Pretty Is As Pretty Does

This was week two of sickness in July. Something seems wrong about having beautiful Summer weather outside while battling nausea, congestion, head-aches, and exhaustion. I feel like I have been living in a haze of tissues, medicines, and tears. You can’t curl up in a blanket next to the fire, sip hot chocolate and watch Pride and Prejudice when you are sick in July. It’s no wonder it is taking us so long to recover.

Fortunately there have been cousins around to distract us from our misery. Kate played with Gracie non-stop all week. She was feeling better and I was thankful to have her entertained. One day there were five little girl cousins 4-years-old and younger at Grandma Shelly’s house. They were all clad in pink dancing skirts, plastic high heels, and sparkly crowns. As each princess went past me she told me her name: “I’m Snow White,” (Grace) “I’m Belle,” (Kate) “I’m Cinderella,” (Jane) “I’m Aurora,” (Jillian) “I’m Jasmine,” (Sadie). Then off they ran around the corner of the house to play in another section of the garden.

I was somewhat worried about the reaction I would encounter when Grace left yesterday. Kate was tired and wouldn’t even walk to the car to say goodbye. I figured she would be melting down and ready for an early bedtime. Instead as I walked back through the gate I saw her deep in a new pretend game with Jillian. Where there is one best buddy cousin, another can be found!

Jane has started singing real songs. Her favorites are Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, Itsy-Bitsy Spider, and the ABC Song. When I put her down for a nap I can hear her through the door singing, “A-B-C-H-I-J-K-L-M-N-O-P-U-V Next time won’t you follow me.” That little singing voice will melt your heart!

Jane knows that her Dad is in Dallas. Every time we call him and I put the phone to her ear Jane says, “Hi, Dad. Are you in Dallas?” This week she figured out that Dallas is in Texas. Now she says, “Dad is in Dallas. Dallas is in Texas.” The other day when Grampa asked her where her Dad was she said, “Daddy’s not here. Daddy is in the computer.” If anyone can figure how to reach into a video chat and pull out the real thing, please let me know. We could use a few hours of Daddy time!

Week Off

I'm taking a week off from writing a letter. Kate was sick last week, so all I really have to report on is tylenol, ibuprofen, and antibiotic doses. As interesting as that may be, I will spare you. Jane woke up with a fever today, so it looks like the fun will continue this week too. Who ever heard of fevers, congestion, and coughs in summer! Errrr.

Summer Has Begun

There are some advantages and some disadvantages of having a two-year-old who loves to talk. She can tell you what she wants--an advantage when she remembers her manners--a disadvantage when she lets all her emotions loose. She can join the big kids in their imaginative games--a definite advantage especially when it gives you 20 minutes of time to yourself. She can make you laugh. They other day we were outside on the field behind my parents’ house. Jane came up to me, reached her arms up and said, “You are not busy. You swing me!” She can also get you into trouble. Jane keeps patting people on the cheek while they are holding her and saying, “You are ugly.” Ahhh! (The horrified mother hides her head in the corner.) My only consolation is that she may be one of the only two-year-olds having trouble with her adjectives.

We started this week with a quick trip out to Roosevelt. Last weekend when Greg and Shannon went home they abducted the Jackson cousins, so we let them enjoy having nine kids for a couple of days and then we went out to retrieve Annie, Eliza, and Jack. Of course, being in Roosevelt we had to stay a few days. As I got Kate out of the car to greet her cousins, I gave her a big hug and told her I would see her in a few days. Sure enough, off she ran. I caught an occasional glimpse of her playing outside, she would come in holding her sister by the hand when Jane had fallen or met with some other crisis, and I would tuck her in at night. Other than that, she was missing in action and enjoying every minute of her cousin time.

Shannon and I had almost as much fun as the kids. We went for a couple great bike rides (thanks to Mom who watched all 11 kids), we started and FINISHED a sewing project, and we had some great conversations. If it hadn’t been that the kids began to melt down one by one from pure exhaustion, we might have been tempted to stay forever. Most people may not think of Roosevelt, Utah as a destination, but it certainly tops our list!

Thursday was Alan’s birthday. I had invited him over for a birthday dinner and planned on making scallopini, one of my favorite dishes for special occasions. While we were in Roosevelt my Dad kept calling and saying, I invited so and so to the birthday party. When we arrived home I was cooking dinner for 11 instead of 4! In spite of the fact that my girls were tired and grumpy and sick somehow we managed to pull off a dinner party four hours after we walked in the door. Mom made roasted veggies and lime ice. I pulled off the scallopini and we had all sorts of tasty summer fruit. It was so nice to be celebrating Alan’s birthday with him rather than wondering where he was or if he was alive.

Summer has arrived in Salt Lake. I love watching the kids running through the sprinklers, eating popsicles, riding bikes and playing out in the garden. I did a temperature comparison the other day. Salt Lake City was 83° with 21% humidity, Philadelphia was 98° with 48% humidity, Dallas was 92° with 65% humidity, Phoenix was 113° with 10% humidity, and Island Park was 73° and perfect. Happy Summer!

Her Story, His Story

On Mothers’ Day this year I sent my girls off to Utah with their Grandparents. Now it’s Fathers’ Day and Josh is off in Texas.

The highlight of this week has been Cousin Fest. Annie, Jack, and Eliza are staying here at Grandma’s house for a couple of weeks, so Kate and Jane are in heaven with cousins around to play with. Add to that an outing to the zoo with Woodford cousins on Tuesday, a noodle fight with Uncle Jeff, and a surprise visit from the Roosevelt crew over the weekend and you pretty much have my girls’ definition of the perfect life.

My Mom and I went down to the Church History Library this week. Alan invited us to meet him there. He gave us a tour and then showed us how to look up information, read microfilm, etc. We were a little noisier and more awkward than most of the patrons, but we eventually figured out the procedure.

I got to look at a handwritten journal of Catherine Parsons Staker. It was fun to find little tidbits that give you insight into who she was. She taught school with her mother at Winter Quarters. Her family was quarantined for smallpox before they started West with the Saints so her husband borrowed a pattern from a wagon shop and built his own wagon to take across the plains. Once they got to Utah she learned to love gardening. Her grandchildren called her “Cookie Grandma” because she alway had cookies for them to eat when they came to visit. My favorite tidbit was a couple of lines from her patriarchal blessing which told her she had the gift of healing and even raising from the dead if her faith was sufficient. Then she wrote, “But somehow my faith always gave out when I saw someone die.” I loved that. You can see so much of her sense of humor, her humanity, and, I think, her spiritual strength in that simple statement.

While I was in the Reading Room with the microfilm Alan took Kate and Jane on an adventure. The girls were both hungry and tired but Alan took them to the Joseph Smith Memorial Building for lunch and then played with them on Temple Square until my Mom and I emerged from the Church History Library about an hour and a half later. The girls were laughing and dancing when we found them. Kate’s version of the outing was this: “We had chips and a cookie for lunch and a quesadilla for dessert!” Alan’s version was that they had a quesadilla, chocolate milk and fruit for dinner. When Kate ratted him out he admitted that they first went to the Lion House to eat but the girls were not getting excited about the food. The server, sensing the situation would rapidly deteriorate, quickly handed him a couple bags of chips and said, “Here. Take these.” Alan opened the chips, bought a couple cookies, then regrouped while they walked down the street and tried dinner again, much more successfully, at the JSMB. I’m not sure about Alan, but the girls had a grand time.

Josh started at BCG this week. I’m going to let him write his side of the story:

I started this week in my new summer internship. The first week has been mostly training classes, but I did receive my first assignment. I’ve been staffed on a due diligence case for an energy company acquisition. I wanted to work on an energy case and I feel fortunate they made it possible for me. If the acquisition goes through I will then transition to a post-merger integration team and work on fitting the two companies together. I am very excited, but a little nervous to start work with the team tomorrow. I hope I fit in and can contribute. It was fun reading through the preliminary prospectus because I realize how applicable everything I’ve learned over the last year is to my new job.

Dallas has been really fun. I am sharing an apartment with another Wharton student. His wife and child are in Tucson for the summer and so it was the perfect arrangement for both of us. He is an ex-submarine officer and has been very helpful. Last Sunday he even drove me to church and then picked me up after the meetings! Our place is less than a mile from the office, and so we get up early and walk to the office.

This weekend I drove down to Austin to spend Father’s Day with Jon, Laura, Christian, and Grace. I have had a great time with them! I helped support Jon at his sprint triathlon today (he did awesome!!), and we have filled the rest of the weekend barbecuing, visiting the book store, eating ice cream, and hanging out in their beautiful backyard. Jon even invited me to one of his team’s swim training sessions early yesterday morning and I learned how to breathe on my left side! I’ve decided I may have to come every weekend! Today is Father’s Day and I am especially missing my girls today. It makes it easier to be with family here in Austin, and we have done a couple of Skype calls with Sunny and the girls to help bridge the distance!! The girls are cute, but I wish I could hold all three of them!

I miss y’all and love you!

So there you have it. We are keeping busy, loving being close to family, enjoying the warm weather, but missing our Josh.

Deep in the Heart

The big event of this week was saying goodbye to Joshua [sniff, sniff]. He is off to Dallas and will start his internship at BCG tomorrow. He was getting more excited and more nervous every day, so he will be glad the waiting period is over. We had several sending off parties, not to celebrate the fact that he was leaving, of course, but to wish him well. ;) In honor of Joshua the center of most of our parties was food--ice cream, guacamole, filet mignon, and sushi. Good times. Joshua will be missed by his girls, but we hope he has a wonderful experience at BCG--without any distractions.

During the next few weeks as we get a sense of what the BCG schedule will really be like, the girls and I will make the rest of our summer plans. In the meantime, I am keeping myself busy--not that that is too difficult with Kate and Jane around. I am, however, learning a new skill. I bought myself a book and a pile of balloons and I am learning to twist balloons. Kate thinks I am the coolest Mom ever. She kept saying, “This is awesome!” as I would hand her a wand, or a bunny, or a bike, or a snake hat. I figured balloon tying would be a nice skill to have at family gatherings, birthday parties, etc. We have had fun with it so far. There are little bits of balloon all over my parents’ house and the girls are no longer afraid of a loud POP!

I managed to get the girls ready in time to attend church with the Woodfords at 9:00 this morning. In a way it is easier to get things done as a parent when you know you are the only one around. Otherwise it is too tempting to hold back a bit and see if the other sleep deprived adult will get out of bed first. Church was amazing today. Jane jumped up after sacrament meeting, took her Grandma Narda by the hand, and marched off to nursery. Kate also went to Sunbeams without hesitation and I actually got to listen to a well-prepared discussion about Samuel in Gospel Doctrine. I had no distractions. I wasn’t worried about the discussion taking off into left field at any moment. I took notes. I thought about new things and I absolutely loved it. I almost forgot how uplifting church can be.

Alan came back over last night. We had dinner with Doug & Carrie who are passing through town and then played games and talked. Alan has been working on gathering stories from our family history again. I used to only know two stories about our pioneer ancestors: Evan Jenkins coming from a life of coal mining in England to that of farming in Idaho and loving the sunlight, and Nathan Staker being kicked out of the wagon train. In all honesty, I used to dread talks about pioneers. They all seemed the same to me. I guess my heart has changed, however, because when I listen to the stories Alan has found they touch me so profoundly. Genealogy is no longer just a web of names I will never get straight, the people become real and I realize that I am a part of their legacy: Eliza who was at Martin’s Cove in a blizzard with her two children and a rickety hand cart, Thomas who felt the the guidance of the Spirit telling him to keep his life clean as a young man although he knew not why, Phineas who mourned the loss of his son who died at Haun’s Mill, Jane who was unable to satisfy her little daughter’s dying request for potato soup because a farmer refused to give or sell a potato to a Mormon, Henry who missed the birth of his first daughter because he was called on a mission to Hawaii and returned three years later with a wooden chest full of seashells he had gathered for her on the beaches. These are people with hopes, dreams, disappointments, heartaches, joys, trials and incredible faith. These are my people! What a blessing it is to get to know them. Thank you, Alan, for opening my eyes to the past.

Adventures in Cycling

Yesterday was Little Red. I went into the ride hoping to survive in spite of my rather untraditional training schedule--running the first month and a crash course in cycling since returning to Utah. Not only did we survive, we did really well! I rode with my sister-in-law, Shannon, and her sister Kira. Three ended up being a great number. We worked well together. We increased our average speed to 17 mph (from 15.5 last year). And, most importantly, we had a great time--a hundred miles of it!

Greg and Josh were our biggest fans. They ran along part of the course and cheered for us as we passed. They met us for lunch and gave us great coaching, that probably saved the ride, and then they came to four different spots during the second half of the ride to hoop and holler and encourage us. Somehow they also managed to squeeze in a trip to the Pepperidge Farm outlet, a stop at the Fat Boy outlet, a hamburger and milk shake lunch, and a couple angel of mercy errands--not a bad day on their end either.

During our training rides we had several memorable moments this year. We encountered the usual grumpy country dog, saw several snakes who met their doom on the road, and learned the names and calls of a few birds. We also learned by experience what it means to bonk or hit your wall as it is called in running. All of us had that fun experience at some point this year. Josh was so loopy coming down Immigration Canyon after our ride up Big Mountain that he thought we were home when we got to the zoo; maybe there is a message in that. We also had a few less typical cycling adventures. On our first ride together we came across some cows on the road. We turned cowgirl for a few minutes and herded the cattle down the road until they figured out they could turn and run off into the bushes. During our last training ride we were chased by...a goat! It came running out of the driveway and chased us down the road just like the dogs do. Something about the maa maa rather that a growl and sharp teeth took some of the intimidation factor out, but he gave it his best shot.

Josh, Kate and Jane went to spend a few days at the Woodfords’ house earlier this week. I visited them a few times, but Henry the cat and I can’t share living quarters. The girls had a wonderful time. They played puppets and magnets and ball and read stories and explored the yard. Our girls certainly lucked out in the grandparent department.

Kate had one misadventure this week. She was swinging which is one of her favorite activities. Josh was pushing her and she kept asking to go higher and higher and higher. Right as Josh gave her a final huge push the rope on the swing broke and she went flying. Josh said the whole event went in slow motion for him and the only comforting thing is that he could see by the way she was landing that she would be okay. Kate told me that right when she was “going super high the rope broke and first I flew and then I crashed onto the ground.” Thankfully, she was fine--shaken up and mad at her Dad, but physically fine. Later that day in the car she said to Josh, “Daddy, when I was flying through the air I should have just flapped my wings...my arms like wings and then I wouldn’t have fallen to the ground.”

The biggest surprise, maybe even more than surviving Little Red, is that my brother, Alan, showed up this week. We haven’t heard from him since last December. We have thought about him every day. We have prayed for him every day. We have emailed him and hoped for the best. Yesterday when we came home from Logan he was sitting on the deck talking to my mom. I was so surprised to see him. All I could do was hug him with tears rolling down my face and tell him how happy I was to see him.

100% Satisfaction Guaranteed

We returned to Salt Lake yesterday after five days of fun in Roosevelt. The girls were NOT enthusiastic about leaving but they were both so completely exhausted that they couldn’t put up too much of a fight. They used up every ounce of reserve energy they had to obtain the promise of returning again soon, then succumbed to exhaustion and fell asleep before we were out of the county.

I am pretty sure we took Kate with us to Roosevelt. I know I buckled her in the car when we left and I think I occasionally caught a glimpse of her in the kitchen at meal time or rummaging for a snack, but she was pretty much missing in action for the five days we were there. Once she ran inside and gave her cousins hugs she was off and running and rarely to be seen. She and Grace are the best of buddies. All they need is a little space, a few props for play, an occasional appearance of a sister to enhance their game, and they are completely content in their world of imagination.

We were all pretty much perfectly content to be honest. Roosevelt may not be in any guide books of places you must visit often, but Greg and Shannon’s home in Roosevelt should be. Open space, cute kids, lawn games, cycling trips, yummy food, good conversation, movie parties, outdoor projects--it is certainly a destination in our books. We had a wonderful time.

Like on all good Staker vacations we spent a lot of time exercising while we were in Roosevelt. Shannon and I are preparing for Little Red, a 100 mile ride, on June 5^th so we spent a lot of time on our bikes. Josh and Greg were able to join us for a couple of rides as well. It was beautiful to ride through green farm lands with the high Unitahs off in the distance. After one of our rides Shannon led me through some resistance training. Jane came in to help us with our exercises. We were doing the plank. For those of you not familiar with the plank it is 60 seconds of complete torture during which your muscles shake and scream and you think you will die at any moment. Jane came up and lay next to me after she watched our first rep. She said, “Jane do it too.” We pushed up again for our second dose of torture and I encouraged Jane to join us. She lifted up her neck slightly, turned her head to look at me, and while the rest of her body was flat on the ground said, “I up! I up!” It only took me a few more seconds to decide that her version was much preferable to Shannon’s.

The official title of our century ride next week is Little Red Riding Hood. It is an annual century ride just for women through Cache Valley. The logo for the race always has some female cyclist conquering the big bad wolf. The jerseys we have from last year have a picture of a girl with long red hair, a pink skirt, and flowers filled basket on her handle bars running over the top of the big bad wolf with her bike. My girls love that image. The evening we arrived in Roosevelt I was out in the garage changing the tire on my bike, or more precisely watching Greg while he changed the tire on my bike, when one of Kate’s cousins asked her where I was. She replied, as if it were completely obvious and logical, “She is out changing her tire on her bike because she ran over the big bad wolf.”

We celebrated Jane’s second birthday on Friday. Following the example of her sister, Jane’s birthday requests were “pink cupcakes and a balloon.” We had a fun little celebration with her six Roosevelt cousins. It was minimal, but she was happy. We gave her a “scooter just Jane’s size” that she can ride on while Kate is riding her skuut. Jane’s sweet cousin, Claire, wrapped up a pink ice cream cone, part of their pretend food that Jane had been playing with for two days, and gave it to her as a gift. She knew just what Jane would love. She also made her a doll house out of cardboard, completely decorated and furnished with the help of her sisters. So sweet.

So my little Janeguar is two! I love that little girl. I love her opinions. I love her determination. I love to see her follow the example of her sister but find her own strengths as well. I love to see her run her crazy off balance two-year-old run. I love to see her jump with both feet. I love to catch her singing to herself and dancing to music. I love to see her dress up with five necklaces, a frilly skirt, high heels, and fairy wings. I love to hold her in my lap and read her stories and then hear her ask for “more stories please.” I love to scoop her up in my arms when she is crying and watch her try to control her emotions while she says, “Happy Jane. Happy Jane.” I love to kiss her owies. When I miss the exact spot she says, “No, not there here,” and I have to try again until I get the exact spot. Then she immediately stops crying and says, “Thank you.” I love to hear her laugh. Jane’s laugh comes from her soul. When she thinks something is funny she laughs with her whole heart and you cannot resist joining her. Happy Birthday, Little One! We love you.

Now back to our vacation. My brother is the branch president of the Spanish branch in Roosevelt. Saturday night they had a branch activity at their house which involved a whole lot of tasty Mexican food, a whole lot of hispanic people, and a whole lot of Spanish conversations. It was fun to watch Josh. I know for a fact that he went back through the food line at least five times! I saw him talking in Spanish to as many people as he could. He just had a glow about him all evening. The next morning he spoke in their sacrament meeting. I didn’t understand it at all, which is probably a good sign, but it was fun to see Josh back in missionary mode. The smile on his face when he sat down was priceless. There is something very special about those mission years--a love for a people, a culture, and the gospel that is so intense--and the chance to re-experience those feelings, even briefly, is rejuvenating.

The girls on the other hand were not huge fans of the four and a half hour church block . I usually feel like I deserve an award getting our girls through three hours of church. This time after regular church we headed back into the chapel for Spanish sacrament meeting. Jane had had it. She was wiggling all over the place and choosing not to understand our pleas to “whisper, whisper like a beautiful fly.” Josh bent down and whispered in her ear that she needed to sit still and not wiggle. She immediately started kicking her legs with great force and said in a nice, clear loud voice, “Wiggle like this!” When the sacrament trays had passed us she looked at me and said, “more sandwich.” When I put my finger to my lips to tell her to be quiet she repeated it over and over again louder each time, “more sandwich, More Sandwich, MORE SANDWICH!” When I tried to tell her a Jesus story she said, “No. My Jesus Story. Once upon a time...Jesus...Jane...” It was cute, but it was not particularly reverent. Abby saved the day by drawing princess pictures through the rest of the meeting.

As a grand conclusion to our adventures in Roosevelt we went to a nearby farm to catch frogs. We went with plastic cups in hand expecting to scoop up little froggies, but found a pond full of four inch frogs which were much faster at moving through the water than we were. Greg went back for a net and we went to look at the horses, calves, and baby pigeons. Oncer properly equipped, Greg, Josh, Abby and Brynn were successful in catching a frog and a toad. Kate, whose idea it was to catch frogs in the first place, would have nothing to do with them! Jane, on the other hand, was fascinated and pet both of them without the least sign of fear.

Anyone looking for a great vacation? We recommend Roosevelt, Utah. Be sure to take your bike, your fishing net, your imagination, and your Spanish dictionary. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed.