Pedals for Hope

If you are someone who reads my blog regularly (there's about six of you), then you might remember that I write about Pedals for Hope every year in May.  Pedals for Hope is one of my very favorite things about Entheos Academy—I find it very exciting.  But after last year's ride, I heard a nasty rumor that they may not do it again. And, truthfully, last year's assembly fell a little flat, and I never did find out how much money the kids raised.  I wonder if the problem is that it has become more a school project, rather than a student project. I think it would be very sad if they dropped this activity, and I believe that the excitement could be revived if they wanted to do it.  But what do you think it would take to bring back their enthusiasm?

Well, anyway, I wrote this paper for my English class last summer, and I've been meaning to post it here, since I never did write about last year's ride.  This is kind of a cumulation of my past years' Pedals for Hope writings, along with interviews of some of the people who got it going to begin with.  I hope you enjoy it. :-)

PEDALS FOR HOPE

Pedals for Hope assembly 2010
Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News

The air of Entheos academy is thick with anticipation and an eager buzz comes from the classrooms. In the large common room a few teachers wait, setting up chairs and making last-minute arrangements for the upcoming ceremony.  Soon children, teachers, and parents fill the room; the teachers are hard-pressed to keep their students quiet in this atmosphere of palpable excitement. When the main student body is seated, one teacher and twenty-three students, ranging from kindergarteners to ninth-graders, boldly march across the room and take their seats in front of the eagerly waiting crowd, where a man and a woman stand, their hands poised to slash with clean, sharp blades.  They are all about to witness human sacrifice.

Working quickly, the man and woman cut ten-inch ponytails from each girl's head; they shave the heads of three boys who have been growing their hair for a year in preparation for this day.  As they reach forward to cut the teacher's hair, an aide is in tears, "I can't believe Ms. Tere is cutting her beautiful hair—I love her hair!"  With each snip, with each shorn head, with each tail that is held high to the crowd's view, the room explodes with shrieking, chanting and cheering.

It is not a pagan ritual.  It is not an Entheos rite of passage.  It is the celebration of their annual cancer fundraiser, Pedals for Hope.

Entheos Academy lists Excellence, Service, and Leadership as its first values, and Pedals for Hope is their culminating service project every year.  In the past four years Entheos students have raised over $20,000 for cancer research at the Huntsman Cancer Foundation.  It is even more impressive that this annual fundraiser was spearheaded by sixth-graders and continues to be propelled by the students.

Pedals for Hope was conceived in 2008, when Entheos sixth-graders did an expedition—a two month long, in-depth study—about cancer.  Their teacher, Kathy Millar, had set up a similar program in Michigan, and wanted to encourage her Entheos students to start a cancer fundraiser.  She explains, ". . . even though I had the idea and the structure, part of that structure is giving kids the freedom and opportunity to own it.  I don't think it is possible for me to say, 'This is what we are doing,' and then [expect them to] do it.  Kids wouldn't buy in.  So . . . we started at ground zero and let the kids make the decisions."

Google Images

Ms. Millar arranged for field trips to the Huntsman Institute for Cancer where, besides learning about the progression of the disease, the students learned that 550,000 people will die of cancer in a year—literally a person every minute.  Visitors were invited to the school to tell kids of their experiences with cancer.  Lindsey North, an Entheos alumnus and one of those original sixth-graders recalls, "The thing that caught my attention the most was that people said they couldn't believe that it was their family member lying on the bed. It didn't look like the person they knew. 

"It surprised me, and made me want to help."

The more the children learned, the greater compassion they felt for cancer victims and their families.  "We wanted to learn more about how to help," Lindsey said.  "We didn't know how to do it, we just knew we wanted to do it. And our teacher, Kathy Millar—she told us about a place called the Make a Wish Foundation."  Ms. Millar took her students on a field trip to the foundation in Salt Lake City, where they were introduced to the magical fairy-tale room that Make a Wish uses to begin their process of granting one wish to children, up to eighteen years old, who have life-threatening diseases.

After that field trip the Entheos students really started brainstorming ideas to promote cancer awareness.  "We toyed with the idea of selling T-shirts, or bracelets, or necklaces," Lindsey said, "but it didn't seem like something that we could really go very far with.  We heard that other people did runs or bike-rides . . . and so we decided maybe we should do something like that instead.  We came up with the name [Pedals for Hope] because we wanted something to do with bikes, and we wanted to give hope."

That year the sixth grade set a goal to raise $3,000 for the Huntsman Cancer Foundation.

"After we chose [a bike tour] we started looking at, 'How can we get money for this?'  We heard that other groups just went out and found sponsors," Lindsey said.  So with help from their teachers, these eleven and twelve-year-olds began looking for supporters.  Together they composed a letter, which they sent to some local businesses.  Later they called those businesses, and some of the kids even visited them to ask for donations in person.  Kathy Millar recalls, "[The kids] got dressed up and went into town to solicit sponsors—this was their idea and they took it so seriously.  It was beautiful."

Other students spent extra hours after school to make more phone calls.  They followed up with their potential sponsors until the day of the bike ride.  They found a business that would donate T-shirts to Pedals for Hope, and they looked for others who would donate bikes and helmets to use for their tour.

But they had another obstacle to overcome: some of the kids didn't know how to ride bikes.

shutterstock.com

So the students made bi-weekly visits to the Salt Lake Bicycle Collective where they learned all about bicycles: what all the parts are called, how they work, how to make minor repairs, bike safety, and the students who didn't know how to ride learned how.  "We took our bikes to school to practice for the bike ride," Lindsey remembers.  "That year only the sixth grade [participated in the bike tour], so it was important that everyone knew how to [ride]."

The students did get discouraged, but at any given time there was a handful of kids who were excited enough to keep the project moving forward.  Lindsey relates, "As we got nearer to the bike ride everybody finally realized that, 'Yes, it's going to go well, and it's something to be proud of.' And everybody's attitude just changed."

The Entheos students planned a two-stage, two-day bike ride, with a campout on the interim night. But the race got rained out, and after a tumultuous night in the tents leaders decided it was too dangerous to continue; they had to go back home.  Ms. Millar said, "Virtually every kid said something to the effect of, 'I feel like we are letting cancer patients down,' or, 'They go through worse times than this.' At that point I knew they got it—it's not about getting out of school or riding the bike; it's about helping. Their empathy was true and their understanding genuine—I was so proud that day!"

Pedals for Hope assembly, 2009

The next day, May 21, 2008, the weather quieted and the Entheos sixth grade finished their tour on the Jordan River Parkway.  They rode their bikes fifteen miles, sporting bright yellow "Pedals for Hope" T-shirts to show their support for cancer research.  Nine girls had heard of Locks of Love, the organization that makes wigs for patients who have lost their hair.  These girls pledged to donate their hair if they reached their $3,000 goal.  They not only reached the goal, but almost doubled it, earning $5,411 that year.

The entire school was so excited by the success of Pedals for Hope that it has become an annual event.  They extended the bike-riding privileges to the whole middle school; now students have the choice of riding from ten to fifty miles, and several parents and teachers ride with them.  Some middle-schoolers who don't want to ride wait at posts along the trail to give small snacks, water, and, most of all, encouragement to their bike heroes.  The rest of the student body participates in the annual Penny Wars—a competition throughout the school to see which grade, K through 9, can collect the most pennies to contribute to the Huntsman Foundation.  The Penny Wars alone have earned more than $1,000 every year, and the Locks of Love donations have become a highlight of Entheos' annual celebration of Pedals for Hope.

"Beautiful things [happened] at Entheos," Ms. Millar remembers.  "[One year] the kindergarten class raised over $400 in our Penny Wars; they wheeled out two monstrous jars filled with pennies to surprise us after a day [of] riding—it was awesome.  I loved the way the whole school came out, built an arch with their hands, and gave the kids high fives as they returned from their riding day.  [The kids] could feel the contributions tangibly.  More important than what I feel about the money the kids raise is the way they feel—I will never forget the day we unrolled that first amount.  The sheer joy and pride on their faces was contagious—students believed in the cause, worked hard, and in the end . . . they felt empowered.  And that is what this is all about—empowering kids to do good."

Pedals for Hope bike ride, 2011

It is a beautiful morning; there's a cool breeze, but the sun shines warm on the Jordan River Parkway.  Forty students in matching T-shirts stand by their bicycles, hands on the handlebars, ready to go.  They are getting instruction and encouragement from their teacher, Matthew Edvik.  "The other night the Huntsman Center held an awards ceremony to honor those who have helped them," he tells his kids.  "Entheos is one of only five organizations who received a special award from them."  And with cheering, high-fives, and high hopes, the bike ride begins.

Pedals for Hope, 2010

A room fills with people of all ages who are going to hear about an illness that affects society; an illness that needs to be fought. At 1:15 p.m. there's going to be a sacrifice made to aid in this battle. Twenty-six children march in front of the eagerly waiting crowd and take their seats at the front of the room while a young man and a young lady—armed with scissors—wait for them. Working quickly, the two adults cut ten inches of hair from each girl's head, then hold the ponytails up high to show the entire room. With each tail that's held up the room explodes with shrieking, chanting, cheering and clapping. It's almost like a pagan ritual.

This is all taking place at Entheos Academy for their annual Pedals for Hope cancer fundraiser. Twenty-three girls have just donated their hair to Locks of Love, and three boys had their heads shaved to show their support for cancer patients and cancer research. Among the twenty-three were my three littlest: Kaylie, Rachel and Jessica.

It was a terrific assembly, as usual. They began by asking all the students who had a family member or close friend who'd been affected by cancer to stand up. I was amazed as fully 85 to 90 percent of the student body stood up. "This," said Miss Amy Kovacs, "is why we do this fundraiser every year. Cancer affects so many people around us." This demonstration was followed by a little girl telling of her experience with her baby brother fighting cancer. "My brother is a survivor." she said.

The student body raised $1,058.35 in their penny wars, a competition between the students to see which grade can bring in the most change. This year the fourth grade won the penny wars. All in all the Entheos student body raised $5,380.21 to donate to the Huntsman Center for cancer research. One of the teachers, Mr. Horscroft, knows Lance Armstrong; and he asked him if he could do something support our school's cancer fundraiser. Mr. Armstrong donated one of his own yellow, "LIVESTRONG" vests to the school; the student who personally raises the most money each year will get to wear Lance Armstrong's vest during the Pedals for Hope bike ride ("riding the miles for a cure"). This honor will go to Jack Richins who raised $500 by going door-to-door, getting donations from neighbors, family and friends.

Tomorrow morning many of the students, teachers, and even some parents, will ride the Jordan River trail; some going ten miles, some twenty, thirty, forty, and some riding their bikes up to fifty miles, all in bright yellow T-shirts proclaiming their cause.

The climax of today's assembly was the cutting of the hair for Locks of Love; the students just go nuts for this. Jessica said, "I was kind of nervous while I was waiting. And then I plugged my ears [when the kids were cheering] because it was so noisy."

A camera-man from KSL TV was there this afternoon, as well as a reporter from the Deseret News, to capture the Entheos kids' excitement in their cause. (See it on KSL News at 5 and 10 p.m., and tomorrow's Deseret News—and Deseret News online, too.)

Pedals for Hope is a terrific climax to the Entheos school year.

Entheos (noun Greek) means:

1. to be inspired

2. to have enthusiasm within

3. intense or eager interest; zeal

4. something arousing such interest or zeal

These great kids have certainly shown all of these qualities!

before school

after school

April Showers . . .

or When it Rains, it Pours

I just finished a totally insane couple of weeks!

It started because my friend, Nicole, asked me (in the beginning of March) if I would make ten pioneer sunbonnets for her daughter Anna's birthday party on April 16, and I said I would. In the interim, she had asked if I'd also make Anna a pioneer dress and apron. Sure! No problem!

So, of course, I put it off until the last minute. Thursday (April 8) found me madly working on sunbonnets. That same Thursday Ryan reminded me that Pinewood Derby was on the 16th, and we hadn't even started making his car. I promised we would get to it ASAP.

Friday morning (April 9) I was about 2/3 done with the party bonnets when Nicole called to tell me that she was changing the party from the 16th to the 24th, so I'd have an extra week. Whew! "But," she said, "Anna is doing a "wax museum" at school, and the person she's chosen to be is Laura Ingalls Wilder, so could I still have Anna's stuff done by the 15th?" Naturally, I was almost done with everything except for Anna's stuff, which I hadn't even cut out. I said, "Sure. No problem."

I finished the first nine bonnets Friday afternoon. That evening I helped Melanie throw a bridal shower for Stephanie, our niece-to-be.

Saturday morning (April 10) I went to my exercise class—can't miss that! When I got home I pulled out the scroll-saw and cut out Ryan's car and got him started on the finishing (sanding, etc). It was also my birthday, and Bruce took me out that evening. :-)

Sunday (April 11) we had stake conference, so church was only two hours instead of three. Good! We spent the rest of the day making Lindsey's campaign posters.

Monday morning (April 12) I worked on the posters that we hadn't finished on Sunday—we thought Lindsey was supposed to put them up that morning. When they were done I rushed them to her at school only to find out that she couldn't put them up until after school anyway. That afternoon when I picked up the kids I helped Lindsey put up her posters.

Tuesday (April 13) I finally started on Anna's dress (I thought that she needed it for Thursday). During all the rest of this madness our computer got a nasty virus and we had to wipe all the drives. So I also copied all our important stuff onto discs that morning. By afternoon I was able to erase all the computer drives and I spent the evening installing stuff and doing updates. That night we all stayed up until 1 a.m. helping Lindsey write her campaign speech.

Wednesday (April 14), I took Michael to the orthodontist in the morning and then went to buy a few groceries. Back at home, I finished the pioneer dress and apron by 1:00—not bad! Then I got a phone-call from another friend who needed a ride to go run some errands in the afternoon; so I took her and got back just in time to pick the kids up from school. The kids and I delivered the sunbonnets and dress before we went home (I'll post the pictures after the b-day party). After dinner, Michael and I went to his board of review for his Eagle award that evening, and then returned some library books.

Thursday morning (April 15) I did major kitchen-cleaning because I was going to make Stephanie's wedding cake. Not much housework had happened the prior week. And on Thursday afternoon I started making the flowers for the cake. And sometime that day I also realized that, oh, crap! It's tax day! I'd started our taxes earlier, but didn't finish because of all the computer trouble. I had a super hard time getting into the online tax program, but I finally did manage to get my federal taxes in on time. Oh! And I also went to the school to see Lindsey deliver her speech that afternoon. Worked on flowers the rest of the evening.

Friday (April 16) I worked on the wedding cake all day until about midnight. I sent Bruce and the kids off to Pinewood Derby without me. Ryan came in 5th. This year is the last year we'll have a cub scout in the Pinewood Derby. (Dare I say, "Whoo-hoo!" ?

Saturday (April 17) I went to the stake exercise class in the morning :-) and then went home to work on the cake until 3:00. At that point it was ready to transport to the church. By 5 p.m. I was really all finished with it; I went home, fed the kids, and turned right back around to go to the actual reception. (Stephanie loved the cake!) As I was sitting in a stupor at one of the tables, thinking that at last I was done with all the craziness, I realized that I had to teach Relief Society the next day. Shoot!

Sunday (April 18) I taught my lesson, and it turned out all right.

All the stuff I'd done over the previous week or two is stuff I really enjoy. Any one of those projects in a week would be great—and keep them coming! A new one every week. All of it heaped together like that—on top of the everyday stuff—was a bit much. Although I have to admit I'm pleased with myself for getting it all done, done on time, and done well. ;-)

Monday (April 19) I thought things would be quiet again , but I ended up taking Kaylie to insta-care for a bladder infection. But I guess that, at least, is just normal mom-stuff. So, yeah, all is quiet on the Northern front—for now.

A Day in My Life

Bruce suggested that I map out an average 24 hours of my life, so the world could see what a person with eight kids does all day long. Apparently some of the people he talks to about me are amazed that I can even get out of bed with eight kids. Sometimes this amazes me, too. So I thought I'd take him up on that challenge.

But first I'm going to gripe about my laundry again. You know, I made up a list of the clothes we would use in a week—if we were nice people who changed our clothes every day, instead of sleeping in them and wearing them the next day: 7 shirts each (70 shirts), 2-3 pairs of pants each (50 pants), 7 pairs of socks (140 socks), 7 pairs of underwear (70 underwear), 2 towels each (14 towels). I didn't include Sunday dresses, or dish-towels and rags, or floor-mats that the dog threw up on. Then I figured out how much stuff could go into one load of laundry, and came up with 16 loads of laundry a week. From sorting, to washing, to folding, that translates into 32 hours of laundry a week! A part-time job. No wonder I'm always drowning in dirty laundry!

Anyway . . . ahem! A day in my life:

2:30 a.m. I get up to use the bathroom. This has got to be leftover from all those pregnancies. I don't even really have to go that badly.

5:20 a.m. Do I really have to go to the bathroom again? Probably not. I think I'm just aware that my boys have to get up for early-morning Seminary now. They get themselves up, but I wake up anyway.

5:56 a.m. I'm awake again—or did I ever really go back to sleep? Bruce has to get up soon.

6:00 a.m. Now the alarm is going off for Bruce to get up. Can I sleep for another hour?

7:00 a.m. No, there really is no rest for the weary. Time to get the kids up for school. I go to their rooms and flip the lights on. "Time to get ready for school!" I sweetly croon. (Really! I usually do say this very nicely; it's just with the light-switch that my cruel nature shows through.) I also turn on all the lights in the house so that my carpool boy knows we're awake and doesn't go back home.

7:08 a.m. Tucker's barking; Benjamin must be here. I let him in and check to see if all the kids are out of bed.

7:12 a.m. I go get dressed for the day.

7:20 a.m. Brandon, Ryan and Lindsey are dressed and in the kitchen. I send Lindsey to hurry her sisters along—it doesn't usually work.

7:25 a.m. "Everyone grab your scriptures and get into the living room; it's time to read!" I go down to see how the girls are doing. Kaylie is dressed and getting her shoes on. Rachel is sitting on her bed with her shirt on, but no pants; she's reading a book or coloring. Jessica is still in bed. When I ask why they're not ready they say they can't find their clothes. Wonder why? So I find shirts and/or pants for them and tell them to hurry and come read with us. By the time I'm back upstairs Michael and Jason are home from Seminary.

7:40 a.m. We are finally sitting down to read scriptures. As we're reading the little girls mosey on up and put their shoes on. I brush their hair while I try to listen to the scripture-reading and assign the next kid some verses to read.

7:55 a.m. Wow! We're making good time today! We have a family prayer and I send the kids out to the van, except for Jessica who can't find her socks. I rush around to find any socks that might fit her—clean or dirty—and tell her to put them on in the van.

8:02 a.m. And now we're off to pick up Paul's kids.

8:07 a.m. I'm waiting for Paul's kids to get in the van. By the time I have all the kids with me I've loaded my 12-passenger van with 13 people. Will we make it to school before 8:20 so my little ones can get breakfast?

8:16 a.m. We made it. The kids all say their goodbyes to me and head into the school. Benjamin informs me that now it's time for the most boring part of his day: his four-minute ride to school alone with me. Poor guy!

8:22 a.m. Benjamin's at school and I can go home. :-)

8:30 a.m. A leisurely breakfast while I read my emails. Aaaahhh. I just wish the kitchen wasn't such a mess.

8:50 a.m. Time to check my bank accounts, budget sheets, and menus and then make a grocery list. I look at my email first. Oh, crap! I didn't see the homework notice Rachel's teacher sent me last night. Oh well.

9:45 a.m. I want to bake bread today. Should I start it before or after I go to the store? Today I think I'll start it before I go. Oh. But the kitchen is dirty. Why don't the kids rinse out the sink and wipe down the counters and table when they clean up the evening dishes? >:-( I guess I'd better start on the kitchen. And put in a load of laundry, too.

10:25 a.m. I get a call from the school; Lindsey forgot her book for English class. She needs it after lunch; I can take it when I go shopping.

11:00 a.m. The kitchen is clean, I have my list, and I have Lindsey's book. I'd better get going, since the day is flying by and I prefer to have all my running around done before lunch. I wish I'd had time to get the bathroom and living room clean this morning, too. I'll tell the kids to do it when they get home.

11:15 a.m. I'm at the store: 7 gallons of milk—I'll have to come back in a few days and get more; three packages of cereal; four pounds of cheese; a few canned goods (maybe 20 cans); some chicken, beef, hamburger; 30 pounds of fresh veggies; about 15 pounds of fresh fruit; odds and ends. And, oh yeah! I'm out of flour. (How did I let that happen?)

12:15 p.m. I'm in the check-out lane. And I'm starving for lunch!

12:45 p.m. Home again, home again. Can I wait to bring in the groceries until after lunch? It's 40 degrees outside—it'll probably be OK. I go into the kitchen only to realize that there's no bread and I forgot to buy any. Oh, man! Now what'll I have for lunch?

1:10 p.m. I found some good leftovers—I'd rather have that than a sandwich any time. And with lunch inside of me and the kitchen straightened up again I can get back to the groceries. I start hauling them into the house, tripping over Tucker every time I go in or out the door, or up or down the stairs. Dumb dog.

1:20-1:30-ish. I start putting the groceries on the shelves and in the fridge. Shoot! I forgot about the frozen veggies; well, they're probably OK. And, dang. I've got to clean the fridge—the shelves are looking pretty grimy. Another day.

2:15-ish. The groceries are all put away. Now . . . do I start mixing the bread dough or just forget it? A little clock math: If I start mixing it now it'll be ready to start raising around 2:40. Raise for an hour . . . that means I'd have to shape it by 3:40. I won't be back from picking up the kids until 4:00, but that's OK. But then I'll have to start making dinner. What's for dinner? Oven-fried chicken. I guess I won't be baking bread this afternoon.

2:30 p.m. Since I'm not baking I can take a little break—reading, blogging, or maybe re-balancing my accounts since I went shopping this morning. But when I sit down I realize that I'm about to pee my pants. Wow. Have I even been in the bathroom since first thing this morning? Well I've really got to go to the bathroom now. No wonder I wake up thirty times a night—I'm making up for what I miss during the day.

3:00 p.m. Time to go get the kids. I get to the school by . . .

3:10 p.m. Right on time! And I wait. And wait.

3:25 p.m. Everybody in? All seven of my kids? The DeArmann's? Good. Let's go. We drive off and take Jacob and Alyssa home. Then we turn around and go get Benjamin from his school. He's in the van by 3:50.

4:00 p.m. We're home! Time to start issuing orders: "Change out of your school clothes . . . and put them away! Meet me back in the kitchen so I can boss you around. Find your library books—tonight's library night. Clean the living room. Your bedroom is a wreck—clean it!"

4:20 p.m. Now I can get started on dinner. What to have with fried chicken? We'll go the KFC way and have mashed potatoes and a salad. Maybe a hot veggie. As I work on dinner, kids periodically come up to talk to me about school, about scouts, or ask where to put the paper they found in the living room. They throw field-trip notes at me to be signed, or important school notes that I'm supposed to read. They still haven't gotten the message that I really can't read or sign papers when my hands are covered with flour and chicken-goo.

5:00 p.m. I wonder when Bruce will get home. I wonder, why does it take so dang long to make dinner every night? Hmmmm. Two whole chickens to be breaded and baked, a big salad, a 2-quart pot full of mashed potatoes . . . and do I really want a cooked veggie that badly? Why does it take so long?

6:00 p.m. At last! The kids have cleared and set the table, dinner's ready . . . where's Bruce? I save him a plate, we have a prayer, and dig in. When I sit down I realize that I'm totally exhausted.

6:10 p.m. The kids have just about finished eating. Why does it take two hours to cook dinner and ten minutes to eat it? And now Bruce is coming in. I sit with him and finish my dinner while he eats his.

6:30 p.m. I call the assigned children to clear the table and wash the dishes tonight. "And please wipe the table and counters when you're through. And don't forget to wash the pans." I also send the rest of the kids to finish gathering the library books.

7:15 p.m. The table and counters haven't been washed, but if we don't go to the library now we won't be back by bed time. At least the dishwasher is running. We pile into the van and head off to the library.

7:50 p.m. I've finally rounded up all the kids from the far corners of the library and they're all assaulting me for their library cards (which are always in my wallet for safe-keeping). While I'm trying to check out my books, they come up one by one and hand me their cards. Do I have all of them? And all the kids too?

8:00 p.m. We're in the van and headed back home.

8:10 p.m. "Go get ready for bed!" Bruce and I put on our jammies and collapse on the couch to start a movie. Mistake. We'll never get the kids to bed on time.

8:50 p.m. Well, family prayer is only 20 minutes late tonight. Hugs, good-nights, and send the kids to bed. Start the movie again.

9:00 p.m. Half of the kids are out of bed watching our movie with us. Do we fight it or ignore it? We make a half-hearted attempt to send them back to bed.

9:25 p.m. I've fallen asleep in front of the movie.

9:45 p.m. Bruce turns off the movie and we all go to bed. Why is it that taking out my contacts and brushing my teeth wake me right up? And now I'm thinking over the day. My room is a mess; I washed that laundry but never even dried it; I didn't work on that sewing project.
Did I get anything done today?

10:00 p.m. I say my prayers and lie down. Oh, it feels good to be in my bed; it's almost worth being really tired just for this. I start reading my book.

10:09 p.m. I'm asleep with my book on my face. Maybe getting ready for bed doesn't wake me up so much after all.

10:12 p.m. Put away my book; turn off my lamp; kiss Bruce good night. Is this the first kiss we've had all day? Still . . . just a kiss tonight, please.

10:15 p.m. Sleep, sweet sleep.

11:50 p.m. Got to go to the bathroom. My bladder must be the size of a grain of salt!

2:30 a.m. Bathroom . . . again?!

OK. I don't do exactly this every single day. On the days that I don't have a major shopping trip I might do this instead: Run to the store for the two things I forgot the day before; actually bake the bread; do some sewing that I'd promised to do for a friend. Some days I teach piano lessons; go to Relief Society meetings; drive kids to various activities. Sometimes I squeeze in time to run errands for other family members. Sometimes I can blog too. :-)

Twenty-four hours in the life of Loralee North.

Pedals for Hope 2009

I'm not super fond of school assemblies; I figure they are really meant for the kids. Let me clarify: I am the kind of person who gets teary-eyed when I see kids singing or reciting the things they've learned (I get that from my dad), but other school assemblies don't do much for me. But Friday morning I attended the best school assembly ever: the 2009 Pedals for Hope Celebration.

Entheos Academy (my kids' school—yea!) just finished their Pedals for Hope fundraiser this year. Last year only the sixth grade participated in this bike tour, raising $5,411.56 for cancer research at the Huntsman Institute. This year the entire middle school (7th through 9th grades) took part in the bike tour. The kids were determined to raise more this year than last, and set a goal to earn $9500. Miss Millar said she had to bite her tongue when she heard that goal; it seemed way too high. [pardon the fuzzy pics; I was at the back of the room with only my phone camera . :-( above: the bike heroes on stage]

The kids learned about bikes, riding and maintenance, and had to practice riding at home for several weeks to log in exercise hours before the bike tour. They also contacted businesses to sponsor them and make donations, as well as asking family and friends for donations.

The bike tour was divided into four phases: On Monday a group biked ten miles; Tuesday's group did 20 miles; on Wednesday, 30 miles. That same week ten students had gone to Washington DC; they arrived home Wednesday night and on Thursday nine of those kids rode ten miles, giving a double meaning to their name, The DC Ten. The last group to ride, the Thursday group, rode 40 miles (one of the DC Ten actually went on the 40-mile ride). This year Lindsey rode with the 20-mile group and Jason rode with the 4-T group, or "The Team That Triumphs!" The 40-milers. Each day when the riders arrived back to school the entire school was out on the school grounds to greet them, and high-five them.

The entire school was at the assembly on Friday to find out how much money they actually raised, and to cheer for the bike-riding heroes. And boy, did they cheer! Any highschool would be green with envy over the Entheos school spirit.

Entheos students made pins and gave them
to guests who attended the assembly

But although the bike-ride comprised the biggest part of the fundraiser, there was more. The entire school participated in a Penny War, competing to see which grade could bring in the most change to add to the cancer funds. This year the Kindergarten won by a landslide: one set of grandparents had been collecting change for 31 years, and when they heard of the Penny Wars for cancer research they thought that it was a very worthy cause to donate their "loose change" to. The total brought in from the Penny Wars was $817.28 (two five-gallon jugs full of change). Of that, the Kindergarten alone brought in $400 worth of pennies. When they announced that, you should have heard the students!

Last year a few girls cut their long hair, donating it to Locks of Love. One young man, Zandon, thought that Locks of Love was such a cool idea that he grew his hair out for an entire year just so he could donate it this year.

He and five other volunteers had their hair cut at the assembly so they could make their personal donations for cancer patients. Each time a ponytail was cut off and held up to view the kids burst out cheering. Two more boys, Jonathon and Donovan, said that if the school reached their $9500 goal they would shave their heads. They were also on the stage last Friday, losing their hair to shouts of, "Jon-a-thon!" and "Don-o-van!" [photo: Locks of Love]

But the culminating event was the unveiling of the grand total that the kids had raised, something that was kept secret from the student body until the Friday Celebration. The students stomped out a "drum roll" while two of the teachers, Miss Millar and Miss Amy, unrolled a giant roll of paper with the grand total printed on it. It opened up from back to front, and as the students got to see the number growing and growing, the cheering increased and increased. When we saw the total of $10,001.54 the room exploded in deafening shrieks and whistles, cheers and applause.

The students presented a giant check to a representative from the Huntsman Institute, who told them that their money would go to research that would not only help their own friends and neighbors, and people from Utah, but people all over the world. [photo: a big check]

It was a great assembly, celebrating a great event. Those kids keep raising the bar. What will their goal be for next year?

Pedals for Hope 2009

A Lovely Evening

Well, the Relief Society Birthday Social turned out great! :-)

I worked on desserts all day Monday, getting the ice-cream roulade, the double chocolate cheesecake, the strawberry candies, and the raspberry trifle all made that day. (Is your mouth watering yet?) My kids were out of school Monday and Tuesday, and every time I started on a new dessert, one of them would ask, "Who is that for?" or, "Is that for us?" I felt a little guilty saying that none of the goodies were for my family, but I promised to bring them back anything that was left over.


Yesterday I spent the entire day cooking as well. I started in the morning with a lemon-meringue pie, then the chocolate mousse pie. Yesterday afternoon was a jumble of making the garlic chicken, the rolls, the salad dressings, dipping strawberries in chocolate and arranging the strawberry bouquet (which looked absolutely spectacular!). I was whipping cream and garnishing the pies by 5:00 and made it to the church by 5:20—just in time to reheat the chicken before the social started. We got the dessert bar and salad bar set up and then the ladies began to arrive.

Some men from the ward served the main course to us at our tables. Everyone liked the meal and they raved about the desserts. The only bummer was that almost no one ate the strawberry candies—I think they thought they were those styrofoam, glittery fake-fruit-things you can buy. (One of my good friends actually said that she thought the bouquet was really roses; she had forgetten her glasses.) But after I took a candy and ate it, they all got the idea.

Dessert Bar

About 45 women—and the bishop—showed up for the party, and we had a great time visiting during dinner. Then there was a short, but very nice program. It was a lovely evening.


And now, the moment you've all been waiting for: I will post the recipes on my cookbook blog. So check it out every now and then, over the next little while. Enjoy!

p.s. Unfortunately for my children, there weren't enough desserts left over for them to all try some. Fortunately for them, I am a nice mom and promised to make them their choice of dessert this weekend.

Brave, Brave Kaylie!

[Be sure to check out the slideshows of Kaylie's adventures! (below this post)]

On July 1, Kaylie went to ARUP Laboratories in Salt Lake City to participate in a child diagnostics study. ARUP is working with the University of Utah, giving a physical exam and taking blood and urine samples from healthy volunteers (ages 7 to17) so they can have a baseline of what a healthy child looks like. They can then use this information as a comparison when they are helping sick children. The children (and parents) participating in the study can use the exam results for school, sports or scouting activities, and the children are given a gift card as compensation.

Michael, Jason and Lindsey participated in this study a few years ago, so when we found out they were still looking for more kids we asked the younger ones if they wanted to do it. Ryan did not; Brandon did, but they already had enough information from boys his age; and Kaylie, who just turned seven, wanted to go. In fact, she was pretty excited about going--she was looking forward to that gift card.

So this past Tuesday Bruce took her up there. He said she was happy and excited; she'd taken her coloring book and crayons and colored on the drive there.

Kaylie says the first thing they asked her to do was "pee in a container and I couldn't do it, so I had to do it last." Then she had her eyes checked and her reflexes checked ("it feels funny"). She was a little bit nervous about the blood-draw, and she says, "it hurt a little bit. She [the technician] said it would feel like a little pinch, but it was more than that." But her dad held her hand and the phlebotomist was very nice; they took six vials of blood--about 1 teaspoon each, and then Kaylie got her gift card and they gave her some juice. She felt very happy to get that gift card; Kaylie said, "It was cool." After a few more drinks of water and the rest of the exam she was able to produce the urine specimen as well. And then she was happily on her way home again.

I got to take her shopping! I had thought she'd choose some cool place like Toys R Us, but she chose Wal-Mart. We looked at everything! One-and-a-half hours later she was at the checkout buying her new desk caddy (a little box with papers, markers, crayons, stickers, etc. to keep in it). Since she had signed the gift card herself she also had to sign the card-reader pad; she could barely reach it--it was pretty cute.

To sum up the whole experience, Kaylie said, "The doctor was nice; his name is John. It was fun." I'm proud of Kaylie; and I think she is too!

Kaylie plays with her well-deserved prize.

ARUP still needs a few boys (I don't remember what ages) and girls of all ages (7 - 17) to complete their survey. If you know someone who is willing to go, they will get a complete, free physical exam and be given a $30 gift card. Print the flyer (below) for information and please print the referral card to take with you--Kaylie will get another $10 gift card for every child she refers. Thanks!

Work, Dang-it! WORK!!

I have to question whether any of my family knows how to work. And I'm not sure how to teach them; it just makes me crazy! I tell my sons to go weed out the garden and they start whimpering about the sun shining (even though it's a cool day). I tell my kids to do the dishes and they scatter like bugs in the blink of an eye. And while I run around cleaning the house, they slip off to their rooms to read books, or nap. AAAAAAAHHH!!!

Work is getting blisters on your feet during the first ten minutes of dance class but continuing for the full hour-and-a-half class. Work is going home with the blisters torn and bleeding but still going to the next class two days later. Work is smoothing drywall by yourself until your shoulders ache so badly that you have to stand in the middle of the empty room and cry. And then ten minutes later you go back to the drywall. Work is staying up late and getting up early to finish the project you said you would do—even if the promise was just to yourself. Work is making sure things get done because they need to get done. Tedious doesn't matter. Tired doesn't matter. Pain doesn't matter. Take care of it; get it done. Just do it!

And then work changes. It becomes the magic of an entire audience applauding just for you. It becomes a beautifully finished room. It becomes the honor of keeping your word. It becomes the satisfaction of knowing that you did a great and good thing.

Just do it!

Pedals for Hope

Last Thursday the sixth grade of Entheos Academy, an expeditionary learning school, finished their Pedals for Hope project. Most of my kids attend Entheos, and Lindsey (11) was one of the sixth-graders who worked this year to raise funds for cancer research. [photo: Lindsey after the tour]

It started with an “intensive”—a week where the students do a very in-depth study of one subject. That week they learned about cancer: besides learning about the disease itself, they learned the statistics of how many people are affected by it, and visitors came to the school to tell the kids of their experiences with cancer. The students made a visit to the Huntsman Institute for Cancer in Salt Lake City and to the Make a Wish Foundation. Lindsey said that "The Make a Wish Foundation was a very calming place." She thought it was really neat that kids with terminal illnesses were able to have a life-time wish granted.

The Entheos kids went on to research articles on what others had done to raise money for cancer. As they continued learning about this disease and how it affects people, the sixth grade decided to make a bike tour to raise money for cancer research. This tour would include a campout—they would ride six miles the first day, ten miles the second day, and five miles the third day, camping the two nights between. Pedals for Hope was born.

Sixth-graders began looking for sponsors, seeking to raise $3,000. Some kids went to local businesses to ask for donations, others stayed after school and made phone calls to businesses. Students looked for sponsors who would donate bikes and helmets to use for their tour and they also found a sponsor who donated T-shirts for everyone involved with Pedals for Hope.

The kids also learned all about bicycles: they learned how to repair bikes, what all the parts are called, how they work, bike safety, and how to ride if they didn't already know. The kids practiced riding at the school, going through obstacle courses and learning to use hand (turn) signals. For a month of Fridays they went to the Salt Lake Bike Collective to repair bicycles.

At last the big day arrived! On Tuesday, May 20 the Entheos sixth grade took a bus to Thanksgiving Point in Lehi, Utah, where they began their bike tour. They bicycled six miles, then took a bus to their camping spot. Unfortunately the weather was bad; they ahd rain and 30-mile-per-hour winds to deal with. Lindsey says, "It was fun! We were up all night trying to keep the tents from blowing down." They had to come home on Wednesday, but by Thursday the weather had improved enough for them to finish their tour along the Jordan River Parkway, riding 15 miles that day. [photo: Lindsey and her good friend, Sharen. Later that evening Sharen had her hair cut for "Locks of Love."]

When they started the tour, nine girls volunteered to donate their hair to "Locks of Love" if they reached their $3000 goal. The students not only reached that goal, they came near to doubling it! They've raised $5,411.56—and counting.

I'm proud of Entheos for including service as part of their mission statement--and following through in such a big way. I'm proud of our teachers who put so much time and effort into helping our students achieve this goal and have an experience they can remember for the rest of their lives. But mostly I'm proud of Lindsey; she has been excited and enthusiastic about this project from the start. And I'm especially proud of a group of kids who could conceive such a great idea and make it happen. Great job!!

Lindsey's group finishing the ride on Thursday. They were coming fast and I wasn't quite ready for them, so I barely got her in!