Hope of America

Camryn got to be part of the Hope of America Concert at the Marriott Center on the BYU campus the other night. It was an amazing event to be part of. I had no idea what kind of efforts and talents went into this concert, and expected nothing more than my child in a yellow t-shirt singing songs she had learned at school this year. However, the patriotic messages and overall "spirit" of the concert were deeply moving! (Yes, it made me cry!)

Camryn wanted to honor a dear family friend of ours by inviting him to the concert. He had to make some crazy travel arrangements to be there, but did it out of love for Camryn, and we are so grateful that he did! Phil served in the Air Force years ago as a pilot, and it was extra special to be able to honor his service to our country with such a neat program.

After attending, Phil was so impressed that he did some research and found some interesting facts about the concert. In a "journal" entry, he wrote:
"The Hope of America Concert was performed by fifth-graders from 72 schools in Utah County. This is the largest elementary school performance program in America. It will be beamed by the Armed Forces Network to U.S. military troops world-wide. I cannot even guess the total number of performers but I would conservatively estimate 3,500 students! I have performed in several concerts and so my respect for these young people goes to the “awe” level! They performed several difficult numbers without a single sheet of music in front of them."

I can't wait for next year!
(Even if the traffic is horrendous, and it takes an hour just to get out of the parking lot!)

Phil and Carsyn

Phil let each of the girls take a turn wearing his Legion hat.

All the kids together to form the American Flag

Our favorite guest performers were these darling "grandma dancers!"
They ranged in age from 54-94. They did a great job!

Camryn, Phil, Carsyn and Tyleigh

Our All American Girl . . .

Tyleigh has got an extremely enthusiastic, happy, ambitious, energetic (can you imagine her yet?) first grade teacher this year. She is young and sweet and absolutely adores her students. She has done wonders for Tyleigh's confidence this year! One of her most favorite subjects is music and she loves to share that passion with the kids. She has them sing to just about anyone who will listen on a daily basis, including the office ladies at the school.
Because of her enthusiasm and passion, her first grade class got picked to open a concert at Thanksgiving Point the other night singing the National Anthem. This sweet teacher has worked her tail off to teach the kids the National Anthem, and it's importance, over the past couple of weeks. They got it down . . . perfectly. It was a proud moment for all of us as we watched our little munchkins up on that stage. The video link is posted below. It is definitely worth watching . . . even if it's mostly just about Tyleigh! They were SO. CUTE!

The Bar J Wranglers

This is the group Tyleigh's class was asked to open for . . .I thought the same thing you are probably thinking . . .Old Western Cowboy Music (and nice outfits!)? Rod and I were pretty determined to make a break for it long before the performance. There didn't end up being enough time to leave without making a scene, so we stayed . . . and had the time of our lives! It was one of the most entertaining concerts we have ever been to! Tyleigh loved every minute of it! We're even contemplating going to Jackson Hole just to see them again!

This is Tyleigh's class . . .practicing where to stand on stage.

And during their actual performance . . . the lights were killing them!

Cute friends before the concert!

This is too cute not to watch!