Kaitlin at the Temple

On Wednesday morning I went with Kaitlin to the temple, just her and I.  We had a very nice experience there together.  Chuck was able to join us for the session.  We were worried that it would be busy, but it ended up being a quiet and nice day.  Kaitlin got extra special attention from all the temple workers because it didn't say on any of her paperwork that she was going on a mission so they were all quietly wondering about why we were at the temple that day, but were too polite to ask.  Finally, one of them asked me and word of Kaitlin's mission call spread really quickly.   There is a lot to take in the first time you go to the temple, so Kaitlin was glad she had decided to keep it very simple and low key.  Afterwards we offered to take Kaitlin out for a nice lunch, but she asked if we could go home and pick up Ruth and Jared and all go out for hamburgers, so that's what we did.

Youth Conference

Chuck and I served this weekend as group leaders at our church's three day youth conference.  We were assigned 8 kids from other churches in the area to be in our group and we all came together and had a fun time.  We did some service, played a lot of games, ate good food, and did a strenuous hike up a hill at night.  Ruth participated in the conference as well, and she was assigned to another group with kids she didn't know. She says she had some good times but didn't love it.  I thought also that the conference had some really great moments, but my organizing brain makes it difficult for me to totally enjoy functions like these. What impressed me the most was how great all the youth were, in our group, and in general.  These were all clean cut, positive youth, who were kind and friendly and worked hard.  After an exhausting day on Friday, I expected half of them to sleep on on Saturday, but they surprised me by all being there the next morning at 8am for the day's activities.

Chuck and I with some of our group. We named ourselves "The Unicorns" (put hand to forehead to form a horn).

Our Week in Pictures

*Note: I lost my camera on Thursday, so I'm missing photos of some key events. I've done my best to recreate them here. My camera was found and is getting mailed to me, so I should have the actual pictures soon.

On Tuesday we had another rehearsal for the British Pageant workshop. This time on the Conference Center stage.  Including this rehearsal, we learned three dance numbers in seven hours.  In the video find the very best dancers and then pretend they are us. If you get this blog via email, you'll have to visit the blog to view it.

*Wednesday was Kaitlin's one day off work this week so we had a birthday celebration.  Because she will miss Christmas with our family this year we had a Christmas party. We listened to Christmas carols, ate Christmas dinner, and made and decorated Christmas cut-out cookies. 

*Thursday was our British Pageant performance.  Have you ever had that dream where you are on the stage in front of a crowd but you've forgotten the lines, or don't know the dance, or forgot to show up at rehearsal all month?  No?  Maybe it's a drama person dream.  Anyway, that was sort of our experience performing the British Pageant this week.  We had only ever performed the dances; we had never seen the pageant itself. We didn't even know what it was about exactly. So here we are sitting backstage seeing the pageant for the first time, and then when we see other people getting ready to go on stage, we go on stage too.  That's about how it went all night.  It was a little bit of a beautiful mess but we sang and smiled and did our best.  At least now we are a little more prepared for when we go to Nauvoo.

Thursday was the first day of our town days celebration.  We went to our annual "Touch a Truck" and old car show.  A friend of ours restored this 1972 VW. Whenever we see bugs we think of Aunt Laura.

On Saturday our whole town came out to celebrate Kaitlin's birthday.  We went to a parade in the morning and saw dancers, high school students, and princesses.

We celebrated Kaitlin's birthday some more before went to work. For gifts she got mostly things she will need in Paraguay.  That night we visited Kaitlin at work and brought her a cupcake.  After her shift some of her friends surprised her with pizza and cake.  We wrapped up the evening attending our city fireworks.

Today is Father's day.  Chuck is a great dad in our home. TV today would make you think that dads are lazy and incompetent, but that couldn't be further from the truth. Chuck will mow the lawn and fix the car, and then fold the laundry and do the dishes.  He is an all around great dad, and we are lucky to have him.

Eightieth Birthday

We had a fun celebration for my mom's 80th birthday.  All six of my siblings were there, my brothers flying in for the day.   We had a display table, a big cake, an art show, and kids games.  All afternoon we had a steady stream of well wishers, including two of my mom's siblings, cousins, and friends.  It was a great day to visit with family.  I set a goal to talk with every family member and ask them one thing about their lives. This led to a lot of good conversation and enjoyable interactions.   It was a really nice day, and I think my mom had a nice time as well.

British Pageant Workshops

We received an email a week ago asking us if we were available to take part in dancing workshop for the British Pageant.  They were reworking some of the major dance numbers and needed fifty or so people -to come and learn them and give them feedback, culminating in a performance of the British Pageant.   Even though I had won tickets to the premier of Jurassic Park, I forfeited my tickets so we could dance the night away with other volunteers in a church gym. We rehearsed on Thursday and Friday of last week, and have another rehearsal and then a performance in the Conference Center Theater next week.   Chuck and I are really excited to be learning some of the dances early, Ruth is having a good time, and Jared is hating it, but still doing it. Kaitlin, unfortunately, has to work so isn't participating.

No More Reading Charts

Jared attended his last day of elementary school this week. He will go to the middle school next year, which means no more reading charts or room mothers or Halloween parades for us.

Calling #3

I was called into the stake (our regional church offices) a couple weeks ago and given an additional church assignment as stake music chairman.  Since my stake has never had a music chair before I have been tasked with starting a stake music library, compiling lists of organists and music conductors from the different churches in the area, and forming a stake choir that will perform twice a year at our regional meetings.   I have a lot on my emotional plate right now, so I'm going to just tuck this assignment away in the back of my mind and tackle it after I get Kaitlin off on her mission.

Bonus picture: Our six year old mini rex Summer has enjoyed the warmer weather and sunshine.

Happy Anniversary

Chuck and I didn't have much planned for our anniversary this year.  We just have a lot of other things on our mind, that the anniversary just kind of snuck up on us. But as luck had it, Chuck had the day off of work ;), so we decided to make a day of it.

We started by hiking a local trail not far from our home.  It was a five mile loop that is popular with mountain bikers, and it started off pleasant enough, but about half way on the loop we found a sign that said "Gunslinger Slope".  Little did we know that Gunslinger Slope means that the next quarter mile is going to be hiking hell.  The trail took a super steep upward turn, with loose gravel and rocks all the way to the top. We did make it, and down the other side, with frequent stops, as we are not as young as we used to be.

That evening, I had some coupons, so we went to our local rodeo.  Kaitlin was working, and Ruth was at a party, so we took Jared along with us. Overall the rodeo was pretty fun. We saw some kids ridding sheep, and some horses fall on the bronc riders, normal rodeo stuff.  Jared did not like the rodeo. He thought the music was too loud (it was) and that the events were dumb.  We ended up leaving early because two hours was enough for all of us.

End of School Awards

Ruth has gotten a few awards at the end of the year, but she is so chill about them that I don't have a picture of any of them.  She got her certificate from a year of seminary, she earned the Presidential Academic Excellence award for having all A's this year but one, she also received the "Most Outstanding Spanish Student" award (Ruth says it's because the teacher likes her, not because she is good at Spanish) and she also received the "Most Improved Drama Student" award.    On Thursday her class went to our local amusement park, and she had a great time.  She is now done with middle school and ready to start at the high school in the fall.

New Trampoline

We have been watching the want-ads for used trampolines for weeks, but haven't found one.  So Chuck and I decided that we would buy a new trampoline for our anniversary this year. Chuck found a good deal from guy that sells them out of the warehouse, and he and Jared spent most of Saturday setting it up.

We've had this trampoline for maybe 8 years and it was on its last legs. It was totally unsafe, but I still let Jared jump on it because it's the only out side activity he will do.

Here is our new one. I hope it is the last one we will ever buy. Happy anniversary to us.