Angel Moroni Placed on the Brigham City Temple

Today was an awesome day! 

The angel Moroni statue was scheduled to be placed on the temple at noon today.

Around 11:30 the kids and I walked in the rain down to the temple site to watch.

There were thousands of people gathered despite the weather.

As noon approached the rain stopped and the statue was attached to the crane, but it couldn't be lifted because we started getting heavy wind. 

The word was passed around that the wind needed to die down before they could proceed and a prayer was given to bring good weather so they could continue. It wasn't long before the many prayers of those gathered were answered. 

You can see the sky clearing in the photos.

Waiting for the weather to clear.

When Emma wasn't fussing she rode the scooter through the crowd and made me worry that she was going to crash into someone.

About 1:30 the wind stopped and they immediately started hoisting the statue. 

They finished securing the statue about 3:00. By then you'd never have known how the weather had started out 3 hours earlier.

Below is the view of the temple from the corner of my block. It's only 3 blocks away!

 Every time I pull out of my driveway I get a great view of the temple. 

Having a temple here is one of the greatest blessings we could receive.

Dance Photos

Dance photos are in!  Have fun viewing! 

 Ballet. Where Do All the Butterflies Go.

 

 Tumbling. Here on Who for a Dr. Seuss theme dance. 

Ballet. Hedwig's Theme (Harry Potter)

Apparently mom was distracted and didn't realize a hair touch up was in order before this photo was taken. 

Claire also was in clogging. She danced to I Love Rock n Roll. I do not have the photo yet, but will add it when I get it.

Tumbling. Zoe was Thing 8 for her Dr. Seuss routine.

Clogging. Cowboy Sweetheart.

Ballet. Where the Wild Things Are.

Jazz. Weird Science.

Yep. Zoe was ambitious this year and did four styles of dance. 

We still don't know what her favorite is yet.

Clogging. Sold aka Grundy County Auction.

Isabelle stuck with her favorite this year and just did clogging.

Ballroom. Footloose.

This is my new favorite photo of Zach.

Clogging. Soul Man.

An explanation on Zach on Isabelle's clogging teams. Each year they compete two (or three) routines. They compete the routine they learned the previous year plus a new routine they learn the current year. They were each in several other dances this year, but we only take photos of the new routine each year. Zach also dances on a couples team, but I am not posting those photos to protect the privacy of his dance partners.

You may have noticed we are missing some photos of Emma. She took ballet and clogging, but she choose not to participate in picture day this year. Or recital for that matter. Actually at picture day she did the class photo (just for ballet) but wouldn't take an individual photo. Our photographer made her ballet photo from the class picture. At both events she put on her first costume and was super excited and then wouldn't cooperate when the time came.  I guess we have some cute dress up clothes now...

Wheeler Farm

During the past couple of summers we have tried to do a fun field trip or activity for each week of the summer. Today was our first summer outing of the year to Wheeler Farm. As usual we went with our good friends, the Kaminsky family. 

Our visit consisted of petting the farm animals, milking a cow, feeding the ducks and playing in the water and the trees.

The little girls loved it, while the teens were slightly bored, but happy to be bored together.

 Zoe milking a cow.

 Claire milking the cow.

The Box Elder tree made a good photo location. I think the photos turned out pretty well considering they were taken on my phone.

What I Love About Recital

After the Starz Unlimited dance recital on Wednesday my sister asked me what I liked best about the recital. I was stumped because I couldn’t think of any one thing that would answer that question. I said I liked it all. But now I can explain my answer. 

What I love best about the recital is seeing it all come together. When you get to the night of the recital, it isn’t just another performance. It is so much more. When I am at the recital, this is what I see and feel-

I see nine months of preparation by the dancers as they learn technique and choreography through hard work and dedication.

I am inspired by how far each dancer has come during the year.

I see dancers developing self-confidence by going on stage and performing.

I admire and am grateful for the talents of the instructors who teach each student and choreograph each dance.

I witness the friendships that develop throughout the year and see the dancers cheer for one another, help one another and work together.

I feel the excitement of family and friends in the audience who are so proud of their dancers.

I recognize the many people behind the scenes who worked to make everything come together.

Seeing the dancers, music, costumes and choreography all come together make a magical evening that I am always excited to be a part of. While preparing for recital can be a lot of work, the outcome is always worth it.