The Secret Life of Bees

I love to read, and as I have gotten older I have expanded the palate of my reading. I am always open to suggestions on new things to read. I don't always have the energy to be reading a book but I go in spurts. It'd be nice to read more regularly instead of cramming several books into one or two months and then taking one to two months off. It's not my intention but it seems to happen that way. I'd love to be more consistent...so I was thrilled when I was to join a book club! This provides me with the motivation to read one book per month and then discuss it with a nice group of ladies, also giving me a night out. The bad news though is that I couldn't make the first one. But I didn't discover the scheduling conflict until the Sunday before the scheduled date so I'd already gotten into the book. The chosen book was The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd. I had most definitely heard of this book but chosen not to read it earlier because I didn't think it would interest me. Anything Oprah picks I tend to stay away from :) But I gave it a whirl. It was a hard book to get into to, most definitely not a page turner at least for me. I even considered not finishing it once I knew I wasn't attending the discussion. But I persevered and it ended up getting better and finishing off nicely. It is a story of a 14 year old girl who runs away from her father in the 1960s. The girl's mother died when she was 4 and she's been raised by her father and a black woman who was called in from the peach fields on the farm. Through a series of circumstances, she ends up with the black woman at a house where a group of sisters keep bees. The beekeeping is weaved throughout the story and is interesting to learn about. I think everyone that reads this story will get something different out of it...and I would have been curious to see what the others in the book club thought. Oh well, I am left to my own opinions. I liked it, but didn't love it and don't think I would pick up any more of this author's books.

A Visit from Aunt Annie

Last weekend, we had a much anticipated visit from Aunt Annie....and the kids' now honorary Aunt Beth :) Although the kids don't call Annie Aunt, so for all of us it was Annie and Beth. They arrived on Thursday night, lucky to get out of the snowy Northeast. This weather is just crazy, they flew from several feet of snow to nothing at our house. It's been like a reverse winter. Not that I am complaining because I am not a fan of snow. And if we want it, we can always head up the canyons.

Anyways, Beth had never been here so we played tourist with her and did some things we hadn't done in quite a while. We took advantage of the free Trax day on Friday and headed downtown. We walked the Gateway and window shopped, walked through Temple Square and into the Tabernacle (I've never even been in there in my time living here!). We took the Trax up to the University and trekked to James' office. Then we all headed home together and made some yummy pizzas for dinner.

On Saturday, we went to Park City to walk Main Street. Sundance is fresh over so the crowds are gone and you can enjoy the small town feel once again. We happened upon the Park City Museum and decided to pay to see it...they'd just been through a huge renovation and it was quite nice. It's centered on the town's rich mining history and even contains the old town jail in the basement. We ate lunch at a yummy Irish restaurant and then hit the outlets for some shopping. It was lightly snowing while we walked Main Street and it was a nice atmosphere.
Quinn in his mining helmet with his backpack that the museum had for kids to carry around.
Keely sitting in the old mining ski lift...they actually used to take people in these cars deep into the mountain and then lift them to the top of the skiing hill on a mining lift. Strange setup and it didn't last long, but they have the actual cars in the museum.
And who doesn't love to drill? The kids know this well from attending the annual Miners' Day mucking and drilling competition.
In jail!
My turn for the ski train...
Annie and Beth with the only moose they saw on this trip out to Utah...
Sunday we took in some warm springlike temps at the park and then a little more shopping at the mall so Annie could buy some new jeans. Then it was time for Annie and Beth to fly back home even though it seemed like they had just arrived. I guess those are the best types of house guests, ones that leave before everyone's sick of each other. That certainly wasn't the case and we all had a great time. Beth is welcome back anytime and I told Annie, she is too :)

Sunday Fun-Day

I know this is over a week late, but I meant to write about our Super Bowl Party. We have never had a party for this event. We do usually watch it but we've never really had any friends to hang out with for it so we're typically home alone. Not that I mind that at all, but this year I got an urge to have a party. Well not really a party but a gathering of friends. We had two families over, the Martins and the Brunyers. They have become good friends as the kids go to school together, have play dates, play soccer together (the boys) and it's a good situation because the kids get along well and so do the adults. Those are the best types of friends because while the kids play, the adults get to chat and have a great time. There are 7 kids among us three couples, ranging in age from 4 to 10. I am so glad to have friends with common interests. None of us really have much family here so these friends become our family. It's taken us 4+ years to get to this point and I am so glad for their friendships and the fun times we have had, and will continue to have. We are already planned for another event this coming Saturday, a wine tasting and poker night. And we are trying to plan a weekend trip to Moab for sometime in March or April. So this post isn't really about the party we had, or the good food we enjoyed...but the fact that I am glad for being comfortable in Utah. Having people I can count on for help, or just for some good girly conversation (yes, I am a tomboy but I enjoy having girlfriends). Times like this party make me never want to leave Utah, because I know leaving would mean starting over. It wouldn't stop us from making any decision about the future...but for now, I am going to enjoy these friends and the good times we can have while we are here!

Braces?

James and I both have very straight teeth, free of any hardware or braces throughout our childhoods. Every six months at my dental appointment, I get asked if I ever wore braces because it's apparently improbable that my teeth be that straight without external help...well it's true, I am a modern marvel :) With James and I both wearing glasses, it has certainly crossed my mind that one or both children will eventually need some spectacles. But braces never crossed my mind. When we took the kids for their dental checkup in December, Quinn had a cavity and needed to go back for the filling. The dentist remarked at the initial appointment that his teeth were straight and it looked like he'd passed the first test for braces....but then when we went back for the filling, he commented that Quinn was showing signs of an open bite and that we should take him for an orthodontic evaluation. So being the good mom, I scheduled the free evaluation at the orthodontist across the hall.

Today was that appointment. I'm not sure what I was expecting...but the verdict was that he needs some braces. It was a lot to digest, because I really did not expect that conversation following the exam, measuring, and x-rays. Apparently, Quinn has an open bite caused by tongue thrust. His tongue is not in the right spot in his mouth (at the top and toward the back) and that is causing his teeth to not grow in properly in the front. It also seems to cause some issues with his speech, particularly his "s" sound. The doctor mentioned some tongue exercises for him to do to re-train his tongue (among them tongue push-ups!) but then immediately suggested a course of 1 year of braces. Followed by a retainer and possibly a second course of braces after the permanent teeth are all in. This is a tough diagnosis to digest and process honestly...because you just know that these orthodontists are salesman. In fact, they even toured the office with Quinn and showed him all these cool things he gets to do (chances to win prizes, cookies offered, video games in the waiting area!) if he gets braces. I am sure they're trying to make braces cool and make every kid walk out of there wanting them. That's their job, to make money. I'm sure they care about the kids' teeth too, but seriously it's a business. I know I am being cynical here but it's hard not to be in this situation. We've decided to get a second opinion, and we would be crazy not to at $2,500 for the braces! James is even more cynical than I, and we're wondering just how much they can tell at this stage. Quinn is only 8 and his mouth, head, jaw and teeth have a lot of growing left to do. I swear when we were kids there were not as many with braces. It just seems like we over analyze everything about our children these days, teeth included. But it plays on the guilt -- like if I don't get him these braces now, will I be causing more damage in the future? Or maybe it will all be fine and in a few years, his mouth, tongue and jaw will have caught up with his adult teeth. It's a lot to think about, so on to find another orthodontist I go for that second opinion!

Free of Sin

This past Saturday, Quinn took part in the second of 7 Catholic sacraments, First Reconciliation (also called Penance or Confession). He studied the Act of Contrition and had it down pat. It turned out they weren't required to say it with the priest but we did say it as a group in the short Mass prior to each child participating in individual confessions. It's quite a big year for Quinn in terms of the Catholic religion as First Reconciliation is the predecessor to First Holy Communion which will take place in May. That's big time as he will be able to partake in the Body and Blood at Mass. It seems like we were just baptizing him and now he's an 8 year old able to make his own decisions and recite his prayers. Seriously, it goes so fast!

After the short ceremony and the kids had all gone to confession, they had a little reception with coffee, cookies and juice. It was nice to catch up with the parents and for the boys (and girls) to release some energy. Most of these boys and girls have been in the same class since Kindergarten (and some, Pre-K) and also Quinn plays soccer with some too. It's all so familiar and nice to know everyone and their families. We just love this Blessed Sacrament community, it has allowed us to find friends with common interests.

Quinn with his best bud, Gabe posing with their 2nd grade teacher. Also pictured is cute Isabella and Chase.
Quinn and Gabe posing together for Raul, Gabe's dad. And thanks to him for having his camera and letting us download the pictures. I am so utterly unprepared with a camera, I always forget that as we are rushing out the door.
When Quinn walked out of individual confession with Msgr. Bob, he said "that wasn't too bad!"...I know it's a little nerve wracking to go one on one with the priest. His confessed "sins" were not being nice to his sister and not always respecting his parents. Not so bad, but how much sin can an 8 year old really have? All in all, he's a great kid and I am so proud of him. He looked so mature sitting in the church pew and I can't believe he's already going through some of these milestones! Next up, Communion...wow.

Frogs!

We are now a family of 10. Mom, Dad, Quinn, Keely, Callie, Rudy...and 4 frogs! The kids each got a FrogOSphere for Christmas but they were out of the frogs in store. So we had to mail order the frogs which I waited until after our trip to Florida to do. They arrived in two installments over this past week. They live in sets of two in a tiny aquarium that seems pretty low maintenance. They only get fed once per week too so that's easy enough. The other animals in the house have not noticed the additions...oh, except for when Callie almost ate one. Yes when we were transferring them to the aquarium, one got loose and began hopping on the kitchen floor. Callie was instantly thinking snack time! She has grown accustomed to things that taste good falling off the counter :) We were quick to react though and she was sent out in the backyard while Quinn scooped up the loose frog and deposited him into the tank. Phew! Close call. So when the second set of frogs arrived, we let Callie out ahead of time. But still one was jumpy and got loose, hopping into Quinn's closet. Again, Quinn to the rescue and he was able to scoop it up and into it's tank where it belongs. So without further adieu, I present the latest additions to the family.

Quinn's frogs, Flipper and Flopper. They are placed on his bookcase with all the dinosaurs. I think he thought they'd feel more at home with other animals peering in :) Keely's frogs, Gabriella and Tiny. Gabriella of High School Musical fame and Tiny for obvious reasons but not really because one is smaller than the other. I doubt either child could identify the frogs with the names consistently each time :)
And a close up of Keely's. One was literally suspended on one leg. They don't move around much, I guess to conserve energy since they only eat 2 small pellets of food per week.
So there they are. Not sure how long they will last but for now, the kids are enjoying have their own pets in their rooms!

Tell Me How You Really Feel

On Sunday, I went downstairs in the basement to run/walk on the treadmill. Keely followed as she typically does. Upon seeing the television screen, the following conversation ensued.

Keely (exasperated): Mama, are you going to watch football again? (?!?!)

Me: Yes, I am.

K: When I grow up, I am NEVER watching football! (emphasis on NEVER)

Me: Okay, that is your choice but I like football.

K: Well, I am NOT a fan of football! (emphasis on NOT)

Well, her point was clear and I loved her matter of fact-ness in this conversation. No one will tell her how to live her life, that's for sure!

And as a counterpoint, Quinn enthusiastically tells us at the dinner table last night...

13 Days Until the Super Bowl!!! :)