April 5th, 2009

April 5, 2009

Dear Family and Friends,

What a great weekend we’ve had listening to General Conference! It was wonderful, but I’ll go back to the first of the week to start. Monday was a slow day. B-man and I worked getting the house clean and organized. Then after an early dinner we went to Chucky Cheese’s for FHE. It was a fun night, and B-man had a lot of fun once again. After Chucky Cheese’s we ran in to Lowe’s to look at Dishwashers. That has been the theme of the week… Dishwashers have been my main topic of conversation and thought. It has been a frustrating experience, but I think we have found one.

Tuesday was a very slow day because preschool was cancelled. We ran some errands and managed to still stay busy. B-man has been a great little companion these last couple of weeks.

Wednesday was much of the same. We did have David, and the time seemed to fly by. This was our last time watching David for a while. His mom is having a baby any day and will be taking some time off afterwards. It will be strange to not have him around, and I think B-man will actually miss him. That night we went to a friend’s house for dinner. She was so kind and even watched B-man after dinner while I went to Young Women’s. It was very helpful not to have to take B-man with me. B-man had a great time at their house, and when I came to pick him up he was playing a tiny violin that the family has and she uses to teach her son that is B-man's age. B-man was so pleased with himself. It was very cute.

Thursday B-man had preschool. I used the time by running some errands that I know B-man doesn’t love to do. That afternoon we did more trips to various stores to look at dishwashers. B-man can now answers the salesmen when they ask what color we want. I have also been carrying around dishes, and trying the dishes in each of the dishwashers. I am sure that I am a bit of a spectacle, but I don’t want any surprises with this dishwasher. I want to be fully informed. That night we went to a friend’s house for dinner. The people here in our ward have really taken great care of us while M has been gone. It is almost embarrassing. I really am thankful to them all.

Friday didn’t have much going on. I can’t really remember much of anything. B-man had a friend over in the morning. He has been begging for people over almost everyday, and I have tried to be as accommodating as I could be. I know that night we had a family party. We made pizza and watched “Oliver and Company.”

Saturday we tried to keep very busy. We got up and going early. First we went to Home Depot. We were only going to get dirt, but we got there just as they were doing the kids’ class so we stayed and I helped B-man build a bird house that you suction up to a window so that you can see the birds inside. B-man was so excited about it and showed everyone in the store. I was just happy that I could figure it out and get it together! After the class we got our dirt and then went home. We then started work on a project in the front yard. It was a very windy day and I had to dig a two foot hole for the plant. I wasn’t really sure that I would make it to two feet, but thanks to the rain we have had this week I got pretty close. I must have been a spectacle while doing it though. Even B-man went inside because he was too cold from the wind. The wind was so strong that a couple of times it almost knocked me over! There I was in stretch pants, pregnant, and doing a whole lot of bending over and digging. (And did I mention the state of my hair? Have you seen my hair in the morning when it’s windy? Yikes…) I tried not to think of the view that my entire neighborhood had of my rear and me in general while doing the project. B-man would watch me out the front window, and periodically come out and see how close I was to being done. I did finish the project, and got everything put back together and then had just enough time to shower and get ready before Conference started. When Conference started B-man and I set up a blanket in the basement and had a picnic while watching on the internet. In between sessions we ran to a park so that B-man could get some of his wiggles out. We had just enough time to play and enjoy the sunny (and still windy) weather. We then went back home to watch the afternoon session. B-man did such a great job during Conference this year. I don’t know how much he got out of it, but I was able to listen and enjoy with him in the room… He even pretended to be watching sometimes. We had another picnic dinner during the last session and then we were off to run more errands. I had to look at more dishwashers, and we also got some bird food (per B-man'srequest) for his birdhouse.

Today has been a great day. We had a fun breakfast and a nice leisurely morning. After getting ready I worked on roll dough while we listened to the choir broadcast. We had another picnic lunch and were able to really enjoy Conference. In between sessions we went to a friend’s house. They were having another family over and invited us along. We took our rolls and headed over. She made a great dinner, and B-man had a great time with all the boys at their house. I hadn’t planned to stay for the afternoon session, but the time just worked out that we stayed. I am always a little sad to see Conference end. It is such an intense emotional thing that it is probably a good thing that we have six months to think about the talks and then prepare for the new messages.

We love you all!

R, M, and B-man

P.S. I told B-man we didn’t have to wear a button down today. (I was in a very casual skirt and shirt and I was thinking he could wear a polo shirt.) This was the outfit that he came up with. It does have a casual confidence about it.