Monday, September 29, 2008

General Conference Packet

Last year my kids and I had a great time during General Conference. I found a packet that works for older and younger children. It will entertain them during all four sessions.

Here is a place to get General Conference Packets

Saturday, September 27, 2008

Balancing The Good With The Bad




There must be adversity in life to make those times of joy much more sweet. These are those times. Nathan was at work cutting wood for framing. He was using a circular saw and the wood bound up and his hand slipped under the blades of the saw. OUCH! With all the blood spraying around, he thought at first that he had cut off his thumb. He looked at it and realized that the saw didn't even cut to the bone. He went to the insta care and the doctor stitched it up and said that he needed to go see a specialist. The specialist said that Nathan had cut some tendons and will need surgery. He had surgery last week and he is in a cast. Look at that thumb. I think he should be a professional hitch hiker.

Thursday, September 18, 2008

The Road Ends Here


We arrived at the super secret location this morning at 8:00 a.m. Preston was brought into a room and came out deflated. The road ends for him on this adventure. Unfortunately we are not allowed to say anything more. We can take heart in knowing that he went farther in the audition process than all of his friends and thousands of other people. We love Preston and our proud of him. The next thing for him is getting an "A" on his Chemistry exam. And then asking his friend to the Lehi High School Homecoming Dance. GO PRESTON!!!

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

The Super Secret World of Show Business!

Nathan and I took Preston to a super secret audition today.  There was no publicity around it, and we were to tell no one what was going on.  We were running behind this morning getting kids ready for school and stopping at the drive up window at Mc Donald's for breakfast, and trying to find a place to park.  So we arrived about 25 minutes late to this super secret location on this super secret day.

When we walked into the doors there was no one but a security lady sitting at a desk.  She informed us that this super secret audition was yesterday.   Nathan put his head in his hands and shook his head.  He has been dealing with his own issues of almost cutting off his thumb with a circular saw, so this news was not easy to handle.  We showed her the paper we had received showing the date.  The security lady informed us that there were several young men in there just 10 minutes ago who produced the same paper and also got the news.  One young man flew all the way from Vancouver Canada for this audition and had been on the phone weeping.  Another young man was pacing the floor crying on his phone.  And another guy said, well if this is how show business is, I don't know if I want to be a part of it.  All the young men had left by the time we got there.  Where they went, I still don't know. 

We asked the security lady if there was anyone we can talk to.  She called someone on the phone and wrote down a name and phone number on a piece of paper and handed it to me.  Soon another lady came into the lobby and sat down and the first lady left.  The phone rang and she picked it up.  She hung up and said that we needed to go to "the other venue"  and gave us the address.  We walked over to this other super secret venue (I did not wear walking shoe and got a blister) and there was not a sole who looked super secret.   We went to a floor that looked like it could hold super secret activities.  There was no one who looked like they could help us.  We called the name and number on the paper the first security lady gave us and left a message.   We finally decided to try another floor.  Just as we were getting on the elevator, another set of elevator doors opened and I saw someone who was wearing a super secret shirt.  We got out of the elevator and stopped her. 

We were supposed to have gotten a call letting us know of the change.  To make a long story short, we are supposed to go back tomorrow to the super secret location for a super secret audition with the executive producers of this super secret production. 

We actually feel blessed that we were running behind, because we were able to get news that there was another venue.  We also felt blessed because at the same time we decided to leave, we found someone who could help us.  I know everything happens for a reason.  Preston was actually glad he was going to be able to go to school today.  Preston may not make it through, but we are happy that he has been given another chance.

You are probably wondering why I used so many "super secrets"  It is to add to the word count....One of the many ways I seek balance in my life is writing 500 words a day.  I passed by quota.  HURRAY......so until tomorrow.
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Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Air Supply Still Rocks

One of the perks of being the wife of a city councilman is the many events I get to go to and most of the time these events and activities are free.  One of those events was the Utah League of Cities and Towns Annual Conference.  It was held at the Sheraton Hotel in down town Salt Lake City this past week.  There was workshops, a golf tournament, and fantastic speakers.  To close the conference on Saturday, there was a dinner of fantastic food and thres leches for dessert...yum.  Finally Air Supply showed us that they still got it by giving us a memorable concert.  Three of the four band members were from Salt Lake City.  I thought that was pretty awesome.  I took some pictures using Nathan's phone.  I will post them as soon as I figure out how to do it.

http://www.airsupplymusic.com/index.html

My mind went back to the 80s when Air Supply ruled the airwaves.  During the middle of the concert Air Supply started singing the song "The One That You Love"  and had the audience sing the chorus a couple of times.  My mind was immediately brought back to that same girl scout camp I wrote about in a previous post.  Our camp director must have really loved that song because she had us all sing it over and over throughout the week.  On the last day we all (100s of girls) sang it to her.  It was very moving.

At family get-togethers,  we occasionally sing songs from the 80s.  Air Supply is some of my favorites to sing.  I was surprised that my little brother Nathan and my sister Jill knew the words to many of the Air Supply songs.  They are still kids in my book...not even 30 yet.  I believe that music from the 80s is the best music ever.  Back then the music was more important than how beautiful the singer was (Boy George and Cindy Lauper).  There was no wardrobe  malfunctions, no singers who wore very little clothing, no singers or bands who were constantly on the front page of tabloids revealing their shortcomings on a daily basis.

The 80s rocked!  and Air Supply showed me Saturday that they still Rock!
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Monday, September 8, 2008

The Declutter Delirium

In an effort to continue living a balance, I try not to acumulate too much of a good thing like shoes, clothes, decorations etc. When I buy a pair of shoes I must sacrifice another pair I already have to make room for the new pair. I have room in my closet for 21 pairs of shoes. Some of them can use a replacement. Is 21 pairs of shoes too many? Not enough? What do you think?



I love getting rid of stuff I don't need, so when Nathan asked me if I would set aside some time on Saturday to help declutter the garage. I said "Absolutely!!"

Nathan suggested we put out a "yard sale" sign down the street to see if maybe we can sell a few things from the garage. I was a little sceptical, but I went along. I don't like accumulating junk, so why would I want to sell people our junk. Well, as our family started to plow through the junk in the garage, people pulled up to ask what we were selling. Apparently "Yard Sale" signs are magnets for people looking for a bargain. My kids ran into the house and got all of the stuff they had set aside for the DI (Deseret Industries/like the Salvation Army). I was freaking out! I didn't want to have a yard sale, but I kept quiet and watched my kids have the time of their lives.

Wow! The kids were really in their element. Brooklyn demonstrated to a little girl how easy it was to ride the bike she wanted to sell. Brooklyn pointed out the bell on the front and the basket that could hold her favorite things. She offered the little girl her bike for 5 cents. I think we ended up selling it for $5. Megan showed people a stuffed animal backpack and how it had never been used and if someone wasn't interested in that, then maybe they would be interested in something else. Preston would point out something that they may like and then run up to his room, to get something they may like more. Trevor gave suggestions on possible prices for items they were selling.

We got much of the garage cleaned up, we created some HLV (Human Life Value) for the kids, and we made over $160. The very best part for me, was pulling out of the driveway to get lunch for the family and seeing the blinds up in the garage window. Nathan too those blinds down 5 years ago so he could paint the inside of the garage. I actually cried when I saw them. It was a great day!!!

Thursday, September 4, 2008

Preschool Started Yesterday!!!

HURRAY FOR PRESCHOOL!!!!!


The balancing act continues......Yesterday was the first day of preschool. HURRAY!! I teach two classes on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and they are all adorable! Only the best kids come to my preschool. I don't know how I can be so blessed to have the best kids in my preschool, but it happens every year. Look at them! You can tell they are all future leaders (I don't mean of the country). They are the next generation of greatness. That's why my brilliant husband came up with the name of the preschool "Next Generation Preschool".

Speaking of Greatness. One of my students last year is Sadie. She was diagnosed with a rare form of brain cancer earlier this year. She and her family had these bracelets made for anyone who wants to bring awareness to this type of cancer. Check out her blog and wear a bracelet. This sweet family sure can teach us a thing or two about living a balance.
 

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