I love '80's rock. Journey especially, but also Boston, Kansas, Styx, and others. I like it much better now than when it was current. Popular music has devolved to patterns that include less imagination and creativity in the arrangements, especially the instrumental side, and constant vocals without the awesome instrumental bridges of the '80s. I am thrilled that our kids also like 80's rock, especially Journey, though some of the songs get us emotional because we listened to them with Blaine all the time, and he was behind reintroducing it to us, and getting us hooked. I can't listen to 'Faithfully' without getting at least a little emotional, sometimes a lot (I'm forever yours, faithfully). The kids also love Bon-Jovi, his old and new material. I guess all this is brought about because his headstone was just finished, and we saw it yesterday. It will be placed by Memorial Day, we sincerely hope. Flooding in the west has slowed down progress, so we have to wait for some of the cemeteries to dry before they start placing them again. Bicknell is dry! I told them. But, there are others ahead of his.
Mostly we are well. Dani is STILL waiting for her call, but being very patient. She is working part time locally, playing intramural soccer and ultimate Frisbee, and going to Provo as often as she can to see her friends. She is grateful for a break from classes.
Josh is excited to leave for the MTC (Missionary Training Center) and then Peru. In the meantime, they both have been studying daily, and Josh has been going out with the Spanish Elders in Heber to teach. I think it has been fabulous for him, and I love hearing him and Elder Santos speak in Spanish. Josh is getting very good, and that will be a HUGE benefit to him in the mission field. He has had surgery to correct a tear in his meniscus, and is recovering very quickly. He never took pain meds of any kind post-op, not even ibuprofen. His doc, the world famous speed skater with 5 golds medals from the '80 Olympics - Eric Heiden, has cleared him to try sports and see what his knee will tolerate. His instructions are to do what he can tolerate. Josh has therefore been playing soccer, racquetball, and a little basketball, though that's mostly just shooting. I don't think he knows HOW to take it slow.
Alexis' mouth started to hurt about three weeks ago. We took her in and found out that she needed her wisdom teeth out. They were coming in at a slant, and were pushing against her other teeth, making most of her mouth hurt. She got them out, and swelled up like a balloon on one side. The other side had only minimal swelling. It has hurt like crazy, but her face is almost back to normal, and the pain is down. She is still waiting for a cast list for 'Beauty and the Beast.' She will be 16 in less than a month. Yikes! Driving, dating; ok, not ready. Mom that is. Lex is totally ready.
Kyle is working hard at his independent study classes with varying degrees of success. For some of his classes he works completely independently with great grades; for others, like math and science, he needs my help, and it takes more concentration. He is learning to write and is doing fairly well with it. This is all good. He still loves Taekwando, and goes twice weekly. We have discovered that meat is very hard on his system, and that a low/no meat diet helps him a great deal. So, much to his dismay, hamburgers and hot dogs are out, green smoothies are in! Yum!
I am busy, just a hand-full of voice students right now. One was invited to the state high school Solo and Ensemble competition. She has only had about 4 months of lessons, so this is exciting. There was a real range of skill shown, from full-blown Italian arias sung well, to folk tunes in English that needed work. She now knows what it is like, and will be well prepared for next year's competition. Go Hannah! There is much more out here vocally than in NH, I think because the resident choral group is none other than the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, and there is a much bigger population base. The infrastructure to feed such a group is well established, providing a lot more opportunity, and a whole lot more competition. When I decide I want a full studio, I will be able to fill it. That wasn't the case in rural NH. We lived so far out that it was hard to get students, and people were more focused on the fabulous bands and marching bands in that area. I didn't know that in some circles, the northeast was known for their marching bands. I found that out from a niece from Arizona who's band director said he didn't want to compete against those North East bands because they were so good. That made sense. However, those western choirs are pretty awesome, and I love the prevalence of orchestras here.
David is struggling, and that means Rusty is also, as she devotes her time to his care. She is strong and certainly knows how to work, and David is a marine. I think that is why he keeps bouncing back. Not giving in!
The Rockies are lovely in the spring, and we are enjoying the beauty that surrounds us as well as warmer temperatures. Josh doesn't think it's warm, and misses those world famous Hawaiian beaches. Really, nobody here is very sympathetic. Mostly jealous. Life is moving forward. We will post again when Dani gets her call. By the way, we have a map of the world on the wall with everyone's guesses about where she will go. The winner gets a muffin, wherever you may live. Rules are: 1 stateside and 1 foreign guess. Add it to the comments, and we will put your guess on the map. My guesses were Washington state and France. My best guess is "wherever the Lord wants her to go," but the others are still fun. What do you think?
Most of you have probably heard by now, but here it is again anyway!
