Tradition!

Tuesday, 4 July 2006

If you've ever been around our house at the beginning of July, you know it isn't a big secret that GR LOVES the 4th of July. Specifically, he loves fireworks and setting them off. And for as long as I've known him, we've done our own show on the 4th.

Bob and Diane's house has a large open field (the size of 2 football fields?) behind their house that is perfect for launching and watching fireworks. And over the last three or four 4th of July's GR has been perfecting his show. This year it was one of his best shows yet. It was well attended and well organized.

Last year we had an open invitation to everyone at church to attend our fireworks display and have root beer floats, blending the two family's traditions... GR's fireworks show, and my serving root beer floats before the show. This year we did the same, opening the spectrum a little wider to include two wards.

All in all I think we had 100 if not 125 people attend this years show. We went through seven boxes of ice cream (112 servings) and a little less root beer (in a perfect world it's a perfect ratio ... 1 box of ice cream to 1 2-liter of root beer = 16 8oz. root beer floats.).

The kids loved doing sparklers before the show, and Sam made it through the first half of GR’s 30 minute show – with his hands covering his ears – before deciding he’d had enough of the show, and went in to play with a couple other little kids who’d had enough lights and loud noises.



GR has gone to the same fireworks tent in town for the last three years. And this year, as always, the owner was very good to “the four fat men.” GR was suppose to get a picture of all the fireworks before they got blown up, (I have yet to actually see the volume at which they purchase – probably best for me to simply not know) but I haven’t found it yet.

We use to joke that GR would spend more on the 4th of July than on Christmas... that was before we had kids. I'm not thinking that's completely true anymore. Although he does spend more than some, he is very, very good at making wise, smart purchases. Something I'm learning few people know how to do when it comes to fireworks.

I got more than one comment from a few of the dad’s bouncing tired babies at the back of the show, went something like this:

“So why does GR want a commercial license? What could it give him that he doesn’t already have?”

“Oh these were all purchases at ______ tent in town… with a commercial license he can buy bigger fireworks.”

“Really? These were ALL purchased at a tent?! … Wow, this is so much better than what I thought it was going to be!”

Thanks to Sandra, GR also got the email address of someone he can apprentice under to get his own commercial license. By September at the latest he should have it. So next year's show should be even bigger and better … mark your calendars, and plan your vacations to KS early!

Getting Ready for Baby

While the children were out of town June 17-23rd, I wanted to use that time to do some things to get ready for the baby... namely paint Sam's room (which had beautiful murals done by a resident 2-year old artist and his assistants done on a canvas of blah flat white).

My friend Stormy (Stake RS President - the other blonde in the pictures below) is an amazing interior designer and I asked if she would help me pick paint colors for Sam and the baby's room using the curtains and quilts I'll be using in their room as the jumping off point. We picked paint colors Monday, I purchased paint Wednesday, and painted all the solid walls, and she and I spent Thursday and Friday doing all the detail work (FYI the dresser took 12 hours to paint... with minimal breaks to add the red squares upstairs, eat dinner, and test paint Sam's bed... I can't believe how much blue tape we used in two days!). I still need to take pictures of the final room... you'll need to wait for that. But here are spoiler before and after pictures. You can tell what an amazing designer Stormy is by this transformation.





We got Sam a big boy bed and some cute sheets to coordinate with the room - $5 each at Linens & Things! In the next 15 days I need to hang pictures, call a custom furniture maker to make the finishing details for Sam's head board and foot board, deliver Sam's quilt to be quilted (see bears paw quilt), oh yeah... and actually put all the baby's bedding on the crib! :)

Heavenly Autopsy Team

Tuesday, 20 June 2006

I've been told I have an old spirit... Shannon meant it as a compliment... meaning I'm someone who (in this particular case) just knows what needs to be done and does it. Maybe that's why a year and half ago the stake presidency decided I should serve as the 2nd councilor in the Stake Relief Society Presidency. Most women who serve in a stake RS Presidency have children my age and grandchildren the ages of mine... try as I might, that simply was not a good enough reason to turn down the responsibility, and I've loved it ever since!

Last year as part of our effort to help bridge the gap between Young Women and Relief Society, we approached the Stake YW Presidency to see if they would like our help with some (we were hoping for small) part of girls camp. This has started a tradition of us putting on a mini fireside the Tuesday night of girl’s camp.

This year’s theme was EMT -- Eternity Means Today, and everything centered around medical terminology (Emergency Medical Team). With only a few days of preparation time, we knew we needed to do something fun and a little silly while still having a spiritual message with some meat to it. The idea was suggested we do a skit, more specifically, a surgery. What evolved was The Heavenly Autopsy Team ... a sister straight from Earth is "autopsied" to show the girls all the benefits of Relief Society. We started a the top of her head, and ended with her feet... pulling all sorts of things from her body to showing the benefits of being a faithful daughter of God and a member of the Relief Society.

Eyes ---- Water Pitcher --- She poured over her scriptures
Mouth – Mouthwash – never used profanity or said inappropriate things… spoke kind words about everyone.
Lungs – Balloon – When she meant business she could yell her children’s full names loud enough for the entire neighborhood to hear.
Legs – Running Shoes – anxiously engaged in a good cause.

We had a lot of fun with this skit, and although the girls didn’t laugh at all our jokes and puns, they were riveted on what bizarre thing we were going to pull out of Carol next.

Follow up:
After our little portion of the night, the girls finished the night with some camp maintenance... lost and found, awards for the day, etc. and then started on some camp songs. I asked my friend Beth (a member of the Stake YW Presidency) if the girls knew a camp call? Turns out years ago they did, but no one knew it now. She asked if I'd be willing to teach it to the girls and I said yes. We spent 5-10 minutes going over it and on Friday when I picked up the girls many of them still remembered the call and answer. I need to go looking for my old camp song book to find this call and answer written out... here's my best attempt and writing out all the sounds. Maybe my sisters can help me perfect the phonetics.

Call:
High low
Enny meany I ki-ki
Ooo chow chow
ooo wow wow
Ta u-who

Answer:
Heck-ta-min-i-ka In-i-ca-saw
Ta-boom Cha-la
Ta u-who