Out of the Mouths of Sunbeams

Pat and I were recently called to teach the "Sunbeam" class (age four) at church. Today during "sharing time" one of our Primary leaders was teaching a short lesson to the whole group about the Nativity. She had placed an empty stable on the table and the scene figurines in a basket. The idea was to invite a child up one at a time and have him choose a figurine, identify it and place it in the stable. When our Nephi Butt (yes, that is his name) came up, he chose a female figure with wings. When he was asked who it was he looked at it, thought for a moment and announced, "It's a mom!" Do you hear that all you mothers out there?

Nice Christmas-themed experience

Today I stopped at Walgreen's to buy some batteries for my guitar tuner. They are button-type and I had bought and returned two packages previously that had apparently expired because they did not work. So to be sure, I brought the tuner in and moved away from the cash register to a waist-high display of boxes and put the batteries in. They worked! I should also mention that I had also gotten $20 (in two 10s)as my change. I had plunked all my stuff down when I began to work with the tuner. Then an old friend and colleague from Santa Rita High School came in the store and we visited for a while. So with that distraction and me excited that the batteries were good, I gathered up my stuff and went to the car leaving the two ten dollar bills on the box.

When I got home and did not find the money, I was pretty sure what had happened. So I got ready for work and stopped at the store. The manager said that, yes a customer had found the bills and turned them in. The customer asked that if no one claimed the money, would the manager put it in the Salvation Army kettle at the front door. I was so impressed at the anonymous person's honesty that I asked for a five and five ones and placed a dollar in the kettle myself as I left. I guess I wanted to keep the karma cycle going!

Wedding bells for Scotty!

Yesterday was an important day for our son Scott. He proposed to Miss Sarah Washburn! Scott and Sarah haven't been dating long (about 8 weeks) but have "hit it off" wonderfully. He met her for a picnic lunch near the Park Place Mall where we all work and when she came back from changing into her work clothes, Scott got down on one knee and proposed with a beautiful ring. She was very surprised because she did not know that he had gotten the ring. Their wedding will be in the Mesa, Arizona temple on January 2nd.

Sarah is a beautiful girl (see Halloween post below for her picture) and we love her. She attends the U of A majoring in psychology. She also plays the viola. None of us has ever seen Scott so twitterpated and it is cute. They seem to be a great match. Pat and I are going over to her parents' house tomorrow night to do some wedding brainstorming. Sarah has passed the "sister test" (meaning they all approve) and even Carlie's daughter Ellena runs to her when she comes over. We are all thrilled to see her become a member of our family.

What an honor, Your Honor!

Last Tuesday my group, the Due West Trio performed at the Westin La Paloma resort here in Tucson for a convention for U.S. Appeals Court judges. The event was outside on a patio and the night was beautiful. The guests ate, drank and mingled while we played western music. Then a little old woman walked over to us and gave us the thumbs up and stage-whispered, "You're great! I love your music!" We nodded in acknowledgment and I leaned over to my partner Rena and asked, "Do you know who that is? That's Sandra Day O'Connor!" Wow. At our break Tim O'Connor, Rena and I made a beeline over to meet Justice O'Connor. For those of you who may not know, she was the first woman ever to be appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court and she is quite the historical figure. I told her that I knew that she surely had heard this many times before but that I was a teacher as is my wife and that many thousands of us all over the world had used her example to teach young girls that they can accomplish great things. She responded that it was nice to hear and, "Look at me now. I'm just an unemployed old cowgirl!" The judge who was escorting her then said, "You should see her (daily) schedule. She is very busy." So we made her a gift of our three CDs and went back to performing. She was gracious and friendly and I count myself fortunate to have met her (plus, she is now a Due West Trio fan!).

A Veritable Hive of Activity...

Here are Pat and I in our Halloween costumes. She as a cute 50's poodle skirt girl and me as an aging Indiana Jones (I held in my gut until the picture was snapped!). Also pictured are Scott as Dagobah Luke Skywalker and his intended, the beautiful Sarah Washburn as Barbie.

One week from now our house will be filled with kids, grandkids and lots of noise, and we can't wait! Tina and Jon and their three kids will arrive in Arizona this Friday and drive down to Tucson to stay with us Sunday the 23rd. Wendy also flies in to Tucson on Sunday and everyone will be here for the entire Thanksgiving week. We are trying to figure out how to squeeze in as much fun and visiting as we can in those days.

Among other things Wendy will be consulting with her mom and sisters about her upcoming wedding to Chad Adams. They originally thought they would plan it for November, 2009. Then after considering how long a 1 year engagement would really be, they decided on June. THEN, the date changed to the first week in February. That is the latest news so far. Stay tuned...

And now, elsewhere in the family rumor mill... It appears that Scott and the lovely Sarah are also considering tying the knot. We obtained this information about our son who currently lives in our house, from his sisters who don't. Well, at least we found out. Apparently, they have been ring shopping and are looking at a late winter, early spring event. A parents, we are pretty chill about the whole thing because in Wendy's case, she is handling most of the planning herself and in Scott's, we are the parents of the groom. Sarah also told Pat that her mom already has 3 of her sisters' weddings under her belt.

News flash!!! Scott just called from Sarah's house where he officially talked to her father (just the two of them alone). Apparently, her folks were a little surprised (of course, they are not in Scott's sisters' network) that they are planning a wedding so soon (maybe January). They are not opposed to it as I'm sure they are fond of Scott (who wouldn't be?).

So a lot remains to be seen but it is exciting. We are proud of all our kids and are thrilled with the wonderful mates they are choosing!

overheard conversation.... again

i was talking to tina on the phone yesterday while the kids were coloring. this is about how the conversation went:

tina- you know what would work best on that, maryn? markers. (pause) hmm...
seth- mom, you put them on top of the fridge because you said we weren't going to use them again.

you can't get away with anything.

Unpaid Speech Writers

It seems Dave and I will do just about anything for a free haircut! CC has called us to help with homework, watch the girls, make apricot and strawberry jam, design birthday party treasure hunts but this last request was new! McKenna is running for student body treasurer and needed a speech written by tomorrow! Dave and I put our heads together and came up with this Pulitzer winning masterpeice!

Hi, my name is McKenna Thompson. I am running for student body treasurer. You should vote for me because I KNOW how to keep track of money! Right now I have $5.35 in my pocket (slap your pocket). My sister has $4.10 in her pocket and Mr. Holmes (principal) won’t tell me how much he has but if you elect me treasurer, I promise you I will know exactly how much money student council has and I will keep very good track of it. Vote for McKenna Thompson for treasurer! (I told her she should throw the $5.35 in pennies in her pocket out to the crowd!)

Good luck McKenna in your campaign! Come on crowd... don't you think it is worth a couple of haircuts???