Today was exactly what I needed. Today was the last day of my sales quarter, but being a Saturday, my deals (thankfully) already came in yesterday. I was exhausted from the push of yet another quarter, so sleeping in and playing 4-5 games of Wingspan with Lily was totally my speed. It was incredible. Then I had lunch and listened to Lydia tell me all about her Mistborn series for a good half hour. She’s very into it and she loves talking about it, and I love connecting with her in that way. When I left, Lily did music and other work with all of the kids, and Lydia got her harp practice in. Lily and the kids have really been cranking hard on music, homework and reading, and it’s really showing! For me, I was then off to the airport to run the Portland Half-Marathon with Clark! When I arrived in Portland, Clark ordered some delicious Chinese food for us at Dough Zone, and we completely loaded up on carbs before the race. It was a great day!
Also, I just got these pictures and videos from Arches showing what Ammon and Clarissa have been up to there. They are very cute!
Today was effectively the last day of the quarter for me (30th is tomorrow, but it’s Saturday and my deals came into today). I was exhausted, and it was so perfect to have Daniel and Amanda invite us to the Gina Bachauer concert tonight. The pianist was Aristo Sham, and we were very impressed with his performance. We also loved the pieces so much. Here are the pieces he played:
It was a wonderful time. After the concert, we ate at Settabello/Capo for food and gelato. Their service was incredibly fast and we had a great time talking. What a wonderful evening!
Mary turned 11 today! We are so grateful to have her in our family, and we are also so grateful that she enjoyed her day so much. She deserves it!
The day started with gifts and breakfast in bed.
Then Mary got to skip school and go on a mommy-daughter date with Lily and go shopping at the City-Creek mall.
Mary and Lily had an amazing time together. Then I picked up Georgia and we met Lily and the gang at the Orem Farmer’s Market. Georgia was feeling great, and the weather was incredible. We had such a good time looking around at the different shops and eating pizza and tacos. The kids got 3-D printed items which they were excited about.
Then we all went back to the house, and had Mary blow out candles and unwrap presents. Mary got cement pigs for her garden from Georgia (so cute!), a Harry Potter robe, love notes, and more.
Mary was extremely happy with her birthday, and said it was the best day ever. Mary, we love you so much. You light up our lives with your love, cuddles, musicianship, sweet demeanor, beautiful self-expression and hard work. Thank you for being in our lives, we are so glad you are 11!
Also, as a side-note, today Clarissa spent a very long time creating “weather charts” She was so excited about them and showed them to family members and hung them in her room. So adorable!
This morning, Lily and I played Wingspan (yay!) and then Lily and the kids watched Harry Potter movies since we are on a Harry Potter kick since Mary’s birthday. I think she may have also worked with the kids on music and reading etc. I was sad to miss the family movie time, but I was over the moon to be on another long run. It was my last practice run before the Portland half-marathon next week, and again my IT band held up and I felt great. The weather was perfect, and I was beyond happy.
When I got home, I rubbed Lily’s feet (they have been hurting), and then I loaded the bikes and we all went on a family bike ride on the Murdock trail. It was so fun and the weather was perfect. What a cherished experience!
Then we went to the Olive Garden with Georgia, and as always, that was a lot of fun.
At home, Lydia and Mary finished playing with their stuffed animals while Lily and I sat outside and talked to our neighbor Todd. Also, Ammon came outside and met two neighbor kids and biked with them to his utter delight. Also Casey and Chora came over and Ammon and Clarissa played with them as well in the back yard. The weather and community were so beautiful and it just made for a great evening. Lydia and Mary continued playing with their stuffed animals while Lily and I put Ammon and Clarissa down, and while Lily and I played Wingspan. They started early in the day and really went all out in their stuffy world. It was adorable, and Mary explained her stuffie world to me here on video:
We started the day with Lily taking Mary to her piano competition just before noon. Mary played perfectly. That is not an exaggeration. She literally got 100%. She did not make the finals because she is now the youngest in her division and others played harder pieces, but we could not have been more proud of her!!
Today was Mary’s birthday party. It was so fun, and Lydia did so much to help prepare. Lydia created and painted the blye Olivanders wand-holder that you see in the display below. She also planned activities, decorated (see the moaning myrtle and chamber of secrets pictures) made chocolate frogs and molasses deserts and helped organize everything. Lily of course bought all the ingredients, cooked a lot (the French onion soup was incredible) and helped with the nice touches like the Gilly Water. She also ordered hand-pies from June-pie, and cake and everything was delicious. I had fun helping with decorations like hanging the floating candles and the Hogwarts tapestry. Here is the moment-by-moment replay of how the day went:
Mary’s frinds who came were: Anika, Charlotte, Katharina, Lilian and Eloise. When guests arrived, they received a broom, a wand, and a robe. One of the first activities was making potions. There was a love potion, a bubbling potion and a potion to induce euphoria. The kids had fun mixing their potions, and tasting them. Charlotte was great entertainment for everyone as she drank her love potion and then dramatically pretended to fall in love with our metal stair railing (I admit it is a good-looking railing).
After making and tasting potions, the kids went outside to jump on the trampoline and play with gold balloons (that looked like golden snitches). Then it was time hit the pinata. That is about the time my dad and Suzanne came over. It was so fun to have them over! Clarissa later told me the pinata was her favorite part of the day. After everyone hit the pinata and collected the candy, they went inside to start watching the first Harry Potter movie.
Then everybody ate. After dinner, Mary opened her presents and then the kids had free play until it was time for cake and ice-cream at the very end. Then everyone’s parents came to pick them up, and we hung out more with my dad and Suzanne. Mary opened her gifts from them (one was a beautiful bracelet), and then performed her most recent piano piece for them.
Entry display
Robes hanging from the light fixture.
Ammon and Clarissa hanging out before the party.
Dinner set-up
Moaning Myrtle.
The Chamber of secrets has been opened
Itinerary
Itinerary
Potions
Potions
Potions
Potions
Watching Harr Potter
Lydia’s chocolate frogs
Mary playing for Baps and Bappa
Mary said her birthday was everything she wanted it to be (and she was very happy with her new pig-themed presents and new shoes and bracelet). That made us all so happy. And thank you to Lydia and Lily for being such a force to pull off her party and for my dad and Suzanne for making it even happier! Happy Birthday Mary, your party was a blast!!!!
Life is not easy, but it has been very happy lately. Everyone in our home has seemed happy, and there have been very positive feelings and a good flow. Lily has enjoyed the time when the kids are all in school so she can get things done, work on the home, and ready herself for the after-school push. She has found a greater ability to truly enjoy her time with the kids and also be ultra-productive with them. It’s a happy time for us. Clarissa made a picture today of the rides she went on at Lagoon. She specifically pointed out “Collusus” with it’s two loops and “Wicked” which goes straight up and straight down.
Lily and I have also been playing a lot of Wingspan which is so healing after our challenging days.
Work has been rewarding, but also extremely challenging lately. That is all the more reason for me to feel grateful for the heaven that was this weekend.
On Saturday, I ran 14 miles which was a really big deal for me. I have had major IT band issues preventing me from ever running that far. My leg problems were so pronounced, that I was thinking that I might have to drop out of my upcoming half-marathon in two weeks. Having my leg hold up felt like a gift, and I was so happy.
Then I went grocery shopping with Mary, which was a lot of fun. At home, I helped Lily prepare for dinner with the Vandagriffs. I forgot to take a picture, but we had a wonderful spread of food (burgers, nectarine salad, green salad, their yummy squash etc). We had so much fun chatting and hearing their stories, like the time when Morgan’s friend Brittany told him to give Jessie her first kiss, otherwise, he would be following Satan. Also, Morgan taught me how to keep my grill clean, and Jessie taught Lily how to use her Instapot.
After dinner, I took Lydia and Mary with me to rent an ebike for my ride with Lily the next day, and I also took them to Zurchers. We bought broomsticks, kettles for witches brews, a piñata, candy and a tablecloth for Mary’s upcoming Harry Potter party. I also found a gruesome Halloween decoration that really tickled me. I brought it home, and it fascinated the kids endlessly. And they were so excited by Lily’s reaction to it.
It was such a happy day!!
Sunday also was a very happy day for me, but it started out a little rough for Lily. I rented an ebike so that Lily could go with me on one of my long canyon rides. Lily was feeling really sick from one of her medications, and long-story short, she just didn’t have a good time. I felt sad she didn’t have a good time, but I did love being with her on a bike ride.
Things turned around at home though. Lily got some rest, and Mary and I helped prepare for our second dinner party in a row. After getting the dinner prepared, I took Ammon and Clarissa to the park, so they could get some sunshine while Lily planned Mary’s upcoming Harry Potter Birthday party with her.
At the park, Ammon and Clarissa rode their bikes until Clarissa got a booboo and then wanted to play on the playground instead. On the playground, I pushed Ammon and Clarissa on the swing until Ammon started feeling sick. Then Ammon lay in the grass (Basil cuddled with him), while Clarissa asked me to keep pushing her on the swing (see video below).
After the swing, Ammon and Clarissa both played on the ropes:
Back at home, Georgia and our great friend Dean Richardson came over. Ammon puked from me swinging him so hard, so he rested for an hour, but then joined us an hour or so into the dinner party. We all had such a great time talking together. Dean told us stories like the time his sailboat drifted while they were all sleeping, and the time two Chinese women gave so much of their time to help him find the souvenir he was looking for. We shared about our recent trip to Lake Powell and other experiences. Clarissa was dying to show Dean our new bloody foot Halloween decoration and Dean was so adorable as he pretended to be scared and held Clarissa’s hand as he approached it.
It was a magical weekend, a gift. And I felt truly happy and Lily and I felt particularly in-love, and we played Wingspan together just to cap off such an already incredible weekend.
Today was a great day. The weather has been incredible lately. Lily picked up Ammon and Clarissa up early from school and Ammon was heartbroken because he was in the middle of catching bugs with his class and he hadn’t caught one yet. Lily ended up letting Ammon stay longer and he caught a wasp, so that was good. Ammon was very tearful overall today. He was just having a tough day.
After the kids’ school, and my work, I took the kids to Fall Fest. Again, the weather was perfect, and we had such a great time. Ammon started out weepy and sad, but he perked up and was happy by the end. Lydia went to be with her friends, Lennon and Lizzie, and Mary went with her friends, Eloise and others, and so I hung out with Ammon and Clarissa. We had a great time watching the ribbon and hoop dancers, getting snow cones and toys, and watching the 13-time world champion jouster perform for us. It was a blast!
Clarissa has been starting up lessons on the harp again. we tried a year or two ago, and it wasn’t going super well, so we are trying again now, and it is going much better. Here is a video and a picture from her practice with Annamae.
Also, here is a picture of Mary’s school project. She made a giant cell phone with apps. She did a great job!
Mary is loving her birthday present from Loralee and Henry and she has it prominently displayed on her desk. It is a light board that she can draw on. I’m not exactly sure how it works.
