Yard Work

Our yards have been deteriorating for years while Jim focuses on the interior of the house. We have gigantic birds of paradise that are too big for their locations, have lots of dead branches, and are generally eyesores. Jim decided to chop them down, starting with the one in the back. It was a dangerous proposition. He whacked and cut while standing on these weak, far-apart boards:

He got up and down via Dolly's play structure:

He ended up going next door to finish chopping down the tallest portion from our neighbors' yard. (The tree was totally leaning over to their side, so it would've landed on our already falling-down fence if he cut from our side.) He was standing on our ladder cutting, and the tree fell on top of him. Jim was knocked off the ladder, which broke in half. The ladder toppled one of the neighbors' potted plants and pulled a divot out of their new sod. The neighbor husband was nice about it, and Jim escaped unscathed. There's lots more to be done. We'll cross our fingers Jim doesn't die in the process.

Ever

It's time for a Dolly update, beginning with some funny things she did during Bags's visit. Glad Bags recorded these first few tidbits on her blog, as I would've forgotten.

When we were driving home one evening, Jim was pleased by something I did (can't remember what) and said, "Mommy, you're the best." Ever said, "Mommy's not the best. Only I'm the best." (We do tell her all the time that she's the best. Glad to see she understands the superlative.)

Bag Lady pinched Ever's cute, tiny little bottom and said, "Your bum is so pinchy." Shortly thereafter, as I was changing her diaper, Ever asked me why her bottom was crunchy.

I've been relentless trying to teach Ever to say "please" and "thank you."  When we were driving with Bags one day, she said, "I want my water."  I replied, "How do you ask nicely?" Ever asked, in a British accent, "May I have my wo-tah?" (I think she still forgot the please, but the "May I" and the accent did make it sound very polite.) We got a good laugh out of that one. She often uses a British accent when saying "water." Bags posted a video (which I can't figure out how to save onto my computer) here: http://courtneyhastings.blogspot.com/2014/04/california-ever-isms.html.

She often says "thank you" now without being prompted. She saw me folding laundry and said, "Thank you for cleaning my shirt. Thank you for cleaning my pants." I was wiping down her chair after breakfast, and she said, "Thank you for cleaning my chair." And so on. It's really sweet.

She loves her hand-me-down nightgown, which she calls her "nightground."

She likes to bake with me, and she likes to eat as we go - even if it's just bread dough:

After watching Ever one Wednesday, Karen/Nanny sent Ever home with a "pack-pack" (backpack) full of letter magnets. Ever would put it on and say she was going to school. I would hand her a pretend lunch, we'd say our goodbyes, and she'd go into the next room. Then she would say, "No, teacher!" and pretend to hit her teacher. Then she would come back and tell me she hit her teacher. It was a fun game.

On General Conference weekend, Jim made his famous Belgian waffles. Dolly was happy about it - especially the whipped cream portion:

As Jim's hairdresser, I apologize. I have since cut his hair.

We took Ever out for a bike ride between sessions on Saturday. We headed around the golf course to our friends' house (the Sorensons) for a spontaneous visit. She wanted to wear her pack-pack.

Sometimes Dolly prays. Once when I was teaching her about expressing gratitude, I gave the example of saying thanks for our clothes. Now her prayers always begin with, "Thank thee for my clothes." Once I was getting ready in Jim and my room, and Ever said, "I'm going to pray to Heavenly Father." Then she ran around the corner toward the bed (I couldn't see her after that) and said, "Heavenly Father, thank thee for my clothes. Thank thee for Daddy." At that point, she ran down the hall into her bedroom and picked back up, "Thank thee for my clothes. Thank thee for Mommy." Then she said she was finished and came back into my room.

Last Christmas, Deetrix gave me some music by a band called First Aid Kit. They have a song that includes the line, "Just sing, little darling, sing with me." Dolly's a big fan. We were driving and listening to it, and Ever said, "She singing for me. She say, 'Sing, little Dolly, sing with me.'"

We've been potty training. Ever's doing great. (More on that later.) Now that she goes on the big potty, her baby potty is just carried around the house for use as a stool:

Who sleeps like this?

I took Ever with me to clean the church the Saturday before last. I want to make church-cleaning Saturdays fun, so I decided she deserved a doughnut. She loves her some doughnuts:

I was doing something in my room while Ever entertained herself. Eventually she began screaming in frustration. When I went to see what was going on, I found that she had carried this play station down the hall and was upset because she couldn't get it through her bathroom doorway. She's got this grin down (note the hands don't clap the face anymore):

We went to an Easter party last Friday (more on that coming up), and Ever came home with a balloon. She was playing with it upstairs, hitting it into the air and then catching it when it came down. She said, "My balloon keep trying to get away from me. I keep getting it." Then, to her balloon, "Time-out! [She'd put it in the corner and count.] 1, 2, 3, 4. Why you got a time-out? Do you know why you got a time-out?" (After I put her in time-out, I always ask her to tell me why she got a time-out, and we talk about what she did wrong.)

One of our favorite things is when we go to get Ever in the morning or after a nap, and these are the first words out of her mouth (in a kind of whiny voice): "I love you!"

Does it get any better than this?

Testimony

Since the first weekend this month was General Conference, our ward's fast and testimony meeting was last Sunday. I very rarely feel compelled to bear my testimony. During last week's meeting, however, I got really emotional, and ultimately I got up. I mentioned that despite my weepy state at the time, I feel as if spiritual things don't come easily for me. I talked about how in conference, Elder Packer had quoted Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon's witness after they saw Christ, and then Elder Packer said, "Their words are my words." (Except as I write this, I think I misspoke and said Elder Scott instead of Elder Packer. How embarrassing.) I said that in some ways I feel that my testimony is based on the testimony of others:  I believe our apostles, and I know that they know. They are educated and amazing men, and at least some of them have said in no uncertain terms that they have actually seen the Savior. I find such strength in their testimonies. I cried pretty much all the way through, and even afterward had a hard time getting control of myself.

After sacrament meeting, I saw Meiken Alexander (formerly Shupe) in the hallway. She grabbed me, said she had to thank me for my testimony, and gave me a hug. She said she's been having a hard time lately, feeling as if she's on auto-pilot, and my testimony was exactly what she needed to hear. I said something like, "Wow, maybe I was feeling the Spirit for a reason." And she said, "Yes, it was for me. It was for me."

I was really moved by that experience. It's hard for me to feel and recognize the Spirit, and it seemed as if I felt it for a reason, and I acted on it, and it was good. Writing it now, it doesn't sound very significant. I know things like that probably happen all the time to other people. But it was special to me. I still feel emotional when I think about it. And since this is my journal, I figured it'd better record it.

Coco Came to Town

Last month Coco's work flew her to California to conduct interviews here. She came a few days early so we could spend some extra time together. Praise be to Bag Lady's government job.

She arrived Friday morning, March 28. We dropped my car off at the shop for an oil change and some routine servicing. I felt a little bad about making Coco run that errand with me, but it was so overdue that I had finally gotten nervous about driving. We went to Chipotle for lunch and let Ever take her nap. We picked Jim up from work at 5:00, picked up my car, and went to Board & Brew, a yummy sandwich place in Carlsbad. Our original plan was to go to Cold Stone for dessert, but next door to Board & Brew was an ice cream shop called Sub Zero. Jim, of course, wanted to try it and then go to Cold Stone for round 2. They mix your custom-designed ice cream or custard or yogurt in a bowl and then freeze it with liquid nitrogen. It was very exciting to watch. Ever loved the fog. Jim loved the ice cream and has been totally obsessed ever since.  He's tried to go about every day since then (and has gone a number of times).

While sitting in the Cold Stone parking lot, I finally convinced Jim that his plan for round 2 was incorrect. We went home and enjoyed Netflix.

Saturday we went to the lighthouse and Cabrillo National Monument at Point Loma. On the way, we hit up In-N-Out:

I'd read about this Point Loma business on Trip Advisor, etc. It's supposed to be one of the main attractions in the area. We checked out the nice view of San Deego's house and Coronado.  

Jim promised it would be warm. ("It's San Diego!") I ignored his advice and took a hoodie for me and a sweater for Dolly. Bags listened to Jim and just wore a t-shirt, and she froze. It was windy and cold.

 

We didn't look much around the Visitor Center, but there didn't appear to be a lot there (other than a theater we didn't experience). We watched a presentation by this guy about life as a European sailor in the 1500s:

  

He was a little interesting but not succinct enough, and I was so tired. Bags and I both dozed, and I felt bad about that.

When that wrapped up, we went to the old lighthouse. Crazy to think about the families who lived there and tended to the place. Sounds like a simple and quaint life to me.

 

There was a separate building with a lantern on display:

Lastly, we went by the Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo monument. Cabrillo landed at San Diego Harbor in 1542 - the first European to set foot on the West Coast.

Dolly had to play in the water one last time before we took off:

That night we watched the General Relief Society broadcast and went to The Privateer Coal Fire Pizza for dinner and Cold Stone for dessert.  Obsessed with food much?

Sunday was a little crazy. Jim gave a wonderful (and recycled) talk in sacrament meeting. He taught the combined third-hour meeting and was in rare form. Bags and I sat front and center and thoroughly enjoyed his almost-under-his-breath jokes. (Like when he said "similarly" and then said, "That is the hardest word to say. I had to say it in sacrament meeting, and I almost passed out.") We were in the cultural hall. People were really spread out, and Jim is soft-spoken. I was sad most people probably missed his funny comments.

After we got home, Bags helped me decorate this lovely cheesecake (baked in the morning before church) for an open house in honor of Diann and Frank Voordeckers, who were moving to Utah.  

Jim and I ran over to the open house, leaving Bags home with a sleeping Dolly. Then we rushed back to prepare the house and finish the desserts for the bishopric/youth fireside we were hosting that evening. There were no spare moments. When we got home from the open house, Bags had dinner nearly done. I had been planning on making Lemon Chicken Romano, but there was no time. Bags found the recipe on the counter and got to it. She would be an amazing sister wife. I have to say, it's pretty incredible to have another lady in the house to help cook and clean. Wish she lived next door. 

We were scarfing down dinner when people started arriving for the fireside. Like I said, no time to spare that day. We pulled it all off, though, and Jim gave a fun fireside about the apostles in anticipation of General Conference. Dolly blew bubbles outside for a while, and then we kept her busy in the back with a peanut butter cup brownie.

Monday morning we went for a jog/walk by the beach in Carlsbad. We let Dolly go down to the water at the end. She didn't throw a fit when I said we had to go, so that was a huge success.

Bags and I made a quinoa/brown rice salad but ended up deciding to save it for Tuesday so we could all go to a BBQ place when Jim got home from work. 

The sandwiches were fine, but the sides were a big disappointment. The chocolate chip waffle sandwiches we ordered for dessert were fun.

Tuesday Bags and I both worked. She left Wednesday around noon. I wanted to make some delicious pancake batter Tuesday night (they have to sit overnight) so we could have a fun breakfast Wednesday, but I didn't have it in me. Instead, I pulled out some Trader Joe's chocolate croissants that had been in the freezer in a package opened long ago. They didn't rise and tasted really disgusting. Ever didn't mind; she happily finished both Bags's and mine:

I don't know if there's ever been a vacation that revolved more around food. We have a problem. We spent our evenings watching all 13 episodes of Emily Owens, MD and, when we got through that, the documentary Blackfish about Sea World. (I never want to go to Sea World again.) Lazy, lazy, lazy. And wonderful. I have the best sister, and I'm glad she could come hang out with us!

Florida

We got back from Reno the night of Monday, March 17.  I worked Tuesday and some of Wednesday and took dinner to a girl who had just had a baby on Wednesday night.  I don't remember Thursday day, but I had a Relief Society presidency meeting that night.  Got a haircut Friday afternoon.  We left for Port St. Lucie, Florida to visit Jim's dad on Saturday morning, March 22, so Friday night I was simultaneously unpacking from Reno and packing for Florida.

We flew on Virgin America, and it was a bizarre experience.  Some inexplicable music was pumping in the check-in area, and the place was decorated like a hip restaurant or something.  I didn't have time to get a picture that captured the whole thing, but I did snap this quick one of the girl checking in next to us, in gold tight-pants:

We thought we had time-traveled or been transported to another country.

Jem and Dolly at the gate:

The first-class section of the plane was entirely dark purple.  The toddler behind us was crying he was so freaked out by it.  The rest of the plane just had these pink and purple strips:

The safety video was done in song and dance - like rapping/hip-hop music and breakdancing, popping, and other street moves.  I had no idea Virgin America was so cool.

Dolly was ALL about Jim this whole trip.  Two of our seats were together; the other was several rows up.  We had been hoping to get somebody to trade, but it didn't work out.  I had Dolly with me at first, but then Jim and I traded seats at her request.  So I got to read Divergent for a few hours while Jim entertained Dolly.  (I'm embarrassed to admit to reading another young adult novel, but my Team of Rivals was in the suitcase.)  Awesome for me.

We got to Jim's dad's house Saturday night, chatted for a bit, and went to bed.  Sunday we mostly just ate.  Dolly thoroughly enjoyed her chocolate chip pancakes that morning:

Dolly took a nap that afternoon, and then we went to dinner (I think in a town called Stuart).  After dinner, we went to Jensen Beach, which was beautiful.  (I'd be much more tempted to swim there if I hadn't heard so many stories about shark attacks in Florida).  We took Dolly's pants off, and Jim took her down to the water.

She cried when we left.  Sad face:

Monday we went to the Lion Country Safari in West Palm Beach.  Lions are the main attraction, but they have a ton of animals (way more than Bear World in Idaho) - ostriches, camels, rhinos, a zillion antelope types, giraffes, tortoises, zebras, monkeys, chimps, etc.  You're not supposed to roll down your windows as you drive through (although we did sometimes), and it was a little rainy, so the pictures are lacking.  While we were parked right next to the lions, they got into a brawl.  It seemed as if the lady lions were all ganging up on one of the males.  It was really fun to watch, and I wish we had a video.  They look peaceful here:

That was the drive-through portion.  Then there was a zoo-like area that included more animals and some rides.  

Dolly loved the little toddler train.  She rode with Jem a few times when we first got there.

Ever was frightened by a camel.  Jim wasn't unafraid, himself:

There's a wet-and-wild section, which would be really fun on hot days.  The day we went was a little chilly, but Dolly thought she wanted to go anyway.  We got her swim stuff on, and then she wussed out and made me take her on the ferris wheel instead.  Then we went back to the water section, and she and Jim mainly just walked around the perimeter for a while:

Then we all went on the ferris wheel together:

The Dumbo ride:

We told Dolly she could ride the train again before we left.  When we got there, there was no worker, and Dolly started crying.  Then a nice man came and gave her a few private rides:

Two big thumbs up for Lion Country Safari.

After we picked up Dawn and Ed from the airport, we went out to a yummy dinner.  Jim did the thing where he orders nearly all the desserts, and they were enjoyed by all.

Tuesday we went on a little ride on Jim's dad's golf cart.  (He lives on a golf course.)  We saw a couple Sandhill Cranes with babies.  Apparently these cranes are all over here, and they make a lot of noise.  Got this terrible picture with my phone:

Then we went on a two-hour river cruise.  It only cost $25 apiece, I think, and it was really fun.  We were hoping to see gators, but apparently we were going the wrong direction on the river for that.  But the captain was super-knowledgeable, and he pointed out nests, birds, and cool trees/plants, talked about the history of the area, and gave all sorts of fun info about the houses along the river.

Bird on a post.

We had another enjoyable dinner Monday night, and then we flew out Tuesday morning.  Dolly wanted to handle the suitcase alone in LAX:

Florida was really pretty and green.  Next time we have to go on the river cruise south, see some alligators, and make Dolly's dreams come true.