Choir Tour

There has been and will be so much going on in June and July that I thought I had better get going on the updates ASAP so you didn't get overwhelmed with new entries.

Choir tour was amazing. It usually is, but it didn't disappoint this time either. I am going to give you a brief summery of the tour. It will be mostly tourist things.... with a few concert side notes. If you want details and news, choir, and member info --- I will also include a link or two for those. But if you go to the choir website.... there is LOTS of info there. It's link is: http://mormontabernaclechoir.org/There is daily coverage by choir members, pre tour media coverage, post concert reviews, and continuing coverage for the Church News and Deseret News by Gerry Avant . But, here is my mini record of it......

We started out in Cincinnati and the highlight was getting to see the Beazers.


yes, we did do other things.... but the escalator was by far the most popular play toy of the day.
Q was reconnecting with his high school choir teacher, so we didn't get a pic of him... darn.

Here we are on the River at Riverbend. The concert was down right FUN!! it was all familiar songs and a lot of Americana. We sang with the Cincinnati Pops and Erich Kunzel. He is such a great man and even with the cancer he is battling... he didn't let it affect his performance. One of the highlights of the evening was a reading of the narration of the Lincoln Portrait by Eric Copeland by former astronaut and the first man on the moon Neil Armstrong. It was a moving rendition.
http://mormontabernaclechoir.org/pages/T09_Cincinnati

Next was on to St. Louis, MO. Seeing The Arch come into view, learning it's history, and walking it's city was a new and memorable experience. Sat. Morning the choir had an early morning photo shoot, then Brent and I took a paddle boat ride down the Missouri River, road the trolley to the top of the arch, learned about the Old Historic Courthouse where Dred and Harriet Scott, both slaves, pleaded with the court for their freedom. They lost the battle, and that decision was one of the contributing factors to the start of the Civil War (if I understand it correctly) Virginia Minor also petitioned for women's right to vote in the 1870’s.

This is me in the park right by our Hotel. The Old Courthouse is framed by the Arch.
Our orchestra joined us for the concert that night and the rest of the tour. It was good to have them there. As good as the Cin. Pops are... they are not part of the family like OTS is we love having them with us. One of the publicity ideas that has worked really well is to have a local celebrity conduct the encore. In St Louis it was the Former Missouri governor, U.S. senator and U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft. He is a delightful man who told us about his friendship with Senators Hatch and Bennett.

http://mormontabernaclechoir.org/pages/T09_StLouis

Sunday we drove to DesMoines by way of Nauvoo. We had Sac Mtg at the Stake Center there and then were allowed to explore until about 5. It was a great adventure. The missionaries don't usually have things open on Sunday, but they were so excited that we were coming that they all dressed up in their period costumes and opened up all the sites for us. It was very kind of them. Brent and I have already been there many time so we didn't feel the need to do the normal tourist things, so we took leisurely walks around the temple, rode the bus around the city, and generally recalled memories of Mom and Dad and the area. I got a little melancholy that day. I think I was missing them in there favorite place.

http://mormontabernaclechoir.org/pages/T09_Nauvoo

Des Monies has special memories. Some of us chose to do some service while we were there. We were bussed to Care Centers ( we had 3 groups that did 2 different centers with 2 different groups in the larger one) and sang a little mini concert for the residents there. We were very small groups compared to what we usually sing with, but the blessings were HUGE. The residents were so appreciative and some were singing with us, directing us, or just sitting with their eyes closed and listening. It was a beautiful experience.

http://mormontabernaclechoir.org/pages/T09_DesMoines

From DesMoines we traveled to Omaha. We stopped at 3 places on the way. The Western Historic Trails Center, Kanesville Tabernacle in Council Bluffs, Iowa, and the Mormon Trail Center, Cemetery, and Temple at Winter Quarters The Western Trails center shows the route, experiences, and history of all the major westward trails. The Tabernacle ( pictured here with a statue of the 1st Pres), is where Brigham Young was sustained as the new Pres. in 1847 (yes he did come back that year!) and Winter Quarters Center is and amazing and beautiful spot. The Spirit is in rich abundance there.

I just realized that this is getting WAY toooo long... so I will try to be a little more brief. Having said that I must tell you that the Omaha Performance was the most comfortable and enjoyable for me. As you know I am not one of the tallest - that's an understatement - so I am usually in the front 3 rows in concert seating. Well.... seating was a bit of a challenge at the beautiful Holland Performing Arts Center they just weren't used to a group of our size... so as luck would have it I ended up on the BACK row!!! How fun is that... and I looked TALL!! Yes that is me right under the "E" I LOVED IT!!! I wish it would happen more often.... but not so. The concert was sold out and the acoustics were wonderful. It was great to be in a performing arts center rather than a Hockey arena. http://mormontabernaclechoir.org/pages/T09_Omaha and http://mormontabernaclechoir.org/pages/T09_Omaha2

Off to Kansas City... spent the morning visiting Independence, both our sites. including Liberty Jail, and those of The Community of Christ. I will be breif.... go to the web sites to get LOTS of info..... http://mormontabernaclechoir.org/pages/T09_KansasCity

Oklahoma City, OK (or really the concert was in Norman... 45 min away) saw 3 things I had never seen before....
1. A motorcycle rally.... there was a Harley Rally.... more motorcycles than I had ever see in my life!!! YES!! every street looked like this.


2. The memorial for the OK, city bombing... what a touching site.....

If anyone is in the area ... it is a must see.
3. National Cowboy Museum. ran out of time to go through it.... but I love the gift shop!!!

I must say that I fell in love with OK city !!! We ate at a great Mexican Rest. that night... we were craving a taco!!! Saw its Canal boats. Loved being at the Sooner's home. I guess the uniqueness of being in a state I had never been in was great!!

http://mormontabernaclechoir.org/pages/T09_Norman

The Sabbath is here again.... we had Sac mtg at the hotel and then a lovely 15 hours to Denver. It was suppose to be a 10 hour drive, but with driver breaks, time changes, etc.... we left OK city at 9 and got to our hotels in Denver at 12am..... made for a long day. But was not as unbearable as we had anticipated.
http://mormontabernaclechoir.org/pages/T09_Crossing

Then Denver, oh Denver. It was soooo good to be in dry mountain air!!! stepping off the bus at midnight was such a breath of fresh air. The smell of pine trees was even in the air!

And then there is Red Rocks Amphitheatre What a beautiful place. Thinking about it still takes my breath away. Make sure and see the link on this one.... look at the crowd.... it was HUGE. Yes those are people all the way to the rock! We had to climb in and out of the venue..... those who were out of shape had a really hard time. But boy, was it worth it!!! http://mormontabernaclechoir.org/pages/T09_RedRocks

Then it was time to head home.... not a 15 hour ride but a good 8 hour one. But we got to stop at Little America for a down home cook out under the tent.... the big tent and then on to home. What a great couple of weeks. Hope didn't ramble too much. but, there you go. amd here is the last link..... http://mormontabernaclechoir.org/pages/T09_HomewardBound

Shirt Tail Creek

Dad - Here are the pictures of Shirt Tail Creek that you wanted me to post. I love ya!!! Happy Fathers Day!!! You are wonderful!!!!

Air Force Week in Review

We have had an exceptionally exciting week!!! It has been Air Force week in Utah. Only 3 cities in the country will have the opportunity to have Air Force Week be celebrated in their city/state (Sacramento being one of the others!!!)

It started Monday with The signing of a proclamation at the State Capitol with the Govenor and Jake Garn. Then that evening a Bees Game where we had hamburger dinner behind center field, watched parachuters , saw the general, sat by Col Williams, and then ran for the car during the 5th inning because a HUGE rainstorm was starting.

Tuesday Brent got up early and headed for the Air Nat. Guard Airport where he ate breakfast, and went up in a C135 tanker with 20 other mayors from the area and flew to Mt Home Idaho where


he got to lay on his belly and watch the airman refuel A15s. If you watch closely in the video you can see the gas line decending and then attaching to the plane (the plane jerks a little when it attaches.... that is your clue) This is all at an altitude of 20,000 ft or so and going 500mph. DO NOT TRY THIS ON YOUR OWN!!!

Wednesday we went to the Utah Test and Training Range (UTTR) in the Salt Flats close to Wendover. We thought it was going to be a group like he was in Tuesday - - Oh No - - were we wrong!!! There were 10 buses of us!!!! We first saw the parachute team of Cadets who did a show for us. Then we drove out to the control tower and watched F16s demonstrate bombing practice and strafing . Strafing was my favorite.... they had a HUGE target that they shot at as they flew by. From there we went to a viewing area and watched them do a test burn of a Minute Man Rocket. Pretty intense. You can see how far away we are and notice the 3-4 story building next to it... you can see it close up in the next picture and can see the workers next to the building for perspecive. Then back on the buses and off to watch them blow up a Titan

Missle Booster. It was only a "little one" because of atmospheric conditions, but you could still see the sound waves and feel the wind from it.... and we were miles away! After all that excitement it was back on the bus (with our box lunches) for the 1 1/2 hour drive home. It felt like a dress rehearsal for choir tour in a couple of weeks.... 6 hours on lots of buses with lots of people, a few stops on the way, box lunches and back on the bus. That evening we partnered up with Gary and Jill Poll and went to a concert at Abravanel Hall and Saw Tops in Blue Concert. Great show with high intensity!!

Thursday The Choir did a concert after rehearsal Dedicated to the Airforce. There was a great crowd and they seemed to really enjoy it.

Friday we attended a special reception for the Thunderbirds (who were at the concert the night before) and lots of good food!!

Sat was the air show. We got cought up in "Honey Do"s and didn't get there until just in time for the Thunderbird show. WOW what a show it was!!! we had front row seats and LOVED the show. These are amazing pilots that can do unbelievable things with those beautiful planes. We have see them before when they have been here, but it has always been sitting on the lawn and watching them fly overhead. We were in the fenced area. Notice the support personel. They were as choreographed as the fliers... we were very impressed. To be there on there on the runway they were less than 100 feet away. It was a once in a lifetime event that we are very happy to have had.

OHIO

Brent had to brag about his trip to Sac.... so I am going to do the same with OHIO!!! Got to go spend a few days with the Beazers and what a time it was!! C had his Big #2 Birthday and look at how grown-up he looks!

No, he is not behind bars.... he is playing on the front porch!! And here he is with his beautiful big sister.

He and L went on their first bike outings for the summer (actually it is big wheel and tricycle - but that is too much to type so we will just say BIKE)




They were so proud of their new helmets and knee and shoulder pads....

We went to the Asian Festival on Sat... and ate well and were well entertained. One of the new culture events I was introduced to was a ball game that is (to me anyway) a combination of Volleyball, hacky sack, and soccer. There were 3 men on each team - a ball that looked like wicker(loosely woven and with holes), but was hard plastic - No touching with hands, so it was kicked and head butted, and played with a net (about head high on the men) . I will give you a brief video of part of the game.... it was amazing!!




It was a little scary too when one would kick it the same time another was trying to hit it with his head!!! This gives you a little feel of it... I think Brooke has a better video... so maybe she will put it on her blog and you can see more there. But here is a picture....

If you look closely you can see how high they jump to kick and in what position they do it... most un-natural.... it was amazing.

House Potential

This is the house that Dani will be putting a offer in for tomorrow.

This is the club house for the house I am looking at. You can see my nextdoor neighbor's house on the right. It is brown.

Kayaking in Sacramento

Dani & Brent Kayaking in Sacramento this weekend. First on the American River in Rancho Cordova.

Then we went to Ice House Reservoir

And finished up on the American River in Folsom. We paddeled up to the Folsom Prison were Johnny Cash was luck enough to stay. That is it sitting on the side of the hill.