3 November 2009

Dear Famlings,

With Susan's death still weighing so heavily upon our hearts and minds, there seems little else to report. On the other hand, it is exactly these situations that make us acutely aware of our love and need for each other. In that light, whatever little there is to say is worth the effort if it keeps us joined across and despite great distances.

Oct 24-25 

• The welcome visit of Kirk's Wharton and Lauder colleague Christian sped up our lagging plans to improve the sleeping arrangements at our home. Although Carlos sleeps in our room on his toddler mattress, we hope that one day he'll return to his own room for nighttime snoozes. So, we moved Arianna's rock-hard twin bed into his room. Now it is available, whether or not Carlos is willing to use it. We moved our queen-size bed into Arie's room, and she now reports better sleep and fewer body aches. For our room, Kirk found a great deal and a great queen-size bed. Not only is the mattress soft, but the bed also boasts an additional layer of memory foam on top. I have been so pleased with Kirk's find! I am a light sleeper and have struggled to get good rest throughout our marriage because any movement on Kirk's part had the potential to break my sleep cycle. In the past, we even considered sleeping on twin beds pushed together as a way of managing my reaction to movement. Anyway, the troubles around this issue have been long lasting and over belabored. I am happy to report that the memory foam does the trick! It is deep enough to cushion us from being aware of one another's movements. It feels just like I'm sleeping in a fluffy nest! AND, the bed in Arie's room makes us so very ready for guests [wink, wink]! So, maybe that's too long of a story for an "update," but it's made a big difference to us and has perhaps been one of the most positive aspects of the past week. 

  

Oct 26

• We have annual Disneyland passes and try to visit the park once a month. Technically, we had already made our monthly trek to Orange County, but we had ignored the Halloween-specific rides. This time, we were back just for the purpose of experiencing those rides. The kids wore their VERY Disney costumes and received SO MANY compliments. In view of the costumes, we couldn't pass up riding Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blasters, of course, even though it was not gussied up for Halloween. Next, we went to the Haunted Mansion, which was themed as "The Nightmare Before Christmas." I don't particularly approve of Tim Burton's movies, so we were maybe at a deficit in not being familiar or bemused with the theme. Still, it managed to be interesting in conjunction with disturbing. And, it was much less scary than the traditional Haunted Mansion, which we have never let our kids see. Carlos walked out of the "Nightmare" with a strong need for its antidote, which we conveniently found close by at the Winnnie-the-Pooh ride. After spending some time in the 100-acre Woods, we all felt better. The other Halloween-themed ride was Space Mountain, which advertised a flaming skull with the roller coaster track heading into the mouth. Kirk and I really would have liked to go on the ride, but it was billed as inappropriate for children and had a wait of 75 minutes. This being an after school and after work excursion (and therefore late-ish), we ultimately decided to be content with the psychological damage that the "Nightmare" ride caused in our children, and we went home.

Oct 27-28

• Kirk spent these days in San Antonio, Texas, working and enjoying an over-the-top resort plaza. 
• Arie had her usual and greatly loved "Mad Science" class after school on Wednesday. 
• Happy 8th birthday, McKay!

Oct 29

• In the morning, Carlos and I drove to Torrance to visit a high school friend who recently had a baby. It was such a nice visit, and the baby had lots of silky brown hair! So cute! Carlos enjoyed playing with unfamiliar toys but did not enjoy the baby. In fact, he totally steered clear of the baby and refused to touch or acknowledge him! 
• My inability to find a babysitter meant that Carlos spent three hours at the hair salon with me. The portable DVD player helped things to go well for maybe half of the time. The rest of the time, Carlos sat or climbed on my lap, snuggled, asked questions, and lured me into a game with HotWheels.

Oct 30

• Knowing that it was inevitable didn't really make Susan's passing easier. We all spent the afternoon at home. 
• The kids knew that Halloween was close, and it would have been cruel *to ourselves* to try to keep our squirrely beasties home during the ward Trunk-or-Treat. Ward members were really kind to us--especially and appropriately Kirk--and the kids had a fun time. 
• Happy 11th birthday, Brayden!

Oct 31

• We took the kids to Michael's, where they learned to make pencil toppers (monsters and spiders, of course). They also got a free trick-or-treat bucket and a balloon. Arie said that she'd rather have a dog than a balloon. Get in line, kid.  :P
• We also took a stroll through the neighboring Toys R Us, and the kids enumerated their many Christmas wishes. 
• We carved our pumpkin in the afternoon, and, once again, Arianna's smile inspired the Jack-o-lantern's. Someday she'll hate me for it, but it's so funny now! (Good news side note: long-awaited incisors are already growing into the holes created by the extraction of two canines!) 
• I am grateful that our kids are young, because trick-or-treating in our neighborhood was awful. I expected most every house to be celebrating the holiday (especially with it being a favorite among Latinos) and anticipated droves of costumed children. In reality, probably only 1 in 6 houses was passing out candy and only a few, total, were truly decorated. Likewise, there were very few kids out, and we made our whole trek solo. Now, we have tons of candy left over; I hope that Santa takes some before filling stocking this year! Finally, we got to enjoy Kristina's company after trick-or-treating! 

Nov 1

• Again, we benefited from the kindness and comfort of ward members. Many people were aware of Susan's passing, but the bishop increased the ward outreach by announcing her death from the pulpit during sacrament meeting. After church, the EQ presidency visited, and the RS president called in the evening. It was a blessing to receive so much support, and I really believe that the prayers of our ward members have helped us.

Nov 2

• Kirk made it through about an hour of work and then returned home.  :(
• November means Christmas shopping. I was hard at work! Thank goodness for the Internet! Next, the Christmas letter.
• After school, we went to Zuma Beach and watched the sun set. 

Nov 3

• Kirk managed to work through the length of Arie's school day. 
• Carlos and I shopped for sheets and a comforter for his new (but unused) bed. Someday...
• We watched "Where the Wild Things Are," which was a worse use of my time than "Napoleon Dynamite." Not only is the movie pointless, but it is very disturbing. Arie cried and Carlos was bored.
• I cleaned out my car, but will not report how many sippy cups I found in it. Eeew.

Carlos continues to be "my big potty and stinky boy," and we are in nothing short of 'shock and awe' at the way potty training is supposed to happen. Arie is doing better every year, but it's been 5 long and frustrating years...

We look forward to honoring Susan this weekend and to seeing many of you. Marv, you're in our constant prayers and thoughts.

Loves, Lauren and family

P.S. The "universal wishlist" is long, but that doesn't mean that everything on it must appear under the Christmas tree. This is just a handy way of logging some of our 'favorite things' for future gifting. Kirk has not put anything on it yet, so you might have to get creative on his behalf.   ;)