Happy Birthday, Savannah!!  Can you believe our little girl turned FIFTEEN????  She is not so little anymore, but she is still beautiful and confident and looks at things differently than anyone else we know.  She is so great!  We love her!

I forgot to mention a couple of weeks back that Savannah had been in charge of our ward’s display at Stake Youth Standard’s Night.  This involved that she go to stake meetings and plan and help execute our ward’s display for the night.  She did fabulous. Drawing on her passion for writing, she wrote a “Choose Your Own Adventure” story for participants to read, make choices, and achieve different outcomes.  They got points based on how well they did and were entered into a raffle to win posters stating the theme.  Cool, huh?  Her dad and I couldn’t have been more pleased and proud with the way she used her talents, made a plan, and carried it out – on time!

As a byproduct of this adventure, she forged an acquaintanceship with the Stake Young Men’s president who I have never met but seems to be quite a character.  He just happened to be in our ward Sunday teaching the YM/YW because of ward conference.  When he found out it was Savannah’s birthday, he made her stand on a chair and have everyone sing to her.  She says she nearly died of mortification!  But I think it was the happy kind of mortification.  (I think this is only really possible when you are a teenager!)  First, though, he told everyone how impressed he’d been with her work on Stake Standard’s Night.  Savannah thinks he hates her.  I think she’s made a friend!

Sunday night was also New Beginnings.  (Isn’t it great to have your birthday on a Sunday??)  Savannah earned her Individual Worth ribbon, Sarah earned her something ribbon, and Megan came home and had me sign off three more things, because next time, she is going to get a ribbon, too, by darn!

Friday was a fun day, too.  I got to go see all the first graders do a reader’s play about the little engine that could.  Two of my favorite first graders were there!!!  Calianne was a clown.

She waved her flag and said, “Wait!  Wait!  Please wait!  We need some help!”  She was adorable, especially when she sang, “Please stop and help us!”  She made the saddest face.  I was ready to cry right then and there!  (I would have loved to get a video for you, but once the play started, Ben was playing with the camera, and if I had taken it away from him he would have screamed and I would have had to leave my awesome seat on the front row!)  Cheyenne did hysterical sad faces too for that song.  She was a bear!

She represented the optimists in the play, saying, “Maybe someone else can help us!”  She knew her part so well, at one point she was the only bear who started speaking, but the others joined in quickly to follow her knowledgeable lead.  I just had the best time watching those kids!  It was so fun!

I also forgot to mention that Cheyenne lost her other front tooth!  Look at that toothless grin!

Calianne is extremely jealous -- she keeps checking for wiggliness but her teeth stay firmly in place.  She tells me that they will NEVER fall out.  It is hard when your twin gets to do something first!

Other news of note:  Megan used her own money and bought herself a little parakeet.

She is hoping that it will want to sing along when she practices her violin . . .