Hello! Another Monday edition of this email, written during another snowstorm. And it's Spring Break for the kids. Man! Looks like it is going to snow and snow and snow until Wednesday. What a winter season Utah has had! I was driving the girls to school last Friday, during yet another snowstorm and I said, "Well, the good news is Utah should be very, very green this spring." Rachel immediately said, "What if there is no spring?!" Very valid question indeed. It sure feels that way. Alright, onto the week...
I survived the remote learning day of last Monday and I hope we never have to repeat it. :)
Last Tuesday morning we sent all the kids off to school (yay!) and Richard and I went up to the temple to do sealings. We were able to finish the last of the 20 names we received from Wendy Watson Nelson through the Irions. It has been a great experience to do those together. As soon as we got home, I dashed down to the school to help in kindergarten. On my way home from kindergarten I got a text from Marshall saying that he didn't feel well and wanted me to pick him up. He had started in on a cold the day before and it was getting the better of him. He basically laid on the couch for the next day and a half, sleeping, doing school work, and hardly talking. I have yet to decide if these things just hit him hard or if he is the epitome of a man-cold! The one nice thing about having him home on Tuesday is that after lunch Richard and I were able to run to Costco and leave Gretchen home with him, so much faster! Richard worked 3:00 pm-10:00 pm that day. After school, Rachel had dance, but that is all we had going on! Yay!
Marshall stayed home from school again on Wednesday. Richard had a virtual meeting that morning and then ran some errands. After lunch I left for the dentist to get my temporary crown. Always a joy just listening to that drill ground your tooth down! After school, Rachel had piano and then dance, a busy day for her. Bridget went to a family history activity for YW's that night and now she is obsessed with the family tree app. Marshall rallied enough to go to his YM's activity that night. His teacher's quorum went to see Matilda at Centerpoint that night because one of their quorum members is in the cast. Marshall really enjoyed it and was glad he could go, cold and all. I spent the night at home with the little Bear Cub. She has taken off again in reading and it has been so fun to experience another burst in knowledge with her. On Friday she passed off the level 2 books in kindergarten. Just to give some context here, Rachel did not make it through level 2 in kindergarten, so I am on Cloud 9 about hitting this benchmark with Gretchen. She is honestly so excited to bring home new books each day. She immediately pulls them out of her bag to see if any new characters are going to be introduced and she is happy to sit and read them soon after coming home. Yay Gretchen! Poor Richard worked 4:00-11:00 pm on Wednesday and then was out the door at 7:00 am on Thursday morning for work at the hospital. (I think this could have been planned a bit better!)
Thursday morning I was the only one home! I love my family, but for a bit of an introvert, I relished those few short hours alone in a quiet house! I tackled some projects, stretched, listened to Marco Polo's and an audiobook and soaked in the calm and quiet! Bliss! Gretchen had dance after school and no one else had thing on that afternoon. This was great, but also led to a lot of energy! Haha! The kids were literally bouncing off the walls during dinner and right after dinner I left Richard in the chaos to go to a stake primary meeting. Thankfully, when I got home at 9:30, all was quiet and Richard had survived!
Friday, as I wrote, was another snowstorm. So bananas. The girls had early out and all three of them got time with friends that afternoon. Bridget and Gretchen had Cambria and Naomi over. Rachel had Eily over and then at 4:30 I took those two girls to Luke's house. Rachel and Luke have crushes on each other. Ah! I have known this for months, and she went to his birthday party in the fall, so I know who he is. I was glad Rachel was going over with Eily! Marshall finally went to track practice for the first time the whole week. His first meet is the Thursday after spring break. Track has been so discombobulated for the team because of the crazy weather and for him because of having the stomach flu and this rotten cold. He ended up getting stuck in the sprint group on Friday, which he was not happy about, but he did well. Who knows what next week and that track meet will hold! After getting all the kids home and friends sent home for dinner, we ate, and then I took Bridget and Gretchen to Cambria and Naomi's house for a late night. Gretchen was beside herself with excitement to be going to her first late night. I picked them up at 10:00 and we all went straight to bed.
Bridget and I were up early Saturday morning because of the farm. Sigh. My favorite pastime...or not! I actually prefer the morning though, that way I don't dread it all day! The girls worked hard and pretty quickly. It just took about 2 1/2 hours, which is a definite improvement for them. Richard is in the middle of a 12-day work stretch. Poor guy! He held the fort down at home with the other kids that morning and then had to start working at 10:30, thankfully he was able to work from home. The kids and I spent our Saturday listening to conference, and I napped. I came down with Marshall's cold on Friday and I could not keep my eyes open Saturday afternoon. Cambria and Naomi came over after lunch and that foursome was so kind to include Rachel in all their fun, so she never felt left out. They got good playtime in before and after conference, and they were so good to do art projects and sit and listen during conference. Marshall watched the Final Four basketball games in between sessions, and he was very happy the evening session ended as early as it did! I am guessing Elder Holland was supposed to speak in that session, and I definitely missed hearing from him. That evening, the girls played in the loft (still so into Barbies), Marshall watched basketball, Richard ended up having to work an extra hour, and I did who knows what! It was a good Saturday though, relaxing for everyone but Richard, bless him!
Yesterday we had breakfast all together before conference and Richard started working. The kids and I spent the conference sessions doing a puzzle (almost done!), Bridget painted her nails, and the other girls went through about 200 sheets of paper making all sorts of creations. :) General Conference was wonderful, and it was so nice to have a pretty laid-back weekend to be able to watch/listen to so much of it. Richard finished working about 7:30 last night. We spent some time as a family and then the kids set up a sleepover for themselves in the movie room. And as of 9:00 am this morning, they are all still asleep! Win!
Here's to a snowy spring break!
Love,
Richard, Jenny, Marshall, Bridget, Rachel and Gretchen :)
As far as pictures go, apparently, I only photographed Gretchen and Ziggy this week. :)
