Face Paint, Art, DQ

 On Monday we did schoolwork in the morning and then my mom was nice and took the girls shopping for some clothes. She felt that since Ruby got so spoiled, they needed a little spoiling too. They both got new swimsuits and a new outfit. That evening my mom came with me to the girls' soccer practice in Milford and we chatted in the car, took a walk to the library to use the restrooms, and then chatted some more in the car. It was nice to have company for once while I waited for the girls.

Tuesday morning we had a belated Mother's Day dinner at Lena's Kitchen. It was me, my mom, Leslie, Mariah, Wesley and Mariah's mother in law, Lynn. The food was sooooo good! My mom and I got a savory crepe and sweet crepe and shared. Mostly the conversation was good, although at one point Leslie, Mariah and Lynn were all talking about someone they knew that my mom and I did not now. But that was a short moment. 

Tuesday evening my mom and I went to Ben's soccer game. It was a good game to watch. They won 1-0. They kept trying to make more goals and failing but the other team never really got close to making any goals. I was glad to have my mom there since the other parents seem to ignore me. It was nice to have company. 

Wednesday morning we had the bishopric come to seminary. They played a game against the whole seminary class. We had NT questions and incorporated our "hooky game" that we have. It was a lot of fun to watch how competitive they all got. In the end the Bishopric won with the last question but the seminary students contested and begged for another question. They insisted on doing a doctorinal mastery as a question which worked in their favor because the Bishopric was not as well aquainted with them.

For lunch on Wednesday, my mom and I took the younger 3 to their end of the year picnic. The weather was really nice and there was some good food being served. My mom and I ended up sitting with Cherish and a new friend, Nahoko, while the kids played. Nahoko is from Japan and it was really interesting conversation learning about how she adjusted to such a change when moving here. Ben initially wanted to go home because he couldn't find any of his friends but then he found friends and we had a hard time getting him to leave. The girls both really enjoyed getting their faces painited- even though I was the worst and accidentaly smeared Penny's face paint. Luckily she was able to get her other cheek painted too and I did not smear that one.

Thursday morning I took my second 1 hour glucose test and this time I did not feel so yucky and this time I passed! I got a 133 and I needed less than 135. I realize that is still pretty close to not passing so I am trying to make better food choices and not gorge out on junk food quite so much. When I got home I did school work with the kids, we went to DQ for lunch (not quite helping my resolve to eat better) and then my mom and I did some painting. It was fun to introduce her to pour art. Even though she wasn't happy with hers, I think it still turned out good. Her's is the blue and orange one and mine is the rainbow one. 

 

That evening Tyler and Steven attended their Robotic's Banquet, which I had to force Steven to go to. Honestly, free dinner and he was complaining. My mom and I took the girl's to soccer while they were at their banquet and this time we hit up the farmer's market. My mom ended up buying this English Toffee that was soooo good (once again testing my resolve to eat good). She also got some cookies for all the kids. 

Friday morning was our last day of seminary. I have loved teaching seminary but I have also struggled massively with the lack of sleep. I have such mixed feelings about being done and not being able to teach that group of teens anymore but also, I am so ready to sleep in. After all I only have about 2 more months to enjoy sleep before a baby is going to be interrupting a good night's rest. I also am excited to reclaim my front living room and spent a good portion of the day deciding how I want to do that and starting the process. After school work was done, me, my mom and Lucy went to run some errands. I was looking for some thank you gifts for my friends that hosted my shower, a housewarming gift for Mariah's family, and a rug for that front room because the carpet has gotten so gross. Ikea ended up being a winner for finding all the things, although in the end, I returned the rug because it just didn't look good. I probably drove my mom and Lucy crazy with being so indecisive while we were shopping.

Friday evening, after the boys got back from a birthday party, we all watched the D&D movie with grandma- it was our 3rd time, her 1st. They really do love that movie,

Saturday morning the boys woke up bright and early for another caddying job. This time they got tipped really well- like $20. Meanwhile I had to take my mom to the airport which was sad, it's always hard to say goodbye. I spent the rest of the day clearing out that front living room, organizing the guest room, organizing diapers I got from the shower...maybe I am nesting? If I am nesting I still have a long way to go before things are up to par but I have made some progress. 

Baby Shower and Rebekka's Visit

Sunday was mother's day and it was a pretty nice day. Tyler made me my traditional crepes in the morning. In sacrament the primary sang some cute songs and then gave all the mom's tissue paper flowers. For RS we got to eat good food and chat with friends. After church I took a nap and then Tyler helped me make dinner. The kids all made me nice notes and I got an awesome Lego minifigure puzzle and a charcuterie board so I can be fancy now. 

Tuesday the boys had a youth temple trip and I decided to take them so I could have some low key temple time. It is always nice to be in the temple, it so quiet and calming. And it's extra nice when I can just sit there and enjoy the peacefulness without having to do anything.

Wednesday morning the girl and I went to see their friends in a play at Renaissance. It was pretty cute for a small production. There friend's mom brought their little sister who was rather noisy and there was this family that kept turning around and giving them nasty looks. I am not looking forward to people who don't have any sympathy for mom's of little ones. 

Thursday morning I went and took my glucose test and I did not pass. I wasn't super surprised because for some reason I was feeling sick when I went in and then just felt even worse with the drink. Surprisingly enough a lady from the ward was a the lab too and we had a good chat while we waited which helped distract me from how yucky I was feeling. I ended up getting a 143 and the dr wanted me to get 135. Thankfully my dr agreed to let me take the 1 hour test one more time before being subjected to the awful 3 hour fasting test.

Late Thursday night my mom flew in so she could be at my baby shower and hang with us a bit. Since I had Seminary the next morning, I did not stay up to greet her but our seminary class woke her up early the next morning, poor thing. They are not good at being quiet.  

I feel bad because not only did I not stay up to welcome my mom here but then while I was doing school work with my kids Friday morning, a migraine decided to hit so I had to hide up in my room and try to sleep it off. The sleep helped, I was still a little light sensitive, but not totally useless which was good because that afternoon my friend Rebekka flew in. I picked her up from the airport and then we went straight to our airbnb. We chatted for a bit, picked up some snacks and breakfast food from a nearby grocery store and then we met my family at the church building for a spaghetti dinner youth fundraiser. The fundraiser was pretty successful, the food was good and the youth all did various performances which was pretty fun. My kids did a little skit involving an invisible bench that had moved. There was also a bagpipe performance, a comedic magician, and a funny make up tutorial. I also managed to get spaghetti sauce spots all over my shirt, I'm a terrible messy spaghetti eater. When it came time for the dessert auction, Rebekka and I headed back to our bnb which had a creepy windowless van in the yard and a downstairs apartment that we could hear weird sounds from. We stayed up late talking about the book she is trying to write and eating our junk food. 

Saturday morning with the long day Rebekka had traveling and the time difference she slept in pretty late. My body, however, would not allow me to sleep in so I had a chill morning getting ready and reading while I waited for her to awake. Once she was up and ready, we decided to go to the John K King Bookstore in Detroit. On the drive there she got to witness the rough patches of Detroit, it always makes me sad to see the burnt out houses. We had a good time strolling the book aisles. She found some books on religion for her husband- they have been on a bit of a faith journey, not leaving the church but not necessarily fully committed anymore. We had a lot of interesting church discussions while she was visiting.  

 

After strolling the book store we went to Belle Isle and did a little walk. It was a bit chilly for a walk and my dress kept blowing up to reveal my shorts underneath which was awkward but Rebekka seemed excited by the prospect that she could see Canada across the river. What's funny is she lives in Washington so she's not so far from Canada either.

After our Belle Isle adventure we went to my house where I gave her a tour. I was a bit embarrassed because lately my house seems to be in a constant messy state. Trying to add baby things into our already cramped space has been tricky and still needs some work. Then it was time for all us ladies to go to my baby shower. My friends did such a good job throwing me a baby shower. The decorations were so cute, the food was yummy, I didn't have to unwrap gifts awkwardly in front of people- they came and set them on a table as I greeted them- and there was just one game and it wasn't an awkward one- just a matching game that involved candy. The only set back is I have no idea who gave me what- by the time the gifts got home, the cards were no longer attached with gifts and I had forgotten who had given me what. It's not a huge deal because those who bought from my registeries, it'll show what they got online, and I can do a generic thank you for the gift for those that came. I am bummed that I didn't get a picture with me and my mom or me and Rebekka at the shower seeing how they flew so far to be here for it. But I got some good photos with my friends that hosted the party (Caroline, Ashlee, Grace and Melissa) and I did get a photo with Corinne who surprised me by driving all the way from Indiana to be at my baby shower. When all was said and done, I really just felt so loved and supported. 

  

After the baby shower I took my presents home and then Rebekka and I went back to the airbnb. We decided to walk into downtown Fenton and ended up at a place that sounded good online but turned out it was geared for the LGBTQ community. We were like the only straight people there and our waitor's name was "Lev" and used the pronouns they/them (although was clearly a "she"). Though the atmosphere was interesting, the food really was yummy. I have been a grilled cheese sandwich kick and their fancy grilled cheese did not disappoint.

After dinner we went back to our airbnb, chatted some more, and then watched some "Schitt's Creek".

Sunday morning Rebekka and I had another slow morning and then cleared out of our airbnb, but not before signing the hallway wall (yes, you are supposed to sign it). Because we found the home slightly eerie in the evening, I decided to write, "Whatever you do, don't fall asleep." I'm sure other people who stay there will appreciate my message ;)

When we left, we decided to go to the Fort Gratiot Lighthouse because Rebekka is also a fan of lighthouses. I also wanted her to get to see a great lake before leaving. We took the tour of the surronding buildings and the lighthouse and the guy was real friendly and nice, I could see my dad being a good tour guide like him. Going up to the top of the lighthouse wasn't as difficult as I had thought it would be in my pregnant condition. There was a different person who took us to the top and I learned that he was born at 28 weeks old. So crazy that he survived being born that early and is a perfectly healthy adult. 

When we finished with the lighthouse,we walked down the beach for a little bit and then it was time to take Rebekka to the airport so she could catch her flight. I am so grateful that she flew all the way to Michigan for me, she is a good friend and it was good catching up with her. I had thought it might be awkward but it was like no time had passed since we last saw each other. We definitely need to do this again. 

After I dropped Rebekka off I came back home and attempted to clean because we had invited Mariah's family, her mother-in-law and my in-laws over for a bbq. Mariah's family had arrived in Michigan Saturday and awesome parents and in-laws had come to help her move. Thankfully I only had to make my bean salsa since Tyler was grilling so I didn't have to rush too much to get everything done. The bbq was nice, my kids love Mariah's kids. We ended the evening with popsicles on our deck, just chatting and enjoying the beautiful weather. It's going to be pretty great having family here permanently I think.

Build-a-Bear

Penny has been cleaning the bird cage for money and on Monday she realized she was pretty close to having enough money to buy a Build-a-Bear. Lucy realized she was close too. They both asked for extra chores so they could earn the rest of their money. Penny ended up vacuuming the car and did a really good job. Lucy helped pick some weeds. It is really nice having kids that are getting old enough to help out with chores. They also have designated rooms to clean each week and though they are not quite as good as me, it still relieves some of my burden. After dinner I took them to Build-a-Bear so they could get their stuffies. Lucy got a fluffy teddy and Penny got a rainbow cat. They now need to save up money to buy clothes for their stuffies.

Tuesday I did "take two" of my green masterpiece for above the mantel. This time I used a more liquidy base and also used lots of it. It worked a lot better and I am mostly happy with my second attempt. I still see all the flaws but it will work for now. I also made a royal mess in my kitchen which was not a great idea because the missionaries were coming for dinner. I had much tidying to do before they came. I wish I had an art studio...

I always stress about the missionaries coming over but it always ends up being nice to have them in our home. They are good examples for our kids. We still have the one missionary from Holbrook, AZ here and Tyler still tells the same missionary stories- I wonder if he is tired of hearing them yet. It was a warm day and I am pretty sure I was sweating as I was bustling around the kitchen- Penny was nice to point out my ears looked a bit red. Super. The missionaries were really nice and complimented my painting so I guess they can come over again. Right after they left I had Bunco. I did the best that I had done in awhile but of course someone had an even more amazing time so I didn't win a top 3 prize (which were Target giftcards). But I did end up getting the most Baby Bunco's and winning a basket of flowers that I have already killed so....

Wednesday I had to take Ben to get some pics for his science fair project and we were near a Culver's so I had to get some pretzel bites and of course, get Ben a treat too. We had a nice hang out, he's always really good at saying "thank you". He's a good kid. The pretzel bites however, did not settle well and as much as I love them, I may have to stop getting them. 

Thursday was a busy day. I did some shopping in the morning- still trying to find maternity clothes and needed some summer clothes for the kids. Then I went on a walk with Grace- it is getting so warm. I feel like we missed that nice in between weather. After our walk Grace and I met up with Melissa and Caroline for lunch. We went to Lena's Kitchen and it was sooooo good. When I got home I had to rush off to get the kids from school and then once home catch up on dishes and laundry that I had missed during the day. Then after dinner, off to soccer with the girls. 

Friday the kids all had friends over in the afternoon. The girls played with water balloons and made brownies (this time no lids were melted) while the boys did lots of video games. We had Costco pizze for dinner (which I had a craving for) and then we bought the new D&D movie on Prime and we watched it again. Still fun the second time around. 

Saturday I was awoken by an obnoxious amount of texts in the group chat for the girl's soccer team. I hate group chats. BUT it was a good thing because apparently I had the time wrong for their game and I needed to get up then if we were going to be ready in time. Their team did not win which was a bummer. The other team had some great goalies and even though the girl's team made many attempts, no goals made it in. I love watching the progress of Lucy and Penny. It's fun to see them get in there and try. 

The boys had some fun Saturday. Steven got to go to Brickfest with Adam- a big Lego event. Then he had an activity to get him ready for FSY. Ben had Andrea's birthday party to attend. They had burgers and went to the Mario movie. Me, I swear that one soccer game had me beat. There was a long walk to the field and then sitting in the sun. I forgot a hat which was a poor choice. I am really lacking in energy these days...just 12 more weeks to go...

Oven Melt Down

Sunday we had Ward Conference and there were some nice talks. They both involved using personal stories as analogies, those always keep my focus better. At church Tyler had to talk to a seminary parent who, now that the school year is almost over, is worried about her child passing seminary. She felt that listening to podcasts should count as scripture reading for her child. It was a bit frustrating when literally all you have to do is read one scripture verse a day to count as scripture reading. 

Monday was rainy and cold so both soccer practices got cancelled. That meant we had a nice, quiet night in. The kids and I have been watching the TV series "Merlin" when we have time in the evening. It's a pretty fun show.

Tuesday while the kids were at school I attempted to find some maternity clothes but had bummer luck. Target's dresses fit weird and Old Navy had one tiny rack of clothes. I found a t-shirt dress but that was it. I ordered some stuff of Amazon but that all ended up feeling too tight. It was a bit of a bummer.

Lately here has been a lot of frustration with Steven so I decided I needed to do something with him Tuesday night so we could have a positive experience together for once. We ended up going to Target and I had him pick out something for Ruby. He got her a big Creeper doll because he says that will ensure that she wants to play Minecraft someday. Afterwards we went to Culver's for ice cream. I think I might have to pass on the Culver's ice cream in the future. Though it is tasty, that night I had the worst stomach problems from it.

Wednesday was just another day of school work, soccer practice for Ben, and activities at the church for all the kids...I did attempt to do some pour painting on a big canvas to put over the mantle and it turned out pretty good. But then I started seeing all the flaws and thought I could fix them and in the end made it worse. So I gave up on it and smeared all the paint so the canvas is now just green. I'll have to do a new layer on top when I feel like trying it out again.

Thursday I got some more baby clothes from a mom at the kid's school. I am really getting a good stash. The mom told me how they are leaving Renaissance due to some frustrations. I don't love Renaissance per se but I don't hate it enough to leave it...yet. Ben has one more year and then we might see about another route for the girls. Part of me wants to homeschool again so I can have more control over the curriculum but that is also a lot of work. I have another year to figure it out I guess.

Friday morning I had a massive migraine. I went back to bed for an hour and that helped but lights still bothered me. I powered through and finished helping kids with school work, got Lucy a much needed haircut and took books back to the library. Then I disappeared upstairs again and hid in the darkness. It was a bummer because it was a rare sunny day and I couldn't enjoy it. While I was hiding in the darkness, Lucy decided she wanted to make brownies by herself. Well, for some reason she thought she needed to have the plastic lid on the brownies while she baked them. That led in an oven disaster. The oven still smells awful :(

Saturday was soccer day. The girls had their game in the morning and ended up tying 3-3. Steven went with me because he wanted to go to Max's after. The weather was sooo perfect but of course Steven still found a reason to complain. Ugh. Ben had his game in the afternoon and they ended up winning 5-0. The girls went with me and they were playing really nicely but then Lucy had to pee desperately and there were no bathrooms. There is a reason I usually go by myself to the soccer games.

Another Week

On Sunday a friend gave me a bunch of baby clothes and I spent Tuesday organizing them into bins so our attic space isn't a disaster. It took more time than expected but I am feeling very grateful. Ruby already has a good stash of super cute clothes. Tyler also finished fixing the drawer on the dressers we had bought- to the best of his ability- so the girl's room is organized and looking much better. 

Wednesday I took Ben to the SOS so he could get state ID, they won't let him get set up to get paid as a caddie without ID. We made an appointment online but of course they were running late and then we hit a ton of traffic on the way back. Took longer then expected but I had promised the kids we would walk to 7-11 when we got back so I did. It wore me out pretty good. At 25 weeks I am low energy and achey- I'm sure it only get worse ;). I got a belly band and it really doesn't help much. That evening Ben had soccer and then I had Steven pick him up and take them both to their activity. I found his driving slightly frustrating- he is overly cautious and slow. He is also easily irritated with other drivers (even though he is probably irritating other drivers). Their activity was calling people in the Ward to see if they wanted to buy flowers for their fundraiser. They tried to call me but I refused to answer and made them come to the foyer to ask me. I hate awkward phone calls, lol. I came home feeling overly annoyed with everyone (a little hormonal) and then Lucy accidentally kicked me in the face climbing up to her bunk bed. It was a bad mood sort of night.

Thursday morning I went to see a town home in Northville for Mariah's family. They had applied to this home and they were accepted. It is overall a really nice home and I think they will be happy there. The only drawback is that it will be a long commute for Jeff. But it is located next to lots of fun things and has a community pool which will be great in the summer. After that I went to Debbie's house to paint. It was one of those days where everything I painted sort of flopped. I didn't take a picture because I was unimpressed with what I made.

Thursday evening the girls had soccer and the weather was really nice. I did a walk to the library and worked on seminary lessons there and then walked back to the soccer field. I love my soccer nights.

Friday morning for seminary we talked about being a part of Jesus's clique- I think it turned out quite well. One of our students always gets a ride with another one but her ride didn't show so I gave her a ride to school. We actually had a really nice conversation. She is the only one in her home that is active and she has a really great testimony. She is a good teen. 

Also on Friday my allergies went completely haywire. Super itchy and runny nose. Bad headache. I felt really awful and spent most of the afternoon and evening hiding out in my room because the kids had friends over. Even Penny commented that I looked terrible, so nice.

Saturday I was hoping to feel better but I still had a bad headache. Tyler was really nice and took over all the responsibilities. He took Steven (who was in tears about it) to his first caddie job. Steven really did not want to go but apparently he calmed down on the ride there. He came home saying he did not enjoy it and had to ask like 30 questions but I am hoping once he gets paid he feels differently. He also took the girls to their soccer game and they won! Yay! I spent the day being super duper lazy and hiding from everyone. It was a good recovery day.

Also this week Penny and Ruby took a nap together :)

Super Mario, Caddie Training, Painting

We roasted last weekend in 80 degree weather and then on Monday there was snow. Not enough to stick but enough to emphasize that Michigan weather is crazy. The girl's soccer practice got cancelled that night but the older kids were expected to *suck it up* so Ben still had soccer practice. He layered up and survived the cold. 

Tuesday morning I met Stefanie at The Breakfast Club. I had been craving their crepes so it was nice to satisfy that craving. I enjoy our talks because I feel like our older two kids have some similar issues so it's nice to have some who can relate. That evening the boys had their first caddie training. I had totally forgot about it and bought tickets for our whole family to see the new Super Mario Brother movie. Fail. I ended up inviting 3 friends of the girls to take their place and then buying tickets for Tyler to take the boys after their caddie training (because Ben was super upset about missing it). Since it's only $5 on Tuesday it wasn't too painful of a mistake. The girl's 3 friends that came all go to their school so I took them home with us from school, fed them and then we went to the movie. That was a lot of girls but they had a blast and all seemed to enjoy the movie. We did some serious jamming to the "Peaches" song all the way home.

Wednesday I felt wiped. I fell asleep doing school work with the kids, then took a nap when they were done with all their school work and then took another nap after runnings some errands. Baby must have been stealing my energy that day. That night I took the boys to their second day of caddie training. They seem like they are excited to make some money. Steven even said he had a goal to make $400 to buy an Oculus VR. I really hope they both stick with it. Picking them up from the training was a disaster though because the parking lot was FULL and I kept going down dead ends and then having to get out of those dead ends in the massive Surburban was not a treat. 

Thursday while the kids were all in school I got to go on a walk with Grace. She jogged to my house before the walk which I found quite impressive. She's training for a marathon. Then I had my 24 week check up and Ruby is still doing good. I have had a horrible back ache and my midwife recommended a belly band. I am not sure that will help but I guess I will try. I also was super awkward and asked her if she knew anyone who provided housing to medical students- I mean she's in the medical field, why not try for Mariah's family's sake. (Everytime they apply to rent a home, they get denied because their loans aren't in yet.) She did not and I immediately felt silly for asking. Oh well.

Thursday night Tyler was in charge of getting the boys to their last day of caddie training and I took the girl's to soccer practice. While they practiced I went for a walk- the weather was perfect- then I went and read trashy magazines at the library. When I went to pick them up my vision went wonky and my head hurt. Not ideal driving the girls home. Pretty sure it was just a migraine. I wonder if the migraine was brought on from cleaning the shower grout earlier- maybe the smell of bleach was too much. 

Friday morning I felt like I was still recovering from the migraine and needed the lights off. Later I had to take Andrea and Ben on a hunt to find water in specific environments to test. We had to do suburbs, country, freeway, city. When we finished, I took them to Costco for lunch. I love how cheap Costco's pizza and hot dogs are. Later I decided to try and see if I could paint flowers using my pour painting. I think they turned out pretty good. I want to do a big painting similar to this for above my fireplace.

Saturday morning the girls game was cancelled because of rain but not Ben's game. The weather started out good for his game but near the end it got really chilly and started to rain. The bag for my chair decided to blow into the field and one of the dad's was really nice and chased after it for me. They still mostly ignore me but I was glad for the help. Ben also had a shoe tying problem but overall he did really good and it is fun to see him improving.

Also Saturday, the girls got to go to Angelica's play "Beauty and the Beast". And Steven had over 3 people from the Ward (2 being girls) and they all meshed really well together. They had a lot of fun playing games on the Nintendo Switch. We'll have to get them all together again. 

Easter Sunday and Ohio

 As per usual the kids woke us up early Easter morning, excited to look for their Easter baskets. Penny is currently the only believer in the Easter Bunny, the rest have learned the truth and were not traumatized by it. There were notes with clues to help the kids find their baskets. Penny's was on the washing machine in the basement (so she could help mom with the laundry when Ruby is born). Lucy's was by the Shopkins toy bin (so she can make sure and keep these tiny toys away from Ruby). Ben's was near the homeschool cart (so he can help teach Ruby). And Steven's was hidden in the bathroom where he shaves his mustache. They were spoiled as per usual.

Ben got a funny shirt, a tie, a Super Mario Lego, a drawing notebook, water balloons, goggles, and a photo book.

Penny got fairy garden stuff, gummy bear necklace, mini brands, water balloons, goggles, and a photo book.

Lucy got "how to draw anime faces" book, a Veggie Tale movie, mini brands ball, gummy bear earrings, water balloons, goggles and a photo book.

Steven got a funny shirt, a Lego chicken, fancy mechanical pencils, a tie and a photo book. 

I got an exercise ball from the bunny (to sit on and help with my achy back) and Tyler got a book he had been wanting (Common Sense). After all the fun gifts were revealed I did some cooking and set out a platter of food for the kids- doughnuts, muffins, pancake sticks, and bacon. Everyone fought over the doughnuts so obviously I should get more next year.

After tidying up, I got myself ready for church and took our usual Easter Sunday pictures. This year Lucy asked for a romper which was nice because then I did not have to yell at her at church for not sitting lady like in a dress. The girls also wanted to wear makeup and I allowed it but Lucy's may have been a tad over the top.

At church we had a pleasant surprise, Lucy and Penny's friends showed up- Angelica, Luna and their mom, Cherish. I knew the girls had invited them but since I hadn't heard anything from their mom, I didn't expect them to come. The girls were excited to have them there, and that excitement made reverence a little tricky. Overall Easter Sunday was good. Each speaker seemed to mention the Mary Magdalene story which felt slightly redundant. One used a lot of Mormon terms which may have confused Cherish. 2 yw sang a really pretty duet. I think our visitors enjoyed it.

After chuch we ate our Jerusalem meal (fish sticks, pita bread, grape juice...) and then we loaded up the car and drove to Ohio. I came up with the idea to go visit Cuyahoga Valley National Park in Ohio a few days earlier and Tyler surprisingly went along with it. We drove 3.5 hours Sunday afternoon to a nice (and cheap) airbnb in Fairpoint, Ohio. We got their fairly late so we just ate some easy macs that I had brought, played on the cool retro arcade machine they had, walked to a lighthouse just a few mins away, and then watched "The Chosen" before going to bed. 

The next day we woke up and went for a little walk to the nearby beach at Lake Erie. The boys had a lot of fun skipping stones. We also found quite a few dead fish which was gross. Ohio is often made fun of by teens for some reason and so the kids loved seeing the dead fish and commenting "Only in Ohio".

After our walk we headed to Cuyahoga Valley National Park. Our first stop was The Great Falls of Tinker Creek. The hike was short and the view was pretty. For a bit the kids thought the falls were called "Tinkle" insetad of "Tinker" so that was funny. The kids also found a tunnel which led you to a closer view of the waterfalls. I made a poor choice and followed them into the tunnel. Walking low while pregnant is no easy feat but I did enjoy the better view. 

After our little hike and exploration we ate our lunch (we had picked some things up from a grocery store) at a nearby picnic table. Then we headed to our next destination- Brandywine Falls. This walk was more peoplely, had a little more stairs than I would have liked and the food I had just ate had not settled well. Thankfully we got to the bathrooms just in time. Also, thankfully, they were nice bathrooms. 

Our next stop was probably one of my favorites, The Ledges. We hiked down to these cool ledges and were able to explore them. Everyone but me squeezed through a narrow opening. I went to a less squishy part and joined them. The kids really loved exploring and we didn't run across many people. Once they finished exploring the ledges they were all basically done and didn't want to finish the trail so we headed back to the car.

Our last stop was the Beaver Marsh. While we did not spot any beavers, we did see an old lock (from the days of the Erie Canal), a muskrat (I didn't get a very good pic of him), lots of turtles, ducks and swans. By this time the kids were getting hot, tired and cranky so this was not my favorite part.

Once back to the car we called it a day and made the drive back home. It was a good little adventure. Thankfully we had a smooth ride home. By the time we got home it was early evening so we skipped the kids' soccer practices and had a quiet night in.

Tuesday the kids went back to school and I spent the day cleaning. By the end of the day my back was so achy. I might need to start letting the kids do more because the constant ache really sucks. That night I had Bunco. This time there were some prizes I REALLY wanted so of course I had a mediocre score. The host had prizes for everyone but I literally got the last prize. It was a notebook and a bunny- wahoo. But Melissa was nice and had gotten a bracelet and cute casserole dish. She only wanted the bracelet so she gave me the cute dish. 

Wednesday was busy. The morning was school work with the kids. Then Penny had a Dr's appt to check her spine (it showed a slight curve at the last visit). The dr said she isn't worried. I also learned that this dr sees babies so I can take Ruby to her. That makes me happy because I really like her. After that I met up with Michelle to look at another house for Mariah's family. The house was great but their application was denied. Lousy. Then I ran some errands and when I got home I went upstairs to take a break but Fancy Nancy and Lauralyn came by to drop off some cute baby clothes for Ruby. It was really kind of them but I was so tired. After that it was soccer practice and church activities. Soccer season really amps up my busy level.

Thursday was decade day at the kids' school. Penny did the 70's and Ben and Lucy did the 90's. Basically they just wore what we could scrounge up.

Thursday was soccer practice for the girls in Milford so I found a nice picnic table at the nearby park and worked on seminary lessons. The weather gets super warm in the afternoons (80's) but by evening it is really nice again. There's rumor it is going to snow Monday though so who knows what this bi-polar weather still has in store for us. 

Friday my car decided to have issues. I swear it is always something with this car. Tyler fixed one problem but it is still having overheating issues when it idles. He plans to take it in (hopefully soon) because he thinks the shop is responsible for it- some problem from when they installed the engine. I really hate my car.

Saturday I had two soccer games. At the girls' game it was overcast and the weather was perfection. However, they did not win. At Ben's game the sun came out and I got a massive sun burn. His team also did not win. It's fun to watch my kids though. Both Lucy and Ben are good at defense. Penny, well she stopped twice mid game to tie her shoe but when she is not tying her shoes she does a good job chasing after the ball. Afterwards I picked up a bassinet, a stroller and an extra car seat base from someone off FB Marketplace. They were a great deal. I had also ordered a car seat off Amazon so I feel like I at least have the essentials now. 

Also, Saturday, Penny got her haircut to shoulder length. She finally got tired of the CONSTANT tangles. I am so glad and it looks adorable.

That night I went to Target with Melissa and Caroline and made a baby registery for the baby shower they are going to throw me in May. It was a lot of fun looking at baby stuff and they were sweet and both bought outfits for Miss Ruby. Afterwards we tried on sunglasses and hats because we are silly and then Caroline and I dropped by Culver's to satisfy cravings. When I got home I continued my baby kick and registered on Amazon too. I registered for more stuff than I will likely get but it was fun to look at baby things and dream a little.