The Appointment Trip We Have Anxiously Awaited!

The weekend finally arrived to go to Nampa for Garrett's appointment to get his braces removed! Like the title says, we have anxiously been waiting for this for a LONG time. Not only did we have his appointment, but Jack had some gifts that he needed to deliver to FSY friends, and the Butterfields were having their Christmas family home evening like they try to do each year. With all of those things going on, we decided to make this a family trip. All of the kids had to miss one day of school, but it would be worth it. 

Jack made beanie hats for his friends. He found out their favorite colors and we bought the yarn. He's been working on them for months. It was a good Sunday activity to do after church.

Originally, I had scheduled his appointment for Friday the 13th but had to reschedule it for Monday the 16th due to Curtis's Keller Christmas party being on the 13th in Lewiston. Curtis and I drove over to Lewiston that day, leaving around 3:15, and we had Garrett pick up the girls from school for the first time ever. Unsure of what the weather was going to do, we wanted to make sure we had plenty of time to get there, just in case. We actually got into Lewiston about an hour early, so we did some Christmas shopping at Walmart before heading over to dinner. They had a nice party room set up for our group that even had a decorated Christmas tree in the corner. It was nice. We had dinner and then did a white elephant gift exchange. Curtis was so excited for people to see the gift he brought, which was a chia pet designed to look like Bob Ross. You rub on some seeds in a gel or something, where his hair would be, and it will grow to look like green hair. Funny enough, that gift got stolen twice during the game! Curtis ended up with a doorstop and I got a dozen Bundt cake cupcakes of different flavors. We drove home after the dinner and didn't get there until almost midnight. Fortunately, we didn't have to drive in any snow, just rain.

The next morning, we got up early to drop off Milo to the dog sitter and pack up to head to Nampa. We stopped in Hermiston on the way to deliver some of Jack's gifts but the friends he was supposed to meet there did not show up and were unable to come that morning. There were a couple more friends in the Baker City area as well. We had a hard time finding the address for one of them but eventually found it. They live out in the country and own horses. They even invited us to saddle up some horses and go for a ride. Charlotte would have loved that, but we didn't have time. Jack was able to leave the other gift at this person's home so she could deliver it to the other friend for him. Then we continued on.

The kids were scheduled to visit with friends as soon as we got to Nampa. We decided it would be easier to just drop off the girls to the Wallace's in our old neighborhood on the way. The rest of us went to my in-laws and unpacked everything from the van. Then I drove the boys over to the Hansen's from 30th ward to hang out over there with their boys. Curtis stayed with his mom to rest and then go shopping, and I drove over to my dad's house to visit and give him some temple names we had done baptisms and an endowment for, and he gave me some more baptism names to do. After visiting for a bit, I left to go do some shopping at the thrift stores, D.I. and Savers. I found a few things at each store. By the time I finished shopping it was time to head back to pick up Jack and then Porter and take them out to Caldwell to Indian Creek Plaza to meet another friend for gift drop off. Only one friend was able to come so again, he had this friend deliver the rest of the gifts to the other friends. I decided it wasn't worth the time to drive all the way back to my in-laws' because by the time I would get there I would have to turn around and go get them, so I went to the Walmart in Caldwell and did some shopping until Jack called me a little while later. After picking them up, we drove over to the Wallace's to pick up the girls. We went back to my in-laws and then Jack and Porter wanted to go back to the Hansens to hang out. Garrett was still there. At that point, I was tired of driving and said Curtis had to do it. After he dropped them off, he went and did a little shopping at Walmart, then picked them up around 11:00pm. We were all very tired during 9am church the next morning!

Alice got a birthday gift from the Wallace's. She was pretty happy.

 

We went to church in the 30th ward this time since we were staying with my in-laws, and it was the ward we were in while living in the rental. It was fun to see people we knew again. I did better at remembering names this time than I did last time! After church, we came back to the house and just rested and then helped get ready for the Butterfield party that would happen at 4pm. Curtis and I helped his dad get the Zuppa Toscana soup cooked and then the girls and Curtis helped his mom bake some Almond Crescent cookies. The cookies are an old family recipe and it's tradition for them to make it each year. 

After we got home from church we noticed this huge wasp nest in the neighbor's tree across the street. I've never seen one so big in person!

The nest is hanging right about their camper. They really should knock it down. This would be a good time of year to do it since they are hibernating.

Rolling out the cookies and cutting them.

Curtis is wearing a new shirt I gave him as a birthday gift. It was the only gift I gave him thus far since we are going to celebrate his with Alice's birthday the following week. It is Christmas colored and I wanted him to be able to wear it to the work party and the weekend with family. 

A lot of family showed up for the Butterfield party. We ate soups, rolls, cornbread, cookies, homemade caramels and popcorn. My in-laws both shared their testimonies after dinner. There was a lot of visiting going on and then slowly everyone started leaving until it was just us again. I have a hard time with crowds now and so Jeanie and I got busy with washing dishes while people visited. She also has a hard time with crowds and keeping busy with something helped. I also learned that Jeanie has lost 70 lbs! That gave me motivation to start trying to lose weight and exercise again. She said she drinks a bunch of water 30 minutes before and after meals, and she eats smaller portions. She looks really good! After everyone left, we watched the two Christmas episodes of Little House on the Prairie. Then Curtis and I played Mexican Train with his parents since we had just given it to them for Christmas. It was fun to play a game with them.

The next morning we woke up to it snowing!! I had not expected this at all. It was snowing heavy and I was worried about driving around in it and what it would mean for the mountain passes for our trip home. Garrett's appointment was at 9am and so we left early to make sure we'd have plenty of time to drive slowly and get there on time. The roads weren't as bad as I imagined they would be but it was still a little scary to drive in it. I actually dropped him off and then drove across Nampa to pick up a full copy of my kid's medical records from their pediatrician. They only gave me a small portion last Spring because they thought it would be enough for their new doctors. I decided I wanted a full record to keep for our own records, just in case. It was a slow drive and by the time I got back to the orthodontist office, it had been almost an hour. They said Garrett's appointment would take about 1.5 hours. They got the braces off and put a permanent retainer on bottom and took an impression of his upper teeth for the retainer. We'd have to come back at 2:00 to pick up his retainer. He was very happy to have them off!

Before

After

This was the snow after we got back, and it had started to melt by then.

We had some time to kill, so we just relaxed and the girls came up with their own secret sister handshake. It was pretty cute that they did this. I got it on video but also got a picture.

When it got close to Garrett's 2nd appointment, we had everyone pack up their stuff and get it ready. As soon as Garrett and I came back from his appointment, we would load up the van and go. On our way out of town though, we stopped at my dad's again to give them a Christmas gift of Bananagrams and a chocolate orange. We visited for a little bit and then hit the road. It was close to 4:00 before we got on the road, which was good because that gave the roads time to clear off. The drive home was pretty smooth, just some fog here and there, and wet roads. It snowed a little bit but didn't stick. And we made it home safe and sound. We also stopped in Hermiston again to get some dinner and to have one of Jack's friends come get the remaining gifts to hand out for him.

Opening our Christmas gift. It was in the prank box that we had used on Jack's birthday earlier this year. The prank was that the gift inside was a nap sack, a sack to cover your head and take a nap anywhere. We used it on my in-laws' gift as well. 

A picture of all of us before we left.

The girls were exercising by going up and down the stairs with their arms doing the work.

They started doing this at my in-law's house and then did it again over at my dad's house. You could say, they also motivated me to exercise again. Ha ha

A little bit of snow on the ground, but the roads were clear. Thank goodness!

We now only have to check in a couple more times to do retainer checks. They are as urgent to get down as his regular appointments. Normally they would have Garrett come back in a month after getting the retainer but because we travel, they said I could wait longer. We made it for the end of February, weather depending. His gums are swollen from getting the braces off but should go down and they will probably have to make another retainer after that. So, if his retainer feels too loose, we'll have to go down sooner rather than later. But we're so happy to be DONE with his braces after 3 years and 9 months!!