Happy holidays

We’ve had a very Merry Christmas. 

One of closeness and love, caring and doing, giving and getting, growing and learning. 

We’ve all missed the parties, family gatherings, activities, and concerts. However, the slowing down of the hustle and bustle has been a a nice change of pace for the season. 

Sitting by the fireplace and watching the boys play, Elsie pull herself to standing, Jess sing in the karaoke microphone (best gift of 2020 in my opinion!) has been where the joy comes from most. Thinking of the love of Jesus Christ and seeing it in my home is magical. That’s goodness. That’s a Merry Christmas. 

In other news this season —

Ansel snowboards on the boogie board...this may just be a new Olympic sport come 2036. Ansel’s sure he’d win it. 

Elsie crawls on turbo speed and stands like a pro. She’s even climbed up the whole basement stairs! She talking up a storm and likes to empty the bottom rack of the dishwasher. 

Ian helps make all kinds of goodies in the kitchen. He can crack eggs all by himself. He likes to build Legos using “constructions.”

Ollie breaks his wrist while ice skating (dang it!). But he’s learning to deal with difficulty and have patience. He even got a picture of the full moon through his telescope one handed. 

Onward and upward for the new year. Let’s sing a tune in the karaoke microphone! 🎤 

Checking out the Great Conjunction on Winter Solstice

Yesterday, Jupiter and Saturn came so very close to each other during their orbits you could see them together in the field of view of a telescope. The event was rare. The planets haven’t been so close and easily viewed for hundreds of years. 

We joined others to look at the scene through a telescope. In the photo below, Jess and the boys (with masks) are looking at the view on the screen. A kind gent (in the Santa hat) had set up the view for all with his telescope. 

We then focused on the view with our binoculars. 

We got a shot, but an unsteady one. We needed a tripod!

It was a fun night to do something different this Christmas break week and experience the vastness of the universe. 

If you see this post now (or during the rest of December), you can still see the two planets close together in the southwest part of the horizon. You don’t need a telescope or binoculars. Neat!

Big Tree, Feeling Christmas-y

Cheers to my neighbor who drove by, said hello, and took a photo after she noticed how little I looked as I trimmed the branches of this magnificent tree. 

Isn’t it a perfectly imperfect humongous Christmas tree? I love the refuge this tree gives to my house, my yard, my kids, and the little quail families that we see each year. I love the enormity of it. I love this tree. 

Want a good laugh?

If you want a good laugh, open up Amazon and go to holiday movies, then read the synopsis of each one. You're welcome.

Nine months

This girl has been growing and discovering the world now for just as long as she was growing in my belly. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, it’s amazing how quickly children develop. This little one is a little scientist, exploring and observing it all. Today she was saying “ba, ba” and Jess said, “Try saying ‘da, da’.” She then followed up with “da, da.” I was amazed! Then Jess said, “Say, ‘ma, ma’.” And she did that too! Good job Elsie! She’s said these words before, but I was just impressed that she followed along to what Jess was doing. Very cool. 

She is the sweetest and we love her so. She crawls on turbo speed. She is very ticklish. She prefers to play where everyone else is. And her favorite food is peaches. 

We can’t get enough of her cuteness and fun personality. 

Trying

Have you ever had a conversation with your child and during it you just can’t believe what your kids are doing, saying, thinking about, dealing with, processing, and experiencing? It can be good, bad, sad, enlightening, surprising, amazing, wonderful! 

Lately, I’ve been caught off guard, in a good way, with the things my kids are doing and thinking about. One child in particular is really working on being kind to everyone these days. He says it can be a challenge, but he is succeeding and reaching out. And last night at dinner as we talked about it, he said it made him feel good. 

I once read a blog that said a middle schooler came home and lamented to her mother that she didn’t have any friends. Her mother gave her some advice. She told her to look for someone in her class that was worse off than her and to make friends with that person. The middle schooler went back to school and made friends with a very shy girl. They become good friends and have been best friends ever since. These friends are now in their 70s. Yes!

My mother once asked a women, who was young, vibrant, and very different than most in the congregation at church, if she’d like to join the choir. My mother mentioned that she loved this woman’s singing voice and would enjoy having her as a strong soprano in the choir. “It’s a lot of fun,” my mom continued, “and something we’d love to have you be a part of.” This women answered in the affirmative and then broke down a bit and said, “You are the first person to invite me to anything in this neighborhood, thank you.” An invitation like this can make all the difference. 

I’ve had many examples in my life of people who are kind. I am so grateful to them and I try to emulate them each day. Sometimes I falter, but I’m trying, and that’s what matters. And that’s what I tell my kids. Try! No one’s going to be disappointed by someone who does.  

Autumn 2020

Fall is so delightful. The wind, the smell of those falling leaves, the baking options, the sunsets! It’s enough to make me forget how many trillions of leaves our oak trees drop in the backyard and how often I’m found in said backyard raking those things. 

We’ve had a few mini-medium snow storms around here, so I’m gearing up to say goodbye to fall soon. But before it goes completely, I want to share a few pics from our season. 

Last bit o’ fun at Heber with cousins. 

Pumpkin patch at sundown. 

Visiting the Utah Women 2020 mural downtown. My sister is featured! See her face framed by Oliver’s hand? So cool!

Jazz mural downtown. I told my kids about the kinda-glory days of the Jazz when we made it to the playoffs...twice! 

Elsie’s blessing day was perfect. We did it over Zoom, with grandparents attending, in our living room. This girl is the best!

At the CrossE ranch for some Halloween fun. These slides were a hit. 

Ansel making friends with the sheep. 

Elsie and I wait to pick up Oliver’s carpool. 

Orange Yoshi, Parrot, the Chaperone, a Skeleton, and a Storm Trooper ready for Halloween night. 

Ian loves Scotch Tape. He’s taping everything this days. 

Dapper boys ready for home church. This particular Sunday involved watching the digital Primary Program. 

Ollie wins the highest honor at his school, the Noble Knight. Well done Oliver! I am super impressed with this self motivated, kind, smart, funny kid. 

Picking up Ansel’s carpool with Ian. He sure rocks those shades.

Found this written on a school paper...

... from Ansel’s backpack. 

Yes! This is what I work to create and I’m so glad he can feel it. 

May this be the case for each of my children, always. 

Soccer days

This past fall we had a fun time going to soccer games and watching Ansel play. The kid loves the sport and his coach was top notch. He learned so many new skills. And his team was learning to pass. Something that is tough but they were getting it! We look forward to spring soccer soon. 

From the mouth of a four year old

Sometimes I just punch the television and it starts to work. 

Even though I left my library book outside, don’t worry, it’s protected by the playhouse. 

When jumping over waves in Bear Lake on a windy day: Take it easy waves!

From the mouth of a seven year old

Mom, can you get addicted to reading?

Mom, every time I put on these sunglasses they are nice and cold. They’ve been that way ever since they fell in the lake!

The tooth fairy must be busy because she forgot to pay me for my tooth. Or maybe it was just so little she couldn’t see it. 

What I didn’t see

I bought this shirt via the internet for Oliver the other day. I liked the design, the brand, and mostly the fact that it was a screamin’ deal.

He pulled it out and wore it. “That’s a good looking shirt,” I thought to myself. Then I noticed it. And now the shirt is in the bag that is scheduled for a drop off to Good Will or the D.I. 

Can you spot what I did (after taking the tags off)?

 

And that’s why buying clothes off the internet can be problematic. 

7 months

This girl has grown so much in the past couple of weeks. She crawls now! And transitions to sitting. She eats some solids too. She loves to play peek-a-boo and enjoys the feel of the grass. 

We love her so. “Elsie, cutie” is the best. 

I Love Hebe

Tiny girl in a big (puffy) chair. 

A boy (who can pump!) on a swing. 

Two words: gravel pit. 

Lots of kids in a (favorite) field. 

Digital back to school night + masks + water bottles

School looks a little different this year, but the kids have adapted and have really embraced going with the flow. 

And there is nothing more fitting than to post my kids first day pics a week after they’d been out of school for 2.5 days due to a power outage. 

Preschool - nailed it!

2nd grade - totally pumped!

6th grade - middle school nerves but a smile nonetheless :)

No school here, but 6 months old. Woot woot!

The process

In college, I took a beginner Industrial Design course to explore my options and see what was out there as far as education and job opportunities. At the time, I was a biology major (and eventually graduated as one) but I wanted to make sure the sciences was where I wanted to stay. This art class was new to me because we didn’t just jump into creating something like I’d done in the past. Instead we talked about the artists, what inspired them, what motivated them, what they were trying to communicate, what kind of process it took to create a piece weeks before we even started our own stuff. We discussed huge art pieces like the Typewriter Eraser, Scale X by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Brugge, the balancing mobiles of Calder, and the metal works around the campus. To make these creations there was a process. A big one. Artists had to really figure out how to obtain the goods, master the material, balance the form, and at the same time capture a look, a feeling, a thought and communicate something. This was work! It took time. And this time and learning and figuring it all out was the process. The process, I was taught, was as important as the completed piece itself. 

When I sit down to draw something or set pastels to paper, it is a process. However, there is always something inside of me that wants to hurry and finish. I am a completion person. An individual who wants to check off the figurative box and move onto the next thing. Still, I’ve learned over the years that when I get into creating something, it’s therapeutic. I get lost in the process and all my worry, my “what’s next” mentality tends to subside for a bit. It’s the process that is good for my soul. 

Life is all about the process. Sometimes we want to get to the end of the list and complete this or that (big or small), to say “done!” But if we could remember that it is in the process that we complete ourselves or our lives, the day in and day out become better. 

bird art above courtesy of Oliver

School’s about to begin

Is it bad that I’m not ready for my kids to go back to school? I mean, they really love it and they will mutiny if they don’t go back, but I’m really sad this era is over. 

Truth is, however, we may be back to this era in about two weeks or around the beginning of October. We shall see. 

Things we’ve done during the pandemic

Here we are in month five of safety measures to stay healthy amidst COVID-19. Here’s the latest. 

We did a chocolate chip cookie taste test. My brother’s family has been taste testing everything from Oreo flavors to Root Beer brands every Sunday. One Sunday, when they were gone and we didn’t have it to look forward to, we did our cookie taste test. Peanut butter chocolate chip was the best. 

The boys have played hard with family and neighborhood friends. Ian crashes about one day a week (and sometimes with naan in his hands). 

We’ve made homemade ink and quill pens, thanks to my sister who sent out a cousin club activity box full of neat things to do. 

We had a bike parade for the 24th of July. Our whole neighborhood was involved. Old came out to cheer on the young. It was a lot of fun! And all social distancing compliant. 

We did a mega slip-n-slide with Grandpa T and cousins. It was so fun especially on a hot day. 

We had a great time in Bear Lake with my sister’s family. We felt normal for a week. Vacation is so good for the soul. 

Growing and smiling is Elsie’s jam these days. 

We went minnow catching in a nearby stream. 

Mini golfing when the course had no one on it was a plus. Ollie and Ansel brought their own putters. We take this game very seriously, can’t you tell?

I remember back in March, I mentally prepared myself to do this quarantine stuff until May. Now we’re in August with many more months of the same to come. I didn’t think I could do it, but I know I can. We can do this. We have to do this. My kids having smoothly transitioned to the changes but school is starting. We shall see how it goes. We can do this. We have to do this. I know we can.