What's Cookin

Will and Audrey both had final projects due in school last week that involved cooking.  Will's was in English. Since he has been studying Shakespeare, he had to find and cook an old Elizabethan recipe from the original version.   He found this online:



To make the best Bisket-Cakes
Take four new laid Eggs, leave out two of the Whites, beat them very well then put in two spoonfuls of Rose-water, and beat them very well together, then put in a pound of double refin'd Sugar beaten and searced and beat them together one hour, then put to them one pound of find Flour and still beat them together a good while, then put them upon Plates rubbed over with Butter and set them into the Oven as fast as you can and have care you do not bake them too much.

Well, we didn't have new laid eggs to start with.  We had to make due with Sam's eggs. Same for the Rose-water. We substituted with Tap-water.  No idea if the sugar was double refin'd, and what the heck is searced?  We did NOT beat it one hour as we cheated with electricity, but we still beat it for a good while.  We were sure to get it into the oven as fast as we could, as evidenced by this picture.

  

  We did indeed take care to not bake them too much, and surprise surprise, they didn't turn out half bad.  Definitely not worth an hour of beating, but edible for sure.

A few days later we were busy making eclairs for Audrey's French class.  Eclairs were way more work and more detail than the bisket cakes, and took us two days of slaving over a hot stove.  We made everything from scratch- filling and all, and of course they turned out delectable.

 
  I am still de-stickifying my kitchen however.

In the middle of the eclair making, we snuck away to downtown Salt Lake City and went in search of Brigham Young's grave, which we discovered was not in the Salt Lake City cemetery, but downtown, in a tiny little park sandwiched between two apartment buildings.  Kind of an odd place to bury someone of such renown, but those old pioneers were an odd bunch.  And it is a nice little place to visit 

Eliza R Snow is buried there too, along with some of Brigham's other wives.  A few of them have nice big markers, and then a few of them just have tiny little plastic-covered cardboard place cards stuck in the ground.  That was a little weird too.  Makes you wonder if they did something to not deserve a nice headstone.  Also, I was surprised to see that Eliza's marker (which is nice and big) reads "Eliza R. Snow Smith"  I'm kind of surprised and impressed that they included the the Smith on there.  No Young though.  I think she always did like Joseph better.



And it's not every day you get to read with Brigham Young.

 Olivia got a major kick out of the fact that the book he is reading has actual words on it.  It's 2 Nephi, if memory serves. 

These two were just hanging out enjoying the grass and the sun and summer.  They also played truth or dare, and Audrey kissed a rock. Alicia kissed Brigham's statue son, who really was kind of cute.

Two visionary men

Love this girl

And this is as close to a senior portrait as we are going to get for this guy.  He graduates in two weeks.  Yikes!

Today was Memorial Day and we wound up spending most of the day in the car, driving to West Jordan for a family picnic then to Brigham for the kid exchange.  After we got Will back, we headed out for burgers.  Our version of a stress-free Memorial Day barbeque.

And now, crazy week starts.  I am working the next four days,  Audrey is totally stressed out over  several big  school projects she  still  has to complete, Duncan has graduation and end of year activities on Tuesday and Wednesday, and there are about 54 little details to attend to for Olivia's baptism on Saturday.

I need an organizer.

Weekending

It's gearing up to be an all girls, all the time kind of weekend around here.

We did the old switcheroo for the weekend, and temporarily sent Will off to Logan in exchange for Audrey's oldest and bestest, Alicia.   Trading one boy for one girl totally throws off the balance of power around here. Most of the time, Audrey and Alicia are sweet and kind and include Olivia in most everything they are doing.   So it is mostly  good times for all of us, except when Olivia feels left out and  starts channeling her inner demons to become the little sister from hell. Then Audrey magically morphs into her obnoxiously mean teenage alter-ego and all the contentious powers  of sibling angst are unleashed full force, right there in the hallway in front of Audrey's room.  And, being the little sister in my family, guess whose side I'm on?  Yeah, we three may wind up in therapy before too long.  I'm sure that scene will play out a few more times before those two come of age.  Right now though,  there is plenty of running and screaming and giggling, as all three girls  are heavily involved in a game of capture the fugitive.  This involves tearing through my house at top speed and slamming lots of doors and running in and out and around the yard yelling your head off, but that is okay.  That's how we like it around here.

Olivia has also had her own social agenda going on this weekend. .  A couple of different playdates, then a late night over here last night with another friend, and then today an invitation to go the aquarium with yet  more friends. All that activity has made for a nice weekend for all of us so far.   And Alicia and Audrey had plenty  "quality" time alone together, while Olivia was otherwise occupied.

As for me, I get a four day weekend this week, which makes me delirious with joy. Thank you, Memorial Day.  It seems like its been a really long time since I had time to do anything around the house.  It is pathetic how happy it makes me to just stay home and rearrange my furniture and clean out the laundry room. I am trying to remain in a state of denial about the fact that starting Tuesday I have two weeks of 40 hour weeks at work,  as well as a concert, a seminary thing, a baptism and a graduation to see to. Yep, denial is a useful tool.  I am going to kick back, relax and enjoy the weekend.  Then, on Tuesday, I'll start cramming. Oh, and never mind the fact that after THOSE two weeks are over, school is out for the summer and then EVERYTHING changes.

Honorable Mentions

A few days ago, I got THIS:

in my messages.

My boy made the honor roll at Weber State! What a stud!  This past semester was a bit of a hellish experience for him, and he pulls off the honor roll.  And to think this is the same person that COULD NOT seem to get a single homework assignment turned in on time in high school.  My how things change.  We couldn't be prouder of him and the direction he is heading.

Then this kid: (the tall one in the middle)

finally graced us with the knowledge that his year end orchestra concert was on May 21.  He texted me at 4 pm. On May 21.  I was at work in Logan, but managed to beat it down the hill in time to catch his last ever junior high orchestra concert.  It was worth the wait.

Here he is with some of his orchestra buddies playing in an ensemble.

And the last number was the song from the movie UP so they brought out a bunch of balloons.  So cute!

Alisa has made it safely to France.  They spent a day or two in Brighton, England before taking off on a ferry across the English Channel.  What a life.  To think that on Sunday she was kicking around here with us, and a day later she is eating fish and chips in the UK.  I would say it is not fair, but she worked hard and made it happen.  Go Alisa.

We found out today Duncan needs a root canal.  That should be all kinds of fun. How does an 18 year old kid who has had regular dental care all his life wind up needing a root canal? I blame soda.  I am going to ban it from his life forever. Or at least until he is paying his own dental bills.

Round One-Still Standing

Whew. Got THAT weekend over with.  I didn't know how we would get  it all done.  Truthfully, we didn't get it ALL done, but we got the important stuff done.   And somehow we survived.  Remind me to never again host a birthday party on Friday, move a daughter out of her apartment on Saturday, and see her off to Europe on Monday.  And this weekend is only round one of the knock down drag out that is the rest of our May.

Alisa mocks me for my insistence on taking pictures of her and her apartments on the day she moves out of them.  She also gets slightly annoyed.  No matter though.  I know that one day she will thank me. So, on Saturday, as she was packing up the rest of her things and preparing to say goodbye FOREVER to being a resident of Logan, Utah, and insisting that she was not the least bit sad to be leaving, I was my usual annoying self, snapping pictures of it all, and knowing that one day she will thank me for it.  She will thank me even more that I posted them on here.  

Now those are some white walls. Bet she will miss those big old closets she had all to herself.  Bet she won't find closet space like that in France.

I'm pretty sure she is just so glad to be out of this apartment.  Getting out of the lease proved tricky. And stressful. For all of us. Her. Me. My friend who was her landlord.  Between the three of us, plus Alisa's other roommate, it was a veritable mine field.  Potential explosions at every turn. We seem to have navigated it with mostly pleasant feelings intact. 

And now, Alisa is homeless once more.

Then, nearly as soon as we got her home with us, she starts packing to leave again.  Silly girl is going to go live out of a suitcase for the summer again.

  On Sunday, we we made our traditional attempt at a group photo.  This was about the best that it got.  One day, I will remember to not wait until the last minute to do this.  One day, everybody will be wearing decent clothes instead of pajamas and sitting on a nice bench in a lovely field of flowers with perfect lighting.  And nobody will pull a face or have redeye.  And that photo will not tell nearly half the story that these do.

My lovely daughters enjoying a little moment of sun on an otherwise rainy Sunday.

And then, Monday afternoon, it was time to grab that suitcase, head to the airport and fly off on her summer adventure.

Saying goodbye never gets easier.

There Goes My Baby

In spite of my insistence that this time around she absolutely, positively could not turn another year older, Olivia went right ahead and turned eight without even asking.

And she did so with the usual amount of fanfare.  She somehow sneakily finagled me into hosting yet another loud and raucous birthday party, complete with screaming, running children, and new this year, a chocolate fountain and balloon animals, courtesy of Audrey.  Honestly, the entire party was courtesy of Audrey, who is a party hoster extraordinaire.  Audrey planned the games, herded the kids, and pretty much ran the whole show.  Awesome Audrey, yes she is.

But back to this crazy idea that my Livvi is now an eight year old. EIGHT.  Eight is no longer, in any way shape or form, a baby.  Eight is full-on kid mode, with prepubescence lurking just around the next bend in the road.  The funny thing is when Mitch and Alisa were eight, I looked upon them as practically adults.  I had them unclogging drains and using power tools at eight.  With Olivia, I feel like we've only just barely left behind the training pants and sippy cup stage.  Now that she is eight, I may be forced into admitting that she might be old enough to handle a butter knife and make her own peanut butter sandwich.

Right now the table in our family room is covered with plastic pink ponies, stuffed animals, sunglasses, random birthday cards, a few crayons, a balloon, some candy, and a math worksheet, all belonging to Olivia.  Looking at that conglomeration of things, I am reminded of just how much energy, movement, joy, commotion, emotion and life she brings to our house and to our family.  She keeps me going, whether I want to or not.  Somebody must have known how much I was going to need that little girl to keep me sane, which is really ironic, considering how crazy she drives me sometimes.

So, to my sweet Olivia Grace, on your eighth birthday, I will not even ask  you to promise me that you will stay eight forever.  Instead I will do my best to relish every moment of the next year with you, and try not to be sad that every year seems to go faster than the last one.

Maggie? Is That You?

Ok, this is weird, but as I sit here in front of my computer at one in the morning, waiting for the insomnia to pass,  I can smell my dog.  My dead dog, Maggie.  I can SMELL her. Right now.  I can smell her as strongly as if she were lying on the kitchen tile at my feet like she always used to do. Can ghosts carry a scent?

Maggie has been gone for nearly two months.  I miss that dog, more than I thought I would.  I don't really miss her smell though.  If I was going to get an other-worldly visitation from her, I would rather have her big brown eyes looking at me and her soft floppy ears to scratch one more time.  Oh well. I guess some things linger longer than others.  But I really do miss her.  Not every day, but often I think about her, and still wonder if we did the right thing by putting her to sleep.  I don't think we will ever know for sure.  We just did what seemed best at the time.  Poor old girl.

Mostly, we just want her back-not the old tired dog who left us, but  the real Maggie, the Maggie who was way too happy for her own good, who could jump as high as Dan's outstretched arm,  who could not resist a good fight with the sprinkler, who never turned down a ride in the car.  Funny how even  a dog, when you love her and then she gets old and leaves you, makes you start pondering things like resurrection and death and the meaning of life.

Oh Maggie, old girl, it's late.  Let's get to bed.

Crunch Time

What's going on around here you ask?  Here is a list:

May 16- Audrey's honors assembly
May 17- Olivia's birthday
May 18- move Alisa out of Logan
May 20- Alisa leaves for France
May something, really hoping its in between here somewhere, but we don't know yet- Will's end of year concert
May 29- Duncan's end of year concert
May 30-  Duncan's seminary graduation
June 1- Olivia's baptism
June 6- Duncan's high school graduation

I am sure there are a few more end of year things that I am forgetting about that we will have to sandwich in there somehow.  June 7th  is the last day of school.  June 8th  I am going to sleep all day.  No. Wait.  I have a work party that day.  June 9th . June 9th I will sleep. We will all sleep.  After church of course.

Mother's Day Rant

 Historically speaking, I have not been a fan of Mother's Day.  There is way too much social pressure involved in the day to make it a comfortable day for me. 

For instance, tomorrow at the end of church, after a bunch of talks about how great mothers are, they are going to make all the mothers stand up and wait for some poor kid to hand them their token Mother's Day reward of one begonia.

 You know how stupid I feel standing there, like I am waiting for my yearly payout for hauling my kids to church every week?   If anybody had a clue, what they would   do is pass out a diet Pepsi to all the moms and give them a pass on the rest of church.  Skip all the flowery talks, let the little kids sing a few songs, and then send all the moms home for a little peace and quiet on a Sunday, while everybody else stays at church. Heck, don't even make us show up for church.  The kids can sing another week.  Just deliver the drinks to our door, and let us stay home alone and have a moment's peace while everybody else is at church.   That's it, I'm calling in a suggestion to the bishop right now.  He's probably already bought all those darn begonias though.

Olivia has carried a guilty conscience all year, because last year she refused to get up and sing with the other kids in church.  I told her I didn't care, that she could sing next time, but she felt bad later, and she has promised me that this year she is TOTALLY going to stand up and sing.  So of course, begonia or no, I am TOTALLY going to be there, to watch her sing.  That is the highlight of my Mother's Day right there, and I am quickly running out of Primary kids to sing to me, so I better enjoy it while I have it. 

Olivia also has her bedroom door barricaded and big warning signs posted all around, telling me not to go into her room, because there is a Mother's Day Surprise in there.  That too has already made my day.  She is so excited to give her mom a present.   This is how much she wants to surprise me: I told her she had to clean her room today.  She asked me if I would help her.  I told her no, because according to all the signs, I am not allowed in her room today.  Oh yeah, she said, and ran into her room and closed the door.  She NEVER takes no for an answer when she asks for help in her room We usually have tears and meltdowns when I tell her I can't help.  The day Olivia willingly cleans her room without help is the day she has something BIG in store.

And that is pretty much all I need to have a good Mother's Day- my kids, here and happy, a surprise, and a diet Pepsi. I don't much care for being waited upon hand and foot on the ONE day of the year that everybody feels obligated to do it. I would take being waited upon hand and foot on another day of the year, when it was not a cultural expectation.  I would also take a little more consistent thoughtfulness and help on every other day of the year.  But that is not a discussion for Mother's Day.  I am going to be HAPPY tomorrow, and SURPRISED and GRATEFUL.   Because I really am all those things, especially over my kids.  I have GREAT kids.  And I am happy on any day we all get to spend together.  If it takes a Mother's Day to make that happen, then bring it on.

May the Fourth

 Alisa received a bachelor of arts degree in French from the College of Humanities and Social Sciences.  Here are a few shots of the afternoon ceremony.

A sea of graduate. She is in there somewhere.  Of course the French department was at the very back, and NONE of her professors showed up.

Oh there she is, I am assuming sitting with some of her fellow Frenchies.  Most of the other grads in her department were guys.  I think she said there was one other girl. I bet most of them are returned missionaries.  That is only my hunch.

The up close and personal shot.

And she is walking up to get her diploma!

I texted her last minute and told her to make darn sure they pronounced her name right.  We did not want to hear that Alyssa Metcalf had just received a degree in French.  Ironically, the lady who read her name was some  German who came pretty close on ALISA  KELLY but massacred  the METCALF

The handshake makes it official.

And she did it! 

Didn't I tell you? Smart and beautiful.  And stylish.

I have more pictures of the earlier university ceremonies.  Maybe tomorrow I will have the gumption to get them off my phone and on to here.  I have vowed to not procrastinate posting pictures on here any more.  Once you get behind, it seems like you never get caught up. Constant vigilance, that's what is needed.

Nothing to See Here

It feels like there is nothing to say on here anymore. Life goes on.  I go to work, Dan looks for a job, everybody gets a day older.  That is about it. Not much on the horizon to indicate that anything is changing anytime soon. I don't know how long life as we know it can go on like this.  I probably should know that, but I don't. 

Alisa is an official college graduate.  Well, technically, she is not official until she gets her actual diploma.  She got the cover for the diploma, with  a sweet little note inside of it, reminding her that she has actually NOT graduated officially yet, until grades are in and the REAL diplomas are mailed out.  But she has walked the walk.  Graduation ceremonies were held Saturday in Logan.  That was a good day.  It was also a rather long and boring day as far as  ceremonies were concerned.   Lots of long winded speakers talking about how successful they were.  Orrin Hatch got an honorary doctorate.  I'm sure he will send more of his money there now.  Then we got lots of good pictures of her looking adorable in her cap and gown, and we got free Aggie ice cream. I would post some pictures, but my camera is with Dan in the car, wherever he is, so pictures will have to wait.

I feel old, having a child with a college degree.  I know, I know, if she didn't have a college degree, she and I would still be the same ages by now.  But having that milestone behind her makes me realize I am getting old, and life is passing by too darn quickly.  There were so many things I was going to do with her and for her, that for one reason or another just never came to pass. 

So, in summary,  I have nothing to say,  I have no direction, I  feel old, and I am filled with regret.  Now isn't that a nice way to end a Monday?  Hopefully Tuesday will be brighter.  Hopefully on Tuesday, I will post some pictures of my beautiful, educated daughter, and write about what a happy, hopeful day her graduation really was.