We've been told that it is rare for freshmen to make the group. Zach was the best male dancer in his audition group and also sang well. If he doesn't make it this year, it will be because of his youth (he'll be a 17 year old freshman), not his talent. He also tried out for, and made the callback cut for, the premiere modern dance group at the Y, but the callback audition time overlapped with the Y.A. call back times. So, we'll have to see what happens if both groups want him. He was also able to do some vocal recording with a musically talented former member of the Orange Stake who now lives in Utah Valley. Kaylee *loved* playing with their live bunny. We are assuming that Zachary will find out about Young Ambassadors in the next few weeks after the Y.A. Directors analyze the audition videos and pray about their decision. One of the things we all like about the group is that their values and objectives are gospel-centered.
I spent most of last week in Fort Worth, Texas on business. I was awoken early Thursday morning in my hotel room by *wild* weather (severe thunderstorms, hail, tornadoes, high winds, etc.). What a show! Reminded me of the news network feeds of the rain and winds as Hurricane Katrina was approaching New Orleans.
I started the day thinking that I was safe from the American Airlines flight cancellation nightmare at Dallas-Ft. Worth Airport because my AA return flight was on a Boeing 737, not an MD-80. WRONG! I received a text message that my Thursday night American Airlines flight to SLC was canceled! I was able to escape the disaster by cutting short a training class and taking an earlier Delta flight to SLC where I joined the family in SLC on Thursday evening to spend a long weekend with them and extended family members. I ended up sitting by a very sharp missionary returning from Brazil, Elder Norris, who studied 2 years at the Air Force Academy prior to serving a mission. As it turns out, he was traveling with a sister missionary who was also returning from Brazil. I didn't realize it until I saw them greeting their families at the airport, but the sister missionary was my sister-in-law Lori's niece!
Kim and I were able to see Jayson and Celeste's nearly empty apartment (anybody in the SLC area have any furniture they wanna donate?) and take them out for breakfast. We drove back late Sunday and Monday morning. We managed to miss the record breaking, near 100 degree temperatures on Sunday in Southern California. Quite a contrast from the light snow I experienced on the east bench of Bountiful last Thursday evening.
And...most important of all...
