the past eight days

Mar 24, 2010

Whoa Nellie, it has been a busy time and I have had not a moment to get on here and post.

Let’s see if I can even remember clear back to last week…

1. I had a horrible sore throat last Monday-Thursday. It was better enough to do gym on Friday (only out of my feelings of duty – I would have much rather been in bed), but I had to whisper a lot. Grapefruit seed extract in pulpy orange juice, Immupower essential oil, cough drops, and lots of time sleeping are what got me through.

2. Keziah was asked to be in a music video on Thursday and Friday. It was a fabulous (and COLD!) experience. She got to see a film crew up close and see how long it takes to shoot a five second scene. She was paid $50 for her work and has been treasuring that green bill ever since. The video will be available on ScatterTunes on Monday, so I will post the link for you then.

3. Thursday we (well, I just had to get her there, didn’t have to lead the discussion or anything – couldn’t have anyway, I didn’t have a voice!) had Blythe’s colloquium on Bendigo Shafter (what a great book!), the music video, packing for our trip to the TJED Forum in SLC, and the Relief Society Birthday dinner. I didn’t make it to the dinner, though I tried mighty hard.

4. Oh yeah, back to Wednesday…when I drove Blythe to Shakespeare, my suburban did not sound or feel right. I was leaking lots of antifreeze and was fairly concerned that something was wrong. I called a mechanic we know and he came over to our house to look at it. He said there was oil on in the coolant and the radiator must have been damaged by the GHO. He said I absolutely must not drive it or I could lose my whole engine. Well…knowing we needed to leave for our annual trip to SLC in two short days I asked him to fix it right then and there. We bought a new radiator and all the fluids we needed to be replace and he got to work (he also had me get a zip tie to clamp the distributor down a little more securely and so far it is holding fabulously!). Several hours later we had a new radiator in place and found the crack in the old one. The suburban still doesn’t sound quite right, but we don’t know what else is wrong. It got us to SLC and back, but we know it still needs some more work. It has carried us far and wide for 210,000 miles and we pray it keeps going for quite a few more.

5. Friday morning we had gym and the goal was to have everything ready to go before gym so we wouldn’t have to come back home. We Richard loaded the cooler of food, bags of clothes, and most of the rest of the piles of stuff a family of six needs for two days away from home (seriously, why does it take this much stuff to be away from home?????) When we went out for the final loading on Friday morning, I noticed Keziah’s bike was not on top of the suburban. I ran and grabbed it and some tie downs and set to work. The roof was covered in ice and I was mildly afraid of slipping off the top and breaking my arm (or worse!). With Chet’s (our friend and father of my gymnastics assistant) help, the bike was secured and we were ready to go…except for the stuff I still needed to buy at Winco.

6. I somehow made it through five gymnastics classes and then picked up Fisher and Annes and then ran to Winco and then picked up Richard and then got gas and then stopped at Wal-mart for more coolant and THEN we were really on our way.

7. We finished up Les Miserables on the way down. Fabulous. Truly. You should listen to the Focus on the Family production. It is so well done. While you are getting that one, get all of their dramatizations…Chronicles of Narnia (unabridged version so you can get every word of Lewis’ masterpiece), Ben-Hur, Silas Marner, The Christmas Carol, Billy Budd, The Hiding Place, Bonhoeffer: The Cost of Freedom, Anne of Green Gables, The Secret Garden, and Little Women. They may have more, but those are the ones we have and love. We have listened to them over and over and lent them out and everyone enjoys them.

8. We found our $40 Priceline hotel deal and after dragging all the before mentioned stuff up three flights of stairs, we made dinner, cleaned up, and fell into bed, exhausted and ready for a deep and restful sleep.

9. The deep, restful sleep? Well, it didn’t happen.

10. We were up and going early in the morning so we could leave by 7 a.m. for the TJED Forum. It was a wonderful day of inspiring classes, food for the soul, reacquainting with friends from all over the country and Canada, and so much laughter in Heather Burton’s class I almost peed my pants.

11. The Family Ball is my girls’ favorite night of the year. We finished up our classes, hurried back to our hotel, got everyone looking beautiful, and then back to the Hilton we went to dance the night away. Richard was so tired by this point (he had taken care of me all week when I was sick and hadn’t slept well at all at the hotel) that he just wanted to sit on the sidelines and watch, so I sat by him and watched the dancing. Fisher, of course, doesn’t dance – he is much to shy for that – but he did get up his courage to ask his mama to dance. It was adorable because he was so formal about the whole thing. He even escorted me back to my seat afterwords. Keziah enjoyed doing the Virginia Reel, working on her swing skills, and running around with her friends. Blythe looked simply lovely and enjoyed her time with her friends, but was quite disappointed in the boys lack of asking girls to dance. She normally is asked over and over, but this year, she was only asked once. She was pretty sad about the whole deal. Annesley demanded that her friend, Preston, dance with her and it was so stinkin’ cute. The rest of the time she ran around with her friend, Paige, and they twirled, donkey kicked, skipped, and galloped all over the ballroom.

12. Sunday morning we slept in too late and had to hurry to get all packed up and out the door in time to attend our favorite church building in SLC. It is the old 2nd Ward building and has a beautiful stained glass window of the First Vision in it. We love attending the 14th ward and this year we were able to do so. This ward has people from all over world in it and is a melting pot of different cultures, personalities, needs, knowledge, and accents (my favorite part is the accents!) We had great lessons on Joseph of Egypt by a well-spoken, orderly, and spiritual man and then the Fall of Adam and Eve by a woman from Puerto Rico who handled the large group of sisters well and led a wonderful discussion on the topic with grace. This ward welcomed us right in and we had a wonderful time. They even created a Young Women’s class for Blythe and another girl who was visiting from Canada since they have no young women who attend the ward.

13. Grandma Dorothy stayed with us the whole time and took care of Keziah, Fisher, and Annesley. Let me just say she is the best grandma ever. She calls her grandchildren every day and talks to them, sings songs to them, and helps them get through diaper changes, stressful moments, and long car rides. She loves taking them out for ice cream, movies, and trips to the park…and that is just what she did all day on Saturday.

14. Did I mention yet that Keziah wanted to do a triathlon on Saturday? Yes, she did. And her amazing grandma said she would take her. So, they loaded up early and drove to American Fork for the Ice Breaker Triathlon. We are not professional triathloners, but Keziah wanted to do it, so we let her. According to my mother, everyone else there had two parents and several other people helping each child. Keziah had her grandma and two little siblings. Everyone else had wetsuits for the swim, and warm clothes for the bike ride and run. Keziah wore her swim suit and then pulled her swim shorts and rash guard shirt over top for the bike ride and run. Other athletes had expensive bikes, Keziah had her well-used one that is missing 60% of the seat and looks like it might belong at the dump. Spectators had on coats, hats, and gloves. Fisher and Annes had nothing to keep them warm. It was 29 degrees. Yeah, below freezing. Keziah was blue, frozen, and numb by the time she finished her 3.1 mile bike ride. Grandma told her she had done enough and wasn’t dressed properly and she could stop without doing the run. Keziah determined to finish and she ran one mile, in the cold, with shorts on, with frozen hair, and she ran it fast. What a girl!

Thanks Grandma for helping her get to and through this race. She loved it and is so proud of herself. I know it was a ton of work, especially with the two little ones…YOU ARE AMAZING!

15. After church on Sunday, we went to the SLC cemetery to find the grave of Gordon B. Hinckley. My mom has been wanting to take the children for awhile now and it was the perfect day to do it – no wind, not too cold, not too hot, and a few extra hours of time. My children had a love affair with this man. We all absolutely adored him and miss him greatly. Blythe sobbed for hours when Sister Hinckley died and again when President Hinckley passed away in January 2008. We went and paid our respects at their graves, touched their beautiful headstones, cried a little more, and then went searching for other headstones. We found President McKay’s, President Taylor’s, President Grant’s, the Hyrum Smith family plot, the Moyle family, and so many others that we had no idea who they were and loved making up stories of their lives. I saw a really neat headstone that listed the couple’s children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren – I think that is how I want my headstone – full of family. We had a picnic lunch from the cooler and then started on our way home. Ben-Hur provided the entertainment for the drive home…always a thriller!

16. Now it is Wednesday morning. H.O.P.E. is on Saturday. Passover is in five days. I have much to do to get ready for both, so I may not be back on here till next week.