Sunday doings

Yesterday we had a very interesting day at church.  Instead of our normal Sunday block, the public affairs department of the church had a different plan for us.

We had sacrament meeting as normal, then a 10 minute break, and then a "mock" sacrament meeting to follow.  I guess with Mitt Romney running for president, and the interest about Mormonism there is out there in the world right now, the church has decided to have "stock" photos and video on hand to give out to news agencies when they ask for it.  (WOW, I'm not sure what a run-on sentence looks like, but that last sentence is probably one of them!)

Our ward is pretty diverse and so we got the pleasure of being filmed yesterday.  I'm not sure if this (diversity) is the reason our ward was picked, I'm just assuming.  It could be that the stake public affairs director lives in our ward?!?  :)

Our "mock" meeting was pretty interesting.  We started out, not with prayer, but with the ward choir doing a encore performance of what we had sang in our "real" sacrament meeting.  Then we sang an "opening" hymn which was one of their choice "I Believe in Christ."  A good selection!  We sang four verses and then the 1st verse again.   Our speakers then each got to give the first 30 seconds and the last 30 seconds of their talks. 

I felt so sorry for our youth speaker . . . . only 3 takes and he got it down.  MAN, I'm glad I didn't have to speak yesterday in church!  I did, however get to play the piano for choir and the organ for the opening hymn . . . . so if you see any videos about Mormonism in the news, look for me!  Look for Lincoln, myself and McKay in congregations also . . . .

We switched out organists for the sacrament hymn.  I think the young 16-year-old girl I've been training to play the organ REALLY wanted to play!  There was a lot of emphasis on the actual sacrament ordinance, which I'm a little conflicted about . . . but, it is what it is I guess.  Powers that be know what they want and why.

When all was said and done, we had 7 minutes left for our final block of the day.  We got filmed in our last 7 minutes in Relief Society . . . . . . and then they went and did a "mock" early morning seminary class, which McKay conveniently forgot to tell us about so he could go home.  I guess the kids changed into "school" clothes for that shoot.  We were home eating dinner by that time I'm sure!

A change in the norm is always interesting and exciting . . . . doubt this will ever happen again (at least to us)!

Eagle Court of Honor

After Halley left last week, Lincoln and I put all our effort into getting a court-of-honor put together for McKay.  We were really surprised that he wanted one.  He is a quiet kid and I thought he'd just like to pass under the radar and do this quietly . . . .but . . . .  he wanted a formal court of honor and so that is what he got!

Here is McKay with 2 other eagle scouts in the ward and one of our awesome bishopric members who filled in last minute for our MC who didn't show up to the party!

Here I am pinning on McKay's eagle ribbon.

And he pinning on my mother's pin . . . . .

A father's pin . . . . . well earned and deserved!

His official certificate from the counsel.

The eagle neckerchief . . . .

Fully suited up!

McKay, giving a mentor pin to Brother Denyer.  Brother Denyer kept these boys moving along.

Our advancement scout committee member really went the extra mile getting McKay all these commendation letters and certificates. 

We had a flag flown over the US capitol in McKay's honor . . . . . .

An official citation from our county officials.

An official resolution in the State of Maryland's Senate . . . .

A governor's citation . . . . holy cow!

I was amazed at all the letters that McKay received.  There were letters from our US Congressman  Steny Hoyer and from our US Senator Ben Cardin and US Senator Barbara Mikulski, one from the general young men's presidency of our church, and one from the Secretary of Defense Secretary Panetta.  We are still working on getting one from the President. . . . . pretty neat!  (even if they are all democrats . . . ha!)

I'm really glad this is done and over with . . . . . but we are never done . . . . . on to the next thing, whatever it may be!!!

Congrats McKay!

An Oldie

Today I've been looking for pictures to put together a presentation for my son McKay's Eagle Ceremony.  I ran across this video (I've gotten side-tracked a bit) and thought it defined our family in so many ways.

If you ARE my family . . . . you'll enjoy . . . . if you are not, and hate watching old home videos of other people's families . . . . you probably ought to skip it!!!

This one had me reminiscing and laughing!

An Easter role reversal

In our house, we have an Easter tradition that we color eggs the day before Easter and then the Easter bunny hides those same eggs sometime during the night for the kids in the family to find in the morning.

This year, Lincoln and I were away at a wedding on Easter eve.  Halley and McKay decided that they were going to color the eggs and play the role of "Easter Bunny."

So as a result, we, the parents got to hunt for eggs in the morning!  FUN!

We had a really hard time finding those darn eggs!  I thought we knew every hiding place in the living room after 12 years of hiding eggs!  We ended up having to play a game of "hot and cold" for us to find the final few that were eluding us.

They drew a map of where the eggs were hidden (they were smarter than us, we never did this!).  CUTE!

On Easter day, it was nice to go to church and then spend the evening with Halley's in-laws who now live in Maryland, and some friends we have known since we first moved here who are now empty nesters!  It was a great night of food, stories and games.

A great Easter!  Hope you had a good one too.

It has been so

WONDERFUL

having our daughter here to spend time with us!

One of the things I miss about having Halley around

is our ability to make music together.

I sent her this duet

 a couple of months ago

and she really took up the challenge and learned it!

It's been so fun playing it . . .

the joy of having one of your children share a talent

is OVERWHELMING!

Not perfect . . . . . but hopefully you can enjoy!

(Chopsticks, Theme and Variations)

Yesterday was so fun.

Halley and some of her friends got together

(with myself and McKay along!)

It was great hearing them talk about their schooling

and what they've accomplished.

I remember their conversations from over 6 years ago

and mostly they've achieved what they set out to do.

The gal on the left (Nicole) has gone into "the ministry" after receiving her education,

Tamesha is finishing up her schooling in music and has just one year left,

Katie finished her degree in broadcasting and is working in television ,

and Halley's major was vocal performance and has a studio of 20 students!

They are all go-getters!

Nicole, Tamesha, Katie and Halley

Later in the evening our family got together for a family dinner.

I FORGOT to take pictures :(

I always love family dinners and being able to catch up with the fam!

The time that Halley is here is moving by to fast . . . . . .

Our weekend - - Mini trip

Halley decided to come and visit us during our spring break!

We were and are so excited that we planned a mini trip

for part of the time she is here.

We did something we have always wanted to do.

Which is:

Go and visit the Biltmore Mansion in North Carolina.

The estate is located on the western side of North Carolina,

 where there are no tourist attractions

or beaches . . . . .

and so it needs to be your entire destination

if you choose to go there.

For us it was an

8 hour drive there and 8 hours back.

It was worth the drive.

This was and is a Vanderbilt creation.

One of the sons, George Washington Vanderbilt

inherited $10,000,000 of his father's money.

It was less than his brothers received

as he wasn't interested in the family business.

He took the money and moved into the wilds of North Carolina

and HAD FUN!

10 million in the late 1800's was a LOT of money.

It is a lot now . . . . but wouldn't get you what he built.

The gate to the estate:

I was so bummed.

My camera had only one bar of battery left.

And my fresh, newly charged one was sitting at home,

CHARGED in the charger!

I had to plan my pictures very carefully.

This estate is huge!!! 125,000 plus acres

and 30 miles of roadway on the property.

The home itself has 4 acres of floor space,

250 rooms of which 33 are family and guest bedrooms,

43 bathrooms (indoor bathrooms were rare then)

65 fireplaces, 3 kitchens and an

indoor swimming pool and bowling alley.

It took us several hours to tour it!

and decided to add on to our ticket

and come back a second day

to see the gardens.

The house (the largest in the United States):

Looking out from the house:

See the gazebo at the top of the grassy hill of the picture above?

this next picture was taken at that gazebo . . . . . 

Halley, myself, and McKay (who wasn't really happy with this trip!)

Halley, Lincoln and myself.

Pictures inside of the house were forbidden.

I think Halley got a couple though . . . . 

I'll get her camera and peruse them!!!

This was on the patio (called something else I'm sure)

This is a trunk of a wisteria vine.  

I couldn't get a picture of it without a person 

because everyone was taking pictures of this!

We had a wisteria vine at our house in Utah.

LOVED IT!

The renters have pulled it out though :(

The highways had patches of trees covered in it.

and it was all over the estate.

Wisteria:

The estate was meant to be self sufficient.

There are farms, gardens,

and much more.

The outbuildings have been turned 

into quaint gift shops and restaurants.

This is the one we ate in.

The horse stable.

I couldn't resist "fried green tomatoes"

In the rose garden, which is not in bloom yet.

There were MANY things in bloom, however.

Including my personal favorite,

the glorious tulip:

Lincoln and myself:

Everytime I turned off my camera it seemed to regenerate

the battery somewhat . . . yippeee!

my hubby and an azalea bush,  I don't know which

looks better to me . . . . (yes I do! the hubby!)

bleeding hearts:

Flowering trees and shrubs . . 

azaleas, a japanese maple,

and on the right

more wisteria:

All of this is still owned by the family.

With the onset of income taxes,

and the crash of the stock market in the 1920's

a flood, and other setbacks,

they've managed to keep it all intact

by opening it to the public and changing it's vision.

I think this estate, the Biltmore, is a little known treasure.

and most definitely worth the visit!