We drove up and got to spend time with my dad. He recently went to Taiwan and I was able to have him make voice recordings about that trip. It was really nice to have something specific to talk to him about.
We made several trips up to DC to visit museums and the Zoo. So fun. We also got to see the Snyders. The cousins warmed up. L and V had fun pretending to make a camp kitchen. B and X played with a ball. B is very good at entertaining little children. I'm glad he has that trait.
We had heard that there was a Christmas Orchestra put on by 2 stakes here. It is small so they only asked me to play baritone. P will sing in the choir. We got in because of meeting people at the Stake Choir which we got in to because Brother H mentioned us when it seemed numbers were low. All this is to say that there are people who would really like to sing in the choir and we are lucky to be included.
I've been practicing over the last month and tonight I finally feel like I sound good. I'm looking forward to rehearsal on Sunday to redeem myself after 2 kinda bad rehearsals. My chops just aren't in great shape and baritone was never my primary instrument. But it's sounding nice.
We plan to do a Tuba quartet for interlude music on one of the performance days. I am working on transcribing the Tuba Christmas book so that I can play the Euphonium 1 part on the tenor horn. I don't have the chops to play those parts on baritone.
I went on the class field trip to Burrit on the Mountain with L today. He had a cough, but he had a good time. I kept him home yesterday so he could be ready for today. But the cold and smoke from the cabin fires made it hard. I'll keep him home again tomorrow and maybe Friday. We'll see. It was nice to see his classmates and see how he does have some difficulties because he gets upset by the other children's behavior. And they were doing annoying things... I'm glad I got to see that context.
We went hiking 3 times this weekend, twice at Rainbow mountain. The kids love hiking on the rocks. I love that the rocks are just half a mile from the parking lot. I do love a long walk, but it is nice to get to the rocks quickly so they can enjoy for a long time and not have a long walk back after all the fun.
P and I went on a double date with some friends from church. We had dinner at a Thai restaurant. So yummy. Then we came back to our house and played Dixit. I'm grateful to be in this town and get to know the people here.
We are so blessed.
I'm subbing for Primary singing time for a few months. Tomorrow I am going to have the kids sing songs about gratitude and play the gratitude game wherein we try to come up with 100 things we are grateful for. Name them one by one.
Today I got some pictures of what I have been enjoying for the last few weeks. I am so glad that I ride my bike most days. Being out in this beauty and seeing the daily change has been wonderful.
Also, there are so many awesome thrift stores here. I got this down vest for $9. I have gotten whole sets of pants when the kids needed pants. It has just been so easy to find good and needed things. I wish I had had thrift stores when I was a kid. My parents gave us money to manage our own clothing purchases. I mostly bought stuff at Ross and K-mart. Now I generally avoid buying new things.
