Let it Snow!

An early winter storm on Saturday provided us with temps in the 30's F and huge, fluffy, snowflakes. We spent the day decorating for Halloween, shopping for unusual pumpkins and gourds for the porch, and trying to catch snowflakes in our mouths.
We are all excited for winter, with the exception of Coral who spent the day acquiring a seasonal affect disorder.

Here is Kevin's recent submission to his work newsletter- Shawn is, apparently, Kevin's long-lost twin brother and Fred is the big boss at LDS Family Services:
Shawn Gillies and Kevin Sherman teamed up as "A" division doubles partners in the Jordan Valley Racquetball tournament September 19-22. Shawn and Kevin had played in one previous tournament, where they lost spectacularly. However, persistence pays off. They took first place in this tournament, and were awarded gold medals. Shawn and Kevin's new goal is to try and take on Fred Riley and Steve Dahl in a doubles match (with the proceeds going to charity). They are also hoping to be sponsored by LDS Family Services, complete with equipment and apparel (however, Shawn wants "adoption" on the apparel, while Kevin wants "clinical"). We hope they can work out their differences, and just get along.

I took the boys to watch them play their final match, which for spectators consists of looking at their backsides for 1 1/2 hrs. Next time, I'll bring the camera so I can put a photo of their muscle-y bums here for the viewing pleasure of all!

It is great that Kevin has his best buddy close by now and that they can pursue racquetball fame and fortune together. He has always more consistently enjoyed and participated in sports when he has had a good friend to play with: B-ball in MI with Brett, weight-lifting in college with Dan, running with Brian, etc. Go team!

Weekend Update

Coral and Neil going to Homecoming with friends.

A photo of my lovely children in front of the Draper, UT Temple construction.

Kevin came home from grocery shopping (I never get tired of having him do the shopping-what a guy!) with two symbolic purchases: one last watermelon for the end of summer, and a first-of-the-season carton of egg nog- or egg no-nog, as Leith says. The egg nog season seems to get longer every year. He will probably bring the last of it home next April in Easter packaging.

Really.

Wild Sunflowers

These sunflowers are my favorite local wildflower. They show up in the middle of the summer-although they seemed later this year, perhaps due to lack of rain- and last into the fall. I am trying to seed them along one of our rock wall terraces in the back yard. We have more plants than last year, but I think birds must have eaten some of the seed I distributed. We are trying to leave the rock wall in back as natural as possible- in order to take advantage of the beautiful indigenous plants and to avoid irrigation. Kevin is grooming the scrub oak a bit and I am trying to encourage the wildflowers. The sunflowers remind me of a passage from My Antonia by Willa Cather:

"All the years that have passed have not dimmed my memory of that first glorious autumn. The new country lay open before me: there were no fences in those days, and I could choose my own way over the grass uplands, trusting the pony to get me home again. Sometimes I followed the sunflower-bordered roads. Fuchs told me that the sunflowers were introduced into that country by the Mormons; that at the time of the persecution, when they left Missouri and struck out into the wilderness to find a place where they could worship God in their own way, the members of the first exploring party, crossing the plains to Utah, scattered sunflower seed as they went. The next summer, when the long trains of wagons came through with all the women and children, they had the sunflower trail to follow. I believe that botanists do not confirm Fuchs' story, but insist that the sunflower was native to those plains. Nevertheless, that legend has stuck in my mind, and sunflower-bordered roads always seem to me the roads to freedom."

Dinner with an old friend...

I went out to dinner this week with an old friend of 20 yrs. It was great to see her and talk to her, but I was dismayed that our relationship is not as close as it used to be. I think the demands and challenges of our primary relationships and responsibilities have made it difficult to maintain our former level of trust and openness. I mourn this.

She is a friend from what I consider to be my second set of formative years. I left home at such a young age that I still had a lot of growing up to do. She was such a part of those years that I feel she is a part of me- and we were, and I think probably still are, a lot alike. One time her grandfather mistook me for her until he got close enough to speak to me. She has more capacity for devotion and loyalty than anyone I have ever known except a few members of my family. My older children think of her and her family in the same way as they do their Aunts, Uncles, and cousins. My boys still love the Paddington books she gave us when the girls were young.

It was really good to see her. She was wearing 'skinny leg' jeans. I am thrilled that we have lived long enough to be back to a style we wore as teens. She never used to throw away her old clothes and I think it a serious possibility that she was actually wearing the same jeans she wore as a teenager. She looked great.

I felt, in spite of the difference I sensed in our friendship, that I wanted to chat and share as openly as we used to. As I get older, I find it harder to form really close friendships. It feels arduous to try to fill someone in on the back story and because of the time demands of family and life, it just takes longer to become close to someone. I have made some good friends here and expect those relationships to grow, but I also crave the closeness of those friends I have known for a long time. I wonder how to get to where I want to be with my friend in spite of life and its endless challenges and changes?

Why I want to 'eat up' my children

I find myself explaining to Leith at least once a day that when I am done with what I am doing at the time, I will then 'eat him up'. It is a pattern of communication I have repeated with each of my children since their births. They have variously, depending on age and personality, jumped into my arms to begin the 'eating up', run away squealing, explained to me that it might hurt them, asked me if I really like to eat blood, or as in the case of Leith right now, said, "No, I'm going to eat you up!" I have enjoyed, over the years, this silly excuse to hold, kiss, snuggle, tickle and wrestle with my children. I often get the urge to 'eat up' my young children when they say or do something particularly clever, funny, fascinating or insightful. The feeling I have in these moments is a profound combination of love, affection, joy, and wonderment- and a desire to somehow internalize or adopt the characteristics of their young spirits into my own. I expect that in the Eternities, when we speak the language of God, I will find that He has a word that accurately expresses this feeling. In the meantime, I will continue chasing Leith around, promising to 'eat him up', until he, like the others, grows out of that silliness. I will then be left with no outlet for my feelings except to offer prayers of gratitude for my wonderful children and to show love for them in other ways as they grow and develop. I hope that they have no complaints when I begin, in a decade or so, to 'eat up' their children.

Hiking- Pioneer Day & Labor Day

On July 24, Kevin and I took the boys hiking on the White Pine Lake trail in Little Cottonwood Canyon. Niall and Leith have a hard time getting to sleep when they know we are hiking in the morning, but no trouble at all afterward. :)

We stopped to play in the river.

On Labor Day, as promised I 'included' the girls on our hike. It was a bit cool out when we started at 8 am. Hee Hee.

We hiked the same trail but went further this time.

A view looking up the canyon toward Snowbird.

After a while the girls wondered when we would turn around to go back. Coral was meeting friends at the mall and recruited India into the 'let's get back' club. I told them we would turn around when they convinced me they were happy to be there!

A view down the canyon looking toward the valley. The haze in the valley is reflecting the sun rising over the mountain tops behind the camera.

It was a beautiful hike. We went too early in the day to see much wild life. As the sun began to warm the tops of the trees, the birds began to sing and the scent of pine floated through the air. Coral remarked at how wonderful it smelled. As we turned to go back, India wanted to keep going all the way to the lake- a distance we have yet to accomplish as a family.

Barbershop Duet......

I took the boys to get a haircut at the barbershop owned by my cousin Amy Francom's husband, Rick, and his father- the 9 to 9 Barber Shop. I guess it just occurred to me that I could take young boys to get a haircut there. I have been alternating between trying to do it myself and taking them to a children's salon- both with uneven results. I am dying that I had no way to photograph them in the traditional barber's chairs, watching CNN and holding very still under the ticking-stripe drapes. Perhaps I will be a total 'mom' and take a camera next time. They were unbelievably cute and cooperative and 'John' gave them great haircuts. Leith waited to sit in the same chair as Niall because he preferred the color. He turned down another barber who became available due to his plain, black chair. He did specify that he wanted his hair spiked up. Niall declined the post hair cut shoulder massage, but Leith loved it. If Kevin wasn't committed to shaving his own pate, I would insist he patronize this shop with his boys.

Summer Highlights...Last One

In celebration of the re dedication of the Tabernacle on Temple Square, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square performed a series of concerts. We attended four- the Tabernacle Dedicatory Concert, Requiem- Mozart's version and a new composition by Mack Wilberg, musical director for the Choir and Orchestra, Mendelssohn's Elijah with Bryn Terfel, and the Orchestra Salute to the Tabernacle. I obtained tickets by carefully noting the release date and time and jumping on the computer to compete for the free tickets. Several events were 'sold out' within 30 min.

I really enjoyed the music. The Dedicatory Concert was amazing and it was cool to check out which General Authorities and public officials were in attendance. We were in over our heads a bit musically with Elijah. It was interesting to follow the scriptural story and the soloists were amazing, but I became tickled while listening to a movement in which the Choir-MoTab-calls upon Baal to burn the sacrifice-not something heard every day.

My favorite concert was Requiem. I was actually brought to tears during the Mozart part and loved the Latin. The Mack Wilberg composition was beautiful. I have actually heard enough of his arranging and composing to recognize his 'style'. It was sung in English and represented a Gospel counterpoint to the Mozart lyrics. Mozart was a little heavy on fear and condemnation while Wilberg celebrated hope in the Resurrection. Craig Jessop, director of the Choir, said something about us needing to listen to the concert twice to really take it all in- I really, really wish that were possible.

The Orchestral Salute was on the same weekend as the Father/Son camp out. I took Coral, India, and Marissa Blake to this one with me. Igor Gruppman, Conductor of the Orchestra was there- he is often absent due to all his amazing pursuits around the world. They started with the Peer Gynt Suite no. 1, by Edvard Grieg. Then, an amazing piano soloist from Cuba-Jorge Luis Prats- joined the orchestra for Grieg's Piano Concerto. He was unbelievable. When he was done, the audience stood and clapped over and over until he had played three encores. One of them was a Cuban folk dance that competed with the Concerto in my mind. The girls were blown away. I could tell they were very moved.

This last concert was the same day that President Faust passed away. The mood in the Tabernacle was very reverent and only Elder Nelsen and his wife attended representing the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve. Craig Jessop paid tribute to President Faust and related that he had been instrumental in the formation of the Orchestra and had attended their first rehearsal and formally blessed the endeavor.

The Tabernacle is really beautiful and gives a very intimate feel to the performances. The new carpet is a gorgeous red tone-on-tone floral and the whole place is tricked-out technologically in a way that does not detract from its historical importance. I am grateful to have the opportunity to attend these events. We have also attended a number of concerts in the Conference Center since we have lived here. We would not be able to afford these types of experiences if we were paying market rates for these concerts. It is an amazing opportunity.

An Amazing Night...

After at least 2 1/2 months of boiling hot weather, we were finally able to open the windows last night to enjoy a cool breeze as we slept. Words cannot adequately express my gratitude for the signs that fall may be approaching....I cannot wait for jackets, pumpkins, coloured leaves, kids bugging me about Halloween costumes, baking, decorating, shopping, & snow in the mountains. I keep reminding myself that I worship the Creator and not His creations. It helps deter me from dancing under the moon and praying to the seasonal gods to end summer sooner and bring more rain. ;)

More Summer...Trek

Here we are(I'm behind the camera, as usual)starting out at Martin's Cove after an all-night, no-sleep bus ride to WY. We walked a total of almost 6 mi. the first morning. We were deeply moved by the spirit we felt in Martin's Cove, and at the monument to the young men who carried members of the Willie Co. over the Sweetwater River.

Sweetwater monument. Coral is holding our 'baby', Charlie.

Music for the journey.

Kevin carries Coral across the Sweetwater River-admittedly a different experience in the summer than in the winter, but moving nonetheless. We trekked 9 mi. this second day in an area called the Meadows, which includes the several crossings of this river.

A photo of our whole ward as we prepared to leave Rock Creek Hollow- the area where the Willie Co. camped after climbing Rocky Ridge with the rescue party from SLC. Thirteen members of the company are buried here.

Kevin and I were 'Ma & Pa' for a group of youth from our Ward on a Pioneer Trek reenactment in July. India, Niall, & Leith stayed home with Grandma Denna while we pulled handcarts, camped, and visited historic sites in WY. We were very spiritually moved by the whole experience. We felt blessed to have actually walked and thought and prayed in the very locations where the ill-fated Willie and Martin Handcart Companies sacrificed so much.

More Summer Highlights...

June family vacation to Northern CA

Shawnee Larsen fixes Tauni's hair with the help of FIVE little boys! Niall, get those barrettes out of your hair before your Dad sees!

Chandler lets Niall & Leith play with his Wii.

Coral & India walking out to the tide pools.

Niall & Leith playing in a tide pool.

India is holding fairly large crab that Kevin and the kids found living in a beautiful tide pool. They named it 'Brock' after an on again, off again crush/friend of India's. They fished it out of its home at least once a day to check it out before carefully replacing it. Maybe we will see 'Brock ' next year if it hasn't been eaten by seagulls.

Also, Leith is doing his 'Stronger Boy' pose. 'Stronger Boy' is a super-hero type alter ego that he created for himself over the summer.

This is a piece of driftwood that the boys played with endlessly.

We can't resist self-timer family photos- I usually get to do the running into place after perching the camera on a rock. I love this photo because our clothes, by accident, mirror the colors of the sky, water, rocks, and plants around us. Leith looks like an orange star fish perched among us.

Our annual trip to the beach north of Fort Bragg, CA, included a Gladys Knight performance in Sacramento for Kevin and the girls and a fun visit with our friends, the Larsens. Kevin's friend from his mission, Jay Young, sings with the Saints Unified Choir. The Larsens were kind enough to let us crash at their gorgeous new house before and after our time at the beach. It is great to have such good friends. Niall loved being with his buddy, Cade. We reconnected with a number of our CA friends while we were there, went to San Francisco one afternoon, and squeezed in dinner with Kevin's brother, Ryan and his family and his fabulous swimming pool. It was great to see everyone.

The beach was amazing as always. We feel privileged to spend time as a family in such a beautiful, secluded place.