Visiting with Old Friends!

Moving across the country in middle age is not for the faint of heart!   The part I miss most about living in Virginia is people knowing us and our story.  I feel like I will always be a  stranger in this land where  3/4 of our ward grew up in Utah County, many of those in the same neighborhood we live in. While I admit that it was nice to have had a fresh start, I was not mentally prepared for the anonymity that comes with being the newbies in a place where outsiders are such a rarity.  I think I had this naive notion that our outsider status would somehow make us more interesting (like it often does in other parts of the country), but when you're  boring introverts at heart, there's just not that much pull for people to leave their comfort zones to really get to know us. 

BUT...all is not hard about living in Utah!   There are some parts about Utah that we love (other than the scenery)!  For example, I love, love, love being close to my college kids.  It's been fun to meet their roommates and friends and feel like our connection is stronger with them once they leave the house.   I also love being able  to stay connected with old friends.  Utah is such a crossroads for so many members of the church and, although it's less frequent than I'd like,  I really enjoy being able to keep in touch with others that have also moved here, are going to school here, or are passing through here. 

One of those opportunities came up this past week. 

  Elena is Emma's oldest friend.  Their birthdays are a week apart and we met her and her family back in 2002 and love them all.  If you look back through the archives of this blog, you'll find a lot of posts with Elena and Emma together over the years.  

A few weeks ago, Elena and her husband, Harlan (also from Virginia), had a baby.   I loved being able to see and catch up with both of their parents, as well as being able, along with Emma,  to meet and hold their new baby.   Elena was in YW almost the entire five years I served as YW president, so in addition to feeling connected to her as one of my daughter's best friends, I also got to watch her grow in the YW program.  

It does make me feel a bit old to realize that someone who is only a week younger than my THIRD child is already married and has a baby (even after both of them served missions), but I am a grandma and have a full head of gray hair under all the dye, so I guess I should just embrace that I actually am old! 

It really is moments like these that make living in Utah worth it to me. 💖

A Bright Side of Utah...

Back in this post here, I shared a little about my experience serving with the Young Women in Virginia.  It truly was a life-changing time for me and each of those young women still holds a special place in my heart.  

 I'll be honest, though that calling was time-consuming and stretched me waaaaaay outside of all my comfort zones, it was actually pretty rough when I finally got released.  For five years, I'd lived and breathed all things young women related and I missed it deeply when my time ended.  I tried to throw myself at other hobbies and callings, but, dang it all, making the programs for sacrament meeting just isn't quite as rewarding as having a posse of 30 young women to hang out with! 

Eventually I realized that though my role had changed, I could still love and support the young women in different ways.  I wrote them letters on their missions, attended their weddings, brought them birthday treats, and gave them hugs in the hallways.  Once again, I think those interactions have been as much for me as for any girl.   

Then we moved and it all got a little harder.   We were far away from anyone we knew, searching for new connections, and trying to figure out how to find engagement and meaning in our new place.   

Much to my happiness though, I ended up with YW callings in both my wards in Pennsylvania. I very much enjoyed being back in my element and trying to find creative ways to connect with the girls during a time we couldn't meet in person.    COVID meant that everything was done virtually or at arm's length, so it definitely wasn't quite the experience as it could have been, but I grew to love the girls in PA too and feel like I made a small difference at least.  

Then we moved again. 

We never wanted to live in Utah.  Ending up here was definitely part of a providential plan because a lot of pieces had to fall into place to get us here...and pieces we weren't trying to push.   We have felt confirmed to us many times over, that we are exactly where we are supposed to be right now, but, man, Utah is weird. 

After living on the East Coast for the last few decades, it was a bit of an odd experience moving into a new ward and having no one care.  No one was happy to see us; we were just "another new family." Ho hum.    Not one neighbor knocked on our door to welcome us.  Even the church organization seemed lukewarm on us.  We are just now, very much through our own effort of reaching out over the last 5 months, starting to form connections.  Just in time for them to reorganize our stake this past weekend and put us into another ward.   For anyone keeping track, that'll be our 4th new ward in 2-1/2 years.   

With all its flaws, though...Utah is definitely a gathering place among members of the church, which means that some of my former young women live close!   In a time when I've been struggling to form connections, it's been such a blessing to be able to take little treks down to Provo to say, "Hello" to my former young women.  Here's Anna...

Here is Ana.  It was just her birthday, so a perfect excuse to make a treat I've been craving and share it with her... 

Elena (on the right) was Emma's best friend for many years and it was fun to bring her a birthday treat a couple weeks ago too!  She's dating Harlan, another friend of Emma's, and is roommates with Ana (mentioned above), so it almost feels like a visit to Virginia when I go!    I'm excited for Emma to come home in a few weeks to join the fun.  

I can't even tell you how much these little visits mean to me....

And as we embark in yet ANOTHER fresh start (about 2 fresh starts more than we expected when we moved away from Virginia a couple years ago)...I'll take all the positivity and connections I can find.   

💗💗💗 

The OTHER Missionaries in Our Lives

Cami's been on her mission about 8-months now and we miss her more than ever, but have found that the more time we spend with the missionaries from our ward, the more connected we feel to her across the miles.   

Sisters Calvert and Inman are not only excellent missionaries, but I think would be great friends with Cami if they all knew each other.    We see them at least a couple of times a week and, as you can see,  they love Rocky (probably more than I do).  

 Nicole (the girl in the center) joined the church in December and is one of the reasons why we spend so much time with the missionaries.  Her dad, Billy, is taking the lessons and is scheduled to be baptized in April!  They are all at our house most Wednesdays for the discussions.   

It really has been a cool experience to be a part of the missionary effort here at home, while Cami is doing her part in France and Switzerland.  

Nicole recently gave a talk at a missionary fireside.  A few youth from the ward came to show their support! 

The sisters have come over a few times to do family history at our house.  

And they even brought over a birthday present for Ellie!  Speaking of which, Ellie, in particular, has a really special bond with them.  

We all went to watch one of Nicole's lacrosse games, but she ended up with a concussion and didn't play.  

So, we just froze together....

and enjoyed being together.  

Meanwhile, our sweet missionary is doing great things in Lausanne, Switzerland!  

We miss her.   

Cooking It Up

March 31:

The best part about my calling at church is the opportunity that I have to spend with these amazing young women each week!     They're hard-working, fun to be with, and beacons of goodness in our community.  I absolutely love the time I get to spend with them.   

  

For this week's activity we worked on passing off our cooking requirements for YW camp.   

 It was a challenge to keep the fire going and make sure that all of the different levels of girls  passed off  their different requirements, 

but it was truly fun to see their sweet interactions with each other as they spent the evening on a beautiful night in the great outdoors.  

Even my Laurels, who didn't have any requirements to pass off for camp, had a great time! 

 I am grateful for each one of these wonderful young women...

and feel blessed to know them! 

 

A Day Late and 11-Miles to Go

March 29:

(All these pictures are actually from yesterday (3/28), but they got overshadowed by Cami's mission call, so they're going on today's blogpost!)

It was the last day of Spring Break on Monday.   Most people planned last hurrah trips to fun places, like the zoo or a museum,  but not us.   Fun is boring.   We like hard things.    So my kids begged me  to take them on an 11-mile hike to Glen's work.  

So we did. 

We started at the 11.5 mile marker in Vienna (no picture)... 

and trudged in the cold wind (and losing Ellie's new water bottle along the way)... 

to the 22.5 mile marker that's right by Glen's office in Sterling!   

Then we stopped in at the trampoline and arcade center that's next door to Glen's work while he finished up a meeting.   

The kids were a little underdressed for the whipping wind, but, all in all, they were all troupers who only complained a little.    We finished the day tired and happy at the Buffalo Wild Wing Factory.   

It was the second 10+ miler we'd done in the last week, a fact, which made us all proud!   

Way to go, family!  You're awesome! 

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US Naval Academy

March 21: 

Today is the first day of Spring Break, but today is also the only day of the whole week that won't be taken up by "Savior of the World" practices and performances.   In typical Lara fashion, I woke up and knew we wanted to go somewhere, but hadn't planned a thing and had no clue even where to go. 

Google to the rescue!   

After a little research we decided on a day trip to Annapolis!    After almost 19-years living in the area, I still had never been.  Glen and some of the kids had been before, but somehow I had missed ever going. 

The first place we stopped was the US Naval Academy...

 and we were very excited to have serendipitously arrived just in time to watch the daily ceremonial noon meal "Formation" (skip to about 3:44 to see where it gets interesting).   

We opted not to take the paid tour and ended up just wandering around the beautiful campus instead.  

The US Naval Academy Museum in Preble Hall was full of interesting old artifacts from the US wars, including many intricate model ships.    We learned a lot about some of the traditions of USNA and were fascinated by the ceremonial "baptizing" of the class rings and the ensuing ring dance (read a little more about it here in the section entitled "Ring Dance).  

After a few hours on campus, my kids were ready to join the Navy on the spot just so they could get some food to eat.    They wouldn't accept them just yet though, so we headed to the Iron Rooster in old-town Annapolis instead.   

 They are famous for their pop-tarts, so we ordered a mixed berry and brown sugar/cinnamon one as appetizers.

The food was absolutely delicious and we highly recommend it for anyone looking for good eats in Annapolis.   

Emma got the cast-iron scramble, Ellie got the waffle burger, Adam got the chicken and waffle, and I got a parmesan crusted chicken sandwich with garlic aioli sauce!   YUM!  

After wandering around town for a couple more hours, we decided to stop at the Annapolis Ice Cream Company for  some ice cream.     It is considered to be the best ice cream store in Annapolis (and there are A LOT of them).  We only ever tried this one, so we can't speak to the rest, but we agree that it was high quality frozen deliciousness! 

We had a great time, hit zero traffic either direction,  and would gladly go back to Annapolis anytime!    

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Mulch Madness

March 11:  

Some people start talking about "March Madness" this time of year, but around here we start talking about "MULCH Madness."  What is Mulch Madness?  It's an annual fundraiser we do for our ward's youth group.    It's a HUGE undertaking where we deliver thousands and thousands (this year about 40,000) bags of mulch to local residents and it partially funds all of our youth activities for the summer.  

Usually I let Glen and the kids take the lion-share of our family's involvement with the fundraiser and I stay home with the younger kid(s).   This year, though, Glen was too busy and it was me or nothing, so I've spent the last two days toting vanfuls of youth around town and throwing around 50-lb bags of mulch like they were nothing.  

Here is my crew from yesterday.   

They may be cute and petite, but that doesn't mean they were wimpy!  I got to witness their amazing strength up close and personal!

They were AWESOME!!!!  

...and I slept VERY soundly last night.  

March 12: 
Today we woke up at the crack of dawn to go for day 2 of Mulch Madness.   This time Emma and friends went with another driver and  I ended up with Adam in my group.

He and his friends were bursting with energy and it was fun to watch their enthusiasm and positive attitude for a demanding job.  

I thought it especially funny that they just randomly decided to do a sit-up for every bag of mulch they delivered.  That meant nearly 900 just today and still they were smiling at the end of the day.   

My Saturday work crew!  

We delivered record numbers of mulch this year and still managed to finish in record time.   

We can definitely check this off as another successful MULCH MADNESS fundraiser! 

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