Ethan's Piano Recital

Ethan's piano recital was last Friday. It was held in a historic home in Ogden...the house was beautiful and on the historic homes registry. The home has been turned into an arts community center, so there was an art show there as well, and they built a community ballet studio/theater behind it. Ethan played a piece called "The Shark" (think JAWS). If I can figure out how to upload the video from my phone, I'll add it. He did a great job. The jury is out on whether or not he will take piano again next year. I initially said I wanted him to take two years of lessons before I gave him the option to stop taking lessons, but while he's been a very good sport about this year, he has not loved playing the piano. He wants to play the guitar. He's learned a lot and can read music on a basic level. I really just want him to be able to play the hymns in church. I have a simplified hymn book so maybe I'll have him practice those and then let him take guitar. We'll see. But he's been a good sport and has done really well this year. We're very pleased with his progress!
Ethan and his teacher, Miss Autumn

Matt and Kayla's Wedding

I was able to fly home solo a couple weekends ago for my cousin's wedding. Matt and I are only a year apart, and he lived next to my grandmother so we saw each other frequently as kids. We played in the dirt together, took long walks down the dirt road, fished in Granny's ponds, and I would clean his room every time I visited (and subsequently throw away bags of stuff. That really irritated my aunt!). I was glad I was able to be there for his wedding. David and I know with the career we have that there are things we're going to miss, but we both agreed we didn't want to miss a wedding if we didn't have too, even if it meant just one of us went while the other stayed behind with the kids. So that's how it was this time. I left on a Friday morning and came back on Monday night. It's not easy to get to Birmingham from Salt Lake flying Southwest (for which I had a free flight), but I didn't mind spending all day travelling. I caught on some reading, slept on the plane, and enjoyed the small break from my daily mothering routine.

When I got to Alabama Friday night, Mom picked me up from the airport and then I went to eat a late dinner with my high school girlfriends. It was fabulous to see them and I appreciate the effort they make for us to gather (Mary came up from Mobile!) when I'm home.

Saturday we stopped by to see my Aunt Polly. She spent a couple weeks in the hospital not long ago with heart failure issues, and she is jut too ill to travel right now. My grandmother was the second oldest of 12 kids. Aunt Polly is the only sister left of the siblings. She's 86. She still has three brothers that are living, but I know she misses her sisters. She never had children of her own, so her nieces and nephews and their children (and now their children!) are her whole world. She looked so very sick and frail. Every visit I leave her thinking that will be the last time I see her, but her ability to rally and her will to live is amazing.

After our visit with Aunt Polly, Mom and I headed to south Alabama for the wedding. I always feel such mixed feelings when I visit what was my Granny's house. My aunt lives in her house now and has compeletely and beautifully redone the house. That house and the experiences I had there are such an important part of my childhood memories. I still expect to drive up and see my Granny sitting on her front porch swing waiting for us to get there. She's been gone almost three years and I'm still not quite used to it. I don't know if that's something you ever get used too. I very much felt her presence that day, though. Granny loved a good party.

The wedding was lovely; my aunt and cousin worked so hard to make it nice for Matt and Kayla. My Uncle Bobby officiated the ceremony, which was special for them. There was a great showing of family, just my sister and one cousin weren't able to be there; everyone else was. So it was a family reunion of sorts and even if it was just for a few hours, it really did my heart good to be around my family and laugh and reminisce with them. I was also able to see my nephew, Benjamin for the first time since his diagnosis, battle, and victory over cancer. His hair has started growing back and he has regained some of the weight he lost. What a miracle child. He still had his chemo port in his chest, but they are going to remove that soon. I am so thankful that our family's prayers were answered!

Sunday Mom and I headed to Starkville, MS to visit David's grandparents and his sister and her family met us there. Megan had a baby girl last November I hadn't seen, so I loved seeing them and kissing all over her babies. We stopped for a bit in Tuscaloosa to visit David's cousin, Leah, who had graduated from the University of Alabama the day before. Her husband (that I introduced her too!) was up from his base in Florida for the weekend and it's the first time I had seen them together since I sent an email to them encouraging the two of them to meet. I love a happy ending! It was good to visit with the Tinker clan for a bit. I think Mom and I logged about 1000 miles over the course of the weekend, but it was a great trip. I slept on the plane all the way home and came back refreshed and ready to pick back up all my home duties. Every mama needs a break occasionally!

A piece of my heart is in Boston.

My heart is hurting for Boston. I love that city. I loved living in and near that city. I loved everything about my experiences in that beautiful, historic town. In the year and a half I lived there, I had several visitors and became a a fairly good tour guide. I never got tired of taking people on the rounds...to stops on the Freedom Trail, for a pastry in the North End, to Red Sox games, to the Charles River, the Old North Church, Boston Common, Newbury Street, the U.S.S. Constitution, and Harvard Square. Even when it was below freezing, blizzardy and snowing, I still loved that place. It got in my blood, and I left a piece of myself there when I moved home. I find that most people that live there have the same sentiments. I dream of living there again one day with my family, even if just for a short time. (There is an Air Force base close to Lexington, so it could become a reality some day).

I'm so disturbed as the details emerge of the bombings. To learn they were homemade bombs in pressure cookers filled with nails, bullets, and whatever shrapnel would inflict the most harm. To learn that one of the victims was just 8 years old. The loss of life and limbs....all taken by a coward who won't even stand up for whatever his or her cause may have been. I'm praying the person or people that orchestrated this may be caught; both for justice and closure.

How disheartening to know the safe, carefree world I enjoyed as a child is disappearing. My kids are not growing up in the same world I did, and that makes me sad.

I'm praying for Boston, her people, the victims, and that the person or people who did this will turn themselves in.

Easter 2013

We have been enjoying the spring weather here. There is still snow in the mountains, but the days are beautiful and humidity-free! We had our Spring Break this past week (everything is late here...baseball season hasn't started and gardens haven't been planted either) but we had to change our plans to head south to camp at Zion's National Park as well as visiting St. George and Las Vegas because the girls and I got some kind of upper respiratory infection/junk and I got pink eye as well. I have been sapped of a majority of my energy for the last week or so and I'm looking forward to feeling better. David requested some leave this week for our camping trip, and since it was approved, he went ahead and took the time off anyway. He put up the trampoline the kids got for Christmas, has been doing some yard work, and he and the kids went to an arcade/fun center place one day, fishing another day, and then we all went down to Salt Lake one day to go to the Planetarium and to eat at the Lion House Pantry in Brigham Young's home at Temple Square (great food, by the way!). Today we've been lounging watching General Conference. Here are the kids in their Easter clothes and painting eggs. One of my favorite scriptures pertaining to Easter is, "Why seek ye the living among the dead?; He is not here, but is risen!" Luke 24:5-6

How thankful we are that He is and for what his resurrection means for the world!

Boston Reunion at Lava Hot Springs, Idaho

Living in Boston was one of the greatest experiences of my life. The history of the area, the personal growth, and best of all the FRIENDS I made will always cause me to recall that time in my life with great fondness.

I am so happy to live about 45 minutes from two of my dear friends from Boston that married each other, Scott and Alicia, and we see them frequently. Other friends, Kamber and Brian that also married each other, live in Idaho, and then there's my dear Randi that is taking care of her 83 year old father in Seattle these days. We haven't all seen each other since our reunion in Boston four years ago, and I decided while we were all on the same side of the U.S., we would have another reunion. There is a hot springs in Idaho, so we made a plan and made it happen! Another couple that I didn't know very well but who knew everyone else very well happened to be visiting Utah during our reunion, so they came and joined us too and were positively delightful. In the end there were 12 kids and 10 adults. It was wonderful. I only wish it could have been longer! We all took a turn preparing a meal, and we ate like kings and queens!


The kids played tons and tons of games.


Brian and Kamber prepared made-to-order omelettes and belgian waffles with homemade whip cream and strawberries on Saturday morning. Randi made us bbq sandwiches with homemade coleslaw and homemade mac-n-cheese and the most delightful dessert, called Panacotta. It's this custardy type dessert with Greek yougurt as its base, then she made homemade pistachio sandies she crumbled over it with fresh berries in some kind of yummy homemade berry sauce. DELICIOUS! Randi is a pastry chef and worked at one of the most renowned restaurants in Seattle, the Dahlia Lounge, as a sous pastry chef before she left there to take care of her father. I'm convinced she could prepare shoe leather to taste yummy. When we arrived Friday night, the Buchanans had prepared a baked potato bar, a huge salad, and lemon cake for dessert. Then Sunday morning, David and I (with a lot of help from others as we were scrambling to get packed and loaded before check-out time) made french toast with homemade buttermilk syrup and the Pioneer Woman's sausage breakfast burritos which were AMAZING. Good thing I'm doing Zumba again!

We stayed in an amazing house. It had two living rooms, two kitchens, five bedrooms, 3 1/2 baths, and in the master bedroom, there was a jacuzzi tub, a heated floor, and a huge shower with two shower heads. It was so nice and even though there were 22 of us there, everyone had plenty of space to spread out. Ava and Sara Katherine couldn't wait for the hot springs, so they took a swim in the tub before we left and were soon joined but lots of other kids that didn't want to wait!



One of the big jokes of the weekend was how I would swipe everyone's vegetable pieces they were going to toss to take home to put in our compost. I ended up with two full Ziploc bags and everyone else got a good laugh. Randi took home three huge bags of recycling she drove all the way back to Washington though, so I didn't feel quite so weird!


Lava Hot Springs was a stop on the Oregon Trail. The Indians used it for a winter camp site before the white people pushed them out. The water was heavenly. It was 112 degrees in the pool closest to where it came out of the earth, but the pool I hung out in the most was 102. It was perfect. I decided my long hiatus from serious exercise needed to end, so now that David is home, I join a group of girls from church a couple nights a week to do a Zumba/weight training class. It's AWESOME, but I have been so sore the past few weeks. The hot springs helped with the soreness and I felt all the toxins leaving my body!

Our drive from the Hot Springs back to our house; beautiful!

A late night game of Settlers of Cataan, just like the good ol' days!

Sweet, sweet memories!!