Untitled

Aka, the week where everything slowed down because of sick children.

It started on Tuesday, when I had to get Andrew out of school early because he was sick to his stomach. (He didn't tell me until the next day that he'd actually thrown up at school.) Then Wednesday morning, Evelyn was sick. Luckily, Oliver wasn't, so he was able to go to preschool while I taught my class then rushed home to my sick babies.

I guess it's good that the kids weren't so sick that they were languid and lethargic. What they were was bored and irritated, which made for a long day with everybody home. Thursday, Andrew was feeling better so he went back to school (he didn't want to miss the spelling bee preliminary test--which he did well on, so he'll be in the school spelling bee on the 8th). Evelyn, however, now had a sore throat on top of everything, so I took her to the doctor--who pronounced strep. So she got to stay home on Friday too.

Thankfully, everyone is feeling better now. We spent yesterday morning badgering children to clean for that half an hour when the house stays clean (it no longer looks like we spent three hours cleaning). Dan took the kids to the library in the afternoon so I could make up some of the work I'd missed this week.

We've started up on our eating around the world again. Yesterday, we learned about Argentina and ate empanadas and some kind of sausage with roll and herbal sauce that gets served at street fairs. The kids weren't impressed, but Dan and I enjoyed the dinner.

Catching sight of the elusive creature, the Oliver/Elsa:

Birthdays and more

 It was convenient of Martin Luther King day to fall on my birthday this year.  We took the kids down to Zion, intending to do a few short hikes, but there was so much ice and snow on the trails that this proved difficult: we couldn't even make it up the first turn of the Weeping Rock trail. We followed the Riverside trail for a while, but even that was more than half covered with ice. We eventually gave up and went to St. George to run some errands and walk on a more convenient trail.

That evening, we met Bubby and Poppy at the Ninja for sushi and the free tempura ice cream they offer on birthdays. As you can tell, the kids were more excited by the prospect of ice cream than I was--the three of them ate the entire thing.

 The rest of the week wasn't quite as exciting as a day off, but we enjoyed it. We taught Oliver how to play UNO, which he likes, though it took him a while to understand that he won't always win (he won the first time). He's a funny kid. Tonight he told Poppy, "Thank you for the nice candy that I could eat."

Thursday my writer's group took me to dinner for my birthday, Thai this time. I'm lucky to have found such a wonderful group of women (and writers).

This weekend was mostly running errands and chauffeuring children (Andrew) to a birthday party. This morning, we enjoyed our later church hour to try making churros for the first time. Verdict: tasty, but not worth the work! Tonight I went to my first Priesthood Preview as primary president. It was sweet--and short, which made it pretty near perfect.

Into the Long Weekend

For the first full week of school, this week was okay. Dan survived his classes and his labs (though it's going to be a full semester). I don't *think* my students think I'm an idiot yet. And the kids are doing well.

We did have a few mishaps, including my backing out of the driveway into our neighbor's car--they were backing out at the same time, and neither of us remembered to look *behind* us (though I did scrupulously look both ways). The worst of it is, this is the second time my friend and I have done this. Luckily, no major damage and no one was hurt. But it was a lousy start to a Thursday.

Evelyn got to go with her dad to the gymnastics meet Friday night, and though SUU lost, she seemed to enjoy it. Andrew and I went running that night too, on a virtually deserted track. (I can't imagine why more people don't want to exercise on a Friday night . . . )

Saturday, Dan and Andrew spent the day on campus as part of the First Lego League competition: Andrew, with his team, and Dan as a judge. These kids have been spending a couple of hours every Wednesday working towards this, so I was proud of them for making it this far, even if they didn't win. Andrew came home grumpy as a thundercloud--I'm still not sure why. Maybe he was disappointed they didn't win? He seems happier about it now. (Photos courtesy of another team member's dad. We didn't make it until the end, because Oliver was napping. He has croup. Again.)

Looking forward to a day off tomorrow. Hope our readers are all happy and safe! (All three of you. ;) )

Back to the Grindstone

After two weeks of playing, Monday was a bit of a shock. The kids were back to school and Dan was back to work, and I spent all of Oliver's time at preschool trying to put my class together or finishing edits that are due in a week (on my birthday, no less!)

Gymnastics, Tae Kwon Do, piano, and scouts started again this week too, so we are definitely back into the thick of things. While it's nice to have some routine, I spent a lot of the week feeling like I was trying--and not always succeeding--to catch up.

But we've had a good week for all that. We had dinner at the Ninja on Wednesday to celebrate the start of the semester, classes seem to be going well for both Dan and me, and I didn't forget how to teach despite not having taught college kids since April. Andrew came with me to the track on Thursday morning and got to walk with both Bubby and Poppy, who were there (probably because it was snowing outside). We got the house marginally clean yesterday, the kids got to play with their friends, and we still had time to play Pandemic (Andrew's new favorite game) after dinner.

I have to admit, though, that I'm already looking forward to the long weekend!

Ring out, Wild Bells

I've always loved the Tennyson poem, "Ring Out, Wild Bells," and the minor-keyed hymn that we only sing at the end of the year. I was rather sad that I had to skip out of sacrament meeting early last week so that I could set up for a combined sharing time, and missed this year's annual sing.

2015 was a good year for our family, but I'm not sad to see it go. I like the hopefulness of a new year--the promise of new goals and new opportunities.

We've enjoyed our last bit of vacation before heading back into the real world tomorrow.

On Monday, Andrew and Evelyn went to Bubby's house for her annual grandkids tea party. (Oliver was not invited, not being old enough to be trusted with fine china. He and I ran errands instead).

Oliver insisted on a picture even though he wasn't dressed up (and yes, I realize the shirt is seasonably inappropriate, but he's three!)

That afternoon, we'd planned to take everyone ice skating, but we got to the rink and found that the cheap skating only applied to non-winter break hours, so we went sledding instead. The kids had a great time, and I learned that Sarah abhors winter sports, though she was a great sport about coming to watch.

Tuesday, we drove up to my mom's house, where the kids got even *more* Christmas presents (here's Evelyn with her matching doll wolf ears). Tuesday evening, I went to SLC with some writer friends for Sara Larson's book launch for the final book of her trilogy, ENDURE. (She and I have the same literary agent). It was fun to be surrounded by other authors, to talk shop without being obnoxious, and to dream about my own launch in a little over a year. (Thanks to Dan and my parents for letting me run away for a night!)

 

Wednesday we hung out with the cousins--we met Jared and Justin and their kids at a sledding hill, and once we'd sufficiently worn out the kids, we retired to grandma's house for hot chocolate and pizza, and the kids spent the afternoon happily playing with each other.

Thursday we ventured up to SLC, the girls to the American Girl doll store and the boys to Trader Joe's, then to IKEA for lunch (and a few organizational items). Our New Year's celebration consisted of playing Exploding Kittens with the kids and drinking sparkling cider, before going to bed before midnight.

On Friday, my mom and I braved crowds at Dillard's for their annual New Year's sale. It was, as usual, insane--but I managed to find *two* pair of Born shoes for Dan for less than $40 each. In the afternoon, Dan and I took Evelyn and Andrew to the Force Awakens. Andrew thought it was "all right," but every time I looked at Evelyn, she was rapt. I think she might aspire to being Rey now.

We've spent the weekend getting our lives back in order for the new week, but it's been lovely to be with family and to recharge.