Sunday, November 19, 2023

So September

You would think that after running a marathon Talia would collapse on the couch and not move for the rest of the weekend, but this girl had other plans.  Like, Homecoming!  Oh for the energy of youth!  Also, how is she wearing heels?  (Rumor has it that she brought more comfortable shoes to change into later in the evening.)

Beautiful inside and out.

Meanwhile, Grandpa Charles took a break from tiling our bathroom to help us seed our lawn, with Brooklyn working alongside.  Once again, we are SO very grateful!

As for Annika, she started constructing out of paper mache.

That evening Callie and I went to see the Black Panther with live music from the Utah Symphony at Abravanel Hall. The talking drum was tremendous!  Thanks to Tara for the free tickets.


Sunday, September 10th.  Stretching our sore legs with a walk through the cemetery.  Rather than creepy, it feels almost sacred to have such a special place nearby.


Taking pity on her sore legs, Talia decided to give them a break and revert to standing on her head.

Annika had an appointment with the Voice and Swallow Clinic at 7:00 am the next morning so I let her go in her pajamas with a stuffed animal.  Her voice has been pretty raspy at times, and I was concerned there might be residual damage from her breathing tube, particularly given all the thrashing.

They used this super cool scope that let us visualize her vocal folds and epiglottis on a giant screen.   A strobe light on the end of the probe slowed down the vibrations enough to visualize the vocal folds moving as she said sang at different pitches and said different vowels.  It was SO interesting!  And good news--while she has some inflammation of her vocal folds, it doesn't look like there is any permanent scarring.  Mostly, she just needs to give her voice a break.  She went home with a fun button that says "I'm on Vocal Rest."  Now to figure out a way for my chatty daughter to follow through...

Remember that pinata Annika was making?  Well, I left the house for a few hours and this happened.  Very creative, but we certainly could work on cleaning up.

Before long she'd figured out a way to suspend it and it was time to party.  

Bull's eye!  Candy flying.

Plus when you are all done, it makes for a great hat.

This girl has a style all her own.

Having just started orchestra at school, she came home eager to perform.

Rumor has it that Uncle Justin drove by to put a dollar in her case.  As for the neighbors, well, they might have paid her to go back inside.  Just kidding--mostly.  :)

Last but not least, tacos and s'mores with the 27th Ward up City Creek Canyon.  This amazing tradition really wouldn't happen without the culinary oversight of Mark Harmon.

I help by holding his cute baby.  It's a sacrifice, but someone's gotta do it!  Here we are saying Hi to Chuck Clark. 

Pinkie, Eli, Brooklyn, Hazel, Aubri, and a whole lot of corn tortillas, courtesy of Rancho Markets.


Here's Julie James giving Brooklyn a welcome back hug.  This was Brooklyn's first weekend back from college!  She took Trax and it worked great.

The kids found an old deer carcass and were fascinated.  Fortunately the bones had been picked clean and were more interesting than gross.  I think every kid should wander around with a femur in their back pocket.


So there you have it!  Another September week in the life of the Wheelers.

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