Lego Camp!

Two weeks before school started, Cal and I were at the park when he stumbled upon a community center classroom group right in the midst of enjoying lego camp. It was all I could do to drag him away from the windows. He begged and begged to go in and join them, which was not possible. However, we did get a flyer from a camp counselor, and looked it up online once we got home. 

It was pretty difficult to find an opening, and I ended up signing up for a time in November by mistake! Cal was heartbroken as we drove home. I got back online (and on the phone, and went into the community center downtown), and we were able to snag the last lego camp spot in a neighboring town. I was so relieved. It was definitely worth the extra drive to get this kid to his beloved Lego camp! :)

 Cal loved the "free build" portions of the day, but I was impressed with how structured the activities were. The whole goal of the camp is to teach engineering concepts and vocabulary to the kids.  They had a specific project to work on when they arrived each day, with the instructor guiding them through the various stages of development.

 Some times the project was a plane, or a truck, or a conveyor belt, or a crane. Each time, they would go through the specific parts of the project so the kids were learning engineering vocabulary. I thought it was awesome!

Even daily cleanup was cool. The kids had to sort the pieces into various groups depending on type, and deliver them to the correctly labelled bin. It was actually quite amazing to watch.

 The last 15 minutes, the instructor would go over the different parts they had learned about, with the kids answering with terms like, "chassis," "42-tooth gear," "axle," "holding rod," and "fuselage."

We will definitely be back next year!

Christmas Projects

With Dad gone in Europe, Cal and I tackled a lot of projects around the house. Nesting was in full swing for me, so I took on several organization projects. 

I know this probably seems weird, but I LOVE organizing. I've grown to appreciate a good organization system even more since living in our small apartment -- every inch counts.

A lot of the projects were more fun, and involved decorating for Christmas, shopping, and wrapping presents. Although, we didn't get high marks for organization in this department. Take a look at Santa's workshop. Yikes!

Cal was actually a huge help in getting everything ready for Christmas. He is very skilled at using scissors (seriously), so we made good use of his talents and had him cut the wrapping paper.

He was very interested in who each present was for, and kept telling me how excited he was for his cousins and grandparents to open his gifts. It was sweet to see how much he was thinking of others.

We got Cal an advent calendar from Ikea again this year, and each morning, one of the first things he'd say was, "My cander!" before running to open the flap and retrieve the chocolate inside. As a surprise, Reed made me an advent calendar of my own, filled with 25 hints that led me on a search for little gifts around the house.

I couldn't believe that he'd set it al up before he left for Europe. It was such a sweet and romantic idea!

We had a fun time at our ward Christmas party, even though we had to attend with no Dad. Here is Cal ringing his heart out to jingle bells with the primary kids.

We definitely missed Reed while he was gone, but I'm glad we got to fill our time with such fun projects and activities.

Family History Love

Something people might not know about me? I am a family history nut. I got interested in genealogy when we moved here -- a time when I had few friends and needed a serious hobby to keep myself sane. I'm happy to say that the hobby has turned into a pretty fruitful passion that will last the rest of my life. 

One of the things that has always held me back from getting involved in my family's genealogy was the assumption that all the work has already been done. Both my grandmothers are wonderful genealogists and family historians, and they've been working on our lines for years -- what hope do I have of making any difference?

The starting point for me was the realization that Reed's father's line was largely untouched. Richard is convert, so there are only a few people working on specific branches of the tree. I decided to start there, because it felt like a blank canvas. It was also easier to learn how to find sources, because I was working with more recent (20th- and 19th-century) census records. When I called Richard to ask a couple questions, it lit a fire under him. We both started searching, finding, and entering names. On a trip to Utah, we ended up scanning boxes of family records that had been in his possession for a while. He had been working hard on his line since I'd talked to him, and showed me this:

Look at that family tree! We looked at all the names, and decided where there were holes and where each of us would search. It led us both to interesting avenues of searching, including making letters to historical clubs in tiny rural towns in the south (no email).

Richard has even made trips to the sites himself, which is invaluable, since lots of the records we need are not digitized -- they're just in a storage room at the county office (a tiny building on a dirt road in the middle of nowhere). The search has yielded precious fruit. We've found photos, records, letters, graves, and even living relatives with memories of those we're searching for. Richard, Mr. Likeable himself, cold called distant Olsen relatives and was recounted a priceless oral history of August Olsen, the first Olsen of his line to come to America from Sweden. 

And after years of searching into Reed's paternal line, I've looked at mine, and realized that it has mistakes and holes. It was wonderful learning how to do genealogy with Richard's line, and I feel like I have a much higher level of discernment now, which I need, since being what I call a "proof-reading genealogist" is pretty nuanced and tricky. It has been wonderfully rewarding, though, to know that I am contributing to the accuracy and completeness of my own family line. I also appreciate the church's new family history system (familysearch.com) so much. The fact that we are all working on one live document feels so much more efficient that duplicating work privately and without connection. It is completely inspired, and makes me feel like my efforts make a cosmic difference.

I've also tried to make family history real in the here and now for my family. Cal had a cultural celebration at his preschool this year, where they asked each student to bring a dish from his country. I had him bring rosenmunnar (red lips) cookies, a traditional Swedish treat. The teachers loved it -- we are one of the only scandinavian-descent families, so we felt exotic amid all the other nationalities represented. What an awesome activity for all the children.

When we were in Boston, Reed and I took Olsen family names to the temple and did their work. It is so beautiful to feel connected to these people through ordinances. Names that need work from MY family tree are rare, but I have found three that need all the work done. I've mailed them around to my siblings, because I want us all to participate in the work. Family history binds us not only to our ancestors, but to each other, too. And as one of my local heroes, Julie Nef, said in ward conference a few years ago, doing the work for our ancestors frees them to bless our lives here on Earth.

I love that. I love genealogy, and I love how it transforms my heart.

Saturday in the City

One of my birthday presents this year was a day trip to San Francisco.  As I've probably mentioned before, I find SF a little intimidating.  Before I moved to the bay area, I never would have considered myself a "country girl", and honestly, I still can't say those words with a straight face, but I am realizing that I tend to gravitate toward wide open spaces.  And that is one thing you will find none of in San Francisco: free space.  Thankfully, there are enough cool things in the city to overcome my doubts about driving down endless, winding roads in search of a rare parking spot. Exhibit A: Tartine Bakery.

Check out that line out front!  I was coming on a recommendation from a friend, and this place did not disappoint. 

They are famous for their morning buns, but I opted for a fruity scone and a hot chocolate.  A perfect breakfast to start my day!

I am nuts about historical buildings, and that is one thing that San Fran has in no short supply.  One of California's crowning historical legacies is its chain of Spanish missions running up the state along the Camino Real.  I had been to several growing up (they are standard fare in 4th grade classrooms all over California), and was excited to visit a new one; each has their own specific personality and story. 

The Mission Dolores in San Francisco:

It was built in 1776, and is the oldest extant building in San Francisco.

 It even survived the earthquake of 1906, although the same cannot be said for the more recent basilica to the right, which had to be nearly completely rebuilt.

The museum had photos on display which showed the damage to the basilica roof, and hearses out front carrying victims of the earthquake:

The basilica today:

 The inside was peaceful and quiet, lined with beautiful stained glass windows (many of which had to be replicated and replaced after the earthquake shattered them).

I just kept gasping and pointing, reading plaques and graves with excitement... what a historical treasure.

By the time the (self-guided) tour was finished, I'd worked up quite an appetite. Look at this cute little restaurant next to Golden Gate Park.  We killed time waiting for our names to be called by shopping for kids' clothes at a consignment boutique up the street, and then got to sit up on the rooftop addition, next to a cozy fire.  Lovely!  (And Cal scored two new shirts!)

After lunch, I made us go over to the Conservatory of Flowers, a beautiful Victorian structure dating to 1878.  (There's actually a controversy about its origins. COOL! History Mystery!!!) Isn't it just stunning?  It was one of the few structures to escape largely unscathed from the earthquake.

From there, it was a lovely, meandering walk to the de Young art museum lookout tower, which offers a panoramic view of the bay.

The last stop was an adorable bookstore across from the goodwill boutique.  (I had much more luck at the bookstore than with the clothes, as usual!)  I took pictures of about 10 new books to add to my to-read pile...which is getting frighteningly large...

It was a wonderful day in San Francisco, a city that intimidates me less and less with each visit. :)

Concert!

Another successful choir concert! This most recent concert was meaningful for many reasons. First, the location was not our usual one. Instead we were in the First Methodist Church in Palo Alto. Take a look at this awesome architecture:

A far cry from deseret brick, no?

Second, the music was glorious. It was all new to me. Well, I was certainly familiar with Frostiana, but I had never performed it in its entirety. The text comes from various Robert Frost poetry, and it is just superb.

Robert Frost

Such a lovely, singable suite.

My favorite of the suite (and one of my favorite Robert Frost poems ever) is "The Pasture".

"The Pasture"

I'm going out to clean the pasture spring;

I'll only stop to rake the leaves away

(And wait to watch the water clear, I may):

I shan't be gone long. -- You come too.

I'm going out to fetch the little calf

That's standing by the mother. It's so young,

It totters when she licks it with her tongue.

I shan't be gone long. -- You come too.

The Frostiana suite is just so melodic and natural, it was a wonderful, generous way to open the concert.

Next came the "Five Mystical Songs" by English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams. If you are unfamiliar with these song, as I was before this concert, just know that they are completely glorious. The choir has a minor part in the piece, as most of the text is sung by a baritone soloist. We had been rehearsing only our small part, and the baritone only joined us for the dress rehearsal and performance, so I hadn't really looked at large portions of the text. When I finally heard Song #3: "Love Bade Me Welcome" for the first time, it was all I could do not to weep!

Love bade me welcome: yet my soul drew back.


Guilty of dust and sin.


But quick-eyed Love, observing me grow slack


From my first entrance in,


Drew nearer to me, sweetly questioning


If I lacked anything.

A guest, I answer'd, worthy to be here:


Love said, You shall be he.


I the unkind, ungrateful? Ah, my dear,


I cannot look on thee.


Love took my hand, and smiling did reply,


Who made the eyes but I?

Truth Lord, but I have marred them: let my shame


Go where it doth deserve.


And know you not, says Love, who bore the blame?


My dear, then I will serve.


You must sit down, says Love, and taste my meat:


So I did sit and eat.

The experience was nothing less than spiritual, and we were lucky to have a phenomenal soloist on the part.

I had a large solo with Vaughan Williams' "Dona Nobis Pacem". I was reeeeeeeally nervous about it, which is actually not like me. All week, I could not figure out why I had such bad stage fright about it. I think it's because it was the biggest, most technically difficult solo I've ever sung -- and VERY exposed! But it went very well, and afterward, I got a bouquet of flowers from the Symphony, and from my Aunt Heather.

Oh yes, and this is the gown I bought the week before:

I am very happy about this concert, and got to sing some amazing music. I'm very blessed to be a part of the group I joined. And thank you to the [many] friends and family who came to support me! It helped my nerves to have you in the audience!