The last couple of weeks have been busy but not super exciting, I guess? For those of you who don't know, we have decided as a family that we want to move back to Utah. We felt guided to move to Washington, and we don't know exactly why. Though I think Steve and I have learned a lot here. And I'm surprised to say that I think I would prefer living in Utah at this point in my life.
This is your face right now, right?
Don't get me wrong. Washington has a lot of amazing things. The people in our ward have been wonderful. Living near Tristan and Nicole's family has been wonderful. We love how well cousins get along and love each other. And I've loved getting to know them as a family better. I appreciate the milder winter weather (though not the UTTER DARKNESS we must endure for months on end). I love being near the ocean and being able to go beachcombing. I love finding mushrooms in the woods and the gorgeous scenery.
In the two years we've lived here though, we haven't really taken advantage of all that Washington has to offer as far as outdoor adventures. We've never been to Oceanside, which I hear is great. We've never been to Olympic National Park. We've never even made it down to Mt. Rainier even though we've been there twice when we've come to visit the Nelsons in the past and enjoyed it so much. We've been on one hike as a family twice. And me and Mira went on one hike with the young women in our ward. We've been to many of the beaches around the sound, but that's kind of the extent of it. With two little ones who can't/won't do strenuous hikes and an oldest who complains at the sound of a physical activity outing, combined with the fact that you have to take at least 6 hours to go to any of the fun hikes around, it's been more effort than our family has been willing to put in.
On a slightly less important note, Steve and I also are rather disappointed with the food options here. Haha. Barbecue is SO HARD to find. Fusion places that we tend to love (like 180 Tacos and Aubergine) are almost non-existent. As is good Mexican food.
And don't get me started on the schools. I pretty much have nothing nice to say about the schools here. Even if we move back and Jules ends up having to go to full-day kindergarten there (I don't want her to here or there with or without green eggs and ham), we'll still be leaps and bounds better off in Utah than we are here as far as education is concerned.
All of us, I think, are still really torn. We don't want to move again. We all have things here we will miss a lot. But I think we're all looking ahead to being there and are excited. Jules is especially excited that I'm finally allowing her to move back to where Nana is. She's been asking for nearly a year.
So, while I had a doctor's appointment and I took the kids to a "pokemon party" at the library that ended up being a total loss in the fun department, the real bulk of my free time, thoughts, and energy have been going into getting the house ready to put on the market. We want to be listed by mid March and we want to move around the end of May, if the stars align. We are all still rather traumatized by the difficulty of the move here. It was emotionally, physically, and mentally devastating for most of us. So we would really appreciate prayers that this transition will be smoother and easier on us.
Before last weekend, I prettified my laundry room and organized our linen closet.
Kids at the doctor's appointment:
So last weekend, the family cleaned out and arranged the garage so we have room to put boxes as we pack them. This weekend, we weeded and mulched the entire yard. Throughout the week, I cleared out 6 tubs of crafting supplies, fabric, decorations, and clothes and rearranged the master closet to look open and spacious. We've packed four shelves worth of books and computer supplies. And we still need to completely rearrange the master bedroom and go through all the kids' rooms and declutter. I'm dreading that last bit the most. It's gonna be like pulling teeth. Times four.
Back yard:
Primary closet:
Jules and Cecily did have Valentine's Day parties at school. This was Jules's first and she loved it. Cecily and Kate get "Hawk Awards" during the week that they can spend to get prizes out of the classroom prize box. For the last few weeks, they've been getting mochi squishies (little gel-like toys in the shapes of animals) and so Cecily asked if she could give them as her valentines instead of candy. I always prefer to not send more candy out into the world (because I'm sick of my kids getting so much of it for EVERY holiday), so we bought a big box of them and that's what Jules and Ces handed out. Mira handed them out to her friends throughout the day, too, because she's awesome like that. This is a picture of the collection before Valentine's day. It's almost doubled by this point. Haha.
This last week Thursday, Jules was selected to be the VIP (they do this instead of celebrating on their birthdays). She got to bring 5 things that tell about herself. She chose to bring a resin and sea-shell souvenir she got on our last outing with Grandma and Grandpa, her blankie from Nana, a wooden giraffe that she painted herself, a bug encyclopedia, and pictures of her nuclear and extended families. She was so good up there telling the whole class about her things. She's gained a lot of confidence at this preschool and I'm so glad we were able to have her go to it. Despite it being the worst thing ever to drive her there 3 days a week. Also, I was the parent helper. She got to bring a sweet treat instead of a healthy one, though she still chose to give 3 Hi-Chews and a cutie orange. She got a crown and a helium balloon, and she got to lead the class in a rousing march around the room to the VIP music. It was cute. :D
Jules is in black at the back.
Here's a video of them making their hearts work hard. At the end, they lay down and feel how hard it's beating.
I'm looking forward this week, to going to Em's play that she's been working so hard at. Too too hard. But we don't need to go into that again. She's so excited for us to see it. I wish more people would have a chance to come and cheer her on. <3
3/3/24
This week was slightly more exciting. Jules got sick Monday night with the cold that Harrison got and then Cecily got. Harrison, a week later, still has it and his cough has gotten worse. Jules was better by Thursday. But I lucked out and didn't have to drive Jules to and from school for two days and it was like I was on vacation. It was a little weird having both Jules and Harrison home and not Cecily though. I kept wondering if I should go wake her up or if she could help with something and then I'd realize she was at school.
Harrison insisted I put this on him one day. He hated it and wanted it off again immediately.
Facebook reminded me that I was interested in going to an online writing workshop that was held Wednesday night for 2 hours. I was a rebel and decided I wanted to go to that instead of attend a stake Relief Society meeting. The RS president that I serve under had said it wasn't mandatory or I don't think it would have occurred to me not to attend. I'm really not a rebel at heart. But I'm so glad a I went to the writing thing! It was one of those things that I felt this inkling that I would get something important out of, and I did! It was also one of those things that I didn't actually get anything out of it that the teachers intended me to get out of it, but something they said sparked a thought that I needed to think in order to get past a block I was having. And that was totally worth the $5 and the 2 hours. Plus I could work on making a book cover while I listened, so it fed my creative side two ways. Best 2 hours all week, for sure. :)
How I felt after: :D
Friday during the day, Cecily and I went through everything in her room. We got rid of clothes that no longer fit and packed up all the legos and moved Waffle to the dresser instead of the bookshelf so the cage isn't the first thing you notice when you come in the room.
Cecily's room before the clean-out. I thought it was cute that they were both reading in bed the exact same way. (Jules just looks through the pictures, though she's learned nearly all of her letters and their sounds at preschool this year.)
Emilia had a full dress rehearsal where an audience was invited to come on Thursday. Then a performance on Friday--that Steve and I attended--and another performance Saturday night. She had a freak-out moment every night getting ready because she was supposed to have a 1950s hairdo (when the play is set), and she didn't like the way she looked with her hair that way. And that stressed her out and doing the performance stressed her out, and of course she was late because that girl hasn't been on time for something since we moved here, so that stressed her out, too. (And me.)
Some of Jules' art found cleaning out her and Cecily's room:
But she did such a great job in the performance. I love her animatedness and her facial expressions project all the way to the audience. I would love to see her in a part where she had lines and got to really get into a character. I think she'd be so great.
After we got home, she asked us a hundred questions about what we liked and did we notice this or that, or what was our favorite song or character or actor. She also asked if we noticed anything not going well and there were a couple of things there too. There was a rather large costume mishap that wasn't showing any skin or anything (it was a man's vest that didn't get velcroed up the back) but became epic because it just kept going and going and going messing more and more things up with the rest of the costume. He had to keep throwing the vest back over his shoulders as he sang and danced. And his tie came through the arm hole. And then the suspenders he was wearing underneath came loose. And there was just no graceful way to fix it. Definitely a memorable number. Haha.
Saturday was another busy, get-the-house-ready day. Steve and I worked on getting the Primary bedroom looking like a bedroom instead of a 3-in-1 office/bedroom/art room. I had to go through all my shells and decide what I wanted to move. And we had to pack some decorations. And move bookshelves we decided to get rid of to the garage. And take down tables. And rearrange everything else. I also helped Mira go through all her clothes and her momentos and papers and clean out under her bed and clean/organize her nightstands. Plus regular Saturday chores (and getting Emilia ready for her performance). We had frozen pizza for dinner that night because we were all tired by the end of the day.
Some art I found cleaning out Mira's room. Isn't it fun?
We don't normally do housework on Sundays, but we ran out of time to fold clothes on Saturday, and everyone was running low on clean clothes, so we made an ox-in-the-mire exception and folded clothes as a family Sunday night after dinner while watching the newest episodes of Bluey. We all really love that cartoon. I recommend it to anyone who's ever had kids or been married or has a heart. If you feel silly watching a cartoon without any kids around, just grab a nearby child (any child) and watch it with them. :) It's on Disney plus. You're welcome.
