Farewells and "Fare Well!"'s

 This week we bid adieu to Nin and Opa, who stopped by Wednesday afternoon to add the belongings they've been storing at our home to their modern covered wagon, i.e. U-Haul towing their car, and headed east to Missouri. Abdiel was off walking a widow's dogs and so wasn't there to say goodbye, but Elinor came in pinch, stole Opa's hat, and made off with it to create a little delay. It worked. Abdiel came cruising in on his scooter just as they began to pull out, so they got out for one last hug goodbye and left with an e-scooter escort all the way to 4th east. 

That evening Gwyn had the pleasure of introducing the Mother-Daughter Book Club to her dear friends, Betsy, Tacy, and Tib. Katharine even joined the fun since she has been long-acquainted with the darling threesome and wanted to know what we thought of them. We were delighted, one and all.

Thursday promised to be an exciting day. Abdiel had his football banquet/NFL watch party that evening; Mom was taking Elinor to a play; Dad had promised to support the local Red Cross by donating blood at the church; and Gwyn and Gabriel had been invited to carve a pumpkin with Gabriel's four-year-old friend, Summer. To make a long story a little shorter, the excitement came from an unexpected source and lasted twenty-four hours. While climbing into the van with his pumpkin, Gabriel fell out, hit his head, and had an outward injury the size of a mandarin orange. After a trip to the urgent care that featured an episode of vomiting, a ride home that featured another episode of vomiting, and a one hour nap that was forcibly ended and resulted in another episode of vomiting, Lia and Justin took him to the Emergency Department. Scans showed that there was no intracranial bleeding or skull fracture, but the extreme level of sleepiness--the doctor had to shout in his face and pinch his fingers in order to get Gabriel to wake up--resulted in an ambulance ride to the Lehi campus of Primary Children's Hospital so he could be observed overnight. (He slept through the whole thing.)

Disappointed at not getting a night out with Elinor, Lia suggested that Katharine could use the tickets so they wouldn't go wasted. Ever short on storage, Lia was unable to just transfer the tickets over, so Justin drove the girls across the valley intending to speak with the box office and explain the situation. Ever confused on dates, Lia had misread the ticket or misremembered the date, and the hapless young ladies learned that those tickets were for the next Thursday. Ever the charmers, Katharine and Elinor scored front and center left-over seats for that evening anyway, as well as a promise that little Elinor could still come with her mama for the dates of the actual tickets. Damsels-in-distress always pays.

Huge thanks to Katharine and Abdiel for staying home with Miriam the next day; to Justin for bringing a change of clothes and other necessaries to Lia on his way to work in Salt Lake the next day; to the random community members who provided a delicious hot lunch through the Ronald McDonald room at the hospital; to the Hoffmans for getting Lia and Gabriel back home; and the lovely hospital staff for being very thorough in Gabriel's care. We consider it a miracle that the mandarin-orange-sized amount of fluid just disappeared somewhere without any black or swollen eyes or face (we were warned to prepare for those). Gabriel is on a low-impact regime for the next little while to prevent further injury.

Saturday boasted a Primary Program Practice, a baby shower, a football game, two temple visits, a Women's Chorus concert, yard work, cleaning, dinner to a new mom, and a BYU Basketball game. It also marked Gwyn's first recital at her new studio, a landmark which the entire family witnessed, even Julia. She did a magnificent job, one of only three performers who had her music memorized. With a seven minute song and a bajillion repeats, that was truly a feat. Everyone got to bed late and tired, and unfed, it turned out. For the first time in her mothering career, Lia awoke the next day making the lofty promise of three square meals to her beleaguered family since no one had eaten a single one the day before.

Today, Sunday, was Gwyn's last Primary Program and a stunning one from Elinor and Gabriel. They were amply rewarded with five different flavors of cookies. All were proud.