Just Give That Boy a Microphone . . .

Zach gave his first talk today in Primary. It's hard to believe that he's a Sunbeam let alone now giving talks. There were two other Sunbeams before him who were to give the opening prayer/Article of Faith practice and a scripture. Neither one was up to doing it, it was just too scary. So their moms did it for them. Then there is my Zach. He went right up there and had no problem talking into the microphone. In fact, he was being quite loud and was practically eating it (not that I haven't seen that before). I actually felt like the only reason he needed me there was because he couldn't read his talk and needed someone to tell him what to say.
Now I have a theory as to why Zach has no fear for talking in Primary into a microphone. First of all, for quite a few months now he's been talking into pretend microphones with Grandma Carmack. Next, Grandma Judy and Grandpa Bob just got the Wii game Rock Band. Those of you who aren't familiar with it (which I have to admit I wasn't until I saw it in action), you can play drums, guitar, and even sing with it (and it has a microphone). Zach absolutely loves playing with it and will sit there and try to sing along with the songs. He's even been singing some of the songs from the game around the house, which includes Bon Jovi's "Livin' on a Prayer," Jimmy Eat World's "The Middle," and Michael Jackson's "Beat It" (of course this one is coming out as "Eat It" when Zach sings it, so maybe I should give the credit to Weird Al Yankovic). We sure get a kick out of that, it is so cute.
Zach is certainly a character and we just love how he is so into these things. He is definitely a really fun kid.

My Boys' New Haircuts

I thought I'd share some pictures of my "boys" with their new haircuts. They got some very short buzz cuts in support of Brad's mom who is going through chemotherapy for breast cancer. It was funny because although I knew they were planning on doing it, it was a surprise to have the come home with them done (I had stayed home with Sarah who may or may not have a cold, so not a good idea to visit family with possible germs). Thanks to my sister-in-law Kristi who always does a great job with our haircuts. I think they both look great and I'm glad they did it.

Zach

Brad

Hogle Zoo's Zoo Lights

We decided to brave the cold and go to Hogle Zoo's Zoo Lights last night. I have to admit that I wasn't overly thrilled to go out into the cold, but I was curious to see what they had done up there. So we bundled the whole family up and off we went. It was a lot of fun and the decorations were so fun. They had a lot of animal ones and a lot of traditional ones with Santa and such. Brad took a lot of pictures and I'm adding a couple here to hopefully give you a taste of how cool it was. What was fun about the lights is that they made it look like they were animated. One of my favorites made it look like a bear was chasing a skunk, only to get sprayed. They were really well done. The zoo also had heaters set up at different points in the zoo, so that helped along the way. The one thing is you didn't really see any real animals. We say the tiger and that was about it (the reptile house was open, but we didn't want to unload the kids to go in).
We put the kids in Zach's wagon and piled blankets on them. They seemed to do really well in the cold. Zach got really into the lights too. Both of the kid's face just beamed at times as they looked at things. Of course, Brad and I were enjoying ourselves too. I had stopped and bought a fried smore and hot chocolate. The fried smore is good, but I would have enjoyed it better under different circumstanced (out of the cold). The hot chocolate was a lot of fun because I bought it in a mug that lights up, looking like the lights are circling around it. We all had a lot of fun with that. Plus the hot chocolate helped a lot while staying out in the cold.

We had a lot of fun and I would really encourage anyone who wants to go see some really beautiful lights with a cool theme to go up there. I know they are doing it though the end of the month at least. Just make sure to really bundle up, I won't mislead you there. It was really cold up there. And I recommend getting the hot chocolate, it did help to stay warm. I know, we are some zoo freaks at this house, but we all love going there. This just made it all the funner to go.

Things That Make Your Day

I was having a couple of weeks where things were frustrating me. I'm not saying they were valid frustrations, but that is what was happening. Frustration seems to me to be something that will bring you down. I was lucky in that something came along yesterday that totally made my day. I had a friend from long ago contact me through Facebook. Nina used to live across the street from me and in the summer of 1986 I would say our group of friends were inseparable. We had a lot of fun. Nina moved while we were in junior high and I only have seen her once since then and that was a little less than 15 years ago. I was actually thinking of Nina just a couple of days ago when something sparked a memory from that time. I tried to look her up on Facebook when I joined a couple of months ago, along with any other long lost friends I could think of. I was so thrilled that she joined and looked for me too. We had a good email conversation yesterday and it really made my day. I know I probably look too much in the past in my life, maybe that's the part of me that loves history too. But something I tend to regret is that I've never been good at staying in contact with my friends. I'm not the type to make a lot of friends, but the friends I do make I consider to be very good friends. I don't know why, if these friendships are so important to me, that I allow them to slip away over time. Maybe we're all like that, I guess my friends have let me slip away too. At least I've been given a chance at redemption. Now if only all of my other friends from eras past would sign up on Facebook.

Here's a picture of the group, minus me (I'm taking the picture).

Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow

I know most of you already know this, but I cut my hair again. I'm pretty lazy about hair cuts and eventually my hair is long again. Not too long, but long enough I think about a hair cut. But if I'm patient and wait a few months more, I know I'll have enough to donate it. So, this is the third time I've done it. It is so much fun because it is such a dramatic change, not just the taking of a few inches off. It takes 10 inches to donate and while I never really know how long it is (I never measure), I know it's at least that. Plus, I love the thought that something so simple to me as my hair can help a child who is in need because of cancer or whatever. My sister-in-law Kristi introduced me to Locks of Love, an organization that helps provide wigs to children in need, due to cancer treatments or other medical conditions. They either will use your hair to make wigs or sell it to offset any costs. It makes me feel really good that something that comes so easy to me with growing my hair can do something for others.

Dancing Monkeys

I was having a weekend where everything was driving me crazy. I was trying so hard to keep it under control, but I felt like I was heading towards a nervous breakdown. Just one of those things. I had the best thing happen to me though . . . a good laugh. We were driving to visit family Sunday evening and stopped at a stoplight next to a giant electronic sign. One of those full color ones with all the animation. A couple of fully feathered, beautiful turkeys pop up and I get Zach to look at it - "Zach, look at the turkeys!" He looks just as the sign changes to line of about five or so "dead" turkeys - you know, just how they look cooked. Plus, they are dancing. I'm thinking "Oh no, how am I going to explain this one to Zach?" Bless his heart, Zach says "Look, dancing monkeys." I know it wasn't that funny, but I couldn't stop laughing for a good couple of minutes. I'd just have to say "dancing monkeys" to get myself laughing again. I think Brad was considering committing me though at one point. Oh, but it was the best medicine for a cranky weekend.

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