The Best Stuff

Favorite Photo Friday: Happy 14th Julianne!

2012-02-10T23:06:00.000-07:00

Julianne turned 14 today. She came home from school with plenty of stories of hugs, a decorated locker, birthday songs, surprises and treats. She's got some really great friends. Her birthday party is tomorrow morning...a big sit-down brunch with 8 of her besties.

This picture was taken on Julianne's 2nd birthday in 2000. She kept spinning happy, dizzy circles and squealing "Halloweena!" Which, we determined, was a cross between Halloween (dressing up) and Ballerina. Cute little thing, isn't she?

Curtains

2012-02-09T09:05:00.000-07:00

We've lived in this house for four years now. And for the first three I had assumed curtains wouldn't really go in this very craftsman style house....therefore deciding I didn't need to worry about any kind of window treatment other than blinds. (Hoping to upgrade someday to plantation shutters....) The reason I assumed curtains wouldn't work? This reason right here:

See that decorative (albeit plain) header above the window? There is one over each and every window and door in this house. Which somehow translated in my mind as no need for curtains...or that curtain rods and draperies just wouldn't work with that extra slab of wood up there. You can chalk it up to decorator inexperience, I suppose.

Of course, then when I finally decided that I DID want to put up curtains in my living room, that was the only decision I could make. That yes, curtains would work. But what kind? I'm indecisive, if you haven't already figured that out. And slow on getting extra projects done seeing as I'm so busy just trying to do the surface things in keeping house and family running somewhat smoothly.

But I finally did it. Made the decision, bit the bullet, and started pounding holes in the wall. (Well...only after the curtains I bought from IKEA sat in a closet for 3 months while I debated if they were really what I wanted....) I wish I had a before picture for you. It's always amazes me what a difference a little thing like curtains can make.

Las Vegas vacation...

2012-02-08T16:04:00.000-07:00

We stayed at the Tahiti Village...a hotel on Las Vegas Blvd, but a couple of blocks south of the airport. Family friendly (ie: no girly shows or casinos), an amazing pool area and a kitchen were perks..the most important reason we booked this hotel being location. It was conveniently close to the sports arena where the Blackjack Meet and Winter Cup were being held.
The pool was advertised as being warmed to 85 degrees all year. And while I don't doubt this to be true, unfortunately the weekend we were there they had just drained, cleaned and re-filled their pools meaning the water still hadn't warmed completely. The kids were brave, though, and with the hot tub to warm up in, spent some time in the cool-ish bigger pools. How neat is it that there was a sandy "beach" leading into the pool?? I'm thinking we will stay here again on future trips to Vegas.

After swimming, we headed out for the kids' first looks at the uniqueness that it is The Strip. All the buildings lit up like light brights...they were suitably wowed. The Bellagio fountains were, of course, a big hit.

I love this picture of Rebekah. I was originally trying to get a picture of her looking out towards the street but she turned around and started walking back...not realizing. All the lights blurred in the background, the lit up sidewalk, the tree with it's individualized branches...and then Rebekah in focus, in motion, looking up. Yeah...I don't know why but I love it.

Saturday we casino hopped. No...that doesn't sound right. Because though we walked through numerous and multiple casinos, casino hopping makes it sound like we were gambling all day...which, rest assured, we were not. Umm...we resort hopped? Better? Every hotel with a different theme or style made for some very interesting sight-seeing and people-watching. At Mandalay Bay we stopped to take in the Shark Reef. We don't really have anything like that in Utah so we were all enthralled. Despite the awesomeness of the sharks, my favorite were the jellyfish. Seriously, I couldn't get enough of them...so delicate, beautiful and fascinating!

And though this picture is dark and grainy seeing as it was taken on my cell phone...I still included it because it makes me laugh...both of us so interested in what was going on all around and above us in that glass tunnel that we had a hard time focusing on the camera.

Seriously, what is with all the dressed up characters on the side of the street? I thought the Mickey and Minnie who were drinking beer were especially humorous...in a kind of disturbing sort of way. Speaking of disturbing, would you have been totally shocked if I posted a picture of me with a snake around my neck? Yeah...me too. That's why I declined...although I did consider it. Captain Jack Sparrow, owner of the snakes, was rather persuasive...

Black Jack Meet

2012-02-06T14:30:00.000-07:00

We spent this past weekend in Las Vegas. And although we turned it into a mini-vacation of sorts, gymnastics was the main reason we were there.

(Last minute pep talk and advice from Coach Adam before Brandon's floor routine.)

(Brandon doing his "scale" with Coach Adam and teammate Jayden who was next up, watching on.)

As you already know, Brandon has been pretty much kicking trash at his meets this season, with 1st place all around awards at each so far. Black Jack, I figured, would humble him a bit. This is a national meet with teams from all over the country. Judges would be stricter and competition would be more fierce. Last year, though he had an absolute blast competing in such an impressive meet, Brandon didn't place in a single event. Although I expected Brandon to take a few awards this year, I thought his event scores would be lower. So I was stunned when score after score was quite high! They are scores that I am used to seeing...but not for this national Black Jack meet!

(Brandon looking very focused on his rings muscle-up...)

(I LOVE this picture of Brandon mid-dive roll. That kid is flying!)

To give you an idea, here are Brandon's scores comparing last year 2011 to this year 2012.

2011 2012

Floor: 11.1 Floor: 15.4

Pommel: 13.8 Pommel: 15.2

Rings: 13.7 Rings: 14.5

Vault: 13.6 Vault: 15.3

P Bars: 13.1 P Bars: 15.0

High Bar: 12.8 High Bar: 15.1

These scores put him on the award podium for not only each and every event but also as the 3rd place winner all around! The team as a whole then also took 3rd place!

After the awards ceremony, the college and elite gymnasts came in for a workout on the equipment. Brandon was able to get autographs from Olympian Jonathan Horton (who congratulated him on his 3rd place win) and soon-to-be-Olympian (at least in my opinion) Jake Dalton.

(Brandon and a few of his teammates watching Jonathan Horton workout on the pommel.)

Saturday night, the glow of Brandon's meet still in place, we attended the Winter Cup Championship....the meet where those same college and elite gymnasts that we saw working out earlier, were competing. Beyond the amazement of the skill and talent these gymnasts have, it was pretty neat to realize that the USA Olympic mens gymnastics team would likely come from these gymnasts we were watching. We were getting a sneak peak! As well as Jonathan Horton and Jake Dalton....Steven LeGendre, Danell Layva, John Orozsco and Brandon Wynn. Remember these names because you will very likely be seeing them again in London this summer....

(Can you pick out Brandon? With our blessing, he ditched us for better seats with teammate Johnny and Coaches Gabe and Adam.)

Up next...the vacation part of our weekend.

iFLY

2012-01-31T23:23:00.000-07:00

Bryan and I tried out iFLY today. "Flying" in a vertical wind tunnel....it's supposed to give you the feeling of skydiving. After a quick class instructing us in form and hand signals, they outfitted us with a helmet, goggles, earplugs and a coverall sort of flight suit. The flying pose was slightly reminiscent of Superman...belly down and hands outstretched. But that's where the similarities ended. With an (inverted) arched back, legs bent slightly, and chin pointing up, the sleek lines of Superman were nowhere to be found. But fly we did.

Bryan was better at it than I was. More relaxed somehow, than I, he was able to fly pretty much on his own without too much help from the instructor. It took a lot more effort for me to hold my form in the intense wind which meant the instructor had to be a lot more hands on with me. The last half of our second individual sessions, the instructor grabbed a hand and a leg and then spun us in circles up and down the tall wind tunnel. Bryan being the first one of our group, it took him by surprise. My turn next, despite knowing what was coming I still couldn't stop the whoop of delight. Good heavens, what a feeling!

Brandon and Lilian came with us. Though Lilian was hugely entertained watching the group before ours fly in that tunnel, when she saw us suiting up and realized our intentions, her smile quickly faded. A look of immense worry clouded her face, despite Brandon's assurances and our thumbs up from inside the waiting chamber. By the time Bryan stepped into the wind tunnel, Lilian was in tears and hiding under the chair, so concerned for our safety was she. But seeing Bryan's smiles through the window and watching him come out unscathed made her feel better...to the point that eventually she started giving us those thumbs up signals back.

Brandon was rewarded for his double duty as photographer and babysitter with a couple of climbs up iROCK next door....

"Moo"

2012-01-30T20:29:00.000-07:00

"The boys sound like cows from Switzerland up in the Alps!"

(Said Hade, Andres' mom from Belgium...who was responding to the constant clinking sound from the copious medals our boys earned at the meet this past Saturday.)

Just smile, wave and say "moo," boys.....

This is Brandon's second meet in a row where he has taken 1st place all around....but who's counting?

It's done!! Mostly....

2012-01-29T23:43:00.001-07:00

So...the last man cave update in November left us at insulation for the walls, preliminary floor finishing and hardi-plank on the exterior.

Next up was plywood. Over the entire building...walls AND ceiling. It was a big job...that ceiling is very high and I think making cut-outs for the numerous canned lights was hard. Glad it wasn't me doing it!

In the midst the plywood process there came a day where Bryan was able to pull together a posse of men to take a small chunk of their Saturday morning and move the vault door.

It's enormous, this door. 800 pounds. It was not easy the first time, when we first brought it home to install in our basement storage room. So the thought of moving it up the basement stairs, through the backyard and then down into the man cave was daunting. But it had to be done.

Next up was sheet rock. But in order to get that done, we had to call out the company that installed the gas a few months ago to get the heat officially on and running. It's one thing to slap up plywood in the December cold but mudding and taping sheet rock was another story....one that ended with my gas bill going up noticeably but predictably in price. Still, it's certainly nice to be cozy in there.

Trim was next. Along the floor and around the windows and doors.

And then with the heat on and the mudding and taping done, the painters made an appearance. Bryan chose the same paint color for the interior walls and ceiling that we have throughout our house. A nice neutral color. While the painters were here they also painted the door a dark brown that matches the soffit and the stairs made from dark brown trex decking. Oh! Stairs! That's new from our last update as well. Our contractor showed up one warmish, sunny day and whipped those out in a couple of hours. (Railing to come in the spring.)

Sheetrock was not installed along the bottom 5-6 cement underground feet of the building because Bryan decided he wanted carpet there. Deciding that this was something he could handle on his own rather than pay for the labor...he picked out and picked up the carpet himself, bought the glue and tools, and then with the help of his brother Kevin, installed that carpet on the walls and the landing right inside the door.

Once all the messy stuff was done, the electrician who had run wires and set things up months ago, was called back to officially install the lights and outlets. With winter bringing on dark early in the evenings a lot of work had been done with shop lights on extension cords running through the back yard and up to the house. So to be able to flip a switch? I felt like exclaiming "Let there be LIGHT!!"

And are you getting a eyeful of that gorgeous floor? Just this past week they cleaned up all cardboard and plastic coverings that had been protecting the floor and did a final finish. Pretty, no?

There are things still left to do. The exterior will get stacked rock and railings up the stairs and around the porch and we need to pick out the coach lamps. And eventually there will be some kind of garage type rolling or accordion door on that wide closet-type room that you can see. But in the meantime, for all intents and purposes the man cave is done! Bryan excitedly started moving in his weight equipment last night. Gymnastics mats and power tools will make their way in soon as well. Which means, realistically, that I think my husband may go MIA for awhile as he spends all his free time in the awesomeness that his his man cave. Luckily it won't be too hard to find him...

Favorite Photo Friday: Being silly with Rebekah and friends

2012-01-27T23:30:00.000-07:00

These are recent pictures...January 2012, in fact....just a few weeks ago. Normally I use older pictures for Favorite Photo Friday...photos with a story behind them. This is just the opposite. I don't know where they were, what they were doing there or why they took these pictures. I don't even recognize all the faces. But Rebekah sure looks pretty. And I couldn't help but giggle.

A preview of "Beauty and the Beast"

2012-01-25T21:38:00.000-07:00

Rebekah and Julianne performed in "Beauty and the Beast" this past weekend with a local community theatre group. Julianne played a can-can kicking enchanted napkin and Rebekah played a villager who gets her tushy literally kicked by an enchanted plate later on in the mob scene.

More pictures to come later when we get the official disk...but here is a preview from some sneaky pics my sister took.

Rebekah is the one in the floppy hat behind Belle.

Julianne is in the colorful skirt just behind and to the left of "Chip."

After the show and backstage silliness.

"Oh Mom. Why didn't you TELL ME that my hat looked weird!"

Lilian was enthralled with the whole show and was the best little audience member you ever saw (blessedly) other than her frequent and excited whispered comments. And getting to meet "Belle" out in the lobby after the show was a definite highlight.

Look at my two beautiful little actresses!

Mess

2012-01-24T21:39:00.000-07:00

Tell me why teenagers (specifically Rebekah in this case) can't seem to close drawers or hang up towels? I'd really like to know. Because I'm baffled as to why this is so difficult...truly I am.

Rebekah is driving!

2012-01-23T22:51:00.000-07:00

A trip to the Drivers License Division of the DMV today resulted in a passing grade on their computerized written drivers test. The reward? Rebekah's learners permit.

This was her second try, actually. She hadn't expected the test to be so detailed. Do you know how many feet to stop before a railroad crossing? Or exactly how many feet you have to be able to see in both directions before you make a u-turn? Or when to turn on your headlights in regards to visibility footage? Do you, do you? Me either. I would've failed the test also.

So...this, along with her enrollment in Drivers Ed. this semester at school, has me freaking out just a little bit. Oh, I like the idea of her being able to drive. Not having to drive her to school or to various friends houses on the weekend, not to mention sending her off on errands for me, does have it's appeal. It's the thought of TEACHING her to drive that kind of worries me. Not to mention, in what vehicle? Our choices at this point are Bryan's little stick shift, cherry-red-cop-magnet sports car, or my monster Ford truck...in which I'm worried she'll cause an accident just trying to park the huge thing!

Regardless of what she ends up driving, practice she must. Requirements for an official drivers license include not only passing Drivers Ed and being 16 year of age but also having a learners permit for at least 6 months and 40 hours of driving time with a parent.

Wish us luck!

1st Place!

2012-01-22T22:35:00.001-07:00

First gymnastics meet of the season, seven medals.

Floor-- 1st place
Pommel Horse-- 1st place
Rings-- 1st place
Vault-- 3rd place
Parallel Bars-- 3rd place
High Bar-- 3rd place

All Around-- 1st place!!!

Actually, he tied for 1st place. Usually when a tie takes place with two gymnasts having the same all around score, they then look at who had the most 1st place wins in individual events to determine who gets the top billing. (Or so I've heard....) Before they started announcing the awards, all of us parents from the gym who were sitting up in the stand together, started figuring out all around scores. (Camilla had an app on her phone for it. A gymnastics meet tracker. Seriously.) We realized that Brandon and his teammate Andres had the exact same all around score. And it was high so we were pretty sure that they would most likely tie for 1st...with one of them taking 2nd, but which one would be which? We listened carefully to the individual events announcements...where it turned out that out of 6 events, they each took 1st place in 3 of them! So when it came right down to it, everything equaled out so perfectly that they awarded both boys 1st place with no one in 2nd. Brandon and Andres were thrilled to share the 1st place All Around award.

And then the day was made even sweeter when the team won 1st place as well....all the boys did phenomenally well.
Best. Day. Ever. according to Brandon.
Next meet....the Blackjack Meet in Las Vegas.

Live Deliberately

2012-01-19T09:36:00.000-07:00

My last post has become the 3rd highest viewed post since I started this blog back in 2008. I wasn't really sure why, at first.
A fluke?
Bad weather outside equals more on-line time?
It'd been almost a week since my last post and you all missed me? (HA!)

But then I realized what it must be. The title. My post is titled "A ridiculously long time in coming..."
Tell the truth...you all thought I was making some big announcement, didn't you?

To clear the record, clean the slate, etc...

I am NOT pregnant.
We are NOT moving.
We are STILL happily married.
Rebekah is NOT legally licensed to drive.
The man cave is still NOT done.
I have NOT lost 10 pounds. (darn)
Etc, etc, etc.

Sorry if I unearthed your inner gossip. No big news here.

In all actuality I feel like I'm in a rut. I'm busy, certainly. In fact, for the past few days I've had so much going on that I've felt like I've been living in the land of crazy! But somehow despite that, I feel like I'm in a rut. I get up and do the same things day after day. I don't wake up excited about my to-do list. I don't even make a to-do list. And though I have a desire to change this pattern, I'm having a hard time making myself do it. A self-defeating, spiraling cycle.

Maybe it's a bad case of January-itis. Though normally I really like January.
Maybe I'm missing performing....I've taken the last few months off from voice lessons.
Maybe I need more sleep. (probably)
Maybe I spend way too much time each morning sitting in front of my computer checking emails, commenting on FB, reading blogs, writing blogs and just surfing the internet in general.

Realistically, I think I'm not using my time well. I feel like I'm letting life just happen to me and then reacting to it, rather than living deliberately. Which makes me, well...kind of depressed. So then, feeling bad, I sit around. And let life happen to me some more. Which then makes me more depressed. You see the cycle here? I go to bed each night feeling like I didn't really do anything with my day...knowing full well that it is my own fault.

I have a good, full life. And I am happy. I am blessed with good and sweet children, a beautiful home and a husband who not only loves me but supports me in my hobbies...singing and choirs, running and biking, etc. I have interesting and varied friends from all phases of my life that I still frequently get together with. My live is GOOD. So why do I feel this way?

Honestly, I hesitate to say any of this. I'm pretty sure that it is just winter blues or something equally silly. Chances are good that I will feel much better next week. But in the meantime...maybe I should look at making some changes in my daily life. Changes wrapped around living deliberately, looking at each day as a gift and using my time more productively and wisely.

Some thoughts from Elder Ian S. Arderm's talk in General Conference that really jumped out at me last October:
*With the demands made of us, we must learn to prioritize our choices to match our goals or risk being exposed to the winds of procrastination and being blown from one time-wasting activity to another.

*I know our greatest happiness comes as we tune in to the Lord and to those things which bring a lasting reward, rather than mindlessly tuning in to countless hours of status updates, Internet farming, and catapulting angry birds at concrete walls. I urge each of us to take those things which rob us of precious time and determine to be their master, rather than allowing them through their addictive nature to be the master of us.

I decided back in December that my New Years resolution/Word of the Year should be Live Deliberately. Last year it was Essential. The year before that it was Balance. And as I thought more about it I realized that basically they all mean the same thing. Balancing my time and activities, doing the Essential things first, Living Deliberately so I'm not just reacting to whatever life throws at me... Each year's word may have a slightly different spin but obviously I still haven't got this concept right. This is something I struggle with and need continued work on.

So I'm hoping as I make some changes in how I live my daily life, I can pull myself out of this self-defeating little rut that I find myself frequently inhabiting. Wish me luck that I can Live Deliberately this year!

A ridiculously long time in coming...

2012-01-18T10:07:00.000-07:00

I've FINALLY updated my family pictures on the wall in the front hallway. Though I'd updated the two frames of kid pics to include Lilian, the official family portrait up there was still the one taken back in 2005 or something. Brandon was 4 years old. Lilian wasn't even a twinkle in our eye yet. I wasn't yet a brunette! (Funny side note: my visiting teacher came over one day, took a look at the blonde me and joked, "So...Bryan's first wife?" Not many people in this neighborhood know that I'm originally a blonde.) So yes, needless to say, a new family portrait was way overdue.

But then after FINALLY arranging to get our family portraits taken (Jon Woodbury Photography. Trust me, he's amazing!) it took me another year and a half to get them printed and hung. You've seen the pictures....because I've used them for so many things in the past 18 months, including the header at the top of this blog. But indecisiveness (as well as laziness) played a big part in my procrastination. The original dilemma...which of the fabulous plethora of pictures should I pick? And then...should I just pick one and blow it up huge? Or a collage of many? One big and a few small or all the same size? Canvas or not? New frames or keep the sizes to fit in the old? Yeah...I made it way more hard than it needed to be. Finally I made it my number one priority last week and MADE A DECISION! A trip to Costco, a trip to Michaels for frames, and then tons of help from Bryan (who was, in all honesty, more than willing to help because it meant he got to play with his new laser level) we got those beauties hung. I couldn't be more pleased with the result.

And as long as I'm showing off house decor, I might as well point out my new(ish) runner. Pretty, yes? I think it warms up the hallway nicely. (In looks as well as bare feet in the winter.) Originally I bought the runner (from IKEA) for the hallway coming in from the front door. But then for kicks one day I moved it to this section of the wood flooring leading to the kitchen and I liked that too! So off I ran to IKEA for another identical one. (If you look closely, you can see the other runner leading to the front door in the above picture.) Next up: Hopefully curtains for the living room windows.

Favorite Photo Friday: Unhappy Brandon

2012-01-13T10:35:00.002-07:00

August 2007

Buying a house is a pretty big deal. Because realistically, it's more than just buying a house. Especially when you are looking for a place to settle for the long haul. The neighborhood, the community, the schools....but mostly, will this house be a home? Throughout the decision making process, I made a lot of spur of the moment drives that ended with me in the idling car, staring up at the under construction house and trying to imagine ourselves in it. Was this to be our future home...or not? (It was.)

Six year old Brandon was less than thrilled about this particular spur of the moment drive. Mostly about the fact that I made him come with me when he would've much preferred to be doing something else entirely. And judging from the look on his face...he wasn't shy about making sure his displeasure was known.

Loving history

2012-01-12T23:01:00.000-07:00

I just read a novel called "The Historian" by Elizabeth Kostova. It was a conflicting read for me. I didn't want to read it and at the same time, I couldn't put it down. The plot was utterly fascinating...and completely creepy. The title thrilled me...and yet the subject matter (vampires generally, Dracula specifically) frightened me. History and horror...all in the same book. One thing that I was not at all conflicted about, the writing was absolutely phenomenal. The details, details, details. Oh, the descriptive details! Each country visited was described in all its senses...colors and tastes and smells. The culture, the people, the panoramic views...and most importantly, to me anyhow, the history of it all. Elizabeth Kostova brought it to life for me and I was in heaven.

The book revolves around academia, the main characters being historians and anthropologists. Professors and students. A lot of descriptions of studying, researching and writing thesis papers. Libraries and archives...detailed descriptions of incredibly old and incredibly valuable books and papers. (Even Dracula himself, quite the intellectual, loved books so much that he had a super-secret, underground library that he prized highly...enough to brutally kidnap one of our main historian heroes to make him the official librarian of his collection.) And maybe this makes me seem dusty, old and boring myself...depending on how you view history...but I reveled in it. Though it has been nearly 15 years since I graduated with that history degree from the University of Utah, I was reminded and buoyed once again in the knowledge that I chose the right path of study. This book made me want to be in college again, made me want to study and research and write papers again. (Crazy as that sounds, right?) It also made me want to read about ancient history and cultures more thoroughly. My historical study tended to be more recent. American history was a particular fascination for me and let's face it, America is an infant in comparison to other countries, peoples, cultures, empires. Bryan once called my historical interests morbid, and rightly so...because other than American history, I tended to gravitate towards studying wars and shipwrecks. (I was a Titanic buff long before the movie came out and it became popular to be so.) My final 20 page research paper was on the French Revolution (Madame Guillotine was rather morbid as well). So though I have a smattering of knowledge about the Ottoman Empire and Byzantium...it's only rudimentary. I'd like to change that.

I tell you what, though....I doubt I'll do much research into Dracula. He was a real person, you realize? Vlad Tepes, Prince of Wallachia. You've heard of Vlad the Impaler, yes? Dubbed thus for his propensity to impale people on spikes, among other such horrific methods for killing. The name Dracula comes from being the son of Vlad II, Dracul....who was a member of The Order of the Dragon. The vampire stuff was all myth, Bram Stoker's classic novel, and Hollywood. However, in this novel "The Historian" the main characters discover that in fact, the undead/vampire myth was actually not a myth at all. And whenever any of these historians tried to research Dracula in an attempt to find his tomb...awful, horrible and creepy things started happening. It was so unsettling (1st class chicken, me...remember?) that I actually started worrying about the fact that by reading the book, now I KNEW too much information. Seriously, I had to keep reminding myself that THIS IS A NOVEL! All the same, I think I'll leave that historical figure and his subsequent fame and myth alone for awhile until I can sleep again....

Sitting room update:

2012-01-11T17:36:00.000-07:00

Remember when last January I turned Lilian's old-room-turned-empty-extra-room into my own little "mom-cave" sitting room? (See here.) Though that marked the initial transformation, a lot of things remained undone....details that have the past few months been slowly but surely making their way into that room. Details that I think make the room look very obviously "Sarah." And after my most recent Christmas purchase I'm going to officially call the room complete.

A view from the door. Can you pick out any of my new additions or my Christmas purchase yet?

Facing the opposite direction towards the hallway...

That table in the corner is new...mission style, matching the bookshelf and side table. I needed something to hold all the gadgets...you know, the DVD player, the Directv box, the remotes, etc.

Bryan's parents found this sign on a garage sale adventure with my children while Bryan and I were in NYC. They thought it was appropriate, paid a whopping $2 for it and presented it to me with big smiles when we arrived home a few days later. Appropriate, absolutely. I immediately hung it on the wall above the craft closet.

It took me a little while to decide what to put in these little box shelves on the wall. It may change down the road but for now I've got an hourglass with green sand, a little aztec-ish vase that I bought at a pottery factory in college while I was on a singing tour in southern Utah. And then my little ceramic owl that I bought in the dollar section of Target. (Obsessed with owls. That would be me.)

I found this pillow on my first ever trip to Home Goods. Bikes!! Couldn't resist....

This owl canvas from Pier 1 is now hanging on the wall just inside the door. Yes. More owls. Obsessed. I told you.

My lime green foot-rest/box to hide stuff in is from Target. Right now it has my very favorite of all blankets...my black and white Mickey blanket...inside it. And realistically, Mickey is usually out on the couch because he gets snuggled with pretty much daily.

And last, but certainly not least...my brand new Christmas chair! My Dad kept telling me that as awesome as my new sitting room was, I still needed a chair in front of the window. I agreed with him. And although this might not be what he was imagining (my guess is he was thinking more reclining-easy-chair) I LOVE this!! Look at those buttons! And the metal stand! And the leather (okay...faux)! It's so comfy...I just conform into its shape when I sit in it.

Now my biggest problem is that my children all think the room is so awesome (deservedly) that they prefer to watch TV there rather than downstairs on the big screen. "It's not cozy down there, Mom!" Sigh.
I'm now in the process of "cozifying" the room downstairs so I can officially kick them out of my sitting room and they will stop complaining.
Remember this?
It's part of a larger travel theme I've got going on in that room. It's all very close to being done, but I'm waiting to get rid of the exercise equipment in the room (treadmill, rowing machine, stall bars) which are all going out to Bryan's "man cave" in the very near future.

Ahh....winter

2012-01-09T09:01:00.000-07:00

Looks like Mother Nature got my letter. The "brush-by storm" that the forecasters predicted would leave very little accumulation in the mountains and maybe a few flurries in the valley was, happily, off. I bounded out of bed when Bryan informed me that there was "a lot of snow outside." Five inches!! Julianne and Lilian made a snowman (do you like his celery nose? We were out of carrots...) while I shoveled the driveway. It took me 2 full hours seeing as I still have yet to invest in a snow blower despite our fairly large driveway. And I was reminded that snow is slippery...as I unexpectedly crashed to the ground during one pass with the shovel. (Ouch.) But my sore shoulders and back tell me that I got a good workout. (Again, ouch.) And I am beyond thrilled that winter has finally arrived. Now lets hope for a good repeat performance....soon!

Julianne talked me into arranging a skating party Saturday night. It seemed appropriate seeing as we were all feeling very wintery. I sat on the spectator benches and read a book while they skated. And although I regret somewhat not strapping some skates onto my own feet and joining them, it was fun to watch them spin around and around holding hands. Julianne has some really great friends.

Hiding chocolate...

2012-01-07T17:40:00.001-07:00

Do you see what I see??? Tucked in there behind Bryan's shirts amongst his boxes of bullets....
Look a little more closely:

That would be MY chocolate orange. I could've sworn I had stashed two of them in my ~~not- so~~ secret chocolate drawer in my bedside table. When I went looking for it and only found the remnants of box and gold wrapper...I scratched my head and thought and thought. Had I opened and eaten the second one? I didn't remember doing so. I thought I'd only eaten the first. But in the midst of the crazy Christmas season...a time when the chocoholic in me tends to manifest itself a little more decidedly...maybe I had mindlessly whacked and unwrapped the thing and had been snitching on it all along, not really paying attention. Hmmm.

But then yesterday Lilian kept begging for chocolate. Specifically for the chocolate she was sure was hiding in my closet. I smiled. As much as I wished she were correct, I confidently informed her that there was absolutely NO chocolate in my closet. So I was rather stunned when she pulled back Bryan's shirts to reveal my second chocolate orange....the one that I had convinced myself that I must've eaten....hiding there.

BRYAN!!!

Well...I have to say, if he hadn't hidden it away, I wouldn't be having the pleasure of snacking on it today. So for that, at least, I am grateful.

Favorite Photo Friday

2012-01-06T16:02:00.000-07:00

Lilian. Spring 2008. Yet one more example of a blonde deciding that it's the brunettes who truly have the most fun....

Wednesday

2012-01-04T17:11:00.002-07:00

* I took down the Christmas decorations yesterday. It made me unexpectedly sad, which isn't normal for me. As much as I love Christmas and the coziness of my home with all the lights and greenery, I'm usually more than ready to pull it all down around New Years. I changed things up a bit this year in how I decorated....added some new things, went more simple with others...and I really loved the way it all turned out. I think also, that my quest to try a little harder to be less stressed and to enjoy the season more, find joy in the never ending tasks and errands, be really home when I was actually home and try to seek the spirit of Christmas...the spirit of Christ throughout the month....worked. Was I perfect at it? No. Do I already have plans and ideas for making next year even better? Yes. But I think all of that combined to make me a little teary boxing up all the decorations yesterday.

* I signed up to do the Women of Steel triathlon in May. When I competed in WOS in 2009 it was my first race EVER. When I signed up, I didn't really know how to swim. I couldn't run more than 1.5 miles...and usually had to stop a couple of times to walk. I had to actually go out and BUY A BIKE before I could compete. Yeah, I think this year I'm quite a bit ahead of the game. That being said, I still think the swim will kick my trash. Time to start training!

* I planted 2 amaryllis and 1 paperwhite bulb last night. I can't decide whether to let them grow on my kitchen table or on the hearth in my living room. Either way, I'm excited about watching them bloom.

* Watching a Youtube video of David Archuleta sing "I'm Trying to be Like Jesus," Lilian proclaimed, "I can sing better than him!".....and then proceeded to sing the song with the most lovely (insert sarcasm) vibrato you've ever heard. Apparently vibrato = beautiful and accomplished singing in her mind.

* The big, ugly, blue dumpster which has made its home in my driveway for the past 6 weeks got removed today. And I immediately did the most spirited "happy dance" you can imagine. Because not only was that thing a huge eyesore, it also made it impossible to park in my garage. And I am sick of scraping the windshield every morning...something that was seriously difficult owing to the fact that I am short and my truck is not!

* I've totally become immersed in my new book, "The Historian" by Elizabeth Kostova. We are reading it for book club this month and I am hosting...duties include not only making sure my house is nice and neat and providing lots of yummy treats, but also finding thought provoking questions and leading the discussion. I was conflicted about this. Because although I'm secretly and geekishly thrilled about being the one to host a book with this title, the book is about vampires...Dracula, specifically, and is a freaky thriller that I have been worried will give me nightmares. I'm only on page 78 of 676 so sleepless nights may very well be in my future. (I am a first-class chicken, you see.) But so far it's so engaging that I can scarcely put it down!

* I participated in a fire drill at the elementary school today. Once a week I spend about a half hour stuffing folders for Brandon's teacher....notes home, stuff from the PTA, corrected assignments, etc. I've been doing this since the beginning of the year. And since then I have participated in 4 fire drills. They say they have them only once a month...and today I was there on a different day than usual...but somehow, I was there during fire drill time once again. I fully admit to groaning out loud when the darn thing went off. Seriously...I was ALMOST done! (Apparently I missed the earthquake drill in November. Bummer, cause I actually would've been interested in that one.)

* Sushi tonight! Bryan claims we need to eat at Happy Sumo more often. I wholeheartedly support this plan.

* I want it to snow so bad I can hardly stand it...

Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T22:59:00.001-07:00

We rang in the New Year with our good friend Heather and her children. Though all of our teenagers went out with friends, somehow they made it back before midnight with scant minutes to spare, deciding that they wanted to bring in the New Year with family...and all the various flavors of sparkling cider we had chilling in the fridge. We had our toasting and kissing...but the party didn't stop when the toll hit 12. We went right back to our games and snacks and continued to party till around 2:00 when we realized that if we didn't go to bed there was no way, no how we were going to make it up for 9:00 church in the morning....and Julianne was scheduled to give a talk in Sacrament Meeting so sleeping through the alarm would've been rather disastrous. We found extra bedding, pillows, cots and foam pads to bed everyone down for the night and after 5 hours of sleep, blearily got up again and into our church clothes. Bless our stake president for deciding that Sacrament Meeting was the only meeting we would be attending today. Because though being in church was kind of a neat way to start the New Year (and Julianne did fabulously well on her talk) it was heavenly to come right back home, put on our pajamas, make a big breakfast...and then go back to bed!

Naps completed, we started in on Phase 2 of the New Years weekend: more games and food, yes...but this time, a couple of movies too. One more big sleepover is in the works for tonight before we reluctantly pull ourselves out of our holiday revelry and back into some kind of order...just in time for school to start up again on Tuesday.

2011 Top 10

2011-12-31T07:00:00.000-07:00

It being the end of the year and all, I've noticed lots of "Top 10 of 2011" lists. Movies, books, albums, fashion, news stories, etc. Some of my favorite design blogs have even been doing their Top 10 projects of the year. I decided that I would do my own version of a Top 10 list...that being my Top 10 favorite blog posts that I have written this year. They may not correspond with the Top 10 blog posts that have received the most hits or views...just my own personal favorites for one reason or another. In no particular order....

New York City: Day 2
Wednesday, 11 May 2011

Time Square! Broadway! The city that never sleeps! Being hit on by native NYC businessmen....!?!

Wasatch Back Ragnar Relay!
Monday, 20 June 2011

The brutal "I will NEVER do this again!" lows and the exhilarating "Who's up for doing this again next year?" highs...and everything in-between.

Ode to my iphone
Sunday, 13 November 2011

Where I enthusiastically extol the wonders of my new iphone...

Misplaced Vanity
Friday, 18 March 2011

Speeding down the freeway...hey, is that guy checking me out??

Gloria was glorious!!
Monday, 28 November 2011

Singing Lex de Azevedo's "Gloria" in the Salt Lake Tabernacle.

SKIING!!
Sunday, February 27 2011

My exit from the "Never been skiing club"...with full disclosure of the SIX times I biffed it.

LOTOJA 2011
Monday, 12 September 2011

LOgan TO JAckson
206 miles, 3 states, 1 day

I win "Mother of the Year"
Thursday, 13 October 2011

Off to preschool with mismatched clothing, ballet slippers for shoes, uncombed hair...and missing one very important thing...

"Receive These Things"
Monday, 14 March 2011

The reason why I will never be able to sing "The Spirit of God" without crying again.

Too well?
Wednesday, 13 April 2011

One of the very best parts of being married...

And just in case you are interested...here is the list of top 10 posts with the highest pageviews:

That's a pretty big "Ooops"
"Gloria" was glorious!!
I love my geek
Another "man cave" update
Same picture, two different years
First date
THS class of '91 reunion
Too well?
Christmas can now come...
Day 2: What I Wore

Favorite Photo Friday: Snow?

2011-12-30T12:58:00.004-07:00

November 2010

Dear Mother Nature:
This picture is a reminder of what this time of year is supposed to look like. I can only assume you must have forgotten seeing as it's 54 degrees outside right now. Or maybe you've just got us mixed up with some other state that spends winter a little more warmly than we usually do? We here in Utah have four distinct seasons...remember? We're setting a state record for having the least amount of snow in December EVER. This is not a good thing, in my opinion. I ADORE winter...but even if that doesn't make you take pause, how about this? Water tables and the skiing industry (Best Snow On Earth!) all rely on you as well. New Years Day is fast approaching. Maybe a resolution to churn out more snow and cold weather is in order....just a thought.
In the meantime, I'll try to be more patient.

--Me.

A preschooler "rite of passage"

2011-12-28T17:42:00.000-07:00

Lilian begged to get in the shower with me. She didn't need her hair washed because she'd taken a bath just the night before but I told her she could climb in anyhow. I had my eyes closed while washing my hair when I heard her shove the shower curtain aside and climb out. I just figured she was done and didn't think too much of it until a minute or two later when she climbed back in again.
"What's up, Lilian?" I asked. "Did you have to go to the bathroom?"
"No, " she replied. "I wanted to check in the mirror to see if I had a hole in my head."
WHAT??
I whipped her around and found that she did indeed have a "hole" in her head....and it was bleeding. While my eyes had been closed and my back turned, Lilian had quietly grabbed hold of a razor and decided to experiment with it on the back of her head.
The blood wasn't too bad, really. Just a little scrape, but Lilian was equal parts fascinated and horrified that her head was bleeding. She had a small bald spot where she'd shaved her hair away but other than that, it didn't look too bad.
Nah, it wasn't until I got the bleeding stopped and tried to brush through the rats nest in her hair...only to have that whole knotted rats nest come out into my hand....that I realized how much hair she had lost. It's very thin back there...but it is BACK there which means it'll be much easier to hide than if she had shaved the top of her head. I put her hair in a pony tail today. It was very thin...but it at least covered the worst of things.
I'm starting to think that cutting their own hair is some rite of passage that all preschoolers must go through. Of course, usually it's a pair of scissors rather than a razor they take to their heads...

More Happy Christmas Chaos...

2011-12-27T10:50:00.001-07:00

We had a Christmas feast and more celebrating with Bryan's family later Christmas evening. 18 kids and 10 adults makes for a lot of noise and chaos but it was happy and contented we-love-each-other-and-are-so-happy-to-be-spending-Christmas-together sort of noisy chaos so it was all good.

Brandon played the part of a Wise Man in this year's family nativity. Lilian and Julianne were part of the angel choir. (I especially love that I caught Lilian in a very non-angelic yawn.) Rebekah started to dress as an angel but decided against it and did a quick costume change, opting to go the shepherd route this year.

Here is Megan, Julianne and Rebekah pouring over the awesome books that Grandma and Grandpa made for them...pictures, stories and experiences coming from the various adventures they had taken them on throughout the year.

Julianne was a bit giddy over the stack of crisp, new $2 bills she received....

Christmas Eve and Morning

2011-12-26T14:31:00.000-07:00

Friday night I sang with the Sally Bytheway Chorale at the Assembly Hall....which meant an evening viewing the incomparable and awe inspiring light display on Temple Square! Throw in a huge, standing-room only audience for the concert and tons of aunts, uncles and cousins in attendance along with all that Christmas ambiance...and you've got yourself one heck of a magical evening.

CHRISTMAS EVE

Christmas Eve was a completely relaxing day with no one to entertain and nowhere to go. It was heavenly! Despite the fact that it was just our little family, we still went all out for Christmas Eve dinner. Julianne created a beautiful, festive "tablescape" and all the kids pitched in to help with the cooking. On the menu: Roasted Salmon with Macadamia Cilantro Crust, Grilled Butter Herb Shrimp, Grilled Veggies, and Loaded Mashed Potato Casserole. It was the most fattening dinner you can imagine but boy, was it Y-U-M-M-Y!!

After dinner we put on our Christmas pajamas and cuddled on the couch reading Christmas stories. Eventually we made our way to the TV and watched "The Grinch Who Stole Christmas"...the original animated version...before putting out a treat for Santa and then heading to bed.

CHRISTMAS MORNING

Christmas morning came much earlier than usual this year. Strange as it may seem, our kids don't generally wake us at the crack of dawn to see what Santa brought. We tend to see the whites of their eyes closer to 8:00 or 9:00 on a typical Christmas morning. But this year Christmas was on a Sunday and we had 9:00 church. It was all I could do to get Lilian up at 6:45. The poor little thing could hardly keep her eyes open, declarations of it being CHRISTMAS MORNING, notwithstanding. It took some time but the evidence of Santa's visit eventually penetrated her brain and gave her the jolt of adrenaline she needed to fully wake. "Look Mom! I must have been on the nice list because Santa brought me a Lalaloopsy doll!!" Santa, that smart, jolly elf, also left the kids new outfits to wear to church that morning.

Oh, why can't we have Christmas on Sunday every year?! Truly, in my opinion there is no better way to celebrate Christmas than by being in church, together with our families, neighbors and friends....praising God and the birth of His Son in scripture and song. It just brings the whole day into sharper focus. By the time we sang "Silent Night" as the closing congregational hymn, the emotion that had been threatening throughout the morning, overflowed and I wasn't able to get myself pulled back together until the end of the 2nd verse. It was a beautiful meeting.

After church we changed back into our pajamas and then made German pancakes with all sorts of various yummy toppings for brunch...testing 4-year old Lilian's levels of patience with all the waiting, waiting, waiting...and then FINALLY (with Lilian just short of self-combustion) sitting down in the living room to open the presents under the tree.

When I asked Brandon if he had any Christmas ideas for Julianne, he surprised me by saying that he actually did! He knows that his older sister is a little bit obsessed with any and all things french right now and thought it would be fun to get her a "chocolate Eiffel Tower." I squashed his excitement a bit by telling him that a chocolate Eiffel Tower might be hard to come by. All the same, I typed "Chocolate Eiffel Tower" into a google search and to my surprise, found Eiffel Tower candy molds on Amazon. I ordered them and Bryan helped Brandon make 6 Eiffel Tower chocolate suckers while Julianne was away one evening. She was completely surprised and touched when she opened Brandon's gift Christmas morning.

Christmas letter 2011

2011-12-25T07:00:00.000-07:00

25November 2011

Merry Christmas!

{Ican now officially wish you holiday greetings because Thanksgiving isover...}

It'sBlack Friday. The day that many Americans are working off thecalories from all that turkey and pumpkin pie by running from storeto store in frantic hopes of getting killer deals on the itemsdetailed on their Christmas gift list. I think they're crazy. {Nooffense intended...} I am wrapped in my bathrobe and stillsitting in bed {at noon, no less}typing my Christmas letter rather than face the hordes of holidayshoppers...pumpkin pie calories and killer deals be damned.{Besides...I made a preemptivestrike against those calories by going on a 3 mile run BEFORE turkeytime. So I'm good, right?}

Ifeel I should start off with an apology. Many of you know that Iwrite a blog. And if you've checked out that blog, you know that I amrather prolific. Which means that anything I detail in this Christmasletter will most likely be repeat. For those who find news of my blogwriting, well...news, I could just direct you to my blog address

{www.sarah-thebeststuff.blogspot.com}and then leave you with a generic “Merry Christmas!” But even ifyou did venture on over there...I think the 195 blog posts I havewritten thus far for 2011 would likely be more than just a littleoverwhelming. Which is why I am using my Black Friday to summarizeand hit the high points of my year in this letter.

I'mfinding myself feeling a little bit old this year. Not so much in abad way, necessarily...yes, I've been fighting those pesky gray hairsfor quite a few years now despite the fact that 38 years old stillseems way too early to be dealing with that sort of thing. No, thisis in more of a “Holy wow...time is really passing!” sort of way.We've had quite a few markers this year that force us to acknowledgeour age, even if we don't necessarily feel it.

*Bryanand I went to my 20 year high school reunion this year. And though Ifeel like I look better now than I did then, more than one person hadto look at my name tag before exclaiming, “Sarah! I never would'verecognized you!” because the changes were, apparently, extreme.{It's the whole hair color thing.Oh, and probably the fact that I'm not a scrawny 95 lb, 5'1”, 17year old anymore.}

*Buteven more than a 20 year reunion for making one feel older, how aboutyour oldest daughter entering high school and learning to drive? Yes,Rebekah is 15 and a sophomore at ----- High School. She challenges usfrequently with requests that leave us floundering as we try todecide how to respond...seeing as she is our oldest and we've notcome up with a parenting plan for everything yet. She's with friendsmore than she is home but she's a good, sweet girl and still somehowfinds time to get enough of her homework done to pull a 3.8 GPA. Now,how to deal with those ever-present boys who are constantly textingand wanting to hold her hand at parties??

*Oh,oh! How about this? Bryan turns 40 in a couple of weeks. 40! FORTY!The big four-oh! This is a black balloon-worthy birthday coming up.How is it that even though he is two years older than me he stilldoesn't have any gray hair?

*I'vealso realized this year that when I sing Lex de Azevedo's “Gloria”tomorrow, it will have been 13 years since I first started singingwith the Millennium Choir. Julianne was a 5-month old newborn when westarted.

*Andunlike when I played a young teenage “Mabel” falling in love withequally young “Frederic” in Pirates of Penzance a coupleof summers ago, this year I played the part of “Ms. Susan” a wealthy,southern plantation owner that is the mother of a teenagedaughter in the musical Harriet. Times are a'changing.

Maybethe reasons Bryan and I don't necessarily feel our age, despite allevidence to the contrary staring us in the face, is because of thesethings:

*Icontinue to run and bike in an attempt to ward of the results of mylack of willpower in the fight with my sweet tooth and my everslowing metabolism. Numerous weekends this year were spent addingrace numbers to my growing collection. Sleeping in vans and gymfloors were not uncommon. Endurance races like Ragnar and LOTOJA,among others, tend to swing you pendulum-like from miserably brutallows to the highest of adrenaline highs, all within one race. Which,amazingly enough, translates to exhausted awesomeness in my book.{Did I mention that I am thecaptain of my Ragnar team for 2012?}

*Ialso tried skiing this year for the first time. Ever. Worries that Iwouldn't make it off that mountain without some sort of injury wereunfounded. {Julianne came homewith a sprained wrist a few weeks earlier after attemptingsnowboarding.} Apparently I bounce well...something that wasrepeatedly proven to me seeing as I fell on my backside 7 times!

*Bryankeeps himself active and young in mind and spirit by target shootingas much as humanly possible. The man gets practically giddy whenpacking all his gear. A week trip to Front Sight in Nevada, a daytrip to the desert with his brothers or just a few hours up the sideof the mountain...it matters not. He's just happy to be shooting.Have I mentioned his up and coming “man cave” in the backyard? Not yet? Oh. Well! This detached garage-type building will housenot only all his power tools and weight equipment but also...wait forit...a shooting range. With a main floor that drops 6 feet down intothe ground, the building is within -------- code for personalshooting on your own property within city limits. He can now shootmore or less whenever he wants to. Giddy, I tell you.

Butwhat really keeps us feeling young is trying to keep up with ourchildren and their schedules. {Acontradiction, really, because their rapid growth also makes our ownyears all the more obvious.} I mentioned already that Rebekahis in high school now. What is unique about our children's schooling,however, is that we have four children in four different schools.Julianne is 13 and in 8^th grade at the Jr. High, Brandonis 10 and in 5^th grade at the elementary school, and 4year old Lilian is our caboose attending her 2^nd year ofpreschool. My brain gets a workout trying to keep all those start andend times straight...not to mention early out Fridays and late startTuesdays. I drive 6 carpools! Because beyond getting the kids to andfrom school there is also gymnastics, ballet and drama. I'm startingto feel like I run a taxi service.

*Brandon'sgymnastics is the most time consuming, certainly. He is at the gym 5days for a total of 12 hours weekly. Factor into that meet season inthe winter where one meet can take up a full day....you get the idea.But the determination, discipline, strength, confidence, friendshipand pure joy it brings to Brandon makes it all very worth it. Thisyear, beyond the various local meets, we had 2 out of state meets inBoise and Las Vegas and then the state meet in St. George. All goodexcuses for mini-vacations, yes?

*Rebekahand Julianne are involved in --------- Theatre...a youth actingtroupe here in -------. They put on a rousing rendition of Josephand the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat {trysaying that 5 times fast} in the spring and are now inrehearsals for Beauty and the Beast. They also performed inthe stake play Receive These Things in March...a show that Iwas heavily involved with also, as a ward director. Whereas Rebekahhas embraced singing and performed often with the Choraliers{the 9^thgrade show choir} and has now fully embraced the music programat the high school, Julianne is kind of rebelling against type.Though she still loves the acting, I think she is tired of peoplepigeon-holing her with singing...and has branched out into otherinterests. She refused to take choir this year...something that mademy jaw drop Sebastian style {fromLittle Mermaid} and instead, took acting, French and art.However, she claims one of her favorite classes is history...I don'tfully know yet if she truly does love it, or if she's trying to makepeace about the choir thing by buttering up her mother who has a BAin history...hmm.

*Besidespreschool, Lilian also takes classes at a local ballet school...amore beautiful ballerina you've never seen. She is growing in both statureand personality. {My favoriteLilian quote this year? When handed an apple at Disneyland she lookedup with equal parts innocence and suspicion...and asked, “Is itpoisoned?”} Lilian seems to think that life is not completewithout a playmate and has developed some serious wanderlust in herquest to find friends available for play. Luckily for her, we live ina neighborhood where there is an abundance of little friends her age.

Anotherthing that made me feel a little less than my years? Disneyland. Theland where the child inside reigns...often with a crown of Mickeyears {or in my case, a MadHatters hat.} While the other kids had a summer full of campsranging from gymnastics and science, to AFY at BYU Idaho and Retreatfor Girls at Utah State University...with girls camp and a couple oftrips with the grandparents thrown in for good measure, Lilian stayedhome. She'd help them pack, wave goodbye and help them unpack againwhen the week was up. In August it was her turn. She packed her ownbag this time, waved goodbye to her siblings and, with Mom andGrandma in tow, boarded her very first airplane. It being aLilian paced trip, we spent four days doing exactly what a 4-year olddesired. And if that meant we went on the Little Mermaid ride fourtimes in a row, so be it. We had a joyously child-like time.

Funnyenough, mine and Bryan's trip to NYC also made me feel young.Seasoned enough to feel only slight trepidation walking around thecity on my own while Bryan worked...notwithstanding, I still turnedcircles in child-like awe when I found myself in Times Square for thefirst time. I pinched myself, literally pinched myself, when I satdown to watch Anything Goes on Broadway to make sure I wasn'tdreaming. And received the ultimate compliment proving that I don'tlook anywhere near as old as I sometimes feel when a native NYCbusinessman struck up a conversation with me on the street andeventually asked me out for drinks...fully admitting to hitting on meonly after I confessed that I was married.

Butrealistically, feeling older is a good thing. Because it means Bryanand I have been happily married for 18 years now. We've been rockedthis year, watching some very close friends struggle in theirmarriages and contemplate divorce. Through our tears and despairwe've also found ourselves clinging to each other and our littlefamily ever more fiercely and thanking Heavenly Father for ourability to plow through when we've had problems of our own over theyears and come out stronger.

Weare incredibly thankful for the relationships we have with all ofyou! What a treasure family and good friends are! We hope you areall having a glorious Christmas season!

Love,

Bryan, Sarah, Rebekah, Julianne, Brandon and Lilian

Happy Christmas Chaos

2011-12-24T16:27:00.001-07:00

All 13 grandkids. I had a hard time getting a picture where all 13 of them were smiling and looking....despite Grandpa's silly antics behind me.

Scott, Jeremy, Dad and Spencer (missing Bryan and Ryan)

Dad with the sons he may not have raised but that are just as dear to him now as if he had.

Lilian, Abby and Ally opening up their gifts from the grandparents...
I'm especially liking the animated look on Julianne's face as she responds to and tries to match Lilian's excitement. "Oh wow!! Rain boots!!" (And Brandon's equally bored face...)

Joyful Christmas chaos....from both sides of the room.

Beautiful Mommy... seriously, I have the best Mom EVER!

Mary and Melissa...awwww.

Mary's husband Ryan is a basketball coach at a high school in Idaho and, unfortunately, for us...he had a game on party evening. Mary said she would drive down on her own with the kids...but only if there was no snow. So as much as I wish for, hope for and crave a white Christmas, this year I was praying for the opposite so we could have Mary and her and her kiddos with us.

Bryan and Scott made themselves comfortable at the beginning of the evening and then didn't budge the rest of the night.

Spencer and Rachel flew into town from Atlanta where they are living while Spencer is in pharmacy school, to celebrate with us. We've SO missed them! I especially enjoyed talking with Spencer who I've never felt that I got to know very well since he and Rachel have lived out of town ever since their wedding 4 years ago. I have to say that he is pretty cool! And makes an awesome and welcome addition to our family.

Brandon and Grandpa discussing gymnastics skills and the periodic table of elements....Brandon's two very favorite topics.

SISTERS!!

Children of the same family, the same blood, with the same first associations and habits, have some means of enjoyment in their power, which no subsequent connections can supply... ~Jane Austen

More than Santa Claus, your sister knows when you've been bad and good. ~Linda Sunshine

Christmas Home Tour

2011-12-22T10:54:00.000-07:00

I thought I'd take you on a Christmas decoration tour through my house. Beware...it's a little bit of picture-palooza....

I've been enamored of anything Jim Shore lately. I love how colorful his statues are and the detailed picture carvings within each piece. This year I bought this nativity and set it up in my front entry way.

These are the shelves in my study/computer room. For years I'd been trying to figure out how to decorate them in a way that was festive and pretty...but had some consistency rather than just random decorations placed on each shelf. This year I found some unfinished picture frames at Hobby Lobby, spray painted them red and filled them with favorite Christmas photos from years past. I'm quite pleased with how they turned out and how they tie everything together amidst the other various carolers and Santas I have up there. (See my Jim Shore Santa? My friend Mylissa gave me that one last year. I've decided to start a collection and add one each Christmas.)

I looped garlands all across and down the banister and then added poinsettias and berries. Julianne spent oodles of time making that huge pom pom out of newspaper...mostly just to see if she could. She hung it there and although I never intended to leave it up the whole month, I've never got around to taking it down...

Remember my epic Christmas tree fail a few weeks ago? My big and grand pre-lit tree that we bought when we moved here specifically to take over the corner next to the fireplace wouldn't light, no matter what we tried. My plan B had been to bring the small Christmas tree that we use downstairs...the one that we bought for our very first house 16 years ago...and just have a smaller, more simple Christmas display upstairs this year and then buy a new, big and grand tree on after-Christmas-sales. Well, I will definitely be buying a new Christmas tree next week...but not a big and grand one. I'll be buying another small tree for downstairs because I couldn't be more pleased with how my living room turned out this year! I've loved having the tree look more full of ornaments because it was smaller. I've loved being able to keep my little apothecary chest in the corner and have my Willow Tree nativity on it. I originally thought the smaller tree would be dwarfed by the vaulted ceilings but somehow it's not. I don't think I've ever had a year where I've been more happy with my tree. Go figure.

Here's a close-up of my Willow Tree nativity next to the tree. I added a bunch of spanish moss...which will be super messy to clean up but gives me the look of hay in a stable for right now.

My mantle is rather simple....a lit green garland with brown, twiggy balls and berry sprigs, two red taper candles in tall candle stick holders...and then all my sweet Willow Tree angels that I brought up from the basement. (Normally they spend the rest of the year on fireplace mantle downstairs.)

I wrapped berries around the pendant lights over my counter and also around each light in the chandelier hanging over our dining table. Can you tell I've got a berry/poinsettia theme going on?

This is my mantle downstairs with our stockings. My original plan had been to make all the kids matching stockings. But after the two years it took me to get Rebekah's done (only after much help from my friend Lori) I decided to bag that plan. A couple of years ago I let go of the unfinished stocking plan guilt and took the remaining kids shopping to pick out their own stockings. Done!

This is the door that leads to our storage room downstairs off the family room. I love hanging there, all of our Christmas cards and pictures that we receive in the mail.

I have to admit, I have greatly missed having a Christmas tree downstairs. It's absence meant that I did not get to bring out all of our sentimental ornaments this year...the ones that my mom handed down to me when I got married, the ones that I've made over the years at my Aunt Jana's party, the ornaments that my great-grandmother made for me, the ones that the kids made in school when they were very young, etc. I am looking forward to remedying that next year and have already been running through options in my mind. Three skinny alpine trees all arranged together in that corner by the fireplace? A flocked tree? Maybe we buy a REAL tree for downstairs every year?? Ahhh...wouldn't that be awesome? I think it would take a lot of persuasion to get Bryan to agree to that. Stay tuned next Christmas to see what I decide. :)

A performance unlike any other...

2011-12-20T23:43:00.002-07:00

I've been doing a lot of singing the past few weeks. From "Gloria" in the Salt Lake Tabernacle with Lex de Azevedo's Millennium Choir, a benefit concert for The Road Home (homeless shelter) and a live recording of our concert at the Waterford Concert Hall with the Sally Bytheway Chorale (and another concert at the Assembly Hall still to come) to our fancy Christmas stake fireside here at home...I've attended a lot of rehearsals and performances. And although I do somewhat regret turning down the invitation to sing back-up to David Archuleta at his concert in Abravanel Hall last night....my performance on Sunday night for the women inmates at the state prison will always and forever, I think, hold a special place in my heart.

I'd sung at the prison before and it'd always been a special and humbling experience. But it's amazing how quickly my attitude can change....because it doesn't start out that way. Making my way through strict security, being reminded of the many, many restrictions and warnings, pinning a bright yellow visitor badge to my fancy black dress...and then walking into the dingy little room they use as a chapel to await the arrival of 50-60 women, all dressed in their matching UDC scrubs-like uniforms. Women from all walks of life...but with one major thing in common...this being that they had all made some sort of choice to do something that had been bad enough to land themselves in prison with their freedoms taken away for a time. You can't help but wonder...."What did they do??" These were non-violent prisoners, of course. I wasn't worried about my safety in the slightest. But it's always a little awkward at first and I'm always a little scared to make eye contact. I don't know if THEY are feeling awkward and worried about superior and judgmental attitudes. I don't want THEM to feel awkward, even if I'M feeling that way, strange as that seems.

But a few songs into the concert and somehow the stiffness loosens and starts slipping away. The women are not anywhere close to models of perfect concert etiquette. Comments hollered out between songs, pointing, whispering, getting up in the middle of a song to move seats...this is not abnormal here. But it is obvious that they LOVE having us and LOVE hearing us. That they are enjoying themselves, they make abundantly clear. And pretty soon they aren't a bunch of prisoners. They are a down-on-their-luck audience that my heart hurts for. They are friends.

After we were done singing all of the songs we had prepared, we surprised them with the news that we were now coming down to join them in the audience and sing Christmas carols WITH them. They were delighted and shifted around on their rows to make room for us...so badly did they seem to want to hang out and talk with someone from the outside world. We took requests and sang just about every Christmas song in the hymn book. Believe it or not, there was even a request for "America the Beautiful." Many of these women, surprisingly, are still patriotic and loyal to the country that has imprisoned them!

I was sitting next to a young girl who, when we began singing "Joy to the World," started crying. She told me that this was her first Christmas here in prison and that she missed her family, her children, so badly. This specific Christmas song reminded her of them, she said. And so though I was specifically told NOT to hug the inmates unless they initiated it, I couldn't help myself....I wrapped my arm around her and kept it there throughout the whole song while I sang and she cried. Oh, how my heart swelled for this girl! The consequences were hers, for doing whatever it was that had landed her there in that facility...but at that moment all I could think of was what my mom always used to tell me: "Bad things can happen to good people." Good people get caught up in bad things. Satan is tricky, darn him....and he sets devilish traps. Temptations, addictions, plain old bad choices. I don't know this girl, have no idea what kind of person she truly is. But at that moment, all I wanted to do was hug her sadness away...even if for just a moment.

They didn't want us to go. They begged for one last song. "O Holy Night" was the song of choice and they were trying to get our director, Sally, to sing it solo. She begged off...for many reasons, one being the excuse of no music for that particular song. But the ladies had an ace up their sleeves...because in fact, they DID have the music for "O Holy Night" in a book near the piano. A little desperately, Sally volunteered Katie, Melissa, Linda, Georgia and myself to sing it. We agreed, and after scrambling a bit on whether we knew the words well enough, the piano started and we began to sing. I felt Katie grab my hand and realized that all 5 of us were holding hands in a row. With strength in song and spirit we sang in unison, as one voice blending perfectly....and we sang that song with all the emotion in our hearts. I've NEVER sung that song so well. I was blown away at how we sounded and how it was received. The Spirit was so strong, there weren't many dry eyes in the room. We sat down, a very touching and humble closing prayer was offered...and I cried and cried.

After talking to, shaking hands with or hugging almost every inmate as they made their way out, I talked to Georgia, Linda, Katie and Melissa...each one of us expressing the same thought: "What WAS that???" None of us could satisfactorily explain what we had just done other than to give the credit to Heavenly Father.

It's not a night I will soon forget.

Some pictures of my "singing sisters" at our concert Friday night at Waterford Concert Hall...

Melissa, Georgia, Linda, Katie and Sarah (me)

(Katie and Melissa are my actual sisters...)

Carolyn (my sis-in-law), Linda, Katie, Georgia, Melissa, and Sarah (me)

Shopping with my girls

2011-12-19T23:56:00.003-07:00

These beautiful teenage daughters of mine went Christmas shopping with me on Saturday. Did you catch that? We went to THE MALL on the last Saturday before the Christmas weekend. Needless to say, it was crowded. But my expectations (and worries) in regards to crowds and hassle were not met so I was happy. Even if I did stand in the check-out line at American Eagle far longer than I would've liked.

Strangely enough, this shopping trip was for the girls to pick out gifts for themselves. Before you think I'm a lazy and thoughtless Christmas shopper, let me explain. Because clothes were what they were wishing for and because they have to try them on for fit (and don't necessarily trust me to pick out what they like...despite the fact that I think I'm pretty on target for fashion and style)...they insisted on coming with me. They won't have many surprises under the Christmas tree...nah, this year it's all about anticipation. I can't even tell you how many times I've told Rebekah that she may NOT wear the Toms (shoes) that we bought for her. She has to wait until CHRISTMAS! So excitement is still high because even if they helped pick out the great majority of their gifts, on Christmas they get to actually take ownership of them.

We bought neither the scarf nor the jacket being modeled and debated in these pictures. We did find a new favorite store, though, and as well as buying the majority of the girls' clothes there, I also bought myself a new skirt. (Shhhh...it wasn't on my shopping list.)

Favorite Photo Friday: Wedding Prep

2011-12-16T08:09:00.001-07:00

Bryan and I got engaged March 21, 1993...which meant that by April I was fully immersed in planning a wedding that was scheduled to take place in mid-July. Weekends home from college were jam-packed as I tried to fit in dress shopping and decisions on invitations, reception centers and flowers along with homework and precious time with my fiance. This is a picture of my sister Katie...who is 18 months younger than me and a senior in high school at the time...and myself pouring over a wedding magazine. My day planner and brochures from various wedding service businesses also spread out across the table...ah, it was an exciting time. And though my 19-year old self made some decisions then that my older self would never make now (realistically, what woman doesn't want a dress do-over?) I immensely enjoyed putting my beautifully perfect wedding together.

Gift wrapping

2011-12-14T21:19:00.001-07:00

I've been procrastinating my gift wrapping. I've had most everything bought for weeks. But instead of wrapping, I've left them in the Amazon boxes and the Target sacks that they came in and let them sit in a pile in the corner of my room. But Christmas is in a week and a half. (10 days, people!!) So today I pulled out he gift wrap and started in on the job. My room is a mess.

And I ran out of To/From stickers. Because Lilian found them a few weeks ago and did this:

But come evening I happily left the mess behind and went to the high school Christmas choral concert to see Rebekah sing. Doesn't she look beautiful? (Personally, I'm loving the way she rocks those red tights....)

See this picture?

2011-12-13T13:25:00.001-07:00

See that snow? See that big blue dumpster? See my truck half way into the street?

It's snowing. And I'm thrilled about that. Completely, totally, and enthusiastically thrilled. Because I am a sucker for winter and especially snow. (Yeah, I know...I'm weird that way.)

But I still have to park my truck outside.

Because though the garage is now totally enclosed from our truck-meet-garage encounter of 6 weeks ago...the contractors still have to put up the drywall on the inside.

So the dumpster is still in our driveway making it impossible to pull into the garage.

Which also means that I have to scrape my car of ice each morning...or in today's case, snow.

Can you see that spot in the driveway where there is NO snow...just wet?

That's where I parked 5 minutes ago.

It's hard to tell from this picture but my driveway is a pretty good hill...enough so that sometimes I have to put the truck into 4-wheel drive just to get into the garage when we have a lot of snow.

Today, the snowy, hilly driveway apparently caused my truck to slide back down into the street after I had gone into the house.

I guess it's a good thing I looked out the window.

And yes...this time I put on the parking brake. (Why I didn't think of that earlier, I don't know.)

When, oh when is our garage going to be truly finished???

(Oh...something else you noticed? Yes...those are in fact Bryan's 40th birthday balloons from last Friday still hanging limply from my lamp post.)

Bryan turns 40!

2011-12-11T14:44:00.001-07:00

Bryan turned 40 this past Friday. The big four-oh. It's a little...well, disturbing. Because 40 always seemed so...well, OLD! I still remember having a minor identity crisis when turning 30...and now here is Bryan boldly paving the way into our 40's. He doesn't look anywhere near old enough to be 40. I'm pretty sure he doesn't feel anywhere near old enough to be 40. Clearly it's a mental thing. And clearly it's freaking me out more than it is him. Realistically, if I hadn't reminded him, he might not have even remembered it was his birthday, let alone the age he had achieved. I think the fact that he has been on this earth for 40 years is more of a bizarre thought for him than anything else. But I have known this man since he was 18 years old...and the calender clearly show that 18 was a long time ago.

So we had a party to celebrate. Nothing huge and major...just a little gathering with his siblings and their families. A mexi-feast seemed the way to go for 3 reasons. One: It feeds 26 people easily. Two: It is Carolyn-family friendly...no gluten, egg, or nuts. And three: Bryan adores tacos.

Steven came bearing two gifts of similar size for his big brother. Bryan opened the first one and we all laughed uproariously when out of the box came an armadillo! Ever read Far Side comics? If so, remember the one with the homeless guy holding a sign saying "Spare armadillo...spare armadillo?" And then then we see a guy carrying several armadillos under his arms approaching him and thinking, "Oh great, how am I going to get past this?" That particular comic became somewhat of an inside joke with Bryan and his brothers. With them coming up to each other at random times, leaning in close and muttering..."Spare armadillo?" to the other. Although my sister's in law, Kari and Sara, didn't really get it, I've been with the family for long enough that I laughed good and long when I saw Bryan open up his armadillo gift. "Wait!" Steven said..."that's only part of the gift. It gets better!" When Bryan opened up the "spare" armadillo in the second gift, we about fell out of our chairs laughing.

So Bryan rang in 40. We had black balloons flying from the lamp post, the UPS guys sang a rousing rendition of the Happy Birthday song to him when they stopped by with a delivery, he got to eat tacos, and as well as enjoying the company of his siblings...he got a spare armadillo!!! Is there any better way to spend your birthday??

Same picture, two different years

2011-12-08T07:30:00.000-07:00

I was looking through the pictures I had taken at our Christmas party a few days ago and realized that this one of my sister Melissa with my daughters Julianne and Rebekah in December 2011....

....was practically identical to a picture that I took of the same three girls in December 2008. My girls sure do love their Aunt Melissa.

Texting totals

2011-12-07T08:59:00.000-07:00

The phone bill arrived yesterday. While he had everyone's attention at the dinner table, Bryan delivered the news of the texting totals...lowest to highest:

Bryan: 70
Sarah: 209
Julianne: 717
Rebekah: 3,391 (!!!)

Rebekah's total averages out to something like 10 texts every hour, 24/7 for the entire month. I think it was an eye-opener for her...

Okay...I love texting.
It's how I communicate with members of my various carpools.
I schedule and get reminders of my voice lessons.
I get texts from Brandon's gymnastics coaches.
Bryan and I text back and forth when he is out of town.
I text the girls with messages or reminders when they are at school knowing that they will check and respond at lunch or in between classes.
It's the only way to get ahold of some of my neighbors...they may not answer their phone but they will ALWAYS respond to a text.
I've had neighbors ask if Lilian can come over for a play date and neighbors ask if either of my daughters can babysit through texts.
Texting is awesome.

My texting tends to be primarily of an informational sort of usage whereas my teenage daughters' texting is more conversational.

And while I remind myself that as a teenager I used to spend hours and hours TALKING on the phone and that texting is, in essence, the same thing for their generation....still!! Bryan and I are debating what kind of restrictions we may have to put on the girls' cell phones.

Christmas can now come...

2011-12-06T08:43:00.001-07:00

When I was about 10 years old my Aunt Jana decided to have a party....inviting my sisters, myself, and my cousin Basil. She wasn't married yet and had become, over the years, kind of a second mother to her young nieces and nephew. We decorated her Christmas tree, we made little Christmas ornaments (cute little mice in a half walnut shell...I still have it and it hangs on my tree every year), we had dinner and sang Christmas carols and then she tucked us into sleeping bags in the back room for a little cousin sleepover. I don't know if she intended for this day-after-Thanksgiving-party to become an official tradition or not. Obviously we all enjoyed it so much that she did it the next year, and the year after that...until here we are almost 20 years later, still going strong with a whole new generation of "great" nieces and nephews. We don't decorate her tree anymore...she started doing that with her own children after she married my Uncle Craig. And obviously we don't have a grand sleepover either. But we still do a Christmas craft and have a Christmas talent show. We have dinner and pie for dessert. "Rudolph the Red-Nose Reindeer" plays on the TV downstairs while Christmas music floats through the happy conversations and chatter upstairs. It's a great party and one that we look forward to every year. I'm not sure Christmas could even come without Aunt Jana and Uncle Craig's annual party. It just IS Christmas, you know?

Before and After...

2011-12-02T21:02:00.001-07:00

Remember this lovely little accident we had a month ago where our truck met the garage door...and then the back wall...VERY FORCEFULLY??

I've been driving a Dodge Durrango for the past 4 weeks...and as fancy as that Durrango was, I've been missing my sweet truck immensely. Today we got the call that the truck was ready and waiting. I seriously almost cried when I climbed in the drivers seat.

For the past month we've had a wind tunnel through our garage. Because the garage door was a custom order, it took quite awhile to get it delivered. And it took time to get an estimate on the work involved and approval from the insurance. Earlier this week I was quite delighted, groggy from a nasty cold regardless, to wake up to constant and loud pounding coming from my garage two mornings in a row.

The wall still needs sheetrock and paint, but having no gaping hole and piles of junk is nice. And hey, an extra bonus...a window!

The door is installed...it goes up and down and everything! Just waiting for paint...

The exterior wall is also waiting for paint. But I have to say, I like this look better than the one with a truck hanging out...

Also: More pics of wind damage in my "Happy 'Windsday'" post.

Happy "Windsday!!"

2011-12-01T22:57:00.001-07:00

I have new empathy for Piglet in that episode of "Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day." Because we've had quite the blustery day of our own today!

I didn't sleep well last night. The constant moaning and whistling of the wind, tree branches scraping the windows, and the house shaking occasionally in the bigger gusts. But in reality, as bad as the wind got here, being on the west side of town had it's advantages. For one, we kept our power. For two, other than my Christmas decor strewn about my front yard and my patio furniture rearranging itself in the back yard, we didn't really have any damage to house and home. Amazingly, our fence stayed upright and our trampoline did not turn into a kite and fly into the field behind our house...unlike some of our neighbors.

I knew that the town we used to live in, 15 miles south, was getting a might big walloping. 102 mph wind gusts? Dang! We got first hand reports from our old neighbors of the devastation there. Bryan's brother Kevin and his family live in our old house and funny enough, despite the fact that we couldn't get a hold of them through home phone, cell phone or internet messages, we still were able to hear of the damage to their home from their neighbors....fence down, garage door blown in and, saddest of all in my opinion, the big 30+ foot Austrian Pine that I planted when Brandon was just a baby 10 years ago, uprooted and tossed into the street by the wind gusts. I loved that tree....sigh.

(Kevin, "flying" in the wind. This tree was in his neighbor's backyard. I remember when that tree was being planted....so sad.)

Our schools were not closed like some in neighboring towns so I bundled the kids and sent them off to their respective carpools and buses despite the crazy wind. It wasn't too long, though, before I got a call from Rebekah telling me that the high school's power had gone out and administration was sending everyone home. Could I come get her and a bunch of her friends? I was shocked at what I saw the closer I got to the school. The off and on ramps to the freeway had turned into make-shift semi-truck parking lots...with more semis parked on either side of the street all the way to the entrance of our neighborhood. (The freeway was closed to high profile vehicles seeing as at least 10 semis had gone down in the early hours of the morning.) Once I got past the overpass and freeway into the other side of town the wind was much more intense and I had to start dodging huge downed trees in the street and the scattered remains of broken business signs everywhere. Numerous traffic lights out just added to the madness.

(Downed trees lining Main Street on the east side of town)

Julianne and Brandon, their schools being on the west side of town, felt a little gypped when they arrived home to the discovery that Rebekah had been watching movies with her friends all day. Brandon had a rip in his pants and bloody knees....from being picked up by the wind and slammed back down to the ground as he ran from the bus to the school. I was surprised. Because even as small as he is, the kid has some serious muscle and is no lightweight! His gymnastics workout was canceled because of power outages. Rebekah and Julianne's Centre Stage drama class was canceled for the same reason. Bryan stayed home from work all day, having no power at his office either. And then...much to the kid's delight...we started getting phone calls and email messages informing us that school is canceled tomorrow district wide as they assess damage and do clean-up at schools. I have to admit, I am rather delighted myself, at the prospect of sleeping in tomorrow...

The wind has died down tonight and forecasts call for a calm but cold night. Other than pulling out the ladder and re-hanging all my downed Christmas wreaths, we don't have to worry about doing any major clean-up tomorrow. But it sure made for an interesting "Windsday" all the same!
-----------------------

Update: Monday, 5 December 2011
Church meetings were cancelled county wide yesterday as we were instructed to go home, put on work clothes, grab chainsaws and other such tools and then meet over on the east side of town to help with wind devastation clean-up. Another wind storm was predicted for that night and worries were high that loose debris + high winds = danger. Temporary dump sites were arranged for truck and trailer loads of branches, shingles, siding and other such debris and Bryan said that lines of trucks were backed up several miles leading to that site here in our town. It was amazing, he said, to see SO MANY people out helping their neighbors and serving each other. A feel-good, organized chaos.
The predicted winds were unfounded and we spent a fairly calm night. Regardless, the work that would've normally taken weeks ended up only taking hours. And as my friend Bonnie said: "What better way to honor our covenants than Christlike service, whether it is bringing in a chain saw or a pot of soup it is the same."

For this I prayed...

2011-11-29T20:51:00.001-07:00

I could feel the beginnings of a sore throat coming on. A persistent and annoying tickle. It made me cough occasionally. This can't be happening, I told myself. Ironically, just the day before I had been laughing with my singing friends at rehearsal about starting a regimen of vitamins as a precaution, a defensive measure against this very kind of thing. Realistically, I was fine, no sign of any kind of sickness. But what if? We were singing in a concert that upcoming weekend. I didn't want to be hoarse or worry about coughing in the middle of a song. But even more than that...I wanted to sing for pure joy with no vocal restrictions.

I wasn't serious about the vitamins but maybe I should've been. Or maybe I jinxed myself by even joking about getting sick. Because now there was this annoying tickle and a cough.
Sigh.
I started downing Airborne immediately. {Blech} But I also started praying awfully hard that I wouldn't be sick for the concert. That I would be able to sing on Saturday night.

Cough drops at the ready, I walked on stage. I sang my heart out. Only once did I feel like I might cough...and it was slight and passed quickly. I was so grateful!

The very next day I got walloped with a wicked cold. Runny nose, sneezing, aching. It was as if it had been in a holding pattern...waiting and building until Sunday when it could finally manifest itself. And it did so with a vengeance! But all I can say is, hallelujah! I will gladly take this cold. Realistically, I prayed...not to avoid sickness altogether...just that I wouldn't be sick for the concert. So though kleenex and Dayquil are my constant companions and though it's taken me the past 3 days to get up my Christmas decor and I'm still not done because I have limited energy...I can thankfully say that my prayers were answered!

{Can we all go to bed now? I'm so tired....}

"Gloria" was glorious!!

2011-11-28T19:29:00.000-07:00

I'm on a high that I don't think I will be coming down from any time soon. Singing Lex de Azevedo's "Gloria" with the Millennium Choir at the Tabernacle on Temple Square Saturday night was an amazing experience and one that I will treasure for a long time to come.

I can't count how many times I have sung "Gloria." We recorded it back in 1998 and have been singing it almost yearly ever since. (I missed the past two years.) I've sung it in the Citadel in Jerusalem, in the Dorothy Chandler Pavillion in Los Angeles, at BYU Idaho, USU, UVU and Dixie State College. I've sung it in huge concert halls, tabernacles and little churches. I've sung it with a huge symphony orchestra and with just piano. Always it's been a great experience. But this year? Singing at the Salt Lake Tabernacle? I'm not sure we've ever sung it better. Emotions were high and passion was strong. I think there are a few reasons for this.

One...this is what happened last year the night before "Gloria" was to be performed.

I was not scheduled to sing last year....conflict of rehearsal times. But obviously, the rest of my friends in the Millennium Choir had been rehearsing for weeks. The Provo Tabernacle was decked out in it's Christmas finery. BYU TV was planning to video the whole concert for replay later. The dress rehearsal went off without a hitch. But when everyone woke the next morning (the opening day of a 3-day concert run) they were devastated to learn that the Provo Tabernacle had caught fire late the night before and burned to the ground. The cause was later determined to be a Tabernacle light fixture that had been set aside in the attic...which actually had started burning before the dress rehearsal was even over! Tragically, there was no smell of smoke at the time or maybe the destruction of the building could've been averted. It was horrifying news. And I cried along with the rest of my friends, despite the fact that I was not involved in the production that year. Millions of dollars worth of equipment, musical instruments and costumes were lost. With the absolute worst loss being, of course, that beloved and historic building!! But "the show must go on"so arrangements were hastily made for performances at the American Fork Tabernacle. Costume and musical instrument rentals were generously donated. Ticket holders were not disappointed.

Tears were shed once again this past October when, in the LDS General Conference, President Monson announced that the church would indeed be rebuilding...but not as a tabernacle. The new building would be dedicated as a 2nd Provo temple. Oh!! What joyous news! I was with my friend Kim (the producer of all of Lex's shows) at a rehearsal for "Harriet" that we were both performing in when we heard the news that Saturday morning. She sobbed as I hugged her.

So as you can imagine, emotions were high and memories of that fateful night last year were flying fast and furious this past Saturday....with the immense gratitude that good came out of tragedy...and that here we were, ready to perform "Gloria" once again.

Add to that the fact that this was not a normal "Gloria" performance. Not only were we singing in the historic and beautiful Salt Lake Tabernacle for the first time, but we had singers from all over the world! Lex decided 9 months ago to try to arrange for a virtual choir to sing the big finale with us. Something along the lines of Eric Whitaker's "Sleep." (See here) But in this case, Lex wanted a virtual choir TO JOIN WITH a live choir! It's never been done, as far as we know. So he sent out an invitation across the web...asking all of us to help him further it along. Those who could be in Salt Lake City over Thanksgiving week were invited to audition for the live choir. Those for which travel would be impossible, were invited to learn the music with the help of click tracks and videos of Lex directing the music, and record themselves singing. Each video was combined into one amazing Millennium Virtual Choir that sang with the Live Millennium Choir at the Tabernacle during the big "Gloria" finale. In that virtual choir there were singers from 8 different countries and all throughout the United States. There were singers in the live choir that traveled from as far as Georgia and Connecticut to sing with us in the Tabernacle.

Before the concert started (to a sold out audience!) Lex shared a story. That of his beloved Grandfather, also a composer. A man who had been his best friend, he said, and who had encouraged Lex in his music. His Grandfather had dreams of seeing an oratorio that he had written be performed in the Salt Lake Tabernacle. It was not to be. But when Lex was just a little boy, his Grandfather had told him that he believed his hopes and dreams would be realized in Lex. So it was to this story...many of us in tears...that Lex dedicated this performance of "Gloria" to his Grandfather, and we began singing.

George Dyer as the Angel Gabriel, Greg Pearson as Zacharias and Isaiah, Melinda Lockwood Debirk as Mary and Catherine Hyde Stambaugh as the narrator....all phenomenal soloists who make me weep with the emotion and power in their voices and their words. The exceedingly talented musicians...2 harpists, a harpsichord (!!!), grand piano, tympani, Daron Bradford playing every woodwind instrument known to man, and then of course, the incomparable and famous Tabernacle organ! The concert was going exceedingly well...but we were all a little nervous about the finale. Would it work?? Dress rehearsal earlier that afternoon had been a bit dicey getting the virtual choir and the live choir in sync. I have no doubt that I was not the only one praying inside as we made our way to the big "Gloria" finale. I was watching Lex's face closely. I could see the hope there as he and the musicians put on their earphones and waited for the click track to start and the video to show up on the two big screens above our heads. And then I watched as that look of hope turned to one of pure joy....a huge grin splitting his face as everything started up exactly perfectly, as planned...the culmination of 9 months of work. And I cried. Cried through the rest of the performance. It was truly amazing!!

This music, this choir, these experiences....they have changed my life and I can't tell you how blessed I feel, how thankful I am for it!

A letter from Lex to the choir:

Dear choir,
Looking back upon the many performances in which I have participated, there are three which stand out above all the rest. In chronological order, there was the opening night of the California Saturdays Warrior cast, the Jerusalem performance of "Gloria" and our "Gloria" concert in the Tabernacle the other night. Yes, It was a thrilling experience to be in the Tabernacle! but it was made all the more wonderful by your magnificent performance. I would love to thank each of you individually for your contribution to the extremely successful concert. I have often said and do believe that scratches on a piece of 5-lined manuscript and waving arms in the air does not music make. It is your performance that makes music live. . . And you made it live magnificently Saturday night in the Tabernacle.

I was also very touched by the lovely pocket watch- such a thoughtful, meaningful gift! Before retiring the night of the concert, I sat by the fireplace trying to take in the impact of the evening, took out the watch, read the inscription and wept again. Thank you so much. I will cherish it always.

While we do not know what the future holds for "Gloria" next year, we have high hopes for something equally as wonderful and hope that you will all return to be a part of it. We will let you know as soon as things are firmed up.

Thanks again for your individual contributions to the 2011 "Gloria" performance in the Tabernacle. Have a blessed Christmas. Until we sing together again-

Lex de Azevedo

Epic Fail

2011-11-27T20:41:00.001-07:00

Brought the Christmas tree up from the basement today. It's a bugger of a big tree. Bryan grumbled and groaned but didn't quite resort to swearing as he hauled that monster up the stairs and put it in its place in the corner of the living room. I plugged it in and....

Voila!

Umm....
I knew it was going to have lighting issues. We had lighting issues last year with more and more strings flickering out throughout the season before I finally pulled the thing down a few days earlier than planned out of disgust and frustration. But I didn't realized it would be THIS bad! One string? Really?
BUT! (And this is a really hopeful "but"....)
This year I had a new handy-dandy lighting tool that was supposed to fix those lighting issues. My brother-in-law swore up and down that it was the coolest gadget EVER (and this guy knows gadgets!) The Light Keeper Pro. Just pull out any bulb on a string of unlit lights, plug the tool in its place, click a few times and BAM! Lights on.
Well....supposedly.
I think this is what you'd call an epic fail.

So the choices are these:

1. Strip the lights off the entire tree, buy 15 boxes of new lights and re-string the whole thing by hand.
2. Toss the thing and buy a whole new tree first thing tomorrow morning.
3. Toss the thing, bring up the smaller, downstairs tree and go more simple this year in tree decor. (And then watch for killer clearance deals on trees after Christmas in preparation for next year...)

I think we are going with option 3.
How can something that brings such joy and contentment also cause such head-ache inducing frustration?

Happy Black Friday!

2011-11-25T09:58:00.001-07:00

Not that I actually participate in this "holiday" in any way, shape, or form. There isn't much that can induce me to give up on my sleep and join the hordes of holiday shoppers to stand in ridiculously long lines with the hope and prayer that you'll actually get what you set out for to begin with. Nope...I got a good 8 hours of sleep last night and plan to spend the day writing my Christmas letter and taking down my Thanksgiving decor.
But Rebekah...my 15 year old teenage daughter? SHE thought Black Friday sounded like a riot. We dropped her off and her friend, Casey's, house at 11:00 PM (this being her normal curfew, mind you) so she could join in this girly Black Friday ritual Casey and her mother have. ALL. NIGHT. LONG. It's 10:00 AM and they are still not back yet. I have no doubt that Rebekah will sleep ALL. DAY. LONG. when she arrives home. Insanity. Sheer insanity.

Here are a few pictures of our Thanksgiving with Bryan's family yesterday....

A month's worth of thanks

2011-11-24T18:26:00.001-07:00

November 2: Today I am thankful that I live in a place that has four distinct seasons. What a perfectly gorgeous autumn day!

November 3: Today I am thankful for my sisters and the fact that no matter what....no matter how crazy life gets, where we all move to, or what life changes happen with our own little families...we will always have each other. Four built in best friends for life.

November 4: Thoroughly thankful today for my husband. For the relationship we have and the love we share.

November 5: I am thankful today for the exuberance of Lilian, the determination of Julianne, the spiritual strength of Rebekah and the curiosity of Brandon.

November 6: Thankful today for church hymns....what we affectionately term "The Green Bible." What powerful messages in those lyrics and melodies! Today especially... Hymn 138: "As witnesses we gather here to thank and to attest of mercies and of miracles--oh, still our lives so bless! Feed thou our souls, fill thou our hearts, and bless our fast, we pray. That we may feel thy presence here and feast with thee today."

November 7: Today I am thankful for gymnastics and the determination, discipline, strength, confidence, friendship, and pure joy that it has brought Brandon. Twelve hours a week he spends at that gym...it's like a second home and he absolutely loves it!

November 8: Thankful today for my beautiful house and the fact that, more than just being a protective roof over our heads, it is a home.

November 9: So thankful to live in such a wonderful neighborhood with such good people who all love and support each other.

November 10: I am thankful that I get to go sing tonight! That Bryan is so supportive of my choirs, plays and other singing opportunities. And that tonight I will be singing with my mom, 2 sisters, sis-in-law and numerous friends

November 11: Freedom isn't free. Thank you, Veterans!

November 12: Thankful to be on a date with my hubby and thankful for the near miracle that has allowed us to find a movie we BOTH are interested in seeing.

November 13: Thankful today that my kids love it when I read to them....even the older ones. Such fun to snuggle all together on the couch and read the adventures of Harry Potter or Percy Jackson or some other such character. Also very thankful that I can usually convince one of the kids to scratch my back or play with my hair while I read...

November 14: Thankful today for my body. Lilian and I have been reading one of her books that details how our bodies work...skin, muscles, organs, bones, blood, brain, nerves, etc. She enjoyed it so much we read it numerous times today. How marvelous and amazing our bodies are!

November 15: Thankful for chocolate. I've been eating WAY too much of it this week. (Chocolate oranges, anyone? Yummm....) The chocolate craving comes along with an urgency to strap on the running shoes and work those calories right back off again.... but I still think it's worth it.

November 16: Immensely thankful for the temple today. All told, between this morning and this evening, I spent 6.5 hours there today...and it was truly amazing. I feel so rejuvenated!

November 17: So thankful for my bachelors degree in history and the opportunity I had to get a college education! I was digging around in my filing cabinet today and came across all my old history papers and essay tests that I wrote...sat for a long time and read through a bunch of them. What wonderful experiences I had during those college years...such great memories. And though earning that degree was HARD work....I sometimes still miss being in school.

November 18: Thankful for Bryan's business and his ability to comfortably provide for our family. Also thankful that he is coming home tonight after being on a business trip this week...and as much as I'm loving this snow, if it delays his arrival, I will be irked!

November 19: Thankful for the opportunity to watch the Nutcracker this morning up at Weber State. I cried. Seriously. It was just so beautiful and the music (live orchestra) was so moving! Sometimes I really wish I was a dancer. I'm so glad that The Nutcracker has become a yearly tradition in our family.

November 20: Thankful for my testimony of and faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Thankful for my knowledge of and relationship with my Heavenly Father and his son Jesus Christ. Thankful that they know me, are aware of me on a daily basis and love me.

November 21: So, so very thankful that I had the opportunity to sing with Lex de Azevedo and the Millennium Choir tonight!!! After a two year hiatus, I can't believe how incredibly wonderful it was to be singing "Gloria" with my friends again...I am filled to overflowing tonight!!

November 22: Incredibly thankful that Bryan and I both were blessed with such AMAZING parents. Who know when to help and when to step back. Who love us unconditionally....even when they don't agree with our choices. And who, as well as being parents, are also good friends.

November 23: I am SO thankful for good friends! Singing friends, old college roomies, neighborhood friends, childhood friends...friends from every aspect and phase of my life, how I treasure you and thank God for the impact you have had on my life!

November 24: Thankful for a rejuvenating 3 mile run, good music, happy chatter, yummy stuffing, a nap on the couch with my hubby, playing a dice game with my father-in-law, football on TV, and feelings of deep contentment on this Thanksgiving Day.

Why I Love Thanksgiving

2011-11-23T09:19:00.001-07:00

I am all about holidays. Absolutely love them. Decorating for them, celebrating them. Bryan is exactly the opposite and if we lived the whole year through without acknowledging a single holiday or birthday...he wouldn't care or probably even notice. But that's okay. Because I am festive enough for the both of us.

My favorite holiday, though, is a more understated and simple holiday. It's Thanksgiving. Which means I'm rather a stickler about Christmas decor and it's non-appearance in our house until at least the day after all of the feasting and thankfulness.

Why is it my favorite? I'm not entirely sure. It's certainly not as flashy as Christmas or as frenetic as Halloween. But maybe that's a big part of it. Thanksgiving seems cozy to me. It's all about family and food. And being thankful for both, among other things. When else do you spend a whole month recognizing and then dwelling on your blessings? I think it's cathartic....really bringing in to focus what life is really about.

But also, Thanksgiving is steeped in American history. And being the history geek that I am, I love the origins of the holiday....the Mayflower, Plymouth Rock, Pilgrims and Indians. And to make things even more exciting, I actually come from some serious Pilgrim stock. My 9th great-grandfather on my father's side was present at that very first Thanksgiving. Resolved White, born to William White and Susanna Fuller, came across the ocean from Holland on the Mayflower when he was about 5 years old. His younger brother, Perigrine, was the first baby born in the new settlement...actually on the ship while still moored in the bay. Resolved's father, William, died that first winter...one of the nearly half (45 of 102) who did. His mother Susanna, soon after remarried...another Pilgrim named Edward Winslow. Resolved went on to eventually marry and have 8 children....one of which, of course, my genealogy comes through. And maybe this doesn't sound very exciting to you, but I absolutely LOVE that I have Pilgrim ancestors! It makes Thanksgiving all that much more special.

These are a few of the reasons why I make sure that Thanksgiving gets it's full due. That it is more than just a big feast to usher in Black Friday and Christmas. We're heading to Bryan's parents house tomorrow to spend the day with his siblings and all the little cousins. I can't wait!

Because it made me smile...

2011-11-22T16:53:00.001-07:00

THIS is why I am not on speaking terms with my scale....

During this whole are they/aren't they Mormons as Christians debate I've often thought this very thing. That ultimately the fine print matters very little as to whether a person is Christian or not. If a person claims Christ as his Savior and the Son of God...and lives his life the way Christ would....well, that is what a true Christian is to me.

Umm...this is SO true that I about fell out of my chair laughing the first time I saw it.

I'm a big fan of the Keep Calm and Carry On posters...current and original WWII. I love what they stood for then and what they continue to tell me today. So any variation of that original (of which there are MANY) tends to catch my attention. And being so close to Thanksgiving....this one tickled my funny bone.

The measure of a woman...

*mind*heart*peace*grace*goodness*spirit*character*soul*compassion*personality*life*
*intelligence*hope*beauty*strength*love*age*gentleness*joy*generosity*faithfulness*humor
I LOVE this ad. What a great reminder. And what a great list of attributes.

I'm not a Nordstrom shopper...they tend to make my wallet say "ouch!" But seeing this announcement that they place at each store entrance....makes me want to do ALL my Christmas shopping there! And yes, I realize that this is a few years old (seeing that Black Friday is on the 25th this year) but apparently this is their official policy each and every year. How cool is that??

My very favorite. Because we are big "Dr. Who" fans at our house.

Singing "Gloria"

2011-11-21T23:31:00.001-07:00

I spent the evening at a rehearsal for Lex de Azevedo's Christmas oratorio, "Gloria." Other than taking the last two years off, I've sung "Gloria" every year since 1999.

Lex has continuously made changes since then, though, which means that every few years we get a new, updated score....I think I have 5 full scores all together. (That doesn't include the random extra page here and there...)

My most current one is pretty hammered. Penciled in are new notes and rhythms and reminders to myself of difficult passages and dynamics. Yellow highlighter shows where I sing 2nd soprano. Little smiley faces or notes to myself of personal memories of that particular song or passage are written on the side or above the stanzas. The pages are dog-eared where I've tried to mark codas. Tabs marking the beginning of each new song have long since started to rip. New pages with updates are taped in on top of other pages.

We received a new score today...which Lex claims, after 13 years, is his FINAL draft. I have to admit, as clean and nice as it looks....I miss my old score.

Yesterday....

2011-11-20T17:36:00.001-07:00

....started with this:

I bought three tickets when Courtney came to the door a few years ago...deciding that we'd go support Rebekah's little friend in what surely would be a sweet but probably amateur production of The Nutcracker Ballet. More, even, than pleasantly surprised...I was stunned at just how good the production actually was! Impressed already that the performance was being held at at Weber State University's fancy theatre in their performing arts building, I was even more delighted when the opening notes of that famed Tchaikovsky music gave proof of a LIVE orchestra....a GOOD, live orchestra. I realized at that point, that somehow, as familiar as I was with the story and music, I'd NEVER seen the ballet! The colorful costumes and sets, the cute and talented dancers... the principles on loan from Ballet West (!!!) dancing the big parts. Holy wow! By the end of the performance, I was in raptures...and a new yearly tradition was born.
Rebekah, Julianne and I attended for our fourth time yesterday morning. And I cried...literally cried at the sheer beauty of it all.

Zoe: Arabian, Jessica: Oriental Servant, Lauren: Red Soldier, Julianne: Audience Member

I think we counted 14 girls from our neighborhood participating in the ballet. It was fun to try and pick them out under all their costumes and heavy make-up. I also paid close attention to the littlest ballerinas this time. Lilian just started taking ballet from this same ballet academy a few months ago...which means that in another couple years, we might be watching her up on that stage.

and ended with this:

Culture to pop culture....
"Breaking Dawn" is the epitome of a "chick flick." Which means that it makes one heck of a great Girls Night Out. We had dinner first, at The California Pizza Kitchen...gabbing and eating (mostly healthily because I live in a very health conscious neighborhood...lots of salads on that table.) We were joined by even more friends at the movie, taking up almost a whole row up near the top of the theater. Healthy eating went out the window by the time we hit movie go time, with most of us holding buckets of popcorn in our laps and sodas in the cup holders. Cheesy movie...yes. As with most cases like this, I prefer the books over the movies. But we relished that cheese and had ourselves quite the fun evening.

Proud to be Team Edward!
Brandi and I both wore shirts sharing our team affiliation...
Silly? Of course.
Feeling a little like 16 year old in a 38 year old body? Yep.
Tons of fun all the same? Definitely!!

Thanksgiving Decor and Cute Girls

2011-11-19T23:08:00.001-07:00

We've done cinnamon cloves in oranges before...but never in mini pumpkins. Cute, right? And it smells so festive too! Lilian wanted to help me so, although I probably could've done it in half the time by myself, I let her crawl up onto my lap and push the cloves in after I had poked the holes. And lest you think I'm this creative on my own...I got the idea from Ten June, another blog I enjoy reading.

Want to see some more cuteness...but so much better than random Thanksgiving decor? Take a look at these cuties....

Jessica, Zoe, Lauren, Julianne and Paige

Favorite Photo Friday: Little Turkeys

2011-11-18T09:40:00.001-07:00

A Thanksgiving themed Family Home Evening in 1999 with the cousins.

Megan, Jordan, Rebekah and Julianne

This picture was taken twelve years ago.
Which means that these little toddlers are now teenagers....
How crazy is that?

I could go into all sorts of philisophical musings about the way time flies.
I could ponder on the difference between raising my oldest child vs. raising my youngest {I don't tend to do cutsie crafts like this with Lilian...} and how I feel about it.
I could delve deep into the relationships between these cousins and how they have changed over the years.
I could even go all out on my Pilgrim ancestors and why Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. {Actually, you can probably expect a post like that early next week...}

But I'm going to do none of the above tonight. Because I am way too tired.....

Leaving Home

2011-11-17T14:03:00.001-07:00

(This post is in response to a writer's prompt on the NaBloPoMo website: "What is the moment you leave childhood and enter adulthood?" After thinking about it for awhile I realized that the moment for me was when my parents dropped me off at college a few weeks after I had turned 18...)

Eagle-sized butterflies were wreaking nervous havoc on my stomach as my parents and I drove past the billboard reading "Welcome to Ephraim, Home of Snow College." My view of the small town was limited since our Mazda sub-compact was stuffed to the ceiling with boxes and suitcases...hopefully everything I needed for my new life at college. As we drove down Main Street passing 7-eleven-sized grocery stores and the one-movie-a-week theater, I was thankful for my previous visits to this small town so that I could direct my parents to the building that would be my home for the next nine months.

After pulling up to the large, red-bricked dormitory, I carefully extricated myself from my precarious nest among the boxes, bedding and baggage and stared at the building wondering which window would be mine. I walked up the sidewalk, through the double glass doors, and found myself in a lobby. To my left was a long hallway with many open doors and a stairway leading to the second floor of the building. In front of me were four rather uncomfortable looking couches, a few tables and a wooden plaque on the wall announcing the dormitory name as Castilleja Hall. There was another sign too, this one proclaiming "Don't let IT happen to you" together with a picture of a wedding ring with a line through it. "Now what's that supposed to mean?" I thought. My hands were trembling as I turned to my right and walked to the check-in desk. The resident assistant handed me a key and some papers....a welcome packet, of sorts.

(Sandy and me in front of "the sign" in the lobby. IT was marriage. Despite the warning, we had plenty of "ring ceremonies" that year at Castilleja Hall. I'm pleased to report that none of them were held for me.)

My parents and I made our way down the hall, past many open doors with sounds of music and excited chatter emanating from within. My nervousness dissolved into excited anticipation as I found my name on the door of room #108. I knocked lightly, then opened the door and found three of my new room mates already inside. I was immediately pulled into an excited hug by Sandy, a girl I had met once before, who told me how happy she was to see me. After she introduced me to the two other girls, Leslie and Jen, I was able to take a good look around the small apartment I hoped to someday call "home." The kitchen and living room were combined and already furnished with a small, brown couch and an old table with six plastic, orange-colored stacking chairs. Off this large room were two smaller bedrooms. One, I was told, was mine and Heather's, while the other belonged to Leslie and Jen. To my right was a small hall which led to Sandy and Heidi's bedroom and also the bathroom, which my parents claimed was the best part of the apartment with its enormous bathtub.

In my bedroom I discovered a large closet, a pull-out bed and a desk with numerous shelves and drawers...all for me. While I started unpacking, my parents, with Sandy's help, brought the rest of my things inside. As I surveyed the room deciding where things were to go, my excitement grew. I had been looking forward to this day for months...ever since I had received my letter of acceptance in response to my earlier application for admission. I was now a full-time student at Snow College! I would be living on my own without parental supervision and making important decisions by myself. I felt so grown-up and mature!

That adult feeling quickly left me when I had to say goodbye to my parents and watch them drive away. Suddenly I wanted to throw myself into their arms and cry, "Don't leave me here by myself! Take me home with you!" Once again I felt like their little Sarah who had lived with them in that big white house on Quailstone Drive for thirteen years.

Long after the tail lights of my parents' car disappeared into the darkness, I stood looking into the distance where they had last been. Then slowly, once again I turned to stare at the large, red-bricked building in front of me. This time I knew which window was mine.

Temple Day

2011-11-16T22:30:00.001-07:00

I spent 6.5 hours here today...split between morning and evening with the afternoon off so I could get Lilian to preschool and go to Brandon's SEP (Student, Educator, Parent) conference at school.
Our church ward decided to have a temple DAY and told us about it far enough in advance that we could make arrangements for child care and taking work off, if possible. So our ward had people steadily filing in and out of those front doors all day long...all on different schedules but all trying to get as much time in as possible.

I've never spent that much time in the temple in one day before. It was truly an amazing experience for me. The peace and strength I felt there and took away with me at the end of the day was so rejuvenating. I had so many new insights that are still swirling around in my brain this morning. Most of them are too new and special to me...or too sacred, really, to share here. But I do have one thing...

I am never in a very good mood on a temple day. Oh, once I arrive my mood lifts immediately and I'm glad I'm there...it's the getting there that is the problem. When I have made plans to attend the temple, say later in the evening...I know I'm in for a hard day. Everything that can go wrong, will and I find myself fighting the urge to just stay home. And truth be told, there are days where I have done just that. Made excuses. Told myself that I'd go a different day. I know full well the reasons WHY, of course. No way, no how does Satan want me going to the temple. But knowing the reasons WHY things are going wrong...although it helps a little, still doesn't completely take away the frustration. The same was true yesterday morning. Oh, I never even considered NOT going but I found myself grumpy, irritated about all the sacrifices I was making to go, feeling sorry for myself that Bryan wasn't in town to go with me, etc.

After dropping Lilian off with a friend, I made my way up the hill to the temple and found myself parked next to a close friend from my neighborhood who was also just arriving. As we walked together towards the front door she asked how my day was going. Just polite conversation....but I told her, matter of factly, that of course my morning had not gone very smoothly. She smiled. She understood, she said. About 5 years ago she made the decision to try to go to the temple every Friday morning. Which means that every Friday morning getting the kids off to school is harder than usual, things come up, she's tired, she's grumpy. BUT. She had learned to look at those obstacles thrown in her way as an opportunity to become stronger and more determined to go. And so now, when things come up to make her temple day rocky she just defiantly says, "Oh yeah?? You think THAT'S going to stop me?? You just watch!" She says she stops short of saying "Bring it on!!"...because, well Satan can, realistically, do just that. Why push it, right? :)

Anyhow, this thought really stuck with me. And it was what got me back to the temple later that evening when it would've been easy to tell myself that I'd already been that day and surely that was enough. Realistically, it COULD'VE been enough. But I had made the decision that I wanted to take advantage of this temple day... to truly make the sacrifices necessary to be in the temple for more time than I do normally. So despite all thoughts to the contrary, I thought of my friend and her DETERMINATION....and headed back up the hill.
I'm so glad I did.

Planking

2011-11-15T18:20:00.001-07:00

If you are a teenager you know exactly what that title refers to.
If you are more like me you most likely are thinking...
"Umm...what? Planking? You mean that pose I do in my yoga class, right?"

Well, kind of.

Planking is a new fad. Here's the definition from Wikipedia:

"Planking" (or the "Lying Down Game") is an activity consisting of lying face down in an unusual or incongruous location. The hands must touch the sides of the body and having a photograph of the participant taken and posted on the Internet is an integral part of the game. Players compete to find the most unusual and original location in which to play. The term planking refers to mimicking a wooden plank. Rigidity of the body must be maintained to constitute good planking.
Since early 2011, many participants in planking have photographed the activity on unusual locations such as atop poles, roofs and vehicles. Planking can include lying flat on a flat surface, or holding the body flat while it's supported in only some regions, with other parts of the body suspended.

Rebekah has joined her high school friends in participating in this fad...well, after she got over her initial reaction of incredulous disbelief. (Or, in teen speak: This is like, really weird!) And although she and her friends do not upload their planking pictures to the World Wide Web at large, they do enter into the weekly high school contest. (The person with the coolest/most unusual planking picture wins Chick-fil-A lunch meals for a week...so it's definitely worth shooting for, don't you think?)

Here is Rebekah's first attempt at planking in front of a local grocery store:

Yesterday we kept planking in mind as we wandered around IKEA. And let me tell you, that place is a plankers dream! However, planking on the top of various furniture displays, we were afraid, would be frowned upon by IKEA employees so we reluctantly left the store planking-less.

Undaunted, Rebekah and Julianne found places to plank around our yard today.

(Sneak peak of our finished "man cave" floor....)

I tell you what...if this feels anything like what we do in yoga, all this planking is going to lead to some serious rock hard abs!

So much for that Christmas surprise...

2011-11-14T20:13:00.001-07:00

"I know what you're going to bring me for Christmas," stated Lilian very confidently....even somewhat arrogantly. "Cause you've already bringed it. And it's a Rapunzel doll."

I've never had this problem before. I'd always congratulated myself for having such obedient children when it came to Christmas secrets. My children didn't go hunting for an early glimpse of what they were going to find under the tree on Christmas day. Oh, they knew exactly where I had "hidden" the Christmas loot but they purposely steered clear. And if, by some chance, they did come across something...they would apologize profusely and swear to immediately "forget" what they had accidentally seen. There was no need to find more secretive and devious hiding places or wrap everything the moment I bought it to keep them from ruining Christmas surprises.

Until now.

Lilian has never been a good one for secrets. She outs me on just about everything....from giving in on something Bryan has specifically forbidden, to immediately telling a sibling what we've just bought them for their birthday. A few days ago I did a little Christmas shopping with Julianne. This Rapunzel doll was on my list and though my original plan was to order it on Amazon, when I saw it just sitting there on the shelf (for an even cheaper price, mind you) I snatched it up and bought it. As we pulled into the garage I asked Julianne for some help running interference if we bumped into Lilian on my way to the Christmas hidey spot. And she did do a marvelous job of distracting Lilian....it was MY mistake that led to my current problem. As I walked by I taunted Lilian with the news that I had a Christmas present for her in my sack...and that she shouldn't look or it would ruin the surprise. I honestly thought it would just make her excited...realizing that Christmas was close enough that I was buying gifts.

Lilian did not see that I had hidden that sack in my closet behind a bunch of clothes. But using some sort of deductive reasoning she obviously found what she was hunting for. I don't know if she went straight to it or if it took her awhile. All I know is that a few days later I found the sack half opened and leaning out of the clothing I'd so carefully hidden it behind. Then came the above pronouncement.

So a few thoughts:
1. Obviously I need to find a new, more secretive and devious hiding spot.
2. THAT doll needs to come from Mom and Dad....not Santa.
3. I'm so glad she DID NOT find the other presents for her that I'd also stashed back there....

Ode to my iphone

2011-11-13T12:53:00.001-07:00

Dear iphone,

I was wrong. There, I said it. I mocked you and your hordes of admirers when you first came out in 2007. People hyped up for months in advance and standing in ridiculously long lines to purchase you? Really? Admittedly, I didn't even have a smart phone at the time. But you were a phone, for heavens sake! I couldn't see the point in having something that did anything more than allow calls to come in and go out. Texting wasn't even on my radar.

But Bryan wouldn't take no for an answer when he asked, back in 2009, if I wanted a nicer phone. He bought me a Sprint Palm Pre. The communication options became much more varied. I was able to not only receive and send phone calls...but also emails and (with tutorials from my 13 year old daughter) texts. Heck, I was even able to update my facebook status from just about anywhere!

Little did I realize that my Palm Pre was really like a bike with training wheels. It was my learning smart phone. I wasn't ready for the true awesomeness that was you...my iphone 4S. But little by little and slowly but surely I came around. Around to the idea that I needed to do some research and see why that original hype that started back in 2007 was still going strong. Why all my neighbors were iphone users, why my own sister had even chosen to go the iphone route.

Truth be told, it was running that decided me. I could put you in an arm band on a 3 mile run and you would be my phone (if I ran into trouble), my music (because you can sync easily to my itunes), AND tell me how far, how fast and how long I ran with your ability to operate the RunKeeper app. So when Sprint announced last month that they were going to start carrying iphones, I was sold.

To be honest, I was a little irritated that I was going to have to potentially wait for up to three weeks before I could start using you. You, very clearly, are the Prom Queen of smart phones. But I can be patient (most of the time) so I waited...only one week, actually. When I walked into that Sprint store and they put you, for the first time in my hand...well, WOW. My heart started beating a little bit faster, I must admit. You were beautiful...with your white exterior and your colorful touchscreen. The salesman excitedly showed me all the many things you could do and introduced me to Siri. You know, she's pretty nice. I have yet to truly utilize her to her full extent but I'm learning. For example, she's already given me a list of potential places to dispose of a dead body if need be. How handy is that? (I have a 10 year old son. He's a little obsessed with Siri...)

Today I took you to church and followed along in the lesson manual and the scriptures right from your touchscreen. I also received a text from Bryan telling me he had arrived in New York safely (but in politeness to the teacher, of course, I didn't respond until after the lesson was finished....) Yesterday I looked up movie times and weather updates on you. Tomorrow your alarm clock will wake me up and your calendar will remind me of my 9:00 appointment. And this, I know, is only the very tip of the iceberg.

So, I see now. I see what all the hype was about and it was well deserved.
Love, Me

P.S. I've been excitedly buying covers for you because I want to keep you safe and modest (you are pretty sexy, after all). There are so many to choose from! When I ordered this one and it said it was from Hong Kong...I didn't realize it would actually be shipped from there!! But you sure look beautiful in your new "clothes"...

Date Night at the Movies

2011-11-12T23:05:00.003-07:00

Tonight was date night. We had dinner at Thaifoon where I ordered the Evil Jungle Princess Shrimp. Though the description on the menu had not just one, but two chili pepper symbols indicating some serious heat, I was less than impressed with the spiciness of my dish. It was still really yummy though.

But the real noteworthy event of date night was the near miracle that allowed us to find a movie Bryan and I BOTH were interested in seeing. This so very rarely happens. Realistically, neither one of us tends to see movies in the theater very often. But maybe that is because we have such different tastes in film that it usually necessitates seeing movies individually or not at all.

Bryan likes action flicks, science fiction and sometimes even horror. And if there are aliens or superheros thrown in the mix, all the better. Usually the movies he wants to see I can't handle. Lack of interest, yes...but mostly, it's about being a first class chicken. I WILL have nightmares. No maybes about it. Remember "The Sixth Sense?" I didn't watch it when it came out, despite the rave reviews. Bryan, even, loved it because it so took him by surprise which is rare. People told me I should see the movie. It wasn't scary, just intense, they said. But I had two little toddlers at the time who frequently cried in the night and needed Mama. There was absolutely no doubt in my mind that I would "see dead people" as I wandered down the hall at night to comfort my children. Because my mind just works that way. I didn't see "The Sixth Sense" until just a few months ago...and even then I didn't see the whole thing. But I had nightmares all the same. See? First class chicken.

Me, on the other hand? I love rom-coms and chick flicks that make me laugh and my heart go pitter-pat. I am a sucker for Jane Austen, Henry James or any other classic book made into a movie (what would you call those, Period Classics?) and also historical films like "The Kings Speech." I love musicals...although I have to admit, my neighbors and I mocked "Mamma Mia" mercilessly when we went as a big group to see it. But Bryan has no interest, really, in any of these types of films. So what does that leave us with?

Well...in the past couple of years we have found commonality in movies like "Star Trek," "Knight and Day," "Inception" and "Harry Potter." But one genre of movie can usually always satisfy us both and that is your traditional thief caper. You know...stuff like "Oceans 11," "The Italian Job"...even "National Treasure." Bryan will complain about probability and I'll give a little spiel on suspending disbelief...but we usually both come out smiling. Tonight we found ourselves all wrapped up in "Tower Heist." (Side note: Alan Alda and Mathew Broderick in the same movie = awesome in my book!) Maybe because it's a rare and special treat, I find myself so completely happy and content when sitting with Bryan in a theater. Leaning up against each other, fingers laced together or resting on each other's leg, laughing or gasping in the same places. Okay...maybe it's more me that laughs out loud and audibly gasps during movies. All the same, we had a great time. How long will it be this time, do you suppose, before we find another movie we can both agree on?

Make a wish!

2011-11-11T23:11:00.000-07:00

A wish? As in just one? On a day like this I think more than one wish is deserved. I'm thinking more like three is pretty fair, don't you?

I could go all serious and wish for things like world peace, no disease, free healthcare for all, no divorces, affairs, or suicides, and no snakes. But that's not realistic, unfortunately. Well, except the no snakes thing....I really do wish for that!

So looks like my wishes are going to be somewhat silly and rather self-indulgent. But hey, a day like 11/11/11 doesn't come around all that frequently.

1. I wish for a cleaning lady. I want to say that my house is genuinely too big for me to handle on my own. But realistically my 4,700 square feet is doable if I put my mind to it. {And get my teenagers to actually pick up after themselves.} Truth be told, I just don't want to do it! I'd even do all the laundry and cooking...yardwork too, if someone would just come over to scrub my toilets and mop and vacuum my floors once a week!

2. I wish for a day alone at home free from any responsibilities to have a massive movie marathon. I am SO behind on all the movies I want to watch. I think the last movie I watched in the theater was "Winnie the Pooh" last summer with Lilian. {That's kind of sad...} So a day to rent all the movies I missed and watch them one by one...as I lounge on the couch in my most comfortable clothes and with my most favorite snacks...sounds pretty ideal.

3. I wish for a guilt free shopping spree at IKEA. Rugs, curtains, picture frames, bookshelves....these are the things that, because they are wants not needs, I have chosen to wait on...or at least not buy all at once. :) I wish I could walk into that store all fancy free, pick out whatever I want, and walk out without my mind already trying to process how I'm going to break the news of my purchases to Bryan...

Like father, like son

2011-11-10T23:08:00.000-07:00

This kid is his father's son. In many ways but most recently:

When I met Bryan and saw his bedroom for the first time I was surprised to discover that he didn't have a bed. Just a mattress on the floor and a recliner. He didn't like sleeping in an actual bed, he told me...and spent equal nights reclined in the chair or sprawled out on the floor. Luckily, Bryan does now spend his nights sharing an actual bed with me. But naps frequently happen on the floor (the corner of our bedroom and the walk-in closet being his two favorites), or on a love sac in the basement family room.

Brandon seems to have adopted this tendency to favor sleep in places other than the provided bed. For the past couple of weeks he has been spending his nights in a sleeping bag on a cot. He keeps asking me to take down the bed. But besides the fact that his bed also has a host of drawers and shelves that are being utilized and where would we put all that crap (?) I'm hoping that this is a phase he will soon outgrow. Time will tell.

Daily tidbits

2011-11-09T22:03:00.002-07:00

It was a waterproof mascara day. My head aches and my eyes are red, puffy and tired. I can't hide the fact that I have spent much of the day crying...but my mascara is still on. (The marathon emotional roller coaster continues....)

I may have purposely listened to Christmas music today on the radio...something I usually am very strict about NOT doing until December. Normally I shun FM 100.3 and 106.5..the stations that start playing Christmas music the day after Halloween. "Save Thanksgiving!" has been my rallying cry. But something about the magic and cheer of Christmas music appealed to me today...November or no.

Lilian called to me this morning from her bed..."Mom, come wake me up!" Instead of getting her up, I crawled in next to her in the little twin bed. Morning breath notwithstanding, I snuggled that little girl good and tight. She was rather delighted when I said yes to her suggestion of a few stories. I think we should start the morning that way more often.

Terry's chocolate oranges are back in season. I found some at Smith's today and, after doing a little happy dance which had fellow shoppers looking at me strangely, loaded a couple of them into my cart.

A conversation...
Me: Rebekah, did you send a happy birthday message to your uncle yesterday on Facebook?
Rebekah: No.
Me: Why not?
Rebekah: {Defiantly} Because Mom, I just don't send people messages on Facebook!
Bryan: I support that policy! However, the phone company says you are setting new records for texting....
Rebekah: {Sheepishly} Oh.

Our flock of birds

2011-11-08T22:26:00.000-07:00

Meet the two newest members of our family...

It took us days to actually name them. Ideas flew fast and furious but we couldn't settle on anything until last night.

Bryan picked out this one so we offered him the privilege of naming her. He decided on "Dren"...after some sci fi movie he once watched. I looked up the movie on-line today...and discovered that not only does Dren = Nerd backwards but apparently our bird is named after a character that appears to be a deranged DNA mutant experiment gone bad. I can only assume that Bryan just thought the name was cool. If Dren starts murdering all her fellow birdmates in her cage, I will really start to worry....

In keeping with the sci fi theme, this bird was officially named "River"...as in the character River Song from "Dr. Who." River herself is also somewhat of a mutant...having Time Lord DNA and therefore having the ability to regenerate. River has also killed her fair share of alien baddies. So we'll be watching our River closely for any evidence of time traveling or imminent regeneration.

Pepper, Titi, River and Dren

(We're wondering if Dren and Titi have a thing for each other. They sure seem to spend a lot of time making out.)

We think Max (the grandfather of the group) had a stroke. He spends all his time down on the floor of the cage. He walks funny and looks pretty hammered. He can't fly anymore and I don't think he can see, poor thing. He gets flipped over with his wings stuck in the bars of the cage daily. We come running when we hear a frantic flapping sound, untangle him and cuddle him till his little heart stops pounding. I'm always surprised when I get up each morning, to find him still alive and waddling around.

So that's our little flock. Or, as a friend commented, our very own "angry birds." :) Realistically they are all happy little things making all sorts of high pitched cheerful noises... in increasingly higher decibel levels now that there are five of them. But we love them and are endlessly entertained by them.

-------------------------
Update 10 November, 2011

Max died today....just two days after writing this post. It doesn't come as a surprise but is still sad all the same. He seemed fine this morning. Well, not fine really....seeing as we've watched his quality of life deteriorate dramatically over the past couple of months. But he was up and moving around when we took the cover off the cage this morning. Around noon I found him laying on his side on the bottom of the cage, clearly gone. In a way, I'm relieved. I have no idea how much pain he might have been in. I'm glad he doesn't have to suffer anymore. But oh, how we will miss our Max!

NaBloPoMo

2011-11-07T14:01:00.000-07:00

Just in case you were wondering....
After I finished that 30 day photo challenge I joked about taking an extended break from my blog. Joke...cause of course, I'm way too prolific/wordy/chatty to do something like that. But if you've noticed, I'm actually still posting EVERY DAY!
The reason?
NaBloPoMo.
I signed myself up to post something, ANYTHING every single day for the month of November. (The point behind NaBloPoMo being to get yourself out of a rut and WRITE/POST.) And yes, I realize that doing the photo challenge just had me doing that very thing all throughout October. Glutton for punishment...that would be me. Either that or I just really like shooting the breeze.

National Blog Posting Month, or NaBloPoMo, is a month long writing exercise intended to occur annually in November. The first NaBloPoMo occurred in November of 2006, and was the brainchild of M. Kennedy, an American blogger. Kennedy was inspired by National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), which also happens every November, and thought that there should be a blogging counterpart. NaBloPoMo took off, thanks to the extensive information distribution network between bloggers, with hundreds of participants entered in the first NaBloPoMo.

The rules of NaBloPoMo are simple, although the challenge is set up on an honor system. Participants are required to publish one post on their personal website or blog every day. There is no length requirement, with some posters writing long essays every day and others posting photographs and brief captions. Participants are not permitted to back post or schedule chron jobs to upload posts in the future, but must actively create a post every day for the month of November.

On my mind...

2011-11-06T23:21:00.000-07:00

My mind feels like a bipolar radio station tonight...seesawing back and forth between two very different songs.

One, a Benjamin Britten Christmas carol that we are learning in the church stake choir called "This Little Babe." It's a 3-part treble number that is to be sung Presto con fuoco...Presto meaning very fast and con fuoco meaning with fire. In true Benjamin Britten style, the melody line is random and unexpected. And little by little the song turns into a speedy little canon (round). It is AWESOME!

The song on the other end of the musical seesaw in my brain? Coldplay's "Us Against the World" from their newest Mylo Xyloto album that came out two weeks ago. Though I'm loving the whole album, this song is my favorite. It's a slower ballad with lyrics that keep me wondering if there is some deeper poetical meaning to it all or if they're just meant to sound pretty. Regardless, it's the 30 seconds worth of instrumental chord progressions about 3/4ths of the way through the song that has me replaying over and over and over again.

And yet, this morning in church it was the message of the lyrics in the opening hymn that took hold of my mind and heart. In an already emotionally fragile state, this hymn opened the floodgates and besides making it rather impossible to actually sing, also kept me reaching for the kleenex frequently throughout the remainder of the meeting.

"As witnesses we gather here to thank and to attest of mercies and of miracles--oh, still our lives so bless! Feed thou our souls, fill thou our hearts, and bless our fast, we pray. That we may feel thy presence here and feast with thee today."

Bipolar-like or not, I actually quite enjoy the fact that the soundtrack of my life includes such varied and diverse kinds of music.

Emotional Roller Coaster

2011-11-05T23:47:00.000-06:00

A boy I grew up with in my neighborhood, was good friends with, even had a crush on for a time...committed suicide yesterday. I have not seen this boy since high school (which is why I suppose I continue to think of him as a "boy" even though realistically he was a 39 year old man when he died) so I don't know where life took him after we all graduated and moved on. Because my parents and his still live in that same neighborhood I have learned that besides a divorce under his belt, he had been struggling with other life challenges. But suicide? I know that it is, unfortunately, not uncommon. But I have a really hard time wrapping my brain around it. How completely and utterly devastated and worthless one must feel to think that killing yourself is the only option. What was going through his mind when he stepped in front of that train early yesterday morning?

This comes at the tail end of a week that was already a bit of an emotional roller coaster. Tuesday night found me sitting in my car until the wee hours of the night talking with a dear friend about the state of her marriage and debating whether she should seek a divorce. This couple has been married for 18 years...I introduced them and served as maid of honor at their wedding. And without going into details that are not really mine to share, I'll just say that both Bryan and myself have been extremely distraught and shed many tears of grief over the whole situation. It hurts, literally hurts physically, when I think about it.

But then Bryan and I were rocked again (and extremely saddened) Thursday to hear the news that some other friends of ours have decided to divorce. She worked for Bryan for many years and, more than just a stellar part of the team, she and her husband both became valuable friends. I remember well with fond memories being with them when they were sealed in the temple. I don't know the why's and how's of what went wrong. And realistically, I don't need to know. I can pray for them with or without details.

So this morning my emotions were raw as I told Bryan about my friend who committed suicide. Why is life so hard sometimes? I found myself unexpectedly in tears as I shared my immense gratitude for our relationship and the love we share. We have had our fair share of fairly serious trials. Life has been very hard on us at times. As it is for everyone, really. Because after all, this life is meant to be a test, isn't it? However, I firmly believe that "...men are that they might have joy" (2 Nephi: 2:25) and that we have agency. Which means that despite the crap that life throws at us at times (because of poor decisions or no) we have the choice and the ability to endure, overcome and be happy.

How I hope and pray that despite the truly awful things my friends are going through, they will eventually find comfort, peace and happiness again. How I wish that my friend who committed suicide had. And how thankful I am that Bryan and I are on this life journey together!

Favorite Photo Friday: HAFB

2011-11-04T09:01:00.001-06:00

October 2008
Checking out the planes at the Hill Air Force Base museum over the long UEA weekend.
This was Plan B.
After Plan A {a trip down to St. George} got mercilessly axed by my husband.
(In fairness, he didn't really know of my hankering for a trip, and was in the middle of a project at work...too busy to get away.)
Not quite as exciting as a weekend out of town.
But still interesting all the same.

Another "man cave" update

2011-11-03T07:10:00.002-06:00

Another update in the project that is Bryan's man cave. Work continues in spurts with perhaps a weeks worth of constant activity followed then by a few weeks with only sporadic (if any) visits by our work crew. But slowly and surely this baby is getting built.

I guess I must've got lazy with the camera...or maybe I can just chalk it up to these things all happening right close together, but this picture represents 3 updates. Shingles on the roof, a door, and a cement walkway spanning the front of the building and meeting up with the preexisting path that leads back to the house.

But then the building sat. For a long time. I don't know why. But for weeks no one showed up to do any work whatsoever. Eventually we had a flurry of work as the gas and electrical went in. If you look close you can see wires running through the framed walls and the canned lights in the ceiling.

Then the insulation went in. First they spent a full day spraying foam. It was funky looking.

And then they spent another day installing that regular fiberglass rolled pink stuff. (Well, actually I'm just assuming it's pink. I didn't actually see them put it in. But in my mind, this stuff is pink...is it always or does it come in different colors? Hmm.)

And then the floor....oh, the floor! Bryan can hardly see straight, he is so excited about the floor! It's not quite done, actually. It's been stained...but now some heavy duty washing happens, and then the sealing. Which, according to Bryan, will all make it look different than this. But I couldn't wait to show you the awesomeness. Don't you worry...I'll update again when it's all officially done.

While all of that progress was happening on the inside, the outside was getting some love as well in the form of hardy planks. Can I tell you how relieved I am to not have to stare at Tyvek home wrapping every time I look out the back window? VERY!
The planking went up. And then after spending a lot of time with the exterior guy one morning searching through our move-in paperwork and old paint cans left in the basement to figure out what the official color of our house was so we could match it exactly....that hardy plank got painted.
Also installed was soffit and fascia.
Soffit and Fascia are the final decorative touches that create a fine, classic finish to your home or business. They cover all existing overhangs and roof edges to smooth the overall appearance of your new sleek home.
You know...just in case you don't know what soffit and fascia is and would have to ask...like I did.

Next up: stacked rock under the hardy plank, railing and stairs for the side porch, paint for the door, light fixtures...and probably a whole host of other things that I don't know about because, well...I'm not a builder. I just document the progress. And let's all give a HOORAY for progress! I see light at the end of the tunnel....

Past updates on Bryan's man cave here and here

A little more Halloween...

2011-11-02T22:24:00.000-06:00

I picked our day carefully when planning a trip to do some witch watching at Gardner's Village. A Monday so as to avoid big weekend crowds...clear and cloudless with no hint of the rainy weather we'd had the week before. We even invited my friend Hannah and her son Jace to come with us. I had visions of the two kids excitedly hunting down the witches and happily posing for pictures with each.

HA!
(Oh, and did I mention... HA!)

Witches? What witches? Lilian and Jace only gave passing glances to all the silly witches as they passed by in their hunt for rocks to climb on and ducks to sneak up on and walls to walk on. Only once did I get them to actually pose with a witch. But they had a glorious time and I guess that's all that matters.

This picture makes me laugh. Lilian and Jace kept getting frustrated when their noisy running would cause the ducks to quickly waddle away. Hannah and I told them that in order to get closer, they needed to walk quietly and slowly...to sneak up on the ducks, as it were. We laughed good and hard when both kids immediately adopted a sneaky pose and actually tiptoed towards the ducks!

A few days later Lilian had her preschool Halloween party. The parents were invited to come at the beginning of class to ooh and ahh and take pictures of the Halloween fashion show.
Isn't Lilian looking very demure?

Halloween 2011

2011-11-01T08:43:00.001-06:00

Another successful Halloween has come and gone. My friend Heather and her family came to spend the day with us. Bryan even took the day off work. But because of our "accident" yesterday, much time was spent talking to our insurance agent and also the claims adjuster he sent over. We filled out lists of what was destroyed and/or damaged. Bryan's brother, Kevin came over to help sift through the rubble and haul some debris and junk off to the dump. And last but not least, Bryan picked up a rental car.

Carving pumpkins? Nope. Didn't happen. But the kids were so excited to be hanging out with their friends that they didn't even notice.

*Brandon dressed up as a "Reaper." Which (if you are scratching your head like I was) is the bad guy from one of the Playstation 3 games he plays. In my opinion, he kind of just looks like a kid who didn't really bother to dress up but still wants the privilege of trick-or-treating. But I swear, he thought long and hard about what he wanted to be...we even bought the red hoodie special for his "costume."

*Lilian, if you remember, has been obsessed with any and all things Minnie since we went to Disneyland last August. Those sparkly Minnie ears were picked up while we were there. So it seemed a no-brainer to dress her up as Minnie for Halloween this year. (I couldn't get her to put the caramel apple down for the picture. Stubborn much??)

*My Mad Hatters hat I also picked up at Disneyland. I justified the purchase by promising to wear it on Halloween. Heather is wearing the witch hat that I normally wear. Hats tend to be my only nod to dressing up for the holiday.

We started out the evening by having dinner with our little corner of the neighborhood. And not that pizza and pop is the most nutritious meal...but it at least fills up children bellies enough, hopefully, that they aren't as likely to gorge on candy all evening. HA! Who am I kidding...

*Julianne dressed up as an Egyptian Goddess. Doesn't she look pretty?? Quite different from the nerd she dressed up as for a costume party last weekend.

*And Rebekah dressed up as a self-described "party person." This is her 3rd costume this weekend. At a party on Friday she went as a pirate. At a dance at the school on Saturday she dressed up as Alice in Wonderland. For actual Halloween night, she apparently toned it down a bit. Although in high school now, she and her friends still did a bit of trick-or-treating before retreating to a friend's house for games.

Besides being a neighborhood chock-full of young kids prone to do A LOT of trick-or-treating...the adults really get into the holiday as well. I'm talking beyond just a cleverly carved pumpkin. In our neighborhood, it is extremely common to have orange lights, cobwebs, full size cemetaries and life-size skeletons, witches or other such creepy dudes hanging around at the majority of houses. Beyond even that, though, we have quite a few houses that go ALL out. And by all out, I mean "HOLY WOW!"

One house (the hit of the neighborhood each year...seriously, there was a LINE just to get in) does an actual production. Literally. This year it was Alice and Wonderland (Tim Burton style). Past years themes have included Wizard of Oz, Superheros, and Dracula's Castle. And every year it blows my mind. (I fit right in this year with my own Mad Hatters hat. Rob aka The White Rabbit...told me I should stay and join in the "cast." haha.)

That's a pretty big "Ooops!"

2011-10-30T22:54:00.000-06:00

We had a bit of an accident at our house this afternoon....

Our family car is a Ford F-150 truck. They don't call them "Ford Tough" for nothing.
Pulling into the driveway on the way home from church Bryan suddenly got his foot stuck. Pressing on the gas..but wedged in tight somehow between the pedal and the wall.
We all watched in horror as the closed garage door came closer and closer....

SMASH! CRASH! BOOM!

But then it just got worse.
Because that Ford Tough truck wasn't fazed by the garage door.
Or the humongous metal weight equipment in the back of the garage. Or the actual wall behind that. We flattened the weight set and plowed right on through the wall. Where we finally, blessedly, came to a stop...hanging out over the stairs in the backyard leading down to the back basement door.

Should I admit to the swear words that involuntarily left my mouth?
With glass everywhere and the truck tilting at a very odd angle (only one tire still touching the ground) we all shakily climbed out one of the back doors. I immediately grabbed the camera. Pictures for the insurance company taking only slight precedent in my mind, over pictures for the blog.

(Look, look!! We missed my bike! It didn't get smashed! Phew!)

My knees hadn't even stopped shaking before we had neighbors in work clothes coming over to survey the devastation and ask what they could do to help. A bunch of men took down the precariously hanging garage door. Another neighbor with a truck even more monstrous than ours attached a tow rope and hauled our truck out of the hole in the wall. Another (in his church clothes, no less) got down on the ground to assess any potential damage to the undercarriage. Numerous men offered Bryan a ride to and from work this week. Numerous women offered me the use of their cars when I started lamenting the six carpools I am involved with. We even got a few offers from neighbors wanting to bring us dinner. One sweet friend stayed a good 45 minutes to comfort Lilian who couldn't stop crying (though she wasn't hurt, she was plenty traumatized).....and then comfort me when I suddenly and unexpectedly started crying myself. (Delayed reaction, I guess.)

So we will be having a long talk with our insurance agent tomorrow. Conveniently, the same company covers both our car AND our house.

(We had a slew of neighbor kids hanging around and watching the action. Made for quite a change in what is normally a fairly low key Sunday afternoon. In this picture they are anxiously waiting for the truck to get pulled out of the hole....)

Blessings? There are plenty.
*No one was injured.
*The airbags didn't deploy.
*We went up and over the metal weight equipment instead of having it come through the front windshield.
*We went through the 3rd car garage rather than the other side...which would have potentially landed us in the kitchen rather than the backyard.
*The wall we went through wasn't load bearing.
*We have the best neighbors in the world.
*Oh, and did I mention NO ONE WAS INJURED!!!

Finished!

2011-10-28T12:17:00.000-06:00

I finished this photo challenge yesterday. Somehow it seems strange to be done...the 30 days went by rather fast. And I almost feel at a loss. Because it has SO consumed me this past month...being on my mind each and every day. Some days were easy. Some days were hard. Sometimes it was difficult to figure out WHAT to take a picture of, how to interpret the assignment. Other days it was getting the actual picture. Whether that meant I had to make the time to drive somewhere out of my way, or just getting the shot I wanted to turn out the way I envisioned...seeing as my photography experience is limited. But the spur of the moment decision to take on this challenge has turned into a better experience than I expected. And I learned a lot.

I learned more about the various settings on my camera, about photo editing, about taking pictures from different and (perhaps) unexpected angles and of looking at the world through the eyes of a photographer...finding beauty in normal and mundane things, appreciating the color, texture and personality of things around me.

But as if that wasn't enough already, I also hugely enjoyed trying to make each day's post more than just a photo I took...a story or experience behind the reason I chose interpret that day's assignment the way I did or the experience I had getting the actual shot.

Who knows...now that I don't have the pressure of doing a post-per-day I might just take an extended leave of absence from my blog...

(Yeah right...like that's going to happen! I'm way too prolific and wordy for that!)

Day 30: In Motion

2011-10-27T17:35:00.002-06:00

Disclaimer for Ten June readers:

My foray into this photography challenge has been a little different than yours. I have been using a slightly different list. Also, instead of taking a picture a day and then writing one post per week....I have been doing a post per daily photo assignment. Which, though has been fun because I can really flesh out each subject...means it's pretty much all I've been blogging about lately!

So here is my Day 30: In Motion

And if you are interested...here are links to the rest of my week 25-30:

Day 25: Sunflare

Day 26: Something Old

Day 27: After Dark

Day 28: Daily Routine

Day 29: Purchased

Finished!

Brandon. Our gymnast extraordinaire. Doing some sort of side flip off the rocks in the front yard. Easiest photo assignment of the entire month. I made him flip twice. Took two photos each time. Was done in 30 seconds. Yep....a model perfect poster child for "in motion."

Day 29: Purchased

2011-10-26T22:29:00.000-06:00

After finding myself in Draper with a canceled rehearsal and, therefore, some time to kill, I decided to go to IKEA. It's a store that I don't visit often because of its distance away from my home, but is always on my list of favorite places to shop. My trip there last week resulted in me bringing home this beauty.

Here...let me give you a better idea of how truly awesome this purchase is....

It's a canvas wrapped 78"x55" world map. And I think it's about the coolest thing ever. Chalk it up to the geekiness that comes from taking enough classes to earn a history degree...but I get a big kick out of geography. (History and geography...the two go hand in hand.)

And just where did I find enough wall space to hang this mammoth map?

In our downstairs TV room. The room is huge. And had next to nothing hanging on the walls. There's a whole decorating theme getting started down there. Stay tuned for more updates on that. But in the meantime...you can enjoy this sneak peak of the sweetness that is my IKEA canvas map!

Day 28: Daily Routine

2011-10-25T22:22:00.000-06:00

My daily routine? It changes daily! There are some constants, though, and this is one of them. This child is a night owl. Which means that long after her siblings have gone down to their rooms, I generally find her in front of her netbook finishing homework...or on the couch reading, or sitting in front of the TV. And I end up repeatedly telling her to go to bed at least 3x before she actually winds her way down the stairs and to her bedroom.

My daily routine yesterday looked something like this:
*Drive Jr. High carpool 7:50 AM.
*Send Rebekah out the door to her high school carpool 8:15 AM. (Tuesday late start schedule)
*Send Brandon of to the bus stop 8:25 AM.
*Discuss day and other issues with Bryan and kiss him goodbye.
*Check email and FB and write a blog post while drinking my slimfast breakfast.
*Lilian wakes. Snuggle time and breakfast.
*Sort clean laundry.
*Phone calls about ballet carpool.
*Get Lilian dressed and off to ballet 10:50 AM.
*Take a shower and get ready for the day.
*More laundry.
*Lilian arrives home. Changes out of her ballet clothes (reluctantly) and eats lunch.
*Look up recipes, make a dinner menu and a grocery list.
*Send Lilian off to preschool 12:50 PM.
*Volunteer at the elementary school stuffing folders for Brandon's teacher.
*Grocery shopping. Buy lots of autumn type foods and Halloween candy. Chat with the employees...they know me well.
*Unload groceries and make the frenchbread pizza that I have just purchased, for lunch.
*Pick up Jr. High carpool kids 3:00 PM.
*More laundry.
*Texts back and forth about gymnastics carpool. Brandon leaves with carpool. Bryan will bring boys home later.
*Act as fashion consultant in helping Rebekah find an appropriate outfit to wear to her choir concert. (No trip to the mall...whew!)
*Make lasagna for dinner and leave it in the fridge, uncooked.
*Send Julianne off to a Young Women service activity 6:00 PM.
*Gather Lilian and Rebekah and head to the high school.
*Watch Rebekah's concert. (She had a solo! So proud!) Great concert...lousy company. NEVER taking Lilian again.
*Come home to find Bryan, Brandon and Julianne home and lasagna cooking in the oven 8:40 PM.
*EAT DINNER TOGETHER. Ahhhh.... 9:20 PM.
*Do dishes, vacuum kitchen floor, fold some laundry.
*Lilian falls asleep on my bed. Brandon and Rebekah go to their rooms.
*Convince Julianne it's time for bed after repeatedly reminding her. 10:30PM.
*Sit down at the computer to write this post only to find the internet extremely sluggish.
*Go to bed.

"Harriet"

2011-10-25T10:27:00.001-06:00

This past Friday I performed a workshop of a new musical called "Harriet." It was written by Colette Call, the same playwright who wrote "Power in His Touch"....the Easter themed musical that Julianne and I performed in a year and a half ago. (See here, and here)

As you may have already and obviously guessed, this new musical is about Harriet Tubman. I found it fascinating. And no, not just because I am a history geek. Colette did an amazing job researching Harriet Tubman's life and story...and then writing a script and music detailing her life as a slave, her family, her marriage to John Tubman, her escape north, founding the Underground Railroad and her leadership as a spy for the Union during the Civil War. The music was incredible! Such beautifully haunting songs, such amazing duets and such rousing, foot-stomping gospels.

The cast was nothing if not spectacular! And my good friend and voice teacher, Gary, was our music director. I played Ms. Susan...a very refined and traditional southern plantation owner who is dismayed, upset and confused when she discovers her daughter has slave sympathies and starts going all abolitionist.

Some of my lyrics from the quartet I sing:

Don't ask questions you should not ask. It is not demure.

Sometimes there are things that a lady must choose to ignore.

That's just the way it is, you can't change the way it is.

Trust me, my dear, you're better not to try.

You can't change the way it is, that's just the way it is.

Leave it to God to know the reasons why.

With an audience of representatives from different theatres around the state, we performed "Harriet" workshop/reader's theatre style at the Rose Wagner Theatre....mostly to give the audience an idea of what the show was about and to then receive feedback and to hopefully find a sponsor willing to back a fully staged production of the show.

There were quite a few members of Lex de Azevedo's Millennium Choir in the cast and it was a lot fun to perform with them. Todd and I have been singing together for over 10 years now. After the show was over he handed my camera to his girlfriend to get photographic proof that in my 5 inch heels I was as tall as he was. He thought it was hugely funny and teased me about it all night long. :)

Gary, Collette, Todd, me and David

Colette and Gary with more fabulous cast members...

Melanie, Rick, David, me, Todd, Todd's girlfriend

After our performance a bunch of us made our way across the street to Squatters for some food and celebration. It was a fun night.
(A funny side note...all three of us girls at this table graduated from U of U but root for BYU! And here I thought I was the only one with conflicting/"traitorous" leanings....)

Day 27: After Dark

2011-10-24T23:05:00.000-06:00

There are quite a few houses in my neighborhood that really get a kick out of Halloween...

Day 26: Something Old

2011-10-23T23:00:00.000-06:00

These are the letters that Bryan and I exchanged while he was on his LDS mission and I was in college between 1991-1993. Julianne was flabbergasted this evening, to realize that we "hand wrote" all our letters. On stationary. Missionaries didn't use email back then. Email and internet didn't really become mainstream until the mid-90's. (I got my first email account through Utah State University shortly after Bryan and I got married.) She couldn't wrap her mind around it. Email, internet, texting...it's all such a permanent and normal part of her daily life. Of mine as well, now. I can't imagine going back. And yet, what a treasure these old letters are!! Their hand written addresses, beat up envelopes, colorful stationary and upside down stamps (which meant "I love you" in super, secret stamp code...), let alone the actual letter inside with the news of ups and downs, mission companions and college roommates, spiritual experiences and funny stories, and of course, the heartfelt I miss you's and I love you's and I'm thinking of you's...

Playing in the leaves...

2011-10-23T13:54:00.002-06:00

We usually try to fit in a trip up the canyon each fall to ooh and ahh over the colors, to play in the leaves and to hike over the rocks and through the river. I posted a few pictures of the foliage in an earlier post but wanted to still include some photos of the kids playing around...

Day 25: Sunflare

2011-10-22T21:02:00.001-06:00

Okay...yes, it's rather obvious that I didn't take this picture TODAY but rather a few days ago on my little trip up the canyon. Whatever. I DID go out of my way to try and get a sunflare shot...seeing as I knew that specific assignment was coming up very soon and I was outside on a beautifully sunny day. And it is a very lovely photograph, is it not...with the sun shining through the crook of that tree??