A Day in the Life...

Yesterday and today I went to a work retreat all day with two of our state team leaders and the five other people in the state that do the same job I do. It was so good for my soul! I thought I would come back from my vacation feeling refreshed about work and ready to jump back in... but dreaded it and didn't want to go back. I have thought about getting a job somewhere else and had two other agencies offer me positions to move over, which is flattering.  But I know I'm in the right place.  I just wanted to feel good about it and not feel so burnt out so often. The last two days took me away from all my day to day responsibilities and my team, which can be stressful.  What I got out of it though was such a filling of an empty bucket.   To all be in person and not virtual was also so nice. Luckily it was in Provo, so I wasn't far from home.  Others traveled from St. George, Cedar City, Ogden, Moab, and Price.  I see all these people in virtual meetings ...

 One of my biggest strengths is empathy; I have a helper mindset and I really do care about the welfare of others.  This strength also becomes a weakness when it fills my heart with so much heaviness that I literally can't stop crying and thinking about awful things happening.  I told Tim a few days before our trip that I felt guilty going and having fun when there is literally a war going on in the world and so much personal suffering with so many people in my life.  I really did feel undeserving to go live a carefree, fun week with heartache going on in the world. I think Tim gets tired of me saying things like, "Don't you feel guilty for all the blessings we get and how others struggle so much?"  He does not think like I do. I know the current war in Ukraine is not the only war going on, and there always is, has been, and will always be heartache, tragedy, and suffering. I'm not sure why this feels different or why I feel so strongly about it right now. ...

We came home to snow.  Beautiful, cold. I started shoveling the driveway when Tim suggested he'd just clear it with his machine.  Grateful for him, and grateful it didn't tear up the concrete since he didn't use his plow... This girl's hair... she has no idea how lucky-ducky she is... Copper was most excited to come home to her cat and a new phone... (Have you heard of Troomi?  Great starter 'smart' phone for teens) Micah really is a queen of tigers.  Her room is full of them... This is from Kota's dress rehearsal a few weeks ago (she missed the actual play b/c of our trip) This is one of Kota's closest school friends, Olivia.  I'm fairly certain Olivia is the only reason Kota signed up to be in the school play... You might be mistaking her for a pioneer... but no!  She's a French villager from Beauty and the Beast... Micah's really close to her third stripe for her orange belt.  She's mastering nun-chucks, which are tricky to stay in con...

  Day 7: time to go home! Our shuttle to the airport arrived at 4:30 the next morning.  The girls had a hard time waking up but did great!  Back to masks at the airports... I had forgotten how incredibly boring it is to fly.  I watched Encanto (and loved it), played games, and slept.  It was still an incredibly long day.  I did sit by the window, which I really like. We had a layover in New York for 90 minutes.... boring!! I relapsed on the way home with airplane cookies and a small soda....😏 We hit the Rockies and no more clear skies... Here's what we learned about flying: Kota hates it and the pressure changes give her a headache. Micah only likes the electronics and food on a plane. Copper's pretty content either way. Tim also hates it. I only like looking out the window. I'm grateful for the opportunity we had to get away and be together.  The kids were perfect- they got along with each other so well, they were so humble, so thankful, so polite....

  Back at Jurassic World the morning of our 6th day.  Kota and Tim sat out while Micah, Copper, and I went on the Velocicoaster again. I left my phone with Kota and she took numerous selfies.... Dinosaurs and everything scary, thrilling, and dark make Micah happy Copper caught a chocolate frog, which is not surprisingly rich, thick, and huge... We waited 90 minutes (the longest line of them all) for the thrilling Harry Potter ride- Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike.  We waited all week to see if there were certain times the line died down, and realized that 90 minutes was a pretty good deal.  It was totally worth the wait!  It's an awesome ride.  I took a picture of Kota right after... she was not happy.  I made her do it (or she'd have been alone for that long) and she hates rides that go that fast or high off the ground, or backwards, or upside down. That ride does all of that.  She cried almost the whole time (when she could catch her breath...