TaVaci Spring Concert

Chloe is in a little singing group and she had the wonderful priviledge to sing a solo in a Taylor Swift Medley this year.  She was so brave and sang at the CSI Fine Arts Auditorium that seats many people.  I think I was a Senior in High School when I sang my first solo there in Madrigals.  Chloe did an exceptionally good job.  She has a strong and beautiful voice.  Momma was so proud of her girl, I even shed some tears!  Way to go Chloe!!!

General Conference April 2012

One of our favorite times of the year has just come to pass.  April General Conference!  We love this time of year when we gather as a family, pull out the tables and chairs, print out some conference worksheets, turn on the internet and make a yummy candy mix.  Something special happened this year though...we were able to receive 4 tickets to the Sunday afternoon session at the Conference Center in Salt Lake City, UT.  So, we watched Saturday's sessions per our tradition, and then Sunday morning, Matt, Alice, Carter and Chloe all prepared to travel to Salt Lake City to see President Monson and the apostles speak at the Conference Center.  What a treat!  We were able to listen to the morning session on the radio throughout our morning travel and then to be able to see, for our first time, a live session at the Conference Center...what a memorable experience for all of us.  (Mason and Josie were so lucky to stay home and watch conference with Memaw!  Their day will come when they turn 8 and we are able to go again.) 

We had to wait over an hour once we found our seats in the Balcony section 7.  We were on the very front row of the balcony, until we realized the gold bar was blocking our view of the podium.  We moved up one row and Carter was a little more relieved because he discovered he has a little fear of heights.  "It's a long ways down..." he said as he looked over the railing.  As we were approaching section 7, one of the ushers told us that once the seats are filled, the balcony drops 2 feet.  Then he reassured us that it was April Fool's. 

Here are Matt and Chloe anxiously waiting...

 ...and Carter and Mom waiting as well. 

 It was fun watching all the Mormon Tabernacle Choir members file in to their seats as well as the 70's and the Apostles.  There was a soft rumble of voices while everyone continually filed in to their seats.  Once everyone was seated, an absolute hush came over the entire congregation of 20,000 + people and then everyone stood as the President Thomas S. Monson, President Henry B. Eyring and President Dieter F. Uchtdorf all entered the building and took their seats.  It was a special and powerful feeling to witness.  President Monson was cute because as he began to sit down, he motioned with his hand for everyone to sit down.  I wondered what he must feel like to be so revered.  Chloe was so disappointed when she realized she would not be able to shake her favorite apostle's hand - Elder Jeffrey R. Holland.  Carter kept saying, "I am so excited to just be here in the same room as the prophet!"  He was almost giddy.

 After the session, we were able to walk around the Conference Center for a few minutes and look at the waterfall and over the balcony at the Salt Lake Temple.

 Carter and Chloe witnessed, for the first time, the anti-mormons picketing outside of Temle Square.  The men were yelling "Joseph Smith can't save you!" and "You claim Adam is your God!"  Carter and Chloe were both able to recognize the true and false acusations that were being made.  We know that Joseph Smith and all the prophets are the Lord's mouthpieces on the earth and that Jesus Christ is the only one who can save us.  We also know that Adam is not our Heavenly Father that we worship and pray to.  Carter and Chloe recognized the contentious feeling that accompanied these statements and the aggression with which they were spoken.  We were very touched as we heard and then felt the Spirit radiating from young adults as they lined the sidewalks and sang hymns of our Savior as we entered the gates to Temple Square.  There was a very obvious contrast in feeling.  The Holy Spirit immediately dispelled the contentious spirit and it felt good to know the difference. 

 We walked around Temple Square for a few minutes and looked inside the Assembly Hall.  Carter and Chloe enjoyed going up the narrow stairs and touring the balcony.  Matt asked Carter how he would feel if he was assigned to sit in this seat during a meeting...

What a wonderful weekend!  We truly feel blessed each conference weekend to be able to saturate ourselves with the Spirit of the Lord by listening to our magnificent leaders.  They have so much inspiration and wisdom to lead, guide and direct us throughout our lives.  Absolutely uplifting!

My testimony in leaving this special experience is that President Monson is the prophet for our day.  It doesn't matter if we are sitting in a small room gathered around a computer monitor, sitting in a car listening to the radio, or gathered among thousands in an assembly hall, when we listen to his voice and the words he speaks, we can feel a powerful spirit of truth.  He is the mouthpiece for the Lord and he will lead us back to our Heavenly Father.  Nothing or nobody can take that feeling away from me or anyone who feels it.  It is true and it enlightens my soul.  I am so grateful for this experience, but I think I honestly prefer to be gathered in a small room among my sweet family listening and learning together.  This is the gospel of Jesus Christ and I know it is true.

Spring Break

Yippee!  It is spring break!  Time to throw out the schedule and have a relaxing week together!

We started off the week doing some chores.  Here's what we called them and how they work...

3 Chores on the Hour Every Hour

So, at the strike of the hour, we pass out 3 chores to each person.  Then each person has a whole hour to complete those 3 chores, or they can get them done as quickly as possible and then return back to their activity until the clock strikes another hour.  We did it for about 3 hours and felt like we accomplished soooo much while reading, playing or just relaxing in the meantime!  This was a great way to do chores!

Ten Minute Tackle

This chore is also very effective and a nice change-up.  We take a timer and set it for 10 minutes.  We work together as a family in each room for 10 minutes.  When the timer goes off, we run to the next room to see what we can tackle in 10 minutes.  Everyone has their basket to gather things that need to be put away in another room.  We can clean up the whole house in about 30 - 60 minutes.  It is fun to work hard and together to get a big job done.

Monday night we took the kids to Skateland to roller skate.  It was a first time for all of them except Carter.  They had a blast and I had a real workout holding on to Josie.  Mason was quite determined to figure it out and he did very well.  Carter and Chloe are naturals, of course.  They both were courageous and when they called for all boys under 13 to go out and race, Carter and Mason both went out.  Mason came in last and Carter was ahead of him.  Their competitors were all much older and more experienced than my sweet boys, so they didn't stand much of a chance.  Carter was discouraged by this, but I know if he works hard and practices, he will be a great speed skater.  Chloe jumped in to race with her age group and to our surprise, she won her race.  She received a free soda at the snack bar.  We were all so thrilled by her determination to win.  They all pushed their mother out with the old ladies to race and I finished somewhere in the middle of the racers.  So, I balanced things out a bit.  It was a very fun evening!  Aunt Margie, Uncle Kris, Riley and Madelyn also went with us.  Daddy didn't skate because he said it is difficult with his pigeon toed feet.  We aren't going to let him use that excuse again, because we want him to join the fun.  We can't wait for our next rollerskating adventure!

Tuesday afternoon, we went to see the movie We Bought a Zoo and we really enjoyed it.  There was some language that wasn't appropriate, so Chloe and I would just look at each other with raised eyebrows and try to ignore what we just heard.  Afterwards, Carter said he was disappointed because he liked the movie but didn't like the language.  He said he even cried a couple of times.  We went with Aunt Margie, Riley and Madelyn.

On Thursday, the kids started their Alpaca 4-H group.  Carter, Chloe and Mason will all participate.  Mason will be a clover bud for beginners.  It was very muddy and wet, but we still walked out to look at the alpaca's to try and decide who the kids wanted to choose to work with for the year.  The owners of the alpaca's rent them out for $1 per child per year.  We don't have to purchase an alpaca or buy their food.  I think it is quite a deal and they are only about a mile and a half from our home.  We are all excited to get started.  The kids will make their final decision next week and then seriously start to learn about and work with their alpacas. 

On the last day of spring break, we decided it was way past time to cut Mason's hair.  So in the midst of shaving it...we decided to give him a mohawk since he has been asking for one for months.

 It was pretty short lived...there for several hours and then gone by the next morning.  My kind of mohawk.  :) 

Mason surely enjoyed it while it lasted. 

Doesn't the smile speak volumes?

We surely do love SPRING BREAK for the chance it gives us to spend time together as a family and just relax a little.  Life is so busy and hectic!  We are grateful for the fun we had this week!

Saturday and Sunday was General Conference and we will post about this next....

Recorder Karate

Tonight Carter blessed us with his

Recorder Karate concert. 

I didn't quite make the correlation with karate until the Music Teacher explained how it works.  The children learn different songs that involve different levels of difficulty.  Just like in karate, when they pass off a song in a basic level, they earn a little colored strings they tie to the end of their recorder.  They build their skills from basic to difficult.  Carter was so proud to show me that he had passed off all of the levels that the teacher had taught them and he had a variety of colored strings to show for it.  They play and learn the recorder in 4th and 5th grade.  It was a fun concert and I was very impressed with their music teacher.  He seemed to go above and beyond the call of duty, which is usually what music teachers do. 

I am grateful for all that Carter is learning in music. 

Uncle Travis Comes to Visit

We had a special visitor come and visit us all the way from Arizona this weekend.  My brother and the kids' "Uncle Travis" came to stay a night with us while he was travelling through Idaho.  He is an independent film producer and is promoting his new move More Than Frybread.  Click on the link to see the movie trailer.  We all had fun visiting and being tossed around...well not all of us.  :) 

We are so proud of Travis and his wife Rebekah for all that they do and how hard they work in pursuing their goals.  Check out their website at Holt Hamilton Productions.

Thanks for staying and playing with us!

We love you!

Moving Manure

The weather is warming up and it is time to start working the ground and getting it ready to plant a garden.  First things first...

Fertilize

These great workers were rounded up and put to good use.  They started shoveling up some of the horse manure and relocating it to the garden spot.  Daddy then rototilled it into the dirt where it will begin to work it's magic...whatever that is.  The whole concept kind of grosses me out, but I sure love the produce when it is harvest time.

After the work was done, the dung was flung! 

They started throwing it at each other and all their clothes and hair was covered with the evidence. 

Off to the bathtub they run!

Carter's First Music Festival

Carter has been taking piano since Kindergarten.  (He did have a little break during 3rd grade while we moved to Idaho.)  He started in New Mexico taking from a great lady in our ward Karen Evans.  This year, in Idaho, he has a new teacher, Joan Allen, and Carter seems to be doing very well.  I took piano from Joan for 3 years growing up, but we won't hold my lack of skills against her.  She really is a great teacher.  Carter signed up to play the piano in the Music Festival at CSI.  He worked hard for several months memorizing and perfecting two solo pieces. 

The day arrived for him to go and perform.  He went in one door and I went to the lobby to find a nice seat, crack open a good book and wait for him to be finished.  It literally seemed like a few seconds later, when he came out having finished.  He was given a Superior Rating, which was then explained to me was the top rating you could receive.  The judge wrote on his critique sheet that he "nailed it."  He received 50 out of 50 points and was grinning ear to ear with pride.  He worked so hard and was so anxious and nervous about messing up.  He admitted that all the pain and suffering of practice was finally worth the end result. 

 He even received a new pair of slacks and white shirt for the occassion.  He has outgrown his other suit pants. 

(Stop growing already!) 

What a handsome boy!

You make a Mamma & Dad proud.

 Here is his official certificate.

On the way home, we talked about how we could start calling him "Superior" like we call his dad "Master" after receiving his MBA back in December 2011.  The smile on Carter's face told me he really liked that idea.  :)  What a great son!

It is so humbling to see your children accomplish great things...things you never imagined yourself accomplishing.  Today was another one of those special days that makes me feel blessed to be a mom.