I think there is a party starting in my tummy

      -Maren

Wow, am I getting behind or what!? I have exactly five minutes before I have to go back and see my next patient. I keep telling myself I'll get to this blog sometime, but it never seems to happen, so I guess I'll just write the five minute version of things.

Maren had a birthday and it was a lot of fun and she had a party with all her friends with a mermaid theme and games and everything and she also brought cupcakes into her preschool class. She is five years old now.

We went on a trip to Utah to visit family and that was a lot of fun too and we stayed at my brother's house in Logan and spent time playing games and eating good food and climbing the little hill by their house with the kids. Speaking of kids, they had a lot of good times in the unfinished basement except for the time when Lindsey fell and cut her lip so bad she had to go to the ER and get stitches, but she was in good spirits the whole time and pretty stoked about the stitches so I guess it all worked out okay. On the way home from our trip we ended up taking a 20 hour detour due to really bad weather, but Rachel and I had to work the next day so we drove through the night and made it happen and our kids were awesome travelers.

Evelyn also had a birthday where she turned 9 years old and she had a party with all the family in Utah and another one when her friends came for a sleepover at our house with a Harry Potter theme and another party with just our family at our house and tonight she is finally getting her birthday dinner in the most drawn-out birthday celebration ever.

Rachel has less than a week before she interprets her first Broadway play and she has been practicing a lot for it and she is going to do a great job and then right after that she is catching a plane for New York for her interpreting cruise and vacation and she is pretty excited about all of this. Meanwhile, I am leaving on Wednesday for a 3 day stay in Scottsdale for a dental thing that I am actually pretty excited for.

This weekend was sort of crazy with Evelyn's sleepover party and then another party at the Kroc center for Addy and Jackson's friend, and then another party/game night at our house with the people I work with. I also took the three oldest kids for a while while Rachel practiced for her play and we went out to a buffet lunch and then went rock climbing and then went to see the movie Moana at the discount theater. Good times.

Here's some pictures. Have a good week!

BFFs at Evelyn's sleepover

Cousin Time

We made it to the top and found lots of golf balls along the way

The kids were waiting in the car at the Kroc center and playing on my phone. I guess we have a budding photographer in our family because somebody took this picture but I have no idea who.

It's been a pretty laid-back week for us. Here are some quick-takes of what we've been up to:

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I have to say, I feel a little bit isolated up here in Northern Idaho from most of the political dialogue (if you can call it that) which seems so prevalent these days. For the most part, I like it that way. For now at least, it is much more practical for me to be an interested spectator in the political arena than an active participant.

At the same time, I have a shop in my backyard that is full of furniture, proving that we aren't totally off-the grid.

What does this have to do with national affairs? Quite a bit, it would turn out.

The furniture represents donations intended for a refugee family that was coming over. I'm pretty sure they aren't terrorists or rapists or baby-eaters or anything- just a normal family trying to get out of a pretty dangerous situation. They were supposed to be here soon, and I offered up my shop as a short-term storage facility. Well, it turns out that their arrival has been delayed. And then it wasn't. And then it was. And then it wasn't. I don't even know where things stand at the current time.

So...for all the political big-wigs in Washington who I'm sure are following my blog, please let this family come over before I get started on my Spring cleaning. If not, then I have two dressers, a bed, several bookshelves, and a large fake Christmas tree that you can help me store until further notice.*

Thank you.

*I'm not complaining here- just being deliberately facetious. I really do have plenty of space and am happy to store these items for as long as it takes. I also don't think I'm alone in hoping that this happens sooner rather than later.

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Next, I want to mention my back. As it turns out, I'm not a gimpy old man. Not yet, at least. I appreciate all the well-wishes from friends and family, but it's really not that big a deal. I'm doing well with my physical therapy, and I can still sort-of rock climb (but not lead). I also have some weird black tape on my back that they say is supposed to help, but I think they just needed something to do with their extra tape because it seems totally useless to me. Certain exercises help me to feel better, and I imagine it will only be a matter of weeks before I'm a hundred percent again. Best of all, surgery has been ruled out for now. So...yeah...that's good.

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On Saturday, we hit a milestone for our family. Lindsey and I worked together to disassemble her crib and unceremoniously drive it to the dump. A new dresser and twin bed took its place.

We have had a crib in our home for over nine years. And now we don't any more. We probably won't ever have one again. It's a big day. Our little family is growing up!

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Jackson and I made a birdhouse. He planned it, helped me pick out the wood, measured it, and did almost all the work himself. I was just there to hold boards while he cut them, and to make sure things didn't get too out of control with the power tools. He did a pretty good job.

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Evelyn went on a camp-out this weekend up in the mountains. Well- they called it camping. Actually, they stayed in cabins and played games most of the time. I think she had fun though.

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Other news: Rachel and I got a babysitter so we could go watch the Super Bowl. We both ate way more junk food than we should have, and it was fun to get out.

Evelyn put together a great presentation on JK Rowling and delivered it flawlessly to our family. Good job Ev!

While Ev was at her camp, we took the other kids to Home Depot for their monthly craft day. Everyone built boxes with picture-frame lids.

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Have a good week!

Last week I made mention of my back hurting. I finally went into the doctor for it because it kept getting worse, and he thinks I may have a slightly herniated disk. I'm in physical therapy two days a week now, and if progress isn't seen then we're looking at surgery. So....that's my exciting news.

Yesterday I got a call from Rachel saying she was at the doctor with Jack. Apparently he was playing a game with his friends at school called "tornado" and he ended up running smack into a metal pole. He hit it hard enough to make him lose any memory of the event, They thought at first that his nose might be broken, but it turns out it wasn't. It did look awfully swollen later that evening, and it was very tender. After the doctor's visit school was almost over and he could have just gone home, but he asked to go back so he didn't miss the after-school science program he is in. That guy is tougher than he seems sometimes.

Here's Rach and Jackson getting ice cream before going back to school. Jackson's nose swelled up quite a bit more as the day went on, but I guess it's going to be fine. FYI: Kids don't like it if you call them "Elmo" when their nose is swollen up.

On Saturday, we all went into Spokane. I took the older kids to the science museum, and Rach took the youngers to the children's museum. Everyone had a fun time. On the way out of town, we drove past a small playhouse that we didn't know about. Curious, we booked tickets for the show that night and were actually pretty impressed with the quality of the acting and the venue. The show was "Disgraced," which I guess won the Pulitzer when it came out on Broadway in 2013. The show was poignant and thought-provoking, and Rachel and I had fun. We'll probably be back to see most of the performances this place has to offer. It's always fun to discover something new around your area.

Speaking of Broadway, Rachel had her big audition this week. If you want to watch the video, I have embedded it below. She interpreted the main theme from Phantom of the Opera, and even as a guy that doesn't have a clue what she is doing, I think it looks cool. If you watch it, be aware that the first few seconds are silent as she introduces herself and the piece she will perform.

This is just a still-shot, because I can't put a movie in a book when I compile this thing into a hard-copy.

Anyway, Rach was super nervous after sending it in. She has been wanting to do this for a long time, and she finally felt qualified.

We weren't sure how long we'd have to wait for a verdict, but two days later she got an email asking if she could do a show in the future. She made it! I am so proud of her.

Have a good week!