Happy Monday!
We had a good week. We all survived Bridget's absence, though we dearly missed her. She came home yesterday and Ziggy came home on Thursday and last night it felt so great to have everyone home together for family prayer! Here are the highlights of our week...
Last Monday morning Bridget and I left at 9:00 am, picked up Cambria and made the almost two hour drive to Fruitland. Becky was there waiting for us and we loaded the girls up in her van, got some treats in the gas station, gave hugs and then went our separate ways. I got home about 1:30 pm and found all well here at home. Marshall had soccer practice that evening.
Marshall spent most of Tuesday hanging out with Johnny. They had dinner at Johnny's house and then rode their bikes to Dicks and bought treats and then came back here to hang out. Rachel and Gretchen spent the entire afternoon and evening playing with the Howells. The Howells have lived in our cul-de-sac the entire time we have lived here and they have six kids, though only their son matches up with Bridget in birth year/school year/primary year. Their youngest three girls are right around Rachel and Gretchen's ages, but they are not the same year in school so friendships have not been immediate...clearly, we have lived here for five years! Ha! Slowly, over the course of the school year, the girls started to play together more and this summer it has blossomed into a daily occurrence, which we are all loving! It is so nice that I don't have to drive anyone anywhere or coordinate pick up/drop off times. They are living the way we all grew up...knocking on someone's door to see if they can play! Yay! Anyway, on Tuesday, Rachel and Gretchen played with the Howell girls for hours. We finally brought them in for dinner at 7:45 pm. :) I had a primary meeting that night, so I left at 8:30 and Richard wrapped up dinner time and bedtime.
Wednesday morning I went on a walk with my Mom, which was lovely as always! Rachel had dance in the morning and though I don't remember, I am certain the girls played with the Howells again. After lunch, Marshall went swimming with Johnny at his grandparents' neighborhood pool. There was not a soul there so they had the place to themselves...lucky boys! He got home just in time to change and I ran him down to soccer practice. Richard picked him up from practice 90 minutes later, he was home for 15 minutes, enough time to change clothes and scarf down two pork tacos and then he was off to a combined YM/YW activity. They tied blankets for Primary Children's and then played lawn games. Marshall can be a homebody, but when he has days like this where he goes from one thing to the next he handles it well (usually!) and is happier! If only this was his natural inclination. :)
Rachel had dance again on Thursday morning. Marshall went to the temple and did baptisms with some youth in our ward. He was invited the day before, and I am so glad he said yes. Thursday morning he could not find his recommend, which is a VERY usual occurrence, but he always finds it within a few minutes, not so Thursday morning! He and I looked in every possible place we thought it might be, but to no avail. In a sign of true maturity, he still went to the temple and just had his membership number so they could look up his recommend. I was beyond proud of him! He had a great time at the temple, and afterward they went to lunch at Culver's! As a sidenote, the next morning I found his recommend in the instruction booklet for the watch he just got. What?!?! Back to Thursday...after dance Rachel went straight to piano and right after that Gretchen, Rachel and I went to pick up Ziggy! We had been without him for 22 days, and it was the happiest of reunions! He went crazy when he saw us. He ran right to us, jumped up and up and up, gave licks and his little puppy hugs with his front paws and we were so happy. We spent the next hour talking with the trainers and basically having them train us so we can keep Ziggy's progress going strong. He learned place, down, wait, heel, come and he is quite good at all of it! Yay! Money well spent. Marshall was waiting for us when we got home and it was another wonderful reunion, boy and dog. :) Marshall and I had a chill afternoon at home with Ziggy while Rachel went to Eily's and Gretchen played with the Howells. When Richard got home that night it was SO fun to watch Ziggy, who was beside himself! One huge improvement with Ziggy is he is no longer mauling Richard when he is in the kitchen! Ha! We tell him "place" and he goes to his dog bed and stays there...a miracle! That evening, we took a walk and played outside in the amazing weather before I picked up Rachel. I will say, though we all desperately missed Bridget, we had lots of time where we just had time with two kids at home, because another one was off somewhere. Those were very fun moments, to just have Marshall and Gretchen or just Rachel and Gretchen-I soaked it all up!
Friday was a day at home for me getting things done. Johnny came up for the afternoon and had dinner with us. The girls played with the Howells in the afternoon. I made dinner and took it to a family in our ward. All the kids, Marshall and Johnny included, played outside after dinner. At 8:00 pm, my ministering companion and I took a birthday treat to a neighbor and ended up talking outside for 90 minutes. It was glorious. When I came in, we put the girls to bed, Marshall went to Johnny's, he came home at 11:00 pm and we all went to bed entirely too late. :)
Saturday morning we all slept in...YAY!!! Rachel helped make breakfast for us, her choice was scones, delicious breakfast! Rachel had dance that morning and Richard and Marshall went on their summer date-Top Golf. Marshall went to Top Golf last summer for a birthday party and has been waiting for almost a year to go with Richard. They had a great time together and I am glad we were finally able to make it happen! Richard and I went to the temple that afternoon and did sealings. We had dinner at Kneader's and then picked up Cafe Rio for the kids. Once everyone had eaten, we played outside, took Ziggy on a walk, and Richard and Marshall watched a soccer game. It was a good Saturday!
Yesterday was a busy day, especially for a Sunday. Richard had bishopric meeting at 9:30 and I went to the 10:30 sacrament meeting. Richard helped the kids finish getting ready for church and I got home just as they were leaving and I was able to give everyone a hug. I got a few things ready for me to drive to Fruitland to pick up Bridget and Cambria and just as I was loading the car I saw a text from Becky saying that Bridget had just thrown up! Poor girl! I threw a bowl and Lysol wipes in the car and hoped for the best! When I got to Fruitland I was surprised to see a happy, smiling, good-color-in-her-cheeks Bridget, especially because Becky told me she threw up one more time on their drive. It was a conundrum to me because she did not look how one usually looks with the stomach flu! She and Cambria talked for the first 15 minutes or so of our drive home, and then Bridget ended up falling asleep and slept all the way home! After talking to her more, I am chalking her little bouts of feeling not so good up to sleep deprivation and a good long week of FUN. Once again, we got home just as Richard and the other kids were leaving for Toney FHE. Bridget was elated to see Ziggy, and he was SO happy to see her. I am certain he knew she was missing. It was a sweet reunion. I got Bridget settled at home, since I still wasn't 100% sure if she was sick or not, and then went to my parents' house. We had a great Toney FHE and it was so good to visit with everyone, as always, and the kids had a ball playing together. Richard and Marshall left Toney FHE just after 7:00 to make it to a neighborhood dessert night that was in our cul-de-sac and Bridget, who felt totally normal, also came out to join them. The younger girls and I stayed another hour at my parents' before saying our good-byes. Once home, we had a great evening outside with neighbors and stayed out entirely too late. The kids played and adults talked and we brought Ziggy out for the last hour and he did awesome! There is no way we could have done that with him four weeks ago. Yay!
And lastly, a quick report on Bridget and her time in Vernal. The short story, she was in heaven and continues to wish she lived there. She and Cambria had the time of their lives and Bob and Becky took great care of them and provided so much fun. Long story, they rode the horses every single day, sometimes twice. Bridget rode Fred, using Grandma Yancey's saddle, and Cambria rode Goose. Bob took them on a trail ride in the Uintas on Wednesday and the pictures looked gorgeous. They also went bowling, swimming at the rec center, had two sleepovers with Katelin, did baptisms at the Vernal Temple, and started watching "Heartland" and they are hooked! They played in the yard, laid in the hammock, visited cute little Midnight who is growing more and more used to people, and played games. They stayed up late, slept in late (most mornings) and just had the best time. We are happy for her, but are also so glad she is back. Lunch was a tad chaotic today with all five of us in the kitchen, but I loved hanging back and just listening to all four kids talk and laugh and tease and enjoy being together again.
We have a few days of all of us at home and then Rachel and I leave on Sunday for nationals in San Diego! I am equal parts excited and stressed out of my mind! Wish us luck!
Love each of you.
Richard, Jenny, Marshall, Bridget, Rachel, and Gretchen :)
No comments:
Post a Comment