Reading:
Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightening Thief by Rick Riordan-
We are almost through with it. The cool thing about not having DVD players in the car right now is that the kids are more than happy to let me read to them on long trips. The wedding in Kingfisher on Saturday definitely qualified. We are so close to the end of the book that I can't comment on the plot without spoiling something for someone, so just know that the kids all love it and it keeps them quiet like nothing else on a road trip. (Except, of course, for a DVD player-but they've broken the one we got them a couple of years ago and I REFUSE to buy them another one.) Also, I love that the older kids will still let me read to them.
Watching:
Kate Plus 8-
She may not win any Miss Congeniality prizes, but after Jon showed us all last summer what a moron he is without Kate pulling his strings; I will watch her show if it puts food on her table for 9. (I didn't watch her on Dancing with the Stars, though. I heard it wasn't good, and, being up to my ears in evening kid classes; I skipped it.)
Netflix Streaming on the Wii-
We've seen lots of Veggie Tales and other random kid stuff over the week. This part of our evening usually happens while I'm fixing dinner, so I guess I don't so much watch as I benefit from what the kids are watching while I get something done in the kitchen in peace. Otherwise there hasn't been much TV because I can't stand watching something that I've already seen which doesn't leave me with too many options during summer re-run season.
Out and About:
Beatles Rain-
Possibly the best Beatles tribute band I've ever seen! (And yes, I have watched a few others.) I loved the way they showed all their different looks and tied everything in with what was going on in the world as their various albums were released. I was disappointed not to hear "If I Fell" which is my all-time favorite Beatles song (and possibly all-time favorite song ever), but otherwise I loved the show!
Saturday Wedding-
My first day as a Harn Intern, I was handed over to one of their part-time staffers for training. She was in a sad mood those first few weeks because a very nice young man she liked a lot had decided that he could NOT join her church and she had decided she could not permit him to court her because she would not marry outside of her faith. Over time, they remained friendly pen pals, and I watched her meet many other nice young men within her church in the three years we were co-workers. I was always very sad that things hadn't worked out with that first suitor because she never seemed able to completely forget him and remained in contact with him throughout that time. She quit working at the Harn about a year before I did, but occasionally sent emails and once dropped by for a visit. On that visit, that first young man was with her; but she seemed rather tight-lipped about it. (Which drove all of us women in the office crazy as you can imagine.) I was thrilled when she called me in January to tell me that he had joined her church and had proposed at New Year's.
Their wedding was themed 1910 (which meant I had another place to wear my work costume) and it was one of the most beautiful ceremonies I've ever attended. Funny that I couldn't find a traditional Latin Catholic Mass in Italy in 16 months of searching, but that I did get to witness one in Kingfisher, Oklahoma. Who knew? (And by Latin, I mean the ancient language, not the Hispanic culture. Because that would be a Mass in Spanish, now wouldn't it?) The music was so perfect we thought it was a CD until the choir came down from the loft to take Communion, and while I spent most of the ceremony trying to figure out where we were in the Missal, I still loved hearing Mass in Latin. But most of all, I loved the happy faces of the bride and groom. I am so proud of my co-worker for taking a stand as far as her beliefs and her standards were concerned and still getting exactly what she wanted. I was SO happy for her and so proud to tell my girls all about how Miss M STILL got her happy ending even when she refused to compromise even a little bit on what her standards were or what her expectations were for her future husband. They could see how happy she was, and I stole that teaching moment gratefully. (And yes, those standard and expectations vary from person to person and religion to religion; but I firmly believe that NO woman should compromise herself or her expectations just to have a man in their life. And THAT'S the lesson I was going for there.)
Grand Worthy Advisor's Reception-
For those of you who are unfamiliar, the Grand Worthy Advisor is the State President of Oklahoma Rainbow. We get a new one every year at Grand Assembly and usually hold a reception in her honor a few weeks later. I've told my very small group (assembly) of four girls here in Norman that I would rather have the four of them than twenty of any other group of girls in the state, and that definitely proved true that night. I was so proud to be there with them. They looked wonderful and behaved themselves beautifully during the formal part of the evening, then they were also (in my opinion) the life of the party at the dance too. Not that I'm biased...After 6 months, I finally feel comfortable in my role as Mother Advisor (adult leader) too. All in all it was a good evening and even better when Chris and Sean stopped by for awhile at the end of the dance. Chris got to show Sean what she will be helping me with this summer and I got to wish them a Happy Anniversary. Happy 6th Anniversary Guys!
Stake Conference-
It had been 30 years since an apostle came to the Norman Oklahoma Stake, but it was wonderful to hear from Elder Nelson in person. Even for a somewhat jaded gal like me. My only complaint for the afternoon is the selfish little prat who was sitting at the end of the row and stuck his cell phone and scriptures in the chair next to him as soon as he saw my family coming to sit down. As a result, my husband and the daughter who planned to sit on his lap wound up sitting away from us. He was there first and if he had been saving the seat that would have been fine, but NO ONE SAT IN IT the entire afternoon. He just didn't want any of my kids sitting by him and disturbing his conference experience. Not even when he saw that it split up our family. At a big conference like this when seating is at a premium, you can't do something like that. (And yes, we got there plenty early for once.) I know the young man's name and will resist posting it here. Let's just say I'm glad Kate Lynn didn't marry him, and leave it at that. ;)
Conference was still a very spiritual experience and the words it took to describe that little hiccup make it seem like a bigger deal than it actually was to us at the time. But if you break one of my former YW's hearts AND give me a reason to point you out for the jerk that you are, I won't pass up the opportunity. ;) That's just how I roll.
*I was pleasantly surprised at what a wonderful weekend we had, even though it was so busy. And because it was so lovely, I couldn't resist a blog post about it even though I am supposedly on hiatus.*
