A Little of This and That in April

The month began with a snowstorm, which seemed like such a cruel April Fool's joke. Luckily, spring eventually came, and we enjoyed so many nice days in the warm sunshine. Our activities included, but were not limited, to . . . 

Working . . . as the CFO of Rocky Mountain Power for the day. Clark went to JA Biz Town with his grade, and he and his friend, Evie, headed up Rocky Mountain Power. This is a highlight of fifth grade, and he took the role very seriously and worked hard all day to keep the company in good financial shape. Chick-fil-a for lunch, being with classmates, and supporting the other businesses rounded out the day.

Swatching . . . and planning for a lot of projects but finishing nothing. Some months are like that. My knit night conflicted with a band concert of Max's, but I decided to try to do both. I started with my knitting group, stayed for 40 minutes, drove 20 minutes back home, watched 40 minutes of the concert, drove 20 minutes back to knit night, and stayed until the end. It was kind of crazy.

Experiencing . . . the stunning beauty of Hawaii. We went to Oahu for spring break and had such a wonderful, memorable time. It was our first taste of Hawaii, and we quickly understood why people love it so much. I'm still hoping to write up some Hawaii blog posts (here's the first one), so stay tuned for those. 

Turning . . . right around and leaving again. We got home from Hawaii at 6:30am on a Tuesday. By 12:30pm, on that same day, Mike was back at the airport, headed for France. It also happened to be his birthday. We had already booked our Hawaii trip when he was asked to go to Grenoble, France for meetings with some of his French colleagues. So in one day, he traveled seven hours from Honolulu to Salt Lake City, ten hours from Salt Lake City to Paris and four hours (by train) from Paris to Grenoble. It sounded brutal to me. He said it was very pretty in Grenoble and he did get to do a little sightseeing in Paris, but mostly it was just work. Very jet-lagged work. 

Receiving . . . dinner from friends. A couple of my friends reached out when we were coming home from our trip to tell me they were going to bring us dinner. They knew that re-entry was going to be hard and that Mike was leaving right away for France. It wasn't, "Hey, is there anything I can help you with," but rather, "I'm bringing you dinner on Tuesday. What time works?" It was the kindest, most thoughtful gesture. I felt a little guilty accepting help because, after all, we had just been to Hawaii and so I felt like I couldn't whine about the challenges of coming home, but my friends saw my need and jumped in to help, and I was so grateful. 

Attending . . . school. Sorry to have so many entries about the aftermath of our trip, but just one more that made me laugh: we got home early on a Tuesday morning after flying all night. I told the kids they didn't have to go to school, and everyone took me up on it except for Clark. While the rest of us hurtled ourselves into bed as fast as we could, Clark got dressed, brushed his teeth, and prepped his backpack for the day. And then, while we all were fast asleep, he left the house, walked to the bus stop, and headed to school. That's dedication (or missing his friends).  

Running . . . into Aaron and his date at Smith's. Aaron went to prom with a big group of friends. They went to Fat Cats in the morning, took photos at Memory Grove Park, and ate dinner at Tucci's. At that point, there was time to kill before going to the dance, so Aaron and his date and one other couple broke off from the group to get milk at the grocery store. That's when Mike and I, perusing the produce section, saw them. They were so nice to not pretend like they didn't know us. During the course of their shopping, they decided they really needed chocolate chip cookies to go with their milk, so they came over to our house and whipped up a batch. It was such a spontaneous thing, and I loved it. I also loved the boutonniere Aaron's date crocheted for him. I mean, how cool is that?!

Speaking . . . to the Alexa. For the first time in his life, Silas asked something of Alexa, and she understood him: "Alexa, play Ice Storm." "Okay. Playing Ice Storm by Lindsey Stirling." The delight on his face was unmatched.

Wowing . . . a captive audience. Cosmic Clark made another appearance at a birthday party. The attendees were mostly 8 and 9 year-olds, and that seemed to be the perfect age to be totally impressed with his tricks. I got to watch this time, and he convinced me too!

Keeping . . . Easter. I had to scale back our Easter activities this year due to Mike being in France and just getting back from Hawaii. One thing I was planning to forego was the neighborhood egg hunt, but then one of my neighbors asked about it, and I knew it wouldn't be very difficult or time consuming to execute, so we did it (and as it turned out, Mike got home just in time to sort and hide eggs--lucky him!). We also made a new Easter playlist, attended our ward's Good Friday celebration (where Bradley, Aaron, Ian, and I all contributed music), dyed eggs, gave Easter baskets, worshipped at church, and went to my parents' house for dinner and another egg hunt. The boys got Lego sets in their Easter baskets, and all six of them spent the afternoon putting them together.

Celebrating . . . Ian's eighth birthday. He received a new bike among other things and immediately took it out for a spin before school. His best buddy, George, came over in the evening for cake (it was shaped like the Triforce from Zelda) and presents and video games. Mike and I took him out for his favorite burgers at Five Guys a few days later. Ian continues to give us a run for our money as we figure out how to parent him, but his joy is contagious. He has the best laugh. 

Hitting . . . four years post-transplant. It's a huge milestone for Aaron, and we celebrated with Mrs. Backer's pastries and singing, "Happy birthday, dear bone marrow!" Silas was indignant: "Bone marrow is NOT a real guy!" He was born after the fact and has no understanding of how much we all love that new bone marrow. 

Praying . . . for my dad. He had a detached retina and underwent emergency surgery to fix it as quickly as possible. It was a miserable recovery, especially the first week when he had to lie on his chest, face down, the majority of the time. We truly live in a miraculous time though when something like that can be detected and repaired so quickly. 

Attending . . . the Great Basin Fiber Arts Fair. This was my second time going to this event, and even though I knew what to expect this time, it still delighted me at every turn. I definitely planned to make some purchases but didn't have anything specific in mind. I wanted to support small businesses (easy to do since all the vendors are small businesses), buy things I couldn't easily get at other times, and support my friend, Deborah, who was vending there. I was successful in all three! I bought a bag and yarn from Sego Fibers, owned by a woman in Murray (the bag was made by her mom, so that felt even more limited than the yarn), a couple of skeins from Sew Happy Jane who is based in a small town in Idaho , and a skein of DK sock yarn from Candy Shoppe Yarns. Many of my friends from my knitting group were also there. We wandered through the booths together, ate lunch, chatted, and admired each other's purchases. I also stopped by the Notlwonk Springs booth where I had purchased yarn last year so I could show the owner my finished cardigan with their yarn. 

Finishing . . . up a very successful first year of choir. Two of my friends and I started an elementary school choir at the beginning of the school year. We didn't know what kind of response we'd get, but week after week, dozens of kids showed up and sang. We practiced two mornings each week and worked on a variety of music. I got to be in my happy place behind the piano while Heather and Diana conducted. Silas was my little tagalong and knew the songs almost as well as the elementary kids. He played with Heather's son every morning, and the two of them were the choir mascots. We had our final concert at the end of April (coinciding with Art Night) and then had a little party and a school performance a couple of weeks later. I'm so grateful I got to work with these talented women and share our love of music with such awesome kids. 

Saying . . . goodbye to the binky. Silas has been very attached to his binky since the day he was born. It was great during the first year of his life--so helpful when he needed to be soothed or go back to sleep. But he is well past the age of needing it all the time. I made several half-hearted attempts over the last few months, but I always caved because it was such a quick fix anytime he was sad or hurt. However, I finally decided it was actually time. I didn't mind so much if he continued to have it at night, but I wanted it to be gone during the day. We made a chart that included all of three squares. If he didn't use his binky during the day, he got to put a star in one of the squares. After all three were filled, he got an ice cream cone at Macey's. That first chart was hard and there were many tears, but after he earned his first ice cream cone, we made a new chart with four squares, and after that a chart with five squares, and before long, he never even thought about the binky or asked about it during the day. So we have officially left it behind, and that's a good thing.

Attending . . . a bridal shower for our nephew's fiancé. It was the most elaborately-themed shower I've ever been to with exquisite decorations highlighting their love for adventure and the outdoors and including an intense game guessing locations from 40 different photos of them and also an abundance of food.  

Surrounding . . . ourselves with other Pride and Prejudice fans. It was the twentieth anniversary of the 2005 adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, and it was re-released in theaters for a few weeks. Mike and I went to it with Sonja and Rob. I have always loved this version. I saw it originally in the theater in 2005 and have watched it countless times since. There was something about seeing something on the big screen again now that it has become so familiar and so loved that made it absolutely magical. The cinematography was breathtaking. But the best part was being among other people who loved it just as much as we do. Unlike the first time I saw it, everyone in the theater knew all the scenes by heart which made the reactions much more dramatic: the outburst of laughter when Mr. Collins said, "What excellent boiled potatoes"; the bated anticipation and subsequent whoop with Mr. Darcy's hand flex; the collective sigh as Mr. Darcy strode across the field in the morning light. It was the best movie theater experience I've ever had. 

Spending . . . the day together to celebrate 20 years of marriage! Our anniversary fell on a Monday, and the only picture I have is of Silas drinking Sprite when he and I went to lunch at Mike's work. However, on the Saturday before, Mike and I went to the temple in the morning to do sealings, did some shopping in the afternoon, went out to eat at Pago's for dinner (where we were blown away by, of all things, the mushrooms), went for a walk around the Gilgal sculpture garden (a rather bizarre place, in my opinion), and came home to watch a show together. It was the nicest day, but I ended up not taking any photos.

Using . . . the van warranty. This is worth writing about because 1) Mike did not want to get a warranty when we purchased our van a few years ago, 2) we ended up having a problem we could use the warranty on, and 3) it actually worked and saved us a lot of money. One of the sliding doors on our van stopped working, and if you have young children, you know that a non-working sliding door can increase the hassle so much. Mike took it to the repair shop and found out that the warranty would likely cover it but it would take at least a week to jump through all the hoops. We decided it was worth the annoyance of not having a van for awhile (and thankfully, my parents were willing to lend us one of theirs for the duration). Not only was the van door covered, but we also had some other repairs that needed to happen at some point, and these were able to be fixed at the same time. In total, we would have spent $4100, but because of the warranty, we only spent $900.

Failing . . . to get the baptism photos I was hoping for. A week before Ian's baptism, I wanted to take some nice photos of him looking all spiffy in his suit. We went to the Taylorsville temple on a Sunday evening for a nice backdrop, only to find the gates locked. Then we drove to the Jordan River Temple where we found the same thing. Since the grounds on a lot of the bigger temples (like San Diego, Washington D.C., Laie) are open on Sunday, I just assumed that was the case for all temples. Apparently not. We didn't really have time to take photos on a different day, so I just snapped a few outside the gates and decided they would have to do.  

Roasting . . . the first s'mores of the season. We had to take advantage of a nice spring evening to bust out the marshmallows and chocolate.

Riding . . . a horse. Silas and I went to Curiosity Farms at Thanksgiving Point with a friend of Silas' and his mom. They have a membership to Thanksgiving Point and generously shared it with us for a fun morning of seeing animals and playing at the park. 

Helping . . . out with a fundraiser. The youth in our ward put on a dinner and concert to raise money for summer camps. Max and Bradley performed a saxophone/trombone duet of Cruella de Vil, and Aaron accompanied a violin duet by a couple of his friends. 

Returning . . . to a park from my early days of motherhood. Silas and I went to lunch with Mike and on our way home, I decided to make a spontaneous stop at a park I used to visit all the time when Aaron and Max were little. The memories came flooding back as I watched Silas play in the sand, hang from the same bar, and go down the slide. It feels like a lifetime ago, and also not.

Aaron, circa 2010

And that concludes this long overdue recap of April, but it's definitely worth the effort to me to preserve these sweet memories. 

Spring Break in Hawaii: Introduction

Hawaii has been high on our travel wish list for a long time. Mike and I had the beginnings of a trip planned for January of 2020, which never panned out for various reasons. Then we seriously considered taking the whole family this past Christmas but just couldn't swallow the inflated prices on an already expensive trip.

We weren't even thinking about it for spring break (we already had a condo booked in St. George for the week) when Mike sent me this text out of the blue: "I think we should go to Hawaii for spring break."

I resisted the idea for several days: 

Me: "It's too expensive."

Mike: "It's just money. Let's spend it!"

(This is something we both agree on: we want to prioritize vacations now, while our kids are still young, even if it means putting off other purchases and projects. Mike, however, usually has an easier time embracing the actual spending.)

Mike: [Airbnb listing in Hauula, Oahu.]

Me: "Very nice. And expensive."

Mike: "Whatever. So cheap! BEACHFRONT."

Mike: "We know we want to go to Hawaii before Aaron graduates. We have the time and money right now. Why wait???"

After a few days going back and forth discussing the possibilities, Mike thought we had spent enough time on the subject. He said, "If good flights pop up, I'm not going to ask you about them; I'm just going to book them." 

And he did. He also booked an Airbnb in an apartment complex with a semi-private beach in Punalu'u on the northeast side of O'ahu. 

Once we had a way to get there and a place to stay, we both started getting excited (but Mike more than me since he is fueled by possibility and I am fueled by anxiety).

We told our kids we had an epic trip planned and had them guess where we were going. Funnily enough, they all assumed that "epic" did not mean "St. George," and we had guesses for Costa Rica, Brazil, Spain, and Siberia (apparently, they were thinking very epic). But Aaron guessed Hawaii because it was the place he wanted to go to the most. 

Over the next few weeks, we (mostly Mike) collected recommendations for activities, beaches, food, hikes, and sights. He started plugging them into his spreadsheet, shifting things around and swapping, adding, and eliminating possibilities. 

One wild card in all of the planning was Kilauea, the active volcano on the Big Island. Ever since he was a little kid and saw an episode of Reading Rainbow about Kilauea, he has dreamed of seeing it. The fact that it was currently in an eruption pattern, and that it was only a short plane ride from O'ahu, was just too big of a temptation. He left some flexibility in our itinerary because if it looked like it was going to erupt while we were there, he was going to drop everything and go. 

I'll just spoil it right now and tell you that it did not work out. The volcano pulled a fast one on us and instead of erupting at the end of the week like the volcanologists were predicting, it erupted overnight several days before.

As cool as it would have been to see it, there was so much we wanted to do on O'ahu that it wasn't a huge loss. That dream will just have to be fulfilled another time.

By the time, we stepped onto the airplane, we had a solid itinerary with plenty of built-in flexibility and a a collective anticipation that was through the roof.

And let's just say, Hawaii did not disappoint.

Stay tuned for more Hawaii installments: beaches, hikes, Polynesian Cultural Center, food, ziplining, paddleboarding, and other adventures!

A Little of This and That in March

March was a mix of cold, snow, wind, rain, warm, and sunshine. Typical. We spent the month . . . 

Celebrating . . . fifteen years of Maxwell! His birthday landed on a Saturday, which meant he got to sleep in, have donuts for breakfast, didn't have to do any Saturday jobs, go out for burgers and root beer floats for lunch, and have a Mistborn-inspired cake before playing a new Mistborn board game with his brothers and cousin. (There was a wedding reception thrown into the mix as well, which was not his top choice, but he endured it valiantly.)

Attending . . . library story time. We don't manage it every week, but Silas and I try to go to story time when we can, either at our own library or with my mom at hers. Silas has a couple of friends that go somewhat regularly as well. I've been to many story times over the years, some better than others, but the current librarians in charge of it have been awesome: lots of songs, usually age-appropriate, engaging books, and a fun craft at the end.

Listening . . . to some terrific music at Aaron and Max's choir concert and Bradley's band concert. My parents rarely miss a concert and were able to attend both of these events. 

Losing . . . my hearing. Last month, it was my voice, but as the aforementioned illness progressed, it went into my ears, producing pain and eventually so much congestion that it felt like I was underwater anytime I spoke. I eventually caved and went to the doctor (and this was after I'd already been to the doctor for the same illness in February). They could see a lot of wax buildup, so they irrigated both ears, which definitely helped, but my ears didn't fully clear until they popped on the plane going to Hawaii at the beginning of April.

Selecting . . . his own set of scriptures. Ian will be eight in April, and he has been dying to get his own scriptures. Mike and I took him on a little date to find the ones he wanted. We had his name embossed on them, and he was so proud to show them off to his brothers and primary teachers. He spent a lot of time reading them that night and the next morning, and I thought maybe he was turning over a new leaf, but then the excitement and newness wore off. 

Mentoring . . . a robotics team. Mike was asked by a teenager in our ward if he would mentor his high school robotics team. Their original mentor had dropped out, so it was a last minute switch with only a couple of weeks left before the competition. Even so, the team had done very little building up to that point, so Mike was there to see and help the robot come to life. The team was up against the clock the entire time, and they still didn't have a working robot on the day of the competition. Mike said the competition atmosphere was very friendly and encouraging, so with the help of a few other people, their robot was eventually able to compete. It didn't win any matches, but they were just thrilled they got it moving and working!

Suffering . . . at the orthodontist. I had the worst orthodontic experience of my life. I am already so done with having these braces (it has been two years), but the pain, discomfort, neglect, and poor etiquette at this last appointment made me question if we want to continue using this orthodontist for our other kids. Ugh.

Attending . . .  multiple plays. We went to Little Women at Hale Center Theater with my parents (I love this play so much, and the casting for this one was phenomenal--I cried multiple times), The Drowsy Chaperone at our junior high (we knew multiple kids in the cast, including a couple of the leads), and Prince of Egypt at Hale Center Theater (we took all of our kids except Silas--it was a Christmas present from my parents).

Ending . . . my time as primary president. After serving for three years, I was released as the primary president in my ward. It was such a privilege to serve, especially with the rest of the presidency and the music leader. I loved being with the teachers and children and getting to know everyone so well. I am already missing our frequent meetings (but also loving the extra time I have during the week and on Sundays). 

Interviewing . . . for a position at the University of Utah. Mike applied for a professor position teaching senior design. He was given a phone interview and then was one of three candidates invited to a full-day in-person interview where he taught a class, gave a presentation, and met with various groups and faculty. Ultimately, he was not offered the job, but he was still grateful for the experience.

Failing . . . to host our annual pie day party. It didn't happen in March due to snow or bad weather or other commitments. Every Monday, we would look at the weather for the coming weekend and see cold temps and snow/rain. My brother was in town for one of those weekends and texted to ask if we were having pie day. At that moment, there was eight inches of snow on the ground, so the answer was no. Because of the size of this event, we absolutely have to be able to host it outside. We haven't cancelled it completely, but it's looking like it won't happen until May now. 

Building . . . a fort with some of that aforementioned snow. At least the kids took advantage of the late snow. I, on the other hand, looked at my poor daffodils and wanted to cry. 

Having . . . fun at WAMA. Out of all the high school dances, this is the most casual one, and I love it for that. Aaron was asked by a girl in our ward, and her group broke the normal trend of keeping all the friends together and instead branched out into the most eclectic group of teens, which was awesome. Aaron's cousin, Addie, was also in the group, and he had a really great time. They started the day by decorating cupcakes, then took pictures at Holladay Park, had dinner at his date's house, went to the dance (which got shut down almost an hour early), and then went to another girl's house for a Mario cart tournament.

Finishing . . . a vest and a pair of socks. Both projects had been on my needles for awhile but been put aside while I finished other things, so it felt nice to finally complete them. I also sewed a skirt, which is perfect for spring and summer, and I have worn it a lot already. 

Wearing . . . a glucose monitor. For my whole life, I have known I have a hard time processing glucose efficiently. Last year I read Glucose Revolution by Jessie Inchauspé, and I have tried to follow her glucose hacks. I decided to wear a glucose monitor for a couple of weeks so I could have a better idea of what my body does with carbs and if the hacks from the book are effective or not. It was fascinating (but also, I was kind of glad when the two weeks were up with the monitor because it was making me feel a little obsessive). I conducted several experiments with a chocolate chip cookie (because, priorities), and in my limited research, I found my glucose stayed the steadiest when I a) ate vegetables first b) ate protein-rich food next, and c) went on a walk about twenty minutes after eating the cookie. 

Playing . . at the Museum of Natural Curiosity. Silas and I went to the museum with our friends who have a pass there. It was such a fun morning with lots of playing and exploring and climbing and running around. 

Eliminating . . . the afternoon nap. Silas had no desire to give up his afternoon nap, but the staying-awake-until-10:30pm was starting to get to me. It was a rough transition at first with varying amounts of success (as captured in the photos below), but I think we're finally there, and it's so nice to put him to bed at 7:15pm and have him fall asleep instantly. 

Filling . . . out a bracket. It wouldn't be March without Mike and the boys filling out a bunch of March Madness brackets and watching lots of basketball. Our family draws for a totally random bracket (pictured below), and the winner gets to choose something from the BYU Store. Mike has now won two years in a row, much to the disappointment of our kids. 

Slowing . . . down on the reading front. These are the books I read in February and March, so not too impressive in quantity, but pretty good in quality:

To the Bright Edge of the World by Eowyn Ivey (a very slow start, but I ended up liking it--not as good as The Snow Child though)

Shark Heart by Emily Habeck (I didn't expect to love it, but I did)

Anne of Avonlea by L.M. Montgomery (Highly enjoyable, as always)

Into the Magic Shop: A Neurosurgeon's Quest to Discover the Mysteries of the Brain and the Secrets of the Heart by James R. Doty (the author's tone was very hard to get past, but our book club discussion was one of the liveliest I've ever been to)

The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, Vol. 8 by Beth Brower (A little darker than earlier books in the series, but one of my favorites)

Applauding . . . at Concerto Night. My piano student (and niece), Addie, performed the first movement of Leroy Anderson's Concerto in C with the high school's philharmonic orchestra. She started working on this concerto two years ago. It is a long piece with many technically difficult sections. She worked so hard, and it was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life to spend so much time with her on this concerto and then watch her absolutely nail it the night of the performance. All of her efforts and talents culminated in this one spectacular performance, and I cried. We had built up to it for so long, and then suddenly, it was happening, and then it was over, and I was so proud of her. 

Focusing . . . on Ian as the Star of the Week. Every kid in his class gets a turn to be the Star of the Week, and Ian had been looking forward to his week for months. He gave a little power point presentation all about himself, brought some show and tell, shared his favorite picture book, and filled the estimation jar with candy. 

Receiving . . . his patriarchal blessing. Aaron had the rich spiritual experience of receiving his patriarchal blessing from the patriarch in our stake (who also happens to be our neighbor). It was a privilege to be a witness to this blessing and hear beautiful promises and counsel for Aaron's life.

Checking . . . off a job list. I give each of the boys a job list on Saturday morning. This is the way we've handled weekly cleaning tasks for at least the last ten years. Silas is very aware of this routine, and he was thrilled to get his own job list for the first time this month. I gave Clark the same jobs so he could help Silas with them, and you would have thought Silas was doing something much more fun than cleaning with how happy he was. 

That's all I've got for this month. Life continues to be full and busy, and I'm just trying to savor it all.