A New Bike

The children just keep growing.  It's the weirdest thing.  Blythe has gotten so tall that she has outgrown her bike which is too small and inadequate.  She's been asking for a new one and was sorely disappointed when a bike was delivered via UPS which looked like it should be for her, but wasn't.  A mission companion of mine, Rebecca Walker Watt, has a daughter that is at BYU and needed a bike.  Rebecca bought her one and then had it delivered to our house.  Kent put it together and I rode it over to campus for her.  It was exactly the bike that Blythe wanted, however.  It's teal with a basket and a kickstand, a cup holder, a rack to strap things to on the back, and tan rimmed tires.  When Blythe saw it, she squealed with excitement that we got her a bike.  

But we hadn't.  She was very sad, then begged and begged and begged and begged Kent to get her one.  He was willing, but it took a while to actually take her to buy one.  Today, however, was the day.  The day of the new bike!  Kent went to Wal-Mart (a sure sign that he really does love Blythe because he really doesn't love Wal-Mart), they found a bike already assembled (bonus!), and slightly reduced because it was the floor model (additional bonus!).  It couldn't be passed up, and before they had been home a minute and a half, Blythe was riding around the cul-de-sac, happy as a pig in garbage, as my dad would say.  She's had perma-grin all afternoon and has hardly come in, except to dash in to say how fantastic the bike it, and then dash out again to ride around the cul-de-sac again.  She loves it!

And there she goes, down the street to find someone to ride with her.

*Post editing update:  Blythe has ridden her bike to school practically every day since she got it, until it got too cold to ride.

Not So Old Old Friend

We had a marvelous visit this evening from a dear friend we haven't seen in years, Brian Kisby.  He and his wife, Veronica, lived in our ward years ago when their first two boys, Lance and Spencer, were very young.  Veronica and I biked Little Red Riding Hood the second time I did it, the full 100 miles.  We were in each other's homes often and really had a nice relationship.  

And then they moved.  It happens.  It's been years since we've seen them, but Brian contacted me last week to tell me he and Spencer would be in town and would love to get together.  Perfect!  We arranged for them to come to dinner and were able to spend a delightful evening together.  It was great to catch up, to hear about their family, to share our family, and to laugh.  Brian and Spencer are here for General Conference as Spencer has just turned twelve.  They will all be here next summer and we hope to catch up with all of them again then.  Here's to friendships old and new!

Spencer and Brandt

Twelve pictures taken of the three of us in this spot.

Two look good.

This is one of them.

Arrow of Light

This evening Brandt received his Arrow of Light, the crowning achievement in cub scouts.  He actually finished up cub scouts in July, when he turned eleven, and he had finished all the requirements well before his birthday, but it was summer, and schedules were off, and leaders were unavailable, so the awards ceremony was put off for a bit.  Brandt has had great scout leaders, and the Webelos leaders, Peter Madsen and Andrew Smith, have both been exceptional, really working each week to insure that the activities were meaningful and accomplishing something.  Brandt enjoyed going each week.  It was fun to have him work up to this award, and he came home with his very own arrow!

Paul Moreland-Love, Garrison Jensen-Faith, Luke Thornock-Justice, Grant Seamons-Wisdom,

Todd Swensen-Courage, Bryce Moreland-Self Control, Brandt-Hope

Brother Wade Davis gave an explanation of what each ray of the sun meant on the Arrow of Light patch, and the cubs held up those signs. 

Aren't they cute?

Brandt's best buddy Paul got his Arrow of Light, too.

Kent, in his capacity as the eleven year old scout leader, welcomed Brandt and Paul into boy scouts,

and then had them cross the "bridge," moving from little scouts to big scouts.

And then we gave them a cheer.

Yahoo!

Girls' Weekend

Back in June I bought tickets to the Shakespeare Festival in Cedar City.  I bought two trips worth, to see plays in August and then again in September.  Kent didn't want to see too many all in one go, but there were several I still wanted to see, so we planned the second trip.  I invited my mom to some as yesterday was her birthday and I thought it would be a fun way to celebrate.  Then, as we were coming home from our two days in Cedar in August, Kent said, "I don't think I want to go back to Cedar in September."

What?!  Tickets were purchased and non-refundable, and I was anticipating another fun time.  He said he'd think about it.  But then as the time drew closer, Kent was going to have to go on an 11-year-old-scout campout with Brandt, both Brandt and Blythe had games, and none of them could really miss them.  So what to do?

GIRLS' WEEKEND!!!!!!

Yep, that's right.  I talked to my sisters, Mikayla, Tysen, and Sharae, and suggested we leave our children under the care of their fathers, celebrate Mom's birthday, and be together.  We have tried to do this once a year, but it hadn't happened so far and there were no definitive plans, so we all began arranging our schedules and figuring out how to make it happen.

And it did happen.  While Kent and Brandt went camping on Friday evening, we had cousin Annie come be with Blythe.  Blythe went to her soccer game with the Bradfords, arriving at their house about 7:30am because Annie had an early work training, and then being dropped off at Brandt's football game when she was done.  Brandt came home early from his campout so he could get to his game, and Annie finished her training in time to collect him and get him there.  I heard that Blythe and Annie watched four movies on Friday afternoon/evening, and I know they didn't have dinner until nearly 8:00pm.  They ate popcorn and drank lemonade and spent a good portion of the evening sending silly texts to Tess.  Blythe had a marvelous time.  Kent and Brandt survived another campout, this one in the colder weather with a bit of early rain.  Brandt was warm through the night; Kent wasn't.  They were engaged in various activities on Saturday afternoon and made it to church on Sunday morning.  All was well at home in my absence.

I had a great time with the girls.  We drove down on Friday afternoon and talked and talked and laughed and laughed on the way.  It's nice to be with adult family members without the children.  We love the children, of course, but it's hard to have any sort of meaningful conversation when they are around because they need you and are loud and interrupt and need you.  So to be able to just talk and share was great.  We arrived in time to check into the hotel, get some dinner, and then go to the play.

Friday evening we saw The Tavern.  It was opening night and the world premier, which made the it extra special.  The writer of the play was there, and we got an introduction by Brian Vaughn, the artistic director of the festival.  The blurb about the play says,

On a dark and stormy night a wild wind blows all sorts of oddball characters into a remote Utah tavern—a mysterious vagabond, a damsel in distress, a politician, his daughter, and her fiancé. A thief is on the loose, suspicions abound, and no one is who they seem! Everyone tries to solve the crime, which only multiplies the laughter as this melodramatic farce rolls to its madcap ending. Filled with laughter and anticipation, this satirical comedy shifts the action and plot to locations and characters in Utah that just might feel familiar.

It was very, very funny!  We laughed and laughed and had a marvelous time.  Here are a couple of pictures.

Saturday evening we had tickets to another play, but we had nothing else on the agenda.  It was a wide open day.  After some discussion, we decided not to go hiking, but instead, head to St. George for shopping, lunch, and pedicures.  And that's what we did.  I bought the children some clothes, all cold weather appropriate, and me a couple of things.  After lunch we did go for pedicures, and I, stupidly, dropped my phone in the water basin at my feet.  It won't ever be the same.  It didn't completely die, but the screen is pixelated.  I felt like an idiot.  Ah well.

See the phone in my lap?

Shortly after this picture was taken, it went for a swim.

Mikayla had a pedicure last week, so she got a manicure instead.

The birthday girl!

On our way back  to Cedar City, we stopped by Craig and Monica's for a brief visit.  I hadn't seen their new place, and neither had my mom, so we had a tour and chatted for a bit.  It's lovely and they seem happy.  I miss them.

Back at the hotel, we played Quirkle.  I love gaming! 

We went to dinner, then back to campus for our second play, William Shakespeare's Long-Lost First Play (abridged).  It's a very silly play, and rather raunchy.  I was glad neither of my children were there, for while I'm certain there was a lot they would not have understood, there was plenty that was obviously off color, and I wouldn't have wanted them to see it.  Funny, though.  Here's the description:

Brought to you by the same guys who starred in the PBS film version of The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged), this highly-imaginative, vaudeville-infused comedy tells the not-quite factual (well, not at all factual) story of an ancient manuscript purported to be the first play by William Shakespeare. Using questionable scholarship and street-performer smarts, a trio of comic actors will throw themselves into a fast, funny, and frenzied festival of pure hilarity.

It really was pure hilarity. 

Falstaff and Mistress Quickly

Cleopatra

At the end of the first half, just before intermission, there was a "flood," and all three of the actors came out from behind a large blue piece of fabric with water guns and sprayed the audience repeatedly.  One of them yelled out, "I'm getting paid for this!"

Lucky him!

We got up in the morning and went to church just across the street from our hotel.  We only stayed for sacrament meeting.  It was their ward's Primary program, the best sacrament meeting of the year.  Even though we didn't know a single person, we enjoyed the sweet children.  On our way out of town, we stopped by the temple.  The open house will begin at the end of next month and the building will be dedicated in November, I think.  It's lovely, perched on a hill, and can be seen from the freeway as you come into Cedar City.  

Tysen drove, and on the way home, the other four of us played cards.  She didn't mind driving as she doesn't much like cards, and we all talked and played as we wended our way home.  I was glad to be with these women I love so much, and to feel like our relationships were strengthened.

WOW! Sky

The sky tonight over Blythe's soccer game was something else.

I'm certain I missed quite a bit of game watching the sun go down.

Field Trip Friday #80--Rock Canyon Hoe Down

For many years, Rock Canyon Elementary has had an end-of-year PTA fundraiser, the Extravaganza.  It's been lots of fun, but also lots of work.  It requires hours and hours of preparation and dozens of volunteers; it's a huge production.  But this year, our new PTA president decided to try something new, the Rock Canyon Hoe Down.  It was also a fundraiser, but done differently.  Instead of raising money through games, ticket purchases, food, and a basket auction, the PTA asked for a $15 donation per child, and then hosted a much less involved, free activity.  

It worked brilliantly.  With a western, cowboy theme, they had pony rides, watermelon eating contests, photo booths, activities on the field, face painting, and square dancing.  They gave out popcorn and water and just let people do whatever without the need for a ticket.  It was casual but fun.  The kids loved it.  I hardly saw them and had a very difficult time rounding them up for a picture.  I kept losing one of them.  Not only were there the fun activities, we got to visit with lots of our neighbors which is always a good time, too.

Lilly Bradford, Blythe, Addi Lepinski, and Maggie Davidson

Everything is more fun when you're wearing a bandana. 

Berry Picking

Mikayla called this morning and told me she was going to take Cora berry picking while Brick was at pre-school.  Did I want to come?  I like berries, I like Mikayla and Cora, and I like jam that you make from berries, so I said yes.  Here's the thing.  It was threatening rain.  The sky was very overcast and the clouds low, but I really didn't think it would rain.  I had checked the weather app on my phone and it said there was only a 35% chance of rain, and in Utah, that generally means it won't really rain at all.  

So off we went.  We dropped Brick off and then drove to Mapleton to McBride's Briar Patch.  As we arrived, it began to sprinkle, but we were undeterred.  We knocked on Mr. McBride's door and I am confident we rousted him from bed.  He stumbled to the door, doing up buttons, and looked rather surprised to see anyone there.  He told us he would meet us around the side of the house and get us buckets, and the rain picked up just a bit.  Mr. McBride got us each a bucket, even a small pink one for Cora, and suggested some rows we could start picking on.  Then he went back in the house because the rain was getting heavier.  

For approximately ten minutes we picked berries, and for all ten minutes it rained.  It wasn't a sprinkle, it was an honest to goodness rain.  And it kept getting heavier.  It was raining so hard, water was dripping off the end of my nose.  We gave up after the ten minutes, having picked two dollars worth of berries.  I was embarrassed to have brought Mr. McBride outside.  He rolled his eyes at us more than once, and I didn't blame him at all.  

We did get enough berries to make four pints of raspberry freezer jam, and I suppose that makes the trip worth it.   It's too bad you can't tell from the pictures just how much rain really was falling.