Happy Memorial Day

Hola--

Here we are, at the tail end of May!  Blink, and it will be June.

HOLIDAY WEEKEND.  We have a 3-day weekend for Memorial Day, and it has been just gorgeous weather.

NEW HAMPSHIRE CAMP.  Frank took the kids on the traditional overnighter in New Hampshire.  The church has a camp up there, about an hour and a half away.  It's the same one the girls go for Young Women's camp each year, and the scouts use it, and any group who has a need.  It's a beautiful area, with cabins, a lake for canoeing and swimming, a huge kitchen, a library, etc.

SITTING SOLO.  So anyway, all three kids wanted to go with him camping, so I was (are you sitting down?) in the house BY MYSELF for 21 hours.  No, I'm not kidding.  I really was.  :)

LONG LIST: CHECK.  I vacuumed out the Highlander, cleared some clutter in the garage, finished a book, worked & browsed on the computer, AND watched a movie.  It was awesome.  (ok, the vacuuming the car out was not a highlight, I suppose.)

MINIMAL RAIN.  The weather cooperated for the rest of the fam, and it only sprinkled a little bit while they set up camp.  Mild temperatures, plus the mosquito count was even a little lower than usual.

FANCY DINNER.  Frank got ambitious and opted NOT for the traditional hot dogs/hamburgers for dinner.  He found a Salmon Pasta recipe for campers, and they ate fine cuisine instead of Plain Jane stuff.  It was one of those where you mix all the spices up at home, and only cook the pasta at camp.  Everything else you mix together and voila!  Salmon Pasta.


(Just checking to see if you are paying attention.
There will be no elephants in tomorrow's parade.)

PARADE.  Tomorrow, Kara will march in the Memorial Day parade with the Middle School band.  They march around town, and end at a cemetery where they have a Veteran speaker and present some awards.  Hopefully the weather will hold.

Have a great week!  Kari

Junior Prom

Hola!

This weekend was the Wayland High School Junior Prom: time to dress up, don tuxedos and have a thousand activities and pose for a thousand pictures.  The kids were so ready to get into the limo and LEAVE by the time all the parents had posed them and positioned them, etc., etc.: more photos!  More photos!

Still waiting for one: 9 of 10 boys

JUNIORS.  I personally had a "Senior" prom.  Here, it's a Junior Prom, and you can only go if you have a "junior connection" -- one of the couple must be a junior.

Zoe & David



ZOE (That's two syllables: ZO-EY).  So, our David went to prom with Zoe, who lives down the street from us.  She is very cute, and smart, and funny, and a talker, so David would never be at a loss for conversation.  They (10 couples total) all gathered in the afternoon, some at our house, some at Zoe's, then the limos came.

LIMOS.  It must be an East Coast thing.  Where I went to prom (Colorado), not many people rode in limos, but some did.  I did not.  Frank went to prom in Virginia, and he did go in a limo.  Anyway, here "everybody" does a limo.  So the kids got 2 limos, 10 kids (5 couples) in each.

PRE-PROM.  They went from here to the Middle School, for "Pre-Prom."  More photos, all the limos and plenty of parents come for more photos, etc.

DINNER & DANCE.  The actual Prom included dinner, at the Hyatt-Regency in Boston.  Zoe probably told her mom at least 15 minutes worth of intricate details on the dinner alone.  I asked David what was for dinner, and he said "steak."

All 10 couples

LATE-NIGHT.  The goal around here is to plan every second of the night for the kids, so they'll stay alcohol-free and out of the Emergency Room.  The school administration and PTO beg the parents not to host after-prom parties that encourage the kids to have alcohol.  So for months, they have been planning a traditional after-prom party at the High School called "Late-Night."  Musicians, entertainment, magicians, games, and lots of food.  That party went from 11:30 to 2:30a.m, the time when parents walked in to sign them out.  (No, really--once you get in to Late-Night, you stay until a parent comes and shows ID, and walks out with you.  The students aren't allowed to check themselves out or drive themselves home.)

There's your quick synopsis!  It was gorgeous weather for them, sunshine all day and clear skies.  This exciting evening was one they looked forward to for months.  The kids looked so beautiful and handsome, all decked out.  It was a lot of fun.

Kari

Friday again?

Hola!

Well my week has snuck by me again!  This tells me spring is here: concerts, sports practices, end-of-year activities and culminating performances.

Yesterday afternoon went from pick-up from chorus practice after school, to pick-up for Ultimate Frisbee practice, to David & Kara's piano recital at a local church building, to Kara's Concert Band performance at the middle school.  It rained most of the day, so we were dodging raindrops and downpours, alternately!

It's amazing how much water can pool in your driveway overnight...(it has been over two years since "Our House Flood," and I still hyperventillate every time it rains for a few hours straight...)

So.  My summaries of our current activities...

SELECT CHORUS.  Kara has been loving her chorus experience, since the music and drama department at the Middle School is phenomenal.  I can't give them enough praise, and I will keep doing it for 2 more years that we still participate in it!  Immensely talented and charismatic people, who love the kids and the work they do.

ULTIMATE FRISBEE.  David & Teresa practice with the frisbee team every day after school: it's great exercise and keeps them connected.  It's a "Club Sport" (definition: not an official "Team" of the school, with a game schedule--oh yeah, the "Club" classification also makes it free, whereas team sports at the high school cost $225 or so per season...).  They have very few games with other schools, but sometimes they do go to another school to compete and/or scrimmage.

PIANO RECITAL.  Kara & David have taken piano lessons from Robin for a couple of years now, and last early evening they performed with all of her students at a church just about a mile from us.  David has great memorization skills so he memorizes his pieces.  Kara played "Candle on the Water" as one of her songs, from Pete's Dragon.  I love listening to both of them play.

KARA's BAND CONCERT.  Kara has played the saxophone for the past 2 years in school.  And actually, she is playing MY saxophone, from when I played in Middle School!  Isn't that funny.  We had it tuned up and pads replaced, etc., and she's using it.  It's a pretty big Concert Band of 6th graders, and the director is finishing her career this year after 32 years at the Middle School!  She's pretty amazing, and it's been a good experience for Kara.

AP TESTS.  'Tis the season, too, for those dreaded tests for the Juniors.  I think I mentioned that David took the SAT a month or so ago, and this week he took the AP Computer Science test on Tuesday.  Today, actually as I type this, he is taking the AP test for US History.  Ugh!

My time is about up!  The day calls.  Frank has been in California all week, and he comes back tonight.  Sometimes he misses things...at least David & Teresa did a piano recital Dress Rehearsal for him before he left.

Have a great weekend.  Kari :)

Here comes May!

Hola!
MAY.  I am so excited, it becomes May this week!  May and October are my favorite months here.  Flowers are blooming, the temps are warming up (generally).  Sunshine, and people pay attention to their yards again.  It's so refreshing.

MOTHS.  Kathi mentioned moths...we are fighting "Winter Moths" here: they ate all the leaves of our huge maple trees in the front yard last spring, and the little worms are back now.  I hope we can treat them with something soon because they really can kill your tree if they do it 3 years or more in a row.

DEATH of a TRAMPOLINE.  We sadly lost our trampoline...it was a little on a hill (not level), so I think we killed it by jumping too much on the slant.  The welding gave way on the bars intersecting one of the feet, and the round metal frame.  We have had it either 9 or 10 years, though!  The kids were so little when we got it.

PROM JOBS.  Anyway David dismantled the trampoline this week, as one of his "jobs" to help him pay for Prom.  I have a list of about 10 time-consuming, tedious jobs that I would rather not do (understatement of the year).  This one took him 2 hours.

TEMPLE TRIP.  Kara turned 12 last month, so when they took the youth to the temple this time, she could go too.  Frank and I were among the adult volunteers helping with the trip (he's the Young Men's president, and I went as a mom), so...for the first time, the whole family was in the temple at the same time!  It was such a nice evening.  I smiled the whole time.

Here's a family photo in front of the temple.

Well.  Better get to the "next thing."  Happy Week!  Kari

Pennsylvania Loop

Hola!

We spent most of the kids' "April Vacation" break (it must be an East Coast thing?  They get a week off in February and a week off in April) on a Pennsylvania Loop.  Frank and I visited some of these places Way Back When, but we had never taken the kids.

PENNSYLVANIA STATE U.  We started our loop, actually, at Penn State University, their main campus at University Park.  This was an afterthought.  We already had planned to be in Pennsylvania, then it turned out that that school was one of the schools to which David sent his SAT scores.  "Do you want to tour the school?" we asked David.  It was added to the agenda.

We were glad we went!  It was a good tour, of course made even better with sunshine.  It was nice weather, flowers in full bloom, students enjoying the sun on the grass between classes, and the tour guides were enthusiastic.  It's a very nice campus.  It is pretty huge, even to me, and I like big schools!

Soldier Cemetery

GETTYSBURG.  Then it was on to Gettysburg.  I have been fascinated with the Civil War era since reading a biography of Abraham Lincoln.  What a time to be the President, when half the country secedes from the union and wants to become their OWN country.

Slavery was the controversy of the decade and there were such strong opinions and feelings on both sides of the debate.  We walked around the battlefields and took the car tour on CD.

The Whitesells pose with Lincoln

(Bill is actually taking this photo.  I put him in anyway.)

LANCASTER.  Lancaster was next, where we got to visit Frank's aunt and uncle.  The unexpected surprise was that Amelia (Frank's cousin) was also in transit, and we overlapped for that night and got to visit with her.

It was SO nice to have a beautiful home to stay in for one night, and great company, amongst our week of hotel stays!



with a beautiful "galaxy" print on the back

AMISH COUNTRY.  We drove around to see the lush farmlands and to learn about how the Amish people do things.  It sounds a little weird but we drove around, just to observe.  (As respectfully as possible, I'll add.  I tried to emphasize to the kids that it was not a People Zoo.)  It's just educational to see a little piece of the Amish lifestyle.  To see them still using horses and buggies, no electricity and washing clothes by hand.  Some have stores in their basements where they sell handcrafted goods.

 We stopped at one house that had "handcrafts" on a sign out front.  We went into their basement and browsed.  We ended up buying "quillows," beautiful quilts you could fold up into themselves to make pillows.

So bright, we're all squinting but David

There was also an official store there, where I ate the absolutely very best big, soft pretzel I think I have ever eaten.  Melt-In-Your-Mouth-Wow.  These pretzels were so good, we bought the batter mix to come home and make them ourselves...I have my doubts, though, that I can even come close.

somebody pointed and covered Teresa's face

PHILADELPHIA.  The last day we spent in Philly, learning about the signers of the Declaration of Independence and our founding fathers.

The Liberty Bell was a highlight for me, as well as the "LOVE" sculpture in a downtown park.  This was placed in the park in 1976, on the country's 200th birthday.

This is where the Declaration of Independence was signed

The gift shop had the movie "National Treasure" showing.

Feel the beat: "Gonna Fly Now!"

The other famous movie, more for the parents and grandparents of today, was "Rocky."  Go ahead, think back: Sylvester Stallone in his early days.  Those steps he ran up during his workout--you remember!

The early morning run, making us all gag with that drink he made with about 6 raw eggs, then running and running throughout the city.  His workout finally took him up the MANY steps of the Art Museum in downtown Philadelphia.  Fists pumping the air at the top: "Gonna Fly Now!"

VALLEY FORGE.  Last stop was Valley Forge.  The films they have at the visitor's centers usually give good overviews of the time period and area, and this one was no different. 

This was the winter camp for Washington's army, in the winter of 1787-88.  Really hard conditions for the soldiers, who were very hungry most of the time, and very cold most of the time.

Of course I could go on and on!  But this gives you a quick overview.  If you ever want to visit Pennsylvania, we can give you some recommendations!  It was far from comprehensive, but we got just a taste of our contry's early days.
Have a great week!  Kari

Titanic, Tuxedos and Trampolines

Hola--

This weekend is the 100th birthday of the sinking of the Titanic.  April 15, 1912.  Pretty dramatic and unbelievable.  We just finished watching the movie, with Rose and Jack...

It was also a fitting weekend for David, to order a tux for the Junior Prom in a few weeks!  It's not until mid-May, but the weekends fill up so quickly we decided to take advantage of a Saturday  that had a clear afternoon.  He asked a girl on our street, just 3 houses down.

Kara has been working on her back handspring on the trampoline.  She's doing pretty well with it!  She's been taking a class once a week since January.

And Teresa...Teresa is collecting rainbows.  She has 2 prisms hanging in her bedroom window, and whenever the sun shines through, it makes a rainbow on her floor or wall.  Then she takes a photo of it with her handheld whatever-it-is.  She has quite a few nice photos!

For the next week, the kids are on "April Break."  Maybe it's called "Spring Break" but it's always in April.  On Monday we'll start our quick driving loop of Pennsylvania.  Gettysburg, Lancaster, Philadelphia.  Should be a nice Civil War and Revolutionary War refresher.  Bill and Phyllis, Frank's uncle and aunt, live in Lancaster so we'll see them too.  Lancaster is the center of Amish country.  We'll learn a little about their lives.

Time for bed.  Have a great Sunday!  Kari

Lovely Easter Weekend

Hola!

We had a lovely Easter 2 days ago--it is truly one of my favorite weekends!  Even in Massachusetts, the flowers are starting to bloom.  We have bright yellow forsythias (sp?) all over the neighborhood.  One friend told me they are "easy" to cut and start another bush growing.  I may ask my neighbor for a cutting of hers.  They brighten up the whole neighborhood!

Saturday night was a special Easter musical presentation at the church.  Such talent we have in our church congregations.  These people came from different cities close to Boston.  Vocalists, violinists, pianists.  It was all very uplifting and joyful.

Then Sunday, before church, we went through the scriptures telling events of the last week of Christ's life, leading up to his atonement for us, his crucifixion, and his resurrection.  For the Easter program in our Sacrament Meeting, Teresa, Kara & I participated in the choir as we sang between scripture readings and inspirational talks.  We are so blessed.  What a great day!


Secondary of course, was waking up to the kids' traditional "Easter baskets."  Chocolate bunnies and other Easter candy.  Kara brought out Max, who is the World's Most Patient Bunny.  She posed him next to Easter eggs and had him on her lap, etc.  He just sat there for the photos!  I can't believe him.

(My "spring resolution" goal is to blog more frequent updates. They may be shorter.  But more frequent.)  Have a good week!  Kari