Fun Weekend

I think we had the perfect weekend - some barbeques, time with family, a little yardwork and organization, and entertainment.

It all started on Friday morning. My oldest niece Hannah was graduating from highschool. I had thought at first that I wouldn't go because then I'd have to bring Mary along. But then, I decided I really wanted to see Hannah graduate. And so I made the effort to go and I'm glad I did. I love to experience things like weddings and graduations. It makes you think about the road of life and where you are in it and where you have been and where you will go. I love hearing Pomp and Circumstance. It always gets me just a little bit.

The Proud Parents



Mary looks for Hannah



The Happy Graduate (she's the one smiling)



It was down at DU and was maybe the best graduation I've ever attended. Everything was well organized. They briefly mentioned how to behave at a graduation, which I appreciated. Instead of having the valedictorians give 20 minute speeches, they all gave very short speeches??? - I think they all shared a quote and related it to the seniors. They had four of the students graduating do special musical numbers. They were all good I thought - and one of the students already has a recording contract to give you an idea of how good he was. DU is a beautiful campus and I enjoyed the bells ringing outside afterward as Mary and I went to the car. After that, we enjoyed a family lunch at one of the Murray's favorites - Olive Garden.


Hannah and her sister Emma


Saturday was a bbq/graduation party for Hannah and her best friend. Mary had a ball being outside. This persons backyard was amazing - it backed up to a golf course and there was a pond complete with a momma duck and her two little ducklings. It was fun to show Mary. I loved seeing the babies - when they'd fall behind a bit - run (paddle very fast) to catch up.

Balls!


All kinds!


Of course Mary likes to try out all the chairs too.


Fun for everyone! Mary so wanted to join Joe and Ansome.



Saturday night for my Mom's Mother's Day gift, I took her to go see my friend Heather play Mrs. Anna in The King and I up at the Candlelight Dinner Theatre. She did a PERFECT job and we enjoyed the evening very much! My only regret is that I was stupid and left the camera in the car missing photo opps with my Mom and Heather. Poop. : (

Sunday was nice with church and afterward a fun family bbq at my parents house.

Communicating


Don't you wonder what they're thinking?


Duck lips.

And Monday was low key. I always want to do something big for holidays and Jeff always wants to relax at home. So we compromised and just took a walk to a park for a picnic and relaxed the rest of the day. It was great.







Momma and Mary swinging side by side. Can you see Mary waving?







Sweaty, sweet baby after a long afternoon nap.

Guess that's about it!

Won't Be Long

Yesterday I was looking at this picture (Mary loves playing in the real car) and it reminded me of that Subaru commercial. You know the one right? The one with the dad talking to his daughter who is sitting in the car? Well if you don't, and even if you do, Here is the link.

A couple of days ago, someone asked me how old Mary was and I replied "18 months. Um . . uh . . . actually she is 19 months". I am usually aware when the day rolls around each month - but it completely escaped me this time.

Jeff said the sweetest thing yesterday. He said, "It is too bad Mary is going to have to go live with someone else someday". I guess I had never thought of that. To me her leaving doesn't seem like a sad thing, but I'm sure I will feel differently as I come to it. And yesterday, I was thinking of what Jeff had said and the thought came to my mind, "Mary will want to leave us". That is what is natural and good.

I remember being a teenager. Do you? I honestly don't know one teen that - though they loved their parents - didn't want to exercise their own independence and build their own life and let's face it . . . not have to put up with their parents.

It is healthy - at least I think so - for kids to want to leave. It means you have done your job well.

And speaking of leaving . . . we have a few big milestones this year in our family. My niece Hannah is graduating this week and off to BYU Idaho next fall. She is a very good girl and we are all proud of her.


And also my sister Catherine will be getting married this summer (hopefully! The Denver Temple Closing has wreaked havoc on her wedding plans and at this point we don't know what will happen). Here is the dress she is hoping to get (she already got one over the internet and doesn't love it - I TRIED to warn her). I hope she will get to wear this one. It is so beautiful on her.


So anyway, I know it won't be long before it will be Mary doing these things.

I remember hearing parents always comment on that before I had Mary. But it does sort of suprise you doesn't it? I guess it's the fact that so much happens in such a short time . . . it makes you realize the passage of time more. You don't notice it as much as an adult because you feel essentially the same. But having a child - it reminds you how fast it all happens.

So Mary keeps growing and is doing more and more each day. Instead of "bu" for book she now says "boo-ck". It's two syllables don'tcha know?. : ) And she seems to get taller or more and more teeth or hair all the time. Oh! And yesterday was her first day without using her sassy (pacifier). She did just fine. I thought it might end up being more of a fight than it was. And I'm grateful it wasn't. Now the only thing that makes her seem like a baby is her being in diapers still. But I don't think that milestone will be that far away either.

For now though, this is what she is driving.
I've had a renewed determination lately to enjoy this journey and savor it and take advantage of it as long as I can. Because soon she will be potty trained, talking in sentences, reading, going to school, hanging out with friends, driving a real car, graduating, and getting married. It really won't be long.

Presentation Summary

Last night, I gave a presentation to the ladies in my Relief Society. I was asked to share how developing my talents has blessed my life and the lives of others. I was nervous about it, but I feel that it went pretty well. And I am glad to have it overwith. It was a fun assignment in lots of ways (I wasn't really complaining earlier - it was just stressful) and it was fun to reflect back and think about those things. I thought I might share some of it with all of you and some fun pics from performing days. . .

So I started my presentation by giving a little of my background - which I won't share here (just too lengthy - and many of you know a lot of it anyway). But then I talked about how developing my talents has blessed my own life. Here are the main points I shared:
Developing my talents has . . .
* Brought so much joy and fun and laughter into my life

(This is a publicity photo for BDT's Crazy For You)


* I have been exposed to truly amazing works of art and so many talented people

(Scrooge (Phillip Pleasants) and Me from A Christmas Carol with the Denver Center Theatre Company)


* Besides learning how to play the piano, sing, etc., I have learned . . .
- how to work
- how to memorize
- how to set a goal and achieve it
- to be disciplined
- how to deal with disappointment
- how many more people in the world are more talented than me
- how to take care of my body and be comfortable in it
- ultimately it has taught me what is most important in life - which is not singing and dancing - it is family and the gospel of Jesus Christ
* As a young person, developing my talents gave me a sense of identity, accomplishment, and gave me confidence
* It has given me a vast number of VARIED opportunities - from leading roles, to teaching kids, to choreographing the youth in our stake for a regional dance festival, to singing at funerals, to teaching a blind student dance, to playing for Catholic mass. All of these experiences have added to the tapestry of my life and helped me relate to people and just expanded my horizons.
* It has made me feel good about myself . . . Some of my proudest achievements are when I won my division in NATS in college (a vocal competition), when I won the regional Sylvan Learning Center award for Teacher of the Year, or that I got to work at the Denver Center.

(This next photo is from The Frug from Sweet Charity at BDT. I was the dance lead and received some nice comments in the Denver Post review)

* One of the greatest blessings have been the relationships (including my husband) that I have met through developing my talents

(A pic of me and my good friend Annabel. We met doing the Will Rogers Follies also at BDT)


* It has been a nice way to serve in the church
* I've received financial blessings - scholarships and employment
* It has blessed my physical and mental health

How Have I blessed others?

Well this is a bit harder to know . . . I know Mary likes when I sing to her : ) . . .
But hopefully I have:
* Passed on some of my skills and knowledge

(A pic from The Sound of Music at BDT. I've gotten to work with tons of kids throughout my life.)


* Brought joy to others

(Another Will Rogers pic. I played "Z's Favorite" - a really fun character to play as you might guess from the pic)


* Helped to invite the Spirit in church meetings
* Shown people that Mormons are good people and helped to dispel some of the negativity out there about my religion

(The Birds from A Year With Frog and Toad at the Arvada Center - one of the most satisfying shows I got to do probably. Had religious discussions with one of the girls in this cast).

* Hopefully I will also pass on the legacy that was given to me in some way to my own children

I guess that is it. I'm sure there is more ways that I have been blessed that I haven't mentioned here. But I really have had a pretty awesome life. And developing my talents has been a big part of that.

I only wish I had MORE talents and MORE time to do everything. So many of you are talented and I am constantly amazed by all of you. : )

Teddy Bear Skirt

Here is something cute . . .

Mary has a bear that goes with her nursery and it wears a skirt. Lately, when we've put her bear in her crib with her when she goes to bed, we find her like this:





Cute right? Just makes me want to squeeze her all the more.

Have a great week.

Happy Mother's Day To Me!

Happy Mother's Day to me and to all mothers out there and to all who are motherly people and to all people who have had a good mother.

I'm so lucky because I have a wonderful mother and mother-in-law and that I get to be a mother to my Sweet Mary Pie


Here are a few anecdotes I thought you might enjoy . . . .

First off - in honor of my Mother-in-Law Ellen . . .

Before Jeff and I were engaged, Jeff's parents invited me to come to Houston after Christmas to spend some time with them and get to know their family. It was the first time that I had met most of them (I had already met Jeff's Dad) and I had a wonderful time. I did manage to embarrass myself however - a couple of times. The first night there, I got sick and threw up half of the night. They still all think it was nerves, but I don't think that is what it was. I ended up waking practically the entire household as I hurled into the toilet. Lovely. But Jeff's mother made me homemade chicken soup the next day and none of them seemed to hold it against me. The other embarrassing thing was the day before we left, Ellen I were conversing. She said something like, "So back to school next week huh?". And I said without missing a beat, "Yep! Back to the old bump and grind. ER . . .uh . . . I mean back to the grind". One of Ellen's most wonderful qualities - and I think evidence that she has that southern charm - is that she makes everyone feel comfortable with themselves. She doesn't put on airs. She just makes you feel like she loves you for who you are even if you mess up. Well, she just laughed and we laughed together and now we mention my blunder on occasion. I feel exceedingly lucky to have her as my mother-in-law.

And now on to my mother . . .
It would be impossible and entirely too lengthy to mention how wonderful a mother my Mom has been to me, but I'll just share a memory I have from my childhood.

Apparently in first grade - I think - I was having trouble figuring out how to subtract. So one day in the car afterschool, my Mom helped me learn with candy corn (must've been around Halloween). She would set out several candy corn and have me count them and then she'd take some away to illustrate what subtracting was. It must've worked because I have no trouble subtracting now. My Mom was always there to help in such things as that. And I know that doesn't seem like a grand story, but I think that is what a mother does day in and day out. She is just there to help you succeed in life.

And now a little story about my own experience in being a mother. A couple of weeks after Mary was born, one night, I remember her lying on my legs while I sat in the rocker. The lights were off in the bedroom and just the hall light was on. I just was looking at her and probably singing or talking to her and rocking her. And I just felt that she was looking so intently at me. I felt that she knew who I was and might know everything about me. It was just a wonderful moment that I felt a deep connection with her.

I do love being a mother. I'm having a great time. Happy Mother's Day!