Angela turns 10

My sweet Angela turned 10 this year. It's hard to believe that she was born a decade ago. A decade sounds a lot longer than 10 years. Her birthday is actually on Feb. 29th which is leap day. Since this year is not a leap year, we plan to celebrate it on March 1st.

I wanted to share 10 random things about Angela

1. Angela loves to listen to music, play the piano, and sing songs. She loves her Hymn book and her Primary Songbook.
2. Angela loves to cut coupons. She cuts all my coupons for me and it saves me a lot of time.
3. Angela loves to read, especially Junie B. Jones books and Magic Treehouse Books.
4. Angela loves to wash her hair and wishes that she could wash daily.
5. Angela loves to play on the monkey bars. She often has calluses on her hands from the bars.
6. Angela loves to play Little People and Pet Shop and loves to categorize them.
7. Angela loves to swim, she can't wait until the public pools open
8. Angela loves to play video games - especially Animal Crossing.
9. Angela loves to color and has the patience to make the picture look just right.
10. Angela is a sweet girl who loves to give hugs.

Taylor Band Concert

At the beginning of January, Josh decided to play the bass clarinet again. During the last semester of elementary school, he played the bass clarinet, but switched back to clarinet when he started at Taylor. Josh was able to borrow the bass clarinet from the school and decided to play it after the winter break. Josh really enjoys playing the bass clarinet and is thrilled that he found an opportunity to play it again. The band concerts at Taylor are amazing and I really enjoy the performances.

Mom's Surgery

My mom had hip replacement surgery on January 25th. After a few days in the hospital, she went to a rehab center for recovery. The facility was nice and the staff were kind and helpful during my mother's recovery. The grand kids could visit her in her room and we often had big Sunday socials in the room. It was amazing how many people we could fit into the room. My mom's spirits were always lifted when we came for a visit.

Unfortunately, my mom develop a really bad infection and doctor decided that metal that replaced her hip needed to be removed and the area surrounding the hip cleaned out in hopes of fighting the infection. The doctor will put in a temporary hip and then re-evaluate the situation a couple months later. It was heartbreaking news to hear that the hip replacement surgery didn't work out. My mom has been in the rehab center for so long and was so excited to return home, this news was really tough to hear. She is having her surgery today and I know that Heavenly Father is will watch over her.

Memorable MondayOakley Church House

My sister called me this past week and told me to check my email. She sent me a link to YouTube that showed a diner being transported to Oakley, UT on a big truck from Rhode Island. During this video, we could see the front and back of the church house where my Grandma and Grandpa Wall lived for several years. The diner now sits behind that church house, which is now the Oakley City Town Hall. It was such a fun video and took me back to fond memories of our visits there. My sister has a knack for finding hidden treasures. Thanks Lisa!

Here is a picture of the Oakley Town Hall which used to be

my grandparents house.

Here is the Diner that is behind the "Old Church House",

that's what we call it my Grandparents' home.

Here is my family in front of my Grandparent's house, the "Old Church House"

1. I remember visiting my grandparents for a short time before going outside to play. The church house didn't have much yard, but there was a park and rodeo grounds just across the street. We could play on the rodeo grounds for hours and it was an awesome playground for our family. Oakley is a small town, so most of the time we had the rodeo grounds all to ourselves.
   
2. There was a parade that went up my Grandparent's street, and the bear from Grizzly Adams was in the parade. I don't remember what the occasion was, but I remember seeing that bear and felt that I had meet someone famous.


Check out the rodeo grounds in the background.



3. I remember playing upstairs in the classrooms which were converted into guest bedrooms. I think there were 4 bedrooms, 3 of which were used for the grandchildren to play and sleep in. I remember hanging out in one room and watching the rodeo from the bedroom. Since we were in the second floor, we had a great view of the rodeo. We loved playing and sleeping the bedrooms, especially since we knew they were classrooms once before.
4. My Grandpa Wall was a carpenter and stored lots of wood in his house. My Grandma Wall was really sick and he worked at home to be close to her. The smell of fresh cut wood reminds me of the time we would visit Grandma and Grandpa Wall.

Here is a desk that my Grandpa Wall made - I have one just like it in my hallway.

We had some fond memories when we visited Oakley and it was such a big part of my childhood. I'll never forget visiting my Grandparents and seeing the "Old Church House" is just a symbol of how much I enjoyed those visits.

Stake Conference

Dani and Angela had the opportunity to sing at Stake Conference this year. They practiced the songs for a couple of Saturdays before the big event. It was a great experience for the both of them and the music was beautiful. Music adds such a great spirit to the meeting and I was thrilled to have my girls participate. They sat in the choir seats for the whole 2 hours and I missed having them sit with me, and I really enjoyed conference. Their cousin, Zach, sang in the choir with them.

Ashley, another cousin, was the youth speaker at Stake Conference and did an awesome job. I know that she was nervous, but she showed such confidence when she was on the stand and when she stood at the podium giving her talk. I noticed that my kids were listening to her talk and I really enjoyed her message. She posed the question of asking why things happen. Why was Ashley asked to speak in Stake Conference and why are family members taken from their loved ones so soon? As she spoke, I thought of my own mother who has been struggling with her health. I know that Heavenly Father is aware of us all and knows the daily struggles we are facing. It was a great conference!

Scout CampoutLost Goldmine Trail

Scout Service Project

A few years ago, part of the ceiling in our carport fell down. Jim and I have been so busy and we felt that the hole in the ceiling was cosmetic, so we didn't fix it immediately. It took our 13 years old son and his scout troop to get repair the hole in the ceiling. A huge thank to the Scout Troop and their leaders for fixing the carport ceiling.

Memorable MondayDaddy's Girls

The girls had a great time with their dad at the Daddy-Daughter dance. The girls really love to spend time with their dad. Often times, they go together with their dad on a date - usually to Panda Express. A father-daughter relationship is such a great one and I reflected on some special times that Jim spends with his girls. Jim called Dani "Sweetie" when she was little and now calls her "DanDan". Dani used to "flip" on Jim's stomach when she was younger by holding onto his hands, put her feet on his stomach and flip over. Dani is the oldest girl and loves the attention her dad gives her. One year, Jim took Dani to a fancy work Christmas party when I was sick. Last year, they went to a Jon Smidt concert together. They had done some really cool things together. He took her to the emergency room when she burned her leg and comforted her during that difficult time.

Angela's nickname was "Sweet Pea". Angela is a sweet girl and Jim has a soft spot for her. She loves her dad dearly and is willing to give him all the hugs and kisses he needs. She often tells her dad that she loves him. Jim held her and comforted her many times as she faced eye surgery and her ABR hearing test. Angela thinks her dad can solve any problem, and she is right. Angela's smile can warm her dad's heart.

Emily is known as "Little One". Emily is the youngest and is spoiled by her dad. As a baby, she like to sleep on her dad's chest. She often accompanied her dad and I on special outings and dates. Her dad loves spending time with her. She was comforted by her father when she had to get stitches on her forehead and also when she had an MRI test.

Dance

Dani, Angela, and Emily took a two week dance class from Chelsea Webster. Dani and Angela were the older class, while Emily was in the younger class. It was Emily's first time taking a dance class and I think she was a little nervous at first, but soon warmed up to the idea. Kenzie went with Emily and I think that helped her adjust. After two weeks of practice, the girls performed for us on Saturday morning. It was fun to watch the girls dance and see their personalities come through.

Jim turns 41

Here are 41 pics of Jim.

Happy Birthday Jim!

Greek Festival

The 6th graders had a Greek Festival in their classrooms. They learned about Greek lifestyles by creating a travel journal, wore togas if they wanted, and even sampled some Greek food. Dani didn't want to dress up for the festival - I don't blame her. I volunteered that afternoon and enjoyed being in class with Dani. This is Dani's last year in Elementary school, so I need to soak up every minute that I can.

Memorable MondayBlog Book

I received my blog book in the mail. It's so fun to look at the book and remember the events that took place this past year. It's the main reason that I blog. I love to see my children pick up the book and see them read it. My Grandma Shaw created a book about her life and gave one to my mom. My Grandma died when I was 13 and I loved reading her stories, some of which I don't think she would have ever told me. It was an awesome to see her personality come through the pages. I want my kids to have a book to look through and read about the days when they were younger. I have written fun stories, bore my testimony, and events that happened in the last year. I hope that it's a book that is read often.

Memorable Monday Field Trip to Firestation

Emily's preschool class went on a field trip to the fire station this last week. Unfortunately, Emily had a horrible cough and didn't go on the field trip. She was sad at first, but she started playing some video games and forgot all about the field trip. We live close to a fire station and I know that there will be more field trips to the fire station. I was reminded of the first time I went with Josh to the fire station.


The whole school took a field trip to the fire station when Josh was in 1st grade. It had been a year since the 9-11 attacks and the school wanted to thank the fire fighters in our neighborhood for the service that they do. I went with Josh on this field trip and talked to him about the service that that the firefighters and policeman do. There were police cars along the route helping keep the kids safe as they walked to the station and back. It was a neat experience for the community and those who participated.

This is a picture of Josh and his classmates before the field trip.

Here are the students at the fire station.

Josh posing with his teacher and classmates.

Josh posed with the police officers on the way back to school.