February 2020

February had so much packed into it! I feel like it was way busier than any other February we have had! We started it off with a bang by having family come visit. Cheryl and Bobs family came to stay for a few days. We went to church, watched the super bowl, played games, played outside. Ellie did really well in the one wheel and the the younger kids had fun playing laser tag. I had fun visiting with everyone and talking about food with Sadie and bob. They are both foodies like me and like to make different dishes and use spicy salsas and spices when cooking. We took them on the hieroglyphics trail hike and it was an overcast day. The weather was perfect and the desert looked as beautiful and green as ever! The older kids were in school but we got to take Sophia and Olivia with us and they hiked like champs. After that we went to a little ghost town that has the cutest little shops. It was like a scene out of an old Wild West movie with the mining, trains station, little church, and saloon. That night we went to a new parkour park that all the kids were excited to try. Sadly fifteen minutes into playing Wyatt fell and broke his arm. Luckily we drove two cars. I was able to take everyone home while Jon and bob rushed Wyatt to the emergency room. I was so mad they had to be there with all the sick people during cold and flu season and wait an hour to be taken back. Poor Wyatt was crying and in so much pain. Even people in the waiting room started asking the receptionist to take the little boy back so he didn’t have to sit there in pain. Finally they did. They took x rays and confirmed that both the ulnar and radial bones had been broken in half. They sedated him and the yanked in his arm to reset it. They wrapped it in a temporary cast and then he got to come home. We kept him as comfortable as we could until he could see the pediatric orthopedic surgeon and get a real cast on. He was crushed to not be able to finish out his basketball season and has really missed being able to swim, ride bikes, scooters, and skateboards. Life has a way of teaching us lessons and I hope Wyatt can slow down and take it easy. Anyway, it kind of put a damper on things but we still made the best of things. The kids went hot tubbing and then the next day they all got to go to a hockey game. Cheryl and bob left early the next morning. We sure loved having them visit and getting to know them better! The following weekend we celebrated Bentley’s eleventh birthday! I have so many emotions about this. I am proud of the young man he is becoming but I am sad at how fast life is passing us by! Bentley is tall, handsome, athletic, polite, smart, a good friend, wise, and a great piano player. He chose to go to a suns NBA basketball game with Jon and Wyatt. Then we went to his favorite restaurant Geckos, and played mini golf. He got a long board and rip stick that he loves riding around on. The following week was valentines. We had a fun breakfast with heart shaped pancakes, and pink milk. I love our little valentines and got them each some heart shaped candies and some of their favorite little things like basketball cards for the boys and a bath bombs for the girls. My number one valentine and I got to go to dinner and have a fun date night. Jon surprised me and got me tickets to see one of my favorite singers Celine Dion. He is truly the love of my life and I am so grateful for his calm and kind nature. The rest of the month was spent going to basketball games and soccer games. All the kids are doing well and we are impressed by their skill! Olivia even started trying to kick the soccer ball and bounce the basketball and is actually really good. She loves to ride her scooter around fast, ride her strider bike fast, and going for bike rides! She is my sidekick and wants to grow up way faster than I’m ok with. Jon and I had the opportunity to sneak away for a long weekend in puerto Vallarta at the beautiful Hyatt Ziva hotel for our fifteenth anniversary. Right before we left we started receiving news about a disease spreading outside of Wuhan China. It was a little scary being away from the kids and being in airports and hotels around so many people. I tried my best to wipe things down and wash my hands well! Puerto Vallarta was so beautiful, and the hotel we stayed at was all inclusive so we got to eat well and relax tons. We laid on the beach, ate yummy meals by the sea, had gorgeous views all day everyday, read books, hot tubbed, played pool, drank virgin pina coladas, went jet skiing to explore the ocean and so much more. We got to see whales, sea turtles, sting rays, and fish. The water was cold but not as cold as Newport where we usually go to the beach. One of the days we did go into town to see the old cobblestone streets, churches and homes. We also got to eat at a super delicious taco shop called las pepes. It was so good for us to connect and bind and celebrate our love. We missed the kiddos but they were being taken care of and had a fun time while we were away with Cambree, Kaylee, aunt Heidi, and grandma. It takes a village and I am so thankful to have wonderful friends and family to watch our kids and take our kids schedules on. It stresses me out leaving but I am grateful for the time spent with Jon one on one. Wyatt with his broken arm got to be my buddy and stay home from school for awhile until he was out of pain and had a hard cast on. We went to lunch, and got his hair cut, and he felt the love from family and friends sending him treats and well wishes. My friend Kate even got him some sharpie markers that people could use to sign his cast. I thought that was such a good idea for someone who has to get a cast. That wraps up our busy February.