A Wizard Weekend

From the Urban Dictionary: Wizard

1. An exclamation of joy, similar to "cool" or "great." Origin unknown but it is featured heavily in Lord of the Flies: "We can use Piggy's specs to make a fire." "Wizard!"

It was a great weekend, wizard really. Friday we went to dinner with the Ringers, Taylors, and Taylor-Woodburys at Gloria's Little Italy. It was delicious but expensive. One would do well to order Chinese-restaurant style and share a couple of entrees, which would provide plenty to eat and be more on budget. After dinner we ate delicious gelato at Maestro's and then did the gallery stroll along University Avenue. It was a first and quite fun. The demographic was slightly hippy (where do these people come from?). I regret that I didn't take my camera.

Saturday we traveled to the WVC for Tucker's birthday party. He planned all the activities and turned the Hastings house into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He is a bright and creative young feller. Anna provided some delicious burritos and excellent birthday cake. We arrived early enough to help decorate the cake, which is always fun.

The cake is a work in progress

The finished cake -- note Hedwig with a "howler"
in his talons, ready to swoop into the great hall

Snow White is off-theme, but very cute
"I like Snow White." - Clara

The birthday boy with his handmade decorations

"Money is the best gift." - Uncle Rod

Harry Potter or Mad-Eye Moody?

Snow White and Auntie Em

Ready to blow!

Yesterday, Sunday, the whole gang, plus Chelsea Gibbs and Rob and Mia Wai, had dinner at our place. It was the first day of daylight savings and the fun continued a little later into the evening. It's always wizard to get together.

Kris and Anna editing her "work in progress"

The binkers waiting patiently for dessert

Madi and Lucy working on a diversion
for the kids pictured below

Anders, Lizzy, Meg, Ollie, and Anika

That's all for now, but all the Gibbs -- both families -- are coming, so watch out.

OXO

D.

When We're Helping We're Happy

Saturday, the girls gathered to help Millie move a few things into her house and help put stuff away. Uncle Stephen did some technical stuff like plumbing and assembling Holman Hunt's crib. I helped break down boxes and recycle. I know, cushy job, but very important.

Lizzie, Holman Hunt, and Baby Goat Cheese had a great time

Anna, Emily, and Millie solving the world's
problems between jobs

Uncle holds his mouth just right

Clara and Millie on an early-spring afternoon

The Soelberg house is getting close and looking great.

That's all for now.

OXO

D.

Draper Temple Visit

Tuesday afternoon we picked up Allen, Nancy, and Martha Ostergar and drove to Draper for a visit to the new Draper Temple during its pre-dedication open house. After the tour we went to the Braza Grill in Murray for dinner. It was a very nice outing.

For the temple tour, one parks at an outlying chapel and rides a shuttle bus to the temple grounds. They emphatically reinforce that you must catch the proper color-coded bus back or you will be dropped miles from your parked car at the wrong chapel. We were reminded at least ten times that ours was the green bus. The world must be chockablock with inattentive people.

The temple interior is really beautiful with a kind of rich-taupe-brown color palette and lots of natural wood. Most of the furnishings are quite beautiful and surprisingly edgy. The only disappointment for me was that many of the LDS-art reproductions hanging on the wall are awful. There are, however, many good original paintings that are really nice. And the murals in the ordinance rooms are great.

The food at Braza Grill is delicious. Their salad bar/buffet has less variety than Tucano's, but the meat, pao de queijo, and other dishes are better than Tucano's. We liked it.

Chrurch photo of the completed Draper Temple
taken before the open house

We pretended the "green" bus was a #94 in London

Watch out for those updrafts, Kris!

The baptistery is fantastic with lots of natural light

The aspen murals in the other ordinance
room are even better than these

The Celestial Room has a huge quantity of vertical space

Martha, Allen, Nancy, Katy, and Kris

Angelo Moroni - must be Italian

Back on the "green" bus again

Braza Grill

Kris waiting for some churrasco

That's all for now.

OXO

D.

Bits and Bobs

Not to worry. This post isn't about remnants of fabric and bits of thread. It's about recent unrelated activities all stitched into a single post.

Friday evening the "group" gathered at Stan and Sharon Miller's for a genuinely lovely dinner: pork loin w/ (incredible) home made mustard, high-brow funeral potatoes, glazed carrots, summer salad, hot rolls, and Godiva chocolate cheese cake. These dinners are always better than eating out. We thought fondly of Vern and Jerry in Brasil.

Sharon, Liz, Nancy, Kris, and Vicki
looking as lovely as they are

Rod polishing off one last petit morceau of cheesecake

Sharon, Liz, and Phil

Sunday evening, Anna and Rob hosted the family dinner. Emily, Jayson, Madi, and Katy stayed in Provo to watch the Academy Awards, so Kris and I gave Max and Lizzie a ride to Taylorsville. When Lizzy came to the door she looked fantastic, dressed in a pouffy gold princess dress, a dashing pink straw-like hat, and flip flops. She was set to go -- no coat required! The food was great and it was fun for the cousins to get together. The adults had a nice visit, too.

Anders, Tucker, Max, Lucy, Lizzie, Meg,
and Ollie enjoying their dinner

Clara liked the artisan bread

It seems that Kris and Meagan like the bread, too

That's all for now.

OXO

D.

That February Holiday Weekend

I thought it was nice to have Valentine's Day and President's Day on the same weekend. It made the weekend seem longer and more festive, somehow.

February weather is interesting. It can snow like crazy one day, and the snow is gone the next. Valentine's day was snowy and cold, but we were snug and warm inside reading by the fire. Valentine's dinner was a last-resort-sort-of thing. Because we were HUNGRY and Outback Steak House could not have take out ready until after 7:30, we opted for Cafe Rio take out, which was good, but not the viande rouge we had dreamed of.

Sunday the family was on its own for dinner, so we had a more intimate dinner, joined only by Chelsea Gibbs. On President's Day evening the family all joined us for a huge Olaf salad. We missed Rob and the Hastings kids who spent the day on the ski slopes. Clara and Anna did a good job of making up for the missing members of their family. We baked a batch of cookies to finish the evening.

The Valentine's Day storm left us about
5 or 6 inches of snow to shovel

It looks wintery but was gone in a day

An amusing old couple reading by the fire

Kris's Valentine flowers offer a promise of spring

Sunday afternoon with Katy and Chelsea

The girlies (sans Maren) on President's Day,
booking Miss Saigon tickets online

Phillip and Meagan, post Olaf salad, looking content

Lizzie, Max, Clara, Meg, and Ollie slicking up the chips and salsa

Baby Goat Cheese loved the cookies,
climbed the stool, and served herself several

That's all for now.

OXO

D.

Heppy Valentimes Day!

Wishing you a very happy Saint Valentine's Day. If all goes well, Katy will make her famous "chocolate-covered buttah," and it will be a happy day indeed.

It's true - The couple that prays together, stays together.

Have a great holiday weekend!

OXO

D.

It's Always Fun When Debby Comes

Debra Sue Darling Gibbs arrived in Provo Thursday afternoon. Her visits are always greatly anticipated because something fun always happens when she comes. It has always been that way and all of us, married children included, look forward to a visit from Debby.

Thursday evening, since we had Meg and Ollie with us, we ordered take away from La Casita and ate at home. Friday, Katy went with Debby to SLC to pick up Hilary before proceeding on to Logan to surprise Alison because it was her birthday this weekend. They all returned to SLC on Saturday and Kris and I went north to meet them for a screening of Last Chance Harvey, which was playing at Jordan Landing (no longer showing in Utah Valley). On the way, we dropped by the Oquirrh Mountain Temple. The exterior is now complete and impressive. The movie was well-acted and built around a good story. The best part, however, was that a significant part of the movie was filmed as Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson walked around London. We returned to Provo and had a birthday celebration for Alison at the Bombay House.

The Oquirrh Mountain temple

The east front

A London-lover's movie

The lovely ladies at the Jordan Landing Cinemark

Waiting for the main feature

Debby and Kris at the Bombay House

Alison, Alison (Hilary's dear friend),
Paris (her friend), and Hilary

Yesterday (Sunday) the family came to our home for dinner, which is always fun. This Sunday was even better because Debby and Alison were here too. Deb bought a delicious birthday cake at Dippidee in American Fork: chocolate with raspberry filling. It went down very well.

Baby Goat Cheese, Lizzy, Lucy, Madeline, and Max

The birthday girl and her moma
with the delicious cake and cupcakes

Nice job, Al

It was a great weekend. Thanks to the Gibbs girls for coming. We are already looking forward to their next visit, whenever that will be.

OXO

D.