Joy in my posterity

These two picked us up at the airport.

Becca got some jammies with monkey feet! We played "house" and made dinner.

What is this? I got to help Luka open his birthday present a few days early!

Big brother will help figure this thing out. I think Cooper will help Luka figure out lots of different things throughout their lives!

Just chillin.... love

Time was precious and each day too short as I was able to spend a long weekend in Utah. I enjoyed spending time with my daughters and grandchildren. I was also able to see my sisters and my dad. It was a special gift to have this time and I wasn't ready for it to end.

Post-Birthday Post

This morning at 3:00 am I heard a thunderous and panicked pattering of feet charge into the kids' bathroom. I then heard the ensuing opening and slamming of drawers and then.... well, poor Becca was sick! I got up to check on her. She had big tears running down her cheeks because she had barfed so hard. I sent her back to bed after a drink and some Maalox. She got up early and had a few little presents. She is trying to look brave here. She missed Seminary, but went to school. At 10:30 she called me to pick her up because she was still feeling pretty bad. I finished up a couple of things at work and spent the rest of the day at home with her. She felt better later on and we went to the Texas Roadhouse for her birthday dinner. Ashley and Allen came with us. We came home for birthday cake. She blew out all 15 candles!

About 8:00 as we were watching the election results we heard the "ding-dong" of the doorbell. There were balloons and girls! Some of the Young Women came to wish her a happy birthday!

What an darling group of girls, along with amazing Julie McLean, their fearless leader.

They decided to stay for some cake and ice cream. They are so hilarious! It was noisy and fun the whole time the girls were here.

I then gave the traditional serenade of Happy Birthday like Donald Duck. We all had a good laugh! I hope Becca had a really good birthday. She is an amazing young lady. I am so blessed to be her Mom.

Happy Birthday Becca!

for some birthday fun, I would like to share some of my favorite memories of Becca: This was a couple of years ago when we went to Snow Flake to meet Trudy's dad. Becca was using a blow torch!

One of my favorite things she does - play the guitar. I could listen to her all the time!

Adventurous!

Nothing like good friends!

She is a darling auntie!

An Actress!

First Road Show.

Her 14th birthday, last year. She wanted an ice cream cake.

Always able to capture the drama of the moment.

I could post a million pictures of this girl. Another favorite memory is of her as a 4-year-old putting blankets on her stick horses, feeding them, and bedding them down for the night. She was hilarious!

One day she was standing in her wading pool with all of her clothes on, and dunking herself. Katie asked her what she was doing. She said "I'm just practicing being baptized!"

Becca has always added a spark of originality to everything she does and every situation. That is what makes her so much fun to be with! I have loved watching her blossom the last couple of years as she has taken on much leadership in her Young Women's group. She has learned about service, faith, testimony and friends. Becca has become a favorite babysitter for some of the young families in our ward, and has a very special bond with some of those little kids.

And now she is turning 15 - that means she will be getting a learner's permit in a few months - so watch out world. Here comes BECCA! It has been amazing watching her embrace high school and seminary this year. How I love this girl. I am so lucky to be her mom!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BECCA!

What's under your bed?

We decided we needed a place to store some of our #10 cans of food storage. We purchased some cinder block stepping stones to raise up the guest bed far enough for the cans to fit underneath. It was interesting to lift up the mattress and see how the dust bunny colony was thriving under there. I quickly did away with them by wielding the vacuum. It was kind of funny, I found a pink pacifier under there, too. I think it belonged to Ava. But once it was all clean, the cans lined up beautifully. There is even room for a few more cans. I decided we needed to dress up this room a little, so I found this cute comforter set at Costco a couple of weeks ago for half off. Now all I need to finish it up is to get the dust ruffle. Just be careful when you walk around the bed. One can stub a toe on the cinder blocks!!!

Peoria Pride

On Saturday Becca, Rod and I got up early and went to work with several of our ward members at the Peopria Pride project. This is an annual event sponsored by the City of Peoria. They provide all of the supplies, such as gravel, wood, paint, and equipment for renovation in selected neighborhoods to refurbish and renew the look. We, as citizens of the community, provide the manpower. The church is involved in this event as a service project. We had a great turnout from our youth. They worked hard, and after we were done, the all came to our house for donuts and drinks. As you can imagine, we breathed in a great deal of dust from working in the gravel. We dug up Bermuda grass, removed old gravel, and raked and smoothed the new gravel.

The young men really hustled and got the job done. Several of the men worked on putting up fences. They used posthole diggers, plumblines, hammers, shovels, etc. They did a very professional job.

The girls learned about "manual labor." The bishop and his boys take a look at the newly refurbished flower bed they just finished.

The McLains are always there with a smile and a helping hand. She is the YW president in our ward and is just amazing with what she does with our girls.

Sister McOmber was there with a drill in hand, and she was also found on the end of a shovel, a rake, a broom, or whatever else needed doing. One of the city workers there commented to her "you just don't stop, do you?" I told him if you want a job done, just get a bunch of Mormons together.

It is always good to get together with ward members. Whether we work or play, it builds our bonds of unity. I am so glad I got to go and participate in this great event. As I looked up and down the street, and saw over a hundred members of our stake out working together, I was so overcome with love for these wonderful brothers and sisters in the gospel. It was amazing to see this project!

The 5 Things Lesson

Last night we had a stake Relief Society fireside. The speaker came down from St. Johns. I have never heard of this place, but was told it is just a little podunk town in Northern AZ. The speaker was willing to come down and share some things she had learned from some of the hard stuff that life had dealt her. 3 years ago, her husband was killed in an auto accident. She had known him since she was 15 and he was the love of her life. She just didn't know how she was going to go on. After much coaxing, she went to a Women's Conference with a friend and learned a great deal. As she learned new things, she applied them to her life and is sharing with others. She has given her speech in every ward in her town, and people are inviting her other places now. She said that before you get out of bed every day you are to ask yourself these 5 questions and answer them:

1. What do I love about myself?
2. What do I have to look forward to today?
3. What does Heavenly Father want me to learn?
4. Who can I serve?
5. What am I grateful for?

She then said "Don't forget to laugh out loud every day!"

I thought this was all very profound. I am a believer in affirmations and in being positive. I totally look for the joy in life with every experience. I know that Heavenly Father has a plan for each of us, and I try to be in tune with that everyday. I believe that if you want to love someone, you should serve them. I also believe in gratitude. And I love to laugh. So her philosophy was nothing new to me, but it was well organized and I liked the "5 Things Lesson." I have committed to myself to ask and answer these questions each day. It is a worthy challenge.

A Busy Saturday!

4:30 - rise and shine! 5:00 - leave for the airport to take Julie. She did not feel well this morning. She rolled down the window and barfed onto the freeway. Of course it got all over the side of the car. My poor girl! 6:00 - home from the airport. Get Rod up. 6:30 - arrive at the bishop's home to can our pasta. We did 12 cans - wide egg noodles, homestyle noodles, and elbow macaroni. It is supposed to stay good for 30 years. Hmmmm....wonder if I'll ever have to open it up to survive. 7:00 - home and Rod leaves for work. I went to the car wash. Came home and did the inside of the car too, vacuum, windows, the whole enchilada. Also stripped the beds, vacuumed all of the ceiling fans (very yucky!) and started the laundry. 8:20 - take Becca to her YW conference breakfast. 8:45 - hit the shower 9:00 - watched the morning session of conference. 11:15 - dash to WalMart to get a few canned items and some cash so Becca can get a haircut. 11:45 - leave to meet Rod at Costco to get our weekly shopping stash. We enjoy having a chicken Cesar salad while there. 1:00 - watch afternoon session of conference. During this time, Rod also mows, edges, and uses the blower on the yard. He also gets the evaporative cooler going. It is very nice - and now we won't be using our electric meter for a fan. 3:00 - put away all the Costco stuff. Go check out the water barrels. Since it is conference time, Rod empties out the water and refills them to keep the water fresh. This will be done twice a year. He uses a clear piece of plastic hose and just lets it syphon out. Pretty slick! We are going to get one more barrel next week. That will give us 200+ gallons of water in storage. Hopefully, we will never have to use it. 3:30 - more laundry. Allen is here. Put clean sheets on the bed, put up clean towels in the bathroom 4:00 - take Becca and MacKaela to WalMart while I go to the credit union to make a deposit. I bought all the stuff for Heidi's enchiladas for dinner. Take Becca and Kaela to Kaela's house. 5:00 - Rod calls and says he and Nick are on their way to the priesthood session. 5:15 - get home and kind of crash. Get on the computer for a few minutes and check out some of my favorite blogs and check the email. 5:45 - ahhh! where did the time go? Gotta get those enchiladas going for dinner. 6:40 - enchiladas in the oven. Set the table. Get out the Halloween table cloth. Empty the dishwasher. Do the dinner prep dishes. 7:10 - the family is home and we have dinner. Do the dishes. Cleaned the kitchen. 8:00 - do some folding. I still need to clean my bathroom. 8:30 - decided to take a break and post on my picture-a-day. I still need to clean my bathroom. 9:05 - I feel so done with this day! Guess I better quit this post and go clean my bathroom.

People Watching...

I was fascinated yesterday, as I sat on a bench with our grocery cart in Wal Mart while Rod was at the credit union getting a new debit card. I observed a myriad of different people. Young, old, short, tall, slim, fat, extremely fat, so fat she couldn't walk and had to use one of those little electric carts, white, black, brown, yellow, red, long hair, short hair, well dressed, shabby looking, smart looking, dumb looking (you know the vacant eyes with the mouth hanging open), children with boundless energy dancing around their parents, subdued children, those that looked happy and those that looked sad, handicapped, athletic, ponytailed men, and short haired women, tattoos, cleavage, wrinkles, freckles, acne, pierced, I mean I was amazed! I could go on and on. But I guess what was profound is that I thought about how every single one of those people is a child of God, my spirit brother or sister. He knows them by name as he knows me. He feels their joys and their sorrows, their fears and their celebrations. He wants them all back. I was humbled by this little 10 minute experience. I was also very thankful for the blessings in my life. I do not know about going without - I have never been hungry, naked, homeless, in prison, sickly, handicapped, etc. I cannot begin to express my gratitude for the abundant life with which I have been so blessed. Certainly I have had heartaches in my life, but I have always had the comfort of the Savior to see me through. There are so many out there that do not have that. I would never want to trade places with anyone! Certainly that is the greatest gift in my life - to know the Savior and to know that he knows me.

A Dream Come True

For the last year and a half, Allen has been trying to get his foot in the door for a career in law enforcement. In June, he entered the Sheriff's academy for Maricopa County. He graduated August 28, 2008, after a rigorous 9 week course of studies at the academy.

They had a really neat slide show of the whole class we got to enjoy. As each graduate was given a badge, their pictures were flashed up on a big screen with their name.

Last time class 878 will retire the city's colors. Allen is second from the left on the back row.

Showing off the badge.

Allen asked his Dad to pin his badge on for the first time.

Ladies and gentlemen: I give you Officer Allen LaMunyon!

A New Word...

My brilliant niece, Nikki, had a little post on her blog with this intriguing new word. I love it! and today I was intoxicated with it as we hiked at Thunderbird park this morning. After the monsoon rain storm last night, "petrichor" permeated the air and totally lifted my spirits. petrichor A word for the scent that rises from pavement after rain has begun to fall. Petrichor From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia "Smell of rain". Petrichor (pronounced /ˈpɛtrɨkɚ/) (from Greek petros, "stone" + ichor) is the name of the scent of rain on dry earth. The term was coined in 1964 by two Australian researchers, Bear and Thomas, for an article in the journal Nature. In the article, the authors describe how the smell derives from an oil exuded by certain plants during dry periods, whereupon it is adsorbed by clay-based soils and rocks. During rain, the oil is released into the air along with another compound, geosmin, producing the distinctive scent. In a follow-up paper, Bear and Thomas (1965) showed that the oil retards seed germination and early plant growth. The scent is generally regarded as pleasant and refreshing, and is one of the most frequently cited "favorite smells". In desert regions, the smell is especially strong during the first rain after a long dry spell. The oil yielding the scent can be collected from rocks and concentrated to produce perfume. However, it has yet to be synthesized, perhaps due to its complexity. It is composed of more than fifty distinct chemical substances.

Coke Explosion

This is Miss Kennedy. She is a first year teacher and is brave enough to teach science to the Jr. High Kids. Today she had "Wacky Science Friday" and did the Coke Explosion with her 8th grade classes. The ingredients: 7 white Mentos and 1 two liter bottle of Diet Coke. She bought the flask that fits on top of the bottle at a teacher's supply store. It is much better than the paper cone that I have used.

Class, give me a count down... 3.... 2..... 1....... pull!

Whoosh! The kids were certainly "engaged" with this particular science experiment.

Just look at that thing! It only took about 4 seconds for the geyser to gush and then it was over.

Isn't she so cute! I saw her walking her students to lunch the other day, and she is smaller than the majority of her kids. The only way you could tell she wasn't a student is because she was dressed in a cute frilly skirt, and the kids have to wear their uniforms.

The First Day of School at Cordova Middle

These kids all missed their busses today. They had to wait in the office for someone to pick them up. The poor little girl on the right was crying her eyes out, just sobbing! I felt so sad for her.

Sheri and Tina are the receptionists for the Middle and Primary schools respectively. They are both so sweet. I work with some really nice ladies. Last week one of them said, "you have fit in so well - it seems like you have always been here." I'm so glad I have worked in the world of schools before. It made it really easy for me to just step in and get to work. It seems like everyone comes to me for answers to their questions. I pretty much can fake my way through about anything because they think I really know! hee-hee

Mr. Gunn had cookies and milk for the teachers after school the first day so they could discuss all the things that happened. They seemed to enjoy it. We have a really great faculty at Cordova. I am so happy with my new job. It has been way busy, but that will eventually wear off once I can get caught up, learn the proceedures of the Alhambra District, and get organized. I love all of the people! And I love being at the elementary/middle school level. The kids are great.

The kids are all on their way to the bus bay. They look very sharp in the uniforms. I have always liked the idea of uniforms for school.

These two princesses were very happy to have me snap their picture. Aren't they cute?

A Trip Down Memory Lane

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!
2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It will be fun to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you. If you don't want to play on your blog, or if you don't have a blog, I'll leave my memory of you in my comments or send you an email.

I think this could be a lot of fun. It is hard for me to just put one memory about some people, but I'll try not to ramble on and on too much!

Happy Birthday Janet

Happy Birthday to you! This is Janet, my next oldest sister. She is beautiful, don'tcha think? I have so many fun memories with her. She was always my idol when I was a little girl. One of my favorite memories with Janet was a few precious days spent at her cabin in Island Park, ID, and going to Yellowstone and all the other beautiful places around there. It was just Janet, Becca, Aubryn and me. We had a blast! And she is so funny - she would have complete strangers tap me on the shoulder where ever we were and say "don't you think her hair is cute?" and have them point at her. She would just smile and wave. It cracked me up! And she had her fingers hanging out a partly rolled down window in the car and I rolled up the window as we drove away, not knowing her fingers were hanging out. She sure can scream! I felt so bad about that one. I could go on and on with experiences and memories. This is a typical expression. I love being in her home and in her kitchen. She always makes me feel important and special when I am there. Janet, here's to you! Hope you celebrate MANY more birthdays! You will never know what an integral part of my life you are. Thank you for your unwavering love and support - especially during the darkest and hardest times in my life. I would never have made it through without you and Len. Sending love to you!