The Gathering of the Clan

The family (except for Meagan, Ollie, and Meg) are all here in Provo for various reasons. It feels like sort of a loosely organized reunion. We have spent some good time with Phillip while his family is in Hawaii, Maren and family have been here while Gavin was in France on Honeywell business, Katy is here for a month for weddings and family fun, and Anna and family are here because they have packed and shipped all their belongings to Virginia and are more or less homeless for a few days. It has been lively and fun.

Everyone gathered at Emily's for the 4th of July (actually the 3rd). We were joined by Steve and Family, Millie and family, Amy and family, George and family, and Stephen and Ann (for a few minutes). It was as much fun as always, though 15 degrees cooler than usual, and somewhat sad because it will probably be the last time at Emily's; she intends to move on within a year. And who knows when the Hastings will be here again on the 4th?

Sunday dinner with the cousins

Harry joined in on the weekly shopping trip

Extractions Are Us: Finn's first tooth

The boys from the desert enjoy a summer shower

Katy Kathryn captures young Beckham

Everyone gathered to help the Hastings
pack, load, and clean

Rob is the packingmeister

How many Taylor girls does it take
to wrap and pack an ottoman?

Lizzie is a contortionist

Kris loves her Kindle; Dickie loved his nap

Emily spinning a yarn

Breaking it down

More good conversation

The races have begun

The charming hostess

It appears to have been Pippy and Max by a mile

Happy Independence Day to all!

The blog posts have been slow because I am working on the index for Ed 5 of our text and have been creating tons of Powerpoints for my classes, but I will try to keep abreast, nonetheless.

That's all for now.

OXO

D.

Early June 2010

Today is a Katy-Kathryn kind of day, the kind of day she loves; I love cloudy, misty, rainy, cool days, too. We should live in Seattle.

June 3 was Anders 7th birthday. It was a fun celebration. The following Sunday we drove to Highland to have dinner with Katiana and Jeremy Goff and family. Since Phillip is a lone man for the month, he came too. Katiana made a delicious Brazilian dinner and her maionese was exactly as I remember them in Brazil; the secret ingredient is green olives. I will have to see if I can adapt my recipe to capture that note of authenticity. That evening Tom and Katy invited us over to enjoy their newly spiffed-up arbor. We had fruit and cheese and felt like we were in Europe again.

This weekend, the Hastings came to spend the night before Rob ran in the Utah Valley Marathon. He had to be up at 3:00 A.M. and being in Provo gave them a head start. He ran his best time ever. It was Rob's birthday and the kids were sure that I should make pancakes for breakfast . . . so I did. Rob was in need of some new clothes for work, so we accompanied them to the Park City outlets. The drive up was spectacular, as beautiful as any place in the world we have visited. I informed Kris that we still needed to visit those other places even if our own home is beyond beautiful. We more or less kept an eye on the kids while Rob and Anna shopped. We also managed to score a couple of bargains in the deal. Anders informed me that the tooth he has been fussing with for a couple of months was ready to come out, so we performed a quick and easy extraction. No one seems to like to pull teeth as well as I do, so it is my pleasure. We had a great lunch at the Happa Grill before returning to Provo for a bit of grocery shopping, World Cup, and an open house for Griffin (who just arrived home from Russia) and Tom and Zoe who will leave tomorrow for Wales. Kris and I went to the Provo Peak 2nd Ward this morning for his "welcome home." He did well and Zoe also sang beautifully. This afternoon the family gathers here for Sunday Dinner.

It's a Katy-Kathryn day today

Anders' birthday

It was windy so Clara never had a chance

The Goff's home in Highland

They are nestled in the Alpine mountains

Are we in Italy?

The marathon-running birthday boy and his family

The empty spot to the right of the incisors is
the scene of the crime

Utah is spectacular! (note the orange barrels
left from the marathon earlier in the day)

The fashionista tried a new hat

A study in blue: Tucker and his
crystaline goatee

Yummy Asian food

"Kris, don't even think about pointing that thing at me."

Squaw Peak with its nose in the clouds

Welcome home Griffin

So far, it has been a good month, with more fun to come when everyone arrives home again for the end of June and July.

That's all for now.

OXO

D.

Memorial Day Weekend 2010

It was a long, but enjoyable, Memorial Day weekend this year. Will and Jamie came from NC and Katy Kathryn flew in from TX. On Wednesday, 26 May, Uncle Stephen hosted a fete to celebrate Jamie's birthday. Friday was the last day of school in Provo and Wasatch School marked the day in the traditional way with a dance festival that Katy and I attended; Max and Lizzie performed. Saturday was the Uncle-Tony museum outing posted earlier, and Sunday was family dinner at our house, followed by a walk around BYU campus. That evening there was a sleepover for the binkers, hosted by Auntie Katy (although, as is traditional, I made the pancakes). Monday the 31st was Memorial Day and our anniversary. We visited the cemetery, placed flowers on the graves of immediate family members, and stopped by each of the ancestors' graves. That afternoon we gathered at Emily's for swimming and grilling. We had a very good day.

Will and Jamie

Lizzie shakes her groove thing

Handsome Max joins in the ever-cool parachute dance

Everyone was promoted

The museum group on Saturday

Katy's friend Eve, whom she met in Texas, joined us
for dinner and the walk

Feeding the ducks

Katy explains the finer points of an ant war to the binkers

Scads of pancakes were made and consumed

Meg gives them a thumbs up

The binkers at my parents' grave

Jayson

Anna and Katy are properly subdued by the setting

Uncle Tony's flowers were appropriately offered up
in a pasta-sauce bottle

The older folks plus Holden who wasn't interested
in the kids' photo shoot

Later at Emily's pool

Grilling: Phil's veggies were delicious!

Those silly Taylor cousins

Yesterday, Tuesday 1 June, we took Katy to the airport for her return to Texas. So, once again, we are suffering from empty-house syndrome where it feels way too quiet and lonely. That, however, won't last long. It will soon be the 4th of July and the house will be overflowing -- sweet!

That's all for now.

OXO

D.