Week 22: May 31 – June 6

Monday [5/31]:  Today was going to be a day of chores and yard work; however, shortly after Justin headed outside he called me out to show me that our van had been involved in a hit and run last night.  

I actually heard a strange sound last night around 12:30am while we were in bed but didn’t think to get up and check on anything.  Justin asked some neighbors to look at their cameras and low and beyond it happened at 12:23am and we have a clear video of the whole thing.  

 

Unfortunately, we couldn’t make out a license plate which is needed for the police to be able to do anything about it.  I posted the video on our neighborhood Facebook page asking for any further information and someone sent me a picture of a silver SUV parked in front of her house leaving during that exact time frame.  Apparently her neighbors had a party last night and the car likely belongs to a guest.  It looked like the same car so I called the cop and asked him to go to the house and see if he could find out who it belonged to.  He agreed but nobody answered the door.  He said he’d try a few more times today, but he didn’t leave us much hope.  We’re entirely dependent on the homeowners turning someone in and I’m afraid that’s not likely – which is so frustrating.  If my kids did something like this you better believe they’d be paying out the nose to make it right and hopefully learn a lesson about taking responsibility for their mistakes.

 

Justin ended up making some good progress on the yard and I worked on getting the house straightened up and catching up on laundry.  The kids did a fairly decent job helping out.  Justin made some burgers later tonight with our first corn-on-the-cob of the season with some of Jason’s homemade fries – yum!

 

This evening FHACJ headed to the tennis courts to hit around.  Drew joined us and played a bit at the park with Justin while Abigail worked on some skills with HCJ.  Abigail is easily the most patient of the bunch of us, even more so as a missionary.  

 

Tuesday [6/1]:  We got a text this morning from our executive secretary in our ward asking if the bishop could come by this evening and talk to Justin and me. We were both pretty clueless about what it might be regarding. Justin just got a new calling two weeks ago and I got my calling a primary activity leader just two months ago. We did a little speculating but really had no idea what was coming. I had a little bit of time after dinner before he arrived that I went up to my closet and said a little prayer. Nothing out of the ordinary, but I prayed that I would feel peace and that whatever we were asked to do that we would feel OK about it. I told the Lord in that moment, as I have before, that I will serve where he wants me to serve. I continued to feel the peace I desired.  After my prayer I sat on the ledge of the tub and desired to have an experience of knowing what was to come.  As I thought through some of the possible callings we could be extended I felt the spirit tell me that I didn’t need to know what it was. That I had already decided that I would do whatever was asked of me to do.  I did not need to know.  My decision to serve was made and the Lord knew that.  I felt at peace with that and grateful for the opportunity that was in exercising my faith.

 

Bishop chatted with us for a bit about the message that he shared on Sunday regarding unity. He asked Justin and me what we thought our ward needed to do in order to create more unity. I shared with him how his message on Sunday felt like a call to action for me and that I had turned to Justin immediately afterward and commented that it felt like it was a pep talk before a big game. To hype us up for what we would need to do. I expressed those thoughts to bishop and mentioned that people need to not make their decision whether or not to come to church or to a ward activity based on what they think they will get out of it and instead switch their mindset to what can I bring to the meeting/activity for others.  During our conversation I mentioned to him that the ward members need to create closer bonds and I shared that I personally don’t have any friends in the ward. I’m friendly with people but I don’t have anyone in the ward that I would call to hang out with. And honestly I feel 100% fine with that because I don’t feel I’m lacking in support and friendship in my life. I then turned the tables back on myself and said that perhaps I need to make that change and think more about creating unity and friendship for the sake of others. That’s when Bishop dropped the gauntlet and said that he has felt prompted to ask me to serve as the Relief Society President and that the Lord needs me in that capacity. Shocker, but not a shocker. I don’t know how to explain it - our conversation just lead right to it.

 

We talked for a while about a lot of things and it felt like it could get overwhelming if we got in too deep too soon so we discussed my need to pray about who should serve in the presidency with me. We know Bishop Hammer personally, as a friend, which I guess makes it easier to be completely real with him in my concerns, weaknesses, and where I feel I will struggle.  But it doesn’t really matter. This was reinforced in my scripture study later tonight as I was reading in D&C 60-62 how the Lord many times said to the people that they don’t need to know all things and sometimes it just doesn’t matter to Lord how we go about fulfilling our mission as long as we fulfill it. I know that whatever mistakes I will make, and there will be many, that won’t stop the Lord‘s plan from being fulfilled. Those mistakes will add to my journey and growth and also provide opportunities for grace and forgiveness for others. The Lord’s work will go on and he can compensate for my weaknesses perhaps even turn those weaknesses into strengths. It was also meaningful to be reminded that I don’t need to be paralyzed by making choices.  I often struggle with making decisions.  Something I listened to tonight pointed out that the “fear of man” can of course be about concerned about what other people think, but we can also make it difficult – the fear of man can be fear in ourselves.  Like these sections teach I need to use my best judgement, listen to the spirit and act.  I need to not overthink.  The Lord can set straight anything I mess up – ha!  Of course if I think too much about what’s to come it’s completely overwhelming. This is a calling in which I need to be prepared to serve for several years. It’s a calling that will require considerable amount of time and sacrifice both mentally, physically, and emotionally. Essentially the bishop said his focus is with the youth and that any other needs within the ward will be handled by me and/or the Elders Quorum President. I know that I will be pushed so, so far out of my comfort zone. It’s going to take a great deal of faith to trust that the Lord will help me know how to handle situations and find the words that I seem to never have. I spent some time this evening looking over our ward list for possible counselors and I’ll be honest the pickings are few – which I suppose is why I’m in this position – ha.  Actually we have a lot of amazing women in the ward but many serve in the stake or hold positions within the primary and young women’s that we can’t pull out.  

 

Abigail and Jason had made a double batch of brookies this afternoon and plated a few to give away, including some to Bishop.  We teased that we would only give him the plate of cookies if we were happy with his visit.  As he was leaving we said he didn’t really deserve them, but we’d be generous and let him have them anyhow.

 

I’ve mentioned that I’ve felt this past month that I have been pushed out of my comfort zone on several occasions. Creating a public Instagram account, joining a local church’s tennis league with a bunch of strangers with my mediocre skill set. I enjoy those things though and felt concerned over whether or not I would be able to continue to do the things that I enjoy or if my life is going to be too crazy with church responsibilities.  Things are about to crazy around here and balancing everything will be a continual struggle I’m sure.  (Which is why it’s taking me nearly two months to post this).

 

Wednesday [6/2]:  Thanks to the sleeping pill I took last night before bed I slept great last night though I would’ve loved to have slept in past 7:30am.  One of my first thoughts I had was the realization that last night wasn’t a dream.  I have at least another week before anything becomes official so I don’t have any added responsibilities, just looming ones.

 

Wednesdays are a crazy day for me especially now that I am playing in the tennis league. When the organizer asked for my availability this week I told him that I was open anytime today. He took advantage of that and put me in five different doubles matches! Five matches is a lot on any day, especially after also having tennis lessons earlier that same afternoon. By the end of the day I had played over five hours of tennis. I was of course nervous for my matches this evening, especially because I had four mixed matches, meaning my partner was male. Today was also in the 80’s which added an extra degree of difficulty and exhaustion. I ended up drinking two large water bottles and a Gatorade. I was absolutely exhausted by the end of the night but had a blast! Today I felt like I got to know more of the people on a more personal level which was quite fun. I can certainly hold my own when it comes to sarcasm which made for some fun competitive banter. I played pretty decent as well, obviously I can always do better but I was overall happy with what I was able to contribute. Out of the five matches my teams won three of them and the last one we lost was so super tight. I am so grateful that Courtney invited me to play and that I was brave enough to put myself out there and try. I still feel quite humbled being there but enjoy it enough to not get frustrated with my lack of skills. I fell asleep fast tonight! 

 

Thursday [6/3]:  If I had to summarize today I would say it was filled with a calm sense of overwhelmed.  I felt overwhelmed with so many things today but didn’t really feel stressed so I guess that’s a good thing. I had some phone calls with insurance regarding the damage to our van so needed to do some research since they are likely going to consider the van totaled.  It’s 15 years old so the repairs will exceed the value of the car at this point.  We have the option of having them determine the value of it before the damage or trying to keep it and retitling it on our own and not get as much money. It’s hard because it’s a vehicle we need but don’t necessarily want and can’t replace without spending a fortune. It serves a purpose for us that can’t easily be replaced.  In addition Jason told me last night that he had some friends coming home from school with him today so Drew and I spent the morning putting away all the Lego sets that he and Katie have built this past week. I love to see them enjoy Legos again and with them being more organized it wasn’t nearly that kind of mess that it would’ve been in the past. 

Other general household work as well as spending a bit of time on my HHH account. Before I knew it it was time to head off to Carly‘s tennis match this afternoon at the high school. She started out quite strong but fell apart in her second game. I enjoy watching her play and wish the season was longer, but I suppose I should be grateful they were able to accommodate a season at all.  

Katie helped me make some homemade pizzas when I got home and they tasted fantastic. We then tried to rally the kids into helping Justin and I clean out the van and get that cleaned up with the hopes that it will help increase the value the insurance company determines. We were outside for well over an hour vacuuming, wiping and doing a quick rinse of the exterior. Aside from a few cosmetic issues due to the break-in in Vancouver Canada and the hit-and-run recently it really is in decent shape, aside from the slider doors not working as they should. I might actually be a little sad to see it go.  We will definitely miss having the hitch and the ability to haul our bikes around this summer.

 

Late night scripture study so I didn’t get to bed until after 1am.  With the sun rising so early these days I was already dreading an early morning tomorrow on little sleep.

 

Friday [6/4]:  Drew enjoyed his waffles this morning!

More van stuff today.  I reached out to the insurance company and let them know that we’ve decided not to keep the van.  Getting a new title would be a pain and nobody wants to drive around a banged up car anyhow.  I took some pictures of the now clean van so we can hopefully negotiate a decent offer.  They asked if we needed a rental car while we wait for a resolution but I declined.  It felt unnecessary. 

 

Carly had a match in Renton this afternoon.  Instead of driving two cars I decided to go early with her and stay until she could leave.  That provided me a lot of time in the parking lot but having some downtime was nice.  I was able to catch up on my local Marco Polo group and do some journaling on my iPad.  Carly played really well.  Her best match yet.  It was so fun to watch her.  Grandpa Fletcher came and enjoyed watching her match as well.  She tends to have really long games because she fights so hard.  So many close ones, but in the end Haven High School won.  Her coach is very impressed with Carly especially since she didn’t start playing until she was on the court for tryouts as a freshman.  He mentioned that many of the girls we play against have been playing since elementary school so the fact that Carly can put up a fight is impressive.  I’m impressed as well.

 

It was already 7pm by the time she was able to leave tennis so I reached out to Justin to have him meet us in Issaquah for dinner at Cafe Rio to take advantage of a triple points offer today.  As usual we saw a few people there that we know.  This week the T-Mobile Tuesday app offered each line a $5 Baskin Robbins gift card so we headed there next and ended up nailing the cost of everything we bought - we had $35 of credits and our total came to $35.47.  

Today was also National Donut Day so next up was Krispy Kreme for a dozen FREE donuts.  One donut each of our choosing for National Donut Day and five glazed donuts for the five of us that are vaccinated.  What a delicious night!

Saturday [6/5]:  I decided to cancel my hair appointment for next week (too much going on and cutting it too close to tennis lessons) and touch up my roots myself this morning.  I wanted to get in a little exercise beforehand and Katie has been DYING to go to the library so after I got some sourdough bread rising Justin, Katie and I headed to the library on foot.  By the time we were back and I had my hair colored and I was ready for the day the morning was long over.  Not as productive as a day as I’d hoped.  Our friends, the Roenfeldt's, daughter was recently married and Justin and I planned to attend the open house this evening up in Snohomish - an hour away.  We got a little later start than I’d hoped - Justin and Katie were off Pokemoning {insert eye roll}.  It was a long drive but I’m glad we went.  There were a few friends from Auburn there that we were able to visit with and I know they appreciated us showing up to support them.  We tacked on a trip to WinCo before heading home – productivity for the win!  Justin gave Drew a haircut before bed.  I didn’t take a before or after picture but here’s a during picture – his hair was pretty long.

My sourdough bread didn’t rise quite as quickly today as it should.  I think my starter was weak since it’s been so long since I’ve made it so I ended up staying up until 1am getting the loaves baked.  Crazy!

 

Sunday [6/6]:  Today was the first Sunday with second hour.  Our ward moved to a noon start time which gave us enough time this morning to have CFM before church.  I think that will work best instead of getting home in the late afternoon and trying to rally everyone for more spiritual discussion after church.  It was my turn to lead the lesson and I felt good about it and grateful that the topics meant something personal to me this week.

 

Church was great.  It was fast and testimony meeting and it seemed we had more people in attendance then we have up to this point.  Our first week mask-free.  It sure felt good to see people’s faces.  Some faces for the first time – we had several families move into our ward during covid.  Bishop announced at the end of sacrament that a family in the ward just had their little 4 lb. baby this afternoon.  I have no clue who the family is which going forward will no longer be the case.  Our second hour was spent all together in the chapel talking about the children and youth program and encouraging everyone to get involved and supportive.

 

Abigail wanted a picture with the van (Debbie as her friends called it) before it gets hauled away tomorrow morning.  She has lots of high school memories in good ole Debbie.

Ode to Debbie:

 

Meet “Debbie”

 

“Debbie” was the victim of a hit-and-run this week 😢

 

She’s been deemed a “total loss”

 

Farewell old friend. Thanks for 15 years of memories and mobility.

 

Live on Debbie. Live on.

 

 

I hoped we would be able to siphon the recently filled tank of gas out of the van, but unfortunately Justin couldn’t get it to work.  Major bummer so send off nearly $50 worth of gas.

I spent some time today catching up on journaling for the blog and started this next weeks CFM section.  Justin made some good food – I’m glad to not have to deal with feeding the family on Sundays.  It was a low-key evening and I’m grateful for that.

Week 21: May 24 – 30

Monday [5/24]:  I was up early again today but didn’t mind since it gave me time with my Mom and she and Val headed out.  It’s always sad to say good-bye but since we’ll see them in August at the reunion it made it much easier.

 

We spent the morning getting the house in order.  Abigail moved into the room where she will do home MTC and we moved the desk in there for her to get organized.  She took care of some returns this morning and then had lunch with Sister Miller and her son Jaden and then hung out with a couple friends in the afternoon – getting home with just enough time to eat dinner and change into church clothes to head to the stake center to be set apart as a missionary.  Leave it to Abigail to squeeze every last minute out of her last day of civilian life – ha!

 

I wish I could say that getting the stake center was stress-free and peaceful but several of my family members like to wait until the last minute to get ready and then regularly miss my time of “we need to be out the door by…”  Abigail was our DJ and played from her regular apple music until we got off the freeway and then she switched to church music – leave it to Abigail to squeeze in just a little more tunes before mission life – ha!

 

President Jarman asked each of us to share some words of wisdom or a scripture with Abigail and most of our responses were pretty weak.  Jason said, “Good Luck”.  Katie didn’t have anything to say.  Drew shared what he will NOT miss about Abigail – something about having to share food with her.  {insert all the eye rolling and embarrassing emojis in existence}  I was caught off guard as well and I’m sure we looked like the least prepared family to provide a supportive environment to a new missionary.  Despite our weaknesses, President Jarman set Abigail apart as a missionary.  It was a great blessing.  To be honest it didn’t feel any different walking out of the church then it did entering.  I know we’ll adjust and that our family life will look different moving forward, but tonight felt quite normal and perhaps that’s not a bad thing.  Abigail spent a little time laying with Drew after he’d gone to bed and then FAJ and I played Qwixx before calling it a night.  Strange to have her go to bed by 10:30pm.  Perhaps I’ll start to get to bed a little earlier myself – ha!

 

Tuesday [5/25]:  What a day! I went on a long walk this morning to get some exercise as well as catch up on a bunch of Marco Polos from last week.  After I showered Abigail and I headed out to run a bunch of errands:  Deseret Book, Café Rio, Fred Meyer, Krispy Kreme, Michaels and Costco.  Abigail’s missionary badge sure did attract some attention.  A lady at Cafe Rio asked Abigail where she was serving and chatted with us while we waited in line to order.  As we were finishing eating there was a massive influx of missionaries arriving.  Abigail had met a couple of the sister missionaries before so she chatted with them a bit.  I know we both felt a little self-conscious walking around all the stores and noticing people noticing us.  Our new norm I suppose.

Abigail wasn’t cooperative of my wanting a picture of my free donut with my missionary

I only had enough time back home to unload groceries before heading to Carly’s tennis game at the high school.  It was the fastest game I’ve ever attended since Carly didn’t win a single game.  She was playing second singles today so the competition was fierce.  Her teammate playing first singles didn’t win a game either.  Carly was glad for the quick match because she had plans tonight to throw a good-bye party for a friend moving out of state.

 

I thought it was funny that Drew was sitting on the couch reading books with a mask on.  We must have just gotten back from the library and it didn’t feel the need to take it off – I never would’ve thought masks would be so much a part of our lives.

I tried to be productive after dinner, but it was a long day and I was tired.  Tomorrow is packed as well. I’m getting my second covid shot tomorrow after tennis lessons and before my two tennis matches – hoping I don’t have any side effects at least until tomorrow night and I’m blocking out Thursday just in case my vaccination takes me completely out.

 

Wednesday [5/26]:  Abigail didn’t start classes today until 11am so she and Justin played tennis this morning for her exercise.  I passed only because I already had tennis lessons today as well as both a singles and doubles match this evening.  Carly passed on tennis lessons today because she had match so it was just Jason and me.  It was a great lesson for me.  Dusko gave me some tips about serving without leaning forward as well as properly shifting my weight from my back foot to my front.  Tiny little adjustments but they really did make a big difference.  Jason sat out about 30 minutes of our lesson because he was feeling light headed so I got a lot of personal attention which was fun. 

 

Jason had to join me afterward to drive to Redmond to get my second covid shot.  Once again the process was super well organized and very easy.  I wanted to eat a good dinner before my matches so I cooked up the taquitos I had in the freezer and made some Mexican rice and guacamole.  It was delish.  

 

Since Justin’s working with the youth he took JKD to the church with him.  KD had a primary activity on manners but there was enough adults leaders there that they didn’t need my help.

 

I was really hoping to play well tonight especially after my great lesson.  I didn’t necessarily play poorly but I could’ve done better.  My first match was singles against the neighborhood friend that invited me to join the league.  I knew she was better than me but I thought I’d put up a better fight.  She won 6-1.  My second match was doubles and I played with the same partner I’ve already played with in 3 matches that we lost.  She’s not necessarily very strong but turns out our opponents were worse.  One seemed to be really new to the sport so we won easily and I even tried to dial down my hits.  We easily won 6-1 – I have no clue how they won a match at all.  Honestly though the second game was really quite fun, perhaps because the stress of winning wasn’t there and also it was a much slower paced game, but also because I was able to help the newbie have a good experience.  She really enjoyed the game and that may not have happened if I was trying to clobber them.

 

My vaccination thankfully didn’t bother while I played.  I had heard to drink a Gatorade after the shot and do keep my arm active which I did.  I also did a little weight workout before showering.  By the time I headed to bed the injection site was starting to feel sore, but not too bad.  We’ll see what tomorrow brings…

 

Thursday [5/27]:  I slept great last night which was a surprised.  My arm hurt so much less this time around and I woke up feeling good.  I was a little sore, but I can’t be sure that is from the shot instead of my weight workout last night.  By noon I started to get really tired though and had a decent headache.  I took it easy for the most part – I even tried to take a nap, but I should’ve known I’m not much of a napper.  I’m grateful that my side effects were minor and that I was able to take it easy today.  Justin and I threw together a salad bar for dinner and then I spent some time tonight getting a bunch of paperwork in order to get notarized tomorrow for Carly’s trip to Africa.

 

Friday [5/28]:  Up early today.  Actually I’ve been up before 8am lately anyhow, but this morning I needed to get up as we were watching the two neighbor kids from 8am until they head off to school at 1pm.  KD loved having them here, but man the volume level in the house sure did increase.

 

I got distracted putting together a reel for HHH – my friend told me they are an Instagram must and it was actually fun to put together but for some reason my hashtags didn’t link up like they should so in the end it wasn’t very productive.

 

Thanks to T-Mobile Tuesdays, Justin and I had movie tickets tonight at 6:30pm to see Quiet Place 2.  We ate a BOGO free meal at Coco Café beforehand and then enjoyed the show.  The movie was good.  Very suspenseful.  I don’t typically like scary movies, but I was able to handle this one with lots of gripping of Justin’s hands.

 

Saturday [5/29]:  The beautiful PNW weather has returned I was looking forward to playing tennis this morning.  Jason decided to join Justin and me and we played for over an hour.  It wasn’t the best practice for me for some reason, but I’m hopeful that any practice is helpful at this point.

 

We cleaned up and then took KD with us to Red Robin to redeem Drew’s free birthday meal.  I’m over Red Robin.  There fries are great, but I can get a better chicken sandwich right here in Snoqualmie on a BOGO free deal.  We also weren’t able to combine Drew’s free meal with a BOGO half off deal we had so that tainted the experience for us adults.  The kids loved it and Drew was thrilled that they gave him a free ice-cream sundae.

We popped into Old Navy afterward to take advantage of their annual $1 flip flop sale.  Katie and Carly have outgrown women’s sizes and Jason barely fits into the largest men’s size so it won’t be long before we need to move beyond $1 flip flops.  I however got four new pairs so that feels nice.

 

We didn’t have any plans for tonight.  Justin knew that I’ve been thinking about the Kentucky Butter Cake cookie Crumbl introduced this week so he encouraged me to make it happen tonight before it leaves the menu.  To justify the trip we would also pick up some bark for the yard at Home Depot.  We were able to convince Abigail to join us by bribing her with dinner at Chick-fil-A.  The outing was well worth it – the butter cookie is one of my new all-time favorites.  It was so buttery delicious I wanted to just set the cookie on my lips and let is slowly seep into my system.  So, so yummy!

 

Sunday [5/30]:  Being the fifth Sunday of the month we didn’t have any morning meetings today.  KD caught the Lego bug and decided they wanted to put together some sets today.  Fun to see some Legos back in our life, but the break was nice after our 2020 undertaking.

 

Sacrament was really great.  The speakers spoke about unity as a ward which wouldn’t necessarily sound fantastic but Bishop Hammer shared some inspiring thoughts that made me feel ramped up for what is to come with resuming interactions with members of our ward again.  He also shared, again, how impressed he was with Drew’s baptism interview in that Drew wanted to meet with bishop alone and that Drew has been the only kiddo able to tell him the promises we make at baptism K.A.T.  Bishop also pointed Abigail out as a missionary and shared how she has forgotten herself and is serving the Lord and his people as we all should.  I felt the spirit and was grateful for his message.

 

Our kitchen got to hopping when we got home.  Justin started preparing lunch, Abigail started making Oreo cookie balls and Jason made a batch of muddy buddies.  We were hoping Carly would make some pretzel bites but she denied us.  Abigail’s only day without online classes is Sunday so she was free all day.  We played a long Settlers game with FHAJK and then a HCJKD played a game of Quirkle before KD went to bed.  Jason and I watched the first half of Hamilton tonight while FA studied Spanish and Carly worked on homework.  

Week 20: May 17 – 23 [Abigail Temple & Drew’s Birthday Baptism]

Monday [5/17]:  Abigail and I snuck out late this morning for pedicures.  It always feels great to get pampered a bit and my feet were in dire need of some TLC.  I made some bread when we got home and couldn’t refrain from eating several slices slathered in butter.  As my dough was rising my friend Andrea sent our group text the following meme.

It was funny to be able to reply with my current endeavors and know that in a short time I would be enjoying some delicious bread myself.

Abigail sent me a couple pictures of her redeeming some deals today – makes me so happy to see I’ve raised her right – ha!

I was scheduled for two tennis matches tonight.  With rain in the forecast I was torn whether I wanted the rain to force the matches to be cancelled or hold off so I could play.  Not sure I’ll ever get past the nerves of playing.  My first match was over quickly, I hardly broke a sweat with my partner and I losing 1-6.  My partner in my second match was the woman I competed against in my first match who played the best on the court.  Surely we should have the game in the bag.  We were ahead 5-1 and then the opposing team won the next three games.  The rain was really coming down at this point 5-4 so we called it which means nobody won.  That match should’ve been a win for me had I played better.   Very disappointing.  It’s like I get out there and forget all proper form and revert back to the way I used to play – which isn’t terrible, it’s just not as good as I know I can.

 

Jason made some brookie pie tonight for dessert which we enjoyed with ice-cream. I stayed up with Abigail looking at the clothes she has ordered for her mission as she tried to figure out what to keep and not keep.  I can’t believe we’ll have a missionary in our house in less than a week!

 

Tuesday [5/18]:  I was really hoping for a Café Rio deal today so I could get some lunch while I was in Issaquah doing a Costco run.  Not my lucky day I suppose. We did discover an offer for MOD pizza tonight for the first 50 customers.  Reluctantly I shared it on HHH.  I was distracted this morning with that and so many other things that I didn’t get as much done that I wanted to but I did get some groceries (and a FREE donut).

are we tired of FREE food pictures yet, perhaps

We weren’t sure what time we needed to get to MOD to be one of the first 50 so we showed up by 4:15pm just to be safe.  We were the first in line and they never ended up reaching 50.  A FREE dinner for the family was lovely.  I shared it on HHH and to my surprise and delight MOD Pizza shared my story on their story.  Nothing really came of it beyond that but it was fun (and delicious!)

We worked on cleaning up the house a bit before winding down for the night.  I was pretty tired but had told Andrea I could come over tonight for a get together with some ladies.  It was fun and thankfully everyone called it a night shortly after 10pm so it wasn’t a late night. Turns out it wouldn’t have mattered cause once again I had a difficult time falling asleep.  Ugh!

 

Wednesday [5/19]:  We had some final sprucing up to do this morning before my Mom and Val arrived.  Actually Abigail had an entire room that looked like a dressing room had vomited.  She managed to get it done, well all except getting the sheets put back on the bed.  Jason had an ortho appt at 11:30am and I was surprised that my Mom had arrived before we got home from that.  We didn’t have much time to visit before ACJ and I had to head off to tennis lessons.  Dusko was in a great mood today and made the lesson very fun and entertaining.  There was a photographer there for the first part taking pictures of our lesson.  Not sure why exactly, but we may find our photos on their website or something.  We stopped by KK on the way home, of course.

 

My brother Ray sent my Mom a ton of Pokémon cards that Jayden didn’t want anymore.  Apparently Katie and Drew spent over two hours sorting through those while we were gone.   I’m grateful for their generosity and the simple joy it brought my kiddos.

 

Val had forgotten to pack socks and shirts for the trip so we made a trip to Covington to see if we could find something at Kohls.  We actually got incredibly lucky and found a rack of nice shirts for $8.99 – 70% off.  It was a trip well worth making and made even sweeter when my Mom insisted we pick up a dozen cookies at Crumbl.  Katie brought it up and I told her I didn’t have much interest in this week’s flavors, especially german chocolate.  When my Mom heard that her mind was made up.  Apparently german chocolate is one of her favorite treats and thankfully Crumbl didn’t disappoint.  

Justin was wrapping up dinner when we got home – fajitas.  It was a yummy dinner with some fantastic cookies afterward.  We stayed up late visiting and intermittently browsing our own devices.  It’s so great to have them here even if we don’t have any grand plans.

 

Thursday [5/20]:  It was raining this morning so we hung out at home.  I baked the cake for Drew’s birthday cake and then helped Katie make some tomato soup and grilled cheese for everyone to have for lunch.  The rain cleared up after KD went to school so I went on a walk around Lake Alice with my Mom and Val.  It was a bit chilly but nice to be out and hear them comment about how unique and beautiful the area is.

My Mom joined me this afternoon at Carly’s tennis match out in Renton.  Unfortunately, Carly didn’t win, but she played well and it was fun to explain the game to my Mom as we watched.  We had some pork that needed cooked up so we prepared a marinade for the meat before we left for the match and Justin got that started while we were gone.  I made some orzo as a side which wasn’t necessarily a hit – I’ve wanted to cook orzo for a while now but I’ll need to find a different recipe if I make a second attempt.  Abigail was off celebrating a friends birthday tonight.  The rest of us relaxed and enjoyed a quiet evening at home.

 

Friday [5/21]:   Today was a full, wonderful day!  We left the house around 10:45am to head to the temple for Abigail’s endowment.  We had a little time before everyone arrived to take some mission pictures on the temple grounds.  While walking around in the soft, wet grass my left shoe completely fell apart on both of the side of the shoe.  I tried to wobble around with it but it was nearly impossible to keep my foot inside of the shoe so I finally took them off and walked around barefoot.  It felt very inappropriate to enter the temple without any shoes, so I attempted a few more times throughout the day but for the most part I was walking around without anything on my feet.

Abigail was allowed 16 guests including parents. She invited a stellar group of adults (none of her friends are endowed yet).  I consider all these people friends as well so it was great to have them at the temple to support us.  Typically, without covid anyone can come to the temple anytime, but in the current circumstances being invited was a honor and people were more than happy to take time off of work to be in the temple.  At first I thought that limiting the session to 16 was unfortunate but having the session to yourself and personally knowing each person there actually made it more special and I’m incredibly grateful for that.

We stayed in the celestial room for quite a while visiting with everyone.  There was a moment it felt a bit like a reception of some sort with everyone offering her congratulations and giving hugs.  I loved being in that sacred room with people that love Abigail so much.  As they say it takes a village and we are blessed to be surrounded by some wonderful people that have been great examples to Abigail and love her so much.  One of her friends Mom’s drove up from Utah to attend.  Abigail is adored, no doubt about that.  

 

Attending the temple for the first time is often overwhelming for people.  I should’ve known that Abigail would be the exception.  In fact as we were about to enter the celestial room at the end of the session she said that if her friend Gracie (who was receiving her endowment at 5pm today) still had a spot left she wanted to attend that session as well.  Gracie offered that last spot to several people and it remained open – absolutely 100% because it was meant for Abigail.  So instead of a big dinner with the family we ate some teriyaki at a restaurant nearby and then left Abigail with a few ladies who were attending the 5pm session as well and Abigail spent 6 hours in the temple today.

 

We headed home to pickup Jason and get to youth conference (Carly would be arriving late coming straight from tennis practice).   We made a last minute call to make it into an excursion and dragged (pretty much literally for Drew) KD with us.  We didn’t know where exactly we were heading when we left the house, or even after dropping Jason off, but we ended up at Discovery Park in Seattle and thankfully found a parking spot close to the beach.  We walked along the beach to a little cave and then back to the lighthouse.  It was a beautiful evening.  

Since we were in the area we also jumped out for a photo opp at the Fremont Troll.  

My Mom promised KD a treat for complying so we picked up some ice-cream at Baskin-Robbins before heading home.

Saturday [5/22]:  Today was Drew’s 8th birthday!  I woke up before 6am and couldn’t go back to sleep.  When I got up and came downstairs Drew was already taking full advantage of his birthday and was sitting in front of the TV watching cartoons.  Any spare moment throughout the day he was either watching Pokémon or playing on the Nintendo switch.  

Drew’s baptism was at 10am at our church in North Bend.  Drew didn’t want to invite anyone so we didn’t.  There was a member of the bishopric there to preside and the primary president came with her husband as well as the two sister missionaries serving in our ward.  Otherwise it was just my family, my mom and Val and Justin’s parents.  

Mike and Linda arrived 20 minutes late.  We waited for a while but then started the meeting without them so they missed the opening song and Carly’s talk about baptism.  They still weren’t there when it was time for the actual baptism so we put it on pause and Abigail played the piano while we waited.  Drew’s smile during the baptism was beaming.  Entering the water and exiting all with a huge smile.  Abigail played the same piano arrangement while they changed clothes that she did six years ago when Jason was baptized.  It’s one of my favorites.  Justin and Drew took a long time to change so Abigail played another big arrangement as well as several other songs from the songbooks. I love that she still has that talent and I’m sure she’ll use it often in the mission field.  Carly and Jason gave wonderful talks – I was so impressed with both of them and grateful for their willingness to participate in that way. Katie and Mike were the witnesses.  So cool to be able to have Katie fulfill that role.  

We took a few pictures afterward and then one of our cars zipped over to the North Bend Bakery to pick up Drew’s birthday donut. 

Justin & ACJ didn’t have long at home before they needed to leave for Justin, Abigail and Carly to get their second vaccination shot.  Not the best day to do it but it made sense with Abigail being set apart on Monday and Carly having several tennis matches next week.  Jason was also able to get his first shot so it was a productive outing.  Justin dropped CJ off at the stake center to spend the rest of the day/evening at our stake youth conference.

 

Drew wanted to go to the park this afternoon and he picked Steller Park which isn’t one we visit often.  We spent MUCH longer there than I would have expected, but he had a great time and the adults had some fun as well.

Drew’s been super indecisive about what he wanted to have for dinner tonight.  We weren’t planning on eating out but somehow that’s the direction we went.  Picking a place was another ordeal.  We finally settled on Red Robin in Issaquah, but the wait was over 45 minutes so we bailed.  An alternative was Jersey Mikes but the closest one didn’t have indoor dining so we placed a sandwich order online and drove out to North Bend to eat inside that location.  We had enough points to cover one of our giant sandwiches and then I asked them if Drew could get a free sandwich since it was his birthday.  The guy said yes so we scored.

 

More tech time back home until KD went to bed then Justin and I went for a walk until nearly 11pm since I was feeling pretty lazy and needed to shower anyhow.  

 

I shared this picture on Instagram:

These two! ❤😢🎉

 

I don’t have the words to describe how amazing this weekend has been. Being with Abigail in the temple yesterday as she made covenants to continue to strive to become more like Christ will be an experience I will always cherish a highlight for me. She surrounded herself with people she admires and who have helped shape her into the incredible young woman she is. I’m so grateful for their examples, love and support. 

 

Drew turned eight today and was baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Carly and Jason gave wonderful talks and Katie stood as a witness.  Drew beamed today and then proceeded to spend the remainder of his birthday enjoying unlimited tech time and far too many treats.

 

These are the moments that make the hard stuff worth it.  Oh, how I LOVE my crew!

Sunday [5/23]:  A very chill sabbath day at the Fletcher house today.  The kids had youth meetings at 9am and then we all attended sacrament meeting at the church at 11am.  They announced today that we would be adding second hour to the block in June and that starting next Sunday masks would be optional.  Hip Hip Hooray!

 

Justin was released from the Elders Quorum presidency today and sustained to serve as a “specialist” for the teachers quorum which basically means he with assist the advisor with activities.  Jason is in the teachers quorum so at least now I’ll have someone I can get after for not organizing some fun activities for the boys.  Jason will be 14 this summer and in the 6 years he’s been in cub scouts and youth he still hasn’t done a single campout!  That’s crazy business.

 

I had prepped some stuff this morning for us to have with a salad after church and then I made the rest of Drew’s birthday cake and got that all assembled.  We had a quick CFM lesson before CJ headed off to the stake center for the closing meeting for youth conference.  So grateful they had such a great weekend even amongst the busy things we had going on as a family.  We prepared a quick tortellini salad for dinner and then cake!