Friends and Fun

We've had a fun week!  On Monday, we were invited over for FHE and dinner, so we headed over in the evening and we had a great time getting to know another family in the ward and eating yummy food and playing games.  David just adored his new friends and was talking about them all week - then he was excited all over again when he got to see them in church today!  

Wednesday, Anna had her first Cross Country meet - Dan and I (and David) met up there to watch her run.  She is still trying to get her times back to what they were in August, but she did great!  It was funny because the other team's colors were purple and white - so at first, both Dan and I started looking for her among the purple runners before we realized that we weren't in Anna anymore and she is probably on the other team now.  

In Young Women's we all seemed to be having game nights - Eileen brought a couple games from our game cupboard to play, and they closed the night with hide and seek.  Eileen found a pretty epic hiding spot, but it took her a little too long to wiggle into it, so she was found.  Anna's class seemed to be playing something or other, and Evelyn's class was playing get-to-know you games

James has spent most of his non school hours on Thursday, Friday and Saturday outside playing with a boy who lives down the street.  

Saturday, the weather was beautiful!!  We all spent most of the day outside and enjoying it.  We did some clean up inside - then some yard work outside, a bunch of walking - including taking Koopa to the groomers and picking him up - walking and runs and playing with friends.  It was a fun and exhausting day!  

Today was wonderful.  We got to go to church again because I was doing a musical number - the first one I've done in over a year - it's so wonderful to have a bit more music in church again!  The song went well and everyone was very sweet.  I'm used to getting nice comments from people after church - but new to COVID musical numbers was the number of texts and emails - both from sweet members of the ward and our High Councilman, but also from family members that had tuned into the broadcast to listen.  

In the afternoon, we had fun playing games together and coloring.  :)  Then in the evening, we went to the Treu's house for dinner.  We had a great time with lots of yummy food!  

Teeth and Cats

 We've had a bit of an adventurous week.  Monday night we had our ice cream party - I got some ice cream and toppings and we had a fun family night at home making and eating ice cream sundaes.  

James had been having tooth pain since Saturday and after trying to get ahold of the dentist for 3 days, I finally went to the office to see if they could do anything - they couldn't they were booked solid, but they knew a place that could see him soon, so I called them and they got us in on Tuesday afternoon.  Turns out he had a big ol' cavity and so they did a pulpotomy and and cleaned it out, but they still had some concerns, so they said if he tooth was still hurting in a couple days to let them know.  He was so funny - he was a great patient, but he was also very chatty - when I snapped this picture of him (which he didn't want me to take) he was still trying to talk to the dentist!  

Wednesday the youth activities were fun!  Aaron got to play kick ball, and Eileen and Evelyn were both doing baking activities!  It's was a bit crazy trying to coordinate that, but they both seemed to have a good time and it seemed to go well overall.  

Anna was finally able to start cross country, we finally got ahold of someone who could give us information and she has been able to run again - plus so far, her knee is doing fine, so the stretches and exercises that the doctor gave her have helped a lot.  

Thursday James' tooth was still hurting so the dentist gave him a prescription for an antibiotic which will hopefully get him through until he can see a regular dentist.  

David is so funny - Anna let him draw on her tablet - he would color the whole thing one solid color - then he wanted it sent to me - then he would color the whole thing in another solid block of color and send it again - he did this at least 10 time - and I got a TON of text messages like the ones below! 

Anna even tried to get him to do more than one color - but this was all he wanted to do!  By the end he had figured out how to change colors himself and even had a pretty good idea of how to send it to me.  

David has been loving the slightly warmer weather we have gotten - he loves to ride his big wheel tricycle - he says multiple times a day "come on mommy lets go outside and I can ride my bike!"  And then he rides up and down the block and has a blast!  

Saturday afternoon, we did a girls date with Sandi and Kai and me and my girls.  We went and walked around the mall and window shopped and chatted and had a fun time together.  We had dinner at the food court and enjoyed a fun evening together.  

We got home just in time for John and Melissa to stop by with their kids for some games and fun.  They got there just in time to do scriptures and Come Follow Me with us, so we all parked in the living room and read together.  David just loves his cousins!  Then we had a blast playing games and hanging out!  

A friend of mine had to leave town for a funeral and needed someone to go over and feed their cat, so Eileen had a great time going over in the evenings and feeding the cat and taking care of him and then petting him for a bit - he's a very sweet kitty who loved all the petting and attention!  

Church today was wonderful!  We got to go in person and we got to be there for a fast and testimony meeting.  Plus I'm excited because I've been asked to do a musical number - so we get to go next week too and I get to sing!  I'm so excited!  James and David both had their primary meetings and David just loves his teachers!  They don't live too far away from us and walk near here all the time, so one day when David was out riding his tricycle, they were walking by and David recognized them and was so happy to see them!  

Doctors Appointments

This week has been busy and full of ups and downs.  Anna had an appointment for a physical for school so she could do sports - while there we asked them to make a recommendation for someone she could see about her knees.  So on Friday she had an appointment with a sports medicine doctor who x-rayed her and and checked her and gave her some exercises and stretches that she can do to help.  The plan is to try those and see if they help and if it doesn't help enough, then we will get her in to see a physical therapist.  

David loves having his picture taken and he was parked on the window sill looking cute and telling me to take a picture - that is the whole reason for this pic - but he's cute!  

Tuesday was wonderful and stressful - Eileen was having a VERY rough day and was very stressed and anxious, so I went in and sat with her for awhile.  We had an appointment set up for her with a therapist on Thursday.  It seemed to go pretty well and she was feeling much better about life in general afterwards.  She will meet with him again and hopefully he will help her figure out what things make it worse and what things make it better and help her learn ways to manage the bad days.  

Tuesday we also got to have Claire and some of the kids stop by for lunch and playing on their way back to Washington.  It was so good to see them and have them over!  Dan came home from work early so he could see them and hang out with us, then he took Eileen out for a drive to chat and clear her head.  

Wednesday was a no school day which was fun - we had a nice quiet day around the house, and then in the evening, the girls had their youth activity.  They had a fun get-to-know the bishopbric activity which was a lot of fun - it was also a lot of fun being together with all the young women instead of divided into classes.  

Saturday, was Tiana's baby shower!  It was so fun to get to see her and chat with her and the other ladies there!  We had a great time!  

James has been having tooth problems - but we can't get a dentist to answer us and set up an appointment for him grrrr....  Poor kid is in pain and cranky because of it!  

Sunday was wonderful!  We had a great ward conference, and great meetings.  We finally found James' primary class link (it had gone to my junk mail) and David just loves his primary meeting and his teachers!  

In the afternoon, we went to the Tualatin Hills Nature Reserve and had fun walking around and chatting - we even got to see a deer walking around and crossing the path!  Anna found Big Foot (it was really just a tree that kinda looked like a big person) and we all had a great time! 

Friends and Family

 It's been a fun week!  On Monday after school, we took the kids to the home of a sister I minister to so that we could shovel her driveway.  We had a great time working together and she was sweet and shared some candy with the kids.  It was wonderful to be able to serve and we were grateful that the van made it down the hill and back up safely.  

James has been having so much fun making stuff with Dan - he and Dan made this robot together - and then Evelyn helped James paint it.  He's pretty excited about spending the special time with dad and about making such cool things!  

Friday, Dan and I had a date night!  John and Melissa came up and Adam got to hang out with his cousins while the adults went to Fogo de Chao for dinner.  We had a wonderful time together, as did the kids, then after, we had fun playing a game before finally bundling the kids off to bed WAY past their bed time!  

Saturday included lots of errands.  I took Eileen and Anna to go get the fabric for the skirts they want to make during our craft afternoon.  They are both pretty excited to make them and are excited about the fabric they found.  Then in the evening, I went for a girls night out with Sandi and her ex-sister in law Julianna - and Kai tagged along too!  We had a fun dinner and ice cream and walking around the cute little downtown area.  It was fun getting to know Julianna a bit better and it's always great to spend time with Sandi!  

Sunday we got to go to church at the building which was wonderful.  David had a little primary zoom meeting again - which he LOVES!  He and James used their clothing item coupons to get pj's - James got a dragon and David got a monkey.  They both look adorable in them - and we are having a hard time getting them to wear anything else now.  In the afternoon, I took the belated Valentine's cookies to the sisters I minister to and had a fun time chatting with Janet and seeing her new kitchen!  In the evening, we watched the Friend to Friend event that the church put on for kids and had fun.  Plus, the sisters stopped by when Dan told them that they could stop by for banana bread.  They both got some banana bread and a HUGE hug from David.  It was adorable! 

Snow and Ice

We've had a fun and rather crazy week!  It started out normal enough with me running errands to get ready for Valentine's Day - James needed his class valentines dropped off on Monday and picked up on Thursday for their celebration on Friday.  

The sister missionaries challenged us when  they came over for dinner to prayerfully find someone to serve and some way to serve them.  I thought I should take some Valentine treats to the sisters I minister to, so I made up cookie dough, then we decorated them Thursday evening.  The kids all had a fun time.  David would tell Dan what to do, then Dan would frost them and David would put a little pile of sprinkles somewhere on the cookie.  Eileen had fun using a tooth pick to make cool swirly patterns and all the kids had fun decorating and getting a little creative!  And of course, they liked eating them! 

Friday began the end of Portland civilization.  Well not really, but the ice and rain and snow started coming down and everything shut down, the roads are covered in ice and snow and no snow plows to be found, plus the ice rain kept coming down!   Dan got a fun little inflatable sled for the kids.  They loved it and had a blast on it, and then got upset when the bottom section stopped holding air very well, but they got a lot of fun out of it while it lasted!  

Our driveway and the gently sloping hill next to our house were perfect for the younger kids (and Eileen) who wanted to have fun, but not go too fast.  Anna was the only one to brave the steeper hill a block away.  

A lot of people in the area have had power outages.  Thankfully we still have power here.  Sandi and Jon and John and Melissa have both lost power.  We have offered our home, but getting up to us is a rather dangerous prospect.  Dan and I haven't dared drive since this began.  Hills and ice are not worth it.  

Saturday morning, Dan and David made up some yummy French Toast for breakfast!  The kids have been eating the leftovers for every meal since.  

By Saturday, we had actually gotten some snow and the whole neighborhood was out enjoying it!   Some really nice teenage kids from down the street shared sleds with our kids and Anna was excited to meet some kids her own age!  Eileen even finally came out and tried the sled, agreeing that the slope was gentle enough, but that once was enough.  :)  We got to meet and chat with some of the neighbors who were out with their kids and it was nice.  

James was trying to teach David how to zip up his jacket!  He was so sweet helping him get ready to go play outside! 

Dan smoked a brisket that was supposed to be for dinner on Saturday, but he miscalculated the time, so we had a nice big family lunch of brisket and potatoes and it was really yummy!!  

In the afternoon, the boys and I helped a neighbor lady shovel her drive way.  We worked hard and were well and tired out by the end of the day.  

Valentines Day was wonderful!   We started with a yummy breakfast of heart-shaped biscuits.  And of course, way too much candy.  Church was cancelled, but we were still able to do the sacrament, so we did some home church, having the Sacrament and talking about a Bible story.  We talked about Enoch and the people of Zion! 

After church, the youth had their meetings.  This week the primary was given permission to start doing zoom primary meetings.  So today was David's very first Sunbeam class!!  His teachers were wonderful and so sweet with him.  He just loved it!  He was the only one there this week, but he was so excited to go to Sunbeams and have his own church meeting like the big kids.  James' class hasn't started yet, but it will soon, and I'm so glad!   David looks a little somber in the picture, but he was chatting with them and singing along and responding to questions.  

The kids wanted to go and play outside in the snow more today, but last night they got more ice rain, so the snow wasn't really play-with-able - it was frozen solid!  I could stand on it and it wouldn't sink under my weight at all.  It was really neat to see the ice all over the plants though - I hope it doesn't hurt them, but so far they seem fine.  

End of the Semester and Stuff

This was the last week of the semester for the kids, so they spent a lot of time finishing up school work.  

I spent some time trying to convince Evelyn that although a C is not a bad enough grade to get her in trouble, that it is likewise nothing to be proud of...  

Dan and I got David a dresser last weekend, this week, we finally got around to getting it built.  David was so excited!  He and Dan worked to get them built.  David loved getting to help daddy!  He hammered and brought him things and helped carry stuff.

He felt so big and strong helping to carry the drawers.  

 The kids had school off on Friday for a grading day, but we mostly chilled around the house and went on short walks and played around.  In the afternoon, Dan called because his car had broken down on the side of the road on his way home from work, so I took David and went to go bring him some tools, and then take him to get a battery for the car so he could get the car home.  Then Saturday morning, he took the car to get it fixed.  At first it was looking like it was going to cost nearly a thousand dollars and take a long time.  The mechanic called us back a couple hours later to say that it was a different part than expected and would only cost a hundred dollars and was done.  We were very happy and feeling very blessed!  

James claimed his craft afternoon coupon for this weekend.  So Saturday afternoon, we went into my craft room and sat down with some hat looms and made some hats.  He made a had for himself and I made a doll hat.  We also listened to an audio book while we crafted.  We got to have some (mostly) one on one time and he made an awesome looking hat for himself and we had a lot of fun!  

We all selected goals to work on this month and James decided that he wanted to learn some of the cub scout stuff, so he and Dan have been doing lots of fun stuff.  He decided that he wanted to do something today, but since Dan had little warning and no ability to get supplies, the options were limited.  James was really mad at first that Dan wanted to teach him knot tying, then Dan convinced him that it could be cool to learn to lash stuff together, so they lashed 3 big poles together and James has been carrying it everywhere and draping his blanket over it and using it as a teepee or as a reading spot or anything he could think of.  

The kids had fun outside skating as usual and Evelyn and James met a kid who lives just down the street that they had a fun evening playing with.  He seems pretty close to James' age which is nice, but after James came in and threw a grand fit about not having a pet.....  

SNOW!

That's right!  Snow had been predicted, but we hadn't actually expected it, so on Tuesday when it started snowing a little, my first thought was that it wouldn't even stick, but we got a good solid inch and the kids used as much of it as they could building small snowmen and having snow fights and sledding down our driveway.  This was David's first snow that he has been able to play in.  It never actually snowed while we were in Texas, so this is the first time he's really gotten to play in the snow - and he played hard!  He had so much fun!  Most of his siblings only stayed outside for part of the time - Eileen and Anna got done with school a bit early at the beginning of the snowstorm and they played for a bit, then James got done and Anna and James played for a bit, then Dan got home and he played with us, then Evie and Aaron finished school and they came out to play - but David was out there through it all - which meant I was out there for most of it too.  It turns out that our driveway is steep enough that with an old tupperwear lid, we could sled down the driveway (kinda) and David loved that too!  (Dan was the only one crazy enough to do it standing up, the rest were sitting)  It was an awesome afternoon!!  Funny how when snow is more rare, you appreciate it more! 

 Wednesday, we had youth activities.  Evelyn's class did a modest fashion show - the girls were awesome and had a lot of fun with it - Evelyn was so cute posing! 

Dan has gone nearly a whole year with out cutting his hair - and he says it probably won't last much longer :)  

Friday evening, Dan and I went on a Date to IKEA.  The plan was to look at some organization ideas for the closet in the craft room.  Instead we came home with some plants a dresser and a comforter cover....  But now I have some better ideas about what I want... I think.  After we stopped at a little hole-in-the-wall Mexican food place - it was awesome!!  The food was soo yummy - even if we did have to eat it in our car....  

Saturday afternoon I met up with Sandi for a little Sister Date.  Her kids had an art class in a fun little shopping district of Lake Oswego, so while they had their class, she and I walked around and enjoyed the beautiful area and some yummy food and cute shops!  It was really fun to spend some time with her just chatting and hanging out.  

Sunday was wonderful.  We were able to attend church in person today - numbers were small since they are dividing things up and doing hybrid right now, but it was still wonderful to be back there.  Eileen gave a talk today and did a wonderful job even though talking gives her a ton of anxiety.  Her grandparents were also able to listen in via zoom since it was a zoom meeting also.  After church, Evelyn and I worked on her greenhouse some and James and Dad did a project.  James has been feeling left out since the primary kids aren't doing activities like the youth, so for his goal for this month, he wants to learn about some of the things from cub scouts, so he and Dan worked together and used tools to make this fun little candy dispenser.  They had a fun time together and it came out great!!  

Another Awesome Birthday Boy

 Some of the kids used their gift cards from Great Grandpa Francone this week - David got a couple duplo sets and a cute stuffed animal (which Evelyn liked so much that she got one just like it.) David has been loving his duplo sets - he got a Toy Story train set and a police motorcycle set and he has played with them almost non-stop since they arrived.  He keeps carrying them around the house and asking me to take his picture with them - and if I don't have my phone near me to take a picture, then we do it with a toy phone taking fake pictures.  

Dan and the kids had Monday off school for Martin Luther King Jr. Day.  We mostly took it easy and enjoyed a day of playing together.  It felt like Saturday all day though....  

Tuesday was back to the usual school.  

Wednesday was school instead of a work day like usual since they had Monday off.  Then in the evening was youth activities.  

Saturday was James' birthday.  He was so excited about it!  He wanted Anna to make a minecraft cake for him - and she did an excellent job!  He loved his fun birthday - he wanted pizza and chips and root beer floats for his birthday dinner.  He asked for a giant stuffed bear for his birthday, so that is what we got him along with a Roblox gift card and some TicTacs.  Grandma and Grandpa Jones got him some clothes - just the type of pants he loves - he hates jeans and they got him athletic pants which he loves.  Eileen gave him a couple stuffed animals that she had made for him.  She is such a good big sister!

Sunday was wonderful and a bit busier than usual.  Evelyn and I had a class presidency meeting before church, then church with wonderful speakers.  Our ward was having it's first week of hybrid church.  Then we had the youth Come Follow Me lessons, and a Stake Youth Conference in the evening. 

Our afternoon was spent crafting and playing games.