BUILDING BL(ayl)OCKS: Fall Break with the Pollocks

I was so excited when Klaire asked me a couple months ago if she could come visit during Jay's Fall Break! Missing all the reunions and regular trips to Arizona has made it feel extra long since seeing Klaire and Kara. Klaire booked her tickets while we were in Germany and we've been looking forward to this week for a while! Saturday evening I took the boys with me to pick her up and Matthew went and picked up pizza. Stanton and Piper were good sports for being willing to take the back seat all week. We ate dinner, played, and took baths once we got home. We visited and hit the sack early because we were all tired from a fun travel filled day.

Sunday Klaire got to go to church with us. It was our Primary program, which was very special! Jay had a little part, but wasn't willing to say it when he got to the podium. He stayed on the stand for most of the first song and then came and sat with us for the rest of the meeting. It's too fun to touch things on the stand, I even had one person later tell me they were hoping Jay was going to get a full body swing going on the microphone stand, so you can imagine what was happening. Hopefully next year will be better! I was called and sustained as a Sunday School teacher for the youth ages 16-18. I am excited, and nervous! I've never taught Sunday School, so it will be interesting to see how it goes. It will surely help my scripture study improve! After church we went to Jack's house. Jay played so well, and even went to the bathroom on his own - no accidents! Jack's house has frequently been a place where we have accidents, so I was very grateful! Jay also sat at the kid table and ate his whole dinner without shoving the table around or getting up a million times. Both of these accomplishments made my mama heart so happy! Growth, growth sometimes feels slow and non-existent, but it's happening and these little milestones for Jay are worth celebrating! It was wonderful to be together as siblings and have time to visit and enjoy each other's company. Piper even let me hold her and play with her a couple of times to give Klaire a small break.

Monday morning started with pickleball. The boys were a little sad, but there were a couple of young women in the ward there who helped Piper and Hugh feel much happier! Jay did awesome on his bike, driving around the loop of the courts, never veering into the road which is very remarkable. As the kids started to tire, we wrapped up and Katey met us at the park. My boys were ready to go home, so luckily Hope was happy to oblige and we came home. I made bread while all the kids played out front on bikes and enjoyed the shady front yard. I just loved watching everyone play!

Jay and Stanton eating snacks while I read my scriptures

Hugh and Piper playing with the little people

Backyard after naps fun! Jay and Piper in the sandbox, Stanton and Hugh in the rocks

Tuesday was a park morning, where we enjoyed the purple park. Klaire was willing to take the kids in the stroller so I let Jay ride his bike to the park. He did okay, but kept taking his feet off the pedals to slow down or go over bumps. By Thursday, he rode the entire way to the park, keeping his feet on the pedals and then rode circles around the park for almost the entire time we played! It was incredible to see the change over just a couple days! Klaire watched the boys for me while I went to parent teacher conferences. I was grateful for Mrs. Alaina, the special education teacher, who spoke with me afterwards about the progress she's seen in Jay. Jay is quite behind academically, so seeing a progress report from his regular teacher doesn't indicate growth for him. I feel like over the summer he grew a lot and it was fun to hear Mrs. Alaina say the same thing. I hurried home from the conference and we headed up to Mead to cheer on Betty Jane's volleyball team. She's had an awesome season, undefeated against all the teams in her school. It was great to cheer her on!

Jay riding to the park, holding all the kids waters in his backpack

Piper encouraged Hugh to learn to do slides like a big kid, and now Hugh does it every time!

Aunt Klaire and Jay

Stanton, Hugh, and Piper

Aunt Klaire was kind enough to be a tunnel for several trips down the slide

When the mail man comes while you're at the park, you have to sit and watch!

Piper and Hugh

Wednesday was a big day for us where we had Jay's debrief. I already talked about it in my previous post, but Klaire took the boys up to Platteville to play with Katey while we had our call with Dr. Alyssa. Having some time and space to process about Jay together was extremely helpful and I was grateful for Klaire's willingness to take the boys so we could have that time!

I enjoyed being able to have a work out buddy in the mornings! It helped we didn't have schedules or deadlines to meet, so we simply worked out whenever everyone was awake and ready to go. Friday morning we got to go for a run. I was grateful to trade off pushing Stanton and Jay with Klaire. The two of them plus the weight of the stroller was probably 100 pounds! It was tiring and half way up the neighborhood, I had to trade Klaire. We made a couple stops along the way at a yard sale and to see the area. It was a much needed morning outside in the sunshine and cool air! We spent the day at Katey's house! Jay loved driving the battery powered tractor around and couldn't have been more thrilled to be there to play on all the things. Hugh was excited too! Katey has the best toys and it was fun to watch the kids all play around each other. Klaire stayed with Katey that evening and I got to enjoy an evening at home with Matthew.

Most of our evenings with Klaire we visited and played games! We learned a new game called Trash and taught Klaire Sushi Go. After the kids are in bed is always the best time to have guests! It's your chance to visit uninterrupted and enjoy just being together. I loved watching Jay and Stanton figure each other out throughout the week. They had their hard moments, but there were less than I expected. Piper was pretty attached to Klaire, but when she did decide she was safe, she loved playing in the kitchen and with the sand outside. Klaire was my super helper while I made dinner, she would watch all four kids. It was beautiful! Jay and Stanton sometimes wanted to help with breakfast, so I let them do what I could. They especially loved licking any batter leftovers! And, by the end of the week, Stanton joined in the excitement of Matthew coming home from work and joined in the fun of the winding everyone up before bedtime. Matthew brought much needed energy and happiness for the boys!

Stanton and Jay taking their licks of muffin batter

Matthew, Stanton, Jay, Hugh, and Piper - all having the best time!

Saturday was our last big hoorah with Klaire. We went to the same pumpkin patch we took her to two years ago when she came to visit in the Fall. The kids loved the corn boxes and happily filled their shoes and nooks and crannies with dried corn. They had super fun tractors in the boxes which added to the fun. We also practiced shooting hoops into the basketball trailer. Our corn maze experience when much better. We didn't get completely lost and made it out in just the right amount of time. Jay, Stanton, and Hope only had to be carried for a last little bit. We met up with Jack and his family at the park for a picnic. It was a beautiful day and a picnic lunch was perfect. Jay really enjoyed the bikes on a little skate park and even tried out the scooters there, too. Hugh and Piper were all about the swings and had a couple uncles who were more than happy to push them. Katey came to my house and we visited while all the kids played downstairs. Roxy and Allen got to see my basement for the first time and Katey's kids got to play down there for only the second time, so all had fun! It was sad to drop Klaire off at the airport, but she needed Curtis back and the kids needed their Daddy. We had such a fun week! I loved just being able to live day to day life with Klaire and not feel any pressure to do things. I am very grateful she was willing to come!