My Last (?) Trek to Alabama

We didn't like Alabama much when we first visited as a family back in 2017.   We were touring the Deep South as part of our quest to get to all 50 states and the part of Alabama we explored was kind of sketchy, so when Cami and Garrett got matched to the University of Alabama - Birmingham  for G's internal medicine residency,  we  were honestly a little nervous for them!   It  turns out, though, that we had nothing to worry about!  Birmingham is a far cry from Mobile, and it's turned out to be  quite a lovely and interesting place to live. 

The weather in Birmingham is mild (without the propensity for big storms that plagues much of the South), the landscape is green and hilly and reminds us of Virginia, the people are the very epitome of Southern hospitality, the shopping near them is way better than what we have here in Utah, there is a temple nearby, the traffic isn't terrible, and the church network is good.   Honestly, I would totally live there without hesitation if we had family nearby. 
 
Now Cami and Garrett are moving to Rhode Island this summer for his three year long hematology-oncology fellowship, and we were a little sad to realize that this most recent trek to Alabama was likely going to be our last.   

So we seized the day and tried to enjoy every moment!  

The main reason for our visit was to babysit the kiddos while C & G headed to Rhode Island for a house-hunting quest.  That meant we only had a little time all together at the beginning of our time there:  

And after a quick shopping trip and some adjustment time for the kids, C & G took off for RI.

 

 As I mentioned here, Glen had a bit more of a misadventure getting here than he'd hoped and he started his time in AL quite exhausted...

But he didn't mind a bit!  We still  had a lot of wedding dance parties, read a lot of books, went to the park...

Did some exploring in the stream during Oliver's nap-time.  

Had a lot of kitchen adventures and misadventures...and had to admit that I had forgotten how crazy it is to cook with littles around. Yes, plain butter was consumed...😂

I had also forgotten how crazy it is to shop with a very verbal 3-year-old who could articulately explain why almost everything in the store was on our shopping list that day!  And, no, I did not buy her any cereal, but I did spoil her a bit, since I am Gigi and that's my job! 

We took a trek to the McWane Science Museum in downtown B-ham...

I found A LOT of Lucie selfies on my phone...

And we definitely had some bedtime battles, grumpy afternoons, and early mornings...

But it was worth every minute to be here with them (and their parents when they got home a few days later)...

After C & G got home, I was excited to knock an Alabama bucket-list item off my list...Kelly Ingram Park, which is park filled with some pretty emotionally charged statues and monuments commemorating many of the Civil Rights struggles that took place in Birmingham.   It's crazy that all these horrific events took place in the decade before my birth.

We also visited Sloss National Historical Landmark.  We went too close to closing to really explore, but it was an interesting place.

 I left even more tired than I'd been when I'd come, but it was a great final (?) visit to Alabama...

And I'm already looking forward to next time...
 

I LOVE THESE SWEETIES!  💗💗💗

My Social Life

On an introversion - extroversion scale, I find myself right in the middle leaning a little towards the introverted side.   I definitely like attending social events, as long as I don't have to plan them (and as long as they're not too big)!   The problem with not enjoying planning, though, is that it puts me at the mercy of my friends, who are also mostly introverted and don't love planning things.   And it doesn't help matters that I married someone with even lower social needs than my own, which means I often have inertia working against me as well.   In other words, I like being social and usually am quick to accept when invited to one, but most of the time my social life is a little less active than I'd prefer.   My ideal social life would involve a mix of small group social events with the occasional large one...all planned by other people, of course!  

Do I think you all really care that much about my social life?  Probably not.   But I do want to capture a few social events I've recently been a part of and make sure I don't forget them!  
**************************
Postcrossing meet-up:  You all likely know that I am a complete postcard geek!  I love hunting for them,  collecting them,  and sending them.  I generally send 10-15 per week and that's when I'm at home.  When I'm traveling, it's even more.   Mostly I find that this hobby is viewed as a little "out-there" by most people, but I AM NOT ALONE!    Back in September, a bunch of us Utah based postcard aficionados met at a library in Salt Lake City and talked postcards for two hours!   It was fun to be surrounded others who share the same interest and I very much enjoyed the chance to just gather with some like-minded people.  

**************************
Lunch with postcard friends:  In addition to the Postcrossing meet-up in September, I also recently had lunch with a couple other local postcard loving friends I've met through the community.   Kelly and Alison both live within about 20 minutes of me and are about as geeky as I am.  We even have an ongoing "ugly alphabet" postcard exchange between us, where we take turns sending ugly postcards to each other in alphabetical order.   I have no pictures from the actual lunch, but here's a shot of the most   recent postcard I sent out in our ugly alphabet exchange.  We are on our second round through and I got the letter D this time.  💩

**************************
Virginia Gatherings:  There are times when I feel like I'll never really have good deep friends here in Utah like I did in Virginia, but I sure am grateful for my friends from Virginia.   We've had a few gatherings recently that have meant the world to me.  A few of us (Linda N., Heather P., Karen H) met for breakfast a few weeks ago.  I also loved that the Palmers recently moving here meant that some get-togethers happened amongst Vienna Warders that might not have happened otherwise.  We met at the park a couple times and just enjoyed catching up with old friends.   Since we had a pit-stop in Pennsylvania between Vienna and Utah, I think some people forgot that this is where we landed, so it's good to have some Virginia friends close-by to add a little pull!   I also met with a friend (Christina) recently who was here babysitting her grandkids.  I enjoyed catching up with her and getting to know the cuties that are the kids of one of Spence's best friends. 

**************************
Book group:  It's been a while since I mentioned my book group, but this is my one exception I have about not planning things.  I LOVE my book group discussions and people so much, that it's worth it for me to overcome my dislike of planning social things, and just making it happen!  I wish I took more pictures of these awesome ladies, but book group is something that keeps me sane.  I host every month AND make the refreshments every month, since that's what made it more likely for people to come.  Tonight we will discuss,"The Last Days of Night" by Graham Moore and I am making Lona's famous popcorn from my PA book group.  I made it last time and generated some excitement with it, so I'm sticking with what works!   

Other upcoming reads include:
Jan:  "Becoming Beatrix:  The Life of Beatrix Potter and the World of Peter Rabbit " by Amy O'Quinn
Feb:  "The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry" by Rachel Joyce
Mar:  "The Personal Librarian" by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray
Apr:  "A Long Way from Chicago" by Richard Peck
May: "Madame Tussaud: A Novel of the French Revolution" by Michelle Moran

Have I mentioned how much book group means to me?   I love it.  

**************************
I can't do a post about being social and not  mention the Relief Society activities, which I've been planning for the last 2-1/2 years, but rarely post about. They've been taking up a lot of my social bandwidth and I'm hoping to stretch myself more in my personal life now that I have a new calling.  We shall see! 
**************************

So there you have it--proof that I have friends and I like being social.   😇

Give me a call next time you come to town!  

Some Firsts...

I was reading through some old blogposts the other day and was reminded of the fact that I used to blog with an effort to be at least slightly creative...sometimes even with a bit of humor.   No more though.  I hate to say it, but I'm not sure my brain thinks that way anymore and I think those days might be gone for good.  I'm just happy to be blogging again and capturing little glimpses into the stories of our lives.    Long story short....this post is about as creative as I do these days. 

*************************************

Here's a look at a few FIRSTS in our family...

 

Ellie went skiing for the FIRST time with her friend Charity.   She ended up with a grand raccoon face because she didn't get the memo about applying sunscreen in cold weather.   It sounds like it was a hit, though,  and she'd definitely do it again.   She also recently started her FIRST ever job and is enjoying that challenge. 

All these pictures of Oliver are a FIRST, because he's our very FIRST grandson and we are a wee bit obsessed. 

I'm especially enamored with the pictures of Lucie and Oliver together.  Such big pieces of my heart right there and I cannot wait to meet him for the FIRST time soon!  

This FIRST side-by-side comparison of Lucie and Oliver wearing the same outfit was fascinating to see.  Lucie was definitely a little scrawnier and had way less hair, but the family resemblance is definitely there!  

I got my FIRST bouquet of flowers in the most Utah vase possible....a Stanley-like cup from SWIG.   The flowers are beautiful and the "vase" is actually far more useful than most vases and I imagine it will get a lot of reuse!    Definitely good thinking on Glen's part!  

I actually don't know if this was Emma's FIRST Galentine's party or not, but it was my FIRST time seeing pictures of one and they made me smile!   It looked like fun and now I want to plan a Galentine's party for next year! 

This was Denali's FIRST grooming appointment where she didn't come out looking totally ridiculous.  It's close to a shave, but not as bad as the last couple times!     We are committed to staying on top of her grooming better in the future, so here's hoping for better hair days ahead for her.  Taking care of  curly hair is no joke! 

I am pleased that, despite my extreme distraction level this past week (writing a talk and having a new grandbaby will do that to me), I am making our FIRST bit of a dent on decluttering our house and beginning the process of potentially selling our house.  It's all still pretty far down the road, but the decluttering needed to happen anyway and I was happy to donate several boxes of clothes and books to DI, 4 boxes of homeschooling books to a new library that's coming to our community, and also to give away a few items on the Buy Nothing group.  Progress is good.

  

On Sunday, I gave my FIRST talk in over 2 years.   There was a point in my life when I rather enjoyed the process of diving into a gospel topic and gathering and sharing my thoughts on it, but I felt VERY out of practice this time around and it was a bit more of a slog.    I did it though, and, while I wouldn't say I necessarily enjoyed it, I didn't hate how it went either.  I got a few texts, emails, and in-person comments after church...some asking for links to resources and quotes, so I guess it was okay at least.   Speaking of which, I received one of my favorite compliments ever after church on Sunday.   One of our Sunday School girls (from when we taught youth Sunday School when we first moved to the ward) came and tracked me down to tell me that she not only liked my talk, but that she really really missed us as her teachers and hoped that we could be her teacher again someday.  It made me very happy!   
 

Yay for lots of FIRSTS!   Have a great week! 

 

 

Our Last Spring Break!

Spring Breaks around our house over the years have generally been pretty low-key affairs.   The dates  tended to sneak up on us (probably because they're different every year) and we often would start Spring Break week with zero plans. Over the course of the week, we'd usually manage a few little daytrips here and there, but historically most of our Spring Breaks have been spent pretty close to home.   I'd like to blame this lapse in planning meaningful Spring Break treks to the fact that we homeschooled and weren't as focused on school schedules as most people, but honestly it was no different before we started homeschooling as well!  

This year {the last Spring Break I'll ever have with any kids still in school}, I actually thought of it a few months beforehand and  made plans!   {Yes, I'm proud of myself for remembering this year.}  I coordinated with my sister, Kristina, and together  planned a trip to Sedona, Arizona with her.    At the time, I assumed it would just be Ellie and I joining in with the adventures, but Glen's work situation made it possible for him to join us as well. 

Here's a little glimpse at how our week went.   You should definitely be impressed about how we kept it low-stress and fun, but still had meaningful activities planned.       

  First off, I brought a big basket of kids' books and games from home, so I could read to the littles.   I read to them as often as they would let me and while we didn't play many games, we did get in a very rousing round of Cards Against Humanity (family version) that got everyone laughing!   

 Their favorite books included, "Officer Buckle and Gloria,"  "Slip the Otter," "Edward the Emu," and "The Adventures of Salt and Soap."    

Glen also bought some mini "lego" kits to do with the boys, but that ended up a bit of a fiasco.   They had teeny tiny pieces, which made the kits very tedious to put together and way too hard for the boys to help with.   And then after he had spent hours putting them together while they watched, they immediately started pulling them apart to play with them.  It was still kind of a bonding experience, but not quite as interactive as Glen had hoped.  

The boys were obsessed with Ellie and she often had three little shadows following her around.  

We also went on a couple really cool hikes....   

One was to one of the world famous "vortexes" of Sedona.   There's A LOT of hoo-woo stuff around Sedona and vortexes are one of them.   Apparently some "spiritualist" had a vision one time that there were special places where the earth's energy vortexes upward  and Sedona is full of them.   They're {mostly} unmarked, so you have to know where you're going.  We hiked to Cathedral Rock and found one up and around the corner from the marked "end of the trail".

  It was actually really cool, because it was a gorgeous vista AND people were quiet and treating it with reverence.   I didn't feel any surges of energy, but honestly it was a nice quiet place to reflect and to feel the spirit.    

I say most vortexes are unmarked, but we did find this one with a sign hanging over a random bench.  I'm pretty sure it is a joke, but it did make us laugh!   😂

Glen and I went on a 5-miler by ourselves and saw some pretty spectacular scenery along the way...

One day we took a back-country hummer ride with a tour guide who was as hoo-woo as hoo-woo gets.  We are pretty certain that of the "facts" he told us during the tour, approximately two of them had any basis in reality.  

What were some of the facts he told us?   That Washington DC wasn't part of the US and that you needed a passport to get there.   That Johnny Legend tried to live in Sedona, but was spiritually incompatible and his house burned down by the forces that be (yet somehow it's not in any news' sources).   That the earth floods every 27,000 years as a cleansing ritual.   That DC, Sedona, and Jerusalem are all on the 33rd parallel, which gives them a spiritual connection (none of the 3 cities are actually on the 33rd parallel).  Etc.   

I guess you could say that the hummer ride was fun, but the tour was a bit weird, albeit authentically Sedonan.    Any local we talked to would mention when they were "called" to come there and there are shops for aura readings, fortune telling, and crystals on every corner.     

On a more normal note, we  got ice cream a couple times...

I sent a few postcards (surprise surprise!)...

We enjoyed lots of beautiful scenery...

We visited Montezuma Castle National Monument, which was an old Indian dwelling built right into the cliffside...

And right as we were getting loaded into the cars to go home, I snapped this quick selfie which Kristina dubbed "The Miracle Photo".   Apparently it is an exceedingly rare occurrence to have a picture with every member of her family smiling and somehow I managed it in this quick selfie on the way out the door.    Just call me a miracle worker.  Haha!   

We got back home on Saturday evening, then went full-speed ahead getting ready for Easter dinner, which included shopping at very overcrowded stores and trying to figure out what we were going to make {for our dinner and for Emma's  } along the way.   Don't ask about why we were cooking Emma's dinner too....it's a long story!    In the end, we ended up smoking 5 chickens...

And a whole bunch of other food too.   Here is  a picture of our dinner....

Emma came home for approximately 30 minutes...

and her dinner looked pretty much the same as ours, except  it was at her apartment  with a bunch of her friends.  

Cami and Garrett both had to work on Easter Sunday, but it looks like Lucie and Annie had a pretty good Easter!  :)

After our dinner we stopped by my Dad's grave and found it completely obliterated.  The temporary plaque was in pieces and all the decor was crushed.   It was clear to see that they'd plowed through it to access a new gravesite, but it was very shocking to see and we {especially my mom} were pretty upset by it.   We've already contacted the cemetery and they are going to replace the plaque.   And the mayor of Alpine hand delivered some flowers to my Mom to apologize, so that was nice. 

  

This picture has nothing to do with Easter or Spring Break, but here's a cute shot of Lucie toting around the little backpack we got her in Portugal.  😍

So that's it.      It took be 25ish years or so to figure it out how to plan a Spring Break-- just in time for my last kid to graduate and for Spring Break to be a complete nonissue in my life evermore.   Oh well. It was fun while it lasted!   :)