Twin Falls has a LDS Temple being built...started about a year ago, will hopefully finish in another year. Yesterday, on my Mother's Birthday,(she watched too!) the statue of Angel Moroni was placed on the steeple. The taller of the cranes is taking up the gold (I believe it is fiberglass that is gold plated) statue.
While the second, smaller crane is taking up a blue bucket box which has 2 men in it. You might be able to see the rope that is dangling down from the statue. The men were able to grab hold of the rope, then guide the rod which is below the statue into the steeple, bolting it down.
All is fastened, the cranes are moving away. The temple can be spotted from the freeway, which is some distance away. It is moving along quickly, and looking very beautiful!
Just thought I'd let you know that my mother safely arrived yesterday afternoon. She came down in her motor home, so she could have a home away from our noisy home. I'm not sure how long she will be staying with us, but we sure are happy to have her here. By the way, who is taller than Grandma?
Liz asked me to blog this, so I guess I have to, unless I want my arm painted again, or worse...
In my sculpture class at school (that Drey just happens to be in too), we had a papier-mâché group project. My group decided to make a way-awesome unicorn. We built the form out of cardboard and newspaper + papier-mâché paste. Here are Drey and Charlie painting: 
From left to right: Charlie, the teacher, Rose, and Liz: 
Here is the final product, Amethyst, the unicorn. At least, I think that's what we named it...
The whole unicorn was covered with glitter, and the eyes are glass pebbles: 
The hands of Liz and Rose, covered in glitter:
By the way--I finally posted some more pictures on Flickr.
Tilmann was in his school play this week, 'The Three Little Pigs'. They memorized all their lines, and the play was just delightful. The 3 little pigs are; Tilmann, Angel & Daisy. Don't you love their snouts? The props for the play were pretty fun too....the pre-school helped paint the blue sky...finger paint! Tilmann is the first pig, building his House out of Straw. Notice the colored face of the wolf, played by Ivan. The other half of the class did the play "Three Billy Goats Gruff".
The same day of the play was my library day....so I had my camera to take a photo of my cherubs. These are the 2nd & 3rd graders that I do library time with. Personality is what they have....yes, some days it can be a long afternoon! But I'll miss them...most of them. 
This is the Birthday Boy, Tavin who now is Ten Years Old! (May 20th) He weighs 75 pounds and is 4 foot 71/2 inches tall. His favorite birthday present was his sleeping bag. Silly String, don't you love it? Personally it's a mess!
We didn't have a birthday party with his friends at the house this year, so I tried to do something extra fun at school. I taught them how to do a three-legged potato sack race. Oh not just get up and go, but where your hands should be, how to count with your partner etc. It took quite a few races before they got it down. Now they will be ready for the relays on the last day of school. Of course they needed to race on their own too. Tavin is in the black shirt, front and center. No, we didn't do cupcakes....but treat bags!
This is Tavin's fourth grade class....yes only 10 kids! From left to right; Alfonso, Daisy, Raquel, Thomas, Flavio, Kaden, Michael (back), Jacob, Tony and my personal favorite, Tavin.
We took a bus, along with a Twin Falls school, (Perrine), who had 23 4th graders on an Idaho History Field Trip. Three years ago, Aaron and I both went on this trip with Taft as chaperons. The kids in Tavin's class were much better then the group Taft had, making less work for the chaperons. The bus we all rode was not a school bus, but like a greyhound bus, two comfortable seats in each row, over head tote area, and of course the favorite of the kids, T.V. sets so they could watch videos. I was thankful for the air conditioner. I sat peacefully hand sewing on some primitive rabbits.
Standing next to Tavin is an Indian called 'Big Foot', threat to many in the early days....he was 6 foot 8 inches. This statue is at Parma, where the Old Fort Boise is located.
Here we have 'tired boy' along with the pioneer ox and wagon team. Yes, they look real, because I think they are, but not alive. This is in Baker City, at the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center. They work hard at this museum to make history come alive. A VERY nice place to stop and visit.
Here we have Buffalo Boy with his finger in a rather large nose
There is a new room at the Interpretive Center, working on a kid level. You can fill your own pioneer wagon, play puppet shows, but our favorite was the dressing up part. The photo above is of the only two girls in the class, the ones that I was chaperon over- Raquel & Daisy, don't they look sweet? 
I like this one of Tavin. He'd make a good pioneer. After this stop we hit Baker City and went out for Pizza! 
The evening isn't over yet! Even if we've been on the bus since 6:00 a.m. After dinner we went to the Baker City Museum, which is my personal favorite stop. It once was a swimming pool, with a ball room upstairs, so it is huge & filled with wonder. Above the kids are in front of an old stage coach. 
Alfonso & Tavin in front of an old store display....I like the bottles. Tavin on the other hand is more interested in what lays ahead. 
I am not really sure what this is called, but it works with mining gold. Baker City was built as a gold mining town...use to be the third largest city in Oregon, till the gold ran out. Because of it's past history, the movie 'Paint Your Wagon' with Clint Eastwood was filmed there.
6:00 a.m. and we are back on the bus. This stop took a few hours (some slept) over to the Melba, Idaho area to park called- Celebration Park, Idaho's first Archaeological Park. Here they learned about the Paleolithic and Archaic lifeways, even saw bones from woolly mammoths. Anyhow the above is learning how to hunt, with a atlatl, and throwing a dart. They call them darts because they don't come from a bow. The wood handle part you hang on to, as your dart goes flying towards the target. 
Here is Alfonso, so you can see better the targets, and understand the work it is to hit them! This stop has a lot to see, but it is much better when it's not 90 degrees...it lacks trees. They also have archaeological digs going on with college students, and a few painters painting the river and old railroad/mining bridge. We ate lunch, the kind that the school lunch program provides. 
Tavin is getting hot and tired (and thrilled to pose for another photo) The park is known for its Petroglyphs, ranging from 100 to 10,000 years of age. 15,000 years ago tons of boulders were deposited during the Bonneville Flood. It is a hillside of huge rocks! Paleo-Indians used this area for winter hunting camps, for it is warmer and by a river. I took a photo by this rock, for you can easily see the design of lizards, the rest of it might just as well be guess work. There is much work on many boulders, some with astronomical correlations, animals, bugs etc. Interesting, and real history. 
Last week Tavin along with his 4th grade class for Idaho History took a field trip, this is the last stop of that trip, but that is where I am starting. I came along on this trip as a chaperon, and of course as a photographer.
Bruneau, happens to be my maiden name, and this area, Bruneau Town, Bruneau River, Bruneau Canyon, and Bruneau Sand Dunes were named after my 3rd Great Grandfather, Captain Pierre Bruneau. Only when I came to Idaho the year before I married could people pronounce my name and spell it correctly! When I was pregnant with Tavin, another Bruneau Relative passed away. I was frustrated that there wasn't more Bruneau's in this world....thus Tavin's middle name is Bruneau.
Tavin is second from the left, along with some of his friends. There are many sand dunes at Bruneau Dunes, but there is one that is 470 feet tall, the tallest single structured sand dune in North America. Sounds impressive. When I was growing up, my grandparents talked about Bruneau town, the river & canyon. I even saw photos, for they visited the area. But it wasn't until I headed off to college that I was able to see the town...and be disappointed. The town is small in size, ranching community and certainly not impressive. We should have gone to the sand dunes!!
The complaint of this trip was the heat, 90 degree weather isn't fun to be out in for hours. The sand at the Dunes was TOO HOT! Oh of course the kids braved it and went jumping and sliding down it....but didn't roll down. I had sandals on, which meant I took a half a dozen steps, and then sat, and took the sand off my feet, wait and then took a few more steps. My feet were still hurting from that heat experience the following day! The kids on the other hand dealt with a different problem....sweat and sand. The heat was so hot that sweat would just run off their faces, (it is also work to climb a sand dune!) and sand would stick to those lovely wet areas!
The other item of Bruneau is that there is a Beetle that was named after the area too. (that white dot isn't my flash, but the overhead light) Beetles belong at sand dunes....as a child at the sand dunes by the oceans where we camped, I would follow beetle tracks along in the sand. There is also a Bruneau Hot Spring Snail too, and it's on the endangered list. It is the size of a pencil eraser and found only in the thermal springs along a 5-mile stretch of the Bruneau River.
I looked on the Internet about the Bruneau Dunes, and came across this photo, I liked it. I also like to see 'my name in print'....even if I changed it, I've been a Bruneau more years than a Williams!
Behind Tavin is a large dune, but because of the trees you can't see the lake that is in front of it. The lakes here always have fishermen in them. Come visit the Bruneau Sand Dunes...now that you've got a bit of history about it too!
Here is Drey with a trout he caught last week....notice the fishing pole? His grandma had bought it for Tilmann, but Drey used it and caught this whale of a fish! I also thought I would point of that Drey received a certificate for Outstanding Achievement in Art. Very nice for a freshman.
Tearsa also received awards in Anatomy/Physiology & Biotech, French III, 2007 Team of Representatives, Business Professionals of America, Art, and Precalculus.
Two weeks ago Tavin was hit in the nose with a soft ball (accident, Taft) it bled nicely. Swollen and changing colors added to our thoughts that it was broken....but then what? Seeking medical advice, we were told that he needed to have his nose x-rayed, for if it is out of aliment, he will have sinus problems as he gets older. We went to the doctors, not our usual doctor to do so.
Tavin on the x-ray table, the x-ray plates are under the table. When we returned after the x-rays, and sat and waited, the doctor couldn't find them on the computer.....and went to check on why. After waiting longer, we found that the x-ray person had put them under the wrong name.
Finally we get to see them, but as you can tell from the above photo, Tavin's head is tilted. The doctor wasn't sure if it was broken or not! She'd have a specialist take a look and give us a call. I'm thinking we've been here for hours, go get the specialist so we can go home with knowledge. But this event was happening on a day when I had planned a dinner with company, 8 extra...thankfully with the cool weather I planned turkey and already had it cooking in the oven at home! To end the story, I'm still not convinced. I had to call, there was a note in his file that said it wasn't broken. Yet, for days the end of his nose was numb.This is Tearsa. Her face is: sad, ugly, etc. But wait! Something in her life is about to change all of that!
New glasses!!! Black and citrus colored plastic frames and lenses with an updated prescription! Yay!
Okay, I know that this is way overdue and happened ages ago, but at least I finally am getting to writing about it. Filer's prom was last Saturday. I was on the prom committee, and that part of prom I thoroughly did not enjoy. We spent hours getting everything ready, but it really did look awesome. The theme was A Night in Paris, complete with an Eiffel Tower, outdoor cafe, starry sky, two car-loads of flowers, etc. Here is a picture of the gym about half-way decorated:
The actual day of prom was much better. I went with Andy R., and just in case you didn't know (and are just insanely curious about his parents), his father is my bishop and employer, and his mother is my seminary teacher. So umm...lots of connections. Andy came over to my house in the morning and we, along with all of my brothers, went fishing in our pond. I didn't fish much (not one of my skills), but it was actually really fun just to watch them catch fish. We were fishing for about 2 hours, and all together we caught 21 fish. Pretty good, eh? They were pulling fish out of the water left and right, so it wasn't boring at all to just watch. I did catch one fish, but Andy did the casting, so I'm not sure if it is technically 'my fish.' We also had a little picnic by the pond, and, even though it was a little cold, everything went très well. Here is a picture of Drey and Taft fishing, Tavin standing around watching, Andy putting on a lure for Tilmann, and Tilmann watching and waiting:
After that the boys dealt with their fish and I went to town. I got my hair done by Amber at Master Educators. She was awesome and I totally recommend her. And here she is (yes, we brought our camera there):
Then we went to Macy's to get my makeup done. The girl who was supposed to do it was sick, so I had to wait forever for another girl, but since it is free, I can't complain too much. The end result was pretty good.
Okay, then Andy picked me up, Mom and his sister took a lot of pictures, etc., and then we went to Tomatoes with Brittany (his sister) and her boyfriend.
And then to the high school. Each couple was announce individually (which took about an hour), and each girl was given a rose with a Eiffel Tower key chain attached. The key chains were authentic: the travel club bought them during their trip to France this spring break. A nice touch, thanks to the prom committee (and travel club)!
Here's the entrance to the cafe:
And here is Jill, Andy, Brittany, and me. Andy and I stayed at the school for a while, and then we went to his house and watched Night in the Museum. And then I went home. And I am really tired of typing and thinking of things to write. I hoped you enjoyed my prom story.