Election '08

We have spent a lot of time this week listening to speeches and to reaction to speeches on talk radio.  We have really been impressed with Sarah Palin as McCain's choice for VP candidate.  First of all, she is from Alaska and you know Ryan immediately loves any connection to his favorite place in the world.  While a Republican, she seems to be first a conservative, and will stand up to the Republican establishment when she needs to.  She has a great grasp on energy policy, which will be a huge issue in the next administration, because Alaska has so many energy resources.  She is the most connected to the real American experience of anyone in the election, or of any recent elections.   She is pro-life and pro-family and believes in less government involvement in our day to day lives.  She has really added some life and energy to McCain's campaign, and has reassured the conservative base that they are being represented.  We also followed the Democratic convention, and I just can't get excited about Obama.  While he is all for change, which would be a good thing, I'm not sure higher taxes and more government programs will solve any of our current problems.  It will be an interesting couple of months.  

John Adams

Our neighborhood book club voted to read David McCullough's biography, John Adams, over the summer.  While by no means a quick or light read, I have really enjoyed this book.  There are no monuments to him, like Washington and Jefferson, who were the President's before and after Adams, but he was one of the most dedicated statesmen of his time.   He was truly committed to the cause of American independence and endured considerable personal hardship in the name of liberty.  I was particularly struck by "The more things change, the more they stay the same"  as I read of the divisions within the country regarding socio-political issues, such as slavery.  We have different issues these days, but the same divisions remain.  Also regarding the role of the media in the political scene-has journalism ever really been unbiased.  It seems from the time of print, newspapers and pamphlets have been published more of a means of furthering one cause or another as opposed to just sharing facts.  The argument continues:  What is the role of government?  What do we as people expect from our government?  Then, as now, we see those who would like to have a larger, central government with more authority, and also those who believe the government should be more minimalist and allow for more individual choices.  One thing that really impressed me about Adams was his absolute integrity.  He always acted consistently with his beliefs, which we do not always find in politicians, then or now.  The book also gives a good view of Abigail, who was an amazing woman in her own right.   She endured years of separation and managed the household without her husband for a good portion of their married life.  Very impressive.  (Another good book I read a few years ago relating to this time period is Founding Mothers, by Cokie Roberts.)  Highly recommended reading for anyone who would like a glimpse into one of our nation's first and dearest champions and the Revolutionary time period.     

Milestones

The Charter school and preschool started this week, so 4 of the girls are back in school. This afternoon as they were gone I was so enjoying the quiet that I hardly knew what to do with my time. I always get a bit choked up the first day of school, even the 9th time around. It's one of those markers of time passing, and a reminder that life won't always be the same as it is right now, for better or for worse. And even on the hard days I know there will come a day when I'll miss all the chaos at least a little bit. Anyway, the girls were pretty excited to get back in class. Anya has good friends in her preschool class, and it's right here in the neighborhood, so it's really convenient for me. Sierra has all of her favorite friends in her class this year, and an awesome teacher, Mrs. Brooks. Emma seems to like her teacher, Mrs. Swanson, so far and she hasn't had homework yet, so that has eased her transition. Lexi is in the middle school, so she gets a locker and changes classes and everything. Next week she starts at the Treasure Valley Math and Science Center, which is a regional program for more advanced math and science classes, which will be a great experience for her. Christa starts next week as well, continuing at the Math and Science Center and then at Riverglen JHS for the rest of the day. I'll have an official Junior High student-Yikes!   

Other recent milestones:  Paisley's 3rd tooth broke through, and #4 should be there any day. She is crawling all over the place and sitting herself up really well, eating baby food, and will not hold still for diaper changes.  Anya has mastered keeping herself dry at night and earned a Toucan Webkinz for her efforts.  Sierra lost another bottom tooth, that makes 6 baby teeth gone.   Emma had her first stitches this very evening.  She cut the bottom of her foot on the lid from a can that was in a garbage bag that was waiting by the door to go out to the garbage can.  She stepped on the corner of the bag just wrong and the lid sliced right into her poor foot.  She screamed and cried, but we just laid her down on the rug in the foyer and Ryan stitched her up right there.  Many thanks to my dear neighbor, Tina who happened to have come up to get something from our house right before it happened, and who took the three younger girls down the street to play for a few minutes while we took care of Emma.  

Twin Falls Temple

On Thursday afternoon we all piled in the suburban and headed over to Twin Falls to catch the temple open house. It is such a great opportunity for the girls to be in the temple and feel the Spirit there. Anya said, "Does the Holy Ghost live in the temple?" I was impressed that she would recognize that feeling and make that connection herself. It's a beautiful building and in many ways reminds me of the St. Paul temple, which was built when we were living in Minnesota and we were involved in the open house and dedication of that building. I was sure to point out the Bride's dressing room to the girls and remind them that when they are married, the temple is where they want to be. It's neat to see how they tie in the location with the building--the syringa throughout the glass, the mural of south central Idaho landmarks, and the waterfalls used in the landscaping. Next week we will be able to take some of the girls to the dedication broadcast.

Joshua Bell

Yesterday we (Kelli, Ryan, Christa, Lexi, Paisley and my sister Cindy) took a quick trip over to Sun Valley for the final concert of the Sun Valley Summer Symphony featuring one of the world's most amazing violinists, Joshua Bell. We were so fortunate to end up seated in the 5th row with a fantastic view. Of course he sounds incredible. It was also mesmerizing to watch him play, completely absorbed in the music. After the concert, he was signing autographs, so we were able to shake his hand and he signed CDs for the girls. He seemed like such a genuinely nice person, just a regular sort of guy who just happens to play the violin better than almost anyone else on earth. Very memorable experience.
Links to check out: www.svsummersymphony.org and www. joshuabell.com

Meet Kit

Anya is currently obsessed with Kit Kittredge, the American Girl. I think it started with a mini Kit doll that a friend had. Anya was at her house and played with it about 4 months ago. She has talked about Kit ever since. One day she went around the house calling all the girls to a family meeting in the front room. When everyone was there, Anya said, "Now, let's have a family talk. We need to talk about American Girls. I really love Kit . . . ." When the Kit movie came out, of course we went to see it with all the girls, which just added fuel to the fire. We tried to get her interested in one of the other dolls--there's a cute one named Elizabeth Cole (Elizabeth is Anya's middle name so it would have been perfect), but she doesn't like Elizabeth, only Kit. The only thing she wants for her birthday next month is a Kit doll. A couple of weeks ago she decided she wanted her hair cut and every day she asked, "When can I get my hair cut like Kit's?" So I acquiesced on that point, too. I thought Ryan was going to cry when she came home, but it's cute.

Welcome back to TV

After not having TV for about 2 years, we decided that we wanted to be able to watch the Olympics, and various other programming that Ryan misses. There were two unsuccessful attempts at installation, but finally today they got it hooked up. My main stipulation with the re-installation was that we have a DVR so that we can see the shows we want without having to watch them right when they are airing. (I never was very good at recording shows and playing back with the old VCR method.) This way we can still keep rules like not having TV on school nights, but still watch some shows we want to see on the weekends, or after the kids are in bed. Also, I like the idea that we can fast forward through commercials. I hate it when we are watching a good program, or sports, or whatever, but then some trashy commercial comes on unexpectedly. The DVR seems pretty easy to use, so I think this will be a good solution. Yeah for the Olympics!