Week 20

This has been an okay week. I have felt pretty low-energy and kind of down all week, I think because my parents left and I was sad after having such a nice visit, as well as just virus fatigue. I am tired of talking about Covid-19, I'm tired of hearing about it, I'm tired of the news being all about it, I'm tired of thinking about it and worrying about it and having it affect every aspect of my life all of the time. I just want temples to open, my kids to go back to school and to get on with life instead of being stuck in this weird holding pattern. 

Anyway, Monday was a nice day and we spent all afternoon at the Schoeny's pool (who are out of town but let us use their pool anyway) swimming with our summer crew. I was not a good friend that day because I really didn't feel like talking and was just kind of bummed about life but the kids had fun and can't wait to do it again. We stayed too late and that bumped our dinner and family night and everyone got to bed late. Emma and Brandon were both yawning all through family night and could hardly stay awake after hours of swimming. That is one thing I love about summer days; the physical exhaustion from  playing so hard.

Tuesday was a normal day with jobs, piano, bike rides, TV watching, and lots of reading. I had book club that night and it was pretty good. It was a bit serious and a bit long for me but let's remember that I was also in a mood all week so could have been just me. I picked for next month so we'll see what everyone thinks of my book.

Wednesday we went to Annapolis to a dance supply store to get Lily new pointe shoes. She needs them for her dance intensive that is starting tomorrow so we had to go get them. They were expensive but they are beautiful and seem to fit her well. We were the only ones in the store so that was nice. Emma got jazz shoes and has decided she wants to start jazz this year and I told Lily she could pick out a leotard for her birthday but she couldn't find one she likes so we'll look online. I tried to make a fun day out of this far-away-errand so we stopped at Barnes and Noble and everyone got to pick out a book, then we got Chick-Fil-A for lunch and ate a local park before heading home. It was a lot of driving and it was super hot but the kids were pretty good and it wasn't nearly as bad as I had imagined it would be. We were all so tired when we got home though that it was leftovers for dinner and TV time. There was a church-wide youth concert that night that I caught the second half of after putting Emma and Brandon to bed, but both Josh and Lily really enjoyed it. 

Thursday we spent all afternoon at our pool but invited the Rays and Ainas to come with us. It was fun to have friends there and it wasn't crowded at all. I even convinced them to have a jumping contest with me. Sometimes I just feel like it is fun to sit and talk and other times I feel like we need to be fun so our kids see that we like to play with our friends too and we're not just boring moms. It was a nice afternoon and we got home, had meatball subs and got everyone in bed so I could go do a grocery pick up while Josh had bishopric meeting.

Friday was a pretty chill day. I spent all morning looking at old pictures trying to find fun ones of Michelle since it was her birthday. We had planned to have lunch but her sister planned a fun day for her so I just went over in the afternoon to drop off a card and some treats. I'm really grateful for Michelle and what a good friend she is to me. We've shared a lot of life together the past 11 years. She has always been so generous with watching my kids for me and our overnight kid swaps have been life-saving. She is always there for me and is a good listener, she is super fun and silly but she is real and I can be honest and open with her. I'm lucky to have her in my life. The rest of the day we just read, kids watched a movie, played games and relaxed.We did watch an episode of the British baking show that evening which was fun because it had been awhile.

Saturady we went kayaking. I had wanted to do McIntosh Run but Josh was concerned about it being too shallow for his paddle board so we decided to put in at the wharf and go up as far as we could. Problem was that the wharf was closed for some speed boat race so we couldn't put in there. We went to the start of McIntosh Run but the guy there said it was definitely too shallow for the board so we went to Newtowne Neck and put in at the entrance instead of the beach. We paddled around the corner with the intention of going to the beach but the kids were kind of wimpy about paddling and didn't want to go that far. We made it to a little sandy patch of beach that we named Darrow Island and the kids explored it a bit. It was beautiful and made me happy to be out on the water as a family. I didn't bring my camera but Brandon was so cute standing behind Josh on the board at one point and they all had fun jumping in and swimming a bit, until right before we were done when Brandon got a good jellyfish sting on his leg. We hadn't really seen many but something got him and he lost it. Overall it was a beautiful outing that filled my soul a bit. We got home, took showers and then Josh decided he wanted Red Robin and I was perfectly happy with him taking charge of dinner. We ate early and then the big kids watched the final Star Wars movie with us while the younger two watched some Lego show. After all these weeks we finally finished the entire Star Wars series. I would say that my favorites are 3 1/2 and 6. My order would be 6, 3.5, 4, 5, 7, 9, 3, 8, 1, 2. Now that we've watched all of Harry Potter, all of Star Wars and last year we watched every Disney movie, we'll have to figure out what is next. Josh and I also finished watching The Crown last night and besides that one awful episode in season 2, I think it is a good show and I really enjoyed it. I also read a book about Winston Churchill's wife, Clementine, and really am intrigued by them and that time in history.

Today was a nice Sunday. We fasted for our friends who are sick and had a nice Sunday school class. We did singing time and now have learned all the verses of Follow the Prophet, which is fun to sing. We also had a good discussion about the Holy Ghost instead of playing a game today. Then we had sacrament meeting and we each shared our testimonies. Brandon stood up and said how he was scared the other night during a storm but he prayed and felt the Holy Ghost. He was so sincere and sweet and it made my heart happy. Emma has started reading the Book of Mormon every morning since she wakes up so much earlier than the rest of us and she shared a sweet testimony of how reading the scriptures makes her happy. This has been a good part of home church, these family testimony meetings where our kids are kind of forced to think of what their testimony actually is and what they believe and to share their feelings about the gospel. Then Josh and Lily had a meeting, then I joined in a for a bit of ward council with Josh to do a training on music, then I just needed some alone time so I went and laid on my bed and was alone for precisely eight minutes. Lily baked a cake, I played a game with Emma and Brandon,  Josh was at church for a few hours for some meetings so we ate and cleaned up and then watched the baking show as soon as he got home. Tonight I just feel tired of cleaning my house, tired of being with my children all of the time, tired of this virus, and tired of cooking. But tomorrow is a new day and a new week and here's hoping I get out of my emotional funk. 

The dress I ordered for Emma's birthday in April finally got here! It was a miracle!

Cute kid and one of the few pictures I took all week