Family vacation

Yesterday my dad said he thought we would all kill each other.

This morning at breakfast, Olivia said, "So I just need to eliminate Marianne."

I said, "Daddy was right!  It's happening."

Ammon offered to form an alliance with Olivia.

Really, though, Olivia was wondering if it was her bread sitting on the counter or if it belonged to someone else.  She was asking all of us, to eliminate contenders.

So we aren't ready to kill each other yet.

It has been a bit lively.

Yesterday I spoke in church at our ward.   Olivia and her family came to listen to me, which was kind of them.  Then, Olivia and I took our girls and headed to Sandy for church part II.  Clarissa's mission president and his wife, Annette, are home from their mission and were speaking in church.  Coincidentally, Annette is also my mom's cousin.  I enjoyed the meeting a lot and got to meet Annette and my mom's other cousin Nancy (who reads my blog...Hi Nancy!).  It was after that meeting that my dad predicted his children killing each other.

What can I say?  He's an upbeat guy.

From there we hurried hurried hurried and went back to my house to reunite with husbands and sons (they had finished out church at our building--Edgar was Adam's team teacher in primary).  We then drove to St. George.

We are all staying in a lovely house in the red desert.  Red deserts are my favorite.  I like being here with these people too.  Edgar made us an amazing dinner last night.  His love language is making amazing dinners and I am so OK with that.  Marianne took a picture and I said, "You'd better not put that on Facebook."  I hate it when someone puts an ugly picture of me on Facebook.  Then I went there this morning and stole the picture.  So good thing she put it on Facebook...

Last night was raucous.  It was a whole lot of shushing because some of the children were trying to sleep and a whole lot of getting mad at Mark because that kid riles up his younger cousins.  He could have a career in warming up crowds for entertainers and politicians. 

Adam and I spent a sleepless + miserable night.  (Turns out that was a common complaint around here.)  When you're a finicky sleeper, like me, there's no place like home.

This morning everyone bustled off to hike in Zion National Park and I decided to stay home because of my ring ding knee.  I'm tired of that thing.  I know I should go to a doctor/physical therapy but I don't want to.

It is nice to be here alone in the silence though.  Silence can be beautiful.  Also, my missionary will be emailing at some point and I will be here front and center, to receive the email.

I may even take a nap....

Summer days

Emma is on the home stretch with her closet.  It was ridiculously full--odds and ends stuffed in every corner.  Yesterday afternoon she said, "I don't know what to do next."

Her entire bed was full of a small portion of what had been in the closet.  (And seriously, her closet isn't that big, it was just that packed.)  I pointed to something and asked, "What do you want to do with this."

"Throw it away," she said.

"Put it in the hall.  What about this?"

"I don't know."

"Do you use it regularly?"

"No."

"Put it in the dungeon."

Emma looked at me sort of wonderingly.  "What are you doing right now?" she asked.  "Will you stay here?  I need your help."

Since she never says that and it quite flatters me, I said, "Of course."  I scooted some stuff over to make a spot for me on the bed. 

"I get so distracted," Emma said.  "I do things like this." She showed me some poetry she'd written with a little magnetic poetry set she found in the closet.

So I kept her on task and we chatted.  "What should I write a blog post about?" I asked her.

"Mark," she said.

Later Mark and I were sitting on the deck, which is my favorite place in the world to be when the sun is setting.  I asked him, "What should I write a blog post about?"

"Me," he said.

So here I go.  This is Mark this summer.

(And I can really write anything because Braeden is my only child interested in my blog.)

I am almost always awake first but Mark is close behind me.  He doesn't have the sleep in skills of Emma.

Yesterday Mark and I were weeding side by side and talking about rattlesnakes.  I told him my dad killed one with a shovel when I was a little girl.  Mark laughed and said, "Of course he did.  Grandpa is so manly all he needs to kill a snake is a shovel and to wear Old Spice."

(Mark is a big fan of Old Spice.)

Mark loves music from the '80s and also dance electronic music (which I think is kind of terrible).  He sings all the time but if I ask him to sing for someone, he refuses.

I often think Emma is my most stubborn child but I'm not sure.  It could be Mark.

I bought Mark a subscription to Popular Mechanics for his half birthday because I thought he would love it.  He does.

Yesterday he said he wants to give the gun back to Ammon.  He said he is not really comfortable with killing a squirrel after all.  I told him that's fine.  He likes the idea of hunting, the thrill of the chase, but he's the boy who wouldn't read Charlotte's Web when he was little.  He looked at the cover filled with a picture of all the animals and flat out refused.  He said, "You can just look at that picture and know one of the animals is going to get it."

Years ago Adam read, Where the Red Fern Grows to our older two.  He never read it to Mark.  It probably would have been the undoing of that boy.

Mark loves to ride his bike.  The other night Adam and I were sitting on the deck and we watched a lanky rider far away up on the trail.  I knew immediately it was Mark.  He has tell-tale long limbs. 

Besides the sunset, Mark provides part of the show each evening.  He goes out on the trampoline and we watch him do tricks from the deck.  Adam calls down suggested feats and I say to Adam at least once a night as we watch him flip and spin and flop and maneuver, "He has such long legs."

After jumping and jumping, he runs up to us, panting.  He usually wants ice cream.

Summer on the East Coast

There were a lot of things to like about living on the East Coast.  The summer weather was not one of them.  It was sort of a shock for a girl who had grown up in the desert.

Water really did slide down the outside of cold drinks--that wasn't just an effect for Coke commercials!

Also, when we opened our refrigerator in our apartment that didn't have air conditioning, a cloud of condensation would billow out.  It was like we had liquid nitrogen in there or something.

We removed the light fixture from Braeden's room and installed a ceiling fan instead.  (Well, Adam did.  I probably contributed by keeping one-year-old Braeden out of the way.)  Still, it was hot.  Braeden would wake up from naps with wet hair, his curls soaked in sweat.  He was always completely amiable though.  He'd smile and beam his expressive personality all over that hot summer.

Maybe that prepared him for now.

Yesterday Rebecca (Rebecca who makes my day all the time) texted me this picture:

I asked her if that was sweat or rain.  She said sweat.  She said with the humidity it was 100 degrees.

I'm happy to see it doesn't curtail his smile, or his...accessorizing.

Update

Mark

He was out early, hunting.  In his pajamas.

He hasn't killed anything yet, but not for a lack of effort.  In related news, we need to buy more BBs....

Emma

After weeks of trying, Emma was called in for her first gig at what she hopes to be her job.

There was much rejoicing.

Braeden

Last week, he asked me for a list of questions.  This week he sent me a 6 minute video, answering my list.  I loved it!  Most of my questions were of the nagging mother variety.  He answered them.  Yes, he's drinking a lot of water (it's hot and humid there) and no, he's not wearing sunscreen (bad, bad, bad).  I asked him what he is spending his money on (more accurately his parents' money) and he just evaded the question.

He did send some pictures though.

If he weren't such a cute boy, I maybe wouldn't miss him so much.

But I might.

Even though he doesn't wear sunscreen and avoids financial questions.

Adam

I overheard this conversation:

"Emma, do you want to do some errands with me?"

"How soon do you want to go?  I don't look presentable."

"What do you mean?  You look great."

So she went with him.  Dads are the best.

Me

I have to speak in church on Sunday.  I don't know how that happened.  Have you ever had a phone conversation and amiably said, "Yes," then got off the phone and thought wait, what?!? 

Because I did.

Yesterday

I like the 4th of July in Pleasant Grove.  It is always appropriately hot and sunny and I love how patriotic everyone is around here.  People love the flag.  There's a group that fly a 30' x 60' flag in the canyon by our house.  It is beautiful!  They illuminate it at night and we not only see the bright flag from our front yard, but we see the big shadow cast by the flag as well.

 Sunday night a group of 100 people walked the flag up the street.

Yesterday morning we had a 4th of July neighborhood breakfast.  It was also a ward breakfast because they are pretty much the same thing.  We enjoyed our time and I liked seeing everyone in their red, white and blue.

Adam and I went to the grocery store for our last minute dinner needs and I've never been there when it was so busy!  Employees were stocking shelves as fast as the hordes of (patriotically dressed) people could grab things.  I heard lots of people greeting each other by name and times like that remind me that Pleasant Grove is kind of like a small town in that way.  It also made me happy that everyone we saw at the store was getting ready for a party.  No wonder everyone seemed to be in a good mood.

My good mood was crushed when we got home and we saw the squirrels on the deck!  I know we have lots of animals in our yard.  They are destructive and we have to be aware of what we plant because they will eat it.  I'm OK with that.

I'm not OK with squirrels on the deck, standing on their hind legs, eating my tomatoes!  War was declared.  I grabbed my broom to chase away the squirrels and I knocked over a table and broke some of the glass top and I broke part of my broom and the squirrels got away just fine and within a few minutes, they were back.

So I did what any sane person would do and I texted Ammon and told him to bring his BB gun.  I would have had him bring a more powerful firearm--because he has them--but the city is sort of particular about things like that.

I think this qualifies as self defense though.  Tomato defense?

We had an enjoyable time with Ammon and Melanee.  We went on the deck at dusk and enjoyed the show.  In our old neighborhood, I always felt like I was in a war zone and this is exponentially better.  I love watching blooms of light bursting all over the valley.  It's beautiful.

I'm grateful to pause and celebrate America.  I just want the squirrels to be warned about the constitution we follow.  Especially a certain amendment.

Stay out of my tomatoes!  (Mark is on squirrel patrol and he just completed the rifle shooting merit badge at scout camp.  You have been warned.)

There's not a unifying theme here

I guess the unifying theme could be that all these things are on my mind.  Bear with me.

First of all, happy Independence Day to you and yours.

Ammon and Melanee and family are coming over later today.  Adam accidentally blended words and referred to them as Ammonee and I think it works.  Besides, that sounds better than Melmon.

I'm grateful to live in this country.  Sometimes I shake in my boots when I think about little things, like...oh, the presidential election.

I didn't create this meme and I know Hillary's name is spelled wrong.  You get the idea though.

I wonder if we are sort of doomed.  I think of the people though.  So many good people.  If we can band together and keep trying to be good and do good, we will be OK.  I'm grateful to live in a country where we are free to choose our own path.

Yesterday at church we sang The Star Spangled Banner for the closing song.  I started crying.  (That is such a theme in my life.  I always start crying.)  I couldn't help it.  I was remembering Ferris Brough.  He was a man in my ward growing up.  We called him The Lifesaver Man.  He was a big man with a booming friendly voice and he had deep pockets full of Lifesaver candies.  Every Sunday he was swarmed by children (and teenagers) who would hold out their hands for a piece of candy.  He'd unroll one after another and greet us kindly.  He was such a fixture in my childhood.  (Did I ever thank him adequately?  Probably not.)  He also served in World War II.  Usually around the 4th of July, he would bear his testimony.  Without fail, he would get choked up.  He loved our country and he had seen a lot of terrible sacrifices that were made that ensured freedoms that I enjoy.  Like a little kid, just holding out my hand for a Lifesaver, I have been freely handed many things.  So during The Star Spangled Banner, I cried.

Because I am grateful.

We went to Nevada on Friday.  We were excited to be reunited with Mark after his scout camp.  He had a glorious time.

Robert and Edgar were also involved with the scout camp.  I appreciate them and all the scout leaders in the world that leave their families and the comforts of home on behalf of teenage boys.  Edgar texted me this picture during the week:

It made me happy to see his face and it made Adam jealous because he wished he could be there too.  Mark loved every minute of the camp and I love that he had a good time.  And I'm glad he's home.

Saturday was the baptism for Savannah.  Maybe there's been a sweeter little girl in the history of the world, but I kind of doubt it.  She asked me to speak at the baptism and--you'll never guess--I cried during my talk.  Curses on those tears!  Adam and my sisters and my mom all said it was OK that I cried.  (What else are they going to say?)  The problem was Savannah.  Once I saw her in her white dress, all this love welled up inside of me and came spilling out of my eyes.  I should have done the whole thing blindfolded.

Because that wouldn't have been awkward.

We had a hard and fast time we needed to leave in order to not get home too late Saturday night.  I had early church meetings and I'm also wimpy so I wanted to get home and get to bed.  6:00, we decided.  We had to leave at 6:00.

Saturday afternoon we were making potato salad around the kitchen table (I love making potato salad around the kitchen table.  It's the ultimate female bonding experience in my life).  Enoch called and was talking to my mom about tables and chairs for the dinner  that they were hosting at their house after the baptism.  "Tell him we can't stay for it," I told my mom.

Enoch asked to speak to me.  Because he knows something and that is that I can't say no to that kid.  He's too charming for my own good.

OK, we will come to the dinner, but we are leaving at 6:00.

Enoch had cooked brisket overnight in his Traeger.

I stole this picture.

And I stole this picture.

I just posted a picture of meat on my blog.  It was that tasty.  Even though we cut to the front of the line and ate fast, we left for home at 7:00.  But it was worth the delay.

Could you say no to these two?

While I was in a picture stealing mood, I took this one too.

It made me happy to be there for the big day.  My whole family was there except the two missionaries and I don't take that blessing lightly.  I love all those people!

Speaking of people I love, when we got home, I noticed a text from Adam's cousin Pam.  (I hadn't seen it earlier because I left my phone sitting on the kitchen counter at my parents' house.)

Branson, who is one of Pam's charming sons, got his mission call.

yep, I stole the picture

He's going to the Virginia Chesapeake mission!  What?!?  That made me so happy!  I hope he and Braeden get to be companions someday--two handsome cousins setting the world on fire!

I asked Adam if he thought Grandpa Linn pulled some strings in heaven to make it happen that those two would serve in the same mission.  Adam looked at me like I was crazy and said, "I'm not sure it works that way."

Whatever.  It might.

Books I read June 2016

Where We Belong by Emily Giffin ***

I liked this book.  I like Emily Giffin.  Even though I've never met anyone like her characters, they are at least consistent and that matters. It's about a 36 year old woman whose world is turned upside down when her 18 year old daughter (who had been adopted as an infant) shows up on her doorstep.

Where She Went by Gayle Forman ****

This book was a sequel to Should I Stay which I also enjoyed.   In Should I Stay, a family is in a tragic accident and the sole survivor, a teenage girl, is deciding whether to live or not.  This book is three years later and is from the point of view of her boyfriend at the time of the accident (they're no longer together). 

And then I turned into Goldilocks.  No books seemed right.  I was busy and it's hot.  Maybe I'm restless?  I don't know.  I started but didn't finish (recorded here so I don't decide to read them again):

Mrs. Lincoln's Dressmaker by Jennifer Chiaverini


It was mildly interesting.  There was a lot of historical information in it but if you're an American and paid even minimal attention in school, you already knew all the history.  I just wanted the story.

Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell

I've seen the movie and liked it and I liked the book too, but it was really dense and I wasn't making good progress.  What can I say?  Blame it on the heat. I'm shallow.

13 Ways of Looking at a Fat Girl by Mona Awad

I heard about this book on NPR and it sounded interesting to me.  I don't think I read two full pages before I put it back down though.  Crude and rude.

Casebook by Mona Simpson

I read at least half of this book but found it too depressing and not interesting enough to justify how depressing it was. 

Daughter of Fortune by Isabel Allende

I think I may have already read this book?  I can't remember.  I decided if I maybe already read it and it wasn't all that interesting, maybe I didn't need to read it again.