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.   

💗💗💗 

Friendly Butterflies

With five national parks and the gorgeous Rocky Mountains, Utah has a lot to offer in the way of outdoor appeal.   Hiking, skiing, fishing, rock climbing, and boating are all things that bring people to Utah from all over the world.  Those kinds of activities are great and I do enjoy hiking at least, but I'll be honest I kind of miss all the historical sites and interesting museums of the East Coast. 

Ellie recently had a few days off of school for Fall Break and the weather wasn't great, which meant that the main appeal of Utah wasn't all that appealing.   So I did a little digging, bought season passes to Thanksgiving Point, and we headed to the Butterfly Biosphere for some fun!  

We'd been to the Butterfly Pavilion at the Smithsonian Natural History Museum before, but this was habitat was much larger and it was great way to spend a rainy day.   The workers told us to wear perfume and sweet smelling lotions if we wanted the butterflies to land on us....

but Ellie and I had just had our hair chemically treated the day before, so we were definitely not very sweet smelling and the butterflies mostly kept their distance.  

During our journey around the habitat, Hermana Goold called {on her p-day}, and we had a little chat right there amidst the  butterflies.  

It was a fun way to spend a day off of school and we'll definitely be back again...

Although next time we'll go with freshly washed hair and some sweet smelling lotion to make some more fluttering friends!
 

Utah Skies

Ask me how I like Utah and my reviews will definitely be mixed.  While I love being closer to family and old friends, the weather, the lack of trees, and some cultural things are going to take some time for me to adjust to.   One thing I unequivocally love though...is the Utah skies.  Because of the hilly/mountainous terrain and the aforementioned lack of trees, you get a much better view of the skies here and I love it.   While we definitely had some pretty spectacular sunsets and sunrises in the East, you generally only got to glimpse them through an opening in the trees or from vista point that you hiked 5 miles to get to.    I love that I can take my morning walk around the neighborhood and get views like this on a daily basis...

 My favorite place to sky-watch is from atop a hill in our city cemetery.  It's only about a five-minute walk from our house and it offers some pretty spectacular views!  

With the pops of fall colors thrown in there too, I've been pretty obsessed with going there to enjoy the view a few times a week.  

This is a 180° pano shot I took from atop the cemetery hill one day last week.  Sometime I need to get up there with my sister's nice camera...

This shot was taken at sunset along our favorite trek up to the Horsetail Falls trailhead.   There was a baby cow in the field  (not in this picture) that had Ellie ooohing and ahhing over it, but for  me it was all about that gorgeous lighting!

The following three photos were taken that on that same walk on that same evening.   

I can't even begin to express how completely and totally in awe I am that this view is within walking distance to our house...

Man!   Look at those twinkling lights in the distance, the vibrant sky reflecting in Utah Lake, and the beautiful wild foliage.  It takes my breath away all over again looking at these pictures! 

A few days ago, while I was out walking Rocky, I looked up and saw this stunning sight!   It had been a cloudy day and I guess the way the sun was setting interplayed with the clouds just perfectly to make it look like the mountains were alight with a glowing spotlight!   I had never seen that phenomenon before and I couldn't peel my eyes away from it!  I called anyone I could think of  to make sure they saw it too! 

And breaking from the sunrise/sunset theme, here's a gorgeous rainbow my dad and I saw the other day while we were driving home from the dentist.  It was much brighter and fuller before we stopped to take a picture, but we couldn't resist this view of the Mount Timpanogas Temple with the rainbow.  

Meanwhile here's a gorgeous sunset shot Adam took down on campus the other day. This tree blocked angle reminded me of how we saw most East Coast sunsets.   Still vibrant and lovely as can be, but with an obstructed view.   

Speaking of trees....here is another glimpse at the glorious fall colors we've been enjoying...

  

I think that this farm up the road from our home just may be the most beautiful spot in all of Utah this autumn.   It's right at the corner where two mountain ranges come together and I am completely enchanted with the backdrop, the landscaping, the rock wall, and the overall idyllic scene.  Every day I walk by it and have to take deep breath to soak in the beauty of it.  

Whew...this ended up being a longer post than I expected!

 I think I might be obsessed.  😍 

November Life {via a letter written to our missionary}

 11/7/21 (letter written to our missionary)

Dear Emma, 

Oh man!  It's the first night of Daylight Savings Time and I'm STILL getting off to a past 10:00pm starting time on your letter.   

BUT...I have a good excuse....I've been working on the Christmas card for this year.   haha   

Actually though...it's true and I'm very excited about it.   

I'm still working with the Etsy artist who did the portrait to get Adam's and Cami's hair color adjusted, but overall I'm very happy about it.   I think the likenesses for Dad and I are the least life-like, but overall I'm thrilled that we'll have a picture together in a year that we can't actually be together.  

Right now the plan is to get it printed sooner rather than later, so I can beat the Christmas rush.  Then I'll wait to send it out until Lucie is born, so I can include information about her arrival in the letter.   Speaking of Lucie's arrival.....IT'S GETTING SO CLOSE!!!!! I'm rather excited about it!    Ellie's disappointed that I commissioned this  before we knew about Denali, but I plan on adding something about her in the letter too.   We shall see!  

Here's a close-up of the tag I created for the portrait.  You know just in case you always wanted a digital version of your tag.  

On a completely different note, here's a gorgeous sunrise we saw this past week.  The Alpine City Cemetery is about a 5 minute walk from our house and I am enamored with the view from atop the hill there (where this picture was taken).  

On another another note, my mom gave me this picture that I drew when I was 10-years old.   It was funny, because as soon as I saw it I remembered the book where I drew my inspiration from.  Here is my picture next to my inspiration!  I know, I know.  It's amazing and everyone should be jealous of my mad art skillz. 

I'm just going with random thoughts tonight...

Here's the latest picture of Denali.  She's quadruple her birth weight, is walking around now, and is all around pretty darn adorable.   

We finally celebrated Adam's birthday this weekend.  We took him out for dinner (he picked Pad Thai for his birthday meal), watched the new Marvel movie (it was okay), and found our new Utah ice cream (Brookers Founding Flavors)!  

Also, check out the bros' matching outfits!  Spence wouldn't allow me to take a "real" photo of them, but I thought this one captured their matchedness pretty well.  Both Spence and Adam were quick to inform us that their similar attire was definitely just a serendipitous coincidence, because, you know, matching on purpose is for wusses and their mom. 

Here is the birthday cake Ellie made for Adam.  Garbanzo bean chocolate cake with raspberry frosting and chocolate ganache between the layers.  YUM!!!

Alright, I promised Dad I would be ready for bed by 11:00pm, so I guess I should check out for now.  I hope you had an amazing week!   WE LOVE YOU!!!! 

Love, 
yo momma 

Showering Cami!

I can't remember if I've announced this here yet or not, but I am very excited to become a grandma for the first time in a few weeks!   My daughter, Cami, is due to have a baby girl soon and thus far the pregnancy is going well.  It's been hard to be so far away from her during this time, but Halloween weekend Ellie and I flew to Texas so we could attend her baby shower. 

 It was the first time I'd been able to see her noticeably pregnant belly in person and it was crazy to think that it really didn't seem all that long ago when I was big and pregnant with her.    These photos-- were taken just eleven days apart 24-years ago.  

It was great to see Amy (Cami's mother-in-law ) who will also be a first-time grandma when their baby is born, though her second will be coming along MUCH MUCH sooner than our second.  haha. 

I was also so grateful that my sister, Kristina, and her daughter, Madeline, flew in for the festivities as well!  She's the only Crain sister who's not living here in Utah currently, so it was a treat to be able to spend time with them both!  

It was also fun to meet so many people who love Cami.  Living far away from your kids is hard, but it's a little easier knowing that there are wonderful people loving and supporting her while I'm far away.  

Other highlights of the weekend included a 6-1/2 mile walk along Lady Bird Lake...

A walking tour of the UT campus and the state capitol...

Some really good food--including some delicious gluten free options too (Here are some of the places we tried:  Torchy's, Lola's, Via313, Jeni's, Moonshine Grill, Bird Bird Biscuit)

Some beautifully warm weather (especially compared to Utah...

Ellie trying unsuccessfully to make friends with a weird goose/duck we saw...

And another walk along the river...

Reality hit hard with lots of catch-up work when we returned, but it was absolutely a treat to be able to spend some time with Cami and shower her and Baby Girl with lots of love for a few days.  

Next time we see her....we look forward to having a little baby to snuggle too!  

Who's the biggest nerd you know?

I just sent Happy Fall/We Moved cards to everyone on our Christmas list...

including this goofy picture. 

  

Why did I do it?  Because, with three moves in 2 years' time,  I was actually worried that way too many of our Christmas cards would be lost forever in the mail system and as you all know....Christmas cards are one of my favorite parts of the season!   I think about them months in advance and enjoy every part of creating them, writing them, addressing them, and then get absolutely giddy when I send them off every year.   And then get even more excited when our mailbox starts filling up.   

Plus I hoped they would make people smile.  😆    

And that's not even the end of it!    I'm such a nerd that I totally volunteer to help family members with their Christmas letters and cards every year too, because I don't want anyone I love to be deprived of the joy of sending out cards too.  You want help?   Call me and I'll be thrilled to help you too!     

So, now that you know all that....do I win the nerdiest nerd you know contest?   😜

A Halloween Day 21-years ago!

In honor of sweet Emma’s 21st birthday yesterday, I thought I’d include this entertaining video of her singing when she was about 3-years old.  She was a middle child born with a song in her heart and didn’t like anyone (like big sisters) stealing her spotlight.

 For 21 years she’s been making this world a better and brighter place and we are grateful for her example...especially now as she sacrifices 18-months to serve, love, and teach the people in the Salt Lake West mission.

 

For your entertainment, here are 21 things you may or may not know about her….

1. When I found out that Emma was due on Halloween, I was quoted as telling everyone I hoped she would be born any day but her due date.

2. In true Emma style and with a little “I’ll show you” attitude, she came promptly on her due date.

3. She won a big prize from the local girl scout troop for being the first girl born in our hospital on the founder of Girl Scouts’ (Juliet Gordon Low’s) birthday.

4. She’s always loved being born on Halloween. I think she loves that everyone is celebrating anyway and it makes her birthday feel extra special. Plus no one ever forgets what day her birthday is.

5. In keeping with the Halloween birthday theme, Emma had bright red hair until she was about 4-years-old. When she was born, she completed her trio of kids with all different colors of hair. It was quite a sight to see -- Spencer with his dark hair, Cami with blond, and Emma with her red hair. It's not that red anymore, but I still delight in the fact when the sun catches her hair just right you can still see the red in it a bit!

6. Emma is full of energy. From the time she was a tiny baby, she was in constant motion and was my only non-snuggly baby. Her energy level is a few steps beyond my own and she amazes me with the amount she can accomplish in a day.

7. Emma was the biggest mischief maker of all my toddlers! Her high energy level was only matched by her high level of curiosity and she got into EVERYTHING!

8. Emma hates contention with every part of who she is and tries very hard to seek for peaceful solutions to contention. I have been humbled by her many times.

9. Emma loves, loves, loves music...and has since she was a baby. She loves to listen to it, loves to play it, and loves to sing it. She practiced for hours a day and is the only one of my kids who we've had to tell to STOP practicing her music so much, because someone is sleeping, or on the phone, etc.

10. Emma is self-driven and a very hard worker. In other words, she was the perfect personality to homeschool and she is good at making things happen.

11. Emma likes doing things her own way! Whether it be school, music, cooking, or whatever….she likes to figure out her own way to do things.

12.Emma is passionate about her pursuits. When Emma decides something is important to her, she goes at it 110%. Her mission is no exception.

13. Emma is our family's only natural morning person. I haven’t indulged my night owl tendencies in many years, but even still I struggle to pop up and get moving as quickly as Emma does on her own.

14. Emma is a baker extraordinaire. While I consider myself to be a somewhat simple baker, she is not intimidated at all by recipes that have weird ingredients or long instructions...not that she uses or follows recipes as written very often.

15. Emma rarely watches tv, but when she does it's invariably a cooking show.And even better than watching a cooking show, she absolutely loves to recreate the shows for a family activity. For her, what could be better than engaging the whole family in cooking with crazy ingredients or while performing difficult feats?

16. As a teen, Emma's room was never messy unless someone else left their stuff lying around.
Emma was such a mess-maker as a child that we teasingly said she kicked up a cloud of dust behind her when she walked, but she was the only one of our teens to consistently keep a clean room.

17. Emma is a gifted writer. She is an avid journal keeper and is not afraid of writing (like some of my other children). She definitely has a gift with words and I enjoy reading her work.

18. Emma seems naturally quiet when you meet her, but she is the loudest of all my kids. It may stem from her status as a middle born child, but between her constant singing, animated way of telling a story, and her dramatic responses to surprises, the volume of our home is several degrees lower when she’s not around and it makes us miss her all the more.

19. Emma is good at making the most of situations that don’t go the way she expects or wants them to. Everything about her mission has been different than she expected from when she turned in her papers, but she has handled all the changes with grace and maturity.

20. Emma only has about 2 months left on her church mission and we couldn’t be more excited for her to come home in early January.

21. Emma has a beautiful smile that lights up a room and she loves to share it with all she knows!

Happy birthday, Emma!!! We love you!!!