*Jan 23rd - News reports that there was 2. 5 inches of rain in Mesa the last 3 days and 60 inches of snow in Flagstaff. What a winter storm!
*Jan. 25 I'm so glad that my mom is out of surgery and doing well.
*Feb. 2nd - Lost is on 2nite. Yeah!!!!!
*Feb. 16th - I saw the movie "Lightening Thief" today with my husband and two older kids. The kids and I read the book and couldn't wait to see the movie, but it was nothing like the book at all. They had the same characters, but completely different plots.
*Feb. 19th - I love staying up late watching with the my kids to watch the Olympics.
*Feb 21st - I am excited to attend Stake Conference this morning. My daughters are singing in the choir with my nephew and my 16 yr old niece is speaking. My sister just reserved some great seats for us.
*Feb 28th - I wish there were 29 days in February every year so I could wish my daughter "Happy Birthday" on her actual birthday. Angela turns 10 this year and she decided to celebrate it officially on Monday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANGELA!
*Mar 3rd - My mom had complications just a month after her hip replacement surgery. Last Thursday, the doctors removed some metal and deteriorated bone. She has a terrible infection which caused so much trouble. She will recuperate in a center for about a month and hopefully come home soon. The doctors will evaluate her situation in a couple of months to see if they should do another hip replacement.
*Mar 9th - Tomorrow, my oldest daughter turns 12. My brothers are flying in tomorrow too! It's going to be a fun day!
*Mar 19th - My boys (Jim and Josh) went on a overnight canoe trip. I hope they have fun, take pics, and most of all stay safe
*Mar 21st - People must understand that children with disabilities do not have a disease; children with disabilities are not looking for a cure but acceptance....
*Mar 31st - HOME SWEET HOME!!!! After 2 1/2 months in the hospital, my mom is finally coming home. Thanks to everyone for your prayers and concern. Her recovery will take awhile but home is a great place for that.
*Apr 2nd - My mom was all dressed and ready to leave the hospital. When the doctor came in and told her that her wound had not healed properly and there may be underlying infection and they needed to do a deep culture to find out why that is the case. Could the hospital told her that a week or a few days ago?
*Apr11th - I'm thrilled that my mom made it home
*Apr 16th - I went shopping to find a modest swimsuit for my tween. After 4 stores, we have found little success. She wants a tankini and we found a top, now we need a bottom , and a tank top to go under the tankini to provide more modesty. I miss the days when you found a cute swim suit and just bought if off the racks.
*May 3rd - I took my family to see The Gila Valley Temple on Friday. It was amazing to go with my family and I feel blessed that we could go.
*May 10th - "SUNS SWEEP SPURS"
*May 18th - 'Twas the week before summer break when all through the school, not a student was listening, rather thinking of the pool. The teachers were exhausted and ready to scream, as lower paychecks loom in their dreams. The thought of more cuts and a larger class size, should not come to us as a great big surprise! Don't 4 get to VOTE YES on PROP 100!
*May 18th - I made some yummy cookies last night. My youngest took the plate of cookies and put them on the piano for Santa. I need to tell her that Christmas comes only once a year in December.
*May 25th - I'm happy to have such a great day before it starts to heat up.
*May 26th - I attended 6th grade promotion last night and a preschool graduation this morning. It hasn't hit me that school is almost over.
*May 28th - I attended the MHS graduation last night. Congrats to all that graduated, especially my cute niece! She looked great and sounded awesome last night. Congrats to Jim's brother too!
*Jun 1st- I went tubing down the Salt River for the first time, which is sad since I've lived in Phoenix for over 20 years. It was a lot of fun and surprisingly there was hardly anyone there.
*Jun 3rd - I love to see my kids read after a big trip to the library. I took them there yesterday and the older two already finished their books and are on track with STOMP. What a proud moment.
*Jun 8th - My daughter went shoe shopping in my closet and claimed a pair. It's not fun to share the same shoe size as my 12 year old daughter.
*Jun 16th - I love patient and kind dental hygienists. My special needs daughter had her teeth cleaned today and she finally let them take full x-rays. It's taken 5 years to get to this point and I appreciate their patience. One day, she'll let them polish her teeth but we are thrilled with this baby step.
*Jun 20th - I spent a great day with family. It started off with a nephew's baptism followed by a big family lunch to celebrate Father's Day. I topped it off with a swim party with Jim and the kids. It was a great Saturday!
*Jun 21st - My son is off to Scout Camp. I already miss him!
*Jun 29th - I love it when my kids use stamps as stickers!
*Jun 30th - My 5 year old says "poke-a-sole" instead of Popsicle. She told me that's how you she says it in Spanish. It was the funniest thing. When I asked her how she said it in English, she just shrugged. She's a cutie.
*Jul 5th - Thanks for the birthday wishes. It really meant a lot. Thanks!
*Jul 9th - I loved that my girls did so well in swim lessons these past two weeks. Emmy wouldn't put her face in the water and now will jump in the deep end. Angela did so awesome, that she passed her class and skipped the next one. I think I put her in the wrong class, but it helped Emmy so I don't care.
*Jul 13th - I just returned from an awesome trip to St. George with my husband and kiddos. My best friend from high school was playing keyboards for the Tuacahn musical "Tarzan" and we went to see the show. It was awesome and my kids are still talking about it. I had lunch and dinner with Tracie and it was so great to see her again. She is incredibly talented and I'm glad that she was my friend in high school.
*Jul 18th - I just picked my daughter from Benson and is thrilled to have all her peeps at home again. I love having my family home.
*Jul 19th - I spent the evening with my Aunt and Uncle from Texas. It was a great night.
*Jul 19th - My son is off to band camp. He is thrilled to spend 3 hours a day for the next two weeks playing the bass clarinet. He's even more excited to bring one home and keep it at home for the rest of the school year to practice. It's a big and awkward instrument to take to and from school.
*Jul 22nd - I've loved the cooler weather the past two days. It's awesome that it didn't even reach 100 degrees today. We needed a break from the heat without having to head up north!
*Jul 23rd - I talked and visited with all my siblings yesterday. We are having an unique family reunion which is taking place in two states. I've learned that families don't have to be in the same place to have a reunion.
*Jul 29th - I wonder if any of the my Mesa friends has the book "Alliance" from Gerald Lund that I can borrow.
*Jul 30th - I loved watching Angela jump off the diving board. Her swimming has improved so much after a two week swim lesson and wanted to try and jump. She loved it and jumped every chance she could get. I'm so proud of you Ang!
*Aug 4th - I lost my daughter's shot record before I showed it to the school and she starts kindergarten in a week. I've had to make several phone calls to the doctor's office and the shot clinic to gather her shot records. I miss the day when the doctor's office provided all the shots for the kids.
*Aug 5th - I can't believe school starts in a week. It'll be so sad to send them off to school, especially my kindergartner.
*Aug 7th - I just rented a 1/4 size violin for Angela. It's so cute and little. I had a 3/4 size violin in Junior High and thought that one was small. The smallest violin that they rent is 1/16 - how cute is that?
*Aug 10th - I wish my kids didn't have to start school so soon. I'm going to miss them on Wednesday, especially my little shadow. I know she will do good, but I'm going to miss having her around.
*Aug 12th - I'm getting my AC fixed today. I've never had more cold showers in my life, and it's only been 1 day. I don't know how the early pioneers in Mesa, AZ survived.
*Aug 18th - I watched Pride and Prejudice with my mom on Monday. This was the first time my mom saw the version with Kiera Knightly. The TV channel cut off the last scene where Elizabeth tells Mr. Darcy that he can call her Mrs. Darcy. Can a TV channel cut one of the best, yet cheesiest out of the movie?
*Aug 20th - I went to the movie with my husband while the kids were in school. We had a great time and didn't feel rushed to take care of the kids at home.
*Aug 24th - I wish a big "Happy Birthday" to my son Josh who turn 14 today.
*Aug 25th - Mockingjay
*Aug 27th - I'm loving this 90 degree weather. It's a nice break from the summer heat.
*Sept 3rd - I'm collecting as many issues of today's Arizona Republics I can, especially the obits. If you have a copy, let me know and I can pick them up. Thanks so much!
*Sept 14th - I volunteered in my kid's school today. The secretary handed me a V.I.P. volunteer badge with my name on it. I made my day and now I want to volunteer even more. What a great idea!, Now, to find a way to incorporate that idea at home.
*Sept 19th - I'm happy to have my boys back from a camp out. It gave Jim a chance to use his radio again.
*Sept 25th - I watched Josh march with the Mesa High Band during the half-time show. It was so cool to see him march on the field and participate. I'm so proud of you Josh!
On Sunday, we didn't go to church for various reasons. We were too tired to make it on time and Dani felt a little sick to her stomach. We walked to Temple Square from our hotel in the misting rain and loved it. We had a good view of the nativity set right next to the North Visitor's center. We visited the two visitor's centers at Temple Square and saw some new and familiar exhibits plus some gorgeously decorated Christmas trees. Our favorite exhibit was the model of the Salt Lake Temple where we could see the different rooms in the temple. They are a slide show where we could see the pictures of the different rooms. Jim and the older kids learned that there is a replica of the Big Dipper on the SLC temple. We went to check it out and there is a big dipper on the temple plus pictures of the different phases of the moon. WOW!!
The Pace side 
Josh participated in a couple of concerts this week. His first concert was the Taylor Band Concert where he played in a clarinet chamber group. Since the group is small and has only 2 bass clarinets, I am able to hear Josh as he performs. They performed 3 songs: "O-Christmas Tree", "We Wish You a Merry Christmas", and "Ring Christmas Bells". I really enjoyed "Ring Christmas Bells" and it really shows off the bass clarinets. It was a great concert!!
