Surgery, Bone Chips, Guardianship, Fender Bender, Graduation, Mother's Day, Check-Ups, Chalk Art, Cook Off, Pickle Ball, Salt Flats

Wow these past two weeks have been a doozy on us!  A lot has been happening to say the least.  

Josh has outgrown his 34x36 pants.  What in the world!! This kid is getting so TALL!!  Here are his floody pants.  Good thing it's warm enough for shorts because that's all that fit him right now....ugh!

Speaking of Josh he did try out for an appointed student council position for next year.  I was proud of him for trying out because that can be scary.  Unfortunately, there were only 7 positions and 18 people tried out and he didn't make it.  However, he rocked his application and video.  Here's his tryout video which he did awesome.  Just copy and past the following link into the browser:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQvi9PEFK3w&feature=youtu.be

Josh also has been asked to be the First Assistant in the Priest Quorum in our ward.  It was done while everyone has been social distancing at home.  The bishop interviewed him over Zoom and later on came to our house to set him apart.  It will be ratified in church when we all get the okay to go back to church.  That was pretty cool!

It was Mother's Day a two Sundays ago.  We did have G&G T over for dinner Saturday night.  Aaron smoked some ribs and we had a nice time visiting with them.  I have a pretty awesome mother if I do say so myself.  

The next day was the big day.  I was a bit sad the kids weren't in school because I LOVE getting the cute items they make at school for me.  However, Aaron did step in and have them fill out some cute questionnaires for me.  They were sweet to read.  Josh spearheaded breakfast in bed for me and did a great job.  He did gather up everyone else to help him cook so it was a group effort.

 My favorite thing in life is being a Mom.  Although it has a lot of HARD parts about it, the good parts far outweigh the difficult ones.  I love my kiddos and the awesome people they are becoming!!

Sarah and I both got soft blankets for Mother's Day.  Here are our twinner blankets:

I did get some pretty tulips, too:

It was time for Sarah to get her 12 year old or Jr. High vaccinations.  I wanted it all from the same doctor so I took her to her pediatrician to get them done instead of doing it myself.  She wasn't too thrilled about going to the doctor for and check up and shots, but she handled it like a champ.  I hadn't taken her for a check up for a couple years so I had to update the doctor about her crazy past two year medical history including two root canals on her front teeth after being broken and then getting infected.  I then got to tell him about her ambulance ride and hospital stay at Primary's last year from a stuck gallstone and subsequent jaundice episode.  I also got to tell him about her liver issues, liver biopsy and being involved and still involved with the Liver clinic at Primary's this past year.  She definitely is a problem child--haha!  Good thing I love her and that we have good health insurance!!  She is 61" and 99 pounds.  She did get her shots and will be ready to start Jr. High in the fall.

Noah tagged along and did his 10 year old well child visit, too.  He was majorly relieved when he heard he didn't need any shots--haha!  He is in perfect health. He is 56" and weighs 85 pounds.

We had a big happening this past week.  We have been overwhelmed and taking our time in getting guardianship for Matthew.  When a child turns 18 they are considered an adult regardless of competency.  Matthew who is now 18 (as of last August), has special needs, and would benefit from having help in making serious decisions we sought guardianship for him.  We had gone to three Guardianship Pro Se classes to try and do it all ourselves without involving an attorney.  That way we could save at least $3000.  However, it was still quite overwhelming so it kept getting put off.  Sometimes procrastination works, though!  In January the court streamlined their document menu and made things a lot easier to figure out.  We got everything filled out and went to file in person at the 2nd District Court in Farmington back in April.  Everything went through and we got a court date for a few weeks later.  Wahoo!!  With all the Covid stuff happening we got to do our court hearing online.  How cool is that?!  We logged on a 30 minutes before our hearing time and while we were waiting we got to hear the case before us which was a man trying to change his legal name.  It was cool to listen to.  Next it was our turn.  Before we got started the clerk had Aaron and me raise our right hands and swear us in.  Then we got to visit with Judge Dale.  He asked us a few questions and then talked to Matthew.  Matthew told him all about how he loves to walk Sophie, how he loves to shred papers.  He even told the judge that he could shred all his papers if he wanted to send and officer to our house and drop off all his papers to shred.  Matthew then told him all about how he was Homecoming King at his high school.  Matthew loves talking and it was a bit hard to get him to stop talking so we could listen to what the judge had to say--haha!  After the judge talked with Matthew it was determined that it would be in Matthew's best interests to have us, his natural parents, be his guardians.  He would then sign the paperwork and send it to his clerk.  It was an awesome experience overall minus filling out the paperwork, though!  We are the proud parents of an 18 year old baby boy AGAIN--wahoo!!  Here we are listening to everything going on:

Here's the judge and the clerk:

Judge Dale:

We are so glad this happened.  Although it is hard to accept that Matthew needs to have guardianship since he has special needs, I am grateful this option is available.

We picked up our certified copies of the guardianship papers a few days ago from the Second District Court in Farmington.  It is truly official now:

In other happenings Aaron was lucky enough to get another COVID 19 test done.  He wrenched his ankle while jogging clear back in February.  By the time the middle of April hit and it still painful he went to see a podiatrist.  She put him in a supportive boot and told him to see if that extra support from the boot would help it heal. Normally she would have just sent him to get an MRI done, but with all the crazy COVID stuff going on she decided to try the boot first before sending him for imaging.  Aaron tried the boot for three weeks with no change.  Aaron went back to the podiatrist who then sent him for an MRI.  The MRI showed a partially torn tendon in his left foot that was shredded.  She then recommended surgery to repair it and clean the area up inside his ankle/foot.  Aaron did get a second opinion from another podiatrist who recommended the same treatment--surgery.  Aaron scheduled the surgery.  Three days before his foot surgery he had to get a COVID test done to make sure he didn't have it so he could proceed with the surgery.  Let me say he got off easy with this tester!  The last tester really went to town inside both our noses, this one barely put the swab in and then it was over.  I still must say it didn't look fun--poor guy:

The results were clear for the COVID test so it was a go for surgery.  It was scheduled for early Friday morning.  

Thursday evening Aaron and I met my brother Bryan and his wife Michonne over at G&G T's house so Aaron could get a blessing before his surgery the next morning.  We ended up visiting for a few hours which was really nice.  I am glad we are able to live close by family and get help when we need it.

With COVID stuff going on I was not allowed to accompany Aaron in to his surgery.  It was actually harder than I thought to drop him off and watch him walk away to have surgery without being with him.  Here he is on his way inside the surgical center:

To try and pass the time waiting for his surgery to be done, I came back home, woke up Sarah and we did some chalk art.  Our young women had a chalk art festival this past weekend.  You were supposed to decorate your driveway or sidewalk with uplifting quotes or pictures.  Here's our creations:

They gave me an estimated time for when Aaron's surgery should be done, but that time came and past so I drove over to the surgical center to see what was going on with Aaron.  I walked in to the waiting room and they weren't too happy with me.  Oh well it got things going.  I was then told he was out of surgery and that I needed to pull up to the back of the building.  They then let me come inside as long as I was wearing a mask to see him.  He was still pretty out of it, but doing okay.  He had to wear a mask the whole time to minimize risk of Covid.  Even when they started his anesthesia with the gas they put the oxygen mask on top of his face mask to administer the sleeping gas.  That just sounds crazy to me, but I guess it worked. Here's how he looked when I was finally able to see him:

They let the doctor know I was there and she came to talk with me.  She had explained to Aaron what she had done in the surgery earlier, but he was so out of it he didn't really remember what was said.  She told me that the tendon was torn, but that they bone behind the tendon was broken and the ligament holding things place was pretty screwed up--both of those things didn't show up on the MRI.  She had to chip out part of one of his foot/ankle bones and then reattach the tendon and tighten up the ligament.  She saved the bone fragments she chipped off so he could see them.  Here's Aaron's missing bone chips:

It was quite an involved surgery--more was done than what was expected.  Needless to say it has been pretty rough for him.  They fitted him with crutches and then let us go home.  He has to stay non weight bearing on his left foot for the next 2-3 weeks.  There's been a lot of movie watching going on to try and pass the time.  Aaron's been totally out of commission and all the kids are still supposed to be doing school work during this last week.  It has been overwhelming to me to try and get everything done, but I am trying.  I was extremely grateful for the dinner G&G T brought over that first night.  Navajo tacos have never tasted so good!

Sophie is just enjoying having blankets around to lie on and Aaron to snuggle with.  She gets so comfortable sometimes we tease her that she forgets how to dog especially when she falls asleep like this:

Aaron would never admit it, but he enjoys having a snuggle buddy, too:

Let me just say that having all the kids at home all the time it is NEVER quiet.  One afternoon after getting Aaron set up with some food, a drink, a trip to the bathroom, and medication, I took the kids out to play some pickle ball so Aaron could have a quiet house to try and take a nap.

This is the first time I have played Pickle ball, but Josh and Daniel have played many times before.  Matthew knew how to play from his racket sports class in high school.  Matthew could serve very well which pleasantly surprised me.  We had a fun afternoon playing.

It was cool to find out we have some Pickleball courts pretty close to our house.  Wahoo!

This past week we had a Bake Off Challenge with our Young Women.  They had to bake or make something and take a picture of it to submit.  Sarah had some help from Josh and they made a lemon cheesecake dessert.  Here's what Sarah and Josh made:

Tuesday we all NEEDED to get out of the house.  Cabin Fever is a real thing!!  Anyway, Aaron wanted to get out too, but he still was having a hard time getting around.  We decided to go out to the Salt Flats.  I have wanted to make it out here for a while, but never did.  Now was our chance.  We drove out there and it was incredibly windy.  It was really cool to see how flat it was and how far the salt went.  We parked the van and walked around for a bit.  Aaron walked about 20 feet and then was done--poor guy.

Did I mention it was really windy?!

It was chilly, too.  Thank goodness I hadn't removed everyones sweatshirts from the back of the van from our last outing because we all needed them.  It was cold especially with the wind!

The Bonneville Salt Flats are about 12 miles long and 5 miles wide salt crust that can vary from a few inches to 5 feet thick.  It is blindingly white as far as the eye can see.  It is also known for its land speed records as well.  

Here's what the salt crust looks like close up:

Did I mention it was very windy and chilly?  We were glad there were leftover sweatshirts for all of us to wear!!

We did have a quick picnic and then headed back home.  Aaron was already in the car because he was done--the poor guy.  He was a good sport despite only being 4 days post op.  Everything was so white it looked like snow even though it was just salt.

It was so windy on the way home it felt like I was in a snow storm.  The picture doesn't do it justice, you will just have to take my word for it.

When we got home we were surprised to read about the four tipped over semis on the road we were driving on since it was so windy.  Pretty crazy!

We got back from the Salt Flats to go to Aaron's follow up surgical appointment.  It was the first time we both go to see the roughly 6-7 inch incision.  Ouch!!  Here's what his incision looked like:

He is doing okay, but still can't be weight bearing for a few more weeks.  He has another follow up next week.  He may get the stitches out then or the podiatrist may wait a bit longer.   She did see that the crutches were not working out very well so she did get Aaron set up to use a foot scooter.  The scooter wouldn't be available until the next day or two, but Aaron was happy to use something besides the crutches.

After a big, busy day when we settled down and watched some TV that evening.  We had some popcorn to munch on while we watched some TV.  Sophie watched us with her puppy dog eyes eat every single bite:

The next day was Sarah and Noah's time to turn in their school issued laptops.  Since the 6th graders missed out on so much even their graduation, the school did set up a photo op for the 6th graders.  We got a few pictures of our 6th grade graduate:

She was happy to see her teacher again in person not online.  She got her graduation certificate and a picture with her teacher.  I am sad she missed out on so much of her last year of elementary school.  However, Sarah is really looking forward to starting Jr. High in the fall.

Noah loved seeing his teachers.  His teacher from the first of the year ended up quitting and his other teacher started in January.  I felt bad for her because she was just getting to know all the kids when they shut school down due to Covid.  She did an amazing job, though.  Noah had a great year this year and is excited to move ahead next year.  Here's Noah and his two teachers from 4th grade:

Noah had started a Microsoft class and finished most of it so he got his certificate:

These two won't share a school again for two more years.  They are both looking forward to summer, though:

Here's Sarah's graduation certificate:

She even got a cute t-shirt from her teacher commemorating such a crazy end of the school year this year.  It says, "6th grade 2020.  The one where we missed the ending".

That evening Sarah got to attend a graduation party with some friends.  It was her first boy/girl party.  They signed yearbooks, danced and talked.  They were just excited to see their friends after being socially distanced for so long.  She had a fun time.  

I have had a few Zoom meetings this past week.  I found this meme and it seriously describes what my kids do as soon as I sign on to Zoom--ugh!!

One Zoom meeting was discussing how to restart the mobile immunization clinics again.  There are going to be some big changes to our processes and routines.  We even had to view a few powerpoint presentations to see the differences and fill out some questionnaires.  It will be interesting to actually start up and see patients again.  I will have to don PPE and keep things separate, and get checked out before each shift before I can even work.  It's going to be crazy, but I am excited to try it out.  Our clinics won't be starting for at least another month, but I am looking forward to it!!

Aaron was pretty excited to get his knee scooter delivered a few days ago.  The kids have all had fun messing around with it.  Poor Aaron has to try and have someone track it down before he can get up since they kids play with it and leave it in random locations around the house.

The scooter has been a lot easier for Aaron to use to get around.  He still has to use crutches for stairs and tight quarters, but uses the scooter for everything else.  I am the lucky who has to haul the scooter to the car and back if we go anywhere, though and it is heavy.  Oh well I just tell myself I am getting a nice workout in, right?!  HAHA! I must say it has helped Aaron be more mobile so he is able to help himself out a bit more.  I don't mind helping him, but when I am trying to help five other kids plus him who all want things at the same time it can get pretty crazy!!  Let's just say I am happy about Aaron getting the scooter, too, haha!  I am trying to convince Aaron to take his new scooter to the skate park to see what that bad boy could do, but he is not keen on that idea--haha!

Yesterday we dropped off Daniel's baritone saxophone and his laptop at the school yesterday.  Daniel is ready to be done with school.  He didn't enjoy the online learning as well as just going to school.  He will be glad to go back to school in the fall.  He did try out for Jazz band for next year and made it.  Wahoo, Daniel! Here's my cute soon to be 9th grader:

The last few months Matthew's routine as completely been upended.  He has not taken it very well, either.  We have had quite a few meltdowns and tantrums.  It has been hard on everyone to say the least.  I feel bad for him because so much has changed and we have no idea when things will get back to normal again.  He misses the routine of going to school, his special needs mutual, his daily after school program, etc.  He was a pretty busy guy before everything got shut down.  He also doesn't handle idleness very well either.  His support coordinator and teacher have called to check in on him a few times, but it isn't the same as physically being there.  Matthew has been walking Sophie and has met a few people and dogs on his route.  I got a text from someone I didn't know, but is along his usual walking route.  She told me how Matthew is teaching her dogs how to shake.  She also said she really enjoys visiting with Matthew when he walks by.   Here's Matthew teaching her dogs to shake hands:

They even invited Matthew to attend their daughter's high school graduation open house this week.  People can be pretty awesome sometimes.

Anyway, in talking about Matthew, when is bored he starts picking arguments/fights with his siblings.  Now his siblings are not perfect and they have been doing the same thing to him.  To sum things up--it has been hard on everyone.  The other day Matthew was not happy and throwing a massive tantrum when he decided to do his best Kool Aid Man impression and bust through my locked bedroom door.  Ugh!!

He ended up breaking off the whole corner of the door and busting it down to the point you couldn't even close it anymore.  With Aaron being laid up, Grandpa T was kind enough to come over today and help fix it.  He got lots of help from Daniel, Josh and Noah.

While Grandpa was here he even fixed our metal swing int he backyard.  The kids also told him how their closet door hinges mysteriously got stripped and the door won't close.  I kept trying to unravel how such a mysterious thing could happen, but they kept blaming the 'Not Me' ghost.  Ugh!  At least they can keep each others confidences because I never did find out who broke it or what actually happened to that closet door.

We also got to clean up a flooded bathroom, too.  Someone decided to let the water in the sink keep running while they got in the shower.  Unfortunately their sink was slow to drain and by the end of their incredibly long shower the sink had over flowed and flooded the entire bathroom vanity, floor and had worked its way into the hallway carpet.  Ugh!!  This all happened about 20 minutes before we were supposed to leave to house to go somewhere.  Double Boo!!  Can I admit that I am ready for school to start soon?! HAHA!

I also got into a fender bender this week.  It has been a pretty tough week for me.  Anyway, it was completely my fault.  I backed out into a car in the parking lot.  Unbeknownst to me the owner of the car I hit saw everything that happened.  I got back in my car and wrote a note to leave under the windshield telling the owner what had happened and my contact info.  I felt horrible.  When I walked over to put it under the car windshield she stopped me and talked to me.  I told her how sorry I was and how horrible I felt.  I gave her my contact information again in addition to the note and then let her take a picture of my car insurance information.  She was really nice about it which I was grateful for.   I was waiting to hear back from her and see what needed to happen next when I got this awesome text from her this morning.  I almost started crying.

It definitely has been a rough couple weeks for me, but I keep telling myself it is times like this that make me appreciate the good times that much more.  Here's to a next few weeks at least I hope so--I am keeping my fingers crossed!