January 23, 2011

January 23, 2011

Dear Family and Friends,

This week has flown by so quickly! Monday everyone was home because of Martin Luther King Day. We had a great day. We headed off to a community center nearby that has an indoor pool and water play area. The boys all went swimming while RM and I watched from a bench. J was a little hesitant, but eventually he was so happy he didn’t even want to get out, even though it was apparent from his shivering that he was freezing. B- man loved the water slide and went down it too many times to count. We went early on purpose so that we would miss the crowds and have time for naps in the afternoon. On the way out of the pool there was a little miscommunication. By the time I met up with the boys B-man was getting ready to climb a 30 foot rock wall. I fed RM and we cheered him on as he climbed. He tried about four times. Every time he got a little higher until he finally made it to the top. I was very impressed! We stopped for a quick bite to eat at Costco on the way home and then immediately put J to bed. He was wasted! While J was sleeping B-man played with some boys from the neighborhood. They were outside running around playing football etc. I ran quickly to a few model homes to try and get some ideas for decorating. When I got home B-man was still outside playing. I warned M that we should probably expect a meltdown at the end of the day because he had been doing SO many physical, demanding things. About twenty minutes after I said that B-man came in with a hurt nose. We got him fixed up and warned him that it was almost time to come in and have dinner. Well when it was time to come in and have dinner he wanted to go to a park in our neighborhood and keep playing. He had the ULTIMATE meltdown when we said that he couldn’t go. Luckily we were mentally prepared so we mostly found it entertaining. He even mentioned running away and living with his friends. I remember using that line. M even got out the video camera to record what he was yelling from his room. But by the time he got it going he was starting to wind down. Once he calmed down we were able to have a more normal evening. We ate dinner, and then had FHE and discussed faith.

Tuesday B-man got to stay home because it was a snow day. We had about an inch of snow and ice, and so all the schools were closed. Sadly there wasn’t enough snow to go sledding, but we had a good day of hot chocolate, playing the Wii, and reading books.

Wednesday was back to our normal routine. That night I went to a Relief Society meeting. Thursday was a super slow day. M traded cars with me so that we could get some work done on my car.

Friday went by super fast. I did visiting teaching in the morning, and then right afterwards M and I set off to buy a dishwasher off Craigslist. Right before we got there the person selling it said we couldn’t come because they couldn’t get the dishwasher out. We decided to go anyway, and M would figure it out. When we actually saw the dishwasher we decided that we didn’t want it. It was a little older than they said and was missing an option that we wanted. Since it was stuck it was an easy way to say “no thanks…” We then drove home and made it just in time to get B-man from the bust stop. It was a fun date in the car at least… We then went to Costco to get some things that we needed for the weekend before finally heading home. That night we did homemade hamburgers for dinner and then had our family party. We played on the Wii and had a healthy competition in bowling and baseball.

Saturday morning we all went to my basketball game. We were missing one of our key players and it was obvious. Plus the team that we were playing was really good. It was great practice for all of us and will keep us humble. In other words, we got creamed. We had a few hours after the game that were quiet. M then took B-man with him to set up chairs at our building for Stake Conference. When he got home he had to hurry and get ready for the Priesthood meeting. While he was gone we ate dinner, played games, and got everyone bathed and ready for bed. He picked up our babysitter on the way home, and then once he got home he took me back with him for the adult session of Stake Conference. We had a visiting authority (Elder Lansing) and it was a great meeting. Very good talks. After the meeting we then went to the home of a family in our ward. They had invited anyone that wanted to come over for appetizers and desserts. It was a nice way to get together and visit with people from the ward.

Today has been a good day. Even though Stake Conference was an hour later than church, we barely made it on time. Not sure how that happened. Stake Conference with kids is always an adventure, and today was no different. But we were able to get some good things from the meeting despite all our children trying their best to distract us. After dinner we had a great leisurely afternoon and then had some friends over for dinner. We have to be careful who we have over right now because we got rid of most of our chairs. Luckily this family only has one child. Now the boys are in bed and we are winding down for the evening.

We love you all!

The C Crew