Category: Family Time

A picnic and truffles

Sarah and Bryan came to our house for the afternoon. We packed a picnic, loaded it into a basket and Mark’s jeep and we made our way to the park by our house. We ate big sandwiches, fresh strawberries and raspberries, chips, and snickerdoodles. YUM. Some of us played frisbee…

And some of us ran through the sprinklers.

And one of us just took pictures, which is all she wanted to do anyway.

Mark, as driver, learned the inherent privileges of driving with food in the front seat. Sampling!

Sarah taught us how to make truffles. We made milk chocolate truffles and raspberry truffles; some we decorated with white chocolate and drizzles; others we rolled in sprinkles, making them less edible, but very colorful.

And yes, they do taste *THAT* good.

Thanks for a fun visit, Sarah and Bryan. Come again soon!

Piano Ensemble 2011

It’s our springtime tradition: a new suit or dress and the big ensemble concert at Centennial Hall. This was Paige and Daniel’s 4th year to participate in this concert.

We invited some friends to join us. Daniel didn’t hang out with us in line because he was with his piano duet partner. Yes, Paige is taller than I am in this picture. We’re both wearing heels. I’m posting this even though I look old.

We saw some Family at the concert! Bryan’s sister was in the concert, too.

Paige and her piano partner played one of the big Steinway concert grand pianos in the front. They played the Liebeslieder Waltz by Johannes Brahms.

Paige is wearing my formal concert skirt with a shimmery silver top from her own closet.

Daniel, always the brave and independent one, went up to the conductor to thank him when it was over. He played the Russian Sailors’ Dance which was just incredible.

Planting Day

1978 Angie and Joe

It’s about time to plant the garden. We have a little work to do in the raised beds in the backyard: some waterproofing of the stones, some more dirt to haul, and then some planting. Richard threw old leaves and odd things on the soil this winter. The other day we found a bunch of eggshells scattered in the dirt. I guess tomatoes need calcium.

As a child, I always looked forward to planting the garden. I’d admire my parents’ strength as they turned over the soil with shovels. Dad’s investment of leaf and grass compost really made for a wonderful garden. I don’t remember a motorized plow in the early days.

I didn’t mind weeding the garden. I could nestle in beneath the corn plants and breathe in the smell of the tomato plants. It was a good time to tell my dad secrets and squish my toes in the mud. You can’t beat that.

He has 40 good years

Richard turned 40 this weekend. What a dashing age.

Mark suggested that Dad’s gift should be some more power cords for the closet in our bedroom. I tried to spy on Richard’s Amazon account to find what he had been viewing lately. This worked for me last year when I was shopping for his gift. Alas, this year there were no electronics in his internet history. Finally, on the day before his birthday, we just took him to Costco and said, “Pick one!” He found a Blu Ray player…with cords…and another remote! The birthday boy was so thrilled that he forgot to let us wrap the present when we got home.

The kids and I made Richard a 40th birthday music mix CD. We spent a pleasant weekend listening to Pandora and watching instant movies from Netflix. We could, because we now have a Blu Ray player. It still smarts to spell Blu without an “e”.

Richard’s birthday party was quite an event. We invited guests. I made a double layer chocolate cake. Richard smoked some chicken on the barbecue and we served an array of barbecue sauces. Richard’s homemade sauce beat Rudy’s in our taste test. We spent the late evening eating black licorice and enjoying more music and movies.

I like how Spanish speaking people answer the question of age by saying “they have” so many years.  Richard should be proud of each and every good year of his life. He’s a good man. And he grows more dashing every year.

Making it

This week we’re just making it.

We made pulled pork for a Cub Scout dinner for 80.

We made collages and 1 of us cried over it and 3 of us stormed off.

Paige made it to one day of seminary this week because she’s so very sick.

Timothy wrote an epic essay about Genghis Kahn. You never know what will inspire a kid to greatness.

Richard spoke in the Spanish branch on Sunday. He worked to get his talk translated into Spanish and then presented it with a slight Portuguese accent.

This weekend I’m looking forward to celebrating Richard’s birthday. Pretty soon I’ll be kissing a 40 year old.

Family Home Evening

We decorated cookies as part of our Family Home Evening activities. I taught the kids how to use royal icing for outlining and a thin royal icing for flood icing. Everyone had a good time making designs.

We hold a Show-and-Tell activity each week before our Family Home Evening lesson. Daniel showed us some rocks he bought at the gem show. These glow under a black light:

Radioactive? Probably.

We almost didn’t have a lesson because the black light was so very fun.

Community events

We have had the best couple of days.

There have been many homeschool group activities this week. Daniel began golf lessons. Some of us attended a play on Thursday. We took part in a homeschool valentine exchange and Mark addressed his first set of valentines. Timothy received a love note from his friend that I had to show you.

Yesterday we went to the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show because we got in free for School Day. The boys felt like kings, buying crystals and petrified wood. The older kids had a delicious taste of independence from me as they joined with a group of friends to move through the exhibits. Paige and two friends traversed the floor and found matching charms and tiny carvings to please the female spirit. Daniel, independent as always, brought his own money and spent it on some carefully selected minerals. Timothy and Mark were my buddies. They were adored by the old ladies and given nervous looks by the uptight jewelry vendors. I heard accents from Russia, Germany, and China. We saw an enormous gold nugget. We ate nachos from El Charro with friends on the patio and the kids carefully lined up all of their rocks on the tables for us to admire. It was a great adventure for all of us.