Blythe came to me recently, showed me this picture, and said, "Could I get my hair done like this?" Hair is hair. It grows, it gets cut, it can be changed up a million different ways. I told her I didn't care if she did this, but I didn't really know how to help her, and usually getting your hair colored was very expensive. So if we could find a way to do it without it costing $75, I would fully support her. The last time she got her hair cut, Kent took her to Renaissance Academy. I called to see how much it would cost to have her hair done there, and it turns out, it's very reasonable. So we made an appointment, and today, Blythe had her hair dyed.
Where to go when you need a snuggle? To the home of little snugglers, of course. I got my fix tonight from Freya and Thea.
There was a gang of boys at our house today. Brandt, Jarom, Sam, Luke, and Zach are playing Not Parent Approved, which is much like Apples to Apples, only with teenager themed questions and answers you can throw in. They were shrieking with laughter!
In company with the Stovalls (Luke, Zach, and Elizabeth) and the Oylers (Jarom and Sam), Brandt and Blythe have been playing Among Us, a video game that takes place in a space-themed setting. Players are either crewmates who have to perform tasks around their ship, or are impostors who try to covertly sabotage and kill the crewmates before they complete their tasks. Crewmates try to identify the impostors without becoming dead bodies, and impostors try to talk their way out of being identified. The kids have been playing at our house, spread out so they can't see each other's screens. There will be almost complete silence at the beginning of a round, but as people begin being killed, the volume level increases dramatically to the point that everyone is yelling at everyone else, hurling accusations, vehemently denying involvement in killings, and deceptive lying to save their own skin.
I love that Brandt and Blythe have people in the cul-de-sac to hang out with. I've been making treats to encourage them to stay or entice them back should they have to leave.
Happy National Popcorn Day!
Guy and Mikayla went to Salt Lake this evening to celebrate Gayle's birthday. They were having an adult's only dinner, so their little people came to stay at our house. To simplify all things, Mom came to help wrangle children, we got pizza for dinner, cut up lots of fruit, and didn't make too big a deal about the chaos that ensues when they all show up.
After dinner, Kal wanted to play Pie Face. He pulled it out and tried to set it all up himself. He even climbed on the counter and turned on the faucet to get the sponge wet. He got frustrated when he couldn't get all the parts assembled and brought all the pieces to me at the table. We set it up and began to play. We all got a sponge to the face, including Thea who did not want to be left out.
Everyone had a bath, a lotion massage, got in jammies, then had stories. Freya and Thea would not stay out of the bathroom so ended up with wet jammies, but they dried out before Guy and Mikayla picked them up, so all was well in the end. They are all funny little people and we enjoy having them here. We enjoy sending them home, too, but are always willing to experience the chaos so we can have them with us.
Brandt has only three electives this year, and one of them has been Theater Technical Craft. While there is certainly a classroom element, as a member of the Tech Crew, Brandt has been very involved in helping on the tech crew for school productions. He worked on the fall play, You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown. We were going to go see him in action, but then the play closed early due to Covid-19 restrictions put in place before Thanksgiving. This month, however, the dance department has been putting on their Dance Concert and Brandt has been working the soundboard. I wanted to see/hear him in action, so I attended the performance this evening.
As is evident from the picture below, Brandt is clearly in his element. He communicates with those in the light booth and on stage, and was responsible for starting the music for each number. Doesn't that sound so responsible?! Although it takes a lot of time, both in advance of and during performances, Brandt is really liking it and making great new friends!
A couple of months ago, my friend and neighbor, Elizabeth Cutler, sent me a text about a bed and breakfast she and Jim own in Springdale, just outside of Zion. They had received a grant that would allow people to stay for $40 a night, or $80 for a week. That was a deal that was too good to pass up, and I suggested to Kent that we have an anniversary get-away, just the two of us. He agreed that would be great, and as we wanted to really take advantage of the deal, we decided to stay for three nights.
Three nights! This might not seem like such a big deal, but it has been ten years since Kent and I went away together without the children for more than one night. Ten years! My mother graciously agreed to mind the children and house in our absence, and on Monday, we headed south.
I have been to Springdale only once, two years ago. We drove through after hiking the Narrows. It was dark, I was exhausted, I saw nothing. It didn't really count. The town is a pleasant place, geared to travelers coming to enjoy the grandeur of Zion. I had hoped we would do some hiking, that there would be snow, that the magic of Zion in winter would abound. Instead, I torqued my knee in December and couldn't hike, there was no snow to speak of, and Zion was beautiful, as always, but without the winter magic.
Tuesday was our anniversary, and we spent the day in the park. Normally, we go to the temple on our anniversary. As the temple is closed, we opted instead to walk to the Temple of Sinawava, along the Virgin River. It wasn't too cold in the sun, the towering red rock walls were stunning, and it was nice to be together. We talked and walked. We took a short "hike" to Lower Emerald Pool which had very little emerald colored water. The Virgin River was much more emerald colored than the pool. We drove through the Zion-Mount Carmel Tunnel, a 1.1 mile tunnel completed in 1930. The fact that we could drive in the park at all was terrific; during the busy season, you have to take a shuttle. We had no real agenda, so we took our time, enjoyed the scenery, and just being together.
We found very few open restaurants, so our dining options were limited. We ate at a sports bar sort of place for our anniversary. It was something of a let-down. Oh well.
