Sydney's YA Camp and Mickelsen's Missionary Farewell

Singing Sydney Sparkles and Shines and The Munificent Mickelsens Are Missionary Masters!

Sorry about all of the alliteration in the tittle,

 but silly me couldn't resist!

I love to play with words.

But in spite of that love of words, I'm stumped.

I'm sitting here, trying to figure out how to put into words

the feelings that Sydney, our beautiful granddaughter, 

 touches deep inside me

when I hear her sing.

She was born with a big voice.

When she was a little pre-schooler, 

she would sit, strapped in her car seat, 

belting out Broadway tunes along with the singers on the CDs 

blaring in the car speakers.

She knew every word to every song.

Skip forward to last Friday night, July 12.

Sydney had attended Young Ambassador's Camp 

all of that previous week, 

auditioning and preparing for the Evening of Entertainment. 

She was chosen by the directors to sing, That's How You Know from Enchanted 

and she also got voted by the kids 

to sing the song she auditioned with, 

I Dreamed A Dream, from Les Miserables.

There were over 120 kids who attended the camp, 

and twelve were chosen to sing their solos, 

six in the 6:30 concert and six in the 8:30 concert.

She was magnificent!

I know, I know, I'm her grandma, but she commanded the stage.

She always lights it up, just like her mama did before her.

Her vast range is one of her strengths, 

and you need a big range to carry off, I Dreamed A Dream.

The in-between story from when she was singing in her car seat 

to last Friday night is a classic tale of 

diligent hard work to achieve a goal pays off.

Sydney has been in many, many musical theatrical productions,

most of the time, not with the leading roles.

Each one, she worked hard and learned.

And she has taken vocal lessons and been in choirs,

 where her teachers have increased her awareness 

of her vocal instrument 

and how she can improve and reach her full potential.

She has practiced and practiced.

Last friday night, she made me cry.

She is a true performer with a beautiful voice.

Roger and I with her before the show 

We weren't allowed to record the show or take pics,

 but Roger took some after the show was over 

and their director sang a song to them.

They were all so thrilled to have this experience together.

Sydney had lots of family and friends there to cheer her on!

Grit and Sherry invited us over for hamburgers on their patio before the show.

Sydney's mom deserves much credit for Syd's success.  

Stacy has driven her to uncountable practices 

and been there for her and cheered her on from the beginning.

She is her #1 fan!

Sunday, we attended my sister, Patty, and Hal's 

Missionary Send-off in their Elkridge ward.

They are both such wonderful speakers.

 There could not be two more dedicated seniors 

with the Missionary Spirit in the church!

This will be their third mission; the first two were in Siberia - 

one, a CES mission, and the other, as a mission president.

And there is a good reason I chose the adjective, munificent, 

in front of Mickelsen.

Generous defines their complete willingness to sacrifice 

almost everything to serve the Lord.

They are generous with the giving of their time, their talents, their means and their hearts in order to bring the Good News to others.

I love them very much and will miss them the eighteen months they will serve in Berlin, Germany.

After the block, they hosted a delicious dinner in their home.

We missed Kay in our sister shot.

We love our thorn among the roses!

We had yummy Cafe Rio recipes with four meats - 

pork, beef, chicken and turkey.

Patty said she cleaned out her freezer in preparation of going!

There were delicious desserts including these Rice Crispy Treats that Alison, Patty's daughter, made 

with caramel in the middle - YUM!

Two of Hal's brothers, other family members and several of the Mickelsen's missionary friends came for the occasion.

All told, our journey up north

brought Roger and I great joy!

A Young Visit and Happy Birthday, USA!

For the 4th of July every year, 

Tom, Stacy and family travel to Provo to celebrate.

They stay with Grit and Sherry, 

they run in the Freedom Festival's annual 5K and 10K

 and they join with other Young families for food and fun.

And the 4th is always capped off for them with Stadium of Fire.

While they were up north this year, 

Jake attended EFY

 and Sydney attended Young Ambassador Camp.

On their way to all of this, they stayed with us a couple of nights.

Tom, Jake and Roger golfed Saturday morning 

and the girls shopped. 

Stacy found an apostrophe for her Young's Diner wall 

and Syd found some darling clothes at Urban Renewal. 

The golfers met us for lunch

for the famous wedge at Player's Grill.

That night, we had French dip, potato salad and Nielsen's custard.

The darling Young 6

Max and Luke

They're looking more alike again.
They're such fun boys!

They love their basketball "shorts"(?) and Sydney says 

they have to be coaxed to take them off to wash them.

The twins headed down to see the golfers 

when they came by our house.

The girls had great fun shopping, even though the temp was 113!

Sunday, we all went to church, 

then took pics when we got back home before dinner.

My precious Stacy

These two are kindred spirits!

Stacy loves her daddy!

The boys had already changed (they're quick!),

but we took a pic with these super grandkids.

We grilled salmon and had lemon pie,

 and listened to Syd sing 

to help her pick her audition song for the YA Camp, 

(she is a bona fide talent!)

and then they were off.

Roger and I spent a quiet 4th. 
It was actually quite lovely. 
 We went for a 2 for 1 smoothie at Kneader's in the morning, 
then returned home to read until around 4, 
when we went to Texas Roadhouse for ribs.
We then went to the nice, cool theater (it was well over 100 degrees on the 4th in St. George)
and saw, Man of Steel. 
 The Youngs had highly recommended it to us,
 and it was exciting and entertaining!
After the movie, we returned home to watch the music and fireworks shows in NYC and Washington, DC on network TV.
They're wonderful fireworks, and we get to watch them in the AC!

I close this post with a quote from a good book, 
the one I read all afternoon on the 4th and was
recommended by my sisters Kay and Joan, 
called The Good American, by Alex George.

The author is an Englishman now living in Missouri, and I think some of his observations about the USA are thought provoking and so appropriate to think about at this time of year.

Writing this book was an illuminating experience. It shone a light on my own feelings about moving here. Despite the long and generally amicable relationship between England and America (if we pass discreetly over the War of Independence), people still relish the little things that divide us, like the funny way I talk. 

But having lived here for some time now, I prefer to consider what unites us. I practiced law for eight years in England, and when I arrived here I had to requalify as an attorney. While I was studying for the bar exam I learned that much of the American legal system was (unsurprisingly) based on the English one. But there remain important differences. Many of the rights of which Americans are so rightly proud—freedom of speech, of religion, of association—are enshrined in the amendments to the United States Constitution. England has no equivalent. We rely instead on cloudier concepts, on an unwritten constitution, shrouded by centuries of jurisprudence.

But I like the American system more. As a writer, I think that the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution are two of the most exciting and inspiring documents ever written. The principles and beliefs upon which this country was founded are unimpeachable.  

I am a lawyer and a novelist, so I have a reverence for words.  They are the tools of both of my trades.  America’s founding documents provide the guiding light by which much of the world sets its course for the future. 

In 1630, as he stood on the deck of the Arabella just before landing in New England for the first time, John Winthrop preached a sermon that talked of the new settlement as a “city on a hill.”  Winthrop knew that the eyes of the world  would be upon them.

  Nothing has changed.  The world still looks to America for hope, for inspiration and for guidance.  It is one reason people have always dreamed of coming here, by fair means or foul.

May America remain as a "city on a hill."