The Final Trip of 2008

So far this year, we have gone to Denver, Goblin Valley, the Catherall reunion, and the Evans reunion, so to round things out, we decided to visit Utah/Idaho/Wyoming family for Thanksgiving.

We left ABQ on Friday and drove as far as Moab, where we stayed the night. The advantage of driving halfway is the increased sanity levels resulting from two 5-hour days, as opposed to one 10-hour day. The disadvantages are the added cost and the fact that we end up with 6 people in one hotel room. All in all, it’s probably a wash.

On Saturday we drove in the rest of the way, stopping in Provo for lunch at the Brick Oven. After getting to Casa Catherall and decompressing, we went up to Herriman, where Summer’s nephew Seth and niece Emma were starring in a junior high musical. The show was fun, and the boys still occasionally break into one of the songs from the show. Sunday was laid-back, punctuated by another trip to Herriman for birthday cake and ice cream in honor of the birth of Summer’s sister-in-law Kathi.

On Monday Summer’s parents watched the kids while we went on our annual date. We went back to Provo for an old-fashioned BYU date. We went bowling and played air hockey and skee-ball in the games center and ate at the Cougareat. On the way home we stopped for ice cream and reveled in spending time in public without children.

On Tuesday, Summer and Allyson went to afternoon tea at Gardner Village with Summer’s mom, while the boys and I went to BYU again to visit, among other things, the Beane Museum. This was when Ryan announced his intention to go to BYU, and we had ice cream and licorice. That evening we met up with Michelle and Jon for the obligatory Cafe Rio trip, followed by the dinosaur museum at Thanksgiving Point.

Wednesday was our travel day to Idaho, where we were going to have Thanksgiving dinner with my sister Cheryl and her family. This was my first trip to the Rexburg area, and it lived up to its reputation: cute little town, cold and windy. We went with Cheryl and Ben to BYUI, where we strolled the campus and met up with Jason for dinner.

While in Idaho, I got my first taste of the Wii. I have a love-hate relationship with video games—I’m not very good and I don’t play games often (I pride myself on never having owned a video game system), but once I get playing, I get pretty hooked. Over a span of roughly 36 hours, I played about 9 games of baseball, 4 of bowling, 3 of golf, and 2 of tennis, along with some of the training and fitness games. It was quite fun and I ended up pretty sore from the experience (boy do I need to work out more).

(Along those lines, here is what may be the funniest story from the trip. My 16-year-old brother, Nathan, is quite an accomplished Wii boxer. Undefeated. And I couldn’t touch him. But Isaac, who is four, knocked him down and came within a hair of beating him.)

Thursday was marked by much eating. Cheryl pulled off a full Thanksgiving feast, with a 25-pound bird (they’ll be eating Turkey until the Idaho snow melts, probably sometime in May), homemade stuffing, and sweet potatoes. It was fun to see Allyson and the boys help her in the kitchen. Playing catch outside with the men folk (Dad, Nathan, Jason, and my boys) was also a highlight.

After groggily waking and packing on Friday, we went back to Utah, stopping in SLC for the lighting of Temple Square with Michelle and Jon. We strolled around and caught some of the visitors center exhibits, which made for a nice end to the trip.

In closing, here are my top ten from the trip:

10) Watching Evan warm up to both sets of grandparents, something he hasn’t done much of in the past, as well as attaching himself to Michelle after about 2 seconds

9) Walking around two BYU campuses in one week and reflecting on the role these two schools have played in my life and the lives of my parents, siblings, and children

8) Talking college and career options with Nathan (the inivtation to live with us while you get your welding certificate at CNM before your mission is still open)

7) Summer’s parents teaching the Marriage & Family Relations Sunday School class—Summer and I taught it in a student ward when we had been married for about 2 years, so it was good to see it taught by a couple with more experience as spouses and parents

6) Watching Cheryl do mom stuff—she’s the first of my sisters to have a baby, and it’s fun to see her with Ben (who, by the way, is a riot)

5) Showing the boys some of the hidden spots on BYU campus—Ryan was impressed by the First Vision sculpture tucked away in the Joseph Smith Building, and Isaac was amazed that I knew where the vending machines were

4) Seeing Allyson make a dozen or so woven bracelets in her spare time—she’s got her mother’s knack for crafty and creative hobbies

3) Smiling as Isaac hopped up to read books with Dad, whom he admires greatly because he builds things like sheds and libraries, and as Allyson chatted up Mom, whom she admires because she went to BYU, married in the temple, raised 5 kids, and taught elementary school

2) Rounding a corner in the dinosaur museum and seeing why Evan had stopped dead in his tracks moments before—a 10-foot-high, 3D model of an ancient shark, leaping out of the wall and convincing the toddler that this was to be his grisly end

1) Sitting back and smiling as my kids took off to play with various cousins, some of whom they have befriended after mere minutes of playing together, and realizing that this sort of friendship and love is among the chief lessons we can learn from our children

"It's Like Where's Waldo, But in Black & White"

The next in the family photo feature:

New Feature: Family Pictures

As mentioned a while back, we had a friend from the ward take some family pictures, and as we have been looking through them, I decided to post a photo every few days along with a funny, clever, or ironic caption. Sounds like fun, huh?

So, here's the first installment:

"So, why does Daddy get so bent out of shape when I play with his glasses?"

If Women Can’t Find You Handsome…

They should at least find you handy. So goes a line from the Red Green Show, a hilarious Canadian comedy about masculinity and the pitfalls of being a man. Today’s story deals with the second half of this wise equation.

The closet in our hallway has these folding doors, and for some time the door on the right has leaned awkwardly, and over the past week or two this condition has deteriorated rapidly. Today the door completely came unhinged (as did I for a few moments). The runners on top came off the track and the whole thing was rendered useless.

So I took a stab at it. Yesterday I tried halfheartedly to do something about it, leading to these words of wisdom from yours truly: “There is nothing in this world so broken that I can’t make it worse.”

But after removing the door and disassembling the sliding piece on the track (which, apparently, isn’t supposed to slide, which is where the whole mess began), I was able to get that part of the system back in place. Summer and I then figured out how to get the door back on, and voila! Door fixed!

(I’m pullin’ for you. Remember, we’re all in this together.)

And...

(I'm a man...and I can change...if I have to...I guess.)

And...

(Keep your stick on the ice.)

Word of the Month

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: my wife is an immensely creative person. A year or two ago she decided to take 12" wooden letters from a craft store, decorate them (there's some technical crafty lingo for what she did--it involves a glue that smells like death and fancy paper) and display them atop the piano. She did "NOEL" for the xmas season, and it looked great.

She then decided to do a different word for each month of the year. (This may be a gift for family some year, so act surprised.) January is SNOW, February is LOVE, March is LUCK, April is RAIN, May is MOM, June is DAD, July is FREE, August is SUN, September is HOME, October is BOO, and November is:
I like how this emphasizes the heart of the upcoming holiday--not just being thankful, but giving thanks. As this is the topic for my talk next week, I have been thinking about how we give thanks, and I think it is quite simply through giving. When we share with others we demonstrate how much we acknowledge and appreciate the blessings we enjoy.

On the other hand, withholding blessings from others is ultimately an act of cowardice, as we demonstrate our fear that Providence might not support us if we give to others. The fast offering given when one's checkbook is tenuous, the act of service given by the sleep-deprived parent, the kind word from the lonely to someone who needs kindness--these things show faith that giving will not deplete, but rather replenish.

Balloon Museum

As you may know, Albuquerque is famous for a world-class Balloon Festival held every October. In conjunction, the city opened a museum about ballooning a few years back, and since the kids had school off on Tuesday, we decided to go there after I was done teaching.

The Anderson-Abruzzo Albuquerque International Balloon Museum features exhibits o the history, science, and culture of ballooning, including this mock-up great for cute pictures of the kids:
There are also temporary exhibits and hands-on activities for the kids. the boys and I tried the large-screen flight simulator, and here Isaac tries an exhibit that lets you heat and release a model hot air balloon:

A current temporary exhibit explores the role of Native Americans in Albuquerque's ballooning history. Part of the exhibit is a large (4' diameter) pot done in a Southwestern Native American style (or combination of style) with balloon motifs and images. the pot is on the floor behind some velvet ropes that apparently are supposed to be sufficient to keep kids at bay. Evan, who loves anything ball-shaped, and who was ga-ga over the whole museum, was bitterly disappointed every time I grabbed him away from drooling on the art.

All Hallows Eve

In celebration of everyone's favorite pagan holiday, we took the kids to the ward trunk-or-treat activity at a local school's parking lot. It was easier than going around the neighborhood, and more fun at that.

Every year we go one of two ways with costumes. Busy and spendthrifty when we buy costumes (last year) or prudent and overextended when we (and by "we" I mean "Summer") make homemade costumes. This year was the latter.

First we have Allyson in her sock-hop poodle skirt outfit:
Ryan was a spider (black sweats with additional arms made from black tights and attached--temporarily--to his real arms). Once the thread from arm to arm broke, he looked more like a squashed spider:

Isaac's was the most creative costume, and the most challenging. He went as a bag of jelly beans--a clear trash bag filled with balloons:

(Note the "Jelly Belly" logo on--or below--his torso.)

Evan wore the costume Isaac had 3 years ago, an Oreo cookie, but he only wore it for 1.75 seconds, as he hates anything that goes over his head. Hats, for example, terrify the kid. The Oreo costume was black pants, a white shirt, and a sandwich-board-style cookie made of cardboard that slips over the child's head. As he moved faster than the speed of light in tearing the thing off, there is no picture.

Much fun was had by all. But, as with all ward activities, the loaves-and-fishes principle applies, and we returned home with more candy that we brought, even though we gave out all ours to other kids form the ward. In the past 24 hours alone I have eaten approximately 96 lbs. of candy.