Piano Recital

Twice a year the kids have a piano recital - and three things made this one special. First, we left the two younger kids with a babysitter. It was amazing how much more enjoyable it was without worrying about the cheerios spilling, the seats banging, etc., etc. It was great! Second, a universal truth was confirmed: The more relaxed you are, the better you will perform. Emma practiced and practiced until we felt like we all knew the pieces completely. Lincoln plunked out the pieces several times, but then would "forget" to practice for an extended period of time. When we arrived at the recital I felt nervous for the kids, especially Lincoln, figuring if he didn't know the pieces he was to perform then this would be a good learning opportunity. His conversation with Ted went like this: Ted: Are you nervous? Lincoln: Nope. Ted: Are you ready? Lincoln: Yep. Ted: I haven't even heard you playing these pieces at all. Lincoln: Oh well.

True to form Lincoln got up and performed the pieces flawlessly without missing a note. When Emma got up she was shaking so badly that I could see her hands shaking even though I was several rows away. She still did great but was a little frustrated that she stumbled through a few spots. Needless to say, being relaxed goes a long way.

The third thing that made this recital unique? As we were walking out the door Lincoln casually turned to me and said, "Mom, we are supposed to wear our costumes." Mom: Oh well.

Sun Valley 2008

Sun Valley has to be one of the most beautiful places ever! It is so peaceful and quiet - and we love being there. The Checketts invited us to go up along with Grandma and Grandpa Thompson for some good ol' relaxing fun. This year some of the highlights included the bike rides, floating pine cones, finding some really big sticks, mother deer and two fawns out front, Sam and Meigan "spying" on everybody, a big fort, Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, shopping, staying up late and laughing 'til our stomachs hurt, and of course lots of candy and good food.

Of course, we had one incident. Ted took the kids on a mountain bike trail and they had a great time, until Sam came cruising down a steep hill and crashed at the bottom.

We took these pictures just after getting him cleaned up. Sadly, it looked worse the next day, but he was a good sport and is still excited about going riding next year.

Thanks for a great trip Scott and Liese! We love you!

P.S. The pictures taken of all of us were taken by Liese - she managed conveniently to cut herself out of the pictures! Grandpa, I need a copy that has EVERYONE in it!!!

Has it really been 15 years??

Ted and I celebrated our fifteenth anniversary just a few days ago. We spent the evening at a great restaurant, had some yummy dessert, and then we came home to a surprise. Emma and the kids had decorated the kitchen with streamers and they each had wrapped up some treasures for us. When we came in we could smell freshly made cookies and they all yelled "surprise!" The treasures we received included fuse beads that said "love" and heart shapes, a few homemade bracelets, and a few of the younger kids' favorite toys.




Happy anniversary babe. Here's to 50 more!

The Wolf Badge

Lincoln just received his Wolf Badge in scouting - what a great night! The night included a stream, an award, s'mores, a fire, a dead fish....what more could an 8-year-old ask for? Here he is pinning the mother's award on me, and then receiving his own. Way to go Linc!

Fire scare

I am so grateful to have an inspired prophet who tells us to be prepared. Last night there was a fire on the bluff above us at the end of our subdivision. It began as a brush fire but quickly traveled up the bluff to several homes. It was a 4-alarm fire which quickly became a "general alarm" fire which means they call out all firefighters. It was jumping streets, and people were evacuated with no more than a moments notice. Several people weren't even able to get shoes on before they left! While we were comforted that we were not in any immediate danger due to excellent preventative measures taken by the firefighters, I was grateful that we had 72-h0ur kits ready at hand. As a few neighbors packed up their cars with their important items I realized that there is more to be done to be prepared, but I was grateful that we had a few essentials ready to go.

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It was so devastating to watch as several families watched their homes burn in front of them. A total of 10 homes were burned literally to the ground, there was one death, and several other homes were damaged. Such a devastating experience for so many, and a cruel reminder to get all things in order.

First Day of School

Well, the school year got off to a great start - I can't believe that Sam is in Kindergarten, let alone that Linc is in third grade and Emma in sixth grade! Time flies. Here they all are for the traditional first day pictures!

The only tears we had were when Sam realized that we were driving him to school -- he has been waiting to ride the bus for years! Also, Tessa was a bit devastated when she realized she wasn't staying at school. She was convinced that all of the fanfare was for her!

My greatest blessings

On Saturday we took the kids to see Kung Fu Panda at the dollar theater. It was quite an adventure: Standing in line hoping there would still be seats, trying to balance what feels like 50 sodas while you walk to your seats, shuffling seats 10 times to make sure everyone has a good view, comforting the child with the spilled popcorn, wiping melted chocolate on your pants because there are no more napkins, ahhhh... But then the movie starts and all seems to be going well. Tessa loved it...for five minutes. Then she loved running up and down the aisles seeing if her voice could echo. That's when you do the speedy dash out of the movie theater and start walking along the shops that sit next to the theater.

I finally made my way to Deseret Book (hey, I had to do some primary stuff anyways, right?) Tessa loved that too. She especially loved walking with her hand out to her side realizing that she can swiftly knock about 40 things off the shelf before mom can react. She was giggling and having a great time while I scurried around trying to pick up all that had been knocked down.

It was at that point that I looked up and saw this print: I knew I had to have it immediately.

Suddenly the situation seemed almost enjoyable. We picked up a few things, made our way to the side walk, played some peek-a-boo, ran around for a bit, and I listened to her squealing and giggling and tried to memorize it so I would never forget it.

I can't wait to go to the movies again.