Our Weekend (and beyond)

Friday
Evan sang with the San Diego Mormon Choir and Orchestra. The musicians were fabulous, including the soloists on flute, banjo, cello and bagpipe.  What a show!  If you are local, I hope you'll have a chance to see them next year.  Learn more about SDMCO here.

Saturday
We did lots of laundry, shopping and packing for Aaron. That evening we had our ward fall festival.  It was a great party with chili, gourmet popcorn and lots of dessert (although I was too full to try any).  The kids had a blast with the games.  Here are Marianne's cute mini cupcakes for the cakewalk.

Sunday
We had Aaron's "not a farewell" at church.  He spoke mainly about the temple.  Since early September he has been able to work at the temple twice a week.  It has been a very sacred experience for him and he was sad to see it end.  After church, Aaron was officially set apart as a full time missionary for the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  Our Stake President asked us to share things we admire about Aaron.  Some of his strengths are: peacemaking, obedience, desire to do what is right and an ability to see the beauty in nature.

After the dinner requested by Aaron, we celebrated my Dad's birthday.  He claims he is only fifty-three, but I'll let you count the candles.

Everyone agreed the cake was delicious!

Here are the men of the day (Aaron and his Grandpa)

  With the two newest members of the family (Leighton and Carolyn)

Monday
Aaron got our computers in tip top shape and we had a day full of more last minute chores. We had a great time laughing and joking together.  The checker at Wal Mart even told us what a cute family we had. Then she added, "Someday you'll even have grandchildren." She was surprised when we told her we already have two.  We decided not to completely shock her by telling her we have our own baby on the way too.  John and the boys took their bikes up the mountain for a last run down.  Aaron was excited to have broken his record with a time of 4 min 27 sec.  I was just relieved he didn't break anything else. Aaron bid a final farewell to his favorite restaurant as we ate dinner at Chipotle.

Tuesday
After goodbyes to Ryan, Molly, Brianne and Leighton (and a quick stop at the barbershop!) we headed to the airport.

Roxy will really miss Aaron too!

Good byes at the airport

It will be fun to compare the height difference in two years!

We love you Aaron!

Summer Highlights

What was the best part of our summer?
Well, that depends on who you ask!

One of the top contenders for "summer best" would be our trip to Utah for the 4th of July.  We spent some time with John's wonderful family, visited with my grandma and my Aunt Muff's family and headed to Wyoming for John's class reunion.  Several of John's classmates commented that he hasn't changed much since high school.  He took off his hat to show that he does have a little less on top these days, when one of his friends said, "Oh that doesn't make any difference.  John always wore a baseball cap back then too.  We couldn't see his hair anyway!"

Here is John in his baseball cap with his Aunt Ruth. Our niece Holly is in back.

Ruth is keeping a tight reign on the matches.

She actually called both the mayor and the police chief before letting the boys set off fireworks!

John with his sister Susan (left) and his cousin Connie (middle).

My kids favorite part of Wyoming can be summed up by this photo:

Fireworks and more fireworks!!

Here are a few more of our summer highlights.  These are from my point of view, so my kids may totally disagree.  (Kids, feel free to leave a comment with YOUR highlights.)

Aaron
Receiving his mission call
Taking lots of photos and creating amazing panoramic views
Going to the temple for the first time

Marianne
EFY at BYU Provo
Her 15th Birthday
Watching all of the Harry Potter movies
Spending time with the world's cutest and smartest baby

Brianne!

Evan
Scout Camp at Lake Arrowhead
A visit from his cousin Josh at the end of July
Watching lots of Doctor Who on Netflix
Making tons of amazing origami creations

Josh and Evan lighting smoke bombs

Whew!  That was a long post.  Aren't you glad I only shared the highlights?

Sweet Sunday - Bonus Edition!

Today at church I approached a friend of mine. She had made a generous donation to my fund raising efforts for breast cancer research and I wanted to thank her. But I was also a little worried, because I noticed she had made two donations of the same amount. I was concerned that perhaps she had hit "submit" twice. When I asked her about it, she explained that she had made a donation for each of her young daughters. She nearly made me cry and it gave me hope for a world where our daughters don't have to live in fear of breast cancer.

And now . . . here comes the bonus part of the post!

I didn't have a chance to blog about all of the sweet things from last Sunday. We got to spend some time with family. We sang a belated "Happy Birthday" to John while he ate his cherry pie.


We even got a picture of 5 generations, since my grandma was visiting for the weekend.

A big thanks to my Aunt Muff (no that's not her real name, but isn't it cute?) and Uncle Paul for bringing my grandma to see us. She and grandma were happy to see my mom's headstone and bring flowers to the cemetery.


And as yet another bonus, here's something I haven't seen often enough in the past few months--my dad smiling and being silly. He looks especially proud of the snack he chose. Now you know exactly who buys those giant tubs of cheese balls at Costco.

"And ye cannot bear all things now; nevertheless, be of good cheer, for I will lead you along. The kingdom is yours and the blessings thereof are yours, and the riches of eternity are yours." D & C 78:18

Prophecy Fulfilled

Yesterday Marianne had an orthodontist appointment. Usually I just drop her off at the office, but this time I decided to go inside. As I sat down and opened my Kindle, I felt uneasy. I couldn't quite figure out what was wrong. Why was I feeling so distracted?

Suddenly I knew.

To my right was a computer touchscreen for patient check in. To my left were three wall mounted TV screens, each on a different channel. In front of me was a large Nintendo 64 screen. Across the room sat two women, both busy with their iPhones and earbuds. I looked down at my own Kindle screen and back up again. I counted eight screens in the waiting room alone. I knew that the rest off the office was filled with computer monitors and a TV for each patient.

Sure enough, it was Fahrenheit 451!

Have you read Ray Bradbury's prophetic novel? Published in 1953, it tells of a futuristic society where homes have TV walls where they can watch and interact constantly. One character can't wait to have the fourth TV wall installed so she can be completely surrounded by her TV "family". Literature is outlawed and books are burned daily. Fortunately, it's okay because no one really wants to read anyway.

I thought about Fahrenheit 451 as I set aside my ebook and began watching the happy couple on "Minute to Win It." They knew the tune to Jingle Bells and could play it on water glasses. They even knew how to stack three golf balls in a tower!

It kind of reminds me of Beatty, the fire chief in charge of burning books. He says,

Give the people contests they win by remembering the words to more popular songs or the names of state capitals or how much corn Iowa grew last year. Cram them full of non-combustible data, chock them so damned full of 'facts' they feel stuffed, but absolutely 'brilliant' with information. Then they'll feel they're thinking, they'll get a sense of motion without moving. And they'll be happy, because facts of that sort don't change. Don't give them any slippery stuff like philosophy or sociology to tie things up with. That way lies melancholy.

He ends his explanation with the comment, "But I don't care. I just like solid entertainment."

Too bad he's never been to the orthodontist!

Time to Celebrate!

As a little girl, I thought I could do anything.
This was mainly due to my father.

I knew he really believed in me.
Over the past weeks, I have heard my Dad brag about me
and although I was slightly embarrassed, it was good to know
that he is still my biggest fan!

This weekend we got to celebrate Dad on his birthday.
We started off with balloons, one for every year of his life!

I made two of Dad's favorites for dinner, so we feasted on meatloaf and spaghetti!

My parents met when Dad was just 14 years old, so this
was his first birthday in many years without his sweetheart.
Of course we missed Mom terribly, but Dad was sure to include
her by telling some of our favorite stories about her.

My parents were married in the St. George temple in 1962
and had receptions in Las Vegas and Salt Lake.
Then they honeymooned by driving to their new home in Minnesota.
My Dad had wonderful memories of a Boy Scout camping trip to Yellowstone,
so he thought it would be fun (and cheap) to camp by Old Faithful.
My Mom was proud to be making dinner for her new husband
and had just gotten out their pork chops when she was rudely interrupted
by a couple of bears. The bears wanted the meat and Mom was scared,
but she wasn't sacrificing their dinner!
She ran away from the bears and finally climbed up
on the picnic table and yelled at them.
Worst of all, several men in a nearby campsite were enjoying the performance.
They sat laughing for several minutes before finally coming over to scare away the bears
by banging on some trash can lids.

The pork chops were safe and dinner was served,
but Mom never recommended camping on your honeymoon!

~~~~~~~~
After plenty of stories and gifts, it was time for birthday cake.
The boys made sure that Grandpa had a huge flame to blow out!

Evan was impressed (and a little disappointed) that Grandpa
blew out the candles so quickly!


Dad reminded us all that he is getting a little older.
He says he is celebrating his 54th birthday this year.
And I must apologize for my mistake.
I guess I need to work on my math skills.

Happy Birthday to my wonderful Dad!

25/26 in't bad

Oh no! I jut dicovered that a certain key on my laptop keyboard in't working! Can you tell which one it i?

Overall, I had a wonderful day:
Time with our niece & nephew and family
Laundry done & even put away :)
Thought about the temple and the time I pent there yeterday
Got caught up on my email
Got ome planning done for our homechool clae
Lunch with my huband
Played and ang with my beautiful granddaughter
Watched the un et at the beach
Roated hot dog and 'more over the firepit

I gue I can't complain about one miing letter! I think I'll look at thee picture of Brianne and her grandpa intead. They make me mile.


BTW, doe anyone know how to fix a keyboard with one broken letter?

Burnin' Birthday

We celebrated Ryan's birthday on Sunday and I think Evan may have given him the best present of all. He strategically placed each candle to obtain the maximum flame. Ah, isn't it heartwarming to see two brothers sharing their love of fire?

Notice that grin on Evan's face?
Ryan and Aaron had exactly the same smile.
Where did I go wrong?