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2 Weeks In
So far 2023 is not very interesting, but things are gearing up to get busy...
Last Saturday Jesse had a play date with his girlfriend. Kira dropped him off and then went grocery shopping. At home, I cut the other boys' hair and got them showered. Kira brought home the groceries and then turned right around to go get Jesse. He had a great time. They mostly just played like 8-year-olds play, although Jesse did get a little jealous when he saw that his girlfriend has a pillowcase that an old flame made her. She still keeps it, and used to hug it before bed every night, but now she says that she punches it because she doesn't like the boy who gave it to her. As he was telling this to Hannah and me, I suggested he decorate a new pillowcase for her and give it to her on Valentine's Day. He loved that idea, and so he threw that together later in the week with Kira's help.
That's Jesse and his girlfriend, and one of her cats.
Anyway, once Jesse was home from the play date, he called his girlfriend again using an app that they have on their school iPads. They chatted a while.
Speaking of girlfriends, Ivy came over to play with Apollo and give him a run for his money. All three of the boys went outside, too, and they had a good time on the trampoline.
We were glad that the weather was mild enough for them to tolerate it.
In the late afternoon, Avey and I got out of the house for a little while by going to 2 stores nearby. I then cut Jesse's hair and he showered before all of the bedtime routine. Hannah came over for a movie that night.
Sunday was the usual, but Carver stayed home that day after striking a deal with Kira. I used the time with him to teach him how to fry his own egg, and then he helped me bake some gluten-free brownies for him to enjoy the rest of the week. I also baked a chocolate cake entirely from scratch, which turned out alright for a first attempt. I then prepared our lunch. Hannah brought the kids back and so I fed them before Kira was home - she was out visiting a few people closer to the branch building.
Hannah took Apollo on a walk in the afternoon. She wanted to go check out a vacant lot in our neighborhood that's for sale. It's a nice little spot of land, but she's not sure she is ready to take on all of the work and debt it would take to develop. Maybe someday...
Hannah went home and then the rest of us had a visit from the missionaries. Both are from Idaho, so it was nice to connect over that as I have a lot of family up there, and Kira spent a few years there in college. They didn't stay too long, and so then we had Ivy over again and then a short family night activity, dinner, and bedtime. Kira and I turned in early too after the long day.
On Monday, Kira was up before her alarm, so she let me sleep in a little longer. I took Avey to school so that Kira could get ready for work that day. She left and then I did my own work, preparing for the coming semester. The bus brought the boys and their normal homework stuff. Jesse's really making progress with his math in several areas, and Merritt's coming a long way in reading.
Avey walked Apollo around the neighborhood, and I fed the younger boys, but Carver got his own meal. Kira was home for bedtime, and Hannah stayed home to rest up.
Tuesday was almost the same as Monday. Kira was up before the alarm again, so I slept just a little longer and then got up to take Avey to school and stop by the YMCA to do some exercise. Kira was on a phone call with a friend when I was home, so I showered and worked until the bus brought the boys. Ivy came over again, and everything else was about the same as usual.
Wednesday was also nothing unusual except that I let Kira sleep in, and then that afternoon Jesse really wanted to work on his talent show idea. He figured he could jump over an obstacle using Merritt's little trampoline. Kira took him in the backyard where there's room, and he experimented with different obstacles. Eventually, he settled on turning it into a comedy routine where he dresses up like a ballerina, complete with a tutu, and does some clumsy tricks. We're excited to see how it turns out.
Hannah came over that night to change her oil in our garage. Kira made a dash to a store before it closed, and we got the boys bathed again.
Thursday morning I let Kira sleep again, but she saw the boys off and I took Avey. Kira then napped, and I got a call from Hannah. She saw a freezer on her bus route that was in good shape and free, so we went to pick it up with my trusty truck. It was on the same route as that house that had burned to the ground, so we went by there to gawk at the damage. Hannah had heard through the grapevine that the cause of the fire was an electric vent diverter inside the vent system, and it had shorted out and caught on fire. Apparently the fire spread rather quickly because the vents provide easy access to the entire house by design.
I plugged the freezer in at my garage to make sure it works, and Hannah left for her office job. A friend of Kira's came over in the afternoon to paint Kira's nails. Apparently she is in some kind of school that teaches all the tricks of nail painting, and she needed to practice, so Kira got the full service. I worked on class preparations.
The bus dropped off the boys and I dropped off Hannah's freezer at her place. It was a normal evening. Kira was on the phone that night with her mother, and so Hannah, Avey, and I watched an improvised musical that was pretty entertaining.
Friday, I let Kira sleep in again, but she took Avey to school. I was paid, so Hannah and I went to Costco once she could escape from her office job. I then took a little break after we got everything unloaded and she left for work. Avey was feeling really tired, so I picked her up to spare her the bus ride, although we made it home maybe only 15 minutes before the bus would have. Still, it's probably lower stress. I worked some more at home while the kids relished in having no homework. I took Avey to hang out with her friends downtown and I grabbed a few scary movies at the library (because it was Friday the 13th). Hannah stayed home because she went to the temple early today.
Kira got asked to play the piano at a baptism this morning, so we barely saw her after she slept in and then left. I was up rather early and decided to make pancakes and bacon for the kids (and me). Jesse's girlfriend will come over here this afternoon, so Jesse's got big plans for that. Otherwise, we'll try to get kids clean and entertained.
I start classes on Tuesday, and then my little brother, Isaac, arrives on Wednesday to keep us company and give us excuses to eat pizza and treats. The kids have Monday off, so I'll try to keep them from eating each other while Kira is at work half of the day. Wish me luck...