Daily Gratitude - Day 14

It's been a day. Not a bad day but just one of those days that has a lot of...circumstances. Daniel has some sort of stomach bug which doesn’t make him act sick or whiny but has had 4 episodes of diarrhea, which is pretty messy when dealing with the newly potty trained. Not very fun for mom to clean up but I feel for the guy. He still felt happy enough to sing this sweet ditty right before his nap.




I started working on a Christmas project that is going to take many hours to complete but I kept finding ways of interrupting myself.  I am not a good multi-tasker so the only way I tend to get things like that done is to focus, ignore all the other to-dos, and work until its done. It's not a very pleasant or efficient way to accomplish things but it's how it goes. Next week is so busy that I'm nervous I'm not going to get it done unless I can sort of neglect things one day this weekend and hopefully finish.

I'm getting some new furniture for my living room delivered on Monday so I'm finally utilizing the
“sunroom” of my house (a room behind the kitchen that has walls of windows on 3 sides that I’ve basically used as a storage and workout room for the past 4 years so there is quite a bit of stuff to transfer to a new place. Or get rid of.) and converting it into an additional family room by moving our current living room furniture into it. I'm also putting an additional TV in there in the hopes that this will become the sort of go-to hang out room for my kids.  I constantly battle them bringing food into the living room when they are watching sports and I don’t want the battle over spills on my new furniture. My point is, that a new TV required another Direct TV genie receiver which required an installation from a Direct TV service guy which required me dealing with a stranger in my house for over 3 hours because whoever originally wired this house did it weird. Every service person that’s ever come to work on anything (plumbing, electric, cable) has said it. Three hours with a stranger is  a lot of discomfort for me. I don't know what I'll do if we ever remodel because I sort of dread anyone in my house.

My replacement phone from cracking the screen on my iphone was also delivered. I purchased Apple Care with my phone which is kind of dumb when you don't live near an Apple store. I could barely make out text on my screen it was cracked in so many places (I dropped it in the church parking lot several weeks ago) but they have this deal where they will send you a matching refurbished model and you send back your broken phone. It sounds easy but it wasn't  I had no idea about the SIM card, because I've never had to know about it before, so I had to have a lengthy conversation with verizon technical support when I couldn't figure out how to activate my replacement phone. This all happened while my kids started trickling home from school and while strange Direct TV guy kept asking me questions I didn't know the answer to while cursing about how confusing everything was in my house.  Oh...and earlier....while I was showing him how to access all of the cable in the crawl space, I found a dead, decomposing mouse I had to discard. I wanted one of those Ebola hazmat suits but had to use what I could find which was some tongs, a lot of paper towels to make sure my skin didn't come close to any of it and a large paper bag. Blech.

I realize that I am being obnoxiously melodramatic about what are undoubtedly first world problems (except for the diarrhea and dead rodent.  Those are legitimate grievances by any world standard). But, yeah, wah wah about having to get new furniture and TV and phone. Poor me). Thankfully, because I am not trying to audition to be a Real Housewife on a reality TV show, I wasn’t grumpy or anything, just not relaxed or really not wanting to deal with much more before I did have a stress meltdown. It was probably not the best day, then, for Henry’s playdate with his friend, Owen. Unfortunately for Owen, I had promised and arranged for him to ride the bus home with Henry so now I had another extra person in the house (Direct TV guy is STILL here) and it’s raining and cold and there is no working TV and....and....and...

I was fine because I knew I had a night out with Jay ahead of me. Before he left for work, he had left a cute note on the kitchen counter asking, “Will you go out with me tonight?” with a box for yes and a box for no.  I checked “yes” and looked forward to it all day.

The Direct TV guy finally left after 3 hours (he had to reinstall cable through the entire house. I have no idea why), Owen’s mom came to pick him up, I went into town and got Seth who was playing basketball with friends at the Rec center and picked up Burger King for dinner for the gluten kids. I made a quick broiled roast beef and cheese sandwich for Sam and, finally, Jay and I went to the 7:00 show of Interstellar. Our dinner was popcorn, diet coke and milk duds but it was fine. It’s all fine. I’m with him.

I am still in love with my husband. Of course, I love him, because I know that love is a verb and we have so many sacred shared experiences together that I can’t imagine not loving him. But I am also in love with him. He is my favorite thing. The other stuff becomes funny side stories when I get to spend an evening laughing about it all with him.

I know this is basically two days in a row of Jay gratitude and I thought of leaving out all of the annoying commentary about an ordinary day and just being grateful for dates and time with him but it’s more than the date and it’s more than the time. It’s him. It’s the promise of him. No matter what happens, I know he will be the yin to my yang and, the salt to my pepper, the twinkle to my star. Forever. I am blessed.

Daily Gratitude - Day 8

Being able to play the piano brings me enormous pleasure. I’m no concert pianist and I’m a teensy bit jealous when I hear someone play with that kind of technical skill, but, mostly, I just feel lucky, pleased and grateful that when I see a sheet of music, I can figure out what it sounds like. I can read the rhythm and the notes and not only enjoy this blessing in my own life but use it to bless and enhance the lives of others.

There are so many things I can do because I studied piano in my youth. I think of music almost like a foreign language: everyone can appreciate the sounds and cadence of a piece of music but when you can read it...play it...hear it fluently, then the language is useful tool in communicating with others and enhancing life. I love being in choirs. I love accompanying musical numbers. I love teaching music. I love hearing and recognizing musical theory.  I really attribute a lot of my musical confidence to understanding the language of music.

Sure, I could have learned how to confidently read music from other types of lessons (guitar...violin....oboe...didgeridoo) and participating in choirs definitely had a part in helping my brain interpret the sounds and little black notes on a page but I think piano, with its 88 keys and multiple staffs, is most like a master key to that musical lock. It’ll get you into any musical door!

I guess that’s why I just felt as pleased as punch when my boys played in their recitals today. Sam, who I can learns music the way I did, was a lot better than his duet partner (today. Normally, he plays his part better) and I was happy with his polish. Henry, whose brain can read more advanced music than his uncoordinated fingers can play, is progressing every day. I love sharing this language with them. I love knowing that with each lesson...each recital, they unlock more and more doors into this joyful, musical world.

A Two-Wheel Rider

Poor Henry. He's been wanting to try his bike without training wheels for at least a year but he always seemed to mention it when Jay was gone or at the end of the day. Saturday turned into the perfect day for Henry to finally get his wish. Jay took the training wheels off and it was much scarier than he imagined. It took lots of persuading and energetic cheerleading to get him to try again after that first scary fall but he committed to trying ten times and he did it. He's still not fully independent but I'm used to Henry's way of learning to be just a bit slower than his older brothers. Those training wheels are off now and he'll be riding with confidence in no time.

Dad gets him steady. I know. He should be wearing a helmet. Jay and I both said the same thing but Henry could not find it and...well...if he didn't try it right then then who knows how long it would be until the next time we were all ready and willing to give it a shot.

Dad's got his back.

Then he lets go!

And he's riding!

Until he forgets to pedal and the bike tips over.

Those crashes can hurt.

But we always try again. Big brother Sam shows how fun it can be.

Little brother, Daniel, only wishes he were part of the fun. And that his mom would dress him. Hey...sometimes, it's just whisky tango around here.

Later that afternoon, Sam and Seth got the job of stacking firewood from the trees Jay had chopped down or pruned.

They took turns throwing the logs from the truck while the other stacked.

Having boys is pretty fun.

Fifty Reasons To Celebrate

Even though Jay's parents celebrated their 50th anniversary last July, babies being born, missionaries leaving, holidays, church responsibilities and the winter season postponed us logistically gathering until this April. For one reason or another, general conference weekend was the best weekend to meet and Utah seemed the most central place.  It was weird to not watch conference (some did. I plan on catching up this week via DVR) but I think with most of our spring breaks either falling the week before or the week after conference, it was the best option. All but five of the grandchildren were in attendance, making our total number 36 for the weekend.







A mansion/castle/largest log cabin in the entire United States was rented (who builds these things?) and the seven offspring of Vaughn and Karen started arriving Friday afternoon and evening. There were thirteen bedrooms and fifteen bathrooms so there was plenty of space to spread out. The younger kids were immediately drawn to the indoor pool while the older teens congregated around the billiards table. The adults mingled in between repeatedly getting lost trying to find our ways to and from our bedrooms.




I actually took this shot of Seth catching a football thrown by Uncle Jerry from our bedroom which had a window to the pool. The kids loved it and it was definitely a huge perk to the house but my water loving Daniel couldn't stay away from it and that is stressful for a mom who isn't used to being a helicopter parent. Every time I couldn't find Daniel, I would imagine him drowning in the pool but I was blessed with the help of a lot of other adults and cousins and Daniel was always safe. Always wandering but always safe.



Henry and Ethan would have been happy to stay in the pool all day.



Erin was a sweetheart and took Daniel swimming.



Darren, Reece and Adam shoot some pool.


Watching something on the mega TV. Probably baseball or NCAA basketball games.

We had late nights. The normal bedtime for both nights was well past midnight, even for the kids, and I was quite a bore past ten. Daniel slept well the entire weekend but still woke up both days before 7 and that makes for some long hours of wakefulness. It helped that we really had ample time to simply sit around, relax, chat, swim, eat, watch videos, and play.




It was really too cold to play outside but a few dared the frigid temps to get a ride in this massive tire swing.



It swung over the edge of the mountain top.



Timber Moose Lodge. This pic really only shows about 1/3 of the house. There are all sorts of angles and rooms in there but this big room above the covered porch housed a bouncy house inside of it. I only went up there once and didn't bring my camera but it was a huge room that was perfect for the kids to play in.



We saw an actual moose wandering about. Aptly named cabin.



Jay and Daniel in the swing.





Karen gets a push from two of her sons, Jay and Clark.






Go, Karen!



Sweet Caden patiently waited for a turn.



From the front entrance. There were so many places to sit and visit but we all kind of stuck to this large front room. I love how sweet Patty is being with Henry here.



Kelly and her baby, Abby.



Creed in the kitchen.



Uncle Matt and Seth.



Delanie, Erin and Thomas look at pictures while waiting for food.



Buffet lines were the norm for meal time.



The dining area was great. There were four of these large, circular booths and one large table so we could all eat together.



Every time I'm around Erin, she is planning or organizing something. Here, she is preparing a skit for the evening talent show.



Karen is a major inspiration to me. She completed life scrap books for each of her children and brought them to the reunion. The pages were filled with pictures, newspaper clippings, letters, awards, certificates, report cards. She has been working on them for years and it was so fun to sit and look through them. She has dedicated her life to the raising of her children and you can see by each ones' accomplishments that her efforts paid off. She and Vaughn have been excellent parents and even though we were honoring their marriage and the devotion, sacrifice and love they have shared for the past 50 years, it seems impossible to separate out the results of that partnership: their children and the families each of them has in turn created. All of the memories made me hope for Jay's and my future 50th celebration.

I believe Vaughn and Karen had a great time. My favorite moment of the entire weekend was the very first night, right after Jay arrived (he had to work on Friday and so was the last to arrive. We drove separately) and all seven of the kids, plus most of the in-laws and older grandchildren played a game called Z-ball. The game looked like fun but instead of joining in, I watched Karen sitting nearby looking at her children and grandchildren laugh, taunt, play and giggle together. She had a smile on her face that glowed with an internal satisfaction. I looked at the game through her eyes and felt that joy that must come when you realize you have raised your children well.



This is a game called Z-ball. I don't understand the rules but one ball must be hit from the opposite side of the table from wherever the ball to be hit is located. Everyone who played had a great time and you can really see personalities in this short video.

Saturday evening was the designated celebration. We started off with a yummy BBQ dinner and then had a family talent show. The original idea was to have whoever wanted to participate perform a 90 second talent. They could be legitimate talents or silly talents or whatever you wanted. We chose to combine our minutes and sing a  50th anniversary rendition of Call Me Maybe with our own lyrics. We had a few technical difficulties (like Daniel pressing buttons in the middle of the song) but it turned out alright. Everyone got in the spirit of the evening and we had a costumed and choreographed version of Guitarzan, ballet, all the teams of the MLB listed off, a famous Kelly wiggle and an imitation of a horse, a fancy hand slapping routine, a reenactment of Studio C's Mafia skit, some air banjo, a group dance of twist and shout and some dinosaur sounds. My nephew, Doug, is a gifted and talented pianist and we listened to a beautiful performance of him playing Chopin via CD because there was no piano at the house. Vaughn and Karen ended the evening with a romantic dance. I really love this sort of stuff.



We don't actually start singing until 1 minute into the video if you want to fast forward to that part. I didn't bother editing.



Mafia skit. Thomas played someone attending a party for the first time and didn't realize that you don't actually kill anyone in the game. He felt horrible killing Brooke!:)



Vaughn was going to play a spoof about the legalization of marijuana in Colorado but kept it to air-banjoing instead.



I could not get a good shot of them dancing because the light was so terrible.



They kept getting further and further away from the light and you could see they had something up their sleeve by their grins.



They disappeared around the corner when the song ended.


When they came back, Vaughn's hair sure looks less tidy!

We finished the evening by eating the yummy anniversary cake.



We thought this was all of the grandchildren minus the missionaries (Scott, Derek, Michael and Jacob) and the young married, Karin and Ben. Clockwise from Karen: Karen, Matt, Vaughn, Doug, Daniel, Seth, Emily, Erin, Delanie, Thomas, Caden, Brooke, Henry, Ethan, Sara, Kate, Creed, Sam, Reece.



Henry and his buddy cousin, Ethan.



Then, we remembered the babies! Quinn and Abby joined the



Kelly ordered this cake from a bakery near her house.



The ceremonious first cut.



Vaughn still acts like a newly wed.





Patty and Matt chat after cake.



Stephanie, aka Jane from their GuiTarzan musical number, and baby Quinn.



Reece and Adam.



Jay's sister, Peggy.



Jay's brother, Rex, and baby Abby.




On paper, 36 hours seems a much too short length of time to be considered a legitimate reunion but it really was perfect. There wasn't enough time for anybody to get overworked, feel left out or hurt any feelings. No one got sick. No one got lost. No one went hungry (although one of my nephews wished there were vegetables to snack on. I need his healthy habits to rub off on my children!) Instead, each hour was spent remembering good times, creating new memories and honoring the legacy that comes with 50 years of family. I really, really hope we do it again. Soonish.