Youth Conference

Danni headed off with the youth in our ward to youth conference. The Youth Conference theme was B.O.O.T. (Build Our Own Testimony) Camp.  I'm so glad that Danni had the opportunity to go with the youth and it sounds like she had a great time.  

A Day on the Rim

Danni headed up north for the Ward Youth Conference, and Josh spent the day at band camp, so Jim and I took the younger girls up north to spend a nice cool day with Grandma and Grandpa Pace on the rim.

There were berries at Grandma and Grandpa's campsite, and the girls took the opportunity to pick them. It took them quite a while to fill their cups full of berries. It was a great project for the girls!

Grandma Pace brought some great toys to play with and the girls were thoroughly entertained. They went on a hike with Grandpa Pace, collected rocks, roasted hot dogs and marshmallows, played with the dogs, and enjoyed hanging out in the cool weather. In the afternoon, the rain came and we headed inside their trailer for a nap and good conversation. Jim and his dad joked with me a few times - that's to be expected when you camp with the Paces.

While we were at the rim, there was a controlled burn close by. Some smoke made it into the campsite. It was pretty cool site to see. I'm so glad that they are managing the forests.

Memorable MondayThis Is My Country

This Is My Country

I'm so glad that I live in the United States.  There are so many freedoms that I enjoy because of my citizenship of this great country.  

My birthday is on the Fourth of July and have felt very patriotic because of that fact.  I love spending time with my family and friends on that special day.  One of the fondest memories was watching the fireworks.  We would light our on fireworks and then watch the big ones from our porch.  When we move to AZ, I would attend a huge country concert and watch fireworks from there.  I remember going with Jim once.  One year, I remember climbing Squaw Peak and watching them from there.  I don't remember hiking back in the dark.  I love taking my kids to see the fireworks.  Recently the City of Mesa is always the citizens to have their own fireworks, so that's fun to watch the neighborhood fireworks and light our own sparklers.

I love that we get to vote for our leaders.  I remember when I was in high school, we were allowed to have a mock election and choose between Reagan and Carter.  I remember voting for Reagan and he won.  I've glad that I learned how important it was to vote back then.  I have voted at every presidential election since then.  I voted early the year Emily was born, since she was due around election time.  She decided to come on Election Day and we always joked with the nurses that we would name her after the new first lady.  It's an honor to vote and we should always remember that we do have a say who leads this country.

I've known several people who have chosen to serve our country.  It's such a great sacrifice for them to do and it protects our rights as American citizens.  I wish that we took the opportunity to honor them on more occasions that Memorial Day and Veteran's Day.  I love to see the military equipment, both on land and see.  I love to see the flags waving in honor of those in the service.  I love to watch the soldiers reunited with their wives and children.  It's always sad to hear of the stories of those who did not come back.  In AZ, we remember Pat Tillman and  Lori Piestewa who served our country and lost their lives.   Every year, I love to see the healing fields either in person or on TV and remember those who lost their lives in 9/11 and in the wars just following that attack.    Serving in the military is a volunteer service and one that should be honored.   There are several members in our family that served for our country - James Pace (Mormon Battalion), Grandpa Wall, Ty Reber, Matthew Barney, and many more that I'm unaware of .  My Grandpa Burbidge wanted to serve, but was unable to due to the fact he had flat feet.  We should always take time to remember those who served  to protect our country.

I love living in the United States and I'm proud to be an American!!!!!

Danni's talk

Hi, Bishop asked me to talk a little about Sabbath Day Observance.

Prophets such as Moses & President Gordon B. Hinckley have repeatedly testified of our need to honor the Sabbath.

The word Sabbath comes from the Hebrew word (forgive me if I say this wrong) Shabbath, which means ‘day of rest’.

Exodus 20:8-11 says: “remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.” “six days shalt thou labor, and do all they work.” “But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord, thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor they maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy strangers that is within thy gates:” “for in six days the Lord made heaven & earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day & hallowed it.”

We should use the Sabbath day to worship the Lord. We should attend church, reach out to others, and strive to draw closer to our families.

For the Strength of Youth booklet says:"The Sabbath day is a special day, that was blessed by the Lord. We need to do special things and not what we usually would do during the rest of the week."

DC 59:9-13 says:

“And that thou mayest more fully keep thyself unspotted from the world, thou shalt go to the house of prayer and offer up thy sacraments upon my holy day. For verily this is a day appointed unto you to rest from your labors, and to pay thy devotions unto the Most High; nevertheless thy vows shall be offered up in righteousness on all days and at all times; but remember that on this, the Lord’s day, thou shalt offer thine oblations and thy sacraments unto the Most High, confessing they sins unto thy brethren. And before the Lord. And on this day thou shalt do none other thing only let thy food be prepared with singleness of heart and thy fasting may be perfect, or, in other words, that thy joy may be full.”

I’d like to bear my testimony, that I do know this church is true, and I know that the Lord will bless me, he will bless you if you keep his Sabbath Day holy. I know he is always watching us, and loves us for who we are.

Memorable MondayChoices

What are some choices in your life that affected where you are now?

I've made a lot of important choices that I've shaped my life.  I wanted to write about one small choice that I made in 5th grade that has affected my life. 

When I was in 5th grade, a junior high music teacher came to our school to introduce some musical instruments that we could play in junior high.  I spotted the violin and flute and wanted to try them both to see which one I would like to play.  I choose the violin, because I was concerned about blowing into an instrument.  I told my parents of my decision and we made plans for me to play the violin. I played the violin for 3 years at Mt. Jordan Middle School and 4 years at Jordan High School.  I performed in musicals in and out of school.  I performed in competitions with the orchestra, with a quartet, with a duet, and as a solo.   My senior year, I played the violin, voila, and bass.   I performed during my high school graduation.   Music shaped my junior high and high school years.

Getting involved in orchestra helped me make good friends and gave me the opportunity to get involved in school, which helped me gain self-confidence.  I was able to travel the west with the orchestra and see some cool sites.   I have a love for music because of my years in orchestra. Music helped me with math, which help me decide what I wanted out of college.

One small choice in elementary school shaped my life.  

Memorable MondayPets

We are now the proud owner of a gerbil.  We bought two - Peanut and Mickey, but Peanut was the only one to survive the night.  We replaced Mickey with Kosmo, but he too died.  Peanut is the only surviving gerbil and he gets a lot of attention.

Peanut

Growing up we had several dogs and cats, but Scoodles was loved by us all.  She was my mom's dog and she loved her to pieces.  One trip to Utah, we took her to the park for a photo shoot.  We sent her down on slides and took great pics - I'm not sure that she had a great time.  Scoodles kept my mom company and she truly loved that dog.  She was a great dog!!!

Scoodles

Canoe Trip

Josh went canoeing with his troop at Saguaro Lake this weekend.

It looks like they had a great time.

Major Dust Storm

This Haboob blew in and caused quite a mess. It was the biggest haboob that Phoenix has had in awhile. Unfortunately the rain didn't come to clean up all this dust. Hopefully it will rain soon.

Memorable MondayBenson Reunion

After spending some time in Benson this past weekend, I was reminded of one or our Wall Family Reunions that we had in Benson years ago.

Wall Family 2005

We had our 2005 Wall Family Reunion in Benson.  The Barneys planned to bless Briley over the Fourth of July weekend, so we decided to have our reunion to celebrate that time with the Barneys.

Debbie was the host of this family reunion and we all stayed at her house.  We set up tents in the back yard  and used some of  her other rooms.  They had a huge bouncy water slide that was a great hit, especially for Rachel and I.  There were quads to ride and well as a sand rail.  Jim took me for a crazy ride on the sand rail, while the kids decorated the tent for my birthday.  It was sweet to see the birthday wishes from everyone in the family.  We had a family dinners in their front yard and enjoyed hanging out with the family.  

We found a great  location to watch the Fourth of July parade.  We set up a canopy to provide us the shade since it was going to be a hot morning.  The kids had such a great time watching the parade and collecting as much candy as they could.  It was great to see that the old-fashioned tractors and fire trucks.  It was a great parade and we cheered really loud when we saw the Barneys in the parade.  

Debbie had arranged for our family to get family pictures while we were down in Benson.   It's been a long time since we've had a family picture taken.   I love family pictures and so thrilled that she made it happen.   Thanks Debbie!!

Wall Family - Mom, Dad, Tami, Lisa, Jeff, Debbie, Steven

Pace Family 2005
Josh - 8, Danni - 7, Angela - 5, Emily - 9 months

The kids have a great time playing with their cousins before, during, and after the family photos.   I had a great time taking photos while we were waiting for our turn.     

We had such a great time and the reunion was a big success.  It was great that Jeff, Steve, Rachel, and Ethan took the time to come all the way down to Benson for the reunion.

My Birthday

I was born July 4, 1969 in Murray, UT at the Cottonwood Hospital at 4:41 on a Friday afternoon. I was 6 lbs. 14 oz. and was 20 inches long. I was the oldest daughter to Ray and Arlene Wall and the oldest granddaughter on both sides of the family, not the oldest grandchild. My Grandma Shaw was so excited and wanted to tell everyone that her first granddaughter has arrived. She tried to call her friends, but they were all out of town celebrating the 4th. She was disappointed not to be able to share the good news. People used to think I was a boy because I had no hair, so they glued a ribbon on my head. My mom made this cute scrapbook page for me to keep in my Book of Remembrance.

4th of July weekend in Benson

We spent a week down in Benson to witness Caden's baptism and celebrate the Fourth of July, Benson style.   We had a great time playing in the great outdoors while visiting the Barneys.  The Barneys have such wide open space with great outdoor toys that my kids love to take advantage of - quads, golf cart just to name a few.  

It was great to go to Caden's baptism.  It was a great baptism and I love being reminded of the covenants that we make at baptism.  It was great to see all the Barneys there, especially Cheyenne.  We haven't seen him in quite a while.  The girls looked so pretty for the baptism.  After the baptism, the younger girls went straight to the trampoline to jump.  The trampoline looked so inviting, another great outdoor toy at the Barney home.

The Barney family invited us to ride on the float again this year.  They kids all agreed to be in the parade and they had a great time.  They provided us with Barney tee- shirts and then the kids headed off to the parade route. It was fun to see which vehicles the kids chose to sit in.  They were asked to toss out otter pops to the crowd and wave.  Jim, Lisa, and I watched the parade and cheered the loudest when their float came by.  I loved waving at Emily when she saw us on the parade route.  

After the parade route, Emily fell off the float and got a little hurt.  She was sad for awhile and we learned that bandages do make you feel better.  The Barneys provided a hot dog lunch after the parade.  It's a great time to socialize and cool off.  I love that the Barneys included us in their Four of July Festivities.  After lunch, we headed home and left Danni there for a week with Brittany to help Debbie prepare for girl's camp.  

While we were in Benson, we took a tour of Debbie's classroom.  She is a first grader teacher in St. David and is super excited.  Ashley came down beforehand and helped Debbie decorate her room.  We are so proud of Debbie!