Ryan’s Primary Talk & Papa’s Birthday Celebration ~ March 6, 2011

Ryan is currently the oldest boy in Primary, and has been since November, when his good friend Matthew graduated from Primary. Ryan is also the oldest by about six months. We talk all the time about how he needs to be a good example, not only to his own class, but to the younger kids.


We have also been steadily working on his Faith in God requirements since he turned 8. The boys are supposed to complete two tasks in each of the three areas every year. The Primary presidency knows that we have been faithfully working on it. Ryan was asked to give a talk in Primary about the things he has done every year. He was also asked to give two of his memorized Articles of Faith (another requirement). Ryan took the assignment very seriously, and completely wrote his own talk! He wrote it out on paper, and then I typed it up so he could read it a bit easier. I have kept his handwritten copy for his journal. I’m so proud of him! Many teenagers don’t even write their own talks!


Rara and Papa were able to come and hear Ryan’s talk, too. It was fun to have them there for support.


With Papa’s birthday being March 7, we gathered as a family to celebrate on March 6. We had a great time being together, as always. Frances made an amazingly yummy berry cheesecake for Papa’s birthday cake. Ryan was pretty excited that we let him light Papa’s birthday candle. And Alice & Claire were pretty excited that Papa let them help blow out the candle!

Park City Swim Meet ~ February 25-26, 2011

On Friday, February 25, and Saturday, February 26, Ryan participated in the Park City Winter Invitational swim meet. We knew about a month in advance that events would go late into the evening, and then the kids would have to be back in the pool early Saturday morning. I made reservations for a hotel so we could stay overnight instead of driving back and forth that late and early. I’m glad I did. There was a pretty significant blizzard late Friday night/early Saturday morning! Ryan swam a few events on Friday night (looking at the heat sheet in this picture)… The breaststroke, where he finished 8th overall... The butterfly, where he finished 7th…

By the time we left the meet on Friday night, it was snowing. But Ryan had his heart set on pizza at Red Banjo on Main Street. We drove there (about 15 minutes) in a total blizzard! Ryan was thrilled to have dinner at one of his favorite places in the world…even if he did have to walk through slushy snow in his Crocs! We drove back to the hotel, and we were all pretty exhausted, so we went right to bed.

Saturday morning, Ryan swam the backstroke, where he finished 3rd…

And the freestyle in a relay…

It was a fun “stay-cation” for the weekend, and we were pleased with Ryan’s performance!

Pack Meeting ~ February 17, 2011

February’s pack meeting was a lot of fun. The leaders drew names to pair the boys up, and then gave them a bag of recyclable materials that they could use to make an invention. Ryan was paired up with his friend, Nic. They made a really fun ball game.

The Webelos also taught everyone “The Grand Old Duke of York” song. We had fun going up and down with all of the words.

For Christmas, I gave Ryan a belt loop holder with 40 slots. He had 37 belt loops at that time. His goal was to finish 13 more by the time he graduates in April. He has almost done it! He was awarded belt loops #38 and #39 at February’s pack meeting.

It’s hard to believe that he only has a couple more months as a cub scout! It wasn’t that long ago that I welcomed him in to my Wolf den as his den leader! He has had a lot of fun, and has been a great example of a hard working, dedicated, enthusiastic cub scout.

5th Grade Field Trip to Abravanel Hall/Utah Symphony

Four days after sitting at Abravanel Hall for WGU graduation exercises, I was back! On February 16, 2011, all of the 5th graders in the southern end of our school district went on a field trip to Abravanel Hall, and participated in an interactive performance with the Utah Symphony! We met in the 5th grade area of Ryan’s school. Ryan and a couple of his friends – Jacob and Graham – were hamming it up for the camera. Here is most of Ryan’s class. I wasn’t sure what to expect when we got on the bus. I waited for all of the kids to get on, and then I got on with the teachers and other parent chaperones. I expected that Ryan would be sitting with a friend, so I was going to sit at the front of the bus. My sweet kid (don’t tell him I said he was sweet) was saving me a spot next to him! I think that’s pretty good for a 5th grade boy! :)

Most of the kids were very well behaved during the presentation. It was planned very well, and kept the attention of those hundreds of kids. We had fun clapping along with the beat of Beethoven’s “Egmont Overture” and pictured the different parts of a dark and stormy night in “Night on Bald Mountain.” The highlight for the kids was the music from Harry Potter! The kids had a great time, and came away with a greater understanding and appreciation of symphony music.

WGU Meetings ~ February 8-12, 2011

Most of my blog readers know that twice a year I get to see my good friends and co-workers at our academic meetings. WGU employees from all over the country (and a couple from outside of the country) come to Salt Lake for a week of academic meetings and then graduation ceremonies. This year was my first set of meetings in my new position. It was so great! I’m back with my buddy, Cindy! Luckily we had plenty of meetings with the entire group, so I was able to spend time with Blake and Debra, too (as well as Scarlette, who didn’t make it for this picture).At our all-staff meeting Thursday night, I was also able to meet some of the evaluators that I supervise!Graduation was wonderful! Cindy and I sat together and had a lot of fun.

To illustrate the growth of WGU, when I first started, ALL faculty members sat on the stage behind the podium. This graduation, we all filled the balcony at Abravanel Hall!My favorite new tradition during the week of WGU meetings is having dinner on Saturday night with Cindy and Kim. In July, both of them were going through chemo, and neither had any hair. This time was much more celebratory, with both of them being cancer-free (and with some hair)!

Wasatch Front Fish Market “Fish Bowl Classic”

We have attended FIVE swim meets between the middle of January and the middle of March! With State coming up, the coaches encouraged the swimmers to attend as many meets as possible in order to make State qualifying times. On Saturday, January 29, Ryan competed in the Wasatch Front Fish Market “Fish Bowl Classic” swim meet at the Fairmont Recreation Center in Sugarhouse. Ryan swam the 50 backstroke, placing first in his heat! It was so much fun to watch him in the lead the entire way! Rara pointed out that Ryan was the tip of the “V” of swimmers, with the rest trailing behind him. He just missed a state qualifying time.

Ryan also swam the 50 butterfly, his best stroke. He made a state qualifying time! He swam it in 42.57, with the state qualifying time being 43.19.

Rara and Papa came to cheer for Ryan (as always). Marc, Frances, Alice, and Claire were also able to come and watch! We all had fun cheering for Ryan! We're all very proud to be his loyal fans!

Rara’s Car Accident

Rara tends Alice and Claire two or three times a week while Marc and Frances work and Frances goes to school. Ryan was out of school on Monday, January 17 and Tuesday, January 18. He was going to go with Rara on Tuesday to help with Alice and Claire. Monday evening, he just decided that he didn’t want to go.

Emigration Canyon is a crazy road in the winter. There is one specific spot where a drain has been removed (at the request of bikers) that ices over the entire road. There have been several accidents there since the drain was removed, and the canyon residents have asked many times for it to be reinstalled. Rara hit that spot and started sliding. She ended up spinning and then going up the side of the mountain, with the car coming to rest on the passenger side. Luckily, she was driving fairly slowly, so she was only bruised a little bit in the accident, instead of being seriously injured. But had Ryan gone with her, he likely would have been more injured, with the car landing on that side.

Rara’s Jeep was totaled, but at least she was ok! Whenever we shared the pictures (including on Facebook), no one could believe that she just walked away!