Snow Day

Melanie was so excited to look out the window before school and see some snow outside.  She went right out to make a snowman, a snowwoman, and snowdog.  Tyler helped decorate them.

Learning to Ski

After being offered free tickets (Thanks Dad!), Warren and I decided to take Tyler and Melanie skiing at Snowbird.  Thanks to my mom and dad's trips to DI they were able to outfit them with all the gear they needed.  Warren borrowed my Dad's skis and I borrowed Connie's.  

 Melanie had never been downhill skiing and I hadn't been skiing in a LONG time so I opted to stay in my regular snow boots while chasing her down the bunny hill.  She had picked up the basics pretty well after about two hours and so I put on skis and tried to remember how to ski.  Melanie thought I was awfully slow and started riding the lift by herself so she didn't have to wait for me.  I was actually quite proud of how I picked back up on skiing although I didn't have any desire to venture off the bunny hill and I made them slow down the lift every time I had to get off.  (I have a ski lift exit phobia.)

 Tyler and Warren skied together.  He was having a bit of trouble with his skis crossing when he tried to turn but luckily a ski instructor (there are a lot of ski instructors on the bunny hill) rode the lift with him and told him how to fix that problem.  After lunch he was ready to tackle a bigger hill and so Warren took him to the top of Big Emma.  That was a little too big a skill level jump for Tyler and by the time he got back down he was done for the day.  He and I hung out in the lodge while Warren took Melanie to the top of Big Emma.  At one point, I'm told, she took off her skis and slid down the hill on her snowsuit because it was so steep.  Warren was very patient.  He got to meet several ski patrol who stopped to check on them.  By the time they got back down the lifts were closing and it was time to go home.

 It was an absolutely gorgeous day for skiing.  The sun was shining and the mountains were just so beautiful. I am glad I went.  I was thinking that this would what life would be like in a few months when both Jessica and Graig are off at BYU and only Tyler and Melanie are home.

Jessica and Graig went skiing with my Dad on Monday.  They said they skied the big mountain all day.  It was another great day to ski - beautiful weather and new powder to ski on.

Nova Graduation

 Getting her certificate from Mrs. Ahlstrom

 A card carrying Nova Graduate

Rex Lee Run

My Dad is on the committee that helps organize this race and so he offers to pay the entrance fee for any family member who wants to run.  This is the first year our family has participated.  Tyler, Melanie, Warren, and I all ran in the 5K race.  Warren went out ahead, Tyler stayed with me and cheered me on as I made my goal to run the whole race without stopping, and Melanie walked with my Mom (who was injured and couldn't run), Ashlyn, and the Atkisson's exchange student.  Melanie was tickled because at the end of the race she got a free shirt from last year's Provo Marathon.

 Melanie wasn't too excited about the work (walking) part of the race but she liked all of the free stuff and food she got at the end.

 After I crossed the finish line I went back to find my Mom and finish the race a second time with the walkers.

Our family did well with awards.  My Dad, of course, took 1st place in his age category in the 10K.  Connie took 2nd place in her age category in the 10K.  I won a pearl necklace and Tyler won two free hot dogs from JDawgs in the raffle drawing after the race.

Grandma Nelda's Funeral

It was really great to be able to travel to AZ to pay a final tribute to my Grandmother.

 Those from the Wayne Anderson Family who were able to make it to the funeral:

Back:  Warren and Graig

Middle:  Tyler, Mom (Genan), Mary, Dad (Wayne), Linda

Front:  Melanie, Jessica, Debbie, Aaron

My Grandmother's children:  Keith, Wayne, Elaine, Russel, Raymond, and Dale

 All of the grandchildren who came to the funeral.

All six of my Grandmother's children are married in the temple.

Barbara and Keith, Genan and Wayne, Elaine and Doug, Charmaine and Russel, Lynn and Raymond, Helen and Dale.

 My Dad's siblings and cousins who came to the funeral

A cute picture of Jessica I couldn't help but include :)

Slumber Party with Uncle Graig and Aunt Bonnie

The view out the car window around Flagstaff, AZ

The view out the window as we got closer to Phoenix.  Notice all the trees turned into cactus.

We went straight to Graig and Bonnie's house to settle in and then Uncle Graig took us out to dinner at Sweet Tomatoes Restaurant.  It was the biggest restaurant I have ever been in and it was packed.  The kids loved the all you can eat.

Jessica, Graigry, Tyler and Melanie took over Uncle Graig's living room with air mattresses and blankets for a big slumber party.  Graig and Bonnie live in a beautiful gated community right on a golf course.

Melanie was absolutely fascinated by all the cactus in Phoenix.  She even got Uncle Graig to cut her off a piece of cactus to bring home.

Road Trip to AZ & Visiting the Dam Bathroom

All four kids got to make the trip to Arizona with us to attend Grandma Nelda Anderson's funeral.  It was nice to have four drivers to break up the trip and we all got along well.  We planned to stop in Page, AZ (about the 1/2 way point) to get gas and some lunch but as we got closer to the Glen Canyon Dam, Warren started in with the "dam" jokes beginning with asking me to stop so he could use the "dam" bathroom.  I don't know if we were a little cooped up in the car but those "dam" jokes had us laughing and laughing.  We decided it was time for a leg stretching break and got everyone out of the car to walk around the visitor's center and walk across the "dam" bridge.  

 

Jack in the Box is a large hamburger chain in Arizona and so we decided to try them out for lunch.  It was good food but a little expensive.

The view from the backseat as Jessica was driving from Page towards Phoenix.

Lyceum/Piano Guys YouTube Video (Behind the Scenes)

One of the goals of Lyceum Orchestra director, Kayson Brown, is to give orchestra members a taste of what the professional world of music is like.  He invites professional musicians to play with and mentor the orchestra whenever he can.  The opportunity to record a professional you tube video with the Stephen Sharp Nelson and the Piano Guys was as Kayson said, "probably the coolest thing we will ever do".

I don't hang out at a lot of recording studios, but Metcom Studios in SLC was beautiful and state of the art.  They treated the orchestra members so well.  

As with any professional music video, the music was recorded first.  It took the orchestra about 4 hours to get a good recording of a five minute song.  They had to be very precise in their playing because the tracks Stephen recorded on his cello had to match up perfectly.  I got to watch from the sound booth.  

Taking a break from recording.

One of the Piano Guys' goals is to make classical music "cool".  Their first idea for the video portion of the project was to have the orchestra in school clothes.  They wanted earthy tones.  They spent all day "lip syncing" to the music they had recorded the previous day while the video guys did their work.

Lunch break.

Celebrating after finishing the video (so they thought.)

When the Piano Guys got to editing the video they decided that having the orchestra in street clothes wasn't the look they were after.  They re-shot the video on stage at American Heritage School with the orchestra members in their concert black.  They did not use stands or music but at that point they didn't need them.  After playing the song so many times I don't think they will ever forget how to play it.

I love the faces Kayson makes while conducting.

Here is the final product which has been very well received.  The video reached 1 million view in less than a week and is the top downloaded song on itunes (classical music) in the US and Canada.