Debate tonight...

Just a quick reminder that there is a You Tube debate tonight at 6:00 (my time) on CNN.

Mitt in '08

NYC

We had a wonderful (long) weekend get-away to New York City without the kids. Neither Ken or myself had ever been there before and we were totally excited. The one black mark on our trip was the stagehand strike that closed all of the Broadway shows we had tickets for. Luckily, we were able to get tickets for 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. It was fantastic! We also saw a couple of off-Broadway shows that were entertaining.

Everything else we loved. We got to visit my awesome friend Celia! She was kind enough to let us stay with her and show us around the city. The buildings were absolutely incredible! The concerts were fantastic! The cheesecake...oh the cheesecake! I also loved getting caught up with some great friends from High School. We saw Norris Chappell and his wife Jen, Carlos Fernandez, Brittany Mayer (and met her boyfriend Sean), and Dan Rigazzi. We also saw where Ken's grandparents were buried at a beautiful cemetery. I loved it all!

I could write a ton, but the pictures can say it better than me. So here goes...

Interfaith choir...

I have the opportunity to direct the stake interfaith choir at church. Our stake is hosting a Christmas choir concert where our choir as well as choirs from other churches come and perform and then we will sing a song all together at the end (Silent Night). The concert will be on December 30th and I am really excited about it. I got to choose the music that our choir is performing and they are awesome pieces. We are preparing the Wilberg arrangement of Away in a Manger, the Martin arrangement of Good Christians, All Rejoice (it totally rocks!), and This is the Christ. Each song has a different feeling, but all bear beautiful testimony of the Savior.

Tonight was our first rehearsal. I was really worried about the number of people we would have, especially considering it was a holiday weekend and some people would still be out of town. I was afraid that only 15 people would be there tonight. I had a goal for a choir of at least 50, but of course would love as many as we could get. I was completely blown away. We had about 60 there tonight and I know more that are planning to join us! What a blessing and an answer to prayers.

I was also impressed with the sound we got. We have got a bit to go before we are truly making music, but I think we were all catching the vision of what the songs could be. Fantastic!

On a personal note -- I really love directing choirs! I love working with Ken. He is an incredible accompanist! In so many facets of my life I feel like I am a complete loser, but that goes away when I am up rehearsing and directing a choir. I get so jazzed about what we can produce together. A beautiful collaborative art! I feel so blessed to be able to serve in this capacity. I hope everything will go well and the event will be a success so that it can become a community tradition.

Romney meeting...

On Saturday, November 10th we had the opportunity to hear Josh Romney, the son of Mitt and Ann Romney speak at a lunch in Lafayette. We also had the chance to hear congressman Bob Beauprez speak about why he was supporting Romney. He spoke from the point of personally known and having worked with each of the republican candidates. He said one of the "tests" he applied was who he would want as a next door neighbor. He spoke of the Romney family, Mitt's work ethic, and his track record of success. He had some fantastic points.



Josh gave some family insights. My favorite two stories show about his dad's priorities. Josh told of a time when he asked his dad for some money to go to the movies. He joked how that was a big mistake. He said his dad asked for a detailed account of what he needed the money for and then gave him about half the amount he had asked for. He said after that he always went to his mom for money. :) His punchline was how he can't wait for Washington to try and ask his dad for money for some of their pet projects.

Another story Josh shared was when his second child was being born. They were living in Boston at the time and had made arrangements for his mom to watch their oldest daughter when his wife went into labor. Unfortunately, when his wife went into labor, his mom Ann was so sick that she couldn't take care of their little two year old. So he called his dad (who was governor of Mass. at the time) to see if he could help. He said that his dad immediately said he could pick up the little girl (complete with police escort), and take care of her throughout the night, made her a lunch for the next day and dropped her off at the hospital to meet her new sibling. To me that really demonstrates his priorities.

Family pictures...

A couple of weeks ago we had our friend Becky Payne take some family pictures for us. We got some pretty good shots, especially of the kiddos. I have some photoshopping to do to get that perfect shot, but I hope you enjoy what we have so far.

On a vacation...

I know it has been awhile since I have posted, but I have some pretty good reasons. I got sick, packed a weeks worth of teaching into 3 days, and got ready for our trip to New York City. So being my rather anal, I mean organized, self I will make several posts in chronological order. So be prepared to get caught up on the lives of the Siders'.

Today is the day...

This evening at 6:30 is our first community meeting in support of Mitt Romney for President. John will be speaking with us and letting us know what we can do to get involved. I am guessing it will last about an hour with some refreshments and mingling afterward. (I am so looking forward to that pumpkin cheesecake!) If you read this, are in the area, and somehow I did not invite you, please feel free to stop by. See you tonight!

Mitt in '08!

My little bro Clint is just a big teddy bear...

Maybe you need to have an certain amount of appreciation for the military, but I thought this was totally classic and so fitting my brother (for those of you that don't know, Clint is in the Army, stationed in Korea, and soon to be heading to Iraq). I just got an email from him and his signature at the bottom reads...

"Be polite, be professional, and have a plan to kill everyone you meet."
-MG Zilmer, USMC

Love it! It is perfect for Clint!

Yan can cook, I can SING...

Today I headed down to Denver for my voice lesson with Mary Ann. I am still a little frustrated with my first bridge, although it is getting much stronger. It is just that darn G! Today we tried some new things that really seemed to work. We were both pretty jazzed! I even had to do my little dance of joy. :) I still have a lot more practice and playing around with what we did today to really make it stick. And truth be told, I need to figure out exactly what I was doing. In any case though, we were thrilled with the results. I have often had a difficult time because of my bigger voice, but today I figured out how to let my big voice open up without carrying up the weight. The resulting sound was beautiful (if I do say so myself) and I loved singing like that. I have never had that big of a sound before with so little (physical) effort. (It was however a ton of mental work and a lot of concentration.) I got one of those precious glimpses where I realize that I can do this and I can be good. (She even uttered the phrase "professional singer!?!") It feels so good to be on the right track after a 12 year detour. Hopefully I can understand and implement all that we did today. I know this process is going to take a lot more time, but it is totally worth it. I don't always feel like this, but today, I can SING!

Things I love...

1. I love that after 11 and a half years of marriage Ken can still leave me light headed and woozy after a good kiss.

2. I love that Trevor still wants to hold my hand when we walk to pick up Morgan at school.

3. I love watching the progress in my voice students and knowing that I am able to help someone reach for their potential!

4. I love listening to Morgan read.

5. I love Peyton's laugh!

6. I love the smell of fresh clean laundry -- too bad I have to fold it all :).

7. I love that I have a friend that would say Absostinkinglutely!

8. I love that I can love so many and so much. I am truly blessed!

Jessica Alba...

I think this might be a stretch. What do you think?

As cute as a bug...

Peyton got a huge haul of candy last night for her first time out trick or treating. Our hypothesis? She was just so cute in her ladybug costume! In fact all the kids looked cute. We did Morgan's hair in a ton of braids the night before so her hair would be wavy like Hermione. She had a blast with her Fall celebration at school including a breakfast in her class. Trevor made an excellent Scooby Doo. Last night they were so excited to go out with dad while I manned the front door. They had so much fun!

Check out the blonde antenna! :)

Preschool parade...

On Tuesday Trevor and his preschool class got to do a mini parade and song program for the moms. He is just too funny. A little squirrely perhaps, but pretty durn cute. He took his role a the leader of the parade very seriously. Then it was time to sing the songs they had learned. I got a clip of the boys singing the five little pumpkins. Trevor loves to sing and totally cracks me up. I wish I had half of the energy he has...

Mom's advice...

Last night I did something I never do. I went to bed early. Yep. I was in bed at 9:00! I took my mom's counsel and just went to bed. :) I think my crazy schedule is starting to catch up with me. I keep pretty busy. Take this week as an example; I taught about 20 students this week, rehearsed and performed with Triple Trio, took Trevor to his doctor appointment, attended a meeting for the interfaith choir which I am directing, attended book club, spent all day at super Saturday, stayed up late preparing all four (two of them big) projects that I was in charge of for super Saturday, passed out candy at the trunk or treat, attended a Halloween party, ran tons of errands, watched friends' kids, did my visiting teaching, phone calls for volunteering for Mitt's campaign, plus all those house things that never seem to get done. I think I was tired in every way that I could be tired -- physically, emotionally, and even spiritually.

I did take some time yesterday to listen again to Elder Oaks conference talk about good, better, and best. I am trying to figure out how I can apply it to me. I truly love most of what I do, but I am a little overwhelmed. Good thing I followed mom's advice yesterday. Things don't feel quite so daunting with a good night's sleep under my belt.

Ken's turn...

I am so glad that Ken took a little time and had a guys weekend. He totally deserved it; he spends so much of his time working or doing church stuff. The weekend included eating lots of meat (Rodizio Grill), hanging with friends, watching movies, more eating, shopping, and going to the BYU football game. At the game, my brother Cyle who is part of the "cannon crew," arranged for them to fire off the cannon at the 4th touchdown. It was a highlight of the game and and even got them their .8 seconds of fame. It was so fun seeing them on TV -- thank goodness for slow motion! :) The game ended with a blizzard of excitement, literally, with a huge cougar win (42-7). He was even a nice guy and drove home my friend's van from Utah (remember the car trouble we had a few weeks ago on our trip...). I was so glad he got a mini vacation with some great friends. No one could deserve it more!

Jog-a-thon...

Last Friday Morgan participated in the jog-a-thon at school. (Sorry, we realized the wrong date was initially written on our calendar.) She was very excited about it and practiced running everywhere we went. She did a great job and ran 11 laps! She had a fun time and felt really proud of herself. Here are some pictures from the event.

On our toes...

"As I sit and watch the snow fallin' down..."

Thinking of this song this morning (Duke Ellington, also recorded by Norah Jones) as the snow is flying outside. This is just one of the reasons that I love Colorado. Yesterday it was sunny and 80 degrees today it is in the 30s and it is snowing. Colorado weather sure keeps you on your toes. :)

One of my favorite days of the year...

I love this time of year! I especially love the day when it is finally cool enough to put my cuddly flannel sheets on the bed. They are a wonderful, brick red and they always make me feel like snuggling in for a long winter's nap. I love being toasty while I sleep. Happy flannel sheet day! (I don't think that is an official day of celebration, but it should be.)

I am a volunteer!

For those that have been reading my blog you will probably not be surprised to learn that I am a volunteer for the Mitt Romney for President campaign here in Colorado. I have never done anything like this before, but I am inspired and believe that Mitt can really make a difference. I am a community group leader for the tri-town area, Mead, Brighton, and Ft. Lupton.

In the community groups we will...
- help keep each other up to date on what is happening in the campaign
- encourage regular donations (however small or large)
- give handouts, flyers, bumper stickers, etc.
- organize members to attend public events (like parades or fairs)
- become more informed and educated about the political process

Is there anyone in our area that would like to join my group or become a group leader yourself? I am hoping in the next 2 or 3 weeks to have John, who is over the volunteers in Colorado, come and make a presentation to our group. The meeting will be at my house and yes, we will be having refreshments. :) If you would like for me to add you to my group list, please let me know in the comments section or just give me a call. I am hoping that we will have lots of support for Mitt here in Colorado and especially in our area.

I should tell you why I am supporting Mitt for president. First off, he has incredible executive experience in business, the Olympics, and in politics. He has shown a record of stepping into a problematic situation and turning it around. He has help saved companies like Staples, Dominoes, and sports Authority. He took the 2002 Winter Olympics that was scandal ridden and in debt and turned it a successful event that had showed a profit. He got elected as a Republican in Massachusetts and was able to work with the democrats to lower taxes and bring jobs to the state. I love how he approaches problems with a level head looking at it from all sides. I believe that he has common sense solutions to our country's problems. His vast experience as a business leader will be helpful as we deal with all the emerging markets in Asia. If there is anyone who could help streamline our bloated government, it is Mitt. He is a wonderful family man and stands for traditional, conservative values. I think that he would be a wonderful president and a very effective leader. Vote Mitt in '08!!!

Birthday Boy...

My little boy is growing up. He is now an official four year old. He asked me as I was putting him to bed if a four year old is a "big kid?" He was thrilled when I told that I thought being four certainly did qualify. :)

Many little things remind me he is getting bigger. A very obvious clue was when he put on some jeans this morning (which he hadn't worn for a couple of months) and he came in and told me they were too small. Sure enough, they were not even close to being buttoned and the hem had "shrunk" a couple of inches. It is also the little things though. For the past two years, no matter how much we worked with him, he has always called Morgan, "Norgan." Then on Saturday, out of the blue it seemed, he started pronouncing it correctly. I was excited for him, but kind of sad too. It seems the end of an era.

We had a very fun (but we kept it quite low key) party on Saturday (what he kept calling his "pretend birthday"). He wanted a Scooby Doo party. He invited about eight guests plus "the cousins." (It is so fantastic having them close now.) We played, got Scooby Doo tattoos, decorated scooby snacks, and ate a yummy chocolate cake. Everyone had a great time.