The air is still hazardous. Ugh...it's so frustrating and sad. Ailey actually went to seminary at the stake center today. I guess they will do this once a week now. She enjoyed it. It starts later than usual and she got to see her friends. We are adjusting to the new school day. It feels good to be back into some kind of a routine. More work is getting done around here...for both Tyler and I...and the girls are busy until around 1pm each day so it feels a bit more *normal*.
In all the hubbub of being at the lake and the first day of school I forgot to say that our stake had a bunch of boundary changes occur. They chopped up several wards to help some of the smaller wards and then took a few families out of other wards too. We lost one of our favorite families! Our friends Sarah and Dan and their kids. I am bummed!!
I got set apart as the first counselor in the Stake Primary Presidency tonight. It was pretty neat. I think my new presidency will be fun. The President used to be in my ward and I used to be her visiting teacher, the Secretary is the mom of one of Ailey's good friends... so it's fun to be with both of them... and the 2nd counselor is someone that I had never heard of in our stake. So yay! A new friend.
We also continued planning our trip and itinerary. Who knew a trip to Minnesota and Wisconsin would feel so exotic! LOL.
Day 187: 9-16-20 (Wednesday)
The air still hazardous. We cannot be outside at all. Even for a few minutes to water my plants really hurts my lungs. I am going crazy being cooped up.
Tonight to say goodbye to my friend Sarah's family (the only family that was bumped from our ward) the youth/ward did a goodbye parade. We decorated cars and and made posters. Ailey made a cute poster with candy for each of the kids. It was fun to drive through their neighborhood honking and waving and telling them how much we will miss them. Their teenage daughters were on their driveway in tears. I am sure their neighbors were baffled by what was happening since it's not like they are moving!! LOL. But it was good to see everyone and to participate in something as a group.
Tonight the Bishop talked to me about my new calling and said how sad they are to lose me to the stake. That was nice to hear. They haven't called anyone yet to take my place and he told me they plan to take their time. LOL. I am fine with that. There isn't that much to do with COVID and I loved being our ward's Primary President.
After the goodbye parade, Tyler and I moved some things to the new storage unit and did a late night grocery run. We got a crazy phone call from Ailey saying that Bryn had cracked the screen on her laptop and was hysterical. Yes, she was! Good grief. By the time we got home things were under control but now we are down a laptop. The school has extras so we will borrow one until we get ours fixed or get a new one.
In better news, Reilly entered a barista drink making contest. She isn't a barista but she loves making different kinds of noncoffee drinks at her work. This was competition for Lotus Energy. She made the top 16 with her Unicorn drink. She was pretty excited!
Day 188: 9-17-20 (Thursday)
Today the air is now unhealthy...so yay?? Seems weird to be excited about that but we are. It's still too nasty to go outside but it is getting better...slowly. Tyler had an appointment at the tailor's to get his new temple pants hemmed. We had to go through all of our temples clothes and make sure that we have everything to take to Minneapolis. It feels like it has been so long since we have gone to the temple. Ours has been closed for 7 months. We are in Phase 1. Personal sealings only.
Vendor night went well especially since it was a big overhaul. I pulled out quite a few things to make room for Fall items. Then we grabbed some dinner and headed home.
Thank goodness for a new season of the Kardashians to lower my stress level. LOL.
Day 189: 9-18-20 (Friday)
The air still unhealthy. Boo. The high school lost Ailey's sports physical form. Annoying!! We had to scramble to get another one sent to her dance team coach ASAP. They were refusing to allow her to participate (although they aren't doing much) without it. We also had to go to the high school to pick up a laptop for Bryn to use.
I also had to quickly set up a baptism for a child in our ward that has been postponed all summer due to grandparents not being able to travel. Now the grandparents can travel and it needed to be set up immediately.
Date Night tonight was pretty fun. We went shopping for our upcoming trip and got our favorite teriyaki. It felt more like our old date nights!
Day 190: 9-19-20 (Saturday)
Today the air was clear and it was cold and rainy! It felt great! I participated in the in our Stake's Drive Thru Ice Cream Social. It was awesome! I had a great time!
Me, Jen, Kata, Mary Ann, and Katie
Also, The Midtown Market Fall Open House was a huge success! I sold a ton of things!! I am so glad that it went well! In other good news... Reilly made it to the finals in her drinks competition. Woohoo!
How are my people? Man I miss you guys but I'm out here workin' so luckily the days go by fast. Hope all is well with ya!
This week has been a busy one I'll tell you that much! Transfers happened this week which is pretty exciting. The zone got shaken up a bit so I said goodbye to some homies and I joined Ken nationš„ (I got a Kendama to fill up my free time.)
With transfers I stayed in my area of good ol' Oakdale with Elder Moses. Elder Taylor, my other comp, got yeeted to Minneapolis which he was excited about it. Then, Elder Moses picked up a new missionary Elder Chipman as the new part of our trio. He's just a party. He's absolutely crushing it out here so it's been a fun change to the Oakdale squad.
Did some service for some people in our area and had some super cool lessons! It's been a super cool week. Honestly I'm loving all the ups and downs that come our way as missionaries.
I'll leave you with a scripture that I really like, its Isaiah 41:13:
"For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee."
God has never abandoned us even when we feel He has. He is always with us; we are just blinded by whatever we are going through that we can't see him carrying us through these trials and tribulations that we have. God loves ya and heck I love ya too.
Judie and Joel arrived at the lake today. They brought their large trailer up with them and parked it at the lake. It was good to see them. They are doing a big PNW trip and visiting several of their kids who live up here. We were the first stop. Then they will head over to the west side of the state to see three of Joel's kids and their families and then they will go on to Oregon to see Joel's daughter and her husband before they head back to Utah.
The weather was beautiful so we enjoyed the water and the dock. We took them for a boat ride and did a lake tour. It was fun to show them the lower lake, channel, and the lily pads area. It is still too shallow to go to the upper lake. Joel was having the time of his life riding in the boat!
That evening Tyler and I had to go to Coeur d' Alene to the store for vendor night. I was just going to go by myself but I sold several big pieces so Tyler had to bring the trailer with large furniture pieces to restock the booth. I had dinner all prepped and ready before we left. Ailey and Bryn got to be the hostesses. The grandparents loved it! I think all grandparents enjoy time with their grandkids without the parents around. LOL. They had a fun night together.
Day 182: 9-11-20 (Friday)
Today was another beautiful day. We couldn't have had nicer weather. Tyler and the girls made a big breakfast. Pancakes, buttermilk syrup, eggs, and sausage. Grandpa Joel had breakfast with us. Grandma Judie is slowing down a bit and it takes her more time to get up and going in the morning. She also has to eat gluten free so she was happy that she could prepare her own little gluten free meals in her trailer.
We had a fun day with the grandparents. Joel made a great new game for our family. It is an old pub game called Ring a Bull. It is also called Tiki Toss. You try to get a ring on a hook. Joel made us a big one that has a fish on it that you try to hook. It was addicting. We did a lot of boating. The girls were showing the grandparents all of their swimming and water sport skills. Joel and Tyler dragged the girls around the lake on the tube most of the afternoon. Tyler let Joel drive the boat and he was in absolute HEAVEN! He was so cute! We spent all day on the water.
We did have a scary moment later that afternoon. Joel and Judie were coming down the stairs that lead to the dock and Joel was helping Judie who had just gotten up from a nap. He was helping her down the stairs and lost his footing and fell hard. Thank goodness he was okay. But it was super scary to see him fall.
We found out today that my cousin Wendy's husband's business burned. Their house is still in the path of the fire and it isn't looking good. They have been staying with friends and they decided to come to Spokane to stay with my cousin Justin and his family (Wendy's brother). I offered to have them come and stay at the lake with us. There is plenty of room especially with Judie and Joel sleeping in their trailer. We continue to pray and pray hard for their town and family.
Tonight Reilly and Hunter came out after work to visit with the grandparents and to have dinner. We had a such great night as a family! It was nice for Judie and Joel to get to know Hunter better. It really ended up being a fun night!
Day 183: 9-12-20 (Saturday)
By this morning the smoke from all of the Oregon and WA fires had moved in. It is super smoky! We had breakfast with Grandpa Joel again. That was really fun! He was so talkative and telling us interesting stories about his life. He was an electrician in a coal mine in Utah. Wow. We are loving our special breakfasts with him every morning.
Bryn and Tyler playing Grandpa Joel's game.
We had kind of a family *meeting* with Judie and Joel today. They wanted to talk about family history, the gospel, and share their testimonies with us, and to give some advice to the girls. We had some good conversations today. Judie and Joel left around lunchtime to head to the Seattle to see Forrest and Hanna.
Wendy, Ben and their kids and Justin and Hannah and their kids came out for the day after Judie and Joel left. Before they got here we received some exciting news! We got an email from Kam's Mission President saying that Kam was scheduled to go through the St. Paul, MN Temple on Sept. 25th! Woohoo! We immediately bought our plane tickets. Then I got a call from our Stake representative asking if he could have a conference call with me and Tyler. Uh...okay. I got called to the Stake Primary Presidency as the 1st Counselor. I am excited about the new calling but sad to leave our ward's Primary. I didn't think that I would love my calling as Primary President as much as I have. It has been the best calling! I am really going to miss it! But I am glad that I get to stay involved in Primary on the Stake level.
We had such a great day with my cousins and their families! It felt like old times to have them here. So much has changed and so much of it has been hard and sad and painful. It felt good to see their faces and watch their kids play and swim with my kids. Like it should have always been. There was much to catch up on... some good (all the latest with their families), the bad (all that is happening with my sibling situation and my mom's estate), and the scary (still getting updates on Wendy and Ben's house and the fire situation.) I felt like I was quite the downer as I brought them up to speed on our situation. They were very calm listening ears which was appreciated more than they will ever know. But...ugh... I hate being negative and being involved in so much sibling discord. It's draining to me and to those who have to hear about it. I really wish things were different.
Photo Cred: Hannah
But the day spent with them was a lot of fun! Our girls had a blast with their cousins. Having them all out here was also a great distraction from thinking about the fact that tomorrow is the one year anniversary of my mom's death. I am so grateful that they were all out here and that it wasn't just a day of dreading tomorrow. Plus, they get it. They lost their father/grandpa to cancer and so it was nice to be around people who understand. Man, I wish my Uncle Mike were still here. He would be the perfect sounding board and voice of reason in helping me and my brother navigate dealing with my sisters and my mom's estate. It just isn't fair that BOTH he and my mom are gone. I am so glad that today ended up being such a good one and I am so glad that they were all able to come and hang out. And...it was really nice breaking up our COVID bubble a bit and being around people again!!
Kirk and Meki sent me some beautiful flowers today. They are the most thoughtful people!! I wish that we could all be together tomorrow.
Day 184: 9-13-20 (Sunday)
I woke up this morning to an early morning text from my brother about mom and then a phone call with both he and Meki. One year. How has it already been one year since my mom passed away? It seems like yesterday and like a 100 years ago. Today the smoke was even worse. You could barely see the lake. It looked like an extra thick fog had settled in. It was horrifyingly beautiful.
This is what I posted on FB/Instagram:
You are still so alive and vibrant in our hearts. You aren’t gone. You don’t feel gone. You feel elsewhere. That has been a comfort this past year. I am so grateful for your example of how to get through hard times. I’ve needed it this year. I am so grateful for your ability to find the joy and humor in life despite the circumstances. I’ve needed it this year. But man I miss you! I miss your hugs, your voice, and phone calls from you saying: “Can you talk? You aren’t going to believe this!” And “Hey, what are you doing? Do you want to go bum around?” And “I have an idea and want to see if you’re up for it!” I miss that so much! I miss our adventures and traveling together (so many trips!), and your irritation with selfies!
Me laughing until I'm crying because you could never find where to look or smile naturally and you saying through a grimacing smile... “Just take the damn picture Kristin!” I am so glad I took the “damn pictures” and the trips and went on the adventures and bummed around with you. You are the best Mom! One year without you has only amplified that. I love you!! Forever.
We honored Mom's memory by taking the boat out to her cove:
Not a bad final resting place.
Ailey picked out this beautiful bouquet of white roses that we floated for her.
Kirk requested a glass of Pimms, a favorite of hers, be tipped into the lake. I was happy to oblige. It was smoky but beautiful. Still and quiet. We were one of the only boats out on the lake and it felt sacred and peaceful.
I took one last smoky dip in the lake. I probably shouldn't have but it will most likely the last swim of the summer unless we get a super warm Indian summer in October. I didn't want to miss the chance for a swim. I was the only one who jumped in and it was so calm and soothing. The lake water was a balm to my soul. I am glad I braved the smoke and jumped in.
Tyler and I continued cleaning out more of the old garages. There is so much junk. There is still so much stuff to go. It's never ending. We also did yard work and deep cleaned the house and cabin. We got a text from our realtor saying that we had an offer on the Sandpoint house. I wasn't thrilled with the offer but I am the only one out of five who seemed to have a problem with it. I went along with the majority. I just can't wait to be rid of that place.
Throughout the day I received so many calls and texts from family and friends who remembered what day it was and who wanted to share their love for me and for my mom. That was so nice! It definitely helped. Tyler ran home to drop off the trailer and came back out with a couple of cards that people had sent me. All of those little things that people take the time to say and do mean so much. I even got a surprise video chat phone call from Kam. He wanted to check in on me and see how I was doing today. That meant the world to me. I am sure it was also hard for him to be away from all of us on this day. I love that kid!
Later that night we drove home and had to crazy prep for the next day...THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL! Life is speeding up once again. All in all, the day that I had been dreading turned out to be okay. My Mom's good friend Mary Jane sent these words to me, "There is no magic in a year..." meaning that it doesn't mean that it will be better and it doesn't mean that it will be worse. It is just a day. That is how it felt. We remembered. We honored. We missed. We cried. We moved on. My mom would have demanded that.
Day 185: 9-14-20 (Monday)
The first day of school dawned and despite being weird there was still excitement in the air. The girls were up and ready early. We took our usual first day of school pictures.
It is hard to believe that Ailey is a JUNIOR!
I hope that things go back to normal so that she can enjoy some of the fun things in high school.
My baby Brynnie is a SIXTH grader in her last year of elementary school!
Obligatory 2020 mask photo!
Traditional "sitting at desks" photos!
They can't tell me I can't take them this year! Ha!
And thus began distance learning round 2.
Today is still super smoky. The air quality has reached hazardous. People and pets can't be outside. Just going outside today for a few minutes to take pictures made my lungs burn. That has never happened before and we have had many smoky summers. Other family members are getting headaches or sore throats from being outside. We also have an oily film on our cars. It's awful. Plus...we are stuck inside. Outside is my joy in this COVID world!!
My friend Valynn came over today. She remembered the anniversary of my mom's death and brought me macarons, hugs, gossip, and a lot of laughs! I love her!! My friends have been so amazing this last year after losing my mom. They have rallied around me in ways that I will never forget. I am so grateful!!
Tyler and I planned our travel itinerary for Minnesota. We are going to leave on a Wednesday morning and come back on a Tuesday afternoon. We will be gone for almost a week. We are also going to drive 5 hours to Wisconsin to see my good friend Rebecca and her husband Jeff. I would be lying if I didn't say that I have total anxiety about traveling and being around people and I would totally be lying if I didn't say that I cannot wait to get out of Spokane!! Travel... even anxiety producing travel... is thrilling!!
After the school day was over we went to BluBerry for frozen yogurt to celebrate and had pizza for dinner (the girls choice) and listened to how their "first day" went. We also had our weekly video chat with Kam. I love these so much! My heart goes out to those mothers who only got to talk to their kids twice a year! Those are some hardcore mamas!! I can't believe that we will be seeing Kam in less than two weeks!!
Today began with a surprise early morning visit from Reilly! She had a delivery for work near our house so she let herself in and woke us up. Lol. She then proceeded to climb in bed between us and chatted for about an hour and a half. After a few minutes all of the girls (including Beverly) were piled on our bed! Too funny! It reminded me of Saturday mornings when the kids were little.
This afternoon Bryn helped Tyler work on the cargo trailer. Now that Kameron is on a mission, she has taken over as Tyler's little buddy. She likes to help him with his projects around the house. We have started calling her Kamerina! Tyler had to replace a fender that got sheared off when our tire blew last winter. We were just going to take it in to get it repaired but Tyler has gotten very handy and replaced it himself!
Day 177: 9-6-20 (Sunday)
Today we had home church in the morning and this afternoon we went on a big bike ride! We got back on the Trail of the Coeur D' Alenes near where we went riding last time but today we went the opposite way. We loved it! We rode 22 miles. Our record!
We saw a giant moose, two snakes, two turtles, four deer, multiple heron, and another giant beaver dam! And... we got ice cream! All around exciting. Ha ha!
Moose!
This trail is so beautiful! I love the Rails to Trails system that we have here.
Two of us didn't get the memo to get down on the rock for the picture! LOL!
By the time we got back to the trailhead where we parked it was almost dark. On a picnic table by our car we found a wallet. There was no one on the trail or in the parking lot. The driver's license of the person said that they were from Oregon. Since there was literally no one around us we took the wallet home with us to mail to the person who lost it. Ugh...that would really suck to lose your wallet while traveling. Hopefully it was left alone and no one stole anything out of it.
As we drove down Fourth of July Canyon and came back into cell service...I saw that I had a text from a random phone number with this photo:
The text said: "Thanks for sharing your son with Minnesota!"
Thank you person from Minneapolis who understands that moms love unexpected pictures of their missionaries! Kam looks happy!!
Day 178: 9-7-20 (Monday/Labor Day)
Today is Labor Day. We had a crazy windstorm strike. Luckily no damage occurred to our house but this giant tree came down in our next door neighbor's yard.
Let me tell you about our neighbor Doug. He hates trees. Loathes them. In the 17 years that we have lived in our house he has cut down several beautiful trees in his backyard. Sadness. But he wasn't done. A few years after that he cut down several trees on both sides of his house. Why?! Then a few years after that he cut down all of the trees in his front yard. Horrifying.
(Side note... Doug's house has no A/C and without the trees to provide shade he and his wife roast all summer and sit outside complaining about the heat.)
There was one tree left in Doug's yard. This tree remained because it shares a property line with his other next door neighbor. Guess which tree came down? Yep! For the man who has done literally everything he can to not be inconvenienced by trees...no leaves...no downed branches...no nothing... it was pretty funny that this was the only tree out of all the trees in the neighborhood that came down. It was super loud and after we determined that no one was hurt and no property was damaged...we laughed. Doug did not.
Tonight we video chatted with Kam. He's doing well. He was having at dinner at a member's house when they took the picture and sent the text. He has some super nice ward members and they take really good care of their missionaries and are very appreciative of them. He's pretty lucky. Not all areas are like this in his mission. Tyler and I did a park walk after dark tonight when we were done talking to Kameron. The air was crisp and it felt great!
Day 179: 9-8-20 (Tuesday)
Today was crazy!! We had multiple parent/teacher conferences via Zoom for both girls as we prepare for school to start. I am glad that things sound even more organized than last Spring. We were pretty lucky though... our kids schools were strict and on top of things from the get-go. Both girls had appointments at their schools to pick up materials for the upcoming year.
I also found out that a tree came down in the wind storm at the house in Sandpoint. It completely destroyed the fence. Again. I've lost track of how many trees have come down at that property and they have all done damage. We just got another part of the fence repaired from where another one had come down during the Spring. Can we just sell this house and be done with it?
We also got the scary news that with the horrible fires in Oregon my cousin Wendy's house is in jeopardy. She and her family have had to evacuate. We are praying hard for them and have got the missionaries in Minneapolis praying for them too. There are several fires around Spokane right now as well. I thought we might escape fire season this year. Unfortunately we haven't.
Day 180: 9-9-20 (Wednesday)
Today we headed out to spend a few days at the lake. Technically it is my week but I just don't have a full week to spare. Today was nice. Pretty laid back and relaxed. We swam and got take out for dinner. We tried to just enjoy and soak up every last bit of sunshine. Things are about to get a lot busier. Tyler's mom and step-dad are due to arrive tomorrow. Later we sat out on the dock and stargazed. Jupiter and Saturn were HUGE! The Milky Way looked incredible. The lake has always been a great place to see the Milky Way. It was extra amazing tonight. It was a nice end to a calm and enjoyable day.
I am a stay-at-home mom and small business owner. I have four FANTASTIC kids: Reilly (29), Kameron (25), Ailey (21), and Bryn (17). I have been married to my amazing husband Tyler for 31 years. We are also grandparents to four cute grandkids and another on the way!
