Gospel Hour

The kids were in their Gospel Hour fiddle show this past weekend. They did great! It was so fun to be their mommy!
My pictures didn't turn out so great. There are better pictures at http://www.pricelessmemoriesstudios.com/. Currently, Colin and Robyn are in the picture that comes up with the site. They are on the bottom left. If you want to see more, enter the site and click on Gallery. The pictures are in Gospel Hour. Most of the good pictures of my kids are on page 2 and 3. Picture DSC_19031 is a good one of Robyn (there are a lot of good ones of Robyn). DSC_19131 is a good one of Colin. He and Robyn are at the mic for that part. Colin gets on the second row usually and it is hard to get good pictures of him. The pictures of Grace are DSC_1917, 19181, 19211, 1927, 1940. She is in a few others too.

Music Man

Caden woke up this morning "singing" the train part of Orange Blossom Special. I don't know how to type what he said. Something like "err, errrrr, err, err buck, buck, buck, buck." How can you not wake up with a smile when that's your alarm clock. So funny!!




Of course, the little turkey won't do it again for me so I could get a movie. This is not today's picture, but it's classic Caden.


The big kids have been doing several Christmas Fiddle shows at nursing homes and care centers for the past two weeks. With all the practice and the shows, it's no wonder Caden can sing the songs.

It's that time again - The Country Harvest Hoedown is here!

This is it. The BIG Weekend we've all been waiting for. Finally.
The Country Harvest Hoedown is tonight and tomorrow. I can't wait to see the show.

Colin, Robyn, and Grace are all in it and they have been practicing for months to get ready.



Yesterday, Colin and Robyn were on TV as the dress rehearsal was televised during the weather reports on the news. That was pretty cool.



Grace didn't go because it was WAY too early in the morning for a four year old. She and Caden had a good rehearsal anyway.
Uncle Mike wrote and said to make sure Caden learns something "manly" like the guitar. Caden is happy to comply. Every time Randy picks up his guitar to practice, Caden goes for his too. Admittedly, Caden's playing backup isn't too pleasant on the ears, but it sure it fun for the eyes to watch.
(He still can't wait to get his hands on a fiddle though.)

A Couple of Pictures of Colin Because I Like Him

He sure is a handsome feller ain't he?






The boy loves his fiddle. He is currently combining his loves by creating a fiddle web page. Life doesn't get any better than that!

morning jam sessions

Here are a few pictures of morning fiddle practice. Everyone loves to jam with Dad! Dad can make everything more fun. Randy has been in charge of fiddle practice all summer - I love it! I hope he can keep it up when he starts his classes again this fall.

Jeremy and Shannon's Wedding Day

We got a new aunt this weekend! As far as I could tell, everything went great. Shannon was gorgeous. The food was good. The decorations were pretty. And, of course, the company was good. Here are some pictures from the day.


The Groom (aka Uncle Jeremy) and Caden at the luncheon.


The girls with the Bride (newly known as Aunt Shannon) at the luncheon.


The girls with Uncle Sam who is almost done with his service to "Uncle Sam". After two tours with the Marines in Iraq, he will be coming home for good in two weeks. Thank you Sam! We love you a lot.


Colin provides some entertainment between the luncheon and the reception. He did a great job at keeping the kids busy. He played several primary songs for them to guess the tune and some good dance tunes for a dance party.
Colin, Robyn, and Grace each played their fiddles at the reception for some live entertainment. They did a fine job.

Contest Video

Here is some video of Colin and Robyn playing at the contest.
Colin is playing Florida Blues.
Robyn is playing Margarette's Waltz.
Have I mentioned how much fun it is to be their Mommy?! Gads, I love these kiddos!

A Mom's Gotta Brag!

Colin and Robyn played in their first fiddle contest today. They did AWESOME! I was so proud to be their Mommy!

They both played in the Small Fry Beginner Division.
Robyn scored 738 points out of 900. She played Liverpool Hornpipe, Margarette's Waltz, and 4-String Polka.
Colin got 778 points playing Woodchopper's Reel, Edelweiss, and Florida Blues. (I love Florida Blues - you can't help but dance when he plays it.) 778 was enough to send him on to round 2 this evening where he played Camptown Races. He ended up getting fourth place and a big trophy. How exciting!

I gave them each $5 to tip their accompanists, Scott and Skylar. When the kids tried to give them the money, they refused to take it and told the kids to keep it.
Colin said, "But my Mom gave it to me to give to you."
Scott told him, "Well, you get to keep it then. You earned it."
They took him at his word and kept the money.


It was a long day that started early and ended late. We got home just before 11:00 PM - the poor kids were all fiddled out!

So why haven't I blogged in a while???
Reason #1 The computer monitor blew up on me and I had to wait for a new one.

Reason #2 My boys can't make up their minds about what operating system they want and I cannot keep up!

Reason #3 It is SPRINGTIME!!!!

Reason #4 I have been catching up on my reading.

March was a lovely month - oh so very much better than February. (I am hoping that the next three months go as quickly as March did. Tomorrow I enter the third trimester of this pregnancy and I am looking forward to THE END!)

The kids and I have been very busy taking long walks/bike rides around the neighborhood and generally being outside at every available moment.
We have onions, potatoes, carrots, peas, beets, radishes, lettuce, swiss chard, chives and cilantro growing in our garden. We have even begun to enjoy the harvest of the lettuce and the chives this week and look forward to radishes by next week. Happy days! I love to eat out of my very own garden.
The crocuses and the daffodils have come and gone and now the tulips are blooming. All of the fruit trees have beautiful pink and white flowers on them and the berries are leafing out.
Randy has been working very hard getting our patio extended on the weekends and it is looking fabulous!
Did I mention that I LOVE springtime?!!

Last week, the kids went to an assisted living center with their fiddle group to play for the residents there. It was so fun! When they were finished several residents asked if we would come back. When Monique said we would, one lady said, "WHEN." It was cute. Monique said we would try to come back next month. I hope we do.

I have made a goal to keep up on my church lessons - reading the lesson before I attend the class. It really helps me get more out of the class. Good Stuff.
I have also been trying to get through the Church News each week and keep my Ensign read. It is amazing how much a girl can learn from such publications and how relevant they seem to be to what I have been thinking about or working on.

I finished Fascinating Womanhood - fabulous book, Highly recommended.
I also read Alas, Babylon for my 5 Pillar Group tonight - great book! It is a book written in the 50s about Russia bombing all the major cities at the same time, effectively ending civilization as we know it in a matter of minutes and what took place in the days after. It gave me a lot to think about. I think I will go buy some extra needles next time I get to Walmart. Oh, and I still want a farm.
I am also working on The Story of the World by Susan Wise Bauer and The Great Conversation.
I won't be running out of reading material anytime soon with all the Great Books of the Western World, the classics on the first pillar reading list from George Wythe College, the Lord's Library (all the books written by the Prophets of this dispensation), and the huge stack of books I just want to read - all just waiting for me.
Right now they are all waiting for me in huge stacks in my family room as my book cases that I ordered two months ago still haven't arrived! Maybe this week they will come. I hope so.

We have to run now - time to set up for Pack Meeting.

P.S. As soon as Colin teaches me about Windows Vista Business, I will upload some photos.

Here is a picture of Grace (left) with her fiddle from www.ruwemusic.com.