5th grade

 I am re-taking the 5th grade, and enjoying it more now than I did the first time.  My new job is all about helping children with learning difficulties succeed in their 5th grade year.   I am doing my best to keep up with the lessons - especially math - so that I can do these kids justice.   It really is a pleasant class and some of the things they are learning I find very interesting.  For example, they have a display about an "artist of the month".  So as there is only a half an hour left in September I want to mention what I have learned about the artist "Gilbert Stuart".  He painted many famous Americans from the revolutionary period of our country.

  John Adams pointed out something I had never thought of before: that sitting for a portrait is a very uncomfortable thing.  But he said Gilbert Stuart made it bearable.

"Speaking generally, no penance is like having one's picture done. You must sit in a constrained and unnatural position, which is a trial to the temper. But I should like to sit to Stuart from the first of January to the last of December, for he lets me do just what I please, and keeps me constantly amused by his conversation."^[35]

And on the subject of artists, I don't want to forget to post something from my favorite:  Norman Rockwell

Mary, Colin, Anne & the rest

I blogged recently about listening to children's books on CD whenever I am driving.  Right now it's "The Secret Garden" and I am almost done.  I started thinking about how many stories there are about children who are, at first, not very likable or easy to love or wanted.  But by the middle, or at least the end of the stories their inner beauty and sweet personalities shine through, to the point that the adults in their lives love them so deeply and wonder how they ever got along without them. (For example: Mary Lenox, Colin Craven, Anne Shirley.  I'm sure everyone could name more.)

I like the lines from Anne of Green Gables where Marilla is reminiscing about the first few months after Anne became her child.  She remembers being so bewildered on how to manage her in those days.  The neighbor comments that it is amazing that Marilla was able to change Anne as much as she had.  Marilla concludes that it wasn't Anne who changed.

So I don't know - there is something profound in these stories and I can't do them justice with my own words.  But I want to give the proper acknowledgement of how precious these children are - the awkward ones; the shy, less confident, seemingly un-talented ones; the misbehaving ones; the ones we see in the grocery store and catch ourselves thinking "wow, what a brat".  There is untapped beauty and happiness and wonder inside of them and sometimes it is like solving a mystery to figure how to bring it out.  And maybe when that does happen, we are changed (for the better) a little bit too.

new

Because of the differing needs of my school district, (like changing class sizes) my job assignment has changed.  I am now working with a completely different set of children, as far as ages, challenges, etc.  I miss those little ones; I miss my co-workers; I miss doing music time.  But after one day I am also seeing the cuteness of these new children in my life.  I am recognizing some things that will make this assignment very rewarding.

 Five years ago I was scared to death of my new job and not sure that I could do it.  I remember the day, a few weeks in, where I all of a sudden noticed that I was smiling and enjoying the job.  Now I feel so confident in it and love it so much I am scared to leave it.  But live and learn.  I already caught myself smiling today; I know everything is going to be just fine.

baking by the sunrise

This morning I got up early to help out with a very worthy cause.  Julia is hosting a lemonade stand fundraiser for Addy's sweet little 4 yr old friend who is fighting leukemia.  Besides lemonade they are   offering homemade treats - no set price - just asking people to donate what they would like for this little girl's care.

So if you live in our area, come have family night at our house and support this little girl!


So it was an early, fun morning for me.  We finally got our warm weather and not only are the sunsets amazing, by the sunrises as well.  With the smell of cookies, and I Love Lucy on in the background, how can it be anything but a wonderful day?  At least that is my mentality as I head off to work.

Happy 1st day of autumn, officially

 Our piano is a multi-tasker.  Even though I don't play it enough, it is a focal point of our living room, because it displays our seasonal decorations.  Nothing fancy; for fall we have a couple of cute scarecrows and baskets of pine cones sitting on top.  But my favorite thing on display is the children's library books; books all about pumpkins and autumn leaves and apples.  It makes me happy.

September walking in Utah - with purpose!

So purposeful - Hannah walks as if she is ready to take on the world.  I love it!

On my last day in Utah we went on a walk to look for Autumn, and found it's beginnings.  The family has promised to send me more pictures as everything becomes more and more colorful.

These daisies, that look like sunflowers, were all over the sides of the road
in Utah and Idaho.

We found a little creek and waterfall and I finally put my water shoes to good use.  I bought these for doing "The Narrows" back in April but it was closed.  

So this makes 9 months of my goal to go walking everyday.  It has had good results for my physical health but even greater results for my mental health.  It just puts me in a better mood, gives me time to think, and make me more grateful for this beautiful world.  Why is it, then, that if I skip a day or two it is hard to make myself go again?  I'm realizing that with this, and probably everything else in life, one good decision leads to another - one good decision makes it easier to make a good decision the next day - and visa versa.  So, I am deciding to follow Hannah's example and walk with purpose; get out there and just enjoy being alive!

ok, The Mighty Baker!

Last year, while visiting the Provo Library, I noticed a new little bakery across the street.  It's name especially caught my eye because rather than being sweet and dainty it's name is "The Mighty Baker" with a superhero kind of logo.  I decided to try it and  have become a regular patron every time I am in town.

 Since I love to bake I am not going to buy things that I already know how to make.  But this place has a wonderful variety of yummy treats; there are different things to try every time I go.  One of their signature items is a "stroopwaffle" - something I had never heard of.  It is from Europe and is 2 thin waffles glued together with a carmely kind of syrup.  So good!

This July I was happy to see that they were still there.  (With new small businesses you just never know.)  We went in to get some stroopwaffles to take home (they travel well in my carry-on!) and were told that the owner had just gotten back from participating in "Cake Wars" on the Food Network.  He wasn't allowed to tell anyone the results, but the episode would be airing the next day.  I was thrilled when Mariah called to say that they won!  There was a big sign in front of the shop announcing it and they were open extra late that night to celebrate.

 Now, rather than just staying a-float, they are doing great business, including beautiful cakes for all kinds of occasions.  I "liked" them on Facebook and so now I see advertisements everyday for the things they are making.  Torture!  When we visited in August they were selling slices of their winning cake - a chocolate brownie pound cake with vanilla italian butter cream frosting.  I got a few pieces for our Utah family to share and they were genuinely impressed.  I did mess up, however, by not bringing some home.  Next time I will be sure to figure out how to carefully travel with more than just the stroopwaffles in my carry on.

p.s. So far we have tried their:

stroopwaffles, bakewell tarts, regular tarts, peach/crumble tarts, a variety of individual sized cheesecakes including plain, lemon, pumpkin and sweet-potato, brioche, blueberry-oatmeal-white chip cookies, snickerdoodles, coconut/peanut butter cookies, chocolate eclairs, macaroons, and of course the "Cake Wars" cake.

back to middle school

Before and after Idaho there was Utah.  When we first flew in we hopped in our rental car, picked up Hillary and the girls and headed to Provo.  We got some treats from "The Mighty Baker" (there's that name again - aren't you intrigued?) and headed over to meet Ross at the school where he teaches.  Those middle school kids are lucky to have him.

September walking in Idaho

Along interstate 15 in Idaho there are miles and miles of lava formations.  I took the time to pull over at a rest stop to take some pictures and was pleasantly surprised to find a visitor's center and a very nice walking area.

Stop and smell the sagebrush.  I did this and was surprised at
how sweet and strong it was.

I got a kick out of this sign.  I guess you could say the answer is:  Reggie & Nancy's children.  And lava of course.

And I took a picture of this sign because I find it quite profound.

The lonely ride back

I love a road trip, whether I am the driver or a passenger.  Samantha and I have been concentrating so hard these past few months getting her ready for college that she has been right next to me, "riding shotgun" on quick trips to the store and long road trips from Utah to Idaho.  She is great to have to talk to and a really great navigator.  So to leave her in Idaho and head back by myself was hard.  I knew it would be.  But I didn't anticipate how much I would miss her specifically on the drive back.  The GPS system and I developed quite a love/hate relationship.

The consolation prize of driving alone was that I listened to country music all the way back, and I stopped as often or little as I wanted.  One thing I've always wanted to do on this drive was take pictures of the lava formations/terrain.  I pulled off at a rest stop and was pleasantly surprised that it had a visitor's center and a whole walking area among the lava and sage brush.  But I'll save that info. for my "September walking" post.

So everything went well. (No more run ins with the law).  It was interesting to see how the vibe changed from Idaho to Utah - from wide open spaces to suburbs and malls.  I've realized these last few months how many friends and relations I have all along this route.  It was comforting to know that if I had broken down anywhere there were people that I knew close by that would come to my rescue.  I wish I had time to visit them all.  I was determined, however, to go and see my niece Karen and family.  They live close to Mariah and Hillary and have invited us over when I've been in town but I was not able to make it work - until this time.  I stopped at the Mighty Baker in Provo to get some treats to share. ("The Mighty Baker" is also a blog post for another day.)  And now I have a bucket list of people I am determined to visit as I make trips back and forth between Utah and Idaho these next few years.

Finally, I do want to say a word about my goodbye with Samantha.  I picked her up Saturday morning for breakfast.  We went to "Frontier Pie's" in Rexburg.  This is my kind of place.  I thought the food was great but I also loved the pioneer decor and atmosphere.  Each booth was a tribute to all the different little towns in that area.

When I dropped her back at her apartment I was of course sobbing.  All these years - 20 years of everything.  Her life was passing before my eyes - not that I felt I was losing her, but every memory of our time together was flooding my mind - of my caring for her, through smiles and illness and procedures and assessments and schoolwork and friendships and birthdays and every good and bad thing that life had given her.  This moment is where her childhood truly ends.  I know I will always be her mom and she will always need me.  But she is now taking care of herself and making decisions for herself without me right there, looking over her shoulder.  I think this is one of the main reasons she needed to go so far away.  I need to step back now, and I don't think I could have done that if she was any closer.  There are ways she is going to grow and change that never could have happened if she hadn't gone away.  And so with all of this on my mind I cried and hugged her and watched her walk into her apartment.  And I started my road trip crying and feeling extremely blessed.

Now, who cares about pictures of Kenny Chesney - I just want to put this song on because of the lyrics and sentiment; it's one of my favorites.

Moving in

The day before "move in" day Samantha and I headed to Rexburg to get some things done at the college.  I was pleasantly surprised that things were not crowded and we got a lot done right away.  We also went by her apartment to ask some last minute questions, and they went ahead and checked her in a day early.  We decided to take advantage of the lack of crowds and got her heavy stuff into her apartment.  Then we hit a couple of Walmarts.  Wow what an experience!  We went to the one a couple of towns away because we heard that the one in town would be crazy crowded.  But after getting her completely moved in we had to go back and get some last minute things.  We chose to go to the one in town and yeah, it was more than full of college students and their families.  Black Friday shopping has nothing on "move in day" in a college town.  As we headed out the setting sun gave us a real treat.  Turns out the sun setting over the mountains is just as beautiful as the sun setting over the ocean.

By the time I left Samantha for her first night in her apartment she had already met her roommates and it looks like they have been getting along great from day one.

I guess the only negative thing that happened was my getting pulled over for speeding, in a construction zone, right outside of town.  I was very lucky to just get a warning and a talking to about how that is a particularly hazardous area for drivers, especially on such a busy traffic day as "move in day".  With the speed limit going from 80 on the main interstate to 65 on the highway into town, to 55 in a construction zone, I just wasn't paying enough attention.  Lesson learned and I was a little more aware of the changing speed limits on my way back to Utah.

Visiting Grandpa Chandler

One very important thing I wanted to do was get pictures of my newly-Idaho nephews and niece at my Dad's gravesite.  As I've blogged before, this is a family tradition, and my Mom especially loves to see pictures of the family visiting there.  The whole Terry/Paredes family came along and it was such a sacred experience.

The kids of course do not remember my Dad but I told them stories of the time they spent with him and Grandma Chandler and how much they loved/love them.  The boys do remember Grandma Chandler but Cali doesn't, and she told me I should send her a picture so she would know who I was talking about.

The kids had never been to a cemetery and so I was especially touched that they were so reverent and so interested in every Chandler headstone they saw.  They asked questions about who each of the people were.  I pointed out that there is a picture of me and their Grandma Marianne with our siblings behind my grandparent's grave, and that I never met my Grandpa and don't remember my Grandma, but how much I love them and know they love me.  I hope they make that connection/parallel to their own circumstance.

 Besides the posed picture behind my Dad's headstone, I took pictures of what the kids were doing around the cemetery.  Cali smoothed out the grass in front of my Dad's headstone.  Tzuri paused for quite a long time in front of the tiny, flat headstone for "Baby Chandler" who lived from 1950 to1950.  

 At one point I noticed that the flowers Samantha and I had put in front of my Dad's grave in July were still there - just very dried.  I regret that I didn't think to bring more flowers this time.  Tzuri asked if he could spread the flowers out by putting one in front of each Chandler gravesite.  And so he did. 

 Rocio said they would be sure to visit often, with flowers, now that she realized how close they are living to the cemetery.

About a year after my Dad died I started thinking about how important it would be to him to have the family ties and bonds stay strong, no matter what.  We don't do official family reunions very often, but there are so many ways to stay connected:  Christmas cards, social media, photo sharing, visiting, telling our ancestor's stories, etc.  It does my heart good to know that these kids will always be our family - will never be lost to us no matter how far away they are and no matter how many other people love them.

It was a wonderful visit.  I want to thank Rocio and J.T. again for their hospitality and love.

Let's start with those beautiful children

So much to blog about - so much to remember about our "college drop off trip".  I don't want to go in chronological order however.  Right now I especially feel like writing about our time with Rocio and family.

On the last day of our trip in July Samantha got a call from her cousin Rocio saying that they were moving to Idaho.  They now live only about a half hour away from each other.  I am so relieved that she has even more family close by.

When we first got there the kids remembered her instantly and loved the time and attention she gave them.  And we finally got to meet baby Aiden.

The kids remembered me too, but I realized after a while that Cali was trying to get my attention without saying my name.  I asked her if she remembered my name, and she admitted she didn't.  But what makes me laugh is that in the first 5 minutes of us being there she said to me "I thought you were going to bring cookies".  I didn't, but I did come prepared with a homemade cookie mix!  About 20 minutes after the kids had gone to bed Tzuri came out and with a worried expression asked if we were making cookies.  It made me sad to think that he thought we were doing it without him.  I promised the kids that we would do it together the next night.  So, if this is my legacy - what I am remembered for with these and the other beautiful children in our family - I am flattered.

My favorite part of this picture is in the right bottom corner.
I told the boys they had to dance while the cookies were mixing.

We went on some walks and played on the playground.  I got a real kick out of Evani explaining, in great detail, the new craze "GaGa Ball".  I asked if this was something he made up or if it was a real sport.  He said it was a real sport.  I realized how true that was when I saw the octagon shaped
"GaGa Ball Pit" at the playground.  I didn't understand anything about it, but I guess I did okay when we played because the game lasted at least 5 minutes!

Our first night in Idaho we stayed with the family.  On the second night Samantha stayed in her apartment and me, Cali, and Ariel had a slumber party.

It was such a wonderful visit.  I am so glad that Rocio and J.T. are happy to have these family ties continue.