http://www.marcuccis.com/index.php Copyright 2012, Stephanie Marcucci Stephanie Marcucci en-US SPHPBLOG 0.4.7.1 http://www.marcuccis.com/index.php?entry=entry110815-152626
Kindergarten. Wow.

It was certainly a group effort. Grammy is not only keeping the boys in check, but me as well. She lays out clothes, makes lunches, picks up and drops off---all with a lot of love.

Auntie snapped pictures and we were off.

When we got there, the boys found their names painted on a sign outside their classroom doors. They felt welcome immediately. When their teachers opened their doors, they found their name tags and smiled a reassuring smile; they knew they were supposed to be there.

Kellen got into his classroom and sat at attention immediately, ready to learn. Grant got into his classroom, tapped his fingers on the table and looked around in cool motion, just taking it all in.

After school they were thrilled. They loved it and wanted to go back. A good day. ---SM




























]]> http://www.marcuccis.com/index.php?entry=entry110815-152626 Stephanie Marcucci Mon, 15 Aug 2011 22:26:26 GMT http://www.marcuccis.com/comments.php?y=11&m=08&entry=entry110815-152626 http://www.marcuccis.com/index.php?entry=entry110813-145726
The temple is a good place to be and visit often---surrounded by good friends and a little piece of heaven. Married people often say that they are able to silently "renew their vows" whenever they attend weddings subsequent to their own, and today I was able to reflect on a really good run at being married. I am grateful for that.

Happy Birthday, Justin! ---SM



]]> http://www.marcuccis.com/index.php?entry=entry110813-145726 Stephanie Marcucci Sat, 13 Aug 2011 21:57:26 GMT http://www.marcuccis.com/comments.php?y=11&m=08&entry=entry110813-145726 http://www.marcuccis.com/index.php?entry=entry110809-224842
Kellen was a champ when he went splat; and so were the teenaged life guards who carried him out to the car; and so was our dentist, who met us at her office at 7:30 p.m. so that we didn't have to take a trip to the E.R. ---SM

]]> http://www.marcuccis.com/index.php?entry=entry110809-224842 Stephanie Marcucci Wed, 10 Aug 2011 05:48:42 GMT http://www.marcuccis.com/comments.php?y=11&m=08&entry=entry110809-224842 http://www.marcuccis.com/index.php?entry=entry110808-203643








]]> http://www.marcuccis.com/index.php?entry=entry110808-203643 Stephanie Marcucci Tue, 09 Aug 2011 03:36:43 GMT http://www.marcuccis.com/comments.php?y=11&m=08&entry=entry110808-203643 http://www.marcuccis.com/index.php?entry=entry110807-161538
Well, probably not. So I'll settle for a get-away every so often with friends and family!

Matt and Kate packed a lot into a little bit of time, from early-morning walks on the beach and roasting s'mores to lighthouse walkabouts and restaurant visits---all with six kids in tow. It was a beautiful thing, especially when I got to put my feet up and just enjoy the beach and the view. Couldn't have been more perfect. ---SM

At the Beach








Around Santa Cruz




















]]> http://www.marcuccis.com/index.php?entry=entry110807-161538 Stephanie Marcucci Sun, 07 Aug 2011 23:15:38 GMT http://www.marcuccis.com/comments.php?y=11&m=08&entry=entry110807-161538 http://www.marcuccis.com/index.php?entry=entry110729-220232
1. Lennox
2. Lennox holding an action figure of the Book of Mormon prophet, Moroni
3. A giant stuffed dog
4. The Australian Monkey throw (nice, Danielle!)

Lennox sleeps with so many objects in his bed, and usually in his hands, too, that every night gives me something to smile about before I go to sleep. That is one of heaven's little gifts to parents (and aunts, like Staci, who took this picture). ---SM

]]> http://www.marcuccis.com/index.php?entry=entry110729-220232 Stephanie Marcucci Sat, 30 Jul 2011 05:02:32 GMT http://www.marcuccis.com/comments.php?y=11&m=07&entry=entry110729-220232 http://www.marcuccis.com/index.php?entry=entry110726-075236
I have to say that one of my favorite things a few weeks ago was when Michelle called me and said, "Do you want to go fabric shopping?" We planned a date and when it came I was like a kid in a candy shop. I have dreamed of designing my own nursery instead of buying what was available at the store, but never had the sewing skills. I got to walk around three fabric stores and pick out whatever I wanted. Even if I wasn't sure, Michelle said, "Just put it in the basket and we'll look at it when we're all through and then decide." And that's what we did. She has the patience of Job and the sewing skills of Charlotte (from Charlotte's Web---magnificent!). Can't wait to show off the room when it's done! ---SM













]]> http://www.marcuccis.com/index.php?entry=entry110726-075236 Stephanie Marcucci Tue, 26 Jul 2011 14:52:36 GMT http://www.marcuccis.com/comments.php?y=11&m=07&entry=entry110726-075236 http://www.marcuccis.com/index.php?entry=entry110724-133211 Woman, the Pioneer." The dance highlighted women on the trek headed West toward Salt Lake City. We wore heavy-fabrics and long- sleeved and skirted dresses, and a few of the highlighted women were those who had lost everything---their babies, their husbands, their crops, in the name of making a better life for themselves without religious persecution. I always felt like that time period we represented on stage was an important one but was somehow far removed from my own life.

Today, on the 24th of July, in the LDS culture, we celebrate those women and men with the memorial called Pioneer Day, and although I didn't plan it this way, I ended up wearing a long(er)- sleeved and skirted dress (even though it was mostly vanity to cover my swollen (c)ankles!), and I find myself pregnant without my husband, as did many of the women so long ago. I think of my great-great grandmother who, after suffering extreme frost bite from walking the across hundreds of miles of plains in the winter, lost her legs as a little girl and then bore more than a dozen children. I get strength from her story and my heritage in a way now that I never did growing up and listening to my grandmother tell the story.

I also noted in Relief Society at church today that on the request to update our family information, I was listed as "head of household," which was strange to me when most of the other entries listed the father or priesthood holder. Little things like that are not necessarily painful---I mean, I am fine with that title---but they are real reminders that my husband is really gone, and I miss him.

I guess that makes me a pioneer of the modern age. I am driving an analogous family wagon and heading my team, and I get to do it with the support of lots of family and friends along the way. I am grateful for the knowledge I have, especially on this Pioneer Day, that I am doing a work on this earth that expands to greater realms than just what exists in mortality and that I will understand it all one day and it will all make sense.

I know the Pioneers felt the same way. ---SM

]]> http://www.marcuccis.com/index.php?entry=entry110724-133211 Stephanie Marcucci Sun, 24 Jul 2011 20:32:11 GMT http://www.marcuccis.com/comments.php?y=11&m=07&entry=entry110724-133211 http://www.marcuccis.com/index.php?entry=entry110722-232059
]]> http://www.marcuccis.com/index.php?entry=entry110722-232059 Stephanie Marcucci Sat, 23 Jul 2011 06:20:59 GMT http://www.marcuccis.com/comments.php?y=11&m=07&entry=entry110722-232059 http://www.marcuccis.com/index.php?entry=entry110718-021539


]]> http://www.marcuccis.com/index.php?entry=entry110718-021539 Stephanie Marcucci Mon, 18 Jul 2011 09:15:39 GMT http://www.marcuccis.com/comments.php?y=11&m=07&entry=entry110718-021539 http://www.marcuccis.com/index.php?entry=entry110717-020014









[Above: This one was a shot Grant took. Notice in most of these, my head is always chopped off. I guess that's a good thing since he's really focusing in on the baby bump!]]]> http://www.marcuccis.com/index.php?entry=entry110717-020014 Stephanie Marcucci Sun, 17 Jul 2011 09:00:14 GMT http://www.marcuccis.com/comments.php?y=11&m=07&entry=entry110717-020014 http://www.marcuccis.com/index.php?entry=entry110716-155436
Goodbye, broken chair. You will now be small enough to fit in our tiny garbage can. You served us well. ---SM

]]> http://www.marcuccis.com/index.php?entry=entry110716-155436 Stephanie Marcucci Sat, 16 Jul 2011 22:54:36 GMT http://www.marcuccis.com/comments.php?y=11&m=07&entry=entry110716-155436 http://www.marcuccis.com/index.php?entry=entry110715-225020
]]> http://www.marcuccis.com/index.php?entry=entry110715-225020 Stephanie Marcucci Sat, 16 Jul 2011 05:50:20 GMT http://www.marcuccis.com/comments.php?y=11&m=07&entry=entry110715-225020 http://www.marcuccis.com/index.php?entry=entry110713-214103
We also spend time at home. We have backyard picnics, read lots of books, and try to soak in the lazy summer days that let us spend our time however we choose. It really doesn't get any better. ---SM

























]]> http://www.marcuccis.com/index.php?entry=entry110713-214103 Stephanie Marcucci Thu, 14 Jul 2011 04:41:03 GMT http://www.marcuccis.com/comments.php?y=11&m=07&entry=entry110713-214103 http://www.marcuccis.com/index.php?entry=entry110707-190453
Grow, baby, grow! ---SM






]]> http://www.marcuccis.com/index.php?entry=entry110707-190453 Stephanie Marcucci Fri, 08 Jul 2011 02:04:53 GMT http://www.marcuccis.com/comments.php?y=11&m=07&entry=entry110707-190453 http://www.marcuccis.com/index.php?entry=entry110704-135120











]]> http://www.marcuccis.com/index.php?entry=entry110704-135120 Stephanie Marcucci Mon, 04 Jul 2011 20:51:20 GMT http://www.marcuccis.com/comments.php?y=11&m=07&entry=entry110704-135120 http://www.marcuccis.com/index.php?entry=entry110701-235845




]]> http://www.marcuccis.com/index.php?entry=entry110701-235845 Stephanie Marcucci Sat, 02 Jul 2011 06:58:45 GMT http://www.marcuccis.com/comments.php?y=11&m=07&entry=entry110701-235845 http://www.marcuccis.com/index.php?entry=entry110626-004613















]]> http://www.marcuccis.com/index.php?entry=entry110626-004613 Stephanie Marcucci Sun, 26 Jun 2011 07:46:13 GMT http://www.marcuccis.com/comments.php?y=11&m=06&entry=entry110626-004613 http://www.marcuccis.com/index.php?entry=entry110611-011350
]]> http://www.marcuccis.com/index.php?entry=entry110611-011350 Stephanie Marcucci Sat, 11 Jun 2011 08:13:50 GMT http://www.marcuccis.com/comments.php?y=11&m=06&entry=entry110611-011350 http://www.marcuccis.com/index.php?entry=entry110603-011011
We talked for nearly three days straight and walked and water-taxied, and ferry-boated, and space-needled, and watched the boat locks, and just had a blast. When I hear the expression "families are forever," that's what I know to be true in so many ways, including with my extended family. We've never gotten away as adults before and yet it was like no time had passed since our childhood. (Thank you the three J's for setting this all up.)---SM


[Above: In front of a giant pink bush that reminded us of Grandma Smith]


[Above: Steph, Julie, and Pammi in front of Pike's Place]


[Above: Steph and Pammi atop the Space Needle]


[Above: In front of The Pink Door, restaurant, which looked a bit peachy to be honest]


[Above: "Love & Loss" by Roy McMakin--- an art installment at the Olympic Sculpture Park that had me quite moved. It's not just a work to see, but to interact with, as in life. You can sit at the benches and tables. It's really gorgeous.]


[Above: Steph and Julie at the Olympic Sculpture Park]]]> http://www.marcuccis.com/index.php?entry=entry110603-011011 Stephanie Marcucci Fri, 03 Jun 2011 08:10:11 GMT http://www.marcuccis.com/comments.php?y=11&m=06&entry=entry110603-011011