A book and a holiday

I only finished one book in October.  What a sad state of affairs!  I abandoned a few and I'm currently reading a really long book that will assuredly end in library fees (but I am enjoying the book).

I finished The Art of Mending by Elizabeth Berg **

It was OK.  It was about grown siblings and one of the sisters came out with some secrets about her childhood.  It was kind of melodramatic and had a lot of inner turmoil in the older sister's head (the narrator) that just got annoying.  She wanted to just stay home and quilt instead of engage with her family (who was in distress).

The whole thing was meh.

**

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Now, for the holiday.  Happy Nevada Day!  Oh yeah, and Halloween.  Whatever.

A few days ago, Braeden told me that I gave him street cred with the professor he TAs for.  Dr. Christensen is from Nevada (now he has street cred from me).  He asked Braeden if he could play the piano.  He asked if he would play the Nevada State Song in class today.  Braeden said, "Oh, yeah.  Because it's Nevada Day."  Dr. Christensen asked him how he knew that and Braeden explained about his mom.  Then he said he knew the song and Dr. Christensen had him sing it for him.

I told Braeden I'd never been more proud of him.  He said, "Never?!?"

There are of course lots of things I failed to properly teach my children but they know the Nevada state song and can all set a table properly.

It's really a question of priorities.

Yesterday Braeden got this and texted it to me:

I said maybe Emma should go too.  She could take as many Nevadan Women's Chorus members as she could find.

She said no.

Well, I tried.

**

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Last night we went to Provo to carve pumpkins with our two big kids.  Braeden said they keep evil spirits away and he didn't want to tempt fate.  I was the party pooper, because I was super tired and wanted to go home.  Mark brought home the pumpkin he and Braeden were sharing to finish later.  Emma finished hers and sent this picture:

It's cute.

I'm dressing up because it is sort of required in an elementary school.  I'm going as a referee.  It feels appropriate, especially for recess duty.  Also, I just had to shift a few feet down the closet and get one of Adam's shirts to wear.

Have a happy day!

Restorative

This is hanging in our upstairs hall and I need to internalize its message waaaay more often.

Last week was busy and Sunday found me depleted.  It also found Adam being all the kings horses and all the kings men when I had my come apart.  It happens occasionally and unlike poor Humpty Dumpty, Adam is pretty adept at putting me back together again.

My favorite thing was when he emphatically said, "You're a proven success!"

(If you ever need a pep talk, you can borrow Adam.)

(But I'll need him back.)

It helped to talk to Adam.  Of course it did.

Then on Monday I did little tasks around the house that needed doing like change a clock's batteries and deadhead my geraniums.  I'm a homebody at heart and being home and moodling around is good for me.

I talked to Marianne and we caught up since she was gone all last week.

I texted back and forth with Emma intermittently through the day.

Braeden called me; my mom called me.

I got a haircut and I enjoy that because Joelyn, who cuts my hair, and I talk about good books we've been reading.  I told her that sadly I haven't had much time for good reading lately and she told me that she listens to books.  I know that isn't a new thing but it suddenly struck me as a really great idea.  Because I wish I had more time to read.

She said she listens while driving or folding laundry.  Genius!

All of this was restorative.  Sometimes you don't really need a lot to put you back on kilter.

Sometimes you don't really need a lot to throw you back off kilter again....

When I was back home and going about my little to do list, I clicked onto the online course that I have been fighting with lately.  By fighting with, I mean trying to make work.  After many days and phone calls and emails, I was finally able to log in only to find out that all the assignments for the first week were due TODAY!  My stress level went into overdrive and all the restorative power of deadheading geraniums and doing other small household tasks evaporated.

Adam called on his way home from work.  I told him all the things and he (again, always, forever) talked me down.

He always puts things in perspective and is the anchor I need in the storm of more or less my own making.

(Also getting relicensed to teach?  It's the worst!  Perhaps it is one of the reasons for a teacher shortage!)

Free(ish) labor

Saturday was Super Saturday around here and when you're on the Relief Society Committee, that means Saturday was Exhausting Saturday.  It was also fun because I like the other committee members (saving grace!).

8:30 AM found us at the church, setting things up.  It is really convenient that we all live within minutes of the church.  I went home twice and everyone else went home several times as well.  We'd also swing by each others' houses to pick up stray items.

When you live this close to the church do you lose the ability to remember things because it's so easy to go home?  Kind of like not using muscles?

I don't know.

One of my trips home, I called for Mark to put two long tables in my car while I went to hunt up a power strip.  (We had run out of long tables at the church.  How is that a thing?!?)

When we were all finished, I went home a third time.  This time to retrieve Mark to help with all the putting away and cleaning up and lifting and loading.  Adam had recently left to go to a referee meeting or I would have enlisted his help as well.  I told Mark that good news!  I had a few pieces of pie leftover.  He said, "It's OK.  Dad and I just went to 5 Star BBQ."

They had worked all morning. Adam and Mark had put away all the deck furniture, Mark had mowed the lawn and done who knows what so Adam took him out for ribs (which is mainly Mark's currency).

Mark did tell me that later, he would indeed feel like eating and maybe I could take him to Red Robin.  Last Thursday I had promised Mark a trip to Red Robin at some future date if he would deliver fliers to houses in the neighborhood (advertising Super Saturday).

Michelle's two teenage sons were there too and we were commenting about how great it was to have the help of our sons and their free labor.  She told me that she had promised them to go out for ice cream.

This all made me think, maybe this free labor isn't as free as I thought....

I still appreciate it though.  Especially when Mark could lift the overstuffed garbage that none of the rest of us could lift.

We were standing around chatting at the end and Cortney suddenly said, "Mark, I must not have looked at you very closely lately because suddenly you look like a man!"

It's true.

Mark said, "Maybe because I haven't shaved."

Also true.

Grateful Friday

I know I am living on borrowed time with my kids so close.

Sundays are busy and exhausting and delightful.  We love when the BYU kids come over.  Last Sunday we decorated sugar cookies.

That's Zack and Liberty in the front--Leif and Freja weren't there that week.  If you look closely right in the middle, you see Tim Curry on the iPad, singing Anything Can Happen on Halloween

It turned out that I didn't really have anything by way of decorating--details details....  I scrounged a few things and clever Emma created a ghost out of an acorn.

I fully understood them cutting out acorns and leaves and pumpkins and Nevadas.  I didn't know why Emma cut out the letter K.

She said, "For kale!"  (She said it like that should have been obvious.)

My gratitude for 1) my kids going to BYU and 2) BYU being so close never seems to diminish.  I'm also grateful for the other good kids we get to have in our home because of our BYU proximity--friends and family and roommates.

And they're learning things at BYU too.  Emma sent this the other day:

Boys

Monday, Mark didn't have school and I bribed him with promise of lunch if he would run errands with me.  He argued with me about the importance of every errand and complained about where we were going.  Granted, I am preparing for the class I am teaching at our Super Saturday and we went to three craft stores.  (Both my boys loathe craft stores but they haven't even gone to that many.)

I realized that I used to argue with and complain to my mom about errands too.

I am very, very sorry.

**

*

Mark's doppelgänger told me he is allergic to cats.

Of course he is.  So is Mark.

**

*

Tuesday night Adam and I were planning a Costco trip.  I asked Mark if he wanted to go.  He gave me a very noncommittal maybe that meant probably not.

Then Braeden called.  He wondered if he could go to Costco with us (strange things happen sometimes, like my children wanting to do errands with me).

Suddenly, Mark was all in.  What a difference a brother makes.

We had a full van.  Three of Braeden's roommates wanted to come too.  Brian climbed in the back next to Mark.  Braeden said Ben was still coming and Brian said, "Wait, I thought I was sitting next to Ben!"  Ben and I both told Mark he should feel flattered.  The boys played music and sang along loudly in the car.

It was fun taking five big boys to Costco.  We needed to buy food for the YM/YW dinner Adam was in charge of.  I just walked away when Adam started tossing bags of salad to Mark like they were footballs.

The boys fanned out and got all the things they wanted.  They joked a lot with each other and Mark milled around right in the middle of them.  He's the same size and can hold his own with quips and Beatles lyrics.

When we got back to their apartment, Adam instigated a fire brigade to get all the boys' food inside.  They made quick work of it.  Once they're that big, boys that age are sort of delightful.

Taking that group to Costco 15 years ago would have been a nightmare.

Fall break part 3

the Star Valley, WY temple in the daylight

When we got home Friday night, Adam asked me if I thought my pioneer ancestors would have been surprised about where I'd been that day and what I'd seen.

At first I thought he meant because we were able to traverse mountains so easily, but he said, "Think of all the temples and tabernacles we passed."

And when I thought about it, it was pretty astounding and I think my pioneer ancestors would have been shocked.

Between Afton, WY and our house, we passed ten temples (and then Saturday morning we went to the Provo temple with Braeden and that wasn't even one of the ten).

**

*

We took a somewhat circuitous route and went through Montpelier, ID and Paris, ID.  Were these places settled by French people?  I don't know.  They are little towns of a couple hundred people each with big churches and tabernacles.

It was a beautiful little spot.  There was an elementary school across the street behind the tabernacle.  It wouldn't be a bad sight to see at recess every day.

We drove by Bear Lake and went to Logan.  I had also never been to Logan.  I've never met anyone who has been to Logan that doesn't say, "I love Logan!" when you ask them about it.

And it is.  Hurray for Logan!  We went to USU that seemed like a ghost town until Adam asked someone and we learned that state schools in Utah get fall break too!  Who knew?  (I mean besides everyone who goes to state schools.)  It was a beautiful campus.  It reminded me a little bit of BYU, just a slightly smaller version.

Here Mark and I are on the edge of the old part of campus.

My Grandpa Jaynes went to USU and my mom told me he liked the restaurant The Bluebird.  So we decided to go.  It was in a neat old building and I loved the history of the place.  (And the food was good too.)

Our next stop was the Logan Tabernacle.  Adam took these pretty pictures.

It reminded me of what the Provo Tabernacle used to be like.  A lady was inside playing the organ  which was nice to listen to for a few minutes and when I wandered around looking for a bathroom, I happened upon a very retro baptismal font.  I love old buildings.

Here's a picture I took of the tabernacle with a close up of one of the red bushes outside.  I need red bushes in my life.

Adam went after the car and Mark and I walked up the hill to the Logan Temple.  It was worth the trek.

We drove home and were happy to see our own beds.

**

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I keep thinking about my pioneer ancestors.  I wonder if they are satisfied with what I'm doing with all I've been given.

I want to live up to the sacrifices made in my behalf.

Fall break 2018 part 2

Thursday we headed to Grand Teton National Park.  Ever since we moved to Utah and started exploring beyond the Wasatch front, we've become big fans of national park.  They are always worth it.

I love going to the gift shops in the visitor centers.  You come across gems like this legendary classic.  (Although Mark pointed out it is THE legendary classic.)

There were lots of signs around with warnings about avoiding bear attacks.  They were very effective in scaring me but not very effective in clearing up what to do in the face of an attack.  Sometimes you play dead and sometimes you fight back and sometimes you use your bear spray.  It depends on if the bear is attacking you or approaching you or stalking you.  I think if I saw a bear up close, I would not have the presence of mind to decide what the bear was doing.

Also I don't have bear spray.

But I did have these two:

And that mountain!  I'm telling you, I took a lot of pictures of it.  It was just so beautiful.  I think if you grew up next to that mountain, you would be ruined for any other mountains for the rest of your life.

This is Jenny Lake.  The water was crystal clear.

Adam, of course, saw a remote looking dirt road and turned down it.  I, of course, kept telling him not to.  We came across a sign that said it was not for cars.

Just try telling someone who owns a Subaru something like that.

Owning a Subaru changes people.

We were rewarded after the jostling almost-but-not-quite-a-road by this:

This is Jackson Lake and we had this little corner of it all to ourselves.

It had burned somewhat recently and here Mark is inspecting a burned tree.  I loved all the tiny Christmas trees that were cropping up all over where it had previously burned.

Here are just three more of the many pictures I took of the mountains.  They were just stunning and I kept thinking that if I took one more picture it would capture them, but I'm not sure it did.

That is Jackson Lake in the distance, the side opposite where we were before.

Another dirt road yielded a close up viewing of a herd of bison.

Also, we drove to "Mormon Row" which was settled by pioneers.  The buildings were no longer in use but still in good condition and in a picturesque spot.

Adam had me pose by the corner of the barn for a picture.  "Why me?" I asked.  "How about I take your picture?"

"You're wearing a flannel shirt," he said.  "You could run for 4-H president."

So that's always a good back up plan (except I might be too old).

When Adam and Mark were there last summer for their scout high adventure, they saw a moose.  Despite our best efforts, we did not see any moose.

We drove back for another night in Afton, tired and happy and with our eyes full of magnificent vistas.

Until next time, Grand Teton National Park.

Fall break 2018 part 1

Marianne texted me Thursday:

The fact that she jumped immediately to I must be dying because I hadn't blogged proves that we're sisters.

In case you didn't already think so.

(One time someone asked if we were twins because we look alike.  We sort of look alike.  She's 5 inches taller than I am.  Another time someone asked us if Adam and Robert were brothers.  What?!?  Are you looking at us?!?)

I wasn't dying though.

It was fall break (still is, in fact) and we were out gallivanting.

Because I took more pictures than anyone would want to see in a single blog post sitting, I'll stretch it out to a few blog posts.

Adam and Mark and I left Wednesday after school.  We drove through lovely rural Utah, then Wyoming, then Utah, then Wyoming, then Idaho and then Wyoming.

I talked to Braeden on the phone and he wondered if we were suffering from indecision.

No, that was just the road we were on.

We listened to a new to us podcast, by Malcolm Gladwell.  I'm a fan.

We landed in Star Valley, Wyoming.  Having grown up in Starr Valley, Nevada, it seemed to me like all the signs were spelled wrong.

The last harrowing bit of the trip was in the dark and we saw a lot of deer and thankfully didn't hit any of them.

It was stressful.

The Star Valley temple was a welcome sight (it's pretty + it meant that we were almost done with the game of frogger we were playing with the deer).

We stayed in lovely Afton, WY, home of the world's largest arch made of elk horns.

I didn't take a picture, but here's one from the internet:

source

Stay tuned for more exciting adventures....

Christmas shopping

I've been doing some.  Emma is hands down the easiest person I shop for.  I find everything I think she would like.  Adam is less easy.  The problem with that man is that he doesn't get that excited about gifts.  So, if you're wondering why I'm worrying about it if he doesn't care that much, it's not about him OK?  It's about me.

And I want to get him gifts.

Good ones.

As for me, I told my family what I want.

How had I never heard of this book?!?

I overheard some 4th grade teachers talking about how the 4th grade girls love unicorns and love this book.

I now have an ID badge with my unflattering school picture on it.  One of the 4th grade girls saw it and said, "Your first name is Thelma?!?  Like the unicorn?"

I could tell she respected me just a little more.

Thelma the Unicorn kind of has crazy eyes, but I'm not going to hold that against her.  I don't know her life.  (I haven't read the book.  This is why I need it for a Christmas present.)

Another night another concert

Mark's choir concert was last night.

Pleasant Grove High School choir concerts are the hottest ticket in town (except I wish they sold tickets).  There's no way everyone's getting in.  I decided it would be smart to stay when I dropped Mark off at 6:00.  Other parents had the same idea but they didn't open the doors until 6:30.  The principal was there, shepherding people around and trying to get us to line up.  There were lots of tense and aggressive parents jockeying for position.

I was just hoping to get there early, find a seat and read my book.

I texted about the situation and Braeden texted back:

So I felt like I had a mandate to hold my position.

They finally opened the doors and the mad dash was on.  They told us not to save seats but literally everyone (including me) was saving seats.  Later, when they weren't letting anyone else in, they said, "If you have a seat saved, text that person so they can tell the people at the door to let them in because they have a seat."

So it was don't-save-seats-but-we-know-everyone-saved-seats situation.

I was exhausted by the time the concert started.

It was a Halloween concert, which isn't my favorite (or even in the top ten).

I did, however, enjoy the Men's Choir.

Here they are singing "Grim Grinning Ghosts."

They sang "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" and had two fiddlers come and play which was pretty awesome.  Here they are with hats donned for the song:

About this time, a man directly in front of me held up his cell phone (in front of my face) to video the song.  I hadn't said anything when he clambered in 45 minutes late in the middle of a song.  I hadn't said anything when he pulled out a sandwich and started munching it.  I hadn't said anything when he was loudly crinkling his water bottle.  (There are big signs outside the auditorium that read NO FOOD OR DRINK.)

But when he put his phone in front of my face, World's Okayest Mom did become World's Craziest.  I grabbed his arm and said, "I can't see."

He looked shocked.

And lowered his arm.

My very favorite part of the whole concert was when the Women's Choir sang, "I'm in Love with a Monster" and the Men's Choir answered with "We May Not Be Vampires (But We're Still Men!)."

It was a hilarious song and they nailed it.

Here they are singing their final song.  I can't remember the name....

I love how serious Mark looks.

After, we went to Kneader's.  Braeden and Emma said they knew the guy working at the counter.  "He's Vanessa's friend Ben, so he's our friend," Braeden said.

They chatted with him, we ordered, then he brought us an extra chocolate croissant.  He said, "We have extra breakfast pastries."

The takeaway is that it pays to know Vanessa's friends.

It made me happy to watch Mark and it made me happy that he had a good time performing.  He's not 100% sold on being in choir but he does like to sing.

And I like to watch him (so much so that I'll grab the arm of the indecorous lout in front of me if necessary).

Spectacular!

Friday night Adam and I went to the BYU Spectacular!  Excitement about going built throughout the week with Emma texting us where she was going to be standing so we could find her more easily.  They performed both Thursday and Friday night.  Thursday night, I got this from Stephanie:

Only made me more excited.

It was in conjunction with Homecoming week and I loved the big sign on campus which read, "Welcome Home!"

Because BYU does feel a little like home.

(Except for parts they've changed, but it's fine.  I'm adjusting.)

BYU Women's Chorus, or Wo Cho as Emma has started calling it, was performing.  Colbie Caillat, David Archuleta, the Cougarettes, Living Legends, Synthesis, Syncopation, Vocal Point and Young Ambassadors all performed too.

(I was mostly there for Women's Chorus.)

But also, I love Colbie Caillat.  And David Archuleta brought the house down with his version of "Don't Let The Sun Go Down on Me."  Just wow.

We were at the tippy top of the Marriott Center but we were able to keep track of where Emma was and we were also able to take a whole bunch of not great pictures. (Kind of the way I blog--not great pictures.  Oh?  You noticed?)

This is the opener:  "Brighter Than the Sun."  I've conveniently circled Emma.

This is Colbie Caillat and Women's Chorus singing "Try."  Emma's there on the second row (you'll just have to trust me).

Here's a shot Adam captured of her on the big screen:

We just had to take what we could get....

Emma's not in this picture but it was lovely when the Marriott Center was lit up with cell phones while David Archuleta sang "Shine a Light."

Women's Chorus sang "This is Me" from The Greatest Showman.  They sang it at their concert too and it makes me get a little choked up.  Listening to my glorious girl and about 170 other girls powerfully sing:

When the sharpest words wanna cut me down
I'm gonna send a flood, gonna drown them out
I am brave, I am bruised
I am who I'm meant to be, this is me
Look out 'cause here I come
And I'm marching on to the beat I drum
I'm not scared to be seen
I make no apologies, this is me

It just gets me.

They were supposed to wear something that reflected their personality.  She was going to wear jeans and her The World Awaits t-shirt because the girl wants to travel, but mentioned to her friend (who happens to be VP of Wo Cho) that she may wear her Winnie the Pooh costume.  Emma, the vice president, told Emma, the daughter, DO IT!

So she did.

(Side note:  When Adam and I were at BYU, every other girl was named Jen.  Now the place is full of Emmas.  I kind of like it since I like the name!)

The best part of Winnie the Pooh is that Emma was super easy to spot.  She's right there in the middle.

This is on the big screen:

Emma said backstage people would come up to her and want a hug from Winnie the Pooh.  (And I don't blame them because Emma gives great hugs.)

This is the finale with EVERYBODY.  They were singing "Walking on Sunshine".

I loved every minute of it.

After, Emma was radiant and elated.  We went to a very late dinner and enjoyed hearing all about her adventure.

I'm so grateful for good experiences for our children.

(And I'm grateful when I get to watch.)