Benefits

While she generally dislikes being the lone wolf cub left in the den, Malia has discovered that there are perks. Like the fact that she doesn’t have to fight Nathan over who will get to eat the last of the fruit salad right out of the serving bowl. 

Organ Donors (It’s Not What You Think)

One of the joys of Nathan’s time at USU was his organ lessons. And as his time in in college approached its end, he decided that he wanted to do a senior recital. As he began his last semester of school, he mentioned his desire to his organ teacher, and she supported his idea wholeheartedly. As an organ professor, she has some connections and intel about the many organs in our area and had a perfect location in mind. There is a Methodist church in downtown Salt Lake that not only has the oldest pipe organ on the Wasatch front (yes, older than the famous tabernacle organ) but also invites community members to use their organ and church as a performance space. Apparently, the donors that help fund the maintenance and running of the church want to make the organ accessible to musicians because it allows more people to play and appreciate an amazing historical instrument. They generally charge a fee as this helps give them the funds they need to run and maintain the church and the organ, but for students they waive the fee. Nathan was completely on board with that location and scheduled his recital for two weeks after graduation. Since this recital was not a graduation requirement or anything like that, he figured that it would give him several stress-free weeks to practice. In fact, one of the really good things about this particular recital is that because Nathan is not a music major, he could approach his senior recital as a completely optional, totally enjoyable experience. There were no juries and no faculty with the power to nix his graduation. It was a stress-free way to share the joy he has found in playing the organ with his friends and family. 

Nathan’s recital was this afternoon. Kevin, Malia, and I picked Kevin’s mom up on the way, so she was able to attend. Daniel and Tawni as well as one of Tawni’s sisters and a good friend accompanied them. Nathan had other friends from Logan drive down and Stevie, one of his roommates during his first semester in college prior to his mission, drove up from Provo. Nathan’s first ever piano teacher and a beloved neighbor of ours was in attendance with her husband, whom we also adore. One of Nathan’s good friends from high school arrived with her one-year-old daughter in tow. Her husband, another longtime friend of Nathan’s, had to be at work, but Maddie and her daughter, who loves music and behaved perfectly for such a little soul, made attendance a priority. And there were a few others connected with the church that came. Nathan was so pleased with the amount of support he got. It was nice to see a goodly sized group of young adults drive down from Logan for the event, especially since Nathan’s friends rarely stick around long term. And he was so pleased to be able to play yet another amazing historic organ. 

And it was a beautiful organ with a wonderful sound. Nathan chose a variety of contrasting pieces that allowed him to showcase everything from the quiet, gentle stops to the big, building rumbling moments that only a pipe organ can create. This particular organ has such a warm, rich sound and as always, I loved being able to feel the vibrations when Nathan played the big, loud parts! The folks from the church that Nathan worked with to coordinate practice times were so happy to accommodate him and they mentioned to us that he is welcome to go back and play the organ whenever he would like. He just needs to check in with them to make sure the church is open and that no one else is scheduled to use the space. I love their great desire to see their organ played as often as possible and their willingness to invite all to do so, not just members of their congregation! They have a good relationship with our church and have consulted with them in matters concerning repair and preservation of some of the stained glass in their building, and honestly, it was so good to rub shoulders with other Christians who just love and accept regardless of denomination. It was a reminder to me that there are good people all over. 

This afternoon’s events feel like the end of an era to me. It has been a great four years as Nathan has learned to love playing the organ and has had the chance to play so many great instruments. I don’t know when he will have a chance to play one of these historic organs or have an opportunity to play for others besides the times he plays for regular church meetings. But for now, he is basking in the glow of a recital well played, well attended, and well loved.

Calculating a Career

You know that proverbial light at the end of the tunnel? The one I mentioned yesterday regarding Daniel’s academic career? Nathan has been seeing that light as well and today it was his turn to step into the bright light of being a college grad. While Daniel knew what he wanted to do career-wise when he was about five minutes old, Nathan was more normal. He went through several ideas over the years. As a middle schooler, inspired by Mr. Davis, his beloved choir teacher, he was thinking that being a choir teacher would be absolutely fantastic. In high school he realized that being a public-school teacher would make it difficult to support a family and his focus shifted. He had a fantastic physics teacher (a teacher that my dad worked with years ago while he was still teaching) and his thoughts turned to majoring in physics. As a junior in high school, a brand-new high school opened that covered our area and he was instrumental in building what has become a large and successful math department. His enthusiasm for the subject and his desire for upper-level math classes helped prioritize some of those classes as the math department structured their class offerings. He would frequently come home from school and use the whiteboard I have on the fridge to show me what he did in his math class that day. He was just so excited that he had to share it.

Nathan started college with a plan to major in physics, but as he got going in college-level classes, he discovered that the math was what he really liked about physics. That realization led him to shift to a major in math. When the chronic headaches and migraines brought him home from his mission earlier than anticipated, he also discovered that he loves reading all the statistical data that’s included with the prescription medications that he was given. Most of us throw those informational leaflets away, the ones that detail all the FDA studies that were done prior to approval of the medication, but Nathan read them for fun. That fascination led him in the direction of statistics, and he settled on a major in math with a degree in math statistics composite and a desire to work in the field of data analytics.

During his time at USU, Nathan has made his mark in the math department. Students taking math classes at USU register for a recitation in addition to their main course. The recitation is basically a smaller class led by an upper-level math student and designed as a supporting class period in which to ask questions and get help with the concepts taught in the larger classes. Nathan was encouraged to apply to be a recitation leader a few years back and it has been one of the numerous jobs he has worked concurrently over his college years. This past summer he was also asked to work with the Aggie Math Learning Center to compile data relating student visits to the AMLC to how well they do in their classes to show correlation between visits and success in classes as well as to supply justification for funding. In addition to using his math prowess to make sense of the data, he used the programing skills he had gained in a basic programing class to create an online dashboard as an easy-to-understand visualization of his results. The professors in the math department were enormously impressed with his work, and it has already been useful to them. 

During this graduation season, he was the recipient of awards for both the outstanding undergraduate recitation leader and outstanding math/stats composite undergrad. He also graduated Summa Cum Laude with a 3.95 GPA and a minor in ASL. As one of the top students in the undergrad math department, he was invited to be interviewed for a series of short videos highlighting exceptional students from all fifteen departments in the newly merged college of arts and sciences. (More on that massive merger upcoming.) Snippets of a few of these videos were played as we waited for the ceremony to start, and Nathan was one of the lucky winners of a minute on the big screen. He was also featured in the Utah Stateman, the USU student newspaper.  While he never makes choices based on how much attention he will gain, he does strive for excellence and that has obviously been noticed throughout his time at USU.

I promised more info on the huge college of arts and sciences, so here it comes. Due to state mandated budget cuts, the university decided to merge the colleges of Humanities and Social Sciences, the College of the Arts, and the College of Science into one massive college. That merger decreased day-to-day running costs, but it also means that half of the university is contained in that one college. Which also means that half the students graduating were doing so in one massive ceremony. Having said that, the graduation definitely could have been worse. Although about 1100 students graduated, only 700 actually participated in the commencement. It only took an hour and 15 minutes to read all the names. And they didn’t play Pomp and Circumstance, which was a bit surprising, but at least we didn’t have to hear the same two minutes of music repeated ad nauseum for over an hour. The entire program lasted just over two hours, but it could have been shortened if the person introducing the valedictorian had given a briefer introduction. It was one part of the proceedings that was far too long. The valedictorian didn’t speak for a terribly long time though, so that was good. The other speaker was a grad from 1998 and a current doctoral candidate. He is from Iran and his story of coming to the U.S. for college was interesting until he asked for donations and a QR code was flashed up on all the screens. In my opinion, that was in poor taste. And I wasn’t the only one who thought so. I have not talked to anyone who had any idea what he said after that. Anyway, lack of tact aside, we survived the graduation and had pizza and Aggie ice cream at Daniel and Tawni’s apartment to conclude our evening. 

Nathan is not sure what is next for him. He is planning to stay in Logan for the summer and then move back (almost) home if he doesn’t have a job and somewhere else to live by then. The job market is tough right now and both he and Daniel are dealing with a multitude of resumes and job applications submitted with very few responses of any kind. That brings with it a great deal of uncertainty. And so, Nathan has plans to study for his next ASL professional certification test so he can hopefully pick up more interpreting hours while he is looking for a job in his preferred career field. And if finding that job takes longer than hoped for, at least he will have a lucrative side job that he is well qualified to do.

Another Ending

Over the past four years, Nathan has been taking organ lessons at USU. It is one of those things that he does for the joy, not because he needs the credits to graduate. During that time, we have been able to drive to Logan to attend a number of his end of semester organ recitals. Yesterday was another trip north to attend Nathan’s last on-campus organ recital. He does get to play at Temple Square one more time and he is doing a mini senior recital of his very own a couple weeks after graduation so we aren’t done listening him play some big organs, but it was the last opportunity to meet his teachers and give a big thank you to them for helping him develop a skill that makes him so very happy. It was also an opportunity to take all our college kiddos to dinner and spend some time with them. Neither Daniel nor Nathan have full-time jobs yet, but I know that they are looking all over and will go where the work takes them. That means our short jaunts up to visit them may very well become long drives that necessitate taking vacation time. So, it was nice to be able to spend a few hours will all my crew sans Matthew. Of course, once Matthew gets home, there will be reasons for Logan trips again, but by then the others will likely be elsewhere…

There is Something Immensely Satisfying About Having a Hibiscus Blooming in My Window When It Is Snowy Outside

And yes. We finally got some snow. It was 60 degrees on Christmas and when it started snowing last week, Nathan told me that it kind of made him want to do a Christmas do over. 😂

I Still Love Frog and Toad

You may recall that over the past year, Nathan has had the opportunity to interpret for several stage productions. First, Elephant and Piggie, a children’s show based on a popular children’s book series. Then a high school level production of Les Miserable, also based on a book. Nathan has absolutely loved these opportunities as they are a blend of several things he loves-ASL and theater. Although we have seen videos and pictures of Nathan in this type of work, we had not seen him in action in person. So, when he told us that he would be interpreting for “A Year with Frog and Toad,” another children’s production based on another book series, we took the opportunity to drive up to Logan to see him. 

While the Elephant and Piggie books are fairly new in the sense that they were published when my kids were young, the Frog and Toad books were published when I was young. In fact, they are a book series that we owned, and I read them over and over. They were some of my childhood favorites. Some years ago, someone wrote a musical based on the characters from the Frog and Toad book series. The boys and I saw a production of the show many years back when my sister Patti was in a community theater production, and it was loads of fun. We bought the soundtrack and it is one they listened to a lot for a while and that I revisit from time to time. In fact, the “Cookies” song pops up in my head on a fairly regular basis. I mean, I do love cookies and it is a super catchy number. So, in addition to getting to see Nathan interpret, we had the chance to see a fun show!

Kevin, Malia and I drove up and picked up Nathan, and then Daniel and Tawni joined us for lunch and the show. There weren’t any Deaf youngsters at this performance, which is a shame, but Nathan worked and got paid regardless. And he is likely going to be interpreting for more shows over the coming months. The Utah Festival Opera is highly interested in continuing to provide opportunities to make theater accessible for the Deaf. And they have been so pleased with Nathan’s work. He is, of course, tickled pink that they want him to keep coming back.

Nathan was just full of enthusiasm and joy as he worked, and it was so fun to see that! He let his liaison at the theater know we were family, and they even gave us permission to take pictures of him, something that is generally a big no-no in the world of live theater. So, family time, theater time, ASL time…it was a great way to spend a day. Add to that revisiting a childhood favorite, and it’s a win all around. And now I’m not the only one who has the “Cookies” song stuck in my head. 😉

I’ll end with one funny anecdote from the show. At one point, one of the shrink-wrapped cookies they were using as props fell out of a pocket, rolled across the stage, and bopped Nathan right in the back of the head. The entire audience could see that cookie rolling, but Nathan had no idea why suddenly, all eyes were on him. Of course, it was only a matter of time before he felt that cookie tap his noggin, and even then, he didn’t know what it was until he had a chance to glance down at the floor and spotted the offending dessert. All the kids in the audience thought it was hilarious!

Merry (Last) Christmas

For Christmas of 2024, Nathan gave Kevin, Malia and I an experience gift consisting of a trip to Color Me Mine. Malia’s gift certificate also specified that lunch would be included. But after Christmas break, everyone went back to school. And as is common in college, balancing school, work, and church callings left Nathan with very little free time. Once school ended in May/June, we were up to our eyeballs in prepping Matthew to head to Arkansas and planning a wedding. The week after the wedding, everyone went back to school. So those experiences didn’t happen in the timely manner that we had all anticipated. We did head to Color Me Mine during Nathan’s fall break this year, but Malia ascertained that it did not count as her gift because 1) lunch was not included and 2) an outing where Kev and I were in on the fun was absolutely not the outing with her brother that she expected. I know we are old and boring, so I get where she is coming from. LAUGHING WITH TEARS SMILEY However, during our adventure in the fall, a plan was hatched in which Malia would be transported to Logan between Christmas and New Year’s to spend some time with her older siblings.

Nathan was home for a week and when he went back to Logan on Sunday evening, Malia went with them. She stayed with Daniel and Tawni, so some coordinating of schedules was necessary as they were in Orem with Tawni’s family all day on Sunday. Once they all made it back north, they gathered at Daniel and Tawni’s abode and played games. I love that playing games is such a beloved pastime for my kiddos. It is so much more interactive than just watching a movie. Not that they don’t do that too, and not that a movie viewing can’t be a fun social activity, especially when the film is accompanied by much joking and commentary, but in my opinion, playing games is a great way to enjoy the company of others and get to know them really well. I mean, a rousing round of any number of games can tell you a lot about a person. You learn who is super competitive, who is a poor loser, who takes things too seriously, who is a fantastic problem solver, who is willing to take a loss for the team, etc. And to throw in a real-life example of how game playing can help you get to know people, Daniel and Tawni met in a Dungeons and Dragons group. They played weekly for two years before they decided they wanted to give dating a try. So, they have proven that being an avid game player can lead to marital bliss. WINKY SMILY But editorializing aside, they gathered, they played, they stayed up late, they had lots of fun.

Yesterday was a full day of sibling time. Tawni had to work for a few hours in the morning, so Daniel, Nathan and Malia played more games while she was gone. Then they all headed to Raising Cane’s for lunch. This not only filled the obligatory “lunch” portion of the Christmas gift, but Cane’s is one of Malia’s most favorite meals ever. Nathan may be addicted to Chick-fil-a, but Malia is hooked on Cane’s. And in her defense, they do make one of the better versions of fast-food chicken fingers. The menu is not as varied as Chick-fil-a, but where food allergies are concerned, often that is beneficial. Anyway, it has been probably a month since the last time we hit Cane’s, so Malia was definitely ready for a dose of fingers and fries. 

After lunch, they went to Color Me Mine and exercised their creativity. Apparently, the location in Logan has fancier paint options than the one we visited, because Nathan sent us details on all the cool speckled paints they have. Several of the kids made use of said fancy paints, and I’m excited to see how everything turns out. That’s one of the fun things about painting ceramics. The color and luster of the paint are completely different once they are fired, so you make a plan based on your desired end result, but don’t really get to see how it will all work out until you pick up your pieces. It’s also fun to see what piece each person chooses. There are lots of options and I don’t think I’ve ever done an outing where more than one person selected the same item.

Once they were done painting, they visited the Pepperidge Farm store at the factory up there. With all the goodies significantly cheaper than at normal retail stores, they loaded up on goldfish crackers and Milano cookies. Nathan even grabbed a couple of bags of the new white chocolate Milano cookies that I can eat sans headache. They are so good! And I appreciate that he thinks of me. Malia, who is hooked on hoodies, also came home with a Goldfish logoed sweatshirt.

In the evening, Daniel and Nathan got sent away since it was officially a girls’ night. Charlotte, one of Tawni’s sisters, joined them for pizza, nail painting, and a movie. With three brothers and no sisters, Malia hasn’t had the opportunity for a whole lot of girls’ nights. I mean, there have been some, especially with Kate, but those have been relatively few. So, Malia was pretty darn happy about the whole thing. She gets along really well with Tawni too. They text all the time and I could not be more pleased that Malia is getting a glimpse of what it is like to have a sister.

When Kev picked Malia up today, she was tired but happy. When the gift was given last Christmas, we did not yet know that there would be a sister-in-law to join in the fun. But having Tawni around has been such a blessing already. And as I’ve mentioned before, Malia misses her brothers so the chance to spend a few days with them was a fantastic thing for her. I just means that it was even quieter than usual around here…

A Passion for Peppermint

Nathan has a mild Chick-fil-a addiction. His desire to budget wisely generally makes his consumption of said food stuffs reasonable, but when the peppermint milkshakes return each year, his temperance is sorely tried. In fact, this year he and his friends created a sticker chart to keep track of how many shakes each one of them consumes. They didn’t decide on a prize for the winner, nor did they decide if the most shakes consumed or the most constraint shown determines the winner, but they made the chart!

When the peppermint delights returned last month, Nathan encouraged me to give them a try because he was pretty sure I would like them. However, upon closer inspection, we discovered that they contain chocolate, which is not good for me and my far too frequent headaches. And we never take Malia to Chick-fil-a because despite the fact that the peanut oil they use in their fryers is considered free of the proteins that trigger allergies, it has always seemed like an unnecessary risk to me. So, we take her to Cane’s instead. Add to that the fact that caloric delights of all kinds are notorious for being unsafe for those with nut allergies and that means the peppermint shakes from Chick-fil-a are also not the best option for her. But we try not to let the allergies and food restrictions get in our way any more than necessary, so we made our own.

Nathan says they are just as good as the authentic branded version. And I might just have a new holiday treat addiction. They were delightful! Oh, and his friends think that even the homemade copycat version counts where the sticker chart is concerned. 😂

Producing a Pretzel Precedent

Today was Chinese pretzel day #2 for Daniel and Nathan. Their first pretzel day was scheduled so that Jacob and Marissa (one of Nathan’s neighbors) could participate. But Tawni had to work that day, which necessitated a second pretzel day. Today’s pretzel making allowed Tawni, Charlotte, and Cami (two of Tawni’s sisters) to experience their first ever pretzel day. The boys have gotten their production line pretty fine-tuned and with five sets of hands working together, I suspect the whole process went much faster than it does around here. Nathan told me that the first timers were certain the end product needed some powdered sugar or even some Nutella, but once convinced to try them, they determined that the pretzels don’t need any adornments. Because they really don’t. 😉

I suspect that by feeding pretzels to their friends and new in-laws and associated extended family, Daniel and Nathan are setting a precedent. Before they know it, everyone will want to enjoy some pretzels every year. But as the boys seem to enjoy the whole process, maybe that’s a good thing. There is something to be said for handing down family traditions and knowledge to future generations. And honestly, I’m glad they are enjoying cooking their heritage. And eating it!

Speaking of eating, after Daniel and Nathan headed up the pretzel making committee, Tawni took over and became the entire dinner cooking committee. Tawni likes to cook. And she isn’t a follow-a-recipe kind of cook. She is a feel-the-vibe kind of a cook which basically means she is creative and cooks and seasons according to taste. My little Logan crew and their cronies have started giving Tawni a challenge to use a specific ingredient or two and then giving her free reign to cook whatever she wants for dinner. Nathan calls it the “choose your own adventure” kind of dinner.

Earlier this week the challenge was to make chili using a specific citrus spice blend Nathan had. The result was a white chicken chili well-seasoned and spiked with lime juice. Tonight, the instruction was to use some Cory cow. Sirloin ramen was the result. It looked delicious. And it makes me wonder if I could step up my cooking game with a bit of experimentation. I sometimes get bored with our menu and boredom leads to dissatisfaction after dinner which leads to a desire to nibble on other things not because I’m still hungry, but because the meal I ate was not satisfying for my tongue. Malia has become a super picky eater of late, and that is definitely not helping matters. I’ve tried to choose dinners that I know she will eat, but that way leads to boredom as previously mentioned. So maybe I need to just break out of the routine and try something different. Maybe I need to try a “choose your own adventure” kind of meal once in awhile…

Priorities

With finals over, Daniel and Nathan have turned their focus to far more important things-Chinese pretzels. They scheduled a day that was soon enough after finals that Jacob and Marissa, one of Nathan’s friends, would still be in town as both of them wanted to participate in the making of the pretzels. Because those who help make them have part ownership and eating rights pertaining to the finished product. And anyone who is addicted to these crunchy little wonders knows that one or two is just never enough! Nathan has picked up a few more tips since last year’s inaugural pretzel day, and this time he knew exactly how to adjust the batter to get optimal results. They turned out perfect!

As a side note, Nathan Facetimed me to see if their early pretzels looked right and it just so happened that I was at my mom’s house today helping her make pretzels, so he got the Chinese Grandma’s stamp of approval! And I guess if you look at it the right way, this whole process is about learning and passing on cultural and family traditions, so if we call it family history maybe that is a good way to rationalize the importance of the event. Or maybe I’m just trying to justify eating my own body weight in Chinese pretzels. 😂

Running Gag

noun: a joke/gag that is repeated many times in slightly different ways

I don’t know if this is a normal thing for most families, but around here we have a proclivity for running gags. We will have a totally random topic or word or song pop up in our conversations and then for some reason we just keep working it in…over, and over, and over. Ask Nathan about pants. That one’s been rolling around for almost ten years now. Anyway, revisiting the gags usually ends up being funny or at least making Malia roll her eyes so hard that she can see her brain. Earlier this year, the DARE song was the gag. Drugs and that catchy tune from our kids’ 5th grade participation in the DARE program just came up far more frequently than was probably good for us. But it was funny. And so, it kept happening. After a while we aged out of that gag, and something else took its place. 

For some reason, cannibalism has been an on again/off again joke topic throughout this year. I think Malia started it with a random comment in the group chat my kids have established with their cousins on Kevin’s side of the family. But as I’m not actually in that group chat, I’m not certain. Nevertheless, cannibalism is a topic that has popped into our joke/random comment repertoire fairly frequently of late. And that led me to select this year’s Halloween dinner: man-burgers. And while this evening’s repast did not have the visual impact of some I’ve created in previous years, it did hit that running gag. And it was tasty. And simple to prepare. And honestly, I needed that this week.

As for costuming this year, Malia and two of her bestest friends planned a group costume. Malia was Eeyore with her friends dressed up as Winnie the Pooh and Tigger. Malia sent me a text from school this morning telling me that one of her teachers had the exact same costume as she did. At least she was amused and not utterly humiliated. Because as a middle schooler, it could go either way. This evening, she is off at a friend’s house for a Halloween party, still in costume, of course. 

Nathan hasn’t really dressed up for Halloween for years, but this year he decided that he wanted to join the festivities. He dressed up as Steve from Blues Clues, a kids’ t.v. show that was popular when he was part of the preschool demographic. He was super excited about it and watched an entire episode of Blues Clues to get into character. And then he made a short Blues Clues inspired video for us rather than just sending a picture. With Blue and his handy dandy notebook in hand, he headed off to work and school with some of his notes for one of his jobs written in his notebook. With a giant crayon, of course. 😂 And he turned heads all day. Everyone in his generation is familiar with Blues Clues and even as he was walking back to his apartment this afternoon, he could see heads turn in recognition as the cars drove by. 

Halloween has become a much slower holiday in our entire neighborhood, not just our house. Families have grown up, just like ours, and it seems like there are fewer and fewer kids knocking on the door every year. We still make sure to keep some candy on hand for those that come, but we make sure to buy stuff we like so that it will actually get eaten eventually when the doorbell only rings a dozen times.

As usual, I already have ideas of fun foods I want to create next year. But as for next week, we begin making pies!

Merry…Fall?

Last Christmas Nathan jumped on the whole experience gift train and gifted Kevin, Malia, and I with a trip to Color Me Mine. He went back to school after Christmas break and was out of town with friends for his spring break. Once his semester was over, we were neck deep in getting a missionary out the door and planning a wedding. About five minutes after the wedding, school started again. And so, though it had not been the intention, we found the calendar rapidly creeping towards Christmas once again and had yet to redeem last Christmas’ gift. Nathan only had one day for fall break this year, but he didn’t have any plans, so he drove down and helped us make applesauce last Friday. And on Saturday, we finally made it to Color Me Mine!

As it is fall, the Halloween and Christmas pieces are in stock, so Kevin and I opted for something Halloweeny. Kevin chose a sorcerer’s hat, and I painted a cute jack-o-lantern. Nathan opted for a super cute dinosaur mug, and Malia selected a roller skate. Apparently, Benson Boone has a music video in which he roller blades (I only know this because Google tells me so) and so her selection was in honor of her recent attendance at his American Heart Tour concert. She painted her skate red, white and blue, and paid a bit of homage to Boone by adding his initials to the back. It was super fun to sit for an afternoon and create a little something fun.

Once we finished painting, we headed over to Tsunami for dinner. We haven’t been since before Matthew left on his mission and we were all missing it a bit. And the funny thing is, all his allergy info is linked to Kevin’s account so even though Matthew was not there and we had a server we have never worked with before, she came to the table and immediately began to address the allergy needs. Which is why we love the staff at Tsunami! They are super fantastic! And another of the servers that we have worked with multiple times, asked where Matthew was and how he is doing. 😊

For those who have never been, ceramics painted at Color Me Mine get glazed and fired before you take them home, so there is a bit of a wait. Ours was actually a pretty quick one as our things were ready today, four or five days ahead of schedule. They all came out looking great! And it makes me want to go back soon and choose something Christmasy…

A Whale of a Tale

Nathan is fully engaged in his ward. Which is good. When I was in college, I was all in too, making sure to set aside time for weekly family home evenings and ward prayers and all the ward activities. Not only do you get to meet lots of people that way, but it can be super fun. This week his FHE activity was a photos scavenger hunt. And his team won, with the prize being a bag of Otter Pops for each person in his group. Which he was super happy about. He shared one of the photos that led them to victory and it made me laugh. 

He is definitely not above acting a bit silly when Otter Pops are on the line…or really any time. 😂

The Man Behind the Curtain

Due to a law that went into effect last year, Nathan’s opportunities for paid ASL interpreting work have been nearly non-existent of late. Basically, the law states that only someone with a professional level certification can be hired as an interpreter. That seems all good on the surface, but what it means in the real world is that those who have an intermediate level certification can’t be hired thereby not getting any more experience which greatly hinders their ability to get enough real work practice to pass the professional certification test. And the Utah ASL professional test is extremely difficult to pass. Nathan has taken it three or four times and has passed everything except one area each time. But the area that he doesn’t pass isn’t the same each time. It is different. And he has really struggled getting detailed feedback about his test results which means that he really doesn’t know what he needs to do to improve. The whole thing has actually been very frustrating and discouraging for him.

From many of his contacts in the ASL interpreting world, he has heard that the Utah professional test is much harder to pass than the national level cert test and the national test supersedes the state one so if he passes that, he won’t need to pass the Utah professional test to gain professional level certification. But he needs to have a bachelor’s degree before he can qualify to take the national test, so he is going to start practicing for the national test in the spring so that he can take it sometime after he graduates in early May next year. In the meantime, he is still looking for opportunities to interpret wherever he can. He interprets for classes at the university when there is a need and it fits in his schedule, has interpreted for firesides, MTC devotionals, etc.

While he hasn’t been offered any jobs through the two interpreting agencies he is employed by, Nathan has applied and been hired by the church to work as an interpreter. His ultimate goal is to be able to interpret for general conference, but of course, he has to work his way up through the ranks of church-employed interpreters. He isn’t bothered by that though and was super excited for his first paid church job this morning. He had the opportunity to be part of the team of interpreters for two temple ground breakings, the Tampa Florida temple and the Vancouver Washington temple. While the actual events were in different states, the interpreting and broadcasting teams work here in Salt Lake. Nathan got to take a tour of the behind-the-scenes areas of the church broadcasting system at the conference center and thought the entire thing was super cool. He was impressed by just how many people it takes to make all the broadcasts run smoothly and was pleased as punch to be able to participate. 

Kevin and I were both just a little bit proud to see him interpreting in an official church capacity. 😉

Full Circle

Although Nathan has not had a lot of ASL interpreting jobs lately due to a change in laws concerning what level of certification is required to be hired, he has been working with the Utah Festival Opera this summer to provide interpreting for several shows. A few months ago, he interpreted for a children’s production based on the extremely popular Elephant and Piggie books by Mo Willams. He had a ball doing that one and absolutely loved seeing little faces light up when Deaf children were able to experience live theater for the first time.

Over the past several months, he has been preparing to interpret for a production of the high school version of Les Misérables. He works with a team of interpreters, and they have been practicing and planning for quite a while. One member of the team is an official interpreter employed by the Disney company and Nathan thought it was pretty neat to be able to work with an obviously highly skilled and experienced interpreter. He took advantage of the opportunity to ask questions and get some insights into being a professional interpreter.

One of the things that Les Mis has that Elephant and Piggie does not is a good smattering of cuss words and quite a bit of inuendo. Interpreting is all about conveying the ideas and words given and editing or changing words is not the name of the game, so Nathan has actually had some conundrums about how to interpret some of those things that are not taught in the classroom. But he knew he needed to be able to appropriately interpret whatever a client might throw his way. To that end, he recently went to a weekend workshop about swearing in ASL and let me tell you, he learned some extremely colorful new signs. I think he told me the included vocab list was seventeen pages, and included multiple words and phrases he had never been exposed to before, either in sign or spoken English. LAUGHING WITH TEARS SMILEY And even those this production was the slightly tamed high school version, he still had plenty of opportunities to use his newly gained knowledge!

One of the things Nathan loves about this type of performance interpreting is seeing the reactions of those for whom he is interpreting. One of his highlights for this show was seeing one Deaf audience member moved to tears by the action onstage and the accompanying interpreting gave them everything they needed to be emotionally engaged in the story. Another of his highlights was meeting Millicent Simmonds, a Deaf actress who starred in the movie “A Quiet Place.” Apparently, she lives in the area, and Nathan was a little bit starstruck. He wanted to ask for a selfie with her but thought it would be unprofessional. As such, he opted not to. But he was excited to meet her and to have her tell their interpreting team that they did a great job!

Some of his friends attended the performance today so they could show their support. At some point I’d like to be able to attend one of these performances as well. But as you all well know, our lives are just a little bit busy right now. He really enjoys these theatrical interpreting gigs though, so I suspect there will be more opportunities in the future! 

Nathan told us that interpreting for this particular show was kind of a full circle moment for him. A few years ago, when we all went to see the Broadway Across America production of Les Misérables, we happened to be at one of the performances where ASL interpretation was offered. It was the first time Nathan had been exposed to interpreting for a theatrical production, and he was absolutely mesmerized. He spent equal time watching the stage and watching the interpreters. After the show, he was totally excited about the possibility of combining several of his passions and interpreting for a show. And now, he can say that he has done so!

Apparently, We Are Old and Boring

Our 4th of July weekend has been very laid back. We didn’t go to see big fireworks this year. We didn’t set off any fireworks at home, not even sparklers. We didn’t go to any BBQ’s or picnics, have any outdoor adventures (the heat is hard on me, so this is actually totally normal), or even create any red, white and blue crafts. Matthew has been to the temple multiple times (several of them as a temple worker) and Kevin took Malia to a coin shop, but other than some patriotic offerings to the fun food gods, it has been a slow holiday here at home.

On the other hand, Daniel and Nathan have had a much more exciting holiday. Daniel is in Boise with Tawni’s family and today they floated down the Boise River, basking in the sun and enjoying the wildlife. Nathan is also in Idaho, staying with a friend for a weekend full of burgers, fireworks, kayaking and learning how to become a farmer.

Once Matthew leaves later this month, I suspect Malia is going to get very bored. Or Kevin and I are going to take her places we couldn’t afford to go when all the boys were younger. Or maybe a combination of the two…I guess we’ll see! 😂

The Gift of Food

Esther gave Nathan a birthday present. Knowing that he loves cooking, she gave him an oven mitt. But not just any oven mitt. It is a Snoopy oven mitt with ears and everything. Basically, it is a puppet that belongs in the kitchen. And Nathan is definitely enjoying his gift! Today he broke Snoopy in by making orange creamsicle cookies. He also used a gift one of his friends gave him for Christmas, some vanilla bean paste. So, he had the fancy vanilla and the fun oven mitt and created some fabulous cookies using gifts from his family and friends. And he had fun doing it! And if all those who know him well are very fortunate, he will feed them!

Bao Bounceback

Apparently, Nathan is my child. Because his bao did not turn out as beautiful as he would have liked last week, he made another batch today to redeem himself as a cook. I do things like that all the time. When something doesn’t turn out just right, sometimes most of the time I have to try again to get better results. And most often, I end up needing to try again immediately so my brain can let it go and allow me to sleep. It’s one of those perfectionist tendencies I have. And honestly, sometimes it is a little annoying. I mean, why is a less than perfect cookie so devastating that I have to make a new batch right now so that I can feel good about myself? Seriously, being a perfectionist can be a drag. But at least Nathan waited a whole week before he made bao again. I suspect that is a much healthier way to approach improving upon one’s cooking skills!

Daniel was at work this time, but Tawni was on board for another bao filled day and her sister Charlotte joined the crew as well. And I’m going to be honest. Charlotte, as a bao novice, created some beautifully pleated bao that are far prettier than I have ever been able to make. The unpleated ones still taste just as good, but gosh, I wish I could make them that pretty!

I guess that means I need to make more bao…right now. 😂 

Birthday Bao

Nathan’s birthday is on Wednesday and by way of celebrating his big day, he decided to make bao. Today was a holiday which meant no work for him, so it was designated as bao day. He invited Daniel, Tawni, and Marissa, one of their neighbors, to join in his culinary creations, and they were all excited to participate. I suspect part of that is the “Little Red Hen” bit, the whole “if you help make it you get to help eat it” part, but I also think that there is some interest in learning to make the foods of our culture. Which I love. I also love that Nathan sees cooking as a way to treat himself! 

The end result was a little rough looking, although first timer Marissa created the cutest little bao that steamed up so pretty that I’m a little jealous. 😜 However, all those involved assure me that they tasted marvelous, Marissa stating that her “belly was very happy.” And I definitely believe the rave reviews. There is never any leftover bao, even when they are lacking in the looks department! These people who have been fed the goodness of homemade bao are likely forever ruined where the frozen kind you get at the store are concerned. 

Spiritual Enlightenment and the Traditional Breakfast

It is perfectly normal for families to have traditions associated with holidays such as Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter. We certainly have our fair share of traditions on each of those holidays. In church culture, it is also very common for families to have traditions associated with General Conference. And we have some of those as well. In particular, having sausage and muffins for breakfast is one of those unalterable traditions for us. When I was growing up, my mom always made muffins on the Sunday of General Conference. I continued to that trend with my own children, adding sausage to add some protein and balance our meal a bit. And my kids have continued that tradition as they have moved out and into their own abodes. 

Kevin and Matthew were on the road this morning driving home from St. George so they had their muffins for lunch, but the rest of us were well fed by the time conference started today. 😀