Weekly update

We’ve been pretty free and easy lately, not too busy, and it’s been a nice season of work and rest. Yesterday we brought the little D’s home from church with us so Chelsea could go to the missionary correlation meeting. The kids played all day and were sometimes loud and rowdy, and there were sometimes tears, but for the most part they worked it all out. 

They loved these cute pioneer dresses my mom made for Halloween’s of yore. 

We had a cinco de Mayo fiesta. I had thought briefly about making banners with the kids and really decorating, but then halfway ran out of time and halfway ran out of drive. And the food only fiesta we have is better than the amazing fiesta we don’t have. This is one of my favorite principles, and I heard it put in a different way last week that I’ve been ruminating on - something that’s worth doing is worth doing poorly. Such a good reminder. 

Anyways, what kick started the fiesta, other than cinco de Mayo was some Malta drinks at Aldi. They always have such fun foreign food and i heart them. And because I love food, here’s the food rundown. I fried tacos and had soft shell and crunchy available as well. We had rice and homemade refried beans, homemade salsa and chips, and a delish pioneer woman tres leches cake that every kid had seconds of. It was a good day, even if I didn’t get a nap. 

A random picture we sent to Lu. 

On Saturday Matt and I drove the jolly green up to AMCAP. This was my 4th year to go, I always love it. This year was different because apparently something came up in some of the stakes up north, they said a visitor from Salt Lake,  so they had about a quarter of the people they usually do. Chelsea, Bishop D, and Matt attended for the first time, so that was fun. I went to a seminar called Supporting the Supporters where we talked all things Relief Society. The first thing we did was to talk about all of the challenges we face. It was so nice to  hear that we are not alone. A wave of emotion hit as we were talking and I’m so grateful for the opportunity to circle round in such a supportive and loving group. We talked about strategies and helpful ways to work through the challenges. The second session Matt and I went to together, which was connecting as couples when you can’t talk about things, as in confidential things that come up at church. Again, she had lots of good ideas and ways for couples to connect. Matt and I are going to go through and pick some out to work on because it’s so easy to forget. And the third session I went to was having difficult conversations. We talked about the animal models from Janet Treasure, which I’d never heard of but were interesting. I can’t say I learned a whole lot of new info at amcap, but lots of good, cup filling reminders. Chris cane over early and took the girls to Sarah’s for the day when he had to leave for work, so they had a blast. 

D-bug has a snaggle tooth up front that is just so ready to come out! Matt’s tried pulling it a few times but he says it’s not ready. I’m not the family tooth puller, so idk, but it looks hilarious. 

This little mommy completed her bachelors degree! She did most of her schooling online, which is a feat in and of itself I think, not to mention being pregnant and working full time. I’m so proud of her for finishing when it would have been so easy not to. She works for a paper company (Dunder mifflin dream come true!) and has gotten a raise and started training in their marketing department now that she’s ‘educated.’ She’s hoping to be able to do some of that work from home after the baby comes. 

The girls had a fun author come to their school and we let them get 1 book so he could autograph it. Thankfully it’s a super cute book, so we lucked out. 

And Delaney brought a ladybug in to show me. It’s on her middle finger in this pic. 

She borrowed my phone (we’ve got a fun app that works with their electric toothbrush) to brush her teeth after school one day (she’d forgotten in the morning and I could tell) and when she brought it to me it was ringing. It was 911 because someone had called and hung up. 🤦‍♀️I’m glad I answered. D had accidentally held the emergency buttons down, and then also screenshotted it for me to remember for posterity. 

Cody came over to help fix a tricky patch of ceiling paint one night. the girls wanted to go for a walk while they worked, so we went to check the Aina’s progress. They were hoping the girls would be there, but it was just tony. He took them on a tour though, so they enjoyed that. 

This path is going to be even more well worn when our friends move! It’s .6 miles from our door to theirs. 

It was just a regular old week with visits, presidency meetings, emails, school, tutoring, and dinners. Matt finished up his month-o-Navy, so that’s a good feeling. I will never complain about these normal days.