Rachel's School Play

Rachel had a speaking part in her Elementary School's production of the Wizard of Oz. She and her friend played Hocus and Pocus, the Wicked Witch of the West's two comic sidekicks. Rachel also got to sing a solo! She sang Castle on a Cloud from Les Miserables, which they somehow managed to work into the plot (she sang it while Dorothy and friends were falling asleep in the poppies). Rachel's cousin helped her and her castmate get their hair appropriately weird for their service to the dark witch. Rachel has been so excited about this play ever since before she auditioned and all the practices have been a big part of her life in the weeks ever since. We are so proud of her for doing such a great job.

Scott's Eagle Banquet

Our Stake had a very nice banquet this evening for all the young men who have received their Duty to God Award or their Eagle in the past year. Scott just made it under the wire since he'd had his board of review although we are still waiting for his official paperwork back. The steaks were excellent and we hope next year Scott gets his Duty to God so we can attend and eat them again. It was fun to see the banner from Young Men's Camp three years ago that all the boys signed as a pledge to go on missions and to see how many names had now been inked over in red as having gone.

Death of a Pet

Our bird Sky has passed away. We had a nice little burial and Rachel wrote this sweet eulogy.

Dallin Running for Middle School President

Dallin is running for Student Body President of his Middle School. We don't know if he'll make it but we're very proud of him for being willing to put himself out there and have that experience.

Scott getting his Academic Letter

This picture was taken after an awards ceremony at Scott's High School for all the students who have earned a 3.5 or better GPA for three consecutive semesters.

Track Reports

On Friday and Saturday the 25th and 26th, Scott got to attend an invitational track meet at SUU in Cedar City Utah. It was a lot of fun and he got to see his cousin Cadie and Aunt Cathy and Uncle Jeff. Running at the high altitude was a little tougher than normal. On Tuesday the 29th Scott ran in Divisionals. He got a personal record of 5:05 in the mile. Scott has enjoyed track this year but says now that he's run in his last meet he's happy to say that means Cross-country season, his true love, has started.

Allison and Rachel Go See Cinderella

On Saturday the 26th the girls got to go to a Tea Party and Cinderella Play at Centennial High School. Our niece Heidi was a dancer in the play.

Ethan Goes to Elmo

On Friday the 25th Ethan and mom got to go see Elmo with their friends.

Our Nephew returns!!

Our Nephew Adam returned from his mission in Spokane Washington today. We got to go visit him tonight. We are so proud of his achievements and the kids were so excited to see him back. They have been praying for him and missing him for two years now and it was great to see him again.

Dallin's Play

Dallin appeared tonight in the Molasky JHS Drama Club production of "The Mystery of the Suffocated Seventh Grader." He played "Tom" a mischievous student investigating the apparent foul play surrounding the disappearance of a classmate. It was a lot of fun and Dallin did great!!

Frosh-Soph Track Report

Scott ran in the Frosh-Soph on Friday April 18th. He needed a 10:50 in the two mile to qualify for regionals and he ran it in 10:49! (That was his official time. His mom and his coach thought he made it in 10:47). He doesn't know yet whether he'll be able to run in regionals because it depends on who his coaches pick to run what events, but its a great accomplishment to have qualified. As Ethan says: Go Scotty boy go!

Chris's Book Review: Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters, by Meg Meeker M.D.

This is a book by an M.D. who deals with lots of teenage girls in her practice and chronicles the difficult challenges too many of them face in their lives: addictions, STDs, depression (which she strongly considers to be an STD), eating disorders, etc. It's written to inspire fathers to stand between their daughters and our frightening popular culture and show them a different way. I loved this author's point of view and values. Clearly, any book that has chapters on teaching daughters humility, or about God, is not written from the modern world's skewed perspective. There's a lot of great stories, many of them uplifting, some of them horrific, but all of them ultimately supportive of the importance of a father's traditional role in the lives of his children. A great read that I would highly recommend.

Scott's Eagle Scout Board of Review

Well, it's hard to believe it's been almost a year since Scott did his eagle project: the infamous painting of the halls at Garehime, where we discovered we had two shades of paint and had to start over on some walls halfway through. A couple of merit badges and a lot of procrastinated paperwork later, he finally was able to attend his Board of Review on Tuesday the 8th at Mountain View Hospital. Scott attended with his leader Brother McLeod with his dad waiting out in the hall. We were a little nervous when we saw he was the only one who showed up without green pants or a neckerchief, but he did have lots of extra merit badges on his sash, so we hoped that would help. The committee asked him if he had done a good turn that day and he couldn't think of any at first except having run in turns around the school for track. Then he said, "wait, I've thought of a better one, I drove a friend home from school." The committee laughed. During the private interview with the leader, Brother McLeod was asked hypothetically, if he had a 16 year old daughter, would he let her date Scott. He told us he said yes if he could come along. Actually he must have said something nicer because Scott and his dad were invited back in and congratulated that Scott had passed and was now an Eagle (or will be in 3 to 6 weeks when he gets his official confirmation back from the National BSA organization). In looking at all the pictures from Scott's Eagle Project it really is amazing and gratifying to us how many people came out to help. It's wonderful to belong to a great Church and participate in Scouting programs where these young men are given so much support from friends and adults as they try to accomplish positive things in their lives.

Track Reports

Scott had a track meet on Friday the 4th at Moapa Valley High School. It wasn't very well organized, so he didn't get to run his event, the two mile, until about 10:30 at night, after being there all afternoon and evening. He still got a personal record. On Wednesday the 9th he ran the mile and won his heat in a meet at Centennial.

General Conference Weekend

This weekend was very relaxing. Chris and I enjoyed our weekly Weight Watchers meeting and grocery shopping trip, bike rides and walks, a little yard work, and sitting around the house and listening to several talks our church leaders gave on various topics. It was uplifting to hear President Monson speak for the first time as our prophet. I love his humility, storytelling ability, his focus on the individual, and his sense of humor. His "microwave" story made me laugh. And Elder Ballard's talk about mothers was hilarious! Chris and I looked at each other when he was talking about sitting with his family in church for the first time in ten years and smiled. (Chris was just released from the bishopric so he can relate to the "cheerios getting away and the coloring books that don't entertain".) I love the fact that many of our church leaders are older men and women who have experienced the same things we are going through and that they travel the world bringing the message of Christ, peace, and comfort to all. We also enjoyed Holland's talk about prophets and how the Book of Mormon is an added testament of Christ, just like the books of the New Testament. It was a wonderful weekend and we felt uplifted and rested afterwards.