Hugging a Jared

Amelia and Phillip are going to FSY this year! Registration was quite the ordeal as everyone tried to register Tuesday morning, think thousands of people on the same site. Sara told me there were only 2-3 slots left for most of the sessions. The kids are going the end of July. Darrell Flake was anxious to have Phillip as a roommate if possible. I was able to connect the two toward the end of registration. Amelia will have a surprise roomie, hopefully she meets a "bosom friend." I felt flustered when trying to register in the morning, I would teach a piano lesson, use the bathroom, etc while I waited my turn in the que. I lost my place in line 5-6 times. I gave up so tried once more after lunch with ease. More slots were added so there was availability in all the sessions. 

Phillip loved his first drum lesson with Sam. Sam is so outgoing and fun with his students, he made Phillip feel like a rock star. Evelyn really likes her hip hop classes at Idaho Rhythm, the content is the same but the setting more appropriate. Evelyn is doing well with Becky at ukulele, she loves the one-on-one setting. I love that she WANTS to practice and work on her theory. 

Josie got six dental fillings between the 24th and 25th of January. She really only had two actual fillings, the other four the dentist scraped some enamel off and filled it. Josie did not even flinch when the dentist numbed her mouth. She was thrilled to go back to school in order to show off her funny mouth, her lips drooping down to one side. Phillip got some deep grooves filled to prevent cavities. The new dentist there sure loves to push the extra fillings and borderline unnecessary dental work. 

Thursday was back to MCO. Jenn Spackman was gone for a coule weeks for a vacation. She asked the coordinators to arrive extra early for set up. We successfully arrived up to Eagle at 3:50 pm. The kids helped set up tables, placards, name tags, etc! Brandon asked the volunteers to sit in the back and seat the YSC in chairs near the front left. One new little guy was so wiggly he was asked to come back next year! Back at home the little girls packed up their little suitcases for a weekend trip to Utah. We worked hard to get the van packed and ready for the excursion before we went to bed. The cartop carrier gave me grief the entire trip the lock froze and the handle wouldn't turn properly so it stayed latched. I almost snapped the key in half several times opening the silly thing. Amelia drove until Burley, the snow started falling right about that time too. It snowed thick and wet for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. 

Our first stop was to see Jeremy at his new job. He showed off his desk and new office area, even showed us some of what he does for work. Tear, little bro all growed up and off for his first real job! Jeremy and Yulz new condo is clean and large enough to fit their family. The kids played with their baby cousins while I tried to do some baby photos. Baby Natalya worked hard to do the opposite of what I wanted her to do, she was sleepy but not that sleepy. I toted her outside for legit snow photos with a cute eskimo bonnet on. She was so cute some neighbors came outside to watch the spectacle. The roads were an icy mess by the time we started for Grandma's house at 7 pm. We wolfed down spaghetti for dinner with Uncle Jared regaling us with stories and laughs. Welcome home to America! I was quite excited to finally give him our Christmas gifts, an Avatar apron and cookbook, a stuffy, some art, and a button down shirt. We made room on the floor for sleeping in the basement, along with all the food storage and Grandpa's stretching accoutrements.

Saturday morning Grandma needed a Costco trip so Josie, Amelia and I went along to find a drink contribution for Natalya's blessing luncheon. We enjoyed cousin time with the Lances and Suapaias. Grandma Jean got to hold cute Natalya for a bit. We headed to South Jordan to swim as a fun diversion. We also got the kids all showered off and ready for Sunday! That was handy. We spent the night with Hannah and Rachel. Rudy almost won a round a chess again Everett, brave man to play again Everett. Josie tried to sleep in Rachel's room but eventually got scared so took over the air mattress. Hannah and Evelyn were high on goofy balls at 10:30 pm. The girls all got overheated stripped down to their undies to cool off. Hannah confidently exclaimed, "I love sleeping in my skin!" The party finally died down with a Cuckaloca story and peaceful music. Hannah said she was scared several times but was able to calm down enough to sleep. Evelyn kept screaming into her pillow, she was quite over stimulated. That 5:50 wake up alarm was hard to deal with Sunday morning. 

Rudy fried up the best bacon! Even set off the smoke detectors! Everything tastes better when someone else makes it. We did not have time to pack the van up with our pillows and blankets and make it to Natalya's blessing. The snow started coming down around Kaysville. Then the snow turned into near white out conditions. My knuckles were the same color as the snow by the time we pulled off the interstate. We sang a rap version of "Baaaartie" to calm the nerves. Sweet Natalya looked so cute in her white dress surrounded with her Uncles and Grandpa. Jeremy hosted their first house party in their new home. We pooled together for sandwiches, chips, and juice. Yum. The drive back down was almost more terrifying with all the crazy Utah drivers. We passed 8-9 crashes between Morgan and Bountiful. Charity invited us to visit for a couple hours. So fun. Everett learned about the game of football from Mason and Charity. I forgot to check on a certain medication, ran out completely. My emotions were all over the place. Seems like I cried more over those 3 days than the past year, not to mention the twitchiness that comes when I don't take my medication. I enjoyed visiting with Kenny and Charity, chatting about kids and the gospel. We stopped at Jana's to shove our crap in the van and make room for Hannah and Rachel. The girls wanted to play with us down in Eagle Mt an extra day. Mom and Dad left Jeremy's early because Grandma Jean was not doing well. She is having daily panic attacks because her lungs are making breathing difficult. I stopped to give Jean a kiss before we went down to Eagle Mt. Dad had a decent lecture running on modesty and church standards, I joined in for a while. More crashes littered the way making the drive three times longer. It was absolutely frigid outside and nearly dark when we got to the Lances. The kids helped to quickly unload the van before dinner. All the kids were very excited to continue playing "extermidation" with Jared in the basement. Jared worked very hard, directing the game from a couch in the basement. He had those kids completing quests here and there. He was worn out by bedtime! All the little girls had a sleepover in the Lego room! We made quite the racket arranging sleeping pads. Half the girls were bent over walking around in back bends. I needed a moment to get my PJs on, suggested the girls could have a 4 minute dance party with Rick Astley belting his now famous hit "Never Gonne Give You Up!" Mia and Lia joined in the festivitie, Seth did not appreciate the late night Rick Roll, had the girls turn it off and go to sleep. The girls finally settled down with 3 Cuckaloca stories, Rachey went right to sleep. She gave me the best snuggles ever! I miss those suggly little bodies vying for lap space. Josie is too boney and long now for curly snuggies. 

Monday was just a lazy cousin day. Emmie and Evelyn organized a tea party. They needed help making cucumber sandwiches, instead I made purple noodles with the leftover spaghetti noodles. Hannah was wary of purple noodles, excited that it still tasted like noodles and butter. We braved the cold for a cousin gas station excursion. I had my studio light and backdrop set up in the basement, Jared wanted to update his military boot camp photo stuck on Grandma' fridge. The rest of the kids got updated studio photos since it was all set up. Jacob is very photogenic! He got professional banjo, harmonica, and dance photos. Jacob had his first job interview at the Dinosaur Museum, he got the job the next day! Hooray for Jacob. He also made the folk dance tour group this year as well. 

We got up at 5:45 to leave for home. Most of the van was packed, just needed to get the bedding inside. Everett really wanted to do baptisms before the youth baptism appointment with our ward on Saturday. His wish came true! Uncle Jared hitched a ride with us up to the Jordan River Temple for an 8 am baptism appointment. I loved that the youth were running most of the show in the baptistry. Amelia, Phillip, Everett L, Everett, and Jared finished 35 baptisms. Dad and I witnessed the ordinances. Everett was impressed with the large locker room! He had tears in his eyes during the hour we were in the temple. The spirit was so strong during the confirmations, Dad had a hard time speaking the spirit was so strong. I love that the cousins, Jared, and Grandpa could share such a special experience together. Courtenay arrived just as we walked out of the temple. She had Evelyn and Josie, we switched her Everett and our girls (plus stuff) before heading back home. Jared and Dad went back to the temple for an endowment session. We grabbed some breakfast then stopped at Grandma's house again to change clothes, eat breakfast, get the cartop opened (thanks to deicer), hug Jeffrey, and kiss Grandma Jean. Amelia drove most of the way home, a good 4 hours of driving! She met her practice driving quota of 50 hours, well mostly, she just needs a measly 15 minutes more. I literally bumped into Mark Martin, an Elder from the MTC through my mission, at the Chik-fil-a in Twin Falls! I took his engagement photos shortly after I moved to Wellsville. 

We hit the ground running!  Got home, divested the van of luggage, bedding, trash, and snacks in record time. Evelyn wanted to attend hip hop class, she was only a few minutes late for that. Phillip went to his drumming class. I had a client needing quick school photos, taken and edited before bedtime. Gracious. Phillip set up the "karaoke" system, aka a glorified speaker, microphones, and mixer system. Add projected singing to the other musical sounds decorating the house! Justin came home with lots of hugs and karaoke music. The music was turned off a moment or two later. 

Mia got her laundry done in record time, then re-packed her suitcase for All State Choir. The kids got to sleep in until 8 am because Mia did not need to be at school until 9 am, we all needed that extra hour. I heard from Mia off and on over the next few days about All-State. Esther was able to attend since the event was in Pocatello this year. Esther said the Treble choir sounded better than the MoTAB! I had a nerve conduction study on my hands for carpal tunnel. I have moderate to severe carpal tunnel in my right hand and less than moderate in my left hand. I did not know that pregnancy is the leading cause of carpal tunnel in women! My hand issues started with Everett's pregnancy. 

MCO was cancelled for Thursday due to ice storms in Texas, Brett could not get a flight out. Everett stayed home sick with a head cold that day. I tried to wake him up but he said he could not feel his legs and had a headache. Poor dude slept until 12:30 pm. Evelyn and I headed to her QbTest, assessing her level of ADHD. She scored in the 99% for inattentiveness, higher than Justin's score! It was fun to see her movements range from a tight group (at 5 min) to a spread out range by 15 minutes. We are starting her on a low dose of Dextroamphetamine SU to help her in the school setting. I got grocery shopping finished before the kids came home from school. With MCO cancelled I had a couple hours of editing handed to me. Yay. 

Josie had a well-child visit with Dr Aldous. We discussed her fatigue and snoring, Dr suggested a sleep study to analyze if she is getting enough true sleep. She snores, lightly, off and on all night. It's not out of the question for her to deal with apnea of some sort. Her tonsils are not large enough to cause issues according to the doctor. Interesting suggestion! 

Mia had her last concert Saturday morning. She got back home around 5 pm. The little girls accompanied me to Fred Meyer for a pharmacy run, it is really hard to find generic Adderall. Justin and I took Josie out for her birthday. Josie's asked for a couple years for her own Build a Bear that's not PAW Patrol. She really wanted a bunny like Evelyn's Carrots doll. She was thrilled to have us to herself for a few hours. We went to the BAB in the mall. Josie chose a flower-patterned bunny, she named it Flowers. Justin caught a nasty cold (Covid?) while we were in Utah. His ears were keeping him up at night with sharp pains, he went to see a Dr who said the pain was due to sinus pressure. He was miserable for a week. I was all shades of blue and exhausted so was also terrible company. Josie fortunately did not seem to notice what a lame duo we were. She was so cute in the store picking out her bunny, finding a suitable outfit, and dreaming about all the cute accessories. While the employee had Josie wish her magic on the bunny's new heart, Josie wished all the joy and magic into it. I loved her eyes crinkled shut with concentration. She skipped around the store, settling on a birthday shirt and an Easter themed outfit. We filled out the “birth certificate” Josie finalized her bunny’s name to Jellybeans (the second). She batted her cute eyes to score a backpack thing and a box for her toy. I got Evelyn a box too so the girls could decorate and play with their bunny toys together. Josie had her heart set on pizza. We tried a new-to-us joint the Flying Pie Pizza. Everyone raves about their food. Meh. I don’t get the cult following. I did enjoy the fun 80’s decor, we admired the enormous foil ball, and played with the arcade games. Josie chose a fun dress that is coming in the mail for her birthday photos. I plan to take her out next week when the temperatures are warmer. 

My woman cold finally caught up to me in spite of guzzling baking soda water for days. Amelia returned in glory from her All-State trip around 5:30 pm. Poor girl was absolutely miserable with a cold she cultivated, it finally raised its nasty head Saturday morning just in time for her early concert performance. She soldiered on then succumbed to feeling absolutely terrible. I wanted to stay home from church with her but did not feel like death warmed over so went ahead. I am learning from Sharla Dance, an amazing music teacher in the church. She has a book and website dedicated to teaching music to children. Aunt Jan is part of the same group on FB, it’s fun to learn techniques. Sunday we started learning a new song, we used a rhythm technique to move our bodies, get that music in our muscles. There was a “linger longer” right after church to break the fast. Now that we are the last ward we get to capitalize on ward potlucks once a month. I was so crabby and grouchy I excused myself with a plate of cake for Amelia and went home. Justin was very pouty that I left and he had to stay.