My Siblings Love Me

Remember when I told you even more family time was coming up? It already came and went, so so fast. My brother and his family drove all the way to Indiana to visit us last week, and my sister jumped in their van, too. We have been looking forward to them visiting for so long! That's a lot of miles in a lot of heat, and we sure love them for coming. They met us in Evansville last Tuesday, and came up to Indianapolis with us a few days later. I'm just gonna break this down for you:

We soon found that if you slightly ignore seatbelt protocol, Michael and I could fit in the party van too! Ali and I even coordinated some seat belt sharing so that totally counts as covered. I loved driving with my family here and there, and just listening to those backseat conversations between those three cute people up there. Our first stop: Lincoln's Boyhood Home.

We had fun walking around the museum and some nature trails there, and touring the farm. Lydia was getting a little confused by this point, because prior to this stop they had been visiting a lot of church history sites (Liberty Jail, Independence, etc.) So, at one point I asked her who Abraham Lincoln was and she said "a prophet." I also heard her "reading" a plaque of a statue and she said, "and then President Lincoln returned to his sins." ... I'm not entirely sure what that meant. But, I do know that we had a fun day with a fun picnic and a fun stop at playgrounds and lakes. So we're good.

I love the Fourth of July. I also love that more often than not, Ali and I are somehow together on the Fourth of July. It's the best. We started the day out at Michael's horses, taking rides and picking raspberries and feeling grateful for the nice weather. Sooo nice.

Ali tells me that Jaren and Lydia have been planning who would ride with who on the horses since they started planning this Indiana trip, so it was a big day for them. They were both really brave, considering they had never ridden a horse before. All they needed was a couple belt loops to hold onto and they loved being along for the ride.

And then Jaren and Lydia switched horses, because even with all that planning, they never considered that the horses would be different colors. They had to experience both, they said.

After that, Michael's dad took us on a hay ride. Now, I know what comes to mind when you hear hay ride, but you should know that this was not that. This was a hay ride that felt more like my four-wheeling days in Southern Utah...the kids were loving it. Ok, all of us were loving it. The bottom right picture shows Jaren, me, Michael and Lydia riding in the front of the tractor raised up. 

The first thing Lydia said when we got in the front was, "He better not dump us in that pond..." then a few minutes later, Michael's dad had us dangling right over the water with Lydia saying, "He's got to be kidding me! He's just kidding me, right?" But you could tell that there was some legitimate worry in her eyes. We laughed so much.

And then we ate breakfast around a fire and had the best pancakes ever. Good, good morning. Even Lewis seemed to enjoy himself in that Bumbo of his, despite missing the thrilling hay ride.

Later that day Michael's parents took us to watch horse races at Ellis Park. Those horses are beautiful and so athletic. It's fun to see all the energy they have when they're being loaded into the gate before starting their race. I love the sound of all their feet pounding when they gates burst open. Lydia looked at me later that day and said, "It is so fun to watch those horses run and run and run." And Jaren asked me why Michael wasn't in the race. :)

We had a famous Zesto's ice cream cone after the races, an Evansville favorite I've heard a lot about. I could go for another right about now. And tomorrow.

That night we went downtown to watch the fireworks along the Ohio River. I watched fireworks on the Fourth last year with these kiddos and they were terrified the whole time, so this year was a big improvement :) They still demanded ear plugs, but other than that, we made it through the show. Lydia was sold when they played Party in the USA. That girl moves her hips like Yeah.

It was a perfect Fourth of July. So much family and a perfect summer day. I loved it, so so much.

The next day we drove down to Kentucky Lake with Michael's mom. We missed his dad, who had to work that day. The weather was so strange...almost chilly in the morning, and then pleasant the rest of the time. On July 5th. ?? Jaren had a smile on his face from the second we were on the lake until the second he heard it was time to go home. He swam and swam and swam and laughed and laughed.

Disclaimer: Glowing Faces. We know. But two days later they were back to normal and all is well. 

Other Disclaimer: Jaren. We know. He just woke up. 

Ali realized that she was extremely close to one of her favorite areas of her mission in Tennessee, so we added an extra little leg to the trip. We had to experience her favorite fried pie firsthand. It was fun to have her show us an area that meant so much to her. Then we watched Tangled on the way home, and all was well.

We spent half of Saturday in Evansville, so we went out to the land for one more horse ride and roasted hot dogs. I love being out there. We had so much fun that week with Michael's parents! That afternoon we headed up to Indianapolis, to see how many people we could fit in our tiny apartment :)

 

Turns out we can actually fit everyone in our apartment, but poor Logan and Jenny slept in a room with all three of their kids. I failed to account for early bedtimes when I thought up sleeping arrangements so... combine that with a cat who can't be near an air mattress (obvious reasons), and that was just how it all worked out. Bless their hearts. Then the night ended with Oreos and milk, and all was well.

Sunday was Church day and stay home day. This is actually the only picture I have from the whole day, of us walking into our 9am meetings just 5 minutes late (be impressed, we only have one shower). 

Other events of the day, not pictured: Finally watching the Lorax since Jaren was SO concerned that Michael hadn't seen it yet, trying to teach Jaren and Lydia proper handling of Kitty which is kind of just no handling at all, learning how much energy kids keep inside them, trying to run said energy out of them by having "races" outside in the humidity which they were skeptical of, and lots of other good stuff. Like homemade bread and Ticket to Ride.

On Monday we went to the Zoo right when it opened, ready for a full day. We started in Africa, and the rhinos were actually moving. I feel like that's a rarity? They were taking mud baths and walking around and they just looked big big big. Giraffes are a favorite, so it was fun to be able to get so close to them. Bottom left is the captivated audience at the dog show, and bottom right is Ali asking me to try to make the same face as a monkey. Kind of rude?

The Ocean...gotta love that air conditioning. The sea lions were particularly noisy that day, and the sharks were particularly shy. Other favorites included the tiger during her training, the pack of flamingos being taken for a walk through the zoo, dolphins just being dolphins, lemurs chasing each other, and the baby elephant running around and trying to pick a flower. So.incredibly.cute.

Penguins...oh, we love them. Lydia may not look very sure of it in that picture, but we really do love them. Remember when we bought a Groupon to hang out with them? That was the best.

The Zoo has a seasonal butterfly exhibit that is in full swing right now (Allison, if you come visit, we promise not to take you there). I made friends with one on a branch and he even hung out with me for a little while. It cheered Lydia up a little after she was reprimanded for picking a flower...notice Michael using full restraint. You don't destroy plants around Uncle Michael.

Lewis is such a happy baby. It was so fun to see him and how fast he changes. He's a mini-Jaren and it's adorable. The highlight of the Zoo is always the dolphin show...we were there long enough to catch it three times! Twice from the stadium, and once from underneath the dolphins. The Indianapolis Zoo is so great.

We got home that night and had Pizza Monday and Family Home Evening. Michael taught us a lesson about Nauvoo since that was the next road trip destination, and then we played a couple games. We ended with some chalk drawings outside with our neighbors, who are getting way too comfortable with us, I might add. They've been honking our car horns and knocking on the screen asking for matches. But those are stories for other times.

Despite our fast pace and full days, there was no time to slow down by Tuesday. Poor Lydia displayed her complete exhaustion and crazy sleeping habits that morning. She has an entire queen air mattress to the right of her, but somehow only her head stayed aware of that. She wasn't very happy with me for waking her up after snapping this photo - I can't imagine her neck was feeling too good :) But crepes with delicious homemade jam cheered her up.

The Indianapolis Children's Museum! The largest children's museum in the world, if you can't tell from the dinosaurs climbing inside. This place is hopping.

Bumblebee from Transformers, archaeological digs, replicas of early trains, sleeping babies...

and that was just the first floor.

We had a party in the mirror maze! Everyone made it out without bumps or bruises.

Lydia is rocking her Avatar shoes there, which were slightly too big. They had an awesome exhibit all about the making of the movie. There's Jenny and Lewis on a plane to Egypt, and then Lydia working at a construction site in the Science exhibit.

Here's another shot of our party in the mirrors. It was that good.

The blown glass sculpture right there goes up through the middle of all the floors of the museum. It's incredible.

Does she pass for a true Hoosier? I think so, too. I guess that means she should move here :)

Jaren came here as a five-year-old little boy, but by the time he left....he was SIX. That sounds so much older than five. It makes me sad. It made him ridiculously happy.

He woke up to a house full of balloons that provided way more entertainment than I anticipated. Bonus. Even Lewis was totally enthralled. And Michael.

Isn't Lewis adorable when he sits up? He was so patient with all of us during the whole trip, teething troubles and all. Too bad he won't remember this trip too well...but he can read this blog some day and reminisce about his naps in the stroller and many hours in his car seat.

We improvised a little with the birthday cake scenario since they had to get on the road for the Nauvoo Pageant that day. We had breakfast waffles, and wishes come true from those candles equally well. Jaren hinted later that his wish had something to do with a future Indiana trip, but I stopped him before full disclosure. That's a wish that I want coming true, so I wasn't taking any chances. 

Grandpa Miner drew him one of his famous original cards, complete with a six-year-old super hero. Jaren got some clothes, that weren't too exciting for him... too bad I love shopping for clothes so much. I forget sometimes people don't share my joy. But he was pretty excited to get an extension of Uncle Michael's jade tree! He even called us a few hours later to ask how to keep the plant alive in the car. Luckily it was made for the desert...

And then suddenly, that trip we'd been looking forward to forever was already passed. It's amazing how quickly calendar dates come and go, and plans become memories. Kitty and I looked around at this empty house minutes later, and it was quiet and sad. Having family here was so, so much fun.

Thank you, Miners, for driving out here to see us! 

And thank you, Daetwylers, for all the fun memories in Evansville!

Most of all, thanks Dad, for always telling Logan, Alison and me during our little fights growing up that "someday you'll be older, and you guys will be each other's best friends." It was hard to believe you then, but it's so clear now. I sure love my family.

There and there and back again.

These last two weeks have been full of family! Those are the best kind of weeks. I made it out to Utah for my grandma's funeral, which was such a blessing. There is no where I would have rather been that day than celebrating her life with the people that loved her most! And there are a lot of those people....

Quite a crew, huh? All of her grandchildren made it except for the three that are on missions. My sister and I played a duet at her funeral, and we realized it was our first time ever performing a duet together. I don't know how that has never happened before? It was a version of one of my favorite primary songs that has always reminded me of my grandma.

My aunts did a great job at setting up a display to remember what my grandma was all about: Family pictures, her missionary plaques, pictures of Christ, homemade bread, her Polariod camera in action, one of her pioneer dresses, Little House on the Prairie boks, and all her favorite flowers from the desert (complete with a cactus - she wrote a list of flowers and plants she wanted displayed at her funeral 20 years ago and it made us all smile). Who couldn't love this cute woman?

I took lots of pictures of pictures that day, because these are just great. A lot of them are some I've never seen before. I think it's so fun to see pictures of my grandparents when they were newlyweds. They are just beautiful to me.

When I looked for my grandma's old Polaroid to include it in the display, I found this picture underneath it. My cousin's adorable dog, Ammy, took good care of my grandma. They took care of each other. She loved to go sit outside in her yard when the irrigation would flood Deseret. This is a picture of her totally in her element. I just laughed because I realized that my grandma was totally in to Instagram before Instagram was even a thing. She had that Polaroid out all the time, and my cousins and I loved to be the one who got to hold the picture face down until it had finally developed. It was so hard not to peek!

My trip to Utah was so, so wonderful. I loved being able to remember my grandma with my family. She lived a great life.

From there, I flew down to meet up with all of Michael's family in Florida. We had been looking forward to this family reunion for a long time! Beach, summer, family, good food, no worries....it's the best.

Aren't Michael's sisters beautiful? And they make beautiful children, too. We love playing with those cute nieces and nephews!

We rode horses one night along the beach, and it was so relaxing and beautiful. My horse hated Michael's horse though, so that was a tiny issue. My horse also hated the water. Poor thing.

Here's a sunset to leave you with. Isn't it gorgeous? We had so much fun that week just catching up with family. The only 5 minutes that weren't fun in Florida were the last 5 minutes of game 7 in the NBA finals... so we won't dwell on that. We had a few dolphin sightings and sand dollar findings, and even saw a shark or two. In the semi-distance. It was hard to leave that beautiful place! But don't worry, even more family time  is coming up over the 4th of July...can't wait :)

Thank you, Daetwyler family, for the fun time together!

For My Grandma

My grandma left a legacy. Just by the way she lived her life and spent her time. That woman brightened days and sun tanned her arms like no one else. You could always find her laying outside on the grass, just loving the sunshine and loving life. You could find her out there even when it got to the point that she demanded "don't watch me get up, now." She loved Deseret, Utah. Loved its water, loved its people. Loved life there.

Deseret loved her back. Cleo Eliason belonged there, as much as the river did, and the farm. She kneaded dough on her counters while looking out her windows over swinging grandkids and drying laundry. She watched those grandkids and her flowers grow with pride.

I remember making scones with her. She was never afraid of that hot oil, so I stretched out my dough and pretended I wasn't, either. We'd make sure both sides were a perfect golden brown, she always made things just right. Especially things made of dough. She baked rolls that smelled just like home to me. She made them in the middle of the night, when my grandpa passed away. That's how she dealt with things: Work hard. Make things. Give.

She loved her cats. Never too many at once, but there was always at least one around. Figaro, Phoebe, a neighbor's kitten. I remember when my grandpa saw some scratches on her arm, from the very kitten he had rescued from a tree at grandma's request:

"Did that cat do that to you?" He asked her, stern as ever. "Oh, Lincoln. It's just a baby," she replied, which was the way she described that cat up through its entire adult life. "That cat scratched you?" he said, "I can take care of that." And away he went to his closet. I remember watching him come back down the hall with his shotgun and a slight twitch at the corner of his mouth. Grandma overlooked the latter, you didn't usually catch him trying to hold back a grin, and she went straight into defense mode. "Lincoln! Don't you touch that cat! It's just a baby!" Then with just a wink at me and a chuckle at her, he was done with his joke. He loved getting a rise out of her. And, he didn't really love that cat.

She always wanted us to be learning, working, growing, appreciating. She'd pay me a quarter to do a page of math problems when I stayed at her house over the summers. Or a quarter for writing a letter to a cousin serving a mission. Even a quarter to play her some songs on the piano, but I always let that one slide for free. She was the best audience. Her eyes would close, she'd rock on her love seat, and hum a little. She was always humming a little, actually. Humming her constant tune as she sort of shuffled around her sweet house, tidying up. Always happy.

Sleeping in was never approved of at grandma's house. But even for the late risers, she always had cocoa and toast ready and some sweet sincere sarcasm about your wake up time. She was always up before the dawn, with work to do and people to help and life to enjoy. That woman was busy. Busy with all the right things.

She left this world peacefully today, leaving behind family who completely love her to be with family she's been missing. I know her husband was there waiting for her, and two of her eleven sweet children that should never have left before her. That woman will be missed, by so many. But we all know she's watching over us now. There's nothing else she'd rather be doing.

I love you, Grandma Eliason. I'll be missing you, while I keep learning to be more like you. 

Thank you for being such a blessing to me.

Summer So Far

Summer has started out strong. I'm loving it. There have been a lot of random happenings around here lately, so let me walk you through them... randomly. Be aware: this is the unabridged version.

First off, Memorial Day. My office is just two blocks away from the Indiana War Memorial, and our Friday walking group (gotta love working for a company that is "wellness oriented") walked to the Circle downtown just before Memorial Day weekend. There were flags and servicemen everywhere. I loved starting the weekend off with a reminder of what it's really about.

Right after work that day, we took off for Chicago. My sister flies standby, and she almost made it all the way to Indy. We haven't been to Chicago yet while living here, so we were more than happy to go pick her up. And we'd be more than happy to go pick her up if we had been to Chicago 1000 times :)

That city was SO fun to drive through! Minus the toll the toll roads took on my wallet. Doesn't seem right. But we got over it quick and loved staring at all the buildings. Next time we go up we'll take an architecture tour for sure.

Ali caught up with us at  some point on the Magnificent Mile... just jumped in our car with her carry on and a bag of delicious popcorn. Best three-second stop we've ever made. Next stop, deep dish pizza -- had to.

We met up with my old roommate Elise for dinner and a walk through Millennium Park. We lived together our senior year, then we each took off for internships in Chicago and DC. She never left, and loves it there. It was so fun catching up. We took a picture by the Bean to send to our cute roommate Kimberly who is serving a mission in North Carolina right now. We met up with my cousin Claire who lives in Chicago now too... I wish we remembered to get a picture!

We had a hotel in North Chicago for FREE because I am married to a man who has a serious knack for that. Our commitment to finding free stuff never ceases to amaze me...we have gotten pretty good at it, guys. And all money saved goes to: Cupcakes! Sprinkles cupcakes in Chicago, home of their cupcake ATM! I had been looking forward to that moment for a long long time. And ok, not all money saved went to these beauties...but can you imagine? I have. We split a black & white, peanut butter chocolate, and salted caramel. Salted carmel is.the.best. cupcake in existence.

We took advantage of the bordering states on this road trip... Ali and I are so close to our all-50 goal. She's aiming to hit them all before she turns 30, but I stretched my deadline out because I want number 50 to be Hawaii. And, that trip probably won't be for a while... So we drove up to Wisconsin Friday night, and swung around to Michigan "on the way home" on Saturday! Here's where my states stand:

Red: Drove through. Purple: Stayed at. Green: Lived there. 

(and it was DC. Not Virginia. But, you get it)

Just North Dakota, Minnesota, and Hawaii (which for some reason is not pictured?) left to go - so close! Ali only has 4 more, I'm sure she'll get to them soon! I love all the random memories we have of crossing states off our list. So many funny stories and random plans.

We went to Union Pier in Michigan and it was so beautiful. Perfect houses and yards leading up to a gorgeous beach with plenty of smooth rocks just waiting to be skipped. We loved it. 

And look! We didn't even write that. It was just waiting for me there, in Michigan. For real. I belong there?

On our way home we decided to take the exit for Fair Oaks Farms that we'd seen so many signs for, since we needed gas anyway. We pulled up and the signs directed us to the Gift Shop, Playground, Bus Tour, and Birthing Center. Birthing Center??? We had to choose that one. We walked in to find not one, but two mama cows surrounded by an amphitheater of people, one of them with their new baby and the other right in the process. It was the strangest thing I've ever randomly walked in on (I think? I didn't think too hard about that superlative but it seems safe to say). They were behind a large glass wall on fresh piles of hay, with a Fair Oaks Farms worker waiting behind to help if needed. A little calf was just coming out feet first, and I about lost it. For real. Had to sit down before I passed out, which reaffirmed my inability to deal with, well, anything remotely bloody. Plus I love cows and seeing one in pain was sad. It was just a little too random and too gross.

So we left, went to the gift shop, bought gouda cheese and got out of there.

A few weeks ago my coworker invited us to Pole Day for the Indy 500, where the cars speed around the track one at a time to qualify for the first 24 spots on race day. He even got us tickets to drive our car around the track before it all started, seats at the Mayor's Breakfast that morning, and pit passes for  the day. He's on the Town Council of Speedway, so he's pretty involved with this stuff and has loved it his whole life. He's openly out to make me a permanent Indiana resident, despite my love for mountains.

We had so much fun walking around the garages and watching those qualifying laps. Seeing a car hit almost 230 mph is pretty incredible. And it sounds just like Star Wars. It rained for a while but we didn't even mind, there was so much to see while we waited for the track to dry off and the cars to ride.

That same coworker gave us 3 tickets for the Indy 500, so Ali got to experience Race Day while she was here! You can't get more of an Indianapolis experience than that. So right after (maybe during...) church, we headed to the race!

The whole pre-race experience was so much fun. Plenty of Patriotic and Indiana pride songs sung, plus a special moment when they let a group of runners from the Boston Marathon who never finished the race in April run around the track and cross the brickyard finish line. People cheered and cheered. I've heard that Indiana is the only state that has officially added four more words to the national anthem: "Gentlemen, start your engines!" With that and a balloon launch, the cars were off! And the 200 laps were surprisingly entertaining. There was a record set this year for number of lead changes, so people were passing constantly. I also learned that day that I have incredibly tiny ear canals. Who knew? Michael and Ali had much better luck with their ear plugs, and mine could barely fit in. Then they'd pop back out every 10 minutes or so. Sad.


In other (BIG) news, Michael has FINISHED his first year of dental school! We met up for lunch at the canal between his school and my office during his finals week. By the time he had one more test left, the last thing that boy wanted to do was study. He was so.so.ready to be done. He did so well in his first year of dental school. I'm so proud of this man! Naturally smart, hardest of workers, big ambition. What a combo, right? Now he's soaking up his 5 weeks off, with some research and other stuff mixed in there. No rest for the weary.

I didn't finish a year of dental school. But I did sew for the first time since 8th grade! Big accomplishment, people. I've always felt like sewing machines hate me, but I put fear aside, kept Summer right by my side, and whipped up some curtains for our kitchen. Pictures of those to come soon, once I finish that dang wall! Just 5 more lines to go....so so close. If I squint it's practically done.

One of my friends introduced me to an awesome nonprofit called Girls Inc. I've been leading one of their programs at a school close to my office during some lunch breaks, and they always pair you up with another volunteer. Michael was so excited when I learned that my partner was from Madrid, Spain! He served his mission there, so for two years he fell in love with that place and its people. She invited us over for a real paella with her family, and it was so much fun. Isn't that just a beautiful dish? It was my first time eating squid and mussels. I was feeling pretty impressed with myself until they told me about "black paella", made with the squid still in its ink which darkens the whole dish... I mean, whoa.

We still have some [illegal] pets around here. Kitty is cute as ever and seriously loves us. I came home the other day to her studying on the couch. Cute, right? Even Ali kind of thought she was cute, and only had one meltdown when she was visiting. Kitty jumped on her lap without warning and it just wasn't a good thing for anyone involved in the situation... but, all is well. We babysat our friend Chase the tiny poodle again for a week. We put a toddler gate between the two of them and they learned to almost tolerate each other. Big step. It's fun to be the neighborhood petting zoo for our friends. We're not ashamed.

We broke out our pizza stone again, and we are kind of obsessed with it. It has made some pretty delicious homemade pizzas for us, like this one. You should try it. (Double mitts because do you know how HOT pizza stones get? It's terrifying.)

We had a hotel reserved in Chicago this weekend to celebrate Michael finishing his first year, but we both decided we were ready for a weekend at home and cancelled it. Home was perfect. We have been wanting to get back on the Monon Trail since we rode the south half with Michael's parents, so we were finally able to. I love bike trails so much - especially since we live in an area that doesn't even have sidewalks. It has made me totally appreciate these trails that cities invest in for residents. 

We drove to Broad Ripple, hopped on the trail, and rode 13 miles up through Carmel in time for their Saturday Farmer's Market. That place was perfect, markets are my favorite thing. If we weren't on bikes, we would have loaded up on produce, homemade noodles, fresh jams and honey, fresh apple cider...all that good stuff! Instead, we split a breakfast crepe and "window" shopped. We'll definitely be back again! We took a few detours here and there on our way and saw three beautiful blue herons, plus a koi show. Random. They're huge. Then it was 13 miles back down, finished off with a cheeseburger at the Monon Food Company. Counterproductive? Maybe. Completely delicious? Definitely. It was even comparable to this burger in Provo that I sincerely miss.

On Friday night we rode ourselves to a "bike-in" movie at Garfield Park, where they were showing Goonies. Somehow neither of us had ever seen that? So it filled in a few pop culture quoting gaps for us both. Summer nights are the absolute best.

And that's our summer so far. We are loving it. This summer has plenty in store, and the beginning has been a blast. We are loving these Midwest days of ours.