Weekend

Friday I cleaned the pantry.  I pulled everything out.  I sorted.  I threw away a bunch of stuff that was expired because it has gluten and we haven't eaten it.  I created categories and put stuff in bins.  I used The Home Edit bins, because they are great.  Actually the whole process was great.  I love organizing.  I'm not as good at keeping things organized, but I'm working on it.

I went to my classroom for my label maker.  Hannah, the new third grade teacher who is an intern, was hard at work in her classroom.  She told me she'd been there all day.  I opened my classroom door and it was kind of a mess.  At the end of the school year, I'd stacked all the furniture on one end of the room.  They'd cleaned the carpet and pushed all the furniture to the other end of the classroom.  It's a jumble.

I'm taking Mark with me this morning to get it set up.  (Clarissa said she'd come too!)  I told him I'd take him to Del Taco for lunch and he was all in.  

It's nice to know someone's currency.

I stopped in Jamie's office and visited.  We told each other about our summers.  We talked about the Barbie movie.  She told me some of the hot gossip at the school.

I love Jamie.

Saturday I did all the chores and also coerced/bullied Emma into going through her closet to get rid of stuff and hanging up all the clothes she brought from her apartment.  Unlike when she was a teenager, she was appreciative.  I said, "See? It's not that hard and didn't take that long."

She said, "It helps to have you lovingly make me do it."

I am task oriented and keen to organize.  Emma writes songs.  Later, she was sewing a patch on her denim jacket.  She said, "I think my pioneer ancestors would be disappointed that I'm not a better seamstress."

I said, "They'd probably be happy you don't have to be."

We are all OK.

I decided to quit reading my book, it's A Week at the Shore by Barbara Delinsky.  It was dragging and boring but I kept reading because there was a mystery I was curious about.  Finally, I decided I wasn't curious enough to persevere.  I was curious enough to try to find out the ending on Goodreads.  Someone always posts spoilers like it's their job.

Sure enough, I found a review and it turned out the big mystery was never solved and everything else just got more convoluted with the unconvincing characters.

I'm glad I quit reading it.

You don't have to be good at everything and you don't have to finish every book you start.

We are all OK.

Grateful Friday

 Good things that happened yesterday:

1. I am trying to cross a few more things off my list.  One of them was to go through this box of random mementos and photos that is in my closet.  Do I still want everything that is in there?  And what is even in there?

I found this program:

When we lived in New Haven, CT, our ward chartered a bus for us to go to a conference at Madison Square Gardens in NYC where President Hinckley was speaking.  I saved the program and Amy Carlson wrote her number on my program.

Amy (aka Anna's mom) and Mark had lived in our ward in Utah when we first got married.  We'd both eventually moved to Connecticut and we must have run into each other at Madison Square Gardens (which is kind of amazing by itself because that place is huge!).  We reconnected and probably promised to be in touch but never were.  Braeden was there with us so I'm pretty sure Anna was there too.  Did they give each other the side eye from their strollers?!?

I think it was probably a good thing we didn't maintain our relationship because if we had, maybe Braeden and Anna wouldn't have ended up together.  (It seems like kids never want to date the kids of their parents' friends.  Ask me how I know.)

So there's something for your gee whiz file!

2. I had lunch with Janelle!  It was so great to see her.  We stayed at the restaurant for 3 hours and talked about all the things.  I can't believe she won't be at work this year!  I will miss her.

3. While I was at lunch, I got a text from Miriam telling me that our class lists were available!  I have some good ones on my list (at least I love their older siblings).  I am excited for school to start!

I am grateful for my job I love and my friends I love and that Braeden and Anna ended up together!  I am grateful for this beautiful morning.  I'm sitting on the deck in the cool morning, listening to birds and sprinklers and there is not a cloud in the blue blue sky. What a happy world it is.

It worked

 In May, when Miriam told me that she had been asked to teach summer school, I realized that if I had been asked to teach summer school, it would have been a hard pass.  I would rather run away from home.  I was burned out after a really challenging school year.

Since about June 2, I have ignored my classroom.  I've been minimally aware of work email, but it's mostly fun stuff like baby announcements and an invitation to a backyard BBQ.  

Lately, I've been itching to get back to school.

I'm excited to talk to Liberty and Clarissa about their new classrooms.  I did an advertisement to them for my favorite planner (and I should get a cut of The Happy Planner's profits after that).  I am looking forward to seeing my class list and looking forward to my actual class.

Sometimes it is really good to know what you need and give it to yourself!

I cried

 We went to the Barbie movie last night.  Braeden and Anna had already been to the movie (Emma too!) so Anna stayed home with QE, but the rest of us went.  We wore pink or pink adjacent clothes:

Adam was parking when we took the picture.  Emma brought the star shaped pink glasses and pastel makeup like only Emma can do.

I have heard all sorts of things about the movie.  I think you can shape it into whatever message you want to receive.  I found it joyful.  To me, it was about how great it is to be alive.  It was about how great it is to be a mother and a daughter.  It was about we all just need to be nicer to each other.  It was about we are all doing the best we can.  

I laughed and I also cried (kind of a lot).

This morning, our guests left.  I took QE out on the deck so her parents could pack up.  We made the wind chimes go.  We played peek a boo.  I sang to her.  We listened to the birds.  At one point she looked straight up at the sky and said, "Wow."

I was sad to say good-bye.  I cried (just a little).

Adam and I need to plan a trip to California!

Things I want to remember

She changes so fast--she's changed a lot just this month that we've seen QE.  Here are some things I love and want to remember:

Despite both of her parents hating it, she liked when I fed her cottage cheese.

She folds her arms and stays silent during prayers.  When she's hungry and wants to eat she will fold her arms and say and approximation of "Amen!"

She loves to help me water the plants. She fingers the leaves of my plants but has not pulled one leaf.

When the clock chimes, she shakes her fist in time to the chiming.

She dances to Baby Beluga.

She loves to do a rollcall.  Mama.  Dada. Boppa (Grandpa). Nana.  (She LOVES Boppa.)

She goes to the freezer and pulls on the handle because she wants to carry around an ice cube.

She's learned how to descend stairs feet first on her belly.  She's learned that just while she was at our house.

She can point to her ears, eyes, nose, cheeks, hair, tummy, etc.  Yesterday she pointed to her knees and said, "knee!" and who knows how she learned that.  

She is constant motion when she is awake and she sleeps like a champion.

She is perfect and we will miss her.

Weekend

Friday we went to Salt Lake City and to the Conference Center.  QE loved seeing all the pictures of Jesus and the replica, smaller Christus statue that is there was a big hit.  She was so excited and kept saying, "Jesus! Jesus!" She held out her arms like she wanted Him to pick her up.  She is a delight.

On Thursday, Emma had decided for sure to move back home and on Saturday, we moved her.  Sometimes adult children are hard.  That is all.  Other times, like Saturday, they are pretty great.  Adam, who has had back to back trips the entire month of July was sick.  Down and out.  We made him stay in bed and stay home.

The rest of us (except Anna, who took care of QE) moved Emma. 

It was slightly tricky at times because both Braeden and Mark are alpha males, but Braeden is ultimately THE alpha and he prevailed. They both had opinions on how to pack the cars.  Also, Braeden has whatever Adam has for packing.  It was amazing.  In addition to all of Emma's clothes and kitchen stuff, we packed a tall bookshelf and smaller bookshelf (and all the books), a big dresser, a pretty big electric piano + piano bench, a desk, her full size mattress and a bunch of boxes into Joan, the van and Emma's car.  Braeden and Mark whizzed through dismantling and loading.  Emma and I packed boxes and cleaned and Emma said thank you a million times.

I was so grateful for those strong boys I said, "Anywhere you want for lunch."

They said JCW's.  Emma said, "If you get there before I do, don't order because I am buying you all lunch."

Adult children.  They are a wonder.

So Emma bought us lunch and we ate and laughed and I remembered for the millionth time how lucky I am that those three are mine.

Our house is in disarray.  That is putting it very very lightly.  But I have those three and every little thing's going to be alright.

In the afternoon, Adam and I went shopping and the rest all went swimming.  (You know Adam is sick when he doesn't go swimming, but he was also a little stir crazy and wanted to walk around a little at the store.)  They picked up Thai food on their way home and we had a nice evening.  Adam said it felt like Christmas.  All the chicks in the nest.

Braeden and Anna and QE went to her cousin's and then her brother Owen's farewell talks.  The rest of us went to church in our ward and it was nice to be there after a few weeks of being away.  In the evening we had Clarissa and Liberty and Nikki over.

Today is Pioneer Day and I am thinking of my ancestors. I am grateful for them and grateful to live on the rock they planted.  Yesterday my friend Terri spoke in church and she said that our lives require the same amount of faith and fortitude as the pioneers'.  She said, "Maybe someday they'll honor us for our faithfulness."

May it be so.

Grateful Friday

Yesterday we met Clarissa for a walk and then stayed for the park and splash pad.

Braeden and Clarissa couldn't resist getting into the water too.

They're cute kids (full grown adults, but to me they'll always be cute kids).  

QE loved the water.  Braeden and I took her to Walmart in the afternoon with the intention of getting a little kiddie pool but that ship has apparently sailed.  There are now school supplies rather than summer supplies.  (I did get a few school supplies.  I know there are teachers who feel a little sad about the school supplies showing up, but I am not one of those teachers. School supplies are my love language.)

I was feeling kind of sad last night about summer ending.  I'm not sad about school starting, but I'm sad about summer ending.  It's complicated.  Also, since I'm basically a toddler, every time there is a transition of routine, I get a little uneasy.

But I'm grateful that I stayed away from school for most of the summer.  It has rejuvenated me and I feel excited by the shelves of school supplies.

I like my job.

One thing that pulled me out of my kind of sad feeling last night, was playing Qwixx with Mark and Braeden.  We only remembered halfway through the first game to play Yacht Rock.  It's a really important part of the experience.  Also, they made me laugh so hard I cried.  I love my boys.

This morning Braeden and Anna are going to the temple and I am taking QE back to the splash pad.  

Adam is flying home and we're going to meet up in Salt Lake (we're taking QE to see the Christus statue).  Emma will join us too after work.  Also, in happy news, Emma has decided to move in with us for a few months to save money for her own apartment.  She likes her roommates fine, but she's ready for her own place.  We will be happy to have her around and like I told her, Saturday is a really good time for the move.  For example:  Braeden.

He has man strength.

I'm grateful for this time with our kids.  I know it's rare and we'll have them all under the same roof for a few days!

Nice days

I am trying to diagnose the plant Emma brought for me to rehabilitate.  It is pretty much in ICU right now.   I am nothing if not persistent though.  (Adam thinks I should throw away the peace lily that is languishing and I say no way.  I will save it!  I will save them all!)

I was up before her parents this morning so I got QE.  We read The Wheels on the Bus about ten times.  She would look at the last page and then say, "Again!"

Yesterday we went on a walk and played at the park (we are going again today!).  We went to BYU.  We had lunch at the Creamery and hit the Museum of Art.  Turns out that is a great place for QE to run because all the art was out of her reach.  We lounged and played and watched her in the afternoon.  I took her outside and she loved to run in the grass and poke around the plants.  Everything is amazing when you are that little.

Adam is in Nashville and he knows how to fix my back.  He told me to have Mark fix it.  I think I will.  I'm pretty sure he can figure it out.

Now we're off to go for another walk.  

Home

Braeden, Anna and QE came over yesterday.  I was at the grocery store when they arrived, because I thought we'd want to eat more than condiments and that was pretty much all I had in the fridge. 

Mark and I set up the tent, which also serves to block several plants.  She surveyed the space, running around, trying to open things and touching things she found interesting.  It's not 100% baby proof, but it's passable if we're alert.  After her nap and some exploring, Braeden and Mark and I took her to the University Mall.  There used to be a sort of indoor playground there, but it is gone.  And who even knows how long ago that was because I rarely go to that mall or playgrounds.  

We went to a toy store and let her wander.  She picked up stuffed animals and carried them until she found one she liked more.  When she picked up a doll, it was all over.  She wasn't interested in anything else.  She kept patting its head and saying, "Baby, baby."

So what's a nana to do?  I bought her the doll.

We had pork chops and experimented with the new Soda Stream I bought.  Megan had one and I bought one.  And Megan bought Yoga Toes because I told her how much I like mine.  

We're basically influencers.

We liked the Soda Stream.  It added some zing to our Crystal Light.

QE went to bed,  Emma came to visit and we had a nice evening.

This morning Adam is off to Nashville and I feel sorry for him.  I am happy to be home!

And we're back

Yesterday was a looooong day and also went kind of faster than we were expecting.  (Keep low expectations I guess is the takeaway.)

It was so great to see Mark.  We sat and chatted awhile even though I was sleepy.  Adam unpacked immediately.  He always does (even if he gets home at 2:00 AM).  I can't face unpacking for at least a day.  He also packs minutes before we leave.  I have to ease in and out of trips apparently.

This morning I woke up to a whole lot to do before our guests arrive.  I decided that the basement is just not baby proof.  I don't have the time.  She will not be a range free QE in the basement and that is all.

Mark kept all my plants alive!  I saw the calendar I left him with instructions on what to water and when to mow on the counter.  He had written an X over every day as they passed and I can 100% appreciate crossing things off a list!  I gave him the requisite soda I promised so our accounts are reconciled.

OK.

Now I need to go see what is in the fridge.  I'm guessing not much and if it is in there, it probably is past its prime.

Weekend

Friday was the alumni party at the Museum of Flight in Seattle.  It was for all the WGU graduates and their families and I guess any alumni who wanted to come.  It was fun!  I loved seeing the exhibits and being a fly on the wall observing Adam with his coworkers.  He has this whole life that I'm not a part of and I like seeing glimpses.  Everyone is very kind to me and usually tells me how much they like him.  (All I can do is agree.)

My one woman campaign to get Adam to call the van Hootie is maybe working because he has referred to it that way a few times!

It's really the little things.

Geri and Adam's sisters and Talia came to the alumni party too so we saw them intermittently as everyone just kind of wandered.

Adam gave four of his coworkers a ride to their hotels.  Usually we are around the people on Adam's team and this time it was his peers and it was interesting to see the difference.  I gave them my two cents about how WGU should offer continuing education and teacher recertification.  It's probably the only time I will have an audience of five WGU vice presidents so I decided to strike while the iron was hot!

Wes, who is very kind and his wife is getting a teacher degree right now so we had stuff to talk about, said he wanted a selfie at the hotel.  Even though those guys definitely felt like the grownups, they are still a group of overgrown boys at times who tease each other and have a good time.  He texted Adam the picture and I immediately commandeered it because Hootie looked so shiny and pretty.

It is possible I am getting territorial.

Saturday morning, Adam left before I woke up for the graduation and all his work stuff.  I had a slow morning around the hotel room.  I walked to Target for moisturizer because I forgot some and enough is enough.  

Geri picked me up and along with Megan and Whitney and Talia, she treated us to lunch at The Cheesecake Factory.  It was fun to visit and enjoy lunch together.  I spent the rest of the afternoon with them until it was time to get ready for the Mariners game.  They were packing clear bags and checking necessities off their mental checklists and I said, "You guys are professionals!"

Megan loaned me a clear fanny pack so I could be like the cool kids.  Geri and I met Adam and Hootie at Northgate.  He had been in Seattle all day.  We took the light rail into Seattle.  There were two types of people:  those in Mariners clothes and those in Sounders clothes because there was a soccer game happening at the same time.

From our seats, you could see the fireworks next door at the Sounders game.

Leave it to soccer to be dramatic....

The Mariners did not win, but baseball games are like pizza, even if they're bad, they're good. Being at the ballpark is the thing for me.  Cramming back onto the light rail with the soccer fans, someone asked, "How was the game?" 

A guy in a Sounders jersey said, "We tied.  1-1.  How was the Mariners' game?"

"We lost 0-6."

"Well, I guess tying 1-1 is better than that."

He wasn't wrong.

We got to bed late and woke up kind of late.  We waded through a lot of traffic (I don't miss that!) to get to Portland.  We made it to Enoch and Jennifer's in the early afternoon.  We had such a great time visiting them!  They made us a delicious dinner--so much fresh fruit and vegetables which is JUST what you want when you have been on the road for awhile.  We also enjoyed their company and loved seeing their house and surroundings.  It is a very unique house; I've never seen one like it.  Jennifer said that she wasn't sure about it at first, but when she saw the sport court in the back, she knew that the battle had already been won.  They are a sporty family!

We loved playing with Boston.  He showed me his cars and dinosaurs and at my bidding showed off how smart he is.  I asked him addition questions no four year old has any business knowing.  He is such a cutie!

It has been a lovely feast of seeing so much of our family.  Today we drive back to Utah.  I am ready to be home and to see Mark.  Also, Braeden and Anna and QE are coming over so it will be wonderful to have them around some more.

Eventually I'm going to have to buckle down and be a school teacher again, but not yet!

Grateful Friday

Yesterday Janet picked me up in her Tesla (!) which is apparently what one buys when your minivan bites the dust.

After she showed me how to use the door handle, we went to lunch.  We went to Kafe Neo, which I have been craving for years.  Utah truly has a looooooooot of good restaurants, but I haven't found any Greek restaurant to rival Kafe Neo.  We sat outside in dappled light and stayed at our table for over 4 hours (I left a pretty good tip).  

It felt so good to catch up on all the things.  Janet is probably one of the people I could talk to forever.  

I'm grateful for forever friends.

She dropped me off at Geri's and after Adam returned there too, Geri, Megan and Whitney climbed into Hootie with us and we all went to Mukilteo Beach.  We ate at The Diamond Knot.  Adam and I used to love to eat there at a different location up the hill.  It moved to right by the water and we never successfully ate there.  Every time we tried, it was either closed or the sewer had backed up or it was too busy, etc.  Turns out I didn't like it as much.  How dare a restaurant take your favorite menu item off the menu when you haven't been for over a decade!  It took forever to get our food and then everyone got their food except me.  Don't worry, I was plenty whiny about it.

They finally brought my pizza and it was OK, I was too hungry to complain about it.  Also, the waitress removed it from the bill because it took so long.

So there's that.

After dinner, we walked down to the beach and it was gorgeous and there were schools of fish you could see from the dock, but I was chilly and didn't really give the schools of fish enough attention.  There were lavender plants about as tall as me that smelled amazing and I wanted to just lay down inside of them.

I'm grateful for a beautiful and varied world and I'm grateful for forever family.  We have enjoyed being together.

(And I really should take a picture or two!)

Family

Yesterday Adam and I went to Brown Bear car wash and washed Hootie (the name I have given the big WGU van which may or may not stick because Adam isn't exactly on board).  It was the kind of car wash where you get out and use the brushes and hoses manually and it was pretty satisfying because the dead bugs couldn't compete with whatever soap was in those brushes. 

We stopped at Fred Meyer (which we miss) for snacks because we were going to be descending on Geri for the next few days and wanted to contribute a little bit food wise.  It was nice to be in Fred Meyer again, but things are expensive here compared to Utah!

We spent the afternoon at Geri's house.  Adam went outside and worked on the deck in the sunshine and Whitney and I pinned some pot holders she is making and we visited.  Megan got home from work and Scott and Brian came for dinner.  It is fun when the five siblings get together.  We ate burgers on the deck. I sat on the end of the table with Scott and Brian and enjoyed laughing and talking with them.  We talked about the first time I went to Seattle and met them (almost 29 years ago!) and I told Brian, who is an expert driver of big dirt moving equipment professionally about my excavator experience.  Brian's girlfriend (who we all really like), Sam, was there and when she found out that Adam and I will have been married 28 years this summer, asked, "What is your secret?"

I pointed to Adam and said, "Being married to him."

She pointed to Scott and Brian and said, "Then what happened to them?!?"

Brian said that Adam took all of the whatever it was and Scott said to Sam,  "Hey! Why are you lumping me in this group? I've never dated you."

After this much time brothers-in-law are basically brothers and I like when we all get together.

The boys left and Jackson and his girlfriend (who we all really like), Jenna, were still there.  We watched some Eurovision songs from 2021 because that is the random stuff that Adam pulls up on Youtube.  

It is fun to be together with our family.  I'm grateful for it all.

Megan, Whitney, Adam, Geri, Scott, Brian

Adam and I went back to our hotel and Adam is on a meeting call right now and later I have a playdate scheduled with Janet.  

Pretty much living the dream.

Where summer is air conditioned

We are back in the beautiful Pacific Northwest and not sad about it.

We took an alternative route from Kennewick, up the Columbia a little and then over to Ellensburg.  It's nice to see different vistas.  In more from me learning to just go with it (I need practice!), there were minutes yesterday when we were going to fly back from Portland rather than drive and everything was up in the air because it's a work trip and not an actual vacation, but then everything went back to the way it was.  It may change again?  I don't know.  Still practicing going with it.

Adam took me directly to Stephanie's.  We sat in her backyard moving to the sun when we got chilly and back to the shade when we got warm.  Adam asked what we'd talked about and I said everything.  He came to pick me back up later and we saw Miles and Amy who are a few houses over from Stephanie.  We exchanged all the hugs and greetings and they admired the big WGU van and we caught up briefly.  A lot feels slightly different when we drive around because things change over 8 years.  Pinehurst, our old neighborhood, hasn't changed much and it feels like when I leave Stephanie's I should walk around the corner to our old house.

It's a place of many happy memories.

Adam and I went to Geri's.  We had dinner and while we visited, we watched the All-star baseball game on TV, which is in Seattle this year.  Scott came over and Whitney is visiting from Atlanta and it was just a nice evening.  It definitely feels like Raelyn should be there and she should.  Linn too.  It's nice to have  each other to keep us connected and help us remember.

Adam and I stayed at a hotel in Lynnwood.  He left this morning to take a work meeting at Geri's (he accidentally left his computer there) and I stayed at the hotel to be slow about getting ready.  

I like being slow.  Especially when I have books to read and you know, it's Prime day.

Next to you sitting next to me

 

Yesterday when we were loading up the van, I asked Adam, "Do you think everything will fit?"

He said, "For the first time, I think maybe not."

We in fact had so much room that we brought some stuff of Enoch and Jennifer's we are going to deliver when we stop to see them.

Adam always makes the hotel reservations when we travel, but usually it is earlier and we know where we are staying and when.  This time it is a business trip and there are other factors that aren't all in place so it isn't super planned.

It's an uncomfortable situation for me.

Adam said, "Don't worry about it."

I said, "Have we met?"

I'm a planner and he is an I will figure it out kind of guy.

And he usually figures it out just fine.  He asked if I'd like to eat dinner at Texas Roadhouse in Kennewick and I said, "Do you want me to put directions into my phone?"

He said, "I know where it is."

I said, "What's it like to know everything?"

He just smiled.  I help him keep track of his cousins' names, so there's that I guess.

We had a nice day together.  We haven't driven part of that trip that we've traveled so many times, in over 8 years.  Turns out we haven't been missing Highway 93.  We listened to podcasts (The Retrievals which is horrifying and fascinating) and started an audiobook. (Maeve Binchy's A Week in Winter.  I think I read it years ago, but I don't remember all of it and Maeve Binchy!  I don't mind hearing it again.). Adam had several work meetings he took over the phone and I happily popped my AirPods in and listened to my own thing during them.

We've done that trip enough times with little kids that I know when we have a good thing going.

We stayed the night in Kennewick. I'm happy for a few more hours on the road with Adam today and them I'm looking forward to all the things in Seattle!

Busy + exhausting + so much fun

It was a reunion weekend!

It was great to reunite with Hyrum.  They returned from Ghana late Thursday night.  There was a welcoming party at their house, but I was too tired and went to bed instead.  (Everyone needs that one fun aunt....). He came over Friday on horseback to visit.  We chatted awhile and then we took QE down to see the horse.  She kept saying "neigh! neigh!" and was very excited.  Braeden held her up to sit on the horse and she was a happy little clam.

That night, we had dinner at my parents' house.  All six of us were there and most of our kids.  When I'm together with my siblings we laugh until my face hurts and I love it.  I am pretty sure 98% of my nieces and nephews will end up taller than I am.  A lot of them are already there.  They are delightful and it is fun to see them.

Saturday morning, my dad came by with a wagon full of granddaughters.  I took QE down to see the horses.  My dad said, "Hand her up to Lucette and climb on."

I said, "I'll hand her up to Savannah."

Savannah is about twice as old as Lucette, plus she was in the back of the wagon so it was a shorter hand up.

I climbed onto the seat and held QE on my lap.  She was a little unsure at first but then she loved it. She kept yelling, "Neigh" to the horses.  

In the afternoon, we convened at Marianne's at lunchtime for the big reunion.  All my dad's siblings were there except Aunt Olivia, who, along with Brad, is serving a mission in New York City.  We ate and hugged cousins and connected whose kids were whose and I bragged to everyone who would listen that I was a grandma.  I am the thirteenth grandchild but only Rachel (who is probably 3rd or 4th) and I have the great great grandchildren of Harvey and Margaret.

I loved mingling in and out of conversations.  It is just fun to talk to my cousins.  There were a lot of stories told.  At one point I said something cheeky to Tabor and he said, "There is that Dahl confidence.  I've heard it a lot this weekend."

In stories I heard cousins use the words "fractious" and "askance" and "rivulets."

I was entertained.

We took the requisite pictures:

DeMar, Mark, Drew, Jennifer (she's serving a mission in the family history center in SLC which feels like the dream to me), Joe and Claudia

The girl cousins:

Sarah, Dixie, Leslie, Olivia, Me, Britta, Hannah, Jessica, Molly, Gretchen, Marianne, Catherine and Rachel

In one of the pictures in my grandma's photo album, there is a picture of the girl cousins and my grandma wrote on the back.  "The Dahl Queens."

Here are the boys:

Lincoln, Tabor, Ira Eli, Enoch, Harvey, Jordan, Cedric, Ammon, Alexander, Zachary and Micah

My tall siblings fit right in with our tall cousins (and I had sandals with heels so I was doing OK)!

The picture of the great-grandchildren was an undertaking.  This is the least chaotic one I had:

Each of my aunts and uncles and my dad told some of their memories of growing up (Hannah read something Olivia had sent).

I loved that part of the reunion.  It is good to hear their stories.  I know a lot of the stories, but not all of them and I love the telling.

Most of my cousins came over to see the renovations of our house.  It made me happy to show them and to reminisce about things like Grandma's pumpkin chocolate chip cookies.  Cedric asked me if we had any push pops when he walked into the store room and saw the freezer there.  Lincoln and I talked about receiving our patriarchal blessings here (me in the new house; him in the old).  I showed him the Snapfish book I made about the fire and he said quietly, "I remember that day."

It was pretty awful.

We went back to Marianne's for dinner and Marianne is a wonder and that is all.  

Sunday we had breakfast at our house for anyone who wanted to come.  I said it was going to be like a hotel breakfast (not fancy).  I had Costco muffins and a selection of cereal.  Olivia brought cereal and milk and bananas.  My mom brought pumpkin bread and bagels and cream cheese and boiled eggs and juice.  Tabor brought more breads.  Marianne brought strawberries and someone brought cherries.

I told them all that they had missed the point entirely.  I was supposed to be easing their burdens by hosting breakfast, not having them bring stuff.

Try telling them not to bring stuff....  

It was a good breakfast though (improved by their additions for sure).

Ammon Cobian "opened" for Hyrum at church as Olivia said.  (Ammon was a youth speaker). He was adorable.

Clarissa and Hyrum sang, which had no way of not being fantastic, and then Hyrum spoke and he was wonderful.  I loved every word.  It is amazing how missions can make good kids spectacular.

We had lunch at Marianne's (the ultimate hostess with the mostest).  Our kids all went back to Utah and Adam and I stayed another night at Pleasant Hill.

As I type this morning, there is a woodpecker making the pipe of the propane stove vibrate.  We have an entire wood house and it wants to drill into the metal chimney.  I don't know what to say to it.

This morning we head to Seattle.  I am looking forward to seeing family and friends and sitting next to Adam while we drive.

  

Grateful Friday

I've been loving life!

QE likes the tent.  More than that, she likes running around.  If that girl had a pedometer, it would be off the charts.  

I love when she says, "Nana!" I love when she backs up to me with a book to read to her.  I love hearing her little footsteps.  

I love watching Braeden and Anna as parents.  They are so good.  Is that bragging to say your own son is a good dad?  Well, he is.

Yesterday we went on a walk with my mom and Liberty and Nikki (who were here early to help get things ready while Marianne and Co. were still returning from Ghana).  We were sitting in my parents' living room and QE was running around like she does.  She stopped when she saw some scriptures and reached for them.  I put my hand on them and said, "Careful, those are scriptures."

She said, "Jesus!"

Could anything make my heart swell more?

In the afternoon, Adam was (you'll never guess) mowing while the other four of us were napping.  After we woke up, I took QE out to blow bubbles.  It didn't work out all that well because the ground is pretty uneven and so was my bubble blowing.  I need a better wand, which is not something you necessarily realize ahead of time.  Adam pulled up on the lawnmower to see if she wanted a ride.  She decidedly didn't. She pulled my hand away when I tried to lead her to him.  Adam said, "Just pick her up."  I handed her to Adam and she started crying (which never happens because she loves Adam) so he said never mind and handed her back.

I love a girl who knows what she wants--and doesn't want.

My parents came over for lunch and Liberty and Nikki came over for dinner and Olivia came over for visiting after dinner (she brought some strawberry jam she'd made yesterday with strawberries she'd picked from both her own garden and Marianne's).

I love the neighborhood.

Today we are getting serious about reunion preparation and also getting together with my family for dinner.  A reunion eve I guess.

I'm grateful for all of it.

The Queen of Everything

Yesterday, Adam finished loading the car and packed the coolers.  I had everything on the counter for him and I said, "Do you think we'll need three coolers?"

It was a lot of stuff, but Adam is so good at packing.  It's kind of unbelievable to me (as evidenced by me always thinking it won't work).

We had a nice drive to Starr Valley.  We finished our podcast series and branched out by getting Subway in Wendover.  Desi teaches high school there and we reasoned that our cute girl who made our sandwiches was probably one of her students because she did such a good job.

We quickly unloaded and I swept and vacuumed and Adam put away the food and then gathered up all the traps (no mice! Hurray for Hedwig!).  In our minimally furnished house, that is mostly the baby proofing that needed to happen.

Things will be different in Utah....

Braeden and Anna and QE arrived just as most of the set up was accomplished.  She knew us right away--thanks to FaceTime--and was very happy to run around and explore.  Her parents had woken up very early so they both went to take a nap and I followed QE around.  I pulled out the few toys I brought and some books.  It is such a delight to have her here.

We went over to my parents' house to visit (and do some laundry because QE had gotten a little carsick on their drive).  It's nice to have neighbors who will share their washing machine!  My dad was heading to town, but we visited with my mom and I pulled out some toys.  We sat outside for awhile and Adam and I played with her on the slide.  

She is really the main event and we're happy her parents are here too.

For dinner, she sat in the high chair that belonged to my grandma Jaynes.  I don't know how old it is, but it is still sturdy and going strong.

QE went to bed very early and Braeden and I built this tent for her.

I saw it on Amazon and I love being a grandma and that is all.

She is still asleep this morning so she hasn't seen it yet.

After the tent, I showed Braeden some of the stuff in the box from my grandparents.  I liked showing it to him in this house.  Our roots are here.

When QE runs around (because that is what she does, she doesn't walk) she is the 5th generation to do so on this little hill.  That makes me very happy.

4th of July

We had a nice day.  

In the morning Adam worked in the yard and I worked in the house.  Mark helped us both a little.  In the afternoon, we met Emma and the four of us went to the new Indiana Jones movie.  They liked it more than I did.  I liked it fine, but extended action scenes are boring to me.  I get it.  You're fighting.  You're chasing each other.  Things are getting destroyed.  I fell asleep during part of it.  

$5 Tuesday though.

After, we came home and played Mexican Train and Yahtzee.  We listened to music.  Emma played the piano and sang some.  

We had hot dogs and brats and corn on the cob and berries and baked beans and Sweet Maui Onion potato chips.

I think it's what the founding fathers would have wanted.

When it was starting to get dark, we roasted marshmallows at our fire pit for s'mores and then sat on the deck and watched fireworks.

In Washington, I hated fireworks because they were all around us and I felt assaulted.

I love them here.  They're illegal above the canal, so they are all from a distance.  It just looks like a frothy bubbling valley of light.

Today we set out on our adventure!

(Everything fit in the car....)

Oh, what do you do in the summertime?

I am listening to one book and reading another.  I am trying to squeeze it all in.  I read 6 books in June (I read only one in March, for reference).

I started this needlepoint when I was somewhere between 8-10 years old?  Maybe?  My mom gave it to me recently when she was doing her big purge/clean up.

I finished it yesterday.

See that little extra ridge of blue on the right?  Little girl Thelma was not any more fastidious than 50 year old Thelma.  I never have been that good at precision.  It is definitely not rectangular even without those three extra rows of sky.  I found this red frame in the basement when I did my own clean up, but I don't know if it will fit.

Especially since the back looks like this.  I'm not sure what to tell little girl Thelma.  

  

I went to three grocery stores yesterday (one I went to twice).  I needed to go to Macey's for gluten free hot dog buns (4 for $6.99--regular hot dog buns were 8 for $.99).  They are expensive, but they make up for it by not tasting as good.

I went to Smith's for good produce.

Adam and I went to Winco for everything else.  Then we stopped at Smith's again, because I'd noticed earlier that Diet Dr. Pepper had been on sale.  Later, it had occurred to me that I should have bought some because I told Mark that if he kept all my plants alive for two weeks, I'll buy him Dr. Pepper.  

So now I have it purchased, in hopes that all my plants are alive.

I have all these people to feed and several moving pieces for the next month.  July is going to be a wild ride, but a really good ride.  I will have lots of time with Adam (and Braeden and Anna and QE).  

Walking into the store, the weather really and truly felt like summer.  I could feel the heat shimmering up off the pavement.

It was a thunderstorm by the time I got home.  The wind blew and the tree branches danced.  The sky went dark.

Perhaps the most summer thing of all is that I keep telling Adam everything isn't going to fit in the car and he keeps telling me it will. 

Happy 4th of July!  I'm looking forward to a fireworks panorama from our deck.

 

Weekend

Saturday afternoon, Adam and I were chipping away at our to do lists.  I went downstairs and he said, "I wish there was a lake or river we could go swim in."

Then he asked, "Are you looking for something to do?"

I replied that I was going to go water the plants on the front porch.  I rarely need to look for things to do.  They find me.

He said, "I want to go do something fun."

I said, "I'm going to go water the plants."

And that is our marriage in two sentences.

As I filled up the watering can, I thought, we should go do something fun. Why not?

I told Adam, "Let's go!  Except I don't know what we could do.  I'm not very fun. "

He said, "I am."

I got my sandals and water bottle (after I watered the plants).  I asked, "Where are we going?"

Adam said, "I don't know.  Somewhere."

Another two sentences that pretty much sum us up.

We asked Mark if he wanted to go do something fun with us and he said his friends were already on their way over.

Adam wanted to follow the American Fork river.  It is usually a calm little stream rather than a river, but lately it's rushing with a lot of water.  Adam weaved around streets, finding the places where it went under the road.  We chatted and enjoyed the early evening.  We followed the river down a road towards the lake and there were big signs and a barrier across the road.  ROAD CLOSED.

Adam said, "Do you think we should just keep going?  Other cars are."

I said, "No.  It's closed."

We are yin and yang, I tell you.

He said, "I'm going to do it." Then, "No, I'd better listen to my wife."

We went to the Provo river.  (There was a riparian theme.)

I wanted to walk along the shaded trail where we like to go along the river but Adam was exploring.  He drove to another trail head, closer to the lake and we started to walk along it.  It is in a place where the river is diverted and the trail goes along the old river.  There is still water there, but it's mostly stagnate.  There was a lot of cotton from the trees.  It was pretty quiet and empty and it felt eerie.

It made think of Miss Havisham's room in Great Expectations.

We drove to downtown Provo and whenever we do that, we declare how much we love downtown Provo and that we should sell our house and buy one of the old houses on its tree lined streets, but then we remember that Adam works in Salt Lake City.

We went to JJs for dinner.  It is a little burger place with inexplicable black and white pictures of Marilyn Monroe on the walls with a few Audrey Hepburn pictures as well.  They have nothing to do with a little burger place in Provo, but we like it there.  It was hopping with families with loud little kids.  (It's a good family place because the burgers are $3.). There was a TV showing a Cornhole competition and while we were waiting for our food, I noticed that several people were entranced by the TV.  In a surprise to no one, Adam soon became entranced as well.  He quickly figured out the scoring and pretty soon I was interested as well.

Who wakes up one morning and decides to be a Cornhole competitor? They had sponsors and a TV announcer who was riveted to the action.

As we were leaving, a guy was sitting at a table, watching the TV.  Adam said to him, "It's addicting isn't it?"

The man replied, "I didn't even know about this game!"

Cornhole.  Bringing people together.

When we got home, Adam read online about the Provo River being diverted.  He found out all about the project and why it was being done and when it was set to be completed.

He has more curiosity in his little finger than I do in my whole body.

But that guy knows a lot of stuff as a result.  And I have fun with him even when it is just following rivers.