A Birthday Party

Brother 3 turned 6 a couple of weeks ago and we had a small celebration.  We were able to Skype Steven so he was able to participate in the fun.  B3 KNEW he would be getting this headlight because his dad and two older brothers had each received one for their birthdays. 



There were plenty of unexpected surprises to open up and then of course, he had to try out each present for a few minutes before going on. 

He is so easy to please-I could have given him a pack of gum and he would have smiled for days.  Oh wait-I did give him a pack of gum.  He loves gum and I knew the Trident Strawberry Twist would be a favorite.

Andrew requested a "fish cake" so I spent a few hours working on what I hoped would be a cake to him liking.  (those little yellow and black dots were individual frosting circles that took WAY TOO LONG)  From the looks of it, he was pretty pleased.   Glad we were able to celebrate another year with this cute kid.

Music

Brother #1 decided to complete the music  merit  badge for scouts.  To complete one of the requirements, he arranged his own variation of "Carol of the Bells".  Then he called a very talented woman in our ward who has a great keyboard/computer set up, she was willing to help him put the song "on paper"-actually with technology, it didn't even go on paper...he viewed it on the computer screen as he entered each note and then it was saved to the computer.  A couple of weeks later he was able to go back to her home and record the song.  We are so grateful for her help-she was not only patient, but encouraging.  Both versions of his song are available now.  To listen to the song go to her website:  www.annebrittmusic.com  On the left hand side, under SHARE is a white box with her songs listed.  Carol of the Bells is #50.  Or to view the music:  http://annebrittmusic.com/pdf/carolofthebells.pdf

He had such a great time learning some very basic composing tips to create his own song-he has already expressed interest in trying his hand at it again soon.

Meet John Frew

written by Brother #1 for a school project:

  My great-great-great-great-grandfather, John Frew, was born June 17, 1826 in Avershire, Scotland.  He was born with a talent for singing.  in fact, as an adult he was asked to sing for the queen of Scotland.

  As a young man, he met and married Jean Clotworthy on

May 1, 1846.  Shortly after that they joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

  When he was 30, on March 23, 1856, they set sail from Liverpool on the ship called the Enoch Train with his wife and 5 children.  Two of their children died on the way, but they arrived in Boston, MA on May 1, 1856, their wedding anniversary.  From Boston they took a train to Iowa City.  There they gathered wagons and handcarts to go on the 2000 mile journey to Utah.  This Mormon trail occurred because Mormons were being persecuted, their houses were being burned, their cattle killed, and the Mormons went West for religious freedom, settling in what is now Utah.

  John's oldest 2 children walked every step of the way barefoot, sometimes bleeding so badly they left a trail of blood.  Along the way, his wife gave birth to one son, her bed being the wagon.

  Once they arrived in Utah, John got a job as a stationary engineer.  They helped settle Franklin, Idaho a few years later where John bought and ran a sawmill.

  One night as Jean Frew was pulling fresh bread out of her oven, an Indian broke into the house.  She fought and fought and finally the Indian dropped the tomahawk and left.

  In 1869, John and his family moved to Hopper, Utah.  Sadly, his wife Jean died on march 30, 1872.  John remarried and had 3 more children for a total of 11.  He died on February 22, 1904.  He was 78.