Monday, October 5, 2009

A Very Educational Weekend


Well, I guess this past weekend was educational. Perhaps too educational. Yep, studying for the CIH. I’m really glad I’ve gotten the ball rolling on this one so well, but I came to realize this weekend that maybe cutting back on the studying isn’t such a bad idea. It’s sad. I actually spent much of the weekend sleeping trying to avoid getting sick because I wore myself out Friday night taking a practice exam. No question life should be more fun than that. Fortunately it usually is.

Last weekend was a little better, though I did study a lot then too. I’ve been a little discouraged about blogging recently. Kind of sucked last Sunday when I went to tell my family about stumbling upon a crime scene...and they already knew the whole story from reading my earlier blog. And...kind of disappointed I don’t feel like I have time to write in Spanish. Ah well.

The majority of my blog today is about my weekend two weeks ago, which was fun, a lot more interesting than the last two, and unquestionably educational even if I didn’t study one iota. So, about that weekend...

My little bro John came to visit from Idaho. He doesn’t head this way very often, and it was really good to spend some time with him. He hadn’t been to see the kids in a long time, so I ended up meeting up with him at my sister’s house. It was interesting to see how the kids reacted to him. John looks a lot like me (Jenna even goes so far as to call him my twin-11 years difference and half-sibling status notwithstanding...and I don't think I was every quite that skinny...though probably pretty close), but he was still somewhat of a stranger to the kids. Jairen hit things off with him great, but the younger ones took their time warming up. It was kind of sad that none of them wanted to sit by him when we went out to eat at Carls’ Jr., but he could tell they were just being shy, and didn’t feel too bad when Josh, upon realizing his seat was next to John’s, rather than sitting down asked the question “Do I have to?” and being told no, chose a seat 3 tables away. I do feel bad about joking with Jasen that John bites. Rationally, I’m sure Jasen knew I was joking…but my comment certainly didn’t help things.

Another highlight of the visit to my sister’s house was that I finally got to hold baby Jordan. What a precious little guy. Lucky to have all those older siblings, and beloved by all, though we did almost forget and leave him in the car when we went to Carls’ Jr.

After going to eat, we went on a hike while Apryl fed Jordan. We hiked up to the cross at the mouth of Spanish Fork Canyon. It was fun, but proved to be a lot steeper going down than anticipated. It was a bit scary thinking I would fall on my butt and slide down the mountain at any moment...dragging my nephew Justin (who was holding my hand for support) with me.

Later that evening the kids decided they wanted John and I to spend the night. But John wanted to go see my place, and one thing led to another and it was determined to have a slumber party at Uncle Zeke’s condo. At first Jasen didn’t want to come...because of scary Uncle John, but eventually he warmed up to the idea. We had a fun time. Stayed up late watching Johnny English that night, then the kids watched the Simpsons with John while I went to the gym the following morning. Could barely walk within the condo with air mattresses and blankets strewn across just about every inch of floor space, but it was all good. On the way to take the kids home, we took my Durango up over the Oquirrh mountains and looked down on the copper mine. Very fun, but as you can see from the photo…rather cold. A very long drive that way too. We were all pretty well starving by the time we stopped at Wendy’s in South Jordan.

So, after dropping the kids (and John) off at Apryl’s, I had my educational moment. My sister and brother-in-law are freaking amazing. Taking care of kids is incredibly hard work. I was having fun when we went on our adventures so I didn’t notice until they were over just how utterly exhausted I was. It was like the moment I left my sister’s house...bam...just wanted to be back home and go straight to bed. I even called up my brother Randy and told him I wouldn’t make it for Sunday dinner after all because I was so tired. Fortunately, on my drive home I found recovery strength and ended up heading north to have a great evening at the parents’ house. Even had enough energy to join Mom, John, Randy, Jenna, Jared and Liz in playing with the entertainment center (ten month old nephew Caleb).

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