Blossoming even as we gaze

For years getting the kids ready for church on Sunday morning has been a big trial. We had to drag them out of bed, feed them, dress them, change their diapers, etc... It's still hard to get up early, but today all three of the older kids got themselves ready with no complaints. It made me think how much the kids are growing up. Lisette told us months ago that she was "too old for tucking in."

I'll try not to wax too sentimental, but I'm afraid these sweet children of mine are growing up way to fast. I guess that's a big incentive to 'live in the moment' and enjoy them right here and right now.

I remember once when I went hometeaching with my dad and for part of his lesson he talked about the song "Sunrise, Sunset" from "Fiddler On The Roof." I think his point was that your children grow up while you're not looking, so enjoy them and teach them while you still can.

(Tevye)
Is this the little girl I carried?
Is this the little boy at play?

(Golde)
I don't remember growing older
When did they?

(Tevye)
When did she get to be a beauty?
When did he get to be so tall?

(Golde)
Wasn't it yesterday
When they were small?

Speaking of Fiddler On The Roof, I remember seeing it several times growing up. My dad had the soundtrack on vinyl and I remember my dad really liking it. Which brings me to a funny story they tell about me when I was very young.

I was with my parents at the Weber State library and we were all listening to something different on headphones. I just happened to be listening to the soundtrack of what? You named it: Fiddler on the Roof. So we're all just listening to our own thing when my parents start to nice that a lot of other people in the library are looking over at us with big grins on their faces. Then they take off their headphones to hear me belting out, "If I were a rich man, yabba dabba, dabba doobie, dabba doo!"

Catching up

We've had some very busy weeks lately, so here are some of the highlights:

• We celebrated Melinda's birthday. Her 29th? Maybe not, but she still seems so young and beautiful (just wiser.)
  
• Brian and Dejah got married! The temple ceremony was lovely, and they looked so good together
• Melinda filled many croissants with chicken salad for the reception and I refilled supplies and bussed tables
  
• Melinda and Robin helped put together a baby shower for her cousin Lindsay
• Saffy loved playing with her cousin Rachel

• We've had lots of parties and dinners up and Grandma and Grandpa's house while family has been visiting for the wedding
• I've been working on painting Marsha's basement and coordinating carpet and linoleum to get ready for Brian and Dejah to move in
• All of the kids (even Saffron) helped by painting underneath the stairs

• We all enjoyed having Salena and Ed visit
• Ian was excited to have cousin Teancum to help him conquer the universe
  

• We were glad to see Amy and Miriam
• I got to teach a class on water-wise perennials for Master Gardeners
• Lisette took some great photos of bees in the garden

• I planted the last of my plants (finally)
  
• Melinda has been helping out with Salt Lake Home Educators to see about getting a co-op started
• Lisette has read several novels: The Looking Glass War, The Goose Girl, Twilight, and several others I can't remember
• Saffron loves cooling off in front of the fan

Gardening in reverse

After we bought our home in 2000 I became much more interested in gardening. Accommodating my increasing need for more places to plant has usually meant one thing: ripping out grass.

The first portent of this habit happened quite early on. The first week we moved into our house I flooded (just a little bit) one of the basement rooms because I left the sprinkler running on the side of the house too long. It was just a narrow strip of turf on the west side and it was doomed. I ripped it out so we wouldn't have to water as much, and it since then our grassy areas have been systematically shrinking.

So the irony is not lost on me that my latest project involved laying sod. After pulling out so much grass, I was today buying grass and increasing the footprint of our lawn. Shocking!

The grass by our back patio was really patchy and weedy. I also wanted to decrease the dirt that washes down on the cement. The rounded part on the left side of the picture used to be garden space.

Thanks to Arden we now have a truck to borrow!

Ian grabbed the camera to document this very rare event in case it never happens again.

Miles and Saffron pitched in. We all knew exactly what to do because we watched videos of it on YouTube last night.


Miles unrolled the sod with precision.


Here we are, almost done! We just have to remember to water it twice a day for a couple of weeks, and hopefully by fall it will look like it was always there.

Late night at Lagoon

Yesterday was my company's summer party at Lagoon. We learned a few years ago that we do much better in the evening when it's cooler and less crowded than during the day when it's very hot and crowded. So we showed up sometime after 4:00 and we had time to go one ride (bumper cars) before the company hamburger dinner.

The kids all like the rides, but Saffron LOVES the rides! She was so excited about everything! She went on the helicopters about six times. It was so much fun watching her and how her little face shined running from ride to ride.

We stayed until the bitter end, catching the last rides right as they closed them. Eleven-thirty seems a little bit late for a 3 year, but actually that's not too much of a stretch for our family (even though it makes getting up for 9:00 church a little tough).

It was also interesting to see how Lisette and Miles are now too old to go on the kiddie rides, and Ian will be too big in a year. It's amazing to think how fast the kids grow up. I guess that's another reason to enjoy while they're young.