Memorial Day--The Way It Should Be

So, for the all the years we have lived away, our kids have not known what it was to visit cemeteries on Memorial Day to honor loved ones who have gone before us.  So this year, since we are back home, we made a weekend out of it.

On Saturday, we traveled to Preston, Idaho to meet my parents, grandparents, brother's family, cousins and their families, and aunts and uncles to put flowers on the graves of my great grandparents.  We then went to the park for a picnic.  So fun and great to revive that tradition from my youth.

(Not our family, but President Ezra Taft Benson is near my family's site)

Then on Monday, we joined Kris's family to visit cemeteries in Kaysville and Bountiful.  We saw many ancestors on Kris's side and even saw my great-great-great grandfather Anson Call's marker in Bountiful.

Anson Call's home from the mid 1800s.  A little rough now, but pretty cool.)

After visiting the cemetery, we got lunch and ate it at Tolman Park, named after Kris's great-great grandfather Judson Tolman because it's on the land he owned when Bountiful was founded.  The greatest comment of the day was when Olivia said, "I love living here.  I love being in a place where our name means something.  In Iowa, no one ever heard of Tolmans.  Here, we see our name everywhere.  People know who we are.  We even have a park named after us."  Yep, it's good to be home.

Some Words About Josh

Since we last spoke, Josh has been busy.

He has discovered a new passion, which has taken over much of his time.  He has taught himself how to compose digital music.  He signed up for a digital media class this year, which encouraged him to develop this talent.  He wrote a song in the spring which he entered into a couple of state competitions, and took 1st in the state in both competitions for his entry.  The were the TSA (Technology Student Association) and the UMAF (Utah Multimedia Arts Festival) competitions.  We are really proud of him for his efforts.  We look forward to what he can do next year as he enters again.

He was also pretty involved in jazz and symphonic bands.  We enjoyed several performances, including a dance the jazz band hosted and played for as a fundraising for the band trip.

He joined the band for a trip to California, which was great fun for him.

And he was elected the vice president of the band council for next year.  So band will be a pretty big force in our lives next year.

Some Words About Emmie

Since last we spoke, Emmie has been busy.  In addition to her academics, Emmie was involved in the honor choir and the musical theater class this year, which kept her very busy.

She performed in the musical Oklahoma! (for the second year in a row--a perk of attending two different schools for 7th and 8th grade.)  Somehow, though I'm not sure how, I didn't end up with any pics of this.  Maybe I was just too caught up in the moment.

She also performed in a musical review of 40's songs for a dinner theater they hosted, including a small group song she was selected for.

She received a 1 rating on her solo for the solo/ensemble and went to the district level.  Pretty good for her first try.

She had a few performances throughout the year, including a solo she auditioned for and got for a part in "On My Own" for the Les Mis medley they sang.

She received an award for high honor roll, high citizenship honor roll, and was inducted into the National Jr. Honor Society.

And she auditioned for and made the top singing group, The Lady Madrigals, for next year.  The audition process was quite an experience for me (I'll have to write about it later), but she performed well and is now part of the 18 voice ladies group that is Legacy's equivalent to a show choir.

(And I have realized that I haven't taken many pics of Emmie's activities, so I will do better at that in the future.)

Some Words About Olivia

Since last we spoke, Olivia has been busy--mostly with school activities.

She learned many new dances and enjoyed the Valentine's Day dance with the 6th grade.

She graduated (for the second time) from the DARE program at school.  Thanks to our move she got to be the oldest grade in elementary twice--a distinction not many kids get.

She participated in the Greek festival and auditioned for and got a singing solo in the 6th grade Dig It play, a production about the ancient world.

She graduated from 6th grade with a good group of friends she has made this year.  She also received an award for getting 100 AR points and a special award for academic achievement for the year.

And she was selected to be a class officer for her 7th grade class at Legacy Jr. High.  She will be the 1st vice president.  One student was selected from each of the four elementary schools feeding into the jr. high.  So she is really looking forward to next year.

Some Words About Jack

Since we last spoke, Jack has been busy.

Jack is a great, well-rounded kid who's involved in a lot of things.  He auditioned for and got a small part in the school play, Alice in Wonderland.  (The pic's not very good, but here ya go.)

He got to celebrate his birthday (a couple months late) at Boondocks with some friends (and a cousin).  They had a great time.

 He had lots of fun playing soccer on the same team as his cousins Bjornn and Liam (in an 11-12 year old division--never mind he was only 8 when he started!)

He had a couple presentations at school, one on penguins and one on Leonardo Di Vinci.

He won the third grade spelling bee.

And he's rarin' and ready to go for 4th grade.

General Young Women Conference

One of the benefits to living in Utah is proximity to events we care about.  Two years ago, Emmie turned 12 just weeks after the general Young Women conference always held the last weekend of March.  So she had to wait a full year to attend her first in person.  Then, when that year rolled around, our family was deep in the job transition and it didn't work out to fly from Iowa to Utah for the annual meeting.  So this year, when she was almost fourteen, we were finally able to attend.

What a great experience it is to attend that meeting in person.

Time to Move!

Finally, the end of March (almost 2 months after our original move in date), we were able to load up our belonging from our little rental and move into our new home.

There is still a lot of work to be done, including getting the yard in, but after a couple months, we are finally feeling at home in Utah.  Hard to believe this process started last June.  Here we are, one year later, finally getting settled.

Josh Earns His Eagle Scout Award

One of a mother's greatest moments is the day she watches her son get his Eagle Scout award.  Because she sees what a fine young man he's become?  Well, I guess.  But it's really because it means she doesn't have to ride him any more to keep working on it so he can drive.

Josh really completed his project and earned his award last summer.  But with the move and a transition in our ward right after we moved in, his Eagle Court of Honor was delayed.

Finally in February, he and six other boys from our ward, had a very nice court of honor (with a live eagle in attendance), to honor their accomplishments.

It was great to have family there to support him.