Who Even Liked This Weekend? *ME!!*

We had a super duper 40th birthday weekend getaway for Claire in Red Feather Lakes, CO, that was practically perfect in every way.

*feel free to add any memories from Thursday, plus any else I've forgotten

• Theo rhapsodizing about his love: "I've got the hotskis for [name redacted], she is one smokin' hot piece of bacon" (Carrie: just because you're not using the word steak does not mean bacon is ok), practicing hurling Shakespearean insults at potential slanderers
• "Donde esta mis pajamas" - Vivian. "Here is your pillow (piyo)" - Carrie
• Discovering Beth's aversion to the word 'boogers'. Asking super tired Sarah if she would ever say the word, and her response: "...boogers".
• Hot tubbing in the misty morning with goblets of orange juice
• Thrift store shopping. Finding awesome lumberjack hat
• Sarah's response to how China's first plants grown on the moon died. "Cause it's the moon!"
• 8 milkshakes for 7 people at Vern's. "Who even likes vanilla?!" Beth and Carrie: ME! *jump with arms up in the air
• Vivian navigating unplowed mountain roads like a champ
• "The logs are like THIS BIG!" (Rachel puts arms around her head to show size, gets made fun of) Claire measures spill of ranch same way. Becomes standard unit of measurement for weekend
• Mom starting a snowball fight, denying it 
• Pretend cross-country ski race
• Hot chocolate tea party with Mexican, salted caramel, and Thomas Jefferson flavors
• Power outage, yoga party in the dark
• Power goes back on and off and on again at 3am and 5am
• Everyone gets own beds at cabin, and even bunk room is made of quiet full sized bunk beds
• Working on the escape game, Sarah saving us by solving maze clue
• Beth and Vivian launching a log into the frozen lake
• Alllllmost asking random strangers if Rachel can ride their Zamboni
• Slingshotting Rachel on the ice
• Gnome hunting, and feeling like we had to whisper once we found them
• Super fun but ill-advised sledding down hill in backyard that ended in weeds and bushes
• Having a telescope provided by Airbnb, figuring out how to use it for super blood wolf moon eclipse. Listening to Star Wars, 2001 Space Odyssey, Pony Man, Moondance, Moonshadow. "The moon looks different with my glasses on" - Sarah
• Breakfast at Beaver Meadows resort, followed by hockey and ice skating. Random kid complimenting Claire on her hockey skills "you know what you're doing!"
• Mom claiming she's not competitive
• Carrie throwing a pillow at Vivian sleeping below because she slept through alarm
• Poudre? I barely know 'er!
• Theo, when we came back from the weekend - "so are we going to do that thing where we all snuggle in bed together?"
• Sorting Theo into his Hogwarts house with a panel of witches. Whispering around his head. Asking for Lucy's opinion - "I don't even work here". Ultimately - it's Hufflepuff!
• Playing pacifist Fortnite
• Hot tubbing - gust of wind blew snow off roof into faces
• Theo wearing suit to school for birthday - "I don't need a jacket, I'll just clothe myself in pretention"
• Playing UNO on the floor of the airport while waiting for three different planes 

I got a writing assignment from Lucy's Freshman Seminar teacher.

My Hopes and Dreams for Lucy

By Her Mom

I hope that Lucy will climb walls and build bridges. I hope that she will dance often and frolic occasionally. I hope that she feels loved in spades and can love with abandon. I hope that she has moments of reverence and hours of irreverence. I hope that she treasures her brother. I hope that she brushes her teeth but refuses to wait thirty minutes after eating to go swimming.

I hope Lucy will turn the music up loud, but down again when the neighbors ask nicely. I hope she will avoid spurious caviling. I hope that she will put her bare feet out of the car window, but not while she is driving. I hope that she feels beautiful.

I hope that Lucy always knows how funny she is, even if no one else in the room gets the joke. I hope that she sometimes gets upgraded to first class, but never ever expects it. I hope that she can balance honesty and kindness, courage and caution, and always remembers her gmail password. I hope that she knows to pray but is careful about leaps of faith. I hope she looks up at the sky.

I hope that Lucy has the strength to do what needs to be done. I hope that she howls at the moon but stops just before it gets obnoxious. I hope that she finds good books, great friends, and that there is a sunny spot on the couch to sit in when she needs it. I hope she sings along.

To misquote Tina Fey:

"First, Lord: No tattoos. May neither Chinese symbol for truth nor Winnie-the-Pooh holding the CSU logo stain her tender haunches.
Lead her away from renaissance faires, but not all the way to middle management…
When the Crystal Meth is offered,
May she remember the parents who cut her grapes in half
And stick with chocolate.”

I hope that Lucy lives life abundantly, but mostly I hope that she learns how to be happy, regardless of circumstance. I love you, Lucybird.

Can Everyone Get As?

I completed my first semester teaching the Refugee & Migrant Health class at BYU! It was stressful, but ultimately really rewarding and enjoyable, especially since I had 38 fantastic students. I'm doing it again this semester and looking forward to it! (It helps to have had feedback like this)

When the Universe Gives You a Pony...

"George Washington's pants really dominate the scene," said Vivian. "I'm thinking of making some especially for Chris to wear."

That was my first clue that things were getting serious with our art-reenactment plans for Thanksgiving. My next clue was when the sign-up sheet for props included a pony. "I'll bring scarves," I said.

Fast forward 6 weeks to when we all arrive at Mom's for Thanksgiving and find a white bouncy horse toy just hanging around the backyard. Magic.

The white horse is one of my favorite parts of this picture, but there are so many. Resolute Claire channeling the brown horse is one. Chris, with his sports socks, determined stance, and closed eyes is another. Sarah's puffed cheeks, Gordon and Rachel's bookended action poses, and the plastic sheet iceburgs are some others. Mom's grizzled rifleman cracks me up every time. I love the fact that Vivian looks more than a little bit like Bono along for the ride. The grass on the driveway makes me happy too. Of course it's Rachel's seamless editing that makes it a work of art.
This year, I would like to thank the universe for a white plastic bouncy horse, and for my spectacular family. I'd cross the Delaware with you guys anytime.

Flying Over Auberry

When I was flying back to SLC after Thanksgiving, I looked out the window as my plane took off and saw 168 below me. I casually watched it meander towards the Foothills, fully expecting us to veer more north like my flights usually do...but I noticed we just kept flying over 168. It became hard to follow once the terrain became hilly and I started to think I had lost the trail after a while, but then...hey! That semicircular cluster of buildings has got to be Foothill! And hey, that's Canyon Fork! Which means somewhere after the church the trailer park should be about there, which it is! and I bet that darker area is where the creek goes, and that means home is... right there. I stared at the little spot for a long time. Finally Blue Heron moved out of view of my little window and we kept going past where the Camp would be, past Shaver Lake, past Huntington, after which I didn't recognize anything. 

Has this ever happened for you guys before? Maybe it's not that crazy but I thought it was trippy and heartwarming to think that if Mom/Sarah/Grandpa/Carrie/Lucy/Theo happened to look up into the sky right then I would be waving at them from a plane.

It was a view of home I had never seen before.

Scenes from Thanksgiving 2018

Let's see...we went on some good walks. The kids complained about sitting at the kids' table and then had a great time in there. Rhubarb custard pie with smuggled rhubarb. George Washington's pants. Hal working the camera. Cute Mae singing songs: "There's no PLANET like MY PLANET!" Taking Lucy for her first driving outings. Nighttime word games (mermaid poop). What else?

Gregory Kids Update

Theo is giving a speech tomorrow at school as Martha Washington. I called my friend and asked, "Do you have anything in your costume box that would work for Martha Washington?" She said, "I have a Martha Washington costume. It actually says it on the tag." (???!)
Then I made him a wig out of a shower curtain and cotton balls. "She was quite a lady," says Theo.

Lucy took a personality test at school today. Her lowest scores were in the categories of 'hope' and 'zest'.