Encore!

Ben was asked to sing with Vocal Point for a performance for Parents' Weekend. The new members of the group do not know the songs well enough yet to perform them, so they asked last year's group to sing. Unfortunately, Scott had other obligations so the picture of the group is not complete. But it was so fun to get some close up shots of Ben and get this great video of their small group number, "Cool For You", which really shows off Ben's amazing talent as a bass.

Ben's experience in Vocal Point has been one that we both have enjoyed. He will miss the camaraderie of a "band of brothers" that he can spend time with, and I will miss hearing him sing, watching him perform, and the close associations with the other members and their wives. The friendships that we have made through Vocal Point are priceless and we will cherish them forever.

Take 6 Concert

For a last summer fling on Memorial Day, we attended the Take 6 concert.

Take 6 is a professional (and one of the original) A' Cappella groups. They started over 20 years ago, and have been nominated for and received multiple awards. Ben was really excited for this and we were not disappointed.The show was at the Scera Outdoor theater, and once the sun went down it got a little chilly. Of course, after an entire summer in San Antonio where it was still 80 degrees and humid at night, neither of us thought about bringing jackets. It was a good excuse to cuddle though. :)The show opened with David Osmond and I really liked him. Great voice, and you could tell that he is a great guy.

Take 6 is absolutely AMAZING! They sang some well-known favorites from different eras, as well as some of their own originals. Having experience with a'cappella, Ben was able to appreciate some of the music that they sang more than I was, but we were both entertained. We were especially blown away by the bass. Ben asked me afterward if that is what he sounds like when he sings on stage. His face lit up when I told him he does. Here is a sampling of what we heard:

(If you didn't catch it, when the lead started going crazy with the Michael Jackson moves, the bass stopped him and pointed out that they were in Utah...)

Rise and Shout...

"O Rise, all loyal Cougars and hurl your challenge to the foe.

A historic moment in BYU football history:

Our BYU Cougars take on #3 Oklahoma University in the Dallas Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
You will fight, day or night, rain or snow.

Loyal, Strong, and True
Wear the White and Blue.While we sing, get set to spring.
Come on Cougars, it's up to you!

We were excited to have friends over for the first time and to watch the big game on our new 32" flat panel TV.

O Rise and Shout, the Cougars are out
Along the trail to fame and glory.Rise and shout, our cheers will ring out,
As you unfold your vict'ry story.

And they pull off a spectacular 14-13 victory!!!

On you go to vanquish the foe
For Alma Mater's sons and daughters.As we join in song, in praise of you, our faith is strong.
We'll raise our colors high in the blue,
And cheer the Cougars of BYU."

The city of Provo came alive tonight as we celebrated our glorious win. Crazy college students drove around the streets honking and yelling and we had to get in on this action. We went outside on the corner and contributed to the cheering and yelling and Ben made sure that we captured this historic moment on video:
(This video is kind of long. Please don't feel obligated to watch the whole thing.)

Oh how we love these magical moments and our fabulous Cougars! :)

Wedding Bells

Lauren and David were sealed in the Salt Lake Temple today. The morning started off a little bumpy, but by the time they "tied the knot" everything was great! We had a luncheon at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building and ate the most delicious chicken. The reception at Mom and Dad's house was beautiful and thank goodness for loving neighbors and friends who are so willing to come over and take care of all the background stuff! They helped set up the decorations and stayed the whole night to serve the food.

We got to spend a lot of time talking with Bishop Klein. Every discussion with Bishop eventually finds its way around to a gospel topic: at lunch we had an interesting discussion on what it means to have a "broken heart." We are so grateful for all that we have learned from him.
We love David and are so excited to have him as part of our family. Ben likes to watch sports with him and play "Tanks" with him on the Wii. He has fulfilled the role of brother for me many times, especially bringing his muscle to help me move into our apartment while Ben was in Nauvoo.

Congratulations to Mr. and Mrs. David and Lauren Januszewski!

"Rendezvous in Old Nauvoo"

Ben had a lot of great experiences in Nauvoo. I read through some of his journal entries and will try to summarize what he did for the last two weeks. Things that are italicized are Ben's words and thoughts.

For his third year, Ben traveled to Nauvoo, Illinois with Vocal Point. The group performs there next to the temple every night for two weeks, as well as making daily trips out to surrounding cities. It is almost a mini-mission for them because they get to share the message of the Gospel through music and through their examples.

Some of the fun highlights of the trip include:

-a tour of Carthage jail, where the Prophet Joseph Smith was martyred-A tour through the Abraham Lincoln Museum in Springfield, Illinois-a session through the Nauvoo temple-watching performances by the Young Performing Missionaries in Nauvoo-tours through museums about Mark Twain in Hannibal, Missouri and a walk through the actual cave he writes about in "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer"-playing Frisbee with kids in the area during the precious little down-time that they did have-a chance to learn from people in Bentonsport, Illinois who live off of the land and have a simple yet sweet outlook on life

The best part about Vocal Point taking this trip to Nauvoo is that every day and every activity is filled with spiritual experiences that help their testimonies grow. After almost every performance, someone would approach them and share an amazing conversion story or express gratitude for the wonderful feelings that they felt while listening to them sing. Ben feels so blessed to be an instrument in the hands of the Lord and to be a part of this missionary effort.
Ben's visit to Carthage was personally inspiring. Even though he had been there before, this trip was especially poignant. When we got to the room where he was martyred, the guide mentioned that Joseph put his arm out for a pillow for one of his companions and said that all he wanted to do was see his family one more time and preach one last time to the saints. He didn't have any guile towards those that held him, and he was always looking out for his friends. We sang "Lead Kindly Light" and a huge emotion just fell over me. I truly mourned the Prophet of the Restoration.

Perhaps the most memorable and inspiring moments were the spiritual and personal interactions that he had with the other members of the group. Because they all have a deep love for the Savior and understanding of the Gospel, Ben loves having conversations with them about Gospel principles. I love having a testimony meeting with Vocal Point. That is definitely the highlight of the Nauvoo trip. It is a time when all jokes are set aside and everyone is able to express their most personal feelings to the group. We become so close and our relationships so strong.

Ben's three years in Vocal Point have had their challenging times and fun times, but every bit of it has been wonderful. I feel the same way I did at the end of my mission. I have done my best and am satisfied with the work I've done in Vocal Point. I am excited to enter into a new phase of my life and am willing to do whatever the Lord has prepared for me.

Here and There and Everywhere!

Ben and I made it home safely from , with absolutely no exciting events. It was so nice: 10 hours each day, no rush. We were pretty entertained by the seventh installment of the Harry Potter series and Jim Dale's amazing vocal talents. "Harryyyyyyyyyy......"

Unfortunately, Ben had to turn around again the next morning and leave for . Vocal Point does a two-week tour there every August, and Ben was really looking forward to it. He has enjoyed his first week there and has already had so many amazing experiences! I'll leave it up to him to blog about it when he gets home. :)

My experience here in with the parentals has been not quite the same. Everyone here is frantically trying to get last minute things done for my sister's upcoming wedding. It is chaos! Decorating the house, bridesmaid dresses, sleeping arrangements for guests, and other things are causing the usual pre-wedding grief. :)

Aside from being involved in all of the wedding preparations, I have also been trying to move our things into our new apartment in . BY MYSELF. It is really not fun. I'm not very strong. The other day it took me 1 1/2 hours to carry stuff up from the basement and pack it into my car. Luckily, David was able to help me unload, and did it in about 10 minutes! It was very much appreciated. I've discovered that KSL classifieds can be a great resource to furnish an entire apartment. "Mommy WOW! I own furniture now!" However, there are still a few things that I want to get at (home furnishing heaven). And we're even considering getting a new TV because ours is broken.

This week: back to school to set up my classroom and finalize schedules and lesson plans. Oh ya, and faculty meetings... epitome of boredom!

Schlitterbahn!

USAA took all of their interns to Schlitterbahn for an activity and I got to go along!Schlitterbahn is said to be the largest waterpark in the world! In German, Schlitterbahn means "slippery road", and that is the perfect description for this place. They have water everywhere! Even standing in line for a slide, you may be in a pool of water up to your ankles, or have waterfalls cascading down on you. They have giant wave pools and even a lazy river that sends waves through it.

They also have watercoasters. Basically, it is a waterslide that is like a rollercoaster! They shoot you up a hill, and then you slide down it really fast! Very fun, but also very popular. We had to wait in line for 2 hours to go on one! We had more fun doing the smaller slides, with old fashioned black tubes that are so huge, you can fall out of the bottom of them. :)

Obviously it's hard to carry a camera around when you are constantly getting wet, so they have photographers that roam the park, take your picture, and then give you a number so you can buy them at a booth before you leave. That's how we got these fun pictures of us. It was a great day and we definitely want to go back again and try the many slides that we didn't have time to do in one day. Hey Mom, I've got an idea for a family vacation next summer!!