Thursday, May 24, 2012

Primary 2 Lesson 20

Primary 2 Manual
Lesson 20
The Teachings of Jesus Christ Are a Great Treasure



I made up the treasure chests for my class. Cut them out and glued with Elmer's Glue and secured overnight with a paperclip over each edge. In the morning I took off the paperclip and put the top notch into the slit on the body. Remember to make the slit on the treasure chest before gluing.
During class, I let them cut out the jewels and put them in the treasure chest.

I thought they turned out really cute.

Friday, May 18, 2012

MHS Choir

Participating in Choir as been a blessing and a highlight of Brady's senior year. I'm glad he decided to do it - which accidentally happened because the other classes he wanted to take were unavailable with the classes he DID want to take. That is why I say it was a blessing! 

Monday, May 14th MHS Choirs held their last concert. It was right after they returned home from Choir tour. Brady was nervous because they hadn't practised the songs for this concert very much - they were working on the tour songs. But the Choirs pulled it off and I absolutely loved this concert! It had a bunch of fun songs, soloist, and even a couple of dancers.

I usually work on Monday night and almost made the choice to work and miss the concert. LUCKILY I re-prioritized my schedule to "enjoy the journey" as this was the last high school event I would be able to watch and support Brady. I had to go and support Brady and was happy I did.

This was the one concert I SHOULD have brought my camera to and I didn't. Darn!

At the beginning of the concert they played a slide show of the choir's students through the year. It was a bunch of fun to watch - they have had some fun!
During the change between Concert and Treble Choir, a bunch of young men called a girl out of the audience and had her sit in a chair while they surrounded her and sang "Longest Time". The girl was a great sport being called up on the spot. The boys were a hoot as they did loving actions toward the girl as they sang the song.

I also liked that the Treble Choir sang the Adele popular song "Rolling In The Deep".  I think I just enjoyed all the songs because they were "good" songs and they never sing songs we know - which I have never understood. I know that the purpose of Choir is to teach song techniques, but I have never understood why they couldn't be taught singing songs the kids AND the audience would enjoy. Luckily this was a concert that I loved AND attended!

Brady is in A Cappella Choir and they sang a "Michael Jackson Medley". The first thing the choir teacher did was put on a silver sequent glove like Michael Jackson wore back in the day. They sang a lot of my favorite Michael Jackson songs and featured lots of soloist. During "Thriller" Danielle and Kara did the "Thriller" dance dressed up as zombies. It was great. They ended the medley with "We Are the World".

After the concert Mrs. Jones the director gave out Choir certificates and awards.
Brady received a plaque as an Outstanding Choir Member. One of the reasons is because Brady created a "Facebook Choir page" where he posted the songs the choir was working on. He posted each part - soprano, alto, tenor, base etc. so the students could work on their part at home. He put a lot of time into this project throughout the whole year. He went above and beyond to help the choir have the tools to perform at the best of their abilities.
Yea Brady!
As I mentioned, the choir was on tour May 10th, 11th and 12th.

They were fantastic! Each choir won a first place and one also received a Superior. Everywhere the choir performed during the tour, they were constantly praised at how well behaved our school was. MHS has awesome students!

I know the pictures are out of order, but here are some fun shots Brady and his friends took at Silverwood.
Girls: Kara, Amber, Danielle
Boys: Brady, Andrew, Mark

I have to say that Brady is looking pretty cute in this picture. *smiles from a proud mama!
Their silly picture.
Brady sat with Amber on the bus - I'm not sure about laying on Amber - what silly kids.  
May 10th at 5:30 am we arrived at Meridian High School for Choir tour. Here is the schedule of the tour:

SPOKANE TOUR - 2012

Thursday - May 10 Depart 6 AM

University of Idaho 1:00

Easter Washington 5 - 7:30

Dinner

Hotel - 9:00 PM
This is the choir shirt all the students wore. It was a sea of orange. There is a picture with all the kids in their shirts that I saw during the slide show at the concert. It looked really cool.
Brady is to the right of the kid showing his belly (in the center).. oddly enough another red headed kid.

Friday - May 11

Ferris High School 8 AM

Shadle High School

Lunch

Witworth College

1:00 - 2:30 PM

TRIPLE PLAY
Dinner included 4:00 - 9:00PM

Back to hotel by 10:00 PM
Brady roomed with 4 boys in the hotel. There was 2 twin beds and a futon which 2 boys slept in.
Here are a couple of shots of the choirs.
You can barely see Brady - but I'll try to explain where he is:
In the front there is a red headed boy. A couple rows back there is another red headed boy. Brady's head is just peeking out from the 2nd red headed boy. Hard to see  - but he's there.

Saturday - May 12

Leave hotel by 7:00AM

Coeur d'Alene - Adjudication Event

SILVERWOOD PARK - 1PM - close (6:00PM) **Lunch included

Dinner

Spokane Jazz Concert

Head for home all night (sleeping on bus)

Arrive at MHS 4 -5 AM? Sunday Morning  (It was around 6AM)
This is our Choir Director: Mrs. Jones and I believe the Principal Mr. Stands (I'll confirm with Brady)
Choir tour was a blast! Brady had a great time - definitely a highlight of his Senior year!
They will also be performing at the Graduation commencement on May 23rd.

Thursday, May 17, 2012

Car Attack - In a Good Way

A few days after Prom, Emily attacked Brady's car.
 She wanted to say "thank you" for all things he did to make Prom a really special experience for her.
 I asked Brady how they got into the car to fill it with balloons, and he confessed he gave the keys to the car door to Emily's friend with the stipulation that they couldn't do anything that would block his vision.
 I thought it was pretty fun. I'm glad Brady was able to go with Emily.
 Emily said that she was extremely grateful to go to the dance with Brady because this was by far the best dance ever. She was so happy that she could share this experience with Brady.
 She couldn't believe all the planning and fun they had during the 2 day Prom date.

She enjoyed the breakfast at Celebration Park, taking pictures, exploring cave and taking funny pictures posed with Brady.

She loved the amazing restaurant where the food was delicious and the scenery was just beautiful.
 I am glad that Brady has been able to enjoy these positive experiences during his Senior Year and that he made such a great friend with Emily.
I was happy that she left areas on the windows clear for him to see through as he drove.
 The car was packed with balloons and he had to pop a bunch just to be able to get home.
 Emily made no bake cookies for him - which were yummy and a cute note (which I share a few tidbits with you above).
I'm happy that Brady's Senior year has been such a fun experience for him with lasting memories.

Monday, May 14, 2012

Motivational Monday: "What is a Mother?"

What is a Mother?

A Mother is a wonderful creature constructed almost entirely of love and this she can express in a million ways from hugs and kisses and good cooking and patient listening, to stern lectures and strict rules and repeated use of the word "no".

Like snowflakes, no two Mothers are alike but they have a number of things in common. Name anything --- a Mother can be found washing it, roasting it, polishing it, getting rid of it, repairing it, spanking it, packing it, teaching it, redecorating it, loving it, or talking it over at PTA.

A Mother cares about, and for almost everything --- gardens, pets, the state of the nation, the worn spot in the rug, hungry people, and most of all, father and her children. For these she can do anything, dare anything, and fight for anything necessary for their happiness.

A Mother is not always an angel. She will often disagree with you, expect too much of you, criticize your choice of friends, and bring up the subject of work when you feel the least energetic. But she's always ready to help when you need her.

You don't always tell a Mother how much you love her or how much you wish the most wonderful things in the world will come to her because there are no words that express feelings so deep and sincere. Somehow, tho, you feel she understands what's in your heart. Mothers always do.

--- Anonymous

Saturday, May 12, 2012

Prom 2012

Meridian High School's Prom was held April 28th.

Prior to the Prom, there is a lot of planning to pull off a great Prom experience.

The young woman must find or sew a modest dress (an almost impossible feat). Then she has to let the boy know the color of her dress. Emily gave Brady a sample of the material her dress was made out of. It was light blue - and I assume her mom or Emily made/sewed the modest dress.

Then the young man must order a Tux.
(If I had it to do again - I would NOT have him rent a Tux - it was a total waste of money $112 (and that was with a $50 off coupon) for a 1 day rental. I wish we would have put that money towards a black suit for his mission instead of throwing away money on a rental - shaking head. Then we would only rent a vest and tie (matching the girls dress) at a lower cost and had something of value by purchasing a suit instead of renting a Tux - which would have been good enough - I don't know why a Tux is needed. I'm too frugal to throw away money and won't do it again.)

We ordered a corsage. She ordered a boutonniere.
The group of kids were all members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (the Mormons). So, good clean fun was arranged for the day. This is what they did:

Thursday, April 27th, all the couples got together at a local church building and were taught some fun dance steps - like the swing, the waltz (real dancing). They all had a great time together. Plus, it was a great example of "good" "clean" "fun" dancing instead of the typical grinding that goes on at normal Proms.
The young men from the group of kids going together to the prom held a planning meeting.

They put together a great day of events.


Yes - a whole day of fun.


Here is what they did:


The boys got together a 7:00 am Saturday morning and met at Ammon's House to prepare breakfast for the girls.


8:00 am: Leave and pick up the dates.


8:45 am: they ate breakfast at the "Breakfast place" ??? I don't know what the Breakfast Place is, but Brady said it was in a park. They borrowed our folding tables and chairs for the breakfast.


9:45 am: Leave for Lake Halverson for a day hike. (pictures are coming)


10:45 - 11:00 am - Arrive and hike. They also had lunch at the lake. Each boy brought a sack lunch for their girl and them self.

(It had been raining the whole week prior to the hike. I was worried it would be muddy - but it was OK. I made Brady take a first aid kit and 2 emergency blanket in his back pack - which he did with an eye roll. I don't know where the Scout "Be Prepared" motto went - but I always want to be prepared if I go hiking in the mountains. While hiking around a cave and rocky area, Ammon fell off a ledge and fell really hard and got scrapped up. The fall was really lucky in a way - he just missed falling on his neck and breaking his back it was a total scare for all the kids. But luckily someones mother sent a first aid kit and they were able to patch him up. "Be Prepared!" -- smiles).


12:20 - Hike out


12:45 - Leave /drive to drop off girls


1:30 - 2:00 - Drop off everyone
2:00 - 4:30 - Prep or get ready for the Prom and pick up girls again

4:30 - 6:30 - Pictures at the Boise Depot (pictures coming in another post)

6:45 - Dinner at the cottonwood Grille. Brady loved the food. He ordered Pheasant and loved it - I was surprised. I'll have to add what Emily ordered later.

8:45 - 9:00 pm - Leave dinner and arrive at the Dance.

11:00 - Leave Dance

11:10 - Dessert at Brady's House
I made:
Peanut Butter Cookies (recipe coming)

Chocolate Silk Mouse Pie (recipe coming)


12:00 - Be home before the Holy Ghost goes to sleep.
(Brady said this at the planning meeting and the other boys had never heard this. I was surprised, I've always said that and made midnight our curfew. The boys loved it and kept that wording on the schedule. Don't you tell your kids that? - OR am I the only one who says that?)
Here are pictures of Brady picking up Emily - courtesy from Emily's family.
Brady putting on Emily's corsage. We ordered it with a keepsake bracelet. I thought it was beautiful!
Emily putting on Brady's boutonniere.
I thought her dress was pretty. I loved the bead work.
They had a wonderful time. Brady loved doing all the new dance moves with Emily.
The tickets:

Monday, May 7, 2012

Motivational Monday: “Remembrance and Gratitude”

I loved this article. I am amazed everyday at the blessings I've been given. I have been very blessed through my life. Blogging/journal  helps me realize how much I have been blessed.

Edited From: Henry B. Eyring, “Remembrance and Gratitude,” Ensign, Nov 1989, 11

Many of you have had the same experience I have had. And if you haven't, you will: you will go to a hospital or to a house to comfort someone, and instead they comfort you. Or you try to encourage someone who seems to you to have so little, and yet they will express gratitude for things you take for granted.
To find gratitude and generosity when you could reasonable find hurt and resentment will surprise you. It will be so surprising because you will see so much of the opposite: people who have much more than others yet who react with anger when one advantage is lost or with resentment when an added gift is denied.

A poem describes that contrast: it is called "How Different."

Some murmur when the sky is clear
And wholly bright to view,
If one small speck of dark appear
In their great heaven of blue:
And some with thankful love are filled,
If but one streak of light, One ray of God's good mercy, gild
The darkness of their night.
(Richard Chenevix Trench, in Source book of Poetry, Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan Publishing House, 1968, p. 396)

You and I would like to know how to control our wants and increase our gratitude and generosity. We are going to need to change. Someday, in our families and as a people, we will live as one, seeking each other's good.
"The Prophet Joseph said at one time that one of the greatest sins of which the Latter-day Saints would be guilty is the sin of ingratitude. I presume most of us have not thought of that as a great sin. There is a great tendency for us in our prayers and in our pleadings with the Lord to ask for additional blessings. But sometimes I feel we need to devote more of our prayers to expressions of gratitude and thanksgiving for blessings already received. We enjoy so much." (God, Family, Country, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1974, p.199)
You could have an experience with the gift of the Holy Ghost today. You could begin a private prayer with thanks. You could start to count your blessings, and then pause for a moment. If you exercise faith, and with the gift of the Holy Ghost, you will find that memories of other blessings will flood into your mind. If you begin to express gratitude for each of them, your prayers may take a little longer than usual. Remembrance will come. And so will gratitude.
You could try the same thing as you write an entry in your book of remembrance. The Holy Ghost has helped with that since the beginning of time. You remember in the record of Moses it says: "And a book of remembrance was kept, in the which was recorded, in the language of Adam, for it was given unto as many as called upon God to write by the spirit of inspiration. " (Moses6:5)

President Spencer W. Kimball described that process of inspired writing: "Those who keep a book of remembrance are more likely to keep the Lord in remembrance in their daily lives. Journals are a way of counting our blessings and leaving an inventory of these blessings for our posterity. (The Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, ed. Edward L. Kimball, Salt Lake City; Bookcraft, 1982, p. 349)

As you start to write, you could ask yourself, "How did God bless me today?" If you do that long enough and with faith, you will find yourself remembering blessings. And sometimes, you will have gifts brought to your mind which you failed to notice during the day, but which you will then know were a touch of God's hand in your life.

Primary Music: "Oh, What Do You Do in the Summertime?"


1st Verse

Oh, what do you do in the summertime, when all the world is green?

Is that what you do?
So do I!

2nd Verse

 Oh, what do you do in the summertime, when all the world is green?

Is that what you do?
So do I!

3rd Verse

 Oh, what do you do in the summertime, when all the world is green?


Is that what you do?
So do I!


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