Update

Aria's home for a few more days . . . it is going by far too quickly. I wish she could just stay, I'd love for her to move back to Pocatello. But, after spending some time with her in Kansas City I've seen how much she likes it there, and she's doing well, so I don't think that will happen. I want what is best for her, and if it is there then so be it, as hard as that is. . .  she's on the honor roll and is continuing with her violin playing. She's so much more outgoing than I ever was, and I'm grateful for that.

Kansas City is pretty cool. We went to Arrowhead Stadium, and I hoped to go in but we couldn't, I think they were practicing, so we just drove up to the front and I took a photo. But it is still pretty cool to say that I was there.

The downtown part of the city is so beautiful. It was decorated with Christmas lights and there were several large decorated trees. There is a place called Union Station and it is absolutely gorgeous. There is a museum and the outside is lit up in lights that switch between red and green. There's a skywalk that goes over to Crown Center where there are tons of little shops and restaurants.

One of the best parts, other than hanging out with Aria, of course, was going to an art museum. I was able to see real, actual, authentic Monet and Van Gogh paintings. Call me a nerd, but it gave me chills. I can cross that off my bucket list. However, I still really want to see "Starry Night" in person. That would be fantastic.

The flights there and back were Ok. I was terrified to fly at first, it had been awhile, but after take-off I was Ok. On the way back to Salt Lake City we hit some pretty nasty turbulence during the landing that freaked Aria and I out a bit, but we made it to the ground safely.

Aria has matured a lot, she had become more patient with her brother. She's definitely a teenager though! I've gotten a few eye rolls and "don't embarrass me"comments, which of course makes me want to embarrass her by dancing in line at the grocery store and other such tomfoolery.  Ha ha! I've been wanting to use "tomfoolery" in a sentence!

We had a great Christmas. Devin got his own tablet and tons of Legos. Aria got an iPad and a violin. And I got her "Attack on Titan" Monopoly. She's really into anime. We went to visit my family in Blackfoot on Christmas Eve, and I was able to see some of my aunts and cousins that I have not seen in a long time. We were going to drive to Utah on Christmas day to visit Mike's family but the storm made the roads icy so we stayed. We'll stop by when we take Aria to the airport on Monday.

Devin is growing up too fast too. He's still a sweet little boy but he's had a bit of an attitude lately. I guess it is just because he's getting older but it sure is not fun to deal with. He gets frustrated some times when he can't get a Lego piece to fit the way he wants it to or if  his drawing does not turn out the way he wants. I have to remind him to be patient and to practice, but at the same time I know that getting frustrated is part of being human so I have to let him sort it out by himself sometimes.

Have you ever notice that we discourage children from doing and acting in very normal human ways like being sad, frustrated, angry, etc? Instead of saying "don't be mad," shouldn't we instead teach them that it is normal to get angry sometimes and give them tools for dealing with it? By telling them not to allow themselves to have these basic emotions are we not setting them up to think they are doing something wrong when they feel these things? That's another blog for another day.

Mike's been off work for a bit, not a lot of painting jobs right now. He needs the break, he works hard. He got bored one day and repainted the bathroom. It's nice having a professional painter in the house! He and Devin have been spending a lot of time together since he's been out of school. He rides the bus home from school now, which is something I never thought he'd be confident enough to do. He surprises me.

As for me, well, I am in a substantial amount of physical pain today, but that will pass. Mentally I'm in a weird place. I'm feeling very reclusive, but not in a bad way, I just want to stay home and draw and read and not really go out and deal with society. Some days it really gets to me . . . all the people who are all for themselves and don't give two shits about anyone else. It's nice to get away from that.

This is long enough. I'm done.

This is the Van Gogh I saw. It's one of the paintings in the "Olive Orchard" series that he painted while he was institutionalized at Saint-Remy.