Scout Camp

The only interesting thing that happened this week is that Jared went to a week of scout camp. His favorite part was boating, his least favorite part was siting through the merit badge classes.  He is the Senior patrol leader and he learned that some boys were much more helpful than others and he also learned that his mom is a much better cook than scouts are.

The 24th of July is a state holiday here, and one of our favorite ways to celebrate is to visit the parade preview.  There weren't any amazing floats this year, but there is always enough to entertain.

Chuck and I took our first couple's ride on Saturday.  We didn't go far because I'm still just learning but we had a good time. 

We've spent a few evenings out playing PokemanGo. There are 5 pokestops at or near our local library and there have been 30-50 people there every evening playing together. 

Family selfie while waiting for Mary Poppins to begin

Motorcycle Class

I spent 17 hours this week going through the Basic Ridercourse at the local Jr. college.  That included 12 hours over 2 days on a motorcycle in the hot sun.  It was difficult, physically, mentally, and emotionally.  It helped that everyone in the class was super encouraging and supportive and by the end I tested and passed.  I was already certified because of my scooter riding, but I now qualify for one level higher certification and I gained some very valuable experiences and skills.  Today I am sore and achy and bruised.    While I was away at class, Chuck continued to fine tune the controls on my bike.  I'm excited to give it a try when I recover.


Youth Council

We found out last week that Ruth was awarded a seat our city's youth council.  Youth council is a group of teenagers in our city that take part in local government, participate in service project, are mentored by city officials, and represent our city.   Ruth had to apply, including getting letters of recommendation, and then went through an interview.  She had her first meeting this week.   Ruth also went on a date to Lagoon and has been doing a lot of other fun things with friends.

Pokemon Go

Along with the rest of the nation our whole family has been playing Pokemon Go.  We've gone on walks and rides to find Pokemon.  It's been a crazy phenomenon to see so many other people out and about playing the game.  I've never seen anything like it.

Another good thing that has happen this week is that our baby kingbirds have finally flown the nest.  For the first time in over six weeks we can go into the backyard without getting swooped at.  Free at last.

Happy 4th

After three weekends busy with Les Mis, for the 4th this year we decided to stay close to home. I thought a hike would be fun, but Ruth was going to go to camp the next day, so instead of heading out into the heat we decided to find something fun to do indoors.  We went mini-golfing as a sketchy glow-in-the-dark golfing place. Then we topped that off with a round of bowling.   In the evening we drove down the road to a park and watched all the fireworks in our neighborhood. People must have a lot of money to spend on them because they were crazy. 

Ruth spent the week at camp.  She had no complaints when she got home; that's high praise from Ruth.  She also had her date on Saturday (the one from Les Mis) which I also got very little information about other than it was "fine". 

Last week I bought a motorcycle, a Honda nighthawk, (and it's so beautiful), and this week I was brave enough to try to learn to ride it. Chuck was nice enough to sit in a hot parkinglot for an hour talking me through it.  I have a long way to go but am sure I'll get competent eventually.  I plan on taking a class next week. 

We've had fun this weekend playing Pokemon Go as a family. In fact, as I type this, Chuck and Jared are off on an expedition to catch more of the little guys. 

Closing Les Mis

We finished our last week of Les Mis.  Ruth had a good time doing the show but is glad that it's over and is ready to move on with her summer.  Our closing night was really good and it feels good to leave on a high note.  Ruth also got asked out on a date in middle of one of the musical numbers so that's not too bad overall.  Thank you to my sister and her family for coming out to support us.

Youth Conference

Last weekend Ruth went tubing and hiking with our church youth and served lunch at a veteran's support charity.

Our Back Yard has Been Claimed for Birdtopia

A pair of Western Kingbirds have built a nest in the rain gutter in our back yard.  They are very grumpy birds.  At first they would just tweet at us every time we went in the back yard, but now that their chicks have hatched they tweet and swoop at us very aggressively; we are all afraid to go in the back yard lest we get our eyes pecked out.  I am against hunting on principle but I have been very tempted to take out these irritating birds.   It's to the point where if I even open my screen door to the back yard they take from their nests and dive at me like little missiles, and that's just for looking out of the glass. Jared went outside yesterday with a shield and a stick to protect himself.  Hopefully their chicks grow up quickly so they can move on.

More Les Mis

I've seen this show now twelve or so times and I'm not tired of it yet.  Thank you all (especially my loyal blog readers Amy and Lisa) for coming out to see the show.   It's fun for me to sit up in the back of the theater and watch people watching the show.   People are enjoying the show so much. Last night we had a really receptive crowd and during the final moments of the last song I saw them ripple to life,  sway and bob in their chairs like popcorn kernels, and then finally jump out of their seats when the last note was done; like they couldn't wait to stand and cheer, even before the curtain call began.  We have three shows left. 

Happy Birthday Kaitlin

Kaitlin's birthday was this week. We sent her a package that has been sitting in customs for over 3 weeks and were very happy to hear that it was delivered just days before her birthday. She was so happy to get a big bag of Lucky Charms, boxes of American Mac and Cheese, and pop tarts. Her package also included clothes, a pair of shoes, and a nice flashlight (power outages are regular there).  Also this week, Kaitlin's "friend" Ben came home from his mission to Brazil.  He showed up on our doorstep two days later to shake our hands and invite us to his homecoming talk.  Only Ruth made it to his talk (I was conducting the choir) but we did make it to his house afterward and ate some cake and met his parents and several of his siblings.

Freedom Festival

Ruth and I drove down to the Freedom Festival tonight to see her friend Quaid speak, who had won the Freedom Festival speech competition. He was able to get us down in the VIP section so we sat right in the front row. Elder Christofferson was the keynote speaker and the governor was there and it was broadcast on TV (you could see the back of our heads on TV). It was a pretty cool and Ruth's friend did a really good job.

Les Mis has begun.  The show opened on Friday and despite some technical problems, the cast was on point and the crowd was good. Only one other time do I remember being part of a show where the standing ovation started before the curtain call.

On Saturday Chuck, Jared and Ruth's friend Quaid came out to see the show.  The show runs for two more weekends through July 2nd.

I'm having a blast running one of two spotlights for the show.  I've learned a lot too. This is my favorite theater non-actor job I've had by far.  I might just volunteer to do this all the time.

We spent an afternoon attending the National High School Debate Tournament, that just happened to be in Salt Lake this year.  It was amazing! The talent of these high school kids is off the charts.

Our city days was this weekend.   We came home from the parade with a big bag of candy, and then scored some frisbees and other things at the fair.    We love our little town and love living here.