Concerts, Doggie, Rainbow, BIRTHDAY

 

We have a 12 year old in the house! Everett celebrated his 12th birthday on Friday. He was so excited that sleep evaded him until 2 am. So, his first “gift” was sleeping in until 8am and a car ride to school, sans trombone. He was keen on the idea of getting a Nintendo Switch for his birthday. Justin and I had a great conversation with him about the pros and cons of such a gift. We feel it is more of a family gift and not that easy to share with siblings, plus it’s expensive, and unsure we need another device in our home. He agreed after giving us his feedback. Everett did some research and decided he wanted to take 3 friends to Wahooz for a day of fun after school gets out! I am totally ok with an experience instead of more stuff. 

It was difficult to go grocery shopping, exercise at the gym, get photoshop work done, and run all the errands of the week with a puppy. Now I’ve got to take him pee/poop every hour AND entertain him so he doesn’t chew everything. He is a funny little guy. I got a bouncy ball thing that bounces and shakes, he thinks that toy is him nemesis! It’s hilarious to watch his head and body shake when he finally gets hold of the ball. We are working on potty training, a family effort! I am grateful for our floors, easy to clean up all the messes. Furgus tries to play with Vader, who just ignores him and goes to his crate. It’s hard to tell when Furgus is peeing, because his legs are so short. The dog groomer trimmed Furgus’ eye/snout hair so he can see now. Vader looks fancy with his short fur as well. 

I turned in my first job application since 2003! I applied for a job working as the Computer Room teacher at Ronald Reagan. That means I most likely won’t teach piano or do much photography if I get the job. I want to eliminate working after school to be present for the kids. It was rather difficult to recall actual dates and information from 1996 onward. I found an online resume maker that basically writes itself with the information you input. Perfect! Fawn Baerwaldt taught a painting class for the YW as part of a camp preparation activity. The girls painted lightbulbs with something inside that represented themselves. Evelyn and Josie were thrilled to come along and participate. Amelia was gone for Columbia’s graduation ceremony, her choir was singing as part of the program. She got stranded at the Ford center because the truck’s battery terminal connector was loose. Justin rescued her, got a cheap clamp at Walmart to make the redneck repair. 

Josie had a fun field trip around the downtown area, visiting the police station, library, fire station, and post office. I joined up with them at their last stop (the Post Office) for a bit then followed them to the park for lunch. Josie was thrilled to play with me for an hour! I was thrilled too! I had a busy morning going to Winco to buy the rest of Everett’s birthday dinner and treat. I also met up with Montse Wadsworth, she gave me a fun new succulent from her daughter. It’s called Mother of Thousands, a succulent that produces starts on its leaves. Right after that I rushed home to get the groceries in the freezer and fridge AND take Furgus out to potty. I rushed over to visit with Dr Kerr for my yearly checkup. I am going to start the Omzepic shots, hopefully lose some weight. Everett and I enjoyed an evening together taking his birthday photos. We started out at the red truck then went over to Lake Lowell. The lake was 20 feet higher than the previous month. We waded through mud and muck to get to some clear water. Nothing better than sticks, mud, and water for a boy! All that work made us thirsty, seemed appropriate to get cherry limeades since that was all I craved while pregnant with him. We played 20 questions there and back. 

Everett requested steak tacos for dinner! Yum! I made the marinade that morning and got the meat in to soak up all that goodness. I met a new family in our area needing birthday photos for her 12 month old. We had a great time exploring the botanical park. Baby was quite interested in her cake when the time came. It was strange not having any gifts for Everett. Dinner was delicious, street tacos with fresh salsa and guacamole. He invited over Alyssa, Kyran, and Ambree for a birthday party. They had a fun game going on the tramp with music and imaginary blasters. Everett requested an ice cream bar instead of cake. His favorite ice cream is pistachio, so we had that plus 4 other flavors, lots of toppings and whipped cream. Happy birthday to our wonderful Everett.  

Furgus is ready for the world at 6:30 am every morning. He is a crazy puppy for 2 hours chasing everything in the yard. I was worn out by 9 am, so was he. By then everyone else was getting up for the day. The boys cut the grass, thank heavens! It was so long Furgus was like bunny dog, hopping from place to place. Phillip helped Justin with some motorcycle maintenance. I got quite a bit of editing knocked out with the kids taking turns with Furgus. Everett requested sushi for his birthday dinner with Mom and Dad. He really wanted a sushi boat, conveyor belt type of experience. I found a location that served sushi on conveyor belt, Everett was in heaven. The sushi came 2 rolls on different colored plates indicating the price. He also got a jalapeño sushi roll that was pretty delicious. Everett chattered on and on about how awesome his choice was! He was even too full for Arctic Circle shakes after. Amelia went to the 80s themed stake dance. She had a high ponytail an awesome makeup. Phillip spent Friday and Saturday working on a few assignments he missed in English and finishing up his Social Studies poster. That was brutal for all of us since the TV was constant distraction for him. He finally finished his English poster on The Outsiders under threat of no electronics for the first two weeks of school while we took Everett to dinner. We burned the midnight oil finishing his Aztec poster. Phew! Glad that is over. 

In Come Follow Me this week we studied JS Matthew. I was struck deeply that like the first coming of Christ, the second coming will be fulfilled perfectly but also not as we expect. I did not realize that the Savior did not talk about his second coming except for the discourse to his Apostles, most of which was lost or mistranslated, thus the imperative canonized JS Matthew. Those prophets who did write about it, like John the Revelator, were very few in number. Then we have the prophets in the Book of Mormon, who also stopped writing about those last days. However, we do have a detailed history of the events in 3rd Nephi. I was struck that wickedness penetrated all the way to Zarahemla, where previously the prophet-generals kept wickedness at bay. Christ discusses 4 major signs: False Christs, war (physical, mostly spiritual?), famines/pestilence/earthquakes, and gross iniquity. The key to overcoming wickedness? Treasuring His word and to be ready. He gives 3 parables, the 10 virgins, the talents, and sheep and goats to teach us to: 

Wait patiently and be prepared, with loyalty and devotion; don’t let self- confidence dull our testimony.    

We have something the Lord has given us, we need to use and multiply that gift, not sit and do nothing.

Will you be on the right hand (sheep) or the left (goats) during judgment.