September 29, 2009

• Our two week trip to Utah ended up lasting 3 weeks.  Brian came up in the middle week and we were supposed to drive home together…but as Serra didn’t start school for another few weeks we decided to stick around, enjoy the much cooler temps of northern Utah, participate in more extended family gatherings,  get some canning done with Moms big time help, and play with cousins.  We were able to participate in the Brower Family Reunion, and both a Brower and an Arnell cousin party.  I won’t even begin to list all the family we were able to reconnect with.  It was a real treat to see so much family though.  We spent one day at Bear Lake with Julie, Serra, and Darci and all the kids.  Although the babies didn’t think much of the experience with the wind and sun, the other kids had a blast and still talk about how much fun they had.  That same day we had dinner at Grandma Arnell’s in Bear Lake.  It is a place that has changed little since I was a child.  It is always nostalgic to go there and feel the outside world melt away for a few hours.  There are no traffic sounds, the air is (mostly) fresh, and you can hear farm sounds in the distance…a moo here, a whiney there.   The kids disappear and explore and find treasures like rusty horseshoes…that somehow make it into the car with us.  I hope we have many more visits there ahead of us but I fear they are limited.

  We enjoyed a picnic at first dam where the kids picked up leeches from the water, Evelyn got goosed by a goose, and we left a nice film of oil on the water by feeding the ducks leftover scones.  Hee hee.   When we picked up Brian from the airport we took the day and visited Grandpa and Grandma Gee and Aunt Lynette.  We wanted them to be able to meet Charlotte and knew it might be awhile until that happened otherwise.  Michelle Koch also hooked us up with squeaky shoes to last through the next year.

  I know the girls both had a fabulous time.  They got to watch movies in the downstairs theatre, play with cousins nearly everyday, and honestly I rarely saw them.  I saw a big change in Weston.  He was happier than I have seen him since CK was born.  He was able to spend a lot of time outside which he loves, and he loved following Grandpa around helping in the garden.  He especially liked picking things which was a bit of a problem but Grandpa and Grandma were pretty nice about it.  He learned to jump on the trampoline which is much easier to get onto than ours is.  And he got a taste of cousin rivalry and had to actually share toys when Ethan and Landon were around.  I think in a few years they will all be the best buddies ever, but right now it’s a bit competitive.   

  It was nice having a few extra hands and eyes to help with the kids now and then.  I was able to do some much needed shopping for winter clothes.  Serra and Weston mostly…I rediscovered DI though and my addiction to going treasure hunting there and at the Goodwill Superstore has been fed by the number of such places here in Vegas. 

  One of the highlights of the visit was the Wellsville founders day celebrations on Labor Day.  It was our last day there and we took in an awesome parade in the morning, enjoyed the awesomely politically incorrect sham battle (pioneers, cavalry, and Indian battle),  spent the afternoon enjoying the booths and rides, and getting sunburned.  Then in the evening we dutch ovened at Serra and Rich’s place.  They have a fantastic backyard.  Once again I rarely saw the kids as they were off getting rides on Dallas’s four wheeler, and teasing the goats.  I actually sat out on the lawn for nearly an hour at one point completely alone (except for Charlotte) and just basked in the perfection of the weather and the day.  Sitting there in the grass at the base of the Wellsville mountains, in the shade of a tree, I thought that life didn’t get much better.  I knew the following day I was going to have to return to triple digit temps and was soaking in as much of it as I could.  We even had to break out the sweaters that evening.  Ahhhhh!

  We missed Brian terribly though and were anxious to get home and get back into a routine.  We came home on a Tuesday…the first week in September and spent about a week trying to get the house in order and our schedule figured out.  Then Serra started the second grade on the 14^th.  She has Mr. Avellino this year and after 2 weeks we are quite pleased with how things are going.  He is a great teacher and she is really responding well to him and the way he runs his classroom.  In Serra news:  She has been asking about getting her ears pierced and this last week got pretty serious about wanting it done.  I always thought I would either let my girls do that at 8 or 12 depending on how mature they were or how we felt about it at that time.  We discussed it and decided that she has a few months to show us she can be responsible about taking care of her belongings.  If she succeeds in showing us that she will be able to take care of and keep her things cleaned up and tidy, and that she can do her responsibilities without constant reminding she can have her ears pierced for her 8^th birthday.   We are really milking it too.  All I have to say is “remember your responsibilities” and she is scurrying to do her tasks.  She gets up in the morning and feeds the dog, gets dressed, tidies up the living room if I need her too, gets her school things all ready, and usually doesn’t need prodding.  She reminds me when she has been responsible…just in case I hadn’t noticed.  She is really a big help with CK too.  Sometimes the baby just wants to be held and Serra can put her to sleep while I am getting dinner or something.  It so great to have a Serra!  She asked me about how it felt to get your ears pierced, and I was explaining how there is an earring gun and it shoots the earring right into your ear.  She cringed and said…”Yeah but I don’t want you to do it, I want a professional.” 

  While there Charlotte went from 5 weeks old to 8 weeks old and grew out of all her clothes.   We also struggled with her and some extreme fussiness…I thought she might have acid reflux and close to the last day there used some of cousin Landons medication that had helped him when he was struggling with an extreme case of the same.  Well…long story short…CK is a new baby.  She hardly fusses at all now and we have gotten a prescription from her pediatrician in Las Vegas to continue on the treatment for a while.  She is a happy and very smiley baby.  She has started cooing and gooing while smiling.   She had her 2 month check up and weighed in at a whopping 14 lbs and is 22 inches.  The doctor was quite amazed at her weight gain and complemented me on the fat content of my milk.  “Please to don’t talk about my breast milk.”  (The Office)  I will admit though that the demand of an infant along with the responsibilities that already existed with the other 3 and keeping the house going has thrown me for a loop.  Weston is a challenge by himself as he has discovered countertops.  He will take whatever measures he needs to in order to obtain access to higher regions.  The barstools have been put away, the kitchen chairs adorn the tabletop when not being sat upon, and still he has figured out how to open cupboards and scale the shelves to gain access to mostly the sink.  He loves the sink.  I am constantly wiping up water.  I will admit he spends a few hours a day confined to his high chair so I can accomplish something without having to worry about what he is doing.  He usually takes his nap in the highchair as well.  He has to be bored in able to nap so that’s the only place to lessen the stimulation enough to get him to rest for a bit.  He has started talking a little bit more but is mostly a pretty quiet menace.  He does scream loud enough when he is bothered by a sister though.   He too has grown excessively over the summer.  I don’t know if it was the fresh Utah air or what but he is into size 3T and his feet skipped a size.  I think Rosie just grew out of the size 8 he is now in.  He is a thick kid who likes to be lugged around, and sorry!, but Dad’s about the only one who can manage it anymore.  He’s about 35 pounds. 

  Rosie has matured a lot over the summer and doesn’t throw fits nearly as much although she has her moments.  She loves to draw and is really quite good.  She pays attention to details like earrings and faces.  If I am at my computer you will find her next to me drawing.  She is usually singing or humming.  She has learned the primary songs really well this year and sings them all the time.   She had a great time in Utah and talks about Evelyn all the time and draws her pictures and notes.  She has also grown very attached to Brian and will cry sometimes when he leaves for work.  Brian has made efforts on several days to be home early to make this little girl happy.  She loves her cuddle and story time with Daddy at night. 

  A week after I got home the lady I visit teach (Doris Heaps who just turned 90) got sick and was taken to the hospital.  She had a perforated ulcer and bowel and was in so much pain they put her to sleep.  She died a few days later in that sleep.  Her services were in Utah so we are throwing our own memorial here and I am hosting it on Friday.  With Conference on Saturday and Sunday it looks like it will be a busy weekend. 

  Pictures to come:

  • 12:31 pm
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