Marky and me time

A few nights ago, Mark texted, wondering if he should invite Marek to dinner.  Then he texted this:

I love Marek, but I opted for Marky and Me time (Adam was out of town).

He told me about his lunch with Geri and Emma and his afternoon at Emma's.  I told him about my abysmal day.

I felt better.

We went to the Tuesday movie.  The kid behind the counter asked, "Are you aware of the Tuesday deal?"

Friend, would we be here at 10:00 AM on a Tuesday morning if we weren't?

$5 for the movie and a popcorn and a drink.  What a great country!

Mark wanted to see Top Gun Maverick.  I didn't have a strong desire to see it, but it turned out that it was great fun.  Mark and I whispered predictions and laughed and no one even cared because it was 10:00 AM on a Tuesday morning at Water Gardens.  At one point, I whispered I had to go to the bathroom.  Mark said, "You can wait."

I said, "No."

When I got back, he told me what I'd missed.  Marky and me is a good thing.

The drive home, we talked over each other about how much we liked the movie.  We drew all the parallels between it and Star Wars.  You couldn't grow up in this family and not liken everything to Star Wars.  Those are the facts.

We puzzled over replacing the head of the string trimmer.  It's not for nothing that Mark has been following Lego and IKEA instructions his whole life.  He figured it out.

Over dinner, we rehashed Top Gun.  We want Adam and Emma to go watch it with us.

Today we're going to Nevada, to do yard work at our house.  We have a cooler packed and Joan loaded with yard implements.  I'm looking forward to a day of Marky and me.

You don't have to tell me how much time has passed and everything that has happened between then and now.  I lived it.  But I'm still grateful to be the mother of this kid!

Choices > Control

Control.  I hate it when things are "out of control."  I know enough to know I can't control everything, but I still kind of think I should be able to.

Spoiler alert:  I can't control things.

I can't control my children, the behemoth structure that is being built right next door, the weather, the details of my job, the fact that they still haven't picked up our recycling that was supposed to be picked up last Thursday.

Rats.

I heard awhile ago, that while you don't have control, you have choices.  What a freeing thought.  I do have choices.  Yesterday was a little rocky when I stopped by the school to paint a bookshelf.  I love my school and want things to stay the same and they...aren't.  I can't control that, but I have choices.

In everything I have choices!  Amazing!

Right now I choose to go call the garbage pickup people, again.

Happiest of weekends

Saturday we went to the Mt. Timpanogos temple with Emma.  I have thought about Emma every time I've been in the temple since she was born.  I loved being there with her and was grateful for all of our family that came to share the day with us.  It felt like pure joy.

Mason, Desi, Marianne, Clarissa, my mom, my dad, Geri, Braeden, Anna, Adam, Emma, Me, Vanessa (Emma's friend), Olivia, Lili and Edgar.  Clarissa's husband, Timeon, was there too, but he left before the picture.

It was wonderful to be surrounded by so many people who show us such love.  Firm as the mountains around us, stalwart and brave (they) stand.

Afterward we went to Black Bear Diner for a very slow dinner.  We took a picture of my mom with her girls and their girls.

Desi, Marianne, Clarissa, Olivia, Lili, me, Emma and my mom.  Missing are Marianne's girls: Liberty and Carolina.  These women are my everything.

Sunday after church, we hustled our food prep and then went to the Carlsons' for Eleanor's blessing.  Another joyful time!  We love Anna's family completely and it is wonderful that we share our deep affection for these three:

Eleanor's dress was brought back from Belgium where Mark Carlson served his mission.  Anna and her sister wore it for their blessings too.  Eleanor looks a little stressed in this picture, but she was a champion considering how many people were there, wanting to admire her.

Braeden blessed his sweet baby and it was a time when my joy leaked out my eyes a little.

Here is who help bless Eleanor:  Braeden, Adam and the Marks

This boy has been the sun and I've been a planet basking in his light ever since he was born.

We took a four generation picture:

And a five generation picture:

All the best days in my life have been surrounded by my family and usually part of making covenants or participating in ordinances in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  It is easy to feel loved by my Heavenly Father when I consider these happy happy days!

Space between

Yesterday Braeden and Anna and Baby E went to the Carlson's for a few days.  I finished the pantry (my stackable drawers finally arrived!) and took a nap and felt kind of droopy.  I think Adam and Mark and I all have some kind of low grade sickness.  We all three had sore throats and felt extra tired.  Geri is coming this afternoon and today Mark and I are going to go grocery shopping.  The fact that Mark is going with me makes it feel less daunting.  Figuring out meals and what to feed people is not my strong suit.  It feels like something grandmas should be able to pull off with panache.  

Last week I called Marianne for help with meals.  She sent me an email with half a dozen crowd pleasing recipes.

I know enough to know to call Marianne.

I am looking forward to the rest of the week.  It will be a happy time.  We will be together, that is enough. 

Happy days

Yesterday was a wonderful day, just being home.  (Although Adam and I did take a quick trip to Home Depot....)

We held Baby E and talked to her and sang to her and read to her.

I pulled out my box of board books, some of them a little worse for the wear, but well loved.

Later, Braeden read to her and it made my heart sing.

She was taking Goodnight Moon very seriously.  I love watching her little eyes take everything in as she processes the world around her.  What a miracle babies are!  She loves our ceiling fan and Emma's phone case.  I love watching her concentrate as she tries to make sounds.  She'll be talking someday and we all want to know what she has to say!

I don't know if it was the board books making him sentimental, or having his brother home, but Mark pulled out the box of Bionicles.  When I went upstairs to bed, this was happening.

I am glad those three are mine.

This morning when I opened my computer, this was on the screen.

Braeden borrowed my computer yesterday when he had a meeting with some people he is doing a research project with this summer.  Emma told us last night about the trip she is taking to San Francisco in July.  Mark found out yesterday he got the job at WGU he interviewed for and will start working there in a few weeks.  They may still like Bionicles, but my children are grown ups.

Weekend

We went to Nevada on Saturday.  The whole day felt like a race.  We stopped and picked up Emma, we went back to her apartment when we were several blocks away because she forgot church shoes, we went to Floor and Decor and got tile and shower shelves for Pleasant Hill (the name we have given our house in Starr Valley because My Grandparents' House is a lot to say).

We went to Elko to celebrate Isaiah's graduation.  It was so nice to visit with Enoch and Jennifer for a few minutes.  They're moving to Portland soon, which is sad because we won't see them as often but gives us a reason to detour when we go to Seattle.

From there, the race continued.  We dropped Emma and Mark off at Costa Vida so Mark could fuel up on some gluten free filling food.  Adam and I went to Spring Creek to buy a lawn mower for PH (an even shorter name I just created!).  We were following google maps and it led us on a three mile roundabout detour which was...exciting.  We ordered the lawnmower, pick up the kids and hurried to Wells for Morgan's graduation party.  It was fun to see people there and visit and eat and try to keep my plate from blowing away.  It was a windy day and also Wells is never not windy.

By then Braeden and Anna and Baby E were at my parents' house and that was my next destination to hurry.  Poor little baby had had a long day in the car and I had decided earlier in the day that my grandma name would be Nana because Braeden had been calling me Grandma Thelma and I didn't like that.  (They'd called Anna's mom Grandma Amy and she didn't like it either.  We'd both said we didn't care what we were called as grandmas, but it turns out we do...)  Also, I came up with the (maybe I'll patent it) Nana Pose.  If I held her facing away from me and if I bounced enthusiastically, we could achieve a tentative peace.  The Nana Pose.

A bunch of us went over to PH to see the progress and then we went to where some of the brick from the house that burned has been languishing in the sagebrush.  I had the idea I wanted to redo the hearth where the propane stove sits using bricks from the old house.  Sentimental? Who me?  It was an adventure in my sandals climbing between sagebrush and rocks for bricks.  Lucette and Azure were great brick finders and Ammon cheerfully helped me in my harebrained task.  We were prying bricks apart and knocking off the mortar and I said, "I imagine Grandma and Grandpa looking down at me doing this and wondering why."

Ammon said, "They're probably thinking, we know it's hard to get building materials right now, but is it that hard?"

Tabor and family eventually came and we had a weiner roast using willows and gathered around my parents fire pit, which is also made of the red bricks.  I was holding the baby and two people made me s'mores so I felt like the winner.

Sunday Liliana spoke in church because she is leaving soon for her mission in Costa Rica.  She is such a dear girl and will be a blessing to everyone she serves.  I had Nana duty during sacrament meeting.  I got her to sleep and then made the classic sit down error.  I did enjoy my time with her though.

After church we had a lunch for everyone at Olivia's then headed back home.  It was a full weekend and we saw lots of people we love.

Grateful Friday

I am so looking forward to the next two weekends and the week between them.  I'm calling it Party Week in my head (and apparently on my blog).

We're going to Nevada and then back home where Braeden and Anna and baby will be in and out as we share them with Anna's parents.  Adam's mom is coming.  Next weekend Emma is going to the temple and Braeden is blessing their baby.  It's a lot of wonderfulness.

I'm thinking through preparations and I'm really bad at planning meals.  I told Adam that I never know what to eat when we have company.  He said, "You never know what to eat when we don't have company too."  He's not wrong.

I am still looking forward to it all!  I'm grateful for time spent together.

Yesterday afternoon Adam and I went to BYU for a choir performance.  We miss those!  Emma was in a BYU Women's Chorus reunion choir.  Clarissa was too so it was very fun to see both of those songbirds perform.  It was in the Museum of Art which was lovely.  We sat with Timeon in the mezzanine on chairs pulled over from the restaurant.

Emma is on the left and Clarissa is on the right

It was beautiful and I cried.  It's just so joyful to hear such lovely music and to see Emma and Clarissa pour their hearts into their song.  I love it.  It was also a very beautiful spot with the sun streaming through the rainbow sculpture.  (I think we call that a sculpture?)

The last thing I'm grateful for today is that yesterday I had lunch with my friend Shannon.  It's nice to be free to do stuff like that.  We visited about everything and nothing and then when we were finished eating, she cleared her throat like it was time for the real reason she invited me to lunch.  She wanted to ask me questions about Family History.  Delightful!  

I'm grateful for friends and family and music.  It's a lovely world.