Back in a post about December 2010 I talked about 'Christmas teacher gifts.' Remember what I mentioned we gave to the 4th grade teachers? Since I didn't do one for Li'l J's kindergarten teacher for Christmas, in May another kindergarten mom and I got together to do one as an 'end of year' gift. The day of picture taking we had the office staff secretly shuttle us around the building so we could meet Li'l J's class outside during their P.E. time. We had each child sign their name on a frame matte with lots of colorful Sharpie's before having them pose for some shots. At the end of the year we framed one of the "nice" shots with the matte and gave that to Mr. P with a card that had a "goofy" shot on the front that read: "Thanks for a Picture Perfect Year!".
~Teacher gift~
Later the same week that I got to act as a photographer, I was able to attend a fun service auction held by our Relief Society. It was good to see how creative and talented the sisters are in our ward. I made three sets of 3 fabric "posey" clips (plus a few extra for me and C-sta to have to wear too). What I brought to the auction earned me enough to service dollars to win a jar of yummy homemade strawberry jam and a basket of the sweetest tasting homemade crescent rolls we've EVER tasted!
~Going once, going twice, sold!~
After the service auction, I went out with a friend for some additional girl time. My friend and I ended up "closing out" first Target and then McDonald's. Say what? Apparently we are just too troublesome when we get together--just kidding! We thought Target stayed open later than it does so when we arrived there we were surprised to find we only had 15 minutes to shop, a real bummer! Then when we stopped to get sundae's at McD's and sat to talk, we completely lost track of time. We didn't realize it was closing time until they turned the lights out on us! Oh how we still laugh about that night.
Family Fun/Kids
The next morning I took Copper to the vet for the first time since he joined our family. I had been feeling very antsy about his shots not being up to date and kept hearing people tell me their tales about how they'd tragically lost puppies to parvo and just knew I had to get Copper in ASAP. Once at the vet, Copper did well, got all the shots he needed, and I felt MUCH better about having finally taken him in, especially after the vet told me that they were seeing an average of 6 dogs a day with parvo! I also learned that Copper is on the tall side for a beagle and that contrary to popular belief, while beagles are hunting dogs they are not water dogs. Ahh, good to know. No wonder Copper steers clear of the pool at all costs, cowers up against the house when we turn on the misters, and runs the other way when the hose or sprinklers are on! Poor puppy!
Mother's Day 2011 was nice. J-rod and the kids made me a yummy breakfast in bed. At church during Sacrament meeting the Primary children sang sweetly and the bishopric gave all the ladies in the ward a CD with beautiful instrumental arrangements of some well-known hymns. After church our friends the H family had us over for a very nice dinner.
Late in the night after Mother's Day, Li'l J woke up asking for a breathing treatment. At a visit to the doctor the next morning, we learned that Li'l J's asthma was being aggravated by a sinus infection and a touch of pneumonia in on of his lungs. Fantastic. Li'l J was put on an antibiotic and a steroid and missed a few days of school. Upon subsequent follow-ups part-way through the course of meds, and then again after he had finished them up, Li'l J showed significant improvement where his asthma was concerned and no more signs of pneumonia--yay!
~Someday I'll do a post all about
the funny places and ways
Li'l J has fallen asleep.~
Since Li'l J improved and was doing well, he was able to go on the Father's and Sons camp out with J-rod, M, and a friend the following weekend and he was SO happy to do so! The evening the boys came back from their camp out, M took part in his Spring Piano Recital. This time around he played an arrangement of "Spring" by Vivaldi.
~I love how intently C-sta watched M when he played his piece.~
Pool Fun
The week following the camp out, M and Li'l J began afternoon practices with the swim team. After cheering M on last summer, Li'l J was SO excited to finally be part of the team too! The afternoon of the first practice, as we were driving to the town pool Li'l J exclaimed, "This is my LUCKIEST day ever!". C-sta did well playing with other siblings during the practices, and it helped that there is a park right next to the pool. We all looked forward to C-sta starting lessons in July and hope that by the time she is 5 or 6 she'll be able to join her brothers on the team.
~Li'l J's LUCKIEST day!~
In May, M also took part in a couple more mini-track meets at school and discovered that he'd rather not run long distances.
1. And they're off!
2. M coming around the bend.
3. Our zippy li'l friend S.
4. One of our YM, J comes in 1st.
5. M's friend M comes around the bend.
6. Our M crosses the finish line.
7. M & M get honorable mentions.
~M's personal cheering section.~
Road Trip
Over Memorial Day weekend J-rod and I took a quick weekend trip to L.A. so we could be with my sister A when she took out her endowment at the L.A. Temple the Saturday evening of that weekend. M, Li'l J, C-sta, and Copper got to stay with the H family while we were gone. We first were only going to leave Copper with the H family but as it became increasingly difficult to find someone to leave our kids with while we'd be at the temple, and considering what a quick trip filled with so much driving it would be, we ultimately decided to leave our kids too. We left home Saturday morning and returned Sunday night. Yes, it was a super quick trip.
~Such a great night with family and friends!~
Our time at the temple on Saturday with A, my mom, some of A's friends, and my brother R and sister-in-law S was really nice. We enjoyed being in the company of such great people and were so grateful we could be there to support A.
~Night views~
Since we used this trip to celebrate our 12th anniversary (officially at the end of June), Sunday morning we relaxed at the hotel, had a yummy complimentary breakfast buffet (the hotel had mixed-up our room request), enjoyed the view from our balcony of the city and the temple, and took full advantage of the late check out time. In the afternoon we went to my mom's house to visit with her, A, and their friend J for lunch; we all enjoyed the delicious leftovers from the Italian restaurant--C & O Trattoria--in Marina Del Rey.
~Not too bad for having used the self-timer.~
When we first booked our hotel for the night we'd be in L.A., we thought we had made reservations at the hotel we stayed at our wedding night. When we arrived to check-in prior to going to the temple Saturday afternoon, we realized we in fact were staying at the hotel my uncle A has worked for over 20 years! Same hotel name as where we stayed when we got married 12 years ago, but in a different location. The one we had stayed at before was a block down the road. Apparently about four years ago, there was a change in ownership of the two hotels, thus the switch in names and hotels. What a fun mix-up it turned out to be as we had a perfect view of the L.A. temple--the purpose of our visit and a beautiful reminder of where we were married!
Views of the Westside from our balcony:
1. LAX, LMU, refineries
2. Marina del Rey
3. Santa Monica Airport and the 405
4. Downtown Santa Monica
5. The Getty Museum
6. MGM Tower, L.A. Temple, Westwood
7. The L.A. Temple
Our quick trip to L.A. was not without an unexpected adventure, as seems to be our luck. About a half-hour from our destination we stopped to gas up the car and hopefully grab some lunch. As we came off of the off-ramp and onto a one-way, one lane street, as we made a right-hand turn into the gas station on the corner, a lady ran into the passenger side of our car. When we got out of our car to talk to the lady that hit us, she insisted that we were in the "left lane', that we didn't see her, that we came into her lane, and ran into her. Um, there was only ONE lane! Oh and speaking of pictures, the confused lady handed me her phone and asked me to take pictures of both cars for her since she didn't know how to use the camera on her phone. Poor lady! The lady was very upset that LAPD wouldn't dispatch an officer to our accident to take down a report, but both she and I were told (when we made separate calls) that since there were no injuries as a result of the accident that by law they weren't required to dispatch anyone, plus, they were in the middle of dispatching to an emergency. J-rod and I were happy to exchange info, take pictures of the street and both cars, gas up our car, and then be on our way. Even though our car would need repairs, the car that took the brunt of the hit was that of the lady who hit our car.
~Our car accident~
With that added use of time, we made it to our hotel with just barely enough time to check-in, change clothes, and dart back out towards the temple...no time for lunch. Apparently preventing us from getting to the temple is a pretty big deal because the obstacles that we come across each time keep getting bigger and bigger! Once we got back home, I took the car to an auto-body shop for an estimate and J-rod worked closely with our insurance company to get it all straightened out. Despite the car accident, the quickness of the trip, and our sick Li'l J that we came home to, J-rod and I enjoyed a very nice and much needed weekend together and I'm grateful we got to be there for A when she went through the temple.
The week before we left for L.A., I came down with strep throat--UGH! The first time I ever had it was six years ago in NY. When I got it this time, I remembered how painful it was last time but I didn't remember the antibiotic sucking the life out of me as it cleared the infection. As if having a killer sore throat wasn't enough, the antibiotic I was on made me nauseous the entire time I was on it, gave me some major tummy-troubles, and left me without any energy...not a good way to spend the week before going out of town!
Fortunately I'm surrounded by great friends who pitched in by taking my turn driving carpool, taking our boys to and from swim practice, taking our dog for a play date with their dog so he wouldn't be lonely while I worked on getting better, bringing me Popsicles so I'd have something to eat, and dropping by cookies so I'd have a treat for when I finally felt better. I am so grateful for all that was done on my behalf while I was sick and for all those who watch out for me. I've had to learn to rely more and more on others lately, something that is never easy to do but I am working on being better at allowing others to help me.
Here's one more example of a time when I had not choice but to let others help me. One morning as I was heading out the door to take Li'l J to school (on a morning when I didn't have to drive carpool for the older kids), I could not find my keys...ANYWHERE! My visiting teachers happened to call to say they wouldn't be able to make it to our scheduled appointment that morning, and when they heard the stress in my voice, one of them ultimately came and took Li'l J to school for me. Later that morning, J-rod gave up what would have been his lunch time to drive all the way home, unlock my car, find my keys hidden under the passenger seat, and then turn around and drive all the way back to work. While I felt silly about having to ask for help, I was so grateful for it. Again, it's something I'm working on.
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