27 May 2018

We excitedly started our last week of school!  I can’t believe the school year has come and gone so quickly.  There were backpacks full of crap that came home that needed to be sorted and tossed out, but with no homework or sports in the afternoons the kids had to find other ways to occupy their time.  I’m grateful for a closet full of games, because on several evenings this week they pulled out new games to play after their chores were completed.  Monday night, Felicity made us all dinner and planned our Family Home Evening.  We had a lesson about faith and then watched “That Darn Cat” with popcorn as our activity.  It was hilarious and the kids really enjoyed it.

I took time off in the morning on Tuesday to attend Arlo’s kindergarten graduation.  Copper Ridge did such a lovely job with the promotion program.  They each had very nice caps and tassels, they announced each student and said a little something about them.  Arlo’s was that he wanted to be a police officer when he grows up.  They sang some songs, had a slide show, and then refreshments in the grass when it was over.  They also gave us a goodie bag with bi-fold cover that included a graduation picture and their kindergarten “diploma”.  It was very nice.  They also gave us their portfolio of work from the year, although it wasn’t what I was expecting, it was just school work. When the girls finished kindergarten they had portfolios filled with lots of kindergarten art and projects.  I assume that Arlo’s class didn’t do as many colorful art projects because they were only in class three hours a day.  He also got his report card and 1^st grade classroom assignment, he’ll be in Mrs. Pearson’s class.

Felicity had a field day during the week and was finally able to unload much of what she has been carrying around in a very heavy backpack all year.  On Wednesday afternoon, she was invited to a swim party as a “going away” celebration for her close friend.  She had a great time, although I know that she will miss Britnie greatly next year.  I’m so grateful for all the good friends Felicity has been able to make this year.  The transition to junior high was such a positive experience for her, even in the midst of moving to a new house and new ward in addition to a new school.  After picking up Felicity from her party, I met Sadie over at Gretchen’s house and the tree of us visited for a while.  Being with friends is always nice.

I left Gretchen’s house around 8:30 to head to the Tucson Temple where I had volunteered to help clean after it closed.  That was such a fun experience.  I have never been so happy and willing to clean other people's toilets!  They have a very nice arrangement to allow members of the temple district to come help clean.  It was very well organized and I was grateful for such a nice, “behind the scenes” experience.  We finished around 11PM and I got home and to bed a little after midnight.  Surprisingly, I wasn’t at all tired the next day.  Must be one of the perks of temple service!  

Stock photo of the Celestial Room (was not playing undercover photographer)

Felicity had an honor’s assembly on Thursday afternoon where she was award honor roll for the fourth quarter.  In the evening the kids asked me if I would teach them how to play Risk (my favorite!).  It took us forever to get it set up and played for an hour before bed.  We just kept it out and played on and off over the next few days.  They seemed to really enjoy it, although nothing exposes you're weakest traits like a game of Risk!  When we were done I could tell which of my kids was the most blood thirsty, the most diplomatic, and which is the poorest sport!

Friday was our last day of school and everyone was super excited.  We took some pictures before heading out to the bus.   

While the kids were at school, I went back out to Dina’s to get a replacement for our pig that never did come back.  Once I got the new piggy home, Hamilton, which is what the kids are calling the boar, was elated.  He was so happy to have a sibling to be with again.  Once the new sow was settled I went back to the store to do our grocery shopping for the week.  The kids got home a little before twelve and there was riotous celebration.  They helped me clean house in the afternoon and we worked on some projects around the ranch.   

Helen was invited to her friend Morgan's house for a playdate in the afternoon.  The kids wanted to camp out in the yard, but I felt it was too windy, so they pitched a tent in the living room and “camped out” there.

Saturday morning was outside chores including taking care of all of the animals and deep watering the trees.  Our animal count is at six hens, one rooster, two turkey chicks, three tortoises, 6 chicks, two piglets, two beehives, and two cats…oh, and those three kids!  I also took on the task of building some new frames for my beehives.  I’m hoping to start harvesting honey next week and want to make sure I have extra frames available as needed.  I put together thirty new frames and it took me a couple of hours. 

 I also continued work on moving the landscape rock, particularly around the mulberry trees, to the driveway.  I finally got around to hanging a wind chime I’d gotten for Christmas, and a forged triangle I bought before we closed on the house.  I love them both and the kids got a kick out of ringing the triangle.  Now I figure I can get the kids to come in without standing on the porch yelling.  

 I got the laundry going in the evening and decided to tackle a plumbing problem in the kids’ bathroom.  Shortly after moving in, Felicity inadvertently broke the diverter on the tub spout, making it so you can’t use that bathroom for a shower.  I bought a “universal” replacement and set to work trying to replace it.  I ended up having to use my hack saw to shorten the copper pipe coming from the wall in order to work with the replacement spout only to find out there is a defect in the pipe that is making it impossible to fit a coupler over the pipe flush to the wall.  I messed with it for an hour and then set it aside.  I’m going to have to get some files and hopefully will finish it up next week.

Our Sunday was very nice.  I prepared my Primary lesson in the morning and then we went to church early for choir rehearsal.  The choir sang during Sacrament Meeting and it went fairly well.  Our meetings were good and I felt my Primary lesson went well.   After church we went over to Nana and Papa’s to have dinner and visit.  We stayed way too late as we knew we didn’t have anywhere to be on Monday morning.  

20 May 2018

On Monday afternoon we added to the Two Jack family with two new turkey chicks.  I made some modifications to one of the buildings out back to create a second coop to house them until they are big enough to go in with the chickens.  We had Family Home Evening after dinner and enjoyed spending some down time together.

Felicity had her spring concert on Tuesday night and it was fantastic.  I can’t say enough about how impressed I’ve been with Corona’s music program.  She is really enjoying it too, and asked this week if she can do the 7^th grade jazz band next year in addition to the concert band.  I really don’t think flute is a jazz instrument and I would rather her participate in PE/Technology in place of a second band class, but she was adamant and put up the argument that with cross county, soccer, and track she doesn’t really need PE.  So I signed the consent and I guess she’s going to try jazz band.

On Wednesday Felicity had her end of season track celebration, they gave her the honorary “Smiles and Miles” award, I thought it was cute and am glad that Felicity has such a good attitude.   When she got home we went to the feed store to get some hog feed and to pick up some new chicks.  We lost one hen from our first flock and ended up with one rooster, so I have been wanting to add to the flock, especially since the girls have been selling the eggs to earn money for missions.  I got three Rhode Island Reds and three more Leghorns.  I put them in the smaller coop with the turkey chicks and hope to integrate them into the main coop when they are bigger and less likely to get picked on (or at least better able to defend themselves) until they are acclimated into the existing flock.

The kids had Spirit Week which I really hate.  Especially this close to the end of the school year.  On Thursday they had “Decades Day” and Arlo and Helen dressed themselves.  Arlo was wearing his Wranglers, a pearl snap shirt that was a little too small and his cowboy hat.  90s cowboy?  Helen had a Toole skirt with leggings, a Harry Potter tee shirt and a bonnet and apron.  1880s hipster?  Weirdos!  I didn’t even care because it required absolutely no input from me. 

We went out to Dina’s place on Thursday after school and picked up our newly weaned piglets.  We got a boar and a sow and they are super cute.  We stayed and visited for a while and then headed into town.  My mom wanted to get the kids together with their cousin for dinner at McDonalds.  I dropped the kids off with her and then headed home to get the piglets settled in the new pen. 

 I went out to check on the animals Friday morning and discovered that one of the piglets had Houdini-ed her way out of the pen.  We spent quite a while looking for her to no avail.  I put the remaining pig in the chicken coop until I could figure out how the other had escaped.  Helen and Arlo had field day at school and got to wear clothes to get wet in.  They raved about how much fun they had had when they got home, the highlight being sprayed with the fire hose. 

Arlo and I went out in the desert with my dad to pick up used brass after Arlo got home from school.  He had a great time and enjoyed gathering the spent rounds and riding in the back of Papa’s truck.  We didn’t do too badly, finding a couple of spots to collect.  As much fun as he and I have had on our Friday afternoons together, I’m looking forward to not having to pay for Kinder Plus next year and him being in class all day. 

The kids scoured the desert for the piglet in the afternoon, but my fall ham just disappeared into the desert I guess; she not only got out of the pen but out of the fenced yard as well.  I thought for sure she’d come back looking for her brother, and at the very least the food and water.  I will get a replacement as pigs are social and really need to be kept in pairs to be happy.  The kids went to see their dad in the evening and I put on my work clothes and went out to fix the pig pen.  I found the weakness in the fence and reinforced the entire side to prevent it from happening again.  I worked out on the pig pen until I lost the sunlight.

I was outside early on Saturday morning and finished up the upgrades to the pig pen and then put the remaining pig back in the pen to see if he could find a way out.  He worked at it for a while, but eventually gave up and went to sleep in the hay under the hutch.  I made a new door for the chicken coop and deep watered and weeded all of the trees.  The weeds on our place are pretty pervasive, we’ll have to stay on top of them each week to keep them out of the tree wells.  I then set to work on the endless chore of moving the landscaping rock to the driveway.  I focused my efforts around the newly planted mulberry trees as I’m hoping to construct cinderblock raised rings around them in the next couple of weeks and will need a clear area to work in. 

After a shower I ventured out to do my grocery shopping and then came home to do laundry and house cleaning.  It was a long day!  On Sunday morning I enjoyed some quiet time as I didn’t have anything to prepare for church.  I enjoyed Sacrament meeting and sat in on my Primary class while the other teacher gave the lesson.  I had an interaction with someone third hour while I was being shuffled around between my calling to lead the music in Relief Society, a need for help in Sharing Time, and a teacher improvement class that left me frustrated and offended, feeling I had been spoken to rudely.  Now you have to understand that on a weekend that my kids are away, I don’t usually have much human interaction between Friday night and Sunday afternoon.  I look forward to coming to church, but five and a half months into the year I  feel like I’ve made very few connections with anyone in the ward.  I’m trying to volunteer for things and offer to help when needed, but still feel “new”.  Being a single parent in the church can be very isolating and lonely, no one means to cause those feelings, but it’s hard to not feel like a pariah.  I had a stressful week at work, a full load at home, lots of time alone over the weekend, and feelings of not being accepted yet and when combined together is a recipe for hurt feelings.  So I just went home.  I’ll try again next week; I’m sure it had more to do with me than with anything anyone said to me.

I was happy to pick up the kids in the evening and we enjoyed some time together before bed time.  We are looking forward to the last week of school and some much needed freedom in the coming weeks.

13 May 2018

Summer is almost here, or at least the temperatures this week were heralding in the beginning of summer.  We had a lot going on this week as usual, but all really good stuff.  On Monday we enjoyed a fun Family Home Evening together.  We talked about how to use the gift of the Holy Ghost to make decisions in everyday life and read much of Elder Wilson’s talk Take the Holy Spirit as Your Guide from the most recent General Conference.  When we were done we played “Pit” which was fun, Arlo was actually really good at it and beat the sisters and I almost every time.

Felicity had mutual on Tuesday night and was really enthusiastic about going, she is enjoying being in the Young Women’s organization.  Felicity also finished up her last week of track practice this week and had her last meet on Wednesday afternoon.  I was able to attend the whole meet and got to see her run the 100M sprint where she came in third in her heat, run the 100M hurdles, and do a 4x100 relay.  It was a great learning experience and her times in each event improved with every meet.  I’m really proud of her for trying new things.

Thursday after work Roger met me at Two Jack to do a hive inspection.  The first hive was struggling and looks like it is queen-less, so we added a brood frame from one of the other hives.  Even though it is not a strong colony, they were still working together and had put aside some honey, I’m hopeful that they will rear a new queen and strengthen over the next few weeks.  The second hive was coming along fine, they have put away some honey and seem to be growing in numbers slowly.  The third hive, which is the more aggressive of the three, was thriving.  We pulled out several frames of capped honey that weighed 3-4 pounds per frame.  The box looked full and there are ten frames in the box, so somewhere between 30-40 pounds of honey in that hive.  We added a new box with frames that had drawn out comb already started on top of the hive in hopes that they will fill that box with honey as well.  We’ll look to harvest in the next 3-4 weeks. I’m glad that one of the hives is thriving as we try to build up the other two. 

After the hive inspection I needed to head into town with the kids so that Helen could pick out a birthday gift for a friend.  On our way down the road I noticed that the tire pressure indicator had come on.  I was expecting this as I seem to be repairing or replacing tires every 4-6 weeks.  I figured I’d just drop it off at Walmart while we did our shopping.  I got there at about 5pm, two hours before they close to be told they didn’t have enough people to work on it.  He offered to add more air for me, but that I would have to come back tomorrow.  While adding the air he said that it wasn’t going to hold and that I would need to change it.  He then went back into the garage where, from what I could tell, the guys “working” were standing around shooting the breeze.  I pulled the car into a parking space and changed my tire in a dress and sandals while they stood around.  If I hadn’t been so irritated, I would have thought enough ahead to leave the tire with them to fix, but I didn’t. 

Friday morning I went to school with Arlo where his teacher was hosting a “Muffins for Mom” event for Mother’s Day.  I got to sit in his desk while he enjoyed my muffin and then the kids performed a little song, it was nice.  After leaving the school I went back into Sahuarita to drop off my tire and do my grocery shopping.  Helen got picked up for a birthday party for a classmate in the afternoon and Felicity and Arlo and I went and picked up my mom to take Grandma Lo out for dinner for Mother’s Day.  We went to Longhorn Steakhouse and had a very nice dinner, and the kids even enjoyed dessert.  Helen didn’t get home until nearly nine, but had so much fun celebrating her friend Morgan’s birthday.

I was up at 5:30 on Saturday morning and went out to get all my trees and plants watered.  When I was done I came in and made the kids breakfast.  After we ate, we all went out into the yard to work.  The kids were a great help, although I wish it was a little more fun and a little less yelling.  We were able to accomplish a lot together.  We got the last mulberry tree in the ground, the kids weeded all of the tree wells, I made an automatic pig waterer, we fixed the tarp on the chicken coop (again), fixed a door on the other coop/enclosure, and Arlo ran the Weed-Wacker for me.  We came in around noon just as the wind was really starting to pick up.  I will say that our ranch is VERY windy.  

 The kids had lunch and some down time while I went back to Sahuarita to pick up my tire.  I called down there to verify it was ready as they hadn’t ever called me to tell me what the status was.  When I got down to Walmart they were busy and he said it would be a couple of hours before they could put it on for me.  I told him to forget it and to throw the tire in the back of the car, I’d do it myself, which I did in the parking lot in about 10 minutes.  Sheesh!  I wouldn’t keep coming back if I didn’t have road hazard on all of my tires and I need fixes and replacements so often.  Time to really buckle down and save my pennies for a truck!  After getting back home I cleaned house and started laundry.  When we were done we had a low-key dinner and watched a movie together.

Sunday was pretty typical.  We lounged around in the morning, I prepared my Primary lesson on Moses, and the kids watched Veggies.  They didn’t remember it was Mother’s Day until it was time to leave for church as I was gathering up my gift to take to my Mom’s.  We enjoyed our church meetings; they had the young men take over Primary third hour so that all the women could attend Relief Society, so it was nice to enjoy that with Felicity.   

Happy Mother's Day to these amazing Women, my Mom and my Grandma

After church we went over to my parent’s house and had dinner and enjoyed each other’s company.  Felicity gave me a drawing in a frame, Helen made me some sugar scrub, and Arlo had made a little birdhouse magnet.  My mom gave me a necklace with the kids’ names engraved on it.  It was a nice evening and we finished up by playing a drawing game with Nana that turned out to be a lot of fun and created a lot of laughter.  

06 May 2018

It was kind of a tiring week, looking back on it.  On Monday the kids were out of school because of the continued teacher walk out.  I left Felicity in charge and she did a fantastic job.  While I know there was a lot more TV watching than was admitted, I came home to a clean house and happy kids.  After dinner, we had Family Home Evening and played a Harry Potter game together as our activity.  I received word that the Vail School District was going to be back to business as usual on Tuesday, so no more staying up past bed time!

I got a new supervisor this week, which changed things in a fairly dramatic way at work.  I have been without a direct supervisor since the beginning of the year, and when I had one, he was pretty hands off (I only saw him maybe twice a year).  The new section head is wanting to be very involved and it means that my flexibility to work from home when the mood strikes me is going to be limited.  She had me put in a formal request to have my schedule permanently approved to allow me to get home in time to get the kids off the bus and finish my day from home, which is nice.  I will have to be in the office more from now on, and I think that was why it was a more tiring week, I was in the office all day.  The upside is that we had some very meaningful conversations about the direction of my career and the promotion cycle.  She is also bringing me into a new group to do some systems engineering related tasks to see if I have an aptitude for that.  I’m feeling it’s a positive thing, even if I’m not used to getting eight supervisory emails a day!

A "Submarine" Arlo made

Tuesday evening Helen had her spring choir concert and it was so good.  They sang a cute little song in French and then performed Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen.  I loved every minute of it and wish that my phone hadn’t been dying so that I could have taken a video.  I’ve always maintained that Queen’s library is perfect repertoire for choir.  She was very proud to be able to be involved in choir this year and is debating if she will pick up a band or orchestra instrument next year in 5^th grade while wanting to continue with choir.  Right now she’s leaning towards picking up piano lessons again.  I really like that idea, although would admittedly be a little sad if she didn’t do band.

Felicity had a track meet on Wednesday and I wasn’t able to make it there on time due to a meeting at work in the late afternoon.  I missed her 100M sprint and her long jump, but I was there in time to see her run the 400M relay.  She was in the third leg and moved her team from fifth to third in just her 100M of the relay, I was so proud of her!  Her regimen of anti-inflammatory medication and new shoe insoles has helped her Sever’s syndrome quite a bit and she is running mostly pain-free.  

 With allergy season in full swing there’s always a line in the morning for Claritin at the medicine cabinet.  Felicity has been on a nasal spray and Claritin for a few years now and she’s been able to manage her allergies fairly well this year.  Poor Arlo on the other hand has been downright miserable.  I need to take him in to the pediatrician to see if we can get him on a prescription on top of the Claritin as well, most days his little eyes are so swollen by the afternoon he can hardly see.  

 I had a meeting on Friday afternoon, so I wasn’t going to be able to get Arlo off the bus.  He, instead, played hooky from school and hung out with Nana.  He went to work with her in the morning and played on the exercise equipment and then they got to go out and have lunch together.  He was pretty excited to have a day with Nana all to himself.  In the evening, I drove the kids into Tucson because Felicity was in need of some new running shoes.  I hate to buy new shoes this close to the end of the year, but she had almost grown out of the last pair and with her insoles in place, there was no room for her foot.  Their dad met us at the shoe store when we were done to pick the kids up for the weekend.  When I got home I went for a run and then worked the last couple hours of my day from my home office.

Saturday morning I was up early and outside with numerous chores on the list.  I finished all of the fertilizing and then did a deep slow water of all the trees.  I really need to get them on an automatic timer system because its pretty time consuming to get them all watered in a morning.  I also took to the task of thinning my apple trees.  That was a heck of a chore!  Both trees were very heavily laden with fruit and I clipped off maybe four apples for every one that I left on the tree.  I wanted to thin them to give the remaining fruit the best possible chance of reaching a good size and being healthier.  This also reduces the stress on the tree and in a climate that is not ideal for growing apples, that’s important.  I ended up culling about 25 pounds of apples from the two trees.  There were very few that had bird holes in them and I didn’t see any with signs of insect activity so I’m hoping that remains the case until I can harvest them.   

 I also finally got one of the mulberry trees in the ground.  It was slow hard work, but once I got past the clay level in the ground, about a foot down, the rest dug up pretty easily.  I started work on the last hole, but didn’t get too far as the ground was extremely dry and rocky even after soaking it.  I will hopefully make better progress on that hole next week.  I finished up at about 2 and then showered and headed into town to do my weekly shopping.  I stopped at Walmart and then Fry’s for groceries.  When I got home I worked on getting the laundry done and the house clean.  I finished just in time for bed.  

 Sunday morning I went for a walk, but not early enough, as it was really hot out.  I walked about four miles in an hour and by the time I got home it was time to get ready for church.  I enjoyed Sacrament meeting and then found that second hour my co-teacher didn’t show up.  So, I ended up teaching my Primary class off the cuff and it actually went fairly well.  I picked the kids up after church and fed them when we got home.  Arlo was so itchy and swollen from allergies and bug bites, I put him straight in the tub and then gave him allergy meds.  We watched the Veggie Tales version of Jonah together after baths and dinner and then it was off to bed to start a new week.

29 April 2018

It was a pretty quiet week without much exciting to report about.  On Monday morning I took Felicity to the Tucson Orthopedic Institute for a follow up appointment.  She has been having some pain in her heel when she runs.  They took an x-ray and confirmed the pediatrician’s suspicion of calcaneal apophysitis.  Essentially, she has an inflammation of the growth plate in her heel that is being exasperated by her level of physical activity and high arches.  He gave her some stretches to do and said she should be on an anti-inflammatory twice a day as well as to get some inserts for her shoes.  The issue will resolve itself when she’s done growing and the growth plate has fused.  She was pretty excited to have her first x-ray and be able to see her foot on the screen.

Monday night sweet Helen wanted to give the family home evening lesson.  She planned a great lesson and follow up activity after dinner.  We learned about being kind and then played a board game together. 

The kids were home on Thursday due to the teacher walk outs.  They entertained themselves while I was at work and I’m happy to report that they didn’t destroy my house and even put the folded laundry away.  Felicity had her first mutual activity of Thursday night, a stake activity at Skate Country.  She was VERY excited to go and had a great time.  Helen and Arlo went over to their dad’s house and started their weekend visit early since they were out of school on Friday as well.

 I was off on Friday and the kids were with their dad, so I spent my morning at the temple.  I had a very nice time, as I always do, and when I was done I headed over to Sam’s Club for some grocery shopping.  I had a hair appointment in the afternoon and went back into Tucson for that.  After my hair appointment I picked up dinner and went to visit with Sadie for a few hours.  We always have such a fun time chatting.  When I was done, I stopped at Fry’s for the last of my grocery shopping, which was quite quick at 10PM!

Saturday morning I was out in the yard working on getting all the fruit trees fertilized and weeded.  I also put in some work on the holes for the mulberry trees out front, but lamentably still haven’t gotten them in the ground. I think the ground closer to the house must be more impacted than in other areas of the yard because I’m having a heck of a time getting it dug.  I’m worried that I’m running out of time as it is getting hotter and the stress on the trees is increased.  I also potted some new gardenias in the large pots on the front porch, they’re my favorite. 

The kids came home Saturday night and we watched an old movie together, everyone cuddled on one couch.  Sunday morning was quiet and we enjoyed our church meetings. I taught my Primary class and that went well.  I think they’re adapting to my teaching style fairly well, even though its vastly different from their usual teacher.  After church we went home and enjoyed time together. I let the kids stay up late since they are out of school on Monday as the teacher walk out continues.