Keeping up with the Beeli-arshians

The Beelis (especially Emily) seem to be constantly busy.  The girls make most of the meals but the boys clean up.  They all take turns at milking the goat (they get around 5 quarts each day), except for Andrew.  Rosalie, Elizabeth and Stephen enjoy playing Phase 10 with us, taking some time each day.  Rosalie has been rehearsing and performing in Romeo and Juliet with some other home schoolers.  The older boys sat with the house and dogs all week.  They sometimes take turns and sometimes are both there together.  Rosalie and Elizabeth are also in some sort of dance troupe and dopped h with about 20 other youngsters with “talent”.  The family was good enough to take us to a close LCMS worship on Sunday.  The pastor made a nice connection between Mother’s Day and the Bride of Christ—the church.  Afterward we took the family to a Chinese restaurant for a big buffet meal.  After changing clothes, we went to a park so the family could play Ultimate Frisbee, a game similar to football using a frisbee and avoiding bodily contact as much as possible.  I watched them.  I wanted to play but have to accept the constraints of age.  I did get to walk a bit while Evelyn rested in the borrowed Suburban.  Rosalie was with us, having finished the play performances.  We had a quiet Sunday evening at home but hit the ground running again Monday.  I walked to a local WalMart with Stephen on the Ripstick and Elizabeth on a unicycle.  That is an exhausting thing to ride since it has no coasting capability.  Stop peddling and it falls over.  Another thing is that there is a constant fight to keep balanced.  I finally bought some after shave lotion. We played more cards after lunch and rested before Pieder came home.  We then accompanied him to his massage therapy which took an hour and a half.  We learned some things about the therapy and enjoyed talking with the therapist as she worked.  Elizabeth has problem with her spine and had her own treatment.  We came home for a late supper.  Tuesday morning we had errands.  We picked up Noah, went to a nearby town to the 4-H office to rent a cotton candy making machine, brought it home so the girls could make cotton candy.  It was difficult to learn the technique, but they got pretty good at it.  They ate some while we watched the finish of Captain America, the movie we started yesterday.  Noah joined us but left to work on repairing a gate the goat had knocked down.  They had all seen the movie, so he missed nothing much.  He had to remove some of the frame and replace it.  I went to help him and keep him company.  He got a good start but had to quit because he had to relieve Andrew.  We dropped him and Stephen, picked up Andrew and went to the home school artists’ performances.  We had not had any supper so we went to a walk up hamburger place that Andrew has wanted to go to since they have lived here.  It has also been featured on Diners, Drive ins and Dives on the food channel. 

It is dry here in northern Utah.  It reminds us of the trips to Arizona.  WE don’t itch as much but our noses get very dry. We are using excessive amounts of Vicks salve as a result.  We both struggle to breathe at night and are dry in the morning.  It has been very warm here since the cool temperatures we experienced when we arrived.  The days have been bright and sunny, allowing us to enjoy the outdoors.  This makes it pleasant for the milking of the goat, the caring for the rabbits, and playing with the dog in the yard. They just took possession of the dog yesterday and have already had fun in their yard.  The spring here is almost over and summer has begun.  But it is beautiful surrounded by mountains.