Utah!

We went up to Utah for the first week of October. It was in the middle of Wizard of Oz rehearsals, but I am glad I took that break. Unfortunately, I was sick almost the entire time. However, my awesome parents watched my kids in the morning so that I could sleep in and get better. I hadn't slept in consistently like that in a long time.

While we were there, we did a few things (despite my sickness):
-One of the first things we did was go on a family walk with my mom. We took the trail near her house that she walks almost daily. It was so beautiful! We don't see much of fall in Arizona, but Utah's autumn is spectacular. Even Asher noticed how beautiful it was there. He went on and on about it.

-We visited the Adairs in northern Utah (without our kids, and Dan spent the night so he could work and hang out).
-We went to dinner with my sister Tracy and our brother and his wife... and I met their sweet little baby girl. I also saw their condo for the first time, which was fun.
-We took the kids to the Springville Museum of Art. They had a strange style of art featured, but I loved the water sculpture. The kids got to draw a little, and see the big Bronze Indian. The Russian art was amazing! I took a few pictures. But my favorite part was something that my mom and I discovered by accident as we were trying to leave. It was an exhibition of Fred Howard's study of the Tabernacle and the organ. I loved the style of his paintings.

-We ate at Magleby's with our family and Jon and Lisa Williams, which is funny because the last time we saw them was when they got married... and their brunch was at Magleby's. (Different location, but still.) We met their cute daughter Jane, and they came over to my parents house so that we could talk and hang out.
-Chad and Clara hooked us up with a guy who cooked dinner for the family. It took 4 hours, and in return, he wanted us to buy his super expensive cookware. Ever heard of SaladMaster? Yeah. I was actually interested in it, but it was far too expensive, and it was presented in a way that turned me off. The guy was like "you are going to die of cancer and obesity unless you buy and use our cookware." And he somehow took 3 1/3 hours to give us that information. At the very least, that experience will give our family something to joke about for years to come.
-My dad gave Asher and Gwen tractor rides, we ate my favorite childhood salsa (made from garden grown tomatoes-thanks mom!), we watched the first presidential debate, we saw the movie Hugo (in 3D!), Dan went shooting with Jess, the kids and I saw my sister Kristy's new house, we visited Grandma Great on our way in and our way out, and we enjoyed everyone's company. We also got to chat with Dan's parents for a while. They were in town for General Conference. Asher and Gwen were confused.

-Dan and I also went to the first session of General Conference at the Conference Center. It was amazing! I had never been. We were in "nosebleed" seats, but we had a good experience regardless. Afterwards we at ate at an amazing hamburger place called JCW's. Everything was SO good. We have to remember that place for our next Utah trip.    

To sum up: We had a great time, and we are wishing we could go up again soon. I feel like I don't see OR talk to my family enough. I wish I was better at keeping in touch, and I wish we saw them more. Ah well, that's life I guess.

Life Gets in the Way

Forgive me Blogger, for I have sinned. It has been almost four months since my last entry. Many things have happened in my life since then, but all those things have kept me so busy, that I haven't had the time to blog about anything. And I feel quite guilty about it because this blog is sort of my journal. So... here goes.

 We went on a cruise. It was the same cruise we did 10 years ago for our honeymoon, but this time it was with Carnival and it was for Dan's parent's FIFTIETH wedding anniversary. Eight of their kids and spouses were there. It was fun to be on a big boat with so many people that I love. And our adventures in Mexico were fun, fun, fun! On the boat we did a lot of hanging out and talking. We played trivia, family jeopardy, and took tours together. We were at the same few tables for dinner every night, switching back and forth for variety. We walked around in our robes, attended shows together, and tried to find empty rooms to take over. On shore, we took a guided van tour to a place where we could swim and jump off rocks (Puerto Vallarta), ate yummy food, shopped for souvenirs, relaxed on the beach, and walked all around (2 days in Cabo San Lucas). It was a blast, and very relaxing. I actually lost two pounds.

 Asher had a birthday. I felt bad that we didn't make a big deal or invite any friends. He requested a Star Wars party, so I made him a Star Wars cake and some of his gifts were Star Wars themed. It was just our little family, and then unexpectedly Stephen and Rachel stopped by with Lauren and Calvin and some gifts. It was an awesome thing, because then it felt like a real party.

 I had a birthday. It was pretty uneventful, but I went to breakfast with my sisters-in-law (they are the sweetest) and Dan got me a ukelele and a fitbit. I love both gifts. And the ukelele lead to our re-do of the front room, which is now a music room. Yay!

On my birthday, Asher started kindergarten. I didn't cry. He didn't cry. In fact, he told me that if he saw anyone crying he would pat their shoulder and say, "don't worry, your mom will be here soon." He is the only kid in school doing the half-day schedule, but we aren't too worried about him. He seems to love school so far, and he is learning a ton. We think he looks cute in his uniform, and he is pretty good about doing his homework.

I should also mention that I finally got our family to the dentist. It was Asher's first trip... he was such a champ! Gwen wouldn't even open her mouth, but I guess she is still pretty young (and sassy). Everyone checked out pretty well except for me. I had three crowns put on. I was in pain for over a month. It was finally resolved, thank heaven. Mouth pain is the worst.

Besides all of these milestones, I have had a lot of day to day things that keep me busy as well. I have had a strange influx of sewing projects. I sewed curtains for a neighbor, a tablecloth for a random lady from our neighborhood, girl scout patches and mending for a new friend who lives by Amy, family picture/correlating outfits for a new friend and her five kids, and Halloween costumes for four cute girls from church. Then there are the piano and voice lessons, the random sewing lessons, the primary program we just had where I was in charge of the music (and 300 kids), babysitting a sweet little girl once and week, family events, etc, etc, etc! I feel like it is hard enough to keep up on the cleaning and the homework (Asher has about 45 minutes of hands-on homework a day) and the kids.

                     (Half done curtain for a client. I guess I forgot to take pictures when I was finished.) 

On top of ALL of that... I am in another play. Copperstar's The Wizard of Oz. I HAD to audition, because that movie and that story were such a part of my formative years. I feel like The Wizard of Oz is stitched in my soul somewhere. Anyway, I am the Wicked Witch (!) and I couldn't be more excited about painting myself green, throwing fire, and flying on stage. On top of that, I have been helping with choreography... so basically I have been there every rehearsal and then some. It is coming together, and I am so happy with the way it is turning out! But of course it is also time consuming. Dan is my hero for putting the kids to bed every night and for being generally supportive and good to me.

 So there it is. Now that I am safely on vacation in Utah, I have the time and mental space to dedicate to my blog. This is my life, and I'm not sorry. I'm only sorry it took me this long to post it.