Thursday, June 2, 2011

Home Again

The last couple weeks have been close to perfect.  It all started with a visit home.  This would have been better if David were able to come play, but he was being responsible or something to that effect and decided to go on his business trip for a scheduled audit.  So I took off and went to visit at home for the week so I wouldn't have to be so lonely here on my own.

We all kept busy with one thing or another.  I always get there and then relax and then as my time there is coming to a close there are always too many things I want to do before I go!  I guess that just means that I have to visit more often.  Life is rough!

Mom is working on memorizing The Living Christ and is hoping to have it completely memorized by the end of next week.  She would work on adding a paragraph a day while she went on her 6 mile walks. She was about halfway done when I left last week and so she should be about done now. . . right mom?!  Each day we would quiz her on it and see if she still remembered all that she had been working on.  The first time through, I would help her through as a little refresher and then she was really good and just needed a few key words.  As I was helping her, I was able to memorize a few paragraphs.  Sometimes she remembered them too well, so I wasn't able to help her enough times to remember it myself :)  It is a powerful testimony that is so neat to sit and think about the meaning of all the parts of it!

I was able to get into an exercise routine that I have kept up this week being home.  I always feel better when I get out and do something to sweat a little each day.  Just yesterday though, my steal-of-a-deal-free-jogging-stroller bit the dust...literally.  It has always had a rough time with steering, keeping air in the tires, turning, wobbling, keeping the seat up, and some other small issues.  We had just got new tubes for the tires and one of them had a bulge in it so Katelyn's head would sway back and forth to the rhythm of the tire with the lump, and the faster I run the faster she sways :)  Katelyn didn't seem to mind, so we didn't worry about it.  But David found a patch of stickers when he took her on a walk and was hoping I didn't notice, but when I told him that two of the three tires were't holding air at all and I asked him if he went through some stickers he said, "I pulled them out right away!"

So the tires need to be replaced again, but I think I am done with it, because as I was running yesterday I came to the last stretch before I was home.  Dad always taught me to sprint the last 100 yards or so just so you finish strong and it is always fun in a race to pass a couple people right at the end too.  So I  was sprinting...probably REALLY fast ;)...and as I was turning the corner one of the back wheels FELL OFF!  I am sure this was quite the site first off because I am sure my sprinting probably looked like I was working really hard and not even going fast enough to blow Katelyn's wispy hair, but as the wheel fell off, the rod/axel? or whatever the wheel connects to, hit the road and grinded us to an abrupt stop which I was not ready for so I ran into the stroller and got tripped up by it.  I checked on Katelyn and she wasn't even phased by it...this is another reason I have a hard time believing I was going as fast as I was imagining/trying to go.  BUT she was buckled in, so I am sure that the trusty seat belt did such a fantastic job holding her in safely as we came flying in to that fast stop.  I think I will just stay hopeful that I was truly sprinting really fast.  I am on the look out for a new jogging stroller though.  I can deal with flat tires, but wheels falling off is a little too much.

Anyways...Back to my visit at home...I introduced Mom to the world of coupon shopping and we even went on her first shopping trip.  She was thrown off on all the prep work that goes into the shopping trip, but was drawn right back in as we were checking out and she saw her total drop from $6 down one dollar at a time down to $1.  We dropped some coupons for yogurt in the driveway before we left so we only came home with some diced jalapeños, Tabasco sauce, and Worcestershire sauce, so Dad wasn't too excited about this trip.  He wanted some ding dongs, cocoa dino bites, and ice cream :)

I made a yummy dinner with mom while I was home and now I even have a meal named after me.  I don't know if they decided on what to call it, but something along the lines of Lorry's sausage pasta or something clever like that!  After all there is Tracie's Chicken, Ryan's Pies, Chris' pizza, Dad's meatloaf, Amber's Sasla soup and some other non family recipes too.  So I am now a legend :)

Dad and I wanted to squeeze in a game of tennis, but the nights or mornings he didn't have work or meetings were rainy!  Another time...

I pulled out Katelyn's dresses hoping to finish them up, but there just wasn't enough time when Katelyn didn't need me.

Katelyn learned some new dance moves while she was home.  She was rocking out for Abby, Luke and Dad and Abby helped her get her arms into it, but she just got too worn out and fell asleep still dancing.  Abby still had her arms waving and Katelyn was out.  She was fully entertained each night and passed out when she had enough.  Sometimes she is hard to put to bed, but not on that trip!

All in all it was another wonderful trip home.  Katelyn is a million times better in the car than when she would scream as a newborn so that helps.  We always have a fun time at home and we don't mind the low key nights when everyone has meetings or things to go to.  Spending time with mom and learning her cooking, sewing, gardening, or anything tips are always fun to chat about.  The house is getting quieter and quieter now that we're all big grown up kids!  I am feeling older and older and its not fair!  The homemade ice cream always makes it better though...yummm :)

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