Bonding Brothers

Kyle went backpacking with his brother Cody and brother-in-law Josh. They set up camp near this stunning lake and reveled in manly things only. I wish I could have been a fly on a tree, but I was lucky to get these fun pictures.



Here's the group: Kyle, Josh, Cody.



That's Josh and the camp.



Josh and Cody



They caught tons of fish...maybe one hundred? If Kyle were standing here he'd remind me how many. They ate well out there in the wild wilderness, and they let the rest of the fish go.

Okay, so Kyle just walked in and said, Maybe 100??? It was more than 100 on Friday alone. Good thing I got that straightened out for the blog record!



I've heard there's a fine line between a man fishing and man standing on the shore looking like an idiot. This looks like fishing to me!



Those are some backpacking skills! Kyle really had a great time. I'm relieved he came back to his three little kids, wife, and job. I missed him!

The Kite Runner is a powerful and moving story. I just finished it last night. The themes that connected with me were:

1. Friendship - between two boys

2. Father son relationship - the unquenchable desire for a son to please his father. At the beginning The Kite Runner reminded me of The Chosen. The Chosen is a powerful story of friendship between two boys and it also juxtaposes the relationship of the two boys with their fathers. The Kite Runner turned out to be a completely different kind of novel - very dark and miserable.

3. Compassion (or cruelty). Twice the book alludes to Hitler. It's because he is the most evil example of what can happen when people feel superior to others. Feeling "better than" is the root of the cruelty behind Hitler and behind most of the cruelty in The Kite Runner. But when we think of Hitler, it is too easy to remove ourselves and feel like we have nothing in common with that kind of evil. I believe when we read, The Kite Runner, we are compelled to examine ourselves. Have I ever felt better than someone else? It really doesn't matter the reason. In any situation and for any reason, it is deeply wrong.

4. Freedom - I can't help but feel sooo grateful for America after reading this book. I do believe America has a moral obligation to defend and help others who are suffering under something like the Taliban. To what extent...I don't know. And I don't want this to be too political anyway :).

It was an intense book. Don't know if I would recommend it, but I also can't say I regret reading it.

Mess Is the Best

I am terrible about taking my camera out for family outings, holidays, cabin trips. While I really want to become better at that, something tells me it's these little moments around the house I will miss the most.

Little Lady

Kyle and I constantly ponder how different Violet is from the boys. Here she is with her purses.

First Tooth

The tooth fairy came to our house! After many days of wiggling, Seth lost his first tooth at school. He said he raised his hand and Mrs. Asay came over to his desk, and he showed her the tooth. He brought his tooth home in a little treasure chest (from the nurse's office). Jonah said he "felt" the tooth fairy that night. I guess he thinks she bumped him in the night. Oh, Jonah bug.

Seth is Happy!

After lots of begging, I gave in. Who cares if pumkins rot! We'll buy more and carve like crazy. We're trying to keep busy with track break.

Whispers of Winter

With the chilly weather today I feel nostalgic and moody. While it's probably just a passing cold front, winter is whispering its sweet magic. Reminding me of the past and hinting of the future. When winter really does hit, the novelty will wear off. I'll be tired of wiping green snotty noses and tediously bundling three little kids for outside play. Today, I’ll enjoy it. Winter reminds me of high school with Kyle, and how a simple hug from my passionate, loyal admirer could make any stress or worry seem not so bad. Our thoughts and worries were so different then - more involving ourselves. It’s always fun to remember that beginning and falling in love. Kyle and I both describe that wonderful feeling as a pitcher of warm water pouring down onto our head and filling our whole body.

This afternoon I pulled Violet out of her crib after her nap, and it felt like I was pulling my first baby, snug in his sleeper, out of the same crib. Just feeling nostalgic, I guess. I love this stage. I can pull a baby (actually toddler) out of the crib and feel the joy of the union while being free from any tired, dark circles under my eyes. With an almost 2 year old, I feel I still have a baby, but I’m far beyond that sleepless first year. I have many wonderful night’s sleep stockpiled under my pillow.

My pictures will not download for some reason. I’d bug Kyle to help me figure it out but he has been so busy. In fact, today one more light bulb burned out in the kitchen. My kitchen is pretty dark. I’m one to let things go… hey, there’s always tomorrow. But Kyle is better at tackling jobs and duties with energy. So those burned out light bulbs tell me he is working hard on other things. That’s a good thing! We keep waiting for this sad economy to seriously affect his landscape company, but so far we are thrilled with its progress. I realize, a few years out with this stale economy and we may have a different story. Soooo, when I’m motivated to figure the picture thing out, I’ll post some cute ones! And maybe I’ll even find the light bulbs in the garage and use my own two hands for once (probably not).

Favorite shows I’ve seen recently:
-Cold Mountain. Edited on TV. With Nicole Kidman. Loved it.

-Namesake. I Love a good human drama delving into the characters like this one. Not one minute of action. Made me respect People from India and my parents.

- The Last Samurai – Also edited on TV. Not edited enough and I had to turn my head during the fighting. But the story line was really good, inspiring. Themes of honor and discipline.

-Political stuff. CNN. This will be a very interesting election. Obama vs McCain. That’s the extent of any politics on this blog :).

Books: Last book I read was John Grisham’s, Playing for Pizza. 100% male book. I grabbed it because Italy was on the cover. I didn’t want to pay for the hard back “Twilight” book on the store shelf that EVERYONE is talking/blogging about. The WHOLE Grisham book was football. Uhhhg. It was pretty bad reading for me, but I do appreciate football a tiny, smidge more. I’m desperately needing to grab a good book from the library!

Other news:
-Kyle was released as EQ president. He is now the priest’s quorum advisor. He loves it.

-I was called to be the primary pianist. I love it. The children’s choir in the Saturday morning session of conference was awesome. Today I was practicing a baptism song, “I like to look for rainbows, whenever there is rain… I want my life to be as clean as earth right after rain.” How beautiful!

-My dad endured surgery AND the electric paddles and his heart is still not on rhythm. He is very frustrated. I’m hoping and praying things will turn around for him. My parents are coming over Sunday for dinner to celebrate his birthday. Seth and Jonah see other people’s birthdays as a time to eat cake. Seth asked several times today about the cake he’ll get tomorrow when Grandma and Grandpa come over. Sometimes I think my kid’s lives are pretty good.

Quotes:
At the Lewis cabin, Jonah was carrying a big log and looked a little tipsy. He confidently declared, “I can totally handle this.”

We saw a whole crew of police cars while driving to Granny’s house and Seth said, “There must be a thug around here.”

Violet is putting words together. Tonight when Kyle came home she blurted, "Daddy home." Also, every morning she walks around the house looking for bugs. She points to the bug and screams, "BUG" in this really cute high-pitched, 1-year old voice. I take care of the bug quickly so she doesn't pass out from yelling out BUG over and over.

There's my random post! I'll get my pictures back on board for some direction :).