hustle and bustle 2020 edition

He's superhuman (11/2020)

Dalia brought COVID home from her classroom. When her sister, brother, and I tested positively, we tried to get David sick as well. Selfishly, we wanted to ensure that he couldn't foil our 90 worry-free days. we kissed and hugged him and even shared cups but he tested negative twice!?! We remain baffled. (But Kindin was ecstatic that she didn't have to quarantine when a teammate tested positive soon thereafter and Jack happily returned to wrestling after a very long break.) David IS pretty out of this world! I'm infatuated with this superhuman, alien husband of mine. He is my favorite person to be with as a fun, calming force in my life. He brings laughter to our home and prefers family time to self-interest. Talented at playing, he has the genius ability to provide enough to afford a multiplicity of extracurricular interests while also being able to join us for almost every single adventure. AND he's superhuman healthy. 

reason #237 (12/2020)

Reason #237 You know you're a diver if... Others enter your room and say, it smells like chlorine in here. 

Every morning when I rouse Kindin awake, the waft of chlorine fills the air. Even though she's showered, proof lingers that she's had twice daily diving practices for the past 2 months.  It's been a lot of work but she loves it and can't get enough!

...and she does so all while managing early morning seminary, keeping high As in a tough class load, and caring for everyone's laundry at home. (Is there anything she can't do? that is, except turn on the fireplace. When puzzled by doing so, her younger siblings giggled and she responded by turning to me and saying, "What? You always told me not to!")

He speaks (1/2021)

 Jack gave his first talk in sacrament. Assigned by his dad, he had to consider the ways in which the priesthood helps youth.  Jack has taken incredible ownership of his responsibility to pass the sacrament. And he's been given a lot of this responsibility. (In light of the fact that he is the only deacon who attends church every week, he is usually directing the process.) He does so with reverence and attention to detail. If I would've had input on his talk, I'd have gushed about how much difference this past year has made. (Grandpa who hasn't seen him for the past year would agree!)

Hi for those of you who do and don’t know me my name is Jack Parry and I am 12 and a half. This is a first for a couple of things. This is my first time doing a talk in front of the whole church, and I think I am the first youth speaker of 2021. My topic is, How the priesthood helps the youth by Brother Enzo Petelo a youth who spoke at the April 2020 general conference. When my dad first told me to speak at church it came up like this, Hey Jack can you please come to my office… my BISHOP office. I slowly walked in and I knew this was going to happen but it took me a little while to actually say yes that I would speak. Anyway in the talk, it says  “We are given the opportunity to minister like angels, to preach the gospel on all the continents of the earth, and to help souls come unto Christ. This service places us in joint labor with John the Baptist, Moroni, Joseph Smith, President Russell M. Nelson, and other diligent servants of the Lord.” This means when the new young men get the priesthood they become diligent servants for god all the way until they die and they still have the blessing of the priesthood even when we die so we are always going to be servants of the lord. In his talk, he defines the priesthood really well he says, “ The Priesthood is the authority to minister the ordinances and covenants of the savior’s gospel to those who are worthy to receive it.” I have the priesthood and I can pass the ordinances of the sacrament and I pass it to those who are worthy to receive it. Passing the ordinances of the sacrament in 2020 has made me super flexible. I first was a deacon when there was no Covid. I made it my youth goal to learn all 6 passing routes so I could help people who were new and struggling to learn them. It was so easy to teach people back then because the routes never changed. We always had to have 6 deacons or we had to pull out a teacher or a priest. Now when we taught the new deacons this year we only taught them 3 routes because we never use the others and we almost never have more than 3 or 4 passing. Even though we still use the basics none of the passing routes are ever the same. Passing the sacrament has made me listen to the speaker more because before I would bring a notebook and a pen or pencil and I would draw the whole time and not remember who even spoke now I have listened to the speakers more because I understand the most important part of church or most important part of the week, better because I am apart of the sacrament. Even though it is a big job and sometimes hard I am grateful for the opportunities to pass the sacrament and to have to priesthood. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen

The legend of the killer ball (8/2018)

It's common for Grandpa and Omi to find the newest trends and hotspots to treat the grandkids. 2018's Bear Lake trip was the year of the oversized, gigantic ball. I missed it with a late arrival but have heard all about it. Legend has it that the fun and games soured quickly as one by one, each cousin was picked off with an injury. The games resulted in tears and grew into fears. By the time I arrived, the ball was nowhere in sight. We now seen it on AFV videos and the kids yell out with resounding sympathy.

How did Mom miss this? She was tending to her yearly girls lake trip whose dates unfortunately conflicted. With Dad's stamp of approval, he packed up the kids (and her road bike) and drove solo... and then picked her up from the airport a few days late. (HE is a legend!)

swim meet dates (6/2019)

David's high-powered board member position with ORSL meant that we had an inside seat to our kids swim meets - by way of organizing and handing out ribbons. Wednesdays at the pool was close to an ideal date night: we worked together, paused to cheer on our children's races, and enjoyed nights in the sun. And the kids have their own motivations for loving swim team, including: a huge group of guys, prized ribbons, and fashionable suits.

all 3 on the swim team (6/2018)

Getting dolly committed to swim team was a little terrifying because my work schedule prevented me from coaching her through daily practices but she was the last link I've anticipated for a few years. To guarantee success, I hired a nanny whose only job expectation was that she fill her time with keeping the littlest encouraged and engaged at practice. Devoted to the cause, dad also chose to be a board member and got an inside ticket to the weekly meets. Knowing that I'm on borrowed time for mutual interests, I thoroughly enjoyed my kids walking into the pool gate together, cheering each other on, and their discussions about the rigors of swimming.