13 January 2013

  

When we were in San Diego, Ruth picked a cherimoya for us from her tree.  We brought it home to ripen.  It was soft enough to eat on Wednesday and we ate it at the counter, each with our own spoon.  It was deliciously sweet and custardy.

Ruth also sent us home with a bag full of succulent clippings.  She just broke off pieces of each plant.  Supposedly, they will grow roots if you push the broken end into a pot of dirt.  Our climate is too cold to put these in our yard, but they will make good houseplants.

 Helen started piano lessons this week.  She is taking lessons from a lovely woman who plays both the piano and the cello.  We think she will be a good match for Helen who plays the violin.  We now have 3 kids taking piano lessons from 3 different teachers.  We've learned it's easier in the long run to match the personality of the teacher to the personality of the student.

Saturday morning was cold--temperatures below freezing--but we had committed to running in the first annual BYU alumni scholarship fun run.  The kids were all excited to go.  Sofi and Abe ran the 5K.  The course was a challenging trail run.  Several of the adults said it was the hardest 5K course they had ever run.  We're proud of Sofi and Abe for running it.  Brandan, Becky, Helen and Gibson did the 1K route.  This is the first 1K we've ever run and it was exactly the right distance for 2 young kids on a cold morning.

The race was organized by our local BYU alumni chapter.  There was so much about the race to like-- it was a family activity, it got us outdoors, we spent the morning with some great friends and met new friends, the race raised money for a scholarship fund.  BUT, Brandan and Becky are alumni of the University of Utah, BYU's rival, and Becky couldn't resist wearing Utah gear and encouraging the kids to do the same.  Our friend, Tiffany, an ardent BYU supporter, good-naturedly took our photo in front of a BYU flag.