Teenage multi-tasking

Check this out....with a monitor this big you can browse Pinterest and watch an episode of "Survivor" at the same time! Talk about multi-tasking.
(Shhh...because of Rebekah's headphones, she didn't hear the click of my camera and has no idea that I took this picture. Let's see how long it is before she notices and gives me trash for going all sneaky pic on her, shall we?)

Julianne's School of Rock

During our second Thanksgiving dinner on Sunday night Julianne informed us that she had a science project due the next day. (Insert big sigh here.) And although at the time she wasn't entirely sure exactly what she wanted to do for the project, she did have some lyrics she had written about continental drift to Owl City and Carly Rae Jeppson's song Good Time with the vague idea of using them somehow. After some thought and pow wow with her cousins, she came up with this video that they used my iPhone to record. Take after take, they worked out the bugs. It got late and families started heading home so Julianne was forced to take the best of the bunch and accept it as done even though it wasn't as perfect as she would've liked.

She turned it in on Monday and waited to see what her teacher would think. Yesterday during a quiet time when the students were all working on assignments, he came to her desk to return the flash drive. 

"Julianne," he said, "That is probably the most awesome thing that I have ever seen!" 

She got a 35 out of 26 on the assignment.

Click here to watch on youtube.

Lyrics:

It first starts with Magellan the scientist,

He saw that the pieces would fit

Together they would be like a puzzle

But no one believed him.

Next came Alfred a man who said, "Gee,

What if the continents could move across the sea."

This was the beginning of a theory

Called continental drift.

This is how we know, that the earth can grow

And through science it shows

Pangaea was one big land mass long ago way in the past.

Whoa oh oh oh oh oh, whoa oh oh

It's called continental drift

Whoa oh oh oh oh oh

Now we know about plate tectonics thanks to scientists who got it.

Finally there came a man know as Harry,

He made one of scientists great discoveries

All while he was sailing the seven seas

He saw sea floor spreading.

This is how we know, that they earth can grow

And through science it shows

Pangaea was one big land mass till the plates moved and it cracked.

Whoa oh oh oh oh oh, whoa oh oh

It's called continental drift

Whoa oh oh oh oh oh

Now we know about plate tectonics thanks to scientists who got it

2x

Now I understand all about this theory

Now you understand, all thanks to me

Now I understand all about this theory

It's called continental drift.

Whoa oh oh oh oh oh, whoa oh oh

It's called continental drift

Whoa oh oh oh oh oh

Now we know about plate tectonics thanks to Julianne who taught it.

2x

Life according to my iPhone

Random shots downloaded from my phone over the past few months...
And seeing as Lilian is my near constant buddy, she claims center stage in many of these photos. Good thing she's cute, huh?

Thanksgiving weekend stuff

Our Thanksgiving weekend was a busy one but filled with some fabulous stuff.

Stuff like:
* Date night....just me, Bryan and James Bond. I'm not one who gets to the movie theater as frequently as I'd sometimes like. But would you believe that in the past 2 weeks I've seen FOUR movies? This is unprecedented. Wreck it Ralph with the kids, Breaking Dawn II...a girls night with the ladies in my neighborhood, Lincoln with some fellow gymnastics moms (seriously, it was SO good that I can't get out of my head) and then Skyfall with Bryan.
* A visit to Dr. Lindsay who measured Julianne at 4' 11" and is optimistic that we will likely see 5' before this growth hormone adventure ends in a few months.
* I sang in a recital up at Weber State University.
* Rebekah went dress hunting with friends for the big Christmas dance. (The hunt will continue later this week...)
* Thanksgiving was held this year with my side of the family at my parents new home. One of the main reasons for the big move was need of a different floor plan...one that would accomodate family gatherings more easily. I think this first Thanksgiving experiment was deemed a success. Along with a thanksgiving prayer over the food, family and blessings, my Dad also dedicated the new home. We all got a little bit teary, I think. It was a nice day...a great meal, of course and lots of talk and games and relaxing. (We missed you, Rachel and Spencer and Mary and Ryan!)

(And....I have my eyes closed. Doesn't it figure.)

* Rebekah and Julianne went Black Friday shopping with some cousins. I'm not a big fan of Black Friday but the girls still look at it as a grand adventure.
* Aunt Jana and Uncle Craig's annual Christmas party was Friday night. I look forward to it every year...probably because it holds such sentimental value for me now that it doesn't seem like Christmas without it. But I'm always surprised and pleased that my teenagers, who are so ensconced in the whole friend culture right now, still will easily and happily turn down any and all dates, parties or gatherings in favor of this particular yearly party. They LOVE it. I'm so glad!

(Rebekah and Julianne slept through much of the party....up all night shopping, you know. Oh my...look at my roots that need to be dyed. Maintenance, maintenance ...sigh. Brandon showed off his back flip/tuck for the talent show portion of the evening. I thought the picture, though not stellar, funny all the same.)

 (Look....twinner red jeans! And Julianne, the photo-bomber!)

* A trip to Hale Centre Theatre with friends Heather and Alison.... to see friend Will perform in Oliver, and also meet up with friend Chellie (Will's wife).
* Rebekah received her Patriarchal Blessing on Sunday morning. Oh me, oh my. What an experience. Truly the highlight of the weekend. My sweet Rebekah....oh, how I love her! How proud I am of her! Such a sweet and good and strong and talented and beautiful girl!
* A second Thanksgiving feast was held on Sunday evening with Bryan's side of the family at his brother Kevin's new house. Another experiment in accommodating family gatherings? This one was also a success. It was good to see everyone...even Steven and family coming from Wyoming and Bryan's parents ending their vacation early and coming up from St. George.

Giving Thanks

It's Thanksgiving today...my favorite holiday of the year. And although I've enjoyed thoroughly the season leading up to this day, I still feel like I was so busy the past couple of weeks that I missed a couple of traditions. The main one being our thankful turkey where we list on the turkey's feathers all the things we are blessed with and grateful for.
Lilian at least, is thinking thankful thoughts this season. She brought this paper home from school earlier this week. For those who are not used to reading phonetically, let me translate:

I am Thankful for....
Frend: friend
FaMuLE: family
Haos: house
BRThDa: birthday
JEsEs: Jesus

I too am thankful for Frends, FaMuLE, my Haos and JEsEs. BRThDa....well, seeing as my next one is a biggie, I'm a little less excited about that. However each birthday marks another year of adventures, experiences, lessons learned and life lived and that is definitely something to be thankful for.

I'm thankful for Bryan...my husband, my sweetheart, my life partner, my friend.
I'm thankful for each one of my beautiful children and that I have such good relationships with each of them...
     Rebekah, my mini-me
     Julianne, my fiery drama queen
     Brandon, my energetic monkey
     Lilian, my creative and exuberant little caboose
I'm thankful for music and the essential and integral part it plays in my life.
And for the friends and rich associations I've made through all the musical experiences I've had.
I'm thankful for my family...parents who have raised me and loved me and taught me and who are the best examples of the best kind of people. Also my 4 sisters who are built-in best friends, no matter what we do and where we go.
And also for Bryan's family...for taking me in and making me one of their own when Bryan and I married, and for raising a son and helping shape a brother who would then be the kind of man who is a wonderful husband and father.
I'm thankful for the gospel of Jesus Christ....for my knowledge and testimony of and faith in that gospel. For my membership in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

But also....
I'm thankful for good books.
I'm thankful for my computer.
I'm thankful for my beautiful home and the neighborhood in which it and we reside.
I'm thankful for my neighbors and community.
I'm thankful for good food.
And for my exercise buddies who help me work off the calories the next day....
I'm thankful for chocolate blueberries, sushi, Cafe Rio pork salad, and pumpkin pie.
I'm thankful for the rice bag that warms up my feet at night.
I'm thankful for snow and rain.
I'm thankful for holidays.
I'm thankful for my bike.
I'm thankful my children have such good friends.
I'm thankful for my blog and the outlet it gives me to write and share my thoughts and feelings.

 Happy Thanksgiving!

Singing 40's style for Veterans Day

It was a shocker when we got a call from the vice president of publicity for music from Deseret Book a few weeks ago. She had heard of us and got our names from the Davis Arts Council...and was wondering if we'd be willing to dress up '40's style and sing for their Veterans Day Event at their flagship store at the City Creek Mall in Salt Lake City. We were interested and excited just at the invite to perform....but while on the phone she also felt us out for future possibilities of performing at Time Out For Women and Women's Conference and also recording. Well, oh my and holy wow!!

 Needless to say, despite the fact that we had a performance already scheduled for a Relief Society two days later and it would be an entirely different program, we jumped at the opportunity and started some heavy duty rehearsing immediately. That heavy duty rehearsing was a hindrance AND a blessing to our daily lives. It was a little overwhelming at times to make arrangements for the extra rehearsals, to plan and prepare two entirely different programs. There were a few tears shed here and there. But the spirit we felt as we buckled down and dug into our music and the messages we planned to share was equally overwhelming in a truly wonderful way. We knew we were being aided in what we were trying to accomplish and our families were being blessed for their sacrifices.

The Veterans Day program was also the DVD release of Saints and Soldiers Airborne Creed. The program consisted not only of the seven numbers that we performed but also messages from the director and actors of the movie, the author who wrote the book the movie was based on, and speakers Representative Curtis Oda and Congressman-elect (and author) Chris Stewart. But the true stars of the day were the veterans. A few even from as far back as WWII, the room was filled with them. I'm not even sure I have the words to express what it felt like to sing The Star Spangled Banner with all those veterans, most in their dress uniforms and medals, standing at attention with their hands in a salute. Veterans Day took on a whole new meaning for me...a more deeply appreciative one. And even if nothing else comes from this opportunity with Deseret Book other than this one performance...it was still incredibly worth it!

After the performance was finished, the meet and greet was concluded and all the pictures had been taken, we headed across the street to the Blue Lemon Cafe for lunch. The Saints and Soldiers group had the same idea. They teasingly and often called out to us from across the room to sing. "Hey....flash mob in 5 minutes. Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy. Okay?" ha. ha. ha. We had fun joking around with them. But as we were getting ready to leave, they directed our attention toward a table in the corner where a newly returned missionary was enjoying lunch with his family for the first time in 2 years. Stephanie marched right over to welcome the missionary home, understanding well that first day home feeling, she having served a mission herself...albeit many years ago. I'm sure the family was rather surprised to have a quintet of women all dressed up in bright red lipstick and '40's garb come over to talk to them....and even more surprised when we broke into a 5-part harmony rendition of "I'm a Child of God." Surprise or no, they were all in tears, the whole family, when we finished. And as we walked away we decided thatIt was the frosting on the cake. What an amazing day!