April 26, 2009
Dear Family,
May is coming this week, and we saw some snow flurries today! Still, with all the fun we’ve been having lately, even snow can’t make me complain!
A major highlight was going to Wicked a couple of weeks ago, and we nearly flipped when we found out we could go backstage w/ the Madsen’s brother, in the cast, beforehand. It was SO thrilling, SOOO well done, and just wonderful to be able to finally go. I was so happy for every minute—I didn’t even dare go to the bathroom (w/ neverending lines!) for fear I might miss a second. Seeing the details of the sets, costumes, and scenery made it even more amazing, to realize how well coordinated SOO many details are. I was afraid to blink, for fear of missing any detail, and our seats were just perfect right in the middle of Row H. It was quite a fun splurge and we really had a blast, and the children were supportive so long as they had their favorite babysitter here. She (McKenzie) is the best. Now that we can actually afford to pay a babysitter, she comes along, not charging for temple trips, and trying to return money the next day when she thinks I’ve overpaid her. She brings tons of games and prizes for the kids every time, and when I ask how things went while we were gone, she always answers like I’m asking her about her favorite birthday party! ("Oh, it was so fun!—we had a great time!").
That same weekend, we by chance, found a great deal on leather couches on clearance as a full set—just the style we like, and almost half price due to the company discontinuing a lot of their furniture lines. Brian called his brother to help him pick them up, and I spent the rest of the week sewing pillows and curtains before we hosted Bookclub, and then a ward Progressive Dinner the last couple of days. We’re really enjoying them, and feel SOOOOO spoiled w/ our VERY FIRST FURNITURE PURCHASE!!!! (not including my DI treasures, of course!)
We’ve also been inundated w/ programs this week—first the school’s 30th Birthday program, and then the Stake Talent show, in which we all, but Anne, performed. Nick even showed up in time to watch all of our talent. I somehow ended up on the front row for the stake chorale, just because I turned up for stake choir practice. We did the finale medley from Music Man which may’ve been really cute w/ some real practice, accompanied by the stake band, that Brian got to help w/ on the piano. The best number of the night though, was the stake pres.& high council doing "synchronized swimming" onstage (check youtube for imitations, if you’re curious). It was hysterical. Saturday night, we hosted a couple of rounds for our ward Progressive Dinner, and Nick tagged along to the church for dessert w/ us—he’s getting to know our ward pretty well by now.J The bulk of the day Saturday, Brian read through the Square Food Gardening book, and we then went out to get all of our supplies to do 4 squares for our yard. We’re excited for this almost guaranteed success! (we hope!).
Even with snow flurries, we’re enjoying the mostly spring weather and the windows opened most days. The children are doing great: Brent’s getting more and more assertive at soccer, and plays goalie for at least half of every game; Maddie’s just started the Anne books J (!!), and is finally having a birthday party this year w/ a few of her closest friends (none of which happen to be in our ward!)—we’re decorating flipflops!!; Emily’s reading Charlotte’s Web when she’s not talking; Spencer is the current champion of "spin the dice" (just what it sounds like), and happily, since he wants nothing but to play games ALL day!! ("Magician Ratslap"—Egyptian Ratslap; Great Malbooty (dalmuti); Ruckus; Sorry; etc., etc.—and he MOANS when everyone has homework or jobs to keep them from playing w/ him!); and Anne’s leprous looking legs (and hands) are finally clearing up from her eczema. After trying lots of soapless showers and baths followed by a vaseline/Eucerin coating, rubberbanding her sleeves and pj legs at bedtime to prevent scratching, keeping the humidifier on, and rigorous nailclipping, I finally broke down and filled her topical steroid Rx since nothing was having much effect. We’re hoping the warm weather adds to our efforts as well. Brian now gets home from work, and has the kids all playing games with him before dinner as he winds down. I think he’s tickled to have so many active participants that are ALWAYS excited to play! He’s still doing well with work—the firm is holding "firm" J despite surrounding turmoil, so we are counting our MANY blessings, and really enjoying this abundant stage. Have a great week! Love, The Duncan’s

 

Brian tried to take a picture of us himself, just as I was talking to some friendly people who offered to help--that grin never shrunk the whole night :)

and here's the shot someone else took--goodbye to Brian's double chin--the glare is exactly where the Wicked sign is--I wish we'd gotten a shot w/ Bryan (castmember) too, but we were focused most on seeing the show--they didn't allow pic's backstage

Here I am; besides getting to dress almost like Anne of Green Gables, I tried hiding behind the curtain most of the night (it was right there!) since I missed one of the practices, and was therefore behind on half of the "choreography"--see me looking at everyone else to figure it out?

Kids in talent show: Spencer is 2nd from rt in green, and Emily's 3 more over in a coral/pink; Maddie and Brent were behind and harder to spot

Brent in his soccer game

Here's a front view of the couches right after we got them

and here's the completed living room (desk off to the side there w/ our new flat screen for the computer--a nice freebie from work)--the curtains and pillows are much cuter up close even though the kids kept asking me, "Why did you make the pillows all different???)

Our baby has hair long enough for pigtails!!(barely)

Here's a shot of the completed sheep nursery--Anne loves to have her stories in the rocking chair before bed, and will sometimes sit in her crib just looking at them "Buhduhbuhduhbuhduh"-ing after she wakes up

A sunset out our back window--we were having fun w/ the new camera

Brian's "magic trick" w/ the new camera :)

April 12, 2009
Dear Family,
Happy Easter! Our spring has broken through at just the right time, and we’ve had a great day today, after a thoroughly indulgent week w/ Mom and Dad here visiting. We had a Syracuse Easter Egg Hunt yesterday morning at a nearby park—more like an Easter Egg "Run" as they just throw a bunch of eggs all over the field, and let the children tear loose on them at the sound of a siren. Since it was pretty anti-climactic, and they realized a little too late what the objective was (scoop, not hunt), we incorporated a little of the real thing at home today (though, would you believe, we didn’t color any eggs this year!??!!). They had a little treasure hunt w/ Easter eggs, clues, and puzzle pieces that led to their baskets, and finished w/ an Easter puzzle after reading scriptures, singing Primary songs, etc. for each clue. I did one a couple of years ago that was similar, and Emily reminded me of it the other day, asking if we’d do it again, like a sort of tradition—I was so sad to see I hadn’t saved it anywhere, but we got it finished up while I got the report from Nick on his big date last night.J Their baskets were pretty empty too, since we had put most of the candy in eggs that Brian hid around the yard after church. He did a thorough job—color-coded and everything, so that everyone had 12 eggs to find, hidden in difficulty according to age—it lasted nearly ½ an hour, and miraculously, we DID find them all! I made Easter Egg Chicken (chicken roll-ups shaped in ovals), asparagus, salad, and Kristy’s delish strawberry cake for dessert. We had no meetings today, so we enjoyed playing games this afternoon and reading stories from the Friend. I tried getting the missionaries or a couple of families in the ward to join us, but everyone was already taken care of, so I could take a good nap right after we ate J . Brian and I also got to help out w/ our choir # today too (Sally DeFord’s "Silent Garden")—he on the organ, and I on the flute!—it was fun to have something to practice for.
Mom and Dad go in just before General Conference, and just as our Spring Break was starting Friday night, and we had a great time w/ them here. Our basement was finished in time for them—miraculously!! The day after the last workers left, I felt SO at peace in the shower, knowing I didn’t have to worry about missing a call of someone coming, or listening for voices already working in the basement. We have plenty of unpacking to do, but the beds were all set up, walls all painted, doorknobs and blinds in, and at least enough accomplished that we could really relax w/ our company. Before they came, I also got to go down to SL w/ our RS Presidency for training by the Gen RS presidency, which was a treat—I could listen to Sis. Beck all night! She was so good to remind us we’re in the business of salvation, not entertaining J . I also had a few elbow-rubbings w/ neighbors, which always feels good! I got together w/ a couple of sisters to go to a viewing of the father in-law of a sister I visit teach; was able to babysit for a minute, while our neighbor across the street ran his wife to the hospital for her scheduled baby delivery; and gave a girl down the street rides to and from school for a couple of days while they were in a pinch. I love having those chances to mingle!—they seem a bit fewer around here, where so many have so much family close by—so when they do come, they’re doubly enjoyed! Then, we even fit in a quick shopping trip for me and the 2 older girls to find some last minute Easter dresses, which we did—the last 2 on the rack, and at the right price, etc., and got things shined up most of the day Friday, before Mom and Dad (and Nick!) showed up.
General Conference always makes me feel so spoiled—getting to sit and feast for 2 days like that. I was excited Maddie and Brent got to go to the Sunday morning session w/ M, D, and N, and hear the music broadcast before as well. So many messages of hope and peace—and then physical feasting in between—we even made donuts during the priesthood session! We got to have dinner w/ the UT Mildenhall’s up @ Scott & JoAnn’s Sunday night, then met up w/ Mom and Dad again Monday night after FHE.
Tuesday, the 75 day countdown ended, and Spencer turned 5!! We ate macaroni and cheese for lunch, blackbean soup for dinner as his favorites, opened presents first thing in the morning, had a package come (even a day early—so it was on time!), played baseball w/ his new bat/ball, rode his new scooter, and played w/ his new legos and race car. I had a Dr. appt. for Anne in the morning (ear infection, though the excema always draws the most attention, for which they have no solutions!), and after lunch we took off for Fernwood Park in East Layton for some hiking. We were relying on my gapping memory for directions, and made it most of the way there, when we ended up next to a motorcycle man in a gas station parking lot, who happened to be going to the same place! We found this out, since Spencer rolled down the window saying, "Hey! I got to tell you something!! I 5!!!" and got the conversations rolling. Between the handkerchief tied on his head, the skull/crossbones on his jacket, and many tattoos, Spencer’s first comment was, "Cool—a pirate!" (while the window was still up), but when he pulled out a gold dollar for Spencer’s birthday to congratulate him, I even got suspicious! He was really friendly, and offered to let Spencer get his picture taken on his bike, but a bit wary of what such a machine might do, Spencer settled on standing in front J . We did have a great hike—I LOVE my baby backpack!!, and the weather was superb! It got us all excited to try Antelope Island the next day, since Mom and Dad had never been!
We packed a picnic Wed. morning, and took off for the Visitor’s Center, and then the Ranch house. It was not too cold, but BOY!!!—the wind about blew us right back to the coast!! We could barely make it to the car, let alone throw a frisbee or anything outdoorsy! We studied the insides of most of the buildings, and then opted for an indoor picnic when we got back! Then we packed up for Provo and American Fork, and got to see Nick win a semifinal intramural football game (and meet Eliza, who came to watch—sorry, no stealth photography), then eat dinner at Brick Oven, and spend the night at Grandma Priday’s! I almost felt like I was 11 again! The kids (and Brian) had a blast finding games in the basement, and we sorted some out in the magical game drawer down there the next day. We visited BYU campus after lunch, getting to see the shmancy new humanities bldg and Uncle Larry!, a perfect free exhibit at the MOA of Walter Wick, who does a lot of the photography for the "I Spy" books (perfect for the age range of our audience!), ran into Nick, visited his currnet, mine, TJ’s, Briant’s, and Katie’s old boss, Linda, at the Testing Center, grabbed a treat at the bookstore, and enjoyed dinner back at Grandma’s before heading back home. Mom and Dad came back up Friday morning, where we took it pretty easy, and Dad helped me shop for a camera (our sweet Fuji died when Anne dropped it, I guess—it’s only the 4000th time it’s been dropped, but something finally snapped—and not the shutter, hahaJ ) while the kids tried a few more experiments in the CrazyFun Science Book Grandpa brought w/ him. Brian got off early, and we got a movie for the children, while we went to Kasbah’s and over to our local Gelato place, where I really started floating, I think. They left like thieves in the night early Saturday, before I was even off for stake temple day, but we were SO glad to have them here, and so grateful for Dad’s computer checkup skills, their constantly positive attitudes and encouragement, and just plain enjoyable company! It was a great Spring Break! We ended things by barely moving on Saturday, except to get Sunday things ready, and all enjoyed the movie Bolt toghether. Hopefully we don’t go into too big of a shock as we hit normal schedule again tomorrow, but we should be plenty rejuvenated!! Before I forget, here are a few favorites from the children:
Emily: "I love Brigham Young Anniversary!!—I mean, University"
Brent: "Do I have to use a fork for this artichoke?---Oh, I mean anchovie?—no, asparagus!"
Spencer: "This is so HARDABLE!!" (made up the word himself---blend of horrible and hard) also, "Do you have any g’prises for me?" (I first thought, a mispronunciation of surprise, but could be a blend of "good surprises")
Anne: "BuduBudubudu" while either moving her arms like a robot, or folding her arms for a prayer—when she first learned to do this, she was my "pray always" reminder—trying it out about every few minutes J
Maddie---that would be how she whispers sweet attention getters quietly to Spencer to keep him occupied for half of Sac. Mtg. today, so I got to listen to the talk, AND took Anne like a pro during the choir #, but still stood at the door so they could listen.
We are blessed, and I love the miracle of Easter, and reminder that ALL things are possible, and there is so much hope for changes to good. Love, The Duncan’s

 General Conference

Spencer was not at all excited about turning 5! (and Dad did get caught blowing out those candles)

Spencer and the motorcycle

Hiking up from Fernwood Park--looks kind of barren!--it didn't seem so at the time, but then, we did see some cactus!

Antelope Island

Brent & Brian playing tetherball @ Grandma Priday's

4 Generations!

Courtyard of new JKB (Humanitites bldg)

Syracuse Egg Hunt

What Anne wants to do everywhere we go: RUN away!!

Easter Egg hunt at home (don't notice all the dead grass!)

Anne did hold an egg for a while, but was more interested in other things...
getting on the tramp (this was a happy shock, not a sad one), easter grass, and just getting ready for her nap

 March 29, 2009
Dear Family,
It is FINISHED!!!! After gallons and gallons of paint, buckets of dust, truckloads of sheetrock, thousands of painfully parted-w/ dollars, wood, sawdust and more dust, and many many hours of hard, hard work, we are proud owners of a new basement!! I knew it would at last be finished, but I really lost sight of how nice it would be, drowning in all of that paint, like I was, but as we moved in beds, dressers, and toys yesterday, it all started to dawn on me that we have almost double the room now! I feel like some great estate owner now, (which feels funny dressed like I usually am in DI khakis and unruly hairdos). We still need the lightswitches and doorknobs put in, but that didn’t stop the children from sleeping down there!—first in sleeping bags, and last night in beds! We’re all pretty giddy, but it is quite fun—even w/ the task of unpacking that jampacked storage room looming ahead. I’ll post more pictures soon, after I’ve finished curtains, etc. I’m also nearly as tickled over just having a nursery. Sure, Anne’s crib mattress is now on the lowest rung, but after 5 children, we’ve NEVER had a nursery, and it is SO deliciously fun!
For some strange reason, I hadn’t thought much about the painting, and figured I’d be making curtains and cleaning the upstairs out the past couple of weeks, but I was busy trying to not neglect my children, home, and husband; while anxiously trying to finish this endless painting. Almost every day, I’d rearrange in my head the list of "The Worst Parts of Painting"—I know, I should’ve been so positive w/ such a bright goal ahead, but coming upstairs to filthy floors (where I could see them), rings in the toilet, meals to make (and clean up), and so many piles of clothes all over my floor, I could not really tell the clean from the dirty anymore left me bouncing between 2 notso desirable worlds of upstairs and down. I think edging definitely took the cake as the worst, w/ taping at a close second, and boring priming right behind. Ceilings were up there for a while too, but painting white over white primer was so forgiving that it actually moved pretty quick. I DID enjoy sponging Maddie’s room w/ all of her purples, and I always saved the smallest bedroom for last, since it felt good to finish something so quickly. AND, I was so blessed all along, even w/ my not always cheery attitude. I once mistakenly threw away part of the power roller w/ the disposable cover, and realized it right after the garbage was picked up, only to find it alone in the bottom of a just emptied garbage. I had goals every day of what needed to get done, and every single time, I was able to finish—a miracle w/ my typically unrealistic time management skills. Anne slept beautifully for me, Spencer became the king of making his own "Supersnack" and cinnamon toast all day to go w/ his PBSkids and computer games, we somehow ate, and had clothes to wear, and still were able to get everything done (even the touchups!!) before the carpeters arrived on Thursday. I have a couple of things to add, like a blue stripe in the boys room, and a couple of wooden trim pieces that he put in after the carpet, since he’d run out, but it hardly seems like work! Even now, the children are all just down playing happily in the very soft family room—no furniture or anything J . I was reading Nephi’s quoting of Isaiah this past week, and I loved the word he used for Moses getting the water out of the rock. He says that these children of Israel "thirsted not" and that "the waters gushed" out as he clave the rock. That’s just how I feel—that any time I am thirsting for something, and turn to the Lord, the blessings don’t trickle, they gush. We are mightily blessed. I feel like we’re sitting here on this mound of abundance, and it makes me itch to be needed or of service to someone. The compassionate service needs in our ward are pretty slim, so we may have to do some digging, but we are so grateful for so much. This week, since finishing, I have reveled in being able to JUST cook and fold laundry, and play tictactoe w/ Spencer, and read stories, and hold Anne, and hold Spencer, and all of them--THIS is what I was made for!!--my respect for professional painters is unbounded--how do they keep going?!! I took Spencer out for lunch at Arctic Circle w/ a playground on Friday to celebrate the fact that I could be a real Mom again, and to thank him for being such a good sport. Anne had fun too, and has, since mastering the stairs, decided she's ready to walk down them!! (she's NOT!, but we can't stop her!!). There's nothing like being able to appreciate the little daytoday again :).
Besides painting, we’ve enjoyed the children’s school chorus concert (a few fun broadway songs, that even off beat, and a little garbled, gets me all choked up to see them singing!!), Brent’s first soccer team!(he was #13 in T-Ball, and now he’s #7 J --he’ll say they’re both lucky), book club (I went over in my paint clothes and ponytail—I had scheduled in a break while Anne was awake, just not any time to change back and forth), stake choir, and even a stake children’s choir for an upcoming talent show, a RS board mtg, visiting and home teaching, and more of the usual. As much as we’ve enjoyed Spring coming, we had a real blizzard blow in today during church, and had to sweep all the snow off the cars to get home. We’ve had a cooler week, but I was grateful for the time it bought us on the basement, since we couldn’t possibly do that AND work on the yard!! Covered in snow, there’s not much to worry about! I can’t believe that Mom and Dad are coming this week!!! We are SO excited to enjoy Conference and Spencer’s birthday week with them!! As one of my Visiting Teachers pointed out, it was good to have them coming as kind of a deadline for all the basement work—I don’t think my motivation to paint would’ve been nearly as great w/o it, and who KNOWS how long it would’ve lasted!!?!! It will be great to see them—and Mom’s first trip to our new home!! Love to you all, The Duncan’s
Happy St. Patrick's Day!!(I don't know how we were able to find green and short sleeves in all our mess!!)

See where Anne is pointing?--She loves the pantry, and anything else that makes her feel big enough to get what she wants---she successfully pulled down the marshmallows just today

Our little performers in their broadway garb, and w/ their little fans

March 15, 2009
Dear Family,
We got to go to the Draper Temple Open House this Friday!

Here are the children in a few of the lines we waited in--quite a production to host the masses!!--we walked through tunnels to get there, so no scenic shots w/ the temple in the background, but they were happy!...esp. at cookie time (Brent is modeling one, Anne can't take her eyes off of them)

The Draper Temple (through the bus window-as close as we could get to the outside)

How do we know Spring is coming? We called in Brent for dinner today—he was in the backyard, and before we could get anyone else to the table, he had walked through the kitchen, to the garage, and back outside again. I think he did that 3 times back and forth, without really trying to cause trouble, just drawn to that sunshine, before we all got together to eat! Anne’s enjoying being able to navigate some new territory w/ grass and sidewalks, and always wiggles to get down when we’re outside now, instead of clinging to us through the glacial breezes. The first good day we had last 2 weeks ago, I got the children from school, packed w/ water bottles and "Super Snack", picked up some dollar store kites, and went straight to the park. It was beautiful! I just had to grab that day before the snow came back!!—and it did last weekend, but we could all tell it was weaker than before, and didn’t even bother shoveling. The trampoline is now fully assembled again, "Ladder Golf" has been played continuously, and all the children told me w/ surprise today, "Mom! I didn’t even use my computer game time on Friday OR Saturday!!" (we don’t do rollover minutes, either!)
The beautiful weather is a great reprieve from the basement work too! Early last week, the mudding and taping finished up, so we started cleaning up and priming on Saturday, which quickly discouraged me w/ how much of a project just the painting would be!! I could not see the finish on any near horizon, and was sad to see something I thought was so simple be our delay!! Sunday night though, Spencer came in our room around 5 AM, having wet the bed, and I got up to change him and his sheets, thinking, GREAT!!-what divine intervention! Now I’m up early to paint!, and proceeded to get 2 uninterrupted hours in, where I primed all of the rest of the ceiling (the worst part!!). I’ve since spent every spare chunk of time down getting a room or closet done. I’ve gone through 2 power rollers (we finally returned the last one, and were done w/ them—our paint was too thick or something??!); gone in way too many public places w/ painted clothes, hair, face, etc.,--even to Brent’s class to hear his report for a quick minute; had more than that one extra early morning; and rubbed my hands RAW in all of the cleaning up. If there is such a thing as latex poisoning, we are all endangered as I clean out my buckets, brushes, trays, rollers, etc., so I can then clean up the dishes and eat!! We are getting there though, and we now have our trim guy to work around, so that makes me take breaks to wash the clothes again, or cook some food. Saturday, he was here a while, so we took advantage of a coupon for some bare root strawberries!! We got 50 plants!!—we all worked to get the ground all ready in a spot near our trees and put them in. We’d better hurry on our basement, because soon our time will all be garden time!
We had our RS Birthday Enrichment w/ a special guest who does a gardening spot on a local TV and Radio program here—she was very entertaining, and it was nice to get together w/ our sisters. My cake even turned out for it, despite it’s crumby texture—Kristy’s strawberry cake recipe saved it!! We also bought a freezer during a sale a couple of weeks ago, so we’re really getting things in order here, so much at a time, I can barely keep up!
Other highlights were a visit from Nick last Sunday for dinner and some games; then a trip to the new Draper Temple Open House. It is beautiful, and the children were SOOO excited to actually go inside!! Spencer gave the FHE lesson on temples, and we talked about things to look for when we went, and they were all most excited to see "The Celestial Kingdom—I mean Room." I was glad we’d prepared a little, b/c once we got there, I was completely tied up w/ Anne. She had slept so well, I thought she’d be fine, but it ended up being so crowded that we had a lot of waiting (about an hour altogether), shuttle buses to ride, chapels to sit in, etc. that what I thought would be a quick hour of walking through was more like 2, and I hadn’t brought any snacks or toys! I had one pack of "Smarties" that was gone before we got on the shuttle bus, and by the time we were walking through the temple, she was showing forth a bit of her fast-growing tenacity (she may be more like that Anne Shirley than we thought!). She would cry and wriggle to get down, then ALWAYS go the opposite direction of all traffic—there were 3 cute college girls behind us that kept trying to entertain her, but my what a time! At the end, I just short-cutted to the end and waited for Dad and the rest to catch up. Bless them, they had cookies and water bottles for everyone as refreshments, and I’m not too embarrassed to say Anne happily had 3. I guess she was pretty hungry, and she would NOT be distracted!! We finally got home around 9, enjoying some yummy pizza from a local place that is a client at Brian’s firm (that makes 2 restaurants we get gift certificates to b/c of that!!—SOO luxurious!!). Good thing we haven’t quite adjusted to daylight savings yet! It is a great time of year, swelling w/ life and hope, and we are soaking it up. Hope all is well w/ you too! Love, The Duncan’s

Anne eating supersnack while we fly kites--like the frizz of her hair, or was it just moving, or is it a smudged lens?

Happy Birthday Dr. Suess! The school celebrates by letting students dress up as their favorite book characters--Brent couldn't find enough Harry Potter paraphernalia, but Emily was Junie B. Jones, and Maddie was Goose Girl (there is a goose on her apron)

Emily w/ her kite

Everyone at the park

Brent's hammerhead shark report and diorama

Nick's Sunday visit (the kids took most of the shots)
Why we are crazy to play games when Anne's awake

Excited Nick w/ the nieces & nephews!

More normal Nick--lucky he's too tall for rabbit ears!