he made me a delicious and beautiful three-layer mint Oreo cake. We enjoyed it with my family Sunday evening.

Monday was my golden birthday!! I wasn’t able to do all the things I had hoped but it ended up being a great day! I taught four vipkid lessons. My students were so sweet to wish me a happy birthday. One 8 year old girl drew me a birthday cake and blew out the candles. Another girl played happy birthday on the piano for me. I absolutely adore my students!!

After teaching I dropped Flynn off at my parents house then returned to my apartment. My 19 year old niece, Tanya, met me to run a 5k. I’ve wanted to do a 5k since I started college (9 years ago-eep!!!) but I’ve never made it. I don’t really enjoy running but I’ve never been successful at sports and just wanted to prove to myself that I could do one thing that’s physically hard. I mapped out a 5k course from my apartment to my parents house. Luckily it was all either downhill or flat. Tanya and I had never run together before but we had a really similar pace and we were able to chat and cheer each other on the whole time. It took us 36 minutes which is actually a really good time for us slow pokes! When we got to my parents house they had made a little finish line with crepe paper to run though and had ice water in fancy glasses and “winner” medals. They also made us crepes for breakfast. It was a perfect start to my birthday.

The rest of the day I mostly relaxed at home. I received a lot of messages from friends and family. My mission trainer, Ashley, had crumbl cookies delivered to me as a surprise which was so fun! Another friend gave me a frozen yogurt gift card which I can’t wait to use! My sister sent me a necklace and my parents gave me a glass water bottle (I’ve been wanting one for a while)!

When Mark got home from work he cooked dinner and gave me his presents. I was especially excited about the copies of The Family Proclamation and The Living Christ. A sister in our ward hand writes the titles in a beautiful script. I’ve wanted some for a while but wasn’t expecting them! He ordered custom made frames for them as well but those haven’t arrived yet. Mark also gave me a new dress, an African violet, new measuring cups, and a cute wallet. We spent the evening watching the live action Aladdin and eating crumbl cookies which was perfect.

Mark has been pouring in extra time at work hoping to finish everything by the end of next week. The week was fairly uneventful except for Wednesday when he noticed the truck was leaking a lot of fluid. Luckily he decided to get off the refuge and back in Brigham city where they had to call a tow truck to give them a ride to Logan.

I’ve been busy with my calling this week. Tuesday I met virtually with the bishop and the counselor over primary to discuss options for a primary program and ways to give out the new emblems of belonging. Thursday evening we had our summer primary activity. My presidency and I stood outside the church with ice cream and popsicles. Families drove by and we handed their ice cream to them in a butterfly net. It was so fun and we even got to meet a couple new families. Flynn liked playing in the ice after!

Two seasonal employees from the bird refuge were assigned to work with Mark for the week. They helped do vegetation surveys to see what characteristics the ducks are looking for in their nesting areas. Mark left extra early every day to make the most of the time he had with additional help. Mark has also been donating plasma twice a week to give us a little extra money. He’s been very busy!

Friday was Pioneer Day. Because it’s a state holiday the university was closed. Mark was able to go to Blackfoot for the day to help his parents with a few projects. I stayed home to help with a primary baptism. It was a challenge to plan a baptism with everything going on, but in the end it all came together. Twenty people were allowed to be present and everyone had to wear a mask. Any other family watched through Zoom. After the baptism the bishopric member and I sanitized everything that had been touched.

Friday evening we were able to go meet my friend’s new puppy. Flynn wasn’t sure what to think of her, but I think he would have warmed up if they had more time together.

Saturday we did a few things to celebrate my birthday! We got food to go from Olive Garden for lunch. In the evening we met up with our friends Jake and Lindie. They brought creamies to share and we sat outside and visited and their kids played with Flynn. I had hoped to have a party with several friends this year for my “golden birthday,” because I haven’t done that since being married, but it was just as nice to have a simple celebration.

Mark and I both took off work on Tuesday! I think it’s the first day I’ve requested off since our trip to Arizona in December. We don’t like to miss work because there’s so much to do and I don’t have the luxury of paid days off. But even one day off gave us a much needed break.

With that day, were able to go visit my family’s camp at Tony Grove. It was just my brothers family and my parents this year. We went up Monday after work and stayed until Tuesday afternoon. That was about the perfect amount of camping time for me, but I think Mark could stay in the mountains all week.

Tony Grove is absolutely beautiful. We fished with my dad (though we didn’t have any luck this year). We did a short hike to “the little tree.” It’s a small tree growing inside a stump that my brother found years ago. Mark and my brother’s Family hiked farther to see a cave. We ate delicious camp food of course. We brought waffle cones to cook marshmallows and candy inside, and we were in charge of pita pizza for lunch on Tuesday. We shot sling shots (Mark was the only person to hit the bullseye). But mostly we just spent time relaxing and visiting. Flynn loves being in the mountains. He practically ran up the mountain on our hike, jumping over logs on the way.

Thursday evening we had family pictures done. I really wanted to get professional pictures this year because we haven’t done that since put wedding. Then my second cousin, Ashleigh, reached out to me- She has felt prompted to begin an affordable photography business. She’s been practicing and learning a lot, but she needed some more people to practice with. It worked out perfectly! We even had two nieces come. They held Flynn’s leash when he wasn’t in our pictures and Ashleigh took some adorable pictures of them as well. I’m so impressed by the pictures she has shown us so far and can’t wait to see them after editing. Here’s one of my favorites:

Mark continues to prepare for the national conference in August. The conference will now be totally online. He will submit his PowerPoint presentation and others attending the conference can watch when convenient. Even though he won’t be traveling for the conference Mark plans to take the entire to Day to watch others presentations. I even told him I could “cater” his lunch. I hope it will still feel like a special experience even though it won’t look how we originally expected.

July 6 is Flynn’s Gotcha Day! We brought him home two years ago. I can’t believe it’s been that long already. He really brightens our days and we’re so happy to have him.

This week was very busy for me at work. We’re offering the course I facilitate for free to certain organizations and groups of people. We had a fantastic response to that offer this week and enrolled more than 200 people. I was able to work extra hours which was great!

Mark is still going strong with his research and preparing for his presentation in August at the national conference. He’s very busy but we find time in the evenings to go for walks or watch a movie.

Mark worked in his office a lot this week because it was rainy and there are so few nests this summer. He is still working on his statistics for his dissertation and getting ready for his presentation at the national conference in August.

Our oldest nephew started home MTC this week!! His mission will look different because of the pandemic, but we know he’s going to be a fantastic missionary. He has so much enthusiasm for sharing the gospel and is beginning to learn Portuguese. He meets with teachers from the Brazil MTC (where he was called to serve) online every day.

We were able to have a picnic with Mark’s sister and her family this week. It was really fun to visit, especially since they’ll be moving back to Idaho soon. We enjoyed sharing more fresh garden vegetables.

Speaking of delicious vegetables, we’re watching our friends’ garden while they’re out of town. They said we could enjoy any produce that was ready while they are away. I made us some delicious zoodles this week thanks to them! I love trying new, healthy recipes. I cooked these with just butter, garlic, and lemon. I added some chicken to help make it more filling.

This week I had a Zoom presidency meeting. We’re planning a social-distance primary activity for the end of the month. We’re going to set up an ice cream shop in the church parking lot. Primary families will drive through and order ice cream. My parents’ ward did this and it sounded really fun! We’re looking forward to it!

Friday morning we participated in a ward parade. My entire presidency was out of town for the holiday so I was grateful Mark was willing and able to come with. We made a mask for our car out of a table cloth and added some balloons and window markers. There were about 7 cars in the parade and there was a decent turn out of people to watch the parade. Those who came to watch were very excited.

Logan city announced quite a while ago that they would not have a firework show due to COVID-19. I decided to teach VIPKID during my regular Friday evening and Saturday morning times since there wouldn’t be fireworks to stay up late for. My lessons had already booked when it was announced that some local businesses would put on firework shows in four cities across the valley. I was a little sad to miss the firework show, but knew I couldn’t teach if I stayed up that late. Mark is such a supportive husband and stayed home with me.

On July 4th we went for a morning jog/walk to the quad on campus. The landscape crew cut the grass to look like an American flag. It was amazing!! I hope they do it every year.

We joined my parents for a bbq lunch. I tried a new cupcake recipe- lemon raspberry with cheesecake filling. They turned out delicious! Mark and I spent the rest of the day relaxing and enjoying some well-deserved down time.

Mark and Flynn had a fun water fight Saturday evening.

We were mostly home on Father’s Day, but were able to join my parents for a little barbecue which was fun.

This week, Mark set up cameras to watch for predators again. There haven’t been nearly as many duck nests this year as there was last year. It’s been too dry.

I’ve been reaching out to organizations similar to the Center for Persons with Disability to inform them about our accessible documents course. So far I’ve only received one response of interest, but it was exciting to enroll a person I helped recruit. hopefully she’ll enjoy the course and refer coworkers.

We’ve enjoyed more garden produce. We picked red potatoes this week! It was our first time growing potatoes so we were excited to taste success (literally, they were delicious). We’ve enjoyed eating fresh peas as well. Flynn has learned to recognize the sound of a pea pod opening. He gets so excited if he thinks he’s getting a veggie treat. He also loves digging in the open patches of our garden. He’s really good to not bother our plants.

Saturday morning we attended a drive by baby shower. We drove up, handed them their present and they gave us a treat. We chatted for just a couple minutes and then we were on our way. It was great! Mark and I decided we wouldn’t mind if some events remain drive-by after this pandemic!

Speaking of the pandemic, Utah has become a hot spot for the rate at which the virus is spreading. Mark and I are doing our best to be careful to not spread the virus. This week Governor Herbert mandated wearing masks when social distancing is not possible.

There’s also continual talk about racial inequality in America. It’s frustrating to see people rioting, hurting others and property. I often find myself often thinking of the Diversity classes I took in college and I’m grateful for the understanding they gave me. These classes taught not to assume my experiences and opportunities are the same as people of different races. I also learned that we must recognize the biases we have about other people. That’s the first step to overlooking a stereotype and seeing an individual.