Silent Weekend, Camp Out, Conference

Thursday, March 29, Rick and I were able to attend Bryce and Ailleen's temple wedding in the morning and then my sweetie took me out to lunch.  How awesome to be reminded of the incredible promises we made to each other on our own wedding day almost 18 years ago! 

Rick and I attended "Silent Weekend" Friday night and all day Saturday.  A lot of work went into this event and those involved all did a terrific job!  Friday included an oath of silence (Patrick Lein was hilarious as he dressed up like a judge with a gavel and swore everyone in).  There was a great dinner of Hawaiian food, games, and a dance with various students performing songs in sign language on the stage.  They had laser lights, a fog and bubble machine, and all of the words to all of the songs displayed on a screen up front.

Saturday included some amazing workshops, games, lunch, and closing ceremony.  Going without our voices was really quite easy for those of us who know sign language but it was difficult for many of the students who are just learning.  We were disappointed that the Silent Weekend fell over General Conference but were able to catch up on all of the talks we missed within the next couple of days. 

Friday night Jared was gone on an overnight scout campout.  He had fun but the next day (on Sunday) he was sick and throwing up.  I am wondering if it was heat exhaustion or something because no one else got sick.  After the campout he came home and walked his piano teacher's dog (he and Jase do it twice a week to help pay for lessons) and then he took a loooong nap.  That evening he went to his first Priesthood session with dad and Jase, then out for ice cream, then straight to a party at Anti-Gravity for a couple of hours.  

Janika begged me to take her to the Hunger Games Saturday night.  I wasn't too hard to convince since I really wanted to see it too.  Jase went and saw it last Saturday with a friend and Janika was supposed to go see it with a date Friday night but it ended up being sold out.  We ended up going to the 10:00 p.m. showing after the guys got home from Priesthood and ice-cream.  Rick and I both read the books and so did Janika, Jase, and Jared. 

Sunday Rick made crepes with fruit and cool-whip for the family for breakfast.  It was nice to be able to stay home and listen to the messages from our church leaders.  The kids were excited to be able to see David Archuletta in the MTC choir on Saturday!   I thought it was interesting that Janika said, "I feel like this whole conference session was totally geared towards us (meaning high school students)."  How neat that the same talk can touch those of all different ages and circumstances in the way each person needs! 

Today was April Fools and no one in the family did ANY pranks.  That is a miracle indeed.  Except for the faucet tied with a rubber band to squirt the person who turned on the water.  But other than that we made it through unscathed!

Janika's Preference Pictures

Better late than never! 

 

Jaiden's Second Grade Program

I enjoyed listening to Jaiden sing in her second grade program today.  It was all about Life Cycles.  She was particularly excited to be a butterfly and do a "butterfly dance" in one of the numbers.

 

Science Fair Winner

Congratulations to Janelle (age 9) for winning Second Place in the Science Fair for the Third Grade!

Baton Dresses

My sister, Jeni, and I took Baton lessons from our neighbor when we were kids. We marched in parades and performed throughout the area.  (In the group pictures my sister is the second one from the end and I am the third from the end.)  My mom recently found our little red performing outfits and sent them home with me when we went to Salt Lake this past weekend.  My girls had a fun time dressing up in the outfits and doing a photo shoot!  (Here are a few pictures from 1978). 

Jeni and I were around the same ages of Janelle and Jaiden when we wore them but they looked SO short on the girls (they look short on us too!) that I ended up having Jaiden wear the bigger one.  Jenna didn't want to be left out of the fun and so I put her in the smaller one.  She was so cute dancing around the house and doing little poses!

Session Director Training

Rick and I left the kids with Janika tending overnight for the first time while we went to the EFY Session Director Training at the University of Utah Institute in Salt Lake City.   The kids were fine and everything went smoothly at home while we were gone.  We left Friday morning and so I hired a babysitter until Jared got home from school and then he took over until Jase got home and then Jase took over until Janika got home from her rehearsal around dinner time.  The boys also took over for Janika Saturday evening so that she could attend the General Young Women's Broadcast.  We recently got a little white 2000 Hundai so that Janika will have a car to drive when she gets her license.  We took that car up North and it did great!  It was nice to be able to have that long drive with NO kids along!   We chatted, did a little work on lessons, and listened to a book on CD.  We like Mary Higgins Clark mysteries and so we listened to one of her books on the way up and back.

I really enjoy going to this training each year. It was a little more difficult this time, however, just because I had been fighting this stupid illness for two weeks and still felt under the weather.  I kept popping Ibuprofen every four hours to mask the symptoms and that really helped.  I was also constantly sipping water and chewing gum trying to keep my cough at bay.  I didn't sleep well since that is when the coughing always intensifies.  But even though I wasn't feeling my best and didn't sleep well, I was surprisingly alert during the day and I was able to  enjoy the training.  It is always fun seeing some of our friends each year and I so enjoy spending time with my husband and being able to hold hands all day!  Saturday night after the training we met my mom and dad and my brother, Shane, and his wife, Alicia for dinner before heading back home, so that was fun! 
 

Soccer Season

Janelle had her first Soccer game today.  They are the "Dragonflies."  It ended up being a tie:  2-2.  It was unseasonably cool though and so some of us were huddled in a blanket on the mini bleachers while the rest of the kids were off playing at the playground.  Next week should be back to our normal warm temperatures!