Running

I used to run several times a week, but then I injured my knee and had to have surgery. After recovering from that, my hip started hurting. So I have been in and out of physical therapy the entire 2 1/2 years I have lived here in Tucson. I really missed running. I love getting up early and going for a 3 or 4 mile run. I love coming home when everyone is just waking up. I am energized and hyper and I drive everyone crazy with my singing and dancing. They beg me to calm down. But running just makes me feel so happy. They are off to school and work before I calm down and then quickly realize I need a nap.

A month ago, I started feeling well enough to join a new gym near my house, my favorite class is body pump (weight lifting). The teachers are wonderful. It reminds me of being back at the YMCA in O'Fallon with my friends. I have been walking in the mornings with my friend, Ming. This week Ming can't walk because her knee hurts, so I talked Eric into getting up at 5:30 and walking/running with me. He runs, I mostly walk. But today, I ran the first mile with him. We ran it in just under 10 minutes. I felt great. My hips and knees felt fine. It was so nice to workout with Eric. It was nice to see him get up early and get his workout done before Seminary and then get ready for Seminary with time to spare. I love that I came home as hyper as ever and I was back to my old ways of singing and dancing and probably annoying the whole family.

I hope this is just the beginning. I hope I can get back to my 3-4 miles at least a couple times a week. I have forgotten how much I love running. I hope Eric will continue to get up early with me. I can already see the difference it is making for him. He actually seems to get excited about it.

West Side Story

I was so excited about seeing other Broadway shows after seeing Wicked. So I purchased 3 season tickets to the shows coming to Tucson. Mario wanted to take the big kids to see West Side Story, but Erin decided she would rather go to mutual. So I got her ticket.

I'm glad she didn't go. It was not something we would usually see. We almost walked out towards the end, but fortunately it ended pretty quickly. I knew the intended audience was teenagers and adults, but I thought because of the gang "stuff." But it had some other not so subtle themes too. I guess I should have known in today's world. The worst part was the audience seemed to enjoy those inappropriate scenes the most. How disappointing. Hopefully Shrek will be better since it is for kids, but Mario reminded me of some of the scenes we didn't like from the first two movies. Ugh!

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E Bay Perez

Someone from church told Eric that he should use the L Tom Perry name approach. Then his name would be E Bay Perez. We thought that was a cool idea. Instead of calling him E1 (as in Erin is E2) or Ericson, I think I will just call him EBay. Pretty catchy! Try it the next time you talk to Eric.

BTW, EBay is one of three freshman that has been nominated for homecoming prince. He finds out Friday if he was selected. He's telling me it is mandatory for him to attend the game and dance now. Too bad he's grounded and has a 9 pm curfew.

17 Miracles

I ordered 2 copies of the movie "17 Miracles," one for our family and one for my dad for his birthday. I got it in the mail today and so we watched the DVD tonight for FHE. I had heard good reviews so I was anxious to watch it. The kids were into it right from the beginning because the first scene was about cannibalism. It quickly jumped away from that scene thank goodness.

The movie was based on the Willie Handcart Company. It was sad to think about what these pioneers endured. Mario and I both want to read Levi Savage's journal after watching this movie. Believe me, neither of us have pioneer history and neither of us has ever been interested in pioneer journals until now. The man was publicly humiliated but was humble enough to never be offended. In the end, it was obvious that his opinion was correct, but he remained faithful and humble. There is a lot I could learn from Levi.

We really liked this movie and we are anxious to watch it again so we can write down the miracles as they occur. We could only remember 12 of the 17 and we couldn't find them listed online anywhere.

I hope my Dad likes the movie as much as we do.

Ward Changes and New Calling

It has been 18 months since the last boundary change so I guess it was time again. The church is very huge and strong here in Tucson. We live in an area that is called Rita Ranch and Mesquite Ranch. Between these 2 neighborhoods alone, we have 2 wards. We now have 4 wards meeting in our building until they can get a new one built down the road a few miles. I had a 3 hour primary meeting last night to shuffle kids and callings. It is sad to see 12 active families (including Dawna Herr's) be moved into a different ward. But I'm sure we will still see them often since our boundaries are so small. They only live about 3 miles away. Visiting teaching is a breeze. I really could ride my bike to each house if I wanted to.

Mario was ordained a High Priest on Saturday and put in as a High Priest Group Assistant. We'll see how he likes meeting with the older guys. Their responsibility are the widows and also the unordained prospective Elders. Mario says he needs to go out and buy the large print scriptures so he will fit in. It sounds like their group could use a little personality in there, but Mario doesn't think his joking went over so well. I think he is missing the YM a little. But change is good too.

Powder Puff Derby

I am the Primary counselor over Activity Day Girls. One of our leaders suggested having a pinewood derby race with the girls and their dads. It was a huge hit and we had over 30 girls participate.

Erin's 7th Grade Picture with Braces

Isn't she beautiful? Only 1 more year until she is a teenager. Only 4 more years until she can date. But we haven't decided yet if we are going to really LET her date.