I'm sitting here with the family in the master bedroom watching the LDS Church First Presidency Christmas Fireside enjoying the beautiful music and the wonderful spirit. It is common for us to hole up around our bed at night. At this time of year we gather as much for warmth as for association. I am wearing a small Laney size knit cap that I often wear at night in bed to keep me warm. We have had an early onset of a hard cold. It is this time of year that we wonder why we live here in this frozen wasteland rivaling the deepest depths of Dante's hell. Our skin dries and cracks. With only 17 minutes of sunshine per day, our skin pales and achieves a transparent pallor formerly only obtainable with arsenic therapy. We take on ursine habits and proportions, packing away vast stores of fat and carbohydrates at every meal. At the same time our metabolisms grind to a halt. It's no longer practical for me to go for a bike ride and burn 1000 calories per hour. I am far above my combat weight. Nobody can look young, attractive or healthy in this clime. We could turn up the thermostat. But, we are a little stingy with our heating budget and it seems very wasteful to spend so much money and resources to heat the whole house when we can put on a sweater and congregate in the same room. I often wonder out loud how the pioneers had the fortitude to stay in Salt Lake City especially after they learned what that first hard winter was like. They must not yet have known of those meteorological wonders such as Marin County or San Diego or even Hawaii (where the air is so dewy sweet the stamps lick themselves.)
If Bud Greenspan were asked to describe Laney's year he would say she went through a “bad patch.” We had been prodding her for a long time about giving up her ciuccio. We told her that big four-year old girls didn't need one and Ailsa told her if she continued with it her teeth would end up looking like the Captain of the Black Pearl. (She was very impressed with Geoffrey Rush and his crew in Pirates of the Caribbean.) So she voluntarily went cold turkey on her birthday. Thus, it is not altogether incomprehensible that for the next couple of months it was like living with a crack addict in remission. She was quite volatile and unruly. Her tone and demeanor have now mellowed approximately to pre-ciuccio withdrawal levels. For a while though she was prone to Joan Crawford fits of rage and her language was peppered with the word “hate.” She has learned to “trol her temper” and substitute “I don't like” for the “h” word. Fortunately, now even this euphemism seems to be slipping from her vocabulary. Anytime you need a prayer said, Laney is your girl. If left up to her 80% of the prayers in the household would issue from her mouth. There are some pleas that are included with every oration. As a result, her playmates enjoy the best celestial protection possible and there is no way that Laney will ever kick her friend AnnaMarie (Laney pronunciation: AnnaMurray) again.
One day she wanted to play hide and seek. So I hid near the piano. She came upstairs, looked around a little and then started going to the top floor. I didn't want this to take forever nor have her get frustrated so I gently played one note on the piano to get her attention. There was great delight when she found me. Giggle, laugh, shriek, giggle, giggle. Now it was my turn to be “it” and she hid. When I came up from the basement she started to pound repeatedly and loudly on one of the piano keys. Maxine was nearby and looked at me as if to say, “can you get her to stop that?” Laney was so clever to find such a unique place to hide! The other day in Primary she announced to the whole child congregation, “my underwear is not working!” Apparently, she and her tights were having a disagreement, she was on the losing end and was uncomfortable. It is not unusual for her to remove her tights in Primary. Once when driving to San Clemente, she started whimpering in the vicinity of I-15 and I-91 and exclaimed, “Jensen is skinky.” We soon realized we had just passed the famed and fragrant cattle lots of Norco, California. One night while negotiating her going to bed she complained that her finger was “skinky.” I asked if she had put it in her ear again. She replied affirmatively. But, added that she was pretty sure it wouldn't be skinky in the morning. She obviously had some experience with this.
Jensen really isn't “skinky” and is becoming less so every day. A couple of months ago she participated in a “reflections” forum for local elementary school kids. She showed off her drawings and taught and demonstrated how to draw. She really enjoyed herself because the kids reacted as if she were omniscience incarnate. Since Ailsa left Kimber, I think Jensen is enjoying school more. It has allowed Jensen to come into her own a little and blossom. Not that she doesn't like Ailsa. On the contrary, we are really pleased that she and Ailsa get along so well and really always have. They will draw upon that a lot throughout their lives. The youth in our Stake performed a Pioneer Trek reenactment this summer. Ailsa, Jensen and I participated. I wasn't really excited to go. But, it was a great experience that I may have to do again. We spent three plus days in northeastern Utah on a cattle ranch and hiked a little more than 20 miles with a handcart. If you have no other reason to do this, it is amazing to put yourself in the place of your ancestors and step back in time without modern conveniences. The Stake put together a really nice DVD of the event in which Ailsa figures prominently. But, Daddy and Jensen have extremely minor roles.
Some of our biggest news is that Ailsa graduated two years early and is now attending Salt Lake Community College. Last January year she had told us that she hoped to graduate from Kimber Academy in June. We figured it was wishful thinking. However, she surprised us all by passing her exams and writing an acceptable 120 page thesis. We are very proud that she set a goal and achieved it. She isn't exactly loving SLCC. But, she realizes it is necessary and is being a pretty good sport about it. She loved her computer class and hated..., I mean didn't like Biology. It has taken awhile. But, we are pretty comfortable with her driving now. She hasn't hit anything except the side of the garage (the rear view mirror came off, but snapped back into place.) She did get a flat one day and continued to drive on it until the front tire was shredded and wrapped around the suspension. The wheel was nearly ruined and what was left of the tire may not have been acceptable even to send to a sandal shop in Chihuahua. “The car felt a little funny.” I guess the sparks from the front driver's side and the scurl of scraping metal weren't in and of themselves very alarming (or she couldn't hear anything over the din of The Darkness blaring from the radio.) Ailsa has not yet achieved oneness with anything mechanical, except perhaps her hair iron.
I set a goal of riding 3000 miles on my bicycle this year. At this point I am 69 miles short of that goal and I probably won't make it because the weather is so darn cold and I am such a wimp about it. Riding highlights include a two-hour paced ride with a couple of friends where we covered 42 miles. I might not be riding nearly as much next year because of my new Church calling. The Bishop of our ward was “promoted” to 2nd counselor in the Stake Presidency in September. After serving with him for six years I thought he knew how tired I was and was well acquainted with my abilities and attitude. So it's a little surprising that he didn't object when the Stake President wanted to call me as our new Bishop. I thought I would be given a little break. I tried adopting a funky hairdo and wearing a little facial hair. But, I drew the line at using “farm words”, and that may have kept me from becoming unacceptable to the Lord. Truthfully, It is an honor and a blessing to serve in this capacity and Lenore and the girls have responded with all sorts of support. Laney blesses the Bishop and the Bishop's family all the time in her prayers.
Lenore had a brush with fame this year with her late grandmother's house appearing briefly in a couple scenes of Napoleon Dynamite. It's in the left background when they show Pedro's house. We are waiting for a call from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Lenore is getting used to being “Sister Bishop”. She says she spends all her time preparing her Gospel Doctrine lessons, Laney training and wrangling, and chasing Jensen's retainer around the house. She said that as she wiped remnants of bon bons from her mouth.
The Lillywhites
toddlillywhite@gmail.com
15 January 1990
14 January 1990
Christmas 2003
We see him come, and know him ours, who with is sunshine and his showers turns the patient ground to flowers - Robert Herrick
Late season's greetings to all our family and friends. I could probably spend the entire letter giving you a whole new crop of Laneyisms and stories of her antics. I will try to limit myself.
She still uses her ciuccio (pacifier), although somewhat less recently. Like most children she has a particular type that is the only kind she will accept. Of course, they are extremely hard to find now so the remaining cache we have is very dear. When they “break” they either collapse or crack. Several have withstood years of heat and almost subterranean pressure inside her mouth and have begun to turn into precious stones of some sort or another. Last year I told you of her trick of periodically twisting the ciuccio in her mouth so she's always refreshing it. She now has perfected this trick and it can be performed on cue using only her tongue.
Several times she has gotten into Lenore's supply of balms and petroleum jellies and done unspeakable evil with them. More than once Ruby the cat has been at the losing end of this mischief and had to endure a week or so of permanent bad fur days while the Vaseline wore off her coat. Before we realized that Ruby was covered with the stuff she was able to spend unfettered hours going from place to place in the house marking doorways or lolling on a bed or couch. We have numerous spots on the floor in our bathroom where we have tried several times to clean the concoction from the carpet. Each time the spots return only a couple of days after the cleaning. The last time Laney did this, Lenore let out a wail that had me bounding up the stairs literally thinking I was going to find a corpse on the floor. Thankfully, there was no physical harm to household humans or pets. But, we found Laney completely undressed and slathered with Vaseline from head to toe. Her complexion has never been better.
One day Laney was at the kitchen table coloring while Jensen was practicing her piano. Laney yelled out to Jensen, “no pound!” Then she turned to Lenore and reported “is pounding.” In describing a messy diaper once she said, “it tickles like sour.” Another time I was partially aware of her fiddling in the bathroom. I heard a small thump as she dropped something and started whimpering “.....uh, uh, uh, uh a hurt a eye.” She had sprayed some of Lenore's perfume in her eye. So I cleaned up her eye and admonished her. About five minutes later,... another thump as she dropped the perfume and more whimpering “.....uh, uh, uh, uh a hurt a eye again.” Another time she pulled a similar not-learning-from-experience-experience, taste testing the kitty litter by dipping her ciuccio in the litter box.... twice. Strangely enough both times she proclaimed that it was .... yucky. Still another time we were riding in the car and Laney said “Mommy, I want a bicycle, I want my own bicycle.” Lenore told her, “you have a bicycle at home in the garage.” Whereupon Laney said “Oh, thank you, Mommy!”
We had a small scare with Laney when she decided to try to go swimming by herself at a family party in July. So when we went to San Clemente we bought her a nice floaty swim suit so she could play around in the water without our having to be right with her all the time. The suit has thick pieces of Styrofoam sewn into the fabric all around her torso. I'm surprised we didn't have to register it with Homeland Security because she looked like a suicide bomber fitted out with C5 explosive. She has been exposed early and extensively to all of the cultural fads and whims of her two older sisters. Right now her favorite song is “Du Hast” by Rammstein. She's actually pretty good with the German.
One of Jensen's highlights this year was being able to vacaction in Hawaii with her best friend and his family during the school year. He traded in his first class ticket for two coach seats so Jensen could go with them. She spent two weeks on the big island of Hawaii on the Kona side swimming with sea turtles and chasing lizards.You may recall years ago Jensen being “diagnosed” with ADHD. We now know that was preposterous. She has demonstrated a great capacity to concentrate when the subject is something she cares about. She has an innate ability to tell the time of day without any external clues or time pieces. She uses this talent to know precisely when the next episode of The Simpsons will begin. She has also demonstrated the ability to memorize paragraphs of script from Finding Nemo or Drop Dead Gorgeous. Unfortunately, she still can't remember the names of the 15 former Republics of the USSR or recall where she left the telephone. Jensen has also developed as a very good artist and is in the middle of doing a mural at a local Internet Gaming cafe. We've found that if a child immerses herself constantly in current pop cultural images through cartoons and video games, she might be well equipped to cater to the artistry needs of the Internet Gaming crowd. But, her drawings can be alarming to her very conservative and well-meaning school principal. We are trying to get her to draw more bunnies and stars and fewer skeletons, medieval weapons of war, and elvish looking boys with amazing abs.
Ailsa and Jensen are continuing with Kung Fu and doing well. They are second degree blue sash and first degree blue sash respectively. Their Sifu teases Ailsa that she fights like a ballerina. Ailsa's taste in music has taken on some new dimensions. I already mentioned Rammstein. She also went through a phase where she was fascinated with a Japanese musician named Gackt. To look at him you might think of a punked out version of the Iron Chef. Those Japanese. His songs are melodic enough. On one of our trips to Preston, Idaho this year driving through Sardine Canyon Ailsa's keen eye spotted a menacing two-dimensional painted plywood cut-out of a Moose hiding in the brush off the side of the road. She claims that she was fooled briefly into thinking it was real. She is just ditzy enough for us to believe her. Ailsa has turned sixteen. Both our cars are still intact. But, we are seriously studying the possibility of trading in dad's Acura for something that makes a lot more sense to insure with a brand new driver in the family. Riding around with Ailsa lately has given me new respect for the people who drive around town slowly, and without a clue what their next move is, and who seem to consistently find themselves in front of me. Ailsa has seen more movies this year than anyone else in the family, some of them two, three, or four times. About 90% of these showings starred Orlando Bloom. She has taught Laney to spot Johnny Depp posters at 70 yards over open range.
Lenore and I struggle to find time together watching our favorite shows: Jake 2.0, Enterprise, and CSI (not CSI:Miami so much. I have a slight congenital aversion to David Caruso). Earlier in the year we could be found sometimes indulging in the guilty pleasure of watching “Blind Date” and “Shipmates”. This latter would be more aptly named “Shipwrecks”. The only attraction of these shows is the voyeuristic desire to see a “date” self destruct as they so often do. I find myself continually thinking “I could do better than this guy.” As if the point is to try to get along with each other (isn't it?) As I am sure some of you did, we spent many hours watching on TV the invasion of Iraq by US forces and we stayed up way later than we should have watching the reporters going into Tikrit ahead of the troops. Lenore has been very good about following her uberdiet, a sort of Atkins/Zone/Fat Flush hybrid. The part that I am really good at is taking advantage of the “free” days.
On the cycling front, I decided my knee might do better if I took longer rides and strangely enough, my knee did do a lot better this year. I especially enjoyed the ten days we had at San Clemente where I rode a total of 250 miles with a one day ride of 48 miles at 20 mph average. (This included about 14 miles round trip on the 5 Freeway in between Camp Pendleton and Oceanside.) Overall I did more miles this year than in a long time, maybe ever, and I reached a better state of health than I have had in a long time. I plan to try to do better next year.
We spent what ends up to be our last visit to the Old Smith Household in Kentfield, California last Christmas. Lenore's parents have since sold that house and moved to Midvale, Utah just down the road from us. Christmas with the Smiths last year was very fun and memorable. Darrell roped me into tiling one of the bathroom floors on the main level. I took one day with the kids where we went into San Francisco on the ferry to see the Aquarium at Fisherman's Wharf and to go shopping at American Eagle and Abercrombie and Fitch. Over the years we have spent many fun do-nothing days at the house on Crown Road (especially Thanksgiving 2000, during the height of the Bush-Gore election brouhaha.) and we will certainly miss not being able to return. It turns out that vast gains in mutual understanding and insight were to be had by the Smith's moving from secluded mountaintop to a cul-de-sac neighborhood. We both can now see the differences in the socialization that we each had. With surprise, they are thoroughly enjoying the close interaction with neighbors and the abundance of playmates for their grandkids that are both the burden and the benefit of their new home. And I realize that what was a fundamental and basic part of my growing up has been lacking from their lives for 40 years or so. After almost 18 years of association, I have become somewhat accustomed to my in laws and the Smiths are starting to feel like family. They cannot take the place of my parents and siblings. But over time they have come closer than I would have expected. One note of amusement: Christmas with the Smiths last year was not unlike watching the Osbournes without the swearing: Dogs, dottering old folks and all. (Did I just compare my father in law to the prince of darkness, Ozzy Osbourne?)
We are grateful for all our friends and family, for your contacts throughout the year and for your love. As we celebrate Christmas, we acknowledge the important place that the Gospel and the Mission of Christ play in our lives.
The Lillywhites
toddlillywhite@yahoo.com
Late season's greetings to all our family and friends. I could probably spend the entire letter giving you a whole new crop of Laneyisms and stories of her antics. I will try to limit myself.
She still uses her ciuccio (pacifier), although somewhat less recently. Like most children she has a particular type that is the only kind she will accept. Of course, they are extremely hard to find now so the remaining cache we have is very dear. When they “break” they either collapse or crack. Several have withstood years of heat and almost subterranean pressure inside her mouth and have begun to turn into precious stones of some sort or another. Last year I told you of her trick of periodically twisting the ciuccio in her mouth so she's always refreshing it. She now has perfected this trick and it can be performed on cue using only her tongue.
Several times she has gotten into Lenore's supply of balms and petroleum jellies and done unspeakable evil with them. More than once Ruby the cat has been at the losing end of this mischief and had to endure a week or so of permanent bad fur days while the Vaseline wore off her coat. Before we realized that Ruby was covered with the stuff she was able to spend unfettered hours going from place to place in the house marking doorways or lolling on a bed or couch. We have numerous spots on the floor in our bathroom where we have tried several times to clean the concoction from the carpet. Each time the spots return only a couple of days after the cleaning. The last time Laney did this, Lenore let out a wail that had me bounding up the stairs literally thinking I was going to find a corpse on the floor. Thankfully, there was no physical harm to household humans or pets. But, we found Laney completely undressed and slathered with Vaseline from head to toe. Her complexion has never been better.
One day Laney was at the kitchen table coloring while Jensen was practicing her piano. Laney yelled out to Jensen, “no pound!” Then she turned to Lenore and reported “is pounding.” In describing a messy diaper once she said, “it tickles like sour.” Another time I was partially aware of her fiddling in the bathroom. I heard a small thump as she dropped something and started whimpering “.....uh, uh, uh, uh a hurt a eye.” She had sprayed some of Lenore's perfume in her eye. So I cleaned up her eye and admonished her. About five minutes later,... another thump as she dropped the perfume and more whimpering “.....uh, uh, uh, uh a hurt a eye again.” Another time she pulled a similar not-learning-from-experience-experience, taste testing the kitty litter by dipping her ciuccio in the litter box.... twice. Strangely enough both times she proclaimed that it was .... yucky. Still another time we were riding in the car and Laney said “Mommy, I want a bicycle, I want my own bicycle.” Lenore told her, “you have a bicycle at home in the garage.” Whereupon Laney said “Oh, thank you, Mommy!”
We had a small scare with Laney when she decided to try to go swimming by herself at a family party in July. So when we went to San Clemente we bought her a nice floaty swim suit so she could play around in the water without our having to be right with her all the time. The suit has thick pieces of Styrofoam sewn into the fabric all around her torso. I'm surprised we didn't have to register it with Homeland Security because she looked like a suicide bomber fitted out with C5 explosive. She has been exposed early and extensively to all of the cultural fads and whims of her two older sisters. Right now her favorite song is “Du Hast” by Rammstein. She's actually pretty good with the German.
One of Jensen's highlights this year was being able to vacaction in Hawaii with her best friend and his family during the school year. He traded in his first class ticket for two coach seats so Jensen could go with them. She spent two weeks on the big island of Hawaii on the Kona side swimming with sea turtles and chasing lizards.You may recall years ago Jensen being “diagnosed” with ADHD. We now know that was preposterous. She has demonstrated a great capacity to concentrate when the subject is something she cares about. She has an innate ability to tell the time of day without any external clues or time pieces. She uses this talent to know precisely when the next episode of The Simpsons will begin. She has also demonstrated the ability to memorize paragraphs of script from Finding Nemo or Drop Dead Gorgeous. Unfortunately, she still can't remember the names of the 15 former Republics of the USSR or recall where she left the telephone. Jensen has also developed as a very good artist and is in the middle of doing a mural at a local Internet Gaming cafe. We've found that if a child immerses herself constantly in current pop cultural images through cartoons and video games, she might be well equipped to cater to the artistry needs of the Internet Gaming crowd. But, her drawings can be alarming to her very conservative and well-meaning school principal. We are trying to get her to draw more bunnies and stars and fewer skeletons, medieval weapons of war, and elvish looking boys with amazing abs.
Ailsa and Jensen are continuing with Kung Fu and doing well. They are second degree blue sash and first degree blue sash respectively. Their Sifu teases Ailsa that she fights like a ballerina. Ailsa's taste in music has taken on some new dimensions. I already mentioned Rammstein. She also went through a phase where she was fascinated with a Japanese musician named Gackt. To look at him you might think of a punked out version of the Iron Chef. Those Japanese. His songs are melodic enough. On one of our trips to Preston, Idaho this year driving through Sardine Canyon Ailsa's keen eye spotted a menacing two-dimensional painted plywood cut-out of a Moose hiding in the brush off the side of the road. She claims that she was fooled briefly into thinking it was real. She is just ditzy enough for us to believe her. Ailsa has turned sixteen. Both our cars are still intact. But, we are seriously studying the possibility of trading in dad's Acura for something that makes a lot more sense to insure with a brand new driver in the family. Riding around with Ailsa lately has given me new respect for the people who drive around town slowly, and without a clue what their next move is, and who seem to consistently find themselves in front of me. Ailsa has seen more movies this year than anyone else in the family, some of them two, three, or four times. About 90% of these showings starred Orlando Bloom. She has taught Laney to spot Johnny Depp posters at 70 yards over open range.
Lenore and I struggle to find time together watching our favorite shows: Jake 2.0, Enterprise, and CSI (not CSI:Miami so much. I have a slight congenital aversion to David Caruso). Earlier in the year we could be found sometimes indulging in the guilty pleasure of watching “Blind Date” and “Shipmates”. This latter would be more aptly named “Shipwrecks”. The only attraction of these shows is the voyeuristic desire to see a “date” self destruct as they so often do. I find myself continually thinking “I could do better than this guy.” As if the point is to try to get along with each other (isn't it?) As I am sure some of you did, we spent many hours watching on TV the invasion of Iraq by US forces and we stayed up way later than we should have watching the reporters going into Tikrit ahead of the troops. Lenore has been very good about following her uberdiet, a sort of Atkins/Zone/Fat Flush hybrid. The part that I am really good at is taking advantage of the “free” days.
On the cycling front, I decided my knee might do better if I took longer rides and strangely enough, my knee did do a lot better this year. I especially enjoyed the ten days we had at San Clemente where I rode a total of 250 miles with a one day ride of 48 miles at 20 mph average. (This included about 14 miles round trip on the 5 Freeway in between Camp Pendleton and Oceanside.) Overall I did more miles this year than in a long time, maybe ever, and I reached a better state of health than I have had in a long time. I plan to try to do better next year.
We spent what ends up to be our last visit to the Old Smith Household in Kentfield, California last Christmas. Lenore's parents have since sold that house and moved to Midvale, Utah just down the road from us. Christmas with the Smiths last year was very fun and memorable. Darrell roped me into tiling one of the bathroom floors on the main level. I took one day with the kids where we went into San Francisco on the ferry to see the Aquarium at Fisherman's Wharf and to go shopping at American Eagle and Abercrombie and Fitch. Over the years we have spent many fun do-nothing days at the house on Crown Road (especially Thanksgiving 2000, during the height of the Bush-Gore election brouhaha.) and we will certainly miss not being able to return. It turns out that vast gains in mutual understanding and insight were to be had by the Smith's moving from secluded mountaintop to a cul-de-sac neighborhood. We both can now see the differences in the socialization that we each had. With surprise, they are thoroughly enjoying the close interaction with neighbors and the abundance of playmates for their grandkids that are both the burden and the benefit of their new home. And I realize that what was a fundamental and basic part of my growing up has been lacking from their lives for 40 years or so. After almost 18 years of association, I have become somewhat accustomed to my in laws and the Smiths are starting to feel like family. They cannot take the place of my parents and siblings. But over time they have come closer than I would have expected. One note of amusement: Christmas with the Smiths last year was not unlike watching the Osbournes without the swearing: Dogs, dottering old folks and all. (Did I just compare my father in law to the prince of darkness, Ozzy Osbourne?)
We are grateful for all our friends and family, for your contacts throughout the year and for your love. As we celebrate Christmas, we acknowledge the important place that the Gospel and the Mission of Christ play in our lives.
The Lillywhites
toddlillywhite@yahoo.com
13 January 1990
Christmas 2002
The honor of the annual Christmas letter is always left to me (daddy, Todd). Subsequently, I tend to hog more of the column inches than I ought to. This year will probably be even worse. But, Maybe I'll tell you about the others first so you can skip the rest when it comes to me. I could go youngest to oldest or cutest to......Shrek-iest, either way I would end up last.
Lenore should get a prize for being such a good mother. She has such an interest in discussion, debate and many areas of study, and a natural ability to learn and memorize that I see it as difficult for her to leave those things and tend to the kids or the house. But, she does so with marked aplomb and cheer. If it weren't for motherhood and housewifeship, I could see her teaching college history or biology or genetics. She is especially good with Laney who quite often requires all of her attention. Lenore's patience never runs out when it comes to the little one. She reads to her every night for about 30 minutes. Laney's favorite book right now is "a Moose a Muffin" (in Laneyese). I especially like "Goodnight Moon".
There are only a couple of things Lenore does religiously. One is her exercise. Another is taking time to watch a revived soap opera "Dark Shadows". (If you ask me, it probably hasn't been revived enough, it's still half-dead.) She says it's "campy". Is that a synonym for "lame"? We call it "scary show" because Laney often watches it with her. She also likes to spend time on a Sci-fi channel web site chatting to others about the show. Although previously beset with a healthy undaring and a natural lack of affinity for computers and internet navigating, she has ventured forth and has begun to enjoy herself quite a bit with it.
We did a number of house remodel projects in our home this year the largest of which involved removing a half wall in the dinning area and laying down tile in the kitchen, dining, garage entry, and a bathroom. In this project Lenore and the kids pitched in substantially and I think they all enjoyed it a little and gained a sense of accomplishment from it.
Laney was the best baby. But, now has reached the age of two and has become the spawn of evil! Just kidding,... a little. She is still the cutest. But she has quite a will and determination. At the same time though, there are times when she wants just to be held and that's all that will satisfy her. Her language has developed quite well. She has a little quirk in that often the first time she hears something and tries to repeat it she says the word inside out. Is there such a thing as vocal dyslexia? Once she makes a pronouncement we don't correct her much because we think it's cute and even adopt her version. Thus she has a vocabulary of: reeboo (for our cat, Ruby), keekoo(cookie), kinchen (chicken), kiddle (tickle), cursomul (commercial).
My parents stayed with us from July through October while they were having a house built and "Grandma and Grandpa" became "puguh and puguh" (you can treat it like a collective noun, if you like) in Laneyese. Another word variation is "caja moke" (for chocolate milk). I guess this is an improvement since Ailsa said "babbadio'oi" for drink. Laney went through a phase where she had a foreign flair to her language. She pronounced "dolphin" like the French "dauphin" and "more" like "mehr" in German. When we were in Italy she kept saying "goggy buggy". We had no idea what it was except the first part was probably doggy. Eventually we realized she was saying doggy barking. We carried it a step further and started calling her "goggy buggy laney poo".
A week or two ago I was supposed to be watching her. But, I was on the computer. She wandered off and then came back a couple of minutes later eating something. She looked at me with a messy face and said "I wuv cajate" (I love chocolate). She had gotten into a cupboard and found a large bar of dark semi-sweet cooking chocolate. In this case I couldn't just offer my hand and say thank you and have her give it to me. I had to wrestle it from her clenched fist with her kicking and screaming. Any doubts about her heritage were dispelled with this incident. Both Lenore and I are avid chocolate-philes. No chance for a recessive chocolate aversion gene sneaking in. While falling asleep Laney likes to listen to a "Minnie a Pooh" lantern she has that is equipped with a very smalll wattage light and plays outdoorsey, nighttime sounds. It makes me think of Pirates of the Caribbean at Disneyland.
Although her teeth are really pretty good, Jensen had braces put on early this fall. She's reached that age where she has one foot in adolescence and reluctantly one foot in young adulthood. It will be fun to watch her develop over the next year or so. Our biggest problem with Jensen is that we have to vie with the world for her time. Her friends, and especially her best childhood friend, Kimmie from across the street, would consume her every minute if it weren't for our efforts to the contrary. She has also started going to the private school where Ailsa attends and seems to be enjoying it a lot. I hope that's not just because the homework situation is practically nonexistent.
Earlier in the year there was a bit of a scandal with her sixth grade class. Some of the more socially mature ones were meeting at the mall for "dates" and kissing and generally being dorky. The teachers caught wind of it because it was causing some strife amongst the students. They wanted to nip it in the bud and discuss the behavior with those involved. But, they weren't sure how widely it was known among the kids. So as not to reveal too much to those who didn't know about it, they asked the students to write down and turn in what they knew. Jensen's teacher said she was most pleased with Jensen's paper because all she wrote was: "I'm so confused." It was obvious to the teacher that Jensen was not in the thick of it, not even in the thin of it.
About the private school. No we did not inherit. It's not terribly expensive and miraculously the kids were awarded scholarships to attend. A miracle because we definitely did not meet the financial profile. Thus two kids attend. But, we only pay for one.
Ailsa turns sixteen next December. When I consider the possibility of her piloting 3000 pounds of steel around our city (I'm going to have trouble with her driving my car, I may grant her the privilege of washing it for a year or so before she can even breathe on it), with her inadequate grasp of physics, less than superior hand-eye coordination, and typical teenage concentration abilities I am reminded that as for intelligence and responsibility and general with-it-ness she falls in the 95th percentile and I realize that I'm not nearly as safe on our roads as I feel.
I've told you about Ailsa's Harry Potter affliction (now it's Orlando Bloom from the Fellowship of the Rings, oh! baby!). Last year the Salt Lake Library held a Harry Potter Jeopardy contest in conjunction with the opening of the movie. Lenore thought it would be fun for the kids to go. Ailsa took the grand prize. We teased her somewhat because she was likely the oldest player and most of her competition was the not-very-well-rounded type. So she prevailed over 10-12 year old geeks. Oh, Victory, where is thy honor?
She also attended a two day Orson Scott Card writing conference and enjoyed that quite a bit despite spending two days away from home on a college campus with only her father's temperamental (read possessed) cell phone as a connection to her family. She received a B grade on her first BYU Independent Study course assignment. But since then her interest in the course has slackened somewhat and she has yet to submit another assignment. At the end of last school year she passed the GED practice test so we feel that she is learning at her school.
Speaking of braces Ailsa has finally finished her regimen and enjoys the best smile in the family now. Fortunately, our orthodontist allows us to pay at our own pace.
We had a wonderful family adventure this spring. My missionary group has been having reunions every three years for some time now. We decided this year to meet in Milan, Italy. I had never been back since I returned home from Italy in 1979. Despite apprehensions about the hassle and the cost, we took the kids too. Lenore and I are not big on sight seeing so we tried to plan some leisure time into the vacation as well. We searched on the internet and settled on a small apartment in Santa Margherita Ligure. If you type "Villino Matilde" into any search engine on the web you will find info on it. It doesn't look too great in it's pictures. But, it was very cute and quaint in person and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves for the week that we stayed there and highly recommend the place to anyone looking for somewhere to stay in the area. We especially loved SML, just a stone's throw from Portofino and at one time a big hot spot with the hoi poloi. We found an idyllic Mediterranean beach and among the various yachts we spotted the "Christina O" (no longer owned by the Onassis family.) It is over 300 feet long!
We saw Cremona (where I stayed for 9 months as a missionary), Bergamo, Milan, Turin, Genoa and stayed 5 days with some dear, generous friends near Como. We ate some great food, including about $100 in gelato. We performed wonderfully as tourists and saw many wonderful and ancient things. The kids were great, even Laney. The only downers were the jet lag (but, you really just have to stay awake for a long time, not take a nap and go to bed on local time to get in sync.) The oppressive heat and humidity. Can you say Italian heat wave in June? The unconscionably cramped space provided by the airlines for a trans-Atlantic flight, (Yeager and Rutan had more space on their historic flight with Voyager.) and paying more than we needed to for our plane tickets. I have written about the vacation in detail to preserve our memory of it. If you are interested in hearing more, let me know and I can e-mail you the full account.
It was a great vacation and we are trying to figure out how to get back to Italy soon. We had grudgingly budgeted the money for it. But, it ended up all paid for courtesy of the lady who hit me on my bike.
I was a couple of days into commuting to work on my bicycle when I was struck by a "hit and run" drunken driver on my way home. I was only about a half mile from home when a car approached me from behind and sideswiped me. I was at the hospital for about 6 hours. I received some stitches on my left hand and was scraped up and banged up all on my left side and I had my clock rung real well. I guess one of my two remaining brain cells was killed off. Here comes the preach: always wear a helmet!!!! It's the only thing that saved me from severe injury or death. I have fully recovered and aside from one small scar it didunt afect me in uny way.
Now about the "alleged" hit-and-run, drunken driver. The police had just been alerted by her mother that she had taken off drunk in the mother's car. They found the car parked at one bar. But, the bartender had refused to serve her because she was too drunk. So she walked to another where the police arrested her. The police had the accounts of some witnesses that confirmed she was the one who hit me and I was able to corroborate.
When all was said and done, after paying for the medical treatments, the insurance money came to about $11,000. It was enough to pay for our great trip to Italy and also for some really nice improvements on my bike.
We enjoyed immensely having the Winter Olympics visit Salt Lake City this year. We were privileged to see short track speed skating (with Apollo Ohno) and men's figure skating from a suite at the Delta Center. I had been a volunteer at the 1984 LA Olympics and it was interesting to compare the two and give the kids a chance to experience such a neat event.
The Lillywhites
toddlillywhite@yahoo.com
tesorucciodellam@aol.com
lenorelillywhite@hotmail.com
The Bike Crash (un-edited version)
I was only a couple of days into commuting to work on my bicycle when I was struck by a "hit and run" drunken driver on my way home. I was only about a half mile from home when a car approached me from behind and sideswiped me. Fortunately, out of my whole route, it happened in the only 50 yard spot where there is no curb. I was bumped off the pavement onto the dirt and rocky shoulder where no one with 18 mm tires should ride at 25 m.p.h.. There were some trash cans I had to devote all of my concentration to avoid. I somehow made it past them. But right after that I went down on my left side sort-of over the handle bars. Later I found I must have hit a bump or rock too hard. My carbon fiber fork broke and I had no control.
I awakened somewhat when one of the gathering crowd asked me if I was OK. It seemed like it took me about 30 seconds to answer him. But, I told him I just needed a couple of minutes. I was thinking I would be able to walk it off and ride the rest of the way home. I tried to sit up but collapsed. He helped me off with my fanny pack. Somehow I was able to give him my phone number and he called Lenore on my cell phone. She has told me the short drive to the scene was terrible because she had no idea what condition I was in and traffic was all backed up because of the ambulance and police cars. People seemed instinctively to know who she was when she pulled up.
I kept drifting in and out for about 3 hours. She says I appeared to be conscious. But, just not responsive (so what's so unusual about that?) I also kept repeating myself as if my reset button was getting pushed every so often and I would again forget what had transpired up to that point. They kept me at the hospital for about 6 hours, stitched up a wound on my hand. I wasn't wearing gloves, I always figured gloves were mainly for comfort or warmth. on such a short ride it doesn't seem necessary. But, I wear them all the time now. Besides that I was scraped up and banged up all on my left side and I had my clock rung real well. I guess one of my two remaining brain cells was killed off. Here comes the preach: always wear a helmet!!!! It's the only thing that saved me from severe injury or death. I have fully recovered and aside from one small scar it didunt afect me in uny way.
Bike arguably sustained more injury. (I say "bike" rather than "the bike" because it has assumed it's own place in the family.) It probably doesn't help that a 190 pound man rides a 17 pound bike. It's not meant to sustain much abuse or nasty bumps. Besides the fork, my front wheel was severely out of true, one brake/shift lever was broken (likely from my hand, rather than impact) and several parts were bent or scratched. The bike shop estimated the damage at about $2500.
Now about the alleged hit-and-run, drunken driver. She was in her 50's living with her mother. The police had just been alerted by her mother that she had taken off drunk in the mother's car. So they were looking for her when the dispatcher notified them of my crash. They found the car parked at one bar. But, the bartender had refused to serve her because she was too drunk. So she walked to another where the police arrested her. Mind you, this was at 6 PM in the evening not midnight or later. It seemed the police were out to protect my rights from the start. On the police report they stated that there was $50 damage to her car. I'm a little doubtful that was really the case. I don't think she actually hit my bike, just my leg. I think the police were hedging on my side knowing that later she would deny hitting me at all. She had prior offenses and I think her mother was getting tired of her problems because she let her cool her heels in jail for a couple of days.
The police had the accounts of some witnesses. But, they needed or wanted my confirmation. They came to talk to me in the hospital. When you are getting pushed off the road by a car your vision sort of tunnels in. I was trying to concentrate on those trash cans. I only had a second's chance even to notice the car (I expect she was going 40-50 m.p.h.. I never saw her in my rearview mirror). But, as soon as I said "big green sedan, maybe a Buick," the policeman smiled and seemed satisfied they had the right person. Later looking at the police report, I hit it dead on. Although, if I had to put a model year on it I would have said late 70's and it was actually a 1993. Did they still make big green sedans in 1993?
Lenore should get a prize for being such a good mother. She has such an interest in discussion, debate and many areas of study, and a natural ability to learn and memorize that I see it as difficult for her to leave those things and tend to the kids or the house. But, she does so with marked aplomb and cheer. If it weren't for motherhood and housewifeship, I could see her teaching college history or biology or genetics. She is especially good with Laney who quite often requires all of her attention. Lenore's patience never runs out when it comes to the little one. She reads to her every night for about 30 minutes. Laney's favorite book right now is "a Moose a Muffin" (in Laneyese). I especially like "Goodnight Moon".
There are only a couple of things Lenore does religiously. One is her exercise. Another is taking time to watch a revived soap opera "Dark Shadows". (If you ask me, it probably hasn't been revived enough, it's still half-dead.) She says it's "campy". Is that a synonym for "lame"? We call it "scary show" because Laney often watches it with her. She also likes to spend time on a Sci-fi channel web site chatting to others about the show. Although previously beset with a healthy undaring and a natural lack of affinity for computers and internet navigating, she has ventured forth and has begun to enjoy herself quite a bit with it.
We did a number of house remodel projects in our home this year the largest of which involved removing a half wall in the dinning area and laying down tile in the kitchen, dining, garage entry, and a bathroom. In this project Lenore and the kids pitched in substantially and I think they all enjoyed it a little and gained a sense of accomplishment from it.
Laney was the best baby. But, now has reached the age of two and has become the spawn of evil! Just kidding,... a little. She is still the cutest. But she has quite a will and determination. At the same time though, there are times when she wants just to be held and that's all that will satisfy her. Her language has developed quite well. She has a little quirk in that often the first time she hears something and tries to repeat it she says the word inside out. Is there such a thing as vocal dyslexia? Once she makes a pronouncement we don't correct her much because we think it's cute and even adopt her version. Thus she has a vocabulary of: reeboo (for our cat, Ruby), keekoo(cookie), kinchen (chicken), kiddle (tickle), cursomul (commercial).
My parents stayed with us from July through October while they were having a house built and "Grandma and Grandpa" became "puguh and puguh" (you can treat it like a collective noun, if you like) in Laneyese. Another word variation is "caja moke" (for chocolate milk). I guess this is an improvement since Ailsa said "babbadio'oi" for drink. Laney went through a phase where she had a foreign flair to her language. She pronounced "dolphin" like the French "dauphin" and "more" like "mehr" in German. When we were in Italy she kept saying "goggy buggy". We had no idea what it was except the first part was probably doggy. Eventually we realized she was saying doggy barking. We carried it a step further and started calling her "goggy buggy laney poo".
A week or two ago I was supposed to be watching her. But, I was on the computer. She wandered off and then came back a couple of minutes later eating something. She looked at me with a messy face and said "I wuv cajate" (I love chocolate). She had gotten into a cupboard and found a large bar of dark semi-sweet cooking chocolate. In this case I couldn't just offer my hand and say thank you and have her give it to me. I had to wrestle it from her clenched fist with her kicking and screaming. Any doubts about her heritage were dispelled with this incident. Both Lenore and I are avid chocolate-philes. No chance for a recessive chocolate aversion gene sneaking in. While falling asleep Laney likes to listen to a "Minnie a Pooh" lantern she has that is equipped with a very smalll wattage light and plays outdoorsey, nighttime sounds. It makes me think of Pirates of the Caribbean at Disneyland.
Although her teeth are really pretty good, Jensen had braces put on early this fall. She's reached that age where she has one foot in adolescence and reluctantly one foot in young adulthood. It will be fun to watch her develop over the next year or so. Our biggest problem with Jensen is that we have to vie with the world for her time. Her friends, and especially her best childhood friend, Kimmie from across the street, would consume her every minute if it weren't for our efforts to the contrary. She has also started going to the private school where Ailsa attends and seems to be enjoying it a lot. I hope that's not just because the homework situation is practically nonexistent.
Earlier in the year there was a bit of a scandal with her sixth grade class. Some of the more socially mature ones were meeting at the mall for "dates" and kissing and generally being dorky. The teachers caught wind of it because it was causing some strife amongst the students. They wanted to nip it in the bud and discuss the behavior with those involved. But, they weren't sure how widely it was known among the kids. So as not to reveal too much to those who didn't know about it, they asked the students to write down and turn in what they knew. Jensen's teacher said she was most pleased with Jensen's paper because all she wrote was: "I'm so confused." It was obvious to the teacher that Jensen was not in the thick of it, not even in the thin of it.
About the private school. No we did not inherit. It's not terribly expensive and miraculously the kids were awarded scholarships to attend. A miracle because we definitely did not meet the financial profile. Thus two kids attend. But, we only pay for one.
Ailsa turns sixteen next December. When I consider the possibility of her piloting 3000 pounds of steel around our city (I'm going to have trouble with her driving my car, I may grant her the privilege of washing it for a year or so before she can even breathe on it), with her inadequate grasp of physics, less than superior hand-eye coordination, and typical teenage concentration abilities I am reminded that as for intelligence and responsibility and general with-it-ness she falls in the 95th percentile and I realize that I'm not nearly as safe on our roads as I feel.
I've told you about Ailsa's Harry Potter affliction (now it's Orlando Bloom from the Fellowship of the Rings, oh! baby!). Last year the Salt Lake Library held a Harry Potter Jeopardy contest in conjunction with the opening of the movie. Lenore thought it would be fun for the kids to go. Ailsa took the grand prize. We teased her somewhat because she was likely the oldest player and most of her competition was the not-very-well-rounded type. So she prevailed over 10-12 year old geeks. Oh, Victory, where is thy honor?
She also attended a two day Orson Scott Card writing conference and enjoyed that quite a bit despite spending two days away from home on a college campus with only her father's temperamental (read possessed) cell phone as a connection to her family. She received a B grade on her first BYU Independent Study course assignment. But since then her interest in the course has slackened somewhat and she has yet to submit another assignment. At the end of last school year she passed the GED practice test so we feel that she is learning at her school.
Speaking of braces Ailsa has finally finished her regimen and enjoys the best smile in the family now. Fortunately, our orthodontist allows us to pay at our own pace.
We had a wonderful family adventure this spring. My missionary group has been having reunions every three years for some time now. We decided this year to meet in Milan, Italy. I had never been back since I returned home from Italy in 1979. Despite apprehensions about the hassle and the cost, we took the kids too. Lenore and I are not big on sight seeing so we tried to plan some leisure time into the vacation as well. We searched on the internet and settled on a small apartment in Santa Margherita Ligure. If you type "Villino Matilde" into any search engine on the web you will find info on it. It doesn't look too great in it's pictures. But, it was very cute and quaint in person and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves for the week that we stayed there and highly recommend the place to anyone looking for somewhere to stay in the area. We especially loved SML, just a stone's throw from Portofino and at one time a big hot spot with the hoi poloi. We found an idyllic Mediterranean beach and among the various yachts we spotted the "Christina O" (no longer owned by the Onassis family.) It is over 300 feet long!
We saw Cremona (where I stayed for 9 months as a missionary), Bergamo, Milan, Turin, Genoa and stayed 5 days with some dear, generous friends near Como. We ate some great food, including about $100 in gelato. We performed wonderfully as tourists and saw many wonderful and ancient things. The kids were great, even Laney. The only downers were the jet lag (but, you really just have to stay awake for a long time, not take a nap and go to bed on local time to get in sync.) The oppressive heat and humidity. Can you say Italian heat wave in June? The unconscionably cramped space provided by the airlines for a trans-Atlantic flight, (Yeager and Rutan had more space on their historic flight with Voyager.) and paying more than we needed to for our plane tickets. I have written about the vacation in detail to preserve our memory of it. If you are interested in hearing more, let me know and I can e-mail you the full account.
It was a great vacation and we are trying to figure out how to get back to Italy soon. We had grudgingly budgeted the money for it. But, it ended up all paid for courtesy of the lady who hit me on my bike.
I was a couple of days into commuting to work on my bicycle when I was struck by a "hit and run" drunken driver on my way home. I was only about a half mile from home when a car approached me from behind and sideswiped me. I was at the hospital for about 6 hours. I received some stitches on my left hand and was scraped up and banged up all on my left side and I had my clock rung real well. I guess one of my two remaining brain cells was killed off. Here comes the preach: always wear a helmet!!!! It's the only thing that saved me from severe injury or death. I have fully recovered and aside from one small scar it didunt afect me in uny way.
Now about the "alleged" hit-and-run, drunken driver. The police had just been alerted by her mother that she had taken off drunk in the mother's car. They found the car parked at one bar. But, the bartender had refused to serve her because she was too drunk. So she walked to another where the police arrested her. The police had the accounts of some witnesses that confirmed she was the one who hit me and I was able to corroborate.
When all was said and done, after paying for the medical treatments, the insurance money came to about $11,000. It was enough to pay for our great trip to Italy and also for some really nice improvements on my bike.
We enjoyed immensely having the Winter Olympics visit Salt Lake City this year. We were privileged to see short track speed skating (with Apollo Ohno) and men's figure skating from a suite at the Delta Center. I had been a volunteer at the 1984 LA Olympics and it was interesting to compare the two and give the kids a chance to experience such a neat event.
The Lillywhites
toddlillywhite@yahoo.com
tesorucciodellam@aol.com
lenorelillywhite@hotmail.com
The Bike Crash (un-edited version)
I was only a couple of days into commuting to work on my bicycle when I was struck by a "hit and run" drunken driver on my way home. I was only about a half mile from home when a car approached me from behind and sideswiped me. Fortunately, out of my whole route, it happened in the only 50 yard spot where there is no curb. I was bumped off the pavement onto the dirt and rocky shoulder where no one with 18 mm tires should ride at 25 m.p.h.. There were some trash cans I had to devote all of my concentration to avoid. I somehow made it past them. But right after that I went down on my left side sort-of over the handle bars. Later I found I must have hit a bump or rock too hard. My carbon fiber fork broke and I had no control.
I awakened somewhat when one of the gathering crowd asked me if I was OK. It seemed like it took me about 30 seconds to answer him. But, I told him I just needed a couple of minutes. I was thinking I would be able to walk it off and ride the rest of the way home. I tried to sit up but collapsed. He helped me off with my fanny pack. Somehow I was able to give him my phone number and he called Lenore on my cell phone. She has told me the short drive to the scene was terrible because she had no idea what condition I was in and traffic was all backed up because of the ambulance and police cars. People seemed instinctively to know who she was when she pulled up.
I kept drifting in and out for about 3 hours. She says I appeared to be conscious. But, just not responsive (so what's so unusual about that?) I also kept repeating myself as if my reset button was getting pushed every so often and I would again forget what had transpired up to that point. They kept me at the hospital for about 6 hours, stitched up a wound on my hand. I wasn't wearing gloves, I always figured gloves were mainly for comfort or warmth. on such a short ride it doesn't seem necessary. But, I wear them all the time now. Besides that I was scraped up and banged up all on my left side and I had my clock rung real well. I guess one of my two remaining brain cells was killed off. Here comes the preach: always wear a helmet!!!! It's the only thing that saved me from severe injury or death. I have fully recovered and aside from one small scar it didunt afect me in uny way.
Bike arguably sustained more injury. (I say "bike" rather than "the bike" because it has assumed it's own place in the family.) It probably doesn't help that a 190 pound man rides a 17 pound bike. It's not meant to sustain much abuse or nasty bumps. Besides the fork, my front wheel was severely out of true, one brake/shift lever was broken (likely from my hand, rather than impact) and several parts were bent or scratched. The bike shop estimated the damage at about $2500.
Now about the alleged hit-and-run, drunken driver. She was in her 50's living with her mother. The police had just been alerted by her mother that she had taken off drunk in the mother's car. So they were looking for her when the dispatcher notified them of my crash. They found the car parked at one bar. But, the bartender had refused to serve her because she was too drunk. So she walked to another where the police arrested her. Mind you, this was at 6 PM in the evening not midnight or later. It seemed the police were out to protect my rights from the start. On the police report they stated that there was $50 damage to her car. I'm a little doubtful that was really the case. I don't think she actually hit my bike, just my leg. I think the police were hedging on my side knowing that later she would deny hitting me at all. She had prior offenses and I think her mother was getting tired of her problems because she let her cool her heels in jail for a couple of days.
The police had the accounts of some witnesses. But, they needed or wanted my confirmation. They came to talk to me in the hospital. When you are getting pushed off the road by a car your vision sort of tunnels in. I was trying to concentrate on those trash cans. I only had a second's chance even to notice the car (I expect she was going 40-50 m.p.h.. I never saw her in my rearview mirror). But, as soon as I said "big green sedan, maybe a Buick," the policeman smiled and seemed satisfied they had the right person. Later looking at the police report, I hit it dead on. Although, if I had to put a model year on it I would have said late 70's and it was actually a 1993. Did they still make big green sedans in 1993?
12 January 1990
Christmas 2001
The Lillywhite household is still intact after another year of hard labor in the salt mines. We love having our little Laney. She is such a joy and 90% of the time very happy. However, we did forget what it is like having a toddler around the house. It would not be inappropriate to call her "Laney, the unmaker." It's hard to keep up with the messes that all three girls concoct.
We've decided that Laney's first forays into the world of spoken language were in some alien tongue ("baby Spanish" as my nephew Brandon used to say.) Lately she has zeroed in on the human words "mommy" and "daddy" although she hasn't clearly demonstrated that she knows their correct meanings. She says daddy when referring to any people in a picture or painting. She says mommy when wanting to be fed or picked up. She quickly figured out that inflection in the voice was important. However she's only recently realizing that you have to put words in with the inflection. She would just say "unnhhh", with her pitch going up at the end.
Early on she did not take a binky (what we call "ciuccio" in our house, that's Italian). However, one day she just switched and it's the greatest thing since sliced bread. If she's being noisy or fussy you just have to "plug her in" and she's fine. One quirky little trait she has is that of giving her ciuccio a twist every now and then, as if the tongue side loses its freshness and needs a change. Sometimes for fun we will come up and twist it for her and that gets her going in twist mode again. The other day she came across a package of ciuccios that Lenore has set aside for a rainy day. She carried it in to me saying "unnhhh?" with a look of wonder on her face. I think she saw a whole future of ciuccio twisting in that package.
A couple of weeks ago we took Laney with us out shopping on a Saturday evening. Lenore noticed that Laney was damp and figured that she had spilled something on herself. When we got home after a couple of hours we found that she was completely diaperless! One of the kids (whose name will be withheld so as not to embarrass her, but she is the middle child whom I will mention more specifically in the sixth paragraph) has some trouble with securing the diapers well and it had come unfastened and fallen out of her pants. A similar episode happened to my sister once with her granddaughter and she took her out in public bare-bottomed wearing a dress.
Laney loves the house pets and they love her. But, she also loves to pester them. One of her favorite things to do is to find one of the cats resting on my desk chair. Laney goes to the chair and starts moving the back of it up and down so that it "clunks" and give the cats a little start. This annoys the cats and she knows it, takes great delight in it and giggles herself silly.
Jensen still is the live-life-with-all-the-gusto-you-can-muster kind of kid. If she had her way she would be outside playing with one of her friends all the time. This is one kid who really needs a social secretary. It's not uncommon for her to be asked for a sleep-over by three different friends in the same evening. She has been fascinated this year with the study of Egypt and Greece. Some good New Year's resolutions for her would be to work on her cleanliness and organization skills (besides her trouble with fastening diapers) to prepare her for Junior High School. She is at the stage in her life where legos are very important. (I remember having a stage like this. I also remember having legos strewn about the house and conflicts with my parents over cleaning them up.)
Ailsa has been attending an LDS private school, Kimber Academy, since September. Her performance and attitude about school last year were lackluster at best. She heard about Kimber Academy and became quite excited about it. (We were at the point where we would have sent her to Tehran Tech if she showed an interest in it.) She seems to be doing better. At least she is much more personable around the house. Our thinking is that after two years of this she will probably be able to pass the GED and then go to regular High School and take college correspondent courses. After two years of Kimber Academy we may also have to sell her to the circus to pay for her school. She has spent lots of time writing "fan fiction" stories and posting them on the internet. These are stories that fans of Outlaw Star, Tenchi Muyo, Sailor Moon (that's the cartoon with the "boom" in the Bare Naked Ladies song), or whatever, write using their favorite characters and shows and sometimes integrating various shows, characters and even motifs from popular movies. She has a lot of fun doing it and she is lurning two speel beturr.
Lenore took some encouragement from her sister and decided to try Bill Phillips' "body for life" program. Although she hasn't won any contests outside of our family she has dropped back down to a very svelte combat weight. As a result she is enjoying much better health and we expect to have her around for a long time. She's still leading the choir at church and enjoys it and does a very good job, especially for someone whose mother is extremely surprised that she was even considered for the job. In this role she continues to endure the "suggestions" and "comments" of her husband who is the know-it-all star tenor. This year also she progressed from just buying jewelry to attempting to make some. She took a jewelry making class with her brother and enjoyed it immensely. I still can't get her to make me a Mike-Tyson gold tooth though.
I still ride my bicycle as much as possible despite problems with plantar fasciitis. Minor surgery a couple of months ago gave me some relief. But, I face a long future of self-administered therapy (stretching and kneading, etc...) It's best if I stay away from anything that involves running or jumping. I did another century bicycle ride and managed to equal my best time, thanks to the "assistance" of some younger and stronger riders. I also did a hill climb ride up to the Brighton ski resort. This is a 14 mile ride with an elevation increase of about 4000 feet. In honor of Lance Armstrong's third Tour win this year I did my best to imitate the grimace on Jan Ullrich's face when Lance passed him so effortlessly on those hills. It took 2 hours to go up and 30 minutes to come down. I don't plan on repeating these feats for at least a couple of years. It will probably take that long for me to forget how much it hurt. I'm still in the bishopric and hanging in there, trying not to appear too competent.
As a family we have enjoyed Saturday bike rides when the weather is nice. I use inline skates and push Laney in her trailer (she almost always falls asleep). Mom and the girls ride bikes. It's good wholesome family fun. The kids complain a lot. But, I would have complained at that age too. We think it is important for them to learn to be physically active and it's our way to get back at them for all the messes they make us clean up. I have also continued reading to the kids in the evening a couple of hours a week. We are still working our way through Orson Scott Card's fiction works. After 10 years in this home we are planning on doing some remodeling this year. This may include painting, adding a loft, fireplace, and new floors on the main level, a new back door and a deck in the back yard.
Events of the year have helped to steel our resolve to stand for truth and right. We are humbled when we contemplate the goodness and protection we enjoy from God every day. May we all continue to request and warrant His greatest blessings.
The Lillywhites
toddlillywhite@yahoo.com
We've decided that Laney's first forays into the world of spoken language were in some alien tongue ("baby Spanish" as my nephew Brandon used to say.) Lately she has zeroed in on the human words "mommy" and "daddy" although she hasn't clearly demonstrated that she knows their correct meanings. She says daddy when referring to any people in a picture or painting. She says mommy when wanting to be fed or picked up. She quickly figured out that inflection in the voice was important. However she's only recently realizing that you have to put words in with the inflection. She would just say "unnhhh", with her pitch going up at the end.
Early on she did not take a binky (what we call "ciuccio" in our house, that's Italian). However, one day she just switched and it's the greatest thing since sliced bread. If she's being noisy or fussy you just have to "plug her in" and she's fine. One quirky little trait she has is that of giving her ciuccio a twist every now and then, as if the tongue side loses its freshness and needs a change. Sometimes for fun we will come up and twist it for her and that gets her going in twist mode again. The other day she came across a package of ciuccios that Lenore has set aside for a rainy day. She carried it in to me saying "unnhhh?" with a look of wonder on her face. I think she saw a whole future of ciuccio twisting in that package.
A couple of weeks ago we took Laney with us out shopping on a Saturday evening. Lenore noticed that Laney was damp and figured that she had spilled something on herself. When we got home after a couple of hours we found that she was completely diaperless! One of the kids (whose name will be withheld so as not to embarrass her, but she is the middle child whom I will mention more specifically in the sixth paragraph) has some trouble with securing the diapers well and it had come unfastened and fallen out of her pants. A similar episode happened to my sister once with her granddaughter and she took her out in public bare-bottomed wearing a dress.
Laney loves the house pets and they love her. But, she also loves to pester them. One of her favorite things to do is to find one of the cats resting on my desk chair. Laney goes to the chair and starts moving the back of it up and down so that it "clunks" and give the cats a little start. This annoys the cats and she knows it, takes great delight in it and giggles herself silly.
Jensen still is the live-life-with-all-the-gusto-you-can-muster kind of kid. If she had her way she would be outside playing with one of her friends all the time. This is one kid who really needs a social secretary. It's not uncommon for her to be asked for a sleep-over by three different friends in the same evening. She has been fascinated this year with the study of Egypt and Greece. Some good New Year's resolutions for her would be to work on her cleanliness and organization skills (besides her trouble with fastening diapers) to prepare her for Junior High School. She is at the stage in her life where legos are very important. (I remember having a stage like this. I also remember having legos strewn about the house and conflicts with my parents over cleaning them up.)
Ailsa has been attending an LDS private school, Kimber Academy, since September. Her performance and attitude about school last year were lackluster at best. She heard about Kimber Academy and became quite excited about it. (We were at the point where we would have sent her to Tehran Tech if she showed an interest in it.) She seems to be doing better. At least she is much more personable around the house. Our thinking is that after two years of this she will probably be able to pass the GED and then go to regular High School and take college correspondent courses. After two years of Kimber Academy we may also have to sell her to the circus to pay for her school. She has spent lots of time writing "fan fiction" stories and posting them on the internet. These are stories that fans of Outlaw Star, Tenchi Muyo, Sailor Moon (that's the cartoon with the "boom" in the Bare Naked Ladies song), or whatever, write using their favorite characters and shows and sometimes integrating various shows, characters and even motifs from popular movies. She has a lot of fun doing it and she is lurning two speel beturr.
Lenore took some encouragement from her sister and decided to try Bill Phillips' "body for life" program. Although she hasn't won any contests outside of our family she has dropped back down to a very svelte combat weight. As a result she is enjoying much better health and we expect to have her around for a long time. She's still leading the choir at church and enjoys it and does a very good job, especially for someone whose mother is extremely surprised that she was even considered for the job. In this role she continues to endure the "suggestions" and "comments" of her husband who is the know-it-all star tenor. This year also she progressed from just buying jewelry to attempting to make some. She took a jewelry making class with her brother and enjoyed it immensely. I still can't get her to make me a Mike-Tyson gold tooth though.
I still ride my bicycle as much as possible despite problems with plantar fasciitis. Minor surgery a couple of months ago gave me some relief. But, I face a long future of self-administered therapy (stretching and kneading, etc...) It's best if I stay away from anything that involves running or jumping. I did another century bicycle ride and managed to equal my best time, thanks to the "assistance" of some younger and stronger riders. I also did a hill climb ride up to the Brighton ski resort. This is a 14 mile ride with an elevation increase of about 4000 feet. In honor of Lance Armstrong's third Tour win this year I did my best to imitate the grimace on Jan Ullrich's face when Lance passed him so effortlessly on those hills. It took 2 hours to go up and 30 minutes to come down. I don't plan on repeating these feats for at least a couple of years. It will probably take that long for me to forget how much it hurt. I'm still in the bishopric and hanging in there, trying not to appear too competent.
As a family we have enjoyed Saturday bike rides when the weather is nice. I use inline skates and push Laney in her trailer (she almost always falls asleep). Mom and the girls ride bikes. It's good wholesome family fun. The kids complain a lot. But, I would have complained at that age too. We think it is important for them to learn to be physically active and it's our way to get back at them for all the messes they make us clean up. I have also continued reading to the kids in the evening a couple of hours a week. We are still working our way through Orson Scott Card's fiction works. After 10 years in this home we are planning on doing some remodeling this year. This may include painting, adding a loft, fireplace, and new floors on the main level, a new back door and a deck in the back yard.
Events of the year have helped to steel our resolve to stand for truth and right. We are humbled when we contemplate the goodness and protection we enjoy from God every day. May we all continue to request and warrant His greatest blessings.
The Lillywhites
toddlillywhite@yahoo.com
11 January 1990
Christmas 2000
Our big news this year is that, after years of trying and a couple of miscarriages, we were blessed with another beautiful baby girl, our own millennium baby. We wanted to name her Isaac (see Genesis 18:11-14) but settled on Lane Camille (we mostly call her Laney or Laney poo). She is named after one of her second great grandmothers: Camilla Naomi Lane. We feel she was truly a miracle baby. Lenore had blood pressure problems when Jensen was born (10 years ago) and off and on since. With this pregnancy she had no sign of high blood pressure until delivery and since has had to be on medication and required a hospital stay of a couple of days when baby had been home from the hospital one week. Laney is a very good baby and has a wonderful disposition. She is almost always ready to smile or try to talk baby Spanish or laugh. So far, Laney has been way easier than the first two and we tell Ailsa and Jensen that often!
One interesting note regarding the birth: probably because of Lenore’s “advanced” age and because we did not consent to an amniocentesis during the pregnancy, the Pediatrician said he was concerned that Laney might be trisomy 21 (Down syndrome). He cited a couple of physical characteristics (I wasn’t sure I could see what he was talking about and told him all those traits came from the Smith side of the family anyway.) The upshot was we were left in semi-suspense for six weeks after her birth until we heard officially that she passed the chromosome test.
She tested our mettle during her blessing. A young convert girl was confirmed just before and our most recently released bishop performed that ordinance. Laney was fine during the whole meeting until the long-winded ex-bishop started what seemed like a 15 minute prayer that went on and on. What began as a mild squall of fussing during the confirmation soon developed into a stage 4 Hurricane of wailing all through the prayer. Just about the only part the audience could hear was a barb from her father about her "lively spirit". This elicited polite laughter from the congregation.
Jensen has become a bit of a “scare bear”. She’s worse than a medical student. Every new ailment she hears about, she thinks she is developing that sickness. She has also become wary of all the virulently poisonous plant and bugs that infest our household and yard and are ever trying to invade our domain. Soon she will require inspection of all her food, clothing, and school items for the minutest speck or spore of toxins. Right now she plans on being a ballot dimple counter when she grows up. We might have to move to Florida!
Our kids are wonderful and a joy to have. If there were any trait we would delete from their personality subroutines it would be their need to fill any “dead air” with the sound of their own voice, usually commenting about some inane kid TV program. (In our day these were Kimba the White Lion, Speed Racer, and Gigantor. Nowadays these are Sailor Moon, Tenchi Muyo, Gundum Wing, Tsoonami. The common thread is that we are under attack by a contingent of Japanese Animationists!)
Lenore finished her stint as PTA President. They gave an honorary award to Laney too since she attended most of the meetings in-utero. Lenore also finished her time as teacher's aid at the elementary school and now enjoys a fairly undemanding part-time job doing some on-call tasks for the company I work for. Understandably one of her most difficult tasks is to find enough time to rest. One good thing about once again being a member of "La Leche League": She is able to get her shopping fix by “window-shopping” on the shopping channels while nursing the "Babbit".
In my cycling this year there was one notable event. My cousin (who lives about 45 minutes north of us) and I went up just outside of Logan to do the Cache Valley Century ride. We just did the metric Century (about 67 miles). Considering my previous 100 milers I figured this would be a walk in the park. Well, something went wrong with that theory. It was a little hilly and a little windy and we are both big guys (larger riders do better on the flat with no wind). But, I think we have to take some of the blame ourselves. We were dead after only about 25 miles. We didn't prepare well nutritionally and we didn't hydrate enough. We had older guys passing us when we were 2/3rds through. When we finished, about 15-20 of the 100 milers had already completed the course. Our egos were thoroughly deflated.
Ailsa has been working a lot baby-sitting for neighbors. She has a permanent gig for the family across the street that pays her about $50 per week. She has enjoyed spending the money. But, we also taught her about the wonders of earning interest. So she put $600 into her mutual fund. That was around August when the market was doing so nicely. We've tried to avoid looking at our funds lately. She also started junior high and loves wearing her school uniforms (not). The last two years of elementary school she really figured out what the joke was and got good grades. So far she has done very well in some of her classes and not so well in others. Part of the problem is she thinks she is miss fancy pants with all of the money she earns. I keep telling her that if she is going to mess up in school she might as well buy a trailer home and let her teeth fall out right now. She had to have the New Harry Potter book the morning it was available and had it read in about three days. She has read the whole series now about 7 times. One of the things she bought on eBay this year is an old silver clarinet. Now she has one she can leave at school and one she can leave at home.
We look forward to spending a wonderful Christmas season and vacation as a family at home. We wish you the same anticipated fun and happiness. We hope you realize, as we do, that our family and friends are the best part of our lives. You are our best gifts from Heaven. May you seek and be worthy of Our Father's greatest blessing, an eternity of joy with your loved ones.
The Lilliywhites
twlilly@netzero.net
One interesting note regarding the birth: probably because of Lenore’s “advanced” age and because we did not consent to an amniocentesis during the pregnancy, the Pediatrician said he was concerned that Laney might be trisomy 21 (Down syndrome). He cited a couple of physical characteristics (I wasn’t sure I could see what he was talking about and told him all those traits came from the Smith side of the family anyway.) The upshot was we were left in semi-suspense for six weeks after her birth until we heard officially that she passed the chromosome test.
She tested our mettle during her blessing. A young convert girl was confirmed just before and our most recently released bishop performed that ordinance. Laney was fine during the whole meeting until the long-winded ex-bishop started what seemed like a 15 minute prayer that went on and on. What began as a mild squall of fussing during the confirmation soon developed into a stage 4 Hurricane of wailing all through the prayer. Just about the only part the audience could hear was a barb from her father about her "lively spirit". This elicited polite laughter from the congregation.
Jensen has become a bit of a “scare bear”. She’s worse than a medical student. Every new ailment she hears about, she thinks she is developing that sickness. She has also become wary of all the virulently poisonous plant and bugs that infest our household and yard and are ever trying to invade our domain. Soon she will require inspection of all her food, clothing, and school items for the minutest speck or spore of toxins. Right now she plans on being a ballot dimple counter when she grows up. We might have to move to Florida!
Our kids are wonderful and a joy to have. If there were any trait we would delete from their personality subroutines it would be their need to fill any “dead air” with the sound of their own voice, usually commenting about some inane kid TV program. (In our day these were Kimba the White Lion, Speed Racer, and Gigantor. Nowadays these are Sailor Moon, Tenchi Muyo, Gundum Wing, Tsoonami. The common thread is that we are under attack by a contingent of Japanese Animationists!)
Lenore finished her stint as PTA President. They gave an honorary award to Laney too since she attended most of the meetings in-utero. Lenore also finished her time as teacher's aid at the elementary school and now enjoys a fairly undemanding part-time job doing some on-call tasks for the company I work for. Understandably one of her most difficult tasks is to find enough time to rest. One good thing about once again being a member of "La Leche League": She is able to get her shopping fix by “window-shopping” on the shopping channels while nursing the "Babbit".
In my cycling this year there was one notable event. My cousin (who lives about 45 minutes north of us) and I went up just outside of Logan to do the Cache Valley Century ride. We just did the metric Century (about 67 miles). Considering my previous 100 milers I figured this would be a walk in the park. Well, something went wrong with that theory. It was a little hilly and a little windy and we are both big guys (larger riders do better on the flat with no wind). But, I think we have to take some of the blame ourselves. We were dead after only about 25 miles. We didn't prepare well nutritionally and we didn't hydrate enough. We had older guys passing us when we were 2/3rds through. When we finished, about 15-20 of the 100 milers had already completed the course. Our egos were thoroughly deflated.
Ailsa has been working a lot baby-sitting for neighbors. She has a permanent gig for the family across the street that pays her about $50 per week. She has enjoyed spending the money. But, we also taught her about the wonders of earning interest. So she put $600 into her mutual fund. That was around August when the market was doing so nicely. We've tried to avoid looking at our funds lately. She also started junior high and loves wearing her school uniforms (not). The last two years of elementary school she really figured out what the joke was and got good grades. So far she has done very well in some of her classes and not so well in others. Part of the problem is she thinks she is miss fancy pants with all of the money she earns. I keep telling her that if she is going to mess up in school she might as well buy a trailer home and let her teeth fall out right now. She had to have the New Harry Potter book the morning it was available and had it read in about three days. She has read the whole series now about 7 times. One of the things she bought on eBay this year is an old silver clarinet. Now she has one she can leave at school and one she can leave at home.
We look forward to spending a wonderful Christmas season and vacation as a family at home. We wish you the same anticipated fun and happiness. We hope you realize, as we do, that our family and friends are the best part of our lives. You are our best gifts from Heaven. May you seek and be worthy of Our Father's greatest blessing, an eternity of joy with your loved ones.
The Lilliywhites
twlilly@netzero.net
10 January 1990
Christmas 1999
I have to apologize for not writing last year. We let our lives get out of hand and soon the season had passed us by. One of the reasons I didn't write is that in September of 1998 I was called into the Bishopric again. It is truly a great opportunity for growth and a chance to work with some wonderful people. As a result of that my Wednesday nights are now spoken for and I had to quit the Eleanor Kennard Choral. I miss singing with a group on a regular basis and I miss performing. I got to where I looked forward to performing a solo every once in a while.
In my spare time (what little there is) I do my best to neglect auto and home repair and maintenance and the financial business of the household. One of the tasks that has really become onerous for me is that of paying the bills and reconciling the monthly bank statement. A couple of years ago when I broke my clavicle I tried to get Lenore to take over these tasks. She utterly refuses and it's due in part to the trouble she has working with negative integers.
Both Lenore and I have become somewhat regular viewers if not bidders on eBay. I'm always looking for bike parts that are lightweight, made of exotic materials, or have lots of cachet. Lenore managed to find a set of porcelain plates with cat faces on them that she had years ago but had fallen out of her possession. It's amazing what you can find and if you are patient, you might get a really good deal. This is my kind of recreational shopping.
For some reason I had not done much pleasure reading for years. Earlier this year I found that I was watching too much pointless TV. So, in the late spring I started reading again and since then have finished about 20 books, mostly science fiction and most of those were written by Orson Scott Card. My parents are both now retired and will be leaving for Nairobi, Kenya in January to serve a Church Education System mission for the LDS Church.
Lenore has been kept very busy this year as the PTA president at the elementary school. Like most things, she got roped into it because a good friend asked her to do it and she meant to shake her head no but it went yes instead. She tries to keep a cheery outlook despite all the things that have to be done and all the tasks that get handed down from upper level state and national PTA big wigs. I think she actually does a good job and it seems she at least has most of the parents and school administrators fooled into thinking so too. She has also been serving as one of the Gospel Doctrine teachers in our ward. It's a duty that she enjoys. Most of us agree that it is the best job in the church. She also directs the ward choir.
Lenore's passion for reading has turned lately to books on the O.J. Simpson trial. If any of you want to know the minutest detail about that topic or the Jonbenet Ramsey murder feel free to bring up the subject with her. She loves to sound off on them whenever given the chance. What she hasn't learned from the numerous books she has read on the topics she has picked up from Rush Limbaugh or Dr. Laura Schlessinger. Actually, I'm proud of her many interests that step beyond the mundane.
Lenore has also taken on a job where her rewards are not merely spiritual or emotional. She has begun work at the elementary school as a teacher's aid 15 hours a week. She genuinely enjoys doing this kind of work. Plus, it was the easiest solution to the Principal's constant requests for suggestions of who could fill the role. In her spare time she has put together a children's book that grew out of a rainy day project she did with the kids a couple of years ago. She's trying now to wrap it up and get someone interested in it.
Ailsa has finally gotten braces on her teeth and is quite pleased with herself. On her second visit to the orthodontist he placed a rubber band on her front two teeth to close her Lauren Hutton gap. By the next morning it was gone. I know teeth move more easily sideways. But, I was very surprised at the speed with which they moved on her. She has really taken off in the sixth grade. For a couple of years she struggled at school. But, now she is bringing home very good grades and is the top reader in her class. One of our biggest challenges with Ailsa is keeping her from growing up too fast. That's both figuratively and literally. She is now about 5'3". She loves to "play" with make up and wear heels that are much too tall for her. A couple of weeks ago she spilled a bottle of bright red nail polish on our cream colored carpet. We now have a slightly pink stain in our bedroom.
Jensen is now in the 4th grade and may have finally caught on to the fact that to get good marks at school you have to do the work. She is absolutely obsessed with Pokemon. There are times when I feel a parental edict proscribing any "P" word would not be out of line. This craze is even worse than Ailsa's Animorphs mania from last year. Jensen lives to play with her many friends and loves to spend time playing games on the computer in the basement. We often have to call her to dinner several times using our sophisticated home intercom system (We yell through the heater vents.)
Our pets are doing fine. Maxine still doesn't know a weekday morning from a weekend morning. She is so used to her routine that she will often come into our room on a Saturday morning complaining that we still haven't gone in to wake up Ailsa. When she is bored she will open a drawer in the girls bathroom and choose a hairband to play with. We find them everywhere. I see her with one end in her mouth and one end in her paw. I can only imagine what happens when she accidentally snaps herself in the face. Ruby has always liked to sleep on our bed. When she was young she would bolt at our slightest movement. Now she is so used to it that she won't budge for anything. She often ends up occupying one third of our queen size bed while Lenore and I are crammed into the rest.
Ptolemy (Tully) is the most feral of our cats. But, he has become quite a bit more sociable. He is still often very wary and thinks you are going to turn on him. But, when he's feeling secure he will come up to you and ask to be petted. Lately he has to taken to chasing his tail which is quite comical. Cleopatra still is at the bottom of the pecking order and has to withstand some bedeviling from the two older cats. When she gets nervous she just blinks her eyes at you.
Besides the rats we also now have a hamster. We had a bit of a stalemate trying to name her. I wanted to call her Barbarella. But, everyone else wanted to call her Alice. So she mostly gets called Alice and sometimes BarbaraAlice. She has escaped from her "habitrail" type cage several times. Once she chewed through and a couple of times we suspect that visiting boys and girls or our own naughty children left the latch undone. We have found her sleeping in one of my tennis shoes, down three flights in the furnace room in the basement all dirty and on death's door (she recovered remarkably), and in the floor of Ailsa's room. That's in not on. She crawled into a hole in the wall under the sink and made her way down into the floor. Fortunately Lenore could hear her and she responded to Lenore's voice.
Please let us know how you are doing. We like to keep in touch. Our e-mail address is twlilly@deseretonline.com
In my spare time (what little there is) I do my best to neglect auto and home repair and maintenance and the financial business of the household. One of the tasks that has really become onerous for me is that of paying the bills and reconciling the monthly bank statement. A couple of years ago when I broke my clavicle I tried to get Lenore to take over these tasks. She utterly refuses and it's due in part to the trouble she has working with negative integers.
Both Lenore and I have become somewhat regular viewers if not bidders on eBay. I'm always looking for bike parts that are lightweight, made of exotic materials, or have lots of cachet. Lenore managed to find a set of porcelain plates with cat faces on them that she had years ago but had fallen out of her possession. It's amazing what you can find and if you are patient, you might get a really good deal. This is my kind of recreational shopping.
For some reason I had not done much pleasure reading for years. Earlier this year I found that I was watching too much pointless TV. So, in the late spring I started reading again and since then have finished about 20 books, mostly science fiction and most of those were written by Orson Scott Card. My parents are both now retired and will be leaving for Nairobi, Kenya in January to serve a Church Education System mission for the LDS Church.
Lenore has been kept very busy this year as the PTA president at the elementary school. Like most things, she got roped into it because a good friend asked her to do it and she meant to shake her head no but it went yes instead. She tries to keep a cheery outlook despite all the things that have to be done and all the tasks that get handed down from upper level state and national PTA big wigs. I think she actually does a good job and it seems she at least has most of the parents and school administrators fooled into thinking so too. She has also been serving as one of the Gospel Doctrine teachers in our ward. It's a duty that she enjoys. Most of us agree that it is the best job in the church. She also directs the ward choir.
Lenore's passion for reading has turned lately to books on the O.J. Simpson trial. If any of you want to know the minutest detail about that topic or the Jonbenet Ramsey murder feel free to bring up the subject with her. She loves to sound off on them whenever given the chance. What she hasn't learned from the numerous books she has read on the topics she has picked up from Rush Limbaugh or Dr. Laura Schlessinger. Actually, I'm proud of her many interests that step beyond the mundane.
Lenore has also taken on a job where her rewards are not merely spiritual or emotional. She has begun work at the elementary school as a teacher's aid 15 hours a week. She genuinely enjoys doing this kind of work. Plus, it was the easiest solution to the Principal's constant requests for suggestions of who could fill the role. In her spare time she has put together a children's book that grew out of a rainy day project she did with the kids a couple of years ago. She's trying now to wrap it up and get someone interested in it.
Ailsa has finally gotten braces on her teeth and is quite pleased with herself. On her second visit to the orthodontist he placed a rubber band on her front two teeth to close her Lauren Hutton gap. By the next morning it was gone. I know teeth move more easily sideways. But, I was very surprised at the speed with which they moved on her. She has really taken off in the sixth grade. For a couple of years she struggled at school. But, now she is bringing home very good grades and is the top reader in her class. One of our biggest challenges with Ailsa is keeping her from growing up too fast. That's both figuratively and literally. She is now about 5'3". She loves to "play" with make up and wear heels that are much too tall for her. A couple of weeks ago she spilled a bottle of bright red nail polish on our cream colored carpet. We now have a slightly pink stain in our bedroom.
Jensen is now in the 4th grade and may have finally caught on to the fact that to get good marks at school you have to do the work. She is absolutely obsessed with Pokemon. There are times when I feel a parental edict proscribing any "P" word would not be out of line. This craze is even worse than Ailsa's Animorphs mania from last year. Jensen lives to play with her many friends and loves to spend time playing games on the computer in the basement. We often have to call her to dinner several times using our sophisticated home intercom system (We yell through the heater vents.)
Our pets are doing fine. Maxine still doesn't know a weekday morning from a weekend morning. She is so used to her routine that she will often come into our room on a Saturday morning complaining that we still haven't gone in to wake up Ailsa. When she is bored she will open a drawer in the girls bathroom and choose a hairband to play with. We find them everywhere. I see her with one end in her mouth and one end in her paw. I can only imagine what happens when she accidentally snaps herself in the face. Ruby has always liked to sleep on our bed. When she was young she would bolt at our slightest movement. Now she is so used to it that she won't budge for anything. She often ends up occupying one third of our queen size bed while Lenore and I are crammed into the rest.
Ptolemy (Tully) is the most feral of our cats. But, he has become quite a bit more sociable. He is still often very wary and thinks you are going to turn on him. But, when he's feeling secure he will come up to you and ask to be petted. Lately he has to taken to chasing his tail which is quite comical. Cleopatra still is at the bottom of the pecking order and has to withstand some bedeviling from the two older cats. When she gets nervous she just blinks her eyes at you.
Besides the rats we also now have a hamster. We had a bit of a stalemate trying to name her. I wanted to call her Barbarella. But, everyone else wanted to call her Alice. So she mostly gets called Alice and sometimes BarbaraAlice. She has escaped from her "habitrail" type cage several times. Once she chewed through and a couple of times we suspect that visiting boys and girls or our own naughty children left the latch undone. We have found her sleeping in one of my tennis shoes, down three flights in the furnace room in the basement all dirty and on death's door (she recovered remarkably), and in the floor of Ailsa's room. That's in not on. She crawled into a hole in the wall under the sink and made her way down into the floor. Fortunately Lenore could hear her and she responded to Lenore's voice.
Please let us know how you are doing. We like to keep in touch. Our e-mail address is twlilly@deseretonline.com
09 January 1990
Christmas 1997
Greetings from the Lillywhites! Our annual letter is late this year. Please excuse. Our home computer met with some "problems" on Thanksgiving day and has not yet recover. We have enjoyed reading letters from many of you.
Once again we have managed to make it through the year without major happening in our lives. We recently realized that this is our 6th consecutive year of ongoing Smith Family co-habitation. We have had someone living with us for all but about 4 months since we moved to Utah.
Jensen enjoys immense popularity at school. She loves dressing in superhero type costumes or anything that looks like a uniform or Scottish. I ran into one of the teachers from the elementary school at a local store. She said she just loves Jensen. She worked with Jensen on the student council and for months was calling her "Lilly" until finally Jensen told her, "my name is not Lilly." I overheard the kids talking about the holidays. Ailsa said something about Hanukkah. Jensen told her, "it's not Hanukkah it's Chanukah. You have to say it with a "chuh". Making the appropriate heavy ethnic glottal "ch" sound. Right now Jensen is going through a phase where she is completely enthralled with "Hot Wheels" cars. She got the "Hot Wheels Garage" for Christmas. She pronounces it "grage"
Ailsa has matured quite a bit. She took up basketball this fall. She has been bugging us to do this for a year or two. So we signed her up for the community league. At the where they size everybody up she was doing all right until they were supposed to pair off and she got left alone. That was when she fell apart. The anxiety of this new uncomfortable situation was too much. So we left and she was saying it wasn't very fun anyway (sour grapes). Later the coach of her team called and she knew him and all the girls on her team so she decided to give it another try. She ended up having quite a bit of fun. It was very entertaining to watch the little girls play. I'm afraid I haven't been very good at getting my kids interested in sports or showing them the fundamentals. Some of the girls really know what they are doing. Others just go with the flow. Ailsa is real comfortable with the flow. It took her a couple of games even to get her hands on the ball or take a shot. It soon became the team goal for Ailsa to make a basket by the end of the season. They were so thoughtful, for the last quarter of the of the final game all they did was feed Ailsa the ball so she could take shots. Unfortunately, this is a goal we will have to fulfill next year.
Lenore completed her stint as president of Joseph F. Smith family organization with a successful reunion in November. A number of people remarked that they thought it was Marie Osmond who was conducting the proceedings. She has been involved with the PTA and a heavily used and dependable room mother at the school. She says she is as boring as ever. Still the Young Women president in the ward.
I have spent a large part of the year trying to stave off the advance of age. I'm trying to regain the physique of an 18 year old. Unfortunately, I didn't have much of a physique at 18 either. After successfully coordinating the music for three Stake conferences, I was recently released as the Stake Music Chairman and called as the second assistant in the Ward High Priest group. This was generally seen as a move to get me to attend the High Priest quorum. I have continued my cycling and improved my time in the century ride to about 5 1/2 hours. But, because of my reluctance to compete in the rain I was only able to do one triathlon this year. I'm still singing with the Eleanor Kennard Chorale. We recorded our third CD this year. I was privileged to sing a solo during our Spring concert at the Assembly Hall on Temple Square this year.
We had a small family tragedy the day after Thanksgiving. One of our rats (Emmy) fell ill with cancer and died. We have learned that rats are quite prone to cancer. Makes you wonder why they are used to test the cancer inducing properties of products. We buried her under the apple tree in her favorite cherry toastettes box. We have since acquired another replacement rat (RR) whom we have named Reepicheep. She and the other rat (Sunflower or Pinky/Stinky) seem to get along fine. During our summer vacation we had my parents look in on the pets from time to time. Pinky learned to unlatch her cage door and got out of her cage. My parents couldn't find her. So she spent a couple of days free roaming in our bedroom. She sampled just about all of the tubes and creams, etc. in Lenore's bathroom drawer.
Since last year the male cat Ptolemy (Tully) has asserted himself as the dominant one. The two oldest cats, Ruby and Maxine, try to pick on Cleopatra. But, Tully stands up for her. Tully is apprehensive about being too social with people and is quite skittish. However, at least once a day he will come up to our bedroom and "ask" to be petted. Ruby and Maxine have settled into a mid-life routine. Ruby has to lie on my chest with her face only millimeters away from mine when I first get into bed. Maxine sleeps with Ailsa and requires Lenore to give her a back scratch every morning. Ruby invites herself onto the lap of anyone who sits down in our house.
We enjoyed a relaxing vacation in the mountains and at San Clemente again this year. At the beach we ran into a good friend who had recently moved to the southland from Utah. So Ailsa was able to spend a couple of days at the beach with one of her former neighborhood friends. It is amazing how things like this happen. If I had stubbed my toe we would haven missed eachother and never known we were at the same beach. Is this a matter of probability and outcome?
During this year in which we have celebrated the 150th anniversary of the arrival of the pioneers in Salt Lake City we have enjoyed learning more about some of our ancestors. We've learned that we probably have an ancestor to fall into every possible type of immigration. Lenore has a great grandfather who was in the first group to arrive in valley. Her Lane ancestors immigrated by boat from England and endured grave risk during the crossing. The same boat sank and all perished when it was returning to England. I have ancestors who crossed with a handcart company. The mother reportedly carried her child from time to time in her apron holding the corners of her apron in her mouth so she could continue to push the handcart. One of my great grandfathers was sent to settle San Bernardino and had a daughter born in the area of Cajon pass in 1850. We have become increasingly grateful for the faithfulness and example of our forebears. We are also terribly thankful for the blessings of our Heavenly Father and for the blessing of having such wonderful friends in our lives as you.
Once again we have managed to make it through the year without major happening in our lives. We recently realized that this is our 6th consecutive year of ongoing Smith Family co-habitation. We have had someone living with us for all but about 4 months since we moved to Utah.
Jensen enjoys immense popularity at school. She loves dressing in superhero type costumes or anything that looks like a uniform or Scottish. I ran into one of the teachers from the elementary school at a local store. She said she just loves Jensen. She worked with Jensen on the student council and for months was calling her "Lilly" until finally Jensen told her, "my name is not Lilly." I overheard the kids talking about the holidays. Ailsa said something about Hanukkah. Jensen told her, "it's not Hanukkah it's Chanukah. You have to say it with a "chuh". Making the appropriate heavy ethnic glottal "ch" sound. Right now Jensen is going through a phase where she is completely enthralled with "Hot Wheels" cars. She got the "Hot Wheels Garage" for Christmas. She pronounces it "grage"
Ailsa has matured quite a bit. She took up basketball this fall. She has been bugging us to do this for a year or two. So we signed her up for the community league. At the where they size everybody up she was doing all right until they were supposed to pair off and she got left alone. That was when she fell apart. The anxiety of this new uncomfortable situation was too much. So we left and she was saying it wasn't very fun anyway (sour grapes). Later the coach of her team called and she knew him and all the girls on her team so she decided to give it another try. She ended up having quite a bit of fun. It was very entertaining to watch the little girls play. I'm afraid I haven't been very good at getting my kids interested in sports or showing them the fundamentals. Some of the girls really know what they are doing. Others just go with the flow. Ailsa is real comfortable with the flow. It took her a couple of games even to get her hands on the ball or take a shot. It soon became the team goal for Ailsa to make a basket by the end of the season. They were so thoughtful, for the last quarter of the of the final game all they did was feed Ailsa the ball so she could take shots. Unfortunately, this is a goal we will have to fulfill next year.
Lenore completed her stint as president of Joseph F. Smith family organization with a successful reunion in November. A number of people remarked that they thought it was Marie Osmond who was conducting the proceedings. She has been involved with the PTA and a heavily used and dependable room mother at the school. She says she is as boring as ever. Still the Young Women president in the ward.
I have spent a large part of the year trying to stave off the advance of age. I'm trying to regain the physique of an 18 year old. Unfortunately, I didn't have much of a physique at 18 either. After successfully coordinating the music for three Stake conferences, I was recently released as the Stake Music Chairman and called as the second assistant in the Ward High Priest group. This was generally seen as a move to get me to attend the High Priest quorum. I have continued my cycling and improved my time in the century ride to about 5 1/2 hours. But, because of my reluctance to compete in the rain I was only able to do one triathlon this year. I'm still singing with the Eleanor Kennard Chorale. We recorded our third CD this year. I was privileged to sing a solo during our Spring concert at the Assembly Hall on Temple Square this year.
We had a small family tragedy the day after Thanksgiving. One of our rats (Emmy) fell ill with cancer and died. We have learned that rats are quite prone to cancer. Makes you wonder why they are used to test the cancer inducing properties of products. We buried her under the apple tree in her favorite cherry toastettes box. We have since acquired another replacement rat (RR) whom we have named Reepicheep. She and the other rat (Sunflower or Pinky/Stinky) seem to get along fine. During our summer vacation we had my parents look in on the pets from time to time. Pinky learned to unlatch her cage door and got out of her cage. My parents couldn't find her. So she spent a couple of days free roaming in our bedroom. She sampled just about all of the tubes and creams, etc. in Lenore's bathroom drawer.
Since last year the male cat Ptolemy (Tully) has asserted himself as the dominant one. The two oldest cats, Ruby and Maxine, try to pick on Cleopatra. But, Tully stands up for her. Tully is apprehensive about being too social with people and is quite skittish. However, at least once a day he will come up to our bedroom and "ask" to be petted. Ruby and Maxine have settled into a mid-life routine. Ruby has to lie on my chest with her face only millimeters away from mine when I first get into bed. Maxine sleeps with Ailsa and requires Lenore to give her a back scratch every morning. Ruby invites herself onto the lap of anyone who sits down in our house.
We enjoyed a relaxing vacation in the mountains and at San Clemente again this year. At the beach we ran into a good friend who had recently moved to the southland from Utah. So Ailsa was able to spend a couple of days at the beach with one of her former neighborhood friends. It is amazing how things like this happen. If I had stubbed my toe we would haven missed eachother and never known we were at the same beach. Is this a matter of probability and outcome?
During this year in which we have celebrated the 150th anniversary of the arrival of the pioneers in Salt Lake City we have enjoyed learning more about some of our ancestors. We've learned that we probably have an ancestor to fall into every possible type of immigration. Lenore has a great grandfather who was in the first group to arrive in valley. Her Lane ancestors immigrated by boat from England and endured grave risk during the crossing. The same boat sank and all perished when it was returning to England. I have ancestors who crossed with a handcart company. The mother reportedly carried her child from time to time in her apron holding the corners of her apron in her mouth so she could continue to push the handcart. One of my great grandfathers was sent to settle San Bernardino and had a daughter born in the area of Cajon pass in 1850. We have become increasingly grateful for the faithfulness and example of our forebears. We are also terribly thankful for the blessings of our Heavenly Father and for the blessing of having such wonderful friends in our lives as you.
08 January 1990
Christmas 1996
It's time once again to set pen to paper and check in with all of our loved ones and friends.
Having become somewhat obsessed with cycling lately I decided I needed to have a new bicycle. I pulled out the "mid-life" crisis card and convinced Lenore that a new bike would keep me out of a funk. She was very generous and let me spend a fairly obscene amount on a very nice new bike. I keep reminding her that it is a lot more economical to buy a top-of-the-line bicycle than it is to buy a top-of-the-line car.
In addition to my regular biking routine and related sporting events, I decided to participate in a couple of triathlons this year. This type of behavior falls in the category of no-longer-in-their-prime males attempting to defy or ignore the advance of time. To show how desperate we can become for ego strokes, in the first race (my friend and I started seven minutes after the field because we arrived late) I took great pride in passing a 62 year old man in bad need of hip replacement surgery. I had caught up with him during the run and we chatted. Then he gained quite a bit of ground on me because my transition from run to bike was slow. So my first goal on the bike was to pass him again. In two races I took fourth and fifth in my age group. (I was also last both times in my age group.)
Then one day in August coming home from work, I took a spill on my bike (yes, the new one) and broke my clavicle. I was standing up pedaling hard and hit a bump that I never saw. My hands lost their grip and I pitched over the handlebars to the left. The bike and I somersaulted until my pedals released. Then the bike kept somersaulting down the street. Amazingly, the only damage to the bike were some scratches on the seat (covered up now with a small patch of black tape) and on the handlebars (new handlebar tape) and a broken spoke.
It didn't take me long to assess my own damage. I hit on my helmet (always wear a helmet, you can't buy a new head), my left shoulder, hip, knee, and even my shoe was torn up. Now, my always-just-a-little-bit-too-narrow shoulders are about a centimeter narrower and I have a nice bump on my collarbone where the break overlapped. (There goes my nude modeling career.) I learned an interesting thing: unless the break threatens to cause dangerous hemorrhaging by tearing an artery these injuries are usually left to heal as they end up. No manipulating (not that I felt like having someone do a mobility test on my shoulder). No setting. I understand that there is an old doctor's saying: "put two ends of a clavicle in the same room and they will heal together."
The kids are here in the room watching TV. Jensen has a love affair going on with my sports creme analgesic rub. The smallest excuse is used to apply some on her skin. She likes the wintergreen (Ben Gay) aroma. When I come to bed after having used some, Lenore calls it "Eau de Todd". Jensen is in the first grade and doing quite well with her spelling. She was extremely excited about the annual first grade production of The Nutcracker. She got to say a line all by herself. She elicited great bouts of laughter when she and the "mother" danced incorrectly. All the time she was on stage it appeared to me that she was monitoring everything intently, ready to step in and assist someone if they forgot a line, missed a mark, or took an errant dance step.
Ailsa is doing well with her swimming. She has joined the Murray Aquatic Club and practices a couple of times a week. She has now been in three different meets. At first she wasn't sure she liked it and the coach didn't seem to think she was working hard enough. But, she seems to have caught on somewhat now. She has taken a first place and a couple of seconds. And, she probably has an equal number of lasts and second to lasts. She looks quite official and proficient on the starting platform. Then, the horn blows and she dives in with her knees and legs all going every which way.
Most of the younger kids have not figured out that on the start you try to go out as far as you can. Their only concern is getting into the water. Subsequently, most of them go straight down. I told Ailsa on one of her races she went 5 yards farther than everyone else because she went straight down to the bottom of the pool first. She had a couple of officials worried for a second or two, waiting to see if she was going to come back up. A lot of the kids have trouble keeping their goggles on during the start. It is quite common to see a child bounce around between the lane ropes because he or she is trying to swim with their eyes closed. I think Ailsa's coaches may have told her to push off and glide before the first stroke of each lap. At the start of a recent race she dove in and looked like she was trying to glide. But, she wasn't really going anywhere.
We have picked up two more cats (that makes four). Cleopatra is a smallish grey tiger striped tabby female with a tail shaped like a planaria. The two bigger cats haven't quite accepted her yet. We have to keep them somewhat segregated. Cleo was a barn cat in Preston, Idaho who needed good owners and a good home to recover from a sinus infection. The other new cat is a black and white male found as a kitten in the middle of the highway in Cove, Utah where apparently his mother had met with an early demise. We named him Ptolemy because he took to Cleopatra very well. He has the bad habit of climbing on the counters and the table looking for food. I'm afraid Ailsa and Jensen have been poor examples for him; When you tell him to get down he brazenly talks back to you.
We also now have two rats. Don't worry, I made sure that we got two females. (Don't ask me how I made sure.) In this case, I was in favor of a same-sex union. I'm going to say that they have not yet been officially named because the kids picked some silly (read stupid) names and mommy and daddy have not yet come up with anything good. For now we just call them "the ratty's" or "little pigs".
I asked Lenore several times what she thought I should put about her in the letter. Each time she said her life was the same old same o. I can report that she still spends lots of time involved with the young women in the ward and she spends most of her other time recuperating from those duties and chasing after our kids and the messes that they make in the house. She does a wonderful job as mother, wife, and housewife and makes life for the rest of us enjoyable. She likes to go looking at antiques with her brother, Dan. But, seldom buys any. She also enjoys holding forth about the latest scandal or dirt in the newspaper, what Mayor Corradini is doing, or "those men in Washington".
We did have some fun vacations this year. Our annual ski trip to Elk Meadows near Beaver, Utah was a delight. We had fantastic weather the whole time and the kids were very low maintenance. Lenore and I visited Mazatlan in the spring for four days and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. We also reprised our annual visit to San Clemente with the Smith's and had a very good time as well. We rented a surfboard one day and with Todd as official guide, instructor, and otherwise surfer dude, everyone was required to give it a shot. I had them lie down on the board and then got them into position and gave them a push to catch the wave. So, basically all they had to do was stand up at the appropriate time. This was easiest for the smaller people. The board floated Ailsa standing up even when it wasn't going anywhere. Lenore did passably for a first-timer. Thus, we have a couple of nice photos of Lenore looking like a Wahine at Waikiki.
It is here that I am supposed to write something thought provoking or befitting the season. My prevailing thought is I wish we had more time to spend with our family, friends , and loved ones and we know that a better world will allow that time. The words of Benjamin Britten come to mind: "...with Christ join thou in fight, stick to the tents that he hath pight. Within his crib is surest ward. This little Babe will by thy guard." In our quest for security in this world, let us not overlook the greatest font of security, God.
With love, Todd, Lenore, Ailsa, Jensen, and the rest of the Ark.
Having become somewhat obsessed with cycling lately I decided I needed to have a new bicycle. I pulled out the "mid-life" crisis card and convinced Lenore that a new bike would keep me out of a funk. She was very generous and let me spend a fairly obscene amount on a very nice new bike. I keep reminding her that it is a lot more economical to buy a top-of-the-line bicycle than it is to buy a top-of-the-line car.
In addition to my regular biking routine and related sporting events, I decided to participate in a couple of triathlons this year. This type of behavior falls in the category of no-longer-in-their-prime males attempting to defy or ignore the advance of time. To show how desperate we can become for ego strokes, in the first race (my friend and I started seven minutes after the field because we arrived late) I took great pride in passing a 62 year old man in bad need of hip replacement surgery. I had caught up with him during the run and we chatted. Then he gained quite a bit of ground on me because my transition from run to bike was slow. So my first goal on the bike was to pass him again. In two races I took fourth and fifth in my age group. (I was also last both times in my age group.)
Then one day in August coming home from work, I took a spill on my bike (yes, the new one) and broke my clavicle. I was standing up pedaling hard and hit a bump that I never saw. My hands lost their grip and I pitched over the handlebars to the left. The bike and I somersaulted until my pedals released. Then the bike kept somersaulting down the street. Amazingly, the only damage to the bike were some scratches on the seat (covered up now with a small patch of black tape) and on the handlebars (new handlebar tape) and a broken spoke.
It didn't take me long to assess my own damage. I hit on my helmet (always wear a helmet, you can't buy a new head), my left shoulder, hip, knee, and even my shoe was torn up. Now, my always-just-a-little-bit-too-narrow shoulders are about a centimeter narrower and I have a nice bump on my collarbone where the break overlapped. (There goes my nude modeling career.) I learned an interesting thing: unless the break threatens to cause dangerous hemorrhaging by tearing an artery these injuries are usually left to heal as they end up. No manipulating (not that I felt like having someone do a mobility test on my shoulder). No setting. I understand that there is an old doctor's saying: "put two ends of a clavicle in the same room and they will heal together."
The kids are here in the room watching TV. Jensen has a love affair going on with my sports creme analgesic rub. The smallest excuse is used to apply some on her skin. She likes the wintergreen (Ben Gay) aroma. When I come to bed after having used some, Lenore calls it "Eau de Todd". Jensen is in the first grade and doing quite well with her spelling. She was extremely excited about the annual first grade production of The Nutcracker. She got to say a line all by herself. She elicited great bouts of laughter when she and the "mother" danced incorrectly. All the time she was on stage it appeared to me that she was monitoring everything intently, ready to step in and assist someone if they forgot a line, missed a mark, or took an errant dance step.
Ailsa is doing well with her swimming. She has joined the Murray Aquatic Club and practices a couple of times a week. She has now been in three different meets. At first she wasn't sure she liked it and the coach didn't seem to think she was working hard enough. But, she seems to have caught on somewhat now. She has taken a first place and a couple of seconds. And, she probably has an equal number of lasts and second to lasts. She looks quite official and proficient on the starting platform. Then, the horn blows and she dives in with her knees and legs all going every which way.
Most of the younger kids have not figured out that on the start you try to go out as far as you can. Their only concern is getting into the water. Subsequently, most of them go straight down. I told Ailsa on one of her races she went 5 yards farther than everyone else because she went straight down to the bottom of the pool first. She had a couple of officials worried for a second or two, waiting to see if she was going to come back up. A lot of the kids have trouble keeping their goggles on during the start. It is quite common to see a child bounce around between the lane ropes because he or she is trying to swim with their eyes closed. I think Ailsa's coaches may have told her to push off and glide before the first stroke of each lap. At the start of a recent race she dove in and looked like she was trying to glide. But, she wasn't really going anywhere.
We have picked up two more cats (that makes four). Cleopatra is a smallish grey tiger striped tabby female with a tail shaped like a planaria. The two bigger cats haven't quite accepted her yet. We have to keep them somewhat segregated. Cleo was a barn cat in Preston, Idaho who needed good owners and a good home to recover from a sinus infection. The other new cat is a black and white male found as a kitten in the middle of the highway in Cove, Utah where apparently his mother had met with an early demise. We named him Ptolemy because he took to Cleopatra very well. He has the bad habit of climbing on the counters and the table looking for food. I'm afraid Ailsa and Jensen have been poor examples for him; When you tell him to get down he brazenly talks back to you.
We also now have two rats. Don't worry, I made sure that we got two females. (Don't ask me how I made sure.) In this case, I was in favor of a same-sex union. I'm going to say that they have not yet been officially named because the kids picked some silly (read stupid) names and mommy and daddy have not yet come up with anything good. For now we just call them "the ratty's" or "little pigs".
I asked Lenore several times what she thought I should put about her in the letter. Each time she said her life was the same old same o. I can report that she still spends lots of time involved with the young women in the ward and she spends most of her other time recuperating from those duties and chasing after our kids and the messes that they make in the house. She does a wonderful job as mother, wife, and housewife and makes life for the rest of us enjoyable. She likes to go looking at antiques with her brother, Dan. But, seldom buys any. She also enjoys holding forth about the latest scandal or dirt in the newspaper, what Mayor Corradini is doing, or "those men in Washington".
We did have some fun vacations this year. Our annual ski trip to Elk Meadows near Beaver, Utah was a delight. We had fantastic weather the whole time and the kids were very low maintenance. Lenore and I visited Mazatlan in the spring for four days and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. We also reprised our annual visit to San Clemente with the Smith's and had a very good time as well. We rented a surfboard one day and with Todd as official guide, instructor, and otherwise surfer dude, everyone was required to give it a shot. I had them lie down on the board and then got them into position and gave them a push to catch the wave. So, basically all they had to do was stand up at the appropriate time. This was easiest for the smaller people. The board floated Ailsa standing up even when it wasn't going anywhere. Lenore did passably for a first-timer. Thus, we have a couple of nice photos of Lenore looking like a Wahine at Waikiki.
It is here that I am supposed to write something thought provoking or befitting the season. My prevailing thought is I wish we had more time to spend with our family, friends , and loved ones and we know that a better world will allow that time. The words of Benjamin Britten come to mind: "...with Christ join thou in fight, stick to the tents that he hath pight. Within his crib is surest ward. This little Babe will by thy guard." In our quest for security in this world, let us not overlook the greatest font of security, God.
With love, Todd, Lenore, Ailsa, Jensen, and the rest of the Ark.
07 January 1990
Christmas 1995
We enjoy hearing from each of you at this time of year and are happy to give you our report as well.
Lenore and I finally had a "honeymoon". We gave in to all the talk, pulled out the credit cards and spent a week in Hawaii during the early part of June. Not being big time tourists, we stayed most of the time on the garden island of Kauai. A nice summer (southern) swell hit the islands about the time that we did so I was able to do some bodysurfing at Poipu beach in some respectably sized waves. Later that day we found ourselves searching for a hidden surf spot called "infinities" off the beaten track to watch the heroic ones ride some real sized Hawaiian waves. This was near Waimea bay on Kauai's southern shore (not to be confused with the better-known northern shore one on the island of Oahu). I did board surf at Waikiki with relative success. Surfing once a year at best is no way to stay in shape for the sport. After an hour or so my surfing specific muscles were wiped out. I had classic rubber arms and a sore back from the paddling and such.
Neither one of us had been snorkeling in some time and never under such good conditions as at Kee and Anini beaches on Kauai and especially at Hanauma bay on Oahu. It's amazing how much entertainment you can derive from trying to fake the fish into thinking that you have food for them and chasing them around. We spotted a moray eel at Anini beach and took turns trying to push each other toward it. Windsurfing at Anini beach was also quite a bit better than any place I had ever been.
On Oahu Lenore wanted to try to locate the house where her family lived until she was two. This proved to be a tension producing experience for our otherwise blissful week. Contrary to normal gender behavior patterns this time I was the one who wanted her to ask people for directions and she wanted to drive around until we found the house. We eventually did find it and have erected a suitable monument in the front yard complete with global positioning satellite technology to make it easier to locate the next time.
During the 94-95 school year the kids in Ailsa's school were "training" for the Salt Lake Classic 5k run in June. Using subterfuge and her budding feminine wiles she coerced me into accompanying her. We had a good time and got a neato t-shirt to boot. There were many people running. We came in close to the back of the field of about 1900 runners (very close to the back, let's just say our finishing time would not even make a very respectable 10k time). Ailsa's training evidently did not take her to the point where you learn that when you get tired you keep running anyway. She will be turning eight years old in early December and we look forward to her baptism in early January. She is still as flighty as a feather and a bit of a flibberty jibbit. Recently at school she was distracted while running through the hall. She ran face first into a wall and banged herself up pretty well.
Early in the year, Jensen had an operation to remove a "cavernous hemangioma" from near her naval. (She got pretty good at saying "cavernous hemangioma".) All these years we thought it was a herniated umbilical. She had one of those too. We called it a "hyena", in honor of the movie Sixteen Candles. In the first surgery only the hernia was taken care of. The hemangioma was found to be more involved than the doctor had first thought. It was removed in a second surgery at primary children's hospital. Jensen and Lenore stayed the night in the hospital and then they came home. Jensen is fine and now has a nice smooth tummy with no bump. She also has a Madeleinesque scar on her tummy. But, refuses to sing, "voila¡, my scar". In her teenage years I'm sure she will accuse us of submitting her for the surgery simply to discourage the wearing of two piece bathing suits. The "defect" was not unlike one that her daddy had removed when he was a wee one. Lenore says we now know what side of the family the defects come from.
This has been the year of my becoming a bicycling fanatic. In the nine years since I bought my bike (road) I hadn't ridden it enough to justify spending so much money on it. However, this year I put 2200-2500 miles on it mostly commuting to and from work. I was able to start riding to work around the end of February.
I also participated in my first "century" ride (100 miles) in May and this proved to be more fun than even you lay people would think. Just surviving is enough to make one ecstatic. I had two main fears going in: can I really sit on a bicycle seat for that long without sustaining permanent damage? (permanent-no, damage-yes) and can I choose a respectable pace that I can maintain without dying? (I also had to sing in a concert a couple of hours afterward.) The six hour pace proved more than doable. I think I will try again this year at a five hour pace. It may be that the pros ride as fast as they do because it will minimize the time spent with their tender behinds on the saddle.
Shortly after we returned from Hawaii we found out that our ward boundaries were being changed. We and a few of our neighbors were sloughed off into a neighboring ward. So we are learning a lot of new names and faces still. And we miss our old familiar surroundings.
The kids spend an awful lot of their spare time playing on the computer. Fortunately we have been able to direct their interest toward games and activities that are at least marginally educational. It is interesting to watch them become adept (with very little instruction) at managing the mouse and navigating the desktop. Every so often though, they will accidentally delete an icon off the desktop or change the settings on a game or send a job to the printer without meaning to. Then, daddy has to straighten things out.
Our cats are still the silliest creatures ever to stalk a grasshopper. My biggest concern with them this time of year is to keep them from drinking all of the water from the Christmas tree stand and thus causing the tree to dry out. Every year when Lenore and the kids spend some time at her parent's house in California, the cats grow lonely without the family around during the day. Ruby shows it the most. She comes around just when I have gotten into bed and lapses into her "are you my mommy?" behavior, kneading my leg or my arm with her forepaws, trying to get me to pet her or scratch her, and even threatening to rub her face on mine, all the while purring like a 300 horsepower diesel engine.
We are truly grateful for you, our good friends and relatives. We marvel at the love of our Heavenly father for providing us this wonderful world and such blessings, and at the love of our Savior who came to earth to die for us and set us free. We recognize our eternal indebtedness to them. We look forward to many happy reunions with you. In the meantime, be well, do good work and keep in touch.
With Love, Todd, Lenore, Ailsa, and Jensen.
Lenore and I finally had a "honeymoon". We gave in to all the talk, pulled out the credit cards and spent a week in Hawaii during the early part of June. Not being big time tourists, we stayed most of the time on the garden island of Kauai. A nice summer (southern) swell hit the islands about the time that we did so I was able to do some bodysurfing at Poipu beach in some respectably sized waves. Later that day we found ourselves searching for a hidden surf spot called "infinities" off the beaten track to watch the heroic ones ride some real sized Hawaiian waves. This was near Waimea bay on Kauai's southern shore (not to be confused with the better-known northern shore one on the island of Oahu). I did board surf at Waikiki with relative success. Surfing once a year at best is no way to stay in shape for the sport. After an hour or so my surfing specific muscles were wiped out. I had classic rubber arms and a sore back from the paddling and such.
Neither one of us had been snorkeling in some time and never under such good conditions as at Kee and Anini beaches on Kauai and especially at Hanauma bay on Oahu. It's amazing how much entertainment you can derive from trying to fake the fish into thinking that you have food for them and chasing them around. We spotted a moray eel at Anini beach and took turns trying to push each other toward it. Windsurfing at Anini beach was also quite a bit better than any place I had ever been.
On Oahu Lenore wanted to try to locate the house where her family lived until she was two. This proved to be a tension producing experience for our otherwise blissful week. Contrary to normal gender behavior patterns this time I was the one who wanted her to ask people for directions and she wanted to drive around until we found the house. We eventually did find it and have erected a suitable monument in the front yard complete with global positioning satellite technology to make it easier to locate the next time.
During the 94-95 school year the kids in Ailsa's school were "training" for the Salt Lake Classic 5k run in June. Using subterfuge and her budding feminine wiles she coerced me into accompanying her. We had a good time and got a neato t-shirt to boot. There were many people running. We came in close to the back of the field of about 1900 runners (very close to the back, let's just say our finishing time would not even make a very respectable 10k time). Ailsa's training evidently did not take her to the point where you learn that when you get tired you keep running anyway. She will be turning eight years old in early December and we look forward to her baptism in early January. She is still as flighty as a feather and a bit of a flibberty jibbit. Recently at school she was distracted while running through the hall. She ran face first into a wall and banged herself up pretty well.
Early in the year, Jensen had an operation to remove a "cavernous hemangioma" from near her naval. (She got pretty good at saying "cavernous hemangioma".) All these years we thought it was a herniated umbilical. She had one of those too. We called it a "hyena", in honor of the movie Sixteen Candles. In the first surgery only the hernia was taken care of. The hemangioma was found to be more involved than the doctor had first thought. It was removed in a second surgery at primary children's hospital. Jensen and Lenore stayed the night in the hospital and then they came home. Jensen is fine and now has a nice smooth tummy with no bump. She also has a Madeleinesque scar on her tummy. But, refuses to sing, "voila¡, my scar". In her teenage years I'm sure she will accuse us of submitting her for the surgery simply to discourage the wearing of two piece bathing suits. The "defect" was not unlike one that her daddy had removed when he was a wee one. Lenore says we now know what side of the family the defects come from.
This has been the year of my becoming a bicycling fanatic. In the nine years since I bought my bike (road) I hadn't ridden it enough to justify spending so much money on it. However, this year I put 2200-2500 miles on it mostly commuting to and from work. I was able to start riding to work around the end of February.
I also participated in my first "century" ride (100 miles) in May and this proved to be more fun than even you lay people would think. Just surviving is enough to make one ecstatic. I had two main fears going in: can I really sit on a bicycle seat for that long without sustaining permanent damage? (permanent-no, damage-yes) and can I choose a respectable pace that I can maintain without dying? (I also had to sing in a concert a couple of hours afterward.) The six hour pace proved more than doable. I think I will try again this year at a five hour pace. It may be that the pros ride as fast as they do because it will minimize the time spent with their tender behinds on the saddle.
Shortly after we returned from Hawaii we found out that our ward boundaries were being changed. We and a few of our neighbors were sloughed off into a neighboring ward. So we are learning a lot of new names and faces still. And we miss our old familiar surroundings.
The kids spend an awful lot of their spare time playing on the computer. Fortunately we have been able to direct their interest toward games and activities that are at least marginally educational. It is interesting to watch them become adept (with very little instruction) at managing the mouse and navigating the desktop. Every so often though, they will accidentally delete an icon off the desktop or change the settings on a game or send a job to the printer without meaning to. Then, daddy has to straighten things out.
Our cats are still the silliest creatures ever to stalk a grasshopper. My biggest concern with them this time of year is to keep them from drinking all of the water from the Christmas tree stand and thus causing the tree to dry out. Every year when Lenore and the kids spend some time at her parent's house in California, the cats grow lonely without the family around during the day. Ruby shows it the most. She comes around just when I have gotten into bed and lapses into her "are you my mommy?" behavior, kneading my leg or my arm with her forepaws, trying to get me to pet her or scratch her, and even threatening to rub her face on mine, all the while purring like a 300 horsepower diesel engine.
We are truly grateful for you, our good friends and relatives. We marvel at the love of our Heavenly father for providing us this wonderful world and such blessings, and at the love of our Savior who came to earth to die for us and set us free. We recognize our eternal indebtedness to them. We look forward to many happy reunions with you. In the meantime, be well, do good work and keep in touch.
With Love, Todd, Lenore, Ailsa, and Jensen.
06 January 1990
Christmas 1994
It's time for your annual report on Lillywhite family activity (or lack thereof) for the past year. Lenore and I both did some things this year that we have never done or not done in a long time. One of these things was snow skiing. I know it seems odd that we would wait more than two years after moving back to Utah to take up this sport again. It took us that long to find our equipment.
We spent an enjoyable weekend in February, stayed at a resort in Beaver, Utah with a large part of my family, and skied for a couple of days. We even got Ailsa to do it. The final afternoon was the best because we foisted Ailsa off on the kinderski school (read babysitters) and went off by ourselves. Although it had been roughly nine years for each of us since our last ski outing, it didn't take long for us to regain our respective Jean Claude Killy and Picabo Street forms. (I imagine myself in the giant slalom at the Olympics, plummeting downhill at break-neck speed, several thousandths of a second ahead of the course record, barely on the edge of control. The problem is I am barely on the edge of control at any speed. Let's just say that the Utah Ski Council passed me over in their search for a ski poster model.)
Ailsa picked up on skiing very quickly. But, it is obvious she is plagued with her father's level of cold weather tolerance. If the temperature dips below the boiling point of water I don everything in sight, including "very Soviet looking babushka hat" and neoprene mask. Lenore says I look like a James Bond nightmare. This year we hope to get Jensen out on some skis too.
At our summer vacation in the Sierras we also persuaded Lenore to try waterskiing for the first time in a half life. (This was after a grueling mountain bike ride involving a vertical climb of probably 1000 feet in as many yards.) She accused me of trying to "do her in" for the insurance money. It was a tremendous struggle for her to get up on the skis. But, she stuck with it and eventually got dragged around the lake. It wasn't long before she was looking like Belinda Carlisle on the Go Go's album cover.
However, it was at the end of our summer vacation that tragedy struck. I fell at the "potholes" (where you slide down slippery rocks in the middle of a stream) and broke off one of my front teeth. There are no practical contingencies for Friday evening dental emergencies in the area of Fresno, California. So I just waited until Monday when I was back in Salt Lake. (A three day milk shake diet can really bring down your energy level.) Everything is fine now though, and I am grateful to report that this little incident is the worst thing that happened all year.
Earlier in the year there had been rumblings (against the protestations of Ailsa) of a mommy-daddy vacation in some tropical paradise "sans enfants" (without the kids). Howsomeever, this did not materialize and our blood pressure probably shows it. Maybe that will be this year's thing that we have never done before.
Jensen is developing quite a singing voice, with prodigious virtuosity and volume. She has started copying her parents in singing songs with make-them-up-as-you-go-along words sung to a familiar tune. This often elicits laughter from the family. She is also quite a swimmer and most of all enjoys holding her breath and testing her deep diving abilities. She has me push her down in the deep end to see if she can touch the bottom of the pool. If she comes close to running out of air, she says, "I almost drinked."
Ailsa is preparing for her school production of the Nutcracker. She will be one of the sugar plum dancers. Although I can tell she would rather have a more principal role, it doesn't seem to bother her. She has understudied everyone and knows all the lines.
This year saw two changes in church jobs for me. I was first teaching the gospel doctrine class (which, if you ask me, is the best job in the whole shooting match) and then called as Second Counselor in the Bishopric again. Lenore still serves as the Relief Society Secretary. We are busy but don't complain about it too much. I think it could be worse.
Our basement is now semi-finished with carpeting and paint and heat and everything. There are some things which still need doing: the built in bookcase, the fireplace hearth and mantle, and the bathroom/washroom. But, at least now it is very usable. Otherwise no major purchases, no major changes in the household. Body count still the same, despite efforts otherwise (if you believe Lenore above there were both efforts to reduce and increase our number.) Luckily, we are still driving the same old cars.
We look forward to hearing from you and want you to know that our association with you is a highlight to our lives. We hold dear your friendship and contact. May the Lord bless you to be able to hold firm for what is right and good.
Todd, Lenore, Ailsa, and Jensen
430 East Crown Pointe Drive
Murray, Ut 84107
801-262-5484
We spent an enjoyable weekend in February, stayed at a resort in Beaver, Utah with a large part of my family, and skied for a couple of days. We even got Ailsa to do it. The final afternoon was the best because we foisted Ailsa off on the kinderski school (read babysitters) and went off by ourselves. Although it had been roughly nine years for each of us since our last ski outing, it didn't take long for us to regain our respective Jean Claude Killy and Picabo Street forms. (I imagine myself in the giant slalom at the Olympics, plummeting downhill at break-neck speed, several thousandths of a second ahead of the course record, barely on the edge of control. The problem is I am barely on the edge of control at any speed. Let's just say that the Utah Ski Council passed me over in their search for a ski poster model.)
Ailsa picked up on skiing very quickly. But, it is obvious she is plagued with her father's level of cold weather tolerance. If the temperature dips below the boiling point of water I don everything in sight, including "very Soviet looking babushka hat" and neoprene mask. Lenore says I look like a James Bond nightmare. This year we hope to get Jensen out on some skis too.
At our summer vacation in the Sierras we also persuaded Lenore to try waterskiing for the first time in a half life. (This was after a grueling mountain bike ride involving a vertical climb of probably 1000 feet in as many yards.) She accused me of trying to "do her in" for the insurance money. It was a tremendous struggle for her to get up on the skis. But, she stuck with it and eventually got dragged around the lake. It wasn't long before she was looking like Belinda Carlisle on the Go Go's album cover.
However, it was at the end of our summer vacation that tragedy struck. I fell at the "potholes" (where you slide down slippery rocks in the middle of a stream) and broke off one of my front teeth. There are no practical contingencies for Friday evening dental emergencies in the area of Fresno, California. So I just waited until Monday when I was back in Salt Lake. (A three day milk shake diet can really bring down your energy level.) Everything is fine now though, and I am grateful to report that this little incident is the worst thing that happened all year.
Earlier in the year there had been rumblings (against the protestations of Ailsa) of a mommy-daddy vacation in some tropical paradise "sans enfants" (without the kids). Howsomeever, this did not materialize and our blood pressure probably shows it. Maybe that will be this year's thing that we have never done before.
Jensen is developing quite a singing voice, with prodigious virtuosity and volume. She has started copying her parents in singing songs with make-them-up-as-you-go-along words sung to a familiar tune. This often elicits laughter from the family. She is also quite a swimmer and most of all enjoys holding her breath and testing her deep diving abilities. She has me push her down in the deep end to see if she can touch the bottom of the pool. If she comes close to running out of air, she says, "I almost drinked."
Ailsa is preparing for her school production of the Nutcracker. She will be one of the sugar plum dancers. Although I can tell she would rather have a more principal role, it doesn't seem to bother her. She has understudied everyone and knows all the lines.
This year saw two changes in church jobs for me. I was first teaching the gospel doctrine class (which, if you ask me, is the best job in the whole shooting match) and then called as Second Counselor in the Bishopric again. Lenore still serves as the Relief Society Secretary. We are busy but don't complain about it too much. I think it could be worse.
Our basement is now semi-finished with carpeting and paint and heat and everything. There are some things which still need doing: the built in bookcase, the fireplace hearth and mantle, and the bathroom/washroom. But, at least now it is very usable. Otherwise no major purchases, no major changes in the household. Body count still the same, despite efforts otherwise (if you believe Lenore above there were both efforts to reduce and increase our number.) Luckily, we are still driving the same old cars.
We look forward to hearing from you and want you to know that our association with you is a highlight to our lives. We hold dear your friendship and contact. May the Lord bless you to be able to hold firm for what is right and good.
Todd, Lenore, Ailsa, and Jensen
430 East Crown Pointe Drive
Murray, Ut 84107
801-262-5484
05 January 1990
Christmas 1993
Lately our mailbox has been filled with a daily load of mail-order catalogs. We have begun carrying credit cards around again and our statements show the effect. More than anything else these are the recognizable signs that Christmas must be approaching. Let me take a few minutes to give you your annual glimpse of the Lillywhite family.
I have just finished a command performance reading of "There's a Smurf in my Soup" for Jensen. She is going to sleep tonight wearing her Halloween costume. She was a skeleton. The outfit was made of a black tee-shirt and pants made of jersey material with a skeleton painted on using glow-in-the-dark paints. She is a bit theatrical and loves to put the costume on and stalk around the house making grimaces and trying to scare us. She also likes to put on the Indian headdress that Ailsa made for her kindergarten Thanksgiving pageant and ride the rocking horse ("bunking bronto") with a maniacal determination that sometimes lifts the front or back end of the platform off of the ground. At times I feel that if they needed someone to play the leading role in "The Ransom of Red-Chief" Jensen would do just fine.
Now she is asking for one of her dinosaur toys. Part of this is accomplished by participating in a simplified version of charades. She places her feet wide apart and squats very low, similar to a sumo wrestler. I ask, "what is that?" It is a "wacky". That is Jensenese for velociraptor. Since we put up our Christmas tree and the decorations around the house she has been singing "Jingle Bells". But, for her it is "crashing through a now in a one-horse open leigh". We will have to take special pains to ensure she sleeps through the entire Santa visit. our friend Mel Mascherino came to visit this fall. She was quite enamored with his Santa Clausian girth and made several comments to that effect.
Ailsa has just finished her Sunday evening required viewing of "Seaquest". She says she wants to be a cowgirl and a dolphin trainer when she grows up. She asked me to make sure they were not mutually exclusive careers. Her sixth birthday was 10 December. We took her to the Utah Opera production of Hansel and Gretel. During her birthday week Ailsa was the special student in her kindergarten class. This honor afforded her extraordinary show and tell privileges. So, at her behest, I gathered up the two kitties and took them over to show to her class. The teacher said it was the first time she had ever had two full grown cats for show and tell.
At the top of her Christmas list is a "my size" Barbie, which in her case really isn't her size. (She is nearly four feet tall. This won't surprise those of you who consider her father to be a giant.) Have you checked the price on a "my size" Barbie? About $120. It seems ridiculous to spend more than the per capita income of Burkina Faso on something that would get played with a couple of times and then would be relegated to lying around the house in a permanent state of overexposure. I hope they are at least made of recyclable plastic. The Santa Claus myth is starting to wear thin for her. She is concerned about the logistics of his visit, ie. how such a large person fits down the chimney (to be truthful I doubt the cats would be able to fit down our chimney), and how he possibly visits everyone in the world during one night. I told her he travels with the rotation of the earth and thereby gains a little on the time zones.
Someone told us the other day that the difference between little boys and little girls is boys are rambunctious and girls are emotional. I've been wanting a boy for sometime. When I heard the foregoing explanation I realized that we actually have two boys and two girls. They are little boys when they are rambunctious and they are little girls when they are emotional.
Lenore's brother Dan came to live with us earlier this year. He realized that he would get no parental prodding from us and he could comfortably continue in his care-free bachelor ways. Besides his regular job he has been making very clever bird feeders and selling them through a local craft store. He is handy to have around and does some baby sitting for us and keeps our "grounds" looking presentable during the gardening season.
Lenore and I are both staying busy. I have gotten involved in a community choir and am enjoying it greatly. We just finished our spate of Christmas concerts and received rave reviews. Earlier in the Spring I managed to finish hanging the drywall in our slowly-but-surely-getting-closer-all-the-time-to-being-finished basement. I am now considering hiring a fellow to do the taping. Those of you who have been monitoring the progress of our basement can see that at our present rate the whole thing should be finished by early 1997. Actually, it is livable and on very short notice (we would need to clean up the kids' toys and Dan's workroom) is available as a crash pad for visiting friends and family.
Lenore has stayed very busy with the kids and has become a frequent helper with Ailsa'a kindergarten class. I've visited a couple of times myself and it seems like teaching kindergarten could be very enjoyable. She gets spread pretty thin between shuttling kids to and from school, watching a neighbor girl, maintaining a household, and keeping up with her demanding church responsibilities. However, she occasionally manages to escape by watching Get a Life 90210 (Beverly Hills 90210) and Melrose Place. We have just endured another of her annual sewing fests/sartorial orgies. The interesting thing is she hates sewing. Her sister is getting married this weekend in Oakland and the girls needed new dresses for that as well as a couple of new Christmas dresses. She does excellent work despite her grumbling. And after spending 147 hours sewing she managed to save 83 cents over the cost of buying dresses from the store. We will now likely not see the sewing machine again until next year.
Please keep us in your thoughts from time to time as we do you. We wish you all the best and most of all, the peace and happiness that is the product of, and the reason for our celebration during this time of year.
Todd, Lenore, Ailsa, and Jensen Lillywhite
I have just finished a command performance reading of "There's a Smurf in my Soup" for Jensen. She is going to sleep tonight wearing her Halloween costume. She was a skeleton. The outfit was made of a black tee-shirt and pants made of jersey material with a skeleton painted on using glow-in-the-dark paints. She is a bit theatrical and loves to put the costume on and stalk around the house making grimaces and trying to scare us. She also likes to put on the Indian headdress that Ailsa made for her kindergarten Thanksgiving pageant and ride the rocking horse ("bunking bronto") with a maniacal determination that sometimes lifts the front or back end of the platform off of the ground. At times I feel that if they needed someone to play the leading role in "The Ransom of Red-Chief" Jensen would do just fine.
Now she is asking for one of her dinosaur toys. Part of this is accomplished by participating in a simplified version of charades. She places her feet wide apart and squats very low, similar to a sumo wrestler. I ask, "what is that?" It is a "wacky". That is Jensenese for velociraptor. Since we put up our Christmas tree and the decorations around the house she has been singing "Jingle Bells". But, for her it is "crashing through a now in a one-horse open leigh". We will have to take special pains to ensure she sleeps through the entire Santa visit. our friend Mel Mascherino came to visit this fall. She was quite enamored with his Santa Clausian girth and made several comments to that effect.
Ailsa has just finished her Sunday evening required viewing of "Seaquest". She says she wants to be a cowgirl and a dolphin trainer when she grows up. She asked me to make sure they were not mutually exclusive careers. Her sixth birthday was 10 December. We took her to the Utah Opera production of Hansel and Gretel. During her birthday week Ailsa was the special student in her kindergarten class. This honor afforded her extraordinary show and tell privileges. So, at her behest, I gathered up the two kitties and took them over to show to her class. The teacher said it was the first time she had ever had two full grown cats for show and tell.
At the top of her Christmas list is a "my size" Barbie, which in her case really isn't her size. (She is nearly four feet tall. This won't surprise those of you who consider her father to be a giant.) Have you checked the price on a "my size" Barbie? About $120. It seems ridiculous to spend more than the per capita income of Burkina Faso on something that would get played with a couple of times and then would be relegated to lying around the house in a permanent state of overexposure. I hope they are at least made of recyclable plastic. The Santa Claus myth is starting to wear thin for her. She is concerned about the logistics of his visit, ie. how such a large person fits down the chimney (to be truthful I doubt the cats would be able to fit down our chimney), and how he possibly visits everyone in the world during one night. I told her he travels with the rotation of the earth and thereby gains a little on the time zones.
Someone told us the other day that the difference between little boys and little girls is boys are rambunctious and girls are emotional. I've been wanting a boy for sometime. When I heard the foregoing explanation I realized that we actually have two boys and two girls. They are little boys when they are rambunctious and they are little girls when they are emotional.
Lenore's brother Dan came to live with us earlier this year. He realized that he would get no parental prodding from us and he could comfortably continue in his care-free bachelor ways. Besides his regular job he has been making very clever bird feeders and selling them through a local craft store. He is handy to have around and does some baby sitting for us and keeps our "grounds" looking presentable during the gardening season.
Lenore and I are both staying busy. I have gotten involved in a community choir and am enjoying it greatly. We just finished our spate of Christmas concerts and received rave reviews. Earlier in the Spring I managed to finish hanging the drywall in our slowly-but-surely-getting-closer-all-the-time-to-being-finished basement. I am now considering hiring a fellow to do the taping. Those of you who have been monitoring the progress of our basement can see that at our present rate the whole thing should be finished by early 1997. Actually, it is livable and on very short notice (we would need to clean up the kids' toys and Dan's workroom) is available as a crash pad for visiting friends and family.
Lenore has stayed very busy with the kids and has become a frequent helper with Ailsa'a kindergarten class. I've visited a couple of times myself and it seems like teaching kindergarten could be very enjoyable. She gets spread pretty thin between shuttling kids to and from school, watching a neighbor girl, maintaining a household, and keeping up with her demanding church responsibilities. However, she occasionally manages to escape by watching Get a Life 90210 (Beverly Hills 90210) and Melrose Place. We have just endured another of her annual sewing fests/sartorial orgies. The interesting thing is she hates sewing. Her sister is getting married this weekend in Oakland and the girls needed new dresses for that as well as a couple of new Christmas dresses. She does excellent work despite her grumbling. And after spending 147 hours sewing she managed to save 83 cents over the cost of buying dresses from the store. We will now likely not see the sewing machine again until next year.
Please keep us in your thoughts from time to time as we do you. We wish you all the best and most of all, the peace and happiness that is the product of, and the reason for our celebration during this time of year.
Todd, Lenore, Ailsa, and Jensen Lillywhite
04 January 1990
Christmas 1992
ANGELS, WHY THIS JUBILEE? IT'S THAT TIME OF YEAR AGAIN! DID IT SNEAK UP ON YOU TOO? DOES THE STATEMENT "THE HURRIER I GO, THE BEHINDER I GET" APPLY TO YOU? WE ARE GRATEFUL FOR THE GREAT ABUNDANCE OF OUR LIVES. WE SOMETIMES WISH FOR A LITTLE LESS ABUNDANCE.
COMPARED TO THE LAST THREE YEARS WE ARE AT A LOSS FOR "BIG" EVENTS TO TELL YOU ABOUT FOR 1992. NO BABIES, NO MOVES.
AILSA HAS FINALLY FALLEN ASLEEP AT 10PM. SHE JUST TURNED FIVE AND HAS BEEN ATTENDING A PRE-SCHOOL THIS FALL. THE CHILDREN OF HER CLASS WILL PRESENT A CHRISTMAS PROGRAM TOMORROW FOR THE PARENTS. WHEN SHE FIRST GOT IN BED TONIGHT SHE WAS SO EXCITED THAT SHE FELT SHE HAD TO PRACTICE HER SONGS ABOUT TEN TIMES EACH. WE COULD HEAR HER IN THERE SINGING (AND SIGNING) SILENT NIGHT AND RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER. WELL, WE COULDN'T HEAR HER SIGNING. (THAT WAS THE ONLY SILENT PART OF THIS SILENT NIGHT.) BUT, WE KNEW SHE WAS DOING IT. SHE MAKES A GESTURE AND SAYS, "THIS MEANS MOTHER." SHE IS A MOST INTERESTING TYPE. WHENEVER SHE IS OUTSIDE, SHE DUTIFULLY SEEKS OUT ANY UNSUSPECTING NEIGHBOR WHO IS BRAVE ENOUGH TO VENTURE OUT OF DOORS. REGARDLESS OF THEIR AGE SHE FEELS IT HER RIGHT (AND OBLIGATION) AS A NEIGHBOR TO GO AND SOCIALIZE WITH THEM. AS IF THEY ARE IMPLICITLY INVITING HER TO COME OVER BY SIMPLY STEPPING OUTSIDE. SHE WILL COME UP TO ME IN THE GARAGE AND ASK (READ BEG, CAJOLE, IMPLORE) FOR PERMISSION. SHE SAYS, "THERE IS SOMEONE OUT AT BOB'S HOUSE." (BOB IS THE NAME OF OUR NEIGHBOR'S BLOND LABRADOR PUPPY. SHE IDENTIFIES THE HOUSEHOLDS BY THE "ALPHA INDIVIDUAL", THEIR RESPECTIVE PETS.) "CAN I GO TALK TO THEM?"
JENSEN TOOK A BASKETFUL OF DINOSAURS ("MY GUY-ERS") TO BED AND PLAYED WITH THEM UNTIL FALLING ASLEEP. BUT, NOT BEFORE FALLING OUT OF THE BED. WE REALIZE THAT ALMOST ALL CHILDREN ARE PRESENTLY FASCINATED WITH DINOSAURS. BUT, JENSEN HAS SUCH A PASSION, WE WOULDN'T BE SURPRISED IF SHE BECAME A PALEONTOLOGIST. WE HAVE A SUNDAY RITUAL OF NEGOTIATING OVER THE NUMBER OF DINOSAURS SHE CAN TAKE TO CHURCH. SHE IS A GOOD LITTLE HAGGLER. SHE STARTS OUT WITH ALL THE PLASTIC DINOSAURS SHE CAN POSSIBLY HOLD AT ONE TIME. SHE RECOGNIZES THAT HER PARENTS WIELD SUPREME EXECUTIVE POWER. HOWEVER, SHE ALSO REALIZES THAT HER PARENTS ARE SOFTIES AND ARE OFTEN TOO TIRED TO PUT UP MUCH OF A FIGHT. SHE USUALLY ENDS UP WITH TWO DINOSAURS FOR THE NON-NURSERY TIME. AT 28 MONTHS SHE STILL WALKS AROUND MOST OF THE TIME WITH A "CIUCCIO" IN HER MOUTH. (ITALIAN FOR PACIFIER, PRONOUNCED "CHEW CHOH", SHE SAYS CHOO-CHOO.) IT INTERFERES WITH HER CLEARLY PRONOUNCING WORDS. THUS THE "GUY-ERS" FOR DINOSAURS. WE WENT FOR FAMILY PORTRAIT PHOTOS. JENSEN WAS NOT IN THE MOOD. SHE WAS A VERY DIFFICULT MODEL. THE PHOTOGRAPHER MIRACULOUSLY MANAGED TO CAPTURE ABOUT FOUR SHOTS OF THE FAMILY DURING THE .7 SECONDS OF TOTAL TIME WHEN SHE WAS NOT CRYING OR SCREAMING. SO WE MANAGED TO GET ONE OF THE FOUR OF US THAT WAS "ACCEPTABLE". WHEN THAT PART WAS OVER SHE WANTED TO PLAY WITH THE TOYS. SO WE HAD THE PHOTOGRAPHER TAKE "CANDID" SHOTS OF HER IN HER ELEMENT. THEY ARE NOT WHAT THE PHOTOGRAPHER HAD IN MIND (HE WAS THINKING AMERICAN GOTHIC). BUT, WE GOT SOME ADORABLE PICTURES OF HER GUSHING WITH EFFERVESCENCE WHILE CHUMMING WITH HER SISTER AND RIDING A ROCKING HORSE AND SITTING IN A ROCKING CHAIR.
OUR TWO KITTIES, RUBY & MAXINE, JUST RECENTLY VISITED THE DOCTOR TO UNDERGO THE OPERATION TO WHICH YOUNG, PRE-PUBESCENT, FEMALE KITTENS ARE OFTEN SUBJECTED. MAXINE WOULD NOT LEAVE HER STITCHES ALONE SO SHE NOW SPORTS A VERY LOVELY ELIZABETHAN COLLAR TO PREVENT HER FROM DOING ANY HARM TO THE HEALING INCISION. SHE LOOKS VERY SILLY AND DULY HUMBLED BECAUSE OF THE COLLAR. THE POOR THING PROBABLY DOESN'T REALIZE THAT IT IS ONLY A TEMPORARY EVIL. SHE ONLY SEES THAT HER SISTER, RUBY, ISN'T WEARING ONE AND LIKELY THINKS THAT SHE IS THE VICTIM OF SOME CRUEL JOKE VISITED UPON HER BY HER DEMENTED MASTERS. UNFORTUNATELY, THE COLLAR ALSO PREVENTS HER FROM FOLLOWING HER USUAL HYGIENE REGIMEN. SO, A GAMY AIR LINGERS ABOUT HER. IT IS ALSO UNFORTUNATE DURING THIS TIME THAT SHE LIKES TO SPEND THE NIGHT WITH US ON THE BED AND SOMETIMES ENDS UP CLOSER TO OUR NOSES THAN HER PRESENT FRAGRANCE WARRANTS.
LENORE IS ON ONE OF HER SEWING BINGES. MOST NORMAL WOMEN GO THROUGH BINGE-PURGE DIETING CYCLES. LENORE HAS A DIFFERENT PROBLEM, A "HOMEMAKING DISORDER". SHE WILL INDULGE IN AN ALL OUT THREE DAY LOVE-HATE FEST WITH HER SEWING MACHINE DURING WHICH TIME ALL OTHER HOME RELATED TASKS (IE; EATING, BREATHING) TAKE A BACK SEAT. SHE IS A BIT LIKE ME IN THIS WAY: UNABLE TO ACCOMPLISH ANYTHING THAT TAKES A SUBSTANTIAL AMOUNT OF TIME IF IT REQUIRES ENDURING NUMEROUS INTERRUPTIONS. SO WE FIGURE OUT WAYS TO ELIMINATE THE INTERRUPTIONS. SHE ALMOST ALWAYS ENDS UP WITH SOME SARTORIAL MASTERPIECE. AFTER I FINISHED THE RUDIMENTS OF THE YARD THIS SUMMER, AND WITH THE ENCOURAGEMENT AND GUIDANCE OF HER GREEN-THUMBED BROTHER, LENORE UNDERTOOK TO TRIM THE YARD WITH SHRUBS AND FLOWERS. WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING THE FRUITS OF HER LABORS WHEN THE WINTER SNOWS RETREAT. LENORE HAS ALSO BEEN RE-LEARNING HER PIANO. THE BABIES DON'T OFFER HER MUCH TIME FOR THIS. BUT, THROUGH HER DILIGENCE AND CONSISTENCE SHE HAS NEARLY PERFECTED WEDDING DAY AT TROLDHAUGEN BY GRIEG. WHEN A PERFORMANCE OR RECITAL DATE IS SUGGESTED SHE QUICKLY REJECTS THE IDEA. HOPEFULLY, SHE WILL SOMEDAY BE ABLE TO ACCOMPANY ME WHENEVER I SING.
I HAVE SPENT A LARGE PORTION OF MY VACATION TIME THIS YEAR DOING THINGS WITH THE SCOUTS. WHEN I WAS INVOLVED WITH THE "FRIENDS OF SCOUTING" FUND DRIVE, LENORE ANNOUNCED THAT SHE WAS FORMING THE "ENEMIES OF SCOUTING" COMMITTEE. ON ONE OF OUR CAMPOUTS I WAS HIKING INTO CAMP ALONE IN THE DARK AND RAN INTO TWO BEARS. JUST LAST WEEKEND I EXPERIENCED MY FIRST "WINTER" CAMPOUT COMPLETE WITH FREEZING TEMPERATURES AND SNOWFALL. NATURALLY, THE QUESTION COMES TO MIND: "WHY WOULD ANYBODY DO THIS IF THEY DIDN'T HAVE TO?" I AM PRESENTLY PREPARING FOR THE CHURCH CHRISTMAS PROGRAM, ONE OF THE TASKS THAT FALLS ON THE CHOIR DIRECTOR. AND I HAVE BEEN TAKING VOICE LESSONS NOW FOR ABOUT ONE YEAR. MY HOPE IS THAT SOMETIME DURING THIS LIFETIME I MAY BE ABLE TO SING SOMETHING IN SUCH A WAY THAT IT MIGHT, IN PERHAPS SOME SMALL WAY, VAGUELY REMIND SOMEONE OF AN OPERATIC TENOR.
AS WE LOOK BACK OVER THE YEAR WE REALIZE THAT OUR MODERN LIVES HAVE MADE IT DIFFICULT TO MAINTAIN EVEN THE OCCASIONAL CONTACT WITH OUR LOVED ONES THAT WE WOULD LIKE TO HAVE. WE HOPE THAT OUR LETTER AND SEASON'S GREETING HELP TO FILL THAT VOID. WE LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING SIMILARLY FROM YOU. AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO A TIME WHEN CIRCUMSTANCES WILL BRING US TOGETHER AGAIN. MAY YOU BE BLESSED THIS HOLIDAY SEASON TO FEEL THE LOVE OF THE SAVIOUR AND TO SHARE THAT LOVE WITH OTHERS.
COMPARED TO THE LAST THREE YEARS WE ARE AT A LOSS FOR "BIG" EVENTS TO TELL YOU ABOUT FOR 1992. NO BABIES, NO MOVES.
AILSA HAS FINALLY FALLEN ASLEEP AT 10PM. SHE JUST TURNED FIVE AND HAS BEEN ATTENDING A PRE-SCHOOL THIS FALL. THE CHILDREN OF HER CLASS WILL PRESENT A CHRISTMAS PROGRAM TOMORROW FOR THE PARENTS. WHEN SHE FIRST GOT IN BED TONIGHT SHE WAS SO EXCITED THAT SHE FELT SHE HAD TO PRACTICE HER SONGS ABOUT TEN TIMES EACH. WE COULD HEAR HER IN THERE SINGING (AND SIGNING) SILENT NIGHT AND RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER. WELL, WE COULDN'T HEAR HER SIGNING. (THAT WAS THE ONLY SILENT PART OF THIS SILENT NIGHT.) BUT, WE KNEW SHE WAS DOING IT. SHE MAKES A GESTURE AND SAYS, "THIS MEANS MOTHER." SHE IS A MOST INTERESTING TYPE. WHENEVER SHE IS OUTSIDE, SHE DUTIFULLY SEEKS OUT ANY UNSUSPECTING NEIGHBOR WHO IS BRAVE ENOUGH TO VENTURE OUT OF DOORS. REGARDLESS OF THEIR AGE SHE FEELS IT HER RIGHT (AND OBLIGATION) AS A NEIGHBOR TO GO AND SOCIALIZE WITH THEM. AS IF THEY ARE IMPLICITLY INVITING HER TO COME OVER BY SIMPLY STEPPING OUTSIDE. SHE WILL COME UP TO ME IN THE GARAGE AND ASK (READ BEG, CAJOLE, IMPLORE) FOR PERMISSION. SHE SAYS, "THERE IS SOMEONE OUT AT BOB'S HOUSE." (BOB IS THE NAME OF OUR NEIGHBOR'S BLOND LABRADOR PUPPY. SHE IDENTIFIES THE HOUSEHOLDS BY THE "ALPHA INDIVIDUAL", THEIR RESPECTIVE PETS.) "CAN I GO TALK TO THEM?"
JENSEN TOOK A BASKETFUL OF DINOSAURS ("MY GUY-ERS") TO BED AND PLAYED WITH THEM UNTIL FALLING ASLEEP. BUT, NOT BEFORE FALLING OUT OF THE BED. WE REALIZE THAT ALMOST ALL CHILDREN ARE PRESENTLY FASCINATED WITH DINOSAURS. BUT, JENSEN HAS SUCH A PASSION, WE WOULDN'T BE SURPRISED IF SHE BECAME A PALEONTOLOGIST. WE HAVE A SUNDAY RITUAL OF NEGOTIATING OVER THE NUMBER OF DINOSAURS SHE CAN TAKE TO CHURCH. SHE IS A GOOD LITTLE HAGGLER. SHE STARTS OUT WITH ALL THE PLASTIC DINOSAURS SHE CAN POSSIBLY HOLD AT ONE TIME. SHE RECOGNIZES THAT HER PARENTS WIELD SUPREME EXECUTIVE POWER. HOWEVER, SHE ALSO REALIZES THAT HER PARENTS ARE SOFTIES AND ARE OFTEN TOO TIRED TO PUT UP MUCH OF A FIGHT. SHE USUALLY ENDS UP WITH TWO DINOSAURS FOR THE NON-NURSERY TIME. AT 28 MONTHS SHE STILL WALKS AROUND MOST OF THE TIME WITH A "CIUCCIO" IN HER MOUTH. (ITALIAN FOR PACIFIER, PRONOUNCED "CHEW CHOH", SHE SAYS CHOO-CHOO.) IT INTERFERES WITH HER CLEARLY PRONOUNCING WORDS. THUS THE "GUY-ERS" FOR DINOSAURS. WE WENT FOR FAMILY PORTRAIT PHOTOS. JENSEN WAS NOT IN THE MOOD. SHE WAS A VERY DIFFICULT MODEL. THE PHOTOGRAPHER MIRACULOUSLY MANAGED TO CAPTURE ABOUT FOUR SHOTS OF THE FAMILY DURING THE .7 SECONDS OF TOTAL TIME WHEN SHE WAS NOT CRYING OR SCREAMING. SO WE MANAGED TO GET ONE OF THE FOUR OF US THAT WAS "ACCEPTABLE". WHEN THAT PART WAS OVER SHE WANTED TO PLAY WITH THE TOYS. SO WE HAD THE PHOTOGRAPHER TAKE "CANDID" SHOTS OF HER IN HER ELEMENT. THEY ARE NOT WHAT THE PHOTOGRAPHER HAD IN MIND (HE WAS THINKING AMERICAN GOTHIC). BUT, WE GOT SOME ADORABLE PICTURES OF HER GUSHING WITH EFFERVESCENCE WHILE CHUMMING WITH HER SISTER AND RIDING A ROCKING HORSE AND SITTING IN A ROCKING CHAIR.
OUR TWO KITTIES, RUBY & MAXINE, JUST RECENTLY VISITED THE DOCTOR TO UNDERGO THE OPERATION TO WHICH YOUNG, PRE-PUBESCENT, FEMALE KITTENS ARE OFTEN SUBJECTED. MAXINE WOULD NOT LEAVE HER STITCHES ALONE SO SHE NOW SPORTS A VERY LOVELY ELIZABETHAN COLLAR TO PREVENT HER FROM DOING ANY HARM TO THE HEALING INCISION. SHE LOOKS VERY SILLY AND DULY HUMBLED BECAUSE OF THE COLLAR. THE POOR THING PROBABLY DOESN'T REALIZE THAT IT IS ONLY A TEMPORARY EVIL. SHE ONLY SEES THAT HER SISTER, RUBY, ISN'T WEARING ONE AND LIKELY THINKS THAT SHE IS THE VICTIM OF SOME CRUEL JOKE VISITED UPON HER BY HER DEMENTED MASTERS. UNFORTUNATELY, THE COLLAR ALSO PREVENTS HER FROM FOLLOWING HER USUAL HYGIENE REGIMEN. SO, A GAMY AIR LINGERS ABOUT HER. IT IS ALSO UNFORTUNATE DURING THIS TIME THAT SHE LIKES TO SPEND THE NIGHT WITH US ON THE BED AND SOMETIMES ENDS UP CLOSER TO OUR NOSES THAN HER PRESENT FRAGRANCE WARRANTS.
LENORE IS ON ONE OF HER SEWING BINGES. MOST NORMAL WOMEN GO THROUGH BINGE-PURGE DIETING CYCLES. LENORE HAS A DIFFERENT PROBLEM, A "HOMEMAKING DISORDER". SHE WILL INDULGE IN AN ALL OUT THREE DAY LOVE-HATE FEST WITH HER SEWING MACHINE DURING WHICH TIME ALL OTHER HOME RELATED TASKS (IE; EATING, BREATHING) TAKE A BACK SEAT. SHE IS A BIT LIKE ME IN THIS WAY: UNABLE TO ACCOMPLISH ANYTHING THAT TAKES A SUBSTANTIAL AMOUNT OF TIME IF IT REQUIRES ENDURING NUMEROUS INTERRUPTIONS. SO WE FIGURE OUT WAYS TO ELIMINATE THE INTERRUPTIONS. SHE ALMOST ALWAYS ENDS UP WITH SOME SARTORIAL MASTERPIECE. AFTER I FINISHED THE RUDIMENTS OF THE YARD THIS SUMMER, AND WITH THE ENCOURAGEMENT AND GUIDANCE OF HER GREEN-THUMBED BROTHER, LENORE UNDERTOOK TO TRIM THE YARD WITH SHRUBS AND FLOWERS. WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING THE FRUITS OF HER LABORS WHEN THE WINTER SNOWS RETREAT. LENORE HAS ALSO BEEN RE-LEARNING HER PIANO. THE BABIES DON'T OFFER HER MUCH TIME FOR THIS. BUT, THROUGH HER DILIGENCE AND CONSISTENCE SHE HAS NEARLY PERFECTED WEDDING DAY AT TROLDHAUGEN BY GRIEG. WHEN A PERFORMANCE OR RECITAL DATE IS SUGGESTED SHE QUICKLY REJECTS THE IDEA. HOPEFULLY, SHE WILL SOMEDAY BE ABLE TO ACCOMPANY ME WHENEVER I SING.
I HAVE SPENT A LARGE PORTION OF MY VACATION TIME THIS YEAR DOING THINGS WITH THE SCOUTS. WHEN I WAS INVOLVED WITH THE "FRIENDS OF SCOUTING" FUND DRIVE, LENORE ANNOUNCED THAT SHE WAS FORMING THE "ENEMIES OF SCOUTING" COMMITTEE. ON ONE OF OUR CAMPOUTS I WAS HIKING INTO CAMP ALONE IN THE DARK AND RAN INTO TWO BEARS. JUST LAST WEEKEND I EXPERIENCED MY FIRST "WINTER" CAMPOUT COMPLETE WITH FREEZING TEMPERATURES AND SNOWFALL. NATURALLY, THE QUESTION COMES TO MIND: "WHY WOULD ANYBODY DO THIS IF THEY DIDN'T HAVE TO?" I AM PRESENTLY PREPARING FOR THE CHURCH CHRISTMAS PROGRAM, ONE OF THE TASKS THAT FALLS ON THE CHOIR DIRECTOR. AND I HAVE BEEN TAKING VOICE LESSONS NOW FOR ABOUT ONE YEAR. MY HOPE IS THAT SOMETIME DURING THIS LIFETIME I MAY BE ABLE TO SING SOMETHING IN SUCH A WAY THAT IT MIGHT, IN PERHAPS SOME SMALL WAY, VAGUELY REMIND SOMEONE OF AN OPERATIC TENOR.
AS WE LOOK BACK OVER THE YEAR WE REALIZE THAT OUR MODERN LIVES HAVE MADE IT DIFFICULT TO MAINTAIN EVEN THE OCCASIONAL CONTACT WITH OUR LOVED ONES THAT WE WOULD LIKE TO HAVE. WE HOPE THAT OUR LETTER AND SEASON'S GREETING HELP TO FILL THAT VOID. WE LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING SIMILARLY FROM YOU. AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO A TIME WHEN CIRCUMSTANCES WILL BRING US TOGETHER AGAIN. MAY YOU BE BLESSED THIS HOLIDAY SEASON TO FEEL THE LOVE OF THE SAVIOUR AND TO SHARE THAT LOVE WITH OTHERS.
03 January 1990
Christmas 1991
The big news in the Lillywhite family this year was our move from California to Utah. The company I work for decided to open an office in Utah and I was one of the people “selected” to transfer. Actually, I was a little bit better than ambivalent about the move because I could see the obvious benefits for my family (and me). We were able to buy at least twice the house we could have afforded in the LA area. My commute now is a mere 15 minutes each way rather than an average of 45 to 50 minutes. The fact that the average speed at which the commute is conducted is at least 30 MPH faster than before, adds to my relief. (Fifteen minutes of 65 MPH driving is at least 15,000% better than 45 minutes of second—gear—always—got—to—have—your—foot—near—the—brake—pedal-I-can—listen-to-one-whole-cassette-tape-3 0-MPH driving.) Steve Martin’s depiction of LA driving in LA Story is funny because it is not that far from the truth.
Anyway, we did the move—yourself thing again for various reasons. Not the least of which was the fact that, after living like gypsies for two years, we had possessions in three different locations. This 800 mile trip took nearly as long as our 3000 mile trip two years ago. On the way from LA to Salt Lake we had to stop in (count them) Barstow, Baker, California State Line, Las Vegas, Virgin River Gorge, St. George, and Beaver. Including our final destination that’s an average of only 100 miles in between stops. It’s probably a new world record and enough to bring tears to the eyes of any long—distance trucker. A real family would have brought along extra fuel and driven it straight through. I’m sure it was amusing to the other travelers to see us belted four across (two baby seats) in our 18 foot Isuzu moving van.
Ailsa has grown amazingly. She went right past several birthdays this year and she is now fourteen. Fortunately, we recognize that her independence and strong will (read stubbornness) are traits that will help her immensely when she is more mature. The problem is that I’m afraid one of these days she is going to have us duped into thinking she really is in charge and she doesn’t have to do everything we say.
Jensen has developed into quite the conversationalist. I only wish we understood her more. She jabbers much more than Ailsa did. (I think Ailsa realized early on that we didn’t understand her “language” and she had better sit tight until she picked up ours.) Jensen’s approach however, seems to be “if you’re going to live in my house, you’d better jolly well learn the language.” I hope this doesn’t mean that she is more stubb...., er, strong willed than her big sister.
Truthfully, they are both very often the sweetest, most adorable little girls in the world and we love them very much.
We hope that in your reflecting during this time of year you realize just how blessed we all are and you find room to share with others. As our daily tasks increase in number and difficulty we gain a growing appreciation for the Savior’s ability to live a perfect life. We are most grateful for his example and his sacrifice. May you know that you are often in our thoughts and in our prayers. We look forward to the time when circumstances will bring us together again.
Season’s greetings to all.
Anyway, we did the move—yourself thing again for various reasons. Not the least of which was the fact that, after living like gypsies for two years, we had possessions in three different locations. This 800 mile trip took nearly as long as our 3000 mile trip two years ago. On the way from LA to Salt Lake we had to stop in (count them) Barstow, Baker, California State Line, Las Vegas, Virgin River Gorge, St. George, and Beaver. Including our final destination that’s an average of only 100 miles in between stops. It’s probably a new world record and enough to bring tears to the eyes of any long—distance trucker. A real family would have brought along extra fuel and driven it straight through. I’m sure it was amusing to the other travelers to see us belted four across (two baby seats) in our 18 foot Isuzu moving van.
Ailsa has grown amazingly. She went right past several birthdays this year and she is now fourteen. Fortunately, we recognize that her independence and strong will (read stubbornness) are traits that will help her immensely when she is more mature. The problem is that I’m afraid one of these days she is going to have us duped into thinking she really is in charge and she doesn’t have to do everything we say.
Jensen has developed into quite the conversationalist. I only wish we understood her more. She jabbers much more than Ailsa did. (I think Ailsa realized early on that we didn’t understand her “language” and she had better sit tight until she picked up ours.) Jensen’s approach however, seems to be “if you’re going to live in my house, you’d better jolly well learn the language.” I hope this doesn’t mean that she is more stubb...., er, strong willed than her big sister.
Truthfully, they are both very often the sweetest, most adorable little girls in the world and we love them very much.
We hope that in your reflecting during this time of year you realize just how blessed we all are and you find room to share with others. As our daily tasks increase in number and difficulty we gain a growing appreciation for the Savior’s ability to live a perfect life. We are most grateful for his example and his sacrifice. May you know that you are often in our thoughts and in our prayers. We look forward to the time when circumstances will bring us together again.
Season’s greetings to all.
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