Outdoor Festival

This week was full of a sick, cranky baby. Poor Josie continued her nasty cold this week. Her poor nose just streamed snot all week. She slept poorly, napped poorly, and was simply miserable. I took her into the clinic Tuesday morning after a sleepless night with Josie whimpering in her restless sleep. Along with her cold she contracted double ear infections. I hoped the medication would help her get better faster, nope. The medication did reduce her ear pain but she is still coughing and her nose running 8 days later. I am so grateful for my ergo baby carrier. She spent many, many hours in the carrier on my back. My shirts were masterpieces in snotty art before the evening was over. The nice part of having a sick baby/child is the wonderful snuggles. It makes up for the cranky disposition for the rest of the time. She is starting to feel better, Evelyn and Josie finally went to Primary after missing it for 3 weeks.

Our President's holiday was so nice, more time to sleep and relax. The kids organized a rousing game of Pet Shop played with all their stuffed animals. Once I kicked them off devices at 8:30 they played until 11 am! We had a lovely time with Justin for lunch. The older kids finally got to visit Justin's office for the first time. Visiting him at work is so different from the environment at Cabela's; we were practically celebrities in Sidney. At UTI everyone is tucked in working silently at their cubicles, no one bothering to check out the noise coming from Justin's office. Everett found a calculator, he looked quite at home sitting in a leather chair with a calculator...we just need to work on his wardrobe. Phillip, Amelia, and Josie enjoyed filling Justin's whiteboard with graffiti. Phillip drew a caricature of Justin as a pig! Amelia drew several piles of emoji poo. Evelyn was cute wandering from here to there. In Evelyn's words, "Dad, you wanna go Jimmy John's and me?" It's hard to resist her crooked smile and funny lisp. We indeed went to Jimmy Johns for sandwiches and one unwich. The rest of our day we cleaned up a bit then had some downtime. The Elders came over for dinner at 6 pm. We dined on waffles, fresh strawberry jam, sausage, and bacon. Deliciousness. The Elders helped Justin move our old, broken couch and love seat and move in a new sectional. The sectional is quite large. Even measuring thoroughly did not prepare me for the size and presentation of our new-to-us couch. It fits but now takes up most of the living room. It's comfy and will fit us all at one time. Amelia claimed the rounded center cushion as her own reading spot.

I caught the sewing bug this week. Evelyn enjoyed picking out fabric for an Easter dress plus coordinating fabric for her sisters. If you can believe it this was my first visit to Hobby Lobby since moving to Arizona. Long time overdue if you ask me. Since Tuesday I've stolen a moment here and there to patch patterns together and cut out fabric. I am still unsure where to set up a sewing niche since all my niches are taken in this house. I might be banished to the garage.

Tuesday was the Blue and Gold banquet. I love how excited Phillip gets about cub scouts. He got his uniform on, patches and belt loops updated, with no urging from me. This is huge! He offered the opening prayer for the banquet. If you can believe it this week was quite chilly with highs in the 60s. I busted out long-sleeved shirts for the second time this winter. I am quite sure boys are especially darling in their uniforms. Something about those boyish cheeks shining with excitement and those shuffling feet that never stop. Phillip earned 8 slivers in his hands by pulling pieces of plywood from one pile to another. He did not complain when it came to extracting the slivers.

Wednesday night the youth had a cultural night for mutual. I was asked to give a presentation on Egypt and make a little treat from that country. I really wanted to make Koshary but it was too much for me with a sick baby. We have a sister (and her 3 kids) from Baghdad investigating the church right now. She and her husband fled Iraq 12 years ago after his family was brutally murdered in front of them. They took refuge in Amman, Jordan for 5 years before gaining refugee status in America. Sura is one of those amazing ladies you wait a lifetime to meet. We bonded instantly over Koshary and hummus. She was at the event presenting on Babylon at the same table I was at! Amelia came along to help me. I used some of my Egyptian collectibles and borrowed a few from our neighbor who collects souvenir items. Other tables included: Estonia, Philippines, Japan, Korea, and Germany (?). The youth divided into smaller groups of 4 and rotated around the different displays. Afterwards we all got to sample delicious foods from all these countries. I think Amelia learned a few new things about her ole Mom as well.

Evelyn is on a new kick this week. She insists on playing Slamwich, then Sleeping Queens, then Feed the Woozle, and last of all Teniego (aka Diego). After the card/board games we play a rousing game of Barbie Dream House or rice tea party. I am tickled she is refusing screen time in preference of imaginative play. Good girl. She also changed her mind about turning 5, after Miranda's birthday she decided turning 5 would be lovely. Now she is planning a party with a bounce house, Anna cake, and going to Kindergarten.

Saturday we went to a free city event at the Riparian Preserve, the goat yoga was enticement enough. The event was an Outdoor Expo, featuring several businesses around our area focused on outdoor adventuring. The observatory was open allowing folks to view the sun, it had a nice sun flare we could see. Everett kept both eyes open while looking through the view finder. Just that peek through the lens was enough to bring back memories of all my lovely astronomy classes in college. We got to watch guys tying fish lures and take a hand at fly fishing. All the kids fell in love with the tiny baby goats. Everett got a goat on his back when he went into plank position. I guess goat Yoga is really a popular item, you get a massage while working out. The highlight of our time was the petting zoo and riding ponies. Josie was practically beside herself being in the same space as quack-quacks, moo-moos, and oinks. She was busy chattering away to the animals saying who knows what! She quite enjoyed the challenge of climbing the fencing to pet the pony. Evelyn started gagging when one of the ponies took a poo near her. Do you have kids who gag, even after smelling their own poo? Evelyn does. I have to yell at her several times a week to stop gagging, she will literally throw up while taking a dump. Ha ha ha ha ha ha. Amelia was thrilled to finally ride a pony, she is really wanting horse riding lessons. While in line for the pony rides Phillip noticed two real dinosaurs, "Mom! Those are real Velociraptors!" He was so scared and excited all at the same time. When it came his turn to pet the raptor he was shaking and refusing to stand near the dinosaurs. He did finally reach out brave finger and touch one. The further away we got the more excited he became! Evelyn was crying in a panic because the raptor was going to eat her. Even showing Phillip where the actors legs were visible did little to reduce his fear. Amelia and Everett climbed up a rock wall while Phillip was experiencing the dinos. What a fun little activity to enjoy on a Saturday. Justin took Everett to play a game of putt golf while the rest of us headed to the van. Everett was complaining about visiting the golf right away. I asked him to be quiet, if he said another word we would skip it. Well, he did not say another word until we headed to the van. He surprised me so Justin took him as a reward. The kids played at a little park while we waited. Amelia and Evelyn really had to use the bathroom. The park was surrounded with offices that were closed. One office looked open, it was a pediatrician clinic, I tried the door and it was open. I called over the girls then opened the door wider to find the front desk. Immediately a siren started to wail. Scared us all to death! I felt a bit foolish causing the alarm to wail. It went on for 5 minutes until it suddenly stopped. Who leaves their doors unlocked after business hours? Guess if the police show up at my door I'll know they found the perp who opened a business door after business hours.

Once back at home Justin went off to enjoy some motorcycle time. After Jojo woke up from her nap the girls all went to find a salon for haircuts. The first place was way too busy, a 45 min wait. The next place got us in immediately. Mia just got a 1/2 trim and I chopped my hair back a few inches. Ahhh! That felt so much better. We ate a hurried dinner before heading off to the church. Our ward activity for the evening was a super awesome talent show. The Young Women had a large bake sale to raise funds for Girl's Camp as the dessert for the function. Bishop promised to match dollar for dollar what the members paid for desserts! I hope the girls earned enough. Josie opened enough cupcake containers to earn quite a few dollars. That girl is sneaky. Josie spent most of the evening hanging out near the water dispensers with a cup and thumb out trying to get herself water. She earned enough to keep hanging out back there, add in the occasional snitched cupcake for a very happy girl. The first act was by far the most talented: our very own ward Bluegrass Band with two vocalists (also playing violin and guitar), banjo, and bass players. They sounded amazing. I recruited several Primary girls to help model dresses I made over the last couple years. The girls were quite excited to be part of a fashion show! Amelia sang a Lindsey Sterling song, Shatter Me. She was so, so nervous, but got up on stage and sang her heart out. Phillip and Everett had a routine planned, they would not share their plans with me. All I knew beforehand was it would include a ninja, monster, the "Shiny" song from Moana, and some jokes. What happened on stage was a disaster...pretty much the boys just got up there and rough-housed around almost falling off the stage 2-3 times. Everett was yanking Phillip's monster cape around and kicking him. I cut the "routine" short by several minutes. I'm glad it was dark because this mom was totally blushing. After some questioning Everett confessed that he forgot the routine and just did his best moves. On the bright side, I was proud that Phillip even got up on stage and in front of a large crowd, he is my shyest child so far.

Evelyn is growing up. She decided all on her own to put aside her Ellie binky. At her most recent dental appointment the dentist told her she needed to get rid of her binky. If she didn't get rid of it the dentist said she would have to come in to see him more often. Well, she was not a fan of that idea. Whenever she thought about putting her binky in her mouth I would hear her mutter, "I hate dentists! Just one suck!" Justin reminded her at night that the dentist would see her if she used Ellie. Several weeks later I can honestly say I have not idea where Ellie is and that Evelyn is finally sleeping without it. Well, sort of. She is quite restless at night and gets up way too often. Hooray. Now her adult teeth can come in all nice and straight. Hip Hip Hooray for Evelyn Justine!