March came in like a lion and left like a lion, but in between, we had a few days that gave us hope that spring was on its way. Activities included, but were not limited to . . .
Celebrating . . . Maxwell's 14th birthday. It was a bit of a low key day for him because he woke up not feeling tip top. So he spent a relaxing day at home instead of going to school. When he was feeling a bit better, we took him out for lunch at Shake Shack. In the evening, once everyone was home from various playdates and responsibilities, he opened presents and had cake. Because he was sick, he pinched out all of his candles instead of blowing on them. It drew out the suspense of the moment, haha. He still loves Brandon Sanderson's books, so he was thrilled with a hat and a couple of shirts that only other fantasy nerds would understand. He also got a jazz mouthpiece for his saxophone. He claimed it was an amazing day, which just goes to show what a nice kid he is since no one wants to be sick on their birthday.
Increasing . . . his vocabulary. Silas talks a lot, and he has amassed quite the vocabulary, thanks in large part to himself. All day long, he asks me, "What's that?" or "Who's that?" And when I answer, "That's a wagon" or "His name is Milo," he always repeats it back, "Oh, a wagon?" or "Oh, he's Milo?" So he has this constant reinforcement going: by saying it immediately, he tries it out for himself and locks it into his brain. Sometimes I'm surprised when he knows the words for something or uses an expression correctly or calls someone by name, but it's because he files all information away for future use. This is mostly a good thing but it means we have to be so careful with the way we talk to each other or the movies we watch because he will retain any rude or inappropriate words as well.
Making . . . cookies. Clark has become quite the little baker. (Interestingly, I remember Max loving to bake at this same age.) He is frequently in the mood to make cookies. He received a cookie cookbook for Valentine's Day last month, so he has no shortage of recipes to choose from. He is pretty independent in the kitchen and can follow directions mostly on his own. I thought these s'mores cookies turned out especially well.
Cheering . . . at a BYU basketball game. Mike took Aaron, Maxwell, Bradley, and Clark to the BYU basketball game versus TCU. BYU was down by more than fifteen points at halftime, but then made a comeback in the second half and ended up winning 87-75. They said it was such a fun game to be at. The energy in the Marriott Center was palpable and contagious. Normally, Mike likes to leave games during the fourth quarter to beat the traffic, but there was no way they could leave before the end of that one.
Auditioning . . . for wind symphony. Max will be in high school next year, so he auditioned for wind symphony. It's a brave thing to audition for a teacher you've never met before in a school you aren't attending yet, but he did it, and a few days later, he got the good news that he made it!
Spending . . . all day and all night with dance activities. It was past 11:00 one night when there was a loud knocking on our front door. I was sure it was a couple of teenagers trying to be annoying. I ranted to Mike, "Why do teenagers have to be so stupid? This is too late to be knocking on doors!" The next morning, we opened the front door and realized rather sheepishly that it indeed had been a teenager the night before, but it was a nice one who was just asking Aaron to go to WAMA. A bunch of Aaron's friends also got asked, and so it ended up being a really fun group of ten couples. They went to a funplex with bumper cars, laser tag, and arcade games in the afternoon. They took photos in matching sweatshirts at City Creek. Then they went to a food court for dinner. This was followed by the actual dance and then finally games at one of the girl's houses afterwards. Even though he didn't know his date super well beforehand, he had a great time.
Taking . . . the deacons on a little overnighter. Mike and the other young men leaders went to our family cabin in Logan Canyon for the weekend. They played games, had a devotional, went cross country skiing, played lots of foosball, and did a little archery. Only four of the seven deacons could go, but it sounded like a good time.
Painting . . . a picture of the empty tomb. Clark's activity group at church did a painting night where an art educator in our ward helped guide the boys through a watercolor of the tomb. Each painting was both similar and unique. We displayed the finished paintings, along with ones from the girls who did a simple portrait of the Savior, at a special Reflections of Christ event held on Good Friday.
Hosting . . . our annual Pi(e) Party. We were fortunate to get a stretch of good weather in the middle of the month, which meant full steam ahead for Mike's pie baking. I think this was his most productive and efficient year to date. He made all of the crusts on Wednesday (meaning, he mixed up the pastry, and then divided it into pie-sized portions, which he then covered in plastic wrap and stacked in the fridge until he was ready to roll them out). The actual baking took place between Thursday evening and Saturday morning. I think his original plan was to make around 65 pies, but somehow he ended up with 74. It's baffling to me that you could somehow accidentally make 9 extra pies. The big news from this year was that, for the first time in Pie Party history, he made banana cream. In the past, he has always banned this variety of pie because he himself hates it, but he caved and made a few this year (and they were quickly consumed and appreciated). Unfortunately, the day of the party was fairly breezy, but we weighed everything down as much as possible, and the people still came. So many people! It was wonderful. We had at least 260 guests, but I'm sure there were some I missed. I was telling Mike afterwards that it's amazing to host something that can be completely inclusive. We invite everyone: family, classmates, work colleagues, book club, current neighborhood, past neighborhood, people walking down the street, everyone. As it has grown, Mike has just increased the number of pies he makes, and we haven't hit a number we can't handle yet.
Wearing . . . green and eating Irish food. Thanks to our friends, the Gardners, our St. Patrick's Day celebration wasn't too shabby. We went to their home for dinner where we ate Irish stew on colcannon, creamed cabbage, soda bread and cheese sauce, green fruit salad, green lemonade, and Eton Mess for dessert. The next day, we had corned beef, and the day after that, Mike put all the leftovers into a pie, and it was maybe the most delicious out of everything. It was at that point that our kids said, "Do we have to keep eating Irish food?" We didn't get any visits from leprechauns, but the food was very festive.
Competing . . . in NHD (National History Day). Everyone in Clark's class had to submit a project for NHD. Clark made a documentary about the Salem witch trials. His project moved onto regionals where he got to present it to a judge and answer questions about it. Although his project did not move onto state, several of his classmates' projects did, which was very exciting.
Finishing . . . a labor of love (i.e., a cardigan for my dad). At the beginning of the year, I took on a daunting project: knitting a sweater for someone other than myself. I've knitted sweaters for babies and kids before but never for another adult. I've always been too intimidated to get the proper fit, and also, I think I'm a bit selfish with my knitting time and usually want to make things for myself. But my dad has a cardigan that he's worn for years that was getting very worn out in the elbows and other areas. It was a handknit cardigan, although he inherited it from an unknown source, so we don't know who made it. He had hinted that it might be nice if I knitted him a replacement, but, as I already said, that sounded daunting. However, a few weeks before Christmas, I decided I was ready to take on the challenge. I knew I didn't want to give the sweater as a surprise because I wanted his input along the way. So instead, I gave my dad a box full of yarn and a promise that I would make him his cardigan. It was a slow process. I paused at various intervals so I could block what I had and then try it on him. I took measurements frequently to make sure it was on track. After I finished the body of the cardigan, I had him try it on only to notice that it was riding up in the back. It was painful, but I cut off the ribbing, added an inch of length to the back and then reknit the ribbing. I also gave a lot of thought to the button band because I wanted it to be sturdy and strong and not sag. So I made a double knit button band, which was a very slow process. As it finally all came together, I started to get excited but also nervous because I had put so much time into it, and I wanted it to be just right for him. I gave it to my dad and then held my breath as he tried it on. He slid his arms into the sleeves, and then we both burst into grins and became a little giddy because it was perfect. It was such a rewarding project. I thought about my dad every time I worked on it, and I felt so much love for him. I'm so glad I was able to do it for him.
Watching . . . the junior high performance of Willy Wonka. We knew multiple kids in the cast (including the ones playing Willy Wonka and Augustus Gloop). Aaron, Max, and Bradley went one night, then Mike and Max went another night, and then Clark and I went another night. It was incredibly well done, and it's just so fun to see people you know doing their thing.
Experiencing . . . all kinds of weather. We had three days in a row where we cycled between snow, rain, hail, sleet, slush, wind, thunder, and sunshine. It was wild. We also got a few perfect spring days, which Silas and I took full advantage of by going to the park, having a picnic, going on walks, etc.
Signing . . . a song. Aaron has been taking ASL this year. The ASL teacher organizes a Sign-a-Song performance every year, which involves all four years of classes. There are small group performances as well as whole class performances. Each group signs a song. But it's much more than just signing. It's definitely a performance with lots of emotion and acting. Aaron and two friends signed to the Weezer song, "I Want a Dog." Additionally, their entire class performed the song, "Love Runs Out." All told, there were over forty songs performed, which was pretty impressive.
Touring . . . with the choir. Aaron was gone for five days with the high school choirs to Disneyland. Each choir had a chance to perform (the Troubadours sang "Lost in the Woods," "The Bare Necessities," and a medley from "Moana"). (We heard all of these same songs at a concert earlier in the month.) They each also went to a workshop where they got to work with a coach and get some feedback. And finally, there was a lot of time for fun: a full day at the beach and two days at Disneyland (Aaron and his friends rode Tower of Terror probably at least five times). Aside from losing his wallet, he had a grand time.
Giving . . . a standing ovation at Fiddler on the Roof. Mike and I went with my parents to see a local theater's production of Fiddler on the Roof. It was phenomenal. It has been years since I've seen the movie, but all of the lyrics came back to me as soon as I heard them again. I forgot how much I loved this story: the characters and songs and hard emotions and heartaches and injustices and poignant truths. It's so good, and this particular cast and production honored and told the story so well. I was particularly touched when I read the director's notes and learned that they had consulted with the rabbi at the local synagogue several times as they were making decisions about the production. The rabbi said that wherever Fiddler is performed, it "builds bridges within the community." In terms of the actual production, the dream sequence was particularly stunning and memorable with Grandma Tzeitel, Fruma-Sarah, and Golde and Tevye floating through the air high above the stage. Afterwards, Mike said, "I think that's the first time I've seen Fiddler where I related more to the parents than the children." I felt the same. It was especially delightful to be there with my parents since they love the story and music as much as us.
Sitting . . . on the front row at a band concert. We all went to Max and Bradley's band concert (including my parents). Mike decided to try sitting on the very front row with Silas and Ian to see if it would help them stay engaged and not get bored. And it did! They loved it. At one point, the cadet band played a suite of songs that were all meant to go together. The band teacher asked that there not be any clapping between movements, so we were all a little embarrassed (but mostly delighted) when Silas' tiny voice rang out, "YAY!!!" across the entire auditorium after the first movement. Clark always loves band concerts, so it was no surprise when, after it was over, he declared, "That could have gone on for much longer before I would have been sick of it."
Celebrating . . . Easter. Little by little, we're adding and keeping some traditions that have made the Easter season so much more meaningful and special. I bought a few more Easter decorations this year and made another Easter playlist to add to our collection. We organized an egg hunt for the kids in our neighborhood and the rain luckily held off for the day. We dyed eggs and gave Easter baskets. During the week leading up to Easter, we tried to do one thing each day that helped us remember what Jesus did on that day. For example, Monday was the day He cleansed the temple, so we all did a screen fast to help cleanse our minds and time (it was hard!). On Thursday, we attempted our own version of a Passover meal. We got as close as we could to traditional foods and talked about the symbolism of each thing. On Good Friday, our ward held an open house that featured art and music about the Savior. Overall, it was a truly beautiful season, and I felt uplifted and close to the Savior in a way that I hope I can maintain the rest of the year.
