memorial day

Eva and I took a walk to the cemetery on Monday. It was later in the day, so I thought things might have calmed down there, but it was crazy busy.

We brought some roses from our garden and talked about Lola for a few minutes. I told Eva what a beautiful baby Lola was, and what a sad time it was. We talked about how wonderful it is that we know she is not gone forever and that we will be able to see her again someday.

Someone had left a potted calla lily on Lola's grave. Eva couldn't fathom who else would possibly know Lola.

I said that maybe some other family member was in the area, or that maybe someone noticed a grave with no flowers and decided to add one. Either way, we liked it.

Sunday thoughts

In Senior Primary today, I felt prompted to share something that I found online recently. It was a chart taken from the 1978 Ensign.

I started out by telling the children about Sister Beck saying that learning to recognize the promptings of the Spirit and act on them is the most important and valuable skill you can acquire in this life. I firmly believe that if our children can learn this skill, they will be okay, no matter what situation they find themselves in. More than okay, in fact - happy and successful.

When you have the Spirit:

You feel happy, calm, and clear-minded.
You feel generous.
Nobody can offend you.
You wouldn't mind everyone seeing what you're doing.
You feel like praying.
You feel in control - you don't overeat or sleep too much; you don't feel uncontrollably drawn to sensational entertainment, lose your temper, or feel uncontrollable passions or desires.
You are glad when others succeed.
You feel confident and are glad to be alive.
You wish you could keep all the Lord's commandments.
You think about the Savior often and lovingly; you want to know him better.

When you don't have the Spirit:

You feel unhappy, depressed, confused, and frustrated.
You become secretive and evasive.
You don't want to pray.
You avoid people, especially members of your family; you are critical of family members and Church authorities.
You get discouraged easily and wonder if life is really worth it.
You find the commandments bothersome, restricting, or senseless.
You don't want to go to church, or take the sacrament. You wish you had another church job or no job at all.
You hardly ever think of the Savior; he seems irrelevant to your life, or worse, part of a confusing system that seems to work against you.

I really hope that our discussion helps them to recognize when they have the Spirit and when they don't, and it is a great refresher for me as well.

Special mutual road show

At the beginning of this school year, Max received a stake calling to be a youth counselor in a group of special needs youth. Each counselor was assigned a buddy to work with one-on-one. Max's buddy was Robbie.

They had mutual every Thursday night (in addition to our ward's Wednesday night mutual), and once a month, a Special Mutual sacrament meeting was held.

Recently, Eva and I attended their end of year road show. (Marc was out of town and Lucas had to be at his dance class.)

Lighting was bad and we didn't have good seats, so I didn't get too much in the way of photos.

They had a Mother Goose theme, proposed by one of the special needs youth.

My favorite part was when they did a rap to Baa Baa Black Sheep. Also, there was a boy who had the job of running all the way around the gym with a sign announcing each new nursery rhyme that was highly entertaining.

At the end of the show, there was an impromptu number by these three guitarists and a singer, who knew every word of Eye of the Tiger. It was awesome.

Max was at the piano the whole time, playing little interludes and accompaniments.

Last night, Max attended a closing fireside for all of the counselors, marking the end of his assignment. I think it was really a great experience!

Sunday thoughts

Not too long ago, we read the first chapter of Change Your Questions, Change Your Life for book club. It was interesting, it was intriguing, but I just kept wondering what questions I should be asking? (Of course, it would probably help if I read the rest of the book...)

Recently, I've been reading Chieko Okasaki's book Cat's Cradle. In it, she gave an example of a sister who was visiting a drought-stricken country and meeting with some women of different faiths. They had tried everything they could think of, and finally they asked her to pray to her God for rain. She felt panicked. She had no idea what to do or say, and she offered a quick, silent prayer of: What do you want me to say to these women? She received her answer immediately, and they were soon blessed with rain.

This got me thinking. What if it's as simple as just slightly re-phrasing some of my questions? What if instead of saying, Please help me to know how I can help the women I visit teach, and then going about my day, I asked, What can I do for Sister D.? and then waited for an answer? Instead of Help us to make our Primary a place where the children can feel safe and loved, What can I do to show more love to the Primary children?

It seems to move me from merely expressing a desire for direction to expecting that inspiration will be forthcoming.


It is so small, so simple, and yet it feels like an epiphany. I am definitely going to try it out.

another dream come true

In an academic world where very few people ever read the work that you agonize and toil over, Marc has always yearned to write something that would appeal to the masses.

With his photography, as well, he has dreamed of creating something with such wide appeal that he could see it on the shelves of Target someday.

In the last couple of years or so, he has been licensing some of his work to an art agency. He heard recently that there was a European company that wanted to make a few of his photos into postcards. He mentioned in passing that it would be thrilling to happen upon his postcards while in Paris.

A couple of days ago, I opened my email to find these:

Here he is, outside of a store that carries his postcards! He bought them just as the store was closing.

Hooray for dream fulfillment!
{Of course, he still wouldn't say no to a deal with Target.}

a dream come true

Tuesday was the big night of Max's All-Star Evening with the Utah Symphony! All of those rehearsals and hours of practice were leading up to this.

Sadly, both Marc and his parents were out of town, but Jill, Lucas, and I went to Abravanel Hall in Salt Lake. Michelle, Nicole, and Kristen met us there. (Eva was home with a babysitter.)

The first half of the concert was the Utah Symphony and a guest 13-year-old violin virtuoso. She was incredible. They played Tchaikovsky's Concerto in D Major for Violin and Orchestra.

Jill had to resort to counting the lights above the performers when the movements went long.

setting up

Ready.

From our original seats, we could only see the cellist's feet, since this symphony uses a non-standard arrangement with the cellists in the center. Fortunately, Max's teacher found us some empty seats in the center where she was seated, and we moved at intermission. Then I had a perfect view of my boy! I was thrilled.

We were not supposed to take video, but I couldn't resist getting just a couple of snippets:


{part of Finlandia by Sibelius}


{part of "Montagues and Capulets" from Romeo and Juliet by Prokofiev}

They also played Wagner's "Siegfried's Funeral March"

I didn't take a single picture of the whole symphony! (I guess I get a bit short-sighted.) Jill took this one, where at least you can see the entertaining Russian conductor.

When the performance was over, Max received a bit more instruction from his mentor.

A section of the Chihuly installation in the lobby.

I'm never downtown at night! (Well, except for seeing the lights at Temple Square at Christmastime.) 

I loved seeing one of Max's dreams come true, and I was so proud. It was a wonderful night.

12 on the 12th | May

1. Eva's breakfast. She loves it when I fill up the compartments on these lunchroom-style trays. Sometimes it's a challenge, but it usually means that she eats more, so it's worth it.
2. Eva working on one of her creative projects. I think in this case it was worksheets for playing school. Marc is in Paris, Max was in Salt Lake at a rehearsal for most of the day, and Lucas was at Lagoon, so it was an Eva & Mom kind of day. (Not sure what this outfit was about.)
3. We went to Petco to watch the hamster races. Only 4 contestants showed up, and one had never been in a hamster ball before. One kept rolling away from the finish. It was hilarious.
4. It was also a pet adoption day, so there were many cats and dogs in kennels, most of them whining to get out. It was a sad sight, and Eva said more than once, "It's too bad we already have a dog!" We saw one really cute pup get adopted, so she was greatly relieved about that one.
5. We went shopping at Target so that Eva could spend her birthday money from grandparents. She chose a 2-wheel scooter (because the one she had before with 3 wheels is "so babyish"), and an Our Generation doll (American Girl knock-off) and 2 additional outfits. I was really surprised, because she has never really played with dolls, but Sandie is getting a lot of attention, as well as her own bed and her own school and Primary lessons.
6. On the way home, we went to a drive-through pharmacy to pick up a refill on my antidepressant meds. Eva was most curious about why I was getting medicine when I wasn't sick. I tried to explain to her why I take this particular drug. I had never had to explain that to a young child before, nor even thought about doing so, and it was a bit of a challenge.
7. Flowers in our yard with just the right light.
8. Assembling the scooter.
9. Max was home for an hour, then changed and went to a formal dance with a friend at the Springville Art Museum!
10. Preparing my sharing time for Primary.
11. We finished Harry Potter #2.
12. Lucas came home very late from Lagoon. He shocked us all by going on all the rides! (He had never been on any rides before, unless you count Disneyland Paris when he was 2 1/2. I don't, because I had to get off the Haunted House ride with him because he was freaking out so much.) This is his new hipster look. He hates it when I call it that. He has a black pair of glasses, and an orange pair and a green pair that he painted, it's kind of his new signature look.

seven

It's been almost two weeks since Eva's seventh birthday. And apparently, that's how long it takes for me to feel like blogging about it! I haven't felt much like blogging lately, but I have for the last few days, so I'm going with it.

Eva opened two presents before she went to school, but I had her wait on the others, as I knew the rest of the family would want to watch. She informed me that, in the future, I should hide all of the presents until it is time to open them! Lucas agreed that it is torture to see them all sitting there and have to wait.

For the first time, I had a child who went to school on his/her birthday (Max and Lucas have summer birthdays). So, obviously, I played the cool mom card and took her Wendy's for lunch. We shared our fries with all of her friends. I enjoy being the cool mom. (And heaven knows, there is a small window of opportunity there, so I say live it up while you can!)

After school, she invited her friend Lindsey to go to a jump/bounce place. I had purchased a 2-for-1 on Groupon earlier this year, and it seemed like the perfect day to use it. When we arrived, however, it was about the saddest place I'd ever seen. What you see in the picture takes up about 1/3 of a warehouse, and the rest is just concrete. We definitely won't be frequenting that establishment!

After about 40 minutes, the girls were finished with Jump Around Town, so we went to what we call The Wooden Park. Much better.

I had my book and it was a beautiful day, so it was a win/win situation.

Finally, it was night, and Eva could open the rest of her gifts! She requested chocolate angel food cake, and no one was sad about that.

Her party with friends was on Wednesday. She invited seven friends, and was delighted that they all could come — especially Whitney!

First, we did bubble painting outside. It was a hit.

Then, I gave each girl a canvas and a paint palette.

They chose the paint colors they wanted, and got right to work. I was so glad that Marc was there to help with the party, because it was busier than I expected, getting everyone the paints they wanted, wiping up spills, etc.

Some of the girls finished their canvases before the rest, so I took them into the family room and played that game where you draw a head of some sort and then fold your paper down and pass it to the next person, who draws a torso, then pass it to the last person to add the legs. My cousin Ashley and I used to do that when we were little. Eva and her friends thought it was hilarious.

colorful cupcakes — I really thought the frosting was thick enough to pipe on, but apparently not, so I just pretended like I was going for the dripping paint look all along...

I spread out a long piece of butcher paper and everyone worked on a mural together. Eva loved it so much, she was slightly heartbroken when we had to throw it away a couple of days later...

The best thing about art is seeing the way that everyone comes up with something unique!

The masterpieces:

Savannah

Whitney

Ava

Lindsey

Gates

Riley

Sammie

And, I only just realized that I forgot to take a picture of Eva with her painting! Oops.

When the party was over, I did a little bit of cleaning up, then decided I'd have to save the rest for the next day as I was utterly and completely exhausted! It was 7:30 and I was literally wishing I could go to bed. Am I too old for birthday parties??

I kissed Eva goodnight and asked her if she had had a good party, fervently hoping she would sigh with contentment (she did). Because, really, that's the only thing that makes all of this worth it.

Women's Conference - part II

On Friday, we had another leisurely morning. So leisurely, in fact, that we ended up eating lunch at Collette's before going to campus! Unprecedented. As we were chatting, Danielle suggested that it would be great to be a shuttle driver at Women's Conference. That way, you wouldn't have to rush to classes only to be denied admittance because the class is full, and you could get the highlights from all of the classes from the shuttle riders! Totally cracked us up.


Kristi went to rendezvous with her mother-in-law and ended up going to the candy counter at the BYU Bookstore and having a life-changing encounter with an old friend, all while Jill and I were attending a class in the Marriott Center. Do these kinds of things happen to anyone else? Because they seem to happen to Kristi all the time.

Patsy was also in the Marriott Center and she came over and filled us in on her life these days. Let's just say she has a lot on her plate. Yet she still has a sense of humor and optimism. What a woman!

In the break before the closing session, Jill and Collette slipped out to get us drinks at the drive-through. Oh, the perks of a staff parking pass! It was a treat, and it helped me to stay awake for the final stretch.

As we were leaving campus, we realized we had never taken a photo of our conference passes. (I had forgotten mine at Collette's house for the second day and had to buy a replacement!)

We went to Cherry Lane Keepsakes on the way home. I knew that Kristi and Collette would like it, but I wasn't so sure about Jill. She reminded me that she doesn't hate all shopping, just clothes shopping. I had to apologize for being short-sighted.

We stayed until closing time, and we all found a few things we couldn't leave behind.

Kristi treated us all to Cafe Rio for dinner, and then we retreated to the theater room to watch The Help. Unbelievably, Jill and I had never seen it because we had planned to see it with our book club, and then that never worked out. We loved it, of course!

After the movie, we stayed in the theater room and just talked and talked. Jill went to bed at the reasonable hour of 12:30, but I didn't retire until I noticed it was 2:00! I paid for that on Saturday.

Kristi had to leave for the airport in the morning, and Collette had an appointment to get her nails done. Fortunately for us, she kindly offered to let us come and go as we pleased for the rest of the day. 

We took our time getting ready, then went to La Dolce Vita for lunch. Scrumptious. I only go there about once a year, with Jill. After lunch, we did an errand or two, then went back to take a nap in the theater room! 

I went out to check on the duck and discovered that she had left her post, presumably to find food. Look at those beautiful eggs! Eight of them.

It was surely hard to go back to real life after our fun and relaxing weekend.

Arts Gala

On the Thursday night of Women's Conference, Eva's school held their annual Arts Gala. The choirs and orchestra performed, and the children's artwork was displayed all around the school. (I had been dreading it because I didn't want to have to tear myself away from my girls' weekend, but it ended up being pretty cute.)

I worked with the junior choir all year as their accompanist. We met on Fridays before school. It was difficult getting Eva ready and out the door so we could be there at 8:00, but it was always fun once we got there.

Max and Lucas both had other engagements that night (Thursday nights are crazy for us), but Mim and Bob came with Marc and I to show their support.

This is Eva's poster. I also worked as an art volunteer this year, teaching art to Eva's class every Wednesday. It was really a lot of fun, and I enjoyed getting to know all of her classmates. The children selected their favorite art works from the year for their posters.

This was a collaborative effort by students in the upper grades. I love all of those colorful circles!

Each grade had a "masterwork" — a project inspired by a famous artist. For the first grade, our inspiration was the collage work of Lois Ehlert. One week, the children painted papers using layers of color and texture, and the next week they cut those papers to make a bird collage. The masterworks were collected and displayed as a group. (Eva's is the red bird on the lower left.)

Despite her slightly bored expression, she had a great time. I think she was exhausted because it was a long night!