May 2024

We got so many artichokes from our garden this spring and I discovered a new way to prepare them: roasted in the oven with lemons and rosemary. Yum! One of them grew about as big as Gemma's head, and let me tell you, it was actually the most delicious artichoke I've had in my whole life. So. much. meat!  

Hazel was asked to play strings with a handful of others from our stake as part of an interfaith day of prayer. Our whole family attended. It was interesting to participate together with so many other churches. 

Hazel also took her AP Human Geography test this month. We won't get her score until July or something, but it feels good to no longer have that hanging over her head. She also won another poetry contest. 

Excited about Japan, Jack made pork pot stickers for dinner. They were scrumptious! We are all craving more cuisine from him. 

Jack had a handful of track meets. It was fun to go cheer him on. His favorite event seems to be the relay races. 

We had an exciting opportunity to listen to the Young Women General President, Emily Belle Freeman, as she gave a regional youth devotional. Todd and I volunteered to drive youth from our ward because we didn't want to miss it. She was an engaging speaker and very inspirational. Everyone felt it was well worth our time. She spoke of living as a witness of Jesus Christ. We all got to meet her in the foyer of the building as well. 

I was treated right for Mother's Day. Parfaits for breakfast, lasagna for dinner, fresh flowers and sweet cards filled with gratitude. Everyone played games with me and gave me back rubs. It was delightful. 

My game night buddies and I went out for breakfast to celebrate Elaine's birthday. Then we went to the movie theater and watched The Fall Guy. Living it large while the kids are at school. 

Jack was asked to help out a friend in orchestra and play the piano for a duet at their final concert. He sounded miles better on our piano at home than on the dinky keyboard they had there. Such a shame. 

We went to Brentwood twice to pick cherries. So yum! We're so spoiled. 

Todd and Jack attended a father/son campout at Manresa Beach. They came home exhausted. 

Jack had the track championship meet. He ran well and had a good time with friends. 

Todd got sporty and decided he needed to try the high jump and the long jump himself. The high school kids running the events were so confused: "Is this somebody's dad?" Todd knocked the high jump pole over, made a decent mark of 14 feet on the long jump, and got greedy going four or five times, ending with an injured foot - sprained toes and probably torn ligaments. He's been ice bathing and popping ibuprofen, elevating and sort of slowing down, but he won't go to see a doctor. He keeps forgetting he's injured and working it too hard, then regretting it at the end of the day. 

Hazel had her final orchestra concert of the year downtown at the Bankhead Theater. It was cool to see her play in a nice venue, but lame that we had to buy tickets to come support her. 

Todd is prepping his next big youth activity. I don't think it will be as elaborate as Survivor Night, but he did bulk order women's nylons for a supply, and couldn't resist trying them out. Oh, my. word. 

Gemma researched the state of Oregon for a class assignment and made a state float. It seemed too daunting of an assignment at first, but I am so glad I stayed out of it and watched her rise to the challenge. She did a fantastic job on her own and was so proud of her final product. 

Gemma has been playing violin in music class at school this year, although she found it excruciatingly show and feels like all they ever did was play Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star. Thanksfully, she also had private lessons with Kirstan Hilton so she could really learn how to play. Anyway, 5th grade had a concert and it was fun for me to go and listen and support her. 

Jack missed several days of school, home sick with a fever, nausea, and some overwhelming congestion. He never napped and was so blasted bored out of his mind, but was way too sick to attend school. He and I played lots of games, one of which was Battleship. I had to take a picture to show him after we were done that seven of his first eight guesses were only one space away from one of my ships. It was nuts! 

Gemma had a piano recital and played one of her pieces without sheet music. It was her first time performing a memorized piece without backup and she was so proud of herself afterward. She can play her songs with her eyes closed at home, but it is another thing with the pressure of an audience behind you. 

News articles were blasting one weekend about how if you were in the right place at the right time and had your phone camera on the right setting, you could see the Northern Lights all over the United States for some reason. Hazel was super excited about it and went out with friends trying to catch them, to no avail. She convinced us all to go out the next night as a family and try again. We stayed up until 11:30 even though the kids had school the next day, camping out by the open space here in Springtown. It was nice to sit and tell Jeffery Stories and contemplate things in the quiet night.  We never did see the Northern Lights, but apparently, nobody saw much after Friday night, and they couldd only see it if they were looking through their phone cameras. That was a bit of a let-down, but this picture of Chris and Jodi still makes me jealous. They say the sky just looked black to the naked eye. Isn't that wild? 

Hazel and I were asked to speak in Sacrament Meeting on the same Sunday. How could I refuse? She spoke on feeling the joy of the gospel and I spoke on the phrase, "Be still, and know that I am God." I was the final speaker and only got five minutes to give my talk, which was sad, but at least I prepared for that contingency. 

April 2024

 We had spring break the first week of April. We had a couple chill days at home, then Gemma, Jack, and I headed up to the cabin with Katie and her kids. Ryan was out of town for work and Hazel was taking a driver's education class. Todd brought Hazel up Thursday night when she was finished with that. 

We weren't sure what kind of conditions we were going to find. The weather had started warming up and the snow was beginning to melt, but we still kept seeing small snowstorms on the forecast. It was sunny and kind of slushy when we got there Wednesday morning, but the roads were still being groomed. We got some fresh powder that evening, so we had fresh snow to play in and make sno-cones wtih throughout the rest of the week. 

We played lots of games and watched a movie or two, but the main event of this trip was definitely sledding. We used the big hill a couple blocks northwest of us where there's a large clearing with no cabins built on it. We all had some epic rides down the entire block. Todd loaded kids on their sleds behind the snowmobile to take them all up the roads back to the top, and it's hard to say which everyone loved more. 

Missy recruited Todd and Hazel to travel down to Mexico the next weekend with her and Carli. Missy's friend orchestrates a program that builds houses for single moms with high needs. A group of about 20 people banded together to put the house up in just a couple of days. It was a satisfying experience for them. Hazel said she especially liked connecting with the local kids living in the community. I love that Missy brought down a suitcase full of Spanish language books to give away. 

That same weekend our ward had a temple day and I helped run a primary activity while the adults and teens went in. The other ladies in the primary presidency and I brought in blocks, lego, cars, and other large motor toys and also set up a table for paper bag puppet making and coloring. The kids were easy to entertain. We also had a missionary-led tour of the temple grounds and the visitor's center. 

Katie and I made a goal to try grounding for 30 days. Each of us tried to spend half an hour a day outdoors and barefoot. The weather was perfect for this goal! It was easy for me to want to read a book, eat my lunch, or practice yoga in the backyard. 

We headed back up to the cabin for the last weekend of skiing before they closed the resort. The temps were in the 50's. Todd convinced Hazel and Jack to ski in shorts with him. Gemma thought they were nuts and wore her snow pants. Turns out she was the genius. Hazel biffed it on the first run and got some gnarly road rash on her upper leg. She spent the next couple hours doing homework with a view while Todd and the other two kids hit the slopes. (I was back at the cabin, walking in solitude and reading.) Hazel was such a good sport and even joined the crew for some jumps after lunch before coming home. 

Todd spent countless hours and countless dollars planning an epic Survivor-themed youth night. For weeks he researched, plotted. bought, and built. He's got a spreadsheet full of ideas for the future. Probably the most time-consuming piece was building six of these massive wooden puzzles; with a string in each hand, you're meant to guide a golf ball in a hammock up to the top without falling through any of the holes along the way. 

He dressed up like Jeff Probst and divided the kids randomly into six different tribes, complete with patterned fabric buffs. 

The first event was the Coconut Stomp. Everyone attached a balloon to each ankle (which Todd and I had previously blown up and tied with a rubber band in the knot). Six at a time entered the basketball key and had thirty seconds to try to pop each other's balloons and protect their own. 

Next up was Bubble Toes. We had six coolers, each filled with 200 marbles, water, and dish soap. The kids had 45 seconds to grab as many marbles as possible with their toes and drop them in pie tins. 

The third event seemed to be the crowd favorite. Three teammates used a rubber slingshot to catapault wiffle balls high into the sky, where two other teammates tried to catch them. 

When all four wiffle balls had been successfully collected, teammates ran back and forth with holey paper cups of water, racing to fill up a PVC pipe so they could grab the ping pong ball that was at the bottom. Then someone had to balance all the balls on a wooden board and beat the wind, getting all the balls back to the starting station. 

Of course we had a food challenge. The kids - and leaders!- tried their hands at eating edible pinecones, vienna sausages, roasted grasshoppers, a glob of mayo on a spoon, taro noodles, and teriyaki sardines. 

The final challenge was a beanbag toss onto a teammate's belly, a crabwalk to the center of the gym, a repeat of that, and finishing up with having to get three balls in the holes at the top of the wooden puzzle, 

Suzanne flew in from Colorado and had a girl's weekend with Chrissy and me at Half Moon Bay. We rented an airbnb with a cozy sectional and a hot tub.  We played games, talked, ate, and gazed at the beach for two and a half glorious days. 

We hiked a little bit. 

We went to Fitzgerald Marine Reserve at low tide and squished sea anemones. 

We found a bluff hike and walked it a little bit, found a little nook on the edge and had a picnic lunch. 

We played most of the games I brought, plus a few more Suzanne taught us. 

We watched the sun set over the ocean. 

It was so filling to be with my two best friends. Their friendships and examples have strengthened me in so many ways and at so many times to be a better woman, mom, wife, and friend than I otherwise would be. They are Godly like that, helping refine my character in loving and inspiring ways. They are two of the biggest blessings in my life. 

Speaking of besties, enjoy this shot I took of Gemma and Clara emerging from the creek beside our trail. They have a weekly play date and never, ever seem to have had enough time together. It is extremely satisfying to see Gemma have such a meaningful friendship in her life. Todd, Jack, and Hazel had a youth campout the weekend I was in Half Moon Bay, so Gemma got to spend 30 straight hours with Clara - she was so excited about it she packed her duffle five days early and left it by the front door. 

Jack filled out an intensive application for a week-long study abroad in Japan. He spent days fine-tuning his short essay answers. He got teacher referrals and prepared for weeks for an in-person interview. We were thrilled when we received the call saying he had been accepted! Of course, we went out for boba to celebrate. He gets to spend the next several months preparing, and the trip of Jack's dreams will happen in October.