Busy, Busy!

 Josh was asked to officiate a wedding on Saturday for a couple in our ward. The bride's family are not members of the church so they had a typical wedding last Saturday and then went to NYC and they were sealed this past Tuesday in the temple there. It was a big deal for Josh and he was so nervous. He practiced for weeks, we watched Disney Fairy Tale Wedding clips, he talked to a member of our church who is a former pastor and has done lots of weddings and he spent hours preparing what to say. 

Last Friday night he went to the rehearsal and then I met him at the Front Porch for the rehearsal dinner. It was a nice date night and it was fun to be with Josh and be a part of the wedding excitement. The bride's parents then took us all out for ice cream, which was so nice. We were done by 8pm and really wanted to keep our date going but couldn't think of anywhere to go or anything fun to do (it was also raining).  Saturday I painted and cleaned and tried to get a lot done since Brandon's game had been rained out. Then we showered up and headed to the wedding. It had to be inside because of the weather so the ceremony was right in the reception hall. Josh did such an amazing job and I was so proud of him. All of his practicing and thoughtfulness paid off. He also did not catch on fire, which was good considering he had two lit candles right behind him. It was a lovely ceremony and then they took a bunch of pictures while we talked with the Hendersons, then dinner (I was asked to say the prayer before we ate just minutes beforehand and let me tell you that did not go as smoothly as Josh's part) and then dancing. Josh and I aren't really social dancers but Emma and Brandon were busting a serious move on the dance floor so we danced with them and it was super fun. Mostly Lily and Curtis sat at the table with their ears plugged because they said the music was too loud. How did we get kids who are so not fun? Baffling. 

   

Sunday was a lovely mother's day. We had blueberry nut pancakes for breakfast and Josh was actually home so that was a real treat. Church was nice and we got ice cream cones afterwards. It made me so happy and I found out later it was Josh's idea; I should have known. He said the best response they've ever gotten was the years Jared Moran was YM president and bought everyone individual pints of Ben and Jerry's so they bought a bunch of ice cream and served us cones. I loved it. It also gave me time to chat with some ladies I haven't talked to in awhile. When we got home we called his parents then my parents and then we had a great dinner. My kids made me sweet cards and Lily made my favorite strawberry cupcakes and it was all very lovely. I'm a blessed mother for sure. 

 

Monday right after school we went to the temple and it was so wonderful. I loved being there as a family and showing my kids the celestial room where we are symbolically in God's presence and the sealing room where your reflection goes on and on with no end, just like our family relationships. There is lots of beautiful new artwork and the chandeliers are gorgeous and I was so happy to be back in the temple. It was strange having so many people there who aren't members of the church but also cool at the same time. 

 

Tuesday I went to my friend Olivia's house and held her baby all morning. She has three kids three and under and needed a boost so I held her baby, did some laundry, made up a bed, and she was able to exercise and shower and get some organizing done. It was good to talk with her too; she's been very isolated and needed a friend. I am not so much a baby person but Lucas was so sweet and snuggled in with me all day without every crying. I went straight from there to get Lily from band and take her to dance, then I had piano lessons and then left immediately to take Curtis to his game. It was not a great one and his team struggled but he had an amazing triple that brought in three runners so that was awesome. I felt really lonely at the game sitting by myself while next to me was a family with aunts and cousins and two sets of grandparents all there for one kid. I hope it doesn't bother my kids that often just one parent is there to cheer them on. I always pray that we are enough.

Wednesday was the gym, then Lily had dance, Emma had dance and I took Curtis to his band concert while Lily and Josh went to youth activities. Curtis played well and it was a nice evening. Brandon and I played five games of Uno Flip while waiting for the concert to start and somehow he beat me every time except once.

 

Thursday I finished my painting job and did a lot of other deep cleaning, took a quick walk, taught a bunch of piano lessons and then Josh took Brandon to his game, I picked Lily up from dance and was taking her to school for her band concert, then  drop Curtis off at his game and back to school. Brandon's game didn't end up happening so it worked out that Josh and Brandon could then go to Curtis's, which made me glad. It is tough to only have two parents and three places to be. Thankfully Curtis is pretty easy going and didn't mind we weren't going to be there but in the end I think he was happy Josh could be. Lily's concert was great; I really like her band director and his music choices. She played in 8th grade band and symphonic band and sounded so great. She has come a long way and I'm really proud of her. It was also nice to have some friends there I could talk to so it didn't feel quite so lonely.It was her last ever middle school concert! 

  

Friday Josh had his work buddies over for a pizza day so our house smelled like veggies cooking at 7am. He made five pizzas, all different styles and with different toppings. My huge island was covered in dough and toppings. Two of his co-workers made a bunch of pizzas too and then six more came over just to eat it all. It was quite the to-do. I went to the gym and showered and grabbed a few slices but mostly tried to stay out of the way. Emma had a fun field trip to the zoo and Josh and I went for a nice walk later in the evening.

Saturday Lily had an all-day dance rehearsal and Brandon had a game that he played in drizzly rain. The other team was pretty inexperienced and we won 19-0. They struck out a lot and never quite knew what to do with the ball when they got it in the infield but they were cute. Brandon didn't get to do much fielding but he got a single every time he bat, with one strike out. He has gotten so much better and it is so fun to watch him play. Then we went to Lowes for plants and got rained on some more. Later it stopped so we were able to plant our flowers in the pots on the patio and Josh got the umbrella out so now we just need to power wash the patio and it will be ready for summer fun.