dripping with passion

my dad is a quirky guy. first, he suggested and then insisted that we take our family photo in front of a random old house that’s on the way to church in the awesome po-dunk town of dingle, idaho. (yes, eventually the people that live there came home to find forty-one smiling eyres on their lawn…) then, he announced that he wanted some pictures with just his wife and nine children, and that we each were supposed to make a different pose while my niece photographer snapped away. at first not many gave in to making wacky poses… but eventually we realized (as we have in so many other situations throughout the years) that dad wasn’t giving up on doing things his kooky way… so we struck poses. i even got everyone to do my signature squat pose with me for the final frame! we sure love that stubborn, odd fellow. after wonderful church meetings (we had a family testimony meeting outside and then about doubled the sacrament meeting congregation) we had lunch and spiritual discussion...

my dad took my mom to bear lake for their honeymoon. as a wedding gift, he gave her a little plot of land on the east side of the lake. that was 43 years ago. the eyre family hasn’t missed a summer at bear lake since. i don’t think i’ve ever looked forward to the reunion more than this year. i needed to be close to family so dearly. and for those four halycon days last week, it was so good to be together – just the 41 of us! this year my brother tal and his wife anita were in charge of the reunion. i helped them make a pretty awesome schedule board: we had a big breakfast and “opening ceremonies” to kick off the reunion: we were all so excited and gathered close after eating for the annual “song reveal”: every year we each choose one song to contribute to the “reunion cds.” we choose songs that meant something to us that year, or just that make us want to dance. we play the songs one by one and try to guess whose it is by pointing them out: there was so much love in that room that mor...

i really love my hometown. it seems like every time i’ve returned there in the past couple of years i have truly loved it more. salt lake city is so familiar in my bones. the angles of the mountains, the blue of the sky, the wideness of the streets, the dry smell of the air. but also, in other ways, a lot of the city feels so new to me – like a place i would relish exploring. this combination of native and novel intrigues me and endears me to that spot on the globe. while i was in salt lake last week, i stayed downtown in my parent’s condo in the very heart of the city – a heart that seems to be beating so boldly to me. my soul-friends dani and keri came for a sleepover. we walked across the street to temple square – wandered and chatted wrapped up in the perfection of a utah summer night. we laid on the grass as the temple grew brighter and brighter against the cobalt sky. i felt a shimmering, strong love for my hometown as a place where i feel so safe yet also so curious. i had lu...

i drove with noah and kristi and their four kids from san diego to salt lake city. great road trip. we went directly to hires big h, a drive-in diner that is just classic for us. we ate our burgers on the curb in front of the car, in our pajamas (we left san diego super early that morning). the kids were sticky and frizzy and barefoot – clearly displaying twelve hours spent in the back seat of a van. it was awesome. we went to my parent’s house in park city and reunited with our two brothers talmadge and eli. our parents sat us down first thing and told us some big news – they had officially sold the salt lake city house we had all grown up in. for the last couple of years the house had renters in it, and its random closets and attics still held our possessions and memories. two weeks ago some signatures were signed on some lines on some papers and then our lifelong home suddenly and really wasn’t ours anymore. my brothers, parents and i smashed in the car and drove down to augus...

my beloved friend abby is having a baby girl in october! i just had to throw her a little shower during my time in utah this summer. the one day i was available also happened to be the one day that many of our friends were out of town or otherwise busy, but we celebrated heartily with a small group nonetheless.  i have such a love-hate relationship with party planning. but it was so, so much fun to see abby's tiny bump, to imagine what that little girl will be like, and see old and dear friends.  the theme of the shower was sugar and spice and everything nice {that's what little girls are made of} so i made some sugary treats... and some spicy bites... for us to enjoy while we reminisced, caught up and expressed lots of excitement about baby girl. brittany is also expecting and her baby boy #2 is coming any day! lots of junior high and high school memories with these beautiful girls. i sure love my dear girl abby, and can't wa...

this week i am working from salt lake and bear lake. it's a huge blessing and a tricky curse. being here is awfully wonderful. but staying productive while working is awfully hard considering the proximity of these views: july is the best.