Christmas in Utah

We just got back from a short trip to Utah, which we (mostly) spent with the S family. Sam had a lot of fun playing with his Aunt L and his Uncle C. We also got to see N and SJ's family (as well as the Grandpaxes) while we were there, which was fun. I didn't think to take a lot of pictures while I was there, so I didn't get pictures of the parties, visits, or dinner meals (the latter being when most of the S family was together). Here are some of the pictures that I did take, though:

Sam and L waiting to open the living room door on Christmas morning

 J's parents gave us Christmas money, which will help fund our upcoming trip to NYC! Sam is excited to go and see the Statue of Liberty.

Playing with the Batman lego set which L gave to Sam

Sam loved playing with his new light saber (which is blue, because Obi Wan Kanobe's light saber is blue). Once Sam unwrapped his present, my brother C pulled out his old light sabers. They dueled for hours on Christmas, and my sister L occasionally joined in the battles. It was nice of C to play with Sam for so long.

The light saber was, by far, the favorite Christmas toy of this year. Sam played with his light saber for hours and hours on Christmas day (and subsequent days, too).

The day after Christmas we went to the Natural History museum with my sisters E and L.

A visit to 135

With the Grandpaxes!

Grandpax took us around 135 and told us about several of the art pieces that are in the house. He also did a Maori war dance for Sam, which now is probably one of my favorite memories of Grandpa. Luckily, J captured the war dance on video.

Before the white elephant party with the extended S family, we killed a little time by showing Sam the BYU campus. We visited some of the current exhibitions at the BYU MOA, which included this "Silver Clouds" (1966) installation by Andy Warhol.

L and Sam played in the snow at Grandma J's house.

J, Sam and I visited the library where my sister V works, even though she wasn't working that day. My friend Joanna lives nearby, so we planned to visit in the Children's Section for a bit. It was fun to see her.

It also felt like a real vacation because I actually took time to watch some movies. My sisters L and E came with us and my friend Rachsticle to see "Wreck-It Ralph." And another afternoon my sister C and I watched "Adam's Rib" (with Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy) with my Grandma J. It was fun for the three of us to laugh together while watching that comedy.

Goals from the Past

Today I opened up a copy of the letter of intent that I wrote for graduate school. I wrote this letter almost seven years ago, right after J and I got married. There are two specific goals that I mention in this letter which have fallen to the wayside over recent years:

"After receiving my Master’s Degree, I intend to further pursue this same study of Brazilian and European art at a doctorate level."

"One of my professional goals is to mount and run a gallery with my husband, an artist."

I don't think J and I have talked about our gallery idea for five or six years. In fact, I practically had forgotten about it. And although I still would like to get a PhD, I'm quite happy with the teaching opportunities (and the learning and growth that comes with those opportunities) right now. Perhaps both of these goals will still be realized in the future, or perhaps not. It was interesting for me to read this letter though, and consider how my professional and family goals have changed over the past several years.