gilbert temple cultural celebration

At the beginning of November I got a phone call from a member of our bishopric asking if I would accept the role of 'dance director' for our ward for the Gilbert Temple Cultural Celebration.  I was excited to be asked and knew it would be a great experience--I really enjoy working with the youth any chance I get :).   I attended a few meetings and practices for leaders and began teaching the youth in our ward the first of January.  Celebration rehearsal took the place of mutual for the months of January and February.  The entire temple district was divided into various regions and our ward was in "Region 1" and learned choreography to a Latin style song called "Toma Mi Mano."   I taught the "boy" part to Rob ahead of time and he was able to come to the first practice and teach with me (I thought it important that the boys see a guy doing the cha-cha step).  We did three weeks of ward rehearsals and then had about three weeks of stake rehearsals, before EVERYONE gathered for the Super Saturday rehearsal on Feb 22nd.  

 

These types of celebrations have usually been held big stadiums, but for whatever reason the show was originally scheduled to be held at Hamilton High School (our home High School about 2 miles from our house).  There were 12,000 youth (!) that participated in the cultural center and the venue was not big enough for rehearsal space, so sometime in January they announced that the show would be held at Discovery Park which is in the shadow of the Gilbert Temple. At first I was somewhat disappointed that the show wouldn't be held at ASU stadium and that there would not be a live audience of parents and friends, but it really was cool that the backdrop of the show was the temple itself. 

 

Organizing 15,000 people (12,000+ youth and leaders) to gather to one city park was quite an undertaking and they took security and safety quite seriously.  Here is my lanyard-- the bar codes were linked to our medical forms.  These were scanned upon arrival and were checked by stake leaders at the various Stake tents prior to meals:

 

The Saturday before the performance (Super Saturday) was one very long day. I was up at 5:30AM to get to the church to carpool in to the park. There was absolutely no parking, so everyone had to be dropped off by drivers at staggering times and at various surrounding places. Each region had a different colored shirt (there were around 6 stakes in each region, I believe), and each ward and stake had their own campsite.  Each stake provided their own food, and our stake is pretty awesome about having nice meals--some stakes had sack lunches, but our stake had hot meals with several nice sides.  We rehearsed as regions all morning and then came together after lunch onto the main performance field. Our stake had the best seat in the house--sitting directly off of the 50 yard line, just in front and to the left of the prophet.  It was a very warm (hot) day and we all got some sun.  In addition to that, it is allergy season here and being on the grass all day was really getting to me.  We did a complete walk-through of the show just before dinner and the dust got so bad from so many people being on the dry grass all day.  By the time we all got seated after dinner break, you could hardly see across the field from the dust!  I could hardly breathe (grass+dust=allergy nightmare).  Ambulances and fire trucks starting showing up and the main person in charge made the announcement that they were canceling the evening run-through because the dust was causing some major medical problems (asthma attacks).  It took a good hour or so to just exit the park, but we were all really happy to be able to get home sooner after a long day (I still got home after 9pm). 

Here is a photo of kids in our ward (and stake) sitting on the hill during the afternoon run-through:

 

This is an awesome photo that my friend took during the rehearsal.  That is A LOT of people (12,000!) on one field!   

 Watching the run-through was really awesome and it was great (especially for the youth) to see how everything came together for the show.  I think the kids were impressed with how good the various numbers looked, at we assured them that their number looked that good as well! 

 

There had been absolutely no rain for about two months in the valley (thus the horrible dry grass and dust).  The morning of the celebration we woke to rain!  It rained quite a bit and then died down just as people started to arrive at Discovery Park.  I was thankful for the rain, because it would solve the dust issue.  I just *knew* that it wouldn't rain during the show and thought that the prophet would command the rain to stop if he had to :).  I was slightly concerned though when our ward all gathered at the church and our Bishop gave the prayer and asked that we would have "what we need and no more." 

The awesome youth of the McQueen 2nd Ward!

 We walked through a couple of songs before starting the (recorded) dress rehearsal around 3:30.  There were dark clouds and storms all around us, but the park remained dry!  It really did seem like a miracle!  You can see the dark clouds here:

 

The clouds parted and the sun came out and we thought we were in the clear for sure! 


Here are the women leaders from our ward (with an awesome photo bomb from my friend Rachel --a dance director from another ward in our stake).  You can see just how close we were sitting to the platform where the prophet sat! 

There were some very light sprinkles a few times during the dress rehearsal (it was actually great because it helped keep us cool).  The dress rehearsal went great and we finished and broke into our stake camps and had dinner.  After dinner I waited in line for 40 minutes at the porta-potties (insane!).  Just as we were coming out it started raining.  I joked with some of the kids that it was just raining to test our faith, but it would stop.  Nope.  The rain kept getting heavier and by the time we made our way into our positions to start the show everyone was drenched!  When President Monson came onto the covered platform it stopped raining.  We were so excited and got emotional--the young men's president gave me a high five (it totally makes me laugh thinking back).  It was just a teaser though, and the rain came down hard for the remainder of the evening.  It certainly wasn't the miracle I was expecting, but I realize now how much better the experience was because of the rain.   It was really a lesson and reminder that there are going to be trials in life and things may not go as expected, but it can't (and won't) stop us from moving forward with faith.  I was really impressed with the youth and their determination and great attitudes.  The show just went right on, rain and all.  Sure, the show wasn't as polished and smooth as it would have been sans rain, (says the "Martha" in me), but it served the greater purpose of strengthening testimonies and allowing the youth to worship and show gratitude to The Lord! 

 

 

This next photo is the best photo I have seen from the show!  My favorite part was when "Captain Moroni" rode out on his horse (each of the youth made their own Title of Liberty).  This was one of the first big numbers in the show and you can see how muddy the field already was and how hard the rain was coming down!

Exiting the park was crazy!  I was walking though mud and water ankle deep at times.  Here is a photo of park as we were leaving:

There were a lot of cool things written about the celebration and various photos and videos posted.  I really liked this aerial shot of the temple from the Church News:

 

Sunday morning, Rob was able to sing in the (20 person) choir in the Celestial Room during the dedication.  I was able to attend the dress rehearsal for that on Friday evening at it was incredible!  I could have gotten a ticket to be in the temple for the dedication, but really wanted Burke and Hewitt to watch Rob, so I opted to take them to the first session at our stake center.  The whole weekend was incredible and left me feeling grateful, humbled, and refocused on what matters most. 

Here is a really great news clip about the weekend that I highly recommend: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5KmSZrvCv8&sns=em

february 2014

We packed a lot into the short month of February. I was able to volunteer as an usher at the Gilbert Temple Open House one day.  I had the best post--right at the entrance of the Celestial Room. The big chandelier in the room is spectacular and it was fun to see the reaction as visitors saw the room--everything from loud gasps to tears.  My shift was three and a half hours long and my face hurt so bad from smiling the whole time :), not to mention my back from standing still in the same spot. 

 

We were able to attend the open house as a family as well.  Rob invited two women he works with to go with us (one brought her husband and the other brought her boyfriend).  One of the couples is Christian, and the other is from India and not very religious (they joked that they are probably the only Indians we will meet that are not vegetarians).  I had a great time talking to the couple from India and explaining some basic Christian beliefs as well as other specific LDS doctrines.  

 

Our kids were a bit tired waiting in line to enter (past Liv's usual bedtime), but they were great inside the temple and it was a wonderful evening.   

 

Tosh and Hewitt being more entertaining than reverent here...

Shriram, Shruthi, (us), and Angela

 

The Gilbert Temple is beautiful!  We feel so grateful to have it here!

 

Liv loves it when I wrap her hair up in a towel like I do with my hair after a shower:

 

 

My family has a monthly chat on "google hangouts" and I snuck some photos of my dad on our call just after he and Helen returned home from their mission.  I think it's a great photo of him laughing at something someone said:

 

This is a great one of Todd and Tracey too-- and you can also see everyone else at the bottom of the screen:

 

Liv and I were anxious to see Grandpa and Grandma Helen, and flew to Utah to visit over President's weekend.  We woke up very early on Valentine's Day to catch our flight:

Helen introduced Liv to "Build a Bear" and she thought that was the coolest thing ever!  She picked out a cute little dog to make and named her "Bella."

 

We also went next door to the Disney store.  I thought Liv's eyes might pop out of her head! 

Helen also let Liv pick out her first nightgown!  What a treat!  Liv put it on right after we got home and wore it all day (and night). 

On Sunday, we had a big family dinner at Melanie and Kevin's home.  Everything was delicious!  Melanie let Liv frost the 'stain glass' Valentine cookies:

My dear Aunt Pat and cousin Jackie and me:

It was great to spend time with three of my beautiful adult nieces!  I love them all so much and was thrilled to learn that I am going to be a GREAT AUNT (first week of Sept).  Congrats to Mel and Kevin!

On Monday (President's Day) we were able to see some more cousins!  Aunt Sue was kind enough to help the kids make cookies at her house:

Cute cousins playing with the snow!  Liv's preschool teacher asked her to bring back some snow and she put some in a Ziplock to bring back (we sent her this photo my SIL took instead):

I had a nice time going through some of my Dad's things.  I found some great photos (many of which I had never seen before).   Here are some nice photographs of my grandparents, Jack and Helen Dunning:

 

Some adorable ones of my dad from his childhood:

I had never seen this next one before--I think it's my favorite:

 

 

Liv and I had a very nice time in Utah.  Flying in and out of the Provo airport seemed pretty slick.  Getting through security was a breeze. We boarded and Liv worked in a workbook as we taxied out to the runway...

...only to return to the gate, deplane, and be told to wait in the tiny airport (no food, one bathroom stall) for the next 3 1/2 hours for a mechanic to drive to Provo from SLC to check the plane.  Safety first, of course!  I was thankful to be with a four-year-old and not an infant.  My heart went out to the new mom with tears streaming down her face when we first got off the plane.  Liv stayed busy with a memory game (was so thankful we had that!) and she met a little boy (Omar) that let her share his alphabet floor puzzle.  A kind woman sitting next to us in the airport got a Sprite for Liv, which means we spent most of the time waiting in the bathroom line!  :)

We were very happy to get home and back to our boys! 

This is a random shot, but Rob took the kids to our next door neighbor's garage sale and they came back with all sorts of 'treasures' including these plastic cactus margarita glasses.  Ha! 

january, twenty-fourteen

We reviewed our goals from last year and set new ones for Family Home Evening the first week in January.  I was impressed with how thoughtful the kids were!  They kept listing things that they want to work toward and improve on.   Burke and Tosh's lists both went well into the twenties.  One of my goals for this year is to blog twice a month...looks like I'm already falling behind! 

Liv has discovered the 'selfie' and I've found several on my phone.  Here is one of my favorites:

We went out for dinner with some friends one night in January.  I'll call these guys The Three Amigos:

The other side of the table:

Tosh dressed up for '80's day at school (spirit week):

Hewitt dressed up for the 100th day of school:

Liv sure is a good mommy to her dolls.  Don't you love the scarf she insisted on wearing?  It belonged to Grandma Watkins.

Tosh is enjoying running club, but for some reason isn't interested in the races themselves, just going to practice.  We usually have about 20-30 minutes to hang out and play between running club and the older boys' bus arriving.   This is right after running club on "pajama day"

 

 Liv invited us all into her bedroom for a concert one evening.  She had set up five chairs and had set out snacks on each chair.  Here is a shot of the boys at one point during the concert:

Liv accompanied herself on piano (and a maraca) as she sang an original song called, "I Love Princesses."  It was quite a show, wish you all could have been there.   She seems to have excellent rhythm as well as pitch :)

 

 

Liv and I were playing in her room before bedtime one night and she started playing with these fairy plates and pretended that they were going visiting teaching to each other.  It was so cute and funny.  

 

 

Rob sent me flowers after a particularly rough weekend, which was such a nice surprise.  The last time he sent me flowers was about seven years ago (no joke), so when I say it was a surprise, I mean it :).  Tulips are still my very favorite.  



 

I worked at the cannery in Mesa one afternoon.  I was really happy to be able to work with my friend and visiting teacher, Renee.  She is so easy to talk to and we have great conversation (which made the time in the cannery fly by).   We were loving our hair nets, aprons, and gloves:

 

We were rockin' the conveyor belt, and one of the full-time workers called us "Lucy and Ethel" :).  They gave us each a bottle of raspberry jam as a thank you.

 

Hewitt got his braces off!  Liv has started calling Hewitt, "Handsome Hewitt" lately.  It is so funny to hear her call out, "Goodbye Handsome Hewitt!"  or "I love you, Handsome Hewitt." 

Liv has been bringing her doll stroller out on errands lately.  She was quite the problem solver the other day when she had to figure out how to eat her cookie from the bakery and get her stroller around the store.  I loved the solution she came up with on her own-- to carry the stroller over her shoulders!  She got a few comments from other shoppers. 

 

Burke has really gotten into shooting hoops and is out there every day after school and most mornings before leaving for school, even if it is only for a few free minutes.  This has been a dream come true for Rob and me, seriously.  For so many years he has only wanted to do certain things if either Rob or I would do them with him.  It is great to see him become more independent and practice shooting on his own. 

Burke also just became a First Class in boy scouts and should be a Star before going to scout camp in June.  One of his goals is to be a Life by the end of the year.  He should be able to do it and certainly has the desire! 

We received a letter this week letting us know that Burke's science fair project has been chosen to compete at the Hamilton Invitational Science and Engineering Fair.  It was pretty funny/sad to get this letter and then ask Burke, "So what was your project?"  In our district all projects are done 100% at school, which I love!  Burke isn't very interested in talking about it, but his project has something to do with pollution.  I'll report back after we see his project on display at the high school. 

 

I have been busy working as a dance director for the Cultural Celebration for the Gilbert Temple opening.  I taught the kids in our ward for three weeks in a row, and then this past week we combined with the entire stake.  It is quite an undertaking (and has been overwhelming at times)!  We have a couple of weeks to work as a stake and then we will start having regional rehearsals, including two ALL DAY Saturday rehearsals before the performance on March 1st.  Here are some of the kids lining up on the field:  

 

 

This has been the mildest winter we've had since moving here, I believe.  Liv went for a bike ride with her friend, Addie this past week.  She borrowed Bella's bike and it made me realize that Liv is ready for a bigger bike!   She looks like such a big girl on it:  

 

Liv thought it was warm enough for a swim the other day.  I laughed when she came downstairs in this outfit.  What a goofy girl. 

 

She is doing a great job at writing her whole name. 

I was lucky to get this photo of Tosh reading library books to his sister.  Warms my heart:

 

Tosh learned how to ride a bike without training wheels over a year ago, but had a bad fall and has been afraid to do it since.  I went out with him on Saturday and he was riding well within a couple of minutes.  He cruised all over the neighborhood and wants to ride ALL the time now.  We have to make good use of our outdoor time before it gets too hot! 

 

We have a lot going on this month and it is easy to feel overwhelmed by it all.  Instead of talking about the specific 'busyness' and ramble off a list of what is going on every night of the week, I just want to mention that I've been blessed to find more joy in motherhood lately.   Rob has been gone a lot of evenings and though that would usually be really stressful for me, I feel like I've been able to just enjoy the time with the kids.  I'm trying to be better at saying yes to a game of ping pong, or playing dolls.  It's the little things that make the biggest difference, right?