Author: Abe Darais

It’s almost a week later and I don’t remember anything about today except that the Marshall’s visited us and we such a wonderful time with them. They had Covid a little while back so they have the antibodies and are way past their time of being contagious, so it was totally safe. It was such a thrill to socialize with them again.

They brought their dog London, who is a gorgeous golden retriever. At first, Basil was scared of her, but then something clicked and then he couldn’t get enough of her. He was also confused, poor little guy. First he tried playing with her, then he tried nursing from her (actually latched on a time or two), and then he tried humping her. In all cases, London mostly just wanted Basil to go away and she hid under the table for part of dinner.

It was so fun catching up with the Marshall’s Camden, Carter, and Olivia all recited stories they are practicing for a school competition. Olivia actually won last year and performed at the Timpanogos Storytelling festival. They were great!!

The Marshall’s are so fun to talk to and we had such a great time talking with them over food from Spicy Thai. What a great end to our day!

Today was Basil’s first full day at our home. He’s still a bit shy and scared. It’s very poignant to think of things from Basil’s point of view. Just a day ago, he was with his parents and siblings and now he is in a new and strange environment and he simply doesn’t know what is going on or who we are. I know over time, his memories of previous family will fade, and he will be so so happy with us, but I reflected a bit on what he must be going through.

Also, a few notes about the name. We settled on Basil like the plant. I wasn’t wild about the fact that it’s my great gradfather’s name, but maybe I should be. It is really cool to bring family names to life. I guess I’ve never thought of dogs carrying family names like human posterity, but the kids fell in love with the name when someone suggested it. At first it was pronounced “Baa-sil” (like the Waa noise of a a baby), but everyone struggled with that, confusing it with “Bah-sil” (like baa baa black sheep). My favorite anecdote about his name is when we did a video call with my dad and Susan today to introduce Basil to them, and I explained that we settled on the pronunciation of Basil like the plat because no-one could get the other pronunciation right and Lydia corrected me saying actually it was only because I couldn’t get the pronunciation right, hahaha!

Still, overall, he did very well today. I had a massive amount of work, so I was not super present, but I know Lily was very active with the training and potty training, and the kids were obsessed with him. Here are some fun photos preceded by a video of Lydia dancing with him.

Wednesday was quite uneventful until evening time and I’ll get to that in a bit. Here is a picture of the kids eating a delicious grilled cheese and Kale lunch Lily made for them.

Here is a picture of Lydia looking over Lily’s shoulder. I’m guessing that they are both looking at something about puppies on the computer.

Lily and Lydia both have been researching dogs incessantly for a couple of months now. Everyone really wants one, and Lily and Lydia have been putting in the time to learn all about what breed would be best for our family, how to train and care for dogs etc etc. A couple weeks ago, Lydia announced she had almost $500 worth of dog things in an Amazon cart all ready for us to pick out. Lydia went through a Basset Hound phase in which she had an imaginary Basset Hound that she gave a lot of attention to. There was only one issue. Apparently, we are not the only ones to decide to get a dog during Covid. Seemingly all of the breeders for the dogs we want have long wait lists. We already put $500 down for a Bernadoodle, but a few days ago, Lily learned it might be a year before we get that dog. We were already planning on getting two dogs, so we decided to get the other dog first, but we just couldn’t find one we wanted that was ready now. We really wanted one now since we are all stuck at home with no travel due to Covid. We wanted to seize this time. In the evening, Lily was researching dogs and just coming up empty. Nothing we wanted was ready now. Then she sat back and visualized what she wanted in a dog, and she concluded that Bernadoodles were just the best type of dog for our family. Then she said a prayer to the effect of, “God, please help me find a dog that will be the right fit for our family.” Within 30 seconds, Lily found an advertisement for a miniature Bernadoodle. It had already been claimed for presumably a long time, but the intended buyer backed out at the very last second (we later found out it was due to renovations the intended buyer was planning for their home that would not work with puppy raising, even thought they hoped until the last minute to make it work.) The dog breeder was eager to find a new owner quickly and even lowered the price for someone that could take him within 3 days. He looked perfect and had the most wonderful eyebrows. Lily saw the advertisement within 3-4 hours of when it was posted. She called the breeder, and the rest is history. I saw the advertisement before having a phone call to catch up with my brothers. I didn’t know all the details about Lily’s phone call to the breeder, but I figured something might be up when Lydia interrupted my call by running around me energetically. After my call, I learned that the breeder would hold the dog for us to come see him, and we scheduled a 7AM visit to see him the next day.

What a day!

I’m guessing Lily took these pictures to show why she’s been feeling frustrated about cleaning. She does so so much cleaning and she and I both cleaned a lot this weekend, and I’m sure her heart sank to see the below pictures on Monday:

Because Lily and I are planning to get one or two dogs in the not-to-distant future, Lily is still researching dogs like crazy and the kids are totally in a dog phase. We recently watched the secret life of pets movies (1 and 2) as a family and tonight the kids watched “Beethoven” while I caught up on work.

We know we want a dog or two, but we are definitely intimidated by the idea of even more messes!!

One other quick anecdote is that Ammon played and danced with the robot valentines box I made with/for him. It made me so happy to see him love something so much that we made together. Lily commented that she thinks he loves it so much because he loves that we didn’t it together. I love that boy!

A few weeks ago, I caught up with one of my newer work colleagues, Mark Hamilton, who I attended the MTC with. It was a joyful reconnecting and I learned that he studied broadcast journalism and does video reviews for fun. After watching his review of the Bonneville salt flats, I got it in my head to go with the family, because non of us have ever seen them before. So today we went. Before I tell you all about it, first a quick rundown on the morning.

This morning I meditated which was so wonderful and nourishing. I also did some quarterly personal goal setting and attended church with Lily (after Lydia and Mary attended the kids church). As always, church was wonderful. This week I was particularly uplifted by the small group and large-group chit chat we had. The group is so loving, courageous, accepting, inspiring and aspiring that I always feel enriched just being with them.

After church and goal-setting, I took some time to help make Ammon a robot valentines box. We’ll have to get pictures of everyone’s boxes on the blog because Lydia and Mary each made really cute valentine’s boxes, and Lydia made a cute one for Clarissa. Only Ammon didn’t have a box to use. The other day I complimented Lydia on her amazing box and told her a story of a robot valentines box I made when I was about her age. She was very interested in the story and wanted to know more. Today I decided to recreate that box for Ammon. So Ammon and I worked on the box together. It was so fun to do a project with and for him! Picture to come.

Then we did the painful routine of corralling everyone in the car and we headed out to the Salt Flats.

Last night Lily and I were discussing how we would manage Clarissa, who has been potty training for a week, on this trip. We didn’t want to put her in a diaper and have her regress, but there are large stretches of road on the way to and from the salt flats with no restrooms. Then Lily suggested we pack Clarissa’s plastic pink trainer potty. I don’t know why, but I got this vision of her peeing in her pink potty by the side of the road in the absolute middle of nowhere in Utah’s West desert and for some reason that thought just tickled me pink. Maybe it was the juxtaposition of our pampered princess on her pink princessy potty against the rugged landscape of Utah’s West desert. Anyway, it was a very amusing idea for me.

Well, I told a story to the kids in the car about a boy who had a pet Beagle and eventually convinced his parents to also get a Bernadoodle, and then later on our journey, my dreams came true. Clarissa napped and had kept herself dry, and when she woke up, she asked to pee. Sure enough, we were in absolute desolation in the middle of no where. We pulled over, put her potty on the side of the road, and celebrated when she put peepee in it. I took a number of pictures.

After Clarissa’s potty break, we pulled off on exit 4, had more potty breaks at the gas station and then made it to the Salt Flats. There was a sign saying it was closed to vehicles due to the wet ground, but the ground didn’t look very wet, and there were quite a few cars driving on the salt. We parked and explored the sand by foot. Also, we brought kites hoping for some good wind. The wind was perfect and we had such a fun time flying kites as well.

After our kite flying, which was a complete blast, I felt like it wouldn’t quite be the full experiences without driving on the Salt Flats. So we all got in the minivan, and I drove up to 105 miles per hour. We then turned around and felt good about that. There were other cars driving around, and there aren’t any lanes or rules, and it felt a bit scary to be in a free for all at that speed, but it was fun especially for the kids.

We then drove to Spitz, one of our new favorite Mediterranean eating places. We were sooooo hungry on the way and we were so glad to get our food. Then we saw my dad and Suzanne for a quick visit. After we used their restroom and saw their new carpet and couch, they came out side and visited with us while we were in our car.

The kids were beyond excited to talk to them and fought a bit over whose turn it was to talk to them. There was so much excitement and happiness in seeing them, and we can’t wait to see them more often!

We then drove home, put the kids to bed and I blogged a little. Lily and I both felt very satisfied from the day’s adventures.

Mary and Lily have been working so hard together to prepare for her piano recital. I forgot to take pictures or video at the recital, but here is a video of her performing for dad and Suzanne days later, on Valentines day. Also here is a picture of my sweet girl:

Here are some additional scenes from home today:

Lily decided to potty Train Clarissa and she has just gotten started. She was so cute today reading a magazine on the potty to help her read. I can say definitively (writing this a week later), that the potty training has been a smashing success, and she’s now 95% fully trained during the daytime. Yay Clarissa for your quick learning and yay Lily for making it happening!

On other news from the day, Ammon was having all of his stuffed animals marry each other. That kid is so cute!

Today was a perfect Sunday. I was tired from an active day yesterday (including a heavy workout) and my fasting today, but Lily was more active and helped run the show. I thanked her at the end of the day for how restful today was and how helpful it was for me.

Lily and I really enjoyed church today. We have both been really falling in love with the messages and the people in the community of Christ.

I did a lot of blog catch-up today. Then I read Clarissa a book. Right after she finished, she fell asleep on my nap. While I was stuck there, I gave Lily a short neck massage and then I napped as well.

In preparation for getting puppies soon, Lily decided it’s time to get Ammon and Clarissa potty trained (Clarissa in the daytime at least). Clarissa is not in a diaper in this photo, so Lily put a towel around her to protect me and the blanket.

I loved napping with that sweet little girl on my lap cuddling with me!

After napping, we all walked around the block together to get sunshine and air.

Then we had Lily’s amazing leftover cabbage rolls and borscht and an incredible apple sharlotka cake that Lily made. I was over the moon about the cake and proclaimed my love for it multiple times.

After dinner we watched videos about Basset Hounds. They are soooo cute. We are so close to putting a deposit on one. More to come on that front! We also had a sweet chat with Georgia, and Lydia told her all about Basset Hounds.

Lydia is obsessed with the idea of getting a Basset Hound. On our walk today, she had an imaginary Basset Hound that she was walking (or trying to get to walk) the entire time. The imaginary Basset (Dumpling is the name I think) even went to bed with her, and Lily had to kiss him goodnight. Before going to bed, Lydia was so excited, she was bounding around on the couch cushions. Knowing how happy a Basset Hound would make Lydia is one more giant reason why Lily and I are leaning towards getting one.

I had a wonderful conversation with Dean Richardson after I put Clarissa down (Lily put the rest of the kids to bed), and then Lily and I had a wonderful time walking together.

One quick anecdote about Clarissa. Lily likes to do staring contests with her. They will get so close that their noses will touch and stare into each other’s eyes, until Clarissa declares, “you blinked!” The funny part is that Clarissa will have blinked multiple times prior to Lily blinking. She is so cute!

A couple months ago one of the kids (Clarissa or Ammon) was playing in the Carolla and turned on a light and left it on so the battery died. I’ve been meaning to recharge it since then. This morning, I finally jump-started it and drove around on some errands to charge it. Then I took the mini-van to Lub-Doc to get its emissions done and to get it registered. I was completely shocked to learn that I hadn’t registered it since February 2019, and so it was actually 11 months overdue. Yikes!! I was so over-due, Lube-Doc couldn’t help me, and the DMV was closed, so I need to call them first thing Monday morning. While the van’s emissions were getting done, I shopped in Smith’s with Mary and Clarissa. Mary was so helpful and helped to pick produce. Clarissa got a pink balloon that was clipped to her handles in the cart, and it continues to make her happy. After that errand, I then registered Georgia’s car. It was around 2:00 by the time all the car stuff was done. It was so nice to get it all taken care of!

Then I did a hard workout, got ready for the day and took the kids on three laps around the block (they watched a lot of TV today). Lily has been super tired today because of how hard she pushed it during the week and it was nice to see her catching up on rest a bit.

After the walk, we all ate pizza, and I set up Ammon’s coding robot and Mary’s coding art robot, which they both played with. In the evening, Lily had a wonderful Zoom conversation with her group of Thrive friends. That group is such a blessing, and I’m so happy that they all have each other. I think they all felt very uplifted talking together.

On a final note, Lily has put down $500 for a Burna-doodle dog. We are considering a second dog and Lily and Lydia have been researching dogs incessantly. Right now everyone is completely charmed with the idea of a Basset Hound, but we are also terrified of the stubbornness, and the stairs in our house could be a problem. But those ears and the droopy face!!!

Also, one quick anecdote about Clarissa. She is so cute and she has gotten very masterful at making her bed-time routine very protracted and difficult for her parents. The routine is basically this: 1) All out tantrum EVERY night at the announcement that it is bed-time (as if it is a shocking and unjust surprise that has never happened before), 2) Adult carries crying Clarissa (who is now very big, especially with length) to her changing table (which she has now grown out of), 3) Depending on Clarissa’s mood, she may or may not require that she chooses her pajamas and she may or may not take a while to decide. 4) Brush teeth 5) get water 6) have fluoride 7) Tell Clarissa to pick out her night time books 8) Tell Clarissa to pick out her night time books 9) tell Clarissa to pick out her night time books 10) tell Clarissa to pick out her night time books 11) Tell Clarissa she only gets 3 books, not the big stack she picked 12) negotiate with Clarissa 13) feel happy that she settled for 5 (I actually now just resign to telling her to pick 5) 14) read 5 books to Clarissa, and pray she’s not in a mood to stop and discuss various pages 15) Tell Clarissa it’s bed-time 16) Answer Clarissa’s second request for more water (Mary often helps here), 17) make sure Clarissa has the stuffed animals she wants (if she brings that up), 18) hug and kiss Clarissa 19) sing or hum on the way out (she recently made a stipulation that she wanted me to sing, but not with words, so humming made her happy) 20) tell her good-night and shut the door 21) sigh, both out of appreciation for the cuteness of that moment and the adorable girl I just got to spend 15 or minutes with, and out of relief at having control over my life again.

That was the routine, but recently Clarissa added a new part (she keeps adding things). Now, after I close the door or just as I’m closing it, she says, “wait! Can I ask you a question?” Or “Wait! Can I tell you something?” Then she proceeds to ramble on about something that mostly never makes sense and is pretty clearly an attempt to just extend out the time of someone giving her attention and not going to bed. After listening to her go on and having her eventually finish, and sometimes successfully cutting her short (she’s masterful at not allowing for pauses that would make a natural breaking point), I finally close the door, and then proceed with the parental sigh. But recently, she has added more iterations. After the question/telling me something, she now speaks up again a second, third or fourth time after I close the door, just to tell me something or asking a new question. It’s crazy!!! Tonight, she was doing this new most recent routine and I’d had enough (the part I didn’t tell you is if I refuse to go in, she will sit there and cry for who knows how long, I’ve only tested her to about 15 minutes). This time, on the fourth time in, or so, I stormed in with my best stern dad face, and said very coldly and matter-of-factually, something to the extent of “Clarissa, this is nuts, make it quick, and go to bed.” I then gave her the evil eye, which I don’t know if I’ve ever done before. I stared at her sternly and coldly. We looked at each other for a good 5 seconds, when she broke the silence jovially, and playfully saying, “dad, you are just so mad right now.” It was making her cheerful and happy to see me mad! I kept my cold stare, but inwardly I was laughing my head off. A big part of me just loves how little she takes seriously because I tend to take too much seriously. I love that girl! She did finally go to bed after that.