Easing into the New Year

It's always hard to get going again in January after you've had a wonderful Christmas break. This year felt extra special as we got to have Ethan home with us for a solid 3 weeks. It feels right to me when everyone is together, but I suppose I'll have to get used to the feeling of someone always being gone.

On Sunday the 8th we drove Ethan back up to his dorm for the new semester. Due to a series of unfortunate events that included his roommate being kicked out of school before Thanksgiving, Ethan does not have a roommate this semester.

The bright side of the unfortunate roommate situation is that this semester he has the dorm room all to himself. This meant that he with all the extra space he was able to take our keyboard up to his dorm room so that he can rehearse for Chamber Choir whenever he wants to. No need to try to scramble for a practice room, he can now practice in his dorm room whenever he likes. His room is on the top floor in the northwest corner of Kahlert Village, so he has a beautiful view over the valley. I never had a dorm room so nice, so I'm a little jealous. Where are the cramped rooms and cinderblock walls? Perhaps he'll get a taste of that later in his college career. He has a busy schedule this semester as he is taking 18 credits and is involved in many activities, but if anyone can handle such a full load it's him.

Tanner got a new haircut. He kept it longer on top this time so that he can have a nifty style for his Color Guard performances this semester. I think he looks great. Fortunately Color Guard isn't quite as busy as Marching Band, so we've been able to see a bit more of him these past couple of months. Tanner, Brian, and I worked an event at Kingsbury Hall this month for Centennial Management doing security work and now we're just a few dollars short of having all of Tanner's band fees paid off for the year. He gets to go on a trip to Washington D.C. in May and March in the Memorial Day Parade. What an opportunity!

Over Martin Luther King Jr. weekend Brian and I were able to see Ain't Too Proud: The Life & Times of the Temptations. Seeing it over this particular weekend was especially poignant for me as the characters on stage talked about how white audiences liked to be entertained by black performers, but then wanted nothing to do with black people in real life. Ooooffff. I wish I could say things have changed, and I think things have gotten better, but I think America still has a long way to go in this regard. Brian and I saw this musical along with Ethan last year in April when we visited Boston while on a trip to check out the University of Maine. We got to see the show in the Boston's Citizens Bank Opera House and that setting was spectacular. I think I liked it even better this time around. Highly recommend this one. It's a great story with incredible music.

Since we had everyone home for the long weekend we decided to go out for breakfast together at Penny Ann's Cafe in Taylorsville. It had been a long time, but it was just as good as we remembered it. Anders is our hot chocolate connoisseur and he loved their hot chocolate. He got Reece's Peanut Butter pancakes. Tanner and Bradon always like to get the biscuits and gravy. Ethan got strawberry pancakes, Brian got a regular stack of pancakes, and I got their breakfast nachos, which I get almost every time. It was the perfect ending to a long, relaxing weekend. I don't mind having quiet weekends in January after the business of the holiday season.

When You’re Wowed by Your Kids

 

One day I got a message from Anders's 6th grade teacher, Dr. Susana Thornhill. She told me that the class had written pieces she calls "small moments" and that Anders had shared his piece in class that day and had led a discussion about it. She told me I should have him share it with me. 

When Anders came home from school I asked him if I could look at it, and I was blown away. This piece so perfectly encapsulates Anders as a 6th grader. He is interested in several disciplines, and in this piece you can see his interest in philosophy mingled with his interest in science, and physics specifically. He and I had a discussion about his writing and I confessed to him that thinking these kind of thoughts hurt my brain, but he patiently tried to explain his thoughts to me about the ideas and I tried my best to understand. 

I can't tell you with certainty what I was thinking about in 6th grade, but I know I wasn't thinking this deeply about life and the universe. Right now Anders thinks he wants to go into aeronautical physics when he grows up, so it will be interesting to see where his interests lead him in the next few years. I'm proud of him for being a deep thinker who is not afraid to ask himself hard questions.

Chicken Noodle Soup

 It's January, so it's prime soup season. Every time I make a Chicken Noodle Soup I want to try a new recipe. I like creamy versions, but chicken noodle is just not my favorite. I think that's why I'm always searching for a new recipe. For years I've used the recipe in The Lion House Cookbook and it is pretty good, but I still search for the perfect recipe (that probably doesn't exist). 

What soups do I prefer? I love a good clam chowder or tomato. Tomato and grilled cheese is always a winning combo. I love the Mushroom Bisque soup from Zuppa's and should find a good copycat and see how that is. I also love a potato bacon or a cauliflower cheese. 

My Grandma Melba had a great Chicken Noodle Soup recipe, and she usually made the thick noodles for that herself. I did really like that version of the soup, especially served over mashed potatoes (a trick I learned from my Rick's College roommates who were all from Idaho Falls). Mostly I think I miss my grandma's delicious cooking and the love she put into every bite of food she made for us. I hope that one day my kids will recognize all the love I put into their food too.

Knowing What You Want Until You Get It

 

When Brian and I first started dating, one of the things that really impressed me was how much of a gentleman he was. I thought I'd hit the jackpot because he always made sure to open my car door for me, when I was getting in and when I was getting out. I thought I loved that. After all, I'd always been taught that I should love that, that having my door opened for me was the sure sign of a gentleman. I thought it was sweet that Brian's dad still does that for Brian's mom after all these years.

Well, it turns out that I don't love having my car door opened for me. It took me a while to realize that I didn't really love the thing that I had been taught I should love. I felt perfectly capable of opening my own car door, but the part that really bugged me was sitting in the car after we had parked waiting for Brian to come around and open the door for me. I really disliked sitting there awkwardly waiting, when what I really wanted to do was get out and get moving.

It took me a while to realize this about myself, and then it took even longer to work up the courage to tell Brian about it. I think I was worried that I would hurt his feelings more than anything. Brian says that it took him a while to get out of the habit of doing something that he'd also been trained to do all his life. I know he did it because it's what he had been taught and it was a way to show me that he loved me. What really stood out to me, however, was that he showed me he loved me by taking my feelings into consideration and immediately accommodating my request. That's real love. 

I don't mind it if Brian opens a door for me if we're walking towards a door and he gets there before me, and I do the same for him if I get there first. 

What really stands out to me about this is that sometimes we don't actually love the things that we've been told we should love. It can take a lot of self reflection to overcome those deeply ingrained teachings. If something like this could be so deeply ingrained in me and I thought I wanted it until I had it, what else do I really not like that I've always been taught I should like? I have some other experiences like this, but this is the most simple. I got exactly what I thought I wanted, a perfect gentleman who even opened car doors for me, but then it turned out I didn't want that after all. Brian is a perfect gentleman in every way, he just doesn't open the car door for me anymore because I have asked him not to. I love him for that and for so many other things as well. 

Happy New Year!

 

We ended 2022 on a high note. After a wonderful Christmas week (it's been so nice to have everyone home), we celebrated New Year's Eve at home. I came down with a cold on the 30th, but fortunately was feeling well enough by Saturday night to celebrate. Brian and I got together some appetizers and we had an appetizer dinner with things like chilled shrimp, Nashville hot shrimp, sausage biscuit bites, chicken nuggets, mini quiches, some cheeses, etc. We played a few games and then around 11:00 brought out some chocolate fondue and ate that with a variety of fruits and some donut holes. Savannah (Ethan's girlfriend) also assisted with dessert by bringing us a box full of assorted Crumbl cookies. 

We got some great games for Christmas and had fun playing Chameleon, and a cooperative game that Anders got called The Crew. A big hit has been a bidding game called Modern Art that Bradon got which can play up to 5 people. We also played an old favorite, Seven Wonders. We can't always get everyone interested in every game, but it's still fun to play with whoever we can muster.

Right before midnight we hurried and filled out glasses with Martinelli's sparkling cider and toasted in the new year a few minutes after midnight. We stayed up for about another hour finishing up a game before we headed up to bed. It was a great evening and I'm so happy we could all be together. That's the best kind of New Year's Eve in my opinion.  

Sunday morning the 1st we woke up to loads of snow. This wasn't typical Utah powder either, it was heavy dense snow. It was snapping branches and we think we completely lost a small tree that we'd planted last year. Brian was out shoveling for almost 2 hours with very little help from the rest of the crew (I think mainly Bradon helped), though Ethan was first out with a shovel today. The roads were pretty bad and it was a good thing it was a holiday so there weren't many out on the roads. 

We spent the afternoon inside preparing food and playing games and in the evening we headed to my parent's house for Sunday dinner. My mom did some salads and we had appetizers again. It was only us, my parents, and Matt, Clancey, and Dresden as Chris' family was sick and Jenny's family was just back from a family vacation to California. We had a good night and then shoveled my parents driveway before heading home. 

We all have today off of work and school before regular life begins tomorrow when we go back to work and school, with the exception of Ethan who gets another week off before heading back up to the University of Utah. 

August 2013

We started off August with a trip to the park for the Sollis Family Reunion. Anders really enjoyed his cupcake and we were lucky to get a picture of my dad and mom and all of my dad's brothers and sisters and their spouses.

I went to the Parade of Homes with  my mom and dad. I loved this home's pool area. The house was decorated by my dad's cousin's firm, so he gave us an exclusive tour.

Ethan, Tanner & Bradon all had swimming lessons and they made great strides this year.

Anders was my buddy on the sideline. He was very good about not being able to swim and usually just played nicely by my side.

During the Parade of Homes I also found this basketball court which I thought my boys would just love.

One night we drove down to BYU for the annual fan night and the shot below captured all of the boys asleep. Summer fun can wear people out!

This year the boys especially loved playing soccer with the women's soccer team.

Look closely and you can spot Bri and Ethan getting autographs.

Anders was happy with his prize of a mini football.

Tanner managed to knock Michael Alisa into the water at the dunking booth.

Bradon tried too, but wasn't quite as lucky.

We finished the night with a trip to Krispy Kreme which the boys always love. Good thing there's not one around our neck of the woods.

School started for Ethan and Tanner. Tanner started 2nd grade and is in Mrs. Jarman's class.

Ethan started 4th grade and is in Ms. Ryan-Davis' class.

Brian and Ethan went downtown to a special BYU fan night. The players and coaches promised that we would win Utah this year. That did not happen. So much for promises.

We tried to get in a trip to Thanksgiving Point gardens and their $2 Tuesday. We had a great time in the Children's Garden.

But we were only there for about an hour when the rain started coming down. It rained and rained and rained, and we tried to wait it out. It rained even more so we finally decided to leave.

With some time to spare we stopped at Cabella's and the boys did a little target shooting.

Bradon finally got to start Kindergarten and he was so excited to be attending school with his older brothers. He had no trouble walking into his classroom and telling me goodbye. I guess two years of riding the bus to preschool all by himself toughened him up.

He has loved Kindergarten and really looks forward to school each day. He's already looking forward to next year when he can eat lunch at school.

 

A kind neighbor gave me some vouchers to Discovery Gateway and since I had my brother's kids one weekend I loaded up the van and took the whole gang (minus Ethan) downtown. They had a great time exploring the museum together.

Everything is better when you can share it with cousins. The museum was very busy, but the kids had a really great time.

We ended the downtown trip with a stop for giant snowcones. This was a mess, but the kids loved it.

Ben loved it more than anyone else. He wanted to make sure it was all gone.

I found this indoor pool during the Parade of Homes. I didn't love the home it was in, but I'd happily take this pool with its mini lazy river.

August was a great end to a very fun summer.