September 2012

When Fall arrives everywhere else in the country, it just barely begins to dip below the 100 degree mark here.  It's during this time of year where I feel like we'll NEVER cool off, and I really begin to miss the beauty of the Fall in New York.  The silver lining is that this is when the pool cools off from temps in the high 90's to the low 80's--perfect for swimming and cooling off!

AZ: the land of eternal summer.

Alright, September 2012.  What is there to report?  Not as much as usual.  Everyone settled right into the school routine, including me.  Once a week while C-sta attended preschool I spent the morning helping in in Li'l J's and M's classrooms.  The other mornings I would spent getting caught up on things at home and sometimes would even sneak in a craft or two, which of course I LOVE!

One special occasion that J-rod, myself, and our ward choir director prepared for for months finally took place this month.  For the first time ever, I sang a duet in Sacrament Meeting (with our ward choir director).  I'm still not sure what possessed me to say "yes" when she asked me I would, but now I'm glad I did and that I didn't give up when I was struggling to learn the song.  It was a good learning and growth experience for me, and I'm not just talking about the physical learning of piece.  

I've never really had the confidence to do something like that, but after having done it and survived (I was fully expecting for my nerves to take over once I got in front of everyone and that my voice wouldn't work, plus I was sick that week), I think I could do it again. We sang a beautifully arranged "paraphrase of the 23rd Psalm" (as it says on the music) by Henry Smart called simply, "The Lord is My Shepard".  I sang the soprano part and learned that, even after all these far removed years since the basic vocal "training" I was lucky to enough to receive through my middle school and high school choirs, I have a pretty high range.  I went home after Sacrament Meeting because the kids and I were all sick, but J-rod reported that throughout the block of meetings ward members kept coming to him and asking where I was so they could congratulate me.  One sister that has PERFECT pitch (our Primary chorister) even told him I should be singing in the opera--wow! What a nice compliment! I'm very grateful that J-rod worked so hard with me at home to prepare for it and that we could perform together.

Early on in the month M got his first rank advancement in Scouts so we got to attended our first Court of Honor.  A few weeks later he and all the Scouts in our ward (and two other wards) got to spend a Saturday out at the power plant that J-rod and a few other Scout leaders work at, learning all about how it works in order to earn there Nuclear Engineering Merit Badge--it was such a neat experience for them!

Such good YM!

While out hiking with some friends one weekend, Li'l J lost another tooth and now looks like a cute Jack-O-Lantern, just in time for Halloween. : )  

Probably the biggest news is that towards the end of the month, C-sta and I had our hair chopped off!  C-sta had been begging since June to have her hair cut to her shoulders.  We kept asking her to wait until I cut mine in November for my biennial cut for donation.  C-sta just couldn't wait that much longer! Then I found out that with highlights I wouldn't be able to donate my hair until the highlights had grown out, so we made it happen in September.  Even though the cut had to be above C-sta's shoulders to get the required 10 inches for donation, it looked absolutely darling on her and we were all very happy with it.  It sure makes her look so grown up though, I guess that isn't too bad since she has been acting grown up for quite some time now. : )  

Before: Just like Rapunzel.

During: Excited, but a little nervous too!

After: We LOVE it!