Bakers May/June

Lots has happened in the last few months. We're now living in Pleasant Grove, 6 bedroom house, great backyard, heaps of children for the kids to play with. Ethan in particular has quite a following of boys that come and pick him up every day to ride bikes, rollerblade, etc.

Clara turned 6 on June 2. We're planning a party for the 30th since we've been in a whirlwind of moving.

Galen has had pneumonia for the last 3 days. Mylyn had strep a month ago, and both were nearly hospitalized. It's been a tough few days.

In May I  was in Buena Vista Virgina for an academic conference, and then presented a paper at another conference at BYU a couple weeks ago. I'm publishing a book next month. Here's a link:

http://www.gregkofford.com/products/essays-honor-paulsen

I've also written a long essay regarding the experience of having the twins, here:

http://bycommonconsent.com/2012/05/13/deaths-and-rebirths-part-1-the-descent/

Still teaching a full load of classes, hoping to get the degree done by the end of next year.

Bakers

Holly--June 2012

About three weeks ago, I moved into a new house. By new, I do mean new to me. The house itself is old. I think it might have been built in the forties, give or take a decade, but I'm really no expert.

When I first got to Vermillion, I told myself to be content with the apartment I had--which was perfectly serviceable--and ride out the next four years. But I haven't been anywhere for that long since graduating high school, and as 18 months was approaching, I started getting itchy feet and noticing For Rent signs around town. A phone call here, an email there, and I found this place in February, during my I-need-a-place-that-will-permit-a-dog phase (phase not entirely passed). It's a single story house (unless you count the rather spacious attic, but I don't) with a basement apartment (Patrick says hi). Compared to my last place, this whole place is spacious. I admit that one of things I am still most jazzed with is the linen closet. Somehow, it makes me feel like I've finally entered adulthood (ten years too late), having that linen closet. There are other perks, too. Washer, dryer, dishwasher, central air and heating, and windows windows windows. Good-size windows, too. Long ones, standing in twos and threes. I counted them up when I got here. If you count the screened-in porch, and why not?, I have 25 of them. The light in this place in the morning is amazing. It makes the light in my last place look like I was living in a basement, when I was not.

That's not to say there aren't drawbacks. When I walked into the empty house on day 1, before any of my stuff was moved, I thought I had made a huge mistake. It was filthy. I mean, filthy. Mom, Dad, Kelli, you thought it bad when you were here? You have no idea. The walls were padded with cobwebs, especially in the corners where wall meets ceiling (these are nine-foot ceilings). The floor was dusty and gritty. The kitchen window was almost impossible to see through, the windowsills were black (I later discovered they were actually white), and four of the blinds came crashing down when I pulled the cord to open them. The water wouldn't drain in the bathtub, even when I pulled a nest of dark hair from the drain. Six light bulbs were burnt out or missing. In the kitchen, there were scorch marks on the counter top and the stove top was another grease fire waiting to happen. There was a pickle jar in the cupboard holding brine, straws and lollipop sticks and Chiquita Banana stickers at the bottom of the dishwasher, and broken chairs and soiled rugs on the porch. And when I went into my walk-in closet (which has no light), a shower of Trojans fell on top of me. (I forgot to tell you that one, Ma.) I almost cried. Instead, I called the manager.

She sent over "cleaners." They were here and gone in 30 minutes, while I was renting the U-Haul. I think all they managed to do was sweep. Brava, girls. What magic. So I undertook to clean the whole place myself. That is, I'm still undertaking it. And if I may say so myself, this is looking like a whole new house. I've done so much scrubbing I think my hands will never recover from the dried-with-bleach feel or SOS pad indentations. With Mom, Dad, and Kelli's help, I painted the back room, transforming the suffocating dark red and blue into a much friendlier, light, butter cream yellow; we also did the kitchen. The rest of the house is on my to-do list. Dad and I bought a new exhaust duct because the old one was slashed. Because the manager is useless, I've remounted the blinds myself (I must say, I'm quite proud of my handiwork). I did finally get her to send the AC guy (who is just as unimpressed with her managerial skills as I am, so we bonded over that), but she hasn't lifted a finger about the ceiling fan or the exhaust-duct-goes-to-the-crawl-space-and-not-an-outside-vent issue. There's a mountain of lint down there. Fire hazard, anyone?

I don't know if you are still reading at this point. This surely can't be interesting to anyone but me. But my point is, I've got "projects" ahead of me, and to be perfectly honest, I'm kind of loving every minute. Cleaning, painting, repairing, conferring with the Ace Hardware dudes, and looking out of my gorgeous windows is immensely satisfying. I kind of don't want it to end, but of course I do. I want to see what this place will look like when it's just the way I want it.

Oh, and Mom, Dad, and Kelli: You'll be interested to know that the total count of nails I've pulled from the walls is now up to 83. I discover another little handful every day! You'd think I would have found them all by now, but you'd be wrong. :)

Stephensons May 2012

We kicked off May busy packing and spending time with our friends. Jacob was done with rotations so he was around to help and play. He was on a tennis kick and begged his friends to go out with him pretty much every day. We had been in the process of buying a house in Fresno but after lots of problems we finally pulled out of it when they told us the place had termites! What an ordeal. After 6 weeks of that process we decided not to buy at all, which was a big relief to me. Jacob made a super quick trip to Fresno and found us a house to rent. It was difficult finding a place that was affordable and in a good neighborhood. A good, safe apartment would have cost even more (but in a nicer part of town.) But this house should be ok for us. At least for a year, then we might move. We'll see!

Mothers Day was nice. It was also our last Sunday in our ward so my friends and I were all a little weepy in Relief Society. Jacob made me a yummy chicken broccoli dinner I asked for. He wrangled Addie while I lounged in bed reading most of the day!

Jacob's graduation was fantastic. We're so proud of him. We're glad Mom and Dad could come support us. Addie was antsy during the long ceremony but did ok. We went to dinner at Texas de Brazil, the Brazilian steakhouse, and Jacob was in heaven. 

Packing was a ton of work and we should have started it sooner than we did. I had a really great organization system but by the end, Jacob wanted to finish it up himself after Addie and I left and those boxes were a hodge podge! The Uhaul employee had convinced him to get a smaller truck than we'd originally planned and he ended up having trouble fitting it all in. On the last day he had to frantically disassemble furniture and such to get it all to fit (and he still had to leave a couple things behind!) Good thing most of our stuff is Ikea so it's made to pack flat. It was just a lot of work! He flew back to Henderson twice, to get the CR-V and then to drive the Camry to Utah. Luckily he made it off the freeway in Clearfield before the car broke down (at midnight on Memorial Day.) He towed it to a transmission place where it was all week. Not a cheap repair, for sure. Grateful that he made it safely. And we're grateful that Addie and I hadn't driven up to Utah alone, which was an idea we'd been tossing around.

Addie and I had a great time in Utah. She was busy busy and always making a mess, as usual. It was fun to see the big hole dug for their addition. Next time we're there it should be all finished! I went to Provo for Heidi's Scottish Appreciation Night and also for card night. She met up with us in Salt Lake to go to the City Creek center. Jacob and I took Addie to the zoo and met up with my friend Kalie and her daughter.

It was a whirlwind of a month, emotional and exciting. We will miss our friends in Henderson dearly (although now they're spread out from Hawaii to Florida.) We're so grateful we made friends that are so good that we WILL miss them. Now on to a new adventure in Fresno!

Van Natter May

May 4th was our 35th wedding anniversary. John took the day off and we finally went to get my ring fixed. The larger diamond fell out about 3 years ago and it was time! I've been without it so long that it feels a little foreign on my finger, but I'm glad to have it back. We also went and saw "The Hunger Games" and John even enjoyed it!! Thirty five years... Time really does fly by.

Mothers Day was nice. I talked to the girls and got lovely gifts. Sacrament Meeting was really good, not guilt-producing! I enjoyed talking to Mom as well.

John and Ian continue to carpool to 3M. Ian doesn't have to be there until 8 now that his training is over (when he had to be to Murray by 6:30 am!) John has really enjoyed getting home in the late afternoon, and hasn't minded getting up early. It has been YEARS since he has worked a schedule like this. He'd been in the habit of going in mid-morning and then coming home in the evening. He's been able to go shooting or get some things done around here.

We went to Henderson for Jacob's graduation from Medical School. We went a bit early in case they needed help packing, but it turned out they needed help entertaining Addie so they could pack! That child is so active, climbs everything, and is just always on the move! John and Jacob drove out to Valley of Fire one evening, since it would be the last time they could go. They wanted to see the 'wave' but couldn't find it. After some research, John realized they'd missed the small sign that would have directed them, sooooo EARLY the morning we were heading back to Utah, they drove BACK to Valley of Fire to see the wave, which was much smaller than expected, but still impressive. This was more than an hour drive each way!

We were so proud to be able to see Jacob graduate. It was an interesting program. Touro University is a Jewish sponsored school (schools) and so there was a Rabbi to offer a blessing on the graduates. It was really cool. And one of the founders told of his experiences in WW2 Europe.

We told Jacob to choose anywhere he wanted for his celebratory dinner. We thought he might want to go to one of the casino buffets, but no, he wanted to go to Texas de Brazil: a Brazilian steakhouse. The kind where they bring all different kinds of meat around on skewers and you eat what you want. Their salad bar was amazing. Emily and I went crazy with the choices. Addie did really well. But Jacob was in heaven. He sampled all EIGHTEEN types of meat brought around! When it appeared that he hadn't gotten to sample a few he told our server who made sure the missing meats came to our table!! We enjoyed his pleasure almost more than the food. Almost!

Emily and Addie returned to Utah with us. Jacob stayed behind to finish loading the truck and drive it to Fresno. He joined us at the end of the week after flying back to Henderson twice - first to drive one car to Fresno, then to drive the other car to Utah. Angels were with him on that drive because he had no trouble at all...until he got off on our exit, then his car broke down. It cost a pretty penny to fix but at least he hadn't been stranded somewhere in central Utah or worse.

We loved having Addie for a week. We had a kitchen for her and she had fun playing with that. But her favorite thing is playing with our iPads! She would sign "please" then say "Peas?", point to the tablet and say "Ga" (game.) She knew how to get right to the games she liked. And she learned how to cheat on a puzzle game!! My favorite favorite thing is that she never says yes to anything. If her answer is yes, instead she claps her hands and says "Yay!" Like anything you've asked is the best thing EVER! Here she is wearing the fancy Easter bonnet my friend made for her last year. Until now she absolutely refused to wear it, but suddenly, she's liking to dress up!

While Jacob was here he helped John and Ian take down our 25 year old shed. It was starting to need work, and with the garage coming soon we no longer needed it for storage. It was great fun to watch them work on it all morning and finally get it pushed over. (It was wooden.) Then they got it loaded up and taken to the dump the next day. Underneath was a virtual carpet of old walnuts (from the neighbor's tree) brought there by rodents (ick!) Ian is very allergic and just being close to them had him swelling and itching. Jacob took our old, sad and sorry piano apart as much as was possible in order to get it out of the house. It was so big and so heavy. John found a date inside - from September 1907! We felt bad destroying a 'relic' but it needed so much work and we no longer needed it. Once all that remained was the body, John, Ian and Jacob were able to maneuver it down the stairs and out the front door (with some damage to the wall but it could have been worse!)

Construction began on our addition on May 31. So far we have the garage floor. It has been interesting to see how many steps were required to get to that point. The day they dug the trenches for the footings, they cut through our power line and if John hadn't told them he was on call (which he is every day of the year for certain things) we'd have had to wait until the next day for our power to be restored!! The neighbor's sycamore tree had sent roots clear over to the buried power line and wrapped around it so effectively that you couldn't see the power line at all. Until they cut it! 

 This was the view the first day of construction out our dining room window. The stairs up from the garage and the mudroom/laundry will be in this space. Our old stairs out of the basement will be enclosed in the new construction and accessible from the garage. (And yes, those are pizza boxes strewn across the back yard!! Ian uses the cardboard in his garden to keep the weeds down. These had been tossed out the window before I took the photo! (Yes, we are hillbillies apparently!)

That was our May. Looking forward to hear about all of yours!!
Take care and enjoy the summer!
John & Kathi

Grammy's News

Dear Family,
Are you enjoying the hot weather? It's summer and it's half over so that thought helps me cope!

I spent a week in Indiana with Claire and Calvin, and as usual I had a wonderful time. I feel so at home up there; life is so peaceful, people are so friendly, and the countryside is so green and calm.

I don't walk like I used to; my legs won't let me, so I sit around a lot, watch lots of uninteresting TV and take naps. That doesn't sound like me, but that's the way it is. I do a little knitting, a little cross-stitch, and lots of challenging crossword puzzles. A day in the life of an old lady!! Linda tells me I am one whenever I question it so it must be true!! She and Mark are so good to me.  I thank them for it and appreciate all they do for me.

Going out to Jeff's for a Father's Day BBQ.  I'm looking forward to that as I love spending time out there and of course, being with family. Hope all you Dads in the family have a great day, and your families show you how much they appreciate and love you.

Till next time, love you all,
Grammy

Packer's MAY NL

• Rob ran his second triathlon and shaved 10 minutes off his previous time. We took a trip to the pool so I could help him on his swimming. He made some big improvements and can swim so much farther now.
• We spent the day up the canyon for Mother's Day. Luke had a great time fishing and hiking with his new hiking boots. We found a great place to BBQ and Luke took all of us on lots of mini hikes after dinner.
• We put in our first garden. We just have 2, 4 x 4 beds and are growing strawberries, cucumbers, peppers, onions, basil, and tomatoes. We'll see what survives over the summer.
• Luke had his preschool graduation. It was so sweet. There were 12 little kids in his class and they all had  a little solo they had to sing. Luke's solo was Gus the Goat. He had to wear some goofy glasses and he sang it so well and so loud, haha. He also had to lead the audience in the Pledge of Allegiance. 
• Sophie is binky free! I wasn't planning on trying until she was 2, but we lost the last one we had and she hasn't noticed yet. It's a miracle!
• For Memorial day we went with Rob's family and did lots of yard projects. Luke brought up his tractor and got to work right beside grandpa's big tractor. We had a big bbq and Luke got lots of cousin time in.

Summer 2012 Reading Suggestions

These are the books to pack to the pool, throw in your beach bag, or curl up with on a summer's night.

Studio 5 Contributor Teri Harman rolls out

the Studio 5 Reading List for Summer 2012.

(Studio 5 is a local program here in Utah geared to women that airs on KSL every weekday morning.)

The Shoemaker's Wife by Adriana Trigiani
Enza and Ciro first meet as teenagers in the majestic beauty of the Italian Alps. But after one night of heart-felt conversation and a first kiss, circumstances beyond their control pull them apart. They meet again, unexpectedly, far from their native home in the hustle of turn-of-the- century America, but still fate seems to want to keep them apart. Fate, however, is not strong enough to keep these star-crossed lovers apart forever. From the beauty of Italy, the drudgery of garment factories, the trenches of The Great War and the glamour of the Metropolitan Opera, this epic and beautifully written story of love and family is one that everyone will be talking about.

When Women Were Birds: Fifty-Four Variations on Voice by Terry Tempest Williams
Terry Tempest Williams, award-winning Utah author, inherited her mother's journals after she died at the age of fifty-four from cancer. When Terry opened the journals each one was empty. In this breathtaking piece of creative nonfiction she explores what it means to be a woman, a person and to have a voice. Rich in wisdom, insight and power.
Content note: About a half dozen uses of the F-word and a description of a painting of female anatomy.

Edenbrooke by Julianne Donaldson
From a harrowing attack by a highway man to the unexpected attention of a handsome gentleman, Marianne's visit to the fabulous English country estate Edenbrooke is nothing she expects. Local author Julianne Donaldson's new Regency (think Jane Austen) love story is a pure delight. The first in a new brand of novels called Proper Romances from local publisher Shadow Mountain, this book has all the smoldering romance without any of "that other stuff."

Olivia by Julie Wright - The Newport Ladies Book Club
Four local authors have teamed up to create a fun new series of books. Each book follows the experiences of one of the members of the Newport Ladies Book Club. The first book is Olivia by Julie Wright and is an engaging read about a middle-aged woman fighting to keep her marriage together. The second book, just released, is Daisy by Josi S. Kilpack and is about a forty-six year old woman who discovers she is pregnant. The great thing about this series is that all four books will be out by November - no waiting a whole year for the next book.

The Night Strangers by Chris Bohjalian
If you're looking for something a little different to include in your summer reading this fast-paced, heart-pounding ghost story by best-selling author Chris Bohjalian is a great choice. Long forgotten, in the dank corner of a basement in an old Victorian home, is a small door, sealed shut with thirty- nine 6-inch-long carriage bolts. When Chip Linton, his wife and twin daughters move in hoping to rebuild their lives after Chip, an airplane pilot, had to ditch his jet in a lake, resulting in the death of several passengers, Chip becomes obsessed with the door. Why? Because exactly thirty-nine of his passengers died in that crash.
Content note: A few mild swear words, one brief, mildly descriptive sex scene and one short scene of a woman kissing another woman

Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake by Anna Quindlen
This candid, humorous and insightful memoir from best-selling author and Pultizer Prize winner Anna Quindlen is a delight to read. Using her own experiences, past and present, she explores what matters most to women at all stages and ages. From marriage to parenting to girlfriends to how much stuff we own and how we view our bodies, Anna talks about it all with her patented ease and sharp observations. Her use of wisdom and celebration, illuminating what can be satisfying and joyful in life, are the hallmarks of what make her one of America's favorite writers.

The Flight of Gemma Hardy by Margot Livesey
With lyrical prose, gorgeous settings and endearing characters this new telling of Jane Eyre, set in the 1950's in Scotland and Iceland is a perfect choice for summer reading. Gemma's life has always been hard, from the death of her father and uncle to the barely tolerable servitude at the Claypoole School, she wonders if her life can ever be what she dreams. When she goes to work as an au pair to the ward of Mr. Hugh Sinclair Gemma begins her biggest and most unexpected trial.

The House of Velvet and Glass by Katherine Howe
If you loved Katherine Howe's first best-selling book, The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane, then you must pick up her brand new novel. This historical novel, set in Boston in 1915, is the story of Sybil Allston as she grieves the loss of her mother and sister on the sinking of the Titanic. Seeking solace, she visits a spiritual medium and is given a looking glass. When images of an ocean liner appear in the glass Sybil is determined to discover if it's just the effects of the opium or something more mysterious. Atmospheric, full of wonder and romance.
Content note: The use of the drug opium, including use in opium dens, is a major theme of the novel; few mild swear words and a scene or two of mild violence.

  The Peach Keeper by Sarah Addison Allen
Sarah Addison Allen's books are the quintessential summer reads: magical, romantic and impossible to put down. Her most recent book was just released on paperback and is fabulous. Willa Jackson's great-great grandfather built one of the finest homes in Walls of Water, North Carolina. Sadly, when the family met financial ruin the great home stood as a monument to their failure. When Willa's old classmate restores the home to its former glory and a skeleton is uncovered beneath the single peach tree, scandal, unlikely friendship and mystery ensue.

 Turn of Mind by Alice LaPlante
If you missed this fascinating, poignant book when it was new, you must pick up the paperback. Dr. Jennifer White, brilliant, well-known orthopedic surgeon, is recently widowed and retired, but worst of all she is suffering from the early stages of dementia. Not only does this stalwart woman have a hard time holding onto reality, but her neighbor and long-time best friend has just been murdered, four fingers surgically removed and Jennifer is the prime suspect.
Content note: Brief sexual references, a few uses of foul language and mild violence.