Hello!
Whew! It has been a whirlwind of events the last three weeks. I have been gone more than I have been home, and the kids have been busy, busy, busy. Here are the highlights from our lives the last three weeks...
*Marshall's soccer tournament in St. George: Marshall's soccer team played in a tournament in St. George the first weekend of February. Based on Richard's work schedule and all our other travels, we decided that I would be the one to take Marshall to St. George and everyone else would stay home. The girls did not love this idea, but they were good sports to go along with it, and I know they had a great time here at home with Richard and my Mom, who was so kind to help out while Richard was at work. Marshall and I left on a Thursday afternoon at 11:30, and we also picked up my Dad. We were both so happy that he came along for the adventure! We had a smooth ride down to St. George, we packed a lunch, didn't encounter any traffic and zipped down to St. George in just over four hours. We took some downtime in the hotel before hitting up a great little Mexican restaurant for dinner. We played games for just a bit after dinner, but then hit the sack early for an early wake up call on Friday morning. Marshall's first game was at 8:00 am Friday morning and it was cold! Frost was covering the field when we arrived for warm-ups. Thankfully, the three of us were prepared for the weather. My Dad had pulled out warm clothes he bought when he was the scoutmaster almost 30 years ago! Ha! Marshall's team played great and they won their first game! Yay! When that game was done, we went back to the hotel to warm up and relax for just two hours before going to the next game. Thankfully, it was much warmer! Marshall's team again played great, but lost 0-1 in the final minutes because of a lame PK that shouldn't have been called. In this tournament, all games end with PKs, no matter the outcome of the game. Marshall took his PK at the end of the second game and made it! I was so proud of him! We spent the rest of the afternoon back at the hotel. Marshall worked on homework and relaxed, I napped and worked on a project. That evening Marshall and I met up with his team for a team dinner at Iceberg. It was the perfect location because there was seating for all and the boys really had a fun time together and the parents enjoyed talking. When dinner was done, the boys came up with the idea to go swimming at the condo complex where a couple of boys were staying. Marshall didn't bring a swimming suit, so he went with some teammates and a mom to buy a swimming suit and then she drove them over to the swimming pool. This whole thing just about ripped my mother heart in half. I was beyond proud of Marshall for wanting to go, hopping in a car with teammates to go shopping for a swimming suit, and going to a place he had never been before. Huge applause, really, huge applause. But, every new thing for Marshall is a brand new thing for me too and it rocks me! With Marshall being such a homebody this is a big deal-I honestly would have felt better sending Bridget or Rachel off to do this! But, I kept a very calm exterior for Marshall as he told me everything he was going to do, and then on my solo drive back to the hotel I gave myself a pep talk while simultaneously giving myself a tension headache! Haha! When I got back to the hotel, I took Tylenol and invited my Dad to come down to our room to keep me company. He listened to all my dramatics, played games with me, and then we talked to my Mom on the phone. Bless him. My Dad went back to his room shortly before 10:00 and Marshall texted soon after to say he was ready for me to pick him up. Whew! I was thrilled about that! Turns out, he had a fantastic time, and of course he was so happy he went, and I was so happy I had him back. :) Do I have attachment issues??? Marshall's third game was Saturday morning. It was a rough game, we lost 0-4, but we did win the PKs, so that's something. Despite the tough loss though, the team never gave up and played hard through the very last minute. This loss also meant the team would not make the championship game, but the three of us opted to stay in sunny St. George and enjoy the wonderful weather! There was not a cloud in the sky and the temperatures were in the 60s. Lovely. We initially went back to the hotel to give Marshall some time to decompress and I got him lunch from Five Guys. Once Marshall was a in a better head space, my Dad and I left for an adventure and left Marshall to relax at the hotel. My Dad and I went to The Cliffside Restaurant for lunch and it did not disappoint with the views or food. The food was fantastic. My Dad got a salmon salad and I got a pesto pasta with grilled vegetables and it was so good. The location is just as it sounds, on a cliff with a fantastic view of the city. It was fun to have that one-on-one with my Dad. After lunch, we went on a tour of Brigham Young's winter home. My Dad had done this before, but it was new for me and it was fascinating! I was amazed at how much of the home is original and how many personal possessions of Brigham Young's they have there. After all of that, we went back to the hotel to retrieve the teenager. :) We made the short drive to Pioneer Park to hike among the beautiful red rocks of St. George. This was brand new for all of us, and so cool. My Dad was a champion and hiked and climbed in sandals! The views were amazing, the red rock formations stunning, and the weather and late afternoon light were fantastic. I was also so relieved to make it back to the car without my Dad ever falling...I am sure he was relieved too! After our adventure, my Dad found a local Italian restaurant for dinner, where we again ate delicious food. We ended the night with games in our hotel room where we taught my Dad how to play Skip-Bo. A wonderful, wonderful day. Sunday morning we were up early. We planned to get on the road at 8:00, go to a 9:00 sacrament meeting in Cedar City and then continue our drive home. Marshall didn't love this idea because he wanted to sleep in longer, but he reluctantly agreed. We were trying to get ahead of snow and rain that would be hitting northern Utah. We were on the road at 8:00, in Cedar City just before 9:00, but both churches we went to had empty parking lots and locked doors. Marshall was very quick to point out we should have listened to him and gone to church in St. George! The teenager knows all! After striking out twice, we decided to just drive home. We made excellent time and didn't hit bad weather until Provo. We dropped my Dad off just before 1:00 pm, got home shortly after and then the snow just dumped and dumped. I was so glad we were at home! The girls and Richard were at church and we were so happy to see them just after 2:00! Together again!
Back on the home front, the girls were so well taken care of by Richard and my Mom. Richard had to work Thursday and Friday so my Mom spent those afternoons with the girls. My Mom got valentine sugar cookies and valentines for the girls to decorate and take around to friends and primary teachers-such a delightful idea! My Mom learned that Rachel hates ringing people's doorbells-sky high anxiety for her! Haha! On Friday morning the girls were on their own from 7:15-8:30. Richard left for work at 7:15 and my Mom serves at the temple on Friday mornings. The girls did so great though! They got themselves totally ready and walked to our neighbor's house for a ride to school at 8:30. Jessica said they were ready and smiling and told her thank you. The only little slip of the morning is that Rachel left the cheese sitting on the counter, but there could have been far worse! They are growing up! Saturday night Richard took them all down to the BYU basketball game. The stopped at Waffle Love in Draper for dinner and then had a blast at the game. They had great seats, loved seeing Cosmo, the Cougarettes and the cheerleaders and BYU won. Rachel says she will never go to a football game again and that basketball is way better. :) We were all so happy to be reunited on Sunday afternoon! Oh, one funny story...it was snowing and raining that day, but Richard and the girls still walked to church. At one point, Rachel slipped, but she slipped right into the splits! Thankfully she is incredibly flexible and Richard said she didn't bat an eye, just popped right back up!
*Rachel's half-birthday: Rachel got to celebrate her half birthday at school, exactly on her half-birthday, February 7th. Over the weekend, she decorated a poster and we printed a picture and she just took complete ownership of it. She wanted the store bought sugar cookies as her treat, so Gretchen and I brought those into her class a few minutes before the end of the school day. Rachel was so sweet and lit up as soon as we walked in. She ran to us and gave us a big hug. Who knows how much longer she will do this, but I hope it is forever! I cannot believe she is going to be ten this year! Ah!
*Baptisms for Bridget: Bridget was able to go to the temple with the young women early in the morning on Wednesday, February 8th. I dropped Bridget and Avery off in the church parking lot at 6:00 am! This was the first morning of the new changes in the temple, and even though Bridget had only done temple baptisms once before, she immediately picked up on the wording changes. After baptisms, the girls had cinnamon rolls and hot chocolate at the church. Bridget got home just before 8:00 after an excellent morning. Sweet girl.
*Disneyland for Bob's 70th birthday: Last year, Richard started twisting Bob's arm to plan something big for his 70th birthday, which was February 6th. This trip went through so many revisions and plan changes, but we finally settled on Disneyland the end of December and it stuck. We opted for no kids, so it was a trip for just the eight of us: Bob, Becky, their three sons and the three wives. My parents were so wonderful and came over at 5:45 pm on Wednesday the 8th so Richard and I could head to the airport. We said good-bye to all the kids and we were off! We met Bob, Becky, Joe and Aubri at the airport and had an uneventful flight to California. Nathan and Nina had arrived earlier in the day. Since it was late, we all just got to the hotel and went straight to bed because we had three huge days of fun ahead of us. To sum up our three days in California, I will say we ate delicious food, did new rides together, had fun doing old rides together, and had a great time! We walked about ten miles each day and always fell into bed exhausted. Richard managed all our lightening lanes for us, and while we had to do some waiting in long lines, overall, it was pretty good! We were in the parks all three days for rope drop and for two morning we walked right on to Pirates of the Carribean. Thursday morning we all did Rise of the Resistance together. This was new for all of us except Richard and Becky. It is so cool! Nathan especially loved it. We rode it two more times during our trip, both at night, which made it extra cool. The second time the cast members were completely in character, and we also got stuck in the huge room with the storm troopers for a handful of minutes, so it all just added to the ambiance and it was pretty amazing. Almost makes me want to become a Star Wars fan! :) We also did a brand new ride, Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway. It was darling and made me miss my kids! Thursday was our hottest day there-mid 80s! So of course we had to ride Splash Mountain, which is always a hit. Thursday was also a delicious food day. It started with a red raspberry Mickey Macaron at 9:30 am. Divine. Lunch was at Cafe Orleans, which is one of my favorites anyway, but Joe and I tried the mint julep drink and could not get enough. Later that afternoon we all stopped for dole whips and I got the strawberry dole whip sundae which consisted of dole whip, strawberry syrup, fresh strawberries and crumbled strawberry shortcake. I was basically in heaven. Fridays highlights were Radiator Racers, Incredicoaster, Guardians of the Galaxy and Soarin'. That night we ate at a fantastic restaurant in California Adventure and we all loved it. Saturday's highlights were riding in the canoes! Bob remembers doing the canoes when he was a little boy at Disneyland. We tried to do them on Thursday afternoon, and were loaded in the canoe and everything, but then that big riverboat broke down and was blocking our way so we had to get out. We were all happy to finally experience the canoes on Saturday! By that afternoon, we were all pretty wiped out, so we did Small World and took a couple of laps on the monorail for some rest and recharge! After dinner, Nina went back to the hotel, Aubri went shopping, Richard and Bob rode Webslingers, and the rest of us, Becky, Nathan, Joe and myself waited in a 60 minute line to ride Guardians of the Galaxy with the promise that I would not hold on to anything. Let me tell you, that scared me literally to death with the first rise and drop and I screamed Becky's name, but I never held on! Usually I have a death grip on any handle I can get my hands on, but I was true to my word and never held on. Completely changes the ride and I cannot believe how long you are airborne on that thing. It is wild! When that craziness was done, we said good-bye to Joe who went back to the hotel with Aubri and Bob, Becky, Richard, Nathan, and I walked all the way back to Disneyland to ride Rise of the Resistance one more time. Such a fun ride! On our way out of the park that night, Richard and I stopped in a store to grab one last thing and then we watched the entire firework display. It is Disney's 100th year this year and it seems they have improved their firework show to celebrate. They projected pictures from movies on all the buildings of Main Street and of course it was all perfectly synced with the music and fireworks. At one point it reminded me of my favorite restaurant on the cruise, Animator's Palate and I started to cry! Richard thought I was crazy. :) It was just a magical moment and I was missing our kids and remembering wonderful moments with them. Disney is magic, that is for sure. It was a great end to a great and memorable trip! Oh, one other thing I cannot forget is Saturday morning Bob, Becky, Joe, Aubri, Richard and I slipped away from Disneyland for a bit and took a Lyft to the Newport Beach Temple and did sealings. It was wonderful and rejuvenating in more ways than one.
My parents did an awesome job holding down the fort here at home. Our kids were busy with double-header soccer games, extra dance practices and the farm, but my parents helped get everyone where they needed to be, and all went well! My Dad worked on jigsaw puzzles with the kids and they finished two entire puzzles! We still have one puzzle set up that has hardly made any progress since my parents left, I think we just need them to move in with us. :) A huge thank you for my parents, and especially my Mom for helping two weeks in a row. Richard and I got home Sunday afternoon shortly after everyone got home church and we were SO happy to be together. We had a very relaxing Sunday afternoon and evening all home under one roof together.
*Visit from the Hassells! A handful of weeks ago I got a text from Anna asking if they could stay with us the night of February 13th. Of course my answer was a resounding YES! We have spent so many nights at the Hassell home and all the kids have been begging to have the Hassells at our house one time and Monday was the night! I had promised my kids I would check them out of school if they were going to arrive before the end of the school day, and the timing could not have worked better on Monday. Marshall actually didn't go to school that day because he was up in Layton at the district STEM fair. Gretchen and I picked him up at 2:00, drove home and as soon as I pulled in the garage I got a text from Anna saying they would be to our house in 45 minutes. I dropped Marshall off at home and went and checked Bridget and Rachel out. The excitement in our house was surely at an all time high. The Hassells arrived right at 3:00 and everyone was in heaven. Georgie and Gretchen immediately started playing together and they were all over the house: Gretchen's room, the living room, the loft, the big family room...they were having fun! The other five kids picked up right where they left off this summer and played all afternoon and evening. I gave Tim and Anna the grand tour of our house and before the evening was up Anna had sent us all her Pinterest board ideas for our master bathroom. I told them they can come back next summer and just take care of the whole job for us. Basically any house project Tim and Anna touch turns to gold. Richard got home from work just after 5:30 and the wonderful Irion family, minus Grace, arrived just after 6:00. We had the best evening together, reminiscent of so many dinners we shared together in Milwaukee. Adults gathered around the kitchen table, kids running around playing, albeit much bigger kids now, but still having so much fun together. We don't often see the Irion kids, and we need to change that because they are so fun. The only bummer of the evening was Rachel had to be gone for dance from 5:00-7:15. She was so disappointed to have to leave, but we compromised and I let her miss ballet which shaved off the first hour. At 8:00, Xavier, Madie and their darling little Xailie arrived. We had a house full and it made me so happy. I hadn't seen Xailie since she was a brand new baby and now she is walking like a pro. It is too bad it was a week-day because our fun had to end at a somewhat reasonable time. The Irions left right around 9:00 and Xavier and his family stayed until almost 10:00. Gretchen and Georgie had a sleepover in Gretchen's room and Gretchen was on Cloud 9 about it. She has been asking me for weeks how long until her sleepover with Georgie. After a story from Anna and a story from me those two girls fell fast asleep and both slept all night in their beds, which is nothing short of a miracle for both of them. We put all the other kids down in the movie room and before all the adults went to bed after 11:00 pm I went down to check on them only to find that Fitz was the only one asleep! Needless to say, we were all very tired the next morning! Our timing worked perfectly with the Hassells that morning though. We all had to be up early, but not too early, so our kids were getting ready for school and the Hassells were getting ready to fly back home and we were all awake together. The kids all ate breakfast together around the table and it honestly made me so happy. Our kids have shared so many breakfasts together through the years and it just made me happy to have them all around our table! At 7:30 we took pictures and said our good-byes and off they went and the rest of our day went on without them. We wish they could have stayed longer, but we loved the time we had with them! Lifelong friends for sure. That afternoon my kids asked me when the Hassells could come back. :)
*Other random highlights...I helped with Gretchen's and Rachel's class Valentine parties. It was fun, but also exhausting. I always say yes to these things, and then regret saying yes during all my preparations, and am so glad to have it done! But my kids love it, and our elementary school days are numbered, so I guess I will keep doing it! And speaking of elementary school days being numbered, on Wednesday evening Marshall and I went to a meeting at the junior high all about registering for high school classes, AP classes, CE classes through Weber, etc. I cannot believe that Marshall will be a freshman in the fall and in September he gets his drivers permit. What?! Also, Bridget is picking her classes for junior high and this coming Wednesday I go back to the school with her to get her registered for 7th grade. What is happening?! I had a delightful evening on Thursday night. I went to the Olive Garden with my parents for dinner and then my Mom and I went to Ballet West to see Sleeping Beauty. Dinner with my parents was so wonderful. I basically did all the talking and pretty much lost my voice, but it was so great to catch up with them. Sleeping Beauty was exactly that, beautiful. The costumes and sets were brand new and they were stunning. The dancing was superb. At any given moment, there were so many dancers on the stage and I was just captivated with the weaving in and out and around they did to get around each other. There was so much color and movement and the dancing was pristine. Such an elegant evening. My Mom and I loved it, and I loved that time with her. On Friday evening Richard and I went to the temple for an endowment session for ward temple night. We made this appointment weeks ago, and then all the temple changes happened, and I was so happy we already had an appointment! We both loved the new changes and I can honestly say I learned more in that endowment session than I have learned in the previous 18 years. So, so good.
And now I do have to write about a sad event, despite all this happiness I have written about. Baby goats are being born at the farm and it really is such a happy time. On Friday eight baby goats were born, and two of those babies were Luv Bug's. Luv Bug is the goat Bridget has shown the last two years. On Friday Cindi Garlick was texting out pictures of the new little goats and Bridget was beside herself with joy. Late Friday night Cindi texted to me that Luv Bug had a boy and a girl, but the girl was born with a cleft palate and is not going to survive. Also, this means that they will only keep Luv Bug for one more season. My heart dropped when I read this text. On Saturday morning I talked to Cindi who gave me an update on that sweet little doe. She was still alive and had eaten well that morning and she said that Bridget was welcome to come down to see her. After I talked to Cindi I talked to Bridget and broke this awful news to her. She just laid on me and cried for a solid hour. It was heart wrenching. She did eventually calm down and spent the afternoon playing games with her sisters. At 4:00 I told her that we should go down to the Garlick's to see that baby goat. She wanted to go, but also didn't want to, and that brought on a whole other round of tears. Finally, at 5:00 she and I drove to the farm. All eight baby goats are in the basement in bins of straw and we got there right at their dinner time. Bridget was able to feed a few of them bottles of milk, and that did her a world of good. Luv Bug's little doe was in a bin by herself. She is the tiniest out of all the goats, and significantly weaker than all the rest. She did not eat well last night, but she sure is darling. She has all of Luv Bug's coloring with darker fur and long, white speckled ears. She is so fluffy and so soft and just completely darling. When Bridget was done feeding the babies, she held and snuggled that little doe and I know it did her heart good. We spent a full hour there and it was tender and sweet. At one point Bridget was playing with some other goats and that little doe walked on her wobbly legs to Bridget and just nuzzled right into her legs. The sweetest. Bridget kept it together until we got in the car to drive home and she cried all over again. The harsh realities of farm life are very real, and it is her first major experience with it. She works at the farm tomorrow night, so we will see what that visit brings. Sweet girl.
And on that note, I will sign off. Here is to a new week, taking whatever comes!
We love each of you.
Richard, Jenny, Marshall, Bridget, Rachel, and Gretchen :)
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