In honor of Grandma's memory, we took the kids to Sea World while we were in California. I just wish she could have joined us one more time.
Ellie feeding a sting ray.
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Sea World
Growing up we visited Grandma and Grandpa in San Diego every summer. These visits always included a trip to Sea World. Grandma LOVED Sea World! The last time we visited Grandma in her home 4 years ago, before she had to move, we took her with us to Sea World for her last visit.
In honor of Grandma's memory, we took the kids to Sea World while we were in California. I just wish she could have joined us one more time.
Ellie feeding a sting ray.
In honor of Grandma's memory, we took the kids to Sea World while we were in California. I just wish she could have joined us one more time.
Ellie feeding a sting ray.
Dancing Queen
After the funeral, we raced home to make Janey's clogging recital. She's worked so hard on her piece we didn't want to miss it. (Besides, I paid $70 for the costume!) We arrived home just in time to get her there. She was great!Pioneer Trek
Yes, this is all still the same week! We arrived home from CA, attended the recital, gutted the car and packed for our family Pioneer Trek. We got up at 4:00 am the next morning (Thursday) and left for our Pioneering adventure at Martin's cove in Wyoming.
Everything is more fun with cousins!
Grandma and Aunt Emily made it all possible! They bought all the food and pre-cooked all our amazing meals. The pioneers never ate this good!
The hand carts weighed 180 lbs, BEFORE we put all our gear in them!
Add some dirt, scruff and sunburn and my hubby only gets more handsome!
Everything is more fun with cousins!
Grandma and Aunt Emily made it all possible! They bought all the food and pre-cooked all our amazing meals. The pioneers never ate this good!
The hand carts weighed 180 lbs, BEFORE we put all our gear in them!
Add some dirt, scruff and sunburn and my hubby only gets more handsome!Daniel taking an after lunch snooze in an empty hand cart.
The toddlers got to ride in covered wagons when they got too tired to walk. Whitney and her best friend Natalie, who we adopted and brought along, spent most of the trek pulling the kiddie wagons.
Aunt Em made everyone's day with smores around the camp fire!
Steve says he would never want to hit the trail without his mom along. She was so fun, a hearty pioneer and made all these beautiful pioneer dresses for us!
All the youth gathered around our campfire to hear Steve's comedy skits. He's so funny! The youth in the camp really enjoyed each other.
Our pioneer Family!
The toddlers got to ride in covered wagons when they got too tired to walk. Whitney and her best friend Natalie, who we adopted and brought along, spent most of the trek pulling the kiddie wagons.
Aunt Em made everyone's day with smores around the camp fire!
Steve says he would never want to hit the trail without his mom along. She was so fun, a hearty pioneer and made all these beautiful pioneer dresses for us!
All the youth gathered around our campfire to hear Steve's comedy skits. He's so funny! The youth in the camp really enjoyed each other.
Our pioneer Family!Square dancing, pioneer stories, camp fires, the pony express, amazing wind that threatened to blow us away, neat families, mosquitoes, great food, 12 1/2 miles of trail, and gorgeous country made our trek an amazing experience. It also gave us a glimpse into the sacrifices our pioneer ancestors made for us to have religious freedom. We came away with a new appreciation and perspective for their faith and sacrifices.
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Simulations Week by Whitney
This week Steve and I attended the American Youth Leadership Simulations Week. It is a totally awesome week long event that is held every year. There were 4 different simulations to chose from. I participated om the State Legislative one were the participants were assigned the persona of a representative of the Utah State Legislature. All week I was known as Rebecca Lockhart. The first two days it was mind numbingly realistic. But after a brief chat with one of the mentors, the globe was sent careening into a global government take over. It was ann insane adrenaline pumping crisis that we had to solve in time before the world basically self-imploded.
Ahhh, much better.
I love simulations week, it's so awesome and I can't wait until next year!
(Note by mom)
Whitney had the chance to present her bill at the Utah State Capitol in the council chambers. By all accounts she did very well and held her own.
Steve also enjoyed the artist simulation.
Ahhh, much better.
I love simulations week, it's so awesome and I can't wait until next year!
(Note by mom)
Whitney had the chance to present her bill at the Utah State Capitol in the council chambers. By all accounts she did very well and held her own.
Steve also enjoyed the artist simulation.
Sunday, June 6, 2010
What's on my Mind
I've had allergies this week like I've never experienced before. The kind that make you want to crawl in a hole and die. This afternoon, when I was ready to do just that, my mom called to say it may be time to come say goodbye to Grandma. Her health took a sudden turn for the worst this last week and it shocking to see the life drained from her now pale and sunken face and her walker traded in for a wheelchair. Mercifully, the allergy meds kicked in about the same time as the phone call, and Steve and I rushed down to the assisted living to spend sometime with Grandma.
So, tonight's original line up of a Webelos Hike, a Girl Scout Cookie Party, a cousin's baptism, and a Teen Writer's Conference has been preempted by what's most on mind. Memories with my Grandma.
I'm the oldest grandchild on my mother's side and have always had a very close and special relationship with my Grandparents. As we sat with Grandma this evening, and I rubbed her feet and legs to relieve some of the pain she was feeling, it reminded me of all of the times she rubbed my back when I was little. Every trip to San Diego I would ask to sleep on the little blue couch in my Grandparents' bedroom. In the morning, when it was still dark, I would climb into bed with Grandma and we'd exchange back rubs. We loved to write secret messages on each other's backs and then try to guess what the other had written. Now that I have a daughter of my own that likes to climb in bed with me, before I'm ready to get up on the weekend, I realize that maybe it was an inconvenience for me to pounce on my Grandparents at 5:00 or 6:00 am. If it was, they never let on. My Grandparents always made me feel like the most special person in the world.
Because we never lived in the same state, saying goodbye to my Grandparents was always hard. Sometimes I'd hide in their car trying to steal away with them, or chase their car down the street as far as I could run. Occasionally I got to fly to California and visit all by myself. Back in the pre-9/11 world, they would let my Grandma walk right on the plane with me and get me settled and say goodbye. Once, we were so wrapped up in our tears and goodbyes that the plane actually started taxiing down the runway before we realized what was happening! They had to turn around and roll stairs up to the plane for Grandma to disembark.
It was hard to see Grandma, who was once so vibrant and the center of everything in my world, hurting and ailing tonight. She smiled and perked up as each of my siblings arrived to visit. It's hard to know how long she still has. She may join Grandpa on the other side any day, or be with us still for months to come, but I do know that saying "goodbye" will always be hard.
So, tonight's original line up of a Webelos Hike, a Girl Scout Cookie Party, a cousin's baptism, and a Teen Writer's Conference has been preempted by what's most on mind. Memories with my Grandma.
I'm the oldest grandchild on my mother's side and have always had a very close and special relationship with my Grandparents. As we sat with Grandma this evening, and I rubbed her feet and legs to relieve some of the pain she was feeling, it reminded me of all of the times she rubbed my back when I was little. Every trip to San Diego I would ask to sleep on the little blue couch in my Grandparents' bedroom. In the morning, when it was still dark, I would climb into bed with Grandma and we'd exchange back rubs. We loved to write secret messages on each other's backs and then try to guess what the other had written. Now that I have a daughter of my own that likes to climb in bed with me, before I'm ready to get up on the weekend, I realize that maybe it was an inconvenience for me to pounce on my Grandparents at 5:00 or 6:00 am. If it was, they never let on. My Grandparents always made me feel like the most special person in the world.
Because we never lived in the same state, saying goodbye to my Grandparents was always hard. Sometimes I'd hide in their car trying to steal away with them, or chase their car down the street as far as I could run. Occasionally I got to fly to California and visit all by myself. Back in the pre-9/11 world, they would let my Grandma walk right on the plane with me and get me settled and say goodbye. Once, we were so wrapped up in our tears and goodbyes that the plane actually started taxiing down the runway before we realized what was happening! They had to turn around and roll stairs up to the plane for Grandma to disembark.
It was hard to see Grandma, who was once so vibrant and the center of everything in my world, hurting and ailing tonight. She smiled and perked up as each of my siblings arrived to visit. It's hard to know how long she still has. She may join Grandpa on the other side any day, or be with us still for months to come, but I do know that saying "goodbye" will always be hard.
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Happy 60th!
If my Dad thought he was going to quietly turn 60, boy was he wrong. We - his kids - threw a (mostly) surprise party on his birthday for extended family and neighborhood/ward friends. (When my mom insisted that they refinish the deck NOW, he thought something was in the wind.) It was wonderful to see all the people who came out to share his big day. Happy Birthday Dad!One Little Indian
Janey's Liberty Girls club studied American Indians all semester, through the American Girls, Kaya series. Saturday was a pow wow for all the families to be able to see what the girls had been learning. I especially loved the headbands and moccasins they made this year.The Shakespeare Showdown by Steve L.
Shakespeare Showdown! We got up at 6:00, ugh, and drove to the drop off point. And it was snowing. I mean winter was over 3 months ago, for crying out loud! Well we all piled into one of the leaders vans and drove about an hour to Heber Valley Camp. Interesting thing, it's actually a young women's camp, but a very nice facility. (Much nicer than a boy scout camp!) We got to sleep in really nice cabins, instead of tents, which was pretty dang awesome.
The Shakespeare Showdown is a special event where Shakespeare conquest groups from around Utah get to come together and do lots of fun stuff. After getting lunch, we watched a performance of "The Merry Wives of Windsor" performed by one of the other troops. All the troops who came performed their play they had learned this year. After the performance and dinner we hung out and played board games for the rest of the night. The next morning, we were rudely awakened by the girls from our troop banging on our cabin door. We got up and ate breakfast, consisting of a bagel and cream cheese, not my idea of breakfast, and then we got ready to perform our play.
Many of you have seen my play "A Comedy of Errors" which I hope you liked. The play went off without a hitch. Of course we couldn't bring along all our props from our actual performance, so instead of using our nice hardwood door, we had to use a piece of duct taped cardboard. Thank goodness it worked. We performed to a full house.
Then we gathered in the main pavilion for a hilarious performance of "Shakin Spear Experience" performed by the staff. They had taken numerous Shakespeare plays and, shall we say "converted" them into different styles. Such as, a five minute "Romeo and Juliet" western, a silent movie "Macbeth", and my favorite, a High School Musical "Hamlet." The day also had a few more performances and workshops.
The next morning, we were again awakened by the girls banging. But, quick thinking Javen, jumped out of his bunk, opened the door and yelled "boo" mid-bang, making half the girls scream and the other half fall on the floor laughing. After another "delicious" breakfast of homemade yogurt and granola, the day was filled with a devotional and workshops on acting. We left the scene about noon and slept all the way home. We had an awesome time.
The Shakespeare Showdown is a special event where Shakespeare conquest groups from around Utah get to come together and do lots of fun stuff. After getting lunch, we watched a performance of "The Merry Wives of Windsor" performed by one of the other troops. All the troops who came performed their play they had learned this year. After the performance and dinner we hung out and played board games for the rest of the night. The next morning, we were rudely awakened by the girls from our troop banging on our cabin door. We got up and ate breakfast, consisting of a bagel and cream cheese, not my idea of breakfast, and then we got ready to perform our play.
Many of you have seen my play "A Comedy of Errors" which I hope you liked. The play went off without a hitch. Of course we couldn't bring along all our props from our actual performance, so instead of using our nice hardwood door, we had to use a piece of duct taped cardboard. Thank goodness it worked. We performed to a full house.
Then we gathered in the main pavilion for a hilarious performance of "Shakin Spear Experience" performed by the staff. They had taken numerous Shakespeare plays and, shall we say "converted" them into different styles. Such as, a five minute "Romeo and Juliet" western, a silent movie "Macbeth", and my favorite, a High School Musical "Hamlet." The day also had a few more performances and workshops.
The next morning, we were again awakened by the girls banging. But, quick thinking Javen, jumped out of his bunk, opened the door and yelled "boo" mid-bang, making half the girls scream and the other half fall on the floor laughing. After another "delicious" breakfast of homemade yogurt and granola, the day was filled with a devotional and workshops on acting. We left the scene about noon and slept all the way home. We had an awesome time.
Sunday, May 23, 2010
The Windy City
Steve and I took our traditional, annual trip this week, this time to Chicago. Although it's a working vacation for both of us, we still manage to relax and have a lot of fun. Steve worked at the conference booth for the first 2 days, while I did my summer and fall/winter school planning. The third day they were short at the booth, so I got don a work Jersey and help reel people in for their presentation. That was the working part. For the relaxing part we read, napped, took baths, went walking, ate out, went to the movies, sight seeing, and caught a Cub's baseball game. Three trip highlights for me were the Architectural Boat Tour (thanks for the suggestion Brooke and Luke!), singing "Take Me out to the Ball Game" during the 7th inning stretch with Steve's boss, and the "Chocolate Bag." Steve had this dessert on a trip to Chicago 14 years ago and has talked about it ever since. Now I know why!
Ellie's First Recital
For months, Ellie has talked non-stop about being able to dance on a stage for her recital. The big day finally arrived and she couldn't have been happier. She performed a ballet number "Kimbo Bop" and a tap number "The Codfish Ball." Ellie takes her dancing seriously, and while most of the class stood frozen on the stage, she tried hard to remember and perform all the moves. The highlight of her evening was receiving her first dance trophy at the end of the performance.
Sunday, May 16, 2010
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