Stars in Review

On Sunday, Apr. 10th, the Livingstons brought a wonderful gift into our home. Because Doug cannot always get his wheelchair into the places where the children perform their various musical events, the family brought a Family Talent Show to us in our own living room. We waited for the hour with much happy anticipation. I made sure Doug has new batteries in his hearing aids (--earphones, as he says). Following are random photos I have to share. It was an incredibly wonderful, entertaining evening ( camera clicking). A true gift of love. You will notice how happy everyone is -- excited to share their presentations.

Do I have to be first?

Not a bit of fooling around!

Liz is smiling.

Doug is almost smiling.

Grandma is most definitely smiling!

Charlotte Heiner, friend of my niece Lisa Hoffman, stayed after the cousins' dinner earlier this afternoon to enjoy the family concert. (A variation of "Sing for your supper.")

The MC announces the program. Children will perform in order of birth.
Anna plays a scale on the xylophone and sings solfege (do re mi fa so...)

She even knows the hand signals for solfege.

Peter plays "The Haunted Mouse (with a very mysterious eerie ending)

and "Love One Another." He is off to a great start in piano with his teacher

Jared Pierce, who came to the concert with his wife Liberty and two-year-old Noah.

Eliza sings "Puff the Magic Dragon"

accompanied very well by big sister.

She also plays "The Rollercoaster Ride."

Becca plays "Night on the River" and sings "Angel Lullaby."

"Simple Gifts" duet by mom and daughter.

Julia shows off her flute playing, which has really progressed the last six months.

Her selection is "Gavotte."




Wow!! Nate brought his bagpipes-- and his flashy Scottish costume! Get a look at those

great legs! What a hunk.

Takes a lot of hot air. Hmmmm....

Who knew bagpipes would be so loud? Certainly not Noah. Terrified, he thought the world was coming to an end and ran for his mom!

The surprise of the evening! A most

unusual talent!!

Nate gives us a very genuine (and lengthy ) Maori chant called a "haka" which his rugby team yells to paralyze the opposing athletic team with fear. I think it works, judging by the looks of the audience. Peter tries to get in the swing of it, but he is clearly not as proficient yet as his brother, who is totally into it.

Basically, it means, "You don't want to mess with us, guys."

Sarah performs a difficult, very beautiful piece by Handel called "Prelude and Toccata."

What a gift she has developed!

Well, what did you think?

Jared and Liberty Pierce sing the closing song, "How Great Thou Art," arranged by Jared himself for his wife to sing in her beautiful soprano voice. They are both performance majors at BYU. Jared teaches Peter and Eliza piano. They give an impressive rendition of the hymn.

I promptly engage them to perform a musical number for our ward.

Now You See It.... Now You Don't!

I know you might be thinking of Mallory and Lindsay's snowman

(and his tiny dachshund beside him) melting..... and they didn't

last too long. But I am referring to the fence behind them.

Although you can't tell from this photo, the boards were

rotting out at ground level. Both the east and the south sides

were ready to fall over and pull the remaining boards over

like dominoes.

So the decision was made. New fence. Vinyl, so it would last.

And maybe, just maybe, the wasps won't like the vinyl as well

as the knotholes in the redwood.

Here comes the big truck!

They unload the vinyl as Anna watches with curious eyes.

Cool stuff!

Trenches dug, forms set, footings poured

for the posts. How would you like digging

these trenches through the hard rocky earth?

The mounds of rock and dirt have to

be spread around the creek and the sides.

We aren't called Rock Canyon for no reason!

Very hard back-breaking work.

Anna is delighted to be outside again

after long winter months of cold. Her

laughter spills across the spreading lawn.

The fence behind her is now gone.

We have to hire men to cut down a couple trees and shrubs

growing on the other side. I won't miss these ugly sprawling

things.

Ofa digs away.

The yard looks wonderful without a fence--more expansive

and open. We wish we didn't need a fence. But the posts are in.

"Good fences make good neighbors," says someone in Robert

Frost's poem, Mending Fences.

At last the men come to pour the concrete.

Now things will change fast!

The fence at 8 a.m. this morning. It looks gray but is not-- has more tan in it.

Let's hope this one stands up for a LONG time! But I must agree with Robert Frost when he wrote in his poem Mending Fences, "Something there is that doesn't love a fence." I know just what he means!

I Looked Out the Window and What Did I See?

Definitely NOT popcorn! This is what we awakened to last Sunday morning, April 3rd, after a very pleasant outing to Salt Lake on my birthday oly two days before with balmy temperatures in the high sixties.

But that is one of the things about Utah climate: If you don't like it, just wait an hour or a day!

No present use for this equipment.

Our birch tree is beautiful but not in a springy way.

This deck looks too cold for barbecuing.

The snow softened the lines of everything from tree branches,

to bushes and fences, rooflines and broken concrete.

Fortunately,

the snow melted very shortly, leaving a lawn deep green to tease us with hopes of spring!