Brian Graduates from The George Washington University Law School

 We had a wonderful whirlwind weekend last week.  We flew to Washington DC to witness (Whoa!  That's a lot of W's!) Brian's graduation from George Washington Law School.  What a privilege it was to be there!  We flew there on Thursday and went to Brian and Michelle's on Friday morning.  Gabbi was happy to see us.

 She even danced a jig!

 Ken helped Jaron dance with her.

 Jaron warmed up to us pretty fast.

 That evening, we met up with the Hinton cousins in the area for a barbecue at the park.  Two other cousins live in the DC area: Dustin and Nicki- Dustin works there, and Jana and Strider : Strider is in medical school there.  Before the others arrived, Gabbi was sliding queen.  She would climb up, slide, and almost before her feet hit the ground, she'd be running to climb up and do it again . . . and again . . .and again.  You get the picture.

Soon the cousins arrived.  This is Gabbi and Jana's Tolman.

Conner (Dustin's) and Jaron bonding.

J

 Delicious food and delightful company. (Where was Nicki?)

 The bedtime routine.  

Saturday:  We started the day Saturday by taking the kids to Gabbi's dance class.  Michelle and Brian are called as Stake Dance specialists for their upcoming Youth Spectacular, and they had a rehearsal that morning.  So Ken and I got to go to the Mom and Me Dance class.  It was so fun to be there.  The class is designed for Moms and girls so that moms can keep the little ones on task.  But Gabbi didn't need me at all. She did exactly what Miss Kady told her and loved every minute of it.  I wonder where she got those genes???  It so reminded me of taking Michelle to her first classes.  

 The support team.

 I'm pretty proud of this picture as I caught her in the air.  It was pure luck, as my camera doesn't actually go off when I click it.  

Here, they lined up with wands and walked on their tippy toes sprinkling fairy dust with their wands.  Pretty soon, Gabbi was leading the group- leaving the others in her dust!

 At the end, Miss Kady had them each do a solo.  This was Gabbi's.

 After lunch at Michelle's, we headed for the Metro to take us to town for the Law School's award ceremony.

 Students from the graduating class were informed by letter that they would be receiving an award, but didn't know what award.  Brian and his partner had won the Moot Court Competition, so they knew they were getting that award, but it was a fun surprise that Brian also won an award for being an Outstanding Student in Intellectual Property Law!  He's pretty awesome!

 The supporters

Outstanding Student Award: 

 This is my favorite picture of the whole weekend.  After the awards ceremony, we attended a reception over at the law school.  Ken snapped this on the walk over there.  

 Gabbi was so cute eating the cheese and crackers.  Just her kind of dinner!

 We took the metro home.  Then Brian and Michelle got all gussied up to head back to the Law School Graduation Reception.  They were so excited for an evening out.  And we were excited to spend the evening with our grandkids.  

 The reception was held at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.  The Law School had rented it for the evening.  After the reception, Michelle and Brian walked along the National Mall, enjoying some kid -free time.  

 Meanwhile, back at the ranch, we had a great time.  . . until bedtime when Gabbi felt sad that her Mama wasn't there.  She finally fell asleep in the rocking chair.

 That evening, Brian's parents arrived.  Early the next morning, we headed back to the National Mall on the metro.

 I think awesome was the only word for it.  Thousands of chairs were set up down the center of the National Mall for the commencement ceremonies.  Thousands!  The stage was so far away, you couldn't even see it.  But there were several huge screens.  The Washington Monument was the backdrop, with the Capital building behind.    What a privilege it was to be there.  Brian Williams of NBC News was the speaker.  He was very good- very funny.

 We moved our chairs over into the shade.  It was such a pleasant day.

 Here's one of the huge screens.

 After the ceremony, we met up with Brian and took pictures.  

 And Gabbi danced under the monument.

 Brian and Michelle packed us a picnic for lunch.  So we headed back to the law school for our picnic, then  to the Law School Commencement.  

Brian receiving his diploma. 

 Then more pictures.

We went back to the apartment and had a delicious meal that they had put in the crockpot that morning.  They honored Cynthia and Me as a belated Mother's Day. 

We had an early flight on Monday.  Thank you for a wonderful weekend, Princes, and hearty congratulations to Brian Gary Prince, Juris Doctorate!!!

The Tipping Point

The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference by Malcolm Gladwell

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It took me back to my college days and my social psychology courses- which was my minor. I read it with a pen in hand, marking things much like a college textbook. The basic premise of the book is that little things can cause things to "tip," dramatically changing society. The book explores three different kinds of people who play vital roles in tipping:
1. Connectors and Super Connectors: people who know a lot of people and have influence with a lot of people. (Paul Revere was one example.)
2. Mavens. People who know a lot about a specific thing or a variety of things. As you read, people you know come to mind. Everyone knows a maven (a know-it-all!)
3.Salesmen. People who know how to persuade.

Stickiness is also a huge factor in tipping. If something is "sticky" it, well, sticks. One of the examples he used is Sesame Street. Combining real people with puppets and costumed people (Big Bird) made Sesame Street sticky.

Context is the next factor explored. This was an amazing example to me: I'm sure those of us who are a little older can remember the reputation of NYC and the HIGH crime rate there. That was "tipped" by simply cleaning up New York. The subways were scrubbed, and graffitied trains were not allowed out on runs. Run down neighborhoods were repaired, painted, and cleaned. By cleaning up New York, the crime rate dropped dramatically. The theory being "people prone to commit crimes are less likely to do so in a cleaner environment."

The example I thought of that illustrates this same factor: We have two serve- yourself frozen yogurt establishments in our town. One is extremely busy; the other, not so much. My theory is that a simple factor makes the difference: the busy one sets out tiny paper cups so people can taste the different flavors without having to ask. The less busy one does not. My theory is that a thing as small as teeny tiny paper cups that you don't have to ask for, make all the difference.

There is much more in this book. He explores the "tipping" toward violence at schools after Columbine, suicide epidemics, fashion trends, mass hysteria (Like the recent example of the girls with the tics in New York), etc. All of it very interesting. The sad thing is that it was written before the huge "tipping" in social media caused by the internet, facebook, etc. I think the principles can be applied, though to the ever-changing world. There is much food for thought, and much that can be recognized and applied in our daily lives.
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October, 2011 Conference Report

Every six months, I humbly attempt to review the conference report that I've been studying for the past six months.  I read all the talks, then I go back and "study" them, looking up all the scriptures. Because I'm weird,  I count all of the references from the different sources, too.  Anyway, I finished the October, 2011 conference this week.
   I had two favorite talks in this conference.  I loved Elder Scott's talk on "The Power of Scripture"  In that talk, he challenged us to memorize scriptures. "Great power can come from memorizing scriptures.  To memorize a scripture is to forge a new friendship.  It is like discovering a new individual who can help in time of need, give inspiration and comfort, and be a source of motivation for needed change."  I took that challenge, and actually, because this talk was going to be the source for our high council speaker in March, I challenged the ward choir (I'm the ward choir director) to accept this challenge.  Each week, before we rehearsed the song "Search, Ponder, and Pray," someone from the choir would recite the scripture they had memorized.  It was a sweet experience as we felt the power of the words of that song after hearing the scripture.  
  Another favorite talk was Elder Yamashita's.  The story he begins his talk with about the missionary in Japan who is wearing his father's coat because his father wore it when he was on HIS mission to Japan hit close to home.  Kristen served in the same Japanese mission that her father served in twenty-five years earlier.  His talk brought back sweet memories of going to Japan and meeting people Kristen loved when we picked her up at the end of her mission.
   Another stand out and memorable talk is President Uchtdorf's to the women of the church in General Relief Society meeting.  Will any of us ever look at a forget me not flower again without thinking of him and his talk?
    Here are the results of the tally of quoted scriptures:
Book of Mormon-175
New Testament- 161
Modern Day Apostles- 101
Doctrine and Covenants- 99
Old Testament-88
Pear of Great Price- 21
Literature- 35
Hymns- 10


32 speakers referenced or quoted from the Book of Mormon
28 speakers quoted apostles
Comparing these statistics from the last conferences shows a BIG increase in the referencing of the Book of Mormon.  There may be a message there!


Most often quoted scriptures:
Mosiah 2: 17 And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn ^awisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the ^bservice of your ^cfellowbeings ye are only in the service of your God.
This was quoted three times by Uchtdorf, Alonso, and Eyering
Moroni 7:  47 But ^acharity is the pure ^blove of Christ, and it endureth^cforever; and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him.
This was quoted three times by Scott, Eyering and Allred
1 Tim. 4: 12 Let no man ^adespise thy youth; but be thou an ^bexample of the believers, in word, in ^cconversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in^dpurity.
This was quoted by Perry, McMullin, and Eyering


These are scriptures to consider memorizing if you want to take Elder Scott's challenge.
I am grateful for the general conferences of our church and the modern day scripture it provides for me in my life.  

Nedje's Gratitude Concert

Last evening, Ken and I attended our friend, Nedje's Gratitude Concert.  You may remember I blogged about Nedje last year.  I met her at the pool last year and found we had much in common.  She has a Master's Degree in vocal performance.  She taught at a community college: voice lessons and a Humanities Course: The Influence of African Americans upon American Music.  She came to Keynotes a couple of times last Spring and helped us with our spirituals and jazz numbers.  She went back to Maryland last summer, but just kept thinking about southern Utah and was drawn back here.  So she came out again this year.  Her fondest desire is to get a part at Tuachan.  She's tried out both years, but so far hasn't got a part. She felt like she would like to present a concert to say thank you to friends she's met while living here.  There were about twenty of us in attendance- held at the casita  she is renting.  She presented a variety of beautiful songs- everything from opera to pop.  She has a gorgeous voice and amazing stage presence and drama.  It was a treat to hear her and to mingle with her other guests.  I am amazed at the quality of people that she's accumulated as friends in the short time she's been here.  I wish Nedje well and hope her every dream is fulfilled.

I'm sad I forgot to take my camera to the concert.  I just took some pictures of her beautiful program when I got home:  

What Did the Prophet Ask Us To Do?

As I always do, I just compiled the list of "to dos" given by our prophet in the Arpil, 2012 conference.  I read the talks, looking for directives.  Sometimes he's quite direct, but usually it starts with  "I urge. . . " or "Let us . . ."  or "May you or your . .  "   I don't claim this to be a "perfect list" or that it includes everything we need to do.  It's just my best attempt at gleaning from his talks the things we need to be working on.  I give this as a visiting teaching handout.  I'm grateful for a prophet!

What Did the Prophet Ask Us To Do?

April, 2012 Conference

Sunday Morning Session

1.“Should there be changes which need to be made in your life, may you find the incentive and the courage to do so as you listen to (and read and study) the inspired words of [conference.]”

2. “May each of us resolve anew to live so that we are worthy sons and daughters of our heavenly Father.

3. “May we continue to oppose evil wherever it is found.”

4. “May we be filled with His Spirit as we partake of the proceedings of this conference.”

Priesthood Session

1.”I urge you to contemplate [your] duties and then do all within your power to fulfill them.”

2. “Let us be worthy to serve.”

3. “There are feet to steady, hands to grasp, minds to encourage, hearts to inspire, and souls to save.”

4. “Let us hearken to the stirring reminder found in the Epistle of James, “Be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only. . . “

5. “Let us be willing and worthy to serve.”

6. “Let us in the performance of our duty follow in the footsteps of the Master.”

Sunday Morning Session

“Come back.  Come up. Come in. Come home, Come unto me.”

Sunday Afternoon Session

1.”May we call upon Him in prayer. . . “

2.”May your homes be filled with love and courtesy and with the Spirit of the Lord. “

3. “Love your families.”

4.”If there are disagreements or contentions among you, I urge you to settle them now.”

5. “May you ponder the truths you have heard (in conference)”

General Young Women Meeting

1.“I counsel you to look to the lighthouse of the Lord.”

2. Believe

            -Believe that you are a daughter of Heavenly Father, that He loves you, and that you are here for a glorious purpose.

            -Believe in the words of the Young women theme

3. Nurture your testimony

            -study

            -pray for guidance

            -attend your Church meetings each week (Sundays and weeknight activities)

            - Participate in Seminary

4. Obey

            -Keep your life as free from trouble as you can.

            -“. . . Make every decision you contemplate pass this test:  “What does it do to me?  What does it do for me?”  and let your code of conduct emphasize not “What will others think?”  but rather “What will I think of myself?” 

            -Be influenced by that still, small voice.

            -“ I plead with you to choose to obey.”

5. Endure

            - “Seek Heavenly guidance one dat at a time.  Life by the yard is hard, by the inch is a cinch.”