A Little of This and That in March

I came out of my baby hibernation this month and started embracing all of the things again . . . but with a baby in tow. Hence, it was a busy month and included such things as . . .

Celebrating . . . Maxwell's 12th birthday. Unfortunately, it came on a very busy day for him, so he hurried to open a few presents before leaving for school at 7:30 and then he opened a few more in the evening in between play practice and sledding in the canyon for a youth activity. Because of all of his activities, we had to wait to have his birthday dinner and cake until the weekend. For his cake, he requested the "shattered plains" from some Brandon Sanderson novel. I had no idea what that would look like, but apparently Mike nailed it since Aaron and Max couldn't stop geeking out about it. 

Reclaiming . . . reading. Remember when this used to be a book blog? There was a time when I was always up on the latest in books, especially picture books and middle grade, and reading was the main thing I loved to do with my kids. But somehow, I lost hold of it in all of the chaos of the last few years. I'm ready to get it back. I'm filling up my holds queue at the library, making weekly library visits, reading to Ian in the mornings, and prioritizing my own reading. In light of that, I hope to go back to sharing books in some form--probably not full length reviews but maybe weekly posts on Instagram. 

Navigating . . . snowy roads to attend the symphony. My sister and I have had season tickets to the Utah Symphony this year. I've ended up having to miss three of the performances due to having a new baby and other family activities and commitments. So I really didn't want to miss their concert at the beginning of the month. Unfortunately, it coincided with a big spring snowstorm. The roads were only mildly dicey getting there (my sister was the brave one who drove). However, when we came outside following the concert, we found the snow falling thickly and already accumulating on the sidewalks and roads. Because it had been rather warm in the days leading up to the storm, it turned into a cold slush that was several inches deep at the intersections. There was no way to keep our feet dry. Even Anna, who had worn ankle boots, had snowy slush cascade over the sides. It was a miserable walk back to our car, and then the drive home took twice as long as it should have because the roads were so treacherous. Having a tiny baby waiting for me at home made me feel so anxious, and I spent most of the drive having all sorts of morbid, panicky thoughts. Needless to say, I'm not sure Mozart's piano concerto in A major was worth it (although it was very beautiful). 

Making . . . spring and Easter playlists. This is one of my favorite things to do as the seasons change, and I have quite a collection now. I prefer to make a new one each year rather than adding new songs to an already existing one. These specific songs become tied to my memories for the year, which I love. If you're interested in seeing what is on these two playlists, here is the one for Easter, and here is the one for spring. 

Adoring . . . our sweet Silas/big Sy/Spud. It hasn't stopped, in case you were wondering. Photographic  evidence to follow: 

Listening . . . to Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat. The scripture reading for this month included Joseph's story in Genesis 37-50. As soon as we started reading the familiar account, Mike and I burst into song. We couldn't help ourselves. We would read a few verses and then listen to the correlating song from the musical. It was so much fun, and our kids loved it. It made me think all scripture stories could benefit from being turned into musicals, haha. 

Going . . . wedding dress shopping. I mentioned last month that my sister got engaged. She has been busily planning the wedding, and one of her main objectives this month was to find a dress. I tagged along with her and my mom and my other sister for the fun. (Silas came, too, but stayed tucked away for most of it.) She tried on many dresses in a variety of styles and finally settled on one she had found early on in her search. She is going to look so stunning in it. 

Performing . . . in the UMEA state band festival. The concert band at Aaron and Max's junior high was selected to be one of the performing groups. Aaron plays the trombone in it, so he got to get up early on a Thursday morning and take the bus with the rest of the band to the Libby Gardner Concert Hall at the University of Utah. Afterwards, they all had lunch at the mall (where Aaron spent every last bit of the $20 we had given him--$20 doesn't go as far anymore). It was a fun way to shake up the week. (Aaron is seated just to the right of center on the third row in the photo below.) Besides the UMEA festival, there was also a band concert at the end of the month, which Aaron and Max were both a part of.

Resuming . . . our annual pi(e) party. We had to put it on hold in 2020 (covid) and 2021 (covid and second bone marrow transplant), but we came back strong this year. And by "we," of course you know I mean Mike. He decided to take the entire week off (he still had some paternity leave to use) and spent the second half of it baking almost nonstop. All told, he made 55 pies, which represented nine different kinds (cherry, lemon sour cream, key lime, pecan, pumpkin, strawberry, coconut, chocolate mousse, and apple). Watching Mike make pies is kind of mesmerizing. It's a combination of the creativity of an artist, the finesse of a baker, and the organization of an engineer. If you walked into our house at any point during the process, you would be struck by how orderly fifty-five pies in the making can look. We debated holding the party on Friday evening or Saturday afternoon, but ultimately went for Friday because of a fear of wind on Saturday (which was not unfounded). Per usual, we invited everyone from our neighborhood, as well as family and friends. The weather was beautiful, and we ended up with 170 guests. However, if you do the math, you'll know that 55 pies is too many for 170 people, so Mike ended up giving away whole pies at the end of it. Being able to resume this beloved tradition brought us (but especially Mike) so much joy. 

Singing . . . and dancing in Peter Pan. As I mentioned in last month's update, Maxwell was a part of the ensemble in his junior high's production of Peter Pan. They began rehearsing in December, but things really ramped up this month and finally culminated in six performances. He was feeling pretty drained and just kind of done with the whole thing by the last two weeks of rehearsals, but once he got on stage in front of a live audience and actually got to perform everything they had practiced for so long, he found it incredibly rewarding and worth all of the time. I bought tickets to all of the shows so that we could divide them up among family members. Both sets of grandparents came, as did Mike's sister and her girls. Many of us went twice (Clark went a total of three times). It was such a fun play, and I was very impressed with the quality of acting, singing, dancing, costumes, and sets.

Presenting . . . their work at an art show. Aaron is taking a film class this semester, and Maxwell is taking art. Their teacher put together an art exhibit showcasing the projects of some of the students. Maxwell's self portrait was selected to be part of the show, and one of Aaron's films was shown. Max's drawing won third place in the self portrait category. Twenty films were shown in the auditorium, and, I'm not going to lie, it was about what you'd expect from films created by 7th and 8th graders (in other words, it was a long hour!).

Blessing . . . sweet Silas. On the last Sunday of the month, Mike gave Silas his name and blessing at church. Maybe I'll write a whole post about how Silas' name came to be. Many people have asked why we chose the name we did (I always wonder if that's their tactful way of saying they don't like it). I'd love to share at a later time. We had both sets of grandparents at the blessing, as well as many of our siblings. I knitted a vest for Silas, and he looked so handsome and cute. We only had one snag in the day, which happened when Ian threw up ten minutes before church. Bradley saved us by agreeing to stay at home with Ian. He turned out to be totally fine and wasn't ever actually sick, which was good since we had family over for lunch afterwards. 

That seems like a good place to end this little recap. I'm enjoying the daily signs of spring and expect there will be some photos of flowers in next month's update . . . maybe they'll even compete with Silas for my attention. Hmmm, or maybe not.