Finally, Time to Relax

The boys finished their welding class this week. They only did 2 out of the 4 days this week because of YM camp, however, they finished the required projects before the end of class on Tuesday. The boys went up to Camp Ee-Da-How just a couple miles away from where we had YW camp. From the stories I’m hearing they had a great time up there eating lots of cobbler. They got to do some boating activities and spend lots of time in Lake Donnelly. The boys lots played Mafia and Imposter. Everett boasted 4 epic falls on the boat, he re-skinned his already skinned knee. Phillip’s new wife is the goldfish from Pinocchio. Apparently, Brother Potter’s boat was craving spaghetti, it ate the water skiing rope instead and stopped working. There was another watercraft so tubing was available after the rope incident.  Phillip also said that wrestling on the water trampoline was quite entertaining.  

The garage project was put on hold for a few days. I resumed work on Friday and Saturday going through all my seasonal decor and photo prop buckets. I am very proud to announce I emptied 5 totes worth of stuff. It’s been a while since I last went through the all the totes and got rid of stuff we no longer need like fabric, sand toys, broken decorations, and stuff we’ve not used in more than a year. 

Monday I had to get my back tooth fixed with a root canal. I already had a root canal done on this tooth but somehow it got infected and needed to be cleaned out again. The worst part was getting a numbing shot in the roof of my mouth, I’d rather have triplets than that particular shot. It is still sore! The root canal took 90 minutes of torture as the ortho used wire tooth pick tools to clean out each root (again). My entire face was numb and sore for the next two days. 

I cleaned my bedroom, bathroom, and closet. It’s embarrassing to say that this rarely happens. Most of the time my room is not too crazy, just a spot of clutter. The last time I cleaned it was about a year ago! It felt good to vacuum (three times) and clean up the little things that clutter up our spaces. I recruited the girls into cleaning the bathtub and shower with some shaving cream magic. It cleans and is fun to play with! 

Wednesday we went to Barclay Bay with friends for the day. Last year I stumbled on a shaded spot a short walk from the main beach. Evelyn invited Lyla and Josie had Lucy and Stella to play with. I invited my own friends like Heidi, Jenn Ternes, and Jamie (Lucy’s Mom). We floated along the surface of the clear, cold lake for hours just chatting about inane subjects while the kids paddled about doing who knows what. A series of scuba divers filtered through all day as well from the Dive Magic shop working on their open water certifications. I really wanted to join in! Can’t wait to have another lake day. 

Our thoughts were with Amelia as she traveled from the CSM to Baton Rouge very early Wednesday morning. There was a snafu with her flight, apparently she was not booked for a flight. That was quickly resolved, she had to travel alone again but arrived around the same time as the rest of her district. I caught photos of her at the airport with her brand-new Mission President. President Chard and his wife started their presidency 01 July 2026. I got a letter saying that she arrived safely, was interviewed, and getting some rest. All the new missionaries attended a special devotional at a large oak tree in Audubon Park called the Tree of Life where they talked about what kind of missionary s/he wanted to become during their service. We got a quick phone call from Amelia on Friday needing me to verify her FB account with her old phone. She quickly told us she her first area is Slidell on the shores of Lake Pontchartrain, basically 30 miles NNE of New Orleans. That’s exciting! It’s known as “Camellia City.”

Evelyn was an only child on Thursday. Josie went with Lucy to Blazing Hope Horse Ranch for the day, the boys were gone, and Justin was working. I got to visit the dentist again to put in a permanent filling in the root canal tooth, gratefully the filling did not take any further shots, it was a quick appointment. Evelyn and I decorated the wall outside Jen Gingerich’s grandmother’s room at the care center. It was a birthday surprise to brighten her day! Evelyn enjoyed total control over the remote. She and I went to Hobby Lobby for beads and charms. Evelyn wants to sell earrings to raise money. I am collecting lemon decor for the next seasonal display in the front room. It’s going to look so cute and happy. The bin with last year’s decoration was missing so Friday I spent the afternoon going through totes. I found the missing lemon stuff in a tote with fall decorations. I tend to combine or add things to totes thinking that I’ll remember what I did with it. The seasonal decor gets cluttered because I use some Christmas decor (trees) for winter and Valentines. Fall and Halloween also get mixed up. I changed the system hoping for better results this next year. 

NEWSFLASH: Josie ATE more than a bite of corn on the cob! We are slowly working on increasing her tolerance for fruits and vegetables. I was so proud of her for eating that corn. 

We watched Sheep Detective as a family last night. The movie was delightful! I loved the plot and character development. Bonus treat included eating popcorn and starting my Monet Lego.