Goodbye Shadow

Another sad day in this house. Our little rat, Shadow, had really been coming out of her shell. She started to like it when humans picked her up and she was a smart little thing. She was the only one who had figured out one of the treat toys.  She would be excited to see us when we would approach the cage and got along well with all the other rats. Everyone liked her because she was sweet and we had worked hard to win her over and make her feel safe. She was very, very timid when we first got her.

Then she started losing weight and having lots of diarrhea. Then she started refusing food and was very lethargic. I hand fed her whatever she would eat multiple times a day to try to put weight on her. I tried all sorts of yummy foods and ones that were calorie full and/or easy to digest. Finally she wouldn't take much of anything nor drink water and would just lay in my lap. 

The last two days she was snuggled up with the other rats and would barely move. Finally, this morning I found her alone in the corner of the cage and she had passed away. It was really sad for me as I had tried to nurse her back to health. All her symptoms pointed to something called megacolon which is a digestive condition that cannot be fixed. 

I had to tell the kids and Jason and we buried her tonight in the same place that Millie was buried. We walked up around sunset and had a little service. I said a prayer and Jason read a scripture. The girls said a little something about Shadow. Again Elder McDaniel had some insightful things to say. Then we somberly walked back to the car. Of the rats we got from the pet store (feeder rats) only Suki has been healthy. Congenital issues in feeder rats generally isn't a big deal as they are bred to be food and don't live long. I don't think we will get more rats or if we do we will try a different source (maybe a breeder).

RIP sweet Shadow.

Ice Skating

The youngest YW class was in charge of the combined YM/YW activity this month and they wanted to go ice skating. I wasn't able to go since I had to take Elder McDaniel to his service projects but the girls went. They had a ton of fun. All the youth went to the hockey rink during free skate time. The leaders brought snacks as well. 

My girls said they got better as time went on but still aren't super comfortable on skates. They said they spent most of the time with a buddy or using the walls for support. Well, we haven't ever lived anywhere with much snow and ice. They all had some blisters or soreness the day after too but were still glad they went. I think the leaders enjoyed themselves as well. 

GirlDay 2025

We had to have GirlDay a little later than we normally do due to all the things going on in February this year. But we were able to get all the fun things into one day this Monday, which is also Presidents Day so Jason doesn't have to go in to work. 

The girls wanted to do many things today. First we went out for donuts for breakfast. They also got gas station treats.

Then the girls wanted to go to Barnes and Noble when it opened. Paige picked out a D&D Lego mini figure for her brother (he was serving at the mission home today). 

Directly after that we went over to the mall to a cat cafe. Jason went over to a video game place while the girls and I played with cats for half an hour. 

Darby is a bit afraid of cats but this old orange alleycat loved her. He went over to her and juts purred and purred. 

One of the cats tried to sit in my purse. 

Usually cats like me (I grew up with cats and my kids haven't) and it was true today as well. I had once little guy come sit in my lap and hang out. 

Paige made some new friends too. 

We had lunch in the food court afterwards and then went home. The girls wanted some downtime in their day and also, they had requested ribs for dinner so Jason had to get them seasoned and started smoking.

In the late afternoon we went over to a rage room. This particular place had a few activities. Darby and I wanted to take part in the smash room. You got to choose your "weapon" and what kinds of things you wanted to smash. We each got one electronic and several glass bottles. He even asked us what music we wanted played. It was fun but not as fun as I thought it would be. I guess I had a hard time detaching myself from the cleanup aspect of the mess. I mean, we didn't have to clean it up, but I knew someone did. But still I enjoyed it, Darby and I agreed that smashing answering machines was quite fun.

Jason, Paige and Eva wanted to do the paint room. They each got a canvas and paint and could do whatever they wanted with it. Its was a lot of splatter and globs and such. 

Paige painted part of the room too and got paint all over her hands. 

These are the finished products.

At home we ate the ribs and corn on the cob. Then we had their traditional (well traditional for when we've been in EP) bundt cake. They still can't figure out the confetti popper. Hahaha.

We ended the day with a movie. They agreed on trying Moana 2 but midway through started making fun of it because it really fell short of the original. Oh well, it's still fun to watch even a lame movie with these gals and their wit.

One more GirlDay until Eva graduates. Time is really flying.

Franklin's High Q Tournament

This Saturday was Franklin's turn to host the High Q tournament. I love it when it's at Franklin because I can go watch Eva do her thing. Elder McDaniel came with me and we left after her first round to take him to his service at the library. 

It's so fun to watch. I see why she likes doing it. I feel so smart when I know an answer. Her team won the round we came to watch. She got home around 2pm. They made it to the finals but did not win the tournament. She had a faun time though. It's nice to see her pursue something that challenges her. 

Temple Trip

None of the bishopric could go to the temple trip this weekend so they asked if Jason could be the leader.  There weren't many kids able to go either.  Eva had a tournament and I stayed behind to give Elder McDaniel a ride. So Dad, Darby and Paige went to the temple in Gila Valley, AZ. This was the first temple trip for a few of our new deacons. One of the families was already in AZ for a sporting event so they met them there. It was also the first time some of our new priests could do the baptizing. So it was a pretty special trip for a few of these youth. 

Twenty Years

So today is the twentieth anniversary of our wedding. Twenty years! He was able to get the day off and we spent all day together (amongst getting kids where they needed to go). He even snuck away in the morning to bring me back breakfast burritos.

We exchanged gifts. He liked my funny Ron Swanson card and the gift I gave him (massagers and a trigger therapy book to help with pain from jui jitsu). I got flowers and chocolate and a sweet card from him along with my gift from him - a new robot vacuum!

I had fun sending him silly digital Valentines throughout the day.

Later, Jason suggested that we got shopping for new dining chairs. Be still my heart. ;) He knows me well. We have discovered through the years that we don't need to force our anniversary to look like anyone else's with fancy expectations. We also walked around the thrift store and found funny things to show each other, then went out to lunch. Back at home he assembled the chairs as well. 

We had early dinner at a steakhouse and had plans to go do something after.

We had planned to go up to the Franklins and have smores (the park rangers had a Valentines activity that we could go to), but it got really windy and we decided not to. Instead we came home and watched a movie together.

Happy Annivalentine to my one and only, my person, my sweetheart.

Bostyn's Call

My niece, Bostyn, opened her mission call today. She is the cousin closest to Brendan in age. She has been attending University of Utah for a year before putting in her papers. We got to watch the mission opening via Instagram. 

She has been called to the Vina Del Mar Chile mission and will be speaking Spanish. She starts this summer on June 16. We are so happy for her. She is a lovely young woman.