Choir, Homecoming and Football

I know that I sound like a broken record when I say we had another huge weekend, but this one I think takes the cake! It started with Cody's big football game. We have been waiting to play this team all season because this team is the team we played in the championship last year and lost to. Now Cody was not on the team last year but both team have almost the exact same players and the same coaches. Clay and Cody spent the early morning watching the rival teams films and learning who their big players were and who Cody had to keep his eye on during the game. The funny part about this other team is they are from Cedar Hills. This is the city we used to live in, the last time we lived in Utah and these boys are all of Cody's old friends from preschool.
When we got to the field we found out two of our biggest and best blockers on offence were not in town and wouldn't be at the game. So it would be pretty much up to Cody on the offence side. Now defense, which Cody's plays as well is where Cody is strong and he pretty much took care of everything and stopped this team from scoring the entire game.
By the end, the score was 7-0, we had won! It was so much fun and stressful, I couldn't stay in my seat the entire game.
In the first video is a great tackle made by Cody. He is number 42!


I thought this video is funny. cody really isn't doing anything in it, but decides anyways to knock a guy over, just for the fun of it.






After the game we took the kids and my MIL out to lunch for a celebration for Cody's great game and Savannah's as well. I don't have any pictures of it, but Savannah during her game (flag football) caught and interceped a pass in the other teams end zone and ran it all the way back for a touch down.
When we got back I had to hurry and get ready for my big night of singing in the General Relief Society Choir. We had to be at the Conference Center by two for rehearsal and camera checks. We practiced for two hours and then they took us back in the back room of the Conference Center for a light lunch. We were able to touch up our makeup and hair and then it was off for the big performance. The Conference Center was packed full and it was such an incrediable experience to be there, so close to the prophet, and to participate in this choir.
By the time it was over, we headed back to our back room, got our belonging and that is when I checked my cell phone. I had over ten messages from Clay telling me ever time the camera had been on me. I was so embarrassed, you don't don't have a clue where the camera is or if or when it is on you. But they did tell us that the camera finds faces and sticks to those. I guess I happened to be one of those faces. Clay called to tell me that my SIL's in Texas were watching it from thier stake center and were having some technical difficulties but when the picture came back on it was right during my close up! How terrible! Oh well, it was so much fun I don't even care!

While I was at the broadcast Jessica was having her first date for Homecoming. Yes, I had to miss my babies first big date! But thankfully she had her wonderful aunt Chelsey there to help her with her hair and makeup and she did a wonderful job cause Jess looked beautiful.
Thankfully Clay took tons of pictures and video so I'll put a few on for all to see

Jessica pinning the flower on Tyler

Chelsey pinning the flower on Tyler!

Jessica pretending she pinned the flower on Tyler!

Jess showing off her flower. Didn't he do such a great job picking the flower? I was so impressed!

The happy couple!

The happy couple sick of taking pictures!

The very happy couple because Clay said they could take his car!

Tyler being a gentleman

Savannah, yes Savannah started flag football this week. She is only one of two girls on her team, and the other girl is their quarterback. Savannah had an amazing catch during this game that of course I didn't get video of, but beleive me when I say, it was awesome!
I forgot to post this picture last time so here it is now. This is Sister Webb my chorister for this amazing choir that I'm participating in. She is truely one of the most amazing women I have had the chance of meeting. She is so happy, energetic and so positive, I wish she could bottle it and give some to me. Sister Webb not only taught us how to sing wonderfully, she also taught us how to strengthen our testimonies and in the process become closer to our Savior. Every week she would start off our practice by saying "I have a gift for all of you", she would then chant this hawaiian song (she lived there in Hawaii for quite a while and taught school there) in Hawaiian, that when translated said that we are beautiful women who can do anything. We can climb mountains, but the Lord has a higher mountain for us to climb. We are promised love and help from our Heavenly Father if we remember him. Then she would say to us "You are the precious adornment worn around the next of your anncestors".

She always told us "Dont be sad that it is over, be happy that it happened". I now think of this often when little things happen in my life, especially with my kids.

She taught us that the most important word in the English language is "remember". She asked us "would a couple divorce if they remembered how in love they were with each other in the beginning?" "Would we be mean to others, if we remembered how it felt when someone did something nice for us?" "Would we forget to pray or read our scriptures or attend the temple, if we remembered what our Savior did for us?"

She told us that the most important goal in this life is to realize who we are before we remember! I have learned so much from her and feel so blessed that I was able to meet and be apart of her life. Something I just found out about her is she has never been married and has no children. She told us that she knew she had a different mission for her life and that she was going to make the most of it! Amazing!
Tonight, our wonderful neighbor came over and gave Luke the thrill of his life. I was inside when Luke came running in, completely out of breath, yelling for me to come outside. Not knowing what was going on, I went outside to see Brother Platt (our neighbor) on his motorcycle asking me if he could give Luke a ride. I ran back inside to grab the camera and got back in time to get one picture.

The video isn't very good thanks to the sun being in the worst position possible. If this would of happened five minutes later the sun would of been behind the houses, oh well!

Brother Platt just returned to work after being in a terrible accident the first of this year. He T-boned another car and shattered his leg, loosing a lot of blood and almost dying. He is one of the most funny guys in our ward and Luke and his son CJ are in the same kindergarten class.

weekend mess

The weekend started off nice and early, 6:30 a.m. to be exact, with a dress rehearsal at the Conference Center in down town Salt Lake. It was so amazing to get to go up to the choir section and be in this area that only a few people ever get to be in. This is a picture of the women walking in our very long lines, up to our seats. During this practice my seat was in the very top (second to the top to be exact), very left corner of the choir seats. They told us we may change our seats, but I will for sure be on the left side (soporano section) and at the top, since I am one of the tallest in my section.
This a picture from my seat. We found out also on Saturday that from the choir section you can not see the prophet. In fact you can't even see the pulpit from the choir section. So the entire conference we wont even be able to see, only hear it!

After the rehearsal Clay and the kids picked me up and we headed to Kennecott's concentrator where they were having a 20 years celebration party. Ususally the concentrator is off limits to anyone, but today they opened it up to employees and their families. The concentrator is where they send all the rocks and minerals they pull out of the mine and break them down and seperate them into all their different things. (terrible description, I know)

At the end of the tour we had lunch and they gave us each a goody bag to take home.
Here we are inside the concentrator and well it had a very interesting smell, sulfer, chemical and oil/gas mixture.
That big round thing behind Luke spins all day long, grinding up the rocks that come from the mine. It's really loud but so cool! They have four of them here at the concentrator.

This was the coolest part of the tour, the silver bubbles. After grinding the rocks they are sent to these tubes of water, where chemicals are added that draw up the minerals and they form these silver bubbles. Clay called them "money bubbles", because each bubble is worth a lot of money right now! Yes, Luke is licking the hand rail in the video, don't watch if it will make you sick!

busy, busy, busy!

Ok, my sisters have been asking me to post a picture of Jessica and Tyler, so here you go.
I don't ever seem to have time any more to post to often. And my days just keep getting more crazy as the weeks fly by. So hang in there and don't get mad at me if I'm only posting once a week.
Sorry mom, I forgot to bring my camera again to Cody's football game so that you can see him in action. And I'm not going to be able to make his game this Saturday because I have a dress rehersal at the Conference Center for choir. By the way it's open to all friends and family who want to come watch us practice for the General Relief Society Meeting. And of course my family can't make it because of the football game. So if any of you want to come I would love to have you there!

I have been having these terrible stomach pains for about a month now so I finally made myself go to the doctors and they told me I have a ulcer. Clay has been telling me for years that I would some day give myself an uncler because I'm such a stresser and a little high strung (just a little)and now he can say "I told you so". Oh well what can you do?

Clay called last week and told me that he got a call from the big guys in London because they have a opening out there they wanted him to consider taking. He had them email the job description to him and it wasn't anything new, just the same stuff he is doing now, so we're not going to take this one, but from earier experience I know that once they start offering they don't stop until they get you. When we moved to Denver the guys from the SLC offices started offering Clay openings in Utah. We didn't except any of them, until the one from Kennecott became open. It was to good of a position to turn down and that's why we are back in Utah. So don't be surprised if we announce that were headed off to London in the next year or so. I won't be!

Well that is all I have time for today. Now I'm off to pick up Luke and Cody from school, take the girls to get a immunization shot at the doctors, Britt has an orthodontist appt. and then Cody has guitar practice.

Homecoming fun!

Alright, I know it's been a while since I updated my blog. To those that have been bugging me about this, I'm sorry. It's seems like my life has been thrown into fast forward and I can't seem to keep my days, or weeks for that matter straight.
I have been very busy trying to get things started and organized in scouts, being Luke's room mom, football, guitar and piano practice, young women's, carpool, homework and keeping my house clean.
We had a reginal conference on Sunday and when we got home, there was a little surprise waiting for Jessica up in her bedroom. It's hard to tell from this picture but there are hundreds of Hersey Kisses all over her bedroom. Then there was this note on her bed on this piece of plastic paper that said..."Dear Beautiful, I hid a book somewhere downstairs for you"


She found the book down in our office and it's the Jane Austen book of seven novels, which includes Pride and Prejudice, her favorite!

Inside the book was a note that said "Love, Tyler". We were all very confused because we knew he was asking her to Homecoming, but what an odd way to do it. Then Jessica noticed on the top of the plastic paper was a page number. She turned to that page in the book and it was the part in Pride and Prejudice where Mr. Darcy asks Miss Bennet to dance. Well when you line the paper up perfectly the part that he highlighted in green read....."Do not you feel a great inclination, Miss Collins, (he wrote in Collins on the plastic paper) to seize such an opportunity of dancing a reel?"
I have to say that we were all so impressed with Tyler's creativity and after talking to his mom she told me he came up with it all on his own and even had to search for hours on the internet to find this line in the book that he could use to ask her.
Jess took her book to school the next day and all her friends just about died they were so jealous of the way he asked her. Her other friends got balloons in their rooms that had the guys name inside telling them who was asking them. Boring!
Anyways, with the help of Aunt Chelsea we came up with a fun way to respond to Tyler. We had to keep the Pride and Predudice theme so we decided to send him on a savenger hunt looking for clues to her anwser.
This was the first clue- on the outside of the box it reads..."Mr. Balkman". When you open the box a mouse jumps out on you, hopefully scaring him to death! Ha Ha
Then he must find the clue inside the box. This clue reads..."My dear, would you be so inclined to fetch the mail for me?"

Then he must go to his mail box where he will find this letter that says..."Will you accompany me for a stroll about the park?"

That is where he will find this sign taped to the jungle gym that says..."One might want to look about the suite of the younger Miss Balkman to find the written word of Tess of the Durbervilles."

This is a fake book that we have that when you open it it's hallow and we put the remote to his DVD player in it.

When he finds the remote he finds the last clue that reads..."Press play to see a pre-inactment of the 27th day of September two thousand and eight in the year of our Lord. Post Script, do me the pleasure of only partaking in a minute of such theatrics."

We set up the DVD in his theather room so that the movie was in the spot when Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth were dancing together.

While Jess and I were running around the neighborhood doing this fun activity, Clay sent me this picture of Cody to my phone. Clay is driving me crazy right now because he wants a motorcycle. (Yes, Rob thanks to you!) He knows how I feel about this, but as you can see, he doesn't care! He even has Cody in on it!! He swears he wont buy on right now, but I'm just waiting for the day when he pulls up in one! By the way that is a $400 jacket Cody is wearing and he came home telling me how badly he wanted it! In your dreams son!