Daily Logistics

I'm at the Butler soccer fields right now. Abi's soccer practice started at 4:30, and we brought Wes too since he has hockey at 5:00. I brought the kids along to save me from having to drive back and forth from home. I figured I can blog or read while we wait. Abi will be done at 6, and we'll head straight to her flute lesson at 6:30, then back here to pick up Wes, who will be staying after for a hockey fund raiser meeting at 7. Abi is done with flute at 7:15. Then we'll go home and get ready for bed. I brought left over food here to the park, so dinner is mostly taken care of. That's how the evening is going to go.

This morning's run around was as follows: Wes to early morning seminary at 5:45, then I went by the gym for 10 minutes to just do lat pulls cause my right shoulder is hurting and I think exercise will help it. So I got there at 6:10, and had to leave at 6:20 to be home in 10 minutes to get Lily and take her to jazz band. We were a little late leaving cause she decided to eat breakfast, which I approve of. She got to band in time, but I was almost late getting back home to take Churchill carpool at 7:15. They were all waiting in the drive way when I pulled up, and then I went back to where I had just come from. Corey took Sophi and Natalie to orchestra at 7:15, then he took Owen with him to go pick them up, and he took the three of them to Books and Bagels over at the elementary school. Here's a little video Corey took when they headed to class. Then he left to work from work, and I had D and P at home. I washed my hair for the first time with Crisan shampoo and conditioner. I love the smell and hope that it helps my itchy scalp. D&P watched Bambi while I got ready, and then we went and bought some local honey! Corey bought some last month from a Mr. Boettger and it helped his allergies a lot, like better than Claritin! So Wes and Abi tried having it daily too and they think it helped them, and then we ran out, so I texted him and then went by his house today and stocked up. We'll see if it's a miracle cure for the constant stuffy nose that we all have, or for my constant hacking to clear my throat. We're excited continue with our local honey experiment. And then we went to the Dinosaur museum. On Mon and Wed I usually don't go anywhere cause Ethan and Mel call and I want to try and practice violin. Yesterday Ethan shared that he LOVED this photo of Daniel from our call with Hyrum on Saturday (I did too)

A bit more on the weekly schedule - I have zoom calls on Wed and Thurs too with Laura's program (which I am loving) and study group zoom on Thursday, and Fridays the kids have early out day, so Tuesday is the current day to try and go on an outing. Today D&P voted for dinosaurs over the turtles, horses, and bugs. 

It was good to take them out, although they kinda rushed through it all. I think they like it more when there are more siblings with them.

That is a sum up of what most of our weekly mornings and days are like. I'll try to stop reporting on all the logistics, since I know it's probably not interesting, but the logistics feel like the dominant part of  my life right now. Maybe the kids will appreciate knowing all the running around we did someday when they are parents and chauffeuring around their own kids. I will try to be encouraging and empathetic to them even if they don't have it as crazy as I do. ;) I'll try to tell them that it's a good time to listen to podcasts and General Conference, or yesterday on the way to seminary, I was listening to a Mr. Rogers Documentary that Corey had on in the car on Sunday after they went to visit Corey's parents. I loved when he said this! This is a message we definitely need in the world today. Let's all be kind and get along and care for each other: 

“Let's take the gauntlet and make goodness attractive in this so-called next millennium. That's the real job that we have. I'm not talking about Pollyanna-ish kind of stuff. I'm talking about down-to-Earth actual goodness. People caring for each other in a myriad of ways rather than people knocking each other off all the time...What changes the world? The only thing that ever really changes the world is when somebody gets the idea that love can abound and can be shared.” 

― Fred Rogers, Mister Rogers - Won't You Be My Neighbor

Yesterday after violin, we ran home because Sophi didn't have both of her shinguards, I dropped Natalie and Peter off and picked up Daniel, and Daniel came as I took Sophi to soccer, then he and I went by Mr. Mac to get Ethan some &collar shirts, then to a hockey shop to get Wesley's skates sharpened and to buy him some blade guards. I was glad that I wasn't drowsy in all my running around, since I had been up since 4:30 (Wes had 5AM hockey yesterday). I was also a little concerned about being drowsy at the wheel when Corey asked me to come help at 8PM to pick up a friend from Argentina and his family who are moving here for him to teach up at Utah State. So we went to pick them up, and it had been a long flight. We know how that feels! Their youngest child was 6. That's a long trip for kids, AND for the parents too!

Corey and another friend named Paul took them to their hotel down town and I headed home and went to bed so I could handle the run around of this morning. It's a busy busy life, and it's hard, but it's better than having the hard that so many other people and families have to deal with, so we are grateful and are counting our blessings, like the lovely full moon this morning, I love the moon! I wish pictures could do it justice.

Keep working hard. It is worth it.

“What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as freedom (and I'd add an eternal family) should not be highly rated.” ― Thomas Paine, The American Crisis