Bear Lake Family Reunion 2013

We headed up to beautiful Fish Haven, Idaho for the annual Tait Family Reunion during the first weekend in August.  We had the entire family together; something that usually only happens once a year.  

We went to a Play at Picklesville Playhouse.  The kids (and Kerry) :) wanted to snap a picture with the main character: Juanito Bandito, who was hilarious.  I was laughing really hard through the show.  

This year, the grand kids rode in Papa Tait's Dodge Power Wagon during the Raspberry Days Evening Parade.  They really had a good time, throwing candy and waving in the parade!

Gracie and Sienna LOVE to be on Papa Tait's Boat.  The water at Bear Lake is mystically blue and beautiful, and in August...not too chilly.  

Between the kayaks, beach toys, lots of sand and splashing - the kids always have a great time playing at Bear Lake. 

There is also a pool and splash pad at The Reserve Community Lodge.  Could they be having anymore fun?!?

Gracie and Lauren

 

The boys got creative this year and made their own golfing green, in the lawn, around a tree.  They had a chipping competition.  It was way fun for them!

Something the Tait Family Reunion is known for is LOTS of good food!  This year the cutest little bakers made and dipped donuts in cinnamon sugar.  Between the donuts and the smores we made around the campfire, we were stuffed with yummy treats!

We all enjoyed holding the littlest Taitor-Tot, Summer.  

Years ago, before there were eight grand kids, Grandma Tait bought the girls these colorful nightgowns.  It has grown into quite the tradition.  This year, the girls got to pick out brand new nightgowns.  They sure look sweet.  Sunday morning at the Cabin consisted of a yummy breakfast, The Spoken Word, Grandpa and Grandma sharing stories and the kids singing some of their favorite Primary Songs.  

It's the Little Things...Like Pockets

During a walk around Temple Square with Jody and Papa Tait, Sienna became acutely aware that she had pockets in her shorts.  

Glorious Pockets. 

And even better, Papa and Dad had pockets too.  So they were the same.  

She just kept saying, "I have pockets...like you Papa!!"  

It took her twice as long to make it around the Temple Grounds.  Because when you're two-years-old, walking and having both hands inside your pockets...is not easy.  But she had two understanding people who were willing to take it slow with her.  

This Trip to Temple Square was all part of a week of fun, enjoying time with our Family from Florida.  Kerry & Stacy and their three kids visited in August, and the cousins made LOTS of great memories.  Look at how sweet they are! 

We are missing three of the cousins in this picture.

Left to Right: Sienna, Lindsey, Gracie, Lauren and Gavin....or "The Boy" as Gracie calls him.  Apparently when you're the one boy cousin among seven girls...Gracie just calls you "The Boy."
 

They really do have a special bond.  Gracie and Sienna look forward to seeing their Florida Cousins every summer!!!

We also visited the LDS Church History Museum.  The museum has an entire area dedicated to children.  Here the kids, are getting a lesson in culture and dancing.  

We ate at the City Creek Center in the heart of downtown and then headed to the movie Turbo.  The kids thought it was funny; Gracie thought it was Laugh-Out Loud humor.  I got a kick out of her giggles.  

After the movie, it was time for more playing at Grandpa and Grandma Tait's house.  

Can you even see Lauren?!?!?!  It's never fun to be at the bottom of the haystack or cousin pile.    

Come back and visit real soon!

Step, Passé, Kick

Gracie had her Jazz n' Place Dance Recital on June 15, 2013.  She was in the Mini Stars Class.  It was sure fun to watch her perform!  She liked wearing real make-up and being on the stage.  She even handled wearing the tights pretty well.  Gracie isn't a big fan of tights - that's the nice way of putting it.  But her excitement to be under the big lights outweighed the anxiety over the tights...so all was well.  

Gracie's favorite part of her class was when they played "freeze dance" before letting out each week.  Gracie would come home after her dance class and practice in our living room. 

"Step, Passé, Kick....Step Passé, Kick..." 

She would say over and over and over. 

  My video camera cut out a quarter of the way into the performance and finally turned back on for the very end.  Figures.  So here is the condensed version of her dance!  :)

Grandpa and Grandma Wiscombe & Michael gave Gracie a rose after her performance.  She was thrilled!  She also really liked the bag of sweet treats from Grandma Wiscombe!  

 

Way to Go, Gracie!  You did great.  

Breaking the June Curse...

June hasn't been my month.

June has typically been hard and trying.

In June of 2012, Sienna had what should have been a two day stay at Primary Children's Medical Center to recover from a Ureter Re-implanting Surgery.  But her bladder ruptured post surgery.   She was terribly sick.  Doctors couldn't figure out why.  And after a broken-up nearly three week stay at the Children's Hospital, they diagnosed her with Pyelonephritis - (which means her kidneys were swollen, full of infection and not working properly.)

During that time, I was trying to coach my 2012 SkillsUSA Broadcasting Team and help them prepare for Nationals.  I brought Sienna with me, to practices - catheter and all.  Poor baby.  I remember ending one practice early, driving straight to the hospital, where she was again admitted for another stay.
  

She was sick.  And I was scared.

I missed my flight to Kansas City with all of the SkillsUSA competitors.  I was holding my baby in the hospital.  I flew out days later, after Sienna was home (for good this time).  I made it to Kansas City just in time to give my four students a good luck pep talk before they competed behind closed doors.

They didn't place that year.  And in the Post-Contest Meeting I wrote down everything the judges had to say.  I didn't even have a notebook.  (Great journalist, huh?!?!)  I tell you, I wasn't 100% there.  I had been sleeping on a hospital cot for 2 weeks, worrying my brains out.

So NO notebook, but I did manage to find these Holiday Inn post-its from the hotel where we were staying.  

I wrote down everything that a National Winning Team needed to know.  And once I was back in Utah, I hid these notes in my sock drawer.  I never said it out loud....maybe whispered it to my husband...but I was ready to take a team back to Kansas City...and this time, come home with a different outcome.

In March 2013, four dedicated students showcased their skills -- winning the SkillsUSA State Competition.  And the Post-It's got to come out of the sock drawer.

I worked with them on perfecting their broadcast writing, their storytelling and their believability.  Camera Cues were solid.  Team Chemistry was evident.  These are good kids.  Our Male Anchor hosted his own radio show, our Female Anchor re-wrote political and world event stories each week; not for an assignment --  just to have me correct them...so she could improve her newsworthy sense.  At State, the judges from ABC4 told me they would hire our Student Technical Director on the spot, "he was just that good." And our Floor Director, brought the team together with his accuracy in cues and his sense of humor.

They were the right group of students.  I spent the first month of summer vacation holding practices so we could fine-tune their skills.  We spent a ton of time at that school practicing!  Gracie and Sienna came with me often.  They acted as comic relief or the world's biggest distraction.  Either way, it was good practice for the students to try and keep their focus.

We were just days away from the competition, and my June Curse hit again.

I was 7-weeks-pregnant, and I lost the baby.

My doctor teetered with the idea of me leaving for a week, but finally gave me the okay to travel with the team.  I was in pain and sick the entire trip, and an emotional tornado.  But being there and focusing on the team was the best thing for me - it helped distract me from feeling sorry for myself.

OCC Girls and Advisor Chris Griesemer

The broadcasting competition lasted two days.  My team drew the 9:30 am time slot on the first day.  We were all excited about that time placement.  The morning of the competition, I did make-up for seven girls competing in 'Opening and Closing Ceremonies'.  They were darling, and definitely looked the part.  I then caught the bus from our hotel.  The convention center was a 20 minute bus ride away.  We hit traffic.  I was panicking.  I had one of the Floor Director's props.  So there I was flying off of the bus when we got there, running in my 4-inch heels across the space of two football fields.  For those of you who know me...this sounds about right....yes?  I got there with four minutes to spare.  I gave them their cards I had written for them, we huddled up, said a prayer, and they were off.

They had 2 hours to build their newscast rundown and write a 3-minute show based off of 20 Associated Press Stories.  And then they anchored, called and directed the show live.  The show had to end exactly at the 3 minute mark - one second over or under would penalize their scores.

Friday night -- Closing Ceremonies.  20,000 people in Kemper Arena.  It is so full, our team gets separated.  I end up standing at the top of the arena by my co-teacher, Dustin.

"Broadcast News Production", the announcer's voice booms.

"Here we go", I think to myself.
"Bronze Medal -  Washington."

"Okay....come on....come on....they deserve this," I am saying under my breath.
"Silver Medal - Delaware."  

My heart sinks.  Florida has won this competition for the past FIVE years.  And it looks like their winning streak is about to continue.

"Gold Medal - UTAH"

It is as if time stood still.  And then I start screaming....and screaming some more...and crying.

It is one of the most authentic moments in my life.  So pure.  So unexpected.

Not unexpected because Matt, Krista, Chase and Bailey didn't deserve the title.  Because trust me they do, and their scores prove it.   But because how often can you say you've been a part of a National Championship?!?!

It's like I won Miss America -- only BETTER because seeing the unbelievable excitement on these four student's faces, quadrupled my joy.

Look at them!  Students who put their minds to something positive and made it happen.  Lehi High School has never won a National Gold Medal in any of the 98 SkillsUSA competitions.  These four students brought home the Gold

...and they broke my June Curse. 

**National Champions**

By winning Gold, this team won the 10-thousand dollar EZNews Software Program for Lehi High School.

Krista Hintze who just started her Freshman Year at BYU.  She has declared her major as Broadcast Journalism.  She will be fabulous!

During the week, we spent a great deal of time walking around Downtown Kansas City.  It's a beautiful city.  Here we are having a "Brittany Pose-Off".  Apparently, I have a certain "pose" I strike in pictures.  Everyone did a "BTait" pose for this one.  What do you think?  Who won?

Here's a story to restore your faith in humanity.  Before I flew out for Kansas City, my husband said to me, "Hey Brittany, try to not lose our camera this year at the competition...okay?"  I have a bit of a history misplacing our camera.  And this year was no exception.  Before Closing Ceremonies, I realized I didn't have the camera.  I searched EVERYWHERE, called every place of business we had visited. It was MISSING.  I had to tell Jody that his crazy wife had indeed done the very thing he asked me not to do.

Fast-Forward 7 weeks.  I get a letter in the mail from a Nadine Russell in Clinton, Missouri.  She's writing me to tell me she has my camera.  Nadine was one of the bus drivers who drove the Utah Schools around at Nationals.  She found the camera on her bus - scrolled through the pictures and wrote, "I recognized you in the pictures as the lady that ALWAYS wore the high heels on the bus."  

Nadine didn't know my name, what school I was from, or anything about me....(other than the high heels.)  She did some serious investigation - running into numerous blockstops.  But she found me.  Isn't that so nice?!?!  Nadine is a friend for life.  What a lovely lady with a good heart.  Thanks to Nadine, we have our camera back.

**The Entire Lehi High School Crew**

This is my co-teacher, Dustin.  He invited me into his well-estabilished classroom more than two years ago.  It's safe to say I shook up the routine with my quizzes on attribution, news judgement and the journalism inverted pyramid.  We both have different methods; but the whole 'fire and ice' thing really worked out.  It's been such a wonderful experience to be an educator, and I am thankful Dustin believed enough in me to let me teach along side of him.     



At the annual national-level SkillsUSA Championships, more than 5,900 students competed in 98 occupational and leadership skill areas.  The organization has 13,000 school chapters.  




This event is larger than life!! 

Sweet Success

If You're Happy and You Know it...Jump for Joy.

Summer brings so many fun things.  And a 

Backyard Barbecue with Friends

...always tops the list!  We get the families together, the kids play, the husbands grill, and us girls chat, laugh and bust out our veteran cheerleading skills.

Look at these girls!  They are the most genuine, kindhearted, funny, and lovely girls.  We've all been friends since high school.  We have lived through crazy boyfriends, bad hairstyles, heartbreak, joyous surprise and everything in between.  I admire these women.  They have all had their individual trials, and they have triumphed through them with grace.  We don't see each other often enough, but I am thankful for their presence in my life.

Cute Annika and Hair Face

Cute Annika and oh...there I am!

Annika and I both cheered back in the day.  The technique may be a bit off...but we certainly still have the pizazz and energy.