Kindergarten Assessment

Wow! Elijah answered all of the questions that the teacher gave him, but was totally frozen when asked his phone number and address...stage fright. He did a great job even though we had never practiced actually sounding out the words and then writing them down. Tonight he went back for Back to School Night and he acted so grown up like he knew where everything in the school was. Ok, so what happens to mom when her last child goes to Kindergarten? I guess we will figure that one out very quickly.

Training Wheels

Elijah received some pointers from his older brother on how to ride a bike just moments after we put on the training wheels today. He was apprehensive at first, but felt a deep sense of accomplishment once he had ridden a while without tipping over. Great Job!

First day of school (4th grade)

Today was Noah's first day of 4th grade. Off he goes on an adventure that will last almost a year. He was anxious to leave in the morning and he arrived home very excited. He loves his new teacher, Mrs. Jackson.

The Osmonds

Saturday evening I had the special opportunity to attend a concert where the performers included the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and the Osmond Family. It was very enjoyable and I especially liked the song that Donny sang as a solo. Yes, Marie still looks as skinny as her Nutri System commercials show her. Thanks to Brad's mom for letting me go with her.

Pioneer Day

Pioneer Day is a big deal here in Utah...WHY?, because Mormon pioneers seemed to bring civilization here way back in the 1840's. Pioneer Day is a big deal to ME...WHY?, because my Great, Great, Great Grandfather was the first pioneer to arrive in the Salt Lake Valley on July 22, 1847. Orson Pratt and Erastus Snow had one horse between them. One would ride for a mile, tie off the horse and begin walking. The next man would catch up to the horse, get on and ride a mile and start the process over again. Orson was the lucky one who rode the horse the last mile to the Salt Lake Valley. He is the one depicted on the horse on this monument.

I am ever grateful to a loving Grandmother who thought that she would pass down the importance of our family heritage to me. She would patiently tell me stories of her life and the lives of those who came before her. She would take me to cemeteries and bring me along to do geneology work. I was the only one that she brought with her to the dedication of a special plaque in honor of our pioneer history that is on display at the "This is the Place Heritage Park". She instilled in me the importance of remembering who I am, and that will influence the way that I carry myself. I would assume that not many people have a somewhat close relative that is featured on a monument or in statue form, but I am lucky. I have the resemblance of this man to look to. And now I can pass this legacy on to my children. Thanks Grandma!

The Buzz

Last evening I kept hearing a sound like someone was throwing an object at our house. I opened the front door to investigate and found our two oldest children watching their dad throw a rock at our front window trying to hit a grasshopper and knock it off of the house. "Whatever", I thought to myself as he finally knocked it off and I walked back into the house and shut the door behind me. As soon as the door shut I heard LOUD serious screaming from the other side. I guess I opened the door to see my children scrambling and screaming across the yard and to other side of the street while Brad is running up the stairs wildly flailing his arms and yelling BEES, and I could see quite a few of the creatures swarming around. I say that I "guess" I opened the door, it happened so quickly that I am not sure what happened, but I do know that the door slammed behind him and I was worried that he had brought several of the insects inside the house with him. All in all, he was stung three times and was very swollen from his attack. Apparently he disturbed a wasp hive in his attempt to get rid of the grasshopper. His attack left him actually bleeding and very swollen and in pain.

Einsie weinsie spider

The truth is, this was not a tiny spider. As I was giving my thirsty flowers a drink, I noticed this very large, intricate spider web by our front steps. I like to look at things in nature and I marvel how creatures create such wonderful things. This spider just happened to be in the middle of construction still. I don't recall ever seeing a white spider like this around our home in the past and I will be sad to eventually ruin all of its hard work, but it is not the most opportune spot for its web in the realm of the human world. I feel bad that we as human kind are so selfish and just take and take from all other creatures. I will see if this spider can catch something today in its web, then we will help to remove it from the path of visitors to our home.

Free Lunch

We have a great pediatric dentist! Our kids love the coupons for area restaraunts that he hands them after their exams. Today was the day to cash in on them before the first one of us starts school next week. We went to Archibald's at Gardner Village and had a fun time there. Wish we had time to do this more often.

Oh, I love a parade

Ok, I don't love parades enough to actually go to them very often. We haven't tried going to a parade for several years because of all of the complaining, either by my children or myself. We generally will watch a parade on television until our attention span has maxed out. This Thursday is Utah's own Days of '47 parade. I used to enjoy going to THIS parade when I was much younger and have some interesting memories of setting up a tent by the parade route, and cheering my dad on when he ran in the marathon. Anyway, today we went to the big Float Preview Party and we were able to vote on which float we liked the best. The kids got their faces painted and a clown made them a balloon animal. We had a good time.

Welcome Home

Today Valesca came home from a week at Oakcrest girls camp. We all missed her. Elijah cried a few times. Joshua and Elijah made this banner and went with me to pick her up. She is tired, but she had a great time.

Say CHEEEESE!

We purchased a new vehicle in February and the dealership keeps sending us fun things. The last thing that we received was a free sitting and 8x10 from a professional photographer. As I made the appointment, he told me that we were getting a great deal because he usually charges about $300 just for the sitting fee. He was a very nice man and takes great photos. You may want to check out www.russdixonphotography.com to see some of his work. Here is a link to the pictures he took of our family. This link should be available until August 31st. http://russdixon.smugmug.com/gallery/5374236_Jq5JH

Emma Smith, My Story

We went and saw a very good movie on Monday night. It actually made me stop and think about things that I had not previously thought of before. It is not very often that a movie can move me to do that. I would recommend it and I would certainly view it again. Here is a link to the site where you can view the movie trailer and receive more information. http://www.emmasmithmovie.com/

Gold and Bronze Medals

Last week we visited with my brother Andy. He was showing off his medals that he won at his last Special Olympics a month ago. He told me that this is his 22nd year of competition. The medals he won were for participation in the Shot Put (is that spelled right?) and the 100 meter dash. He enjoys training for the different events and loves to stay overnight at the different venues around the state. You can imagine the amount of medals that he has accumulated after participating in both summer and winter olympics for the past 22 years. We are proud of him and all of his accomplishments.

Strike!

Ok, I should have taken my camera and gotten a picture of the cute little dance that Elijah did each time he did well at this first time of him bowling. Well, it was Joshua's first time as well. My only excuse is that I haven't bowled for about 15 years and I didn't get to have the bumper guards up when I was rolling the ball like the boys did. Hence, the many gutter balls on the score card. The boys loved it! We will definitely will have to do this again. The rest of the family was gone to Cub Scout camp and Girls camp. They probably would have beaten my score too if they had been there. (ha ha)

A gopher named Murray

Today we found that we had an unwelcome guest...a gopher. He was eating/killing some of the plants that we have been babying for the past two years and he was extremely close to our fruit tree. We managed to see his handiwork soon after he had begun. After several hours of him teasing us, Brad suggested we call him Murray after the Caddyshack reference. Not too long after we named him, he was caught in our trap and we are now rid of him. We are just hoping that his friends and relatives haven't come to set up a homestead with him.

Free Slurpees Anyone?

Today is 7/11/08 so of course we had to go and get free slurpees at 7-11. Boy did they taste great on such a hot day.

Lunch Date

In May I had a remarkable and unforgettable day. My wonderful kids entered me into a contest with a radio station to win LASIK eye surgery for Mother's Day. On this particular day in May I found out that I was the winner of the contest. Later that same day I was called by another radio station to tell me that I was also a winner on their station, and the prize was a gift certificate to a restaraunt and concert tickets to Jerry Seinfeld. WOW!!!! Two big wins in one day. Well, I had the surgery, I sold the concert tickets because we were going to be on vacation, and today I got to use the gift certificate. I tried to think of the last time that Brad and I have gone out to lunch together. I could only come up with a few times before we were even married. He couldn't think of any occasions either. We have gone out to dinner many times, but lunch just hasn't worked out I guess. It was great to spend a few moments alone with him in the middle of the day.

Recovery Mode

Well, we have gotten all of the laundry done, but we are still in the recovery mode after the vacation ends. It wouldn't be quite so bad, but all the kids are out of school and they want to be entertained all of the time like they were when we were on vacation. Now I am starting to hear the ever popular "I'm bored" chorus. I think of this as a wonderful, uneventful time before the whirlwind of life begins next week with Oakcrest camp and Cub Scout camp. Too bad the kids don't appreciate the NOT having much to do.

This is the way we wash our clothes...

How did we accumulate so much clothing? I have lost track of how many loads of laundry that I have done since we returned home on Saturday evening. The last I remember was 9, and I know there were more than that.

Our Vacation to Nauvoo

This year we decided to take a trip back to Old Nauvoo. We were gone 11 days and had a very fun time. We could have stayed longer in Nauvoo; there is so much to do there. Brad's parents came along for the ride, and we were glad to have them. Synopsis: We traveled to Denver where we saw the Denver temple, Denver Mint and took a tour of the Capitol building where we got to climb up into the dome. While driving through Kansas we stopped and took a ride on a carousel that was over 100 years old. We stayed in Independence, Missouri. While there we visited with Ann's first mission companion and her husband. We visited the Independence Visitor's Center and took a tour of the Community of Christ Temple. We also talked with one of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Christ. Our travels took us to Liberty Jail, Far West and Adam-ondi-ahman. We were able to drive to St. Louis to see the St. Louis temple and the Gateway Arch. The tram ride to the top was certainly an interesting experience. We wish we had had more time there to go through the museum. We wanted to take a helicopter ride and a boat ride on the Mississippi, but because of the flooding those things were unavailable. We drove up the Mississippi to Hannibal where we enjoyed all things Mark Twain. We ended the day by reaching Nauvoo and taking in an evening show. In the morning Joshua and Valesca were able to go and participate in Baptisms at the Temple. I was able to go with them and they put me to work in the baptistry while Brad and his dad went on a session. What a wonderful experience it was to be in that special temple. We went to the Land and Records Office and found where our ancestors owned land in Nauvoo and nearby towns. It was special to be able to walk or drive by the places that Orson Pratt, George Cannon and Edmond Durfee once owned. Our kids enjoyed learning how to make rope, pottery, bread, weave rugs and make barrels. We learned that Joseph Smith Sr. and Hyrum were both makers of barrels. A few more shows were in the schedule and the kids just loved them! I was able to go with Brad's mom to a session at the temple. We traveled to Carthage and learned about the martyrdom. We were able to visit the Old Nauvoo Burial Grounds and found the headstone of Edmond Durfee. Once again the kids enjoyed seeing how the Blacksmith, Brick maker and Baker worked. We also visited the Printing Shop, Post Office and Brick makers. A trip to the Smith Family Cemetery and to Joseph Smith's Red Brick Store were nice. I actually enjoyed touring the Brigham Young home and was touched that I could stand in the same room that my Great, great, great Grandfather stood when he visited that home as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. As we left Nauvoo we walked along the Trail of Hope. We traveled across Iowa and stopped to see the Kanesville Tabernacle and then on to Winter Quarters where we toured the visitors center and saw the temple. It was fun to see a replica of the very first Odometer that our ancestor had invented. On the way back to Utah we stopped at the Pony Express station. We stayed in Cheyenne and went to a wonderful program with fireworks and a concert by the symphony orchestra. We just couldn't end our trip without stopping at Little America for 50 cent ice cream cones. The kids each made a top ten list of the things that they liked most on the trip.

Joshua

1. Nauvoo plays 2. Fireworks 3. St. Louis Arch 4. Denver Mint 5. Capitols 6. Temples

7. Baptisms for the dead 8. Wagon rides 9. Meeting Mom's companion 10. Family grave sites in Nauvoo

Elijah

1. Carousel 2. Eating ice cream

Noah

1. Denver Capitol building 2. Denver mint 3. Pioneer crafts 4. Fireworks 5. Nauvoo temple

6. Catching fireflies 7. St. Louis Arch 8. Pony Express station 9. Winter Quarters 10. Swimming

Valesca

1. Pioneer shows 2. Denver mint 3. Inside Nauvoo temple 4. Nauvoo sites 5. St. Louis Arch

6. Visiting temples 7. Fireflies 8. 4th of July celebration 9. Spending time with Kathy (mom's companion) 10. Eating dinner at the Hotel Nauvoo

Downside Up

Joshua was in a play at school. The sixth graders wrote it, directed it, made all props, worked in the stage crew...everything!!! It was very fun to watch. The last picture is of Valesca and Joshua with Mrs. Long. We think that she is one of the very best sixth grade teachers ever!