Church Talks

We all spoke in church on Sunday about our experiences in Nauvoo this summer.  All, that is, except for Jared, who was just too frightened by the prospect. Ruth gave some general information about the pageant and what we did in Nauvoo, Kaitlin spoke about some missionary experiences, work and sacrifice of the pioneers, I told about several experiences I had that helped me better appreciate the temple, and Chuck talked about why we went to Nauvoo, and doing things the "Nauvoo Way".   We have gotten an extremely positive reaction to our talks from the ward members, more so than I ever remember getting before.  There is a strong spirit in Nauvoo and I'm glad we were able to share some of that with our friends and neighbors.

Chamber Concert

Kaitlin had her first concert for parents for the year.  Her Chamber Choir is the top choir in the school and they sang four numbers as well as several smaller group numbers. In spite of having to compete with a clueless janitor vacuuming, they were really excellent. I can't wait to see how they will get even better over the course of the year. 

Homecoming Invite

After a nail biting week of waiting, Kaitlin was invited to Homecoming on Friday.  Her invite was in the form of a shoebox that contained a 3-D printed puzzle. The box and the poem and puzzle we all very obviously the product of a male mind. So add homecoming to the list of things that are keeping Kaitlin happily busy.  She has also started her art classes and has four students coming regularly. She enjoys teaching so much that she said she would do it "for free!" but the little extra money isn't so bad.


Scouts

I've had a busy couple of weeks with cub-scouts.  Last week we had a Webelos Night with over 200 boys attending.  I volunteered to work the food line, and at the end of our service the sky opened up and drenched us to the skin.  I also received my Den Leader Award Knot at round table this week, and built terrariums with my own boys.


Happy 83 Grandpa

Grandpa blowing out the candles.

On Saturday we had a fun visit with the family for my Dad's 83rd birthday.  He is still getting along pretty well for being 83 and seemed glad that we were all there, even though we had to keep reminding him that it was his birthday. 

Back to School

The girls went back to school this week, so I rolled out of bed just in time to snap a couple of pictures before they ran off.  Can you believe Kaitlin is a senior this year?  Her choir sang twice this week and she got a very cute cardigan to wear for their casual performances, like on Friday when they sang at the football game.  Ruth is in the middle school and was pretty excited to get back to classes and friends.



The "C" in Studio C stands for Chuck

Because I was helping with my nephew's wedding reception on Saturday we celebrated Chuck's birthday on Friday and Sunday.  On Friday Chuck and I went out to eat, and then we took the two youngers with us down to a taping of Studio C, a locally made comedy show on cable TV that we are big fans of.  A Nauvoo friend offered us the tickets last minute when she learned it was Chuck's birthday.   (Here Chuck is pictured living it up on his birthday. He is eating is birthday cheeseballs and drinking out of the special birthday wineglass, a new family tradition)

The taping was at 9:30 PM and we got there an hour early and stood in line. The wait wasn't too bad because we got to visit with our Nauvoo friends.  The taping itself was really fun.  Not only was it funny, but I loved watching all the stage crew and cameras working. It really was amazing, because they had two sets, and while they were tapeing in one, the crew was making over the other.  They were designed in such a way that the walls were stationary, but had panels that popped in and out to change colors or cover windows for a totally different look.  We had a great time but it didn't get out until midnight and we were exhausted by the time we got home.

On Sunday we celebrated Chuck's birthday further by eating his favorite meal (chicken enchiladas) and a dessert of his choice (homemade cinnamon rolls).

Some super advice for the newlyweds.

Superhero Wedding Fun

On Saturday Kaitlin and I drove down to my sister's to help with my nephew's wedding open house. We cut up food and blew up balloons. The open house was very cute, and had some whimsical ideas, including a super hero photo booth.

Lagoon Day

One of our highlights each year is the day Chuck's work sponsors Lagoon Day. Not only do we get in at a reduced rate, but they also give us dinner.  The day we went there was a fire on the mountain so as we waited in line we had the added bonus of watching the fire fighting helicopter and airplanes.  We always have the rule with the kids that as long as they are being nice to each other and having a good time that we will stay as late as they want. We've closed the park more than once. But this time the kids were ready to go by 8:30, not because they were being bad, but because they were just tired and done.  It was the earliest we've ever left.

Choir Retreat

Kaitlin's in the middle, in black.

Kaitlin spent three days at a choir training retreat.  She was able to study with some great directors and got to sing with other top kids from the area.  It was challenging for her, but she said she learned a lot and had a good time. She's spent several days working up at the school with the other officers, trying to get things ready for choir this year. You can see a song from their performance HERE





Additional Calling for Becky

I was asked to fill a second assignment at church this last week.  In addition to doing Webleos Cub Scouts (and District Cubs) I am now the choir director.  Our church hasn't had a choir for awhile so I'll be starting it up from scratch.  

Lazy Days

We are still enjoying the last of our lazy summer days before the rush of school begins again for the girls. When we got home from Nauvoo we set a few family goals, one of which was to do more together, so in keeping with that we spent Saturday together miniature golfing, picnicking and eating frosties.

Earlier in the week three of us made our semi-annual pilgrimage to the dentist, where Jared got two teeth pulled, baby teeth that just didn't know when to go.  Jared took it all in stride and was quite funny afterward pretending to be a walrus, being a little punch drunk from the procedure.


Kaitlin had her first performance with Chamber Choir this week at a school district hoity-toity conference.  She is off this week for a few days to a choir camp/retreat.

Jared Back to School

This is the best back to school picture I could manage.

There are lots of things I like about year-round school, going back to school in July isn't one of them. Jared started 5th grade last week. He has a really nice teacher and there are a lot of kids in his class that he knows so it should be a good year for him.  School starting again also meant that I was back to work on my PTA website, this is my seventh year on the PTA board.


Odds and Ends

So we've been doing a lot of hanging out since coming home.  We've done some back to school shopping, we've paddled around on our little reservoir, played a lot of Minecraft, Kaitlin has had several summer rehearsals for Chamber Choir, and generally relaxing before the girls go back to school.  I also got a 26 page Nauvoo Book ready and ordered. Life is pretty quiet right now, and that's okay.

Paddling around on our little reservoir.

Farewell, Nauvoo

As we crossed that little steel bridge across the Mississippi and away from our beloved Nauvoo, I thought again about bridges.  When we crossed into Nauvoo we didn't know what to expect, only that we felt we should go. We crossed out of Nauvoo changed in good ways we never expected.  But crossing the bridge was also a leaving, leaving behind the Zion we had found there and the people we had so quickly and easily learned to love, and turning our faces homeward.  We comforted ourselves by playing the pageant music and singing along, including counting out all the dance steps in the appropriate places. We also talked a lot in the car, as we processed our experiences, what we wanted to take away, how to implement those changes, and we wrote down some goals.

Our trip home was uneventful mostly.  The highlight was on the afternoon of the second day, when we were exhausted from the journey, as we pulled into a gas station in Wyoming, our district family, the Barnes pulled in right behind us.  Kaitlin had been texting with their daughter and they had been trying to catch up with us all day.  We jumped from the car and hugged each other, right there in middle of the parking lot.  Later Kaitlin said how glad she was to see the them, that it meant for her that our friendships and experiences we had in Nauvoo were real and would carry on with us, all the way home to Utah.

Girls Camp

We got home on Monday afternoon and Tuesday morning we drove Ruth off to Young Woman Camp.  When we got there, however, the camp was empty. We texted with the leaders and learned that they were on a five mile hike, so we got the location and decided to try to meet them on the way down.  We ended up hiking a mile and a half up a rather steep incline.  The hike was beautiful and lined by thousands of wildflowers in every color. When we reached the lake, the other girls were so excited to see Ruth that they greeted her with hollers and hugs.  Ruth came home from camp on Thursday and said she had had a good time.

Scout Camp

After spending a few days doing laundry and grocery shopping, I was off to Webelo Scout Day Camp with Jared and six of my Webelos.  We had a fun day learning compass skills, shooting BB guns and doing archery.  Jared went back on Saturday as well, but I got to stay home and rest.