Pioneer Day, Adventures, Slower Pace

Friday, we celebrated Pioneer Day with fireworks and the new Jim Gaffigan special. Samantha hated the noisy ones but was fascinated by the lights.

Saturday, we had a pretty good day working in the yard together. I've actually really missed mowing the lawn, but James did that while we all cleaned up and swept everything. I really like our backyard. It's fun, so the neighbor kids love coming over. We are the only house with a pirate ship and giant sandbox. That night, we walked on the nature trail near our house and got some food.

Monday, we went to the Ouray Wildlife Refuge and Pelican Lake to look around and take pictures. We didn't see a ton of wildlife, but the kids had a really good time getting in the water in just their underwear.

Tuesday, James and I got lunch and went shooting for a date. It was a lot of fun, especially because we shot lots of different types of guns (rifle, shotgun, handgun). My favorite is still my "cowboy gun". It's really easy to load, and I'm a pretty good shot with it.

We were supposed to leave for NC yesterday. Instead, my parents contacted me about coming to visit us in August! That's not too far away, and it will be before school starts, which will be the most risky thing we do this year. Having 2 people come here will be a lot safer than the 7 of us going cross-country and then being in the same house as 13 other people (20 people with only 2 bathrooms is tricky, too). I'm excited for them to visit, but I feel guilty too. I don't think I'll ever quit feeling guilty until the pandemic is over.

There are things I've enjoyed about this summer. Thanks to the pandemic and James not working (since he doesn't need to), I can sleep when I want. My natural bedtime gravitates toward 11 when I'm given the choice, and I sleep until 7-7:30ish. Going back to school will require a shift from all of us, and it's going to kick our butts at first. Having a slower summer has been nice for my recovery from surgery too. Being able to lift up to 20 lbs. is a nice change, but I can't wait till I can lift my toddlers again. Hugs aren't the same when they have to climb to me.

Rexburg, Changing Plans, Masks

We had a good time in Rexburg. I still needed to recover, so I spent a lot of time on the couch resting.

Thursday, we hung out with Sam and Jesse and their kids. It had been a year, so it was really great to see them again. They came over every day we were there. They just bought a house in Rexburg, and I'm so excited for them! Sam is now a professor at BYU-I.

Friday, everyone went up to the property in Victor to go kayaking. I stayed home and drove with Anna to eat dinner with the grandparents in their yard.

Saturday, I participated in a Schillemat cousins Zoom chat. We did a date with Kenneth and Myra and Sam and Jesse. We got froyo from Millhollow and hung out in camp chairs at Smith Park. We talked till 10:30 before finally going home.

Sunday was peaceful and relaxing. I even played the piano for Primary. I really don't mind doing church at home, even though it's not the same. 

We traveled home on Monday and unpacked everything. Tuesday was my catchup day.

I had a doctor's appointment (followup) on Wednesday, and it went well. I feel 95% back to normal, finally. It really took 2 weeks before I could say that. I can't lift more than 20 lbs. for the next 4 weeks, but I think I'll be okay.

We were all set to travel to NC in a few weeks, but we decided against it. After talking to my parents on Sunday, I felt especially uneasy about it. The pandemic hasn't slowed down at all liked we'd hoped it would by now. After more prayer and some tears, we decided to postpone the trip until the pandemic is over. It was a tough decision, but it was the right one. I know I'm going to feel especially sad in a week on the day we were supposed to leave.

Since the kids will need masks when school starts, I've started sewing some for them. I have enough supplies to make 2 for each person in the family, and my mom is sending me more. My goal is to have 2 for Lewis, maybe Samantha, and me, and 6 for everyone else since they'll all be at school. That's 30 masks, but I already have 11 done. Last week, I thought I'd never feel well enough to do any sewing. I'm glad I was wrong.

Please go away, corona. You're really throwing off my groove.

Recovery, Rexburg

It's been a week now since I had surgery. The grandparents took the older 3 kids with them to Rexburg so I could recover a bit better. It did help cut down on the noise and mess, but Lewis and Samantha started fighting with each other after a few days due to boredom. We relied on fast food a few times since I'm not back to 100% yet. I want to remember what this is like in case I go through something like it again. The hardest thing is not being able to lift anything. Samantha gets offended when I don't pick her up, and it makes me feel like a terrible mom. How recovery has been:

Days 1-3, I took ibuprofen for the pain. I had to be careful when I switched positions, especially while sleeping, because the incision hurt. By day 3, I started experiencing some weird side effects from the anti-nausea patch, so I removed it a day early. I had an extremely dry mouth and blurred vision up close. As long as I took my glasses off, I could still read. Thank goodness for Google, or I would have been really worried about what was happening. I also had some pretty bad heartburn, which I'm guessing was from the ibuprofen. It went away when I stopped taking the pain meds.

Days 4-7, my main complaint has been fatigue and lightheadedness. Thankfully, there is no more pain, just slight itching, and I can sleep however I want. My vision seems to be back to normal, but the lightheadedness makes me feel like I'm wearing a slightly wrong glasses prescription. I've had no nausea at all, but at this point, I wonder if it would have been better than dealing with the withdrawals from the patch. Seriously, I hate the slightly dizzy feeling. Otherwise, I feel fine. I didn't even get sick on the drive to Rexburg.

We left yesterday from Vernal and stopped by Mara and Ricky's for pizza and ice cream for Ricky's birthday. It was great to see them at that house one more time. We then picked up a range for Sam and made it to Rexburg around 6.

The school district released a plan for the kids to go back to school. I feel pretty good about sending them, but of course I worry. I did the numbers for our area, and the infection rate is really low, just a fraction of the nation's overall average. That made me feel a little better. As we were driving yesterday, I had a feeling that the NC trip will work out just fine, but I'm still so nervous about it. I want to do what's best for my family, so driving does mean less risk than flying. I'm just not excited about how long and exhausting it will be when I still don't feel normal. I want to feel 100% right now, but I need to have patience. It's only been a week.

In my mind, if we can make it to August 31st (Samantha's 2nd birthday), we are going to make it through this year just fine. I just wish I could go back to planning things ahead and not worrying that they'd get cancelled. The anxiety I get about travelling has been kicked into overdrive. I never had any intention of making a cross country trip, but here we are, getting ready to leave in less than 2 weeks now. If there's anything I've learned from my surgery recovery, it's to just focus on what's right ahead of me. When I try to look all around, I get a little dizzy. 

11th Anniversary, Surgery

We had a really good 11th anniversary, but it didn't end up exactly as planned. Well, it was already Plan C anyway thanks to pandemic. We ate some smoked pork that James's friend killed, butchered, and cooked. It was delicious, but that meant we were too full for Chinese takeout. We then went to see Lord of the Rings: the Two Towers and realized about halfway through that it was the extended version! I really enjoyed it, even though it was 3 hours and 45 minutes long.

We did our first FHE with Cherissa and Tayson in a while. It was really great to see them.

James finally passed his kidney stone on Tuesday!!!

We went on a little hike yesterday (the Dry Fork Flume trail) to keep my mind off of surgery.

James's parents and Anna and Jacob arrived yesterday afternoon. James took me to the hospital this morning for surgery. I had a terrible night of sleep, and I'm still tired, but I was home by 10 A.M. I feel a bit sore and tired, but not bad. Everyone else is doing the cooking, cleaning, and laundry today, for which I am very grateful. In 6 weeks, I will be fully recovered in time for school to start, but I'll feel pretty normal within a few days. Life is good, and I no longer have a hernia!

Kidney Stone, Friends

It's been a difficult few days for James. I took him in to the ER on Tuesday for kidney stone pain. He's all too familiar with it since he gets one every few years. Naturally, I was worried sick while he was there, but they ended up sending him home after about 2 hours. He looked really pale but started feeling a bit better later on in the day. The stupid thing still hasn't come out, but the most painful part is over, thankfully. I just hope it's over by tomorrow since it will be our 11th anniversary. I'd really rather not cancel it! It's the first date we've planned in 3 months that takes us outside our house.

Also on Tuesday, I had a strong feeling that I needed to bake bread and take a loaf to my friend Claire. I'd had a dream that she moved away, and I didn't get to say goodbye. With this stupid pandemic, it's not so far fetched. One of my other friends really did move away, and I didn't get to see her before then. Claire and I just talked for about 45 minutes, and it was wonderful. I know that my feelings about everything this year are not unique to me, but it was so nice to talk to someone about them in person. We were both tearing up by the end of the conversation.

I have 1 week until my surgery. Getting tested for Covid-19 was pretty unpleasant, but I have no reason to believe that it'll be positive. Hopefully, I'll get the result soon so I can quit worrying and James can pass this stone so we can have a fun weekend. It's already different than planned since we were supposed to go to Idaho.

Ugh. 2020 really sucks.