East or West, Home Is Best

The kids’ spring break usually means fun around town for us, but an invitation to visit my parents brought something new this year. (Chad, having classes to teach, got in some time on his own at home.) The trip out was extra exciting with an unexpected overnight stay in Newark, thanks to a missed connection. By getting up at 3:00 the next morning we managed to cross the continent in time to see Grammy and Grandpa before noon. It was great seeing them and checking out their new place for the first time.

Given our early rising, we gave Gavin and Arwen the chance to opt out of the Magical Strings concert planned that evening, but they wanted to give it a whirl. Arwen made it as far as the end of the driveway before conking out, and Gavin famously succumbed right after bragging through the intermission that he was going to stay up all night. We were off to a great start!

My parents’ place proved to be a great adventureland for Gavin and Arwen. Starting with the bonus room over the garage where they slept on a Murphy bed, to Grandpa’s shop where my dad helped Gavin and his new friend from next door make pens from wood we’d brought from home, to the big cushy couches where the kids spent hours listening to Grammy and Grandpa read the likes of Flicka, Ricka, and Dicka and Heidi from my growing up years as well as Winni the Pooh, which Grandpa had conveniently downloaded to his iPad. And I can't forget the jacuzzi tub in the master bath or the flower bed they dubbed "The Land of Great Discovery". Gavin and Arwen LOVED their time with Grammy and Grandpa.

In addition to the fun time with Mom and Dad, a highlight of the trip was the chance to see my siblings (with whom I was having so much fun I neglected to take any photos). My sister Bonnie was visiting from California the first two days, and we also got to spend some time with my brother Bert and sister Amy and their families, including their new babies Melody and Keane respectively. It was great to be all together at Mom and Dad’s house as well as spending some time hanging out at their places. I had worried that Gavin would feel left out with the three class of ’28 females, but after the first night together he informed me that Rachel was his very favorite friend - “She makes up the best games.” It was so fun watching the six oldest kids run through the house together.



I was also glad for the chance to reconnect with old friends, several of whom I hadn’t seen for many years. A couple of friends from church singles’ days brought their kids to hang out and catch up, one of my BYU friends came to visit from across town, and we met my Seattle friend Susan and her kids for a romp around the Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge. I even reconnected with a high school friend I hadn’t seen for 20 years.

Our last day in town we met all the cousins at the zoo in Portland. There was the usual excitement over the baby elephant, a bird who sipped nectar from a cup in Gavin’s hand, and polar bears who we managed to catch at lunchtime. Bert joined us for a picnic on the lawn and a surprise ride on the zoo train. But the best of all was seeing the kids hug each other goodbye and seeing how much their relationships had grown in our short time together.

That night Grammy treated us to gourmet pizza and strawberry lemonade and, in a tradition started by my own faraway grandmother, hosted a birthday celebration for us all.

Fortunately, other than some trauma at saying goodbye to Grammy, the trip home was less eventful than our earlier travels. While we’re still working on getting the kids back on East Coast time, we’re feeling pretty adjusted to being back home.

Thanks, Grammy and Grandpa for a wonderful spring break!

As the years go by I find myself wanting more and more to commemorate Easter in a really meaningful way in our home. This year we continued with an Easter New Testament reading program we started last year, accompanied by pictures depicting the last several days of the Savior’s life, his burial, and resurrection. Coloring eggs and putting on a simple egg hunt in our yard are also parts of our annual tradition. Inspired by a friend’s blog, this year we decided to try our hand at making hollow chocolate eggs to add to our festivities. While a popular addition, these will take another year or two to perfect, as will the finger Jell-O eggs I attempted.

Easter was especially noteworthy this year, as it fell on the weekend of our church’s General Conference. We were impressed at how attentively Gavin and Arwen participated for much of the conference (four two-hour sessions spread across Saturday and Sunday, three of which we watched online at home). We continued a recent tradition of watching one of the Saturday sessions with Tricia and Brad and their family and enjoying a scrumptious spaghetti dinner together.

Between Sunday's conference sessions we joined Tricia and Brad's family and friends for a picnic remembering their daughter Katie. Between bites of sandwiches and anecdotes of flooded basements we looked at Katie’s scrapbooks and munched on M&Ms with her picture on them. It’s hard to believe two years have passed since their family's vigil at the Seattle Children’s Hospital during which Tricia and I went walking together for the first time.


In other news, tonight was the first practice for Gavin’s first baseball team. I was impressed to hear the coach advising the players to back up when he saw the power of Gavin’s swing, and calling attention to Gavin’s strong, straight throws to first base. As usual, Arwen had a great time mixing with the other little sisters on the playground. It should be a fun season!