Sunlit Pages: A Little of This and That in February

Here it is, April, and I'm relaying what happened in February. How did I get so far behind, you ask? Sundays are usually when I do all my memory keeping, but I've been doing a different kind of memory keeping the past couple of months, which is to go through all of our old photos and pull out any that have Aaron in them (tell me you have a senior without telling me you have a senior). That has been taking most of my available time, and I'm still only to 2020 with the photos. However, I decided I had to drop that for a couple of weeks so I could get caught up on our current happenings, which are . . .

Hosting . . . and being hosted. We had Mike's brother, Mark, and his family over for dinner one Sunday. And then we went over to Mike's brother, Matt's for a not-Super Bowl party a couple of weeks later.

Enjoying . . . some lovely park weather. Plenty of days of sun and mild temps this month, so plenty of time at the park. As detrimental as this warm, dry winter may be for our upcoming summer, at least I can say we've taken full advantage of it and have spent lots of time outside.

Performing . . . in the same concert. I didn't think I'd ever get to see Max and Bradley perform in the same band concert again, but Salt Lake Symphonic Winds came to the high school to do a concert, and since the high school is in the process of a rebuild, they needed to use the junior high auditorium, which meant the junior high band got invited to be in the same concert. I think the most surprising thing of the night was how much I enjoyed listening to Salt Lake Symphonic Winds. I realized I have hardly ever had the privilege of hearing a professional-level band, and this one is cool because all of the musicians come from different careers and demographics but love music, and the quality of the performance was top notch.

Teaching . . . my book club how to knit! Some of the women in my book club expressed interest in learning how to knit, and you don't have to ask me twice! We had a fun evening casting on, knitting, and purling. A few women weren't able to make it, so I did another class a couple of weeks later. Besides that, I also taught the second installment in my sweater class at Handwork. It is so fun to see others learn new skills, and I love when I can help them get over roadblocks and fall in love with knitting.

Spending . . . time at the yarn store with a friend. I met Charlene at the Great Basin Fiber Arts Festival a couple of years ago, and we enjoy seeing each other's projects on Instagram, but we decided it would be better to do it in person. We found a time to meet up at Handwork, and we knitted and chatted for a couple of hours. It was a lovely time. As for my actual knitting projects, I finished two pairs of socks (one for Max, one for me), started a little summer tee, and made progress on my Sunday blanket and my Stripe Hype sweater.

Having . . . fun at Sweetheart's. Another fun dance + activities. I have to admit, these might be my very favorite dance photos ever. Just a good looking group of teenagers all around in a beautiful location. During the day, they went on a fun scavenger hunt. Later, they went to dinner at Gary's Asian Bistro, went to the dance, and then played hostage afterwards.

Celebrating . . . Valentine's Day early. Due to an upcoming trip (see below), we had to move our Valentine festivities up by a couple of days. Per tradition, we had breakfast-for-dinner, the boys all got new books, and Mike wrote me this poem:

Experienced

Walking on cracks past big barking dogs,

A stolen car, brick-broken window.

Occasionally laid low with illness,

Immobile, drained or in pain.

Perplexed how peers eat at establishments,

While we eke out minimalist meals

No notion of the next parenting step,

With worried wrinkles at predicted pitfalls.

Seething in silence over discordant discussions

Feeling friendless, unloved and unappreciated.

Passing through sorrow

To know the joy

Filling the planters with flora together,

Saturated with the nasal nature of manicured grass

Healthy hands held, focused feet forward,

Walking while watched by Olympus's peak.

Lavish luxuries clicked to the cart with confidence,

Reaping the rewards of previous prudence.

Kids' concert music mingled with prideful tears,

Their work and goodness are a worthy reward.

Cuddled cozily on the couch, so close and confidential,

Hopes, hands, hearts and minds entwined.

Taking . . . the little boys to San Diego. Mike, Ian, Silas, and I went to San Diego over the long President's Day weekend and had a marvelous time. We took an early flight on Friday morning and were exploring Legoland before lunchtime. We stayed in a little condo near Ocean Beach for most of the trip and flew home late Tuesday night. We did some things we'd done on past trips and also some things we'd never done before. Highlights to follow.

Building . . . with Lego. We spent two days at Legoland including one night at the Legoland hotel, which was new for us. I feel like Legoland is designed for 4-10 year-olds, so Ian and Silas were at the perfect ages to enjoy it all. (This was part of the reason why we decided to not bring the big kids on this trip--we wanted to do Legoland, but we knew they'd aged out of it a bit.) One of the things that never gets old about Legoland is how committed the whole park is to Lego. There are so many cool builds everywhere you look; and even the out of service signs are made out of Lego. We rode most of the rides at least once and took the opportunity to build with Lego anywhere we could (this was definitely one of Silas' favorite parts). We ate yummy ramen and apple fries. We loved the perks that came with the hotel, including a treasure hunt to find the numbers to unlock the safe in our room, a dance party that evening, and a robust and varied breakfast buffet in the morning. The boys got swords and shields as souvenirs and got so much play out of those for the entire trip. We kept a nice, chill pace and really enjoyed our time there so much.

Filling . . . a Sunday in San Diego with a morning on the beach, church, a visit to Old Town and the Mormon Battalion site (Ian and Silas spent a good twenty minutes panning for gold), a lovely hike to a lighthouse, another trip to the beach (where I sat huddled up in a jacket and hat while everyone else got in the water), and finally yummy dinner that we had picked up the night before and a movie at our condo.

Relaxing . . . on a rainy Monday. We saw rain in the San Diego forecast, so we swapped around our plans a bit. We went out for breakfast at the cutest little diner where at least half the people there were regulars. Then we went to a fun park before the rain hit (but it was still plenty windy!). A visit to the local yarn store was also in order (I've been to this one, Apricot Yarns, before and I love it). We killed some time driving over the Coronado bridge and then building with Lego at the Lego store while it poured buckets of water outside. Then we went to the movie theater to see GOAT (pleasantly surprised by that one). And finally, we went to an Italian restaurant that was still decked out for Valentine's and filled with couples, so we felt a little out of place with our little guys in tow, but the food was delicious.

Seeing . . . an abundance of animals at the San Diego Zoo. For our last day in San Diego, we went to the zoo, which none of us had ever been to before. It was amazing. The sun was shining, and everything seemed so fresh and sparkly after all the rain the day before. We saw so many animals we've never seen in real life before, including: koalas (Ian's favorite), giant pandas (just chomping away, front and center, on a stalk of bamboo), gharials (like prehistoric alligators (and alligators already look somewhat prehistoric)), servals (a regal-looking cat), axolotls, and hippos. Ian got to help release the parrots at rope drop, and we got a good view of the zoo by taking both the bus tour and the gondola. I can see why this zoo is internationally famous because it had everything.

Finding . . . out that (drum roll . . . ) Aaron was accepted to BYU!!! We were in San Diego when he got the email. He Facetimed me, and I have to admit that when he said he had something to tell me, my first thought was that they had run into some kind of trouble while we were out of town. But he was smiling, and we were anticipating the news that weekend, so I quickly realized why he was actually calling. He has loved BYU since he was 8-years-old. He loved it for the football first (and stayed a loyal fan through years of losses), but now looks forward to being a student there for so many other reasons (but yes, still the football, too).

Losing . . . another tooth. While we were in San Diego (in the middle of GOAT at the movie theater), Ian pulled out his second front tooth. I am loving this toothless grin. I know it is fleeting and pretty soon he will have a big kid smile with wonky adult teeth.

Returning . . . to snow. The San Diego trip was supposed to be our winter getaway. Unfortunately, winter didn't come until after we were back.

Learning . . . how to use my new sewing machine. When I bought my new Bernina last month, it came with a three-session class. It was 6+ hours of instruction, and we went over every inch of the machine: from how to clean it to using different stitches to trying different feet. It was so helpful, and I felt so confident and knowledgable when I jumped back into another sewing project with it at home.

Socializing . . . with neighbors at a fun fiesta. When Mike and I arrived, we were assigned a certain color that correlated with a specific table. It was delightful to be randomly assigned to sit with people outside our usual circle of friends and get to know them better. The tacos and churros were delicious, and overall it was just such a fun evening.

Cheering . . . at a BYU game. Mike's dad had a few tickets to BYU basketball games this season. He did a drawing, and Aaron won one, so the two of them went to the Arizona game. Despite BYU's unfortunate loss, it was still a fun night.

Getting . . . the hang of his bike. Silas got a balance bike for his birthday (which he actually was not thrilled with). But he has slowly been making progress with it and finally started to pick up his feet and cruise, so I think he's coming around to liking it.

Driving . . . and more driving. Max went hard on the driving in February, taking every available chance to get behind the wheel and also doing all of driver's ed. He took it with one of his friends, and their instructor was an interesting guy who talked non-stop and serenaded them with Mongolian throat singing.

Finding . . . a salad on my porch every Tuesday. One of my friends started Salad Club, and it has just been the best thing. There are about sixteen of us participating. Each week, one person is in charge of making a salad for everyone in the group. So you only have to make a salad one week, but you get a salad every Tuesday on the other fifteen weeks. These have been hearty, delicious salads, and my favorite one so far is pictured below. Sometimes I forget it's Tuesday, so when the salad shows up on my porch, it is the most delightful surprise.

Immersing . . . himself in Newsies. Clark decided to be in his junior high production of Newsies, and he fully committed to everything about it. He listened to the music almost non-stop, watched a recording of the Broadway production, and practiced the choreography. He and Mike donated a Saturday to helping build sets. He never once complained about rehearsals and found the whole process joyful and exciting. Stay tuned for next month when he finally experienced the fruit of his labors.

Playing . . . in a recital. Ian had a violin recital at the end of the month. He played Mosquito Dance by Ludwig Mendelssohn. He has come a long way in the last year, and we love his teacher so much.

Experiencing . . . Japan for the night. You might remember that our friend, James, likes to throw themed birthday parties for himself, and this year it was centered around Japan since their family traveled there last summer. James spent the whole evening cooking for all of his guests while the rest of us ate delicious food and played fun games.