Week 29 - Twins!

 Sept 28th - Oct. 4th

This girl watched a few episodes of the Home Edit and is now sorting her markers in rainbow order but it's all for fun because they will all go back in the same container.

Friday James and I hit the road for St. George. I was dying to see Carly's twins! I brought just James so I didn't overwhelm Carly and Mom with more kids knowing I'd barely see him. He had a great time with his cousins. I was conference weekend so I just sat for two straight days eating, listening to our prophet and apostles with snuggling two very cute girls. Can't tell you which is Sydney and which one is Tess. Carly usually can but just in case Sydney now has her thumb nails painted purple. We even had time to do a puzzle while the girls napped. They are good babies which is really helpful and I can't wait to get back down there again!

 

Grandma plays lots of games with these kids.

You can tell James hasn't held a baby before. He was only 3 when Mia was born.

Week 28 - Volleyball ended and an outdoor Piano Party

 September 21st-27th

Tuesday Mia chose to have us play her favorite game - Skipbo! 

Emma however hates this game and so chose to spend time in her room.

I have a feeling this is going to become more frequent the older she gets.

Wednesday was James and Emma's last volleyball games of the season. James was up first. He had a great time playing and has already asked to play again next time. 

The Red Devils had a lot of fun!

Emma's team had a great game. They got to play using the whole gym which threw them off a bit in the beginning because of the different colored lines but they battled back and won the 2 out of 3 games. Their coach took them aside after and congratulated them on a great finish. He said you just beat a team full of high school girls. Most of them drive themselves here. Which is huge because most of her team is 7th/8th grade and are all much shorter. We are so proud of her and have hopes that this team can stick together next time. 

White Shadows never see us coming! Whoo!

We loved their cheer.

Don't know if I've mentioned it or not but Quinn is still plugging along on his Masters degree and has class on Thursday nights this semester. I'm proud of him for sticking with it and he is getting closer.

Friday the kids at what their teacher was calling a Piano Party not a recital. She held it in her driveway and had her band come along and play some music too. It was really fun. All the kids did really well, especially Mia who had only been taking for about a month. There were several other students who had only been playing that long too so we heard the same sangs a couple of times. We tried to sit apart and most more masks to be safe.

Mia and James

Emma and then Mia dancing to the band.

All the students minus Emma who ran home to use the bathroom.

James wanted proof that Toby does not respect my personal space.

We love having Grandma Lavender join us for Sunday church. This was one of the activities the kids prepared. We are gathering the sheep (cotton balls) to Jesus (picture). Sundays have become such a delight this year.

Week 27 - Volleyball and PTA Movie Night

Sept. 14th-20th

Not a very exciting week. Both kids had volleyball games but only got pictures of Emma. Then Friday the we had the PTA Outdoor Movie Night. We showed the movie Disney's Onward. The night was perfect. The crowds were a little low this year probably due to the fact we couldn't have any games or sell snacks because of Covid. There were a few technical problems as always but we still enjoyed the movie. I hobbled around in my walking boot all night which was not fun but survived.

Week 26 - Labor Day

Monday September 7, 2020

To continue my birthday weekends I dragged everyone on a hike Monday morning for Labor Day. We drove to Draper and hiked to the Bear Canyon Suspension Bridge. It was a beautiful day, a little hot and kind of busy but we had fun. (Just don't ask the almost teenager) The bridge was cool and moved a lot more than I though it would as we walked across. While Quinn and the kids found a letter box I took a short loop up above the bride to a very small waterfall. It crosses over a sturdy small bridge and looped me back around to cross the suspension bridge again to get back the them. We were hot and sweaty by the end so we grabbed some lunch and ate it in the car. Then we stopped briefly at Scheels to look for a new tent. We did not find one we liked. Mia and James insisted on a photo with the stuffed bear.

Early Tuesday morning Northern Utah was hit with hurricane force winds that came over the Wasatch Mountains and down with speeds up to 70-100 mph. We knew they were coming but it still was quite a shock the next morning when we took a walk in our neighborhood just how many trees were destroyed. There was even a trampoline in a tree. They were lucky it went in their own tree and not in a neighbors house. 

The night before we found out that school would be delayed two hours so that parents and kids would not have to be out in the wind or on school buses. But eventually school was canceled because the wind was still a bit strong and many school were without power. We were lucky and our power didn't go out till about 10 am. I had just put in several small loaves of zucchini bread at 9:30 and they was able to just finish baking after we lost power by leaving the oven shut until it cooled. Our power was out for about 5 hours and it was okay. We were some of the lucky ones. With powder out all over half the state some went without for over 3 or 4 days. We were so blessed and did not loose a full freezer full of vernal beef that we had just gotten. Anne and Taylor both had to take their their food to someone else and Dad borrowed a generator. We also did not loose any of our trees, just a couple of shingles. Dad lost a giant tree with a base so big he has to call a professional company to come take care of it. 

The kids also did not have remote learning the next day due to power out throughout most of Davis County and another round of high wind that night. So all told my kids have only been to school four times in the first two and half weeks of school. And only Emma has been able to do school work on her remote days. She is very jealous of the other kids and it has been really hard for her juggle so much work. She spends all day on her three remote days working very hard. The Junior High thing is hard.

Mia and James were supposed to get their devices on the day of the wind storm and so I thought they would get them Thursday but that didn't happen either. Probably because the district is now behind because of the 2 day delay. So hopefully next week they will start to have work on their remote days.

Playing ball with Toby - he brought it back and dropped it right into my Diet Coke. He doesn't understand why I won't throw it again.

 In an attempt to help motivate Emma and help her though her 7th grade TORCH Workout her coach designed for them to do on one of their remote days, I rolled my weak ankle again!! I was jumping and didn't realize that I had backed up and when I came down my heel caught the bottom of the couch and I went down. I screamed it hurt so bad. Quinn came running upstairs from where he was working thinking someone was dying. It took me a good minute get control and figure out what had happened. I knew I had defiantly torn something really well or maybe broke something. Even now 4 weeks later it still makes me cringe at the thought of it because it was so painful. As you can see it immediately swelled up to the size of a golf ball. I spent the rest of the weekend laying down and icing it every 2-3 hours. I slept with it elevated at night for several nights. All I was able to get on it was an ace bandage because it was so swollen and tender to the touch. I saw the doctor the following Tuesday because it was still so swollen and painful. He thought it was broken and had x-rays taken. Thankfully it was not, just a really bad ligament tear. He sent me home in a walking boot as it was the only thing I was able to get on. Now I just get to continue elevating and icing until the swelling goes down and then I can start my physical therapy. I really really need to continue doing it this time even after it feels better. He said this will keep happening if I keep quitting once it starts to feel better. So that's my goal but it will be a very long road! I just went for my first slow 20 minute walk in 4 weeks and it was enough. It still swells a bit by the end of the night with me just doing my normal Mom stuff. Trying to be patient.