In and Out of My Comfort Zone

 So I did a thing way outside my comfort zone.  

A good friend of Glen's is a professor at USU.  Glen's given presentations for him before when he worked at a university out east, but, for whatever reason, this time the professor friend asked ME to give a presentation as well.   Me, the stay at home mom without any kids at home, who's never done anything of note.    It was total craziness at the time he asked (having my nephews here, going to the eclipse, getting ready for the grandkids to come visit (on the same night as the presentation), and Denali getting attacked and needing stitches and extra care)....so I was inclined to say, "No," and to sign me up for next time with a bit more notice.   

But after a lot of persuading from Glen, I agreed.  It's not often when Glen pushes something that I'm hesitant about, but this whole thing clearly meant a lot to him. 

It was mindbending for me to prepare a presentation that was  not gospel related and I've never given my first draft of anything before, but it's what I had time for and I had to trust that that would be enough.     It, overall, was a good experience and definitely  was a good challenge for me to get outside my comfort zone.   This was the outfit I wore, which is pretty much my only photo from the whole day.

We got home to Cami, Lucie, and Oliver at our house and I was squarely back into my comfort zone again.  

We read lots of books, baked lots of treats, went on some outings...

It may look like I took a gazillion pictures, but I actually missed a HUGE photo op of getting a photo of all my girls together, and I'm quite sad about it. 

The reason I missed the opportunity was because a few days into Cam's visit, I brought Ellie back up to Rexburg for Spring semester.   It was a long, exhausting day of driving by myself, but I think Ellie was happy to be back in her element.  Cami enjoyed spending the day with her friends. 

After that, it was back home with more book reading, visits with Auntie Heather and Grandma Rosy-nanna (and cats). Glen went down to Saint George, came back for the weekend, then left again.  

We visited Nana, who lives at an assisted living center nearby.   It's not often that people get to meet their great-great grandkids, and I think the visit meant as much to Nana as it did to Cam. 

We stayed pretty busy, but did have some time to just chill at home as well. 

Lucie is spunky and adorable as always and I LOVED my sweet and hilarious conversations with her.  Some funny Lucie-isms from this trip:   I read her a book called, "Bedhead," which I think was just  a little over her head plot-wise, but she loved it anyway and called it the "Silly Book" and requested I read it every day to her.   She loves talking on the phone and just recently got Alexa to be able to understand her.   She wears dresses 90% of the time and has names for most of them, including an Emma dress (that reminds her of a sweater of Emma's), a "disonaur" dress (her favorite), her Easter dress (the yellow one), her flower dress from Rosy-Nanna (in collage below), and colorful dress (tie-dyed one shown in some of the pictures).    She also liked to carry Bear Friend around in her "wrapper" ( a blanket wrapped around her like a baby carrier).   She likes to test limits (she is 2 after all), but I love love love her and find her antics mostly quite adorable.  

One day I read Lucie this beautiful book, after which Lucie developed a keen interest in Glen's rock collection.  I thought it was hilarious and cute how interested in them she was and how she carried them around in a (pretty heavy) bag with her around the house. 

Oliver really liked sitting with me at church that Sunday apparently.   I love that first picture!   :) I also love that Lucie loves sharing my daily smoothie with me!  

One of the days  I was exhausted and feeling hormonal (I'm guessing PMS time, though I can never be sure anymore) and looked a lot like this most of the day.   Some Oliver snuggles and Lucie conversations have definitely helped the cause.  Things are fine; I just need more sleep.   I  am not a fan of perimenopause, which I am well in the throes of.   

It was a great visit, but definitely too short.   I really enjoy being a Gigi and I don't love how far away they live from us.    Next trip planned is in August (after Adam is home from his mission) and I can hardly wait for the whole family to all be back together again!   Then I will be back in my true comfort zone again! 

51 Things About Me

In honor of my 51 trips around the sun today, here are 51 things you may or may not know about me...

1.  I like grocery shopping better than clothes shopping

2.  When I put my mind to things, I tend to give things my 150%

3.  My efforts often overwhelm people

4.Going on walks is my main source of sanity and I often walk 4-6 miles a day

5.  Planning and going on trips is a hobby of mine

6. I have been to all 50 states--Alaska was my final frontier

7. One of my favorite movies is the "Secret Life of Walter Mitty", partially because I love how he discovers the joy of travel in it

8.   I've been to 37 countries and hope to increase the count more quickly now that we are empty nesters

9. I homeschooled my kids for about 11 years

10. All of my kids homeschooled for at least one year

11. Homeschool is not for everyone, but I am a HUGE advocate of it, if you have the desire

12.  3 of my 5 kids graduated from homeschool.  All are thriving and have transitioned to college well.  

13. I have zero regrets about homeschooling and think my kids got a superior education than they would have if they had stayed in the public schools

14.  After all those years of homeschooling, I am struggling mightily to figure out what to do with myself now that empty nesting is upon us

15. I think I might need a job (for my own sanity), but want to be available to my kids and grandkids and hesitate to tie myself down.   For now, I'm still at home and feeling pretty stretched with the ups and downs of figuring out what we are doing with our lives, so no job for now.

16. I am obsessed with berries and eat them almost every day, all year long.  I consider it a guilty pleasure.

17. Raspberries and blackberries are my favorites.

18. I have a pretty sensitive digestive system and have to be careful with what I eat

19. Gluten and dairy are not my friends.

20. Food is a charged topic with some people in my family and I am learning to censure myself, for the sake of relationships. 

21. I am addicted to sugar and have a very hard time with moderation, which means I have an all or nothing mentality about it.   But I can't talk about it.  (see #20)

22. I rarely eat candy or drink soda, but Nerds Clusters are a weakness of mine on roadtrips

23.  Baked goods are my nemesis and all the bakers in my family have become quite good at gluten free baking.

24.  Of any dessert, a good homemade cookie is my favorite.   My birthday treat this year (when Cami offered to make me anything) was a homemade Oreo.   I ate my last one today and it made me very happy! 

25. I always have candy in my church bag, so I can give candy to anyone who brings me a picture of Jesus after sacrament meeting. 

26. I use the pictures of Jesus to put on the cover of our sacrament program.  I love having unique artwork on the cover and I love even more how excited the kids get to see their art featured in that way!  

27. My church programs are informative and unique (one of my very few talents) and something I requested to make in my current ward, because I enjoy making them weirdly much.

28.I had never had broccoli, brussels sprouts, spinach, or peppers  until I was an adult.   They're now among my favorite veggies.   And on an interesting note, I go through a pound of spinach every 2-1/2 days now.

29. I've always wanted to be able to sing well, but my brain does not know how to make my vocal cords produce the correct notes.   I do try to sing enthusiastically and as in-tune as I can muster, but I am sure many a musician sitting near me has inwardly smirked at my lack of musical ability.  

30. I love to read

31. I mostly read nonfiction and historical fiction books

32. I just finished reading, "Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed by Men," by Caroline Criado-Perez

33. I am currently working on a book called, "Totality: The Great North American Eclipse of 2024," by Mark Littman and Fred Espenak

34.  I may be a little obsessed with eclipses currently and we are thinking we might travel somewhere cool to see one next time. (see #2 above)

35.  I formed a monthly book club when I moved to Utah

36.  I host it, plan it, and make the refreshments every month, because I'm just so happy that people will come and discuss books with me.

37.  Anything  I am semi-good at (which isn't much), is something I've had to try super super hard to get there.  The only thing I would consider myself better-than-average at is creating church programs. 

38. My body thermostat runs cold (except when I am sleeping) and you can often find me curled up in my robe in the middle of the day...even in the summer! 

39.  I am obsessed with postcards. (see #2)

40.   I have quite an extensive collection of them

41. I participate in a postcard exchange group called Postcrossing

42.  Everyone in my family knows that we will make postcard finding a part of every trip. 

43. I don't collect stamps, but I have a lot of them and like choosing just the right one for the occasion.

44. The worst part about going through menopause is the sleeping difficulties

45.  I desperately need to get more sleep than I am currently getting, but am fearful of sleeping pills.  Hit me up with your tried and true natural remedies...

46.   I once knocked my date out cold, when he took me golfing for the first time ever.   It was my first swing and he was standing too close.

47.  I keep my walls up pretty high and not very many people can get into my inner circle

48.  I have a strong desire to have a beautifully put-together home

49. I get super paralyzed by house projects and am not naturally organized, so things tend to stay less than ideal for a long time before I finally get motivated enough to do something

50.  I am the oldest of 8 kids and all of my siblings took a turn calling me "Wawa", because they couldn't pronounce Lara correctly.   It's where the name of this blog came from. 

51. I still like this blog--as an outlet for me and as a way to capture the stories of our lives!  

 

Totality In Austin!

Seven-ish years ago, we trekked from Virginia to South Carolina, so we could be in the path of totality of a solar eclipse.  It turned out to be a pretty epic and memorable experience and I've been daydreaming about the next one for quite a while.  About a year ago, we realized that the "next one" was coming up in 2024 and we picked a location and started making plans.  We reserved our hotel, bought plane tix, purchased our eclipse glasses, and rented a car 9-12 months in advance, so we would be ready to go to Austin to see it and wouldn't get fleeced by last minute pricing.  

Even with all of our prep work though, we  had heard all sorts of nightmare stories about the expected crowds in Texas and how people's rental cars were getting canceled and how traffic would be horrible, plus it was supposed to be super cloudy, so we were pretty nervous and debated driving  instead, so we could switch direction if needed. 

But, in the end, we stuck with our plan and  our only hiccups of the whole trip were getting to Austin.   It snowed the morning we were leaving which delayed our flight out of SLC, which caused us to miss our connection in Vegas.  Glen caught a stand-by shortly after arriving, but Ellie and I were stuck for hours in the Vegas airport until our rescheduled flight that evening.   In case you weren't aware, the Vegas airport is pretty much an armpit of an airport.    It's dark (no natural light), full of casinos, dirty, and so overpriced it should be considered illegal to charge as much as they do.   

These nuts were just one example of the outrageous prices.   The Chex mix was $13.99 in Vegas.  The same size bag in the Austin airport cost $5.99.   In a regular grocery store, it probably would have cost $3.99.    I stubbornly refused to give them my money and in the future will try to avoid scheduling flights that go through Vegas, because it's a dumpity dump dump dump.   

Once we got to Austin, though, we've had no issues.  We hear a lot of people canceled their trips here once they saw the cloudy weather forecast, which meant we got our car rental no problem, the hotel is only half full, and the traffic wasn't bad at all. 

AND BEST OF ALL...

In what can only be described as divine intervention....

the clouds parted right at the moment of totality and we got the full amazingly spectacular experience we'd been hoping for!   

We honestly thought the clouds made for a cool natural filter for the photos and added some depth.   It was everything we'd hoped it would be!  


We also ate lots of good food, including....

Bird Bird Biscuit, which has amazing gluten free biscuits...

Torchy's, which is our favorite taco place of all time...

And Hop Daddy's, which had amazing gluten free buns, the best sweet potato fries around, and a burger I actually enjoyed, instead of just tolerating...

We also went on a couple good walks at Lady Bird Lake (something Cami loved to do when she lived there)...

And we saw some amazing wildflowers along the way, that made me smile...

I would call it a good trip overall, but also exhausting.   We left for Texas already pretty tired after hosting the boys  for a few days.    We had hoped that our time in Texas would be more restful, but between our very long day getting here, our too-small beds, and an extremely early morning to fly back home, we got home even more exhausted than when we left.  Coming home to a disaster area of a house did not help matters either. 

Exhaustion aside, we are already scheming a way for us to see another total eclipse.  The next one in the USA isn't for another 21 years, so we're thinking maybe Spain or Australia.... 😏

I guess you can call us official umbraphiles now.   😏

Legos + Potty Humor + Field Trips = Tired

If you dropped by our house recently, you would have found bowls of half-eaten Apple Jacks and Life Cereal, candy wrappers, Taki crumbs, and wrappers from various fast food restaurants we never usually go to.   

Additionally, there were piles of Legos and cars on every flat surface in the house....

No, I haven't taken up Legos and junk food in my middle age....but we did watch our nephews-- Manuel and Isaiah, while their Mom, brother, and sister took a spring break trip to Washington DC and NYC!  

Manuel and Isaiah are 8 and 9 years old, which meant we had A LOT more potty humor happening in our house than we've had in many years!  Cards Against Humanity (Family Edition) is pretty epic for kids this age.  It was good reading practice and had them rolling on the floor in laughter (mostly at the silly potty humor  that is plentiful in this game)! 

We also had a lot more random field trips to places we normally don't go, including mini golf, the country store to see the baby chicks and bunnies....

We went to the aquarium...

We made a visit to the butterfly biosphere in Thanksgiving Point.... 

And the dinosaur museum....

Denali got lots of extra love....

We made cookies for Nana...

And then brought them to her....

I was a wee bit tired at the end of the time we had them, but they are sweet boys and I was glad to give my sister the opportunity to take her other kids on their own adventure!  💗

Easter Bunnying

The older our kids have gotten, the more laid back our holidays have become.   What fun is the Easter Bunny when your kids don't even like candy (much) anymore?   Or when you wouldn't dare buy an item of clothing for any one of your five children, because chances are, they wouldn't wear it in a million years.   Combine that with Glen being in Colorado for the weekend helping his mom with a few things, so I decided I needed to liven things up a little. 

Instead of playing Easter Bunny for my kids, I decided I'd be Easter Bunny for a whole lot of other people.   First off, I made a bunch of little goodie bags...

and printed this note for about 10 missionaries (some of Adam's friends, some of my Thailand peeps, a young man from our ward, and Adam of course), and enclosed a pack of small pictures of Jesus!   Then I traipsed to the post office and sent them off all over the country!

Sadly, I doubt that a single person received them before Easter, but, hopefully they'll smile anyway.  

Then, I realized that I bought waaaaaaaaaay too much candy and I decided to make a bunch more goodie bags...

This time the goodie bags were for kids at church who brought me pictures of Christ at the end of church on Easter Sunday.   Yes, I bribe children for pictures of Jesus.  No, I am not embarrassed by this fact whatsoever.   In fact, I rather enjoy being the candy / picture of Jesus lady at church and I was quite happy with my picture haul!   They'll take care of the artwork for the cover of the program for weeks!    

 

So don't mind how completely exhausted I look in this picture...or all pictures, for that matter...

But it was very fun to have Ellie (freshly home from Vietnam), and Emma up from BYU for the day.   Spence was also there, but, for whatever odd reason, he didn't voluntarily join me for any pictures.  If you could see the live version of this one taken a few days before, you'll see he was still for about 1.7 seconds and was ducking out by the end.   😂

It was very fun to have Emma and Ellie together for the first time in a few months.  The G Girls vibes were strong and there was a lot of loud singing along to Disney songs, laughter, and much cooking going on.   Sadly, we were off our game in the kitchen that fine day and most of the food was lackluster and bland.    The best part of the meal was this cake Emma made and the ham and rolls my Mom and Heather brought with them!   

Speaking of Easter dinners, I was happy to hear that Adam and his companion were invited to several!  They only ended up eating one, but it sounds like it was a good day.   Four of the people they are teaching opted to sing with the ward choir for Easter, so that ended up being a special experience for them.  

Last but not least, what would a holiday recap be without pictures from my favorite Alabamans?!   Lucie and her matching friends were as adorable as can be...

And check out this over the top preciousness!   I adore these peeps and can't wait for them to come visit in a couple weeks. 

Also, let's take a closer look at that last cheesy grin!   I'm dying at the cuteness!    😁

Hope you all had a very happy Easter!   💗