Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from the Rileys in Florida! December 2013
2013 was a momentous year for our family: Eliza and Madi graduated from high school and left for college. Lyrad and I are down to 2 children living at home. We are quite the All-American family now with a mom, dad, and 1.7 children (Josh is the 0.7 due to his height, NOT due to his personality). Though it is very peaceful with so few of us at home, I look forward to Christmas Day with Eliza and Madi here and a skype call from Isaac from…?? I don’t know where. He just flew from Ukraine to Sofia, Bulgaria the week before Christmas, to renew his visa. He could be there for up to a month, due to bureaucracy. He’s already busy studying Bulgarian, which is slightly similar to Russian. Isaac is learning communication skills, patience, and languages while on his mission.
After Christmas 2012, we took a 3-day trip to
In March, we took a spring break trip to St. Augustine (oldest continuously-inhabited city in the USA, founded in 1565) on the FL east coast (6 hours away). We walked on the old Spanish fort, ate gelato, and explored a pirate museum in the “tourist trap” town. Our favorite part of the trip was playing Bocce Ball on the coast next to the fort, and also at a rest stop on our drive there – the winner got to pick the dinner restaurant. After Josh won, he was on the lookout for a steakhouse to torment Eliza and Madi (who eat no animal products).
During the summer, Josh felt like an only child (which has its advantages, except when it’s time for chores: “Time to wash dishes! Josh – looks like it’s YOU again!”). Rachel was gone with band, Girl’s Camp, EFY, river rafting, and photo shoots and beach trips with her cousin (visiting from CO) and best friend (who stayed with us before she moved away). When Rachel finally was home for a few days at a time, she announced that she was on a quest to “regain her lost childhood.” I wondered if she meant staying settled and enjoying a summer of not moving to a new country/state. But, no; Rachel had a list of all the animated Disney movies she had missed out on as a child. I didn’t feel much sympathy over that “lost childhood,” but I did let her watch a few movies.
Eliza and Madi both worked 2 jobs all summer in Destin (the town next to us on the Emerald Coast with the most beautiful beaches in the world). Both enjoyed meeting tourists from all over the world. Eliza worked at Candy-maker, a gourmet touristy candy shop. We loved all the “rejects” she brought home – but it was dangerous to have all those caramel clusters calling out to me whenever I
opened the fridge. She also worked at Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. So she dipped caramel apples by day and quizzed tourists on "Forrest Gump" trivia by night. Madi worked at
Hollister (clothing store) and as a hostess at Back Porch
|
(busiest beachfront seafood restaurant on the panhandle). Since they drove together to Destin each day and waited for each other to start and finish work, each of them had many hours to hang out at the beach before heading off to their landlocked college states. Eliza left in August to take a Late Summer Honors Shakespeare class at BYU a week before fall semester began. She loved her semester in Helaman Halls with her roommate she knew in Texas, while also reuniting with friends she knew from St. Louis, CA, Germany, England, and Guam (it truly is a small world in the LDS military community). Eliza loved her Adventures in Provo, such as earning a front row spot for the BYU vs. Texas football game by refusing to leave during the freezing 3 hour hurricane, and studying German with a professor who is a former Hitler Youth. Eliza surprised us with a phone call in October announcing her decision to go on a mission next semester! She sent in her papers on Nov. 11 and received her call on Nov. 22, to be a missionary for 18 months, starting April 2. She plans to return to BYU for block classes in January and February and take Geology 101 and French 101 (which might help if she serves in Belgium). A few days ago, she celebrated finishing finals by getting four wisdom teeth extracted the day before she flew back home to FL for Christmas (& survived two 8-hour-delays at 2 airports - quite a trip!).
Madi left for BYU-I in September and has loved her college classes, clubs (stage manager of Battle of the Bands), 5 roommates, dates, kitchen, and new friends. Some favorites were playing in the snow, bonfires at the sand dunes, and conference weekend in a cabin in the mountains.
Josh spent his summer learning every line from the musical “Les Miserables” as he spent hours each week at the theater. He loved being on stage and was excited to try out for a play in the fall: “Miracle in
Lately we’ve heard not only Christmas music, but also lots of “Sound of Music” singing around here, practicing for auditions. Josh has been practicing his high note in “So Long, Farewell…Good-BYE!!!” As we’ve seen years fly by and children grow up and leave, Lyrad’s song (as Clarence the Angel) really hits home. He sang, “Summers come, winters go, how the seasons race by, Hold on to those moments when green fields of clover grow where the children play…Seize every moment, all your life long, before those moments are gone.” We wish you happiness in remembering happy times with loved ones. We wish you peace and joy this Christmas season as you remember the birth and life of our Savior. And we send our love and best wishes to you for a wonderful 2014. Love, the Rileys
|
Quotable Quotes:
On a drive across
After I read about someone’s “late wife” in our read-aloud book, Josh told me a little later: “Dad should refer to YOU as his late wife, because you’re always late.”
The children were looking through old scrapbooks, laughing at photos of themselves around age 11. “That was my awkward stage!” laughed one sister, pointing at a photo. “And that was MY awkward stage,” Rachel pointed at another. Josh was enjoying this and laughing with them and asked to look at photos of HIS awkward stage. The girls became quiet and looked at him for a few seconds, until Rachel explained, “Josh, you’re IN your awkward stage right now.”
One day tired Rachel (who leaves the house at 5:40 a.m.) asked if I’d make her lunch for her. “What could I make? You’re too picky,” I replied. She had a helpful suggestion: “I like pizza and I like ice cream. Work around that.”
Josh’s mind works in mysterious ways: “Have you ever wondered what it would feel like to sit on a barbeque and eat yourself? Like if your bottom half is cooking and your top half is not?”
After I put Christmas treats out on the table, Rachel asked if I could hide them so she wouldn’t eat any more of them. “In the family of 5 kids that I grew up in, I learned that if it’s sitting out – EAT IT,” she explained.
When Josh was circling on a world map all the places he’s visited, he took me off guard with this question: "Mom, did we have a hangover in Australia?" Then after a pause: "I mean, a layover?"
When Lyrad was out of town, I was debating whether to eat a very rich dessert. Josh piped in with his helpful advice: "Eat all you want and turn the video off of Skype" (when I'm talking to Lyrad). And another incentive to eat all I want, according to Josh? "It will keep the other men away," he reassured me.
Josh as Frodo Baggins
|
Sorbetto in St. Augustine, FL
Lyrad and his mom going for a ride
Eliza with Cosmo the Cougar / Josh
Bailey family from "It's a Wonderful Life"
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this letter are those of Alicia Riley and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of other Riley family members, especially the 3 who are not living at home and are unable to defend themselves from possible (and unintentional) libel.
In honor of our twins, no animals have been harmed or eaten during the writing of this letter.
|
Isaac’s Top Ten
1) Baptisms -- few and far between, but the
highlight of his year (despite the low water pressure which leads to very
shallow water, which leads to people having to kneel down in the font)
2) Ukrainian food – sausage, sala (slabs of fat),
borscht (beet soup), and kontiks (chocolate covered cookies) – and learning
to cook Ukrainian meals
3) Ping Pong -- the church buildings have
tables, so they play often and Isaac is on an undefeated streak
4) Having a piano in his current apartment in
Lugansk (on the Russian border) -- he gets to practice daily and plays at
church
5) Languages – He studies scriptures in
Russian, German, and French. Lately he’s studying Ukrainian and Bulgarian,
too. A member asked him to translate something from Portuguese (because it
uses our same alphabet) to Russian and he managed it. He wants to pursue
languages in his future career…
6) Receiving e-mails, letters, DearElders,
photos, and bi-annual packages with American treasures such as hot sauce and
peanut butter
7) Trees and springtime, after a long, bitter
cold winter in which he’s outside most of the day
8) When someone thinks he’s a native European
9) Bonfires when cleaning stuff (abandoned by
previous missionaries) out of an apt -- burning all the old Ensigns, clothes,
etc, and making s’mores over the fire
10) Pday Soccer (which is too rare for his
liking)
Eliza’s Top Ten
1) Getting called to serve in the
2) Graduating magna cum laude from high school
and heading off to BYU in
3) Violin recital starring her 2 violin
students
4) Attending October’s Saturday morning
General Conference session – after holding “2 tickets please”
signs outside the
5) Great salad bar in the
6) Spontaneous road trips
with the BYU triathlon team (club) to
7) Going on a courtside BYU basketball date and having dinner with
BYU President Cecil Samuelson with a frequent customer at the Cougareat
Chick-fil-A (where she works part-time)
8) "Apple Schmearing":
Smuggling about 48 not-so-delicious Red Delicious apples out of the
9)
Conducting a case study (based on personal experience) that proves
that the average college student can function well with about 3.5 hours of
sleep
10) Celebrating finishing finals by getting
four wisdom teeth extracted the day before she flies back home to FL for
Christmas
|
My (Alicia’s) Top Ten
1) Watching Eliza open her mission call over
skype
2) Monday morning e-mails from
3) Watching Josh on stage: in chorus, band, or
a play
4) Watching Lyrad as Clarence the Angel on
stage
5) Running my first (and last) half-marathon
6) My Classics Book Club – discussing
Screwtape Letters, Christmas Carol, etc., with 13 friends
7) Weekly French Lessons – taught by my native
French friend. Though I SHOULD call them “Life Lessons” because we also
discuss parenting, recipes, books, politics, and family history (in English)
8) Texts, letters, and photos sent from Madi
at college
9) Road trips with just Eliza: 9 hours south
for a prom date, and 35 hours to BYU in
10) Finally finishing The Brothers Karamazov
on my 4th attempt. Since
I’m not learning to speak Russian along with Isaac, I decided to study
Russian novels instead. There must have been a contest in
Hen
house and rabbit hutch, built by Lyrad and Josh
Rachel’s Top
Ten
1) Going from being the 4th child and the
Little Sister, to being the Top Dog around the house
2) A 2-week-long summer band camp at FSU in
3) EFY in
4) Pumpkin or Peppermint Ice Cream (not just on its
respective holiday, but all month long)
5) Theme Days at school – especially when she gets to wear
Eeyore footie pajamas
6) Making a fire in our fireplace on the rare evenings when
our thermometer falls below 65
7) Playing flute in the stands during football games,
especially in the state game in
8) Hanging out with her awesome YW leaders – especially on
temple trips to
9) Raiding her sisters’ closet after they left for college
10 Her braces came off: she could “officially” eat taffy
and popcorn and gum again (oh wait! She never gave those up)
|
Josh’s Top Ten
1) Turning 12, leaving primary, and receiving
the Aaronic priesthood
2) Singing with his school choir (Ambassadors)
3) Getting a real bedroom once Madi left for
college (he was in the porch/storage room before!)
4) Playing Red Rover at his birthday party at
the beach with 20+ friends
5) Being a street urchin in 7 shows of “Les
Miserables” at the college
6) Putting together a Frodo Baggins costume,
wearing it to school in October, winning the 7th grade costume
contest, then using his winning gift card to go see “The Hobbit”
7) Building a tree house with Lyrad – it’s very
high and very big (and very lonely up there)
8) Winning the rec soccer tournament (a great
ending to a not-so-good season)
9) Decorating his trombone with a wreath,
Christmas lights, and a stocking for marching in the city’s Christmas parade
10) Landing the part of Kurt Von Trapp in
"Sound of Music" for 6 shows in March
Madi’s Top Ten
1) Rexburg and BYU-Idaho and everything about it
2) Spending Thanksgiving with Grandma and Grandpa
in northern CA – she loved catching up
with cousins, uncles, and aunts
3) Exploring raw vegan/clean eating, & treats
made with Yonanas (appliance that makes bananas into soft-serve)
4) Studying and speaking German (she’s VP of
BYU-I’s German Club)
5) Majoring in International Studies/Global
Health with a minor in German
6) Ending her senior year with a bang:
participating in the "Miss NHS Pageant" and competing in pole vault
and high jump on the track team
7) Teaching 5-year-olds in primary over the
summer
8) Doing Insanity workouts with her roommate
every night
9) Outings to Seaside, the cute beach town
where "The Truman Show” was filmed
10) Exciting plans for next semester: she’ll be teaching
English to children in Voronezh, Russia, from February-May with ILP (with many side trips
planned)
Lyrad’s Top Ten
1) His job – delivering babies and teaching FP
residents
2) Raising 4 hens for 6 months and enjoying 3
eggs daily, until a neighbor complained and the sheriff told us we had to get
rid of them (and- NO! we did not eat them. They were beloved pets)
3) Watching Rachel perform with the 275-member
marching band at football games
4) Riding his motorcycle (with a pick-up truck,
go-cart, and motorcycle, does that qualify him as a Redneck?)
5) Hiking in Yellowstone with Madi past mud pots
and geysers, when he took her out to
Idaho in September
6) Singing bass with his barbershop quartet “The
Four Gospels”
7) Teaching an obstetrics course to midwives in
Belize
8) Presenting at a Global Health Conference in
Baltimore
9) Projects with Cub Scouts involving wood &
power tools
10) Acting as Clarence the angel in a community
theater show with Josh – he danced the Charleston, bit a policeman and earned
his wings
|
Quotes
from
(from Isaac’s emails):
“
“I miss Elder P just like I missed Elder
G, but putting down roots and getting them torn out is just the life of a
missionary.”
“Talking to people who are even slightly
drunk is like mud wrestling with a pig... Drunk guys sure have a
way of keeping life interesting for us missionaries.”
“It's interesting how a week that feels
so remarkably monotonous most of the time can sound so eventful when you
condense it into a few paragraphs of highlights. It can be fairly encouraging
to review a week with the benefit of hindsight.” (that’s also how I feel about writing this annual letter!)
“
“One
elder is the kind of guy who's
always scandalized that I've never seen some movie, but hasn't ever
heard of Atticus Finch or Joe Gargery, and would probably think Jean
Valjean was some kind of karate. But we get along somehow.”
“The
members here love to feed us. There were a couple days when I felt like I
couldn't eat any more. Then, heroically, I did.”
“The way I see it, I'm like a waiter,
bringing out the greatest feast there is. My job is to present it well and in a
timely manner, and then it's up to the guests to enjoy it or not. I can't force
them to eat, and if they don't, there's not much I can do about it. As long as
I'm a good waiter, I don't need to worry. С новым годом! Любовьб, Старейшина Райли.” _________________
Rileys 2417 Roberts Dr.
aliciaburkriley@yahoo.com
rileysinca.blogspot.com
|
Photos showed up on the letter when I emailed it, but since it was such a large document I decided not to email it out. So here are some photos instead:
.JPG)
.JPG)
.jpg)
.JPG)
.jpg)
.JPG)
.png)
1 comment:
I just LOVE your Christmas letter! Miss you all so much!!
Post a Comment