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A fun part of being in Northern Michigan in the summer is the annual Cherry Festival, held in Traverse City, Michigan.  While we gave up actually attending the festival a couple of years ago (due to large crowds and craziness altogether), a member of the Kennedy family can usually be found running in the Meijer Festival of Races during the festival.  It's a great way to be part of the festivities in a controlled, fun manner :-) I signed up to run the 10k back in the spring.  5ks are becoming too short of a distance for me to run to feel any kind of challenge (isn't that a lovely thing to say), so I figured the 10k would be better for me.  Afterall, on any given day, I walk 5-6 miles so I figured running it wouldn't be much harder. The hardest part about the whole thing was trying to get the time off work.  My boss at Interlochen wouldn't approve the time off, so I had to find someone who would cover for me.  I initially had someone who was willing to do...

There is always something new to experience at Interlochen.  There is so much to do here, and it's hard to fit  it all in the six short weeks we are here.  This year has been very different from the past five years for me, because I get to work at Interlochen!  I am a member of Stage Services, or Stage Crew.  Basically, I move chairs and stands around all day.  I work in a small venue with two other girls, and we set up for a LOT of choirs.  Usually, our rehearsals only last until 5:00, due to the fact that we have no late-night concerts in our building.  This means that I have a lot of free time at night. Typically, I go home, and Mommy, Glo, and I party down until 10 or 11 pm.  It's a sweet life. Being an Interlochen employee offers me a lot more opportunities to get involved.  I can volunteer to help work the front gate, I can drive around in a golf cart, and I can be a figure model.  Every year, Interlochen posts flyers around...

One of the best nights of the summer happened last night.  We made our annual pilgrimage to the Upton-Morley Pavilion to see Interlochen's Shakespeare production.  This year, it was a light, comical fare with a show of "As You Like It". As it turns out, I did more than like it.  I loved it. We, of course, stuck to our usual tradition of reading the play beforehand which always helps us understand the overall plot of any Shakespeare play, and allows us to anticipate some of our favorite lines.  This summer, it was just Hannie, Glo and I reading it together which meant that we had lots of chances to be many different people, and per our usual summer Shakespeare readings, we did more laughing than actual understanding!  It only took us two nights to get through the entire play. A touching moment came when we stumbled upon a song that is sung in the play: This song means quite a bit to the Kennedy kids.  Three out of the four of the kids have su...

Yesterday, the Supreme Court of the United States decided that it was legal for homosexuals to marry in all fifty states.  I never actually thought that the Supreme Court would make a ruling on this; I figured it would toss the decision back to the states.  I guess I was caught off guard, thinking that we would see many more years of law suits and court decisions about the matter on the state level. Being a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, I do not support gay marriage.  It was over twenty years ago that our church came out with "The Family: A Proclamation to the World" and stated:   The family is ordained of God.  Marriage between man and woman is essential to His eternal plan.   While our church does not believe in condemning or berating homosexuals, it stands by the divine law that marriage should be between a man and a woman.  There is no other way for spirit sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father to come to earth and...

Yes, I have a bucket list.  It's a new thing.  I came to the realization that I'm probably at least halfway done with my life now, and my body certainly isn't getting any younger.  Funny how that works--I feel like, mentally, I could keep going for years and years, but when I look at how my body is already limiting me physically, I realize that I'd better get going on getting things done. I had been telling myself for years that I would visit Mackinac Island (for Michigan newbies, that's pronounced MackiNAW island).  This seemed especially obvious since I spend every summer just a couple hours away from it.  However, it just wasn't happening.  This year, though, I made it a priority. Glo and I were originally going to drive through Canada and do some research on the Kennedy family, but my heart went out to John who was already going to be away from us for upwards of seven weeks.  I just couldn't extend that time any longer.  However, a trip...

John, Glo and I have been eagerly anticipating this summer for one reason:  everyone is coming home!  Ethan and Rebecca will be living with us since they've graduated and have no good reason to stay in Utah, no child is serving a mission including Mark, and Hannah will have finished her freshman year at BYU.  Such an exciting time! Fast forward a couple of weeks.  Everyone is home, and boy has it been a whirlwind...and a HUGE adjustment for me.  I've never had problems with my kids coming and going, but I think The Three Musketeers (John, Glo and I) have gotten used to our routines and the quiet of the household.  Having four adult children all move in at once has taken some flexibility, something which I have not as yet mastered.  There are good AND bad things so here's a short list of some of the gems I have learned so far: Adult children do what they want, and no amount of guilt, persuasion or begging on my part will change their minds. ...

I do believe that in my former life I was a poodle. You know all that care for their hair?  Shampooing.  Shaping.  Cutting.  There is no other explanation for the obsession I have with my hair. My desires are simple.  I want nice looking hair that is straight and pretty.  If I had this, I could spend time obsessing over other things.  Like the makeup that I don't wear. Unfortunately, I have curly hair that is white.  And I spend a lot of time trying to make it NOT look like that. Every six weeks, I visit my favorite hairdresser of all time, Jess Cower.  In fact, I need to take a picture of her, because she's a lifesaver in my mind.  I change doctors, and friends, and cars I drive.  But I don't change my hairdresser. I know more about her than I know about most people, and she knows a heck of a lot about me.  That's what happens when you have a three-hour, no distractions, conversation.  And it's crazy to think th...

For the first time in a couple of years, Mark was home to celebrate his birthday with us!  Yay for boys who serve missions, and yay for moms who survive it all!  We decided to make a day of it and go to Philadelphia. Mark's first request was to head to Campo's for cheesesteaks.  While the service is never friendly, the cheesesteaks make up for it.  They were crazy delicious. When I took this picture, I was looking for our classic "Rolling Stones" photo.  However, I managed to catch a rather unsightly restaurant sign in the picture!  There just so happens to be a frozen yogurt place across the street that is always the perfect follow-up to our cheesesteaks.  I ask you, who needs birthday cake when there is customizable Fro-Yo??  We, of course, sang "Happy Birthday" in beautiful four-part harmony...and turned a few heads of people who, quite appropriately, thought we were amazing. Glo was pretty much in Glo Heaven, spending the...