Pie in the Eye

The Alhambra School District has an annual drive for the Alhambra Foundation for the Future. The kids bring pennies, we have "jeans" day where we can pay to wear jeans, and the classes have penny wars. Mr. Gunn decided it would be fun to let the classes that raised $250 throw a pie at him or Ms. Knight. This was a GREAT idea. Staff members could pay $20.00 to "cream" their boss.

THE VICTIMS

THE AMMUNITION THE SPECTATORS Mr. Gunn got the first few pies right in the face!

Mrs. Gunn came and threw a pie for her mom. Mrs. Knight's first pie. Look at Mr. Gunn laugh!

She wears the "pie tin" look quite well.

It is over. They are covered in goo!

What good sports!

This was a really great activity. The kids loved it. I mean how many kids do you know that can rememer throwing a pie at their principal? This was more fun that any spirit week could have been! I played a small part in this activity - I got to make the pies! It was easy: one #10 can of chocolate pudding from Smart and Final, plop a spoonful in the pie tin, cover with whipped cream and Viola! Perfect pies to cream the principal!

My funny girl

What a funny girl I have. She always does funny faces for the camera!

Here she is with some of her YW buddies. Becca and McKaela went to the Reniassance festival. They had one another's names painted on their faces.

I love you Becca!

March Sunsets

We have seen some really beautiful sunsets as we take our evening walks. I just love the sky and all the different colors it makes.

Pay It Forward...

From my niece, Kori's Blog...Here's how it goes:The first five people to respond to this post will get something made by me! My choice--for you!

This offer does have some restrictions and limitations:

1. I make NO guarantees that you will LIKE what I make! (I can only hope)

2. What I create will be just for you.

3. It WILL be done this year.

4. You have no CLUE what it’s going to be … it may be cards, a bookmark, something delicious or a complete surprise to you (and me!) … who knows?

5. Most importantly, you MUST offer the same deal on your blog - the first 5 people to comment on your blog get something made by YOU!

Spring Break hike

Today we went on a hike in the White Tanks. We hiked in to the pond at the Goat Camp. The Bishop wanted to do something with his kids during spring break and ended up inviting anyone that wanted to come. We ended up with 24 hikers, the youngest being Elle (above) at age 3 and the oldest being Rod at age 54, with me as a close second. :) I must say, Elle was a trooper and she never complained. Maybe it's because her dad had strong shoulders on the way up, and her wonderful big brother carried her on his shoulders most of the way down! Here is Becca with some of the youth at our first rest stop. As you can see, she gets quite flushed when she is hot! As we were walking along, Rod spotted the snake below. If you look closely you can observe that it had a mouse in its mouth. He decided to wait for the girls behind us to warn them. As he was telling them to step to the other side of the path, Becca thought he was saying the opposite, and she almost stepped on the thing! It rattled at her and boy, did she ever jump back! I don't think she will ever forget that little encounter. I've never heard a rattle snake buzz like that in real life...I'm glad Rod followed that inspiration to warn the girls about the snake! If you look at the very top of the cliff here, you can see two of the boys on top. This cliff is part of the little cove that surrounds the pond we hiked in to. It is filled from a natural spring that drips out of the side of the cliff.

The Sharps . . . braved the hike with their little ones. How awesome is that! And after the hike, some of the girls went to their house to swim! Thanks Jarrett and Jamie - I know the girls had a great time.

Julie shows us the value of a Pringle on the hike. We were all starving for our lunch! We (the adults) each brought some stuff for sandwiches and made an assembly line. Everyone eagerly accepted the food that was packed in. Lunch was VERY reviving after hiking 3+ miles in...

Yes... a nice place to rest for our lunch break!

We all enjoyed one another's company on this incredible and beautiful spring day in the desert. I have never seen the flower on the desert so pretty. The colors were amazing and covered the hillsides.

Here is proof that I was actually there!

This was a really fun time. Most of the kids that went will be going on the Trek in June. We have planned to hike every Saturday with the youth to get them (and us!) ready for the Trek. But just know that I am totally worn out from today's adventure. I think I will lay low tomorrow. We actually hiked almost every day this week. As much as I love it, I need a rest!

The Sunday Sermon

Elder Nelson gave us some marvelous teachings in our Sunday Session. He talked about the need to focus on our faith for difficult days ahead - to act on faith, fortify and be prepared for whatever the future will hold. He admonished us to strengthen our homes and pray night and morning. He then gave us a big list of things we should teach our children:

• Teach children to love almighty God. He is real - He lives - He is our Father. There is something of divinity in each of us. Prayer is our connection and it is always available. Just "check in" with Heavenly Father.
• Teach about the Son of God - who he is - what it means to take the sacrament
• Take time - help them develop the ability to solve problems, make decisions and cultivate the Gift of the Holy Ghost.
• Prophecy
• Sacred nature of the Book of Mormon
• We have a prophet today
• Read scriptures to your children
• Amazing reality of the restoration of the priesthood
• Honor mother and father
• Counsel in private and quietly
• Be worth of missionary service - we need more worthy missionaries
• Importance and significance of the temple
• Prepare to receive the blessings of the temple
• Word of wisdom - entitlement to the spiritual blessings that come with it
• Pornography is a plague - destructive - addictive
• Tithing - spiritual and temporal blessings - there is no erosion in the nest-egg of tithing
• Importance of education
• Obey laws of God and the land
• Nurture your own faith

He expounded on each one of these points. Elder Nelson then left us with an apostolic blessing. He told us to feast upon the words of Jesus Christ. He said we would have homes of peace, love and service. He told us to be good examples - an attraction to the gospel. He said to take advantage of missionary opportunities and prepare for the temple that was coming to our area. He blessed us with faith to understand God's plan of salvation and the He loves us and will care for us. He blessed us with health and healing. He then admonished us to sustain our new stake presidency.

It was really marvelous to have an apostle share so much time with us. We felt his genuine love for us and basked in his amazing testimony.

An Apostle! Awesome!

We just had stake conference. What a marvelous Saturday night meeting. Elder Russell M. Nelson was our visiting apostle. He taught us much. He talked about what is really important and told of a home in Mongolia where he visited. What he described was a tent. He said that though circumstances were very humble, the woman had what is really important in that home. Tacked up to the canvas were a picture of the Lord, the prophet, the temple, and a framed certificate of documentation that she was sealed to her husband who had passed away. I was very touched by this story. He asked us to think of one word that describes the Lord Jesus. Different people put out the words love, faith, obedience, compassion. (My word was ATONEMENT.) He then asked us to think of Jesus’ mortal life in 2 categories: (1) His mission (2) His ministry. He said the one word for his mission was Atonement (bingo!) – that Christ became our redeemer and Savior as advocate with the father. He made the resurrection a reality and eternal life a possibility. His ministry was everything else: teaching, obedience, miracles. The one word to encompass the ministry was EXAMPLE. This is uniquely available to everyone. He talked about charity, love, focusing on the ordinances, prayer, knowing things of eternal significance and enduring to the end. He gave examples of how Christ exemplified each one, and how he descended below all things to rise above all things. He cautioned us that we should not ask for a release from our callings, and apply that in our home situation by never giving up on a family member. He talked about the importance of marriage and told us to “be so attractive they can’t resist being with you.” That got a chuckle out of the audience. We left that meeting very uplifted. I stood in line to shake his hand. He has the cutest dimples and is warm and friendly to everyone. An amazing man!

Celebrity Portrait

Look who came to my school today! And was kind enought to pose for a picture with me. I love reading, and I love Dr. Seuss books. This was certainly the highlight of the day.