Against our best advice....

Jena turned 15 this past week.  It is hard to believe that it has been 15 years.  Like each of our kids, we are so glad to have her in our family (and glad to be finished with the birthday celebrations for the year.)

Getting ready to blow out her candles.

She commented that there was alot of smoke after she blew out the candles....that's why Gary and I don't have candles at our birthday celebration.....

Gary's "HAPPY" birthday!

Gary started his day with mom running some errands and then we met for a late breakfast then split up again to finish up errrands before getting Jena from school ealier.

As part of Celebration for Gary's birthday (Jena's and his mom's birthdays, too), we took Jena and his mom to see the matinee performance  of the Braodway performance of "Mary Poppins".  It was fabalous.  We had a very fun time.  It was at the Capital Theater in Salt Lake.  Of course, I expected we would see Mary Poppins fly through the air (although Jena was amazed by it), then there was kite flying, Mary poppins popping different places, her carpet bag just like the show where she pulled a coatrack and a plant out of her bagge along with other items, and the amazing scene where Mary Poppins with a "spoon full of sugar" fixes up a kitchen that had been broken.  A young girl behind us said "She's magic"  It was so sweet.  The costumes and scenery and voice was all excellent.  We would certainly encourage all of you to see it if you like the movie if it come to a place near your.

We headed quickly out and decided to change our evening plans since the BYU football game was tonight.  So instead of a nice Chinese meal in Salt Lake we hurried back to Gary's mom's home, picking up a take and bake pizza along the way (I know yes, we are still fans--forgive and forget, move forward....)  It got a little scarier in the first half, but we pulled it out at the end.  It was not all pretty but there was some fun plays including the run back on the kick-off to score...the first in over 13 years ago or something like that.  Yeah, a Win.

I am so glad to celebrate your birthday with you, Gary----

because:

You are my best friend,

my biggiest cheerleader

the labor for my wild ideas

the laundry folder when I am busy

the dog-feeder

the hard worker

my best travel co-adventurer.....

not caring where but just to be with me;

my computer programmer,

the provider, presider and protector-

even from the mud splatters from cars;

my handman,

yard "boy",

my Sunday walk companion ...

forever!

Happy Birthday, sweetie....

3333333333333333

For a day like yesterday....

I love living in Utah.....Our ward had their day of service on Saturday.  It was decided that we would help our neighbors with projects that were difficult to do alone.  Now our ward boundaries are basically one block by six blocks or so.  That meant when you drove around our neighborhood between 8 to noon on Saturday you saw groups of families working together to do yard work, clean out sheds, paint front doors and fences, etc.  One group of families cleaned out our roundabout flower area.  It felt good to be a part of something bigger as we helped one of the single sisters in our neighborhood tackle some fall yard projects.

Another reason I love Utah yesterday was the opportunity that I had to go with some friends and attend the General Relief Society Meeting at the Conference Center.  It was great of course, but it was also an experience to be in a room with mostly women (over 20,000) to hear Pres. Uchtdorf's talk on "Forget Me Nots".  Along with his amazing message, I will remember the responses of the audience as he spoke.  If you haven't heard it yet, head over to lds.org and listen to it.  Click below to be directed to the correct spot to read or listen to his talk.

Pres. Uchtdorf's talk

I have a feeling that there will be a run on "Forget Me Nots" in nurseries around the world.

I have loved everywhere I have lived.  Each place with their own uniqueness and richness......I am sure it is wonderful to live in one spot your entire life but I am grateful for each of the spots I have lived because of the impact they have had in who I am as a person.

Hope you enjoyed where you lived this weekend.

For those who are waiting

....I have officially completed all of my goals for my Wood Badge "ticket" and was given my beads and neckerchief at our Pack Meeting last week.  Jena was our photographer for this event.

Jena missed taking a picture of me actually with my new neckerchief and beads but this is the point where my Course Scoutmaster was talking about the beads.

This is a display with some quotes from Baten-Powell, the Pack History book I did for one of my goals, and some other Scout stuff.

It is a good feeling to be done and to have forced myself to do things that I would not usually have done.  It is easy to be caught up in the day to day business of life that we (at least I) can forget that we can do new things and challenge ourselves a little bit to do more or do better or learn something new.  It is part of what enriches us.  Now on to new tasks and goals.....(I am sure that Gary hopes it has something to do with cooking, but I am not sure.  I do know that I want to do a 25 miles bike ride down the rail trail between Parck City and East Canyon, so we have been biking in preparation for that.)  Come join us if you can.  It will be great.

Quote from Baten-Powell: 

“The most worth-while thing is to try to put happiness into the lives of others.”

Have a great day!!

Jena has been busy....

Jena and Kaitlyn dancing

This was part of a YM/YW Activity Night in Centerville where they had invited youth with disabilities from Davis County to join with them for a dance. There were about 15 youth with disabilities  there and about 30 youth from the ward. Jena was nervous at first, because she didn't know anyone but some adults and youth gathered her in and she ended up having a great time. And it was more fun when her friend Kaitlyn arrived later. They handed out soxes at the end for prizes. She got the prize for the "most graceful".

Just before going to the YM/YW dance, she got an expander placed in her mouth in preparations for braces later. She has been a good sport but it has been a challenge for her to talk and eat with it. She was swollen for the first week or so but finally that seems better.

We have been busy attending plays--We attended "Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat" at the Hale Theater last week--fabulous! This week we are going to see the Broadway performance of "Mary Poppins" at the Capital Theater. We are heading to the Peery Egyptian Theater in Ogden in a couple of weeks for a play called "Nephi and Sword of Laban." Jena is "in heaven" as she loves plays.

They are doing "Guys and Dolls" in her musical theater class and she is having fun learning the music and planing her costume. She told me that she will probably wear her hair in a bun .  That is a big deal.  (for those of you who don't know, Jena wears her hair in a ponytail EVERY day except for family pictures or school picture days.).

She is doing both swimming and basketball for Special Olympics and she just completed her Area games yesterday. She played a couple of games (two ten minute halves) and did basketball skills. They got a bronze metal for their team and she earned a silver metal in skills.

Hanging out with her friends and Gary are certainly some of Jena's favorite parts of Special Olympics. She enjoys being with Kaitlyn and also the older girls who are so nice to her.

Team C of the Comets

I was trying to take a picture of Jena watching the games, but she saw me and immediately moved to this pose. It made me laugh.

In addition to her birthday this week, she also gets to attend a dance performance in Salt Lake as a field trip for her dance class on Wednesday. Then on Friday, a dance for all of the students in junior high and high school in Davis County schools with special needs. And of course, Mary Poppins.....fun week ahead for her.

I was driving down the street...

....and in preparation to make a right hand turn, caught a glimse of the mountains to the east, and it took my breath away. They were so beautiful. They were green for this time of year when often they are more yellowed and brown from the summer heat. Of course, I live here and they are there every day and each time I look to the east I can see them, but life is filled with little moments and this was one where my heart and mind were filled with an awe of the beauty around us. We are so lucky to live on this planet whereever we live because of the nature which surrounds us and serves to remind us that there is a God. Take a moment to look around where ever you are.

Our mountains...not quite the view I saw a couple of days ago, but for those of you without mountains, it reminds you what they are. :)

Hall up-date: Gary and I are busy with the usual things and trying to regain control of our backyard and all of the little and big projects that I have come up with during the dreaming and planning and construction of our new deck.

Jessica is starting a new job with the Division of Child and Family Services as a caseworker. She is excited because it allows more opportunities for growth and progress. And a raise in income is always good as well.

Scott and Chantel are back to school and their senior years. If all of the stars align, they should both graduate in May. They have added a kitten and a fish to their family.

Ben celebrated his birthday yesterday, the beginning of our birthday week with Gary and Jena having birthdays at the end of this week. He spent most of his day with his good friend, Travis and his girlfriend which was good for Ben.

Tosha is enjoyiing her job as a server at Cracker Barrell, on most days anyway. She likes meeting and talking with people in this casual environment.

Jena is enjoying 9th grade, esepcially seminary, dance, and musical theater. She is busy with Special Olympics at this time of the year when she plays basketball and swims. In the next post, I will focus on a couple of her recent activities.

A view from the mountain down.....

Antelope Island Buffalo and Balloon Stampede

If you have ever been to Antelope Island, you know that Syracuse is the "gateway city" to this island which is located in the Great Salt Lake. It is a popular place to take out of town guests who want to try swimming in lake. There is a great sandy beach but the water is located so far from the parking area and you have to walk through hordes of brime flies on the way there and back...it is one of those "once in a life time" experiences. However the island offers other things like nice hiking, buffalo, a historical ranch, and of course, the Stampede. This was actually our first time there. On Friday night we took Jena and her friend Kaitlyn out for the Friday evening activities. It was so fun that Gary and I headed back on Saturday night to hear the concert for that night as well.

It was held on a large dusty plain area which is used usually as a group camping area. The weather was perfect...blue skies with white fluffy clouds, no wind, and temps. around 80 degrees. Actually the no wind wasn't too great for the kite fliers and the balloonists as they had to delay their "flights" until later in the evening. Howsever it was still amazing to watch them both.

A single kite flying in the sky.

Kaitlyn and Jena watching the balloon preparing to inflate.

Ready....

Set....

Go..............

Just one launched tonight from near the stage. Others took off from another location and landed during the concert.

Jena and Kaitlyn watching the takeoff.

A arms-length self photo---Kaitlyn, Jena and I

They had an amazing kite flying display of "Quad" kites which are controlled by four strings. These pictures aren't great because they couldn't fly until later in the evening. The kiters could fly their kites together and do amazing tricks all together. I couldn't figure out how they avoid tangling their strings together. They would fly in formations and then twist off in different directions. If you ever have a chance to see it do it.

We saw up to six kites in the air, flying together. It made me want to go fly a kite. In Hong Kong, there was a place in the New Territories where people would go and fly kites. You could buy a kite from a vendor and then stand near the top of a hill and fly the kite...often with a hundred other people. They had some fancy Chinese kites that were great to watch as well. I wonder how many kite flying places there are in the world?

The kites are not the typical shape as you can see but they shoot through the air. I watched the kiters on the ground controlling them and I still can't figure them out. It is hard work.

The main event was a Beach Boy tribute band. We brought our own chairs and enjoyed a fun concert....especially if you like Beach boy music which we do.

Kaitlyn and Jena enjoyed dancing with everyone else in front of the stage.

The concert was great and they did a good job with the songs. So on Saturday night, Gary and I went back to hear the "The Diamond Experience" band which was a tribute to Neil Diamond of course. Two concerts in one weekend is a first for Gary and I. Final pictures from the night............. Smiles from Jena

Enjoying a sucker with a friend

The Band

A bumper sticker on one of the balloonist's cars

The moon over the Lake I think we will be watching out for next year and maybe go again.