A Week & a Day

It is already Monday & I haven't posted for last week....too busy! It has been a busy week, but I am not complaining. There is always fun mixed in with the work. Last Sunday I was trying to leave church, when I got stopped by Teancum's primary teacher. She is a great friend in my life. We were visiting teaching partners for a while. Teancum is in good hands. She let me in on a funny though. She said Teancum said, "If the pioneers had just run, they would have gotten to SLC faster...!" I am still laughing at that one. Those silly pioneers that walked & walked & walked....& walked. We have had a lot of rain in Utah. Mushrooms are popping up in lawns everywhere & snails are multiplying tenfold. Anyone have any good escargot recipes? On Monday I recruited Austin, Julianne, Addy, Robby, & Grampa to help my cousin Marilyn start moving. She is moving to a smaller place & saving a little bit of rent $. We loaded the truck twice, then went to Cold Stone for ice cream. I challenged Grampa to 2 lessons, 1 service project, & 1 activity a month for FHE. We'll see what happens tonight. Tuesday was a loooong day. In preparation for driving to Arizona on Wednesday I worked my hours ahead. I ended up working 8.5 hours, which topped me off for the week. After work was the packing & preparation for travel. I had been cleaning house & had a couple of projects left to finish. I went to bed @ about 1 a.m. & woke up at the usual time, excited to get on the road. Wednesday was the long, long car ride. In order for Grampa to have phone service on a working day, we drove the Las Vegas route. It takes a couple of hours longer that way. He did work on several work related issues, so the sacrifice is worth it, but 11 hour in I started to whine or murmur. If there was a facebook Book of Mormon character quiz I would maybe be Sariah! (murmur in the dessert!) We did eat at In & Out in St George, which is the Las Vegas route bonus. We finally arrived to the screams of 4 little girls. It is always fun when people are excited to see you. Thursday morning Jen & 3 of the girls, Tess, Brynn, & Claire had their full dress rehearsal for their dance recital. I was left to tend Jayne. Jamie came over & we hit the swimming pool. When Jayne fell asleep I was worried she was getting sunburned so we got out of the pool & went to Paradise Bakery for lunch & Savers for some bargains. I found 2 bar stools for grand kids to use around the table. It was fun to see Jamie & spend time with her. Jen & girls came home, we had chicken bruschetta for dinner, & relaxed in front of the television while working on dance projects. Friday was a little overcast, but it didn't stop us from a 2 hour swim. I found out Jayne wasn't sunburned, but my shoulders were. The girls & I played the color game, motorboat, motorboat, & played & played. It was a fun activity. We hopped out in time to dress for the recital. It was a fantastic show. After helping behind the scenes I sat down in my seat, pulled out the camera just to have Amanda say, "You can't take any flash photography in here." Oh my goodness. I sat through 41 song & dance routines & couldn't take even one picture. So many pretty dancers. Dave did a father daughter number with Tess & Brynn & Jen brought the house down with the teacher dance. I am so glad our errand to Arizona included their year end recital. It was priceless. Jen let us in on her news that she is having surgery on her heel this Tuesday. So on Saturday we packed for 4. We brought Brynn & Claire home with us. We drove home through Page, which is shorter & faster. The girls were on their best behavior. The only fussing was when Claire wanted to pick every movie, but Brynn is a peacemaker & would usually let her get away with it. Thanks Brynn. Our ride was quieter due to your generosity. That wraps up our week of work, travel, & fun. I am working ahead this week in prep to go to our family reunion in Las Vegas...I can't retire "busy" from my vocabulary yet. Thanks to Julianne & Erin for taking care of Brynn & Claire while I work. Between their own kids + 2 Julianne's backyard looked like a daycare facility...