It's the Holiday Season

Well, it has been a LONG time since we have posted anything.  Our Thanksgiving was great.  We spent the afternoon at my parents church building having a great dinner and lots of fun.  All of the women in the family were in charge of a centerpiece and the tables looked really festive!  I think everyone ate well and played hard.  Robert and I took the motorhome and went down to Payson on Wednesday and stayed until Saturday.  It was a nice little "Vacation" away from home and we needed the time to unwind.  December started out busy like always when you have a kid in VE. (vocal ensemble)  Daniel had three performances last week and he has five this week.  This week he will be singing at a Relief Society Christmas Party, a High Council Party, downtown at the Joseph Smith Building, the Church Museum and the Assembly Hall (all on the same night) and he will be singing two nights in the Forgotten Carols.  The Assembly Hall and the Forgotten Carols will be the whole Concert Choir and the others are the vocal ensemble.  We have a good time going to all of the events.  We also have two Christmas dinners this week.  I think I will be glad when school is out for the holiday because maybe we can then rest a little.  We have been doing some Christmas Shopping and getting ready for the Christmas fun.  It is fun to have a small child to shop for again.  Robert is doing so much better and is not taking any painkillers anymore, not even the Tylenol.  He takes an anti-inflammatory medication but that is all.  He still has pain and gets tired but he is definitely on the road to full recovery.  Pfizer is downsizing in January, but mostly in another specialty and not his.  I think we will still have a job by the end of January.  Rumor has it they are laying off up to 60% of the primary care sales force but I think it is more like 25% (horrible, but better that it is not more than half)  They are laying off more management than anyone.  Robert will get a new manager, regional manager and vice president, but he will keep the same partner. (That is if we truely make the cut).  So, life is exciting and a little crazy but we are all fine and we hope to stay that way.  Happy Holidays to everyone.

Daniel the triple threat!

First of all, if you don't know what "triple threat" is it means someone who can sing, dance and act.  Our Daniel has shown all signs of being able to do all three things well.  He has definitely proved that he can with his role in "Seussical, the Musical" at Hillcrest High School this week.  If you want to read a nice review, read Cole and Jessica's blog.  This musical is amazing, it is colorful, loud, fun and something is always happening.  The best thing about it is that all 11 people who play leads are not people that would normally be expected to get leads in a musical.  They have all given 110% and they are showing incredible poise, grace and talent!  This is a show where everyone is singing, dancing, running, on the move all the time.  It is extremely fun to watch and participate in.  I have seen it three times and I will be seeing it for the remaining two performances as well.  There is something new to notice in it every time you see it.  Of course I love Dr. Seuss and that helps too.  This show consists of many of Dr. Seuss' stories all put together in a new tale.  It is rhyming fun!  If anyone wants to come see it, it still runs tonight (11/14 and 11/15) and tomorrow.  I am proud of my Daniel, he is incredible!

We have a star!

On Wednesday Hillcrest High School will open their musical "Seussical".  Daniel is playing the part of the "Boy" and JoJo".  Essentially, the boy is the one who imagines the whole show and at some point he is inserted into the show as a "Who" in whoville named JoJo.  This show takes parts of many Seuss stories and weaves them all together.  I had the opportunity (and HUGE job) of being a big part of costuming.  One week I cut out 60 costumes and distrubuted them for sewing.  Yesterday I made 13 pairs of bloomers.  The first of the week I sewed 6 buttons onto each of 19 jackets.  I have made vests, ties and altered all kinds of things.  Today was the day that I got my dining room, which has been covered in Yellow fabric, cleaned up and looking like a dining room again.  I got to sew mostly yellow because that is what color Whos wear (for the Horton hears a Who part of the show). The jackets were blue but the buttons were yellow!  I got to see Daniel do his solo and also his duet with Horton the other day at practice.  I can't wait to see the whole show.  Everyone has worked very hard and Hillcrest always offers quality shows.  It opens on Wednesday, November 12 and ends on Saturday November 15.

How the body works

Yesterday we had the coolest experience. For family home evening Rob and Stephanie and Daniel and I went to the Bodyworlds exhibit at Library square downtown. They have actual organ and cadavers which are posed and displayed to exhibit the workings of the human body. They are prepared by a process called "plastinatin" where the water and fat in the bodies are replaced by liquid plastic. They have all of the circulatory systems (that is a lot of vessels believe me!) the skeletal systems, the muscle systems, the brain, all the organs, etc. You can get an audio presentation to listen to at each exhibit. I don't think it would be good for little kids, but it is an awesome exhibit to see. They don't let you take pictures, so I can't put any here. It goes until the end of January, if you get a chance it is great! Actually, I found some picturs online, so here goes. The link to the exhibit is http://www.theleonardo.com/.

What a difference a minute makes

Wow! it only takes a minute to change your life! On Monday, September 29, Rob was climbing a ladder to paint trim on our house. I was inside making dinner and in only one minute, Cole and I heard a crash and a scream. That is a sound I can't think about, because it makes me sick to my stomach if I think about it. The ladder slid and Rob fell about 12 feet onto cement. Cole and I got outside fast and he was on with 911 before my brain ever registered to call. We had a huge crowd of neighbors in the yard and then an ambulance ride to Alta View Hospital. After four hours a CT scan and some x-rays, they told us that he had no concussion, no broken bones in his arm but SEVEN broken ribs and a mild pneumothorax. They wanted us to go to a better trauma center so we got another ambulance ride to IMC, the newest hospital in Salt Lake County. It is a beautiful hospital and we received excellent care. He was taken to trauma and classified as a "trauma 2". We were in the emergency room about 1 hour before he was admitted. We were in the hospital from very early Tuesday morning to Saturday afternoon. It has now been two weeks since the accident and Rob is doing well. He is off of one of the narcotics and he is moving around well. He had to come home with oxygen, which he is still on, because his lungs still have fluid in them. He is hoping to go back to work about the first of November. We were very blessed that he was not hurt much worse. He has pain, but every day he is getting strong. Life now is slow, because everything takes so much more time for him to do. We are looking forward to him being better and enjoying the holidays. As soon as I get some pictures on here, I will put one of the "giant pants" they gave him to wear in the hospital. They were 5X!

Tagged me too!

8 TV shows I like to watch:
1. Bones
2. ER
3. The Office
4. House
5.One Tree Hill
6. Keeping up Appearances
7. Buffy the Vampire Slayer (on DVD)
8. Angel (on DVD)

8 places I love to eat:
1. Applebees
2. Texas Roadhouse
3. Tucanos
4. Cafe Rio
5. Tiberon
6. Outback
7. Market Street Grill
8. Macaroni Grill

8 Things that happened yesterday:
1. Went to church
2. Took a nap
3. Fixed dinner
4. Visited with home teacher
5. Measured Daniel for his musical costumes
6. Fixed the tunic Daniel and the kids made for the Shakespeare Festival
7. Went to Chris and Brittany's for dessert.
8. Visited with some neighbors who brought Rob's oars back

8 Things I look forward to:

1. Christmas
2. Retirement
3. More grandkids
4. More kids marriages
5. The boys missions
6. A nice long trip
7. 5 years cancer free
8. Tomorrow

8 Things I love about fall:
1. Colored leaves
2. warm in the day, cool in the night
3. Halloween
4. Thanksgiving
5. Long walks
6. Long sleeve shirts
7. Jackets
8. Snuggling in the covers

8 Things on my wish list:
1. Reaching my goal weight
2. Continuing to exercise regularly
3. Eating well always
4. More grandkids someday
5. A long trip with Rob
6. Staying in bed all day
7. Finish painting the trim on the house
8. Always being happy

8 People I am tagging:

I am also not sure who reads this blog, if you do and you want to post, please do!

Things have changed!

It has been a long time since I have posted anything. In the meantime Stephanie and Nathan have moved to Provo to attend BYU. Stephanie is staying at the Alpine Apartments and Nathan is staying at Wyview Park (BYU campus housing). Stephanie is still working at the Provo Marriott and Nathan has a job at the MTC in the cafeteria. One of the perks of that job is that if there is a lot of food left over, the employees eat! He usually eats dinner for free 3 or 4 times a week. That is a true bonus for a student! Nathan is also singing in the University Chorale which he loves. Daniel has started his senior year at Hillcrest High School and now has a lead in the school musical "Seussical, the Musical". He is also the president of concert choir and a member of Vocal Ensemble along with being a member of the Productions Company (musical theater). He is very busy but having a great time. The biggest news is that Christopher is married! On Saturday, September 20 we spent the morning in the Salt Lake Temple with Chris and Brittany which was beautiful. We had a nice lunch at the church building and then a beatiful reception at Arbor Manor that evening. We were so tired by the time we got home that we slept well! We are happy to have Brittany in the family and we are very thankful for the support and love of our family and friends who attended with us that day. Here's hoping that everything is quiet for a while! I don't have any pictures right now, but when I get some I will add!

We have TWO more Eagle Scouts!.

Nathan and Daniel have earned their Eagle Scout Awards! We will be having the Court of Honor on Saturday, August 2. We are hoping many of our friends and family will be able to attend. We are very proud of their accomplishments and sorry that they have had to wait so long for me to get a Court of Honor going. Rob and I went camping for the 24th of July. We went up to Spruces in Big Cottonwood Canyon. We went on a short but pretty intense hike on Wednesday where I slid on some loose dirt going down the hill and twisted my knee pretty bad. So, on Thursday, I mostly sat with my leg up and ice on my knee while I wrote a talk for Sunday. Turned out that the new bishopric member who asked me to speak didn't realize that the High Councilor would bring his own speaking companion and I didn't speak after all! My knee is feeling a lot better now, I guess I need to be more careful next time we are hiking. Anyway the camping trip was very relaxing with no phones or kids or anyone wanting my attention or time. We really enjoyed it. August is looking like a very busy month coming up. Hope we get through it well! On thing that I am very proud of is the fact that I made a slide show DVD of the boys with music for the Court of Honor! I used to have them made when I needed them and then I thought that it would certainly be less expensive to buy software and do them myself. Once I learned the process, it was fun! Stephanie and Jessica were big helps as well! If you are at the Court of Honor, you will see the show!

Things go on as usual!

It has been a long time since I have written anything. Since graduation, we spent some time at Palisades State park with my family and had a really good time. All of our children were there with us at one time or another which is a miracle considering everyone's work schedules. Stephanie is still at the Provo Mariott where she works the 2:30 to 11 shift. Nathan and Daniel are doing an internship at the Jordan School District Office and they work Monday through Friday from 8:00 to 4:30. Cole is at the Downtown Hilton and he works usually the afternoon shift but sometimes the day shift. Jessica is at the Downtown Mariott where she usually works the afternoon shift as well. Everyone works different days and different times. We wanted to go camping for the 4th of July and didn't get a campsite soon enough so we stayed home and got some things done here. We are painting the trim on our house, (if you have seen our house, you know that is not a small job!) and we are not getting very far because it is so hot during the day we don't do much work on it until late evening. Our goal is to get it finished before the snow flies! Rob and I are hoping to go camping this week for a couple of days. One thing that has happened is that a new animal has come to our family. Christopher and Brittany have a little dog. When I say little it is more like TINY. Her name is Maddie and she is a miniature pincher. She is the runt of the litter and so is smaller than her siblings. She is seven weeks old they have had her for one week. Kyle thinks she is pretty neat! He loves dogs and cars a lot. Jessica and I have been taking Kyle out every morning so that we can exercise. We go to the park and walk about 2 miles. We are hoping to get more fit and be smaller in time. Everyone is happy and we are all healthy.

Nathan is a High School Graduate!

Nathan is an official high school graduate! He attended graduation on Tuesday, June3. He sang with concert choir and with vocal ensemble at the ceremony. He is looking forward to attending BYU in the fall and has just finalized his schedule! He has a room at Wyview Park and will move about the third week of August. This summer he has been accepted to an internship at the Jordan School District Office preparing documents for the district split next year. Daniel will also be working there with Nathan. We are very proud of Nathan's accomplishments and look forward to his success at college.

More about Daniel

Daniel DID make the productions company! He is excited to spend another year acting, singing and dancing. We don't know yet what the school musical will be, but the productions company revue will be a Disney Broadway Revue. They will include, Lion King, Tarzan, Little Mermaid, Mary Poppins and Newsies as well as other Disney shows. It will be great! Tonight was the pops concert which is the last concert VE has. Nathan had a lot of numbers and he is such a showman! He is very fun to listen to and to watch when he performs. He is closing his year out with a BANG! The choir officers were announced tonight as well and Daniel is the PRESIDENT! We were all surprised and very pleased for him. He is following in his siblings footsteps in the program, they have all been officers. We are proud of all our kids and we appreciate all the support and love they get.

Our Fifth and Final Vocal Ensemble Member

Daniel has just become the fifth and final child in our family to be selected for Vocal Ensemble! He got his letter this afternoon and he is very excited. he has also auditioned for the Productions Company (which he was a member of this year) and will find out about that tomorrow. So Big Weekend for Daniel! We are very proud of him and his accomplishments.

Race for the Cure

Hi Everyone!

We will be doing the Race for the Cure again this year. 75% of the money raised at this event stays in Utah for Breast Cancer research. We would love to have anyone participate in the race who would like to. Our team is "Ronda's Rowdy Runners" and you can go to the Komen SLC website to register for the race which is on May 10 at 8:30 am. We had a lot of fun last year! Our team goal is to raise $1,000. Donations can be made at the same website, choose our team so we can get credit! We hope to see an end to Breast Cancer one of these days!. We appreciate all who participated and donated last year! Have a great day!

Empty Nesters? Not even close!

Well, it was looking like Rob and I would become empty nesters in the near future, but plans have changed! ALL NINE OF US are living together now! Cole and Jessica are between apartments. Cole got a job in downtown Salt Lake and they are relocating to Salt Lake County so he can take public transit and she can take the car to work in Provo. They are staying for us until they find a place that is nice and they can afford. Stephanie has just moved back from Provo for the summer. Last summer she stayed in Provo, but she is tired of that and is living with us until the semester starts in August. Things are never dull around here. Nathan and Daniel are not at home a lot because of school and extra activities and they both also work at Target. Christopher is of course getting married in September but will be with us until then. It looks like a long crowded summer for us. It is fun to have everyone here, but it will be fun for them to have their own places too. By the time Christopher gets married, we will be down to Rob, Daniel and I. That will be a different experience and I can tell you that Daniel is NOT excited about it. He loves to have everyone around and doesn't like to be the ONLY child. We are looking forward to the time that the temperatures stay nice and don't get all freezing on us anymore. Rob trimmed the trees and I am getting ready to plant some vegetables indoors and get them ready to go outside. We are all happy and healthy and we love life!

Christopher and Brittany are engaged!

Hi everyone,

Today is Monday, April 14 and Christopher and Brittany just got engaged this afternoon! They will be getting married on September 25 in the Salt Lake Temple. We are very excited for them and they are really happy!

Performing Arts Tour was a success!

Well, we have had a very eventful trip. We took 177 kids and 38 adults to Orange County, CA on 4 buses packed full! We had the vocal ensemble, productions company, dance company, jazz band, concert band, string orchestra and percussion ensemble. Each group performed at the Plaza Gardens Stage in Disneyland except the Productions company which performed at the Hollywood Backlot Stage in California Adventure. They all did a fabulous job! They each got to have two workshops, some in backstage Disney and some in other areas of California like Hollywood and at Fullerton State College. We all got to go to the Pantages Theater in Hollywood and see "Wicked"! That was a great evening. We spent our first morning at Seal Beach where the kids had lots of sun and fun. The Orchestra and Concert Choir performed John Rutter's "Gloria" and other pieces at the St. Pius V Catholic church in Buena Park on Easter Sunday. It was the choir's 10th year to perform at mass at St Pius. Everyone had a great time and we didn't have too many problems, only small things. We are very proud of our kids and they way they conduct themselves and represent our school and our state. We also met Governor Huntsman at Disneyland and had pictures taken with him. We are glad to be home, even though it snowed yesterday - it got up to 87 in California! Nathan also participated in the partner dance in the dance company show.

Lots of news from Nathan and Daniel

Nathan and Daniel have been busy lately. They have both been learning lots of songs and choreography to take on the road to Disneyland. The Vocal Ensemble (Nathan) and the Productions Company (Daniel) will be performing at Disneyland next week when we are in Anaheim on tour. We will get to see "Wicked" and do a lot of Disney things. They also participated in the Region Solo and Ensemble Festival today. Nathan's ensemble is going on to the State Solo and Ensemble Festival in April. Yesterday, the Productions Company participated in the Region One Act Play Festival and got a Superior Rating! They are going to the State Competition in April. Two of the actor got best performance awards. The judges didn't have anything negative to say about the performance! We are excited about it. Daniel is participating at Region with a scene from "Glass Menagerie" tomorrow. We are proud of our boys. Christopher has just signed up to take a class online, we are hoping to get him involved full time in college soon. He is being trained as a messenger at work now. Soon he will be qualified to be a driver, guard and messenger. We are busy getting ready for the Performing Arts Tour. We will be taking 177 students, 30 chaperones, 5 teachers and the principal! It is going to be a busy but fun filled week! Rob is going as a chaperone for his first time. I think he is kind of nervous, but I think he will love it! I am the chaperone captain for the second time, I love to go with the kids, even though it is TWO overnight bus trips!

The boys are singing

Today we attended the Hillcrest High School Solo and Ensemble Festival. Nathan and Daniel both sang solos, Nathan participated in 2 small ensembles and 1 quartet along with Vocal Ensemble as well. Daniel participated with the Mens Ensemble. They both did very well. Nathan is going on to Region with his solo, quartet and ensembles. Daniel is an alternate with both his solo and his ensemble. Daniel did a fabulous job with a song that was too low for him. I don't think his new Chorale teacher did a very good job picking it out. I wish that Mr. Bentley had done the choosing. Oh well, Daniel worked hard and did his best. We are looking forward to our performing arts tour. I think Rob is actually getting excited in spite of the two overnight bus rides! We are also happy to see my dad out of the hospital and on the mend. Rob's mother is doing well and her ankle is healing and she is getting around by herself better. Stephanie has been really sick but seems to be on the mend. It's getting late and I need to sleep.

Scouting brings rewards

Today Rob was rewarded for all of his efforts and years of service in the Boy Scouts of America. We went to a nice reception tonight and awards presentation. He was awarded the District Award of Merit. Out of over 200 leaders in our scout district, they only gave the award to 10. It was very exciting and fun to see him be acknowledged for his service. Everyone else is doing well, except Stephanie can't seem to shake the sore throat (which keeps coming back) and the cough. Most people around here don't get rid of it for 10-15 days. This morning I was at school accepting the laundered costumes from the Renaissance Feaste. This officially closes the activities and now we move on to Performing Arts Tour. We will leave on March 18 which is very early this year. Hopefully it won't be too cold in Orange County. Everyone is getting excited to go. Daniel is learning numbers for the Productions Company show in California Adventure and Nathan is busy learning music and dance numbers for VE's show in Disneyland. Daniel is also getting ready for the Productions Company Revue in May. He got two parts besides the ensemble numbers. He will be doing a monologue from "The Shadow Box" and he will be doing a number from "A Chorus Line" with 5 other people. We can't wait to see the show!

Celebrating Life!

Today we are celebrating life at our house. This is my one year anniversary! One Year Cancer Free! We are looking forward to many more. Going through cancer was a real learning experience, though not one that I would want anyone else to have. This last year has been one of regenerating and regaining strength and health. I am thankful every day for health an strength and for all the prayers and love given to us. Do something for yourself today or a loved one! We will be doing the Komen Race for the Cure again this year. If anyone wants to sign up on our team and walk with us, you are welcome! When it is time to sign up I will post the website to go to for sign up. It will be the day before Mother's Day in May. It was a lot of fun last year and I am looking forward to being able to finish faster. We love you all!

Hello everyone!

This has been a rough couple of weeks. My grandmother passed away, she had been sick and went peacefully, it was still sad. I couldn't go to her memorial this week because of other obligations I had. Some of my siblings went though and took mom with them. My dad had to be hospitalized and is still there, I don't think we have a complete diagnosis of what is wrong, but he sure feels awful. I haven't been to see him but I have talked to him several times on the phone. Mom is back and with him and I know that just that makes him feel better. We have been busy in our family with the Renaissance Feaste at the high school. Nathan and Daniel are both very involved, with Nathan as one of the Royal men of the court and Daniel as a Steward. Daniel is also involved playing Polonius in the version of Hamlet which they do during the feaste for entertainment. Daniel also auditioned for the Musical Review which will be in May. He was called back today for a song and a scene. We will know soon if he gets any parts. He will be involved in all of the group numbers. They are doing excerpts from Pulitzer Prize winning Broadway plays and musicals. It should be a great show. Several of the kids in the Productions Company told me that Daniel's audition was "awesome". Rob's mother is recovering from breaking her ankle and cracking her wrist when she fell on ice almost 4 weeks ago. She is home now, (she had been in a rehab facility until the 13th). Christopher is excited because he got his Kevlar Vest to wear when he is out on the job. He has been waiting to get it and I am glad that he has that protection as well. He is dating a girl named Brittany, she is really nice. Our life feels like a whirlwind right now, and I don't think it will stop for a while! We will be leaving on Performing Arts tour on March 18 and that will come so quickly! Both Nathan and Daniel are involved and both will perform at Disneyland. Rob and I are both going on the bus as chaperones. I don't think Rob is looking forward to the overnight bus ride but I think he is getting more excited about being there with the kids. We are happy to be healthy and have so many blessings.

Hello everyone,

We have had quite a lot of snow lately. I think we have shoveled enough to last a long time! We watched the funeral for President Hinckley on Saturday. It was a beautiful program. We were also very sad to hear about Grandma Great. We will surely miss her. We wanted her to be able to meet Kyle, Jessica was sad that she didn't get to. Rob was notified on Sunday that he is being awarded a District Award of Merit for Scouting. They choose 9 leaders out of about 200 each year to receive the award. We are excited for him. The award ceremony will be on February 23. He has been involved in scouting for years and has helped a lot of boys along the way. It is nice to see him be recognized for his efforts. We have had our nephew (Hal's son) Ammon here a couple of times this weekend. We haven't seen him for two and a half years (since before his mission). We also saw Brett Rigby this weekend. He was at our sacrament meeting. He looks really good and he is off of the oxygen now. He says he feels 1000% better! We got to have Kyle here too - he is growing so fast and it is fun to play with him and see his cheerful personality come out! Hope everyone has a great week!

Hello,

This is the first post of our new blog! January was a busy month for all nine of us! Rob's mother fell on ice and shattered her ankle requiring surgery and screws and plates. She is in a rehab hospital and is doing well. Daniel performed in a production of "Pippin" at Hillcrest High School. It was a weird play from the 70's but it had a great message and was fun to watch. He is loving the acting, dancing and singing. Nathan is working hard on his quartet and ensembles for the Renaissance Feaste coming up in February. Jessica went back to work at the Marriott and I get to keep Kyle occasionally when she has a day shift. She usually works the afternoon/evening shift. Stephanie is working hard at classes and at her job. Daniel is now at the Utah Theater Association conference at BYU for three days. Because Scott is also a drama guy, they saw each other at the conference yesterday! Kyle is getting bigger every day. He is a morning person and wakes up talking and happy every morning. He is laughing and smiling all the time. He also rolled over for the first time recently! Rob is sick of shoveling snow! We woke up a couple weeks ago to 12 inches and it was still snowing! We have a good foot and a half in our front yard, maybe more and the snow piles would make an AMAZING sledding hill for little kids. Chris is enjoying his job with Loomis. He is officially assigned to the Park City ATM crew and he really likes it. He just qualified with his own gun and now has turned in the 38 that the company issued. He is excited for that! Nathan's big news is that he is definitely going to BYU in the fall. He was accepted in January! He is planning on doing the music program. We are happy, but very cold with all the snow. We hope everyone else is doing great!