Slumber Party!

So my good friend Tracy managed to stop by Virginia and visit, so that was AMAZING!!!

She and her family had gone on a cruise, and on their drive back to Wisconsin, they stopped for the night in Wytheville, Virginia.  Sarah drove the two hours there to pick up Tracy, leaving Joe to drive their family the rest of the way home.  We met up for lunch (along with another former Manassas-ian, Jacquie Giboney (except she's been divorced and remarried and that is definitely NOT her last name any more, but I can't remember what it is, and anyone reading this blog will recognize her other name anyway)) at Mi Rancho in Fishersville and spent HOURS catching up, which was the best thing ever.  I only managed to drag myself away because I'd promised Craig that I would make it to our ward game night.

But then on Sunday, after the youth fireside was all wrapped up, I headed back to Fishersville, this time to Sarah's mom's house (that's Christine, who I served in the Stake Relief Society presidency with!).  She graciously let us spend the night in their upstairs bedrooms, so we could have a night with NO KIDS.  Can you even imagine-- not one single person interrupting us, for a whole night!!!

We had snacks, we had jammies, and we had no hard deadlines for the next morning.  YES, we stayed up until 3:30 in the morning gabbing away!  YES, we had so many snacks I just about made myself sick.  And YES we slept until 11:30 the next morning and Sarah braided our hair after we'd showered.  It was so much better than ANY slumber party I ever went to when I was a kid!  There's just something so wonderful about talking nonstop with the people who know you best and know all the worst things you've ever been through and love you anyway.

Once we were finally dressed and slightly presentable, we visited Sarah's baby brother's grave.  What we really wanted to do was visit Logan's grave, Tracy's baby who died of SIDS in 2010.  (I didn't blog about it ever because I was a coward.  But it is still one of the saddest things I've ever gone through.)  We really didn't have time to make the two-hour drive up to Manassas, and we figured Logan would understand the sentiment.  We shed some tears for Logan and Brady (and my own brother who died in infancy, Patrick Rex) and for the hard things people go through in this life.  And once we'd said all we needed to, we headed to Charlottesville.  

Another extremely leisurely lunch, this time at Torchy's, and this time with Craig joining us for an hour of gossip and queso.  And then, just to really round out our 24 hours of gluttony, we got Crumbl Cookie and sat swapping bites until it was time to get Tracy to the airport.  

There's just something about friends who were in the trenches of babies and toddlers with you, you know?  I love my Charlottesville friends, but these two ladies will always be my ride or die!

And Yes, Colton Also Had a Birthday!

I felt really bad, because on Colton's actual birthday, I had dress rehearsal from 7-10, and Craig had to stay late after school for parent-teacher conferences.  How lame* is that?  I told him that if he wanted, I could make his special dinner the day before, when we could all eat together as a family.  He thought about it for a day, but decided he wanted his dinner on the actual day.  Fair enough!  So that morning, I woke everyone up a few minutes earlier than normal so we could at least be all together to watch him open presents:

And then that night I made him Mongolian Beef and Red Velvet Brownie S'Mores, as requested!  I ate dinner with him and then dashed off.  Craig got to eat brownies with him as soon as he was home.  Hopefully next year won't be so ridiculous.

As mentioned, we went out to dinner with his grandparents a few days later on Saturday-- it was a little bit of a surprise when I ignored the GPS and went where I knew the restaurant he'd chosen was, only to discover that the building was now empty!  Fortunately, we decided to see where the GPS was trying to tell us to go, and it turned out the restaurant had just moved to a bigger and much nicer location!  So we had a lovely dinner, complete with wings for all:

And then he opened his presents from Tom and Donna

which included this sweet scooter that he was very excited about:

And then we topped the evening off with doughnuts from Krispy Kreme!  

It's wild to me that Colton is already twelve.  I love watching him pass the sacrament (and work to keep a straight face while Camille tries to make him laugh).  I couldn't believe it at his physical when his doctor announced he'd grown nearly four inches this year.  He's just growing and maturing in every way so quickly.  Why doesn't anyone warn parents about this???

Happy Birthday, Colton!!!  

These twelve years have flown by!

*The irony here is that I usually feel like Craig and I are so busy because of our callings, but that night, our busy activities had nothing to do with church!  We must be insane...

March Was Marching Along

It's boring if I tell you that life has been busy, right?  Like, we all know life is busy, so I can skip that part and just tell you some of the things we've been up to, right?  Yeah, I'm just going to dive right in...

Kendra had (yet another) band concert, but this one was a bit different, because she played drums for part of it-- just filling in-- and then the French horn for the other part.  My girl who can't commit to any one instrument!  But it was fun to see her both standing, triangle in hand (and other various percussion instruments, I just can't remember what they're all called now) and then sitting with her big shiny horn, too!

My polymathic daughter!

And then to round out my week of music, the following Thursday I went and saw Moulin Rouge in Richmond at the Altria theater with my choir buddy, Leah!  We had such a great time, it's such a wonderful show!

At choir practice, we've been asked if we're twins.  Which is especially funny because Leah IS a twin, just not with me!

The second half was especially awesome, both because the music is fantastic, and also because the annoying couple next to me moved to somewhere else, so I didn't have to hear her humming or him arguing with her any more!  AND, I could move over into their seats and see around the big-haired lady in front of me!  Man, old theaters are not for the faint of heart!  But seriously, it was a really fun night.  And I think it's funny that I've managed to see the play twice, but both times with a Leah!

And then that Saturday, Craig accompanied Kendra and her indoor percussion group to their competition.  This meant that we finally got some decent pictures of the day!

Setting up all their gear in the parking lot so they can get some more practice in before they compete.  Apparently this is a THING and everyone stands around watching the other groups and cheering each other on!  How fun is that?

My cute girl in her costume (she's supposed to look like a waiter in a 1920s speakeasy)

Here she is, pulling the cymbal section aside so they can double check their part of the routine.  This year she's a section leader, a role she takes very seriously.

And now ready to practice all together:

I think this was the time that they placed 4th, which meant they moved on to the next round and got to compete AGAIN, which was very exciting!

More cymbal practice

And here are a bunch of shots of Kendra that Craig took (sorry, I can't resist):

Getting ready for the second round:

Some time soon I'm going to post a video of their routine-- it's really fun, I promise!

In news about my other kids, Colton is still campaigning to get a bearded dragon (and Camille is waffling between wanting a hamster or a chinchilla, but she's been told she needs to wait a couple years, so there's no rush on that decision).  We let them go see some friends who happen to own both a bearded dragon AND a hamster, so that was fun and in no way discouraged them from their current obsessions.

(This family also went to Great Wolf Lodge recently!)

We also decided it was time Colton got his own temple trip, so we let him bring a couple friends and they did baptisms and then we took them out for Taco Bell and ice cream after!  It was a very loud car ride there and back, but the boys had fun.  Mission accomplished!  (But next time we'll take the van and make them sit in the back so I don't have to listen to them!)

Colton, Calvin, and Gideon

I actually really love Colton's serious face here

Everyone had to photobomb our temple selfie, of course

They're so overdressed for Taco Bell, I love it!

One last shot.  I can't resist!

On a totally different note, the other day I got home late from a dress rehearsal, and was surprised that Craig had left the truck outside, with the garage door open.  But once I got in the garage, I saw that it was a big mess, and figured that maybe he couldn't get the truck in without running something over.  In the morning, I got after the kids for it, but they all patently denied making any messes.  That was weird-- my kids may not always (or, ever) clean up after themselves, but they aren't liars.  They left for school and I headed for work.  It wasn't until the afternoon that I began cleaning things up and realized something very weird was going on  For one, the stuff that had been moved (the bin with all the chicken supplies) was really heavy.  There was no way they threw it around the garage on accident.  And-- what the-- where was the 50 lb bag of chicken feed that I just bought?  As I was pondering on this, Kendra came home from school and I told her how weird this all was.  She just said, "Hang on!" and then wandered into our backyard, and out past our property line and down the ravine behind our house.  She came back triumphantly carrying a ravaged, half-emptied bag of feed!  A quick google search has confirmed our best guess, which is that raccoons got into it and clawed the thing open!  Who knew they were so strong?

Anyway.  I'm impressed by the raccoons.  We will be more diligent about closing the garage door from now on!  (And I'm glad I hadn't yelled at the kids about the mess!)

I just casually tossed out that I had a late dress rehearsal, so you may have already guessed, but yes, that meant it was concert week!  This was our "Together in Song" concert, which is always really lovely, but I confess-- it was more fun last year when I had my Mom singing with me!  This year's was still good, though.  I was missing most of my kids-- Kendra, Ryder, and Colton all had a stake service project (and Bentley is still at BYU)-- but Tom, Donna, Adam, Craig, and Camille all came to cheer me on!  I really love seeing their smiling faces in the audience.

What made me even happier was that Craig and Adam were almost matching (crazy photobombing Camille notwithstanding!)

Just the choir-- nearly 100 strong now!-- before the community singers join us!

You can see me better here before everyone gets on the stage

And afterwards, we got dinner at Plaza Azteca.  This was also to celebrate Colton's birthday, which will be the next post on this blog (stay tuned!)-- but I did like this picture of me:

I guess I'm too short-- shouldn't these be more behind my shoulders and less behind my head?  But I still think they're pretty.  And really, who doesn't long for wings?

My hyacinth popped up again as the weather warmed!  There are about four of them now, which means I should probably google how to divide them?  I think that's what you do with plants like this?  I honestly have no idea.

Speaking of my lack of green thumb-- one of the kids opened the southern-facing kitchen window, which is where I like to keep plants.  Unfortunately, when I shut it that night, I accidentally knocked over a tiny cactus that a friend left me when she moved away.  It dumped out and rolled around my kitchen floor in a way that reminded me of the writing system in the movie Arrival.  So, naturally, I had to take a picture before I cleaned it up:

Somewhere, Amy Adams felt a chill go down her spine.  

On a random Tuesday evening, Kendra led the YW in a rousing game of broom hockey while the Young Men made blankets for charity!  I love these pictures Craig took.  I need to start taking pictures at our Tuesday activities...

Colton had the flu that day and stayed home.  I felt bad for him being sick (especially since I neglected to get most of the kids their flu shots this year!), but it was nice to let Camille stay home with him and go to bed on time for once!  And bonus-- no one else got the flu!  So I guess the shots didn't matter all that much after all.  I was rather alarmed Sunday night when he first knocked on my door saying he didn't feel well and his temperature was 103.6℉!  Sometimes when my kids or I are sick, I like to let the fever run its course, figuring that's killing off whatever virus or bacteria is attacking us, but this was too high to mess around with and I was glad to get some ibuprofen into him!  And he was fine by Thursday.

And then Friday was the teacher's quorum temple trip!  Unfortunately they were missing half the young men, which meant they had more leaders than teachers.  But they still had a great time, which is all that really matters, I suppose.

Alex, Truman, and Ryder, all sprouting up like weeds

And then add in Scott, Tony, Ben, and Craig!

We had a s'more night with our fire pit out on the deck, where my kids are all a bunch of pyros.  (Totally understandable.  Isn't everyone?)

For our next Tuesday activity, the YW were making treats for the missionaries (and I once again took no pictures) and then YM were out in the parking lot doing an iron chef sort of activity!

I love how Gideon showed up with his chef's coat and Remy on his shoulder!  

They all had a weird ingredient that had to be incorporated into their food.  Ryder's group had to use sardines.  I felt really bad for the judges who had to try everything!

And then, before we knew it, it was spring break!

Other People's Messes

Our tenants moved out on the last day of February, so Craig and I spent March 1st (a gorgeous Saturday, luckily!) cleaning up our little townhouse.  It's so funny with that place, because I think I go through the same cycle every time we need a new renter: I step inside and say, "Oh, this isn't bad at all!"  And then as soon as I begin cleaning, I'm quickly so grossed out by how dirty the place is.  And then, after a full day of vacuuming, mopping, and just general scrubbing, I'm back to, "Oh, this place is great, I could totally live here!" 

Each time, I'm reminded that:

-Other people's messes are grosser than your own.  A hair in the sink, dust on the baseboards, mildew on the bathroom ceiling...  I can ignore that kind of thing in my own house for much longer than I'd care to admit.  (Sorry, Grandma Bentley, I know you're disappointed!)  But in someone else's house, it's absolutely revolting!

-You can't necessarily see the mess-- it's almost as if you can feel it.  You just know it's not very clean.  Even just running a vacuum along the baseboards and getting the cobwebs out of the corners makes SUCH a huge difference.  I definitely can't see all that stuff?  But you know it's there, just the same.

-Dog fur is really the grossest thing ever.  And our latest tenants' dog must have been particularly furry because there was just so much fur everywhere.  If I was even the slightest bit tempted to get a dog, this day of cleaning killed it.  I'm surprised the HVAC was even working, there were sheets of fur covering the intake...  Blurgh.

Anyway, we got it all cleaned up with one full day of hard work.  Props to Craig and I!  I showed it a bunch and it looks like we have new renters, although I'm a little bummed that they don't want to move in until mid-April.  But they seem like lovely people and I think this will work out well for both parties, so it's all good.

Life as a landlord-- it's an adventure!

February Goings On

I think I post this every year, but don't you just breathe a sigh of relief when February is over?  This last month felt so busy and I doubt that March will be any better, but at least we should be getting some spring weather soon!  Hallelujah!  I can hardly wait!

I already blogged about Great Wolf Lodge and birthdays, but there were a bunch of other little activities sprinkled throughout the month that deserve a mention (and maybe a picture or two)!

BYU had a devotional with Elder and Sister Uchtdorf, so we encouraged Bentley to get there plenty early-- and he ended up with a close enough seat that Craig spotted him in the audience on the livestream!  Averi is sitting next to him, but unfortunately she got covered up by the person sitting in front of her.  As Tracy quipped, "You can always spot a Milford man (woman)!" 

One of our youth activities involved playing human foosball-- the kids had a great time, although watching them repeatedly get smacked by (soft) balls was too much for me and I finally had to retreat to the lobby...

(There's Ryder in the blue shirt!)

(And Kendra is in the foreground here wearing an olive green shirt and sweatpants!)

Sarah and I met up for breakfast before she had to get to work, and I busted up laughing as soon as I saw her-- we did NOT plan this!!!!

But seriously, how cute and in sync are we???

We have had some seriously cold weather this winter!  One wet day the temp dropped suddenly and everything was covered in ice-- it looked so cool on Carter Mountain!

From a distance (ie, from our bus stop) it almost looked like the mountain was just fuzzy!

Averi and Bentley continue getting themselves to the temple-- how cute are they?

Speaking of temples, we took Kendra to do baptisms and met up with McKinley and her mom, Wendy (who is my new secretary and who I LOVE), so that was a lovely evening out!

I spent a TON of money at Target and now I have all these new clothes I love!  Including this cute dress that was perfect for Valentine's Day!  (Especially since I had to give a talk in church-- I had to look my best!)

Speaking of Valentine's Day, Camille and Peter had organized what was basically a date for them-- they wanted to go to Coldstone and the dollar store (where they each bought something for themself and something for each other), so Megan and I complied.  Colton & Gideon and Ryder & Truman also came along, although not as dates.  I guess?  And Megan and I also got ice cream, because obviously we weren't NOT going to get ice cream at Coldstone!  It was fun, even if I'm a little perplexed by my 10-year-old planning group sorta dates?!

The Young Men were playing Among Us, so Colton decided he needed a funny hat and this was the best he could find hanging around the church.  And I had a cold, so I was wearing a mask.  Remember those?

So we look pretty awesome, the two of us!

That same night for Young Womens we made sock puppets:

Here are our poor cold chickens all huddling together.  We nearly accidentally killed them-- C&C cleaned out their coop and forgot to put the water heater back into their water bucket and then it snowed again and got super cold.  Fortunately Kendra noticed that their water was frozen before they all died, but they were VERY thirsty!!!  It had probably been a few days!!!

My neighbor very kindly sent me this photo from six years ago-- look how little these kids were!!!

Clockwise from the top we have Camille, Colton, Beth, Scarlett, and Sydney

Bentley got a new haircut and had to send us pictures!  Apparently he's trying to look like Brad Pitt from Fight Club.  I guess Averi approves, so that's good?

Camille had a field trip to Wintergreen, where she got to go snowtubing with Mara and Mara's mom, Anna (ironically, this got canceled when we had a snow day, so I was glad they finally made it on the second attempt!)!

I totally should have signed up to chaperone this-- I blew it!

My neighbors all got together at Rachel's AirBnb in Afton Mountain for a weekend, so that was fun!  There were seven women total, just hanging out enjoying the fact that no one was whining at us and we only had to clean up our own messes!  (I was supposed to do this last year, too, but had to cancel when I got Covid, so I was especially glad my cold had cleared up in time for this!)  I didn't really think to take any pictures except this silly one of me alone in the hot tub, absolutely enjoying the peace and quiet:

We mostly lounged around in our pajamas eating chips and dip.  We also watched a lot of documentaries about women faking that they have cancer for various reasons (Scamanda on Hulu, and on Netflix, The Search for Instagram's Worst Con Artist episode about Belle Gibson!) and stand-up comedians (I got them to watch Ryan Hamilton and they LOVED him-- although by that point they'd had so much wine and gummies that I don't think it was hard to make them laugh; but Ryan Hamilton IS really funny, soo).  It was a really fun weekend, and I was so happy to get back to my family on Sunday!  The best of all worlds!

The Young Men played gaga ball for their activity

(A couple action shots of my boys, but honestly, based on all the other pictures Craig took, it looks like the leaders were even more into it than the boys!  And the boys were pretty into it!!!)

Meanwhile the YW were having making impromptu puppet shows with the sock puppets they'd made the week before:

And Craig and I had another temple trip, this time just the two of us!  Date night!

I love those enormous lamps!

Have I mentioned how great it is having the temple only an hour away?  I love it!