Magic

I've written a lot on here about how much I have missed Braeden while he has been serving a mission.  Is this a magic blog that grants wishes if you write about them enough?

Because I maybe have some other topics to address....

This is us Thursday night.

Braeden looks unhappy about having his picture taken but he's actually the one holding the camera/phone.  He has long arms.  In related news, he changed the light bulbs in our room standing on the floor and just reaching.

Friday Braeden and I went to Provo and visited the Museum of Art with Clarissa and then visited the Monte L. Bean museum.

Braeden wanted me to text this picture to Stella because there are a lot of these birds on the lake that sits between where she lives and where Braeden used to live.

Also, Braeden asked me if I would get him a treat "if he was good."  He knows how to charm me.  When he was a toddler he would get treats if he was good.

I told him he had to be really good.

And he was.  I used to have to chide him to not run away from me and now he holds doors open for me and entertains me endlessly.

We ran out of time and didn't get the treat though.

Saturday morning found us at the church for basketball with the highly acclaimed stake sports director (Adam).

When Braeden let her have her glasses, Emma was in charge of the scoreboard.  She took it very seriously (like she does).  She said, "This is so intense that I like it."

Mark was playing and we cheered for him (and possibly made the sign for a field goal when he shot the ball over the backboard).  The other team basically destroyed Mark's team and Adam told Emma she should mess with the score to see if the boys noticed.

Emma was horrified.

Saturday afternoon Emma had to do something else (like she does--this time it was prepare boxes for the French club's refugee drive so who was going to argue with that) but the rest of us went to SLC for an exercise in futility a.k.a. me looking for shoes.  I have found the shoes I want for a birthday present that seem the right amount of comfortable for when we go to France.  I want to try them on before I order them online.  I googled which stores sold them and found Nordstrom.  But it turns out Nordstrom only sells them online too.

At least Mark (who took his money when he heard Fashion Place Mall--because the Lego Store) went away happy.

My throat was hurting and I told Adam that something cold was necessary to my happiness.  Braeden remembered that I owed him a treat.  Mark decided he had been good at the store too.

So Adam bought us milkshakes.

This is before the milkshakes but I think they'd been promised because of all the smiling.

I was supposed to take dinner to a woman in our neighborhood who had just had a baby.  I realized we were going to be late.  I had the soup in the crockpot but needed stuff added to it.

I called Emma--she didn't answer.

I texted Emma--she didn't answer.

Because why would she?

Adam, who is a genius, told me I should use Find My Phone which emits a loud sound until you make it stop, even if your ringer is off.

Emma immediately responded.  I told her that from now on, that would be my strategy.  "Please don't do that during school," she said.

We'll see.

I told her what I needed her to do.  She said, "Whoa.  Can you text that all to me?"

For the record, she executed her mission perfectly.

After delivering soup and then eating some of our own soup, we went to BYU again for a Living Legends performance.

Clarissa and Desi (who gave me the idea) were seated a few rows in front of us.

I love BYU and these kids (and Adam who was seated on the other side of me).  Living Legends is a  group of BYU students of Native American, Polynesian and Hispanic or Latino origin. They perform traditional dances from their cultures and they knocked our socks off.

At the end we were all crying (except Mark).  Clarissa and Desi too.  Mark said he got chills but didn't cry.  I told him to wait until he's older.  It seems to be the birthright around here.

We were walking back to the car and someone mentioned we'd had milkshakes earlier.  Emma said, sadly, "Really?"

I said that my throat was still hurting.

And the boys, of course, were hungry.  You can give them as many bowls of hearty soup your heart desires, they will be hungry hours later.

We went to Chick fil A for the frozen lemonade (for me).  Adam told the boys he'd get them chicken strips.  He asked what size they came in and the perky girl on the other end of the intercom talked him into the 24 piece tray.  (I think her summer job is working at the Story Book Canal ride at Disneyland.)  Adam agreed to the 24 pieces because he had little chicken nuggets in mind.

It was a WHOLE lot of chicken.

And there wasn't a piece left by the time we got home.

Sunday I had six and a half hours of church.  And also I didn't wear very comfortable shoes for that sort of business.  When I told Adam that it was too much church, he said I should call Robert (he's in a stake presidency) and talk to him.  Or Tabor. (He's a bishop.)

Fine.

Emma sang in church which I loved and Braeden spoke in church which I loved.  He used the word ethos in his talk.  After, Adam said, "Ethos?"

Braeden said, "Yeah, I thought I'd drop down some Latin."

In the evening we got to spend time with the BYU girls.  I always enjoy having them over.  We did love language tests after dinner and had fun together.  Hannah feels like one of the family--whether she likes it or not.  (She is very good-natured about it all.)

Braeden's mission president called Sunday.  We are hopeful that he can return to his mission soon.  (I'm a tiny bit not hopeful because I love having him here.  But I'm keeping that to myself.  Except for that part when I put it on my blog.)