Saying Good-bye, For Now

I've only missed a couple of days, and not much interesting happened on Tuesday and Wednesday.  Aaron was home on Tuesday and he went to help in the boys' classrooms.  Amy and I went over to Carol's to see if we could help with anything.  Of course she said "no", so I asked her daughter Paula what I could do.  Eventually we found something.  We stayed until almost lunch time, and then had lunch with Aaron at home.  After the boys came home from school Aaron took them to the library and had them help him dump the recycling.  After dinner Aaron had scouts, and the rest of us went to pack meeting. 

Wednesday wasn't much more exciting.  Laundry, and working on the budget.  Amy really enjoyed preschool even though it was a small group this time.  Not too much else happened.  Although Aaron and I stayed up late with David because he wanted to watch a movie.  I joined them after the kitchen was clean and I did a couple of batches of indexing.  They were eating frozen cherries, and I only got 2 :(

Today we said good-bye to a wonderful man, at least good-bye for this life.  I'm sure I'll get a chance to see him in heaven - assuming I make it ;)  It was a wonderful service filled with wonderful music, and beautiful, heartfelt words from speakers close to Lee P*. 

I had hoped to speak with Carol and Rebecca a bit more, but there were so many people there, and many from out of town.  So rather than take time away from their out of town guests, I figured I can go over and visit any time.  I got to be there to say good-bye to Lee, and hear more wonderful stories about a man who was different than the man I knew. 



The kids were out of school so they came too.  Aaron was post call, and he finished rounds just in time to make it.  The boys were well behaved, but Amy was ornery.  Aaron got her to calm down with some M&M's.  Although he did have to take her out once, and so did I.  After the memorial service Aaron had to go back to work.  I wanted to go to the grave site, however the kids didn't.  So we went home instead.  I got together some food for the meal afterward.  Once it was ready we dropped it off at the church, and then went home and got our own lunch ready.

Amy napped after lunch and the kids read until I logged Timothy on the computer and David and continued our Monopoly game that we started the day before.  At 5:00 we had a parent-teacher conference with Timothy's teacher (more on that in another post).  Then we came home to make a simple frozen pizza and chicken nugget dinner.  Aaron arrived home just after we started.  Afterward the rain had tapered off so we went outside and wandered around the yard trying to decide what to do with our garden this year, and possibly putting in some grass on a dirt patch, and adding sprinklers to some lines etc.  After Amy found some puddles to splash in, and Timothy found some mud to sit and dig in we decided it was time to go inside and get ready for bed.  That's pretty much it for now.  If I don't post again soon it's because I'm busy planning an Angry Birds Birthday party for David.  Hopefully it will work out, and I don't get in over my head.  Wish me luck!  PS - sorry I haven't taken any pictures lately.  I should at least take some of the yard as it starts to green up.  We can start watering next week!  Hopefully soon we'll have a really green yard!

Weekend Plans

Friday afternoon I learned that Lee P* had passed away.  I shed a few tears, but honestly I cried more in the two previous days as we learned that he was put on hospice care.  It was a relief in some ways, but it seemed to happen so quickly.  I saw him less than 24 hrs before as he slept with erratic breathing.  He is at peace, and no longer in pain, and for that I am grateful.  He has been reunited with loved ones.  He is happy.  I'm sure the church will be full for his memorial service this week.  Many people are coming from out of town.

As for the rest of the day, mostly we watched some basketball and ate dinner.  Nothing too exciting.  David really wanted to stay up late and watch a movie, but Aaron and I were going to watch basketball.  We compromised, and told him he could watch his movie on the portable DVD player while we watched the game, on the condition that he stop his movie when the game was over.  The game was over around 9:30, and David still had about an hour left of his movie, he begged and cried to let him stay up.  No way.  I was going to bed, and he's not about to stay up that late just to watch a movie.  I supposed someday he'll have a 10:00 bed time, but not now.

Saturday rolled around and I decided to make some muffins for breakfast  We read scriptures while they were in the oven.  Then we got started on chores.  There was a baptism scheduled for 10:00, but Aaron decided to take the kids to do the Lowe's Build and Grow workshop, and a couple other places (out for ice cream) while I got to go to the baptism by myself.  It was nice and peaceful!  When I got back Aaron called and said he just ordered about 10 yards of compost and soil for the garden plot we are starting in the back.  We had such success with our corn out back we decided to expand that area.  The previous owners parked vehicles on that dry hard patch, so we wanted to rototill the soil and add some good dirt to it.  Since he got the soil for cheap (garden store went out of business) we just bought a bunch and them dump it.  We have a pull a few weeds, and then spread it out. Aaron mowed the lawn for the first time this year.  It was a bit uneven as some of the grass is growing back and some of it is still brown. 

After lunch I put Amy down for a nap.  She didn't fall asleep until 2:45!  Once she was asleep I went out to pull weeds in the raspberries.  I only got to about 4 plants.  Then I came inside for a snack, and to watch the game.  At half time I went out and pulled weeds around 2 more bushes.  We watched the rest of the game and then had a simple dinner.  After baths and bedtime I gave Aaron a haircut and watched the latest Fringe episode.

That brings us to yesterday.  The gave kids cereal for breakfast (fast Sunday), and then once every was dressed we read scriptures.  I enjoyed the Music and the Spoken Word.  And then we got everything else ready for church.  I realized too late that I never recharged the ipod, so I checked out some scriptures and a manual at the church library.  I always love the testimony meetings on Fast Sundays.  Today was extra special because we had 3 people confirmed after their baptisms last week and yesterday.  I was sure several people would mention Bro. P* in their testimonies, as well as another man that passed away this week.  He was not an active member, but related to several people in the ward.  The meeting went by so quickly.  I really enjoyed Sunday School. And Relief Society too of course.  I spoke with a few people after church.  Cheryl mentioned that I they had the meeting without me that morning.  I had completely spaced it!  We had talked about having a set time and day for our meetings, and apparently I never wrote it down because I completely forgot!  So now it's on the calendar, and hopefully I won't forget again. 

After church it was the normal lunch, then nap time.  Amy actually went down pretty easy.  Aaron had suggested we make gumbo for dinner.  My friend Chelle tried my recipe and mentioned it on Facebook, so that sparked the idea for Aaron.  I made some French Bread, and we enjoyed the gumbo.  Well, Aaron and I enjoyed it.  The boys ate some of it, and when Amy finally woke up she only wanted the bread.  So we have a ton left over!  Aaron and David went to a meeting about the Faith in God Program.  I tired to clean up the kitchen, and play with Amy and Timothy.  When Aaron and David got back we had FHE and made chocolate cherry milkshakes for refreshments.  We had plenty of frozen cherries, and vanilla ice cream.  We didn't have any chocolate syrup.  So I melted some chocolate chips.   I think next time I'll make some chocolate syrup - I found several recipes online.  It was delicious though.

Before bedtime I started some brownies for Aaron to take to work.  It's his MA's birthday today.  Then the kids went to bed and Aaron and I went over the calendar with up coming vacations, scout campouts etc. 

So, it wasn't that hard to catch up!  We haven't done much today except weed in the garden for 3 hours.  I'm only exaggerating a little.  After dropping off the boys at school I got Amy dressed and we went out to the raspberries to  pull weeds.  After a while Amy was done and wanted to go inside.  She watched Snow White - which we finally borrowed from Julianna and Phillip.  Then I went back out and weeded some more.  At some point I thought I'd better check on Amy.  She said she was a little scared - it was the part where the wicked Queen had already poisoned the apple, but hadn't gone to the cottage yet.  So I sat and watched it with her.  After that she wanted a snack.  And I went back out and weeded some more.  Eventually  Amy joined me outside.  I got past the blueberry bushes, but not all the way to the strawberries.  We stopped when the phone rang.  It was Aaron  which means it was lunch time.  So Amy and I came inside to eat lunch at 12:15.  Amy didn't nap, and I didn't really do much else except finally take a shower.  Before I knew it it was 3:00 and almost time for the boys to get home.  And now here I am avoiding the decision of what to make for dinner.  Wait wasn't that one of my goals this year - to plan meals ahead of time?  Guess I haven't accomplished that one yet.  Well I'd better go before it gets any later.

No More Chips!

Back with another quick update.  Wednesday I declared a lazy day for myself.  I had been so busy the previous couple of days I decided to do nothing.  Well, it didn't quite work out that way.  I did get my exercise in, and I did 4 loads of laundry.  I de-junked my bedroom, which really needed it.  I also ate way too many potato chips.  I really hadn't had any chips since before I started this diet.  And apparently binging on potato chips did a number on my stomach.  It was not happy.  So I decided to get rid of them.  Thank-you Phillip for taking them away!  My kids did a good job of finishing off the Doritos and the Lays,  it was those delicious Kettle Chips that were to blame.  We also had leftover pizza for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  I didn't want any by the time dinner rolled around, but the kids did.  What else did we do that day.  Amy had a great time at preschool.  Kalaina did a great job.  All the moms have!  They made bunny cupcakes.  Amy ate most of hers on the way home.  But she didn't like the coconut, oh well.  I was surprised after all that sugar that she still took a nap when we got home. I don't think we did much else out of the ordinary.  Aaron was on call, and came home around 7:30 or so.

Thursday was slightly different.  Crystal wasn't able to watch Amy again, so I took her with me to David's class.  At first she was running around and sliding across the floor.  Very distracting.  The class was working on writing limericks.  She explained the assignment and then I took a few students out to read.  Amy took a pink paper and crayons to draw on while we read.  After we finished reading, Amy continued to draw while I helped some of the students make up their own limericks.  Most of them had no clue where to start.  I tried to help them without writing it for them.  Not an easy thing.  I stayed longer than usual.  It was fun.  I made it over to Timothy's class, but they had already taken the reading test.  So I helped with practicing spelling.  And soon it was time for recess.  Amy had fun drawing on the mini white boards. 

After the kids came back from recess they got a snack. Amy and I got one too.  Then Amy and I went home.  Amy wanted to watch a movie, and I got a bunch done around the house.  She didn't nap after lunch.  We went to the library after the boys came home from school.  It had been a while since we'd been there.  When Aaron called we arranged that he would come home and cook dinner while I visited with Lee and Carol. 

Carol had left by the time I arrived, but I stayed for a few minutes, and then stopped by and talked with Carol at her home.  I got home in time to get the kids ready for bed.  Phillip came and picked up the chips - thank goodness!  And that's pretty much it, and I'm all caught up.  Because today all I did was get the kids off to school, and then blog, paint with Amy, play with Amy, and that's pretty much it. We'll see how long it will take before I'm a week (or more) behind again.

My Dear Kind Neighbor

I can't stop thinking about my dear friend Carol.  My lovely neighbor.  Wednesday night I learned that her husband was put on hospice care.  They've stopped the antibiotics that weren't winning the fight of the infection that started over a week ago.  This is such a change from Sunday afternoon when she seemed to think he would bounce back any time now.  She has taken care of him for the last 4 or 5 years while raising their granddaughter, and continually serving so many others.  I visited with her last night as she told me of the plans they made yesterday; getting a plot, buying a casket, putting together a funeral program etc.  She also told me of the little miracles that have happened along the way, and how her children are helping her so much.  She has no appetite, which is understandable.  I have also seen through this trial the outpouring of love and support from family and friends.  She is rarely alone.  It seems Lee has visitors consistently throughout the day.  The hospital staff even set up a little food cart of juices and muffins for those visiting him in the ICU.  This wonderful couple has served so many people, and touched their lives.  I never knew him when he was busy serving and helping, but I feel like I know that man through the many stories I have heard.  I have heard him speak fondly of his wonderful wife, and retell stories of their family, and I have heard him bear his testimony.  I can imagine his funeral will be well attended.  I am sad for the impending loss, but buoyed up by the love and support that they are receiving.  I love these two wonderful people, and pray for them continually.  I know that he will be welcomed into Heaven, and finally be free of this mortal body.  Until then I pray for peace and comfort.

Relief Society Birthday Party

Tuesday morning came way too soon.  It took me a while to get back to sleep after Aaron left.  Somehow I still got the kids up for scriptures and made scrambled eggs for breakfast.  They were still begging for green eggs and ham so I agreed to make them.  I had the leftover breakfast burritos from Saturday.  After I dropped the kids off at school, my whirlwind of a day began.

First I headed over to the church to set up.  A couple of ladies arrived to help me.  We got out the tables and chairs, and plates, napkins etc.  I had forgotten to bring the extra plates, and cups that I had purchased.  After it was all set up we chatted for a bit and then Carol arrived with the cake.  We set it up in the kitchen, and talked a little bit more.

Isn't it beautiful?  Cheryl made the "RS" logo in the middle

We talked to Carol about Lee, and how he isn't improving.  We talked a bit about Rebecca - our favorite babysitter, their granddaughter who they are raising.  She is in such a unique situation.  After a few minutes we locked the doors and all left.  It took us less than 45 minutes to set it all up.   Then Amy and I went up to the city to pick up some food, a few decorations, and more food.  We stopped by the church on the way home to drop off the food and put the tablecloths on the table, along with the balloon holders and confetti.  I dropped off pizzas at Melissa's and then we went home for some lunch.  After lunch we ran to Safeway - they had the best prices on helium balloons.  And I picked up two more take and bake pizzas.  I carried the balloons out in two shifts.  I got the pizzas and half of the balloons in the van.  Let me tell you - it was not the best day to buy helium balloons.  It was so windy.  It was a little tricky to get them in there.  Then I went back in the get the second half.  While I was trying to get the second set of balloons in the van the wind blew my shopping cart with Amy inside.  I stopped it with my foot and a man can over and helped me hold the cart and get the balloons inside.  Only one balloon popped.  Somehow I got Amy in as well and then headed home.  Just before I got to Jennie's (to drop off more pizzas) Amy fell asleep.  So I left the van running carefully pulled out the pizzas without letting the balloons out, and took them in to Jennie.  Since Amy was still sleeping I decided to take the balloons to the church.  There was no way I was going to fit the kids and the balloons in the van.  I decided to stay and tie the balloons to the balloon weights.  I checked on Amy after every two sets.  Untangling that second bunch of balloons was pretty crazy.

When I finally got home Amy was still asleep.  I debated bringing the laptop out in the van to wait for her to wake up.  Eventually I decided to try to nap in the van - it didn't work very well.  I rested, but never fell asleep.  When she woke up she wouldn't believe me that she had fallen asleep in the van.  "I was just looking out the window," she claimed.  She even wanted to eat lunch and then take a nap.  So she ate some yogurt, and then went upstairs and laid on her pillow.  She didn't get up until a few minutes later when the boys came home from school.

We had an early dinner.  Aaron got back just as we were getting ready to go to the church.  I had cooked a couple of pizzas and brought the plates and cups I had forgotten earlier in the day.  Cheryl and Kim were there already.  So we started setting out the food and cutting pizzas.  The kids went right to the nursery despite Amy's insistence that she stay with me and go the the party.  I was willing to let her stay with me, but when I started setting up she disappeared into the nursery and didn't resurface.  Aaron came in at 6:30, and we switched keys - I really ought to find my set of car keys.  Then he did scouts and then took the kids home when he was done.  The kids were really hoping there would be leftovers.  It all depended on how many people came.

I planned on feeding 60.  Sometimes we have that many.  However I would say there were about 35 there.  Subsequently there was a lot of left over food.  We served pizza, veggies trays, chips and soda - like a kid's birthday party.  We ate and talked, I gave a short message, Kim organized a couple of games, we chatted some more, we sang "Happy Birthday" and ate cake and ice cream, then socialized some more.  Eventually we had a closing prayer and people started cleaning up.  That was a pretty easy clean up.  Only a few dishes needed to be washed.  I told everyone to take home leftovers.  There were whole pizzas that weren't even touched.  So in the end I only took home 1 1/2 pizzas, and one veggie tray, the ice cream, and somehow I ended up with all of the opened bags of chips.  I also took home all the unopened bags of chips and the unopened soda.  I think we can use them for another dinner.  I loved that I didn't even have to ask anyone to help clean up.  People just started to help.  We were done by 9:00.  It was a great evening.  I had a lot of fun, and others said they did too.

Mostly Good Monday

Monday was a good day, mostly.  I couldn't sleep very well Sunday night.  Every time I woke my brain wouldn't turn off.  I had two streams of thought running through my head constantly.  I was going through everything I could think of trying to make sure everything was ready for the Relief Society Birthday Party on Tuesday night.  The other thing that occupied my mind was Lee and Carol.  I wanted to desperately to be of service to them, but I didn't know how.  People were bringing meals without being asked to.  She was at the hospital most of the day.  So I called her in the evenings.  I called her everyday only missing Friday.  In the night I decided I would go see her in the morning.

When Aaron got up to shower I decided to get up too and get breakfast started before scripture study - remember our new plan.  Well Amy was having a really hard time that morning and didn't like anything I was doing.  I started to mix together some pancakes and she was mad because she wanted scones.  She was still upset when 6:40 rolled around and we started reading.  It wasn't the easiest scripture study, but we did it.  When I mentioned to Aaron that I wanted to visit Lee and Carol he told me they wouldn't let Amy into the ICU. 

Everything else went as it normally does.  We ate breakfast, Aaron went to work, I got the kids off to school.  Then Amy watched a movie while I showered and cleaned up.  Some time during the morning I decided to go visit Lee and Carol anyway.  I asked Jennie if she would watch Amy while I did that.  She was more than willing.  So Amy and Hadlie played together for a bit while I went to the hospital.  It was a good visit.  I got to see Lee, although he doesn't really know who I am anyway.  I spent most of the time talking with Carol.  I met a couple of nurses, and Dr. M* - that Carol raves about, and a phlebotomy clerk.  They were all trying to help Lee with different things.  I won't go into detail, but it wasn't easy to watch this man be so helpless, asking for help but not being able to figure out exactly what he needed.  His wife diligently helped him with whatever it was that he said he needed.  By the time I left they had administered a new painkiller that seemed to help him.  Carol walked me out to the lobby.  One of the reasons I wanted to visit Carol was to let her know that I didn't need her to make the birthday cake for Tuesday night - I had asked her to make it a couple of weeks ago before Lee was in the ICU.  I could easily pick one up at Costco with the rest of the food.   However she insisted that it wouldn't be hard.  The cake was already made and in the freezer.  She would only need to put the whipped topping on it.  She said she'd drop it off at the church in the morning before she went to the hospital.  This is so like Carol - serving even during trying times.

I picked up Amy and we went to the grocery store to pick up ice cream for the party.  Then we had some lunch then I pushed back nap time to go get some things for Aaron at Bi-Mart.  He and Brad planned a last minute fishing trip, so I went to pick up some hooks/flies etc. for him.  Of course they didn't have exactly what he needed, but I found stuff that would do.  I tried to get Amy to nap when we got home, but it didn't work.  The rest of the day is a bit of a blur.  The boys got home from school, had a snack etc.  Aaron got home in time for dinner.  Then Brad came over and he and Aaron made some flies since I couldn't buy the ones he wanted.  In the mean time the kids played and I cleaned up the kitchen.  Then I got the kids ready for bed and Amy threw a screaming fit when I tried to brush her teeth.  She was so mad at me when we came down to get their fluoride pills she bit me, on the back side.  I can't even remember that last time she bit me.  Thank goodness it was bed time.  After Brad left I tried to help Aaron get all his stuff ready for his trip.  We were trying to get to bed early since they were getting up at the insane hour of 2:00 am to leave!  Somehow they think seven hours of driving is worth 7 hours of fishing.  They opened up the river for steelhead for about 2 weeks, so they took a chance and went.  However the time restriction was that Brad had a class Tuesday night that he had to attend.  So they had to drive up fish for 7 hours and drive back by 5:30 pm.  Crazy!  But he loves to do it.

St. Patrick's Day 2012 (and Sunday too)

Well I have a few days to catch up on now.  So let's start with Saturday.  We all slept until 6:45 am when Amy woke up.  I let Aaron sleep until 7:15 or so, since he got home so late.  I made breakfast burritos which is usually a favorite, but the kids were complaining.  Then suddenly they remembered it was St. Patrick's Day and argued that I should have made green eggs and ham.  I can't win!  Then Aaron headed off to the hospital to do rounds.

 Sometimes I am amazed that the kids get motivated to do their shore quickly and sometimes it takes them several hours to finish - not that they work for that long, but they do other things or get "distracted or "forget" and take a long time to get done.  Well David had this brilliant idea that if they worked quickly they could watch a movie as soon as they were done.  Usually we don't do screen time until after lunch.  So they worked together quickly, including Amy.  I think they were done by 9:30  So David holed up in his room to watch Harry Potter, Amy watched Cars 2 downstairs and Timothy played on the computer and then watched Cars 2 with Amy.  I cleaned my room, and the kitchen, and oh everything else.  I also started the corned beef in the crock pot - after all it was St Patrick's Day.

Saturday I finally planted the tomatoes and peppers and some parsley.

I had been searching for my green house for a week - Aaron found it in the garage (instead of the shed) Saturday before he left for work.  I was glad I finally got then plant them.  About a month ago when Aaron replaced the ballast for the kitchen lights he took one that still worked (but no longer matched the other lights) and hung it downstairs in the furnace room.  So now I can put my green house down there with light for as long as I need it without little fingers "replanting" them for me.  I hope they grow nicely this year.

I just went to water them and a couple have sprouted (germinated) already!

Oh, I also made some shamrock sugar cookies for St. Patrick's Day.

Aaron got home in time for lunch.  David had invited a friend (Ian) over for a few hours.  I tried to keep them quiet while I put Amy down for a nap.  They weren't very quiet, but eventually she did fall asleep.  It was a beautiful but windy day.  Aaron got the boys to fly kites outside.  He was doing some work outside.  So I decided to do some work outside as well.  The grass is starting to get greener, and that means the weeds are growing back as well.  So I pulled all the weeds in the garden bed, and the ones between the bed and the fence. Then I started pulling the weeds and grass out of the landscaping around the house.  Then I decided to finally cut back the roses and the raspberry bushes.  I was hoping that I didn't do it too early, or too late.  Then I found out the arboretum was doing the same thing on Saturday, so I should be safe.

 By the time I was done with the weeding and pruning Amy was up from her nap and the kids were eating a snack.  After the boys played some angry birds we turned on some basketball.  Just after Ian was picked up we had dinner.  I attempted Irish Soda Bread for the first time. It was OK, but not my favorite.  I didn't cook it long enough and it was doughy in the middle.  However I didn't have time to put it back in the oven, so I just scooped out the gooey stuff.  After dinner I cleaned up and then got dressed in my Sunday clothes.  It was time for Stake Conference.  We had Rebecca P* come and watch the kids.  It's so nice to have her live so close.  And the kids love her! 

So Aaron and I headed out and he called the hospital to see how likely it was that he would be called in.  There was one he might need to see later, but nothing immediate.  So we hoped that no emergencies would come up.  It was a wonderful session of Stake Conference.  It was great to see so many people there for the adult session.  They needed to open the overflow and even the cultural hall.  I enjoyed all of the talks.  Aaron only got one page (to confirm that he needed to go in sometime that evening).  We had arranged that I could go home with Tamera A* afterward so Aaron could go straight to the hospital, but in the end Aaron decided it would be worth the extra 15 minutes to drop me off at home, so we could ride home together.  I was pleasantly surprised that all 3 kids were asleep when I got home at 9:30.  So I dropped Rebecca off at home leaving them home alone (for 5 minutes don't call CPS!).  Then I got ready for bed.  Aaron was home at 10:30, and was sad that I didn't wait up for him.  He said, "Did you already brush your teeth?  I got a treat for us."  I hadn't even opened my eyes.  "No you didn't,"  I said.  "I did, I got a Shamrock Shake."  That's not like him at all to pick up a late night snack.  I was so out of it that I took a couple of sips and went back to sleep.  I think he put the rest of it in the freezer.

Onto the Sunday session.  The only peds patient in the hospital was the one Aaron had seen on the way home the night before, so he didn't need to go in.  We left really early for Conference hoping to get seats in the chapel, but nope, even 40 minutes early put us in the overflow.  At least there were still some padded chairs left.  I had hoped we brought enough things to entertain the kids for several hours.  All in all I'd say they did great!  Even the older gentleman sitting next to Timothy complimented him on how well behaved he was.  Amy was a little too loud and whiny at times, and David tried to escape once.  But over all they were great.  Aaron had to leave right away so he could get to the hospital and back in a reasonable amount of time.  So the kids and I went home and had some lunch.  I tried to get Amy to take a nap, but she never fell asleep.  However I got a nice nap.  In fact Aaron called me at about 3:25 and said he was on his way home and to get the kids ready to go to the baptism.  I didn't realize I'd slept that long.  Who knows what the kids were doing.  So we didn't really get a snack, and I didn't have a plan for dinner.  Aaron suggested I take a steelhead fillet out of the freezer and he'd grill it up when we got back.  One of the reasons it took so long for Aaron to get home was because he spent some time visiting with Lee and Carol in the hospital.  They had a couple of other visitors while Aaron was there too.  Lee really isn't doing well.  It's not a good situation.  However Carol is really pleased with the care he is receiving, and I'm glad that he's much closer this time.

We went to the baptism at 4:00.  It was for Ricky C*.  He's been coming to church for a few months now.  He's well known in the ward because he plays on the football and basketball team, and usually baseball, but not this year.  He is a sweet guy, and has the warmest smile.  He's very quiet, and very polite.  I am happy for his decision.  He lives with his grandma, and invited his family to the baptism.  There were probably 15 or 20 people there from his family (not members of the church) who came to support him!  We had so many people there we moved to the chapel.  They served cookies and cake afterward.  So that was snack for the kids.  Then we went home to make dinner.  I cooked up some rice pilaf to go with the fish, and we had a late, but delicious dinner.  We had a quick FHE and dessert made us late for bedtime, but the kids enjoyed it. I opted out since I had a small piece of cake and a cookie at the baptism.  After the kids went to bed Aaron and I discussed the things we heard at Stake Conference.  One thing that we've been working on is family scripture study.  We typically have it right after dinner, or just before bed time.  But too often it doesn't happen because of evening activities, or it just gets forgotten.  So we discussed trying to get up early and have family scripture study before breakfast.  So far we are 3 for 3.  Let's hope it continues to go well.

Signs of Spring

I took some pictures last Wednesday.  It was the first signs of Spring that I had noticed.

The plant on the trellis outside by the deck.

New raspberry starts

New growth on the old golden raspberry bushes

New starts of the red raspberry bushes

Wednesday I also planted a new apple tree - which reminds me I need to soak it today.

The peonies are starting to come up

Butterfly House Videos

Here are a couple of videos I took in the butterfly house.

Busy Week - Including The Dentist, Pi Day and a Sick Day!

Why do I wait so long to post?  Let's play catch up once again.

Last Sunday was another great day. Church was great as usual.  After lunch I put Amy down for a nap, and then our home teacher came over.  We had an early dinner and then Aaron took over call, just Sunday night to Monday night.  Then we went to a missionary fireside.  It was really great.  Not much else out of the ordinary.  Monday it was back to school for the kids.  Amy and I stayed home, and did something I'm sure.  Not that I can remember what.  We played a game for FHE that night, that's all I remember.

Tuesday Aaron had the day off.  We had dentist appointments.  Last time we were able to go in a couple minutes apart.  This time I went in first, and Aaron didn't go in until I was done.  I guess they are a little more busy his time.  So Amy sat out in the waiting room and watched Elmo in Grouchland and part of All Dogs Go to Heaven before we left.  Everything went well.  We got x-rays last time, so it was just cleaning and exam this time around. When we got back Amy wanted a snack.  Aaron got to work on a few things outside, and I got lunch ready.  Then it was nap time.  I did some clean up around the house, and then it was time for kids to come home, snack get ready for dinner and then for Aaron to take the scouts fishing.  I dropped David off at the church for scouts, and then gave Amy and Timothy baths and put them to bed.  Aaron picked up David on his way home.

Wednesday, um, laundry, oh and I got to talk to both my mom, and my MIL (it was her birthday).  But I had to hang up to take Amy to preschool.  Then I did a shopping trip in the city by myself.  Then naps, more laundry, snack, dinner etc.  Aaron had a crazy call night, and didn't get home almost bedtime.  We celebrated Pi day 3-14 (3.14 - you got that, right?) with this beautiful pie:

OK, so my lines are straight, oh well!

I got the recipe here. It was very rich and delicious.

Aaron got called in at 3:30 in the morning.  It was a long day for him.  So that's how my Thursday started.  I helped him get a lunch together at 3:30 am, and he rushed off to the hospital.  It took me a good 30 minutes to get back to sleep.  I shouldn't complain, he didn't get to sleep again until the evening.  Thursday was a bit different than normal.  Crystal had family in town so she couldn't watch Amy and wasn't going into her kids' classrooms either.  So I skipped David's class and took Amy with me to Timothy's class.  2nd grade classrooms have a few more things that Amy can play with while I help the other students.  I helped a few kids with their reading tests, and then did some spelling review.  Amy and I went home after that I think.  she got in a good nap that afternoon.  I can't think of anything else out of the ordinary, other than Aaron was exhausted when he got home.  But he did get to visit with our friend Br. P* who is in the hospital.  He hasn't been doing well over the past couple of weeks.  He's in the ICU now, but I pray that he will improve soon.  We had more pie that night.

Friday Started early with Amy waking at 5:00 am.  I put her blanket back on her and patted her back and left, a minute or so later I heard Timothy in the bathroom, vomiting.  O boy! I helped him clean up and sent him back to bed.  He threw up once more before I finally got out of bed for the day.  We ate breakfast without him.  He woke on his own early enough to get David to school on time.  Then we came home I called the school to let him know he was sick, and they reminded me it was class picture day.  I knew that but I didn't want to tell Timothy.  I'm sad he'll miss out on that.  I set him up with a movie in his room and Amy a movie in the family room.  At some point Amy wanted a snack.  So we stopped her movie and I gave her yogurt.  Timothy was feeling better and asked for yogurt too.  It didn't stay down.  Amy finished her movie and I started another one for Timothy.  While I was in the shower Amy's movie finished.  She knows how to turn the TV off with the remote ("the big red button").  I thought she was downstairs in the playroom, but she actually joined Timothy in his room watching a movie in there.  So she'd probably been in there for about 30 minutes before I realized it.  I was worried she would get sick too, but she didn't.  Thank goodness.  Some people think it was the pie that made him sick.  The whipping cream I used was expired, so maybe since he finished off David's piece he got the worst of it.  Both David and I were a little queasy on Friday, and we didn't have as much pie, so maybe that was the culprit.  Amy also didn't eat the filling, just the crust.  The only one who seems to have come off unscathed was Aaron.  No one ate the last two pieces.  I should throw them away!  Anyway, back to Friday.  Timothy seemed to feel better in the afternoon.  He had an apple for snack, and kept everything down after that.  It wasn't so bad, he just had to miss a day of school.  Aaron got home really late on Friday (he was on call over the weekend).  At first it was supposed to be 8:00, but then he called and said maybe 10:00.  We watched some basketball (Gotta Love March Madness!) before putting the kids to bed.  Amy was jumping all over the couches, and stealing blankets etc. and not listening at all, so I put her to bed early, and the boys soon afterward.  I cleaned up the kitchen, watched some more basketball, and fell asleep while reading.  I was trying to stay up for Aaron.  He called at 11:00 and I still had the lights on, but I had fallen asleep.  He told me he'd be home by midnight.  I told him I was too tired to walk downstairs to turn the alarm on, so he did it from his phone.  I love that he can do that!

I'll cover the weekend in the next post.

Weekend Trip Day 2 - Saturday.

I have to mention a few things I had forgotten in my last post.  First, one of the times after I brought Amy back to the pool from the bathroom I slipped on the second step into the pool.  I mostly caught myself with my right hand, but my bum is still a little sore.  I haven't checked for a bruise.  I also needed to charge my phone at Nathan and Amy's and I accidentally left it there.  They got it to me in the morning.  Also I forgot to include some pictures that Aaron took with his phone.  Now that I know how to access them I need to start to include them.  

 Amy was very happy with her frozen yogurt.

That's quite a face!

Now on to Saturday, Day 2 of our little road trip.  When Amy woke up at 6:00 am Aaron turned on a cartoon for her and I took a shower.  Eventually we were all showered and ready for breakfast.  We all enjoyed the breakfast, although Amy didn't want much.  She ended up just eating yogurt, and a little bit of eggs.  Our view out the window showed a very long line heading toward the shopping center.  It took us a while to figure out what was going on, someone thought it was a movie (but there is no theater there), someone thought it was a book release.  Eventually we discovered they were giving away tickets for a meet and greet with some of the stars in the Hunger Games movie.

Amy seemed back to normal so after breakfast we packed up and checked out.  First we went to Trader Joe's, to pick up a few things we can't buy elsewhere, at least not at those prices.  I was sad they were out f tahini paste.  Then we headed downtown again.  The plan was to meet Nathan and Amy at our favorite Science Museum.  They have a membership and got us in with their guest passes.  Since we had about an hour before the Museum opened we wandered around the big fountain for a while. 

Timothy was singing "99 bottles of pop" as he walked around.

Aaron took this one.  Amy looks so happy.

Nathan and Amy arrived just as the museum opened, and we saw the dinosaurs first. 

Amy and Evelyn watched a little animation about dinosaurs.

We played with sea creatures.

Then we went to the butterfly house.  I think David's whole goal was to get a butterfly to land on him.  He walked in with his finger out, just in case.  We were all surprised that within a minute a butterfly landed on the hood of his jacket.

Aaron got this one.  I think it's the best of them

One of employees there said that these butterflies are usually pretty social, but that day there were VERY social.  And they were.  They landed on a lot of people, and were chasing each other all over.  Now I understand what "social butterflies" means.

Here are a few more butterflies we saw

this one was camouflaged well.

Aaron stood still for a while and this one landed on his pants.

Eventually one did land on David's finger, but it didn't stay long.

Looking at all the cocoons (chrysalises)

Amy, Evelyn and Lucy played with the giant chess board

David playing with the giant mirror.

Aaron and David walked over to get Subway for lunch, Nathan went to move the car (he was in a 2hr spot).  We all met up again for lunch about 20 minutes later.  We had sandwiches and cheddar popcorn.  It was a little cold outside, but the kids loved watching the seagulls beg for food.  After lunch Nathan and Amy headed out.  We wandered around for a little longer.  We were sitting on benches on the bottom level trying to decide what to do next.  Amy was being really fussy and grumpy.  I was holding her but she kept fidgeting and pushing my hands away.  So I put her on the bench and and laid down and fell asleep within two minutes.  So Aaron took the boys around for a while, then walked to get the van.  Amy didn't move for 45 minutes.

She shifted position and then slept for another 20 minutes.  Several people commented on how she got worn out etc.  In the mean time my mom called and I talked to her for a bit.  Then Aaron called.  He was on his way to pick Amy and I up since we were near the drop off entrance.  The only reason Amy woke up after about an hour was because I picked her up to get her in the van.

We headed for home in the rain.  We stopped at the outlet shops about an hour away.  We took a bathroom break, and I got snacks for the kids while Aaron did a little shopping.  We ran into Br. N* our Sunday School teacher.  He and his brother and cousin were headed to a pow wow in the direction we had just come from.  After that I set up a movie for the kids, and I took a nap while Aaron listened to something on his phone.  Falling asleep while on the road is always a strange sensation.  I know I was asleep, but I could still hear everything around me.  So odd.  Anyway...  We only stopped for gas when we were almost home.  The gas light had come on.  Gas on the reservation is cheaper, so we took a slight detour before getting home. 

We unloaded then van and fixed a quick dinner.  Then it was time for baths and bedtime.  It was a fun but short vacation.

Weekend Trip Day 1 - Friday

Friday the kids didn't have school.  It actually worked out very nicely.  We had planned to take a weekend trip, and David wasn't too happy about missing a day of school - or rather missing a Fun Friday - to leave town.  However with the two snow days we had back in January that pushed the last day of the term back two days.  Thus the day off between terms was moved from Wednesday to Friday.  It made for a nice 3 day weekend.  We weren't going far, so we got up at a normal hour and got everyone ready to go.  We probably would have had time to eat breakfast before we left, but one of the kids' favorite traditions with road trips is eating a sugary cereal in the van.  So I opened a box of Trix and gave them each a baggie full of cereal.  I opted for the Multigrain Cheerios.  My mouth goes raw after eating sugary cereals.  We arrived in the big city around 10:30 am.  Our first stop was the Men's Warehouse.  We had bought a couple of suits there a few years previously and we were hoping they could repair a tiny hole in a pair of pants.  Alas, they said it would have to be re-weaved.  I can only imagine how much that would cost.  Probably the cost of buying a new suit.  We stopped by the mall to use the bathroom since everyone needed to go.  Except Amy refused to use that bathroom.  She's never done that before.  We drove by our old house, and the kids' old school.  Then we dropped Aaron off at the hospital.  The reason we went back to the big city was because Aaron had an afternoon meeting (lunch included) about the community advocacy program they are starting in our community with the residents from Aaron's program.  Naturally Aaron is the liaison for that since he's done both.  The people from Children's have come out here and looked around and met with Aaron, but they were putting us up in the city for him to have another series of meetings (from 12 - 5).  Aaron wanted to see a few people at the hospital and then walk down to lunch.

After we dropped him off we headed downtown.  We had never been to the Children's Museum, even though we'd lived there for 3 years.  We had a couple of coupons so I thought we'd try it out.  We found a parking garage and I set out to make lunch for everyone.  I had made everyone's sandwich except mine when Amy declared she had to pee right then.  I told her to hold it, and hurriedly made my sandwich and cleaned up everything else.  Then we walked as quickly as we could (while eating) to the nearest bathroom.  Which is basically right outside the Museum.  I was amazed that Amy didn't have an accident.  I finished eating my lunch and then we went to the Museum.  They wanted me to take this picture first.

 It was just outside the entrance.

In all honesty I think the one in Texas was better.  But perhaps that is because my boys are older now.  They weren't as intrigued by everything like Amy was.  The ones they liked were things Amy hated - the noisy things like vacuums and drums.  They had a whole room full of LEGOs which I thought they would love, but they walked in and walked out and never picked up a single LEGO.  Oh well.  I was ready to go after an hour, but I stuck it out.  We had to take a bathroom break, and I tried to take a bunch of pictures.  Some turned out.  Amy really wanted to paint.  She painted 4 pictures, and would have done more, but our time slot was up, and David was really bored.  Timothy spent the time making something with clay and cutting paper.

So here are some pictures:

 Amy shopping in the grocery store

 The kids serving me some lunch at the Mexican Restaurant.

 Timothy wearing the hard hat in the construction area.

 Reading about the trees in the forest area

 Crawling in the marmot's den

 Timothy crawling out of the marmot's den

 The boys enjoying the vacuums that send ping pong balls through tubes.

 Amy liked the quieter area with the gears.  Yes she dumped them all out, and was not happy that I made her pick them up.

The boat in the world traveling area.

 All three squeezing into a bike taxi.  I know it's blurry, but it's the only one I have of all three that halfway decent.

 Amy painting one of several pictures.

 Timothy working with clay

 Playing in the water in the Birth to 3 area.  For some reason the kids really liked this area even though it was made for kids younger than all of them.

We could check into the hotel at 3:00.  So a little after 3:00 we decided it was time to head out.  They wanted to see a few things one last time.  We picked up our paintings which were mostly dry.  One last potty break, and then we headed back to the van.  It had started to rain a little, but the kids didn't seem to mind.  Once we got back to the van I handed out some snacks and we headed for the hotel.  It was 3:30 and there was already traffic.  At least most of the time I was able to go about 20.  I do NOT miss big city traffic.  Amy almost fell asleep on the way.  When I parked I asked David to stay with Amy while I checked in but then she said, "No I want to come too."  We checked into the hotel, and got a call from Nathan about the same time.  So once our stuff was in we went over to Nathan and Amy's.  The kids played and had fun despite their reservations that they would only have little girl toys.  They found some hexbugs, and loved them.  The last time they tried them (3 or 4 years ago) they were broken within a couple of hours.  Luckily they were much more careful, and enjoyed them.  Although they seemed to agree that the white was faster and fought over it a few times.  And David couldn't seem to get the concept that the mini basketball was for rolling only.  We have a rule of only rolling balls in our house too, but I guess he thought he could get away with it.  Needless to say the ball was put away quickly.  I helped Nathan and Amy put together dinner.  No not really.  I talked with them while they put together dinner.  A little after 5:00 Aaron called and I picked him up.  It's only a couple minutes away.  Apparently my Amy was fine with that until Aunt Amy made her wash her hands after she picked her nose.  He he.  How do I get that girl to stop doing that?

We had a delicious dinner of wonderful enchiladas, fresh salsa, chips and black beans.  At first Amy refused to eat anything except the chips.  When she asked for more chips I told her she had to eat a few beans first.  When she finally tried them she gobbled them up.  I think David ate 3 enchiladas and would have had more if he hadn't remembered to save room for dessert.  Amy had made some small poppy seed cupcakes with orange flavored frosting - delicious!

Once dinner was over Nathan and Amy's family got their swim suits on, we headed back to the hotel to do the same.  Then they met us at the hotel and we went swimming.  The pool was warm, and it was a salt water pool.  My Amy refused to get in.  She wouldn't even change to her swim suit.  She also asked several times to go to the bathroom.  So I kept having to get out of the pool and take her.  We played for about an hour, and then Aaron suggested we try out this new yogurt shop in the shopping center next to the hotel.  I know there are a couple of self serve yogurt shops in our area as well, but we haven't visited them yet.  Aaron had heard about this one during lunch that afternoon.  So we went back to the hotel room and got changed.  We're glad Nathan and Amy didn't mind being in shorts and swimming gear.  I didn't even attempt to fix my make-up.  When we got there it was really busy.  And who should we see checking out but Miste and her youngest boy Spencer!  Amy and I wandered over and said hello, and talked for a minute before they left.  Then I spent the next couple of minutes trying to help Timothy and Amy decide which flavors they wanted and filling their cups, and adding toppings.  I did a pretty good job of guessing how much they should get.  I have no idea how much David got.  Once they were done I was able to get mine.  I tried a few flavors (they had sample cups you could fill) and decided on Dole whipped pineapple, and Cookies and Cream.  I found chocolate covered sunflower seeds, fresh strawberries, and mini raspberry dark chocolate cups.  Oh, and some hot fudge.  They were able to keep track of the entire order until we were done, and pay for it all at once.  Since everyone was pretty sensible about how much they took the bill wasn't that bad.  It averaged out to be about 4 oz a person which is the right serving size amount.  As I stood in line to finish up our order I suddenly recognized the person in front of us, and got Aaron's attention.  He saw her at the same time.  It was Shaquita - one of his chief residents from his last year of residency.  After I found a seat with the rest of our crew, she and Aaron talked for a bit.  We enjoyed our frozen yogurt.  David and Timothy kept wandering around the shop (against the flow) looking at everything they didn't try.  David said that's what he wants to do for his birthday.  Sounds good to me!  We finally had to get a lid for Amy's she was dipping her spoon in the yogurt and licking it off, and taking forever to finish.  She finished when we got back to the hotel. 

It was about 8:30 so we got the kids ready for bed.  We usually have a hard time getting them to sleep in hotels.  They are just too excited.  However we tried something new this time.  There was a pull out bed, and we put Timothy on there and put Amy and David in the same bed.  David was playing too much, so I pulled Amy into the other bed with me, and eventually they were all asleep.  Aaron was busy on the computer, so I fell asleep too.  I moved Amy over to the other bed first.  When Aaron was ready for bed we turned out the lights and no less than two minutes later Amy fell off the bed and bumped her head on the end table on the way down.  Luckily it was round, so no sharp corners.  But she was not happy.  Aaron picked her up, but soon it was pretty obvious that she didn't want Dad.  So we ended up with Amy in our bed.  We had to turn on the bathroom light because she didn't like the dark.  After a couple of hours of restless sleep I finally moved Amy to the floor, but she didn't want to be alone so I ended up on the floor with her.  Then she woke up and said she needed a drink of water.  I decided to use the bathroom first and suddenly she was crying.  I thought she was just being impatient but then I found up she had thrown up.  Great!  So I took some of the wet swimming towels and mopped up the mess the best I could in the dark.

Then we moved spots on the floor and tried to get some more sleep.  Eventually I found my way back into the bed with Aaron, but I couldn't sleep.  Part of it was not knowing what time it was, the clock was over by David's bed.  That was one of the worst night's sleep I've had in a long time.  And guess who was up bright and early at 6:00 am?!!!  Oh that's right - Amy!  More about Saturday's adventures tomorrow.  This post is long enough!