I Know That Kirtland Is True.

Bees was visiting from Texas, where he has a crappy job, no friends, and no fun. So Bees and some other HS friends, along with the bloodnugs and some of their HS friends played the craziest game of animal Uno and some Telestrations. 

My Pfizer intern team came in second for trivia and my kickball game happened, despite the rain. I had some key stops that were all accidental. But, hey, not mad. Also, sometimes I like to go boneless.

Babes.

Hannah, Kelloggius, and I took a jaunt up to the great MA for some dinner with the grandparentals. Quotes of the night:

"It takes a lot of rest to get by in this world." -Grampy
"Don't worry, we still sneak Moriah snacks." -Hannah/I
"Oh, we all do." -Mimi
"That's a spiritual question." -Grampy

And the challenge from Mimi that we need to make sure we separate because otherwise no boys will want to be friends with us because we're intimidating. 

The best part of OH.

Hannah and I flew to Cleveland and immediately went to Steak and Shake, where mistakes were made in Hannah's shake choices. Checked into the hotel. Decided to check out the Holden Arboretum in our spare time. This included climbing up a 14-story tree tower and doing a short canopy walk.

On the tree tower. We hate heights. 

During dinner, the YSA guys handed us a list of people to find, i.e. same initials, taller than you, same color car, speaks a language, etc. We sat with an older couple, Gayla and Kelley, as well as some our own age, Jon (pronounced "Yon") and John (pronounced "John"). People would come to our table and we'd just exchange papers with them, in the name of efficiency. We also met Lee, the food guy, who made sure to hook us up with second desserts for every meal.

Canopy walk - cake. 

After dinner, some guy who sure loves Kirtland gave a lengthy presentation about it. Then we heard from Brad Wilcox, my mission prep teacher. Hannah described him as "flamboyant", which I think is accurate. But he's mostly funny. We met some delightful Canadians and also some less delightful ones. We played a few games, but left early because we were sleepy.

Where you can touch anything, but don't pick it up.

Saturday morning, a group of us left to do the historic Kirtland sites: ashery, sawmill, brick hotel, store, etc. We met Sam, who was left by his friends, so we took him in our car with Gayla and Kelley. He helped us during part II, the graveyard service project. We just had to take pictures of all the graves we could and upload them to a site. 

LOTR what.

We ate hamburgers with Jeff, a funny guy who wants to be an OBGYN, a crazy girl who won't stop laughing once she starts, and Ryan, a recent convert from the area. Then we sat through a couple workshops. The first was the story of a really smart guy who went into a coma, lost all his smarts, and didn't get them back until he submitted his will to the Lord's. The second was about smiling. Figures that the lady was a dentist. 

We had a break, and by that I mean nap time. Fried chicken for dinner, which we ate with Ange, Jon, John, and their friend Tom. We met their other friend, Adam, who wore a large purple tie that said 'available' on it. Yikes. It started raining, so we moved inside, where we met Asher, Grayson, and their friend who was mad because we wouldn't tell him where we found a stash of truffles. (With the BYU grad program recruiters...)

There it is. If only they let us ring the bell.

The dance happened. We made Sam teach us his moves and a new guy, Brandon, hung out a bit as well. We helped the ladies in the kitchen field the desserts and Lee made sure we ate some. During slow songs, we got water and snacks and hung outside with Sam and Ange. We also met Noah and company. Also, I saw this kid, Justin, with ice on his arm, so I asked him about it and we somehow ended up having a wall sit competition with him and his brother, Tyler. We let the cripple win.

Sunday, Hannah and I started the line to get into the Kirtland temple for Sacrament meeting. Then volunteered to hand out programs, ensuring that we got quality seats. Only people with red lanyards were supposed to go in, but I just let everyone in. We had plenty of room. 

Apparently, don't touch. Or take pictures here. Our bad.

We ate lunch with Ange and her friend Andrew and Tyler and Justin and Ryan. Justin and Tyler told us about their friend, Ethan, who met a girl with a boyfriend at West Point and he's trying to swoop in. Then the apples spoke and now Tyler and Hannah are destined to get married and Justin and I are going turtle hunting in his backyard. 

Meant to be. #MakingFriendsWithBears #6andUP

We hit up the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame before our plane. It was lit, as Grampy would say. What good music. At the start, it shows a bunch of quotes and clips of people trying to ban rock and roll because they thought it was bad, and it reminded me of my dad talking about rap music. I still enjoy both genres. We passed through steak and shake before airplaning back to MA. 

Elvis' suit. Whatup.

Now our house is so hot and humid and mom won't let us turn on the A/C please send help.

Yo This Week Was Lit

Lightspeed recap:

I went to the orthodontist at least twice for a new retainer, played Uno at least 24 rounds, and created a Disney playlist on my phone of over 100 songs. I read three books, including The Giver, a childhood fave. I found a stuffed bear in my storage box and Moriah immediately claimed it.

Alex is a new intern in my department who is also older than most of the other ones, so we laugh at their timidity on a frequent basis. I found a new website, MuseScore, which has a plethora of sheet music freely available.

And I'm helping everyone in my family increase their muscles and decrease their reaction times by randomly going boneless on them. Needless to say, it's hilarious.

Favorite.

Saturday I met the parentals at the temple for Kayla's endowment session. As Grampy will tell you, it was lit. Then The Chin, Kellogius, Mimi, Grampy, and I ate steak.

I drove through ridiculous traffic to get to Brigham Street, where I introduced Grampy to Hamilton. He loves it. After showing him how to access the entire playlist with lyrics, we had a little sing-along. And drank grape juice. And photoboothed.

These kids. 

I made it back to Attleboro just in time for Brittany Bishaw's wedding reception. Where I was again fed steak. And the valet crew were impressed with my car quick change into a skirt.

Then the Providence, RI stake got split up, I wore my favorite mission dress, and nobody asked me to give a talk. Yet.

Ode to Moriah: You the Real MVP

Moriah: Easily most sane person in this family. Literally everyone loves her and she makes us happy just thinking about her. How does she work this witchcraft??

She'll just calmly sit there all day, getting up only to close the door when little scums leave it open. She's so happy to see anyone come home and she'll pretend whatever new craft she made is only for you. Then she'll tell you all about her day and by that I mean what she ate all day, because she knows what's important.

Then if you ask her what she wants to do, and she's already eaten, she'll say Let's play a game. Let's play Uno. Because she knows it's a classic. Then this slimy dog will hit you with every Draw 2 and Draw 4 known to man and still let you win. Then openly call you the Uno King.

So Moriah has a very distinct way of talking and it's kind of hard to understand sometimes. But this one time, we were playing Uno and Xander got hit with like six Draw 2's (and you know those suckas build) and he said, Moriah, I need you to play a Draw 2 now! And Moriah just calmly looks in her cards for about five minutes and finally says, in the most serene and eloquent voice I've ever heard,  I'm sorry, Xander, but I cannot do that.

She hates exercise and is very content to literally sit there all day waiting for someone to leave the door open. But sometimes we try to get her to do stuff anyways because she eats enough food for three grown men. And because she knows I like exercise, she'll be all excited to show me her pushup. And then Mom will make her go outside and run around the house and she'll hate it the whole time and say things like, My heart is bleeding! I think my leg is broken!

Then, randomly this week, I was like, What are we doing tonight?  And Moriah said, Hiking? And it just knocked my socks off and we all said, Oh heeeckkk, yes. So we walked down the street and went on a one-mile hike at Glacier Park and she loved it and climbed over all the rocks and was so good at seeing the blue trail markers.

And all Moriah really thinks about is food and when the next time is that she can eat. Oatmeal or sandwiches or bagels or bacon. But the other day, Moriah finished her dinner and was still hungry and said Ok, I know that dinner's done and I'm not gonna complain. But can we have a movie night?

And also Moriah hates watching movies, but ever since we set up our stadium seating and projector she wants to have movie nights every night. And her favorite movie is Star Wars. And if you want to make popcorn, she's ok with it.

And Moriah is just happy to spend time with you. It doesn't really matter what you're doing. Like yesterday she literally spent the whole day helping people clean. She helped me clean the basement and library and family room and Hannah clean the bathroom and Dad do yard work. She cleaned more than anyone in this family. And in the middle of helping me clean the library, she just stops and looks at me and says, Nomi, I think you're awesome. And those are the best words that have ever been spoken to me.

Sometimes Moriah gets mad because she's a teenager and sometimes Mom asks her to do ridiculous things that make zero logical sense. And whenever I can tell she's mad, I make her stand up and I keep giving her hugs until she laughs and it's the easiest thing.

While I was cleaning, I paused in the middle to look at a large pile of junk I was forbidden to throw away and wondering what to do with it and Moriah asks, What are you doing?And I said, Oh, you know, just being mad. And Moriah just comes up to me, laughing already, and says,  Okay, hug? And keeps hugging me until I promise I'm not mad anymore.

And Moriah always wants to go on errands with me and so we'll always listen to rap music - like the good kind with a great beat and unparalleled lyrical mastery and obviously I'll sing along and Moriah will get really into it and just bang her head up and down and one day Moriah wrote a rap.

And she is the best of all the Hutchins dancers. And sometimes I make her watch dance videos on YouTube with me and we try to copy them and even though Moriah doesn't need that she does it anyways.

Not to mention she is a clutch poser. This girl is the most creative. Singer / songwriter / model / actress / comedian / Uno King / Summer Schooler / etc. And that's why I love Moriah.

And if you wanted a recap of my week, here's the DL shortlist:

Started work. Lunched at a pavilion on site. 

Scarlet Pimperneled. Muzzied. Kuzco'd. 

Painting 5 / 25. This one's for Kev. Scuttlebutt and all.

Worshipped the blessed Motha. 

Interim

Week one at the homefront and changes are already afoot. After an early morning arrival, Kev and I were soon on our way to the YSA Ward. Everyone else was more excited than I. We ended up staying longer because the President had organized a soup kitchen volunteer trip.

Monday I started working on the Goliath task that is our basement playroom. Which has not seen human hands in literal years. Over the course of two days, I spent over eight hours in that room with only marginal progress (mostly since I have limited trashing privileges) and the spider population (alive and DEAD) is facing extinction. Goodwill, the school clothes drive, and the mall book drive are eagerly awaiting my next trip.

With Moriah as my travel buddy, who doesn't
want to go to Goodwill? Again?

Unfortunately, respiration of dust and dead spiders (and dead people, Mom says) is not healthy for a human. My sinuses were clogged, my eyes slowly closing on themselves, and my brain was very fuzzy. Just how I like to spend my week off. As an invalid. It was a perfect situation for finishing off two thousand page books.

I'm the Uno King.

I spent some time at the dentist getting my teeth cleaned, at the doctor getting respirator fitted, and at the optometrist speaking French with my Haitian friend Emile while Mom was verifying that the cataracts haven't completely taken over her vision yet. (Soon....)

Wednesday was Star Wars day. (May the fourth be with you :). So I, needing to show off the cool things I learned in college, rearranged our family room, borrowed a projector from the church, and bought a new HDMI cord. Movie night for dayyysss (including the newest Star Wars, Space Jam, and Concussion).

That stadium seating is clutch though.

I also started my other summer project: digitalizing many a photo. Which leaves me plenty of time in between scans to mess around on the internet. And combine peoples' faces to see what kind of babies they would make together.

Mom/Mom and Dad/Dad

Derek/Shannon

Mom/Dad

Saturday Moriah and I chauffeured Xander to his soccer games all morning. At night, Kevin and I went to game night with a bunch of juniors and seniors in HS. A couple ride seekers showed up at chez les Hutchins just in time for family scriptures and were quoting Number 33 for the rest of the night. What an impact.

Mother's Day was celebrated with all the gumption it merits. All were happy except Dad, because nobody would pay attention to him or give him chocolate. (I somehow landed all the extras, on the other hand. And I DID share with him.) We ukulele'd impromptu songs to Lavinia's basketball game. We feasted on Salisbury steak and potatoes. And Kevin and I left Mom a surprise never to be forgotten. (Though maybe for the wrong reasons....)

Beautiful bouquet, picture of Lavinia in a frame
Kev and I decorated, a bag of faux-poop...
We sure love our mom.

 She wonders where we get these ideas, but let me tell you a story. Today, Moriah starts drawing a picture of our whole family. She gets to me and Mom says, Who's that? Moriah says, Nomi. Mom says, You should draw her pooping. We are kindreds.

Naomi pooping, by Moriah.

Shennsley Joins the Fam

I worked as a substitute for Christina again. I'm still concerned at how easy it was to get into that school. And at how little Caden is pushed. Just because he's small and difficult doesn't mean you let him win at Junior Monopoly.

Chief of Police? Or Chief of the dance floor?

I went to the Provo City temple and outlasted everyone in the Celestial Room. I could have sat there longer.

Papa Bear's my guy. We didn't even get reprimanded once in the temple.

I drug tested for my Pfizer employment. The guy showed me the bathroom and said Fill up the cup to the line, and don't flush the toilet. Well, I got one outta two.

Welcome to the fam, Shennsley.

Lauren (AT) and I caught up over Costa Vida. She dropped out of the program and is living the dream.

Lauren Bellon is memorizing the Nations of the World song. Lauren Rigby let me eat her cookies and interpreted the nature of my ego, future spouse, and family via how I picture a box, horse, and ladder.

Laurens are my favorite.

Christina really came to the rescue by driving me up to SLC so I could spend the night with Wheeler and Dee. As promised, we made art by smashing paint-filled balloons onto canvases. We also enjoyed French cuisine and Harry Potter.

In the morning, Wheeler and I ate plunderschnecke as we took a turn about the city. Cities are nice. So is Wheeler. He's one of the 'normals'.

We liked this bear.

I met Ben and Hannah at the airport. Hannah forgot her government ID so she had to pass special screening. Which showed she had radioactive material on her hands. She eventually got through. Which was good, because we saw the most attractive man ever on the plane.

Ready for UnoForDayyyyss.

We drove through the humid and heavily-trafficked streets of Houston, TX to get to the Hennsley's house for a BBQ. We met the family (gaining Uncle Steve's approval) and the bridal party. Hannah opened my eyes to White Chicks and we kept calling everyone "White Chocolate" for the rest of the weekend.

Party Table.

After setting up the reception hall and getting ready, we went to the temple for the wedding of the century. It was well done. Dad only cried a little.

Next time we get together will be in ten years when someone else gets married.

We got a quick shake snack and headed to the reception, where we copied Derek's infamous dance move and learned a new one from Greg.

Whataburger does it right.

Saturday we basically packed and headed to the airport. We ate killer nachos with Greg and some pilots. Then we slept. Then we boarded. And slept. And I wrote a screenplay. We got home by 3.

Photocred: Funcle Aaron. Hoods up, playas.