Gospel Lessons on a Bike Ride

Adam finally got a right-fit bike, and he and I headed out for a ride early one hot summer morning.

 We were more excited than nervous, but a bug hit Adam's face and a bout of poison ivy has made it hard for me to smile authentically lately.  

The trail was awesome! 

There were dips and curves and roots and ledges and branches and all of the sudden, about halfway through, a crazy loud POP! 

Apparenetly my nearly 20 year old bike's tire wasn't as enthusiastic about the ride as I was.  And thus commenced our slow journey back to the car, Adam riding ahead then stopping every two minues to check on me, me riding on the flapping wheel for as long as I could until I finally had to give up and just walk. 

And then we talked about the gospel lessons that we could learn from this experience, about temptations and sin, repentence, the Atonement, asking others for help, being aware of the dangers of an adventure, and just life and getting old in general.  I was occasionally delightfully reckless in my youth (I'm currently thinking about a trip across the Utah desert on four wheelers where we ran out of gas but still somehow managed to get home).  Life is always an adventure, and always full of reminders that living life close to the gospel of Jesus Christ is the best way to go!

And we'll be back on the trails just as soon as we can.  

Once Upon A Mattress

The middle school summer musical intensive was such a big part of our June, it deserves its own post!  Over the last two years, Emma has loved her experiences on stage, and over the last year Adam has joined her. Stilwell has a great drama department, and this was the one chance that these two had to perform together before Adam heads off to high school in the fall.  I was so very impressed with their ability to practice and work together on their auditions- when it came time to sing, speak, and dance, they were ready! 

We had a hunch that Adam, as an outgoing 8th grader with a full year's experience with the director and far less competition against other boys than outgoing 6the grader Emma was facing against the older girls, would have a opportunity to perform in a leading role.  And, as Sir Harry, he did an absolutely fantastic job!  

In this play, Sir Harry is the most mature male, already in love and working to get the silly Prince Dauntless married off so he can finally marry his girl Lady Larkin. He worked so hard to memorize his lines and perfect his love song with Emma's help before the week-long play practice started. 

 And Emma did the absolute best job that she could as Ensemble Gal Number 8.  She had fantastic positioning on the stage at all times, thanks to her confident stage presence, familiarity with the story and comfortable interactions with the other students and the directors. 

She even helped tweak the blocking for Adam's love song! which was delightful to watch.  Like most 14-year-old boys, Adam basically has a look but don't touch relationship with girls, so watching him sing and dance and swoon over Lady Larkin was both adorable and terrifying.  He's a sweet lover boy for sure (it took me straight back to his days with Alayna from preschool) and I have no doubt there were girls in the wings and the audience swooning over his performance! 

Emma's dance moves and songs were fantastic too- she played a depressed maiden who wanted a chance to fall in love, which meant she wasn't smiling much but she played her part so well!

After the first night she asked me about some of the other players on the stage and I had to admit that I wasn't looking at anyone else but her- she was too fabulous to miss!

I loved seeing the play twice- the first night we had several friends (and Grammy Q!) joining us, and the second day, we enjoyed a closer seat for better pictures.  Beginning to end, this play was a huge undertaking for Adam and Emma and everyone involved!  They started practice on Tuesday and presented two fantastic performances on Saturday and Sunday, complete with about a dozen choreographed songs and full costumes! Adam also had twice daily marching band practice this week, but he handled both beautifully. 

I loved watching Adam and Emma doing what they love! And I loved looking over at Noah, their Number One Biggest Fan- he was a huge help with lines and songs too!

And a huge shout out to Nick, Adam's friend who has encouraged him to give drama a try this year (they keep each other on their toes as they compete for drama roles, choir solos, show choir spots, and trumpet chairs). 

After the second show's bows, the teachers presented outgoing 8th graders with roses and letters, and I agree with Ms Coleman's words- this great experiences would have only been better if Adam had started with the drama in 7th grade.  It's hard to know what to expect from high school drama, but this experience has been a wonderful one for him, and we're all delighted that Emma has so many Stilwell plays ahead of her still. 

What a sweet experience for these sweet siblings! (Leah helped me create these candy and flower bouquets.) 

Here's to a performance to remember for Emma and Adam! 

Being a Dad

 Any man can be a father, but it takes a special man to be a DAD! 

(Or a Daddy, as our children's father is trying to get them to stop calling him. That's a hard life-long habit to break!) 

These sweet babies sang in sacrament meeting for Father's Day (I was supposed to play the piano but stayed home with poison ivy on my face instead).  I love the little boy who was sure it was a Primary song and just joined them up there.  They did a fantastic job! 

We don't get many of these "report cards" anymore, but this one gave us all a laugh!  

Our family wouldn't be nearly as wonderful as it is without such a fantastic El Padre working so hard for us every day- at his job, at teaching the gospel in our home, and at loving all of us! 

Summer So Far

 We've had a glorious mix of busy and lazy so far this summer.  These are the good old days in the making. We challenged the youth in the stake to read the Book of Mormon in six months, and this month we celebrated with go-kart racing, mini golf and a pizza party! 

I even went for a nice safe spin.  I was much more reckless as a teenager, but I was happy to putter around the track while everyone zoomed past me. 

Cute girls!

Jason watched all of the youth go around and gathered up the fastest boys for a race, only to be the first one to spin out while they zoomed past him.  Humbled!

Adam's hair doesn't usually look like this- he was flying!

Noah and his buddy Jayden played more golf than anyone else!

Our stake is filled with awesome youth!  And it is really sweet to be the ones who get to shape some of the experiences that are shaping their testimonies. 

We've been cat sitting for Gwenny- no suprise that Emma is her favorite. The rest of us were nervous around her, Emma just scooped her up like it was no biggie. She's so brave!

We are officially no longer able to fit three people in a kayak anymore, so this summer we invested in two stand up paddleboards. 

They are a sweet ride, and a fascinating way to see all that is going on under the surface at Maffitt Lake. So many fish and plants and maybe even mermaids! 

Brave kids! 

Adam is continuing to hone his grilling skills- 

We did a major garage cleanout a few weeks back and I almost tossed the sidewalk chalk, but I'm so glad I didn't.  It was the perfect source of entertainment on a lovely summer night. 

Ahh, sweet summer. 

I think this game is called Frostbite- 

I wish someone would have told me, babe, someday these'll be the good old days.