The Purple Palace

Weep not for those that are lost

2012-01-21T07:21:00.000-08:00

At this moment, my computer is crashing in a fiery inferno on the kitchen table. I just wrote those words in a letter to Morgan and felt that you would all benefit from knowing what has just happened. I still have my Creative Memories pictures and "stuff", but all other docuemtns are lost. But are they really lost? I say, yes. My spreadsheet that documents everyone's Christmas Ornaments since the Dawn of Time - gone. My template for the Candygrams - destroyed. ALL MY LESSON PLANS - anihillated. I had pictures ready to upload for my new blog post regarding our championship weekend. That will have to either wait, or you can look at them on Rozzie's facebook.

Time to call The Guy in our Ward Who Fixes Computers.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!

2011-12-31T19:06:00.001-08:00

I hope you all had a Merry Christmas! Licky had a great Christmas Eve as the Cosmo PillowPets invaded his space. He was not amused. There was hissing!
However, I will pause here to say that Licky has been a different cat since Morgan came home. He has been on his best behavior and has allowed a snuggle or two. His hissing and growling has declined, too. We'll see how he takes Morgan's departure.

Christmas Eve was spent at the Collard's house for dinner, the Smith's house for a bonfire, and then back to the Collard's for dessert. Here is a great group of girls who have all grown up together. The girl in the red shirt and the girl in the red pants were both babes in arms when we moved here. It has been nice to stay in one place for a while and see all these girls grow up and many of them have moved on to college and other pursuits. Maddie is 3rd from the left; Morgan is 3rd from the right, with Rozzie next to her on the right, and then McCall in the red boots.

Here is the traditional Christmas day picture. This was after church. Rozzie and Morgan are wearing their new garb. Oh, and yes, Morgan colored her hair brown. Notice that Maddie is braceless - at least on top.

This morning, we went to the temple to do baptisms. Morgan has had a "limited" temple recommend that lasts for a year. She goes to the Provo temple regularly. She asked Travis if we could go as a family. Since there were no youth groups today (New Year's Eve), the temple allowed us to come and have a private family baptism session. As it turns out, the 1st counselor in the temple presidency used to be our stake president and Travis served on the High Council for a few years with him, and he was there to preside over our baptisms. He and his wife had us do one of their names that was very dear to them. This made for a very intimate time together in the temple, unlike I have ever experienced. We really enjoyed our time there together. We were done by 10am.

We wasted time for a bit and then went to lunch; we were all pretty starved!! Then we left Orlando and were back home by 3pm. That is when the fun started. The girls wanted to go nap and lay around, but I got them busy on the Christmas mess. It is all put away now and our house is back to normal for the first time in 3 months!! It feels very good.

I have finally finished the ornaments. I'm sorry they are late, but that is just the case this year. People ask why I continue to do the ornaments. My answer is that I'd feel bad for all the younger kids who didn't get any and their older siblings got a whole bunch. Maybe no one else cares, but I do. So there is the answer, it is really very simple.

The next 6 weeks will be pretty tough with basketball season and the last 3/4 cheer competitions. Once that is done, I will be happy. It has been a whirlwind, but it has been fun and I'm glad I did it.

I wish all my blog readers (3-4 of you) a very happy and prosperous 2012!!

Bicycle built for Seven

2011-12-19T14:03:00.000-08:00

A week ago, my cheerleaders had a competition in St. Augustine at the Florida School for the Deaf and Blind. It is the same school that Ray Charles attended. It was quite an experience for all of us as most of the event workers were deaf - none of them seemed to be blind. We even got to see the school's cheer team perform. The coach stood in front and counted in sign language to keep the team on beat with the music. Then when the music stopped for them to do their cheer, there was someone who beat a bass drum. The cheerleaders could feel the beat of the drum to cheer to the beat. It was really quite amazing.

On our way out, we saw this contraption:

It is a bike that seats seven!! One person steers and all seven pedal. We were told that it is a strange sensation to pedal and move in a different direction than you are facing. I googled videos of this thing and it is interesting to watch in action. The school uses this for bike rides with blind students. I have learned quite a lot with this cheerleading thing!!

We have a couple bruised bumpers...

2011-12-16T17:22:00.000-08:00

Two accidents in one week.

Rozzie and friends were on their way to Chik-fil-A last week after school and were in a 4-car crash. Two cars were a complete loss. Two had little fender-benders. All students were ok. That was a crazy afternoon.

This morning, Travis' car-pool hit a kid who was driving to school without his lights on. All were fine.

In addition, 0ne of my cheerleaders was in a big accident and her SUV is all crumpled up. She, her sister, and the other driver are all fine.

I hope that by the rule of threes, this theme has run its course.

Last weekend, Maddie's dance group performed at a Winter Festival in our area. Maddie loves this Tap routine to Michael Jackson's "Beat It". The red jacket is mighty impressive.
The group did a little Christmas dance which included a kick line. I just want to point out that Maddie is second to tallest girl in the group. Conversely, when I was on the dance line, I was always 2nd or 3rd from the end and was officially grouped with the "Shorties".

I thought you all might want to see a picture of Travis, Morgan, and Patrick. This cat LOVES to be held. He is very much like a baby or a puppy. He always looks like he is the most comfortable being on the planet. By the way, Morgan comes home tomorrow!!

Last night was Maddie's band concert. It was rather nice. I enjoyed the Chipmunk's song. Maddie played the kazoo for that song. She looked rather dapper in her uniform.

She didn't want to have a picture of her back, but I took one anyway so we could all see the back of this impressive ensemble. However, don't be fooled, her school is not the "Ougars", but the "Cougars".

School ended today, and not a moment too soon. I am so happy for this break. I cannot believe how quickly this year is moving along.

Anyway, that is all I have right now.

Competition Season Begins!!

2011-12-06T05:36:00.000-08:00

Football season ended sadly in overtime. We were winning the whole game and then lost in OT. Very much sadness. But, the day before the very sad loss, we celebrated Thanksgiving. Maddie and I are into these cute cupcakes and so for the Thanksgiving table, we made corn!! They are covered in jelly bellies. The corn husks are phylo (sp?) dough. After dinner, everyone was very interested in the phylo dough and ate that!! I think the cupcakes turned out very cute!!

Lani, Roger, Clint, and McCall came over for dinner. How very odd to be missing Morgan. She was having a blast up in Idaho Falls with some friends. She even got in a dinner with Aunt Karen, Savana, Paetan, and Journey. Look how these girls have all grown up!! Sadly, there are no pictures of me...

Ah, here is a picture of me. See what you were missing? Anyhow, my cheerleaders had their first competition this weekend. They hit all their stunts perfectly in practice and warm-ups, and then they dropped them in competition. SO FRUSTRATING!!! We didn't lose...we came in 5 out of 6. It really is good for them. We are putting them right back out on the floor next weekend, so they can, hopefully, redeem themselves. Anyway, this is before the catastrophe - my choreographer/coach, Cortnee, whom I couldn't do without!!
Here we all are at our hotel, going off to lunch in our fabulous new t-shirts.

We really had a good weekend. One of the dads is a pilot and so he booked our hotel. We stayed at the Westin by the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando. The hotel upgraded Cortnee and me to a 2-bedroom suite with a kitchen!! It was just perfect for everyone to gather. We went to eat at Cafe Tu Tu Tango which serves everything appetizer style!! It was delicious and fun. They have belly dancers and artists for entertainment. It was nice to get the girls away from school and get to know them better. They were very well behaved (thank heavens).

Competition season for Rozzie starts in January, and February for Maddie. I guess it will just stay busy around here.

The cats are good. Travis was in Toronto last week and he loves that. He then had to hold down the fort while I was out of town on business. That has never happened before!! And....I think that is all for now. I'm "off" today so that I can work on a school assignment. I won't bore you with the details, but let's just say there are some very frustrated and angry teachers over this class we are taking.

She Floats by her Hair...

2011-11-20T12:16:00.000-08:00

I haven't posted in a while. I'm sorry. I have been busy, it is true, but mostly I just post the same pictures over and over of the girls doing their stuff. I know you don't mind it, but I recently heard that someone said I was living my live vicariously through the school and it hurt my feelings and it isn't true. I am involved in my school and I support my children and their activities. I also enjoy being part of the community and the great students I have met in my eight years working at Fleming Island High School. So I have moved on and will now post pictures of my kids involved in their school activities.

Last Friday night, our football game was a play-off game in Tallahassee. It is a 3 hour bus ride out there. The school hired the big buses for us. Cheer and dance shared a bus, so I got to ride with Rozzie. I had planned for Travis and Maddie to ride the bus with us until we found out that the band was not able to make the trip due to their own state competition the next day. So, a few 8th grade students from the surrounding feeder junior highs were invited to participate in the "spirit band" (think "pep" not "ghost"). Maddie was chosen to go with the band, so I volunteered Travis to chaperone. In some ways, being the cheer coach has been a great blessing to us: this ended up being a family event rather than just another game for Rozzie to be at. Since the game was in Tallahassee and one of the FSU Marching Band drum majors is a grad of Fleming Island, he came out to the game and directed the band. In addition, about 15 other FSU students and former band members came and played with the little spirit band. They worked had and did a great job!! Keith really challenged the kids and looked to have a great time doing it!! Rozzie's former dance captain Brittany is at FSU now, so she came to the game. Rozzie thought it would be a great idea if she just stayed with Brittany until Brittany came home for Thanksgiving. We didn't let her stay. Sorry. So here are those pictures: Rozzie and Brittany

And Maddie with Trumpy. On Saturday, we celebrated Maddie's 14th birthday. She has been wanting to make some cupcakes from some new books we got this past summer, so I let her pick a theme and we made the cupcakes. They were more adorable than you can imagine. Notice that one flamingo got too close to the alligators. Uh-oh!! We had the party at the dance studio as they had rehearsal and there was only an hour between rehearsal and our "appointment". I love this picture of these two little girls looking longingly at the cupcakes. Don't worry, they got one!!

Then it was party time. Ever since our violin teacher leased some of his property to a man to set up his flying trapeze school, Maddie has had dreams about flying through the air with the greatest of ease. For her birthday, we made that happen. She invited some friends from dance. When we pulled up to the location, the girls went quiet. One said, "This isn't quite what I pictured." They were all pretty nervous. Only one girl got scared and had to be let down slowly. As they all tried new things, they got better and better. However, on the first try, each and every girl had to be shoved off the platform. The guy would yell, "jump" and nothing would happen. So the lady on the platform would give them a little shove on the back of the ankle and just push them right off!! Look at their faces!!

It started to rain, so they weren't able to transfer from one bar to the "catcher" named Tyler who was really cute and had nice muscles!! Actually, he was one of my former students from my subbing days and was really surprised to see me!! I asked the girls later if they had discussed his muscles and they both laughed and said yes. I knew they would!! They all had a great time and Maddie was so happy. They are a little sore today, though. And here is one last picture of Maddie. She was going to to the transfer, but it was too slippery with the rain. I just like the serene feeling of the picture. (and that is Tyler sitting up on the other bar)

And what about Morgan? She had her last home game last night. Her friend took this picture. It is Morgan being Morgan. She has really enjoyed marching for BYU this year and looks forward to going to Dallas for the bowl game!!

And Also This...

2011-10-23T12:33:00.001-07:00

I just finished this sweater. Thought you ought to know.

The Amazing Aging Trick - by Rozzie

2011-10-22T17:54:00.000-07:00

She went to the orthodontist on Thursday:
And came out looking older and more mature. She has never smiled as much as she did on Thursday.

The weekend we were out at BYU for homecoming, it was cold and rainy/snowy. That was not the perfect weather for the annual BYU blue foam slip and slide. They saved it for the next week and Morgan (of course) got in on the action. Still no picture of Morgan studying or in class. I'm assuming it happens, though.

We got home from Utah just in time for Fleming Island homecoming. It was "Hero" week. The day devoted to "Storybook Hero" produced about 500 students of Hogwarts. I love this picture of Roz. It shows a side of her in school that is rarely seen. I love the passion and excitement in this picture. I sometimes wonder if she knows she isn't really Bellatrix.

Parade-time came up and it was a little different this year. I had to monitor my cheerleaders. I was able to see Rozzie and her dance team off, though. The were firemen and had a truck for the seniors to ride on. Rozzie and Nora were thrilled to carry the banner.

My cheerleaders chose an angel theme. Their float was so pretty!! I rode on the very back of it, all hidden. It was kindof fun!!

After the parade, we have a big pep rally called Gold Rush in the stadium. These are my cheerleaders performing. I love this shot - it is a good action shot.

I was so happy to have homecoming out of the way - very stressful. It is such a fun week, but there is something to do everyday and then the added stress of both cheerleaders and dance team performing, I was so tired by the end of the week!!

Shortly after accepting the coaching position, I had a thought to have a "Pink Out" game in October, like the NFL does, only just one game. I approached the vice principal about it and he thought that would be fine. I promised the cheerleaders and dance team would perform together. Then I notified the football boosters of our plan. I never followed up with them, but when I showed up at the game Thursday night, the team was decked out in pink socks and undershirts. It was announced in school and fans showed up in pink. The cheerleaders and dance team sold pink spirit beads and pink ribbon face tattoos. It was really exciting too look around and see my idea work out so nicely.

It just so happened that the Pink Out was also Junior High Band night. It was so exciting to see Maddie march out on the field!! She enjoyed sitting with the band up in the stands and playing a few songs with them. It was known all around that she was Morgie's sister!!

I had ordered the cheerleaders and dancers pink poms for the night. Swoopette was thrilled that I had an extra pair for her!! My mascots are doing such a great job this year.

Rozzie smiled all night - showing off her bracelessness. People were pretty impressed that the cheerleaders and dancers performed together. They looked really good - all 42 of them out there. They learned the dance in just 2 days. It was pretty simple - with that many dancers it had to be. It was a great way to show support for the cause. All the money made from the sale of beads and tattoos will be donated to the Susan G. Komen society for breast cancer awareness/search for the cure.

Friday was a planning day and I was able to go to work and WORK for about 7 hours. I holed up in my room. I had been looking forward to that day for so long and now it is done. This morning I proctored ACT exams. work work work... It is a surprise to think that the school year that just started is already 1/4 done. The time between now and Christmas always goes so fast. That is a good thing!!

Rise and Shout, the Cougars are Out!!

2011-10-15T18:01:00.000-07:00

After an afternoon of rest and relaxation, kindof, it was time to meet up with the girls AND Katie and get ready for the game. Morgan had to go to practice. Katie went and met up with her friends that she went to the game with.
We went to the stadium and got family pictures by the cougar (it was a gift from the class of 1965). Here is Morgan in her finery, by the official mascot. (Exciting moment)

Here are Travis, Roz, & Maddie with the unofficial mascot. Funny thing is, he wasn't one of the young students. He had a wife and kids. I found that funny.

Before the game, the band marches to the stadium from the practice field and they stop right in front of the cougar and play a few songs. It was a late game and so it was dark. But it was sure fun to see them all do their thing. Then they march onto the field for the pre-game show where they make a big "Y" and then spell out "COUGARS". Then they line up down at the end of the field where the players enter the field. Travis went down near the field and got some really great pictures of Morgan. This is when they made the big "Y" and the tubas and colorguard make a big oval around the letter.

It was a chilly night and our sweatshirts weren't quite enough, so the girls got new sweatshirts. I guess some of that is their official indoctrination to the BYU idea. They really loved it there. I think, like Morgan and like me, they like the idea of doing something different than the rest of their friends. They love the mountains and the change of climate. Change is good.

Here is a shot of the half-time show. I liked the last song the best, but I can't remember what it was!! It was so much fun to watch the band. Oh, the game was good, too. BYU won.

Maddie was determined to get a foam finger. She is very proud of it. She was able to point at many things with it.

Barb and Gary were seated a few seats down from us. Rick, Holly, Autumn, Brooklyn, and Preston came and enjoyed the game with us. It was chilly, but not as chilly as we look. It was pretty decent. I was almost too warm.

After the game, the band marched out and stopped in front of the cougar again and played three songs. They got really loud and seemed to have a great time. Again, my favorite was the last song they played. Then they sang the alma mater. That was really nice. I am so glad we were able to go out and see her in her new habitat. She seems to have acclimated well and loves her new life. Seeing her march was wonderful.

We got home super late on Sunday night and had to hit the ground running for Monday. It was homecoming week. What a doozy. Pictures to follow!!

Coming Home!!

2011-10-09T07:29:00.001-07:00

I don't have much time to write as we have a plane to catch in a little while. But I wanted to get the first half of pictures posted from our BYU Homecoming trip. We got in on Wednesday and went straight to Provo to visit Morgan. We went and had dinner in the Cannon Center and met many of her friends. She is pretty happy here! This is Morgan's dorm door. We were able to visit her room as it was "visiting hours". Rozzie and Maddie each spent a night with Morgan and went to classes with her.
It was cold and rainy/snowy. We were there for the first snow of the season. Once the clouds lifted, the mountains looked so pretty!!

We went out to dinner one night with Morgan's boyfriend, Bradford. He is a very nice young man and they seem to have fun together. Katie joined us for a few minutes, too. So much fun to see her!! I think they like being in Provo together.

Travis was able to take some time to visit his friends Al and Lael. Eric was there, too. They were friends from Minnesota, when they were all just little boys!

Saturday morning was cold and drizzly, but we went to watch the parade!! As the band came around the corner, I got tears in my eyes. I'm such a wimp.

We were set up at the beginning of the parade. After the band and a few other groups passed, we started the hike across campus to the end of the parade. This was taken at the end. I really like this picture of Morgan and her fellow sousaphonists.

We got some nice pictures at the end, too.

Grandma and Grandpa came up from Hurricane to see Morgan march. This was really fun to have them there.

These girls were so happy to be back together for a bit.

Towards the end of the parade, Grandpa had a little fun!!

Lucky for you, this isn't the end of the pictures. I'll post again as soon as possible. It was BYU homecoming this week; Fleming Island next week.

Memories of a September Past

2011-10-02T06:58:00.000-07:00

September is now over. It passed in a flash and was gone. Our days are very full. Everyone sleeps pretty solidly at night. No insomnia here. We are all looking forward to our little vacation out to Utah to see Morgan march in at BYU's homecoming.

Last weekend, Rozzie and Maddie went to the temple with the youth in our ward. There are three boys missing, but this is it for our youth. We are bottom heavy in Beehives and Geek-ons. They always have a good time on these trips.
Last weekend's game at The Bolles School was a disappointing loss. This week, we played at home against our in-county rivals, Orange Park. We beat them soundly. There was a flyover with two small acrobatic planes and they both took a solo pass over the stadium. Then they came over together and crossed right over the middle of the field. They were flying very low and VERY close as they passed. So close, in fact, that the crowd gasped. I gasped!! I was sure there was to be an accident. It shocked all my cheerleaders. They came running up to me asking, "Was that supposed to happen like that?" Like I had the answer. It was too close for our comfort. However, I love this picture!! All these girls are my favorites: Cheerleaders and Dance Team!! (And Swoopette)Saturday brought the Green Cove Springs Soul Food Festival and parade. Maddie had her first experience marching and found it to be harder than it looks. She had a good time. The weather was really nice.

Patrick got his "fuzzy dice" removed (as the vet put it) on Friday, so he was inside all day yesterday. He has never witnessed the new washing machine in action. He was spellbound. We found this very funny.

It is General Conference weekend which always gives me a great excuse to slow down and stay home. I didn't completely stay home yesterday, but I did watch both Saturday sessions. Maddie had friends here to tie-dye shirts. Rozzie and I decorated for Halloween. So things got done and I still stayed home. I was actually more productive yesterday than I have been in a few months, so it seemed. I didn't know if I'd even get decorations out this year, but the girls love it, I love it, and even Travis loves it. Today I get to watch conference and KNIT!!!

Are You Ready for some FOOTBALL???

2011-09-18T14:16:00.000-07:00

We are well into football season!! YAY!!!! Here are my cheerleaders in a pyramid at our pep rally!! Go Eagles.
At that same pep rally, Rozzie and her dance team performed. Roz is so thrilled to be able to do a headstand now. Last year she was unable to hold a headstand and I worked with her a lot this summer on it. She practiced and was able to do it well enough to be put in a headstand for the dance. Notice the girl in the front in the hand stand. She can hold it forever. I marked Roz with her name, but it is hard to see. I have since figured out how to change from "pen" to "paint brush" as you will see on the next pictures.

That same night, I got this shot of the dance team on the field. Roz is more identifiable.

Tuesday night took us down to Green Cove Springs Junior High to watch the Cougars and listen to the Cougar Band. They are a small band by what we are used to up north, but it is what we have and they love what they do. I like it when they play, "I Got A Feeling" by The Black Eyed Peas. Go Cougars!!

Here is a close up of Maddie playing the trumpet!! She really likes this.

Last night was the BYU/Utah game. We won't talk about the score and the horrors that unfolded on the gridiron. However, this was Morgan's first time marching on the field at LaVell Edwards Stadium in uniform. We talked to her today and got a full run-down of the day. She loved it. She was very excited and she reported being a little nervous. She loved the largeness of it all and had a fun time at the game. Go Cougars!!

Morgan's cousin, Katie, went to the game and took these great pictures for me. I have promised to knit her something. She was fortunate to be sitting on the side closest to Morgan, too. What a fun experience for Morgan to have, despite the horrible, worst-ever game.

This is a shot of the half-time performance. Both the BYU and Utah bands were on the field in a show of unity or something.

Morgan reports liking school and being happy. She is very glad to be out doing something different from Florida. She likes meeting new people and going to her fantastic religion classes. And she is happy to still be marching. One funny note: Morgan wore the same marching shoes from 8th grade through 12th grade. Her feet never grew. We got our money's worth out of those $20 shoes. She had to buy new white shoes at BYU. I guess she had earned it!!

Trav is headed back to Toronto this week. Wish I could go.

And Now For Something Completely Similar

2011-09-04T12:23:00.001-07:00

Nothing has changed. Twenty-two years later, we are still married. And happy about it. Thing that are different include: hair color, weight, additional people in the family. We celebrated by going out to eat at La Napolera with Rozzie and Maddie, dropping them off at dance, and going grocery shopping at Winn Dixie. Be very jealous! This weekend, we had lunch at Maggiano's which is a favorite of Trav's (he loves Italian). I like Maggiano's, too. The stuffed mushrooms are my favorite!

The anniversary was Thursday night. The football game was Friday night. The first official game of the year is our big county rival, Clay High School. If you saw the movie "Easy A", that is where the story actually happened. Yes folks, down there in Green Cove Springs, Florida, home of the Blue Devils. We brought a crowd down there. Everyone wore white. The fans ordered 50 green vuvuzelas and green cowbells and used them all night. My favorite accessory is the eagle perched on the vuvuzela back there. He seems to show up at most of the games and is pretty hideous looking. The fans were in an uproar, but the game started out rough for FIHS. We were pretty nervous. Clay came out fighting.

#8 Brontrell is one of my students. He was very excited to be a captain for this big game. He looks pretty funny with his red mouthguard sticking out. He is extremely athletic and has great potential.

Along with the cheerleaders, the mascots fall under my jurisdiction. Imagine wearing those things in this Florida heat. They were troopers, though, and did a great job!! There is way to much to keep track of in this position. I was a nervous wreck.

The crowds were so thick that Travis, Maddie, and I sat down on the track for the game and really enjoyed being up close and personal. We went and sat on the football benches to cheer Rozzie on with the dance team. Here she is pictured on the far left. She seems much more confident out there this year.

This is my dear friend and co-worker, Cheri. She embodies school spirit. She is and English teacher and the drama teacher. She heads up all the musicals and stuff. She is easily the most beloved teacher on campus. And she is my dear friend. Morgan had her for English her freshman year. Cheri loves and supports everyone. She also confessed that she is the one who initially told the administration that they should ask me to be the cheer coach. I still love her.

Fleming Island pulled out the win in the end. After half-time, Clay seemed to run out of gas. It was a great game and a lot of fun to be there. It was really nice to sit by Travis for once! Maddie hung out with us for a while until she met up with a friend and toddled off.

BYU played Ole Miss yesterday. We watched the game and all of us were texting Morgan at the same time. Morgan and friends went to the Wilkenson Center (Student Union) to watch the game in the ballroom on a big screen with hundreds of other students. It was a nail-biter to the finish. Morgan called so we could hear all the screaming. She was very happy. She enjoyed her first week of classes. She loves marching band, although band camp was very hot and a lot of hard work. She is excited to get on the field at a home game.

So, thing are as they have been. You'll see more dance pictures and you'll think they look the same as the ones from last year. They aren't. I was sure glad to sleep in the past two days and am very grateful to have tomorrow off, too.

Back in the Saddle Again

2011-08-20T06:44:00.001-07:00

School started this past week. Funny thing, we started school and Morgan had a week off! Maddie is off to class in her new Aztec print shirt. She is in 8th grade this year at Green Cove Springs Junior High. She looks forward to her last science fair project and band. This year in band, she'll be playing at the junior high football games!! It is a pretty exciting year.
Rozzie is now a sophomore. She is so happy to shed the title of "Freshman". She is off to Seminary at 5:45 am. We definitely miss having a teenage driver in the house!! Travis drives her there and I pick her up and take her (and three other boys) to school. By the way, the church is on the way to the school so it really isn't a bother to me. Rozzie is looking forward to another year of yearbook and dance team. She is also adding an AP class to her schedule, hoping for a little college credit.

I also went back to school. I am teaching my two English classes and a fashion design class. I've been displaying my old prom dresses for the fashion kids and they have enjoyed that. Sometimes I'm surprised at what I was able to do at the age of 15. I have also taken on the extra job of Varsity Cheerleading Coach. So far, I have been very busy during the day and very tired at night. It will be an interesting year. The cheerleaders have been really nice and there haven't been any problems.

Morgan had a great term at BYU. She had more fun than is legal. But, we all knew that would happen. She did well in her classes. I don't have any picture of her doing anything scholarly. But one of her friends posted this:

Yes, it is a mustache bandaid.

She is very excited to start marching band on Monday. She will have a very busy week. Since she is off this week, she went up to Alden's in Park City for a little rest. One night she texted me this picture and said, "This is what we're doing tonight."

I have always said, "you never know what will happen when you are at the Alden's." She loved flying over BYU campus. She has hiked around the mountains and gone on rides on the Ranger. She has used the exercise room. I think she is ready for the next phase!! A big thanks to Holly and Rick for feeding her, entertaining her, and just letting her stay there.

Just Like Lolla Lee Lou

2011-08-14T12:36:00.001-07:00

I just looked for my Dr. Seuss book about Gertrude McFuzz who wanted more feathers and to be just like Lolla Lee Lou. The latest craze is to get feathers in your hair. The girls wanted to do this and that was fine with me. We waited and waited for our salon to get feathers and they didn't come in. We were in St. Augustine last weekend and we went to a salon one of Rozzie's friends suggested and they had feathers!!

I even got one!! There were really pretty purple feathers, so I decided to get one. It is hard to see, but it is there.

Last week was teacher planning. It was a rather hellacious week. I had way too many meetings. Then there would be cheer practice. So I spent a few days at school til late and got more things done. I still have a full day of work tomorrow. However, things have mellowed out and I feel that I'll be ready. No matter what, the students will show up and we'll do something!!

On Friday we had team pictures, so I thought I'd post that so you could see us all looking good.

So school starts on Tuesday. Morgan is off for a week at the Alden's. She reports to band camp next Sunday. All is well. All is well.

Shrimp Sandwich...

2011-08-01T14:55:00.001-07:00

I was fortunate enough to get a little quilting in before school started. I had been saving these fabrics for just the right project. He was born in July. James Brannan is the proud owner of this here quilt. I have made a number of these quilts - I really like this pattern.
Here is a close up of the background fabric - primary colors, polka dots. These are a few of my favorite things!!While at the quilt store, I noticed this little table runner kit. It was just the right thing to change up my table. It was way cheaper than a new table!! My mantra has always been, "When in doubt, make another purple quilt." This one also had green which is my favorite combination with purple. It was a quick foundation pieced project. The foundation included the batting and backing so it was quilted when it was finished!! For the backing, I used a fabric that I have had since before I was pregnant with Morgan. Pretty proud of using that up!!

And here is what it looks like on the table. It even matches my laptop.

Travis was invited to go shrimping with a man he has been visiting with the missionaries. He was all set to go Friday night. Maddie kept hinting that it sounded like fun. I asked her if she wanted to go and she said yes. So she went. She had a great time and never even complained. She doesn't want to eat it, but she enjoyed the experience. They didn't get home until 2 am!!

Travis and I spent Saturday morning cleaning shrimp. I was pretty proud of myself for getting my hands dirty. We cooked some up, froze some, and gave some away. Travis wasn't thrilled to clean the shrimp until I mentioned that it was kindof nice to sit together for a few hours and talk. Then he didn't seem to mind it so much!! Patrick was very interested in the shrimps. We gave him a few to bat around. He had a good time with them!!

Shrimping is really a way of life for some folk here. Apparently, there was a very large gathering and people just treated it like a social get-together. I would suspect that shrimping is like gardening. People gather as much as possible, and freeze it for the year. Not a bad idea!!

The Cats Will Need to Find a New Litterbox

2011-07-23T15:33:00.000-07:00

The cats are going to have to come up with another option for a bathroom. Some of you know that we have had a big naked spot in the yard since June. The winter was pretty tough on yards and our lovely St. Augustine grass (up north it is called "crab grass") died and was taken over by weeds. This was common all over the area. People are pretty frustrated. You would think that a yard would be easy to maintain in our climate. Actually, it is REALLY hard; nigh impossible. Travis raked up all the weeds, put down killer, tilled the dirt, killed weeds again. Then he went out of town for a long time. This was the first weekend he had available to get back to the yard. Despite the 97 degree temperature, he got really busy today and resodded the yard. It looks really good and it is nice to have that on its way to being lush and green!

This next picture is just a shot to show our "Firecracker" crepe myrtle with the dark red flowers. It is one of my favorite colors for these trees.

Rozzie was at dance camp this week in Daytona. Within the first hour, she sprained her right index finger playing balloon volleyball in her dorm. Another girl "smacked it." It was swollen and purple all week, but she taped it up and didn't complain. Her coach gave her a special award for hard work and dedication. One of the afternoons at camp, the girls have a themed costume party. This year the theme was sports and our girls chose...Quidditch, of course. They divided up into Hogwarts houses and decorated shirts. Their little brooms were so cute. They were little plastic brooms and the girls sure had a fun time.

Last, but certainly not least, Lisa and I went to see the movie, "Larry Crowne" yesterday and we were very much the youngest people in the theater. We giggled over that. After we came out I noticed someone had called from home. It was Maddie. Travis had set dinner on fire. Before I left for the movie, Maddie and I had made Chicken Spaghetti. She had put cheese and bread crumbs on the top and put it in the oven. I had the oven all set on "delay". Trav came home early and wanted dinner done sooner, so he turned the delay off and restarted the oven. What he didn't know is that we can't have anything in the oven when it preheats, or it burns the food. This burned it so much that the casserole ignited and scared Maddie. Travis picked the burned bread crumbs and cheese off the top and they were able to eat a delicious meal!!

Oh, What do we do in the Summer Time?

2011-07-15T07:45:00.000-07:00

We go to Girl's Camp!! Morgan harassed me yesterday about not posting on the blog yet, so here it is!! Camp was a family affair this year. Travis was one of the camp lifeguards. We got there and saw that the guard chair was umbrellaless, so we called the girls back home and had them bring the new beach umbrella and it was a lifeguard saver!

Before camp, I helped the girls at church tie-dye tshirts. The theme this year was "BEE-YOU-tiful" and they went with the "bee" thing. I already blogged about the shirt design, so here we are at camp looking amazing. I love the group pictures with tie dye!!

This year was a very small year for our ward. We have lost a number of girls to graduation over the past few years and a few have moved and so we are very low in numbers this year. However, what we lack in number, we more than make up for in spirit and spunk!! I am very happy to be associated with these people. It was a lot of fun to have Travis there for a week. He was surprised at the amount of work Girl's Camp is. It is truly an exhausting, but rewarding week. We missed Morgan terribly, the whole camp did. A family picture with just 4 of us feels odd. However, Morgan is where she needs to be at this point in her life and we couldn't be happier.

Just so you are aware, I don't know what happened to my pictures and why they are all over the place. Just so you know.

Last night was the big "Potter Affair". We spent all day dressing up. Maddie worked on her Luna Lovegood costume all week!! She had it all, down to the radish earrings!! We got some comments that Maddie looked quite a lot like Luna.

We ended up with a housefull getting ready. It was very exciting and quite fun to have the hustle and bustle here. Maddie's friend, Megan was a Hogwarts student; no one in particular. Maddie as Luna. Rozzie was Bellatrix LaStrange and borrowed the pleather bustier from McCall. She worked much of the day painting up her Death Eater mask. Sabrina was another Hogwarrs student. Nora was Rita Skeeter and I made her the green Quick Quotes Quill. Alexa was Lavender Brown.

Here is another shot of Rozzie with the Dark Mark on her arm that will be there for a long time, I'm afraid!Bellatrix!

We met Lani and McCall there. McCall was Fleur de la Coeur. Lani whipped this costume up in about 3 hours. Lani dressed up as Sybil Trelawney and she was just hilarious!! I went as Mrs. Weasley and wore two aprons.

And here, Rozzie and Dobby re-enact Dobby's murder. Rozzie didn't have a dagger to throw, so she used her wand. Speaking of Rozzie's wand, she found this twig months ago and has carried it around in her purse. It is bent, just like Bellatrix's wand. It was sitting by the computer the other night when Lani was over and Lani picked it up. Right as I was starting to say, "That is Rozzie's 'Bellatrix' wand," Lani snapped it in half. "NO!! That is Rozzie's wand!" Lani taped it together. Rozzie came home and was furious that we had broken her wand. Maddie and I were at Maddie's violin lesson. Rozzie got the story and was devastated. Lani got to feeling pretty bad about it. Funny story.

The movie was wonderful. I cried. The girls were heard to be all-out sobbing. We got home at about 3am and I was in bed by 3:15.

"Dark and difficult times lie ahead. Soon we must all face the choice between what is right and what it easy." My favorite quote from the books. It is well known, but it truly speaks what I believe and what I live by and teach my kids at home and at school.

Travis is Home and Now We Are Off to CAMP!

2011-06-30T14:35:00.000-07:00

Hey there! Travis arrived home safely from his cross-country journey. He had a good time and was happy to be home. He also brought the camera back with lots of great pictures. So now I can post pictures of the finished quilts for Morgan. There are 2 quilts - they are NOT identical (even though they may look that way). They are pretty great, if I do say so myself. I am so pleased with them and have been thinking of other t-shirt possibilities.

On the way out to Utah, Morgan was adamant about getting her National Park Passport stamped at some point. She looked at the planned route and she chose this location (Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site) based on what she had learned in her AP US History class. She and Travis learned a lot and enjoyed their stopover here and Morgan got her stamp.

She was thrilled to arrive at BYU campus and thought it was just beautiful. She wrote to me today on facebook and stated that she knows she made the right decision and is so happy. I asked if she still goes to dinner by herself and she said, "My dorm is so much fun!!" She also reported getting an A on her first Bio quiz!!

Her roommate never showed up, so she has a room to herself for the summer (that will change in the fall). She was concerned about this at first so I suggested that when she was in her room and willing to take visitors, keep the door open. Then, every once in a while, take a walk around and go visit someone. That worked very well for her!!

After leaving Morgan, Travis drove down to Hurricane, Utah, to visit his parents for a couple days. He helped with a few things around the house and enjoyed his visit.

Then it was time for Travis to head home. His dad rode along with him and kept him company. He really enjoyed the company!! They stopped over in Houston for a short visit with his brother Shan, Mikkyn, and their family.

The kids are a hoot! They were thrilled to have Grandpa and Uncle Travis there. They were entertaining. Here is the family in their natural state. The above picture is completely posed!! This next picture is the REAL family!!

So the next phase of summer brings us to Girl's Camp. We are all going (except Morgan). The theme is "BEE" oriented. It is kindof a tradition in our ward to make matching tshirts for the girls to wear as they arrive at camp. I offered to help them tie-die. The shirts came out beautifully!!! This is my shirt:

Then I took the shirts home and embroidered them thusly:

There is a story here and I will start by saying that those three dots under the bee are not blood. The black dye has many different color dyes in it and those are pink flecks. As I was embroidering my shirt (with my titanium embroidery needle) I was moving the fabric out of the way and the machine made that "chunk chunk chunk" noise and I stopped the embroidery. The needle had broken and the lower part was bent in a "C" and stuck on the pad of my right ring finger. I went to pick it off and realized it was stuck. Horror filled my sould. I slowly turned my hand over, and...two strands of thread were coming out my fingernail. "What have I done?" "I'm so embarrassed." "I have been sewing for 31 years and have never done this." "I can't teach a sewing class if I just sewed my finger." All those thoughts were running through my head. Then I thought, "I have to pull this out." The needle was out and I cut the thread running to the maching. Then, with firm resolve, I grasped the needle and pulled really fast. I put my finger in my mouth and ran downstairs for a paper towel. I thought, "I need to apply pressure." So I did. I paced the kitchen for a minute and then felt a little dizzy, so I sat down on the bed. I held my hand until it was numb. I put a bandaid on it, and then went back to finish the sewing project. I still had 9 shirts to go!! I have a hole in my fingernail that I have to keep filing down as it catches on things. It still gives me the heebies to think about it.

Odds and Ends and Dance

2011-06-18T09:12:00.001-07:00

Great Joy!! School is out. So first things first, we took the youth to the temple in Orlando. They are a great group of kids. The excitement of the day was arriving at the temple and one of the girls ran to the waiting room and vomited all over. All got cleaned up and the kids moved forward with their business and she was feeling fine a few hours later.
This picture is going way back in time to Rozzie's birthday. In all the confusion of graduation, parties, send-offs, and all that, I never posted a picture of Rozzie's birthday group. These are mostly church friends. She just wanted her cake decorated "prettily" so it has butterflies on it. She has her driver's permit and is looking for opportunities to drive at every moment. She does a pretty good job behind the wheel.

Last night was the dance recital. It was wonderful, as always. A great evening of entertainment. I haven't worked backstage for two years now and I miss out on all the group pictures. They got a few, but then the costume changes were coming too fast. They sure enjoy their time at the studio. This is their tap class - there are a few more girls, but they were doing quick costume changes. They danced to "School's Out for the Summer". I love their little school-girl costumes.

Maddie had taken a few years off from ballet, but decided to pick it up again this year. This is her ballet class. She has a man-teacher and he works them really hard. she has really liked betting back to ballet and hopes to be on pointe next year.

And finally, Morgan is settled into her room at BYU. I cried all last weekend. Morgan had a little panic attack Sunday night as we were finishing up the last bits of packing. Then Hannah and Sarah showed up and helped her out and calmed her down. Bless those girls!! Morgan and Travis pulled out of here early Monday morning and drove cross country to Utah. Morgan was so excited to see the mountains (and snow up at Rick and Holly's). She has been to BYU many times, but this time she was looking at it through different eyes and she loves it. She had freshman orientation yesterday and today. Travis and Katie helped her get unpacked. Travis said she started to get a little overwhelmed last night and Katie, with her cheerful attitude, just started helping out and Morgan followed suit. I think those two will like being close together!! So far, Morgan's roommate hasn't shown up. But Morg is off on her grand adventure.

I'll have more pictures to post when Travis returns home. Oh, and about the FSU blanket on her bed, I made her TWO tshirt quilts and she covers her bed with her FSU snuggie. alas...She'll get the quilts out when it gets colder (on the flip side of the summer).

I have vacuumed out her room. Her bathroom is next on the list of things to tackle. Rozzie and Maddie have dealt with all this pretty well. They cried on Sunday and Monday morning, but are mostly just really excited for Morgan. They ask what she is doing. And they stay busy with their own stuff.

Ta ta for now!!

I Hope She Had the Time of Her Life...

2011-06-06T09:56:00.000-07:00

Congratulations, Morgan!! Class of 2011 - Fleming Island High School
We have come to this point in our lives where we have a graduate. Morgan has been so excited about this (as all graduates are) and she was thrilled to be done with school. (I keep wanting to ask her what she has due.) It was nice to be with the seniors as they readied themselves for the occasion. The kids take a lot of pictures with friends and favorite teachers. I am usually posing with students, but this year I followed Morgan around and took pictures of her. Here she is with her very number one teacher, Ms. Jenkins, and a few of her very bestest friends.

This picture speaks for itself:

It was a hot night. Here come the teachers!!

I had set up chairs early in the day for Travis and Annette. They were pretty close! Here is me being very excited for the upcoming transaction. I was continually misty eyed and excited.

Then the moment came when I was able to accompany her to the podium. I had tears in my eyes and so did Morgan. I think she was rather excited to have this moment with me (and I, her). I have been so excited about this for 4 years, when I found out that our school allows us to give our children their diplomas.

And here it is. The transaction, itself. I didn't fall down the stairs, either. It was a very sweet moment. She was smiling and was so happy to have gotten to this point.

Pictured: Maddie, Annette, Rozzie, Morgan, Travis, Jenni, Sara, Mom.

Pictures with friends and family: Sarah, Hannah, Morgan, Rozzie, Maddie, & AJ.

Here is McCall. Her grandma is from Hawaii so she makes leis for the kids. Morgan got one, but it was covered up by cap in this picture.

Now, a note on the National Honor Society stoles - the thick, yellow neckbands. The sponsor of NHS didn't order enough stoles and many kids (including the valedictorian) didn't get one. Kids were really mad!! They were told they would all wear a patch instead. The kids rebelled and wore their stoles anyway. The patch was crudely affixed with safety pins to their arms. Sadly, the patch was white as was the girls gowns so they were basically invisible. Morgan refused to take her stole off as she walked in. This infuriated Mrs. Malicki and she started ripping the stoles off the kids. Isn't that a nice way to treat your honor students? The kids were horrified. She punished the kids for her error.

We had a busy weekend of party preparations and party attendance. Then it was time for our party!! Our first arrival was Andrea - my cousin - from California. She was on vacation with her family on the east coast and were driving through on their way to Universal Studios and Harry Potter World!! What a treat to have her here!

Sara helped me build the cake. I think we did a fantastic job and it was delicious!! This is Morgan's "shrine". I made her two quilts out of all her tshirts. There should have only been one quilt, but the quilters couldn't quilt it that way - it is a long explanation. Just so you know, they are amazing!! She won't be cold out in Utah, for sure.

The foods!! We made different salads, meatballs, chips/dip, fruit, and Travis was outside making funnel cakes! It was so good, and we have a lot left over.

These are the three graduates from our ward: McCall, Morgan, & Joanna.

The house was packed with people. Cars were parked up and down the street. The chairs were all full. People sat outside, even though it was hot. A neighbor made a video for Morgan and we watched it a few times. It was a tear jerker!! Morgan mingled. I mingled - which is hard for me to do when having a party. I wish I could just sit and talk with everyone. It also gets confusing to me when I have to monitor food!! We had such a nice time, though.

When it was all over and mostly cleaned up, I had to go in to school and write out quick sub plans for today. I'm glad I took the day off so I could sleep in and enjoy Mom and Sara for just a little longer. A big thanks to them for making the trip.

And now for your daily dose of cute:

Patrick is so naughty. He scratches, bites, and sits on the table. BUT HE IS SO CUTE!! Just look at his cuteness!!

My Sincerest Apologies

2011-05-28T04:58:00.001-07:00

For all those who are addicted to my blog and have been dying for a new post, here it is. I am sorry for the delay. These past few weeks have been very busy with important things every afternoon and evening. It will all slow down in two weeks (I keep telling myself). To start off, we got our family portraits taken by Jen when she came out to do Morgan's senior pictures. I got them ordered and hung on the wall!! I took the picture at this angle hoping Jen could see the metallic finish on the pictures. We went with that finish because we were at the rail yard. We are so happy with how they turned out!!Maddie was inducted/abducted into the National Junior Honor Society of Green Cove Springs Junior High School. She was rather proud of this accomplishment and they had a very nice ceremony with candles and all that stuff!! Here she is, a proud member of the NJHS. Next was Morgan's senior awards. This is a very nice evening other than the fact that we don't have an auditorium and it was about 85 degrees in the cafeteria. The administration does a nice job to make it a special deal for these kids. Each senior (receiving an award) has a slide with their picture, a list of their accomplishments, and (if known) where they are going to school. Morgan's slide states that she received the Principal's Scholar Award (3.75 GPA), the Eagle Pride Award, and AP Scholar Award. It also lists that she is attending Brigham Young University. She is pictured here with Mr. Ward, our principal. The next evening was Morgan's Band Banquet. That was a fun night, sprinkled with a few tears. As you know, band has been Morgan's home at high school. She has loved it with all her heart. She has looked forward to her senior banquet for 4 years, anticipating her 4-year plaque. She was also awarded one of 3 "Best Attitude" awards which was a great honor. It was so nice for her instructors to recognize Morgan's love for the organization. Morgan is so thrilled that her marching band experience is not ending, just progressing, as she was accepted into the Power of the Wasatch, BYU's marching band. We already have our plane tickets to go out for homecoming!! This past week was my senior barbecue. Four years ago, I asked my department head if I could have a little barbecue for my seniors to celebrate their accomplishments. Most of them don't receive the senior awards at the fancy ceremony; however they have put forth great effort to get to the finish line. So the senior barbecue was born. Over the past 4 years it has grown tremendously. WalMart donates time and food. The local corporate people come with with all the food and drinks AND they grill it and serve it. This year, Golden Corral also donated macaroni and cheese, cookies, and cupcakes. And let's not forget my dear Travis who takes a day off and makes funnel cakes for the kids. Last year, one of my students wanted to play flag football every week. I finally told him that we might be able to play a game at the barbecue. I was a bit nervous about flag football, though, and suggested kickball. The administration said ok, and the kickball game was held. As I said, this whole thing has continued to grow each year and this year, it was no different. The kickball game grew to having 4 teams with an actual playoff. we have a 10th grader who is a little league umpire and he dressed up to call the games. We had team colors and decorated tshirts. We have a 1st place and 2nd place trophy. It was, as expected, the best day of the year. The kids ask about it weekly and were so excited for the big day. This year, Morgan was a senior and she was allowed to play in the game. I like this action shot of her. The ball is hovering in the air, Morgan is running, and the infield is running for the ball.When the day was over, my team was victorious and I now have the trophy in my room for a 2nd year!! This is the group picture. It was in the high 90's, but the game went on! Right after kickball was Morgan's last violin lesson. She has been playing for 15 years and has had Kyle as her teacher for 11 of those years. He was just home from college when we started with him. He went to school at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music. We moved from Cincinnati the same week he came back home. At our first lesson, Morgan wasn't so sure about him until he mentioned having gone to King's Island (amusement park) the weekend before he came home, which turned out to be the same day we had been at King's Island. She was sold!! I kept my emotions in check until we got in the car and Morgan mentioned getting choked up playing one of their favorites, "Ashokan Farewell". Then I cried. Kyle has been much, much more than a violin teacher. Then there was Maddie's band concert. They played many recognizable songs and Maddie was so excited for this evening. The bands are small. Band doesn't begin until 7th grade here. I feel that and earlier start brings in more interest, and by 7th grade many are lost. The kids have to take so many other classes, too, that there just isn't time for band. But these kids worked hard to learn the instruments this year and did a great job. Both the 7th and 8th grade bands combined to play 4 songs at the end of the concert. Maddie said those were the hardest songs. She agreed that playing hard songs makes one a better. If you are having trouble locating Maddie, she is the 2nd trumpeter from the left. We discussed how good these kids become very quickly once they reach high school.

These are Maddie's good band friends, Kelly and Taylor.And last, but not least, we have a new kitten, Patrick. Here is Licky and Patrick. Patrick is interested in Licky. However, if this picture had sound, it would be a low rumble. Patrick is a very fun little kitten with very sharp claws.

This next week brings Rozzie's freshman awards - it isn't fancy like the senior awards, but she is receiving something anyway. I have been suffering from a cold. I haven't been sick in ages and this is not fun. My ears feel like there are balloons inside them. I have even taken to using a neti pot and it really helps!! I never thought I'd be able to do it, but I didn't drown myself. Maddie was even brave enough to try it. Friday night is the big night. Stay tuned!

My Moms

2011-05-08T17:31:00.000-07:00

A dear friend did a post today recognizing the strong women in her family. She is one for whom I have great respect. She had some great stories and it is evident in these stories, why she is such a wonderful person. I, too, have been blessed by some great women in my life. I thought I'd just mention my grandmothers and mothers.

My grandmother, Ruth Presler Talberg was a formidable woman who could wield a fly-swatter with accuracy and agility. She moved around a little bit in her youth, but then her father moved the family to central Minnesota. Her mother had left the family and her father raised the three children on his own. I didn't learn that she spoke German until she went to school until her funeral. My mom said that Grandma and Aunt Minnie would speak in German when they didn't want the kids to know what they were talking about. Grandma had 7 children and 40-something grand-children. My memories are of food, lots of food, from the garden that Grandma & Grandpa tended. Grandma was always canning and freezing. When we went to visit, we would shell peas, scrub cucumbers, shuck corn, etc. She would give us a dime to go to the Foley pool and then come and wave at us through the fence. She had a lot of friends - people dropped in at the house all the time. Grandma always had food to share with anyone that dropped by. She taught piano lessons and played the organ at church.

My grandmother, Isabelle Ritchie Hawley, was born in Scotland, and her family emigrated to California when she was three. She had 5 children and 24 grandchildren. We would go out to visit Grandma and Grandpa every summer and would stay for near a month. She would get us McDonalds and gum. She would take us to movies. She was always so kind and loving to us. We loved our summers in California. I have fond memories of the smell of the dishwasher in their house in Simi Valley. She kept all her daughters' dance costumes for us to use as dress-ups. Later on, she lived in Northern California on a 10-acre walnut orchard. We found it so exciting. She has always had such a strong testimony of the Gospel. Just last weekend, my grandparents celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary. My mother-in-law, Barbara Graham Smith, is a woman of faith. She has always understood the Minnesotan in me. She has 6 children and 25 grand-children. She is a hard worker and is never afraid of doing the hard things. I have seen so many friends struggle with their mother-in-laws, but I have been so fortunate to always have a great relationship with Barbara. I know she counts me as one of her children. On of my fondest memories is of a time when Mom and Dad were on their way to Madeline Island and they stopped at our house. It was suggested that I pack up Morgie and Rozzie and go along for a week's vacation. I packed up and the next morning we rolled out. I had a most wonderful time with my in-laws. I am forever grateful for that level of comfortability with them. My own mom is Katherine Talberg Olsen. She was raised in Foley, Minnesota. She joined the church when she was a college student at Macalester College in St. Paul. I have always been impressed that she accepted the Gospel as a college student. She has remained active to this date. She raised 5 children on her own. She was a substitute teacher, a piano teacher, and an envelope addresser. She worked round the clock, and I don't believe we were the most grateful of children. Don't worry, we have already apologized. She has a bunch of grand-children; some of them by blood and many by marriage. They call her Grandma, too. She has played the organ at church for many years, (just like her mother) and has passed that gene on to my sister, Sara. She works at the temple. She belongs to multiple book groups. I love her very much for all she has done for me and for being a great example. On time when I was the smartest teenager ever, I told her that I was going to raise my kids the "right" way. Well, I ended up following her example and have done it the "right" way!!

All Dressed Up with SO Many Places to GO!!

2011-05-01T14:15:00.001-07:00

Morgan's last band concert was last week - well, both of them. They had a real concert. I told Morgan that I was allowed to take any pictures I wanted. She cooperated at one point and waved. Her little face is in the center and she is even waving, acting like she is happy I'm taking her picture.
Later in the week, the band travelled to Tallahassee for their state MPA (music performance assessment) where they scored straight superiors. Mrs. Rys cried - she has never gotten that before. Needless to say, Morgan's senior band experience was rather exceptional.

Yesterday (Saturday) was a busy one for me. I went on the pre-hike hike. Next week is the hike for Girl's Camp, but I'll be doing ACT testing. Maddie has a band trip to Orlando, so we went on the Leader's pre-hike hike. It was 5 miles in the wilderness of Florida (luckily a shady wilderness). We had a nice time and Maddie accomplished that task for her Level 2 Camp Certification.

Later in the afternoon, Maddie had a dance expo in Jacksonville. It was national dance week and so there was a little showcase that our studio participated in. The girls have a good time together. It wasn't too hot, either, so that made it real nice. Maddie went home with her teacher and Travis and I stayed downtown.

We went to his office. (Maddie's performance was only 2 blocks from his office.) We had our gear in the car so we could get ready for .... PROM NIGHT!! The theme was "Masquerade" which made for fun table decorations. It is a fun time to mingle with the teachers:

I love seeing my students. I think this year was the best prom yet. There didn't seem to be the baseness that was so apparent 4 years ago. Mostly, I enjoy seeing my students all dressed up and looking their best. I take pictures and put them on display in my classroom. When I asked for pictures with one group of students and said it was for the "shelf of fame," Terra exclaimed, "I've been hoping to get on there!!" I put those pictures on my facebook page.

Here I am with McCall. We have known this family for a long time. Both McCall and Morgan are graduating. Sad note here, Morgan didn't really want to go to Prom, so no pictures with my own daughter. I'm a little sad about it.

And here I am with my date. He couldn't go last year, so it was nice to have him along. He was great about taking pictures and just hanging out. I do a lot of socializing and he is there to drive me there and back safely. The Prom is at the football stadium and there was an arena game there last night and it was really busy. Glad to have him along for that - and for the company.

I feel like I've been hit by a truck today. It is time for me to rest a bit. Rozzie had dance team tryouts on Friday and made the Golden Girl Dance Team for her sophomore year. Yay!! More next week, I'm sure...

Spring Break Lives

2011-04-25T14:26:00.001-07:00

Although our Spring Break ended a month ago, it seems to live on. Last week was the Alden's Spring Break and they spent it in Orlando. Travis and the girls were able to take an evening and drive down to have dinner with them. I wish I could have gone, but I had a previous commitment. The girls were so excited to see their friends. They had so much fun with Autumn and Brooklyn.
Travis hadn't seen Rick in a long, long time either so he was excited for the chance to meet and greet.

Preston is always a little left out at these meetings since I never had a boy for him to hang out with. But we love to see him. He is growing up and looking so much like his older brother!! I missed seeing Holly. I was really sad to have to sit this one out, but the gang didn't get home until 1:30 am and there is NO WAY I could teach school after that. Guess it is a good thing I didn't go. Holly invited Morgan to come and visit them anytime she needs a little getaway from the stress of college. I'm sure Morgan will take her up on it a time or two. Such dear, dear friends...When I mentioned that Spring Break lives on, I meant it!! We had Good Friday off from school AND (what I call) Great Monday was a day off. I got a lot done today. All this time off is getting me itchy for summer vacation. We have no more breaks until Memorial Day, so it is time to get serious and finish up Frankenstein and The Old Man and the Sea for my students. It is important to keep them working until the end or they get impossible.

We had Easter. It isn't quite as exciting as it used to be, but we have a really good dinner. The girls got some candy from the Easter Cat this year. They are looking all festive in the bright chairs.

No longer is this the "kid" table, but it is now the young lady's table. Rozzie made really cute name tags for the table; I wish you could see them.

And the Jello!!

Happy Spring!! Now we go straight to summer, here. It has already been to 91 degrees. We just really need rain, now. Back to school tomorrow!! Have a great week.

Senioritis

2011-04-15T12:14:00.001-07:00

I finished these magical socks. Just sayin'. Now onward to the meat of my post. Senioritis. As a scientist and an English teacher, I must object to this term. The suffix, "-itis" is used to denote an inflammation. I have yet to see any of my students become inflamed due to their senior status. Yes, they become lackadaisical, ornery, sluggish, and irritable, but let's call it something else. Any suggestions other than the senior slump? Senior-get-over-it-and-quit-taking-every-other-day-off-I'm-tired-too? By the way, Morgan was offended that the Clay County Fair didn't give her a "senior" discount. Yep.

We had a great time last weekend with Jenny and Violet. For a variety of pictures, check out http://www.hawleyfocus.com/ and you will be treated to a journey through the weekend. She posted many of our favorite pictures of Morgan and they are much larger than I am able to post here, so that is why I am sending you there rather than reposting them here. With that said, here are two more of her pictures that I loved. There is something about the saxophone pictures that I find amazing and different.

And this one shows her eyes so nicely. They are a nice shade of green!!

I am posting only one family picture, the other one will have to wait until Christmas. Start the count-down!!And now, the girls. I love these pictures. They had such a fun time goofing around for these. This is the last time we will have our family at this moment - all our children living at home and under our care. We are starting a new phase of life!!

I refer to these next ones as the "Charlie's Angels" pictures. They are so goofy, yet they really capture their personalities!!

There really aren't any traditionally serious pictures in the lot.

Certainly not this one!!

And so, there you have it. Thanks to Jen and her mad skillz. We had a great visit and are planning a redo in 3 years!!

Birthdays and Banquets

2011-04-10T15:33:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we went to Orlando for Maddie's dance competition. These girls did such a nice job. They sure enjoy being together. This competition graded the dances. The girls received a "high silver" for their modern dance and a "gold" for "Ease on Down the Road". Maddie enjoys being part of this group more than anything. We enjoyed getting to know the parents better. Last night was Rozzie's dance team banquet. Here are the Freshmen. They are thrilled that they will never be the freshmen on the team ever again.

Rozzie got the award for being "Most Likely to be a Squib". These seniors love her and keep her with them, and they find her very funny to have around. It has been really nice to see her grow into this team, mature, and find her confidence. She will really miss this little girl, Natalie, when she graduates.

Holy smokes!! Morgan turned 18!! We spent her day taking Morgan's senior pictures. We went all over the city. Jenny flew in from Wisconsin to help us out. Travis had a flight on frequent flyer miles or something and was able to get her down for a working vacation! She brought Violet and we are so happy to have them here. A senior picture preview will follow soonly. We finally got around to celebrating Morgan's birthday. We decided to make an "Angry Birds" cake! There are so many cute 3D cakes, but I just didn't have the time for all that. Once I started going with this, the girls all came in and started asking to help and after just a few cuts, they took over. Basically, I did the title. Morgan LOVED it. The girls all had such a fun time doing this together. Those times when all three work together happily like that are drawing to a close. (Morgan leaves in two months.)

Here is a close up of the cake!! If you don't know, Angry Birds is a game for phones and iPads that is lots of fun. The player slings a bird at the pigs who have stolen the birds' eggs. The goal is to destroy all the pigs who are hiding in different "buildings" and such.

Jenny and Violet have been such good houseguests. Vi has been a little clingy with mom while mom is trying to edit Morgan's pictures. We suggested Maddie take Violet on a walk and so they were off. Violet was perfectly happy to go "outside" and willingly went with Maddie. They have been gone a long time!!

I'm so glad that Jenny and Violet could come and visit. Morgan's pictures are just beautiful. I can't wait to get them in my hands. We also did a few family pictures at the rail yard. We have done the beach pictures and so this time we decided to hit the rails. My favorites are the pictures of the girls walking along laughing together. They remind me of "Charlie's Angels". I can't wait to show you!!

Another Birthday. Yay.

2011-04-04T13:18:00.001-07:00

I thought I'd post much sooner. Guess not. We got back to school and it was just as busy as before. Hmmm. Going to have to work on that. I did turn 42 successfully. It was celebrated in a variety of ways and on a variety of days. Lani and I went to eat at Cantina Loredo and it was delicious - I always love Mexican!! Here I am with my special dessert including a sparkler!! We had a family dinner on Sunday after Morgan's arrival home from New York City. We ate outside on our new deckware. I love the bright colored chairs. Morgan told us of her adventures and the cats attended. Spunky came up for a closer look at this point.

And that is all I have to say about my birthday. It was fun and painless. I don't mind getting older at this point. I have spent enough of my life pondering the alternative so the present isn't such a bad thing!! I have a wonderful husband and great kids. Teaching kids with challenges has made me very grateful for the kids I was given. And bright colors make me very happy.

Swimming with the Dollaphins!

2011-03-27T12:19:00.000-07:00

It was finally Maddie's turn to go and swim with the dolphins at Discovery Cove. This has been a fun thing to do with the girls. It is one of those things that we decided to do "because we live here and should take advantage of it". Maddie got this gift for her 13th birthday and has been patiently waiting for the day to arrive. We decided that a day at Discovery Cove is much better on Spring Break than in the middle of November. Her day arrived and we left bright and early Thursday morning for SeaWorld in Orlando.

We had our dolphin experience in the morning. Maddie was so excited for this. She had gotten a dolphin pillow pet for Valentine's day and has delayed naming until this very moment when she would meet her dolphin. Then, to our surprise, we met three dolphins. We met with and petted Dash. Then we got a ride from Dexter. After a few rides, Dexter wanted to do his own thing, so we borrowed Rascal from another group. Maddie had so many names to chose from. She pondered and pondered. She finally chose Dash. By the way, Maddie still pronounces "dolphin" with a slight "ah" between the "l" and "ph" making it sound like "dollaphin". I wouldn't want it any other way.

Maddie looks lovingly at Dash.

We spent some time in the aviary with the birds. This is Maddie's favorite bird - the mohawk bird.

See its green mohawk? It also had a bright pink section under its wings. Maddie really enjoyed the birds.

We went to go in the stingray lagoon and Maddie decided it wasn't a place she wanted to be. The stingrays are about 18 inches across - small ones. Their stingers have been removed, but she would not be fooled. She likened them to cockroaches - just really icky. So then we proceeded to the coral reef for some snorkeling. She really wanted to look at the pretty fish. She put her face in the water in the shallow end. Then she saw it: The table sized stingray swam by right up on the shallow part. NO WAY. She kept tyring to go in, but she just couldn't. I got a little snorkeling in, but not much. We snorkeled around the tropical river, which is just like a swimming pool - no fish. We even fell asleep in the sun.

After that adventure was over, we drove an hour to Tampa, found a Five Guys to eat at, and went to our hotel for the night. Next morning we were up and off to Busch Gardens. It was a wonderful day to go there. There weren't any lines on any rides. The day was sunny and warm. Maddie had done her research and made a list of the rides she wanted to ride. She packed that list, and then she made sure to have it with her as we entered the park. Upon seeing one of the "approved" rides, she changed her mind and crossed it off. We rode two water rides and were completely soaked so we didn't feel the need to ride a third. We browsed in stores.

We fed the lorikeets.Maddie got a henna tattoo. I am a firm disbeliever in tattoos, but this doesn't bother me. It is like finger nail polish or hair dye - not permanent. She picked a pretty hibiscus flower design.

After the tattoo, we walked around a little more. Maddie noted that her list was checked off and she was complete. So, she was ready to go home. I'm sure if friends had been along, she could have stayed the rest of the day. I didn't mind as it wold put us home around 6:30. We headed off for the 3 1/2 hour drive home. What a delightful time with Maddie. She was always thoughtful and so fun to be with. We laughed a lot. I'm so glad to have had that time with her.

Now her tattoo has flaked off and this is the stain left behind.

School starts back tomorrow. Fourth quarter begins - the beginning of the end. I'll blog about my birthday soon and then Morgan's New York City trip. Until then...

Moving Right Through Spring and Straight into Summer

2011-03-21T20:09:00.000-07:00

We are on Spring Break and I couldn't be happier. I got up and walked. The weather is still pretty decent for a morning or evening walk. Today I went to lunch with Lisa. Her baby is due any day and she needs a little cheering up, so we went to lunch. Travis, Rozzie and Maddie watched her kids. They packed up a lunch and went to the back park. They had a good time. There are only about three weeks in the spring and fall when parks are any good in Florida, so we made use of it!! They went out on the dock. And afterwards, they cooled off their feet in the pool. Apparently they had a decent time!!
This is my favorite time of the year in Florida. I try to find things that I like. Azaleas are something I like. Last year, two weeks before they were to bloom, Travis took the hedgeclippers to the azaleas and loped all the buds off. I nearly had a heart attack. I actually cried. This year, I reminded him to NOT trim the bushes. They are in full bloom right now and I LOVE IT!! Our pale pink azaleas are pretty. I like the deep colors best, but I go with what the builders planted. Funny thing about our bushes, there is one bush that puts out rogue magenta flowers. It used to be just one branch. But...looky who's peeping through down on the bottom of the bush now!! This bush is a genetic wonder.Last week was Morgan's last Kaleidoscope concert for band. They played the marching music one last time and it brought tears to my eyes. I went up on stage to get this picture because she sits so far back, I can never get good pictures. She told me that I needed to get off stage (it was still 10 minutes before show time). I reminded her that it was ok, I work there. She wasn't amused. A few of her friends asked for pictures, though.

We have a fun filled week planned. The girls got their rooms cleaned, floors cleaned, and laundry done. Now they can have a few fun days. I can't believe how fast the 3rd quarter went. It is usually so slow. Now we just have 10 weeks of school and it will all be over! YAY!!!

Divas to the Runway, Please!!

2011-03-14T16:43:00.001-07:00

Another fantastic weekend for us! I have a few things to report, so I think I'll be posting a few different times this week. Beware!!

Rozzie's dance team had a national competition in Orlando this past weekend. I was able to chaperone which got me out of school a little bit early. Isn't it funny that getting out 15 minutes early can be such a big deal?

We got to the hotel, which was the Hard Rock Hotel at Universal Studios. The Hard Rock hosted the whole competition. It is a really nice hotel in easy walking distance from Universal's parks and Citywalk with restaurants and all that. We had a lot of luggage and so we had a bellman help us up to the room. He was talking to us and asking the girls lots of questions. Then he asked if they were going to the park the next day. Rozzie answered that no, she and her friend Nora were going to hang out at the pool. He questioned them a bit further and finally asked, "If you had tickets, would you go to the park?" They responded, "Yes!" He pulled out his wallet and handed them each a ticket. They were jumping around, yelling, screaming, and generally going nuts. They were so excited. So, early Saturday morning they were bound for Harry Potter World and the rest of Universal Studios. Rozzie is on the far right:
After half a day at the parks, the girls all came home and slept for 30 minutes. Then it was time to get to work. They got dressed. I, along with a few other moms, did hair. It takes about two hours to get all 21 girls ready to perform. They are so funny to listen to. We gathered in the lobby before heading over to Citywalk and the Hard Rock Theater. Here are Rozzie and Nora being famous: (they are so excited that they get to dance this time!!)

Looking like they did, they got a lot of comments, stares, picture requests, etc. One girl I was with was told, "I like your face." We knew what she meant!! The girls did their thing and looked really good. When they came back in the auditorium, they got a standing ovation! It was very exciting. A few other teams danced and scored higher than us, but we held our position. Then, West Springfield High School (Virginia) took the stage and blew everyone out of the water with a dance based on "The Matrix" movies. The dance was so cool. It took us all by surprise. They got the 2nd standing ovation of the night. We ended the competition in 4th place, making finals the next day. We were pleased with the standing and were ready to work hard.

We got to sleep in and get ready before heading to the venue. We were really excited to see "The Matrix" again. Everyone knew they would win - they scored 9.954. We were down at 9.17-something. We had a lot of fun taking pictures - the last of the season. This is Rozzie with her coach, Miss Edmonds:

Here is Rozzie with her two best friends, Lauren and Nora, whom we call "Noren" for short. The great thing about this are the creepers. I know I have addressed the issue of creeping on the blog before. I knew Natalie was creeping (on the right side), but Alexa took creeping to the next level peeking right through Nora's arm!! She is GOOD!

Here they are before the performance - happy to be in finals and enjoying themselves. Rozzie is in the center on the back row. Her hair is enormous.

They danced and brought their game to the floor. They danced perfectly. As they counted down from the final 11 teams, we all got more and more nervous. As they got to 4th place, we waited and it wasn't us! (Sounds like the marching band finals!!) Then they called out 3rd place, and it wasn't us!! Here we are with West Springfield, waiting to hear the results. We knew we were 2nd, and that is what they called out. We raised our score around 4 points. WS was awarded a 9.971. They well deserved 1st place. We truly feel honored to have won 2nd (at the State competition, 2nd felt like losing it all).

The girls with their trophy. They were also awarded the "Technical Excellence" award!!

Here is a close up of the girls from "The Matrix". They wore wigs and WHITE CONTACT LENSES!!! They started the dance with sunglasses and took them off and just amazed us all.

The girls posed for pictures together and were so gracious to us. Our girls were so happy to be ranked up with such a great show.

In my classes, I have shown our team's video and then "The Matrix" video and my students have loved it. Rozzie and I got home at 11:00 on Sunday night and were back to school the next morning. All good things end and reality is waiting for us. I'm still smiling!!

Now for an explaination on the title of this blog post and the last one regarding Rozzie's team: The music has the lines "Divas to the runway, please" and "haters bring me fame". Both statements seem to fit the dance, the year, and the response to the costume.

I can't believe this year is over for Rozzie. We have had a lot of fun with it!!

On the Edge of Art

2011-03-06T15:37:00.001-08:00

This weekend was Maddie's turn. As you may or may not know, we switched dance schools this past year. I won't go into the whys and wherefores. However, the new school is much more conveniently located. As a result, I finally allowed Maddie to participate in the competition team. she is thrilled about it and loves to be part of the group. This weekend was their first competition. It was over at UNF (on the other side of Jacksonville). Here we are in our Art's Edge wear, looking very supportive and all that. Maddie was in two dances. The first was a modern piece called "Rise". These are the girls that participated. They did not dance with the flowers. They were awarded a special judges choice award for the dance which is a great compliment. They were rated a "gold" status for the dance which is pretty good (it isn't platinum - but it's not a silver or bronze either).

I thought Maddie looked so pretty in this picture. Her hair is amazing. My hair has never been nice like this.

The second dance was in the "musical theater" category and they danced to "Ease on Down the Road" from "The Wiz". Again, they got a judges choice award for great characters and costumes. They scored a "gold" once again. Maddie is sitting on the floor attending to the Cowardly Lion. (The girls in black are crows) (Sara, with your keen eyes and great understanding of their nature, you might be able to spot some ticks on this picture.)

Maddie had a lot of fun. I enjoyed myself and got some knitting in.

A Decision Has Been Made

2011-02-26T18:02:00.000-08:00

We missed the boat for Christmas. I had seen Pillow Pets at Walmart and thought it was silly. Little did I know that was a hit with the kids and the girls really liked them. When we went to the state dance competition, many of the girls brought their Pillow Pets. Rozzie was envious!! When we brought these home for Valentine's Day, Rozzie jumped up and down and screamed. She was on the verge of tears. Needless to say, they were all pleased.

It's a Pillow.

It's a Pet.

It's a Pillow Pet.

Today was our first beach trip for 2011. We went to Anastasia State Park with two of Rozzie's dance friends, Lauren and Sabrina. At the park entrance, the water temperature was posted as 58 degrees. That didn't stop these girls!! It was a beautiful day. I look forward to many more like it!! Maddie came along and split her time between me and Rozzie.

While we were at the beach, Morgan made a decision. She had hung the flag in the morning. By the afternoon, it was official and she accepted the admittance to BYU. It is a great feeling. I'm so proud of her. She had two great options; BYU and FSU. She will be going out for summer term two weeks after graduation from high school. Rise and Shout!!!

Are You Having A Bad Hair Day?

2011-02-15T17:20:00.000-08:00

Today was the Clay County Science Fair, way down yonder in Green Cove Springs. I took the day off to accompany Maddie and her award winning project. She created a hair hygrometer to measure humidity. She compared it to the Weather Channel's humidity readings and found hair to be an accurate indicator of humidity. She answered many questions and seemed to know what she was talking about. She knew how she would change the project if she were to do it again. She knew what happened to hair on more humid days. She was interviewed by a former meteorologist who told her that hygrometers are made using 18 strands of blond hair from Norwegian or Swedish women as that is the least elastic hair. Who knew she'd run into someone with that kind of knowledge. I was proud of her. It is a long, boring day. She brought a book to read; I brought my knitting.
Maddie's good friend, Justine, was there, too. They would check on each other once in a while.

Maddie and I went into Green Cove Springs for lunch. That was the most exciting part of the day!! It was a nice day together. In the afternoon, the school superintendent came by for pictures. Then in was finals interviews. We sat and sat and sat. Then we sat some more. Finally, about 4 people came by and interviewed Maddie. I thought, "Hmmmm." Then we packed up and went home.

Tonight was awards. Maddie placed 3rd in the Junior Earth/Space category. She was pretty happy. She was not nominated to go to state, which is a huge relief. This is good and not too much fuss.

Congrats to Maddie!! Oh, yes, she did wear her hair curly on purpose!!

Ear Care

2011-02-14T14:12:00.000-08:00

I have horrid dreams. Last night, in my dream, I scratched my ear and pulled out half an insect. Then I felt the creepy-crawly feeling in my other ear. It was alive and moving in there. I asked my sister, the shoe-box princess, to help me by tweezing out the bug. I was afraid to lay with that ear up for fear that the insect would fall deeper into my ear. Yes, I was in a complete panic. She was having trouble getting at it as the critter kept receding into the recesses of my ear canal. I finally just had to wake up and end the horror. Much to my relief, my ear felt fine. However, all day, I have felt and heard the echos of the imaginary bug in my ear. It was horrible, horrible, most horrible.

Superior

2011-02-12T11:07:00.001-08:00

This was a busy band week for Morgan. She had Jazz Music Performance Assessment (MPA) on Thursday night. She didn't get home until 10:30, but was happy to have received "superiors" for the band.

Last night (Friday) was solo MPA. She prepared a tenor sax piece. Our friend from church, Laura, accompanied her. Laura has accompanied Morgan on the violin the whole time we have lived here in Florida. Morgan didn't play until 9:10pm. It was late. It was across town. She had had Jazz the night before. She has Seminary every day. etc. etc. etc. BUT, Morgan did well. We waited around for about 30 minutes to see her score posted.

She received a superior rating!! We were all so pleased!! Here are Morgan and Laura, smiling after their award winning performance. Thanks so much to Laura for all her had work the last eleven years. She is always so willing to play the piano for all our various school and church endeavors. She also convinced Travis that having a busy schedule with teenagers is normal!! Thank you!!
Morgan goes back to night for ensemble MPA. She is in a tuba quartet.

UPDATE: Tuba quartet received SUPERIOR ratings!!

The Main Events

2011-02-06T14:19:00.000-08:00

Well, let's go through this backwards, I guess. Last night was a dance team competition for Rozzie. This was a small one in Jacksonville and we were the only high school dance team there. There were a few cheer teams. All the other teams came from studios. This time, the freshmen danced and it made a really nice difference. They were all excited and they won!! It was a great feeling. We had lots of people come and tell us they had seen us in Daytona and were excited we were at this competition so they could see us again. We even had some tell us they had searched all over youtube for us. The coach went home last night and made them a youtube page, if you want to check them out!! First place felt really nice. Rozzie has been dancing around all day. The nice thing about this event is that it was close to home and FREE ADMITTANCE!! Travis, Morgan, and Maddie came to watch and enjoyed themselves.
For me, another dance competition meant "HAIR" and I did a lot of hair. This is how Rozzie looked!! That is quite a planetoid she is sporting!!

Friday night was Maddie's violin recital. She played "The Ludlows" from "Legends of the Fall". She was rather nervous but did a fantastic job. She has grown into a fine violinist and her musicality is really picking up with her additional music teaching in band. She has been a student of Kyle's for ten years!! We figured that Morgan has only 13 lessons left with Kyle. Wow...

The beginning of the week was spent at The Cloister at Sea Island, Georgia. It is about 1 1/2 hours away. Travis has the Georgia Foreign Trade Conference there each year and it is my privilege to go along. One night, they took formal pictures in The Summit Room which is the room where they held the G8 Summit meetings in 2004. It is an impressive room with a very large table.

Travis and I enjoyed our 3 nights away (Sunday-Wednesday). Then it was time to go back to school and face the music. Morgan had her All-County Band concert while we were away. Next week she has solo and ensemble performance assessment and Jazz assessment. Keeping them busy.

Think Pink

2011-01-29T10:57:00.001-08:00

We had a busy basketball week here in Fleming Island. The team is doing very well right now. Last night was the big "Pink Out" game. Both the boy's varsity and girl's varsity played games, had senior night, and thinked pink. (A few games around town did the same thing.) The teams sold "Think Pink" tshirts with the "i"s dotted with basketballs. The money raised is going to breast cancer research. Nearly everyone wore pink. Even some of the basketball players wore pink laces and socks. The picture below is of one of my students, Darrick, as he shoots a free-throw. You can see all the kids in the background in their pink. The ref didn't represent. It made for a fun night, though. Here is Rozzie and McCall. They have enjoyed being on the dance team this year. The kids in the background are "creeping". For those who are not familiar with this term, it is where someone else is getting a picture taken and you position yourself and smile for the picture, thus "creeping" on someone else's picture. At the last competition, some girls were taking a picture and later on realized that the waitress creeped on them!!

Travis was pretty excited that he got to see someone famous at the game. This is Nolan Carroll of the Miami Dolphins.

Here is the situation: Nolan's brother, Nico plays basketball for Fleming Island and with it being senior night, Nolan came to support his brother and walk him in as he (Nico) was announced. Back in his days of reporting high school football, Travis remembered covering games with Nolan who attended Clay High, just to our south. Now, Nolan plays for the Miami Dolphins. I had never heard of him, but then Travis explained who he was and I remember the story very well. You might, too. In a game in December 2010 between the Jets and the Dolphins, a coach tripped a player running down the sidelines. The coach was fired and it was all over the news. that player was Nolan Carroll. You can look it up on youtube - I wasn't able to get it on here, but it is easy to find. So that was Travis' fun moment.

This past week, I was petitionned by a group of students to start a knitting group NOW!!! So the wheels are in motion for that. All is well in the Smith house!

The Satisfaction of a Finished Project

2011-01-23T17:52:00.000-08:00

Morgan and I both had the satisfaction of finishing a knitting project this weekend. Morgan is starting to challenge herself with new and interesting patterns. I made her knit the legs on this pair a little longer, just in case she gets in at BYU - she'll want those longer socks!! We both really like the greens here.
Here is a detail of the pattern. It is a little hard to see, but there is an additional pattern beyond the self striping yarn. She did a great job and is becoming an accomplished knitter. She likes to come to the knitting group at school and help out.

As for me, I finally got around to finishing this sweater!! I got a lot done, then got stalled out over the summer. I kept putting off getting back to it because it takes time to figure out what was going on when I put it down! But I overcame that fear over the Christmas break. I wore the sweater to church today and got a lot of compliments on the nice colors. It is very comfortable, almost like a jacket.

I was nervous about the I-cord finishing, but I persevered and figured it out (not that hard, actually) and am really pleased with the outcome. It gives it a nice, finished look.

Now, on to a new week. I get to tease a student for skipping my class last Friday and going to get a squid tattooed on her forearm. I love facebook.

Haters Bring Me Fame

2011-01-17T16:53:00.000-08:00

This weekend was the State Dance Competition. It is rather unlike the Minnesota one where it was part of the state sports. They don't have that here, so another company puts on this big competition down in Daytona and there weren't that many high schools there. But, it is a competition anyway and some very good teams. We had an amazing program and were very excited to show it off. Part of the music states, "Haters bring me fame" which means that the more people that hate you, the more famous you are. It has become the catch phrase of the season. So on the day we left for Daytona, all the girls wore their "Hater" jackets they designed and glittered up and Rozzie's friend Lauren made some of them these "Hater" shades (they block out your "haters"). They were rather cute!! So, here is Lauren, Nora, and Roz arriving at school on Friday morning.
We got out of school at 1:00 (I got to miss 6th period!!) and were on our way. I was a driver/chaperone and had a car load of girls. We stayed at the Hilton on the beach which was across the street from the Convention Center where the girls performed. We ate dinner at Bubba Gumps and I had the absolute worst salad I have ever had. It was completely tasteless. The chicken tasted old and lacked any flavor. I didn't even know what the eggs were. I thought maybe mushrooms. It was only on close examination that I figured out it was egg. I didn't even eat half of it. How disappointing. The funny thing is that I rarely ever dislike my food. I like food so much I'll eat things that are just so-so. This was inedible.

Saturday was a long day. We didn't dance until 6 pm, so we took a good, long time getting ready. The freshmen didn't dance this competition. They were basically "red-shirted" I'd say; that is the best way to explain it. This was a sore spot and it was apparent that the girls were feeling left out. They handled it very well, though. Rozzie and I talked a lot about accepting and being supportive anyway. They were all troopers!! Here is Rozzie and me. This picture makes her look taller than me, oh, I was just informed that she is taller than me. When did this happen?

The girls did a great performance and came in 2nd place, only .5 behind the first place team. Fort Walton Beach has always been winners here and they had dances in three divisions - we only danced Hip-Hop. But we were neck and neck!! The crowd loved the costumes (I picked them out - found it in a magazine and suggested it). Kids were asking to have pictures taken with the girls. They felt very famous. We went back the next morning and danced again and it was a solid performance. But alas, we came in 2nd again. Fort Walton Beach danced a clean dance. It wasn't very original or exciting. The word on the street is that we should have won. So many people stopped our girls and commented that they were their favorite. I guess I should add that there was also a cheer competition going on simultaneously so there were a lot of people watching.

Here is Rozzie with Lauren and Nora. You can see the make-up on Lauren. The jewels on the face really sparkled on stage.

Here is another picture - you can see how the costumes looked.

And the disappointing 2nd place.

There was crying on the way home. Losing is tough. Hearing over and over from so many people that we should have won is tough. But, it is a lesson we all learn over and over in life. I'm proud of how they did. Rozzie is really excited to dance the competition in March and get all glammed up!!

I was thankful to have a day off before returning to work. I will say that we have a great group of girls that seemed to know how to behave and they were very easy to spend a weekend with. They were very grateful for our help. It was also fun to spend a weekend with my dear friend Lani. I'm glad we had this year together with our girls on the team. I'll miss her next year. I got to know other parents better so I'll be ok - no need to worry about me!!

Travis and Rozzie just went driving. She started Driver's Ed on Florida Virtual School and so she is excited about getting her driver's permit at the end of May!!

After hearing all about Rozzie's dance competition, Maddie is excited to go to her competitions in March and April.

Keeping You in the Loop

2011-01-10T14:09:00.000-08:00

I have not been very good!! Sorry! So, what is new, you ask? My knitting club, that's what. I have thought about starting a knitting group at school but am somewhat shy. (No, really, I am.) Ok, maybe I'm not, but with this kind of thing I sure am. I am no expert Knitress or anything, so I question my ability to teach others. Rather than ruin a group of unsuspecting youths, I opted to make the faculty and staff my guinea pigs. I put out a flyer and invited all new and experienced knitters to come and play. Today was the day. We learned to make a slip knot, cast on, and knit. I had 7 students with more asking if they could come another time. We worked for an hour and they are to practice knitting this week and we will learn to purl next week!! It was pretty exciting. Morgan came the last 15 minutes and helped out. It was a lot of fun and there seems to be a great interest in the craft. We decided to meet next week, everyone seems to want to come back. We plan to meet again next week. I feel satisfied! We had teachers and cafeteria staffers there. If this goes well, next year, I think FIHS will have an official Knitting Club!!

Oh What did we do in the Wintertime?

2010-12-30T14:14:00.000-08:00

It is about time to get some Christmas pictures posted here, now isn't it? We have had such a good time. We have done a lot of knitting. Mom knit some Lugies that I was hoping to get done over the break. That was really nice!! We went to eat and Morgan's work. Travis took a picture of her, for which she was very embarrassed. She got over it, though, and we had a nice dinner at Five Guys. Morgan has been working diligently to obtain her degree from Five Guys University. She has about six hours of online training to do for her job. We listen along and get a kick out of all of it. There is a certain order that everything MUST be done. I understand why they have to have this training, but it is really goofy.

After we got home from dinner, there was a knock on the door and a "Ho, Ho, Ho." Who could it be, but SANTA CLAUS!!! It was sure fun to have Santa come check on us. Licky was a little freaked out, but he lasted for one picture.

Christmas Eve finally rolled around and we decked the halls and ate a lot. Here is the erstwhile "kid's table". There is Maddie, McCall, Kevin (McCall's boyfriend), Rozzie, and Morgan. Morgan decided that Christmas Eve was the night to pull out her new sweaters from Salvation Army for a night of Ugly Sweaters. Maddie also donned an ugly sweater. Here is a lovely picture of me and mom at the "grown up" table.
After dinner, we went to a friend's house for a bonfire, s'mores, and hot chocolate. Here is Travis and I in our holiday finery. I knit this sweater about 23 years ago. The girls laugh at it, but I think it is a classic.

Here is Morgan and Rozzie roasting a giant marshmallow over the flames.

Licky joined us momentarily for gift opening on Christmas morning. As you can see, he is delighted by the merriment.

Here are our three girls on Christmas morning. Yes, it is light outside. We made them wait until 7:30 before they got us up!!

We hope you all had a very Merry Christmas and a fun time off from school or just from the regular day to day drudgery. I go back to school on Monday and the students join us on Wednesday. I'm definitely NOT ready for that. But, the year is half over and there is much to look forward to in 2011!!

Panhandling on the Streets of St. Augustine

2010-12-22T07:33:00.001-08:00

Grandma is here for a visit so we took her out with us for our annual pre-Christmas dinner out. This year we chose The Columbia in St. Augustine. The Spanish/Cuban cuisine is so wonderful. The girls weren't quite as impressed as we were, but they seemed to enjoy it in the end. The signature "1905" salad is a wonder to eat. This has become a favorite place for Travis and me.

Here we all are looking so festive. I might add that the bread was also divine. And the lunch prices aren't so awful, either.

The whole reason we went to St. Augustine was that Travis had this idea that he wanted the girls to play their violins on the streets and see how much money they could make. So, I let him be in charge of the shindig. He kept trying to get me involved, but I resisted!! And he did a great job. He was getting the girls set up when a police officer came up and told him they had to be 50 feet off the main street. So then the police officer showed Travis where they could set up right outside The Columbia. It was a prime spot. I think the officer was happy to see someone who was actually dressed decently and might add to the atmosphere of the city rather than make everyone walk to the other side of the road. So they got set up and started playing.

Older people seemed to like them. Actually, everyone responded very positively, but the older people were the ones to drop money! But the group of people who REALLY liked it, was the small children. One girl was saying, "Look, violins, Mommy, look, violins..." and she really wanted to go see them, but the parents were too busy. These next two pictures are so sweet. This was what it was really all about.

This little girl stayed for a long time. The kids had fun and made some spending money. Then they found out that the Henna tattoo artist was closed for the season. Bummer. Maddie had asked if she could bring her trumpet and play. We weren't about to deny her enthusiasm, so she pulled the trumpet out and got going! She was a little startled at first at how loud she was. She commented, "It sounds so different without the whole band."

It was a lot of fun for the girls and for us. We had a great time watching them. They just played the same Christmas tunes over and over. People are only around to hear one or two songs. Travis had a good idea!! I think people were more inclined to give them money since they were actually playing recognizable music and were dressed decently. The guitarist down the street gave up after a while. He was just smoking and strumming away with his filthy hair hanging in his face. Who would you give money to?

Later that night, Morgan finally finished her masterpiece. The next morning, he was busy helping out:

Have you ever seen anything so adorable?

Merry Christmas to all!!

More Dancing, Running, and Working

2010-12-12T17:06:00.000-08:00

The past week was a rough one. My face is on the mend; however, it still really hurts to wipe my nose and my nose has needed wiping. The Golden Girls sold $300 in candy grams which was a huge success in my mind. We were hoping for $100. This afternoon Lani and McCall came over and we all put them together and sorted them by teacher and have them all ready to go!! What a relief to have my fundraiser done!!

Saturday brought Maddie's dance performance at the Christmas festival here on the Island. She really likes being in the company at her new studio and looks forward to competing. She likes the team feeling!! She performed two dances and looked just beautiful. This one is my favorite!

They do a little kick line in the jazz dance.

Here is the entire company, the teachers, and Santa.

Maddie and Degas have been dancing together since they were three years old.

While we were watching the dancing, Morgan was at work toasting buns. Some of her friends came by and left their calling card on her car windows. Every window was covered. They even got the sun roof!! It says "We got even got this!" She was actually quite thrilled and can't wait to drive it to school. We had her clean the windshield to be able to drive.

After work, Morgan, Travis, and Tara ran a nighttime 5K. The route was lined with luminaries. She really enjoyed this one. Her finishing time was 3 minutes faster than her last race. She really liked this tshirt.

That concludes this past weekend's activities. It will be another crazy week, but after that - VACATION!!

A shout out to my sister who is 43 today. It will always be memorable because there was this crazy blizzard, church was cancelled, and the Metrodome roof collapsed and there are super cool videos of the collapse. Happy birthday, Sara.

The Black and Blue League

2010-12-08T14:14:00.000-08:00

I slept pretty well once I fell asleep that first night. My nose had swelled shut. Breathing through my mouth is one of my least favorite things and so falling asleep was a trial. I faced my students at school the next day and told them all the horrors I had lived through in the past hours and they were adequately impressed with my fortitude and will to survive. When I left for school, there were no outward signs of bruising, but I was swollen. Lani told me I smiled like a bad botox injection!! By the time I got to my planning time during second period, all the blood that had pooled in my nose drained into my lip creating a nice blood blister. It felt like I had a marble in my lip all day. The bridge of my nose doesn't hurt, and my lip doesn't hurt. It doesn't even hurt to sneeze. By the end of the day, I was feeling pretty ragged though. These were taken at the end of the day. The swelling is decreasing but you can see the bubble on my lip, and the bruising starting to come in.Morgan said I look like I'm puckering here - but I'm not!!

I'm feeling pretty decent. Today the bubble has started to diminish. It is very painful to wipe my nose. It is VERY tender on the inside.

Morgan had a great band concert last night and we didn't get any pictures. I didn't even see her. But the band sounded very nice.

Then we got home to find that she was accepted to Florida State University which is a pretty big deal around these here parts. Yes, BYU is still her #1 dream, but we won't know about that until the end of the month.

Now I must go and get Maddie and transport her to violin!! Have a great week. Tomorrow when I wake up it will be Thursday. I was convinced today was Thursday and then found I was sadly mistaken. LONG WEEK.....

Work Hazzards

2010-12-06T13:16:00.001-08:00

I was just helping out some of my students with their project. I was the "usurper". Mrs. Teto assigned her kids to make a video using some of their vocabulary words they have recently learned. We all have a "thing" going on with a trophy that was awarded at the senior kickball game last year. It tends to disappear and then pictures of it surface on facebook. So the video was about people stealing this trophy.

While filming and stealing the trophy, Graceful here trips and falls ON said trophy, breaking the trophy and nearly breaking her face!! I gave the kids an awful scare (along with poor Mr. Pandich who was chasing me). The nurse came with gauze, ice, and the wheelchair. I was on the grass on my hands and knees checking to see if my teeth were there - yep - and letting the "smart" wear off when Mr. Pandich started saying that I was bleeding. I opened my eyes and took off the bandanna (I was a thief!) and sure enough, it was nearly gushing.

Here is a catalog of the injuries:

The trophy hit my face twice, once in the lip and then it grazed the nose. Now it is all decently swollen and I have to breath out of my mouth, which I hate. I look so silly and feel even sillier. I have been icing it. I cancelled everything tonight and put Travis in charge of everything that needs doing.

I'm trying to put on a happy face. My students feel just terrible. I'm sure this will be one of those things we talk about for a long, long time.

Here is an update. I just washed my face and finally took a look in my mouth - OUCH!! No wonder it feels funny!

Bake sale and Candy Grams

2010-12-04T06:10:00.000-08:00

I am in charge of two Golden Girl (actually 3) fundraisers at this moment. This is not my usual "thang". Each girl is responsible for one fundraiser. I fretted for a long time and thought of ways to get out of it. Nothing realistic came to mind. So I thought real hard and had a bit of a revelation: "Candy Grams". I remember candy grams at school so I suggested it and it was approved and next week we start selling. I have been busy getting all the logistics done. The girls will sell during lunches. I hope it goes over well.

This past week, the Golden Girls hosted "Fleming Island's Got Talent" and they featured 13 acts. We were all a little nervous how this would work out. I asked the coach if she wanted me to run a bake sale/concessions just to earn a little more money. She said sure, so I put an email out to all the parents and got a few donations. We set up and sold $88 in cookies, cupcakes, brownies, rice krispie treats, popcorn balls, and water. The food was only 50 cents and the water, $1. We sold a lot of treats!! We were really pleased with the outcome. But even more surprising was the turn out for the show. We filled the cafeteria - that is right, we don't have an auditorium. The poor pianists played on a plinkety upright that wasn't quite in tune. BUT the show was great!! I really give props to these kids for putting themselves out there. In a musical or something there are others on stage with you and it is all set by a director, but these kids put themselves out there. The audience was VERY respectful - you won't always get that with a bunch of teens. A few hundred people showed up and we made over $1000 in ticket sales. It was a huge success!! What a great relief. The big surprise was that the audience was mostly teenagers - even boys!! There were very few parents/grandparents there.

AND, I am heading up an AVON order as a GG fundraiser. If anyone is interested, let me know and I'll tell you where you can look online at an AVON catalog.

Last, but not least, Morgan's restaurant opened up, and she worked 3-10 that day. She gets her first paycheck today!! The place was super busy and time went by quickly. I even took a quick picture of her working. I was happy to know that I had taught her how to effectively sweep a floor and wipe a table. This is what we call a "drive by shooting."

The food was REALLY good.

Giving Thanks with Friends

2010-11-28T17:55:00.001-08:00

I hope you all had a fabulous Thanksgiving. We had a really nice week! Travis took the week off and the schools were out all week so we had a lot of togetherness as a family. Morgan started her job on Monday and really likes it. She has finished up working at the mall and has a "store opening" meeting at the new location on Tuesday!! I got to spend a day in St. Augustine with Lani for her birthday.

We celebrated Thanksgiving with the Collard's. We went over for dinner at 3:30 and ate our fill. We took carrot souffle, mashed potatoes, rolls, and some bubbly. Dinner was delicious as always. The conversation was even better. We tried something new this year. We ate, then took a nap break and reconvened later in the evening for pie! During the nap break, we added a couple girls to our gaggle. The Steinhour family moved away last year, taking their daughters with them. How rude!! Ashlyn and Maddie were happy to get back together.
Ciera and Rozzie had been plotting this reunion for a couple months. They were able to spend just a little time together, but it was well worth the effort. The girls spent the night, too. It was so fun to see them.

We took them all over to the Collard's and here are the other girls in attendance - Morgan, McCall, and Hannah - the other Smiths joined us for pie.

Hannah has noticed how often she appears on my blog. I guess it is because we like her a lot.

Here is a picture of the pies. Someone always asks what pies we had so here they are (clockwise from the top): chocolate (2 pieces left), pineapple upside-down cake, banana cream, strawberry/rhubarb, pecan, peach, pumpkin, and another pumpkin behind the flowers. YUM!

The girls retired to the back room for a lot of laughing and some creepy TV.

I sure miss my family on these occasions. However, I am grateful for such good friends to gather with and feel like we belong with them, too.

Friday brought new activities. Fleming Island is in the state playoffs and we had a big game. We won it, so that leaves the boys at 12-0 for the season!! Before the game, all the Golden Girls came over for pizza and poster making for an upcoming fundraiser that I am running: Candy Gram sales!!

This is what the whole house looked like for a couple of hours.

I went over and sold tickets at the game and it was full. We were so surprised to have that many people there on a holiday game. Many of the fans - maybe even more than half - were from the opposing school. It was a tight game and we came out on top.

So now the fun is over (for three weeks). These weeks leading up to Christmas break are exceedingly busy with concerts, games, celebrations, parties, and galas galore. I hope you all have a great December.

One last note, in case you didn't hear, Morgan found the email dated Nov 17 from BYU-Idaho stating that she was accepted. Back-up plan is in place!! We are happy. So is she.

Morgan Smith, State Champion

2010-11-21T18:47:00.001-08:00

I will apologize right now for the over abundance of pictures and general gushing by me. But yesterday was a most amazing day. I had just spent the past couple of days crying each time I thought of watching Morgan march for the last time. Marching band has been the best thing for Morgan. She had a place in school where she fit and excelled and felt productive. We have loved being band parents and helping out - making funnel cakes - and all. It all ended yesterday as the band went to the state competition. They had a successful season, scoring higher than they had ever scored. They were confident they had a chance at making finals. We were very excited for the big day. We had a great football game the night before. It is state playoffs and we won - my student made a fantastical catch behind his head. We are now 11-0!! After all that, we had to be on the band bus at 4:30 am. I do not look forward to these days, they are so long and arduous. But we have a good time.

So let's begin the day! We got to Tampa and had our preliminary show at a high school. We had to get the kids fed. Trav and I brought 15 lbs of bananas. there were peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, donuts, and bananas. Morgan got her new band sweatshirt just in time for state. They are pretty schnazzy. here she is with her friend AJ waiting for food.

Next, the kids warmed up and stretched. The band teacher ran them through some drills and got them awake.

Before we knew it, it was time to take the field. Morgan is the middle tuba here:

We got into the stands to watch and cheered for our band and got shushed. We have never been to a band competition where we were told to be quiet. We are always encouraged to be supportive and cheer them on. This lady gave us this look anytime we clapped or said "Woo hoo" so I took a picture of her glaring at us.

And here they are as they finished their preliminary performance. They did a great job. We were really happy with how they did.

After the performance, the band goes for a picture. They look so sharp!! They are Eagle Band One.

After the big picture came the group pictures. Low brass:

Very low brass - sousaphones. This is a great group. Morgan has loved marching this thing around with these people.

Morgan and Tricia have been in band together for 5 years and marched tuba for 3.

This picture makes me really happy. It's thoughtful. I wish there wasn't a dumpster in the background. I get such happy feelings looking at this.

Next, the seniors had to go out on the field for what is called "retreat." All the bands line up and we find out scores and places and all. Morgan is the one without the helmet (sousaphone players don't wear helmets, hats, etc.). They were very excited. They were hoping to make finals - hoping hoping hoping!!

Yay!! Eagle Band One made finals. They came in 5th, only 1.88 points behind first. But Gainesville and Stoneman Douglas are always the winners of 3A. We were so excited to be that close to them. We were going to finals!! We had to eat fast, get on the buses, and get our hineys over to Tropicana Dome because we were on 1st!!

All the 4 year seniors get a medal, and Morgan has been waiting for this since her freshman year. She shows it proudly with her very proud dad! We were going to finals for the first time since freshman year - this was a big deal.

We got to the dome and warmed up. Then, time to perform. Instead of taking pictures, I watched and cried. All of us moms with seniors were in tears. This is the last performance of our children in high school marching band. Again, this is the end of the performance. I have loved this. I'm so proud of Morgan and this whole band. They performed so well in finals. Sometimes you can see how tired they are and they had been going for a long time and already marched once. But they were on fire. They blew it out of the water and their energy only increased. The color guard was spot on. It was beautiful.

Morgan is the short tuba - 3rd from the left on her last moment of the show. The band instructors both felt that this was their best performance of the year.

The kids were excited with how they did. This was it!! Look how I sparkle, too.

Then we spent the rest of the day and night watching 24 other bands. It is fun, but it gets pretty long. The 5A bands are the amazing, big bands. These bands have upwards of 57 girls in the color guard!!! Travis and I really enjoyed the day together. Soon it was time for the bands to line up for the final retreat. They got to 3A and said "5th place" and I expected them to say "Fleming Island" and they didn't! Wow, we got 4th place, how great!! Then they didn't say FI for 4th. 3rd place was more than we could have hoped for, but we weren't 3rd. That was Stoneman Douglas - we beat them? Well, 2nd is a great finish. We pretty much knew we were not going to beat Gainesville. Then they said, "In 2nd place....Gainesville!" I was watching Morgan get more and more excited. When they said "Gainesville," Morgan dropped to the floor. The band went nuts. They had just won State.

The amazing thing is that, as the 3A champs, there are still the bigger bands ahead of us - 10 of them. It turns out, our score was high enough to beat all of 4A and one band in 5A. Out of the 88 bands that competed at state, we came in 5th. What a great day. What a way to end Morgan's marching band experience. We keep saying, "I can't believe it." It was so much more than we were expecting. We were back on the bus at 1:40 am and asleep by 2:30 am. Home at 4:40. What a day.

Changing subjects, here is Rozzie dancing at Friday's football game. This is the fun hair picture.

In other great news, Morgan has a job! She was hired on Friday and starts tomorrow (Monday). The establishment is called "5 Guys Burgers and Fries" and is opening a restaurant on the Island. They have one at the mall and it does very well. Here is a general picture of a really big restaurant. Ours won't be two story, but they are all red and white. People are really happy the place is opening up. A friend from church knows the manager and so that helped a little. Morg was so excited when they called her to set an interview. She went on Friday before the game and was hired right then and there and she starts right away. There is no school all week, so she'll be working. The Fleming Island location opens up on December 1st and she'll be all trained in and ready to go. The timing of this job was perfect. We know she was blessed at this specific moment that when band was done and her schedule cleared up, a job came along. We are truly blessed!

The food looks pretty good, too!!

So that was a pretty long post, but it was good to get it all out for you. I hope you don't mind sharing in the photo journey of the day. Quite a good week... I hope my tears are done for now.

Strong and Courageous

2010-11-15T12:34:00.000-08:00

I was released from Young Women's a year ago. I directed the YW program and then I was DONE. Well, with 3 daughters in the program, when the YW president asked if I'd take the reins and direct this one, I had to say yes. I really didn't have the time. No one taught my Sunday School class for me. But I knew it would benefit me and I always like doing it, in the end. So, about 2 months ago, we started to practice here and there and it was in a little bit of a mess. Slowly but surely, it turned around and we had another stellar performance on Sunday. The girls sang powerfully - which they had never done in practice. I was so proud of them. The Laurels decided that everyone would wear black skirts, white tops and red accents because red is a strong color. Lots of red necklaces and flowers in hair.
This program was especially meaningful in that it was Morgan's last YW program and Maddie's first. So all of us were involved. It was a proud moment for Travis and I.

Thirteen for one, a race for another

2010-11-13T09:49:00.000-08:00

This past week, Maddie had her 13th birthday. It was greatly anticipated and then spent at school, dance, violin, and church. I believe she enjoyed it anyway. I made cupcakes to take to church for the girls and they were pleased. They are practicing for the Sacrament Meeting program this Sunday. I am not in YW anymore; however, they asked me to direct the program so I have been heavily involved recently.

Our schools had Veteran's Day off (Thursday) so Maddie was able to enjoy herself then. She had two friends over for a taco lunch and laughing.

In other news this week, Morgan ran her first 5k race. She has been training at band practice and then with a lady in the ward, Tara. Tara comes over each Tuesday and gives Morgan "the business." She has been so great for Morgan. Here are the ward members at the race: Amy, Travis, Morgan, and Tara. Amy ran the 10K.

And here is Morgan and Trav crossing the finish line. During the race, Morgan reported that she wanted to push her dad into the middle of the road in response to his kind encouragement. Now she is planning to do two more races in December!!

Now we are off to Sushiya for a family dinner for Maddie's successfully turning 13. They serve stuff other than sushi! Now all our kids are teenagers!!

Senior Night

2010-10-31T17:57:00.000-07:00

Not this kind of senior! This was the youth Halloween party and Morgan is a senior. You can't see her eyebrow (singular) but you get the idea.
All the band seniors and some of their parents (and two sisters) met at Mellow Mushroom for dinner before the game. As my regular readers know, marching band has been Morgan's life in high school. It has made her high school experience so positive. I'm forever grateful that Morgan decided to do band in 8th grade and find her niche, her safe place to get through these years.

Senior night consists of the senior band, cheerleader, dance team, and football players escorted on the field by their parents and their names are announced. It is far enough ahead of the game that there are very few people in the stands. However, it is an important moment for these kids. We all look forward to it. All the younger team members line the procession and if we hadn't been laughing, I would have cried. It was fun to hear our names announced. Rozzie was standing along the way, too, and she cheered for us!!

Here are the band seniors! There are a few more who do not march and they weren't presented. But this picture includes #66 - Charles. He always wanted to march (tuba) but then would decide to play football. The band always cheered for him and he always turned and waved to them. He was one football player that truly appreciated the band. This picture makes me very happy.

As of two minutes ago, Morgan's BYU application is in!!

The Night of the Undead

2010-10-30T10:13:00.000-07:00

At this week's football game, the Golden Girls did the "Thriller" dance. This is the very famous Michael Jackson one that we all remember from 1980-something. Each of the girls needed to dress like a zombie. We went looking at Salvation Army for something good to wreck. We found something good. I wanted to keep it as it was because it really was a pretty dress in a classic style. And, to top it off, it was only $2.50!! So, here is Rozzie before she went to the cocktail party where she was stabbed and pushed off a balcony.

Here she is after the horrid event.

The crowd loved the dance - it is Halloween weekend you know!! All the undead have come to haunt you!

It was also Senior Night at the football game so as soon as I get some good pictures from that, I'll post those, too. I was unable to photograph the event since I was in it.

Too Much

2010-10-22T15:14:00.001-07:00

There really is too much going on to blog about it all. There is band, dance, school, and church. If I posted pictures of it all, there would be pictures of Morgan marching and Rozzie dancing. You have already seen them on facebook. If not, they look just like the ones I have previously posted. So in the interest of showing you something new, here are the sweaters I embroidered for the dance team's homecoming dance which paid homage to Harry Potter. It is now your job to identify which crest goes with which Hogwarts House. We went for a simplified crest so that it was identifiable from a distance. They turned out wonderfully!! The girls were so excited.
Next up is a picture of the band coming around the track. It is not a picture of Morgan, though. I just thought this looked impressive. For the homecoming game, many band alumni came and played with the current band. They had official t-shirts and everything. I like the purple flags, even though purple is not one of our school colors.

Tomorrow is a band competition in Orlando. Travis and I are chaperoning so we get to ride the bus and be gone all day!! But, there aren't many more opportunities to do this and so we are enjoying every moment. Morgan's senior year is officially 1/4 completed, as of yesterday.

Echoes of Excellence and More!

2010-10-10T12:07:00.000-07:00

To start out this blog, I thought I'd show you something cute. Here are Spunky and Florence, enjoying their afternoon together. Florence is napping with her cute little head tucked in on her back and her little leg tucked underneath. This elicited many an "awwww" from the family, including Travis.
Last year, at the Christmas Craft Day at church, Lani had gotten these Halloween panels and had me quilt and bind them for her. Donna decided she wanted them too and went and bought them. As payment for doing this favor for her, she gave me the two smaller panels. Aren't they cute? I LOVE them!! A couple Saturdays ago, I spent the day quilting and binding and am happy with the results!!

This week's football game was in Daytona against the Seabreeze Sandcrabs. They share a stadium with the college there, hence the huge stadium. Fleming Island was victorious. Travis chaperoned the band and took along the nice camera to take pictures. However, this particular picture was taken by the band's photographer who took this picture. At the end of the game, the team, cheerleaders, and dance team all gather together and sing the alma mater (accompanied by the band). Roz and her friend always try to position themselves for the photographer. Roz got right in front this week and smiled pretty for the photographer. The young man next to her (#23) is one of my students from last year, De'Aundray. He is a great kid and seems rather exuberant during this rendition.

Saturday was a long day for Morgan. After having gone to Daytona the night before, she had to get up and go for a marching band competition (Echoes of Excellence) in Middleburg (about 20 minutes down the road). It warmed up pretty quick and it was down right hot by the time they took the field at 3:15. We took the zoom lens and got really good pictures. If you check my facebook, I have an album dedicated to the competition and they are great pictures. I like this picture because it is very purple.

Here is an impressive line of tubas! Morgan is the short one.

We left after they performed and Morgan texted us later to report that they were in 2nd place overall and won their division. She was very excited. We went back for their finals performance at 9:15 last night. They did wonderfully, came in 3rd place overall, and got the highest score they have ever gotten at this competition. It was very exciting. Also on my facebook in the videos is a video of this competition.

It is hard to believe that this is Morgan's last marching season. She announced that Friday was her half birthday. She is nearly eighteen!! And with that, I'll bid thee farewell. Homecoming this week, so stay tuned!

Trav's Weekend

2010-09-26T16:34:00.000-07:00

We had a pretty quiet weekend here. It was so nice. The big deal was that Moe's had a promotion with all burritos all day, only 99 cents. Trav and I went for lunch and Trav took the girls for dinner. It was packed! Everyone was very thrilled about 99 cent burritos. That was the highlight. I moved my scrapbook stuff back upstairs. I embroidered a few t-shirts for a school football program. It was so wonderful to sleep in both mornings. October is shaping up to be a busy month, so this past weekend's respite was relished.

Since nothing big happened this week, I'll finish reporting last weekend. While Morgan and I were off to Tallahassee, Travis escorted Roz and Maddie to Orlando for a youth temple trip. Our youth program is pretty small at this point, but they had a really nice time. Travis enjoyed the moment with the girls.

The week before the game, Travis got an email from an old friend, Al Call. Al and a friend were planning a trip to Florida for the BYU game and got a hotel Saturday night in Jacksonville for the sole purpose of seeing Travis. My dear, sweet "10 o'clock Charlie" broke his mold and went out to meet up with Al at 10pm. He didn't get home until 2am but claimed it was well worth it. Trav hasn't seen Al in about 18 years or so. They were best friends growing up in Minnesota. I'm glad they had a chance to meet up and that Travis made that sacrifice!!

One of my most difficult students came by to see me on Friday. I had him when I first came in on my job mid-year and he was a senior. He made me earn my money, but he passed his state testing and graduated. He is now a Shoe Carnival manager (he worked there in high school) and I'm so proud of him. He sat there and told me about a bunch of other students making comments like, "_____ is finally getting it together and has a stable job." It was a sweet moment. And it all happened in front of my junior class and was a good lesson for them. Sometimes I get a really nice pat on the back for a job well done. In this case it was a couple of big hugs.

Rozzie goes to the dermatologist tomorrow to finally get something serious done about "Hank," her plantar wart that has grown out of control. She wants it gone, but is very nervous about the pain that might be involved!

Animal update: Florence knocked on the back door yesterday. She was out of water and nearly out of cat food. I feel so silly.

Battle Royal here in Florida

2010-09-19T15:59:00.000-07:00

The Cougars of Brigham Young were in town yesterday for a showdown on the gridiron. Too bad it was more of a lie-d0wn. Morgan and I were there anyway to show our support for the team. There were a lot of people there in the blue and white. I had never been to Hallytassee, Tallyhoochie, Whatchamacallee, so I followed our friends (Brad and Donna) and we made it there safe and sound. We went to the BYU party and the girls were all over getting their picture with Cosmo. Morgan and Cosmo are pictured here with friends Chloe and Hannah. They were the oldest kids in line for pictures.

We ran into Linda and Patrick with their family and got along just fine, even though they are wearing the wrong colors!!

Comments are always made about the opposing team fans and the things they wear, etc, etc. I really try to reserve my judgements, but I'll confess this one. I saw the guy with the mohawk and assumed he was with FSU because of obvious reasons. Then I saw the shirt. He and his wife were there rooting for BYU. See what I mean? Never judge!! Lesson learned, again.

Morgan and I had such a fun day together. It was 95 degrees at kick off (3:30pm). Don't they know that this is Florida? Haven't they figured that out yet? But the heat didn't get us down. Heck, even the score didn't get us down. Morgan made the comment that she thinks she was the only person in the stadium who was applying to both of the schools right now. She is a BYU fan, though. All I can say is that we had such a great day together. The drive was about 3 hours and we got home at 10 pm. It was sure worth it. I won't have too many more opportunities to do this with her.

On our way out of the stadium, Brad noticed his former BYU coach, LaVell Edwards, exiting the stadium. They stopped and talked and asked me to take a picture. I felt that I could ask for a picture, too. I knew that this would make Travis' day!! Morgan asked me who he was and I explained that he was Brad's coach at BYU when Brad was on the team and they won a National championship (1984). I also told her that the BYU stadium is named after this man and he is one of the top 5 winningest coaches in the NCAA. Morgan said, "So he's kindof a big deal." Yes, Morgan, he is.

So why wasn't Trav at the game? You'll have to stay tuned for another blog post!

The Little Game!!

2010-09-11T06:07:00.001-07:00

We are a magnet for the small game out in the wild. A duck has taken to our abode. We have named her Florence. She eats the cat food. She loves the water. She comes running all excitedly when we come out. She acts just like a "Florence" should act. We think Spunky had something to do with this.
Last week's game was HUGE!! This week's game was not. However, we were still there with rings on our fingers and bells on our toes and tubas on our shoulders. Here comes the band!

Rozzie danced and helped to increase school spirit.

This week was the annual performance of the Eaglets - the Golden Girls' summer camp! Maddie participated again this year. She likes doing it. Here she is with a friend from church!

Here are the two dancers ready to perform. My camera was on the wrong setting, so the pictures of the dance aren't very good. You are spared!!

I fixed the setting and got a few decent pictures of Morgan out on the field. I didn't label the photo, but she is the short sousaphone!

And with that, we are one month into school. I posted interim grades yesterday so that means that we are roughly half way through the first quarter of the school year. We were really busy this week and had a couple late nights. Everyone is adjusting to new schedules. I think I may spend today (Saturday) in bed, even though I have floors and a bathroom to clean. Oh, and there is laundry to do.

The Big Game: Fleming Island vs. Clay

2010-09-05T13:56:00.000-07:00

Hooray, hooray, and "go team." There was a lot of hype and hysteria leading up to Friday night's game. I'll start out by throwing my pom-pons in the air because we won. It was glorious.

We were winning 14-0 for the first half and then all of a sudden there were 2 minutes left in the game and we were down 17-14. What happened? There was no way I thought our boys could do it. Rozzie reported that she was already thinking about skipping church because she had spoken brashly to the Clay kids and now she had to eat her words. But, lo and behold, our boys marched down the field and scored with 25 seconds left. One of my students caught the winning pass. The crowd went berserk and then Clay had two more plays before we intercepted and it was over. YAY!!

As far as rivalries go, Clay is a big one. Before there was Fleming Island High School, there was Orange Park and Clay. Now we sit right in the middle of the two and they are our sworn enemies of the Galactic something or other. Always big games. The stands were full, the track was full, people were everywhere! I had to sell tickets for the first half, so I was unable to work the crowd like I normally do!! After the first half, I was able to hang up my apron and go see the half-time show along with the rest of the game.

In preparation for the big night, we had a pep rally - also referred to by some as the "pepper alley." The band played the fight song and the cheerleaders cheered. The thing we were most excited for (in our family) was the Golden Girls dancing!! They did such a great job. Morgan said it was really fun to watch Rozzie do her thing out there. They really worked hard the past week to bring in on! I'll admit, I got a little choked up watching her out there. I get choked up when I watch the band when they bring out the big, gold flags. Now I'm just so gosh darn proud of Rozzie (and nervous for her). It brings back some really great memories. Here is one formation where you can see Rozzie, a little.

Our gym can only hold half the student body at a time, so they do two rallies. In bewteen the two, I caught Morgan with some of her band friends chillaxin on the bleachers. There were only a few, but when Morgan rolled her eyes at a mother with a camera, I announced that Morgan wanted all her friends in the picture, so everyone jumped in!! Children beware: I am a mother with a camera, and I will use it!! Morgan has had such a great time being involved with the band and they are some really fun kids!

Now it's game time and while I sold tickets, all the important people took to the field. "Swoop" and "Soar" are escorted on by Rozzie (to the right). We thougth this was kindof funny.

Now for half-time! The band played the first section of their show. I hope that next week we'll get to see the whole thing. Morgan said they have it down and they ahve 5 more hours of practice before the next game. I know, these pictures are COMPLETELY different looking from the ones last year, and the year before, and the year before that. Thank you for not complaining and being interested! (Yes, I figured a way to label my kids, although it isn't as creative and cute as Sara's technique. And, Sara, see all that black background? That is where the ticks are.)

There is a photographer who comes and takes a ton of pictures of the games, the crowd, the performers, etc. Then she posts the pictures of facebook and allows us to use them on the internet. She caught this one of the Golden Girls and it is a really cute shot of Rozzie on the right!!

And last, but not least, how about a nice kick!! Rozzie is on the back row as she is a lowly freshman. As she gets older, she will move in the ranks towards the front of the triangle.

And the most wonderful shot of the night:

Preseason Football Nearly Rained Out!!

2010-08-27T20:19:00.000-07:00

That's right folks, it's football season. This year is going to be a busy one!! We have two kids involved: Morgan is still marching that tuba around the field, and we have added Rozzie to the the excitement on the the dance team. The rain held off all day and then, right as I got to the concession stand, the downpour. It was raining so hard!! Each time I said that the rain kicked it up a notch, the rain would then kick it up another notch. When it couldn't rain any harder, the band marched on. They left the woodwinds back in the band room but the brass played on!! Here is Morgan passing by the concession stand. She is the front sousaphone. You get a feeling for how wet it was. There was no one in the stands. As they rounded the other side of the stadium, lightning was spotted and they marched right off. The game was delayed a while, but then the rain let up and the lightning stopped and we had a game. It ended up being pretty decent, albeit a little soggy. Morgan has such a good time messing around in the stands with her pals. As it was preseason and all, the band did not perform their show. Morgan told me not to take pictures when she was playing because she felt compelled to look at me and smile.

The Golden Girls looked a little soggy, too!! They had all fixed their hair and make-up and it ended up wet and stringy!! It is a good thing they dance really well!! They did look great and it was surreal to see Rozzie out there. It just can't be! But there she is. I wish I had my sister's labeling skills. Rozzie is in the way back and is hard to pick out in this picture. But here they are dancing to the band's music, in the rain.

When it cleared up , they girls doffed their jackets and kept dancing. Rozzie is easier to spot here, she is in the back, right in front of #67.

I am really looking forward to this football season. I have a few students who are on the football team and another student on the color guard with the band. It is fun to see Rozzie starting out her high school career. At the same time, I can't believe this is Morgan's last year marching on the field. It has been so much fun watching her. I'll stop before I start crying.

Team Picture!

2010-08-23T13:41:00.001-07:00

Thought I'd post the dance team picture with Rozzie - it is pretty fun! She is in the third row on the end. There are 3 girls missing from the picture so it is decent size team.

Go Eagles. First football game on Friday - no dancing or marching this week as it is preseason. Next week, though, is a big game. There will be a pep rally and everything. Stay tuned!!

2010-2011 School Year has Begun!

2010-08-16T15:11:00.000-07:00

First off, the band season is underway with the music of Frank Ticheli. Morgan is easy to spot in this picture as she is playing the sousaphone and wearing orange shorts. Not really a "Where's Waldo" moment. They practiced the last two weeks, experiencing scorching heat and torrential downpours. As always, the band plays on!! On Saturday evening, the band performed for the parents and then there was a little dinner in the cafeteria. We are very ready for another football season!
Here it is folks - off for a day of firsts!! Morgan's first day of her senior year. Rozzie's first day of high school. Maddie's first day of junior high. Maddie and Rozzie were up early today getting ready for Seminary! It is very odd to see Rozzie going off at this time. She was all smiles.

Morgan wore her special SENIOR t-shirt as many of the seniors do to make themselves known.

And here is Maddie all ready for her day. She had an upset stomach, but powered through and made it to the bus stop. Once there, she was around friends all doing the same thing and her journey began.

Everyone reported good days. We went school supply shopping. I saw Rozzie before school, then thought of her all day. I saw Morgan at lunch (she forgot her lunch!!). I even had a good day. They day went by quickly. I am always a little shy of my new students but I think it will be a good enough year. Tomorrow we start the fun stuff and it will be just like normal. I'm exhausted. I have a headache. But it was a nice first day of school.

Project Bedroom and Other Tasks Along the Way

2010-08-14T05:25:00.000-07:00

As Monday starts the new school year, and it is Morgan's senior year, I will start off here with a picture of Morgan at Florida State University. Travis has taken her on a few school visits this summer. She has been to BYU numerous time and it is her first choice, so she did not go on a visit there. Travis took her to University of Florida in June, but I haven't seen a picture. I have heard there is one somewhere, though. More recently, they visited FSU in Tallahassee and Morgan really liked it there. They had a dorm room set up to see - cleaner than any dorm room really is - and on the desk, plugged into an iPod, was a pair of Skullcandy headphones. Anyway, she loved the campus and had a great day there with her dad.
In other breaking news, Duckie is not dead!! Duckie is alive and well and running around the neighborhood. She has been adopted by another family around the corner from us. We figure she ventured out one night and they picked her up, because she really never left our back yard. Maddie brought her home and kept her in for a day. It was obviously her from her close-set, slightly crossed (but ever-so-cute) eyes. I made them put her out at night. She didn't stay around, but we have seen her out and about.

Morgan was very patient and committed and she knit her dad a pair of socks for Father's Day. They weren't done by then, but they did get finished eventually. She did a fabulous job on them and I'm very proud of her. Travis likes them, too!!

It was my goal to redecorate Rozzie's room over the summer. Rozzie had made a quilt. I had painted the room. Now it was time to act. So, over the last two weeks of summer, I shopped and sewed and painted. This is a close up of a pillow I sewed. It was a mess to sew, but it is a really wonderfully tactile pillow. It feels like a dog.

Here is the full size shot of it. It didn't take long to sew, but the fabric was hard to deal with. The fur was all over the place. It actually took me longer to locate my pins than it did to sew the dang thing!

I bought this pillow, but thought I'd show you a close up. Again, it feels like a dog, but is really super wonderful.

Then came the task of painting flowers and paisleys on Rozzie's wall that are similar to the ones in her quilt. I took the fabric to school and put it under the document camera and projected it up on the board and traced!! Just like the olden day opaque projectors!! Lani and I spent a few days working on all this. I love how it all turned out.

Rozzie came home and was in heaven! She loved it all.

And here is the nearly finished product. The lanterns are hung with yarn right now; I need to get one more extension cord. Target is such a great store!! Most of the odds and ends were from there. Pillows from Pier 1. And notice Rozzie's wonderful quilt!!

I am so happy to have accomplished that task!!

In other news, I went back to work this past week. I was one day ahead of the game by having my room set up before going back. It paid off because I ended up very sick all week with little energy and thus I still stayed late on Friday night. But I am ready for the critters to show up on Monday!!

Rozzie and Morgan had their orientation on Thursday. It was fun to take Rozzie and her friends around the high school - kindof surreal, too. She is so ready to play in the big leagues. She loves dance team, so far. They had their pictures on Thursday and it really hit me that she was in high school seeing her running around in the uniform! Morgan and her friends didn't need me to show them around, although I did take her to one class. Morgan has had marching practice all week and tonight we go to the band barbecue to see the new show!! She also got her parking pass for the SENIOR lot.

Maddie had her junior high orientation yesterday and is really excited about moving up in society. She has her gym uniform - that is a definite sign of maturity.

At the end of the day, Trav and the girls came to see me at school. Trav helped me with a project that needed two people. And now we relax for a couple days before it begins - the 2010-2011 school year in which Morgan graduates.

A House Full of Little Ones

2010-08-07T08:23:00.001-07:00

Just a little note for all my blog readers: Our email is not functioning right now and is driving us insane. We have contacted people and tried to fix it, but it is not fixing. So for now, please use my work email: jksmith@mail.clay.k12.fl.us

So where was I? Ah yes, returning from Girl's Camp!! We returned home on a Friday afternoon and unpacking and did laundry - lots of laundry - for days. On Saturday, Shan, Mikkyn, Cole, Mack, Tate, and Ruby came to visit!! We were thrilled to have them visit us. Shan had a training class up in Georgia for two weeks and so the family came along for a summer adventure! I had been gone for a month and so my first week home was full of doctor visits, dentist visits, grocery visits, etc. I had to try to rebuild my life that fell apart while I was absent. But all that got done.

As the next weekend approached, my dad flew out to visit and see the girls dance in their recital! Thanks so much for coming, Dad. I know the house was rather busy and hectic, but we were very glad to have you. The nephews said you told funny stories!! We were able to do a little swimming. The cousins went to the beach a few times, but I was unable to go along. However, I did get to go swimming with them a few times. We went to a few different pools. The kids loved it when Morgan, Rozzie, and Maddie would accompany them and swim. That was the best. Here is Ruby trying to be just like Maddie! Maddie was a favorite for Ruby. Ruby would wake up in the morning and ask, "Where's Maddie?" Maddie is a tough one to wake up in the morning, but I found that if I sent Ruby in, Maddie would get right up and have a very sweet disposition. Ruby was often found in the girl's rooms doing dress up or just being with the big girls. It was really sweet. Maddie was pretty good about all the attention and seemed to enjoy entertaining them. There were a few rainy days and one afternoon, we got out the puzzles and went to work. It was quite a sight to see and kept everyone occupied for a long time. We think Mack looks a lot like his Uncle Travis. If you look at the pictures of Trav as a young'un, you'd really see the resemblance! And with their matching BYU shirts, you can hardly tell the difference now!

Ruby wasn't Maddie's only fan. Cole took a liking to her, also! He liked to sit by her whenever he could and enjoyed her company. This picture includes Tate, Cole, and Maddie.

Mikkyn was a great friend to have around the house and I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know her better! It was comfortable to have them around and I never found myself counting days or anything!! (I liked Girl's Camp but I was counting days!!) I hope they had as comfortable a visit as we did!!

We met Annette and Ashley at Mellow Mushroom for dinner. Morgan and Roz were at Youth Conference, so they were unable to attend. Maddie can't wait until she is 14 so that she can go. She is very sad that it will be two more years. Anyhow, It was a great time and there were many shenanigans in the parking lot afterwards!

Here is the whole crew at church right before Shan and Mikkyn left. Mikkyn, if you would email me a copy of your picture like this I'd appreciate it. I have my eyes closed!! Email it to the above address, not the home one!!

And then it was time for the dance team camp again. This time was different though, Roz was not one of the campers!! The other two girls are from church - McCall and Shelby.

So, I think I'm just about current. I start school on Monday. I have gotten a lot of scrapbook work done. I have also decorated Rozzie's room and I think that will be the next post!

And Now For a Report In Which We All Go To Girl's Camp

2010-07-31T12:44:00.001-07:00

I got home from Utah and went directly to Girl's Camp. I did not pass GO and I certainly did not collect $200. Luckily I had the foresight to get the majority of my camp junk packed and ready to go before I left for Minnesota and Utah. I just had a few minor things left to do. Travis helped me grocery shop and pack up. Last summer our area went from having two stakes to three stakes and we are in the newly created Jacksonville South stake. So we have girls from both stakes coming together with all their own ideas and traditions with camp. We were unable to get either camp that the other stakes had previously used and so we found a new-to-us place in Georgia, not too far away. It is owned by Woodsmen of the World (?) and is a tiny island in a salt marsh that feeds into the ocean. We were told to expect rustic. It was. But it was really nice. I liked it very much. It was pretty there, the cabins are close together, and they are also close to the bathrooms that weren't too bad, themselves. My job at camp this year was the same as last year - I was the level 2 camp instructor. I taught classes to the 2nd year girls and certified them in all the criteria in the camp manual. I had 22 girls, the biggest group there!! I also assisted a cabin mom as we are required to have 2 adults per cabin.

This was a special year in that it is Morgan's last year at camp AND it is Maddie's first year. So all the girls were there!! One night, Travis was up there too as the nightly Priesthood watchman. It was a family event. The girls have asked that I not use this picture for our Christmas card so I'll post it here instead.

This is what the cabins looked like and they sleep 11-14 girls pretty comfortably. As you can see, there isn't much grass. The biggest drawback was the dirt. I will say, though, that due to its location, we didn't have one tick!!

Here is Maddie with her friends from our ward. Maddie made friends quickly and had a great experience at camp. Like her sisters, she will be a Girl's Camp fanatic.
On the last day, awards were given out and all three girls were voted Camp Comedian for their level!! One night, I posted on Facebook "Why is it that my girls are the loudest ones in the camp?" and got a reply from a high school friend, "Maybe because their mom is, too." I can't tell you all how much fun it was to see them all there having the time of their lives.

Here is Rozzie (in red) in her skit. It was a Toy Story skit and she was Jessie.

Here is Maddie in a "Faith Factor" contest. The other girl is trying to tie a tie properly.

Rozzie is seen here in the orange shorts dancing for her "lost" item. To get your item from the lost and found, you must sing and dance "The Squirrel Song." Roz is leading the group, but she forgot to turn around to shake her bushy tail.

When all was said and done and we were saying goodbye, Morgan shed many tears. She has loved camp so much the past six years. It has been her favorite summer activity. It has served her well and taught her many skills. She has made so many great friends. She was asked to speak in Sacrament Meeting about Girl's Camp - a real 10 minute talk - and she outlined the many things she has gained from her six years of Girl's Camp. She gave such a good talk and we heard from many people how good it was: well planned; well executed; easily understood; and very relevant. She had small anecdotes for each point she made. We were proud parents!!

It's All in the Details

2010-07-27T13:35:00.001-07:00

I was gently reminded that we are interested in the details. I know I am and that is why I worked hard on these outfits. So here are some closer-up views of the peacock costume where the earrings are clearly visible, and the headband/headdress is more clear! You can also see the eye detail.
And here is the shirt. The feather was printed on in black an we added glitter paint, jewels, and one big glass bead. Very fabulous and the girls just loved it!!

In the Meantime

2010-07-27T07:35:00.000-07:00

Now I'm backing up just a couple weeks. Please don't be confused or angry at me. Some of this happened while I was in Utah and didn't get these pictures until later - much later!

Rozzie had a dance team camp the week after school was out and I already posted a picture or two of that. However, I haven't posted the peacock costumes! During the last week of school, the dance coach asked Lani to come up with a costume for "Zoo Day" at the camp. The coach was thinking "birds" and Lani came up with "peacocks". Well, when Lani is given a task, Jenni gets a task. We did some running around looking at things and searching the Internet. Then I spent about 6 hours making earrings and helping with the shirts and headbands. The costume turned out really cute. Here is Rozzie with one of her new friends, Lauren, modeling the finished product.
On the day Rozzie had to be at dance team camp, the rest of the youth from church went to the temple in Orlando. This was Maddie's first trip there to do baptisms. They had a nice time and I'm glad Morgan was able to go with her. She is wearing heels here but, yes, she is taller than Morgan.

I have been busy this summer and finished this pair of socks out in Utah. I LOVE LOVE LOVE the effect of the yarn here. These socks are so pretty and were a lot of fun to knit.

Stay tuned for the next post in which we go to Girl's Camp (Rozzie's 3rd "camp" for the summer). Thanks for checking in.

Utah Trip 2010: Part III - The End

2010-07-25T15:04:00.000-07:00

I know, I know. You all thought something drastic happened in my life since I haven't posted in three weeks. Well something drastic did happen. And I'll try and blog it all this week. But at this point, I must give the rest of my Utah trip some attention. Mike and Jenny took a vacation out to Utah at the same time I was out there so they came over to Park City for a day. It was lots of fun. Jenny has posted some great pictures at www.hawleyfocus.com PLEASE check it out as there is a fabulous picture of me and Violet. Actually all the pictures are great. I have a couple more that were different from Jen's so I'll show you a few!! We rode alpine slides and the girls were so funny. Annie didn't want to go too fast so I made sure we went fast enough! We beat Mike! On the way up, Annie and Mimi were fighting over who got to ride with me. Finally Mimi said, "Oh! I know, I can ride with Aunt Jenni the first time, and then Annie can ride with Aunt Jenni the next time!!" Annie shouted with joy and agreed with her whole-heartedly. Mike gave me the look of shock over someone thinking of such a novel idea. Ha ha ha ha!

Later that night, Holly took us on a Ranger ride all over the mountain and the Canyons ski resort. It was a really great ride. I think Violet liked it the best. She was a wild baby! She loved having the wind blowing in her hair! At the Canyons they have a summer Ultimate Frisbee course set up. I had to take a picture of this for Sara and her boys.
Here is a picture of Violet and Mike. The funny thing is that she is holding on to Mike by his handle there on the side of his head! She hung on all the way to the car!

Here is a picture of Maddie with some girls at the Gateway Mall. It was Brooklyn's birthday party and they went on a photo scavenger hunt all over the mall. She had a blast!

While we were doing all this stuff, Rozzie was at camp having a blast. On the Sunday that she was at camp, they went to Temple Square to see "Music and the Spoken Word." Here they are at the temple.

Here is Rozzie with all her new best friends at the reflection pool by the temple. Rozzie is right in the middle in black.

As the camp came to a close, we went to see Rozzie perform the dances she learned. Roz is in the back pointing at us. It was great to see her with new friends and have such a fun time.

Autumn and Brooklyn came along to see Rozzie's performance, too. Rozzie learned what a great place BYU is!!

We had such a nice trip in Utah. It was a great time to meet and greet with friends and family. Then we headed home on Saturday, July 3, and I had to be to Girl's Camp in Georgia on Sunday, July 4, at 5:00.

Thanks to Alden's and Smith's for such a great time!!

Utah Trip - 2010 - Part II: The Green River

2010-06-30T22:11:00.001-07:00

I will honestly say that I didn't want to go on this trip. I had just driven from St. George to Syracuse (Utah) to Park City on Friday. I didn't want to go another 3 1/2 hours to the Green River. But the plan was in motion. We had to get up at 4 on Saturday and be packed up. I was not excited about it. The comfort was that we were going to be traveling in Rick and Holly's new RV, which turned out to be a HUGE bus. That is the way to travel!! I slept most of the way. The kids slept. It was perfect. There was a lot of waiting when the guys were getting boats and transporting people down to the river, but once I was there, I knew I had made the right choice and that it was well worth the sacrifice. Oh, and the river is GREEN!! It was spectacular. The cliffs raise straight up from the river. The area is called Flaming Gorge for its red rocks. There was a short but steep trail to take down to the river and here is a view from the top:
Holly and I got such a kick out of this warning sign. I realize that some letters are missing, but you still get the idea. I think they pretty much cover all situations here.

We had to wait for Rick to drop the car off at the end point and hitchhike back to the beginning. The girls sat in Rick's drifter talking and eating all the cookies!!

We went on this trip because Rick and Holly's friends from Norway wanted to do some river rafting. Everyone refers to them as "The Norwegians" but they are Kenneth and Katrine, and their sons Alexander and Deitrich. They manned the raft with the rest of the kids (Autumn, Donie (A's friend), Brooklyn, Maddie, & Preston). Rick, Holly, and I rode the drifter. The kids did take turns riding the drifter, too.

We'd pull out along the way and have snacks and do a little fishing. Here is Maddie and I resting on a rock. Maddie had a great time riding the river. She smiled all day.

The wildlife was friendly and well fed. They came expecting handouts. I would love to make this photo into a card. I am taking suggestions for an inscription!!

Here are the girls at another pull out, waiting for us to catch up!

We did a little fishing along the way. Autumn was thrilled with her catch!

Near the end of the 7 mile run, Rick grilled up ribs, shrimp, and hot dogs. There was potato salad and oreos on the side! It was SO delicious. It got a little stormy at this point and there was a lot of lightning - we saw the resultant brush fires on our way out of the park.

I am so happy that I went along and did this. It was a beautiful day. I love experiencing new things and this was one of those things! The water was like emeralds in the rapids. We went back to the camp ground and the Norwegians had reserved one of the two permanent trailers on site. We spent a long time checking out the gift shop - it was rather interesting with camoflage baby gift sets. Rick got out some fireworks he had along. We spent the night in the RV and I slept like a log!! I fell asleep while people were still up and walking around. I love being that tired - means I was adequately engaged for the day!! Thanks to Rick and Holly for a memorable trip. I definitely want the rest of my family to experience the Green River!!

Utah Trip - 2010 - Part I: The North and the South

2010-06-28T08:21:00.000-07:00

About 10 days ago, Maddie and I left for Utah. Rozzie has a dance camp at BYU so we came out here. We made the arrangements for the trip before Rozzie made the dance team and we found out she had her dance team camp at the same time as the beginning of this trip. Roz finished up her camp and flew out to join us. All this travel time has given me knitting opportunities and this is the final product of Rozzie's new socks. I have gotten more comments on these colors than any other sock I have ever knitted. They are just slightly fabulous!
Maddie and I stayed with Dave and Lisa and the kids for a couple days. We had such a nice visit. I loved sitting outside on the back porch in the cool air, watching the kids play. Maddie had a great time getting to know her cousins. On Saturday we picked up Rozzie at the airport and drove up to Park City to spend time with friends up there. Rick and Holly weren't back from their vacation yet, but this was Rozzie's opportunity to see Autumn and they made the most of it!

On Sunday, we drove down to Temple Square to pick up our cousin, Kaitlin, who was going with us to Hurricane. The girls really liked the time at the temple and asked a lot of questions about when Trav and I got married there.

Here is a great picture of all the cousins - Rozzie, Maddie, Sydney, & Kaitlin; Lindsey, Chloe, Austin, & Tyler. Sydney is way into cats (sound like anyone we know?) and I had shown her video of our lost kitten, Duckie. Since then, she has been acting like a kitty and wanting to be called "Duckie."

Monday was drop off day for Rozzie. She was a little nervous about going to a camp where she didn't know anyone. Her roommate is from Hong Kong! Here she is in her room! She has been there for a week now and is having way too much fun: dance classes, dances with boys, hanging out with people, etc. I knew Rozzie would have no trouble making friends and enjoying herself!

Maddie, Kaitlin, and I left BYU campus and drove down to Hurricane to see Grandma and Grandpa. It was sure nice to see them and they were sure happy to see us. We did a lot of fun things: swimming, walking, eating out, seeing Toy Story 3, shopping, etc. Maddie and Kaitlin got used to each other pretty quickly and had a really good time. They really liked the Washington City pool with its lazy river and water slide.While we were there, I knit Kaitlin a pair of "lugies" or slippers. She picked the purple and pink colors.

Maddie and Kaitlin are both big "Twilight" fans and are pretty excited to see the new "Eclipse" movie. On our shopping day at the outlets, I got them both t-shirts. Maddie is on Team Jacob and Kaitlin plays for Team Edward! Here they are with Grandma and Pa before we left. Thanks for hosting us!!

The night before we left, Kori and Claire came through Hurricane and stayed the night. It was really good to see them. We drove back up to Salt Lake and dropped off Kaitlin at home. I'm so glad she came along with us. The two girls got to know each other quite well and had some really fun times. Now I am back up in Park City. Stay tuned for the next installment of Utah Trip - 2010 - Part II: The Green River!

The Past Few Weeks...Beware

2010-06-18T11:39:00.000-07:00

It has been a fun few weeks!! School ended and was very busy. The girls and I are so happy to be done with that. I finished a pair of socks for Travis and here they are, hairy legs and all!! They are really nice and will be appropriate for work. They took a little more time than my socks did. Hopefully he likes them and wears them knowing they were made for him with love!!Right as school was ending, my scarlet (or swamp) hibiscus bloomed. This is a natural hibiscus that i have seen growing in the creek and swampy areas in our neighborhood. A friend gave me a cut of this and the flowers are very showy and pretty. They are about 8 inches across. We get a lot of questions with the plant. As you can see in the background of the picture, the leaves of this plant look a little...suspicious. People see it and say, "What do you have growing here?" Yes, it looks like marijuana, but it isn't. Travis is working on his Wood Badge for scouts and so he took the boys in our ward and "the other ward" to the rail yard. Here they are by an auto container. They were able to take a look-see in the cars which were loaded with cars. He also did some other stuff with them inside, teaching them about routing and such. He had such a great time. Maddie finished sixth grade and elementary school. They have a promotion ceremony which is really nice. She had a new dress to wear. She is looking all grown up - or at least well on her way to grown up. These are the church girls finishing 6th grade. She was very busy getting pictures with all sorts of different friends.

This here is the whole reason for my trip to Minnesota. The trip was about 10 days too short. The weather called for severe thunderstorms on the days of both the graduation party and the graduation. Miracles occurred and it didn't rain!! I'm very glad I could be there. Congrats to OJ!!This was another very exciting moment in Minnesota - I got to meet my new nephew, Austin!! He was delightful! Check out the Shoebox Princess to see a picture of all of us together: Sara, Jenni, Jake, Mike, and Dave. The babies got passed around Jimmy's party. They were very good. And adorable!!

While I was in Minnesota, the dance team at home was busy kidnapping the new girls and taking them out for breakfast!! Rozzie is in the pink hair and McCall is her big sister! She was absolutely thrilled with being woken up at 6am and being all dressed up and Saran wrapped. She had the best outfit. Some girls were just wrapped, but these two pictured here got the special treatment!

Meanwhile, at Grandma's house, Annie and Mimi did a lot of stunts for me to see. They love to do "stunts" and they do them quite often.

Steph, Jake, and kids came by a few times. Mimi, Annie, and Maya are getting to know each other quite well and looked just ravishing in the American Girl hats!

No trip to Minnesota is complete without a visit to the Arboretum. This is a new display. It is made of willow branches and is quite something to see and walk around it. There are rooms inside!

I got home and went right to work! I was a driver for the dance team getting them over to Jacksonville University for a camp. Here is the team after doing their first routine. Rozzie and the other freshmen were not involved in this dance as the team has been practicing since April for this and the freshmen were still 8th graders at the junior high. Now it is time for them to be involved!!

Here is Rozzie and McCall in their dorm. They are roommates as McCall is Rozzie's "big sister" for the year. Rozzie reported today that she received "superior" ratings and blue ribbons on all her routines. They are judged individually and she was pretty happy. She is really tired and is now packing to come out to Utah.

Speaking of Utah, that is where Maddie and I are right now. We flew all day long yesterday to get here. We got up at 3am for a 6am flight. But them our flight was delayed. We had the crankiest flight attendant ever on that flight. she rolled her eyes at people and her announcements were given with sullenness and disdain for the customers she served. We flew to Minneapolis, missing our connection to Salt Lake by minutes. We were rerouted to Kansas City which is the grossest airport ever. None of our layovers were longer than 30 minutes, so there wasn't any food time and we arrived in Salt Lake very hungry. We packed sandwiches and bananas, but after such a long day, we needed some refreshment, so we stopped at Cafe Rio. We're are staying at Dave and Lisa's. Maddie has jumped right in for fun with cousins. Pictures will appear in the following days. We are glad to be here and ready for an adventure!!

BEWARE!! Very Cute-cumbers!!

2010-06-07T14:13:00.000-07:00

Roz and I went out for a poke around the garden and we found many wonderful things. Look how our garden grew!!

We have our first victim!! We will eat it for dinner tonight and we are all so excited. When Travis saw how big it was he was very surprised.

Not to fear, there are many more cukes on their way to perfection. I think we'll be giving some away. I am just tickled that we have produce!

And there are many, many more of these little tiny guys on their way to maturity.

This is a soy bean plant that is on its way to producing our delicious edamame. Once these guys are a bit bigger, we will have a delicious side dish for any meal.

Trav's Big 48th B-day Celebration!!

2010-06-06T13:20:00.001-07:00

Right on the heels of Rozzie's birthday is Travis' birthday. His will be lost in the flurry of graduation for a couple years, but we managed a few festivities anyway! Here he is with his birthday cake. I had made a dinner of chicken parmesan which is not his least favorite.

Then on Saturday night, I made reservations at Buca di Beppo which is an Italian place and we went to dinner with some friends. Travis ordered chicken parm. When it is not your least favorite, you can eat it a lot. The salads were delicious, too.

We were joined by a few friends from the ward and had such a lovely time. Sometimes we get so caught up in the day to day runnings of life and the ward that we forget what good friends we are and so this was a great time. Travis seemed to really enjoy himself!! I'm not generally mushy and gushy, but I do love Travis and am thankful for a great husband to share my life.

Friday night was graduation. Thought I'd post a picture of me walking into the stadium that the girls took of me!! A great night. I get such a feeling of satisfaction watching my students walk up and graduate.

Travis' big birthday question

2010-06-03T18:35:00.000-07:00

Today is Travis' birthday!! Happy Birthday Trav!! I made chicken Parmesan for dinner as it is his favorite. We had sauteed cabbage and yellow squash. We had a salad. It was all very good and the house smells delicious. As we were talking about Travis' favorite food, Roz asked the key question:

What is not you least favorite dinner?

I thought we had just discussed that...

Just for the Record

2010-05-31T14:44:00.001-07:00

Trav wanted everyone to know how much he loves three-day weekends. I agree with him!!

We have had a busy three-day weekend celebrating Rozzie's 14th birthday. However, I must first post a picture of Morgan's hat. She knit two of these. The pattern is call "The Jayne Hat" and the hat is from a certain TV sci-fi show that Sara would now. Yes, Sara, we have the pattern. Morgan did it in her favorite colors and in the process, she learned how to make a pom-pon.

Rozzie finally turned 14. She was one of the last holding out with 13 while all her friends went to church dances and all that. We had some friends over for a taco dinner and she opened her presents of a little purse (from Ewings), new sock yarn, a mini hair straightener, and a new phone. She is very happy to have texting privileges, although they can be rescinded.

Today is Memorial Day and like many others in Florida, we went to the beach. It is very colorful when so many are there. You look down the beach and every one's umbrellas are so colorful and pretty. I love it! It was windy and it looked like the storms were going to come, but they never did. It was sunny right over us! We took stuff to grill. The Collard's met us there with their little hibachi. What a perfect day. The girls went off in search of sea creatures and were not disappointed. They found lots of jelly fish. I like this one with the blue tentacles. Apparently the girls love it too!!

With Rozzie's beach day being on Memorial Day, a few girls couldn't make it, so she just had three friends and it turned out to be just right.

Rozzie wanted a cookie instead of a cake so I made one and we toted it to the beach. I was afraid we were going to open the box and see a mess of melted icing. However, it was in perfect condition!! So, happy birthday to our Razz-a-ma-Tazz!!

On a side note, one of Rozzie's friends that came to the party is named Harriet. I have always done the "Harr--ee--it" from "So I Married and Axe Murderer." But the other night I said something about "Rozzie and Harriet" and it struck me that for 2 or 3 years the whole "Ozzie and Harriet" didn't even register!! Rozzie said that her Social Studies teacher always calls them "Ozzie and Harriet." I'm usually right on those things and yet I missed this one by a long shot!!

Oats, Peas, Beans, and Barley Grow

2010-05-23T13:11:00.001-07:00

LOOK!! It is growing!! At the back center, you can see that we need to get some serious poles for our beans. I don't know that we'll get much iwth carrots, and one pea plant died. But everything else seems healthy. Peppers are coming along, too. And the cukes!
And look! A reddening tomato! I'm so excited to eat it. However, there are concerns. The flowers on the plants keep dying, so if anyone has any suggestions, I'd be happy to hear from you. There is one other tomato (you can see it right behind Ol' Red). I'm still so happy that we have some food growing.

This, my friends, is a soy bean. It is the only one, so far, but it is there and it means success. The girls want to have edamame. Now I just have to look up how to prepare it and if edamame is just steamed beans. So much to learn. Isn't it adorable?

And here is a picture of the cucumber flowers. Aren't they lovely? I can't wait to have fresh cukes for salads!

That is all for now on the garden. Next up is a quilt I made for my new nephew, Austin Hawley. It was actually done awhile ago, but as he was just born and the quilt just sent off, I couldn't very well post it until now. It is very soft - minkie fabric and I love the colors. It is a very simple pattern, but the minkie stuff was a booger to sew!! The bonus is that I get to meet Austin in just a few weeks!!

Pioneer Children Sang as They Walked and Swam and Danced!

2010-05-16T12:58:00.000-07:00

We are getting down to the wire for Girl's Camp. This year ALL THREE of the girls will be at camp and I'll be there too, as a Level 2 Camp Crafter - - I teach them all the stuff from the camp manual that they need to learn to pass off the level. We are going to a different camp this year. Our stake was newly created last June and so we have two sets of traditions to blend. We had difficulty finding a camp due to our late arrival (not born yet). We found a camp up in Georgia that is on a barrier island. It should be nice to have a constant sea breeze. The camp itself is in the salt marshes so there is no beach. The camp takes up the whole island (it is rather little) and there are no hiking provisions. So the leaders planned a pre-camp hiking activity at Anastasia State Park. We had a lot of girls show up and we all got our hikes passed off!!

I took my contingent on a 5-mile hike and we tromped around for 1 1/2 hours. It was hot, but the sea breeze really makes it tolerable. The girls were all very well behaved. I walked and they followed. I had a few other leaders along and they were interspersed with everyone else, then one lady brought up the rear. Morgan hiked along with the 4th year girls - Morgan is a 6th year Youth Camp Leader (YCL). Rozzie was with my group - the 3rd and 2nd levels went together. And Maddie went on her 1st year hike. Someone in their group had a camera and I found this picture on Facebook. here is Maddie reading a sign.
We gathered at the park at 8:30 (I had to leave the house at 7 to get there on time!!) and we were off to hike around 9. After the hikes, there was lunch provided by the camp cooks. And after lunch....beach time!!

We stayed at the beach until 1:30 and then had to leave so Rozzie could shower and primp for her 8th grade dance. The hike activity was a great success and I'm so glad to have the hike out of the way before camp!! We are all sunburned and everyone was talking about it at church today.

I mentioned that Rozzie had her 8th grade dance last night. Here is a close up of her beautiful face and gorgeous hair.

Here she is with all her friends as they get ready to go off in the royal mini-van. She had a grand time. They all went to Steak and Shake afterwards for Shakes (maybe some got steaks, but Roz did not). I guess this means she is ready for high school!

And for those who think we let the garden go, LOOK!! Not all of it is dead! Some plants died, others lived. The girls continue to water it and care for it. Progress is being made!