Author: Angela

I write so my family will always have letters from home.

Gila Valley Adventure

Today we went on an adventure to the Gila Valley in Arizona. It was a long drive but we took our friends with us and that made the drive more bearable.

We attended the Gila Valley Temple Open House. We forgot our camera. This was taken with my phone, but as you can see, heaven’s rays were clearly visible here.

In the most beautiful room in the temple, Mark planted his feet and gently resisted my efforts to move him away. All of the children said they liked this room best. I caught my breath and tried to keep my composure when I entered the room, too.

It was a nice place to visit, thinking of our 15th anniversary this week. We were married in the St George Temple.

Butterflies!

Over the weekend we had 5 butterflies emerge.

They’re still in their little mesh habitat. We’ll release them tomorrow when the nighttime temperatures are higher.

I couldn’t get a good photo through the mesh, so I crouched under their enclosure and snapped some photos through the clear plastic on the bottom.

These are Painted Lady Butterflies.

The caterpillars were fun to watch because they grew so quickly. The pupa stage was very dull until we transplanted them into their mesh habitat. I was holding the fabric on which they’d attached themselves and suddenly they were all gyrating violently. I nearly dropped them (as their defense mechanism hoped I would). I did NOT scream, as my pride as an old entomology student was at stake, but I felt a little bit like Indiana Jones around snakes.

Timothy loved this activity.

Some Quotes

Mark

4/12/10

Mom: What kind of soda would you like?

Mark: Definitely not the kind with gasoline! (He means caffeine.)

Mom: You’re so funny, Mark.

Mark: And cute!

4/10

Mark, discovering a dandelion gone to seed says, “Look, Mom! When you blow this, little feathers fly off!”

4/23/10

Mom: Lehi saw the tree of life with beautiful white fruit.

Mark: I think it was GARLIC. Garlic is white!

4/25/10

Looking at a package of licorice and mistaking the cherries for apples, Mark says, “Licorice is made out of apple! So why can’t you give us that apple snack?

Austin Now

Yes, that’s Richard in a field of Texas wildflowers.

Richard was in Texas last week. Most of the time he was in Dallas, but he took a day and a half to visit our family and a few friends in Austin. He visited our old house and the trees we planted in our yard.  He ate a Freebirds burrito and went to Chuy’s (whoa, boy; lots of Tex-Mex!) and rehearsed the finer points of dry, sarcastic humor with his brother, Rob. He’s still serving out that brand of humor a week later.

Piano Ensemble Year 3

Tonight was a Big Event in our family. The annual piano ensemble concert took place at Centennial Hall in Tucson.

Preparation for the piano ensemble concert began around September. Paige and Daniel learned the primo parts to their duets and then memorized them. For the last month they have rehearsed each Saturday at the University of Arizona with their piano ensemble groups. There are 12 pianos on stage and usually 24 performers per piece.

Paige and Daniel worked very hard to achieve this night. Here’s a little photo essay of their special night.

The performers must look their best.

Daniel plays Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus on a concert grand piano.

Daniel smiles to the applause of 2500 people.

Paige’s turn was next. She played a Russian Dance. Her dress is a little bit Marie Antoinette but with an empire waist.

The little brothers gave their all to support the performers.

We’re proud of you!!

It takes a hero

…to sew a gown in a day.

Paige WILL have sleeves and an adequate skirt on her gown at her big concert this weekend.

There is NOTHING in our stores that is appropriate. Trust me. We’ve looked.

The online world has failed us, too. I’m so glad I can sew.

I take it back. It doesn’t take a hero. It just takes a MOM.

Flu Bug

I’ve been in bed for 24 hours with a Nasty flu. The kids have cooked and taken good care of themselves.

Our butterfly larvae arrived in the mail.

These are Painted Lady caterpillars. It should be a special event to watch them emerge as butterflies in a week or two. Timothy is finishing up a butterfly unit.

Rushing and Racing

Last Saturday’s schedule:

5:45a.m. Drive  to airport (1 hr round trip)

7:10  Drop off Timothy at neighbor’s

7:15  Drive 30 minutes to bring Paige and Daniel to the U of A for piano ensemble practices

8:00-8:30  Wait for Daniel’s rehearsal to end; leave Paige

8:30 Drive 30 minutes to bring Daniel back to Sahuarita for team pictures

9:00 Meet Timothy at the ball field, drop off Daniel for practice

10:00 Drive 30 minutes back up to Tucson to pick up Paige

10:30 Pick up Paige and drive 30 minutes to ball field in Sahuarita

11:10 Pick up heat-exhausted Daniel, race home to eat lunch and let Paige change

12:00 Pick up produce co-op order

12:30-1:30 Paige’s dance performance. One of her songs was Slow Me Down (amen)

2:00 Mark, who has been my companion all day, is ready for an ice cream date

3:00 I take a rest and then get back up again.