Primary

Having no primary for more than a year has been kind of sad. A couple of months ago our stake primary presidency made little "boxes of light" for the kids and our ward passed them on to us. They encouraged the kids to make little temples out of these legos and put a little tea light in them. Jake was pleased with the temple he made (with help from his brother!). We look forward to having second hour at church again come June-especially so primary can happen again!

Blackberry Farm Covid Style

After being closed for almost two years, Jake got to go back to one of his favorite places: Blackberry Farm. The kids are so used to wearing masks now, wearing them doesn't seem like a hardship-especially if doing so means they get to do their favorite things again!

Eli joined us one of the three times we've already been in the month or so it's been open. It has been much less crowded than normal which we've loved!

Relief Society Presidency

These three ladies and I were called as our ward's Relief Society Presidency in January of last year. To say our first year wasn't quite how we expected it would be would be an understatement! But we've worked well together, come up with some creative solutions, and mastered the zoom presidency meeting. Our secretary moved, so we have some changes coming. I so thankful for these women and their service to our ward and to me.

Last Day

Finally, the last day of this school year! Usually I'm a little sad when the school year was over, but not this year! The kids did great coping and even excelling during this unusual year, but we were all ready to be done. It was fitting that the last day was remote.

Here's hoping for a totally normal year next year!

Jake reading

 Sometimes I want to read just like Jake does....

And sometimes I wonder how he could possibly be comfortable!

Talents

We didn't have a piano teacher for more than a year, but during the last half of that time Ali decided she wanted to learn some new songs on her own and work on her sight reading (a skill her old teacher never really taught; she'd write note names on music for them usually). Her new piano teacher was impressed with her sight reading when she started with her, and I've loved listening to the pretty new songs she chose, so I'd say she accomplished her goals!

She's also spent a lot of her spending money on art books and supplies and a lot of her free time drawing. She is getting SO good!

Cars

When Jake plays with toys in the the basement, he plays with ALL the toys. Sometimes that can be annoying. But I thought the lego duplos being made to spell out the word "cars" was clever.

Mother's Day

So, I had a bit of a scare this month. One I'm not totally over yet. I found a lump in my neck; not good. I wasn't overly worried, but obviously wanted to get it checked out. My prayer before I went was that the doctor would take it seriously so I could feel confident in him telling me not to worry (which is what I hoped he'd say). Well, I went in and the moment he felt the lump, I could tell that not only was he taking this very seriously, he was a bit worried himself. He told me he was going to send me right away to get my white blood cells checked and have an ultrasound of the lump. I had to go to an office across town, and he got me in for an appointment right away. He asked me to wait in the office waiting room until the results came back. So at this point, I'm worried; his worry made me think there was something to really worry about.

I had a lot of time to sit and wait and thought I'd use my time wisely by reading conference talks. I picked up where I'd left off, and finally had to stop because 3-4 in a row between the end of Saturday afternoon and the beginning of Sunday morning were all about the lessons people learned from loved ones dying. Not helpful.

I finally got a call from the doctor who had conferred with the radiologist and between what he saw and my bloodwork, the doctor wasn't worried anymore. The lump had no concerning signs and the bloodwork was totally normal. I had mentioned that in the few days before I found the lump I had gotten both my first ever Botox for migraines shots and my second COVID vaccine, and the doctor thinks that one or both of those was probably the cause for the lump. I was told to monitor the lump and take daily Ibuprofen (Jason joked that I do that most days anyway), and that within a month it should go away. It's been almost two weeks since my appointment (2.5 weeks since the things that may have caused it) and I think the lump has gone down in size, but is still very much there. I am not totally over my fears that it may be a big problem, but I am following medical advice and that's the most I can do right now. 

The reason I tell this story in my Mother's Day post is that while I am hopeful that this was a scare and nothing more, I still have been finding the mundane in life very sweet these past couple of weeks. I am reminded that life can be fleeting and we really never know what tomorrow will bring. I am beyond thankful for every day that I get to be here on earth with my precious family and hope for many, many more years to come. I love being a wife and mother more than anything else in my life. My family brings my my greatest joys. And I am grateful for the reminder of how precious time is.

Water Guns

We've enjoyed a handful of very lovely days in April and May and the kids have enjoyed being outside again. Eli and Logan found that if they filled water guns with warm water, it doesn't even have to be hot to play!

Peeks

Towards the end of the year, I finally got all my ducks in order to be able to sub. It has been fun, and I've been really proud of myself; I think I've done a good job. 

One of the parts I've liked the best, though, is getting peeks of my two youngest kids while I've been in their school. My favorite is when I see them heading out to the bus: Eli has always stopped by Jake's classroom to pick him up so they're always together, and Jake is usually holding Eli's hand. So sweet.

 

The Main Event

We loved being there for Korrali's baptism and Kai's blessing. Eli played the opening song and Ali played the closing song. They also both got to be witnesses for the baptism. I got to hold Kai during the baptism and then got to smell like delicious new born the rest of the day!

Even Jake got a turn to hold his baby cousin. He was a pro!

 

I discovered on this trip that my kids are finally at the age where travelling doesn't feel like tons and tons of extra work, it was just fun! Such a blessing. It's a good thing we left Logan and Jason home or we may not have wanted to leave. What a wonderful trip it was.

Castle Rock

Grandma and Grandpa live in Castle Rock, so we decided to hike to the rock that gives it it's name. Emily and her kids came with us.

Museum

We went to a museum in Denver with Korrlai and Claire, and Grandma and Grandpa. It was so fun.

Jake loved the space exhibit, especially the part about Mars.

Egypt and mummies was my favorite.

Great views of downtown. We also watched a wedding out on the lawn:)

Eli thought the rock exhibit was "epic."