wolves weekend

This weekend was Doug's 40th class reunion. We had a very nice time. Friday night was the homecoming football game which was won in the last ten seconds. Go Chandler Wolves! It was like the ending to a feel good movie. The school band gave an awesome performance after the game. They were going to perform at ASU Band Day on Saturday. We went to a party after the game for a little while. The next morning I went to the temple and ran in to Glynnis Merrill and Casandra and Bill. Saturday afternoon was the road rally. This was a lot of fun. We drove all over Chandler and collected clues while being timed. Our team won second place! Saturday night was the dinner and dance. Dad had reminded me that I needed a dress on Columbus Day. I just happened to turn into the WalMart parking lot and saw Ross and felt like I should give it a try. I walked in and looked through a couple of racks and found the perfect dress. And it fit! I think even Rachel and Tracy would approve. Dad complimented me several times during the evening. Anyway, it was a very nice evening. Here is one of those "small world" stories. I was talking to Sheryl Carpenter Hancock who went to school with Dad. Her husband, Reed Hancock, was my brother George's home teacher! We did have a very nice weekend.

Snake in the garden and Sundays

Some of you may recall that I have caught three red coachwhips in the netting in the garden. This morning I thought I would go out to pick some of my ripe tomatoes because I didn't get to it yesterday. When I stepped over the fence, to my surprise, I heard rattles and saw a very large rattlesnake caught in the netting. I promptly headed back to the house. Maybe that was a sign not to work in the garden on Sunday. I did not return to see if it has survived. I will find out tomorrow.
I did have some real inspiration for Primary sharing time music for the last two weeks. Today we sang songs that the Tabernacle Choir sang during conference because they sang four songs that the Primary children know. Last Sunday I had matched a Primary song with a talk that was given during conference. Here is a list of what we sang:
Pres. Monson - "I Love to See the Temple" - the announcement of 5 new temples
Pres. Monson - "When We're Helping We're Happy" - his birthday wish for service and the jar of warm fuzzies
Pres. Eyring - "I'm Trying to be Like Jesus" - his story about the children singing this song and he actually quoted the song (He is so awesome!)
Bishop Burton - "13th Article of Faith" - his Primary teacher had helped him memorize it and he talked about the -ity virtues and living a virtuous life
Sister Dibb - "How Firm a Foundation" - people hanging from the bridge because they didn't use their safety equipment
Elder Nelson - "A Child's Prayer" - better than a cell phone, we can talk to Heavenly Father without paying monthly fees or charges anytime and anywhere
Elder Holland - "Book of Mormon Stories" - his powerful testimony of Book of Mormon and holding up the book Hyrum Smith had read to Joseph before their martyrdom - WOW!
Elder Scott - "The Holy Ghost" - it can be hard to hear just like trying to taste a grape after eating a jalepeno pepper
I hope you enjoyed this. Conference was so wonderful and I just needed to share with all of you. I love the gospel and I love all of you. Hope you all had a wonderful Sunday.

fall break, cleaning, and memories...

This week is Fall Break, so I have this week off. We decided not to go anywhere to save money and try to get some projects done. So, starting last Saturday I have been doing some major cleaning. I'm pretty sure that Don Aslett, the cleaning guru, says that doing a fall cleaning is better than doing a spring cleaning. Well, as you all know, any cleaning in my house is worthwhile. It's already Tuesday night though and only the bathroom, laundry room, and half the kitchen are done. I am exhausted so who knows how much more I can get done before the week is up. One kind of nice thing is running into stuff that reminds me of my kids and all the life we have lived in this old house. We have had some good and some bad things happen in our lives. I'm sorry to all of you for the mess you had to grow up in, but do know that I love you all very much. Enjoy your little ones because they grow up too fast and you can't get that time back.

Reading Night

Tonight was the second of the four big events of the school year of which I am in charge. It was our Family Reading Night and I think it was a reasonable success. We had a good turnout and we got a lot of positive feedback. The theme was "Tell Me a Bedtime Story" and the kids got to wear their pajamas (so they were all ready for bed) and they went as families in to different classrooms to hear a story. It was a lot of fun. It was also, coincidently, a promotion for "Read for the Record". A group promoting early childhood education was trying to get as many people as possible to read "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" today. I read it to 87 children. After this, next week is our fall break which I am ready for.

Fall has finally come

Fall, my favorite season, is in the air today. A nice cool breeze is now blowing through the front window in the living room. What a relief! I think I like autumn because it is the end of the heat. Well, at least I hope so. Of course, the changes in color are also wonderful even though they haven't shown up here yet. Wishing Rebekah, Chris, and Rachel a Happy Birthday this month. Happy October to everyone.