The Thought Process of A Singer

A couple years ago, I made a goal to sing our National Anthem at a formal military function sometime during Matt's career.  This last weekend, that goal was accomplished!  I was given the opportunity through a friend (thanks, Jill!).  The occasion was a formal banquet (so-to-speak), so I had to get all dressed up!  Just a few days after getting my dress (a long, difficult process when modesty is a requirement), Matt found out that he was going to be out of town for some training.  I was so bummed - so bummed that I just about turned down the offer and returned the dress.  I just couldn't sing without my biggest fan and supporter being there.  Besides, who goes to a formal event without a date?!  And, I didn't know anyone else that was going to be there.

After being forced to sleep on my decision for a couple days (thank you, 4th of July weekend), I changed my mind.  I quit thinking about myself - sort of, and remembered the meaning behind our National Anthem.  It is a great HONOR to be asked to sing such an amazing song!  It would be very unpatriotic and selfish of me to turn down such an opportunity for the reasons I had!  Besides, I knew that singing could potentially open doors to be asked to sing it again, which (I'll be honest) was a big pulling force behind changing my mind.  However, I did get permission to leave when I was done singing, so I didn't have to feel too akward without a date! 

The day of the event arrived, and as luck would have it, I woke up with a cold - I had a sore throat, and just felt like crud.  I must have looked pretty awful too, because the first thing Darren said to me that morning was, "Mommy, are you sick?"  Not a good sign.  So, I started praying hard!  From that moment on, I started feeling better.  I practiced proper technique during my shower, which made my singing voice sound MUCH better than my speaking voice, which boosted my confidence a ton!  Throughout the day, my speaking voice returned to normal - I still didn't feel 100%, but I felt good enough to feel confident that I could sing. 

When I got to the hotel where they were holding the banquet, I was given a quick run through of what would happen, where I was to stand, etc. and then just waited for it to begin.  While waiting, my heart was pounding so hard, it was probably visible!  I was nervous, excited, confident, and anxious all at the same time.  As soon as the honor guard began marching and I started walking (behind the honor guard) my heart settled down a bit - I was poised and collected, with a healthy portion of an adrenaline rush.  As soon as the honor guard posted the colors, I began..... 

During the first line of the song, my voice cracked, but I kept going, and engaged my support a bit more.  Before I even got to the second line of the song, I realized I had started in a higher key than I had intended.  My heart started pounding again, because I knew I hadn't warmed up quite that high!  Fortunately, I was supporting the sound well enough that it wasn't too big of an issue, and the higher notes came out just fine.  Not fabulous, but good enough.    When I finished singing, I stayed in my place while the honor guard was dismissed and the invocation said (yes, they still pray at some military functions!).  Then, I made my quiet escape.  On my way out, the guy running the media (I think that was his job), stopped me and told me he was really impressed, especially with how well I projected the sound without a mic!  In a large room with at least a couple hundred people, I was still PLENTY loud enough!  His compliment made me feel good! 

Since my date couldn't be there, and dressing up this fancy is a rare occasion, I had a friend take some pictures when I got back. 

I think Matt should take me on a formal date when he gets home!

Swimming Lessons

Darren just finished his first ever round of swim lessons!  He loved getting in the pool everyday, and was definitely the most fearless kid in his class!  He can't swim yet, but he can almost float, and is more comfortable/confident in the water.

They were taught how to stick their face in the water and blow bubbles.  Darren was the only one not afraid!

Darren took it a step further, and blew bubbles while submerging himself.  No one else in his class would do that - even by the end. 

Seeing if he could touch the bottom of the pool.... he could.  No problem. 

Here he is, trying to float.

Practicing the swimming motions.

Here's a very brief video clip of him jumping off the side.  Notice the teacher totally had to step back to catch him! That's my boy!

4th of July

This year, for the 4th of July, we kept it simple.  We had some friends over for dessert and fireworks, and that was about it!  Our backyard turned out to be the perfect place to watch fireworks when you have small children.  Right behind our house, there is a road that goes to a parking lot for the soccer fields behind our house, and since our yard is fenced in, the men all jumped the fence and lit the fireworks on the road.  All kids were safely contained in our backyard!  We didn't have to worry about them getting too close.  It was perfect!  Then a little bit later, people all around us lit off the really big, "real" fireworks - like what you see in a big stadium.  The closest ones were 2 doors down from us!  We could choose either our driveway or our backyard and get a great show all evening long.  It was great! 

Here's a few pics from our day.....

The really yummy dessert I made! 

Our set up...  It was raining and we all got soaked, but I personally didn't mind it! 

The "big" kids (and one of the missionaries) watching the show

These boys thought it was really funny to stick their fingers in their ears and just laugh - hysterically! 

Of course, the kids did sparklers! 

One of the many fireworks displays we could see from our backyard! 

Happy Birthday, America!! 

Vacation, Part II - Utah!

Remember that vacation we took in June?  The one I've only posted about the first half of?  Yeah, well, here's the second half of that vacation..... a month later!  Most of our family lives in Utah, and so we had a very busy week there.  There were still some family/friends we didn't get to see, and others we would have liked to spend more time with.  Here's a bunch of pictures of some of the things we did. 

Grandma Deeben (my mom) turned the water on for him!  The things he got away with at Grandma's house!! :)

Playing at an awesome park with Uncle Justin and Aunt Julie (Matt's step-siblings)

Joseph and Cousin Tyler playing at the park.

Gma & Gpa Downing and my brother's family came to the Dinosaur Museum with us (though I didn't get a pic of the group)

Darren and Cousin Aleia playing at the museum.

Joseph thought the dinosaur was tasty!

Uncovering dinosaur bones in the sand box!

At my brother's house, the kids took turns jumping off the stairs onto the giant bean bag chair.  It was VERY entertaining!  We all had a great time!

I actually jumped off too (just once), but I don't have that pic. 

Matt had to 1-up the kids!

Dog pile on Uncle Matt (my brother)!

Grandpa Downing (my dad) with the boys at a family reunion.

Family gathering at my mom's house.  The kids thoroughly enjoyed their root beer floats!

Singing his little heart out, making up his own song!  J sat in a puddle outside.

Siblings!  Can you tell?  

Grandpa Coleman (Matt's dad) enjoyed seeing the boys. 

We went to a little diner all about trains with my parents (mom/step-dad), and the boys thought it was pretty cool!  The inside had a train track with an electric train on it, running throughout. 

Two families that we just LOVE!  The Scotts, and the Lundgrens!  We were all friends in Alaska, and now they both live in Utah.  I'm so glad we got to see them!

My niece leading D around on a pony.  D didn't particularly care for it. 

Darren and Aleia climbing Grandma's apple tree!

Grandma Kathy (Matt's mom) with Joseph.

I LOVE this picture of these two! 

We took the boys for a walk around the outside of the temple.  Matt and I also got to go with some of his family.  It was wonderful! 

We also had a great big family get together with all of Matt's family, but we didn't take any pictures.  It was great to visit with everyone on this short, fast, fun-filled trip! 

New Family Pictures

While we were visiting Alaska, we asked my friend Kim to take family pictures for us (to see her photography blog, click here).  We received the CD in the mail this week, and we are LOVING how they turned out.  The boys mostly just wanted to run, so it was a pretty difficult task to get everyone to look at the camera at the same time and smile, but I think she did a pretty good job capturing everyone's personality. 

Here are several of our favorite shots:  

The next 3 must have been taken in rapid succession....

At one point, Darren got pretty excited to run down to the creek, and just as he got to the edge, he either tripped or slipped, and fell in!  Fortunately, it was pretty shallow, and Kim was quick with her camera!  He obviously wasn't too upset by it!