And now. The unfortunate reality of regular life....

We came back just in time for Ian to sing his solo in church. At first I was bothered by the timing of the entire thing. I mean, he was singing the very week we got home. However, in the end it worked out fine. Because we were going to Chile, we decided to sing I am a Child of God in both English and Spanish. As a result, we had to practice during our vacation. So, Ian sang, in Spanish to our family and friends and even sometimes on the subway. It was really nice to bring a little bit of the spirit into their homes. I was glad it worked out that way. The day of the solo it worked out great too. Ian was in perfect pitch and he was a major cutie pants.

Here is the soloist!!!

Of course, being back in regular life means returning to school as well. Here is Ian on the first day of school. If you think the picture looks like it was taken in the middle of the night, well....you are almost right. It was 6:30 in the morning. That is what time we have to leave for school. Major bummer.

But, Ian is in 2nd grade this year and so far is doing great! He was worried about his teacher until he found out she gives out "money" for good behavior and then they can actually "buy" stuff. If you know Ian you know he is all about that, so he decided he quite liked his teacher.

And, finally....soccer again. Ian is looking dashing in his new soccer duds. The team is yet nameless....baby blue isn't inspiring I guess. The first game was Saturday and Ian scored 4 goals. One of my sisters said, "Great! His team scored 4!" But that was just Ian. He is quite a player.

You may have noticed that all of these photos are taken in the same general area. That is because it is the only place in my entire yard that looks nice. I hate yard work. But, that is an unfortunate part of regular life too. Boo. Hiss. At least Ian is now mowing the lawn. That is reason to cheer!

Our Summer in Chile

We had a wonderful summer in Chile! These are some of my favorite photos of our trip. I tried to think of something important to say....something about the power of the city or the beauty and strength of the Andes. It was in that setting, as glorious as it is, where I remembered something that Elder Packer said, "love is never wasted." That is what all these pictures say to me---that love is never wasted.

See. Love is worth it.