Evan was out of Town

 Monday was President's Day so I didn't have work and the kids didn't have school!  We didn't do much, just made cookies and had friends over, but it was nice to have an extra day to just relax. Sadly Dad couldn't get in on the action (or inaction) because he left early Monday to go to a conference in Phoenix.  He was pretty busy but was able to call/text us a bit throughout the days he was gone.  For the last evening he went to a Pat Benatar concert.  He said it was surprisingly fun.  He didn't have high expectations because he looked up who she even was and only knew a couple of her songs, but it ended up being an enjoyable night.  He went with 3 of his co-workers, which made the whole thing a little more enjoyable.  Usually he's by himself.

Tuesday Sophia started her week of being lunch worker.  She was a little disappointed she had a short week because she enjoyed it so much.  Her favorite job was being the dishwasher (she organized/moved the trays the students dropped off to where the lunch lady would actually wash them), she also liked being server but did not like being a table washer (the tables and washcloths apparently stink).  Chris had his well visit after school.  The doctor was about half and hour behind which for the younger kids would have been a catastrophe but ended up being a nice thing with Chris because it gave us a chance to talk a lot.  Spencer had has well visit last week and we were able to talk a lot too.  I sure enjoy these older kids of mine.  They are funny and we can have great conversations about things they are learning or want to know more about.

Rhys usually wakes up pretty well but that was not the case Wednesday morning.  He kept falling back to sleep.  I decided to let him sleep in and thought I'd take him in late.  But when he woke up 2 hours later I realized he just needed a day to be a kid.  I feel kind of bad in some ways because he didn't/doesn't get to do as many "kid" things as the older siblings got to do because they don't want to do those things anymore and until recently I couldn't leave them home and just go anyway.  He wrote me a cute note first thing after he woke up telling me he wanted to paint.  I had a coupon for Chick-fil-a for chicken minis (and a cookie for my birthday =) so we went there for brunch and Rhys and Cameron played in the jungle gym.  Rhys still couldn't get Cameron to go down the slide (I've tried in the past but since there are usually so many kids I can't get up there so I usually just encourage him to try it but it never works).  Someday he'll be a little more brave!  After they were done playing, there were only 2 other boys there so they got lots of playing time, we went to Hobby Lobby to pick out something to paint.  We also had a good time checking out the fun things they have.  Rhys and Cameron picked out their favorite bobble head metal animals to take a picture with and then we tried on some fun hats.  After Hobby Lobby we went to see the animals at PetSmart.  The boys loved the fish and the mice but their favorite was the bird, "Frootloop" that would bob up and down like he was saying yes to the questions they asked.  After that we went home and Rhys and Cameron played until the other kids got home.  Then the younger three painted the wooden Easter eggs Rhys had picked out.  It was kind of weird to drop Chris and Spencer off for mutual and not go in (I've been in YW for all but a month and a half of Chris' mutual career).  The sweet Beehives surprised me later by dropping off a flower and cute note.  I sure will miss them!

Thursday Evan came home!  We made a huge "Welcome Home Dad!" banner that the kids all decorated in the morning and then Cameron and I spent the day cleaning and playing and cleaning some more.  Evan had a interesting time coming home.  As they were standing in line to check their bags and the power went out.  After the power came back on the TSA guy told them a power hub was vandalized and the airport was now down to one working bag x-ray machine.  They ended up making it to their gate but then their plane had a problem with the fuel gauge so they sat on the tarmac for an hour.  He said it was depressing to go from warmth and lush green grass to a couple inches of snow sitting on his car.  We had actually been having some pretty warm weather here the last week or two and then it turned cold and snowy this week.

Friday I taught JA in Spencer's class.  Cameron went to Grandma's house and loved his time there.  We don't go over there nearly as much as we used to with the older kids so it's good for him to have some "Grandma Time".  Sophia had a dance party at her friend Sadie's.  She had a good time.  I had to come get her part way through to go get her new retainer.  The old one has always been so tight so even though she tried to wear it it never quite sat correctly.  Her teeth have moved slightly but the orthodontist actually likes they way they are in some ways so he had a new retainer made for her that will fit better and keep her teeth from moving more.  For free, which is nice!  Usually a new retainer is about $100.  We watched the "Secret Life of Pets" for our Friday night movie.

Saturday we played with friends and did stuff around the house.  BYU played Gonzaga at Gonzaga.  It was the last game of the regular season and Gonzaga was undefeated.  Nobody expected BYU to win but they did, 79-71!  Way to go Cougs!