March -- Out Like a Lion or Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs

The old saying goes -- if March comes in like a lion it goes out like a lamb. March has pulled a reverse this year. The weather for the first days of March was beautiful and calm. Yesterday and today have been insanely windy, dusty, and gritty. People are sneezing, coughing, and generally stuffy and congested. On the last day of March (tomorrow) we can expect more wind and rain and snow and maybe even a few meatballs.

Weather sayings are pretty cool and most of them come from the Farmer's Almanac or some other weather predicting source. Other March weather sayings are:

A dry March and a wet May fill barns and bays with corn and hay.

As it rains in March, so it rains in June.

March winds and April showers bring forth May flowers.

Ides of March

Ides of March is a phrase from Roman calendars of thousands of years ago. Ides means the 15th day of any month. The phrase became an infamous line in Julius Caesar, "Beware the Ides of March," Caesar was warned by a seer. The phrase infers or foreshadows something scary or awful may happen to him and it in fact did -- Julius Caesar was killed -- stabbed to death by a bunch of crazed Roman Senators.

Well, today has been just like any other day in spite of it being the Ides of March. School and work and then home. Karl and Willie went to a Jazz game; I just returned home from checking on the grandparents; and, I plan to go through a few weeks of mail and straighten up the house.

Where did February go?

When time flies so quickly, blogging becomes a low priority, sorry.
So, where did February go?

A lot of my weeknights went to church meetings in preparation for our Hunter Central Stake Women's Conference. It was held on Saturday, February 20, and I would consider it a huge success. We had over 220 in attendance! Our guest speaker was Camille Fronk Olson and our guest vocalist was Allyse Smith-Taylor.

Annie and Ross invited us for Sunday dinner at their home for Super Bowl Sunday, February 7 -- it was very nice to be invited out. And, the dinner was yummy and the company was awesome.
Nephew Parker spent a few days (February 3-6) with us because Cindy and Evan took some time off to watch Meranda play softball in Yuma, Arizona. Meranda is playing her second year of college softball at SLCC. Parker is good company -- we all enjoyed having him overnight and during the day. I tease him that he is my favorite nephew.
Willie and I had intended to celebrate Bob Marley Day on Feb. 6, but we forgot. But we did go to a couple of weeknight Utah b-ball games together during the month -- just the two of us -- we had fun.
After school on February 9, the Granite Technical Institute Open House kept Willie and me busy. It was great to see (up close and personal) all of the technical programs available there. Willie wandered around and identified 4 classes he's interested in (3D animation, engineering, pilot/aviation, and electronics) while I played my roles as welcomer/counselor lady. I guessed there were probably 3000+ students and parents who participated.
Science Fair projects were due February 17, so Willie and I worked to get it put together. We decided to recycle a project from the past, but it still took hours to get it put together. We were both kind of disappointed at the teacher's lack of excitement for the whole thing. She didn't even have the kids share their projects with each other.
I went to the 5A State Swim Meet on February 12. Niece Emily was in 2 events that night and 2 the next day. She swims for Copper Hills High School and her sister Maddie is the team's coach. By the way, Emily has been nominated for Junior Prom Queen -- how about that!
On four different days during February, I helped Dad get Mom to her doctor's appointments. Mom is getting stronger every week. I'd hoped that her strength would come back faster, but when you are nearly 80, rebounding is slow. Getting Mom anywhere is tricky. She needs a wheelchair -- we use Moria's red one. She needs forced air at 6 units 24/7. A long tank has enough air for about 90 minutes, so Dad has to bring at least one extra tank and sometimes two. We usually end up changing out the tanks at the end of her appointments (in the parking lot before they head for home). It's doable, but I know it stresses them both out. Mom made it to church twice in February and she was so excited to go.
Haley and I took Mom/Grandma shopping on Presidents' Day. We just went to ShopKo, but she was in heaven filling up her shopping cart. I wheeled her around with the oxygen tank straddled between her legs while Haley pushed the shopping cart -- Mom bought birthday gifts for February and March birthdays and a baby present for Maddie's baby shower.
I helped Haley, Karl, and Willie with homework/papers (it's my hobbie).
On Saturday (February 27), Elliott spent the day with me! Wyatt needed some time away from big brother, so Grandmama Judy was the lucky one -- he is such a good boy. He did spend some time with Grandpa and Willie (he helped Grandpa coach Willie's ball game). We had fun and ended the day at Shopko to buy a prize -- he chose Lightning McQueen from the movie Cars.
Willie grew in February -- he is now the tallest in the family -- a little over 6'3"! How about that! He played in about 8 basketball games in February and scored over 100 points total in the month. He also missed a day of school (February 22) -- sore throat (again) and general achiness.

Wyatt was sick, too (Feb. 24th on), a little more serious illness for a little guy, RSV. I've seen him a couple of times and he looks so peaked and has little bags under his eyes. (snif, snif)
I am excited for March!