Author: lilydarais

On Tuesday Amy and I went out to lunch with Heather. Heather is moving to Arizona. I am so, so sad about this. Heather is one of my favorite local friends and I will miss her so much.

While we were at lunch having a wonderful time, Heather’s husband and brother in law were babysitting all of our kids.

After lunch, I was still feeling tired from strep, so I got Abby Mugarian to come with us to help watch Clarissa at the movies. We watched The Incredibles 2 and we all laughed so much at Jack Jack, the baby. Mary especially convulsed with glee. Mary is at the stage where she is obsessed with babies. Whenever she and Clarissa look at each other, they both grin and begin to make excited sounds. So Mary was just in heaven watching Jack Jack do crazy things.

Then in the evening I decided to just go for it and make it a movie theater day. I went out to Oceans 8 after the kids were down. Abe was too stressed from work, but I loved the movie even by myself.

Today Abe stayed home from work because I was still incapable of doing anything. I did, however, go to the doctor and get my official strep diagnosis–complete with an antibiotic prescription. Woo-hoo! It was heartening to know that the end was in sight.

Abe did an incredible job taking care of the kids, helping Mary practice the piano, re-organizing our entire pantry, and laying down all sorts of new fabulous rules for the kids. When he’s home and sees how crazy it is, Abe can be counted on to come up with creative solutions to the problem. Now the kids have all sorts of additional morning chores and my pantry is organized.  When I came home from the doctor, Abe was busy throwing everything out of the pantry onto the floor and was muttering things about how the pantry was the real source of my stress and strep. 🙂

Then my mom was so nice and picked up my medicine, which I took so joyfully. I have been feeling gradually better ever since. Thank you, modern medicine!

Also, the unsung hero of today was Mary. Mary loves to be a “helper,” and wow did she step fully into that role today! She played beautifully with Ammon for hours, played with Clarissa, waited on me, helped bring in groceries, helped put things away, and did all of her chores without complaint. And to top it all off, she was constantly batting her beautiful eyes at everyone and telling them she loved them. She also doled out hugs and kisses to everyone. She is a dream.

All of the other kids were so good too today, but Mary really took the cake.

On Sunday I was feeling the worst I had felt all weekend, which was saying something because strep really takes it out of you. Anyway, I basically lay in bed while Clarissa napped and Abe took Ammon, Lydia, and Mary to the Crater. They had a wonderful time. Ammon’s life jacket had a bump on the back that acted like a pillow. At first it tipped Ammon face down in the water. Abe quickly corrected that and Ammon spent the rest of the time floating on his back, staring at the ceiling, and talking up a storm. The girls loved the outing and the crater too. Abe came home delighted with the whole experience.

While they were gone I eventually forced myself to pack everything up so we could get going and check out upon their return. After we checked out, Abe drove us to Provo River Falls, which is stunningly beautiful. It basically looks like Glacier or the Tetons in the Uinta National Forest. I couldn’t believe all of this natural beauty was right on our doorstep all these years!!! And yet, I was so sick I couldn’t really leave the car. I just looked at everything out of the window in between my writhes of pain.

On our way home everyone except Clarissa fell asleep:

At home I collapsed gratefully into my own bed. I had no plans on leaving it until Abe told me Jere was coming over.

Jere lives in California, so a visit from him is rare. I didn’t know if I could physically move, but Abe told me if I could make it down the stairs I could just lie on the couch. So I did until pain propelled me back upstairs. Everyone loved visiting with Jere. Lydia loves that he speaks German and makes him translate words for her, and Abe had a great conversation with Jere all about life. He came upstairs so happy to have bonded with his brother.

On Saturday Misty and I went to the Crater . I almost cancelled our appointment, but when I called Abe to ask him to cancel, he convinced me to go. Like I said, I felt so sick, but I didn’t want to disappoint Abe who worked so hard on every part of our itinerary.

So off we went! And wow, we were so grateful we did. The water at the crater was so warm. I floated on my back the whole time and prayerfully meditated. Misty and I both thought it was delightful, and just up our alley. Our personal effort was minimal (we floated and bobbed about the whole time), and the experience was maximal.

Then we came back to the hotel, washed up, and went out to lunch at Cafe Galleria. I talked Misty’s ears off about Ruth, Boaz, polygamy, and the sex stuff we discussed in book club this month. She is a very dear, patient friend.

Then we went back and met up with Abe, who had driven up with the kids. Misty chatted with the kids a bit before saying goodbye.

When she left, I collapsed on the bed and barely got up until the next afternoon. Good thing Abe picked up June Pies on his way to Midway. Even though the strep was going nuts, I still managed to eat some of the pie because I love it. Abe got a chicken pot pie, a cherry pie, and some chocolate and rice pudding hand pies.

After dinner we all watched The Incredibles in bed. That was a highlight for all of us.

On Friday I woke up feeling quite sick. I basically lay around the house until Abe came home early to pick us up and drive to Salt Lake, where I met up with Misty.

Misty then drove us to the Blue Beard Inn for dinner. It was so fun catching up and reconnecting, even if I did feel kind of ill. Also, I fell in love with Midway. Oh my goodness, it is so beautiful there. And the houses have a German/Swiss theme to them, so between the houses and the gorgeous mountain scenery, it felt like we were in Europe.

After the Inn, we went to the World Mark that Karin booked for us. It was the cutest World Mark I have ever been to! And it was very needed, too, because I did not feel super great. Even though I felt rather awful, Misty and I still stayed up talking until 11pm. She helped me with my current crochet project. I am crocheting the Goddess of Willendorf, but I didn’t know how to crochet her legs together. Misty took care of it, so the goddess has a bona-fide bottom now!

Then I proceeded to hardly sleep at all because my throat was on fire and I kept choking on snot. Disgusting, I know. But that’s when I figured out I had strep. Such sad timing.

On Thursday I was feeling tired, so I allowed myself to be lazy during Clarissa’s nap. While she napped, I put Ammon in front of the TV and let the girls play outside with the neighbor kids while I watched Gone with the Wind. Obviously, I had to skip parts of the movie in order to finish the movie before Clarissa woke up. I watched it to refresh myself on the plot before I go and read the sequel about Rhett.

When Clarissa woke up, we all went to Tibble Fork again–this time with Brittany and her kids. It was, for the first time, PERFECT weather there. It was almost 100 degrees in Orem, but the mountains were in the 80’s–just perfect for playing in the sand and water. Brittany and I both even took quick dips in the freezing cold reservoir.

After the reservoir, we drove to Chipotle to meet Abe. He won a gift card to Chipotle at the spikeball tournament at Qualtrics. Thanks, Honey!

At 8pm I hosted book club. I was a little nervous because I picked the book Come as You Are: The Surprising New Science that will Transform your Sex Life. I figured the discussion would either be stilted and awkward or rollicking and awesome. Thank goodness it was completely and totally the latter! The ladies all stayed talking and laughing and sharing until 10pm. It was one of my favorite book club discussions of all time. I love the ladies in my book club, and discussions like that make me love them all the more!

Abe went to work late on my birthday, and having him home in the morning was so fun. After he left and I put Clarissa down for her nap, I put Ammon in front of the TV and climbed back into bed to read. I spent two hours on a novel that I didn’t like and then Clarissa woke up. When she woke up, I took all of the kids to the pool.

Of course, I have trouble taking pictures at the pool because I am worried that someone will drown. But the pool with the kids was the highlight of my day. I felt so blessed to have four beautiful children, and I felt so loved by all of them. When we’re at the pool, all of them (except for Clarissa, of course!) yell, “Mom, look at me!!” Lydia loved showing off how she can float on her back, and Ammon and Mary kept jumping in the pool. Mary says “carananball!” instead of “cannonball,” and Ammon’s approximation of Mary’s approximation of the word was even more distant. I couldn’t catch it quite, but I think it had two syllables and started with a “t.” At any rate, with the kids all demanding that I look at them and admire them the whole time, I felt very inclined to look and admire. I felt very full of love–and loved!

Then we drove to Dairy Queen and got my favorite blizzard and ice cream for everyone. After that we met up with Abe, who also came home early! We dropped Lydia off at a harp master class and picked up pizza and cupcakes for dinner. After that I felt pooped so I actually went back to bed during dinner and finally picked up a book that I liked: Rebecca. It was exactly the type of book I had been wanting to read all day.

At one point I came down so the kids could sing to me and Ammon could blow out my candles. Abe then told me his present which he has been planning for months: He booked a hotel in Midway for my friend Misty and me to have a friend getaway.

Honestly, I was shocked at first. I love, adore, and honestly idolize Misty, but I HATE inconveniencing people, and Misty just moved two weeks ago. I had trouble wrapping my mind around the fact that Abe asked her to take time away from her family and make Rich babysit so we could have a weekend away.

Anyway, like I said, I was in shock so I went back upstairs and burst into tears. Abe came up after putting the kids down and gave me a massage. During the massage, he explained how this could actually be fun for Misty and that Rich probably will survive watching his kids for two days. I calmed down while Abe talked and started to actually look forward to the weekend.

All in all, turning 35 was a bit of a roller coaster, but it ended well. Hello, official mid-life!

On Tuesday we went to Tibble Fork reservoir again with our friends and neighbors. It was so chilly! We were all pretty cold, but the kids didn’t seem to mind. After a while, though, we called it quits. I took Eli with my kids and went to the library and In-n-Out. I figured since it was my birthday week I didn’t have to cook at all.

While we were out driving, I called my senators and the president to complain about the kids being separated from their families at the borders. I think I might have made one of Orrin Hatch’s aides cry. I might have voiced my opinions rather loudly…ok, I guess I was yelling. But I just felt so angry and helpless! I had donated money to RAICES, called my senators, voiced my outrage, but it seemed as though nothing would help. I couldn’t get the sounds of those crying babies out of my head.

In the meantime, Eli was in the back seat making up songs that made fun of Donald Trump. I really didn’t mind.

When we got home, we ate burgers on the lawn and my neighbor Brittany came over and sat down to chat. This was a treat because I don’t see Brittany often. We talked for hours!

On Monday we went to Tibble Fork reservoir. Abe took the kids there last year and met up with his mom and Jay, but I was on bedrest. This time I came, and I was so delighted to discover Tibble Fork! It is a reservoir in the mountains and just beautiful. The water was freezing cold, but Abe was so determined to make the most of it that he swam the entire way across the reservoir and back. He came out of the water numb and trembling, but so happy. The kids and I were very impressed.

After we were done playing in the water and sand, we met up with Karin, Jay, and Marshall at a picnic area in the canyon to eat hot dogs and s’mores. I was shocked to see Marshall. The last time I saw him he was seven years old–Lydia’s age! Now he is fifteen. I got scared thinking at how fast that time flew, and how fast Lydia will be all grown up.

 

On Saturday morning the kids gardened outside with Abe and my mom got some cute pictures:

 

Then in the afternoon Lydia had her final performance of the play they worked on during her acting camp. She was one of the three little pigs. She did a great job and remembered all of her lines.