The first day of Spring

On Sunday, church was cancelled.  All Utah members, 8 and older, were supposed to attend a rebroadcast of the Provo Tabernacle Temple dedication.  We decided that we did not want to take shifts, as the adults in our home, to attend a broadcast so after a lazy morning at home, we went downtown to Temple Square and did a little church history tour of our own.

It was a very beautiful day, the first day of spring.  There is nothing better than 70 degrees, bright sunshine and well behaved children.

While in the visitor center, we were looking at a world map and Ross asked the boys if they could find Lithuania.  While they were all pointing trying to pin point the exact location, a very kind woman walked up to us and said she could help them find Lithuania.  She was from Lithuania.  After a very quick conversation and the sharing of pictures we figured out that though she attended the Russian speaking branch in Vilnius, Lithuania, she knew Elder Petersen.  I had Ross take a very unflattering picture of the two of us (it was not intended to be as such) and we parted ways.

The day ended with a walk around the Daybreak Lake to burn off the excess energy of three young boys and some crazy double overtime basketball games.

I'd say it was a pretty great day.

He's home! He's home! He's home!

Last week, on Thursday, March 3 my long lost little brother returned from his two year mission in Lithuania.  It was a pretty nerve wracking week - I had some stress induced stomach problems; Wyatt had double ear infections and missed two days of school; Elliott had some sort of virus with a 101.4 degree fever.  Inspite of all our personal challenges though, that kid still came home.

And it was glorious.

Seeing him.  Giving him a hug.  Reintroducing him to the kids.  Pretty cool.

Two years is such a long time.  I realize that in the grand scheme of life, two years is a very small percentage, but it was worth it.  My brother is so tall and handsome and smart and grown-up.  He is of course, the same goofy dorky kid we all love, but he is so much more than that, too.

















Yesterday, Quinn and I got to spend a couple hours in the afternoon with Uncle Willie.  As soon as he came in our house, he went straight to the fridge and the pantry - just like always.  He wandered around our house, upstairs and into the basement.  He smiled and giggled and tried to talk to Quinn.

We went to Deseret Book.  The woman helping him thought I was his mom.  He's home, I guess.  Everyone thinks I'm his mom.

We went to lunch at Cubby's and I answered all his questions about family and America and food trucks.  He likes food trucks - well, he likes kebab stands, so pretty much the same thing.

Then, we went to Target, and he pushed Captain Quinn around in the cart and we looked at all the toys.

We came back to my house, and he read books to his former best friend, who is starting to warm up to the whole idea of Uncle Willie.  He went with me to get the big boys from school, checked out the pantry one more time when we got back, and then he headed home.

He is a good boy and one of my best friends.  I am so happy he is home.

Meranda and Pedro Sanchez

My beautiful cousin Meranda was married on Saturday to Pedro Sanchez.  It was a wonderful day spent celebrating their eternal union and I was so happy to be a part of it.

And, there was a taco truck.

Love you both and congratulations.

The end of Basketball

Elliott and Wyatt played basketball this year.  Wyatt's was a learning league, and was chaos almost every week.  But, he had fun, made some new friends and did a great job and made at least one basket in every single game.  Elliott was in a third grade team league and it was a little too intense for a bunch of 8 and 9 year olds, but he really improved and in his last game, scored 6 points (two of which were free throws) and had at least 10 rebounds.  A regular Dennis Rodman.

There isn't much else to say, but I did take pictures with a real camera at each of their last games.  Enjoy!

February blahs

We are at the end of our first week off-track.  The boys sort of get screwed out of vacation time with year round school, but no more so than their November and February breaks.  For both, the weather is rotten, the air not safe for breathing, and we're pretty much trapped indoors with our screens.  Add to that, regularly scheduled stress induced freak out sessions by the mom, and it makes for a challenging break.

Lately, my brain is crammed with too many things to think about and that could be the reasons that I've had a migraine for 11 days.

I worry about my friends.  My best friend since 7th grade had surgery this week to remove breast cancer.  I'm so worried about her.  My aunt has cancer with a cloudy prognosis.  I worry about her, too.  I have a million and one things wrong with me that no doctor can figure out.  I worry about that daily, as well.  It's difficult going to doctors with legitimate complaints and having said doctors look at you like you escaped from the loony bin.  I exercise and eat right and cannot lose weight.  My diabetes control hasn't been the best lately.  Then there are the swollen legs and the acute pain in my left foot.  Ug!  And the headaches!  Screw those completely.

I worry about my children.  What they watch, what they do, what they don't eat, how they interact with each other and their friends.  I worry that they have to spend too much time with me, but then I worry that I get in their way and just need to let them be.  I worry that I'm not doing it right, that I buy them too much crap (giving them too high of expectations), and that we are too easy on them.  But then again, they do need to help with jobs around the house, or how else with they ever learn anything.

I worry about my husband.  His job stresses him out, in turn stressing me out.  Between work, and church commitments, and spending time with his kids, and all the things that I do every week, we never see each other, or talk to each other.  There isn't a baby sitter to ditch the boys with every week for a "date" and so it's just us, trying to squeak out time with each other as we fall asleep every night, or trying to have a conversation in the front of the car with the eaves droppers in the back.  Ug!  Being married is hard work.

I worry about my small little business.  How do I grow it just a bit bigger? How do I take better advantage of ETSY?  How do I find more shows to sell my items?  How to I manage my time and my money and the mess I make in the house without a dedicated "Annie's junk room".

And then, the future?  Cars, vacations, basements, messes, family time....there is just too much to even try to list.  Well, actually, I have a list but my list is, I learned this week, very different than my husband's list.

Go figure.

All of this is enough to drive any one crazy.  And I have a pretty good life with really good kids and a husband who tries hard.  It's just exhausting, isn't it?  Trying to keep everyone a float with out drowning.  Keeping everyone happy, without losing yourself.

Or maybe, it's just February.

February might be the worst.