life commandments

i am reading a book called “the happiness project.” i’ve been reading it since march or so. i hate that i’ve allowed my life to nearly completely crowd my reading-for-pleasure time. i’m determined to un-cram and read more.

anyway, the author of “the happiness project” spent a year focusing on being happier and wrote about her experiences to share with the world. she based her happiness work on an initial list of self-created life commandments. she inspired me to develop my own set of rules for large and deliberate living.

1 – be my temple self
2 – be good in the middle
3 – best is the enemy of good
       & good is the enemy of best
4 – do it
5 – {almost} nothing is a big deal
6 – savor
7 – act how you want to feel
8 – be on time
9 – love your choice
10 – don’t say anything negative
11 – expect less

i’ve mulled over this list for many weeks, and i’m sure it will continually be edited. but i am grateful for the opportunity to think about what truly makes me happy. i don’t think i’ve ever had to work so hard to be happy as i have the past seven months. i have great hope that i’ll triumphantly turn the struggle into sanctifying growth.

happy pioneer day!

i super love pioneer day. even though i wasn’t in utah this july the 24, i couldn’t let the day pass without some true celebration of something so worth celebrating. i have a soft spot for the legacy of the mormon pioneers. in church on sunday, i was leading the congregation in singing hymns, and i got all teary in front of the crowd as we sang “come, come ye saints” together. i am truly, truly grateful for the sacrifices of the pioneers and the lessons i have learned and can apply to my own life from their incredible faith, diligence and resilience.

so, to honor, commemorate and revel, brittany and i hosted a little neighborhood party in our friends’ backyard. we made four pies to share: apple (recipe handed down all the way from brittany’s pioneer ancestors), strawberry rhubarb, peach raspberry and banoffee (an english dessert that we both adore).

i have to say all the pies turned out amazingly well – they were delicious! our guests enjoyed while bluegrass hymns filled the night air and laughter filled the yard.

we lit up some sparklers and waved them in celebration of the pioneers reaching the salt lake valley 165 summers ago.

we gathered to share some pioneer stories of faith and miracles.

and encouraged everyone to a second helping of pie!

celebration is good for the soul.

i live in a place that people often visit

my friend susie was in town last weekend. isn’t she adorable??

susie and i spent a couple of weeks together in guatemala last summer. as it turns out, our spirits are astonishingly kindred. our friendship is packed with real empathy and loads of understanding. susie is so refreshing to be around. it was so fun and easy to hang out with her for a few hours in the city that gloriously sunny saturday.

i told you i’d dedicate a blog post to you, susie girl!

and! bonus! i also got to see my mission companion sister jenks (that is thoroughly not her name now that she’s both no longer a missionary and has a new last name thanks to marriage – but that’s what she’ll always be to me) on saturday in the city! we met up for ike’s sandwiches at dolores park. it was fantastic to catch up and meet her husband and most of all to reminisce on the incredible days we spent together as missionaries.

hooray for san francisco being a gathering place!

a talent show, tennis, boating, jumping, bird watching, and eating roasted squid

the last full day of the reunion included a morning talent show featuring pretty awesome dance routines, some ukulele playing, a couple gymnastics moves and also mckay showcasing how he can smile and drink out of a straw at the very same time! these older grandkids love driving lessons from their uncles. it is fun to have nieces and nephews to remind me of junior high and high school days. yes, i have a nephew who is fifteen and six-three.every year we have a doubles tennis tournament. since shawni’s husband had to leave on sunday, i got to be her doubles partner. we totally lost in the first round, but then we got to play another match with her teenage kids. elle and i smoked max and shawni. it was maybe the most fun tennis match i’ve ever played. hanging out with these people in the sun after lunch is the best.out on the boat in the middle of the lake on a hot afternoon is really really my happy place. the teal water, the bouncy clouds, the cheers and usually holding a baby or two on my lap…and there is nothing like the sensation of waterskiing – especially the first ski of the year. these pictures don’t do my brothers’ mad skiing skills justice…after lunch, the grandkids participated in the first-ever eyrealm fear factor competition. it. was. stinking. awesome. my brother eli was in charge and started out the event with a little dance party to get everyone excited…but the kids’ faces soon turned a little worried as eli explained the game: several rounds of eating pretty gross stuff, and the last kid standing wins.the first round was a lemon:round two was a cup of vegetable juice, which yielded the first tears:quite a few of the kids made it to round three: seaweed. the twins struggled with that one:(aren’t those faces priceless??) round four was dried squid:camden and his loathing for hard boiled eggs struggled a little with round 5: quail eggs:the adults and the kids that didn’t advance to the next round loooooved watching the action:the idea of eating eyeballs got some kids a little miffed in round 6: anchovies:and the final round was a race to chew and swallow two roasted squid. eliza held her own as the only girl in the top five finals and mckay, unfortunately, had to use the barf bucket:the crowd was going wild as the final five tried to get those nasty things down as fast as possible:max couldn’t get that chewy slimy thing down quite fast enough, and isaac became fear factor champion!
 
another storm rolled in at the end of the day and we watched it move across the sky and illuminate the world with wondrous light.we had to do some jumping pictures…after dinner, we went bird watching! there is a bird refuge just north of bear lake that we’ve often passed but never really explored. the gate was closed and padlocked, but that didn’t deter us…we did see some amazing birds – including two with fish in their mouths! mckay worked all day to make these special bird watching goggles –
complete with a feather for camouflage!this night was so thick and dewy and perfect. the air was ethereal and kind.
the drive back was sublime, and the sun finally set just as we got home.

i had to go back to california on tuesday and then back to work on wednesday. it was so hard to leave when most everyone else was staying for a few more days. after this perfect, glowing bird watching night, i had a hard last day at the lake realizing everything i had to go back to and feeling alone and anxious. i’m grateful for memories of glorious bear lake sunsets and for the swellings of hope that come from recalling the simple joys of familial love – which continuously give me real power to keep striving and working to live big and live well.