29 April 2025
I realize I haven't done an update in quite a while. Didn't even update the site for the new year until now. I've wondered if I want to keep posting on this site since it's mostly for my family and I talk to them all the time so is it still useful? I think it is... even if only to get me to put down my thoughts once in a while. Not sure why that would matter to anyone but it seems to matter to me. Knowing that I have a place to put some thoughts helps me look for the good things that happen in daily life, even if I don't post anywhere near daily.
Probably the biggest event since my last update is the passing of my Norwegian grandmother, the only grandparent I still had in mortality. I am beyond grateful that Cody and I went to go see her last summer instead of waiting for her 90th birthday, which was just a few weeks ago. Had we waited, we would have missed the opportunity to see her in person. I confess to being slightly miffed that she was too self-conscious near the end to keep up our weekly Skype chats. I wouldn't have known that it was time to say goodbye, given how suddenly and unexpectedly it happened, but I would have liked to help alleviate her lonliness during that time. I would have liked to remind her that I love her and maybe put a smile on her face a few more times. As it turns out, what would have been her 90th birthday happened to be Easter Sunday. Somehow, that was rather comforting. I know that through the Atonement, my grandma is not lost to me. When I see her again, she will have a perfect body, free from the ailments of old age that she'd been struggling with prior to her passing. But more importantly, she will still be my grandmother.
The family had fun with my birthday, doing basically an Advent-calendar type countdown for the 15 days leading up to it, called the "Ides of April". I'd open a door on our normal Advent calendar to find a paper with a clue to a location where a present was hidden. It was quite enjoyable, getting a present every day! Cody would tease me that he knew where the next day's present was going to be hidden and refuse to tell me when I'd try to good-naturedly trick him into telling. It was nice to feel special, which everyone needs from time to time.
We had some unplanned excitement on my birthday when the hubby heard some sparking in the walls. He thought it was coming from a light fixture but couldn't figure out why it was still happening even after each of the fuses in the breaker box which were labeled anything relating to outlets or lights had been turned off. His little device that flags if there is electricity flowing indicated there was current in the wall!, not even just an outlet. Turns out that the wire for the water heater had gotten worn down and was the culprit, and of course we hadn't thought to turn off that breaker. An electrician friend, who we knew as a neighbor kid when we first moved here, came over to make the situation safe - though we were without hot water for a few days until he could come back and do the proper fix. Thank you, Andy!!! I'm so grateful we didn't have a fire as it was much too close of a near-miss for comfort. Cody is now convinced that my birthday is cursed.
Marisol is eagerly anticipating her 18th birthday in a few months. Realistically, nothing much will change at that time (or even shortly thereafter) since she still has another year of high school to complete but she will be going to Hawaii with a friend, with grandparent supervision. I remember going on a road trip from Utah to Alaska with my best friend, though that wasn't until after a few years of college. It's good to have an experience like that I think. She's still happily in love with her boyfriend of more than a year. Hopefully soon she'll get a job (had to give up the summer job to focus on grades after school started) and learn to drive so she can get herself to said job without relying on us. Gotta help this little bird stretch her wings and get ready to fly...
Cody is looking forward to the 7th grade field trip to the zoo tomorrow. I'm not exactly sure how I got roped into being a chaperone. I think it had something to do with Cody looking at me with big doggy eyes, a technique he learned young from his father. He was ordained a Teacher in the Aaronic Priesthood last January and has been performing his new duties admirably... perhaps the most important of which is to remember to bring the sacramental bread each week. So far, no issues at all and he even seems to be enjoying leaving class a few minutes early to prepare the Sacrament since we have class time first. He's very excited for the new Switch 2 to come out, especially the new Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment game, though I think it's not being released until winter while the console itself comes out in June. To earn a Switch 2 of his very own, he is working on memorizing a bunch of seminary scriptures, something Marisol is doing as well though she's taking the cash we offered instead of a game console. He is still obsessed with otters and loves Jake Retzlaff, the BYU quarterback.
My cute family