It finally started to feel like December and Christmas once the college kids got home! They flew home literally the day after we started feeling better. I had 24 hours to de-funk the COVID house and get it prepped for their return. Ailey moved out of her apartment complex and into a new one the day before she flew home.
Kam and Ailey arrived in Spokane around midnight. We all stayed up until after 3am catching up with the kids and hearing about their latest adventures. It was nice to have them home and back in their own beds.
Reilly was in a work crisis the next day. They were down a few employees and Reilly needed help with Karson at her office so Ailey jumped in to help and I tagged along. I hung out for a bit playing with Karson and buying lunch for the girls.
Ailey and I had to document his cute head and all of the hair that he is starting to get. He is going to have dark brown hair like his mommy. Reilly is the only one of our kids who got my dark brown hair.
I left Ailey to babysit Karson after lunch and headed home to check in on Kam and to pick up Bryn from school. Tyler came home early to hang out with the kids. We took the college kids grocery shopping and let them pick out some dinners that they would like to have while at home and the snacks they wanted.
I annoyed them by taking pictures and videos of them at the grocery store but when your kids come home it's the weird little things that I love! Simple things like grocery shopping with them.
The next day both Ailey and Kam were back at work. Kam was back at Nike and Ailey was working at the gym. Their bosses were SO HAPPY to have them home and back at work! The kids were excited to be earning all that WA money! Wages are so much higher here than in Idaho. Ailey usually worked mornings and afternoons and Kam usually worked afternoon and nights. It was a little crazy getting them both to where they needed to be when both of their cars were in Southern Idaho. Tyler enjoyed Kam chauffeuring him to work sometimes and me chauffeuring him home. LOL.
Ailey came with us to vendor nights several times and that was really fun! We would grab dinner afterwards and it was great to have some one-on-one time with her. She's amusing!
Bryn was a extremely busy with basketball games and practices.
She still had school up until December 22nd. Which was so crazy!! Who wants a week off of school after New Years?! It was nearly impossible to coordinate everyone's schedules for holiday activities so we gave up. It just became if you can make it come and if you can't we understand.
Bryn got her robot baby in her child development class. She named him Tristan Jack Johnson. He went everywhere with us and after three days Bryn was like a zombie. She was so tired but we all enjoyed Tristan while he was here. Tristan weighed about 10 lbs. He did all the things and had a floppy head/neck that had to be supported. Bryn's teacher turned Tristan off during Bryn's basketball game. In this picture I am picking him up from school so that she could play in her game. She put him in the front seat and I looked like the worst person in the world as I drove him home!!
Tristan came to church with us. He was programmed to cry at random times and for random lengths of time. Bryn had to try multiple things to see what would make him stop crying. Sometimes he just wanted to be held. LOL.
Sometimes he needed a diaper change. Sometimes he was hungry and he would loudly *gulp* his bottle for 20 minutes!
Our ward got quite a kick out of him and was entertained all throughout Sacrament Meeting. There was another kid in our ward who also had her robot baby at church. It was hilarious!
To celebrate what would have been my mom's 75th birthday we did the walk through Manito Lights which was really fun!! I made Bryn put Tristan in her coat because it looked terrible that it was freezing cold and he looked like a real baby but was just in a thin blanket...no snowsuit...and no hat. We either looked like terrible people letting a baby freeze in the cold or Bryn looked like a very weird teenager carrying around a doll. Either way it was an entertaining night!
Kam had to work that night but Reilly, Hunter, and Karson joined us!
Karson loved all the lights!
After the Manito Lights we went to see the Liberty Lake Lights in a different part of town. Tristan came too. We found an extra blanket in the car to bundle Tristan up in so that he didn't look so pathetic.
Tyler kept us in hot chocolates! It was so cold!!
It was a really fun night but I don't have all that many pictures because I took a lot of video and video doesn't upload well on the ol' blog. Reilly lugged Tristan around for part of the time while Hunter pushed Karson in the stroller. I think they could handle two kids really well. Wink wink!
Before Tristan was returned to the high school he also enjoyed a night hanging out with Bryn's friends.
We were a little sad to see him go. Bryn hated turning him over to another kid. She still gets a little wistful when she sees him at school with other kids. I guess we know that she definitely has maternal instincts. Her school has around 25 of these robotic dolls. They are threatened with their lives to take good care of them. Each doll is around $1000. They have all different ethnicities. The kids are randomly assigned a baby. Everything you do is monitored electronically. Bryn had to wear an electronic bracelet that coordinated with computer components in the doll. Her grade depended on how fast she responded to his cries...how long she let him cry...did she support his head...was he shaken or ignored. It's actually pretty cool.
When I was in high school we got "Eggbies" aka egg babies. A raw egg that was designated either a boy or a girl that we had to keep from breaking for a week. We were also assigned a random background. Some of us were assigned a *spouse* to help us take care of the eggby. Some people were *divorced*, *single*, or *widowed.* Some people got twins. I was married and my spouse was my good friend Jimmy. We got a boy egg and named him Jace Aaron. We glued tiny shoes from the craft store onto him for feet and the manicurist at the nail salon that I went to in high school drew a face on him and a wisp of hair. We put him in a tiny basket and made a snug little bed for him with baby flannel and batting. We had to take turns parenting Jace during school and after school. Jimmy was on the baseball team and would bring our eggby to practice. Miraculously he survived the week. We had to make him a baby book with baby pictures and a family tree. We had to keep a journal of all of Jace's activities. I thought that was involved but it was nothing like what Bryn had to do with Tristan!! LOL. She was one exhausted robot baby mama!
Bryn got her braces off and she looks GORGEOUS!!
The high school music department had their big Winter Concert. Ailey came with us to watch Bryn play in the orchestra. She also got to visit with her old middle school choir teacher who was one of her very favorite teachers. He is now Bryn's high school orchestra teacher. Bryn did a fantastic job!
Ailey was thrilled to see that she was still up on the wall at the high school!
We finally had time to do our Christmas shopping. We were sprinting to get all of the gifts purchased in time. I hated cramming in all of that shopping in a short amount of time but we did it.
We also managed to take a little day trip to Rockford to Hurd Mercantile, my friend Teresa's store, which was so fun! It was beautifully decorated as usual. It was fun to visit with her. I saw her just before I left town for Thanksgiving and so two visits were a real treat!
Then we went to Lucky Vintage which is owned by my friend Celeste (she owns two stores and two restaurants that we love) and then we also went to Boulevard Mercantile where several of my friends are vendors. I bought some vintage Christmas books for Karson. Ailey came with us. That kind of Christmas shopping I don't mind. I hate Christmas shopping at the mall, Target, Walmart, etc.
We also attended the welcome home for our friends' son who finished serving his mission. Kam and Ailey came with us. They both went to high school with him and we went to his open house. This was literally our first holiday event. We missed so many things while we had COVID. It felt good to be out and socializing again!!
Our stake had its musical fireside. Tyler was in charge of it. It was part of his duties being in the high council. He had Ailey design the posters and they turned out so cute. She is current majoring in business and advertising. She did a great job! The Christmas musical fireside turned out really nice. Lots of musical numbers, congregational singing of Christmas carols, a darkened singing of Silent Night with everyone holding battery operated candles, two interesting speakers...one from the local food bank and one was a local Jewish rabbi who talked about the symbolism and significance of Hanukkah. Very cool.
This is what I got from these two when I said "Look at me so I can take a picture."
Tyler and I went with Ailey to her endocrinology appointment. She has been using a CGM that monitors her blood sugar 24 hours a day. She has been having a bunch of highs and lows. Still very erratic. The highs are the most concerning because whereas a diabetic can take insulin when their blood sugar is high; Ailey cannot. She just feels terrible. Her doctor ran more tests and checked her A1C. Things look about the same as the last time. Her pancreas is still chugging along although for how long is anyone's guess. It's not doing too great of a job either. Ailey needs to cut her carbs and sugar intake and up her protein especially since she can't take insulin. She also needs to try to bring her blood sugar down naturally when it gets in the higher range. She's been up into the 200s sometimes. Exercise, cinnamon, ginger. Things like that can drop blood sugar. Tyler has to be really careful when eating anything with ginger or cinnamon in it. It was a frustrating visit for her because she's still in limbo but really any day not being a Type 1 diabetic is a good day. She has another appointment in the spring.
Kameron had two different doctor appointments while he was in town. One with his new GP who he liked and then he had yet another appointment with his cardiology group to clear him with the FAA. It's quite a process. Both appointments went well. Kam was super nervous at his cardiology appointment that something would come up and end his career tract but he got the 2nd cardiology clear which was a huge relief! Bryn also had her yearly pediatrician appointment and I requested an EKG for her. Not that I think that there is anything wrong it's just with this family and their heart issues plus with her being an athlete I wanted her checked out. Tyler took her to her pediatric cardiology appointment and her EKG was normal.
One afternoon Tyler and I went to the Gaiser Conservatory, which we love, and looked at all of the beautiful plants. It felt good to get out of the cold and gray into some warmth and to see some plants growing.
Medusa's Head is still alive and well. Our kids have LOVED seeing this plant over the years. It is huge now. I also really want to get a Christmas cactus. The conservatory had some beautiful ones. That could be cool to add to my plant repertoire.
Mid-month we had our Tuff Shed delivered and installed. We love it! I think Tyler and I were more excited about this shed than anything else that we got for Christmas this year! Now we only have one storage unit and it's for the boat. This houses everything that we can't fit in our garage. I have some large furniture pieces of my mom's that won't fit in our house but that I don't want to get rid of. But not withstanding those items; I am a ruthless get-rid-of-crap person. Cleaning out the lake house and about 4 different generations of junk that had been stored there has done the trick. I have very little sentimentality for *stuff*. Anyway...back to our new shed. We chose a white one to match our house. I think it will be especially cute this summer with white lights, flowers pots, gravel, and a fire pit area. We finally got rid of our big trampoline. Kam helped us move all of the big things while he was still in town and Ailey and Bryn helped too.
Shortly after this, like clockwork, my yearly Christmas meltdown arrived. This year it was on the 18th. This is when I threaten to cancel Christmas and rage about how no one is helpful and I am having to do everything all by myself and do they think that a magical Christmas just happens?!?! This year was particularly bad due to being behind on my holiday schedule because of COVID. In my fury I skipped my book club Christmas party so that I could rant and rage. (Stupid) It was *gently* suggested that perhaps I should go to bed early since I seemed very tired. I was exhausted... by making all this damn Christmas magic for everyone!!
Apparently my family got the message. Because that night Tyler and Ailey made two kinds of Christmas cookies. Kameron went Christmas shopping for extended family gifts for me and wrapped a bunch of gifts. He also filled my car with gas. Very sweet. Kameron and Reilly did a Costco run for me the next day too. Tyler made a third kind of Christmas cookie and gathered all of the food for the seminary food drive. He also picked up dinner so that I didn't have to cook. Do I have to lose my mind every year for them to get the message that I need help? It would seem so. Tyler IS helpful. But our grown children...decidedly less so. 3/4 are adults. I told them that I needed their help especially this year but it was too slow in coming...and ergo... meltdown. This year I also told them that I wasn't doing all of the holiday cooking so we had a family meeting and planned out all of the Christmas and New Years menus plus holiday treats and I signed them all up to cook various items. They did it and did a great job! They actually did a TREMENDOUS job!! Maybe next year I won't need to have a Christmas meltdown. ;) Fingers crossed.
On the night of the winter solstice Tyler, Bryn, Ailey, and I went to Coeur d' Alene to see the lights and to eat at the resort. This is one of our favorite holiday traditions. Kam had to work so he missed out. Reilly didn't think Karson would last that late and she would have been right. It was a late but fun night!
It was foggy and it made it everything feel extra magical.
Kam home too late and missing out.
In between activities, work schedules, school, and basketball we had a few nights of hanging out and relaxing. I loved seeing sights like this:
Going to church with Ailey. If a girl's got to glam she's got to glam.
Ailey and Bryn goofing around.
Hanging out in the kitchen. We had people sitting on counter tops and on the floor...snacking and chatting...when kids would get home late from work. Those were some of my favorite times.)
We got in as many walks as we could. It was a nice break from a fun but hectic household.
We even saw a blue heron that had just caught a fish! In December!! Craziness.
People running errands without me. Costco was a nightmare all month.
We had quite a few evenings with Reilly and Karson. She was so sweet to bring Karson around a lot so that Kam and Ailey could see him as much as possible while they were home.
Karson playing with a stuffed Santa that was my mom's. All of our kids have played with that same sweet Santa.
I don't think that there is anything that made me happier or helped me feel the Christmas Spirit more than seeing a new little Johnson playing in the glow of the Christmas tree. All.the.feels.
I also loved that some nights, after work, Kam and Ailey would go over to Reilly's apartment to play with Karson. This kid couldn't be MORE loved! His aunts and uncle are SMITTEN!
As I said earlier, my mom would've turned 75 this month. Somehow the presence of Karson helps ease the pain of her absence a little bit.
Although I think all the time of how much fun she would've had with him. Talk about a baby hog! LOL. I miss her every single day. She also had Christmas meltdowns. I can't even count the number of times she said that she was "cancelling Christmas!!" and we didn't hold it against her so I hope my family won't hold it against me either. Ha ha!
On another night we went driving around and looking at Christmas lights with Ailey and Bryn. We all got our favorite food to go and ate it while Tyler patiently drove us around for hours looking at lights with the Christmas music blaring! We were trying to cram in as many Christmas activities as we could before Christmas actually arrived. By the time that Bryn finally got out of school, Christmas was that weekend!
Reilly and Hunter had Reilly's work Christmas party. Karson "the office baby" was an honorary guest.
They also got some cute family pictures taken. Here are a few:
This Christmas has been a bit more difficult trying to figure out when we would be celebrating with Reilly, Hunter, and Karson. It was going to be our usual which is we get them Christmas Eve night and Christmas morning. Then they spend Christmas afternoon and night at Hunter's parents house. This year Hunter's mom decided that she didn't like that arrangement and wanted to change things around. Some drama ensued on her end. We told the kids that maybe it was time to go to the every-other-year situation like we do with Thanksgiving. But it was kind of nice that we could previously make things work since both sets of parents only live 10 blocks from each other. Tyler and I decided that we would make whatever worked for Reilly and Hunter work for us. No drama or stress on them from us. So we rearranged how we were going to do things and then right before Christmas Hunter's mom changed her mind and wanted to go back to the previous way of doing things. So a lot of drama for the kids for nothing. Then three days before Christmas Hunter's mom got COVID and all plans with them were nixed. I felt bad for her. For all my AMPLE complaining about getting COVID a few weeks BEFORE Christmas at least it wasn't on Christmas. She had a son in from out of town too. :(
Then the Friday before Christmas as I was driving Bryn to early morning seminary (yes, it was still going along with school) when I got the strongest prompting to contact my cousin. I don't get crazy promptings all the time but this one was undeniable as much as I wanted to deny it. This cousin is part of the family that we are estranged from although Kirk and I do have some limited contact with him occasionally. His parents and siblings are the ones from Rexburg. Anyway... my immediate reaction was "oh heck no" but it came very strongly again. I knew there was no way it was coming from my own thoughts. The last time I talked to this cousin was almost a year ago when he let Kirk and I know that his father had cancer. His dad is married to my mom's sister. Anyway... I texted him and he immediately texted me back. He told me that his dad had just been put on hospice.
Here's the thing...what are the proper emotions to feel when someone who has previously been a very important part of your life but has since decided that you are not to be a part of their life anymore...is dying? It's complicated. A few years ago I would have been in tears and absolutely devastated. Now...there is some sadness but there is also a void where emotions should be. There is a nothingness.
I let Kirk know the situation. When my uncle was first diagnosed I didn't really know what to do since he and his wife were angry and had sided with my sisters without ever once talking to Kirk and I about the situation. But I did reach out to him when I found out that he was sick and I heard nothing back. So now Kirk and I were in a quandary knowing what to do. We are nice people. We are loving people. It felt wrong to do nothing and it felt wrong to do something. Kirk called my cousin a few days later and our cousin said that my uncle was unresponsive and that he wasn't expected to live through the day. Kirk asked if it would be appropriate to contact the family. Our cousin told us specifically to NOT contact our aunt and that our relationship with her is over. He said that he appreciated us reaching out to him but that each of his siblings is different and while some might be open to it...others would not. Well okay. That clarified things.
Unfortunately the rest of Kirk's conversation with him became about the lake and his family's grievances. Their views that Kirk and I are selfish and greedy. Their interests in particular items that belonged to our mother. Kirk told him that he would be happy to discuss the lake and those issues at another time. This was about our uncle who was dying and they were fixated on the lake and their feeling wronged and material items. Just as a reminder...not one member of their family has ever reached out to us to discuss anything about the lake house. Never. Not once.
So that conversation was disappointing. They don't want a reconciliation or even the first step in a reconciliation. They just want to air their grievances about how they have allegedly been wronged by me and my brother. This cousin also said that Kirk and I *left* the extended family. That is hilarious. Pushed out is more like it. The best part was when Kirk told him that he and his family could have bought the lake house and our cousin said that Stacey and Kelley contacted them about buying the lake house but that "they said no because they didn't feel that it would be a good financial situation." Oh really?? You think?! But hold it against us why don't you?
I thought a lot about my uncle and his family. I prayed for them and remembered good times and fun times and the good uncle that he was to me for most of my life. It is strange thinking that this is the current situation and that it is where it will stay with him. At least I have peace because I know that I've tried.
Onto happier topics like Christmas!
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