Lily talks periodically about how she is not all-to-impressed with Basil’s appearance. Others in the household disagree, but our case was not helped by Lily’s chat with a doodle-enthusiast who called Basil “unique”, commented on his stubby legs, said she shouldn’t have brought kids with her to pick him out (hinting that way should would not have brought him home), and even thought the spots on his paw might be a disease (we have no reason to believe it is). Anyhoo, Basil went to the groomers today, and even Lily has to acknowledge, that our little Basil is looking mighty fine.
In other news, Lydia has enjoyed playing with camera settings and also working on her ever-increasing flexibility.
It’s now Monday, and this morning I thanked God for an awesome weekend. The weather was absolutely exquisite. With the warm weather after a long winter, a part of me felt like it was waking up after a long hibernation. I felt alive and happy this weekend.
In the morning I blogged and worked on the budget. Then I washed and vacuumed the Subaru and talked to my aunt Andrea. Lily was listening to an audio book for a lot of the morning. She also took Basil for a very long walk and let him play with some doggy friends they found along the way. Lily said she chatted with a very charming doodle enthusiast, who was also direct and said that our dog was a bit unique, especially with how short his legs are, lol.
Clarissa and Ammon played all morning together or by themselves. I bought them some sticker books last week and they have absolutely loved them. Here is Clarissa happily stickering:
Ammon and Clarissa had a lot of fun building creative artistic snacks they wanted me to judge. Ammon got “most composed” and Clarissa got “most interesting”
Ammon and Clarissa also built a huge fort that they were so excited to show off
Then we all cleaned the house. Ammon had asked me to play Ninjas so at the end of the family cleaning session, we did one final chore, “ninja style”. All four kids and I had to empty all of the trashes in the house into a large plastic garbage back and take it to the green trash bin and put the bin on the curb all without Lily or any neighborhood people seeing us. Ammon especially was into sneaking around going from place to place to accomplish the mission. We pretended the trashes were crystals to power our space station and once they were on the curb, our friends could pick them up for the space station, but if anyone saw us, our cover would be blown. Everyone was really into it (even Lydia to some-extent, who joined late). I loved playing with everyone. Lily played along perfectly. She pretended to be busy on her laptop and not see anyone, which delighted the kids (even though she obviously could clearly see people at multiple junctures).
After that, I took Ammon and Clarissa to home church at Whitney’s house. Lydia and Mary got a pass since they attended the funeral yesterday. I spent most of the time helping watch Ammon and Clarissa, but I also got to chat with various people which I loved doing just because I love that community so much. Ammon also got hit in the face with a softball and his nose bled and he cried, but he was fine after ten minutes.
After church I got Subway and then I took everyone biking. I practiced learning to bike with Clarissa and chatted with Emily and Matt Kahler, and even Adam and Lydia Barlow and their kids who showed up at the end. Lydia, Mary and Ammon loved biking all around. The Kahler’s brought a ramp and wrestled with whether or not to let Ammon try. It was a stressful decision, and Lily said she trusted me to make the right call. I eventually let him try (thank goodness for the Kahler’s idea to move the ramp by the grass because I was about to let him try on the asphalt), and he took a tumble and hit himself in the private parts. He was back to biking within a minute, but told him no more ramp after that.
Below Ammon is expressing his inner ninja. He intentionally dressed like a ninja for our ninja game earlier and then wanted to keep wearing the outfit even after the game was over.
Also we saw an incredible sunset. Meanwhile, Lily was at home also looking at the sunset and having a deep moment of pondering and reflection.
Neil Giles came over in the evening to give Lydia some birthday brownies, and Ammon was so excited to tell Neal about his adventures like the bike jump and also running and jumping off the bike ramp etc. Neil was so sweet to let Ammon effuse.
My uncle Norman passed away last week and today was his funeral. I took Lydia and Mary, and Lily, who’s back is still hurt, stayed home with Ammon and Clarissa.
I loved catching up with my Darais relatives. They make me so happy. The service was so beautiful. There were flowers, memorabilia, and pictures of Norm everywhere. After a viewing and family prayer, we had the funeral service.
I love funerals so much because they always help me to reflect on the beauty of life and what is most important. I feel I always leave a better person, and that was especially the case because of how inspiring of a person Norm is. Below are some of the highlights of the funeral for me:
Norm was generous. I list this first because it was the most common theme throughout the whole service. The following examples were mentioned of Norm’s generosity:
Norm going to work in grubby clothes so he could go straight to his brother Chris’ construction site after work and help him build his new house.
Norm buying a piano for his granddaughter who wanted play piano, but her parents didn’t have money for a piano.
Norm letting a neighbor kid do yard work for him as a way for him to pay for his fly-tying class with his son Danny.
After Norm’s brother Mark suggested crossing the street to avoid a fundraising booth, Norm said, “No Mark, I know how hard it is to raise money, let’s go see what it’s about” and they went to the booth and donated.
Norm helping his little brother Chris learn how to be a good student in college and taking him to the library early to study with him.
Norm taking a class that Chris was in as an elective just so he could help tutor Chris in it.
Norm sharing vegetables in his garden with so many people and even driving long ways to share them.
The list of kind and generous things Norm did in his life goes on and on an on.
Norm was a complete perfectionist. He was both an editor (eventually chief editor) and son of Alex Darais (who was an intense perfectionist) so it was no surprise. He would correct he kid’s usage of words and also sometimes had a hard times making a decision due to his perfectionism. There was a hilarious story about how he went shoe shopping and couldn’t decide on a pair of shoes to buy. There was a shoe-salesman helping him and after a long while with shoes and boxes strewn all over the floor, the sales-person said to Norm, “Norm, can you tell me who sold you the pair of shoes you are wearing right now.” Norm looked confused and said, “why would you like to know that?” The salesperson replied, “because I’d like to shake his hand”. I got a great belly laugh out of that story.
Norm was funny. He loved making puns, and he loved making sure other people understood them even while his beloved wife Judy rolled her eyes.
Norm was a true intellectual. He had memorized poems, Shakespeare and quotes and he could brilliantly weave them into conversations. He was incredibly well read and attended the Shakespeare festival every year.
Norm was competitive. There was a great anecdote about how Norman and Chris were the kings of ping-pong on BYU campus, and how people tried to beat them in doubles for 10 years, but nobody ever could.
Norm loved the beauty of the world. He loved art, and he could even just admire a black piece of glass and would show others how in the sunlight it was actually purple. One of the things that touched me most at the funeral was something that Danny, the closing speaker said. He said that his dad, Norm, saw the beauty in everything around him, but he struggled to see the beauty of the most beautiful thing of all which was himself. Dan expressed remorse for not having had told his dad more often how much he loved him and how beautiful he was, and he asked the audience to memorialize Norm by making sure we are telling the beloved people in our lives they are beautiful and that we loved them. I was so moved by Danny’s words.
Lastly, I just want to mention how touched I was by the palpable bond between Norm and Judy. Her pain and loss was so vivid, and it was a testament to the deep love she shared with Norm. At the end of the viewing, she got up one last time before they closed the casket to kiss his forehead. She completely broke down in those final moments of the viewing and I just thought about every day they shared together. The life they created together. Just the sacredness of being a part of each others incomings and outgoings and ups and downs. How special love is. I was so moved at what they clearly shared together. I don’t know the details of their relationship, but what I saw was enough to know how deeply they loved, and continue to love each other.
After the funeral was the burial and my dad gave a wonderful grave dedication that was heartfelt and moving. It was preceded by Mark playing “Blowing in the wind” by Bob Dylan on his harmonica. Then we all returned back to the church for a luncheon.
At home I took Georgia home, chatted with her and picked up Spicey Thai. Back at home, I relaxed and spent time with the kids. Ammon and Clarissa did a really cute dance to the Gummy Bear Song:
In the evening, I spoke with my cousin Alexander for almost two and a half hours. He’s going through a really hard time, but the conversation was meaningful for both of us and I’m glad I was able to talk to him.
We got our family photos back today from Sarah Severson. We love them! Here are some highlights:
This whole week was incredibly intense for me at work. I even lost my cool and got mad on a call, which I rarely if ever has done before. I’ve been working into the nights working on two deals that we are trying to get before the end of the quarter. I’ve also been doing a lot of self-reflection about my tendency to jump in and make things happen instead of coaching my reps to execute at the level that I expect. It has definitely been a week of stretching, learning and growing.
I took a break from work to help get the kids ready with Lily for their dance performance. We arrived at the mall on-time and I was able to get some chicken and fries before the show. Ammon and Clarissa played on some of the kiddie rides while we waited for our food.
And as always, we loved watching the kids perform. Tonight only Ammon, Mary and Clarissa performed.
Clarissa announced she wanted a playdate with Hawthorne today and Lily had her repeat it on video (and Ammon put in a plug for playing with Casey!). I love how they love their friends!
This morning we had a wonderful time at church meeting new people and discussing the principle of faithful disagreement.
After church, my mom treated dinner for my family and David and Olivia for my and David’s birthday. It was so wonderful catching up with everyone and connecting. We talked about David and Olivia’s baby which is due soon, Bitcoin, Netflix shows, Putin, Hawaii, skiing, mom’s business and more. We also loved the restaurant so much!
My mom brought notebooks to draw in and pens for all the kids and that kept them entertained while waiting for food (except for Lydia who was reading). The gifts were exceptionally timely since I accidentally left Clarissa’s activity book at church.
At home we all watched “Waking Ned Divine” in the spirit of St. Patrick’s day since it takes place in Ireland. It is a very adorable Irish comedy, with the typical Irish edge of dark humor. But overall, it was very feel-good and funny. We thought David Kelly was brilliant, and we especially thought the scene with him riding naked on the motorcycle was hilarious. It was so fun too snuggle and watch a show together, especially considering the inclement weather outside.
After watching the movie, Lydia continued working with the rest of the children on their Aladdin production. She has choreographed and entire show and I’m so impressed. She has kept the other kids occupied for hours this weekend as they have been practicing. At times she was exasperated trying to get the young ones to cooperate, but in the end, it all came together and I was so incredibly impressed. I’ll share the videos first and then the pictures:
Also, Lydia did her harp practice at night and I caught a video of her piece which Lily accompanies which I love so much:
Yesterday my uncle Norman passed away. Here are some words I wrote to my dad after his passing:
“He is a great man, and I’m so impressed by the combination of his heart, intellect, humor and education. My favorite memory from him is how he always advised me to take food items in odd numbers at a buffet. It’s maybe my earliest memory of him, along with his smile. I will definitely miss uncle Norm and I’m so glad I got to see him recently at the recent party Danny and Jenette hosted.”
I will definitely miss Norm and I’m so grateful some of his formal faculty (when he was Chief Editor of BYU magazine) put together a book of Normisms that is such an amazing repository of witty or wise things he said, quotes he liked, or other memories of him.
In the morning, Lily took Lydia, Mary and Ammon to Carnival of the Animals symphony/ballet production at Abbravanel Hall. They were delighted to bump into Amy and her kids there, and they all caught an organ show together afterwards.
Meanwhile, I was on a super-fun lunch date with Clarissa.
I also said hi to my dad and Suzanne after lunch at their house and then I picked up Lily and the kids and headed home to drop off Basil to stay a couple of nights at his boarding place (since we are doing a lot in Salt Lake tomorrow).
At home, I was busy cleaning, and just being around which was really nice. I also had a staring contest with Lydia.
Lily has been reading a ton, which she loves, and still nursing her pulled muscle in her back.
Also, Clarissa has still been very talkative at night (and generally). Lydia has choreographed an entire dance routine covering multiple songs from the Aladdin soundtracks (see tomorrow’s post), and here you can hear Clarissa singing “Speechless” from Aladdin in her bed (a solid 20 minutes or more after I put her down if I remember her correctly).
Lily hurt her back in yoga on Monday and I’ve had an insane week at work from a combination of end-of quarter stress and also one of my employees being out for a family emergency and me needing to put out a couple of fires for him. Thus, given the situation, it was incredibly helpful that Lydia and Mary prepared the house for St. Patrick’s day last night. I was soooo tired this morning that I lay in bed for what seemed like 40 minutes while Clarissa and Ammon ran around the house (including our bedroom) talking all about what things the Leprechauns did to our house. I finally got out of bed and videoed her and Ammon still reacting to the scene.
I had a meeting cancel today and slipped away to swim with Lily and Clarissa. It was tremendous fun. Clarissa is getting so good at swimming with her head underwater. She is a total fish, and a very energetic one at that. For forty minutes straight she was swimming, splashing, having me throw her and floating. And her cuteness is too much to handle when she wears goggles!
Here is Mary shopping with Lily. I assume she’s getting ingredients for her lunches. She’s been making her own school lunches recently, I think mostly because school lunches are not as good for her now that she is a vegetarian. She also asked me for a container for her sandwich instead of a sandwich bag the other day because it is better for the earth. I’m so proud of her.
