What's up

Just a few quick notes about what we're all up to...

Jazz is working like a mad dog trying to get ready for his recital, which will be Saturday, June 5th at 1 p.m. in the music building on campus (all are invited, of course). His time is exhausted by rehearsing his big band numbers, his smaller group numbers, practicing the piano so he can perform a bit on the big day, too, attending the recitals of those who are performing in his recital, and then doing a bit of missionary work and family time (which is sometimes just dinner, before he leaves again) when he's not "working".

I'm doing the usual, trying to keep up with everyone else's schedules, and messes. I was hoping to be in Utah this weekend to see my brother's family sealed in the temple (mom, dad, and newly adopted baby), but the scandalous flight prices had to keep me away from that exciting event :(. On a good note, I've been able to sing a little lately even though my choir is on a hiatus right now...that is, last Sunday I got to sing three different musical numbers! One was in another ward, one in my own ward (and I gave a talk with that song, for our "Favorite Hymn Festival" Sunday), and one at a baptism after church. Jazz accompanied me on the last number, which is always fun.

Shark is between sports seasons right now, so he fills his time with books, books, more books, and audio books, and a little homework, chores, scouts, and piano practicing. He's doing great in school, and he's glad that this week was the very last Spanish class of the year (which his mom co-taught), which leaves more time for reading--in English :).

Didi is getting better and better at the piano, though practicing isn't always her favorite thing to do (the worst is when it's your turn to "go first" among the 3 practicers in the house). She practices 30 minutes a day. She loves to organize things, such as her desk next to her bed. And she enjoys reading too, but balances that activity with other creative hobbies such as writing stories, sewing, working with clay, etc.

Goldie still dances and twirls just about everywhere she goes. She's getting good on the piano, too. We have enjoyed the kids' new piano teacher that lives right in our apartment complex. Goldie loves to read, too. She is one of the best readers in her kindergarten class, and enjoyed having her mom come in to her class once a week to volunteer as a reading helper--Goldie always got to have the first turn reading out loud :).

Tootie is ever running, ever destroying, ever throwing. Yesterday alone he broke a vase, and a big chunk out of my aerobic step, when he threw random items across the room. A favorite booby trap: he loves to take the guard bar out of the bottom of our fridge door so that when we open the fridge, all the condiment bottles spill onto the floor. His favorite movies are Toy Story and Toy Story 2, and he can quote much of those movies..."my eyeballs could have been sucked out of their socks/sockets!" He's a challenging handful, but his adorable face and beautiful hair and endearing smile and hugs help us love him to death anyway.

We're a happy, crazy, loud, loving family, and we enjoy weekends together when we can let our hair down (after chores are done) and watch movies together, play outside, and play games together. That's the latest from our family :)!

Mother's Day

Mother's Day began with some wonderful traditional surprises--I loved the fancy breakfast, the chocolates, the cards, and flowers. My family knows what I like!








After church, we continued with the traditions of the day and I got to have a nice little photo shoot of us outside near our home. It was a really nice day!

"Something in [the] Store"

A couple of weeks ago, Dad took all of the kids with him on an outing to Barnes and Noble bookstore (he was giving me a break, so I could have a few minutes of quiet at home, how nice!). Goldie discovered something at the store that she REALLY wanted. It cost $12, and she had about $6 left of her own spending money (left over from Christmas, I believe). When she got home, she told me all about it, and for days she still never forgot about it. It was a copy of the New Testament enveloped in a wrap that made it look disguised as an adorable little girl's purse--pink and with flowers, handle, and all.

Then one day she came home from school SO excited--she couldn't wait to show me the fortune she had received in a fortune cookie. She read it to me, saying, "A pleasant surprise is in THE STORE for you!!!" She couldn't believe it! She KNEW it was talking about that purse book. I giggled, and tried to point out that when she had unknowingly added the word "the" (it of course actually read "in store for you"), she had changed the meaning, and I tried to explain what it really meant. But I let her continue to be excited, and since Jazz and I had already talked about it, I told her we could decide on some extra chores for her to do so she could earn it. We let her work for about 3 days doing extra chores, and now the "pleasant surprise" that was once "in [the] store", is now in her happy possession : ). Who knew...those fortunes really can come true!

A Dandelion Day

Not a whole lot of story to tell, but I just had so much fun teaching Tootie how to blow on dandelions on our walk this morning. I tried to capture the moments with the camera in my mind, but since I don't trust those pictures to last, I carried a dandelion home with us so I could use a real camera. I'm glad he had so much fun with it!

My Wife --by Jazz

This is part 2 of our 12-year anniversary postings. This part is by Jazz. It's a little mushy, so if you don't like that kind of stuff, you may wish to just skip to another post : ).
----------
MY WIFE
Top 12 Great Things (to go with 12 great years) in my life with/because of Jenna
-In no particular order-

12- Great romance. [this item was modified and simplified by Jenna to make it more blog-friendly].

11- Four beautiful children. They really are beautiful. I don't just say that because I have to, but they are pleasing to look at and I have my beautiful wife to thank for that. I certainly had little to do with it. I couldn't be more pleased with the people they are becoming.

10- Companionship. I love having someone to go home to everyday-someone that loves me and is interested in my well being. Jenna is always eager to help me be the best husband, father, student I can be. Also, her willingness to travel all over the country while I attempt to figure my life out makes me so grateful for her.

9- Productivity. As a result of her companionship, I get more done than I ever did before, because I wish to protect and take care of her.

8- A laughing partner/Friday nights. We don't always see eye to eye on humor, since I tend to favor crude humor, but I enjoy the fact that there are things we both get a kick out of when it comes to TV shows: King of Queens, The Office, Everybody Loves Raymond, Friends, just to name a few. I so look forward to spending Friday nights relaxing on the couch watching a movie or a favorite TV show.

7- Humility. The thought that she loves me despite my imperfections and challenges.

6- Frugality. Not too many women these days would have had the patience required to endure the many years of schooling coupled with the meager lifestyle that goes with it as Jenny has done. We have not incurred much consumer debt on Jenna's watch.

5-Clean clothes, paid bills, groceries bought. Jenna's home management skillz rock! Her willingness to do the regular tasks at home has made it so much easier for me to concentrate on schooling and work. I can't recall the last bill I paid it's been so long ago.

4- Rolls and no bake cookies. This may seem silly, but I love that Jenna is willing to indulge me in some of my childhood favorite eats. She learned how to make my mom's classic Thanksgiving rolls so we could carry on the tradition in our own home. She also learned how to make no-bakes the way mom makes them despite her aversion to cooking in general.

3- Music-making. We have been a pretty good team over the years, despite my shortcomings as an accompanist. Jenna has always been fairly patient with me even though I struggle with some of her music. I enjoy that we have been able to share her talents in all the states where we've lived. On occasion we have also shared similar tastes in music, and it is fun to enjoy and appreciate music together.

2- A captive audience. Jenna is always willing to listen to my ideas or musings on things, even though she may not know what the heck I'm talking about. She proofs my papers and has a much better understanding of basic concepts relating to math, grammar, etc. I appreciate the travel time in the car when I can use her as a captive audience to bounce ideas off of and in general think out loud.

1- Eternity. That I get to spend the rest of time with my one and only Valentine.

Jenna, I love you.

Jazz

Newsweek

This week has been full of memorable events for us.

My grandpa, passed away at about noon yesterday -- 13 Feb 2010. He made it to 90 and passed very quietly. His youngest son was with him when he passed away. He was a wonderful part of our lives, and a funny and fun grandpa. We miss him. I am so happy that he is with his sweetheart again.

My brother and his wife became parents on Tuesday this week. Their little son entered the world weighing 8 lbs 7 oz, and is very healthy and VERY cute. He really is adorable and perfect and we are so excited for them! I can't wait to meet him. They are all doing great! The birth mother signs the final papers this Wednesday. She said that she loves the baby, but she always felt like it belonged with my brother and his wife. I feel so blessed to have been able to witness the miracle of him coming to their family. I love hearing my brother say "my son...who will become a great baseball player..." etc. : )

My other brother and his wife were also due to have a baby earlier this week, so we are waiting anxiously for their news. This will be their 5th baby, and it is a girl, so they will have 4 girls and 1 boy : ). I hope it is born today so they can name her Valentine! (Just kidding about the name)

Today is our anniversary--12 amazing and wonderful years! We had a fun date last night, experiencing a Thai restaurant for our first time. Not sure if we're sold on Thai food, but it was yummy for the most part. Jazz gave me roses (12!) before the date, and he wore one of the new Old Navy sweaters that I got for him. He's not silly like I am about this kind of thing, but with his clean shaven face (which I usually only get to see once--maybe twice--a week) and his new haircut, and his new sweater, I thought he was such a beautiful man sitting across the table from me...I loved to stare at him : ). I'm such a lucky wife. We went to the Sees Candy store for dessert, but were sad to find them closed, so we got some chocolate at a different store in the mall. Not quite Sees, but better than going dessert-less. We rented "The Invention of Lying", which I think Jazz enjoyed...I still look forward to watching it, since I unfortunately fell asleep about 15 minutes into the movie. Not our most exciting date ever, but it was a celebration nonetheless, and we're just grateful that we were able to find a babysitter since the whole world of couples seems to like to celebrate our anniversary on the same weekend as us. Go figure ; ).

This Valentine's Day we celebrate our 12th wedding anniversary. How time flies! I think a good theme for my anniversary post would be listing 12 of my favorite memories of us together as a couple. Man, it will be hard for me to limit it to just 12...

#12: Jazz taking his own initiative to come over to my house and ask me out on our first date. I had only known him for about 2 days, though he had seen me around the music building on campus for about a month before he made his move.

#11: Moving from house to house (apartment to apartment) from one state to another, several times. In our 12 years of marriage, we've lived together in Utah (in I think 4 different apartments), New Jersey, Utah again, California, and now Oregon. We've been in Oregon 3 1/2 years, the longest we've ever lived in one place.


#10: Having each of our 4 beautiful children together. My favorite day was always delivery day, but EVERY day is a crazy adventure with these 4 blessings from heaven. We have the greatest family in the whole world.

#9: Our honeymoon! We didn't travel far, just an hour away, and it was in the middle of the semester, but it was a beautiful place and a wonderful time.

#8: Jazz's graduation ceremonies for his master's degree. I loved that day. I can't wait until the even greater day of graduation from school forever (with his doctorate), and then celebrating afterward with our family's trip to Disneyland. I mean, it is really going to happen, isn't it?

#7: Friday night pseudo-date-nights. We put the kids to bed, push our love seat and couch together, and watch a movie together all snuggled up. I often fall asleep on his shoulder half-way through the movie, but that's half the fun of being snuggled up.

#6: "Dad makes dinner on Sundays" days. I sure love him for giving me that time off from the kitchen! And, he's great at helping me fold the laundry, and he's always helping pick up the clutter, and he often helps the kids get the house super clean while I'm away at my Saturday morning stamp camps. He's a super home-making helper. He's the best.

#5: Shopping together at Borders bookstores. We love CDs and books and movies, and love to browse and pretend like we're going to buy a bunch of stuff, but then we usually put it all back.

#4: Going to church every week and the temple together whenever we can. I am so grateful that I married a man who is righteous and always striving to do his best. He is a good example for me. He is a great leader for our family.

#3: Playing Scrabble together every 4th of July. We always argue about who won the previous year. We both know I usually win though (don't tell him I said that, though). ; )

#2: Our first kiss. No, it wasn't on our first date. I think it was the day after : ).

#1: Seeing him come home from school/work every day. I love his face! He's for sure one person that just gets more handsome every single day. I love his presence in our home, and I love his hugs and kisses every morning when he leaves, and every time he arrives back at home. I love to be together with my sweetheart.

When Jazz and I got married we had known each other for only 3 months. We both felt a spiritual confirmation that this marriage was meant to be, and time has proven that fact. He is the perfect man for me.