Party and DnD, First Date, Last Week of School

The kids' friends invited them to a birthday party on Friday, so we skipped Samantha's nap to go. It was really fun. Lewis loved the magic show, and they all got their faces painted and decorated cookies. At dinner, we went to Devin's for smoked pizza and DnD. I took the kids home and got them in bed by 10. They were SO grouchy by then.

Saturday was a big deal. James and I went out to eat in a restaurant!!! We had the place to ourselves, and it was really nice to eat things off nice plates instead of Styrofoam containers. The kids were at Devin's house after a morning of successful yard saling together and a trip to the park. We hosted a small game night. Only 2 people came, so we played 7 Wonders.

We hunted for fossils for FHE on Monday, and I found a really good one. I should probably re-find my enthusiasm for the outdoors, but being pregnant or having to carry a little baby made things difficult for many years. Then there was last year with my surgery, which got me out of the habit of doing much "active" stuff.

Today is the LAST day of school for the kids. James has his last day tomorrow. I bought fun cereals for everyone to eat this morning. I should've just had toast. I'm too old for a big bowl of sugary cereal.

I'm so grateful that the kids had school in person all year long, and with masks. Joseph and Kenny missed quite a few days from 2 different colds and 1 stomach bug, but no one got any serious illnesses.

We leave for Rexburg on Saturday and will be gone for 9 days total. I really hope it's a good trip. Sometimes, our days feel overplanned when we get there, and I never like the driving part. I love my children, but they are not fun travel companions. One of these days, I'm going to take another trip by myself. :)

Oven Probs, Yoga, Appraisal, No More Masks?

The new oven got installed Saturday morning. I thought it smelled a little off, but I read online that there's such a thing as "new oven smell" (which is not pleasant, by the way). I tried to forget about it, but we pulled the oven out and could smell gas, though faintly. I has a small freak-out on Sunday morning, which means we did church at home while I called the gas company. Sure enough, there was a tiny leak where the gas line was connected up to the new oven. Thankfully, it was never anything dangerous, and the guy who came to tighten it said he does that kind of thing all the time. I hate that I was the only one who could really smell it. It made me feel kind of paranoid and like I was overreacting. Maybe I did a little bit, but it's all fixed now, and my house was never in any danger of blowing up.

I went to my first yoga class in 11 months. It was really nice to be back, but I also felt out of place and didn't recognize anyone but the teacher. I won't be able to go every single week due to travel and Young Men meetings, but I'll try. If I keep feeling out of place, I can make a decision by the time my pass runs out.

I found out on Tuesday that the appraiser was coming yesterday at 2:30. Thankfully, I didn't have to work myself too hard to get the house looking nice. I did all the basic things I do over a week, mowed the lawn, and scrubbed some drawings off of walls just in time for him to come an hour early. I think it went well. I'm really glad I spent time both inside and out, even making the kids' beds (which I never do, since bunks are annoying for that) because he took pictures of every room. Hopefully, he will get the report back soon so we can get this loan approved and signed off! I'd love for it to happen by next Friday (before we leave for Rexburg), but that might be overly optimistic.

So, my family and I have been pretty faithful in following the CDC's guidelines. It seems too good to be true that masks are no longer required (except in a few situations) for vaccinated people. I'm not sure how I feel about the last week of school without masks, either. It doesn't really make sense to change things with only a few days left, but when I think back to last summer, I know my kids will be safe. I prayed for what felt like forever to know if sending them back to school was the right thing, and it was. The plague is almost gone from Vernal, too, and I feel happy knowing that I've done everything I can to make that happen.

Now, I need a year to forgive my friends who became antagonistic and/or abandoned all reason in the past year. If you're reading this, it's probably not you. I just can't stand it when social media gets political. I put up with enough whining and complaining from my children. Just sayin'.

Getting Better, New Oven, Marvel

Well, we weren't better by Sunday. I arranged for the other RS teacher to switch with me since we didn't go to church. Somehow, the 3 youngest kids escaped getting sick at all, and James recovered a lot more quickly than the rest of us. The boys missed school all week, though, because this nasty cold has a lot of coughing involved. They've been doing school at home with no problems. We're almost all better now, just a few lingering sniffles.

An appliance repair guy came Monday to see if the oven was fixable. One of the parts would cost $400, so we decided to get a new one instead. I picked one out at Lowe's last night and brought home food for a date. I can't wait for the new one to get installed on Saturday. I'm going to celebrate by baking something. :)

I've been catching up on Marvel movies that I missed from a few years back. I was either pregnant or nursing (and therefore extremely tired), so I'm rewatching the ones I fell asleep during. What surprised me is that there were only 4.

Head Visit, Phone Calls, Projects, a Cold

We had a good time with James's family. Melodie and I watched Women's Conference on Friday as I got my daily chores done. We got pizza that night for dinner.

The kids went swimming the next morning at the hotel. I stayed here with Samantha so I could have some peace and quiet. Sometimes, it's nice to clean the kitchen when it's quiet. After grilled hotdogs for lunch, everyone left to go home. We sat at the new picnic table that James sanded and I stained. It looks pretty nice.

James and I worked on getting our sprinklers set up for the yard. Things were leaking, but the water company assured us that the stop and waste valve just wasn't on all the way. After they adjusted it, there was no more leaking! I was worried that we'd have to get something expensive fixed.

Aside from calling them on Monday, I also had to call the power company to fix a broken box by our house, the dentist to schedule appointments for everyone, and a couple of appliance repair places to see who can fix my oven. (It heats extremely slowly, so it's probably the igniter. The stove needs a new one as well.) I haven't gotten a quote back from one guy yet, so I'll probably have to call tomorrow.

We're working on putting in the new air conditioner in the cabin. So far, it's in place, caulked, and painted inside and out. We'll do the trim tomorrow or Saturday. Yay! That spot of the wall has been a huge eyesore all these months.

I also made a little footstool out of the last of the straight furring strips. It was a bit harder than I expected, but it looks decently good after staining it today.

Somehow, we've made it though despite having a cold. I don't feel terrible, just some sneezing and brain fog. The boys are home from school today, but I think we'll all be okay by Sunday for sure.

I hope our loan gets finished soon for the refinance on the house. It'll be 3 weeks tomorrow, but I know they're really busy. Once it's done, it will be one less thing hanging over my head.