A Little of This and That in May

As the month began, I was still seeing blossoms on magnolia trees. We had such a long winter that many things did not bloom when they normally would have. I have never seen the magnolia trees in bloom so late into spring. By the time it was warm enough for them, all the other trees were popping too. It's been a very beautiful spring: a glorious feast for the eyes, an awful attack for the allergies. 

A few of the highlights (buckle up, it's a long one) from May include . . . 

Touring . . . a replica of the Old Testament tabernacle. Our area was fortunate to be able to host the traveling tabernacle (recreated according to dimensions and historical information) in May (for more information on this experience, click here). It was staffed by volunteers provided by church congregations in the surrounding neighborhoods. Mike, Maxwell, and Bradley all volunteered on one afternoon. They got to share information about the tabernacle and teach about the historical and religious significance of some of the components. Bradley's area was about the ritualistic clothing that was worn, and Max's area was about the fabrics and animal skins that were used. Max, especially, really enjoyed and embraced his role as tour guide and was happy to discuss questions. Later in the week, we went on the tour as a family. It was really interesting and insightful, and I'm sure having a visual memory of the tabernacle will be quite helpful as a reference point when I now read about it in the Old Testament.  

Taking . . . the human geography AP test. Aaron's first ever AP test is done and dusted. I have never seen him so happy following a test. I think he got a little taste of what it feels like at the end of every college semester. This class was a tough one: sooooooo many hours of homework that Aaron was often up until 1:00 in the morning (partly due to procrastination, partly just due to the actual workload). But he always stayed caught up, and he learned great study skills along the way. Besides being about human geography, this also felt like a "how to take an AP test" class. The teacher was so good about teaching valuable study skills. She prepped them so well that Aaron said the actual AP test felt easier than the practice ones he took in class, but we won't know how he actually did for another couple of months.

Spending . . . a morning with Grandma Jill and cousins at This is the Place. It was a bit chilly, but they still had fun riding the horses, holding the chicks, playing on the playground, riding the train, and enjoying a doughnut treat from Grandma.

Taking . . . a lot of photos of flowers. I can't help myself. It's what I do. 

Receiving . . . a scholarship from Gwen's family. One of the people who helped us the most through the early days of Aaron's aplastic anemia back in 2019 was Gwen. She had also had aplastic anemia as a teenager and she and her mom really provided a lot of hope and positivity for us. Tragically, Gwen passed away in April from a pulmonary embolism. In memory of her, Gwen's parents and her husband gave Aaron a scholarship, which was so generous and kind of them. 

Buying . . . a new (old) truck. One of Mike's favorite things to do is to watch the classifieds for good deals on trucks. He has long been unhappy with his current truck (which he found through the classifieds) and had lately become obsessed with finding a replacement for it. He found the perfect one: a dark gray 2003 Chevy Silverado. It is making all of his truck dreams come true. Now if he'll just sell his other truck (and stay away from the classifieds). 

Cheering . . . on the boys in their various fun runs. It's one of my favorite events at school. Quick and fast, but I get to see the boys with their friends and teachers, and it always marks the final days of school in a nostalgic way. 

Handing . . . over laundry to the boys. I thought I had written about this a couple of months ago, but I guess not. I decided to try something new with the laundry and that was to have each of the boys (Clark and up) take care of their own laundry (washing, drying, folding, putting away). They each already knew how to do laundry, having taken turns doing it for the family. However, it was feeling like we were adding a lot of time to a fairly simple task by rounding up all of the clothes, sorting them all, doing multiple loads just to have them all mixed together and have to be resorted as they were then folded and put away. It seemed like we could cut out a lot of that time if each person just did their own, thereby keeping their clothes all together in one place. And so far, it's been working out like a dream (we've been doing it for about two months). I still do all of the laundry for Ian, Silas, Mike and me, as well as towels, sheets, etc. But the other boys have been doing their own and, aside from leaving the clean laundry in a basket for longer than I'd like, they've been keeping up with it really well. 

Being . . . spoiled on Mother's Day. I don't know what Mother's Day will be like when my boys are all adults, but they're really so sweet to me right now. They all made me cards with thoughtful little notes. Ian's card said, "You have been the best mom," and I was glad he at least thought so in the past, haha. They also gave some little gifts: earrings, a notebook, some treats. I told the boys I wanted them to make me breakfast, but then they came up with everything on their own. They made yummy buttermilk biscuit cinnamon rolls (try them!) and fruit and sausage. At church, the bishopric took over primary so that all of the women could go to Relief Society. This felt like such a treat since I love Relief Society. And in the evening, we had dinner with Mike's parents and siblings. A lovely day all around. 

Bidding . . . a fond farewell to my grandma. My 93-year-old Gramazetta passed away the day after Mother's Day. Her decline was rapid and rather unexpected. My mom had gone out to visit her the week before. My mom took the photo below on the day she arrived. My grandma was still living independently in her own home and was her usual spunky self. But only a few hours later, her heart began to give her trouble. It was as if it was just tuckered out from 93 years of living, and it gradually gave out. I was able to talk to her over Facetime and tell her how much I loved her. My grandma went onto hospice soon after and peacefully passed away after only a few days with my mom and my aunt by her side. She truly was such a remarkable person, and I've had the joy of remembering so many happy moments from my childhood being with her. 

Participating . . . in track. Both Aaron and Max did track again this spring, and, for the first time, so did Bradley. I'm a fair weather parent when it comes to track meets and didn't go to any of them. However, Mike took Bradley to his meets, and so he was able to watch him compete, and he did quite well. (Bradley quit swim team earlier this spring because he wanted to compete in track, and I think it's a better fit for him.)

Getting . . . braces times two. After months of wearing a spacer, Bradley got braces. And after years of thinking about it, I got braces, too. Now Bradley looks like a fully fledged pre-teen, and I look like . . . I don't know . . . a teenager with wrinkles? We got them put on about two weeks apart, so Bradley was able to assure me that things would get better, and I think I'm finally starting to believe him. 

Starting . . . a diet. I actually paid for a subscription to a diet plan (Noom, if you're interested). I've had a really hard time losing weight since having Silas, and I just felt like I needed something a bit more organized and structured. So far, it is checking all of my Type A boxes and seems like a great fit for me. I actually told Mike that I wanted this weight loss program for Mother's Day, and he said there was no way he was going to tell me to lose weight on Mother's Day. Haha, I can see how he wouldn't want to go there. However, he is dieting with me, which helps immensely. It's way easier to turn down a treat when someone else is turning it down, too. (Also, might I recommend having the month you decide to get braces coincide with the same month you decide to start a diet? Turns out, it's easy not to eat food when your mouth literally won't let you. Win-win.)

Roasting . . . marshmallows in the canyon for the first (and possibly last) time this season. We went up Millcreek Canyon with cousins to have dinner and dessert. But after wrangling Silas for an hour (raging river in one direction, crackling fire in another), we decided this just might not be our year for canyon outings. Our older kids loved it though, and Ian informed us that he'd never cooked a hotdog over an open fire before, so check that off of the "growing up" list. We got rained on multiple times in little spurts, but not enough to chase us away. All in all, a fun evening, even with the 16-month-old needing constant supervision. 

Frogging . . . a knitting project and starting over. I don't have any knitting to show this month because I started a cardigan and got about seven inches into it (that's a lot of knitting, in case you didn't know) before realizing that it was turning out too small. So there was nothing to be done except frog it and try again. Why is it called "frogging"? Because when you rip out your knitting, you "rip it, rip it," which sounds like "ribbit, ribbit." I'm not kidding. This is a universally used phrase in knitting. 

Watching . . . Bradley's delightful class play. This was one of my favorite performances during the month. Bradley's class put on a play all about the European explorers (it's the same play Aaron's class did in fifth grade). Each student had a role in the play, and there was a song about each explorer. Bradley was Amerigo Vespucci, which, if you didn't know, is where the name "America" came from. In the play, Amerigo Vespucci is portrayed as an egotistical celebrity, and Bradley went all in on this part. He maybe enjoyed the over-the-top attention a little too much. I had no idea he possessed such charismatic nonchalance. Although I was partial to his song, the rest of the play was equally entertaining and an impressive production all around. 

Walking . . . to school. Even though we live relatively close to Bradley and Clark's elementary school, they've always either taken the bus or had me drive them. But towards the end of the year, we decided it would be fun to walk all the way there. Our neighbors, who go to the same school, wanted to do it, too. It took us a couple of tries to make it happen since we've been having morning thunderstorms. In fact, the morning that we actually ended up walking had heavy rain and hail twenty minutes before we left. Luckily, it cleared up as quickly as it came down, and our walk was quite pleasant. And the amazing thing was that it only took us 20-25 minutes, which made me wonder why we'd never done it before. And so the next week (which was the last week of school), we did it again. I think we'll continue to walk semi-regularly in the fall until the weather turns cold.

Sandbagging . . . at the cabin. Mike and the boys spent a Saturday placing sandbags around the cabin in Logan. With all of the snowmelt, the Logan river was running very high. There was some flooding around the cabin, but luckily, the cabin escaped unharmed. (Misadventures from the day included the tree swing breaking while Aaron was on it, injuring his tail bone; and Max getting bit by a garter snake.) 

Commenting . . . on Silas' hair color. As soon as the weather warmed up and the sun came out and Silas started spending every possible minute outside, his hair went completely blonde. And everyone mentions it: family, friends, people at church, neighbors. I think it's just because it happened so quickly, so people are a little surprised by it when they see him. I for one think he's absolutely adorable: that blonde hair with his brown eyes and tan skin--what a handsome little dude.

Acquiring . . . a bunch of landscaping quotes. We are trying really hard to move forward on our backyard renovation this summer, but it's requiring a lot of decisions, which neither Mike nor I are good at. In the meantime though, Mike has had many landscapers and deck builders look at it and give him quotes. We also had a landscape architect draw up a plan for us, which gave us a better idea of what the end result would look like and also helped us to know which things we want to hire out versus have Mike do himself. I truly hope I have more to report on this in the next few months.

Seeing . . . our friend, James, in a production of Bright Star Rising. This is one of my favorite plays, but I have to admit my expectations were low since it was just a little community theater putting it on. I was so wrong! The singing and acting were absolutely stellar. I was so impressed, and it was such an enjoyable way to spend the evening. We will definitely go back to this theater for another play (even if our friend isn't in it). 

Skipping . . . the last two weeks of P.E. Not the happiest of memories from May. Max was verbally and physically bullied by a kid in his P.E. class for most of the semester. We should have addressed it sooner, but by the time it reached a point that we could no longer tolerate, it was so close to the end of the year that we just decided to have him be done with P.E. 

Enjoying . . . the last concerts of the school year: Max's band concert, Aaron's band concert (his last one since he is not planning on being in band again next year), Aaron's choir concert, and Clark's third grade concert.

Finishing . . . a few great books:

What Kind of Woman by Kate Baer (a lovely poetry collection)

Call the Midwife by Jennifer Worth (I thought I would like this more than I actually did)

Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin (exceptional writing, disappointing characters)

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl (a readaloud you can't go wrong with)

A Lady's Guide to Fortune Hunting by Sophie Irwin (the book I've been recommending to all my friends and family; just delightful in every way)

The Door of No Return by Kwame Alexander (very sad and heavy)

Visiting . . . Alisa's grave. It's hard to believe another year has passed since Alisa's been gone. I'm so grateful for the peonies that bloom right on time every May to help us honor and remember her.

Dressing . . . up as Mister Rogers. Clark's class put on a wax museum, and Clark chose to be Mister Rogers. He researched him and then wrote up a short biography, which he memorized. His class set up in the school gym, and family and friends had a chance to go around, push on the "button" to bring each person to life, and learn a little bit more about them. Clark was quite animated and enthusiastic and made a pretty good Mister Rogers, I must say. 

Saying . . . goodbye to my brother, Ben, and his sweet family. He accepted a new job in Montana, and they moved at the end of this month. We had a farewell dinner and also helped them load their moving truck. We're excited to have such a good excuse to visit the beautiful state of Montana in the future. 

Celebrating . . . Clark's ninth birthday. Clark always has big ideas, but we tried to grant as many of his wishes as possible: he played mini-golf with a few friends, had cake with cousins (Mike hand painted exotic animals on each cupcake), received many fun presents, and got all of his favorite foods. 

Spending . . . Memorial Day with Mike's family at a pool party hosted by Mike's brother-in-law. So much food, games, fun, and chatting. A perfect way to kick off summer.

Starting . . . a new job. Aaron is gainfully employed at a snow cone shack for the summer. Several of his friends and cousins are working there as well, so it's pretty fun. (Also, I'm pretty sure he's eaten more snow cones in the past two weeks than in the rest of his life combined.)

Marveling . . . at how green everything is. A cool, wet spring has just made everything explode with life. Mike and I went on a hike in the mountains, and we could not get over how lush and vibrant everything was. It's just not something we see too frequently in Utah. 

Whew, if you made it through this marathon recap, I applaud you. It was a busy month, no mistake. 

A Little of This and That in April

April is usually my very favorite month of the year, but that was not the case this time around. The flowers and buds and leaves and grass were sooooooo slow in coming, and that seemed rather fitting for my mood and general outlook. If that isn't just the most chipper way to begin a monthly recap, haha. It was a hard month for me personally, but it was still filled with many good things, such as . . . 

Watching . . . General Conference. It was a cozy weekend at home. Clark, Ian, and Bradley made nests of blankets and pillows in which to watch. We ate cinnamon rolls. We watched the Saturday evening session with Mike's sister's family. The talks were so good (three of my favorites were "Jesus Christ is the Strength of Parents" by Elder Uchtdorf , "Have I Truly Been Forgiven" by Elder Nattress, and "Peacemakers Needed" by President Nelson).

Getting . . . so much snow. April did not get off to a great start with 18 inches of snow over two days. It was quite depressing, actually. It just kept coming and coming and coming. I played Christmas music to see if that would help. It kind of made it worse. However, by the end of the week, all of that snow had almost completely melted. My favorite thing was walking to school with Ian and seeing the rivulets of melted snow coursing down the gutters. It was a beautiful sight. 

Making . . . Easter special. I appreciated Elder Stevenson's talk in General Conference because it was all about the importance of making our Easter traditions and celebrations as meaningful and memorable as our Christmas ones. This is something I've been trying to do for years. I want to look forward to Easter as much as Christmas. Elder Stevenson said, "During December, we somehow manage to incorporate the fun of 'Jingle Bells,' Christmas stockings, and gifts alongside other, more thoughtful traditions--such as caring for those in need, singing our favorite Christmas carols and hymns, and of course opening the scriptures and reading the Christmas story in Luke 2." This balance is what I'm trying to achieve: fun traditions that lead us to more spiritual ones. This Easter, we attempted to strike this balance by: listening to Easter music, reading scriptures and looking at symbols associated with Easter by opening eggs on our Easter egg tree (I put this together years ago, and we still use it), dying Easter eggs, organizing a neighborhood egg hunt, focusing on what the Savior did each day during the week prior to the Resurrection (and coming up with a fun activity to do each day that related to these events--many of our ideas involved food), filling Easter baskets with fun surprises for our kids, going to my parents' house for Easter dinner, bringing gifts to my parents and siblings (which came as a complete surprise to everyone and made it even more fun), and going to church on Easter Sunday and listening to beautiful music about the Savior. The thing that made this Easter even better was that the weather was absolutely perfect. It felt truly symbolic to have such a gorgeous day after a really long, hard winter. I feel like Jesus' atonement, sacrifice, and resurrection bring the same kind of hope as spring. 

Applying . . . for a job. Aaron got a summer job! He's going to be working at a snow cone shack and making the big bucks, haha. He took the initiative and filled out the application and went to the interview without any pushing from us. It probably helped that his cousin is one of the managers for the snow cone shack this year and encouraged him to apply. He's excited for it to start in May.

Being . . . together in the temple with almost all of Mike's family. Mike's parents scheduled a sealing session, and all of Mike's siblings and spouses were there except for his brother, Jon (who lives in Idaho) and his sister, Alisa (who we will forever be missing but I like to think she was there with us). Mike's dad performed all of the sealings, and it was just such a sweet experience to all be together and look around the room and see all those faces we love. Tiny glimpse of heaven. 

Taking . . . Ian's kindergarten teacher out for breakfast. Ian's kindergarten teacher had a birthday this month, so a few of the moms in the neighborhood (whose kids had her either this year or in the past) took her out for breakfast. It was great fun to get to hear her stories and learn more about her life (she's had some real adventures!). And always, you can't be around her without hearing how much she loves teaching and seeing the ways she cares about her students. They're lucky to have her on their side.

Celebrating . . . Mike turning 41, Ian turning 6, Aaron's bone marrow turning 2, and our marriage turning 18. So many fun reasons to have a party. Mike's birthday included family time at This is the Place, a movie night, and ice cream. Ian had donuts for breakfast, a friend over for video games, a Pokemon cake, and the new Mario movie at the movie theater. Aaron's BMT birthday showed good results on all of his tests and Pretty Bird for dinner. And our anniversary was spent going out for lunch at an upscale Italian restaurant.

Serving . . . on a jury. Mike has always wanted to be selected to serve on a jury, and he finally got the opportunity, although once he heard what the case was about (aggravated sexual abuse of a child), he was less enthused. It was a three-day trial and ended up being quite exhausting mentally. It always kind of amazes me that this is the way our justice system works--that the average Joe from off the street decides the fate of an individual. It seems like you would have to qualify in some way: take a test to demonstrate your intelligence or somehow show your ability to take information and interpret it in a critical and thoughtful way. 

Seeing . . . the baby animals at This is the Place. My parents and Angela came up to Salt Lake on Mike's birthday, and we all went to This is the Place. It was a beautiful day. We rode the train (both the big one and the small one), panned for gold, stamped leather, rode the horses, held baby chicks, ate cornbread, hung out with baby goats, and played on the playground. It was quite a fun afternoon. (Aaron was at a friend's house so didn't come with us.)

Giving . . . Matt and Brittany a food tour. Mike and his brother, Matt, are both foodies, and Mike has been wanting to take Matt to all of his favorite places in Salt Lake. Of course, it would be impossible to cram all of the good food into one evening, but he made a pretty good attempt. We started with wings from Fav Bistro, followed by reubens from Feldman's Deli, then a molcajete from Katrina's, and finally gelato from Granato's. It was a really fun time, mostly because Matt enjoyed and appreciated every bite. 

Receiving . . . the new Brandon Sanderson book. My boys have been waiting for months for the newest Brandon Sanderson book, Tress of the Emerald Sea. Copies of it began shipping out quite awhile ago, but we did not get ours until mid-April. The excitement of opening the box and taking out what is truly a gorgeous book was almost greater than on Christmas morning. Aaron and Max were thrilled and began reading it right away. (They say it's a fantasy book that maybe I'd even enjoy. I'm willing to give it a try.)

Hearing . . . some cute little words. Silas has started to say a few words here and there. He is very good at Dad (and variations, DADA and DADDYYYYYYY!). This is by far his favorite word, and he says it a million times a day. But he also says Mama, more, bye, ball, water, dinner, and one time I heard "Bradley," although he refuses to say that one again. He also knows a host of animal sounds for cow, horse, sheep, pig, snake, elephant, lion, monkey, dog, cat, bird, and bunny. He keeps us all so entertained, and we love seeing his personality emerge and his skills develop.

Beginning . . . saxophone lessons. Max is coming up on two years of playing the saxophone, but up to this point, all of his development as a musician has mostly happened at school (aside from a few months last spring/summer where he took lessons from his cousin to help prepare him for his jazz band audition). But it was seeming like he was hitting a bit of a plateau, especially in his technique, so I got him started with a well-respected teacher in the area. So far, he has been loving it, and in just a month's worth of lessons, he has already made significant progress and improvement. And in true Max-form, he set aside a certain time of day to practice, and he sticks with it religiously. That boy loves a routine.  

Attending . . . a BYU Men's Chorus concert. One day, Mike was like, "We should go to a BYU choir concert." He looked at when their upcoming concerts were and found that there was a Men's Chorus concert at the Cathedral of the Madeleine here in Salt Lake. We couldn't believe our good luck. We took Aaron and Max and were a little crunched for time, so by the time we got there, the cathedral was already mostly full. We squeezed onto a bench, but Max felt a little too squished, so he opted to sit in one of the small side pews by himself. The concert was soul-stirring. I especially loved "Not Ashamed" and "Be Thou My Vision."

Nurturing . ..  a stray cat. One afternoon, Clark was playing in the circle by our house, and he saw a vehicle pull up to one of the houses, let out a cat, and then drive away. Everyone was very confused: was the cat literally abandoned on our street? Did the people somehow think the cat lived here? (It did not.) What were we all going to do with an abandoned cat? This was not a difficult question for all the neighborhood kids, who immediately adopted this cat, named her Raina, and took care of her every need. Clark and Ian were especially invested and spent every spare moment thinking about the cat and being with her. She was such a friendly, nice cat. It didn't seem like she had spent her life living on the streets. She hung around for a couple of weeks, even going into a couple of the neighbor's houses and bonding with their other pets. But then one day, she was gone, and we haven't seen her since. 

Finishing . . . a Christmas sweater. Yes, a Christmas sweater. In April. Last Christmas, I kept wishing I had a Christmas sweater to wear during December. After Christmas, I decided not to wait around until next November to make one but to do it now while my enthusiasm was high, and then it would just be ready and waiting. I chose a basic sweater with a very classic motif and knitted it in traditional Christmas colors. It turned out so lovely, and it will bring me so much joy when I can wear it in a few months. 

Reading . . . some really enjoyable books:

The Bodyguard by Katherine Center (Her books have become comfort reads to me this year--the perfect, light pick-me-up.)

Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt (Super close to a five-star book for me. Just really sweet and delightful.)

Wayside School is Falling Down by Louis Sachar (I had never read beyond the first book in this series, so it was really fun to read this one to my boys.)

Because of the Christ on Calvary by Brad Wilcox (A nice one to read during the Easter season.)

Persuasion by Jane Austen (So fun to reread this classic. I liked it even better this time.)

Starfish by Lisa Fipps (I've thought about this one more than probably any of the other books this month.)

The Maid by Nita Prose (Flew through this charming mystery.)

Cheering . . . on Ian in his school play. Ian has been attending rehearsals for Pure Imagination since January, and all the hard work finally paid off in a week of performances. It was more of a musical revue than a play with songs from many different plays. This was great because it meant that so many of the kids in the upper grades got to have leading parts because each song had a different set of leads. It was entertaining and cute and so well done. My parents were also able to come on one of the nights, and we loved finding our favorite little smiling face among all of the other cute kids.

Getting . . . .whacked in the face by a bat. Luckily, it was a plastic one. The boys were all playing whiffle ball, and Ian was standing too close to Max as he swung, and he got it right on the cheek. We anticipated a bruise there, but unexpectedly, one of Ian's teeth also started hurting. It caused him great pain (including at the first evening performance of his play when he could hardly concentrate because it was hurting him so much). We could see a little chip or crack in it and took him to the dentist, who advised waiting out the pain rather than pulling the tooth. Sure enough, the pain diminished after only a couple more days, even though Ian tried to milk it a little bit longer than that to get some more video game time. 

Listening . . . to Ian's end-of-the-year Let's Play Music recital. I've mentioned before how much I love this program. Ian just completed the second year, and he learned so much. The second year focuses a lot on the primary chords in both the right and left hands, and Ian learned how to accompany himself on dozens of songs. There was also a big emphasis on rhythm, ear training, musicality, expression, major/minor, and musical themes. For the recital, Ian played one his favorite songs, "I am Robin Hood," as a solo, and he knocked it out of the park. We love his teacher so much and are grateful for this program that is instilling such a love of music in him. 

Needing . . . to be in the middle of everything. Silas is not content to be left out of any fun. He observes whatever is going on and then jumps right in, copying to the best of his ability. It's adorable, and he has the most patient brothers.

And that's a wrap on April. Spring has finally arrived, and it feels so good.