so much

It’s been a long time so this may very well be a long blog post. A few final thoughts on Berlin, Berliner smoothies are nothing special (think juice), German chocolate is good, H&M styles now are not my style (sort-of bad 80s style), and it’s a very long flight from Berlin to SLC. It was good to get back home by the end of that flight.

The week I got back was pretty jam packed. We had a baby shower for B’s sister Whitney who is having a baby soon. B’s parents were in town for Whitney’s graduation—there were a lot of graduation festivities. There was lots of good time to talk to B’s parents. We also got to see our good friend Katy, who we haven’t seen for nearly 3 years. We got to hang out a few times and meet her daughter. It felt like old times, which was wonderful. I loved those old times. One thing I remember about that week is thinking “I’ve had Indian food the past three Fridays in a row.” That’s a delicious thought, but I do need to buckle down again. So much has centered around food lately!

The week after that is a blank to me. I think I was mostly trying to catch up on things.

The following week, I took quite a bit of time off because we had a little girl stay with us for the week. We are looking at having another child move in with us. If things progress, we’ll post an update. But it was a good week. She is a fun girl, and she and W got along famously. We went up to Logan on Saturday. We hit the zoo, the cheese factory, the DI, a surprisingly fun Cinco de Mayo festival, and a great drive in the canyon. We actually made our way all the way up to Bear Lake. It was my first time to the Caribbean of the Mountain West. It was different than I expected (I imagined a very green Oregon-type lake), but it was so blue.

b with some shaggy inkcap mushrooms we found at the cinco de mayo festival. we picked some and then spread the remains around our yard later that day.















Mother’s Day was Sunday. I still find MD a little strange, I have to admit. It was nice though. I got some treats at church, we picked some redbud blossoms, and ate enchiladas (with redbud blossoms on top!). A very good day.

Then, Wednesday was my birthday (see what I mean by it’s been a busy few weeks?). I turned 30. Brian and I went on a run in the morning, which was so nice. It was great to go out with B, and the air was just so invigorating. It was so fresh, and the mountains looked beautiful. After the run, I did some work, but then went out and did some birthday shopping. In the afternoon, I got to talk to my sisters, my good friend Liz, and my sister-in-law Whitney. Then we went out for Japanese food for dinner, which was nice. Then cards and presents. Brian got me the perfect present: a long-lost Thoreau text recently published called “Wild Fruits.” And then B’s card was perfect. I’ve always known it’s great to be with a literary, creative-writer guy. Brian read me a poem he wrote about a week after we met. He’s such a good thinker and writer. Then we closed the bday celebrations with blackberry brownies and chocolate ice cream.





Next week will be good too…our 10 year anniversary is on Tuesday. We’re going to try our hand at hiking-fishing again. It seems like the weather should be good; hopefully, the fishing will be too. Oh I’m lucky. W asked B the other day who his best friend is, and B said “Norma.” How nice is that? I'm seriously so blessed.