Day 20 :: A Bad Habit of Mine

 1. I get back in bed after the kids go to school. Don't tell anyone.

2. I doom scroll. I put time limits on the apps and that helps. I hate stupid phones. 

FIVE YEARS AGO

In other news...

the grey whale "Earl" is back in Birch Bay. It's so cool!

He flaps his fin and spouts out. 

You can barely see it in the picture, dang it. 

The other night Andrew and Evan had an intense light saber match. 

Andrew told Alexa to play Star Wars music, so they even had a soundtrack.

They were sweaty and out of breath.

This weekend was so sunny. Everyone got sunburned. 

Soccer games, playing outside all day, another soccer game, golf, run. 

Easter

The boys said not to get them in the picture because it's embarrasing, 

Avery said she didn't want to color eggs and then went upstairs,

so that concludes the egg dying tradition for our family. 

Not one child was very into it. 

Sigh. 

Did you know Jim gets to sit with us in the pews and we drive together in one car?

He got moved from bishopric to seminary teacher and he is the best teacher. The kids like seminary again. 

My favorite thing this Easter was the realization that the woman most likely anointed Jesus on Wednesday. This was new information to me. I thought we didn't know anything about what happened on Wednesday. But whatever day it was, I think it is so interesting that the women were in tune with what was happening. Like Eve. 

And the meaning behind the anointing. We looked up what it meant to anoint someone. 

It's so perfect.

• Consecration and Sanctification:
  Anointing with oil was a ritual that marked individuals or objects as holy and set apart for God's service. This was especially important for priests and kings, who were anointed to fulfill their sacred roles. 
  Divine Favor and Blessing:
  The act of anointing conveyed God's blessing, favor, and approval upon the recipient. It was a sign that God had chosen and appointed them for a specific purpose. 
  Symbol of the Holy Spirit:
  In the New Testament, oil becomes a powerful symbol of the Holy Spirit, representing His presence, power, and anointing. The Holy Spirit is the one who empowers believers to live out their faith and fulfill their calling. 
  Healing and Comfort:
  Anointing with oil was also practiced for healing and comfort, particularly in cases of illness or suffering. It was a way to express God's compassion and offer spiritual support during times of need. 
  Spiritual Warfare:
  Anointing oil is also used in spiritual warfare as a symbol of God's protection and power. It represents the believer's reliance on God for victory against evil forces

 

Spring Break 2025

 Soccer started and all the kids are in sports, so it's the busiest time of the year for us. 

So before I forget it all...here is our spring break 2025.

Of course we roasted weenies at the beach because it's a tradition.

Also tradition: they put a raw hot dog in the road and wait for a car to run over it and then they celebrate. 

Another day we met up at Rockpile. 

We spent a lot of covid days here at rockpile. They were so little then. 

Now giants. 

Then we decided to get out of the cold and into the 95 degree weather in Vegas.

Jim flew us down. That was the coolest! 

The last time he flew us was 2014!

Here for more pictures

That was the vacation that helped me decide I was good with only three babies. 

Ugg but they are the cutest little things. 

Now we all so big and old. We have to hunch over to fit. 

So anyway we spent a few days with the Kelvingtons. They are so fun. 

The little boys slept on the trampoline. Andrew said in the morning about looking at the night sky:

"It wasn't as black as you think it would be. It was more like when you take the lid off a black marker, and the edges are blue. It was more dark blue."

These were laying all over the house. Damon was leading a boot camp. haha

This is so cousins. 

I had big plans to hike 7 miles but I woke up too late and only did like three. ha

Jamie had a hurt knee so boo. 

Then we rounded out our spring break with neighborhood whiffle ball of course and the big kids went with the Dicksons to play tennis. 

Day 19 :: A Year Ago and How I've Changed

A year ago this is what the house looked like.

I sure as heck wasn't sitting on this totally comfy couch watching Steph Curry be good at basketball a year ago. 

What a mess. 

A year ago Evan was so sick during spring break.

I thought it was just a bug, but now I realize he was having an appendix attack.

I took this up close picture because his cheeks were getting red and blotchy, so I sent this to teledoc.

He started to feel better after 5 days. I thought it may have been "slap cheek" because Hunter had a similar sickness with bright red cheeks. But teenagers don't get slap cheek.

At the hospital this year with appendicitis, his cheeks did this same thing, so I am sure his appendix was sick a year ago. 

A year ago this was the beginning of the hole.

It just kept getting bigger and bigger. Like it was contagious. 

A year ago we were having fun in Bora Bora.

Mentally I feel like I am in a similar space. Thinking/worrying about my kids as a standard background ticker. 

They are applying/interviewing for jobs this summer. 

I can't handle how close Avery is to being a senior. 

Thinking/worrying about what a crazy world this is that the kids are entering. 

Mostly I continue with my usual mantra: I don't know, I don't know, I don't know.

FIVE YEARS AGO

Day 18 :: Somewhere I've Been

I usually dedicate an entire post anytime I go anywhere new, 

so lets answer this question with some local places we've been to in the last month: 

Mount Baker

The youth went up for night sledding. Only Andrew was able to go, the rest of us were busy with sports and work. 

Galbraith

Me and Jim go while the kids are at school. I run, Jim rides. 

Most of the time Koda gets to come too. 

Rock Pile

Semiahmoo 

A few weeks ago Avery went to TOLO with a few friends. 

Evan was recovering from an appendectomy right about now. I was going to make him go, but he stayed home and healed instead. 

Home

But with visitors! G and G Larsen came for the weekend! 

It's been so long. They finally got to see the "new" house. 

Tennis Courts

Holy cow this was the most insane match.

We brought the whole family, plus grandparents to watch Avery play her first Varsity match of the season. 

We would have a nice little watch party, and then go eat dinner at Paso.

Right off the bat, Avery and her opponent were evenly match, and they battled for each point neck and neck. 

Think about every possible way that you can tie in tennis, and they did:

First, They had the longest RALLIES - back and forth back and forth for a hard earned point.

Then they would end up at DEUCE for the battle of a game point.

Each GAME would end up close to a tie. Avery won the first game, her opponent won the second game.

Between games, Avery's coach gave her some pointers.

Most of the other girls were done with their matches and finishing up their exhibition matches.

The JV soccer boys started and finished a soccer game while she was still playing her match.

We were hours into it. They were so so tired, but somehow kept their concentration.

So we went to the third game for the best 2 out of 3. Of course they ended that final game at a tie. 

So they had to go to a TIE BREAKER - each serve is a point first to 7. 

Everyone was finished at this point, girls lined up on the chain link fence, watching. 

Tennis is a gentleman's sport, so there is usually no clapping or cheering. 

Avery likes that about tennis. She gets overwhelmed when people "watch" her. 

At this point there was some mild cheering and clapping. 

So at the beginning of the tie breaker-tie breaker she started crying and having a bit of a panic attack. 

Jim and her coach helped calm her down. 

I don't know how they both kept their game faces on. It was so intense and they were hitting the ball so well!

We were at 2.5 hours of playing when Avery finally WON the tie breaker at 7-4.

It was so crazy. 

Again, she cried. I think she was just so overwhelmed. 

The hole field. 

(we don't have an official name for our field yet....)

Jim took the boys out to shoot guns. 

The kitchen counter.

We worked on a puzzle during conference. 

Back to the hole field. 

The boys are supposed to fill the hole back in (so that the county doesn't come and say there is a pond on our land and try and protect it or something).

G and G filled up half of the hole! They worked so hard. 

Koda also "helped". 

Why are dogs so cute when they dig?

Back to the kitchen table.

We finished the puzzle right as Pres Nelson gave the final talk!

I wonder if this will be his last conference? He still looks so "young"!

FIVE YEARS AGO