Weekend Warriors Fail

I know that I'm like 5 months behind at any given moment, but this weekend deserves a blog post. Spencer just got his mission call (to the Mexico Tampico mission) and was going through the temple for the first time. Everyone was going to be able to be there except Sophie (who was gallivanting in Atlanta filming a game show episode with her siblings) and their kids, and we really wanted to be there too. We also wanted to take the opportunity (and the forecasted 117° weather last weekend) to go to the cabin for a few nights. It was kind of my only chance to make it up this summer, with the baby due the first week of August.

At this point I'm 31 weeks pregnant, huge, and having to take it pretty easy to avoid too many contractions. So just getting us all packed for 4 days of such weather-diverse (the cabin is at almost 10,000 feet) out-of-town-ness was quite a big deal for me, and I had to rest a lot.

Jeremy got done around noon Friday, but between finishing up errands, getting the house cleaned up, getting loaded, and grabbing some food, we were just barely hitting the Superstition Springs area around 2 pm, when I had hoped to be out of there by 1. Spencer's session was at 7, and we had hoped to let the kids play with their Gardner cousins for a while and eat before we needed to take them up to Jeremy's mom's and be at the temple by 6:30. And tensions had been high at our house during the loading process (as they usually are when the kids are hungry and grumpy, and Jeremy can't believe all the -stuff- it takes for us to go somewhere for several days, especially when a cabin trip is involved...) and my emotions are always a little crazy when I'm pregnant.

Where were we? Approaching Superstition Springs/Power. And it was at this point that Jeremy suddenly called our mechanic friend to ask about a temperature needle that wasn't behaving itself. Before I knew it we were turning around and headed to Higley and Brown to see what was wrong with our car. I'll admit I was frustrated about the whole thing, and thought "well it's reasonable to think it's going to run a little hot when it's 112º outside." We had just spent a couple hundred replacing the internal thermometer, and I felt like it was probably working okay, and I did not want to be sitting in the mechanic's shop with 4 tired, difficult children instead of heading towards the rest of my family. Of course Jeremy was right, not me, and within half an hour they told us the system was messed up and feeding the heat back into the cooling system and that our car was actually unsafe to drive currently. Fabulous. There were some tears as we tried to figure out what in the world to do. We have another car, but it only seats 5, and there are several more of us than that.

We didn't really want to miss getting together with family, Spencer's temple session, or going to the cabin, so we spent the next hour trying to find and secure a rental car that could fit all of us and our stuff. You'd think there would be plenty of mini vans available, but not at the moment (and in that area). He did find one finally, but it wasn't one of those nice hotwire rental car deals. $$$$ Ouch. During the wait the kids had started melting down just a little bit (or a lot) and I had finally let them each have one of the free suckers. So at least they were happy.

Finally, Jeremy made it back to us with our rental car, a white 2015 (I think) Dodge Caravan. It was pretty fancy, compared to our 2004 Chevy Venture that has literally driven all over the country. It was slightly fancier before we took possession of it. As Jeremy was trying to back it in close to our car, in the mechanic's bay, (remember, 112º and lots of stuff?) his phone rang and distracted him at just the right second, and he clipped the side of the back bumper. On a wall. Seriously? He hasn't backed into anything as long as I've known him, and this was the time it had to happen?

Everything got loaded, and we got on our way, but we were seriously stressing about this schmancy newish (less than 10,000 miles) rental car that we had just damaged, and what it was going to cost on top of the larger-than-hoped rental fee. And what in the world were we going to drive when we got back into town, if our van wasn't even driveable?

With that weighing on our minds, we had a fairly pleasant (rest of the) trip to Pima. We only had time to grab some quick food then head up to Thatcher to drop the girls and Shawn off at their Grammy's to spend the night (Reilly elected to stay and hang out with Justin, Kayden, and Logan with the babysitter) and then make it to the temple. Which was awesome, to all be there together, and I'm very glad we made it. Even if it was one of our more expensive trips to the temple, even counting hotels and stuff from when we lived in D.C...

The weekend was nice. A little crazy, as usual, when we get that many small children together in one place, but good. It was fun to see Emily (probably the last time before we both have our babies around the first week of August!) and of course to spend time with David & Nicole, who normally live in Kentucky. :) Phil was actually at scout camp or something on Mt. Graham, and had come down for the temple session, and then stayed the night until about 5 or 6 the next morning, when he went back up.

We didn't sleep that well the first night, since we stayed up way too late visiting, and then Spencer's air raid siren alarm (we slept in his room) randomly went off at 5:15 the next morning. It took a good 5 minutes for my heartrate to return to normal, and then it went off again because somehow we had hit snooze in all our sleepiness. Didn't get back to sleep after that. We didn't actually get to go to the cabin, because between not wanting to possibly further damage the car, the too-many contractions I had been having, and being kinda worn out, we decided it wasn't the best idea. That was hard, but probably the right decision. The only positive side to it was that we got to go to Kainoa's and celebrate Ashley's birthday Saturday evening since we were still in town. Because we had planned to be at the cabin Saturday - Monday, we didn't even have church clothes, and the kids all only had 2 sets of shorts/t-shirts to wear that we just kept washing. It was an adventure in its own way.

Sometime Sunday afternoon when we were sitting around, my dad finally had the bright idea to ask if we had rented the car with a credit card, and said we should check to see if it had extra coverage for our sort of situation. I really wish he had thought of that sooner, because we had, and it did, and we could finally breathe a little easier before turning it back in on Monday!

It turned out we didn't even need to call in those benefits, because when Jeremy took the rental back to Avis Monday afternoon, the lady was super nice, and reduced our rental fee AND added the extra insurance (for collision or accidents or whatever) after-the-fact. So we ended up paying the same amount but not having to worry about having it fixed or paying for the loss-of-use while it happened. I'm guessing they won't even get it fixed, since it's just a cosmetic scratch. That was really nice though. We were blessed in several ways, even though it was stressful to have it all happen unexpectedly. We knew our transmission was slippy on our old van, but had hoped to get another 6 months out of it at least. Apparently in order to fix the temperature issue though, we would need a new head gasket?, which, between those two large issues, it wasn't worth spending the money it would taking to get it into good working condition again. Not at its age and with over 160,000 miles on it. And plenty of wear and tear. That doesn't count several trips that it's taken being pulled behind a moving truck across the country... Did I mention that this is the vehicle my parents gave us for Christmas when Reilly was 3 months old, and it was only about 3 years old? They "traded" us for my little Chevy Cavalier, which was like 9 years old at the time, because they knew we were going to need the reliability and the room. Best present ever. And it was our only car for the first almost 10 years of our marriage. Thanks to generous parents (Jeremy's red car was given to us by his parents when we moved to Mesa) our first car payment didn't happen until Jeremy's big accident (when he was hit by a red light runner) last June. It's been a good car for a long time, and I'm a little teary to think about it not being driveable anymore I should have realized it was a sign when I was loading stuff in it for our trip, and I went to close the hatch, and the handle broke off on one side...

In the meantime, we've been down to one car (our little 5-seater Honda Civic Hybrid) while we have been deciding what we want to replace our old van with. And also, waiting for the check from Geico (yes, from the accident a year ago, finally) to help us pay off Jeremy's car so we will only have one car payment again. So there are car seats stacked all over the family room, (as well as the entire suitcase full of mountain stuff that I think we're just going to save in case Jeremy can take the kids up for the 4th of July), and our little storage room is full of the jogging stroller that usually livees in the back of the van. Jeremy really liked the Dodge we rented. It had all the bells and whistles that add up to a lot of convenience and fun. The dashboard and front storage area was really nice. The Chrysler Town & Country is basically the same car, with some different options. We were looking seriously at a T&C for a few days. Two of my siblings have those and really like them.

But the more we researched it (especially with as many kids as we're about to have) the safety ratings, space, and reliability of the Honda Odyssey won us over. That 8th seat is a big bonus for just a tiny bit of flexibility, and everyone I've talked to that has an Odyssey loves it. So at this point, we're looking for the right one of those... It's a little crazy and stressful, but I'm just anxious to get it all done with, and to have transportation for our whole family again! I'll let you know how it all turns out.

Such a crazy weekend, with so many roadblocks. But we made it work, there were probably several reasons it happened the way it did. Life is seldom boring, I guess. A little less excitement for the rest of the month would be just fine with me. :)

A Little Life (February)

February was a better month. I was still sick a lot of the time, but was able to get up and do a little more. It was good timing, because Katy was really hoping I could go to the zoo with her for her kindergarten field trip. We made it, and she had a good time. But it was seriously intense chasing a bunch of low-attention-spanned 5-year-olds around when I had been laying in bed for 3 months. And Shawn was not that impressed that he mostly had to stay in the stroller, but it was the only way we could keep up with them!

We also made it to the IDEA Museum in February once or twice, to get some use out of the 6-month membership I bought on Groupon in December. We luckily ended up going one Saturday when they had a special members-only activity with all sorts of fun things outside. Snacks, mermaids in a lagoon, dress-up, bubbles, story time, and crafts. Of course, the kids' favorite "craft" was decorating graham crackers with frosting and all sorts of extras.

One of the excitements of the month was the stackable unit that our landlady had let us use in our rental stopped working. (it no longer used heat in the dryer part) Someone in our ward came and jury-rigged it, but it burned through the new wiring in a bout 3 loads... so we decided we were done with that. The probable repairs were going to be a decent amount, so we made our first real appliance purchase (I know, we've only been married over 10 years...) and bought a washer and dryer! Pretty crazy. Not quite as crazy as the gymnastics they had to do to get them both in that little space, though. :) We were very grateful to have a working dryer again!

Jaina had a rough month. Towards the beginning her allergies got really bad. She has them from time to time, and there are seasons she does much better if she takes something daily, but this was kind of a sudden onset thing, and she started wheezing. This child has never had a wheezy breath (that I've noticed) in her life! It progressed quickly, and we even tried taking her into Urgent Care that night. But the wait was like 3 hours, and Jeremy said most of the people there were on death's door, which we didn't want any part of, so they just came home instead. We rubbed essential oils on her chest and feet, and diffused them in her room, and hoped for the best. She slept mostly okay, but was still pretty wheeze the next morning, so we we took her in to our pediatrician (who we're way more comfortable with than a random urgent care dr) and they got a her a nebulizer and she did a treatment right then. We did several treatments for just a few days, and it cleared right up. She hasn't had a problem since. It was so random! We now have a cute penguin nebulizer though, so... And then towards the end of the month she was the first one to come down with a random virus that was 4-5 days of high fevers (we're talking up to 104º several times, which is when I start trying to bring it down just a little!) and like one random throwing up episode. Katy caught the same thing a week later, and Shawn after that (without the throwing up, thankfully). Reilly seems immune to a lot of the things everyone else catches, thankfully. :) We took Jaina in (again) because her throat hurt a little, and after 2 days of high fevers, I wanted to rule out strep, which was going around. Thankfully, that wasn't it. Just a long-lived virus!

Jeremy pretty much spoiled me on Valentine's Day, and because I was pregnant, (but not super sick still) my favorite gift was these awesome hazelnut chocolates that normally were like $20+ on Amazon that he got because he bought something else? I think. Anyway, hands down the best chocolates I've ever had. Sometimes I daydream about them. :)

Other random happenings? The Phoenix Marathon came through right by our house (about half a block over). I always love seeing the runners. Even the not-so-fast ones are so inspiring. Like they almost make me cry. The dedication and training and stick-to-it-ness that has to go along with running a race of that length is awe-inspiring. I am not a natural runner. But I'd like to do a 10K and aspire to do a half marathon some day. (At Disneyland, of course. I need extra motivation, haha)  And then, a picture of me, 15 weeks pregnant, and not doiong even any 5K's in the following year, pretty much...

January.

Not too much happened in January. I was still mostly down, with periods of feeling a little better. I was hoping to do a double post along with February, but February was much busier!
In January we were still finishing up Christmas break, and our POGO passes were about to expire, so Jeremy took a day and took the kids to Castles & Coasters. (the older 3) They had a great time! The weather was nice, the crowds weren't bad, and the kids loved all the rides. Reilly did a ropes course thing too, that looked pretty cool. He is a pretty brave kid most of the time, and loves to try new things like that. (New foods? Not so much.) Shawn didn't get to go, of course, which was just as well, because I think like the next day he came down with some nasty little bug. The only time we ever see him fall asleep outside of his bed (or maaaybe in his car seat, occasionally) is when he's sick.

I felt well enough one day (a Saturday?) to take the kids to a nearby park, and then to McDonald's for an early lunch and some time climbing in the play place. I do not love to take them to McDonald's, but they sure enjoy it. Of course they always ask for Happy Meals, but if they get them (not often) they don't want half the food. They're just excited about the toys.

Jeremy and Reilly took Reilly's first "real" bike ride over to the library. The library is definitely one of Reilly's favorite destinations, and he's always asking to go exchange books. One of -Shawn's- favorite places to go is "Daddy's office!" He absolutely loves to go there and get into whatever trouble he can.

We visited Mod Pizza in Tempe, which was fun and tasty. The kids love getting to customize their own pizzas. The only other thing of interest that we attempted was going to the mall one Friday or Saturday, and then to Tempe Marketplace for dinner (Where we ate from 4 different restaurants, I think. I was just excited for food that I didn't have to think about or make.) It was fun, but it wiped me out so much (being up that long) that I didn't even make it to sacrament meeting the next day. We were glad to see January pass!

A Different Christmas

For the last several years we have tried to spend Christmas at home, but this year it wasn't quite as exciting of an idea. I spent most of December like this, and the week of Christmas probably ended up being my roughest week of being sick. It was bad. Not the worst Christmas ever, but definitely the worst I've ever felt over Christmas. One morning it was bad enough that I was just hanging out in the bathroom for a while, and Shawn was excited that I was out of bed, so he kept bringing me toys to play with with him.

I managed to leave the house here and there (even making it at least sacrament meeting most weeks!) But mostly I just laid there and hoped it would pass more quickly! Jeremy was amazing and did most of the finding/cooking food, cleaning, and keeping things afloat. He is great that way. Being pregnant is a big sacrifice for me, but also for him in a different way.

We managed to all make it to our ward Christmas party, which was fun for the kids. The had a "Grinch Stole Christmas" theme and all got to wear funky colors/clothes. We kinda hoped to sneak out before Santa came and things got crazy, but we were too late. (Though I had to leave before they actually got to see Santa, I think) The food, which I didn't have to make or think about beforehand, was very good. :) Several different kinds of soups, lots of rolls (many homemade), and dessert. Yum. Reilly and Jaina sat on Santa's lap even though they had asked/discovered that "Santa" was more of an idea than a person this year.

A few days before Christmas we drove down to the Gila Valley to spend Christmas at my parents' (where my mom could at least feed us and the kids would have a little more excitement). It was really nice to be there, even though I actually felt worse that week than any other, I think. At least there were more people to visit with, and to be excited about all the Christmas fun with. Christmas Eve we even managed an off-the-cuff nativity scene (Spencer was so thrilled), and I can promise that wouldn't have happened if we were all home alone. Shawn wouldn't leave his costume on long, but he was the cutest little shepherd. :)

Christmas morning was fun, and everyone was exciting about their toys. Shawn was way into Minions (he referred to them all as "Bob-bob" and was excited to get a dancing "Bob" from Santa. There were many Legos, some dolls, a Star Wars chess set, and snacks to enjoy. And super tasty "Grandpa's waffles," which always seem like Christmas morning to me. I was just glad I was able to eat some of them! That afternoon we went to Jeremy's mom's house to exchange presents and eat Christmas dinner. I was feeling pretty icky by then and didn't take many pictures. :-( It was a good day though, and I'm glad there was some extra family around to make sure the kids had a good week.

Jeremy was able to keep the kids pretty busy during the rest of Christmas break. They did a couple movies, used a few more things on our POGO passes before they expired (including Makutu's Island), smoothies, the mall, etc. It was nice to have him home a lot that week to help them get out of the house and have fun. Definitely not my best December ever, but we mostly pulled it off, I think.