What a Difference a Day Makes!

This is what we saw outside our window yesterday morning . . .

This is what we saw outside our window this morning . . .

. . . which leaves this poor hummingbird (and us!) wondering what the heck we're doing back Utah!

Dr. Tanner!

It's not every day that you watch your son participate in graduation exercises as a new PhD! But, yesterday, Saturday, May 1st, we did just that! We got up early to talk to Brian, who was braving the crush and pandemonium of graduates trying to get on shuttle buses to get to "The Big House" at the University of Michigan. Later, he called us from the field where he and thousands of his fellow graduates awaited the festivities. After all, it was quite a "coup" to have the President of the United States as the featured commencement speaker. Many have asked us why we were not there and my sister even called us after graduation to tell us to give Brian a hug for them (she assumed we were there). Brian did not know for sure if he would attend and he assured us that we had been there for him when it was most important- for his first Dissertation Recital. So, we watched graduation by streaming video on our computer.

Though President Obama was the featured "star" of the event. . .

and gave a thoughtful speech that encouraged a return to civility (Brian's words), our focus was on the star of our show- Dr. Tanner! Somewhere, Brian is in the crowd of graduates. . .

The cameras often focused on individual graduates, but, the cameras never did find him. I can imagine that even if we were in the stadium, we would have had a difficult time finding him in the sea of caps, gowns, and quite a number of doctoral hoods. Even with the miles between us, it was hard not to get emotional as we were there in spirit to witness the graduation of our son, Dr. Brian Tanner. Both David and I got a little "choked up" as we watched the broadcast and, especially, as the candidates were presented from the School of Music. In reality, Brian had "walked" on Friday at his convocation, and we are excited to see pictures from that event.

When Brian called to tell us that he had successfully defended his Dissertation, David wanted to write an article for our local newspaper, The Davis County Clipper, about Brian's accomplishment. So we worked together to write the article and send it in. When we got our Clipper this week, we totally missed the article, because we expected it to be published as we sent it. Thanks to a neighbor, we did find out that an announcement was in the paper, but it was edited, rewritten, and "buried" on the Youth/Education page, but it was there. We would like to share the original article with our family and friends, so I've included it with this blog post. Congratulations, Dr. Tanner!

Bountiful Tenor Achieves Doctorate

Brian David Tanner successfully defended his Doctrinal Dissertation and will receive his Doctor of Musical Arts in Vocal Performance from the University of Michigan School of Music, located in Ann Arbor. Brian will participate in graduation exercises to be held on May 1, 2010, which will feature President Barack Obama as the commencement speaker.

The University of Michigan’s Doctorate in Vocal Performance is a three-year program, during which time Brian served as a Graduate Student Instructor, teaching in the classroom, as well as instructing private vocal students for the University. In order to qualify for a Doctorate, a candidate must undergo a lengthy oral examination, present three Dissertation Recitals, and successfully defend his Dissertation, among other requirements. Brian’s first recital, “A Novel Approach,” featuring texts by famous authors, was sung in German, Italian, French, and English, set to music by a number of prominent Classical composers. For his second recital, Brian sang the tenor lead, Marco, in The University of Michigan Gilbert and Sullivan Society’s production of The Gondoliers. His final Dissertation Recital was sung in Portuguese and featured the music of several Brazilian composers. Brian developed a love of Brazilian music while serving as a missionary for the LDS Church in the Brasil Campinas Mission.

Dr. Tanner received his Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees in Vocal Performance from the University of Utah School of Music, where he studied with Dr. David Power. While at the University of Utah, Brian sang with the University of Utah Lyric Opera Ensemble and co-founded a student performing group called Zero Budget Productions, which provides additional opportunities for talented music students to perform and direct productions. Also during this time, Brian enjoyed three summers of singing with the Ohio Light Opera Company in Wooster, Ohio.

A graduate of Woods Cross High School, Dr. Tanner was the Sterling Scholar in Music from Woods Cross High School in 1999 and a 2-year member of the Woods Cross High Madrigals and Concert Choir, directed by Mr. Neil Hendriksen. While at Woods Cross High, he participated in many musical productions, with his most memorable performance as The Tin Man in The Wizard of Oz. He studied 3 years with Cheryl Stone before attending the University of Utah.

Dr. Tanner is the son of David and Jan Tanner of Bountiful, who commented on their son’s accomplishment, “We are so excited for Brian. He has followed his passion and worked nine years for this achievement. We have thoroughly enjoyed following his career and remember our favorite musical experience: seeing Brian perform the role of Ferrando in Mozart’s CosÍ Fan Tutte with The Hubbard Hall Opera Theater in Cambridge, New York.” They look forward to many more memorable performances from Dr. Tanner.

Home Again!

After three long months, our cars are back home! Can you see how happy they are?! And me! A number of times over the last few months, I have gone out to a car to go to work and had to scrape snow off the windshields or I have arrived home in the dark and had to brave the rain and wind to make it into the house. I realize now how spoiled I was and I won't soon forget how great it is to have a garage. During the remodel phase, the garage was filled with various power saws, other tools, and building materials, as well as our old kitchen cabinets, frig, range, etc. Even after the work was all done, the garage was filled to overflowing- until yesterday. Thanks to KSL.com classifieds, we were able to sell our range, disposal, exhaust fan, and finally, the frig and the cabinets. In fact, David reported that the couple, who came all the way from Malad, Idaho to buy the cabinets, was absolutely thrilled to get them. That makes us happy, as well. The drinking fountain has not found a new home, so we may send it on its way with the Bountiful City Spring cleanup. We do still need a good home for these guys . . .

Meanwhile, Rick, the cabinet-maker, delivered our "remodeled" entertainment center and bookcases . . .

and Angie Bunker worked some of her vinyl magic to create a wall quote that really applies to our family . . .

One last piece will complete the kitchen/family room remodel. Ever since we served as missionaries at the Joseph Smith Farm, we have loved a painting that hung in the Welcome Center there. It is a painting of the Sacred Grove by Al Rounds. He really captured the landscape of the farm, "Crooked Creek" or Hathaway Brook, and the Sacred Grove in the early spring, when Joseph would have gone into the grove to pray. The painting evokes tender, spiritual feelings for us and takes us back to those treasured times at the Smith Farm and in the Sacred Grove. When we were left with a blank wall behind a couch in the family room, I started looking for a print for this area. But, in my mind and heart, I kept coming back to the image of Al Rounds painting and I started searching for a good deal on a large print. Imagine my surprise when I found a "liquidation of back-room stock" at the Al Rounds Studio in Salt Lake! It was too good to be true: a large giclee canvas- 30" x 40"- unframed, but reduced in price by a whopping $550! With the sale of all our cabinets and appliances, we were able to buy the giclee and we're having it framed. When it arrives and is hung, I will post a picture, but in the meantime, the thought of having that beautiful painting hanging in our family room brings tears to my eyes and it will surely be a constant reminder of our incredible missionary experience. What a tender mercy!

Yes, We Have Moved In!

At long last, here are pictures of our beautiful new kitchen! Thanks for being patient! We have moved in and the proof is contained in this latest photo- taken this afternoon- as I tried out the new oven. It's been months since I made bread and we devoured it! The oven bakes with or without convection and there will be a little bit of a learning curve with it and with all the new appliances. We're loving them all.

David keeps exclaiming about things that he really likes, like the faucet, the bigger dishwasher, and the freezer on the bottom of the fridge. But here is the item that he likes the best. . . .

Getting to where we are today has been a process. The tile guy worked many long hours to finish the entry and he did a great job! The pictures don't do it justice but you can get the idea. The hall bathroom is also tiled with the same travertine but we we're waiting for a remnant of granite before finishing the bathroom remodel.

Next up was David's hard work- a long process- sanding the wood floor and applying coats of polyurethane.

Then we moved in- the big question was whether it would all fit.

So here are pictures of the finished kitchen. We love, love, love it!

We had our cabinet-maker refinish our old oak table and it looks like a beautiful piece of furniture.

Thanks to some great coupons, we added some new decor items that really dress up the dining area.

It's Really Coming Together!

The process has been long and we have learned much. (For instance- who knew that sub-contractors and workmen do not adhere to a schedule and most often do not show up on time

or even on the day that they said they would come.) But, things are getting exciting as we

continue to work towards our new kitchen. Remember the preview of the cabinets?

A couple of days later, the granite countertops arrived.

Then the appliances were delivered.

Rick and Randy finished installing the cabinets.

They are gorgeous!
Next the tile backsplash was installed.
Here's a peek at how the kitchen is looking (the stove is not in place).
With everything covered up and the house already layered in dust, we decided that now was a good time to do another project that we had been considering- replacing the pavers in our entry way and the carpet leading into the kitchen with tile that will run from the front door to the

kitchen and also put new tile in the hall bathroom.

The entry area had to be built up to the level of the sub-flooring, by "floating" thin layers of cement on top of each other. We couldn't walk in this area for several days, so answering the front door, getting to the laundry room, and going out to the cars was a little problematic.

The tile is being installed this week while David is in Washington, D.C. and I am in California.

Our last project before all this "stuff" can be moved back will be refinishing

our wood floor in the kitchen- family room.

I couldn't resist.... I had to get a preview of how the finished product would look.

It is going to be awesome!

Ahh, Ann Arbor!

Home to the prestigious University of Michigan School of Music, Ann Arbor is not exactly at the top of the hot vacation spots for the middle of January, unless of course, you are attending your son's first dissertational recital for his Doctorate in Vocal Performance. We made the trip, the weather Gods were kind and we missed the typical frigid winter weather, and we enjoyed an awesome recital and wonderful visit with Brian.

The highlight of our trip was Brian's recital. As with all his other recitals, Brian put his unique and creative stamp on the performance. Titled "A Novel Approach," Brian sang the words of Goethe, Manzoni, Victor Hugo, and Thomas Hardy in German, Italian, French, and English and poured his heart into the beautiful music of a number of major composers.

We were thrilled to hear him sing. It had been about a year and a half since we last heard him perform. We talked to Brian's voice teacher after the performance and he was thrilled, as well.
What a great joy it is to hear someone of his stature rave about your son!

It was also great to see so many of Brian's friends, Ward members, other Music students, and Brian's past and present voice students who attended the recital.

(Brian and his roommates Seth and Peter)

And, the friends showed up with great food for the refreshments after the recital. A good time was had by all! While in Ann Arbor, which, by the way, is a charming university town, we enjoyed doing Zingerman's famous "Tour de Food" with Brian and earning ourselves a T-shirt that proves that we visited every establishment, checking out "The Big House,"

grabbing bites at some of Brian's favorite eateries, and attending his Student Ward and the Sunday night Mingle at the Institute . We also went with Brian to the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn.
David and I went back to Dearborn by ourselves and toured Ford's Rogue Factory where they were making Ford F 150's and then we took a tour of the Henry Ford Estate. It was a fun day and David was especially captivated by the factory tour.
We thoroughly enjoyed our little Ann Arbor January getaway and it was great having the opportunity to experience a little of Brian's life in Ann Arbor. He loves it there and we could see why. Ahh, Ann Arbor!