January 2023

Here is a sampling of what happened in January. 

Enjoying life with a dog: Megan and Artemis taking a rest together.

This is where Artemis went the first time we vacuumed after we brought her home.

Another angle.

Artemis chewing on the tag of her dog bed, which she loves. (She loves the bed and she loves chewing on tags.)

A couple of shots from Matthew's running club race. He came in 3rd for 6th grade boys.

Megan was happy to get a blue dress! (She'd been looking for one for awhile.)

Megan and some of the other 12-13 year old girls. They made the black skirts.

We successfully conquered the Amazon Rainforest escape room without any clues!

Artemis exploring the backyard.

Italy Yum box.

Megan's solution for when she doesn't want to wear socks but wants them with her in case she wants to wear them later....

Michelle, one of Me's college roommates, and her husband Reed, who we also knew from college, came into town for a conference for Reed. Michelle and Me went to the Gilbert temple and to lunch one day. The next day, Reed and Michelle came over for dinner. It was nice to catch up.

Matthew and Artemis

U's picture of the Gilbert temple

Christmas card wall

One evening, Megan told Me how she was feeling about the whole Sarah situation. Then she wrote down what she had said. (Note that Megan does keep track of how many days Sarah has been gone.)

Here's samples of a few interesting conversations from our house:

Is Melatonin an upper or a downer?

Megan: It is a downer because it helps you calm down.

Matthew: It is an upper because it increases the amount of melatonin in your body.

Megan: How do they get melatonin? Do they take it from people who sleep too much and then convert it into the bottle to give to people who can't sleep?

Matthew: Wife is asleep. Husband is awake. Husband performs surgery on the wife to take melatonin. Husband falls asleep. Wife wakes up screaming.

Interesting conversation for a couple of 6th graders to be having. While melatonin isn't actually an upper (stimulant) or a downer (depressant) I think they both have valid points. And the "how do they get melatonin" question and answer is amusing.

Conversation on the way home from church one week:

Megan: I really love Sarah but sometimes I just wanna slap her across the face and scream at her.

Matthew: I want to give her a piece of my mind. And strap her to her bed with rope, seatbelts, iron and wire that shocks her.

Megan: That seems a little hard core. Besides, she has wire cutters in her room.

Matthew: But she'd be tied down. She couldn't get to them.

Megan: She lived in the wild, Matthew. She knows ways.

This shows how worried Megan and Matthew are about their sister and how they really want her to be safe.