Lemonade

One of my favorite things about visiting Phoenix in the winter is all the fruit trees. I love that people can just walk outside and pick lemons, grapefruits, and oranges and have freshly squeezed juice from their own yard.

Jenny and Brett sent us home with a suitcase full of lemons, so Lucy and I got to work and surprised the boys with fresh lemonade. They were thrilled. I love the fragrance of cut lemon peels smelling up the kitchen. Mmmmm...

Piano

There are some people who come into your life that you couldn't be more grateful for; Spencer's piano teacher is one of those people.

She has made his music experience so positive, which means she's made my music experience with him positive. And for that, I am so thankful.

One thing I've noticed for sure is how his rhythm has improved. His pieces sound so good. We're looking forward to his first recital this weekend.

Thank you Miss Julie for inspiring my boy!

Charlie's new pal

Here is the final result of Charlie's big school project. He was supposed to write a biography and make this life size display of someone famous. After a trip to the library with Brad, he chose Steve Young.

Charlie has been completely responsible from start to finish with getting this done and I'm proud of him. I can't wait to hear him present his findings in a wax museum next week. Way to go Charlie!

Valentine's

Lucy and I cutting out hearts for family night. We sent a heart attack to "Nana" for Valentine's Day, so she wouldn't have to celebrate alone. Each of us wrote something we love about her on a heart and then told her to hang them up on her cabinets, so she could be surrounded with love.

Here's mister Charlie writing out valentines to his classmates. He said he didn't need to use a list, because he knows every single person in his class from memory.

Picking kids up from school after their Valentine's party. This is a typical picture of my goof balls.

Sawyer got an electrical kit for his birthday and he used it to make a really cool Valentine box. It's hard to tell from the picture, but you push down on a marker and the helicopter wings started spinning. I was impressed and glad he spent the time to figure it out. I really loved that the boys did everything themselves with regards to their boxes and valentines.

Lucy enjoying her preschool party. I made a nice dinner of roast beef and potatoes and no one touched it but me and Brad. They were all filled up on sugar.

cold lunch

I have to say I'm very pleased that the boys have been making their own lunches this year (most of the time).

They basically eat the same thing everyday: peanut butter sandwich, fruit or veggie, a snack (if they haven't all been eaten), and water.

Charlie's sandwiches really make me laugh and so I've started taking pictures. He always makes peanut butter and jelly.

This morning he told me he likes to "sample his sandwich" before putting it in his lunch box.

I wonder what the lunch ladies think when they see these?!

Phoenix in February

Ruby and I flew from Utah to Phoenix to meet up with Brad. She was a great traveler, but was definitely getting sick of the car seat. She was cracking me up with her back bends. "Please, get me out of here!"

I had been looking forward to our Phoenix trip for several weeks, because we got to visit some of our favorite people. I think that's always the best part of any trip.

1) We got to spend an evening with the Forsbergs. That's always a highlight. I don't think we could ever tire of Keith's stories and Stephanie's good food.

2) I got to spend the day with my friend Shawni and her daughter Lucy. We met back in 1991 while on study abroad to Jerusalem. Over the past few years, we've reconnected through blogging and email, so it was wonderful to be able to spend some time in person and catch up. I loved it!

Last, but not least, we got to spend time with Jenny and Brett's family. Jenny and I took the kids to the park during the day and it was cold and rainy. Jenny said, "this is the coldest it's been since we've lived here."

So much for the balmy weather I was looking forward to. I didn't get in the pool once and never even walked around the resort. We were on the go every minute. Not a relaxing trip, but wonderful in the sense that we saw some of our favorite people.

Here's Ruby and her new little cousin Ellie. I'm so glad they'll have each other growing up. It's always fun to have a cousin your age.

I love watching Ruby sleep. She sure likes that thumb.

I took a picture of this omelet for two reasons:

1) I think it looks scrumptious.

2) I couldn't believe this plate of food cost $25. The only reason I could justify ordering it was that we had a voucher to use or lose. So, I used it. But, seriously?!

Grandpa Israelsen's funeral

My grandpa Israelsen passed away in February and I was able to fly out for his funeral. I’m so grateful I was able to be there. The whole event was a very positive spiritual and emotional experience for me. Here are some of the reasons why:

There’s nothing I love better than a huge family gathering. And, with the Israelsen clan, huge is fitting because my grandpa was one of ten children and he and my grandma had twelve children (all of whom were there and spoke at the funeral). Many of my relatives still live there in Logan, Utah, so you can see how wonderful it was to be there with so many of my relatives. I hadn’t seen many of my aunts, uncles, and cousins for 4-5 years.

I loved hearing my grandpa’s twelve children talk about their dad at the funeral. I could have listened to them for hours. They started from youngest to oldest and each had two minutes to share what they had learned from and loved about their dad. Of course, they all went over two minutes, and hearing from them was the highlight of the funeral for me.

I noticed two distinct themes among the boys and girls. The girls was one of how strong, but gentle their dad was and how he knew just how to mend a “little girl’s broken heart.” Many of the girls mentioned grandpa’s big strong arms and hands.

The boys spoke more of respect for how he served his country, how he respected his wife, his work ethic, principles he had taught them by how he lived, etc. Very neat. Of course, many spoke of how much grandpa loved being at the cabin and how different it would be without him.

My dad spoke of a time when he was little and a group of neighborhood boys were going to beat him up. Just before he met his doom, he heard a car door shut behind him and their was his dad. Grandpa said hello to the boys and asked them what they were up to. They replied, “we’re going to kill Doug.” He said, “okay. Doug will fight every last one of you, but one at a time. Who’s first?” Of course, no one wanted to fight one on one and hung back. He said, “In the future if any of you have a problem with Doug, go to him alone and work it out, not as a group.”

My dad said he learned two important lessons from that. First, his dad taught him he could fight his own battles. He didn’t come in and fight the battle for him. But, he helped to level the playing field. Second, he learned the importance of being fair in handling conflict, rather than using a mob mentality.

Others spoke of what a great Scouter Grandpa was and how many lives he had touched through scouting. And of course, his funeral wouldn’t have been complete if someone hadn’t mentioned his sense of humor.

When they took him home from the hospital, everybody knew he only had a few days left (he opted not to have emergency surgery that he may not have lived through and knew his body was shutting down), and so the family came pouring in. Grandpa commented to one of the boys, “I’d do anything to get my family together, even if it kills me.”

He hung on until each of the children and several grandchildren were able to say goodbye and then quietly passed away in his sleep with grandma at his side. It makes me tear up just writing about it. There was such an outpouring of love among family and friends.

Grandpa was a World War II veteran and had a military burial, complete with a 71 gun salute. It was very touching. He was a man who loved his God, his family, and his country and I’m proud to call him my grandpa.

Brad and I were married on his birthday and he was one of the witnesses at our wedding. He said he was going to call us each year and check up on how we were doing.

Grandma held her head up through it all and had a dignified, quiet strength about her. She said she didn’t get teary until all the grandchildren got up to sing. We filled the choir seats with so many of us. I loved it and felt honored to sing with so many others who loved our grandpa.

She had to be so exhausted. She really hadn’t slept much for a week. I’m so glad she has so many people who love her and will help take care of her in grandpa’s absence. The whole affair inspired me to live a life that is praiseworthy.

It was wonderful to be able to visit with three of my five sisters. We missed Jenny and Emily. The six of us haven't been all together in years. Laura and I rode up to the funeral together from Salt Lake City and enjoyed the day visiting with family.

This is my cousin Natalie. We were born the same summer and our dads are twin brothers.

She's lived in NYC and vicinity for the past 15 + years, so we don't get to see each other much. I really enjoyed being able to see her.

These are my two darling nieces, Jane and Lily. They belong to my older sister Amie. We always joke that Lily looks like she should be mine.

My dear, sweet Grandma Israelsen.

My Aunt Bonnie. She is my dad's youngest sister and is one year older than me.

After the funeral we went next door to my sister Amie's house and saw this gorgeous painting someone did of their family.

She pointed out that each healthy member of the family is paired with a handicapped one, taking them to the Savior. The painting is amazing.

It was fun to be in Amie's home because it used to belong to our grandmother Nixon and the furniture in the girls room is the same.

Before leaving Logan, I wanted to take some pictures of Grandma/pa's house. I have so many fond memories of visiting here.

One of the things I love is Grandma's open door policy. They never locked the door and you were never supposed to knock. Grandma wanted you to just walk right on in. I remember always feeling welcome because of that.

It's amazing how that one little, simple rule made everyone feel welcome at Grandma's house.

This is the family room where everyone sits and visits. There are actually three gathering areas- the family room, the kitchen table, and the back room.

I love that the furniture is still the same and there's such a feeling of familiarity there.

I love that our favorite little marble game is still there after so many years and that the great grandkids love it as much as me and my sisters did.

I love the pictures taped to the cabinets that continually come rolling in from growing posterity.

I love this back yard where we used to play in the hay loft and swing from the willow tree or pet the horses out in the pasture.

Once, I remember walking out to pet the mule. He obviously didn't like that idea. Just as I reached up to pet him, he gave me a head butt, knocked me down, and bit me.

I lay on the ground dumbfounded and scared, wondering what had just happened. (I guess that's not as bad as what happened to my sister though. She went to pet a cow once, who knocked her down and then wet all over her. That wasn't at my grandparents.)

Every Christmas, grandma/pa host a Christmas family home evening where we'd act out the nativity in the shed, complete with music, costumes and props. They always serve French dip sandwiches and everyone brings yummy sides, desserts, and salads.

I'm so grateful for all the traditions they started for our family and especially for our time spent every year at the Beaver Springs cabin.

Our trip to Logan wouldn't have been complete without a visit to Jack and Charlotte's. She was recovering from back surgery.

Jack is my mom's older brother and they always make us feel so welcome too. I love that both of my parents have tons of family in Logan. There's always someone to visit with.