My Night in Salt Lake

How on earth could I have neglected to blog this?!?

So way back in February, I got to fly to Salt Lake all by myself (so sad George couldn't join me) to attend this year's big Deseret Book Banquet (the publisher of my books...we published "What Are the Promises I Make at Baptism?" in 2011).

My wonderful sister-in-law Jenny picked me up from the airport & we went out to lunch at Chick-Fil-A (a personal favorite but we don't have those around here) and then I hung out at her house for a bit before it was time to drive up to Salt Lake for the big event.

Since George wasn't able to accompany, I asked my mother-in-law Gloria to be my dinner date. We found our way into downtown Salt Lake into the underground parking and up into the Joseph Smith Memorial Building where the banquet was taking place.

The photo quality on all of these is horrible since I used my phone for most, if not all, of them...I thought I brought my nicer camera but now I can't remember. I feel funny pulling that massive thing out though for these functions so the phone camera is much more discreet.

The room we were in overlooked Temple Square...SO lovely all lit up at night!

Lovely place settings... I wore a purplish dress which coordinated so perfectly with the purply decor.

I loved seeing the Temple through the window from my seat at the table.

 Gloria and I were among the first people to enter the banquet room...most everyone else took their time walking in since they were busy mingling in the foyer area. I am not much of a mingler when I don't know people, and neither is Gloria, so we were happy to sit down and watch people come in. My favorite moment was when Elder L. Tom Perry and his wife walked right by in front of us and flashed us a smile. He's so tall. All of the general authorities I've ever been in proximity to have been so tall! (Though as short as I am, anyone seems tall by comparison!) So see in this pic where those chairs in the foreground are? He walked right in front of those. 

Gloria & I seated at our table. At the table next to us was seated Jenny Oaks Baker--I could see her throughout my meal and I was so wishing I could talk to her...but I'm too chicken to just walk up to her and I wouldn't know what to say even if I did. I so admire her and love her violin music! 

I sat next to Brian Call--an artist whose name I see often in different church publications but most notably as the illustrator of a book I just bought for my kids! It was a treat to sit by him and talk--he also went to BYU but was in the illustration program there a few years before me so we reminisced about our old instructors there.

The program for the evening was wonderfully entertaining.

And of course the best part was hearing from Elder Perry, whose self-deprecating humor was so cute--he said his mother used to pay him a dime to go to the library and just read something...he hated reading and writing even moreso, which made his book having been published all the more remarkable...so he started his talk by asking everyone to be silent for a moment and said, "Hear that? That's my mother laughing in heaven!"

Our table was right behind a giant post (probably why we got to sit as close as we did to the front...last year we were seated all the way in the back) but you can just see Elder Perry there from my seat.

When the dinner ended & everyone stood up to leave, I felt someone grab my shoulders and say, "Excuse me!" and I was startled to turn and see none other than Michael McLean squeezing past me! Ha! I will never wash my shoulders again... (just kidding).

Here are Michele (the author) and I with our book (hidden by the glare). She was 7 or 8 months pregnant at the event & looked fabulous as always! It was a treat to see her and her husband Chad again.

It was so fun to hang out with Gloria that evening! I have the BEST mother-in-law!

Deseret Book gave each of the authors/artists a gift box to take home (I don't know if all publishers are this generous, but I seriously feel spoiled by DB!) Unfortunately, since I was flying home, I was afraid I wouldn't be able to fit that lovely wooden crate in an overhead compartment (and no way would I check it!) so I left that behind at my in-laws & took the rest of the goodies home in my suitcase.

I flew home the very next morning. It was such a quick trip but a very memorable one! I feel so very blessed on so many counts!

Where's mine tiguh?!?

Zac's favorite toy is a plastic tiger. My other boys have loved other things like Thomas the Train...various matchbox cars...light sabers...Benno had his little piggy stuffed animal...but Zac's obsession with his tiger far exceeds any of the others' toy attachments. He's so obsessed that he's even making me a little obsessive about it!

I took these next couple photos after an episode where we thought he lost it in the pet store...I called the pet store to see if they had it in lost & found. They didn't have it there and even walked the aisles we'd been in to see if they could spot it, and still no luck. Later that afternoon, I'd dropped off boys at gymnastics and swung by the pet store again to walk those aisles again myself...still no luck. That little tiger keeps Zac so happy and occupied that I was just sick at heart to think we'd lost it.

He kept insisting it was in the car so I searched it one last time, and VOILA! There was the beloved tiger--it had made its way to the far side from his seat and tucked out of sight...I was SO excited to see that tiger!

And he was even moreso! 

But I didn't take these pics to document his joy so much as to make a record of that tiger for the next time he disappears to use in the "Lost" posters (or to simply buy an identical new one). : )

The first words out of his mouth every morning are, "Where's mine tiguh?" (Followed closely by, "I want chocolate milk.") He takes the tiger to bed with him so often come morning we have to check the space between the bed & the wall and sure enough, there's Tiger. And periodically throughout the day, I'll hear, "Where's mine tiguh?" And life stops until Tiger is located.

I spotted Tiger in all of these pics... Really, Tiger is his constant companion so I shouldn't be surprised to see him while decorating Easter eggs...

....or eating Easter dinner...

...or giving his brothers high fives...

Anyway, you get the picture. It's cute and it won't last forever--I miss the days when Anthony loved his little Thomas train, but he'd look pretty silly carrying that around now... 

Any of you have or had kids with special attachments like that? Anything especially funny?

Derby Day

Pinewood Derby happened in April...photos of the actual event are nonexistant as I myself was barely there. The Derby fell on the same night I was hosting book club--priorities, you know...kidding, it really did kill me that I couldn't stay and cheer on Aaron but not only did I have book club but I also had to pick up the other boys from gymnastics and drop them off here and there and aaaaahhhh....my Tuesday nights are always crazy. Can NOT wait for summer schedules when Tuesday nights are no longer so insanely crazy!

I think Aaron did a fabulous job on his car! George helped him shape the wood and then I helped him to decorate it...and I finally figured out how to do the graphite stuff so at least his car didn't come in last this year. Still didn't win--I think he was something like 18th place--but that's an improvement over last year! One of these years we'll finally get this right and possibly win!

It felt weird to only do one car this year...we've had to do two (or more) for the last couple years...but next year we'll have Christopher in it too so it'll be like old times again. : )

Tulips 2012

*Warning: Photo HEAVY post!*

We go to the Tulip Festival in Woodburn, OR, every year...as you probably already know (ha, even my header is from last year's Tulip Fest).

This year, unfortunately, my boys are in 2 different schools which don't always have the same days off...so sadly, the day we were able to go this year, Anthony wasn't with us. : (

I was sad not to be able to get pics of all 5 there...but I did get plenty of photos anyway, and here are some a lot of my favorites. Enjoy!

It was threatening to rain on us the entire time, but it didn't...and the nice thing was that we had the place practically to ourselves thanks to that threatening rain!

This is what happens to Oregonians when the sun comes out, as it did very briefly that day:

I could not get one decent photo of these boys all together...so finally I gave in and said, "Be silly!" My favorite is little Zachary who is concentrating very hard on those little fingers in both pics.

Just as well that I couldn't get a good pic...not only were we missing Anthony, but all of them were in dire need of haircuts & looking pretty scruffy!

Always a gymnast...

I usually avoid the cow train but the boys talked me into it this time.

(This is the pic Aaron's taking above!)

Aaron caught me too.

We love the Tulip Farms!