Painting, Packages, Driving, Performances, Celebrating, and Blogging

So, according to my new blogging "schedule", I'm supposed to blog an update about my family today. So here goes...

RICK - This week was one of Rick's "short" weeks at work. He has every other Friday off. So, after working for 4 days, he stayed home yesterday and we got lots of stuff done. He got his car inspected while we did grocery shopping and stopped at Home Depot for some supplies. He is helping me paint a piece of furniture that Michael made for me (a two-drawer file cabinet) about 5 years ago in woodshop in Jr. High. Yep, Michael is now is college! He never finished it, but I really need it now to keep my office clean. So, that is Rick's project for this weekend. The other project this weekend is setting up Grant's room so that he has someplace to sleep and hang out when he comes home. Since Alex moved into his room when he left, and I took over Alex's room as an office (which I refuse to give up!), the only room left is Michael's. BUT, Michael will be home from college in a couple of months and will need someplace to stay, and since he didn't clean out and pack up his room when he left for college, there is no room for Grant in there. So, we are putting Grant in the basement and Rick is doing most of the work!


My new filing cabinet: Rick has painted the base coat. When he's done painting the top coat, I'll distress it, so it will look like the other furniture in my office.



Grant's new room: We haven't cleared everything out that doesn't belong in the room, but basically he has a "living room" area, a "sleeping" area (without the table of junk), and a "reading" area. Plus the kitchen - which isn't cleaned out yet. This is just our not-yet finished basement.

GRANT - There are now 15 days before Grant arrives home from Japan, where he's been serving a mission. We don't hear from him until Sunday night, so I'm not sure what he's been doing this week. But, we did receive a few things from him in the mail. He sent ahead some of his clothes that he didn't want to pack. This included his nice leather bomber jacket, which luckily did not fall out of the gaping hole in the bottom of the box. Yesterday, we got another package from him - inside were two Samurai swords. Cool! He has been accumulating souvenirs and sent these ahead.

SIDE NOTE: When Grant left for 2 years (back in Feb of 2007), it was a very bittersweet time for me. On one hand, I wouldn't see him for a long time, on the other hand, this experience of serving a mission is something that I didn't want him to miss. Now, I'm at that bittersweet place again. I'm so excited to see him and have him present in our lives again, but my heart aches for him because he has to leave the land and people of Japan - something that is going to be very hard for him. He loves them so much. Bitter. Sweet.

MICHAEL: Don't think I'm a crazy mom for allowing this, but Michael left on Thursday with his girlfriend, Ashley, and his best friend, Garrett, to drive across the country to New York to visit Ashley's family. I know - he's only 18. But, what was I supposed to do? Don't answer that. Anyway, they left after classes Thursday night and drove until they got to a rest stop at 4:00 am in Nebraska. They locked the doors of the car and all fell asleep. Yesterday they drove from there to Bloomington, Illinois, where they stayed with a family that Ashley knows. Today, they'll play around in Illinois for awhile and then get back on the road. Ashley wants them to experience eating a Chicago-style hot dog before they leave. It's roughly 12 hours from there to upstate NY, so they might have to sleep at another rest stop, depending on how late they leave today. They sent some movies home. I'll try to include a video clip at the end of this blog. They are having a blast. I'm worrying my head off.


Michael and Ashley. I can't find a picture of Garrett. Bummer.

ALEX - this week has been full of school projects for Alex. Alex plays the trombone in Jazz Band at Mt. Ridge Jr. High and they had a Jazz Festival on Tuesday. They received "Superior" rating on their performance. The judge said that there are "different languages that you have to speak when you play jazz" and that their band spoke "Salsa" the best. Pretty cool. Then, on Wednesday night, Alex realized that the rough draft of his research paper was due the next day - the paper that he hasn't done ANY research on. Now, we've pulled off some amazing saves on homework with our kids in the past, but this was just impossible. Then his friend called for help on the huge packet that was due the next day in the same class. You guessed it - WHAT PACKET??!! It's been quite awhile since I stayed up with one of the kids until 1:00 in the morning, but that's what we did. It took that long for Alex to finish the packet. As for the rough draft - nope, it didn't get done. The rest of the week, Alex had an Art Show - where he won an honorable mention for a picture he took of a frozen rose, and the Grand Concert - where he played in both the Jazz and Symphonic Bands. Phew! What a week.


Alex's award-winning frozen rose.

MATTHEW: On Tuesday of this week Matthew turned 12. He stayed home from school and the two of us went shopping (for church clothes/summer clothes/and new scriptures for his b-day), he came with me to the doctor's office, we went to Sizzler for lunch, and later that night, he went to the District Science Fair with his Dad. Matthew won a medal for honorable mention for his project: Splitting Water Molecules. Awesome!! He set up his Facebook page and got a SuperPoke pet. His is a dragon named Sparky. He's spent way too much time online between Facebook and his game, Runescape. He is caught up on homework though. He has also started biking each day, and he is working on reading the first book in the Lord of the Rings trilogy - Fellowship of the Ring.


Matthew with his science fair project - Splitting Water Molecules

Matthew's "Honorable Mention" medal for District Science Fair

KARA: I've had a pretty good week. I ended up driving to Provo three times this week to go to the doctor. I had a para-thyroid test Tuesday, and I had my Herceptin IV treatment on Wednesday. I've also been updating my other blog site that has Grant's mission videos (www.eldergrantherron.blogspot.com). The most exciting thing that happened this week - my latest Cherish Bound book came in the mail this morning. I made a 116 page book for Grant's homecoming that has the photographs that he has taken throughout his mission of Japan - landscapes, buildings, monuments, etc. (No words - just a coffee table book). It is amazing! The most beautiful book I've made so far. I can't wait for him to see it. It's called "Sayonara, Japan" and has a picture of Grant in front of this cool building on the front cover.


Grant's new book: Sayonara, Japan - that's him on the front.

Well, that's the update for this week. Have a great upcoming week!