roughing it...sort of

First off, my brother-in-law, Pat, is recuperating from Tuesday's double by-pass surgery. It's no fun for him, but we are so grateful that he's doing well. Wishing you a speedy recovery, Pat!

Today is day 9 of our roughing it...last Saturday morning we lost power to part of our house. Turns out one of our 110-lines coming into the house fried (there was debris, wasps' nests, and moisture in the box outside).

We don't have the use of our dishwasher, washer, or dryer, and 1/2 the house doesn't have electricity (part of the office, the bathrooms, and bedrooms). Luckily our stove is propane or we wouldn't have use of it either.

We have a few extension cords stretched about the place allowing our heater and wi-fi to work, so we are limping along. But it's funny how we'll go into a room that has lights (like the kitchen), but forget we can turn on the light. So we are there in the semi-darkness until someone else comes along and reminds us that we can turn on the light.

Tomorrow is the day the electrical box is being replaced. We are so blessed that it should be a relatively easy and cheap fix. I predict that the washer and dryer will be kept busy the next few days. Thanks to Kathy for allowing us to do a few emergency loads at her house this week!

Eric was hired by Walmart and had his training and first shift this past week. This week his 3 shifts are 1 - 10 pm, but it probably won't always be that shift. He's working in the dairy and frozen foods section, so if you see him there, say hi. Good luck, Eric!

Glen and his students, including our nephew Ben, put on the play "I Don't Have a Clue" this past weekend. It was very funny and well done. Probably one of the funniest plays they've produced. It's about a modern housewife who is hosting a 1920s murder mystery dinner where, along with the invited guests, some uninvited guests show up and mayhem ensues. Glen plays one of the dinner party guests and Ben is one of the policemen who comes to check out what is happening. Congratulations to the cast and crew. (sorry my pictures with Ben in it were blurry so I don't have one of him to post)

Glen with his Tommy gun in the violin case as part of his costume for the party

Happy Birthday this week to Andrew (29!!!) on Tuesday and Ryan (25!) on Saturday.

And next weekend is General Conference. We are so looking forward to hearing from our Prophet and other church leaders again. The past year has been an amazing one. Wonder what new announcements might be made this next weekend. I'm thinking more people than usual might be tuning in to find out.

surgery and celebrations

First off, my brother-in-law, Pat, will be going in for double by-pass surgery on Tuesday. As my sister says, we believe in the power of prayer. Our thoughts and prayers are with Pat and Denise and their family. Love you guys. We're praying hard for the Lord to guide the surgeons and for a quick recovery for Pat.

As for less important things, Wednesday was the first day of spring. In order to celebrate the arrival of spring, I made cupcakes to deliver. I've decided that having things to celebrate makes life more fun, so I looked up other holidays.

Did you know (and I'm sure you didn't) that today (March 24th) is Chocolate Covered Raisin Day? Tomorrow is Waffle Day (I'm pretty sure Hannah has celebrated that one before). The 26th actually has an entry called Make Up Your Own Holiday Day. Hmm...what would I choose? I'm pretty sure stay in bed all day eating chocolate is already a holiday...

One interesting day coming up is on the 30th. It's I Am in Control Day...coming from the fact that the 30th is the anniversary of when President Reagan was shot and the Secretary of State Alexander Haig said, "I am in control here." ...which led to his resignation. The day is touted as a chance to get things in order and under control. I like it.

They say I Am in Control Day is closely related to Panic Day...but that was March 9th, and I'm glad I missed it.

Anyway, family happenings for the week...

Glen and I had the chance to go to the Reno Temple on Tuesday. One of my former seminary students and son of friends and co-workers of ours, Tyler, was going for the first time. He will be heading to Japan on his church mission in three months. Attending such a session is always a special occasion. Glad we could make it. Tyler will be an excellent missionary and we are excited for him.

Glen's National Honor Society kids held a scholarship fundraiser with their annual X-treme Dodge Ball Tournament on Friday. There are 2 prizes awarded (movie passes this year): the team who wins the bracket and the team with the best outfits. Fruit of Doom won the outfit awards. They were so clever. Each player had a different colored shirt with altered fruit names on the back: Bombegranate, Slaughtermelon, Honey Dude, Mango Tango, Rawberry, Cutecumber, Fineapple, Broconut, and Grape Ape.

teachers (Sitting Ducks) vs Fruit of Doom

Mango Tango in action

And it was quilting week. I finished my row yesterday and love it.

Glen then Andrew's family

So, Thursday was 3-14... also known as Pi Day ... or Pie Day. At school, Glen's NHS kids had a fundraiser...they sold chances to put a pie in the faces of various teachers, the principal, and the school superintendent (who all volunteered to be pied). Good, clean fun...though I wouldn't want to be the one who pied the Superintendent or the Principal.

We often have pie for dinner on Pi Day. This year we had quiche for dinner and pudding cream pies for dessert. One of the little, fun things in life.

Bleed Green News, our high school's new program, recently interviewed Glen. They posted his interview in their broadcast this week.

On Saturday, Glen and I went to Reno as he was one of the judges for the state's Poetry Out Loud Contest. Andrew and Hannah had both participated in this contest before. Churchill County did not have an entrant this year, so Glen, who was a bit stressed about it, was asked to be a judge. He was so relieved when it was over.

I had picked the top 3 ... but had them in a different order. All 8 participants were girls...the one guy who won for his county was sick and couldn't attend. Anyway, Clark county (Vegas area) won, with Washoe county (Reno) coming in second, and Elko county third.

Thanks to Facebook and Heather's sister, I have a few photos to share of their Spring Break trip. Looks like a blast!

White Sands, NM--sledding on the sand

kayaking in Santa Elena Canyon, Big Bend

Henry and his Aunt Stacey

Joy-- who looks like she is well named!

And March Madness is here! We will pick our brackets in the next few days, and then the real fun begins! As I've said before, it's about the only time our family pays attention to sports.

snow and Mardi Gras

Woke up to this today (of course it has already melted in the sunshine...and then we had hail...and that has melted now that it's sunny again):

I feel sorry for meteorologists. Such a tough job. They predict one thing and then another happens. When we went to bed last night, the weather forecast was 15% chance of snow until 11 pm, then no snow. I looked out the window at bedtime. No snow. I looked out around 2-3 am. No snow, so I thought we weren't getting any. Then Glen informs me this morning that it was snowing. Ha ha. I'm glad I'm not a meteorologist.

Tuesday was Mardi Gras, Fat Tuesday (what Mardi Gras translates to), Shrove Tuesday (the religious term for the day before Lent starts). I had signed up to feed the sister missionaries last month, not realizing at the time it would be Mardi Gras. Once I realized it, I decided to really get into it. I went all out this year in cooking. I usually just make red beans and rice and maybe a king cake (the recipe made 2...Kaellen got the plastic baby out of the first cake and Glen got the other... though I don't think they are planning on bringing the king cakes to our next Mardi Gras party...which would be next year, at this point. This year I also made gumbo and homemade French bread, too! The gumbo recipe was quite involved, but I thought it turned out super delicious.

Besides the Sister Missionaries, I invited another friend/neighbor, Gwen, to eat with us (she was behind the camera, so isn't in the photo). One of the sister missionaries hadn't even heard of Mardi Gras before, so we got to fill her in on the basics. I then realized I was missing some of the basic info myself...like how it all got started in the first place. Was it really just to party before Lent began?

Anyway, since this year also marks 40 years since I graduated from Grace King High School in Metairie, Louisiana, I'm feeling a bit nostalgic about Mardi Gras and Grace King High. I did some hunting on YouTube looking for something to post here. I found it. A short clip from a 2014 Mardi Gras parade that includes 2 floats and Grace King's marching band (though only the drum line is playing at the time). It's short enough and gives a bit of flavor to the season.

When Denise and I attended Grace King, an all-girls public school back then, we were the Grace King Colleens. I found out that, since they are now co-ed--and have been since a year or two after I graduated, they are called the Grace King Fighting Irish and the mascot is now Lucky the Leprechaun instead of a colleen (did you know that, Denise?). Anyway, here's the clip from YouTube:

Now...next on the radar is March Madness! Can't wait!

3A State Champions, another Silver Beaver in the family, 2 pottery pieces

Yesterday was a great day.

Both our boys and girls basketball teams were in Vegas for the State 3A Championships...and both teams won! The girls won for the third year in a row. The boys (who are the 3A state academic champions for the 2nd year in a row) won the title for us. It's the first time since 1971 that our boys have won. And it's been 95 years since the Nevada state titles were won by the boys and girls teams from the same school. Fun. Fun. Fun.

The boys' game went into overtime. Tied with 5 seconds to go in overtime, Elko double-dribbled and we got the ball. Elijah Jackson shot a 3-pointer and won the game! It was very exciting!

Yesterday was also the day that Glen and I went to Reno to see his brother David receive the Silver Beaver Award in scouting. Glen received his in 2010; Alan received his in 2016. So now all 3 brothers have been awarded a Silver Beaver. "The Silver Beaver Award ... is a council-level distinguished service award of the Boy Scouts of America. Recipients of this award are registered Scouters who have made an impact on the lives of youth through service given to the council." Congratulations David!

the desserts at these awards dinners are fabulous!!!

Got 2 pieces back from my pottery class. I really like them.

a pot I threw and left "rough"

a take-out box with a lotus flower on it

And that wraps up another week. Another good week.