Music is my Favorite!

I love music--I think the hardest sense for me to be without would be the sense of hearing. I just love a good CD--nothing can make me feel better than some good, fun, uplifting music! Tonight we had the great opportunity to go hear Vocal Point, the a capella group from BYU who went to the TV show, The Sing-Off. A few months ago a friend told me about them being on TV, and I was a fan from that time on! When I went to BYU parent's weekend, I heard them in person, and was further converted! Then I started watching them on the Sing-Off, and was so sad when they were voted off the show. But still whenever I want a good uplift, I just google them on my computer, and they perform for me right in my very own house!! But tonight Spence and I went to see them at the Mesa Arts Center, and they were totally awesome! I loved watching them perform--they are so good, but they also are having such a good time together--it was a great evening! They did a song of the 12 days of Christmas where they mixed in all sorts of Christmas songs--I don't know how they did it. Then they have this incredible vocal percussionist, who can make all kinds of sounds. You feel like they must have all kinds of instruments, and they have NONE. It was so much fun to be there--and I just hated it when they announced their last number!! They did an encore of "God Bless the USA," and that was awesome too. It was such a fun evening.

Then a week ago, I took all my daughters to see "Wicked." That is one of my favorite plays, and I love the music in it. We sat on the 4th row--so our seats were amazing, and we had such a fun time then too. So, if I could just listen to good, fun music all day long, I think I would be ever so happy. Of course, that is not real life, so I will enjoy these wonderful moments when I am entertained so totally. What fun evenings those were. I will share a picture of me with most of my girls (Jodie wasn't in this one either) before we left for "Wicked." We always have to do a crazy picture, and they are usually my favorites! I also will throw in one more of my California grandsons, Colton and Logan, the day that they left to go back home. Don't I have some awfully cute grandsons? I think so. :) Have a great day!

Fabulous Family Weekend

Well, it is a week later, but I want to write about our weekend last weekend. It was awesome, and was a great family reunion for our Spencer Price family and for our whole Reed Price family (Spence's siblings and their children). We were celebrating Spence's dad's 90th birthday, and we had a great time. It was pretty much all day Saturday. We met in a park (there were about 60 of us), ate lunch, and played games. The games were great--fun getting-to-know-you games, and then more active ones,like tug of wars, and steal the bacon, etc. It was a great time for all the families to mix together, be on teams with cousins, etc., and just have a great time! My sister-in-law, Chris and her daughter, Melanie, were in charge of the games, and they did a fabulous job.

Then after a little while, we met at my father-in-law's church building, where we had dinner and a program honoring him. When you have lived a rich, full life for 90 years, like he has, there is a lot to say about you...and his chilren told all about him, his hobbies, church jobs, careers, his growing-up years, and his family. It was complete with stories and lots of fun slides. It was a great tribute to a great man. I thought one of the best things that we did was have anyone who wanted to, to come up and tell him one thing that they liked about him or that they had learned about from him. The tributes from his grandchildren were wonderful--it had to make him feel good. He has touched a lot of lives, and shared his love and example with all of us. What a blessing to be part of his family.

Because we had all our kids here for the weekend, we also had our son, Brady's Eagle Court of Honor. That was on Sunday night--our kids participated in it, and did a wonderful job, and it was a great program, honoring Brady and his accomplishment. Spence had also put together a slide presentation for that--Spence worked hard to make this whole weekend come togther.

It was great to have all our kids together. They are becoming such good friends, and truly enjoy being together. All of you who have little children, who rarely get along, and seem like they'll never be friends, just HANG ON!! They really do grow up, and get to like and even love each other--and it's worth it all. :) I love being with my children, and see them having such a good time being together. It is one of the greatest joys of a parent, I'm pretty sure.

I am going to include some pictures of my kids. Several of them are with their granddad, but then some are taken at our home. You'll have to put up with a lot of pictures this time! Ok--I'll give you a quick run-down of each picture, starting from the top. This one is of Kelsey and Brady at Brady's Court of Honor--they love to tease each other, but they are very close. Then here is Brady with his granddad at the court of honor. The next one is of Brady with all his Price aunts (except his Aunt Chris)--it was pretty amazing that they were all there. The next one is of us with Brady as he was receiving his awards, and giving us our parents pins--that's what parents get for helping their Scout achieve this award. The next picture is of Brian and his family at the birthday celebration--Brian, Keri, and his two boys, Logan and Colton--such cute boys!! After his family is Emily with her husband, Michael, and their baby SJ (or Spencer Johnson). Last but not least, are our newlyweds, Katie and Cody with Granddad. We are just missing a picture of Jodie--I'll need to put that in my next entry. thanks for putting up with this very long entry--it was a great and memorable weekend, and I'm thankful we could all be here. The hard part for me is when they all have to leave and go back to their homes.

Some Random thoughts

Ever since I wrote about the Tabernacle Choir, I've had some random thoughts that I wanted to share...so it's pretty unbelievable I'm writing again, just 2 days later. So you get to hear some of my ramblings, for better or for worse.

It is easy to get caught up in thinking you HAVE to have certain things, whether it's the latest in computers, or clothes, or shoes or purses. It can be big or small, but we seem to easily slip into thinking something is a necessity, when it really isn't. In the last couple of days, I've heard about super awesome sewing machines or really the latest and greatest computer, or whatever. There is nothing wrong with that, and there is some pretty cool stuff out there. It's just when we think we have to get the latest and greatest, and can't be satisfied with all that we have. Let me give an example. There is this guy who is the trainer at the cancer center. He was determined that he needed a new bigger screen for his computer, and so he made a study of the best one to get. In the middle of that, he got an email from a friend of his, who is really struggling financially, and was really having a hard time just getting by. So this trainer told his kids about that--not only did this man give him that money that he had been saving for the screen, but his kids also wanted to give some of their Christmas money to help out this friend. It is experiences like that that make me think of those things that I feel are necessities, when really they are luxuries. This is not a commentary on anyone else's choices, but it is just some thoughts that I have had--and some feelings that I need to evaluate what I am doing with my extra money or time. There are good, better, and best choices, and I need to figure out what those are for me. Here is a little poem that a friend gave to me years ago--"Good, better, best, never let it rest, until your good is better and your better's best." I guess that can be applied to both how you use your time, and also how you spend your money. I was given a book by another friend, and I love the title. It is called, You Can Never Get Enough of What You don't need." What a thought. Anyway, for what any of that is worth, those are some of the thoughts I've had lately. Have a great week, and a happy Valentine's Day...even if it IS a Hallmark holiday!! Love to all, Louise

Wow--the MoTabs!

Tonight we had the great experience of hearing the Mormon Tabernacle Choir in concert at US Airways arena! It was fantastic! They were here to put on a concert to commemorate the 100 year birthday of Arizona, and they were so good. They also had the Orchestra from Temple Square here too, and they also were so very good. They did all different kinds of music, including a song from Nigeria, that was way cool. They were great performers as well as singers...and it was such a privilege to be there and to witness that. They had a soloist on some of the classic spirituals, like "Rocka my soul in the bosom of Abraham" and "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands," and those were just great! We went with some friends, and got to sit in a suite, and that was a fun experience too. We brought some people who had never heard the choir sing, and they were just blown away. It wsa just a tremendous evening. I have heard the choir sing on TV, and in different broadcasts, but this is the first concert of theirs that I've attended. They haven't performed in Arizona for 47 years, so it was about time they came back here to bless us with their talents. They are an amazing group, and have inspired people for years. They sang "Battle Hymn of the Republic," as one of their closing numbers, and that is just awe-inspiring. As an encore, they sang "I love Arizona," and I felt such a pride for this state that I've lived in for so many years. It has a rich pioneer heritage, and when you think of the pioneers that came here, they put up with a lot--with trying to settle a place with such extreme temperatures and so little water. They were valiant and dedicated people, and I am proud to have them as my heritage...even if I just claim that heritage because I live here. :) The Choir is such a tremendous missionary tool for our church, and I am so thankful for the ways they have blessed peoples' lives for years. I am just so thankful I could go. I love music anyway, and my heart was touched. Music has a way of speaking to our souls that can be done in no other way. When they sang at the very end, they sang, "God Be with you Till We Meet Again," it was like a final blessing on the whole evening. What an experience--I am so grateful I could be there.