A Smattering

I usually like to follow a specific theme in a blog post. It keeps me focused and I draw meaning from the experiences of our lives that way. But when I go a month between posts that's kind of hard to do. I don't want to leave stuff out...so let's try a little thematic scatter-shot... stay with me.

#1. Outside Enjoying the Last Warm Days

Sully and Abner taking flight on the swings (in the play area that is STILL a work in progress -- into year 2 of this reno, and it will probably be next year when we finish this up). I love Sully's face. ha ha ha.

 A LOVELY late-summer sunrise.

 And and equally beautiful sunset. 

 Noble getting after it on the soccer field. He is really enjoying soccer even though, by contrast  to last year, his team hasn't won a game yet.

#2. Abner the Master of Cuh-Razy

The award for the busy, busy, busy, busiest Melton EVER goes to.....Abner William. He is wall-to-wall action, all day, every day. He can climb ANYTHING, get into just about any kind of container, get out of his crib, and open doors. He loves my make-up, throwing sand and flour and powdered sugar, drinking out of the toilet, eating gum from....who knows where?, head-butting, biting, tackling, spitting, pouring his own milk (!), NOT napping, helping himself to the fridge and pantry anytime, terrorizing the cat and even Jupiter, and running (away from me) at a VERY impressive pace (if we can channel his abilities, we may have an Olympian on our hands). Now that he can get out of his crib and open doors, nap and bed times have become a tricky business, usually including Ab ransacking the room, wrestling (sometimes beating up on) Sully, escaping,  me chasing him around the house (did I mention how FAST he is?), and finally resulting in him running suddenly out of fuel and crashing somewhere on the floor or at the foot of Sully's bed, after which we scoop him up and deposit him in his crib. (And then collapsing into bed ourselves.)

Doesn't he look angelic when he's asleep? This is my favorite time of the day.

We call this picture "Abner: The Acoustic Version"

(FYI, he loves Jessie's old baby doll and insists on having her with him at bed time. He does have a sweet, tender side.)

 We tried the door knob covers that we used when Sully was little. That worked for about a week, and then he just figured out how to break it apart to get access to the door knob.

This was plan B...so far so good.

#3. Jessie's Quinsinera (sort of)

Jess recently celebrated her 15th birthday. I agreed to let her have her first (at least since about 1st grade) "integrated" boy/girl party.

We spent the afternoon before the party cleaning the basement. This crew of neighbor kids wasn't necessarily helpful in that effort, but they were pretty awesome in their ninja outfits.

Once the teenagers arrived, things got exciting. The music was loud (they plugged in someone's ipod with lots of Queen and Twisted Sister...? Flash back to 1985. That was weird.), and the kids were louder.

"We're not gonna take it!!!....."

Dancing, games, eating, running amock in the back yard / trampolining, presents and a movie... could a 15 year old ever want for more?

Pizza, Italian sodas and munchies (in our unsightly unfinished basement kitchen).

Jessie reported that the word on the street was that this was the best party they had ever been to.

Booyah! We're popular! ...ha ha ha ha... 

Actually, I was just glad when it was over. So much noise and commotion (and a lot of sweaty teenage boys in my basement...ick) was enough to make me a little tense for those 3 hours. In fact I excused myself for about an hour to take Grace and her friends to the tennis courts -- just to get away.  Mike on the other hand, was loving it. He hung out a lot of the time in the basement keeping an eye on things, but also teasing and laughing....and rocking out I'm sure. ha ha ha.

#4. In the Garden/Kitchen

Oh man, we've got produce coming out of our ears.  I have just totally given up on keeping on top of the cucumbers, squash and chard.  Some weird fungus has taken hold of my tomatoes, so we haven't gotten a lot off of them for the past 3 weeks...just enough make it for eating fresh, which is fine by me since I didn't have plans to can any this year. The beets are gang-busters still, so I need to put borscht into the menu about once a week for the next month. And don't get me started on the piles of peaches falling off the neighbors' tree into our garden. Most years we (and the neighbors) have been on it. Not so this year. Too much going on I guess. I get a guilty feeling every time I look in the direction of the peach trees, knowing that hundreds of them have fallen and are moldering in heaps. I have collected some here and there to use in pies, and just to eat. But today I went out and tried to collect most of the usable fruit from the ground to make into fruit leather. I knew I wouldn't be canning any peaches this year, but I decided to try out the dehydrator my brother Sean gave us for Christmas last year.

A little bit of this and that...

 Humming away on the back deck.

#5. My Little Brother Got Married

Speaking of Sean.... His big day arrived this past Saturday. Unfortunately, so also arrived a nasty virus, making Sean a very sick man. Can you believe it?! We all felt bad but he was awesome. He smiled and toughed it out, even though he was literally ready to pass out by the end of the evening. 

I am so happy for them. I love Kim. Somehow I didn't take any pictures with my own camera during the day of the bride and groom together, and I haven't seen the official photos yet. 

The temple ceremony was awesome. My siblings and I all agreed that we wish we could have a recording of what was said, for our future reference.  It was so happy.

Sean with all his beautiful nieces. 

The boys 

 Mike having a pre-reception chat with my pretty grandma. She looks so young for 87!

I, for one, had a fantastic time! I love weddings! I love seeing old friends and neighbors and beloved family.  I love that a new family has been formed. I love that my brother is loved and is in love. I wish it could have been an easier day for Sean and Kim (with Sean being so sick compounded by the stress of putting on a reception with all its moving parts). They did an awesome job. I am grateful to have Kim as a sister. A new sister! Yay! Welcome to the family, Kim. The eternal family is what it's all about.

October in chronological order (pretty much)

Here we go...

 Sully cleaning up after his escapade with the talcum powder (this took up an hour and half one day - this is why I am so unproductive).

Our neighbor took Noble's scout troop up in his plane. They had so much fun.

Especially the zero-gravity part.

 

 We had our family pictures taken. The weather was uncooperative - but our photographer pulled together some great shots.

Especially this one. (I think I might die every time I see it.)

And then, we busted a move to the pumpkin patch.

The on-going potty training saga. (It's not going so well. But dang-it, he's cute.)

Then, of course, there was the road trip to LV for the wedding we've all been waiting for (and waiting, and waiting...). Mike's little bro, Gary, finally found the woman of his dreams, Val. Woohoo! We love her!

(I totally horked this photo from Val's FB. I didn't have any of my own pictures of the newlyweds. At the time we were contending with a diaper malfunction and a sick kid.)

Outside the Las Vegas LDS Temple.

We had some fantastic times. The house we stayed in was great. We loved being all together in one place with our cousins and siblings! So HAPPY.

I really regret not getting any pictures of the girls in their flower girl regalia. Grace recovered from 'the vomiting disease' (her words) in time to perform her petal-tossing duties at the ring ceremony in the afternoon. Then she spent the rest of the weekend in her flowery head piece. Both of the girls were lovely.

Grace at breakfast with Uncle Tim. 

 A sunset stop in Holden on the way home to visit the cemetery.

A road trip was actually EXACTLY what I needed. It was quiet. It was removed from all the craziness of our lives. It was together. The DVD player wasn't even working so we just listened to tunes, read books, talked, laughed. So nice.

And that is the last three weeks of our lives in a nutshell. 

Rainy like Monday morning

Can you beat a morning...or a view like this? (Mike literally took this picture out the window while he was showering today. I made him thoroughly dry his hands first.)

You know, we laughed about this window in our shower at first...but I have to say it's been kind of nice. There's something really invigorating about a cool breeze and rain in your face at the same time you're standing in a warm shower. I wish I could start every day that way.

Off to Chiapas - again.

I love my siblings. They really are my best friends (after Mitch-darling). Somehow we've all managed to live in the same state (same metropolitan area) for the last several years and it's been heaven. The exceptions are the few semesters a year my little brother spends going to school up at Utah State (he left on Sunday) and my older sister, Holly's, stints with her husband and 2 kids in Mexico doing archaeology (they left yesterday morning). My poor mom. It's tough to say good bye - especially when my sister and her family will be gone almost a year this time. Thank goodness for Skype and internet phone service (my little niece called us last night from their hotel in Mexico City to inform us that she had just had her bath). Plus Mike and I are planning a trip down next Spring to visit them and the site.

Grace is trying to be brave about it, losing her bosom friend, Emory, for so long... ...and I miss my sister so much...which is ironic given the epic battles of our youth and just not "getting" each other until we were in our 20's.

On the bright side, everyone is excited for this archaeological season - and the great professional opportunity it represents for Bruce & Holly. They're funded by National Geographic (I knew my subscription was going to pay-off some day) and Fulbright - so hopefully we'll be able to read all about it next year some time.

To help take our minds off all the separation shock - we've had a few big events to think about:

#1. The Oquirrh Mountain Temple dedication on Sunday. That was so cool. I took my usual run up there this morning. I love the view of the valley from the bluff it sits on in South Jordan...I can see the Jordan River Temple just a couple of miles to the east and the Draper Temple up in the hills below Lone Peak where I used to run back in high school.

#2. The start of school today. This is Tillman's first year. I was a little emotional last night about it. He, of course, took it in stride. When I picked him up today he acted like it was just another day.

It's hard to believe that Summer is already past - but if I was having trouble accepting it, all of these sudden changes are helping to punctuate that fact.