Aveyversary

We spent lots of this week preparing for and then celebrating Avey's birthday!

We left off last Saturday with Kira taking the kids to Michigan City to do some clothes shopping. As Kira sorted through their cold-weather clothes, it became apparent that they were all in need of some pants, and Carver needed some new church shoes. She took all of the kids and left me home alone. I first tuned up the mower some - I had been meaning to do it for most of the summer and then just never got around to it. I put air in the tires, adjusted the brake, and cleaned out all the chunks of grass that had caked on underneath. It was fun using it later in the week and feeling the difference. Anyway, I also showered and then relaxed a little before they came home. Kira then had an afternoon meeting at the stake center, so she went to that late and I made muddy buddies (the kids' favorite treat), cooked, and then fed everyone. Kira came home after the meeting, and then hung out before leaving for yet another meeting back at the stake center. She planned to take Avey to drop at the homecoming dance that night. Once Avey was ready, they left.

I got the boys to bed and then Hannah came over to join me for a little TV. She left a little before Kira and Avey arrived home from the dance and meeting. Avey said that it was fun and showed us some of the pictures she got with her friends. We all got to bed a little too late after that.

Sunday was a pretty typical morning, but it was stake conference, and it was rainy off and on all day. I got the kids ready for Kira, and then I spent most of the rest of the morning taking care of dishes and preparing the meal for lunch. Hannah joined us and then left to get some stuff done. Merritt was itching for an outing, so I took him to the library where they didn't have the book he wanted, but he picked up three of his other favorites, not daring to look at any new books. He read all three to me when we got home, and then we bathed kids. Jesse got very interested in all of the mini-drones we have, so he got them all out and tested each one in the house. He got really fixated on the idea of using one to deliver paper messages to people, and so I suggested bending a paperclip to tape onto the top, and sticking a little note in the paperclip. He loved that idea and tried it out immediately.

We had a short family night lesson and then for activity we tried out a new board game that my sister-in-law sent to us as a surprise. That was fun, although we ran out of time after not too long.

Monday, Kira slept just past breakfast and then came down to help get the kids to school. I had a follow-up blood draw that morning, so I showered and left. When the results came in, it was mostly good news - my cholesterol is very much improved, but my triglycerides are still too high - those jerks. I'll keep working on it.

Avey had left her laptop charger at home, so I dropped that off for her after I'd eaten something, and then Kira got ready for work and left me to my grading. I did take a break around lunchtime before the bus, and then it was a typical afternoon of homework. Jesse played with friends, and Merritt read all his library books to me again.

Trying Kira's Jacket

We called Kira to tell her goodnight at bedtime, and Hannah came over for some TV with Avey and me. Kira got home at our bedtime, but had good sessions with clients, and made some progress on paperwork.

Tuesday was also typical. I had good classes and then worked on more grading. Kira spent much of the day shopping for Avey's birthday, although by then we knew most of it would be late in getting here. We had several envelopes and packages arrive throughout the week, so that was all exciting.

Jesse Made Kira a Bracelet

Once I was home from the city, we all ate and got ready for Carver's first orchestra concert! We decided to all go early when he needed to be dropped off, and it's a good thing we did - the concert was in the gym, and their little bleachers were already overflowing. There was a little row of folding chairs set up, so we quickly staked that out and saved a spot for Hannah, but it became clear that they were going to need more seats as parents and relatives poured into the gym. Luckily, they went to get more chairs and eventually had enough set up.

It was nice to see and hear Carver play, although he probably sounds better by himself.

After the concert was a total fiasco. Jesse had a coupon for a Wendy's frosty, so we thought we would all get a treat. We also needed gas, so Kira dropped us at the restaurant and left to get gas. We found out that they didn't have any of the flavors the kids wanted, so we just waited for Kira to come back. She got back after she realized that she had left her wallet at home, so we still needed both ice cream and gas. We loaded up in the car, and dashed to the nearest grocery store to get ice cream, and got a couple of gallons of gas before coming home way past the boys' bedtime. Carver also had a project to work on that night, as did Avey, so everyone got to bed too late.

The next day, Kira let me sleep in. I got up to see the boys leave on the bus and say goodbye to Avey as Kira drove her to school. I cleaned up the kitchen and did work, then I took Apollo on a walk at a nature preserve nearby where he got to sniff to his heart's content (almost). I came home to have lunch before leaving to pick Avey up from school and take her to an appointment. We had some time to kill before, so we went to check out some birthday cake ideas at a grocery store. Once I dropped her at the appointment, I ran some errands, but ran out of time really quickly before needing to pick her up again. On the way home, we picked up Avey a sub sandwich for lunch the next day (and she ate the other half for dinner).

At home, the boys did a good job on their homework. When Avey and I got home, Merritt went and did his first gymnastics class. Kira signed him up for 8 weeks - just once each week. When she suggested it to him, he was hesitant, because he does not like trying new things. But we knew he would love it, because bouncing and rolling are his favorite things to do, so we encouraged him to try, and he eventually said he would. He came home so excited! He had a classmate there, and tried lots of fun things, so now he can't wait to go back this week, and he wants me to go so I can see what he does.

Thursday was Avey's birthday! She took her sandwich, but it was otherwise a pretty typical day. I had my long day in the city, but felt pretty good compared to most days. I made it home during dinner, and Kira had bought donuts for Avey's breakfast the next day (one of her requests). She had one that night, anyway, just so it could feel a little like her special day.

Hannah brought over a vase of flowers from her garden for Avey, and so those have been very nice to brighten the kitchen.

Friday was a standard morning, and then I had a phone meeting, did work, and then had another stupid meeting. Kira picked up Avey from school and took her to a chiropractic appointment, and I cut the grass. I then dropped her off for the last class at school and ran some other errands. The kids were all excited for the weekend. Jesse wanted to earn some money, so I suggested he go into the crawlspace to check for dead mice. I've been meaning to go do that for a long time. He said he would, but then I figured I should also go down. We found 3 dead mice, and then located where it looked like they had entered, so I then sealed that off and decided to check more often down there.

Merritt sounded really bad when he got off the bus. He admitted that his throat was sore, but he seemed to have okay energy. He said he felt like he was getting sick. He wanted to go to a park near dinner, and it was a nice evening, so I packed him a picnic dinner and took him to a park while also dropping off Avey to hang with friends downtown. He ate and played for a while before we picked Avey back up and went home for bedtime.

Saturday was the day we would officially celebrate Avey's birthday. I baked her cake and fed the boys breakfast, and then left to play racquetball with Hannah. Avey was up not long after I got home, and decided that she wanted to go to the zoo in Michigan City. We all got ready, and Kira watched a session of general conference, and then Hannah came over for the zoo. We had a lot of fun, even though Merritt still wasn't really in the mood.

Merritt still had fun, as did we all.

We didn't get to see the lions because the exhibit was closed, but we did get to see almost everything else. It's a good-size zoo for a 2-hour trip.

We wrapped up there, and then came home to do Avey's presents, dinner, and then cake:

We can't believe that she's already 15! We put Merritt to bed early (at his request), and then had fun retelling the story of Avey - how we wanted a girl first, how we decided on her name long before Kira was pregnant, and how excited we were to have her.

We hope that Merritt will wake up feeling much better tomorrow, and that Kira gets some time to watch conference in peace. We'll let you know how it went next time!