Easter and Germs

We shared germs. Underfoot brought the germs home from school on Monday. By Tuesday evening he acted out of sorts by crying over small things. Tears are a sure sign of exhaustion from trying to be pleasant but too hard to try anymore and not acting quite himself. Underfoot decided to not go Wednesday. Good because he didn't sleep Tuesday night and neither did his Mom. Thursday he thought he should go, but the lung hacking just prevented him from doing much. As hard as we tried, we all got a touch of the bug. Fever, cough, and a really sore throat were the symptoms. Underfoot is getting better. Hurricane showed signs on Sunday. Sweetheart started Friday night. I held out until Saturday. We are grateful there has been no vomiting or diarrhea. Count your blessings, right?

Sweetheart stayed home from work on Wednesday so I could attend physical therapy. He made up his hours on Thursday evening. Since Underfoot was sick, I was going to take Underfoot with me to physical therapy. Sweetheart volunteered to stay home from work for a time on Wednesday so I could attend. He made up his hours on Thursday evening. I'm grateful for his sacrifice.

I asked Hurricane how he felt. His response- "I'm sick so I feel sick." This made us laugh. Sweetheart's sore throat makes it hard to laugh or swallow. A box of mangoes from Bountiful Baskets has been helpful with Sweetheart's sore throat. He keeps gobbling them down for relief. He had a fever on Friday night and another one today. We have taken it easy since Thursday night.

Taking it easy means we went to the temple on Friday, attended a BSA Court of Honor where Sweetheart presented the Eagle award to A. Romney. The recipient's father spoke that Scouting the law and the oath. For each of the points of the law, he named different men that exemplified that attribute. Much to our surprise, the father said that Sweetheart was thrifty.Of course, I won't get what he said perfectly but in a sense, Sweetheart does his best with what he has by using his resources to do things the best way possible. He said that Sweetheart also uses his resources to open his home and invites all to come. I thought that was a great honor.

On Saturday, we dyed eggs and attended a baptism.

We didn't breath on anyone. Sunday was Easter.

We were grateful for the time we have to reflect on the resurrection of our Savior.

 During the day someone peeped our yard. 

This means they stuck Peeps in the front yard, ding dong ditched, and ran. 

The boys thought they had the best gift ever.

Later we talked about Passover

 

and then did an egg roll.

We kept down for a lot of the weekend.

We hope you are better than we are this week.

By the way.....here is a cute picture of my Sister and her family.....

 We are really excited for their family!

Flying the Coop

Sweetheart decided to fly the coop. He went to work in Los Angeles area and a wedding in Salt Lake City for our friends, Jared and McKenzie. 

He had a lot of fun working and playing. In LA, he worked. How exciting is that? Traveling brings the perk of going out to eat. He and a co-worker, Mincer, each ate a huge dessert for lunch. The rest of the day Mincer commented on how full he was. At supper, Sweetheart told the server it was this Mincer's birthday so he would get more dessert. They had a good laugh when Mincer was shocked at getting more ice cream and had a good laugh after he caught on to the joke. The rest of the trip was uneventful.

Sweetheart flew to SLC after work on Friday. Y and A, his sister and brother-in-law, picked up Sweetheart from the airport and went to supper with B and M, his brother and sister-in-law. They talked about family, the family reunion, and future plans. They thought it was a lot of fun to be together. Sweetheart stayed with Y and A. The next day he attended Jared and Mckenzie's wedding. 

 Jared and Sweetheart were roommates at BYU. 

We are super excited for the couple! After the wedding, Sweetheart was chauffeured around by Kevin and Ashley. Kevin was also a roommate with Sweetheart and Jared.

Thank you to all who taxied Sweetheart around. He loved seeing family and friends!

While Sweetheart was gone, a few things happened around here too:

• Underfoot began swim team with our neighbor. We will have a carpool for swim season.
• Hurricane found the walkie-talkies and thinks they are wonderful. He takes them with him. He even found the screwdriver, took it apart, and put the batteries in for it to work.
• Underfoot rode his bike to school. He likes to not be picked up every day and to ride his bike home. One day the bike got a flat tire that Daddy fixed when he was home for a few minutes.
• I have been swimming for exercise and am trying to be patient with myself and the healing process. I like to exercise hard and don't get to go as hard as I like. Quoting a wise woman, "Honor your body." It means more than just listening to it when you go beyond the point of no return but to let it rest, stretch, and grow when needed.
• I completed a project that I've been thinking about for 2 years. We made a picture family tree on our wall. The end result is cool.
  
• Hurricane and Underfoot went on the Father and Sons camp out with a neighbor because Sweetheart was out of town. They had a great time and came home tired, dirty, and full of stories as well as two new songs - The Fisherman and John Jacob JingleHeimer Scmidt.

Be Well.

Swimming and Experimetns

Our report is brief this week. Each below will have their moment to shine.

Hurricane: He continues to love life. Hurricane has decided to not participate in swim team this year because "it is just too hard." He is a great swimmer and would come home exhausted after practice last year. He loves to thank God for the chickens and their egg laying skills. He is quite the singer and has a series of songs he sings. He plays a game of humming a song and asking us to guess it. He is preparing for his friend, Mr. K-man, to move to Las Vegas in early June. One of his many goals this year was to play as much as possible with Mr. K-man. Hurricane is fantastic at making paper air planes. He always makes 2 - one for him and one for Mr. K-man.

Underfoot: The 1st grade class won the city-wide science fair project. They tested if wearing a helmet was a good idea with eggs. Underfoot was super excited to win. The class was awarded a trophy and money for the class and ribbons for each student. Underfoot is excited about swim team. He willingly practiced in cold water at the local community pool to perfect his strokes. Swim team begins today (Monday) and will continue until the end of May. We participate in pre-season because of summer family commitments. The swim championship and Locey Family reunion are the same week. The regular season is 6 weeks long (the same amount of time as our summer break.) We usually leave to go and see our families during that time. We'd miss 1/2 the season.

Sweetheart: He is deep into his aquaponics experiment. He has been working really hard to bring down the pH level of the water from too alkaline to a more basic water level. He had to add 1/8 cup acid to the water until it got to the right place. He is concerned about the plants getting enough sun. If in one year the experiment hasn't gone well in the location it is currently, the whole system will be moved. Sweetheart wants the experiment to work. We have struggled to grow a garden here and want one to succeed. After mowing the lawn of a friend, he noticed how well their garden was growing and came home a little sad. We want to be successful in the projects we spend our time and seem to flounder.

Mama: The past week was filled with different responsibilities. Tuesday was Cub Scout pack meeting. The Cub Master called and was ill. She asked me to conduct the meeting. It was also April Fool's day. It wasn't a joke. The meeting went okay. I'm not a fun person so I'm sure the meeting wasn't super fun. Wednesday I saw a new Physical Therapist, Josh, and feel that I'm going to get the help I need to get better. I will see Josh for the next 6 weeks. I want to get better. I continue to get help with massage and helping my muscles heal. I think that being hurt has been really difficult for me. I hope I can take this and be better one day. I also got pulled over by the police this week for doing a California stop at a stop sign. He and I talked for about 10 minutes about life. He didn't give me a ticket. What a blessing!

Family: We watched LDS General Conference this weekend as a family. Our boys get super excited for this semi-annual event. We make better foods than normal and have treats. Saturday evening we hosted a potluck to see friends from church. Underfoot listened more this time than he has in the past and noticed different topics.

We hope you are well.

Grand Canyon and Muscles

Two weeks ago:
Hurricane has been praying for our white chickens to lay white eggs. Two weeks ago on Monday, Hurricane runs into the house yelling, "We've got a white egg! We've got a white egg!" He has been so happy about the eggs. All the chickens have started to lay and we are getting between 4-5 eggs a day.

Later in the week Sweetheart planned a trip for us to go to the Grand Canyon. 

Our friends shared a cabin with us for the weekend. Kirk tripped the first night and cut his head. We are using aloe to reduce the scar but think he might have a permanent token from the trip.

Underfoot was driven to get his Junior Ranger badge. He convinced his brother and the other 2 boys to get their Junior Ranger badges as well.

We went to the Canyon for 2 days. Our bikes came with us on the adventure. The first day we rode our bikes up Hermit Road towards Hermits Rest at the end of the road.

Little did we realize until we were riding back down the hill that the uphill grade was 6%. For 2 little boys with only 1 gear on their bikes, they did amazing! We stopped and ate lunch at the first bus stop then continued to Hopi Point. 

At Hopi Point, we saw a condor through a telescope. Hurricane was saying he was going back down the hill with or without us. We went down and found the 6% grade that was now easy. No wonder he wanted to go back. Underfoot and Hurricane slept soundly that night.

The 2nd day we returned and rode the bus to Mojave Point. 

The drop off is a mere cliff that drops for hundreds of feet. We held onto to Hurricane with a death grip.

Note the Death Grip in the picture....

He is like a bouncy ball. Underfoot is more conscious of his personal space and stayed a healthy distance from the edge. Later we hiked the rim trail from Hermit Road to the Amphitheater then to Mather Point.

Pennies line the rim trail and embedded in the ground. Hurricane wanted to dig the pennies out with dad's knife. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

Noticed the penny in the ground

Trying to "pick" up or pull out the penny

At Mather Point was a Ranger presentation for the boys to finish up their Junior Ranger. They listened and answered questions.

All 4 boys finished up their Junior Ranger badges, and we returned back to the cabin. S'mores were had each night. 

 

We took our time coming home earning another Junior Ranger badge at Montezuma's Castle,

 took a detour into Mesa. In Mesa, the boys picked grapefruit off the trees at the temple. The temple has pickers available if you want to pick the fruit. Hurricane's reaction follows his Mother's love of grapefruit as Underfoot's reaction follow his Father's grapefruit love. We returned home and had a fun time.

Last week:

After getting hurt one month ago, I saw my PCP. She had me go for an electrical test for my nerves in my ankle and then a follow up appointment with her. My nerves work fine. She did say that I have strained my trapezius, latissimus dorsi, and the 2 muscles that go under that. She said it will take time for that to heal (like 9-12 months) along with my ankle. I'll start physical therapy and not be running. Swimming and biking are great. I will partake in physical therapy, massage therapy, and at-home exercise. At the Grand Canyon, Sweetheart helped a lot so I could participate in activities with our family. With his help and ibuprofen, the week went great!

Sweetheart worked a lot this week to accomplish a task that he had been given by his boss. He was loaned out for the last 8 weeks to a different program to accomplish certain tasks. He and his co-worker wanted to complete the tasks and made it happen.

Hurricane and Underfoot resumed school this week. They practiced swimming laps in the pool. Hurricane does not want to do swim team this year, and Underfoot does. The boys have caught on to the idea of the treasure maps (a consistent routine) and are doing well with have a routine to follow. The weather has "warmed up" at night so they have started to star gaze again.

My counsin, Steve, sent me a surprise in the mail. He had interviewed my Grandpa, Dale Kirkham, in 1997. The interview was about my Grandpa's experiences during World War II as a quartermaster on an LCI ship in the Pacific Ocean. 

My Grandma answered the phone and passed it to my Grandpa. When her voice came on, I almost started to cry. It has taken a long time for me not to pick up the phone and call her. She passed away in 2005. The realization of her being gone clicked in during my brother's wedding one year ago. Hearing my Grandpa's voice, I felt the urge to call him too. I wanted to tell him that Steve had sent me such a precious gift of an interview with him. I then remembered he was gone too. The DVD was sent with pictures as Grandpa talked with Steve. I am grateful for the time that Steve took to share with me.

He sent a letter that said, "Hearing about Grandpa's experiences during the war was meaningful because it proved that someone can pass through very difficult and uncertain times, and still have a happy, enjoyable, and successful life. ... He did not allow his fears or his doubts to destroy him."

I'm grateful for the boost Steve gave to me as I am starting to recover from a physical pain and that I have good examples of others that did hard things.

Last night was an LDS Women's Broadcast. I was reminded that we all have struggles and need to look at how similar we are instead of how different we are from each other. When we see our similarities, we can extend help and kindness and even be the recipient of that love and service.

Be Well.

Birthday and Trains

Below are the highlights for each person.

Underfoot: He did a countdown for his birthday. 

He would tell anyone who would listen. His excitement was contagious. For his birthday, we celebrated with pizza and cake.

 He went to the pediatrician, and she said he is a health boy. 

 As he talked to her, he told her his favorite job was to clean the bathroom and hope to have a start up company to cleaning others' bathrooms. We are grateful for his kindness and zeal for learning.

Underfoot attended a symphony concert with his Dad. He has mentioned how he would like to see a cellist play. The visiting artist was a cellist. Underfoot liked the concert. He struggled to stay awake, and Sweetheart and he came home at intermission.

Hurricane: Sweetheart got tickets to a model train tour. Hurricane loves trains of any size. At each house, he attended he ran after the trains around each garden. 

He can't wait to go and see his next train. He is enamored with the number 100. He counts to 100 daily over many things. He has a goal to see or go on 100 trains this year.

Hurricane bonked his lip on the wooden bench in the front room. This is the day after. The wound never bled but bruised the gums.

Sweetheart: He is loving the project he is working on at work. He and a coworker have been given a task that was assumed to take 1 year to complete. Between the 2 of them, they have completed a large portion of the task in the last 6 weeks.

He reads to the boys before bed. Sometimes they all pass out.

He is perplexed by the aquaponics system as things aren't growing as he would have hoped. He is learning a lot about how it works and what to do to make it work well. He is very excited about our backyard with the growth of the trees with the blossoms and fruit growth.

Mama: Instead of my normal canning and running around, I've been doing a whole lot of recovering. The pinched nerve in my neck is healing very slowly. I am icing, having deep tissue work done in the area, stretching, being still as counseled, and asking for help. The last one is a learning curve for me. I did decorate Underfoot's cake to look like a monster. 

The boys during spring break have played at others's homes. One day we hosted a sidewalk chalk drawing. The goal was to use every little bit of chalk.

Be Well.

Monster Pants and Rain

I'll start the letter this week with a funny story. Hurricane came to  Mama one morning this week and said, "Mama, will you light the candle in the bathroom so our house smells good?" Sure Hurricane. ...  Mama went off to answer the phone. Not more than 3-5 minutes later, she came back to the bathroom. Hurricane was there, with a huge grin on his face, and a lit sparkler in his hand. He offered the lit sparkler to  Mama so she could have one, and he could light another one. He loves fire. He is very good at figuring out how to get what he wants.

Underfoot loves to play. He especially likes playing in the back yard.

Mama played on the monkey bars (she even made it across 1 of the 2 times) and wrenched something that effected her whole left side. She has been in a lot of pain the last few days. I have rubbed her shoulder a number of times. I think she is getting better, but I know it hurts her a bunch because she winces in pain when I rub one part of her back.  Mama has slept a bunch the last two days. She has also visited the chiropractor a number of times this week.

On Saturday I got up early to get a bunch of outside chores done. I am glad I did. It started to rain at about noon and continued throughout the evening.

We got 1.1 inches of rain, which we desperately need because we are still far below the average rain fall for the year. Our backyard is alive with growth. We have buds on all our trees.

The aquaponics system is a hit with a local bee hive. At any given time of the day about 30 bees are enjoying a drink. They do their part by pollinating our trees. The smell of the citrus and jasmine trees is marvelous.

Every night Hurricane prays that our white chickens will lay white and black eggs. We have three white ladies who have yet to 'produce'. The older ladies are giving us one brown and one green egg each day. We are excited for when the chickens will get back to full production.

Underfoot says, "this week I will celebrate my birthday. I can't stop waiting for my birthday. " He is very excited for the big day. He is planning to have Mama bring treats to his class to celebrate his birthday. He has a daily count down that can be given without prompting.

Mama has turned several pairs of the boys' jeans into 'monster pants'.

 She puts a monster mouth where the knee is, along with teeth and two eyes.

The result is a fun pair of pants. Hurricane and Underfoot want to ONLY wear his monster pants.

Today we attended the dedication of the Gilbert Arizona Temple. A few weeks ago we attended the open house. We are grateful for the love we feel from God in our lives and the hope that knowing that loves brings.

Be Well.

Rodeo Days

Many had President's Day off of school commemorating the birth of Washington and Lincoln. Here we get TWO days off for the rodeo at the end of the week. Rodeo Days are free days. No school for teachers or students, and the weather was warm (low 80s.) Sweetheart took the boys trampoline camping. They lasted for about 5 hours then came and crawled into their own beds for the duration of the night.

Sweetheart hosted the 16-18 year old young men in our home on Tuesday by letting them use our kitchen to hone their cutting skills and egg poaching skills. They enjoyed laughing and eating what they made.

I went to a continuing education class about the nutrition of the aging brain. The class talked about vitamins, supplements, and whole foods.

The presenter sited research studies about the different whole foods, herbs, and supplements he presented. Some is well researched and other doesn't have the research to prove that there is any benefit. I found it very interesting. Sweetheart cared for the boys while I was at the class. He said he knows why I'm tired at night.

I ran the Bountiful Baskets site for the first time in a long time. We worked around the house and are happy that the bees have found our aquaponics system. The trees are in full bloom and we are benefiting from their work.

Saturday night we hosted a game night for the same boys from Tuesday. It wasn't a church event just a place for young men to come and hang out. We played games, laughed, and ate yummy food. I won Apples to Apples with these words.

 Hurricane and Underfoot love game night because they get to watch a movie.

Be Well.