Blake Turns Six

Today was Blake's actual birthday. He's a leapling, so he only gets one once every four years. I sent a message to all the bank managers in the region and suggested they send him some birthday love. They did. This evening, we gathered with most of the DeMartinis to celebrate at Brick Oven. We had a raucous time. Blake is such a great guy! I teased him that it would be good if he was married by his next birthday, and he heartily agreed. Perhaps we all need to help him find that special someone. 

A Sure Sign of Spring

 

The crocuses are up. I think it's too early. It's still February. We probably aren't done with snow, but there they are, basking in the winter sun. They are an optimistic flower that perhaps know more than I about how soon spring is coming. It must be getting close!

Post edit comment: It snowed two days later, burying the crocuses. Perhaps they are too optimistic.

Playing Pickleball

It was a gloriously beautiful Saturday afternoon. The official temperature was 52 degrees, but it felt warmer. For the end of February, it was fantastic! We joined the Bushmans and the Jensens to play pickleball outside at the Jensens. When not on the court, I soaked up the sun, exposing as much skin as I could, and reveling in how good it felt. It was fun to be with friends, to laugh, and to play. Kent and I have been playing pickleball with Corene and Chris and Brian and Briahna weekly for a year and a half, missing very few weeks of play. It has been the highlight of many weeks and the lowlight when we don't play. I wanted to take a picture with all of us together, but the Bushmans left early and I forgot to do it before they left. I'll take one again soon.

Katherine, Kent, Chris, Corene

missing Briahna and Brian

Apparently, you can only play with us if you and your spouse 

share the same first initial.

This is pretty much how I feel about pickleball.

Highbrow Date Night

This evening, Kent and I attended a performance of the Utah Symphony featuring Tabea Zimmermann, a viola virtuoso. Say that six times fast! It was pretty highbrow. The Symphony started the program a Rimsky-Korsakov piece and finished with a Tchaikovsky piece, both of which we really enjoyed. The pieces featuring Zimmermann were not our favorites. One of them, Emergences-Resurgences was completely non-lyrical. It was a Utah Symphony commission and is, in the words of the Swiss composer Michael Jarrell, "a direct reference to the pictorial art of Henry Michaux." I looked up the pictorial art of Henry Michaux and better understand the composition. The non-lyrical nature of the music is in direct harmony (non pun intended) with the non-representational nature of Michaux's art. The art is weird and the music was weird. Zimmermann was an enthusiastic performer, very demonstrative and expressive, obviously fantastically talented, and it was exciting to watch her perform. The second piece she played with the Symphony was more enjoyable.  

Throwback Thursday

 

I've been trying to get caught up on my family history blogging. I've been so behind, I just finished up posting about things that happened in 2022. I thought I was all done and felt so good about my efforts. Then I asked Brandt if he had a picture of something, which he did, but he also had lots and lots and lots and lots of other pictures, all of which he shared with me on Google Photos. And what did I discover? Pictures from 2022 which I wanted to include, but which mean I am not yet finished with 2022. And then, when I had told him to stop sending me pictures, he sent me two final ones; these two last pictures. They would be just great except they are from 2021, the yearbook of which I finished for Christmas this past year. So, here we are on Throwback Thursday, and I'm posting these two pictures of Brandt taken on October 26, 2021 (above) at someplace I can't identify, and October 18, 2021 (below) at Eddie World just outside of Barstow, California on our way home from Carpinteria. Should have been with our other pictures from our beach vacay, but oh well. Here it is in 2023. That Brandt is still a cutie.

A Last

Our beloved Provo Temple is closing this week. Saturday, February 24th, will be the last day it will be open in its current iteration. It was announced in 2021 that the temple will be reconstructed, just as the Ogden Temple, which looked like Provo, underwent a reconstruction. The temple design was a visual representation of the scripture in Exodus 13:21, "And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night." Our cloud and pillar of fire will be no more. 

This has been my temple my whole life. It was dedicated in 1972, only two years after I was born, and has been the temple I have looked to as I grew up and as I have lived in Provo. It was the temple where I first went to perform baptisms for the dead. I was endowed here before my mission. Kent and I were married here and I was an ordinance worker for nine years before Brandt was born. Both Brandt and Isabella were sealed to us here. For the nine years before Brandt was born, and since Isabella began pre-school, Kent and I have attended the temple every week, only interrupted by Covid. I longed to be at the temple when it was closed and rejoiced when it opened again and we could return. I have gone to the temple repeatedly with questions, concerns, cares, and worries, seeking inspiration, direction, and answers to prayer. It has been a place of peace, hope, and enlightenment. 

A new temple will be built in the place the temple stands now. It will be God's house as this temple has been for fifty years. I will miss it and would be devastated if there weren't multiple temples close by. There is another temple in Provo, plus the new Orem Temple, Timpanogos, Payson, and the Lindon Temple which should be finished next year. Our cup overfloweth with houses of the Lord, and my blessing overflow as I am spiritually fed and strengthened by my experiences serving and worshipping in God's presence.

Our last trip to this Provo Temple

It will be fun to watch the new temple being built.

A Basement Reorganization

Our basement remains unfinished and as a result, remains the realm of stuff. I have been overwhelmed by all of it, especially as much of it has just been tossed wherever. I had the day off work (thank you George and Abe) and while I wanted to do something fun, I also wanted to put the basement to rights. I woke early (thank you internal time clock), rode my bike, and then got right to it. 

It was a BIG job. Brandt had a whole bunch of sound equipment on several surfaces and all over the floor, so I had him come down and we organized all that. We put cables into bins, microphones into boxes, and speakers and all his gear on a shelving unit that I had set up months ago and which was empty. We've had cushioning mats for the concrete floor, and we set those out so when Brandt is rocking out downstairs, practicing his DJing, he has a more comfortable surface to stand on. 

In addition to sorting out all the sound equipment, we moved loose shelving parts we will get rid of, determined we will get rid of some chairs and a large piece of carved wood that is the top of a mantle. We got it out of Kent's grandparents' home in Erda and we've had it for 20 years, but we haven't done anything with it and finally determined we won't. So that will go away. We dismantled boxes, rearranged some food storage buckets, and swept the floor as we went along. I propped a mattress against a wall, out of the way of potential activity space, getting it out of the middle of Brandt's practice area. 

Years ago, 2017 to be precise, we took down some cabinets in the kitchen and have had them sitting in the basement since then. Kent and I talked about getting rid them, discussing where we might take them, but then I realized I wanted them hung up. We've had some open shelving holding a bunch of stuff, and by putting up the cabinets, we could enclose all the visual mess. I sorted through all the stuff as well, chucked some, organized the rest, and closed the cabinet doors. It was a terrific change. 

There are still things that need to be hauled out of the basement, like the chairs we will throw away when spring cleanup comes around again, but everything that is staying is ordered. I will post a couple of things on the neighborhood Google group, and hopefully, soon, the basement will only hold things we actually want or use. That's the goal. Well, that's my goal. I can't speak for anyone else in the house, but I did tell Kent that nothing else can come into our home to take up permanent residence unless something of equal size leaves the house permanently. 

I had Isabella take these pictures while we were hanging the cabinets. I should have taken a before and after picture because in my mind, there is a stark difference. I'm not sure anyone else would think it was much of an improvement, but when I walked down several times today, my heart sang with joy. It looks tons better.

Saturday is a Special Day

It's Saturday which means there are lots of things to do. My mom called me and asked if I was going to go to Costco and as I always need things at Costco, we agreed to meet there. I needed to clean my bathroom and she needed to watch a funeral on Zoom, so we agreed to meet when she was done. Mid-way through cleaning the bathroom, Isabella came into my bedroom to give the dog a snuggle and announced, "Moo Moo needs a bath." I didn't want to clean the tub then stick a dirty, hairy dog in it, so I interrupted the bathroom cleaning to do dog cleaning. 

Moo Moo loved it.

Not.

I was able to finish the bathroom when the dog was clean and smelling good, and I called Mom to say we could go. Mikayla is in St. George this weekend for a soccer tournament for Brick's team, and she took Cora too. Knowing the girlies and Kal were home with Guy, I called and asked if anyone wanted to come to Costco with me. Everyone did, except Guy. I picked up the kids and we went to meet Mom. Freya documented the travel home. Me too. Thea said, "Grantie Kake, picture us! Freya is sleeping." 

Freya and Thea wanted to hang out at my house, so they came home with me. They helped me put away purchases, Freya helped me dust my bedroom, and Isabella did make up on the girls. They love that! We took the dog for a walk and they even stayed for dinner. It was a productive day made better by the company of funny little people.

Valentine's Day

It was an unusual Valentine's Day. Maybe not. Maybe it was just another day. Kent and I worked. I took treats to work, chips and queso and salsa, chocolate strawberries, and chocolate covered pretzels. The kids went to school. In the evening, because it was Wednesday, I had young women and Brandt had young men. The young women were helping serve dinner at Jeri Covey's house. She always throws a wonderful dinner/program for widows in a couple of wards, and she asked the young women to help serve. There were 54 guests and three or four girls were assigned to serve each table. Marvellous Catering was doing the food, and I ended up helping plate food. When all the guests were fed, the young women got to eat too. I had plans to give each of my young women a little treat with a clever saying, but that didn't happen. I had plans to do something nice for Kent, Brandt, and Isabella, but that didn't happen. Expressing one's love and commitment to another shouldn't be limited to some randomly selected day, so maybe I'll do something next week. 

Above is our beautiful Isabella. She helped Mikayla throw a Galentine's party for Cora and friends. Mikayla took darling pictures of the girls and then a darling picture of Isabella. She's my favorite daughter!

As a funny sidenote, I made a call today at work to talk to a client about his account which was overdrawn. He was frustrated and told me his wife is dealing with some emotional challenges and is using online shopping as a coping tool. I explained what I could do about the charges that day and apparently wasn't communicating clearly. I understood but the client didn't. He said something to the effect that even though married for many years, he still didn't understand women. I replied, "Oh, I get it. I've been married 29 years and will be going to marriage therapy with my husband this evening to celebrate Valentine's Day." He didn't believe me, but it was true. Kent and I went to see the therapist today mid-afternoon. Because I was going to the activity early, Kent bought us all dinner which we snarfed before I raced out the door. How romantic.

Monday Morning at the Super Bowl

As part of our Sabbath observance, we don't watch television or play computer games. I always blog, but I figure that's doing family history and I try really hard not to get distracted by other things. Because we aren't watching TV on Sundays, we miss all the big sporting events, including the Super Bowl. For 75% of us, that doesn't really matter, but Brandt really wants to watch and can't. However, we have been fortunate to have a ready solution at hand. 

The Oylers (they live across the street) also don't watch TV on Sundays, they have a DVR, they like the Super Bowl, and they record it. Then, to ensure they see the game before going out into the world and listening to other people talk about it, they get it up early on Monday morning and watch without the time outs, commercials, half-time show, and extra blah blah blah that happens and drags out the game. They invite others in the same spot to come over and at half-time they take a little break, have breakfast, then finish up before school and work. 

Hoorah! 

Yesterday I volunteered to have Brandt take over breakfast casserole, so I got up at 5:00am to slide it into the oven, then took it over myself when it was baked. I like football enough to watch a bit, so I sat down and stayed until middle of the third quarter when I needed to go get ready for work. I Googled the final score; a Chiefs win over the 49ers in overtime. Because Brandt had late start, he was able to stay until the end, happy he was able to participate, even early in the morning.

Sam and Brandt snuggled up on the couch,

with Sarah, Abby Davis, and Rachel next to them.

Early in the first quarter.

Chinese New Year Ridiculousness

The second Sunday of every month, we have our young single and married student family members, plus a few extras, come join us for dinner. Jace and Salem Brinkerhoff, Brianne Barrus, Ruby Barrus, and Zach and Annie Burnett are invited, as well as the sister of a friend of Brenda's who usually brings a friend or two, Divine, Kaylee, and Gracious. They are young and energetic and bring sparkle and noise to our Sunday evenings. It has been fun to have them over this school year. 

Today was the day they were coming and when I did menu planning and grocery shopping, I intended on making turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, and a veg. I've had the turkey in the freezer since November, and it seemed a good reason to cook it. However, my good planning, was derailed by the ridiculous sense of drama and spectacle I seem to innately possess and which often overcomes me. Such was the case of dinner tonight.

Saturday morning, I was looking at Instagram and niece Michelle posted a Happy Chinese New Year picture. I said to myself, 'Oh! It's Chinese New Year. I should make Chinese food for dinner tomorrow.' So, I sent out a reminder text to the young people, and then began looking on the internet for typical things eaten at Chinese New Year. This is where it all went wrong. I began making a list of things we could/should eat in order to have an auspicious beginning to the year. Pot stickers, spring rolls, noodles, a whole fish (or two), rice cakes, meatballs, pork belly, various stir fry, ginger scallion lobster, seafood bird's nest, various vegetable dishes, almond cookies, tapioca. I was clicking on recipes and making a list of things I could make. It all sounded delicious and fun. I made shopping list and planned on getting lucky money in red envelopes (which we have at work) for the young people and imagined we would have a great time together.

Here is the menu I planned, assuming I could do all these things if I started after church and choir practice.

Dumplings, spring rolls, steamed fish, noodles, lion's head meatballs with bok choy, shrimp, tangerine beef, cucumber salad, almond cookies and small oranges for dessert, and as munchies either before or after the meal, a tray of togetherness.

Writing that out, I realize now how ridiculous that list is. I'm one person! But Saturday morning, I was full of energy and optimism and was certain it would all be fantastic. 

On our way home from the aquarium, we stopped at an Asian market to pick up supplies. Recognizing I am only one person, I purchased frozen dumplings and spring rolls so I wouldn't have to make them. That's easy! I found some lovely looking fresh noodles and put those in the cart. I bought dark soy sauce and oyster sauce, some beautiful small bok choy, and several bags of crunchy things for the tray of togetherness. I was hopeful I could get a fish at the Asian market too, and they did have a number of different fishes that might have worked. I was looking at all the options when I noticed a sign that said, "Due to staff shortages, from October to March we don't clean the fish." That means I would be responsible for gutting, descaling, and completely preparing the fish before cooking could begin. That was beyond my time allowance (and desire), so we left fishless. 

I dropped the kids off at home and then did a bit more shopping. I stopped at the bank to get envelopes and then went to Macey's. I found a few more things I needed, but no fish. I bought steak for the tangerine beef, almonds for the cookies, and dried fruit and nuts for the tray of togetherness. I wanted to get cash back on a purchase so I would have $5 bills for the lucky money envelopes, but they would only exchange twenty dollars' worth which wasn't enough fives for all the people I thought were coming. I thought I would try elsewhere.

When I was done, I still had no fish. Macey's doesn't sell whole fish, so I tried to think where I could go for a whole fish. The Mexican market is just up the street from Macey's and I know they sell whole fish, so that was my next stop. Only I didn't stop. I pulled into the parking lot and it was packed. Cars were circling to find a place to park and I didn't have it in me to spend an hour in the market in order to purchase a fish. 

So where next? I know Costco sells fish, not whole fishes, but fish, and even though it was the Saturday afternoon before the Super Bowl, I thought I could brave it for the Chinese New Year experience. They have lovely salmon filets which, after trying three other places, I decided would be adequate. I bought two because we were going to be so many people, and then, when passing by the frozen meat section, threw into the cart a bag of tilapia filets. I began to realize that I was making more of this meal than it needed to be, and I was getting carried away. The tangerine beef recipe was complicated, involving the peeling, scraping, and drying of tangerine skins, and I smartly decided to scrap that and cook orange chicken from a box I could get in the same freezer section of Costco, just three doors down. 

I got home and said to Kent, "I am an idiot!" I felt overwhelmed by this meal I planned to make, and it was completely my own doing. No one expected a huge Chinese meal with eight different dishes, dessert, and snacks. I had created an enormous amount of work for myself and I hadn't even begun to cook anything. So stupid. 

I made almond cookies this morning before church, and with the oranges, dessert was done. After choir practice I got right to preparing, but I quickly realized I needed to scale back. Most of our guests were not able to come, so I was only preparing food for eight, not fourteen, and that helped a bit. I decided we didn't need fish and as time got closer to mealtime, I also scraped the spring rolls. They needed to be deep fried and I didn't have the time to stand next to the pot and do that. I asked Isabella to help me and she did, briefly, but then she got bored and became deliberately irritating so I would send her away. I did send her away, but told her I recognized what she was doing and didn't appreciate it. I ran out of time to make cucumber salad, so the cucs went back in the fridge. 

The noodles were a complete disaster. I found a recipe for beef lo mien, but the noodles were not lo mien noodles. The preparing of the beef and veg that were in the noodles was all fine, but I made a mistake with the noodles. The package said, "Rinse in warm water to break apart before using," so I did that. I rinsed them and left them to drain in a colander. When the time came to add them to the wok, they had all glommed together and were a glutenous mess. I could not separate them at all and just threw them in the trash. 

In the end, we had dumplings (which Kent prepared), meatballs with bok choy (which tasted completely Chinese), stir-fried shrimp, orange chicken, and stir-fried beef and vegetables, with the cookies and oranges for dessert, and bowls of munchies. We had no fish, no noodles, and no spring rolls, so no abundance, long life, or prosperity for us this year. But we did have a delicious meal and lively conversation, enough leftovers to send some home with the young people and leave some for lunches, and I learned a valuable lesson about not getting carried away. Not really. I'm certain I learned nothing and will continue to function under the DeMartini Family motto: Everything in Excess.

And after all that, I forgot to take a picture of all of us gathered around the Chinese feast, and that makes me sad.

Kent Speaks in Church

Kent was asked to speak in church today. Yesterday at dinner, I asked if he was finished with his talk and he said, "Yes, but I think I'm going to write another." What an overachiever! I was sneaky during church at took his picture while he was on the stand and at the podium, but I promise, I really listened. Here are both pictures and talk.

Listening intently to Brady Elder who spoke before Kent.

Complexity

The book of Mormon is filled with stories of the Rise and Fall of great societies. It's the Pride cycle---the people go through trials that humble them, then God Prospers them, then things go off the rails and the people believe that they are smart and more clever than their poorer brethren.

We live in a very complex society.  The details of which are very hard to navigate.  Computers, houses, laws, finances, health.  and even our worship can become very complicated. Our society, the whole world, is at the conclusion of one of these cycles.

I  have an advanced degree in complexity--no matter how simple the problem, give me about 30 seconds and I make up a complicated solution involving multitudes

How Can We Simplify our Lives, Especially our Worship

Elder Uchdorft  October 2010  Conference

After his customary story about flying an airplane and the need to slow down to the proper speed to handle turbulence, he compares this to our complicated lives.

"This is a simple but critical lesson to learn. It may seem logical when put in terms of trees or turbulence, but it’s surprising how easy it is to ignore this lesson when it comes to applying these principles in our own daily lives. When stress levels rise, when distress appears, when tragedy strikes, too often we attempt to keep up the same frantic pace or even accelerate, thinking somehow that the more rushed our pace, the better off we will be.

One of the characteristics of modern life seems to be that we are moving at an ever-increasing rate, regardless of turbulence or obstacles.

Let’s be honest; it’s rather easy to be busy. We all can think up a list of tasks that will overwhelm our schedules. Some might even think that their self-worth depends on the length of their to-do list. They flood the open spaces in their time with lists of meetings and minutia—even during times of stress and fatigue. Because they unnecessarily complicate their lives, they often feel increased frustration, diminished joy, and too little sense of meaning in their lives.

It is said that any virtue when taken to an extreme can become a vice. Overscheduling our days would certainly qualify for this. There comes a point where milestones can become millstones and ambitions, albatrosses around our necks."

There is a beauty and clarity that comes from simplicity that we sometimes do not appreciate in our thirst for intricate solutions.

For example, it wasn’t long after astronauts and cosmonauts orbited the earth that they realized ballpoint pens would not work in space. And so some very smart people went to work solving the problem. It took thousands of hours and millions of dollars, but in the end, they developed a pen that could write anywhere, in any temperature, and on nearly any surface. But how did the astronauts and cosmonauts get along until the problem was solved? They simply used a pencil.

Leonardo da Vinci is quoted as saying that “simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.”

'The search for the best things inevitably leads to the foundational principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ—the simple and beautiful truths revealed to us by a caring, eternal, and all-knowing Father in Heaven. These core doctrines and principles, though simple enough for a child to understand, provide the answers to the most complex questions of life.'

Enoch Sees God Weeps

Moses 7: 28 And it came to pass that the God of heaven looked upon the residue of the people, and he wept; and Enoch bore record of it, saying: How is it that the heavens weep, and shed forth their tears as the rain upon the mountains?

29 And Enoch said unto the Lord: How is it that thou canst aweep, seeing thou art holy, and from all eternity to all eternity?

30 And were it possible that man could number the particles of the earth, yea, millions of earths like this, it would not be a beginning to the number of thy creations; and thy curtains are stretched out still; and yet thou art there, and thy bosom is there; and also thou art just; thou art merciful and kind forever;

31 And thou hast taken Zion to thine own bosom, from all thy creations, from all eternity to all eternity; and naught but peace, justice, and truth is the habitation of thy throne; and mercy shall go before thy face and have no end; how is it thou canst weep?

32 The Lord said unto Enoch: Behold these thy brethren; they are the workmanship of mine own hands, and I gave unto them their knowledge, in the day I created them; and in the Garden of Eden, gave I unto man his agency;

33 And unto thy brethren have I said, and also given commandment, that they should love one another, and that they should choose me, their Father; but behold, they are without affection, and they hate their own blood;

How Can we simplify our lives and our worship?

1.  Choose God to be our Father. 

2. Follow Jesus

3. Serve our families, including our ancestors in the temple.

4. Serve our neighbors.

5. Slow down.  Psalms 46:10 “Be still, and know that I am God.”

6. Be as a little child, humble submissive to our father in Heaven

We are headed for an apocalypse--apocalypse simply means a change. The signs of evident on every side.   The Devil and his slaves are desperate to destroy--WB Yeats wrote a poem (Second Coming) that captures part of this contemporary condition well, although I don't agree with the conclusion of this poem, these lines have stayed with me:

Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,

The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere

The ceremony of innocence is drowned;

The best lack all conviction, while the worst

Are full of passionate intensity.

But the apocalypse will fix all this horror and will be magnificient and healing--the Lord will come in power and glory, nothing will be lost, no good thing forgotten, all that is right will be restored.

Be of Good Cheer, Fear Not

D&C 68:6 Wherefore, be of good cheer, and do not fear, for I the Lord am with you, and will stand by you; and ye shall bear record of me, even Jesus Christ, that I am the Son of the living God, that I cwas, that I am, and that I am to come

“In nothing doth man offend God, or against none is his wrath kindled, save those who confess not his hand in all things.” Doctrine and Covenants 59:21

Elder Renland April 2020 "The Savior loves to restore what you cannot restore; He loves to heal wounds you cannot heal; He loves to fix what has been irreparably broken; He compensates for any unfairness inflicted on you;  and He loves to permanently mend even shattered hearts.' 

Revelations 21:24 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

We can all do this, together, as a family, as a ward, as cherished children of our Father in Heaven.

A Visit with Fishes

In the summer, we determined that Kal's spirit animal was an otter. We watched videos of cute otters and their babies, and I promised Kal we would make a trip to the Living Planet Aquarium and see actual real live otters. We've planned to go several times, but Mikayla's pain levels have been super high lately, so we haven't gone. This weekend, Gary and Gail were planning on having the Johnsens for a sleepover and Gail asked Mikayla if they could take them to the aquarium. Mikayla asked how I felt about the kids going with Gary and Gail, not me, and I said I would like to take them. Gail purchased tickets without hearing back from Mikayla, so I decided we would crash their party and all go together. We like Gary and Gail and they like us, so we all went together. Brandt wanted to bring Ruth and Isabella wanted to bring her friend Alec, so our full car met Gary and Gail's full car and we all visited the fishes (and otters!) together. 

We all had a marvelous time. We began with the otters, but we saw everything. Some of us lingered longer at spots so we were sometimes separated. Even though we were seven big people to five little people, we lost a little person or two several times. Most everyone liked touching the creatures when we could, and we wished we could touch more creatures, like the otters. Everyone was hungry well before we were finished, but Gary and Gail had planned well with snacks, so the small people could hold out. I didn't bring any snacks for my big people, but we stopped for lunch on the way home so everyone survived. It was a really great outing. 

Everyone looking at the camera except Freya

Everyone looking at the camera except Cora

The otter is right above Freya's head

Thea looks like she's feeding the otter

Two otters in one picture!

Brandt said, "This fish looks 'special'" as in "retarded."

I said, "You look special."

We watched the penguins for a long time.

They had their names on their flippers and several of them came right up to the window and looked at us looking at them.

We stopped for a story time and heard Eric Carle's

The Very Busy Spider.

Then we got to see a red knee tarantula.

Look but no touch

Freya, Kal, Gary, and I walked into the Amazon Rainforest section.

I said, "It is warm in here."

Freya said, "And it stinks."

Neither of us was wrong.

Snack time rest

I wanted everyone on the turtle, but Isabella and Alec had become separated.

Turns out, Isabella got a picture on the turtle on her own.

    

A series of attempts to get five children to look at me simultaneously.

Success to a greater or lesser degree.

Brandt took this picture of me taking a picture of Thea --

the picture below.

I think that's Kal standing in the middle.

Brandt sporting Thea's earring.

While the rest of us were looking at sharks,

Isabella and Alec explored the gift shop.

A second series of pictures wherein we try to have everyone looking at the camera so we can get one complete group shot.

Again, success to a varying degree.

Kal was having a pout because he couldn't get what he wanted in the gift shop.

We had a great visit and then had to pass through the gift shop to leave.

The whole visit was ruined, at least for Kal, because he didn't get an overpriced toy that would break before they got home.