Farewell 2015

I will always remember that 2015 was a great year.

It began with cashing out the equity from the sale of our 25th Street home. We quickly converted the cash into new bedrooms for Sophie and Ian, cement to extend the square footage of our basement, a new driveway, braces for two kids--I know, I know we are super exciting people, haha!

Brian travelled to Washington with my dad for three months for a welding job. And though we missed him, it paid all of our bills plus bought him a pick-up truck--something he has wanted forever.

I had three awesome months with Katie and Isaac doing homeschool. And, just when I thought my life was taking a major turn in one new direction (homeschool), it took a major turn in the opposite direction when I was offered and accepted a position with CCHC in May.

While I do miss the one-on-one time with them, this is a blessing for our family and I can't imagine more perfect teachers for them than the ones they have right now.

We got to go to Disneyland with my parents and my brother's family in June. What a wonderful memory that is!

On October 1, Brian started his new career as Marketing Director for GOAL.

Everyone is healthy and I cannot imagine a more charmed year than the one that is ending today.

I am still writing restaurant features. I had mixed emotions about it for awhile. I do still make money, but I get the feeling that the new management would just as soon that correspondents work for free.

The good news is that I have been given more creative license. For example, I can now write as a food critic if I want (rather than features only). When they told me, I asked if I could start being reimbursed for food. Because, sadly I have never been reimbursed for food. Shocking, no?

The answer was that I could turn in a meal receipt and be reimbursed OR get paid my regular amount, whichever was greater. This is why I think they think I should write for free (or maybe I should say for a free meal).

This has caused a great amount of introspection and I have come to the conclusion that I want to keep doing it even if it has become more of a glorified hobby than a job. After ten years as the restaurant writer (almost 17 as a correspondent-I can't believe it!) I would miss it terribly if it ended. I love getting to know all of the restaurant owners. I enjoy writing. And, there are a lot of meals that are at least discounted. It is fun to get to try the best menu items at every restaurant in town. And it is rewarding when the restaurant owners tell me my stories boosted their business. I will keep doing it for now.

Christmas break is coming to an end. I wish it could last a little longer. It has been very relaxed. Most mornings I wake up trying to think of where to go and what to do to entertain the kids only to find that they are happy to stay home. I think we all feel the pressure of the fullness of our lives right now and it is nice to enjoy some down time.

Last Monday, Brian needed to get some photos at Crystal Hot Springs for the newspaper's monthly magazine (Wasatch View). We met our friends from Honeyville and took an evening dip in the hot mineral waters. I think it was about 10 degrees outside, but the water was plenty warm and made the air steamy in a magical way.

After a soak, we went to our friends' house for a beautiful meal of homemade tomato soup, cheese sandwiches and an assortment of homemade ice cream. Wonderful night!

Now it is New Year's Eve and today is a milestone in my life to remind me that my family is changing. Sophie is going to a church sponsored activity at Weber State for 14-18 year olds. Ian is 13 and he is going to a party at a friend's house. This is the first year since I became a mom that I won't be with all of my kids on New Year's Eve.

It is a shift and perhaps that is why I don't feel motivated to host our traditional New Year's Eve party. Instead, Brian and I decided to take Katie and Isaac to Classic Fun. I always think parties like this (or, Boondocks) look like fun. But, I never end up going because I worry there will be way too many people there. Looks like I will find out tonight.

Last week, I wrote a restaurant feature on the New Year's Eve menu at Hearth on 25th--a fancy restaurant serving an even fancier 8-course meal. It made me wish I was having a grown up New Year's Eve at Hearth on 25th. At the same time, I didn't want to miss out on being with my kids to ring in the New Year. Things worked out well when we got to go to dinner with friends at Hearth on 25th last night. The food was amazing and the only thing that was off putting was when they gave us four choices of water. Three had fancy names like they had been through some complex filtration or osmosis. We opted for plain old (free) tap water. What? Tap water in Ogden is some of the best in the world! It made us feel a little silly. Other than that, everything was perfect.

Now it's time to celebrate one of the best years of my life with three of my favorite people (while two more of my favorite people celebrate with their friends - Yay!/Boo hoo).

Star Wars VII

Brian and I saw Star Wars VII at the Megaplex opening night. It was a fun night. I won two tickets from America First Credit Union. They even threw in popcorn, drinks and pre-show prizes.

When the Star Wars title flashed on the screen and the signature music started to play, everyone in the audience cheered--great energy and the movie was good. It reminded me of the original movies but with better technology.

I grew up with Star Wars--the action figures and dreams of having princess Leia hair. But, when Sophie and Ian were around ages 4 and 6 and I deemed them old enough to be introduced to great classics like Star Wars, I realized I had never actually seen the movies all the way through.

That seemed odd because Star Wars seemed so familiar, until I realized was only one when Episode IV came out and barely seven when Episode VI hit theaters. I remember going to the theater to see Return of the Jedi with my dad, my uncles and a group of my cousins. We were suppose to go to a 7 p.m. show, but it was sold out. Those kooky dads took all of us kids to the late showing instead. I think I fell asleep.

It was fun to discover the Star Wars movies with my children almost ten years ago. We have enjoyed watching all six episodes together many times since--although, my three older children were only introduced to Episode III a few years ago because it is PG-13 (Katie has to wait to see that one and Episode VII, which is also PG-13).

It has been fun to see all of the hype around the newest installment. Brian took the kids to a 3-D showing the following week.

This December was pretty relaxing. Mostly because I didn't fill my mind with a lot of expectations. It was a wonderful feeling to finish my Christmas shopping before December. After that, I decided to take things a day at a time.

There were a few Christmas parties--the ward party with amazing food and gorgeous snowflake decorations; Brian's swanky work party at Zucca that included his staff plus board members making it a large crowd; and a more intimate party with Brian's staff of six plus spouses, a fun night eating homemade soups and being silly playing left, right, center.

We attended two Christmas plays -- Elf at Sophie's high school and A Fairly Potter Christmas Carol at the Ziegfeld. Sophie liked the latter so much that she went a total of three times. We've been to Christmas Village and the kids have played in the snow. We have visited Santa and ice skated outdoors. The kids upheld their annual tradition of watching A Muppet Christmas Carol with my mom. We have really ended up doing quite a lot of Christmas activities even though I didn't make a list and check it twice to make sure we got out and enjoyed all the season has to offer. It ended up being a good balance.

December 2015

X96 Bill Allred and Gina Barbari

December is off to a great start.

I woke up yesterday feeling so optimistic. It was Dec. 1 and I already had most of my Christmas shopping complete! Inspired by the wrapping Katie and I had worked on the night before (for some gifts we are giving away), I decided to get a head start on wrapping Christmas gifts for my family as soon as the kids headed out the door for school.

I don't like to leave my shopping until the last minute and usually get it finished early. But, I have a bad habit of forgetting to wrap things until Christmas eve. That doesn't work out too well for me. Maybe this year I will actually be sipping cocoa and enjoying my family on Christmas eve.

Today started out very well. After I dropped Sophie off at school, I heard on the radio that X96 was broadcasting from a car dealership in Ogden where they were collecting winter clothing for the homeless shelter. I went home and suggested to Brian we should go. We gathered up some winter coats we no longer use and headed down. It was my first time meeting Gina. Bill and I are on a first name basis. Except he might only know me as Brian's wife, but I'll take it. 

After we made our donation, we visited for a minute during a pre-recorded segment and then Bill invited Brian to be on the air to promote the Ogden Marathon. He did an amazing job. I would have been so nervous. 

I was so pumped up after that 10 seconds of second hand fame that I decided to call a friend who I have been trying to meet for lunch for a couple of months. Things never seem to line up for us, but today they did! We had a delicious meal at Gabor Brothers in Layton.

Such a nice day.

It is December and 2015 is coming to a close. I still remember with clarity waking up on January 1st with the distinct feeling that this would be a lucky year for us. 2015 has been so good to us in so many ways. I feel this is only the beginning. I am so grateful for my job and Brian's job and our family and all of the wonderful people who support us and make life awesome. I am looking forward to enjoying December to the fullest with all of the festivities, lights, and reflections on Jesus. 

2015 Thanksgiving

It was the perfect Thanksgiving.

I loved that the kids had the entire week off from school.

The Friday before Thanksgiving had a wonderful feeling of celebration. We were headed into a nine day break from school!

Brian and I had a date night on Friday. We splurged and went to the full price theater to see The Intern (even though it was probably headed to the discount theater a week or two later). It was worth it. I thought it was a cute show.

Saturday night, Brian was covering an event at Station Park in Farmington. I love that place. It has such a good vibe. The landscaping is so pretty and the architecture is grand. It is a fun place to shop or go out to eat and they always have over the top events.

We took the whole family because Santa was making his debut.

There were tables set up around the fountain where the kids could frost cookies, play games, get their faces painted, get a balloon animal, play games or pick up fun freebies like donuts, popcorn and glow in the dark necklaces.

Everything was decked out in Christmas finest and the fountain was putting on light and water shows to Christmas tunes. There was also a band and Santa made a fantastic entrance on a fire truck with all the lights and sirens turned on when the band sang "Santa Clause is Comin' to Town."

Sophie and Ian were good sports about skating on the little outdoor rink while I stood in a very long line for two hours with Katie and Isaac in hopes of meeting Santa. Our long wait turned out to be for nothing when we decided to leave because we still had a very long wait ahead and it was getting too cold.

It might have been a little miserable if it weren't for all the festivities going on around us and the outdoor fires where we could warm ourselves up in rotation while one person held our place in line.

The good news was that the person who hired Brian to take photos of the event handed him a bunch of free tickets on our way out that helped us have some holiday fun on Monday.

We had a nice Sunday dinner at my mom's house.

On Monday, I worked until about 3 p.m. Then, the kids and I headed back to Station Park where all four kids got to ice skate for free, we ate a free meal at Brixton's near the fountain (and saw Santa and Mrs. Claus enjoying their food at a table next to ours). Katie got to meet Santa. This time there was no line at all! We walked right in. We even got a free 5x7 to remember the moment.

She was so very cute skipping up to his cottage and sitting on his knee with wide, shy eyes. In a quiet voice she told him she wanted Disney princess figures and a pony. He looked alarmed when she said 'a pony' until she clarified that she wants a toy pony.

Sophie, who will forever love imagination and meeting characters, had to sit next to Santa and tell him how much she wants a Chromebook for Christmas. The boys were far too mature to meet Santa.

While the kids ice-skated, I decided to take an hour to hit some of the shops. I think Harmon's is one of my new favorite places! It is so cool. It feels like a whole foods with so many specialty foods. The hot chocolate and gelato - yum yum! There is a darling area upstairs with tables and couches around a fireplace right next to huge windows overlooking all of Station Park.

It was a wonderful day and I don't want to forget how cute all four of my kids were on the ice. When I returned, there was a little boy holding Ian's hand, skating around the rink. Apparently, he had chosen Ian to teach him how to skate and Ian is way too nice to say 'no.' The little guy made a good choice. Ian is as nice as people come.

All four of my kids were whizzing around the ice with big smiles.

Tuesday, I needed to get a lot of (office) work done. I decided to work from home and invite the cousins over to keep my kids entertained. They had fun playing together and making so, so, so, so many things out of paper. The adorableness of paper projects is wearing on me a little. Ream after ream of frogs and paper airplanes and snow flakes and such. But, I was glad they were happy.

Right at 5 p.m., I took my three youngest and their cousins to my brother's house where everyone was so excited to have a sleepover!

Since Sophie is older than the cousins, she stayed behind with Brian and me and we decided to spoil her by taking her to a movie -- her choice -- The Good Dinosaur, on opening night. The movie was ok. Sophie thought it was great.

I woke up Wednesday knowing it would be a good day. I took advantage of the quiet morning to sort through the toys and get rid of a bunch that were broken or no longer being used. I cleaned my whole house too. After I picked up my kids, I did something for myself and got a massage. It snowed. Katie and Isaac made snow angels and played with the sleds. That night, we put up the Christmas decorations as a family. It was a very, very good day.

Thursday morning, Brian ran a 10K with a friend while I baked rolls, steamed veggies and got the kids bathed and ready for a big lunch at my mom's.

I loved how Katie put on her most sparkly dress, purse and shoes for the big occasion.

The feast was picture perfect. Every dish was delicious. All of my siblings were there. I kept thinking about how I can't take Thanksgivings like this for granted. My mom is an amazing cook and we are so blessed to have her host such beautiful Thanksgivings every other year.

In the evening, we drove to Brian's parents house to see more family and eat more pie. Brian's mom makes the most delicious apple and lemon merengue pies from scratch. Even though I was stuffed, I kept making more room to enjoy the delicacies of the day. There was also cheesecake and pumpkin ice cream pie. Yummy! The kids were happy to eat more pie. Especially the ones who forgot to eat pie at my mom's house.

Friday was a lazy day. Brian had the day off, but he spent it working on a tile project for a friend. He worked hard, but the kids and I didn't accomplish much. We stayed home and it was nice.

Saturday morning Brian ran 14-miles. It was snowing again. Sophie and I went to a yoga class. It was my first yoga class in years and it felt so good. I also took Katie to a "little yogis" class. I took her to the class three weeks ago and she has requested to go every week since.

My kids wanted another lazy day, but I needed to run errands and be productive. We did get to go to my mom's for Thanksgiving leftovers for lunch. In the evening, we went to Brian's office because it is located on Washington Blvd. along the Christmas Village parade route. We were able to watch the evening lights parade from the warmth of his beautiful office. Seriously -- there was even a glowing fireplace to relax next to. Occasionally, we would walk out onto the second story balcony to get a better view of what was passing by. And, of course, we had to go outside to see the fireworks. But, mostly we were hanging out in that lovely office sipping hot chocolates. I said, "This place is so homey, I could live here." That is when I found out it actually use to be a funky loft apartment with shops on the lower level. Now, G.O.A.L. has transformed all three stories into office space. Brian's office is in the loft on the 3rd level. The 2nd level where we were hanging out has a big open kitchen, fireplace, etc. It's pretty sweet.

Today, I taught Isaac's primary class. It was so fun. I have really missed being a primary teacher.

Church was finished at noon. After a nice lunch, we had a talk with our kids about setting some ground rules for all the things they need to accomplish before asking for an electronics turn. We wrote up a nice list so that they can refer to that instead of incessantly asking me if they can get on their electronics from sun up to sun down. They took it to heart and were so sweet about completing everything on the list for the rest of the afternoon.

Things have been pretty quiet. I am enjoying our lit up tree and our stockings hung by the fireplace as I type this. I wish this week didn't have to end. It has been so peaceful.

I was beginning to feel as if my life was on repeat. Run here, run there, eat, sleep, repeat. It was so refreshing to take a break from the daily race life has become and enjoy some downtime together. I am thankful for this family of mine! I am thankful that Brian helped Katie with the dishes today and listened to her read five books. I love to do those things. But, sometimes it is nice when someone else does those things.

Denver 2015

I visited the lovely city of Denver Monday through Wednesday last week.

I should back up to Halloween, which was the Saturday before I went to Denver. Here are my kids in their costumes:

Katie was the beautiful ice queen Elsa and insisted on wearing the plastic high heels that go with the dress everywhere we went--including trick or treating through the neighborhood for hours. Fashion diva. Sophie was Vanellope Von Schweetz from Wreck it Ralph. We made her stop trick or treating two years ago. To make up for it, we threw a big Halloween party for her and her friends. This year, I had a change of heart. She loves Halloween so much and she really wanted to dress up and go trick or treating and I thought -- what the hey! She is growing up so fast. How many teenagers knock on my door every year? There are worse things she could be doing than wanting to still be a kid at fourteen. We let her go trick-or-treating. Isaac was an army guy. This is the 3rd year in a row he has mirrored his best friend's costume. First they were army guys together, then they were construction workers together and this year they were army guys again. I love it.

This picture shows Katie's dress a little better. So sparkly!

Ian decided he is too old for trick or treating and dressing up. Unlike his older sister, he came to this conclusion on his own. I bought him this shirt that has holes where the eyes go and a pocket inside the shirt. You put your phone (or, in his case - ipod) inside the pocket and download an ap that makes it look like the zombie's eyes are looking all around. It is seriously cool and turned out to be a big hit at the junior high. On Halloween, he stayed home and helped Brian pass out candy while I took the others trick or treating.

Halloween was a weeklong event as usual. I took the kids to an evening carnival at the church and a carnival at the school on a different evening. On Friday, they dressed up for school and had their class parties. Of course, there was trick-or-treating on Saturday.

The timing of my Denver trip was unfortunate as I left so soon after Halloween which meant there was a lot of work to do in the office the week before to prepare for the meeting as well as a lot to do to get myself packed and ready to go. For this reason, I ended up working until 7 p.m. on Saturday and I was having a little pity party as I rushed home. I usually like to get an early start and leave our house at 6 p.m., it was already 7 p.m. and I needed to help everyone get into costume. As it turns out -- even if you start trick or treating after 7 p.m., your kids still get waaaay too much candy. Halloween was saved!

Another blessing of the night was that Brian was able to be home with the kids and he made this for their dinner:

I am being transparent when I say that switching gears to being a working mom has been a challenge for me over the past several years. One of the best parts has been seeing Brian step up to fill in the gaps. It is a very big blessing to me and our whole family.

Halloween 2015--Success!

Monday morning, I left for Denver. Here are all of the wonderful parts:

The two people I was on-site with are two of the most amazing people I have ever met. Working with them is such a privilege. 

We stayed at the Four Seasons. Here are some pictures of my room:

The waterfall feature at the top of this shower was luxuriant.

A sunken bathtub too? Yes!

 I had such peaceful nights sleeping in this cozy bed with four giant pillows and a down comforter.

I had a beautiful view of downtown Denver from my window.

When we arrived, we had a working lunch at the Four Seasons. Seafood cobb salad - Yum!

That night we met at the bar for martinis (mine was virgin of course). The weather was gorgeous. We walked to Capital Grille. It is one of those restaurants where the entrees are $40-$50. Then, you choose your side dishes separately. It is always fun to try new things. This was not like my normal life for sure.

I had the most tender scallops with risotto. There was also the best coconut pie in the world for dessert. That is what the waiter called it. And, I think he may have been right.

In between enjoying the finer things in life, we were very productive. In fact, when the trip was over, my colleague and I figured out that we had worked 12-hours each day we were there. It felt good to be so focused and to accomplish so much in three days.

The meeting began Tuesday. That night we dined at Ocean Prime. Brian would later ask me, "How do you go out to dinner for four hours straight?" That is the way dinners always are on these trips. It is an art form. It is kind of amazing and probably more amazing to me than the others since I'm always the only one not drinking the $100 bottles of wine. 

I had a gorgeous filet mignon with giant shrimp scampi, brussel sprouts and lobster bisque. My colleague insisted that everyone get dessert to go and ordered me the most scrumptious chocolate peanut butter pie, which I had to enjoy the following day because I was so full.

Even after working all day and enjoying dinner until 10 pm, it was funny to me that all three of us were in our rooms working and texting each other about work for another hour. So much to do!

The next morning, breakfast was a lovely spread by the Four Seasons. The meeting went smoothly and at 2 pm we were taking a car to the airport to fly home.

I arrived at my home at 7 pm. It was so wonderful to see my kids! It was a short time to be away. I have to admit that having someone make my bed every morning and turn it down for me every night with a fresh little carafe of water and bucket of ice on the nightstand did make me feel like a princess. It's the little things. But coming home to my messy, chaotic house felt simply like heaven.

I am blessed beyond words for this job opportunity. I can not complain. It is a gift. 

Full disclosure -- when I missed Katie and Isaac's Halloween parties on Friday so I could work I found myself sobbing in my office as I printed materials and updated lists. I had thought it would be no big deal and I had to get the work done sometime. But, when I was there, it hit me that I was missing out on memories that I could never get back. I realized I have never missed the kids' Halloween (or Valentine's Day) parties. I guess I didn't realize what a big deal it was to my mother heart. Luckily, I was in my office alone so I could have a little private cry about it. It is very hard for working moms to have our cake and eat it too. 

Speaking of cakes, there is a lovely one pictured here. I gave Katie my room key when I got home so we could play "hotel." She is very good at it! First she made my bed. Then, she brought me room service:

She even "vacuumed" my room with a stick she was pretending was a vacuum. Next time, I need to give her the real thing - Ha! Isaac kept saying, "Katie, quit playing the 'do chores' game." What a stinker trying to ruin our fun.

For weeks, Katie has been asking me to take her swimming. Remember how she learned to swim in California in June? She has been itching to practice some more since summer ended. It was very important to her that we go to a pool just the two of us. Sweet thing. As the youngest, she has hardly had a moment alone with me in her whole life. 

Yesterday we made it happen. This daughter of mine could not go down the curly slide. She could not play on the water playground. The only thing she could do for two hours straight without a break is swim from the side of the pool to me and back again. She is obsessed with becoming a better swimmer. I love it! There was definite improvement in the two hours we were there. She even relaxed and learned to float on her back. It was a wonderful time for the two of us and I will treasure the memory.

One story I forgot to add -- the night before Halloween one of my favorite radio personalities Bill Allred came to the G.O.A.L foundation to record a podcast. The recording was set up inside Brian's actual office (up in the loft of the building). There was delicious food from Rooster's. Fun night! Life is good. So grateful for Brian's job and for experiences like these.

 A photo with my husband and celebrity crush.

Bill telling stories about growing up in Ogden.

Fall Fun 2015

Tonight my mom cooked a delicious dinner with a Halloween theme.

Not pictured: "Mummy" French bread.

Back to the Future Day happened on 10-21-15. Everyone was disappointed that we don't have hoverboards but, other than that, the future is pretty much way cooler than we expected.

The kids celebrated by watching Back to the Future II. A few weeks ago, we also saw a funny parody at the Ziegfeld and Ian got to meet this famous time traveler (Link from Zelda).

A friend sent a box of clothes for Katie and there was this cool green shirt in it for me. 

Katie now has about 20 pairs of shoes (I am not exaggerating). She is in heaven about that.

For the second year in a row the Ram Run happened. This is a 5K fundraiser we started at Mount Ogden Junior High last year to raise money for the school. We raised almost twice as much money from last year and had more than twice as many runners. It is a lot of work, but so rewarding when it is over. 

Check out that great finish line Brian painted! Boston's got nothing on the Ram Run. This cute little Fiat was loaned to us by a dealership to use as the pacer car.

When the race was done, to my surprise, they gave me the keys and let me drive it for the weekend! 

If you look close at the figure inside the car, it is Ian getting ready to head to a soccer game. I let him sign up for two teams. One team had two games plus a practice every week and the other team had one game plus a practice. September and October were busy getting him to all the games and practices. He had a blast and his last game was yesterday. Whew--a break until spring.

I used the Lagoon passes to take the kids to Frightmares. 

Unfortunately, this was a perfect fit that day -- haha!

We had fun but only stayed a few hours because it was crazy crowded. I was able to ride Cannibal for the first time. It was awesome!!!

The next weekend, I got a ride for Ian to his afternoon soccer game so I could take Katie and Isaac to the Treehouse Museum. I thought we would stay for 2 hours or less. But, these two adorable cuties played and played and played using their most amazing imaginations. Watching them warmed my heart all over and I couldn't make myself pry them away for 3.5 hours (and only then because it was a mealtime and they were starving).

In September, Sophie was so disappointed that we didn't get tickets to see Taylor Swift -- Again. This is the second year we have tried to get tickets but they sell out immediately and then you have to buy them for $150/each resale. 

It turns out Owl City is her new favorite band and they came to SLC last Tuesday. I was able to get tickets ($25/each, oh yeah!) and we had a little adventure. 

Leading up to the concert, I was not sure how to feel. When I was young, I loved going to concerts and I went to quite a few. As I looked back at those memories from my (ahem) more mature point of view, I wasn't sure I was going to love all the loud, packed in crowded, sweaty revelry quite as much. Out of love for my daughter, I did it anyway.

What can I say? This girl was beyond thrilled to see this band perform. And, out of all the people in the world, the person she wanted to share that moment with most was me.

Terrible picture because it was so dark; wonderful memory. Turns out, I shouldn't have worried. We had the perfect spot right in the center of the front half of the room. The crowd was very respectful. There were lots of people my age there accompanying their teenagers. I guess that is a thing now. Here is how many concerts my parents attended with me: zero. I never really thought about them going to a concert with me. Times have changed. It was a great show! Lots of fun. Bonus: I could hear my own voice without yelling when it was done.

Brian has been in Oregon promoting the Ogden Marathon at running expos. Today he got to run the Columbia Gorge Marathon. It was his 31st. He is trying to run 50 by age 50 (that means he has four years to run 19 more).

He is not going to like it when he sees I lifted this picture off of his facebook page because, you know, he's a photographer and it violates his copyright or something. But, he looks kind of handsome, don't you think?

Our lives in a nutshell. 

This week looks like it will be crazy busy for me as I get ready to head to Denver for my new job next week. New since May. It still feels kind of new. We get to stay at the Four Seasons. Fun! But, based on my work trips from a few years ago, I'm pretty sure I'm only going to see the inside of a conference room for two days straight.

And, my hotel room for seven hours each night (most of those I will be sleeping).

But, I get to meet my boss who lives in Chicago for the first time and there is sure to be some spectacular food.

I Feel a List Coming On

Today swept me up and tossed me around like I was riding a giant ocean wave. I admit it was a thrill ride at the time. But, it has left me tired and my head hurting. I am giving myself a little treat for all I have accomplished called -- finally taking the time to sit down and update my blog!

1--Big news at our house. HUGE news. Brian started a full time job with the G.O.A.L. Foundation on October 1. If I made a list of all the things Brian loves and turned that list into a full time job -- this would be that job! G.O.A.L. stands for Get Out And Live. They are a non-profit organization created after the 2002 Olympics to continue that spirit in the Ogden community of, well, getting out and living. They do cool things like organize the Ogden Marathon and Xterra events. Brian gets to be their marketer which means he will use his photography and design skills to promote his favorite passions -- running, biking and otherwise testing the limits of the human body. He will travel around from time to time promoting G.O.A.L. at expos (this man has an inexplicable love of running expos) and while he is there I am sure he will run whatever marathon is associated with said expo. Did I mention he is trying to complete 50 marathons by age 50? Perfect.

2--Sophie absolutely loves her new school. Her creative writing class is just the right fit. For language arts, she gets to travel by FrontRunner once a month to Salt Lake to see a matinee by professionals at Pioneer Theater Company. Her drama class recently returned from the Shakespeare Festival in Cedar City. The other night we stayed up late and she told me about the cool science experiments she gets to do in biology. I can't say enough about how great this school is for her. She is so happy. It makes me so happy!

3--Ian has seamlessly made the transition to junior high. I got to go to his (and Sophie's) parent teacher conferences two weeks ago and it was an absolute pleasure (both times) to get to go from teacher to teacher hearing about how awesome and smart my kids are. I don't usually like to brag but here I am saying it -- straight A students! The news that Brian got his new job, the delightful parent teacher conferences and the news that Ian earned first chair in band all came in the same week. It was a good week. Here is a story about Ian -- he has always been such a good kid about practicing the piano. This year, he decided he would like to play the drums in band so he signed up for 7th grade, or beginning band. Right before school started, I realized he would be bored. Even though he has never played the drums, he is very good at music and I knew he would do what he had to to get caught up. The school messed up his schedule so while they were fixing it I asked them to put him in advanced, or 8th grade band. They really didn't want to, but then they did it anyway and, BAM! First chair on his first test and all the other drummers have had at least one more year on the drums than him.

4--More good news. About 8 months ago I asked a performer in Ogden who is super talented if Sophie could take voice lessons from him. He put her on a wait list. Last month he had an opening and Sophie got the spot. I am so happy for her to get this opportunity. She is glowing when I pick her up after her lessons. She also worked up the courage to audition for a part in a Christmas show at the Ziegfeld, a local community theater. She got up and sang with so much confidence and beauty. She even got a call back. We haven't heard for sure, but I don't think she made the final cut. I am still so proud of her for going for it. There is so much talent in our community. The competition is stiff. It's difficult even to get a call back. Way to go!

5--Life is so busy. Ian plays on two soccer teams. The games are usually about 30-minutes away. My mom thinks my life is crazy busy. But, everyone I know is busier than me and -- I don't know how that is possible!? Last night, when Ian's soccer game in Brigham City ended at 7:30 p.m., it was all I could do to think of getting home, feeding the family and putting everyone to bed while the parents all around me were talking about how they were headed next to take their boys to basketball practice at 8 o'clock at night after we had all devoted three hours to a soccer game. On a school night! I digress. Life is busy and I suppose that is how it is for everyone. Shuttling four kids to three schools is busy enough before adding in all of the extras. I don't know how many times I drive right by a park and Katie and Isaac beg me to stop so they can play and I can't because we have to keep going to the next thing and the next thing after that and the next thing after that. Today, after I picked up Sophie from school, we drove past this really awesome park we call the spider web park. Katie and Isaac asked if we could play and I said "yes." We dropped off Sophie at home, took Ian to his piano lesson and headed back to the park to enjoy the most perfect park weather and the playground for 45-minutes. It was superb. It was just what I needed.

Labor Day 2015

Our weekend started like this -- Friday night at the Raptor's game. 

Sophie and Ian were to my right when I took these. But, Ian was feeling very under the weather with a cold and Sophie was feeling sad because 1) she is a teenager and therefore didn't want to be at the Raptor's game and 2) it was the night of the Taylor Swift concert, which is where she wanted to be instead.

I took those two home during the third inning and then came back to watch the Raptor's win big and to enjoy the fireworks at the end of the game. 

It was Katie's first baseball game -- good times with our two little ones!

Saturday morning, I shopped for tons of groceries while Brian worked feverishly on the yard trying to finish up some landscaping projects he had started a few days earlier. Sophie and I drove to Brigham City for fresh peaches on fruit way. As long as we were there, we decided to pick up fried chicken and peach pie from Maddox and bring it home to everyone for lunch. Yum yum!

In the afternoon, I took Sophie to the movie "Once I was a Beehive" at the theater in Station Park and we shopped at It's Sugar after to try and make up for her big disappointment the night before. It was a really cute movie.

One of the things Brian was working on in the yard is this --

One of the first things we did before installing a sprinkler system and grass was that we put up a wall of landscaping rocks and poured a patio. 

That was about three years ago. It's nice, but we've never put on the finishing touches. Namely, between the patio and the rocks there was about two feet of dead space where dead leaves, rocks and weeds collected.

We also plan to build two staircases leading up from the patio to the next level and we have grand visions of a lovely fire pit someday.

These, and so many other finishing touches are still needed in the yard after three summers in our home. It all happens in good time . . .

Brian decided to tackle the space between the patio and the rock wall. I am soooooo happy! He worked so hard to put down a beautiful strip of cobble stones with sand in between. It looks so good. He was hoping to pour cement steps also and started building the forms. Alas - that project will have to wait.

He worked until sometime around 11 pm and when we woke up the next day, Sunday, it was his 46th Birthday. 

At breakfast, we presented him with gifts before we headed out for our early church. After church, I made him his requested lunch, whole wheat pancakes and fruit. Well--I actually got the lunch started and then Katie started throwing up. She wanted me, so he had to finish cooking his own birthday lunch. But, I did make his favorite cake and a birthday dinner later on.

After lunch was cleaned up, the true fun began. Brian wanted to start a tradition this year of inviting friends over on Labor Day in the evening for homemade ice-cream. We just got an ice-cream maker this week and looked up a bunch of recipes on-line. That thing was buzzing non-stop as we whipped up seven gallons (including, of course, fresh peach).

Today is Labor Day and many friends and people from the ward will be arriving shortly. Brian has spent the entire day working in the yard and I have spent the entire day cleaning the inside of the house.  

Now, Brian is making a playlist of 80s music for the party. He is really in rare form getting his groove on. I guess I wrote this post to unwind and get myself to stop cleaning. The problem with cleaning for me, is that it will never be clean enough. I have to just let it be and know that -- it really is enough. It's been a great Labor Day weekend. Now the party begins!

Bear Lake 2015

Last time I wrote, I was wistful. I was not ready for summer vacation to end. I am slowly coming around to accepting that it pretty much has ended. A couple of trips to one of my favorite places, Bear Lake, helped.

Bear Lake is the place I camped when I was a teenager after we moved to Utah. We stayed at a campground in Idaho that allowed us to pitch our tents on the sandy beach right next to the water. We had a ski boat, a jet ski and four wheelers. We rode the four wheelers up and down the sand at the water's edge and were amazed every single time at the magical turquoise color of the water when we got out on the lake on the boat or jet ski.

Some years, we have taken our family to a cabin with my extended family and I have been so incredibly blessed in my life to make a tradition of joining my friend Heidi at a lakeside cabin every year since Sophie and Ian were babies (twelve years). It is the perfect arrangement! The cabin is located right across the street from the Garden City KOA so we can stock up on ice or groceries conveniently. It is also down the street from all the places that sell raspberry shakes and, the cutest candy shop "The Chocolate Bear" that sells chocolate dipped raspberries and other treats -- mmm-mmm!

This year, Heidi invited us to join her family at the cabin on the exact dates we were in Disneyland -- Boo! I was worried we wouldn't make it to Bear Lake this year, so on Isaac's birthday halfway through August, we decided to take a day trip.

We left at 8 a.m. to drive to Montpelier for the Bear Lake County Fair where our talented friend Terresa was performing songs with two other ladies. It was fun to see the goats, chickens, pigs, cows, steers, sheep and rabbits. We also enjoyed the performance and let the kids ride a few rides (giant slides and house of mirrors) before we headed over to North Beach.

We went with another family and it was fun because it was my friend Amber's first time at Bear Lake! I hope she loved it. Packing everything into one day was worth it and I would do it again, but it was exhausting.

We played in the water and the sand, had a picnic on the beach, and lounged around in the shade and the sun before we packed up for the day. On our way out of town, we stopped at Zipz, a new restaurant with outdoor seating that boasts having the "least famous shakes." Haha! It's funny because every place in Garden City advertises "famous" Bear Lake raspberry shakes. We ate our shakes, burgers, hot dogs and tons of food in an old fashioned ski boat built into the patio with a large table down the middle. Good times!

I think Isaac had a fantastic day, but at the end he proclaimed it his worst birthday ever (only because he didn't want to leave!).

As we were enjoying what we thought would be our only Bear Lake day of the summer, we got a text from Heidi inviting us to join her for a last minute jaunt to the cabin the following week on Tuesday and Wednesday.

That turned out to be a fun way to begin bidding our summer farewell. Brian had to work, but on Tuesday morning, I headed back up one of the most beautiful canyons in the world (Logan) with my kids and one of Ian's friends.

We arrived at the beautiful lake to enjoy a day of perfect weather that turned into night games under the stars for the kids while Heidi, Paula and I sat visiting in the cabin (just like old times when the three of us spent a week together at the cabin every summer). Listening to the kids having a blast outside felt like the purest joy.

Here are some pictures. They actually start near the end of the trip and don't go in any order. Katie and Isaac played non-stop in the water and sand (we can walk to a nice sandy spot and the water right from the cabin) on Tuesday and Wednesday. Wednesday evening, we were packing up when Heidi suggested we stay one more night and leave in the morning, which, of course, we did. Wednesday night, right after we made that decision, we celebrated at a Mexican restaurant down the street with this hullabaloo (Paula and Ian's friend had already returned home):

Tons of food and fun times!

The kids had fun on the kayaks and paddle boards. If this picture doesn't say "perfect childhood moment" I don't know what does.

I couldn't get enough photos of these two on the swing.

A sandcastle built by Katie and Isaac on our corner of beach looking out on the captivating lake. This is the view we see when we look out the windows from the cabin.

Katie ended up with a mermaid tail a few times.

This guy could never get enough of building dams and canals connecting this enormous land-locked puddle to the lake. It made me so happy to see Katie and Isaac playing in the sand and the sun for hours on end each day the way Sophie and Ian did when they were younger.

Could they be more happy?

On the last day, Heidi and I remained with these six kids. We took this traditional photo by the swing right before we left.

Thursday morning we were working so hard to pack everything up. When I finally sat still for one second as I started the engine to the van and got ready to pull out, my eyes stared out at the lake seeing the same view I have seen every year for twelve years. Suddenly my mind was overcome with all of the memories of my babies and all the good times we have had at this very spot! I could see five-year-old Ian zooming up and down the steep gravel driveway over and over on his red bike and making circles in the dirt with his fingers. I could see little Sophie swimming in the freezing lake like a fish all day and begging me to join her. Sometimes there was an amazing ski boat for us to ride in and other times we sped across the lake on jet skis. I could see Isaac and Izzy as toddlers when they use to be best friends laughing around the fire. Katie when she was one and Brian was her favorite parent. The kids singing along to Rock Band songs. Arts and crafts galore. There have been so many outdoor movies under the stars on the giant lawn and crazy dancing and games on that lawn too. We have enjoyed so many delicious meals together in the cabin and napped under the endlessly blue sky in the hammock. Ugh--so many memories it makes my heart swell and my eyes get all blurry when I think about it.

I have been so blessed in my life with good friends to help our family make these memories. What a perfect way to work out the end of summer blues.

On Tuesday morning, before we left for the cabin, I woke up extra early and decided to fill out an on-line registration form to get Sophie on the waiting list for the charter school DaVinci Academy. I had no idea what our chances were of getting in or not.

On Wednesday, I got a call from the office saying school had started and if I would bring in Sophie's birth certificate, etc. they would put her in the lottery so we could find out Friday if she could get in.

When we got home on Thursday, I rushed the documents to the school before they closed for the day and -- wallah! We were the first to turn in all of the documents so we got the slot that was open.

Friday morning, I went from thinking that summer break was almost over to suddenly being dropped into a place where my oldest had already missed the first two days of school. We met with a counselor and got her registered for classes.

I have a really good feeling about this decision and she does too. Which is saying a lot because this is my daughter who normally resists every change no matter what.

Since then, life has been a whirlwind of buying school supplies and school clothes and getting everything ready. I have had to accept that summer is essentially over. 

But, I think we made the most of it.

Summer 2015 Winds Down

Looks like it's almost time to send these four back to school. It is with very mixed emotions, but I am trying to focus on the positive.

I feel a little sad that Sophie, my soon to be 9th grader expresses such a strong dislike for school. This is my child who absolutely loved school so much she couldn't stand to miss a single day right up until junior high began. It's not the academics she hates. All of her teachers love her, so I know she is respectful. I want to help her find a way to be happy. We have recently started discussing the option of transferring her to a charter school.

Ian, my soon to be 7th grader is excited to see what junior high is all about. I hope his experiences will be more positive.

Last February, I made the decision to pull Katie and Isaac out of their elementary school to homeschool them. The thing that surprised me most about this decision is all the FUN we had. We loved it and I was looking forward to homeschooling them for at least a full academic year.

I accepted a five-hour-per-week-work-from-home job that quickly turned into a fifteen-to-twenty-hour-per-week-please-come-to-the-office-when-you-can job.

I think when I said "yes" somewhere inside of me I knew this might happen. And, it did. And, it's good. It's a really good job and I think ultimately it is a better situation for my family.

It has been a summer of transition with the kids getting use to me being away more. Once school starts I can make my own schedule and work while they are at school (if you have to work, it doesn't get better than that). I absolutely love my office right on Historic 25th Street in Downtown Ogden. Every time I drive there I think about how blessed I am to have zero traffic on my beautiful commute. And, I work with the most incredibly positive, kind people I have ever met.

Awhile back (before the notion of homeschooling), I was looking ahead to the 2015-16 school year and wondering what I would do? I would only have one child left who was not in school (I am speaking here of a child I babysit). My income would drop. I kept wondering if I should go to work or enroll more children. For the first time in 14+ years since becoming a mother, all of my children would be in school all day opening the door to new possibilities.

After so many years of raising my kids and watching other peoples' kids, I figured the best skills I had were patience and nurturing. I had gone to the trouble to get my license. Lots of working moms need childcare. It seemed there were compelling reasons to go with growing the childcare business.

Then the decision to homeschool came along and that felt right. I figured it wouldn't be too tricky to homeschool two with a little friend (who I babysit) joining us. And, to write my weekly restaurant feature. And, when the opportunity presented itself, to work five-hours-per-week-from-home. I figured I could find one hour per day (but, definitely not two -- that was where I would have to draw the line).

At first when I saw the new job would be more than expected, I was determined to find a way to make the job plus homeschool work. I figured out how I could do it. It was nice to say to myself, "I really can do this if I want to and feel like it is the right thing." After I considered that for some time, I gave myself permission to not be the mayor of crazy town. To do that, I would have to decide to quit the job or send the kids back to school. Because, even though in theory my plan would work, it would only stay on track if everything went perfectly. There was no leeway for, let's say, illness, for example. If there is one thing I know about my life it is that it almost never goes as planned. Did I mention one of my greatest skills is also flexibility?

I thought and thought about what to do and I decided that, even though I didn't plan on this job, it is the direction I should be taking in my life right now. It was really hard to let go of the homeschool dream, but I am reassured by the fact that everyone has told me the teachers Katie and Isaac have for the upcoming school year are awesome.

I am so grateful for the few months we had together. I learned some things about them that I really needed to know. Like -- that the medicine Isaac was taking always made him fall asleep in the afternoon (his teacher had never once mentioned it and when I asked her about it, she said, "Oh yeah, he always falls asleep and I make him stand at his desk -- how miserable must that have been!?). We took him completely off the medicine and we have seen very little negative impact from that -- a huge benefit for everyone.

I also learned that Katie needs some extra attention when it comes to reading and math. I was cruising right along assuming she was getting everything she needed because that is how it went the first three times around. We have spent the past six months focusing on reading and just last month made some giant strides forward.

I am grateful for the extra time, the extra outings and for getting to see my children's brilliant minds at work up close and personal during a small window in our lives.

I am mourning the end of summer (I always do) and getting use to the change of plans. I keep telling myself that once school starts I will probably love it so much I won't even know what to do. Maybe these awesome teachers have something they need to give my little ones that I am not capable of giving them.

If we all hate it, I can always pull them out again and figure out how to make homeschool happen.

Time will tell. Meanwhile, I do look forward to fall which is perhaps my favorite season with its cooling temperatures, stunning sunsets and all around dazzling colors. Maybe my house will be clean again. Maybe I will renew my commitment to go to the gym. Life is one big present waiting to be unwrapped.