Regional Competition

Ruth went to regional debate tournament this weekend and she competed in a new category (the category she usually competes in was not offered) original oratory; which means she wrote, memorized, and delivered a 10 minute speech.  Even though this was her first time and she was up against other students who had competed in this all year, she still got 7th, which was a high enough placing to qualify for the state tournament. State will be in March, and that will be the last for the season. 

Also this Week

Jared went on a weekend camp out with the scouts and he said it was cold but he had a good time.  

I hosted my book club at out house and had a good turn out.  Because my book was based in the south I made boiled peanuts, and they were a big hit. 

We went to see a demonstration at our local library of an old guy who had won the world YoYo championship back in the day.  It was a pretty entertaining show considering, and he had a few tricks that impressed Jared.  But since this guy was an old school yoyo'er (no bearings) and Jared is new school there wasn't a whole lot of cross over. Still Jared said he was impressed by the guys two handed looping(for us layman, that's when he yoyo's in circles repeatedly with two hands), which the man held the world record in for 16 years.    What most impressed me is that Jared actually smiled during the presentation.  Oh, and Jared wanted me to add to the blog that he (meaning Jared) is really awesome.

Ruth competed this weekend to try to get to a national debate tournament that is being held in Salt Lake in July.  Only the 1st and 2nd finishers got to go and Ruth got 5th.  Ruth did make it to finals though and was pleased with how she did.  Ruth will compete again next week. She is getting excited for the season to end so she can start working on next year's events.

Last weekend, Ruth went to Sweetheart's dance with Quaid.  Here are some pictures she posted on Instigram.  She said they had a really fun time at the dance. I was able to finish all the alterations of her dress in time (thanks to my new serger) but I wasn't there to see her off to the dance because I was in California.

Last weekend I flew into California with my Sister Donna and her husband and my mother for my nephew's wedding. Behind me is the beach house where my Sister Kathy and her husband hosted us.

Here is the view from the balcony.  The ocean is an amazing and powerful thing. 

When the tide was high it hit the rocks so close to the beach house that it would shake, but when the tide was out there were thousands of round beach stones. My mother collected pockets full.  I know because I carried her bag through the airport.

Both days I was there I walked out to the end of the pier and back. There's a Ruby's dinner at the end and a lot of interesting people between here and there.

We flew through San Fransisco so I made my mother pose by this sign with her name on it.

I've not done much flying in my life, so I still get excited to go on airplanes and look out the window.  I'm more convinced now than ever that the science behind airplanes is magic.

I don't have any pictures from my nephew's wedding (the few I took were blurry) but it was very nice.  I also didn't take any pictures of the family (didn't think of it, I guess) but we had a nice time visiting together.

Dating and Formals

Ruth used a pirate theme to ask here date. 

The dating age around our house is 16.  Since Ruth turned 16 she's been on two dates.  Now she's invited someone to the Sweethearts Dance, a formal dance at her school. It will be her fist ever formal. I've been buying formals for Ruth for a couple years now. Every time I go to a thrift store I always check. We've found some nice ones for under $30.00.  I figure if she only wears some of the formals we've purchased I still would have made my money.  I've been working on altering one of the formals for the dance.  I'll be putting my new serger to work to finish the hem. Wish me luck.  

Other Stuff

Ruth and Jared started their second semester classes at school. For Jared, that means he is now in PE,  Ruth is now taking a Digital Media class.  We also signed Jared up for classes for next year.  I was really surprised by the classes he's chosen.  His top pick was band! This is the kid I forced into band against his will.  His other  pick was Chinese.  What? I know.  He's expressed interest in learning Chinese in the past and next year will be the very first time it is offered.  I told him that he is on his own with homework.

Chuck got a promotion at his job. He is now managing a small team and so far his new job has been stressful. Hopefully things will settle down for him. 

To help me beat the winter blues, for the past couple of months, I've been scheduling at least one social event with friends a week. This week I had three.  Next month I'm hosting my book club.  I'm just Miss Social now. I also have a very slow but steady trickle of sales at my Etsy shop.   With all the money I spend on costumes and equipment I about break even, maybe a little ahead.

This is my biggest seller. It's a raw foam Boba Fett helmet. People buy them and paint them to suit and add their own visor. 

Here is an example that one of my buyers sent me of their finished helmet. I love that I make something that helps other people be creative and express themselves. 

Every year the East has a "snow of the century" and makes the news about what a big deal it is. Meanwhile, we woke up and dug out of 8 inches this morning and were still early for church.  I hate winter. I hope it is over soon.

Ruth had another debate tournament this weekend. This one at UVU. She went to the finals in her usual category and placed 5th, and also tied for 3rd in Poetry and Oration (they didn't have a final), which was a brand new category for her. She only has a few tournaments left in the season.

I got a new toy to add to my workshop, a little serger.  I'm not sure how to use the thing or how to incorporate it into how I sew, so there is a learning curve.  I'm about to start sewing my cosplay that I will be competing with next month, so it will give me a chance to put it to use.

We got a bunch of pictures from Kaitlin this week. They are the first pictures we've gotten in almost six weeks. Kaitlin's been having some technical problems with her camera and she doesn't have many resources there to help her fix it.  She assured me that she is taking pictures, she is just having trouble getting them off the camera and sent in an email.  Still, we are lucky because we have email and I can get pictures and skype at Christmas, which are luxuries that were  not possible in Paraguay even a few years ago. In Isaiah it talks about how in the last days that queens with be "nursing mothers" to God's chosen people, to bring them back to a knowledge of Him.  When you consider education, opportunity, and economic status, Kaitlin is like a queen compared to the uneducated poor that she is working with, but she has given up everything to live with them, serve them, and teach them about Jesus Christ.

Dance Showcase

Ruth's been taking a ballroom dance class and this week her class performed with other groups from her high school at a two hour dance showcase.  I've never attended one before and I was amazed at how many kids were involved - there were hundreds.  There were ballroom classes and dance classes and the ballroom team and the musical theater dance group and the all girls dance team. Ruth's class did a Micheal Jackson number and Ruth was front and center and did a mean moonwalk.  I was impressed to see so many teenagers working hard together to create joyful art. 

Other Stuff

In my hobby pursuits this has been a week of failures, but it's been okay because at the end of each day I'm learning and it's much easier to fail when you don't have a deadline or pressing obligations.  

It's been snowing, and snowing some more. We didn't have much of a winter last year, so this year mother nature is compensating for that. 7am carpool is not fun in the snow.

In addition to dancing, Ruth had another debate tournament this week, and also has set a goal to get her driver's license soon so we renewed her learners permit and she's put in some extra driving hours.  She also registered to perform in Les Mis in June.