After church today, we went to the Provo River trail right where it starts at Utah lake. Lily and the kids (sans Clarissa) biked. I walked with Basil and Clarissa (who was on a scooter).
We were delighted and surprised to see horses and goats on the trail
Then we grabbed subway and ate in the car on our way to Mt. Timponogos park right at the mouth of Provo Canyon. I biked with Ammon while Lily and the girls were at the dog park with Basil. Then we all went to the playground. We laughed when the static from going down the slide and the wind made Clarissa’s hair look very funny.
Afterwords we visited Georgia and Lydia and Mary got to see her room. They were so excited to see her place and have fun sitting in her chair that reclines electronically.
Lily and I both had incredibly intense weeks last week. Thursday night, I was on the verge of collapse emotionally and mentally, and Lily is pushing really hard to help the kids in improve in music and a variety of other things. It’s crazy to see their progress in music, reading, math and more. We both started the day extremely tired. I also went to Basil at 3 in the morning because he’s been having diarrhea due to a food change. We were so wiped out that we didn’t leave the house until 2:00 at which point we took care of some things at yard of the rental property to help prepare to sell it.
Afterwards, we ordered pizza and got together with Joe, Camille and their two kids. We really love that family. We had a wonderful time talking to them and we especially found insight as Joe told us about his battle with ADHD and how medication has changed his life. Lily and I took mental notes because the things he struggled with were the exact sort of things Lydia struggles with. Lydia really doesn’t want to take medication, but I hope she will be open to the idea at some point of how much better her life could be, and how she could shine even brighter if she gets some help for something that is not her fault.
Today I spent some time during my workday helping to navigate some sprinkler repairs with the repairmen at our rental property. The kids were cute in the backyard while the grown-ups worked.
Today Georgia visited and spent time with the family.
Also, Mary has been begging to play election night for days, so tonight I obliged and had a wonderful time playing with her despite being completely smashed with fatigue.
Also, here is a video that Lydia took of Basil in the car.
Lily has felt like her body is breaking down because of all that she does for our family, which seriously is so much. Cooking, cleaning, music practice, organizing trips, scheduling and organizing lessons, teaching kids to be clean, polite, hard-working safe is an endless job that so often does not get the praise and attention it deserves.
The name of the game today was to give our heroine a BREAK. I walked the dog in the morning and the kids and I made her breakfast in bed. Lily stayed in bed until noon where she finished a book by Terry Tempest Williams.
The kids were amazing helpers. Not only did they help with breakfast, but Lydia made a sweet card, and Mary and Ammon made beautiful pictures for her.
In the afternoon, we took it easy and then her Georgia cme over and we had a nice Gyro dinner. It was so nice to see her. She is always so sweet and kind, even when she isn’t feeling the best, which she wasn’t tonight. I also got to talk to my mom, my grandma, and Suzanne on the phone.
Lily said it was one of her favorite, if not her favorite mother’s day ever. All we did was give her a break. That speaks to how hard she works for this family. I cannot wait until all the kids are in school and life is not quite so crushing of a pace for her. Lily, we love you! I love you and cannot thank you enough for all the thought and planning you put into our children an their future, all the imagination you put into creating joy, magic and wonder for them, all of the intention and discipline you put into their training, all the sweat and toil you put into giving them an environment that is clean and peaceful, and all of the love you put into your affirmations of love for them. We love you so much, and there could not be a better mother for our children!
One of the things I admire about Lily is how intentional she is about giving our kids our time. Today she announced she wanted to play Clue with the kids, and I happily jumped on that train. It is so fund to spend time with them! This was a fluke game of clue in which someone made a guess early on that basically revealed to everyone what the answer was and then it was a mad dash to make the accusation! It was fun. Here are photos and a video!
In the afternoon, Lily and her friends Jen, and Courtney all got a massage as a mother’s day treat, while Matt, Chris and I prepared dinner. When they returned, we all had delicious burgers and then played games afterwards.
Earlier in the day, Lily took the kids to bed, bath and beyond.
Back at home, Basil enjoyed his new stuffed animal toy, and his amazing memory foam doggy bed.
In the evening, Lily and I got a babysitter (Eliza), so we could go out to play tennis. Unfortunately, when we got to the courts, there was ultra intense wind. We decided to just play anyway. The wind was so strong that if any of our shots went high in the air, the wind could really carry the ball. But we still had a blast. I just love spending time with Lily, and it felt like an adventure to play in near-tornado conditions (exaggerating some of course, but it was rather intense). Lily loves wind, I remember early in our marriage coming home to seeing papers and things strewn about the house, and pictures crooked because the windows were open during a windstorm. I could barely handle the chaos that was ensuing in the home, but when I found Lily, she was sitting on the bedding saying, “isn’t the wind invigorating!!” That little anecdote actually says a fair amount about our respective personalities, haha! But I must have come around some, because I loved playing with her in the wind.
When we got home, we found that Eliza helped all the kids make creative craft boxes. Lydia’s is still drying in the garage in the picture. The kids absolutely love it when Eliza babysits, and it’s not hard to see why!
Today Lily took Casey, Ammon’s neighbor friend, to the park with the other kids (sans Lydia) for a play date. Clarissa looked groovy in her heart shaped glasses!
Also, here is a picture of a tree in front of our house that is looking very purple and pretty right now.
