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!

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 Is Student of the Week

Bruce was honored with the student of the week award at Lone Peak High School. Quite an honor in a school with over 2,200 students.

With the honor came a cup of Lone Peak goodies, a really nice certificate, a meal at Cafe Rio and a gift certificate for another prize that he got to choose from an assortment of prizes. He chose a gift certificate for Toucanos restaurant.

I'm really proud of Bruce for his scholastic accomplishments. He was recognized for his near-perfect GPA and for his acceptance of a full-ride scholarship to the University of Utah Honors Architecture program.

One of the reasons I'm so happy for him is that during his 4-year high school career, he has attended four different schools. The year we moved to Utah, he kept up his grades while living on Bill's floor and then Leslie's floor, having no access to a computer printer, searching for houses every day and then helping finish our house and get moved in.

In the sixth grade, Bruce won the spelling bee and the geography bee. Since that time, he has had no student recognition except making the honor roll, so having this come three weeks before graduation was a nice honor.

We love Bruce and are so proud of his focus, determination and hard work. Great job, Bruce!

Field Trip To Camp Floyd

This is Joe with his favorite teacher of all time, Miss Sechrest. Joe's class went to Camp Floyd, out past Cedar Fort. This is where the military was stationed when they were sent by President Buchanan to keep the Mormons from uprising. Since the Mormons weren't actually uprising, there was nothing for them to do except build up the camp, and then be bored, so there was a lot of drinking and fighting that went on out there. It was an enjoyable field trip.
The kids got to learn about military formation and how to hold and fire a gun during drills.


They got to dip candles, do a pony express relay (with stick horses), make adobe bricks and tour the commisary, hotel and school.

Usually when I go on field trips, I'm assigned four for five kids, including my own. On this field trip, I was with another mother (who was standing out of earshot on the phone doing business most of the time) and we were assigned 20 kids. Yes, I said 20.

We ate a sack lunch and had a great time. Joe is a great kid!

Awesome 80s Dance

So Bruce and Veronica had an Awesome 80s dance at the high school. They both had a great time. Veronica and her friends went all out. Too bad I didn't keep some of my 80s clothes for her. I had the dubious distinction of being the mom that all the girls wanted to do their hair. Should I be bothered or flattered by that?

Savannah wins a N.O.V.A. Award

N.O.V.A. - Nurturing Opportunities, Values, & Accountability

The American Fork Police Department has been visiting the sixth grade for a good part of the year. They do team-building activities, teach life lessons, and have a lot of fun. One of the main assignments the kids had was to write their own personal constitution. At the graduation ceremony yesterday, a student from each class was recognized for their outstanding constitution. Savannah won the award for her class. Great job, Savannah!

MY N.O.V.A. CONSTITUTION

Savannah White

One of the standards I want for myself is to always try my hardest in everything I do. I know I can do hard things if I try my hardest. I want to work hard in school so I can go to the college of my choice. I want to always stand up for myself, my family, and my religion.
One of the things I value is my family, especially my older sister because she’s a great example to me in every way.
Opportunities I want to take that will lead me to the path of excellence is to learn as much as I can. I will work hard to develop my talents.
Things I want to avoid are drugs and anything near drugs. I will stay away from the dangers of the media and away from people that aren’t doing the right thing.

Joe's Amazing Talent

(Joe is the boy who starts at the far end of the stage.)

So Joe came home a few weeks ago and said he and his friend, Ethan, wanted to be in the talent show. Since Joe is a good singer, I thought he'd sing a song. NOPE!

Joe and his friend did the worm. They auditioned, had rehearsals and then performed to a cheering crowd. Great job, Joe!

PROM 2010

Bruce and Camille, a cute girl from our ward.They enjoyed a day a trip to the zoo, dinner out and the dance.

The Music Man, starring Veronica and Savannah

In April, Xavier Charter School performed "The Music Man." There were two casts. Veronica and Savannah's cast did two performances. Our whole family went to the first performance. The second performance, Joe and I went again with Grandpa and Grandma Higginson, who flew up to see them perform. They did a wonderful job and we really enjoyed it. The Music Man has never been one of my favorite musicals, but I enjoyed it much more than I expected to. The girls did a great job!

Sorry the pictures aren't great. I'm not good shooting from the dark at a distance.

Last Week Happenings

The kids at Xavier Charter School had their first annual fundraiser--a dance-a-thon. Students danced the entire day. I made it over long enough to take a few pictures of each of them. They did ball-room, ballet, hip hop and tap. They all had matching shirts. Joe's class was doing ballroom when I got there. It was so cute. They were doing the waltz and even turning the girls.


Veronica's group was doing mostly hip hop and they could pretty much do what they wanted. Here she is with a couple of her friends.


Savannah's group was on a break while I was there, so she did a little impromptu hip hop for me so I could get a picture.


Thanks, Tawnie, for the nice dishcloths and the very nice card. I appreciate the thoughtfulness of so many people. People in the ward have been amazing, Dad and Mom were so helpful, and the cards and phone calls from so many other family and friends have been wonderful. I have to admit that I've had a hard time--slow going, pain and some rollercoaster emotions. The kindess from so many has really been appreciated.
My bishop's wife (and my friend) called last Monday and wanted to know what I would eat if I could have anything in the world. I said that I'd been craving some salmon. This is what they brought for dinner that night. SO YUMMY!
It snowed last night and the kids wanted to make a new snowfort. Unfortunately there wasn't enough snow, so they settled for snow babies.
I wanted a picture of Bruce, but couldn't make it to any of the places where he was doing something interesting, so this is Bruce in the car after I picked him up from school. Not that interesting, but he's still good-looking.

Other than these events, me recovering, the family going to work and school--this is it.

Where Did These Kids Come From?

Veronica had a test in Science, so she spent nearly two hours in the laundry hall (where the whiteboard is) studying for the test. Of course, she got a well-deserved A. I thought the work was very impressive.

Bruce got his report card and it was all 4.0s. Good job, kids. We're proud of you!

Xavier Christmas Concert

The Xavier School Christmas concert was Friday, December 21. It was a wonderful show. Joseph (1st grade) sang Suzie Snowflake, the same song I sang at the Christmas program when I was in third grade. He did a great job. Here he is smiling and waving to us.
Savannah's class (4th grade) performed a Latin number that was really beautiful. She knew all the words. I was impressed. Many of the songs performed were actual "Christ"mas songs, including some that we usually hear only in church. That was great since for the last few years we've attended the kids "Winter Concert" or "Holiday Concert".
Veronica participated in a beautiful dance. The girls started out alone and then were joined by the boys and did a real waltz to the song Mary Sweet Mary, by Faith Hill. It was a gorgeous song and Veronica looked very pretty and graceful as she danced. The evening ended with Silent Night. It was held at the College of Southern Idaho's Little Theater and it was a really nice facility that seats 300. They performed two shows and they were both full.

One very unusual thing that may have been a first for us is that Travis and I sat in the audience just the two of us. Bruce was playing in a game in Idaho Falls and all the rest of the kids were performing. Very weird.

School Pictures

Okay, so to get school pictures for my kids was going to cost somewhere around $70.00 and that was for the lousy set that doesn't even include an 8 x 10. So I decided I was going to do it myself. I'll get prints made at Costco and will have saved about $60.00. I think they turned out great, but I'm a little bit biased--they are my kids and I did take the pictures.

First is Bruce, age 15, sophomore.
Veronica, age 13, 8th Grade
Savannah, 9, 4th grade
Joseph, 7, 1st grade