A Little Update

Has it really been December 30 since I blogged? Surely not. But it has been rather hectic around here. Gratefully that should be slowing down soon. The yearbook goes to print on Feb. 13, so I will get to celebrate that little project being finished by going to SLC with my sis to be at Allison's wedding. I am so looking forward to the trip, seeing our family at another great wedding , and spending some time with my sister and our Hancock family whom we have not seen in several years. In fact, Tricia has not been to SLC since Liz was born, so we are really looking forward to seeing our dad's family again. The only thing missing (besides the rest of my family) is taking pictures outside the Houston temple during the summer!!!

On a bittersweet note, another reason life is slowing down, is because I was released from being the Enrichment counselor in the RS. I still feel sad about it, but actually, it happened in such a neat way that it increased my testimony. Many, many times in the past few weeks I have left Presidency Mtg saying to myself, "How am I ever going to get all of this done?" "All of this" being not only church responsibilities, but mostly school related work. But I was very discouraged and one week I realized that J had asked me twice to play pingpong and once to play him a piece on the piano and I had refused all 3 times because I had "too much to do." On the other hand, it is very hard for me to say no to a church calling and I keep thinking, if I just have more faith, or if I organize my time better, or something, then things will work out. Endure to the end, right? And look at how much time Bishops and others spend on their callings.... Anyway, one Friday the RS president was talking to me about a new secretary and happened to mention that the Bishop was making several changes on Sunday. I just felt I had to tell her how things were for me, and she was very, very understanding. Then she said that the Bishop had specifically asked her about how I was doing and expressed that he was concerned about me. The next day he asked to speak to me and he was so loving and kind. He told me he didn't want me to be unhappy and that he wanted me to let him know when I was sad. Anyway, to make a long story short, I am now the choir pianist and the ward canning specialist, and I am very happy to be doing both of those callings.

On a final note, since on some of the blogs I have been reading the cold weather has been mentioned, I will just leave you with this tidbit of news. Christopher arrived home at 2:00 am Sat. morning from one of his trips. It was -4 degress outside (that does not include wind chill) only to find his apartment heater was broken and could not be repaired all weekend long. Brrrr!!! Talk about cold!

Also, I am enjoying all the blogs and "older" blogs very much. I really do love all of you.

I Miss Christmas

I am so sad that the holidays are over. (Of course, going back to school has nothing to do with my sorrow--sniff, sniff.) I loved having everyone at home--even if it was for only one night. Thanks to the ice storm in the MidWest, Traveling Man had 3 flights cancelled, was stranded in an airport with no rental cars available so took a 2 hour cab ride home, and finally drove the 16 hours from Madison to here. He left at 8:00 am on Sunday and arrived here at 4:00 am on Christmas Eve. Cathy arrived about 12 hours later--she had to leave late due to one of her families in a crisis-- and the newlyweds got here Christmas evening, but I can't really complain because at least everyone got to come. Anyway, it wasn't the Christmas I had envisioned, but once everyone was here I was so happy to be together and so grateful everyone arrived safely.

It was fun playing pingpong and beating everyone soundly--well, almost everyone. (and almost beating them , truth be told) It was also fun going to 6 Flags and riding roller-coasters (which I haven't done in years). Another highlight was seeing the travelers from down south. It was fun to do a little post-season shopping together, as we once did pre-season shopping together, but alas they had to get back to their own family in Houston.

I am happy to make the formal announcement that my New Years letters have been mailed. Please note that I did not send out Christmas letters this year, but intentionally sent out New Years letters, which are less than a week late. Go me! It's going to be a great year!!

Well, my blog reading sessions on Sunday afternoon are going a little faster than I'd like because there is not much new out there to read. I miss all of you! You don't know how much I love reading your blogs. It makes me feel so close to everyone.

I will admit, it did occur to me that it has been awhile since I blogged, so perhaps I should give it a try. It just seems like nothing is new here--two people in shows, band is over, and I'm just trying to survive a rather trying school year. Anyway...

Thanksgiving was wonderful. I loved having my family all home and it was so much fun. CJ even went shopping with me at 4:15 am on the day after. Of course, I was home in bed by 5:30, so I didn't sacrifice too much. When I got up at 4:15, the nicest surprise awaited me--a beeeutifully clean kitchen and living room. All the sibs were still up talking and they had cleaned it up for me and I REALLY APPRECIATED IT!! Following our usual tradition, some of us went to see "Enchanted" after Thanksgiving dinner. It was a cute little musical, but here's the ironic thing. You know Idina Menzel, the original Elfaba? She was in it --but she didn't have a singing role!!!! Go figure that out!

Moving forward, "Oliver" opened this weekend and I have seen it twice already. David is Charley somebody...I thought it was Charley Bone, but then I remembered that is a character in a series of books some of the kids are reading... I really like the music in "Oliver". This theater is not theater in the round (I would say persinium, but I don't really know how to spell it) so it seems very different to me. But I am enjoying it, and so is he.

"Meet Me in St. Louis" opened two weekends ago. Methedad is the trolley driver and a fine one he is, too. But what really steals the show is the trolley itself--which Methedad made. It is very creative, and hopefully I can post a pic of it for you to see.

Marching band is over for this year, but it was a great year. I hope they go back next year to defend their title, but it hasn't been decided yet. I thought it was odd that they didn't give the students a medal or patch for winning, but they didn't. However, never fear, we get to buy a rather expensive championship ring! The letterjackets finally came in this week, so now the poor boy has a coat to wear.

As for me, I'm just working hard at school. There is so much pressure this year for the famous (dare I say infamous) state test the students have to pass, that it is overiding everything else. For the first time, we now have to have the students make graphs of how many questions they answered correctly on each objective every time we have one of the practice tests. It takes class time from when we could actually be teaching. But at least we can do it as a class. When it was first announced, we had to have a one on one conference with every single student--I have about 120. Where was that time going to come from? Anyway, enough of my griping. I'm just so frustrated with it all...

On a positive note, I'm getting ready for Christmas. I got organized this weekend (which was a good thing because I discovered I actually bought 5 copies of one movie) so maybe I'll be ready this year. I love having my family home and I can hardly wait until they all get here. The weather turned cold, so it's finally starting to seem like winter.

Well, enough about us. Hope to read about all of you soon!

We won!!

Saturday, November 17 the L.D. Bell Blue Raider Band received 1st place in the BOA Grand National Championship Marching Contest in Indianaopolis, Indiana!!! We are so excited for the band and proud of our own band nerd for the part he played.

They received First in Class, Music Caption, and General Effects Caption in prelims. In the finals competition they again recevied the Music Caption and General Effects Caption.

This performance is the completion of a trilogy started in 2005 with "The Ascension." In 2006 they place 2nd with "The Remaining." This year was "Transcendents."

The video is available on YouTube. (Just google LD Bell Grand National Champion) Watch the Edited for Time version first. It cuts off right at the end. So then you have to watch the one and only performace of part 6, which is called the Extended Version and is only the new ending. It was a great show and I hope all you band lovers will watch it! Hopefully I can post pictures at a later time. We will leaving shortly to go greet the band on their triumphant return. The Bedford police will be escorting them. :) What a great weekend!

To my Hunny Bunny

Hunny Bunny
You're so funny
Thanks for doing
all the laundry.

The garage organizer is so grand.
You have quite a creative hand.
Chips and drinks won't roll on the floor,
You've got them stored forevermore.

I'm so looking forward to the rain gutter,
and never again will you hear me mutter.
And a new roof on top of the house--
all thanks to you and your laptop mouse.

So here's to you, the man of my dream,
Of the crop, you are the cream.

Columbus Day in Chicago

This picture is supposed to be at the end. This is a Saturday picture. This mirror sculpture is called The Bean because it looks like a lima bean. It's located in Millenium Park, which is where we caught the Trolley. The rest of the story is continued below. Can you find my photgrapher in the background?

This is the Chicago Skyline at night. I arrived in Chicago on Friday night and we went straight to the Hancock Observatory.
You get to observe 2 Hancocks for the price of one!
C's acrobatics were appreciated by many people at the observatory. Everyone was copying his antics, even men in suits.
We both had to hang on for dear life-- 95 stories is a long drop.
This move is named "The Christopher." The employees at the Hancock Observatory told us they had never seen this particular pose before, and they dubbed it for its creator.

The Rest of the Story: On Saturday we rode one of those double decker city trolley tours, which was great because there was a great breeze up on top. I got my first glimpse of a Great Lake, Lake Michigan, which is so big that you cannot see the shores when you are in the middle. Trip trivia--- 3 of the 4 tallest buildings in the US are in Chicago: #1 Sears Tower #2 Aeon Building (or something like that) #3 Empire State Building #4 Hancock Building which is called "Big John" by Chicagoeans (sp?). Can you you guess why it's called "Big John"? We ended the Chicago leg of the trip by attending The Blue Man Group that night. I was very grateful we did not sit in a "poncho row" and I was also very grateful I was not called out of the audience to participate in one of the skits. The show was very funny and some of the skits reminded me of the old Red Skelton mimes. After the show we drove to Madison and on Sunday I got the big tour of the capital of Wisconsin, and it is a very nice city I have to say. It has two lakes, a university, the capital building, and of course, the famous Quaker Steak and Lube (see C's blog for further info). I had a great time on my weekend in Illinois and Wisconsin, and I was very sad to leave my boy up there. I wish he would move back to the warm country very soon.

Eggman Cast in December Production of "Oliver"

The wolves attacking Belle. "Our" wolf is the 2nd from the left.

The Beast
Eggman on Gaston's back . He gets thrown to the floor in a minute.
Cogsworth and Lumiere
Mrs. Potts and Chip

Eggman with Lefou
During "Gaston"
As a Spoon in "Be Our Guest"
During "Beauty and the Beast" reprise

Anyway, now he's in rehearsal for "Oliver, " which is at a different theater. So we're hoping it will be another good experience.