It looks like I will be writing posts covering 2 or 3 weeks at a time for most of this summer. We were out of town the first weekend of July and last weekend I was trying to get caught up on everything after being gone...which is actually what I'm doing again now since I've been gone the last couple of days. Seems like the time that we've been home this summer has been only long enough to get somewhat caught up after being gone and preparing to leave again! I don't mean to sound like I'm complaining...all the things we've been doing or will do are good things that I am grateful to be doing. It's just been a bit chaotic and I'm feeling a little breathless trying to keep up with it all.
The good thing about me not being able to post regularly is that I've forgotten a lot of things so you won't be bombarded with all the details. I will start with updating you on my eye, since the last time I wrote I was only on day 4 of recovery after scratching my cornea. It continued to improve slowly...much more slowly than the urgent care doctor had predicted. I definitely saw improvement but I continued to have issues with light sensitivity and some pain and discomfort, as well as headaches. Particularly if I had to use my eye to read or do other things, it would start to feel tired, sore, and "raw". I would have tried to have it looked at again after one week, but that was the 4th of July and the following day we left for NC, so there just wasn't time. Since I still had some issues during our trip, the day after we returned (Tuesday July 11th) I tried to get an appointment to see an opthalmologist. That turned out to be frustrating because the first place I tried told me they had no openings in Frederick until September. They could get me an appointment the next day in White Marsh...which is over an hour away from Frederick. Sure, I'd love to drive over an hour to an unfamiliar place when sunlight bothers my eye so I can barely keep it open while driving! The doctor was out of town for over a week the second place I tried. After all that, it was too late to try a third place that day. Thankfully, I had better luck the next day and managed to get an appointment for Friday morning, July 14th. Then of course my eye stopped hurting on Thursday! I thought it was worthwhile to keep the appointment anyway since my eyes seem to have lots of issues and I've been wanting to have a medical eye doctor (not just an optometrist) check them out for a long time. The opthalmologist confirmed that the scratch had healed. (It just took a lot longer than normal.) She said I had two eyelashes on my left eye that were growing the wrong way and causing irritation to my cornea so she pulled those out. My optometrist did the same thing when I had my eyes checked in December, and this doctor said those eyelashes will likely continue to grow the wrong way and cause issues so she gave me the contact info for another doctor who can do a procedure to cauterize the area where they grow so that they won't grow in anymore. She said this same doctor could also fix my droopy right eyelid if it's bothering me. (Not sure if it bothers me enough to do anything about it...depends on how expensive and involved that process is.) The other thing she said is that I have a condition called blepharitis, which is inflammation of the eyelids. There's no cure for it, but she told me some things I can do that will help with the symptoms.
Back to early July...we wanted to thank Seth's Trek "parents" so we made some cookies, wrote a thank you note, and took a plate of cookies to them on Saturday, July 1st. They were surprised but appreciated the gesture and we ended up talking with them for several minutes. On Monday the 3rd, my friend who does my hair had me come back in for a few minutes so she could add a few low lights to the left side of my hair because after doing the highlights, I ended up with a patch on that side that was really light. It looks a lot better now.
We had a fairly quiet Independence Day. Frank had the day off, which was nice. That morning, he and Seth took me to IHOP for breakfast as an early birthday present.
Jared & Jessie came over for dinner and afterwards we celebrated my birthday a little early (again) with blueberry cheesecake that Frank had made for me. Jared & Jessie wanted to get home since Jared had to work the next day, but Frank, Seth & I went in search of a good place to watch fireworks.The fireworks in Frederick are set off at a park in the downtown area which is really crowded and it's always been a challenge to find a place that is close enough to see them without being in a crowd with people blocking the view. I'm happy to report that we found a new place which had a good view and was not crowded at all, (plus bonus...there were fireflies!) so we enjoyed the fireworks show a lot. I love watching Independence Day fireworks! I always feel so grateful for the freedoms we enjoy in this country and in additon to that I always have happy memories of how excited I was while watching fireworks as a child, with my birthday being the next day.
This particular birthday was pretty low key because we were leaving for North Carolina that afternoon and had to get ready for that. I also asked Frank not to get me presents because I want to shop for clothes when we're in Utah. (Hoping to find some Sunday / nice clothes so I'll have a better wardrobe for Seminary). He did get me one present...a game that was on my Amazon wishlist.
(These photos of me are horrible but they are the only ones I have) Before:
My boys went in together and got me a really nice water bottle (which is something else I've been wanting) although the delivery was delayed so I didn't get it until after we got back from our trip. We played the new game (Trekking the National Parks) with Jared & Jessie while they were here this past Sunday (July 16th) and it's pretty fun.
On to our NC trip. The purpose of this trip was to celebrate Frank's mom's 80th birthday as well as to attend the Bracken family reunion. (His mom's extended family.) We left home the afternoon of July 5th and got home the afternoon of Monday, July 10th. On the 5th, we drove about halfway and stayed at a hotel in Wytheville, Virginia that night. I got to talk to Amy on the phone for a couple of hours while in the car, which was great.
Birthday selfie at the hotel:
We drove the rest of the way to NC on the 6th, arriving around noon. We stayed with Frank's sister Dawn and her husband Mike on this trip and we enjoyed getting to spend time with them. On the evening of July 6th, we all went to dinner together with Frank's parents, siblings, spouses, and families. We went to a local restaurant called the Pisgah Fish Camp. It's been there for a really long time (Frank worked there for a while when he was a teenager) but I had never been there, even though his family often talks about it. As you've probably guessed, it's a seafood place but it also has burgers and chicken and things like that. I got fish and chips and they were pretty good but their onion rings are the best I've ever tasted! Frank's parents and he and his siblings all wore t-shirts his sister Dawn had made. The photo on the front is Frank's mom at about age 15 and on the back it says "Look Who's Turned 80".
On Friday the 7th, we had an openhouse / birthday party for Frank's mom. We spent pretty much all day on Friday getting things set up and ready for the party. It turned out to be a lovely event and I think Frank's mom was really happy with it and loved seeing all the people who came to wish her well.
The Bracken reunion was on Saturday the 8th. We all met together for a potluck lunch, visited and played games all afternoon, and had hot dogs & hamburgers for dinner. It was a fun and relaxing day and we met some new cousins.
We went to church with Frank's parents and Dawn & Mike on Sunday the 9th. There were a LOT of visitors that day so the Brevard Branch was much larger than normal. As a matter of fact, I think there were probably about the same number of people there as we have on an average Sunday in our ward here at home. There still were not many youth, though, so Seth was asked to help pass the sacrament. In RS, they had us sit in a big circle and they went around the room and had each person introduce themselves and say where they were from or if they lived in the Branch. There were 23 women there and all but 9 of them were visitors! Most of the visitors were young adults from BYU who are taking classes at the Brevard Music Center for a number of weeks this summer.
Monday the 10th was spent driving home. We didn't need to stop very much so we made good time and got home by mid afternoon. Beautiful scenery on the way home. (Now you know why they are called the Smoky Mountains, although that is actually fog, not smoke):
Tuesday the 11th I got groceries and did laundry, tried to get an eye doctor appointment (as mentioned earlier) and spent way too much time coordinating things for the YW activity that night. My class was in charge and we planned to go swimming. There were some unexpected complications and most of the leaders couldn't come but in the end it all worked out. I had a headache most of the day and would have preferred to stay home but couldn't since the other leaders couldn't come. But as I said, it all worked out and I actually enjoyed myself.
On Wednesday the 12th, Seth had an appointment to take the test for his Learner's Permit. We had to make two trips to the MVA because he failed the eye exam the first time. We totally forgot to bring his glasses because he never wears them! He can actually see pretty well without them because only one eye is bad so he sailed through the first part of the test with the bad eye covered but then couldn't read very many letters correctly with his good eye covered. The lady that helped us was really nice and made another appointment for us an hour later and then when we got back she saw us in line waiting to check in and called us over and said she had already checked us in and gave us our number so we didn't have to wait very long. Thankfully, Seth was able to pass the eye exam wearing his glasses and he also passed the multiple choice test so he has his Learner's Permit now. We have not had a chance to take him anywhere to practice driving yet, though. Hopefully we will be able to start working on that after our Utah trip. I have him signed up to take Driver's Ed after the Utah trip too.
On Wednesday afternoon I met with Tammy (my team Seminary teacher) at the church so we could clean out the Seminary closet. There was so much stuff in there and it took us close to three hours to clean it out but we threw away a lot of stuff and recycled another big pile of stuff and now the closet is all clean and organized, which feels good. I had book chat that evening. We discussed The Color Purple and now we are going to read The Abolition of Man by C.S. Lewis.
I spent Thursday the 13th just trying to get caught up on things like laundry, cleaning, grocery shopping, etc. as well as beginning to get Seth ready for YM camp, doing some meal planning for the family reunion, and doing a few things for Seminary. There was a RS activity that evening but I had so many other things going on that I decided not to go even though I always enjoy the activities.
I spent a good portion of the day on Friday the 14th getting the budget / finances updated. There was a lot to do since I had 2 weeks' worth of receipts to go through and there is always more receipts when we've been traveling. I also was trying to look ahead to get payments set up for all the bills that will be due when we are in Utah. I wanted to update my blog that day too but between working on the budget, a visit from Jared (to do laundry) and phone calls from both Scott and Tanner, I just ran out of time. (I really wanted to talk to all my boys though so I didn't mind.)
Frank worked a lot of extra hours on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, including some overnight hours because there was a project going on at work. He found some problems in this project and was able to fix them so he was the hero. :)
Saturday morning I helped Seth get most of his packing done for YM camp and we made a list of the things we still needed to buy. Frank was doing work for a client that morning but after he got home we all went to the store together to get the things Seth needed. We couldn't find biodegradable soap or a camping pillow so we ended up going to a hiking / camping store in downtown Frederick to get those. There had been a big wheel bike race earlier and some of the roads were still blocked off and there were still huge crowds of people. Frank dropped Seth and I off at a corner and we walked 3 blocks through crowds to get to the store but we were quickly able to find what we needed there. Then we called Frank and figured out a place that he could pick us up.
I didn't sleep well at all that night but after going to church and taking an hour nap I felt a little better. Jared & Jessie came over for dinner and as I mentioned before, we played my new game.
I didn't sleep well on Sunday night either...or maybe I should say Monday morning because I woke up at 2:30 am and never went back to sleep. Seth had to be at our church at 7:15 that morning to head up to YM camp. Ready to go:
He will be arriving home sometime today; hopefully in the next hour or two. Our bishop went with them and he was able to send updates and some photos throughout the week which was nice, although the Priests split off from the rest of the group on Wednesday afternoon so I don't have any specific updates about Seth since that time. It's been a challenging camp...the camp was primitive and they've had torrential rains. (It hasn't rained here at all until last night.) Plus there are tons of ticks...our bishop reported that Seth was bitten by a tick within the first hour. We'll definitely have to check him over for ticks thoroughly when he gets home and also watch closely for any signs of Lyme's disease because that is a real danger in this area. They did a lot of bike riding on this trip...that was their main mode of transportation. Apparently Seth handled that okay even though he just learned to ride a bike last summer and hasn't had a lot of biking experience. They were near the beach and had some beach time and the priests spent the last day at Assateague Island.
Photos sent by our bishop:
I'm really interested to hear Seth's thoughts about his experiences when he gets back. I'm sure he will be extremely dirty and smelly and all his clothes and equipment will be really nasty! Jared is helping me out a lot by picking him up because I have a hair appointment at 1:00 and the pick up time is uncertain. He may arrive as early as 11:30 but there are several cars bringing boys, bikes, and equipment back and his bike and equipment won't necessarily be in the same vehicle with him. He has to be picked up at a another church building in our stake which is 30 minutes away from Frederick too so that complicates the time line. The pick up time on the schedule was 10:30 so I thought I was fine making an appointment for 1:00. The Deacons and Teachers arrived home yesterday and were also supposed to be picked up at 10:30 according to the schedule but they actually didn't arrive until 2:30!! Hopefully they will do a better job at sticking to the timeline today.
Meanwhile, I've had a very busy week also because I was helping with Girls' Camp. Originally, I thought I would be there Monday through Thursday, but they had camp at a different location this year and there was not room for all the adults to spend the night, so I slept at home every night (no complaints from me about that!) I also found out a few days before camp that I would not have to go on Thursday so I really only did two days...Tuesday and Wednesday...plus I helped drive girls up to camp on Monday afternoon. It was unclear to me whether or not I needed to stay for all of Monday evening's activities or just needed to drop girls off so after helping the girls get settled, I went in search of someone who could tell me if I was needed. I was also searching for a schedule because I had not received one and needed that to know what times I needed to be there on Tuesday and Wednesday. It took a while to find the right person, but I finally did confirm that I didn't need to stay that evening and I also obtained a schedule, although it wasn't as specific as needed to answer all my questions.
Girls ready for camp (they are all in my class):
The camp was fairly nice...the girls were sleeping in cabins with bathrooms and there were a number of indoor facilities like a large gym and kitchen / dining hall. It was in Catoctin National Park which is about 30 minutes from Frederick and it's a really beautiful location in the "mountains" with lots of forest land. Just driving there and back fed my soul with the beautiful scenery! My one complaint is that there were lots of gnats. I got bit by a gnat on my face near my right eye within 15 minutes of arriving, and I was even wearing bug repellent. Oh, and I guess I have one other complaint...I had no cell service up there, but that wasn't too surprising. (Lots of people did have service, but many didn't.)
The theme for camp was "Arm in Arm I Can Do All Things Through Christ" and they had a Wizard of Oz theme to go with that. (All the fliers had a picture of Dorothy, the Tin Man, the Scarecrow and the Cowardly Lion with arms linked heading up the yellow brick road toward the Emerald City). They did a lot of super cute things related to the theme and each day had a theme related to one of the main characters...Tuesday was "Mind", Wednesday was "Courage" and Thursday was "Heart". Each of the levels had a different Wizard of Oz title too (the 1st years were "Munchkins" of course!) They had great decorations throughout the camp (my favorites were a sign at the entrance that said "You're Not In Kansas Anymore" and a sign at the exit that said "There's No Place Like Home") and the camp director and her two assistants wore different costumes each day (the first day they were in overalls and straw hats with straw stuffed into their pockets so they looked like scarecrows). It was really awesome.
Some cute decor and making bracelets the first night:
On Tuesday I needed to be at camp basically the whole day...from 7:00 am to 9:00 pm. That meant I had to get up early enough to shower and drive up there, so it was an early morning. I was assigned to help with breakfast and then with free time. After that I was able to go to some of the classes with girls in my ward and after dinner there was a program with the bishops (who were invited to come up that night) and then ward time after that. It was a really long day and I was so exhausted by the end of it but it was fun too. One of the things I liked the most about both days I spent at camp is that I got to meet and talk with a lot of women. Our ward night went late so I didn't head home until closer to 9:30 so by the time I got home Frank was asleep. I stayed up a bit later sending an update with photos to the girls' moms.
I didn't have to be there as early on Wednesday. I was helping with lunch so I didn't have to be there until noon, although when I got there I found out their breakfast helpers hadn't made it (one got lost) so they could have used help earlier. I was only needed for lunch and free time that day but they were really short-handed in the kitchen so I chose to help them and ended up staying to help with dinner too and didn't get home until about 8:30. Once again, I was exhausted! My feet and back hurt from being on my feet all day. I also felt sad because I realized that was my last day working with the YW (I'm getting released this Sunday) and I didn't really get to spend any time with them other than saying hello to them when they came through the lunch and dinner lines. I did enjoy all the women I worked with, though, and was happy to help where needed. I probably would have gone back on Thursday to help more if I could but I really had too much to do at home, getting caught up on things (again!) and getting ready for another trip (again!).
That's basically what I did all day yesterday...regrouped and tried to prepare for the next thing. Frank and I did take a break and went on a date last night...just went out to dinner, but it was nice to spend some time together.
I had another bad sleeping night last night (thunderstorms and my brain not shutting off and worrying about things) and even though I woke up by 7:00, I don't feel like I've accomplished much so far. Mostly that's because there has been the need for a lot of communication between me and other people as we are coordinating picking up Seth and some other things that are happening today. I will leave for my hair appointment soon and hopefully after I get back I will be able to settle down and get all the other things on my "to do" list done (which I'm sure will include a lot of laundry).
That was a highly edited version of everything that's been happening; just know that our lives have been 10 times more complicated, crazy, and chaotic than what I conveyed! We are doing okay though and grateful for all the good things in life.
