March 22

March 22, 2009

Dear Family and Friends,

What a great week we have had here in Virginia. Monday morning I got a phone call from M’s mother, letting me know that there was a possibility that she and Lucy would be able to catch a flight to visit B and me later that day. I was so excited, but I didn’t tell B in case it didn’t work out. I spent the day working on getting the house ready for visitors. I must admit that my house had not been deep cleaned in a while. Especially the guest room accommodations, and so I was hurrying to get it all done. I had just enough time to get it all done before heading to the airport to pick up the women. I had to tell B that we were getting a visitor about two hours before leaving for the airport. He was trying to figure out why I was doing so much instead of playing with him… All during the drive to the airport he begged me to tell him, but I wouldn’t tell him. When we pulled up he was so excited to see Grandma Elna and Aunt Lucy there waiting for us! We drove directly to Costco to get the food that we needed for the week. After dinner we had a quick FHE. B said that he wanted to teach the lesson, so I helped him give a little lesson on King Benjamin. Not surprisingly it is his favorite story from the scriptures. It was so fun to see B trying to give the lesson. We’ll have to work on making it a little easier for him the next time he wants to participate that much. I think having an actual audience helped too.

Tuesday morning was a nice lazy day. B got to go to preschool, and was happy to learn all about St. Patrick’s Day. I had to force him to wear green, but I am sure in a few years he will be reminding me about the green rule. I didn’t really do anything to celebrate, but we did have a lot of fun being together. We had green smoothies and had a lot of fun being together. B liked trying to do yoga with the women. (I was not participating in that little activity.)

Wednesday morning we had a little more of a plan. We got up and going a little earlier and drove into the district. After a little searching (but nothing horrible) we were able to find a great parking space. We ate a fun picnic in the car and then set off for the American History Museum that has been newly reopened on the National Mall. We really let B set the pace for the day. He (for the most part) decided what we saw, and how long we stayed at different exhibits. He had a lot of fun in the hands-on parts of the museum. There were several that involved balls or marbles and building a track. A lot of the kids’ exhibits seemed to be focused on invention and creative thinking. One of the tracks he built was making music by sending marbles down a “musical course.” The museum also had the flag that inspired Francis Scott Keyes to write “The Star Spangled Banner.” That was my favorite thing in the museum. The flag was surprisingly large, and the exhibit was very moving. I loved how quiet and respectful the people were while filing past the flag. By the time we had to go move the car we were all ready to go home. We made a quick stop in the gift shop before heading back to the car. Grandma treated B to a bag of marbles that we had stuffed full! We did have to convince him that he should choose all different marbles instead only one type of marble. Once we got to the car, B got inspired by all the other people enjoying the lovely weather and we had to have a quick game of tossing a Frisbee around. The drive home went well; we made a short shopping stop before heading on to home. At home Lucy and I played more Frisbee with B while Grandma made dinner. Lucy and I could not believe how much energy B still had. We were both completely tired after all the walking around, but B seemed like he had just had a nice long nap! I wish there were a way to bottle all that energy and sell it to people. I am sure it would be successful. After dinner and B was in bed we experimented with cookies and enjoyed stimulating conversation. It has been so great to have people around at night!

Thursday B was up and off to preschool again. While he was at preschool we all worked on a project on the computer. After picking up B we spent the rest of the day packing, figuring out how to deliver odd items to Utah, and just enjoying our last hours together. Early in the afternoon we loaded everything up and headed off to the airport. We were sure sad to see them leave, but we are anxious for the next round of visitors. Luckily I didn’t have any time to mope. I had to come home and immediately start all the preparations for a Demarle “party” I was going to later that day. It was at the home of a woman in our ward. She eating vegan right now, and so the party was slightly more complicated because we were using all of her recipes. At one point while doing spiced nuts in the oven smoke was pouring out at an alarming rate. The sugar/spice mixture had really burnt onto the silpat that we were cooking them on, and the smoke and house alarms were BLARING very loudly. That really doesn’t add to the ambiance, but eventually we got the alarms to shut off and the smoke cleared out of the house. The amazing thing was that all of the burnt on sugar and spices came off the sheet! It was a great advertisement. I was sure it had been ruined, but I didn’t think to take a picture of it before the hostess started cleaning it all up. The party went well (it was small) and then I got everything packed up and headed home. I was so exhausted from all of the fun things happening in one day.

Friday was the slow day. We took things nice and easy. We did run a few errands, but mostly we stayed very close to home. That night there was a Primary party. B took a friend with him, and I hope it was a missionary success. Really all I hope is that B didn’t leave the friend by himself and go have fun without him. I think the boys both had fun, and I know that B had been very excited to wear his pajamas and eat pancakes at the party.

Saturday morning I got up and decided that I needed some good medical help. I’ve had a very pesky rash that has come and gone for the last two months on my legs. This week it came back with a vengeance and when I woke up Saturday it was really bothering me. There is a dermatologist in our ward, and I decided to give him a call. He was very nice about it and let me come over almost right away. He looked at me for a few minutes and then gave me some cream that he had at his house to put on it. I am hoping that it will all be gone very soon. Don’t worry it isn’t catching, and it isn’t harmful to the baby. But it does look horrendous. Huge bright red/purple splotches all over the front of my legs. Apparently it is dry skin gone seriously wrong, and I’ll always have to keep an eye on things to keep it in check, but it won’t be a big deal at all. I was just so glad to know that it wasn’t serious. It looked bad enough that it had to be something horrible. After leaving his home we ran some errands. Later that afternoon we went to Sears to look at dishwashers. Earlier in the week I had been telling Elna how much I hated our dishwasher and couldn’t wait until it died so I could get a new one. Well Thursday after turning on the dishwasher and coming back several minutes later there was some suspicious smoke coming out of it! I was torn between cheering and groaning, but I think the cheers won out. I did eventually get it to work, but obviously it is on its last leg. I want to be prepared. I haven’t used it since then, so it will be interesting to see what happens when I try it next. That night I went to dinner with some friends. It was a girls’ night out, and was a great evening. One of my friends’ husbands was very kind and put B to bed at his house with their children while we were eating. It was so nice to not have to get a sitter.

Today has been a great day, although very busy. We were up and going early to get to James Hancock’s farewell in Arlington. Of course B chose the morning that we had to be up and going to sleep in. We made up for lost time by eating some food in the car. B was a little confused by this change of plans, but he came around eventually. The Sacrament meeting was wonderful. James gave a great talk/testimony and it made me so excited to think about Spencer getting ready to go on a mission. After the Sacrament meeting we went to Marsali’s house to visit with her family. B was shy at first but quickly warmed up to their family. It was so nice to be able to see and catch up with them. Marsali is such a nurturer and was forcing me to lie down and take it easy. B loved chasing their dog and talking with her girls. He loved all the extra attention. After leaving their home we drove to our church. B went to Primary and I got ready for my lesson in Young Women. The lesson went really well, and we even had a parent in the class. The great thing is that the lesson was just what both the mother and the daughter needed! After church B and I made paper airplanes and threw them all over the main level. B’s plane was always cooler than mine. We also looked through his baby book (a new favorite) before heading off to dinner. The doctor’s family in our ward had invited us over for dinner. They are such a wonderful family. I don’t think anyone feels uncomfortable around them. There was another family there for dinner, and it was a great evening. B loved running around with their kids. He is such a character. At one point he dropped his roll on the ground, and then he immediately picked it up and while handing it to me (so he could go play) said “It’s okay, I like dirty food!” in a very excited voice. When we got back home B went straight to bed. This week has been so great, and now I am nervous that next week is going to seem long enough for two!

We love you all!

R, M, and B