Nighttime...Daytime!...Nighttime...Daytime!

Jarom started his third Go-Live at work this past week, which means that they are installing the computer system that he works on at another hospital. It also means that he and his coworkers have to provide 24-hour support for a few weeks, and since he is a natural night owl Jarom is on the 11p-7a rotation. This is not a good situation for his marriage, because Alixa assumes that if you are home you should be hanging out with her and Jenna, and not sleeping. So to avert marital disaster, she packed up her bags and took Jenna up to Delaware to spend a week with cousins. Kristi was also having her bridal shower that weekend, so they were able to kill two birds with one painstakingly uncomfortable drive up the most congested interstate in the world.

Her week was spent hanging out with Jamie and Annie and their little ones, letting Jenna play in Grandma’s basement (which is the best place in the world for a one year old), trying to keep Jenna from contracting Luke’s illness, going to Carters to buy things that no child needs but every mother wants, and visiting with one of her best friends in the world, Amanda. Both girls had a great time, even though they missed Jarom a little. While there, Jenna discovered that she loves dinosaurs, and Luke has plenty of books and shows and toys to foster that new passion. This gave Alixa some much needed baby boy prep, as she will surely be able to tell the difference between a Pterosaur and an archaeopteryx, or a T-Rex and an Allosaurus in the not too distant future. The original plan was to return on Thursday, but there was quite a rainstorm that Lix had no desire to drive in. On Friday morning, she looked out the window and saw snow covering everything and wondered if perhaps the universe was telling her to get a divorce. But the snow melted and she was able to get back to Richmond safely, if not quickly.

Jenna still isn't sure how she feels about puppies

Jenna, Addison, and Hailey at the Children's Museum

Sometimes Brownie attacks Jenna in her sleep

Jarom wasn’t totally unproductive while they were away. He got the lawn mower out and cut the grass for the first time this season, which really should have happened a few weeks ago. He (along with his brother) also coached his young men’s basketball team to an undefeated season and the Stake tournament championship. The final was everything you might imagine, or see depicted in a bad Mormon comedy. There were technical fouls, ejections, obnoxious parents cheering on their obnoxious kids from the stage, and a couple of refs who could be heard muttering “why did I agree to do this” on several occasions. But in the end, the better team (Jarom’s) prevailed. And if the tournament gets canceled next year as a result of the stellar show of sportsmanship, as some are saying it will, that just means one more year as the reigning champs. He also managed to play some golf, watch some movies, and work a little bit. But he missed his family a lot, and could not have been happier to get them back after a week.

Everyone gathered around the computer enjoying the YouTube video below

Now that Lix is back the house is going all out to get ready for this new kid. There has been a whole lot of cleaning and organizing and getting rid of old stuff and putting junk up in the attic, and the result is a house that feels clean and tidy and a mom that feels like she is ready to add another rat to the mix. The due date is April 22, but I don’t think that Lix is going to make it that far. Bo will probably be here in a week or two. And speaking of Bo, Jenna has decided that she is not cool with that name. A few months ago when you asked her what baby brother’s name was, she told you Bo. Recently this changed, and neither Jarom nor Lix have any idea what prompted it. But now if you ask her, she says that the baby’s name is Horsey, and she will not be swayed, even if you try to correct her. We’ll see if she sticks with it. Maybe it’s a sign and we should actually use it.