update 15 April 2012

This week is special in our hearts because it marks my nephew Noah’s 1st birthday. Not only did he miraculously survive a traumatic brain injury five months ago, but his little baby brain has since healed and rewired itself; he is on target for all of his growth and developmental benchmarks.

Noah, November 2011

Moreover, recent tests and brain images of our former “Darth Noah” show a normal, healthy baby who has no more need for specialized follow ups. We are so grateful that Baby Noah is still with us—and that God transformed such a terrible ordeal into a tangible, visible, kissable miracle for all of us. Happy birthday, Noah!

Noah, April 2012

Poor Kirk returned from his trip abroad feeling under the weather. By Monday, he was in the midst of a full-blown sickness that kept him in bed all week. He hasn’t been this sick in probably six or seven years, and his recovery has been slow and (his words) boring.

Adults: check out John Stewart's "Faith Off" 

But since Kirk bills himself as an optimist, I will add a silver lining to the story: a two-week back up of recorded Major League Baseball and John Stewart shows kept Kirk nearly constant company. He also finished reading the Hunger Games series, and it’s been really interesting to hear his thoughts on the books.

It was something of a strange week for the kids and I, who knew that Kirk was finally home but nevertheless inaccessible. We made the best of it by spending lots of time with each other. We finished reading the 5th Harry Potter book and then discussed changes to the story while watching the movie together. Carlos has since become an avid exclaimer of “Expelliarmus!” and “Expecto Patronum!”

The kids and I also spent Saturday at Disneyland and California Adventure Park. Kirk doesn’t like spinny rides like the Ferris wheel or the teacups, so we used his absence as an excuse to enjoy many of those rides. 

From atop Mickey’s Fun Wheel, we could spy into the new Cars Land—a project that’s been at least three years in the making. It finally opens in June, and we are looking forward to visiting it before our passes expire. 

https://plus.google.com/photos/113547050139096971693/albums/5731447796533695809

Arianna and I were super excited to notice that her braces are already causing major changes in her mouth. Some of her bottom incisors were previously partially hidden behind others, and it was a real challenge to put brackets on them. Now those teeth are very close to being straight! 

March 16th

Also, thanks to the not-so-fun extractions that she endured last month, some of Arianna’s impacted teeth have finally been able to descend (or ascend). It looks like her gummy gaps will soon be gone. I am proud of her for being so brave and for taking good care of her mouth!

April 12th

This coming week, I have my final-round interview at Ànimo Leadership Charter High School. The following day, Friday, we fly to Guatemala for our much-anticipated heritage trip. I have been practicing some basic Spanish phrases with Carlos, who speaks Spanish and even pronounces his name with a French accent, LOL. 

We are all so excited for this special adventure. We plan to visit Guatemala City, Antigua, Panajachel and Lake Atitlan, Quetzaltenango, the Takalik Abaj Ruins, Chichicastenango, Biotopel del Quetzal, Coban (Loafy's birth town), and Semuc Champey.

Takalik Abaj Mayan Ruins

Because Guatemala has little technological coverage, we may not be able to send out Sunday updates for the rest of April. Still, we will be thinking of all of you and looking forward to sharing many fun memories and pictures when we return.

Pictures from Easter weekend

Carmel Mission

https://plus.google.com/photos/113547050139096971693/albums/5729431210694358161

Easter with Monson relatives

https://plus.google.com/photos/113547050139096971693/albums/5729425637781562289

Pfeifer Burns Park

https://plus.google.com/photos/113547050139096971693/albums/5729429857946995777

Cambria & Elephant Seals

https://plus.google.com/photos/113547050139096971693/albums/5729434465877481313

Hearst Castle

https://plus.google.com/photos/113547050139096971693/albums/5729435989020077921

San Luis Obispo Mission

https://plus.google.com/photos/113547050139096971693/albums/5729506372211743361

Drive up CA-1 & 101

https://plus.google.com/photos/113547050139096971693/albums/5729507056763937473

Update 8 April 2012

Happy, happy Easter!!!


Last week, Carlos’s asthma flared up again. I spent Tuesday morning in a desperate rush as I tried to quell his coughing. Even his nebulizer treatments weren’t enough, and the persistent coughs triggered Carlos’s gag reflux and caused vomiting. (Yummy, I know.) So the little guy spent the day at home with one outing to the doctor’s office. Carlos carries his asthma at the bottom of his lungs, which means that he easily gets infections like pneumonia; his doctor heard some wheezing in her stethoscope and prescribed antibiotics right away. I was surprised by her rather proactive approach, because Carlos was not as symptomatic as he’s been with previous infections. However, within 12 hours of the initial dose of antibiotics, I witnessed a huge transformation in Chub-chub. Carlos, who had been whiny and lethargic all weekend, returned to school the next day as his bouncy, active self. Thank goodness for modern medicine!

When he was not subdued by the asthma, Carlos spent the rest of the week obsessed with hunting for Easter eggs. He woke up, grabbed his Easter basket, and began hiding plastic eggs each morning. Then, after school, he hunted for the eggs and, if he had time, hid them and found them again. I even had to stop him from sleeping with his basket of plastic egg shells! The funniest part of the process was that Carlos often didn’t remember where he had hidden the eggs and needed my help. Silly Chubber!

I spent a little time each evening trying to teach the kids about Easter. We focused on learning the meanings of “atonement” and “resurrection,” and it was hilarious to hear some of the kids’ failed answers. (Carlos: “It means Jesus sinned us.”) It took a lot of energy, practice, and reteaching to make the message stick, but the kids finally got there. I was so proud of them for learning “what it’s all about” without referring to Veggie Tales!

On Thursday, Kirk ended his wintry trip to Kazakhstan, Russia, Finland, and Switzerland and returned to the ever-pleasant California sunshine. He read the first and second Hunger Games books during his travels and was eager to see the movie. Evidence: we were sitting in the movie theater only one hour after his plane landed!

More than a month ago, Kirk’s dad Brad asked us to join the Monson clan in San Francisco over Easter weekend because Brad and his siblings needed to sort through the belongings of Grandma Monson. We saw it as a great opportunity to visit with relatives and reserved the weekend for just that purpose. As Easter drew nearer, I doubted whether Kirk would be up to *more* traveling after two weeks on the road. However, he was excited to spend the weekend with family and extended the trip into a sightseeing tour of California’s famous coastline. We drove up highways 1 and 101 on Friday and were pleasantly rewarded by stunning views of the ocean, mountains, and rolling spring green hills.  

We arrived at the mission in San Luis Obispo around noon and squeezed our way into a very special Good Friday service. The priests passed a full-size cross around to the congregation, and everyone had the opportunity to help carry the cross. We also enjoyed very beautiful background music by the choir.

Later that afternoon, we arrived at Hearst Castle. George Hearst made his fortune in silver during the California gold rush (which Arianna is learning about in school this year). He invested his money in thousands of acres of fertile California land, on which he began a cattle business that continues today. George’s son William grew the family fortune through a nationwide media business and was one of the wealthiest men in the world during his lifetime. He commissioned Julia Morgan to design a castle on his father’s cattle land; from this pristine yet isolated property, he managed his 90-some media agencies.

The castle is a unique blend of many of Europe’s most famous churches and palaces and includes artifacts as old as 3500 B.C. (Fun fact: its dining room served as the visual inspiration for the Great Hall in the Harry Potter movies.) 

Still, the castle has some very modern touches, such as glass mosaic tiles infused with gold foil for the indoor pool’s flooring. We all enjoyed touring the castle and its gorgeous grounds, but I especially felt that the exquisite castle set atop those rolling springtime hills was a glimpse at my personal heaven; wherever I directed my eyes, they feasted!

That evening, we watched the sun set over the elephant seals in Cambria and ate some of the Hearst Ranch free-range beef. We spent Friday night in Cambria and were able to stop in and visit the elephant seals again Saturday morning. There was one elephant seal in who kept watching us with friendly puppy-dog eyes, but Kirk said we couldn’t take her home. (Female elephant seals don't have trunks.)

We made several scenic stops as we drove along the coast toward Big Sur. The pristine inlet and waterfall at Julia Pfeifer Burns National Park reminded Kirk and me of our Caribbean anniversary cruise last year. The kids were even more impressed by the variety of spring wildflowers and went on an unauthorized flower-picking spree.

Saturday afternoon, we arrived at the mission in Carmel. Because Arianna’s class has spent so much time learning about California’s history—with a special emphasis on the missions, it was very special for her to see yet another famous mission.

The Monson gathering did not materialize as we had expected, and we ended up Saturday evening sharing a family dinner with just Brad, Aunt Sue, and Uncle Mike. Still, it was fun to catch up and to have some special focus time together. 

We all joined Kirk’s local Monson cousins on Sunday morning for a fun Easter egg hunt. (Yes, Carlos was excited to finally live the dream, so to speak.) Afterwards, we carried on the tradition of eating Grandpa Monson’s beloved “Easter Egg Special” and then attended church together. One of my favorite things about living in SoCal is that we get to spend so much more time with relatives; our kids loved playing with their second cousins!

We spent the better part of Sunday afternoon and evening driving home through the lush springtime hills. Kirk commented that the kids probably have no clue how fortunate they were to visit so many beautiful places; it made me reflect on the blessed lives that we enjoy but often fail to appreciate—so much like kids on a road trip!

Update 1 April 2012

Happy Palm Sunday!

Arianna kicked off the week with the extractions of four pre-molar permanent teeth. She was really brave during the procedure but later became worried when her mouth was too numb to drink or speak properly. The gauze and I kept her company and we all made some good progress in the fifth Harry Potter book. By dinnertime, the bleeding and numbness stopped and she was able to eat some soup. Her mouth has been pretty sensitive all week, so we’ve made good progress at whittling away at the many Campbell’s products in our pantry. Carlos, who does not consider soup to be man food, has suffered bravely through our menu modifications.

On Thursday, Green Dot Charter Schools moved me into the final round of interviews. They are trying me out for an English Language Arts position at Animo Leadership, one of their most successful turnaround schools. I am excited about the school and the interview but feel even more nervous than in previous rounds. Luckily, my interview isn’t until the 19th, so I have time to prepare an awesome lesson plan. You can learn more about Animo through the following links:

http://schools.greendot.org/leadership/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animo_Leadership_Charter_High_School.

Walmart finally got in a new shipment of “Carlos pants.” I have been looking for these since December and even had to contact the corporate offices with a plea to bring them back. Walmart sells these great Faded Glory cargo pants that look nice but feature an elastic waistband (hence, why I buy them for my expandable son). Carlos, who has come into his full boyhood, put holes in the knees of the pants that I bought at the beginning of the school year; then, his repeated efforts to perfect the victory soccer slide tore out the knee patches that I had added to said pants. So, despite my loathing for all things *sewing,* I was actually happy to spend a significant amount of time this week in front of the sewing machine. His old, holey pants are now shorts, and he finally has new pants that say, “My parents are not white trash.” It was a small but well-deserved victory for Mommy (who will abstain from sliding in celebration).

This weekend was springtime General Conference. Ideally, this means that our perfect little family sits in front of the TV, watches the Church’s global broadcast, and learns how to become even better people. In practice, however, my kids wrecked their rooms whenever I was watching conference, and I spent the rest of each day cleaning (and issuing time outs). Something about being trapped in my house for two days with my kids put me over the edge, and we ended up not only cleaning the house, but making every surface shine ostentatiously. As a result, the house was very un-Lauren in its museum-ness when church friends arrived for dinner tonight. We ate enchiladas with all the right yummy sides and enjoyed a good visit. I still feel like a newbie in “The Valley,” so I’ve been working hard to match names with faces; it’s become an increasingly urgent goal now that I teach adult Sunday School! Hopefully dinners like tonight’s will make the process quicker and more meaningful. (In this picture, guest Jared Banks is shamelessly wasting my kids at Mario Kart.) 

Amid all of this insanity, the sun peeked through the clouds today. I gussied up the kids in their new Easter clothes and snapped some cute photos. I would like to say that all of the pictures looked like this,

but most of them were more along these lines (windy).

Still, we got some great shots of the kids that they will be able to enjoy in years to come.

Well, our excitement for this coming week will be Kirk’s eventual return from his business trip craziness. He’s been in Kazakhstan, Russia, Finland, and Switzerland in the past 1 ½ weeks, and I am beginning to give up on figuring out when it’s OK to call him (4 time zones multiplied by Europe’s daylight savings change over in some but not all of those countries!). This was Kirk’s first visit to Finland, so it will be fun to hear his impressions and see his pictures.

Have a blessed and meaningful Easter week! 

P.S. No April Fool's pranks for today, but I did scare the %@#*&!? out of Kirk earlier this week when I used the "Find My iPhone" app to set off alarms on his phone and iPad just as a meeting was starting in Russia. Ah, I love cyber stalking from afar!