Oh my goodness. This week has been insane. I have been in and out of this house and gone more than home, with only small slivers of time in between one thing and the next. I hate to admit that my patience is running thin...and at times I have probably not been so nice to my kids. I am losing my mind! Multiple times this week I have had at least two kids asking me a question or needing me for something while I am trying to reply to a text about another child! Ah...my mind! Way too much stimulation this week. I am craving down time. All I want is a day at home with absolutely nothing to do. That seems totally not achievable, but I will have to trust that some slower summer weeks are ahead! I feel like my blood pressure is rising while I am writing this paragraph! Ha! Here's the rundown of our week.
Before I start though, because I just re-read the above paragraph...the week has been crazy busy, but full of SO much good. I am grateful our kids can do all this stuff, I am grateful I am healthy and strong and can help facilitate it all! I am grateful we are all learning and growing and surviving the challenging things that come our way! So, while life is packed to the brim, I am grateful for it.
I told my girls that they have to walk to school every day until the end of the school year. They have rocked it and my heart simultaneously bursts and breaks as I see them out the door each morning. Gretchen's cheeks, I could kiss those squishable things one hundred times a day. By a miracle, Rachel and Gretchen have not taxed Bridget too much in her extreme punctuality and Bridget has been a little more flexible with them in the mornings, which I very much appreciate! Once all the girls got off to school, I dashed over to my Mom's house for Stacie's little baby shower. All Utah Toney women gathered to celebrate Stacie and baby boy #4. We ate delicious food, had mostly uninterrupted conversation, and just had a great, great time together! Even though I didn't get any sisters when I was younger, I sure lucked out in the sister-in-law department, and I am beyond thankful for each of them. And I cannot wait to meet another Danny and Stacie baby boy-he is destined to have perfect blue eyes. The rest of Monday was a whirlwind. Shortly after Gretchen got home from school, we waved her hair and put on some make-up. We have never waved her hair before and it made her look like a teenager. Then we threw on some blush, lipstick, and mascara and she all of a sudden turned 17. The first stop with Gretchen was her Let's Play Music recital. My Mom was also able to come and she and I cheered on cute little Gretchen. The Let's Play Music kids sang and played their bells and even disguised themselves as little chefs. It was all darling. Gretchen did great! She has LOVED music class this year and is very excited to start on the piano in the fall! The second the recital was over, we took a picture with my Mom and then left for the dance studio. Gretchen had dance pictures, and even though we were 5 minutes late, they were also running late, so Gretchen didn't miss out on a thing! We quickly got her changed into her costume, finished her hair, touched up her lipstick and boom, she was ready! Since she is in two dances, she got two group pictures and two individual pictures. That girl was in heaven and was not shy at all posing for the camera. As we were walking to the car, she had this cute little sassy walk going on, which I was loving and all of a sudden she turned around and said, "I hate dance." What?! Dagger through my heart. I asked her why she hates Before we put the kids to bed last Sunday night, I told the girls they have to walk to school every day until the end of the school year. They have rocked it and my heart simultaneously bursts and breaks as I see them out the door each morning. Gretchen's cheeks, I could kiss those squishable things one hundred times a day. By a miracle, Rachel and Gretchen have not taxed Bridget too much in her extreme punctuality and Bridget has been a little more flexible with them in the mornings, which I very much appreciate! Once all the girls got off to school, I dashed over to my Mom's house for Stacie's little baby shower. All Utah Toney women gathered to celebrate Stacie and baby boy #4. We ate delicious food, had mostly uninterrupted conversation, and just had a great, great time together! Even though I didn't get any sisters when I was younger, I sure lucked out in the sister-in-law department, and I am beyond thankful for each of them. And I cannot wait to meet another Danny and Stacie baby boy-he is destined to have perfect blue eyes. The rest of Monday was a whirlwind. Shortly after Gretchen got home from school, we waved her hair and put on some make-up. We have never waved her hair before and it made her look like a teenager. Then we threw on some blush, lipstick, and mascara and she all of a sudden turned 17. The first stop with Gretchen was her Let's Play Music recital. My Mom was also able to come and she and I cheered on cute little Gretchen. The Let's Play Music kids sang and played their bells and even disguised themselves as little chefs. It was all darling. Gretchen did great! She has LOVED music class this year and is very excited to start on the piano in the fall! The second the recital was over, we took a picture with my Mom and then left for the dance studio. Gretchen had dance pictures, and even though we were 5 minutes late, they were also running late, so Gretchen didn't miss out on a thing! We quickly got her changed into her costume, finished her hair, touched up her lipstick and boom, she was ready! Since she is in two dances, she got two group pictures and two individual pictures. That girl was in heaven and was not shy at all posing for the camera. As we were walking to the car, she had this cute little sassy walk going on, which I was loving and all of a sudden she turned around and said, "I hate dance." What?! Dagger through my heart. I asked her why she hates dance and she replied, "It makes my arms and legs tired!" I asked her if running back and forth in the living room makes her legs tired...nope, nope it does not! After school, Marshall had soccer practice (thankfully carpool saved me that day, and Richard picked those sweaty boys up on his way home from work). Once Rachel was home we started on her hair and make-up. She also wanted her hair wavy. She looked darling. Rachel's pictures were scheduled from 5:30-6:30, but of course that ended up being 5:30-7:00 with four group pictures and at least one individual photo for each dancer. I was beat. But, I did love watching my girls have fun with their friends and play around with poses. Rachel and I were home by 7:15 and finally had dinner that I had made three hours before! Ha!
Tuesday morning I helped get a teacher's luncheon ready at the elementary school and then I volunteered in kindergarten. Tuesday afternoon and evening was full of dance for Rachel, the farm for Bridget (I didn't have to go!) and a primary meeting that evening for me.
Richard had Wednesday off, which was so wonderful. Bridget got up at 5:45 and went to the Bountiful Temple with the young women and had a great, albeit, early morning there. After all the kids got off to school, Richard and I tackled cleaning up our outdoor table and deck on the east side. It was not the easiest job as it seemed something died on that table, but it is all cleaned up now and hopefully sanitary! After lunch, I checked Marshall out of school for an orthodontist appointment. Unfortunately, he had two lower brackets that had fallen off (which he didn't realize-probably tells you how well he is brushing his teeth!), and those teeth had already started to regress. So the orthodontist had to fix those and then just put things back to how they were at his last appointment, so not much progress is being made there! Sigh. After school, my Mom came and picked up Marshall just after 4:00. She saved us that night. She took Marshall up to Roy for his soccer game and spent the whole evening with him. With Marshall's injury from the previous Saturday, Richard and I were hesitant to have Marshall at a soccer game without one of us there or a grandparent. My Mom stepped in and helped us out big time! After Marshall's soccer game, they went to Cal's t-ball game, picked up dinner, and Marshall was finally home about 8:30. Thank you Mom! That afternoon, Richard took Bridget to her piano lesson and then as soon as those two got home, Richard and I left. All the way back in 2019, Richard got us tickets to see They Might Be Giants in 2020 to celebrate 30 thirty years of their album, Flood, one of Richard's favorites. Richard's friend, Marshall, and his wife, also got tickets. Well, we all know how 2020 went, and this concert ended up being postponed two more times. So, four years after we bought the tickets, we finally got to go! So nuts! Richard and I got dinner, found a place to park, stood in a long line, got into the concert venue, met up with Marshall and Marietta, and had a great evening. The majority of the music they played came from Flood, which was a lot of fun since Richard loves it and I know it quite well myself! Thankfully, They Might Be Giants is getting old, and has less stamina, so the concert was done about 10:15 and we were home just before 11:00! Ha! It really was a great time though, and even though we didn't get a lot of time to talk with Marshall and Marietta, it was still so great to see them. The girls did great here at home. Rachel had dance that night, so for a huge chunk of the night it was just Bridget and Gretchen home together and by all accounts they had a great time. All the girls were sound asleep when we got home, and even though we told Marshall to go to bed at 10:00; of course, he was still awake when we got home! Cute Bridget let Gretchen sleep with her that night. Love.
Thursday morning after everyone had left for school and work, I picked my Mom up and drove her to Murray to pick up my Dad's car from the dealership. Anytime with my Mom is so wonderful, but especially when it is kid-free because then we can talk without interruption! I might be a tad selfish about this! I did love my 30 minute drive with her. Soon after getting back home, I loaded Ziggy up and off we went for a dog-training consultation! Haha! We are potentially thinking about sending Ziggy off to obedience boarding school. Richard and I are loving the idea, and we just really need to commit to it. The kids are heartbroken about it and don't think they can live without him for three weeks. I just want a more obedient dog! Keep you posted! Ziggy and I made it home just before Gretchen got home and then we had a pretty quick turnaround to get to dance. That afternoon Rachel also had her 4th grade program. I was able to go and see it and cheer her on. She was a darling pioneer and spoke her part so well. She also got to hold up the Davis sign when they were singing the song about the counties in Utah. Great program, and I am so glad I could be there. After school, I picked up Gretchen who had gone home with Genevieve after dance, Rachel had piano, Bridget had the farm (I didn't have to go again, though I have a double whammy this coming week), and Marshall's band concert. It was a whirlwind. The band concert was actually really fun. It was outside at the junior high and people brought blankets, lawn chairs and dinner and we just lounged around and listened to music. Made me excited for summer! My Mom was also able to join us and Richard met us after work. We missed Bridget, but Marshall was glad the rest of us could be there.
Friday morning I sent everyone off and then ran to Home Depot super quick to get pots for my big hostas! After dropping those off at home, I went to the elementary school to help with the 4th grade Rendezvous! I was at the rug braiding station so I spent two hours teaching boys how to braid! It was equal parts fun, hilarious, and exhausting! I was supposed to have another parent with me, but they never showed up! I survived though and it was fun to help Rachel's group when they rotated to my station. When I was done helping there, I picked Gretchen up from Naomi's house and we came home for lunch. After lunch, I put on pajamas and loaded up the van and Gretchen and I went to the church to set up for a primary activity. Why on earth did our primary presidency decide to plan and host a primary activity in May is beyond me, but in March it sounded like such a good idea! Ha! It was very successful though. We had all the kids come in their pajamas (pj's) and we talked about prayer, journals, and scriptures. I think it was mostly successful and I was thrilled when it was done! I got a 20 minute nap in at home that afternoon, which was very much needed. Cambria and Naomi came over to play, and all the girls had a great time together. When Melanie dropped her girls off, she mentioned what time she would pick them up because Cambria had an appointment at the junior high to select her instrument for band. What?! Thankfully, she forwarded me the email and I snagged a 6:00 pm appointment for Bridget. Nothing short of a miracle! After friends left, she and I zipped over to the junior high and Bridget has officially decided to play the trumpet! She was deciding between the clarinet and trumpet and she was able to play both of them. She actually did great getting sound out of the clarinet, but the trumpet was significantly easier for her. Months ago when she told me she was thinking about the trumpet, I admit, I tried to persuade her to another instrument. But, a couple of weeks after that we were at Marshall's band concert and a girl who lives next to my parents played the most beautiful trumpet solo-I was sold! I am elated Bridget picked the trumpet and I think it will be fun to have another instrument in our home! We had a late dinner that night as a family, but I do think it was the only night we were all home together to sit around the table! After dinner, we had a relaxing evening at home all together, which is exactly what we needed!
Marshall and I were up early yesterday morning for a 9:00 am soccer game in Huntsville. We were out the door by 7:30 and had the most beautiful drive through Mountain Green. It is SO green. I have never been to Ireland, but I imagine that is how it would look...minus the snowy mountains I think, but man, just fields and rolling hills of green forever it seemed! So gorgeous! Marshall's team tied, but they played well against a very physical, and might I add, very rough language team. Yikes. The game was at Huntsville City Park and the street we were on was charming. Buildings straight out of the 1800s, but they all looked so well preserved. We drove by their city hall, at least that was the sign that was out front, who knows if they still use it, but it was no bigger than 20x20. The town bells chimed at 9:00 am, right at kick-off...it was amazing! The first thing Marshall said to me after the soccer game was, "Bridget should live here! She would love it!" It was so quaint and charming. During dinner last night he told her she should live in Huntsville. She immediately asked, "Does it have cars?" Marshall told her yes and she quickly replied with, "Ruined! Horse and wagon only!" Ha! He reminded her that Vernal (where she dreams of living) also has cars. He then told her she will have to join the Amish if that is the lifestyle she is looking for! Anyway, back to the day...Marshall and I got home just before lunch time. Richard has had to work from home 10:30 am to 6:30 pm both Saturday and Sunday, so that has been lame. Marshall, Gretchen and I did yard work yesterday afternoon. I transplanted two more hostas and Marshall helped me prune a demon bush and wonderful Gretchen clipped off all the dead daffodils! So helpful! Bridget went to Lagoon for the first time this year and she and Avery only stayed two hours, but she had a great time. Last night Bridget had Cambria, Claire and Avery over and Gretchen had Naomi over. It was a wild house full of girls, but fun was had by all.
Today has been a good day! Richard pulled off a breakfast for me, all the while thinking he had ward council at 9:00 am. I mentioned to him earlier in the week that it was odd they were doing ward council on Mother's Day. But, off he went, and was back five minutes later. :) Turns out he did indeed read the email wrong about ward council! The kids were mostly good and kind to each other this morning. I was showered with school gifts of the best kind and a new necklace and earrings. I even got a 20 minute nap this morning, praise the heavens for 12:00 pm church! The primary kids sang in sacrament meeting today, and I honestly don't think I have ever heard them sing better. I soaked up having Rachel and Gretchen up there. During the second hour and Bishop spoke to the women for about 20 minutes and then we had pie and got to visit-it was amazing! Word is that two men covered singing time in primary for us today. One brought his acoustic guitar and the other man brought his electric guitar! The kids LOVED it. For the third year running, I had individual snuggle time with each of the kids this afternoon, though with Richard working in our bedroom, we were displaced to the movie room, but it was still great. It has become such a fun tradition. The kids semi-helped with dinner tonight and then my parents came over for the evening, which was wonderful as always. We talked, put up with Marshall's antics, ate cake, and played a game. A wonderful evening. Richard is now back to working, just wrapping things up, but hopefully he will be done soon!
And since it is Mother's Day, I should probably say a few words! As if I haven't written hundreds of words already! Ha! I am so grateful for my Mom and Richard's Mom. The older I am getting, the more I am realizing that being a mother is never-ending, no matter how old you or your children become. Endless support, love, prayers, worry, stress, help...it is all there, all the time. And in my own role as mother, I am so grateful for it. All I ever dreamed of as a girl was being a mother, but I only ever imagined being a mom to little ones. Now I feel like that time has slipped through my fingers and I am left wondering where it all went. But, I am also learning how much I LOVE being a mom to the current ages of my kids. They are at such fun ages and I love all that I get to do and experience with them. They stretch me in ways I didn't know I could be stretched, and sometimes that stretching seems like too much, but here I am, continuing to try each day. I wouldn't trade it.
Love to each of you.
Richard, Jenny, Marshall, Bridget, Rachel and Gretchen :)
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