A Busy Week

Dear Elder Leete,

 We have had a busy week.  Dad flew off to New York early Tuesday morning and came back late Friday night.  He enjoyed the conference but described it to me as “drinking from a fire hose”. I guess he was getting an overload of good information.  He liked the location of his hotel- near Times Square so roamed there in the evenings.  He saw Lion King and said that it was phenomenal.  I guess he knows now why we all wanted to see it the last two times it was here in Portland. . . .  He spent the day Friday being a tourist before catching his late flight home.  He took the ferry to the statue of liberty and Ellis Island.  He even squeezed in a quick tour of ground zero before racing to the airport and barely making his flight.  He had a good time and showed us all his pictures this evening.  It wore him out, he went to bed early tonight, and isn’t feeling too good.  We’ll see if he makes it to work in the morning.

 Here back at the ranch we enjoyed the high school choir concert on Wednesday.  Dad had the camera, and mine isn’t working- so this was the first ever concert that we didn’t record.  It was very good.  It snowed, so we had to unbury the car and drive thru snow furies on slippery roads to get home.  Rachel talked me into a night walk in the green space that evening, so we bundled up and headed out at 10pm (Melissa was already in bed).  It was very beautiful and quiet.  Just a little strange to see all the cherry blossoms on the trees covered in snow.  It stuck, so the next morning school was 2 hour delayed.  It was sunny and warm so by the end of the day it was all melted except for some patches and snowmen. After school Melissa talked me into going on a walk with her in the sunshine (quite a contrast from the night before).  We saw that the snow did a number on the cherry trees- many lost some big branches all over the neighborhood.  But I was happy to see the blossoms still there.

 Thursday was the band concert.  They also sounded great.  It just was a little long.  There as a man sitting behind me that was visiting and was totally impressed- he was a grandpa that had been a music teacher at one time- he gave a standing ovation and later I saw him talking to the band director.  I agree that Westview does some pretty awesome stuff- a lot of talent in our area.

Tuesday Rachel planned a fun activity for YW that we all enjoyed.  Everyone came dressed in black.  We played volleyball in the dark with glow necklaces and glow bracelets all over the net.  We had a glow in the dark ball.  It wasn’t glowing too well so I went home and got my old volleyball and we broke a glow stick and smeared it all over the ball.  It looked way cool.  After that we took down the net, put on the bracelets and played soccer.  Rachel had bought only two colors of glow necklaces so we could tell who was on what team.  The deacons joined us later- then it started to get a little crazy….  Everyone had a good time.

Yesterday it was the Winter Classic.  Dad and I worked the doors for a couple of hours so got to see most of the Winter Percussion performances.  I decided that none of them were as good as when my kids were performing!   Westview looked good- they definitely have a style that I recognize.  We weren’t there for finals so I don’t know what the final scores are.

 The girls are now on spring break.  Tomorrow, Monday, Rachel has it planned to go get her drivers permit.  She also has lacrosse practice all week.  Melissa will be having Star Wars marathons- broken into several days- with Cami and Keturah.

 That pretty much covers our week.  Hope yours went well and you had success.  Share with us some of your missionary stories.

Love you lots,
MomJ

Christmas Season is Now Officially Over

Well, the snow really mixed things up around here! School was closed for a week, concerts canceled, church cancelled for 2 weeks, and schedules where almost non existent.


Now with the snow melted, and school back in session, things are getting back to normal.

I got all the Christmas stuff packed away and in the attic- all except the nativity set from outside, and the snowman my folks brought up. Unfortunately after the snow thawed the ground was extra wet and mushy. A section of the fence just tipped over - cement on the post included! This was the fence section that the Nativity was set up in front of and the fence fell right on top of it! It was covered! It is now a little squished and bent up and in the garage sitting in a mess waiting for my attention.

January 7th was the Westview High School Winter Concert. It was a great concert, always my favorite of the year. Jessica and Kevin sang beautifully (I know this because I'm their mother and can pick out their voices from the group.)

Enjoy these songs from the concert:

Now that the concert has been performed, and the decorations are put away, I feel that the holiday is complete and officially over.

Another Snowy Sunday

It is Sunday, and church was cancelled again today because of snow and ice. We were told again that we could administer the sacrament to our family or join with other families in our neighborhood. We were invited to the Laney's house for service at 12:30. We all bundled up and walked over there. Going across our lawn was an interesting experience. There was an 1/2 inch thick sheet of ice on top of the snow. As we walked it sounded like we were breaking glass as it snapped and broke into big pieces that we could pick up. We didn't leave the usual footprints. Bishop Walker, his wife and son were there, and later we were joined by the Jones family. We opened with song (Jessica on the piano) and prayer (Brian) and then the Bishop shared some thoughts. We then shared testimonies. The Sacrament was given (Brian, Kevin, & Brother Jones), and we closed with song and prayer. Before leaving to visit some other single sisters in the ward, the Bishop took the opportunity to give us a quick tithing settlement. We stayed and visited a while. Kevin played a game of chess with John Laney, Melissa tried out an electric violin of a YA that was staying at the Laney's house, we drank hot chocolate, and visited. Then we bundled up and walked home- it was now snowing again. We had a nice lamb roast for dinner and now are just relaxing. We will probably play a game this evening.

These past two Sundays have been very relaxing. It has made me re-think how we spend our sabbath days. It should be a break from the week. Sometimes Sundays exhaust me.

Here is a picture Brian took last night as we were out playing in the snow and sledding. It shows how much snow we got since the other day when I posted the last picture of our snowman. This is me, Jessica, and Rachel.
Here is Rachel in the green space, now white space, making a snow angel.Here Rachel and I are walking up the stairs by the pool/rec center. The stairs are packed with the snow on the right hand side. This is where we were sledding down. Jessica can make it down the stairs, across the lawn, and across the street. She even made it once into the driveway of the house across the street. Brian and I would stand in the street to watch for cars. We'd tell Jessica when to open her eyes so she wouldn't run into the lamp post. She would close them because of the snow getting in her eyes.

Yesterday Rachel finished her gingerbread house! You may have seen the process if you checked out my dad's blog.

Snow, Snow, and more Snow!

This happy snowman came from California, but he didn't bring any sunshine- he brought SNOW!

Here it is Friday, and the kids got the whole week off! When the roads looked clear last night, and the school web page said they wouldn't make a decision on school closures until 3am, the kids hit the computers. Not for gaming or hooking up with friends this time, but to do homework. There were a few assignments completed, and everyone was off to bed. Early this morning when I got up to check the school site, Kevin was already up and checking- no school. Melissa and Jessica had already checked and went back to bed. It has been a relaxing week. No running here and there to lessons and practices. We actually have eaten together as a family more times this month than we have since school started in September!



We had a great visit with my folks. They left Tuesday at about 9:30am. They had planned on leaving Monday- I was hoping to get them to stay until the Westview Choir concert on Wed, but after school being closed on Monday, they checked the news weather report and found the Tuesday would be the clearest day of the week. So they made a break for it when the roads looked clear. Good thing too- we've been home bound all week. No school, no concerts, no band practice, no cello lessons, no nothing. I went to Costco on Tuesday and made sure we had food. Brian has worked from home all week. The kids have played out in the snow and out with friends. Jennifer has been going to work- good thing for the 4 wheel drive on the suburban. I've gone out a couple of times to take kids to friends homes to play, and to do a little Christmas shopping. It snowed this morning, but it is pretty much melted now. I will be venturing out to take Jessica to piano lessons, and then Jennifer to work. For date night Brian and I will go to a party. Any ideas for a good white elephant gift?

Snowy Sunday

Today it snowed. First we got a call telling us that our 9:15am choir practice was cancelled. A little bit later we got a call from the Elder's quorum saying church was cancelled, but President Bair said that Brian and Kevin had permission to administer the sacrament to our family if we wanted. The third call we received informed us that the Stake Christmas Choir Fireside was postponed until next Sunday. (Brian, Jessica, and I are singing in that).

So we enjoyed a leisurely oatmeal breakfast, and at 11am we held our own Church services. Brian conducted. Jessica played the piano, and we sang an opening song and had a prayer. After the announcements, we had the sacrament service done by Kevin and Grandpa. Brian gave us a talk/lesson that he had prepared for his CTR class. It was on Being Kind to Animals. We had a nice discussion on all the animal stories we could think of that are found in the scriptures and discussed what we can learn from them. We closed with song and prayer. For Sunday school we watched the First Presidency Christmas Broadcast that we had recorded and not watched yet. It was a special day to spend with the family. It was so heart warming to see the sacred ordinances performed in our home by family members holding the priesthood.

For dinner we had sweet and sour pork. Jennifer was a trouper and did all the deep frying. It was yummy and we were all full. Some of Kevin's friends dropped by to say hello, and got to see all the cute braids Jessica did in his hair as he had been sleeping on the couch. He was sore and tiered from his 12 hour marching practice yesterday.

Everyone but me and mom bundled up and went for a walk in the snow. Jennifer got a good preview of what she will be facing in Idaho in a few weeks when she heads up to school. The girls curled up with books in front of the fireplace. Later we had snacks and played Ticket to Ride- The Mom Team won! What a surprise after dad blocked our path. HA-HA!

Well, that was our snowy day. I now hear guitar music coming from the living room.

School has been cancelled tomorrow. I guess mom and dad can't go home tomorrow either- we feel lucky. Maybe we can get them to stay to hear the choir concert on Wed night. Dad has posted a bunch of pictures on his blog, so check that out when you get a chance.