Is This Arizona? Yes. Yes, It Is.

You probably recognize the cabin, right? But the white stuff?

I love this place on earth. I love it. Ever since we bought the property, I've dreamed of driving north for a snow day, and when I saw flakes in the forecast for last Saturday, I got really excited. I must admit that I awoke in the middle of the night on Friday to check if it really was snowing when the forecasters said it would--around midnight.

It was.

I mean, I grew up in Idaho--the land of the eternally blowing wind and drifting snow. It was cold. And miserable. And long. But I also have fantastic memories of tubing and skiing and hanging on car bumpers as we slid along the ice.

I wanted my Arizona kids to experience the joys of snow. I sorted through our giant mostly unused pile of snow gear to find pants, jackets, hats, gloves, and boots for each of the kids, made a huge pot of chili, and we loaded up the car.

We left our house around noon and drove the quick 90 minutes north.

Micah kept checking the temperature on the car's screen and saying, "It needs to drop a few more degrees in order for it to snow. Come on! Get colder!"

Just south of Payson, the rain turned to flakes--big, beautiful, soft, Christmas card flakes. There was a cheer from inside the Suburban. (I may have led that cheer.)

Brad built a roaring fire in the fireplace and it was perfect.

I took a short nap, and this was my view.

The day was as perfect as it could be. Temps were just above freezing, so the heavy 2-3" melted quickly, but not too quickly.

There was plenty for eating and building and leaving footprints.

The entire high desert landscape changed. I couldn't get enough of it.

See how warm it was? Running water in the creek bed, snow lining the banks.

It was the perfect snowball fight day. The snow packed easily, and it was still warm enough that AZ kids didn't get cold.

While all of the kids were good sports about snow in the face or down their shirts, Micah was especially good about it. He would get a face full of it, take a quick breath, shake it off, and bend down to form his next snowball.

The best part? After dinner and a quick clean of the cabin, we piled back in the car and drove south 90 miles to 55* weather.

I love Arizona.

_______________

P.S. I know most of you are suffering through the aftermath of the season's first huge storm and can't escape back to warm weather. It is a touch chilly here today (52* high), but any and all are welcome to come stay here in the warmth with us!

Family Photos, Cougar Style

We are a pretty crazy bunch. Getting all of us to sit for one picture--chaos.

Now that my Christmas cards are in the mail, I thought I'd share our photo shoot in Provo last October.

Twenty-seven years ago, Brad and I met in adjoining office cubicles at BYU. Now look.

 Look at the real us.

We missed Ben like crazy that weekend, but he sent me this picture from Peru to add to our Christmas card.

The Provo Dentons

 The Brubakers

My cheerleaders

Those three little girls pranced and danced and cheered in those outfits all weekend. I loved watching them.

All because these two people went to BYU. Crazy to think, right?

Can you name these four people?

The Pure Joy of Children

Life has been pretty heavy around here lately.

Lots of illness. Lots of it.

Lots of decision. Lots of it.

Lots of stress. Lots of it.

Schedules are off. Kids aren't sleeping well. We run from place to place and barely have time to sit around here.

Before the holidays began, I had grand plans for our season--calmer, quieter, more time at home to spend quietly with family--and the spirit of Christmas would be in every carol, scented candle, and gift under the tree. Somehow it hasn't turned out the way I'd planned.

I decided to take this whole "Christmas Spirit" thing into my own hands last weekend, and on a whim, I bought tickets for "The Nutcracker." I grew up listening to the music (Tchaikovsky is one of my mother's all-time favorites and thus one of mine, too), and I hadn't been to see the ballet in many years--I think Lily was four, if that gives you any idea. Lily's friend is a principal ballerina at a local studio and she begged us to come see it.

So we did. I took both of my girls and one of Lily's friends.

Funny thing about "The Nutcracker."

It draws you in on every level--sights, sounds, everything. The music. The costumes. The toe shoes. I loved watching families gathered together, with little girls in their shimmery Christmas dresses and black tights, snapping selfies and carrying nutcrackers. There is something magical about the whole experience.

The excitement in the theatre was contagious. We found our last-minute seats in the second row and looked through the program. We read all the bios, searched for Lily's ballerina friend in the pictures, and got ready for the show to start. Eve was excited--she had had her own dance recital that morning, and she knew her "Chinese Dancers" music would be near the end of the show. Eve sat wide eyed and silent as the story unfolded just feet in front of her. I loved bending down on occasion to explain what was happening or hug her tight. Her first Nutcracker.

Just minutes before curtain, a couple with their small pink tutu-clad daughter took their seats directly behind us. She couldn't have been older than four, this little ballerina. Her eyes and smile were bright with anticipation, and the minute the music started, she started talking. "Mommy, look! There's Clara! I know her!" "The nutcracker is going to turn into a big giant nutcracker, just you watch, Daddy!" Her parents would quietly acknowledge her comment then try to quiet her. I've been in their place before--exuberant kids who can't contain their excitement and their random outbursts of loud joy. Every time she would make a comment, Lily or I (or both of us) would turn around and smile or talk with her for a moment. Seeing the ballet through the eyes of my youngest daughter and this tiny girl was exactly the Christmas joy my soul needed.

After taking Eve to the bathroom during intermission (twice--which I really can't explain . . .), we walked back to our seats. This little family was standing and stretching and talking. The mom caught my eye and apologized. "I'm sorry she's so loud. She just loves this so much." It made me sad that she felt the need to apologize for her child's enjoyment.

"Don't apologize. We love listening to her. Please let her enjoy it as much as she can and know that we are loving it with her." The mom's eyes smiled her thanks as the lights dimmed for the third act.

"Mommy! It's the Sugar Plum Fairy!" "Daddy, this is the waltz. It's my favorite!" "Daddy, do you see Clara up there on the sleigh?"

By the end of the ballet, Eve was somber and still, but still awake. So was our little friend in the third row. As we rose to leave, I asked her if she loved the ballet. Her dad answered for her. "I think she's about done. But I know where we will be next year!"

I smiled all the way up the stairs to our bedrooms that night, carrying Eve's sleeping body and thinking of these two little girls and their Nutcracker experience. The magic of the season through a child's eyes. Beautiful costumes, beautiful dancing, and beautiful ballet dreams.

The season truly started for me that day.

May the joys of Christmas come to your family through the eyes of children--your own and those you see around you.

Still Busy Around Here . . .

Here's what we did last night at the Sanatorium: block towers and a raucous dance party around the piano. I haven't played the piano like that in a really really long time. Jonah loved it all.

I remember dancing like that when my dad played those songs. While I have gotten quite rusty on the octaves and the notes aren't as accurate as they used to be, the joy that comes from these songs must be genetic. I love how "The Burning of Rome" and "Ben Hur" link my grandkids and my kids and me to my dad.

Thanks, Dad. Thanks for teaching me to love music. And for letting me dance like a dervish in my nightgown when you played.

Halloween 2015

Halloween pictures were a bit erratic this year. Lily dressed up three separate times (twice as a mermaid and once as a cowgirl), but I never got a single picture of her. I'm sad about that, because she really looked good those days.

Here are the rest of us:

 Eve dressed as a BYU cheerleader for school but changed her mind for Halloween. She donned the dress Brad brought her from India.

 Hyrum had only one wish: to be the villain from the new Star Wars. Didn't know he swung on a swing, did you?

 Using the Force to squeeze me from a distance.

 And the cool new lightsaber, of course!

 Micah knew exactly who he wanted to be, and I had never heard of him. The Awkward Avoidance Viking from Studio C--view a clip here.

 When Eve dressed in her Indian clothes, I decided to get in on the fun, too.

After a neighborhood Halloween dinner, the boys headed out in their pod of friends to cover as much area in the quickest time possible. Lily and her friend took Eve to a few houses (she never likes to go as long as the boys), and I manned the front door with our neighbors Marc and Ashley (Doofenschmirtz and a pineapple, I mean). We laughed and handed out candy and had more fun than should be allowed on the front step on Halloween. When Eve got back, I took Lily and her friend to a party, and she changed back into a cheerleader while I was gone. Also while I was gone, Halloween threw up in the entry way. Trading and crying and fighting  . . .

. . . and then bed.

Halloween 2015 is now on the books.

Now it's November, and the weather has finally decided to feel like fall. I actually needed a sweatshirt this morning.

Happy Birthday, Eve!

Finally her sixth birthday! Eve is the youngest in her grade, and by the time her birthday comes around at the end of October, some of the kids in her class are already seven. It's hard to be patient for it, but she does her best by counting down the days for over a month before!

I wish I had a better picture of the present Hyrum made for his sister. He was really proud of the computer terminal he constructed for her out of bits from his stash of broken stuff.
There was a keyboard, a clock (so she knows what time it is!), a few computer pieces, and a space for a pretend monitor. He also gave her all of his money--$3.  That boy has a tender heart, even if he doesn't show it very often.

I had prepared Eve for the fact that she wasn't going to get a ton of presents--three from Mom and Dad and one from Grandma. She was a bit sad when I told her this two days before her birthday, but I explained that sometimes, fewer presents mean you'll love what you're getting even more.

And she did. I stewed over which American Girl doll to get her--a lookalike or a historical character--and I ended up with Caroline Abbott, a green-eyed girl with long curly hair. She carried Caroline around with her all morning, and from the second she got home from school until she went to sleep.

School got out early that day for parent/teacher conferences, and it was the perfect time for a birthday party. We started by making soft pretzels. The kids loved this, and I enjoyed watching all of their creativity come out. Even my boys got in on it.

Of course we had to have cupcakes . . .

. . . and the only ones at the store that weren't Halloween themed were Breast Cancer Awareness themed.

Pink is pink when you're six, thankfully.

While we waited for pretzels to cook, Hyrum took his job as the entertainment committee very seriously.

Then it was time for the pinata.

Each of the seven kids took three swings, but none could break it.

Two rounds through all of the guests, and no one could break it.

It tore loose from the makeshift tie a few times, but it never popped open.

This little guy was the only boy invited. He told his mom that he wanted to buy Eve a pink dress. When she asked if he meant a dress-up dress, he said, "No. A real dress." When Eve opened it, I turned to him and said, "Nice dress. I think Eve will like that." He turned to me and smoothly said, "Thanks. My mom picked it out. She did good." Still laughing about that one.

After two rounds of the little kids failing to break it, I let Hyrum and Micah have a crack.

If you look closely at this picture, you can see where I poked a hole in it before Micah swung. It was the most stubborn pinata ever!

I love this little girlie. She had a long birthday day where she wasn't able to choose everything normally part of birthday traditions at our house. Instead of eating out, we brought her choice of McDonald's home before we headed out as a family for a meeting--that lasted two HOURS. The whole time, she snuggled Caroline and asked when we would get home to have birthday cake.

9:20 pm, and she was blowing out her candles.

This little baby of mine is growing up. She loves her dad more than any of her siblings and requests him to read to her and tuck her in every night. She recently learned my cell number and will call me randomly whenever I'm not home. "Mom, where are you?" I'm driving, why? "I just called to tell you I love you!" or "Mom, is it night where you are?" Yes, Baby. It is. "Wow! Here too!"

I love her. I love watching her and hugging her and tickling her and teaching her and being her mom.

Happy Birthday Eve!