Bruce's Graduation Open House

(First of all, let me apologize for some of the fuzzy photos. I wanted to include them even though they aren't perfect.)

We had an open house on Sunday before Bruce's seminary graduation. We had a lot of family, two sets of grandparents, friends, and ward members.

We had lots of good food, plenty of visisting...

cousin fun...
cute kids...

and games...and beauty salons.

Bruce has had great young men's leaders.

Bruce has worked really hard and we're proud of his accomplishments.

I'm so glad for everyone who came. We love our family and grateful for a good family and wonderful friends and ward members. We're blessed to have so many great people in our lives.

Dance Fever

The elementary school had a dance program. Savannah's class danced to Hoedown Throwdown and Joe's class danced to Footloose. They did a great job and were really cute. Unfortunately, I was too far away to get any good pictures of the dances.

The finale was the whole school (over 1000 students) on the floor dancing to Staying Alive. It was pretty cute.
Unfortunately, Travis couldn't get off work to come, but Veronica and her friend slipped in during lunch (and one of their classes) and Grandpa and Grandma were able to come.

Veronica in National Honor Society

Veronica was inducted into the National Honor Society, Lone Peak Chapter. We went to the induction ceremony and were a little underdressed. Most people were in Sunday dress (we didn't know we were supposed to) and there was a girl playing classical piano. It was a pretty formal affair. Thankfully there were a couple of others there who didn't know to dress up, either.

Great job Veronica!

Savannah Meets Alice in Wonderland

Savannah and her friends planned a surprise birthday party for another friend. The theme was Alice in Wonderland and they dressed up for the occasion. I thought Savannah looked so cute!

Cute, whimsical hairstyle. This was accomplished with a red plastic cup.

She's a cutie. She had to be careful getting into the car with that hair.

Bring on the Summer

It might be because Bruce is a senior and can't wait to be through with school.

It might be because we have some great things planned for summer.

It might be because everyone is tired of homework.

Whatever the reason, I can't EVER remember a time when my kids have been so ready for school to get out. Every kid has wanted to miss days of school this past month. They are all a little harder to get up in the morning. We're just ready for summer!

Bruce, being a senior has about three days left. The rest have six. They just have to gut it out and then summer will be here.

I have ALWAYS looked forward to summer. For the first time in my life, I have mixed feelings about summer coming. As a kid who didn't love school, I couldn't wait for summer every year. As a mom who LOVES having my kids around, I have always loved summer. But this year feels a little different. You see, in a matter of days, summer vacation will be here and then the fun will begin. And then, all too quickly, the fun will end. The kids will go back to school, but this time Bruce will live somewhere else. He won't show up for lunch every day. He won't ask what's for dinner. He won't be around to tease us and crack jokes. He won't be here to show us a highlight on Sportscenter or to watch Law and Order with me.

Oh great! Now I'm crying.

We're all looking forward to summer, but I just wish there was a "Pause" on the remote control of life. I'm not really ready for what comes after summer.

Bruce used to have cool hair

Then I made him cut it...
(posted by Bruce)

Good Books

Here are four books I've read over the past few months and would recommend.

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini - Requires a bit of a strong stomach as you read about the difficult lives of a couple of Afghan women. The story is heart-breaking, disturbing, inspiring and hopeful.

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford - This story is set in the 1940s and the 1980s in Seattle. This was a sweet story that told of the lives of many Japanese Americans that were placed in Interment camps. I really enjoyed this story.

Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls - I was moved and disturbed by Jeannette Walls first book, a memoir called The Glass Castle. While it was incredibly well-written, it broke my heart and her father had an uncomfortably foul mouth. This, however, had much less cursing and the writing was equally good. This told the story of the author's grandmother, a woman we meet briefly in The Glass Castle. She was a colorful character with a fascinating life. I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

Driven by Larry H. Miller - I couldn't put this book down. It was fascinating, entertaining and inspiring. Full of interesting stories that I remember living through but had no idea what was going on behind the scenes. Larry Miller was an imperfect man who wanted to do as much good with what he'd been blessed as he could. I read this book in two days and was sad to see it end. It made me wish I'd have known him.

100 Blessings to Celebrate 100 Posts

1. Travis
2. Bruce
3. Veronica
4. Savannah
5. Joseph
6. Wonderful Parents
7. My sisters
8. My brothers' wives
9. My brothers
10. My sisters' husbands
11. My nieces and nephews
12. Family reunions
13. A nice house
14. A job for my husband
15. A job for my son
16. The Savior
17. My testimony
18. My family's testimonies
19. The ability to write
20. The ability to read
21. Reliable cars with 4 wheel drive
22. Substantial, savory food
23. Delicious desserts
24. Curly hair (most of the time and only because of #25)
25. Good hair products
26. Good friends
27. A prophet
28. General conference
29. Church every week
30. Good hometeacher
31. Family vacations
32. Sleep
33. Comfy furniture
34. A great bed
35. Bare Minerals (best beauty product E.V.E.R!)
36. Good movies
37. Eternal families
38. Inspiring blogs
39. Entertaining blogs
40. The internet
41. Kids that are good helpers
42. A husband who likes yardwork
43. Nice neighbors
44. Good friends for my kids
45. An occasional date night
46. The temple
47. Priesthood blessings
48. Sister Julie Beck (she inspires me!)
49. The mountains
50. White clouds in blue skies
51. Flowers
52. Mehmet
53. A pretty healthy body
54. Kids that want me to go on field trips with them
55. Going to church together
56. Bruce's scholarship
57. Kids that try hard in school
58. Bad jokes
59. Good jokes
60. Pleasant family visits
61. Company
62. A good washer and dryer
63. A pretty view out the back window
64. Cool breezes
65. A dishwasher
66. The firepit
67. The Book of Mormon
68. Christ and the New Covenant by Elder Holland
69. Scriptures
70. Good music
71. The Proclaimation to the World
72. Indoor plumbing
73. Fun holidays
74. Food storage
75. Modern medicine
76. Personal Prayer
77. Family Prayer
78. Cooking
79. Hugs
80. Clothes (I'd hate to imagine the world without them)
81. Finished laundry
82. Letters
83. Kids that like to be home
84. Kids' friends that like to be here
85. Recliners (a sure recipe for a nap)
86. Happy memories
87. Pictures to remind us of happy memories
88. Comfortable shoes
89. Tile all the way from the entry to the kitchen
90. Sparkling bathrooms
91. A cozy fireplace
92. Sports
93. Laughter
94. Sunshine
95. The sound and smell of rain
96. See's chocolates
97. A clean refrigerator
98. Leftovers
99. Visiting teaching early in the month
100. Great Relief Society Lessons

The Week In Review

Veronica turned sixteen years old this week. She was given birthday money to go to a nice restaurant, so she took the family and her best friend to Cheesecake Factory. Everyone enjoyed a delicious meal and then we shared a few desserts. It was a lot of fun.

Saturday evening we had a birthday party. I made six dozen cupcakes, we had all the fixings for s'mores and roasted starbursts, Travis built a big fire, the kids hit golf balls into the lake, sang songs (a couple of them played guitar), visited, watched part of the Jazz game, played games and had a great time. There were about twenty kids that came.

During the middle of the party, Travis held down the fort while I took Joe to Urgent Care. A reckless dunk on the neighbor's basketball hoop, off a trailer, resulted in a broken wrist for Joe. It was very painful. (This picture was taken the next day)
We enjoyed visiting Grandma Higginson and Grandma Rindlisbacher on Mother's Day. We love them both! I had a wonderful day with cards and a gift certificate to Barnes and Noble.

Bruce's friend (and future college roommate) Skyler came to visit over the weekend. We loved having him come and look forward to seeing more of him this fall.

Our Young Women had a fund-raiser for girls camp. For a $40.00 donation, we'd get a ten-minute family photo session and a disk with the two prints of our choice. These are the two we chose.