Letter to Mom and Dad in Australia 9-2-12

Mom and Dad,

            I’m actually caught up on my blog, so I guess I need to write a letter this week! I’ve been very busy with PTA. I’m running the Summer Reading Olympics again, that I brought to the school last year. Last year we had about 60 kids participate. This year we had 120! Some kids read 5 hours a day, or so they say ;). I have a partner this year that did all the soliciting to businesses for prizes—I really hated that part, so I’m grateful! We’ll have award ceremonies in the grade pods next week and then I’ll put up some photos of the winners and I’ll be done with that commitment for the year.

            Then I’m helping with the Fun Run at the end of September. I’m just doing the set up and take down so that should just be a one-day deal.

            Then I’m leading up the Art Masters programs in the boys grades: 2^nd, 4^th and 6^th.

I'll be coaching for the Shakespeare Play "Much Ado About Nothing" in October and November.

            And finally, I’ll be volunteering in Jack’s classroom on Monday mornings.  Maybe once Trace is in school I should get a job. It seems I don’t really like polishing my counters and floors. I’ve always wanted to be a Jr. High English Teacher. We’ll see once we’re settled in a couple of years from now.

            Clint took the whole week off this week because he was in a use-it-or-lose it situation. He still ended up doing a lot of work on the phone and going in to the office. But he really enjoyed the week. He spent half a day with his best friend Steve helping him carve up his Olympus Cove backyard for a deck. He said the soil was more granite than dirt and even broke off a piece of the pick ax. The metal piece went flying and cut a little hole through his shirt left a nice welt on his chest. Clint enjoyed the manual labor/defending his decision to go to college.

He also spent some time with our friend Dave Nielsen welding cross-pieces on rebar to hold clay pigeons for his Grover shooting range. He really enjoyed learning a new skill. I think Clint would be very happy with a helicopter job working 7 days on and 7 days off. He doesn’t seem to have a problem thinking of things to do in his time off. He’s also reloaded A LOT of ammunition this week I think over 2,500 rounds. He pays to the boys to do a lot of the little proceses, like drilling out the old primers with a hand drill and placing all the bullets in boxes and cases. They really love it.

Clint and I started out the week launching our fitness competition. We measured our fat with calipers. I think it’s amazing that I have 36 pounds of fat and Clint only has 26. Our contest is to lose the greatest percentage of that fat. So I’ll be adding weight training for the first time. I’m joining the Jewish Community Center. It is on the hill above Primary Children’s Hospital. It’s such a lovely location. I’ve gone to their early morning Master Swim classes and learned how to refine my breast stroke. I went on my own on Friday and gracefully backstroked my shoulder right into the side of the pool and abraided off a 3-inch square of skin in the process. Ow! It’s hard to swim straight on your back without a visual reference. I enjoy swimming, but I still panic about every other length thinking about my face in the water instead of out in the open air. I also still bike up Emmigration Canyon once a week. I really enjoy that. I listen to books on my phone. I finished John Carter, Princess of Mars and now I’m listening to Bleak House. And I’m still running with my girlfriends up and around the backside of the zoo early in the mornings, twice a week. I love looking over the twinkling Salt Lake Valley in the dim light.

We were going to go to the Ranch this week, but decided to stay home instead, so we could help our friends move and get a lot of stuff done. So Friday night Clint and I went out to eat at Sea Salt with Edith and Casey, then I went with them to HCT for 9 to 5. We couldn’t find a babysitter, so we just left the boys watching a movie for the hour we were at the restaurant, since it was just a block away. Then Clint went home and I went to the play. It was entertaining, but a little racy for HCT. There is that part where the three women smoke pot and fantasize about how they’d get back at their boss. They said they were just getting drunk, but at one point a 15-foot T Rex head comes on stage and eats the boss, so it was obvious what the original script said. Still the direction was fantastic, they cut most of the swearing and some of those character actors were amazing!

Saturday night we went out with our friends, the Strongs, who are moving to St. George. We are sad to lose them.

That’s our week!

We love you! Happy Bonus Father’s Day, Dad!