Our Karate Kid

Besides the school play that she's been practicing for all year, Lorelai has also been busy with another project over the last couple of months. She signed up for a beginning karate class at the local community center!

It's been a little difficult to come up with a sport for Lorelai to do lately; she loved playing soccer for a couple of years, and then she tried a season of baseball, but she hasn't done anything since. She has been interested in trying karate for a while, though, and Nathan and I have wanted to give her the chance. Since karate is a more "individualized" sport, she could progress at her own pace, without feeling the pressure to perform for a team. Also, she is still an energetic, hyper gal who doesn't always know her own strength. Several times lately, Lorelai has started jumping around happily and then accidentally whacked me (or another family member) and injured us in her excitement. Right now, she's all elbows and knees and sharp corners that have become hazards to the rest of the family! Hopefully, taking karate lessons will help her channel her energy and learn to better coordinate and control her body.

The beginner's course was six weeks long, running every Saturday morning in January and the first part of February. It was held at the local rec center in Anamax Park, not far from our old church building. The instructor was Mr. Filep. He was tall, tough, and talked in a loud, deep, very confident voice. He reminded us a little bit of "Rex Kwan Do" from the movie Napoleon Dynamite, though much less ridiculous of course!!

Lorelai, being a little shy of new adults, was pretty intimidated by Mr. Filep at first. He insisted that the kids all stand up straight, hold still, and respond to all his remarks with "yes, sir" or "no, sir." After a lesson or two, though, the kids got more comfortable with his routine, and it was neat to see how much more disciplined and responsive they became over that time. There were only three kids in the class, which turned out to be a great benefit. It meant that each kid got a lot of personalized attention from the instructor, and got to participate in all the clean-up and set-up drills.

Due to the short duration of the class, the kids didn't get to learn a ton of unique moves. However, they learned a lot of basic poses, punches, kicks, thrusts, and the like. Mr. Filep encouraged the kids to practice them at home (although I'm not sure Lorelai ever followed up on that...oops). However, she was always eager to come home afterwards and tell her sisters about what she'd learned.

The class ended all too soon. At least we got to keep a T-shirt, and the memories! We put Lorelai on the waiting list for a spot in the actual martial arts studio (the classes are always full and waits of several months are common; however, Lorelai's participation in this beginner class should help her move more quickly up the queue). In addition, a friend of ours is hoping to start his own karate studio next year, possibly in a friend's garage; that may be another option for us to consider.

Unfortunately, we're not sure when exactly we'll be ready to put Lorelai back into karate; our budget might not allow it in the short term, especially with Aurora's preschool costs looming this fall. But it's something we can definitely see Lorelai doing in the future; she was excited by it and eagerly looked forward to each week. Here's hoping we get our very own "karate kid" before too long.

Getting To Know Our New Temple

Well, it's February, and of course I have been neglecting the blog all month, like I seem to do every year. Thank goodness for Nathan and his transcriptions of all the cute stuff our girls used to do when they were teeny-tiny! The delay is also due to some unavoidable technical complications, like the graphics card in our computer finally going kaput *sob*. But the month isn't over yet! Hopefully I'll have time to fill you in on what we've been up to lately.

Way back at the beginning of February 2014, our family took a trip up to the Phoenix area to visit an LDS temple. For once, however, we weren't traveling to see the temple in Mesa. Until very recently, the Mesa Arizona temple was the only temple in the Phoenix area. But no more! Another large (and very beautiful) LDS temple has been built in Gilbert, a suburb just south of Mesa.

When the Mormon church builds a new temple, it traditionally holds an "open house" for the new building. The church invites the general public (young and old, believers and non-believers) to tour the inside of the temple and the grounds. The open house usually lasts a few weeks; shortly thereafter the building is "dedicated" in a formal religious ceremony. After that point, only qualified members of the LDS faith will be allowed inside the temple to do work there.

 

We were very excited to get our first look inside the new temple; we'd briefly glimpsed the outside of it during our family trip to Phoenix in December. We were also very happy for our girls to have a chance to look inside the temple; once it is dedicated, they won't be able to visit it again until they are teenagers. Open houses can be a great opportunity for us to teach our families about temples and what they represent to our faith. They can also inspire our girls to lead righteous, pure lives so as to be ready to enter the Lord's house when they are old enough. That was one of our hopes in making this visit...that, and seeing the finished result of a building that has been many years in arriving!

We got tickets to the open house online before coming (they were free, but limited for the purpose of crowd management). Even with our tickets, we had to wait outside in line for about forty-five minutes! Luckily it was a warm pleasant day and everyone around us was in a good mood. It was nice to stare at the temple while we waited, too.

The girls got to frolic in the grass while Nathan and I stood in line. Ah, the joys of being young.

Before going inside the temple itself, we took a short trip into the nearby stake center (a standard LDS meetinghouse with weekly public meetings). Inside the stake center, visitors were greeted by missionaries and shown a short video detailing the history of the area and the construction of the temple. We got started a little late because of a sound issue; by this point my girls were getting a bit impatient. Luckily, we headed inside the temple shortly after that!

Before entering the temple, we had to put small cloth "booties" over our shoes, so as not to tramp excess dirt into the shiny brand-new building. My girls were totally fascinated by the booties; in fact, it may have been more interesting to them than some of the stuff we actually saw inside the temple itself!

Small design motifs were everywhere, inside the temple and out

Photographs weren't allowed inside the temple, but here's a link from a local news affiliate that contains several interior shots. As is so often the case in these temples, the craftsmanship and level of detail were breathtaking. This is clearly a temple made for Arizona, as many of the design motifs inside and outside the building involve desert plants. One recurring motif is the presence of agave leaves and blossoms. The agave is a desert bush with fleshy leaves; it looks pretty nondescript most of the year, but when the plant flowers, it is very dramatic: a huge stem shoots up from the bush several feet in the air, with lots of colorful flowers bursting in all directions from the tip.

The agave is a very cool plant I've learned to love during my time here in Arizona, so I was very pleased to see reflections of it everywhere: the stained-glass exterior windows; the wooden pews in the Baptistry; the imprinted carpet in the stunning Celestial Room; and even imprinted on each doorknob inside the building. It was really gorgeous. Behind the reception desk in the main entrance, there are several glass windows featuring blooming agave that were so beautiful they took my breath away.

Inside, all the rooms seemed bigger then their Mesa temple counterparts, especially the sealing rooms. There are more endowment rooms, which should make for more streamlined temple sessions (and less wait time for visitors). There is even a large "wedding party lounge" on an upper floor, so family and friends of the bride and groom can sit and visit peacefully before and after a marriage without getting tripped on by other temple visitors who are entering and exiting the building (this happens a lot in the Mesa temple!).

from abc15.com

I thought the baptismal font was quite beautiful as well; the font's interior seemed completely lined with thick sea-green glass tile, and it made a lovely effect with the water. There was only one problem; the font was completely full of water, and there was no gate in front of the entrance, which led my kids to think it was a swimming pool and open for business! Luckily, we were able to grab eager hands and skedaddle out of there before they were able to dive in. It was the only "hiccup" in our otherwise peaceful and spiritual tour.

When we visited the sealing room, we were able to show the girls the facing mirrors, and show them their reflections that bounced back and forth into "eternity" (thus symbolizing the eternal nature of temple marriage). Aurora proudly announced that she would be marrying Benson (her cute little friend from church) in that very sealing room. I sure hope poor Benson will be ready for Aurora's advances!

After seeing all the main rooms, and slowly descending the many large staircases in the temple (the main entry in particular has a gorgeous, curvy main staircase leading to the upper floors), we emerged from the newest House of the Lord, to walk the grounds for a little while and admire the beautiful landscaping and exterior.

This beautiful tiered fountain is a highlight too.

 

 

We were so grateful for the opportunity to visit the Gilbert Temple, and Nathan and I look forward to going inside again soon. I am especially grateful our girls got to see the temple inside and out, and I can't wait for them to be old enough to go inside again and help do the Lord's work. Granted, we may only need to visit the Gilbert Temple for a short time; A Tucson Temple has been announced by the church, and with any luck it will begin construction soon. We have hoped for years to have a temple closer to us and we pray that our city will have its chance before much more time has passed. In the meantime though, the Gilbert Temple will probably make that wait a little bit easier. This weekend, the temple will be dedicated and prepared for use by church members. I am so thankful for this gorgeous building and the blessings it will bring to the state of Arizona and its people.

Flashback Sunday: Lorelai, August 2009

Nathan here! In 2009, we started a journal for Lorelai and Celeste, in which Adrianne and I could record the cute and heartwarming things our daughters did.  However, the journal entries stopped rather suddenly once we started keeping this blog.  In a very real sense, then, these journals were the precursors to Grinnin' Barretts.  Every Sunday, I'll be recording a few pages from these journals.

August 2, 2009

[Nathan]: Lorelai likes making up new words.  Last night, she told me, "I'm gonna tell you a good word."  I asked her "What?"  She told me, "Lilee."  I asked her "What does that mean?"  Her answer: "Lots of people die.  Then they put on shoes and walk and walk and walk and go to Taco Bell and then they have a snack at Taco Bell." 

August 3, 2009

 [Nathan]: Home again.  Lorelai is such a good traveler.  She doesn't complain or whine.  She sits quietly, reads, colors, or just looks out the window.

Tonight we resumed a game we had first played a few weeks ago.  After her bath, and after she is dressed, we spread her towel on the ground and go for a ride on the "flying carpet."  Tonight, we "visited" both Uncle Ray and Aunt Adrienne, as well as Uncle Paul, Aunt Jocelyn, Abigail, Elaine, and Simon.

August 4, 2009

[Adrianne]: Today was Lorelai's first day at her new preschool--Kid's Academy, taught by Julie Bingham.  She seemed to really enjoy herself (and cried bitterly when it was time to leave!).  We will have to buy her a full-sized backpack to carry her binder to and from preschool; we might do that tomorrow.  This afternoon, however, Lorelai was more tired and cranky than usual.  I guess even preschool has an adjustment period, like a "regular" school.  That, and the fact that we were on the road for eight hours yesterday.

August 5, 2009

[Adrianne]: I got to go on the "magic carpet ride" tonight with Lorelai.  We visited Aunt Adrienne and Uncle Ray, Simon's house, and the "ball house," at which we borrowed some balls to play with at our house.  Lorelai's imagination is really taking off and her memory is improving, too.  I heard her reciting some lines from "Finding Nemo," almost verbatim, to herself; she hasn't seen the movie in a while.  My daughter is a clever one. 

August 6, 2009

[Nathan]: Last year, whenever I gave Celeste a bottle, I would often watch an episode of "Angel" while I did so.  Lorelai would sometimes watch with me.  I wonder if that's why she's so obsessed with monsters.  Or maybe it's all the computer games she watches me play.

I told her monsters were not allowed in our house.  Tonight, she matter of factly informed me that monsters can't come in because "it's too loud." Her prayer tonight also include a request for protection from monsters.

August 7, 2009

[Adrianne]: My three thoughts on Lorelai for the day:

1. She rarely naps these days, but when she does, it's always late in the afternoon and she gets VERY grumpy when she's woken up.  The funk often continues for the remainder of the evening.

2.  She has a deep, sincere fear of wind.  Yes, wind.  Air that moves.  We're not sure where this comes from (although a joke of Nathan's may have set it off), but it's become quite an issue.  She points out the window fearfully every time she sees trees moving, insists that we stow her outdoor toys away, and cries when Celeste goes outside to play, for fear of her blowing away.  When she herself gets caught in the wind, she gets extremely agitated and keeps insisting that she (or any of us, or even our house) won't blow away--probably to convince herself.  It's a problem.  We don't know how to deal with it yet.

3. Tonight, I looked in on Lorelai in the bubble bath, and she told me, "Mom, you've got to get out of here, if you want to stay alive." Turns out there was "a monster" somewhere in the bathroom.  Funny stuff!

August 9, 2009

[Adrianne]: This week, my baby girl turns four.  I love her so much and am so excited watching her grow. Over the last couple of days, she has become a "hero," a fact she reminds us of over and over.  She spends the day finding imaginary monsters throughout the house (under the table, on the ceiling, etc.) and attacking them with her toy sword (or, later, her "new magic wand," AKA the pencil she was given in Primary as a birthday present).  She also says things like "I'm a hero that's brave!" Or "now this hero has to go to church!" That's pretty heroic, I must admit.

August 11, 2009

[Adrianne]: After four hours of preschool today (2+ hours of screening at the Early Childhood Center and another 2 hours at Kid's Academy) Lorelai was really pooped.  When I asked her if she wanted a cookie, she said no, while staring into space.  Now that's tired.  Her "big girl backpack" is hilarious; it's full-size and it reaches down to her knees when she's wearing it.  Hopefully, it will serve her well for a long time (years, maybe?) to come.

August 12, 2009

[Adrianne]: Happy birthday, Lorelai!.  Today you turned four years old.  We opened your presents this morning.  Later we bought you a few presents and went out for lunch and ice cream.  You are a smart, beautiful girl who will do many great things in your life.  Through all that is to come, I hope you never stop smiling; that smile of yours can light up a room!  I am so proud of you and hope you have a wonderful year of being four--learning, growing, and experiencing all you can.  I love you.

[Nathan]: For almost a year now, you've been talking about your next birthday and all the cupcakes you would eat on your birthday.  Usually, you planned to have two and when asked, Celeste would have one.  ON one occasion, I asked you how many cupcakes Momma would eat on your birthday and you replied "seventeen."

After all that talk about cupcakes, we ended up not eating any.  You had brownies and vanilla ice cream as your birthday treat.  You've always been unique and you will always be something special.  I love you.

August 14, 2009

[Adrianne]: Tonight we celebrated Lorelai's birthday by taking her out to eat at Peter Piper Pizza. We met our friends, the Nielsens, there, and their son Conner goofed off with Lorelai all night.  After eating pizza, the kids spent the rest of the night in the arcade, playing whack-a-mole, skeeball, and Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift.  They also rode in a super-weird University of Arizona football helmet that played music.  Weird.  Anyways, when all was said and done, we got both our girls balloons and with our ticket winnings, picked out a heart necklace and Snow White figurine for Lorelai.  Conner also got her a jumbo coloring book and watercolors.  All in all, a really fun night.  Happy Birthday, Lorelai. 

August 17, 2009

[Adrianne]:  Lorelai's "monster" obsession is both funny and a little sad.  It's exciting to see her imagination at work, and hearing the things her brain comes up with is a lot of fun.  Lately, she's taken to shooting "arrows"--pantomimed--at everyone who may or may not be a "monster." She does this because she is, of course, "a big hero" as she sometimes reminds us.  However, that vivid imagination may make those monsters seem real.  Tonight, when we visited the Children's Museum, she seemed really excited to see the dinosaurs, until she got into the same room as them!  They're life-sized, animatronic puppets, who move their heads and blink.  In no time, she tearfully asked to be led out.  They were a little too vivid for that imagination of hers.  Hopefully, they won't trouble her dreams.

August 18, 2009

[Adrianne]: Today, at preschool, Lorelai had "Doctor Day." She got a first-aid bag (complete with band-aids), a medical certificate, and even a surgical mask (a green napkin with a rubber band attached).  She "fixed me up" this afternoon; as I lay in pain on the ground, she put a bandage on my head and poured medicine down my throat.  She'll be a great caregiver someday.

[Nathan]:  We got Lorelai a small bike for her birthday.  It was given to us by a family in the ward.  It needed some work, and last week I patched the tires, and replaced the pedals.  Today, after re-patching the rear tire, we took it out for a quick ride. We still have a long way to go, but teaching my child to ride a bike is something I've dreamed about for year.

August 19, 2009

[Adrianne]: Lorelai's behavior today at the photo studio was great; during her individual portraits, I didn't even have to be in there with her!  She made all the right poses and did what the photographer asked.  I'm so proud of her; she's getting so big.  Of course, she was a lot more wiggly when she and Celeste were getting heir group photo taken; but I attribute that to Celeste's age and her wandering feet and attention span.  Man, photographing two little kids at once is tough!  Just wait until it's three at once.

August 24, 2009

 [Adrianne]:  This weekend, Lorelai picked flowers at a park we visited.  She handed them to me and said, "Now, you can give these to Daddy.  Then, he'll marry you!"  Funny.  Lorelai, at least, understands that marriage and motherhood is connected.  She's always telling us how she's going to marry her friend Conner Nielsen, "and then she'll be a mom!"  Thus far, Conner has no objections to this master plan (that I know of).

In other news, Lorelai's starting to sleep through the night without pull ups on, about every other night.  It would be nice if we could get her completely "weaned" before baby #3 arrives.

August 25, 2009

[Nathan]: Lorelai joined us today for Momma's doctor's appointment.  Throughout the visit, she was worried that the doctor would take the baby.  We had to reassure her that the doctor was just making sure that the baby was healthy and strong.

August 27, 2009

[Adrianne]: Book Club tonight was at our house.  Before going to bed, Lorelai insisted that she give every person visiting a kiss (about five to six ladies).  We had to explain that good night kisses are for family members only.  Needless to say, our reasoning didn't sit well with her; she cried loudly all the way to bed, and for a long time thereafter.

August 30, 2009

[Adrianne]:  Our child's moods are still quite hard to pin down.  Today, when Daddy gave Lorelai "only" seven chocolate-covered almonds, she insisted she wanted more, then dissolved into a sweaty, shaking, tear-streaked screaming mess for the next half hour.  Guess what finally cheered her up?  She looked down my shirt at my breasts while sitting on my lap and had a great laugh about it.  Sometimes it's hard to believe that she's the "oldest."

Another funny thing from this weekend: we all sat in the girls school bus play-tent, "drove" to the library, and checked out two books: one about sunglasses and the other about flags, which Lorelai insisted I read to her.  Seeing as these books were imaginary, I had to make them up on the fly.  It was a fun imagination exercise for both of us.

Also, according to Lorelai, when Christmastime is here, we'll all eat her birthday cake.  News to me!

Eating Like The Russians Do

Tonight I am sitting in front of our television, watching the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia. I always enjoy watching the Olympics...they've been a regular fixture on my televisions since childhood. I was able to land a broadcasting internship during the Salt Lake City Olympics back in 2002, and I consider it a highlight of my college years. Nathan and I prefer the Winter Olympics to the Summer Games, in part because we grew up in Colorado, a winter-sports hot spot. Nathan likes to watch the skiing, since he spent many weekends on the slopes as a boy. I am a sucker for the speed skating and bobsledding, myself. I could never do any of these things, but I really admire and respect the athletes for what they do!

This year, I am especially excited to watch the Olympics because they take place in Russia, a country near and dear to my heart. I find myself unreasonably excited every time I see Cyrillic writing on the Olympic banners, or hear Russian being spoken in the background (and foreground!). My attachment to Russia began as a child; my mother was a Russian major in college and she filled me with a desire to learn more about that country. Many of these desires were fulfilled as a young adult, when I was blessed to serve a mission for the LDS Church in Moscow. It was a challenging but immensely rewarding experience and I learned so much. The mission was a deeply spiritual experience in which I grew closer to God and was able to help others do the same. At the same time, I grew to love the people of Russia, their culture, their music, and their food.

Yes, their food! I realize Russia is not a country known for its cuisine. And that's understandable; on my mission, I discovered (and was served) a lot of really, ahem, interesting food, some of which appeared mysterious and/or dangerous. However, there is a lot of Russian food that is quite delicious as well, if you will take the time to look for it. They don't have a lot of fancy ingredients; Russian meals tend to use lots of meat, potatoes, and other root vegetables. But they find lots of variety in the way those ingredients are used. While Russian food will never be my favorite, I have found it serves as good "comfort food," especially in cold weather.

So when winter rolls around, I often find myself longing for borscht (the classic Russian soup made with cabbage and beets, topped with sour cream). Unfortunately, my family does not share my affection for Russian cuisine. Nathan and the girls are all grossed out by anything with beets in it, and they are iffy on cabbage as well. That narrows the options somewhat on what I can prepare for them.

But this last month, I really wanted borscht; I just couldn't cater to my family's limited palates any more! However, my borscht recipe makes quite a lot of soup...enough to feed a small crowd. What to do? Invite friends over to share it, of course! In fact, I decided to take it one step further...I "upgraded" my borscht dinner into a large pot-luck, in which everyone who came prepared a Russian dish of their own. I have a fairly large collection of Russian recipes: appetizers, salads, breads, and desserts. I e-mailed more than a dozen of these recipes to my interested friends; we planned on having quite a large gathering!

For the dinner, I decided to make the borscht (of course), as well as the "Olivier" salad, which is a super-fancy potato salad that includes peas, carrots, and ham. I love it (And Nathan actually really likes it too, which is a plus when we're trying to finish off leftovers). I also decided to find some actual Russian-style black rye bread and sausage as appetizers. Luckily there is an Eastern European food market up in Tucson, so before the dinner, I headed on up to pick up some authentic imported food.

I loved talking to the Ukrainian store owner; he was a really nice guy who gave me a discount on everything because I was able to speak Russian with him (with a small degree of success). I found the food pictured above; the bread was from Lithuania, but it definitely had the right "Russian" flavor (American rye bread just isn't the same!).

I got Russian mayonnaise for the "Olivier" salad; it didn't end up tasting all that different from the American variety, but I was happy I got it anyway. The shop-owner helped me select a small Russian sausage (they would frequently serve it at tea-time or as an appetizer). Russian sausage is probably not the world's best; it is usually really fatty and a little bitter to the taste. It's really distinctive though, so I didn't want to do the party without it!

I also found this "delicious" stuff...

KVAS!! For lack of a better description, it's Russian root beer. It's made from fermented rye and barley (translation: rotten bread...YUCK). The sweet European store-owner asked me if I wanted the entire keg of kvas that was sitting in his refrigerator. Ummm...no. One bottle would be quite sufficient, thank you. It's hard to explain the taste...it's carbonated, but pretty bitter. There's almost no sweetness to it at all. Maybe it's something like what beer tastes, but I wouldn't know!

Some of the other foods I had people make were:
-Pelmeni: Russian "ravioli". Small dumplings filled with meat and boiled. Jani cooked an "Alaskan" version of pelmeni, which was a little spicier than the Russian variant and very yummy!
-Pirozhky: These are baked calzone-style pies. Sometimes they're filled with meat; other times with cabbage or potatoes. For my dinner, my friend Shannon made the meat and cabbage varieties.
-Vinegret: Another Russian potato salad, this time with pickles and beets. My friend Bethany made this. Very tasty!
-Another beet-based salad, this one with minced garlic and pickles in it. Soo delicious (in case you can't tell, I acquired a definite taste for beets while on my mission). My friend Lexi made a large bowl of this!
-Plov: A Georgian rice pilaf, with diced meat, garlic, carrots and onions. Very fatty and delicious, especially prepared by my pal Amanda.
-Bean salad: This salad involves mashed white beans, mingled with fried chunks of rye bread. Kind of wierd but very filling and flavorful. My friend Sarah put this together.
-Julien: A very creamy side dish; basically, it's sliced mushrooms in a heavy cream sauce. Shannon made this as well, and it was divine.
-Golubtsi: Cabbage rolls, stuffed with meat and rice. An acquired taste, but I've come to really like them. My friend Amber made these.
-More rye bread! I know I'd already bought some loaves, but my friend Amber wanted to try her hand at it. And who was I to refuse?

This is the store-bought bread

Here are some other foods I assigned, that didn't make it to the dinner (the ladies who volunteered weren't able to make it)
-Ikra: Eggplant "caviar," a savory appetizer that works well as a spread on bread or crackers.
-Blini: essentially Russian crepes. They are thin pancakes that can be filled with either sweet or savory fillings. Very popular and easy to make.
-Priyaniki: Russian honey cookies. Most Russian desserts aren't very sweet; that country is not as in love with sugar as America is. These cookies are very filling, though, and just sweet and flavorful enough.
-Russian tea cakes: small, nutty cookies dusted with powdered sugar. So delicious, especially with hot drinks.
-Russian egg salad: pretty self-explanatory. Lots of eggs and lots of mayo!

In the end, about a dozen people or so showed up, along with several of their kids (whom they wisely fed beforehand; I suspect most of them wouldn't be too keen on the dinner!). Our kids were able to play and have fun with the visitors; the adults were able to try out a whole bunch of new foods and hang out for a while. I was happy that most of my friends seemed to actually enjoy their food and want to try it again later! That was very good to hear, for a number of reasons. I will definitely be doing this dinner again sometime (especially if it is the only way I can make borscht!). It is nice to share little bits of other cultures with my friends, and it made me appreciate Russia all over again.

Here's my plate; I saved a lot of room to pig out that night! (bowl of borscht not pictured).

When you feed someone in Russia, you say "Na Zdorovye! ("To your health")". I hope it's something I can say to other dinner guests many times in the future. Now, to return to getting my Russia fix at the Olympics!