Uncle Tom's Cabin

I'm reading Uncle Tom's Cabin for book club in February.  I'm 100 pages into it and totally in love.  At least I thought I was 100 pages into it.  I just realized i started reading Uncle Tom's Cabin in two volumes Volume number II.  oops.

Here are some interesting or favorite passages:

St. Clare: "Look at the high and the low, all the world over, and it's the same story, --the lower class used up, body, soul, and spirit, for the good of the upper.  It is so in England; it is so everywhere; and yet all Christendom stands aghast, with virtuous indignation, because we do the thing in a little different shape from what they do it."

Has there ever been a child like Eva?  Yes, there have been; but their names are always on gravestones, and their sweet smile, their heavenly eyes, their singular words and ways, are among the buried treasures of yearning hearts.  In how many families do you hear the legend that all the goodness and graces of the living are nothing to the peculiar charms of one who is not! It is as if Heaven had an especial band of angels, whose office it was to sojourn for a season here, and endear to them the wayward human heart, that they might bear it upward with them in their homeward flight.  When you see that deep, spiritual light in the eye, --when the little soul reveals itself in words sweeter and wiser than the ordinary words of children, --hope not to retain that child; for the seal of heaven is on it, and the lift of immortality loads out from its eyes.  

Even so, beloved Eva! fair star of thy dwelling! Thou are passing away; but they that love thee dearest know it not.

I have often noticed in my travels North, how much stronger this was with you than with us. You loathe them as much as you would a snake or a toad, yet you are indignant at their wrongs. You would not have them abused, but you don't want to have anything to do with them yourselves. You would send them to Africa, out of your sight and smell, and then send a missionary or two to do up all the self-denial of elevating them compendiously. Isn't that it?

 Religion! Is what you hear at church religion? Is that which you can bend and turn, and descend, and ascend, To fit every crooked phase of selfish, worldly society, religion? Is that religion which is less scrupulous, less generous, less just, less considerate for man, than even my own ungodly, worldly, blinded nature? No! When I look for a religion, I must look for something above me, and not something beneath. -St. Clare pg. 202

What a fool is he who locks his door to keep out spirits, who has in his own bosom a spirit he dares not meet alone. pg. 453

Scrooge is in the house

I don't know why I'm such a scrooge.  Maybe the length of time between Thanksgiving and Christmas has just gotten shorter with age.  I think I feel too much pressure to make Christmas awesome that it doesn't feel awesome.  Thoughtful gifts seem to float around outer space instead of my head.  Maybe the shopping gets to me, or the fact that I can't really make anything meaningful.  The only thing I can really do is craft or sew and either one is no longer time or cost efficient. hmm. We did buy plane tickets to give to the kids as presents (flights to a certain mouse-themed park in CA).

My friend is moving

I have only a handful of very close friends.  And one is moving this week.  I am sad and I found this quote about friends that I only understand now.

"Of all the bonds that exist between people, perhaps the sweetest is the bond of friendship.  For it was born not out of duty or blood ties but out of pure delight in another.

The sweetest friendships are the luckiest—they are founded on more than delight.  No less than the complete and perfect acceptance of one by another."

Atlanta?

Atlanta

Charlie was recently offered a job with his favorite former employer in Atlanta.  These are the things that entered my mind:

Mmm. Peaches and Blue Bell.

Swanky houses on large lots for the same price as the one I live in. Also plenty of 

but who knows how much travel.  They say not much but in my experience the higher up you go the more serious the problems you have to solve.  I could probably have one heck of a garden too.

But Atlanta wouldn't have

Mountain biking in my neighborhood

all of these guys, 

Camping with these guys, 

Hikes,

BBQs

or  Mt. Rainier.

So in short, the Parke family is here to stay.

Mal

Carter is learning spanish at school and has started teaching it to Will at home.  Carter had a 24 hour bug the other day and told will that he felt "mal." He asked Will if he knew what mal meant and Will replied "yeah, mal is the place with a play place and lots of different stores".

Crazy Busy

So I joined the pit orchestra for our church's play.  I'm busy.  No time to chat or tell you how at first I was so extremely overwhelmed at the difficulty of the music (I forgot about how horrendous pit music is) that I asked for a blessing from my husband and prayed my little heart out.  I also don't have time to tell you that a time warp was created from intense practice that put me back at my high school days level of ability. Phew.  But the music is still beyond me and I told the director that certain lines of music are not going to happen in this life or the next.  Did I mention that never in my life have I been part of an orchestra where there were less than 3 (usually 20) flutes?  This time its solo mio.  Thats why its stressful.  The busy part comes from Charlie having his first travel assignment for his new job (he gets back opening night), classes I'm already committed to, homework for me and the kids, 4 practices a week with some of them in Enumclaw, Halloween, Carter's upcoming birthday, and Carter gets to be an extra in the play too.  We'd love to have to attend the play Nov 3-5, 2011 at the Enumclaw Auditorium.  Or come to book club at my house on Nov 10.  We're discussing The Help and I intend to have enough free time to make a fabulous dessert.

Mr. McGregor's garden

I realized recently the level of garden I wish to have.  Mr. McGregor's garden.  When we were in Utah, the kids asked to read The Tale of Peter Rabbit almost every night.  I sat looking at Ms. Potter's beautiful drawings with the hedge-row and the distant trees, the little paths, quaint shed and gates and an acre of vegetables...sigh.

Isn't it lovely?  He even has a cold frame.  Now compare to my current garden.

The boys build a ship by adding a mast (basketball hoop) on the boat (picnic table)

Yes, the boys are in pajamas and cowboy boots on a Sunday morning.

Freaky mushrooms grow on their own.

Reading nook coming out of hibernation

Two new birch trees along the back fence

My Ghetto Greenhouse.  I put a tomato plant in the biggest pot I had, added a stake, a bag, and a light for heat.

Someday.  Someday maybe in retirement like Mr. McGregor I'll have the garden I've always wanted.

Corel 7

I was trying to copy something and realized we're still out of toner.  Maybe I'll buy some someday.  I tried to scan the document so I could print it on the other one (I know I've scanned things before) but it said it needed to "run or install device" so I plugged it in again and it installed on the Mac, it still doesn't show up as a device.  Grrr.  And I can't seem to figure out the updated interface for the mac.  Why does computer stuff come so difficult for me?  (Don't say its because the last computer class I ever had was when I was 15 and learned Corel 7)  I can't even seem to find the hard drive when I plug that in.  So much for backing up pictures.

Divine

In the pioneering days if this church when men grubbed the sagebrush and broke the sod so that crops might be planted to austin life, many a wife and mother planted a few flowers and a few fruit trees to add beauty and taste to the drabness of pioneer life.  There are so many things that you can do.  Beauty is a thing divine.  The cultivation of it becomes an expression of the divine nature within you.

-Gordon B. Hinkley

September already

I've felt like the summers have gone by faster the last two years.  I suppose its partly because we are busier than we were before now that the kids are older and more active.  Part of the fleeting summer is the difference between summer in Seattle and every other summer I've experience in various places across the country.

Utah: Hot, dry, mosquitos, heavily scented with sage and sunflowers, comfortable in the shade.

Texas: Hot, humid, sunny, deafening hum of cicadas, Blue Bell ice-cream.

Indiana: Hot, humid, rain in the middle of the night, fireflies, make-up melting off women's faces in the 10:00 a.m. sunshine at the park, tomatoes growing like weeds.

Then there is Seattle: In June there are a few days of glorious sun where the city shuts down as people flock to any un-timbered area to bask in the sun.  The rain finally stops July 5th (I have the rainy 4th of July pics to prove it) and we have sun.  Highs of 75, lows of 55, a week or two of 80+ somewhere before September.  Mountain biking.  Sun shining through the trees and lighting up the undergrowth like The Emerald City.  We put box fans in the windows after dinner to cool down the house (no AC needed).

Now summer is over.  September and even most of October are pleasant but I wish I was so tired of summer heat that I could beg for the coolness of fall.

Will can ride a bike!

At the beginning of summer Carter finally figured out how to ride a bike.  Now at the end of summer Will did too.  So proud of my little monkey.  Will and Carter were both playing at the Draxler's house when Will went up to Nate and said he was ready to ride without training wheels, could he please take them off? Nate asked if Will had ever ridden without training wheels and Will said no, but he was ready.  Nate said okay and held the seat for a few steps before Will told him to let go.

Will has always had an iron will and I think this example only solidifies my perception of him.

I changed the picture!

Check out my computer skills, I changed the picture on the header!  Notice the title 'Parke Family" coincidently lined up on Katie's fireplace mantle?  hehe.  I think it looks like vinyl lettering put there on purpose.

Utah Wedding Visit

Our trip has been pretty busy and we're only half into it.  We woke up at 4:30 am on Friday to catch our flight.  When we landed Scott picked us up and we went to his house for lunch.  The kids played together for a little while and then we went to Gram's house to unpack and take a nap.  Then, in a hurry we got ready for Jeff and Santa's wedding reception.  We had a few pictures before the reception started and the kids helped a little with bustling cake around to the guests.  At one point Charlie and I noticed the music had changed from simple guitar and piano music to piano and guitar Christmas music.  I grabbed my iPod and we hijacked the sound system.  We turned on some salsa to liven things up a bit and got our salsa groove on.

William's benadryl induced nap after a wasp sting on his cheek.

Charlie's parents with Jeff  and Santa

The kids with one of the horses in downtown Ogden

Bonnie and Brianna

On Saturday we went to the ceremony in Salt Lake.  While waiting for the ceremony a temple worker got on the microphone 4 different times to ask everyone to be reverent.  The noise level would settle down for a minute and climb back up again.  There were three other wedding parties there so the room was full and I'm sure reverence requests are pretty normal, however, Monica in her usual witty mood started making jokes.  She said if she were in charge she would use threats like "You wanna see your loved one get married today?  Then you'd better be quiet." Then she reminded me that Christ used a whip in the temple and maybe our crowd needed one too.  The really funny moment was when the temple worker announced, "We are now ready for the Lord---er---the Lloyd Wedding." We found it quite hard to contain the snickering and were all quite glad at the thought that we were waiting in the temple when The Lord was due to arrive.  Later that night we had a pizza party so the kids could get to know their new cousin, Lidsan a little bit better.  She is a sweet and loving girl and we really like her.

Sunday after church we had a BBQ at Scott and Katie's house before Charlie and Lidsan flew to their homes.  We planned on having family pictures taken but a huge rainstorm blew in.  Aunt Carol took a few pictures in front of the fireplace.  I was surprised we could fit the whole clan in the space.  We kept the kids happy by tossing marshmallows in their mouths like little seals performing tricks.

Monday we intended to go swimming or fishing but there was thunder and lightning again so we took the kids to the mall to play while Katie and I went shopping.  Later that night we had a birthday party for my family since 3 out of 4 of us just had a birthday.  Carter got some presents too.  I can't believe he will have a birthday in just 3 months.  We had the Parkes, Grandpa Lund and Katie and Scott and the cousins.  It was fun to sing happy birthday to so many people.

Flying with Brett

Flight certificate

Tuesday we  went to iFly.  The boys were thrilled to skydive in the wind tunnel with Uncle Brett.  Will had never done it before and Carter could barely remember.  He was not yet 4 when he went last.  Brianna was a little nervous of the flight suits so she snuggled with Monica.  I sat on the bench with the boys while they waited for their turn.  Will did great with both of his turns.  Carter was a little more nervous and told Brett to keep a good grip on him.  Both boys flew up high with Brett and Carter stood and did a flip. Carter was a little shaken right after he got out of the tunnel but perked up when he got some attention for doing a trick. We got an icecream cone with Papa and then went back home to play.  Later that night, Bonnie, Ashley and I had a Zumba class.  It was fun but super tough.

Carter tried coming through the doggie door
just as the dog decided to go through.

Wednesday we went to Salt Lake.  We went to the Church History Museum to see the new kids' exhibit.  They played in Nephi's boat, felt the weight of the Golden Plates, pretended to cook dinner for the missionaries, dressed up, and built a temple from blocks.  Then we went to Aunt Mary's house for a visit and lunch.  The kids had a great time playing with Mary's dogs and dominos, snacking on cookies and juice boxes.  Mary told me about their horse, Lady who was a racehorse when she was young.  When they bought Lady she was too old for racing and breeding but when Mary tried to ride Lady in the Peach Days Parade, Lady tried to gallop to get in front of all the other horses.  Grandpa had to hold Lady's reins tight and walk her the length of the parade because Mary couldn't hold her back.

Kids with Bodie

Mary said she was the smart book reader in their family, Dad was the perfect child who never did anything wrong, and Dan was the favorite or the family mascot as the baby and the swimmer.  Mary talked about Grandma's ability to make friends very quickly.  Grandma made friends with the people sitting next to her in less time than it took to ride a tram to the end of Oceanside Pier.  She knew (and chatted with) everyone she saw at the grocery store and could work her connections to her advantage. Grandpa was in Brigham City looking for a place to live and Brigham City was booming with new jobs at Thiokol.  The houses that were listed were rented the same day they posted. Grandma, still living in Wisconsin, called a man she knew at the newspaper in Wisconsin.  He called his friend who worked at the Brigham newspaper and the friend let Grandpa view the newspaper before it was released so he could have the first chance to call on the rentals.

Filling pots with Grandma and Tom.

Will stomping on bales of peat moss.

Teaching my girl how to make soil.

Thursday we went to the greenhouse.  The boys were thrilled to fill pots for poinsettias and make soil.  At one point Carter told me he could handle putting the pots on the filling machine by himself and I could take a break.  I told him that we were farmers and farmers don't take breaks until the work is done!  He looked at me with eyes wide and and exclaimed "We're farmers?!" I said yes and he puffed up with pride.  Later I overheard him repeating his new work ethic to William.  We went to Grandma Schramm's house for lunch and the kids had a grand time playing with the toys.  They love playing with Grandma's extensive set of antique little people and town.  They had rootbeer floats according to tradition.  Less traditional was Grandma and Grandpa's mix of flavors--Raspberry cheesecake ice cream with root beer.  Carol says at least this time it wasn't mint ice cream.  We visited with Aunt Janice and RJ and helped tried to sort out a mixed up delivery of wedding flowers.  Papa babysat both my kids and Katie's that night while we went to Carol's house to help decorate for the wedding.

Brianna laying on the carpet-bed in the playhouse
Katie's kids made in the barn

The kids love the vintage Little People town.

Brianna playing with Grandma Schramm

Friday Katie brought over a swimming pool and the kids splashed and played all day.  Carter complained of being cold in the shade so I made an obstacle course with things found in the garage.  All the kids loved it, but Adam and Carter could run it the best. The kids and I went to Bonnie's house to ride horses.  Brianna was nervous but was willing to ride with Bonnie.  The boys had a great time and Carter even rode without complaint when it started to rain really hard. Katie's kids slept over again at Grandma's house that night while we had a sibling dinner.  We had a grand time teasing and talking together.  I missed Charlie, but he was keeping busy at home in Seattle by himself.

Carter lost his tooth while we were at the wedding luncheon.

Today is Saturday.  We will head to the wedding luncheon and reception later today.  Tomorrow is Bonnie's baby blessing and Monday we go home!  Then maybe I'll post some pictures!

Carter can ride a bike!

Carter has been a bit fearful of riding a bike without training wheels and no amount of coaxing or bribing could convince him to try.  Today he tried riding Will's smaller bike.  While riding Carter kicked one of the training wheels and it got stuck pointing up but he didn't notice and kept on riding.  When he finally stopped I told him how he hadn't needed the training wheel.  He was surprised and decided to get on his own bike (no training wheels).  He zoomed  down the front lawn and down the sidewalk leaving me first cheering and then hollering "Wait for me!!!"  Will, Brianna and I never did catch up.  I think he's going to have a lot of bike riding this summer.

Story

We went camping with some friends over Memorial Day Weekend and had a lot of fun.  One thing the kids really enjoyed was listening to stories around the campfire.  Our friend Nate had a lot of good ones.  Stories about growing up or missions, dating and even some purely fictional stories.  I couldn't think of any to tell, plus I'm not good at telling enough details to make a story interesting, but I did have something funny happen this week so I'll try giving it a shot.

Brianna and I went grocery shopping while the boys were at school.  She always loves to take a couple of small toys with her and this day was no different.  She chose a small white rock and a pink plastic seal that William found in an Easter Egg.  William had warned her about being careful with the seal to not loose it so as she climbed into the car-shaped grocery cart she put them on the seat next to her.  The shopping excursion was uneventful until a block away from the grocery store she realized she had forgotten them.  We turned around and I pulled the minivan into the stall nearest out shopping cart.  I found the rock on the seat but not the seal so I ran back to the car and told Brianna.  She burst into tears so I told her I would look again.  A more detailed search still didn't find the seal so I tried to wave down the store employee who was corralling the carts but couldn't catch his attention.  As I was climbing back in the minivan a man hollered at me so I opened the door and said "What?"  He said "Hello, Beautiful!"and walked right into a pole smacking his head on a handicapped sign.

I thought minivans eliminated pick-up lines.

Hawaii

We went to Laie Point before the PCC opened.  It was really stormy so the view wasn't that great but the kids still had fun.  We had a picnic in the trunk of the car which the kids thought was awesome

Laie Point

 We took the kids to dinner and they both decided they didn't like their food.  Carter was upset that his meat had already been taken off the bone and Will decided he didn't like his alfredo.

Carter at dinner

 So they switched!  What a relief to the parents.  Will loved Carter's boneless ribs and Carter devoured Will's pasta.

Will at dinner

Me and Brianna

I didn't care for my meal much.  The butterfish (which is a method not a species) had the texture of raw fish which I didn't care for.  In my opinion Will got the best meal by trade.

Brianna

Charlie

At the PCC Luau

We debated about going to the PCC because the kids would be out late plus the 3 hr time difference of Seattle, plus a lot of sitting and watching but they really had fun.  The award-winning buffet and royal procession was lame.  Just a big ward dinner in my opinion.  The evening show, however was great and we liked seeing the villages.  Brianna loved watching the show.  She started doing the hula in the middle of the aisle and would check over her shoulder to make sure I was doing the hula too.  Will loved the fire  dancers or eaters and Carter said his favorite part was the story.  Specifically how the father was always with the son even when the father had died.  I had previously explained the meaning of the show by telling him we are all a culmination of our ancestors and they or their experiences are a part of us and we pass that on to our children.  I liked the dancers from Tahiti--Boy can they move their hips!!

Carter and the Royal Procession

Sweet Will

Waiting for the show

It was pouring buckets of rain the day we went.  At first they were selling rain ponchos but they just started handing them out in the end.  Carter loved his.  We had to tie up the sides so the boys could walk.  Brianna just sat in the carrier under my poncho or splashed in the rain.  (Maybe being born in Seattle makes her ambivalent to the rain?) Carter wanted to wear the poncho every subsequent rainy day including to school when we came back.  We told him that it was just for emergencies and we really shouldn't wear giant plastic ponchos on the school bus.  I think he was disappointed and consoled himself with the thought that if he left the poncho at home it wouldn't get ripped.

North Shore

We headed to the North Shore for Turtle Beach supposedly swarming with Turtles.  The road the guide told us to take had huge signs on it saying "Private Drive! Do Not Enter!"  I thought no way it was a private drive considering it has a government provided road name and sign but Charlie didn't want to drive down there anyway.  So we ended up on the wrong side of a huge deposit of giant boulders.  We started climbing over them and exploring the tide pools looking for turtles.  Charlie clambered ahead to see if he could spot any turtles to make the kids' boulder climbing efforts worthwhile.  He spotted 4 turtles and motioned for the rest of us to keep coming but it was slippery and near impossible to haul little kids.  By the time we got there (and heard Will screaming) they swam away.  I saw one shell, maybe two; but not really worth the effort.  We headed back to the sand with a few new scrapes, bruises and a soaked video camera. Oops.  Oh well, that's what adventure is all about, right?

Add caption

Burying kids in the sand.

The sculpture the kids and I made together.

Carter's floppy snorkel walk

Brianna and me playing together.

Every night at dinner, on vacation or at home, we ask the kids what their highlight of the day was.  Every day, no matter what we had done, the kids said their highlight was playing on the beach.  So we tried to cut out the excursions and extra stuff to just lounge on the beach.  

Resort at night. Carter loved the tiki torches.