Happy Birthday Angeles, Eagle Scout project, museum class, and pottery

First off, Angeles had a birthday last week. Happy Birthday, Angeles! Wish we could have been there to celebrate with you. (I stole this picture from facebook--facebook is great for that)

Alex will be 18 in 10 days. In scouting that means he has 9 more days to finish everything he needs to become an Eagle Scout. He has all the required merit badges, so he just has to complete his Eagle Scout service project--which was started yesterday.

A mile from our home is the old Harmon School, which my father-in-law had attended as a child (which has long since not been used as a school and is owned by the Harmon School Preservation Association). It sits vacant 99% of the time and has been the target of vandals quite often...as often as Friday night. Saturday some of us gathered to handle the weed situation around the school. We hope to be able to go in and paint a few rooms and well as over some graffiti this week.

Every year our local museum has a lecture series in the fall that is open to the public and that teachers can take for 1 credit, helping them to earn credits to renew their teaching licenses. Glen has been taking this class for years (every year is a different theme with different lectures so it is not considered repeating a class--which would have meant Glen could only take it once to earn credit for his license renewal).

Anyway, this is the first time I've taken the class with him. The topic this go-round is the Roaring Twenties: Booze, Brawlers, and Broads (yeah, not a topic I would typically be interested in). Last week we had our first class. Our guest lecturer came up from Vegas where he is a director at the Mob Museum. His topic was "Nevada's Rocky Relationship with Prohibition." It really was quite fascinating. Next week's guest lecturer will speak on "Tonopah's Soft Drink Parlors and the Rise of the Reno Gamblers."

Friday night the weather was absolutely gorgeous, and Glen, Eric, and I attended the homecoming football game. Well, at least the first half. It was a blow-out. We scored in the first play. Final score was 55-0. Our star quarterback as well as other football players and members of the Homecoming Royal Court are also in the marching band. I loved seeing them during half-time in their football uniforms, formal dresses, and band uniforms performing. Too much fun.


And, my pottery class is in full swing. We learned to throw pots on the wheel 2 weeks ago. I have 5 drying and 3 that had to scrapped. Last week we were taught how to make a coil pot. I am having such a blast!

my coil pot...still needs to finish drying then be fired and glazed

Overdue Family Update

It's been so long since I've posted that this is sounding like our annual Christmas letter--and since I never got ours sent out last Christmas, I'm overdue for that, too. As time went on, posting just seemed like such a daunting task that I've put it off. I'm finally repenting and forcing myself to tackle this project. Here's what's been happening with us over the last few months.

Alex:

He has started his senior year where he is taking video productions IV and personal finance at the high school and English and government at the community college. He is on track to graduate from high school in December. He will be starting to fill out his mission papers soon.

He is working on getting his Eagle Scout project approved, so he should be able to complete his Eagle before his 18th birthday in October. He's plenty busy as he also has gotten a job at the Dairy Queen near the high school where he works the lunch shift a few days a week.

And it's tennis season! In the home game on Tuesday, Alex beat all 3 of his opponents, one of whom was part of the doubles team that won the State Championship last year. Way to go, Alex! There is only one more home match, which is kind of sad.

Hannah and Kaellen:

The wedding at the Sacramento temple was beautiful. For the Reception in Fallon, they wanted to serve everyone dinner, so Hannah made homemade fettuccine noodles and Kaellen made the homemade Alfredo sauce. Boy, was it scrumptious. At the Open House in Oregon, they had an ice cream bar. It was also delicious and just as fattening. Yum. They have now moved to the other side of Fallon, so they are no longer in the 2nd ward. :(  Luckily, though, at least they are still in our same town, so we will still get to see them.

I only have a few of their wedding pictures downloaded to the computer, so more wedding photos will have to be in a future post.

Ryan and Angeles:

They have settled down in Rexburg where they both work and are waiting for school to start next week.  Good luck with the new semester!

When they came for Hannah's wedding, they downloaded some wedding photos to our computer. Here are a few that I love from in front of the San Diego Temple.

Eric:

He spent the summer at scout camp with Glen and until we figure out his next step, he is home enjoying some downtime with some art projects and game playing. Here's a picture of Eric at one of the climbing walls at Camp Fleischmann.

Andrew, Heather, Henry, and Joy:

It was a busy summer for them. Heather graduated from BYU in August (congratulations Heather! Well done!), and the next day they moved down to Mesa where Andrew is now finishing up his Master's degree by student teaching at Heather's rival high school.

Before they moved to Mesa, Glen and I made a quick trip to Provo to see them.

Glen:

He has started his 30th year teaching at the local high school--3 theatre classes and 3 world history classes this year. He should have one more year of teaching after this one before he retires. And, of course, he's busy with a lot of other stuff, too, between school, church, and the community.

Glen dancing at the luncheon

Beth:

I am taking a pottery class this semester and even though we've only had 2 classes so far, I'm really loving it. Now that I am no longer teaching seminary, I am finding more time to read, which I've barely done the last 4 years. And, of course, I'm subbing again, too.

Denise and I made it to Ed Week again after missing the last 3!