Issue 143

LTUE by Whitney

This weekend I got to go to a three day long writers conference at BYU. IT WAS AMAZING!!! It is called LTUE (Life the Universe and Everything) and is an annual sci-fi and fantasy writers conference. My Aunt Bree was speaking at some of the workshops and it was fun to be able to see her speak at diffrent author panels. All the classes are on different subjects from "Do I need an agent?" to "Writing fractured fairy tales," and they are all taught by published authors. I was able to attend all three days and was with my writer friends for all of it. It was an amazing experience that has been an epic learning opprotunity for me, and I cant wait to start applying it in my life. My writing friend Julie and I both made a mutual goal to be two of the published authors on the panels next year. No, I'm not crazy, we are both fully aware of the actual reasonable amount of time it will take for us to get published (several years) but it's going to be a nice, spurring, "shoot for the moon and you'll land among the stars" kind of goal. I'm excited to keep writing and I'm nearly finished with my first manuscript. I can't wait to start writing my second one and apply everything I've learned in my first one to my second.

Issue 142

A Visit to the State Legislature by Steve L.

We took a trip to the State Capitol to see the State Legislature in session. Even though we didn't get to see that much of it, (about 30 minutes) it was pretty cool. They were talking about horse and burro rights and something about purified water. Then we ate lunch. The food was good. After that we got to take a tour of the capitol. (It's huge!) It was interesting to see the place where all of our State's laws are made.

Issue 141

An issue, in which I can't think of anything to blog about. Not that nothing happened. Steve was out of town, my very pregnant sister was in an accident on I-15 (after a night in the hospital, everything turned out ok) and my other sister moved so we got to play with lots of cousins, trying to help out. Hoping for a less eventful week with more pictures!

Issue 140

Playing the Taxes Card

Just snuggling into bed when I remembered with a start, "The Blog!" I'll have to blame my almost-oversight on the mind numbing process of preparing our taxes. Steve got the bug tonight (easy to get when your getting money back!) and we are just about done.

Other things of note that happened this week:

I got to teach an art lesson in Ellie's Kindergarten class. What fun!

I got to paint with my own art students this week. Messy paint makes me happy!

We had the awesome opportunity to hear Steve's dad give an impressive speech, to important people, in a large venue, that was also on radio and TV! Our Idaho relatives came down for the event and we all went out to lunch after to celebrate the occasion and Grandpa's Birthday. We are so proud of the amazing job he did.

Issue 139

BYU MOA

Monday was a holiday, so we took the kids to see the Carl Bloch exhibit at the BYU Museum of art. They had many of his alter pieces from Europe and many of his etchings as well as some non-religious pieces. It was wonderful to see such masterful, original pieces, up close and in person. A trip to the creamery for ice cream after the museum topped it off just right!

Take 6 by Whitney

This last week we got to go see "Take 6" perform at the University of Utah. It was amazing! I wasn't sure what to expect because my dad had just told me about them earlier that day when he dropped me off for school. Turns out that they are and African American singing group that specializes in accapella. I had never heard of them before but they were excellent singers. They had a base a tenor, two high tenors, a beat box type and an alto. They sang about a dozen different songs ranging from pop to gospel. It was an excellent experience to be able to hear that type of southern culture that I'm rarely exposed to here in the west. I personally can't wait to hear them again via itunes!

Issue 138

Eagle Application vs Packet Submission

What does it take to get an application for your Eagle Scout award submitted? Countless hours of work and an explorers spirit. When Steve L and Noreen went to turn in the packet at the local scout office, they found out that they needed to also complete an application summarizing Steve L's total trail to the Eagle. This required reviewing his records to complete the application that tracked his progress through the scouting ranks to get to the point that he could even submit this application. Did you know that the number of all scouts that begin the program and advance all the way to achieving their eagle award is less than 5%? Yes, it takes a lot of work and determination, and a loving mother to make it happen. Dad has helped a bit too. Congratulations Steve L and we look forward to your eagle board of review and eagle court of honor. Good luck completing these final steps!

-Dad

Issue 137

A Name for Kitty

(His favorite resting spot. We bought him a nice bed, go figure.)

After a couple weeks without a name, we finally held a vote. The official results are in and our cat's name is now:

Cosmo Triage Bacon Kitty

Cosmo, because he acts like a little cougar and our favorite cougar is of course Cosmo, the BYU mascot. Triage, because he has white legs look like he's wearing bandages. Bacon, because Steve L. loves all things bacon, and Kitty because he's been answering to Kitty since we adopted him.

You see now why he's been Kitty for so long? Instead of consensus we have a really long name!

Issue 136