Jonah 2011

Jonah's Priest group decided that they wanted to go scuba diving for their summer high adventure activity.  For once, Jonah was excited about it. (The picture to the right is not Jonah or anyone he knows - they didn't take pictures, but Jonah said this picture shows what they looked like.)  They trained in the water for a month then took a written test and a diving test.  He got his license in May.  They ordered their equipment then went scuba diving Sand Hollow, which is a few miles east of St. George and one of the only places deep enough in Utah that they have set up to go scuba diving without boats.

For the diving test, they hiked to a crater that was lava-heated, but there was still lots of snow on the ground.  The scuba tank is very cold, and by the time he reached the crater, Jonahs finger had frostbite.  No, not just cold and frozen, real frostbite.  It didn't turn black and there were no blisters, but it was right before the blister stage.  It felt like a burn, where it itched a ton, and it eventually peeled.  It hurt for a week and he has a scar from it.  He feels priviledged for both going scuba diving and for having experienced true frostbite.

Just before Marching Band camp started in August, Jonah went to Especially For Youth in Rexburg, Idaho.  He visited his cousin Janelle, her husband Trevor, and their baby Lynlee, whom Jonah loved to play with! He enjoyed EFY so much, he is making plans to return for next year's EFY with some of his friends, rather than go to Disneyland, which is what they originally planned.

Summer brought Marching Band.  This year Jonah wanted to be Flute instead of Sousaphone.  He learned his part and the show as a flute.  Although he was getting an A as a flute player, after their first four marching band shows, the director convinced Jonah to switch back to sousaphone, which he did, but he kept his place in the middle of all the flutes in the show.  It actually ended up looking on purpose.

 

Marching Band is over, but Jonah is still playing the tuba in Symphonic Band.

Jonah has a fantastic school councilor who is helping him apply for colleges and find and apply for scholarships.  At this point, it looks like Jonah is seriously considering attending Snow College, which is where Ryan went and might again next year after his mission.  This college is affiliated with Julliard School of Music. Jonah is still deciding if he wants to be a band director or go into computer science.  He'd be great at both!

Jonah always keeps his hair short.  One day it got long enough that a little curl showed.  Some girls asked him what he looked like with longer hair, so he decided to not cut his hair for the whole marching band season (starting in June and ending the end of Oct).  Then when he did get it cut, his friend gave him a buzz.