We're the Hope of America

Each May, fifth graders in Alpine and Provo school districts perform in the annual Hope of America concert. It's the kick-off event for the Freedom Festival that wraps up with the Stadium of Fire concert each July 4. All the fifth graders form the chorus and flag that is the keystone of the event. (This is from 2007.)

This year, Ellie was participating. I was asked by my friend and her teacher if I would be willing to offer my assistance. I agreed and showed up to wrangle and corral. Little did I know that I would be sitting smack dab in the middle of the flag. Did I know the words to the songs? No. Did I know the actions to the songs? No. Was I woefully underprepared? Yes. But I was given a red shirt to wear and could tell people to be quiet. Hence, my qualifications were complete. It was a different experience to be part of the flag rather than just part of the audience. But since that was the position I was in, I was unable to get any pictures except for a few before it started.

This really is a massive event. They sing probably 10 songs and there are performances in between them. My favorite is Jean's Dancing Ladies. You can only join the group if you are over 50. The oldest is, well, she was 92 three years ago (and every year since it seems--it must be her "39"), so I don't know how old she really is, but she always ends solo doing a bit of a jig and then ending in a split. She gets the biggest round of applause and standing ovation every year, and every year I say, "I'm going to be part of that group." What's frightening is that my years until eligibility get fewer and fewer. I only have seven more years, though, until I'm in, but I'll be awesome at it, that's for sure. In fact, by then I may have choreographed my final dance festival performance at Westmore!

There are several moving songs--dedicated to the military, crew of the Columbia space shuttle, and patriotism. The military song makes me bawl every time. It really brings home the sacrifice that these men and women offer for the citizens of our country. There's also a very cool visual song which closes the program where they turn off all the lights in the Marriott Center and the kids use flashlights. The picture is from a couple of years ago when we went and could get a better shot.

I must say that when I got home I had a massive headache and ate a pint of Peanut Butter Passion ice cream. (I looked at the nutrition information afterwards; it didn't help my headache.) I'm glad I was able to go, though, and help out.

Our Neighbor, Gus

For a little while, our neighbors, Jenny and Clint had a chocolate lab. Then, this pretty little tabby cat showed up after the lab was gone. Now, I am not a cat lover. Never have been. To me, cats are just mean and snooty. Gus, on the other hand, is very friendly and enjoys company (still, though, only when he wants it).

Since John and I stayed home from church today to try and recuperate from these colds, we decided to keep Griffin with us. By 5 this evening, he was really antsy and wanted to go on a walk. No one wanted to go with him, but I conceded to sit outside with him. He broke out the sidewalk chalk and started doodling away. He started with drawing the world.

He then moved on to a portrait of Gus.
Then Gus decided to join in the fun.

But then, he was sidetracked by a nearby pine cone.

And finally, wanted to find a place to sharpen his claws.

Thanks for being our friend, Gus.

The New and Improved Magic Blanket

About ten years ago, I made a puff quilt for John as a gift. It was christened "The Magic Blanket" as it was used when anyone was sick or had a nightmare or anything of the sort. It was heavy and warm and helped you feel safe. After many years of use and washing, the magic was gone and the fluff was coming out. It was time for a new one.

Puff quilts take a lot of time. First you have to cut out two squares for each block--a top and a bottom. Then you have to pin them together to form a pocket. Following that, you chain sew the rows together, leaving the top of each square unsewn. Once the sides are sewn together, you stuff and pin close each pocket. When the row is stuffed, you sew the tops close and then attach the next row. As the blanket gets bigger, it also gets heavier. The last one was 16 rows across and 23 rows long. John wished it was a little longer so it would cover his feet. The new one is 20 rows across and 30 rows long. It covers the top of our queen-sized bed and goes from his chin all the to the floor at the foot of the bed.

After attempting to give it to him for his birthday last October, I finally finished it two weeks ago. After I put it on the bed, we realized it's so big and heavy that you can hardly stand to stay under it. I folded it up and put it away. This past weekend, John got a fever. The magic blanket came back out and was able to keep him warm. I, on the other hand, had to make sure it stayed on his side of the bed or I would have sweated to death.

So if this one lasts another ten years, I won't have to make another one until after Griffin leaves on a mission!

Utah High School 48-Hour Film Festival (April 27-29)

Ian and a group of friends formed a team for the annual HS 48-film festival. At 7 a.m., they received the topic: a dilemma. By the afternoon, they were filming. By that evening, they were uploading the video. On Tuesday, they were re-shooting and editing. On Tuesday night, they were adding special effects. Wednesday at 8 a.m., the festival began. Our hosue was the headquarters for the event. I provided the food, shelter, and love/encouragement throughout the process. Griffin attempted to infiltrate the filming process by dressing up as, um, well, I'm not sure what he was:

You can see their video on Ian's website.

Lacrosse Team at MVHS Gets Cheerleaders! (April 23)

Ellie's cheer club had the opportunity to cheer for Mountain View at a varsity lacrosse game. This club had two sessions--Tuesday and Wednesday--so it was rather large once they got all together. She certainly has the lung capacity to be a cheerleader, but I'm content with a club that was just for fun and only cost me $5. (High school cheerleading costs upwards of $800/year.)

My Silly Songs Choir Performs (April 23-24)

At the end of each semester, 4-H puts on a parent night so they can see what their children have been doing all semester long. This is the performance of my silly songs choir and a couple pictures of them during one of our sessions. I also taught board games club, but that's truly not very exciting to "perform," so I just did a display board for that. I've included some pictures, though.

The Daily Grind

It's funny to me that the only way I can catch up on all that has happened in the past couple of weeks is to grab my phone and look at my calendar. So many times, my life is so hectic that it goes by as one big blur. (And even as I typed that, I noticed that the words on the page were blurry and realized that my glasses were still on top of my head rather than in front of my eyes where they are much more useful in situations such as this.) Is that a sign that my life is too complicated? Maybe.

I'll elaborate on some of the more "monumental" events in individual posts. Suffice it to say, I've substituted four afternoons, been involved in several 4H events (daytime and evenings performances), attended a pack meeting, a few young women's activities/firesides, run kids here and there, cleaned up the neighborhood, and prepared and sold tickets for the annual Westmore carnival. I DID finish a new magic blanket for the family (an individual post as this was a MONUMENTAL task), get the tickets for NEXT year's carnival prepped and ready, cut and divide up camp books for 34 girls/leaders, make a corsage for the prom, run a combined YW activity that involved three video game systems (see my young women's blog), and manage to catch a monster cold. (No, I haven't been to Mexico, but if I could CLAIM it as H1N1, maybe I could get quarantined and enjoy a few days of quiet.)

May, to me, is as bad as December as far as non-stop activities. In December, the semester is ending in the schools and they have all their performances, on top of the regular holiday festivities. In May, the situation is the same. The school year is coming to a close, which means Prom, Carnival, performances, testing, preparing for the dance carnival, graduation/all-night senior party (a new one for us!), teacher appreciation door decorating and gifts, and, once again, girls camp. Add to this, working part-time in the mornings and you can see that the words "spare time" have no meaning to me. There is none.

I am proud, however, to announce that I said "no" to something. My co-room mom asked me about doing the door for Griffin's classroom. She and I have had some interesting conversations of late where we have discussed how crazy our schedules are. I was able to say to her, "Nancy, my plate is completely full and I just can't do one more thing that day." She even remarked how true that must be for me to actually ask her to do it instead of trying to fit one more thing in. So I did get out of doing a door this year. I can't even tell you how great that was. My first time in I don't know how many years! It freed up the time I needed to prep for carnival and all the other sundry things that are going on right now.

Needless to say, I am truly grateful--even with this monstrous cold--to have the strength I need to continue on with these activities. I certainly collapse every evening (and am grateful for--as Griffin calls it--"the most comfortable bed in the house") ready to sleep and awake in the morning ready to work.