Going Out With A Bang

2010 is going out with a bang for Saul.  There's a little shiner on his right eye is thanks to a noble attempt to get down from a bench.  Really, though, this might be the first time he tried getting down from a bench so I see it as a landmark event--as it means he is now able to do (as they say in therapy-speak) motor planning.  At 21 months he's finally a walker and climber!  And resultingly, he's also now a run-away-from-mom-in-the-store-er, and a get-out-of-the-stroller-er, and a draw-on-the-cupboards-and-walls-with-pencils-and crayons-er, and a no-longer-satisfied-to-sit-on-any-lap-for-long-periods-of-time-er.  So, it's been a big month for him.

And it's been a big month for me.  It's the last day of December and it's moments before we're out the door to some grand festivities.  It's already obvious that I didn't make my original goal of posting once a day for the whole month, but I'm ok with it.  In some ways I feel badly about it, but mostly I think that I still came out ahead since I'm sure posted more than I am sure that I would have otherwise.  I still have stuff to say about December and about 2010, and maybe I still will in January, or maybe even in June, or maybe never, but what I'm trying really hard not to do is to be apologetic about the state or content of the blog.  I'm just trying to do what I can do. 
 
While I look back and feel like even despite the occasional shiners, 2010 was a great year and I learned a lot.

But I have a feeling that 2011 will be even better.
 
Happy New Year

Max's Band Concert

Here's the deal:  Last year Max tells me that in 4th grade he'll get to be in the school band and that he'd really like to play the tuba.  However, if I've learned anything over my last nearly ten years of parenting, it is the art of re-direction/distraction.  So, I responded with my best-laid plan of something basically like how that was so awesome that he'd like to play the tuba, but that it is so big and too heavy to carry and play so why doesn't he play the French Horn instead, and in fact, I can get Uncle Joel's old French horn so we won't even have to rent one (!) and then by the time you're in high school you can try the tuba (but by then you'll have forgotten all about it....perfect!).  And, he bought it.  Until the school year started and now as a 4th grader he met with the school band director and, lo and behold, she tells him that if he's interested in the tuba he doesn't have to start with the French Horn but can play the euphonium.  Isn't that so great!!  Just great.  If I had to pick an instrument based on the players physical qualities, the euphonium for Max--a boy who's voice is so squeeky that he's had teachers ask me if he can bring the pitch down at all--would be dead last on the list.  And so much for my best-laid plans, because I actually brought home the French horn from Utah, so now I have two large brass instruments at our house, both of which he thinks he can play. Practicing time is awesome.

Here's his first band concert.  I'm not sure if the overwhelming joy he feels for playing this instrument comes through, but he couldn't be more thrilled.  Don't miss the ending where he's sure to not be left unseen when it's time to take a bow. 

post edit:  Apparently I needed to give a warning to prospective viewers of this video to have a nearby box of tissues as you may be induced to tears from laughter.  And here I thought that my saying that this is a 4th grade band was sufficient. Enjoy.

Max's Piano recital

Here's the footage from Max's piano recital last week. I think that he did a really great job and all of the hard work that he's been putting in is starting to pay off. Never mind that we realized too late that the only black pants he currently has are floods, and his only black shoes are a bit tight. I guess he did some serious growing from last winter, which would explain why he has been asking for two sandwiches in his lunch lately, or why as soon as the recital was finished he sprinted to the refreshment table (and made it as the first one there).

To the Tabernacle

It's old news now, but two days ago the Provo Tabernacle was destroyed by a massive fire. I've been thinking about it a lot more than I would have expected.  I don't know how to describe the feelings that have overwhelmed me since Friday, except to say that it feels like a piece of my childhood--and my heritage in Provo--has been destroyed.

All the reports about the meaning of the building and its loss have been true: that it was the heart of the community, that it was Provo's most significant historical building, the most truly aesthetic building in Utah County, an important place for gatherings whether religious, performance, ceremonial, civic, or cultural.  Actually, Provo is not a huge town, so I think that its existence alone made Provo feel like it was an important and meaningful place.  At least it did to me. 

Tonight I went to a Christmas musical program at the Grace United Methodist Church in downtown Wilmington.  I couldn't help but sit there during that program and think about the Tabernacle.   Grace Church is the kind of church building where the Gothic revival architecture, with its massive exterior stone work, vaulted ceilings, pointed arches, and intricate interior carvings, is itself a type of divine worship. While the Tabernacle had elements of Gothic revival and a huge pipe organ, of course I can't compare the two buildings entirely. Each was built as a product of its community and environment.  The Tabernacle's Victorian-era stylings and the yellowish-orange brick (which I truly love) found on so many 19th century buildings in Utah might seem so homely in comparison.  And we Mormons are far too pragmatic even in our architecture to waste valuable space on ribbed vaulting when it could be turned into a wrap-around balcony with seats for another 1000+ people.  But in that huge space of Grace Church with the incredibly moving music--a full choir with strings, harp, oboe and huge pipe organ--and truly phenomenal talent, it became my own private memorial service for the building where I gained probably most of my education in musical appreciation. 

For years and years of my childhood my parents purchased "Family Season Tickets" to the Utah Valley Symphony.  Say what you will, but it was fantastic opportunity.  I want to know how many other cities the size of Provo had their own symphony? And for pennies really. Maybe the tickets were only $50 for the whole season for the whole family, but if more, probably not much.  I was too young to really assess the quality of the orchestra, but I did learn about music and its characteristics and structure (symphonic movements, orchestral dynamics, the concerto, etc.) about the formalities of an orchestra like the conductor or concert mistress, about concert manners (proper dress, behavior during performance, etc.), about instruments and their different sounds and roles in an orchestra.  However, I'm sure that more than anything, my parents were just taking us to gain some exposure to music and (hopefully) an appreciation for it.  At least, if I were to do the same thing as a parent today with my own children, that would be my goal.  I want to let my parents know right now that they succeeded in that with me.  Thank you.

Certainly the Provo of my childhood (and nostalgia) is more homey and small town than it is today, but how great is that. I admit, there were some performances where we got restless and my parents would allow us to go wandering around the building a little. After all, the balcony was never full and there were always other families up there with restless little kids doing the same things that we were.  So, we would climb into the big window ledges or walk up and down the spiral staircases in the corner turrets. And I realize now that largely that's because the Tabernacle wasn't a symphony hall or another expensive concert hall--it was a place to be shared and enjoyed by the whole community. And the community did use it.  I attended more than one holiday concert and Messiah sing-a-long, I attended musical recitals and performances both for church, school and private events. It was the place for stake conferences (where once I even spoke), Seminary graduation, convocation, etc.  I'd argue that there are not too many buildings in any city that can rival it in this capacity.  Something truly great has just died.
 
Rest in peace, Tabernacle.  The next time I visit Provo, it will be hard to drive by your block without you there and wonder what it is that now makes Provo special (because it's certainly not the NuSkin building).

No Post

This is a post to say that I can't do a post tonight.  Because I'm too tired. And my kitchen counter is still covered in the day's detritus, and if I were going to do anything extra tonight, it should be taking care of that.  We had Max's piano recital tonight. (In addition to a complete meltdown from both daughters--separately, of course. One before the recital; one after.)  Then after the recital and kids to bed, Adam and I spent the rest of the evening on Amazon.com (aka "Santa's Little Helper").   Now my electric blanket has been turned on to high and the heat in our house and gone down to low.  So I'm off to bed.  Everything else: tomorrow.

Going Out

Isabel dressed herself in this stylish outfit today. 

Her best pal 'dd' was over to play, and once he found something suitable to wear, they announced they were were "going out." 

Looks like they're getting ready to retire to Florida.

Catching Up: Thanks a Ton (and a half)

It's only a week or so until Christmas, but I'm overdue in recording the early Christmas present my parents gave me during their visit in September.

When we first moved into this house my mom came out to spend a couple of weeks to help us move in and to get a leg up on some house projects.  For those who know my mom, project is her middle name.  Actually, it's really more like her first name, and don't-mind-work is her middle name.  During that  first visit, she took to cleaning parts of the house--armed with a toothbrush, razor blade and ammonia--that I'm sure the previous owners completely managed to avoid ever cleaning in the sixteen years they lived here before we did.  Now I'm sure that the greatest housewarming gift you can give someone is to mop behind the fridge. 

But from the very beginning she singled out the rotting railroad ties being used as a small retaining wall at the top of our driveway and said that she'd like to build a rock wall there.  It's come up on every other visit in the years since, but there have always been other projects at the top of the list instead.

In this year's visit, they once again did not dissappoint. They painted some closet doors, tilled a section of the lawn with compost to amend the soil, pushed the very large aerator over the whole lawn to prep for seeding, dug out/sifted many bucket-fulls of gravel from a French drain, hauled all the dug-up gravel in multiple wheelbarrow trips up the hill, helped with homework assignments, ironed shirts, woke up early to oversee piano practicing, made sandwiches for lunches, and cleaned the bathrooms, etc.  I'm trying to remember what I did besides catch up on my Netflix queue.

Well, earlier in September I had all (and I mean all) of the overgrown landscaping in the front of the house removed.  I should interject here a little pity for poor Adam; it's really unfortunate for him that my love language turned out to be home improvement projects.  The landscaping decision was impulse (not that I regret it), but it left the rotting railroad ties at the top of the driveway completely exposed. So when my mom again suggested building the rock wall, even Adam agreed.  Immediately my mom and I were calling rock suppliers, and soon enough my dad and I were on our way in borrowed a pick-up to buy 3000lbs of field stone.  

When my dad wasn't moving rocks for my mom, he was being pestered by Saul for a walk down the street.

After a few afternoons of work, they did it.  And, wow! The finished product looks pretty fantastic. I invite anyone to come on by anytime; I'll even set up some folding chairs in the driveway so we can sit and admire it. Thanks, Mom and Dad.  We love you too.

According to Isabel

We had another great day in New York.  According to how Isabel would tell it, here's (some of) what we did:

Went to Metro Diner for brekwist with Yeeyian and Madeline
Played Merican Girl Dolls and rode cooters with them
Ate a sam hamwich for lunch
Rode on a  frowded frain
Saw a puppet show about Santa Cwaus
Saw the big Frismas Free (and it is not frooked and is bigger than our free at our house)
Rode on a very frowded frain again
Ate chicken for dinner, but the sauce was too picy!
Had chocwit ice fream for dessert since I ate some vreen beans

A few thoughts while being in NYC tonight

We are in NYC for the weekend.  Adam and I were out tonight, and since I have no pictures to document the evening, here are a few of my thoughts (possibly deep, but most likely not):

1.  New York rocks.  I love it that at 11pm we were out looking for something to do and possibly a snack and there were at least a dozen places in the few blocks that we walked that would have been great.  And all of them were open.  So we settled for sharing a gyro and a red velvet cupcake.

2.  Pretty much all cupcakes are overrated.  Certainly overpriced.  Of course this isn't just exclusive to NYC.  I have yet to fully figure out why people get so crazy excited people get over a cupcake.  Maybe I'm the last person to say this, but I should have been the first considering that I've been thinking it for the last ten years since my first way-over-anticipated trip to try out the much-hyped Buttercup Bake Shop. And back then we had to schlep all the way over to the East Side to go to Buttercup. The best I can come up with is that the people who love them are people who grew up without ever having cake that wasn't from a mix and that there was no other frosting than the kind found in a little plastic tub.  I guess I can understand how this happens considering that until I was an adult I didn't know that garlic came in cloves and not in powder form.  But as for the frosting, at least I can thank my mom for a proper education in buttercream.

3.  Paper or plastic?  I'm now questioning the proper kind of tree to get for Christmas.  While I love a good, fresh tree (and so far it's the only kind we've had), while out tonight we walked by several sidewalk tree "lots" and a couple of large flatbed semi-trucks filled to capacity with more cut trees to stock the sellers. Suddenly the trees looked less like holiday decoration and more like the result of a brutal massacre.  So many trees!  And then we just throw them away!  And then my mind cycloned (just me?) into thinking about every tree in every lot in every city....  But, is the alternative plastic? Certainly that can't be right. So now I'm all confused.  Maybe next year I just let each child make a giant cookie in the shape of a tree that at the end of December they can just eat.  That's what I call both festive and pragmatic.

4.  In NYC, money is relative.  While on one hand I'll hardly think twice about spending $3.75 on a mediocre cupcake, on the other I insisted that Adam and I walk the 30 blocks from 65th up Broadway in 30 degree weather to save the $5 that we would have spent on a train ride home.  Hey, but, if we hadn't walked then we wouldn't have seen that there is now a Two Boots location on the Upper West Side.  And the $3.79 for the slice of shrimp pizza was well worth it.

5.  I'll happily choose a late-night date with Adam that doesn't involve any leaves.

P.S.  Regarding cupcakes: I did think that Georgetown Cupcake in DC had cupcakes worth the 20 minute line and even a repeat visit.  But maybe that's because growing up I didn't even know about the existence of ganache.

Leaf Harvest



Call us crazy, but we've finally figured out how to somewhat enjoy raking the millions of leaves that fall every year in our backyard.  It's called, the late-night date of raking leaves together--with our his and hers headlamps, some new lightweight rakes, a large tarp we fill with leaves and carry together, and plenty of time to talk with no interruptions.  No, seriously. Even though I am especially skilled at complaining about my house and the various chores involved in home ownership, it's at least one way to make lemonade from our yard full of lemons.

Catching Up: Girl's Weekend Out / Another DC Weekend

I have many wonderful gifts in life.  Among them, I have a fabulous husband that made arrangements in his schedule for me to have another October weekend away in DC.
Lucky me. 

And this time, it was a weekend away with some of the most fabulous women that I know. Women I've known since third grade, but who continue to amaze and inspire me with the kind of wives, mothers, and just good people that they are. Another phenomenal gift.
Lucky, lucky me. 

We spent a few days together touring DC: beautiful weather, a hotel, museums, monuments, shopping, sight-seeing, late night conversations, and eating absolutely fantastic food.  I had such a phenomenal time doing all of it without kids, it was like I'd never been to DC before.  But we decided that could have gone anywhere for a weekend away, because the favorite activity by far was talking.--all we needed was a table to sit at all together and we were good for hours of coversation.  And, when I came home, I was truly rejuvenated.

 Old Town Alexandria (and eating at LaMadeleine)

Our hotel was near the Capitol. 

Anna and I went out for early-morning runs (well, I did more walking than running)

on the Mall  for our fitness challenge requirements. 

 Visiting the National Gallery and getting a serious case of the giggles--while today's vogue is to have your family portrait taken in a fruit orchard, please observe the family portrait with the Virgin Mary.
 

 Julia Child's kitchen in the Museum of American History

Michelle Obama's inagural gown

The original Star Spangled Banner

Cupcakes at Georgetown Cupcake.  Divine!

 Cute Poppy

 Touring the monuments

Thanks dear friends!  I hope that it's not two years before we can do this again.

Catching up: Rally for Sanity in DC

On the last weekend in October we went to DC with 200,000 other people to see the Rally for Sanity and/or Keep Fear Alive with Jon Stewart and Co.  Turns out, if there are that many people crowded into the area of a few blocks, the cell towers are completely overwhelmed and you have no coverage for the entire day.   It was like we were all isolated on our own remote little island.

If you got your report of the Rally from a major news source, then chances are they completely missed the boat.  I just want to dispel any falsehoods and say, it was awesome.  The weather was perfect, the mood was incredible, the crowd so amazingly friendly, and the message central to why everyone was there for the day.   Yes, the medium for the message was comedy (and sometimes the program was silly), but I also really think that people who were there were completely serious about the message: that we're a nation of diverse and good people who compromise and cooperate with each other everyday, and that it's time for the media and government to take it down a notch or two and do the same.  If you missed it when live, then at least  read Jon Stewart's closing remarks.  Or watch it here.  (He even gives a shout-out to Mormon Jay-Z fans--to which Adam replied with a hearty whoop).  I also thought that this analysis was pretty spot-on.

We left early from our house with our lawn chairs and sack lunches.  Adam's mom was even with us too (although she's extremely skilled at escaping our camera).  We were early enough that we sailed into town and parked at a lot really nearby the the Mall.  That turned out to be a good decision since we heard that the Metro stations from the suburbs were completely jammed. We had a spot in view of one of the jumbo screens and we spread out a place for ourselves with blankets and chairs.  Adam took the kids to see the National Gallery to pass the time before it started while Sharon and I staked out the spot.   

And when it was all over, people stayed milling around on the mall just hanging out and photographing each other and their funny signs. We did too.  Seriously, the friendliest crowd of hundreds of thousands that I've ever been in.  The couple next to us kept trying to share their food with our kids.  People were walking around with trash bags helping collect garbage.  A cute, eager little couple came by our spot with some trash bags just as I had finished changing Saul's diaper.  And don't think that I didn't take them up on the offer to carry it off for me. 

And after all of that, we walked over to the National Portrait Gallery to see the current Norman Rockwell exhibit.  Nothing like rounding out a day of friendly rallying with some good old-fashioned Americana.  Actually, we really loved the exhibit too. 

Although, by the time we were driving home Max complained that "We haven't done anything fun today!"

I guess sanity really is in the eye of the beholder.



Thanksgiving, part 2: Harpers Ferry

The day after Thanksgiving while in Virginia, we went with the Hastings, et. al. on a little day trip to see Harpers Ferry (actually in West Virginia).  I knew Harpers Ferry only as the famous setting of John Brown's raid of the Armory and its influence in the Civil War.  The lower part of the town is located at the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers, and so is a flood plain with floods reaching 34 feet, even as recently as 1996.  So, much of the town is built up into the hillside at some pretty sharp steepness.  It was much more incredible than I had expected, with its fantastically picturesque setting and also the little town buildings and the stonework and such.  But I'm kind of a sucker for all the historical preservation/re-creation stuff.  You know, it makes that movie-in-my-mind just that much more romantic. (Just me?) Well, we had a really great time, despite the cold and Katy's valiant attempts at trying to take some family photos for us while there (but I'll save that for another post). 

Unfortunately I don't have a picture of all of us there together.  I was being lazy with the camera.  So, thanks, also, to Katy for many of the fabulous photos used in this post.