It's Estrogen Week At The Barrett House

Nathan is out of town! He's on the East Coast, having fun in our nation's capital. It's just us four girls at home for now. Therefore it behooves us--as girls--to spend this man-less weekend doing all the "girly" things we can. To wit:

Girls get haircuts. Of course, they don't usually do it to themselves, unless they are three and a half and reckless. Sadly, Aurora took matters into her own hands this last week, slicing off random locks of hair and then gloating about it to me afterwards. I suppose it was inevitable that this day should come; both my older girls have tried cutting their own hair, so it was natural for Aurora to eventually follow suit.

Aurora didn't actually cut off lots of her hair, but she trimmed it so haphazardly, and in so many different places, that only a drastic cut would smooth the whole thing out. I cried as I cut off her blond locks (a friend would later smooth out my work). Aurora has incredibly fine hair (it's still as thin as a baby's), and it grows out incredibly slowly. This cut was erasing more than a year of growth. When Aurora saw her new "look," she cried too. Hopefully that will scare her straight! However, being young and emotionally resilient, she bounced back fast.

I have to admit the short cut suits her. It makes her look even spunkier and more adventurous than usual. We will probably come to love the look over the next several months. In the meantime, though, Aurora's dreams of braids, ponytails, and "Rapunzel hair" will be a long-term goal to work towards.

Girls have slumber parties. Since I had my whole king-size bed to myself, I promised the girls we could all sleep together in it one of the nights Nathan was gone. Friday night seemed like the best bet, due to our busy weekend. After a trip to the new frozen yogurt shop in Sahuarita, and then a nice spaghetti dinner at a local restaurant, the girls were beat, and it was time for bed.

As you can see, they are absolutely adorable when they sleep. As you can also see, they are taking up a little more space than they used to, and there was nowhere for me to sleep. I spent the night on the couch downstairs. No big deal; our downstairs couch is very comfortable, and that way I was able to drift off to sleep in front of the television's glowing gaze (the television has been my most constant companion of late). And the girls had a great time snuggling up together through the night.

Girls like to party (and go to church too)! This last Saturday was quite busy, filled with things both spiritual and temporal. In the morning, we attended the baptism of one of Lorelai's oldest friends, who is also the son of one of my dear friends. It was great to feel the Spirit and see how happy everyone was; so soon after Lorelai's own baptism, it was a great reminder of the power of the Holy Ghost and the importance of baptism.

After returning home and doing some housework, it was time for the "party" portion of the day; we headed over to Fiesta Sahuarita, the town's huge annual festival/birthday party/celebration:

That big slide on the right? I went down it. The girls were too chicken this year :(

We have gone to Fiesta Sahuarita most of the years we've lived in this town, and the last two years have been especially fun. Mostly because of the awesome inflatable water park they've set up! We actually spent most of our time in the water park this year. The girls loved every minute of it.

They ran through an inflatable maze, shooting water pistols at each other...

...zipped down several different waterslides...

...got very wet, and had a very good time.

After a while, I encouraged them to head over to the main festival grounds, since we had to be home early that evening. They were somewhat reluctant to leave, but thankfully the mini-Ferris wheel changed their minds!

 

You can't see her face too well, but Aurora is literally shouting with excitement in there.

This was the first time Aurora has ever gotten to ride on a Ferris wheel (she was denied earlier this year at the Pima County Fair), so she was in seventh heaven.

While they spun around, I decided to buy a treat for them to share...their very first funnel cake!

They were suitably impressed, and couldn't believe I'd never bought them one before.

We also took a quick train ride before heading home; the girls always love the train rides.

After three hours in the warm autumn sun (thankfully, the temperature that day peaked around the high 80s), we hustled home to watch the LDS Church's General Relief Society Meeting. Usually, I prefer to dress up and go watch the meeting at the church building (it's always broadcasted there), but without Nathan to watch the girls and after our hot afternoon, it was a relief to watch it from the comfort of my own living room (at least I put a dress on, though!). Also to my relief, the girls behaved themselves rather well, sitting quietly through most of the broadcast, or going upstairs to play quietly, while I watched. It was nice to be able to hear the talks and feel the Spirit from the speakers, one of whom was Thomas S. Monson, president of the church.

Girls stay up late, eating ice cream and watching TV. Well, actually, that' just me doing all that this week. I've been trying to lose some weight lately, but having Nathan gone all week has put me in "stuff your face mode" (hopefully I can make it back up later!). I bought a bunch of new ice cream flavors, and have been greedily sampling them in front of the TV each night. Also, since it's harder to go to sleep without Nathan here, I've been watching TV late into the night every night, which leaves me cranky without sugar, which leads to the consumption of more soda and ice cream and on and on and on it goes.

So far in Nate's absence, I have watched the entire second season of HBO's drama/fantasy epic "Game Of Thrones." Now, I'm moving on to "Downton Abbey," the soapy British costume drama that all my friends are crazy about. So far so good (that applies to the television and the ice cream).

I can't wait until Nathan gets home, and I can have a little testosterone in the house again!

Why D.C.

Like many people, I have a number of "dream vacations" percolating in my head.  Some of them are more likely to happen than others.  Israel may not be a realistic dream until peace breaks out in the Middle East, but Italy is certainly a possibility someday.  Seven years ago, one of those dream vacations became a reality as I walked through the ruins of Palenque and Tikal. 

Of the dream vacations that I've got swimming around in my noggin, the most easily obtainable is a trip to Washington D.C.  I've described this up-coming trip as a "dream vacation" to a few people and have been met with confused or incredulous looks.  A dream vacation, it seems, should be exotic or foreign or sensational.  My dream of going to D.C. seems unimpressively prosaic and mundane when compared to others' dreams of London, or Beijing, or Cairo. 

And yet, Washington D.C. is a dream vacation for me.  Those who know me well know how much this trip means to me.  Those who know me extremely well know why this trip means so much.  This blog post is an attempt to put that "why" into words.  That why covers a lot of territory, from the sacred to the profane, from high culture to pop culture.

 

First, and probably most obvious, is my love of politics and D.C. is the nerve center of American politics.  Although I'm unlikely to witness any great policy debates, or to go to lunch with any lobbyists intent on swaying my opinion, just being in the same place where it all happens is an intoxicating idea.

Second, and related to my first point, is the number of books, movies, and TV shows that have taken me to D.C.  Because of my love of politics, my favorite pop culture selections are often those that take place in our nation's capitol.  I've read Tom Clancy and Vince Flynn for years and my favorite TV show is the West Wing.  Some of my favorite movies have iconic scenes in D.C., including "A Few Good Men," "Clear and Present Danger," and "National Treasure." 

Through these books, movies, and TV shows, I have often seen the sights of our nation's capitol.  There are multitudes of scenes of people meeting on the pathways around the tidal basin, or in front of the memorial to Ulysses S. Grant, or on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.  It'll be thrilling to be in the same place as these fictional events.

Third is my love of history and learning and museums.  Perhaps in no other place on earth, is there such a concentration of museums, most of them free.  These museums cover a wide range of human experience, from the American History Museum, to the Air and Space Museum, from the Museum of the American Indian, to the National Portrait Gallery.  I'm looking forward to lingering and pondering and learning as I mosey through each of these museums.

Finally, there is my love of American History, a love which borders on reverence.  Underneath the grit and grime of modern politics, the American ideal still resides unblemished and untarnished.  My trip to D.C. is almost a pilgrimage, as I look forward to quietly sitting on the steps of the Supreme Court, bowing my head in reverence at the Vietnam Memorial, and kneeling at the grave of Private First Class Ira Hayes. 

More than anything, it's this last reason that drives me to D.C. this week.  I've communed with the divine at precious times in my past: in the wilds of Colorado, on a hill overlooking the city of Tampico, Mexico, and in a quiet, shaded plaza in the ruins of an ancient city in the Peten jungle.  Now, as I walk where Lincoln walked, as I stand where dreams were shared, and as I honor those who went before, I hope to once more feel the divine spirit that has guided not only my own life, but so much of our nation's history.  Underneath the raucous and boisterous politicking at the heart of Washington, there is still a common creed that unites us as a nation, and a divine hand that upholds us as a people.  A visit to Washington D.C. is a chance for me to touch that history, to feel the tangible artifacts of our common creed, and to give thanks for the freedoms and liberties that are ours.

So, yes, Washington D.C. is a dream vacation, and one that will very soon be a reality.

Mr. Barrett Goes To Washington

No, he's not going as a former Boy Scout leader-turned Congressional representative...thank goodness. But yes, my wonderful husband Nathan is heading to Washington DC this week for the first time ever! He has never been to our nation's capital before, despite being a huge political junkie; a presidential election year is like a year-long Super Bowl for him. And yet, he's never had the opportunity to visit D.C. before. As you can imagine, he's very excited about it.

from tripadvisor.com

Before any of you start thinking Nathan is abandoning me to go off and have fun for a week...I want him to go, and I am very happy he gets this opportunity! The timing was right for him to go; some friends of ours from our Sahuarita LDS ward moved to the DC area just this summer, so Nathan will stay with them for a few days to save some money. Plus, he happens to be going during a national Free Museum Day promotion. That means, besides all the free Smithsonian museums, he'll be able to visit another, normally paid, museum for free! And finally, when Nathan started researching this trip several months ago, he found great round-trip fare tickets from Tucson to Washington. It was a confluence of events too good to pass up!

When I was in college, I spent a summer in Washington, D.C., doing an internship at the Library of Congress. It was one of the most fun few months of my life; I worked hard, then partied hard on the weekends, cruising every which way to visit all the sights on the east coast I'd never seen before. I also fell in love with D.C. itself; it's a beautiful city with a rich culture and history. I would definitely like to go back again someday, hopefully with the kids. However, we wanted to wait until they were a little older so they could fully appreciate the trip. In the meantime, though, this is an awesome chance for Nathan to go on a trip just for him; he will get to "soak in" the Washington D.C. experience without having to worry about anyone else. In fact, he is even meeting up with my brother Ray for a few days while in DC; Ray lives in Connecticut and it is hard for the family to visit him. I think those two will have a lot of fun palling around for the weekend!

It is true that I'm a little jealous of not getting to go along. However, I will have plenty of stuff to keep me busy while he's gone...piano lessons, school, Fiesta Sahuarita, a friend's baptism, and more. I also plan on taking the opportunity to catch up on some television shows Nathan's not interested in...I forsee some late nights of binge-watching in my immediate future! Finally (and most importantly), Nathan owes me now. Sometime in the near future (when the time is right), I will get a "me trip" of my own...it remains to be seen when and where that trip will happen, but I have plenty of time to start planning it!

So, look for some "guest posts" from Nathan in the coming weeks, as he shares photos and experiences from his trip. I realize this blog is technically "our" blog, but since I'm the one who usually does all the writing, it will be fun to have Nathan take over the reins for a while. But if the rest of the family has adventures without Daddy in the near future, you can expect blog posts on that as well! See you soon.

The Girls' Performing Arts Plans For The Year

Besides all the usual activities this school year (homework, piano teaching, church callings, etc.), all three of my girls will be participating in some sort of big performance late next spring. This is the first school year I've enrolled all three of my girls in some sort of extra-curricular activity. It has meant for a very busy few weeks, but I figure I'd better get used to it, because this is my life from now on! It's time to accept that I'm a mother of kids now, not just babies, and kids love to stay busy.

Anyway, here's what each of my girls has going on this year (from youngest to oldest):

Aurora is trying out dance class for the first time! I had a hard time deciding if we should sign Aurora up for dance class or soccer...she is a very fast runner and very high-energy, and she also has an aggressive streak that I suspect would make her a fierce sports competitor. In the end, though, I decided to give Aurora the chance to dance for a while. She has always been so jealous of her older sisters' dance classes, and she loves to wear Celeste's old tutus and flounce around the house. That made the decision easier.

Aurora is in the Creative Dance class, which is mostly just wiggling around and acting goofy. But Aurora is really excited by it; she feels very grown-up putting on her leotard and getting dropped off to dance on her own, without Mom hovering around. Her class is in the Sahuarita Dance studio in the southern part of town, so it's a little bit of a drive away, but so far so good! If she sticks it out, she and Celeste will be performing at the big annual recital next May.

Speaking of Celeste, she is returning to the Sahuarita Dance studio, after taking a year off for preschool last year. Since she has always been very into dancing, this felt like the easiest choice as far as my girls' extra-curricular activities went. Once in a while, Celeste says she also wants to play soccer, and I remember Lorelai's soccer seasons, when Celeste complained non-stop about how boring the game was, and fled the games at every opportunity. I suspect she only thinks she wants to play soccer, just because that's what Lorelai did at the same age. And then Celeste comes back from dance class and declares, "I love ballet! I ALWAYS want to do ballet!!"...and I feel that order has been restored into the universe.

This year, Celeste is doing Ballet I, with a few bigger girls. She's also the only girl in her class who doesn't have a pink leotard (hers is blue). The first day, she was ashamed of this fact, even though no one said anything mean to her. I think she's over that insecurity now, thankfully. Personally, I love that my daughter stands out in the class, both in costume and in beauty and personality (because I am not at ALL biased!).

Lorelai is breaking some new ground this year. In past years, she's danced, played soccer, played baseball, and taken part in a few after-school clubs. Over the last year, I've also started giving her piano lessons and she is starting to really do well at that and understand it a lot better. This year, we were trying to decide what she would like best; Lorelai wants to try a little bit of everything and she's always looking for new experiences. I just signed her up for a beginning karate class at the local community center. I suspect she will really enjoy karate; it has enough "action" to keep her entertained, yet it will also teach her discipline and self-control. Plus, it is a "solo" sport, which is good for Nathan and I, since we are a bit burned out on team sports for the time being. We blame Lorelai's baseball season this last winter for this.

However, a new and different extra-curricular activity also came up within the last month. It was an activity I was very excited about, and which I encouraged Lorelai to sign up for:

Our charter school will be putting on a play this year! Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella, to be exact. Tryouts were open for everyone at school from 3rd to 8th grade. The play's director is a friend and a former visiting teacher. I encouraged Lorelai to go try out, telling her she would have a great time no matter what part she got. This I know from personal experience...my siblings and I did a lot of children's theater, and I was involved in several plays in high school. I was even president of the drama club! And yet, I never had a major role in any play. I had a lot of fun being a crew member, or even just a chorus member. Theater is hard work but exhilirating. I hoped Lorelai would feel the same way.

Lorelai got the CD with the tryout music on it. She sang along happily to it all week. She went, she tried out...and she got a part! It's a small part, granted (she has one whole line!), but she will also fill in as a lady-in-waiting and a general chorus member. She is excited, and she's already been to one rehearsal. Some of her friends also got parts, and I think it will be a fun way to bond with them...so long as they don't release their inner drama queens! I am so excited to see her in a bunch of cute costumes, singing and dancing. I hope she has a lot of fun. The school will be working on the play all year long; it will be performed at the end of April. It should be a busy but fun experience, and I look forward to seeing the final results.

Now let's see if I don't go crazy shuttling my little performers back and forth the whole school year!

Lorelai's "Baptism Week"

The blog has been a secondary concern in recent weeks, due to our family getting ready for my oldest daughter Lorelai's baptism. In our faith (the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints), eight is considered the "age of accountability," and is the minimum age at which a person may be baptized and confirmed a member of the church in full standing. We have all been scrambling around getting prepared for that special day, and my mind has been constantly dwelling on the baptism for weeks. I was hoping and praying that everything would turn out well...and now that I have time to catch my breath a little, I wanted to write about it before life got in the way again!

In the months leading up to the baptism, Nathan and I promised each other that we wouldn't "push" Lorelai into baptism before she was ready...even if that meant waiting a little while after her birthday. However, we have been pleasantly surprised and impressed by her spiritual maturation over the summer, and we both knew she was ready for baptism. She has become so much more interested in her church lessons, and in our family scripture reading. She's been eager to share her testimony. And best of all, she understands that baptism is a promise to God; Lorelai has been promising me that she'll be "good" every Sunday and always try to help others, just as she has promised to do. It has warmed my heart and made me feel very happy going forward.

Grandma Barrett made the cute dress, and our friend Deidre took the cute pictures. Thanks all!!

The timeline over the last few weeks has been crowded, but everything blessedly fell into place. Right after Lorelai turned eight (on a Monday), she was able to attend an Activity Day event with other girls her age in church (on a Wednesday). Activity Days are bi-monthly meetings for girls eight through eleven (in our ward, we have enough girls that they are divided into an older group and a younger group). At the meetings, the girls get together to socialize, learn, create, and have fun. Lorelai's first Activity Day was a "fancy dinner," in which the girls were able to have a nice dinner together and learn about manners and etiquette. The next Activity Day involved making bead necklaces. At this writing, we are preparing for her next Activity Day, which is apple-themed: she will bob for apples and make apple turnovers as a snack.

I've sometimes wondered how Lorelai will enjoy Activity Days long-term; she is my tomboy, and sometimes she wishes she could join the local Cub Scout den, which is also run through our church. Many of her boy friends are attending it, and she sometimes laments that their activities "sound cooler." However, she has really enjoyed her first few Activity Day meetings, and I have a feeling she will blossom a bit and over time will discover some of her "feminine" interests that she sometimes puts on the back burner. She has been a little shy at first, but it will be fun to hear about all her adventures in Activity Days over the years.

About two weeks before the baptism, Lorelai had her baptismal interview with our ward's bishop, Dan Bezzant. He is a great man and I worked closely with him when I served as Primary president. He is very thoughtful, gentle and kind, and I was so happy he would be the one to interview Lorelai and give her baptism the "okay." The interview went smoothly; after that, all that remained was to prepare the program for the baptism, and to prepare for my parents arriving from out of town!

My mom flew in late Tuesday night, September 3rd. After letting her sleep in a little bit the next morning, we hit the road and did some major shopping. My mother is a very generous soul, and since she'd only be with us for a few days, it was great to be spoiled by her for a little while! She kindly helped me buy some new shirts, some new ballet shoes for Aurora, and (most importantly) a new vacuum for our house! Ironically, she bought our previous vacuum for us as well, many years ago. I guess buying vacuums for us is one of her major jobs! Our old vacuum finally succumbed to old age several months ago, so the new vacuum was desperately needed! We also took mom/Grandma Nash to Celeste's dance class that afternoon, which she totally enjoyed (as much as she could while holding a zonked-out Aurora on her lap, anyway). Then, that night, the missionaries came over to give Lorelai a short (but sweet) lesson on baptism and repentance that everyone enjoyed...especially the girls! They are completely in love with the sister missionaries currently serving in our ward.

As luck would have it, our charter school was holding its annual Grandparents' Day the same weekend my mom was in town. She was very happy to go and see both Lorelai and Celeste in their classrooms, help them each out with craft projects, share a snack, and get their pictures taken together. They all had a great time.

Celeste's class made picture frames for their grandparents

Aurora got an extra frame, so she wouldn't feel left out.

She took this picture with Grandma, to fit inside the frame!

Everyone met for a snack on the grass afterwards

Celeste had so much fun with Grandma!

In Lorelai's class, Grandma read stories with her and did another art project

These two sure love each other!

I have to digress for a moment to give thanks to my mom. She has had a very busy summer; right after our family reunion in June, she and my dad decided to finally sell their home...my childhood home that they'd lived in for 32 years! They spent the whole rest of the summer frantically getting everything together, and getting ready to transition into their retirement home (which was luckily just a few short miles away). Then, in another totally unexpected event, my dad got a job...right as they were about to move!! He has been on the board of directors for a small local bank for a few years now; he was called in to choose a new CEO for that bank, in what will be a temporary (but full-time) position.

That left mom handling most of the moving details herself; a difficult task, even with ward members helping. They moved on Lorelai's birthday...August 12th, and were still half living out of boxes by the time the week of the baptism arrived. Needless to say, my mom was a little overwhelmed by having so much to do and facing so much change. I am so grateful she was such a good sport coming to Arizona after all for the baptism, and still having the energy and enthusiasm to play with the girls and work with me to do so many things. I love her and I hope she had a relaxing, enjoyable time here overall!

My father wasn't going to miss the baptism though, new job or not. He flew into town late Friday night...just in time for the baptism on Saturday morning!

In our LDS stake (the Sahuarita Stake), baptisms for eight-year-olds are usually held monthly, on the first Saturday of each month. On that day, all the kids who turned eight during the previous month will be baptized, usually with each ward taking turns using the font, and then dispersing to various other rooms in the building to do the confirmation ceremony. For this particular baptism ceremony, though, a lot of kids would be participating. Lorelai's friend Sydney, who is in our ward, actually has twin cousins in another ward who would also be baptized that same day. And by an incredible coincidence, Lorelai's school friend Clark is a part of the twin cousin's ward. So instead of going "by ward" as usual, the Sahuarita First and Fourth Wards ended up "mixing it up" so that family members and friends could get baptized together.

Lorelai with Grandpa & Grandma Barrett

Lorelai with Grandma & Grandpa Nash

Lorelai with all her grandparents!

The baptism program went wonderfully. Nathan's parents were able to attend, so both sets of Lorelai's grandparents were present. Early in the program Lorelai, Celeste, and three other girls sang the Primary song "When I Am Baptized" in front of the whole congregation. It was very sweet to see Lorelai and two other girls singing happily, dressed in their white jumpsuits for the baptism. Celeste ended up being a little shy and not singing at all, just staring blankly at the audience. And Aurora loved the song so much she started dancing gracefully through the aisles! All my girls were acting extra-adorable.

The baptism itself went off without a hitch. Nathan said all the right words, Lorelai went completely under the water after taking a deep, loud breath (in our church, we do full-immersion baptism), and we got her all dried off and dressed up in time to head to the Primary room for the confirmation portion of the program.

Lorelai chose Grandpa Nash to confirm her a member of the church. The confirmation is a special prayer said by a priesthood holder; it has some specific wording so as to grant the Gift of the Holy Ghost, yet it can also be a prayer with very specific, personal blessings for the individual. Seeing my own father give the blessing (and remembering how he did that for me at the same age, and what a wonderful experience that was) made the prayer a special experience for me.

Lorelai's last "birthday present"...her own set of scriptures!

And her very own scripture case, too!

When everything was done, I was on a spiritual high. Lorelai was happy, all the ordinances went smoothly, we had loving family members present, and we felt the Lord beaming down on all of us. It was actually a rainy Saturday (unusual for early September in Arizona), but the drizzles did nothing to dampen my mood. In fact, the spiritual boost carried on throughout the day for all of us; Lorelai got to attend the birthday party of one of her best friends that afternoon; Nathan attended a second baptism that afternoon (for a teenage convert in our ward; it was the first baptism he's presided over as ward mission leader!); and we had a large rib & brat dinner with both sets of grandparents and had some great conversation.

Our happy family post-baptism

Our silly family post-baptism

The weekend seemed over all too soon for me; the very next day I drove my parents to the airport and we said our (somewhat tearful) goodbyes. Lorelai cried too, as she always does when she says goodbye to her family living far away. But we are so glad everyone was here. We are so proud of our beautiful daughter and are so impressed watching her grow up. We are so full of love for one another. We felt the Spirit of the Lord strongly all weekend, whispering His approval to us.

We are so proud of our awesome girl.

 This baptism was definitely one of our family's "landmark events" for the year! Now that it's over, we are excited to see what the rest of 2013 will bring.