The Utah Files

So a bunch of weeks ago, I got a phone call from my mom that my dad was in the hospital. Which has happened before, but this time ... this time, well, let me put it this way: In about a day and a half, my brother and his wife loaded up their car with me and my kids and all our stuff put together for a trip to Utah that would last who-knew-how-long. We ended up being there for about two weeks - and what a two weeks it was! Dad was in the ICU for most of that time, and then later had open-heart surgery and is now at a rehabilitation center recovering and working on being well enough to go home and get back to his awesome life. We are so grateful.

We also had a little fun here and there, and even a few photos to prove it!

These first ones are especially special to me. I remember when the fact of my dad's diagnoses of Parkinson's disease really sunk in for me. It was the day I realized that he would probably never play "Hands" with my children (who weren't even close to being born at the time). When I was little, my dad was the strongest person on the planet, I was convinced, because he could lift us up like this. I was always wobbly and afraid of falling, but this game sort of signifies rare time spent with my dad, who was so often at sea during my early childhood. In light of all that, it was important and meaningful to me to see my oldest brother carrying on the game with my kids:

We have many similarities, this girl and I, but she is definitely way more confident than I ever was at her age!

We were also lucky enough to be in Utah at the right time to welcome the newest member of the family, Robert Alexander Booth - known around here as "our new baby cousin Robert!" The kids think it's hilarious that the baby has the same name as their dad. Both Roberts were named for Bob Knox, my mother-in-law's father. And can you ever forgive me for posting sideways photos? I've tried to fix it twice - I suppose this is the sort of brain-lapse that happens when one hasn't blogged for a while. They're cute anyway, right?

A little help from Uncle Alex, of course.

Okay, now here's the shameless section of this post. Calvin doing his Awesome Dance in the middle of a greasy burger joint, to some 80's song I can't remember. I wish I'd taken video so you could more fully appreciate the awesomeness. Love the fist action, every time. Again with the sideways photos, sorry.



Meanwhile, Charlotte has discovered Root Beer. "Oh Mama, I LOOOOOVE Root Beer!" Oh my.



And finally, no road trip would be complete without photos of what-happens-when-you-give-the-kids-the-camera. And while it was so very tempting to post, I have omitted the photo out the window of the police officer who pulled us over on the way home and gave my 3-years-older-than-me brother his first ever in his entire life, even though he *always* speeds, speeding ticket.

Ok! That's it! Happy Halloween week!

In Search of a More Meaningful Halloween

(Me and my sister, circa 1981)

I adore Halloween. True, it wasn't always so. For many reasons, I never really felt like celebrating it; and in recent years I've discovered just as many - if not more - reasons for not only celebrating but really finding meaning in what's become one of my favorite holidays ever.

I sometimes wonder about the founders of our modern holy-days, and what they would think if they could see the way we celebrate them. At its beginning, Halloween (and the few days following it) meant something really important to people. And while my kids will certainly be dressing up and trick-or-treating right along with everyone else, I've been thinking about how to make Halloween and the Days of the Dead mean something more to our family. Here's the beginning of my idea so far:

The Days of the Dead are celebrated by in one way or another honoring our ancestors. And though the rituals and *ways* of celebrating might seem foreign and something this Mormon girl can't really relate to with integrity, I do know a thing or two about ancestors and honoring the people who literally made me what I am. And so I think, what a perfect month to talk about genealogy with my children! What a perfect excuse to pull out old photographs and hang them up on the walls (along with the usual spooky accoutrements, of course) so we are always looking at them for the next few weeks! What an absolute SNAP Family Home Evening is going to be for the rest of the month! :) I will be telling stories about my kids' ancestors every Monday night this month, showing photos of the people in the stories wherever I can. Then on Halloween morning, I'll help them each decorate a special picture frame where they can keep a copy of their "favorite" ancestor in their rooms, to remind them of who they are and where they come from, until next October when I hope we'll do it all over again.

That's my plan, anyway, and I think it's a good one, so I just thought I'd share.

Happy, Happy October!

Our Weekend at the ER

No, no not that ER. (We've never been to that one, actually - knock on wood!) No, we spent the weekend with Robert's family at Ensign Ranch, a Church-owned property in Central Washington (designated by a big ER on our calendar - a friend thought it was odd that we were planning a trip to the emergency room, and for the whole weekend!) and had a lovely time.


We slept in bunk beds!



We made friends with the horses - their pasture was right outside our bunkhouse door.


We played with cousins!



And went canoeing.


And fed a possible obsession. Growing up in this town, I'm sure we won't see the last of photos like these.

We also flew kites, ran away from yellow-jackets, skipped rocks in the lake, ate yummy food (Robert was the cook!) and lay down on the grass to watch the clouds go by. Since we were at Ensign Ranch, we also got to read some words of a prophet, hanging on the wall of the reservation office: "In all of life, have much fun and laughter; life is to be enjoyed, not just endured." (Gordon B. Hinkley) A lovely time, indeed.

Is Everybody In Who's In?

Let me know by the end of the day tomorrow (Tuesday). And if you have any questions, be sure to ask!

Shake up Your Stash!

So I've been doing a lot of sewing lately. Curtains for our dining and family rooms, and quilts for each of our bedrooms plus one for the living room. I'll post photos as soon as I take some! But for now, I'm a bit tired of looking at the same fabrics over and over again. Anyone want to help me shake things up with a fabric swap?

Here's what I'm thinking: A scrap swap. Any size goes, as long as it's at least 2 1/2 inches square and fits inside a quart-sized Ziploc bag. Fill the bag with as many pieces as will fit, but make sure to keep it interesting with a good variety, say, at least 10 different prints. Want in? Leave a comment here or email me with your snail-mail address: rachelthefaire (at) gmail (dot) com. Do it by Tuesday, August 11th and I'll email you your swap partner's info. by the end of my day on the 12th. Let's get things sent out by, oh, the 19th, shall we? That gives a week, is that enough time?

Scenes from the Backyard, vol. 2

Today, the weather felt downright cold. Which is a lovely relief from last week's record-breaking heatwave. It just about blew my mind that it got hotter than it's ever been in the history of record-keeping here. Here are just a few of the ways we survived:


We've also been spending a bit more time in the garden, since first it was entirely too hot to be inside, and now it's so pleasant outside! We're harvesting beets, carrots, and swiss chard:

One of these things Charlotte loves to eat, and the other she will only eat under very certain conditions. Can you guess which is which, and what the conditions are?

Mama Said There'll Be Days Like This

Today was full of everything. Except for the pictures to prove it. But it's alright; I'll explain later.

It got off to a frustrating, tear-filled start, but began to get much better as the kids and I drove out to a town even smaller than ours for some fabric shopping. On the way home, our CD of the primary songs for this year came up, and right in the middle of "My Eternal Family" Charlotte said, "Mom, I'm going to be strong and righteous and kind, and help out so that you don't have to do it alone." If you're a parent, you know just exactly how that made me feel.

In the afternoon, I skipped the grocery shopping in favor of filling up the pool and letting the kids run around the yard with the little neighbor girl (who came knocking at the door just as I was about to pack the kids in the car and drag them to the grocery store). They also had an impromptu tea party, complete with ginger cookies. Can I tell you how much I love tea parties? It's just such a natural environment for teaching civility. Like today as the teapot was being wrestled over, it was the perfect opportunity for the words "Having tea is all about serving one another; here, let me show you. Would you like another cup?" to escape my lips.

I set my sewing machine up on the picnic table and worked on Calvin's quilt upgrade (he's grown out from under his baby quilt - thank goodness it's summertime!)

We had popcorn, watermelon and smoothies for dinner al fresco. Just as we were cleaning up, Modest Mouse's "Float On" came on the radio and we danced around like maniacs while we cleared the table.

So many times I wished I'd had a camera today (I sent the "good one" with Robert, who was off on an adventure). And then it occurred to me, that while it's nice to have pictures to look at later, to remind us of days like this, it's more important to actually have more days like this - I hope we have so many that they'll be etched into my children's memories far more profoundly than any picture could express.

This Month is Such a Special One ...

We were in birthday party heaven this weekend, with two at our house yesterday and one today (not at our house, thank goodness!).

We started the day with a family brunch for my niece Kamden, whose 3rd birthday is the day before Charlotte's 4th.

The kids made Fruit-Loop necklaces first thing, so they'd have something to snack on while they waited for Grandma and Grandpa to show up.

Jessica made awesome waffles, and we got a little fruity! :)

Pretty Kami!

Jess made Kami her own personal cake ...


... and inside ... so fun!


Calvin could barely stand that it wasn't his birthday so he thieved the blown-out candles from Kami's cake and sang "Happy to you, Calvin!" and blew them "out" again!

Kami sitting with Auntie Chrys (my fantastic new sister-in-law), and Grandpa (my dad) in the background.

In the afternoon, we did Charlotte's party, which I themed loosely around Alice in Wonderland. We did invitations with a picture from the book (from the chapter "Pig and Pepper") which said "For the Duchess. An invitation from the Queen ... "

We put out the kids' ancient castle (I made it when Charlotte was *maybe* two from the box our TV came in, and we've been playing with it ever since) and some kid-sized tables and chairs in the yard. We hung these *super* simple tissue paper pom-poms (a rare Martha success!) in the trees.


The kids made "mad" hats. Well, the girls did anyway ... we couldn't interest the boys. *Shrug*


Here is my sister, graciously modeling one of our fabulous hat creations.

We had "Eat Me" cupcakes, "red-less" velvet cake (we left out the food coloring) and cream cheese frosting, which seems to be what I always end up making for birthdays these days.

And "Drink Me" juice boxes.

We played "Button, Button, Who's Got the Button?" only we called it "Who Stole the Tarts?". We were planning on doing "Pin the Caterpillar on the Mushroom" too, but we ran out of time.

And just because I hardly ever post photos of me and Robert, here you go.


Our favors ... a chocolate bar covered up with fun paper.

And of course, Queen Charlotte herself!

I would say "I can't believe she's 4 already!" except that I can. She is growing up fast for sure, but I love watching it happen. She's an amazing girl, and we are blessed and honored to have her around!