What did you do with your summer break?

One of my classmates pointed out that we have 20 days without homework until our next semester starts.  Here is my Kaysville cohort--missing me (I was taking a bathroom break apparently) and Sylinda (who was out of the room as well).

I said that I was going to clean my house in preparation for the upcoming 9 months of no time to clean.  The other moms booed that idea and said I should give it up entirely until we graduate and have fun instead during the break.

Apparently I chose another option because I am not getting much house cleaning done nor I am having too much fun.

First, the day after our last class, Ben was finally admitted to the State Hospital down in Provo.  We don't know if this is a good thing or not, but it seems like our only option to try to improve the quality of his daily life.  Everything else he (and we) have tried hasn't seemed to stabilize him or prevent his illness from getting worse.  We aren't sure how long he will be there but the average stay is between 6-9 months although it is highly variable.  He is still in the settling in phase.  Unfortunately, because he is a new patient he is restricted to "in the unit" only, so it is still very similar to the hospital.  In the future he will gain access to many more activities and learning experiences as he can take vocational classes, recreational activities including swimming and a gym, and maybe even have a job somewhere at the State Hospital.  It adds a whole new dimension in visiting him as it is about an 1 hour 15 minute trip down there with no traffic.  Hopefully the staff and doctors will be able to figure out some type of medication blends which will help him and allow a bit more quality of life for him. On that first day the staff was great with Ben and with me as we had many questions about everything and what to expect.  This coming Tuesday we will meet with his treatment team for the first time in person (I think that is crazy that it has been two weeks and we have yet to meet anyone and haven't even talked to the doctor assigned to Ben, but I am trying to be patient and work within their system.)  Anyway that was the first day of my "summer break".....

Since the beginning of August I have felt like I was almost getting a bladder infection so I just kept drinking more water.  Then starting last Sunday I felt sick like a stomach bug which included some significant pain. Finally on Tuesday I decided that I should have it checked out so we went to the urgent care clinic at my doctor's office.  I was just assuming that I had a developing bladder infection but no--I have another kidney stone.  I had a CAT scan on Wednesday which confirmed the stone and met with the urologist's office on Friday. The plan right now is that I will have surgery to have it removed on Wednesday because the doctor doesn't think there is any way for it to pass on its own given my experience last time.  I don't want to have surgery because because I was sick for a couple of weeks due to the plastic tubing they had to leave in to allow the tube to heal.  So mostly I have been reclining around with heat, ice and medication.  Even reading is hard due to the medication and pain. At least it was during the Olympics so I watched more Olympics than I ever have before.

So it looks like this week will be spent having and recovering from surgery.  On Friday I have to go to The Children's Center for a meeting to start my internship and then I start there next week.

And how was your summer break?

(Not my best vacation but you don't have to go far on Facebook or the news to see that many MANY other people are struggling with so much more in their own lives--personal tragedies or flooding or fires or whatever.  I might not feel great but I know what is wrong and it will be fixed and I will be fine.  Ben is in a safe place and with caring people and with some new opportunities for help.  Our other kids have jobs and homes and darling kids.  Life is so rich and so good even with a pain in the side.)

A room with a view

a fancy title for this picture....but it isn't often when you get to see a large bird (hawk?) eating a mouse out your kitchen window!

What is even more great about this is that Gary was the one who first saw it.  He came and told me while I was blowing drying my hair that I needed to hurry and come--he didn't say what for but he seemed serious--so I went.  So glad I did---and so glad that I have a husband who knows that I would definitely want to interrupt my hair drying to see it!

As good as National Geographic--right in our backyard.

A productive week in some ways....

What do you do when you wake up at 3:30 a.m. and can't sleep?  That was me last Monday morning. It was a day that I had set aside for homework and sleeping well is an important part of the equation. My eyes don't allow me to read or do computer stuff that early in the morning.  That is a headache waiting to happen.  I tried my usual things--folding laundry, dusting quietly, back to bed, up again...finally I spent an hour cleaning my kitchen cabinets and drawers.  After breakfast and some morning jobs I headed back to bed for a 2 hour nap---then I did homework.  Although I am happy to have my kitchen drawers cleaned, I much prefer a whole night of sleep at once.  It took me a few days to feel normal again and not tired.

I was actually stopped at a stop light when I took this picture.  It was the huge puffy white cloud sitting on the mountain or so it seemed.  The picture doesn't really do it justice.

The cleaning project that was on the to-do list this week was cleaning the garage.  As usual, Gary asked if we were having a garage sale.  Silly man--he was probably hoping I wasn't going to put most of it back into the garage.

 It was a cooler day on Wednesday which made it great for working outside.

 Moving it all back in........

Then Friday we hung the mirror and picture I found for our redone bathroom and were able to get almost every thing else done as well.  Jena likes her new bathroom.....

 ....but we really need to find some towels which match the blues and greens we have in the room.

Here is the new picture we got for the bathroom.  I love the blues and greens in it and I love the flowers.  Apparently I really love flowers because after I hung this one, I started noticing all the flower pictures I have throughout my house--5-8 depending on how you count them.

Irises are really beautiful!

Saturday Jena and I made yellow play dough for our new calling.  Gary and I were released from our Scout callings and called with Jena to teach the Sunbeams.  Today is our first class.

That was our week in addition to the regular stuff of Family History (Gary), mission (Jena), Okinawa birthday fun (Austen and Tosha with Niki), hospital (Ben--doing a bit better), work and play (Scott and Chantel with Scarlett), and work and play (Jessica, Elessia and Liam), homework, school, UDSF (me).

Flying by....

with or without pictures to show for it!  I can't believe how fast this summer is going.  It seems like it barely started and now tomorrow is August!

We enjoyed a quiet 24th of July holiday (on the 25th since the 24th fell on a Sunday).  I was able to work on some homework, housework, and I think I even read a book for pleasure for a couple of hours.

Tuesday during the day, I met my brother Mike at my dad's for an afternoon of conversation.  Karla's daughter Kim and her family were also there as they are in town for Karla's granddaughter's wedding on Thursday.

I headed to a work meeting for a school project (happily our actual classes were cancelled for the holiday weekend).  We were able to get the rough draft of our final project for our research class done so we have been spending the rest of the week cleaning it up.  Google docs is a wonderful thing. From our houses and vacations we can all work on the document and if you happen to be on when someone else is you can see their cursor indicating where they are working in the document.  I have a great group and it was been fun to work with them for the second time.  Doesn't this talk of homework and papers in the summer make you all want to go back to school?  It really is awesome.

Tuesday night Mike headed to our house to spend the night.  It is always great to have a sibling in town but it was too short of a visit.  He was able to attend our Neighborhood fireworks put on by the Watson family.  They own a couple of firework stands and at the end of the season on the 26th they fire off all of their remaining fireworks.  He does an amazing job.  This year it lasted 1 1/2 hours. They were gorgeous and there were a few types I had never seen before.  Fun times!  There was a bonus feature this year as their oldest daughter is expecting their first grandchild so the first fireworks announced the sex of the baby--it's a girl!  Pink fireworks filled the air....about 20 minutes before the actual show began.  I think some family members were getting a bit anxious.  How fun it that!

Wednesday I spend the day doing UDSF stuff, mainly interview people for a very part time position we have opened up for 10 hours a day.  We had two excellent candidates so now we have to decide which skill set would be the best fit for us right now.  I wish we could hire them both.

I also bought the main fabric for our grandson who should be arriving in December.  I think robots are so cute.

Thursday we had two wedding receptions to attend and then again on Saturday another one.  We almost always give games so I stocked up last week to make it through to all of the reception. Thursday the receptions were for Sierra Dobson (Karla's granddaughter) and Erin Beckstrand (whose family we are very close to).  Luckily the timing worked perfectly.  Sierra's was in Bountiful from 5:30-7 and then Erin's was from 7:30-9 in Sandy.  It was warm for the outdoor receptions but not impossible and it became very pleasant at the Beckstrand's as the sun went down.  We have know Beckstrands for over 35 years and it was fun to see them and also other old friends we share in common that we haven't seen for years--Susan Cassell from Oquirrh Shadows Ward 39 and Kim Stucki who also lived in that same ward years ago but is also a friend of mine from Amarillo, Texas.  It was because Kim and her family were living at there that we decided to buy a house in their ward boundary when we moved to Salt Lake.  We never looked anywhere else.  When I think of our many dear friends from that time of our lives I am so grateful for that decision.  We have been so blessed with friends everywhere we have lived.

Friday we had another Pinewood Derby- this time at Chancellor Gardens, an assisted living center. This is actually the place where my brother-in-law Allan lives in the memory care unit.  I believe that it wasn't that connection that led to the invitation.  I think one of the workers had been to a Cub Scout Derby and then asked us to do it for them.  They had about 14 cars.  It was fun.

It was a nice activity to do on a very hot day.

Saturday Gary headed up to help Gary K. start the work on the neighborhood library.  Jena and I came up later when I got some yard work done and we hung out with Vonette and went swimming in their pool.

In between all of this, Ben is still at Davis Hospital.  He is getting very bored there and anxious to leave.  He is doing a bit better and is able to have conversations better.  I am still not happy about the medication choices by the doctor but it is hard to impact that much in the current situation.

A week in the life of these Halls---

I can't believe tomorrow is August 2016.  This time next year I will be 2 weeks away from being done with school.