Woman's March

I went to the Woman's March in my area.  I had a couple friends who were interested but then couldn't go, and then Chuck decided to go with me (he didn't want me to go alone) but then that day he got sick, so after work I headed off to the train station with my sign and my winter gear all alone.   And it was cold! Wind, snow, and sleet.   As the train got closer and closer to the city it began to fill with pink hatted women with their signs. It was a very festive atmosphere.  I got there just as the march started.  There were so many people, I would guess around ten thousand.  We filled the entire street for half a mile. I was lucky enough to get into the capitol for the rally.  A lot of different issues were talked about, and while I didn't agree with everything, I did agree with many views that were expressed.

I hesitated sharing my experience on social media because my community is very conservative. From my community, I saw only anti-march posts. But ultimately, I decided to share my experience, to take a public stand.  For me, marching was my way to show my anger at Trumps hate rhetoric and sexism, and my support for all different kinds of people. I also feel that women are underrepresented in government and in all layers of our culture here.  Ironically, the same women that were on social media on Monday saying that "the march didn't represent them," today are posting how upset they are about Trump's immigration ban - a big thing that we were marching against.



City Youth Council

Later in the week, Ruth was back at the capitol for a day with the City Youth Council.  In addition to touring and talking to several of our representatives and congresspeople, Ruth was also selected to chair a discussion about drug testing in high schools.  They had a nice lunch where Ruth ended up sitting at a round table with our Mayor and a few city council people. She said it was super fancy

Ruth's Sweep

This weekend was one of Ruth's larger debate tournaments at a local university.  I went on Friday to judge.  While judging takes a lot of time (an entire day), I always enjoy it.  These kids are just amazing.  They can talk eloquently about subjects that most adults would struggle with. But at the same time they are just teenagers, often loud, usually silly, sometimes obnoxious.

Ruth felt pretty confident throughout the tournament and ended up winning every one of her five rounds.   Her team got third overall, which is amazing because they are not a large team.

On our first date we stopped at Burger King and split a chicken sandwich.  To celebrate 19 years later we returned to Burger King, but this time we ordered whatever we wanted. 

We got a lot of snow on Saturday. Luckily, we had no where to go so we could just enjoy it. 

The city youth council sponsored a dance to raise money for the food bank. Ruth said it was pretty successful and they got a lot of donations. 

I had the week off of work so I spent most of my time working on my competition cosplay.  I set a goal to have all the basic pieces built by the end of the month.  I'm on target to accomplish my goal. 

Half Way

It seemed like a month or so ago school was just starting and now suddenly we are at the half way point.   Ruth and Jared both got A's and B's this quarter and both are super happy because they are both done with PE (Ruth is done with PE forever).   Ruth also had her first debate tournament of the year this weekend, she brought home a 2nd place finish in one event and she didn't place in the other.

Ruth's Debate Team had a bowtie day.

Kensington Singers

I started rehearsals with the Kensington Singers, a new audition choir connected to Kensington
Theater.  I've been conducting choirs for four years now, but I haven't been singing in them, so it's really a joy to sing in a choir that is at this level.  I'm already learning a lot and I haven't worked so hard at singing in a very long time.

At the first rehearsal, I was chosen to represent the "pelvic floor" in a demonstration of how proper breathing works.

All the Things I Didn't Take Pictures Of

We had a pretty quiet week between Christmas and New Years.  On Tuesday I went to a funeral for an uncle. I didn't know him well, but it was nice to visit with family. Ruth and Jared got to spend the day with cousins so that was fun for them.  The rest of the holiday was spent shopping or in my workshop or hanging out with the kids.  On Saturday we had a New Years party at my sisters.  We played games and ate food. It was good. 

2017 - The Future is Unclear

I'll be honest.  While 2016 was generally a good year for our family as a whole, it was a tough one for me personally, and I was glad to see the back of it.  I know it's silly, because nothing really changes at midnight, but as soon as the clock turned and I heard the fireworks go off in the distance, a feeling of relief washed over me. It was done.   I'm not too sure what 2017 will bring but I do know what it won't bring.  We were not accepted into Nauvoo this summer, and Chuck and I were passed over for doing Trek.  So we aren't doing the big things we thought we might be doing.   On the flip side, Kaitlin is coming home, so that will bring on a whole slew of unknown events.  So looking forward, 2017 is mostly a big mystery.   We'll just have to see. 

Merry Christmas

We've had a quiet and nice Christmas.  On Christmas Eve, our family band, Gourmet Chips, played some Christmas songs together (see Instagram).   Jared and I played together a little as well.  We also played a new board game that we got for Christmas, and we played the hand-bells.  We reenacted the Christmas story from the Book of Mormon, and finished with some Lego Rock Band.  It was a pretty fun night. 

Christmas morning started at 7:30 am.  Jared got some bongo drums, and Ruth got a comforter set for her bed, Chuck got a shirt and tie, and I got a pressure cooker.   After presents we had to get ready for church (and I had to do some food prep).  

My Christmas program at church went pretty smoothly.  My choir sang as well as I have heard them. I have about 15 more people at Christmas than any other time. It's nice to hear all four parts for once. Overall I was pretty happy with it.  

On Christmas afternoon, Ben, Kaitlin's boyfriend, came over and we all anxiously awaited Kaitlin's call.  We had a great conversation with her.  She was so happy!  She had been in to the hospital that morning for a follow-up, and she said she has the fanciest doctor in the whole city and is getting good care. She is so excited to come home in just five weeks.  We had a good visit with Ben, and learned that he isn't going back to school this spring, rather he is staying home to "earn some more money" and will return to school in the fall. 

It's been our tradition to make ornaments every year. This year it was "ugly Christmas sweaters." 
Can you guess who made which? One is a give away.

It's also our tradition to reenact the Christmas story on Christmas eve. This year we did the Book of Mormon story.  Here is the angel/Captain America telling Samuel the Lamanite, and his reindeer, and his turkey, to go back to Zarahemla. (Everyone chooses their own costumes). 

This is Samuel the Lamanite (and his turkey) on the wall fending off attacks from the wicked people. 

On every Christmas eve there is a quiet moment late at night or early in the morning that Moms get to enjoy, when all the gifts are under the tree and most of the hard work of Christmas is done.  Making Christmas happen is a great work. 

The thing Kaitlin wanted most in our Skype call with her was a "talent show".  Here is Jared playing for her. Ruth also did some of her debate presentation for her. 

Kaitlin was so excited and happy to talk to us.  She sounded like she was doing really well. 

Have you ever made Turkey in the crockpot??  I have now!   This is a 13 lb turkey and I cooked it for 8 hours.  Next time I'll cook it a little less. It was tender. delicious, and super easy. I also made potatoes in my new pressure cooker.

Our Christmas cracker hats at Christmas dinner. 

We got 6 inches of snow on Christmas eve.  We're glad we had decided not to travel, because all that snow had an icy underbelly.  Luckily the streets were plowed by the time we headed for church.

All About Jared

Today is Jared's birthday. He is 14 (for reference, when Harry Potter was 14, he participated in the Triwizard Tournament).  Jared chose for his birthday today to have Salmon, a cheeseball, and rootbeer floats.  I also made him egg-in-toast for breakfast.   Jared got some clothes (including a Good Mythical Morning t-shirt), headphones, treats, and a juggling toy.    Since today was Sunday, Jared also had some other cool things happen.  First of all, he was ordained to be a Teacher.  That is the next level for boys in our church after Deacon.  Jared is super excited to be a Teacher because he was Deacon President for over 18 months and he wanted a break.   Jared also got recognized in church for finishing his Duty to God (a program for boys where he has to fulfill certain requirements like serving in the church and doing service and reading scriptures and that sort of thing). He got a certificate and was recognized in front of the entire congregation.  So that was pretty cool.

This week was also Jared's holiday band concert.  This was his first time playing the Bells (the Tubular Bells) and the base drum. It's cool to be the mother of a percussionist because it's like your kid has a solo in every concert because you can hear what they are playing so clearly.  He really likes band and his concerts are getting progressively better and better.

We spent a couple hours this week playing guitars together.  Jared's learning to play a basic bass line while I play the rhythm guitar.  It's pretty fun.

We Moved but Didn't Go Anywhere

When we moved into our house almost 12 years ago we told ourselves that we would replace the ratty carpet soon.  Well, we finally did it.   On Monday and Thursday very nice workmen showed up (not punctual) to our home to put in new carpet. We replaced all the carpet upstairs.  So Sunday night found us moving everything out of one half of the house, then Monday night we moved it back; on Wednesday we moved everything out of the other half of the house, and then Thursday night we moved it back.  I told everyone that if there was something they didn't want to move back into their room to put it in the basement, now the basement is half full with boxes, bags and random bits of furniture. On the bright side, our rooms are clutter free.  Our whole house smells like new carpet. 

Christmas Arrived

Christmas was on hold until the new carpet was installed.  In addition to moving back into the house we also moved Christmas in. The tree went up and the stockings and all that stuff. Now it feels very Christmasy. It's hard to wrap my head around how fast time is flying by. 

More Debate

Ruth's domination of the debate world continued this weekend where she took one first and two second places (one of those 2nd place wins was in Storytelling - a brand new event for her), and then took second overall for the entire tournament.  This is her highest ranking finish ever. 

My New Job

I've been at my new job for two weeks now and I'm really enjoying it.  I am a teacher's aid assigned to first grade.  I work for four teachers who divide me up between them and I do whatever they need me to do.  In two weeks I've put up four bulletin boards, made hundreds of copies, laminated, figured out how to run the new CD players, tested hundreds of sight words, and have read a story about a hen (with two wings, and two legs, and a long neck) sixty times.   The work suits me well. I don't have to make decisions. It isn't stressful. Every hour I'm doing something different. It's perfect and I'm happy.