Snow, Birds, 12 Week Check

 On Sunday we just had a chill day with church and then a yummy dinner of potato soup and garlic bread. Tyler's dad was insistent on making dessert and made brownies AND rice krispie treats. The kids got so sugared out with their grandparents here. We also had some snow that day so Poppy Hatch and Ben built a snowman. They gave it a butt crack and Poppy Hatch was very proud of it.  Lucy went out later and built a snowman with a little guidance from Tyler. I did not document hers and unfortunately the next day it's head fell off :/

Monday we had seminary again. The kids were dead which always making teaching tough. Seminary is so hit and miss. Once everyone was up and at it, I took the younger 3 (Steven had school) and Poppy and Grams Hatch to Kensington. We went to the farm first and met a very friendly goat that was up for selfies. It even slobbered on Penny's jacket.

After the farm we went to the nature trails and while Poppy Hatch was using the bathroom, a nice lady offered us some leftover bird seed she had. This ended up making our nature walk a lot more fun. All of us had an oppurtunity to have birds eating out of our hands. You just had to stand very still with your hand stretched out with seed on it. Ben struggled with the quiet part but still managed to get some birds to eat from him. It was super cool. Everyone lasted longer than me though, my hands (even with gloves) started to get really cold from being held out. I probably should have worn better gloves. I took some pictures and the last 2 were taken by Grams Hatch.

After Kensington Grams and Poppy took us all out to lunch at a nearby Coney's. That was nice. Then we took the kids back to the house and I took Grams and Poppy to the Zekelman Holocaust Center in Farmington Hills for a guided tour. I have never been because I wasn't sure how kid friendly it would be and I don't tend to visit museums on my own. We had debated bringing Ben but I am glad I didn't. I think he would have had a hard time paying attention but also there was this room where you watch a video of basically the aftermath of Concentration Camps- dead bodies piled up, mutilated bodies, people who look like walking skeletons. I know it really happened but it was really, really hard to see. I think Tyler's parents found the tour very informative and I felt that way as well. The only weird thing about it was that the guide seemed to think I was suffering physically and unable to stand and kept asking if I needed to sit down and if I was ok. I was the youngest by at least two decades there. And at first I thought it was because he could tell I was pregnant but he kept saying he could understand my phyiscal ails so...It was so weird. I tried to say I was fine but after awhile it wasn't worth all the protest. I just went with it. The only thing I can think of is that maybe my facial reactions to the injustices he was speaking of looked like I was physically in pain, instead of just looking like I was upset with these things that happened...Idk. I didn't take any pictures at the museum, didn't feel right.

Monday evening we took Tyler's parents out to the Cheesecake Factory to say thank you for all that they did for us. We didn't have to wait long to sit down but there was quite a long wait for our food. Apparently our appetizer (thai lettuce wraps) was taking longer than everyone else's meals so they ended up serving the appetizers last. That was lame because then I wasn't really hungry for them but all the food was still delicious. While we were there thanking Tyler's parents for everything, they asked if we needed anything for the baby and I just said that we had needed all the baby things because we have given them all away. His dad pulled out his big wad of cash and gave us $1000 to buy baby things. Now our thank you dinner seemed like pretty small fries. Anyways that was very generous of them and will be so appreciated since we have to basically start over with all the baby things. Not to mention the dr bills and hosptial bills and then diapers, wipes, potentially formula...Babies are expensive.

Tuesday morning Michelle had a couple more properties to show for Jeff and Mariah so Steven and Leslie came with. The first house had a really amazing deck- huge, with a pull out shade and a tv- it was impressive. But the layout of the house wasn't super conducive for little kids. The second house was beautiful on the outside with a great yard, and garage but this layout was even crazier. It was like a maze. Plus the current renters were still living there and it was clear it was a bunch of single guys. The place was a mess. So I think both houses were a flop. It's still so early to be looking. While I didn't think the houses were great, apparently Steven called up Mariah afterwards and said he didn't want his grandbabies being raised in those homes. A tad dramatic I would say.

After looking at the houses we came back home and had lunch. Then I took Leslie to Milford where we strolled the shops. Lots of cute overpriced things that neither of us were interested enough to buy. But it was good to get out and she says she loves window shopping. When we got back home it was time to take his parents to the airport. I am so grateful for all that they did for us, but I was also ready to get back into routines. 

Wednesday we had a massive snow storm. I think Tyler said that we got 8 inches of snow. They cancelled school for Steven that day and that meant no seminary too. I got up early anyways and got groceries before the roads were too awful and then spent the day doing school work witht the younger 3 and getting the house clean. It was a good catch up day. When Ben and Lucy finished their school work, they headed outside. Lucy redid her snowman, they had a snowball fight and they even walked to seven eleven in the snow. Penny and Steven on the other hand stayed nice and warm inside with me. 

Thursday we cancelled seminary again, just because our road was still not great that morning (and also because I was feeling SO lazy), but school itself was back in session. Once I had all the kids at school I went to Debbie's to do some painting with her and Caroline. It was a lot of fun. I didn't love the first thing I made and the second thing, I literally scraped off the paint so she could reuse the canvas. I was attempting to do flowers using a chaing but they turned out a hot mess. But it really didn't matter. It's just fun to play with paint and chat with friends.

Friday was busy. Penny had a dentist appointment in the morning to get a cavity filled. She was really upset before we left but seemed to calm down when we got there and then the laughing gas worked wonders for her, she did so good. She didn't even flinch when they numbed her tooth. For some reason though, my anxiety was off the charts that day and when I went to the doctor for my 12 week check up, my blood pressure was high. I mentioned I had just been feeling anxious that day and suddenly he was referring me to see a specially trained prenatal therapist. It felt like a massive escalation. Before he was so understanding of my anxious feelings and now I need to talk to someone and potentially take meds. Honestly being pregnant and sensititve that escalation upset me and made me tear up which only seemed to confirm his diagnosis that I need mental help. I have always had anxiety and I don't think it's been any more serious in pregnancy but I suppose it doesn't hurt to talk to a professional. It was all just very off setting and I am not sure how I'll feel at this next visit which will be with a therapist who is also a midwife. I guess I have a month until them so I can properly get anxious about it, lol. On a happy note though, the baby is still doing well and has a good strong, heart beat.

Friday evening we had the missionaries over and just did our usual pizza night. One of the missionaries was from Arizona so that was cool. He went to Mesa High School. They gave a nice lesson on serving others and then we had a Dr. Pepper cake that I had made. I was trying it out because Steven has requested one for his birthday. I think it tastes really good and moist but the Dr. Pepper taste is not really there. I'm on the fence about trying another recipe. I wonder how hard it is to actually get a cake to taste like Dr. P. 

Saturday Steven and Tyler went to Robotics club and the rest of us just had a chill day at home. Penny spent a lot of the day reading, I caught up on things and Ben and Lucy hung out with Andrea and Jacob- pacing around the freezing cold outside "role playing".

Boston Day 4 and Home

Thursday was our last full day in Boston. We had did all the things on our must do list so I debated a lot on what we should do- even considered taking public transportation to Salem or Cape Cod. In the end I decided we were in Boston and should see ALL the things we can. So after breakfast our first stop was the Old State House. The Old State House is one of the oldest surviving public buildings in Boston, although we learned they have no pictures of how it was originally and because of fires, lots of changes to it have occured. This was my least favorite stop of the trip. On the top floor there was a volunteer that Tyler asked a lot of questions and she gave very long answers and I was just not interested. I was so bored for most of this visit. Although I did learn that Lucy should live in Scotland since their national symbol is a unicorn. And I also learned that the long 's' in print was typed with an 'f' so that made things hard to read.

When Tyler was finally done there we headed to the Old South Meeting House. We stopped at a little bookstore on our way there but I was feeling blah and not in the mood to stroll so we didn't stay long. The Old South Meeting House ended up being a place that I really enjoyed. The volunteer there was not boring and she managed to keep my interest and teach me all sorts of thing. We learned that this was a Puritans meeting hall and patrons had to purchase their benches. What was cool is a family's bench was enclosed which would be great for keeping little kids out of trouble, but it was actually like that so they could stay warm with something that worked like a space heater. We also learned that when the British took over Boston, they turned the Meeting House into a Riding Stable. What a way to desecrate that sacred space. 

By the time we finished there, I was definitely ready for some lunch so we took the subway to Chinatown. Originally we were going to go to a waffle place that looked really yummy- I know we were going to be weird and go to Chinatown to get waffles. BUT on our way to the waffle place we saw a corgi doll in a Chinese shop that we decided to get for Penny and as we were leaving I decided to ask for a food recommendation from the cashier. She directed us to the Hong Kong Eatery. The place was packed but a nice guy directed us to a machine where we could order on and helped us work it (because it was in Chinese at first). We decided to just get one entree to share (Beef and peppers) because we were still going to get waffles. We got to wait next to a table full of whole roasted pigs (receipts showed they cost anywhere from $400- $500). When the food was ready we walked back to the subway station and ate at a bench since the tables there were full of pigs and it was cold and snowy outside. The food was so good and I am so glad I asked for the recommendation. 

When we were done with the amazing food, we walked to the waffle place and had the yummiest waffles ever. I got strawberry shortcake. I regret that we went to Chinatown on our last full day because I would have loved to eat at both of those places again.

Our next destination was the Paul Revere House.It's one of the oldest buildings in Boston. Apparently Paul Revere owned the house for 30 years and lived there for 10 so...not really HIS house since it has been around since the 1600's...It was big for those days but also small for the cost to visit. The guides there didn't really have much to say and I probaly wouldn't visit again. You couldn't take pictures inside so it probaly would've been enough to just take a picture of the outside and avoid the visit.

After that we headed to the Subway and went back to Cambridge to vist the Cambridge Antique Market. This building had 4 floors of antiques. It was fun to stroll and see some things from our childhood but nothing worth buying. 

Then it was back to our hotel to rest. While resting we ate a Boston Cream Pie that we had picked up while we were out because of course you have to eat that while in Boston. It was yummy! After that we had to decide what we should eat for dinner. It was snowy outside and we were tired so we decided to stay close and visit the pub across the street, The Black Rose. This ended up being an excellent choice. I got their pretzel and dip for an appetizer- it was huge and so good. Then I got shepherd's pie for my meal, also so yummy. I would say that overall on Friday I ate a LOT of really good food. 

Saturday came and I felt sad to have to head back home. It really had been a good escape. We attempted to go have breakfast at a diner that morning but it was packed inside with tons of people waiting outside and we just didn't have time. Google totally misdirected us because it had said it was just a little busy. So we stuck with tradition and hit up Panera. Then it was back to our hotel to pack up and check out. Once again everything went smoothly with public transportation. We took the subway to the bus station, hopped on the needed bus and got off on our terminal. On our flight we got to sit next to eachother again and even had the row to ourself. Despite them saying it was a full flight there were 2 empty rows by us so the lady who had been by us moved to one of them. This time my screen worked so I watched a classic "Italian Job" and it ended right as we landed. 

When we got back it was dinner time and Poppy and Grams Hatch were good to us and took us all out to dinner so we wouldn't have to worry about feeding everyone. It was a perfect end to a perfect week. 

Boston Day 3

 Thursday morning we decided to skip the overpriced market and got breakfast at Panera. I absolutely love their cinnamon crunch bagels. And they allow you to put your own cream cheese on your bagel so I could have just the right amount. After breakfast, we walked to the Boston Tea Party Ship and Museum. This was the most expensive thing we did but also one of my favorite experiences. It started out with a reenactment of the townhall meeting. Tyler was given a character to play with a part and everything and he recited his part so well ;) We we were all to chime in with "huzzah" "hisss" "boo" and "here! here!" Tyler was the biggest partcipant and I chimed in a little. There were about 5 other people there (2 who were very little kids).

After the meeting we went out to the ship where we got to throw "tea" into the water and we learned a lot about how the "Tea Party" was carried out. We learned about the difficult process they had of cutting the tea out of the boxes and lead wrapping and then hauling the hundreds of pounds of it out of the cargo haul. The water was also at low tide when they dumped it so there were just mounds of it in the water. When it washed to shore during high tide they stomped it into the ground so no one would take it. One man who did try to take handfuls of it and was beat and then they nailed his coat to the gallows. This was serious business. I also was given a character and apparently my character got hit on the head with a box of tea and was persumed dead. (Gratefully they didn't reenact this). They brought him back to his workshop hoping that it would look like a work accident but lo and behold the next morning they went to check on the body and discovered he was still breathing. Huzzah!

After the ship we went inside to the museum and they went over the aftermath of the Boston Tea Party. They did this with a 3D reenactment of two wives talking (one a loyalist and one not). Then we went into another room where they had a video and then 2 portraits that honestly looked painted but turned out to be projections that moved and talked. In this room they had a crate from that night and a vial of tea from that night- not sure how someone got away with keeping that. The last room had a video of the Midnight Run and the shot heard around the world. This video was a little graphic (with a bullet wound victim) which made me feel bad for the dad with the 2 little girls. They looked traumatized. This video also made me a little emotional. I wish people appreciated the sacrafices that were made so that we could have freedom here. 

After the museum we went back to our hotel room and ate some leftover pizza and rested our feet. After our break we headed to Charlestown to see the USS Constitution. This required taking a ferry so that was fun. The ferry looked like it hadn't been updated in decades but it got us their safely and the view was nice so I guess I can't complain.

The USS Constitution Museum was a short jaunt from the ferry. Honestly the afternoon sleepies hit when we got there so I wasn't super excited by the museum. I felt like I could curl up on a bench and take a nap. Instead we read plaques and learned about what ships are made of and the life of sailors. I would never make it as a sailor. 

When we finished up at the museum, we headed to the actual ship. It is still owned by the navy so we had to go through security and then we went on a tour led by a sailor. She was actually a firefighter in the navy. Seeing the boat was pretty cool. We saw the canons, and learned how they operated and we saw the place where all the sailors slept in hammocks. Tyler asked the lady a lot of questions at the end and at that point I was a wee bit bored but I am glad he learned some things. When we first started the tour it had started to sprinkle and when it ended it, it was raining. Thankfully not too hard because we had to walk back to the ferry and wait for it to come. While waiting we met a chatty couple from Canada and talked about weather with them. By the time we got in the ferry and walked back to our hotel, we were definitely a little soggy. It took some time for us to properly dry off and feel like going back out for some dinner.

For dinner we got out our umbrellas and went to Pauli's which is world famous. The sandwiches were super pricey but huge. I got the Vito sub and it was good but not spectacular. Tyler seemed to really enjoy his sandwich. When we were done we picked up something sweet to eat at the seven eleven right by our hotel. Their was a homeless man holding the door open with a cup. Perks of staying in the city I guess. He was there the following night too. I am surprised that he doesn't get kicked out...

Boston! Day 1&2

 All the kids were off of school Monday so it was a pretty chill day. I cleaned house and got ready for our trip while Tyler took the kids out for me so I could clean in peace. That was really nice.

Tuesday around lunch time Tyler's parents flew in and just a few hours later they took us to the airport for our Boston trip. Everything worked out really smoothly and Tyler and I even got to sit next to each other on the airplane. The only "hiccup" was that the sound was broken on my screen so I couldn't actually watch a movie but I had a good book to read so I was fine. It was called "Meet Me in the Margins" and it was really cute chick lit, really clean too.

Once in Boston we had to rely on public transportation to get to our hotel since we weren't renting a car and once again, things went super smoothly. We literally walked out of baggage claim/transportation door and there was the bus we needed. The bus took us right to the blue line subway and then the subway dropped us off right across from our hotel. I was actually so confused at where to go when we got out of the station because I didn't realize we would literally be in front of our hotel. By the time we checked in, it was getting late but I was hungry as per usual so we went on the hunt for food. We ended up at Chipolte (which we later learned used to be a book store that housed some pretty famous authors). 

Wednesday morning we walked down to Kane's doughnuts because they were supposed to be amazing. Honestly the glazed doughnut I had was good, but I wouldn't say it was any better than Krispy Kreme's. We ate them in our room. Mine was basically gone by the time that Tyler took a picture ;)

And then because I was still hungry, we hit up the Quincy Market. The Quincy Market was so over priced. I ended up with a $10 bagel and they way over cream cheesed it. After our second breakfast we walked over to the Freedom Trail Visitor Center and signed up for a Freedom Trail Tour. Our tour guide was the persona "Harbottle Dorr" a merchant and a member of the Sons of Liberty who collected newspapers. He was to present an unbiast view of historical events. Tyler felt he did a good job. We started off in the Boston Commons where we saw the MLK statue that has gotten a lot of controversy because it looks awkward. I'll be honest, it definitely looked like poop from the back. It was really hard to see the 2 sets of arms hugging eachother. We also learned that the playground in The Commons was built where the Puritans kept their gallows long ago. Creepy. 

Our next big stop was at the Granary Burying Grounds because of course back then, they would store their grain right next to where they buried people. Interesting fact about the burying ground- the Puritans just buried piles of bodies and not too far underground so when the rain would come down, body parts would wash into the street. Since that was unpleasant they had to build a retaining wall to catch the parts. On a more pleasant note, we saw Paul Revere and Samuel Adam's graves. We also saw John Hancock's and learned he was a little full of himself, lol.

Another stop was at Benjamin Franklin's statue where we learned that even though he was born in Boston, he did not love Boston. He loved Philadelphia. When Franklin lived in Boston he worked under his brother at their family's newspaper company and his brother did not appreciate his awesome writing and management skills and tended to beat him and send him to do grunt work. Franklin was very happy to leave his brother and start a new life in Philadelphia.  

There were other stops but I wasn't so good at documenting. One of our last stops was at the site of the Boston Massacre. There we learned that tensions were high, a teenage boy decided to cause problems with a soldier, mistakes were made and 5 people ended up shot by British soldiers. It sounds like everyone had their own version of the events that occured and each party headlined it very differently- one called it the massacre, the other an unfortunate event. It definitely was a catalyst in the Revolution. 

After the tour which involved a lot of walking, we took a break at the hotel and then I needed sustenance. We ended up having lunch at a place called Chicken and Rice Guys. Tyler and I made a poor choice to put the medium sauce on our chicken and holy cow that stuff was hot, made my eyes water. Our mouths were on fire for quite awhile afterwards, it was definitely painful. I can't even imagine how hot their actual hot sauce would be. I think if we had made a wiser choice in sauce, it could have been yummy. 

When we finished burning our mouths off we headed to the subway so we could travel to Cambridge. In Cambridge we stopped in some touristy shops and a couple book stores. I particularly liked the Harvard Book store. It was big and had some fun books to look at. Tyler was excited by their fancy copy of "The Princess Bride" but $50 was just too much to actually buy it. Then we picked up some cannolis at Mike's Pastry (world famous) and did a little walk around the Harvard Campus. The buildings were beautiful. 

After our little walk around campus we headed back to our hotel and ate our cannolis. The filling was pretty good (oreo) but the pastry shell was meh. Not my jam. 

After giving our footies a rest I was hungry again so we headed back out into the cold to Pizzeria Rustico for some dinner. Of course none of these places have great seating room so we took it back to our hotel. It wasn't too cold by the time we got back and it was a pretty good pizza. That night we decided to be rebels and rent "The Shining" since I had read the book. That was a poor choice. They totally strayed from the story and added a lot of garbage scenes that needed to be skipped. Was not a fan. I guess their is a reason we don't watch rated R movies...

10 Weeks, Bunco

Monday I spent cleaning the house so things would be beautiful for Bunco. I dusted places that I have not dusted for a very long time. I also put more things in the basement than I probably should have. Tyler hates me cluttering up his work space with junk.

Tuesday morning our seminary "boss" came to teach our seminary class. It was really nice to be able to just sit back and let him be in charge. This is his paid job so obviously he is pretty good at teaching. He was able to get all our kids to participate. I had told him there was a student who liked to talk and sometimes had controversial comments or uncomfortable comments. Afterwards he knew exactly who I was talking about, no surprise. 

Tuesday afternoon I had my first official doctor's appointment. I was super anxious about it. 10 weeks was when I had Isaac's first appointment and found out I had had a missed miscarriage. Honestly I will probably be anxious at every appointment but this one felt especially hard. I had Tyler come with me and it was nice he did because when we got to the parking lo, tthere were literally no spots. I ended up having to have Tyler drop me off at the front and he had to circle like a shark waiting for a spot. According to the nurse, parking is always bad because the parking garage is still under construction. However, it was not that busy when I went the last time, maybe because it was the holidays? When we got back to the doctor, he was really apologetic about the wait time but honestly my last office had much worse wait times so with my low bar set, a 20 minute wait was no big deal. Or maybe because I always had to go with kids at my last office, these wait times just seem better? The doctor immediately got out the doppler and I was grateful that I didn't have to wait. The doctor had no problem finding the heartbeat and then he moved the screen so I could see my little gummy bear jumping around. It was so reassuring. Afterwards he went over lab results and previous history and said he wasn't worried, everything appears to be good. I can't decide if I appreciated his lack of concern or if it felt a bit flippant. But he did catch on to my anxiety quickly and said usually the next appt wouldn't be until I was 14 weeks but if I wanted, I could come in at 12. I obviously said yes to that offer. 

Tuesday evening I was hosting Bunco. I hate hosting. I had easy food but also all of it had to be heated/cooked last minute so I was in the kitchen sweating like crazy when people started to arrive. Once they started to come, my social anxiety reared its head so I become super high strung, and awkward and even more sweaty. For me, the first half hour is always the worst part of a party I am hosting. Once everyone was there and eating food, I was able to cool off some and the rest of the night was good and I think everyone had a good time with my Chinese New Year theme. I even had some brave people who tried the nasty candy I had bought from the Chinese Market. I swear it was salty 🤢 Most people really liked the coconut candy I had gotten, that was the favorite. The Mochi I got for dessert wasn't apparently a huge favorite. I did not win a prize which was a shame- I had awesome gift cards. I literally had 1 point too much for the loser prize.

Also, on Tuesday, Steven started Robotics Club. His friend is in it and his friend's mom reached out to me about Steven joining. Steven has a been a blob lately so I thought why not. Steven personally was not interested but I told him he could join the Robotics Club or get a job and he seemed to decide the club was slightly less evil. So he goes to every meeting but he goes with lots of complaints. Tyler is mentoring and enjoying being there but he says Steven tends to just sit in the corner with his friend and play on his phone. Boo. Hopefully he'll realize not participating is the reason he is bored and start to join in more in the future. Hopefully!

Wednesday the kids all had their dentist appointments. The boys enjoyed playing with the baby toy in the waiting room so I had to take a picture. We had a very friendly, chatty hygentist who was very nice about what a beautiful and great family I have. I also got told by the dentist how my kids need to ortho work and I just straight up told them I know they do but the cost is too much. Then my pregnancy hormones made my cheeks redden and I wanted to hide under a chair. Any sort of awkward attention makes them redden these days. Pregnancy is so fun.

Friday morning our seminary students were supposed to be writing a devotional but Tyler distracted them with how the public school system is failing them. Him and his soapboxes. Later Friday I went with my friend Michelle (who is a real estate agent) to look at houses for Mariah. We saw 5 houses and honestly I would only live in 1 of them. 3 of them were small and had weird layouts and 1 was falling apart. The one that I liked was a little run down but it was really roomy and in a great neighborhood. Honestly it's better than the house we're in ;) We still have a few more houses to look at so we shall see where they end up. I had a great time looking at house and chatting with Michelle. We had some deep church conversations. It seems to be my thing these days, to talk to people struggling with the church. She is not massively struggling, just had a bit of a frustrating situation with her Bishop. I can definitely relate to that. 

Friday night the kids had friends over so I did a puzzle and watched "Persuasion" on Netflix. It was a really clean chick flick, I rather enjoyed it. Saturday Tyler and Steven were at Robotics Club most of the day and I spent my day running a few errands and getting some things done around the house. I honestly have not had that much on my plate lately. The days feel long with time to get my tasks done and then plenty of time to spare. Tyler says I should just enjoy it because the baby will change all that and I know that's true but I have never been very good at idleness. I feel like I need to find something to fill that extra time with but haven't quite figured out what. 

Bowling, Anniversary, Pearl Dies

Last Saturday night was New Year's Eve. Ethan and Jacob from across the street came over and everyone basically played on their computers/tablets for the night...so thrilling. At 9pm we did an early celebration of the New Year- we watched a Netflix's Countdown (which they only had 1 to use this year), we drank sparkling cider and the kids blew horns (compliment of Jacob's mom :/ they had 5 minutes and then we threw them away). The girls and I went to bed not too long after that but the boys all stayed up until midnight...And since they are all a bit loud, I struggled to fall asleep so I was basically awake at midnight after all...Happy New Year :)

Monday was Tyler's last day before he went back to work so I wanted to do something as a family. As we were being lazy in bed that morning, Tyler and I decided on bowling. Seriously minutes after we made the decision Ben and Steven came to our door asking if they could go bowling with Jacob. Ugh. In the end it was decided that Jacob would come with us, so much for family time. But it was still good to get out as a family plus one. Steven was not doing well in the first round so he wa super grouchy and refused to let me take his picture. But in the second round he started to do well and suddenly was fun to be around again. Unfortunately I had put my phone away and so I still didn't get a picture. The girls and I all shared a lane so I got to bowl with bumpers. I still did not bowl very well but I enjoyed myself (and felt the burn of muscles that haven't been used in awhile the next day). Penny made me laugh with her crazy slow bowls, you wondered if they would make it down the lane. Sometimes I thought Lucy's ball was going to smash through the floor with the way she chucked it. And Ben loved to be dramatic and fall to the ground after a bad bowl. And dad got the best scores as per usual.

Tuesday was our anniversary but since we are going to Boston on the 17th, we didn't exchange gifts or have any magnificent plans. Instead we decided to go as a family to Olive Garden and use the giftcard my parents had given us for Christmas. We had Steven drive us there and he had a difficult time getting there because of traffic and his slowness in making lane changes. We ended up driving past it and having to take a long loop back. There were some tense moments in which I may have raised my voice but we all survived. We had a long wait when we got there because apparently everyone checks in online now but it was worth the wait. The soup, the breadsticks, the pasta...it all makes my pregnant cravings so happy. We also had fun playing some games with the kids to pass time because even once we sat down, there was a long wait between appetizers and food. We attempted to play two truths and a lie- it was funny- the kids were terrible. Then we played a game where we chose a topic and then had to think of a word for each letter in the alphabet that goes with the topic. That was better game for them. Afterwards Steven drove us home and that was a lot less stressful-- more right turns. 

Tuesday night after we had put the kids to bed, the boys came down all worried because Pearl was acting lethargic and not eating. When we went to see her, I could tell immediately she was not going to make it through the night. Ben was super distraught, Steven honestly didn't seem too upset. We basically told them to make her comfortable and say goodbye. The next morning she had indeed passed away. She was 5 years old so it was a pretty good length life for a guinea pig. That afternoon we had a funeral. Steven and Tyler dug a hole in the back corner of our yard and then we put her in. Tyler gave a little Eulogy and the kids could not stop giggling during it. My kids are weird and do not know how to handle emotions. They'll probably laugh at my funeral. Then we covered her flat little body and made a little headstone with a brick for her. Steven said we should get another guinea pig so Mariah will still have a friend but that would just continue the cycle of guinea pigs and I have reservations about that, especially since he only has 3.5 years of high school left. He hasn't pushed getting another one so I have just sort of let it drop.

Wednesday night everyone had activities at the church except Ben so after dropping the kids off at church, Tyler and I went to Costco with Ben. I was craving some strawberry ice cream so of course I had to fulfill that craving and Ben wanted some ice cream as well. He said he's not quite a teenager yet so I could take his picture ;)

School had started back up on Wednesday for Steven so the younger 3 dived back into their school work Wednesday as well. It was nice getting them back to work, we have all been especially lazy this winter break. We however, did not start seminary this week. I needed just one more full week of not waking up early before diving back in. Seminary and pregnancy are going to be tricky.

Despite the stress of Steven driving to Olive Garden Tuesday, I have been trying to drive with him more. Overall he does good and I stay calm but Friday he managed to freak me out enough that I snapped and yelled. He was turning left and the light had turned red and he was just sitting in the intersection. I told him to go and he slowly inches forward, so then I yelled at him to "go!" because as I said before, we were in the middle of an intersection on a red light. He can be SO slow and sometimes overly cautious. I also think left turns are his nemisis. I apologized afterwards but racking up these 30 hours of driving with him is certainly a challenge.

Friday Lucy had her annual doctor's visit and when I showed the doctor the wart on Lucy's thumb instead of making a future appt she took care of it right then. First she scraped off the top and then she froze it. It was super painful for Lucy but she was super brave. I was proud of her and I hope it actually goes away so she can be done with it.

Saturday Tyler and I had Steven drive us to Sportsman Warehouse and a few other stores. I was looking for some warm weather clothes for our trip to Boston. Steven did really well driving- he even had to merge on some freeways- but he did not appreciate my shopping. I was even surprisingly quick but 10 minutes in a store is apparently too long for him. Can't wait until he gets a girlfriend someday ;). 

Also this week I did some pour painting. I started trying to make a fire explosion but it didn't quite work so I changed it into an autumn leaf instead. I think it's one of my favorites so far, it turned out pretty cool.