Tag Archives: family

A little catch up…

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Evan is home from Germany! I’m so glad to have my smart, tough, hilarious, handsome, quirky brother home again.

On Saturday Logan, Evan, and I took the little kids (minus Violet) to hike to the Y and watch the Stadium of Fire fireworks. We stuck Julia in the baby backpack and Evan carried her. About halfway up she said, “Hiking makes me tired. I need to take a rest on your shoulder, Evan.” Yep, life’s tough when you’re two years old. 🙂 Also, we brought Natalie’s friend Megan with us, and Julia called her “Bacon” the whole night. Megan, Bacon…they’re interchangeable, I guess.

I hiked Maple Mountain for the first time with my brothers last week. (Yes, I’m a little ashamed of myself that I’ve lived in Springville almost half my life and had never climbed it!) We made pretty good time–we started hiking at 6:00 and summited by 9:15. Then we were back off the mountain by 11:00, so I still had time for a half day of work. Maybe I should hike Maple Mountain every day.

This week should be an adventure. Logan, Evan, and I are going to make an attempt at Gannet Peak, which evaded us last year because of terrible blizzarding weather. I hope we get a chance at the summit! Gannett is Wyoming’s state highpoint and is considered the second-most-difficult state highpoint (after Denali, of course!). I hope I’m ready for this.

I went to Samantha‘s bridal shower with my mom last week. Samantha has been one of my best friends since I moved to Springville and I’m so excited for her and Brandon (and I really really hope I can make it back to Springville in time for their reception on Saturday!). The funniest moment of the bridal shower was when Samantha pulled a beautiful framed picture of the Manti Temple out of a bright pink Victoria’s Secret bag. “Sorry! That was the only bag I had to wrap it in!” said the lady who had given it to her.

So, life is good. I exchanged e-mail addresses with a potential Jewish genealogy client at the FHL last week (if any of you guys have Jewish friends interested in genealogy, please direct them to my website), hung out with my awesome friend Jana, coerced BOTH my brothers into bearing their testimonies in sacrament meeting, had a good lazy Sunday with my family, cut Wendell’s hair today and didn’t make him look terrible, and went running a LOT.

Life is good.

Gratitude

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I am blessed beyond what I can express in words. On this Sunday evening, I’d like to list just a few of the many things that make life amazing for me:

1. My Savior and the atonement that he performed for us. It astounds me that the atonement was planned and prepared before the world was even created–from the very foundation of human existence.

2. Love. The love in my family, the love I feel for good friends like Alecia, and my best-friend-brother Logan, and the love I feel from ancestors who I have never even met in this lifetime.

3. Good music. Regina Spektor, Josh Turner, Paul Simon, Kalai, Ingrid Michaelson, Jack Johnson…okay, music may be a distraction (obsession?) for me lately, but what an enjoyable one!

4. My Aunt Monica and my Uncle Kyle. I enjoy their company every time they come over, and they’re always helping someone out or doing a project for someone.

5. The way the light falls on the mountains where I live. Sunrise or sunset, I truly live in the most beautiful place in the world.

Okay, that’s all I have time for. I’m going to go read a chapter of The Horse and His Boy to my little brothers. Oh, and I’m grateful for C.S. Lewis. And my baby sister Julia. And crochet. And blogging. And musical theater. And Saturday morning runs. And okay I really have to go now.

🙂

a little tribute

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Thank heaven for amazing and supportive brothers…

Who drive to BYU and spend a half hour in the freezing-cold parking lot breaking into my car because I locked my keys in it for the third time this month

Who show up to their classes tardy because I needed help setting up the projector for my Palestinian-Israeli conflict presentation

Who drag my lazy self out of bed so that we can go for early morning runs and eat early morning Craig Claybournes together

Who indulge me in late night talks that I just couldn’t live without

Who listen to my all my dating angst even though they’ve listened to my exact same worries countless times already

Who are always helpful, kind, and hilarious, even when I’m stressed out and running around like a chicken with my head cut off (a really mean and grumpy chicken with my head cut off–this happens far more often than it should)

Who I look up to in every way.

Thanks, guys.

Assurance

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What completely blows my mind (breaks my heart, actually)
is that there are people who think this is all just a

Fortunate Accident.

But I am one of the very lucky ones, I suppose–
No! Not lucky, blessed
–whose surety is simple enough that

In the morning when the rosy light bathes the mountains,
And shines through my soul like a tile of glass,

I know that there is a God.

That is all it takes, really.

Yet all things bear witness of it.
The way Julia says my name, “Dee-dee-dee!”
The miracle of birth and
My Family
The sinking-into-a-warm-bath feeling of true friends
The poem “Jerusalem” by William Blake
Sitting at table with my Barlow grandparents,
The life that they have lived
Friendship of two brothers who astound me with their goodness.

And even in my life’s darkest night,
the glitter of the stars
is enough

to know.

I’m Back!

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So after a long hiatus from my blogging life, I’ve decided to re-enter the blogging world so that I can record more of my random thoughts and experiences–since, it turns out, there is life after Jerusalem, after all.

So in the six months since I last posted I have:

Climbed the Grand Teton.


Me and my dad, uncles, and brothers on the summit.

Been a bridesmaid and married off two of my best friends.


Jana, Jessica, me, Heather, Samantha, and our beautiful bride Carrie. (Carrie’s mom made her dress! Isn’t that amazing? P.S. This photo is courtesy of Samantha.)


Davy Bennet and Kristi Torgerson…no, wait! She’s a Bennet now. Weird how marriage will do that to you. (Photo courtesy of Mindy Tuikolovatu.)

Enjoyed time with my delightful, inspiring, hilarious family.

And in between all that there’s been lots of school, work, football games, genealogy, rock climbing, road trips, and everything else that makes life great.