Scott and Sue Family

Singing in the choir

September 28, 2008 by Sue Leave a Comment

Saturday, Sept. 27, was the General Relief Society Meeting of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. The music was furnished by a choir of sisters from the Alpine and Highland areas. I was fortunate to be allowed to sing in the choir and it was a wonderful experience. We have been rehearsing on Sunday evenings for the last 6 weeks. The singing was a small part of the rehearsal time as we were expected to learn the music on our own: what we really learned was to be better people and to strengthen our testimony. Every week the director said Aloha and gave us a gift, which was to sing a Hawaiian chant that partly says that “You are the precious adornment worn around the neck of your ancestors.” What a lovely thought and how wonderful for our self-esteem.

I was on TV several times and if you go to BYU TV and click on LDS Church Broadcasts. You’ll see a separate file under there for each of the talks and the musical numbers, so you can watch the 3 numbers and see me on TV (or the internet, as it were). Wow!

Sunflowers

August 29, 2008 by Sue 1 Comment

My sunflowers make me happy. I love them and have never had a good place to plant them at this house. But last summer, Scott re-worked sprinklers and dug out a new flower bed for me on the north side of our lot. We planted a few perennials for Mother’s Day to give the bed some structure, and the rest of the bed is seeded with all kinds of flowers, meaning we just broadcast seeds all over it. At first I was a little concerned about design, color schemes, etc. and Scott told me we can call this our “Joseph bed”, referring to his coat of many colors. So we just planted a bunch of things I like and let the seeds fall where they may. The only thing I was careful about was making sure the sunflowers and hollyhocks got in the back so they could grow tall and not block anything. Hollyhocks are biennial, so lots of little plants and no flowers this year, but next year we should have a tall forest of both kinds of flowers. But this year, we have many different sunflower hybrids. And that makes me happy!

The Summer of 2008

August 18, 2008 by Sue 1 Comment

Summer is over and where did it go? Looking back, here is what the Carey’s did:

Scott:

became ward clerk
fixed ALOT of sprinklers
was the ticket manager for ACT’s “Suessical”
designed websites for 2 local businesses (Wasatch Melody and Alpine Kindermusik)
planted a vegetable garden
started to learn the cello

Sue:

went to San Diego for National PTA Convention
started 2 reading challenges
worked in my flower gardens a little
went to Utah PTA Retreat by Oakley
went to Baltimore for the PIRC Conference
attended lots of meetings like I do all year round
got released from Webelos den leader and was made Pack Committee Chair

Brian:

performed in SCERA’s “The King and I”
started rehearsals for the show he’s directing, “Yearbook Reflections”
was asst. music director for Lehi Arts Council’s “Oklahoma”
spent a week at BYU Young Ambassador camp
went to a leadership conference in Indianapolis representing the state of Utah
climbed Timpanogos and saw the sunrise
started a business playing piano for weddings and special events
audition for “American Idol”
sang in Midvale’s “Harvest Heartthrob” competition
played viola for Sasha’s baptism
taught 2 sessions of a two-week children’s drama camp with Macy

Together:

went to Tuacahn and saw “Les Miserables” and “The Sound of Music”
saw “Footloose” at the SCERA
went to Emily and Jeremy’s wedding
went to the Shoell’s sealing
participated in Tom & Karen’s 50th wedding anniversary celebration
went to Timpanogos Cave
watched a bunch of Olympic events

Mark:

left the MTC for Texas
baptized a new member
knocked on a lot of doors
gave away a lot of pass-along cards
talked to a lot of people

My trip to Baltimore

August 15, 2008 by Sue Leave a Comment

I went to Baltimore, Maryland for the National Parent Information Resource Center (PIRC) Conference and really learned alot of great information. But I also saw some cool stuff in the city. I saw Camden Yards on the ride from the airport and wished I had pulled out my camera to take a picture for Scott. I stayed at a hotel across the street from Harborplace which is on the inner harbor in Baltimore. It’s a public space that surrounds the finger of water that is the end of the harbor. You can stroll next to the water, there are shops, restaurants, street performers, and ships available to tour as part of the Maritime Museum. I arrived at the hotel about 5 pm ET, got checked in, and immediately set out to find some dinner. I crossed the street and started walking around the harbor and was enthralled. It is a great spot! I felt the ocean breeze across my face, smelled the salty tang in the air, and just enjoyed being outside. I decided on dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe because it was housed in a great building, and I’m a sucker for cool architecture.

I was reading and watching music videos while I was eating and the waiter told me that since I like to read, I definitely needed to check out the Barnes & Noble next door because it was really big. So I took his advice and it was so awesome inside. It was left like a factory and had the industrial look. The escalator was see-through and had the cogs and chains so that it looked like a working factory. The building had lots of ambience and tons of books. I browsed all over, but resisted the urge to walk out with a bag full of books. I decided that I had brought extra for the long flights, I was traveling light with a small suitcase, and I could buy them back home. So I was strong.

I was at the conference with 3 other Utah ladies and they took me to Fell’s Point to see the awesome architecture and eat Maryland crab cakes. They were wonderful and the buildings were great. We rode a water taxi across the harbor and it was very fun. This is a picture of me on the water taxi with the USS Constellation behind me.

I made a stop at Ft. McHenry on the way to the airport and dragged my rolling suitcase all around the fort. I got some interesting looks, believe me. This is the fort where Francis Scott Key saw the flag flying after the bombardment during the War of 1812 and was inspired to write the words of our National Anthem. It’s shaped like a star and was quite interesting. I was unable to avoid buying a book on the War of 1812 at the gift shop, justifying the purchase with the knowledge that I am weak on that time period and need to learn more since I had finally been to Maryland and seen some of the historical areas.

It was a short, 3-day trip but a fun city. I was 30 miles from Washington, DC and that’s the closest I’ve gotten to the nation’s capital so far.

Mark’s first baptism

August 5, 2008 by Sue Leave a Comment

Mark’s third week out of the MTC, he baptized a lady that he and his companion had tracted out. Elders Carey & Houghton, Irma, Luisa, and two sisters from the ward. Mark baptized and confirmed Luisa in Spanish and said it was a great experience.