Here We Go.....Ready or Not!!!

Ian is officially signed up to play football! I'm a little nervous but kindof excited too.....Ian cant wait to start. He is sitting here in his uniform right now. He thinks he looks "buff" with his shoulder pads on! Where did he even learn that word. Hilarious. Of course the other kids had to get in on the action too, so out came the camera! Check out Ian's poses. I love it! Go Highland!!!

An Unexpected Evening.....

I just returned from a wonderful little "date" with my 8 year old son...Ian. It wasn't planned really. I received a call from my Aunt Debbie last night. I've mentioned her before...she sings in the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Apparently she had extra tickets to the choirs Pioneer Day Commemoration / 80th anniversary of "Music and the Spoken Word". My Grandmother really wanted to attend but cant go alone as she needs a wheelchair and none of Debbie's kids could go. She wondered if I would go and take my Grandma. You just don't turn down tickets to one of their performances. They are hard to come by...almost impossible to get sometimes. So, I agreed and was even able to take Ian because he is 8, the minimum age requirement. Here we are in Grandmas Cadillac...being chauffeured by my cousin AJ.

It was fun to spend some alone time with him even if it wasn't something that he would have chosen to attend. I think he enjoyed it though. I knew of course that the performance would not disappoint but I was not prepared for how much it would touch me. Here is Ian just before the concert started....

I'll admit to being a tad more emotional than the average person...okay a lot more emotional but tonight wasn't just about boo-hooing. It was about feeling energy and passion. It was pride and gratitude. It was just 'Awesome' for lack of a better word. I have only seen live performances of the choir for Christmas so this opportunity to hear such a variety of music was a treat. Thank you Debbie for thinking of me enough to offer me the tickets. I'm happy of course that my Grandma was able to go, but it turned out to an unexpected gift for me as well.

As for Mr. Ian, at one point he leaned over and said: "Mom, you re not crying are you? Why are you crying?" I explained to him afterward that music really moves me....it stirs something up deep inside my heart.....I think it fell on deaf ears. That's OK...one day he will understand. A really cool moment happened before the concert even started. The buzz of people trying to find their seats just stopped suddenly and everyone stood up. I wasn't sure what was happening at first and then I saw him. President Monson (Prophet of my church) had walked into the room. Ian was so excited but couldn't really see him unfortunately. It was pretty cool to know that he was there watching the concert with us.

So, some of my favorites of the night...and there were many. "Come Come ye Saints"... this song by itself is such an amazing bit of music but when it is sung by this magnificent choir, it takes on an entirely new meaning. The arrangement and the way they sang it would make you think that each one of those choir members personally made that trek across the United States in search of religious freedom. Amazing. Then they sang "Over the Rainbow"....enough said. Beautiful. The point that they got me though was when they sang "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing"....this happens to be one of my all time favorite songs and after they finished, they got the first of many standing ovations. It was that good. I was bawling. They followed it with "I Feel My Saviors Love" another major favorite. Everything after that was a blur for me as I soaked in the sound of their voices mixed with the amazing orchestra. I can remember thinking to myself.... it does not matter if you are Mormon, Catholic, Baptist, or Atheist....when you listen to this group of angelic voices, if you are not completely moved (to tears in some cases), you cannot be human. As if to prove this point, they began to sing "The Battle Hymn of the Republic"....have you heard the choirs rendition of this song? It is Grammy award winning you know, and deservedly so. Unbelievable. What a treat this night was for me. It reminded me of everything that I am grateful for...My freedom - not only as an American but also the freedom to practice the religion of my choice, My family - especially those that came so long before me and paved the way for my family to be where it is today. What an amazing and truly difficult journey those people made just so they could live peacefully and worship the way they wanted. I cant even imagine the hardships they suffered.

I am also so very grateful for the love of music that I have inherited from many family members on both sides. I cannot imagine life without music....it does so much for the soul.....especially mine.

Random Fun....

I found some pictures on my camera from last weekend....we went on a drive at dusk around Salt Lake City. We went up through the Avenues and found some amazing homes. A while back I noticed a HUGE building way up on the hill above the Avenues and wondered what it was. I didnt take a picture but it was a really old building. Well, we found it and although now it is being renovated into some really expensive condos, it was once the original Primary Childrens Hospital....really cool to see it and read about. After that I was determined to find the gravesite of Brigham Young. I knew approximately where it was but I havent been there since I was a teenager. Apparently they have made a nice little park around it so it wasnt too difficult to find. These are a couple of the pictures I took with my phone at the site.Today I took little Soren to the park. I really shouldnt say "little anymore"....he is growing big time! He is going through a stage where he just wants to be with Mom and Dad..and who can blame him. But....as soon as they leave, he realizes that he has a lot of fun with his cousins. He really enjoyed the park today although it was a little hot. I love his little forced smile when I ask him to look at the camera. Addie went through the same thing...so cute.

4th of July Weekend Fun.....

Well, I certainly hope all of you enjoyed your 4th of July weekend as much as we did. This is fast becoming a favorite holiday for me....there is something about BBQ's with friends and family, fireworks, summer heat, and remembering why we celebrate this holiday that makes me all warm and fuzzy inside. In the famous words of Lee Greenwood "I'm Proud to be an American"..... I love this picture of my little Evan. It was taken 7-4-05 in Las Vegas and has become my yearly '4th' picture.

We started our weekend on Friday because Denver had the day off. He woke up early and cleaned out the garage which was a wonderful way to start the day! It looks great.... I left him to do the hard work by himself and headed off for my personal training session with Surba. It was a good one for sure. My legs are still hurting from it (in a good way). After this we decided it was time to teach our boys how to ride their bikes....

Yes, they are 8 years old and havent learned but you know now days kids prefer scooters and skateboards. I didnt see any reason to pressure them.... it only took an hour and they were riding like pro's. Now they are finding any excuse at all to ride the bike. It was a lot of fun and very hot. I think Evan had a little heatstroke afterward as he laid down and took a long nap, complaining of a stomache ache.

Even mom and dad participated and hopped on a mountain bike for a turn around the parking lot. I got brave and took the bike down a set of stairs...it brought back lots of memories from a time where I was a little crazy on a mountain bike...stairs, mountains, slick rock...and all without a helmet. Ah, youth.

Addison decided to dress herself on this morning....she came out in a hoodie and snow boots. Very en vogue! Her new thing is to "pose" for pictures...she likes to lay down and put her chin in her hand. Its really hilarious. She is going to start dance lessons next month and I cant wait to see how this goes!

Saturday, we got up reeeaaaallly early to head over to our church for the annual pancake breakfast. Nothing like free food cooked by someone else! Its always a good time and nice to visit with people outside of the stuffy confines of church meetings. The kids always love an excuse to run around the church grounds without the parents getting after them. I had to stay and help wash dishes so we didnt get home until almost noon. Also, Ian was recruited to play football during the breakfast. I have actually contemplated registering him for this for a year or so (I know...crazy).... Last year he expressed interest so I looked into it but decided against for 2 reasons; Cost and the fact that Ian would be "X'd" because of his size. I have seen the signs around the neighborhood for this new season and again, thought about it but just shrugged it off. Turns out the Gremiln coach is in our ward (church) and his son, who happens to be friends with Ian is on the team also. He took one look at Ian and came right on over to our table to "recruit" him for the team. I think we may go ahead and let him try it out. Considering Ian knows nothing about football and the fact that they will practice 4 days a week, Im not sure exactly how much he will like it....but it could be fun. I think it will be good for him to be a bit more active. Video games have become a little too important lately....

Later that evening we headed over to the Fowles for a BBQ. We had hamburgers, corn on the cob, chips/salsa, watermelon and fruit pizza for dessert. It was so good...especially after a week of only protein and veggies for me and Denver. Although I lost 3 pounds this week, I may have put it all back on yesterday! We really enjoyed hanging out with them and are very sad that they will be moving back East in August. They have 3 boys all the same ages as each of our children.....what a fun family that we will miss a lot! We set off a few little fireworks for the kids and then headed down to Sugarhouse Park for the "big show"..... this is always a great firework show and compeltely free. Unfortunately, due to the countries lovely economic situation, the budget was cut and this was the last year that the park will put on the fireworks. We are so dissapointed...... In our hurry to get to the show, I forgot the camera. I hate it when I do that.

Today we have relaxed and enjoyed just laying around. I cant believe we are already halfway through the Summer....time flies! Here is a slideshow of our busy weekend! Hope you all enjoyed your 4th of July weekend

Welcome July....I think.....

I cannot believe it is July already! The time is flying by. This is good for some things and not so good for others. We have a busy July but not with anything really fun. Lots of Doctor appointments....appointments for school stuff...and thats about it. The weather is hot but we are about to get more rain which will be nice. I enjoy rain in the summer when it is HOT outside. The one good thing about Utah is that it can be 95 degrees during the day but as soon as the sun starts setting, it cools off nicely. On Monday my good friend Linda made the trek up to SLC from Provo to spend a day at the park with us. It was a good time and although it was a little hot, the kids really had fun together. Here are some pics from the day...Linda has 4 boys and her oldest is about to enter the 5th grade! I can remember the day he was born....time has truely flown by.