Missoula Children's Theater 2018 Gulliver's Travels in Space

It is MCT time in Powell again. I think at least one of our children has auditioned every year we have been here for the last twenty years.  We have gotten some parts, but not made it more often. This year MaryAnne, Joshua and Lydia auditioned.  MaryAnne was cast as a Yahoo and Lydia got the part of a blue alien.  Poor Joshua was sad that he didn't make it.  It is always hard when you aren't chosen.  I think it is even harder when your siblings and friends are doing it and you aren't.

We did enjoy supporting MaryAnne and Lydia. They had a busy week of practicing each day after school. Lydia practiced until 5:30 and MaryAnne was there until 8:00 each night.  They had a blast.  They really did a great job! Lydia was the 2nd alien. On performance day the lead alien was sick and couldn't perform. Lydia got to step in and do the lines and be the leader.  She did great!

They had two performances on Saturday. It was sad that Neil had to be out of town and didn't get to watch them.

Here are some pictures and videos of their performances on Saturday:

Grateful for big brothers

Having older brothers is a blessing, even if sometimes it is hard to see.  A few weeks ago Lydia wanted to make a tent in the yard to have adventures in.  Dallin came over and worked hard with her to get it set up. I helped them, but Dallin really did a lot of the figuring out and building.  We used a tarp and some sticks lashed together.  It was hard to get it to stay up, but Dallin stayed with it. Lydia had gotten bored with the project and wasn't helping too much anymore. By the time we got it finished the wind had come up. It was a little too cold to stay out and play, but we had a good time working on it together. I am grateful when our children work together and help each other out. It doesn't happen all the time, but it is great when it does. 

Reading the Book of Mormon

The other day when we finished reading the Book of Mormon for family scripture study it was fun to see Aaron flipping through the pages. He looked like he was trying to read The Book of Mormon.  I guess they are never too young to enjoy the Book of Mormon.

Swimming at the Cody Rec Center

Our kids love going swimming. We have a great pool here in Powell and one in Cody. We are blessed that the Cody pool does free days or $5 family days once a month.  It is a great deal for our family so we try and go on those days.  We took the kids over to go swimming on March 10th.  Emma and Bethany stayed home for work and school work. The rest of us had a good time together. The kids love the slide. Aaron loved playing basketball in the pool. David would lift him up so he could make a basket. They did it over and over.  After swimming, we stopped at Albertson's and bought two cartons of ice cream.  We dished it up in the van and enjoyed a treat together.  It was a good time together.

Basketball 2018

Dallin has been playing basketball this winter. He is one of the younger kids on the team this year since it is 5th and 6th graders.  He has the hustle to get in there and play hard. His team doesn't do a lot of passing so he hasn't scored much.  He has gotten a lot of rebounds and jump ball calls.  Right now they have a couple of wins and a couple of losses with two more games to go. I think he has enjoyed playing.

Aaron has loved going to watch him play.  On Tuesday night while we were watching Aaron was playing with a ball. He was trying hard to dribble it and to jump. He decided he was ready to sub in and play with the team. He got really upset when we wouldn't let him go on the court.  It was cute.  Someday, Aaron, someday.

Wax Museum 2018

The third graders at Westside Elementary have the wonderful opportunity to participate in a wax museum. They study someone notable from history and then get to dress up like them and portray them in a wax museum.  We were blessed to have the wax museum just after Julia came home. Joshua was so excited that Julia, Grandpa, and Grandma could go with us to see him.  The kids had to stand still and frozen like a wax figure until someone pushed the button to turn them on. They would share what they had learned about the person they were being and then freeze again. It was a little hard to hear Tisquantum share his speech, but it was fun to support him.  Tisquantum is another name for Squanto. He helped the pilgrims through their long hard first winter. Joshua loved making his teepee and getting his indian costume all together. He was pretty particular about what his clothes should be like.  I thought it was a great project for the kids to do.

Lydia listening to Tisquantum doing his speech

Tisquantum frozen, waiting for someone to push his button

Calvin Opps as George Washington

Sister Waite (a second) is home

Sister Julia Waite came home from the Utah St. George mission on Wednesday, February 7th, 2018.  She flew in at 2:25 in the afternoon. In the morning there were pretty thick clouds and I was worried she might not be able to land in Cody. Prayers were heard and she was able to land. It was a bumpy descent into Cody, but they made it.

Brother Reynolds from our ward was working at the airport when Julia flew in.  He allowed me to go out and watch as the passengers got off.  I took a picture as Julia left the plane and was walking toward the airport. When Julia recognized it was me out there she ran over and gave me a wonderful hug. It was so good to have a Julia hug again.

I let her walk into the airport and see everyone else by herself. I followed behind. They were so excited to see her, especially Emma and Bethany.  It is so good to have the girls together again. They have talked about their missions and I have loved listening to them.

Julia did a great job reporting on her mission today. Grandpa and Grandma Sharp came up to see her and listen to her. Grandma Karan wanted to come, but there was a winter storm and Jim's health isn't too good.

Julia shared experiences of Josh who lived in The Village. He wasn't interested in listening, but he did soften to the sister missionaries. Rula, was someone that touched Julia's heart. She was born Muslim. She told Julia she would never convert, but she did want to learn more about the church. Eight months after Julia knocked on her door Rula was baptized.  She has a strong testimony of the Savior. Rylee was a young woman in Richfield who had to work at repentance to be baptized.  Julia also shared the temple openhouse was an experience of endurance. It was something Julia was looking forward to, but it also took enduring because it was harder than she expected. She saw tender mercies during the temple house, especially seeing Great Grandma Sharp.

Julia did a great job. She did so much growing and stretching on her mission. I love seeing the way our children grow as they serve the Lord.