Chicago

The end of June I was lucky enough to spend 4 days in Chicago with a good friend from high school, Lynette Peck. We celebrated turning 40 years old this year. We met at the airport and rode the "El" (elevated train system) into the downtown area. Our hotel was right on Michigan Avenue, in the middle of everything fun. We had a great time together - exploring all the sights of Chicago and catching up on the last many years.

I was very impressed by Chicago - the architecture, the history, the beautiful waterfront (who knew that Lake Michigan was such a beautiful blue color - I was picturing more of a greyish brown), the food, the fabulous museums in Museum Park. Every day we walked for many miles, visiting points of interest and taking in the sights.

I especially liked the four hours we spent in the fabulous Museum of Art. I took my time and looked at every piece of art thoroughly - something that is hard to do when I have kids along! We also visited the Aquarium, walked around Millenium Park and Grant Park (beautiful), ate delicious deep dish pizza, attended the "Taste of Chicago" festival (where we sampled many yummy foods), and attended a "Blue Man Group" performance (a little weird, but memorable). We rode to the top of the John Hancock building, which isn't quite as tall as the Sears Tower, but has a better view of the waterfront and downtown. The observatory is on the 94th floor, and the elevator to the top travels at 40 mph! We took an architecture boat tour which took us along the river that runs through town and then out onto Lake Michigan, where we looked at the skyline and watched fireworks.

I missed my family, but it was really fun doing all the travel/museum/adventurous things that are a part of my personality, but which don't always fit with my current main role as mom of kids ranging from age 18 to age 5. It was a great way to celebrate the big birthday. Or, at least one of the ways . . . Dan and I are planning another trip to Victoria Island in Canada. I say the more celebrating the better!
Views of the buildings from our boat ride.
A view of the skyline from Lake Michigan.The pictures above are the famous "silver bean" in Millenium Plaza. It is designed to reflect the skyline and clouds and provide cool reflections to explore from the inside and outside of the sculpture.
It is awesome to have Millenium and Grant parks right next to the downtown, with cool sculptures flanked by beautiful flower beds and trees, surrounded by imposing skyscrapers.
I liked these sculptures in Grant Park.
Oh yeah, deep dish pizza. Prior to this trip, I did not know that authentic deep dish has the sauce on the top!
In downtown Chicago, I love the juxtaposition of older, classical architecture and newer, sleek high rises.
A view of one of the shoreline of Lake Michigan from atop the John Hancock tower. There are miles and miles of beautiful beaches along the Lake. Look at that beautiful blue-green water! I did not expect that.
Standing at the top of the John Hancock tower, holding our loot from a day of shopping along Michigan Avenue (aka shopping heaven).
The Chicago River meanders through the city. The Riverwalks and bridges over the river are really beautiful. It also represents quite a feat in engineering - in 1900 the direction of the river was reversed to stop the flow of pollution into Lake Michigan.
The Fountains, by French artist Hubert Robert. It doesn't look as cool in a picture, but the detail and play of light and shadow really struck me in the museum.
While I was super-excited to visit the Art Museum, Lynette was very into the Aquarium.

Next time I visit Chicago, I definitely want to visit this . . . the Field Natural History Museum.

So beautiful! This view is from the Aquarium, at the end of Museum Park.

I was such a tourist, snapping pictures of cool buildings/structures on every street corner.

Interesting work of art in Grant Park. We decided that it maybe represents the busy city, everybody walking in different directions, nameless, faceless.

We ate great meals, except for this one. A friend had recommended a restaurant called "Xoco," run by one of the Food Network guys. We walked a number of blocks to find it. The food was not at all what we expected for a Mexican restaurant, and we were seated literally ON THE STREET. We were overhanging the curb, watching the cars go by. They did have great Mexican hot chocolate, however!

We were lucky to enjoy great, non-humid weather for the duration of our trip. It was unusually cool for Chicago. This was a memorable trip, and I hope to return with Dan soon!

No more free education

That's right, after 13 years of free education, from now on Brandon (and to some extent his parents) will pay handsomely for the privilege of learning in a classroom setting. Brandon graduated from Skyview High School last Friday.
A group of the LDS kids in our Stake after Baccalaureate on Sunday. Brandon is at the far upper right.
Brandon (far left of the photo) sang as part of a small senior choir at Baccalaureate and Commencement. They sang "Calling My Children Home," a beautiful song designed to make all mothers cry.
After Baccalaureate Joseph carefully gathered beautiful dandelions to give to us. We loved them.
By the time graduation rolled around on Friday, Joseph was DONE with graduation events for Brandon. There was something to attend almost every night that week. When we were walking into the school Friday night, Joseph insisted that "Brandon alweady gwaduated . . . thwee times!"
Brandon and his good friend Taylor preparing to fly from the nest.
Look, Aubrey can fly, too!
Grandma and Grandpa Porter came into town from Arizona for the events. It was great to have them here!
Brandon and Bailey just before we left for commencement. We were running late - we had prepared a barbeque for the family, given Brandon some gifts, and then watched a slideshow I had prepared of Brandon's life so far. We forgot to watch the clock, and so we didn't get there in time for good seats in the gym! It's a good thing my camera has an awesome zoom lens attachment.
Walking up to the stage to receive his diploma. Brandon met the rigorous requirements for the SMT (Science, Math, and Technology) program at his high school.
Just "five more years" until her graduation, Bailey reminded us.

Right after the graduation most of the seniors boarded buses to leave for a school-sponsored (heavily chaperoned) all-night graduation party at a recreational center in Portland. Brandon had a great time and got home at about 6 a.m.

As Brandon's mother, his graduation was bittersweet for me. I am so proud of him and incredibly excited for all the wonderful opportunities and adventures he will have during college/mission/real life. At the same time, my involvement in the day to day aspects of his life is dramatically reducing. As I watched him throughout the graduation ceremony, I saw in my mind's eye a solemn and shy 2 year old, an eager-to-learn preschooler, an elementary school kid missing a front tooth, a kid with a sweet smile and a subtle sense of humor, a middle-school and high-school kid who would sit on my bed at night to talk through all the confusing things in his life. It really hit me that this is not only a huge transition for him, but also for us. And maybe especially for me. It has been a privilege to have a hand in raising Brandon. Many times I felt like he was wiser than me. I am really going to miss him, but I can't wait to see what he makes of the next chapters of his life.

The newest teenager in the house

Bailey is 13! She spent a full week celebrating this momentous birthday.

Bailey started her birthday with breakfast in bed (crepes and strawberries), joined by Aubrey, Elissa and Jackie Fulton, and Alayna Johnson. We normally have a "no sleepover" rule, but the Fultons were out of town, so we were watching the girls for five days. It was nice that this was over Bailey's birthday, so they could celebrate together. We dragged five mattresses into the bonus room and laid them side by side. The girls giggled, played games, and played "Let's Dance" (Bailey's new Wii game) until late every night.

Opening some gifts the evening of her birthday.

The exciting present this year . . . and ipod touch.

The next weekend Bailey had a party with all her church and school friends. They were a very energetic and fun group of 13 year olds! They partied until 11 p.m.



Bailey wanted cheesecake instead of a birthday cake.

Bailey, with friends Morgan and Nina, wearing her new bday sunglasses. They look suspiciously like the 80s to me! All that is old is new again.

Happy Birthday Bailey!

Four years of 5:30 a.m.

This is Brandon walking out the door to early morning Seminary for the last time. To make it to Seminary on time, he leaves a little after 6 a.m. As he left, I grabbed my camera to document the moment, because it felt like the end of quite a journey.

As Brandon ate breakfast the morning of this picture, we reminisced about when he started Seminary as a freshman. We had moved to Washington the day before school began and were living in the Marriott Residence Inn while house hunting. The hotel was about a 20 minute drive to the church where Seminary was held. We would leave at about 5:40 a.m. in the dark, stopping at the lobby of the hotel to grab some breakfast (Brandon had biscuits and gravy and a chocolate muffin every day) and a newspaper. I would drive him to the building and wait in the car for an hour, reading the paper and eating my breakfast. Then I would drop him off him to school and drive back to the hotel, where I was home schooling the girls until we bought a house and knew which elementary school they would attend. It was a really challenging time in our lives. We lived in the Residence Inn for three months before settling into our house, which was a only a five minute drive to the church.

We continued driving him each day of his freshman year. We didn't know anyone well enough that year to carpool or help with rides to school after Seminary. Sophomore year he got a ride with the Zach McDonnell, and then Junior and Senior years he drove himself to Seminary. As Senioritis kicked in the last few months, it got harder and harder for him to get up and out the door in time for Seminary, but he persisted, and he graduated from Seminary last Sunday and was a "master scriptorian," having memorized all the Scripture Mastery verses each of the four years.

There is something to be said for the sacrifice of having Seminary early in the morning. It tests commitment and desires to learn spiritual things rather than sleep another hour. Brandon always felt that his day started better when he started with Seminary. There were days when he struggled to get up. Some days he didn't make it. Some days he made it, but late. I learned that it is important to me to interact with each kid in the morning, so I got up (bleary-eyed and wild hair) to fix breakfast each day of Seminary (Dan shared this responsibility also). I see this as precious time in the morning, touching base before the child heads off to the temptations and struggles of high school.

I am grateful for the chance we have had to choose something even better than sleep. I am also grateful that we have a year off of Seminary before we begin the journey anew with Bailey!

Change for a 5

We are so amazed by Brandon's leadership and musical skills! He has really enjoyed playing with his band, Change for a 5. He wanted to have one last big "gig" before graduation. He had the idea to organize a "Battle of the Bands" concert, with all proceeds going to a charitable cause. To do this, he spent many, many hours over the last few months lining up bands, finding vendors to donate food and a printer to give a cut-rate on printing tickets and signs, securing a venue, meeting with the bands and creating the rules for the concert, finding people to run the sound equipment, etc. He showed incredible leadership as he confidently organized, planned, and tracked the many details involved.

The concert (held last Friday) was a great success. They made $900 for the cause. The music was great, and it was a very enjoyable night. Dan and I had to pinch ourselves several times to make sure we weren't dreaming when our formerly shy son belted songs into the microphone, while also playing a mean guitar. Brandon's band performed seven original songs. He had written almost all the words and music for their songs. Prior to the concert, he used his recording/editing software to record the band members performing the songs one track at a time (first recording the drum part, then the piano part, then electric guitar, etc.). He combined and edited the tracks, creating songs that he burned to CDs, which they sold at the concert.

Good job, Brandon! You are an awesome young man.

The members of the band are friends from Skyview High School.

For this song, "Must be Monday," Taylor (on piano) provided comic relief with some props (that is Joseph's helmet!)

After Change for a 5 performed, Brandon accompanied and sang harmony with a good friend, Sammy. She wrote the lyrics to one of the band's songs, and has a beautiful voice.

We hope Brandon can find a way to continue to be involved in music at college, because this is something he definitely enjoys.

There is video of the performances. When I get an edited copy, I will post some clips!

Our Book of Mormon Journey

For the sake of our family history, I need to document a goal we are working on.

Mid-April we decided during family council to read the Book of Mormon one more time as a family before Brandon leaves to college the end of August. This would require reading about two chapters per day. We decided that we would read around dinner time, either during or right after. Dan made a chart which shows where we should be reading each day and included some "free" days, on which we could catch up or take a break if we needed it. We each take turns reading a column. We recognized that Joseph is not going to understand all of what we are reading, so we ask him to be in the room and we stop to explain stories when we can. Later we try to show him the same stories in his little scripture readers. As we read, occasionally Joseph tries to pick out words he knows from the text. More often he crawls around on the floor, colors, or performs Superhero maneuvers.
For better or worse, as a family we do best when we have a time-specific scripture goal. A number of times in the past we have responded to a challenge to read the Book of Mormon by a certain date. Sometimes the challenges have come from the prophet or our bishop and sometimes we have set our own goal. Sometimes we have made big charts to mark off our progress. Sometimes we have had a cool family prize at the end of the goal. At times the little kids have acted out the stories as we read, sometimes we have used study guides to help us understand difficult passages better. It has been a sweet experience to complete the goals and better understand the greatness of the Book of Mormon. The underlying theme running through the times we have been a successful scripture reading family is a very specific, timed goal which we are tracking.

What is much harder for us is remembering to read on a daily basis when we aren't responding to a specific challenge. Maybe it's unrealistic, but it seems to be that we SHOULD be able to do this. It isn't that we don't like to read (most of us) or that we don't value scripture reading. There is just ALWAYS a reason not to read on any particular day. Someone is sick, someone is ornery and refusing to participate, someone is gone, we're tired, it's getting late, American Idol is on TV, someone has homework to do, we just want to talk, someone didn't finish their chores, etc. We have tried different techniques for reading other than setting a time-specific challenge, such as reading scriptures topically (choosing a topic we want to explore and then reading a little bit every night) or reading favorite scripture stories and discussing them. This is always great, but we can't seem to maintain our steam when we read this way. We read faithfully UNTIL there is a reason not to . . .

What I need to record, so that I remember it next time, is that the efforts to read together as a family rarely result in immediate warm and fuzzy feelings. At least that is true for us. I have to have faith that the blessings will come, because this is what a typical scripture reading session sounds like at our house:

Mom or Dad: "Time for scriptures!"

Children (all or some): "Groan, whine, But I have homework!'"

At least 75% of the time one child refuses to read for some reason, often because he or she is in a bad mood. At least 50% of the time someone falls asleep. Many times children argue in between reading their columns of scripture. So far, we have missed reading about two days a week, despite our best efforts. Right now, according to our schedule, we are supposed to be starting Alma. Instead, we just finished off King Noah in Mosiah.

I have always liked this quote by Marion G. Romney:

“I feel certain that if, in our homes, parents will read from the Book of Mormon prayerfully and regularly, both by themselves and with their children, the spirit of that great book will come to permeate our homes and all who dwell therein. The spirit of reverence will increase; mutual respect and consideration for each other will grow. The spirit of contention will depart. Parents will counsel their children in greater love and wisdom. Children will be more responsive and submissive to the counsel of their parents. Righteousness will increase. Faith, hope, and charity—the pure love of Christ—will abound in our homes and lives, bringing in their wake peace, joy, and happiness”

I don't know why we don't see the fulfillment of these blessings immediately in our home most of the time. I do believe that this promise is fulfilled over the long-term, but it is sometimes hard to see this minute by minute. There is still contention in our home, children are not always submissive, and Dan and I aren't always counseling with love and wisdom. Lately, peacefulness in our home seems to be a great challenge.

I really love the scriptures, especially the Book of Mormon. Every time I read this inspired book I love it more. Day to day, I don't always see the immediate benefits of the herculean efforts to read together as a family. When I step back and gain more perspective, I can see that there have been and (hopefully) will continue to be seeds planted, testimonies strengthened, lessons learned, relationships strengthened. I try really hard to show my kids how much I love the scriptures, and I know that our family has been blessed by our efforts to read.

It is not just that the Book of Mormon teaches us truth, though it indeed does that. It is not just that the Book of Mormon bears testimony of Christ, though it indeed does that, too. But there is something more. There is a power in the book which will begin to flow into your lives the moment you begin a serious study of the book. You will find greater power to resist temptation. You will find the power to avoid deception. You will find the power to stay on the strait and narrow path. The scriptures are called “the words of life” (D&C 84:85), and nowhere is that more true than it is of the Book of Mormon. When you begin to hunger and thirst after those words, you will find life in greater and greater abundance.
President Ezra Taft Benson