Saint Blair the Bybee

I realized the other day that there is a post I should have written a long time ago, paying tribute to one of the very best men I have ever known. (Of course that description fits both of the fellows in the photo above, but only one of them hasn't been mentioned on the blog.)

This person is named Blair Bybee. He's a retired pediatric oncologist who has lived in our neighborhood for a lot longer than we have, and has been of great service to our ward. In fact, the young men a few years ago renamed him Saint Blair the Bybee. He certainly carries a feeling of sweet saintliness around him, and does so much for other people.

We were lucky enough to be his assigned family to Home Teach, then, when alterations were made to the system, to minister to. He checks in on us every single month, usually bearing a box so stuffed full of treats that we can barely lift it. He heard me say one time that I love peanut butter, and ever since, no matter what else is in the box of treats, I can usually find a few peanut butter cookies mixed in. 

There really aren't adequate words to describe the great life this man has lived, but I will tell you that when Troy needed surgery and also when my dad was admitted to the hospital with the case of influenza that would lead to his passing, we called on Saint Blair for help in giving blessings. He's always been there for us, and I would be remiss in not recording the part he has played in our lives. And if you ever need a good read, ask me about the book he wrote about being a medical missionary in Samoa in the 60's. 

Ringing in the New Year - 2023!

 The traditions continue. For the 3rd year in a row (or maybe more?) the St. Georgians came to SLC for New Years. I was a little nervous at first - after all, we are down our main bedroom right now. So even though they would be sleeping at a hotel, I still didn't really have a place for the kids to play. Then Troy realized that we could do something unthinkable. Clean it up. We put most of the tools away, took the ladders to the back porch, and vacuumed up all the wood shavings and sawdust and plaster. We set all the floor-protecting boards against the wall and the sheets of plastic on the table outside. And vacuumed some more. And voila! A playroom.

We really had a pleasant time. Whenever we go to St. George Sheri takes us on all sorts of outdoor adventures. It's rare we ever go to the same place twice. But SLC seems to be much more of a quiet time for us to visit and we rarely go anywhere but the zoo when they visit. But this time we picked a few things to do. Yes, that still included the zoo. Funny enough, we, for the first time in at least a decade, do not have a current zoo pass. Usually we share one with the Romney's but we let it run out. We were debating on whether or not to renew when Sheri discovered that it was $5 day at the zoo and that seemed good enough for us!

Our activities included ice skating, (which just about broke Emma who wasn't feeling good), a trip to the zoo, lunch and a stroll through City Creek Mall, checking out the candy window display at Macy's, heading to the Grand America Hotel to see their holiday window displays, watching Top Gun Maverick, and the grownups went out to dinner at Bombay House to celebrate Troy's and my 25th wedding anniversary. TWENTY FIVE YEARS!!!!

I know that most people do a lot more than dinner for their big anniversaries, but we just don't have it in us to do much just before New Years. It's really fun to be with family and I love just being grateful for the wonderful man that I married. (Troy! I love you!!)

We celebrated a New York New Year's eve on Saturday night, staying up all the way until 10pm when the Romney's left for their hotel and we Preslars all fell asleep before midnight. Well, I was still awake. But in bed, cozy and relaxed and ready for sleep. I did a silent "happy new year!" shout in my head then zonked out, ready to bring in 2023 with lots of high hopes and gratitude for the great year it had been. 

 

Everyone else on New Years Eve:

Me on New Year's Eve:

I didn't know I was so frowny when I napped. 

Merry Christmas, May the Traditions Ever Prevail!

I almost don't even have to write this post. It wasn't too many years ago when I was feeling sadness and loneliness about our lack of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day traditions. But at this point I feel like I'm repeating myself every year because the traditions are so strong. This is something I'm so grateful for and in which I take great delight. I love love love our traditions.

Christmas Eve - of course, breakfast at the Bucherts, while listening to the King's College Choir on BBC radio. Becca made egg and potato casserole, I made an overnight french toast with berries. Fruit, friends, frivolity. Becca and I exchanged gifts, which was delightful. I gave her this cool natural slab of wood meant to be a cheese board. I got these little vintage Santas that are just slightly on the bizarre side and I absolutely love them. They are those plastic little figures that are coated with a velvety substance, plus they have sequins pinned onto them. Love at first sight! What a joy to have friends like the Bucherts.

And naturally we next headed up to Honeyville to soak our cold tired bodies in the warm waters of Crystal Hot Springs. Time just seems to totally evaporate while we are there. Troy's mom asked us if we were going to "go swimming" again this year and that made me giggle a little, since there is absolutely no swimming whatsoever. We just sit in the hot water and let our minds wander away. It's fantastic. We went a little earlier than usual this year, and we beat the crowds. We left around 3:00, which gave us ample time to get home, get cleaned up and settled before making our traditional Christmas Eve dinner - waffles and wassail. Troy went and picked up his mom while I cooked, and we tried to keep our eyes open for the annual viewing of The Muppets Christmas Carol movie. I was not entirely successful.

After dinner we included Carol in something we tried for the first time this year. I purchased this cool wooden wreath which holds 25 candles. At the base of each candle is engraved one of the names of the savior, and there is a scripture that goes with each name. Each night in December we would light a candle, read the scripture and talk about that name of Jesus. It was fun to include Carol on our day 24. It was quite the blaze by the time all 24 candles were lit. It brings a special spirit to take the time to do this, along with listening to my sweet Troy reading Luke 2. 

Christmas this year was on a Sunday. We had a church meeting at 11:00 which I don't mind at all. I think it's wonderful to attend a one-hour service and listen to sweet music and one or two speakers. We didn't attend our own ward this year - Romney was invited to sing in a quartet with three of her madrigals friends. (The same ones seen to be strangling each other in the photos in the previous post.) I was kind of sad to miss my own church family but happy to hear Romney and friends sing. They sounded beautiful.

But I skipped the part with the presents! I had asked the girls if they wanted to sleep in and do presents after church, but they both emphatically stated that they wanted to get up early for presents. Cute. So far my kids have all proved to hang on to their inner-little-kids in the best way possible. So we got up early for presents. 

 

Highlights:

    Troy - cool shaving stuff and also cool beard-growing stuff, a book by Bono, a cruiser t-shirt, a Utes lawn ornament

    Rachel - a yarn-winder, a pepper-grinder, Harry Potter 5, and an apron

    Romney - art books, flower legos for when her room is done, snow boots, a bathrobe, play tickets, yellow shoelaces, a sweater vest, and a hoodie

    Emma - myth and legend books, jewelry to honor Matthew, an ear cuff, slippers, doc martins, a wooden model hand, and also a hoodie

After church everyone chilled out for a bit while I made food. I was putting together a buffet of salad and appetizers - stuffed mushrooms, little smokies, artichoke dip, chicken potstickers, and other healthy stuff like that. While that was happening Romney had one last gift to deliver - a sweatshirt for her friend Daffodil. She really wanted to wrap it in some funny way but couldn't decide how to do it. Finally I suggested that she put it on and then we wrap her. She thought that would be hilarious, so Troy made it happen - she looked so funny, especially while walking down the street towards their house. 

 

Once the food was ready and Romney was back, it was time. We snuggled up and started up the Fellowship of the Ring, which we got 3/4ths of the way through before our eyes were drooping so much we had to call it quits. I wasn't sure we'd watch the trilogy again this Christmas since we had just watched it in September before Chase left. But it was unanimous - it just wouldn't be Christmas without LOTR!!

Merry Christmas to all. It was a wonderful holiday season, even though all three of us girls got sick at one time or another. (Actually I'm still coughing.) As always it's hard to say goodbye to the music, lights and sparkles. I might be listening to Christmas music as I type this - can't help it! I'm just not done. Never will be. 

Death by Madrigals

Here's the thing. We love Romney's choir teacher. He's wonderful. However, he does have a tendency to slightly overschedule his students during the month of December. And when I say slightly, I actually mean massively. He loves to have them perform at schools and care facilities. They have concerts and bus rides. They have early mornings, bus rides during the school day, and call times early in the evening. And it just about did Romney in this year. (That means it also just about did us in as well.)

Here's another thing. There are the cutest kids in this madrigals choir! Wonderful friends. She has had so much fun with them, while at the same time, suffering miserably and being totally and completely exhausted.  What has added to this delightful situation is that sometimes Romney copes with the stress and pressure by leaving with her friends late at night and we wonder where she is. She gets simultaneously way happier and way sadder when she does this. 

Here are some photos of this bunch-o-crazies at some of their events this year. 

They sing so beautifully. I didn't even mind the "winter musicale" concert that combined all three different choirs, a band and two orchestras and lasted over two hours. It was so lovely. I even got to participate - Mr. B the choir teacher held a rehearsal for everyone who wanted to sing in the Hallelujah chorus. One of my favorite things ever. So fun! So it was a tremendously busy, tearful, hilarious, wonderful, awful, silly, fabulous, sucky month for choir. 

Here is Romney coming to the last day of school, laden with many burdens she was required to have with her that day. The look on her face basically sums it all up. 

The Jolly Holidays

 We did stuff. All month long. I think I'll cram it all into one long post.

Christmas in Color!

This is probably the third year in a row that we have met up with Troy's brother Sam and family to eat Mexican Food and then drive through the "Christmas in Color" super obnoxious yet fabulously beloved light display out at the Equestrian Park in South Jordan. That was like an instant tradition - we did it once and loved it so much that we decided it had to be the same every single year, Mexican Restaurant and all. Part of the tradition is also me asking Kathleen to remind me AGAIN the name of the restaurant and where it is. 

We didn't have Chase or Noah with us this year, but what we did have was Sam's big truck. Troy and Sam sat in the cab while the rest of us piled into the truck bed, thankfully under all of the quilts that Kathleen brought. I brought one. I was dumb. Luckily I also had an Emma on my lap to keep me warm. Why is this so fun? I just have no idea. It's so silly and loud and seizure-inducing. Kathleen and I hope that we will still be doing it even when it's just the two of us little old ladies in the back of the truck. 

 

 

Happy 92nd Birthday Aunt Alta!

My mom's older brother was 12 when she was born. I think. Something close to that. And he and my mom passed away within about one month of each other. He was close to 90 and she was 75. His wife is someone I love beyond words. Her name is Alta, and ever since I was small I was drawn towards her warmth and love. I loved visiting her home in Kaysville whenever we visited Utah from Colorado. They had a lot of land and grew millions of peaches there. I remember riding around with my Uncle Charles on his tractor. And they had four kids, the youngest being a few years older than my big sister. We ADORED them. And we still do. Aunt Alta was one of the most loving and supportive people when my dad was passing away, and she and I reach out to each other occasionally just to say I love you. In the fall I attended the temple with my friend Misty and who was seating a few rows behind me in the chapel, but Aunt Alta. I rather inappropriately got out of my seat, kneeled on the bench, and gave her a bear hug. She just glows with love. Is that enough gushing?

Alta turned 92 in December, and my cousin Shelly hosted a lunch for her. You know, when I was a kid, I thought that grownups were seriously so boring. All they did was sit around and talk and talk and talk. FOR-EV-ER. Well that's what we did, for hours! My Aunt Alta and her three daughters were there. My Aunt Norma, who passed away 30+ years ago, had three daughters and one daughter-in-law there. They are all closer to my mom's age but now I feel closer to them than I ever have. It's funny how getting older just makes you cling to dear family members and friends like you haven't before. 

Anyway, we talked for three hours before I finally tore myself away to go pick up car pool. It was absolutely heaven and I missed my mom like crazy. I was so happy to celebrate my dear Aunt.

Carolyn, Me, Camilla, Michael, Alta, Shelly, Pam, Marilyn, Andrea

Music and More Music!

Is the best thing about Christmas the lights or the music? I can't decide. So luckily they often go together. We had the opportunity to go to many performances this year. So many. And I wish I could go to more. For starters, Romney had about 1000 choir performances, but I'll post about that next. We got to see Peter Breinholt and company with our good friends the Behunins and Blackhams. That was a delightful evening - not only did we get to listen to a great concert with great people, but I bumped into about 12 other beloved people including Aunt Alta's son who wasn't at the lunch. 

Another great concert was the Carol Service at the Cathedral of the Madeleine. These are not easy tickets to secure - I was online at 9:55 on December 1st, waiting for the tickets to be available. I nabbed them on the stroke of 10:00, and by 10:10 they were cleaned out. Happily, we were able to get tickets on the same night as the Bucherts and the Pehrsons. It was an absolutely heavenly evening, listening to the glorious voices climbing into the eaves of the nave. 

Concert #3 I attended all by myself - the tickets to the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square are harder to come by and Becky could only get me one, and I was so grateful to even have that! I snuck away one evening to dash downtown and attend the concert. It was wonderful as always. 

Gingerbread Houses Of Course!

We almost didn't get to make our gingerbread houses this year with the Mayfields. It was just so hard to find a time! We thought we had a time, but then it didn't work after all. Even then her only child there would be the youngest, who is delightful and a total pleasure to be with, but we would miss the other kids. Luckily Misty had a stroke of inspiration and we decided to get together for lunch on a Saturday closer to Christmas. It was so awesome! Her girls were home from college so we got to enjoy the company of all three girls. (Well, the middle gal had had surgery and was a little miserable but still so cute. And her boyfriend was there to take care of her.) We had a nice long afternoon together - usually we are pressed for time, meeting on a Sunday night, needing to get the kids home and into bed. But it was leisurely and delightful. 

What a fun month! As always, I never get quite enough Christmas, but it's not for a lack of trying.