EFY Express

 Hannah is starting to feel better.  She is still very sore in the mouth and swollen but she was anxious to get up and do something.  Today was EFY express, we had signed up months ago, and luckily she was able to go.

Steve and Ziva were not. 

We carpooled with Noah.  Don't they all look so handsome? Ethan didn't want to go, and didn't want to dress like a banker...but he went.  I ended up picking up Hannah early because she was sore and tired but she said he was having a good time.  She enjoyed the speaker and getting out to see friends too.

 Grace and I were going to go to the movies since everyone was going to be gone.  It was Rob's temple day as well.  He ended up not going because he was selling his jeep, and also he hurt his back and it's a long drive down there.
So happy news, it looks like he sold it for more than he paid.  Which is awesome.  Not so good news we now will have 2 cars...which will be a pain.  He wants a miata so hopefully he can find one in his price range sooner rather than later.  The guy is supposed to bring the $ on Monday so we will see.

Anyway Grace and I still headed out but we never did make it to the movies.  We went to Costco where we got these awesome flojos.

Then we went to Apollo Park and walked around it and fed the geese and ducks and squirrels. The day was beautiful and we had a nice walk. 

Then we went to the mall because she needed some solid colored tennis shoes for her choir.  It was a fun day.  

Now I get to go back and get the boys and tonight we spring forward.  No one's favorite calendar event.

actual footage

 This is actual footage of Grace doing chores.  SERIOUSLY..sometimes I can.not.take.it.  But it's Friday night and Rob and I just got home from a nice date and life is good so I won't elaborate.  Just feel my pain.

 This is actual footage of Steve, still alive and well in the house  He is a character.  Apparently having anxiety doesn't extend to a fear of heights. I don't really think he's smart enough to be anxious...but he does fetch and that is pretty cute. Stupid cat.

Actual footage of Ethan on Wednesday night.  We had a video game blow out night.  It was pretty fun but E spent his time in the hall.  Which cute girl drew him out there?
Seated: Paige, Rylie, Kelly and Grace E.
Standing: Preston, Ethan and Brody.  (look how tall our boy is getting)

No picture but this week I subbed a few days and ran into some real doozies for names.  My fav part of the day is always taking roll because parents are soooo dumb.  I usually text the girls my favorite dumb names and this week did not disappoint.  Thursday I had a little kindergarten class, which usually I hate ,and I never take, but I was swapped at the last minute and the day went surprisingly well.  They were really sweet and we had a fun time together.  There were 3 Noah's in the class...but one spelled his with a "k".  Yep.  Knoah. (faceplant).  In that same class was a Miracle and a Royal and a cute girl named Delilah, which is okay except her brother was in the other class and his name is...you guessed it Samson.
Today I had a 2nd grade class that also went surprisingly well.  I don't know why but two not horrible days in a row is something to be thankful for.  Anyway.  The winning dumbest name award was a tie between two boys. One named Juwel and the other Csaba. While taking roll I decided to say "jewel" and expected a little girl to answer. It is actually pronounced jew-Well, and it's a boys' name.  The other name is pronounced Shh-u-b-awe.  And I didn't get even close to that one!

Hannah is healing slowly.  Her mouth hurts and she is bored.  Unfortunaly she got itchy and hive-y so we had to call the surgeon and she is off all her perscribed meds and on gargling with warm salty water (yuck) & benadryl.  Bummer. I don't know what she is reacting to.

Also Ethan's wrist hurts since starting tennis.

That's it :)

wisdom teeth

 Today was the big day.  Hannah had her surgery.  It went really well.  Ethan wanted to come and be her "comfort person" so I let him.  It's nice for brothers and sisters to be there for each other and something I want to cultivate.  He and I waited for a long time.  We watched "Lets Make a Deal" and "Wheel of Fortune".  Both of which he had never seen.  We don't watch game shows but it was entertaining.  A cute newlywed couple won a car.  I was very happy for them:)

Hannah was very silly on the way home but then we got her drugged up and she slept.  Which was great.  Sleep helps you heal.

 Ziva and Steve are very good comfort animals.  Usually they sleep in that exact position with me, and during the day they follow me around.  Today they stood guard over Han.  Animals know things.

This afternoon Madi and Sarah came to visit our little patient.  They watched Moana. 

In other news:

Grace got her dress at choir and it looks so pretty on her.  I wanted to take a picture, she didn't want me too (of course) so I will have to be patient.  When she has to wear it I'll take one:)

Ethan had soccer.

Rob is still doing well on his diet.  He's doing a mostly atkins like plan.  Lots of protein and veg and fruits maybe, nuts for sure.  I've been trying to do very green dinners with a tasty protein.  Salad in a bag is our good friend.  I also have been making some tasty protein shakes in the morning for us both.  They aren't bad. 

update:  later they moved with her to watchkeep thru the night.

cute little bunny

Audrey taught the lesson yesterday.  It was on faith.  She gave each of the girls a little succulent to remind them that faith is a living growing thing that needs to be nurtured.  The girls came home and planted theirs in our new dollar spot bunny planter.  It looks so cheerful. Her lesson was really good.  I feel very lucky to work with her and with Rachel.  They are awesome women.

Last night was our annual Family Value's Fireside.  It was, as in past years, really good.  Each stake (there are three in our valley) nominates people not of our faith who exemplify the values of family, service, doing good to all men, etc.  Then three are chosen and honored.  It's one of my favorite firesides, it's always very uplifting.  The tri stake choir, of which Rob is a part, sang several numbers and they were each wonderful.

Today I subbed 5th grade.  It was not a bad day but there were very skeletal lesson plans left so there was a lot of winging it.

Health updates:
Stupid Steve:  He went to the vet.  He does not have a UTI.  The vet thinks he might have anxiety.  So he's got a second litter box and is going on prozac.  I know, it's the most ridiculous thing ever.

Hannah: wisdom teeth tomorrow.

Me: back to working, but voice is still a little scratchy, strange.

Grace: for several years Grace has complained about her joints hurting.  Particularly her knees and ankles.  I actually took her to see the doctor in MD but that didn't go so well and she basically said she didnt' have a problem while we were in the office, only to come home and complain for 2 more years.  So this time I schooled her on what to say.  I told her to say, if it didn't hurt at the moment, that it feels fine now but often it hurts quite a lot and it stops me from activities I would want to do like PE and family hikes.  She did and talked to him for a few minutes.  Then he ordered xrays and blood work.  Also she has eczema. So we went and did those things.  She was very brave getting her blood drawn and we will see in a couple weeks.  Hopefully it's nothing but growing pains.  It will be good to know.  I don't think it's typical for a kid to have chronic pain in their knees and ankles.

Saturday

 Today we went on a little hike up Bouquet Canyon road.  There is a spot with some waterfalls and a lot of graffiti. Ziva enjoyed it a lot.  The children tolerated it.  We were glad to get out and about.  It's good to breath some fresh air and listen to your offspring belly-ache.

 Tonight there was a special broadcast with Elder Holland and President Eyring.  They were in Palmyra but it was broadcast around the globe.  Youth sent in questions over the last month, and they took questions in real time as well.  It was very good.  I enjoyed their insights and comments so much.  It was also fun to see them together and the sweet camaraderie they share.

The youth did a fairly good job listening.  I wish they were a little more reverent but they love to talk when they are together.  They did listen quietly a good half of the time, so if they heard something then that touched their hearts and strengthened their testimonies it was a success.

thursday

 Hannakin and her friends have been learning to skateboard.  They've been doing a lot of crashing, which is part of the process I guess.  I think some helmets might be good:)  The weather has been really nice and our neighborhood has quiet streets so it works out great.  Also there are some little hills so that is good for rolling on.

 Hannah, Sarah, Madi and Kelly

 Tonight we had our RS birthday night and they invited the YW.  It was a pajama, pizza and pampering party and it was a lot of fun.  There were a lot of girls who came with their moms.  They had games at every table and fun stations set up for facials, and nail painting and picture taking.  There was a lot of silly fun had.

MARCH!!! Spring is on the way!

It's been rather chilly and I am ready for some nice warm weather.  I know SoCal winter is relatively mild but I am still cold. 

Yesterday I subbed in Leona Valley.  I hadn't been up there before.  They have 4 teachers at the school.  It is tiny.  All of the teachers had tech training so there were 4 subs.  My class was the 4/5 combo.  Also my teachers classroom was the one where the training was being held so we met in the cafeteria.  It was my first day back after the lost voice episode and my voice was only 50% so I was a little concerned however it turned out to be a really pleasant day.  The kids were all really good and we had a lot of fun.  I always try to get to know the kids a little and these guys were mainly animal lovers.  It's very rural out there and a lot of the kids reported having horses, cows, chickens, siblings and chores.  One little girl rides buffaloes and other animals(her dad trains animals for the movies and she is their "test dummy", she reported.).  Anyway it was only a half day but it was very nice.  Hopefully that school will need subs again.

After I met Tami for visiting teaching.  100% on the last day of the month! Whoo hoo!

This morning Hannah and I got up at 4 am and got on a phone call with Val and Kenz and we all got online and bought housing contracts for the fall.  It was crazy.  Kenz has a cousin, Sierra, who is going to be a sophomore and she is also going to be living with them.  She gave them the scoop of which apartment was the best and how to get the on campus one.  Today was the first day it was open to buy and although the girls had originally wanted a four bedroom those were sold out.  At 4am there were only a few contracts left and we triumphantly scored one on the 5th floor of building 2.  Hannah and Kenz will share a room.  Sierra and her friend have another room and then a mystery two girls in the 3rd room.  So that was exciting. I woke up at 2 in a panic because the street light made the edge of the room look kind of bright and I thought I missed the call, then I basically couldn't go back to sleep until 4.  We made the call and that took about 20 minutes so I decided to just wait for the 5:15 wake up time.  So I think I will be tired today.  I am really excited for H & K.  One of my big regrets is that I didn't go away to college. I didn't really know how to go about leaving for school and while my parents certainly valued college and actually most of their kids went and graduated they did not proactively facilitate that happening.  That was one thing I knew I wanted to do differently.  I really wanted all the kids to have that chance to go, and learn ,and live with roommates, and matriculate!  So far they all have and as much as I missed them when they left I was so happy for them.  I hope Hannah will really take advantage not only of the great educational opportunities, and the wonderful devotionals, but also of the fun social life and dating opportunities.  She and Sawyer are very devoted to each other and expect that they will marry when he comes home from his mission.  If that's what happens I am fine with it but I'd really like her to spend next year dating other boys, having fun, making sure and maybe she will find someone else she likes.   Either way and even if they do get married I hope she will still take that year to have a blast.

 So this is the kind of room Hannah and Kenz will have.  And they will have a washer/dryer in their apartment, which I think is a real luxury. They are on campus right in the middle of all things, wonderful!  They will have a cute kitchen so they can cook, although we will get Han a meal plan so she has options.

Such fun times!  September 8 is her move in date.  Crazy!

Lastly yesterday I saw the top photo of Elder Nelson and read the quote and was very touched.  I didn't hear the original address but I think I'd like to take the challenge.  I can't imagine the experience he had, and being an apostle of the Lord and bearing a special witness of Him he (Elder Nelson) still felt that this endeavor yielded a significant growth of understanding.  What?!?  Imagine what you or I, mere disciples, or slackers (it's a sliding scale depending on the day) will learn.