Happy Times!

I've been bad at updating.

Mat took Maddie and Isaac to Midnight Mass at the Catholic Church in Ormond Beach on Christmas Eve.  They thought that was pretty cool!  In our younger days, we used to go pretty regularly.  Both of us went to midnight mass on our missions too, so for  awhile it was a tradition.

Christmas day was pretty laid back.  We have a tradition of giving each other a present from the dollar store.  It's actually really funny, because sometimes the gifts are more like a "white elephant", sometimes they are gifts that might actually get used!  For example, Isaac got pink socks, McKinley got a oil funnel for a car, Brooklyn got a package of paper clips, Maddie got a marijuana test kit!  No one got a dog toy this year, that's been a running joke for several years. We always laugh a lot and I marvel at the kids creativity with their $3 budgets.






We also have a tradition of going to a newly released movie on Christmas day.  This year we did two!  We all saw an early showing of Coco, in the evening half of us saw Wonder (which I would highly recommend!) and the other half went to Star Wars.  They were showing at the same time, so it worked out perfect.  IHOP was open, so that's where we ate our Christmas dinner.  :)  I did make a nice dinner on Christmas Eve . . .  for the record.

Yesterday (Tuesday) we spent some time at Blue Springs State Park.  It was such a cool place, it's one of the many places manatees come in the winter.  The manatees share the springs with all kinds of wildlife, turtles, alligators, lots of species of birds, I'm sure there were so many other critters we didn't see.  There were dozens of manatees lounging around in the shallows, and that was so cool to see!

After Blue Springs, we drove down to the temple in Orlando where Mat and the kids did baptisms.  I hung out with McKinley in the waiting room and on the grounds, got some great pictures!  I love the temple, no matter where it is!  There's no better place to go, it was worth going out of our way to get there.

Today (Wednesday) we went on a tour of a chocolate factory.  "Tour" is a big stretch though!  They had 4 windows in a narrow hallway and so many people that you couldn't see much, but we did get to sample and buy at the end of the tour.  I'm not much for creme-centered chocolates, but I did find a bag of dark chocolate honeycomb.  Anyone else know what that is??  I've eaten it since I was a kid.  My mom loved it too!  We'd go see my dad at work, and go to the candy counter every time we went to Ogden (we lived in Huntsville).  Everyone picked out their favorite thing, and we spent a large-ish amount of money on chocolate.  Worth every penny!

The weather has been kind of yucky today, cold and windy with some spotty rain.  We attempted the beach this morning, knowing that it would be our last opportunity, but we didn't stay long because of those conditions.  I posted a video on FB of Brooklyn attempting to fly the kite.  She kept it in the air for a few minutes, but it was flying wildly in all directions.

Last chance at the beach!  There was no one else there - the conditions were less than ideal!

We also planned to go to today to a mini golf place called Congo River Golf.  We pulled up and got out, and I was skeptical!  It was cold and windy (it's just across the street from the ocean), but my amazing family convinced me it would be OK, we should just try it.  There were a lot of people there, so I thought I should NOT be a wimp in this situation.  And I'm glad!  It was really fun! I've never seen a miniature golf place quite like this one, with water hazards, ball tunnels, obstructions, holes with hills going up and down, etc.  The kids were so funny, competitive in a great way, and encouraging.  Of course our resident golfer (Mat) got the lowest score.

St. Augustine, which I kept calling Petersburg because "chemo brain"

We spent much of yesterday afternoon and evening in St. Augustine exploring the old city.  History lover Mat signed us up for walking tour that went over what it was like when the city was colonized. Then we explored the historic city and shopped, etc.  I was pretty hammered from all the walking we did, but it's a cool town with live music wafting from restaurants and parties all over.  We went into a shop called MetalArts and were approached by a beautiful younger woman with a shiny, smooth head.  I asked her if she was going through what I was going through.  She has Alopecia, and has decided to embrace it and not worry about wigs.  Her confidence inspired me and I went the rest of the night without covering my head.  After all, it was high 70's and low 80's here yesterday!  I wish I had taken a picture with her, she inspired me to not care so much.

These are the Christmas light St. Augustine gets excited about.  Pshhhh. They need to see how it's done in Utah! 

This morning we went to church with the Palm Coast and Bunnell wards.  They combined like our home wards did, so it was just an hour meeting.  It was so nice to come around the corner and see that familiar church architecture and know we would be welcomed and uplifted!

Even Mat caught some waves!

After church, we went to the beach, because nature!  The kids have had such a great time on the beach!  I love the hours and hours I sit there with my feet in the sand, watching them run around, catching waves, building sand things, chasing birds and tiny creatures in the sand.  The lady whose house this is bought 4 boogie boards and some beach chairs so we could use them, and we have!  She also did some simple Christmas decorations inside and outside.  She didn't have to, but she knew our situation and wanted to make it a special week for us.  I can't express how amazing it has been!  I talked to a friend from home tonight who helped me clarify why it's been such a great week.  We're away from home, away from the day to day responsibilities, away from distractions and friends who might pull the kids into other activities.  All there is to do is spend time together and in the case of some kids, torment each other!  The only distraction comes from phones ... blaahhhh!

When we were at the dolphin place yesterday, Brooklyn commented again about how happy I was.  That warms my heart, because my heart has been heavy for three months.  Skipping chemo on Friday certainly helps, it really takes a toll on me!  This week has made me more aware of how my mental health affects the kids.  I don't cry often, and never in front of them.  It's hard to know how to manage that when I feel so overwhelmed, and sick, and tired, and unable to function.  When I'm doing chemo, I don't have the energy to get off the couch, let alone be funny and engaged.  I don't really know what to do about it.  It is what is.  I'm not happy about this path I'm on, there's a lot of heavy stuff to deal with.  So I deal the best I can.

p.s. Have a Merry Christmas tomorrow!

Florida Update!

Marine Land - just south of St. Augustine

Zack is showing off!  He was the dolphin the kids got to play with!

The kids did the "Touch and Feed" program.

Every dolphin has distinct markings and nicks, so they are easy to tell apart once you get to know them.

Hey Zack! Do what we tell you to do, OK?

Waving goodbye!

I did the shallow water experience.  So cool!

My dolphin was Aqe (Ah-Kee).  They are SO smart, social and sweet!

Now Aqe is showing off.  Anything for a few fish!

Time to say Good Bye!

His final farewell!

Our Grand Adventure!

What a fun time we've had!  After we left the airport, we drove to directly to Olive Garden, because we had gift cards, and we were starving!  Our "hotel" was about 70 miles away, so we needed food ASAP.  Thank you Olive Garden!  As we drove north, and I started to catch an idea of where we were headed and I started to perk up.  I hadn't slept the night before but it didn't matter!  Remember that I was only given a general idea of where we were going, but the exact location was a secret even to me!  Navigation was leading us north and right to the coast.  I was dying when we got off the freeway and drove down a long, winding road that looked like the winding road to my brother and sis-in-law's in Bellingham, Washington.  Except these were palm trees and tropical plants, of all sizes and heights!  When we pulled into the neighborhood and driveway, I was shocked, because this wasn't a hotel, but a house.

The house itself is beautiful, has a pool in the back yard, and to get to the beach / ocean, we pass 3 houses and cross the street.  So sweet!  Last night after we arrived, long after dark, we HAD to go to the beach.  The kids ran around "trying" not to get wet.  :)  This morning, we got up and spent 3+ hours over there, despite overcast skies.  Isaac is the only one that looks like a lobster today.  We flew our kite, watched fishermen (catching Pompano and Whiting), watched some kind of motorized para-sailers, the sea birds, made sand castles, collected shells, and listened to the soul changing surf.



After we played at the beach, we came home and attempted to get the sand off, and relaxed for a little while.  I laid on the couch and listened to Mat, Isaac and McKinley play RISK at the dining room table.  I don't quite understand how McK got the upper hand--I don't know the game, but she did and she slaughtered them!  It was so funny to hear them going back and forth, and I loved the outcome!  Sometimes being the youngest feels like being the under dog, but today, she felt like a winner!



When it was time for dinner, we decided to head for town.  Mat had googled out a pizza place he wanted to try, and we needed a few groceries.  The pizza place was Lenny's NY Style Pizza, and it was fantastic!  Our waiter was "Frank", was hilarious and entertaining!  He even did magic tricks for us!  And look at those pies.  It was so yummy!



We were finishing up dinner, and I heard Frank tell another couple that his name was Raphael, but he went by Ralph.  The whole dinner was an illusion!

After dinner, we went to a Ross / TJ Maxx type place where we wandered and found a few things that will have to be hauled home.  Because we were also gifted some spending money, the kids heard some YES instead of Mom's predictable answer.  Seeing the confusion on the some kids faces was priceless!  Head cocked to the side with a "Really?!"

Tomorrow we are going to play with dolphins at Marine Land, then head to St. Augustine for some fun in the colonial quarter, and then play with alligators at a farm there.  Brooklyn has been totally freaked out about alligators and crocs since we got here.  This educational visit will either throw her right over the edge, or put her mind at ease!

p.s. I wish Blogger had a better way to format pictures!!!

Extreme Gratitude

I've been floating on clouds today, not only because I feel pretty good (and I get to take chemo off on Friday!), but because we have been richly blessed by the generosity of SO MANY people this Christmas season!  Friends at Mat's school (Riverton High) have gifted so much to him for us.  He got a sizable cash donation today from an anonymous friend, delivered to him by an office aide during his prep period.  Teachers in his department and some of the office ladies raised money to pay for the sub on Thursday, which isn't cheap the day before the long holiday!  Because they don't want most teachers taking off the day before a holiday (because there aren't enough subs), district policy is that there are only a few that get the day off, and that is done by lottery.  So blessed!  There have been many other kind gestures at RHS too, just makes a person happy!

Some of you know that our family was nominated by the "Hope for the Holidays" program through Huntsman.  That means that another family (or another group of donors) graciously donated everything for our Christmas, I mean, we've never had a pile that looked like this one!  We're simple people, with not a ton of resources, so we generally keep things to the practical necessities.  When one daughter came in from school, she saw the gifts, her eyes got big and she said "Whoa!"  Our heartfelt THANKS to everyone that made this possible, Annie our LCSW, and the family that took on our family, shopped, wrapped and gave us all these things.

Santa really does deliver!

I got to spend a good portion of the day making final preparations for our big "reveal" tonight, when the kids find out that 1) Christmas is today.  Presents are today! AND  2)  That we fly out in about 11 hours to a warm, sunny beach location of unknown origin, even to me!  I mean, I know the state we're going to, but not the exact location.  And since my kids don't know about any of it, I can't tell y'all.  All of this has been made possible by a dear friend and her husband, who wish to remain anonymous.  She's told me that planning and making all of this possible for us has been the best Christmas they've ever had!  I can't wait to post some pictures of our adventures.  An elaborate plan was created to tell the kids about the trip, where we're going generally, because we won't know exactly until we're in the rental car.  Presents with clues will be opened in numerical order.  The last present is a puzzle they have to put together, then turn over where they'll find a coded message.  To find the "decoder", there's a scavenger hunt through our house.  They have to find the decoder to figure out that we're going on vacation, and generally where we're going.  Believe me, my brain can't handle all of this.  That's where friends come in!  We open envelopes at the appointed times to find out the rest of the cool stuff.  Can you stand it?!  This is going to be AWESOME!

























I've slacked off in sharing the things we've received for the 12 Days of Christmas.  We have no idea who is doing this for us, but it's been so great to look forward to that everyday!  Whoever it is, they are creative and thoughtful and we are GRATEFUL!

6th day of Christmas - 6 mugs, with hot chocolate!  Kids broke into it before I could get my picture.

An anonymous friend from RHS gifted Mat a generous sum to help us on our trip.  People are amazing!