Break, DnD, Dinner, Nash, Picnic Table

Saturday morning, James took a load of stuff to the dump and took all the kids to give me a break. It's been a while since they did that for me, and I loved it. I read a book and got some cooking done without any little kids fighting next to me.

DnD was really long on Saturday night. By 11, I was ready to go bed, but Devin (the DM) kept going till 12:30. Somehow, James and I got everyone ready in time for church in person. It was a miracle! Samantha kept her mask on the whole time but was really loud during the Sacrament. Oops. She's out of practice. Next Sunday, we start going for almost 2 hours again. I'm really excited to teach my next RS lesson in person.

We ate dinner with the Boyles on Sunday night. It was really nice. The smoked brisket (bought by us, cooked by Devin) turned out amazing, and we had a good time.

Nash stopped by on Monday on his way back to NC. We had planned to meet up a few weeks ago, but it didn't work out. We had a really good visit and lunch. He even brought me some Marmite to taste. I think it's yummy on buttered toast.

James surprised me with a picnic table! We'd been looking at them a month ago but didn't get one till yesterday. James sanded it down after our date, and I spent 3 hours staining it. It made for a stressful morning, but it's done now. I can't wait to put it on the patio when it's dry.

Meh, Sucesses, Vax, Refi

A lot of last week felt like a big slump. I can't even remember why, but it seems like a lot of small things were either especially annoying or just didn't work out. It extended into this week as well, but things got better starting on Tuesday. Sunday was the worst because Lewis threw up, and I assumed that everyone else would get sick too. That didn't happen, but Katie and I both freaked out for a while on Sunday night. Her class is hatching baby chicks at school, and she was sure she was going to get sick and miss it.

We had a lot going on this week, but it worked out pretty well. I managed to get all the picky little things done on my list, like fixing Katie's bike, changing the oil in the lawnmower, and cleaning out the shed. I also finished my sewing projects  (like turning the queen memory quilt into a king) and put my machines away for awhile. I like to do sewing projects in chunks, and it seems like a good time to take a break since I'm out of fabric and want to focus on cooking right now.

Two days from now, I will be considered fully vaccinated. I don't know what I'm going to do differently. I'll probably still be at home most of the time and wear a mask in public places till the pandemic is actually over (whatever that means).

We started an application to refinance our house (so we can pay off the mortgage sooner). I'm really happy about that. Hopefully, the process won't take too long. The actual application process was terrible because I had to hunt down a whole bunch of documents, but I got through it. I like that everything is through email. I hate talking to people on the phone. :)

Shot, Food Storage Bed, Other Projects

I got my second shot Friday morning, and I felt fine for about 3 hours. That gave me enough time to put away all the groceries, fold the laundry, and eat lunch before I crashed. I was really tired and my arm hurt for the rest of the day. Saturday was less intense, but I ended up taking a few doses of ibuprofen to help get me through. By Sunday morning, I felt completely normal. April 24th, I'll be fully vaccinated. (Yay!)

Saturday, James bought a new mattress and bedding set. We upgraded to a king size hybrid (springs and memory foam) since memory foam on its own is too soft. I took apart the old bed, cleaned the room, and washed the new bedding. Too bad the food storage didn't arrive till Monday. We had to stick the mattress directly on the floor. That's okay, though because it gave me time to rest. I finished putting the bed together on Monday with a layer of food storage, the bed skirt, and then everything else. It looks nice and is pretty comfortable so far.

I'm almost finished with the fabric I got for Christmas. I have everything cut out for about 15 small projects. Then, I'm going to make my memory quilt bigger (which is easy since it's rag style) so it fits on the king bed. I've determined that I need to simplify my collection of patterns, but I'll wait to do that when I'm done with all the little projects. I don't like sewing doll stuff quite as much as I used to, and I've determined that I don't ever want to sew lots of human clothes outside of pajama pants. It just doesn't make sense to stress out about making complicated things that aren't cheaper and might not fit.

James got the regular tires put on the car yesterday. Both cars need some maintenance stuff since they're old, especially since we plan on driving to NC later this year. I hate having to set all that up, but it'll be nice (and reassuring) when it's done.

Spring Break, Rexburg

We had a really good time in Rexburg. The kids and James finished up school on Friday before we left at 1:15. We made pretty good time and got there by 8:30, but no one went to bed early. Being in the car with all the kids is tough. Samantha got carsick and threw up, so that was no fun either.

Saturday, we watched Conference, dyed eggs, and did an egg hunt. Everyone had a lot of fun, and the kids got to see their cousins for the first time since July (the last time we went there).

Sunday, we watched Conference again and had a delicious Easter dinner. Afterward, we went to the Lees' for dessert: strawberry shortcake. It was a little cold outside, but it was really nice to hang out.

Monday, we visited the Head grandparents in Victor and ate lunch. It was too cold to go kayaking or plant trees. We celebrated Kenny's 9th birthday when we got back. I made molten lava cakes and he opened presents, which included more Minecraft Legos, of course.

I had a busy day Tuesday thanks to laundry, bills, and shopping for my grocery pickup order. My brother Lars and his girlfriend Emily came over to shoot the BB guns in the yard. I made some hot chocolate while everyone else played airsoft (not my thing). It was really great to meet Emily. Both Lars and Emily leave for missions in May. James and I went to Sam and Jesse's house for a delicious, Middle Eastern dinner and a grand tour (in person). It was really fun to hang out while all the kids were at Grandma and Grandpa's house.

Wednesday, I went shopping with Melodie, Anna, and Jesse. We went to D.I., Goodwill, and Big Deal, a salvage store. I got treasure at all of them with some birthday money to spare. We met Grandma Lee for lunch at Jaker's. I loved my Thai noodle salad. Meanwhile, the kids all went to play at Sam and Jesse's house with their cousins. We celebrated Anna's graduation with a steak dinner and coconut cake that I made. (So yummy!) Aunt Ruth and Uncle Corey came over as well.

We arrived safely home (with no throwing up thanks to medication) at 4:30 yesterday. One stop at the Hill Aerospace Museum didn't take up too much time, thankfully, and the kids really enjoyed it. It was stressful to unpack, but watching some of Anna's graduation and then TV helped me feel a bit more calm.

Our trip was made possible by vaccines. Almost all the adults are fully vaccinated, and those who aren't have had at least 1 shot. I get my second one today! I'm glad I woke up early so I could plan my Relief Society lesson and catch up on this blog. I have a lot to do around the house, but I'm sure I'll get it done eventually. :)

DnD, New Recipes, Sewing

We finished our Star Wars marathon on Friday. Saturday, we ran some errands and got sushi and Chinese for my official birthday meal. (It's my tradition to get sushi since it's expensive.)

James and I have started playing DnD with a couple of teacher friends. He even bought me a set of dice. I guess I can't officially get any any nerdier?  I don't know; I think I've said that before...

I got two amazing things for my birthday that will help me try new recipes. One is a sous vide stick, and the other is a poster called "100 Heavenly Dishes in the World". So far, we've cooked steak sous vide and loved it. Today, we're trying tuna steaks. I scratched off the dishes I've tried so far, and I have 49 left to go. I've already several planned in the upcoming weeks and will need to buy about 12 ingredients on Amazon that I can't find here. Almost everything on the list looks heavenly, and I'm so excited to travel the world through delicious food.

I've been cutting out lots of fabric this week. I really like to have a bunch of projects ready to go in page protectors. Then, it's easy to pull one out when I have a spare hour. I have only 1 piece of cloth left from Christmas, and I'm not sure what I'll do with it.

Spring break starts tomorrow! We are so excited to travel to Rexburg to see family. We haven't been since July, but everyone has been very cautious and all of the adults have been at least partially vaccinated. I really hope things work in our favor for a tentative NC trip in July/August. So far, none of my family members are fully vaccinated. It's just harder to get appointments when you live in a more populated area. I can't wait for this stupid pandemic to be over.