The Music Man

Ruth and I have had a great time doing the Music Man. It's been a lot of work but it has also been loads of fun and Ruth and I have both made a lot of new friends.

We had dress rehearsals all week and then the show opened on Friday. My friend Amy and her husband surprised me with an opening night visit. And then my parents and my two sisters and their families all traveled long distances to come on Saturday night.

Thank you to everyone who has supported us. Especially my family who have all been without a mother many nights over the past few months.

We have a show tomorrow and then Friday, Saturday and next Monday.

A Baby Bunny Named Summer

We got a new 8 week old mini rex bunny this week. The kids named her Summer. Summer spends many hours each day hopping about the back yard under the children's watchful eye. The best thing about Summer? She loves to eat dandelions!


A $3,600 Smile

Chaz got his braces off this week and a few hours later went on his first double date.

End of the School Year

Yes, year round school does end. But then it begins again in just a few weeks.

This week was the last week for Jared and Ruth. Jared ended the year with a cute Kindergarten program
4th of July Fun

We had a busy Fourth. The evening before Ruth and I were in another parade. This one was huge! We went through 100 lbs of candy and gave out 2000 fliers and we still ran out of both before the end of the parade. The morning on the fourth was a 5 hour rehearsal for Ruth and I followed by a cast bbq. Then in the evening we had friends over and we bbq'ed and the kids swam in the pool. Once it was dark we lit off fireworks in our cul-de-sac.

Music Man

We are in the 11th hour of Music Man rehearsals. The show opens on Friday night. For those of those considering coming, I would recommend the later shows. I think the first show might just be a train wreck. But you never know. Email me for dates, times and ticket info.

All things Chaz

Trek

Chaz went to Trek this last week and said it was a great experience. "Trek" is short for Pioneer Trek. It's a reenactment of the Mormon pioneer's journey to Salt Lake Valley. He was put in a family with two adult "parents" and 11 other "children" and they pulled a 800 lb handcart almost 40 miles over 4 days. He came home tired and his eyes were blood red from all the dust. Check his facebook for some pictures.

Ordination

Chaz was ordained today to the office of Priest. The best Catholic equivalent that I can think of is Alter boy. In our church it means that Chaz can now bless the Sacrament each Sunday in Church, and he can baptize new members. He's both excited and nervous about his new office.

Hair Cut

Yes, Chaz finally asked for a haircut. You can see the after and before picture above.

Happy 16th Birthday Chaz

Chaz turned 16 on Sunday. He got an Ipod from a friend. And a lot of practical stuff like clothes from us. While he was glad to have clothes, he was the most excited about the Ipod and spent most of the afternoon setting it up.







I just had to include this picture because this is the look on Chaz's face about 80 percent of the time. It's part of being a teenager.




City Days Parade

Becky was part of the Music Man entry in our City Days Parade. There entry consisted of wagon and horses, and a cast of about 30 singing "Wells Fargo Wagon" and throwing candy. It was hot, but fun.

Becky and Ruth will be in two more parades over the 4th of July weekend.

At the End of the Rainbow

Yes, Our home is indeed at the end of the rainbow. I haven't found the pot of gold yet, but I'll keep looking.

Kaitlin's Birthday

We now have two teenagers in the house. Kaitlin had a quiet birthday. We went to see the movie "Up", had pizza and played games. Kaitlin decorated her own cake and it turned out very cute.


Scout Camp

Chuck and Chaz went to Varsity camp this week. They set up their tents in the snow and spent most of the camp in the mud. They said they had a good time though.




Living in Forks

Yep. It's sure felt like Forks around here with all the rain. Rain, rain and more rain. The weatherman said that we've seen the end of it and from now on it will be hot, hot, hot. I'm guessing we'll set up the pool this week.


Class "M" licences

Chuck and I got our Class M learning permits this week. What we learned was that as long as we have our learning permits we can ride any motorcycle from a little moped up to bullet bike. But as soon as we take our road tests we will only be able to drive a motorcycle in our class, which is up to 250 cc (or so). Ironic.


Music Man

Practices for the Music Man continue to take much of Ruth and my time. It's going to be a great show. For those of you that didn't get a Facebook invite, the show starts July 10 and runs Fri, Sat & Monday for two weekends. Tickets are $8.00.

Freekish Rain

We've had freakish amounts of rain and hail. It has rained every day for over a week.

Oquirrh Mountain Temple Open house

On Saturday we had my brother David and his family, my sister Donna and her family and my parents over for a tour of the Oquirrh Mountain temple and lunch. The temple was beautiful and we especially enjoyed the cookies afterwards. Chuck grilled us hamburgers for lunch, and the burgers I bought totally flamed and burnt to little black crisps. (Don't every buy Flanders Beef Patties!) In spite of the hamburger adventure we had a nice lunch and a nice visit. By the time David and his family were ready to leave the heavens opened up and poured buckets of water down on us including hail and lighting. I tried to escort everyone to the car with a large umbrella but the rain was so drenching that you just couldn't avoid it. Little Olie got totally soaked. Sorry Oliver! Half way through, as I felt the cold water soak me to the skin from the waist down I couldn't help but laugh and laugh. It was so funny. (of course in retrospect there are like 5 better ways I could have gone about that but in the heat of the moment none of those avenues seemed apparent.)

Oakcrest Camp

Kaitlin spent a fun week at Oakcrest camp. Oakcrest is a camp owned by the LDS Church for girls 12-14. She got rain every day and I worried that she was too cold. But she had a great time.

The Mantis

I bought a little scooter this week. I'm excited to get it licenced so I can use it to run around town with. For those interested it's a Chinese built 150 cc. I've named it the Mantis because it looks freakishly like the aphid eating insect.

Our 11th Anniversary

Today is Chuck and my 11th Anniversary. Here are a couple of interesting facts you may or may not know.

• My first thought when I was going to meet Chuck for the first time was "What the hell am I doing?"
• Our first date was to Burger King and Temple Square.
• Our first kiss was in middle of a crowded airport terminal being bustled on every side by hoards of travelers.
• Our second kiss was by the payphones (a bit more private) in said airport terminal.
• Chuck proposed on Easter Sunday.
• When he asked me the first time I didn't say 'yes'. I told him to get on one knee and ask me again.
• We had seen each other a total of 12 days when we married.
• My thought when I was walking down the isle to marry Chuck was "What the hell am I doing?"
• We were married in the MN Stake Center where they built the Temple just a couple of years later.
• Our wedding was 20 minutes late because I was already late when my daughter had a dirty diaper. Ever try to change a messy diaper in a wedding dress? Didn't think so.
• We were sealed in Bountiful Temple on my birthday, May 15th.
• These past 11 years have been the best of my life.

Here is a song, I wrote it for Chuck a couple of years ago for our anniversary:

Kaitlin Sings

This week Kaitlin both sang at her school's awards ceremony and also sang in a recital. There is a compilation of these on her website (link to the left). It is an invited viewer only site so if you need to be invited (and with Kaitlin's approval) let me know.