Week 45: Church History Trip

Saturday:

Went exactly as I planned out in my little itinerary. Which I feel so good about. I don’t expect that to happen the rest of the time. The night before we had tornado sirens going. Loading up it was pouring. But we made it to Cleveland in good time to pick up Mummy & Papa. Jimmy johns for lunch, 4 hour drive Chick-Fil-a for dinner. Grocery pick up and unloading. The kiddos were all in bed by 8:30. The van is awesome. Mummy and Papa are so fun and helpful. Should be a great week full of memories. 

Sunday:

I woke up at 5:30 to make sure we were all set and ready to go for Father’s Day and Church History. My favorite part of the day was absolutely the drive from our hotel to the church. It was beautiful, we listened to Nashville Tribute sing about Joseph Smith. I felt something in that moment. Church, Peter Whitmer Farm, Smith Family Farm, Sacred Grove, Hill Cumorah and the Gardin Building later…. we had some tired boys. A quick dinner and boys to bed. Then Landon and I went on a walk while Jax and his grandparents played games. It’s great having them with us on our trip! 

Monday:

I decided after two pretty intense days of traveling and tours, that I’d stay at the hotel with the boys while Landon and his parents went to the Priesthood restoration site. They had a great time together. 6 hours round trip and then 4 hours of tours and walking. We played games and swam and ate lots of snacks and cuddled and played some more games. Mama Woolf asked me if I was rested when she got back. And my answer was “yes! And it’s because I know each of my people got exactly what they needed.” Landon got to be with his parents uninterrupted. Jaxson got to play games and swim. Ty got to build and swim. Luke got to swim and cuddle. Brigham slllleeeept. Two 2.5 hour naps. We ended the night with games. Landon and Mama Woolf beat me and papa twice. We need a rematch. 

Tuesday:

We headed to Niagara Falls. And we all loved it so much. Everyone’s favorite part of the day was Maid of Midst boat ride. It was so much fun. Seeing Gods creations, well, those are my favorite days. We had a darling little message by Mummy and Papa. Ty didn’t forget to Pray for 2 minutes at the end of the night. Grandparents. They make such a big impact. Games again at night. Me and papa lost. Again. Next time 

Wednesday:

Brigs has slept through the night twice now in his life. Last night and the night before. And I have slept through the night once since August 2020. Last night! I slept from 10-5:45. And even with my back pain I only remember rolling over twice to reposition. This is a highlight for sure. We headed to the beach. We all got in and swam some(though when I came in, everyone got out. Thats okay, I floated). We relaxed some and just enjoyed some slow paced traveling. The best part of the day was going to White Turkey Diner. A throw back find that we all loved. We got to our hotel, unloaded and organized and went to bed. 

Thursday:

Our slowest morning. I picked up some groceries for the rest of the week. Landon went on a run. The boys have loved listening to podcasts and Harry Potter. Dear Evan Hansen and Hamilton. We went to Kirkland and toured the little town that Joseph and Emma lived. What the Saints experienced in the beginning of church history, was just so much. Whether you believe the church or not, these people believed. And believing in something that strongly is pretty inspiring. We had lunch at an Amish Kitchen, Mary Yodels. Ty was sooooo stuffed. It was hilarious. And then Johnson’s farm. This is probably the place I had the most special moment with my boys. Me alone with all four of them staring up at the trees talking about our Heavenly Parents and their plan. It was sweet. We drove home, ate  sushi, put the boys to bed and Papa and I STILL lost in the marble game. Whatever. Good thing I like mama & Lando. 

Friday: 

We decided to take an easy day. We actually went back to Kirkland to get some souvenirs. Then we went swimming. Played games and Landon and I went on a loooong date. We had the most amazing dinner and vegan ice cream. And then watched Landons fellowship graduation over zoom. (Lame, but whatever.) The boys had a blast with Mummy and Papa. It was a great day. 

Saturday: 

We had a slow morning of Harry Potter and packing. We went and got delicious tacos and delicious vegan ice cream (again). Then we hit up both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the NFL Hall of Fame. Saying goodbye was hard and sad. We had the best time with Mummy & Papa. Our boys are the luckiest.

Sunday: 

We extended our vacation by going to the Mounds and Movies with our Cincinnati Children Fellow families. We are ending the night with showers and blowing up balloons. It was one of my favorite vacation weeks. The last one in training. 5 years, 15 weeks of vacations. We did our best to make the most of each week. And this week was one for the ages.

 

Week 44: Things I Want to Remember

 We were at Luke's game. And Luke's team won by A LOT. I mean, its 3 year olds so who cares. But it was obvious. Between one girl and Luke, they scored every minute or so. At the end of the game, Jax declared to Luke, "LUKE! You're team won 24-4. Astrid scored 14 goals, you scored 7, Sam scored 2 and Henry scored 1." 

I want to remember Jaxson's mind. 

 I had Ty and Luke unload the groceries from Costco. I was in the restroom. After about 4 minutes I hear, "OH NO!" then Ty kncoking on the door saying, "I'm really sorry mom. The peanut butter broke." Sure enough Ty couldn't just unload the groceries, he had to build something while doing it. 

I want to remember that Ty is always thinking about what he can create.

 

I want to remember the first time we sat and ate pizza and hot dogs AT Costco. The first real sign that maybe just maybe things are going back to normal. 

We were at Jaxson's physical therapy appointment. All 5 of us, in a little corner. They had some shoulder and knee replicas. Inside the shoulder was a humorous piece. Luke pulled it out and thought it looked like a Microphone. So with that he serenaded the entire PT room with ABCs, Twinkle little star, Ba-Ba Black sheep, the Dino song and many more. 

I want to remember Luke and his singing with every step. 

Landon was in a case one night. A kid swallowed a battery and they had to rush to get it out of their little body. Thankfully, after they pulled it out, they realized it was two coins stuck together. The little one was okay and Landon was able to safely pass them off to their parents. 

I want to remember the sacrifice Landon makes while all of us are sleeping. 

At the beginning of the Summer Jaxson set a goal to real 90 minutes a day. after 17 days, one day got away from him and it was 8:00pm. He kept saying, "Mom! I have to read 90 minutes." I took it personally, "Well you should have thought before you did XYW." But then I realized, as he sat on the couch that what he was trying to say was, "I'm so tired but I have to read these 90 minutes." And he did. He went to bed exhausted at 9:47pm. 

I want to remember Jaxson's natural drive. And I want to remember to go easy on him, because he doesn't do that to himself. 

One morning I woke up, Brigham had a rough night so the boys were already out of bed playing. As I walked out of the hall I heard Ty and Luke talking.
"Lukie, whats your favorite dinosaur."
"A T-Rex"
"Wow! Okay your turn Lukie"
"Ty whats your favorite movie?" 
And on and on they went, I just sat there in the hall listening as Ty brothered his brother. 

I want to remember the natural way Ty includes his brothers. 

I want to remember how often Luke wants to give hugs. He'd literally hug you for an hour if you stayed there long enough

The night before Washington DC, Landon was at the hospital all night, I was overwhelmed, the house was a mess and we hadn't started packing. I laid on the couch, it was 6:27pm. The boys were watching TV downstairs and I was prepping for a long sleepless night of work. But then I heard little footsteps and saw ty peer through the banister, "Mom? Aren't we suppose to be getting ready. I can help." And he did. Then they all jumped in. I turned the lights off and set the alarm and went to bed at 10:30pm

I wand to remember how helpful Ty is and praise him for that. 

Every morning I am greeted with a personal sports new caster. The very first thing Jaxson does in the morning is wake up, go to my computer and read ESPN. He then spends the next 15 minutes(or more if I have the willpower to stay engaged) telling me all the updates. 

I want to remember Jaxson's love for all sports 

Also that one dinner that we were all a little on edge. And Luke wanted to eat outside by himself. And then he proceeded to smash his face into the window and smile and laugh at us. All through dinner. 

I want to remember how Luke always makes everyone smile 

Landon came home one night and showed me a picture of a little tiny 33 week premie who he did anesthesia on. The baby wasn't doing great and he was obviously effected. 

I want to remember, always, how important and pressured filled work Landon is doing. It must be so exhausting. He is a real hero. 

And I hope I ALWAYS remember the sweet SOUL that Brigham is. Cause there is nothing sweeter than Briggy. He is all of our favorite.