February 2019
February was a straight up snowmeggedon. We have about 2 feet of snow and 3-4 foot snow banks and berms. It has been terrible to try to drive anywhere this month. The roads have been HORRID. It was also abnormally cold. We are caught in the midst of a hellacious polar vortex with a subzero weather pattern that has hung around for most of the end of January, all of February, and is going strong into March. I AM NOT A FAN. I have tried to hygge it up but this has been too much. I am done. Winter sucks.
Something that doesn't suck...Tyler's birthday!! He turned 48! We had a big family dinner and Superbowl/birthday celebration. He likes to do that every year. Although this year we almost broke with tradition. We almost didn't even do it because he threatened that he wasn't going to watch the Superbowl because he was so disgusted by the teams that were playing. He HATES the Patriots!! He absolutely LOATHES them!! It didn't help that his favorite team the Kansas City Chiefs were SO CLOSE to being in the Superbowl and then got knocked out. It was a hard blow and it took awhile for Tyler to rally. But traditions are traditions and as his birthday actually fell right on Superbowl Sunday we went ahead with his Superbowl Birthday Party! More on that later...
The day before Superbowl Sunday we met up with Jordin, Ramon, and kids. They wanted to celebrate Tyler's birthday so we met them at Ailey's dance team competition and they got to watch her perform. Ailey was so excited to have them there cheering her on!
Then we all went out to dinner at Fujiyama! It was so delicious! We haven't had a good Japanese Hibachi restaurant in town before and now we do! It was fantastic and I can't wait to go back!
We had so much fun!!
Then the next day was the Superbowl and we partied it up some more!! Tyler requested Mexican casserole and chips with homemade guacamole and salsa. He also requested his favorite southern specialty... pimento cheese and crackers. He didn't want a cake this year...he requested ice cream sundaes with my granny's homemade hot fudge. So despite his initial reluctance to watch the game he got right into it. There was a lot of yelling and cursing of the Patriots and everyone was riled up and seemed to enjoy it. Although I did think Tyler, Hunter, and Kam were going to lose their minds yelling and cursing those !@#$ Patriots! LOL.
Ailey and I were bored! We were only in it for the food!
The next weekend we had a lengthy power outage. It was terrible. Our power was out for 10 hours on a Saturday and the temperature outside was 5 degrees. All of the heavy snow, ice, and wind took down power lines left and right. We had some serious flashbacks and PTSD to the windstorm of 2015 when our power was out for 9 days straight. But unlike the windstorm of 2015 we had a generator this time! Hallelujah. Tyler hooked that thing up and we were able to stay warm.
During that same storm a pine tree came down on Jordin and Ramon's house in North Idaho. Thank goodness no one was hurt and that the damage...while annoying...was minimal.
Kameron had his oral surgery and got the post, which is the first part of his tooth implant, put in. How crazy is this picture?! Now he waits while it heals into the bone and then he goes back in 6 months to have the faux tooth created and put over the top of the post. The post is titanium and it should last for a lifetime. I am so glad that we got this done! Kameron did really well. He said that the procedure didn't really hurt and his recovery was quick and not too painful. I was quite surprised at how well he did!
Kameron started going to physical therapy twice a week for his knees. The physical therapist did a bunch of tests and several different assessments like the zero gravity treadmill. They analyzed all the videos and data that they collected. They found out that Kameron's knee issues are actually the result of a hip issue. He has a very weak right hip muscle that has screwed up his knees and caused him to have a weird running gait (unnoticeable) but it forced Kam to have to overcompensate with both of his knees and it put stress and strain on them. Who knew?! His PT is continuing on into March...not sure how long he will have to go. But I am glad that we are getting this situation dealt with too.
Tyler also finished up all of his dental work. He DID need to have a root canal and crown but only on the one side. He did great and said that it didn't hurt during or after. Dental technology must have really improved over the years! I have heard so many people say how horrible root canals are. Tyler had no issues at all! I am glad that he is done! Sheesh!
Due to the incredible amount of snow that we have had...we had two days of "late start" two hour delays and one full snow day. Tyler was able to work from home on those days which was nice. I just had to stress about Reilly driving to and from work.
The girls played outside and ate jello in the snow! Looks terrible but tastes delicious!
Kameron had a big competition preview concert at the Fox Theater downtown on truly one of the snowiest nights ever! They should have cancelled this concert. I cannot even describe how treacherous the roads were that night!
Kameron did a great job and we survived the drive. Barely.
We had an early family Valentine's Dinner. I had a vintage show on Valentine's weekend which was inconvenient but what can you do? We celebrated early!
The kids requested homemade pizzas, (I had tempura shrimp), teriyaki green beans, and strawberry jello pretzel salad for dinner. I found the cutest mini Martinellis for us to drink. Reilly brought over cake pops for dessert and we had lots of chocolate!! :)
We had a fun night and played a bunch of games! I love our Valentine traditions!!
I also love tulips in February!!
Bryn made this cute unicorn Valentine box for school!
The same day as I had set-up for my vintage show Kameron headed out of town to go to a band competition in Portland. The roads could not have been worse. I felt like this trip also should have been cancelled and expressed those feelings but it was not. I am not the biggest fan of Kameron's band teacher right now. But this picture shows that Kam had a great time despite my worry. He texted me multiple times to let me know that he was still alive. Much appreciated.
FYI... Kam's girlfriend Abby is the blonde in the red sweatshirt. ;)
I participated in the Pickin Post Falls Vintage Show and Artisan Market in Post Falls, Idaho. Ailey and Bryn totally stepped up and helped out. Normally Kameron helps Tyler with all of the heavy lifting, but for this show it was Ailey, Bryn, and me!! Ailey and Bryn did such a great job! They loaded and unloaded the trailer and lugged furniture and bins like champs. They were awesome!!
Reilly stopped by the venue later in the day so we got to see all of our girlies on Valentine's Day!
The weather and roads were so awful that after I was done setting up we followed Reilly back to her apartment to make sure that she got home okay. It was TERRIBLE!
Here are some pictures of my booth:
Tyler was a great helper! It is really fun to do shows together!! I love working with him.
Ailey and Bryn also got to help out in my booth on day two of the show. They are so cute and such good helpers!! The weather was still a nightmare. It was an absolute blizzard all three days in a row. But people still showed up! I was shocked... and appreciative. Vintage shoppers truly are the best! Kameron made it home from Portland that night after my show was over. He got home while we were all out to dinner celebrating a job well done. I was so relieved that he made it home safely. They ended up leaving half a day early in order to deal with the snow and icy roads.
Ailey got her official dance team pictures back:
So cute!
I had book club at my friend Arianne's house. We read this book...sad but good.
We all really liked it!
Here's proof that I actually *tried* to enjoy winter. I tried to be outside as much as possible despite knee deep snow and subzero temps!
Some days... actually many days...it was way too cold to be outside at all. (Bryn hasn't had an outside recess in weeks.) On those days we hit the gym. I had to stay active in order to combat severe cabin fever! I also read a lot! I flew through the books this month. Unfortunately, nothing really helped. I am SO OVER WINTER!!
Kameron had so many band and jazz concerts in February! He had the competition preview concert. He had a jazz concert. He went to Portland to compete. He went to the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival in Moscow, Idaho. He was supposed to go to another competition at Central Washington University last week for another competition but due to weather and sick students (half of the band was sick) they ended up cancelling that trip. Hallelujah. It has been too much this month! Oh yeah, there was also a wind ensemble retreat but Kam wasn't able to go to that. He also had multiple rehearsals for Hawaii. (He leaves for that school trip at the end of March.) It was craziness!
While Kameron had an unbelievable amount of performances this month...so did Ailey. It is dance competition season. Ailey had dance competitions every Saturday and so many rehearsals and practices. It has also been craziness! But just like with Kam, it has been fun to watch her perform.
For this competition, my mom, Reilly, and Hunter were able to come and cheer for Ailey. She loved having them there!!
We went out to dinner with my mom afterward. It has been fun having her come to all of the grandkids different events lately. Tyler and I also met up with Jordin, Ramon, and kids for a fun weekday lunch at PF Changs. Ramon had just flown back from a trip to Colorado and we were all able to meet up for a quick lunch before they drove back home and Tyler had to head back to the office.
We have had so many doctor and dental appointments! But it feels good to get things like this taken care of early in the year. Tyler had his yearly cardiology appointment and things looked good so that was a relief!
The church had another delightful bombshell of an announcement. I literally burst into hysterical tears of joy upon reading the statement from the First Presidency... that missionaries can now call, text, and video chat with their families WEEKLY!! I read that and promptly began sobbing. I had been dreading Kam's mission on bad days and trying to come to terms with only talking to him twice a year on good days. I have been so stressed about how I was going to deal with that. It was hard enough sending Reilly out into the world and I was able to track her and text her and talk to her whenever I wanted. Not being in regular communication with Kameron was going to be very difficult. I know that Kameron was apprehensive about that too. I like how one church blogger put it, "The shouts of joy from the moms of the church ascended to heaven!" I immediately texted Kam at school to tell him the news. He was pretty happy about it! He said that the news was spreading fast because he had several of his non church member friends come up to him to talk about it and to tell him this good news if he didn't already know. I think it is so great that families will be able to share more in their child's missionary experience and that the missionary will also be able to receive regular support and encouragement from their families.
Under the category of it's hard to parent adult children.... we have had several family meetings with Reilly and Hunter. Hunter moved in with Reilly at the first of February. Tyler and I knew that it was coming so we were somewhat prepared but it was still a hard situation for our family to come to terms with...particularly for Kam, Ailey, and Bryn. I think as parents of faith you always hope that your kids will stay on the path that you have set before them. It is hard when they seem to reject their upbringing and faith. I wouldn't say that Reilly has rejected them as much as she feels that she has put them "on hold" for now. Regardless, there were repercussions and ripple effects from their decision to move in together. I think we all handled it pretty well under the circumstances. Hunter, not coming from an LDS background, didn't really know why we felt the way that we did when his family didn't seem to have any issues with it. We were able to have several really good family discussions where Tyler and I explained our position, where we were coming from, why we feel the way that we do, and our concerns. Reilly and Hunter were very respectful. Everyone was very loving and no one was angry or defensive. We did have to set some boundaries with them which they agreed to and they were both very understanding about. Tyler and I prayed HARD before those conversations and they went pretty well. It all comes down to the fact that we love our daughter... unconditionally. Nothing is going to change that or put a wedge into our family. We love each other, we support one another, and we are there for one another...the end. Those conversations were filled with a lot of love on both sides and they took place early in the month and as we are all still hanging out and having fun together I consider that a win. We still talk a lot as things come up. It isn't easy but keeping the lines of communication open...and lots of prayer...has been helpful.
On a lighter note...Ailey and I are planning a fun trip this summer with my sister-in-law, Meki, my niece, Kaiya, and my mom. We are going on a big crazy road trip to Texas! We are going to Waco, Austin, San Antonio, Houston, Galveston, Fredrickburg, and who knows where else. My niece Kaiya will be spending the summer in Houston for ballet and we are all going to drop her off. It should be quite the adventure! Ailey and Kaiya are so excited!
Also, my sister-in-law Lori (Tyler's sister) moved to Salt Lake. We are super excited to have her closer and to be able to see her more often. It is going to be such a great move for her.
Now onto March!
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