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.

Countries Fair

Ruth took part in the 9th grade countries fair this week, where she featured the country of  Iceland. She and her partner offered tasty spice cookies, as well as played Disney tunes in Icelandic.  There were hundreds of kids participating, and as we looked at the displays we were able to sample various foods from different countries.

 I was amazed at the huge span of quality that was present; everything from kids in jeans who had drawn on their board with a marker, to girls in full costume with large hand painted displays.   It makes me question again our nations insistence to educate children according to age, rather than ability; it just seems ludicrous to me.   Though, in the spirit of true disclosure, Ruth had procrastinated making her display to the last minute and was saved by Kaitlin and I pitching in to help the night before.   Still, Ruth's was one of the better ones, and she is getting all A's again this quarter.

Temple Visit

This week we braved the rain and storms and toured a new temple just about to open in our area.  I think it was the most beautiful building I've ever seen.   It was especially impressed by the hundreds and hundreds of beautiful stained glass windows that filled the whole building with colorful natural light. I wished that Chuck's dad had been there with us to see it. I'm sure he would have appreciated the beautiful windows and skylights with the eye of a craftsman.



Library Service

Ruth was recruited to cosplay at a library event this week where she ran a game booth.  She had a couple of shy 10 year old boys come up to her and tell her that she was their favorite.

Job Update: 

As we enter our fourth month of unemployment, Chuck continues to have a couple interviews a week, but no offers yet.  We are hanging in there, and local friends are looking out for us.

Happy Birthday Me!

I've lost track of how old I am, but regardless of my age, my birthday was this week.  We celebrated during the day by going to Savers (you get 20% off on your birthday) and DI where I bought 2 pairs of leather boots and a jacket for myself.   In the evening we had a pirate party where we wore costumes, ate pizza, and played games. 

To finish the evening the family helped me make a life sized mannequin that will help me with my costume making.

I had many lovely birthday wishes on facebook, and little gifts from neighbors at the door, and a few pre-birthday lunch dates. Thank you all for your kindness. It has meant so much to me, you don't even know.

Making the Copies

Kaitlin was offered two jobs this week, one at Walmart, working in the clothing department, and one at Office Max working in the copy center, and even though the Office Max job paid a little bit less, Kaitlin took the Office Max job.   She's worked two shifts so far and it a bit overwhelmed with how much she has to learn, but photo shop and photography are right in her wheel house so she will do fine.

Shopping

I am not a big shopper. As a result of this, my daughters are not big shoppers, but out of necessity we have spent this week shopping.  After several trips we have managed to get almost half of Kaitlin's mission wardrobe.  We are trying to get as much done as we can now, because Kaitlin is also looking for full time work  (she's already had an interview at Walmart), and once she settles into a job, shopping will be much more difficult.

Mother's Day

Today, for mother's day, the kids made me chicken teriyaki while Chuck and I took a nice walk in the sunshine.  It is nice to enjoy some of the fruit of my motherly labors.

Just Keep Swimming

Some of you may be curious about our job hunt progress.  Things have slowed a bit on the job front.  Chuck is still getting in resumes and still has leads to follow. There are a lot of jobs out there but the wheels of business seem to turn very slowly.  He has an interview this week, so we just have to keep plugging along and wait and see.

Eyes Towards Nauvoo

We are determined to make our Nauvoo trip regardless of what happens with the job hunt. We have felt to make it a priority, so we have done so.  We've been practicing the music and everyone (but Jared) is getting excited.

Welcome Home Kaitlin

We moved Kaitlin home from college yesterday. I thought she would be sad, but truly she has been very happy to be home and glad to be done with school. This semester was a real struggle for her, with some very difficult classes, but preliminary info makes us believe that she has passed them all, and she is feeling very relieved.  We've moved her into the basement where she will live for the next three months. She's looking for a temporary job to help earn some money before she leaves for Paraguay in August.  She is also planing on going on our family summer trip to Nauvoo.

Becky at Woman's Conference

This last weekend was my annual trip to women's conference. I always have a great time reacquainting myself with old friends, going to great classes, doing some service, and eating tasty food. 

Jared's Rank Advancement

Jared was officially awarded his 1st Class rank at a Court of Honor this week. He also got 5 merit badges.   I was going to put in a picture of him pinning his rank pin on his mother, but instead found this adorable selfie on the camera that I think catches Jared's personality perfectly.

"The No Names"

Ruth's band didn't come up with a name so they were introduced at their band recital/concert as The No Names.  This was their first performance and they did really well.  Ruth played mostly rhythm guitar because she is also lead singer in the band, but she did do one guitar solo. She also did some singing for the other 4 bands her teacher teaches, so all in all she sang about 9 songs at the recital/concert. This was a new kind of thing for Ruth and I was really proud of her!

I'm posting a video of her band playing Zombie by the Cranberries (an anti war tune) on the blog. If you get this via email, yes Grandmas, I'm talking to you, you'll have to visit the site to see the video.

Wrapping up Seussical

Ruth's final performance of Seussical was to a sold out crowd.  They set up an extra 30 or so chairs in the isles and then locked the doors turning quite a few away. That means some 700 or so people came to Ruth's final performance.  What a great high note to end her middle school drama career on.