Valentine’s Day 2014

This year in lieu of making a bunch of New Year’s resolutions, our family decided to just focus on one theme.  2014 is the year of service for the Roper family, and we thought Valentine’s Day would be the perfect chance to act on our goal.

It started out with decorating the kids’ doors.  A very small act of service to our children that they have grown to expect and be excited about every year.

The boys and I planned a little service for Glenn as well.  Not only is his car missing a side view mirror, but it was quite in need of a good cleaning both inside and out after a combination of driving around in snow and Glenn using his spare time to take care of the rest of us rather than making sure his car was washed.  We decided something needed to be done!

Once Glenn was safely on the light rail on his way into work, we raced over to the train station parking lot where we stealthily located his car.  With laughter and excitement, the boys grabbed a trash bag and went to work on the contents inside the car while I installed car seats so we could all squeeze together into the little Camry to go give it a bath.  We parked the van where Glenn’s car had been and off we went to the self-serve car wash!

After a good scrub down, the next stop was our house where we rubbed the whole car down with a towel for a spot-free shine, washed all the windows, and vacuumed the interior.  That little ‘01 Camry was starting to look good as new!  Finally, on the way back to the train station, Derek took some cleaning wipes and spiffed up the interior- cup holders, dashboard, and all!  We stuck some hearts on the steering wheel, swapped back the parking spot, and cheered!  Valentine’s Day Surprise #1 was complete!

Next we decided to deliver valentines to some people we love.  We had prepped by making valentine cards and memorizing a poem on Monday during family home evening, and I had purchased flowers.  As soon as we pulled in after the car wash, the boys ran upstairs and changed into their Valentine Duds.  With remarkable cooperation, they were back downstairs all dressed up within 3 minutes.

Not a bad looking group, huh?  The boys had the drill down.  They would go up to a house and ring the doorbell.

When the valentine recipient answered, they recited enthusiastically together, “Today as valentines go out to people near and far, this one we’re giving right to you to say how nice you are!”  As they recited the poem, they handed the recipient the card.  When they were through with the poetry recitation, hugs were given all around and flowers were handed over. 

I watched the boys go through their little valentine performance 5 times, and every time it brought a smile to my face.  They were so cute!  They ended up changing in and out of their suits three separate times on Friday in order to get all their deliveries made, and were amazingly cheerful and cooperative about the whole thing.  It gives me hope that these boys might turn out to be gentlemen yet!

We all ended Valentines Day with hearts full of joy.  We decided that happy surprises and spreading cheer is a pretty good way to go!  Happy Valentines Day 2014!

The Gilbert Temple

During our trip to Arizona, we were blessed with the chance to take our children through the Gilbert Temple Open House.  I love the opportunity to teach our kids about things that are sacred and so very important to us.

Like much of the trip, things didn’t go exactly as planned.  The boys (who were a bit grumpy that morning) started to get impatient while we waited in line outside to get in to the temple.  It wasn’t even a very long wait, but one thing led to another and pretty soon our oldest two boys (I won’t mention names) were duking it out right there in line.  As it escalated, pretty soon we were the main attraction in the parking lot with hundreds of people watching the show.  As I inwardly sighed and fought to maintain my patience, a guardian angel showed up.  He was one of the Ushers for our group, and was a gentleman who was obviously experienced with children.  Within minutes he knew all of our kids’ names and was working to help cheer everyone up.  We finally got the boys calmed down just in time to head inside the temple, and our Usher stayed with us through the whole building, quietly teaching the boys about the different rooms and gently redirecting them when they started to stray, calling them each by name the whole time. 

The amazing thing was that he managed to pull the whole thing off without making me feel judged or embarrassed the whole time.  I didn’t feel like he was thinking we couldn’t manage our own children or wondering why we didn’t just take the rowdy ones to the car.  I never detected even the slightest hint of him feeling superior to us frazzled  young parents.  He just truly wanted to help and managed to do all the right things and cared for the kids in a way that kept them calm.  He was our Good Samaritan for the day.

All of the boys came out feeling an increased reverence for the temple and at least a small appreciation of why Glenn and I feel so strongly about making time to go there together.  I came out feeling gratitude for Heavenly Father and for our Usher, without whom I’m not sure we would have made it through the open house.  I also felt an increased commitment to go to the temple to feel the peace and experience the quiet opportunities for inspiration and guidance from the Lord.  Suddenly, the little troubles we had on the trip were all worth it.  I love the temple! 

You can see that the kids shed their grumpy moods somewhere between the entrance to the temple and the exit, and were little bundles of joy as we walked around the temple grounds afterward.  I hope that these are the memories of our trip to the temple that will last!

I’m grateful for the blessings of the temple and the assurance that we can be with our family after this life.  I mean, who wouldn’t want to spend eternity with these cute faces!  I sure love these kids, and  I loved our visit to the temple.

What memories are made of…

Last week we took a trip to Arizona!  There are few places in the world that could provide me with the same carefree feeling I get from visiting my homeland in AZ.  It turns out I had to work a bit harder to feel the serenity on this trip, but we made good memories nonetheless!  (This will be long, so get a snack to hold you through or I know my siblings just scroll through and look at the pictures anyway, so feel free to go with that method.)

It started out with Amelia and I heading out a day early so we could soak in an extra day of Arizona bliss.  Amelia screamed for the whole flight.  I desperately tried to give her anything I had to keep her quiet.  When I had used up all my snack and entertainment options and she was angrily throwing food and shoes and even the iPhone at our fellow passengers before we took off, I knew I was in trouble.  Passengers who had gushed about how cute she was before boarding the plane would no longer make eye contact with me once the plane made a merciful landing.  It was not quite what I had planned for the beginning of a blissful trip!  Oh well, it is what memories are made of, right?

Luckily, we made our way down to Tucson and I was able to have dinner with my friends Kristin Korte and Amanda Yanez.  There is nothing like having friends who loved me during my nerdy teenage years and still love me when I come dragging in late for dinner with a grumpy toddler and a frazzled face.  I loved seeing them!

After spending a happy night at Grandma and Grandpa Fox’s house, I headed out the next morning to visit with one of my old high school teachers, Mr. Natta.  He taught me both Geometry and AP History, and through the years of teaching our family members, he became a dear family friend.  In visiting with him I was reminded why I like him so much, and despite Amelia running around tearing up his apartment like a whirlwind, he calmly chatted in his earnest and sincere way and brought joy to my heart.  The stress of the flight was starting to fade into a distant memory.

We went back to Grandma and Grandpa’s and Amelia had fun feeding the birds with Grandpa (or at least she fed them- she wasn’t quite sure what to make of the whole experience).  Notice her cute Fox shirt!

Wednesday evening I was in for a treat.  I got together with my cousin Kimberly and her boyfriend Keith for dinner.  Neither one of us can remember for sure when we last saw each other, but we agree it has been at least 10 years.  It is amazing that after all this time, she was instantly familiar as soon as I saw her, like hardly any time had passed since we both lived in the same town and were pen-pals because we thought it was so fun to write letters to each other.  Despite the very different paths we have taken over the years (she’s a model/actress/singer/wellness coach and I’m….not), we were able to chat like old friends.  I guess that is part of the joy of being family! 

Meanwhile, as I happily visited with people I love, Glenn was getting the boys ready for their trip out to the Valley of the Sun.  His journey to Denver was just about as successful as mine.  As he pulled out of our driveway in the middle of a blowing snowstorm to head to the airport, our van ran into Glenn’s little car, knocking off the driver’s side rearview mirror.  His poor old car is starting to look a little well-used.

Leaving the shattered glass and wires on the driveway, he and the boys forged ahead to the airport.  The setbacks continued with forgotten car seats, dead cell phones, new car seat purchases, and failure to pack pajamas and toothbrushes.  Making memories, right?

In Phoenix that night we stayed at Glenn’s Uncle Arlynn’s house.  We were late enough that Arlynn told us to go ahead and let ourselves in.  We wearily unloaded the kids and went up to the front door….only to find it locked.  After trying the door a few times Glenn asked me if I was sure it was the right house.  Sure enough, I was going from memory and we were in reality 2 houses away from where we needed to be.  Sorry if we woke you up, neighbors!

It was so good to see Arlynn and Grandma Roper! Glenn’s cousin Tatum shares a birthday with Amelia, and is so sweet.  Being around Tatum makes me imagine what life would be like for Amelia if she had a big sister.  They are 8 years apart- a cute pair!

On Thursday morning we got up and headed to breakfast with our good friend, Seth Willey.  Glenn and I were lucky enough to live near Seth when I was pregnant with Derek.  That was the last time we’ve seen him, so it was probably a shock to see our rag-tag group come pouring into the restaurant!  He is another friend who has lasted through the awkward teenage years and beyond.  He even made it through breakfast with our travel-weary and fairly unfriendly crew, and I think we are still friends!  Seriously, it was great to have an hour to catch up and chat.  It reminded me why we are friends in the first place.  He is kind, patient, and just plain fun to talk to!

After breakfast we headed over for the main event of the trip, which was a chance to go through the new Gilbert Temple Open House.  What a great opportunity for our kids to see the inside of a temple, and a gorgeous one at that!  It was special enough that I’ll wrote more about it later.

After a much-too-brief stop back at Arlynn’s house to pack up and visit with Grandma, we headed off to Tucson.  Uncle Bob and Aunt Liz had flown in, along with Steve and Inga and their cute girls and Paul and Robyn and their 5 kids.  It was extra special to be there with my two cousins who are closest to me in age (Paul is a month older than me and Steve is a month younger).

On the way, we took a little side trip to my old stomping grounds out in Marana. 

We stopped at Marana High School (where I just had to purchase some Tiger spirit-wear).  Once a Tiger, always a Tiger!

We stopped at the old Ludwig Industries building and at my old house where we let the kids get out and wander through the most wonderful little patch of land in the whole world- the 10 acres where I grew up.  I love every inch of that property.  It is pure Heaven, I tell you!

Adam was lucky enough to get the true desert experience- a leg full of cactus stickers!

Amelia followed in the boys’ footsteps as a true desert lover.  We could not get her to hold still for a picture.  She was having too much fun roaming free!  We were even able to meet the current owner of our old house, and she was so nice!  She is the cousin of one of my good high school friends.  I’m glad someone good is living there on our little piece of paradise (just so there is no confusion, Mom and Dad still own all the land around the house, so we weren’t trespassing!).

On Friday we let the kids roam free in Grandma and Grandpa’s backyard all morning, and our kids couldn’t have been happier.  It was sunny and warm, and there is always plenty to explore around Grandma and Grandpa’s house.

We also headed off to the Gem and Mineral Show.  The Gem and Mineral Show has been going on for as long as I can remember in Tucson, but most Tucsonans probably aren’t even aware that it happens every February.  Vendors set up shop in hotels and buildings across the city to sell precious minerals and fossils.  We used to go every year.  Grandpa Fox is quite the collector!  I can remember making some big purchases when I was a girl at the Gem and Mineral show- a clay flute, a little stone heart necklace charm, and various trilobite fossils.

This year it was my boys making big purchases.  Adam spent $1 on an arrowhead, Evan spent $5 on a little stone ball, and Derek and Evan went in together on an $8 package of intricately carved stone Pegasus statues.  They were very pleased with their purchases.  I love sharing part of my childhood with them!

Friday night we decided to take advantage of the backyard to build a fire and roast marshmallows to make s’mores.  The troubles of the trip melted (literally) away even more as we enjoyed being with our family.  Even Grandma and Grandpa came out to join the party!  This is what memories are made of!

You can see Derek’s flaming marshmallow here, and then the charred remains.

On Saturday it was sadly time to head home.  Glenn ended up needing to take a flight out of Tucson early in the morning to go to a work meeting, so I was feeling a LOT of anxiety about traveling with all 4 kids on my own (in part as a result of the disastrous flight to Arizona).  However, I can safely say that I have the BEST family.  At the last minute we decided to send Amelia with Glenn on the early morning flight, have my saintly parents meet him at the airport, and then they took Amelia all day so I would only have to travel with the 3 boys.  I sent my little girl off to be spoiled (and I mean spoiled) all day by Grandma and Grandpa Ludwig while the boys and I traveled back to Phoenix to fly home. 

We made one last stop to have lunch at one of our favorite places- Oreganos- with one of our favorite people- Emily Chambers.  The boys absolutely love her and I think all three of them secretly want to marry her.  (I only kick myself that I did not take a picture of us at lunch!)

Pretty soon we were headed back to our frozen home-sweet-home.  The trip may have been a bit more eventful than usual, but despite that (or maybe because of it), I think we will treasure these memories for years to come.  Goodbye for now, Arizona!