Another Weekend in Nampa

It's kind of a pain to have to keep traveling back to Nampa for Garrett's orthodontist appointments, but it sure makes it worth it when we are able to get together with family and friends while we're there and make a weekend out of it. Last Thursday we drove down to Nampa for another appointment after the kids got out of school and Curtis got off of work. The kids didn't have school on Friday, so that's why I scheduled it then. We stayed with my in-laws this time and arrived a little after 10pm. It took us a little longer than usual since we had stopped to eat in Pendleton and that took a little while. The roads were clear and it was smooth sailing for the drive there. Garrett drove until we got to Pendleton and then he had Curtis take over. That means I sat in the back (middle) with the other kids. The girls and I watched "Beethoven" and "Beethoven's 2nd". Jack just listened to music on my phone with earbuds.

Neither Curtis or I slept very well while staying with his parents. We'll probably bring our own pillows next time because of that. The main reason I didn't get good sleep though is because of kids not sleeping well. The first night Jack woke me up around 2:30am because he had a nose bleed again and got it on their couch pillow. He needed help cleaning it off. Fortunately, blood comes out pretty easy with just cold water and a rag. After getting that cleaned up, we went back to bed. Then Charlotte comes in around 5:30 or so and says she can't sleep. I tell her to try and so she heads back upstairs. After a little while I can hear her coughing. I'm glad I brought her nebulizer just in case she needed breathing treatments, because that's what I did next. I gave her the breathing treatment and she was able to go back to sleep. 

Curtis woke up early to go to work, but thankfully Garrett's appointment was not until 10 am so I could sleep longer. My mother-in-law had an appointment at 9am but my father-in-law stayed to cook us some eggs and toast for breakfast. At Garrett's appointment they discovered that he had two broken brackets, so they needed to fix those. The good news is that he no longer needs to wear his rubber bands. Hopefully now that his brackets are fixed, the space they're trying to close will close up and he can be finished with braces. His next appointment is May 3rd but it's a school day so it will probably just be me and him for that one.

We went back to my in-laws after the appointment and watched a couple of MASH episodes before heading out to pick up some pizzas at Walmart and take them to my grandma's house to have lunch and games with Grandma, Dad, Mom Laverne, and Joyce. They provided a couple of pepperoni pizzas and some other foods, including ice cream for dessert. We bought two big pizzas even though we didn't need that much because we couldn't decided which flavor to get and it was a better deal to buy the extra large vs the medium (they didn't have any large sizes). After we ate lunch we played some Golf and this time the boys played with us....the entire time! We played for over two hours, so that's huge. They didn't ask if they could bring the videogames and I never said they couldn't. I just didn't say anything but I was SO happy they didn't bring them and that they played with us the whole time. Everyone had a good time, even Garrett was laughing and smiling. 

She never wants her hair done but that day she decided to do the same hair style as Alice. So cute!

My two pig tailed girls.

Jack had more fun than he shows for the picture. I think he's going through that phase where sometimes he just doesn't want to smile for the picture because he's a tough teenage boy.

Curtis got a ride to work that day and it would have been too much out of the way to be dropped off at grandma's, especially since we wouldn't be staying long since we had a dinner date with friends at 5:30 pm. Jack made plans to have me drop him off at his friend Porter's house on the way back. We tried to get Alice together with Sydney but they were busy and we decided to get them together the next day. So we went back to my in-laws where Curtis was waiting. We had to leave right away since it was after 5:00 and Jack asked us to drop off his jacket to him at Porter's on the way. The other kids just hung out with their grandparents until we got back.

Our dinner was with Donna and David Fitzen. We have known them ever since we moved into our first house in the same ward. They are the parents of Logan, who is a friend of Nikki's. In all these years that we've known each other, we have never been on a double date and I decided to make it happen. When I saw Donna at church back in November I told her that we needed to go on a double date one of these times that we come to town. I messaged her a couple of days before and asked if they would like to and she said it sounded great! When making our plans we decided that we would go to Holy Cow! in downtown Nampa because we had never heard of it and were up for trying something new. It's basically a burger place but it has other things too like fish and chips, which is what Curtis and I both ordered. The food was good and we had a good visit with them. I'm so glad we finally made it happen!

 

After dinner, we parted ways and headed back to my in-laws to watch the movie "Wonka". We saw it in theaters around Christmas time and we all liked it, even the boys. It was fun to watch it again and eat some goodies. I had also arranged for Garrett's friend, Ryan, to come over after his baseball game. We were able to feed him some leftover pizza for dinner, so that came in handy. Garrett, Ryan, Charlotte and Alice played some video games together for awhile before we started our movie. They played a little bit after the movie was over also.

I had another late night with Charlotte that night. She seemed fine all day but then when she goes to bed she starts having a coughing fit. I ended up having to give her a breathing treatment and read to her from the scriptures so that she could fall asleep. I didn't get to bed until after 1:00 am. The next day I was pretty tired, but Alice woke me up early because she was excited to see her friend Sydney. I took her over there at 10 am and visited with Ashlie for 1 1/2 hours before I left. Alice kept asking me if I was going to leave yet. She just wants to play with her friend without me there, ha ha. She ended up staying with them for the whole day, about 11 hours and that still wasn't enough for them. Ashlie took them to Carl's Jr. for lunch and then to a park. They had so much fun all day.

I was so tired that by the time I got back, I just sat at the table for awhile. Ricky and Jenna showed up to visit. I hadn't showered yet since we got to Nampa so I really felt like I needed it now. Curtis and all the boys and Charlotte went for a drive to the lake. I finally decided I needed to go shave and shower while I could. Pretty much after that we just visited a little bit until the boys came back. Then Ricky and Jenna were going to head back to their house and Charlotte wanted to go hang out with their kids. I told her she needed to shower before going over since it was Saturday. She quickly showered and left with them. The rest of the day was spent watching different tv shows and then later the adults watched "Quigley Down Under" while Jack was with Porter again and Garrett played videogames.  After the movie was over, we drove around picking up kids from friends' houses.

Sunday morning we went to church at 9 am with my in-laws, which was the ward we went to while we were in the rental. It was fun to see familiar faces but I was so frustrated with myself because I couldn't remember names of people! It was bugging me but finally I started remembering names during Sacrament meeting and was able to look some up on Facebook or on the program. We didn't know that they were having a Fast and Testimony meeting that day because of Easter next week and conference the following. Our ward and stake is doing our Fast Sunday on April 14th, after conference. Jack made a goal to bare his testimony each Fast Sunday this year. Because we were out of town and that we didn't even know it was Fast Sunday, I didn't think he would do it.... but he did! We were so proud of him. Those who didn't realize we were there, surely did now. In fact, a couple of people bore their testimonies after him and mentioned "young Brother Butterfield". The girls were a little nervous to go to Primary again but they went and enjoyed it. In fact, Charlotte got two big donuts from her teacher. Jack enjoyed seeing a few friends and got a picture with them on his phone. After church, we went back to eat lunch, pack, clean and head home. We got a few pictures before leaving on Gaya's phone and she sent them to me.

It was another great weekend trip and so worth the drive and extra money spent to get there (and to pay the dog sitter). 

Spring Concert and Awards

Jack had a spring band concert on Tuesday the 19th. The girls came along this time to watch. It was fun to listen to him play, as always. The only problem was that the spot we chose to sit, we couldn't see him. He played in concert band and wind ensemble. We couldn't see him either time even though he sat in different spots. We also found out that next year's marching band show will be "Top Gun" themed. I'm excited for that!

I caught him while he was standing up on the left side.

It wasn't until the final songs where the bands were combined with the orchestra that we could finally see him.

Playing his French horn.

After they were done playing. I don't think he realized I was taking a picture of him, ha ha. He was just looking around.

I got a nice picture afterwards.

Both of the girls got recognition at their awards assemblies for different things on Thursday afternoon before we headed out of town to Nampa. I was there to watch and then bring them home a little early so we could get on the road earlier. Alice got an award for having gotten 50 points when taking accelerated reading tests after reading books. She basically had to read 100 books and take tests on them since the beginning of the school year and she made the 50's club! Charlotte was voted by her classmates to get the Citizenship Award. It was a total surprise for her and she didn't see me in the crowd either. The teacher wanted it to be a surprise. I'm so proud of my girls and all of my kids.

Nikki has been struggling for the past couple of months with depression and not feeling motivated to do anything. She and I have been reaching out to each other more than usual and it's a good feeling to know that it makes a difference for her when I have called to talk to or texted her on a bad day and that it helped her. She has missed her psychiatrist appointments 3 times in a row because she slept through her alarms. After feeling really bad and nervous about calling to reschedule again, I told her to let me know when her next appointment is and I will call her before to make sure she doesn't miss it. Her next appointment is this Friday morning. We are going to make sure she doesn't miss this one!

We also changed the dates of our vacation for this summer and because of that I was able to get Jack signed up for a driver's ed class that starts on May 15th. We'll get his permit about 10 days before the class starts and as soon as he has his permit, he can start driving with a parent. They do it different here than they do in Idaho. In Idaho, they won't give you the permit until you have passed the class. The driving school carries the permit for you. Once you pass, then they give it to you. Both states require at least 6 months of driving with an adult before you can get your license but in Washington you have to wait until you're 16 years old to get your drivers license. I have a feeling Jack will get his license a lot earlier than Garrett and Nikki. Nikki got her license after having a permit for almost 2 years and Garrett is nearly at 2 years also and still on his permit. Jack has a different personality and seems more confident, hopefully not over confident though, ha ha. I can't believe he'll be starting driver's ed soon! 

Yard cleanup, Leprechaun Dash and My Lips

I was recently able to get some more yard work done on my own. It's nice to have Milo out there with me to keep me company. I did some deeper cleaning with getting rid of the leaves along the back fence as well as trimming branches from the grape vine. I also pulled a bunch of vines out the backyard neighbor's trees that are right by the fence. It bugged me last year when I discovered that the vines were growing up into the trees. Now was a good time to do it since there's no leaves or buds yet. I got a bunch but not all because I couldn't reach. I also started cleaning up another flowerbed but got too tired before I could finish.

The pine needles and small branches were bugging me in the yard but I didn't want to mow them up because I didn't want the branches and pine cones to damage the blades. I went around the yard and raked up little piles.

By the time I was done making piles, I counted 31! I was tired and decided I needed my two boys to come help. Curtis was working on another project. Jack's friend, Luke, was over and he helped also. It made such a difference to have them help.

After the boys left I went to another side of the yard and got a few more pine needles and cones raked up. I went ahead and scooped them up myself. I cleaned this flowerbed out pretty well.

This was done on the same day I trimmed and pulled branches out. I was pretty tired and didn't get to finish.

I got a full garbage can and I haven't even disposed of all of the vines I cut off yet, only some of them.

Our tree, which I learned is a Gardenia, is in full bloom now and so pretty. 

A close up shot of the blooms on the tree.

On Saturday, the 16th, the girls, Milo, Curtis and I participated in the Leprechaun Dash. It's a free 1 mile race that is meant to help encourage elementary students to exercise. Every school that had 100 kids participate would get some money from "the pot of gold" to go toward their PE department. The money was donated by sponsors. Our school had 109!

As for my lip infection, it was clearing up but wasn't 100% after I finished the week of ointment. I ended up applying it on all of my lips for 8 days and then a couple of small spots for the next couple of days. Two days without medication and Sunday the 17th I woke up with yellow crust on my bottom lip and in the corners again. Ugh! I had actually been a little suspicious before going to bed the night before because I started to see some red under my lips. I applied the ointment just in case but it was too late. Monday I called the dermatologist and they said to continue using the ointment and that they could get me in on Wednesday. When I went in my lips were looking a lot better again because at least it wasn't as bad as the first time. They said to continue the Mupirocin ointment on my lips for another week, applying twice a day, but also added an oral antibiotic called Cephalexin. I just had to take two pills a day. They also took a swab of both my nostrils to do a lab test because sometimes it can start in the nose. I wouldn't find out the results until Monday, after our trip. In the meantime, the pills and the ointment seemed to be doing what I needed. 

My lips look almost 100% better now. However, they did call me yesterday and told me that the lab results came back as a different bacteria than they originally thought and were prescribing a new antibiotic called Doxycycline Hyclate. I just started that one last night. This particular pill is a bit annoying just because I have to avoid eating any dairy or foods with calcium 4 hours before and 4 hours after taking the pill. The calcium causes some reaction that makes the medicine not work as well. I also need to take it with a snack or small meal at least and I can't be exposed to sun for long periods of time while taking this medication. I'm not sure what will happen if I do but that means I can't do a bunch of yard work in one day like I was, unless I'm in the shade. At least it's only twice a day for 10 days. I just hope I don't have to change it again and that this one finally gets ride of the infection!

This was taken Sunday the 17th after my infection returned. Like I said, it wasn't as bad as the first time around.

This was taken on Monday the 18th.

My eye has been doing something lately also where it gets red, a little puffy, and sometimes crusty. I thought maybe it could be related to the lip infection but the doctor said no, it was probably just allergies. I took allergy pills for a couple of days and it cleared up, so it must have been allergies.

This is what it looked like on Tuesday the 19th.

Let the Yard Cleanup Commence!

We finally had the opportunity to get started on cleaning up our yard. I've been itching to get out there to work on it but I also knew I needed help because there is a lot to do. I warned the family on Friday night that we were going to do yard work Saturday morning and I wanted them to at least give an hour's worth of work. The boys were hoping to have a D&D game session again, so I told them we needed to do it before then. Curtis and I cooked them a good breakfast to help them get the day started off right. 

I actually got started on trimming our berry tree in the back yard on Friday. I finished up Saturday morning. Then we raked up all of the branches I cut and a bunch of leaves. There were also some big tumble weeds on the side of our house. We loaded all of that onto the truck and hauled it away to the dump. Curtis drove the truck to the back yard but then let the boys take turns driving in our yard. They both loved that. I have to say I was so impressed with how well the kids worked, especially Garrett. I think it helped him to have some earbuds on listening to music he had just recorded to his phone. I didn't hear him complain once and he was working so hard. 

What's work without a little play first? Alice had a long branch I had cut and was getting Milo to jump for it while she sat on our little dead tree. 

Garrett backing up.

Climbing in the tree that I trimmed. It looks so much better. Honestly, I would like to replace this tree because of the berry mess. The berries aren't a type we eat and so they just make a mess and Milo wants to eat them even though he shouldn't. Berries and grapes are not good for dogs...two things we have in our back yard. He's a lot better at leaving them though than when he was a little puppy.

I love when we all work together.

She loves climbing the little dead tree.

Alice working hard on cleaning this area.

Here's our loaded: branches, bags of leaves, and tumble weeds.

After we cleaned up. There are still leaves to rake up but we got a lot of them.

This is the corner that had the tumbleweeds and leaves. It looks all nice and clean now.

Curtis and Garrett tore down the old wooden picnic table that was in this corner and tossed it in the truck as well. The boards were starting to rot. We're hoping to get a shed put in that corner eventually. I also want to get rid of that little bush on the right. The branches are twisty and look cool but it's not a pretty bush in the summer. Curtis tried to pull it out with the truck but it wasn't working. His tow rope kept slipping off. He also didn't dig any of it up and it's not dead so he probably needs to loosen it up.

Trimmed some of the branches on the vines and raked out leaves. It looks so much better!

This is the area next to the bush I trimmed a couple weeks ago. I just couldn't end the day without cleaning this spot out. This is before.

And this is after. There were some thorny vines growing and I do not want those so I dug them out. I want to get rid of all our thorny plants, like the rose bush and the red bush you see to the right in this picture. It doesn't have thorns but the leaves still poke you. We don't want to lose any more pool inflatables, ha ha.

We spent a good couple of hours working out there. I worked longer than everyone else though because I wanted to clean out that one area. Poor Charlotte was helping in that back corner but then she had a little asthma attack and had to go inside and get a breathing treatment. She's had to use that a lot lately and more than she usually does. Hopefully the more she gets outside the better it will get with the weather warming up. We're expecting to get up to 75 by next Tuesday! I love that kind of weather! Jack also had to take an allergy pill but came back out later to help finish up. It was a good productive day and we're glad to get in working mode again.