My sister Rachael and I have lunch at our parents’ house once a week. I was the first to arrive today and my mom was the only one home. When I walked in the door, my mom had the stereo turned up high so she could hear the music all over the house. While that was entertaining in and of itself, my favorite part of the experience was the fact that she was blasting primary music. Gotta love that.
I’m a lover of primary music as well. There are so many wonderful songs that are rarely sung now a days and I find myself missing many of the songs I learned as a child. Over the last few months, we have often chosen our opening song for family home evening by opening the primary song book and choosing something that no one (or at least the kiddos) knows. It has been fun. And more often than you might think, the kids reference a primary song as we have our family gospel study. Malia remembered the song “Faith” recently while we were having a mini powwow about what faith is and how we can make it grow. And Daniel recalled “This is My Beloved Son” as we discussed the number of occurrences in the scriptures where someone actually hears the voice of Heavenly Father. (FYI-the answer to that is four, although only three of them are mentioned in the song.)
I’m a bit anxious about the announced revamping of the primary song book because I have such love for so many of songs the current book contains. I’m sure the new book will be wonderful as well, but I’m skeptical about whether or not such oldies and goodies like “Little Purple Pansies” will make the cut. (Another FYI-Matthew called that one “Little Purple Panties” when he was a toddler. It was awesome!) So maybe I’d better download the mp3’s for the current book before it changes so I can rock out to them just like my mom. 😊
Wednesday, March 27, 2019
Tuesday, March 26, 2019
Big Disappointment in the Big Apple
As I’ve mentioned before, this school year has been a rolling list of disappointments for Nathan. One of those has been the fact that the choir tour destination was New York and the men’s choir (the only choir option for sophomore men) is not invited to participate. Sophomore women get to go, just not the men. New York has been at the top of Nathan’s bucket list for years so this was a low blow to him.
In January one of the normal hired accompanists became unable to go on tour for health reasons. The choir teacher, recently having discovered Nathan’s stellar piano and sight-reading skills, extended to him the opportunity to go on tour as an accompanist. Nathan was thrilled, of course. At last! Something positive for the school year!
Nathan got home from tour today, and honestly, it was just another huge disappointment for him. The choir teacher was the chaperone for his group and because of his way of handling things, Nathan didn’t get to do or see hardly anything. He went to the Statue of Liberty and didn’t even get to see the statue from the front, just the side. He spent about two seconds on the observation deck at the base and that was it. He didn’t get to go to Ellis Island at all. There was no sightseeing, no Empire State Building, no Metropolitan Museum of Art, no Natural History Museum, no even any shopping for souvenirs. He did get to see one Broadway show but because the chaperone (he swapped chaperone groups for this one) got lost and refused to use google maps to help find their way, he was late for that and didn’t get to buy his show shirt. He didn't even get to eat hardly any local cuisine. His group only wanted to eat at the familiar chain restaurants. (Apparently the New York Chick-fil-a tastes exactly like the Utah Chick-fil-a.) The only exception to that was a dinner at a real Italian restaurant, run buy Italians where the kids were yelled at in Italian...so the real deal.
There were really only a few highlights in his week. First of all, he got to play a Steinway in an amazing cathedral. At the choir competition held in the cathedral, there were awards given to groups and five awards given to individual students-three vocalists and two accompanists. Nathan, the only sophomore man on tour and a last-minute accompanist, received one of those awards! He was completely shocked and so excited. It was a happy moment for me as well because not only am I an enormously proud mom, but it was a high point for his trip and something good to take away from a trip that was overwhelmingly disappointing. Another positive event of his week was getting to walk the Brooklyn Bridge. He really enjoyed that excursion.
After a week in New York, all he came home with were a few posters purchased from a street vendor at the Brooklyn Bridge, one amazing award, a few pencils and pins, and a snow globe. We’re going to let him get online and order his show shirt and any other souvenirs he wants, but it’s just not the same and I know it. And both Kevin and I wish we were rolling in money so we could book a flight right now and take him back to do New York the right way.
In January one of the normal hired accompanists became unable to go on tour for health reasons. The choir teacher, recently having discovered Nathan’s stellar piano and sight-reading skills, extended to him the opportunity to go on tour as an accompanist. Nathan was thrilled, of course. At last! Something positive for the school year!
Nathan got home from tour today, and honestly, it was just another huge disappointment for him. The choir teacher was the chaperone for his group and because of his way of handling things, Nathan didn’t get to do or see hardly anything. He went to the Statue of Liberty and didn’t even get to see the statue from the front, just the side. He spent about two seconds on the observation deck at the base and that was it. He didn’t get to go to Ellis Island at all. There was no sightseeing, no Empire State Building, no Metropolitan Museum of Art, no Natural History Museum, no even any shopping for souvenirs. He did get to see one Broadway show but because the chaperone (he swapped chaperone groups for this one) got lost and refused to use google maps to help find their way, he was late for that and didn’t get to buy his show shirt. He didn't even get to eat hardly any local cuisine. His group only wanted to eat at the familiar chain restaurants. (Apparently the New York Chick-fil-a tastes exactly like the Utah Chick-fil-a.) The only exception to that was a dinner at a real Italian restaurant, run buy Italians where the kids were yelled at in Italian...so the real deal.
There were really only a few highlights in his week. First of all, he got to play a Steinway in an amazing cathedral. At the choir competition held in the cathedral, there were awards given to groups and five awards given to individual students-three vocalists and two accompanists. Nathan, the only sophomore man on tour and a last-minute accompanist, received one of those awards! He was completely shocked and so excited. It was a happy moment for me as well because not only am I an enormously proud mom, but it was a high point for his trip and something good to take away from a trip that was overwhelmingly disappointing. Another positive event of his week was getting to walk the Brooklyn Bridge. He really enjoyed that excursion.
After a week in New York, all he came home with were a few posters purchased from a street vendor at the Brooklyn Bridge, one amazing award, a few pencils and pins, and a snow globe. We’re going to let him get online and order his show shirt and any other souvenirs he wants, but it’s just not the same and I know it. And both Kevin and I wish we were rolling in money so we could book a flight right now and take him back to do New York the right way.
Saturday, March 23, 2019
Vroom! Vroom!
One of Matthew’s experience gifts this year was a trip to a car show. I’ve invited him to share his comments about this exciting excursion. 😊
“Auto-Rama is a car show that travels around the United States and shows off many peoples cars. One of my experience gifts was to go see Auto-Rama. It was so cool! There were cars that were restored from back in the 1930’s and a brand-new McLaren! There were Camaro’s, Mustang Shelby’s, and plenty of Volkswagen Beetles. It was amazing seeing some of the most historic cars ever made. There were V8’s, V10, so on and so forth. It was so cool!!”
“Auto-Rama is a car show that travels around the United States and shows off many peoples cars. One of my experience gifts was to go see Auto-Rama. It was so cool! There were cars that were restored from back in the 1930’s and a brand-new McLaren! There were Camaro’s, Mustang Shelby’s, and plenty of Volkswagen Beetles. It was amazing seeing some of the most historic cars ever made. There were V8’s, V10, so on and so forth. It was so cool!!”
Friday, March 15, 2019
The Food Chain
Matthew and Malia love going to the zoo just as it opens in the morning because that is when they feed the animals. On our last visit, we got to see the lions eat breakfast. The keepers tossed in a big cow leg or something like it and the lions chomped away. Today was another visit and this time breakfast was a bit more gruesome. The leopard’s meal was a bunny, already dead, but a bunny nevertheless. As we watched the leopard rip its head off, Malia said, “Now I know what the inside of the bunny looks like.” Apparently, she’s one tough chick. After that, watching one of the small cats eat a mouse whole was pretty anticlimactic!
The other highlight of our excursion was a photo op with the gorilla. He came right over to the glass and eyeballed the kiddos. They thought it was super cool. As for me, I just watched my way through the remakes of “The Planet of the Apes” and was struck by just how big gorillas are. Because they are big. Way bigger than I am. I a fight, they would definitely win. But the kids were not burdened by such thoughts and just thought it was a fantastic adventure.
The other highlight of our excursion was a photo op with the gorilla. He came right over to the glass and eyeballed the kiddos. They thought it was super cool. As for me, I just watched my way through the remakes of “The Planet of the Apes” and was struck by just how big gorillas are. Because they are big. Way bigger than I am. I a fight, they would definitely win. But the kids were not burdened by such thoughts and just thought it was a fantastic adventure.
Wednesday, March 13, 2019
Horses are Not Hypoallergenic
At the beginning of June, we will be going to Island Park, ID/Yellowstone Park area for a family vacation. One of the experience gifts we gave the kids for Christmas was a horseback riding excursion during our vacation. Malia is super, duper excited about this one. You might remember that she asked Santa for a horse for Christmas. He didn’t bring one (thankfully!) but going horseback riding seems to be a reasonable substitution.
Malia had her annual appointment with the allergist yesterday (Another new one-I already feel far better about her than the one we met with last year. We’ll probably continue to see her.) and since Malia is allergic to dogs and cats, I had the thought that maybe we’d better see where she stands horse allergy wise. Unfortunately, she is allergic to horses. The doc, however, did not advise that she skip horseback riding. She simply gave us some tips on how to keep reactions to a minimum and keep Malia comfortable and happy while we are riding. One of those suggestions was to wear some simple, lightweight gloves to keep horse to skin contact at a minimum. Malia latched onto that idea, more so than to the antihistamines and eye drops.
This morning Malia asked me if they would give her a helmet to ride a horse. I told her that a helmet wasn’t necessary and that they would not provide one…and then I had to laugh for a bit. This evening I happened to come across a picture Malia had drawn and left on the table.
As you can see, Malia has made a rendition of herself ready to ride, helmet and gloves included. She’s definitely not letting the whole allergy thing interfere with her plans!
Malia had her annual appointment with the allergist yesterday (Another new one-I already feel far better about her than the one we met with last year. We’ll probably continue to see her.) and since Malia is allergic to dogs and cats, I had the thought that maybe we’d better see where she stands horse allergy wise. Unfortunately, she is allergic to horses. The doc, however, did not advise that she skip horseback riding. She simply gave us some tips on how to keep reactions to a minimum and keep Malia comfortable and happy while we are riding. One of those suggestions was to wear some simple, lightweight gloves to keep horse to skin contact at a minimum. Malia latched onto that idea, more so than to the antihistamines and eye drops.
This morning Malia asked me if they would give her a helmet to ride a horse. I told her that a helmet wasn’t necessary and that they would not provide one…and then I had to laugh for a bit. This evening I happened to come across a picture Malia had drawn and left on the table.
As you can see, Malia has made a rendition of herself ready to ride, helmet and gloves included. She’s definitely not letting the whole allergy thing interfere with her plans!
Saturday, March 2, 2019
Varied Motivations
Having Matthew gave Kevin someone who goes to ball games because he thinks sports are cool. Having Malia gave him someone who goes to ball games because she thinks cheerleaders are cool. 😊
It Was “Wicked!”
Last night was the long-awaited night. It was time to see “Wicked.” Nathan has seen several Broadway shows before, but this was a first for Daniel and Matthew. The boys were jovial at dinner, excited pre-show, and well satisfied afterward. I most definitely enjoyed the show as well, but honestly, a big part of my enjoyment was seeing the reactions of the boys. Each of them was intrigued by different elements of the performance and noticed different things. Daniel was very attentive to the pit and paid attention to how many instrumentalists there were, what instruments were included, When the clarinet had a fantastic musical line, etc. Nathan was geeking out about the technology including lighting, props, sets and special effects. Matthew was completely lost in the story and on several occasions, I nearly laughed out loud at his reactions when the story took an unexpected twist. All came away feeling it was time well spent.
These experience gifts have been such a great thing for our family. I look forward to them nearly as much as the kids do. Being able to spend time together taking advantage of the many varied performances, exhibits and activities that life has to offer has been wonderful. I look forward to many more years experiencing life in all its variety!
(And yes, I know this particular title proves I’m a child of the ‘80’s. 😉)
These experience gifts have been such a great thing for our family. I look forward to them nearly as much as the kids do. Being able to spend time together taking advantage of the many varied performances, exhibits and activities that life has to offer has been wonderful. I look forward to many more years experiencing life in all its variety!
(And yes, I know this particular title proves I’m a child of the ‘80’s. 😉)
Thursday, February 28, 2019
Anticipation
Tomorrow is a big night for us. It is our evening to see “Wicked.” As such, we are planning to go out to a fancy dinner before the show. Because dinner and a show is how it goes, right? Anyway, Matthew doesn’t get to really participate in that due to all his allergies and will have to bring his own dinner. But it’s still a big night so we took some time today to make some super fancy, allergy friendly tarts for dessert. And they are all his.
Don’t they look delicious?
Don’t they look delicious?
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