Week 94

 Dear Scott,

I didn't have much planned this week, since I got my second Covid shot on Tuesday, and didn't know how my recovery would be.  Thankfully, it wasn't too bad, and I was able to go to our Relief Society activity that night, which was a sunset walk around the library trails.  But by the time I got home, I was getting chills and had to go to bed.

The next morning, Dad drove Emma to work, and didn't get back in time to get the others to their eye doctor appointment, and I was doing pretty well, so I took them.  In the middle of the appointment, I felt a surge of light-headedness coming on, so I texted Dad to ask him to come, and I sat in the corner slumped against the wall and breathed my way through it.  It was while the kids were waiting for their eyes to be dilated, so it was dark and the doctor wasn't in the room.  They said my arms were jerking and legs and chin were shaking a bit, but I wasn't aware of that.  Dad got there and I went to the lobby where it was cooler and rested until everything was done, and I felt much better after getting home, though I pretty much just read a book on the couch for the rest of the day.  That evening Dad went to Camp James Ray to assist a troop camping there with some black powder shooting.

On Thursday we watched the Palmer boys while their air conditioning was getting repaired.  Gracie decided to take the "hair" off of her Bob Ross chia pet.  Busy day. :)

On Friday I took Emma and Gracie to their eye appointments--no fainting scares this time.  Then I went to lunch with my ministering sister, then I took Gracie to get some back-up glasses for Philmont with her new prescription, and then we had the missionaries over for dinner.  It was nice to be feeling mostly normal again.

Saturday was a church broadcast about sharing the gospel.  It's always nice to be re-motivated for this.  Dad and the girls finished getting ready for camp, and then he, Emma, Tessa, Benson and I went to Bluegrass on Ballard.  We loved the music, Dad loved the cars, everyone loved the fair food we got...

Gracie and Caytie stayed home and painted the patrol flag.  We brought them some fried pies.

The troop gathered on Sunday morning to head to the camp.  (Because of Covid, they staggered the arrival times of the troops, and theirs was early, which was good to be able to choose the best campsite.)  

Emma, Benson, and I headed to church-- Emma gave a talk on friendship, and then she taught her Sunbeam lesson.  I was in Relief Society, and our teacher did a great job!  I think we are all just so happy to be back together again.  We had two new families move in, in addition to the two last week and the two the previous month... we're growing a lot!  I've got a lot of rearranging to do with my ministering assignments.  In the afternoon we heard from the troop that they got caught in a quick rainstorm which soaked their bedding, but at least their clothes were protected.

This week will be mostly me and Benson at home together while Emma is at work.  I was musing about the last time I had one kid at home, and thought it was when you were a baby, but Benson reminded me that it was before he started school.  He's right--and I'm glad he remembers that time as a good time!

We love you, Scott!  Have an amazing week!

Love,

Mom

Week 93

 Dear Scott,

We made it through three Citizenship in the World merit badge workbooks--check, check, and check!  That one required a lot of parental motivation (and typing help), and everyone is glad it's done.  They also got the swimming test done for Scout Camp, and Tessa and Caytie cooked their meals for us for the cooking merit badge.

The rain stopped and we got some good summer heat, just in time for our air conditioner to go out upstairs.  Boo for that.  It happened on Thursday, and on Friday it got so hot upstairs (96 degrees!) that we brought the pets downstairs so they wouldn't cook.  (The upstairs pets now include the two guinea pigs, Gracie's fish Squirt, and Benson's goldfish Reggie, which he got at Twilight Camp as part of a terrarium.)  The air conditioner guy couldn't come until Monday (though he told us when he came that if he'd known how hot it was, he would have come sooner).  Most of the kids camped out downstairs on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, since it was still mostly cool there.  We were glad that it was a quick, fairly cheap fix.  (The capacitor had gone out.  Not the flux one.)

Dad and Gracie were supposed to go on a campout midweek, but they had gotten the second Covid vaccine the day before and were feeling pretty grim.  The crew changed the campout to a family pool party/cookout, which I think everyone enjoyed more.  Dad and Gracie thankfully only felt bad that one day.  Emma got hers done on Saturday, and spent Sunday in bed, so Dad and I subbed for her Sunbeam class (of two boys).

We went to the library, so lots of hours of reading have been happening, which is great.  I also signed up to help with a service project at the Wylie Way Outfitters, who provide free (donated) clothing to kids in the school district who can't afford them.  They're getting a new portable and had to box up all their inventory, so Gracie, Caytie, Tessa and I helped out for a couple hours.  We've gone to Walmart a lot to prepare for camps.  Gracie and Tessa made a countdown chain for you coming home.  There were 60 days left when they made it.  Use those days well!

On Saturday Dad and Bishop Jones were taking the Priests to a mini tank paintball battle place, but only two of them could go, so they called all the older girls, but only Gracie and Emma could go-- and apparently they had a great time!  Emma and Dad ended up with some good bruises, but Gracie protected herself in her little tank and is bruise-free.  I took the others swimming, and then I went with Katie Matheney to her brother-in-law's huge garden to harvest some vegetables.  I look forward to using them this week.

Father's Day on Sunday was nice, except for the small fact that I had forgotten until very late the night before that the Relief Society usually provides a treat for the men at church-- so Dad and I spent part of the morning making sticker labels and putting them on candy bars to bring with us.  Tessa had made an egg strata for breakfast, Dad got some fun gifts, and of course we had chicken broccoli casserole for dinner.  I made true Belgian waffles (yeasted, with pearl sugar) for dessert, though I saw some at Walmart that we're going to try someday, since they're a lot of work.  But of course, Dad is worth all the effort!

Fresh picked garden tomatoes and basil--so yummy!!!

We love you, Scott!  It was great to see your face twice this week.  "Life is good.  Life in the service of the Lord is good.  It is beautiful; it is rewarding!"  I know I've shared President Hinckley's quote more than once, but I love it!  Have a great day!

Love,

Mom

Week 92

 Dear Scott,

Benson had a great week at Twilight Camp.  Dad went with him except for Thursday, when I went, since Dad was getting officially inducted to the SARS group.  (He took Gracie, Caytie, and Tessa with him to ask the genealogist questions for their genealogy merit badge.)  It was overcast most of the week, so he wasn't too hot, but he got plenty muddy!

Tessa mostly enjoyed her "band camp" this week.  (She would say after each day, "That was so much fun!  And pretty boring!")  They did a concert on Friday, and it was their first time on stage, so that was fun for them.  She got the "outstanding camper" award for being helpful and listening well for the clarinet section.  (How to apply that at home?? :) )  She somehow got to sit at the end of the row, so we had a great view of her during the concert.

Caytie and Gracie had some merit badge classes they've been taking (enduring) online, including personal finance and citizenship in the world.  Caytie and Tessa are also working on the cooking one (actually cooking food!), and Gracie is doing photography and sculpture.  They've also all had babysitting jobs, so they're just about done raising girls camp money.

Emma is working daily from 9 to 5, and seems to really enjoy it.  It's a summer camp for kids from about 4 to 10 years old, and she helps out in different ways every day.  She has been lucky with cooler weather for when they're outside, but summer is here now, so she's looking for how to keep cooler!  We also need to get her drivers license, though we saw three wrecks on the curves on the way there this week alone.  It scares me for her...

On Saturday the neighborhood had a crawfish boil at the new pool, so we went to get some and to swim.  Dad LOVES them and the rest of us tasted them. :)  It rained for about half the time we were there, but with no lightning, they were still able to swim.

I've been trying to grow some vegetables in the garden, and I keep getting lovely blossoms, but then something comes and eats them.  I do have some tomatoes, peppers, basil, mint, and flowers growing, but I'm not sure anything else will make it before the heat sets in.  We also have some peaches growing still.  We'll see if any of them make it to maturity!

It's nice to be back to two-hour church, with pretty much no restrictions on anything.  Our Relief Society teacher couldn't do the lesson at the last minute so we divided up the talk ("Poor Little Ones," by Jorge Becerra) and made small groups, and each reported on what they learned from their portion.  People always resist getting up and moving into groups, but once they did it, they had some great discussions and insights to share.

We love you, Scott!  We are grateful for your example, and we are getting ready to make a countdown for your return--but of course, you're not thinking about that!  Have an amazing week!

Love,

Mom

Week 91

 Dear Scott,

We had a fun first full week of summer with Grandma and Grandpa Roper here!

We got up early-ish on Tuesday and headed down south.  We made it to Austin at lunch time, and met up with Elder Drew Parker and his companion for lunch at Chuey's, and then we continued on to San Antonio.  We went right to the Alamo and toured the grounds and mission until they closed, and then after a quick stop at the hotel, we went back to the riverwalk and took a boat tour, and had dinner at Whataburger (yay Texas!).

The next day was our Six Flags Fiesta day.  The weather was great (overcast, though very humid), and there were hardly any people there.  It was fun to explore the new rides, and the fact that some were built onto the cliff was pretty cool.  Tessa and Caytie were fearless and inspired us to do more than we would have without them. :)  We lasted until about 5 pm and went to the hotel for dinner and a swim--but the water in the pool was pretty gross, so that didn't last too long.

We packed up on Thursday morning and went over to the Natural Bridge Caverns.  It was a rainy day, so the caverns were really wet inside, but pleasant anyway.  The formations were as impressive as ever.  Our world is just beautiful--inside and out.  After the caves, we went to the McNeil Cemetery in Luling (about an hour from San Antonio) to see some headstones of several of Grandma Roper's dad's relatives.  It rained on us, but we got some good pictures.  It was good to explore our Texas heritage.  On our way back to Dallas we made a stop at a Buc-ee's and at the Magnolia Farms silos in Waco, though it had closed an hour before we arrived.  The rain stopped for our last leg of the trip and we had a beautiful full-sky sunset.  All we were missing at this point of our Texas adventure were some longhorns and Blue Bell ice cream!

Friday was a recovery day, and that evening we had a ward activity that the Relief Society (I) had planned.  It was super simple (BYO dinner, with a bouncy slide and gaga ball inflatables, bubbles, chalk, and dessert), but I think everyone just really liked being back together.  We've had 20 families move in during this last year, and everyone feels out of touch.

On Saturday we ran here and there all morning.  In the afternoon, Dad, Gma and Gpa, Benson, Tessa, her friend Brei, our friends Amy and Brian Palmer, and I went to the Rangers game.  Gracie went too, but as part of a double date (her first!), and Emma and Caytie stayed behind to help with a girls camp fundraiser.  The traffic there was terrible so we got there late, and the Rangers didn't score at all, so the game went really fast, and then it started raining, and where we parked was difficult to leave due to bad traffic, SOOOO things could have been better...but it was fun to be in the new stadium (a roof!  Air conditioning!) and to be with friends and family (and to spy on Gracie's date a bit ;) ).

Sunday was a nice quiet day.  We enjoyed church, and then worked on a puzzle (super deceivingly difficult!) of the caverns that Grandpa had bought, and Dad made us crepes for dinner (and dessert).

Early Monday morning we had to say goodbye to the Ropers.  We love to have people visit!  It was also Emma's first day at her summer camp job, Tessa's first day of a week of band camp, Benson (and Ben's) first day of Cub Twilight Camp (he made a terrarium--with a live fish!), and our first Summertime Screentime day, so summer has officially begun.  We're ready!

We love you, Scott!  We've been reading a lot of missionary motivational scriptures in the Doctrine and Covenants these past few weeks.  They make me motivated to open my mouth, and grateful that you're willing to, too.

Love,

Mom