April through August - Part 2

Within days after Ceci's graduation, Adele and Ceci set out on their first, really big, solo adventure. For months they had been planning to return to the Amazon rainforest and film a documentary highlighting the local perspective on how climate change was affecting their lives. This required obtaining research permits to enter the rainforest, doing all the paperwork necessary, arranging for an interpreter, setting up interviews with locals, and that is in addition to arranging for buses, flights, boat rides, hotels, etc. (all within a budget, as this was their own money). It helped us all knowing the place. The lodge and outfit were familiar (although they were not with a group as "guests", but going as researchers, which meant they stayed in a rustic part of the lodge with the staff, which they loved) and we knew, to a good degree, what they could expect. They planned the entire thing on their own.

They made new friends with staff, locals and visitors. They worked long days capturing wildlife shots, holding scheduled interviews and planning and editing, and they loved it!

After two weeks in the rainforest at two different lodges, they made their way to Cusco where they stayed in an inexpensive little place called Suyay B&B for a week while they edited. Turns out it was the Inca Solstice celebration that week, and day and night there were parades, band, dancers and events. They made new friends in the crazy hoopla.

They met up with friends they had met at the rainforest lodge.

And they put off some editing to enjoy the festivities and eat at the many yummy vegan restaurants in Cusco.

They wished they could have stayed in Cusco longer, but commitments were calling, so on the way home they split ways; Adele flew to NY for the month of July where she had a job doing social media marketing for her favorite pottery studio, and Ceci came home and jumped back into the many things she was involved with. 

Meanwhile, Tennie was doing her internship daily, yet finding ways to enjoy summer days. 

The first part of June was quiet for Geoff and me. Between the girl's train trip and the trip to Peru, we got our first taste of empty nesting, and we realized we really like spending time together! 

Geoff had a big conference in Deer Valley where Martin Luther King, Jr.'s son spoke. This was the first in-person, Sorenson conference since Covid, and it was a huge success.

I organized a Moab adventure for the same group we went to the Amazon with in November. We would glamp at Under Canvas, mountain bike, river raft, go canyoneering and, of course, hike to Delicate Arch, but less than a week before everyone's arrival, Geoff and I got our first Covid sickness, so we had to wave to our friends from afar and miss it. While we both were quite sick, it passed, and we are grateful for good health again. But, bummer timing!

Our ten days finished just in time for us to travel to Rexburg, Idaho for my mom's extended family reunion. I was in charge this time around, and we had a great turnout with 140 people! We tried a new approach since we are now in our fourth generation of attendees. We kept days open for immediate or extended families to gather, and at night we congregated in parks for games of whiffle ball, football, corn hole, etc. My mom, brother and his family and we organized a river float. When word got out, several other families joined in, so there were crossover activities too. My mom and I created a GARN ROOTS self-guided tour. My great, great grandfather moved to Moody, Idaho in the late 1800s and built a home. He raised his family in that home, his son (my great grandpa) raised his family there, and his son, my grandpa raised my mom and her siblings there until my mom was 12, so we went to visit this old property, still out in beautiful farmland and still with some original details. 

The ROOTS TOUR included pictures and brief sketches of my mom's maternal and paternal grandparents, all of whom lived in the area, as well as places from my childhood. I spent July 4th here for many years. As a young kid in the 70s, I felt super cool that my grandpa owned a skating rink! This ROOTS TOUR was a fun process for me. I learned a lot.

On July 4 we catered a meal at the local golf course where one of my cousins is the manager. The Rexburg fireworks are set off on one of the greens, and we watched the fireworks a hundred yards away. It was a great celebration!

We had those in the family that complained about the changes to our traditional Garn reunion, and we also received a lot of feedback that people wouldn't have come if it hadn't been the way we did it, so overall, it was a success.

On the way home, Geoff and I spent a day in Jackson Hole. We road biked from Mormon Row to Jenny Lake, which was spectacular scenery. We then hiked Phelps Lake, which was also amazing. Wow is that place gorgeous.

In July, Geoff had a board retreat in Maine for several days. At the same time, Adele had signed up for a week-long, herbal intensive in Portland, Maine. It so happened they finished their commitments at the same time, so they took a few days to roadtrip up to Acadia National Park.

Meanwhile, Tennie and her roommate Jayne came for a long weekend. We played games one night, and soon the games were in full costume. These guys are so good at nailing characters.

Geoff and Adele flew to NY to move Adele into a new apartment in Chinatown where her room is the size of a walk-in closet. But Covid rent prices are in the past, and the reality of New York student housing is not as nice as the bright and spacious, East Village apartment she had last year. They then returned to Utah and we took off to McCall for two weeks where all worked and/or edited around time in the woods and at the lake. It was low-key.

Geoff's sister Ingrid and family, and Tennie's friend Jayne came for a few days...

Oh how we love that place!

Tennie and Jayne headed off a little early to spend a week in Lake Powell with Jayne's family, and we soaked in the last days.

There were some other random happenings during the summer months. Tennie came up and joined Adele, Ceci and me at a swim party with the Serafins, Horlachers and Parrys, all friends from their young childhood.

We went to Sundance a few times, a favorite local spot. And Adele and I got away for a one-on-one hike.

We attended Geoff's sister Nikki's grand opening of her second Zulu Grill location.

Geoff, Ceci and I went on a hike to Solitude Lake.

There is always the regular crazy.

We gathered with Geoff's family for various birthdays throughout the summer.

Geoff's dad stumbled across this old picture of him and Geoff's mom (looking at each other in the foreground) when at a Swiss, Christian commune in the Swiss Alps.

And before our family split in different directions, we topped off an amazing summer with the third annual Ruffian Film Festival put on by Adele and Ceci. During Covid, it was very small and at our home, and while this was still very intimate, it has grown. It was held at the Powder Mountain Sky Lodge. There were three films shown (one was their Amazon documentary!), live music and desert. Again, these two planned the whole event. They had put in long hours to pull off getting their film ready in time, but finished it at noon the day of the event! I didn't get too many pictures, but here is a little taste and a few of their guests.

Adele headed back to NY for her junior year and a new research job with a professor she loved last year. She loves to take a very full load, and once she is in NY, we don't hear much from her!

Tennie joined a group of about 40 BYU students to go to Jordan for a semester abroad doing intensive (and I mean intensive!) Arabic. She LOVES it, and she is being stretched in all kinds of good ways.

Ceci is taking a gap year to backpack and woof (working on farms for food and board) and plans to leave by the end of September, if all goes as planned. THIS will be her own biggest adventure yet!

I spent the past several months compiling all of the early letters I wrote pre-blog (eight years!), adding in loose pictures where they belonged, as well as formatting two more blog books (two more to go!) This is an enormous undertaking, and I've given myself deadlines along the way. It is a a process that allows me to go over this chapter of mothering in preparation to close it and prepare for new undertakings and adventures. It has been so rich, stretching, unexpected, thrilling, hard, disappointing, rewarding, joyful and magnificent in every way.

Now it is time for Tennie, Adele and Ceci to record their own stories. This will be my last post. This record-keeping captured what I intended to capture: a childhood. 

There aren't many who have followed along, but for those of you who have, thanks for taking an interest and coming along for the bumpy and beautiful ride. 

April through August - Part 1

 Oh boy, I am behind. Let's see what I can remember...

Tennie wrapped up her job as a TA, as well as a job at the (closing) Bean Museum on campus, traveled to Northern California with her roommate Jayne, drove down the coast and spent a week at Jayne's parent's home in Laguna Niguel before returning back to Provo. She then started a required internship for her Journalism major with an organization out of Washington, D.C. that connects alumni from Middle Eastern Universities with graduates from those universities (those universities do not have alumni organizations that help with networking and job contacts and/or placement). It wasn't the most stimulating experience, but it gave her the flexibility to enjoy spring and summer.

Adele finished up her semester and her Friday afternoon job as a nanny for a young boy.

She had a story published in her school journal, spent a good deal of time in her school's pottery studio, volunteered weekly at a Dave Edgar's writing center, traveled to visit friends who live in the woods outside the city, continued meeting with a writing group she had created, hosted a few yoga/meditation events on her rooftop, made new friends and has created quite a vibrant life in a vibrant city.

Once school was out for Tennie and Adele, Tennie flew to New York and spent a few days with Adele. 

Then Ceci missed the last weeks of school to join them...

Then those three "backpacked" across the country back home, taking trains and buses and sleeping in urban campgrounds and other adventurous places. New York to Chicago to Nashville to Austin to Salt Lake (with a lot of travel and stops in between!)

They loved it.

Ceci had her hands in all kinds of things those last months of school. For starters, she created awesome art for different assignments, and I captured a few pictures of some of them.

She filmed several projects, both for clients and her own. Her equipment and process are legit!

She is one of the lead organizers for the local Fridays for Futures events and protests and was even on the radio for an interview! She was an intern for a Utah senator's campaign (he lost). She continued as the assistant editor for the school newspaper and worked as a mentor at an organization called SpyHop. She participated on a Youth U.N. climate change conference call and was a guest speaker at a Duke University online event talking about climate storytelling. She volunteered at the IRC a couple times. Phew! She was busy, busy.

And then she graduated from high school. A year early.

Unfortunately, there wasn't a lot of hoopla around her big event. She had been on the backpacking adventure just before and was preparing for another big adventure just after, and for a variety of reasons we didn't schedule even an extended family party. So we went to Sundance right after her graduation to eat a nice dinner with our immediate family and Geoff's sister Brittany and her husband Hunter. All of her aunts and uncles had sent in bits of advise and well wishes, which we read during dinner. And that was that.

Meanwhile, Geoff charted the change of the sun through winter to spring, marking where it rose on the wall each morning and marking the time. These little markers are on three walls of our room and are making their way back around, along the route, as fall approaches.

We had a very cold and wet and long spring.

I took a trip to St. George, and while there I visited my high school best friend's brother (who has also remained a friend), Steele, and while at his house, their younger brother Cade stopped by. They feel like family.

And we went to a friend's wedding and saw some ol' Harvard friends.

Geoff with Adam and Matt

And I got together with some Seattle friends to celebrate Heidi's graduation as a nurse practitioner. These ladies have been good friends for many years.

Left to right: Lori, Ashley, Heather, Heidi and me

We went to lunch at Thanksgiving Point during the tulip festival with Geoff's siblings to celebrate his mom's birthday. Here is Geoff with a few of his siblings, Christian and his wife Heather, and Brittany (who is holding Max).

Geoff spoke at an MIT conference in Boston.

On Mother's Day, the girls and Geoff put together a small "zine" with pictures and things they love about me. It was thoughtful and made me feel seen as a mother. I treasure it.

There were many, many other smaller happenings, but this is a glimpse into a spring that is now in, what seems like, the distant past!