Week 81

 Dear Scott,

Sooo--what's been going on at the Ropers??  Piano on Monday, Scouts with the girls on Tuesday (they're continuing the cooking merit badge--no actual cooking has been done yet :) ), the Relief Society birthday celebration also on Tuesday night (I have an awesome committee, and they baked small cakes and made frosting for everyone, and we learned some techniques to make our cakes better), Mutual on Wednesday (they prepared for a Primary activity on Saturday), Cub Scouts on Thursday (they learned about caring for pets), "The Falcon and The Winter Soldier" on Friday.  That about covers it!

Let's see--what has been going on beyond our daily routine?  Tessa was awarded the Wylie Way award for Grit.  School can be a challenge, but she works hard.  She also had an in-person band concert on Saturday afternoon!  They held it in the WHS gym, and did a great job.

On Friday night Benson's school hosted a game night, where they gave out bags of things like sidewalk chalk, cards, stickers, pick up sticks, etc.  We also got a golden ticket in our bag, so we got another big box with Uno Showdown and Uno Flip, a Domino's gift card, popcorn, and some other fun things.  Lucky us!  We had fun playing the games all weekend.

The youth (including all our girls) put on a "Resurrection Egg Hunt" for the Primary on Saturday morning.  They led the kids around the church finding 12 eggs, with each having a symbol of Easter (white cloth, soap, nail, cross, etc.) and then explained what they all meant.  Benson enjoyed being part of that (and the candy they gave out).

Dad has been working a lot of extra hours as they transition their data center from Dallas to Virginia.  They keep encountering issues, and it takes time to figure out who needs to fix them and how.  It's frustrating for him sometimes, but they said they'd comp his time with PTO, so on they go.

Gracie and Caytie had artwork in the Celebrate the Arts online show, so I included some here.  The first three are Caytie's (8th grade) and the second three are Gracie's (10th grade).  Her house won a first place ribbon, and her painting of Emma won a second place ribbon.  The first picture is what happens around here on Saturday nights. :)

I listened to a podcast (Latter-Day Saint Women) and the sister spoke about trusting in the Lord's plan. She related it to the Brother of Jared and his followers, and how they had three needs: light, air, and steering (Ether 2:19).  The Lord helped them with air, the Brother of Jared figured out light, but the way they solved the steering was with the wind.  They put eight barges into the water, "commending themselves unto the Lord," (Ether 6:4) and traveled for 344 days by the power of the wind, and they all landed together on the shores of the Promised Land.  I don't think I thought of the scope of what that meant before.  With God, ALL things are possible.

We love you, Scott!!  Have an amazing week!

Love,

Mom

Week 80

 Dear Scott,

I have to say, we all had a little bit of worry about returning to school after Spring Break, since last year it just didn't happen, but after a week back, I think we're going to be OK.

I took Emma to get her senior pictures on Saturday.  Can't believe it.  I love watching all of you grow up, but the senior year really gives me a pause.  (Her photographer was Emily Wygant, who said she was in percussion with you in junior high.)  We got a couple previews.

Gracie has been working hard on homework, piano, drivers ed, art, scouts (earning the fingerprinting merit badge) etc.  She is a peacemaker, which we are grateful for, but will stand up for her opinion, too.  She'd really like her own room at some point, and we're trying to negotiate with others to see how we can make it happen.

Caytie had another tennis tournament, where she lost her doubles game and won her singles.  The weather was so perfect for it!  She did some doodles on her hand--can you find a blobfish, Timmy, a rocket, and a finger bone? :)

Tessa has co-babysat a couple times with her friend Brei for Brei's younger siblings.  They get to have treats and watch a movie, so they really enjoy it.  Tessa does better when she gets lots of sleep.

Benson has a busy after-school life with his friends, who he is with when he's not at piano or after-school chess club (once a week).  He loves camping with Dad, so they set up a tent in the backyard.  (We all joined them for smores, and Tessa joined them overnight.)  I helped with his Primary Activity on Wednesday.  There's a good group of boys in our ward.  I hope they get to meet again on Sundays for Primary again soon.

Dad has had a busy week at work, transferring files from here to Virginia, and Scouts (they're beginning the cooking merit badge), and preparing for his first color guard event with his SARs group.  The event was an East Trinity Trails District recognition dinner, and to his surprise (but not mine, since they had contacted me previously for some details), he was presented with the District Award of Merit (the highest award the district gives) for his contributions to scouting.  It was well-deserved and well-appreciated.  All youth around him are blessed to be!

 

I hosted my book club this week.  I'm glad we got it going again.  Good discussions and good company.  And good snacks.  I'm still doing the emotional resilience class, which is full of great information. It will be a good resource when it is widely available.   We had the missionaries over for dinner on Friday.  They challenged us to prepare for General Conference.  I enjoyed the reminder this week in "Come, Follow Me" about the armor of God.  (Did you know Grandma Danielson and Uncle Steve wrote a song about that?)  It helps to give me hope that when I see the giant trials and challenges of this world, I know that I can arm myself with the gospel and find the way through.

Do they celebrate St. Patrick's Day in Chile?  I somehow think that they probably don't.  Anyway, I hope you didn't get pinched!  We had corned beef and cabbage to celebrate.  Oh, and Lucky Charms for breakfast!

(Spring is coming--our peach tree is blossoming!)

We love you, Scott!  Have an amazing week!

Love,

Mom

Week 79

 Dear Scott,

We've had a relatively busy two weeks, with school and Spring Break.  We had the fans going for a couple days last week, trying to get the water all dried up after the washing machine flood.  The worst spot was behind the couch by the windows, because we didn't notice it went back there until the next day, and it was pretty wet.  Dad pulled up the carpet, though, and we got it dried.

Caytie had her first tennis tournaments, and she won her games both days.  One day she played doubles against two seventh graders (she's in eighth grade), and the game took about three times longer than the boys' game next to them, as they were much gentler on their serves and returns.  I'm glad she's enjoying it.

On Friday I said an early good bye to everyone as they finished getting ready for school, and Dad took me to the airport.  I debated about not going, because I had a developing cold, but I didn't have a fever, aching muscles, or other COVID symptoms, so I went anyway.  (Oh, and my phone screen, which had been dim on half the screen all week, finally went black [but only on the bottom half of the screen] on Thursday, so I ordered a replacement.  But I had to use the broken phone for the trip, and it was definitely a pain, but at least it was still functioning, when oriented correctly.)  I first flew up to Chicago, where I met up with my parents, and we continued on to Raleigh, where we met up with Joseph.  We got a rental car and drove to Wilmington/Leland, stopped at our hotel, and then went to visit with Laurie, Taelyn, and Maddox.  On Saturday, we stopped off at Walmart to get some warmer clothes, since it was staying in the 40's all weekend, and none of us were prepared for that.  My dad and Joseph did some chores around Laurie's house while my mom and I helped Laurie and Bailey decorate and package cupcakes and fill treat/bubble boxes.  Then, that afternoon, Laurie took us to Oak Island to walk along the beach and to see the lighthouse.  (I have always wanted to see a lighthouse!  But this one was closed, due to COVID.)  We went out for dinner at an Irish pub and went back to her house to play games, while Laurie decorated the wedding cake.

On Sunday we went to Laurie's to watch her Stake's Stake Conference Zoom meeting, and then we rested and read until it was time to go to Bailey's wedding.  It was outdoors at a pavilion by a barn, so we dressed in our warm clothes.  Bailey looked really happy, and Patrick seems like a really nice guy.  After the ceremony we were treated to dinner in the barn (and thank you to Bailey for putting us at Table One, so we got to eat first!), and then they had the cake and then dancing.  We were pretty chilled by this time, so we took Maddox back to Laurie's and played some more games before heading back to the hotel.

On Monday we slept in and had a late breakfast at the hotel, and then waited to check out and headed to the airport.  All our flights were about 30 minutes apart, and my parents' gate was right next to mine, so we waited together until I left.  This time I stopped in Nashville for a quick layover, and then made it back to Dallas, where I arrived a bit early, and everyone came to get me, pulling up within a minute of me stepping outside.  It was great to be back!  (They had had a little fun while I was gone, going mini golfing and go karting at Adventure Landing in Plano.  Remember that place??)

Tuesday was a quiet day for unpacking, going on a group walk, grocery shopping, setting up my new phone, etc.  On Wednesday Emma and I went to an EARLY endocrinology appointment at Children's Hospital in Plano.  She has one more appointment there before transitioning to an adult doctor.  Maybe we can find a closer one??  Later we went to the library, so the rest of the day was spent reading and watching a couple movies they checked out.  On Thursday Benson, Caytie, and I went on a bike ride to the park.  I can't remember what else we did, but Dad, Emma, and Gracie packed up for their camping trip, and Tessa went to Strike and Reel with a friend.

On Friday Dad and the girls left early to go up to Broken Bow with the Venturing Crew.  They hiked five or so miles (they affirm that there are some big hills in Oklahoma!) and set up camp, and the next day they hiked six or so miles to a river to kayak, and then headed home.  They had a great, though difficult, trip.  Meanwhile, I took Caytie, Tessa, and Benson to the Zoo on Friday.  The weather was beautiful all day, after the sprinkles got out of the way.  On Saturday we went shopping for MORE new pants for Benson (he goes through his knees so fast--and he keeps growing!), and we got a couple games and some frozen yogurt, and played at the pirate park for a couple hours.  I had Stake Conference leadership meeting and adult session through Zoom which filled the rest of my day.  The campers got home about 9 pm.

Sunday was Stake Conference (Zoom), which was nice, and Pi Day!  Tessa made the chocolate cheesecake (from a box) and I made a peach pie (with filling made and frozen this summer).  So yummy.

Now the kids are back in school and we're counting down until the end of the year!  We have a big summer planned, and we're anxious to get started!  But we can't wish away all our time--we still need to get Emma graduated.

Have a wonderful week.  We love you!

Love,

Mom