Harp Fusion

Kate is a little Freshman at The University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona and she is majoring in Harp Performance. They have a really good harp program down there. It is where Emily received both her Bachelor's and Master's degree in Harp Performance. The collective group of Harp Performance majors is called Harp Fusion and their group color is turquoise.

Harp Fusion recently had their first concert of the year. It was called "Taking on the World" because the music they played represented the cultures of various countries around the world. Kate spent the end of her summer writing a piece of music with Emily for this concert. Her song was a mix of a classic harp piece and the Beatles', "Here Comes the Sun." Unfortunately, I was not able to go but my mom went down there to support Kate. I think Kate really appreciated that since she hasn't been home or seen anyone from the family since she moved down there in August.

Kate, I wish I could have been there, but I'm sure there will be other times. I miss you but am proud of what you are doing. I love you and will see you very soon!

Kate goofing off with two of the other Freshmen in Harp Fusion.

All five Freshmen in Harp Fusion.

Masquerade

Danny, Me, Jacob and Emily; 1989. I was 5.

When I was a little girl, I think Halloween was my favorite holiday. Well, maybe Christmas was my favorite, but Halloween was definitely second. Why? CANDY! Oh, and also because it was really fun dressing up. We had the best costumes in my family. Most of the time, the girls' costumes were nursery rhyme/fairytale themes. Little Red Ridding Hood, Little Bow Peep, Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary. We also had the traditional costumes. Indian, Clown, Princess, Cowgirl.

In elementary school, we had a Halloween parade every year where we would showcase our costumes by walking around the playground. I was always so proud of my costume and my excitement built up so much that by Halloween night I was practically bursting! We would all carve pumpkins Halloween afternoon and then get ready for trick-or-treating.

My siblings and I had the best candy bags. They were about as big as pillowcases, only they had handles and a fun haunted house scene on the front that glowed in the dark. We also wore green glow sticks around our necks so that cars would see us. I always went our trick-or-treating with my friend, Max. When were were younger, our parents would take us around. But once we were old enough to go by ourselves, we strapped on our rollerblades and brought in some serious candy. Without fail, we ended our night separating our candy into categories and falling asleep in front of the TV while trying to watch scary movies.

I have the best memories of my childhood Halloweens. I haven't dressed up for a number of years but I think I just might this year. What will I be, you ask? Well, you'll just have to find out!

This is me in 1988 when I was 4.

Emily, Me and Jacob; 1991. I was 7.

Emily, Me and Jacob; 1992. I was 8.

This is me in 1993 when I was 9.

This is me in 1999 when I was 15. No, I didn't go trick-or-treating. This was for a high school dance.

Birthday Girl!

It's hard for me to imagine my mom as a little girl, but here's the proof. I love old pictures and this one is especially sweet because it's of my mother on her birthday. Yep, today is my mom's birthday and I wanted to wish her a happy day and let her know how much I love her. At the risk of repeating myself, go to this post. It's the one I did last year on my mom's birthday. Also, if you would like to give my mom a birthday shout out, go ahead and leave a comment because she reads my blog on a fairly regular basis; maybe not as regular as my dad, but pretty often.

We're not ready for snow!

About an hour ago I woke up to this:

I really couldn't believe my eyes when I woke up this morning and looked out the window. "You've got to be kidding me," is what I said out loud to myself/dogs. It started snowing a bit yesterday. It was nothing big and I thought for sure it wouldn't stick. It's October 12th, for goodness' sake! Plus, we aren't even ready for the winter. Here's what I mean:

We haven't taken our outdoor furniture down to the basement patio to store for the winter.

We haven't had our boat winterized and taken down to Briton's house to store for the winter.

We haven't carved our pumpkins or had Halloween yet!

The only ones who didn't seem to mind this situation were the dogs. They had a fun time this morning frolicking in the snow.

They're so cute! Hopefully this snow will melt and we can go back to Fall for a time before the snow sets in for good.

The Marathoners

Night before the race in St. George, Utah

We have two new marathon runners to add to the family: Briton and Melissa. Melissa ran her first race in the Salt Lake City Marathon back in April. Her leg cramped up towards the end and she had to stop so she was disappointed with her time because of that. To make up for that, she ran the Logan Marathon in September and did really well, running it in 4 hours, 8 minutes. Briton just ran his first race this past weekend in the St. George Marathon. He had to run the whole thing in the rain, but he also did really well, running it in 3 hours, 47 minutes. Congratulations guys!

Here's Melissa at mile 20.

Here's Briton after the race.

Would you risk your life for your dog?

When I'm at work, I need little breaks here and there to keep me going. Most of the time I sit and read news articles. I find interesting stories and then I go home and share them with my family. They always want to know where I've read these crazy things. I just tell them that if they sat at a computer for 8 hours a day, they'd be finding the same strange articles. Anyway, I read this story this week and thought it was pretty amazing so I wanted to share it.

Greg LeNoir was swimming Friday with his 14-pound pup Jake at a marina in Florida when he saw the unthinkable: An open-mouthed shark was heading their way.

LeNoir watched in horror as his 28-month-old rat terrier disappeared under the water after the shark tried to make a meal of the little pet.

LeNoir shrieked before clenching his fists and pummeling the toothy animal.

''I clenched my fists and dove straight in with all my strength, like a battering ram,'' LeNoir, 53, told the Miami Herald. "I hit the back of the shark's neck. It was like hitting concrete.''

Jake broke free from the shark's jaws and, thankfully, wasn't critically injured after he and his owner made it safely back to shore.

''Jake's doing great,'' LeNoir's brother, Phillip, told the Herald. "And I still can't believe my brother jumped in the water and punched a shark.''

LeNoir, a carpenter, spoke to fishermen who believe the culprit was either a bull shark or a lemon shark, according to the Herald.