October Break in New York City

Start spreading the news...I want to be a part of it, New York, New York!

I know, pretty cliche. But what can I say... I finally made it east to visit my brother and his family in New York. What a trip! It was so fun to see David, Marne, and the kids. Marne was the perfect hostess and tour guide. Since David was working long hours, Marne was so kind and such a good sport. She took me all over the city with two kids in tow. I have so many pictures that it is ridiculous. So, I am attempting a slideshow of some of the highlights (sorry that they aren't all in order, I'm technologically uneducated). Hopefully it will work.

In the six days I was there I definitely played tourist. Here is a list of the places and things we were able to squeeze into our days:

Necklace making (working on favorite Aunt status)
Rockefeller Plaza
5th Ave.
Impromptu Steve Jobs Memorial at the Apple Store
The Hudson Riverwalk
Central Park (several different times)
The Temple/Church (amazing how much it looks just like every other church bldg from the inside)
Ground Zero/9/11 Preview Site
Wall Street (and it's occupiers)
Brooklyn Bridge (or at least a view of it)
Patsy's Pizzeria
Crumbs Cupcakes
The Met
Serendipity's
Ellis Island (and the Ferry ride passed the Statue of Liberty)

I'm sure I am missing something. It was an awesome trip! I was constantly amazed by Marne's ability to get a double stroller all over the city and to plan for the whole day out with two kids under four. In the evenings we also made brownies, ate cheesecake and managed the whole first season of Storage Wars. It was a blast!

Thank you David and Marne for putting up with me and letting me crash on your couch! Can't wait for the next trip to visit your family!

Blue Ridge Reservoir

Top 10 reasons it should be counted as a successful camping trip...

10. we got to wear a sweatshirt in September in Arizona

9. we spent part of the night stargazing at what seemed like millions of stars

8. I got my thumb smooshed in the camper while setting up (what is camping without at least one injury).

7. we were surrounded by trees that smelled good.

6. we played card games and speed scrabble at the picnic table.

5. we needed more than one blanket to stay warm at night.

4. we ate "Schaub-ka-bobs" cooked over hot coals on a cool morning.

3. we experienced the food of dutch oven cooking "professionals" three meals in a row.

2. Spent a whole weekend with great friends and laughed till it hurt (I'm still not sure what was so funny).

And the number one reason it was a successful camping trip...
...we were serenaded by a bull elk that I thought was going to attack me when I walked to the bathroom at 3 in the morning (FYI...the bugling that comes from an elk during mating season is the scariest sound I have ever heard coming from the forest!).

What an FUN, FABULOUS, FANTASTIC trip! Let's do it again soon!

It's a Miracle

I know, it is a miracle that I am finally posting. I should be doing all sorts of other things. I have a long to do list to do and absolutely no motivation to do any of it. So, that led me to the computer. At least this will get one thing off my list and since it has been on the list since February, it is about time.

So, I sat down and tried to decide what to blog about. I am just trying to get through the last few weeks of the school year. With 6th graders it is always busy and a test of wills. I love my students but somedays are harder than others. We are all ready for our summer break.

I could blog about:

• what my summer plans are...but they are all up in the air right now so I'm not sure.


• the amazing date I had last week. Oh wait, that was in my imagination. :)


• the new Burnt Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe I tried a while back...but they turned hard overnight and I didn't like them.


• Mother's Day. Mom and Dad came over for dinner. It was fun. I even played "I Often Go Walking" for mom on my new piano.

My new piano... of course. I can blog about that.

It's a beauty! It is a brand new KAWAI upright. I have had a heck of time photographing it because it is so shiny! As most of you know, I am not the best pianist in the world. However, it is amazing to me how a piano helps a house become a home. I love playing those same songs I ended my lessons with and of course the hymns. I can't wait for Christmas to come rolling along so I can play Christmas carols.

I told Grandma Stott about the piano the other day and got roped into bringing some music along to play for her the next time I come to Utah. Sometimes it doesn't work to my advantage that her memory is so good. By the way, the picture on the left-hand side is of Grandpa Stott's trumpet. I took it at Grandma's 90th birthday party and blew it up. It looks pretty good up there. The photo in the corner is of the prophet Thomas S. Monson. Our Stake Presidency challenged us to have a picture of the prophet up in our homes. So, the Relief Society in our ward gave each of us a copy of this candid shot. I love it. I needed a place to put it until I got a proper frame for it. So, it join the piano display.

Anyway, I love my new piano.
And now I have posted. Check!

With summer on the way, I should be better!

Opera

The opera. I know, sounds stuffy, dull, and might I even say boring. However, I had the chance to attend Puccini's Turandot put on by the Arizona Opera company last night and I LOVED it!

It was a great introduction to Opera. It is a fun story that takes place in Peking, about a princess who doesn't want to get married. So, she has it set up that any possible suitor must answer three riddles before they can marry. If they can't answer the riddles correctly...they must visit the executioner. Then one man comes and answers the questions and she still does not want to marry him. So, he gives her a way out. He says if she can find out his name by morning then she can have him killed. Essentially, by the time night is over she knows his name but has also fallen in love with him.

I did have to laugh at the audience. Before the performance started they announced the 2011-2012 season. From the number of gasps, ahhhs, and shouts of wonderful and bravo, we were worried that some of the older opera enthusiasts would soon go into cardiac arrest due to over excitement. It was kind of cute.

Surprisingly I had actually heard one of the songs that was performed. "Nessun Dorma" is a quite popular tenor aria and you would know it if heard it.



So, there you have it. Although I don't foresee a time where I will go out and buy an opera on CD or download any songs onto my regular playlist, attending an opera is another story. I would definitely be up for another performance.

Gilbert, AZ Temple

Last week I was able to attend the groundbreaking ceremony for the new Gilbert, AZ temple.



Ok, if I am being honest, I actually attended the ceremony from the relative comfort of my Stake Center. I was going to go to the site but had heard that they were setting up 5,000 chairs for the event and the thought of dealing with that many people, no matter how nice everyone was being, was a little too much for me. It turned out that over 7,500 people attended so I am glad I was in the chapel with air conditioning (even though it was November, it was close to 80 degrees. There were a lot of sunburned heads at Stake Conference that night).

I had never been to a groundbreaking before and I learned something. No matter how excited you are about a new temple, a groundbreaking is really kind of boring. Yes, the speakers were good and I am sure there is a certain energy at the site. However, when it comes down to it, it's just a bunch of people in Sunday best turning over the same dirt.



Don't get me wrong, if I had children I would take them and I would wait in the line at the end to turn the dirt over for ourselves. But, I don't and I was happy to leave when it was over and drive away from the building without having to fight traffic.



So, mom and I stopped yesterday to start my photo progression of the temple. There is a large fence with green plastic surrounding the perimeter making a nice, well thoughtout picture was not really possible. But I got a couple great shots of the dirt while standing on my tip toes and holding my camera high above my head. This shot from the Meridian Magazine was better than what I got so I thought I would include it instead. I can't wait to see the construction progress. The drawings look absolutely beautiful and I am excited to be able to regularly attend a temple that has an angel Moroni and doesn't look like a box.

6th Grade Masks

I realize that once schools starts, at the end of August, it becomes harder and harder for me to update my blog. So, in order to make this a bit easier, I decided that you should probably just check out the pictures I have posted of my class on my school website.

This week we made masks out of rigid wrap (gauze with plaster already on it so you only have to get it wet. Certianly beats the plaster of paris mess). Even though we all understand these masks are really nothing like the Egyptian Death Masks we have been studying, my students had a blast making them. And that's what really counts right? OK, that and the fact that the person getting the mask made can not talk, laugh, or move their mouth in any way for about 45 minutes. :)

OK, click here and then click on photo gallery.

Enjoy!

Summer 2010 at the Duffin's

My one any only trip out of state this summer was up to hot and humid Illinois to visit the Duffins. What fun! It was the first time I was meeting the youngest Duffin, Erin. She is just a cutie. It was so great getting to see what the Duffin family is up to. I especially enjoyed Allison's version of The Oddessy in which she starred, directed, produced, edited, etc. If you get a chance, ask to see it sometime. It was also fun to bring Sarah back to AZ with me. I will have to write another entry soon about some of the great things we did with Mom and Dad (or Grandma and Grandpa depending on who is reading this). It was fun to see her fascination with all things "lizardy". Lauren is just darling. She is taking on the role of older sister so well. She is helpful and plays with Erin. Actually, I was impressed with how well all of Erin's sisters play with her, read to her, and help to take care of her. Lauren also really looks up to her older sisters (even though she probably won't like me saying that).

While spending the day in Chicago we watched an Omnimax movie while at the Science Museum, got wet at the spitting fountains, used a groupon at Jamba Juice (love the groupons), listened to a free concert at the band shell, saw the mirrored bean in the park, and cooled our feet at the garden walk stream. It was a fabulous day!

As part of my on-going goal to eventually visit all 50 states, we also spent a day in DuBuque, Iowa. We went to the Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium. We learned all about the steam ships and Lewis and Clark's expedition. We also say alligators, turtles, otters, ducks, and all sorts of UGLY fish. Carol Lee and I took a walk down memory lane when we went into one room where there were crawdads. It took us back to fourth grade at Green Gables Elementary where we did a unit study on crawdads and had little habitats in the classroom for them. I think Carol Lee was a little disappointed that the guy wouldn't let us pick them up. Much to the glee of Sarah, they also had a great exhibit on lizards from all over the world. Twenty-seven states down, twenty-three to go!

Overall it was an incredible trip! Here is a slide show (if it works, this is the first time I am trying one) of some of the main events.



As you can see from the last picture, one the way to the airport we had a small problem. Our tire was flatter than flat. This could have been a major disaster. Luckily, the highway patrol rescue truck saw us and was there less than 5 minutes after we stopped. We were so thankful! We could have figured out the spare tire, but it would have taken us a lot longer than the fifteen minutes it took them. As we got back on the road we said a quick prayer of thanks. Sarah and I made our flight with no problem.

Thanks for a great trip Duffins! I love you all!