Weekend

Friday we went to dinner with Shannon and Chris.  They are in our ward, our few-streets-away neighbors, and Chris's mom and my mom were college roommates.  (I learned that last summer at my parents' 50th/51st anniversary party.)

We ate pizza and got to know each other, connecting over things like pizza and adult children and national parks and the stock market and disjointed paths life takes you on.  Adam regaled them with Supreme Court anecdotes (like Adam can) and we agreed that you never met anyone who went to Harvard who didn't tell you immediately that they went to Harvard.

We had a good time.

Saturday we did the Saturday rounds and waited happily for Emma to bring Mark to us.  She drove to Logan and they went to the latest (of how many, hundreds?) Batman movies.  The weather turned from springlike to winter.  Adam and I had a temple appointment and I took a sweater but not a coat because it wasn't that cold.  When we came out of the temple, it was snowing and Emma and Mark were at our house.  It was wonderful.  We were sitting around visiting and my phone rang and it was Braeden.  Every time he calls now he says, "Anna is not in labor."  We talked to him anyway.  I put the phone on speaker and everyone talked over each other like we do.  We went for Thai food which was delicious and gluten free.  While Adam was paying and we were about to leave the restaurant, Mark asked if it was OK if he hung out with Marek.  I said sure.  We drove the 5 minutes home and Marek was waiting in the cul-de-sac, so I guess the asking was a formality.  I'm always happy to see Marek though.

Sunday I woke up to a winter wonderland.  Since Mark was home it felt like it was Christmas break and Emma should be here too.

Adam took these pictures that showed before and after the well attended deer party in our front yard.

The Honey Bucket and trusses spilling into the street?  Every homeowners' dream.  They're working on the next door behemoth in fits and starts and it's...lovely.

Sunday afternoon Braeden and Anna called.  What do you get when you combine a guy with a masters degree in international relations, a PhD student of political science, a woman who served a mission in Russia who also has a bachelors degree in political science, and a Mark who learned about WW II like it was his job growing up and who has lots of opinions?

You get a whole discussion about Ukraine.

I enjoyed listening.  I told Adam later that one of his many contributions to our family is the discourse that happens.  I love that they talked in such respectful and also passionate ways.  They disagreed wholeheartedly on some things and listened and asked questions to further understanding, not prove someone was wrong.  I wish everyone knew how to argue so gracefully. 

Emma came later.  We ate gluten free mac and cheese and had a gospel discussion about Jacob's ladder.  We even sang Nearer my God to Thee.

I made a flourless chocolate cake for dessert.  While I was dishing it up, Mark was teaching the others how to play a version of poker.  When I came back with the cake, he said, "I already told them how but you're from Nevada so I'm sure you'll figure it out."

Nevada didn't help me much.  

We had a nice weekend.  Today Mark is going to spend the afternoon in my classroom.  We're going to do science all afternoon.  We're going to build paper bridges and ramps for cars.  It's all under the umbrella of our force and motion science curriculum but it will be a lot of fun too.

My students cheered when I told them Mark was coming.  One of them said, "Mark is fun."

Another said, "Mark is a redhead."

Two true statements.