Kaitlin's Big News

When Kaitlin's boyfriend, Ben, came to talk to Chuck and I last week about proposing to Kaitlin, we asked for 5 cows.  That's the going price for a superior wife after all. He said that he would talk to his cousin about the cows and see what he could do and so we gave our blessing.  

This engagement may seem sudden to some of my blog readers, but actually Ben first appeared on this blog December 2013.  They were friends all through high school, started dating during their senior year, and then faithfully wrote each other for the two and a half years that they served missions (Ben served his mission in Brazil).  They've been inseparable since Kaitlin returned. They are super happy. It's a match made in heaven. 

Blog exclusive: the wedding will be June 16th. They will be married at the Oquirrh Mountain temple in the morning and we'll have a reception in the evening.   That give us a little less than 3 months to pull a wedding together! Then they'll be moving to Idaho where Ben goes to college. 

Prom

You guys really just want to see the pictures. I get it.  Because I was busy all day on Saturday, I assigned Prom to Kaitlin. They had already been plotting Prom together for months, so the fact that I wasn't going to be there wasn't a problem.  Kaitlin also did all the photography.  

For their day date they went to a museum and then in the evening they went out to dinner (where they saw the Mayor who came over to their table and talked to them) and then actually spent a few hours at the Prom. 

Comic Con

I spent Friday, all day, volunteering Comic Con.  For my trouble, I got a t-shirt, a water bottle, a backpack, lunch, and a one day ticket for every day I volunteered.  It was pretty fun actually. I worked access, which meant I spent a big portion of my day directing crowds of people to certain lines or scanning wristbands to let people enter.  It was pretty fun but exhausting. I was able to sit in on a Zack Levi panel and do a little walking around as well.

On Saturday, Chuck I went together.  Chuck is a good sport, and because he loves me we dressed up as Harry Potter characters.  We had a fun time walking around the convention, were stopped to take pictures more than once, and saw the actors from the Princess Bride, and some from Once Upon a Time.

Choir Stuff

Chuck and I left Comic Con early because I was singing in a concert that night with the community choir I'm in.  At least I was able to see Ruth in her prom dress.  The choir concert went pretty well. We were singing really difficult music and we are a brand new choir. We will only get better. And I, personally, am learning a lot working with one of the best directors in the state.  A lot of this learning was reflected in my Stake Choir, which performed today at Stake Conference.   Both our numbers were really strong and we had some really nice moments.  I strongly believe that the improvement in the Stake Choir is a direct result of my improvements as a choir director because of my experiences in the community choir.

Things Coming Together

Here are some things that have been coming together at our house this week:

Kaitlin registered for the last couple classes she needs to graduate in July with her AA. She'll be living at home and taking them online.

After a day of treasure hunting, Ruth found a prom dress for $15 dollars.  Prom is this weekend.

My last stake choir rehearsal was yesterday and the stake choir is really coming together.  I've worked them hard and am really proud of how good they've become. We will sing Sunday.

Ruth spent last weekend at a leadership conference with the city youth council. Our mayor ended up being a chaperone and Ruth road in the car he drove.  Talk about quality time with the mayor!

Kaitlin got a part-time job as a reading tutor at an elemetary school.  She has two more interviews for more a second part-time job today.

On a whim, I entered a cosplay contest to win a ticket to our local con.  I had a few days and could only use things around my house.  I won and got a VIP pass worth $160.  I'm already volunteering one of the days but can use it the second day.

Chuck finished signing us up for all the new benefits Tesla has to offer us. Unfortunaly, Tesla does not give all their employees free electric cars and solar panels.

The choir I'm singing in is having their first concert on Saturday (another reason I can't use all of my VIP pass).  I found a black concert dress for $8 (see treasure hunting above).

Chuck and I took my first long ride last Saturday, down past the lake to the south of us.  It went well, and my confidence is really growing, though I'm a bit sore. Driving a motorcycle is exhausting.

Prom Invites and other things Ruth

I failed to mention last week that Ruth was invited to prom. This week she answered that prom invite.  Ruth hasn't made it to many dances this year so she's excited for this one.  We are still not sure what she's going to wear. We're working on it.  Ruth also competed last weekend at a regional debate competition in original oratory. To her surprise, she got 3rd place, which qualified her to go to State in that event (she is already going to Nationals in Humorous Interpretation).  Since OO is not her main event she hadn't expected to qualify, and she already had committed to going to an event the weekend of the state tournament with the city youth council. So she gave up her spot to another debater. She isn't upset about it because she is really excited for the youth council event. Ruth also took the ACT this week. She was pretty stressed out a few days before because she hadn't studied like she had wanted, but she came out feeling pretty confident.

Jared

I haven't mentioned Jared lately on the blog. He continues to spend a lot of time on music. It is normal for us to hear the drums or the ukulele or the bass going for several hours a day.  A couple weeks ago we met with his counselor and registered him for high school.  Unfortunately, here, 9th grade is still at the middle school, so it doesn't really feel like that big of a thing.  Jared has also grown an inch and a half in the past 3 months. In no time he'll be taller than all of us.

The Job Hunt

Kaitlin's been busy getting her schooling squared away and job hunting. She has a few good leads on jobs and was even offered a job that she turned down because it wasn't what she was looking for.  Her health has been improving a lot too, which we're really grateful for, and she spends every free moment with her boyfriend Ben. They're very happy together.

Other Things

I'm busy right now with Stake Choir and the other choir I'm singing in.  My big cosplay contest is coming up in two weeks but I've decided not to compete this time around for a myriad of reasons.  I'm pushing to get my suit done though, just to be done with that project, so that means I've been painting nearly every day.  Chuck's been going through some shifts at work as they integrate into Tesla. This month we officially made the switch, which means all of our benifits and stuff are also changing and are in flux.