Awarding

While Taylor was not able to sing... we did make the trip to Park City to support our friend Lana. She has worked so hard to put together a wonderful showcase for her students. There are some talented people out there. Thanks to Lana's dad Bill, we were fortune enough to hear Lana sing as well.
After the concert - each student was recognized by Lana and awarded a certificate. Taylor received an award for "overcoming her fears and realizing her talent" as she performed her first solo not too long ago... in front of an audience full of people other than her family. I am so grateful for Lana and the confidence and encouragement she sends Taylor at every lesson. She has a great talent for helping others realize their potential... a gift that not all teachers have or share. Thank you Lana for sharing!

And now for the bad news...

Taylor's laryngitis has not improved so she will not be performing today. Lousy allergies!

Wow... what an event!!

The Draper Temple District just held it's temple celebration at the Conference Center. Taylor participated in the choir. Read about it HERE...

Allergy woes

Taylor is suffering with allergies something awful this season. In fact, they are so bad that she is loosing her voice. This is concerning since she has her solo performance on Saturday. Stay tuned...

Winding down.

May has been so busy. Conferences for work, birthday parties, choir program for school, large gatherings for the holiday and still to come... Temple Celebration event and Awards Concert in Park City. I am very glad this month is almost over, but I would not have missed it for the world.

Speaking of Awards Concerts... You are invited to come hear Taylor sing in Park City this Saturday afternoon. Vocal Performances are at 1:00 @ The Santy Auditorium @ 1255 Park Ave in the Library and Education Center. There is NO CHARGE for this event.

Take a Nap

A dear friend of mine emailed this story to me... though it was fun enough to share:

This bridge is on the Old Donner Pass Highway. It has a spectacular view of Donner Lake and Donner Pass on Route 80.


A bear was walking across Rainbow Bridge ( Old Hwy 40 at Donner Summit,Truckee) on Saturday when two cars also crossing the bridge scared the bear into jumping over the edge of the bridge. Somehow the bear caught the ledge (see unbelievable photo, above) and pulled itself to safety. Authorities decided that nothing could be done to help Saturday night so they returned Sunday morning to find the bear sound asleep on the ledge.


After securing a net under the bridge the bear was tranquilized, fell into the net, lowered, then woke up and walked out of the net.




There is a moral to this story you know.

This old bear made a wrong move and found he was hanging by his nails.

Somehow he was able to pull himself up onto the ledge where he saw he was in a very bad, impossible situation and what did he do?

Yep, he took a nap and sure enough the situation took care of itself while he was asleep.

The moral is that when confronted with a bad situation sometimes the best solution is .. . .

take a nap.

Breakfast with a view.

As the wife of a member of the Stake Presidency (Executive Secretary), I have been fortunate enough to be able to participate (let me rephrase... fortunate enough to partake) in the annual brunch honoring the wife's of the Bishopric's in our stake. I have done so for the last several years and it has been held at the Joseph Smith Memorial. The company is great, the food is delicious and the guest speaker inspiring.

This year was no exception. We received some insight into the Draper Temple Open House as we heard from Sister Wine who was called to be in charge of it all. It was wonderful to hear the stories and experiences. I was pleased to hear her share some words I try to speak often myself...
"Come what may and love it!".

Memorial...

August 18, 1938 - August 12, 1996

Savanna

Spencer

Watering the couch.

This morning when I woke up, I could not help but notice that the largest bird in North America paid a visit to our backyard and left an enormous deposit on my deck furniture. I immediately pulled the hose out to squirt it down. What I failed to notice was the direction that the pressure nozzle on the hose was pointing and the open back door.

The next thing I knew... my family room couch was receiving the intended squirt down, or should I say, drenching. I was quick on my feet and promptly turned off the faucet before too much water filled the house. A basket full of dry towels proved useful as I pushed rugs and furniture, fell to my knees and wiped down the floors, table legs and two couches.

Never fear, both the indoor and outdoor furniture survived. I have since rearranged the outdoor set.

Taylor's schedule:

Thursday May 21 Spring Concert @ JHS (7 pm... I think)
Friday May 29 Temple Celebration @ Conference Center
Saturday May 30 Awards Concert @ Santy Auditorium Downtown Park City 1 pm

Oquirrh Mountain Utah Temple Open House Reservations

Get them HERE

Defending Evan's lawn...

Evan's pride and joy in the yard is his lawn. He always wants it to be the first to green up. He spends a small fortune to keep the weeds out. He does not want to over-water. He usually receives great compliments.

This year was different. It started off as usual - the grass was starting to green up.The spring was a wet one so we kept the water off. Then, Evan noticed that the grass was struggling a bit. On went the water, the sprinklers were checked and the watering schedule started. Still, no improvements. Hand watering begins.

We have had our "usual" dry spots in the past, but there were more this time. In fact, the whole lawn seemed to be struggling. Thatching the lawn drew up too much dead grass. Is the chemical company doing it's job? That seemed to be the only logical answer - so Evan picked up the phone to fire them.

Then the confession came. The distributor for this company had sent the wrong product and our lawn was the lucky recipient of a healthy dose of weed killer. Our lawn is dying. A slow and painful death (for Evan). There is a bright side. Eventually (after insurance investigations and whatever else they need to do to prolong the process) we will be provided with a brand new lawn. Evan did not fire the chemical company and thanked them for their integrity.

Before:


After:

Conference...(Criminal Variety)

As I sat in the Dixie center today, trying to remain positive as I listen to 95% unrelated material and freezing my butt off - it was nice to have a little something to laugh at..

Alone in St. George

I am spending time in beautiful St. George cooped up in the Dixie Center for a two day conference. Too bad I can't enjoy too many of the wonders Southern Utah can offer. I did spend my time well tonight...

Nephews

I cried on Mothers Day.

Not for the reason you may think.

Evan spent the last 7 days preparing to speak in church on Mothers Day. I shared with him some inspiring excerpts from the blog of our family friend - Stephanie Nielson (a plane wreck survivor). We spoke of her often this week as we admired her strength and testimony as well as her amazing outlook on motherhood and being a wife and a daughter of God. We also attended the temple together with the rest of the Stake Presidency. (A very uplifting week!)

I knew what was coming - so, as soon as he stood up to speak, I started to cry. It took everything that Evan had within himself to remain composed, but he hit a home run. He inspired the mothers and the motherly. So many Sisters in our ward expressed their appreciation for his words. We came home, talked about how it went, and cried some more.

Then, a very dear friend of ours announced her engagement to our wonderful neighbor. Again, we cried. We love them both so much and are so grateful that they found each other and found the door to happiness together.

I have been humbled by this day. I have been blessed through this gospel. I have been so lucky to have such a great husband and tremendous daughters. I have so much to thank my Heavenly Father for.

What came first? The thump or the yelp.

For the past several days, Chester has been taking advantage of an "injury". What I mean is, he is preying upon the emotions of the women who love and adore him.

It started several nights ago when, in the middle of a night I was awakened by a thump and then a yelp, or was it a yelp then a thump? I was too groggy to tell. Anyway, Chester then hobbled over to me and I quickly babied and consoled him. Ever since, he has been limping, refusing to climb stairs, missing his leaps onto the couch and yelping every so often. He has not been to first one at the door to welcome anyone home and has kept his head held low as if depressed.

But, he still runs outside, prances for his dinner and will toss his toy around once in a while. While I do believe he is hurt, I also believe he is milking it for all it is worth. We are giving him a week to heal (or forget) and then re-evaluating the "injury".

The best $8 I have spent.

As Primary President... this is the best investment I have made...


The first time I used them, I taped two together and they became "islands" as we played Musical Islands.


Later, they became obstacles in our relay for our Summer Splash activity.


Now, they are being used for tire drills at our B.O.O.T. Camp Activity.

Boot Camp

This is the theme for our upcoming Primary Activity. Saturday here will be full of Physical Exams (Body and Spirit), Basic Training (Scripture Study, Prayer, Service etc.) Drills and Maneuvers (Obstacle Course - Enduring to the End), Service (Self Explanatory), and Mess Hall (Cupcake decorating). To distinguish the groups, I have put together color coded dog tags. Should be fun!!

Firsts....

First word...
First step...
First day at school...
First date...

Current Events

First of all, I must scold the press for the "Media Terrorism" that is being inflicted upon the public. As we are bombarded all day with stories in the news about this flu, I am amazed there is not more hysteria. Emphasis is placed on the "pandemic" flu rather than the "mild' flu that it seems to be at this time. I may be wrong, but I'm not too worried about it.

Second, I must make fun. My favorite words from this whole mess. (I will use them in a sentence.) With so much attention placed on this "Hamdemic" one would think that this is the "Aporkalypse".