End of School Looms Large

I left a Utah spring for Arizona summer! Actually, in all honesty it was quite balmy in Arizona when I arrived home. The next day however...those mild temps blasted up to 100. The kids are swimming most days after school since there is no more homework. 

Monday I spent the entire day cleaning my little heart out. Well, with the exception for the trip to Walmart for ice cream and toppings. Justin and the kids tried to clean but mostly managed damage control. I busted out the dusters, broom, mop, vacuum, and cleaning sprays. Bam! I accomplished lots before the kids came home. They arrived home to threats on their lives if they so much as breathed in the clean house. The reason? It was piano recital day! Hooray! We had lots of folks over to watch their cute little ones perform memorized piano masterpieces. Amelia typed out a handout for me. This time each child played 2 songs each. Amelia and I kicked it off with a rendition of Music Box from Rigoletto. Everett smashed his performance of Lemonade Stand and Supercalifragili-sticexpialidocious. Phillip played wonderfully Donkeys Love Carrots and Star Wars Main Theme. I love how their personalities shine through the music chosen. After the recital the kids pounded ice cream topped with loads of sugar. One parent gave me the stink eye for serving sugar after 6 pm. I wonder if she knows about the candy her daughter earns each week? I'm happy that's over until Christmas time. 

Tuesday the house was back to it's cluttered glory. I'd be an angry mom all the time if I wanted to keep the house perfectly clean. I'd probably get rid of the kids and Justin to do it....good thing my standards are relaxed. I got to photograph a sweet little baby girl, born after three big brothers the youngest of whom is now in 9th grade. I bet she is spoiled with lots of love. After the session I finally cleaned the garage mess by putting away my studio stuff to make room for the van. It's too hot for parking outside in the sun all day. Josie played with dress ups while I worked. I loved the warrior pig with a sword ensemble she put together. 

Everett is one step closer to getting baptized! He had his Bishop's interview with Justin and I in attendance Tuesday evening. He tried so hard to look dapper, that rumpled collar just added to his charm. I quite enjoyed witnessing his interview as Bishop ascertained Everett's worthiness and intent. Everett is the best, such a sweet kid, wanting to try his hardest. We are so proud of Everett's progress the past few months as he's prepared himself. He's nearly halfway through the Book of Mormon. 

After his interview I picked up Isla and Brooklyn so we could support a school fundraiser at 212 Ice Cream studio. Somehow I managed to drop my phone between the ordering counter and the ice cream freezer. Josie was small enough to crawl behind and retrieve it once the freezer was pulled out a bit. Ordering for 8 people is stressful. I managed to make only 2 mistakes, ate one of them. Ha ha. I was not impressed with the ice cream, regular stuff you can get at Walmart. The kids loved using plastic shovels to eat their treat with. 

Wednesday morning Josie had her final ballet/tap class then a short recital. She was NOT happy I made her stay, cried for quite a bit. She managed to pull out her smile for the recital bit. Ballet recitals at that age are like herding cats. Hilarious and darling. She earned her sticker chart and a chocolate cookie for her efforts. Mia competed in a district math competition! Seemed like she enjoyed herself. 

Everett is selling oil pastel art drawings for $3 per sheet. He worked hard one afternoon and whipped out 4 drawings to sell for profit. He has a bright future as an artist. Let me know if you are interested.

Amelia and Chloe plus friends performed in the last strings recital in elementary school on Thursday. We had quite the fun time before the recital choosing outfits and fixing hair. I really need to brush up on my dutch braid skills. Sounds idyllic, in reality we were rushed since I had piano students coming and going. Everett came down with strep so he was down for the count with a high fever and aches. We made it to the recital with time to spare, only for me to realize I forgot a memory card...back home in a rush to get one. Everett was still on the couch with pink cheeks. Back to the recital. Listened to screeching instruments warbling their way through sheets of music. The looks on the kid's faces was priceless! So proud of my girl(s). Justin made it a few minutes before the music started. Ronald and Phillip made green finger spikes using recital program papers. I made them sit near the doors so their paper rustling would not disturb the performers. After the recital I rushed off to take Everett to the pediatrician, confirmed strep, got antibiotics.

Got my food shopping done with Everett's help this week. He navigated the list for me, actually cutting the time in half. Good job buddy! Justin and I enjoyed a much needed date. We dined on Sushi for dinner. I'm in love with sushi with thin slices of lemon on top. Swoon. We finally got to watch Avengers End Game. I wished it inspired me more, mostly it felt slow. BUT...I did feel quite relieved to have the story tied up with a bow in the end.

Saturday we worked for a bit to clean up clutter. Amelia was extra cranky after babysitting until 11 pm. She moaned and was sassy to her siblings. I picked up that great big girl and rocked her like a baby for 5 minutes. She somehow turned into a normal kid after a big hug. All it takes is LOVE. Justin worked whack-a-mole with the sprinkler system. The girls went out to enjoy pedicures at the salon Chloe's dad works at. Josie smeared my polish not 5 minutes after leaving the salon, she stepped on my toes. Boo hoo. I went back later to get the polish fixed. It smeared again even when I was super careful, must've chosen an old bottle of polish. Justin took the boys to Walmart so Everett could look around for birthday present wishes. Our fun Roman Catholic neighbors are moving. They gave us their garage fridge! YAYAYAYAYAY. We are loving the bits of extra room, our fridge is always jammed packed with milk and eggs taking up lots of space. Free-o-hundred baby.

I'm falling apart. Literally. My heart is giving my grief. It skips a beat at least once every 5 minutes. Regular beats...then giant thud to catch up the missed beat. I've had an arrhythmia for many, many years. It's getting worse and more noticeable. I had a 30 second scan, my heart skipped twice. Could be nothing, just making sure. My forearm is killing me. I have absolutely no strength in my right arm now. That same arm was acting up when Amelia was born (it seized up terribly), when I was pregnant with Everett (lost use of that arm for months and months), and recently. The doctor administered a steroid shot to that tendon, hoping it will calm down. It is feeling much less irritated after 3 days. Just as a parting thought I asked the Dr if she could take over the medications I get from Envoque. She said absolutely! I asked about switching me to armor thyroid, she perked up and wrote out a request. Hot dang! I've tried to get armor thyroid for years now! Probably I just need to lose weight and all my health problems will go away. On to adventures wearing a heart monitor. Let's see what this week brings. I hate to complain, I don't want to end up a sour old hag complaining about bad health. Let's get this fixed stat.

We had a nice Come Follow Me lesson this evening on Zaccheaus in the Sycamore tree and learned about the hypocrisy parables. We've renamed our kitchen table to the "Temple Table" when we are doing our lessons.

**Everett can even turn his pants pockets into weapons. He's fancy.