More Back to School...

This week has been fun and busy.  Evelyn and Aaron started back to in person school twice a week.  They started on Monday - the bus stop is just down the hill, and the drop off and pick up times are reasonable, so they are riding the bus for the first time ever.  They are enjoying getting to be back in person - but it's still not exactly back to normal.  There is still a lot of things that are different, and they are still on campus only 2 days a week, but it's something.  

Tuesday evening, we had the Bennions over for dinner and games.  We had a fun time together - David just adores their teenage sons.  They are both really good with kids and played with him and so he loved getting to hang out with his friends.  

Wednesday morning, David and I took Anna and Eileen down to the dentist for their check-ups.  All went well and we had a nice walk down and back.  Then in the afternoon, David had another little day camp with his primary teacher.  He had a blast and loves his primary teacher!  Also in the afternoon, Eileen and I went to the High School for a tour they were doing for the non-freshman (freshman orientation had been last week.)  We figured that it would be good if Eileen could get to know the school a bit before school started.  So we got shown around the school, then they let me walk her through her class schedule so she could easily get to her classrooms on the first day.  After the tour, I took Anna to Track practice, then went to pick up David from his day camp.  As we walked back to the house, I heard James' voice coming from an unexpected place - he was at the neighbor's house helping her with yard work.  He was being so sweet and helpful!  While chatting with her, I found out that they are looking to put their house up for sale soon so they can move to a smaller house now that their kids are grown and gone.  So I told Sandi about it and the neighbor said she could come by and look at it if she wanted.  

In the evening was a fun combined young women's meeting - the girls all had a blast playing games and goofing off.  

Thursday morning, Eileen and Anna headed to the bus stop for their first day of in person school - really the first day on a high school campus for either of them.  Things mostly went well, though Eileen got stressed and anxious when she had a hard time finding the right bus to get on after school - but she got there and got home and all went well.  

 Friday was another virtual day for the older kid and of course a half day for James.  I had a fun time doing Evelyn's P.E. workout with her in the morning.  

Saturday, Sandi and Taz and Kai came over to play for awhile.  Sandi and I went to look at the house of the neighbor across the street.  It seems like a nice house, it will all depend on how much it is listed for, but I think Sandi was interested.  It would be fun having her live so close! 

Sunday, the sister missionaries came over for breakfast, then stayed to watch Stake Conference with us.  It was a wonderful meeting with amazing talks and messages.  After, Dan needed a nap, so I took the kids and we met up with the Starkey's down at the elementary school playground.  We had a fun time together then walked home - I practically had to drag David away from Taylor Starkey - on the way home he told me "I like Taylor, and I think he likes me too" I'm so glad he has so many great role models to look up to! 

After dinner and scriptures and prayers, I got David to bed, then I got my Mother's Day gift early!  Dan got Wingspan for us - so we grabbed Eileen and Aaron and played a game.  Aaron won, but I think I am slowly getting a better understanding of how the game works...  

Just Keep Walking

Well this week has been an adventure.  I've been walking James to school each day and walking him home after school.  He and his friend mostly enjoy it - though they struggle with the going back up the hill after school part.  On top of that, they often want to spend some time in the afternoon at the park - which is another time up and down the hill for me - often pushing David in a stroller...  As exhausting as it is, It's been nice to not have to worry as much about getting a long walk in after the kids are in bed - I just take Koopa on a short walk and then I can go home and do something fun.  :)  So while my days have been rather exhausting and have seemed really busy - they have also mostly been the same.  School, play, family.  Evie and Aaron had dentist check ups this week - they are doing well and their teeth are good - but we need to get both to an orthodontist.  We had fun youth activities this week - a combined game night for the girls and later in the week - a movie night for the guys.  

On Tuesday, we met up with John and Melissa and Seth and Isaac and we went to the temple to do baptisms.  Evie was so excited for her first temple trip!  It was wonderful to be in the temple again - this was my first time in the Portland Baptistry.  

Aaron claimed his craft afternoon with mom this week - we got an origami Harry Potter book and had fun folding paper and chatting and trying to understand some poorly written directions... :)  

While Aaron and I had our craft afternoon, Dan took James and David on an "outing with Dad" using their coupon and took them to Taco Bell and then to the park to play. 

After, Dan took me out on a date night!  He found a fun black light mini golf place in Portland.  We had a close game and I only beat him by one point.  After we had dinner, then walked up and down the waterfront.  It was a fun evening!  

Our Sunday was mostly quiet - but included another walk down to the park, actually getting to go to church and a quick visit from the sister missionaries!  

Now we prepare for next week and more kids starting in person school.... 

Back to School...again...sorta....

 We've had a fun week!  On Wednesday, David and James both had dentist appointments.  James was getting some cavities filled and David was just in for his first dentist check up.  He was excited and did so well for the dentist.  The dentist just checked his teeth over and put some fluoride on and said we were doing a good job of taking care of his teeth.  

Wednesday evening, we had youth activities - all at the church and in person!  Evie's class made jewelry and we did some planning for the next couple months.  

Thursday was the big day for James - finally back to school - at the school for the first time in over a year.  He had a fun time at school and came home chatting up a storm and telling me everything.  I'm so glad that he had a good time and learned - now he will be back at the school for half of every day.  It's still a little while before the other kids start, but it's beginning!  

David decided this week that he wanted to learn how to use scissors.  So I found some kid scissors and we talked about scissor safety and what things are ok to cut and what things aren't.  He has been having a blast cutting up scraps of paper ever since.  He is actually pretty good at cutting them out carefully.  He loves to sit in the craft room with me and cut paper while I work on other things.  

Saturday, we did some cleaning in the morning, then we headed to Sandi and Jon's for Taz's birthday party.  The kids had a blast shooting each other with nerf guns and they ate lots of junk food and had tons of fun with cousins.  

Today was the first time we had been at home for church in a month, so we enjoyed our time snuggled up on couches and listening to the amazing testimonies that were given.  In the afternoon, after classes and lessons, we headed to a nearby nature park and had fun walking around.  James' fried came with us - but while we were there, the kids were climbing around (in a place that is obviously meant to be in by people) and his friend slipped and opened up a big scrape he got earlier this week, so we bundled the kids up and took them home.  

After a yummy dinner, we had some people in the ward come over for games and fun.  We played a new game that was a lot of fun and amazingly enough - Eileen really liked it!  It was all about birds.  :)  The rest of the kids had a blast running around and getting exhausted.  Their oldest daughter is great with kids, so James and David were begging for her to come back, so we asked if she would be available to watch the two younger boys next Tuesday when we are going to the temple to do baptisms.  

Conference and Easter

We've had a fun week!  Aaron, Evelyn and James had Monday through Wednesday off of school, so we had fun playing together.  David went to a little camp put on by a lady in our ward (who is also David's primary teacher) they did lots of fun Easter activities and had a great time!  They live close to us, so David and I walked there and back.  

Anna also had a cross country meet on Wednesday.  She ran well, but was exhausted by the end.  She didn't have much time before the youth activity that evening, but what time she did have, she spent sleeping.  :)  Then we all went to the youth activity which was just driving around and dropping off Easter treats to the primary kids in the ward.  We had fun!  

Our new little pets are getting settled in and comfortable and getting a bit spoiled for attention and food.  But they are cute!  

David and James realized this week that they have nearby playgrounds that we can walk to (yes I've told them this and taken them to these before, but for some reason it clicked this week) So on Thursday, Eileen wanted to go on a walk and take pictures of some of her crochet creations and David wanted to go too, so we figured if I went, then when David got tired, I could go back with him and Eileen could keep walking if she wanted too.  David didn't get tired.  James and his friend wanted to come too, so we all walked down to the nearby park.  Then after playing there for a bit, we walked to another park that was a little bit further down the trail.  David complained the whole way home - but I think it was more because I was making him go home and he wanted to keep playing than because he didn't want to walk.  That changed once we got to the hill up to our house - then he was done.  And by the time we got home, I was too.  David also had fun on the walk helping Eileen take pictures, which is his new favorite thing to do.  

The boys all wanted to go to the park again on Friday, so we did and had a good time, and once again, David did great until it came time to climb the hill.  David insisted that he needed sunglasses to deal with the bright sunshine we've had all week - so he got paw patrol sunglasses, of course.  

Friday evening, we decorated Easter eggs and the kids had fun 

Saturday morning was the beginning of an epic weekend.  We started out with the morning session of general conference which was wonderful, after which, we headed down to John and Melissa's for an Easter egg hunt and lunch.  The kids all had a fun time hunting eggs and playing with cousins and almost cousins.  It was a lot of fun since Melissa's siblings Sara and Jared were there too, with their families, and since Dan and I know them, it's been fun to get to see them more.  

We watched the afternoon session of General Conference there before heading home for the priesthood session and bed.  

Sunday was lots of amazing General Conference plus lots of yummy food (and the cooking to go with it) We gave the kids their Easter baskets and had 7 layer dip and monkey bread and of course, amazing music and talks!  After, we headed to Jon and Sandi's house for a company pot luck.  The kids had a blast together and there was lots of yummy food that most of us were too full to eat.  :)  

Next week is going to be a whole new adventure... wish us luck! 

Spring Break!!!

This week has been Spring Break for the kids.  We have mostly had nice weather which has been wonderful!!  Monday was the usual laundry day, then on Tuesday, Dan took the afternoon off and we drove out to Tillamook to visit the factory and got some ice cream sandwiches. 

Then we headed to the tidepools.  We had a ton of fun walking around and finding different kinds of life!  We found starfish, crabs, fish and anemones.  Eileen found a crab that she carried around with her for awhile and even put it in her pocket for a bit - and of course, since this is Eileen, it liked her pocket.  

After, we headed to Rockaway beach to play and eat some dinner.  We had packed a easy dinner to eat while we were out, so we ate on the beach and played for a bit before heading home.  It was such a fun day out together! 

Dan has spent a lot of time this week helping me get my craft room organized and set up like I want it - I'm getting so excited watching it come together and getting things organized! 

The kids got to hang out with some friends during spring break - which was nice - I'm just glad that they are making friends and getting to know people.  

Friday, Anna went to babysit for Taz and Kai so Sandi could work some in the morning, then in the afternoon, we met up and a fun little park for a couple hours.  Aaron met some nice kids around his age with similar interests (aka minecraft) and they chatted and walked around and he ended up exchanging phone numbers.  It was a boys vs girls day at the park - Taz and James vs. Evelyn and Kai - but they had fun tormenting each other.  :)  David just adores Kai, so they all had a good time.  

Saturday morning, we packed up a lunch and headed out to the coast.  We met up with John and Melissa and Sara and Matt Marler for a whale watching trip.  When we got there, we ate our lunch and found a little playground to play at for a bit, then we headed down to get on the boat!  Eileen was so excited, she was literally bouncing all over the place with excitement.  And even better - she loved it - we were not disappointed - it was chilly with the wind, but sunny and we saw a bunch of whales!!  David hated the boat once we got out to the open water and started crying and wanting to go back, but once he got in the cabin he did much better and once we got back and he got off the boat, he was telling us that it was awesome and the best thing ever.  Thankfully none of us got seasick, though others were not so lucky, poor Sara and her kids struggled with the bouncing.  It was so much fun to see them and all our kids got along great together! 

After the whale watching, we spent a bit more time on the playground for David, then we went to the beach to play for a bit.  It didn't take long for the kids to get cold and be ready to head home, so we drove home for dinner.  

Today was a great day!  This morning, we got guinea pigs.  One of James' classmates was moving and they couldn't take their guinea pigs with them.  James managed to convince Dan to let him take them, so we now have two cute little guinea pigs and the kids are pretty smitten.  Evelyn has taken a million pictures of them, James loves them (though we couldn't make it through the day with out him complaining about them being boring since Dan told them not to pick them up today and to just let them get settled in their new home) and Eileen seems to really like them too.  :)  

We got to go to church again this week since I was asked to conduct the music in church today.  We had wonderful talks and a wonderful musical number.  I'm so excited for General Conference next week!!  

School and Play

We've had a fun and busy week! James and David spent most of their free time playing outside with James' friend Caleb.  They have a ton of fun running around and playing make believe games.  As I've been keeping an eye on them I've gotten to chat with one of Caleb's dads and he seems like a really nice guy, so I'm hoping once weather gets nice, we can have them over and get to know them all a bit better.  He was kind enough to let the kids all have otter pops one warm afternoon!  

 On Wednesday, we had our first in person YM/YW combined activity!  We were in the gym and we had a great time serving the primary kids in the ward and playing games!   Wednesday was also the kids band concert, but because of the activity, we watched it on Thursday instead.  It was kinda neat with the whole virtual concert thing that we could do both and not have to choose one or the other.  James also had a dentist appointment on Wednesday which we thought would be about putting a crown on his tooth like the other place said, but the dentist said he wasn't worried about it, but had us set up another appointment to take care of his cavities...  

Friday, Dan and I had a date night, we grabbed a quick dinner and then went to see a movie at a movie theater for the first time in over a year.  It was a lot of fun to be able to go to a theater again, and we both enjoyed the movie.  Sandi and Jon also had a date that night and needed a sitter, so Anna babysat at their house and Eileen babysat for us - she wasn't excited about the prospect, but she ended up doing fine and enjoying it since she convinced the kids to watch something that she wanted to watch and they popped popcorn.  

We had a busy Saturday getting very little done, but not for lack of trying...  

Today was wonderful!  We got to listen to Steve and Claire's family - they had talks and a musical number in their ward this week and we enjoyed listening to their amazing talks and music before heading to our own ward for more amazing talks!  Then we had Sunday School for the first time!  I got to go to Gospel Doctrine and Dan and the kids had their Sunday School classes.  David had his primary class which he LOVES - he adores his teachers and when he saw them in my Gospel Doctrine class before primary, he waved at them!  In the evening we had Dan's team teacher and his wife over for dinner tonight, we had a fun time getting to know them a bit better and the kids all loved them - they all showed off all their favorite things and talked the them and played cars with them (that last one was David) and David even gave big hugs when they left.  He's such a sweet and loving little boy!  

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!