Spotlight 2019: Andrea

Andrea

2018

Something in 2018 that...

*you saw or did that was awesome:  Trying indoor skydiving for the first time. It was harder than I imagined! But lots of fun.

*you'll remember: Visiting Yellowstone National Park. I had gone with my family as a kid, but hadn't been back in over thirty years. It is SO spectacular, beyond description.

*you want to forget:  Poor Andrew needing TWO shoulder surgeries and not getting to play competitive tennis with me.

*scared you: Some big ol' bison right by the trail where Caroline and I were hiking at Yellowstone. Too close for comfort!

*you're good at: Tennis overheads

*you're proud of:  That we have family dinners around the table 4-5 times a week.

*made you happy:  My AWESOME Survivor birthday party that Andrew and the girls planned for me.

*you learned:  All about vaping and juuling in a continuing ed course for my hygiene license.

*made you laugh:  In seminary, we were talking about how some blessings correlated with specific commandments. I can't remember exactly how the conversation went, but I ended up asking the kids about how that worked and said, "So, if someone doesn't keep the Word of Wisdom, will his legs fall off?" It was one of those things that struck me as SO FUNNY. I had one of my once-a-year laughing fits. My first one to have in seminary.

*was exciting: Ziplining with Caroline in South Dakota.

*you earned, won, or accomplished: My 6.5 USTA combo team made it to states in Wilmington. We took second place in our bracket, but didn't advance to the finals. I went 12-4 in my Gate City league. And 12-7 in my USTA matches. Pretty happy with that.

Any other notable changes/events for 2018: Grandpa Hiatt passed away in May at the age of 93.

Hopes for 2019:

*That Brandon adjusts well to living on his own and has good experiences at college.

*The Andrew is able to finally get his shoulder pain resolved.

*Another Spring Break cruise--our last with B at home.

*Road trip.

Follow-up from last year's hopes:
Go on a cruise for spring break.--Yep! So fun. Went to Nassau and Coco Cay. First time for the kids in the Bahamas. Loved it.

Have another great road trip with my kids.--Yes! All three kids got to come out with us. We had a fabulous time. The big kids flew home from Utah. Whit went to girls camp and B thought he needed to work (but wasn't actually on the schedule when he got home.... grrrr.....) But Caroline and I had a wonderful trip home.

Continue to find ways to serve in my home, ward, and community.--Doing ok, but could be doing better. My refugee family that I was working with is no longer available during the days, so I have stopped volunteering with them. And I also used to help set up apartments for newly-arriving refugees, but am no longer doing that, either. I still volunteer at Caroline's school. I help with math facts twice a week and also do Monday folders. I spend time in the media center helping Ms. Ketchum, too. For church, I am still teaching seminary which is wonderful and exhausting. Also still playing the organ which is not as bad as it used to be. :)

Improve in my Spanish.--Yes! Andrew is helping me so much with this one. The church has published an updated history called Saints. Every night Andrew and I read part of a chapter together. I read a paragraph in Spanish and translate what I think it says (which can sometimes be hilarious). Then he reads a paragraph in English while I follow along in Spanish. I'm getting pretty good at translating! We also discuss what we read at the end and have started having those conversations in Spanish. That's the hardest part for me! It is so hard to come up with the right words. And I can never remember how to conjugate. But I'm making progress.

Hobbies:  Tennis, reading, walking, planning and taking vacations, board games, fantasy football, video games.

Something you like about your job:  Having a few minutes when each kid gets home from school to hear about their day.

Something you don't like about your job:  Dishes.

A job you might want when you're older:  Board game tester


FAVORITES:

Restaurant:  Qdoba, Mad Greek Grill, Mellow Mushroom, Cheesecake Factory

Sport:  Football to watch, tennis to play

Recent reads:  I haven't LOVED many of the books I've read recently. Language of Thorns (I liked all but one of the stories.) And re-reading Anne of Green Gables with Caroline.

Candy or other treat:  Smarties. Take 5. Peanut M&M's.

Color: Red, black, purple, turquoise

Animal: Baby monkeys!

Snack:  Stove-popped popcorn, Greek yogurt sprinkled with trail mix, saltine crackers.

TV show:  Survivor, World of Dance, Jeopardy

Place:  The beach and the temple

Season:  Spring!

Meal:  Chicken and rice and beans with homemade tortillas

Song:  Whitney singing "I Need Thee Every Hour"

Game:  Pandemic, Qwixx, 7 Wonders, Codenames

RANDOM FACT:  So far, I'm holding on to my don't-dye-my-hair goal. I have a few gray/white/silver hairs that have come in. They're so pretty!