MelvilleMinutes

Weirdest and worst Christmas lyrics

2010-12-04T21:31:00.004-07:00

So, it has been a very long time since I have blogged anything on this blog. But my first blog post in well over three years comes as a result of hearing those same songs we hear every year--some of which are quite strange.

"The first Noel, the angel did say, was to certain poor shepherds." After all these hundreds of years, I'm surprised no one's come up with a better translation. First of all, they didn't translate Noel. Which is fine, I guess. But the first Noel was what to the shepherds? It was given to them? It was announced to them? And whatever it was, it was only to them? The fact that "the angel did say" only seems to confuse the issue.

"Over the river and through the woods...today is Christmas day." This song is fine. But it was originally a Thanksgiving song. And Christmas stole it. As if it didn't have enough songs already! Same story with "Jingle Bells."

"There'll be parties for hosting, marshmallows for toasting, and caroling out in the snow. There'll be scary ghost stories..." I don't know about the rest of you, but I usually toast marshmallows when I go camping, and typically I don't go camping in December. And I associate "scary ghost stories" with Halloween. Sure, there's A Christmas Carol, but that's only one, and the song speaks of stories, plural.

"I wonder as I wander, out under the sky, how Jesus our Savior did come for to die, for poor on'ry people like you and like I..." "Onery" is a weird word. But the real problem in this song is that it says "like I." It should be "like me." They could have easily altered the rhyme, because it's a little strange to wonder and wander "out under the sky."

And speaking of grammar, how about "The smell of cakes and pies are absolutely everywhere"? When Jack Skellington sang this, he clearly neglected to realize that smell is the subject of the sentence, not cakes and pies.

"And this song of mine, in three quarter time..." This is an example of a forced rhyme. The writer puts some random statement in just to make the rhyme and rhythm work. Making a reference to your song, in the song, is one thing. But making a reference to the time is quite another. And not only is it a forced rhyme, it's not even a rhyme! "Mine" and "time" do not rhyme.

"It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...but the prettiest sight you'll see is the holly that will be on your own front door." Holly may be pretty, but I think there are a lot of other things that are prettier. And it's presupposing that I put holly on my door. Who even uses holly anymore? And what makes my holly prettier than that of my neighbor? What if mine's dead and brown and the leaves are falling off, and my neighbor's is fresh and verdant? Is mine still prettier by default?

Then in the same song, "A pair of hopalong boots and a pistol that shoots is the wish of Barney and Ben. Dolls that will talk and go for a walk is the hope of Janice and Jen. And Mom and Dad can hardly wait for school to start again." I realize this song is very old, but I have no idea what hopalong boots are. Then there's the obvious awkwardness of putting names in that makes the song apply to hardly anyone. I don't think I know a single Barney, much less one family that has all four of those names. And if the kids are out of school, it's not beginning to look a lot like Christmas. That happened weeks, if not months, ago. In fact, if the parents are already sick of the kids being home, a) Christmas is already over, b) they have an unusually long Christmas break, or c) they are rotten parents!

"There's a happy feeling nothing in the world can buy as they pass around the coffee and the pumpkin pie." If coffee makes you that happy, you have a serious caffeine addiction. Not to mention the fact that coffee is not seasonal at all. The Mormon Tabernacle Choir's alternate words are much more Christmassy (traditionally "cider," but in their 2008 concert with Brian Stokes Mitchell they said "egg nog"). I think Clay Aiken said "cocoa."

"Please have snow and mistletoe and presents on the tree." "OK dear, you want snow, you got it. I've got friends in very high places." And who puts presents on the tree? More recent versions have substituted "by" and "under," which are much more fitting prepositions.

"On the twelfth day of Christmas my true love gave to me...." Rings and birds are one thing. But how do you give people as gifts? Especially aristocratic lords? Leaping lords, even?

"Chestnuts roasting on an open fire...and folks dressed up like Eskimos." I've never eaten a chestnut. And "Eskimo" is an offensive term that means "eater of raw flesh." "Inuit" is the appropriate term. Then it continues, "and every mother's child is going to spy..." What about the families where the mothers are not in the picture? Do fathers' children not spy?

"In the meadow we can build a snowman, and pretend that he is Parson Brown. He'll say 'Are you married?' We'll say 'No man, but you can do the job when you're in town.'" There's one of those specific names again. And if marriage is on your mind that much, you shouldn't be out building snowmen. And I don't know how fitting it is to call a parson "man." That sounds only slightly more respectful than "dude."
"In the meadow we can build a snowman and pretend that he's a circus clown. We'll have lots of fun with Mr. Snowman until the other kiddies knock him down." The most surefire way to be made fun of and bullied is to pretend a snowman is a clown, of all things.

"From Atlantic to Pacific, gee, the traffic is terrific." Enough said.

I think this is enough for one sitting. Maybe I'll make another post, if I think of more.

Then and Now Halloween

2010-10-30T19:42:00.000-06:00

Allie remembered the top picture with Mark from several years ago. She wanted to duplicate it this year. I thought the comparison was pretty funny. Allie has grown up, Mark has grown down. More to come.

So many things

2010-09-16T21:22:00.003-06:00

I let so many things slide now with out sharing them. I will try to repent for the moment. We had a nice post labor day campout with the Melville family. We have met the week after Labor Day for the past three years. This is the first time Mark got to join us. It is always fun to catch up with everyone and let Allie play with cousins. Too bad we are so caught up in our own lives that we don't get to play with others more often.

I have started a new school year and seem to have a pretty good class. That makes life so much easier. Last year was especially difficult so this will be a nice break. It took me a couple of weeks to get into the work mode again. I dreaded getting up every morning but I am adjusting, finally.

It has been really nice having Mark home. I know he will go back to school in January, but I will enjoy it while I can. He is such a good influence in our home. He only watches uplifting TV, he always does his scripture study and he exercises everyday. As a consequence, I have been better at all three,too. I should be ashamed that I have to learn from my kids but I guess I am actually proud that they live better than I do and I will try to emulate those good points.
Mark and I have been walking 3-5 days a week. Well, actually he runs and I walk. We start together and usually end together. He jogs past me and then will come back and walk the last bit with me. This week we have passed President and Sister Uchtdorf (is that close enough?) both Wednesday and Thursday. It is cool to see them walking and talking and know they are just normal people who have chosen a life of service. I won't make it up to that level but I can pretend I am just like them because I walk the same route :)

Enough for tonight. Hope all is well with you, too. PS: Marie we would love to have you join us. we try for between 7 and 7:30 up by the golf course.

Wow! More than three years

2010-08-20T21:13:00.002-06:00

It has been a long time since anyone used this blog. I don't know if anyone will even read this, but I will know it is public. Mark has been a really good influence on Rick and me. He lost a lot of weight on his mission and has been working hard to stay fit. Now that he has moved back home he is encouraging us as well. Mark and I are going to try to walk/run four or five times a week. I think he will do more than that but I am not promising more. We went up to Bountiful Blvd. (flat land) and he jogged while I walked. We had hoped that he would walk the last little bit with me but he jogged a lot longer than I walked. I still walked for a full 40 minutes and I have to admit that it felt good. I actually got faster as I went, which surprised me. I guess I just needed to loosen up these old, stiff muscles. Wish me luck!! Same time, same place tomorrow.

Final flour pictures

2010-06-27T17:20:00.000-06:00

Just a warning: If you look at these before the previous posts, it might spoil the fun. You can see the joy they had with the flour.

Just good, clean? fun. They played for a very long time with no fighting.

Allie took a minute to pose for the camera. It was funny because no one asked her to and we had never seen her pose before.

Now for the part that will forever stay in our minds and stop us from ever doing something like this again. The clean up. We got out the hose and sprayed off the sidewalk and the kids. Now we all remembered that flour and water is that goo that you use for paper mache...... Grandma wisely left the bath to the moms. See all the flour on the comb? It was a long, hard process getting all the flour out. We thought it would be days before it all washed down the drain. Mind you, that was after 10 minutes with the hose. We're glad we did it but won't try that again.

Flour Part 2

2010-06-27T17:08:00.001-06:00

Yaping had some flour that was pretty old so she was going to throw it out. The kids love to play with it when we cook so Ya-ping got the great idea to let them play in it.

They had a great time with molds and smashing them.

Then it got more exciting as they threw it at each other and poured it on themselves.

Preston was the champion of of the flour. He kept saying he was old because of the gray hair.

More from Nashville

2010-06-27T16:57:00.000-06:00

Getting ready for church. When the big boys were in the bath, Grandma got to give Nathaniel his bath in the sink.

Playing outside in one of the big rains. Splashing in puddles and finding worms are always fun adventures.

Franklin wanted to hold baby and was telling him all about the finer points of transformers.

See the blog part two for more flour stories.

More cute boys

2010-06-16T09:19:00.001-06:00

David sometimes brings dry ice home for the boys to enjoy. I think there is still a big kid left inside of David. He loves to play with the boys and will do what it takes to entertain them.

Ya-ping was trying to design a hat to keep Nathaniel cool in the HOT Tennessee weather. Doesn't he look like a shiek?

Doing some deep thinking.

Nashville 2010

2010-06-16T09:12:00.000-06:00

I stole some of David's pictures. Here is Franklin as Spiderman. He can even sing the song.

Brother bonding

Look, Ma, no teeth. Preston is showing off the loss of his two bottom teeth.

One of Nathaniel's frequent smiles. Can you tell that I am glad I am here? Children should not take grandchildren far from their grandmothers!

It's official: They're a family!

2010-03-29T19:48:00.000-06:00

Saturday Matt and Susanne got married. It was a very small crowd; parents and grandparents.

Allie by the cake

My parents. Dad performed the ceremony. What a blessing.

Little Nathaniel

2010-01-28T07:16:00.002-07:00

Just a quick update on Nathaniel's status. He is doing very well. He is now up to 5 pounds and strong and calm. He will remain in the NICU for about 8 more days. He had bacteria in his urine and his spinal fluid so they are giving him IV antibiotics. The nice thing is they caught it all very early (was dropping him a blessing in disguise?) because Ya-ping took him to a dr. for a second opinion to make sure there had been no damage from his fall. The older boys are doing well. They are now used to going to bed and/or waking up with grandma. Franklin always asks where mom, dad and baby are but then he goes about his business calmly. I'm glad I am here but wish I could eke out one more week. If I was better organized at school that might have been a possibility, but me? organized? Oi!!

The family is growing

2010-01-16T08:11:00.002-07:00

David and Ya-ping had a new baby boy yesterday. He weighed in at 4lbs. 13 ounces. David posted some pretty cool pictures on his blog.
Most of you who read this probably also know that Allie and Susanne are engaged. They are looking for a house and as soon as they find that they will set a date.
Life is GREAT!!

The best Christmas ever!!

2010-01-08T19:10:00.001-07:00

The Stockings were hung by the chimney with care...... Look at all those stockings!! It was great to have everyone home.

Of course the season started with the return of the Unprodigal Son. It was so great to have him back again.

We tried to get good pictures of the three but they didn't turn out so great. The back drop needed a little bit of work.

I don't know how to post videos, so here is the beginning of the video of Christmas dinner. Notice my new french doors.

October

2009-11-01T11:16:00.000-07:00

October has been an interesting month at our house. We started with a great trip (just Rick and I) to Fish Lake, Capitol Reef National Park, the Burr Trail, Bryce Canyon, and Red Canyon. It was great fun.

The picture above is of Strike Valley. It runs down the middle of the 100 mile water pocket fold that helps make Capitol Reef. We took a scary, but fun, jeep road and then a bit of a hike to get to this cool overlook. I apparently deleted the other picture. We had one going north and one going south.

This is the top of the Aquarius Plateau. It is the largest high plateau on the continent. Rick has always wanted to see the world from the top. It was a pretty easy jeep road up to it. Can I say we love our RAV4? It is a really fun car to drive both highway and off road.

Then here is Rick (Can you see him?) in the bottom of the Grand Wash. I wanted to share the feel of the high, narrow wash. This was a very easy hike because it is mostly flat. You get bogged down in the sand sometimes but it is spectacular!

Then after our fun trip we had the not so fun part of the month. Susanne had a virus attack her heart and it got pretty scary for a while. She is back to school/work today for the first time. Thanks to all of you for your thoughts and prayers. She is under strict orders to leave early if her heart, blood pressure, or pulse do not stay at a normal level. She has been pushing herself over the last week so that she can finish her preceptorship and finally get her RN. Her school has been very good to her through the last couple of weeks and are trying to make it pretty easy to graduate with her class the end of this month. We have loved Nan's cardiologist and he is going to keep a pretty close watch on her for the next couple of months to make sure we don't have to repeat the ICU experience. I, personally, think she should get school credit for being on that side of the medical care for a week. She learned a lot about being a better patient (she is NOT a good patient.)

Before the big project

2009-04-18T20:09:00.000-06:00

We started a great, exciting project. We bought new granite countertops for the kitchen and main bathroom!!

This is a good view of the beautiful yellow counters and harvest gold drop in stove. Now all we need is a backsplash to finish the project :)

And After

2009-04-18T19:55:00.000-06:00

We put in new granite countertops in our main bathroom and the kitchen. It all started because I wanted/needed a new stove. As you can see in the old pictures our stove was a drop in so we had to cut countertops in order to replace it. These are just quick pictures. You'll see I don't even have the bathroom drawers put back in yet.

The backsplash has not been determined yet. You can see the samples against the walls. Hopefully we will decide soon so we can get the kitchen finished.

The new stove that started the whole project. We kept the old range top and just painted it with black laquer.

Even new counters will work for OCD girls who need to line up princesses.

2009-04-18T17:36:00.000-06:00

These are all pictures of Zion National Park. We stopped there on our way back. Yep, it snowed there, too. We have been here lots of times but it still seems so spectacular. We also went to Red Rock Canyon and Hoover Dam but those pictures are on my phone and I still need to find the cord to download those. My camera battery died the day we went there.

20 mule team borax

2009-04-18T17:32:00.000-06:00

I need to start with an explanation of the badwater sign picture. The man in the picture was not Rick so I just wanted the sign not the guys head. I just got impatient waiting for our turn.

These pictures are of the borax mine in Death Valley. Anyone out there remember the show "Death Valley Days"? There was always the pictures of the mule team and wagons when they advertised borax cleaning stuff. This part really intrigued Rick.

Death Valley

2009-04-18T17:26:00.000-06:00

I have always wanted to go to Death Valley. Here we are at the lowest place in the western hemisphere.

This part was called Artist Drive because it had different colors. It looks pretty blah, but it really was one of the highlights of our trip.

Then you have some oasis areas around water. There is a little golf course in this little area.

Spring Break

2009-04-18T17:20:00.000-06:00

Hopefully this is the beginning of several posts. Rick and I just stayed 5 days in a time share in Vegas. The first two pictures were from The Valley of Fire on our way into Vegas.

We spent about 4 hours on The Strip. This is a new building going up that seems to have no vertical sides. The tall tower in the back is part of the crazy building as well. The strip is not our favorite place. Some of the places are pretty cool but the atmosphere is so decadent and crowded.

Here you see what? Yes, snow in Las Vegas! It was record cold. It seems that Rick and I foster that when we go places on spring break.

Christmas Part 3

2009-01-16T18:52:00.000-07:00

I am sure Ya-ping will thank me for this picture later :)

We enjoyed a beautiful day at the zoo in our shirtsleeve weather. I think I could live in Nashville from Sept. through June.

We loved feeding the parakeets. Both boys loved it until one bit Preston. Even then he wasn't too scared of them, just mad at the bird.

After you eat at the restaurant you can always play with the crayons to entertain everyone. This was my last night and we had a great dinner. The kids were great even though it may appear otherwise. Thanks Dave and Ya-ping for the treat!!!

Christmas part 2

2009-01-16T18:47:00.000-07:00

I was hoping that the changes in blogger allowed me to post more than 4 pictures at a time. I was wrong, so these will be a bit out of order. Oh well, at least I blogged!!!
Christmas morning in Utah.

And as if by magic (and thanks to a great son and daughter-in-law) Christmas morning in Nashville. It doesn't get better than to be able to enjoy Christmas with ALL your grandkids!!

Franklin loved a "recycled" talking Teddy. I think Aunt Sue bought it for Allie and it has survived and entertained all three grandkids.

Busy at work!

Wonderful Christmas Season

2009-01-16T18:43:00.000-07:00

It took me a while to post, but I had a great holiday break!! We had lots of help decorating this year, even without Mark.

Can you see those beautiful earrings? Allie decided to be brave and get beautiful earrings over the Thanksgiving break. She can now change them. She worries that it will hurt everytime and still cries about it, but wants them changed none the less. Last time she admitted that it didn't hurt after the tears were dried.

Our child friendly nativities stayed lined up like this most of the time. It was like having our own little "poltergiest" again. We do miss you Mark even if we have a semi-replacement. :)

Allie was front and center for her Kindergarten Program.

Wow! A new blog

2008-10-28T21:26:00.000-06:00

Rick and I took a great jaunt to Capitol Reef National Park. Here Rick is on our little hike. It was a nice easy walk, except for the 0.2 miles that was straight up and hence the backwards 0.2 that was straight down. I still get pretty panicky when hiking down slick places. You would think that after 20 years I would be alright.

This is the Temple of the Sun and The Temple of the Moon.

Our first look down into Cathedral Valley. This was a road in the north end of the park that is a 2 wheel drive, high clearance road - perfect for our RAV4. It took several hours on this road but was great fun! We were going to ford a stream as well but chickened out.

This was just to show the size of some of the monuments. You can see how tiny Rick looks, and that is without being able to see the top of the "cathedral".
We missed having the girls with us BUT.... it is so nice to be in that time of life when we can just take off and really enjoy each others company. I do have a pretty great spouse and I am so glad that he likes to go on adventures.

EBBERT ALERT

2008-08-17T08:18:00.002-06:00

Dear Ebbert family,
We have a tentative date for G'ma and G'pa's 50th anniversary party. I have not even cleared it with Paul and Nancy yet, but I'll try to do that today. We would like to meet in Lander the first weekend in August 09. Our plan is to have things going Thur. through Sat. Aug. 6 -8. Please let me know if that works for your family and then we'll finalize plans.
Love, Auntie Ann

2008-07-07T20:44:00.000-06:00

A puffer fish that was almost as big as Preston.

David trying to keep Preston dry as he petted the sturgeons.

Preston played in the fountains. David finally gave up trying to keep him dry and let him be an alligator.

cool jelly fish, etc.

2008-07-07T20:38:00.000-06:00

2008-07-07T20:31:00.000-06:00

Grandma and Franklin waited while everyone else rode one of the steepest rail cars in the country up to Look Out Mt.

The cool rocks. Some of the places were so narrow that we had to take the backpack off and carry Franklin. Preston loved collecting bugs and slugs along the trail. The following picture is called Fat Man's Misery.

Another fun trip

2008-07-07T20:20:00.002-06:00

This has been our year for fun trips. We are currently in Nashville visiting with Dave, Ya-ping and boys. We took the scenic route with stops at Monument Valley, The Grand Canyon, Sunset Volcano, the Arizona Meteor Crater, Petrified Forest and some Indian ruins. Then we took Nashville Melvilles with us to Chattanooga to see some cool rock formations, the largest underground waterfall, some civil war battlefields and a cool aquarium. We hope to see Finches, Deanna and kids, and possibly Paul and Nancy on our way home. I will try to post some of David's pictures, but I haven't downloaded mine yet. I had to promise Mark that I would take plenty of pictures of the kids so he could see them. He says they are really the only ones that he really misses. Poor Mark, he leaves us and we take cool vacations. We'll just have to do this again in a couple of years.

New family blogger

2008-05-28T21:49:00.002-06:00

Susanne has finally started a blog. She has had a lot of friends leave work and go to other hospitals, so she started blogging to keep in touch with them. Her new address is: http://curlymel2.blogspot.com/
Our life has been hectic but nice. Rick is still working 60 - 70 hour weeks so we don't see a lot of each other. We love weekends because we get to see each other for more than a few minutes at a time. We are planning an exciting expedition to Tennessee in July. We are going through Arizona, Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Arkansas. Rick will fly back (since he has limited vacation time) and I will stay a while. Susanne, Allie, Sue and whatever boys are available will fly out too. Then Sue and boys will drive back with me. We are taking the Suburban so we can all fit so it will be a bit pricey but well worth it. Just pray that gas doesn't go over the $5 mark. It seems to be going up by leaps and bounds. We are planning stops in Iowa and Wyoming on the way back so I hope you all are up for it. I'll email later with actual dates.
I only have six days of school left. I will be moving to another classroom so I will work most of June. I am also taking a couple of classes in June so I will be plenty busy, but then I will enjoy vacation all the better.

2008-04-05T09:16:00.000-06:00

2008-04-05T09:13:00.000-06:00

2008-04-05T09:11:00.000-06:00

Finally, Disneyland

2008-04-05T09:08:00.000-06:00

These last couple of sets of pictures are of Disneyland and Sea World. It was a great trip! The best part for me was getting to enjoy my husband's company for so long. It seems that we hardly get to see each other because we work different schedules. We just took it easy and enjoyed being together.

2008-04-05T09:02:00.002-06:00

The last section of the trip before we picked up the girls at the airport was the La Brea Tar Pits. You can see that tar patches just pop up all over the grounds. They try to contain them, but they must not be able to keep up. It was especially nice because I have to teach about fossils in fourth grade and now I have more I can add from first hand knowledge (not that I was there when the fossils formed, just that I have actually seens the pits and some of the bones removed from it.)

Then we picked up the girls at the Long Beach Airport. It is the smallest airport terminal I have ever seen.

2008-04-05T08:52:00.001-06:00

When we got to Southern California we stopped in Hollywood. Here is Grauman's Chinese Theatre. John Wayne's square had his fist instead of his hand. And you can see that Rick could fill the footsteps of The Arnold. Jimmy Durante had his nose in cement and most of the stars left some little message.
It was actually much more fun than I thought it would be.

2008-04-05T08:42:00.003-06:00

I realize this is going in backwards, so you may want to start at the bottom and move up. Then this next picture didn't publish so I had to put it back in by itself. Oh well, at least I am blogging.
Then we went to Big Basin Redwoods State Park. Rick is the guy in the white shirt. This tree fell down years ago. They figure it takes several hundred years for them to decay. The roots are only about a yard or two out of the picture, just behind Rick. There are still two smaller sections behind me. We were trying to get a better perspective on how tall the trees really are.

2008-04-05T08:33:00.001-06:00

Redwoods are such amazing trees. Here we are standing inside a living tree. There is a huge cave, a hole out the top that is supporting a fallen limb, and the tree is still alive and growing. It is amazing. The next picture is our little camp site. This is the only place we used the tent, but Rick wanted to spend at least one night sleeping in the redwoods. It was fun but cold.

We went to the home of Sarah Winchester, called the mystery house. She built continually (24 hours a day) for 38 years to keep the spirits of those killed by Winchester rifles appeased. Here is the door to nowhere. It opens from the inside, but goes nowhere. There are lots of little things like that. It was a fun tour.

2008-04-05T08:20:00.002-06:00

I'll finally blog about our great trip. Here is Rick in front of the monument at Donner Pass, our first stop. The snow that year was up to the top of the rock part of the monument. There was still a lot of snow this March, Rick is walking on about 3 feet of snow.

This is, obviously, the Golden Gate Bridge. We walked just past the first pillar and wanted to walk across, but our parking meter had expired so we went back.

We also went to Golden Gate Park (it is HUGE) and to the ocean. Rick was racing the waves back to shore. There were jellyfish coming up with the waves. They were just large, clear blobs that appeared and disappeared with each wave.

Fun Week

2008-03-17T06:43:00.003-06:00

This has been a fun week and the next one will be even more exciting.
I finished parent/teacher conferences a couple of weeks ago. I have loved having my own classroom (as opposed to job sharing) but it has taken so much more time and energy. It was a time of soul searching about what I am doing right and wrong. I am afraid that I am doing way too much on the "wrong" side this year. I am lazy when it comes to curriculum building and making learning exciting, so I have spent a lot of time looking at that and trying to fix it. Luckily the school district is helping me with that. Next year I get to have an electronic classroom. Each school was offered 2 e-classrooms. I was lucky enough to get one! I will have 15 computers in my room and 14 days of training (spread over 2 years) about how to use those efficiently. The big plus side for me is that I can use them to help keep paperwork under control. The kids will take a lot of tests online and the programs will score everything and report the concepts learned or missed, all with little effort from me! I know it will be hard as I get used to it but I am so excited. We will do a lot of presentations using multi-media which really gets kids ready for their future.

After that good news, we got to take Allie to Disney Princesses on Ice. She was so excited and so animated. I did some sewing for a friend and she gave me those tickets in return, so the tickets were free. It was pretty funny to have three adult women (Sue, Susanne, and me) all watching this little four year old. Needless to say, we had a great time. We didn't think to take a camera so you don't get to enjoy the pictures. Allie oohed and ahhed every time a new princess came out. She also jumped and cheered and pumped her arms. It was great.

Now we get to go to Disneyland over my spring break. Rick and I are going up through San Francisco. We are going to the Winchester Mystery House and spending at least one night among the redwood trees. Then we'll drive down to LA and pick up the girls. The girls are flying in and out. I am looking forward to being with my husband for more than a week without all the stresses of being home and all the work there that calls our name. I think I am more excited about that than the actual trip. I'll post pictures when we get home.

Notes from the mission field

2008-02-24T16:50:00.000-07:00

The MTC group

Spokane Temple day

and night.

The new group in Spokane.

Link to Dave

2008-01-25T06:13:00.000-07:00

I realized I didn't have a link to Dave's blog. This title should be a link and I will have Dave fix that problem.

A BABY!!

2008-01-25T06:09:00.000-07:00

We welcomed a new baby into the family today. You might want to check out David's blog. Franklin was born yesterday and thanks to the generosity of a mom of one of my students I get to fly to Tennessee today. Teri is a stewardess and offered me a buddy pass. Isn't that awesome. After checking prices we figured I would have to wait 2 weeks to go, but now I don't.

Christmas

2007-12-31T10:27:00.000-07:00

I am not really doing a long Christmas post, just a little note to go with the following blogs. Rick was kind enough to get me a digital camera for Christmas so I can take pictures to share. I figure since all my children have a good camera I should join the club. I had a great Christmas and especially enjoyed my visit with Mark. More on all that later.

apparently the pictures didn't post

2007-12-31T10:26:00.000-07:00

My amazing daughter in law

2007-12-31T10:21:00.001-07:00

Ya-ping made me a pillow/quilt for Christmas. I knew she was making it but had no idea that there would be a picture on it. I pictured something very simple. I have to admit to having tears in my eyes as I saw what effort she put into making something so significant for me. I was planning on keeping this downstairs to curl up in when I watch TV, but it will go on my living room couch. I am not sure how often I will use the blanket. I could look at the pillow all day and it turns inside out when you use the quilt.

Ya-ping also made a quilt for Sue. When she came in August and saw how clean and nice Sue's house was she decided to make a quilt to finish up Sue's "new" bedroom. Mind you, this is a girl who hasn't done much sewing and had never made a quilt before. I knew she wanted to piece one but I pictured something easy with big squares. The pictures don't even do it justice. It is beautiful and intricate. I think about all the people who have problems with their in laws. How lucky can I be? I probably have the sweetest daughter in law around!

Check Jesse's blog

2007-12-16T09:53:00.000-07:00

The title to this blog should provide a link to Jesse's blog. You all might want to check it out. Mark is doing well and will leave tomorrow for Spokane. I am sure the Christmas season will be pretty slow so I hope he doesn't get discouraged. I only have one more week of school and I hope Sue and I both survive. Kids are so crazy this time of year and Sue has an especially difficult class this year. My 28 kids are mellow by comparison. Enjoy your holidays!

Happy Again

2007-12-08T16:00:00.000-07:00

I can breathe a sigh of relief and tell you that I am happy again. We got both an email and snail mail from Mark this week. He sounds great! He said the first day was pretty rough but he has not been homesick since. He loves being a missionary. It is such a relief to know he is happy. Really, all you ever want for your kids is for them to be happy.
I also had a great conversation about him yesterday. I gave a shower for a friend of David's who is getting married. A couple of their non-member neighbors came to the shower. When someone asked me about how Mark was doing they both gasped and asked if the boy that just spoke in church was my son. They had come to church for a confirmation on the day of Mark's farewell. They told me how much they have talked about him since then. They even called each other on the Wednesday Mark left to say they were thinking of him because that was the day he was leaving. He made such a strong impression on them. They said a missionary like that, who speaks straight from the heart, might even be able to convert them. When they left they gave me a hug and said they love me already because I have such a great son. Now that is a pay-day for a mom!
Allie would like to type something for the blog: allieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

The deed is done

2007-11-28T18:36:00.000-07:00

Mark left today for the Washington Spokane Mission. It is about 6 hours later and I am still crying. This was one of the hardest things I ever had to do. I am glad he chose to go but I will miss him so much. We really did have more time together than I had with my other kids because he has been an "only child" for quite a while. My evenings will be long and boring now. Rick is back on graveyards until they get some more electricians hired (and they are having trouble finding people who will work for what they are paying). David was so excited to leave us at the MTC, but Mark was not so happy. He cried along with me. He says he'll miss Allie and Preston most. He is such a great kid!

2007-11-21T23:20:00.000-07:00

Our holiday boy!

Such a good sport

Celebrating Mark

2007-11-21T23:12:00.000-07:00

Graduation 2007

Dancing with Allie

You can always count on Mark to carry and help watch kids.

It is getting close!

2007-11-21T22:54:00.000-07:00

I know I am a terrible blogger, but then again most of you are terrible commentors. It is no fun to post if people don't reply.
Life has been pretty hectic. Working full time has been a lot harder than I thought it would be. I love my class this year and love having control of what goes on, but it takes a lot of time. I have had a hard time keeping kids on track and correcting late work. Hopefully they will keep getting better on that front.
I have also been buying suits and coats and etc. etc. for Mark. He leaves in one week. Yes, that is 7 days from today. :( I wouldn't have it any other way, but I am not excited about losing him. He and I have gotten pretty close over the last couple of years. Many nights we were the only ones home and have had some great bonding moments. The good thing about that is that I will have lots of great memories to sustain me. The bad part is that I will miss him so badly. We had quite a scare this weekend. Mark had gone to see David (well really he went to see Preston) and he fell off his bike and sprained his ankle. He was worried that it was broken as his track record is not very good. He is sporting a cute little splint but is starting to bear weight on it. We were afraid that he would have to put off leaving if his leg had been broken.
Can I tell you what a great kid Mark is? He is very kind and loving with Allie and Preston. He has an intense sense of right and wrong and always errs on the side of "too righteous" rather than not good enough. He has been so diligent reading his scriptures and getting prepared to serve. Enjoy his pictures. Maybe someone can help me figure out how to put together a little video of him. He would hate that, but I would love it.

more old pictures

2007-11-13T06:30:00.000-07:00

too long ago

2007-11-13T06:29:00.000-07:00

Dave and Ya-ping came in August. Here are cousins at the zoo.

Brilliance

2007-09-15T23:07:00.000-06:00

First watch this (the syndicated version has a lower pitched theme).

Then watch these (which sound like the syndicated version).

The advertising man behind this is a genius.

New Car Month

2007-09-12T16:26:00.000-06:00

We don't have more than one picture, but here is the one we have of the new car. It is a Toyota Rav4 Limited. Rick really wanted red but it was hard to find one. Everyone had silver and we also found a black, but this is the "special" white. It has little sparkles in the paint. We don't have the indash GPS like Todd and D, but we do have our own that we can use. I love the 6 CD changer and the dual temp. controls. I get to drive it because I will put on less miles than Rick or Mark because I car pool. Yeah!

And the envelope said.......

2007-09-06T21:46:00.000-06:00

We finally got Mark's mission call. It has been a long, crazy process but it finally came. He actually got the call yesterday but didn't want us to bring it to him at work. He doesn't get home until after midnight and his dad leaves about 2AM, so he decided to wait until tonight when g'ma and g'pa and Sue and boys could come. Where to, you are wondering. Well remember that I had to wait for over 24 hours so these few moments are nothing. He was called to the Washington Spokane Mission. He leaves November 28. He was thinking that the 28th would be perfect because he would get to have Thanksgiving at home (one of his favorite holidays) before he left and he will probably get home just before Thanksgiving, so he will only miss one. He was a little disappointed that he isn't speaking a foreign language but he is thrilled to be in the US. He said it is a a lot less scary and a lot less stressful being somewhere so familiar. The Lord does have a hand in the process.

And even more pictures

2007-08-24T16:59:00.000-06:00

What is a camping trip without marshmellows?

Here Preston is blowing on a spider hanging down from a tree. He obviously got a great kick out of it.

Rick can be a pretty fun grandpa.

More camping

2007-08-24T16:22:00.000-06:00

We saw a mother moose (bottom picture) and her baby (above) several times as they wandered through our campsite.

Preston LOVES bugs of all kinds. Here he is holding an ant. Allie is not afraid of most bugs (only spiders) but she was not as quick to pick them up as Preston was.

Looking for bugs can make a pretty cute picture.

Mark's graduation present

2007-08-24T16:15:00.000-06:00

Our sweet Mark really only wanted one thing for his graduation present; he wanted a visit with Preston, Dave and Ya-ping before he went on his mission. Here are pictures from their visit. Ya-ping and Preston are here for two weeks, but David went home on Wed. after only one week. We wanted to give Preston a chance to camp. We went up to Spruces in Big Cottonwood Canyon for a couple of nights. Here we are cooking foil dinners.

I hope I am not too late

2007-08-01T22:05:00.000-06:00

I hope I haven't waited to long to post this. I have been thinking about what to fast about this week and would love to suggest a family fast. Dad's hearing has been pretty bad and I know it frustrates him not to be able to be in on as many conversations. Could we fast for his hearing and health? I realize that there are several other important family issues currently so we may need to have a rather big list this month. We could include Tammy and baby and Sue and her boys. I know I do a lot better when I am fasting about something that is important to me and I also know it is very helpful to put all the power of this family together on a task. Hopefully most of you will read this before Sunday. We love you all and wish we were a bit closer geologically but feel blessed because of the love and technology that keep us connected emotionally.
Love, Ann

Allie's Graduation

2007-07-22T19:30:00.000-06:00

You can see what a social butterfly she is.

They all started with caps but it was cold and windy so they eventually blew off.

The teacher trying to get everyone to stand in a line for their little program.

Graduation Pictures

2007-07-22T19:28:00.000-06:00

First Mark

Trying pictures again

2007-07-22T19:16:00.000-06:00

I was talking to Tammy yesterday and she encouraged me to try to post pictures again. I had given up but I think it really worked this time. You may end up with more pictures than you care to see over the next few weeks.

Staying awake

2007-07-08T12:01:00.000-06:00

I am trying hard to stay awake so I can see Mark when he comes home from work. I couldn't think of anything better to do than to check all the blogs and add to mine. Thanks again for starting this Todd and Deanna because it is such a nice, easy way to stay in touch. We have worked hard this last week. We moved Susanne with much help from Peter and Quin. Mark and Rick were both working and Sue's other boys were working or playing so Pete provided all the muscle and Quin watched Allie (which you all know is just as important.) Gpa put together a very difficult entertainment center and Gma helped direct traffic. It was a long hard day but also fun because we worked together. Susanne bought a lot of do it yourself furniture. Yuck! I am sick of reading those crazy directions and turning screws. We put together a dresser, vanity, toy shelf and two bookcases in addition to Dad's work on the entertainment center. Her house is coming together and Allie has enjoyed having her own house. She especially loves the swimming pool and would go much more often than her mom lets her. The only thing that keeps me happy is that we still get Allie the three days that Nan works.
Mark is doing well at his job. He has to stay pretty late the nights he closes because all the cleanup has to be finished before they leave. I don't expect him until 12:30 or 1:00AM. He doesn't love working so much but has been a really good sport about it. He hasn't actually gotten paid yet because they hand out checks on his day off. He needs to get a manager to open the safe to get his check and he hasn't been very assertive about that yet. I think he might like his job better when he sees the money. He has had a couple of chances to use his Spanish, which I think is pretty cool. He did have to come home after the first day and look up the word for pound. He is taking the temple prep class and continues to prepare for his mission. Can I tell you how lucky I feel to have such a good kid? He really is amazing to me. I miss having him come to Gospel Doctrine with us because we used to have some pretty cool discussions after class. Now he is in the nursery and I usually substitute in Primary. I have been to RS once this summer and have at least two more weeks as a sub before I get to go to RS again. Poor Rick has been abandoned.
I have gotten to see a lot more of Sue in the last couple of weeks because she has been off track. That has been nice. I love having a sister close by and hope Anna and Lizzie, and Kathryn and Hannah get to be as close to each other as Sue and I have been. There is nothing better than a sister to share dreams and sorrows with. I think of nights sharing a bedroom when we sat up and talked until all hours and many a night Sue let me sing to her because I loved to. We always said we would make great polygamist wives because we are so different in what we like to do. She could cook and I could sew. She could play catch with the boys and I could read stories to the girls. The list goes on and on. Maybe in heaven? Do you think Rick could handle that?
OK, that is enough for one night. I love you all and miss you. I look forward to this fall when Ya-ping and Preston come for several weeks and David comes for at least Mark's farewell. Anyone else want to come to his farewell? We'll keep you posted.

An update

2007-06-28T10:38:00.000-06:00

I will start with an update on Susanne. She is finally on the mend. She was off work for about 3 weeks but is now doing much better. They think it was just a nasty virus and we hope they are correct. We have to get rid of our bird and then she'll have another chest CAT scan to make sure her lungs are cleared up. Her heart is doing much better. It still takes a while for her heart to slow down once it starts racing, but it is so much better that we are no longer worried. Oi! It is nice to have her functioning again. She moves out this Saturday.
We bought a swing set for Allie and she would swing all day everyday if we were patient enough to push that long. We need to teach her to pump herself. I am trying to put a link on here so you can see the swing set. The link is just in the title. The swing set is very small so it fits in our small backyard.
Mark is not loving going to work every day, but he doesn't mind the work once he is there. He works in the deli at WalMart. So far they have given him Sundays and Thursdays off. Hopefully it will stay that way.
I am enjoying my time off. I have gone to school a few days to clean and reorganize. Allie loves to come with me. She watches TV (yes, I have a TV in my classroom), plays with my stamps, draws on the whiteboard and when we are all done she gets to play on the playground. She wants me to go today, but I don't know if I will or not. We may go help at Sue's school instead. This is her last week of school and she needs to get some stuff done before she can go off track.
That is enough for now. Hopefully you are all well and happy.
Love, Ann

Cute Stories

2007-06-10T09:19:00.000-06:00

I want to add two stories on the Allie front. First: She is FINALLY potty trained. When she finally decided she was ready it was pretty quick and easy. She even wears panties to bed. We went to Lagoon the other day and she stayed dry there as well. Yahoo!!
Now for the cute story. Rick and I are getting Allie a swingset for her birthday. We were discussing which kind and where we were getting the money to pay for it. Allie brought her purse over and gave us a penny to help pay. Rick said, "That is nice Allie but do you have about 10,000 more of those?" Allie said she could give us more and she opened her purse and gave us two more pennies. Isn't she sweet? Now we can afford it for sure.

Craziness

2007-06-07T08:13:00.000-06:00

I have to repent. I do spend time on the computer playing Sudoku and Spider but I don't quite find the time to blog. We have been having an interesting couple of weeks. We have made two runs to the emergency room with Susanne. She is fine as long as she stays still or moves very slowly, but any time she exerts herself at all she gets very short of breath. They have ruled out any heart issues but they still are working on the cause. For Nan to miss a week of work is pretty unusual. You can probably guess that I am starting to worry about this (isn't that a mother's job?). They are having her see a pulmonologist and she has been seeing a rheumatologist because of unexplained swelling in her hands and sometimes legs. Oi! I'll keep you posted, but please keep her in your prayers. She is stubborn enough to have denied her father the privilege of giving her a blessing. She will be mad that I posted this, because she feels stupid and always worries that it is in her head. Silly, silly girl! On a different note, Susanne just signed a contract to move out of our house. She will be close (abt. 3 miles) but it will still be hard to lose her and Allie. We spent a fun night sharing "Allie-isms" last night and Nan, Mark and I were just laughing and laughing. I'll try to get Nan to blog some of those. Her apt. will be ready June 30.

Mark graduated from high school. He is currently looking for a job. He graduated with high honors and worked hard right up to the end. He wants to major in languages, English as well as others. He seems to have a real skill there and loves learning the rules that go with each. I can't believe that he can keep all that straight. He is planning a mission ASAP. His birthday is in Sept. so it is coming up fast. He can turn is papers in the end of June but we can't get his physical appt. before July so he will have to be patient.

I am planning on using this summer to get some organization in my house and classroom. That is always a challenge for me. I haven't gotten as much done this week as I had hoped but I will keep working on it. I do have to start exercising every day as well. Look for a post on the fitness blog next week to report my progress, good or bad.

Rick finally got back to a day shift. It has been nice to have him home for dinner and family time. We keep forgetting to read our scriptures together though, because it has been so long since we have been able to. We'll keep working on that. His job pays for a Lagoon pass and meal once a year and tomorrow is the day. It is a nice outing and we wouldn't pay the price to go if it wasn't free. Allie LOVES Lagoon and is looking forward to it.

That is enough for now. I will try to go get busy.

Seminary graduation

2007-05-22T20:51:00.000-06:00

On Sunday I spoke at my seminary graduation. Grandpa couldn't hear it, so he asked for a copy. This is an approximation of my talk, but not the exact one, sinceI don't like reading talks. It seems too stuffy to me. I write it down but just memorize my ideas and speak.

I have loved having seminary and being able to leave the worldly school and go learn about the Gospel and feel the Spirit.

The summer before ninth grade was when I really first got my testimony. I was making it a habit to read my scriptures. One day after reading them I prayed. I don’t remember what I was praying about; I think I was asking for something, and I felt the Spirit very strongly and got my answer. I soon found myself with “I Believe in Christ” going through my head. I hadn’t heard it for several weeks, but there it was–and it expressed my feelings exactly. I had a lot of spiritual experiences throughout ninth grade. There were some strange occurrences when I thought some non-spiritual things were spiritual. When I read my scriptures I read some of the comments I wrote in ninth grade and I think, “What? That doesn’t make any sense.” But I was trying and I was strengthening my testimony. There was one time that year when I had some problems and so I prayed. Over the course of a few days, I had some dreams that seemed to answer my prayer. I usually have nonsensical dreams, but I knew these dreams answered my prayers. Then after a few days I prayed sincerely and repented and I knew I was forgiven and God loved me. At the end of the year, it was the time when everything was due in all my classes and I had a ton of homework. It was due the next day and there was no way I’d be able to finish it. But I thought of the scripture mastery Proverbs 3:5-6, “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” So I prayed that God would help me, and I was able to finish all of my homework when it was an enormous load.

By my sophomore year I had established my testimony and I didn’t think of non-spiritual things as spiritual anymore. That was my favorite year in seminary because we were studying the New Testament. This is my favorite of all the standard works. I think sometimes in the Church we don’t focus enough on the New Testament. It is my favorite because you get the account of Christ and his love and miracles and Atonement. I love the Gospels. You can have ten miracles in one chapter, and I love that.

This year we’ve been studying the Doctrine and Covenants and what I think is one of the most inspiring stories of the Gospel, the tragic martyrdom of Joseph Smith. It just seems to prove the divinity of the work, because I don’t see how disagreeing with someone justifies killing. John Taylor, of course, has said Joseph Smith has done more for the salvation of man than anyone except for Jesus, and his martyrdom shows the parallelism between him and Christ. With both of them you have benevolent men establishing their religion, only doing good, and you have the religious right killing them and hating them, but they were only good.

I know that Christ died for us and loves us and that Joseph Smith established his Gospel. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Our Great Trip

2007-04-21T08:56:00.000-06:00

Sorry it took me so long to post, again. I have been trying to add pictures for you, but can't do it with the updated blogger. I guess I'll call Dave later and get the scoop on what to do. Wasn't this version supposed to be easier?

Anyway.... We had a great trip to Nashville. It was so fun to be altogether after8 months. Keep in mind that you should NOT move too far away from you family. I digress. We started out making a stop in Iowa. That was fun for us, although it was probably just work for Tammy. We only stayed overnight. I was sorry that we missed seeing the "tabernacle" from earlier in the day and hope they got pictures to post from that. Tammy and Greg have amazing children. We had fun playing with them, even though Ben and Lizzie really didn't warm up to us until morning. Tammy even got out of bed to make us waffles before we left. It was exciting to think that next time I stop at Tammy and Greg's I will even get to see Todd and D. Now when will I make it to Texas? Even worse...how long will it take me to make it to Nevada. I promise I am coming April!
(Maybe I don't blog much because I ramble?)
We spent a half a day in Nauvoo. The temple wasn't open so we missed that, but we loved the rest. We went to the land office and found out where several of Rick's ancestors lived. That was pretty awesome! It was amazing to know that we were standing on the same land that they owned. I know I am not related...but my children are. I think we will go better prepared next time with more names and personal info about their pioneer heritage.
We got to Nashville just afternoon on a Tuesday. Preston seemed excited to see us, but still trusted only his mom or dad. We toured Dave's lab and campus and a nearby park.
Wednesday Nan and Allie flew in. It was so cute to see the little ones together. They held hands as they walked. When I learn to add pictures I will show you. We went to the Grand Ole Opry, downtown Nashville, a civil war battlefield, the Nashville Zoo, President Jackson's house (The Hermitage), and an indoor playground. It was freezing after the first day. We actually had snow (although it melted as soon as it hit pavement). It isn't fair to have record cold when we were expecting balmy days! Anyway..the best part was just being together and watching how much Preston has grown up. Ya-ping had just gotten back from Taiwan so she was pretty tired, but was willing to play with us anyway. We are lucky to have a daughter-in-law that we love and that loves us. Thanks, Ga-go. The hardest part, of course, was leaving. We hope to be able to fly Dave's family here for Mark's farewell which should be in Sept. or Oct. but that is a long time. Our only bad travel day was the last day through Wyoming. The roads were closed in the morning so Rick and I cooled our heals in our warm hotel room for a couple of hours. When the freeway finally opened it was snowpacked and SCARY! I was glad Rick was driving. Several places were white out conditions. We saw the aftermath of several wrecks but got through safely. Whew!
That is enough for one blog. Congratulations to those brave souls who made it all the way through. We love and miss you all!

Synesthesia

2007-03-30T17:47:00.000-06:00

Yesterday in English my teacher gave us a list of literary terms. Her favorite, she said, was "synesthesia," which refers to describing a sensory detail in terms of another, such as "hot pink," as pink does not have a temperature.

She then told us about an email she received from a friend that some people have such conditions. For instance, one lady sees sounds, and one man sees tastes, to the degree that the visual from eating distracts him from driving. This condition happens in one in two thousand people.

This story was particularly interesting to me. I am the one in two thousand.

In elementary school, I noticed that I viewed the sound of the bell as a series of blue circles, and the fire alarm as a brown, zigzagging line. I don't really notice it anymore, as I am used to it, but I subconsciously see sounds. High-pitched sounds are usually blue and purple, low sounds are usually brown and orange, and other colors occur occasionally.

Those of us who have it also see letters and numbers as colors. I do this too, but not as much as sounds. Even numbers are usually blue. Odds are usually red.

A beeping electronic device is a collection of blue or sometimes purple dots. A woman's voice is a somewhat-rectangular, bumpy, green blob. A rock group is a disarray of rough orange ellipses with brown squiggles. Each sound has a unique appearance, but similar sounds have similar appearances. A pleasing sound does not always have a pleasing appearance.

I've always wondered why I see sounds. I was glad to learn that it's not a completely weird phenomenon. I was a little confused, though. I'm just an average person, and I have a condition that happens only in one in two thousand people! Fortunately, I don't think I have it as bad as some.

Busy, busy, busy

2007-03-10T09:17:00.000-07:00

Life has been a little crazy around here the last three weeks. I volunteered to do some things every night, assuming that I would only work my regular days. Then the people I car pool with had some family emergencies and could not get their regular substitutes, so they asked me. I have been working every day and I am TIRED. At least next year when I work full time I will have the sense enough not to book myself every night as well. It was amazing to go into the other fourth grade class and see how much work she gives them. I have always known that we don't give as much work as we could/should, but it was amazing to see the contrast. Next year my students load will be somewhere in between.

We had a delightful visit with Sue, Jesse, Peter and Quin on Sunday. They came just for fun (because we hadn't seen Jesse for a long time). We played cards for a while and then played The Ungame. I am sure most of you have heard of that from gma/gpa, but we haven't gotten it out in a while. You just ask each other questions. It was really fun. Quin and Nan didn't stay too long but everyone else stayed for the whole set of questions.

Only two weeks and I'm posting again!

2007-02-12T06:46:00.000-07:00

Rick and I had a great day Saturday. He came home from work and couldn't sleep so we sat and talked for a long time about everything and anything. (That is always a treat!) Then later in the afternoon we went to Provo to see his nephew wrestle in the state championship round. We don't ever go to high school events so it was a different experience for us, and enjoyable. Sadly, Rayce only placed second....but I still think that is VERY impressive! Again we talked all the way there and back. It was interesting that some small communities (esp. Manti and Altamont) had large fan bases there. I think that is one of the advantages (and probably disadvantages) to a small town. It seems they really support each other and the whole town goes to sporting events, school concerts, plays, etc. You can tell Rick and I talked a bit about growing up in a small town. It is always nice to have time to spend as a couple. With Rick and I on different schedules and the fact that his is a graveyard we don't have nearly enough time together.

Surprise!

2007-01-25T08:17:00.000-07:00

I thought I would surprise you all by adding a new post. Things are pretty good at our house.

Mark just started his last semester of high school. He is still mourning the fact that life is changing for him, but he is handling it well. He still has to get some college applications finished but he will not go to college until after his mission. He is Allie's best friend (just ask her) and is as cute and sweet with her as any uncle ever. Even Preston still loves Mark and pretends to talk to him on the phone all the time.

David and Ya-ping have a working car again! The people in their ward have been so good to them while they needed rides. Preston made me both happy and sad the other day. We were talking on MSN and having a great time. When it was time to go Preston went up to the computer screen and asked for a hug! You can't imagine how badly I wanted to be able to reach thorough these wires to give him that hug. It made me sad that he might not realize how much I would love to hug him if I could. We are going to Tenn. for spring break this year because we can't stand not having them around. Rick and I are driving (so we hope Tammy will put us up the night of April 1). Mark will go there with us and fly back so he doesn't have to miss any school. He would only have to miss two days if he drove back with us, but he is worried about AP tests, so wants to be back. Susanne will come for a couple of days but not for the whole time. She and Allie will fly.

Susanne only lives at home part time now, or at least it feels that way. She has been dating a cute boy named Darren Whittwer. They are almost inseparable. Allie loves Darren and he loves her, so that is nice. He has a son who is 13 that Allie also loves. Over New Years Allie had the choice of going to Fillmore with me and Rick or staying with Darren while her mom worked. I am sad to admit that she chose Darren. OK, I know that is both good and bad, but it hurt my ego just the same. Darren is a finishing carpenter in Park City. I figure that I could get a pretty nice mantel and new stair railing if they end up getting married.

School has been a bit crazy. It has been so cold that we have had a lot of indoor recesses. That only makes the kids stir crazy. I had a girl tell me that her brain was fuzzy and she just couldn't think. She said it very seriously and expected me to let her not work for a bit. She was pretty offended when I did the professional thing -- laughed! I am already worrying about going full time next year. I know it will be both good and bad. It will be so nice to be able to make all of my own decisions and not have to worry about a partner, but I will miss my down time.
I should add a bit about Rick, since I wrote about everyone else. He is still working too hard. He has had to take a little break from his daily jog up and down the hill because of the cold and the inversion. He still jogs most days but sometimes he just exercises inside because it gets too hard to breathe out there.
This has been a long post, congratulations for having made it all the way through.

Yvonne DeCarlo dies

2007-01-10T22:41:00.000-07:00

Yvonne DeCarlo, who played Lily Munster, died on Monday at age 84.

Refer to my blog post at tv.com.

Allie and nativities

2006-12-22T19:02:00.000-07:00

Allie has liked Christmas, and one of her favorite parts seems to be nativities.

We have four nativities on the fireplace that she can play with them, and she does. One time I heard her. They were like regular action figures who happened to be named shepherds, Mary, and "Jophes." "If you make her cry, you will go in the jail," which was a stable. The other day we were cleaning up and the Baby Jesus was missing in all four. We found one, but the others were still missing.

We watched the church movie "The Nativity," and she somehow got the idea that they were giving a baby blessing. Now, she talks about nativities and says, "They give the baby's blessing." She puts the Baby in the center and everyone around Him, like a regular baby blessing. She was playing with a nativity, and saying that, so I said, "They're not really giving the baby's blessing." She asked for the box, and said, "It says, 'They give the baby's blessing.'"

We were telling her the story of Christmas, and why it was important. Unfortunately, she doesn't quite understand it. She sometimes says, in a very sad manner, "Why did the Baby Jesus die?" We explain what happened, but I don't know if she really understands.

Recipes

2006-12-20T17:53:00.000-07:00

April said some of you wanted a couple of recipes. I will put them here

Fat Man's Misery
1 (20 oz) pkg. Oreo cookies, crushed 1/2 gallon vanilla ice cream softened(we use mint)
1/2 C. butter, melted
Mix cookie crumbs with melted butter and pat into a 13 X 9 pan. Freeze. Spoon ice cream over and freeze well.

Topping:
2 C. confectioners sugar 2/3 C. chocolate chips
1/2 C. butter 8 oz. frozen whipped topping, thawed
1/2 C. evaporated milk Salted Spanish peanuts or pecans (optional)
Combine sugar, butter, mild and choc. chips and boil for 8 minutes. Cool well. Spoon over ice cream. Spread whipped topping over choc. sauce and sprinkle with nuts. Cut into squares and keep frozen until served.

Mexican Chocolate Cake
1 stick margarine 2 squares choc (or 4 T cocoa)
1/2 C. oil 1 C. water
Combine and heat until melted

Mix 2 C. flour 2 beaten eggs
1 t. soda 4 T. cinnamon +/-
2 C. sugar 1 t. vanilla
1/2 C. sour milk
Add to hot mixture. Grease pan. Bake . Frost while warm

Frosting
1 stick margarine 2 squares margarine
6 T. milk 1 lb. powdered sugar
1 t. vanilla 1/2 c. pecans (opt.)
melt marg. and chocolate. Stir in the rest.

A nice experience

2006-12-15T18:35:00.000-07:00

We have had a kind of cool experience this week. I have to set the stage for you. Most of you know that David's car died and they are currently without a car. They have a very generous family in their ward who lends them a car almost every weekend to run around with. I have been amazed at the generosity of that family (they also invite them to dinner and outings etc.). Well, this week we had a "less active" sister that had a car break down. We know each other by sight, but not well. The RS president asked if anyone could help her out. You know the Melville family tradition is to have one more car than you have drivers, just in case. I felt very prompted to offer one of our cars. It is kind of a "pay it forward" kind of thing. Someone is way across the country taking good care of my family so I felt a need to take care of someone else. The sister that borrowed our car has called several times to say how touched she was by our generosity to a stranger and how much she needed it. It turns out that she has been recently divorced and is working two jobs to get things together. Both are fairly new jobs and she probably would have been fired for not coming (one is the post office and one she is still in training). Most of you know what a hard thing it is for Rick to lend a car to anyone. He has been so supportive of it this week. We both have felt so lucky to have Dave's ward take such good care of them. I know a lot of this sounds redundant, but I just am so thrilled to be able to share in the joy that service and the gospel organization spreads. It is so nice to know that there are wards and people all over the world who take care of each other and that we also get our turns to take care of people ourselves. I had a couple of depressing incidences the last couple of weeks and this was just the medicine I needed to remind about how much the Lord loves us and looks after us. He is so aware of what we need and provides ways for us to refresh our spirits when we need. What a sweet way to add holiday cheer to our lives this week.

News

2006-12-14T17:58:00.000-07:00

Our lives are pretty boring. Teaching this time of year takes all the energy you can muster so I just come home and crash. Our biggest news is that Susanne has a boyfriend, so we don't see very much of her. A nurse at work lined Nan up with her son and they have at least talked to each other every day since (going on about 6 weeks). Allie really likes Darren and she loves his dog Bruce.
Mark got a scholarship offer from Weber State in Ogden but will also try to get money from other colleges. He would prefer BYU but they don't give as much money, so we will see.
Happy holidays to all.

My many names

2006-11-22T22:13:00.001-07:00

Allie has had many names for me. These are the names of which I can think that she has called me in the past and in the present:
Mark/'Cle Mark/Uncle Mark
Vampire (my Halloween costume)
Ghost (my Halloween costume from last year)
Piggy (oink oink)
Hunk and other made-up words
You Crazy Wolf (from Hoodwinked)
Sully (I was sleeping and she said, "Get up, Sully!" from Monsters, Inc.)
Cutest Thing
You Old Thing
You Stupid Thing (we immediately discouraged that one)
Old Guy (or maybe it was Old Man)
You Weird Thing
Prince Philip (back when we each had Disney Princess names)
You Blockhead (from Charlie Brown)
Chubs (my long-time nickname from Susanne)
Cutie (what my mom calls me)
I wish Blogger had an edit button in case I remember something else. One of my favorites is Preston's name for me: Marsh.

[Edit: Hey, what do you know! It does have an edit button! If only there were a delete button]

2006-11-22T22:13:00.000-07:00

Sue should be up and running

2006-11-22T21:14:00.000-07:00

We just tried to get Sue's blog up and running again. We ended up changing the address, so here is the new one.
http://thompsontalker2.blogspot.com/
Enjoy!

Pictures

2006-11-22T09:10:00.000-07:00

When Ya-ping and Preston were here we had pictures taken. If you want to see them here is the link. Go to http://www.smilesbywire.com
Customer Name: Ann Melville
Access Code: LTP05401059004JCP
Enjoy!

One more surgery down

2006-11-15T11:14:00.000-07:00

Both G'pa Ebbert and Allie had outpatient surgery this week (after G'ma and Nan both had eye surgery two weeks ago). All are well. Allie just had her tonsils out this morning and is still sleeping. She never does well waking up from the anesthetia and is pretty crabby until she is coherent, but does pretty well after that. It is always funny to watch her after they give her the versed. She gets really wobbly and must see double because she looks at things with a puzzled look. Today she told Nan to "stop doing that with your eyes". It is comical.

short preschool program

2006-11-11T12:52:00.000-07:00

Allie sat there and looked cute the whole time. Only the witch and the girl next to her really sang.

More Halloween

2006-11-11T12:49:00.000-07:00

Susanne was getting ready for a staff party and Allie wanted a mustache too.

Now David needs to post Halloween

2006-11-11T12:48:00.000-07:00

Three new comments

2006-11-11T08:16:00.000-07:00

Wow! Here I am again. See I can write more than once a month or so. Tomorrow Mark will be ordained an elder. I can't believe I am old enough for my baby to be getting the Melchizedek Priesthood. I am very impressed with Mark and his desire to do and be good. He is a great kid, even though he doesn't know it. He adds a lot to our family. We would be pretty boring without him. He is a great uncle to both Allie and Preston. He is a good student and should be able to get a scholarship for college. We need to start the college application process even though he won't go until after his mission. Luckily many Utah colleges will hold scholarships for those two years.

We went shopping last night for preschool books for Preston. We found the greatest book. It is file folder games that come all colored and ready to go. We need to mount the pieces on card stock and get them laminated and that is about all. When I did the games for Mark I had to do all the coloring myself, so his aren't very pretty. Allie loves to get out the ones I did for Mark so I hope Preston will love his as well.

One note on Mark's election blog. We had an interesting third party this year. We have one called personal choice and it has a smiley face as a logo. Apparently many people thought that it meant they didn't want to vote straight party, but wanted their own choice so they chose it. In many places more people voted that straight party than democratic. Luckily, the way the voting goes any votes you put in after straight party are counted the way you put them in. Does that make sense? It means if you vote straight Republican but want a democrat for senate, you just vote for the demo and the computer will override the party on that one vote. Anyway, it didn't change election results here, but it was interesting. Did you also hear that in Florida many districts (at least 3) voted on the wrong ballots? Only in Florida.

My first Election Day

2006-11-08T18:26:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was my first time voting. My civics teacher allows us to get fifty bonus points per term. We get fifty for registering and twenty for voting. It seems kind of backwards that way, but it's more fair to those whose birthdays come after Election Day. It's a required class, which means it's taught by a jock, which means it's not a very good class.

I voted for a good mixture of republicans and democrats, and I didn't vote for the things about which I knew nothing. I felt bad that I had never heard of any of the other party candidates. The problem with voting for democrats here is that they hardly have any chance--and none of them won. My English teacher told us that 10,000 people in Davis County, including my father, voted straight republican and 2,000 voted straight democrat, which is just as bad. I think people shouldn't be voting if that's just what they're doing.

There were two people in our district running for the state school board, and it seemed like the nefarious villain of the two had more support with countless campaign signs and positive letters to the editor about him. My civics teacher told us that he had gone in to vote early, and didn't know about the issues, but recalled seeing a sign in his neighbor's yard for Barden (the bad guy), so he voted for him--then came home and found a flier about him and could have kicked himself. Fortunately, he only got 38% of the votes.

Then I came home and watched the Election Day episodes of Gilligan's Island and The Addams Family.

Next year I might very well be gone by Election Day.

On the way

2006-11-05T17:44:00.000-07:00

If you wonder about Nan's costume, so did we. She had just had her lazer surgery and had to wear eye protection. It was too dark for her shades, so she wore her night goggles (which she has to wear all month). She fits right in!

What to do when the candy is gone? Wear the bucket.

2006-11-05T17:42:00.000-07:00

Glad to see each other, and convincing Uncle Mark to play

2006-11-05T17:40:00.000-07:00

Sad day

2006-10-31T09:14:00.000-07:00

Monday was a sad day at our house. Rick's mother passed away very unexpectedly. She had been in reasonably good health. When Mike went to take her out to lunch he found her. She was on the floor but it didn't look like she struggled or anything. Rick's whole life was spent in that house and now he won't have any family living in Fillmore. You might want to add him to your prayers this week.

Sarah's pattern

2006-10-27T21:34:00.000-06:00

I made a scripture bag from Sarah's pattern. It is amazing how quick and easy it was. Well, actually, I am not completely finished. I thought I had a napkin ring, but I didn't, so I need to purchase that tomorrow and sew it on. Sarah, I think putting the zipper in the pocket may almost be easier than leaving it off because you are sewing in a flat piece of material with no extra seams. I have been wanting to sew lately so this was really fun.
Our big news here is that Susanne is having laser surgery on her eyes on Monday. A lot of people she knows have had it done and loved it. She can't wait to be able to wake up and see the clock without having to put on her glasses. I have to admit to being a bit nervous but she did check out the doctor and his sucess rate. Wish her luck.
The girls of our family went to my school's Halloween parade today. Allie loves to watch all the kids in their costumes. She looked beautiful as Cinderella. I was a good teacher and made a costume for me because the kids love it when you do. I was "Super Teacher" with a red cape and a superman logo. Mark has had several times to wear his vampire costume. He looks pretty cool. I will ask Susanne to take pictures on Tuesday so we can share.
We are counting the days before we get to see Ya-ping and Preston. We can't wait! Only 4 1/2 days left!

Mark has put me to shame

2006-10-12T21:08:00.000-06:00

Mark has really been putting me to shame, so I thought I had better add a little to this blog. This school year has been really interesting for me. It will be my last year job sharing because my partner is retiring and I don't want to break in a new one...besides I don't think I would ever find one that I worked with as well. Our class is small (23) and much milder than last year. But you really only trade one set of problems for another. This class is TERRIBLE at doing their homework. I was getting 10 to 15 kids a day coming unprepared. Now I check work at the beginning of each day and they have to miss a recess to finish work. They are finally starting to come around. Midterms also went out last week so I expect that to bring some improvement as well. Fourth grade is a real shock to lots of families because we don't baby them anymore and let them fail if that is what they choose. Lots of kids choose failing until their parents see their grades. Our biggest problem child is moving this week, so our class should be calmer and quieter from now on.

My class didn't fare so well on end of level tests last year so I am really beefing up my teaching this year. I have spent hours at home working on grades, curriculum and making improvements. That has been hard on me, since I am so used to leaving most of my work at school. It is, however, good for me. I figure it will get a lot of things in place so that next year won't be such a difficult transition. I really have been lucky to just teach part time.

Our class this year is much kinder than last year. That always makes my job easier because I hate mean kids. We have a couple of girls that are having problems this year, but nothing like the boys of last year. Last years class really was the hardest I had ever had. Because of how the class numbers sit we will probably have a huge class next year (32-ish) so I am really enjoying such a small class. It is so much easier to get grading done with such a small class. I am also checking into getting a math endorsement so that if I don't like full time elementary school I can try Jr. High math. I don't think I will change but it would be nice to know I have the option. I have taken all the classes except for a two week teaching unit, so they may just give me my endorsement and count my years in the classroom in liu of student teaching.

Rick's work has been crazy for the last little while. They had one electrician quit and another is leaving next week. Human resources has had several turnovers as well so they haven't done any replacing. Rick works between 50 and 70 hour weeks. He is hoping that during all the upheaval he will be able to change shifts. His favorite would be to go on days just so he can see his family (we would love that!) If he can't have a day shift he still really likes working the 3- 11 shift. He just hates his graveyard shift and would love to change that anyway he can. You might want to add that to your prayers and see if we can get him on some shift where he can sleep.

Well I have posted enough for one setting, but I will try harder to keep up with Mark.

Roald Dahl's long lost book

2006-10-11T22:41:00.000-06:00

When I was in elementary school, I loved the Roald Dahl books, and I read every one of his children's books--except for one. I'd seen it listed in books that he'd written it, but it was impossible to find. When I was in third grade, David did a little investigating for me, and found out that there were few copies of the book in the world.

Well, a few weeks ago, I was searching on an unrelated topic, and I came across his long lost book: The Gremlins. I believe the movie of the same name made a brief reference to it, but it is completely different. This site has found a copy of the rare book and scanned the pages. The pages are also typed, so that you don't have to squint to read it. There are several typos, but if you're confused, you can look at the original page. You just wouldn't want to read all of it on those pages.

I'm not sure what I think of it, especially the ending. It's 51 (I think) pages, including full-color pictures. It was originally written to be a Disney movie, but I don't think it would have gone over well. Still, I think it ought to be brought out of the shadows of obscurity and placed among the other Roald Dahl books on the shelves.

Allieween

2006-10-10T15:33:00.000-06:00

Last year Allie was somewhat scared of Halloween. When I brought out a ghost, she was terrified and would panic whenever I would go near it. By the end of the season, she had overcome most of her fears, saying things like "Pumpkins aren't scary" and "I'm not scary [scared]." She loved being a witch for Halloween and months later, when she would see a witch, it was she.

This year, she LOVES Halloween. She constantly looked through a costume catalog and knew every costume. She said she was going to be Snow White and told me to be Sleeping Beauty. Two weeks ago, they went out to buy a costume for her. She got a Cinderella costume (it's really just a generic princess, but she doesn't know) and, unexpectedly, they bought a vampire cape for me. They were planning on giving it to me for my birthday, but she came home and said "We bought a costume for you!" Now she says she's going to take her Cinderella costume back so she can be Ariel. I was a ghost last year, and now she says I'm going to be a ghost and a vampire. A week or so ago, she was saying that Buddy and Grams would both be vampires like me. Then a minute later, my mom asked her if she (my mom) would be Cinderella. (She is, after all, or at least used to be, Cinderella, just like Allie is Belle and I am Prince Philip.) I then reminded her that she was supposed to be a vampire. Allie said, "No, she's going to be Cinderella, just like me and Anna!" (When the Finches were here, they all dressed as princesses, and Anna was Cinderella.)

When I am getting out Halloween decorations, she wants to help me. She asks me to get out her Cinderella ball. She has an amazing memory. Her "Cinderella ball" is a Christmas ornament we bought last year, and put away the last week in December. Of course, I tell her it's for Christmas. She tells me later in the day to get more Halloween stuff out.

She used to say that the Easter Bunny or the Easter Beagle was going to come on Halloween. She also said that I will be a vampire for Halloween and she will be Cinderella for Easter. Apparently she said the Great Pumpkin is going to bring her presents.

There are various Halloween displays in our neighborhood, and Allie loves to see them. Whenever we are driving, she tells us to go see the purple or black spiders or the pumpkins or the Frankenstein (which she initially called "Stankenfrein"). The inflatable Frankenstein was on the ground, and whenever she talks about the decorations, she makes it a point that the Frankenstein was on the ground. We take detours so that she can look at the decorations.

I wonder if she'll like Thanksgiving and Christmas as much.

Feuding

2006-09-28T09:03:00.000-06:00

We have a new feud at our house. Mark is always calling Allie the most beautiful girl ever and Preston (AKA Buddy) the cutest boy in the world. On the other hand Mark thinks very little of himself. Allie has taken to calling him the cutest boy in the world. She tells him he is the cutest all the time and he disagrees with her. Then she'll turn to me and get confirmation from me that she is correct and he is wrong. See the accompanying picture and see if you don't agree with Allie and me.

The cutest boy in the world along with Preston

2006-09-28T08:50:00.000-06:00

Allie and Mark Feud

2006-09-28T08:45:00.000-06:00