A Talk in Primary

Brandt was asked to speak in Primary today.  The month's theme is about agency, and with a bit of help from me asking probing questions, he came up with a pretty good talk.

Agency is the gift to choose for ourselves.  It can allow us to choose right or wrong.  Sometimes I do what I should, and sometimes I don't.  When I do something wrong, I feel bad inside.  I wish I hadn't done it.  But when I choose the right, I feel good inside.  This week I helped my sister with her homework.  I was glad to help her.  When I get ready for bed when my mom and dad ask, I know they feel happy and that makes me feel good, too.  I am glad that I have agency.  In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Two Truths and a Lie

Brandt is learning all about technology, and today I received an invitation from him to edit "Two Truths and a Lie," in Google Slides.  Here is what I found.  See if you can figure out which are the truths and which one is the lie.

Two truths and a lie

Brandt Barrus #3

I have never been on a boat

I have bean to hawaii

My fave super hero is batman

Now I happen to know which is the lie and which are the truths.  I also know that he included no periods, misspelled "been," didn't capitalize Hawaii or Batman, and apparently doesn't know that superhero is all one word.  But as it was an invitation to edit, I went ahead and helped. 

In addition, in my reply I included Two Truths and a Lie, Mom Edition.  Here is what I said.  See how well you do with me.

I can ride a bike with no hands.

I have ridden on a camel.

My favorite car is a Cobra.

Homework Helper

Brandt, of late, has been willing to help Blythe with her homework, especially if I am making dinner while they are working.  It warms my heart that Brandt can help her and then is willing to help her.  They do seem to like each other.  Sometimes.

This was not posed.

They were actually working like that.

Big huge Mom smile!

Cora Messes

Whenever Cora comes to visit, I almost always find this mess after she has gone.  She loves getting into the bathroom drawers.

A BIG Round Number

Wednesday was Kent's birthday.  His BIG FAT 60th birthday.  Can you believe it?  I can't.  How did the guy I married suddenly get so old?  Don't tell him I said that.  He never reads this blog, so until it gets transferred into the blog book, he'll never know I said he was old.  Although I have said he's old.  Because my heck! 60 is old!  Kent was in Las Vegas at World of Concrete this week, so we couldn't celebrate with him.  Lee and others took him to the buffet at Mandalay Bay which is always nice, but the kids and I missed out on that.  Tonight, in real celebration, I threw him a party, complete with invited guests not related to us and lots of delicious food.  We visited, ate, and then sang to him before cutting the chocolate cake I very nearly forgot to make.  Mikayla was here helping me get ready, and had she not been here, it would have been bad.

Kent is an amazing man.  He is a fantastic dad, very attentive and a bit too lenient.  He loves to be with the kids and has much more patience than I do.  He thinks they are amazing people and treats them that way.  He is a great husband, always serving me, always willing to help, always doing stuff around the house.  He is faithful to the gospel and the Lord, is a diligent home teacher and servant, and looks for ways to lift those around him, especially those who might be marginalized or ignored by the majority.  He is principled and good, passionately opinionated, and a true intellectual (though he would probably disagree with that).  He makes me laugh and pushes me to be better.  He is generous and willing to give of himself, his time, talents, and means.  He is A Number One Primo Good.  Happy day, dear Kent!

Laundry

We got home from cross country skiing, I went to change the laundry over, and I made a dread discovery.  Someone had left crayons in their pants--in a pocket on the leg, I think--and I didn't find them when cleaning out pockets before washing.  So they went through the wash and then through the dryer.  Groan!!!  There was crayon all over!  I might have said a bad word or two.  Fortunately, the clean up was relatively easy in the dryer, but the whole load of clothes was nearly a total loss.  I had to scrape out melted on crayon with a knife and baby wipes, but there was nothing to scrape melted crayon out of clothes.  So irritating!  It's one of the perks (NOT) of being a domestic goddess, I suppose.

Field Trip Friday #75--Cross Country Skiing

I have really enjoyed cross country skiing the last couple of years, and I've wanted to take the children for quite a while.  Today, for field trip Friday, I decided we would go.  Last year, Janie Rasmussen and I went to Wasatch Mountain State Park in Midway.  This is the golf course, but during the winter months, they groom the course for cross country skiing.  It's a great course for beginners because it is largely flat which means less exertion and more level ground to get your skis under you.  It's cheap as well, only $6 for ski rental and $3 for a trail pass.  

The kids were excited about going and talked almost non-stop about it.  Blythe was actually nervous, but she didn't realize that she was never going to be taking her feet off the ground and that we were just going to be gliding across the snow rather than careening down a slope.  She was very relieved when I showed her hot to do it.  Although truth be told, neither Brandt nor Blythe listened to anything I had to say about form or technique or how to.  They just launched off.  Blythe skied away, getting more of the hang of it quicker than Brandt.  Brandt skied without hardly moving his legs; he used his arms to propel himself along which wore him out really fast.  Blythe was far off in the distance when he turned to me and said, "Mom, my arms hurt.  I can't go any further."  "No kidding," I replied.  "Use your legs and you'll get farther without it hurting."  He was able to continue.

It was a lovely afternoon, but we didn't ski for even an hour because there was some dawdling before we left and we didn't get up to Midway as early as I had hoped.  Next time, because there will be a next time, we'll get on the road quicker so we've got more time to ski.  And next time, I'll get a picture with me, too.  

A bald eagle we saw in a tree alongside the road just outside Midway.

 

 

Sweetness

I asked Mikayla to watch my kids for a bit today.  They were out of school for teacher professional development and I had book group, so I asked her if they could come over and mess around at her house.  She had a doctor's appointment, but she thought it would be very helpful to take my kids with her kids so my kids could entertain her kids while she was in with the doctor.  It wasn't going to be long.  When she came out, she found Cora sitting in Brandt's lap watching a movie on the TV in the waiting room.  I just love this picture.  It is all sweetness to me.  Brandt has a tender heart, is so kind, and is always good with the little people.  I love both these people lots and lots and lots and lots and lots.

Home Teaching

Kent's home teaching partner, Gregg Pugmire, is out of town today, and Kent had scheduled a home teaching visit, so he took Brandt as his partner this afternoon.  I loved seeing them off to fulfill Kent's priesthood duty.  Brandt goes with Kent from time to time, and from all Kent reports, is a fine companion.  He talks to those they are visiting, and today even read a quote from the message.  Although he is only 10, Brandt will soon be old enough to hold the priesthood, and I'm delighted to see him willing to serve and do.  Kent is an excellent example, as he is always willing to help someone in need, not just those he has been assigned to visit.

Happy Helper

Frequently of late, Brandt has been asking to help me prepare dinner.  I LOVE this.  I always have him do something for me, whether it's preparing salad, or chopping fruit, or stirring something on the stove.  I think these little steps are helping prepare him to be a missionary, or just a capable, self-reliant sort of person.  He's growing up and is willing to take on more responsibility, and that warms my mama heart.

Twenty-two Years

Kent and I have been married 22 years today.  Doesn't that seem like an awfully long time?  It is a long time, and yet it doesn't feel like it was all that long ago.  Time is strange that way.  Marriage has been good; I'm glad we did it.  I've been happy with Kent, so grateful for him and all that I have learned as we have navigated through life together.  He is a fine man, incredibly patient and kind, looks for the good in others, is always willing to serve me, the children, and others, and sees all my potential.  I'm still pleased when he get home from work each day, and like spending time all alone with him.

To celebrate, this morning we went to the temple together.  Thursday is our go-to-the-temple-day anyway, but I usually go in the mornings and Kent goes in the late afternoons.  We went up together, however, and did sealings just across the hall from where we were sealed.  One of the sealers who was in our session acting as a witness was Richard Oveson who was the man who sealed Brandt to us ten years ago today.  It's Brandt's eternal day.  Our session was very nice and we were happy to be in the temple.

Here are two pictures from our wedding day.  We look remarkably young, even though neither of us really was.  I was 24, Kent a week shy of 38.  It was an unseasonably warm day, and we were comfortably outside without coats on, basking in the sun, even though it was January.  It was a happy day!

This evening, in the company of Janie and Ty Rasmussen, we went to Deer Valley for Fireside Dining.  We'd heard about this from the Pugmires, and I'd been wanting to try it.  It is Ty and Janie's anniversary on the 17th, and we invited them to join us to celebrate both our special days.  The restaurant is fantastic; they either prepare or keep warm lots of delicious food right next to huge, roaring fires.  We had raclette, one of my very most favorite things to eat.  In addition to all the regular things one eats with raclette, they also had a strawberry chutney and a fig mustard, both of which paired beautifully with the cheese, pickle, potato, and cured meats.  I wanted to eat three plates of the stuff, but there was too many other delicious options to stop there.  We had a fiery poblano leek soup, pickled beets, a gorgeous salad, and a housemade focaccia.  That was followed by beef medallions with a blue cheese marshmallow, trout, and rosti (grated and fried potatoes) with veal and mushroom ragout; all incredibly tasty!  We had leg of lamb that was hung in front of the fire and cooked as it spun around on string.  I'm not a huge lamb fan, but this was very moist, very flavorful, and served with a herbed au jus that added real depth without detracting from the texture or taste.  It was paired with pumpkin risotto and roasted asparagus, both yummy.  And to finish off dinner, they had dessert fondues, three flavors.  There was a dark chocolate, an almost bitter caramel (I loved it!), and a white grand marnier (orange flavored), and then a whole variety of dippers--fresh fruit, cookies, biscotti, meringue.  It was a wonderfully delicious end of an incredible meal.  It was quite expensive, but both Kent and I felt it was worth all we spent. 

In addition to the fantastic food, having Janie and Ty with us was wonderful good fun.  They are excellent company and we talked about interesting things as we drove to Park City (dicey as we went up the canyon in the snow), had dinner, and drove home (through Salt Lake to avoid the canyon).  Deer Valley had received lots of snow, the lighted trees were covered, there was snow hanging off the eaves, and from our table, we watched horse drawn sleighs go by.  It was a magical evening and felt like a true celebration of our marriage.  Hooray for us and 22 years!

Dessert fondue.

This is actually Janie's plate. 

She didn't get the caramel fondue as I did, 

so my plate actually had three cups of melted yumminess.

We are standing next to the raclette station.

The cheese is melting off the round onto plates.

So much tastiness all in one place!

The lighted trees of the Deer Valley entrance.

We could see these right outside the window where we were seated.

Silly Pictures of Silly Children

Sometimes I find silly pictures the children have taken on my phone.  I ask them not to play with my phone, but they never listen to anything I say, so I make discoveries.  Like these:

Vocabulary Homework

One of Blythe's weekly homework activities is to go over vocabulary words.  These aren't words she needs to know how to spell, but words she needs to know the meaning of and be able to use in a sentence.  She has various activities she must do with the words, one of which is to draw a picture of what they mean.  I was particularly delighted with this week's words and the pictures Blythe drew.  With each word she was to write the word, include boxes to identify if the letter goes up, down, or is small, a short definition, and then the picture.  Here they are:

Celebration: have fun, with a party picture

Tradition: same why (way), with a picture of us burning a Christmas tree, a tradition in our family

Precious: volubell (valuable) with a diamond ring

Pride: a felling (feeling), with a 100 on a paper

Courage: have fath (faith), in this picture she is doing a zipline, something she finds very scary

Disappointment: sady (sadly), asking if something can play who can't

Remind: my mom reminding me, "Get to wherk (work)"

Symbols: ideas or brojegts (projects), with ideas swirling around in the brain

Cross Country Skiing

I spent a beautiful morning at Sundance cross-country skiing with several women from the ward.  Janie Rasmussen organized a whole group of women to go up for Ladies Day, and I was delighted to be skiing with friends.  I am trying to get out more in the dark, cold winter months and embrace the beauty of nature in the winter.  I felt fit and strong and enjoyed being out.  I'm going to go again next month.  Any maybe in between!

This was my intermediate classic class.

Lauri Heiner, Angela Richards, me, two women I don't know, Laura Harkness,

Jessica Johnson, and Linda Pugmire

Janie, Me, Linda, Lauri, Angela, Laura

In the meadow.

Most of the 22 women Janie rounded up to ski.

Katie Fiene, Katie's friend, Laura Harkness, Taylor Fiene, Amy Fiene, Jessica Johnson, 

Janie Rasmussen, me, Lauri Heiner, Angela Richards, Linda Pugmire, 

Irene Clark, Irene's sister, Jen Hodnett

photobombing skier

Baptisms

This morning, Grant Seamons was baptized.  He is the last one of Blythe's church classmates to be baptized this year.  Blythe's teachers, Mary Atkinson, Melany Wilkins, and then Kathryn Seamons, have been so good to bring all classmates available to each baptism.  The Spirit is so strong during those services, and I've been glad Blythe has been able to go to each one.  Here are some of the baptism pictures.  I know others are scattered through the year.

Blythe, Shaylee, Bryce, Luke, Grant, Garrison, Fisher, Everett

Grant's baptism

Bryce, Everett, Grant, Blythe, Garrison, Fisher

Everett's baptism

Hilary Davis, Melany Wilkins, Kathryn Seamons, Mary Atkinson

Taylor, Ellen, Blythe, Shaylee, Bryce, Grant, Garrison, Everett

Shaylee's baptism

Field Trip Friday #74--Midway Ice Castle

On the coldest day of the winter we've had so far, and in the company of DeMartinis, we went to the Midway Ice Castle this afternoon for Field Trip Friday.  It was ridiculously cold.  We got out of the car in Midway and it was 6 degrees.  We were all bundled up--thermals, snow pants, boots, hats, gloves--but it wasn't really enough.  We were all cold, cold, cold; some of us didn't last very long at all.  I found if I kept moving it was bearable, but only just.  It's hard to judge when it will be super cold and when it won't, but in an effort to embrace winter in all it's frozen glory, we had to go.

The ice castle was pretty spectacular this year.  They had fun slides, several fountains, a maze, and two thrones.  We stomped around in the ice, took pictures, and then beat a hasty retreat to get hot chocolate on the way out of town.  Actually, I met Kent for our company holiday party at the Zermatt, but the kids went home with Eugene and Sharae and hung out at Mikayla and Guy's for a while.  They did stop for hot chocolate as they left.  And as a side note, Kent and I had a lovely dinner and visit with his work associates, but I took no pictures there.