Conference with Claire: Part 2

Time to finish up the SLC post.

On Friday night, we went to The Roof. It's the tradition. That's where David took me on our first date after his mission. The Roof might have been where we had our first sparks of love. But maybe not bc we weren't a couple a few weeks later....but that's a whole other story. On that night, we both snuck a few of those amazing Lion House rolls home in our pockets.
The rolls were as divine as ever.

The Joseph Smith Building before we went up to dinner.

The lady who gave us a brief tour told us we needed to take the following picture because the statue is the same height that the giant Goliath was. I think Claire could have taken him.

We got the best table in the restaurant: right at the corner, closest to the temple, and a perfect view of the state capitol.

We also kept the tradition on forgetting our tickets, so I got to fit in an early morning run to the conference center on Saturday. We met up with the Millers again. While I was checking in my camera (it's a new rule that we can't enter with cameras), David snuck in to sit where the Millers had tickets. Their tickets were extremely close to the front because Bret is in the MoTab. I told David I thought the ruse was slightly sketchy, especially on church grounds, but David's scandal was pulled off because I was detained with the camera. He had taken my camera bag with my phone so when I got to where our tickets had us seated (in the nose-bleed section), I thought I might have to sit alone since I couldn't get into the bottom without a ticket and didn't know where to go anyway. It is no small miracle that this is the first time since cell phones that I have memorized a phone number. Thankfully, someone lent me their phone and I was able to dirty my innocence and sit with them. But I didn't regret it when the prophet walked into the room maybe 20 yards from us. We could actually see facial expressions. It amazes me every time that a crowd of a few ten thousands of people can fall silent so quickly. The reverence for his office was palpable.

As we watched conference, I sat next to these little legs that aren't long enough to bend much over the chair and with her shoes dangling below. It made me remember how little she still is; that growing is a precious process and there's so much more growing to do.

 Elder Hales' talk was particularly poignant for me. At the time, I had been thinking a lot about what my greater life purpose is and will be after my kids are grown. And then there was Elder Hales. From the angle we were sitting, we could see that he wasn't standing to give his talk, but sitting on a high stool. A man, so advanced in life, is immersed in such a great work long after many people have given up. I felt like he was speaking directly to me, telling me not to worry about what my purpose will be, but right now, it is my children. He told me, "Be a teacher and a missionary to your kids. Share simple truths."

After conference, we went to the church history museum and found a girl for sale at a little store:

We listened to the afternoon session on the drive up to Park City. Being in the conference center was wonderful, but looking at the beautiful hills full of Fall leaves definitely rivaled it. We listened to the priesthood session on the way back, watching the setting sun and a double rainbow peek through the clouds. 

Park City. 

We met up with one of my good friends from the mission. Natalia was a teenager when I arrived to her area in Chile and was always very willing to go out and teach with us. Last time we saw her was when David and I traveled to Chile a year after we got married. This picture is on the ski lift that took us to the Alpine Slide. Claire went in front of me on the slide and I was surprised that she was cautious going down. I caught up to her about halfway through bc I didn't use the brake at all. I screamed to the point of voice exhaustion. In a good way.

Claire and I also Zip-lined

And Claire bungee jumped

We drove through the avenues and stopped at Hatch Family Chocolates which is owned by little people (Is that the PC term these days?). We sipped Mexican hot chocolate and ate chocolate gummies as we watched the Utah football game, small-talked with the little owner, and sat under a picture of him and his little wife holding a rainbow umbrella in a chocolate rainshower. That was our dinner. Claire then asked what was for dessert.

We drove some more until we happened to pass the entrance for the Ensign Peak trail. It was a beautiful view of the city.

That night Anna Nagel Habben hung out with us poolside, another great tradition. Anna said the last time she had seen David in a bathing suit was at a swim meet a few decades ago when he strutted to the diving board in his speedo, put his hands on his head, and rolled his hips for the pleasure of the crowd. That may or may not have been during his leg-shaving phase. He was willing to do anything for a speedy edge...and a sexy edge, apparently.

Sunday morning we watched the session in the Visitors' Center.

Claire enjoyed watching these ladies sing.

I love, love, loved having so much time with my amazing girl. 

She told me that her favorite things to do were: 

1) hike, 2) talk to us, 3) jump over things. 

Happy Halloween

Yes, I'm posting costume pictures pre-trick-or-treating because the costumes began being anti-climactic about a week ago. That was the costume contest at school and nobody cares about the post-contest costumes (minus Claire).
At the trunk-or-treat this weekend, Elijah wore a Chinese hat and carried a sword. The fact that he had a soccer game in the afternoon played into the theme since he didn't feel like changing out of his uniform and Iris refused to bring her witch hat and broom. I can only imagine what it will degenerate into tonight. Maybe I and E will go as students or kids.

The competitive spirit paid off. 

At the school party, all three won prizes within their grade.

Iris: Cutest

Claire: Judges' Choice

Her win could have had to do with the fact that she screamed at the top of her lungs "Off with your head," to all in the audience, but particularly to the judges.

I taped a few pool noodles together and attached them under her skirt because we don't keep petticoats around. It became a bit of a tripping hazard. But I'm sure Claire will tell you that it was well worth it. That girl acquired her Dad's fashionista ways. She loved getting her hair done up high with the homemade hair fillers.

Elijah: Most Original

As Elijah sat in the trunk of the car (he couldn't fit elsewhere), he predicted his prize. He said he would either get the Most Original prize or the Most Homemade. There wasn't a homemade prize, so he got the former.

Sybil: The most tantrums, awarded by her mother.

Notice she is wearing different shoes. That's what happens when I find 5 shoes, but none of them match. Within the past 3 days she has refused to wear more than one shoe at any given time, which makes my life easier.

This is Claire today, ready for the Dia de los Muertos parade at school.

Post Halloween update: The kids received enough candy to feed a small army. And it did. We are all gorged.
Sybil trotted around the neighborhood in only 1 shoe all night and quickly caught onto the meaning of Halloween. She screamed at all candy givers, who were charmed and most invited her to stay as she crawled into their chairs and then screamed at their Jack-o-lanterns.

We are alive

We haven't fallen off the edge of the earth.
The proof is in the pictures:
Sybil got a make-over, as she often does when I ask the girls to clean their room.
She was an Indian Princess, or so they said.

The Indian princess is obsessed.
Any tantrum can be calmed by
patent leather pumps.
Or dirty tennis shoes.

The kids got face painting at a birthday party

And I'm alive too. I don't take enough pictures of David, but I can guarantee he's around too.  There's no way I would wear that shade of lipstick otherwise. Or any shade.

Above, was on the way to listen to Peggy Noonan (a WSJ journalist and Reagan's former speechwriter) at a Goldwater Institute dinner. I probably shouldn't have told the man sitting net to me that my father and uncles hung an effigy of Goldwater in their front yard. And no, I'm not libertarian like other Goldwater-ees. I claim nothing and nobody, as many non-biggotted, semi-sane, semi-conservatives do these days. No matter the outcome, it's just a few days until we assume the fetal position under a thick blanket and have a good cry for the political future of our country.

Iris still maintains that she didn't cut her bangs. She pulled them off,
because that's less offensive...
obviously.

My goal this week was to catch up with the blog posts. I've been editing my dad's second novel though, so Sybil's nap time has been occupied.  Let's just pretend I'm caught up and never went to CA for Fall break. No Grand Canyon nor Disneyland. No LA tour. No cameo at the Chinese Theater that will make us famous forever. And the second half of the trip to SLC that I STILL haven't finished documenting...nope, didn't happen.

Conference with Claire: Part 1

Claire finished the Book of Mormon just a few hours before take-off. She wasn't interested in taking a book to read since she planned on talking the whole time. The girl didn't disappoint. She got a small taste of what it was to be an only child: talking all she wanted without Elijah's homework and Sybil's screams, as she put it.

On the plane, Claire challenged David to a drawing contest: who could draw the best flamingo.

We met family at the Red Iguana. They were the designated flamingo voters. Claire's flamingo beat David's stick-flamingo. Claire requested her prize to be that David sat next to her on the flight back home and talk to her the whole time.
Rachel (David's cousin), her friend, and Michael (David's cousin Ally's husband)

Claire's first eclair at the hotel.

The next morning we drove to Provo and hike the Y with Tyler (a missionary who was in our ward when David was the mission leader a few years ago) and his family.

We saw  furry friend on the way up, but Claire wouldn't pet it.

As soon as we got near the top, Claire started to run and told David that the winner got a prize. She beat him, making it the third contest she won within 24 hours of leaving home. The day before she bet me that she could guess the color of the rental car and she won. For those 2 prizes, she requested that I sit in the backseat with her for one full day and that we buy her a pair of earrings.

We met up with our good friends, the Millers and ate at the art museum.

Then we went to the Bean Museum. It was the first time for the 3 of us.

David learned this pose from his swimsuit modeling days.

Posing in front of the wolverine. I had forgotten what the wolverine (Go BLUE!) looks like. Even though it's little, it will take on a grizzly bear. I decided this should be our family mascot.

Then walking through memories on campus. David spent a good amount of time at the Maeser building (Honor's College).

Of course we had to make sure that the globe that my dad's club commissioned was still there (He told us it was $12,000 from the Blue Key Honor Society.) I always used to  study in front of it and sometimes met Hunt there and we studied together in front of it.

These are the earrings Claire chose. 

BYU, 

heart-shaped

sparkly

Elijah Envy

I've got a serious case of Elijah Envy.

For the past month or so, Elijah has been having gastrointestinal issues.
He has been spending amazing amounts of time in the bathroom.
Like an hour or more if it goes unchecked. Very little besides threats will coax that boy out of the bathroom before he is ready. And it's several times a day.
He has been claiming that he is busy producing fecal matter for the entire retreat. So to the Ped GI we went. I thought the problem would be solved with the doc visit and then with time. No such luck.
X-ray, blood work, and a breath test. All came back normal.
Fiber One Brownies = still no luck
Bathroom retreats continued.
Tonight I had a long conversation with him about his bathroom time (far from the first on the topic).
And the diagnosis is finally in.
Not active bowels, but.....

an incredibly active imagination.

Turns out he has been passing time on the pot by playing an intricately detailed and visual game he created. The invisible players are all layed out on the tiles and grout.
What follows are some of the notes I wrote as he explained the game, but I got the feeling it was so much deeper and more intricate than he could possibly explain.


There are several blacksmiths. Upgrade blacksmith to higher levels to get different troops like archers, horsemen, barbarians. You train troops and attack. Attacking and upgrading earn you coins. When you get to the highest, you get these machines that spawn troops, or anything else. They also shoot cannons that do damage to the towers, but they are really expensive so almost nobody has them. Then I make up fake weapons for one V. one combat. Enemy bases are on the grout. But I don't use my base very much. Monsters can protect it like wolves, witches, vampires for a thousand coins that attack troops. The troops only help when you go to war, they don't defend.
I play this any time I'm bored.
There's another game Clayton and I made up but I don't have time to explain it.

What an amazing means of escape! I might have to steal his strategy.

School Pictures