Week 45 Pie Party

This week started out with Stake Conference. It was a regional conference from Canada to St Louis, Missouri and discussed ministering, Sabbath day holy, and following the prophet. The meeting was only an hour and a half. Our Stake President spoke at the beginning about how God hears and answers prayers He shared an example of how that happened for him when he was a young man.

Underfoot continues to meet his responsibility to attend Cub Committee meetings for his Den Chief responsibility. He made a commitment to help with Scouting for Food. He volunteered to bring a box to church to gather food for those neighborhoods who don't get sacks on their doors. He posted the note on the church Facebook page for our ward and is hoping that people will bring food on Sunday.

Since I have had my concussion in March and the root canal in October, I have been struggling with tinnitis. I went and saw the ENT to check and see if something else is going on. They tested my hearing and pressure in my ears. The result is that it will take a few months for the ringing to go away and learned I had near perfect hearing only a slight loss in my right ear. I also returned to the endodontist because of pain in my jaw. He placed me on a steroid and said that it will be time for the muscles to relax in my jaw.

Weekday practices have started at the school for Battle of the Books. Our first meeting was getting to know other teammates and learning the titles of the books. The children laughed and learned.

Hurricane had Pack Meeting this week. He was awarded three belt loops.

His den was in charge of a skit. During the middle of the Pack meeting their den left and planned the skit with the help of a Den Chief a.k.a. Underfoot. The skit turned out really cute about sucking the venom out at snake bite.

Our Pie Party preparations went into full swing on Thursday afternoon after getting the house organized and clean. We started making pies that evening. Sweetheart has a new toy called a sous vide. He made individual pots of New York cheesecake at night. I left for the book club to discuss "The Mountain Between Us" by Charles Martin while Sweetheart finished making a few pies.

On Friday the bulk of the pies were made.

We made some new ones this year. One is called Double Chocolate Pie - a chocolate truffle pie.

On Saturday Hurricane participated in Scouting for Food by placing the bags on doors. We finished with the last three pies. A few last minute details needed to be taken care of for the Pie Party of purchasing fresh berries and fresh vegetables. We had everything ready early and decided to take a nap before a party this year. It is a first time. This year I took time and got completely ready.

The Pie Party brought lots of fun people.

They are always amazed about the different pies out. Sweetheart's favorite dish brought was chicken strips.

We are great great book for the kitchen help that came to help us set up and clean up.

*****

 Harvest Cobb Salad

 Pumpkins from Our Garden

 Chocolate and Cherry Pie - Black Forest Pie

Cookie Pie

 Cookie Pie - Caramel and Chocolate Decorated

 No Bake Oreo Pie

 Key Lime Slab

 Pavlova Trifle

 Group Shot

 Sous Vide Items - 

New York Cheesecake (top left)

Chocolate de Creme Pots (bottom right)

Week 44 - Halloween

On Monday I went to celebrate Lisa Miller's birthday in Colorado Springs. We had a wonderful birthday lunch and were able to reconnect. I learned that one of Lisa's college roommates lived in my neighborhood. I took her with me to Lisa's lunch as a surprise.
Our chiropractic office changed insurances and no longer carries our insurance. I found a new chiropractor and went to visit him for the first time this week. It was good to be readjusted.

Hurricane took the cookies in from last week's fiasco. He brought cookies for his class each an individual bags. He was so happy that he could share his cookies.

On Tuesday the root canal is finished that happened almost a month ago. There was still infection in the lining of my mouth. It was cleaned out completely and patched with a filling. Now hopefully recovery will happen, and I can move forward with life.

Sweetheart wants to make our home as efficient as possible. Our electrical company will come do an energy audit on our home to tell us where we need to improve to have the best efficiency. The auditor who came said that the one thing he could do is to add some caulk around the window panels that are loose and to add insulation in our basement on the ceiling. Beyond that he has done most everything that he could.

Sweetheart helped the boys make Viking helmets. They decided they wanted to be the Awkward Avoidance Vikings for Halloween. They had a lot of fun creating their helmets.

I volunteered to be Hurricane's room parent. A Halloween party was planned for the entire grade. We had a treat room with veggies, apples, and homemade caramel, the game room with bingo using candy corn's as the placeholders on the bingo cards, and to wrap the mummy room.

I made the carmel the night before putting it into Dixie cups because I couldn't find the condiment cups with lids. The party turned out to be fun.

Since Underfoot is in middle school now, there is no class party. In place of the party, I bought donuts for his class. There is a donut shop here in that does gluten-free and dairy free donuts. That was a lifesaver since there are students who need gluten-free and dairy free.

For Halloween, I wasn't feeling well to take the boys around trick-or-treating since it was 20° outside and my mouth was still hurting from the root canal the previous day.

Sweetheart took the boys around and I made for him a birthday pie. He had found a recipe for pots de creme to be cooked in a sous vide. When they arrived home, the pie was almost done. It was quite the birthday surprise.

We didn't eat the cake/pie until the next morning for breakfast

Sweetheart for his birthday wanted a sous vide cooking bin. The bin arrived on his birthday and he was so excited to make something in it.

I have a small obsession with Trader Joe's advent calendars. I have called three times that week to see if their advent calendars were out. After visiting the temple, I went to Trader Joe's and bought lunch. I also bought peppermint Jojo's which are a favorite around here.

Saturday was the beginning of our Pie Party preparations. Sweetheart organized and clean the garage. We even bleach the floor to get the spilled grape juice off the concrete that had stain the floor. We cleaned in the house and created our plan for the next week.

Earlier that morning the men went to move chairs for the stake conference the next day. After the stake conference they helped one family moved to a new house and then help to move the dining room table to another house. They provided a lot of service that day that morning.

*****

 Candy Haul

Dia de Los Muertos Suspenders from Aunt Jill

 Dia de Los Muertos Marshmallow

 Hurricane had a reaction at the allergist.

Snowy Morning

 

 Awkward Avoidance Viking

 Awkward Avoidance Viking

Week 43 Party, Pumpkins, and Pancakes

Underfoot has a really wonderful friend. Each year he hosts a Halloween party with the help of his Grandma for his cousins. This year our family was invited to join. We spent the afternoon getting to know their family better. The friend created a murder mystery with the children to solve. The adults all play different roles and his family to help with the games and the mystery role-play. They all had a lot of fun.

We continued in our self-reliance class for personal-finance. It has created good conversation between us as a couple and help us make choices for the future. We have a united goal on acquiring the new air conditioning unit in the spring.

The mouth pustule began to swell again where the root canal had taken place. I went and saw the dentist, and he put me on an aerobic and anaerobic antibiotic for seven days. The hope is that by taking the stronger antibiotics it will take care of the infection. Next week I return to complete the root canal.

Hurricane's class have been studying about pumpkins and apples. They had to pick one and write an essay on it. Hurricane chose pumpkins. Part of their assignment was to bring in a treat that used pumpkin or apple.One of Hurricane's favorite cookies is pumpkin ginger snap cookies. We made a huge batch of the dough and made the cookies through the week. He was so excited to take his cookies in. At the end of the treat sharing time, he noticed his cookies weren't out, and no one got to take his cookies. He came home and was so sad about it. We problem solved it by individually packing two cookies in cookie bags so he could take cookies on Monday. We hope this will solve his angst.

Hurricane will be getting a headgear for moving his upper jaw. His lower jaw is growing faster than his upper jaw. One year ago he had braces put on so his front teeth would not break since the teeth lined up perfectly with his bottom teeth. The real issue was jaw growth. He will begin the process in December.

I have completed my continuing education credits for this year. I attended a two day conference about trauma. I learned a lot of things about therapies, causes, brain changes, and general ideas on how to treat trauma. The information will benefit our family a lot. This is the first time in 10 years that I have completed my complete continuing education credits before the last week of January.

Sweetheart and Underfoot went on the camp out and service project. They went to a cabin in Fairplay, Colorado. Underfoot attempted to sleep outside in the teen degrees but didn't make it through the whole night. The next morning they gathered, cut, and stacked wood 3 feet wide to 6 feet tall. They came home tired. Hurricane and I went on a date to IHOP. It is Hurricane's favorite restaurant because they serve pancakes.

 Before Bed

Week 17 - Cement and Bread

Our Spanish class from church met for yummy food. We had a lot of fun talking in Spanish, and boys enjoyed playing with the other children. It was a lovely day, and supper was outside.

Since Underfoot had a tooth pulled a few weeks ago, it revealed a cavity in between the teeth. He went before school and had his filling done. The advantages of still losing your teeth at the appropriate age are getting your other fillings done.The same afternoon as a dentist appointment Underfoot had his well-child visit. He had to have some immunization boosters done.  One of the shots had a vile connected to it. When the nurse went to give him the shot, the vial seal didn't break. She put the shot in so hard it shocked Underfoot..  The shot had to be re-administered and the second time it worked. Unfortunately the force of the shot cost him to have tears. He is a healthy boy.

I had my follow-up lab for cortisol levels with the endocrinologist. The results came back saying that my levels are within the normal ranges. We are still in the discovery process to understand what is going on with my body.

Underfoot participated in his charter school's after school orchestra. Being part of the orchestra has been a great joy for him. He played with the middle school orchestra in a concert. He was more excited to see his friend that evening.

I baked a couple dozen loaves of bread do you think the people that helped us with taking out the grass the previous weekend.

Baking has always been a great relief for me.

Our stake for church held at temple consecration day where we were invited to spend as much time as possible in the temple.

The schools teacher's decided to rally that day at the state capital for better pay. My boys were home, and arrangements were made for them to go play at a friend's house so I could attend the temple during the day. Sweetheart went in the evening.

Since I've been back on the concussion protocol, Sweetheart has been helping me with my text and email messages. I've been able to listen to some good books while my brain heals.

Underfoot has been working on the physical fitness requirements for his Tenderfoot rank. He completed the 30 days after his first test. Gratefully he improved in each area. The running was the most difficult for him. When he went to retest, his brother wanted to do it with him and had a lot of fun.

Hurricane is doing a school project called the Wax Museum. He has to identify a person to write a report about and then present them to his school. He chose a heart surgeon who helped develop the original heart-lung machine. We went to the thrift store to get scrubs for him to wear a costume. He requested that we find a real heart to be part of his presentation.

Sweetheart took out the cement for our front step on Saturday. He rented a jackhammer so we could save some money with the contract required to lay the cement.

This took him most of the day. He loaded the trailer (which we are grateful we have) and haul the cement to the dump. At the dump there was quite the line to to enter. The dump closed at 1:30 PM, and Sweetheart had arrived at 12:40 PM.

The dumps policy is that for every 10 minutes over it is a $50 fine. Sweetheart saw that he wasn't going to be able to get into the dump and complete the process because the line was so long. He worked it out with the attendant to call her supervisor and get a waiver for all the people in line.

She was grateful for his help as he went and told the other drivers in line so the line could move forward. He ended up dumping about 2 tons of cement. He was incredibly sore at the end of the day.

Hurricane was able to play in his first soccer game for the spring season. After having his ankle hurt at school he was benched from playing soccer. He played his game and hobbled off the field because it was not completely healed yet. He said he had a lot of fun.

*****

 Tulip in Backyard

 Snow in Tree

 Mayan Chess Board

 Flowers from Sweetheart

 Tulip Potential

Fire Safety

Week 16 - MRI

We were invited to a family's home for supper. They told stories as we listened to stories and laughed. The boys played with their zip line, toys, and the other children for the evening.  I left early to attend my self reliance class.
The three men in our family continue to get their weekly allergy shots. The shots are more difficult for Hurricane than they are for Underfoot. We hope that they will make a difference.

Sweetheart continues to see the chiropractor for the car accident. The hope is he will be released from care soon. He is getting regular adjustments and a bimonthly massage. He is improving and isn't as sore as he once was.

We had a private tryout piano lesson with a new teacher and hoped to have started with her this coming summer. After the lesson, we made arrangements for us to begin with the teacher. Two days later the teacher came back and said that she felt she couldn't in good conscience put our boys at the beginning of her wait list. She has a wait list of about 2 1/2 years. I appreciated her honesty for being true to her principles.

In honor of Columbine, there was no school on April 20. We signed Underfoot up for a middle school orientation class. He attended the in the day, and he was really excited to begin middle school in the fall.

Lunch Date

While he was in his class, Hurricane and I went to see my PCP since the headaches hadn't gone away for the concussion.  She scheduled an MRI for me that afternoon to make sure that nothing was going on in my brain and had an x-ray taken of my neck.

I found a willing family to watch the boys while I went for the MRI. The result said that the brain is fine, and we had to wait on results for the neck. I was relieved to know that the brain was OK. Because of headaches I have been returned to concussion protocol with no screens, no reading, no exercise, lots of hydration, and the rest. We determined that it needs to be for 14 days.

On Saturday it snowed so we couldn't work on our yard.

Week 15 - Sod Removal

Underfoot met with his leaders for a Scoutmaster conference for his Scout Rank. They took their time to be through with him on seeing if he mastered the skills for the Scout Rank. Later that evening there was an informational meeting for the 11 year old camp out in June.

Hurricane has been on crutches for the week and has mastered the skill of using them well. One day after picking him up from school he said that his armpits hurt and wanted to see the chiropractor. We took him to the chiropractor. When the chiropractor didn't pop his armpits, Hurricane asked how he was going to fix the problem. In the process of his adjustment, Hurricane startled the chiropractor by faking falling off the table. We all laughed hard.

The Wolf den went on a compass scores for their activity.

Since Hurricane was on crutches, his leaders at different times would carry him on their backs. That is real dedication of a Cub Scout leader.

I met with the moms to plan Teacher Appreciation week. We decided on a beach theme and created different activities for each day. Some of those activities include a favorite book, where your teacher's favorite color to school, a potato bar, ice cream sundae bar, and other fun things for that week.

Book Club discussed the book Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown. The boys wanted to come to the book club because they had listen to the book as well. They enjoyed the story as I did. While I was at book club, the boys all went and helped a family move.

On Saturday we took out all of the sod in our front yard. After working on it Friday evening, Sweetheart decided he would take the sod out of the ground while the rest of us shook off the dirt. On Saturday as he began this process, he realize he would be dead tired and not even finish half of one section. He rented a sod cutter.

Our neighbor across the street didn't have anything going on and came to help Sweetheart with the process. At lunchtime, Sweetheart asked for help from other people. While this was happening, I was working on a surprise project.

We listed the sod on Facebook for free. Six truck fulls of sod were taken. We were grateful we didn't have to haul the sod to the dump.

*****

Compass Course with Crutches

Week 14 - Surprise Visitors and Chipped Ankle Bone

We celebrated Easter in Pagosa Springs. We enjoyed LDS General conference at the hotel. We were grateful for a beautiful ride home.

On our ride home we discussed the plans for what we will accomplish this coming summer. The boys will participate in the swim team, mommy school, and 4-H.

The boys returned to school for their standardized testing. They enjoyed most not having to have homework and have more time to play.  They felt good about their testing.

Hurricane and Sweetheart completed the Pine Wood derby car on Tuesday evening. They took it to be weighed in at the leader's house.

The races were on Wednesday. Sweetheart and I were asked to help with loading the cars into their heat for the track. Hurricane had hoped he would take the place so he could go to district pinewood derby. First and second place go to district Pine Wood Derby, and Hurricane took third place our pack.

We had the Pine Wood Derby with another pack who made car stands for each of the boys.

On Tuesday, Hurricane's friend's mom called in the middle of the day, and asked if Hurricane would be part of a birthday surprise for her son. She invited to take Hurricane to a trampoline gym so he and her son could play for his birthday. I kept it a surprise for Hurricane too. The boys had a lot of fun jumping and playing together.

We had a visit from Aunt Mimi and Bug, our aunt and cousin. They decided to come during Sara's spring break.

While they were here we talked, tried different apple types, ate fun fruit dips, and made homemade pizza. We were very grateful for their visit and that they would be willing to come and be with us. It was a complete surprise for the boys.

We decided to join 4-H. This summer the boys will be doing different projects. We are in a club called the V.I.P.'s. Elections were held at the meeting and each of the boys were elected to positions. They are excited for having a club.

I have felt for some time that we need to find a trampoline and looked on Craigslist for almost 2 weeks. I contacted a person selling the trampoline and made arrangements to get the trampoline. The person emailed me and asked if my sons went to a specific school because she was a teacher at that school and thought that our boys were her students. We bought their Spanish teacher's trampoline. Now we have to dig a hole in our backyard to put the trampoline in.

Our medical report follows. On Monday I decided to try out yoga. I went to a Silver Sneakers class. It was chair yoga and fun. The instructor was a bit odd. Sweetheart went and had his final check up for his surgery with the ENT doctor. He is good to go. Hurricane has one more month with his braces and will then get a retainer. The braces were to bring his top teeth over his bottom teeth. I started with acupuncture to help with the concussion. Avi the acupuncturist said I was really tight I am that he was going to hope after the session I felt a lot better.

He did cupping on my back to help.

I met with an endocrinologist this week to find out why my pituitary gland was producing more than it needed. We took blood work, and my levels were in appropriate ranges. It looks like the body is heal itself. She ordered another test to suppress one hormone for a double assurance that things are OK.

Hurricane came home from school one day saying his ankle hurt. He had been playing soccer at recess and got hit in the ankle. He kept complaining and limping about the house. We decided to take him to the urgent care where he got an x-ray and found that his ankle bone had been chipped. He was told to do ice baths and see if we could find crutches and use them for the next week. There is a family in our neighborhood who had a pair of crutches that he could use. He had to have his ankle wrapped and isn't able to play in soccer at school or on his soccer team.

*****

 Pine Wood Derby Preparation

Pine Wood Derby Preparation

Pine Wood Derby Preparation

Easter Breakfast

 Pagosa Springs

 Supper

 From our niece who served her mission in the Adriatic States Mission

 Present from Hawaii

 Smoothie Breakfast

 Before School

Snowy Morning