Saturday

is a special day....especially to share with grandchildren.  Scarlett and James have been staying at their Berenyi grandparents while Scott and Chantel are house hunting in Tucson-Oro Valley.  (They actually found a house and had their offer accepted by the owners, so things seem to be going well there.) But we got to have the kids on Saturday for the day.

We spent most of it outside in our backyard and also at two different parks.

We started in the  basement with cars and blocks.....

 then outside for swings and trampoline.

We headed to Ellison Park but everything was too hot so we ended up at the Layton Park where Scarlett and James were happy to watch the ducks for awhile and enjoy the trails.

James wanted to do everything Scarlett did, but he is just a bit short to make it work.  That and the fact that he had no nap made the park frustrating to him.  He liked running around on the grass and watching the ducks better.  He really tried to do everything he could though.  He is a pretty determined little kid.

We ended up home making our own little bagel pizzas and then playing outside again in our back yard.  Scarlett turned to me as we were swinging and said, "This is just like living in a park.  We have our swings, we have a trampoline, we have a climbing place with slides...(pause...) oh, and we have sand.  It is like a beach playground."  High compliment from a four year old.

PS  It takes  a lot of energy to keep up with little people all day.  Sometimes I wonder if I really did get five kids to school and activities and through many summers............I was a lot younger then for sure.  My hat is off to Grandma Berenyi who kept the kids since Thursday so that they didn't have to try to sleep at different houses while their mom and dad were gone.  She deserves a long nap when Scott and Chantel come home tomorrow.

Fathers

I know it isn't yet Father's Day nor is it my dad's birthday although that is also coming up mid-June, however, I have this great picture (of a picture) of my dad that I wanted to put in the blog.

Early last week, my sister, Valerie, texted me and reminded me that they (Valerie and Lance and several of their children and grandchildren) were coming to Utah this weekend to celebrate her husband's mother's 80th birthday and invited us to join them for dinner and a visit with Dad where they were staying Friday night.  We agreed so Friday evening we headed down and joined several of them at the Chuck-a-Rama for dinner and then headed to my dad's.

Because of limited parking at my dad's, we had parked at the clubhouse and walked the remaining distance to his house.  My sister and other family members were there outside, getting luggage, and greeting my dad who was outside helping them. As my dad saw us, I could tell that he was surprised to see us (I hadn't talked to my dad, just assumed that Valerie would mention I was coming.) and even though I had just seen him the week before, he was so delighted to see me (and Gary and Jena, too.)  I felt so strongly his love for me at that moment.  What a gift that is! 

Then inside, Karla had rearranged family photos and one of them was this one of my dad.  I had never seen it before but loved it immediately, so Karla pulled it out of the frame so I could take a photo of it.  It was taken on one of their trips to Ireland--just a quiet moment reading a book (with his shoes on.  My dad always wears shoes--unlike me and my mother.)

Some people played games, others talked, we all had snacks that Karla had made for us.  It was a great night that I will always remember because my dad was happy to see me.

Here is the only picture I took of that night.  This is dad and Karla with my niece, Landi, and her two "brand-new daughters"  Evie and Eileen.  (Landi and her husband Lance just adopted four children they have been fostering for some time.)  This is the first time we met Eileen, but Evie came to the family reunion last year.

Family and friends are the sweetness of this mortal life!  And fathers, too!

Provo City Center Temple (of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints)

Scott asked me to drive he and Chantel to the Provo City Airport to catch a plane to Tucson for their house hunting trip.  I decided to take advantage of the opportunity and headed over to the Provo City Center Temple as I had not attended a session there since its opening.  It was originally called the Provo Tabernacle and was a place where stake conferences and other larger meetings were held for people in Provo and the surrounding areas.  A number of years ago, it had a major fire which destroyed much of the inside.  At that time, a decision was made to restore the outside of the building as much as possible and keep the basic footprint of the building but make it into a temple.  I read during that time that they numbered the bricks so that they could put them back in the same place as near as possible.  It is a beautiful building, inside and out and you could feel the labor of love that went into the building.

 And, of course there are flowers......

This is a pavilion in the center of the gardens to the south of the temple--a place to be when there is rain and storm on those wedding pictures, I guess.  I actually don't know what they use it for.

The Angel Moroni on the spire is an addition from the original building.

And there is a fountain---the sound of water flowing is one of the most peaceful sounds in the world.

My sweet friend, Sandy Lai, joined me for the session and as an added bonus we spend the afternoon together at her home.  Sandy and her family moved to Hong Kong just a few months before we did back in 1987 although they stayed many years after we left.  Our friendship is one of the many gifts that I treasure from our time in Hong Kong.

Every day can't be spent just in the temple and with friends, but I do plan to spend a few more (hundreds) days doing this type of thing in the future.  This is the type of thing that fills my bucket and enriches my life beyond measure.

Cleaning and Memories

In the huge effort of bringing some organization to our house after some years of less than optimal investment in that--I cleaned our dressers and the closet in our bedroom.  Did the usual thing--cleaned, threw away the clothes that no longer are wearable, donated others, and tried to bring order to the spaces.  In that process, gathered these Scouting neckerchiefs.  Oh, the memories that are connected with these (and some companion duplicates).  Gary and I have had years of great experiences in the Scouting program including both of us getting our Wood Badge award (or is that rank?).  We have appreciated the experiences that our two boys had in Boy Scouts as well and their many dedicated leaders.  These certainly represent a significant part of our adulthood, but I think that season is completed.

Years ago, when we lived in Plano, Texas, my friend, Robynn Thiot, and I made a plan to run a wolf/bear den at a local elementary school in a high-needs part of town when our kids were grown. I still think that is a great idea, but the weekly commute to Plano is not in the plans.  Robynn taught me to love Cub Scouts fully and I have reaped the advantages of that love in so many Scout callings.

These certainly represent a significant part of our adulthood, but I think that season is completed. As part of my cleaning effort, I am taking pictures, not keeping, all of these mementos of our lives. (Kids, you can thank me later if I complete this whole process before I die.......)