Eyrealm: Song and Dance

We had quite an eventful week! On Monday I met my lifelong friend Bobbi Snow for lunch to celebrate our birthdays. We were born within three days of each other so it’s always fun to celebrate together. We decided since it was a BIG ONE for both of us that we need a facial, since we are getting so old so we splurged at Grand America. Even though I’m not a massage person, I must admit that it was pretty nice. Plus we looked at least ten years younger when we were finished….for sure!

On Wednesday we went down to Channel 5 to do a segment on Mormon Times to be aired later and we were so thrilled to find our friends, Alex Boye and Carmen Rasmusen Herbert there practicing their performance of “Have I Done Any Good in the World Today'” which they have just put up on YouTube to commemorate the California Day of Service recently (You can take a look at it here.) We have done a couple of fund raisers with delightful Alex for Humanitarian organizations in the past couple of years and Carmen was doing Time Out for Girls when Shawni and I were doing Time Out for Women last year. They are both such vibrant, fun people. It was great to be able to see them perform the song live on the show.

On Friday we had so much fun at the retreat at our house which was detailed in the last post, and then on Saturday morning Rick/Dad and I had fun speaking at a Women’s Conference in Kaysville for our darling friend Margaret Wahlstrom. These events are becoming so fun because we meet so many people who know our kids from times past (and present). It was so fun to hug Charity’s beloved flute teacher with whom we spent many fascinating hours when Charity was in high school.

From the conference we ran home to say goodbye to the last of the Powerful Moms and then we hopped off to Kingsbury Hall where Eliza had her second annual Virginia Tanner dance recital. That child is quite a dancer! She was lucky to be in a dance with only two other girls called “Falling Stars”. This picture is taken from the balcony but Eliza is in the middle and you can get a picture of her passion for dance just from that leap!

After the performance we waited by the flagpoles to shower her with praise along with hundreds of other parents waiting for their kids. The twins and Isaac decided to make good use of their time:

Wish I knew how to insert a video. That’s all I have of Oliver!

Job well done Eliza!

We then whisked Eliza and Saren off for a reward for all their hard work. The Hale Center Theatre in Orem was showing The Secret Garden, one of our favorite books and plays in the world! Eiiza was on the last few pages of the book and the acting and singing was positively stellar! Below you’ll see Eliza between adorable Mary Lennox and darling Collin (flash didn’t go off but you’ll get the idea).

Sunday was a perfectly wonderful Mother’s Day with kids spoiling me again just after my birthday.It was so fun to hear from everyone, so many of whom are incredible mothers being honored themselves on that special day! Thanks to all the husbands who did what it took to make it a great day for all the Eyrealm mothers! It was so fun to reflect on my own pizzazy mom and so many of my valiant grandmothers!

The only problem was that I gave a talk in church that was too long and when I sat down and realized that I forgot there was another musical number and then we went five minutes overtime which is a definite no-no in our ward. I just about died. I have rehearsed that talk over in my mind a hundred times. I know exactly what I should have left out to shorten it and put in to make it hang together better. I had a really hard time trying to quit beating myself up for being so dumb! Does anyone else do that? Ahhhhh!

Going on….last night we went to an amazing recital at Symphony Hall where our incredible little 13 year old friend, Aubree Oliverson performed the Tchaikovsky Concerto in D for Violin with the Utah Symphony.It was nearly an hour of memorized music that was beyond difficult! She is truly a prodigy and we knew that, after her 10,000 hours of practice, she would be spectacular, which she was! BUT you have to hear the rest of the story. Just before the performance she got a nose bleed that just wouldn’t stop, even with a medic on hand. Can you imagine playing an physically, mentally and emotionally challenging concerto with an orchestra and wondering if there was going to be blood dripping down your violin and on to your gorgeous blue satin dress????

She was positively magnificent! After the audience patiently waited for about five minutes between the opening number and her appearance, her dad gave her a blessing and the medic put cotton plugs up her nose and she performed with tremendous style and panache breathing through her mouth. She got a standing ovation after the first movement and another at the end. What a story it will be to tell her children and grandchildren. It was truly a miracle before our very eyes!

Afterward family and friends joined her at our Commons Room at Promontory for a reception. Wonderful Leon and Karen Peterson have been her benefactors and her greatest cheerleaders (well next to her parents). What an amazing contribution to the world this little girl is making! Here she is with her family and the Petersons!