Spring Break 2019

If you recall, we (ie Santa) gave our kids a trip to Great Wolf Lodge for Spring Break.  And I was pretty excited.  No cooking or cleaning.  Just a chance to read some books and let my kids splash all week.

Then we found out that my mom needed another surgery.  She has been struggling with a new infection for a few weeks.  Antibiotics + anti-fungal weren't clearing it.  (Did you know that taking antibiotics only kills the infection in living flesh?  So the infection on the plate couldn't be cleared by just taking meds.)
 So they needed to remove the plates in her chest.  We found out on Thursday night, the 18th.  Spring Break started on the 22nd.  I had a total meltdown.  It was like all the pain of November coming back.  And I couldn't do Great Wolf Lodge when my mom was going to have another surgery.  But I was so worried about Derek and the kids--Derek was fabulous.  He got 2 extra days off of work so he could go and help me decide to change our Spring Break plans.

We ended up having a fabulous trip.  My mom came through her surgery so well.  She was back out of the hospital in 1 day!  She was home for Easter. 

This is 1/2 of one of the plates from her chest.  My dad said he wanted the plate since it was $25,000.  Ha!  Doesn't look as much like a plate as I expected.  But they used it to screw her sternum back together.  She still has one plate inside.  But they said her sternum had been healing nicely, so they didn't need to put any new ones in. 

We played UNO, Scrabble, worked on a really hard puzzle, and even took my  mom out for Pizza.

We promised the kids it would still be a Spring Break with lots of fun.  On Tuesday I stayed home with my mom and worked in the chair next to her.  Both of my sisters called, so I got to catch up.  Derek took the kids to "This is the Place" Monument Park.  Where Sarah commented that she was glad I stayed home because I would have "rained on their parade."  Ha! On the way home they went to Temple Square, touring the conference center and the family history center.  Derek and Libby got super sunburned.  Oops!   

It turns out that Dad makes them read a lot of plaques!  

After a delicious taco dinner at home, we went to see Missing Link with my dad.  $5 movie night is a thing in UTAH!  It was awesome.  Cheap popcorn too! 

Day 2: Hogle Zoo & the Utah State Capital ending at the Pizza Pie Cafe.

Hogle Zoo is WAY cooler than I remember.  They have upgraded lots.  But, they didn't get rid of the lion head drinking fountains!  

We went with Drea, Ruger & Reagan and Drea's friend Sarah met us there.  I didn't get many pictures.  Hopefully she got some more.  But it was a perfect morning for the zoo.  Not too warm, but sunny, and all the animals were out! 

On the way home from the zoo we went to the Utah State Capital.  The week before we left we went to the WA state capital on a field trip with the 4th grade.  It was really fun to see the Utah Capital since we had just been to the WA capital.  Sadly the Legislature isn't in session.  But we tagged along with a tour group already in progress and it was really amazing.  It is a spectacular building.  So beautiful.  Libby's sunburn was killing her, so she was over it.  Ben was dragging too.  But the rest of us enjoyed it!

Bryn & Brian brought their kids up and we went to Pizza Pie Cafe.  It's a pizza buffet, perfect with our crowd.  But totally brutal for me since I am eating Gluten Free right now.  But they did make me my own little Gluten Free Pizza.  It was fine.  But there is just something about Gluten.  I am feeling better though, so I am sticking to it for now.  (There is a whole other story about my digestive journey...maybe another post on another day.)

Day 3: Logan!
I love taking my kids to Logan and daydreaming that they will be Aggies one day too! We got everyone a shirt or sweatshirt.  Walked up Old Main Hill, and walked around campus a bit.  It is even more beautiful than it used to be.  I love Logan!

 Then we stopped in at my grandparent's old house.  The new owners have said we could come and look at all their renovations.  I texted her the night before and we set up a tour.  They are doing a great job.  The house needed a lot of work, so I know they are brave!  They are also doing a lot of the work themselves.  Libby kept saying, "This looks like an episode of Fixer Upper!" 
It makes me happy (and I got a little teary) at how they are preserving many of the things about the house, while updating and making it more functional.
I didn't take any pictures though.  Ugh.
Then (after a yummy Mexican lunch on Main Street) on to the cheese factory! We bought lots of cheese, and of course had ice cream.  We bought a lot of cheese to bring home. Luckily I can eat cheese during the next phase of my digestive healing journey.

 My favorite stop was actually our first stop in Logan, the temple.  We took pictures outside.  It is fun to think that our eternal family started with Derek and I's sealing in 2003. 

We don't look any older, right? 

Then we went back and babysat Nick and Drea's kids so they could go out for her birthday.  It is fun to be with littles for a bit to remind me how glad I am that we are through that stage!

We had an uneventful and relatively quick (just under 13 hours) drive home on Friday.  Derek had committed to work the Shoreline Invitational Track meet on Saturday, and I was helping at a funeral luncheon, so it was a short visit.  But I am so glad we changed our plans.  It was good to see my mom doing so well, rebounding quickly from this last surgery.  It was fun to take our kids to explore in Utah.  It was awesome to spend so much time together. Yesterday (in addition to the funeral lunch) I tackled a massive to do list (and I have some more today), but I feel ready to face down these last 8 weeks of school. 

Crazy Hat & Hair Day!

I got into the Student Council business because my own kids really wanted to have Spirit Days.  It's been a lot of work, but they do love it! We did a crazy hat making booth at the Family Fun Night the evening before, so we had a good turn out!

Libby is always hoping to be better than Stella.  Keep dreaming Libby.  Ha! 

Happy Easter!

Okay, so maybe it wasn't the happiest of Easters.  But I'll get to that later.
It started out well enough...

But apparently the Easter Bunny put the wrong baskets by the wrong animals.  AND THEN...had the audacity to give Libby Mary Poppins Returns and Ben Ralph Breaks the Internet.    Ben was a sobbing mess at breakfast.  I tried to explain..we live in the same house.  What does it matter who got what movie?  Also, the Easter Bunny got a 4 pack of candy....and the only candy Ben likes is Reese's out of the 4.  So he gave away all his candy except the Reese's.  (And his sisters generously traded him Reese's.)  So anyway, I am stressed and tired.  He woke me up at 6 (I was actually still sleeping at 6--a miracle), so I had to give him a movie to watch while I filled the eggs and did the "Easter Bunny" business since Derek was at work.
I was prepping for Easter dinner--and then a quick departure for our new Spring Break plans.  My back was still hurting.  And I just LOST IT! (This is 2 Easters in a row where I have lost it, by the way, if you're keeping track.)  I just said, "Ben, quit crying.  The Easter Bunny tried really hard."  More crying.  So I said, "I want you to know that I AM THE EASTER BUNNY!  So when you cry and complain, you are really telling me that I DID A BAD JOB."  So just stop.
Well, let me tell you, (even though he had been asking lots of questions and was starting to "know," he did not "know") and this DID NOT stop the tears.  Now we was crying and moaning for a different reason.  Add to that he later came and said, "Does this mean Santa isn't real too?"  OH my.  I thought ripping the bandaid off would just be better.  But it was a rough morning.  He's the sweetest.  Except when he's being a greedy, totally normal kid.
I shouldn't have...Sigh.
Holidays are hard on moms!  And guess what, later, when we watched Ralph, he remembered that he LOVED it.  And he was so happy that he got it.
Also, Easter dinner wasn't super pleasant for me because I got really upset when Derek said he was going to pay for all the food for his brother's local wedding reception. (Without consulting me first--which he reminded me loudly in front of everyone--that he doesn't have to do when he uses his "cowboy" account.  Seems like something that should be discussed first, right?)  Also, we worked hard together on a beautiful platter and plate of deviled eggs that I forgot to take out of the tridge.  BOO!  Anyway, needless to say, I am ready to not do Easter again for another year. 
But the kids loved Maren's Easter Egg hunt, and we made it out the door for Spring Break in a timely enough manner, forgetting only Libby's temple recommend, even after Brion made a trip home to bring it to us. (Sigh)

I guess it's a good reminder that the reality of Easter is that Christ is risen from the dead.  That death has no sting.  And that through the Atonement of Christ we can be forgiven.  Even of spoiling the Easter Bunny, being mad at our husbands for their generosity, and the self-frustration that comes from forgetting deviled eggs and recommends.  Hallelujah!

Libby's First Temple Trip

It's hard to believe I have a daughter old enough to go the temple...but I do!  She's lucky too, because she doesn't have to wait for her 12th birthday either.  She had a beautiful baptism experience.  I was the one who struggled, since they ended up triple double booking the baptistry and starting an hour and a half late.  (I clearly  need to work on my patience, but this didn't feel like the day for it.  I woke up with a serious back issue...) Many thanks to the Sorenson's who brought her home so I could leave and get to the chiropractor before our Spring Break trip.  And many thanks to Grandpa Norton for finding Libby some family names to do.  Since there were so many youth there (not a bad problem) she still has one name left.  We'll have to make another trip soon! 

Annual Easter Egg Dying

I used Easter Egg dying as a carrot to get both kid bedrooms clean last night.  I have started just pitching in.  No comments about the mess, no freaking out about how they should just pick up as they go, just trying to enjoy time with them. I am allowing myself to say, "keep moving," and "what's next," stuff like that.  It's worked out pretty well the last few times we've cleaned.  I manage to get them to clean the whole room in relative calm.
Anyway, I could have probably saved myself time by just cleaning their rooms myself and skipping the egg dying and Easter decorating.  But since I went on a rampage after last year when they wouldn't help clean up the Easter decorations that they got out, I only have one small bin. We decorated last night and then dyed eggs today.
What we learned today:  Ben can't count to 4.  He dyed at least 2 eggs more than his quota.  All the kids are VERY territorial of their eggs while they are soaking.  Sharpies on the eggs aren't a bad way to go.  Cold eggs are kind of trickier for crayons.  We ended up mostly just color dunking and redunking.  It was over pretty quickly (even including clean up). And...it is so much neater when they are older.

Happy Early Easter!

April Showers...literally

As in, it's been raining.  Today we even had some hail. 
And, Maren and I gave a baby shower on Saturday for my niece Paige.  Maren pointed out that that means we are about to become Great Aunts.  That sounds WAY TOO old.
Maren and I are a good party planning team.
Theme: Adventure Awaits (Paige got a degree in Recreation, and works at a Rock Climbing gym, so this seemed appropriate.)

We will have to wait to see who wins this game! 

Maren got these adorable favors on Etsy (I'm not into favors, but I let her have her fun :)

Maren also got these cute animals for decor.  Amazing. 

We had yogurt parfaits.  It was yummy, light and easy! 

One guest (who will remain nameless) said she wouldn't play any [stupid] baby shower games.  But she was pleasantly surprised.  A quiz about who knows Paige best (her mom and mother-in-law tied for the win), a Name that Tune Baby edition, and a guess how much people contributed to her "Adventure Fund" actually turned out great.  We gifted Paige an additional $66.76 into the jar from people's purses, pockets and change cups. (And this was a fun throwback because Paige's mom did a variation on this game for my baby shower when I was pregnant with Libby!)
Credit to the game developers:
Name that Tune Baby Edition
Who Knows Mommy Best
It's good to keep the links somewhere. You never know when I'll throw another shower :)  Everyone but Ben thought it was a great party.