I Shampooed My Couches Today (and ten other random facts)

Fact #1: The other day I tried an Xtend Barre workout. I thought that the former dancer in me would enjoy it ("enjoy" as in "tolerate," for I am not one who falls in love with any form of exercise), and I was surprised to discover how much I didn't like it. It was a fantastic workout, and I have been sore for four days from it, but it reaffirmed that I am no longer a dancer - not in body nor in mind. I am far more suited to push-ups, jumping jacks, and burpees.

Mind blown.

Fact #2: Zoe (now 22 months old) has finally discovered how to say "yes" (or "yaw" - in her dialect). This is very exciting because we've been having major issues interpreting what this child wants, and the fact that we can now ask her 20 questions, and she might say "yaw" to one of them is a huge step forward.

What would have previously been a twenty-minute tantrum over breakfast is now a simple:

Zoe: Ba ba ba ba, Mama!

Me: You want me to take the cherries out of your cereal?

Zoe: Yaw!

Fact #3: Daisy, on the other hand, has recently learned the phrase "shut up." This is not good. Not good at all.

When Nicky discovered "shut up," it took one brief explanation of why I don't want him to say it, and he never had a problem with it ("poop" and "butt" are an entirely different story). Daisy, though, can not be taught by logic. Explaining why we don't want her to say "shut up" is a lost cause, and asking her not to say it will encourage her to say it ten fold.

I think we have many language issues ahead of us, as words are always Daisy's weapon of choice.

Fact #4: As of last night, Canning Season is officially OVER in the Brittish household.

Fact #5: I don't want to see another peach or green bean for the next six months.

Fact #6: We had our first (non-surgery) stitches in the family over the weekend.

(My apologies to the squeamish)

That, my friends, is my son's precious face after being sliced open with...

Wait for it...

A SLAP BRACELET!

Fact #7: Five stitches.

(But I think he really needed six or seven, and I debated taking him back on Monday to have them look at it again because the bottom of the cut is still gaping).

Fact #8: Have I told you that I'm going back to school?

No, I haven't. Because I don't want to talk about it.

But I can tell you this: It is possible to decide on July 22 to apply for a bachelor's degree program, get accepted, and start school in the Fall.

Which is the short version of the "Holy Crap I'm Going Back to School!" story.

Fact #9: Remember how I shampooed my couches? (see title) There is a weird brown spot on one couch that was very obviously not poo, but now that it has been shampooed, it looks very much like poo.

Perhaps a follow-up picture is in order.

Once you've gotten over my son's gaping face wound.

Fact #10: Daisy turns five on Sunday.

Whoa.

It's in my Genes

For the past couple of months, I've been trying to find out how I'm connected to a very obscure relative.* I know he's in my family history somewhere, I just haven't been able to find the exact line.

Family History is big in my church. We are encouraged to find out who our ancestors are and learn about their lives. It is a fascinating thing, and I have found that I am related to some very cool people:

Amelia Earhart (12th cousin, 3 times removed)
Bing Crosby (14th cousin, 4 times removed)
Charlemagne (37th great-grandfather)**
Elias Disney (14th cousin, 4 times removed)
Emily Dickinson (13th cousin, 5 times removed)
Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) (14th cousin, 7 times removed)

Just to name a few.

I'm also related to:

11 of the current 12 apostles (everyone but Quentin L. Cook)
President Henry B. Eyring (11th cousin)
23 of the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence
15 prophets of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
21 Presidents of the United States

Not bad, eh?

*This relative was mentioned in a talk by Henry B. Eyring. He is President Eyring's great-uncle, Gaskell Romney, who gave President Eyring his patriarchal blessing. I have multiple patriarchs in my family line, so I want to find out how I'm related to this particular patriarch.
**I am directly related to over 100 members of European royalty

My Thoughts on The Giver

Last night I saw The Giver.

I first read The Giver in 8th grade. At the time, a lot of the themes of the book were beyond my understanding, but I fell in love with it. When I re-read the book as an adult, I began to comprehend just how profound the story really is. It sheds light on the purpose of opposition - we need to know pain and sickness so we can enjoy pleasure and health. We need to know sadness so we can understand happiness. We need to have agency so we can make wrong choices and learn and grow. Our world can sometimes feel disturbing and tainted, but it is also beautiful and astounding.

When I learned that this book I treasure so dearly was being made into a film, I was kind of disappointed. I worried that the movie would be catered so much to a teen audience that the depth of the story would be lost, and those teens would only care about how it compares to their popular dystopias of today. Some of my fears were put at bay when I watched an interview with Jeff Bridges, and he described his passion for the book and how long it had taken him to bring the movie to fruition. After hearing what he had to say, I decided to trust him, and I decided to focus on what the story means to me rather than what it means to the unknowing teenagers.

I won't go into a critical analysis of the movie, but if you beg the question, "Should I see it?" I will tell you, "Yes!"

The thought-provoking elements of the story are there. Go. Face them!

But with that recommendation comes the understanding that we will not all glean the same things from The Giver.

I went to see the movie with a friend who hated the book, and her presence beside me in the theater reminded me of this quote by C.S. Lewis:

You may have noticed that the books you really love are bound together by a secret thread. You know very well what is the common quality that makes you love them, though you cannot put it into words: but most of your friends do not see it at all, and often wonder why, liking this, you should also like that. Again, you have stood before some landscape, which seems to embody what you have been looking for all your life; and then turned to the friend at your side who appears to be seeing what you saw -- but at the first words a gulf yawns between you, and you realise that this landscape means something totally different to him, that he is pursuing an alien vision and cares nothing for the ineffable suggestion by which you are transported.

My friend and I were staring at the same landscape while a gulf yawned between us. Her criticism was, "It made me cry!" and my response was, "Good!"

10 Things I Can be Happy About Right Now

For the past couple of months, I've found myself in a funky, dark place. I've been anti-social, unmotivated, and disinterested. I'm prone to summer depression, so when I look at the big picture, I know that's what it is, but there's a pride in me that refuses to acknowledge that I have any sort of struggle with depression. There's also a guilt in me that says, "You should be able to control this!"

But depression is not really what I want to talk about right now. I have it. It comes and goes. I've been blessed to experience it mildy rather than in its deepest, most debilitating forms. I know what treatments work for me. That is all there is to say about it.

Because I'm in this dark place, I've been trying to focus on some of the bright things in my life, so today I want to make a list of Ten Things I Can be Happy About Right Now.

Thing 1: Scotty and I have laid the smack down on our veggies these past few weeks. We have jam, salsa, tomatoes, apricot nectar, and green beans galore!

Productivity.

Accomplishment.

Food.*

Thing 2: For the first time since we planted our peach trees about eight years ago, we have a decent crop of peaches coming on.

Thing 3: I get to go to the temple tomorrow.

Thing 4: School starts next week!

The school routine helps with my depression immensely.

Thing 5: Scotty has Friday off, so we are going hiking.

Thing 6: We got a new washer today.

Bummer that our old one died, but what a blessing that it died at a time when there would be enough money to replace it.

Spending aside, I have never been so excited to do laundry!

Thing 7: We're going to a family camp out this weekend. There will be nachos and s'mores.

Thing 8: I get to go grocery shopping without kids tomorrow.

Thing 9: I haven't had to stress about watering the garden over the past few weeks because of the rain.

Thing 10: Fall is just around the corner!

There's a chill in the air that lifts my heart and makes my hair stand on end. Every moment feels meant for me. In October, I'm the star of my own movie - I hear the soundtrack in my head... and I have faith in my own rising action...I come alive in October... October, baptize me with leaves! Swaddle me in corduroy and nurse me with split pea soup. October, tuck tiny candy bars in my pockets and carve my smile into a thousand pumpkins.

-Attachments by Rainbow Rowell, 99

*Lest you be disturbed by my use of an outdoor stove for canning, I only use it for water bath canning, not pressure canning.

Lofty Lake Loop

After our stop at the Provo River Falls, we continued on to our real destination: Lofty Lake Loop. Scotty has wanted to hike into Kamas Lake for a while. His ultimate goal is to camp there as a family, so we gave it a trial run by doing a day hike.

We've had some sketchy thunderstorms around here lately, and during monsoon season, it's easy to get stranded in the Uintas, so we came prepared with overnight supplies just in case. 

 

I won't bore you with all of the details of this hike, but know these facts:

• We accidentally took the "long way"
• It rained
• The hike was pretty challenging for the kids
• There are several small lakes along the loop

Also, imagine this for a moment:

You get out of your car at the trail head. Suddenly you hear a loud CRACK! echoing off the mountains. You wonder if someone has just been shot, and as you glance around, you realize that, no. No one has been shot. Instead, your ears have been graced by the sound of a boy scout cracking a whip. He is wearing a Chewbacca t-shirt. He proceeds to crack the whip over and over. You turn to your husband and say, "For the love of Pete! I hope he's not going to Kamas Lake!" Two hours later, as you make your final approach to the lake, you see George Lucas' biggest fan standing on the shore line with the whip in his hand. 

You hang your hammock. He cracks the whip.

You roast a hot dog. He cracks the whip.

You try to rock your toddler to sleep. He cracks the whip.

You know that there is no merit badge for that!

Finally, the scout leaders tell him to put the whip away. You say a prayer of thanksgiving.

But then...

The boy scouts begin a team building activity. They have to build a cairn out of rocks, and they are not allowed to speak to each other. You start to like the sound of this. But then they are told that they can still make noise. Thus begins a series of pterodactyl screeching throughout random places in the woods.

RAAAAAHHHHHH!

RAAAAAHHHHHH!

Fifteen minutes worth of conversation occurs in pterodactyl as they complete their challenge. 

When they finally pack up and leave, you breathe a sigh of relief, but that is when the storm clouds roll in, and you have to hurry and pack up and get the heck out of there so you don't get stranded.

Crazy boy scouts aside, it was a cool experience.

But it was challenging - we weren't sure if we'd get our kids in and out of there. The trail was covered in lose rocks - each kids fell at least a dozen times, and we'd accidentally left the first aid kit in the van. We were very lucky no one was seriously hurt.

Nicky insisted on wearing a mosquito net the entire time (there were no mosquitoes).

Daisy wanted to pick every wildflower in sight.

Zoe wanted to be independent and climb everything herself.

(Do you like her super hero shoes? I found them in the road by my house).

In the end, we made it out safely. We saw many beautiful things. We spoke many encouraging words to our kids.

But I don't think I'm going to try this hike with them again until they're a little (a lot?) older.

 

 

Provo River Falls

There has been a lot of talk about Mirror Lake Highway around here lately, what with all the Fairy Foresting and Nude Ranching.

We've been spending a lot of time in the Uinta mountains this summer, so the Mirror Lake Highway posts aren't quite done yet.

Take this post, for example, wherein I will tell you about one of my favorite places of all time: Provo River Falls.

The first time I saw the Provo River Falls as a child, my mind was blown. It was the first real water fall (i.e. something other than a trickle) that I had seen. I think I still feel a little bit of that child-like excitement when I see the Provo River Falls, and that's why I like them so much. Plus, it's one of few places where you can get out of your car and BAM! You're face to face with a waterfall!

(Hiking has its rewards and all, but sometimes it's nice to have the chance to see something beautiful while being completely lazy).

The last time I went to the Provo River Falls was when Nicky was a baby, so I was long overdue for a visit. Last weekend we headed up to the mountains, not intending to stop at the Falls, but with three children crying for a potty break, it was the perfect place to stop. I then thought, "Of course! My kids need to see the Falls! How have we not brought them here?"

All of my parenting mistakes were corrected in that moment.

The best part of the Provo River Falls is their plurality. It is not one waterfall, but several, so as you follow the trail downstream, you are met with additional waterfalls, and you can get very close to them (so don't be dumb like me and take only your long-range camera lens).

Though it did come in handy when photographing chipmunks.

IT'S SO FLUFFY!!

And wildflowers.

Waterfalls, rodents, and flora.

You just can't beat a trifecta like that! 

Thoughts from the Canner

It's canning season, which means my kitchen looks like this:

The photo doesn't do it justice because you can't see the pieces of pepper and onion dried to every surface, nor the murdered tomato remnants splattered up the walls. You also can't tell that I have so many dirty dishes that half of them are out in the yard waiting to be washed with the hose. 

It's bad.

So bad.

Which, of course, makes me wonder whether canning is worth it.

It's not.

But it is.

It's not... because it's time-consuming and messy. I have to neglect my children for a really long time to process a batch of food, and then I have to neglect them even more to clean up the mess. 

It's not... because sometimes the jars don't seal, and I have to eat the food ASAP or re-process it, causing it to need a new lid (not cheap!) and to overcook a bit.

It's not... because it's actually quite costly to can food even when I get the produce out of my own yard. First there's the expense of having a garden, then the cost of the supplies (canners, jars, lids, rings, etc), and the cost of ingredients (vinegar, lemon juice, salt, spices, etc). I invest far more time and money into canning than I would invest into a case lot sale.

It's not... because it's hard work. I have to prepare every bit of food, which means hours of blanching tomatoes, chopping onions, pureeing apricots, or what have you, and I always get half-way into it and realize that I've forgotten something or that I don't have enough of something. So there are many spontaneous trips to the store with three kids in tow. Last week I had a batch of carrots ready to put in the canner, and I couldn't find the pressure regulator. I'd set it on the counter, and it disappeared, so I called every kitchen supply store within a 15 mile radius. None of them carry regulators. I ended up having to go buy an entirely new canner ($70) because I couldn't lose my carrots! Darn those costly carrots!*

But it's worth it.

It's worth it because my kids are old enough to help, and they can participate in the process of growing food, harvesting it, preparing it, and eating it - knowing that the end result is from their hard work.

And there's something very satisfying about watching the jars add up batch after batch.

And it's an amazing feeling to open a jar of food we prepared ourselves.

And the quality of food is better, and I know exactly what's in it.

And jars of food are pretty.

*The regulator has since been found, but by the time we found it, I'd become totally sold on the idea of running two pressure canners at once, so the new one is here to stay!