Sunday Snow

We woke to snow today.  Not much, but still.  Two days in a row, too.  Brandt went out in his snow pants and boots and shoveled off the patio, then shoveled off the play house sending all the snow down the slide, then plopped himself on the ground to make a snow angel when I came outside to take his picture (in my pajamas, coat, and Kent's boots).  The light was perfect!

 I took these two pictures in the afternoon, after church.  The sun was out, low in the sky but brightly shining through the clouds, but it was snowing.  It was magical.  How can it be sunny and snowy at the same time?  I'm not sure how, but it was.

BYU Production Attendance

We have been seeing a lot of BYU Arts productions.  I purchased tickets in August for various plays and concerts, and we have been attending.  Kent and I went to see a wonderful mandolin player and took my mom to a play, and we've taken the children to a number of things.  Today we saw Beauty and the Beast.  It was delightful, very well done, and a full-length play.  When we were all finished and I asked how the children had liked it, they both said they really liked it.  I realized that our children have finally reached an age where they are good play and concert attenders, and they actually like going.  We have raised art appreciators.  I am, quite frankly, so pleased.  Plays? Check! Concerts? Check! Art exhibits? Check! Opera, even? Check!  Some people are sporting event people, and some people are arts people.  We are the latter, and so, apparently, are our children.

Thanksgiving

My life is good.  When I look around at others I know and consider the life circumstances of those around the world, I am astounded at how blessed and fortunate I am.  The list of things I am thankful for could go on and on, and each night as I pray, I thank Heavenly Father for many of those rich blessings I enjoy.

Today we celebrated Thanksgiving with the DeMartinis.  ALL the DeMartinis, less Missy who had to work.  We gathered at our house, 25 of us with Richard Ledford joining us too.  This was the first time ever that we have celebrated Thanksgiving with just my immediate family as we are usually at Aunt Georgianne and Uncle Lauren's house with cousins.  Georgianne had her gall bladder removed on Tuesday and couldn't host, and as they have cats and Christopher and Bryan are both highly allergic to cats, it has been years since they have been with us.  It was a treat to have everyone here, but a very loud treat.  Of the 26 of us, 16 were children, 14 of whom were 9 and under.  There was much wild running around the house, lots of shrieking (from girls and boys), and general pandemonium.  It was, however, glorious to be together.  Brandt and Blythe love their cousins and are always happy to have them here.  We played games, talked and laughed, and even watched a bit of football on our TV, which Christopher wanted to verify we had before agreeing to come to our house.  And while Richard was here and we were still all together, we took a picture.  Of all my blessings, my family is the bestest one.  I did want to take a picture of my three people, the dearest ones of all, but Blythe wouldn't cooperate and I was tired of fighting with her.  Ergo, one large family picture, and no picture of Kent, Brandt, and Blythe.

November Birthday-ing

Brenda and Brent are in town for a funeral.  It was Monica's birthday yesterday and Brenda's last week, and we gathered this evening for birthday treats.  I made chocolate mousse which was very popular.  We had Grandma Merlynn's poppyseed cake and ice cream (it was Grandma's birthday last week too), and did lots of visiting and laughing.  It is wonderful to be together with family and remember loved ones not with us anymore.

The birthday girls

BYU Football Game

For the past several weeks, Brandt has been saying he wants to go to a BYU football game.  Initially, I wasn't sure whether or not he really meant it, but he has continued to talk about it, so I decided he must be in earnest.  There was only one game left, so I checked out tickets.  They are expensive!  I didn't really want to sit way up high where Brandt couldn't really see what was going on, so I contacted Jeri Covey and asked if she had any extras.  She will let neighbors know when they aren't using their tickets, and it turned out, she had enough that we all could have gone.  However, Kent and Blythe had zero interest in going, so Brandt and I went alone.

Today was sunny but cold, so Brandt and I layer up, with long johns under our clothes, heavy socks and boots, hats, gloves, and a blanket.  I didn't want us to freeze.  The tickets were on the 50 yard line, 20 rows up, with a great view of everything that was going on.  Brandt asked lots of questions, all of which I could answer, and it was an exciting game from our team's perspective.  The final score was 52-10.

At half-time, the sun had gone down behind the stadium (we were on the west side) and it was getting very cold.  I texted Christopher who was also at the game and asked where they were sitting.  They were on the east side, at the 40 yard line, on the 10th row, and seats behind them were open.  We walked over to the other side of the stadium and sat with him and Crew and Griffin until the end of the third quarter when the score was 52 to 3.  Brandt wanted to play with the dudes, so he went home with them and Kent came and picked me up at the bottom of Stadium Avenue.  It was a fun game and Brandt said he wants to go again.

Go Cougs!

Field Trip Friday #47--Norman Rockwell

The BYU Museum of Art opened a new exhibit today of Normal Rockwell work.  I have been looking forward to going to see it, and I thought the children would really like it.  We went today for Field Trip Friday, and in an effort to be kind and inclusive, we took Izaiah Wilson with us, too, and Grandma Sue met us from work.  

The exhibit is incredibly well done.  The museum presented a short video of Rockwell's life, and have a very large selection of his work on display, some wonderfully funny and some politically charged pieces.  There are also many (maybe all?) of the cover illustrations he did for The Saturday Evening Post.  I wished, in hindsight, that we hadn't brought Izaiah because he is a bit wild and sort of led my kids astray.  Normally Brandt and Blythe are very good in museums and will walk around with me, but today they were all over, lying on benches, racing around.  Although I had talked to them about proper museum behavior on our way, Izaiah is not accustomed to doing that sort of thing, and it didn't go as well as I hoped.  I loved looking at Rockwell's people.  They seem so alive and full of movement, even though they are only painted/drawn.  I will return again, without the children, so I can spend a bit more time.  But I'm glad that I took them and hope they liked some of what they saw.

I wanted a picture of the kids in front of a wall of cover illustrations,

but I wasn't allowed to take pictures of the art.

So here they are at the entrance, 

and here are examples of what we saw in the exhibit that I've pilfered from the internet.

"The Art Critic"

"Day in the Life of a Little Girl"

"No Swimming"

"The Problem We All Live With"

Ruby Bridges headed to school

"Triple Self-Portrait"

A Mountain Man

In school, the fourth grade classes have been studying Utah or western US history.  Brandt has been telling us about Native Americans they have been learning about, as well as several stories about settlers and trappers.  He has been eagerly anticipating a visit from a real true live mountain man, as well as a rendez-vous trading day where the kids were able to exchange "beaver pelts" they have been accumulating for good behavior for other cool stuff.  Yesterday was the rendez-vous and Brandt brought home several juice boxes, some candy, and a couple bags of chips.  Today was the visit from the mountain man. 

In September, Heidi Tanner gave me a really terrific alpaca hat, a tall, warm, very fluffy thing that everyone thought was hilarious but is actually really warm and which I have worn several times.  The first time Blythe saw me in it, she rolled her eyes and told me to take it off, please!  For the past week or so, as anticipation has built over the mountain man visit, Brandt has asked if he could wear my fur hat to school.  I readily agreed, repeatedly, that he could.  Afterall, it isn't everyday a mountain man comes to your school, and it isn't every mom that owns a real fur hat, and it isn't every lad who's confident enough to wear his mom's fur hat to school.

I had to snap a picture of Brandt as he headed off to school, alpaca hat on head.  He is so remarkably self-confident and unaffected by what others might think about him.  He came home with hat on head and reported that the mountain man was so cool he wants to repeat fourth grade next year so he can see him again.  And the mountain man thought his fur hat was cool.  Just like Brandt.

Field Trip Friday #46--Roller Skating

I have never taken the kids roller skating, so today's Field Trip Friday was to Classic Fun Center for a first try.  It went about as well as ice skating has gone.  The children were hesitant to try without me, and although we did practice on the carpet, they were unsure of themselves once we got on the rink.  I pulled them around and around, encouraging them to move their feet and try and push off and glide, but they either weren't listening or it wasn't making any sense.  Brandt did get brave and managed to work his way around the rink several times without me, but Blythe wasn't quite as adventurous.  I told her it was just like ice staking, but she wasn't keen.  I told them all about learning to roller skate while wearing a clown costume.  Somehow I thought the costume fitted the activity and would not be persuaded otherwise.  I think it is important for the kids to learn how to skate, so this will probably be an activity we do again.  When they were finished and had taken off their skates, I zoomed around the rink, alone, going very fast.  I like to go fast.  I like to skate.  Maybe I'll look into roller derby.

The pictures are all terrible because I was taking them with my phone (grrrrr) and it was dark.

 

Blythe looks unhappy because 1. she's roller skating, and

2. she's not doing it well and didn't want me to take her picture.

Too bad!

 

Brandt was doing fairly well.

They are happy to be done and taking off their skates.

Deep Thoughts

Frequently, when it is my turn to get Blythe to bed, she will ask me very deep questions after we've had story time.  I can tell she's been thinking about something and wants answers, and in the quiet as I am lying next to her, it obviously seems a good time to talk.  The only problem with that is this: I almost always fall asleep next to the children, and in Blythe's case, almost always before she is asleep.  She waits until we've turned off the light and said prayers, and I am breathing deeply and just on the edge of consciousness to ask her question.  I hear her speaking, but nothing registers.

Here is an example of last night's question.

Me: (Breathing heavily, really moments away from beginning a REM cycle) Inhale.  Exhale.
Blythe: Mom, what is that stuff that's colorless, doesn't smell, you can't taste it, and it can kill you?
Me: What? (More heavy breathing)
Blythe: That stuff that's colorless, doesn't smell, you can't taste it, and it can kill you?
Me: (Nothing. No response.  I'm practically sound asleep)
Blythe: Mom!
Me: What?!
Blythe: I'm asking you a question.
Me: What?
Blythe: I'm asking you a question.
Me: (Sort of sitting up and opening my eyes) What?
Blythe: What's that stuff that's colorless, doesn't smell, you can't taste it, and it can kill you?
Me: (Long pause as I think hard about what she might mean . . . Iocane powder . . . ??) Ummmm . . .
Blythe: It starts with carbon or something.
Me: Oh! Carbon monoxide?
Blythe: Yes! Carbon monoxide! Do we have a thing that senses carbon monoxide in our house?
Me: Yes, we do.  It's downstairs and would alert us to the presence of carbon monoxide.  Now Blythe, close your mouth and stop talking.  Go to sleep.

I kissed her goodnight and got out of bed, hoping that with the carbon monoxide concern settled, she'd be able to go to sleep.

Thing is, the questions are sometimes very serious and require a thoughtful answer, and I'm hardly ever in a mindful position lying prone and practically asleep, drifting off to Lala Land, to give her question the attention it deserves.  She recently asked, "Mom, when will Jesus come again?" and "If Brandt and I die, will you adopt other children?" and "If you die, will I go back to live with KeyBug?"  I love opportunities to talk to the children about serious issues, and help them work through concerns, fears, matters of the heart and belief, and I want the children to feel like they can come to me and I will take them seriously.

I would also like those moments to be when I'm coherent.

Field Trip Friday #45--Swimming at the Rec Center

I was sort of at a loss about what to do for Field Trip Friday today.  Some weeks I know just what we'll do, and others, I have to think really hard.  There wasn't anything particularly planned, but the kids had a lazy sort of day yesterday and I felt like we really needed to do something active.  So we went swimming--a perennial favorite.

It was just me and Brandt and Blythe, and we had a great time.  I was able to really focus on them, give them all my attention, and they took advantage of that.  We went down the slides racing each other, practiced swim strokes in the big pool, and went around and around and around and around the lazy river.  It was great to be moving and splashing.

 

Road Construction

Kent got out a large box of small Popsicle sticks for a scout activity today.  They didn't work the way he had hoped, but rather than putting them away, he left the box out.  Talk about an attractive nuisance!  The kids got into them and did road construction all through the family room and dining area.  There were lots and lots and lots of Popsicle sticks all over the place.  Those children certainly are creative.