ANOTHER Long-Winded Update!

Alright, I think you know what time it is! 
It's Been-So-Long-Since-We've-Done-Anything-On-the-Blog-We-Have-to-Let-Everyone-Know-We're-Still-on-the-Face-of-the-Earth time!

-Dani and Josh are now BOTH in South America on missions...we haven't heard anything from Josh for a while and we're just hoping it's because he just got out of the MTC down there...?

 -Dani told some investigators that Christ could take away their dead fish...in Spanish, a very similar word to "sins." She's doing great though!

 -Kyle is doing his homework...without being ASKED first. Expect UFOs to appear soon to give us back the REAL Kyle.

 -I'm loving Beauty and the Beast but the rehearsal schedule is driving me CRAZY...get to school 7:50 some mornings and stay there until 7, get to school at 6:30 other mornings and stay there till (can you guess?) 7. FUN. (It actually is fun...just exhausting. And life consuming.) On top of that I have an AP US History class (APUSH), and I'm kind of freaking out.

 -Mom is ALSO freaking out, and its ALSO for school work. She's taking Physical Science and Musical History classes. She has Caitlin, Dani's roommate in her music class!

 -Grandpa is doing lots and lots better after his surgery

 -It SNOWED. The mountains are covered with SNOW. It's the beginning of October! BLAH.

 -(The one I don't want to write about): Yesterday Jarah was put down. She was 10 years old, and she had cancer that was causing her a lot of pain, once it grew back after her last surgery. We could tell it was a lot for her to go through the surgery alone, and we knew next time she had problems, this is what we had to do. Well, recently she hasn't been eating again, and she's had diarrhea. She was just hurting and we knew the cancer was back and we had to let her go. She is the sweetest, cutest, mellowest, BEST dog ever and we miss her a lot, but we're happy to know she's out of pain.

 -We're not sure about our holiday plans yet...whether we'll make it to Seattle, host a party for homeless begging college students...these are questions yet to be answered.

-I THINK that's all for us...everyone out there, come see Beauty and the Beast by Wasatch High School! October 25, 26, 28, and 29! COME SEE IT! IT'S AWESOME!

Nobody read this!

Yeah nobody follows this any more. Our fault for not writing in way too long.

So now, I get to write whatever I want and no one will even know about it!

...if only I knew what to write, exactly.

Double Wammy

Why not put up two posts in the same night, after not posting for two months? It's still Alexis, and I think I'm the only one who likes updating this thing.
So like I just said in the last post, I've decided I'm going to write a book. At school at the end of the year, I've decided to join the amatuer authors club, after basketball died down and I realized I had time to do things after school. By join I mean I show up once in a while, and since I kept coming everyone decided I was a member. I don't know if it counts, because apparently everytime I've been there things have gotten out of control and not much gets done...not my fault! ...Not entirely! ANYWAYS. There is this page on facebook the club has that puts up writing prompts, and I saw one prompt and used it for my book. Here it goes:

Writing Prompt #3: You receive word that someone very close to you has passed away (how and when it happened is up to you). Write them a letter.

I'm going to write a letter from the perspective of the main character in a book I have started to write--THIS IS MY FIRST ONE I HOPE I CAN FINISH IT. Here it goes:

Dear (don't have a name yet...any suggestions? Character type, very sweet but teasing little brother.GO.),

You are the single sweetest little brother I could have ever had, and ever have not appreciated. I realize now how many acts of kindness went unnoticed by me, and I want so very badly to apologize to you, now that it's too late. I wish I could turn time back to that eventful day, when I let it all happen. To go back to that day, when I couldn't overcome my own fear save your life. I still wake up in the middle of the night, screaming for Mom and Dad to help instead of jumping in and rescuing you myself. You have no idea how many times I've re-invented(sp?) that moment in my head, changed it in my mind so that I rescued you and you are still here with me today, nagging me in the mornings to get out of the shower like you used to...to have you to chase the neighbors' cat with, to walk around the corner and see who can find the most absurd looking stranger. But most of all, I miss telling you things: being able to tell you all about my first date, all about high school graduation and how I tripped in front of everyone; that's something I know we would have laughed about for months. I miss telling you how proud I was to ace the test I worked so hard for, and everything else I've ever been proud to accomplish.

What really hurts is when people find out I have a brother who drowned and they say they're sorry. What do they have to be sorry for? They aren't the ones who have to deal with it every day of their life! They don't have to watch as other kids around them have a good time in a normal family where you know everyone will come home at night. They don't understand the reality of having a brother one day, and then having him whisked away the next. I don't want their sympathy--I just want you back. It only brings back fresh pain to hear them say anything about you. It's not as bad now as it was that first year after it happened, but that makes it even worse. I wonder why I don't feel as deeply in pain, and I wonder if I'm starting not to care, to forget you. That's the thought that really scares me the most--I'd prefer the pain over that! Anything but forgetting you. Anything but knowing that the life I once had, being part of a whole and complete family, is gone. The scars never heal totally, and I never forget the little brother who isn't around any more. I have to deal with the fact that you won't be there for the major things in my life--such as marriage, college graduation...everything.

The other worse part (it's all the worst part it seems...ultimately all these "worst part"s roll together to make one huge worst part) is that I could have stopped it from happening. I saw you there, in the water and I didn't help you. I didn't act on an impulse to do the right thing--my first impulse was utter terror, to scream and scream and not do anything. I couldn't have moved my feet if I wanted to--which I did, so very badly. I wanted to do something but my mind froze, and I didn't know what that something was. That is what I really want to apologize to you for the most.

Wherever you are, I hope you can hear me. I hope you know just how much I still miss you and still love you, and still think about you. Most of all, how much I still consider you a part of the family. You hear people say "This girl had a brother, but he passed away a few years ago." That doesn't change anything! I still have a little brother! They can't erase you! I hope you know that. Wherever you are, I hope it's nice there and that you are far away from the pain and sorrow I feel. I hope you can think of something other than how much I want you back, even if this place is a hell hole compared to where you are. Sorry for being so selfish in wanting you all for myself...do you miss me too? Or do you just hate me for that moment--that horrific, endless moment--when I failed you?

Love,
Your Confused Sister.(Name for her needed as well! I'm still thinking about them...I'm not giving up and asking in desparation! Promise!)

Any help that can be offered, mostly criticism, I reeeaaally like getting. Attack it please! It probably won't make it into the book, I'm just working on the feeling I want for my character.

Long Time No Write!

So, guess how long it's been since we've posted on this blog!
Around TWO MONTHS! 68 days, to be exact. If you want to be REALLY technical, its been two months and 7 days. I think that sounds right.

So what do I have to say? Eh. Not much.

Right now, the happenings in this Savage household are:

• Josh leaves for the MTC on Wednesday in Provo, for 3 weeks before he heads to the MTC in PERU, and then out in the mission field!


• Mom cries and cries and cries and cries when he leaves.


• Mom cries some more.


• Dani is still working at the Heber Creeper, not her favorite job, but it's what she can do right now. She has just finished up intramural flag football, and won a championship shirt for intramural ultime frisbee!


• There is 60 days until she ships out fro the Argentina MTC for her Uruguay Montevideo mission! Woo hoo!


• Mom will cry when she leaves too.


• Kyle got his elk tag not long ago, and he plans to use our Uncle Todd and cousins, and he's also still enjoying TaeKwonDo.


• Kyle is ALSO styling the look of a blue mustache. Wonder why.


• I (In case you haven't found out by process of elimination yet, this is Alexis) am doing the school play right now, Beauty and the Beast, and am having fun with that although it is slow going right now. It kicks into high gear when school starts.


• I'm theoretically "recovering from a mild concussion." Pssh. Cute story.


• I have also decided I am going to write a book! Don't ask how far that's coming along, but it's going to happen! I have one scene written down, and that's it! ...great.


• The whole family--minus Josh, that whole mission thing--is going to drive to New Hampshire!


• We are having a LOT of family in and out, seeing them and having them see us.


• PART of that family visiting in and out, is our Uncle David, with his daughters, Rainy and Mimi, stopping with us on their way to Yellowstone where they will be for a week. It's awesome seeing them, for the first time in a bunch of peoples' memories, and in ten years for mom who remembers them all!


• We got a car that went bad not half out of the dealership. Promising, right? But it is in the shop right now and should be ours again tomorrow.


• Grandpa is doing well after surgery for his back, looking better every day we see him.


• Grandma Tuck has been in the hospital for lime disease, but she is out now. The one requirement and GREATEST CHALLENGE is for her to rest and not do much. Well folks, we'll so how long that lasts!


• Jarah is OLD, but funny. And loving. And attention hogging. And we love her A LOT. She is sharing the house (her domain) with Uncle David's dog Mercedes--for the attention hog she is, don't know how much she likes that.


• Thursday (August 4th) is the mile marker of a year since Dad has passed away. That's been rough...it's also the day after Josh leaves for the MTC. This is an emotionally packed week.

Hmm...that's the update on the crazy Savages.

Missionary News!

Most of you have probably heard by now, but here it is again anyway!

Both mission calls are in!

-Dani will serve for 18 months in Montevideo, Uruguay area. She will enter the MTC (Missionary Training Center) in Buenos Aires, Argentina on September 29th.
-Joshua will serve for 24 months in the Lima West, Peru area. He will enter the Provo MTC on August 3rd, then 3 weeks later transfer to the Peru MTC ro polish his Spanish.

Both will be speaking Spanish. Josh is already quite proficient having taken four years in High School, including AP, and two semesters at BYU-H. Dani had two years of High School Spanish, which she says she has largely forgotten. She does speak French, however, which will help her learn very quickly. Both have passports and the visa applications are underway. So now we wait and work on Spanish! Alexis is just finishing her 2nd year of High School Spanish, so she and Josh are teaching me. Actually, they're doing a nice job! Tests are included. This is sweet revenge. They keep telling me to stay on top of my homework... stop slacking... did you study for your test yet, Missy? You get the idea.

No one guessed the country Dani would go to, so we all had muffins. I know people will be blessed as they set aside thier own interests and ambitions for this period of thier lives and serve thier Heavenly Father. They will get to know and love people in a profound way. They are both lit up inside. So in just a few months, South America, here they come!

This and That

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?

Sheesh!

What a poopy day today has been! (This is Alexis).
My teeth have been hurting ALL day, I didn't get what I want for lunch, and at the end of the day I find out I have to get some wisdom teeth removed! WHAT THE HECK! Thats all I've got to say. Just so this isn't a blog meant for ranting, I'll post a poem I did for english.

Some People’s Children

Parents—
What’s the deal with them?
Why do they think their special?
Why are they such a gem?
Can’t they see their kids are stupid—
JUST LIKE THEM?

Oh, parents talk about how
Stupid we teenagers is,
But have they ever thought to themselves—
Who raised us?
Who raised these kids?

People—
What’s the deal with them?
Don’t they understand
That we don’t know what we’re doing!
Maybe we should start a band!
To express our insecurities—
Heck, to tell them that
We’re the man!

We don’t need no parents’ remarks—
We’ll go down our own paths!
We’ll make our own embarks!

But then I remember, I think to myself:
That parents were kids—
They stole cookies from the shelf.
They did this all before—
We’re not breaking down
Any new door.

And then I think—even worse—
We’re repeating our parents’ mistakes!
We’re beating a dead horse!
We’ve gotta make some new mistakes,Make them our own, of course!