Everything I Need I Can Get at the Wilkinson Center

Scott is about to start school tomorrow and so I have finally resurfaced as a blogger. Well, sort of...I'll try at least!

The Wilkinson Center on campus is proving to be my full-proof, one-stop shopping convenience location. Here's everything I was able to do in one hour yesterday:

• Mailed 5 padded envelopes to my brothers and sister with our family photos DVD at the campus Post Office (Did I mention the workers are so helpful?)






• Got my spouse ID at the ID center





• Bought Emma a treat at Jamba Juice for being so patient while doing the above





• Stopped at the ATM which doesn't charge a use fee





• Bought special school supplies for my multiplicatingly challenged boys at the bookstore....

• Also found the Crayola Expression Mini-Stampers that Ben's teacher had looked everywhere for....

• And my favorite...

Emma got the most adorable haircut ever at the BYU Barber & Salon!

And what was everyone else doing at home while Emma & I were so productive at the Wilk?

Scott did shed a few tears about the loss of over 9 inches of Emma's hair. Sorry, it just had to be done. He is the brusher of the rat's nest and he is going to be otherwise engaged starting tomorrow. Emma would have had dreadlocks if it wasn't for this adorable cut. Emma is so pleased that she doesn't have to cry everytime her hair is brushed!

One last look at those golden locks! (Scott, it really will grow!)

4TH of July as promised

This was our first 4Th of July in Utah. We had a blast. I'm sorry it is now a month and a half since the 4Th, it almost seems like I should just skip it and wait until next year... However I have the pictures and I might as well share, right?

It seems like in Provo that the independence day celebrations last a week or so. For us it all started on the 3rd when we woke up early and saw about 20 or 30 hot air balloons take off. It was spectacular.





On the 4Th they flew the balloons once again, we did not see them lift off, but 3 or 4 landed in the park near our house. The kids and I went to watch and actually helped bring some of them down. It was fairly crazy because a large race was happening simultaneously in the park, so there were thousands of people running, waiting for runners and of course the balloons landing. It was pretty fun.

We then rode our bikes down to center street and joined my cousins and watched the 4Th of July parade street side. This is Nancy and Gracie enjoying the festivities!


I love this picture of the kids standing on the street watching a pipe and drum band go by... Lets hear it for "Scotland the Brave!"


After riding our bike uphill all the way home... we headed over to my cousins house and celebrated the nation's and my cousin Julie's birthday with a fantastic BBQ and cake. Later in the afternoon we headed over to my parents condo and dropped of Emma and Grace while Nancy and I and the big kids went to the Stadium of Fire!

The Stadium of Fire is held at the LaVelle Edwards Stadium on BYU campus and was filled to capacity. Miley Cyrus was headlining along with the Blue Man Group and Emceed by Glen Beck. We were not disappointed.

Here we are waiting for the show to begin.

As the show began 4 F-16's from Hill AFB flew about 1500 feet over the stadium with full afterburners lit. It was like an earth quake it was so loud. After that there were 7 Para-jumpers that jumped from about 10,000 feet and all landed in the stadium. Man it was cool!
There was a great flag ceremony... the flag is being held by service men and women from the Utah National Guard that had served in Iraq and Afghanistan. It was a touching moment.


The Blue Man Group was excellent, I would love to see them again. Miley was ok. I don't think I will jump to see her again. Once it got dark the fireworks started choreographed to music from the movies. I have seen a lot of fire work displays including quite a few in Washington DC and I have to say that the Stadium of Fire was the best firework show I have ever seen. It lasted about 45 minutes and it seemed like there were about 7 or 8 finales. When the finale came there was no doubt it was the last hurrah for the evening.

Pictures of fireworks can be really disappointing and the above one is admittedly disappointing and does not capture the feeling at all, but there it is anyway.

What a fun day we had, and we are determined to go to the Stadium of Fire next year again. It was a long day but very memorable. We can't wait for our second 4Th of July in Provo next year.

Going, Going...

Going, going, but not quite gone. Of course I am talking about Gracie. I'm sure if it was up to her she would sign up for the Provo canyon half marathon. She is up and walking and even trying to run. For weeks she would take a step or two and then move back to her speed crawl. In the last week those steps turned into a much more confidant spurt of walking, but crawling was still the fastest way to get where she wants to go.

As of today (8/11) walking has become her preferred mode of transport. This little video was taken at Kim and Shirley's house.

Nancy was there for my cousin Emma Lee's bridal shower last Saturday. Click here to check out Emma and Jed's engagement announcement blog.

The kids were excited to see and take a picture with Emma. They were excited because Emma plays the character and voice over for "Foofa" on "Yo Gabba Gabba" It is a fun kids show on Noggin and Nick Jr that the kids love. (I understand that there are some BIG kids that like the show too... Hey Kyle V I'm a fan too!) Emma just returned a week or so ago from Hollywood where they just finished the last episode for their second season. Congratulations to Christian, Emma, Parker and the rest of the crew we can't wait for the next season!

"July she will fly!"

As the Simon & Garfunkel lyrics describe July did fly! But first things first. I promised pictures from Ben and My trip to the Y.



Going back to June 24th, this is of course Ben at the Y gate at the trail head to the Y.




This was the first view we got of the Y on switchback number 8 out of 10.



WE MADE IT!





This is the view from the top of the Y looking down on Provo and BYU campus.





We took a camel back filled with cold water and a little lunch we ate up at the top. It was a nice hot day, but really fun to spend some good father and son time together.



Next installment "The 4th of July"... hopefully before the end of August!

Cutie Pie

We have now been in Provo for 3 weeks. Wow how time flies. We are having fun as a family, however in a short 7 weeks the honeymoon will be over and I will be up to my neck in graduate courses. So we are having fun while we can!

It has been some time since I last updated our blog. It is much easier on our computer and especially now we have high speed Internet set up. Yahoo!

I do have some ideas as to what I want to blog, one of those entries will document the rite of passage that Ben and I took part in earlier this week. What was the rite of passage you ask? Hiking Y mountain of course. We made it and I Will blog about it with pictures and all later.

Today I was inspired to blog by a photo I took on my i phone this evening. But first we have to get there. We had lots to do and we got most of it done. But somehow we ended up at University Mall in Orem today. We were on an errand to pick up some cat food (which we did)and started to head home but ended up at the mall. I still think I fell for the old bait and switch deal. The objective of our trip was to complete a task, unknown to me the covert plan was a outing to the mall. Somewhere along the line I must have subconsciously complied with a subliminal message. I must have agreed once we arrived because I knew Sarah needed new Sunday shoes. Excellent that will be a quick trip.


We ended up walking the entire length of the mall, from Mervyn's to Nordstroms with a few stops in between. Sarah, the one child that needed new shoes could not find any, but it turns out that Ben also needed shoes which found along with a new outfit for Nancy. The trip was a success.

Why all the fuss about the Mall? It all stems from the fact that I hate shopping, especially clothes shopping. Sorry that is just the way it is. I think generally I would rather be Mike Rowe's lackey on Dirty Jobs than go clothes shopping.

Well in the end was it all that bad? Not really. I am just glad that there were padded seats strategically placed through out the mall.

Back to the inspiration for all this mess. I had my i phone and while the rest of the gang was inspecting the public rest rooms I snapped a couple of shots of our little Gracie. She is nearly 10 months old and changing so quickly. Isn't she a cutie pie!

The Eagle has landed!

Well the Eagle has landed indeed. We have officially lived in Utah for one week today. We are almost unpacked (note to self: throw away or burn all belongings before next move!) Really I would rather burn all our belongings than move them again.

Unfortunately our TV / Internet will not be installed until Thursday - Ack! I am updating via my i-phone. More to come when we get totally set up.

We are excited to be here and at the same time missing NorCal.

How Time Flies!

We've been here, but have not had the time to blog.

Our last entry was about our RV trip, now months old. That trip seems only like a distant memory. We had so much fun and would recommend such a trip to anyone.

Even though our trip IS a distant memory I have some pictures I still want to share.


Our first night we stayed in Paso Robles at a really nice RV resort, they had a heated pool (the heat had just been turned on, so the pool was a bit cold.) Me and the kids wished it was a bit more hot so the cool pool would feel a bit better. (Yes if you must know I DID suck in my stomach!)










Our second night we stayed at Carpinteria State Park. We had some interesting neighbors. The RV section was basically a parking lot right on the beach. We also had train tracks about 25 yards from our site. The freight train goes through around 3 in the morning. Even with that we would probably visit there again. I snapped this shot of Emma at sunset.

Still at Carpinteria, the parents of one of Sarah's new friends took this nice family portrait.

After Carpinteria we headed south to Seal Beach to visit Nancy's Grandparents. Both Grandpa and Grandma are well into their late 90's and will be celebrating 75 years of marriage this year! Grandma's health is poor, but Grandpa is doing well. The kids loved gathering around him for this picture. Grandpa affectionately calls Grace "My Girl!" She of course was her charming self and stole Grandpa's heart immediately!


After a few hours of visiting we headed east towards Phoenix. We successfully navigated through the maze of highways and toll roads of Los Angeles County and hit the 10 going East. We took this picture as we headed towards Indio and wondered how the "other Desert Cities" felt about Indio getting top billing and the "them"getting the shaft on the highway sign. Oh well on to Indio and forget the other desert cities!



This was my usual position as Pilot of the RV. Keep on Truckin!




We arrived in Phoenix on Saturday night and spent Easter with Nancy's Brother and family. We parked our RV outside of their house for the next few days as we visited and enjoyed Rich and his family and the sights of the Greater Phoenix area. Monday Rich drove us down to Tucson. Our first stop was to the Pima Air Museum. Dad Ben and Emma were dropped off at the museum while Rich, Nancy, Sarah, and Grace explored Tucson and searched for "rabbit turd ice" The term refers to the shape not the color or smell of the ice. For those who know and frequent Sonic will know of the special Ice. Ben and Emma posed in front of the SR-71 aka The Blackbird. It is one of my favorite aircraft and I was excited to be so close to this special airplane.





This picture of Grace showcases one of the new tricks she learned on our great RV trip. We had sleeping arrangements rigged up to the inch so we could all be accommodated in the RV. Gracie had just enough room so her pack and play would fit nicely on the floor. While on this trip she learned how to pull her self up and stand. After doing this she would just stand there so proud of her self and bounce up and down. I was sure she would vault her self right out of her sleeping container. Gladly she did not.
As of the date of this posting, Grace is standing up all over the place walking around furniture and crawling like a woman possessed.

I am not sure if these feet are Sarah's or Emma's, regardless I had just cleaned one foot and left the other dirty for comparison. Both of the girls had a hard time keeping any kind of footwear on and consequently were continually filthy.

After 4 fun filled days in Phoenix we once again headed west. This picture is at Corona Del Mar. there we visited Nancy's Aunt and Uncle. Me and the kids took a walk down to the beach and enjoyed the beautiful weather and the water. It was so nice to once again be ocean side with the cool salty breeze on our faces after being in hot and dry Arizona. Don't get me wrong, we loved Arizona, but it is hard to beat a nice day along the side of the Pacific Ocean.



Life continues at a break neck pace even when we are not blogging regularly. So we expect that we may not get the chance to blog about a number of happenings in our lives.

For example, here are a few things that we should blog about but we will probably not get to them in any kind of further detail.

The last week of March I took a short trip to Utah looking at some rental properties. I was able to attend my Mission reunion I met some new friends and renewed some old friendships. Saturday I spent watching conference and looking at rental properties. There were some real dogs, and some nice places. On the Monday I arranged to rent a house for the year starting summer/fall semester. Mission accomplished!

In April we spent a fun week in Monterey. We had invited some good friends from the Ward to be with us our first weekend there. They actually blogged about it here if you are interested in any detail.

On the first Sunday in May as I was released from the Bishopric. It is a strange feeling not to have any early morning meetings to attend Sunday morning anymore. Strangely I think I will miss them. However, after three years on the stand I am looking forward to siting with Nancy and the rest of the family once again.

We continue to prepare for a major move. We are fixing and mending our house in preparation for rental as we start packing for our next adventure in Provo Utah. I will be attending the MPA program at BYU next fall. (that's why I rented a house in Provo at Conference time.) We were planning an exit and move from CA to UT in July or August. That has been moved up significantly to an early June.

Regardless of our blogging activity life continues to be exciting and challenging! So far not worth trading for anything else.

The Heir Apparent

Ben is our inquisitive, hands-on kind of guy. Probably his highlight of our RV trip was going to the Pima Air and Space Museum in Tucson.

He is always looking, analyzing or touching something. If not, he is talking about it or asking many questions.

His lowlight from the trip was probably falling off the overhead bed in the middle of the night (not while moving mind you). This is a picture of the bruise over a week later. We're glad nothing was broken...

RV Trip - The Prologue

Traveling in an RV takes me back to my days of playing with my Donny and Marie camper as a girl. It's a dream come true! I planned our recent trip to Arizona in our rented Winnebago for months. I'd reflected how our last four family vacations have been absolute disasters and so I did my best to apply my past learning in the planning of this trip. It's going to be quite the epistle so we will have to document it in installments.

Here are the rules applied to the vacation:

1. Don't plan the trip like playing a game of tetris. The kids (nor I) do well with a zillion events crammed into every second. I like the saying "you can't cram 20 pounds of manure in a 10 pound sack."
2. Vacation while on vacation. Schedule time to just play or read a book.
3. Only schedule one visit with family per day. The kids can only handle visiting one new household at a time. New households can only handle us once a day too.
4. Make sure you have your own place to stay (the reason for the RV).
5. Assure that everyone is well before departure. (Thankfully everyone was but we did purchase the insurance JUST IN CASE!)
6. Plan a long time to travel between stops. We don't do well with forced marches.

I'm happy to report we had a fabulous time! We can't wait to tell you all about it! Stay tuned.

What's Up?

Although it has been a week or so since our last post... life goes on. We have been quite busy and I thought I would share a couple of pictures and catch you up on the happenings in our house.

Sarah celebrated her 7th Birthday on the 12th! Sarah's feet show what she and Mom along with a couple of friends went and did to celebrate. I guess it goes to show that you are never too young to start pampering your self on your birthday. The "girls" had fun having a pedicure.








Later we opened gifts. This is Sarah's favorite part of her birthday. Presents!








Grandma Kay and Grandpa Dee came over later in the week and shared strawberry cake and ice cream. Strawberry cake is a Curtis Family tradition that Nancy brought to our marriage. Sarah has embraced the strawberry cake tradition whole heartily!










This short video clip shows our family taking part of a Jacobs Birthday tradition. My dad went on a mission to Sweden, and since then we have always sung "Happy Birthday" followed by the Swedish version "Ya Mon Hun/Han Lever" All I can say is Hurrah! Hurrah! Hurrah!








We have also reached a milestone with Grace. She now is eating real food! She loves and gobbles down carrots, green beans, peas, sweet potato's, and LOVES any kind of fruit. I am sure the bewildered look on her face is due to the fact that I stopped feeding her to take a picture. She was not amused.
















This next picture is of the Kids adorned in our families new favorite attire! I believe we will be wearing a lot more BYU issue in the coming years!






















The reason for the emphasis on BYU apparel is due to the recent news that I was accepted into BYU's Masters of Public Administration Graduate program!



This of course means many changes for the Jacobs Family. We plan to move to Provo or there abouts this coming August and will be in Provo for the next couple of years as I work on earning my MPA degree. We are really excited, and at the same time sad to leave our family, home and friends here in California.

Nancy and I are also sad having just finished what may be our last Danville Children's Musical Theatre show "Mulan". Nancy has been the musical director at DCMT for the last 13 years, and I have been the set designer and builder for the last 8 of those years. Pam(the director)has been so good to us over the years and we truly feel like we are a part of her extended family. It feels as though the theater has always been an integral part of our family life. For the past decade plus it has alway been there. It is hard to leave and we will miss it! Change is always hard to face. After all it is true what is often said "The only thing constant is Change."

Even so we are looking and moving forward! Returning to BYU and graduate studies fills me with an excitement that at times is hard to contain. Even though we are leaving friends and family here, we look forward to seeing all the friends and family we have at BYU and around and about in Utah. Yahoo! See ya in August!

The Piano Diaries

The first weekend of Mulan performances is over and I'm exhausted by my piano drama. As you will recall, after the last show, it was reported to me that my trusty steed, the Yamaha piano at the theater would be going away. The Village Theater personnel ripped it from my loins and put it up for auction to be replaced by a digital piano.

At the beginning of rehearsals for Mulan, I arrived one day to see "my" piano gone and in its place, practically a toy piano. It doesn't quite have a full keyboard, it's smaller than me and has a plug-in pedal. I swear I could knock it over heaven forbid I play with too much gusto. I feel very exposed.

I'm a teamplayer. I'm flexible. I've really tried hard to make a go of this dumb thing. Fast forward to tech week. Pam is kind enough to appease me by bringing her clavinova (a much better digital piano with REAL pedals). I hear it took many of her offspring to load it into her car, she had to drive very slowly down the streets of Danville listening to incessant honking for her to speed up and then wait all day for my husband to get there to help move it into the theater. But Pam is good to me and does it anyway.

I sit down to play it, and the pedal is broken. The sustaining pedal doesn't clear so everything is mushy. I feel terrible and fearful to tell Pam that all her efforts have been in vain. Now I have two digital pianos in front of each other and I have to play the dippy one. And you know how superstitious I am about how my piano area must remain as it is from the beginning of tech week throughout the performances.

What a mess! I won't even mention what a difficult time I've had hearing the dumb digital piano. I have to wear earphones because the piano is hooked into the monitors on stage which turn off my piano speakers. In case you didn't know, you use your ears more than you think when you play the piano.

I Love Photoshop!

I do love Photoshop. It seems the possibilities for great photos is endless. Yes it is true that you must start with a good photo; But It is amazing what can be hidden, changed, faded or completely wiped out. On the surface I am really Okay with this. However, I do have to admit that there is one part of me that feels like I am cheating, changing reality, and in a sense offering a cute photo that did not really exist when the "moment" was captured.

Now for the story. Nancy took the time to take about 10 or 15 really cute pictures of Gracie as she crawled (army crawled) around on the floor. She got some really cute shots including the one I am presenting today. When I first downloaded the pictures I noticed that Gracie had spit up and there remained a residue on her face. My first reaction was what the heck, the pictures were cute but really unusable because really... who wants to look at even a cute baby with spit up on their face? Not me. Nancy's indicated that she noticed the spit up on her face but she really could not "see" in on the view finder on the camera and if it did show up (which of course it did) we could Photoshop it out. This also is true.

This leaves me with only one question. Is is easier to wipe a baby's face or photo shop the crud out of the shot? Hmmmm. Really it is sixes. Six of one or half a dozen of another.





Regardless I love Photoshop.