Memorable MondayGreat Men & Great Examples

We lost some great apostles in the past four months - Tom L. Perry, Boyd K. Packer,  and Richard G. Scott.  I really enjoyed listening to these great men speak at General Conference.  Tom L. Perry reminds me a lot of Jim's dad.  Boyd K. Packer was easy for me to remember because he was the president of the quorum of the 12 apostles.  I confused Richard G. Scott with Russell M. Nelson.  I've never met these apostles, but through their conference talks I can hear their testimonies.  These are great men who set some great examples.  I know that they were called to be apostles in our time.  Their conference addresses are available for us to study.  I'm grateful for that technology.

Tom L. Perry

Boyd K. Packer

Richard G. Scott

Homecoming Dance 2015

Danni invited Brigham to the  Homecoming Dance.  She went with Jocelyn, and Kaylin.   They started off at Nielsen's, where I took some photos before they had dinner and headed off to the dance.  Danni met Brigham earlier in the school year and really likes him.  Danni said that she had a really good time with Brigham at the dance.

Brigham and Danni

Looks like they are having fun

Brigham asked me if he could kiss her on the cheek.

Danni with Kaylin and Jocelyn

Group Photo

Homecoming 2015

Spirit Week - I love the themes that student council come up with for Homecoming's Spirit Week.  Angela got extra credit when she dressed up, so she participated along with Danni.  I was able to get a couple of pics of them matching.

Famous Couple - Mickey & Minnie

Homecoming Shirts - new idea this year

Homecoming Parade - Josh, Angela, and Kenzie watched the parade with me this year while Emily stayed home.  Danni was in the parade again this year.  She has been in the parade every 4 years.  This year, since she is in elite fitness, she helped her class pull a truck.  The girls pulled the truck with ropes while the boys pushed it.  It was a fun parade, but I really missed watching Josh march with the band.

Danni and Kaylin before the parade

Angela, Josh, and Kenzie

Danni pulling the car

Better shot while taking a rest

Homecoming Game - I watched the Homecoming Game with Joella and Josh.  Actually, Josh hung out with the band, so I hung out with Joella and watched Josh perform with the band.  It was a great game and Mesa High won 46 - 31.  Mesa High launches a firework for every touchdown they make, so there were a lot last night.

Josh and some senior friends

Playing the Sousaphone again

Josh and Zach - Josh played the clarinet too.

Homecoming Dance - Danni and Brigham went to the Homecoming Dance.  She planned the whole evening and she had a blast.  She just met Brigham in Elite Fitness and they seem to have hit it off.

Danni's dress

Danni and Brigham

Danni's Group

Throw Back ThursdayWaiting for Homecoming Parade

MHS has a homecoming parade that goes around the neighborhood and ends up at Mesa. Watching the parade with my girls has been a really fun tradition and is one of my favorite parts of homecoming week. This picture was taken when Josh was just a freshman at MHS.

Memorable MondaySandbagging

There was a storm that was coming in, so the leaders of our stake asked that some volunteers come help fill bags of sand for those neighborhoods who were flooded last year.  Since Josh was still was home, we went  to the fire station and helped fill the bags.  There were a ton of missionaries helping out, so we didn't really need to do much.  It was good to help the community.

I remember one summer when I lived in Salt Lake, we sandbagged to save home and business during a heavy runoff.  The snow in the mountains was melting too fast and caused a lot of flooding in the Salt Lake Valley.  I remember one Sunday when our church leaders told us to go home and help bag after Sacrament meeting.  It was such a great service and I know that it helped the community.  The sandbags we filled helped save homes and businesses.  I know that we worked on a Sunday, but the community needed our help.

Throw Back ThursdayIndian Dwellings

Josh, Danni, and Emily made Indian dwellings in 5th grade. Angela was in a special Ed program and their class didn't make one. Each Indian dwelling is so different and took more time to make than I thought. Since Emily is my youngest, I wanted to show them all in one picture.

Emily's Indian Dwelling

All 3 Indian Dwellings

Memorable MondayTempe Park Fields

In honor of 9-11, an organization put up a flag for every individual lost during that tragic day as well as those who lost their lives during the few months of the war in Afghanistan.  I wanted to see the fields to see the enormity of that tragic day.  My kids are too young to understand what happened and how their world changed because of it.  Looking back, I'm not sure that I realized how much our world changed because of that fateful day.  

Memorable MondayTeenage Years

Activities - I was involved in Orchestra and Mt. Jordan and Jordan High.  I got involved in 3 high school musicals: Oklahoma, Damn Yankees, and the King and I.  I also did a community musical called the Brigadoon where I played the Bass..  I also participated in the Dixieland Band after school playing the bass.  I also participated in many solo and ensembles, finally doing a solo during my senior year. Most of my traveling was going on trips with the Band and Orchestra.

I learned how to drive in school through Driver's Ed.  They had vehicles that we could drive.  I did horrible on the first drive in the subdivision.  I didn't want to drive anymore after that.  The next day, I had to drive the range on campus and felt much better about driving after that.  We drove the road 3 times and the range 3 time. The roads were divided into subdivisions up to the freeway.  By the time it was my turn to drive on the freeway,  my driving improved.

My driving test was not easy and I barely passed the eye test because I didn't understand the directions.  I don't really remember  the written test, but I passed it.  I barely passed the driving portion.  I was the only one on the range and didn't look for other cars.  Opps!!  I did pass the test, but barely.  Once, I could drive, my mom took advantage and had me driving a lot.  My dad had to work a lot out of state and I had to take him to and from the airport.

Best Friends - Stephanie Bacher and Rachelle Anderson were my church friends and Tracie Price, Lorraine Rogers, and Suzzanne Tate were friends from orchestra.

Dating Life - I didn't date much., but I did go to a couple of dances.  The first dance was a homecoming dance.  A boy that really liked me asked me but I didn't like him at all.  My mom was so excited for me so I went.  I hated the dance and cut up the  picture after the dance.  I admit that wasn't very nice, but I didn't want to remember it.  My senior year, I went to the senior dance with a friend.  We went stag, I paid my way and he paid his way so it wasn't a date.  It was fun and I enjoyed being with my friends.

Throw Back ThursdayMy Girls

I just love this sweet picture of these sweet girls. Danni helped her sisters this morning and drove them to school today while I took Josh to ASU. She looks after her sisters.

Memorable MondayEarly Years

I grew up in Sugarhouse, Vernal, Kearns, and Sandy. I have some memories of Vernal and Kearns but not before. 

Most of my childhood memories were in Sandy.  I remember playing flag in the backyard, neighborhood baseball in the street, and cars in the dirt.  Lisa and I would cut of stuff from magazines and play paper dolls.  It would occupy a lot of time.  We didn't have a lot of Barbies so this activity worked for us.  There was a field and gully not far from our house that we would go to and walk around, ride bikes, and just hang out.  

• I attended Maeser Elementary for grades K-2\
• I attended a school in Kearns, but not long enough to remember much except the last day to withdrawal.
• I attended 3rd grade at Sunrise Elementary.
• I attended Sprucewood for 4th & 5th Grade.

Best Friends - I only remember having 1 good friend, Stephanie Bacher, during my early years. She would always play with me at recess when I was alone.  It meant a lot to me that she would play with me.  She was a friend of mine from Sunrise Elementary to Jordan High.  She is one of my best friends and even came to my wedding and I visited to her several times in Salt Lake.    

Throw Back ThursdayLambda Delta Sigma

On Sunday, I went to our Stake Standards Night with Angela. The keynote speaker was Bro. Meacham, who was my institute teacher at MCC. He was also our priesthood advisor of the church sponsor sorority through the institute. After the fireside, I talked with him about those fun days. The institute program has changed and Lamda Delt is no longer apart of it. I will remember those days and how that program helped me greatly.