A Day of Remembering....

Today is a day to remember people that we have lost, people that put their lives on the line to save others, people that continue to fight for our freedom and for the rest of us to re-commit to our country and each other. In other words we may all come from different backgrounds, races, education levels, social classes, religions, etc, but that is really the reason our country is so great. The diversity of each person. We are all individuals yet we are one Nation and need to remember what we stand for. I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS, ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL.

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Have you ever really thought what our forefathers meant when they wrote the pledge of allegiance? I found a wonderful site http://www.homeoftheheros.com/ that breaks it down something like this:

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First of all the pledge we said in school was rewritten only 54 years ago. It's so young....

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I Pledge Allegiance ** I promise to be faithful and true.

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to the flag of the United States of America ** to the emblem that stands for and represents all 50 states, each of them individually represented, yet formed into a UNION of one Nation.

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and to the Republic ** I also pledge my loyalty to the Government (a government where the PEOPLE are sovereign).

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for which it stands, ** this government also being represented by the Flag to which I promise loyalty.

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one Nation under God, ** These 50 individual states are united as a single Republic under the Divine providence of God, "our most powerful resource" (according to the words of President Eisenhower)

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Indivisible ** and can not be separated. (This part was written just 50 years after the beginning of the Civil War at a time when we sought for unity as a nation.)

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with Liberty ** The people of this Nation being afforded the freedom to pursue "life, liberty, and happiness".

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and Justice ** Each person is entitled to be treated justly, fairly, and according to proper law and principle.

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for All. ** These principles afforded to EVERY AMERICAN, regardless race, religion, creed, or any other criteria. Just as the flag represents 50 individual states that can not be divided or separated, this Nation represents millions of people who can not be separated or divided.

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How sad our forefathers must be when we fight amongst ourselves and do not try to come to an understanding or a compromise. It is so sad to see certain groups in our country trying to force their ways or beliefs on all. I don't understand how they can't see that it is same as when England force everyone to be a member of the Church of England. With no freedom to think or believe for ourselves. Or when our boys are fighting in another land and we're fighting amongst ourselves instead of supporting them and finding a safe way that would safely bring them home together. Okay okay...I'll get off my soap box. (for now)

Visiting Good Friends - That We've Shared our Lives with for over 20 years :)

It was a wonderful weekend of fun with the Lowe family! The boys are now young men and busy so we appreciate them taking time to spend some time with us too. We miss you guys so much! Don't forget we have to check into a couples weekend soon! Thanks for the accommodations our last night. :) Love ya!

First Day of School....

This is always a bittersweet day for us....the first day of school. Devin and Cherise were excited to see their friends, but we were all sad to see summer end. Devin started his Junior year today...scary only one more year and he could be gone. :( Cherise started her last year of junior high...she'll be in high school next year...yikes!

Summer Vacation at the Beach

This year we rented a vacation house on Balboa Island. It was beautiful and a ton of fun. We shopped at Fashion Island, South Coast Plaza, and down Main Street on Balboa Island. We body surfed in the ocean. Enjoyed the ocean breeze...in fact we never turned on air conditioning, just opened the windows. Dined with family and friends. Enjoyed time with my parents before they left again. (Hawaii didn't get enough of them so they asked them to come back from August to December) It was really relaxing until Derek had to throw a wrench into the situation....He was body surfing, a wave picked him up, threw him down on his right foot, but his foot wasn't solid on the ground and well he broke his ankle. So there we were at the beach with no cell phones (long story), the kids at the house (our only morning alone), my parents on the way to the beach house (to visit), and Derek has a broken ankle. They had a Jr. Lifeguard event going on so he didn't want to let the Lifeguards know what was going on. Derek stood up from the wipe out of the wave, walked out of the ocean, down the beach (informing me on the way that he wanted to walk until the shock wore off) and then sat down by a parking lot. (about the length of a football field) I was able to use the Lifeguard stations phone without telling them about Derek. My dad came and picked us up. We went back to the house, Derek showered, and then we went to Urgent Care. On the bright side he broke it on Thursday and we left Saturday morning. He was able to rest a few days before he went right back to work.

Jetskiing and Boating Summer Fun....

We were able to go up to Pine Flats a lake near by with some friends of ours, the Robert Family, Dylan Smith, and Kristen Hiatt. Devin and Dylan decided to ride the jet skis to the boat ramp and they were enjoying it until the dust kicked up. (I hate to say it...but we all thought it was pretty funny)

We all enjoyed jet skiing, tubing, wake boarding, water skiing, and swimming. It was an eventful day full of friends, laughter, and great times. Although I wish there would have been more pictures taken...I left the camera with the boys and well as you can see the pictures ended.

Thanks Greg, Lorianne and Abby it was awesome day! (we missed you Sam) We definitely have to do this again!

GIRLS CAMP 2008

Girls Camp was a BLAST! (as always) I was the camp "Craft Lady" and enjoyed spending 45 minutes with each age group everyday. It was fun seeing how creative and helpful they are. They are all such wonderful young ladies!

It was great spending time with the girls from our ward...they are so AWESOME!!! Especially since I'm usually with the women. But I wouldn't want to leave out the other girls from the stake they are all WONDERFUL and such great examples for the younger girls.

I love the ladies I am able to work with on the Stake. They are so inspired. Every year I am amazed as to the ideas they come up with and the spiritual activities that really touch the girls. Yet they know how to have fun and the girls really LOVE them!

I'm so excited...they've already asked me to come up next year as the "Craft Lady"....another fun filled week of girl stuff!

Pine Lake with the Family....

So after a wonderful night of fireworks we decided to cool off at the lake... It was so much fun hanging out at the lake with Matt and Heather, my parents, Derek, Devin, Cherise, me, and Meli. We had such a great time and no one got sunburnt! Lots of sun, water, and riding fast on the lake! Meli wasn't too sure about the water or the boats, but was glad to be with us instead of alone at home. :)

Happy Birthday AMERICA!!!!!!!!!!!

I love the forth of July! It's a time to remember all those that have put there lives on the line for us and the ones that continue to do so. We have such wonderful FREEDOMS and lives because of what they do.

This year was also special for me since my family came up to our house. It was nice to have us all together again...it's only been 22 months. We enjoyed BBQ hamburgers and the fixings, swimming and then the fireworks...I had found some 3D glasses at Michael's Craft Store that made the fireworks look like they were popping out at us.

Now most times you can tell your children to listen to their fathers, but tonight I was wishing my son wouldn't have listen to his....Derek told Devin to jump over the lit fireworks. Boys will be boys....FOREVER I'm just glad we didn't have to spend the 4th of July in the Emergency Room.

I really enjoy the red white and blue decorations they really match my house. :) Look how cute and Patriotic it all looks.

Another Driver on the Road

Today Devin accomplished a small milestone....he took is Driver's test and, of course, passed!!! He even had the testing instructor that the kids call the "dragon lady" as she is known for failing a large number of people. He is so excited to have the freedom of driving and has made several trips to friends houses, the store, the gas station, and anywhere else he can think of. I will enjoy having one less place I have to drive to as he can now drive himself. Yeah Devin!

Welcome HOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The "adopted" Hawaiians are home!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We are so happy to have my parents home. "Well done my good and faithful servants." They had a wonderful time on their service mission and love the people they worked with. They were well loved as they were given so many presents! I think they need to redecorate their house. We are so proud of them!!! Funny story...my dad had to go in on the last day to "tie up a few loose ends", then they needed to run some things to Post Office and well to make a long story short....they missed their flight. So they had sit at the Honolulu Airport from approximately 1pm to 11pm and then flew all night and arrived at 7am the next day. Lets just say sleep is now 1st on the agenda today.

Graduation!!!!!!!!

This was Kristin's day....we have known the beautiful young lady since she was two years old. Devin, Cherise, Kristin, and Shawn went to the same preschool oh so many years ago. And they have all grown to be such smart, beautiful/handsome, fun young ladies/men. We always enjoy spending time together it's just too bad they moved to Carmel....well, not too bad, now we have a great place by the beach to vacation. Looking at these pictures you'd never guess that later tonight we all through on some dark clothing, drove down to the junior high and left a fun (non evasive) 8th grade prank as they had school the next day. It was a night of triumph and goals met. Good luck in high school, Kristin...enjoy it, but be smart. ;)

Another Annual Trip to the Beach with the Hiatt's

We again enjoyed a wonderful day at the beach with our good friends the Hiatts. This year my good friend Renee and her son Shawn meet up with us. We all had a great day in the sun, full of fun, laughter, good conversation, friends, dinner on the pier, and memories we'll have a lifetime to enjoy.

Spring Recital Time

Devin and Cherise are taking voice lessons and they performed at their first recital. They were awesome, even surprised some of the friends they invited. Devin was asked by his teacher to sing one of the songs he had written. So that was pretty cool. They really enjoy singing and Devin enjoys learning the guitar. Soon they will start piano lessons. I really love watching them grow and seeing how much they improve everyday. I was definitely teary eyed and proud.

Party at Magic Mountain!

So we finally were able to get all the guys together to head down to Six Flags Magic Mountain at 7am for Devin's 16th birthday! We drove down to Valencia in a rental van and our Suburban with 12 young men. It is a 3 hour drive and young men can get bored....well let's just say they found a way to keep busy.

They had a food fight driving down the freeway. We had a few rules to make sure other drivers and we were safe. But they really had a great time.

We arrived at Magic Mountain, dropped off the guys, then we went to lunch, washed the vehicles, and then picked up several tired but happy young men. Then we started the long drive home...we arrived home at 3am

What Memorial Day Means To Me....

In our family Memorial Day has always been a time of reflection and remembrance. Of course we would get together with our extended family and have a wonderful picnic. In fact recently my uncle Mike and I were reminiscing about my grandmother's menu; Fried Chicken, Potato Salad, Three Bean Salad, Corn on the Cob, and Potato Chips. We'd play games and visit. Then we would go and visit the family plot. At this time my grandmother would take the grand kids and give us a history lesson and tell us stories of our ancestors. What great memories!

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Because of this tradition I have a strong feeling about how I shall celebrate this day. I shall remember why I have the freedoms I do. It is because of the young soldier that put his life on the line so that we all can enjoy such wonderful freedoms. It is the soldier that serves the flag that gives me the freedom to be so blessed. Although we hope they all come home safely at times its just not so. At that time it is the flag that drapes their coffin in honor.

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So many of my family members have served. My grandfathers, my father, my uncles, my brother in law, and my father in law. All of my life there was always someone in my family serving our country. Even now I have a cousin and a sister in law serving our country and I pray everyday that they return safely. They have put their lives on the line to show their love for our country. Isn't it my duty to take at least one day of my life to show my appreciation for the men and women who have given so much?

Music in Sping...

Tonight our high school performed at our school districts new "State of the Art" performance center. It was gorgeous and huge! Every year we are treated with a spring concert where the students put it on. Of course they sing as a choir a few pieces and then the students perform solos, duets, small groups, etc. All songs of their choice. This year Devin premiered a song he had written. It was received extremely well and he teacher couldn't brag enough. We were so proud of him!

Disneyland - YEAH!

Every year if you participate in Choir, Drama, or Band at our Jr High (and are in good standing with the school) you get rewarded with a trip to Disneyland. This year Cherise participated in Choir and Drama, unfortunately you only get one Disneyland trip. :( I went as a chaprone and we had a great group of girls. We hit every ride and the long wait time was 30 minutes! If you've been to Disneyland you know this was a terrific day!!!! Look at the happy faces enjoying the happiest place on earth.

2008 Swimming Season

This year Cherise joined our Jr High swim team. She worked really hard and each meet she beat her times by at least a second. The girls team went to the finals and did very well. We were really proud of her and the hard work she put into becoming a better swimmer. (Of course there was an ulterior motive on her part - if you're a better swimmer then you'll be that much better at Water Polo)

"Start Spreading the News....We're Leaving Today....

.....We want to be a part of it....New York New York....."

Our high school Chamber Choir was invited to perform at Carnegie Hall in New York City and our Woman's Choral participated in a Competition at Carnegie Hall. We were in New York from April 18th until April 23rd. We did a lot of site seeing...Ellis Island, the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building, 5th Avenue, Central Park, etc. Then it was time to compete. On our last day the Women's Choral received the highest honor and represented their high school well. That evening we went back to Carnegie Hall to watch our Chamber Choir perform. It was so awesome! Our accompanist had arranged a piece called Ave Maria that they premiered at Carnegie Hall...let's just say it brought tears to the eyes of the parent chaperone's and they received a standing ovation from everyone that attended. Like I said it was awesome. Something they will not forget for the rest of their lives. As we left their teacher pulled them all aside and told them to take it all in. He also encourage them not to make it 30 years before they come back as it took him. It all was very touching.

Presenting....The Parlor

The Junior high put on the play The Parlor. Cherise played a school superintendent that was scheduled to meet someone regarding her aunt's will. While another unrelated person was pulling a prank on his best friend....let's just say there were a lot of twists and turns. She looked so grown up in her suit, hair up and heels. They all did an awesome job and had the audience laughing at the jokes. She had a great time performing and is looking forward to her next play (next year).