Dressed to Impress

 Because everything has been shut down for the Coronavirus, this was how Randy dressed for a webchat Ward Council and Bishopric meeting.

We were able to do a Sacrament meeting in our home, so I captured a picture of my Priesthood holders before we began.  Randy would Bless, Brennon would pass.  It was very special.  Next week we'll plan to all get dressed up as if we were going to the chapel, it just didn't feel quite right to be so dressed down, but it was fine this one time.

It feels like we're in a dream.  School and church are shut down for the next six weeks.  This is going to be a LONG six weeks!

TOLO 2020

The Corona Virus may have canceled the TOLO dance plans, but it didn't stop these kids from having fun!  They got all dolled up for pictures, then ate pizza, played video games, watched a movie, and did something every teenage boy dreams of-- facials and nail painting.  Carter painted Keilie's nails, and Keilie painted Carter's!  She said they laughed so much, it hurt.  Literally my favorite kind of dates!

Honestly, can my girl get any cuter?!

Snow Views

For the first time this winter, this is our view.  It didn't last long at all once the sun came out mid-afternoon, but it still felt weird that we are almost to Spring and this was the most snow we'd seen in our yard all winter.

3 Miles

March 5, 2020

Randy 3 miles outside for the first time in my entire life.

Snuggle Time

He laid there for more than 10 minutes, rolling a ball back and forth between his hand and the wall, humming.  Mira endured to the end.  So cute!

Glass Class

Last week Rebecca asked if I would be interested in taking a class with her.  When I saw which class she was asking about, I nearly jumped for joy-- it was a glass class.  I have been wanting to do a glass class since our family vacation down to Oregon a few years ago, so I couldn't wait!  I didn't have to wait long after she asked, but that doesn't mean I wasn't adequately excited.

 I remember it being super hot, so I dressed to get sweaty.  I wish I would have worn long sleeves, however, because this part of the process was HOT!!  It felt as if it was melting my skin off.  My gosh, it was so hot.

I didn't do as much as I would have liked because the shape is a little more difficult, but I did enough to feel proud when I see it.

 One day I will do the one that Rebecca did-- isn't it gorgeous?!

I put it in a place where I'll see it often.  Glass is such an elegant art, and I am proud to say I made this!  I can't wait for my next class!

He said YES!

We also got this view because Randy was outside helping the boys with the leaves when he arrived.  Poor kid didn't even do all that he had wanted to do because the whole world was watching him.  How nervous he must have been having the entire family there.  He wanted to play "Heck Yeah" by Usher while holding up the sign.  He settled for being completely adorable just waiting for her.

He helped her bring in the poster, two 6-packs of soda, and Circus animal crackers (that are an inside joke between a few of their friends).  As he was walking out, he turned and looked her in the eye, and said, "Thank you for asking me," and then blushed as he walked out the door.  I cannot wait for March 14th!

Her dress arrived last night as well, but it's just too big.  We measured her and thought it would work, but it's just too big.  We found another dress, to be delivered on Saturday.  Sure hope that one works!

Literal interpretations

As I was driving Keilie home from delivering the basket to her friend on Tuesday night I asked her what she was doing for Youth Activities the next night.  Now, I'm a very literal person, so when she told me she was doing a Blindfold Bob Ross night, I took that to mean something very different.  So imagine my utter shock when she came home with this...

I was thinking, "Oh my gosh, that girl has got to be the most talented girl ever!!  She painted that blindfolded?!  I couldn't even paint that with my eyes open and six weeks of intense paint classes!!"

She saw the shock on my face and was confused.  She looked at me, the painting, at me, then the painting again.  Then she realized what was going on.  "Mom, we weren't actually blindfolded, we just couldn't see what he was painting, we could only listen."

For the record: I still think she's got some mad skills!  Her literal blindfolded painting would probably look like my absolute best effort all. day. long.

Special Delivery

Yesterday was a night of delivery for us-- Happy deliveries, all!!

First, the delivery of the news Brennon had been anxiously waiting for...

And second, the delivery that Keilie not-so anxiously delivered...

Carter Cleaves

{She also got him a SMOOTHie, and silky SMOOTH chocolate truffles.}

Her friends had already asked and tried to convince her to go, but she's been struggling emotionally with her grief and was too overwhelmed, so she said she wasn't going to go.  She'd had some pretty relentless begging from one friend, but she kept to her guns until she heard that a really good friend was hoping that she'd ask him.  She came home on Monday afternoon, announced that she was going to ask him, and we ran out to get the posterboard immediately between support group appointments and soccer.

It took her less than an hour for her to whip this thing out.  "I'm getting better at these."

It has been so nice to see Keilie excited about something.  She's really been struggling, hence the counseling we got her in to.  It's hard to wish you could take your child's pain away, and harder still to realize that you're drowning already and cannot even begin to help someone else, even if it is your own daughter.  Sad that I felt so strong for one child's fight, and feel I have nothing left to give for the other kids in their current fight.  I am well and truly scared that I am honestly not currently, or going to be, enough for what they need.

I felt my anxiety spike when she told me that the dance was next Saturday and that the theme is Red Carpet and she needs a dress.  Homecoming had been stressful trying to find a dress that could be delivered quickly, and that had been more time than just 13 days.  It was stressful for about an hour and then turned to relief when she found a dress she liked, in her size and color choice, that would be delivered by Thursday.  While her choice of shoes are not what I would have picked-- by a long shot-- it was fun to get her what she wanted, knowing it would all arrive before the dance.  I can handle stress that is for a fun purpose, I guess, even though I had to go to bed early...

And of course, our last delivery of the night was made to Keilie's friend.  It was a great night for the Dirks!!  Special Delivery...

Sunshine

As I was lying in bed under 15 bazillion blankets, trying to get warm after a day of chill despite thermal layers, Keilie came into my room with a worried look on her face.  A friend was in a very dark place, and Keilie was scared for her.  "Mom, I think I need to do something.  Now."  Cold forgotten, we braved the wind together to help bring a box of sunshine to a friend in need.

While I love the friend that we shopped with abandon for, finding everything we could that was yellow, including a big Easter Ducky, I didn't do it for her.  As we added more and more and more into the basket, I didn't care what it would mean to her friend as much as what it meant to Keilie to be able to give it.  My heart was so full to recognize that when Keilie was scared, the first thing she did was to come to me for help and support.  I'll buy 1,000 baskets for friends if it helps Keilie realize that I'm there for her, and for the people she loves.  She is my sunshine.

Royalties

Brennon came home last week saying that everyone else had gotten their art back from the library, but that Mr. Boynton was waiting for something for his, maybe a frame or something.  I didn't think much of it until he came bursting through the door today.

"Mom, someone wants to buy my art!!!"

Taped to the back of his artwork, I found this letter:

This boy, at 11-years old (when it was drawn, not his current age of 2 days), has people asking if they can pay him for his first-ever drawing.  AWESOME!!!  I am so proud of my Brennon!!!

Leap Day-- oh, yeah!!!

Brennon began his birthday weekend with a campout with the Young Men.  Because Randy went, Tyson got to tag along.  This meant that the girls and I, and their friends Ellie and Liz, got to go to dinner at Costa Vida and come home to watch Frozen II with all the good snacks.  All was going according to plan until both Brennon and Tyson realized that the rowdy boys had no plans of going to sleep, so they packed up and headed for home, arriving at 12:30 am.  Tyson was overjoyed that he was the first to wish Brennon a Happy Birthday as they headed upstairs to their quiet room and comfortable beds.

Because I didn't know they were home, I slept in... until 10:00am.  Randy and I had a workout planned, and then Brennon's birthday party could begin.  We showered and rushed to Brennon's all-time favorite place to eat: Denny's.  Because they take forever and a day, no matter what time we go, we have actually banned that place unless it's for a special occasion.  The reason he loves it?  Chocolate chip pancakes.  He didn't even want the sides that came with his meal, just the pancakes.  Apparently, these pancakes are worth the wait, both once-a-year birthday and simply being at Denny's, to begin with.

[Remember when Keilie said she could eat the whole bowl of grapes, and you told her not to?  Remember how she did it anyway, sneaky-like, just to be funny?  Remember, also, how she couldn't chew, so she spit the grapes and a whole bunch of spit back into the bowl as you worked hard not to gag?  Oh, yeah, and remember how she ate the spit-soaked drowning grapes while you plugged your ears, closed your eyes, and swallowed the gag-fest down?  Yeah, good times.]

After lunch, we dropped the kids off and took Brennon shopping.  We'd purchased him a gift that he said he wished he would have gotten for Christmas, but when we asked him again this week what he wanted, that was not one of the things he said.  So we took him shopping, and I took the weighted blanket for myself.  Win-Win.

He came home to play with his new toy, and Tyson, while I got his cake together.  The only thing he cared about was that it was chocolate chip cookies.  He didn't care that I didn't have the correct cake pan to make one big cookie, he just cared that his cake was made of chocolate chip cookies.  So I made them with pleasure!

 I thought I'd be funny by taking the "3" candle.  He loved it!  This kid is so easy to please!

 When the family went with Ashlee and Russ's family a few weeks ago, Brennon made up his mind that he wanted to go to Chuck E Cheeses for his party, that he wanted to do 2-hours of unlimited play, and that he wanted to invite all of his Youth friends, as well as his two best friends from school.  Done!

 Cooper Hinkle, Issac Hammond, Hayden Long, Bent Larsen, Kaden and Spencer Randall, Josh Graves, Camdon Gibb, and Roman Cleaves.  Awesome!!

 They arrived at 5:30, immediately started eating their pizza, sang at 5:45, and then were set loose.  As soon as they swiped their card for the very first time, the two-hour clock started.

 9 minutes in, and Tyson come to me looking like this.

 The package included 30 seconds in the ticket wind tunnel.

 He was told to kick around the tickets to get them to fly up.  Because of his Figure-Ground Auditory Processing Disorder, he heard Pick up the tickets, which is not allowed.  We asked our host if we needed to start over, that he can't hear things properly, to which she replied, "No, we'll just take a few of the tickets from him."  I think she probably only took about 15-20.

 Look at the pile he's holding close to his chest.  I watched 10 other people in this tunnel, all of which came away with maybe 15-20 tickets if they were lucky.  He got more than 3,000 tickets...  When I asked her if we needed to give more back, apologizing for his misunderstanding, she said, "They're only tickets.  Don't worry!"

Brennon and Tyson combined their tickets, as well as the gift of Isaac Hammond's tickets, to have a combined ticket total of 9,100.  The picture above is just another sample, not the entire 9,100.  Notice the child in the background to get an idea of how large this haul was.  Insane!!!

It seemed that every single person in the tri-cities had come to redeem their tickets, so even though we'd given an extra 30 minutes to our party to take care of prizes, some were in line for another hour.  What a nightmare.  But every kid was given time to choose what they wanted, without once feeling impatience rolling off of the three teenage employees as they took their sweet time.  I thought that was pretty cool.

We came home to have Brennon open his gifts, and head straight to bed.  As he was ascending the stairs, he said to Tyson, "This was the best birthday I have ever had."  It just doesn't get any better than that as a parent.

Happy Birthday to the sweetest, most thoughtful, most helpful, most caring, most tender-hearted, most generous, most valiant, most courageous Brennon.  Not many can say they have a 3-year old with a 6th-grade reading level!  You bring peace and joy and pride into our home, family, and hearts.  Love you, B-Boy!