Field Trip, Gardening, and A Week in Pictures

Tomorrow is my last day of orientation on day shift at the hospital. I can't believe it's only been five weeks since I started training-- it has felt like much longer! I have definitely  expanded my knowledge base and nursing skill set vastly in order to care for a completely new patient population. I am so grateful for all I've learned. But being gone so much has been exhausting for me, both physically and emotionally. I am not used to being away from the kids so much, and I have definitely missed the quality and leisure time we usually have more of. I am looking forward to going back to nights, even thought it will be exhausting in its own way!

A week and a half ago, Eli's class went on a field trip to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. I went as a chaperone, and we had a great time exploring the museum. There were lots of parents who signed up to come, so the parent to kid ratios were really good. In our group we had three kids and two moms-- Eli, myself, Ewenn, Ewenn's mom, and Henry. It was nice having such a small group and made it much easier to stay together.

Eli and his friend Henry posing in front of the minerals. We got a picture here because they thought the rock in the back looked like a zebra rock, and their class mascot is a zebra!

Here are the boys waiting outside the planetarium to watch a movie about the solar system. 

Here they are in the mythical creatures exhibit playing with some hand puppet dragons.

I snapped this photo in the dinosaur exhibit, because one of the boys remarked while looking at the skeletons, "He was about to bite somebody, but then he died!"

Teresa snapped some more fun photos during the week. On an outing to King Soopers to get ice cream, after we had finished checking out, the kids had penny rides on the mechanical horse.

Did I say penny rides? Yes, and here's proof!

The kids are continuing to enjoy all the work being done in our neighborhood. Nothing says cool like standing on the wheel of an excavator.

The little kiddos had a great time exploring outside with Grammy. They found fire ants, rocks, flowers, and a cactus on this trip. Here they are scaling the steep hill to find adventure!

Eli and Benjy in their superhero digs.

Brave Benjy on top of another excavator.

This past weekend, we got a ton of work done on the yard and garden. Justin picked up a couple loads of manure from a friend at church, and Teresa pulled roots out of the garden beds so that he could till the manure into the soil.

Go Justin, Go! He got the manure all tilled in and the garden beds are ready to go. Teresa tells us we have great soil for growing a garden, which is pleasant and unexpected news. Hopefully we will get some good veggies and melons out of this little plot later this year. Most of all we hope it will be a fun family activity and a good learning experience to plant and raise our first garden ever.

I didn't get a picture of Teresa and Justin when it was all finished, but they were the heroes of the day. They worked so hard to get it all done, and just in time before the rain came. Way to go you two!!!

A Mountain Hike, Playing with Grammy

My training on mom/baby is in full swing. Grammy flew out during my second week to stay and watch the kids for three weeks while I continue my training. On the day she arrived, she and the kids got to go outside and watch some diggers excavate part of our street. Welcome to our neighborhood! :)

They've played games, built towers, colored pictures, and told stories while I've been in my training. The kiddos have been having a great time. Here's a creation of Benjy's-- he made "Daddy's work."

On Friday, Justin was offered some tickets by a co-worker of his to a Nuggets game that evening. We decided to be spontaneous and go! We had fun cheering on the Nuggets as they played the Mavericks. It turned out to be a really exciting game. The Nuggets were down by a lot until the third quarter, and then things got interesting. They were tied when the game ended and went into two overtimes. We didn't stay for the overtimes but heard them on the way home. The Nuggets almost won, but lost in the second overtime. 

The next day we drove up to Golden Gate Canyon State Park. We got a little lost so it ended up being a scenic drive. :) When we got there we took a little hike up in the mountains. It was just the right level of difficulty for the kids-- steep at first but smooth and with a great view at the top. We had a wonderful time being out in nature and enjoying family time.

We attempted some family portraits. Let's just say they were all full of character. :) Benjy's shiner is the result of a collision with the downstairs table.

Teresa snapped lots of cute photos during the week. Here's Emmie riding her fearless steed wearing her "pretty." 

 

Benjy built another tower of mega blocks.

Eli and Grammy built a motorcycle out of zoobs. Way to go guys!

Benjy helped Grammy make some delicious banana bread. It didn't last long, that's for sure.

Easter

I absolutely love Easter. It's the beginning of Spring, with its symbols of rabbits and eggs and the promise of new life. It is a time for gatherings, as we celebrate together and enjoy the blessing of family. Most of all, it is a time to celebrate the life and Resurrection of our Savior, along with His victory over the grave and its eternal implications for each one of us. 

Easter weekend was also Conference weekend. We spent Saturday watching General Conference, doing yard work, playing with the neighbors, and running errands. The boys and I decorated eggs that evening. Justin was watching the Duke game and Priesthood session of Conference, but he popped in now and again to see how things were going. 

Sunday was another lovely day. Here are some highlights:

• Finding our dyed Easter eggs in the backyard on Easter morning
• The boys being so caught up in their new game Battleship that they almost forget about all the candy in their baskets
• Watching General Conference in the comfort of our basement
• Having Easter lunch at my grandparents' house
• Emmie playing with the penguin run game
• The kids finding eggs in my grandparents' backyard
• Attempted family pictures in the backyard

I have to include one of my signature high chair photos. The kids get to an age where they're so tough to photograph because they never sit still-- except at mealtime, when they're strapped in and and stuck. They're like sitting ducks just waiting to be shot (with a camera). I can't resist. 

Justin took these photos at bathtime. Three happy little faces. Love, love, love them all!

A New Job, Uncle Mike's Memorial

This week I started a new job! This has been in the works for the last few weeks, and there has been some going back and forth as my manager and I worked the kinks out. But I accepted a position on the postpartum Mom/Baby/GYN unit at Lutheran, where I've been on the float pool for the past two years. It has been my dream to get into this area of nursing for a long time, but it has not worked out until now. I am so excited to be making this dream a reality! I will be training for pretty much all of April, working about 24 hours per week during the day (instead of my usual night shifts). My sister watched the kids this week while I trained on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. She will help out next week also until Teresa gets here Wednesday to watch the kids for a few weeks. I'm grateful to have such wonderful caretakers for my kids while I go through this necessary training period. Without good help this would not be possible!

Wednesday night I was in charge of Activity Days. We started out doing an egg hunt on the church lawn, which was fun for the girls. Some of the eggs were filled with candy and other eggs had a number, object, and scripture inside. We went inside and divided up the eggs evenly so each girl had one numbered egg and a couple of candy eggs. They all got to look up their verse(s) in the scriptures and figure out how it related to the object inside their egg. Then they went around in order of the eggs and either read or summarized the scripture and explained how it related to their object. It was very similar to our Easter activity last year, but the girls didn't seem to remember that, which I was glad of. I didn't have a lot of time to plan this one with working this week, but it ended up being just the right amount of fun and spiritual in honor of the Easter holiday this weekend.

Sadly, I have yet another funeral post to make. My great uncle Mike passed away in November. He had declined slowly and had been feeling weak for several months prior to his passing but didn't find out he had terminal cancer until a couple weeks before his death. We didn't have a chance to say goodbye to him before he died because it happened so quickly. He wanted his memorial service and interment of his remains to be in the springtime, so it was held today in honor of his wishes. Mike was my Grandpa Herb's sister Donna's husband. He taught high school math for 35 years and he taught me how to use my first scientific calculator, the TI-85 I still have. Although I have forgotten how to use the functions on the calculator, I will never forget Mike and his kindness and sense of humor. He is greatly missed by many.

Mike's son Aaron shoveling some dirt into the grave.

Carlos and Cassie at the graveside. After the grave service and interment, we went to Donna and Mike's home for a luncheon.

Banks family- Nancy, Dorothy, Jack, Jeannie. 

Brad with Emmeline.

Donna and Mike's daughter Sandra Kelly and her family.

A couple of Hocking family photos. :)

Cousins Jeannie, Aaron, Shelley (mom), Nancy, and Robin. 

All the Pingree cousins.

Eli and Benjy had fun playing with Eric, Sandra and Matt's youngest son who is nine. 

All of the family that attended the service. It was wonderful to be with everyone and remember Uncle Mike.