Math and Literacy Night

The girls and I went to the annual Taylor's "Math and Literacy" night.  While Angela, Emily, and I were eating dinner, Danni was singing with the choir.  I love to see Danni perform with the choir.  I'm working with the choir this year and really enjoy getting to know the choir kids.  Danni had a couple of drama performances, so she was spent the evening performing and hanging out with friends.  Angela, Emily, and I went to make no bake cookies, look through microscopes, and watch Danni perform.  The evening was a great success and I enjoyed spending time with my younger girls.  

Memorable MondayBeing Grateful

Now that Thanksgiving is over, I wanted to list things that I'm thankful for.  I have mentioned in past posts the things that I'm so grateful for.  I created some Subway Art to remember the things that I'm grateful in past posts.  

I found 30 different things to be thankful that were not in the above list.

1. Arizona- I love the wonderful places that I have been the past 20 + years that I've lived here.
2. Water - We live in a desert and we've been told how precious our water is, but we forget. Nothing is refreshing as a cold glass of ice water.
3. YW/YM program - I love that my kids have such great inspired programs.
4. Seminary - What a great place to feel the Spirit in the middle of the day!!
5. Repentance - I'm so grateful that our Savior provided a way for us to repent and change our lives.
6. Doctors/Hospitals - It' great to have when we need the extra help to get healthy
7. Cell-Phones - I decided that I really enjoy having contact with my kids.
8. Modern Medicine - We are so lucky to live in a time with great medicine.
9. Babysitters - I love having older kids to babysit for me
10. Carmex - I love this little gem and my lips need the extra care.
11. Callings - What a great way to feel needed and learn skills we didn't know that we had.
12. Chocolate - Need I say more!!
13. Hot Bubble Baths -  It's so relaxing!!!
14. Zoo - A great family outing - you can see animals too!!
15. Butterfly Kisses - Emmy gives me the best butterfly kisses!!!!
16. Eskimo Kisses - Angela loves to give me Eskimo kisses.
17. For the Strength of the Youth book - I love the values that the Church has for us.
18. Word of Wisdom - What a great guidelines to follow.
19. Volunteering - A great way to give back to the community and get involved
20. Elections - I'm so grateful that we have the opportunity to vote for our leaders.
21. Pioneers - I'm so grateful they paved the way for us 
22. Neighbors - It's great to have good neighbors 
23. Covenants - I'm so grateful that I've made the covenants to return to live with my Heavenly Father
24. Scriptures - I love having the scriptures to look for answers.
25. Testimony - I'm so grateful for my testimony, especially during tough times.
26. Performing Arts Program - This program shows off my kids talents and gives them a direction.
27. Clothing - I'm grateful for the clothes that we have and they are cute too!
28. Comfy Begs - I love to sleep in a comfy bed when I'm tired.
29. Priesthood - I'm so grateful for this power of the Earth today.
30. Government Leaders - I'm grateful for their service they do for this country.

Thanksgiving

We went down to Benson for Thanksgiving this year with my parents and sisters. Randy and Debbie bought a new house and we wanted to go check it out. We had a great time while we were there.  The kids had a blast riding quads, jumping on the trampoline, playing pool, watching TV, and so many more activities. The adults cooked and prepared food for the thanksgiving feast, watched some football games, shopped for last minute items, took some  pictures, and so much more. We had a great day!!!

New Camera

I had my new camera for a month when the zoom stopped working.  I was not a happy camper that day.  I took the camera back to Best Buy to take advantage of the Manufacturer's Warranty.  I was hoping that I could exchange cameras that day, but they needed to take it to their shop.  It took them about 5 weeks with my last camera in the shop to determine that it was not fixable, so I wasn't thrilled that we would have to go that route again.  This time it took Best Buy 7-8 weeks to determine the same thing.  I discovered that warranties are a big headache, but necessary to use  when needed.    I have a new camera and I'm still figuring it out.  I still like my original camera better, but this one will do.  Here is a picture of my new camera:

Memorable MondayThe Bass

                  

Josh went on a field trip to the Musical Instrument Museum (MIM) where the students saw a variety of instruments.   Josh loved the museum and would love to go back again some time.    When looking through the photos that the students took, I saw a picture of Josh with an upright bass - a BIG bass.  I remember my senior year in high school when I played the upright bass for Dixieland Band, which was held after school.  It was a great experience for me to learn to play the bass.  I used one at school and took one home to practice - which I can honestly say that I didn't do that much.  I wasn't quite as tall as Josh so it was funny to see me play such a big instrument.  I'm sad to say that I don't have any pictures to prove that I played the bass, but I did find a certificate when I played the bass in a community musical called "Brigadoon".  It doesn't actually say that I played the bass, but you'll just have to trust me.  Because the bass was such a big instrument, I had to sit alone during the performances, hence the "Most Isolated Player" award.

                                        

PEACE

Porter has been working really hard to promote PEACE in the school.  They are teaching kids some other ways to solve problems other than violence.  If a student is hit or bullied, they are taught to get some help other than retaliating.  The school had a Peace rally to represent the 50 days of working to keep PEACE at Porter.  It's a great way to encourage the students to seek help when they need it. The students walked around the school with their peace signs and then had a quick pow-wow with the principal.  It was great to see so many students looking for peaceful ways to solve their conflicts.  In a time when bullying has increased, it's so important for schools to teach the students about PEACE.  

Memorable Monday Porter turns 21

Porter held it's 21st birthday last week.  The school invited past teachers and alumni to come and visit with each other.  The school found 3 time capsules on campus to open, but one was ruined from irrigation.  It was fun to see Josh and Danni visit with their old teachers and remember the fun times that they had at Porter.  My kids had really great teachers at Porter!!!  There were old photo albums and yearbooks to look through.  There was a mural being painted in the office to commemorate the 21st birthday.  It was a great evening!!

Ward Mission Leader

Jim was released from the Elder's Quorum presidency and received a new calling. He was called to be the Ward Mission Leader. It's such a big calling for him and our family. We have had the missionaries over a lot this past week which has added to the spirit of our home. Josh will be 19 in less than 4 years and hopefully this will help the family prepare for that time. Jim was a scout leader for 5 years before Josh turned 12. This time helped Josh and the family understand the scouting program better. Now that Jim is the Ward Mission Leader, I know that this experience will help our family prepare and understand the mission program better.

State Marching Competition

Josh competed in the State Marching Band Championship today.  It was great to see their show for the last time -"The Diamond".  This was my first year as a Marching Band parent and learned a lot about marching and how hard these kids work.   Josh has made a lot of great friends this year in marching band.  Mesa High took 5th place and I heard Mr. Quamo say that they saved the best for last.  I'm extremely proud of the MHS marching band and my son, Josh.

2011 Mesa High Marching Band

Veteran's Day Parade

The Mesa High Marching Band marched in the Veteran's Day parade, so we headed to downtown Mesa to see the parade.  There were so many people that lined the streets of the parade that it was hard to get a good seat.  The parade started off with a great fly-by; the plane flew by one way and then another.  It was a great parade and we cheered on the marching bands, especially Mesa High.  It was great to see the Veterans honored in this parade.  

We sat with the Clawsons during the parade.  Danni found some friends to watch the parade with.  After the MHS Marching Band marched by, Lisa and I followed the band to help them after they were done.

The MHS Marching Band did a stand-up job.  After they finished the parade route, they stopped and played another song.  I was very impressed that they stayed in attention until they were released.  After they marched, they returned to MHS to run through their competition piece for the state competition the next day.

Memorable MondaySchool Pics

Both Angela and Emily had their picture re-takes done this year.  I just got their photos today, so now I can post their pictures.

It's so fun to me to see my kid's first grade pics side-by-side.  Josh repeated 1st grade, so he has two pictures.  It was the best thing for Josh to repeat first grade.  His birthday was just 8 days before the cut-off day for entering kindergarten.  He was the youngest kid in Kindergarten and 1st grade and struggled to keep up.  Now he is excelling in his classes and is enjoying school.  

State Marching Festival

Josh competed with the Mesa High Marching Band at the State Marching Festival.  The top 5 teams in each division will qualify to go to State Competition.  I brought Danni and AnnMarie along with me this time.  We sat in the stands and cheered the band as they took the field.  After their performance, we went to say hi to the band members, particularly Josh, Ashley, and Brittany! The MHS Marching Band earned Superior with Distinctions with a caption in music and qualified to compete next week in the State Championships.

Hamlette

Danni tried out for a part in play "Hamlette" and got the role of the queen.  "Hamlette" is a spoof of Hamlet and her friend was Hamlette. Her cousin, Zach was in the play too!!  The cast rehearsed for a couple of months before the final 2 shows.  This was Danni's first play and she did an amazing job and I really enjoyed seeing her on stage.  I was really impressed with the play and so proud of the Taylor Junior High kids who performed. There was a lot of talent on and off the stage.

"Hamlette" cast

Pics during the play

Visitors after the play

GREAT JOB DANNI!!!!!