State Music Festival (Jaiden)

Jaiden: This weekend was state solo and ensemble!! we went up on a bus Friday afternoon and then we drove and stopped for dinner and some friends and I went to this place called cubby's and I got the best blueberry shake ever haha! and then we got to the hotel and partied and went swimming and face timed people, and we were having a blast! the next morning Emily and Gwendolyn and I went to the little gym and worked out for a bit and took this pic where I look INSANELY buff and then we got ready and went to the competition!!

I got to hear Emily's song and she did super good! and I also got to hear some other people perform too and they did INSANE, like I'm pretty sure the girl who went before me was pro opera singer... any way haha I did my song and it was good and then I got picked up by aunt Alicia and we went to Janika's baby shower!!! there was so many children there hahaha I was in heaven it was so fun and then after Jenna and I went to stay with Adria and Rella! we made bracelets and watched a movie, it was a good fun relaxing night! 

Then today I got my score form the competition!!! I GOT A 1!!! that's the best score you can get!! so if there was nationals I would have qualified haha isn't that awesome??? I'm pretty proud and then we went to church and hungout and decorated onesies for Janika and I made one that says "I 💗 hot moms" and another that straight up says "O'Hare air" and then we drove home and Evan was in the car with us so that was super fun hope you have an amazing week!!! it's already may which is so so crazy!!  also they resurfaced the parking lot at our school so I don't have my senior spot anymore but I have a pic of it so it'll chillany! 

Après un Rêve

This is the song that Jaiden sang for the competition (but at a different performance). Her director asked her and a few of the others to perform their piece during their last Madrigal Concert. I was happy about that because then I was able to video it! They all did amazing! If you are wondering about the random chair in the video, well the opening song had someone playing the cello and that is why the chair is there. Then it sat there the entire concert and no one moved it! I kept thinking, "Will someone just move that chair off stage?!" Ha ha! Oh well!  

(Jaiden's senior parking space that she references above. "PJ" stands for "Princess Jaiden," ha ha!)

Janika's Baby Shower

We held Janika's baby shower at my mom and dad's since I figured it would be the most central location between the Westra family and Jensen family. It turned out great! We had a good turn out from both sides of the family and Janika felt very loved and supported! She got loads of nice gifts to help her start off in this new journey! Jenna was a huge help with the shower. She put together the balloon arch (we didn't have quite enough of some of the colors, but it still turned out really cute!) Jenna also made rice krispie treats and scotcheroos, both of which were delicious. She also babysat Evan the night before and also on Saturday while we went to Costco to get all of the food. I was grateful for all of her help! 

We set up a little table for the kids to decorate onesies, and they really enjoyed that! It was so fun to have all five babies on the Jensen side that were born in 2021. We tried to get a picture of them all together, but they were NOT having it! Grandma Westra had a big sack filled with soft balls and all of the babies and kids had "a ball" playing with them! Our girls LOVED playing with all of the babies! 

We served chicken salad on croissants, fruit salad, chips, a big fruit platter, brownies, rice krispie treats, scotcheroos, and swig style cookies (made by my sister, Jen. They were a big hit!) Those who attended on the Westra side were Grandma Westra, Wendy, Janika, Ellen, Jaiden, Jenna, Jen, Alicia, Rella, Adria, Danielle, Lorrie Norman, and Nelva Griffiths. Kim was out of town, but she and Chris sent over a sound machine for the new baby. On the Jensen side we had Grandma Jensen, Jodi Venable, Julie Yearsley, and her grandbaby, Vivee. Connie and her daughter, Chantel, and daughters-in-law, Nicole (Cody's wife), Morgan (Chase's wife) and all of their kids. So we had a good group! Jaiden had gone up to Provo on the bus on Friday for the Solo/Ensemble competition on Saturday. Thankfully Alicia was able to go pick her up after her solo and bring her to the baby shower with them. Jaiden and Jenna went home with them after the shower to have some cousin time Saturday night and Sunday. 

Wendy's Birthday

Janika and Brandon got me tickets to go see an Improve Broadway show for my birthday (which was yesterday) and so after the baby shower was finished I rode with Janika back to her house where Brandon had a delicious dinner ready of steak that he cooked on the smoker.  Then we headed to the theater in Provo. The cast  did a great job! I don't see how people can come up with dialogue and musical numbers right on the spot like that! I could never do that! It was a lot of fun! Thank you, Janika and Brandon, for the lovely birthday dinner and show! 

Evening Walks

The weather has been so lovely that I often go for an evening walk -- even if I already went for a morning walk. Jenna came with me today and the scenery was so beautiful that we did a little impromptu photoshoot! 

Senior Ball -- Jaiden

Jaiden is off to her very last high school dance!! I have mixed feelings about this... I feel a little sad that this stage of life is coming to an end, but I am also excited for all that lies ahead! Jenna did her hair for the dance and it turned out really pretty! We bought the dress from Suzy's Closet, in Hurricane, and had them add in the sleeves. She looks beautiful!! 

For the "day date" they went rock climbing at the Contact Climbing Gym (owned by the Compasses who were in the 5th Ward with us). Then they went to the DI and picked out outfits for each other and did lip sync videos. Jaiden went with Lane Reeves and they doubled with Alex Merdes and Kirsten Carter. Lane brought a dozen roses for Jaiden when he came to pick her up. They went to the Cliffside Restaurant and then took pictures at the lava rocks near Harmons and then went to the dance, which was at some warehouse or something in Santa Clara!  

Here is Jaiden's write up (seriously, why does this generation cram everything together into one paragraph and not capitalize anything? It is so much harder to read, ha ha!)  

Saturday was senior ball!!!! it was so so so fun!! for our day date we went rock climbing at contact!! I am not very good but I tried my best hahah! then we went to the di and got outfits for the other couple in our group and they got one for us, and then we had to make a music video with our outfits!! lane had scrubs and I had a construction shirt so we had no ideas....but then while we were at lunch we got some of the glass sodas and for our music video we did bud like you by ajr and basically just danced around with our bottles it was way fun to make haha!!! then I went home and got ready. they picked us up and we went to cliffside for dinner!! I LOVE that place!! I got chilli glazed salmon and it was incredible!!!! then we went and took pictures and it was a blast!! reagan hopkin's sister was our photographer! and then we hungout for a bit and went to the dance!! it was a PARTY!! LITERALLY SUCH A GOOD DANCE! they played awesome music and I found keirra at the dance and we were screaming and partying so hard it was literally a blast! then after the dance we just hungout for a bit and then went home haha! lane made me a scrapbook with pictures of us and I literally cried its soooo cute!

Youth Temple Trip

The St. George temple closed early in 2019 for a complete renovation. Then all of the temples around the world closed in March of 2020 (just after Jase and Ellen got married) due to the pandemic. They eventually started opening up in phases, with masks and appointments required. It has been difficult to get appointments for baptisms -- especially with the nearest temple (Cedar City) being so small. So we were grateful that our youth leaders were able to get an appointment for all of the youth to go to the Las Vegas temple (two hours away) to do baptisms today. Josh wasn't able to go because of a high school soccer game in Cedar City, which turned out to be awful weather -- hailing and snowing! But Jenna and Jaiden attended with the group. Unfortunately Jenna had come down with a cold a day or two before (and missed school Thursday) so hopefully she didn't get anyone sick! We weren't sure if Jaiden would be able to miss rehearsal, but she and Emily talked with their director who said that they would "make it work." I am so glad that they could go! (And yes, we DID print off family names for them to bring!) 

Jenna, Honors Choir Performance

Jenna sang with the Honors Choir for the Veterans Program -- Saving Dr. Warren Essay Contest. the theme was "Let Patriotism Prevail." They had a full flag salute and honored our Veterans. They also announced the winners of the essay contest. I didn't know that this was an awards ceremony for an essay contest until I came -- I thought it was just a choir concert. But I was so touched by the program. The overall winner of the essay contest was a middle school girl from Alabama. They showed a video of her reading her essay and it was amazing! I totally cried! The program was live-streamed and the local news did a story on it. You can see the story HERE. 

https://www.stgeorgeutah.com/news/archive/2022/04/20/ggg-let-patriotism-prevail-students-veterans-recognized-during-awards-ceremony-in-santa-clara/#.YmYMuNrMKUl

He Passed!! Josh -- our newest driver!!

Josh is the first one that got his driver's license right after his birthday! His birthday was on Saturday (so the Driver's License Division was closed) and he got his license on Monday! 

Jaiden was two months after her birthday (due to Covid), Janelle was five months after her birthday, Jared was 4 months after, Jase was 3 1/2 months after, and Janika was six months after! Josh took driver's education clear last summer. We figured that summer would be best so that it wouldn't conflict with soccer. But he didn't really start driving much with us until January 2022. At that time we sat down and figured out how many weeks there were until his birthday and how many hours a week he would need to finish his driving hours by then. I kept track of it on a spreadsheet and he had the hours he needed by time he was eligible. The Monday before his birthday one of the driving instructors contacted him to set up driving time with him. He did it before school at 6:00 a.m. a few days this week and then a few hours on Friday since school was our for Easter break.

The instructor drove with Josh again on Saturday (on Josh's birthday) for a couple of hours and texted him Monday morning to ask if he wanted to take the test that day. It worked out perfectly because the kids were out Monday for Easter break too. Josh wasn't sure if he was ready, but I assured him that he was and that he should jump at the opportunity! Then I went to the driver's license division website to see if there were any open appointments that day, and there was just one appointment left! So I took it! I figured if he didn't pass his test then we could always cancel. I was confident he would pass though -- he is a good driver. 

I was supposed to go interpret that morning, but Josh wanted to practice parallel parking and backing up by a street curb and so I asked Rick if he could interpret my class instead so that I could practice with Josh, and he agreed. During our practice Josh didn't do very well parallel parking the first time, but then did perfect the second time. Josh went to take his test and only missed six points. Two points for not signaling when leaving a round-a-bout (is that a thing?) and then four points for parallel parking. Apparently it didn't go as well as it did during our practice, ha ha! But he did great on everything else!

There is an online test they have to get 100% on and Josh had done one section, but not the rest. I told him to hurry and finish because he couldn't get his license without it! Their website was soooo slow and kept timing out and so that was frustrating, but he was finally able to finish it and we went to Hurricane to get his license! We were in and out in ten minutes! Congratulations, Josh!!!

 

Easter!!

Rick wrote a beautiful song for his Caroler girls called "Son of God" years ago and recently decided to write a new SATB arrangement of that song, that included bells, for Easter! We got permission from the Bishopric to sing this for our ward on Easter Sunday and started learning it! We had Rick, me, Jase, Ellen, Jaiden, Josh, Jenna, and Emily! They all did bells and I signed it. We practiced every Sunday for the past six weeks. Last Wednesday we went and sang it for people in the neighborhood and then passed out invitations to the Easter meeting. 

This morning we had everyone meet at our house at 8:00 to run through it a few times and then we sang it in sacrament meeting today! I think it went well and we received SO MANY compliments on it! There were three other musical numbers in our ward besides ours. The primary sang "The Miracle," the Wilde family sang an arrangement of "I Know That My Savior Loves Me/I Know That My Redeemer Lives," and Paige Allred sang "Come, Beautiful Savior," with her son, Josh on the Cello, and Christine France on the piano. All of the musical numbers were lovely! 

Later we prepared the Easter baskets. Rick got the kids food -- brownie mixes, peanuts, popcorn, pop or chocolate milk, and candy. I got the girls make up and I bought Jenna picture frames for her room. I also got the kids' some shorts for summer. The kids dyed Easter eggs and we had a nice meal of ham, baked potatoes, vegies, salad, and fruit salad. Later on we made brownies for Josh's birthday. It was nice to relax and spend time with family! Since it was Easter the missionaries were all given permission to skype home and so we had a great conversation with Janelle tonight also! 

Here are the kids looking sad because their Easter baskets were empty... just too much going on this morning to worry about filling Easter baskets!! We filled them later though! 

Today is the birthday of my sister, Kellie Sue Westra, who died when she was seven days old. Because of Christ's resurrection, we will see her again someday. I am so grateful for Jesus Christ and His Atonement. Because of Him we are not left to navigate this world alone. Because of Him death is not the end -- we will all live again! Because of Him we can be forgiven of our sins and return to live with Him again someday.  Because of Him our families can be together forever. This truly gives us reason to rejoice -- not only on Easter, but everyday! 

Josh's 16th Birthday!!

Josh turned 16 today!! He and I have really been focusing on his driving hours the past three months and he finally finished his 35 hours. One of the driving instructors contacted him this week to set up the hours he needed of instructor driving time. Since Josh has soccer after school he had to schedule it before school -- at 6:00 a.m.! At least the roads are much less busy at that time! Thankfully Rick brought him, because I am not awake at that hour! He did this for a couple of days this week and then drove after school one of the days since he had a soccer game and didn't need to be at the school until a little later. There was no school Friday due to Easter Break and so he was able to get a few hours in that day and a couple more hours on his birthday. He finished all of hours and so now he just needs to take the test! 

Josh was hoping to put together a party tonight with a bunch of his friends, but too many of them were going out of town for Easter and so he ended up postponing it. Thankfully Jared invited Josh to hang out with him and all of his friends at his apartment. They had a smash tournament and then went to the encampment mall at Dixie State University to play spike ball. They had a great time! Then Josh met up with a couple of friends to play night pickleball. So it ended up being a good day. Jenna and I made this balloon arch for Josh. I thought it turned out really cute!! 

General Conference!!

We really enjoyed General Conference! Sunday morning we had our traditional Conference Crepes (cooked by Chef Rick) and they were delicious! We had a song practice for the song we are doing for Easter. Rick took his girls' arrangement of "Son of God" and changed it into a bell number, adding parts for the men. It is beautiful! 

Derek and Danielle were in town and stopped by with their girls, so that was fun! They watched conference with us and Jenna did the girls' hair (and added beads) and nails and Layla did Jenna's hair too, ha ha! 

After they left we had another song practice and then had eat a Passover dinner while reading the Bible about the Passover. We had Kosher Matsah, bitter herbs, romaine lettuce with a charoset paste, salt water (to dip the bitter herbs into), beitzah and wine (grape juice). 

This meal was not too filling, so we followed it up with another dinner of leftovers and sandwiches! Then Rick put on his all time favorite movie  -- "The Ten Commandments!" It is amazing that they could do a movie like this in the 50s! It really is an incredible movie! It is very long though and so we only got partway through it and will watch the rest next week. 

Janika Maternity Photos!!