Jeny and Mark's Kids

My children are the best. That’s all. All your children are pretty great, but mine win. After all, how many of you still say, “I thmell a thmell” ? See? They really do win!

Tara is my happy (but not too happy, that wouldn’t be cool) artistic historian. She loves to learn new things and read, and she is always humming or singing. She hates melted cheese and yard work. She wants to learn to cook without doing it. She is very sensitive, but hates to let anyone know. She cries in sad movies, and not so sad movies (remember Rigoletto?) and has this great ability to not have a pink, soggy face when she’s finished crying. Tara plans on becoming a historical fiction author who illustrates her own books. She likes everyone and gets along with everyone, but is super shy and doesn’t go out of her way to be with people she doesn’t know. I have often stomped up to her bedroom door with the intent of yelling at her to put down the book and turn off the light, only to see that she was reading her scriptures, and how can you yell at a child for that? She’s just a really good person.

Spencer, on the other hand . . . no he’s a good person, too! He just turned 18 and hasn’t done anything old, so he says. He likes to have a big group of friends around all the time, and when they aren’t around he likes to bang – I mean play – the piano or read a book. He’s a lot like me so we often get on each other’s nerves. He has very strong opinions and loves to garden and read. He likes to play hockey, but doesn’t get the chance very often, and I just learned that he’s a pretty good surfer. No big waves yet, but he looks great! He loves all living things – especially creepy crawly things. If something moves outside he starts after it with the intention of catching it. (remember t-ball and the bugs in the field?) He has been bitten by snakes, cicadas (I know they don’t bite, but they do stick their sucky thing in you if they think you’re a stick), spiders, a lizard, Spot (again and again, but not anymore), cats, etc. Right now he plans on a career in architecture or something medical. He has time to figure it out, so we just encourage all of his choices.