From Diane Setterfield's The Thirteenth Tale

People disappear when they die. Their voices, their laughter, the warmth of their breath. Their flesh. Eventually their bones. All living mempry of them ceases. This is both dreadful and natural. Yet for some there is an exception to this annihilation. For in the books they write they continut to exist. We can rediscover them. Their humour, their tone of voice, their moods. Through the written word they can anger you or make you happy. They can comfort you. They can perplex you. They can alter you. All this, even though they are dead. Like flies in amber, like corpses frozen in ice, that which according to the laws of nature should pass away is, by the miracle of ink on paper, preserved. It is a kind of magic.

--Diane Setterfield



Monday, June 1, 2009

Quigley Quibbler May 2009

May was such a fun month! We got the idea from James and Alicia to keep a family book. Part of the family book is a Weekly Planning Page. On these pages are recorded our favorite activities of the week specifically written out for inclusion to this our Quigley Quibbler. The last week of April and into the first week of May we went to the Roozengaard Tulip Fields with Paul and Diane, had a great date night, had family over for dinner at our place and Arren was able to get up and work out each morning. The tulip fields were so impressive. It was late in the season, but there were still blossoms as far as the eye could see. Jaedyn stayed with Pop-pop and Granna Di while Scott and I went to see X-Men Origins. We had a blast, unfortunately the same could not be said for Jaedy or the grandparents… We have a table now and we had Paul and Diane over for dinner. At the table. I was very excited. After we finished James, Alicia and the boys showed up and had their own dinner at our table. We got to show off our apartment and the progress that had been made.

The next week we went to Alicia’s parents for Tres de Mayo and saw the Reflections of Christ traveling gallery. Scott really enjoyed driving the 3000 GT (he has fond memories of Megan when she had the car) and visiting Mamma’s Hands an ‘extended-stay’ shelter for abused women and their children. There are some really great service opportunities and we look forward to visiting again. The women we met were so sweet and the property was SO beautiful. Arren started going to a music group for moms and kids (Jaedyn is the youngest by about 9 months) and had a fabulous time at book club with Maris. Also Arren’s brother, Miles, graduated from Boot Camp that week.

The second week in May we got together with Arren’s Aunt Janelle for lunch. It was so fun to see her again and hear how everyone is doing. Arren also got together with Alicia and her mom and sisters and cleaned house. We moved Alicia’s stuff in and set it all up and turned James’ place from a bachelor pad into a real home. James and the boys were out at a Stake Father-Son Campout while the gals cleaned and they were quite surprised when they came home. Scott also volunteered to do church security for the week. Each night we hopped in the car and took a short walk around the building, checking doors and windows and verifying the lights were out etc.

The week after we were supposed to send out the Quibbler but we were having so much fun with the following:

Helping Paul and Diane move. Well, this was not fun, but it was definitely an adventure for them. We were glad that we could be there to help them the whole day. We did have fun going to the Patterson’s for dinner. Lori is Arren’s cousin and the daughter of Janelle. We met up at their house and I got to meet Lori’s little girls (who are SO CUTE) Dea and Dylan and her husband Derek. For whatever reason I was nervous to visit… I shouldn’t have been. We had a blast! The food was just as I remember Aunt Janelle’s cooking (ie perfect) and the company was amazing. Dea and Dylan are awesome (so endearing!) and it was fun to chat with Lori, Derek and Janelle. Later in the week we got together with Scott’s cousins the Nault’s for pre-wedding festivities. We went to Snoqualmie Falls and hiked to the bottom of the falls. After the hike we went to Kevin and Christie’s place with Bean, Pam and Holly Nault for dinner and a movie. It was fun to make some new friends. Scott enjoyed talking cars and stuff. The girls cooked and took pictures of the babies.

That week Arren also started working on James’ yard. I can do ‘whatever’ and I am hoping to make it look really good. Weeds were pulled, limbs clipped, and seeds planted. Scott surprised Arren with a walk to a nearby park and a picnic waiting at the park. We will have to visit again soon.

Memorial Day we went to a beautiful park for Nault / Hernandez wedding. It was a fabulous day and Arren had a fun time taking pictures of the couple. Wednesday the 27th was our Five Year Anniversary. We dropped Jaedyn off with James and Alicia and drove north. We had a destination in mind, but only got to a riverside park before we decided to stop and eat our picnic lunch. The river was cool, there was a train bridge over it with a cool shack and a live band played music close enough that we caught the quiet sounds of country music. We also had a mini photo shoot of Arren in her wedding dress.

Which fit! Once again Jaedyn did not do so well with the baby sitters, but for some reason everyone still seems to enjoy her company. We started her on a more time strenuous schedule to help our sitters know what to do with her. Friday, Pam Nault and I went to a session at the Seattle Temple. It was fun to have some church-y girl time. That afternoon we (Pam, Holly, Scott, Arren and Jaedyn) went to a park at Lake Washington and hung out. After Bean got off work we split for a picnic and regrouped at the park. We love family and are REALLY enjoying having so many of them around.

Next week we are traveling back to Texas to visit more family. Can’t Wait!

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