Trevon and Friends

School is out and Trevon and his friends could hardly wait to play! On Thursday, his friends gathered at our house to go on a campout together.



As usual, it began with a few "glitches." Josh locked his keys in his truck and then Trevon lost the keys to our car. After a bit of stress and looking - the keys were found, and Josh was able to retrieve another pair of keys to his truck. Everyone arrived and the boys were off!

(Kaden, Trevon, Joe, Josh, Jaxson, Brandon and Braydon)



Braydon and Kaden were the drivers. As they headed toward their destination, they saw a little cave and pulled over. A ranger stopped, warning them that they were not allowed to park there, he could ticket them, and that he would be keeping an eye out for them. That made the boys a little nervous! They found a place to set up camp near Enterprise Reservoir.



For dinner they cooked hot dogs over a fire. They divided into three teams and had an air-soft war all night long, sleeping with their guns!



For breakfast on Friday, they had muffins and juice. Then, they played different air-soft games until lunchtime. They had sandwiches for lunch.



They just hung out for the afternoon and then ate burritos with spanish rice for dinner that night. They made woof-ums (or dough boys) by cooking dough over the fire in a bowl shape, then filled the dough with pudding and whipped cream. Trevon said that they were so rich that they were only able to eat one or two of them each.

They set up a TV and generator and watched Back to the Future and Terminator.



Saturday morning they cooked a BIG breakfast: eggs with chopped up left over bratwursts and onions, pancakes and bacon. it was MMMMmmmm GOOD!!!


The boys had a great time together as they started their summer vacation. I was gald they made it home safe and sound!

A Day at Zion National Park

Mike had off of work on Wednesday, so we decided to go to Zion National Park with Connie. It ended up being a trip of Mike and the girls. All of the boys decided to stay home!



We went on two hikes at Zion:Emerald Pool and Weeping Rock.



We saw squirrels, birds, lizzards and a snake! The vegetation was beautiful too.



There was so much "cotton" in the air from the Cottonwood trees. Elise grabbed a handful she found on the ground.



On the Emerald Pools trail, we saw seven baby squirrels popping out from under the pathway. Connie was able to touch one.....(that was of course, before we saw a sign telling us not to feed or touch the animals!)



We each had an ice cream cone and enjoyed being out in nature. I think the boys really missed out on this day!





Cari hadn't had very much sleep and was tired, but was her fun, happy self (finding time to rest here and there - like in this tree)!

GRADUATION!!!

She did it! Cari graduated from high school with honors and we are very pleased and happy for her accomplishments. She had lots of support at graduation: Her immediate family, Papa and Grandma Beutler, Grandma and Grandpa Ferrin, Grandpa Matheson, and Grandma Connie too.







We sat right next to the band at the Burns Arena and were able to watch both Cari and Trevon play together for one last time in band.









A bunch of hugs and smiles followed after the ceremony:





On the way home we laughed as we asked Cari, "So, Cari, you just graduated from high school; What are you going to do next?" (She didn't say anything about Disneyland.)Her answer was, "I'm going to COSTCO!" We headed there to pick up a cake to celebrate with!





We headed home for a BBQ outside and gave Cari some gifts. We ate the cake (vanilla with a strawberry cheesecake filling) and ice cream. As the night cooled off and became dark, we lit a fire and enjoyed being together. Mike got out the telescope and found Saturn. Then, Cari left to celebrate more with her classmates....all night long!

Week in Review

This past week was yet another busy one, with the ending of the school year. Tuesday night we attended an Honors Assembly at the High School and on Wednesday night we went to the Scholarship Awards Night, also at the high school where Cari was awarded college scholarships for her good grades.





On Thursday evening, Sadie had a middle school orchestra concert.





They played The Chronicles of Narnia (Harry Grgson-Williams), Highlights from Harry Potter (John Williams), Danza (Vaclav Nelhybel), and Arlington Sketches (Elliot Del Borgo). Sadie led a group ensemble in playing Czardas (V. Monti).



I was out of town at the time of the concert, but Mike told me all about it. He said that after the concert ended, Sadie's teacher approached him asking, "Do you know what you have here?" She told Mike that Sadie has great talent and is playing well below her abilities (at the school) and at a level that is far above her (the teacher's) teaching abilities. She said Sadie needs a new violin in the $2000 range and coaching (a private teacher) to be playing at her ability level. WOW! What a compliment! So, now we will be looking into grants and such to help Sadie continue growing in this talent that she has.

I was sorry to have missed the concert, and at the same time, happy I was able to take a trip to Flagstaff to spend time with my youngest sister, Sara. I visited her Thursday through Saturday.



She took great care of me - making some GREAT and healthy food with recipes from 101cookbooks. We walked the hill to the Lowell Observatory for exercise on Friday. We went shopping together and she convinced me to buy a shirt I would have never bought on my own. Then, she dressed me in a few of her clothes and even sent me home with some of them. It was fun! I went to a used bookstore with her and found a book (MIDDLEMARCH by George Eliot), that I've been wanting to own, for just $3. YEAH!!! On Saturday morning, she took me to a spinning class at the Flagstaff Athletic Club. It was GREAT exercise. Then, we went to a Little League game that my nephews were playing in before I headed back home.



It was such a nice get away and I loved spending time with Sara and her family. Saturday morning, Sadie and her friend Emily had yet another bake sale to earn money for Disneyland. These bake sales are becoming quite frequent for the kids as the neighbors are very supportive in their efforts to raise money - - especially when such yummy goods are involved! Today (Sunday), Cari graduated from Seminary.





She received a four year diploma and was encouraged to take institute classes in college. Her High School Graduation is this coming week and we are looking forward to seeing her grandparents and celebrating with her!

Music Recitals

Monday, Sadie had a ZYSO Quartet Recital. Her string quartet has named themselves "The Pomme de Terre." At the recital they played Minuetto from String Quartet No. 26 in G minor, Op. 20, No. 3 (Haydn). Five different string quartets played at the recital, each made up of two violins, a viola, and a cello. I was able to only take one picture before the camera's battery died. I'm thankful for that! Sadie's quartet plans to continue playing together throughout the summer. I think that's great!


Right after the quartet recital, Sadie and Kristi had their Spring Piano Recital.

Sadie played I See the Light by A. Menken, from the movie Tangled.



Kristi played Rage Over a Lost Penny by N. Faber
You may notice that I gave her a haircut - it looks really cute!

A Bit of Everything!

Following Mother's Day, our week was very busy. Monday was stormy and I had invited the neighborhood over for a block party. It rained on and off, but I really couldn't find another day this month to change it to, so instead of having the party outside, we held it indoors. It was cozy but I am so glad we did it! We had some really HUGE tortillas (from Carolina's restaurant in Phoenix, AZ)that we used to make giant burritos and had all the fixings for taco salad. YUM!!! There was also jello salad, a macaroni salad and butterscotch cookies and caramel corn too. All but one of our neighbors came and everyone who came seemed to enjoy themselves - I know my family and I did!

Kristi had an achievement day activity on Tuesday and learned how to decorate a cake. I was so impressed with the cake she decorated that I took a picture.




Wednesday night there were three end of the year concerts. Cari and Trevon had a band concert.





You will notice Cari playing the flute in the black dress on the very front row. Trevon played the baritone (like a small tuba) and sat two rows behind Cari toward the center of the band. Earlier that day he had his braces removed. His teeth look "pretty" but he had a difficult time playing without braces (similar to his struggle after getting braces put on).





I ran from the band concert to Kristi's orchestra concert.



As usual, I enjoyed it very much.

In one of her songs, An Irish Party in Third Class, they danced while they played. That was fun to watch.







Cari had a choir concert going on at the same time as the orchestra concert and I wasn't able to be there for that one. Cari did receive an award for "All-Around Musician" and also lettered in band.

On Friday, Cari went to Lagoon (amusement park) with her senior class. She took some pictures but not one included her, so I opted to leave those pictures out of this posting. She had a great time riding the roller-coasters with her friends. She came home with a nice sun-burn too.

At home, Mike and I spent the day getting ready for the ward's annual Fathers and Sons activity. Mike was in charge of the dinner and so we spent the morning shopping. Then, as he got packed up and ready to go, I ran some errands as I was hosting a Mother/Daughter activity at our house that night. At the Mother/Daughter activity we made flower hair clips; painted our fingernails; made ice-cream sundaes; had a treasure hunt (for candy bars) and watched the movie "Tangled" under the stars with popcorn. It was a fun evening for the girls.



Mike, Trevon, Cameron and Corban had a great time on Kolob for Father's and Sons. Here are a few pictures:










The boys returned home on Saturday. On Sunday, Cari was welcomed into the Relief Society.




I was asked to share a little about Cari and of course, shed some tears. She is a wonderful daughter and I'm thankful to be her mother. She will miss being a part of the Young Women group now that she is an "adult." I assured her that R.S. is great and can be just as much fun too - especially in a college-ward!