Hey April - It's Your Birthday!
This past week has been plenty busy with both indoor and outdoor work! And spring is beginning to bloom! Everything is so pretty outside right now.
Popcorn is also popping on the apricot tree out front - -
Monday: We all had projects around the house, but most especially the Whitworths. In addition to unpacking and getting settled in, Amber set about building her new easel stand that she had ordered. It just barely clears the ceiling but provides her a great place to paint to her heart's content. She is very happy with it!
It was also Scott's birthday!! Everyone in our family reached out to him at some point that day, but Jacob had the funniest texts that he sent to his father. Something about there being a special place in Nevada for people of his age (51).
Amber and her family, plus me of course, all sang happy birthday to him. :)
Later that evening, after the work was done, we went down to the Snake River to walk along the greenbelt. The girls especially enjoyed it when we walked through the tunnel under Pancheri Drive and we all made creative animal sounds to produce an echo. They also enjoyed climbing on the rocks and just being outside in the fresh air.
Walking back to the car as the sun was getting close to its own bedtime . . .
Tuesday: We spent most of the day getting things organized still, and I did my own tasks to wash bedding, clean bathrooms, and get what I could ready ahead of Jacob and Hannah's arrival.
We hung out on the front porch waiting for them to pull up out front, and when they did finally arrive, Abby went running out and threw herself into Jacob's arms in a full-out bear hug!! Gwen was a little more reserved and shy at first.
Wednesday: I cleaned up and pulled the weeds out of the flower bed leading up to the front porch. Amber came out and read some of the book, "Trumpet of the Swan" to Abby close to where I was working. What a good mommy.
Before:
After:
Meanwhile, Jacob got to work fixing a broken sprinkler out by the sidewalk. Sons are sure handy to have around! He is always so willing to drive up from Utah (about 3.5 hours south) to do some of the things that his Dad would do if he were here.
Jacob also is quite an amazing chef in the kitchen. I always discuss menu ideas with him before he comes for a visit, and our unspoken (but perfect) arrangement is that I buy all the groceries and he does all the cooking. Yes please!!
This particular night, we made homemade sushi. It was delicious! We had thinly sliced salmon, spicy tuna, imitation crab, and a variety of thinly sliced or shredded vegetables, such as cucumber and carrots. Jacob made the sticky rice and we all took turns making our own sushi roll, then we sliced it up to be devoured. It was a lot of fun and everything turned out delicious!
Hannah and Weston assembling their individual sushi rolls:
Amber's sushi is all ready to eat! (Abby and Gwen ate ramen noodles that night, although Gwen does love seaweed wrap paper!!)
Jacob dislikes having his picture taken, but oh well. I'm the mom and it's my house. :)
I made my sushi roll without rice, trying to eat as few carbs as possible. It was a lot messier though, especially when trying to dip it into the soy sauce and have it stay together, but it was still worth it. I put all the proteins and all the veggies into mine.
Gwen had spiked a fever during the day, which lasted for another 24+ hours. She didn't exhibit any other symptoms, other than not feeling well and wanting to eat ice cream regularly. She was happy to sit with me and spoon some soothing cold goodness into her mouth.
Thursday: Jacob and Hannah helped me put together my new headboard. We ran into a small problem where the legs on the headboard weren't wide enough to attach to the bed frame itself, so we just sandwiched it up against the wall and pushed the bed toward it to hold it in place. That will suffice until Scott gets home and can mount it to the wall when we can determine a more permanent location for it. I LOVE my king bed. It's so comfy and welcoming at the end of each day!
I also worked hard to clear out the strawberry patch in the back yard. Scott tried a new technique last spring and it worked so well that I decided to replicate it this year. It involves getting out the leaf blower and blowing as many dead leaves out of the patch as possible first, and then hand-raking the rest of the leaves out while on my hands and knees with a little 3-pronged tool. It's a really large patch, covering almost the entire length of the back of the house, so it helps to not have as much to rake out from around each strawberry plant. I raked up the leaves that were blown out into the grass into piles, and then shoveled them into black trash bags. I'm always so pleased to stand back each spring and admire the garden when it's clean and transformed. (*The PVC pipe arches allow me to cover the plants with bird netting once they start ripening, and also keeps the mesh off the plants themselves.)
After dinner, we went out front to draw with chalk and do some hopscotch. :)
Friday: We called Benson mid-day to wish him a happy birthday. We ended up talking to him for maybe 1.5 hours by the time we were done! It was great to see him so happy together with his wife, Kylie, over in Northern Italy.
My how he's grown!!
We talked about everything under the sun, we giggled and laughed and then talked some more. It was really wonderful. Here they are sitting out on their balcony making funny faces.
They still aren't allowed to walk more than 1/4 of a mile from their house because of coronavirus restrictions, without the risk of being fined 600 euros. They just recently moved into a temporary house while they still wait for Kylie's paperwork to be approved (military necessity) and then they can get a house of their own. But behind this new temporary house is a decent hill where they like to sneak out for a refreshing walk as often as possible. They sent us pictures of what Benson called their "illegal adventures". Kylie is also a budding photographer, with a fantastic eye for composition and beauty!! (as seen below)
That same afternoon, Jacob, Hannah, and Weston went up Sunnyside Road to find a place to shoot their guns. I was supposed to go with them, but after too many late nights and partying with all the younger house guests, I was just too exhausted to join in the fun. Maybe next time . . .
At the end of the day, Amber and Weston took their girls up to Rigby to spend time with his parents for the evening. Mike and Kathy wanted a chance to celebrate both Abby's and Weston's birthdays, and how nice to finally be able to do so!
While they were gone, Jacob, Hannah, and I grabbed some dinner and took it over to Freeman Park along the Snake River. We played catch with a frisbee for a while and then walked a two mile loop around the park before heading home.
Saturday: We stalled on some plans for entertainment for the girls, both inside and out. One big plan we are working in is to build a swing-set in the back yard. While the menfolk repeatedly discussed the building plans mixed with physics and torque talk, all I cared about was the aesthetics and the location. I want a place where we have an actual corner of the yard carved out for grandchildren. I also want a variety of swinging opportunities from the A-frame structure. I want to be able to hang children's swings, OR a hammock, OR chair hammock swings for grown-ups, OR Amber's new yoga swing. As we met multiple times to discuss my wants vs important structural needs, we realized that we were running out of time to accomplish much before Jacob needed to leave after the weekend was over. We did settle on a firm building plan, though, so it will be up to Weston to put it all together in the very near future.
The other plan that stalled was how and where to hang a "sensory swing" inside the house when we have ceiling cable heat everywhere. You're not supposed to drill into the ceiling when you have that type of heating. We borrowed a tool from our neighbor, Lee Brundage, that senses current behind the wall or above the ceiling. It was a little erratic, however, as we put it to the test. Because the readings were inconclusive, we decided to just continue to hang the swing outside until Scott can come home and put his handy-dandy-fixing-skills to work on the matter.
Abby absolutely loves this swing. And who wouldn't?!?
Even though our own plans stalled, we took some gardening tools up to Rigby and chose to pull weeds in Mom and Dad Harmon's back yard instead! At first, Mom protested that the weather wasn't very nice outside, but thankfully she had a special job for Jacob (moving a TV downstairs and setting it up elsewhere) so Hannah and I snuck out back and got to work. Tee hee!
Eventually Mom caught on to our sneaky plot and decided to come out and join in the weed-pulling festivities. We tried to talk her out of it, but alas, she has her own opinions, ha ha. So we just tried to work faster so we could get it all done before she exhausted herself. It was, after all, three against one!
Jacob helped to secure their tipping birdhouse, in addition to hauling our piles of weeds and doing some hoeing too.
Sunday: Once again, I cried while having the Sacrament administered to me in my own living room. This time by my own son, Jacob. It really is such a personal and intimate experience to have the bread and water, representing the broken body and blood of our Savior Jesus Christ, blessed and held out to me as an offering in my own home. And it was special to have two of my three children with me as we sang hymns and worshiped together.
Amber had such a clever way of teaching the girls about what a prophet does and how he is the Lord's mouthpiece on the earth today.
She attached a little pouch to the picture of Jesus on the wall, with notes of love and counsel that God has shared with us directly through our current prophet, President Russell M. Nelson. She had Abby and Gwen help hold the string up as she would ferry the message over to them in a cup.
They would reach in to retrieve one message and Amber would help to read what it said. Then she would ferry the cup back to the Savior, put in the next message, and help it to once again return to the girls.
Due to a paper jam in our office printer, she opted to just sketch President Nelson directly onto the cup. She did a great job!
These are the messages she wrote for the girls, teaching them how our Father in Heaven loves us and wants us to do all that we can to be happy as well as being obedient and prepared for things to come. These are (paraphrased) messages that Heavenly Father has shared with President Nelson, our prophet, who then shares them with us. They love us so very much.
After lunch, we all went for a short walk around the neighborhood together. As we headed out, it was sprinkling, but we still wanted to go anyway. So we took what seemed like a dozen umbrellas, and off we went. We didn't need them for long. :)
For dinner, we prepared fixings for a Nachos Buffet, while Jacob worked on a BEAUTIFUL and DELICIOUS cheesecake from scratch for Hannah's birthday. YES - another April birthday!! She turned 22 yesterday and it was so fun to have her with us to celebrate!
So here are the April birthdays just in our immediate family - NOT including Scott's siblings, nieces/nephews, in-laws, etc. who also have an April birthday!
April 1: Abby
April 7: Jasmine (our dear friend and foster daughter)
April 10: Weston
April 20: Scott
April 24: Benson
April 26: Hannah
What a whirlwind week this has been! Lots of fun, way too much eating of food, plenty of staying up late playing games or talking or watching movies, lots of projects and work around the house and yard, and lots of visiting and playing with the girls. My personal favorite was Jacob and Hannah pretending to be horses and carrying Abby and Gwen on their backs while they crawled around the house. I love my family and I'm so glad we could be so connected even though some of us are on the other side of the world. XOXO
Popcorn is also popping on the apricot tree out front - -
Monday: We all had projects around the house, but most especially the Whitworths. In addition to unpacking and getting settled in, Amber set about building her new easel stand that she had ordered. It just barely clears the ceiling but provides her a great place to paint to her heart's content. She is very happy with it!
It was also Scott's birthday!! Everyone in our family reached out to him at some point that day, but Jacob had the funniest texts that he sent to his father. Something about there being a special place in Nevada for people of his age (51).
Amber and her family, plus me of course, all sang happy birthday to him. :)
Later that evening, after the work was done, we went down to the Snake River to walk along the greenbelt. The girls especially enjoyed it when we walked through the tunnel under Pancheri Drive and we all made creative animal sounds to produce an echo. They also enjoyed climbing on the rocks and just being outside in the fresh air.
Walking back to the car as the sun was getting close to its own bedtime . . .
Tuesday: We spent most of the day getting things organized still, and I did my own tasks to wash bedding, clean bathrooms, and get what I could ready ahead of Jacob and Hannah's arrival.
We hung out on the front porch waiting for them to pull up out front, and when they did finally arrive, Abby went running out and threw herself into Jacob's arms in a full-out bear hug!! Gwen was a little more reserved and shy at first.
Wednesday: I cleaned up and pulled the weeds out of the flower bed leading up to the front porch. Amber came out and read some of the book, "Trumpet of the Swan" to Abby close to where I was working. What a good mommy.
Before:
After:
Meanwhile, Jacob got to work fixing a broken sprinkler out by the sidewalk. Sons are sure handy to have around! He is always so willing to drive up from Utah (about 3.5 hours south) to do some of the things that his Dad would do if he were here.
Jacob also is quite an amazing chef in the kitchen. I always discuss menu ideas with him before he comes for a visit, and our unspoken (but perfect) arrangement is that I buy all the groceries and he does all the cooking. Yes please!!
This particular night, we made homemade sushi. It was delicious! We had thinly sliced salmon, spicy tuna, imitation crab, and a variety of thinly sliced or shredded vegetables, such as cucumber and carrots. Jacob made the sticky rice and we all took turns making our own sushi roll, then we sliced it up to be devoured. It was a lot of fun and everything turned out delicious!
Hannah and Weston assembling their individual sushi rolls:
Amber's sushi is all ready to eat! (Abby and Gwen ate ramen noodles that night, although Gwen does love seaweed wrap paper!!)
Jacob dislikes having his picture taken, but oh well. I'm the mom and it's my house. :)
I made my sushi roll without rice, trying to eat as few carbs as possible. It was a lot messier though, especially when trying to dip it into the soy sauce and have it stay together, but it was still worth it. I put all the proteins and all the veggies into mine.
Gwen had spiked a fever during the day, which lasted for another 24+ hours. She didn't exhibit any other symptoms, other than not feeling well and wanting to eat ice cream regularly. She was happy to sit with me and spoon some soothing cold goodness into her mouth.
Thursday: Jacob and Hannah helped me put together my new headboard. We ran into a small problem where the legs on the headboard weren't wide enough to attach to the bed frame itself, so we just sandwiched it up against the wall and pushed the bed toward it to hold it in place. That will suffice until Scott gets home and can mount it to the wall when we can determine a more permanent location for it. I LOVE my king bed. It's so comfy and welcoming at the end of each day!
I also worked hard to clear out the strawberry patch in the back yard. Scott tried a new technique last spring and it worked so well that I decided to replicate it this year. It involves getting out the leaf blower and blowing as many dead leaves out of the patch as possible first, and then hand-raking the rest of the leaves out while on my hands and knees with a little 3-pronged tool. It's a really large patch, covering almost the entire length of the back of the house, so it helps to not have as much to rake out from around each strawberry plant. I raked up the leaves that were blown out into the grass into piles, and then shoveled them into black trash bags. I'm always so pleased to stand back each spring and admire the garden when it's clean and transformed. (*The PVC pipe arches allow me to cover the plants with bird netting once they start ripening, and also keeps the mesh off the plants themselves.)
After dinner, we went out front to draw with chalk and do some hopscotch. :)
Friday: We called Benson mid-day to wish him a happy birthday. We ended up talking to him for maybe 1.5 hours by the time we were done! It was great to see him so happy together with his wife, Kylie, over in Northern Italy.
My how he's grown!!
We talked about everything under the sun, we giggled and laughed and then talked some more. It was really wonderful. Here they are sitting out on their balcony making funny faces.
That same afternoon, Jacob, Hannah, and Weston went up Sunnyside Road to find a place to shoot their guns. I was supposed to go with them, but after too many late nights and partying with all the younger house guests, I was just too exhausted to join in the fun. Maybe next time . . .
At the end of the day, Amber and Weston took their girls up to Rigby to spend time with his parents for the evening. Mike and Kathy wanted a chance to celebrate both Abby's and Weston's birthdays, and how nice to finally be able to do so!
While they were gone, Jacob, Hannah, and I grabbed some dinner and took it over to Freeman Park along the Snake River. We played catch with a frisbee for a while and then walked a two mile loop around the park before heading home.
Saturday: We stalled on some plans for entertainment for the girls, both inside and out. One big plan we are working in is to build a swing-set in the back yard. While the menfolk repeatedly discussed the building plans mixed with physics and torque talk, all I cared about was the aesthetics and the location. I want a place where we have an actual corner of the yard carved out for grandchildren. I also want a variety of swinging opportunities from the A-frame structure. I want to be able to hang children's swings, OR a hammock, OR chair hammock swings for grown-ups, OR Amber's new yoga swing. As we met multiple times to discuss my wants vs important structural needs, we realized that we were running out of time to accomplish much before Jacob needed to leave after the weekend was over. We did settle on a firm building plan, though, so it will be up to Weston to put it all together in the very near future.
The other plan that stalled was how and where to hang a "sensory swing" inside the house when we have ceiling cable heat everywhere. You're not supposed to drill into the ceiling when you have that type of heating. We borrowed a tool from our neighbor, Lee Brundage, that senses current behind the wall or above the ceiling. It was a little erratic, however, as we put it to the test. Because the readings were inconclusive, we decided to just continue to hang the swing outside until Scott can come home and put his handy-dandy-fixing-skills to work on the matter.
Abby absolutely loves this swing. And who wouldn't?!?
Even though our own plans stalled, we took some gardening tools up to Rigby and chose to pull weeds in Mom and Dad Harmon's back yard instead! At first, Mom protested that the weather wasn't very nice outside, but thankfully she had a special job for Jacob (moving a TV downstairs and setting it up elsewhere) so Hannah and I snuck out back and got to work. Tee hee!
Eventually Mom caught on to our sneaky plot and decided to come out and join in the weed-pulling festivities. We tried to talk her out of it, but alas, she has her own opinions, ha ha. So we just tried to work faster so we could get it all done before she exhausted herself. It was, after all, three against one!
Jacob helped to secure their tipping birdhouse, in addition to hauling our piles of weeds and doing some hoeing too.
Sunday: Once again, I cried while having the Sacrament administered to me in my own living room. This time by my own son, Jacob. It really is such a personal and intimate experience to have the bread and water, representing the broken body and blood of our Savior Jesus Christ, blessed and held out to me as an offering in my own home. And it was special to have two of my three children with me as we sang hymns and worshiped together.
Amber had such a clever way of teaching the girls about what a prophet does and how he is the Lord's mouthpiece on the earth today.
She attached a little pouch to the picture of Jesus on the wall, with notes of love and counsel that God has shared with us directly through our current prophet, President Russell M. Nelson. She had Abby and Gwen help hold the string up as she would ferry the message over to them in a cup.
They would reach in to retrieve one message and Amber would help to read what it said. Then she would ferry the cup back to the Savior, put in the next message, and help it to once again return to the girls.
Due to a paper jam in our office printer, she opted to just sketch President Nelson directly onto the cup. She did a great job!
These are the messages she wrote for the girls, teaching them how our Father in Heaven loves us and wants us to do all that we can to be happy as well as being obedient and prepared for things to come. These are (paraphrased) messages that Heavenly Father has shared with President Nelson, our prophet, who then shares them with us. They love us so very much.
After lunch, we all went for a short walk around the neighborhood together. As we headed out, it was sprinkling, but we still wanted to go anyway. So we took what seemed like a dozen umbrellas, and off we went. We didn't need them for long. :)
For dinner, we prepared fixings for a Nachos Buffet, while Jacob worked on a BEAUTIFUL and DELICIOUS cheesecake from scratch for Hannah's birthday. YES - another April birthday!! She turned 22 yesterday and it was so fun to have her with us to celebrate!
So here are the April birthdays just in our immediate family - NOT including Scott's siblings, nieces/nephews, in-laws, etc. who also have an April birthday!
April 1: Abby
April 7: Jasmine (our dear friend and foster daughter)
April 10: Weston
April 20: Scott
April 24: Benson
April 26: Hannah
What a whirlwind week this has been! Lots of fun, way too much eating of food, plenty of staying up late playing games or talking or watching movies, lots of projects and work around the house and yard, and lots of visiting and playing with the girls. My personal favorite was Jacob and Hannah pretending to be horses and carrying Abby and Gwen on their backs while they crawled around the house. I love my family and I'm so glad we could be so connected even though some of us are on the other side of the world. XOXO
It's been a GREAT first week here!!! Very exhausting but we got a lot done! Thanks for recording all of it. :)
ReplyDeleteIt's been a pleasure to record all of the happenings over the past several months, including this past week!
ReplyDelete