Lots of Stuff from Home to Saint George to Alabama

This post is mostly about a recent work conference Glen had in Saint George, but first, let me tell you of where this conference fell into our jam-packed schedule of late.   The week of Easter (April 20-27), we hosted a big dinner, just started our brand new callings which require being in Provo a few times a week, Emma graduated from BYU, I had old friends in town, Glen's stress level is sky high at work, we had a TON of yardwork to get done before spring semester started and Adam started work full-time, and I had a birthday.  Then the next week Spence turned 30, the yardwork continued, our treks to Provo continued, this conference was happening (April 30 - May 3), and I was leaving for Alabama on May 4th.    In other words, we haven't had much time to relax and breathe lately!  

Now let me give you a little background about Glen's job.  Glen works for a cool company that supports dentists in a unique and innovative way and this event was technically considered a retreat.  The word "retreat" sounds it should have been nice and relaxing, and it was for the dentists, and for me and for the other employees' spouses, but it definitely was anything but retreat-like for Glen and his colleagues who worked their tails off to make this event happen, which is why I am referring to it as a work conference for him.    

There were fun events scheduled, but mostly it was a time for the dentists to interact with each other and for Glen's team to meet, coordinate, and problem solve together.   We met A LOT of new people (especially me) over the few days of the conference and I am about tapped out on small talk for the next year, but poor Glen had to be ON ON all weekend and it was especially exhausting for him.  

While Glen was in meetings, I hiked to Scout Cave in Snow Canyon with Katie, who is the wife of Glen's boss.  We knew them back in VA, so it was fun to catch up.  

The weather wasn't too bad yet and the scenery was pretty grand!

 We spent a lot of time small talking around the pool....

We had a cookie decorating class, which I very much enjoyed...

I thought I was quite hilarious when I washed my hair the next day and realized that I matched my cookie.   

And I was quite excited to bring that cookie with me to Alabama to share with Lucie, who appreciated my artistic attempts by immediately gobbling it up!   Haha!  

On Saturday, we had the opportunity to ride e-bikes through Snow Canyon.  I'd never ridden an e-bike before and I enjoyed it way more than I thought I would.  

Even though I'd hiked in Snow Canyon just a day or two before, I'd forgotten how incredibly beautiful it is in the depths of the canyon, which we did not get to on our hike.  

It truly was a delightful experience for both of us and I am already concocting a plan to get Emma and Adam down there for a similar trek sometime!  

The conference technically ended around 8:30pm on Saturday, which meant that most people stayed overnight and went home on Sunday morning.   But we had a YSA ward to attend and a plane to catch...so we headed home that night.  WE got home a little before 1:00am, where I then packed for Alabama (including dirty clothes I didn't have time to wash), and eventually crashed into bed.  We were off to church meetings at 8:20am, then left straight for SLC from Provo after church.   We made a quick pit-stop at a hotel in SLC to visit our long-lost friend, Terri, we hadn't seen in 25ish years, who was in town with  her husband for a  business trip.  Sadly, her husband was in meetings and couldn't meet with us, but it was fun to catch up after all these years.   They had been our neighbors in Baltimore and have kids the same ages as Spencer and Cami, which meant we had a lot of play dates back in the day!     

After arriving to the airport, my flight was delayed, which meant I had yet another long night in front of me, though not as long as Glen's proved to be the very next night.   His flight to Alabama ended up getting totally canceled after arriving to the airport and rather than missing another day of work for the rescheduled flight the next day, he opted to take a red-eye to Atlanta, where he rented a car, then drove here to Birmingham (about a 2 hour drive), and arrived here early on Tuesday morning.   But it was worth it for this...

Lucie is OBSESSED with Glen!   

Glen is trying to keep working while he's here, but he's eating up this time with them...

As am I.   

And now you know not to judge how completely and totally exhausted we look...because we were...and it was worth it a million times over to be here with them!  

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PS  Don't worry, there will be at least one whole blogpost  dedicated to our time here in Alabama, so consider this just a little teaser.   😁
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Making This Blog Cute Again

There was a time when I didn't have to try too hard to come up with things to blog about, because our lives were a series of  cute, silly, and funny stories.   But, in the 18 years since I started this blog...yes, I've actually raised  my blog to adulthood...our lives have changed a bit.  We've gone from having a houseful of  cute little stinkers who made a lot of noise and messes and said hilarious things, to a mostly quiet house, except for the dogs barking at people walking by our house, which means it's kind of boring around here most of the time!    And, I admit, that this blog reflects that!   

I was reminded of this fact extra this past week, when I happened across this  oldie but goodie blogpost and was marveling over the fact that: 
 a)    I used to actually have an interactive audience here
b)   I used to  attempt  humor here

 And somehow both of those elements have completely disappeared from this blog over the years.   Perhaps related to each other, but I'm not sure which is the chicken and which is the egg.   

Then, I came to another realization today that is a bit embarrassing to share.   Basically, one of the reasons I don't attempt humor here anymore is because I have a new outlet for it and that about taps out any brainpower I have left for wit.   What is my great new outlet?   

Don't laugh....   

It's my weekly emails I send to our ward with the link to our weekly ward bulletin.   Somewhere along the lines of me sending very boring weekly  emails that said things like, "Here's the link to this week's bulletin...", which no one would then read, I got disenchanted with it all. I didn't want to be THAT guy sending the same old, same old email week after week and I got bored with it almost instantly.  So I started channeling my inner blogger (of which not a soul here in Utah knows anything about) and I started attempting to add humor and interest to my emails.  

Here's a sample of a couple recent ones:  

I should emphasize that I used the word "ATTEMPTING" humor.   I am fully aware that I am not actually funny, which is why my emails get about as many comments/responses as  recent posts on this blog, but I do enjoy the attempt.   And I like to think that marginally more people look at the bulletin each week, because they're at least mildly entertained by my emails.   

Or annoyed....who knows!? 😂

So, I briefly toyed with the idea of trying to come up with something funny for today's post, but I really  am tapped out on attempted humor....so, it's high time to make this blog cute again!  

First off,  let's start with pure cuteness with this adorable  picture of Lucie with my nephew, Jesus.   They're hit it off like best buds when my sister spent a few days in Alabama on Spring Break recently.  Lucie enjoyed a big kid to follow around and talk to and Jesus enjoyed having a little buddy to read to and dote on!   

Speaking of Lucie...she is spunky, smart, and somewhat sassy too!   A recent conversation Cami and Garrett recently had with her demonstrates all 3 of those.   

Here is a direct quote from a text G sent on the family group chat:  

"During {our} family walk I made a comment about "godlessness" to Cami during our discussion.  Lucie immediately cut me off and said, "Godlessness?  No Dad, the pangolin is a gift from God."  

Never mind that the term godlessness should be way over a 3-year-old's head.  Never mind that pangolins were not part of the conversation.  And never mind that I didn't even know what the heck a pangolin was, but, after looking it up.... 

Heck, that is a straight up gift from God!   I mean look at that weird array of scales and cuteness!   Lucie had it spot-on!   Speaking of gifts from God...

Lucie and  Oliver are truly my gifts!   I LOVE being a Gigi and I love every Facetime, story, and picture I get with them!   Oliver is sooooooo close to walking now!  

And in case you're wondering...yes, it's been a few months since I've seen them...

Which is why by the time you read this, I'll be in Alabama, snuggling these sweeties with all my might!    In other words, I'll be in my happy place and there will be plenty more cuteness on this blog to come...

 

A New Alumnus in the Family!

Nearly 30 years ago, I graduated from BYU with a Bachelor's of Science in Psychology.  I had finished all my coursework in December, but walked that April.  Spencer was one-year-old and I was very excited to be done with school.  I never even considered grad school at the time and basically only ever worked part-time until Glen graduated and we moved out East the following year. 

Look how young we all were!  

This past week, Emma graduated from BYU with a Bachelor's of Science in Public Health. 

I am proud of all my kids and their accomplishments, but I did feel an extra sense of pride with this graduation, as Emma was our first homeschool graduate, who never attended a minute of  public school past 7th grade. 

She is a hard worker and a dedicated student and we were thrilled to be there to celebrate this huge accomplishment with her. 

It was fun to run into lots of old friends around campus, but mostly we just enjoyed seeing Emma in her element.    She has given her heart to her time there in Provo and it's clear she is well-loved by many!  

Here she is with her former mission companion and current roommate, Riley, who also graduated.

Next up for Ems...a gap year, probably in Rhode Island with Cam and fam, and then grad school...maybe...if she decides it's right for her! 

It's kind of wild that we've got another kid done with their undergrad...and our first BYU grad! 

Way to go, Emma!   We love you!  

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PS  If you're interested, here's a post about Cami's graduation from the University of Texas.

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Eastering Together

Since becoming empty nesters, we honestly  go through some pretty dry spells where our lives are pretty uneventful, but lately it's been a pretty steady stream of nonboringness and we are enjoying it!  In fact, it's felt a bit like a whirlwind here the last month or so, so there's a ton to blog about.

This post will focus on the happenings of Easter weekend.  

On the Friday before Easter, my sister Heather was down in Provo with my Mom taking Emma's graduation pics (more of the recent excitement) and we decided to join them for a spontaneous little dinner and treat night.  Besides Heather, my Mom, and Emma, McKenzie (my niece), Riley (Emma's roommate), Adam, Spencer, and Glen and I were there.  We ate dinner at Don Joaquin's...

and laughed when our receipt was #74, which induced a lot of giggles on our parts...

We ended the night at Brooker's Founding Flavors ice cream shop near BYU.  Zwahlens in PA is still our gold standard for the best ice cream ever, but Brooker's isn't too far behind.  Plus the colonial / Founding Fathers theme of the shop makes us nostalgic for the DC area.   We were there on the snowy day mentioned here, so it wasn't great ice cream weather, but the place was still packed and we laughed that they had an outdoor DJ there that night.   

It was way too cold to be sitting outside and eating ice cream, but we chatted with the DJ on the way out and were impressed that they were celebrating the 250th anniversary of the Midnight Ride of Paul Revere that night.  

I doubt any of you blog readers have been around long enough to remember that Emma was OBSESSED with the poem, "The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere," by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow back in the day!   We both could quote several stanzas of the poem from memory and I had to pull up this picture I found here on the blog to pass around to everyone!    "Listen my children and you shall hear of the midnight ride of Paul Revere..." 

Then on Easter Sunday we attended our new YSA ward and LOVED it!   The talks and music were Christ centered and beautiful.   I think we are going to really enjoy this season of serving down at BYU. 

After church, we hosted dinner for 12 people!    Guests besides Glen, Emma, Spence, Adam, and I, included our niece, McKenzie, my sister, Heather, my Mom, my cousin, Trisha, and her 2 daughters Lily and Sylvie, plus Adam's roommate, Ty.

Glen woke up at 2am to  smoke  brisket and later made mashed potatoes, Heather brought rolls, and I made broccoli salad, pie,cupcakes.  Adam, Emma, and McKenzie were our sous chefs.  Everything was delicious and we ate well! 

It was so fun to get these first and second cousins together again. 

Meanwhile, in Alabama...the B family was enjoying their own Easter.  Yes, Cami and I were wearing matching dresses that we both bought on a recent sale!    And Cami sewed Lucie and Oliver's matching outfits!    Apparently Lucie had the time of her life with all the Easter celebrations, but Oliver wasn't so sure...

And, in California, Ellie was busy teaching people about Jesus, while celebrating the resurrection of Jesus.   She, along with the other missionaries serving in her ward, ended up performing a musical number in the Easter sacrament service without any previous notice.  Overall it sounded like she had a beautiful day. 

It turned out to be a lovely weekend with  a lot of good food, lots of reflection on the atonement of our Savior, and  with lots of good company... just the way Easter should be!  💗

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