The month of June I have worked a lot, on average 50+ hour weeks. It's been hard to balance work while also having energy for my most important roles in life as wife and mother. Some people say work-life balance isn't a thing, and it's work-life integration and I would say that's truer when you work from home. There have been a few nights when we've put Jay to bed and I've logged back into work, and a few nights that I finish work at 7 and Jay goes to bed at 8 and I feel like I didn't even see him or M all day. I've been trying to manage my energy, and luckily work should calm down soon.
To kick off June, we had Jay's six month appointment. Our doctor asked us if he's sitting up on his own, to which we said, just a little bit. The doctor then reached to bring Jay from leaning down to sitting up, and Jay stayed stiff as a board and stood straight up. The doc tried to help him bend and sit, but Jay wouldn't have it. We laughed, and said Jay would really prefer to stand. Doc said that if Jay could go from laying down to standing without bending, he wasn't worried about Jay's muscle tone and Jay must not want to roll or sit...which I think is very true. Later in the week, in the middle of a busy day, M decided to take a shower right before I jumped onto a call. I heard Jay squealing so went out to see what was going on and he was on his belly! I flipped him over, and later when I talked to M, I asked him why he had left Jay on tummy time while getting into the shower. M responded that he didn't, so we assume Jay actually rolled from his back to his belly, but we've never seen him do it...that day, or since.
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Blurry, but sooooo happy - we love his happiness, it's contagious!
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Hard to believe it was his half-birthday already!
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While I was FaceTiming Oma, Jay found his toes for the first time!
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The third week of June, we finally had the training week that I'd been planning for months. We had 65 people on Zoom calls from 9-4 Tuesday-Thursday, and I was usually on an hour early and staying on an hour after to answer questions and make sure technical glitches were all worked out. It was a long week, and surprisingly, I felt just as exhausted as I would have if it had been a face-to-face training. I facilitated a session on culture and development planning, and then I had coworkers teach on Emotional Intelligence, Hogan Personality Assessments, and Coaching. We had some people volunteer to come back from breaks early to do some ice breakers and that was super fun. All in all, it was a great week, and I got to know my coworkers a lot better which was nice since they are both new to the team and program. To make it a little more fun, we shipped snack boxes to everyone so they could enjoy snacks even though it wasn't an in person event.
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| Snacks! |
Nathan and Michela came over for a game night and taught us how to play Pandemic Rapid Response. It was pretty intense, but as we've played it more and more we have gotten better. We love playing with Nathan and Michela and will miss them so much when we move to Denver, maybe they'll move to Denver someday and we can resume our fun evenings together.
M planned an awesome beach date night. We grilled burgers, played spikeball, and had a little picnic in the backyard. When we were sitting there on our lawn, playing with Jay, eating good food, and talking with each other, we realized that's what life is really all about. Being surrounded by those you love, feeling the sunshine and enjoying the world that Heavenly Father created for us. We both could have stayed there for hours, but we knew we needed to continue with the plan to get to Bahama Bucks before Jay had to go to bed. We loaded up and enjoyed our shaved ice at home after we got Jay in bed. We wrapped up the evening with watching Cheaper by the Dozen 2.
Saturday, we went rollerblading again along our favorite path. We will miss it so much when we move! It's not busy, it's away from the city, it's smooth, and it's fun. It was a great way to get out some energy before we jumped into packing for the rest of the day. M helped me pack up almost all my clothes, shoes, etc. We even made some time for vacuuming and some last minute cleaning. I've lost a lot of hair since I've had Jay, it's all over everywhere and it requires us to vacuum every week and clean hair out quite often. M's a good sport. I also sold my bike of 20 years. I sold it for $65 within 10 minutes of posting it online. I should have posted it for higher!
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It was a great bike, well used, and I'll miss it because of the nostalgia.
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Happy first Father's Day to M! Because work was so nuts, I didn't have much time to get him his presents on Fathers day, but I did get some SourPatch Watermelons because he really is "one in a melon." Jay and I are the luckiest people on earth, and feel so blessed to have him forever. Nathan and Michela brought us dinner which was so kind of them and it made the day much less stressful than it could have been. I did experiment with some chocolate cupcakes made of quinoa, which actually turned out really yummy after figuring out a way to rescue them. They sunk when I pulled them out of the oven, and Katey gave me the great idea to fill them with a peanut butter mixture.
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Before
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After
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Happy Father's Day to the best Daddy!
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Not on Father's Day, but the happiness that radiates this photo fills my heart.
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One of our goals for June was to see all the family we have in Utah/Idaho, so we had a busy last few weeks. Something that I've loved about being in Provo is seeing Nathan and M rekindle their friendship, and my ability to get to know Nathan and Michela better. Once M and Nathan realized they didn't have much time, they spent almost every day together doing something. Rock climbing, badminton, football, basketball, tennis, basically anything they could do, they did.
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Michela belaying M at the top
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One intense badminton match
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One of the happiest moments I had was when Jay got to meet Papa for the first time. They stopped and stayed with us on their way to Idaho for one night. Jay was about to go to bed, but they got there just in time to meet him! Jay was a little nervous that night, but in the morning when Papa rescued him from bed Jay fell in love with the Dad who raised me to be the woman I am today. Saturday morning, we went to Bridal Veil Falls. It was a beautiful morning and we enjoyed the sunshine, shade, and scenery. Oma and Papa even treated us to take-out Red Robin, which was so yummy!
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Jay meets Papa!
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| Me, Papa, Oma |
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| Papa, Oma |
I decided before I left Provo that I needed a haircut, so I scheduled it and went to BYU's campus salon. I had to wear a mask the whole time, which was an interesting experience. Overall, I was excited with how it turned out and was also happy to take my mask off for the rest of the day.
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| Waiting to get called back, this is probably the longest my hair has ever been in my whole life. |
I also wanted to see Tabitha and Dan one more time before we left, and Tabitha volunteered to bring us dinner. It was yummy and fun to have them over for the evening. We played ladder ball and enjoyed being outside as much as possible. I am sad I switched states with Tabitha, but excited for her to teach in Utah and to see what happens between Dan and her.
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| Dan, Tabitha, Jay, Me, M |
Our final hope before we left Utah was to be able to see M's sisters one last time. It's been challenging because of COVID, but we were grateful to be able to visit Steph and Ken's and have a social distance lunch with Ashley and Carson. It was a Sunday full of visiting, and so great! Our first stop was Ashley and Carson's new home. We sat on the porch and enjoyed our picnic lunches while visiting. They have a very nice home (from the outside) and it was good to visit. Then, we headed to the Draper temple. This was the last temple in the Wasatch front and Salt Lake Valley that M hadn't been to, so we drove up. It was so windy, and Jay was so tired, we stayed in our car and had our Come Follow Me discussion. I love being in the temple and miss it so much. I was surprised by just how much the Spirit even fills the grounds, and we loved our time that afternoon there. Plus, Jay got a good carseat nap in. We then went to Steph and Ken's. They had grilled up some pork ribs, and they were delicious! It was so fun to be with them and visit for a while with them too! We were tired by the end of the evening, and it was such a wonderful Sabbath.
Needless to say, we've had a busy June. It's been so fun, and I've again realized how much I need balance in my life. Balance with the things that matter most, then you can really feel joy. I love my family! M and Jay mean so much to me and how grateful I am that I have them for forever!
