Hello!
Here's a rundown of our week.
Poor Gretchen started coming down with a cold last weekend. She held strong until Sunday night, but then it finally hit her in full-force. She stayed home from school Monday and Tuesday. She went to school Wednesday, but we had her miss music and most of dance that day. It's been a long time since she has had that bad of a cold, but she is doing much better now, just a lingering cough. Thankfully, the rest of us have managed to avoid it, which I find completely surprising! So that was Gretchen's Monday. I did volunteer at the Charger Store that day, so sweet Grizz was left with the TV and a phone! But, she did great, and as always, I loved my time at the junior high. The fire alarm actually went off just as first lunch was starting. Bless those junior high teachers who had to oversee half the student body who was at lunch and so felt they had freedom to roam anywhere. Ha! That evening, Rachel went to dance and Bridget was at the farm. Marshall also went on his birthday outing with my parents-a seafood dinner at Sizzler He loved it. :) Something we never treat him to. :)
Richard had work off on Tuesday. Yay! Always our favorite days. He went to the temple that morning, and then ran some errands for me while I was at PT. Big step of progres for me there. I put a shoe on my left foot and walked (at the slowest possible pace with a physical therapist right by me the entire time) on the treadmill for eight minutes! EIGHT minutes! It was painful, but not terrible, and my ankle felt better the longer I walked. I was holding onto the treadmill with two hands and the therapist was giving me a lot of corrections, which I did find very helpful. Nothing like learning to walk again at age 41 to bring lots of humility into your life. :) But, all that aside, I was very grateful for that big step, figuratively and literally! My wonderful Mom also came over on Tuesday and helped with a lot. She wiped out the linen cabinet in our bathroom, swept and mopped the living room floor, unboxed lots of books and pictures, and helped Richard get our living room rug down. Huge progress! And I LOVE the rug. One funny thing, as my Mom and Richard were working on the rug, they had to rotate it 180 degrees, and as they were problem solving that, my Mom said, "Well, there's more than one way to skin a cat." She immediately caught herself and realized she shouldn't have said that with Gretchen right there, because Gretchen still is obsessed with cats! Haha! But, we thought nothing of it and all moved on. Later that afternoon, I was sitting on the rug and asked Gretchen if she liked it, she immediately replied, "No! You heard Grandma! It's made of cat fur!" Ahhh! It gave me a great laugh, and now we are all trying to reassure Gretchen the rug is not made of cat fur. :) Rachel had dance that evening and was gone all night, but the rest of us were pretty glued to CNN's election coverage. What a night. Thankfully, most of us could sleep in on Wednesday. We forced Bridget to bed at 11:00 and Richard, Marshall and I all went to bed at midnight.
Richard had Wednesday off too. Praise the heavens! But, he did have to spend a good chunk of his morning at the dentist. While he was gone, our appliance guy came back and finally finished installing the microwave and putting the trim around it. Looks great! The elementary school had early out Wednesday-Friday, so as soon as the appliance guy was gone, I ran down to the school and met Rachel and Gretchen at the book fair. Always a highlight of the school year. They each left with some new books that they promptly started reading as soon as we got home. We were able to have a chill afternoon. Richard spent a lot of time up in the loft during his days off of work unpacking and sorting and organizing things that go up there. That night B and I went to YW's, Rachel had piano, and Gretchen went to a short time of dance.
Thursday Richard was back to work. I met my friend, Mary, for breakfast. We have been friends since 5th grade, and it was so good to see her. We had a great breakfast and then I went straight to physical therapy. This time I walked on the treadmill only holding on with one hand! I hate to admit how sore these treadmill walks have made my legs...both of them! Happy and a little discouraging all at the same time! After school, it was parent teacher conferences for Rachel and Gretchen. They both got rave reviews from their teachers. Their grades are great, hitting all their benchmarks, and excelling all around. Very grateful for that. Our evening was a busy one. Piano for Bridget, dance for Rachel, RS activity for me, and haircut and chaperone meeting for Richard-but we pulled it all off! Richard is going to be a chaperone on the cross country trip to California in December. He is excited, but also after the meeting, maybe a little nervous! Haha! Marshall also did not want him to go, but he seems to be warming to the idea of having his Dad tag along! And speaking of Marshall, his return to running has not been as smooth as we had hoped! But, he ended this last week without pain, so we are keeping our fingers crossed for today!
Friday! Always a good day. Rachel went to school early to help clean up the book fair with the student council. I had a PTA meeting at the school that afternoon and finished just as the bell rang. The girls and I ran to Target for a major haul of birthday gifts, pants, and home things. They were great little shoppers. Rachel went to Ellie's birthday party that evening and had the best time. The rest of the kids were home and I actually made a real dinner, a huge rarity for two reasons. One, I hardly do that anymore, and two, it was a Friday night! Rachel was home a little before 8:30 and we decorated the living room Christmas tree! It was the best. I sat on the couch with my leg up and just took it all in as the kids decorated and Richard helped. I did not want to leave that room when it was all done. Between the piano, the tree, the new rug, Christmas pillows on the couch, it was so peaceful and beautiful and made me so happy. This is the ONLY corner of our house that is fully put together, which makes me appreciate it even more! I can only hope that in just a few weeks the rest of the house will be put together. :) After all of that, we watched funny instagram reels before calling it a night.
Saturday was a busy day. We managed to squeeze in a breakfast with most of us, and then Bridget was off to the farm. Richard got a couple of things done around the house and then he left for work. Richard usually works from home on the weekends, but because he was going to the BYU game that night, he decided to work at LDS Hospital that day. The kids and I spent the day at home attempting to get jobs done. :) My Dad did come over that afternoon and helped me organize the cupboards in the laundry room. While this seems like a small task, to me it wasn't, and I sure appreciated his help finding all that stuff in the garage, wiping it down, and getting it in the house. Feels so great to have one more thing done. Shortly after my Dad left, Marshall's cute date, Camille, came to pick him up for the Sadie Hawkins dance. :) It was fun to see them off. That evening, Rachel went to yet another birthday party. Bridget and Gretchen had Cambria and Naomi over and they played the night away while watching the BYU game. As for me, my wonderful and dear friend, Shannon came over. She brought dinner from Beaumont Bakery and we ate and talked and then watched the last episode of our current favorite Korean Drama! Hospital Playlist! It was such a fun evening. Loved every minute of it. Shannon left about 9:00, the girls' friends left at 10:30, right around the time Rachel got home. Gretchen was beat and went straight to bed, but the rest of us stayed up to watch that very intense ending to the BYU-Utah game! Wow! Richard, obviously, was so happy he was there. He and Ricky had fantastic seats and had a great view of that beautiful field goal to end the game. Obviously they stayed to celebrate and got to give a bunch of BYU players high fives as they walked by. What a great night! At home, there was just as big of a celebration. Rachel was a riot to watch in the final minutes of that game. You may have seen a video Richard posted of her on social media. Pure celebration from that Rachel Louise. Such a fun night. Ah! I can't forget Marshall, though I have gotten minimal details from him about his date. But, I do know that after Camille picked him up they went to someone's house and made homemade pizzas and then while the pizzas cooked they took pictures in the backyard. After dinner they played games, one of which was Spoons-the game of my high school years! After that, they went to the dance, there were zero slow dances, which made Marshall so happy. After the dance they went to a house and watched the last hour of the BYU game and managed to all still stay friends even though some were cheering for different teams! Haha! So much excitement, and also so much exhaustion on Sunday for all of us. :)
Richard went to bed at 2:00 am and got up at 5:20 am for bishopric meeting, ward council, church, and then started working at 11:00 am. My afternoon was filled with young women meetings. After all of that, the girls and I went to Toney FHE. Richard was still working and Marshall was exhausted and trying to finish homework. The girls and I had a great time with family. We got home just after 7:00 and enjoyed time at home with the six of us.
That's it! Thanks for reading. :) Love each of you!
Richard, Jenny, Marshall, Bridget, Rachel, and Gretchen :)
P.S. I am attaching a few pictures from last week. Gretchen asleep on the floor at stake conference. And Halloween pictures of Rachel, taken by her friend's wonderful mom. Bless her.
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