More Cousin Surprises

A few weeks ago I found out that my brother Adam and his family were planning to come from Seattle to Salt Lake over their spring break. I was delighted. I knew it was partly because Adam had yet to visit my mom in her new cottage. (By the way, I am well aware that mom is not actually living in a cottage, but I prefer that word infinitely to 'facility' or even 'home.' 'Cottages' is just so much more cozy. I will also accept Village.) Anyway, Adam wanted to come see her and spend some time here and I was so happy at the thought of getting to see them this spring.

We did have a few lovely outings together - my favorite was the evening we met up at Cafe Rio at Kimball Junction and ate dinner together, then discovered a great walking path around a bird sanctuary right near by. It was a cool and rainy evening but that didn't stop us from strolling along together and getting caught out in the most delicious sunset. Due to the misty air the entire evening was turned absolutely tangerine and gold by the setting sun. It was pretty magical. And of course after that we went out for ice cream, so really, it was a perfect night.

We got to keep Smith for a sleepover one night - he's such a good kid and he and Cap are really good buddies. It seems like those fussy challenging years of love/hate, having issues, best-friends-when-not-irritated times are over. They just hang out and have a great time together.

The last weekend they were here I was feeling bummed that Peter and Sheri weren't able to come up and see them too - I jokingly sent them a text saying HEY just drive up late Friday night and leave late Saturday night! THAT's not at ALL unreasonable. Then I went ahead and planned a dinner for Adam and his family as well as my sister and dad, feeling sad that we'd miss Peter. I saw a couple of funny things on Instagram from Sheri that I couldn't figure out - she was talking about having a sleepover someplace and I couldn't figure out where they were. Then I checked Instagram again later and saw they had posted another picture and this time I knew EXACTLY where they were: THE ZOO!! SURPRISE!!! They were in SLC. They had done exactly as I had suggested and squashed a trip north in the 30 hour period they had free; the Instagram pictures of the sleepover were at my sister's house! (You'd think I'd recognize it...) It was our turn for a total and complete surprise - my girls were at Girl Scouts that afternoon when they were done at the zoo, and I had Sheri bring her girls to the meeting where they not only completely shocked Bitty and Skip, but stayed on to help make posters for an upcoming food drive.

Here are Peter and Sheri's girls crashing the Girl Scout activity

It was great fun, and I loved having all those cousins at my house for an evening. We tried really hard to get a good picture of all of them but shocker...had a really hard time getting anyone to hold still and look at the camera.

Star of the Show

More posts about Bitty on stage!

This time was not her class play, but an upper-grade musical based on Charlie Brown comics.  They called it "Life is Good, Charlie Brown."  Bitty was in rehearsals twice a week, only an hour and a half each time, for only about 2 or 2 1/2 months - when I think of really how few hours that is especially when dealing with about 45 kids...I'm pretty amazed.  Bitty got to play Lucy, which she was over the moon about.  Okay, she was one of three Lucys - because of the number of kids, and no kids were turned away, she got to share her roll with two other darling girls, one of whom is actually named Lucy.  They were all great, though of course I delighted most of all in watching my own gal have the time of her life up there under those bright (and hot!) stage lights.  She threw herself into the roll, and everyone who saw her specifically noticed how she stayed in character even when entering and exiting the stage.  You could hear her, she put plenty of expression into her lines, and knew how to get a laugh.  I'm proud!!

This is Skippidy with her little friend Annie; they sat on the floor at watched the whole show with their arms around each other.  

Mamma Update

We just passed mother's day, which made me think I'd like to post about my mom.  There's so little to talk about lately that when something pleasant or memorable happens I want to make sure to record it.

I did see mom on Mother's Day, but her village was so hectic and busy that we really only got to be together for a few minutes. I like to go see my mom on Sundays because of our schedule, but in all honesty it's not the best day - we don't get out of church in time to really get out there and see her before she's off to her own church, and getting out there after her church is done also leaves us little time for a visit before she's off to dinner or we're off to our Sunday evening to-dos.  Mother's Day was no exception - it was a short visit with little recognition from her since she seemed so distracted by the numbers of people coming in and out for visits with their own moms.

Much more pleasant indeed was her birthday, which was a few weeks earlier.  Dad and I met Margaret and my mom at one of our favorite restaurants, The Oasis Cafe on 500 East here in SLC.  It's got such tasty fare that we thought it would be worth the effort of bringing my mom all the way there and dealing with a room buzzing with the noise of many conversations.  Indeed, mom did seem to have a little trouble focusing on any of us because there was so much color and light and movement all around her.  Happily, mom seemed to be taking it all in with great delight and heightened joy.  So often now her emotions seem to be more one-dimensional and much stronger.  This is fun when the emotions are on the positive side, and heartbreaking when they are the opposite. On this fun day she seemed mostly to delight.  Like I said, however, she had trouble finding our faces or seeing us at all.  That is, until Margaret and I began to sing.

Yes, we were in a crowded popular restaurant at lunchtime, surrounded by people.  We didn't sing at the top of our lungs, that's for sure.  We just leaned in together and sang.  I find it absolutely beautiful that my mother will still key in absolutely to music.  That she will almost instantly meet your eyes and sing with you as much as she can, and you can see those pure emotions sweep over her.  We sang things from Oklahoma, from other musicals, and from our childhood favorite, a Broadway show pretty much no one has ever heard of - Really Rosie.  It is the BEST.  A show that uses many of the simple tales of Maurice Sendak to tell the story of a group of kids in NYC playing in their back alley. It is AWESOME and we all know every word.  "I'm Really Rosie....and I'm Rosie Real....."  I absolutely savored that experience of the three of us singing to each other in a quiet circle in the middle of that bustling restaurant.  Dad was our tearful audience.  And our reward was a delicious lunch together.

Trying to get my mom to look at a camera is hard.  That's okay.  She was happy. And so were we.  

By the way, I really love having a sister.  Especially my sister.

Other Happenings

Other things have been happening too....

While I've been traveling through time to high school and back, other things have actually been happening too. One event to mention is my sweet Troy's birthday - a rather quiet affair this year. (And now almost two months ago. Insert embarrassed-face emoji here.)  He really hadn't even picked out a gift yet and I've learned to not try too hard to surprise him.  It's best to just wait and let him figure out what he really wants, so we weren't too sure what to do.  The girls and I ended up having fun by planning a secret breakfast for him - we snuck out for balloons and flowers and made notes for Troy - I pulled them out of the back of the car after he went to sleep and set it up ...so I guess I did have a little surprise for him after all.  It was fun.

Also for Troy's birthday we met up at my favorite little Vietnamese restaurant on State Street for some lunch.  What a surprise it was to bump into my first mission president and his wife, Ron and Ruby Nielsen. Troy definitely had a moment of wondering why the heck his wife started hollering in a tiny little restaurant but figured it out quite quickly.  It was really fun to see them.

We of course enjoyed a very gooey chocolate cake with his parents that evening, and eventually Troy picked out a new and very cool new canvas and leather briefcase that he's been enjoying a lot I think.

Another fun event this spring was seeing a dear old friend, Kristin.  She lived in our neighborhood for a number of years, including during some very emotional times as several of us had babies at the same time as well as going through our friend TL's cancer diagnosis together.  Kristin moved right before TerriLyn passed away, and though she was able to return for the funeral, I haven't seen her since.  A number of events combined to bring her back through Salt Lake and Emily and I were able to meet her for just a half hour at a park, just long enough to share some cookies and catch up just a little on our lives and hug each other a lot.  That was a treat.

A memory I'd like to savor from this season was our church's General Conference, which is broadcast twice a year throughout the world. This was the first year Troy and I put real effort into helping our big kids gain something from the experience.  We usually muscle them into listening to one or two talks each conference - which really isn't much considering that the conference has four two-hour sessions over two days. This time, just as conference was beginning, Troy had a sudden flash of inspiration to....well, pretty much bribe the kids.  He told them that they could earn a prize if they were able to write down the name of every single speaker and at least one thing they talked about.  It ended up being a really wonderful weekend together. The kids really did listen to all of the talks. And on Sunday morning we went to our friends' home for breakfast before watching that morning's session together. I think the kids actually heard a few messages that meant something to them and we really felt good spending the weekend that way.

It's been a very pleasant spring - at least it feels that way right now as I'm looking back at all the happy pictures and blocking out any unpleasant times that I definitely didn't photograph.  ;)

Time Travel

It appears that I am a regular time traveler. I do it constantly. And I can tell you exactly how to do it too. Just think of a place where you spent a lot of time or had a meaningful experience, but haven't been back to in years. Then go there. And suddenly all concepts of time will warp and twist and you will wonder what year it is and how old you are.

Perhaps I'm being a bit dramatic. Can't help it. It's my nature. And funny enough, the subject of my post today just so happens to be about drama.

I'm skipping ahead in my blogging by the way - there are many things waiting to be blogged about such as birthdays and cousin visits and stuff, which I'll definitely get to. However, since I just had a total time travel experience, I had to write about it before the feelings dissolve into placid memory.

I went to a play at East High School tonight - I was supposed to go with my dear friend Elyse - it was totally her idea to go. It was a production called Take 5 - EHS has been doing this for over 50 years. It's a selection of five one-act plays that are written, produced and directed by students. It's pretty cool. I mean, some of the plays are of course way better than others, but it's a really neat tradition at the school. In fact, way back in 1991 I was the student producer, I had a play in the group and I directed one as well. I was very involved. But I haven't been back to see any for such a long time. It feels like probably since I was married I haven't been back to see any shows, shame on me. So when Elyse invited me, I accepted and was excited. So excited in fact that when Elyse let me know shortly before we were supposed to leave that her husband was sick and she couldn't make it....I went any way. I just felt the desire to go.

Begin time travel. EHS has changed a lot since I graduated - lots of new remodeled areas - I don't think I could find my way around there any more or even recognize most of it. But they left the auditorium and "Little Theater" in the basement just as they were. Entering that room with its black-painted walls and iron-barred balcony along one wall....even the wide metal doors brought back such a tidal wave of memory and feeling I was in shock and really was happy to just sit quietly and look around.

I enjoyed the shows quite a bit - they were funny,  or off the wall, and one was desperately serious and poignantly written. And when they were over I almost just scurried off. Instead I sat and pondered. I thought about my own high school experience of being totally and completely immersed in the theater department - it was my absolute world for four years. As I watched the cute high school kids putting on the show I tried to get a glimpse of what might be going on beyond the performance; what kind of social structure existed and who had a history with whom. How many of these kids lived for the department and how many were only in a show or two? Of course I'll never know. The only thing I know is that seeing a play is just getting a bare glimpse of the surface of the experience of those kids. (Who all looked WAY younger than I ever felt when I was there.) I even saw the drama teacher, who had a very familiar and sleep-deprived look on his face which reminded me fiercely of my own dear drama teacher, Carter. How many hours did I spend in those rooms over those four years? Impossible to even guess. More time than I ever spent at home, I can tell you that!

When I finally began to make my way to the exit, I noticed the drama teacher standing in the doorway to his office and it occurred to me to ask him about The Scrapbooks. Way back when I was there, the drama club president each year was responsible for creating a scrapbook for the year, filling it with pictures and programs, funny notes and memorabilia. I remember pouring over those books and have often wondered if they were still in existence. The teacher knew right where they were and let me kneel in his office and browse through them. I hope he didn't notice that as I found the first book from one of my high school years I was hit with a fist of emotion and promptly began to weep a little. I quickly snapped a few pictures from them, but saw that I would need to return with a real camera and really capture these treasures.

This is probably a long, dumb, boring post for you. Sorry. I am reeling with memories and love for the luck I enjoyed when I entered high school and found my tribe, my people, my very first year there. That group of people meant a great deal to me, and whenever I get tired of a teenagers behavior and begin to roll my eyes at whatever drama they've got themselves upset about, all I have to do is cast my mind back to those precious years in the EHS drama department and remember all I experienced and learned there and I feel more patient and understanding. I'm so grateful I felt prompted to go this evening, despite Elyse's absence.

Spring Broke

As always in our lovely state of Utah, spring has brought sunshine and flowers, snow and rain, blossoms and hail - you know, the usual. There are always ups and downs here; I don't know why I'm ever surprised when we get completely manic weather patterns.  This year it just so happened that as I was looking at the calendar and comparing the dates of our spring break to the weather forecast, it became clear that leaving the valley and heading for warmer climes would be extremely beneficial to our general happiness and well being.

Fessing up: it was actually Sheri who pointed out to me that our weather was going to be extremely sucky.  She recommended that we come visit her.  I wasn't even thinking of going really because it wasn't their spring break, but she talked me into it.  We decided to not tell her girls that we were coming because surprises are the best.  Sheri even decided to let her girls stay home for one day of school so we could be together.  I was really really excited to go.

Before we could start having fun in St. George, we had to actually make it to St. George.  This proved much more challenging than usual - we had snow, sleet, heavy rain and wind in various combinations  for the entire drive down, which ended up taking a good 5 and a half hours instead of the usual four.  I was not sorry to take it slow however, due to the fact that while we we driving we passed multiple wrecks on the side of the road, including more than one roll-over, and we watched cars fishtailing ahead of us and just decided to crawl along in happiness.

Here we are taking a pit stop in Filmore, both to grab grub and de-slush the car

We had been hoping to make it to the valley of the sun before Siena was done at school so she would come home to find us, but that did not happen.  Instead, when we got there we rang the doorbell and Sheri had Siena answer the door. My one regret is that I wasn't filming her when she answered.  The look on her face was awesome.

We proceeded to have an awesome three days.  Actually we didn't do a ton besides go to the park and sit in the sun for absolutely hours on end.  Sunburns all around.  We loved it. Swig, sunburns and shows.  I took all the kids to see the latest Disney Cartoon - Zootopia.  It was really very good and fun to be out with a crew of cousins. Yay for $1 cups of popcorn.

We also spent some very productive time on a face-switching ap and laughed a LOT

The kids were confident that it was warm enough for suits....until they actually got wet.  Then it officially wasn't warm enough

After we returned to Salt Lake we prepared for Easter, which included a trip out to "Oma's Village" on Saturday morning for an egg hunt.  It was basically total and complete chaos, complete with a very brave woman dressed as an Easter Bunny who delighted all the other children and terrified mine. (Mostly Skippidy - I actually can't believe I got her to be in a picture with the dread rabbit.)  Despite the chaos it was a great time and the kids hauled in an absolutely massive amount of candy.  Sadly, about 50% of it was tootsie rolls....the lowest of all candies.  I take that back.  Necco wafers are worse.

In the afternoon the kids had a great time coloring eggs.  I set them free with sharpies and sparkly dye and they came up with some great eggs.  Cap especially had fun creating Marvel-themed eggs such as Iron Man, Hulk and an egg that appeared to have had some bad dealings with Wolverine.  Bitty went for the cuter side with eggs decorated like chicks and toll-paintings.  Skippidy?  Anything shiny made her happy.

Easter baskets are always tricky for me - I don't want to make Easter feel like Christmas, but it's always fun for the kids to get a little something that morning.  I'm sure I over-did it... (who ME?) but so be it.  Bitty got her long-longed-for Ugurt refillable cup and the whole family has made fairly good  use of it ever since.  The gift that keeps on giving?

We spent Easter dinner with Troy's parents and his oldest brother and his wife.  We had a lovely meal together and really enjoyed each others' company.  I love Troy's family. It was a sweet and wonderful way to end our Spring Break...



....and a horrible way to start up back to school since Skippidy spiked an impressive fever in the middle of Easter Dinner.  She stayed home for two days.  Mommy was really ready for a break by the time everyone was all the way better and all the way back to school, by which time I was also sick.

Sigh. She's better now of course....I'm mostly better. But not quite. That was a busy week!

Blossoming

Being a fifth grade girl isn't easy. I know this not only because I was once a fifth grade girl myself, but because I'm currently witnessing the challenges, the ups and downs our fifth grade girl is navigating day by day. I just want to take a moment to give her a little shout out to tell her what a fantastic job she's doing and how much fun it is to watch her grow up a little more each day.

Something that I'm really delighting in is the fact that Bitty has developed a passion for the stage. I think I probably mentioned this before, since she was in last year's school play, but she just absolutely loves acting and being on stage. I'm so happy for her. I hope she continues loving it. Sometimes Bitty's passions have a serious ebb and flow - for so long sewing was really filling her bucket and that has completely petered out, darn it. Well, "petered" isn't quite the word.  More like an instant halt.  Luckily she still is sticking with the cello and she's finding a great deal of joy in drama. Her class recently put on a play all about the Salem witch trials - yes, it was quite frightening! Especially because the play was done more as a silent dance than an actual play. It was super spooky and Skippidy fell apart while watching the school performance, along with several other kindergarteners and 1st graders. I think the teacher got a little bit of back-lash about it but I thought it was an excellent piece of drama. Bitty played the part of one of the young girls who fell ill and I'll just say that she can really flail in a seizure-like way when she wants to. Again...creepy. And Bitty was over the moon about the experience.

She's also getting the chance right now to take part in the official school play - not just her class's annual performance. They are putting on a Charlie Brown play, and she's taken the roll of one of the Lucys. (There are enough kids who want to take part that they have to divide up the rolls between kids.) She practices after school twice a week and those are her best days. She just glows. I'm so grateful and happy that there is something that makes her light up like this. I hope it continues. I know drama was the love of my high school life, and though that may have occasionally brought on the scorn of other students, who cares. I was happy and I had a home base in high school and nothing could have been better for me than that.

Another hobby she's developing is writing poetry.  I was not at all expecting this or did I have any idea that she was interested and then one day she showed up with a few poems she wrote at school and I was very impressed. She even had the chance to share some of her poetry at school where we have a really cool evening called Poetry and Prose night.  Kids (and adults too if they want to) can get up and read poems or stories that they love or that they have written.  Bitty proudly got up to share three of her poems.  I wasn't able to be there but Troy recorded them and she did a great job. May the poetry continue!

I have to tell one funny story - right before Christmas break I loaned Bitty my very favorite hand-knitted mittens and she promised to take very good care of them. She did a good job and brought them home safely so I let her wear them a few more times. Then over Christmas break I wanted to wear them myself and couldn't find them. I kind of got after her, asking her where she had left them, and when school started up again and we couldn't even find them in the lost and found I was pretty disappointed. I promise I really did say this - I told her that I loved her a lot more than I love those mittens and it was going to be okay, but I also told her I might not let her borrow hand-knitted clothing as much, which really bummed her out. Well guess what. The next day I went to my own place of work where I hadn't been since before Christmas break and....there were my mittens! DoH! (Really wanting to insert that red-faced emoji here.) I was so ashamed for getting after Bitty about the mittens! Bad mommy! Bad! The only way I could make it up to her was to make her a pair of her very own. I let her pick out yarn and spent the rest of the winter knitting these rather intricate mittens. It's dumb that it took me until April to finish them but at least I did. And if she loses them I'll kill her. Kidding! Only kidding. I would deserve the punishment of making her more.