Sunday we had Stake Conference. I actually don't mind Stake Conference because Tyler gets to sit with us (he usually mans the zoom feed in our ward). We sat by Mariah's family so we were a big and busy group. I spent some of the time in the halls getting Ruby to nap and then sitting in a cozy arm chair while she napped. Then I sat with everyone. Dad took Ruby and I ended up watching Wesley for a bit. There were some good talks- I especially enjoyed the ones by the missionary presidents. They had some good stories about people being in the right place at the right time because of promptings. The stories also showed that real life isn't always happily ever after. I told Tyler later that that might be us someday- I don't know why, just a random feeling. Then he told me all the public speaking that involved and I said hard pass ;) After Conference, Mariah's family came over and hung out- one last time before they head to Arizona for 6 weeks. I made cookies because I lost a Scrabble game against Ben and promised him cookies if I lost. All in all it was a good Sabbath and Ruby was looking particularly cute so I had to take some pictures. Plus one weirdo picture of me.
On Monday Ben got to start his soccer conditioning at Northern. They took it easy on him for the first day but it got progressively more difficult for him. He still has a good attitude about it but he is usually pretty exhausted afterwards and doesn't want to do too much. With soccer Ben realized his tennis shoes needed to be replaced so we went on an outing to the Great Lakes Crossing Mall- they have good outlet stores there. Lucy's friend Claire joined us. The kids had fun window shopping (in which they were confused by the term because I didn't buy any windows) and we got Ben some new shoes, a couple things for Father's Day and ended the outing with a cone from Dairy Queen.
Tuesday I decided to go running with Ben and that was not a great idea. It's been years since I have ran. I barely made it a half a mile before I needed to walk for a bit. My lungs also did not enjoy the run and I had a pretty yucky cough for the next 24 hours. I think I will stick to lifting weights from now on. No more running for me.
Wednesday we met my usual group (Eakins, Mays, Bloomfields) at our beach- school is finally out for everyone. The Mays were a little late and it felt like the kids were all awkward and not really playing with each other until they got there. I guess they were the glue in the friendships. With Ruby needing a nap, we only stayed a couple hours. Gone are our days of spending all afternoon at the beach but it was still a good time.
Thursday we met Mimi and her mom at the libray for a bit. That was probably not a great idea because Penny and Mimi were both were a little bit too rowdy for the library. Ruby also decided she wanted to stand up when I put her down but then she tipped over and hit her head on something and that was very sad. She scream cried for quite a bit. We certainly disrupted that library.
Thursday afternoon we met Stacy, Jenna and Marin at our beach (and Claire came with us as well). I hadn't seen Stacey since Christmas so it was nice to catch up with her in person. Ruby was not feeling well and spent most of the time needing hugs from me and wasn't super social with them. Not sure what was up with Ruby but she had a rough next day (and night) too. I was bummed she wasn't her fun usual self for them but it was still a good time. It's hard to believe that Marin graduated and will be starting college and that Jenna (and Lucy) will be in middle school. I think Stacey views me as an oddity with my big family and strange religious beliefs but that's ok, at least she is interested in the things I say, lol.
Thursday night Lucy finally convinced me to let Claire spend the night. It turned out to be pretty low key. We had dinner, went to Kroger's for some treats, they watched a movie and then they went outside in the dark and made a scary movie with Claire's camera. They had me watch it and I am reminded how not good I am at faking reactions. It was just a goofy kid video that was really only funny for the kids that made it. Lucy asked me what I would rate it and me being generous gave it 8 out of 10 stars. That was not generous enough apparently. She asked "What about the other 2 stars!?" Awkward.
Friday was a chill day. I ran an errand to get the boys a few things for Youth Conference and that was my only outing for the day. That everning the oldest 3 had baptisms at the temple with our ward. I am glad our Ward is good at setting up a monthly temple date for the youth. They all seem to enjoy it (especially getting a treat at Culver's afterwards).
Saturday we had no plans so I made my family come to the Critchlow Alligator Sanctuary in Athens with me. I had been wanting to go for awhile and there happened to be a groupon for it. No one is quite into the adventures like I am and they were all especially grumbly about the drive (2 hours). Ruby seems to have outgrown falling asleep easily in the car but she did take a cat nap on the way there so the drive went fairly smoothly. Once there we had a person come up and ask if we wanted a tour and we said sure. What started out as just us and one other family grew after the first stop. That was a bit of a bummer since I am not a fan of lots of people but I am still glad we said yes. She had lots of interesting facts about the tortoises and alligators and she had some back stories on some of them too. The alligator below that looks like it is smiling has a short snout because they kept him in a tub and he didn't have the room to grow. Most of their animals there are rescues. People aren't so smart about taking on alligators as pets apparently. Near the end of the tour, we had sort of had enough of alligators so we sat and had lunch. While eating we saw a family doing the small alligator encounter and I decided we should do it too. We will probably never come back so we might as well enjoy it to the fullest. It was a good choice. The kids all were pretty excited about holding the alligator and we even got a smile from Steven (who was saying he wanted to go home the whole time). Although I didn't capture the smile- booo. After our fun adventure we stopped at Horrock's Market for some treats and then headed home, where Ruby once again took a cat nap in the car.
We ended the fun day with the kids watching Ruby so Tyler and I could go eat the Filling Station. Their burgers are sooooo good and it's a small, not well known place so it's never crowded and the service is always quick. Unfortunately that means it may not stay in business long but I do hope it does. I really like the food.
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