Awesome Activities

over the past couple of weeks for Jena (some of which Gary and I were a part of).

Centerpoint Theatre's "Hats Off to Volunteers" dinner----They had dinner stations which matched the different shows from 2017, i.e. "1776" was the salad with red and blue berries in a tossed salad.  It was a dress up affair and fancy.  They had a review on stage from all of the productions which was so fun.

Valentine Fun from the apartment in Provo--

On Monday night, they attended their ward Valentine Party.  On Tuesday night, they attended Country Dancing again. On Wednesday they prepared cookies and other things for their Valentine luncheon that they hosted on Thursday for their volunteers and other friends.

Cookies and art work:

Jena, Emily with Sara in the background

One of the guests was David Brown, a friend of Jena's from Clearfield High School.  He posted the following on his Facebook page along with the picture of Jena and David at the luncheon.

"2 weeks ago I was about 30 minutes late for class because I had to drop someone off at the airport. I decided to take a different route to campus to get there ASAP. While driving I miraculously passed one of my favorite people from high school who I hadn’t seen in almost 4 years! That led to an awesome lunch with some amazing people yesterday! So happy I ran into Jena. :)

Have I mentioned what good kids went to Clearfield High School with Jena.

Getting ready by dipping strawberries in chocolate.  I was fortunate in that Jena brought me one of those strawberries to eat when she came home for the weekend.

Saturday night we attended the production of "Cash on Delivery" at the new Hale Theatre in Sandy, Utah.

Meggan Sparrow joined us for the show

This was held in the Jewel Box theatre where we also saw "Forever Plaid."  Our first production in the brand new Main Theatre will be next month for "The Hunchback of Notre Dame"   We hear that the staging and sets and music is amazing for that show.

 They now have a fancy parking garage which overlooks I-15.  As we parked on the very west side of the garage, I thought I would take a picture to show it as we are about on eye level with the freeway.  However as we got close to our car, I saw that the sunset was much more interesting and beautiful than the freeway so I snapped some pictures of that.

This past week--

Temple Trip:  Until I got the text with the pictures, I didn't even know that they were planning to go to the temple to do baptisms for the dead.  It was one of those moments when I thought--"Jena is growing up and really an adult."  It was a scary experience for her to do baptisms when she was younger and now here she is making decisions to go to the temple with her friends.  Thanks to all of those YW leaders and friends who helped her along the way.

Jena, Brooke, Sara, and Emily

Brooke wrote in a text:  "Today we went to the Provo City Center Temple and did baptisms.  It was a really neat experience.  They all expressed how happy they were in the temple and were very excited to be in the temple together.  I loved getting to go with them. :) "

Then later, Bruna took them to visit two senior living centers to deliver cookies and to sing songs.

With Amy and her aide and the girls

Bruna's text with the above picture read:  "I apologize I couldn't send this out before, but we had a great afternoon yesterday.  We dropped some cookies for the residents at the Lindon care center and then sang some songs at the Osmond Senior Center.  The girls really shined as they served and had a marvelous time!  Sara sang a solo of Be Still My Soul acapella and there was not a dry eye in the room!  I'm so glad I get to work with these wonderful ladies!"

And I think that brings us up to date!!!

Sprimg Cleaning and Regular Life

Thank heavens for holidays which allow me a chance to get some things done that I can't do in the regular schedule of our lives.  I was able to get my desk cleaned up and reorganized over the long weekend.

Midway through the process....

 The finished product:

This desk area was built by Gary Kerr and sits in somewhat of a closet in our basement game room so I can just close it up when our grandkids or other people are here.  That is a good thing...and a bad thing as I can be a messy desk owner when I am involved in a number of projects.  I love this space so much...and it is nice when it is cleaned and re-organized.  I have found that when I have found a good system for a closet or a room and I maintain a bit of discipline to use that system, things really do stay together better for longer periods of time.  The whole "everything has its place" manta does work.  Perhaps some of the changes I made in my desk will make things easier to keep it together.

 In the process of cleaning out files, I found these calendar pages.  When I was considering whether to apply to graduate school, I printed out the year calendars for 2015, 2016, and 2017 and made notes about events I knew would be happening, potential vacations, reunions, and other events and activities.  I used it to visualize how school would fit in.  You can't tell but I highlighted each Tuesday which I would have classes and when I would have breaks from school.  It was amazing to look back at it and think about how much life was fit into those years on top of graduate school.  The most important ones being the arrival of Scarlett and Niki in the weeks right before school started and then adding Liam, Zander, James, and Cooper before I graduated in August of 2017.  I had forgotten that I also had picked a date for my national clinical exam as I knew that would also involve major prep time.  The day I selected was July 11 which turned out to be just 14 days before I actually took the exam on July 25.  Not bad for planning three years in advance (and then forgetting that I did that!)  Moral of the story:  "Sometimes plans do work out!"  or "Writing down goals helps them happen."

Cleaning desks and files brings back lots of forgotten memories.  I threw away all my notebooks with class notes from school along with lots of other papers from other things.  I got things mostly put back and done, just in time for us to.....
..... head down to drop Jena and friends off at their townhouse and then went to visit Ben and share dinner with him--KFC this time.

It was a busy week with Gary and I having different things every day/night of the week.  Gary went bowling twice, did Scouts, and worked on the Cub Scout's new crossing to use for Cross overs for the Pack.  It is clever and awesome and has been a combined project of Gary and Gary Kerr so you know it will be great....well, Gary had the idea and provides support, but as usual the talented Gary Kerr is doing the woodwork.  I will post pictures when it is done.  He is looking forward to Roots Tech this week.

My evenings were filled with a UDSF meeting, a special movie showing at The Children's Center of "Resilience" which is about childhood trauma, and  grand mothering with Liam and Zander while Jessica and Elessia saw a movie.

Thursday evening, I accidently left my phone at work.  I had a moment of panic to think about not having a phone, but then reminded myself that I had lived without a phone for a long time in my life and could manage it overnight.  About five minutes later, as I was driving to Jessica's. the traffic report on the radio reported a major accident in Ogden Canyon.  Then I became very worried about not having a phone.  Not only was Gary suppose to be traveling down that very canyon around that time, but he was also suppose to be picking up Jena at the train at that very moment.  There I was without a phone and no way to know if Gary was stuck in the canyon,...or in the accident...or able to pick Jena up on time.  Years ago, there was no way to contact people when they were out and about, but now we are used to it and I was again worried.  The other problem with not having a phone was I only know a few people's phone number by heart and there is no operator to look up numbers for people you might need.

Luckily, I was able to get to Jessica's and use her phone to check on Gary and all was well.  He was heading to get Jena to work, right on schedule....well, the train was a bit late, because of the snow storm happening.  Once I heard from Gary, I then just enjoyed not having a phone and played with my grandsons.  I ended up being without a phone for almost 2 days.

Friday morning I did text my kids and dad to tell them that I didn't have a phone from Gary's phone and sent a couple of other people messages from Facebook.  And I have to say, it was very nice to not have a phone.  I know that I really don't have to check my emails, etc. often, but when you don't have it, it doesn't take that time.  I did miss having my camera.

I got my phone back on Saturday morning as one of my co-workers brought it to her home and I picked it up.  I did have several messages to answer and some voicemails to take care of, but the world did not end while I didn't have my phone.

So, in case you were wondering, life does go on with or without a phone, but having one does make some things easier.

Finally....Happy Birthday, James....

Finally on Sunday, we headed over to Scott and Chantel's to formally celebrate James's birthday.  They had planned a small party with just adults to avoid spreading germs or getting new germs.  It was nice to see Chantel's parents and share a few moments with the grandchildren we share.

Scarlett had more frosting on her face than the birthday boy.

James's new frogs getting a bath in the kitchen sink.

Happy Birthday, James.  We love you.

Spies

All three of us went to the eye doctor Saturday afternoon and got our eyes checked.  That meant we all got our eyes dilated and had to wear these funny glasses.  Jena said that we needed to take a selfie of our "spy look," so here it is:

Gary said that we should do our mean spy face, but notice that Jena is still smiling.

It has been two years and we all had to get slight adjustments in our glasses.  Some of us are getting a bit older.

Bonus Day

I had taken Friday off to attend Jena's Snowbasin Ski Day.  It was nice to sleep in since I hadn't gotten home the night before until 11:15 p.m.  We woke up to snow still falling and bad roads everywhere.  As Gary had been up to Ogden Valley the day before, he knew the roads weren't good, so we decided to skip the race day.  Not only were the roads snow packed, but it was very cold and windy.  Jena was disappointed but she understood.  I had thought about going into work to get my phone as mentioned and maybe do some paperwork, but the weather wasn't good for that either.  (Sara, my coworker from Syracuse, told me that it took her two hours to get to work that morning.)

I did some housework and laundry, hoping to free up my Saturday morning for other things.  That turned out to be useful but not for my to-do list.

Since Jena and I were both home on Friday without plans, we all decided to go see "The Great Showman", a movie about PT Barnum.  So many people have told us that we should go that we finally did.  I liked it, but probably not as much as I expected.  That can happen when so many people rave about a movie before you see it.  Also, after talking about the movie with someone, we looked him up on the internet and not everything was favorable about him. That also probably impacted me.  I am also not much of a "circus" fan for many reasons, anyway, so that was stacked against the movie.  However I did like the movie and the music was great.

After the movie, we headed to Jena's theatre class just to discover that they had cancelled it due to the weather.  That freed up more time for us and we headed home to watch the Olympics and I read a book until it was done.  

After a busy week, going here and there, it was nice to have this bonus day to really do whatever we wanted.  Sometimes, that is exactly what you need!  And to not do anything on the to do list!

(And my extra time Saturday morning---was spent cleaning our Church.  Our family was assigned to clean the Church yesterday, so we headed over about an hour early to start as Gary and Jena had to go to bowling at 9:30.  Typically families are expected to spend about one hour cleaning.  We were one of four families assigned.  However, only one other person came.  She cleaned the bathrooms which is always a big job, but then she had to leave after an hour.  So I locked the door and worked until it was done.  I was so glad to come home and NOT have to clean my house.  I took a hot bath instead!!)

PLANS.........

Have I mentioned how they can change despite your best efforts and careful planning?

This week is another example of that.  But the good news is that things all turned out fine in the end.

First, Tuesday was James's 1st birthday.  We are so glad to have him in our family.  He is just a calm and happy baby.  Here is Scott cuddling him on his birthday.  We had plans to get together on Friday night to celebrate with them.  James was starting to get a cold which is never a good thing for the birthday day boy.

It was also, of course, the week of Valentine's Day.  Now Gary and I are not big celebrators of such holidays.  We may go out to eat, exchange cards or small gifts, or have friends over, but it is not a big thing.  That is especially true in a year like this one where Gary and I are taking a 9 day vacation in the fall to celebrate our 40th anniversary.  So the morning of Valentine's we were like "You didn't get me anything, right?  Because of the trip? Whew!"

We did send Valentines to our six grandchildren in the mail which the older three loved.  Niki is now checking the mail every day looking for more mail with his name on it.  Tosha and I decided that Niki and I are going to be Pen pals so he can enjoy more mail.  I am already planning my next letter for him.

Ben and Jena also sent us Valentines that they made:

From Jena:

Isn't that a darling idea with the puzzle pieces?

Ben colored the pictures below and gave them to us at our visit on Monday of this week:

Then this card came from Ben in the mail-- (It is fun to still get personal cards in the mail.)

So, even though we weren't big Valentine Day celebrators, I decided to take the day off so that Gary and I could go to the temple.  We made plans with his mom and his sister, Vonette and her husband, Gary to join us (Charon and Mike were in Hawaii with their adult children, so couldn't make it.  We felt sad for them NOT!)

We slept in a bit which always makes me feel like it is a holiday and then I headed to the dentist and then to get a badly needed haircut.  As I walked into the house, my phone beeped and it was a text from Scott--- the kind that you never want to see "James is headed to Primary's Children's..." and then I had to stop reading because Gary called out to me, "Hurry, Mom needs us, especially you."  and the rest of the text...."ER breathing issues." Scott and I texted back and forth while we made the quick trip over to Grandma Hall's.  She is one tough person and had taken care of everything pretty much by the time we got there.  Gary stayed with her to make sure that she was not having any more difficulties (they played a variety of games of poker, I understand, no money exchanging hands, however.)  And I headed home to wait for what Scott and Chantel needed next from me.

Scarlett spent the afternoon with friends and then with her Grandma Berenyi and I headed down to Primary's to wait in the ER while they waited for his room to be ready.  He actually was a happy boy and doing well with everything but his breathing was WAY too hard and too fast for a little guy.  The worry is that he might get too tired and just stop breathing.  I got to walk with him for a little bit while Scott and Chantel took a break and got some food.  Holding him and listening to him breath brought back lots of memories of sick kids.  Both Jena and Ben were both in the hospital at different times for lung problems. Jena actually was in this very ER (before the nice remodel) with two kinds of pneumonia.)

Although the doctor had indicated that he might be there for a few days, he only had to spend a day and got home on Thursday afternoon. Fortunately, he just used a little bit of oxygen in the early morning hours and then seemed to turn the corner and he is doing well now. 

I took off Thursday to spend the day with Scarlett.  I got to take her to preschool and pick her up afterwards....that brought back memories.  Little three year olds attended preschool in a cute little basement classroom of her teacher's home. 

We had so much fun together in the afternoon.  It has been awhile since I was alone with one grandchild.  I let her pick the activities and we had a busy schedule--toys, painting, books, singing, toys again, and finally she asked for a TV show. 

She was so happy to see her little brother at home when I dropped her off to join her family, but she had also had some fun times with both sets of grandparents and a friend.

We are so grateful that James had a short stay and required just a bit of extra help to get better as you can't help but be reminded that many families with sick children are there at the hospital for a long time and sometimes the outcomes are not what everyone wanted.

It was the best Valentine's gifts for us--Grandma Hall and James doing better.

Happy Valentine's Day to you---hope yours went as planned!

Olympics 2018

It is about impossible to write in the blog and watch the Olympics!  So for the next two weeks plus, my laundry will be folded and the ironing might be caught up, but the rest of the time, you can find us cheering for our favorite teams--Go, USA, Norway, and the one person from Hong Kong!!!!!!

The Old Testament

I don't know about you, but I am not a big reader of the Old Testament.  I have read it from cover to cover a few times in my life and have read sections while studying the Old Testament in Sunday School from time to time, but not consistently over the years.  I tend to focus my personal study to the Book of Mormon mostly.

This year we are studying the Old Testament in Primary so I decided it was a good time to try reading it again.  So I stocked up with some new study supplies from Dessert Book (missing is a book about Isaiah) and started off. 

And I am reminded why I don't read it much.  You have to admit that the stories can be a bit confusing and the style is not the fresh and readable style of the Book of Mormon or even much of New Testament.  This study guide has been helpful and I am learning more than I knew before, but I am already wondering if I should alternate between the Old Testament and the Book of Mormon to give myself a break!  Suggestions?

Family Photos 2017

Here is some of the examples from our recent Family Photos--

The Whole Family

The Grandchildren

a little photo magic as Liam was so done
by this photo that we had to add him in from another photo

Jessica, Elessia, Liam and Zander

Scott and Chantel with Scarlett and James

Tosha and Austen with Niki and Cooper

With our red hats and scarfs--our nod to the Christmas season

 Some random other shots from the day

Here is the more historically accurate photo without Liam............

Jena and Ben

 Love this guy who made all of the above possible

Thanks everyone for making this photo shoot happen and a special thank you to Austin Berenyi for helping us out on such short notice.