Church, Camping

I went to Church on Sunday! It was so nice to be there. I think there were probably about 50 people out of the A-L crowd. We decided not to bring the kids yet since they probably wouldn't be very good at social distancing. It felt so good to worship with everyone else and feel the Spirit. James will go next time our ward meets, which is in a few weeks.

Our big adventure this week was camping. We took a drive on Monday to look for a good spot and found one we liked at East Park, a nice reservoir up in the mountains. Overall, it was fun but challenging.

Dislikes: packing for the trip since it filled up the whole car just for one night, trying to get any sleep with everyone together in the tent, trying to stay warm, setting up the tent and fire and having to take everything down today. (Why can't sleeping bags roll up nicely?!)

Likes: sitting by the fire, silly jokes, kids playing in the water, exploring a cave and the creek nearby (with lots of beautiful flowers and butterflies), talking with James and looking at the stars till the kids finally fell asleep, getting a little bit more tan, being away from social media, almost forgetting about the pandemic for a minute.

I think we won't do it again this year, but maybe next summer. Today, I get to do a mountain of laundry. :)

Adventures, Appointments, Cancellations, and Traditions

I don't think I mentioned before that we're trying to do "adventures" on MWF. Last Friday, we went to a birthday party at the Boyles' house. We actually go every year, and it's always amazing: tons of food, water slides, and great company. I've really been trying to take one day at a time with social distancing, and since this was an outside party, it felt like a good idea. Things with Covid-19 are picking up in my county, though, so that makes me a little nervous. It's good that there are so many outdoor things available. We went on a hike in the Monument on Monday. It was called Desert Voices and ended up being much longer than expected, but still fun. I'm amazed at the beauty of where I live. It's completely different than where I grew up.

I had an appointment with the general surgeon, so I'm scheduled for surgery on July 9th. I have to get tested for Covid-19 first, about 10 days before, and I can't travel afterward. That means no trip to Rexburg for the 4th of July and no celebrating our anniversary. I'm really upset about that. I'm not sure when we'll be able to go. If I feel okay, mid-July. NC is going to take up the first 2 weeks of August. Assuming I don't get the stupid coronavirus beforehand, I'll be fully recovered the day before school starts for James.

I had an appointment with the eye doctor yesterday, and it looks like my prescription has changed a bit. Though I never had it before, I've got a little bit of astigmatism. I hope that minor change, combined with a different kind of lenses, will solve my problems with my right eye bugging me. (I've had to take a break from contacts a lately.) Just in case, I bought a pair of sunglasses that can go over regular glasses. I had no idea these existed before, but they're a genius idea!

We're trying to come up with some fun summer traditions, but it's hard. It feels like we can't plan anything (still) since it just might get cancelled. I know that social distancing is a small sacrifice, really, but sometimes I feel trapped even though I still have a lot of options.

Heavy Things

I've had a lot of things weighing on my mind since we got back from our trip to Rexburg. I am glad we went because it was a nice break from regular life. I feel like I've gotten hit by a lot of things, many of them heavy, so this post will be a little depressing. Writing it all out helps me feel better. These issues are in no particular order, and I worry about all of them intermittently.

I made an appointment with the general surgeon for next week. I will most likely be able to have surgery on July 9th to get my hernia fixed. (Thanks, Samantha.) Though I'm not particularly scared about it, it's stressful to think about going under the knife again and having 6 weeks of recovery. I also don't know how much it will hurt, but I'm hopeful that it will be minor since my other 3 surgeries were really easy. I have to do it around all of our travel since I'll need help. I won't be able to lift Lewis or Samantha during recovery, which is a big deal. It can't wait until school starts.

Myles and Skyla are planning their sealing for August 8th. I'm really excited about it, but I feel that driving it the best way to make sure we don't lose tons of money or get infected with the Coronavirus. I think everyone knows how much travel stresses me out. Just yesterday, we had to add some oil to the car while we were at 10,000 feet. It's a good thing we had some in the car already. I hate old cars sometimes. Ours has needed some age-related repairs, but I'm still afraid to drive 2,000 miles there and back. Plus, whiny kids.

An old friend I hadn't seen in a while died from cancer. He was only 35. Cancer sucks.

My yoga class has to change venues after June. I've loved the studio where it happens right now. I'm annoyed that the studio would just discontinue classes like that. On top of everything else, it's really frustrating. I probably can't go in July anyway due to recovery, but I'm still worried that it will all end.

I'm struggling with a lot of anxiety still, especially about my appearance. Though I got rid of the scale, I'm noticing that some of my clothes feel a little tighter. Thanks to the stupid virus, I can't get any new ones unless I get lucky and have them fit without trying them on. Ugh. I know this will change eventually, but I really need to try a different style of pants. Weight gain or not, everything digs into my squishy belly unless it's got a stretchy waistband. Wearing uncomfortable stuff is making me feel grouchy.

My contact lenses are starting to bother me, but if I wear glasses, I can't wear sunglasses. I really need to get clipons or something, but I haven't done that yet, so I either have scratchy eyes or squint and get a headache. Another small thing that's making me grouchy. I have an eye appointment next week to hopefully get some answers.

If you made it this far, thanks for bearing with me! I don't know who reads this anymore, but I'm glad for you.

Rexburg Trip

We left on Saturday and had a pretty uneventful drive. We only took short stops since everything is still kind of closed, so we arrived by mid-afternoon. Joseph got a second birthday celebration with Hawaiian haystacks and chocolate peanut butter cake. I'll never say no to more cake and ice cream! (Though I prefer those two separate, that's another post on its own.)

Sunday was nice. It was a lot like doing Church at our house, but with more family. They used their Duplo table for the sacrament. :) We relaxed, ate, and played games for the rest of the day.

Monday, I went to book group with Melodie. Even though I hadn't read the book, it was fun to sit in the park and eat pizza. I don't remember the last time I hung out with anyone not related to me. I already knew most of the ladies since I used to be in their ward...like 8 years ago now!

We went to the Lees' for dinner and enjoyed hot dogs and s'mores, eating outside so we could still practice social distancing. (Go away Corona! I miss hugs!)

Tuesday, James and the older kids went up to Victor while the rest of us stayed here. I made bread and dinner: Hawaiian chicken (on the grill). It turned out really good, but everyone was late getting back from Victor and a neighbor stopped by, so it all got cold and we had dinner an hour late. Needless to say, I wasn't happy about that, but I'm over it now.

Wednesday, we got a little treat after lunch and made grilled pizza for dinner. James and I have a pretty good system going. We cranked out 5 pizzas and still got to see most of the movie.

I made bread again today and some peanut butter cookies for tomorrow, Grandpa's favorites. The plan for today is to visit Bear World with Grandma Lee. Tomorrow, we'll go up to the property and kayak.

I've been reading a lot and even had a few naps. I still can't get into exercising, even with a buddy, but I attempted it a few times this week. I'm not sure how things will be when we get home since we've had plenty of things to keep us busy the past few weeks. I really hope we can settle into a routine where can balance fun, work, and pure laziness. Boredom is my enemy right now, though. When left with nothing to do, I feel really negative about my life. We'll get through this. When we do, I'm going to hug everyone.