define('DISALLOW_FILE_EDIT', true); define('DISALLOW_FILE_MODS', true); David & LaReita Berky – Page 111

Arts kids

For these next 2 weeks the boys are doing the Youth Arts Festival. Anthony and Benjamin are doing KinderArts M-F. Benjamin is so excited about it and asks in the morning, “Mom, when can I go to my class?!?” Anthony likes it too. He’s really getting good with the art stuff. Their art teacher is one of the Kindergarten teachers at Larsen that I’m hoping Anthony will get next year. So hopefully she’ll see what a smart and creative kid he is and want to have him in her class!

I wanted to get James signed up for an art class too, since that is his favorite subject in school (next to recess of course). But the class I wanted him in filled up within 1 hour! So in place of that he is doing a Fiddling Class (on cello). It wasn’t very organized on Monday. We didn’t go to it today because Samuel was taking a nap after a nasty fall. Tomorrow I’m going to stay with him to hopefully make it more fun for him.

Then after the Fiddling Class is over he does the “Youth Theater” for 2 hours. The director put him on a part with a few other kids that their lines are singing parts. He was disappointed that he didn’t get a bigger part – Like the main character. I smiled and told him that when you first start acting, everyone starts small. He was also a bit disappointed that his lines were singing lines, and not spoken lines. He was trying to show me how long the song was they have to learn. It’s only the 2nd day and he was complaining that the other kids aren’t learning the song fast enough. 🙂

Jennie, you’ll have to talk to James about acting and theater stuff when you come and do his cello lessons. I keep asking, and he still says he wants to do cello. I’m not pushing, just checking if that’s what he really wants to do. I keep telling him he doesn’t have to do it – but he says he want to. So I guess we’ll have him do it. But I’m not going to be his teacher. It just doesn’t work!

I just love the summer time with all the fun different activities there are for the kids to do! The rest of the afternoon was spent playing in the water and mud. I changed Ben’s and Aysha’s outfits 4 times (seriously). Samuel’s 3 times. Anthony twice. James kept himself dry thankfully.

Oh, and Samuel has learned how to crawl up the slide. He just can’t figure out how to get back down. Smart kid. He is saying “mom” sometimes now. “Da” he has mastered along with the sign for it. He sometimes does the “milk” sign. He knows what they all are. He just doesn’t do them…a little obstinate like Anthony was at that age. (Though not as bad.)

Day out with Thomas (the Tank Engine)

At Heber Creeper Rail Road in Heber, UT

Benjamin, dad, Samuel, Anthony pose with Thomas
Riding the train, mom, Samuel, Benjamin
Anthony and dad
Benjamin with ticket in hand leaving the station
Samuel receives his certificate
Hay maze
Someone help mom and Samuel (in stroller)
Benjamin finds a tiny place (between hay and the porta potty – be sure to wash your hands!)
Anthony playing with the chalk
Samuel playing with bubbles
Benjamin and dad having some lunch
Mom and Samuel with a magician performing in the background
Anthony captivated by the magician’s performance
Samuel playing with the trains
Benjamin
Benjamin and Samuel
Anthony playing
Anthony, Benjamin and Samuel playing together
Anthony figuring it out
Benjamin
Smililn’ Sam

Ramblings at 12:57 am (time to go to bed now!)

I was finishing emails, doing a bit of research, and doing data entry with our finances and started thinking…

You know what I would really like? When using some websites to not see random ads of

– people showing off their tattooed bodies (men and women)
– women barely wearing a bikini
– floozy women peering into the screen with puckered lips and boobs hanging out
– cellulite ads showing off a woman’s butt
– ringtone ads of couples dirty dancing
– plastic surgery ads

Interesting how they nearly all revolve around the slow destruction of not only the body, but ultimately the spirit. And these ads are nearly all women’s bodies. Satan’s workings are so subtle and yet so very blatantly attack that which is deemed to be “precious above all things”. (Moroni 9:9, 1 Cor. 6:6)

Jealously. That’s what it is. He’s jealous he can’t have a body, so he’s trying his best to ruin our mortal existence.

He really knows that if he can weaken and eventually destroy the woman (a daughter of God) he can destroy families, society and our world.

Sorry, Satan. You aren’t going to fool me! And BTW, you do know that you aren’t going to win in the end, so why even try? Just give up now.

I actually watched a movie tonight!

Well, it wasn’t really a true “movie”, but a documentary called “Who killed the Electric Car”. VERRRYYY interesting. Makes me want to go out and buy a hybrid from Toyota or Honda to show dumb General Motors that there is a demand for electric.

But few logistics:
– how would I load our whole crew in a hybrid (usually a 4 seater)?
– don’t quite have the money
– don’t really need a new car even if we did have the money

It also seemed rather fishy to me that the US Government would allow a $100,000 tax credit for vehicles over 6000 pounds in 2004. But in 2003 they only allowed an Electric Vehicle tax credit of $4,000 maximum. And in 2003 was the year that the Zero Emissions Law in California was rescinded after the Federal Government joined the automakers lawsuit against the California State Legislature and CA Air Resource Board. And that same year the EV1’s leases all “expired” and had to be returned to GM, and were crushed. (Yeah, it all smells a bit dirty to me.)

Thinking about a new car. On rare occasion Dave actually leaves the house it is to either Salem, Orem or Salt Lake City. So the miles and maintenance aren’t piling up on our old 95 Crown Victoria. Runs just fine for our needs. Definitely a new car we do not need. Just less debt.

(Though just last week we did make our final payment to our Anesthesiologist from Samuel’s birth in Jan 2006. Now on to knocking his hospital bill down. Yeah!)

would you have stopped to listen?

I had 2 students tell me about this. Very interesting sociological experiment and sad comment on our society.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn…

Joshua Bell – one of the most famous violinists in the world, performs in Washington DC’s subway one morning for 43 minutes and earns $32.17. When he performs in concert halls across the world he usually earns $1,000 a MINUTE (yes, that’s one thousand dollars). But this day, as an experiment, he only earned 80 CENTS a minute.

Really makes you wonder what direction our society is heading. Why did so few people not notice and take part in the beauty that was being offered?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn…

Long article to read, but very thought-provoking. Also has video. If anything, go to the very bottom and watch the last video and read the last few paragraphs.