New Contest: Guess What Happened!

Photo #1: April's arm

Photo #2: Ian's face

Can you guess what happened? Or at least come up with a clever explanation? Write your stories in the comments section. Winners will be judged on creativity and originality by members of the Young family. Then, maybe we'll tell you what REALLY happened (assuming that Megan won't mind typing it all since her mother currently lacks the use of her right arm). In addition to fame and glory, the winner(s) will receive an original work of art by Megan. Posts of sympathy also accepted, along with offers of meals, help with housework, etc...

Disclaimer: People were actually harmed in the above photos. No injuries were fabricated (unfortunately).

Ian Goes Green!

Saturday morning was another exciting day for Ian and his Karate classmates. We arrived bright and early at 8:00 a.m., the children warmed up, and then they did a quick test review. Even though he was a little nervous, Ian remembered all of the moves and earned his green belt. His good friend Andrew also earned one. After a short break and snacks, the sparring matches began. Ian sparred three times and almost made it to a trophy position. Everyone had a good time.

Here is Ian fighting in his third match. The quick little boy he is sparring with actually went on to win first place.

New, But Not Exciting

USU Piano Festival

Megan and Ian both participated in the Piano Festival again this year. We enjoyed listening to our children perform as well as several others. It is amazing how much talent young children have these days. They each received a certificate of participation and judges' comments (along with the experience of preparing, practicing, memorizing, and performing their pieces). We are very pleased with the progress they have each made over the past year.

Reading Time

Erin had a play date with her friend Afton the other day. This reading moment was just too cute to pass up. Afton was "reading" her version of the book, while Erin (who has this particular series memorized) was trying to correct her and tell her what the words really were. In retrospect, we should have filmed a short video to catch all the cute dialog.











Jean Bag

Earth Day awareness inspired this creation this week. Kevin pledged to plant a native shrub in our yard, and April chose to reuse some old pants. One can always use another non-plastic, reusable bag, right? This is April's 3rd attempt at making a jean bag, and she has almost perfected her pattern (now she just needs to write down all the dimensions so that she has a record for next time). This time the bag is wide enough to accommodate LOTS of books for library trips. The bag was actually made from jeans plus some of Kevin's old work slacks. The calico fabric and lining fabric are from scraps given to us (yes, April has a problem with hoarding fabric that people give away because "someday" she might have a use for it--like the days she makes jean bags). This distraction is one of the reasons why our dried fruit monster (see below) depleted our jar of plums.








Dried Fruit Monster

Lately Erin has been getting into our dried fruit and consuming large portions of it. Granted, the times to which we are referring, April left the jars out on the counter instead of putting them back into the high cupboard where Erin can't reach. (Note: We vacuum pack our dried fruit into mason jars for long-term storage in our pantry just in case anyone wonders why dried fruit comes in jars.) One afternoon Erin got a pint jar of raisins that had just been opened and ate almost the ENTIRE pint! Just yesterday she took the quart jar of dried plums which was still about 2/3 full. "Mom, I left some for you," she innocently said when April discovered what she had been doing. We'll have to dry double the amounts we did last year if she keeps eating at this rate! Actually, we are thrilled she's eating healthier snacks instead of constantly asking for candy treats, though we do worry about potential short-term digestive repercussions.

Brief Update

In an open act of rebellion against the continually cold weather, we have been enjoying "fresh" strawberries the past couple of weeks (not locally-grown, sorry Amanda, but we just couldn't wait a couple more months!). Upon checking the jam supply in our pantry, we discovered we were down to only 2 jars of strawberry jam. Since we can't stomach the Smucker's variety, we made another batch of homemade. Unfortunately we were out of bread, so we had to bake a new batch of bread as well. It was a busy day in the kitchen. Note to Janell: the jam is also delicious mixed in with steel cut oatmeal cereal!

General Conference was last weekend. After the fiasco with trying to get in last October so that Ian could see the prophet in person (we won't go into details), we tried again and requested tickets early. Kevin, Megan, and Ian drove downtown early Saturday morning, but not early enough--by the time they got to the Conference Center the lines were out to the sidewalk. After waiting 40 minutes in the line for their designated door (#6), Kevin could see there was no way they would make it in. An usher said he heard there was no waiting at door 15, so away they ran (literally). The line at door 15 was short and they were about to walk through the metal detectors when they were stopped and told, "sorry, we are out of seats." They explained that more tickets are issued than there are seats since not everyone with a ticket actually comes. They just waited, not certain what to do, when a couple minutes later, a man said they had seats for 5 more people! They ended up sitting on different rows, but were close to the front and had a nice time. The children had great views of the General Authorities and speakers.

It was exciting for them to participate in sustaining President Thomas S. Monson as our new prophet. They enjoyed all the speakers and had a memorable experience. The last memory was going to the 7th floor of the parking garage and not even starting the car for half an hour due to the non-moving line of cars trying to exit the garage.

Sunday afternoon following Conference we got together with extended family for a dinner at the Gold's, and we volunteered to bake rolls. They were a delicious accompaniment to the wonderful soup Clytee made. For dessert, we helped consume the leftover gelati from last week's wedding.










It was a little depressing to wake up on April's birthday to find the ground covered in snow, albeit a thin layer. It melted by noon, when Kevin took her out to her favorite restaurant for lunch while Megan tended. We later enjoyed a homemade lemon poppy seed cake that Kevin stayed up late baking the night before. We finished off the celebrations by staying up late again, this time doing our taxes. We would like to thank our children for the number of exemptions they add. Our frustration with the tax code reminded us again why we would love to see Ron Paul as U.S. President.

Remember our Budding Artist? Here she is posing by her winning entry in the Jr. Duck Stamp Contest. Megan won 1st prize in her age category and she and her parents attended a lovely luncheon and awards ceremony at the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge. It was pretty exciting for all of us, and she (along with all the other winners) received some very nice prizes from the Ogden Blue art store.






























Here are Kevin and Megan looking for the first returning migrants at the Bird Refuge. The marsh was fairly quiet, with the chorus frogs barely waking up, and the birds just starting to think about nesting. Most of the migrants have yet to return.

And since we've been including videos lately, here is one of Ian's favorite songs. We would like to thank Amelia for introducing him to it (NOT!). We hear him singing it at least 10 times a day. The boy should really lip-sync sometime for a talent show.

Together Forever

Before we provide an account of Kevin's cousin's wedding, we diverge momentarily to include this memorable visit to the Buchert family who recently moved from Logan to Murray. We miss them terribly, but fortunately they are not too far away for occasional visits. We regret, dear readers, that we are unable to include the sound of the house alarm which Ian managed to set off. It filled the neighborhood with loud clanging and wailing for 10-15 minutes before the adults were finally able to disconnect it. In the end the only recourse was to shut off the breaker, since the Bucherts did not have the code for disabling it and the toll free help line was of no help.

Another memorable moment was when Martin was trying to explain the Fibonacci sequence to the children and Ian started to walk out while voicing his boredom with the topic. Martin told Ian that he had a right to remain ignorant, to which Ian replied "Yeah, whatever that means!" We apologize again for our boisterous visit, but it was great to see you guys and catch up a bit.

------------------------------------------


Dagny's and Christian's Wedding Celebrations
March 28-29, 2008

The Wedding Dinner, held at Spaghetti Mama's in Sandy

Friday night

Here family members and close friends were treated to a choice of Spinach-Cheese Ravioli, Chicken Alfredo, or Colossal Meatball and Spaghetti. With 5 of us in our group, we were able to sample all of the above dishes. They were served along with a salad, bread sticks, and strawberry lemonade. Dessert was a scoop of chocolate gelato. After the dinner we watched a clever slide show presentation (courtesy of Brad and Emmy) and heard remarks from the parents and the happy couple. Charlie waxed eloquent about how Dagny has always surpassed expectations, how they have ended up in many unexpected places thanks to Dagny, and how he was rooting for Christian from the start.

Seated at the long table pictured below are the groom's parents, the happy couple, and the bride's parents. Don't be fooled by the sweet, innocent smiles shown by Carrie, Tanya, and Ashley (a cousin trio), who were plotting the car decorating for the following night.

The Marriage, Salt Lake Temple
Saturday morning

Need we say more? Just look at their beaming faces! What a beautiful bride and handsome groom! The sealing was beautiful, and we heard good counsel from the temple sealer. Although the day was sunny and bright, there was also a bitter cold wind blowing outside. Pictures were taken quickly and then we gathered for a family luncheon at Nancy's house.

Ring Ceremony and Reception, Holladay City Hall
Saturday evening

Since not all family members were able to attend the temple ceremony, a nice ring ceremony was held prior to the reception. A former Bishop gave some remarks, then they exchanged rings. Following that was another photo session in the reception area.

The growing Gold family (L-R): Carrie, Charlie, Clytee, Dagny, Christian, Emmy, Brad, and grandchild Gabe

Dagny may have had eyes only for Christian, but in our opinion, the man of the night was Gabe! Dressed in his adorable little tux, Dagny's nephew stole the show strutting proudly around while smiling at everyone, dancing on the floor, and frequently visiting his dad at the keyboard (Brad's band provided the music). Here he is with his photogenic parents (not visible are his awesome Cars socks).

In contrast to Gabe's endearing antics, here is our genetic contribution to the world goofing around with the elegantly draped chairs. A few people suggested we tie the bow tighter and keep him restrained for the evening. Fortunately he did not set off any alarms.

This reception had the best refreshments ever in our (somewhat limited) experience of wedding receptions: Italian sodas and Gelati! Grandpa kept Erin entertained for most of the evening by frequently returning to the Gelato stand to try out more flavors. It brought back memories of our Gelatissimo experience in Australia last November.









After cutting the cake, Dagny danced with her father who then passed her along to her new husband. Carrie sang for both dances, accompanied by the band.

Later...in a parking lot across the street where it was presumed hidden, a particular car received some decorating from the bridesmaids, the groomsmen, and Ian. Chocolate sauce, whipped cream, and Cheezwhiz were used to accent the toilet paper and saran wrap. As Kevin was witness to the event (as camera man), he would like to publicly absolve Carrie from any responsibility for taking things too far--she was frequently shaking her finger and telling people "NO!"

Since this can't be complete without one of our entertaining video compilations, here is the footage:

Happy Easter!

And now--we present the exciting Easter post requested by Janell, who wished she could have been with us, but was stuck far away in Vermont, where there is still snow. (Don't feel too bad. We may have the Easter eggs, but you still have the far superior real maple syrup.)

Saturday our family ventured south to SLC for the Easter party, and to sneak in a quick belated b-day party for Megan with her grandparents. Here is Megan with her awesome art easel present from Grandma & Grandpa Young. Thanks so much for helping enhance her art supplies! Kevin envisions some en plein air art experiences this summer...



For the Easter party Aunt Andrea, with the help of Uncle Tyler, made a delicious coconut cake and some wonderful lemon cupcakes. Thanks to Megan it became a Birthday-Easter cake. She blew out all 11 of the fancy giant candles, so her wish should come true.

We ate a tasty dinner of chicken and rice, egg bread (Challah), salad, and fruit, followed by the cake and cupcakes for dessert. Post dinner and clean-up was the annual egg dying event, sponsored by Grandma Young. This year she got tattoo, tie-dye, marble, and gold egg coloring kits (whatever happened to the traditional color tablets and vinegar?). Carrie demonstrates how to create a tie-dye one in the video.




We regret to inform Scotty that Humpty Dumpty was truly unable to be put back together again . . . He ended up being eaten by Kevin.

We also got to see some of Tanya's photos from her recent experience volunteering at orphanages in Ecuador. She spent three months there and fell in love with all the little children. She's planning on returning in the fall to help again.

And now, for the "exciting" video we promised:

Sunday morning the children found plastic Easter eggs and fun prizes at the Young's house. Next, we discussed the true meaning of Easter using the "Resurrection Eggs" Activity (another yearly family tradition). After getting dressed in Sunday clothes, we went to Grandma Tsukamoto's where the children went on yet another egg hunt in the back yard. Fully loaded with sugar, we ventured to church with Grandma T, where Erin had a very difficult time holding still.

Erin took a nap on the drive home and was fully recharged by the time Kevin and April were ready to go to sleep. Sorry, but no tantrum video of the "going to bed" scene. Happy Easter!