Harry Potter mania

Harry Potter Eve. At the park today, some of my friends and I were discussing our predictions for the last book. We were all optimistic about the fates of our favorite characters. I still want to think the best of Snape, and think Dumbledore had some grand plan that we are yet unaware of. WE'll see...soon! Trevor's new shop is inside of a book store, and he has volunteered to help with the Harry Potter Party. They are going all out and have tons of activities, a Hogwarts school laid out in their basement, etc. Trevor is dressing up as Filch, of all the characters.... Anyway, we borrowed a wig for the costume, which needed a little fixing to make it work, and Emily ended up using her hair straightener on it. It was just too hilarious NOT to take a picture. Also, Trevor took a picture of the books the store had received earlier today still in their boxes, all ready to be sold at midnight tonight. We're all going to the party. Should be fun!
p.s. Trevor and I also went to see the new movie last night. We both liked it and thought they did a good job with the editing, etc.
Harry Potter mania! We're currently making a schedule for who gets the book at what time of day, and Max is upset that he is last on the list of readers, but all is not fair in love and Harry Potter.

Blah!

Today was sooooooo boring! I'm so bored that I'm having some serious empathy for my kids, who are also bored. Not that I didn't cross off many things on my to-do list today....we did. I made a Walmart trip, practiced the flute, worked on some business accounting, helped the kids do chores and practicing, got the laundry folded and put away, etc. So we had stuff to do, but we definitely need a little excitement in our lives. Being new here, we don't really know that many people, and the people we do know have lives and schedules, as opposed to us newbies who are floating around without a schedule (other than work). So....yawn!

And today is definitely a fat and frumpy day. I always give myself a haircut on these days, and today was no exception. Emily was disgusted with me. I'll never be able to grow my hair out. Everyone in the family wants me to grow it out, but I just can't do it.

Ryan's Place Park

The kids and I went to visit a new park called Ryan's Place, which was recently built in a neighboring town in honor of a little boy who died. It was evident that the whole community had really come together to build the playground. There were little plaques everywhere telling about the donors, etc. I got a little teary walking around it thinking about the family who had done this in honor of their son. Anyway, the kids loved the park, and had a great time running and climbing. There were fun make-believe elements as well as just plain good climbing.

OH my heck!

Emily had a great time at girls camp this past week. I think she really got to know a lot of nice kids and had fun with the certifications and crafts, etc.
She said she wanted to come home the first night, but bravely stuck it out and ended up having lots of fun. She came home completely exhausted. Everyone knows these girls don't sleep at camp...then the evening they got home she also attended her first session of baptisms for the dead at the temple. She's really growing up!

Her comment after girls camp, "Mom, why does everyone here say "Oh my heck" all the time? My only response, "Welcome to Utah."

I played in the alumni band concert on the university quad last night. It was fun to reconnect with old musician friends. Always fun to hit the Stars and Stripes on piccolo. One of the fun things about being back in Logan is the musical connection. There will be more playing opportunities here. I've already had a lot of people ask me how many students I'm willing to take.

Summer at last!

It's finally summer! You may say that it has been summer for a whole month now, but for me, this afternoon, summer finally settled in. We set up the little wading pool and slip and slide in the backyard, and spent 4 hours just playing in the back yard. The kids had a fabulous time, and so did I. for the first time in ages, I actually felt relaxed.

sabbath blessing

I think that since we have moved here, I have appreciated the Sabbath day more than at any other time in my life. When God says, six days shalt thou labor, and then to rest and keep the seventh holy, I believe that commandment is truly meant to restore our souls. I feel it deeply now as Trevor, and even the rest of us are working ourselves to a frenzy 6 days in the week to get the business up and running. Sunday is our only truly restorative rest to mind, soul and body.
I am especially grateful today for the blessing of old friends. I attended my dear friend Kristen's blessing of her newest baby boy and was really touched by the strength of old friendship. Trevor and I actually had a chance to talk with several of our old friends there. Isn't it lovely to have friends that really love you for who you are, even after all these years. They don't see the extra pounds and grey hair, but just me. Truly a blessing.
Trevor enjoyed playing in the alumni band concert this afternoon. We're taking turns. Next week I will play while he stays with the kids. I took the kids and met tutu and papasan at the concert. The kids were actually remarkably well-behaved, if a little impatient toward the end, and I enjoyed listening to the music.
We're looking at possibly putting the kids in a charter school. It is K-8, so all three kids could attend the same school. Also, they have a great arts program, advanced academic programs, and small classroom sizes. Emily was especially excited about it. She begs me every day to let them go there. I'm filling out applications and we'll see what happens.

visit with Raquel

Trevor's mom came out to visit us the second week we arrived in Utah and helped with the kids a lot while Trevor and I were working like crazy. The kids had a great time visiting parks and going to a movie, etc. We also all went out to a chinese restaurant with tutu and papasan. The horse pictures are at Trevor's aunt Heather's farm. We had a nice family dinner out there. Beautiful country!

Emily

Emily's bday photo and a photo of her with her friends after their band concert this spring. Meant to post these ages ago, but just found the pictures. A little old, but still wanted to document. She really misses these friends and emails them all the time.

running races

Max has been practicing his running, and my Dad even found a family track meet for him to run in. Max ran in the 400 m, 50 m, and did the softball throw. He ended up taking 1st place in his heat in the 50 meters. I think he also had the 3rd best overall time. Pretty good for his first time out! Sam also got to run in an exhibition race for all kids 8 and under. He actually took 2nd place in his race, and the girl who beat him was obviously a couple of years older. He was thrilled. Today the kids wanted to practice running again, so we went down to the high school track and ran for fun for awhile. Ginny was pretty fast, too! Poor mom brings up the rear. I think I'll stick to walking. Max is going to work on running and maybe golf for a 4H project this summer. Emily is going to work on knitting with my friend Valerie who is an EXPERT. You should look at her blog! shoelessval.blogspot.com While you are there, you can donate to the virtual lemonade stand she is holding to raise money for children's cancer research and read about the miraculous recovery from cancer of her 2 year old daughter. They had a lemonade stand here in town last weekend, and I think they earned over a thousand dollars to support cancer research.

I've been home more this week. Emily, her cousin katie, and I finished up sorting all the pads and corks. We had to measure each individual pad with calipers, which let me tell you took hours, and hours, and hours of time. We finished today! Hallelujah! In other good news...my sister Sandi finished her masters' degree and is now a proud stay-at-home mom! Hard to believe little mannix is nearly 6 months old! She says he is almost crawling.

progress

A little progress. Trevor worked about 70 hours this week to get the first big high school order delivered. I myself worked about 40 hours with him, and his Dad and step mom worked with us diligently for 3 days. Nor can we forget the faithful souls who helped babysit so we could work so much this week...chiefly my diligent Emily, Tutu and Papasan, Raquel, my dad and Ann, my good friend Valerie, cousin Katie, and a couple of Emily's friends. We just feel so much gratitude it is impossible to thank everyone enough. It's like the scripture in Mosiah...when you thank the Lord for your blessings, he pours out more blessings, and you can never catch up! Anyway, this has been one of the hardest months of my life--trying on every level, and I've spent many nights in tears, but we are starting to see the light, and have been supported with time, prayers, and words of encouragement from family and friends near and far. Thank you!!!!! One night this week as I was crying my eyes out, I read in the Book of Mormon about how the Jaredites were being tossed on the waves of the sea, and their little boats would be sunk in the depths, but then be raised up, and through it all the stones provided light. That night I prayed for God to show me the light even as we surrendered ourselves to be tossed on the waves of the sea for awhile. I couldn't see it that night, but after thinking on it for a few days, I think the light is hope; the light is family; the light is friendship; and faith, which although mine seems lacking, is still at the foundations of who we are and what we hope for. I'm holding onto these things while we make this journey--hopefully to our own promised land.

arrived and crazy

Arrived in Utah last Tuesday early in the morning and hit the ground running. Exhausted. Completely exhausted.

almost the big day

Trevor's home. Hallelujah! WE missed him! This afternoon is our pre-signing for the closing, tomorrow we load the truck, which means today is the final packing frenzy. That means I shouldn't be here typing this blog when I have so much work to be done. Next blog entry will be from Utah! I can't believe we've made it this far in the whole process. Starting our own business and moving at the same time has been something akin to climbing Mt. Everest--definitely a one step at a time deal. When we get to Utah, the climb will be far from over, but we'll definitely be into the next phase.

turmoil

We are officially in chaos! We had a yard sale yesterday. Always have to wonder if they are really worth all the extra work. Emily helped me a lot--stayed up late to help me do the pricing, and then manned the money all morning out in the sun. We made $100--maybe $130 if the people who were interested in the entertainment center call back.
Max had his cub scout pack meeting last night and earned a bead toward his Bear award. The kids had fun playing at the Cluff family's acreage. Max and Sam went zipping down this giant hill on their bikes with absolutely no fear. Br. Daniel showed the boys a frozen copperhead snake that he had killed. The point was to show them what to stay away from and he tied it into a scripture lesson. But then, he skinned the thing, and they iced the snake meat to serve at the next Boy scout dinner. Ugh!

Trevor is so swamped. I wish I could help him more. Meanwhile, in less than a week we'll be leaving. I'm working hard on the packing now. The kids are out of school on Thursday. We pick up Trevor from the airport that evening. I'm praying that all will go well with house sale, etc.

Ginny's quote of the day...."Mom, my toot-thingy won't stop tooting!" Makes me wonder what she ate yesterday!

Happy Birthday Emily!

Emily is 12 years old today! How did this happen? 12 is a big landmark for her because she will join the young women at church. She's nervous about it, but will love it once she is in there. We'll have a family dinner tonight. She picked macaroni and cheese with angel food cake and strawberries for dessert. Easy! She's easy to please. Tomorrow night she is having her friends over for a slumber party.

Last night Max did a great job in his school talent show. He played Sakura, Sakura on the trumpet. He says he wasn't nervous, and he really did well. The talent show itself was something of a marathon--2 1/2 hours. Way too long. Sam and Ginny did great for the first hour and a half, and then we were walking the halls. But, I was proud of Max. I think he was proud of himself, too.

I've got to get packing!!!!!

Emily's 4H photos

Here are a few of the photos we took at the nature reserve. Emily has a really good eye for artistic photos. The tadpole is underwater. It was so fun to see all the tadpoles that day. Hundreds of them darting all around in the water. I've never seen so many in one place. My favorite is of the purple wildflower with the sunlight forming a spotlight.