Reflect on Reflections: Teach, Film Video 2007

I don't know how much you know about Reflections, but this video is from the early days of the Film/Video category when the rules were much less stringent and clipart or things from the internet were fine to use. Then they decided that you had to take all the pictures in your video. Not long after that, you had to have written permission from everyone in your video. 

This video would be impossible in today's competition, but back then, it was all perfectly acceptable. I think the opportunity to be creative is much easier with millions of pictures and clipart, but the PTA didn't think so. 

Anyway, please enjoy another of Teach's videos. She would have been a junior in 2007. I love that she has included both friends and family members here. That probably doesn't matter to you, but to me it is priceless. The early pics of Scout and Sport are so fun! And there aren't many pics of our dog, Daisy, especially not of her smiling!

Reflect on Reflectons: Teach, Dance 2006

I want to share one of my favorite Teach videos from Reflections. I'm apologizing up front because in 2006 they still required VHS and some of the video near the beginning is a bit rough, but if you stick with it, I promise it gets better.

If you remember, Teach was the Colorguard Captain at Bingham High School for 2 years. This video was made during her sophomore year. She had barely learned to really spin the rifle and she was a natural, but her dad was more than a little worried about letting her climb up on the roof of our house just to make a movie. Spinning the rifle and dancing made it that much more worrisome.

He finally agreed and she was so excited! It was one of my very favorites that she ever made just because she was so happy and some of her moves were just so unexpected. Oh, and Bossy designed and I made that flag.

I hope you enjoy it!

I can't sleep...

My heart is breaking. 

In less than a week, Teach and Twiz will pack up all of their possessions, including my sweet grandbabies, climb into their van and drive across the country.

No, it's not just an extended vacation... they are moving to New Jersey. 

And I am devastated. 

Guest Blog: Our Amazing Dog Walker by Crafty

When Crafty first came home from her mission, she really wanted to spend some time making a few videos she had been thinking about for a while. She made the one of her dancing, remember?



I have wanted one made for Dog Walker with this particular song for a long time. When he was younger, that song seemed so like him to me. When I heard it in the car or on the radio, it would always bring me to tears (still does), because people just didn't understand my amazing autistic son. He wasn't crazy, he was just a little unwell.



Thanks, Crafty, the video is perfect.

Twin Falls

We spent our last day of vacation in Twin Falls although honestly, we had very little time to sight see since we had to be back in Salt Lake by early afternoon.

We got up early and checked out of our hotel. When we drove into town Sunday night, we rode across the top of a very high bridge that spanned the Snake River. My sweetie said it was the highest and just a bit up river was where Evil Knievel attempted his famous jump. So on Monday morning, we drove to the head of the Canyon Rim Trail and took some pictures. The bridge blends in so well, that I had to zoom in to make sure I actually got it in the frame!

We hiked a short distance along the trail and took more pictures, but it wasn't long before my sweetie herded us back into the van so we could also see the Twin Falls or more commonly known as the Shoshone Falls in Idaho.

They were beautiful, but not as stunning as the ones in Idaho Falls. We hiked a short distance for a better view, but Twizlet was more than finished with site-seeing. A quick trip for a few souveniers and we were back on the rode and on our way home.

I just love being out on the road with my family. I can hardly wait for the next one!

Craters of The Moon

We finished the last of our promised four games of the tournament with four straight losses. It's not that we are a bad team, it's just that the best of the best are usually willing to drive that far so they can win the tournament and we just threw our hat in the ring because we were afraid we wouldn't have opportunities to play in Utah. As it turns out, we are looking at a full season that finishes up the end of July.

Most of the team went home on Saturday night, but we decided to make our trip into a mini vacation. On Sunday morning, we gathered up and checked out of the hotel. I'm not sure I ever told you that we had Twizlet with us although you probably noticed in the pics. Sport and Crafty stayed home so they could both work and Grandpa was happy to stay with my sister for the weekend and do family history work. So that made 6 of us.

My sweetie bought me this cool Craters of the Moon hoodie.

On Sunday morning we took off for Craters of the Moon. We had taken our older kids to this national monument years ago, but Scout, Baby Doll, and Curly had never been there.

Looking for lava bombs on Devil's Orchard trail.

We went on several hikes. The first one was flat and easy and the kids got to look at the rocks made from lava up close. The winds were blowing, but they weren't terrible as we climbed back in the van to eat a sandwich before we made our way to the next trail.

Climbing the Inferno Cone trail

By the time we got to the Inferno Cone trail, the winds had picked up considerably. We paired off to try to make it to the top. Scout had Twizlet with her when her favorite FRIENDS cap went flying with one gust. Thankfully, she opted to save the granddaughter rather than the hat! Right before we reached the summit, the wind was gusting so high we decided to turn around before we lost anything else.

Making stretched pennies at the visitor's center

One last short hike took us to see the "sno" cone and the "spatter" cone. Yes, there was actually snow in the bottom of one of them. The spatter was not nearly as exciting, but the steep trail was pretty brutal for those of us who are hopelessly out of shape.

We all enjoyed dinner at the hotel grill.

Once back in the car, we drove the rest of the way to Twin Falls. We got really nice, spacious rooms for our $69 Hotwire price. The kids came in and we played card games and Monopoly on our bed until it was time to send them off for sleep. We still had big plans before we were heading home.

Idaho Falls Baseball

As you already know, baseball is pretty important at my house. Since Curly started playing games on Memorial Day weekend, we have been at the field a couple of nights a week loving the smell of the dirt and the crack of the bat.

This week we won our two games in Utah, climbed in the car and drove to Idaho Falls where we lost our first two games this morning. Curly hit a massive over-the-fence homerun, but it still wasn't enough to make up for the hometown referees.

We met up with the team after the game at a pizza place for dinner. The pizza was good; the service not so much.

Then the kids took a quick dip in the pool, and I mean quick. After we took this pic, so many kids got in that it just wasn't fun anymore.

So we decided to walk the 2.5-mile trail around the falls and by the temple. It was a huge goal for me and one I was both excited and afraid of. I haven't walked anywhere near that far since long before my foot surgery.

When we were almost back to the motel, we stopped at a railroad car-turned-treat station to buy a Shave Ice. I had never had one before and we were pretty excited for the experience.

It has been a fun and exciting day. We have at least two more games tomorrow and then a couple more days of Idaho before we head back to Utah. Such a nice little vacation!

COVID-19 - Trip to Lagoon

We were so excited last Christmas when we all received season passes to Lagoon! Then COVID-19 happened and we didn't even know for sure if we would be able to use them.

Then Lagoon announced they were opening with lots of restrictions, but they were still opening! We got online, made a reservation for 12:30, and we were off.

For the most part, lines were shorter and overall, there were fewer people in the park.

We had SO much fun! We are already planning another trip for next week.

See you there?!

COVID-19 - Final Awards

Curly's school had great plans for the last day. Students could turn in their chromebooks, pick up their final awards, a yard sign and say goodbye to their teachers all in one quick easy stop. It took less than 5 minutes.

Curly's teacher didn't think that was good enough, so she invited her kids in small groups to come to her home so she could present their awards in person and on her own time frame. 

She insisted on masks and careful social distancing, but this kindness from her has made all the difference. As a 6th grader leaving his elementary school for the last time, Curly finally has some closure.

We are so proud of Curly!! He received every top award available to a 6th grader including Hope of America. I can't imagine anyone more ready for middle school than he is.

Curly and Baby Doll also each earned their Soaring Leader medallion! This was a ton of extra work on their own time. Anyone can earn it, but only 2 kids did in each of their classes. So proud of both of them.

So glad it's finally summer.

Capture the Flag Redux

During the first week or so of March, I was approached by a company about a game that they would like us to try out for them. The designer actually went to our local high school. We had several games to choose from, but Capture the Flag Redux by Starlux Games sounded like something I wanted to share with the kids. After all, it was one of our favorite night games when we were growing up.

Not surprisingly, the rules are very similar to the ones we played, but the big difference is that each player is wearing a light-up wristband it their team's color, so it is much more difficult for people to sneak around. The "flag" is also lit up as are the lines to divide the field.

Because of COVID-19, it took us a couple of months before we could get enough people together to play a good game, but finally, restrictions in Utah were lifted a little and we were able to get a couple of teams.

My kids wanted to start out just using the backyard. I was skeptical since there were very few places to hide in a game like that, but they played anyway. The game went quickly with lots of laughter and bumped heads when two team members ran into each other. After that, we decided to use our entire third of an acre lot to play the game. Each team had control of one of the sideyards and other than running through the house, it was anything goes.

Since I was just watching and taking pictures, I thought Curly could give you his opinion:

I'm Curly. This game was very fun and easy to set up and play. It needs to be played in a big area though or it is not as fun. The glowing pieces are really cool but they die pretty fast, so they probably need better batteries. It is a great game and is easy to take with you and play in the light too. 

When I asked others, both adults and kids, everyone had a great time and was willing to play again at the next family party. I only have two requests... first, we have big people in our family, and some of them couldn't wear the wristbands because they were too small. Second, we have a BIG family, so we would love to see a couple more wristbands of each color in the box.

Can you imagine playing this at a park or a family reunion? That would be truly amazing!!

COVID-19 - American Gothic

I'm pretty sure you are all familiar with this painting. It's called American Gothic and the artist definitely had a sense of humor.

I will spare you all the details, but sometime when you are bored, take a minute and look it up on Wikipedia. 

The reason I am giving you a mini art lesson is because Sport was given an assignment by his English teacher to choose a popular painting and then to recreate it COVID-style.

Guess who he recruited to be his models?

I think this one turned out great, but after 8 weeks of being isolated in our family group, this one is probably more appropriate.