Blog Resurrection

Wow. I knew it had been a while since I posted, but I didn't realize it had been more than three years. 

I decided to resurrect this blog so I could post some of the work I'm doing in my classes. I'm in three classes right now:

• Digital Content Creation through Ensign College (formerly known as LDSBC)
• Adobe Creative Communicator through the U
• User Experience/Interface (UX/UI) Design through the U

I didn't mean to get all three at once, but sometimes when it rains, it pours. 

Here's a project I did for the Creative Communicator course: My COVID Story

I also did an audio series about Atticus for the content creation course. I'll post those soon. This week we start on video. I'm not sure what my topic will be for that one.

Hope you like it.

Atticus's Latest Adventures

I'm going to go in reverse order just for the heck of it.

THE OPERA
Atticus's class created an opera, "The Legend of the Tumbleweed," through a partnership with Utah Opera, and they performed it at the Rose Wagner Theater downtown as part of a showcase with two other schools.  Here's my favorite part:

Atticus is standing in the back to the right. I wasn't quick enough to catch the previous line, which is, "We are here now safe and sound. In this cave we will never be found." See, the peaceful Sekoa tribe had just begun their spring festival to celebrate the flowers blooming in the desert when the shaman's evil twin brother, Black Elk, comes and tries to throw down. He gets banished, but the tribe apparently still feels threatened, because they decide to seek shelter in a cave. And then I guess there's a storm? Anyway, it's pretty dramatic.

This is the 5th year this teacher has done an opera as part of a unit on legends and storytelling. She gives the class the basic characters and rules (setting, conflict, resolution), and each child writes his or her own legend. She then took something from each story and created the libretto for the opera. I think Atticus's contribution was a cliff. His story included the chief getting poisoned and someone having to climb the cliff to get a flower that would provide the antidote. Which is certainly more dramatic than Mia and her mother getting lost in a storm, but who am I to judge?

Anyway, the performance was a really Big Deal, and even though Atticus was nervous and said he didn't want to perform downtown because he felt "too important" on stage, he had a fantastic time. It didn't hurt that the class and families met at a restaurant next to the theater beforehand for dinner. It was total pandemonium, but the kids had a great time, and I finally got to talk shout across the table to the mom of the kid in his class who lives in our neighborhood.

My sister Erin came, which was a treat for Atticus. When the performers came off the stage to give flowers to the audience, he gave his to her.

COMIC CON
James and Atticus went to Comic Con last weekend, and Atticus spent Saturday as Link. He bought the Master Sword on Friday, so he felt his costume was complete. He debated about getting the shield but decided he didn't want to carry it around.

They saw who they wanted to, and Atticus got to ask the creators of Rogue One why everyone had to die at the end, and they actually had an answer: they actually filmed a version of the ending where the girl gets away, but the writers insisted that at the end of Episode 4, there's a medal ceremony for everyone who helped destroy the Death Star, and no one from Rogue One was there. So they clearly had to have not survived. Makes sense, I guess.

THE HAIR

Atticus has reached the age where it's time to figure out who he is as an individual. He's concerned about what's mature, what's cool. And, happily, he's not too affected by what his peers think. For a couple weeks he wore a green bucket hat we found when cleaning out his closet. It didn't go with anything he wore, but it had skulls on it, so it was cool. I was happy to see that go, especially since it covered his eyes and ears halfway, and he's already not great at listening and watching where he's going.

Anyway, the latest manifestation is his hair. We had just gotten him a really nice looking haircut, where it was still long on top and the bangs framed his right eye so nicely. A week later he decided to part it the other direction, creating a messy mop with weird long bits covering his left ear. And the bangs flipped up. Goodness, he loves that flip:

He had to document it in about 20 photos on my phone. It's serious business.

He asked what we thought, and we told him we thought it looked dumb, but it's his head, so it's up to him. That's been my approach to most things like this: I'll tell you honestly what I think, but the decision is up to you. I did ask him to make one compromise and comb it the other way for church. Deal.

It's been so interesting to watch this boy grow up. I look forward to many years of figuring him out.

A Very Happy Birthday

Atticus and I both had birthdays this past week. We both got bikes:

And they both happen to be green. And the weather has been lovely enough to go on a couple longer rides along the Jordan River Parkway. I'm actually starting to discover my neighborhood.

Saturday was my birthday, and it was probably the best birthday I've had in quite a while.

It started with morning snuggle time with James. And no, that's not a euphemism for anything, it's just what it sounds like. In the early years of our marriage, when the last person got home from work, one of us would yell "snuggle call!" and we'd go jump on the bed and snuggle and talk about nothing in particular while listening to records on James's turntable, usually Leonard Cohen or side B of Abbey Road or maybe Johnny Cash's new stuff. Sometimes it was for a few minutes, sometimes it was a couple hours. It was my favorite part of the day. But life gets more complicated and eventually the turntable got moved to another room and snuggle time fell by the wayside. 

So I was thrilled to bring it back Saturday. The turntable is still downstairs, but I found Songs from a Room on Spotify and played it on my iPad. Atticus joined us for a few minutes but then went off to watch animé in the living room. It was just like the old days, except now we had iPads.

Eventually it was time to get up, and I put on my favorite outfit and went to a friend's Lula Roe party to exchange a shirt. I don't like most of their patterns, but there's one style of skirt I like and I found it in a cute pattern in my size. Snagged it. Wore it to church Sunday and to work Monday and felt awesome. Happy birthday to me!

Next was brunch at Les Madeleines. I love brunch. This was especially tasty. I had a Spanish-themed open-face sandwich with Serrano ham, manchego cheese, grilled asparagus, and a medium-cooked egg. With a green salad and a buttery pastry on the side. Atticus needed some help finishing his french toast, so I *had* to eat a piece of cinnamon swirl bread soaked in an orange custard. 

Then it was Atticus's turn. We needed to find him a bike. We had purchased my bike the night before (on clearance for half the price I was prepared to pay!!), and he'd fallen in love with a $300 mountain bike. I can't bring myself to spend that much on a bike he's going to outgrow in a few years, so we had to find an alternative. I wasn't sure we were going to make it--we went to three stores with no success and a few tears--when finally we found the green bike. It wasn't the color he hoped for, but it's the right size and style and we could take it home that day. Sold!

We went to couple bakeries to find me a birthday cake, then came home and rested for a bit. Then came the big event: James had found out that the Pioneer Theater Company was performing Chess, so he bought tickets. I love this man. When I was in college, a BYU student group performed Chess in a small theater-in-the-round. I'd never heard of it, just went with friends, but I fell in love. Went back a second time, then went back and hovered outside the door to see if they'd let me in during intermission. They did. Wore out the soundtrack. I remember lamenting with my sister Susan that it probably wouldn't be performed professionally anymore because the Cold War is over and stories about Russian defectors and the KGB are kind of passé. Then Josh Groban did a concert version for PBS. He did a good job, but, well, it's Josh Groban, and he'll never be Anatoly. So I was thrilled to see it here.

I was a little nervous when I learned that it would also be a concert performance, but they still did quite a bit of staging and sets, even though the performers carried their scripts and music with them. A couple flubbed lines, but otherwise unnoticeable. Except when Florence is singing her guts out about how angry she is, and I expect her to throw that binder at Freddy, and she doesn't because it's not actually a prop. Oh, and a guy in the chorus looked just like my brother-in-law Thaddeus, especially in the "One Night in Bangkok" number. I was mad he hadn't told me he was in town, but of course it wasn't him. He would have been just as fabulous, I'm sure. :)

Afterward we picked up Atticus from my friend's house and went home to crash. I'm still not used to the idea of being 44, but my birthday kind of makes up for it.

Atticus's birthday was Tuesday. It's hard to do much on a school day, but he made sure to do extra homework on Monday so he could skip it on Tuesday. He opened his presents when he got home: Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time video game from us (plus the bike), and the Ocarina of Time books from Grandma and Grandpa. He got money from Nana and Grandpa Clarence, and he plans to spend it on Link's master sword at Comic Con this weekend. When this boy likes something, he goes all in. He got to choose dinner, so we went to a Chinese buffet and then to Baskin Robbins for dessert. Extra snuggles at bedtime. 

He's going to have a friend party in a couple weeks, so it feels like we haven't really celebrated yet. He wants to have it at our house, which is nice in a way, but then I look at how much we need to do to make our backyard presentable, and I get a little daunted. But it's not about impressing anyone, right? It's about giving 8 kids a fun afternoon, and I can't imagine they care about last year's leaves piled up against the fence. They just want to run around and smack a piñata and eat cake. I can do that. We may break out the disco ball and let them dance in the basement. We'll see. 

We Bennetts know how to party.

James has a new car!

I was waiting to get a picture of James next to his new car, but I'm really bad at taking pictures, so if you want to hear from me you'll have to get used to not seeing many photos. Sorry. This happened in January.

We have finally replaced James's 1997 Geo Prism. It was a good car that served us well. But it wasn't going to pass inspection this year, and we really didn't want to put more money into it.

The new one is a 2014 Hyundai Elantra with 31K miles on it. It has all sorts of bells and whistles that the Prism didn't, like *gasp* a CD player! And cruise control! We will most likely drive this car on our longer road trips now that my Subaru has more than 100K miles.

I have to say it will take me some time to get used to having a blue car. My family has always favored red cars. Or green. In high school I drove a neon green Ford Fiesta, and our first Subaru was a bright sage-y green. I miss those cars...

The only blue car I've ever driven was an ancient tank of a Crown Victoria. I loved that car. It laughed at the snow, and the seats were so plush and comfy. I remember listening to the Hunchback of Notre Dame soundtrack with my sister Susan, and we both yelled "SANCTUARY!!" at the right time in the song. Of course that car almost died on Susan, overheating on every hill between Idaho Falls and Salt Lake. But the trip wasn't a total loss, because she ended up marrying the guy she went to see. So yeah, it was a good car.

I hope this blue car brings us at least as many happy memories.

The problem with savings.

I thought I set up the auto-post for this to go up in January, but I guess it didn't. Here it is now.

So we've been saving up for our family reunion this summer. I was really proud of myself for thinking ahead and figuring out how much to save each month and actually doing it. I loved watching that account grow, knowing we wouldn't use credit or debt for the trip.

Then it came time to pay for the reservations. I was able to pay in full, which was very satisfying.

But now that account is empty. It makes me sad to look that $28 balance. The account's not dead; we're still saving for future vacations. We hope to take another small trip this summer and maybe a bigger trip in 2018.

I finally understand that old saying about having cake. Maybe I just need to save twice as much so I can eat half the cake and still have some. I'll have to work on that...

This Kid.

Here are a few things I want to remember about Atticus.

• We bought some dolls and toys around Christmas to donate to the homeless shelter, and Atticus liked the baby dolls enough that he made one for himself. He named it Joe. Atticus has grown attached to our neighbor, who is named Joe. And apparently there's a Joe in the show he's currently watching, so baby Joe it is. He's lying on a blanket.
• 
• He's currently afraid of elevators. And ghosts. And public bathrooms. But he's no longer afraid of the characters from the video game Five Nights at Freddy's, which he's never actually played or watched anyone play. But the logo and the licensed apparel he's seen at school were apparently enough. He will go on the biggest, scariest roller coasters and have no problem watching orcs and alien monsters in movies, but whatever you do, don't make him get into an elevator. Or watch a clip from A Christmas Carol. *sigh*
• We were cleaning his room Friday when he mentioned that he wanted to create a little library/reading nook under his loft bed. I thought it was a great idea, so we went to IKEA on Saturday and got him a bookshelf and repurposed a lamp, and he's got a cozy little spot under there now. As we were brushing our teeth he asked, "Why did you get me that shelf?" He'd asked me that about three times already, so I told him again that I just liked his idea. Should I NOT have gotten him the shelf? And he said, "No, I just didn't think it would ever actually come true." Yep, son, sometimes you DO get what you want.
• James and I went to the temple Friday, and Atticus went to hang out with my visiting teacher and her 14-year-old son. On the way to the door, Atticus said, "I don't want you to leave." Me: "Why not? You'll have a great time here." Him: "I'm afraid you won't come back." Me: "Atticus, we're just going to the temple. I will always come home to you." Him: "But maybe there will be a shooting at the temple." Me: "If I have to crawl on my hands and knees, I will come home to you." *smiles* (He had so much fun, it was hard to get him to leave.)
• Saturday night we went to a blues/jazz performance by 97-year-old local legend Joe McQueen and his band. (It was fantastic.) Atticus wasn't thrilled about it until he heard the words "refreshments booth." During the second number James gave him some cash and sent him for snacks. He came back with a Sprite and a Twix and was happy for the rest of the show. Or at least most of the show. We left before it was over, and he fell asleep in the car on the way home.
• He was so tired because he didn't get to bed until 10 the night before. Then he came into our room at 6:00 in the morning, wearing his Link costume. We told him to go back to bed, and he said he'd woken up at 5:00 and had already been waiting FOREVER before coming in. Duuuude. Get some sleep. 
• While I was taking a nap on Sunday, Atticus decided to create a restaurant called "Home Servis Inn." I woke up to a boy in a sweater vest and a dishtowel belted around his waist for an apron. He had a name tag and handed me a menu of snacks I could order (I went for the "walnut yum yums" and a glass of water). He was very professional about it. We had a very simple dinner planned, so I decided to extend the game by letting him serve us dinner in his restaurant. I talked him through reheating everything, then placed my order at the hosting counter. He seated us when it was ready. We had placemats and nice glasses and artistically arranged veggies. And he insisted that he had to eat after we were done because he's the server.

I just realized that most of this occurred in one weekend. That's my boy. I love this kid.

Christmas Report

We had a cozy Christmas. Here are a few highlights and photos:

FAMILY
James's Aunt Connie invited us to her family Christmas party. Connie is Tom's oldest sister, and she is the only extended family member to come to our wedding (she also lived the closest, in Paris, Idaho). We reconnected with her a couple years ago when we were invited to her 80th birthday party. Her husband was in the Air Force, so somehow most of her kids and grandkids settled in Utah near Hill AFB. When her health started failing, she came to live with her daughter Mary. We had no idea they all lived so close.

Atticus always looks forward to hanging out with Max at these gatherings. Max is Atticus's second cousin once removed. Max's grandfather is James's cousin. To make sense of the relationship,  I had to put it in Poulson terms: it's the same as if Mike's daughter Aubrey and her kids were invited to the Langston family party. The age gap between Aubrey and Tyler is about the same as the difference between James and Max's grandpa. Kinda blows my mind, but to Atticus, he's just a kid to play with.

Speaking of Mike and Aubrey, we spent Christmas Eve with their family. Of course I didn't take any pictures, but I did get a picture of the bûche de Noël I made:

It's grain free and low carb, from this recipe (I didn't add the coffee and orange flavoring). I thought it was pretty good, but James deemed it "passable." Henry (who's diabetic) said it tasted "too healthy" and went for the peppermint brownies I brought instead. The chocolate ganache was pretty dark, which made it less appealing to kids. Hence the brownies.

We had a great time. My sister Erin was also there, which always is a treat. Dinner was delicious, and I brought some "minute to win it" games to play after dinner while Mike and Raylyn cleaned up. We did the Oreo-on-your-face one, the "draw a picture on your head" one, and the "knock down the cans with the ornament tied to your butt" one. Afterward we watched a video Raylyn used at a Relief Society gathering that compares Jacob Marley's chains to the chains we all carry in life and how Christ offers us freedom from those chains. Atticus freaked out about Marley's ghost, but we survived. Mike read the Christmas story from Luke, and we all got to write down our gift for Jesus this year. They keep all the cards in a box so they can reminisce about past years and see how they did. I'm totally borrowing that tradition for next year. Then we exchanged gifts, gave hugs, and headed home.

CHRISTMAS DAY

It was raining, maybe just barely snowing, when we got home, and when we woke up Christmas morning, what to my wondering eyes should appear but a beautiful blanket of snow.

I couldn't stop looking. It was beautiful and quiet and so peaceful. 

A neighbor ran his snowblower down the sidewalk for most of the block, 

for which we were very grateful.

It's not Christmas without Legos and a puzzle. The kitty is Pookie, and it was the runaway hit of the year. The Boy's a bit obsessed with cats these days. It was something he didn't ask for but that I knew he'd love. I even made a bed and blankie for her. James also surprised him with a cat calendar that happened to come with a mini kitten calendar. Total WIN.

After presents and breakfast, James and Atticus attacked the snow.

We got a record 9 inches. The accumulation on our driveway was deeper than that. James swears it was two feet, but that might be a bit of an exaggeration based on what it felt like he was moving.

 James is wearing his Chthulu/barbarian balaclava I got him for Christmas. 

Atticus is rocking that snow angel.

This is a happy boy.

I came out for a while to keep them company, and we got talking with our neighbor Joe, who was also digging himself out. It was a fun way to celebrate. I came inside to make cocoa and rub garlic and herbs over our dinner roast. After everyone came in and got warm and cleaned up, we went to church. It was a beautiful addition to our Christmas celebrations. It helped that church started at 1:00, so it hit right at the time that we would normally get restless and bored. Came home to a nice dinner, Skyped with family, then settled in for our Lord of the Rings marathon.

I couldn't have asked for more.