Day 75 (plus) ((Kevin's wedding))

It is finished. And this time, I am NOT referring to one of my books. I'm talking about 75 hard (which isn't really that hard, it's just a matter of willpower). Things I appreciated - the need to drink more water (although maybe 3L is enough for the future), the increase in dietary protein (which has maybe helped my ghrelin), and the push to do more running (although I hate working out right now and just want to sleep in every day). 

The Flagstaff news is the Tunnel Fire - over 600 acres with 0% containment for 3 days. It closed roads and we helped people evacuate. There were quite a few homes lost and apparently the forest service here is in trouble for not catching it sooner. 

Some children. 
(We need not any more)

We had a YW activity this week that I wouldn't be able to attend, so I hung out with my counselor Rachel and we had a nice long chat. I also was stressed mostly because I don't know everything and it's hard to just hand over a half finished project to some people. But it turned out pretty good apparently. (Even if none of the quest-age girls showed up...)

Thursday was a packed day, but I made the long drive up to Hannah's house solo. We chatted and Aurora ran around the couch as many times as she could and stole my shoes and cuddled with me better than Hannah. She's a chatterer of jibberish, bit she kept it under control on the drive up to Provo. The stop in Beaver for some cheese curds probably helped. 

Classic Sib Squish.

The Prius is now successfully in the hands of not me, which is good because it just stresses me out to have something that's not mine. We chilled with Deek and Shan and Violet and Mama Sama and Minty and MGH. Roger eventually arrived too, but he had a big detour due to the road closures in Flag. We had some Zag for dinner and then Rog and I took the kids to get some food storage for us. Next on the list: buckets and gamma lids. 

My happy place. (Anywhere there's food.)

We had a nice breakfast close-by with mediocre OJ and a good variety of food. Then we just chilled for most of the day. Mom did her hair for one hour and it looked the same, so Hannah went to help her out a bit. We walked the two blocks to the temple and I was immediately cornered and restrained. My version of joy apparently competes with everyone else's version of reverence. (we knew that)

No need for extendeds when this is the immediates.

We took some family photos with the rest of the crew when they showed up. Best part was this exchange:

Lady- Wow what a beautiful family! And it keeps growing!

Me - Yeah, it's about time we get rid of some of them.

Mimi - I volunteer!

What a trooper. Deathly ill, but still present.

Clown. Second best part of the entire thing was when Lauren coached MGH into catching the bouquet and she's never been happier. Third best part were the tacos. Family is always fun. But I was grateful to get home at a reasonable hour and grab some food with Eve on the way. 

Happiest girl in the world.

Day 70

Wow can you believe it? 70 days? I sure as heck can. And last week and this coming week are the hardest to stay motivated. Let me also just say that just because I do the mandatory workouts does NOT mean that they are super quality. I am so tired. I just want to sleep in. But alas.

My birthday was this week. And it was a good day at work - I had a few patients and little confusion and was done pretty early. Chatted with the parentals for a while (and MGH). Then I took Roger's gma to my ward's RS activity. Little did I know that she hates painting and that was the activity. I also didn't realize how much socializing it is. I'm there to learn a skill and get out. Maybe take advantage of the charcuterie board. 

The hike. 

We were going to have some elk steaks, but Roger left them on the back porch to thaw and the birds found them. So we had tacos. And I got some cool gifts that I'm excited to use in the near future. 

Speaking of upcoming adventures, my old mission friend Carolyn texted me Friday to tell me she was in town for a funeral. It was nice to chat for a bit over gelato and meet her BF. Even if I made them walk up a long hill to my car. She always makes me feel like I need to go do something incredible after we hang out. 

Birdwatcher extraordinaire. 
Did I mention this man sold some of his antler collection in
exchange for 2 new binos and 2 new tripods? 

Per my request, Rog and I went on a little campout Friday night and slept in his truck bed. We did NOT expect it to be so cold or so cramped. We've done it before. And the nights have been warm lately. But we ended up popping open another sleeping bag and switching places and then we slept well after that. 

When you have to go home and cook your own meals. 

Also per my request, we went on a hike and ended up getting one of Roger's trail cams and replenishing his salt lick. He's got some cool photos of this wonky looking elk coming in that I want him to get. 

THEN we got sandwiches at Roger's favorite place (Crystal Creek Sandwich Co.) and then got my bow all set up and ready to shoot. I'm excited to take it out and practice but the transition to the compound bow may take a little adjusting. 

My new release for the bow. 
(This is a reminder of how tight to make it.)

We brought over 2 cheesecakes (thanks, air fryer) to Collin's house and enjoyed a brisket, beans, and deviled eggs with some of his work friends and family. His sister Kelsey is pretty chill and we hung out with her last weekend so it was nice to see her again. (She is a big fan of Boger Mandall).

After dinner, we made the drive up to Page for Easter Sunday with Rog's fam. We had ham and so many mashed potatoes and fresh rolls and lemon poppyseed bread. TDF. Good times and it was good for us to be there. 

Day 63

 Am I still rereading old books? Yes, and they are still good but I am thirsty for stories. Am I still doing 75 hard? Yes, and I am thirsty for sleep. And to stop peeing so much. And my knee to stop hurting (both of them). But I did some hill sprints and boxing and basketball this week and I could still walk down the stairs today (barely). I also found out my boxing coach is a pretty big deal at the Associated Press. 

Paint Night

Our YW are doing better at teaching lessons, but the activities are still a struggle. At least the 'planning ahead' part. And sometimes the 'being involved' part, but that's on us to handle too. Anyhow, our original planned activity was nixed this week in favor of a paint night. It was a good time and we had all of our leaders there so we actually got to have a meeting for the first (and last) time ever and it's nice to be on the same page. 

The drama of the week is that I still didn't have my tax forms from the month I worked at Carter Rehab last year. So I visited Joe and then I visited the financial office he was using and called them and visited them again. Finally, Friday I got an email with a 1099 that literally has one number on it. How hard can it be?? But the taxes are filed and we're getting a pretty good refund back. (Also had lots of side gigs last year that made it wayyy harder to do the taxes, but TurboTax is still in for now). 

AZ Trail.

My Oly class was cancelled on Saturday so I did some yoga and we made waffles and then we went on a run that turned into a hike on the AZ trail and then we went birdwatching. The sun is shining and it is usually warm, albeit windy. Until Tuesday, according to the news. 

Rog's bff's parents invited us to a banquet for AZ Wildlife Conservation, which occur regularly throughout the state to raise money to bring in water, improve fish populations, etc. This was basically a group of really wealthy rednecks. There were games and silent auctions and raffles and actual auctions and the prizes were nearly all weapons or camping gear. The actual auction had different hunting trips and booze - most of which sold for over $5K a piece. If you bought 10 tickets, you also got a gun with your table. 

Anyways, we got the tickets for free and the food for free. Then we spent 60$ on hats that came with varying amounts of raffle tickets inside (totalling over $200 for us). And we played one game. Otherwise we hung out and ate food and had a good time. Then Roger prayed that I would win myself a good birthday present. And I told the Big Guy, he knows the drill and imagine how much missionary work I can do with a new toy. And then I won a compound bow. And a shirt and a few other things. Which was pretty impressive, seeing as I had a handful of tickets placed into a few 5 gallon buckets that were overflowing with tickets by the end. 

The Lord loves me. And missionary work. 

Speaking of the Lord. I went to ward council today. I keep hearing that there are lots of people that feel like they don't fit into the ward, so that was kind of the topic. It is hard because we have a smaller ward, most of our investigators are fully Spanish-speaking (and the members not), and we have a wide range of ages and activity interests. While I do agree that this is a problem and can think of several tangible solutions to help, the problem is that there is a lot of talk and no action on things we've discussed previously. So the new solution is for the YW to be the ushers and invite people to sit closer to the front of the chapel - the thinking being that maybe people will be forced to talk to each other more. 

I disagree. The YW hate it. And I think there are a lot better ways this could be handled, but it would take some solid effort, which it seems people aren't willing to put in. So I told the YW we'll try it for a month and next ward council we'll reevaluate.

On a related note, if you aren't motivated by love, rage and duty seem to work well enough in the meantime to get shiz done. 

Day 56

Since I can't get any new books, I've been rereading several old ones. Still good, if you're wondering. Especially when I forget what happens. Roger started out my birthday month of fun with some daily edible surprises, which have served us well as GC snacks. 

I went to basketball and boxing - although boxing was odd since the teacher couldn't make it. But she left us all a workout to do. We were smoked by the end. And I am starting a new workout program, so I got a lifting refresh. And every Wednesday afternoon is hill sprints, so even my running workouts are "fun". Roger and I went birdwatching again for my Sunday afternoon rest day workout as we walked around a couple of lakes. 

They made it. (Close call).

Grandma Sandall gave me some fabric she wasn't using to help the YW make tunics for Quest, their BOM Trek replacement adventure. And then she tricked me into chauffeuring her and some friends to the Women's GC broadcast at the stake center so I actually had to go. 

 We spent conference 50/50 in our house and at Carol's with Roger's cousins. He got to hold a baby and talked guns for a while and ate food until he was sick, so he was happy. Grandma and her friends had a good time at conference and I said hi to a bunch of people, got called out for not wearing a dress (I stand by it), and ate so many tacos. 

Conference Highlights APR22

• Go on a mission
• A small amount of effort can be potent
• Invite (there's no next big thing - this is IT)
• Stay for the whole feast, even if you're not sure about the broccoli
• Make/live covenants, trust the Lord, & miracles will happen
• Forgive
• Peacemakers are not passive
• There is no place for abuse of any kind
• Support freedom of religion
• Fix yourself using the Atonement
• Momentum is key
• The to-do list is long, but so are the needs; stay balanced by moving forward
• Trials happen and the Lord will help you overcome (focus on WHO, not HOW)
• Give until you have nothing left to give, then recharge by reconnecting to The Source
• Reason can't replace revelation
• If you want to know anything, you have to do something