Fish

We have goldfish! A friend gave us a tank and stuff that she wasn't using, and we bought 10 more goldfish to fill it. We named them Doctor, Martha, Rose, Dionysis, Stripey, Houdini, Ood, Marlin, Spot, Alby, and Nemo. They are fun. Today we bought a sucker fish and named him Fred. Unfortunately Dionysis didn't make it through 24 hours, and we had to bury him in a watery grave. Benjamin was a little sad, but we talked about how all things die, and that there are "other fish in the ocean." :) That seemed to satisfy his sorrow. Benjamin loves to watch them, and would feed them constantly if we let him. We have a Greek ruin for them to hid behind, and I love the sound. It is very soothing to watch fish swim. They have such simple lives.

I performed Dubussy's "Le Petite Negre" in a piano recital for the piano club in my ward. It went well. My hands shook, I made mistakes, but I kept going, and am happy at the results. I am taking piano lessons and practice almost daily, which is a change for me, but it is still hard for me to play in front of people despite the fact that I teach and play everyday. I just need to develop the same good habits when it comes to the violin.

Damon goes to San Francisco for the National Science Teachers' Conference soon. I will miss him. It will be especially hard to keep up with Benjamin without him. I don't know how I would raise Benjamin without him.

Our life is busy, but lately I feel bored a lot during the day. I need to find a hobby, or something that will fill my time with service. I read a lot, and like to do occasional crafts, but I think next year I'll substitute teach or go to school while Benjamin is gone all day. It is weird to have half the day to myself, and to be so needed the rest of the time, but I wouldn't trade it.