October 2017

October 1st was the Sunday session of General Conference.  We all got up and fixed a Conference Breakfast and enjoyed watching the morning session together.  Between sessions Nick and Steve went for a drive, I planned my seminary lesson and Naomi and Jeremy did some reading.  The second session of conference was just as amazing as the first.  Some of the highlights over the two days of conference include:

President Uchtdorf - We have a direction and instinct for our Heavenly home.  

Bonnie L. Oscarson - Strengthen your family if you want to change the world.  

Dallin H. Oaks - A friend of the world is an enemy to God.  Choose the Lord's way - not the world's way.

Jeffrey R. Holland - Everyone of us is a debtor - Jesus paid the debt and set us free. Be a little more Godlike in the little things.  Give your help to anyone trying to walk the road back home. 

Quentin Cook - All are invited to come to Christ.  Arrogance and pride have no place in God's plan.

Ronald Rasband - The Lord is in the small details of our lives as well as in the milestones.   Allow Him to make more of you than you can by yourself. 

Russell M. Nelson - How precious is the Book of Mormon to you?  1.  What would your life be like without it?  2.  What would you not know?  3.  What would you not have?

Jean Bingham - We become free from constraints and discomfort when we trust God.  He has the power to soothe our aching souls. 

David A. Bednar - Bring the spirit of Sunday and temple worship back into our homes.  Remember God's eternal promises.  What we do in our homes with His sacred time is pivotal to be part of His eternal nature.  What we become is based on the knowledge we build about Him.  Invite the Holy Spirit to be our guide.  

W. Christopher Waddell - Never doubt your divine nature and divine destiny.  Only our choices alter our eternity not what happens to us. 

W. Craig Zwick - Look beyond what you can see!  Look at others as Christ sees them.

Henry B. Eyring - Study, ponder and apply the teachings of the Book of Mormon (President Monson's message from last conference)  Faith defeats fear.  Standing together produces unity.  

M. Russell Ballard - Where are your footsteps taking you?  Stay on the gospel path by having faith in every footstep. Eliminate "isms", racism, sexism, etc.  

Stanley Ellis - In challenges and hard times do we trust the Lord?  Hard is the constant.  Our reaction to the hard is the variable.  

Jose L. Alanso - Love is the combination of actions and deep thoughts.

Elder Hales passed away after the Saturday session of conference.  He was a great man and will be greatly missed.  President Monson was too ill to attend conference this time.  He was also missed.  

October 3rd was a Mother/Daughter painting activity for the Activity Girls.  Naomi and I had a great time painting and socializing with all her friends and their mothers.  It was fun because we were at a table with girls and mothers we don't usually get to sit with.  

We each worked on one of the cavases and put them together to form one painting.  

October 6th, Jeremy had tickets to the Oh Wonder concert.  He took his dad to the concert and they had a great time. Naomi, Nick and I went to see Ninjago.   Steve and Jeremy had better entertainment.  I fell asleep during the movie (I know, it would have been more surprising if I had stayed awake) but the kids really liked it and that is what counts, right?)

Waiting in line to get in. 

Waiting for the show to start.

Jeremy is in heaven. 

Lost in the music.

Wearing his concert souvenirs.

October 7th Nick went to the temple with the youth.  It was team picture day for Naomi.  

The Dragons

Getting some last minute, pre-game advice from Coach.

Check out that form!  Throwing in the ball. 

Naomi, Alyssa and Kathryn coming off the field after the game.  

After the game, Naomi and I went shopping for new shoes.  She had grown - AGAIN!  I can't believe how fast the kids are growing.

October 10, Nick got his learner's permit.  He was so excited!  I am so proud of him.  He really studied and took every minute of his driver's ed class seriously and it showed.  I now have a personal chauffeur.  AWESOME!!!  I can pay him with pizza.  

We finally had some free time to get everything set up for Halloween.  I love this time of year.  

October 11th, both our washing machine and dryer died.  It was bound to happen.  The dryer was 20 years old and had been repaired twice.  The last repair guy told me it was on its last leg 10 years ago.  The washing machine was only 12 years old, but I had nursed it along as long as it would go.  A couple of years ago I replaced the gear that allows the machine to agitate.  That was cheap and easy.  This time it was an electrical problem and was very expensive to repair.  We had to get new ones.  We found the ones we wanted (aka could afford) and went to the distribution center to pick them up.  We got them home and took them out of the box.  The washing machine had a HUGE dent in the front.  We took it back and got another one.  They cut the box open and checked the bottom half for dents.  When we got home and took the box all the way off it was the wrong washing machine.  The third time was the charm.  

Out with the old, in with the new.  

October 13th Naomi stayed after school for a dance.  She always has so much fun with her friends.   We picked her up and had time to grab a quick dinner before heading back to the school to see "Wiley and the Hairy Man."  It was so good.  They are going to win some awards for this performance at NCTC.  Mr. Willets always does such a good job.  

October 14th I spent the morning at in-service and the afternoon at a soccer game.  That night we realized all of us were actually home at the same time.  GAME NIGHT!  We went to Cook Out for dinner and then came home to play Carcasonne.  

October 17th I got to spend the day in the library at the middle school.  We all had lunch together and I helped with the Book Fair.  I was a happy camper.  

That night was the Activity Day Girls/Beehive talent show.  It was really nice to get to go as a mom and enjoy the night. 

Naomi and her art display.

Refreshments afterwards are always the fun part.  The girls love spending time together.  

Naomi dressed as Bob Ross for look-alike day.  She really gets into the Spirit Week fun.

 

Naomi was part of the 6th/7th grade Family Feud team for the Pep Rally at the end of  Spirit Week

October 19th was a morning at the dentist for me and Naomi.  We went grocery shopping and had just enough time to put the groceries in the fridge before I headed out to Parent Teacher Conference.  Naomi's teachers all love her (no surprise there) but want her to focus more during class rather than drawing so much during lectures (no surprise there either).  She is doing well though and they are pleased with her progress.  Once I got back from PTC for Naomi I took Nick to the bank to open his own checking account.  He was so excited to find out that he would have a debit card.  The whole idea was centered around having a place to put all the cash he earned over the summer mowing lawns.  That evening we took some dinner to Jeremy at work and chatted with him for a bit.  He really loves his job.  Nick took a long run once we got back home.  Steve didn't get home until late because he went with the Elder's Quorum to sort food at the food bank.  The next day was the last day of the quarter and I promised the seminary kids homemade sweet rolls.  I got them made and fell into bed exhausted.  

October 20th the kids loved the sweet rolls.  Steve and I took the left overs to the middle school and the high school before meeting with Nick's history teacher.  Nick is in Honors Civics this year and we wanted to make sure that he was doing okay.  Mr. Wyant is one of Nick's favorite teachers.  He moved to Charlotte after teaching in Park City, Utah, for years.  He taught at Park City High School and was the track coach there.  We didn't realize that he was a nationally ranked coach and had coached two gold medalists and one silver medalist when they where in high school.  Pretty cool.  He said Nick is doing well.  I can see why Nick likes him so much.  Back at home we packed up and left for our weekend in Charleston.  It was an uneventful drive and we were checked into the hotel and exploring Charleston by 3:00.  The French Quarters were just as amazing as I had imagined.  I have been wanting to visit Charleston for years and it was finally happening.  So worth the wait.  

Exploring the French Quarters.  

Looking up the street to the church.  So pretty. 

In the middle of the French Quarters we found the coolest little park.  We spent some time there looking around and reading all the plaques. 

Nick and Jeremy posing for the camera.  They are crazy.  

One of the really cool houses surrounding the really cool park. 

Naomi really liked the old trees.  

This could be the album cover for our Cannon Family Favorites 2018.  I will have to crop out the trash can, but...

The roots of the trees were even cool. 

An old shop in the French Quarters.  

Across the street from the really cool park was a really cool art gallery.  The kids loved exploring the fun art forms.  After a bit our stomachs got the best of us and we went in search of food. We headed toward the water front for some good sea food. 

Steve loved the view of the ocean with the sea grass in the foreground.  

A view of Fort Sumter with a really cool schooner boat in front of it.  

Checking out Fort Sumter through the binoculars.  

Nick got his leg-up photo so...

...Naomi and Jeremy needed theirs. 

Another candidate for the 2018 album cover.  

We found a restaurant called Fleet Landing.  There was a crowd out front and we almost turned around to choose another restaurant when Steve had the thought to just go ask about the wait time.  He came back and said they had a table for us.  Everyone else was waiting for bigger tables and since our group was so small and we didn't care where we sat they could accommodate us immediately.  It was a cool restaurant that had some really fresh, really yummy seafood. 

Jeremy and Nick are always excited when they get to eat seafood.  

It doesn't get more Southern than shrimp and grits with Andouille sausage and gravy.  

If you are ever in Charleston, we highly recommend Fleet Landing.  

After dinner we decided to do a little more exploring.  The kids found a book store that had a lot of Southern history books.  Nick got really excited and bought himself a big old book.  I knew he liked history, but I didn't realize how much he liked it.  We walked around Charleston until our feet were getting sore before heading back to the hotel.  

October 21st started with breakfast at the hotel before we headed to Sullivan's Island to spend some time on the beach.  There were dogs everywhere and Naomi was in heaven.  

Heading out to the beach

So pretty.  I could live here.  

Finally playing in the sand.  

Jeremy has found his happy spot.  

The Sullivan Island light house in the distance. 

They found the sand bar. 

After a few hours at the beach we went back to the hotel to clean up before heading back to Sullivans Island for lunch.  Jeremy had done some research.  Edgar Allen Po had ties to Sullivan Island and there was a restaurant there called Po's Tavern that had sandwiches and burgers with names based on Po's writing.  It was yummy and worth the wait to get in. 

After lunch we walked around and explored more of the island.  We all love being near the ocean and found a lot to keep us busy. 

Palm trees are so cool.  

Sullivan Island light house up close.  

We decided to go back into Charleston and check out Market Street and Battery Park.  The more we see the more I am in love with this city. 

Walking down King Street.

The entrance to Market Street.

Market Street was so cool.  We all loved checking out the different vendors.  

After fully exploring Market Street we went to Battery Park to check it out.  Naomi was in heaven because of all the dogs.  Jeremy loved the peaceful feeling.  Nick ran from monument to monument checking it all out.  He didn't want to miss a thing. 

A replica of a civil war cannon. 

The view of Fort Sumter from Battery Park.  

As you can see, we really liked Battery Park.  It wasn't very big, but there was so much to see and do.  By this time we were exhausted and headed back to the hotel. 

Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge.  We crossed it every time we went from Mt. Pleasant (where we stayed) into Charleston.  It was so cool.  You have to drive over it if you go to Charleston.  

October 22nd we got up, packed, ate breakfast and headed out.  Since none of us were ready to say goodbye to the ocean quite yet, we drove up highway 17 to Garden City.  We had a picnic on the beach and said goodbye to the ocean. 

Definitely my happy place. 

We stopped in McBee to stretch our legs.  They had a corn maze and other fun stuff for the kids.  It was a great way to get rid of some energy and exercise our stiff legs. 

Playing in the corn pit. 

This trip was so much fun.  We will definitely be heading back to Charleston to explore some more.  Nick and I really want to go to Fort Sumter next time.  We found out you have to get tickets in advance since they sell out.  Definitely next time.  

October 26th Steve and Nick met with Marty at Hind's Feet Farm to get Nick' Eagle project paperwork started.  There is a light at the end of the tunnel.  

October 27th Steve went to his first HAM radio class sponsored by the stake.  This is a great opportunity for him to gain another skill and he really enjoys learning a new skill. 

October 28th Steve and Nick headed to Knoxville with Nick's loft bed.  He had outgrown it and Hyrum really wanted it.  It was also a great excuse for a road trip.  Hyrum was so excited about the bed.  Everyone had a great time on that trip. 

Naomi had a heart-breaking soccer game that same day.  They lost in the last few seconds.  True to Dragons form, they were all smiles after the game because they got to play soccer that day.  

A stack of cuties.  The Tufts game was still going on after ours ended so we went to cheer them on.  

October 31st, Nick went trick-or-treating with Josh and Isaac Hansen and has a blast.  Naomi and I headed out with the Tufts, Turrubiartes, and Maddox families on our own trick-or-treating adventure.  Steve and Jeremy stayed home to pass out candy.  

Naomi made her own costume - she was "a huntress".  She and Steve made the bow out of PVC pipe.  They even made the arrows.  She was so proud of her costume, and rightly so.  

Look at the cool detail she added to the bow with air dry clay and paint.  She never ceases to amaze me. 

The whole crew. 

WHEW!  We made it through all the adventures of October!

September 2017

September started off in a very eventful way.  I was subbing for Ms. Cannon and we had an internal lock down drill. An internal lock down would be used if there was a threat in the school.  During an internal lockdown the blinds have to be closed, the door to the classroom locked, and the window in the door blocked.  The kids have to huddle in a tight group in a designated area of the classroom (far away from the door) and they can't talk.  The administration goes around the school testing all the doors to make sure everyone is in compliance with the rules of lock down.  You can hear their footsteps approaching the door as well as see and hear them jiggling the lock.  We all knew it was a drill but it was still really intense.  It took me a bit to get the kids to calm down after the all clear was sounded . As if that was not enough, about a half an hour later the power went out which also meant the internet was down.  The assignment the teacher had left was an on-line assignment.  I am grateful for all the times I have subbed in Mr. Willets' classes and he has had me play getting-to-know-you games with the kids.  The kids had a blast playing "Psychiatrist".  One kid leaves the room while the kids in the room decide how they are going to answer the questions (say "um" before you answer, tap your pencil while answering, cross your legs, answering as if your question was the previous question, etc).  The psychiatrist comes back in and asks random questions while trying to figure out what is going on with the group.  My favorite was answering with answers that were in alphabetical order.  What is your favorite fruit? Apples  Where do you like to go on vacation?  Beach.  That do you like to do in your spare time?  Canoe.  It took the poor kid until the letter P or Q to figure it out.   It was a fun day.  I can now use this game to get the kids in these classes to get their work done more efficiently with "If you get your work done, we can play Psychiatrist."  

Labor Day weekend was a time to regroup and re-energize.  We got a bunch of small projects done around the house and yard.  Mostly we enjoyed sleeping in and doing things at our leisure.  

Oh, and there was a tornado warning - not just a watch, but a warning.  The clouds were scary and swirling all over the place.  The photos below are of the sky over the grocery store.  You can't see the movement of the clouds but it was really terrifying.  Cones kept forming in the swirls, but nothing reached the group, thank goodness.  

September 5th was the big Court of Honor where all the merit badges earned at summer camp were awarded.  Nick got 5 merit badges done!  He is getting closer to Eagle.  

They had a stick-pull competition and Nick won!  

September 9th was a busy Saturday.  I spent the morning at in-service for seminary and rushed straight to Naomi's soccer game as soon as it was over.  Immediately after her game, we ran home and got her ready for a roller skating party.  That night was the ward variety show.  Each organization was asked to come up with an act to mix in with those that had volunteered.  The Young Men danced to the Russian anthem being played on a tiny accordian while someone marched across the stage with the Russian flag.  (Don't ask me, I wasn't in charge, but it was entertaining to watch the boys crack up at themselves while doing their dance.)  Jeremy won the joke contest.  Random people were called up to tell prepared jokes.  When they called Jeremy's name he told his own joke and the audience liked it best (that might also be that his family cheered really loud for him as well, but...).  Here is the winning joke:

Sherlock and Watson decide to go camping.  Sherlock wakes Watson up in the middle of the night and asks him what he sees.  

Watson:  The stars.

Sherlock:  Exactly and what can you deduce from that?

Watson:  That each one of those stars could represent another galaxy or a planet with life and they have been there for hundreds of thousands of years.

Sherlock:  Very deep and thought provoking, but wrong!  It means our tent has been stolen.

Jeremy and his trophy - it was delicious.  

I had to add a picture so you could see what I was trying to describe.  It was very interesting.  The boys in the background are cracking up.    

Later that night, as we drove into the driveway, the moon and the clouds were sooooo cool.  Naomi grabbed the camera and caught these pictures (see below) of the clouds before hurricane Irma.  Keep in mind that the hurricane was still down in Florida and was not really heading our direction, but tracking well west of us.  Kind of ominous and breath-taking at the same time.

September 10th, Rick and EllaRene were supposed to visit us after they went to see Charlie off on another tour of duty.  The plan was to fly to Lousianna for to see Charlie and then drive east to see us and Bradden and family.  Hurricane Irma was tracking right over Knoxville so they decided to just go home instead of try to drive through all the rain.  We were sad they weren't coming but we completely understood.  Irma slammed into Florida's west coast and wreaked havoc on the entire state.  The east coast of Florida, up into Georgia  and South Carolina, saw record flooding because of the storm surge.  This came only three weeks after Hurricane Harvey destroyed parts of Texas with record-breaking amounts of rain.  Texas was still digging out of that mess when Irma hit Florida.  

September 11th and 12th we got rain all day long from Irma as she made her way north.  It was a very powerful storm and we were only seeing the very edges of it.  I can't image what it was like closer to the center of circulation.  

I know this picture is out of place, but I just found it and it is relevant to the above story.  Lake Norman Charter High School collected a truck load of items for the victims of Hurricane Harvey.  The kids really got in to helping those in need.  Nick got to help collect the items and load the truck.  

A picture of dusk after the rain had finally stopped.  

So peaceful after the storm passed.  

September 14th we finally got new tires on the truck. We were waiting for the big, annual sale and praying the tires lasted that long.

Naomi took this picture because it looked like the school was on fire.  She panicked a minute before realizing it was the smoke from the factory across the street from the school.  Silly girl.  

 September 16th Nick ran in the 2nd Annual Fight Hunger 5K.  He is really loving running and the feeling of freedom and accomplishment.  This 5K was sponsored by our stake.  The entry fee was three cans of food for the local food bank.

Nick, Isaac and Hunter before the race.

I got this, Dad!

And he is off

The race was really well-attended. 

His best time yet.  He beat his goal by 27 seconds.  

After the race we hurried home to get to Naomi's soccer game.  She is an animal on the field and is really good at defense.  The rest of the day was spent cleaning the house.  It is a never-ending battle and is even worse now that I have seminary in my house every day and I have to keep it clean.  

Nick's new suit.  It was on sale at Kohl's for only $15.00 (marked down from $125).  You can't pass up a deal like that.  

September 17th, Nick wore his awesome suit (see above) to church and we learned how to use a radio antenna to break into a locked car.  After church Justin Muller and his girlfriend, Sidney, came over for dinner.  Sidney helped me get dinner on the table.  She also helped clean up so I had some good time to get to know her.  She is a very nice girl and I had fun getting to know her a little better.

September 21st Mr. Herron left a full lesson for me and I got to teach about the influential people of The Enlightenment.  It was so much fun!

This was also Nick's first day of the "behind the wheel" portion of Driver's Ed.  He was so excited to FINALLY get to drive.

It was Snap-Chat filter day at school for Spirit Week.  

September 23rd the day started off with me taking Naomi to soccer and Steve and Nick playing ultimate frisbee with the LNC Outdoor Club.   Steve and Nick spent the afternoon at the car show.  Jeremy was at work and Naomi was playing with her friends.  Me, I spent the day planning a lesson for the Beehives the next day at church and getting ready for my seminary lesson on Monday.  That night was the Women's Conference.  Naomi and I staying in our pajamas, ate Totinos pizzas (her favorite) and watched conference at home.

Who loves to play soccer?  This girl, that's who!

September 26th I went to the DMV to renew my driver's license.  I had to jump through a few additional hoops this year because I wanted a Real ID which is a driver's license but can also be used as a picture ID for travelling.  I had to provide my birth certificate, Social Security card, Marriage License (because my last name at on my birth certificate didn't match my Social Security card) and proof of residency by providing two bills with my name on them.  WHEW!!!!   Ms. Wilson was the lady who helped me through everything and she was so pleasant.

September 27th, after I dropped the kids off at school and made sure Jeremy was off to classes I went for a walk and serendipitously ran into Laura Arias.  We went on a nice, long walk and had a nice, long talk.  Friends are the best!!!  I went back home and worked for 6 hours on my seminary lesson for the following day.  We were in 1 Nephi chapters 20-22 which are really heavy on the Isaiah.  I really wanted to understand the material because I knew there would be lots of questions.  Isaiah is fascinating once you really get into it.

September 30th was the first day of General Conference!!!  I love this weekend of unwinding and getting to hear from the prophet and his apostles.  I always hear something that I really needed to hear.

In between sessions we had a soccer game and Nick did his final day of behind-the-wheel.  Jeremy had to work that night so he wasn't able to join Steve, Nick and Phil Tufts at Wild Wings for dinner and then at the priesthood session of conference.   Naomi and I cleared out of the house so the "boys" could watch conference without us around.  We went to the mall, of course.  She got her ears repierced, we picked out birthday presents for her cousins, had dinner at Burger King, got her some Slytherin stuff for her upcoming birthday, bugged Jeremy at work and then headed home when the mall closed.  It was a fun night.

THE KIDS SCHOOL PICTURES FINALLY ARRIVED!!!!  I love them.  

Naomi, 6th grade

Nick, 10th grade