Is there such a thing as too much fun? If there is, we must be approaching it. On weeks like this last one, during which the kids got to bed before 11 pm exactly once, I sometimes find myself craving the consistency of a regular schedule, even if practically every minute is filled with fun. At times, the indulgence can feel almost gluttonous. That said, we did have a great deal of fun this month, and I can't say I regret any of it. I doubt whether I have time or space to do anything besides catalogue it all.
At the end of May, my dad flew in from his annual sailing trip. The kids embraced him as they always do, and we spent his first afternoon here crossing the bridge to Coronado Island, where he was a wellspring of rather a lot of interesting information about the island itself and the famous hotel that stands on it. We only whetted our appetites for the place, however, and look forward to going back again--maybe next time we'll get to see some of the Wizard of Oz memorabilia, as the island was Frank Baum's home during much of the time he was writing the books. On Sunday we all attended Aaron's San Diego Children's Choir concert, in which Asher performed (with the peculiarly straight face he has adopted every time he is "forced" to sing), and in which the highlight was "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands," an arrangement by our friend Brett Stewart for his OCMCO choirs, but adapted by Aaron for his groups--the verse when the littlest kids came in singing "he's got the little tiny baby in his hands" was just adorable. The following Monday, we took the kids out of school and headed for Sea World, where we stayed until closing. We made sure to take my dad to our favorite Blue Horizons and Shamu shows, but were also excited to see that an octopus exhibit is set to open this summer, along with a show called Cirque de la Mer, which takes place in the actual ocean. We visited the beluga whales and rode on some favorite rides, including trying Shipwrecked! for the first time. The next day, we got to spend some time at the beach and then hit a taco shop for Taco Tuesday. We were sad to say goodbye on Wednesday, but really appreciate having the chance to have Papa come visit.
The following day was a big one for Asher--his 13th birthday! Although there is ample evidence to support it, nobody really tells you when you're holding your brand new baby in your arms that one day he will become a teenager. We're very encouraged, however, that he has really begun to show some of the responsibility and accountability of a young man now. It is wonderful to see the same determination and leadership abilities that have caused trouble here and there in the past mature into traits that will be of great benefit to him and to others in the future. Anyway, since some of the kids hadn't had a chance to pick out gifts for their brother yet, we told them the night before that we would take them to Walgreens in the morning before school. We left a little after 7 am and headed up toward the Walgreens a little to the north. It was a while before the kids started asking why it was taking us so long to get there, but since they were chatting and reading as we drove, they didn't notice so much. Of course, about the time we turned onto Disneyland Drive, they started to suspect something was up (all except Asher, who had figured it out when Aaron told him not to wear his proper school uniform, but who had managed to cooperate and keep mum about it--see what I mean about the benefits of maturity?). Rather than heading to Disneyland again, Aaron whipped out the tickets for California Adventure that he had gotten at a discount when purchasing our Disneyland tickets the week before. None of us had ever been to California Adventure, so it was truly exciting to get to try out some different yet still magical rides and shows. A big favorite for everyone was the Aladdin show, but other favorites were as follows: Asher--Radiator Springs Racers, Addy--Hollywood Tower of Terror, Emerson--California Screamin', and Sera--Toy Story Midway Mania. I loved the ambience of the park the most--walking through Cars land was especially fun, although if I had to pick a ride, it would probably be the Little Mermaid Under the Sea ride, and Aaron really liked the Radiator Springs Racers as well. Although it was less of a surprise than Disneyland had been, and though everyone was sincerely wiped out by the end of the day, it was a pretty great way to help Asher cross the bridge from childhood to young-adulthood. We waited until the next day for cake (German chocolate) and presents (Addy--basketball shoes, Emerson--sandals, or "sliders" as Asher calls them, Sera--a popsicle-making kit, and from his amazing and beloved parents--the full-size basketball hoop he has been dreaming of since we got here). Although Asher has always been the hardest of our kids to parent (boundaries are not really his thing), we've always know that his remarkable qualities of sensitivity and persistence would come to fruition one day, and it is wonderful to watch that begin to happen.
The next week was full of extra school activities as the kids wrapped up their school year. There was a promotion ceremony for Addy, pool parties and field days for everyone, and Sera got to present her Australian animal diorama to her class (her animal was a kangaroo). Somehow I managed to put together some end-of-year teacher gifts which paled dramatically in comparison to some of the things kids brought in--apparently end of year teacher gifts are kind of a big deal here. Ah well, I know we appreciated our kids' teachers, and I hope they know it too.
Following the last day of school, we embarked on a mad rush to fit all the fun local adventures we could into the limited time before Asher was set to leave for Utah--after hearing that we were waffling over whether to send him to the expensive Catalina Island scout camp our ward is planning for the summer, Papa insisted that he could help Asher earn the money himself over a few weeks this summer. Thus, we spent the first two weeks of summer break trying to squeeze everything in--something Asher clearly appreciated, judging by the strained expression he wore on his face the whole time.
We were able to go to a couple of summer movies, visit several museums at Balboa Park, hit the beach, take in a day at the Del Mar Fair, and attend a Pentatonix concert, a Padres game, and the long-awaited Piano Guys concert. Of the bunch, my personal favorite was the Piano Guys concert, and my least favorite was probably the Del Mar Fair. Though I did my best to keep my belly-aching to a minimum, state fairs sort of bewilder me. The Del Mar Fair is probably the biggest and noisiest I've ever been to. Although I enjoyed the art and photography and woodworking exhibits, I could have done without the pig-racing and monster trucks. I declined to join everyone else for the motocross exhibition, although even Sera said I missed out on that (watching people perform death-defying stunts on motorcycles--alas, I don't quite believe death can be defied every time, and I don't want to be watching when it isn't), but relented and came in for the monster truck bit--it only took one smashed bumper and the near miss of a crash before I determined that I'm not really cut out for that type of thing. The Balboa Park visits were quite lovely though, and even though Aaron got a bit resentful of my continuous narration at the Air and Space museum (doesn't everybody automatically think of the opening chapters of Narnia books when they see World War II aircraft carriers?), I think it's safe to say that I'm really more of a museum girl than a fair girl.
The concerts were the most fun. For the Piano Guys concert, a note to Steve Nelson, a good friend of mine from high school, landed us with VIP tickets and backstage passes! Before the show, we got together with some friends from the BYU music program who also live in town. We met up at Café Coyote, with Asher and Emerson and the two boys from one family at one end of the table, Addy and Sera and the two girls from the other family at the other end of the table, and all the parents in the middle. It really is wonderful to get together with friends from different periods of our lives and compare notes. One of the drawbacks of having moved so much is a lack of consistent friendships that carry through the years, though hopefully the multiplicity of friendships will outweigh it in the end. After a lovely evening in Old Town, one family split for a different performance, and we headed over to Humphreys on the Bay with the other.
The concert venue was lovely! Sailboats were drifting alongside to listen to the concert as well (the performers joked at first that they had the cheap seats, but then conceded that perhaps the purchase price for a yacht made them the expensive seats). It was so exciting to see a peer and friend enjoying such success! Steve Nelson and I were really quite good friends growing up--I probably had as many classes with him growing up as anyone else, given our common musical interests coupled with years of German classes, besides his house being only a few doors down from my best friend's. I remember Steve's videos always being the best in show for the annual Deutsch Video Fest that Herr Hardy held, and the fantastic videos he put together our senior year as a class officer were outtnding. It's interesting to see how he has married that skill with his exceptional musical skills to really delight and inspire people around the world. My hat is off in homage to such remarkable determination, stamina, and musical inventiveness.
We finished the month with a Padres baseball game, which was pretty fun to watch, and which featured players at an exceptional skill level. But quite honestly, when it comes to sports, I'm more of a small-town girl--I'd take a Fort Wayne Tin Caps game any day (better between-inning entertainment and better cheap seats). Luckily, the game ended with a spectacular fireworks blow-out to blast us into July, where maybe we'll manage to fit a couple of entirely empty days into the schedule!
Monday, June 30, 2014
Too Much Fun!
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A real satellite at the Air and Space Museum
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Piloting a helicopter (you'd better believe that Emerson wants behind the controls of a real one)
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Loved seeing The Spirit of St. Louis and other fantastic old planes--I've been reading about Anne Morrow Lindbergh recently, and loved seeing some of the machines that factored into her relationship with Charles
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Even though I'm not exactly a motorcycle girl, I'm completely nuts about the old Indians--they're gorgeous and so evocative of the period they ruled
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If I'd been born at the right time, maybe I could have been a biker after all!
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Maybe our kids will become international surfing stars while we live here (ha!). Seriously though, the international museum and the Museum of Man were more fascinating than I expected--too bad they banned me from taking more pictures!
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The Natural History museum was surprisingly dull, though the kids liked getting cozy with a fake walrus (because the real one at Sea World is really gross)
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We didn't dish out the extra $17 per person for the pirate exhibit, even though it looked pretty awesome, but we did snatch some shots with some of the rogues lurking in the corners--too fun!
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Sneaky Addy! Poor Sera!
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Addy found a boyfriend; Sera did not approve
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She found a better match for herself later though
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Probably I should take better photos at the beach . . . though I am seldom inclined to leave my reading spot. Emerson and Addy are really getting into boogie-boarding, and I rather like it myself. I do long for a surfboard, though.
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Sera is pretty hilarious--she brought a doll and put it in a plastic container and thew it out into the waves over and over so that her doll could boogie-board too
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Rays at Sea World
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A date for fro-yo with my Sera
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Just before the pie-eating contest at the Del-Mar fair. The reason there are no after pictures is that I got suckered into joining in. I turned out to be a terrible pie-eating contestant--who wants to snort pie through their nose? Aaron and Asher held their own, though, tying for 3rd place
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Our kids as the fab four?
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Fountain at the fair
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Fair by night
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A visit to the Mormon Battalion before dinner and Piano Guys
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Emily and Holly and I (the moms) all studied piano with Dr. Shumway at BYU back in the day--lots of reminiscing!
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Piano Guys from our VIP seats
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I'm hearing way too often what a good-looking kid this Asher is lately--watch out, ladies!
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Intermission at the Piano Guys concert. See all the boats in the harbor behind us? It was truly a magical night!
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Padres!
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More Padres!
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Obviously this girl has mad skills
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This one doesn't even have to try
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Padres lost, but we had a great time!
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Awesome fireworks against the San Diego skyline
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Saturday, May 31, 2014
Ashes, Ashes, We All Fall Down
I guess you can never get too comfortable--or watch out!
May began with a handful of hotter than normal days--nothing above 100 degrees, mind you, but San Diego is famous for it's temperate 72 degree days. There were fire warnings scattered around, but we just laughed at them--if you go a few miles inland, you run into some dry areas, but Carlsbad is lush and green and had just come off the yearly tulip festival.
Well, one Wednesday morning as I was driving back from dropping Asher off at school, I noticed some smoke coming from an area just north of us. I mentioned it to Aaron when I got home, since Asher's school is in that general direction and I figured we should pay attention to it. I sat down to get some work done when we heard fire engines . . . not far away at all. Then a facebook post from a friend (whose husband is a fire fighter) popped up with a picture of smoke at a park just down the street. Getting a little more worried, I went outside. I couldn't see anything, but I could smell smoke. Just then I overheard a conversation down the street about a fire and asked about it. The elementary school closest to our own was being evacuated. Because of the wind, a rather big fire was developing from a spark at the newly opened park less than a mile from our house! Having not grown accustomed to fire culture in southern California, I decided I'd rather be safe than sorry. I made Aaron start packing up our essential documents and computer drives, and I went straight down to our kids' elementary school. The office was already crowding with parents taking their kids out for the day, but luckily I was there before it got too crazy. I picked up the three younger kids, called Aaron and sent him up to pick up Asher (as the fire in that area had picked up steam as well). My phone battery was dying (one of those times I really wished I was better at keeping it charged like I should), so Aaron and I made quick plans to meet at our church parking lot. When I got there with the kids, we could see smoke billowing closer and closer, so we took off for another location further away--I had to send Aaron the info with the last few texts I had left on an old cell phone.
When we finally got together, we decided to blow off the rest of the day and head to Sea World together. We ended up having a fantastic day, though we were worried and concerned the whole time. The news just kept getting worse and worse, and video images that popped up online featured landmarks very close to home. Neighborhoods all around us were evacuated, including most of the students in our school district when an additional fire started on the other side of the hill.
Somehow we ended up sandwiched right between the two fires and were free to return home for the night. That night was a sleepless one. Every news report was increasingly dire as neighborhood homes went up in smoke. By some freak stroke of luck, the wind for the earlier fire blew out toward the coast (away from us), and the wind during the later fire blew inland (away from us again). Homes were evacuated from one street west of us and one street north of us, and again several streets south of us, but we got to stay home. By the next morning we learned that school would be cancelled for the rest of the week
Though unexpected, we made the most of the days off. On Thursday I took the kids to the beach, where they had an amazing time even though there was smoke billowing up and down the coast. Lots of families had come up with the same idea we had, so the ocean was crowded with kids. The best bit of the afternoon was when Emerson was out waist-deep in the waves, and an unfamiliar face popped out near his--a sea lion! It was no more than a few feet away from him, and seemed very interested and curious about all the children. Several other children noticed it swimming as well, so a clump of about 10-15 kids ran along the beach for about a quarter of a mile, just laughing and waving to the sea lion. After everyone was thoroughly sandy and salty (but thankfully not sunburned), we rinsed off as well as we could with water bottles and headed home. The next day I was sort of over having the kids at home, so I parked them at the neighborhood pool and managed to read half a book and strike up conversations with a bunch of other moms in the neighborhood who had come up with the same idea. The air was full of smoke and ash, but everyone seemed to have a pretty nice time anyway. The worst part was when we met a family who had just seen their neighbor's house go down--the neighbor was on vacation and was destined to come home to a pile of ash where their house had been.
By the weekend, no new fires had started and the firefighters had gotten a handle on the ones already burning. It was heart-breaking to read the stories coming out from families that actually lost their homes, but it was also awe-inspiring to read accounts of neighbors who had hosed down friends houses to save them and fire-fighters who worked through the night to put the fires out. Roads were closed off all over, and as they slowly started opening again, it was awesome in the worst way to see the green hillsides turned to ash.
Once the fires were finally out, life resumed for most of us. Having decided that we should make the most of our time here in California, since we really don't know how long it will last, we embraced some opportunities to "staycation" around town. Aaron got us tickets to see Billy Joel at the Hollywood Bowl, a dream of mine for I don't know how long--since I was in high school at least--and we drove up one Thursday night for it. Rather than leaving the kids with someone and getting back at all hours of the morning, we decided to give the kids a bit of fun as well. Since they have all been reading their hearts out for our family Book of Mormon challenge (more on that later), we snagged some tickets to Disneyland as well, but didn't tell them about it. On Thursday night we left them at the hotel with a movie while Aaron and I sneaked out for the concert.
What a concert! However good I expected it to be, my expectations were met and exceeded. I have always appreciated Billy Joel's use of classical and pop references in his songs, and he added a huge dose of that to his concert. There were at least a dozen musical references slipped in, from Schubert's eighth symphony to Beethoven's op. 13 sonata to Elvis to Paul McCartney to his buddy Elton John. My favorite joke of the night was when he talked about the double concerts he and Elton John have performed, and started to play a bit of my favorite "Your Song." He started out: "It's a little bit funny, this feeling inside. I'm not one of those who can easily hide. I don't have much money, but . . . bull$*!# . . . trust me, he has plenty of money!" Since I actually do know the words to almost all his songs (with the exception of We Didn't Start the Fire, which I always think I've got until I try to sing it by myself), I couldn't really help singing along to pretty much everything, marveling anew at how really fantastic both the lyrics and the music are to his songs. Some particular highlights for me were An Italian Restaurant, The Entertainer, and Summer, Highland Falls. Mostly it was just amazing seeing someone who has been at this business for as long as he has, still really embracing the opportunity to be on the stage, sharing amazing music with the world. It was definitely a night to remember.
The next morning, I told the kids that I had seen a sign along the road for a place that was selling cocounts 2/$1. Since Emerson has asked frequently since we moved here if we could buy a coconut, I told them this would be a great time to try it. We made a number of wrong turns, eventually landing on Disneyland Drive. Finally, confused about where the coconut shop had gotten to, we pulled into the Disneyland parking lot to turn around. Only we didn't turn around. Aaron paid $17 for us to park there! It was great fun watching the kids' expressions change from confusion to excitement as they figured out what we were really doing. We boarded the Disneyland tram at 8 am and following Aaron's carefully mapped out schedule, managed to enjoy all the best rides, shows, and activities without ever waiting in a line for more than 20 minutes. The highlights for everyone were as follows: Asher--Autopia, Addy--Splash Mountain, Emerson--Splash Mountain, Sera--Small World, Aaron & Britt--kids' faces as we entered the park.
So back to that Book of Mormon challenge. As I mentioned back in January or February or whenever I finally buckled down and made a decision about it, our theme this year is "Come Follow Me." It occurred to me one afternoon in church that despite the fact that we theoretically read the Book of Mormon together regularly as a family, the number of days that happens tends to be limited to days when we aren't running behind, when lunches get made before the kids are scrambling out of the door, when nobody is fighting over the breakfast table, and when jobs aren't being checked and re-checked by me in the moments before the kids leave. Which actually tends to be less days than one might hope. Because of this, despite the fact that we last began the Book of Mormon together as a family in approximately 2009, we were/are still somewhere in Ether. Not bad. But not very good. I am the kind of person who really likes getting into the story of whatever book I'm reading, and no matter the book, it's pretty hard to get a good feel for the story when you spread its reading out over several years. So even though there are some really good, inspiring, up-lifting verses to be found by the 1/2-page/day method, I knew that none of our kids were really connecting with the overarching story of the book. On the first Sunday in May, I decided to challenge everyone to read the entire Book of Mormon on their own before school let out for the year--only 5 weeks away. Aaron looked at me aghast on hearing this challenge, and later told me it was maybe crazy. I agreed with him, but asked what would be the worst that could happen? We'd need to extend the deadline to the end of the summer? I printed out charts for everyone to keep track of their progress, and then stepped back to watch. It was amazing! The kids really embraced the challenge, reading several chapters at a time. Our sacrament meeting attendance this month has been quieter than it has ever been before, as the kids bury themselves in chapter after chapter of Nephi, Mosiah, and Alma. I've had to work to keep up myself, and have been reminded anew what a really epic story The Book of Mormon actually tells. We've had some great discussions about various episodes along the way, and I've appreciated having this chance, early in my kids' lives, to let them know that I too think it's pretty crazy that Nephi kills Laban and there is some pretty blatantly racist talk that goes on in some bits. The most important message I want them to learn not only about the Book of Mormon, but also about other books of scripture, is that they are all, all compiled by men. No matter what percentage of the writings might be inspired by God, man has a unique ability to skew things along the way, and that just because men are imperfect, that doesn't mean that learning to develop their own spiritual connection to God and ability to listen to personal guidance and promptings is diminished--if anything, it is increased! I so appreciate having this opportunity to share such thoughts and feelings, near and dear to my heart as they are, with my children while they are young..
To close, there are a couple of quick grown-up achievements to tout, and a couple of hilarious kid anecdotes to share. First, Aaron is nearing completion of his first year as artistic director for the San Diego Children's Choir, and he has made enormous contributions to the organization that should not be overlooked. Second, this month I finished writing up the lesson plans for year 1 of KinderKeys classes and am now ready to take the next step with them . . . whatever that is. Finally, a couple of favorites from this month have been Emerson's conversation with his Grandpa Jerry on the phone the other day. He was talking about mean me and how I didn't let him continue karate after the brief session I had signed him and Sera up for, because he thought learning karate was good for helping him defend himself against Asher. Then, when asked whether would continue, he replied "well, my mom isn't that supportive." And from Sera: as we were driving down to Sea World one morning, she was noting the neighborhood names. She asked "why is this part called La Costa?" Addy answered with "it just is--why is Carlsbad called Carlsbad?" To which Sera replied (with the eye-roll she is perfecting) "um, because Carl is bad!" So there you have it folks, the real reasons we name things the way we do.
Here's to a beautiful (and hopefully fire-free) summer!
May began with a handful of hotter than normal days--nothing above 100 degrees, mind you, but San Diego is famous for it's temperate 72 degree days. There were fire warnings scattered around, but we just laughed at them--if you go a few miles inland, you run into some dry areas, but Carlsbad is lush and green and had just come off the yearly tulip festival.
Well, one Wednesday morning as I was driving back from dropping Asher off at school, I noticed some smoke coming from an area just north of us. I mentioned it to Aaron when I got home, since Asher's school is in that general direction and I figured we should pay attention to it. I sat down to get some work done when we heard fire engines . . . not far away at all. Then a facebook post from a friend (whose husband is a fire fighter) popped up with a picture of smoke at a park just down the street. Getting a little more worried, I went outside. I couldn't see anything, but I could smell smoke. Just then I overheard a conversation down the street about a fire and asked about it. The elementary school closest to our own was being evacuated. Because of the wind, a rather big fire was developing from a spark at the newly opened park less than a mile from our house! Having not grown accustomed to fire culture in southern California, I decided I'd rather be safe than sorry. I made Aaron start packing up our essential documents and computer drives, and I went straight down to our kids' elementary school. The office was already crowding with parents taking their kids out for the day, but luckily I was there before it got too crazy. I picked up the three younger kids, called Aaron and sent him up to pick up Asher (as the fire in that area had picked up steam as well). My phone battery was dying (one of those times I really wished I was better at keeping it charged like I should), so Aaron and I made quick plans to meet at our church parking lot. When I got there with the kids, we could see smoke billowing closer and closer, so we took off for another location further away--I had to send Aaron the info with the last few texts I had left on an old cell phone.
When we finally got together, we decided to blow off the rest of the day and head to Sea World together. We ended up having a fantastic day, though we were worried and concerned the whole time. The news just kept getting worse and worse, and video images that popped up online featured landmarks very close to home. Neighborhoods all around us were evacuated, including most of the students in our school district when an additional fire started on the other side of the hill.
Somehow we ended up sandwiched right between the two fires and were free to return home for the night. That night was a sleepless one. Every news report was increasingly dire as neighborhood homes went up in smoke. By some freak stroke of luck, the wind for the earlier fire blew out toward the coast (away from us), and the wind during the later fire blew inland (away from us again). Homes were evacuated from one street west of us and one street north of us, and again several streets south of us, but we got to stay home. By the next morning we learned that school would be cancelled for the rest of the week
Though unexpected, we made the most of the days off. On Thursday I took the kids to the beach, where they had an amazing time even though there was smoke billowing up and down the coast. Lots of families had come up with the same idea we had, so the ocean was crowded with kids. The best bit of the afternoon was when Emerson was out waist-deep in the waves, and an unfamiliar face popped out near his--a sea lion! It was no more than a few feet away from him, and seemed very interested and curious about all the children. Several other children noticed it swimming as well, so a clump of about 10-15 kids ran along the beach for about a quarter of a mile, just laughing and waving to the sea lion. After everyone was thoroughly sandy and salty (but thankfully not sunburned), we rinsed off as well as we could with water bottles and headed home. The next day I was sort of over having the kids at home, so I parked them at the neighborhood pool and managed to read half a book and strike up conversations with a bunch of other moms in the neighborhood who had come up with the same idea. The air was full of smoke and ash, but everyone seemed to have a pretty nice time anyway. The worst part was when we met a family who had just seen their neighbor's house go down--the neighbor was on vacation and was destined to come home to a pile of ash where their house had been.
By the weekend, no new fires had started and the firefighters had gotten a handle on the ones already burning. It was heart-breaking to read the stories coming out from families that actually lost their homes, but it was also awe-inspiring to read accounts of neighbors who had hosed down friends houses to save them and fire-fighters who worked through the night to put the fires out. Roads were closed off all over, and as they slowly started opening again, it was awesome in the worst way to see the green hillsides turned to ash.
Once the fires were finally out, life resumed for most of us. Having decided that we should make the most of our time here in California, since we really don't know how long it will last, we embraced some opportunities to "staycation" around town. Aaron got us tickets to see Billy Joel at the Hollywood Bowl, a dream of mine for I don't know how long--since I was in high school at least--and we drove up one Thursday night for it. Rather than leaving the kids with someone and getting back at all hours of the morning, we decided to give the kids a bit of fun as well. Since they have all been reading their hearts out for our family Book of Mormon challenge (more on that later), we snagged some tickets to Disneyland as well, but didn't tell them about it. On Thursday night we left them at the hotel with a movie while Aaron and I sneaked out for the concert.
What a concert! However good I expected it to be, my expectations were met and exceeded. I have always appreciated Billy Joel's use of classical and pop references in his songs, and he added a huge dose of that to his concert. There were at least a dozen musical references slipped in, from Schubert's eighth symphony to Beethoven's op. 13 sonata to Elvis to Paul McCartney to his buddy Elton John. My favorite joke of the night was when he talked about the double concerts he and Elton John have performed, and started to play a bit of my favorite "Your Song." He started out: "It's a little bit funny, this feeling inside. I'm not one of those who can easily hide. I don't have much money, but . . . bull$*!# . . . trust me, he has plenty of money!" Since I actually do know the words to almost all his songs (with the exception of We Didn't Start the Fire, which I always think I've got until I try to sing it by myself), I couldn't really help singing along to pretty much everything, marveling anew at how really fantastic both the lyrics and the music are to his songs. Some particular highlights for me were An Italian Restaurant, The Entertainer, and Summer, Highland Falls. Mostly it was just amazing seeing someone who has been at this business for as long as he has, still really embracing the opportunity to be on the stage, sharing amazing music with the world. It was definitely a night to remember.
The next morning, I told the kids that I had seen a sign along the road for a place that was selling cocounts 2/$1. Since Emerson has asked frequently since we moved here if we could buy a coconut, I told them this would be a great time to try it. We made a number of wrong turns, eventually landing on Disneyland Drive. Finally, confused about where the coconut shop had gotten to, we pulled into the Disneyland parking lot to turn around. Only we didn't turn around. Aaron paid $17 for us to park there! It was great fun watching the kids' expressions change from confusion to excitement as they figured out what we were really doing. We boarded the Disneyland tram at 8 am and following Aaron's carefully mapped out schedule, managed to enjoy all the best rides, shows, and activities without ever waiting in a line for more than 20 minutes. The highlights for everyone were as follows: Asher--Autopia, Addy--Splash Mountain, Emerson--Splash Mountain, Sera--Small World, Aaron & Britt--kids' faces as we entered the park.
So back to that Book of Mormon challenge. As I mentioned back in January or February or whenever I finally buckled down and made a decision about it, our theme this year is "Come Follow Me." It occurred to me one afternoon in church that despite the fact that we theoretically read the Book of Mormon together regularly as a family, the number of days that happens tends to be limited to days when we aren't running behind, when lunches get made before the kids are scrambling out of the door, when nobody is fighting over the breakfast table, and when jobs aren't being checked and re-checked by me in the moments before the kids leave. Which actually tends to be less days than one might hope. Because of this, despite the fact that we last began the Book of Mormon together as a family in approximately 2009, we were/are still somewhere in Ether. Not bad. But not very good. I am the kind of person who really likes getting into the story of whatever book I'm reading, and no matter the book, it's pretty hard to get a good feel for the story when you spread its reading out over several years. So even though there are some really good, inspiring, up-lifting verses to be found by the 1/2-page/day method, I knew that none of our kids were really connecting with the overarching story of the book. On the first Sunday in May, I decided to challenge everyone to read the entire Book of Mormon on their own before school let out for the year--only 5 weeks away. Aaron looked at me aghast on hearing this challenge, and later told me it was maybe crazy. I agreed with him, but asked what would be the worst that could happen? We'd need to extend the deadline to the end of the summer? I printed out charts for everyone to keep track of their progress, and then stepped back to watch. It was amazing! The kids really embraced the challenge, reading several chapters at a time. Our sacrament meeting attendance this month has been quieter than it has ever been before, as the kids bury themselves in chapter after chapter of Nephi, Mosiah, and Alma. I've had to work to keep up myself, and have been reminded anew what a really epic story The Book of Mormon actually tells. We've had some great discussions about various episodes along the way, and I've appreciated having this chance, early in my kids' lives, to let them know that I too think it's pretty crazy that Nephi kills Laban and there is some pretty blatantly racist talk that goes on in some bits. The most important message I want them to learn not only about the Book of Mormon, but also about other books of scripture, is that they are all, all compiled by men. No matter what percentage of the writings might be inspired by God, man has a unique ability to skew things along the way, and that just because men are imperfect, that doesn't mean that learning to develop their own spiritual connection to God and ability to listen to personal guidance and promptings is diminished--if anything, it is increased! I so appreciate having this opportunity to share such thoughts and feelings, near and dear to my heart as they are, with my children while they are young..
To close, there are a couple of quick grown-up achievements to tout, and a couple of hilarious kid anecdotes to share. First, Aaron is nearing completion of his first year as artistic director for the San Diego Children's Choir, and he has made enormous contributions to the organization that should not be overlooked. Second, this month I finished writing up the lesson plans for year 1 of KinderKeys classes and am now ready to take the next step with them . . . whatever that is. Finally, a couple of favorites from this month have been Emerson's conversation with his Grandpa Jerry on the phone the other day. He was talking about mean me and how I didn't let him continue karate after the brief session I had signed him and Sera up for, because he thought learning karate was good for helping him defend himself against Asher. Then, when asked whether would continue, he replied "well, my mom isn't that supportive." And from Sera: as we were driving down to Sea World one morning, she was noting the neighborhood names. She asked "why is this part called La Costa?" Addy answered with "it just is--why is Carlsbad called Carlsbad?" To which Sera replied (with the eye-roll she is perfecting) "um, because Carl is bad!" So there you have it folks, the real reasons we name things the way we do.
Here's to a beautiful (and hopefully fire-free) summer!
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