General Conference

General Conference... two of our favorite times of the year!

I often make up activity packets for my kids to do while they are watching. Usually a note-taking type for the older girls and puzzle and games for the younger 2. This year, I decided they were all old enough to take notes..and have less other type activities. They each received the same packet that had a picture of the apostle/prophet and space to take notes. We also had pictures on the wall. As each person spoke, they took turns placing their picture with their name and then writing down a few things from each talk.

Our Direct TV contract had ended this very week (maybe not the most convenient or best timing) AND the color wheel of our projector t.v. upstairs had broken.... sooooo we had to get a little creative in watching conference.

Plan A- was to watch it on the t.v. in our bedroom, BUT local channels weren't working right yet.

Plan B-watch on my laptop from lds.org.

Not ideal viewing, but really not all that bad either. So grateful for technology.

Later when Jason was home, he figured out how to connect the laptop to the t.v. so we could watch it on a bigger screen. And for the last session, he had finally figured out how to get the local t.v. station working.

Each kiddo made a "spot" (sometimes they have so many pillows and blankets it looks like a nest) for themselves.

Guess who. :)

I have to admit there was a little candy bribery that went on too. After the first congregational hymn, Treyson was the only one to receive candy (the only one beside myself who sang). Next several songs, Abree wanted to receive candy for singing, but I had to inform her she would only get credit for the congregational hymns, not the choir numbers. :) Candy was also distributed to those who participated in writing notes on the posted pictures.

I'm so glad to have this tradition of watching General Conference together as a family. I cherish the time spent together, as well as the guidance/direction we receive from our prophet, apostles and other leaders.

Track Meet

It's that time of year again... track season.

Rylee's first meet was at Boise High. It was a cloudy, windy day that threatened rain.

On your mark...
get set...

GO!!!

Go Rylee...Go Rocky!!!

Rylee didn't like her time, but said she was glad she didn't come in last. :)

Towards the end, it started pouring rain, creating little streams and puddles all around the bleachers. We went home cold and wet.

The next meet proved to be better all around... sunny skies and a time Rylee was really proud of.

Way to go Rylee!

Amity Service Project

Taylee was assigned a 4 hour service community project, for one of her school classes. She had known about it for a month, but had put off deciding what to do until the Thursday before it was due (of course). When she came to me Thursday night, she was a little panicked and teary. I decided that I was willing to help, because she had mentioned it to me before this night. I tried brainstorming ideas with her... she wasn't super helpful. She would tell me what the project couldn't be, but had few ideas of what it could be. She had also left the assignment page and rubric at school, which was also not very helpful.

It was late, but I texted my mom to see if she was still awake. Luckily she was. I had Taylee call her to see if there was anything she could do to help at her school. They arranged a work day at Amity, for the next day.

There were several cute Leprechaun traps down this hall.

Grandma had graciously arranged with several teachers, prep type work that Taylee could help with.

She cut...

she sliced...

and copied, stapled, bagged, cleaned and organized.

It was a long night for Grandma. We are so thankful for her willingness to help.

Over the weekend, Taylee was able to complete her assignment, by creating a scrapbook page of her service hours. I'm happy to report it was turned in on time.... but not without a few more dramatic moments and tears.

Whew, are we all going to make it through these next few years???

P.A.C.E. yourself Treyson

The 5th (& 8th) graders in our school district are required to do a P.A.C.E. project.

P.A.C.E. stands for Performance Assessment of Critical Elements... ummm that doesn't help, does it? Basically the students take a subject, research it, write a paper and then finally give an oral report. They are scored by a panel of judges on their oral report.

This year they were asked to take elements from the constitution. Treyson's subject was Freedom of Speech/Freedom of the Press/Freedom of Assembly.

School work does not come easy for Treyson. I worried about how he would get through it, knowing that it was a big project that would require lots of focus, concentration and hard work for several weeks.
Once he had his final draft written (many frustrating and tearful moments later) he started to memorize for the oral presentation.

At first he tripped over his words and struggled to remember, but eventually got it down and started adding personality to it. His voice became loud and clear and he showed confidence on the subject matter. His pronunciations and gestures had a certain comedic timing to them... kinda funny, or at least entertaining.

The parents were invited to come watch the presentations for practice, before the final evaluation. He was definitely the loudest and spoke clearly. We were proud of him and had confidence that he would do well.


***Update: Treyson got his score back from the school district. He received a 4.0!!! The highest in his class.

This is how he described it; "My teacher said she had a special announcement to make about P.A.C.E. --Someone in our class had received the highest score out of the whole 5th grade. Of course, we all looked at the smart people... and then she said MY name! I felt so excited I almost screamed...but I didn't. I just felt good inside and everyone was congratulating me. I felt so happy for the rest of the day. People kept coming up to me and telling me 'good job'. Even some people wanted to walk home from school with me."
[Paraphrased the best I could remember.]

Great job Treyson!
So proud of your hard work.

Label me happy

I've been wanting a label maker for years. I've had visions of perfectly organized cupboards, shelves and drawers...everything labeled, so everything has it's place.

My family was apprehensive. They worried I would label... EVERYTHING!

Well, what's wrong with that?
Even though there was some apprehension, I got one for Christmas!
Yay!

My first official label project was on the shelves in my closet.

Ahhhh. Yes. That feels better. :)

Now what can I label next??? Watch out!

Bon voyage!

This year, the Cantus Youth Choirs went on tour to Oregon.

Before they left, they had a Bon Voyage concert, where they performed their technical songs/skills in preparation for their judged performances.

It was a FULL house at the College of Idaho's Jewitt Auditorium. The dynamics were good, but the seats were squeaky and old, making for an interesting night.

Once again the choir sang precise and beautifully.
Good luck on tour Rylee!