Today was a great Sunday. Lily and I slept in and that felt luxurious. We listened to church between 10 and noon and loved the emphasis on focusing on practical application in a religious journey.
After church, I packed the car with fishing things, bought some wax worms and meal worms at Petco and headed to the lake. The idea was that I’d have some time alone to figure out how to use my fishfinder, get set up, and focus on catching fish before everyone showed up and it got more chaotic. I did figure out how to use my fish-finder which was super exciting. I was able to find a spot that had fish around it. I had a bunch of bites really quickly, and within 40 minutes, I caught a beautiful bass.
Then everyone showed up which was really fun. Betsy, Micah and Pipa stopped by, and we also made friends with Joe and his son Zeek, who were fishing next to us. Lily reheated Borscht (which she had just cooked) on the Coleman stove and passed it out to everyone, including our new friends. As is usual for my birthday, we used Betsy’s recipe which was so fun. It was delicious as always and so fun to socialize. I’m not sure if the noise of the group scared away the fish because we didn’t catch any more, but it was a really good time and I was happy for the one I caught earlier. I’m starting to feel more confident fishing (I’ve been asking for tips relatively incessantly whenever I talk with a fisher). I should also note Lily loves making and passing out food out-doors, and she was really happy handing out borscht on the dock.
At home I watched some TV with Lily. We’ve been watching Chef’s Table which is one of the best TV series either of us have ever seen because the cinematography and storytelling is so powerful and moving.
After that I stayed up until 12:30 putting all the things away from our fishing adventure and also cleaning the garage. I was dying to clean the garage this weekend and thought my opportunity had passed, so I was so grateful to God that it worked out for me to get that done. I felt really happy about it.
Today I woke up and did more work. By 10, I was ready to hike with the family. We all went up to Deer Creek and listened to fun artists like Sia, the Killers, Michael Jackson and Imagine Dragons on the way up.
We went to a trail at Deer Creek Reservoir. We were sad to see the no dogs sign when we got there. We went ahead anyway since we had a tight window, but we were sad that we wont be back with Basil.
The hike was really fun. There was a dumb moment when I wanted to throw a rock down a ledge to see if it would break through the ice, and I threw three different rocks before finally getting one to the ice. Sometimes I don’t properly regulate my inner neanderthal. We later realized that people ice fish in that area, and even though no one was there at the time I threw rocks, the thought of the possibility that I could have hurt someone gave Lily a lot of anxiety (because truly in the moment I threw the rocks we didn’t have full visibility to know what or who was down there), and I felt bad for doing something that had the potential to hurt someone, causing Lily stress and setting a bad example of rock throwing for the kids. Anyway, we rolled through it and had a great rest of our hike.
The scenery was absolutely gorgeous. 30 minutes in, I encouraged Lily to go ahead of us another 15-20 min while we headed back so she could get her exercise in since I was about to cross-country ski afterwards. So I helped coax the kids (Only Ammon and Clarissa needed coaxing) back to the car, and Lily was able to get some good hiking in with Basil (who is so chunky after his stay in the boarding place, so the walking is good for him!)
After the family hike, Lily dropped me off at the Sundance Nordic Center so I could cross-country ski with my good friend Daniel Olsen. We went over 7 miles, and I was barely walking when we finished. It was a wake up call about the conditioning I have lost during winter, and it got me excited to exercise more. I wasn’t even close to keeping up with Daniel, but we had such a good time being together as we always do. It was so pretty up there!
I was so grateful for all my time outdoors today. At home, I had a huge dinner, cleaned the kitchen and then helped Lily with Mary’s piano practice.
Lily was incredible. She did a full practice with Ammon and taught him a song hands together. Then she did a huge practice with Mary teaching her to do her Concerto hands together. Then she sat and did a full practice with Lydia and afterwards read Shakespear to the kids!
Anyway, during Mary’s practice, Mary was getting very emotional and angry about how hard it was to learn the piece, and the fact that Lily wanted her to keep going. I went in the room and helped reinforce what Lily was doing, and it was a really special moment for me to feel like Lily and I were working as a team helping support our daughter’s development. Mary eventually learned over a page of her new piece and it sounds amazing. I love my family.
I then did over an hour of homework with Ammon and then went to Al’s sporting goods for wax worms (which they didn’t have nor did Walmart), but I did get some new jig heads that might work well tomorrow on the lake.
I then watched some tv and worked at my computer before getting some sleep.
Every year for my birthday, we have a dinner party and Lily make me one of my all-time favorite foods, Borscht. This week she was a little under the weather, so we are reserving Borscht for our Sunday ice-fishing food, but Lily still did some serious cooking. She made a cheesecake, a chocolate beet cake and a beet puree to go on the beet cake.
I had a crazy day at work (and went back to do more work after the dinner party due to all of our account planning, and sync meetings and deliverables happening right now), but the party was a huge highlight in such an arduous week. The guests were Morgan and Jessie Vandagriff (and their kids Henry and Vika), Tyler, MichaelAnne, and Daniel Olsen. It was incredible how naturally the conversation flowed, and it was so enjoyable, and such a bright spot in the stress and exertion I’ve felt immersed in lately. I love my friends, and my incredible wife for always helping make my birthday special!
Clarissa was sad this morning, and I thought my tearful princess was so cute pouting as she brushed her teeth, so I had to take a picture.
Lily was quite sick when she got home Sunday, and she got her Covid booster Wednesday. Also, I’ve been working insanely hard this week, so we both have been strained. Thank goodness today eased up a little bit. I was took the kids to school and Clarissa to ballet. While I was driving the kids, they kept talking about lava, and they were really excited. Clarissa and others were looking in her hood and saying it looked like lava. Once I got to Clarissa’s ballet and I could safely check out what they were talking about, I looked in Clarissa’s hood. And sure enough, it looked just like lava.
I worked in the office until around 5:20, when Lily brought Mary to me so that Mary and I could go to our eye doctor and got her new glasses adjusted (which she got yesterday). She is wearing them in the picture below. I also had them adjust my new glasses, but I accidentally had them bend the arms of the glasses too tight, so I need to go back.
Lily had bought fondue stuff, so when I got home, Lily and I put dinner on and it was delicious!
Today Lily and Mary had a challenging piano practice. Afterwards they bonded by going on a mommy-daughter date to JoAnne’s and other stores for crafting supplies. Lily said Mary was very talkative and really opened up about things such as her classmates.
Today I took a cute picture of Clarissa wearing her star sunglasses, and I also had a really good time going to the float spa with my friend Morgan. I’ve been running so fast and so stressed that even the float didn’t get me to relax all the way (it definitely helped), but I had a really great time, especially because I got to see Morgan. Also, my cousin Alexander texted me, which I was very happy about because he has been going through a hard time, and I’ve had a hard time reaching him.
After a crazy day at work being involved in a lot of compensation issues, I came up-stairs to be with everyone. Clarissa was grumpy and sad that the pizza I ordered was taking forever to arrive. I gave her a hug to help her calm down and that turned into me having the cutest, sweetest, warmest weighted blanket on the planet. We put her down around 6:30 and so she never got pizza.
While I was tidying, I walked in on a super productive practice happening with Mary and Lily. I snagged a quick video.
But let’s be honest, Basil was doing the real work in the music room…….Also, we’ve been marveling both at how he gets chunkier every time he gets boarded, and also that he’s getting cuter every day that his hair gets longer. He’s back to being adorable after his not-so-great short hair weasel stage. We love Basil so much!!
Also, Ammon is still a little sick (though way better than last week!) so Lily is going to take him into the doctor tomorrow just to be safe.
This morning I woke up with grad designs for getting caught up on life and for the most part my plans came to fruition.
After I woke up, I spent 3 hours blogging. Clarissa was with me coloring at times. She is so cute!
After blogging, I did my 500 workout, but I’m still only at doing 6 rounds of everything instead of 10. Still, it was such an amazing feeling to workout. I then fed the kids. Then, after showering, eating and getting ready for the day, I worked on the budget for an hour or so.
Lunch for the kids
While I worked on the budget, Lydia made cupcakes. The frosting didn’t turn out exactly how she wanted because we don’t have powdered sugar, but the cake part was perfect, and they looked so pretty!
By then, it was 4:00 or so and I started cleaning the basement, folding clothes and vacuuming. After that I worked on cleaning and organizing the main floor and upstairs for 20 minutes. The kids were awesome and all helped get the house tidy during that period of time. Then we all had dinner and continued enjoying the cupcakes Lydia made earlier in the day.
Here is Basil, happy, after tearing off the head of his favorite duck and scattering the stuffing across the floor.Lydia and Mary got a kick out of realizing that Ammon was under a blanket on his kindle next to them when they had no idea he was under the blanket. They thought there was just a blanket on the couch next to them. You can see why. In this picture, Ammon is under the blanket.
I had the kids all down at a great time and then I watched a couple hours of TV before doing the dishes and closing up the house.
Lily is having a great time in the DC/Baltimore area. Here are some pictures and captions she sent to me:
Dinner with Ashley – sooooo fun
Lily was so excited to get to see Louie, Ginny and family!
Pho with Louie Ginny Clara and BeaLily got this email and forwarded it to me saying, “I can not make fun of you any more! I didn’t realize I have more Neanderthal than you!!” to which I replied, “Hooray! We are cave people! No wonder we fell in love!”
Today was a great day. I had a nice face time call with Lily first thing in the morning and then I spent a bunch of time cleaning and getting the house looking nice for Lily’s return. Then the kids and I attended the kids session of church. It was a wonderful anti-racism lesson, and all the kids in the class gave great comments (including Clarissa who introduced herself by saying she liked purple and pink and unicorns).
Then I attended the adult session of church. We talked about the principle of faithful disagreement in the Community of Christ. It is a beautiful principle, and it is outlined at this link. I felt so nourished from church. I planned to multi-task and work on the house, but I became so absorbed in the lesson that I didn’t get any of those extra things done!
After church, I cleaned the kitchen, and folded a bunch of laundry (thank you Lydia and Mary for helping!). At this point of the day I was all, but insisting that people stay on screens so the house could stay nice. We also had lunch and did karaoke before heading off to………..Pick up Lily!
It was so great to see Lily! She was sick, tired, and hungry, but yet glowing from her trip. It was so fun to catch up, and I can tell being with Jenn, having so many new experiences, and having a break from the day-to-day was good for her soul. And it was so good to have her back!
We went to Spitz for dinner and then went home and watched Lydia’s 5th grade patriotic program (see below) before all going to bed.
Spitz has chalkboard walls and chalk that Ammon and Clarissa particularly had fun with.
I felt sentimental today and took pictures of Clarissa when I dropped her off at school.
Today was my birthday, and it was a great day! A lot of friends and family reached out to me to say happy birthday, which made me feel loved. I summarized the first half of my day to my AXB friends so I’ll post that here for efficiency:
“This birthday has been special already. My spirituality often takes the form of dreams and or thoughts that hit me like bone-deep impressions. This morning as I was transitioning from being asleep to being awake, the thought “life is a gift” rolled through me in a very visceral way. I hadn’t realized it was my birthday yet, and I’ve been grateful to start my 38th year with that experience.
It’s not a typical birthday, but it’s a great one. Lily is out of town to help a friend move to Baltimore. Her friend helped process Afghanistan refugees at military bases for the last 6 months and now that most of the refugees have left the base and gone to local refugee organizations, she’s moving to Baltimore to help process people at one of those local orgs. Lily was sad to miss my birthday and I miss her, but I’m so happy she can support her friend in that way, and also get a much needed break from the kids.
Also, funny enough Jan 28 is Qualtrics annual day of service. All the employees get the day off to help the community. As such, I spent time connecting one of my friends from Chicago (Nick Barnes) with a non-profit legal agency to help him with a crazy situation. He was on disability and didn’t realize he was working too many hours, and social security finally realized it and is now asking him to pay them back $22,000, but he’s still steeped in medical bills and barely surviving paycheck to paycheck. Anyway, I think this non-profit is going to take his case and assign him a probono lawyer, so that was a big success.
I was also going to ski today, but Ammon has been sick all week and so I’m watching him at home while the others are at school. I took him to the Doctor and it seems like its a nasty virus.”
The doctor did say Ammon’s condition could be food poisoning, but he thought is was more likely to be a virus, and thought it’s contagious window was probably winding down, but he could possibly still be contagious.
I mostly caught up on work and life at my computer until I picked up Clarissa, Mary and Lydia from school. Then we went home briefly so Lydia could practice harp. Then everyone loaded in the car and I took Lydia to voice, picked up Basil, picked Lydia up and fueled up. Here are videos that K-9 Wasatch sent us for Basil’s week at the daycare:
Then I tidied the house to prepare for my dad and Suzanne coming over. They arrived right at 6 with an amazing looking ice-cream cake. They also treated use to Aubergine for dinner. After a delicious dinner, they listened to Lydia and Mary play their instruments. Then they brought a game I used to play with when I was a kid, barrel of monkeys. We’d forgotten how to play, but once we looked it up and got rolling, everyone had such a blast. My dad got a chain of 15 monkeys which blew us all away!
This is my dad getting 15 monkeys
After playing Barrel of Monkeys, Clarissa danced to ‘Let it Go’ for us:
We then ate ice-cream cake and I got to chat with my dad. I also opened gifts including money from my dad and Suzanne for ski lessons, Joshua Tree National Park socks form Lydia and Mary, a beautiful colored cupcake card from Mary, and another card Mary helped with from Clarissa. Suzanne was so sweet with how much she helped clean. All the kids loved seeing Baps and bapa. Then my dad and Suzanne went to visit Georgia and take her some cake. They had a long and wonderful visit and Georgie told me she loved visiting with them so much. All in all, I had a great day. Lily sent me the sweetest text with things she loves about me, and I got to talk to her which was really great. I also had a lot of friends and family reach out to wish me happy birthday, as I mentioned before and the time with my dad and Suzanne was so fun.
The only bad thing about my birthday was my behavior with Lydia. Still feeling exhausted from the week, I went to bed at 10:30. Lydia dropped in on me at midnight and woke me up. I told her to figure it out and go back to sleep. Then I felt anger that I was awake when I felt I needed sleep so badly. I went all the way upstairs to chew out Lydia and tell her there is no scary doll, and she can’t keep doing this to me. She broke down crying and said it wasn’t the thoughts about a scary doll that she’s been having, it was just that she couldn’t sleep and she wanted to sleep in my bed. My heart melted and I felt awful for chewing her out when she just has trouble falling asleep sometimes. I let her sleep in my bed, and Ammon joined us at some-point during the night. I continued apologizing this morning as I felt so bad.
But otherwise, it was a great great day.
Today, Lily spent time with her Cousin Louie and Ginny and their two adorable kids. Here are pictures from their time together:
