Month: November 2021

On Tuesday I went to Lydia’s harp lesson with her, took everyone but the little kids to school, and spent the rest of the day practicing reading with Ammon. I also read Clarissa and Ammon a ton of books. And, to be honest, I don’t remember much else about this day! Oh–it was a Tuesday so all of the kids had ballroom in the evening. I don’t know what I did while they were there, but I think I probably cooked or read or something like that.

In the morning, Abe took Ammom biking and to the park and got these videos:

Then we all went to church and then we went to see the Broadway production of Frozen at the Eccles Theater in Salt Lake. I only got the tickets because Clarissa is obsessed and was not expecting to have my socks knocked off. We have seen a lot of excellent shows and theater lately, and I was shocked to discover that Frozen is my favorite so far. The special effects and the singing were just out of this world.

After the play we walked to one of our favorite restaurants, Spitz. We met up with Tom and Suzanne, who brought along some presents for Ammon and Mary! It was very fun.

On Saturday Eli came over for a play date with Lydia. Lydia has been begging for more time with Eli and we all have missed Eli a lot. He is so fun to have around. We have about a million videos the kids took of him jumping on the trampoline, so when Abe gets a chance he will upload those.

I guess the other memorable moment of the day was the impromptu date Abe and I had while our youngest three kids were at ballroom. Lydia stayed home and read while Abe and I took Basil to a park in Vineyard. We spent an hour just walking, jogging, and talking. Some of my most favorite elements of a date with Abe! The weather was gorgeous too. This Utah autumn has been so, so beautiful.

We have really been enjoying our view and the amazing skies we have in Utah.

Lily has had so much joy putting books in place and reading to the kids in our new reading area.

In the evening today, Lily, Lydia, Eli and I went to the most unbelievable concert of young musicians who played concerto pieces with the Utah Symphony Orchestra. It was the most unbelievable evening. Some of the things we got to witness were:

• Friends who were born on the same day and looked similar who performed violin together
• A young woman who played the cello magnificently
• Violin players, an amazing harpist, and beautiful piano pieces
• A flawless performance of Tchaikovsky’s violin concerto

My favorite part was the Tchaikovsky violin concerto. That is one of my all-time favorite classical music pieces. The story behind it is amazing. Tchaikovsky wrote it with the help of his friend/lover shortly after his divorce, which completely devastated him. He didn’t dedicate it to his friend because of how socially unacceptable it was to be gay in Russia (especially at that time). That seemed to have caused a rift between him and his friend, because they didn’t talk again until his friend was dying. He then dedicated the piece to someone else, who rejected the piece and said it was too difficult to play. I think it took about a year for someone to come around who would and could play the piece. It is that difficult to perform! Yet, a teenager (the last performance) performed it perfectly (as far as I could tell). Even without any of the backstory, it would be an incredible piece. It is so melodic and alive, yet also a bit chaotic and fun. I just love it.

Everyone had an incredible time. We were all blown away by the talent.

We have loved being with Basil again (see two pictures below), but this entry is about how my mom and Jay took care of him while we were gone.

When we decided to go travel for the whole month of October, we didn’t totally know what to do for Basil. Worst case, we could leave him at dog boarding, but a month is a crazy long time for that. We figured maybe some friends could help, but we hadn’t lined anything up, and we felt bad about asking because Basil is a handful.

Then came my mom, and without any prompting just offered to take Basil for a month. We were so relieved and so happy to know he would be in a great place. My mom and Jay love animals, and my mom has a great yard for him. Not only did my mom watch him during our trip, but she regularly texted us pictures of our Basil while we were on our trip, which made everyone so happy with each picture and video. It was like little shots of sunshine during our already amazing adventure. It was so thoughtful!

My mom confessed at the end of it all, that it was a bit tough at times, and she did it during one of her busiest times for her tax business. It was such a sweet sacrifice, and we are so so grateful for her help. Below are some of the pictures she sent us.