Anna's Visit

Anna arrived Friday afternoon, and we had a wonderful time with her here. We did a little shopping at thrift stores, had delicious food, watched Abbott Elementary, played board games, and went to see Emma: the Musical. All were fun, but I especially loved Emma in musical form. 

Not all of my Saturday was great. It started off with a long wait at Walmart to get a new battery for the van, which cost almost twice as much as a few years ago when we last bought one for the Yukon. Both Katie and Samantha had birthday parties that overlapped, which I didn't realize at first, so it was stressful to arrange drop off and pickup. I stayed with Samantha at hers but regretted it because I didn't know anyone. I didn't feel comfortable leaving her with a bunch of strangers since she's too little for a phone. It was cold and dark at the black light place too. I was so glad to get home.

Anna left on Sunday after lunch. The girls cried. We love our Auntie Anna.

The kids didn't have school Monday, so I met James for lunch at the Thai place. It was delicious even though it took a while to get our food. 

Tuesday was Samantha's first full day of school. She loves it so far. I volunteer on Tuesdays, so my first whole day alone was yesterday. It was kind of weird, but I don't hate it so far. It helps that for my first day, I had a new stash of truffles and some leftover pad Thai.

I got right in to the second round of Head photos starting on Sunday. So far, I consolidated all the digital photos from memory cards, flash drives, CD's, and external hard drives onto the biggest and best external hard drive. Next, I took everything out of folders, some 6 layers deep, and put them into folders by year. I also sorted the physical photos by year and put them in bags. There are only digital photos from 2019 back to 2009, but there are both from 2008-2000 and the just physical photos before that, some going back to the 60's. For each year, I create folders for the months. Then, I delete the duplicates and bad photos, fix dates as needed, and back them up to Google Photos and the other hard drive. Once I get to 2008, I'll also scan the photos that aren't already in digital format. All of those need date adjustments, of course. Everything from 2008 and before will also go on my computer's hard drive. I haven't decided yet if I'll include any from later years. I've already made scrapbooks for 2009 and on, so there isn't a big reason to include photos from later, but there are a few cute ones in there I might download just so they'll pop up on my screensaver. Everything goes into the Head family album too. There are currently over 3,000 pictures in there! I love this project, even though it can be tedious and takes a lot of time. I'm going to make James a really nice Shutterfly book of his life before we got married. I can't wait.

Long Weekend

We didn't have school on Friday or Monday due to the end of the tri and President's Day. James had wanted to go to Salt Lake for a day, but Kenny was still kind of sick on Friday. We instead stayed home and got the rest we needed after getting through that nasty illness. It got a little boring at times, but it was worth it to stay at home. James and I went on several dates: to a movie, to lunch in Roosevelt at a fun diner, and to dinner when I was feeling sad and grumpy. We figured it was still a lot cheaper than taking a trip to Salt Lake with the whole family.

This week has been a lot less busy, and everyone went to school except for today. Katie never ended up getting sick, and I'd promised her a mental health day. I think she's been a little bored, but that's okay. I don't want to encourage her to stay home because it's fun. I've tried to put her to work too.

We've had some snow, rain, and hail over the past few days, but the cows are back, so spring is coming! I can't wait! I'm also excited for Anna's visit, another Monday off (for the kids, though not James), and then full-day school for Samantha starting on Tuesday. I won't miss walking to the bus stop. I'm also getting a ton of photos, both physical and digital, from Anna that I'll be working on for an undetermined amount of time in the coming weeks. I still can't believe how fast this year has gone. I thought I was going to be bored, and that's hilarious to think about now.

More Stomach Bug, Valentine's Day

There's not a whole lot to report about this week except that more of us got sick. To recap, it all started with Katie (maybe?) who complained about her stomach hurting for about 4 days 2 weeks ago. Maybe it's 3 weeks now. I thought it was because she had a mean sub at school. Then, Samantha got sick for a few days, followed by Lewis. We had a Saturday where no one seemed sick, but then Sunday Lewis threw up again and then Joseph came down with it later in the day. Joseph missed Monday this week, then on Tuesday, it was my turn to get sick. Thankfully, it was short-lived, but it was not very fun while it lasted. Kenny started getting sick on Tuesday as well, so he's been home for the past few days. He had attempted going to school but threw up soon after getting there, so I went and picked him up after finding out the van wouldn't start, so I had to take the Yukon. Ugh.

We don't have school tomorrow or Monday, so that's a huge blessing. The bug, though short-lived for me, really wiped me out. I'm feeling normal now except for some lingering fatigue.  I've cleaned up more bodily fluids in the past 2 weeks than I have in years. I could definitely never be a nurse. Only James and Katie escaped without any real symptoms. I really hope they don't come down with it too. I don't think I can handle doing any more laundry.

Despite the sickness, we had a fun Valentine's Day. James got us all goodies, and I made some sugar cookies with pink frosting. The stake primary pres and Sis. Hall both stopped by with goodies when I was lying on the couch feeling terrible. It made my day.

I managed to get a few small things done, like cleaning my keyboard and learning a song I bought a few months ago. I also finished a couple of books and almost finished my pile from Christmas. I'm not going to run out any time soon because I have a whole bunch of recommendations from the book party I went to in January. I also caught up on my blog (mostly). After Anna comes next week, I won't have as much down time because I'll be getting a bunch of pictures to sort through. I'm so excited!

Lewis's 7th Birthday, Stomach Bug

Lewis's birthday was great. He loved his presents, and the cake and ice cream recipes I somewhat invented both came out great. We watched Jurassic World together after dinner. Unfortunately, the fun ended when Samantha threw up in her bed and I found it the next morning. I'd been hoping for some peaceful reading time before everyone woke up. I got it all cleaned up. She felt completely fine all day, so we did Sunday as normal with no one staying home.

Things were fine on Monday too, and we did a playdate, but Samantha threw up that night in her bed again. I'd told Katie I would deep clean the room, and I did, but the number of biohazards was more than I expected. Yuck. I hate being a nurse.

Samantha stayed home Tuesday and Wednesday and finally went to school today. I've not slept well because our blanket is too warm and I've been stressed. This morning, the boys informed me that Lewis threw up several times during the night and their lightbulb burned out. James graciously got the laundry into the wash while I made breakfast. Lewis is starting to perk up a bit. I hope the saltines and Gatorade stay down. I canceled everything I had for this week, and I'm going to have James take Lewis to his well check (ha). The number of times a kid has gotten sick right before a well check is crazy.

I'm glad I'm not working on anything big this week. It's been rough. I had some time to read and blog, but the extra laundry, sanitizing, etc. is stressing me out. Even though this winter has been warm and dry (relatively), I'm still ready for it to be over so we can be completely healthy. We have been pretty lucky this year, but I'm still not enjoying this week.

Science Fair and Bowl, KitchenAid, Sewing

The science fair went well for Joseph and Kenny on Thursday. We'd had an awful morning on Wednesday, but Thursday was completely different and went very smoothly. I went to the awards ceremony in the afternoon, and Joseph won a community prize!

Friday, Joseph left in the afternoon for the science bowl in SLC. They did all right, but it's a pretty new competition, so they didn't really know what they were up against. We had a game night, but I didn't love it. One guy brought his child, so that meant my children stayed up till 10 to play. Everyone was super grouchy the next morning too.

Kenny and I took the KitchenAid apart on Saturday morning. We couldn't find what was wrong with it, which is what I figured, but it was nice to see that the insides were truly shot. Actually, the gears were fine, but everything was covered in thick, black grease and dust. The grease starts off white, from what I understand. Either way, I went online and ordered a new (refurbished) one that happened to be on sale. It should arrive soon.

I finished 2 T-shirt quilts this week, one for Katie and one for Kenny. All I have left are a few scraps and repairs, which shouldn't take too long. I'll have more photos (both physical and digital) at the end of February when Anna comes to visit. My laminator came, so I can also work on updating my recipe cards and blog. It's been way too long since I even posted a recipe.

I'm currently making Almond Joy ice cream for Lewis's birthday tomorrow. I can't believe that kid is going to be 7.

Samantha and I finally got to do some play dates this week! School is going to change things, but she really wants to go full day. That will give me a chance to work on those photos all day if I want, uninterrupted. I won't deny that it's going to be lonely, though.