Adapting

Church this week was MILES better than last week. I’m not attributing it to the fact that I gave a talk (on Teaching Our Children to Understand), mostly because I loathe giving talks, but rather the fact that there were more people called into callings and doing their jobs, which made for a smoother day. And that they were enthusiastic. Last week, everyone was gumping and grumbling about the change (including us), but after a week, we’re starting to get adjusted, and can manage to be at least slightly positive. Maybe we CAN make this whole ward change work. Even if it means we barely see Russell on Sundays.

 

The rest of the week was getting adjusted to a work/school/seminary schedule. And maybe because the week before was SO crazy, this week seemed to go much smoother. I missed yoga (again; my hamstrings are hating me), but other than that, we got to everything and did everything we were supposed to. (With the little aside of Alison getting sealants putting on her teeth on Wednesday. She wouldn’t do it without nitrous oxide, which helped relax her. We found out that she’s kind of loopy on it...) And managed to have a little extra time for sleepovers and friends over on Friday. (Though we didn’t get Kristen’s hair cut, which we should have.) And to go to the Star Wars exhibit at the Exploration Place and to the Friends University family thing at Eberly farm yesterday.

 

And it (finally) RAINED. It started Friday morning, but petered out, but rained Friday night and ALL DAY (on and off) Saturday. It’s almost too little too late, but really: any moisture around here helps. Especially after two hot, dry summers. 

 

I think that’s about it. I said in my talk today that I was thinking a bit ago that the real problem with life is that it’s so boring, just the same old thing day in and day out. Which makes for short letters. 

 

Here’s to getting up and doing it all again tomorrow!

Star Wars!

Back in May, the Exploration Place got an exhibit called Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination. It's basically props and costumes from all the Star Wars movies, with a bit of scientific application (Exploration Place is a science museum, after all) mixed in. We were going to go see it right away, but then the girls told us that one of the prizes with the summer reading program was discounted tickets (they were expensive!) to see the exhibit, so we waited.

And yesterday, we finally buckled down and went. And all had a grand time; not only was it fun to see all the props and models and costumes (we'd seen them before, back in 1998, I think, when it came to the Smithsonian. But since our oldest was barely 2 at the time, we don't think it counted), but the whole scientific application parts were fun as well.

A note on the pictures: as we were walking out the door, Russell said, "Don't we need the camera?" I replied, "Nah. There won't be anything to take pictures of." Next time, I'll listen to my husband. All pictures were taken on my phone.

Our favorite station was the whole magnetic levitation/hovercraft station. We got to build maglev boats (and were really excited when they floated!), which was cool, but what the girls REALLY liked was "driving" the hovercraft!

You can't really see it, but I always liked that quote from Han Solo: "Ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side." What I didn't take a picture of was the return quote by Obi-Wan "An elegant weapon for a more civilized age" surrounded by light sabers. Pretty cool.

Our other favorite station was getting to program an R2D2-type robot and send it through a maze. That was a lot of fun!

A note about Megan: she was there, but she refused to be in any pictures. Just so you know.

They'd renovated our favorite part of Exploration Place -- the Castle -- since the last time we went there, and so we had to spend a while wandering through and seeing the changes (all for the better!) they made. This was one of the additions, and Caitlyn was the only one willing to get her picture snapped in it.

Cracked us up.

Now we're waiting for the next exhibit: video games!

First Day

It's too hard to get one of the middle school and high school kids, but those in elementary school still like posing with their lunchboxes and backpacks as they're headed out the door for another year of school.

You gotta enjoy it while you can, I guess.

Nothing Like Hitting the Ground Running

I’m not going to bother recapping the reunion aside from this: we did lots of stuff, the girls had a blast seeing the cousins that were there, the Foxes are REALLY LOUD but that’s okay, and we miss you all already. 

 

A small aside: rarely do I feel a need to be near family; we’ve lived away from everyone for so long that it’s just a fact of life. But, pulling out of Utah this time, I felt a real loss in that my kids aren’t near their extended family (and, to be honest, that I’m not near them, either). It’s not enough for me to push Russell into changing jobs (heaven knows they’re hard to come by and he’s happy where he is), but, right now (maybe it’s turning 40 in a month??), I miss being near family.

 

ANYWAY.

 

We got home Monday evening, incredibly tired, and incredibly grateful for our own beds, our own house. And then, Tuesday morning we started running. Doctor’s appointments (everyone’s fine; it’s just checkups), school supplies, checking in at the school to see what teachers they got, meeting with the Stake President (more on that later), work, school starting, shopping for more school supplies, a youth temple trip (Megan went, mostly because it was with our old ward, and she wanted to go with them), delivering peaches (a fundraiser for Megan; and man, are they GOOD), canning said peaches, cleaning house, picking up Dad Fox from the airport (more on that later), and collapsing into bed exhausted.

 

At this point, I think I’ll be able to take a break sometime after Christmas. Welcome to the new normal?

 

School started off good for the girls, I think. Megan says she’s going to have piles and piles of homework (she already has, and they’ve been in for three days!), but I suppose with 2 AP classes, one college-level math class, and a senior English lit class, one would expect that. She may have time to sleep once seminary starts, but I doubt it. Caitlyn loves her teachers so far, loves her classes (aside from the fact that none of her friends are in any of them), and loves being in seventh grade. She tried cross country and decided after one practice (in which it was 97 degrees) that running 2 miles every day wasn’t for her, so she quit. We’ll figure out another way for her to get a P.E. credit... Alison’s teacher is currently on maternity leave (she had twins in July!), but she really likes her sub. And, so far, nothing bad has come home about class, either. She also is now old enough to pick Kristen up and have the two of them walk home by themselves, which they did on the day I had to work late. She was very proud of herself (and rightly so!). Kristen didn’t get the teacher she wanted, but she does like the teacher she got. She seems nice, and Kristen has been telling me all the rules that she has. I suppose it’s a good thing that Kristen knows the rules. 

 

So. The bit about the Stake President and Russell’s dad coming in.... they created a new ward in our stake last Sunday, and our ward needed a new bishop (since the bishop of our ward is now the bishop of the new ward). (I suppose I should talk about the hackwork they made of our ward – they split it into three factions, essentially, and what we’re in right now is the smallest of the three – but I told myself I’m going to stop complaining, if only so my kids have a better attitude. You know you’re in trouble when Alison says, upon hearing about everyone we lost, “We’re not going to go to church anymore, right?”) So, they called our young men’s president as bishop, and announced a first counselor at the meeting where they announced the divisions. (We’re getting all this via text while we’re in the middle of Wyoming...) We didn’t think much of it, until we get a call Monday night (we had been home for all of 40 minutes), asking if we could meet with the Stake President. Uh oh. And yep: Russell’s been called as the 2nd counselor in our bishopric. 

 

I wasn’t happy about this.

 

Again, I’m not going to complain. Promise. I just never saw Russell as leadership material (is that wrong of me?), and we were happy puttering around being Primary teachers and ward organists and Elders Quorum teachers and the cogs in the machinery. We never – I never – wanted to be on the top of the pile, responsible for things. But, we’re good members of the church, and we don’t say no, and we buck up and do the work (or at least I hope we do; Russell’s a bit overwhelmed right now, especially today when he’s been gone ALL day in meetings. Getting a ward up and running from scratch, essentially, is a challenging thing), and hope to heck that we survive it. Everyone is promising us that blessings will come, and we have to have faith that that’s true. It will definitely be a challenge. 

 

Church today was, well, chaotic and slightly weird. We hardly knew anyone, the dynamic of everything has changed completely. It will definitely take some getting used to. Here’s hoping the wrinkles will be straightened out in the next couple of weeks.

Evanston

One of the last things we did before heading back to Kansas was stop in Evanston to see my Grandparents Harris. We got up early(ish) and went to church with Grandma, and then headed over to the house to see Grandpa and to eat lunch before heading off.

Grandpa was a dear and gave the younger two rides on Jazzy, his electric wheelchair.

And Grandma was smart and had the foresight to get pictures taken before everyone ate and got dirty and changed to head home.

It was lovely seeing them, and chatting, and looking through pictures, and just being with them. I wish we lived closer so we could do this more often, but it is what it is. I'm glad we were able to make the time to see them, though. It was wonderful.

Other Random Things

Some of the other random shots that were taken while we were in Utah, but didn't really find a home in one of the other posts.

Only at BYU, right?

The Problem With an August Birthday

Is that you rarely get to celebrate your birthday in one piece. This year -- while we did better than some years -- it comes to you in two parts, both of which took place during the reunion.

Part 1, Megan's actual birthday:

Ravenclaw fingerless gloves. For winter Marching Band. And because she's still a Potterhead.

Her Grandma Madsen made this, with matching earrings.

It says, in Latin, If All Else Fails, Play Dead.

There was also bowling, seeing Dark Knight Rises (with her cousins) and the Rock, Paper, Scissors tournament, in which she came in fourth.

Part 2:
In which there was touring of Temple Square and the Conference Center, partying at a roller skating rink/bouncy house place, and talent show.

So, I asked her at one point, if she minded having her 16th birthday party with all her cousins. She said, "I could have a party at home with my friends, but where else could I get 50 people loudly singing happy birthday to me than with my family?"

 

t's hard to believe that 16 years have gone by so fast!

Reunioning

There's too many pictures to try and catalog them all. So, here's a smattering of one of the things we liked best: hanging out with family!!

Alison's group of cousins.

This one, and the one below, were at Katie's babyshower.

At the WILK (on BYU campus) bowling. And being really CRAZY.

These five (and Cambri, when she showed up) spent the entire time together!

Proof that Kristen was around... though we didn't get any with the cousins her age!

First annual Rock, Paper, Scissors tournament.

The 12-and-up cousins (plus the uncles) after their temple session.

Everyone (who was there) on the top of the conference center.

We're a loud, crazy, rambunctious bunch. But I love it, and I wouldn't change it for the world!

Dragging the Kids Around

Otherwise known as: Mom and Dad Have LOTS of People to See in Utah, so Lets Go Meet Them!

One of the benefits of Facebook is that you get to catch up with people whom you haven't seen for a long time. The other one, is that -- especially if you share -- they know you're in town, and they, if they are proactive, contact you and say, "HEY! CAN WE MEET UP??"

Monday night, we got to hang out with my dad's side of the family. Which, as I am reminded when we see them, is a LOT of fun.

Things I noticed: 1) I'm glad Russell took pictures, because I was too busy talking to think about it. 2) every single one of my dad's siblings' families were represented. Pretty cool.

And 3) My cousins were awesome enough to have kids my kids ages, so they all had someone to talk to/play with. Makes things nice. Also: none of the girls wanted to leave the Bigleows' to go see some new people, and once we were there, no one wanted to leave.

Tuesday, we met up with the Smiths, who have a gaggle of girls (six of them! Proof that if I kept having kids, they'd all be girls!), and used to be in our ward in Wichita.  We met up with them at Liberty Park in SLC (we'd never been there; it's a fun little park!), and hung out for a few hours.

There were a few amusement park rides (including the Ferris Wheel that was in the movie Charly, which while not way cool, was at least amusing. :-) We enjoyed playing and talking and hanging out, and were more than grateful that 1) they suggested we do that, and 2) willing to make the drive down from Logan to see us!

(Russell met up with a lot of other people, some of which he drug the rest of us along to -- the pizza was good at The Slab down in Provo, and there were Olympics to watch -- and some he didn't.)

Russell organized a get-together at the new City Creek Mall in SLC on Saturday with a group of old friends of his, many of whom I haven't seen in 12-14 years. (I have met most of his friends at  one time or another.) I'm not sure the mall, on our way out of town, after a week of reunioning, was the best time, but you know what? It was great to see these people and to get to talk to them for a bit. Even if I was wrangling little kids most of the time.

From left: Christian Harrison, Aldo and Joni Edwards, us and Mary Ellen Robertson

And our kids:

Christian, Paige and Victoria Edwards with our girls.

And the reason Alison and Kristen look the way they do is that the mall has this:

And yes, they did play in them.

Finally (last but not least), we got a wedding invitation in the mail a couple weeks before we left for Elder Thomas (remember him?), and realized that he would be getting married (and having a reception) when we were still in Utah. So, we decided that we would go and meet his wife.

She seems really sweet. I hope they're happy.

It's a blessing and a curse, visiting Utah. A curse, because the kids get tired of being dragged around. But it is nice to have so many people within driving distance to see and catch up with. And hopefully, it'll be more than 5 years before we get back!

Zucchini Pancakes

As per my mom's request, here is the recipe for these:

About 2 pounds of zucchini
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup minced onion
1/4 cup flour or plain bread crumbs (I used the bread crumbs)
1/2 cup grated Parmesean cheese
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup minced fresh basil or parsley leaves (I probably used both)
4 tablespoons olive oil

Finely grate the zucchini.  combine it with the egg, onion, and bread crumbs, Parmesan, salt, pepper and herbs. Add more bread crumbs if necessary to make a mixture capable of holding it's shape.

Shape them into patties (4-8). If time allows, refrigerate up to 1 hour to allow them to firm up.

When you're ready to cook, place the oil in a large skillet and turn the heat to medium-high. When the oil is hot, place the cakes in the skillet. Cook, turning once, until nicely browned on both sides, about 15 minutes.

Seeing the Bigelows

We had a delightful visit with the Bigelows, old friends from our grad school days. We got there Sunday evening, and had  a wonderful dinner and conversation. Then, the next day we requested a picnic up the canyon by the river. They delivered.

The river was too cold to actually go swimming in, but it made for wonderful exploring. The girls even built a " house"  by it.  Additionally, they invited some other friends of theirs -- people Russell knew and remembered from BYU -- Kif and Sterling Adams and their daughter, Isabel.

(After that, we went to dinner with the Madsen clan, which is a story for another post.) The next day, we took it easy in the morning, before heading up to the Fox reunion. We did have time to see some pictures from the Bigelows' time in New Zealand (they'd just gotten back), and to play some more with the younger two girls, Julia and Evelyn.

(Oh yeah, we stopped at Bridal Veil falls on Monday, and had a good time climbing on the rocks!)

This is Jonathan, the Bigelow's oldest son. I need to scan a couple of pictures from when these two were little (he's nearly 19 now); it's amazing how much they've changed!

We're always glad when we get to see them, and grateful they put up with us for a couple of days. It was a delight.