April 26, 2016
And it's still raining. Good thing I love rain. It seems like I get rained on every day. Tomorrow it might not rain, then I will pull weeds and make sense of the gardens.
We had a great time in New York. It was fun to see Alex and Rachel. New York State is a beautiful, friendly place. I really enjoyed it. We were very comfortable there in Alex's apartment. We toured Ithaca, Cornell campus, his office and department, and some villages and towns around the lake. We saw Niagara Falls, a world class art museum in Buffalo, had delicious fish and chips, Austrian food, beet burgers, and yummy brunch. I realized how competitive and pressured Alex's degree path is. But he seems to enjoy it and does well.
Travis ran a trail race in Poland in the mountains to the south. I saw some film of it. Seems like they ran in rain and fog most of the time. Travis said they slipped and slid a lot. He thinks he ruined his shoes. Not the most satisfying event. We are going to Poland in September and also to Northern Italy. That should be fun.
Our pregnant moms are doing well. Neither of them suffer from nausea. I am glad for that. The babies are healthy and growing. It will be fun to see them this summer. Dad and I are flying to LAX next week to see Ty and Dawn and the girls for a long weekend.
Danny and Jenni are starting to see the finish line on their two bedroom basement project. I realized that they would have to rebuild a lot of their house when they bought it. And I think they have the chops! (my friend in theater says that all the time). They have passed every inspection so far. Needless to say they have saved themselves a lot of money and helped demonstrate do-it-yourself skills to the next generation.
Rilee had to work last week putting on three events, then Tommy had to work Sunday. Rilee will start working from home soon until the baby is born.
We will be in Port Hueneme for Mother's Day. I didn't even realize that when we booked the trip. I hope that doesn't mean Dawn has to work harder. We feel like we haven't seen them for a long time. The girls are doing well in school.. Mother's Day is kind of a screwy holiday, but I always enjoy just talking to you. We are travelling a lot this year. We are also looking for a newer car. Maybe a new one. It's funny, but I have a lot of aquaintances who never go anywhere and always drive new cars and we go everywhere and I think it's a ridiculous expense.
We went to a funeral this last week for a good friend of ours. (She's in our downtown ward). She was buried in an obscure Magna cemetery called Pleasant Green. It was up in the western hills. I was surprised by the seclusion and the view. and the gophers and sage brush and lack of landscaping and grass. I thought it was lovely. They had real upright old headstones. I think landscaped cemeteries in the city are ridiculous. ( I guess I formed this opinion when I saw the ivy covered Jewish Cemetery in Lodz.) Don't you think a cemetery should be sort of a wild, haunted place not a golf course? People had even built fences around graves and benches and left lawn chairs. You could have a bbq there and no one would care. Nice.
And the elections. I'm sorry. I apologize. America should be doing a lot better than this. Hang on to decency, kindness and civility. We need to practice those things. The world doesn't need any more uncouth, rude, vulgar people. Since when do potential presidential candidates model the worst behaviors?
So this month Ollie has a birthday on the 27th I think. He will be nine years old. Rilee and Tommy have their fifth anniversary. If I'm wrong, you need to post a correction. Next month many birthdays and a new baby. Oh! Dawn and Tyler and Danny and Jenni also have an anniversary on the same day. Here I go guessing: seven for Dawn and Tyler and thirteen for Danny and Jenni?
We're going out to dinner tonight with the other senior missionaries. That should be fun.
Take care of each other and your little ones.
Love, Mom
