Go Bee-Anne!!

I guess, just once in a while, you gotta cut loose.....footloose. So our family packed into our car and made the treck to good ole' Roy, Utah to watch our niece and cousin, Breanne, perform in Roy High's musical, Footloose. I don't believe we are biased at all when I say that Breanne stole the show.
Helllloooooooo...... Breanne STOLE the show!!!
It was so obvious (in our completely neutral eyes) that Breanne had the BEST solo and voice of anyone up there (not to say that there weren't other nice voices and a lot of talent on stage).
Breanne played Ariel's mother, Mrs. Preacher's Wife (can't remember her name here) and did a magnificent job. She truly has Buhrley blood running through her. I don't know if I've ever written about how talented Max and Lola's children are. They all do different things in their own fabulous way. It's as if Max and Lola told them, "Just do YOU." And they did. They're all very good at the different things they do and I wish I had just a smidgon of their talents.
So thank you Breanne for adding just a little bit of culture to our humdrum lives last Friday night. Kara has been attempting it for years. We love you and are so proud of you. You are awesome!

Good Leaders

We recently attended an "Evening in Excellence" for Caitlyn. Our church has a program called Personal Progress which is designed for its young women to understand and apply different values to have in their own lives. It's a wonderful program which can enrich and bless the lives of each girl. The Evening in Excellence was a night where the girls gathered with their parents to share different projects they'd worked on. It was so much fun to see some of the neat projects and talents these girls had. The reason I'm writing this, however, is not to sing the praises of Personal Progress and such. Truth be told, Caitlyn hasn't been "so hot" - her words - at working with the program. No, as I sat and watched Caitlyn with the other girls and with her leaders, I instead felt a deep respect and heartfelt gratitude for each of her leaders. She has incredible women in her life who love her and who give of themselves selflessly. Caitlyn has always loved her YW leaders and it's never been a fight to get her to go to church or to Young Womens. She wants to be there. She wants to be near them and like them. A trusted advisor is more important to a young girl than a mother sometimes. While I "lecture," her leaders "listen." While I talk AT her, her leaders talk with her. And while I LOVE her, her leaders love her, too. It's so nice, from a mom-point-of-view, to know that Caitlyn has other women who love her and recognize her many talents and her incredible worth. It's nice to share a vision of her future with other women who also see what she can become and what exciting, wonderful road lies ahead of her. I am so grateful for these women in her life. I love them as dearly as she does.

Caitlyn with Miss Julie, one of her favorite people on earth!!

Halloween 2009

Shadows of a thousand years rise again unseen/ Voices whisper in the trees, "Tonight is Halloween!" - Dexter Kozen

Oh, how I wish Halloween would have been scarier and more frightening. The scariest part at our house happened when Caitlyn and Zach left for their friends' homes at 3 in the afternoon! Halloween with teenagers is a MAJOR BUMMER!!!! Brynn wouldn't even let us take her trick-or-treating. Being the self-motivated busybody she is, she managed to attach herself to some neighbors and went trick-or-treating with THEM instead. "Mom," she asked, "can I go with the Jacksons?"
"I guess........." I started.
And before I could even finish my sentence she hightailed it out of our house and wasn't seen until 2 hours later when things were winding down. Halloween basically consisted of Brook and Sophie (the dog) handing out treats between watching a football game, and me typing on the computer and getting ideas for future lesson plans.
B.O.R.I.N.G!
I heretofore call DIBS on Halloween next year. Do you hear that Caitlyn and Zach? We've got 363 days and counting.....