Piper Visits

 This week seemed to go by really fast. I wonder what we will do when we don't have a wedding/reception to plan because that seems to be what most of my days are filled with right now when I am not at work. We got lights ordered to go along the fence line at Jacob's house, where they are having the reunion. I've been working with the popcorn guy to get a flavor the kids want and a price I can pay. That has finally been ordered. Hannah and I found mini chocolate milk bottles. I was really worried we would not be able to find any besides the nonrefrigerated Yoohoo-type stuff and that is not what she wanted. I also figured out the donuts but we won't have to order them until the day before. I hired Grace and her friend to work the refreshment table to make sure things are stocked and garbage is picked up if there is anything left on tables. I did not want to have to worry about that. I want to focus on enjoying the moment and being with family. We also helped Hannah get her honeymoon booked. Justin really wanted to use some of his points he has saved up for flights and hotels and give her that as a wedding present but when he asked both Hannah and Jacob if they could go anywhere for their honeymoon and not worry about cost they said they were happy going to St. George for the weekend. They had already booked an Airbnb at a condo with a pool and were going to go hiking and kayaking. He was a little disappointed. Well, Jacob is in Hawaii this week with his mom and brother and his brother's wife. They were finally able to go on his "senior trip" and Hannah was super jealous. She wanted a vacation too! Justin told her he tried to pay for a honeymoon for them but they just wanted St. George. Well, that turned into her deciding that she really did want to go somewhere else. Ha. Jacob has spent so much time in St. George in his life and they really did want to go somewhere else but were trying to save money. What did they want? To go to Orlando, Florida and go to Universal Studios and maybe a beach. This made Justin so happy. He and Hannah worked together planning a hotel and flights (with Jacob's input on the phone). She checked out shuttles and excursions and prices for everything and was so excited. Justin was able to book them into a Hilton resort that has three pools and a lazy river. He also used more points to get her flights at prime times. I thought it was so cute. He won't even use prime points for me! He told them he would get their hotel and flights and then they would have to pay for everything else. I think they have decided on a day at Universal, a day on a fishing excursion instead of the beach as it was a 2-hour shuttle and then a day at the hotel utilizing the hotel amenities. It really made Justin so happy to be able to do this for them.

On Friday I got my 2nd dose of the Covid vaccination. My arm didn't get too sore and I felt great that night. We had told Hannah since she was the only one around for the night that she got to pick out what we had for dinner. She chose Mexican food so we went to a little place in our neighborhood called Tios. It was pretty good. The refried beans were delicious! I did take some Acetaminophen before I went to bed. I woke up feeling good too. I made breakfast for everyone and went outside and mowed the lawn and started working on cutting back bushes. The trees are blooming and look pretty.

I started to get really cold. I ran out of garbage space for all the trimming so finished up and went in to take a shower. I turned it way hotter than normal and still could not get warm. A little bit after that some body aches started. Nothing too bad though. I took some more Acetaminophen and decided that it was a good time to watch a movie. Just about that time Parker and Emily showed up with Piper. They were going camping and his family wasn't able to watch her this time. Piper and Hope joined me on the couch and kept me warm.

Hope is so funny. She gets so jealous so she is extra cuddly when Piper is around. I had some mild body aches the rest of the night but woke up feeling normal on Sunday morning. We had our last church from home this week. We will start going back to church for both sacrament meeting and classes starting next week. I am happy to be going back but I know it will be a lot harder for everyone to be up and ready for church at 9, especially for Nathan who usually gets home around 2 am from work. We had a nice day together. We had to laugh at Hope while watching a movie. She is so much like a bratty big sister with Piper. She wants to be the boss and doesn't want Piper to touch her. Well, Piper was curled up on my lap under a blanket. You really couldn't see she was there. Hope jumped up next to me and basically laid right on her not realizing it was Piper. I slowly pulled back that blanket so Hope was laying directly next to Piper but she still didn't notice and they both slept the rest of the movie. Piper will stay until tomorrow night.

Isaac had an interview with the stake president for his mission this afternoon. His papers are all finished and ready to be sent in. All he needs to do is get his 2nd dose of the vaccine which is set up for tomorrow. The Church has given direction that all missionaries are encouraged to get the vaccine. Those who choose not to will be assigned to serve in their home countries. Isaac is really hoping to go to Japan or England so he wanted to make sure his vaccine record was with his papers. He will text the stake president as soon as he gets the shot and the stake president will send them to Salt Lake. He told Isaac he should get his call as early as next Tuesday! That is only 9 days away! It will be so nice to know when he will be leaving. We have a lot up in the air for summer that we will actually be able to get planned. 

Sibling's Weekend!

 Monday night we had a get together at Sara and Adams house. She made some baked ham and cheese sandwiches and we had salads and chips and cookies with them. It was so fun to be able to see almost everyone in the family. George and RaNae, Sara's family, all of Kelly's family except Thomas and Bryson, including (Ian and MeaLee's brand new baby Archer!), all of Gary's family except Camille and Jeff, and our family. I got to hold Archer who was 8 days old. I forget how tiny new babies are! He is so cute. This was Jacob's first time meeting everyone but George and RaNae and Parker and Emily. It was good for him to see we do actually get together with family! We just haven't this last year because of Covid. With the vaccines out and numbers going down, mask mandates have been lifted in a lot of areas. Most businesses still require them here in Salt Lake County though. I cannot wait until I we don't have to wear them for work!

Wednesday morning Hannah and I went shopping. We both wanted a few new shirts and we needed to pick up some more things for the wedding reception. Thankfully, we found everything we needed. It was a very cold day and it was pouring rain. This weekend was our first siblings get together. We had planned one last year but had to cancel it with the Covid lockdown. I had really been hoping for some nice and sunny spring weather. Instead we got winter weather. We still had a lot of fun though!.

Ginger flew into Salt Lake City so she could drive to Jerome with me. She got there around 3 pm and we headed straight to Jerome. I wanted to get there before dark just in case it snowed. Thankfully, it just drizzled rain but no snow. Having her with me made the drive fly by as we talked and got caught up on each other's lives. Mom had some hot cream of chicken soup and rolls ready for us. It was so good. I haven't had mom's soup in years. We stayed at mom and dads that night.

Thursday morning the plan was to go golfing around 9 with Tracy and mom and dad. Tracy said he was feeling good enough to golf but I think we were all leery and a little worried he would overdo it. The golf course was closed until noon though because of the cold, wet night. Ryanne came to town on her way to Idaho Falls to go to lunch with mom and dad. It was fun to see her and hear what her plans are for the summer. She will be going to study abroad in Costa Rica. Shayla got there around 12:30. Ginger, Shayla and I headed to Twin Falls to meet up with Tracy and Aunt Judy for lunch at Fiesta Ole. It was great to be able to spend time with Judy. We did all agree that the food was much better at Janitzio's. 

Tracy headed back home for a little bit while Judy, Ginger, Shayla and I went to visit Grandma Reid. Since Tracy is still recovering from Covid, although he is not contagious anymore, he would not be able to see her yet. We had one hour to visit and only two people could go in at a time so Judy and Ginger went in from 2:30-3 and then Shayla and I went in from 3-3:30. Grandma looked great! The last time I had visited with her she had just had a stroke and was looking more frail than this time. Mom and Judy both said she has not been doing well so I am so glad we got to see her and got to see her on a good day.

We could check in at our Airbnb at 4 so we said goodbye to Judy and headed there next to drop off our luggage and change clothes for golf. The house we rented was charming. It was built in 1908 so it definitely had some squeaky floors but it was super clean and comfy.

We then met mom and dad and Tracy at the golf course for a round of 9 holes. It was so cold. It was fun though. I could tell Tracy had lost weight and he looked tired but every day he looked stronger.

We had a good laugh at Ginger's outfit. Pretty sure those patterns are not meant to be worn together. The hoodie and sunglasses topped it off perfectly.

Sure love this family of mine! 

Dad and mom had to leave a couple holes early to go teach their English class and it started to rain on us. We stuck it out though and finished all 9. We stopped by the house real quick and then Tracy drove my van over to Twin. First stop was the Human Bean for some coffee for Shayla and Ginger and frozen hot chocolate for me and Tracy. I was still cold but Tracy said the hot chocolate was good and I wanted to try it. It was good! We then picked up sandwiches from Capriotti's and took them home to eat. We finished off the night by watching Thunder Force which was a new comedy on Netflix. It was funny but way over the top. Of course I fell asleep during the scene where they defeated the bad guys so I have no idea how they did that.

Friday morning we thought we would sleep in but I think we were all awake by 8:30. Shayla and I headed over to Twin and picked up some breakfast for everyone at Starbucks. We had a tee-off time down in the canyon at 12:20. It was a little warmer than the night before and we didn't get rained on so that was good. At moments the sun would come out and it would actually feel warm but then the wind would push the clouds in from of the sun again. It was a really pretty course.

Tracy and I were in one cart and Ginger and Shayla in the other. Unfortunately, Tracy could not enjoy his day as right before we teed off he got a message from working telling him he would either need to take the week off or come back light duty and work on the computers entering data in the records department. He was not happy. He felt he was ready to back for his normal shift. He was texting people at work pretty much through all 18 holes. He still had some great shots though!

I think we were all starving by hole 15 or before. We went directly from the golf course to 2nd Street Market. It is an old Idaho Youth Ranch that they have turned into a food hall, basically like a food court in the mall but with better choices of food and a very modern atmosphere. 

Tracy said they will have a stage with live music in the summer. Tracy and I got BBQ and Ginger and Shayla got pizza and breadsticks. The pulled pork was just ok but the macaroni and sweet potato fries were delicious! We asked Tracy if we would need a mask but he said no one wears them. It is a little ironic as he is the one who has had Covid. It was so weird to go everywhere this weekend and not wear one. We still have stricter rules about it in Utah. Even though we were so full from dinner, we still had to stop at the ice cream stand and get ice cream for the ride home. It was good but boy were we full! We were too full to do anything but sit on the couch and watch TV so we watched the movie Yes Man. It was good. To finish off the night we played another round of golf. This time it was the card game. Mom had sent the rules and cards with us. It was fun to sit around the table and play and talk. Bonus for me, I won! Not that anyone in our family cares about winning. Ha.

We had to check out of the house at 10 am on Saturday morning. We went to dad and mom's house from there and they had breakfast ready for us. Dad made us some delicious waffles he had been telling us about and we also had eggs and turkey bacon. It all tasted really good. We sat around and talked and then one by one started taking off. Ginger and I had to leave by 1:30 to get her to the airport on time.

It was such a wonderful weekend. I am so glad we could all get together! I know I am really lucky to have a family that all get along and actually want to hang out and I am so thankful for that.

When I got back home Justin and I ordered some salads from Texas Roadhouse. When Isaac got home from work he welcomed me back and told me it had been "really rough" having me gone. When I asked him what had been so rough he said, "I basically had to eat dirt." Ha. I left them with plenty of food options. It is nice to be appreciated.

We found out this week that we will be able to have our whole ward go back to meeting in person. We will have to wear masks and they will block out rows but we can all go every Sunday. They will still broadcast it for those who do not feel comfortable coming. I have no idea how our ward will fit in the building spaced out! Since I hadn't been home to talk about it with everyone we just watched from home this week and will go back next week. Hannah picked out our movie this week. We watched Yes Day. It was cute. It is about parents who basically get told they never say yes to anything by their kids and decide to have a day where they say yes to everything. The kids all decided they should have a yes day. We told them they have those every day. There was a part in the movie where the mom was freaking out because the kids hadn't done what they were supposed to and then she ends up stepping on a Lego and totally loses it. Isaac started laughing and said it looked just like me. Nice. Ha. Jacob came over for dinner. I made lasagna (his favorite). After dinner I taught them how to play the golf card game. They did not play with the same strategy I did. With my siblings I had 70 points. This time I had 186 points! I definitely did not win.

Temple

 After such a beautiful Easter weekend we woke up to it snowing! Nooooo!

 That did not start me off on a happy note for the week. Thankfully the week ended warmer and much happier. Isaac has gotten back some really sweet graduation cards. Here is one of the sweet ones from his seminary teacher in Georgia, Regina McGuffey.

I got a nice little note this week too!

Hannah and Jacob both got the vaccination Friday night so now we all have the 1st dose done and will Justin will start us off on the 2nd dose next week. We are really hoping for mild symptoms.

Tracy was in the hospital most of the week with Covid. He could not keep his fever down. He had to have been so miserable. Thankfully he never had to be put on a ventilator but did have to use oxygen. He has pneumonia and some other lung issues and will be on antibiotics and steroids to help combat those. The little stinker didn't even let us know he was sick and that he had been to the ER several days before. Hopefully, his kidneys are able to stay strong through it. Now the hard part will be him not overdoing it so he can actually heal!

Saturday was the highlight of the week. I actually had time to clean my house! Yes, that is a highlight. Well, not the cleaning but the having a clean house. Mom and dad arrived around 3:00 that afternoon. It was so good to see them and give them a hug! Mom was able to quickly hem Justin's temple pants and we had an early dinner and then headed to the temple with Hannah for her endowment. She was able to invite 16 people. Unfortunately Kelly and Thomas's temple recommends had expired and they were not able to renew them in time to come. That did mean that Hannah could invite Jacob's mom, Melinda, though and it was really nice to have her there. It was so special to have the whole room be filled with just our family.

We invited everyone over for brownies and ice cream and veggies, grapes and cheese and crackers. It was fun to have the house full of family again! I have missed it so much. Jacob, Allen and Cortney, George and RaNae, mom and dad, Sarah and Adam, Parker and Emily and Kelly all came over. I wish I had taken some more pictures but forgot. I didn't get any of the boys.

Sunday morning with watched sacrament meeting at home and then mom and dad had breakfast and headed for home. I get to see them again in just a couple days when I go to Jerome for our siblings weekend! I had to teach the Relief Society lesson today on Zoom. I was so nervous but it went really well. Thankfully, people gave good comments and participated. Jacob was here all day and then Parker came over this evening to play Xbox with the boys. His presence always brings lots of laughter.

Is it April already?!

 Well, the last few weeks have flown by and somehow it is already after Easter. We have been working on getting announcements sent out and purchasing things we need for the wedding, which included finding me a dress. After searching all over the internet and a couple shopping trips, Hannah and I finally found me one. Hopefully I won't look too funny in it. Hannah, Jacob and I spent one full Saturday shopping at Hobby Lobby, Joann's Fabric, party stores and Target and were able to get almost everything she needed for the reception. Jacob was a good sport. Especially since it was March Madness and he had to miss quite a few good games. I did take them out to lunch at Famous Dave's to break up the day for Jacob.

One night I was sitting on the couch watching a movie with Hannah when I saw a text come across my phone from Nancee Tegeder. I haven't seen her for probably seven or eight years as they moved from Vail a year before we did. Her text said she just looked up my address and I was less than two miles away from where she was staying with her brother. Her family was here to help her sister move. Her and her husband Troy came over. Unfortunately, Justin was not home so he didn't get to visit with them. It was fun to catch up.

The weather has been absolutely gorgeous for about three days. I really needed the sunshine and warmth! It was almost 70 today for Easter. We enjoyed watching General Conference, had a nice breakfast together and then Hannah went with Jacob to spend the afternoon with his family. I sprayed off the patio and all the furniture and vacuumed off the cushions so it was ready for us to use them. Everything was covered in a thick layer of dust. Of course that meant a headache and sneezing the rest of the day. 

I missed having Hannah home for Easter dinner but know this is just the beginning of having to share her. We had ham, mashed potatoes and gravy, corn, stuffing, rolls and lemon meringue pie for dessert. We also got news that Ian and MeaLee had their baby! Archer Thomas Dickens.

What a perfect Easter gift.