Some things about Nathaniel

Nathaniel just wrapped up his first year of Jr. High.  We weren't sure how he would do and it caused no small amount of worry.  Turns out he did very well.  It's still Jr. High, but he really stepped up and, I think, grew a lot over the last year.

He's also been lucky enough to be in the Granite Junior Youth Symphony.  They had their final concert at the end of April.  They sound really good.

They played a lot of familiar songs, including my all-time favorite: Jupiter. It was fun to watch him play.

Closer to the end of the school year he had another concert with his Jr. High orchestra.  It was combined with all the other performing groups so it was a little confusing.  We got there when we were told to and the drama club was still doing their thing.  Jaaromy was out of town and so it was just me and the boys.  They were patient though and we enjoyed watching him.

 I never could get him to look at the camera.  Oh well.

It was a busy night, more so because Jaaromy wasn't there.  We had Nathaniel's concert, then Jonathan's tumbling, then Nathaniel's Kyuki Do.  Brigham was just as patient as could be as I carted him all over the city.  I took this picture mainly because of his shorts.  I had just moved them from Jonathan's dresser to his, and while they technically fit, they looked so huge that I couldn't help but smile.

As amazing as Nathaniel is on the cello, it's not his favorite thing to do.  What he really loves to do is animation.  He's been working on a couple of projects lately and I have been amazed at how they've turned out.


This on is called Trick-or-Treat Man.  A solid start.

This one is more ambitious, but I think it's hilarious.


This one chronicles his adventures at the Merit Badge Fair.  Apparently, this exactly what happened.

So there you have it, Nathaniel's many talents.  He really does amaze me sometimes.

Living Planet Aquarium

We had an opportunity to visit the aquarium for free and so of course we took it.  My camera is so much nicer than the one I had last time we went, so even though it's still tough to get a good shot, it was much better this time around.

 This part of the aquarium might just be the coolest.  Seriously, what the heck is up with jellyfish?

 Brigham really liked watching the little jellyfish, but it's so dark, this is the best picture I could get.

 I think Jaaromy's favorite part was the octopus.  Weird!

 So many weird little fish.

 Giant clam!

 Still dark, but these pictures of the shark tank are so much better than before!

 So penguins are just slightly shorter than my boys.  Good to know.

 I tried to tell this fish that it had something sticking out of her forehead but she just got mad and said I never listen.

 I can always count on Jonathan to hug giant penguins.

 I love these pictures.  Notice Brigham looking at Jonathan.

 Then he joins right in.

 We also browsed the gift shop.  We did get one thing for Jonathan: a plastic shark puppet.  He named him Sharkie McShark and he helped him sort his clothes and kept him company for several days after that.

Jaaromy took this with his phone, seriously, I love Jonathan.

So, the aquarium is a great place to visit.  We'll have to go again.

Teaching Brigham to Play the Piano

I started teaching Nathaniel to play the piano when he was four years old.  He was very calm and eager to learn so it went well and he plays wonderfully today.  Jonathan was a little less willing to sit still for very long and so I didn't start teaching him until he was seven.  Even so, I had to take a year off because he was struggling in school and our afternoons were spent working on missed assignments and homework.  It was a bad year.  We were able to pick it back up a year ago and he's actually doing pretty well.

I hadn't really entered my mind to teach Brigham until fairly recently.  We were focused on getting him to talk.  He still has a ways to go with talking but he's getting better and so a few months ago I decided to start teaching him to play the piano.  He seemed patient enough to sit for me, although I had to adjust the way I went about it.  It requires a lot of patience, mostly because I really have to take it one song at a time.  I can't work on a song for a week and then pass it off.  We will be on a song for as long as it takes.  He picked it up fairly quickly and I was overjoyed that this might actually work.  Plus, I wondered if it would help with his speech since reading music uses the same part of the brain as language. (I can't back this up with anything, I merely suspect it because I know that I can't listen to a podcast and play the piano at the same time.)

So, in case you didn't see the video on Facebook, here it is.  I'm a very proud momma.



It's one thing to play just the black notes with only finger numbers. Soon after this we started actually using the note names.  He struggled a bit, but masking tape on the keys with the note names on them really helped.  Hopefully, soon we'll have more songs to show off.

In the meantime, I love that he still gets excited when he finishes a song.

Our Amazing Vacation - Final Day

I wish we could have stayed longer, but we just didn't have the time.  We stayed until Sunday morning.  Since it was General Conference, I didn't mind traveling.  Although I hated to miss conference, I figured we could catch up over the next week or so.

We woke up early and had our last meal with my parents.  We didn't want to rush but we didn't know how long it would take to cross the border so we had to hurry.  We got everything packed up and in the car.

 It was really hard to say goodbye.  I'm so glad I thought to grab a picture before we pulled away.

It was just starting to rain as we left and gradually got worse the closer we got to Seattle.  We were able to listen to the Saturday morning session of Conference while we drove, although coverage was sometimes a little spotty.

 Crossing the border was quicker than before but still took about 20 minutes.

 Honestly, it felt good to be back in the USA.

 There was this funny sculpture we could see on the other side of the crossing.  We couldn't even tell it was a sculpture until we got closer.  It was so weird.  It sort of looked like a billboard or some sort of screen but you could see through it.  It weirded us out.

After we crossed the border it really started to rain.  Hard.  It rained all the way to the airport.  It didn't slow us down a ton though.  Which was good because we were starting to get a little concerned about the time.  We still had to drop off our rental car.  For some reason I was thinking that we had to take it to their office or whatever and then shuttle to the airport.  Thankfully, that turned out not to be the case and we dropped it off right at the airport.  Also a good thing because I was starting to get really concerned about the time.  We got a little lost in the airport at first but we figured it out.  We got in a line to check in our suitcase and we decided that I would take the kids and get in the security line.  We weren't there long when I heard someone say that there was a family line.  I asked a security guard and he led me to it.  It was so much shorter and the boys were pretty good to stay with me.  We got through without much trouble and headed for the terminal.  I had Brigham and Jonathan's hand in a death grip as we walked and we were almost there when I heard our names over the speakers.  The plane was boarding and we were some of the last ones.  I hurried everyone along and we made it on without much trouble.  I got everyone in their seat.  I sat with Brigham next to a stranger and Nathaniel and Jonathan were together two rows in front of me.  The guy next to me said that my boys were brave to be sitting by themselves.  I told him my husband was on his way.  I could hear the flight attendants talking about closing the doors and I told them that Jaaromy was on his way but he was in security.  I was starting to get a little nervous.  I even mentally prepared myself for the possibility that he wouldn't make it and I'd have to get everyone home and come back later for him.  I decided it would work out because I had my car keys and I assumed the suitcase would still be put on the plane.  But still, that was not a desirable situation.  Finally I got a text from Jaaromy saying that he finally made it through security.  I told him to hurry because they were closing the doors right now!  The guy next to me was anxious for me and kept a look out for him.  Finally, I saw him come down the isle.  I was so relieved!

It was still raining hard when we took off.  It was crazy to watch the take off with so much rain hitting the wings.  It was rough but then finally we were above the clouds and it was sunny again.

 It was a smooth flight and didn't feel too long.  Jaaromy ordered us a snack box since we didn't get lunch.  It was nice.  Landing was fun because we flew over the Great Salt Lake and then past the airport.  We circled around so we were coming in from the South.  If we had been on the other side of the plane we might have seen our house.  But it was still fun to see familiar landmarks.

We got off the plane, got our bags and got on a shuttle to the car.  We were feeling pretty tired and definitely ready to be home.  When we got there I made some monkey bread and eggs and we settled in and watched the first half of the Saturday afternoon session of conference.

We were able to catch up in a little over a week.  I hated that we were behind but it was a great opportunity to take a fun trip to see new things and especially to see Grandma and Grandpa.  I'm so glad we went.  I wish we could do it again.  When I was saying goodbye to my mom we realized that they only had six months left.  Now, as I'm posting this they only have about four.  Hopefully it will go quickly.