Category: Family Time
5th Birthday
“Prepare to be amazed…,” said Mark to one of his friends this week. Yes, friends. Prepare to be amazed by this high-powered achiever and sweetheart. He’s not going to let his status as youngest brother dictate for himself any portion of anonymity. He’s a determined little guy who savors a good ride on a swing and has consumed more peanut butter than I have in my lifetime.
We love you, Mark!
The Folks
We’ve been entertaining guests. Since we are not very good at conversation or selling ourselves as interesting (I’m convinced it’s all in the selling… ), we compensate by eating interesting food when company comes. Richard smoked some ribs and chicken. We feasted on various things and ate a few pounds of Utah candy. It was nice to have Richard’s parents at our place.
We celebrated our 16th anniversary by having our portrait taken. It’s one of our best. I fell asleep as I was putting Mark to bed and didn’t find my anniversary gift on my bedside table until the day after, confirming that I am just as awesome a wife as this picture portrays.
Pima County Fair
We’ve had some crummy days. Somehow we managed to come down with 3 varieties of illness. I have been tired. On Monday I took 3 naps to try to catch up on some sleep. We stayed focused, though. We had a reason to get well: we had Pima County Fair Tickets! We had to postpone our trip a few days, but we made it.
We enjoyed the exotic animals such as the monkeys, sharks, sea lions, and opera singing tropical birds. We watched the 4-H kids show off their pigs. We had to see the pigs. Timothy just finished reading Charlotte’s Web.
Daniel went on the scary rides with Richard. Paige went on the fun rides. Timothy was Mark’s guardian on rides. I pushed the stroller and bought cotton candy and popcorn.
Look this way, Mark! I need to get a picture of this.
That’s great, Mark. Oh, wait. I missed the elephant’s head. (I guess I’m still sleep deprived.)
We’re so glad this boy is smiling again.
I think he’s saying, “Aaargh!” like a pirate.
Dance partners
General Young Women Meeting year 3
Each spring before we attend the General Young Women meeting, Paige and I have our picture taken.
A picnic and truffles
Sarah and Bryan came to our house for the afternoon. We packed a picnic, loaded it into a basket and Mark’s jeep and we made our way to the park by our house. We ate big sandwiches, fresh strawberries and raspberries, chips, and snickerdoodles. YUM. Some of us played frisbee…
And some of us ran through the sprinklers.
And one of us just took pictures, which is all she wanted to do anyway.
Mark, as driver, learned the inherent privileges of driving with food in the front seat. Sampling!
Sarah taught us how to make truffles. We made milk chocolate truffles and raspberry truffles; some we decorated with white chocolate and drizzles; others we rolled in sprinkles, making them less edible, but very colorful.
And yes, they do taste *THAT* good.
Thanks for a fun visit, Sarah and Bryan. Come again soon!
Piano Ensemble 2011
It’s our springtime tradition: a new suit or dress and the big ensemble concert at Centennial Hall. This was Paige and Daniel’s 4th year to participate in this concert.
We invited some friends to join us. Daniel didn’t hang out with us in line because he was with his piano duet partner. Yes, Paige is taller than I am in this picture. We’re both wearing heels. I’m posting this even though I look old.
We saw some Family at the concert! Bryan’s sister was in the concert, too.
Paige and her piano partner played one of the big Steinway concert grand pianos in the front. They played the Liebeslieder Waltz by Johannes Brahms.
Paige is wearing my formal concert skirt with a shimmery silver top from her own closet.
Daniel, always the brave and independent one, went up to the conductor to thank him when it was over. He played the Russian Sailors’ Dance which was just incredible.
Spring Break
Planting Day
It’s about time to plant the garden. We have a little work to do in the raised beds in the backyard: some waterproofing of the stones, some more dirt to haul, and then some planting. Richard threw old leaves and odd things on the soil this winter. The other day we found a bunch of eggshells scattered in the dirt. I guess tomatoes need calcium.
As a child, I always looked forward to planting the garden. I’d admire my parents’ strength as they turned over the soil with shovels. Dad’s investment of leaf and grass compost really made for a wonderful garden. I don’t remember a motorized plow in the early days.
I didn’t mind weeding the garden. I could nestle in beneath the corn plants and breathe in the smell of the tomato plants. It was a good time to tell my dad secrets and squish my toes in the mud. You can’t beat that.