Catching Ellie . . . & great weekend in SLC!

Last weekend we got to enjoy the beautiful cool spring air of Salt Lake City with my family, extended family, and dear friends who all joined together to celebrate my sister Tara and her great accomplishment of receiving her MBA from the University of Utah! Way to go! (I am so proud of her)! Not only has she been in school full-time for the last 2 years, she has also worked full-time for the American Diabetes Association, held callings, and managed a social life . . . she's AMAZING!!

It was a delightful weekend and non-stop fun from the moment we finally arrived at our hotel at 3 a.m. Friday morning (and, yes, our sleeping children were suddenly wide awake; Ellie "did Broadway" (what I call it when anyone suddenly has a gigantic burst of energy and just starts singing, dancing and giggling!!) and Marcus kept getting out of his bed to run over and fuel the fun to make sure the show didn't end!) This is all while Aaron was bringing up the rest of our things with eyes half open. All finally did settle down, but of course our kids wouldn't let us turn the lights out until we had scriptures and prayer; so we did, and then we slept!

The ceremony was exciting, and I loved seeing my sis in robes getting her Master's degree! But my favorite parts of the weekend were the slower ones . . . surrounding the bigger celebrations.

There was a walk I got to take Saturday morning with Tara, around sleepy downtown Salt Lake, and then we assembled tissue-paper ball decorations (poolside while mom and dad swam laps)for the HUGE bbq in Sugar House Park later that day; basically a mini-famiy reunion from both my parents' sides as well as many of our dearest friends from 15 years back! Before the bar-b-que, however, was, of course, prep-time . . .

Aaron dropped me, Kaia, and Marcus off at Tara's house while he ran some errands with Ellie. Now, Tara's house is right in the heart of Salt Lake just West of Trolley Square . . . it's one of those really quaint charming old houses that still has pieces of the 1920's . . . like the original stone fireplaces, wood floors, and elaborate moldings and light pendants . . . so much character! So, I ushered the kiddos into the "parlour/sitting room area" off from the kitchen and "Auntie" set them up with a movie and bowl of candy. I quickly told her to drop everything and go shower, and then I joined my mom in the kitchen . . .

This is one of my favorite moments: me and my mom, side by side, cutting up potatoes and onions and throwing dashes of salt and vinegar . . . spoon-testing the beans and deciding whether the potato salad needs more mustard, and is the coleslaw ready to be chilled? Yes, it was perfect . . . the food and the moment. We stood side by side cooking and talking over the sink with an open window allowing the breeze to cool our flushed cheeks as the kids scurried around in the background between their bowl of candy and Fox and the Hound.

At the actual BBQ, between mingling with friends and loved-ones, I caught some favorite glimpses: my aunts blowing bubbles as Kaia danced and Ellie tried to catch them . . . Marcus hitting balls as Aaron pitched to him, and Uncle Ron running his kites behind Kaia and Marcus up and down the hill trying to get them to fly--the kids were in heaven! I got to visit with my great aunt Mary and my dad and I walked up to the parking lot to introduce Ellie to his Aunt Kay who couldn't make the walk down . . . it was wonderful to see her and Uncle Don . . . and all my cousins and everyone who came.

Another favorite moment was Sunday afternoon after church . . . it was Mother's Day, and we decided Temple Square would be a nice setting to talk to missionary Dallin on the phone. Aaron set us all up on a conference call with Elder Demke, and then he and I shuttled our restless little ones outside of the North Visitor Center to walk around the beautiful grounds while we all enjoyed hearing Dallin's voice and the heartwarming stories of the people he is working with in Argentina. As I listened to Dallin in one ear, I observed the differences in his speech and in his grown-up manner; I simultaneously looked around at each of our children and what they each chose to do at that moment . . . Marcus was immensely focused on throwing a ball up in the air and then catching it, and he stayed near me or Aaron. . . Kaia set off into her own little world, sitting next to the prettiest flowers she could find and completely tuning everything else out as she tempted to touch the flowers and sing and make up stories to herself . . . and then there was Ellie who had discovered (with Grandma's help) the freedom of using her feet to get herself around, and she pushed her baby doll stroller here and there, around and around, weaving in and out of elderly couples and young families . . . it was delightful to watch her and impossible to catch her! And at that moment, watching my 3 kiddos, and listening to my baby brother from his mission . . . I knew I had seen the hand of God in my life, and I felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude . . .