OCTOBER 2009
This has certainly been an interesting “season of transition” for Mike & me since the last Sentinel. Our youngest child, Emmalee, graduated from high school in May. (Congrats, Emmy!) She now attends Utah Valley University and is majoring in Behavioral Science right now. Even though she lives at home, between her schooling, work, and social life, we hardly ever see her! So it feels like we are “empty nesters”-we’re kind of getting used to it-and LIKE it!!!
In June, I left for 2 weeks with the Tabernacle Choir to tour the Midwest. We started in Cincinnati with Eric Kunzel & the Cincinnati Pops. (He was battling cancer at the time and was an inspiration to us all with his enthusiasm & energy-he recently passed away after completing his Pops Summer Season.) We did concerts in St. Louis, Des Moines, Omaha, Kansas City, Oklahoma City, and ended at the Red Rocks Amphitheater outside of Denver. It was quite a rigorous tour-lots of LONG bus rides, little sleep, lots of standing & waiting, a virus that spread through many in the Choir & orchestra, etc. But getting to sing for the thousands of people made it worth it. As Dan Fogelberg put it, “The audiences are heavenly, but the traveling is hell”! The last concert was especially good for me because Mike, Jules, and Emmy were able to drive to Denver & come to the outdoor concert. That made everything worthwhile! (Plus I didn’t have to ride back to Salt Lake on the “wonderful” bus!!!!)
The day after we returned, Melodee & Kyle flew in for a few days & celebrated July 4th with us (& an “early” Bday party for Kyle). It was SO good to have them with us! The next week I went to Tab Choir and gave my “2 Week’s Notice” to the Choir President! The decision to retire from the Choir came after months of pondering, discussion with Mike & the kids, and lots of prayer! I’m SO grateful that I could get a “confirmation” from my Heavenly Father that my (& my family’s) sacrifice serving the Choir is “acceptable unto Him”. Otherwise, I don’t think I could have left! So after more than 15 years of service, I sang my last broadcast with the Choir on July 18, 2009-the day we were commemorating 80 years of broadcasting “Music & the Spoken Word”! It was quite a big day to have as my last! I can honestly say that I haven’t missed it at all EXCEPT for the interaction with the wonderful friends I have in the Choir. And it has been SO nice to sleep in on Sunday mornings & get to go to Church with my husband again!!! We’ve also had a great time all of August & September going up the canyon in the Fiat-what fun!!
Right after I left the Choir, the construction company Mike worked for went under! So he’s joined the ranks of the Unemployed for a time. It’s a little scary, but we’ve got some resources & Mike’s working on different things so we’re not too concerned. In the meantime, he’s been getting lots of things done around the house & has had time to work on his latest project: restoring a VW Camper Bus! He’s had some trouble with getting the engine running, but it’s looking good. Look for pictures of it in our Christmas letter-if it’s running!
The kids are all good-busy, but good. I wrote about Emmy…Matt will be done with his mission in Guatemala & be home at the end of December-YEA! Jules is now teaching music (Pre-K through High School!) at a private school in Orem near her apartment. Bryan & Lacie are REALLY busy with full-time work AND going to school & their 2 doggies! (Lacie passed her nursing test in August-Congrats!!!) Brandon enjoyed his summer internship with the Justice Dept. in D.C. He’s back at BYU Law School, is on the staff for the Law Review, and is a T.A. for one of his favorite undergrad profs-quite a busy young man! And we’re so excited for Mel, Stephen, & Kyle to have an addition to their family in April-such fun!!!
So that’s what’s happening with the Boulter Bunch right now-we’re thankful for our many blessings and look forward to catching up on everyone’s exciting summer experiences. As I said, look for pictures in our Christmas letter-since I will have time to do that this year!!!!
Lots of love, Dee & the Bunch
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