Heads Visit, Doctor

James's family arrived last Thursday very late, so we didn't see them till Friday. This time, it was his mom and dad, Joseph, Angie, and Anna, who arrived later since she was driving from Ogden. They wore masks while in our house even though all the adults are vaccinated (except for me since I don't qualify yet).

We had a great day on Friday just hanging out, eating pizza, and playing games. My brother Christian gave us a new game called Villainous, and we love it so far.

Saturday, a group went exploring in the morning and got back in time for lunch. Melodie, Anna, Katie, and I went shopping during the afternoon, but I didn't find anything good this time. It was still fun to browse. After dinner, another group went ice skating. (Not me. I'm terrible.)

Sunday, everyone left really early except for Anna, who stayed till after lunch. We did church at home this time. Last week in person was more of a trial than we'd remembered. I can't say for sure what we'll do next time, but at least I know my kids all have church clothes and shoes that fit.

I had a doctor's appointment that ended up being for nothing. I had just needed a refill, but the receptionist asked me to come in since it had been 2 1/2 years. Dr. B. apologized and said I didn't really need to come back until I turned 40 since I don't have any health problems. I guess that's not a bad thing to hear! I just hope the pandemic is over by them time I get that old.

Anna's Visit, Oldies

We had a great time with Anna. She got here last Thursday night right before the kids were going to go to bed. Friday, James had school, but we had a great, 3-day weekend as soon as he was home.

We got heart-shaped pizza for lunch on Saturday, and I replaced Anna's headlight as soon as they got back from the store with the right one. I also attempted macarons for the first time. The vanilla ones turned out pretty good, but the chocolate ones didn't look so pretty. I know what I did wrong, though! They are a bit finicky, but not as bad as I thought. Since I'm not going to be selling them, they don't HAVE to look perfect. Honestly, I'm just not good at getting them to all be the same size! They don't taste exactly as I expected, but I do like them. I'm thinking that a vanilla/ganache combo will be just perfect for next time.

I finally stopped chickening out and went to deliver goodies to my ministering sisters. I'd been praying to know when to go, and I felt that after dinner was a good time. Everyone was home! I had never met the one lady who lives down the street from me, but she was super nice. In the short conversation I had with her on the doorstep, I learned that we have a lot in common.

Sunday, we actually went to church in person. It was a huge struggle to get everyone ready in time, but we were miraculously early. James ended up taking Samantha out for at least half of the meeting, but she kept her mask on for most of it. I taught Relief Society on Zoom.

Monday, James went with Anna and the 3 older kids to the sledding hill. It's new to Vernal this year, and they even pull you back up the hill. I wish I could've gone. I stay home with the little kids all the time anyway, so I felt kind of resentful since everyone obviously had a great time while I was cleaning up messes and breaking up fights.

I've been listening to my old Spotify playlists, and it's been interesting. My parents love 70's and 80's music, so I know quite a bit of it. Listening to those decades makes me think of them. My county is no longer in an outbreak, so I hope the rest of the country will follow suit, even though I personally can't get the vaccine for a while. I really want to travel to see them in the summer, and I don't really want to drive.

I took Joseph and Lewis in to the doctor yesterday. Joseph needed a wart on his foot frozen off and Lewis a well check. Lewis finally weighs 30 lbs! His percentiles have also gone up to 7 and 10% for weight and height.

James and I had a date in the cabin with Taco Bell and a new game that Christian sent me. It's called Villainous (based on Disney villains), and it's really fun! I like board games a lot more than I used to simply because I have the brain power for it now. When I was pregnant and/or nursing, it was just too hard to guarantee uninterrupted time.

Baby Shower, Outbreak, Starting Again

My sister Mara had a baby shower on Saturday, so I attended via Zoom. It was really fun to participate in the games. I even made my own cupcakes with pink sprinkles to feel like I was part of the party. Her baby is due in less than a month now! I'm so excited to be an auntie again.

Due to the outbreak in Katie's class, I spent the whole weekend feeling really stressed and grouchy. Thankfully, she tested negative on Monday morning and happily went to school afterward. Everyone has been perfectly healthy, which is great. Anna's coming to visit for the long weekend! I'm so glad I listened to the prompting to go to the zoo 2 weekends ago. If we'd planned it for last weekend, we would've had to cancel.

We plan on going to church this Sunday. Our FHE was spent gathering clothes and shoes to make sure everyone has things that fit. Surprisingly, we only had to buy a shirt for Lewis. I'll also have to take his pants in a bit since he's so skinny, but that's a 5-minute job. I'll be teaching Relief Society on Sunday again. The lesson has been harder to prepare than the last one, and I'm not sure why.

I'm also starting to exercise again for the first time since...I don't even know. The last time I really had the habit was probably in May of last year. Once school was out for the summer, I felt completely burned out and then had surgery in July. Maybe I can stick to it this time. It's so hard to start over.

Salt-Lake-Cation, School Outbreaks, Curd

We had a wonderful trip to Salt Lake last weekend. The getting ready part was definitely stressful, but I didn't forget anything! We had no problems on our drive and didn't even have to stop on the way - a miracle. Samantha threw up right as we arrived, but we got her cleaned up and she was perfectly fine the rest of the trip. She gets carsick sometimes, but Kenny had no problems, thanks to anti-nausea meds. Our first stop was at Cabela's to look around at the animals. It was a huge hit with the kids, even though only the fish are alive. After getting dinner at Chick-fil-a, we checked in to our Air BnB and enjoyed some time in the hot tub. James and I hung out the rest of the evening and watched TV.

The next morning, we ate breakfast and spent more time in the hot tub. We then went to the zoo. Everyone had fun and kept their masks on. Since it was a random weekend in January and the zoo requires staggered entry and prepaying, it wasn't crowded at all. Samantha struggled a little to keep her mask on after an hour, but it was easy to stay 6+ feet away from other groups. We got a lot of good pictures and saw all the animals but one, I think. Basically, it was a great success. We went home after lunch and spent the rest of the day resting. No one got quite enough sleep the night before, so bedtime was especially welcome on Saturday night. I'm really glad we took the trip when we did.

The high school technically had an outbreak last week (more than 15 cases in the school). They shut down school for Wednesday and Thursday and required all students to get tested before coming back. I just got a call last night from Katie's principal saying that Katie's class has an outbreak (3 students), so Katie is home today and will have to get tested before going back on Monday. All the kids at school wear masks, and she said she doesn't sit near the kids who were quarantined. I'm crossing my fingers, but I'm 99% sure that she doesn't have it.

I made lemon curd for the first time yesterday since I had some random lemons and leftover egg yolks from making Lewis's birthday cake. This morning, we put it on pancakes with Nutella, and it was divine. I want to try it on waffles next! It's just one of those small things that's keeping me sane right now. I bet it won't be the last thing I make that's inspired by the Great British Baking Show.