March 2025

We got some REALLY EXCITING NEWS this month!!!! Actually several exciting things!!

March started out with Bryn on a big YW road trip. The young women did temple work at four different temples. I wasn't able to travel yet but I helped send them off. My friend Cheryl and I set up a dinner station at the church for the girls to make a to-go dinner to take on the road with them. Sandwich fixings, fruit, chips, cookies, and a drink. Then they were off to the Moses Lake, WA Temple which is about an hour and a half from Spokane. 

They did a late session there. This is a *big* temple so that was fun for them. It is definitely the biggest temple near us. Then they drove to the Tri-Cities and spent the night at an Airbnb there. The next morning Bryn lead a pretty amazing devotional. Everyone gave me a glowing report about it which was very nice to hear!

That day they did a session at the Columbia River Temple in Richland, WA. Then they went to lunch and drove back to Spokane (2 hours away) to do a session at the Spokane Temple. I was in charge of setting up a special dinner for them at the stake center next to the temple. Tyler helped me set up tables and I decorated for the dinner. When the YW got to the Spokane temple that evening I was able to join them for the session there which was really fun. 

Bryn and some of her friends in front of the Spokane Temple.

After the session they came in for dinner and had an opportunity to share about their experiences on the retreat. The girls had such a special time. I loved hearing all about what they felt and experienced. 

The weather improved this month. We went from blizzards and snow all month in February to quite a few sunny days in the 50s. Thank goodness because Bryn started track. I tried to be outside as much as possible. The improved weather was also nice since Bryn was still in Drivers Ed and practicing driving.

The second week of March we got some VERY EXCITING news!! Reilly came over with Karson one evening and handed me a little sweatshirt and said, "Look at this cute shirt that I found for Karson." It said "BIG BROTHER" cue all the screaming and jumping up and down with joy!! Oh my gosh! We were so excited to hear the news. Reilly said that they already knew from the blood test that the baby is a boy! They are naming him Karter Lane Brock. We are over the moon!! While Reilly was here we all Facetimed with Kameron and Erin. Ailey and Luke already knew. Ailey had guessed it a few days before! Karter is due in October!

Bryn competed at State with her FCCLA project. The State competition was a three day event and this year it was held in Spokane which was a little underwhelming for her. She was hoping to go to Seattle or somewhere a bit more exciting. LOL.

Bryn and Ellie won Gold at State and get to go to Nationals in ORLANDO, FLORIDA!! We are so excited for her!

FCCLA and Class Council have been such great things for Bryn to be involved with this year!!

Then things got even more exciting! Reilly asked me if I would go with her to her ultrasound to help with Karson. Since I still can't lift Karson...Tyler decided to come on his lunch hour to help me.

Tyler wheeled Karson around in his stroller while I went in with Reilly to the ultrasound. I'm so glad that I did! (Hunter had to work.) The ultrasound started and the technician was like "Here is baby..." and while we were marveling at this amazing life wiggling around on the screen...she casually said, "and here's baby #2." WHAT???? We saw not ONE but TWO babies!!! TWINS!! We were absolutely SHOCKED (to say the least) and so excited! We don't have twins in our family and neither does Hunter so it really was shocking! It was so fun that Tyler and I were there with her at her appointment too and that I got to go in with her! The video that Reilly took of her telling Hunter is priceless! The twins are fraternal so we know that Baby A is a boy but we still don't know the sex of Baby B. Reilly is hoping that Baby B is a girl. That would be so fun!

Exciting times for our whole family!! Both families! Hunter's mom, Colleen, contacted me as soon the kids told them the news. The twins have some very excited grandmas, grandpas, aunts, and uncles!

Tyler and I had an especially fun date night this month. We attended the 40th Anniversary of the movie Vision Quest that was held at the Fox Theater. The movie was filmed in Spokane in the early 1980s and is based on a book that was set in Spokane in 1972. Matthew Modine, who starred in the movie, was there at the screening along with the author of the book, Terry Davis, and the author Jess Walters who was moderating. It was a fun and interesting night!

 

I loved seeing all of the local sights and hearing the cheers when those sites were on the screen. Then there was a Q & A after the screening with Matthew Modine, Terry Givens, Jess Walters, and the beloved Spokane wrestling coach who trained all of those wrestlers including Matthew Modine. Interesting!

Then it was St. Patrick's Day!

I'm still doing green lunches, Lucky Charms, and McDonald's Shamrock Shakes!

We also did our traditional Corned Beef and Cabbage dinner. It was fun to have Reilly here for it too! We had a fun family chat going that day!

Tyler and I found our wedding outfits. Tyler bought a nice black suit and I found a black dress. Finding my dress took a lot longer than expected but I like the one I found. Thank goodness. We got all of the wedding invitations sent out early in the month. I'm so glad that is done!

Kameron and Erin took a little trip up to Rexburg. Ailey and Luke watched Dwight for them for a bit. The kids had fun together. They visited with friends and with Erin's brother and his wife too.

This month was a busy one for me with YW. So much going on: Stake Youth Fundraiser, crochet night, Youth Leader Council, helped the RS with lunch for a Women's Shelter, and I was in charge of a Speed Friendshipping Activity. That turned out to be really fun!

Toward the middle of the month I started having some UTI issues. This all started 7 weeks post surgery. I did one round of antibiotics and they didn't work. I was put on another round of stronger antibiotics. They didn't work. I went back in a third time and was put on a third antibiotic. I also got my second Shingles shot and that one was also a doozy. I'm glad it's done though. I also got a cold and lost my voice for a week. Good times.

Bryn was very busy with Orchestra the last half of the month. She attended an orchestra festival and had an orchestra concert. She played beautifully! I am so glad that we have an orchestra kid after two choir kids and a band kid. It's a fun experience. I love the cello.

Bryn was also super busy with track which was going strong despite the fact that it snowed this month!

We also got to see some old friends...the Richards...and celebrated the birthday of my good friend Shannon. For her birthday we went to a darling new brunch place called Ten/6. We LOVED it! The theme is Alice in Wonderland and it is full of darling vintage vignettes. The food was fabulous too!

We had a fun girls day in Coeur d' Alene eating and shopping!

It was also Miss Beverly's Birthday!! She is six!

AND...Ailey and Luke get married in a MONTH! The official FREAK OUT has begun!!

          

February 2025

February started off on a fun note! Karson turned two years old on the first day of the month! He also got his first haircut. A little buzz. LOL.

I was still convalescing. Still very achy and painful. No energy. Still not able to do much. But did I rally for my grandson's birthday party? Yes, I did. I wasn't about to miss it. I couldn't fit into any hard pants but managed to get myself into some leggings and an oversized shirt (you stay bloated for months) and wobbly headed to the party.

Thankfully it was just a family party: both sets of grandparents, Karson's great-grandma, and his aunts and uncles that live in town. It was a pizza party held at Reilly and Hunter's place which was nice. Karson had a cute Minion themed party. He loves Minions! I was able to plop on the couch and give smooches to Karson every time he ran my way! Karson was so excited to have so many people that he loves in one place. He kept looking at both sets of grandparents and running from one side to the other. It was really cute!

The star of the show was Hunter in a Minion costume!! He was HILARIOUS!!

Hunter was hunched over and sweating to death in it. What a good dad!!

Karson loved it!!

Karson isn't a cake fan but he does like his ice cream!

Karsy's birthday party was a success! Reilly was a fantastic hostess and we had such a fun time! I was absolutely wiped out by the time I got home but it was worth it!

A few days later it was Tyler's 54th Birthday! Another wonderful person to celebrate! Birthdays are a big deal in our family and I felt awful that I couldn't give him the party and birthday celebration that he deserved. That was hard. I was glad that he got celebrated at work! One small bit of good news was that on Tyler's birthday I could finally drive. I think that was a gift to him after 21 days of not driving!!

We also ventured out to the movies to celebrate his birthday. I was super grateful for reclining movie theater chairs. We saw Flight Risk. It felt good to be out and about. All the kids facetimed, Reilly and family stopped by, and Tyler said that he felt celebrated so that was good. It also started snowing...really snowing. Our first real snow of the winter.

A couple of days later it was the Super Bowl. The Chiefs (Tyler's favorite) versus the Philadelphia Eagles. Usually Tyler has a Super Bowl birthday party but not this year. Karson was sick and I was still recuperating. Tyler's mom and sister even planned to come to Spokane for Tyler and Karson's birthdays but then things got challenging with Tyler's mom so they had to cancel. 

Despite being a small group we celebrated as best we could and had a fun time...until the Chiefs lost. :(

Bryn was busy with Drivers Ed this month. She had online classes 5 nights a week and then had scheduled drives. That was extra nerve wracking because we had quite a bit of snow, but it will be nice to have a 3rd driver once again. Bryn also had a dental appointment and had some extensive dental work done. Ugh. Then she left for a two day YW Retreat. They went to Diamond Lake.

Wedding plans continued to move forward. We paid for the caterer. Expensive but it feels good to have that locked down. Ailey had some extensive wedding dress alterations done. We are having the sleeves removed and a different sleeve added; in addition to taking it in, and shortening it. (She is only 5'4) and making the bow on the back stiffer and less floppy. We have been waiting and waiting for the fabric for her sleeves to come in. We also had to buy a different fabric and the whole thing has been stressful but THANKFULLY the fabric came in and Ailey was able to get it to her seamstress. Let me also add that it is stressful that I live in another state and am relying on Ailey to deal with this herself. It's a lot! She's done a good job though. We've also gotten some of the wedding supplies delivered...bubbles, ribbon wands, little candy bags, and silver scoops. Things are starting to come together.

Ailey and Luke found an apartment to rent in Utah. They are moving to Lehi. Housing is super expensive in Utah county. They are having to live a little bit farther north than they wanted to but they found a cute place to rent. Luke had his Bachelors Party weekend with his boys. They went to Island Park for the weekend. He is thinking of joining the National Guard.

Right before Valentine's Day literally everyone in our family either got sick, was sick, or was getting over being sick...except for me. It seems like everyone had some kind of flu. I am so glad that I didn't get it because coughing while healing from abdominal surgery would have been brutal. All that coughing. Reilly, Hunter, and Karson all got it. Ailey and Luke got it. Ailey with Influenza A and Luke with Influenza B. This flu season was TERRIBLE. Ailey had to use her inhaler and got a steroid shot and Luke ended up at the urgent care. Tyler got it too. He was diagnosed with Influenza A. He missed about three days of work and then worked from home for the last two days of the week. Most of us got flu shots this year too. Bummer. I think maybe it helped lessen the length of time that everyone was sick? I hope so.

Valentine's Day rolled around and Tyler was still sick. He sweetly had Crumbl Cookies delivered to me and Bryn...and flowers. He's good!

Bryn was my date for Valentine's Day. It was a full on blizzard and the roads were terrible. Tyler ordered a takeout sushi feast for me and Bryn. He could eat a little wonton soup but that was about it. He stayed in bed and Bryn and I snarfed our sushi and watched three different rom-coms. LOL. Tyler watched one of the movies with us albeit from another room and facetimed with us. Not the best Valentine's Day but also not the worst all things considered. 

Mid-month I started to feel like I had a bit more energy. I was able to walk 2 miles either outside or on my treadmill. I've resumed my duties in YW. We had several big activities. We had a movie night with the girls, a planning meeting at my house, leadership training, bracelet making activity, and a bunch of meetings. Our YW President LOVES meetings. That is taking some getting used to. 

We also had a giant combined YM/YW Chopped activity that I was one of two people in charge of planning. The kids were randomly assigned to 6 different groups that had two leaders and at least 6 kids in each group and involved 6 different houses that were willing to lend us their kitchens. (Those people are gold!) Each group had to make an appetizer and a dessert out of these ingredients:  

chicken strips

spinach

tater tots

cheese

apples

Nutella

blueberries

marshmallows

soft taco tortillas

ranch dressing.

(They could also use extra ingredients from the kitchens they were in but had to use all of the specified ingredients.) 

I ended up being with Bryn's group and the kitchen we used was at my friend Shannon's house so it was extra fun!

Bryn made a blueberry compote. She makes compotes a lot at our house for various desserts and when we make Dutch babies so her cooking skills came in handy! Our group made a savory waffle and a sweet waffle. Each group only had 45 minutes and then had to meet back at the church where the judges were waiting. They were graded on presentation, taste, and if they were there on time.

The kids had a lot of fun! Our group got first place for the appetizer (savory waffle) and 2nd place for the dessert (a sweet waffle.) We were pretty excited and then the kids got to eat all of the *creations.* I was actually quite impressed with what the groups made.

Bryn had Winter Formal. She went with friends. They all went to dinner and the dance. They had a fun time! She looked gorgeous!

I loved her red satin dress!!

The weather was TERRIBLE for most of the month. We had two weeks of blizzards and horrible road conditions. Church was even cancelled one Sunday due to treacherous roads and another Sunday we had the option to watch Sacrament Meeting via Zoom which we did.

By the end of the month the snow started melting and we had some flooding in our basement as per usual. But I was glad to see it go! Tyler and I were able to go on our first date night in 6 weeks and that felt good! We visited the Gaiser Conservatory to see some plants and flowers and to get out of the snow!

We also bumped up our walks to 3 miles now which feels great! We were super into watching the TV show Severence. So good and creepy! After everyone got over all of their sicknesses we got to hang out with Reilly, Hunter, and Karson again. 

I lifted Karson up a few times, over did it, and then ended up in some pain. It is hard not to lift up this boy when he wants to be held!! But I am grateful to be feeling quite a bit better 6 weeks later. I even went to book club this month and had a great time! I also had a crazy good month at Midtown Market. I sold five big pieces of furniture. Exciting and a little stressful since I have not been able to work on any new pieces. Thankfully I had a few things in reserve. 

Kameron and Erin are doing well. They started looking for apartments in Utah County too. I hope they can find something that they love and that it won't be too far from Ailey and Luke. They went on a little getaway to Lava Hot Springs and had a good time. 

Onto March!