Grateful Friday

Things I'm grateful for this week:

We haven't had to run our heat or AC.

I got to visit with my grandma and parents.

Everyday I survive the insanity and anarchy that is the Pleasant Grove Junior High parking lot...yesterday I almost collided with a red convertible Corvette.  Who drops off their junior high kid in a Corvette with the top down when the temperature is in the 40s?  That lady.

Emma stopped by to visit us one night.

I found the perfect meme to use when Mark is salty in group texts:

Taking an after dinner walk with Adam.  Or Adam and Mark.

Braeden just shows up occasionally/frequently.  He was here last night after a dinner which was part of his multi-day mission reunion.  He ended up staying the night because he worked late on a paper he's writing.  (He's smart enough to get Adam's input on papers he writes.) I just love having that kid around.

Visiting the Springville Museum of Art

It's conference weekend!

Books I read in September 2017

I had a good reading month!

The Orphan Keeper by Camron Wright ****

Loved it!  Geri loaned me this book and I'm grateful.  It's the true story of a little boy who was kidnapped in India and then adopted by an American couple.  The story was fascinating and I loved that the couple lived in Utah County so the setting was very familiar to me.  It made me want to go to Bombay House in Provo for dinner.

Shadow in the Sea by Sheila Nielson ***

When we read Forbidden Sea for book club, the author told us about this book which was the sequel.  I liked it.  The cover is weird but the book wasn't.

Maude by Donna Mabry ****

We read this for book club too.  Oh my.  It is also based on a true story, written by Maude's granddaughter.  Our general consensus was that the author was a little too self congratulatory and the book may have been more effective had we not known her connection.  The story was amazing though.  It is hard to fathom that many things happening to a person. 

The Cookbook Collector by Allegra Goodman ****

Another book I loved reading.  It started in 1999 at the height of the internet bubble, then the bubble burst, then September 11 happened.  Against that backdrop was the story of two sisters and the concentric circles of their lives.  Seriously, there were A LOT of characters.  

The American Heiress by Daisy Goodwin ****

Satisfied all my anglophile and Downton Abbey-esque proclivities.  At the same time it made me appreciate being American.   Daisy Goodwin also wrote the screenplay for Victoria which Adam and I are watching (and enjoying!) on Masterpiece Theater and when I learned that it made a lot of sense.  There are similarities.  The American Heiress is about a wealthy American girl who married a Duke and tried to navigate all that entailed.

Two Jacks

Monday Mark built a fort.  He just does that occasionally. 

Also, Mark has been cast as Jack in The Importance of Being Earnest and coincidentally Braeden played Jack four years ago at Glacier Peak High School.  He was quite the dandy:

For the theater class Braeden is currently enrolled in at BYU, he has to volunteer 10 hours with a theater program.  Mark's school seemed like the obvious choice.  Last night at rehearsal, Braeden was tasked with helping the cast with their accents.

Braeden came here after and Mark wanted to show him the fort, of course he did.  They took Mark's script and Braeden's old script inside.

My two boys, in a blanket fort, speaking in British accents.

I love my two Jacks.  I just wish my Jill had been here too.  (She stays on campus more than her brother does....)

Braeden

He lives on campus but I don't think he knows about the campus.  He came home last night to print something.

Not that I'm not happy to see him every time, but I'm guessing they have printers on campus.  (Going out on a limb here.)

He brought his roommate Sam who is the only one we hadn't met yet.  We had heard glowing reports of Sam from Switzerland.  And he was a nice guy.  He speaks perfect English.  Europeans make us look bad that way. 

Adam made a FIFA joke and Sam laughed uproariously.  Who knew FIFA was headquartered in Switzerland and then how to make a joke about it that would make a Swiss person laugh?  Adam.  That's who.

Sam and Braeden seemed like the kind of kindred spirits my kids usually end up finding in friends.  (I'm always a little surprised, there are more of you out there?)

This text conversation happened after I was asleep last night.  That is often the case:

So I guess this is to say Braeden hasn't figured out how to use the printers on campus but he is having fun.  Who didn't see that coming?

A good weekend to have a good weekend

The Sebras invited us to go to the BYU Dance Concert that showcases the International Dance Ensemble, Theater Ballet, Living Legends, Ballroom Dance Company,  and Contemporary Theater Dance.

Braeden and Emma ran into Tim Sebra earlier that day (he works at BYU) and he told them we were going to the concert together.

Braeden said to me, "Congratulations on having friends."  I know, right?

We loved the concert.  Well, mostly.  Contemporary dance isn't always our thing.  Adam called them the BYU Wedgie Ensemble in a nod to their skin tight outfits.

That same night we left Mark in charge because a group of eight 20 year-olds descended on our basement to play games and watch It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. (My boys love that crazy movie--I think mostly because they aspire to be Sylvester.  "I'm coming for you Mama!")  Adam and I got them pizza before we left.  When Braeden and his crew were teenagers, the formula was a pizza per boy.  We got 6 pizzas this time and there were a few pieces leftover.  Fun fact:  20 year-olds eat less than teenage boys.

Saturday night Emma and I went with the Porters to Salt Lake City for the Women's Broadcast.

It was amazing and we had great seats.  General Conference time is the best time.  The talks from our leaders are inspiring and soul expanding and just wonderful.  Nola and I both cried a bit.  And she gave my name at the restaurant because she said no one ever gets hers right.  So she gave my name?  Nothing confuses the kids taking names at restaurants like Thelma.  I usually give the name Emma.  Emma said that is identity theft but I told her if I gave you the name in the first place, I can use it.

I think that's how the world works?

We had a good time.  Emma and Sara are both in BYU Women's Chorus and Louisa is in PGHS Advanced Women's Choir.  Coincidentally they are all singing the same song in their choirs and sing three different parts.  They sang in the van and it was awesome.

Sara said, "This one part fills my dissonance needs."

I didn't know people had dissonance needs but I can't sing like those girls so what do I know?

Also Saturday Mark changed the name of Fam-a-lam to Iran Hostage Crisis.  That was his way of saying this:

 

Emma changed the name back then this happened:

She's, you know, super sympathetic.

And I don't know what there is to complain about Fam-a-lam.  It makes me happy every day:

I don't know what looting rain is but who am I to judge?

Sunday Braeden spoke in church and my family came:

Marianne and I agreed to both wear our black floral dresses and spend the entire morning curling our hair.  Or maybe it just turned out that way.

Braeden said it "warmed the cockles of his heart" to see his family there.

Mine too.

We had about 30 for lunch after church.  Everyone brought good food so it was easy to feed the group.  I had been hoping it could be an outside affair but the weather was terrible (cold and rainy) so we were inside.  It worked pretty well but I haven't had the courage to go to the basement yet.

It was a wonderful weekend.  I appreciated spending time with friends and family. I appreciated feeling uplifted and loved.

Love conquers all.

Grateful Friday

I'm not grateful for trials.  People say that and I don't 100% believe them.  I think what they mean is that they are grateful for what they learned from their trials.  I am too.  But if I could learn the same lessons, without the trial, I would sign right up.

I guess the trials are the tuition we pay.

I've been thinking about trials and how different and sort of bizarre things happen that we never saw coming.  And then sometimes we lose people we love.  Death is so very universal so we should expect it but it still startles us.

Lots of times (mostly) I gloss over my own trials on this little blog.  Who wants to read me whining?  Also, I know gratitude is an antidote for whatever ails me so I try to aim in that direction.

I am grateful for some of the things I've learned over the years, in my trials:

I've learned that I'm not as strong/smart/capable/well liked as I thought I was.

I've learned that the Atonement of Jesus Christ can fill in those gaps and I can be better with the help of His grace.

I've learned who my people are.  I've learned who has my back and who lifts me up.  I've learned that other people can let you down.

I've learned that the world isn't always fair.  Try your best, do good work, stand up every time you get knocked down.  You'll still probably get knocked down again.

I've learned where there is peace to be found.  I've never felt stressed inside the walls of the temple.  I feel restored when I read scriptures and when I pray.

I've learned that serving someone else is often the best way to feel better.

I've learned that we are eternal beings.  We are here having a mortal experience that is a blip.  It doesn't matter what hard stuff gets thrown our way.  What matters is how we respond to it.

I've learned that families matter.  I love a safe spot where you can be you and you can have a rotten day and the people around you buoy you up and love you even if you're having a rotten day because you are behaving in a rotten manner.

Dream catcher

Strange happenings in my dreams.

My great aunt Roene called and wanted to come listen to Braeden speak in church and then come to our house for dinner after.  I said, "Oh, OK."  She said that first she needed to go visit her sister Susan who is in a rest home and she needed me to take her.  I told her that it was going to be a busy day for me and I didn't know that I could.  She imperiously insisted.  When the day arrived I overslept until 11:00 and was in a big hurry to take her to the rest home to see Susan.  I looked down at my clothes and I was wearing this bizarre red and black and white outfit.

My great aunt Roene is dead and also I have no idea if she has a sister named Susan.

*

* *

Famous blogger Stephanie Nielsen asked me to babysit her kids while she went to Arizona to visit her sick sister.  She had a lot of children and two that needed potty training and it was sort of a disaster.  Stephanie called and told me that Tabor had called her and reported that my house wasn't up to its usual standard of cleanliness and she wondered if I could handle babysitting.

I don't personally know Stephanie Nielson and I don't think Tabor does either.  I could be wrong.

*
* *

I decided to get a dog.  I was telling Emma and I told her I was going to get a rescue dog and she threw her arms around me and was really happy because she was an advocate for getting rescue dogs.

I'm not getting a dog and I don't think Emma has strong opinions about rescue animals.  I could be wrong.

Curiosity

Maybe it's because I took "curiosity killed the cat" as a cautionary tale.  Maybe it's because my mom read us Alice in Wonderland and her curiosity resulted in all sorts of crazy run ins.  I don't know if I'm abnormally not curious or Adam is uber curious.  In either case, there's a vast difference between us.

Coincidentally (?) he knows a lot more than I do.

Sometimes he'll ask me things about where I grew up and I will realize it never even occurred to me to wonder that.

Sometimes he'll tell me about an article he read in the paper and I'll realize that I read that headline but wasn't curious enough to read the article.

He can talk to anyone about anything because he has a ton of questions about their lives.

The other day I texted Emma a picture of the finished product of my new chalkboard (mostly because I want her to know that the more often she comes to see me the more I will adore her--positive reinforcement!):

Emma is the same kind of curious/smarty pants as her dad and she texted back asking if that is a Gaelic blessing.

I said that it was a variation on an Irish blessing I saw.

She asked, "Isn't that Gaelic?"

I texted back something intelligent like "IDK".

I asked Adam and he said what he thought, then he started googling.

Later, he came to me with his newfound knowledge about Irish/Welsh/Scottish/Gaelic/Celtic languages and how they're all related.

He's curious.  And he's smart.  And I'm glad he's mine.  (Because sometimes even I wonder about things.)

Keeping it PG

This little town.  It endears itself to me.

I've been practicing lines with Mark for his play, The Importance of Being Earnest.  I love that his director made an already supremely appropriate play even more fitting for Pleasant Grove.  For example, there isn't a cigarette case; it's a card case.  The play is in the public domain so they can tinker all they want.

The other day at Costco, Adam was chatting with the cashier about the storms and fires and earthquakes.  Adam is one of those people that talks to people.  He said something to the effect that it reminded him of the book of Revelations and was chatting about it with the woman putting stuff in our shopping bags (yes, we want to use them).  The guy ringing up the purchases said to me, "I guess if it was prophesied we can't be too worried."

A Sunday School lesson in the line at Costco.

Sunday at church I had another experience that felt like something that would only happen here.

The Relief Society president, Marcia, came up to me.  She looked around carefully, like she didn't want anyone else to hear our conversation.  She asked me discreetly if Emma and I would like tickets to the Women's Broadcast in Salt Lake City on Saturday.  She said, "I thought I'd offer them to Nola and you seem to be friends with Nola and I thought you'd all like to go together."

I said yes!  She said, "I can't offer them to everyone because they would be gone in a second."

In other words, she didn't want anyone seeing her offering them to me. Sure, these ladies seem nice but I guess she didn't want to test that theory.

Later, before Relief Society started, she had talked to Nola who wanted to go.  Sandwiched carefully between her hands, Marcia passed me the tickets.  I slipped them into my bag.  It was the closest thing to a drug deal going down there's probably ever been in Relief Society.

I loved that Marcia considered that Nola, from the East Coast, has never been to General Conference and she wanted to give her the opportunity.  I'm glad I just so happen to be Nola's friend and neighbor so I get to be in on the experience.  We'll take our girls and have a great time.

What can I say?  It's fun to be a peculiar people among all the other peculiar people.

Helicopter mother

I was arguably a VERY involved mother for elementary school.  I was the teacher after all.  Sending our kids to school, I felt less involved than a lot of my friends.  I didn't check grades, I didn't check homework, I pretty much let them be.  I was busy home schooling Mark and rearranging furniture.  I let Braeden and Emma handle it.  (Occasionally I needed to intervene.  There were the times both of them were in danger of not graduating.)

So I haven't been all that involved with Mark once he went to school either.  Except now.  I've got all this motherly energy and no where else to point it.  Poor kid.  I've been checking his grades weekly and when there were parent teacher conferences, I vowed to go to every teacher (usually I lose interest after the first few and if the lines are too long).  In the end I went to every teacher except his cross training teacher.  I waited in one of the other lines while Adam and Mark went to the gym.

The other day, I checked his phone to see if there was a text about the young men doing the flags.  I saw a text from a girl that read, "Good night Markie" with a heart emoticon.

First of all, Markie?!?

Our children have no promise that we won't check their phones periodically.  In fact, they can count on it.  It's the understanding we all entered into when the phones were purchased.

I told Mark I'd seen the texts from the girl.

He said, "So you're like the NSA, except you tell me you're checking my phone?"

Exactly.

Grateful Friday

Today I am grateful for school teachers. 

We went to Mark's parent teacher conferences yesterday.  Mark comes with me to those because there is no way to navigate that crazy school without him.  The first year Adam and I went without him and we would get lost and ask teachers where another classroom was and they wouldn't know.

Every kid that goes to Pleasant Grove Junior High deserves a prize for navigating those halls.

Without exception, Mark's teachers greeted him warmly and by name.  (Except his Spanish teacher called, "Marco!" and then said something to him in Spanish I didn't understand completely.)  It impressed me that even though school just started, the teachers know him and seemed to genuinely care about him.

Mark's doing pretty well in all of his classes (like Mark said, it's still early in the year, that could change).  We talked to his biology teacher and Mark had 100% on every quiz, test and assignment so far except for one F.

So I, you know, inquired about that one.  Mark fidgeted a little and his teacher chuckled and said, "Honestly Mark, what happened?  You didn't finish it right?"

"Yeah," Mark said.

Mr. Whitaker smiled at Mark and said, "You'll be just fine. You're doing great, except your mom wants to smack you."  Then he chuckled some more and I felt like maybe Mark has Santa Claus teaching him biology.  He's a right jolly old elf.

Adam joined us later and was there when we visited the drama teacher.  She told us which movies Mark should watch to prepare his British accent for The Importance of Being Earnest.  Then we discussed Jane Austen movies and the counterfeit 2005 version (because I have opinions).  I love that we now have "homework" for Mark that involves Jane Austen movies.

We talked a bit about Annie, the spring musical, and Adam asked if she would consider gender bending the role of Annie (Mark already has the curly red hair).  Then Mark riled her up by suggesting that there weren't many male roles in the show.  Drama teachers are excitable by nature.  She enthusiastically pontificated on the great male roles there were in Annie.  I love how passionate she is and that there is a junior high drama program in the first place. 

It was a lively and enjoyable conversation and I am sorry to everyone in line behind us waiting to talk to Ms. Schow. 

Every day I send Mark off with him stuffing binders and mechanical pencils in his backpack on his way out the door.  Every day I pick him up and he is starving and happy and has little stories to tell about his day.

In the space between, he has teachers that care about him and the subjects they teach. 

I appreciate those good teachers. 

Me and my ideas

When I home schooled all three, we had three drop down desks attached to the wall in our school room.  Once the big kids went to school, I took two of the desks down.  I painted a sign on one and the other one I kept for the next time I wanted to paint a sign.  (Sometimes you just need to paint a sign.)

All these years later, I did indeed want to paint a sign.  I showed Adam what I wanted and I asked him to help with the proportions.  I can't do it if it has anything to do with being exact or measuring or planning.

Or explaining apparently.

I didn't explain what I wanted effectively and Adam wasn't producing the results I wanted.  "Emma would be able to do this!" I said petulantly.  (I miss Emma.)

Adam assured me he could do it, if I explained what I wanted.  So I did.  I wanted him to help me figure out the spacing and then I would free hand it in my wonky way because it's the only way I know how to live my life.

Adam said I should paint the board with chalkboard paint and then write it in chalk.  Genius!  Then if the wonkiness was too wonky, I could erase and start over.

I bought a can of chalkboard spray paint.  Maybe it was the brand (Valspar) or maybe it was that particular can or maybe it was user error (but I've spray painted a lot of stuff in my life).  In any case, it was a disaster.  It dried all splotchy and spotty so I went to the store to buy the kind of chalkboard paint you brush on.

From the spray paint debacle, the bottoms of my feet were black (from walking around barefoot in the garage on the cardboard in the over spray).

Mark surveyed my feet and wondered if he could write in chalk on them.

Yep.

So there's that.  The bottoms of my feet are nice little chalkboards.

I will let you know how it goes with the rest of the project (or it may continue to be a disaster and we'll never speak of it again).

Not for the faint of heart

Yesterday we were at Costco, getting a tire fixed.  Adam and Mark and I walked over to Lowes to look at paint chips.  Some future day I want to paint our kitchen cabinets and Lowes was in walking distance so it was a way to kill time.

Mark started collecting paint chips too.  He has something of a vision for his bedroom.  He said he wants a "marine feel." He said he was ready for a change.

I told him, "You could put your clothes away.  That would be a change."

I told him, "You could take all the dishes on your desk to the kitchen.  That would be a change."

When we got home he did indeed put all his clothes away and brought 5 water bottles, 1 cup and 1 bowl to the kitchen.  (Why do we even have that many water bottles?)  Then he started making plans.  He called me upstairs to hear him out.

Here is his palette:

He showed me which color he wants for the top of his desk and which for the frame of his desk.  He had selected a different color for the doors and then a different one for the trim.  He was thinking of painting the tops of his windowsills one color and the rest of the windowsills a different color.  He wants the walls different colors too.

I just said, "Mm-hm."

(And I decided I'm never taking Mark to Lowes again.)

This morning on the way to school, I told Mark, "I understand you want to brighten your room up, but I think we can do that without all those paint colors."

He said, "I don't want to brighten it up.  I want to add excitement."

I pointed out other rooms in our house I've furnished and painted and designed.  I said, "You trust me, right?"  I could tell he was digging in his heels on this one. 

"I want those colors," he said.  Mark is only rivaled in stubbornness by Emma, so I know I have my work cut out for me.  On the other hand he doesn't have the ability to go to the paint store and buy paint so I think I'm safe.

What?!?

I saw this advertised on Facebook.  It's a book full of weekly letters you can use to send your missionaries.  (Two years worth!)  Also, as a bonus, there are 17 letters you can download and email.  I guess you have to retype the others.

Or...

...you could just buy your missionary this book and send it with them and say, "There.  Now I don't have to write you."

People are so weird.

Golden days

Today I have a flag flying in my front yard to remember September 11, 2001.  (Today I'm grateful I'm no longer a YW leader so I don't have to mess with putting flags in yards in the neighborhood.)

September 11 makes me feel grateful for heroes and grateful for the bucolic peaceful place I live.

Today I am thinking about hurricanes and fires and earthquakes.  (And again, I feel grateful for this place where I find myself.)

Sometimes weeks when nothing much is happening are the best thing in the world.

Braeden came over for lunch on Saturday (and invited some of his friends).  The first thing he did when he walked in the door was open the refrigerator.  (Well, first he hugged me.)  I love feeding people I love.  Emma stopped by that night because she was in the neighborhood.  She told us all about the concert she attended the night before and her job review she got from the theater and the Women's Chorus things she's excited about.  Sometimes you just need a visit from Emma.

Sunday they both came over for the afternoon.  I told my kids earlier the Pax Thelma was when I was at BYU but I was wrong.

The Golden Age is right now.  We ate good food and played games and brainstormed ideas for a group date Braeden is planning.  Adam and Mark periodically checked on the score and would report it to us.  (It wasn't a good weekend sports wise around here--BYU, the Mariners and the Seahawks all lost.)  We laughed a lot and teased each other.

Adam had an "interview" with each college kid about all the everything and I walked in and kept interrupting and changing the subject accidentally.

Adam loves me anyway.

Grateful Friday

Mark created a group text called Fam-a-lam.  It's pretty much the best thing in my life.

I take the opportunity to send memes like this one:

I get offended if they aren't met with sufficient appreciation (particularly from Adam).  If he doesn't laugh enough, I say, "Do you even get it?!?"

Adam sent us this one day when Mark and I lost him in the library.

He was by the teen section and he's apparently the reason we have weird kids....

The kids text when they have exciting news (and it's been an exciting week!) and sometimes the exciting news is that Mark found Purity drinks at the store.  He and Emma love them and they were hitherto only found at Safeway (which is not here).

This picture gets sent frequently by Emma and Braeden.  It's pretty much multipurpose:

Is there ever a time you don't need a little Tom Haverford in your life?



Getting texts from our children makes the cost of all the phones worth it.  I love feeling connected to them and entertained by them.  Of course it's not always clear what's happening.  For any of us.

Strange things are afoot

Our neighbors that live around the corner a bit from us have a T Rex skeleton in their driveway.  And a person skeleton on its back.

It makes no kind of sense.

My friend Vickie (and also neighbor) posted this on Facebook:

Her caption:  Whaaat? We saw this while running by our neighbor's house. I have no idea what it is doing there. It also disproves all that I have learned about people not being alive at the same time as dinosaurs.

Then, last night we were driving to the church with Braeden for him to report to the high council about his mission.  Two houses down from ours we saw this:

Two bright blue peacocks just hanging out on their front porch.

When we got to the church we saw Gage, who lives in the house.  "Gage!  There are peacocks at your house!"

He already knew.  And he had a video to show of them on top of the house between ours and theirs. 

I don't know what's happening around here, but I'll take oddities.  I'm thinking about and praying for all the people suffering from fires and floods. 

Calling in the Cavalry

Last night we had it on good authority (Braeden) that Emma wasn't feeling well.  I called her and she didn't sound well.  She had a sore throat and also a choir callback in a few days that she was stressed about.  Emma is not one to ask for much.  Adam is not one to sit idly by when his girl needs him.  He said, "Let's go down there!"

We took her a humidifier and some zinc.  I texted Braeden that Mama, Papa and Brother Bear were on their way.  He texted back, "Count Big Brother Bear in too."

Emma can be prickly to her brothers all day long but they'd drop everything for her because she can also be very sweet to them.  And they adore her.

We hugged her and I checked her for fever.  She seemed warm and then I tested her brothers and they seemed warmer.  I don't even know if we own a thermometer so we're really accurate about fevers around here.  Adam and Braeden gave her a blessing and I filled up the humidifier and plugged it in.

She seemed slightly happier when we left.  She's independent and wouldn't have asked us to come.  I guess we went more for us than anything.

*****

Speaking of the cavalry reminds me of horses.  The other night we were watching the BBC America series The Wild West.  It showed some ranchers in Colorado who drive their cattle into the mountains for the summer.  It was all very picturesque and then I said, "Wait a minute!  That's the wrong side!"

Adam and Mark said, "What?"  Adam wondered if I meant the cattle had their ear tags on the wrong side.

"No," I said, "she got on the horse on the wrong side."

Adam backed up the video because he hadn't noticed what I was talking about.  It was just a few seconds of a woman mounting a horse but it stuck out to me like a sore thumb.

Sometimes random things from my childhood show up.  (For example, when we are out in the wilderness on our adventures, I am quite capable of using the bathroom in the sagebrush.  I grew up doing that.)

Location, location, location

For all the times I thought What have we done? by moving to Utah, it all makes a lot more sense since our kids started college.

Because they're close and I love it!

Yesterday they came over for lunch.  Then Emma went to hang out with some non BYU friends and the rest of us went on an adventure.  Even though I had promised never to go to the top of Lake Mountain again because the road is like torture, Braeden had never been.

The things we do for our children....

Adam had me drive and that made a tremendous difference.  The road was still like torture but a lesser torture.  Or maybe I've just driven on Pleasant Grove streets long enough that I'm not phased by terrible roads anymore.  Also it was fun having these two in the back seat.

I wasn't driving yet when I took this pictures, as evidenced by the mess of hair over on the side there.

The boys enjoy each other and I enjoy that.  Sweet Caroline came on the radio and the sounds coming from the back seat were not too pretty (I think Neil Diamond was crying somewhere).  They were feeling the music deeply though.

Then for the rest of the day whenever I took their picture, they held onto each other's heads.  I gave up about 15 years ago trying to understand these kids.

It is a spectacular view if you can handle the road.

weirdos

After a quick game of King of the Hill, we headed back down.

We drove to the Camp Floyd cemetery which is always interesting and stopped by Fairfield and drove through Cedar Fort and it was a lovely day.

They had to hurry back to BYU for their various ward activities and then it was back to the three of us. And the three of us isn't a bad gig.  It's hard to be uncheered by Adam and Mark.

Books I read in August 2017

The Seven Wonders of Sassafras Springs by Betty G Birney ***

Sometimes a good children's book is just what you need.  This was a short and sweet book about a kid who lives in Sassafras Springs, MO.  He wants to see the world and feels like he's stuck in a boring place.  His dad challenges him to find seven wonders of Sassafras Springs.  If he can, he can go on a trip to visit his cousins.  What followed were his adventures talking to people in the town.

Forbidden Sea by Sheila A. Nielson ***

We read this book for book club.  It is written by the best friend of the person who suggested it.  That may feel like a red flag, but it was a great book.  It is YA fiction about a girl with a hard life who meets a mermaid.  The author came to our book club and it was fascinating hearing about the process of writing and having Scholastic accept the book.  She got no say in the title or cover which we thought was interesting.

Today Will be Different by Maria Semple ***

I picked up this book because it was by the same author who wrote Where'd You Go, Bernadette, which I love.  I didn't love it as much as that book, but it was good.  I love that it's set in Seattle and I knew exactly what she was talking about.  It basically takes place on one day with a woman struggling to function despite family troubles and being a sort of floundering mother.

Goodbye for Now by Lauren Frankel ***

This book is a great contender for book club!  There is a lot to think about and a lot to discuss.  It's about a young man who falls in love with a woman whose grandmother passes away.  He is a programmer and comes up with a way for her to still email her grandma based on the past emails the grandma used to send.  They sound just like her.  It was also set in Seattle.

 Fablehaven by Brandon Mull ***

We (and by we I mean not me because I can't read in the car) read half of this book out loud on our trip to Seattle.  Our kids and Adam had all read it (Adam read the series to Mark when he was younger) but I had not.  So it was their introduction of it to me.  I liked it. 

Grateful Friday -- a list

1) I'm grateful for Mark.  I'm glad I have him to help me fix things and build things and make me laugh.

Mark built a step stool for Emma so she can get on her tall bed easier.

2) I'm grateful for Adam.  Everything is better with Adam. 

3) I'm grateful Emma and Braeden are having so much fun they don't really have much time to text their mama. 

Braeden did text me this:

Why won't he smile for pictures?  It's a mystery.

He is in his element.  He loves nothing more than meeting new people and playing silly get to know you games.

Emma texted me this:

I can completely relate.  I think things like that are the worst too.  She slipped away.  One of the best things I learned in college was from my roommate Jamee.  She said that you can say, "I have to be somewhere." Usually no one asks follow up questions.  And sometimes the "somewhere" you need to be is "away from here."  I've taught Emma the same exit strategy.  Introverts unite!  (Separately.)

Emma is happy happy though.  She loves the girls on her floor and is making friends.  Her way.  Good luck anyone in the world trying to get Emma not to do things her way.

4) I'm saddened by the heartbreaking images and stories I've heard and seen from Texas.  I'm grateful for the many stories I've seen of help and rescue.  People are good.

5) I'm grateful for the bluebird that lands on the little roof line outside my window in the morning and visits me while I type.

6) I'm grateful for a new month.  Here's hoping for cooler days, new opportunities and settling into new normals.