We're all a little Nutty

Yesterday was a crazy day in America.  What started out as people wanting to stand together to show support and love turned into senseless violence and hatred-fueled actions. Before we read the news and saw what was happening throughout the country, we went on a "family" adventure.  I put quotations marks around "family" because there were only three of us there. ;) While father and son had a kayaking adventure, I sat on the shore and looked for birds.  I thought I'd see a bunch of dull grey ducks and gulls, but the actual birds I saw close by were strikingly beautiful. (I don't have good close up photos of the birds, so these are all from google images.) Yellow-headed Blackbird Bullock's Oriole Red-winged Blackbird Barn Swallows I felt there were some parallels in this.  Look around you.  Care about what you see.  Take the time to understand each other and our uniqueness.  Be guided by awe and powered by patience. There were lo...

Lizzie and I recently spent a glorious afternoon visiting with my parents and aunt at a nearby cemetery.  It was a perfect social distancing activity as we arranged flowers to decorate family graves, then enjoyed a picnic lunch together and laughed and talked and shared stories for over an hour afterward. Because I've been to several doctor's appointments lately and Lizzie has been to some mandatory in-person job training, we were extra careful to keep our distance.  That meant no hugging or getting close, even though we really wanted to.  Being unable to hug friends and family has been one of the hard parts of social distancing.  Seeing how disappointing it was for my parents and aunt to be with us but not get to hug us left with more compassion about how hard it must be to socially isolate for those who aren't surrounded with a house full of family members. The last few months have been hard on everyone.  We've had our share of ups and downs, but we'...

Lee took the kids to the middle of the state to scramble around on rocks on Saturday I've become quite enamored with quarantine living.  I miss seeing people, but otherwise, it is a lovely life and schedule we've had lately.  We went from having 2 kids at home to having 4.  Despite the emotional exhaustion of having life come to a screeching halt (especially for the kids), we've enjoyed the uninterrupted time we've had together.  There are still disputes, but not nearly as many as there might have been under regular circumstances.  We've played lots of games and taken lots of walks. Bike ride between Saturday General Conference sessions Resting in a hammock by the river up the canyon I walk with Sam every day (over the phone).  She takes pictures of interesting things she sees on her walk.  And I take pictures of the beautiful things on my side. Sam often finds treasures sitting out by the curb (since all the thrift shops aren'...