Okay… so we really opened Spring Break the last couple of days of last week, so in a way, Monday was “week 2” of Spring Break. It was jam packed with fun. First, Monday, Lilli and I got up early and drove to Bend. It was a 2-part mission day trip. First, Ethan and his family were vacationing at his family vacation home at Eaglecrest and the two of them really needed to spend some time together. Second, Lilli needed driving time and practice and going to visit grandma and grandpa for the day would easily give her 6 hours. In addition to the driving practice, grandpa was willing to practice parallel parking with Lilli… add another hour! The roads were mostly wet on the way over the mountain. Lilli did a great job navigating through Salem and over the Santiam Pass. The mountains have been blessed with a healthy snow pack. At least the reservoirs will be alright this summer… even if it is hot and dry. Coming home was more eventful. First, it snowed over the top of the pass. It wouldn’t have been so bad it I actually had decent tires and if some loony toon didn’t shoot us with a paint ball! Look real close to one of those pictures. You can see some hot pink in the left corner. A car passed us and SPLAT! Then the windshield wipers spread it around, making it hard to see. That was when the falling snow was handy. It helped to clean the window. We weren’t the only people driving that got shot. It turns out that two teenagers were arrested for shooting people with paint balls from a moving car! People are crazy!
I dropped Lilli off at Ethan’s family’s second home and drove to my parents house in Bend. I had fun chatting with my parents, playing with their new puppy (Joey) and eating my mom’s fresh whole wheat bread straight out of the oven, smoothered in butter. Yup. I had some butter and it was so worth it. Lilli and Ethan played video games and “hung out” for a bit before going to dinner with his family and coming to grandma’s house. I had fun showing Ethan’s mom, Jill, around the house and telling her all the old stories while grandpa chatted with Ethan’s dad and Ethan, Lilli, and his brother and his girlfriend played with the puppy. Now there are more witnesses to my crazy fun upbringing. After Ethan’s family left, Grandpa took Lilli down to the neighborhood roads to practice parking. She did great! It’s hard to believe that she will be read to get a driver’s licence in 12 days.
Tuesday was my official “Lazy day.” I did nothing. For real. I watched a movie. I sat in the hot tub. I ate some food. I had no schedule and no responsibilities. It was great! Kimber tried to go to the Valley of the Giants to hike with Yvonne. They got lost. Eventually, they stopped to let the kids run around and when they got back into the car, Ben said a prayer that Heavenly Father would help them find their way out of the forrest. As soon as he said “amen” a logger drove up and and said, “follow me!” They ended up in Ottis, by Lincoln City! They had been driving for hours in the coastal mountains on unmarked log roads. They got out of the woods just in time to get gas, eat at McDonald’s and watch the sunset on the beach. They will have to hike a different day. On Wednesday we took McKay and the kids, and Kimber and her kids to the Gilbert house. The kids seemed to have fun playing outside and looking at the things inside. I had been saving what little income I actually make and sprung for year passes for both families to go back again and again.
Lilli and I found a “When I grow up” picture stand. She may have said teacher, but I think she meant “mom.” Look how comfortable she is snuggling that baby! We had a small lunch there… crackers and cheese and turkey (not me – I ad crackers and cheese and half of Lenayah’s orange) and we waved at the bridge when Ethan said he was driving by on his way home from Central Oregon. After the Gilbert House, dad, Lilli and I went and got Ethan and went to a “chick flick.” Lilli is a major romantic. She was totally “ugly crying” in the end. Ethan is cool and knows just how to handle that hot mess. LOL.
I did have a small mishap at the Gilbert house. Kaiden was sad about something. McKay had gone to a meeting. I was doing my best to help him and he was not having it. He decked me pretty good with the corner of dad’s phone. I got a big goose egg, about the size of a golf ball. It eventually made a gnarly bruise.
Thursday we got up and sent Lilli off on her Seattle Choir Trip adventure. The trip started with clinic at school with Jen Kercher. The original clinician backed out.
Then they headed north. They stopped in Vancouver, Washington for lunch and headed to Pacific Lutheran University for a clinic. It was a super cool looking building. A couple of mom’s on the trip posted video. I have no idea how to save Facebook videos so I don’t have anything saved for posterity to listen to. What I can say is that they sounded cool in that space and that the professor helping them had some fun ideas on how to help them. I really liked when he got them to dance.
After that clinic, they headed north again… until the bus broke down. They sat on the freeway for a long time with a police officer behind them to get people to slow down, while they waited for the first bus to get to the hotel, drop people off, and come back. They were pretty luck because the Tacoma School district loaned them a bus and fixed their broken bus.
I missed Lilli’s phone calls of freaking out over the broken bus. Dad and I went to the temple. It was great! I love going to the temple and it was nice to finally find the time to go… plus, the small changes were fun to think about.
On Friday the choir sang at a school for a choir exchange. I did that when I was in high school too… maybe even in the same area! My choir went to Washington and to British Columbia when I was a Freshman. Good memories.
They were happy to head off to lunch… burgers, I think. I mean, this report is all second hand via text. LOL.
After lunch they explored the Boing Airplane museum. They weren’t allowed to take pictures inside, but they did get a couple pictures of the drive, the docks and the parking lot. Good times. Oh yeah… and Ethan got braces. Lilli is hoping to get her braces off soon… just as he is getting his on.
Dinner was at some famous Italian place… then it was swimming at the hotel pool and a movie party with John Hatch. Lilli and Ethan were assigned to John Hatch as their chaperone. How lucky is that?!
Meanwhile, dad and I worked and worked in the garden. We are trying to get it ready for planting while we both have some time. This garden time we prepared the garden beds for plants. We even planted a few cool weather plants. I am trying something new. I had talked to my farmer friend last summer and she suggested hogs fuel (a mixture of bark chips and wood chips) to help control the weeds. We also put down some wood chips to help make the pathways weed and mud free. I hope it all works and we get a prosperous garden!
McKay and the kids came to help. Kaiden was tired out from all the outdoor fun. It’s been 7 years since McKay has gotten to garden with me. It was fun! Even Ben did a little work.
At the end of the day we had a hot tub party. Freya got is to “relax” with me. She said two pretty funny things. “There is a lot of water in her. It can hide my pee.” Ummm… no peeing in the hot tub. Get out if you feel the urge. The other funny was, “Lenayah calls you grandma, but my don’t. I call you Ohma ’cause I know your real name.” She is a crack up sometimes. She has been a little extra emotional these past few days. She has had an ear infection and she has had to share the TV with Ben more because he has been home on Spring Break.
Saturday, Lilli and friends went shopping. They went to Pike Street Market, the Space Needle (although they didn’t go up because no one wanted to spend the money), the Pop Art Museum. They were in target and saw banana shirts and decided to get them. At the check out stand they saw bananas and got them too. For the rest of the day it was real easy to see where everyone in the group was. Fun way to do roll call, I think.
Meanwhile, on Saturday, Dad and I continued working in the yard, went grocery shopping and for a country drive. Good times. We also did some cleaning and laundry as we started our fast.
Sunday Lilli and the choirs sang a church in down town Seattle. Then the group divided. Some went to a Mariner’s baseball game. Lilli and Ethan and a handful of other went to see a show headed to Broadway… Marie Still Dancing. Lilli responded to me in ALL CAPS after the show. I think it is safe to say she liked the show. She wanted the sound track, but there isn’t one yet. She is also insisting that if it ever comes to Portland, WE ARE GOING. Then, they head home on the bus. They even ate pizza for dinner… on the bus.
Spring Break was TOO SHORT! I still have some many things I would have liked to have done… so many relaxing hours I would have like to have had. But, tomorrow starts a new week of crazy fun including Lilli recovering from the trip and the sore throat she had the whole time, a Preview Concert for the 5th graders in the district, District Choral Competition, and three days of State Thespian Conference that Lilli is attending and I am both chaperoning and judging at AND General Conference! I am super excited for that… and sad that I will have to pick up the Saturday sessions when I get home from State.
So… that was our week… how was your week?
Resigning as the General Manager of the Universe 