Reads of 2019

Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson

Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman

Peace for a Palestinian by Sahar Qumsiyeh
The Ragged Edge of Night by Olivia Haw

Make Your Bed by Admiral William H. McRaven
The Lines We Leave Behind by Eliza Graham
Of Mess and Moxie by Jen Hatmaker
The Broken Circle by Enjeela Ahmadi-Miller
From a Bishop's Notebook by Merrill B. Tew
The Magnolia Story by Chip and Joanna Gaines
Understood Betsy by Dorothy Canfield Fisher
The Snow Gypsy by Lindsay Jayne Ashford
The Dressmaker of Khair Khana by Gayle Tzemach Lemmon
East by Edith Pattou
Rock Needs River by Vanessa McGrady
Educated by Tara Westover
West by Edith Pattou
Glimpses into the Life and Heart of Marjorie Pay Hinckley by Virginia H. Pearce
Geekerella by Ashley Poston
Grit by Angela Duckworth
The Winter of the Witch by Katherine Arden
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
Born a Crime by Trevor Noah
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
Little Princes by Conor Grennan
For the Love by Jen Hatmaker
Daring Greatly by Brene Brown
The River Widow by Ann Howard Creel
Crocodile on the Sandbank by Elizabeth Peters
Refugee by Alan Gratz
The Princess and the Fangirl by Ashley Poston
The Girl from Aleppo by Nujeen Mustafa with Christina Lamb
Before the Broken Star by Emily R. King
An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir
A Man Called Ove by Frederik Backman
A Torch Against the Night by Sabaa Tahir
Out of My Mind by Sharon M. Draper
A Song for the Stars by Ilima Todd
A Woman Is No Man by Etaf Rum
A Reaper at the Gates by Sabaa Tahir
The Lighthouse Keeper's Daughter by Hazel Gaynor
The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill
The Last Midwife by Sandra Dallas
Along the Broken Bay by Flora J. Solomon

Story In a Jar: Bedtime Stories

Q: Do you remember having a favorite nursery rhyme or bedtime story? What was it?

A: We had an old, hand-me-down, avocado green sofa in our living room, and some of my earliest memories are of curling up next to my mom with my brother on her other side while she read to us before bed. It was during these story times that she introduced us to books such as The Chronicles of Narnia, Little House On the Prairie, Anne of Green Gables, Pippi Longstockings, and The Boxcar Children. I have no doubt that my ongoing love/obsession of reading originated on that green couch listening to my mom's voice.

Some nights we had a special treat when my dad was home and would tell us stories from his experiences while serving as a missionary in Argentina for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He had only been a member of the Church for a short time before leaving home and essentially paving his own way to live as a full-time missionary. I didn't understand the sacrifices he made until much later. At that time, I mostly appreciated it for the stories he told which I never tired of hearing.

Fast forward to my own parenting years, and a favorite children's book of mine remains Goodnight Moon. I recall growing up with that one as well, but I particularly liked reading it to my kids when they were little. One reason, I'm sure, was that it's short enough that after a long, tiring day you can get through it without expending too much energy. But more than that, there is something soothing about the simple sentences and engaging and repetitive artwork.

Story In a Jar: Hanging Out

Q: Did you and your friends have a special hang-out where you liked to spend time?

Short Answer: Not really.

Long Answer: The house we lived in through most of my elementary school years had an incredible tree house. I haven't seen it as an adult, so who knows if my memory of the fort's awesomeness is accurate, but as a kid it was a sanctuary. In the far end of our backyard was a stand of old trees, and the tree house sat high in between them. I couldn't tell you it's dimensions, perhaps about 5 or 6 feet square. Under the tree house was an open platform on the ground level. The way into the main house was through a hatch in the floor. I don't know why we didn't have a ladder. We would jump up and grab the floor through the hole and then loop our legs up and pull ourselves in. We would get out in reverse fashion, or if we were brave we could exit a window that led to a porch-like ledge wrapping around two sides of the fort. From there we could jump to the ground, feet tingling and adrenaline pumping. 

The tree house was really only a square box, but it gave us a place to play rain or shine, which was pretty handy in Oregon. Before we moved in someone had painted a dalmatian mural on one wall, which we decided to improve upon one day only to make an ugly mess. But that was okay, because this was a place to make our own. We didn't have any furniture or other comforts, but that didn't stop us from feeling right at home.

A few memories stand out from my years playing in the tree fort.

1) One wintry day, my brother and I brilliantly decided to try ice skating on the little goldfish pond in our front yard. It didn't go well. As we stood in the cold, shin-deep water, we decided it would be better to go hide in the fort rather than let our mom see the evidence of our sopping shoes and pants. We huddled out there shivering until our mom called for us. I don't know how we expected to dry out in the cold, which we obviously did not, and now we had to explain both the reason for our wet clothes and why we were hiding in the fort. Not our brightest hour.

2) I received a gift of a makeup set, consisting mainly of intense blue eye shadow. This was the '80s, so you can imagine the shade. My friend came over to play one day and we proudly and masterfully applied the eye shadow, being sure to completely cover our lids from lash to brow. Because, you know, that's how it's done. Afterward, we went out back to spend some time in the tree fort. A couple of boys who lived in the house behind ours could see us through the fort window and came running over. Up close, they breathed a sigh of relief. "We wondered how you had gotten black eyes," they admitted, and we all had a good laugh.

3) There was a period of time when we steered clear of the vicinity of the fort simply because it stank. An opossum had wandered under the lower platform to die, and we didn't know how to remove its rotting corpse. Ewww! We basically waited out its decomposition and went back to playing once it passed the cautiously administered smell test.

4) Our backyard bordered several other homes where kids around our ages lived. We spent lots of hours with those kids, mostly in our yard. A neighbor boy was about a year older than me, and one day up in the tree house he got kind of quiet. Out of the blue, he signed the words, "I love you." Very sweet, but I was awkward and silently stood there. He continued by saying, "Do," followed by the signs for, "you love me?" Have I mentioned I was awkward? I just replied, "No," and watched him deflate. And that was the extent of my tree house romances.

Story In a Jar: Chores

Q: Was there a chore you really hated doing as a child?

A: Do kids ever like chores? I suppose perhaps once in a while. Morgan enjoys organizing things. Aiden likes doing projects with Jeremy. But the day in, day out home maintenance jobs? Not so much! 

I have a default toward lazy, so even doing chores as a grown up isn't my most favorite thing. Some things I procrastinate until they can't be ignored. One of those is dusting.

It seemed like I was always in charge of dusting when I was a kid, and because my mom was religious about getting it done every week it was hard to really see much difference between the before and after. The worst part about it, though, was moving all the knickknacks, dusting each one, and then putting them back. So, so tedious.

When I stayed home with my kids, the dusting got done more regularly than it does these days. I try to not completely neglect it, and I truly do appreciate a clean and tidy home, but it's usually near the bottom of the ever-growing to do list.

Reads of 2017

• Into the Bright Unknown by Rae Carson

• Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys

• Out of the Silent Planet by C.S. Lewis

• The Bitter Kingdom by Rae Carson

• The Heretic's Daughter by Kathleen Kent

• Lark Rise by Flora Thompson

• The Neverending Story by Michael Ende

• The Crown of Embers by Rae Carson

• The Fall of the House of Usher and Other Writings by Edgar Allan Poe

• The God Who Weeps by Fiona and Terryl Givens

• The Orphan Keeper by Camron Wright

• Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly

• Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys

• The Zookeeper's Wife by Diane Ackerman

• The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson

• Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys

• Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell

• Soldier Boy by Keely Hutton

• Believing Christ by Stephen E. Robinson

• The Actor and the Housewife by Shannon Hale

• Lady of Quality by Georgette Heyer

• Windfall by Jennifer E. Smith

• The Book of Mormon

• Champion by Marie Lu

• Prodigy by Marie Lu

• Legend by Marie Lu

• A Night Divided by Jennifer A. Nielsen

• Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell

• The Book of Joy by the Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu

• The Book of Mormon

• I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

• Call the Midwife: Farewell to the East End by Jennifer Worth

• Letter to My Daughter by Maya Angelou

• Eve and the Choice Made in Eden by Beverly Campbell

• Call the Midwife: Shadows of the Workhouse by Jennifer Worth

• Frederica by Georgette Heyer

• The Story of My Life by Helen Keller

• Amazing Grace by Eric Metaxas

• Old Testament

Reads of 2018

• The Book of Mormon

• All the Ever Afters by Danielle Teller

• The Ragged Edge of Night by Olivia Hawker

• Agatha Raisin and the Potted Gardener by MC Beaton

• Dragonwatch by Brandon Mull

• Agatha Raisin and the Vicious Vet by MC Beaton

• A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park

• Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

• One by One by David A Bednar

• The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown

• Heir to Edenbrook by Julianne Donaldson

• Flat Broke with Two Goats by Jennifer McGaha

• Edenbrooke by Julianne Donaldson

• The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba

• The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

• The Girl in the Tower by Katherine Arden

• Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death by MC Beaton

• The Dressmaker of Khair Khana by Gayle Tzemach Lemmon and Sarah Zimmerman

• The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin

• Outcasts United by Warren St. John

• The Lady in Gold by Anne-Marie O'Connor

• Nothing to Envy by Barbara Demick

• The Huntress of Thornbeck Forest by Melanie Dickerson

• Starflight by Melissa Landers

• The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd

• The Element by Ken Robinson, PhD

• Wrath of the Storm by Jennifer A. Nielsen

• Rise of the Wolf by Jennifer A. Nielsen

• The Self-Driven Child by William Strixrud, PhD, and Ned Johnson

• The Art of Hearing Heartbeats by Jan-Philipp Sendker

• Elmet by Fiona Mozley

• Fish in a Tree by Lynda Mullaly Hunt

• The Rithmatist by Brandon Sanderson

• The Librarian of Auschwitz by Antonio Iturbe

• Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad

• The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden

• Mark of the Thief by Jennifer A. Nielsen

Origins and Inspiration

Sleigh bells. Candy canes. Angels. Manger scenes. Stockings. Santa Claus. Reindeer. All the trappings for a perfect holiday season. Except at our house we needed something more.

Last Christmas the kids came home from school with the typical array of decorations and colored pages. Then Aiden presented me with a delicious surprise. At first glance I saw a standard reindeer with handprint antlers. Another clever use of kindergarten-sized mitts. Then I noticed the reindeer’s expression. Rather than a jolly, “merry Christmas” style grin, I was faced with severe eyebrows, a down-turned mouth, and rather ferocious teeth. It fairly growled at me.

I laughed. “Why is your reindeer so angry?” I asked.

Aiden looked at it and said, “He’s evil.” No further explanation.

But now I had an evil reindeer on my hands. I couldn’t have imagined a more thorough contradiction to everything Christmas represents. I guess if you think about it, a reindeer could have plenty to be angry about during this time of year. I’d be pretty grumpy, too, if I had a worldwide trip ahead of me with no allowances for nasty weather and nothing to keep my toes warm on snowy rooftops.

I doubt Aiden put that much thought into the “why” of his angry reindeer, but the mere contradiction completely hit my funny bone. The evil, angry reindeer promptly found a spot on the refrigerator door, where it remained long after the other Christmas decorations had returned to their boxes. I just didn’t have the heart to take it down because it came to represent several things for me. It served as a reminder of how my kids brighten my days. How their views of the world make me smile. How each member of our family is individual and creative and inspiring. How I can find joy in the smallest moments. How love can grow sometimes imperceptibly and sometimes by leaps and bounds so my heart feels like it will burst.

Eventually I did remove the angry reindeer from its place of honor on the refrigerator. Mostly I was afraid it would get ruined if left there too long. It needed to be preserved in the safety of the filing cabinet. But every so often I will open the reindeer’s secluded drawer just to put that smile back on my face, to remember that life can be unexpected and inexplicable and maybe even a little bit wicked but wonderful just the same.

Fly

I pulled into my driveway a recent sunny morning and saw on my lawn a couple of birds in search of their breakfast. One, I quickly noticed, had a strange rhythm to its hop. Looking closer I could see one leg severely twisted, its foot facing an unnatural direction. The little bird couldn't support much weight on the leg, but it wobbled undeterred and energetic in its quest for food. Before long it found what it was searching for and, in a burst of surprising power, lifted toward the sky.

I watched until the bird disappeared and sat pondering the inevitable metaphors found in this quiet scene. The most resonant for me right now relates to one of the jobs I've had this past school year. After I agreed to do recess duty, the secretary told me they had a need for someone to work as a part time aide for a handicapped third grade boy. He already had a full time aide, but because of certain policy changes, she could only work a set number of hours and another person was needed to cover the remaining hours of the school day.

The job description essentially requires me to be his hands. His condition is some big long word that starts with an a which affected his development in utero. He has very little muscle in his arms and legs. Much like the little bird's foot, his hands are misshapen, the fingers basically unusable. So while he is in a mainstream classroom - Spanish immersion at that - he needs a wheelchair to get around and can't hold a pencil in his hands.

But enough of what he can't do. Here's what has been a marvelous, surprising, uplifting revelation to me. He was telling me something one day and mentioned just as naturally as could be how he was "differently-abled" and then carried on with the rest of his story. Of course, I'd heard the term used before, but now I was witnessing on a fairly intimate level the truth of the phrase. Undoubtedly there are some things he will never do as well or as easily as his peers. But he can do many things and remarkably well. He uses his mouth for most things we use our hands -- writing, turning pages, even folding paper. I dare anyone to challenge him to a spit wad contest. He uses his arm to drive and steer his wheelchair, which he can maneuver forward and backward with impressive accuracy. He participates in soccer and dodge ball and tag games without hesitation. He's enthusiastic about physical therapy. He had a surgery a few months ago to remove some hardware from his legs placed there during an unsuccessful operation last summer. He came back to school excited about the new braces he would wear that would help support his knees enough that he can stand with minimal support and even walk, aided, around the school. He is not ashamed of his differences and has rallied many other children around him. They cheer his successes and are true friends.

I had a moment during one of his physical therapy sessions watching while the therapist held his body so he could stand straight and tall. Usually, because of the lack of muscle to support his frame, he leans far forward and has little balance. But as he stood there that day, I envisioned him whole and strong. I thought of how his mother and father must see him, not just as a condition requiring 24 hour assistance, but as a child of God with unlimited potential. It's easy to quickly see the defects and disabilities, just as I could easily spot the broken foot on the little bird. But with a change of perspective, an expanded vision, I began to witness the power with which and the heights to which he can and will fly.

Reads of 2016

• Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee
• The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
• The Upstairs Room by Johanna Reiss
• Wild by Cheryl Strayed
• Call the Midwife by Jennifer Worth
• Like a River Glorious by Rae Carson
• Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg
• Dear Mr. Knightley by Katherine Reay
• A Room with a View by E.M. Forster
• All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
• The Mapmaker's Children by Sarah McCoy
• The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery
• The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
• Girl on a Wire by Gwenda Bond
• This is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer E. Smith
• A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
• When Calls the Heart by Janette Oke
• The Gifts of Imperfection by Brene Brown
• Freckles by Gene Stratton Porter
• Walk on Earth a Stranger by Rae Carson
• Timebound by Rysa Walker
• Our Sacred Honor by Ron Carter
• Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
• Winter by Marissa Meyer
• Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson
• Mary Anne by Daphne du Maurier
• A Painted House by John Grisham

Reads of 2015

• Whistling Past the Graveyard by Susan Crandall
• A Redbird Christmas by Fannie Flagg
• Rules by Cynthia Lord
• Goodbye Stranger by Rebecca Stead
• Dust of Eden by Mariko Nagai
• Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie
• These Is My Words by Nancy Turner
• Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt
• Testimony of an Irish Slave Girl by Kate McCafferty
• And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
• Charles and Emma: The Darwin's Leap of Faith by Deborah Heiligman
• The Mermaid's Sister by Carrie Anne Noble
• How to Be a Heroine by Samantha Ellis
• Scarlet by A.C. Gaughen
• War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells
• We Die Alone by David Howarth
• An Irish Country Doctor by Patrick Taylor
• Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel
• Peony by Pearl S. Buck
• The Geography of You and Me by Jennifer E. Smith
• The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
• Enchantment by Orson Scott Card
• Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand
• Gray Mountain by John Grisham
• Paperboy by Vince Vawter
• I Am David by Anne Holm
• Gifted Hands by Ben Carson, M.D.
• Ruins by Dan Wells
• The Scorch Trials by James Dashner
• Skinny by Donna Cooner
• Guitar Notes by Mary Amato

Proud Mama Moments

Here we are creeping up on [actually more like bounding toward] the end of the school year, and before we leave it all behind I want to make mention of a few notable items. April and May have been particularly busy and eventful.

Caleb: Starting in December, Caleb participated in the winter drumline. This was new to me, so if you're also wondering what that is, let me briefly explain. It's basically like a marching band field show minus all the wind instruments -- percussion only here -- and is performed indoors. They practiced many hours during the week and on Saturdays, which practice ultimately payed off. They took 2nd place in the state competition for their show titled "Dante's Inferno." If you want a sampling of what they looked like, here's part of it. This is early in the season, so they still had some work to do. Caleb is the lanky hooded figure in the front row on the left side.

Marissa: The last few months for Marissa were filled with basketball and track. She has been practicing with the high school basketball teams and participating in some tournaments with them. Her time to shine, however, was at the regional track meet. She competed in the shot put and 4 x 100 relay. Her relay team came in 4th place. But best of all, she won the shot put for the 8th grade girls with a distance of 32' 11"! And ... even with her busy schedule she has stayed on the honor roll and looks like she'll get a 4.0 this term.

Aiden: It's a good thing we like to watch basketball, cause that's what we do. Aiden finished up the regular season well, winning the championship game for 5th graders, and has since been focused on his traveling team. They had some polishing to do since they hadn't really been practicing together, but after a rough start they picked it up and started playing more like a team. In their most recent tournament, they finished in 1st place for their bracket. For school, he had to give an ancestor report in Spanish [that means using mostly past tense!] and got an A+.

Morgan: It may not seem like a big deal to some, but Morgan overcame some anxiety and trepidation to perform two songs in her piano recital. I tried to convince her to perform an original composition she titled "Follow Your Destiny," but she decided it was too personal to share with an audience. She did a wonderful job and was very poised in spite of her butterflies. She also mastered 214 out of 217 spelling words for the 2nd grade and has lovely cursive penmanship which she practices in very sweet letters to all the members of our family.

So there you have it. Sometimes a mom just has to brag. Better than all this, though, is that they are just genuinely good kids. They help me and are kind to each other. We laugh a lot together. I'm not sure how I got to be so lucky!

I see?

I took a late nap the other day and was accidentally awakened by Morgan. When she apologized I assured her it was just fine and that I needed to get up anyway.

"Why?" she asked.

"I can't sleep all evening long," I replied.

"Oh. And you need to take out your taxes... Wait, I mean islands." The frustration began to mount. "I don't remember what they're called!"

All I can say is that at our house from here on out contacts will be known by a couple new and much more inspiring names.

On the go....fish

Here's something that gave me the giggles the other day.

I was driving Aiden and one of his friends to basketball practice and could hear them in the back of the van playing "Go Fish" with Morgan's set of Lalaloopsy cards. It sounded a little something like this...

Aiden: Do you have Crumbs Sugar Cookie?

Friend: No, go fish. Do you have Mittens Fluff'n'Stuff?

Aiden: Oh man, yes!

This went on for the entire 20 minute drive. Something about these 11-year-old sporty boys talking so seriously about characters like Jewel Sparkle and Dot Starlight made me laugh. I guess they're really softies at heart.

Still love to read

As per tradition, here's my list of books read during the year. A nice, varied selection in my opinion. The one that had the greatest impact on me was Merrill's Marauders. My grandpa -- Paka -- served as a Marauder captain in World War II. He wasn't one to talk much about his experiences, but he started to dictate his memoirs many years ago at my dad's request. Unfortunately, he put the project on hold as my grandma's Parkinson's disease progressed and she required more care. When Paka suddenly passed from an aneurysm, the rest of his story remained untold.

I'm not sure how it all came about, but my dad learned about Gavin Mortimer's research and shared what he had collected of Paka's memoirs. Mortimer included some of Paka's memories and quotes in the book, which made the reading very personal. Even though Paka's contribution to the bulk of the book was minimal, I knew his actual contribution to the war effort and participation in the struggles and horrors in this part of the Pacific theater were absolute. I didn't need to see his name in every battle scene or hear his direct reaction to events to realize he was there -- that he watched his friends die, that he suffered from heat and bugs and hunger and fatigue, that he wondered whether or not he would make it out alive. I already had a great deal of respect for my grandpa, but this book expanded and deepened those feelings.

• My Family for the War by Anne C. Voorhoeve
• The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith
• Wonder by R.J. Palacio
• Kisses from Katie by Katie Davis
• Cress by Marissa Meyer
• The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien
• The Shadow Throne by Jennifer A. Nielsen
• The Pigeon Pie Mystery by Julia Stuart
• The Maze Runner by James Dashner
• The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin
• Looking for Alaska by John Green
• The Red Umbrella by Christina Gonzalez
• Scarlet by Marissa Meyer
• Merrill's Marauders by Gavin Mortimer
• Cinder by Marissa Meyer
• The Runaway King by Jennifer A. Nielsen
• Mr. Churchill's Secretary by Susan Elia MacNeal
• The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen
• Heaven is for Real by Todd Burpo
• Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
• The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas
• Mary Poppins by P.L. Travers
• Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine
• The Man Who Loved Books Too Much by Allison Hoover Bartlett
• A Letter of Mary by Laurie R. King
• Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
• Blackmoore by Julianne Donaldson
• The Fault In Our Stars by John Green
• Climbing the Mango Trees by Madhur Jaffrey
• A Daughter of Zion by Bodie Thoene
• The Magic of Ordinary Days by Ann Howard Creel
• Garment of Shadows by Laurie R. King

2014 in a blog-shell

 
Disneyland!

Need I say more? Our memories of 2014 are definitely dominated by our trip to California this summer to celebrate Mom and Dad S’s 50th anniversary.

Jeremy and I loved seeing the smiles on the kids’ faces even after spending long days on our feet. Morgan took two trips to the instacare – first for croup and then for an ear infection – and yet she plugged along and hardly complained.

Some favorites: Thunder Mountain Railroad, Cars Land, California Screamin’, World of Color, Pirates of the Caribbean, Indiana Jones.I personally got a kick out of watching Jeremy and Caleb on the Winnie the Pooh ride. We needed it after taking the plunge on Splash Mountain. We also enjoyed a day at the beach and good food.

We say regularly that we want to go back, and I hope we can someday.

 

 








We decided to take advantage of being in southern California by extending our trip and spending a few days in San Diego. I don’t think any of us regretted it.

We tried to hit as many attractions as possible including Old Town, the Mormon Battalion museum, the beach, the San Diego temple, the USS Midway museum, and of course Sea World.

I solidified my crazy mom status by dragging everyone to a park with an awesome view only to find out it would close in about five minutes. Not wanting to pay admission, we turned around, found a spot to take a picture in the middle of a cemetery, and drove back to the hotel.

The summer also included a trip for ⅔ of the family to Oregon and then down to the cabin, partly for my 20th high school reunion [really?!?] but more to visit Mom and Dad B and see their new home.

One of the most memorable and hysterical parts of the trip was going “clamming” on the coast. I will forever have the image of my parents and the kids squishing through the mud with shovels in hand.

The cabin was of course refreshing. The morning we left I could see that Aiden was struggling. I asked him if he was okay and he started to cry, which is not normal for him. He said he didn’t want to leave, and I could totally relate.





















The reason the other ⅓ of the family stayed behind was because Caleb had committed to marching band. This was his first season, and he had a great experience.

He wasn’t overly fond of the parades, but he really enjoyed playing the synthesizer for the field show as well developing friendships with his fellow pit members.

His high school took 3rd in state and 4th in the region, which was remarkable for being their first year as a 5A band. He liked it enough to decide to sign up for the winter drum line, so we’re back to fun practice schedules. By now we should be able to drive to the high school with our eyes closed.

We’ve watched a substantial amount of basketball this year. Marissa was assigned to the 8th grade B team, but as the coaches watched her during practice they decided she would benefit from playing with the A team as well.

Aiden plays with a competitive team in addition to being on the 5th grade A team.

Caleb played with city recreation. That’s a lot of basketball.






In other activities, Marissa gave track a try in the spring and found she has a knack for the shot put. She took 3rd in regionals. If you consider her skinny arms, that’s pretty impressive.

Morgan took another year of dance but is taking a break right now. I’m still trying to figure out how to convince her to sing in front of other people. Caleb got his driver’s permit.

We said farewell to our old blue van after 13 years together, replacing it with a new-to-us-but-not-really-new-at-all red van. The first thing we had to do after we bought it from our Ute fan neighbors was to remove the Utah sticker on the back window just so Aiden could breathe again.

We’re all busy with church responsibilities as well. Jeremy perseveres as 1st counselor in the bishopric; I am still Laurel advisor and went to girls camp as assistant director; Caleb serves as his teacher’s quorum president, and Marissa is 1st counselor in her Beehive class. Aiden goes to scouts, where he just received his Webelos badge, and Morgan gets dragged all over the place.

School work keeps us hopping, as does work-work.

Life is good, and we count our blessings every day.


P.S. Please pardon the formatting issues. I think Blogger was feeling neglected and decided to act out. Either that or I'm way out of practice.