Kiersten's Junior Prom

 Kiersten was asked to Prom by Braden Bitter, the son of some of our good friends. We help them on the annual SCUBA trip for our stake. He ordered some fortune cookies with a very specific message, in Chinese, about going to the dance. She answered him with a stuffed animal lion, that said, "I'd be "lion" if I said I didn't want to go to the dance with you."

 We have over 100 dresses in the closet, but Kiersten didn't want to wear any of those. :/ We went shopping for the tulle skirt that she wore over a plain black concert dress. It turned out nice. But I must say, the sash I created really added the finishing touch. :) Braden's boutonniere matches her sash also.
You can't see them, but Dad bought Kiersten aqua green Van's to match her sash. She thought that was pretty cool. :)
And she even let Aubree curl her hair and pin it back. :)

 They went with a group of youth from our stake. They all chipped in and rented a limousine for the night, and the stake youth leaders made dinner. The boys just had to pay for the food. Then they traveled to Gilbert to the multi-stake prom at the Barney Sports Complex.
I wish I could say she had a great night, but her Prom experience was kind of like my Prom experience. :( Braden had been kind of a jerk to her leading up to the dance. We had to talk her into going. And she said the best part about the night was her steak at dinner. XD

Family Day Friday

 Our "family day" this year consisted of traveling to Main Street in Mesa to try out their seasonal skating rink and visit the Mesa Temple lights. It was a chilly night, so we topped it off with hot chocolate from QT. It was a great night!

 When Scott left on his mission in Nov '91, he was in the MTC learning Swedish during the holidays. I wanted him to have a taste of home, so I talked my dad into helping me take a picture of the Mesa Temple lights. We had to play around with the different F-stops to make sure the shutter was open long enough to absorb the light. It took us a couple of tries, but we came out with a few that looked good when they were printed. I sent them to Scott in a Christmas package. But now, I have a camera that does all of that for me automatically. :) Good memories.

 Canon ruined every picture I took of him that night. The only reason we got the one at the top is because someone else was taking it.

 Kiersten says she doesn't like making a fool of herself by falling on her butt in front of everyone...so she opted to stay off the ice and take pictures with me.

                                                                    The brave few....

I think Canon told Dad 5 times that he was done and wanted to take the skates off. But every time Dad took him over to the side, he changed his mind. Canon and Raegan came home with a few bruises from falling, and I think everyone that skated was a little sore the next day. But it was still a lot of fun!

Thanksgiving 2015

 Of course we eat all the normal Thanksgiving food and spend time together. But we only take pictures of the Turkey Bowl because that's where we embarrass ourselves the most. :)
This year was bittersweet because Mom and Dad will be serving a 2 year mission presiding over the Guatemala MTC. They decided to sell the house to get rid of the mortgage payment, which is a smart move. But that means this was the last Thanksgiving holiday in the house we grew up in. By Christmas, it will belong to someone else. :(

        Aubree got to fly home for the holidays, even though her flight was delayed and she missed dinner. That will just be our new normal. I don't think she'll ever be content living at home again. 

                

Touching moment. *sniff

                  

 Great picture! I love the candid ones, when they don't know they're being photographed.

 What a motley crew! Everyone made it except Clint, Marilee, and kids because they were dealing with the stomach flu. But they made it to town Sat. for the family pictures.

Jekyll and Hyde- MHS Theater production Spring 2015

 Rylee auditioned and got the part of a lady-in-waiting for one of the well-to-do characters. Kiersten was cast as one of the street gang and got to put on makeup that made her face look dirty. She also got rid of her glasses for the performances.

 Although the cast did a good job on the performance, I was disappointed certain subject matter was allowed. It is possible to eliminate undesirable aspects of Broadway productions, or find a junior script where those things can be edited out. This was definitely a teaching moment for our girls.

 Mr Hyde strikes again!

 Fancy lady and street urchin

Cast picture outside the auditorium after the final performance. Rylee didn't want to be in this one. She struggled her whole freshman year to feel like she was really a part of anything.

Pirates of Penzance- MHS Drama production Fall 2015

 This year, Rylee decided she wanted to help with the set, so she signed up to be in the Technical Theater I class, where they actually build the set and assemble the props. She had a lot of fun learning how to use a saw, drill and other power tools. :)

 Kiersten was cast as one of the General's daughters. You can see, they added a few daughters from the original stage production because Mrs. Calhoun has a "no cut" policy. If you want to audition, we'll find a part for you.

 Kiersten enjoys being on the stage and belonging to the production family. Most of her friends come from drama or orchestra.

 It's an entertaining story to begin with, but when you let the students interpret their own meanings and add their own personalities, it becomes even more amusing. The cast and crew did a great job!!

 Grandma Geneva, AKA the Grandma with the Grandpa with the candy cane, passed away last month. She had just barely turned 86. It was not a sad time for us. We knew her body was failing and that she would be happier reuniting with her parents, siblings and Grandpa Lua. It's hard to watch loved ones suffer when you know they'll be so much happier in paradise.

It was interesting to note the differences between the family members that are still active in the gospel, and those that are not. It truly was a sad day for some who don't believe we will see her again. My heart aches for those who don't have a firm belief in eternal families. It would be devastating to say good bye to someone I loved and not cling to the fact that I will see them again, soon. Alma 40:8 states that"...all is as one day with God, and time only is measured unto men."

 These two photos were taken at Thanksgiving 2014. We took Grandma to lunch at Fuddrucker's and took a 4 generation picture afterwards. I'm so greatful for modern technology and the ability we have to capture snapshots of our lives.
Grandma Geneva holds a special place in Scott's heart. She always made him chocolate chip cookies if she knew he was passing through, which was often since we lived in UT and the rest of the family lived in AZ. He also passed many happy summers staying for weeks at her house in Page, AZ.

After our family picture, we got together as "just the girls" and took this picture