Choir Retirement

I meant to write about this earlier, but haven't had the time! My dad was involved with the Tabernacle Choir for the past 17 years. He sang with them until he turned 60 (at which point your age "forces" you to retire) but was immediately asked to be involved with the human resources aspect for the men. It came with huge amounts of responsibility and work (not paid work though...this was his calling). He had to arrive early to practices and for the broadcast on Sunday (which meant leave his house Sunday before 6:00 AM). He'd take role and be sure the men were in their proper seats. If you miss practices you're not allowed to perform in the broadcast or in special events (like General Conference) so it's a big deal, and he was always inundated with emails & phone calls with excuses on why choir members wouldn't be there. It was up to him if they'd be able to perform or not...talk about pressure! I know it was a fabulous experience for him, and he loved it all. He has made some amazing friends through the choir. We enjoyed going to the Christmas concerts every year, and will miss his involvement with the Tabernacle Choir.

It was really cool though to go to his last Sunday there (at the Music and the Spoken Word), and be there afterwords for their tribute to him and his official retirement. The president of the Choir, the conductor and President Monson all had a few words to say honoring him and the other person who was retiring that day. We all were very emotional as they paid tribute to my dad. They gave a summary of his life before the choir, and then different accomplishments during as well. It was really fun and super neat to be part of it. I felt so lucky to be able to hear President Monson and be within just a few feet of him (in fact, the picture below Amber took of Pres. Monson). My mom was sure she felt Joyce was there during the broadcast. I was so caught up in my kids misbehaving (and not to mention we watched the broadcast in an auditorium since we had the kids, the Spirit just wasn't the same there with the 30+ other rowdy kids). I'm sure she was though. President Monson even made reference during his little tribute to those who were there that had passed on. It was a cool experience for my whole family.

We're so proud of my dad! Being part of the Tabernacle Choir was a life long dream for him. I'm so happy he was able to be part of it for the past 17 years. I know it's blessed his life in so many ways, and ours as well. Thank you dad for sharing the past 17 years of experiences with us! We all love you!

Week of fun at the Cabin

We spent last week at the old cabin. It was so fun and relaxing. I had family in town from Texas & Arizona so we had seven of the nine families represented. It was nice to be together, but I'm really looking forward to our trip in October with just the brothers and sisters. By the time we got all the kids to bed, all the adults were exhausted and too tired to stay up all night and party. The kids had such a blast though. It's nice to be able to let the kids run around in the trees and play. We had fun riding the 4-Wheelers (thanks again Carrie & Jason!) and thanks to all the uncles & Grandpa who took the kids again and again on rides. We must have put 100 miles on each 4-wheeler.



This is a picture of 4 of the 7 grand babies all born within a year. It's not the best picture, but still cute. I'm glad Parker would even look at the camera. Every time I tried to take him for a ride he'd freak out and cry!



The kids also had fun trapping wildlife in a bucket, we call them "Potguts" but I think the actual name is Uinta Ground Squirrel. We used to do this as kids all the time. It was the highlight. We'd wait all day on the deck and at just the right moment pull the string and catch the little critters. We'd always let them go of course.




Thank you Mandy for bringing activities & supplies for things such as "rock painting." The kids had so much fun. Katie and I both made the comment it's our worst nightmare (paint, mess, clean up, more paint, ruined clothes, etc.) so they're lucky they have an aunt that feels totally opposite.



This is Andy who fell asleep in Carrie's arms on the ride. Brooke is the oldest grandchild, she's 13.



This is a Moose we saw right off our deck. Mandy was pushing three (little) kids on the swings when she heard something running towards her down the hill. She wins the award for fastest thinking in getting the kids to safety!

We had a lot of fun though, have I said that enough? I always hate to see the family leave. I wish we all lived closer. Thank you Mom and Dad for supplying the cabin! What great memories.

#3 On Its Way

I guess it's time I put the old baby counter on the blog. Am I a nerd that I like to see the little counter on other people's blog? I think it's cute. I just need to be better at posting stuff so I can enjoy watching the growth of our little baby. To make a long story short, I wasn't sure this pregnancy would last so we haven't told anyone yet (which is SO not like me!) but I went to my checkup a couple weeks ago and all looks well, so I guess we'll make it official. I'm due in January, so I'm about 15 weeks now. I thought it'd take a few months before I got pregnant based on a lot of stuff, but to our surprise it just took one month. I've felt awful about 24-7, and still don't feel great. I'm hoping I won't feel "morning sick" throughout the whole pregnancy because with the other two it was long gone by now. Anyway, we're excited about it all, it's just frustrating to put the "skinny" clothes away and make room for the "fat" clothes. Especially in swimsuit season. I hate this stage where I just look fat, liked I've gained about 15 pounds. Anyway, I guess the minivan/SUV decision will have to be made sooner rather than later, three kids won't fit in the Jetta.

Happy 40th Birthday Steve!

My oldest sibling turned 40 last week! It's crazy! I remember when some of my friends parents turned 40. He'll always be 30 to me! Mandy threw a fun 80's party to celebrate on Saturday. The house was decorated in an 80's theme, filled with pictures from his high school dances, framed pictures of "The Cosby" family, "Silver spoons" infamous one liners from classic 80's movies (Karate Kid, Three Amigos, Sixteen Candles, Star Wars, Indiana Jones, etc.) She even made a little backdrop in the entry way for picture taking. I think the best prop was Steve's Letterman jacket hanging for all to see. We had such a fun time. We also had a music lyric challenge, guys against girls. It was 100 different songs with a few words missing. I have to admit the girls did quite well. We didn't win, but we weren't far behind the guys either I was pretty proud. The party was a hit. We all had a blast. It was fun to dress up. Here are just a few of the fun photos:



What's classic about this picture, is it is EXACTLY what Carrie looked like my whole life growing up. It was all about the stripes, hair pulled half up, big loop earrings. The only difference is her glasses are much smaller. Carrie even brought along with her a photo of herself in Jr. High that looks the exact same. What a trip down memory lane.



I think this was my dance leotard. Glad to see it's still getting use 20 years later.



These are friends of the family from Utah State, the Palmers. Steve Palmer was a roommate of my brother Steve, and his wife Amy lived in the same building as Mandy and I, so we know her as well. (Mandy was my roommate from USU, I was trying to line her up with my brother Steve from the start...it just took a few years...)


I wish I had more pictures of Matt. He looked like he stepped straight out of an Iron Maiden concert from 1983. We have the DVD to prove it. It's interesting Matt puts on Spandex any chance he gets (dress up parties, bike rides/races at least 5 days a week!) (:

One of the funniest moments of the night, was as the party was winding down several hours after it had started. He took off his wig, and we heard this gasp from some of Steve's friends that had never met Matt before. I think it was quite the shock to go from crazy hair to practically no hair.





This is my brother Eric with Matt. I laughed so hard when he came in to the party. I especially loved he purposely stuck his gut out as far as he could.



Here are Steve and Mandy. What a fine couple! Steve is Hans/Frans (we're going to pump you up...from Saturday Night Live).



Here is Carrie and her husband Jason. I think Jason was super excited about his new shirt!



Here are my cute parents! My dad was a bishop/in the bishopric during the 80's so he was used to the suit and tie. Pretty clever!


Got to love the family photos from the 80's. I wish I had more of these. My mom has all the real classics, you know from Jay Lynn studios. We're all wearing shades of pastels (pink, blue and white). If these images were bigger, you could see all my brothers flexing as best as they can.

Arizona-Memorial Day

We had the best memorial weekend in Arizona this year. Thank you Brian, Julie and family for being such great hosts. We had such fun time being with family in warmer weather (although it was cold for Arizona...70's and 80's, but better than rainy and 50's at home). We got there Friday evening and went to dinner together. Saturday we woke up and went to the zoo. It is the coolest zoo. It has an open viewing area of monkey's so you are able to be within inches of them. You can't see well in this picture, but when Amber saw this monkey she said "Hey Mom, that monkey is scratching his privates!" It made us all laugh.



The zoo also has a 2 year old orangutang. She was being so cute and playful. It was fun to watch them.





The kids had fun playing on the tractor equipment and petting the goats. You're actually able to go brush them and pet them. How cool is that?







This is Sari, Issac and Ben, Brian and Julie's cute kids. They were so fun to be with and get to know more. They are such good kids, and were so helpful with Amber and Parker.






These are all the cousins just before leaving the zoo. We had a great time. The weather was perfect. There was so much to see! We loved the ant eaters (who knew they were so huge!), the bear, chimps, monkeys, the green river (literally it was bright green), the petting zoo, and the turtles.



My mom's parents are buried in Arizona, so on Sunday we took the drive to the cemetery. In the past, it's been about 125 degrees (no joke) so this was a much more pleasant trip. This cemetery is amazing. It's only for war veterans. It's acres and acres of headstones with flags, all for vets. It really is quite the site. It's amazing to see how many people in Arizona alone fought for our country. Every grave site had a flag, so there were literally thousands and thousands of flags, all perfectly aligned.






How cool is this Corvette? I don't remember the year, but my Aunt and Uncle just bought it. We went to visit them Sunday night at their new house. Their house is so beautiful! I should have taken pictures of it. It's a traditional hacienda, with a courtyard in the center of the home, adjoining all the rooms. It is seriously amazing. So anyway, shortly after we arrived my aunt pulled up in this. I was speechless. I would love this car! I didn't take it for a test drive, but should have. I may have never come back.




Brian and Julie have the best yard. It's huge first of all, and has a sidewalk all around the perimeter. It's perfect for riding bikes, scooters, Rollerblades, etc. They have a trampoline (the highlight for Amber, I think even more so than the pool), and a swimming pool. We had such a fun time. Brian and Julie kept asking what we'd like to do while we were there. We were happy as could be at their house just hanging out in the beautiful yard, and playing with all their fun toys. I can't say enough how much fun we had. It's nice to be one on one with family. When we get together for Christmas/holidays it's in sane!!! (Just look at a small sample from Amber's birthday party, that's only half!). We wouldn't have it any other way of course, but it's fun to be one on one and spend quality time together. We were so sad to leave. We were spoiled.

Amber Turns 3

Happy Birthday to Amber yesterday (May 19th). What a year. She and I had an enjoyable time looking through her scrapbooks reminiscing over the past three years. So much has happened in her short little life. I have two scrapbooks full of pictures just from age 0-2, and nothing of the past year. Sad how quickly things change when more kids join the bunch. Ok, so anyway, we started out the morning with balloons, Breakfast Cake (a family tradition) and Amber's birthday present, her scooter. That's what she wanted. We let her pick it out. She hasn't let it go since. It has to be in her room when she sleeps, in the bathroom when she goes potty, upstairs, downstairs, EVERYWHERE! It's cute.



So this is the infamous scooter, and her new nightgown. She wears her old one from last birthday that looks five sizes too small and is practically rags. She loves nightgowns, so thank you Grammy & Grandpa for the new one! She loves it!








These are just a few of the visitors Amber had yesterday at her party. We haven't done a "friends" party yet, we're still in to family stuff only. Maybe next year! She got a lot of fun presents, so thank you everyone!

This next part deserves its own post! Thank you Mandy for the many, MANY hours I'm sure it took (and that you won't admit to) to make this cake. It was a hit! Amber was speechless when she saw it for the first time, and walked around the yard saying "it's so beautiful" over and over. As people came over she'd take them straight to her cake. Mandy is so talented. She asked Amber what she wanted, and Amber said "A ballerina cake with pink polka dots" and Mandy came up with this. Isn't the little tu tu cute? I'm so impressed. Thank you Mandy for making such a memorable cake. I hated cutting in to it. And just so you all know, it was DELICIOUS! Thank you so much!






It was a fun day. I asked Amber what her favorite thing was, and she couldn't give me just one answer. Matt and I sang "Happy Birthday" first thing when she woke up. I tried singing it to her later in the day and she said "no mom, you already did!" Grammy tried to over the phone too and Amber said, "no, my mom and dad already did." I guess she only needed to hear it once! She loved the whole day. When we all sang happy birthday to her last night she was a little embarrassed I think. She was looking at me like "why is everyone staring and me and singing to me?!" she obviously knew why, but was a little overwhelmed by it all. Her facial expressions were priceless. One of the presents she opened and said "what the heck?!" It cracked me up. I wonder where she's heard that phrase before.

Thanks to all that came. We sure have a wonderful family!

Here are a few silly things Amber has said in the past few days that have made me laugh:

I was running so hard all my breath ran out
You're not listening Mom
she's a good listener, huh Mom
Today I have dance class, huh Mom!
Please bless Captain Jack (Amy & Anthony's Cat)
Please bless Parker when he goes "EH" (that's pretty much all that Parker says)
Mom, how was your run today?
Dad, nice bike riding


I love how sensitive Amber is. She doesn't like it when I'm sad or when anyone else is sad.

I love it when she sings songs, her favorites are "Doe, a Deer" from Sound of Music, and all Disney songs, and anything from "Mary Poppins"

More will have to come later, I need to get to these crazy kids!

Jake The Crazy Man

Poor little Jake got stitches last week. The crazy kid was climbing on an unstable chair and fell. He had to get 14 stitches! The poor kid! Carrie and I went to visit him last week which was tons of fun. He is so active and in to everything. I can't believe he's only an hour away and I've only seen him a handful of times (he lives with Stu's Brother and sister in law while Stu finishes his residency). It's always so great to be around him, and his little smile makes me so happy. I told Matt when I got home that he looks 100% like his dad! I see little Stu running around. Joan swears she sees a little Joyce in him, but I guess I'm not around him enough to make that observation. I've thought so many times I hope he doesn't think we're this crazy family that goes to all his soccer games, football games, school performances, etc. We all love to be around him so much, and he brings so much joy to our family. What a miracle this little guy is.

As Mother's Day came and went, I thought of how sad Joyce only got one Mother's Day with Jake. It was a hard day for a lot of us I think. I wondered if I even called her last year to wish her a Happy Mother's Day. It's odd to see this gap between our lives together and apart become wider. My mom mentioned on Sunday she feels that as time passes by, she longs to hear more of Joyce. She loves when we talk about her, or when anyone talks about her. I totally have to agree. It really brings more comfort to talk about her and her life as time goes on. I can't even begin to convey what a wonderful sister she was. As I was taking these pictures of Jake and his stitches, he was being so darn cute. He would giggle and smile and run away from the camera as fast as he could. He was jumping on the trampoline and having a grand old time. It made me miss her so much. I know she would have been laughing with him with a huge smile on her face as well. I could just picture Joyce saying something like "you crazy kid, get over here!"

We all have this New Year's Resolution to "Remember" Joyce. It's so easy to continue on with our daily activities and forget the influence she had in our life.
This post is one that possibly belongs on a "private" blog, so perhaps I should head that route. I need to do better at posting more about Joyce, because my memory sucks and the more time that goes by the more I'll forget. I feel like I'd let loose if I knew exactly who was reading this!

Does anyone from high school remember the surprise party Joyce & Joan threw me for my 18th birthday? How cute was that!? I was reading in my journal the other day that Joyce & Joan sent me balloons in 1st period that I had to carry around all day. We had Carrie's wedding the next day, and I was concerned my birthday would be forgotten. Joyce and Joan did everything possible to make sure it was a memorable one. What a fun party! If I was as talented as Mary, I'd scan some of the pictures in from that momentous occasion!



This is a picture of Parker, Andy and Jake (Carrie trying to hold them up and make them happy!). Carrie, Joyce, Joan and I were all pregnant at the same time, so we have kids all within a few months of each other. We'll save that post for another day! What a fun experience!