Monday, August 25, 2025

More May Memories

Photo dump time! I have a quiet moment, but the stillness rarely lasts long. Looking back to the end of April, our family attended a Donor Connect event at the Utah Cultural Celebration Center. The event celebrated the many heroes who have given life through organ donation. Recipients were invited to participate too. Kind of heavy stuff, but they kept it light with a fun, carnival-like atmosphere. Nothing says Utah like a dirty soda bar!

Here's Annika getting her face painted.  Blue and green are the colors of Donate Life so she dressed accordingly.


Can't forget the balloon animals!

Rock painting time.


I kind of feel like I should end the post right here.  Thinking about the gift granted us by Annika's organ donor, anything else seems trivial. Every day we are grateful. I wish I could hug her donor's family, cry with them, and thank them for giving her a fresh start.

Never one to waste an opportunity, Annika seized the day with artisan cheese and fine chocolate.  We went to a foodie event at the Natural History Museum and were delighted but unsurprised to discover Spackmans (of the Neal and Eden variety) checking in at the same time,

Caputo's samples were delicious. While Utah boasts a surprisingly robust handcrafted chocolate scene, this selection included a Lithuanian chocolatier as well.

As delicious as the chocolate was, I enjoyed the cheese even more.

Once our bellies were satisfied, we moved on to appreciate the dinosaurs.  These guys are the real millennials.


May the 4th be with you on Star Wars Day!  We had a delightful celebration with the Millcreek Wheelers and the Wheeler grandparents.


Grandma Susie and Grandpa Charles shared a delicious post-Easter ham dinner and Brianna made bread.  Yum!


Marshmallow is still the cutest bunny all year round.


Naturally Annika decided to get her face painted like a wolf because...why not?  She's just a girl who loves wolves.

Ruby the artist, hard at work.

Violet makes a stinkin' cute kitty.

After our Star Wars dinner we headed over to Abravanel Hall where Talia was performing with YACP. It was a pretty monumental celebration!  40 year anniversary of the orchestra, commemoration for their beloved conductor Jack Ashton, and Senior night.


They had so many alumni return to perform with the orchestra that they had to turn some away because there was no more room on the stage.  I felt touched to witness such a powerful moment.  Jack never had much in terms of worldly wealth, but the number of lives that he impacted through music is remarkable.  Whether performing with the Utah Symphony, teaching high school orchestra, or conducting the Young Area Chamber Players, he mentored innumerable youth to become better musicians and better people.


As for our sweet Talia, she got a personal call-out on the Abravanel stage for her crocheting skills because of the s'mores dinosaur that she gave Sugar following her father Jack's passing.  Yes, Sugar is really a name and s'mores dinosaurs are really a thing.

They honored Jack with a reception full of all his bad jokes, some of which are inappropriate and the rest of which scourge violists.

Talia, we are so very proud of you an all the hard work you've dedicated to become such an accomplished musician.  I'll miss hearing your violin in the early hours of the morning more than you'll ever know!  I hope you'll keep playing at BYU and beyond.  (Maybe you can convince Brooklyn to join you too--wink, hint.  We miss her cello as well!)


All musicians have to start somewhere which brings us to...Cinco de Mayo!  I had the best time helping  chaperone Aunt Callie's amazing mariachi band as they performed at the City library and City offices.  These elementary schoolers sounded as sharp as they look.


If you'd told Callie and I that some day she would teach violin and our children would play string instruments, we would have laughed in your face.  We were band nerds supreme--fiercely loyal to all wind insruments.  But hey, the world has a strange way of coming full circle.

The seasons make the loveliest circles, and I'm so grateful for spring! Our anniversary falls in May, so every time the tulips blossom I think of our lovely wedding day.



We celebrated with dinner at Sol Agave.  It was inspiring!
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This smoking dessert is sure to keep the flame alive for another twenty plus years.

I love you Peanut Butter!  Thanks for sticking to your Jelly, not only when the tulips shine but during colder seasons when the bulbs are tucked away waiting to blossom again.

Thursday, August 14, 2025

May Flowers

Skipping back to cheerful recollections...

...every year the re-emergence of the yellow spring flowers makes me smile. Ski runs are swapped for hiking trails, and it all makes me happy.

This is the very first year I've gotten to enjoy these trails with a dog. 

Zion has plenty of flaws, and I certainly have moments when I regret becoming a dog mom. However, when it comes to hiking the trails, he is fantastic. Just like with me, the mountains bring out out his best self.

Plus, how can you not love those ears.

Here we are hiking up to The Living Room.


This is my kind of arm chair.


I'm not quite sure why he was licking his face so much this day, but it was pretty hilarious.

More puppy pictures back at home. Annika adores her naughty pal.


As for me, I love Annika (and Talia and Eli) enough to tolerate Zion's antics. Even when he eats my pens. Here are a couple photos that I took while trying to get a decent one for my new nursing badge. Also, why do I stress about these things? Badge photos never resemble anyone anyway.


Just a girl and her dog. At least it's not a wolf.


I'm glad the foothills are close so that Zion can get time off leash to be free.




Annika enjoys the freedom too.




Moving on to more cultivated flower elegance, here are some more glimpses of spring in Salt Lake. These tulips are in our front yard. I love the few weeks when the flowers shine bright and the weeds are still shy.

A gorgeous tree in the International Peace Gardens. Brianna, Violet, and I met up here for a bike ride along the Jordan River trail.


What a cutie!

Believe it or not, after nearly nine years of living in Salt Lake City, I finally made it to the Conference Center rooftop this spring.  It's absolutely perfect for viewing the city and the ongoing construction of the Salt Lake Temple.



Glad Eli and Annika came with me!

More crazy adventures--meeting up with the Wilhoits at the whale.  Two pups is more than twice the fun.


Spying on the baby owls in the cemetery.  I adore how they come back to nest here every year!

You can almost always find deer in the cemetery as well, especially in the spring.

We have our own Popcorn Popping tree.

This naughty pup ate ALL the provolone.  In general he doesn't steal food off the table very often, but apparently cheese is a weakness.

Zion ought to join Sonja and I for a run to work off the indulgence.  In truth, he's kind of a pain to run with in the morning.  He often doesn't want to leave his crate, and after we get him outside he barks at all the cars.   At least the sunrise was gorgeous.

Crazy hair, don't care!

Checking out the flowers on Temple Square.  The display is always stunning.



 Back to flowers in the Foothills.  I know.  This post has absolutely no cohesiveness.  But hey, ain't nobody got no time for that.



Last but not least, here are Talia and I enjoying the Tulip Festival at Thanksgiving Point.  This cute girl had never been.  Frankly, she can talk me into taking her nearly anywhere since I am going to miss her so much when she leaves in a couple weeks for college.  Except Scotland.  Much to her chagrin, we still haven't made it to Scotland.  Maybe next year.  :)









Feeding frenzy.

Perfect place for a cartwheel!  Remember when she was into gymnastics?



Yes, smiling flowers make me so happy, but smiling family is best.