Halloween Fun

Whatever happened to pretty princesses and cute hobos from the country? As usual, our girls did their best to have a great, spooky Halloween. Brad and I went over to the Schaubs for some yummy fry bread for dinner. There, we had a nice evening with couples in the ward just chatting and watching the cute kids come for candy. We went home and found Aly's group eating ice-cream....it's a tradition.....and they were hungry! Once again, they had fun party hopping. AND a harmless costume, which I appreciated.

Her friends included Justin, Brittany, her fellow bumble-bee, and Ashley

Then we get a call from Jacque, who is struggling with super glue...I'll let her tell that story...and I ask her to come home and show me her costume. Maybe that wasn't such a great idea. Maybe it's better NOT to know what young adults dream of being when they grow up. Maybe mothers just need to remember their sweet daughters in princess costumes...instead of this....

Remember the super glue??? I'll let her explain...or better yet? Just look for the missing eyebrows next time you see her!

It was a lot of fun seeing the super amazing costumes of all the cousins! Their moms are quite remarkable and I love them! My poor parents went thru 3 large bags of Costco candy, all the extra bags of candy in the house and then some donated from the grand-kids candy all to keep the 300+ kids happy that come to their house! Oh MY!!!!

A Blonde, a Brunette & a Red-head...

....go to San Diego for some girl fun over Fall break and they had a blast.

These three - Jessica, Lorraine and Aly - spent 4 days playing on the beach, eating bagels and all sorts of food, going to the zoo and stopping by the San Diego Temple. They made it back safe and in one piece...imagine that! Here is a quick glimpse of some of the fun they had

Back here at home...it was very quiet. No raucous parties, no funny jokes or one-liners texts from our youngest child. (Yes, Jacque is here, but she is deep into studies!!) How can we tell when she returns??
The shoes...it tells the whole story!

Music

Have you ever thought of how music has been part of your life? What moments can you remember that music has touched your life? Aly had her first HHS Choir concert and they ended the program with a song called The Music Makers. The words hit my soul. I thought of all the times I have listened to music and had my testimony strengthened. Every time I sing the hymn This is the Christ, my heart soars and I have a special witness to the divinity of my Savior. Or, how about the last conference as O, Divine Redeemer was sung? Did that not touch your heart??
Other Music moments that come to mind:

Listening to the Messiah, especially when my Mom has accompanied on the organ. Who can NOT say their heart is touched as the Hallelujah Chorus is sung?

Singing You Are My Sunshine to Jacque when she was a little girl. I would sing it, but change the words and she would always correct me...."Mom..the skies are gray, not purple!"

Singing the Carpenter's "Close to You" to my sweet baby boy as a lullaby.

Coming home as a teenager from the first showing of Saturday's Warrior and singing the songs all the way back to Tucson.

Going to LA with my mom and sister to see the Phantom of the Opera and LOVING the music. Other musicals as well!

Telling my daughters about Michael Buble for the first time. They were skeptical at first and now?? We all swoon at ALL his songs!! It's part of our Sunday-go-to-Grammy/Grampy's house-for-dinner routine!

Reading the hymns and listening to their message as I recuperated from Chemo.

Having favorite "cleaning" music every Saturday

Listening to Christmas music starting in November
And the list goes on and on. Here are the words to "We are the Music Makers"...

We are the music makers and we are the dreamers of dreams,
Wandering by lone sea breakers, and sitting by desolate streams.
World losers, world forsakers, on whom the pale moon gleams;
Yet, we are the movers and shakers of the world forever; it seems.
We are the music makers, and we are the makers of song;
Within our hearts a melody that beautifully rights all the wrong.
Our voices, united, offer a gift of love,
Touching every spirit with passion, and emotion;
We give you a song.
Sometimes your life holds sorrow, and life seems all in vain;
The healing power of music can ease the anguish and pain.
No matter what life holds for you, or what the past has been,
Throughout all eternity, music has no end, no end!
For we are the music makers and we are the makers of songs,
Within our hearts a melody that beautifully rights all wrong.
Our voices, united offer a gift of love,
Touching every spirit with passion and emotion,
We give you a song, a song,
We give you a song!

And here is where you can go to listen: HHS Choir

Happy Birthday Aaron!

Look at that smile! Not much has changed. His eyes still laugh. You can see the love in his eyes and as a Mom, I feel that love from this wonderful son each day. He has always been ultra protective of his sisters and loves to spend time with them...whenever he can. One of my favorite stories about his genuine care for his sisters? Jacque and Aly remember Aaron making up a menu for them to "choose" their dinner options from when he babysat for them.....many years ago.
He loves to cook...always has. When he was growing up, I could always count on Aaron to try out my new recipes and give me feedback. He was always asking: "What's for dinner? Trying something new??" I loved that about him. He still cooks and he still wants to know what we are having for dinner...and he is 2300 miles away!

Even tho he is far away, Aaron finds time to share his life with us. He has so many fun adventures in Vermont. He is still chasing fire-engines in all his "spare time". Not only does he call me often to see how I'm doing in school or just in general, he calls his grandparents often just to say "Hi". That's just the type of guy he is. I love his phone calls. They make me smile. They always start my day or end my day with something to laugh about. I feel blessed to have this son care so much about me and all of his family. That hasn't changed either. He has a real talent of knowing how to help others, taking time out of his busy day to make a difference and showing his love in everyday actions. Who else would feed those missionaries in Vermont??

He and Savannah are quite the traveling couple. Here they are at Niagara Falls, looking happy and in love...just the way it should be. They have alot of opportunities coming their way soon...we are so excited for them!! He is graduating in December and we hope he can find a job closer to family....I know...it has to be somewhere where it is cool! His course of study is something he absolutely loves....since he was a child. Can we all remember the handcuffs?? the fingerprint cards?? The little notebooks with 'ticket' citations? His love for details is now working for his benefit and giving him opportunities to work in a very interesting field.

This is one of my all time favorite pictures. You know the saying..."like father, like son"? Aaron has many of the same qualities as his father. The best quality, I think, is that he cares. He puts his family first. Oh...and he is a gadget/computer whiz!!

Poor Aaron didn't think I would remember his birthday. PSHHHHH!! He is our oldest and not a day goes by that I don't thank my Heavenly Father for such a caring son. His strength and love has been a source of strength to me. I am the lucky one! I feel blessed to call him my son.

LOVE YOU Aaron!!

Homecoming Part 2

Here is a sneak peak of Homecoming Day. Their date included eating at In-N-Out, ice-skating and treats at Bahama Bucks. She is so beautiful and they looked amazing together. More pictures to come...

Nursing Student 101

I thought it would be fun to post something about Jacque's experiences at ASU's Nursing School. We have learned a few things along the way. Grading is different in some classes. 90% is NOT an "A". It's a "B". And below 77%....well, good-bye! Her hardest class is Pharmacology as she tries to learn all about medicine, dosages and side effects.

She has the most fun with her group - known as D5. They have classes and clinicals together and she says they are the best!
Right now, she is working with a Pre-school and at an "Elders" home. AND learning very interesting procedures!

SUTURES!

How to change a bed...with the person still in bed...

So far, it is everything Jacque imagined. Sure it's hard and she is studying quite a bit. But she loves it and we know she will make a great nurse!

Beware...she may need a guinea pig to poke or work on pretty soon!!

Random-isms

Thought I would post some random things going on in my life:

Did you know that when we have irrigation, it's like the duck population congregates for their bi-weekly meetings. This past week was no exception. This time is was down-right scary. Usually we can count about 40 and this time....it was a population explosion. Brad asked me to close the park's irrigation valve and I said... "rriiiiight. The ducks are going to attack me". I sent Jacque later!

I am having so much fun in school this semester.......kind-of.....well, it's not what I thought it would be. First of all, my history class is a compact class....meaning...that instead of 16 weeks, it's only 9 weeks. What does that mean? It means having a summer class in the fall....reading every night and exams every week. It means lots of extra work in a small amount of time. I actually love this class. I've forgotten alot about how our country evolved and the inspiration that our founding fathers had in developing our liberties and democracy. Something I didn't know? Why isn't the mail delivered on the Sabbath? I'm sure you have asked yourselves that many times! I will tell you, since I just read about it and wrote a mini-essay on it. During the Industrial Revolution, the rising middle class had more morals and wanted a religious foundation as part of their lifestyle. The upper and lower class had their own issues and religion was not a priority. This temperance movement entailed many preachers and religions trying to convert others to a more religious society. They decided that the observance of the Sabbath was critical. A few ministers, thru rallies and boycotts eventually demanded that the Union stop transporting mail on Sundays. Other companies did not agree, but this Sabbath day observance has lasted thru the years......interesting!

My other class is college algebra. It's a hybrid class meaning you only go once a week and do the rest online with your "group" and by yourself. I didn't know this class was a hybrid, and have struggled with this set-up. For our finance section, we had to pick 10 stocks, invest $2500 and watch them grow....or deplete...for the next month. The pressure is that whoever loses the most also loses 25 points off his/her grade. I'm stressing on this one. Stupid stock market keeps going down. I know this will apply to everyone, but I have worked too hard to get every point I can and to lose 25 because I don't know the ins and outs of the market is out of my control. Good thing I don't do this with real money for a living!!

Homecoming Part 1

Another LAST milestone for our last daughter, our last HS dilemma of waiting and waiting and waiting until someone asks....you know, to get asked to go to the dance?? One of Aly's responsibilities for Student Council is to plan the Homecoming dance...so she was kind-of hoping that she would be asked. And Wa-la!!

She almost caught him as she ran out the door, but he got away.....
It's a pirate theme...

It said:

We hear about booty hunters all the time
Swabbis lookin for more that they will ere find
Ther be dubloon an' silver, precious gems an' jewels
Them who be searchin
end up bein fools
So guess that be what I be;
as I be lookin' for ye
I need a date fer homecomin'
an' I be leavin' ye a clue.
Thar be signs an' symbols
all around us, aye.
Jus' look t' th' stars
t' help ye find yer way!

The funny part?? It didn't have his name. It said to look in the stars...so she went outside and looked at the stars....nothing. I was cracking up. He had told me that it would really "get" her if he made her wait....and he was right!! I like this guy!! The next day, he came while she was at school and put stars on her ceiling in his initials....

So, we answered:

Aye, th’ stars were aligned
all proper they say
found ye, my matey
in the broadlight of day!
Now I’ve found the booty
and since I’m so nice
thought I would share with ye
ye might look twice!

Look for more pictures this coming week...her dress is gorgeous!!

To My Mom..

My mom's birthday was last week. No, I didn't forget. How could I forget my mom?? We are always on Mt. Graham around the Labor Day weekend (pictures and post to follow), so I rarely get to spend Mom's birthday-day with her. This year was no different. But she never complains or never makes me feel bad. That isn't my mom. Today, we celebrated her birthday as a family. Let me share some things about my mom that just make me smile:

She loves me the most! I just know it. She always calls to ask how I am doing, what I am doing and at least once a week, she treats me to lunch. I know I have other sisters...but I am SURE she loves me the most!

My mom is always laughing, always smiling and rarely, RARELY takes a serious picture. This is on Mother's Day.

"Mom....can we just get a picture. I'm going to blog this, you know".

Her grandkids love the fact that she is funny, silly and quite like them when getting a picture taken. I'm not going to post some of the pictures that actually might just embarrass my lovable mom!

My mom has always been my best friend. When I was growing up, I didn't really ever have a "best" friend. I had my mom. She always told me how beautiful I was/am. She always gave me encouragement as I pursued my music. She took me out to lunch and to the mall when I was having bad day. She stayed up late with me when I needed to talk to someone and she cried with me when I needed a good cry. (high school can do that to you!)

Today isn't much different. She still tells me how beautiful I am. Even when I had different hair-styles or no hair, she told me that I was beautiful. She still gives me encouragement when I am pursuing new interests and tells me I can accomplish anything I set my mind to. She loves to spend time with me, especially at our favorite lunch spot, Subway. It really is quite fun to beat her to the cash register and pay for HER lunch. Boy, want to see her a little miffed?? Try paying for lunch once in a while!! And when I need a shoulder to cry or complain on (and Brad is at work, of course!) she is there, always, whenever I need a friend to share my life with...she is there.

Today, we celebrated Mom's/Grammy's birthday - Rogers' style. Her favorite dinner (enchiladas) with as many as possible grandkids around her. We all adore our Grammy. She is always the one who comes to concerts, luncheons at the school, the hospital when we are sick, games and anything else all these kids are involved in....and we are missing the Roberts, the Goodmans and Aaron and Savannah....they all love her!!

Here she is, opening our "present" to her. It's a collection of all the years we have had a family fashion show. Wow....some of these grandkids have changed quite a bit since 2002!!

And these sweet Olivers made the cutest card for their grammy!

Mom - Someday, I want to be just like you!! I love you!!

You just NEVER know...

We have been admonished over and over to have an ample supply of food and water in case of an emergency. We always wonder when that emergency will happen. Will Brad lose his job? Will the stores close their businesses? Will your water supply dry up? Especially in Arizona??

OR

just maybe during the night, let's say around 12:00 midnight when you are filling up the jacuzzi with warm water in hopes of relaxing and getting to sleep, (after all, you have just finished your history assignment at 11:46, due AT midnight!!) and your water starts sputtering and yellow water comes out of the sprocket. Needless to say, I quickly got out. I let Brad know and he said we would look at it in the morning. 4:00 a.m. comes along and Brad realizes we have a huge problem. We have no water in our house, and Jacque needs to wash her hair at 6:00 a.m.

THAT is where I'm so thankful I have been partially obedient to the counsel of our Prophet and leaders. I go to the garage and bring out one 5-gal container of water and wa-la we have water to wash hair, brush teeth and do the BASICS!

However -

the problem is not fixed and I have decided that having a husband that knows about building houses and all the ins and outs of plumbing is a blessing, a real blessing. He has been working all morning to fix the problem and we still have this:

Really, showers are over-rated!! But listening and obeying are NOT!!

Happy Birthday Tyler!!

24 years old....some things never change and in some ways...Tyler just keeps getting better. He has always had a smile that could light up a room, make you laugh and behind that twinkle in his eye, you just knew he was thinking of something to do. - That hasn't changed!


Who knows when his love for motorcycles began. Probably up at Mt. Graham, where he became the main guy for rides. ALL the little kids would follow him around and with his big heart for those little ones, he was always taking them for a ride. Of course, he loved to get his Grandma behind him as well!!




His tastes have changed a little!

Another thing that hasn't changed much is his love for little kids. As long as I can remember, he has always had a baby in his arms. His best "pals" included Lincoln, (they use to match on Sunday evenings) Todd, (he was the first to ask for a motorcycle ride every day up on the mountain) and of course any baby that he can hold.

To me, one of the best things about Tyler is his ability to love. He always tells me that he loves me as we end our phone calls, he expresses his love to his father and especially, I see it in his eyes for his wonderful and lovely wife, Jenny. Working 6-12 hours a day, going to school and getting ready to be a dad is all in a days work for this wonderful son of ours. We love him and can't wait to watch him care for his baby girl. He will make a great father...we are just wondering how long it will take before she is riding with her dad on a motorcycle!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TYLER!!

Beauty is a Duty!

Me: (at 6:45 a.m.) "Hey, those are really cute shoes...but don't they hurt?
Aly: "Yes"
Me: "Then why do you wear them?"
Aly: "Because they MATCH!!"

Duh!!