First Pinewood Derby, Mother's Day, and Other Fun

It's been a busy week! We are getting so much closer to Germany, as we schedule things out we're beginning to realize it's very soon. One thing that needed to be taken care of was my dentist appointments. I was so sad I had a broken filling, I work very hard to keep my teeth clean. Luckily the filling appointment was fairly quick! Hugh stayed with Grandma and Grandpa. They told me he cried for about 30 seconds and then was just fine the rest of the time. Hugh's becoming quite the tease, he loves to tease Jay at the dinner table and me before diaper changes. And, while we were at Grandpa's he would walk towards Grandpa to give a hug then make a quick turn and run away giggling with all his might. He did it several times until I made him go all the way for a goodbye hug. On the way home, I stopped by a lady's house and bought a double jogging stroller for our time in Germany this summer. I have been worried about what to do, and am very grateful I was able to find this stroller used. It's normally very expensive, but it folds up much smaller than our other double stroller and should be something I can use even when I don't have Matthew there to help me. 

Friday was a fun day, too. I took Hugh with me to my friend Cassie's goodbye party. He was pretty nervous at the beginning, but once he warmed up he made friends with all the women. We had yummy food and a nice time visiting before we had to go get Jay. Cassie is a person that always saw me. We played pickleball a couple times together, but not much else. Whenever we sat in front of her at church, she was more than gracious to Jay, letting him search through her purse, play with her necklace or anything else she had. She would text me randomly asking how I was doing, cared about Jay and his growth, and was very kind. I will miss her! She truly taught me about love and service, and loving and serving the one. 

Katey and Jason came over for an escape room game night. We made some homemade ice cream with Reese's and Almond Joy mix-ins to kick off the evening. The escape room was tough! It took us about two hours to figure everything out and we had to ask for several hints. We got on a roll every now and then, and whenever we got a clue, we were soooo close to figuring it out. We enjoyed the time as adults and getting to work together on something fun! We will definitely miss them while we are away! 

Saturday was race day! Uncle helped us melt down fishing weights for Jay's car and Jay got to help me paint and then color it. He was very excited to color his car, and also learned that washable markers can be wiped off certain surfaces, so after he colored, he mostly wiped it off. Uncle thought he brought enough weights for both of our cars, but they were thin enough we had to get more creative. Uncle grabbed his plumbing torch from the basement and really enjoyed melting the weights for Jay. And, I weighed over 30 pennies with my car and later glued them on to weigh it down. Jay loved his car, and I was proud of mine as well. Jay doesn't take ownership of much, we've been trying to teach him about that for a long time. He really caught on about his derby car. He loved watching it race, was soooo excited to see it race down the track! The tournament was double elimination. Jay and I had to race against each other to see who would get a chance to race for second place. Jay's car beat mine! I thought it was so fun we had a showdown race between our two cars. Jay then lost to the second place car. Both the number one and two cars were tried and true in previous derby races. One car was built by someone's grandpa who has a dedicated derby car making room, and another car had won the Elder's Quorum race a few weeks before. I was sooooo excited we did so well! I don't think he has any idea of how well he did, but he sure loves his "trophy". He's been carrying that cup around all week and hugged it the whole ride home. 

Jay inspecting the paint job!

Uncle melting his fishing weights

The penny car in the making

Completed cars before Jay colored his

He did so good coloring! 

Jay and I racing each other!

Jay just after his car got eliminated

Jay, with his car, Third Place Ribbon and prize

Me, with my 4th place car

The basement is taking shape more every week, and it's so fun! Saturday we went paint shopping, bathroom floor shopping, and backsplash shopping. The paint we wanted wasn't in a 5 gallon bucket at our Home Depot, so we had to drive to a further one. I loved having M there to look at the carpet with the paint, and the carpet with the bathroom flooring. These final touches feel like big decisions and I was grateful he had time to help me figure them out and wrangle the boys. I found tile on Monday at Floor and Decor that I think will be very pretty for the vanity backsplash. Jay is so happy every day when he sees Uncle's van. On Monday, Uncle was clearing out all the trash and scrap wood from the basement and taking it out of the window well to his truck. Jay discovered Uncle was outside and wanted to help sooooo bad. Uncle was more than happy to have a little helper and Jay ran back and forth and back and forth until all the wood scraps were loaded. Then, he got to ride in the truck when they parked it on the road. As they walked up, they were both in the tattered jean shorts, t-shirts, matching hats, and hightop shoes. It was very cute, I wish I had gotten a picture! 

Tile and mirror

Entry way

Main Room

Bathroom

Office

Sunday was Mother's Day! Matthew did all he could to lighten my load, including getting up early with the boys. I love being a mom and feel so grateful for Heavenly Father's trust in me with two of His chosen sons. They are so precious, and on Sunday at different times I felt that. I felt the humbling power of motherhood. Being a mother is an honor! I am so grateful for my mother, Matthew's mother, my Grandma, my Mama Fawn, and many other women who have played a motherly role for me in my life! I am who I am because of these stalwart women. I hope I can teach my boys about their Heavenly Father, their Savior, and the covenant path that I hope they will always choose.  

Jay, Me, Hugh

From school

From Jay and Hugh

From Matthew!

Pickleball was really fun on Monday. We had the best players there for the first hour, so I got a great work out in and I think I got better, too. I put Jay in a bright red shirt so I could see him everywhere he went. In the Fall, I would have to often chase after him to get him to come back to where I could see him. On Monday, he explored the perimeter of the park and I was nervous. I watched closely, and he came back all on his own accord! What a blessing! He's growing, learning, and I am grateful. Hugh luckily doesn't mind too much being inside the tennis court right next to where we're playing. He'll play with the ball and ride around on his bike. Hugh's learned how to say please in sign language, and it's the sweetest thing. 

Hugh loves this shovel, and finds it every time I open the garage

Jay was so sleepy, he often sleeps with his foot like this so I had to get a picture

I woke Jay up from his nap, brought him downstairs, and he fell asleep on me, it was so sweet.

Jay is actually getting better at pushing the swing and letting go

Jay emptied the entire silverware tray and put them away! It was amazing!

Hugh fell into the pool, got really wet and has never done it again

Tonight we went to a Piano Guys concert! The forecast was rain, but at Red Rocks amphitheater, they can play rain or shine. We got drizzled on the whole time, it eventually went right through my winter coat waterproof layer. I was prompted to take a waterproof blanket, and that mostly kept the top of our legs dry. And, we were soaked by the end. The concert was amazing, and so fun! I loved having an evening with Matthew and we joined a couple of our friends for the concert. Seeing and hearing a concert in a rock amphitheater was so cool! You could overlook all of Denver from our seats, and we were surrounded by beautiful red rock and mountains! The rain also made everything smell so fresh. The last 15 minutes of the concert and on our way home we didn't have any rain which was nice.