Winter

 We finally have winter-worthy snow and temperatures, even though that limits some things, like my running which I was able to do for half of January this year, it's nice to see the white stuff and have a chance to play in it. Of course, with Austin's broken arm, there may not be much sledding for us this season. I could just take Erik, and we probably will, but I would feel bad leaving Austin behind. We'll see how it goes.  Victoria went with friends the other day. I'm sure Kai will go sometime with friends too.

His official cast. It turns out he only has to wear it for 3 weeks. He'll get a brace after that. I don't know if he'll have restrictions. I feel like that's not very long. We had a virtual appointment today so they could see how well he could touch each finger to his thumb. He had a hard time with that last week, but did much better today, especially after his doctor's orders to play video games to strengthen his thumb! He liked that part of it!

Erik and I made some snowmen and we had a snow day last week. This week the temperatures and real feels are going to be very cold (in the negatives on Friday), so there's always the possibility of school being canceled for temps that are too low, but hopefully not. Today was supposed to be the first day of the new semester, but with that snow day last week, tomorrow will be. The last few days of the semester were finals and half days of school. With Austin's recent break and days home from school for that, I don't need the kids home for another snow (cold) day just yet!

This was before the big snowstorm in the backyard. His name was Benton. The weather warmed up for a night and he was quickly beheaded.

Here's Benton Jr. This was at the very beginning of the big storm, so the ground wasn't covered well yet, but the snow was terrific for packing! Benton Jr. is still there and covered in lots of snow. 

Luke enjoyed the snowy view!

At the very end of Winter Break, before Austin broke his arm, he was making some hats and Victoria started to crochet a pillow.

He made what he calls a Star Wars hat and he made the green hat that Erik was wearing in the snowman pic.

She finished it yesterday. Pretty good for her first big crochet project.

Kai finally got her birthday gift- the Varsity jacket!

New hair color too!

Ironic

 Last week, I decided to join a group from our ward to go on a ski trip with Austin, Erik, and Victoria on MLK day. Kai and Jason decided not to go. Kai wanted to work and hang with friends that day. Jason and Kai also made plans to go to lunch together. 

The ski resort is Caberfae in Cadillac, MI, a 3.5-hour drive from our house, but it was only $45/per person for the day, including rentals. We thought it would be worth it and we would be with many friends. 

When I confirmed the decision with my friend, Angie who was in charge, Victoria and I knew that her dance coach George wouldn't be happy with us. He had explicitly told the dancers not to go skiing this winter due to the upcoming dance competition. We decided it would probably be fine. She's not a crazy dare-devil skier and the skiing in MI isn't really rough. 

Well, after I confirmed with Angie, I couldn't fall asleep because my thoughts were on this ski trip. My first thoughts were how tired we would all be. We would have to wake up at 5 am and leave promptly at 5:30 in order to make it there in time for a good day's ski and then leave by 4 or 4:30 to make it back in time to start the school week off with early-morning seminary. I couldn't settle my brain down about these thoughts. 

The next day I couldn't fall asleep again, but this time my thoughts were about Victoria going skiing, against George's wishes. Then came thoughts of her falling on one of the runs and getting hurt. Not only would she ruin her chances of being in all those dance numbers at competition, for her senior year, but she would ruin her track season as well. Last year, in the second semester she was battling long-covid. There was no way she could chance ruining this final year of hers with some dumb ski accident. The more I thought about it, the more anxious I became until I finally texted her and told her she shouldn't go. She just said, "ok". 

It turns out she was having similar thoughts and people kept bringing up broken legs and crazy ski accidents. Plus, even she couldn't chance to defy George, even if it meant not going skiing with a bunch of her friends. I texted Angie right away and told her Victoria had to back out. It wasn't too late, thank goodness because I thought it might be (with the group rate we had to book by a certain day). 

I breathed a sigh of relief and spent the next couple of days not thinking much about it. On Sunday, as I prepared to be gone the entire next day and packed all the things the boys and I would need, I decided that without Victoria going I wouldn't have to worry so much about the lack of sleep. At least she would be well-rested for the week, even if I wouldn't be!

Austin, Erik, and I made it to Caberfae with no problem. We even arrived a little early so we could get our lift tickets from Angie. We were excited to try out this new-to-us ski resort! We found our friends who are Austin's and Erik's ages. They all went down the small bunny hill for a couple of practices. We hadn't been in two years, but Austin did some snowboarding with the one we have at home on the sledding hill a couple of times last year, so he had some recent experience. We made our way over to the main lift pretty quickly. That bunny hill isn't much of a hill! I went on the lift with Erik and when we made it to the top with all the rest of the friends, we all went down together. 

Erik's practice run.

Austin's practice run.

Erik and Austin and some friends at the top.

Right away I could tell that Erik didn't seem to be practicing his "pizza" and "french fry" very well. He just zipped down that hill pretty quickly, with no fear! I followed him but went a little more slowly. It was cloudy and seemed dark. It was hard for me to see if there were any changes in the terrain with all the white snow and white sky. Luckily, in Michigan, the ski runs are pretty short, so you get down pretty quickly and can start again in places that you are familiar with. And if you go too fast, you get to the bottom soon enough that you will stop after not too long!

We made it down safely and Erik was pretty stoked about his first run. I reminded him about the "pizza" and "french fry" positions on the next lift up. He looked better as we went down the second time. Austin, following his friend, made a detour toward the bottom of the run, to the left. I didn't even notice if it was harder than the main run, I just decided that Erik looked good and I should follow Austin. It wasn't very long until he fell forward and put his hand down as he fell, as what so many snowboarders do. I saw it, but not very clearly. I asked if he was okay, in the kind of way you ask, just to be polite, not really thinking he was actually hurt. When he groaned and stayed down, I knew there was a problem. 

I stopped next to him and after a moment he sat up and said he would be fine, he just needed to rest a few more minutes. I asked if he needed help getting down when he was ready to go, but he declined. Since he was in so much pain, he fell again soon afterwards, and then on purpose when he could tell he would lose his balance and didn't want to damage his wrist again, so he could control his fall. We were at the bottom by then, but around the side, not where the main lift was or where any people were. To me, his wrist looked a little too floppy. When I carefully removed his glove, I could see a dent, where there shouldn't be one. Not one for that kind thing, I could feel myself start to get really uncomfortable. I loosened his glove and put it back on him, took off his snowboard, and walked to a small parking lot nearby to ask a man there where I should go for help. Luckily, the building adjacent to the parking lot was where the medic office was. I walked Austin over and they said he probably had broken both bones in his wrist and that we could see someone there in Cadillac, but that it would be better if we just went home. Cadillac is a small town and we would get better care where we live, plus the follow-ups would be smoother.

You can see the dent if you look carefully. Ouch!

While they put together some good-looking sling for his arm, I found Erik and some of the adults from our group and was able to secure a way for him to stay and then come home later. When I got back to Austin, he was lying down because he had gotten nauseous. He looked slightly green when I saw him, but he was doing better by then. 

Looking a little green here.

After all the paperwork was complete (we have two free passes plus a free rental for another time), Austin and I were able to leave. I couldn't believe that he had actually broken his wrist so early in the day and that we had another 3 1/2 drive back! I thought it ironic that I had all those thoughts about Victoria getting injured and that Austin actually did! It was kind of surreal. 

Somehow, the drive went quickly. We stopped at the very beginning for a McDonald's lunch for my boy, which was good it was early on because when we go to the urgent care by three-ish and after they confirmed it broken but that we needed to go to the ER because of the nature of the break, they kept asking when the last time that he ate was.

After they confirmed that the bigger break was in the radius, though the ulna was also broken, and that the growth plate was displaced, they said they would need to sedate him to put things back in place before giving him a temporary cast. 

At the Urgent Care.

It looks little wonky. 

I stayed with him on the operating room until he was out, and then left. I could have stayed in there, but I didn't think I could stomach that. About 20 minutes later they were done and he was waking, but very loopy and talking about the Star Wars dream he had when he was under. It was pretty funny! He has what they call a "bendy" cast on, just because his arm is slightly bent forward in a curve. On Tuesday he goes in to get his long-time cast on. I don't know how long yet. 

At the ER waiting for our turn.

After the procedure. You can see how it looks kind of "bendy".

In the meantime, he had to keep it elevated for 48 hours to help with the swelling. They were kind of concerned about his tingly fingers, but those have been improving, so that's good. He slept on the Lazy boy chair for 2 nights so he could sleep with it elevated and had to stay home from school those 2 days. He now sleeps in the guest bed in the basement because the top bunk is just not a good idea right now.

Overall, he's taking it well. I had to cancel his Ninja Warriors classes for the rest of the season and his hip hop classes for now since he can't do things where he might fall. His orchestra, band, and piano teachers are very understanding and patient. I told him that at least it's not his Senior year! Poor guy.

He finally didn't have to elevate it anymore!

Priesthood Duties

 Erik was ordained as a Deacon last Sunday and was able to pass the sacrament today for the first time. Additionally, he was sustained as the Deacon's Quorum President. Austin was ordained as a Teacher last Sunday and got to help prepare the sacrament today, which meant going to church earlier, but it was worth it! He was sustained as the 1st Counselor in the Teacher's Quorum last Sunday. Yesterday Austin helped show our 3 Deacons how the passing of the sacrament would happen today. Since one of the boys wasn't feeling well today, he didn't attend, so Austin passed for him. Since we only have 3 Deacons, I think one of the 3 Teachers will help pass each Sunday, so we have 4 young men passing. 

Today was a special day because Edler Vie Sikahema of the Seventy visited our ward. We only found out about 8 days ago, so last week our choir had a practice for today's meeting and another quick one this morning before Sacrament meeting. It turned out that today would be the first day for these new Deacons to pass the sacrament and they did very well with the extra special guest on the stand. I could see the Bishop and Jason on the stand beaming as their boys passed the sacrament for the first time. Then, when Elder Sikahema gave his talk, he took about a minute to praise the boys who passed the sacrament, saying how reverent they were and how sharp they were in their white shirts and ties. He repeated that they were sharp and handsome and what a great job they did in fulfilling their duties. He also commented on how they had great parents who were raising them in the Gospel. Well, you can bet we felt so privileged to be the recipients of such great compliments in the middle of his talk! Proud parent moment!

So grateful that both my boys hold the Priesthood and were able to pass the sacrament together today! 

Deacons: Erik, Spencer, and Nick (Spence and Nick are Erik's besties and the Bishop's sons)

Teachers: Austin, Owen, and Peter (all these buddies have birthdays within 2 months of each other)

Sweet 16 for Sweet Kai

 When Kai first got her own cell phone, she labeled it in my phone as "Sweet Child of Mine (Karissa)", but whenever I called her from my car, it would say, "calling Sweet Child of Karissa, on cell". Since we haven't called her Karissa in a long time, I recently changed it to "Sweet Kai", which is so much easier to say!

So, Kai celebrated her 16 birthday! The night before, we were driving home from VA and she got her last 47 minutes of night driving in as she took us home the last hour. She also got some good freeway driving practice in. She will take her test this Saturday, so hopefully, she'll have her license by next week!

First thing on her birthday, at a pretty early hour, we drove 30 minutes to watch Victoria throw at a track meet. She's in the Michigan Elite Thrower's Club and signed up for this meet, with permission from Kai. She had to be there by 8:15 and the rest of us showed up by 9. We still had to wait a bit before she got to throw because she was in flight 3 since it was her first time throwing shot put.The kids were good sports and it was the first time in a while we had to wake Kai up for anything on her birthday. I got to play The Birthday Song by the Beatles to wake her! Since her birthday is never on a school day, that doesn't usually happen. 

A quick breakfast of fried eggs and bacon.

What a nice sister to go an early track meet on her own birthday!

We had fun!

Kai, Austin, Erik, and I left after Victoria threw shot put, because it took a long time! But they enjoyed watching it and Victoria PR'd at 27.8 feet for shot put! Jason stayed for the discus while the rest of us shopped for the rest of Kai's party stuff, they bought her gifts, and we got smoothies at Smoothie Cafe.

Kai didn't want a picture in front of the dock pic, but Erik did!

Kai relaxed for a bit in her room after a busy morning. When Jason returned, he worked his magic on Kai's requested Puerto Rican dinner, which included tostones, pork, rice and gandules, stir fried broccoli, and coquito (a traditional Puero Rican egg nog. I forgot to take pics of the food, though). We invited Stefanie and Aaron Nelson over from our ward who the kids call Bro Nel and Sis Nel because we've been friends with them for so long, but they're always our kid's leaders or teachers, though Stef was really Kai's friend first at before age 8! Those two have a special bond! When getting together before Christmas didn't work out, I suggested they come to dinner to celebrate Kai. It was so much fun! I really enjoyed the evening of dinner, conversation, and games (Things and Trigger and Action, which were the two new games we learned at the Gilson's house). They even stayed late to watch Thor: Love and Thunder which Kai and I hadn't seen yet. It turned out that Stefanie hadn't either and Aaron loves Marvel movies, so they watched it with us.

Her new skateboard from Christmas. Her main birthday gift is still being made. A varsity jacket for Color Guard, but she got lots of other fun small gifts from me and the kids. Victoria will take her on an outing to the mall and buy her something from Hot Topic.

Stranger Things poster from Erik.

Gift card to Earth Lore and some gems and an awesome homemade good luck jar from Bro and Sis Nel!

Plant from Austin 

Cookies and cream cheesecake for dessert from the orchestra fundraiser. 

Kai had friends over for a party Saturday. One of her best friends, CJ, moved an hour away, so she met us at a Stake Youth activity and then came over right after that to help bake the cake. Other friends came over at 4. Most of them stayed till 9 and just played games, acted crazy, and ate food. We just served pizza this time, with chips, veggies and root beer. Nice and simple. CJ, Isa, and Zach stayed till midnight. I think they all had a good time. I wasn't involved much, just picked up the pizza and served the cake. We got to celebrate Kai and ring in the new year, though I was in bed before midnight because I had to give a talk during our new start time of 9am!

CJ and Kai making a Shrek cake.

The PR food looked much better than this- don't know why I forgot to take pics of that!!

Luke sat by the little tree after someone put some gifts there for Kai- so sweet!

They didn't sit here the entire time. They did some other things and Kai even changed into the cow onesie, before reconvening here.

Pizza time!

We love our Kai!

P.S. Jason finished the terranium table for the snake!

Kai painted it yesterday.

Ross seems very happy!