Jaxen's Post

This summer I went river rafting. I went with my dad, my grandma, grandpa and my cousins that I never get to see. I was in a raft with my dad, grandma and grandpa. I loved when we went down rocks and little falls. I didn't fall in, but I did jump in. It was my first time and I had a blast.

RAFTING IS AWESOME!!!!

A Monumentous Ending and a brief testimony

I mentioned the Jubilee back in April. Our Stake was preparing to celebrate 50 years since it was formed. As a part of the festivities they wanted to have a "cultural performance" aka a road show. The idea was to honor all of the decades through song and dance. When I saw the flyer I thought, "How cute, I'll be sure to come and watch"

Well, my friend was the director and was worrying to me about not having any choreographers. Seeing the desperation in her face, I told her I could do one, so I was assigned the "Thriller" dance. To make a long story short, I showed up and I was the only choreographer to do so at first. After one practice, I was named "principle choreographer" WHAT!!!??? I have four kids home for the summer, one of whom was 5 months old and nursing full time!! How could I give that much time???

You know what happened next. I accepted, out of guilt and there it began. 3 days a week for 4-5 hours at a time in the gym at the Stake Center. Hours in my living room making up moves and trying to figure out how to get 60 performers all together and to keep up the charade that I had some kind of experience with this scale of a production



















There were times when I felt sick to my stomach, sure that this thing would never look right. To make it worse, one of the nights, they had invited a bunch of VIP's, including the mayor" to watch. At the meetings they would first remind us of the VIP's and then remind us of our lack of budget. It felt so big, so out of reach, but we just kept on working and hoping that the Lord would make up the difference for us.

All that I can say, is that He did! And He did it in a big way. We had one tech rehersal, then one run through on the stage at the high school. Let's just say, it was rough.

Feeling very fearful, we had just a few hours before the audience came. The air was electric with nerves and a whole lot of HOPE! From the first song, it was magical!!! The performers were on fire and they hit every mark of the hour long show, and (my own personal triumph,) they stood in STRAIGHT LINES!!!!!






















They paid me a special honor by asking me, nay forcing me, to dance in Thriller with them. Our MJ was Ian Griffey, a young man that I had taught to swim when he was 5 years old. He was amazing---his moon walk was incredible and he had the crowd going crazy!








Looking at these pictures makes me so proud to know these great people. They have so much talent and were so willing to give over their summers for this show. That last night of performance was bitter-sweet. We had made a little family and it was just over. I don't know if I'll ever have an opportunity like this again and it stretched me in so many ways.


(the directors)


(my friend Dee, who I roped in to choreograph the 60's swing number)

Of course, there was a fireside to end the week of JUBILATION. Our former Stake President spoke, (he's the Elvis above) and he said that Heavenly Father will give us all of his choicest blessings if we will just SHOW UP. I could have never imagined the amazing blessings this would bring. I felt so much help and inspiration that went far beyond my capabilities. I know now just how true President Lewis' thoughts were. If we just show up we will be molded into what He knows we can be. I'm so glad I did it, so glad I showed up and so glad to have my wed, thurs and saturdays back.

There, that was a long one, but it's now officially recorded for posterity.

Cousins for Cali and a day in Boulder

Man we love these guys! Anne, Andy and their kids Luca, Aiden and Marcus are some of our favorite people. Unfortunately, we only see them every 4 or 5 years. This time they came out our way and we had some great adventures. After Water World and then a full day of rafting (which Jaxen will write about soon), everyone wanted a mellow day. We headed to Boulder and soaked in FlarIrons.

Boulder Canyon
































I love Aiden's hair!!! According to his parents, he does too!







29th street science displays












and of course, Yummy greek lunch at Daphney's


Hangin' with these guys almost did us in. They are so kick back and so down to earth. Next time, we're coming to you at the beach!

Oh what do you do in the summertime?..........

My kids got out of school 10 weeks ago. We have filled most of our days with swim team, play dates, baseball games, swimming at the neighborhood pool and my favorite, exploring these awesome mountains.

















I am not very good at filling the summer hours with new and exciting things. I always admire those super creative and fun moms who plan a constant stream of activities and who always seem to know these secret/free ways to keep the troops happy. With swim team over and 3 more weeks to go, I am running out of ideas. A few new things we have tried....

McFlurries at the park:







(really Mcflurries and anything are becoming a bit too common for my butts' sake, however it not only makes any old park seem more exciting, but it soothes my nerves as well)

"crawfishing"






The crawdads, as we call them here, literally attack the hot dogs, making even the least patient fisher-person feel successful. We are on a strict catch-and-release program. Those years in New Orleans didn't change my mind that these little bottom-dwellers should never be boiled and consumed by humans. YUCK!!!! (I agree with you Madeline)

In general, it's been a great 3 months. My house is a mess and my brain feels like mush at the end of day, but I guess that is to be expected with four kids. Sometimes I feel like from the outside looking in, my life must look tiring, repetative and even insane. But, at least I can say, with 100% certainty, my life is never boring. Never, ever for one second. There is always, ALWAYS some thing to clean, some one to teach, some assignment to complete and a household of personalities to sort out and try to bring together.