Memorable MondayEye Surgery

After getting Angela's glasses and seeing how they improve her eyesight reminded me of when she had eye surgery.  She had crossed eyes that needed to be surgically corrected.  We took Angela to the Phoenix Children's Hospital Wing at Desert Samaritan Hospital for out-patient surgery  The surgery lasted 15 minutes and improved her eye sight immediately.  She didn't need any corrective nor eye-patches, which was a great blessing.

Here are the scrapbook pages that I made about Angela's eye surgery.  Here are some photos of Angela before she went into surgery.  If you look closely, you can see the crossed-eyes.  The sweet nurse took Angela from my arms and headed toward the surgery room.  I was there when Angela was finished and held her while she came out of the anesthesia.  I'm so glad that it wasn't to hard on my sweet Angela.  

Contacts and Glasses

gela and Danni had their eyes tested today. Both of them need corrective lenses, Danni opted for contacts while we got glasses for Angela. Angela knew that she needed glasses and was so excited to get them.

They are beautiful girls!!!

Danni looks great in her contacts and is being very responsible with them. She learned quickly how to take care of them.

Angela looks so grown up with her glasses. It's hard to see, but she chose purple frames with flowers on the sides. She is a cutie!!

Of course, we had to see what Emily looks like in glasses on too! We'll see if she needs glasses in a few years.

Josh turns 15

Joking - Josh loves to joke and has great jokes to tell.  He has a great sense of humor.
Outstanding - Josh is an outstanding kid!!  He has so much going on in his life and know how to balance it out.
Smart - Josh is a super smart kid and understands a lot about the world we live in - I couldn't win a debate with him.
Helpful - Josh is willing to help out, especially his sisters.  Thanks Josh!!!

Happy Birthday Josh!!!! 

We love you!!!!!

Memorable MondayHigh School

Josh started Mesa High this year and I thought it would be fun to take a good look at MHS and look back at my alma mater JHS

MESA HIGH

The first high school classes in Mesa began in September, 1899 on the second floor of a red brick north  elementary school which was later rebuilt and know as Irving School.  The first Mesa Union High School district was organized  on Dec. 26, 1907.  Construction for the building known as "Old Main" began and the graduating class from 1909 graduated from the original 12 room building.  The school had a main floor auditorium with a swimming pool in the basement. Ten years later, 8 more rooms were added plus a small auditorium-gymnasium.  In 1936, there were funds to build a New Building just west of the Main Building with an arcade in between.  A new gymnasium was also built south of the Main building, where are the dances and basketball games were played. There was also an agriculture and auto shop.  On Oct. 1, 1967, a disastrous fire completely destroyed the sixty-year-old "Old Main"  Classes continued to graduate from the old high school until 1972 when the new Mesa High was built.

Carry On

"CARRY ON Mesa High

CARRY ON ye sons and daughters true

Let this anthem reach the sky

Build ye glorious vision new.

We'll fight forever for the right

Carry on with hearts aflame.

Tradition great and mighty deeds 

Add honor to thy name.

Carry on, carry on."

The public heard for MHS theme song for the first time during the dedicatory half-time ceremonies in Oct. 1933 when the lights at half time were turned out and the spotlights on the facade of "Old Main" came on and illuminated as a beacon, the words "CARRY ON".  When the song ended and the field lights came back on, the crowd was silent with tears streaming down their faces. An anthem was born!!  Three events became interlocked and formed the structure of a legend - the untimely death of a love and respected athlete, a joint community/school football field lightening project, and a memorable song, an anthem of courage and hope. 

JORDAN HIGH

The first classes at Jordan High started in 1907 when 7 students began meeting in the basement of a church in Midvale.  Enrollment increased and the students moved in a real school building in 1911.  This building was initially know as the The People College but later became Jordan High.  In 1913, construction began on a new Jordan High School which had graduating classes from 1914 - 1996.  This building was on the National Register of Historic Places.  In the mid 1970's the school district realized that the school was to small for a modern high school and that the building was starting to show it's age.  In 1975, the board decided to build a new high school and close the Jordan High building.  The exploding student population in the school district made it impossible to eliminate a school at that time.  The proposed new school became Alta and Jordan continued in the same location.  In the  1990's, the new Jordan High was built.  I graduated from the building that was built in 1914.

Beetdiggers

Jordan High Students are know as the "Beetdiggers".  The mascot dates from the school's early days when students were dismissed from school each fall to help farmers harvest the sugar beets.  Although the sugar beet industry is now gone, the school proudly continues the "Beetdigger" spirit and traditions.  Each year at the opening assembly student officers top sugar beets and take a bite. 

Hard Drive Crash

My hard drive crashed a few days ago. My heart is broken!! Luckily, I still have most of the photos in other places, but I did lose some. It's a sad day for me!!!

Memorable Monday Fashion Show

Ashley planned a "Modest Is Hottest" fashion show for the YW in her ward.   The girls showed off modest prom dresses and school clothes.  Brittany and Danni changed some lyrics to tow popular songs and sang them during the fashion show. It was a great hit and I loved seeing all the modest clothes.

Girls in Lazona Ward wearing modest prom dresses

Danni wearing her modest prom dress

I remember when I was in Lambda Delt, we had a wedding fashion where we modeled modest wedding dresses and bridesmaid dresses. I chose to only model bridesmaid dresses - don't ask why!!

First Day of School

• Josh is starting 9th grade
• Danni is starting 8th grade
• Angela is starting 6th grade
• Emily is starting 1st grade

Emily and Angela are heading off to Porter this year, while Josh is off to Mesa High and Danni is off to Taylor. Josh and Danni wanted to see their sisters off to school this year and it was so fun for them to remember the times they spent at Porter. It was such a sweet moment to capture my older two kids at Porter.

My kids have great friends that they go to school with. Emmy is starting first grade with her friend Abbey in her class. Angela has new classroom friends to met. Danni and Jocelyn both take the bus together. This is the first year that the Freshman are going to high school, so Josh is able to go with his friend, Mitchell, to high school.

Band Camp

Josh completed 2 weeks of band camp.  The first week of Band Camp was all day long with lunch and dinner breaks.  Josh missed out of Youth Conference to finish out that first week.  It was a hard week, but Josh really enjoyed making new friends.  The second week was only half day for 3 days.   Two of Josh's cousins are in the color guard, so they went to band camp with him.  

Taylor Junior High Choir "Meet the Teacher" Day

Some members of the Taylor choir sang during the "Meet the Teacher" hour. Since school was not in session, we used social media to get this group together. They performed 3 songs every 15 minutes to boost school spirit. I went to every practice and helped out as much as I could. It was a great experience for me and I found myself as the Choir Booster President because of my role in this small event.

Meet the Teacher

Today, Emily and Angela met their new school teachers. I always love the days when you can go and meet the teachers. This is the last year that Angela will attend Porter, so it was a bittersweet day. The girls are excited and nervous to start their first day of school.

Emily's 1st grade teacher - Mrs. Sparks

Angela's 6th grade teacher - Mrs. Burelson

Angela's Speech Pathologist - Mrs. Falbey

Memorable MondayPhones

Josh and Danni each got a new cell phone just before school started.  They shared cell phone plans for awhile and now that they are going to separate schools, we felt that it was time for them each to have their own.  

I remember when I  needed to use the phone, there were only two options - a land line phone and a phone booth.  There are a couple movies based on phone booths that I watched in my youth  - "Superman" and "The Phone Call".  I went on a hunt and found a phone booth at the local Circle K and wondered how often it gets used.  It was such a lifesaver for my generation and now its just a conversion piece if it ever gets used.  I remember when we used the family phone, we had to hurry so others could use it.  Using the phone was a privilege in my day not a right.  Technology has changed the way we use the phone and I wanted my kids to know about land lines and phone booths.  I'm love having a cell phone and keeping in contact with my kids and I grateful for the changes. 

Scout Camp

Jim and I drove Josh up to scout camp after three days of band camp. He was able to spend the last 3 days with the scouts in his ward. The Dana and KBP wards planned their scout camp together. Josh was able to earn 1 merit badge at scout camp. This is Josh's fourth year of scout camp, so it worked out great. When we arrived, the scouts were drying off their tents,clothes, and much more items due the big monsoon storms that came the first 3 days of scout camp - luckily the monsoon storms didn't appear again during scout camp.

Jim and I at scout camp - We only stayed for 20 minutes until Josh was settled.

Brother McKay and the four boys that attend scout camp from our ward
Mitchell, Holden, Zack, and Josh

Memorable MondaySnow College

I remember a time when our stake went to a Youth Conference at Snow College down in Ephraim, UT.  We stayed in the dorms, attended workshops, went swimming, attended dances, and just had fun. 

I looked back in my journal and recorded the event.  Here is an excerpt from my journal. "Youth Conference was really fun.  There were the snow follies where we played games.  (I think Snow Follies were games).  Most of them were with water. After that we had a water fight. Then we went to dinner.  After dinner we went to the dating game.  The comments from the audience were funner than what the person response was.  After that we went to a dance.  Afterwards we went swimming.  The next day we attended workshops.  One lady who taught on one of the workshops lost her baby girl.  It was pretty sad.   We skipped an activity to go to the library.  We tried tennis, badminton, and went swimming.  We went rollerskating for an hour and a half. and had a blast.  We saw a really dumb movie (Dr. Strangelove) afterwards."

I remember bits and pieces of these Youth Conference.  I remembered that I had a blast during the conference.  I learned later on that some members of our stake acted inappropriately and we were asked not to return again.  It's sad to hear that the actions of some people affected the overall experience.