Lazy Days of Summer. . . Sure

Hello my dear!

I’m sorry I haven’t been a very writer as of late. Its a combination of too much and too little going on all at the same time. It was so nice to talk to you on Sunday! I wish I could have given you my full attention, but I had a houseful of people when you called. We were celebrating Father’s day. I made chicken and flank steak and pineapple on the grill, and it was delicious if I do say so myself! It’s always good to see your smiling face. I’m glad to hear about your friend being baptized and about all of the hard work you are doing. The bishop sent me a copy of the email you send him with advice for younger kids, and I’m going to print it out for Blake and Ty to think about.  Thank you for being such a good example to them!

So what’s up here?

1. Most exciting is that Ty left for his humanitarian trip to the Dominican Republic. I think he was a little nervous to go not knowing anyone. Plus he was flying alone—arriving in Miami at midnight and then having to wait until 8 am to meet the group flying to DR together. I think he ended up finding someone to bunk with for the night. He turned his phone in, but did let us know he landed safely. Hopefully he comes home with lots of adventures to tell us about. Of course I asked Ty to start packing well in advance of his trip. He assured me not to worry, he had it under control. Then he went golfing 27 times. At the last minute told me his boots didn’t fit, he wanted to swap colors of watches, he needed xyz from the grocery store, and he had zero light weight work pants to take. Lol. I got him to the airport in time, but got stuck cleaning the throw up off his carpet (long story). That kid gets away with murder I swear.

2. I’ve been nagging Blake to study for his driver’s permit test. He kept telling me that he already knows how to drive, he doesn’t need to study, and everybody passes on their first try. Well. He did not pass his first two times, so now we get to go back tomorrow for another try.

3. We’ve been having weird weather here. Really big temperature swings—60 degrees one day, and 90 degrees the next. We had a few really awful days of hot, dry wind. The air was so disgusting. Dad and I were driving to Salt Lake for dinner (Market Street!), and the freeway slowed WAY down because the sand was flying so hard that visibility was just about zero. Yesterday finally cleared up with cool temps and blue skies. Much better.

4. We celebrated your Dad’s birthday, and he got a new bike! Hopefully he rides it!

5. Dad and Tate and I went to see one of my friends dance in a production of Narnia at the outdoor Woodland park theater. It was not really Dad’s cup of tea, but an enjoyable way to spend the evening.

6. Ethan is going to his first deacons high adventure camp tomorrow. He’s super excited, and I will be down 3(!) children!

7. Ethan got invited to Maggie’s birthday party tomorrow. Because he will be away at camp I suggested he think of something nice we could bring over to Maggie for her birthday. He decided he wanted to bake her cookies. I went out to run errands and camp home to find two pans of burnt cookies on the counter. I assumed he never took the cookies over, but I was wrong.  He took her burnt cookies! Lol. I told him he should make her some good cookies and redeem himself, so he baked another batch yesterday. In other news, there is always a bowl of cookie dough in the fridge, and I will weigh 400 pounds by the time you get home.

8. Ethan’s new basketball team has played in a few tournaments, and they got beaten pretty badly. Hopefully this is an opportunity for growth.

9. Jett’s soccer team is still practicing, and Blake is doing football at the hight school. Also his workouts with Matt Byrd have moved out to the Rockport Center clear out in Woods Cross. Not a fan. Tate asks me every day when swim lessons start, and when we get to go the “The Goon.” Ethan’s had a fun baseball season, but the team is not currently practicing. In between all of my drop offs and pickups I try to run errands and get my shopping done. 

10. A day in the life of Jessica:

Wake up. Drive to the high school to drop off Ethan for baseball camp. Wait in the parking lot for 30+ minutes for Blake to be done with football. It went long and I wish I had brought my walking shoes. Back home. Put in a load of laundry. Head out for a walk. Check email. Read news. Text 2 friends with covid. Try to schedule a vaccine appointment for Tate. No dice. Order tickets to West Side Story on Friday night (another friend dancing). Shower. No time for breakfast. Back to the high school to pick up Ethan from baseball. Back home to get Jett and Tate. Head to Wee Care Pediatrics for Jett/Ethan to get their booster shots. Forgot to bring paperwork for Dr. Sigg to sign Blake’s football physical. Dang. They have one on file! Score. Back home. Finally time to eat. Free afternoon. Score! Fold laundry, finish ironing pile, change sheets on Ty’s bed. Clean bathroom, make bed, wipe down kitchen. Do my elbow exercises. Put photos in binders. Finish off the cookie dough. Try to find digital copies of old home videos from Costco. No dice. Find stuff in the linen closet to put in the Di pile.  Get out my trusty mouse sander, and sand down a few patched dings in the wall. Look for paint roller in garage and find 3 unlabeled cans of paint. Attempt to identify. No dice. Also find actual mouse in garage. Ew. Try to scare it away by throwing things at it. No dice. Spray it with Raid because that’s what’s closest. It finally scurries off. Paint stairwell. Run out of paint. Sigh. Pump up tires on my bike. Attempt to ride it around the block to see if the seat is the right height. No dice. Discover the chain has fallen off. Also discover dead mouse on the driveway. Ew. Collect Jett and Nate for Chess night at the library. Accidentally run over dead mouse. Talk Blake into disposing of dead mouse. Cook dinner. Change out two broken fire alarms. Success! Laundry in the dryer. Secure 80% refund from the company in Vietnam that sold me a piece of junk called a mosquito catcher. Order Cpap materials. Eat dinner joined by two neighbor kids. FHE lesson by Dad. Clean kitchen, mop floor. Reschedule Blake’s driver’s test. Help Ethan pack for camp. Enjoy berries and yogurt while I write you a letter. It’s past my bedtime. Better wrap it up. Do I have ADHD? TBD. 

Love you dearly,

Mom