Month: January 2022

Today was quite lively at our house. At 4:00 Amy came over with her four kids and everyone spent time together. We always love spending time with them. In addition to socializing we ate Via 313 pizza (Detroit style) as well as Lou Malnati’s pizza (shipped from Chicago) to compare which was better. Both were delicious and votes were split across pizzas. Then Jen and Chris showed up and dropped their kids off for a sleepover. Jen is leaving to Baltimore and Chris and the kids are staying behind a few months to finish school, so they were having a quick getaway together in Midway before Jen leaves. Eli showed up at the same time to join the fun.

Then Amy and her kids left at about the time that Matt, Emily and Choe joined Eli. Then we did Karaoke with Kaylin and Gigi (Chris’ and Jenn’s kids), and the Kahler’s until way past the kids bed time. It was a solid six hours of socialization, and I have to say, we all had so so so much fun. Matt started researching karaoke machines to get one for his family because he and Emily enjoyed it so much. The whole evening was a blast, and all the kids were so well behaved, it was not overwhelming at all, not even once.

Here are some videos and pictures of the night. I particularly love the latter videos because in addition to a singer, all the kids are dancing.

Today Lily started writing a short story about a woman who’s mirror talks to her. Writing felt thrilling to Lily, and it was so fun to have her read what she started to me because she is so good at writing. I just finished the book Circe today, and I felt similarity between the power of Madeline Miller’s imagery and that of Lily’s. It will be awesome to see where her writing takes her.

Also, Lily worked on her knitting skills with our friend Christian (Daniel and Amanda Olsen’s son). We admire Christian for his talents and kindness, and he’s an awesome teacher. Lily really progressed in just one session!

I had a harder emotional day today because of how much work I was cramming in my work hours, working through a bit of panic/anxiety, recovering from the rigor of travels, and all the awards ceremonies, positivity and comradery I sat through (feeling not in the middle of it, and feeling aware of my gaps in personality and performance that made me not int he middle of it). It was a humbling day, but humbling always feels spiritually healthy, and a huge bright spot for me was seeing how over-the-moon happy Lily was as she engaged in writing and knitting. Also, by the end of the day, I re-centered, and felt truly content. I feel I am not perfect, but am overall happy with who I am and where I’m going, and I couldn’t be luckier with what I have, especially on the family front.

I had sales kick-off sessions today, so I was able to be flexible and do things in the back-ground (catch up blogging etc). Lily spent the entire morning taking Georgia to a doctor appointment, after which she spent a lot of time today reading articles about racism in the Book of Mormon, and writing her response to them to her friend. In short, most voices addressing racism in the Book of Mormon barely acknowledge the racism is there, or that it’s damaging, and these are often white voices. Lily wanted to share her experience and observations, corroborated by many other people of color, to make sure that what seems to be missing in the conversation gets said. She is a powerful writer and I enjoyed hearing her read her response to me.

Later in the day, Clarissa and Ammon colored in my office, and I helped Lydia learn how to do double-digit long-division. Also, Lily was instrumental later in the evening while I was wrapping up work. We both were to bed at a decent time and we slept like rocks!

We got good sleep last night and were fully packed and out the door by 9AM. Then we grabbed snacks at a Wallgreens and went to Joshua Tree National Park. We drove past the Panda Express that we ate at over 6 years ago when Lily threw up, and then knew she was pregnant (with Ammon). We had in INCREDIBLE time at the park. It is hard to overstate how pleasant the weather was. Warm sun-rays penetrated through my skin and into my soul, yet it was about 65 degrees so I never felt hot. It was perfect weather.

We went to Jumbo Rocks campground and caught the skull rock trail which was a perfect one mile loop. One mile was perfect because we allowed each child a ten minute stop anywhere he or she wanted to allow people to play on the rocks. We played hide and seek, and also found a super fun climbing area that was so interesting with it’s twist, turns, caverns, and narrow areas. I got really excited at that fun “castle” climbing area.

Then we stamped our passports at the visitor’s center, got Del Taco and candy, and made haste to get home as soon as possible.

Almost the entire way home we listened to Circe by Madeline Miller. Her descriptions were unbelievable. It’s one of the few books I’ve experienced where I felt continually impressed by the artistry of the writing. The imagergy, and the descriptions painted such vivid imagery, and gave me such visceral reactions. It was truly a delight. I had it all the way up to 1.7 or 1.8 speed at one point to try to get the whole book finished before arriving home, but we still have an hour left. It was Lily’s 2nd time through the book, and Lydia and Mary loved it too. Usually I’m able to be the one to power us home on a late night drive, but around 10:30PM, I really pooped out. Lily, fortunately, was feeling great, and she drove for the next two hours. I took the last 45 minutes, and we pulled in around 1:35AM.

I cherished this trip and loved every second. It is so so fun to explore with my sweetheart and wonderful kiddos.

After staying up late finishing Don’t Look Up last night, Abe and I were inclined to sleep in. But our kids were not! So as a compromise we got out of the door in time to be first in line for Boozehounds’ opening…at 10am. Sadly, this felt like a major win for us.

We loved Boozehounds! There were so many dogs that the kids loved petting and seeing, and the food was oh-so-amazing. It was Filipino food but I couldn’t exactly tell where the Filipino came in, other than the fact that my salad had an asian dressing. But every dish was just so good.

I had read that Palm Springs is a great place to order mixed drinks, so I ordered one with breakfast.

Either it has been so long that I drank that my body could barely handle it or the mixed drinks in California are a lot stiffer than in Utah. But after two sips I started feeling woozy. I completely stopped after four sips. But those four sips were delicious.

Then we spent the next two hours driving around trying to find a pool for the kids to swim in. The weather was beautiful and I regretted not just paying for an airbnb with a pool. I almost did and was just kicking myself the whole time.

We drove from the Ace Hotel to the Seguaro Hotel. Neither were currently available, but I did note that the Seguaro was dog friendly and chic. Lydia wants to come back to Palm Springs on her birthday and bring Basil to Boozehounds, so I will need a solution that is dog friendly and has a pool. Seguaro checks both boxes!

After we determined there were no pools or hot springs open to children right now, we went to town and tried to find some celebrity houses. But then I realized that Shields’ Date Farm closed their cafe in one hour, and we needed to get there if we wanted to try a date shake.

So we drove to Shield’s Date Farm, tried date shakes, walked around their biblical sculpture garden, admired their date trees, watched their movie, The Romance and Sex Life of Dates (actually a very, very tame movie about date propagation), and bought some dates. My only regret is that I did not get a coffee date shake. If we go again I am noting to self to try that next time.

Now that the trees are so high, and with technology advancements, mechanical platforms are currently used to help workers to the top of the trees.

Then we drove back to town and drove around the Palm Springs celebrity houses. The kids were so enthusiastic and interested, even though they had no idea who most of the famous people were. We all did know Lucille Ball, though, and they were so excited to see her house!

Then we drove to the aerial tram and rode that to the top, where we ate dinner. The tram was such a surprise. I expected it to be a normal ski lift, but it is much closer to a Disney ride. The floor rotates, the person operating the tram seems to function like a DJ, and on our ride everyone sang and danced along to the songs in the tram. It was really fun.

At the top we ate at the restaurant, which would have been a severe disappointment had we not been grateful to just learn for ourselves that that is an experience we need not repeat. The food was not up to trip standards, but it was still fun to eat it together.

Then we drove home to blog. The kids all fell asleep en route, and I just chugged a lot of Nyquil so that I can follow their excellent example.

Abe and I treasure every trip we have taken together, no matter how short, small or humble, and so far this trip ranks wonderfully for novelty, fun, and refreshment.

We pulled into our AirBNB in Pahrump Nevada around midnight (Pacific time), so we allowed ourselves to sleep in a bit today. Once we got everyone out the door, we headed to Death Valley. It’s a good thing Lily suggested we stop at a General Store because even though all we got was a bunch of snacks (beef jerky, chex mix, peanuts, V8 donuts etc), those snacks lasted us until Dinner because there turned out to be very little to eat in the Death Valley area. While purchasing the snacks, the cashier volunteered that Pahrump is home to one of the few legal prostitution houses in the United States (locals refer to it as a chicken-house), that it is $1,500 per session and that it’s currently shut down due to Covid. I had no idea that existed.

We’ve been enjoying the Encanto soundrack and a book called Circe on this trip. Here are some videos of Lydia singing along to Encanto with Clarissa:

When we arrived at Death Valley, the first thing we did was go to Zabriskie point, and then we hiked about 4 miles round-trip on the trail that started at the Zabriskie trail-head. We didn’t go to the Red Cathedral or the Gower Gulch because it felt like too much given our water situation, and how some of the kids were fading. But what we did do was incredible. The scenery was completely fantastic, and we left the hike feeling super satisfied.

After Zabriskie point, we went to the visitor’s center for a map and advice and then we made a plan.

First we drove artist’s drive. Everyone in the car, except me, fell asleep just before getting there and missed it. But I loved it so much (and didn’t restrain myself very well as I woke Lily up a time or two just to point out some great views). There were some really fun parts that got very narrow, with red rock flanking on each side, and the coloring was amazing. I didn’t think to take videos until my favorite parts were over, but hopefully the below captures some of the essence.

After artist’s drive we went to Badwater. It is the lowest point in North America (282 feet below sea-level). When we arrived, everyone except me and Lydia were asleep, so Lydia and I read while the others snoozed. Lily didn’t sleep much last night, so she was particularly tired. I enjoyed my Lincoln Highway book while Lydia read her Greek Mythology Book.

At 3:00, Lily and I decided nap-time was over, and woke everyone up. Then we did a super-fun one mile walk like I have never done before. We crossed salty dirty on a path worn by foot-traffic. And the deeper in we got, the more salty the dirt got, until at the end, the crust of the earth we were standing on was in all sorts of crazy formations, like the ground was cracked under our feet, and in some places it looked like it was peeling off the earth.

After Badwater, we went to the sand-dunes. I was stressed that we would get there and there would not be enough sunlight which would be a particular shame because it was in the opposite direction of Yucca valley where we were staying for the night. But when we got there, it turned out we had plenty of light for a good 30-40 minutes of fun. The kids were so happy and I’m pretty sure it was the favorite part of the day for all the kids (Lydia said it was her favorite part). We all took our shoes off to feel the sand which was remarkably soft.The kids jumped in the sand, made sand angels, ran around, threw sand (which Lily and I swiftly shut down multiple times), and just had so much fun experiencing the sand dunes. At one point, Ammon was making a sand-angel and saying, “this is the life!”. I also did a little jumping in the sand.

Lily and I were laughing because not too long ago, Ammon said to us, “You know what my heaven would be? My heaven would be a room with padding on the walls, so I could run around and bounce of the walls, and I wouldn’t get hurt, and even even if I did, it wouldn’t matter because I’m already dead.” Lily and I chuckled as we thought that sand dunes was a pretty near approximation to his even. He was running and jumping and being crazy, essentially bouncing off the sand. But he couldn’t get hurt because the sand was so very soft.

The walk back to the car was very rough on our feet because we were still all in bare-feet and it got rocky before the car.

Then we drove for 5 hours to Yucca valley. It wasn’t until 2 hours from our place for the night that we found a Del Taco in Baker Nevada. There we were at 8:30 at night, not having had a real meal for over 24 hours. Fast food tacos and burritos never tasted so good.

Then I drove to our AirBnB. On our trips, we also enjoy our music, podcast and book selections, largely thanks to Lily who usually prepares for the trips with great content. On this trip we have been enjoying The Encanto Soundrack, a book called Circe, which is about a witch from Greek Mythology, and I have really been enjoying Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young.

I had a busy day at work and came home to work on our Indian food leftovers with Jen, Chris, and their kids. We enjoy spending time with them so much, and Lily and I really enjoyed chatting with them. The kids had a great time together, as always, too. After they left, I worked on training Basil to come. He has already learned the command a while ago, but he has significantly regressed. About a week ago, he ran out the garage door, and walked around people’s yards barking for 3-5 minutes, and he would not come no matter how many times I called. I walked after him asking him to come and he just walked away from me obstinate until I finally closed in on him and grabbed him. I swatted his back side, told him “no” sternly, and then put him in his crate with three more “no!”s. I was very direct to Basil about the unacceptable behavior and I realized it would not be super helpful without also reinforcing the behavior I do want him to do. I promptly order treats on Amazon. And today I practiced the “come” command. We definitely made some progress. Here is a video:

Also, before our guests came over, Lily had a really rough time with Lydia and Mary’s music practice. I came home and found everyone to be emotionally soar from it. There is no way around the fact that it difficult instruments, and I think they are all doing way better than they realize soldiering through it. Lily was pretty discouraged, but this email from Lydia really helped her feel better:

I know I don’t act like it sometimes, but I am glad that you taught me to play the harp. It can be hard but it is so worth it. Today I was playing Allegro and Kailens family all came into the music room to listen. Kailen said I was really good. This is what makes learning to play the harp worth it. I hope I can continue playing the harp, but if I can’t I want to say thank you for teaching me what I know on the harp

Today was a great day. I helped get the kids ready for the school with Lily and loved seeing Clarissa in her pig tails so I snapped this photo.

After dropping off Ammon and Clarissa, I did the 500 workout (technically for me it was the 300, lol), but it was great to workout. It really helped my mood all day.

Lily also got great exercise because she went on a hike near Draper. I think she said it was the Ralph Wadsworth trail. She had so much fun spending time with Courtney and Jen, and so much fun hiking. She came home and declared that winter hiking is her new favorite thing in the winter and she never needs to ski, because winter hiking will always fully satisfy her in the winter. I’m so so happy she had such a good time. She also mentioned the bridge was a little on the scary side.

Before and after her hike, Lily was cleaning the house preparing for our party. After I finished work, I went and got A LOT of Indian food from Kohinoor, and I picked up my friend Nick before heading back home. We had Jen & Chris and their kids, Amy and her kids, Sharon and Edje and their boy, MichaelAnne and Nick.

It was such a good time visiting with everyone. I hadn’t seen Sharon and Edje since their wedding six years ago, and it was so nice to catch up with them as well as all of our wonderful friends their. We had deep conversations about religion, racism, the LGBTQ+ community and sexuality in general, and we also just caught up on each others lives. It felt deeply nourishing both on a social/emotional level and on a spiritual/meaning level. We are so grateful to have such good people in our lives.

Ephraim found the little toy, so he was the King of the night! The kids had a lot of fun playing together as well. Ephraim kept asking for Lydia and didn’t want to leave when it was time to go. So cute!

One of my favorite things is watching kids (or anything really, including Basil) in the process of falling asleep. Clarissa was so tired at the end of the party, that tucked herself in bed and I found her with her eyes half-mast. Lily cuddled with her for a bit, and we watched her drift to sleep. So cute!

I drove Ammon to school this morning and here he is with Clarissa being cute in the car on the way there.

This has not been a great week for falls. Georgia fell today, and Lily went to see Georgia. Georgia was in a spell at the time, so Lily returned later to take her to the urgent care for X-Rays. We felt so bad for Georgia who was having such a hard day, but it seems like there aren’t any breaks, which is very encouraging, but we may get another X-ray just to be safe if anything seems to be bothering her in a day or two.

I had Clarissa at home while Lily was helping Georgia. We had a tough moment when I refused to play baby spiderman for Clarissa on TV because episodes are only 5 minutes and I wanted something that would take her attention for much longer. She had a big tantrum, but eventually calmed down. Then she sat on my lap while I sent recruiting emails. She was so cute. She’s looked at people’s LinkedIn profiles, get really excited when she saw a female, and would ask question like, “Dad, will that person respond to your email?” It was so cute.

When Lily got home, I found a hole in my schedule for a quick swim with Lily and Clarissa. The kid pool was closed so Lily and I focused on helping Clarissa remember the things she had learned from swim lessons in the summer. She was so incredibly cute in her goggles, that Lily and I lamented the whole time that we didn’t bring our phones to take pictures. Thus, when we got home, we put Clarissa goggles back on and snapped some pictures.

After I worked some more, I picked up all the kids early from school and then took them to the dentist where we met Lily who had still been with her mom, but came to get her teeth cleaned and then went back to her mom. We all got our teeth cleaned and checked. Only Lydia has a follow-up appointment for some extra work.

In other news, Lydia has been displaying a rather impressive eye roll when I say something ridiculous like a bad dad joke. Examples below:

After driving everyone home from the dentist, I did homework with Ammon, helped Lydia with her homework, and helped people get on instruments.

In the evening I called everyone to the front porch because there was the most incredible sunset

I also fed people dinner (Lily’s amazing leftover soup) and then drove them to dance. Then Lily arrived from being with her mom and took over on the home-front.

I worked late to make up for work-time I missed during the day, walked with Lily (which was awesome!) and also noticed Lily and Mary having the most incredible hour-long practice until late at night working on her concerto.

Lastly, there are three anecdotes I have been meaning to capture in the blog. These are cute things some of the kids have said in recent history:

About one month ago, Ammon said the following: Mom, I’m really sad for Mary. Who is she going to Mary because I want to Mary Lydia? Lily then explained to Ammon that you cannot marry someone in your own family. Ammon then said, “well mom, who did you marry?” Lily explained that she married me, and Ammon protested, “But mom, you can’t marry someone in your own family!” It’s so hard for a youngster to grasp all the complications of human life, lol. I thought that was so funny.

9 or so months ago (others tell me it was longer ago than that), Clarissa was eating those little oranges called cuties. She announced, “more cuties please.” We told her that we did not have anymore cuties, and she stated, “I want a new family.”

3 or so weeks ago, Clarissa excitedly looked at me during our bedtime routine, and said, “Dad, do you know how much is 1 million? It’s 500 feet, even 1,000!” Clarissa often takes on the tone of teacher like she knows all about the world and wants to impart her knowledge onto others. It’s so adorable.

Today, Lily went to Yoga, and then Salt Lake for some returns she had to make. Unfortunately, I had taken the returns out of the car to make room for the sleds and winter clothes on Saturday, so Lily drove all the way to Salt Lake from Lehi to find that she couldn’t do what she hoped. Even more unfortunately is that she tripped and hurt both ankles on this disappearing sidewalk.

I seems to me so far not to be as bad as her previous fall, but I felt so bad for these two setbacks.

I worked from the Qualtrics office, taught Mary’s art class again (about Cubism, it was so fun!) and then brought Mary and Lydia home from school. I taught art and I planned a short day because Lily was still recovering from her sickness. It was fun to spend so much time with the family. While teaching art, Mary did not make a single comment. She may have been the only one! She was so shy, but I guess it is extra embarrassing to have your dad as the teacher. After class with Mary, we picked up Lydia. Mary immediately grabbed onto Lydia and attached to her side with a tight hug. She walked out of school with Lydia in that position, not letting go at all. It made me realize yet again just how attached Mary is to Lydia (literally) and how special that bond is.

At home, we had Amy and her children over for a playdate. There was playing, Kareoke, popovers, and a fun time that was had by all.

After the fun, Lily and I helped the children focus on their work. I helped Mary with her math, and Ammon did almost a full hour of school work as well. Lydia did her harp and Lily did music with the kids.

Also, Lily made the most incredible soup. Cabbage and Potato. Everyone ate it. It was delicious!

Here is Ammon and Clarissa dancing before bed time: