15 May 2016

Man, it was another busy week!  I'm hoping things quiet down when summer gets here, because I'm exhausted!  Felicity taught our family home evening lesson on Monday and then we played cards.  On Tuesday I met with my boss and accepted some new tasking at work.  That should be interesting and a departure from what I've been doing for the past year and a half.  In the evening I had a girl's camp meeting that went well, I'm getting excited for camp this summer.  We solidified our plans for the camp kick off and started planning our at-camp certifications

Helen participated in student council this year and as a reward for their hard work got to go to Pump It Up on a field trip.  She was very excited about it and talked about it all week.  The kids are getting so restless for school to be done.  It's becoming increasingly more difficult to get them in bed on time as the sun is still out when the time rolls around!  Helen hasn't had any homework and I think they just know summer is right around the corner.

I'm getting to harvest some things from the garden which I love.  Monday I made omelets from eggs, tomatoes, spinach, green chilies, and onions all from the garden.  The tomatoes were so delicious and fresh.  I'm starting to get peas and green beans and all the squash blossoms are open in the morning and I've been pollinating them when I see them.  Warmer temperatures are coming so I'll have to be vigilant in my watering efforts, but it is so worth it.

Friday was very busy.  I had the girls on the bus at 6:45, Arlo to school shortly after that and then I ran to the grocery store and did my shopping.  I dropped off groceries and then had a Young Women's Presidency meeting at the church at 8.  After that I went home and cleaned out the truck and took it to be vacuumed and washed.  I cleaned out the chicken coop and worked in the yard a bit, I cleaned in the house and did laundry.  The kids got home in the afternoon and we played until their father came to pick them up for their weekend visit.  In the evening I folded and put away the mountain of clean laundry and worked on some projects.



Saturday morning I played in the garden and then baked some cookies for the kids' teachers as end of the year thank you gifts.  In the afternoon I went to the temple with Troy which was nice.

Sunday morning I got up to find that ants were all over my kitchen counter, having found the cookies I made the day before.  Ah!  They were streaming out of the electrical socket of all places.  I pushed all the cookies in to the sink and hosed the ants down.  I sprayed and cleaned it all up, but my cookies were ruined and even after investigating outside I couldn't find the source of the ants.  They weren't the little tiny ants either, they were the larger red and black ants that bite.  It was not the way I wanted to start my Sunday morning!

My meetings went well and it was a pretty restful Sunday.  I was happy to pick the kids up in the afternoon.  Last week of school coming up, we can do this!

08 May 2016 Mother's Day

 I made it through the week!  I was skeptical that I would survive.  Monday we had Family Home Evening and Felicity and I worked on her Science Fair project and report.  In the evening after the kids went to bed I worked on some Young Women's things and some Girl's Camp things.  Tuesday we had Activity Days and a Youth pool party.  Felicity went to Activity Days and Arlo and Helen went with me and swam.  They were so good, I'm grateful, I hardly noticed they were there.

We continued work on the Science Fair project throughout the week.  Felicity and I did an ecological experiment: "Association of Adolescent Saguaros and Nurse Plants".  We mapped out three locations at the same elevation and then walked a grid counting the number of small saguaro cacti and noting whether they were found under a tree or bush, or out in the open.  We took some other data as well for fun.  We then analyzed our data to answer whether more juvenile saguaros are associated with a nurse plant or not.  It was a lot of fun and a little bit of a departure from the standard "Which Paper Towel Brand is More Absorbent".  It was however, a lot of work for us.

I also worked on a little sewing project, making Quinn a scripture case for his baptism.  This is the third little case I've made using the same pattern and I love it.  Our hen and chick are doing fabulously, they’ve been wandering the yard together this week and are so stinkin’ cute. 

 So much is growing and green in our garden.  We are getting strawberries, a couple a day.  I have some chilies that are ready to harvest and some other things are pretty close.  I love it so much. 

Thursday night we went Manuel’s for dinner to celebrate Cinco de Mayo.  Ok, not really, I was craving Mexican food and it just happened to be the 5^th of May!  It was yummy and the kids had a great time too.  Friday night was house cleaning and putting the final touches on the science experiment and putting the display board together.  I’m really proud of how it all came together.  

I also felt like I should make cookies, so I made a couple dozen chocolate chip cookies.  They were cooling on the counter when I got a text from Melynda asking if I’d be able to make some cookies for Quinn’s baptism.  What a happy coincidence!  

Saturday morning we were at the stake center for Quinn’s baptism, which was lovely.  We had lunch and the kids played at the pavilion afterward.  It was a great morning.  In the afternoon we set up our little blow up pool and played, I watered and weeded, finished cleaning the house, and tackled the laundry.  We went grocery shopping and the kids helped me prep meals for the week.  I was grateful to have them home for the weekend.

Sunday morning I was awaken at a quarter to six by shouts of “Mom, I need you!”  I climbed out of bed after the second round of yelling, staggering out of the room to see what the problem we.  It was Arlo, “Mom, I’ve pooped and I need you to wipe me”.  Yes, no rest for this mamma on Mother’s Day!  We got up a little while later and got to church where we enjoyed a nice Sacrament program.  In the third hour they had a little snack set up for the women for Mother’s Day.  After church we went with my parents to the golf course in Vail for a buffet lunch which was nice and then to their house to play for a bit.  In the evening we went up to the ranch for dinner and visiting.  It was nice.  I hope that all the mothers in my life enjoyed their day.  

01 May 2016

I have arrived at that time of year where I am fed up with the school schedule, the early mornings, early bedtimes, lunches, homework, school clothes, backpacks; summer is calling to me.  I will enjoy summer for a while and then the rigors of a schedule and predictability will call to me again.  We have been loving the extended spring weather, minus the wind and pollen that are making Felicity, Arlo, and I rather miserable.  The garden is very green and happy and that makes me happy.

For Family Home Evening Monday we had a lesson from First Presidency message in The Friend, entitled "Your Future Home" about looking forward to the families and homes the children will create for themselves when they are older.  As our activity we watched Part 2 of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.  The kids were riveted!  I love spending quality time with them.  I often feel like I'm not doing enough to make our family nights special or that I don't have enough time to spend uninterrupted quality time with them.  I will keep working to make those things a priority as I know they are important.

Helen had a student council meeting on Tuesday which was fun, she has really enjoyed getting to participate in that.  We worked again on sewing our aprons and bonnets for Young Women’s on Tuesday night, we made some more progress, but were not nearly done. 

We had some excitement Thursday evening as the long anticipated chick hatching occurred.  As you may recall, at the beginning of the month we gave our "broody" hen three fertilized eggs to incubate.  She very dutifully sat on them and cared for them.  Even though we have eight nesting boxes for five hens, they all think they have to lay their eggs in the same box, this I do not understand.  It meant that the other birds kept climbing into her box and laying eggs on her, which she kept trying to tuck underneath her.  It was almost comical because she'd tuck a new egg under her and another would pop out the other side (she is a rather small hen).  In the long run, one of the fertilized eggs ended up trampled and one died, presumably from not being kept properly warm.  One, however, made it and started to hatch.  A little hole turned into a long crack which turned into a little chick emerging.  It is darling with black/gray feathers and a patch of brown.  Mamma hen very lovingly doted on it.  Once it got nice and dark, I moved mamma and baby to a rabbit hutch (that I had salvaged from the side of La Vallita several months ago) so that they would be protected from the other girls.

Friday morning I got the kids off to school and went to the Mesa Temple for some time to decompress and reflect.  The bright side of having to drive two hours to get to the temple, is it gives me plenty of time to think.  I spent a few hours at the temple and then grabbed lunch and headed home.  In the evening we were at the ranch to celebrate Karsyn's birthday and that was fun.  We had a great dinner and yummy fruit with extras for dessert.


I was back at the church Saturday morning so that we could finish up our sewing project.  I was there from 9-1:30 and we finished!  The girls' bonnets and aprons turned out really cute and I was grateful to be able to help them with that.  In the afternoon we went grocery shopping and cleaned house, did yard work and all the other little incidentals that needed to get done.  After the kids went to bed I worked on some Girl's Camp stuff and tried to keep myself occupied.  Sometimes it’s hard not to feel overwhelmed with loneliness in the evenings.  Saturday night felt that way.  I'm an extrovert by nature and I love to be around people.  Even if I'm working on a project or watching a movie, just having someone there is comforting and happy for me.  As a single adult, I spend a lot of time alone and sometimes that's hard.  I have the kids, so going out is not always feasible; I really don't identify with a lot of the single adult LDS community, and my friends all have families that they spend time with on the weekends.  It's not really a matter of needing a hobby, heaven knows I have plenty of hobbies.  It’s just something to be endured for now.

 We got to church on time and decided to mix things up a bit and sit somewhere new.  The kids picked the pew behind an elderly couple, it just so happens that the gentlemen had borne his testimony last month and mentioned that they didn't come to church for many years because of the irreverence and noise from some of the children.  Well, three minutes in, my cat-like mom reflexes deflected a toy that was sailing toward his head.  I dutifully tried to keep my tribe pretty quiet and reverent, and then this guy's wife turns around and hands them candy from her purse.  Great!  So now they have sugar and the wiggles.  I really should give my kids more credit, they really are good kids and at this point, only Arlo really struggles with the "sit relatively still and mostly quiet" routine.  At the end of the meeting the brother turns around  and says, (I'm bracing myself) "Your children are so well behaved, they were so quiet and reverent.  Thank you". Phew!  We'll be heading back to our usual place on the 2nd pew, left side next week!  

I substituted in Primary, teaching the lesson: Jesus Christ has the Power to Heal, to Helen's class.  They were actually a lot of fun.  It's Helen and five little boys all around 7/8 years old.  Once I established who was in charge, it was smooth sailing.  After Sunday School, I headed to Young Women's and then after church we went to visit Nana and Papa.  We have a very busy week next week with lots of things that I need to accomplish.  I'm hoping that everyone is enjoying the end of the school year and is anticipating a fun summer.

24 April 2016

What a week, what a week!  Monday we registered for swim team.  The girls, Helen specifically, was so very excited.  So excited in fact, that she was disappointed that we left the pool without swimming!  They will start when school is out and will swim to mid-July.  I really hope it goes well and they learn a lot and it is something they enjoy.  Felicity and I finished Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows on Monday night and it was such a great experience.  I’m so glad that we did that together, she really loved it and had that all-to-common readers ache for “just one more” in the series.  Alas! 

On Tuesday, Felicity and I stayed home as I had a doctor’s appointment in Tucson.  After that we had lunch together, and then she had her 10 year old well patient checkup.  It is amazing to me that Felicity is 10!  Her growth has slowed and she is looking like she’ll top out right around 5’0”.  Currently she’s 4’4” tall and in the 17.8 percentile for height and 62 pounds and in the 25 percentile for weight.  Felicity wasn't interested much in the statistics, she was just feeling lucky to dodge any more inoculations for another year!

Tuesday evening we had our first Activity Days and Mutual/Young Women’s activities to attend.  Felicity had a great time.  I was helping the young women sew bonnets and aprons for their upcoming Trek.   I prepared patterns, pattern pieces, and sewing kits with what they would need in them (pins, needles, elastic, safety pins, etc.) for each of the girls.  They cut their patterns and started sewing.  It went about as well as can be expected!  We'll need a couple more sewing sessions to get those finished up.

Wednesday I had a close call and am grateful I didn't end up having my senior citizen moment documented in the Sahuarita Sun. I've been back to having a diet soda in the morning, yes I know its terrible for me.  Anyway, I had dropped off the kids and went to stop by Circle K for my soda.  I won't lie, I had my phone in my hand, I was feeling tired and frazzled (1/2 the reason I needed that soda!).  As I was pulling in my traction-less sandal slipped off the brake and onto the gas and I found my self powering over the little yellow parking bumper and onto the sidewalk in front of the store.  I managed to get back on the brake before slamming into a Redbox machine, the concrete trashcan, and the store front.  It was quite the miracle I didn't hit any of those things or the car on left of me, and I can't say how grateful I am there were no pedestrians on the sidewalk.  I backed the truck off the sidewalk and put it in park at which time the Sheriff's deputy who happened to be parked in the parking lot came over to talk to me.  I explained what had happened and she said she was expecting an old lady.  She also said since I didn't actually manage to hit anything or anyone, she couldn't site me for anything.  It was embarrassing to say the least and it seems to have cured me of my morning diet soda craving!
We were at the ranch so that Felicity could get help building her pinewood derby car.  The girls are having a stake-wide Activity Days event on Saturday that includes pinewood derby races like the cub scouts do, so naturally Felicity wanted to build a car.  Lacking the tools and general know-how, I told her I was sure I could procure her someone to help!  I cut her car out for her and she watched Bruce finish the axels.  She sanded the car and painted it herself and then she got to watch Bruce melt lead to weigh the car down.  It was fun and she enjoyed herself. 

Felicity took and passed the AR test for Harry Potter this week, so we ordered a pizza and watched Part 1 of the movie.  There were plenty of laughs, ohhs and ahhs, and some tears as well…Ok, Felicity had quite a few tears at the end.  While doing that, Felicity added some finishing touches to her pinewood derby car.  I put the wheels on it after she went to bed and was glad to have it done and ready for her to take on Saturday.

Friday was a busy day too, sheesh!  I got home early and we met Melynda, Mindy, and Troy and their families at the Pima County Fair.  My kids had tickets for three rides each.  They picked a small roller coaster, a fun house, and then Arlo informed me he wanted to ride the Ferris wheel.  Cringe.  I hate heights, I mean I really hate heights.  But, he wanted to go and was so excited to.  I won’t lie, I was a little disappointed when he stepped up to the height indicator and was well over the required inches to ride!  We got on and I had a death grip on his upper arm and one on the bar and away we went.  A couple minutes in he said "Mom, let go of my arm." to which I replied "If you want to stay on, I have to hold your arm!"  I am so happy that he had fun.  He kept saying “Wee” and “It feels like we’re flying” and “look at the people mom!” and “I can see our car”.  I saw none of this as I concentrated on holding on and keeping my eyes shut.  I swear it’s the longest stupid ride at the fair!  Naturally we got stuck at the top as they were letting the slowest people on earth off and of course it was super windy.  I kept telling Arlo, “hold very still, see the sign, don’t rock”.  I was happy to be on solid ground again, and his little face had so much elation on it, I’d do it again…maybe, ok I would, but I wouldn't like it.  After we did rides, I took the girls to the petting zoo and it was fabulous.  There were your typical goats and sheep, but also a llama, baby pigs, ducks, fancy chickens, and baby goats.  Then it was time to go to their dad’s, so I drove them out to him to go for their weekend visit.  I stayed at the fair and enjoyed myself with the other kids.

Saturday I was up early and got my chores done, this included mowing and weeding the back yard, along with the usual house cleaning and laundry and grocery shopping.  I heard the Activity Days event was a hit and Felicity's car did really well, she took 4th.  In the evening Kayla and I went out to dinner and then hung out talking.  Sunday morning was quiet, I enjoyed Sacrament meeting, subbed in Primary and then got to attend a lovely Young Women's meeting.  I'm excited to get to work in young women's, it seems like a great group of girls and I couldn't ask for better leaders to serve with.  I picked up the kids in the evening and both Helen and Arlo were not feeling well.  I got them home and bathed and to bed early.

17 April 2016

We had another very busy week!  Monday we were up at the ranch to celebrate both Felicity's birthday and Quinn's birthday.  I made cupcake-cakes for each of them over the weekend and I think they turned out so well!  All the kids seem to be into Minecraft these days, so that's what they wanted.  Felicity was elated to find that everyone had chipped in to buy her a new bike for her birthday!  My kids have been learning to ride when they go to play at the ranch because that's what the other kids are doing.  She is so happy with it and took off right away with the others to try it out.  I am so incredibly grateful that we have such wonderful friends in our life.  We had dinner and cake and really enjoyed one anothers company.

Tuesday I had a camp meeting in the evening to attend.  The stake re-extended my assignment as the girl's camp certification specialist so I was there to help the oldest girls in their planning.  I'm tickled to get the opportunity to go back to camp this year.  It went well and I think it will be another great year of camp! 

Wednesday evening we headed out on the town to celebrate Felicity's birthday.  First stop, Boot Barn for her very first pair of genuine, big girl cowboy boots.  She picked a fabulous pair of square toe boots with purple uppers.  I was hoping to convince her to get a pair in one size larger, but she was adamant that the size 2 were way too big.  Let's hope she can wear these for a REALLY long time!  Next, she picked dinner at Red Robin, so we drove over to Tucson mall and had dinner at Red Robin.  All three kids were so good, we had such a great time.  I can hardly believe my baby is ten!

Felicity was excited to wear her new boots to school on her birthday, we also took in cup cakes for her class.  In the evening, she went with Nana for dinner and birthday shopping.  The little kids and I enjoyed a night in. 

 Friday I took Helen and Arlo to my parent's house and Felicity and Fynley and I went out to celebrate more.  My kids are allowed a party every other year starting when they are six.  This year instead of a big birthday party, Felicity picked an evening out with one friend.  First we went to Pump it Up and the girls played on the inflatable jumping toys for two hours.  Then we wandered the mall.  The girls wanted a pretzel, so we stopped and had pretzels.  They spent a ton of time in the Disney store and even more time in Claire's Boutique.  They picked out some jewelry and just had so much fun.   Felicity wanted Red Robin for dinner (again), so that's what we did.  We ate on the patio and just really enjoyed ourselves. We had planned to have ice cream when we were done, but we were pretty full!  I took Felicity back to Nana's and she spent the night there with Arlo and Helen and then I took Fynley home.   

Saturday morning I ran and then I picked up the kids and we did some chores.  Then we headed over to Mindy's to help with her backyard clearing project.  We were over there pretty much all day clearing and chipping trees and shrubs and cactus. 

Sunday morning I got a call asking me to meet with a member of the bishopric before Sacrament meeting.  I was extended a calling to serve as the Young Women's Secretary in the youth organization.  I was, quite frankly, surprised.  I was expecting a primary assignment and had also heard that my name had been suggested for a Relief Society calling.  I very happily accepted and was sustained in Sacrament Meeting and set apart after the block.  I am humbled to be able to serve the young women in our ward in this capacity and am excited. 

During Sacrament Meeting Felicity had the privilege of being the very first ever speaker in the new Ranch ward!  She was asked to recite an Article of Faith.  She picked Article of Faith 3 and then explained what it meant and bore her testimony that she knows that it is true.  I was so proud of her and what an honor to be asked to not only be a youth speaker in front of the congregation, but the first in the newly organized ward!  I hope that she will always remember that experience.  I taught the lesson in Relief Society, Taking the Gospel to All the World from the Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Howard W. Hunter.  I think the lesson went fairly well, at least I felt the Spirit as I taught, so that's always a good sign.  We had a nice quiet and relaxing afternoon as we get ready for another full and busy week!

10 April 2016

The spring weather has been so lovely.  The garden is really starting to be green and productive.  I wish I was able to time things more effectively, I have cilantro and chilies and onions ready, but no tomatoes!  One of our chickens has decided that she is going to hatch her eggs, she's been what we call "broody".  We don't have a rooster, none of her eggs is ever going to be chick, but she has it in her head and hasn't been getting off the nest.  Typically I would throw her off and make her spend a couple days outside of the coop away from the nest until she came to her senses, but this time we thought we'd try a little experiment.  We came home from Melynda's last week with some fertilized eggs to put under our little mamma.  I wasn't sure what to expect, but as I placed each of the eggs in front of her, she dutifully and gently used her beak to tuck them safely underneath her...so now we wait.  I'm hopeful we'll actually get chickies!

Wednesday Felicity came home with a "Kindness Award".  I go back and forth on my opinions on how often and under what conditions the kids get awards at school.  This one, however, seemed appropriate for dear sweet Felicity.  She really is one of the most kind little souls there is.

We have lots of leaves on our tree in the back which provides the perfect little corner of shade.  I found myself sitting on the block garden bed retaining wall under the shade just enjoying the sites and sounds of the garden.  Spring is glorious.  I will say, however, that it's been pretty windy which is causing some problems with the allergy sufferers in my family.  Felicity is on a daily nasal spray for her allergies, but has been finding that they are wearing off before the end of the day, I'll have to ask the pediatrician about that.  Arlo has been very itchy and swollen-eyed and snotty lately too.  There's always opposition I suppose!

Friday my kids went to visit Jeff, and once they were gone I watched kids over at Melynda's house and helped the kids decorate cupcakes.  It was quite the mess, but they had fun, so that's the real point, right? We had a nice time, I love being able to spend time with the kids and children really do benefit by getting quality time with a variety of positive adults.

 I was excited to attend church on Sunday in our new ward.  It went relatively smoothly.  I taught Primary which went well, I had the eight and ten year olds.  After church I worked on some family history and then went to Tucson to pick up my babies from their weekend away.  I can't believe the school year is winding down and summer is only a few short weeks away!

03 April 2016

Wow! March is gone.  It was a mundane and quiet week for the most part.  Monday I went to lunch with Mom in the afternoon and that’s always nice.  We had family home evening after dinner and homework.  Felicity and I are nearing the end of the last Harry Potter book and enjoying it together immensely. 

We had General Conference this weekend and its always a treat.  We watched conference together Saturday morning and had our traditional cinnamon rolls.  In between sessions we ran errands and went grocery shopping and to lunch.  We played in the back yard and had a lovely Saturday.

Sunday morning we drove up to Melynda’s and enjoyed the last two sessions of conference with their family.  We brought a blueberry French toast casserole and an egg casserole.  We had a lot of fun and stayed to hang out most of the afternoon.  The kids love to roam wild and free!

My favorite conference addresses were "Fathers" by D. Todd Christofferson and "That I Might Draw All Men Unto Me" by Dale G. Renlund.