Differences Highlight Our Similarities

 I received an e-mail from an old friend--Courtney's California piano teacher--sharing an opportunity to watch a virtual concert benefitting the community theater she started in 2005, 

"The Jewish Women's Repertory Company."  

They've performed some amazing musicals!

I always admired Margy and her talent, but we were permanently bonded as she's the one who arrived at our home at 7:00 a.m. on September 11, 2001 for Courtney's lesson, telling us of the attack she'd just heard about on her car radio. While she taught Courtney, I watched the news, keeping her updated when the towers fell. We say hi on Facebook every Sept. 11 and remember.

I love musical theater, so was excited to learn more about her venture.
Primarily, though, I wondered why the Orthodox Jewish community "needed" an all women cast and even more curious, only women in the audience. 

I researched and learned that Orthodox Jews believe men can't hear women sing. 

We had the following fun exchange -- it seems to me that learning we all have differences in culture, community, religion makes us seem more alike.

If you want to watch and/or donate, follow the link above. 

Performances are March 5 and 6.

Margy,

This is so cool! I didn’t know you’d started such an amazing opportunity for Jewish women! I LOVE musical theater.

If you’re ever in Utah, (aside from visiting me!) you’ll have to visit Hale Center Theater. It was started by a family as community theater years ago and has grown to be a premier theater experience in our area. It’s so wonderful you’re doing something so awesome!  I just donated $100 and look forward to watching the event and YOU!

I enjoyed getting online and learning more about why a women’s theater was needed for Orthodox Jewish women.

I’m not sure if you remember, but I’m religious too. Its so easy to look at “rules” that other people adhere by and think they sound strange. Or even besmirch their affiliation for what we don’t understand. But I suspect you’re like me, my religion and faith is important to me. I know it doesn’t always make sense to people who only hear one aspect that seems different, but when you’ve studied or experienced the goodness of God, you know and I know, that following these rules/laws/commandments/recommendations actually bless us in a myriad of ways! 

Congratulations on such a successful venture that brings joy to so many people! You are so talented! I’m glad we’re still in touch!

Much love,

Angela

Hi Angela! 

Thank you SOOOO much for your donation!! I didn't know you were such a huge fan of musical theater like me. If I ever get to Utah, I will definitely visit the Hale Center, which sounds amazing. (Of course, that would be AFTER I visited you.  😄)

I had forgotten that you're religious but of course once you mentioned it I remembered. And I completely relate to being a part of a group that has rules that others find strange!! Sometimes I look around my synagogue (pre-Covid, of course!) and think about how much people would laugh at some of our rituals if they just walked in off the street. But I love our traditions, and I'm sure that you do, too! 

I also love that we're still in touch, and I'm SO excited that you're going to watch our show. If there's one benefit to this pandemic, it's that we're doing everything online this year and friends who live out of town can still watch!

- Margy

Vulnerable

 I got a text on Friday from someone in my new Writer's Group.

It began, "Hi my friend. I just wanted you to know I loved your book."

We're starting a writer's group together and we gave feedback to each other in last term's class,

but I've only seen her in person once (via Zoom), and yet, she called me "friend."

It was really beautiful to me.

Especially because I was feeling very vulnerable after reading my teacher's critique on my submission.

Her feedback started, "This is really pretty horrible and very sad." 😬

I know she was referring to the inciting incident and tragic events that begin my story,

but let's just say, it also summed up her feedback -- her "overarching comments."

To both of our credit, later, when I was ready to peek,

and take the time to go over her line edits, it didn't feel quite as negative -- 

it was more specific for what I needed to fix. And I only had two inadvertent POV shifts,

which is actually a huge improvement for me!

But, I wished she shared something she actually liked.

My friend's comments weren't very positive either. And its so good! So good!

Sigh.

While I've been marinating in feelings of disappointment, embarrassment, discouragement and failure, I'm also trying to find the courage to turn my face up and see what I can learn:

Being vulnerable is scary. And when you get negative feedback, it hurts.

But no one becomes good at something overnight. 

Constructive criticism is exactly why I'm signed up for a class. It's the only way to learn from a professional who can point out what I'm doing wrong and what I need to do differently. 

This is exactly what I was hoping for.

That's how I learned I was bad at holding the POV in Novel 1. 

I've still got to work on it, but I'm improving! 

Yes, she's right, I do want to eliminate "to be" verbs 

and exchange them with more visually active words.

The best part of being in a class is you can't quit.

Even though my first reaction was to close my computer, stop reading the feedback,

and take a break for a few years until the embarrassment eased,

quitting isn't really what I want. So having a class with a Wednesday deadline,

 another submission due in three weeks, and a third the week after that, makes me realize

I've got to pick myself up and get back to work. 

"Put my skis back on and get down the hill,"

to use a metaphor of something else I'm doing that I'd really like to quit!

What helps the most when you're feeling discouraged and crappy and you need to get over it?

Receiving a supportive text that starts, "Hi my friend." 

And that might be my favorite takeaway of this whole experience.

Adventuring

 Desolation Overlook hike with my friend, Amelia, who hasn't hiked in the winter before! 

Some neighbor kids were out on an adventure today too!

From my bathroom window, I saw four boys holding skateboards walking through the neighbors lot over to our skate ramp. The ramp is covered, so we were curious what they would do.

They didn't uncover it, they just ran up and down it and looked like they were having a blast.

Twenty minutes later they were still playing. Dan yelled out to them that they could uncover if they recovered when they were done.

They were so excited! 

(They didn't remember to recover it when they left, of course. They're kids.)

It was so fun to imagine how exciting it must have been to gather their friends and tell them about a skate ramp in the woods. To crawl through an opening in the fence and walk through an empty lot and the woods next to the river and find it! I hope they come back.

Date Night at the Jazz game tonight. 

So luxurious to not have anyone in front of you or beside your or climbing over you! 

Jazz killed the Maveriks so that was awesome too! 

Powder Day

Tons of snow in the mountains this week (not so much in the valley -- a weird drought year).

Dan drove with Heidi and I up to Alta for our class, and we arrived a little early.

It was snowing hard when it was time for us to get our boots on,

soooo.... we just sat inside the back and got ready!

I'm pretty impressed that both of us were flexible like that! 

Here is our fun group LAST week in the sun.

This week was very stressful for me because it was my first time EVER skiing in powder.

Because usually I avoid it. 

We did hard stuff and I followed and was fine. Physically fine.

But it was hard. Mentally hard.

I fell a few times and it was soft, which was great.

One time I even ejected and couldn't find my ski ANYWHERE. It vanished!

Fortunately one of my classmates was behind me so she stopped and searched with me

(and called our classmates down the hill to let them know why we were taking so long.)

We swiped our poles through the powder at least 18" deep.

The snow was blue, like up on the Alaska glaciers, and it kinda freaked me out.

I felt like we were searching for an avalanche victim...

because that's where my imagination always takes me... the worst case scenario. Ugh.

I was on the phone with Dan and my friend on the phone with our instructor and at the same time

they both said, "It's always higher than you think." 

And I tried about two feet higher up the hill and BAM, found it. 

By the end of our classtime, 12:30, I was physically, mentally and emotionally EXHAUSTED.

And when I our instructor said she was taking us on one more run, I said I was done so would part from them and head to my car. But she said she wasn't challenging us anymore, she was going to take us down a blue and get us closer to our cars (no hiking). That made sense and so I followed. 

But that's how tired I was. Enough that I said so! Ha! 

The best part of after ski class is coming home and taking a LONG hot shower, putting on sweats and relaxing the rest of the evening!

Write or Die Friends

 I turned in my first submission today for Novel 3.
18 pages. 

I'm looking forward to feedback from my nine classmates and the teacher with their suggestions of what's confusing, what needs more detail and if I've successfully created tension and emotion.

I'll be getting feedback over the next week.

Also, we had our first "Write or Die" writer's group meeting tonight.

Four new friends from Novel 2 whose feedback was especially helpful.

(I also really liked their stories!)

It was fun to meet via Zoom tonight and set up a structure for our group.

Once a month we'll submit five pages for review and discussion.

We meet every other week for an hour, so we'll discuss two people at a time.

We're committed to our time and place, so I'll need to check in on vacation, 

but with Zoom, that's not hard at all!

(I loved waking up with no other obligations today, being able to sit on the couch and dig in to my submission all day. I had to take breaks from time-to-time to clear my head.

But I loved it!

Hearts

 Today Clara was telling me about the rod in her arm.

I asked if she remembered the accident that caused her to break it.

Rubbing her arm, then pointing to her nose she said, 

"Oh, I've broken my arm several times.

I've also had a broken nose.

And a broken heart," 

she said, touching her chest.

"Of all the breaks, the broken heart was the worst pain of all."

Hand me a Kleenex!

Speaking of hearts, Nick has been asked to two different Sweethearts dances!

Since the schools can't actually sponsor dances,

kids ask "to the dance," get dressed up as they usually would,

 and have a group activity like they usually would.

Just no dance.

And speaking of pain, I have a mouth sore inside my gum. 

The kind that's swollen so you accidentally chomp on it when you're trying to chew.

And it KILLS!

So I made my mom's mung bean and cabbage soup for dinner and blended mine. Delicious!

(recipe follows)

Also made her chocolate coconut water/chia/hemp/date shake for a snack,

Would you believe its actually healthy and no sugar?

It is so delicious, it was kinda scary. Because you don't entirely trust that its healthy!

(I sweetened with dates. So yummy, but higher in carbs. Will try Stevia next time.)

(see recipe below)

Marvelous Mungs

Sprouted Mung Bean Cabbage Soup

* Soak 1/3 cup mung beans and sprout about 3 days

* 2 onions sliced sauté in butter until transparent 

* 3-5 cloves garlic chopped add to onions and heat for 30 seconds 

* 1 teaspoon each cumin, paprika, ancho chili powder, or whatever sounds good and add to onions. Jalapeños might be nice or just the juice of jalapeños maybe nice too.

* 1 head of green cabbage sliced and added to onions and stir in

* 1 32 ounce box of chicken or vegetable broth or bouillon powder with water added to mixture (32 oz didn't entirely cover the vegetables, but turned out just fine.)

* Add mung bean sprouts and carrots sliced (I used 6 -- didn't peel).

This soup is very tasty, very nutritious and very low calorie.  You can serve with fresh lemon to squeeze over soup, butter to melt into soup, fresh parsley, cilantro or whatever to add that sounds good. Or eat the soup as is. It is all really great and fun!

Extraordinarily surprising delicious milkshake

* 1/4 up to 1/2 cup organic chia seeds or less

* 1/4 up to 1/2 cup organic hemp seeds or less

* 8-10 organic dates pitted or stevia or other sweetener like honey or agave or....

* 1 teaspoon Mexican vanilla that Rebekah brought or other quality vanilla 

* 1/8 stick St. Lucia chocolate that Michelle brought or other unsweetened chocolate to taste

(I used 3 T cocoa mojo powder)

* 2 scoops collagen peptides grass fed

* I added 1 T cinnamon! (Don't forget the vanilla -- I did at first, and its not the same!)

* 2 cups Harmless Harvest coconut water or water

* 1-2 cups ice

* OR, instead of chocolate, 1-2 cups frozen berries or any frozen fruit like pineapple or mango or blueberry or a mixture or ....

This is really is amazing! You must try it.  It is a wow! Add walnuts or pecans if desired.

Also you can use only Chia or only hemp or sesame seeds or flax seeds. Each has different nutrients and different tastes.

Connection

It was Jared' 46th birthday!

We went to the Winger's last night for dinner. Michelle and 

Brent came to town again for Morgan's Senior night. (How have these four years gone so fast! I remember when she'd bring the dive team over after practices at the U for dinner and to sleepover when they were just Freshmen!)

It's been soooo long since we've been able to spend time with the Winger's. Marty and Lizzie came, Morgan and Chase and also Elise. Nick loved hanging out with Miles -- he drove us down in his car so he could show it to Miles, and Miles showed Nick all the work he's been doing on his car. 

We haven't really talked to Elise since she came home from her mission in September (we welcomed her home that night and went to her homecoming in her yard the following Sunday, but she had lots of other people to talk to.) We figured out she and Marty probably hadn't talked since before Marty left on his mission!
It was so fun being together. I miss my sisters!



Today Dan and I met Brad Jones for lunch. He was Dan's mission companion who married my best friend, at BYU, Randi. Randi died in 2003 and Brad remarried Jenne. He's been writing a book on leadership about his experiences in the Army, and as a result, also needed to write about Randi and her death. Revisiting the details and the trauma of her death for their family opened him up to taking down boxes and going through her things. He wanted to share them with special people in her life, which prompted him to call and make a plan for lunch. We always love getting together with Brad. He's the type of guy that friendships matter. He remembers the names and places and details of everyone and finds joy in making connections. He's had rich life experiences which makes him fun and interesting to spend time with. Dan only had an hour for lunch, but then did his phone meetings in the car while Brad and I visited for another hour and a half! 

I'm grateful I've already had Covid so I can feel more comfortable taking time for connection. The Fornelius' last week, Sisters yesterday and Brad today. I've loved reconnecting with old friends.

A Marvelous Work

 Yesterday on my walk/hike, I listened to two Don't Miss This podcasts and an All In. 

(I love my walk and podcast time!)

When Martin Harris loses the 116 pages, the Lord describes him to Joseph as a wicked man (Section 3:12). A year later when Martin comes back to Joseph and wants MORE proof and BETTER proof (not just 116 of translated pages, but he wants to see the actual plates), I would have been wary. But I love that the Lord knows his heart. Instead of giving him a lecture telling him he should have learned his lesson the first time and don't ever ask for things again, the Lord responds that yes, if he humbles himself, he can be a witness. 

I love that the Lord knew Martin's heart. He knows our hearts. He knows when we're sincere. He doesn't hold our past mistakes against us. He wants us to come back to him and ask for things, even if we weren't good stewards of the blessings we received before. He also doesn't hold back in giving us warnings. He knows our shortcomings. God wants us to succeed, not to be overcome by our weaknesses. Martin struggled with humility. Without God's reminder to be humble, he could have talked himself into believing it didn't matter and not taken his covenant so testify so seriously.

Another doctrine I love is, God's work and His glory is to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. He calls it a marvelous work. WE are His marvelous work. Weave that together with His promise in Section 3:1, that "The works, and the designs, and the purposes of God cannot be frustrated, neither can they come to naught." That sounds to me like our salvation cannot be frustrated. 

God will keep finding us wherever we are. 

But he wants us to turn to him -- through prayer, pondering and scriptures -- 

so he can help us in all of the questions, concerns, worries and help that we need.

We have our free agency. But life's challenges can be eased when we ask the Lord for guidance and inspiration. I've experienced it So. Many. Times.

I read this in the Liahona last week and have loved the reminder to stay on my knees a little longer to hear the voice of the Lord. I don't really do that so well, but I do think I listen pretty well throughout my prayer. I'm pretty good about not just saying the same thing every day, but wanting to actually THINK about what I'm praying for. And through that thinking, I'm pondering and listening. 

(I can totally still recite my prayer from early years throughout... high school?! 

It may not have been original, but it covered the bases...

"Please bless Mom, Dad, Me, Michelle, Michael, Sheree, Rebekah, Rachel, and all those near and dear to us, wherever they might be..." said as fast as possible!)

"Drawing near to the Lord brings comfort and encouragement, hope, and healing. 

So, we pray in His name about our worries and our weaknesses, 

our longings and our loved ones, our callings and our questions."

Then we listen.

If we will stay on our knees for a while after we finish our prayer, 

thoughts, feelings, and direction will come into our mind. 

Recording those impressions will help us remember what

 actions the Lord would have us take."

"We may need to be patient, 

but God will speak to us in His own way and in His own time.

I encourage you to take the necessary steps to hear the 

Lord better and more often so that you can receive

 the enlightenment He wants to give you."

--President Russell M. Nelson

Some Snow

 We didn't get any snow at our house even though it was predicted in the forecast.

But on the other side of Wasatch Blvd, just two miles from our home, there was a lot!

Instead of dealing with fresh snow and mud hiking today, I decided to walk up the steep streets.

I ended up doing 8 miles round trip.

And on my way back down, I ran into Duncan!! He was running up the hills!!!

There's just something really exciting about running into a familiar face far from home.

(If you're walking, Oakridge Elementary is far from home!)

Meanwhile, Dan and Nick took advantage of 12 inches of new powder at Deer Valley!

(Alta parking lot was full by 6:30 a.m.!)

Getting Out

I finally had a long stretch of time to work on my homework today.
(Have I mentioned I'm taking Novel 3 this term?)
We have three 18 page submissions over the next 10 weeks, 

and also give a couple pages of feedback on other people's submissions each week.

By the afternoon, after re-listening to my interview with my friend, Mary, (who is a Life Flight nurse) all about rescues and drownings, how they call a death and what happens next), 

I was ready to get out of the house and have some time with Dan.

We got pedicures (my heels have been DYING),

(my first time to Kami's -- best massage chairs ever!)
then got neck and foot massages at New Oriental Massage.

New Oriental Massage changed ownership during Covid. I'm not sure I like it quite as much.
The lady working on Dan took two phone calls and made a call during the treatment!
Plus they hardly worked on my neck and that was what I was really hoping for.
(But I love staying clothed for a "quick" massage and scheduling it an hour before!)

Then we went to Habit Burger.

With Nick the only one home and him being old enough that we aren't "needing" a night out -- 

away from our kids,

and with Covid putting a crimp in any social activities,

it's easy for Dan and I to just hang out at home and not do anything special.

But I think we need to be better about that. 

It's good to do stuff.

Even if its go on a drive or listen to a podcast together on a drive.

Or go to Habit Burger.

Sunny Ski Day

After not feeling it on Monday when the snow was icy and the day overcast, 
I was psyched out for my lesson today. As in, I was a lot nervous.
But the sun was shining, the snow soft and sparkly and we had another great day.

Even traversing and hiking to Gunsight for an adventure.
I fell a couple of times, but that means I'm learning, right?

And instead of being scared, I was excited.

Friends and Friends

I probably should have watched the inauguration of President Biden and VP Kamala Harris

(phew! we made it!)

But instead I has sip 'n soak'n with my friends!

Annually this group meets at Amy's house to sit in her indoor hot tub and lounge in the pool and drink sodas from her soda fountain. 

This is my first time joining, and I was glad I did. 

Lots of laughs, but honestly, mostly talk about bodies breaking down as we get older! 😂

I carpooled back and forth with Patti. We were best friends in 9th grade and lots of other years.

College roommates for two and half years, and now we're neighbors again.

Some days its just good to spend time with people who have known you forever.

Speaking of forever friends,

I hurried home from sip 'n soak to meet Lexie and Margo for lunch at the Dodo.

We talked for four hours. 

That's how much I love them.

My Scripture Study Tips

I had to record a two minute video on Scripture Study Tips for Relief Society.

#1 -- Two minutes is barely long enough to say your name. 

It doesn't allow for personal stories -- you almost have to just list what you want to say --

and it certainly doesn't allow for any pauses, stutters, word corrections or mistakes!

#2 -- It took me about 200 tries to get it right.

And then the file was too big to e-mail so I had to try again on my phone. 

Another 200 tries. And it was still too big. So I texted it. 

#3 -- I have RBF so I have to smile the entire time to look remotely friendly.

I did a good job at this on the last recording on my computer, 

but not as good as a job on my phone and I sent it anyway.

#4 -- Maybe the lesson from this for me was to learn to smile more when teaching.

My Tips:

1) Hold a pen and/or scripture marker while you read. You'll be more likely to mark scriptures that stand out to you and you'll read with an open mind looking for meaning. Later its exciting to see what you marked and what stood out to you.

2) My system: red = doctrine; yellow = wisdom; green = personal; blue = history; orange = Christ speaking and scriptures on sanctification; purple = chiasmus 

3) When I don't understand, I read the Institute Manual for context -- hard copy or on my phone.

4) Podcasts help increase understanding -- I listen to Don't Miss This, but there are lots for every personality. Also ComeFollowMeDaily on Instagram.

5) Sometimes I read the Book of Mormon fast to better hear it as a story.

Currently I read the Come Follow Me selections several times over in a week.

6) Most Importantly, there isn't one right way. Do what works for you at the stage of life you're in. 

One time my friend said their family each only read one verse in family scripture study. That was a game-changer for our family when we did the same thing.

7) When I spend time with my scriptures, I get wisdom, answers to prayer and inspiration. It's like spending time with my Heavenly Father each day.

Home

 Christopher called just as Dan and I were headed out skiing with a hilarious baptism story.

Carlos a Kansas State student, was introduced to the church through his friend John 

(I actually don't remember John's real name) and Chris has been teaching him. 

He accepted baptism before Christmas, but was a little nervous about his family's reaction

when he went home for the break. 

As it turned out, they weren't thrilled, but Carlos came back firm in his decision. 

Chris and his companion were getting everything ready for the socially distanced baptism.

While a sister missionary played prelude music in the Relief Society room,
Chris and his companion set up video feed so branch members could watch 

the short program and baptism from a separate room. 

Two other sister missionaries were "guarding the font" (Chris' words),
while Carlos and John changed into their white clothes.

Suddenly one of those sisters runs into the room and whispers to Chris, "Code Red!"
As they run back to the font area, she tells Chris that as they were standing 

outside the closed font doors, they heard splashing water. 

Carlos and his friend didn't realize that once they were dressed, 

they were to sit in the chairs for the opening prayer, song and a short talk.

Instead they went straight into the font and were standing in the water ready to go.
Chris dashed to find two more dry jumpsuits, but John didn't have an extra pair of underwear.

The Branch Mission Leader called an audible saying, Let's just do it. 
They skipped the program and baptized Carlos without additional fanfare.

Chris said John had been practicing. He nailed the prayer and the dunk.

It's so fun hearing a story first-hand and seeing his big smile while he tells it!

He's so happy!

Not so happy was me skiing today. 

My brain and body are tired from working on my new skills.

The sky was gray and the slopes were icy.

We only took a few runs and then I went back to the condo for a nap.

And I don't feel bad about that at all.

New glasses have arrived at home!

Mountain Sunday

 

Such a beautiful view to wake up to and look at while reading my scriptures

AND the first issue of the Liahona (Ensign magazine name change).

It's so great to be able to watch church on TV while on vacation! 

And then have our new Priests bless the sacrament.

In the afternoon, to get us all out of the condo and moving a bit,

we hiked one mile up the road at Empire Pass to the overlook.

At the overlook is the Church of Dirt. 

It's apparently a popular wedding spot. Save the date markers were in a group

along with a full 2021 calendar book where people could make reservations!

After dinner we watched Game Night -- the edited TV version (hilarious!)

and then played our own games of Azul and Hearts.

I had to document our Hearts phenomenon.

THREE TIMES out of eight rounds total, between last night and tonight, 

Lizzie put down the Queen of Spades and Dan took it with a Four of Diamonds.

THREE TIMES the exact same play. It was crazy-coincidental!

He ended up Shooting The Moon two of those times, so we don't feel sorry for him.

3 Days in a Row

I've now skied three days in a row which for sure is a record for me.
I've even been getting more confident going down the moguls, in spite of the thin snow cover and the moguls being strewn with rocks and not just weeds but entire bushes sticking out!
 

Tonight Nick and friends went and picked up pizza from Davanza's. 

(Nick drove!)

Marty, Lizzie, Dan and I watched Date Night and played Qwirkle and Hearts.

Fri Yay!

Gorgeous sunny day on the slopes!

Dan and Marty skied together this morning and while they enjoyed the tough stuff,

I spent a few hours on my own practicing my skills from class.

I had a great time skiing by myself and after warming up

I even did mogul runs SIX times.

Back to the condo for paninis and soup

then Dan and I skied together the rest of the afternoon.

I love this view! You can't see it, but the chairlift is passing my window.

Such an awesome way to wake up!

 

Hello Ski Weekend!

Today was my first Ladies Day Ski Clinic at Alta.

So fun getting instruction to help with the moguls:

bend your knees to put pressure on the cuff of the boot and get an edge,

flat ski on the downturn,

then transfer power to the whole inside of the other foot.

Repeat.

I did AWESOME at this skill on the blues and flat blacks. 

I still need A LOT more practice on the moguls. 

Because I couldn't think fast enough to make a change trying to navigate the bumps.

 

I'll get a lot more practice this long weekend up in Deer Valley. 

First stop -- bowling at the Montage.

Tomorrow we ski!

Life of the Amaryllis

Dan and I both got LOTS of photos of blooming amaryllis 

shared by friends who we gifted to this year.

We loved that so many people loved growing them!

I always look forward to watching them grow over Christmas. 

 

I was so surprised that we were getting blooms from TWO stalks! 

I've never seen that before!

Four flowers on each stalk! 

We'll take all the gifts from 2020 we can get!

The Youngest Turns 16!

Nick is an all-around good guy. He always has been.

He's kind, a good friend, smart and full of good ideas. 

He's really good at figuring out how to do things. And doesn't hesitate to jump in and try.

He's a great cook and confident in tweaking ingredients--another area 

where he's not afraid to try something new. 

He works hard and you can always count on him to do what he says he's going to do.

AND he remembers what he's been asked to do. Which is half the challenge!

He's a great driver -- especially having lots of additional experience on the race track. 

Also an awesome skier, water sporter, lacrosser and baseballer. 

He looks pretty cute with his new perm too!

Happy 16th Nick! 

We went to the DMV at 8:30 this morning to get his license, then home for crepes and presents.

Most of his gifts revolved around shaving! Ha!

He didn't have school today, so he picked up his friends, they went to Denny's for lunch, 

then a little while later picked up pizza dough and made pizzas for second lunch.

Tonight Marty came down and the four of us went to dinner at Ruth's Chris.

(Lizzie had class.)

But she sent Marty with a cake she made for Nick's Birthday!

She is so talented! Red Velvet with cream cheese frosting is Nick's favorite.

He's requested it since Kindergarten.

The cake was delicious! Even though Dan and I are going off sugar,

we had to try some of Lizzie's cake! It was worth it! Yum!! 

Happy Independence Day, Nick (16th birthday)! We sure love you!