The Toller Times

Boston in the Fall

2011-10-28T17:05:00.007-07:00

After our trip to Utah, we flew off to Boston to visit Elizabeth! We jam packed a lot of fun into just a few days!
Sight seeing was fun. Here we are just down the street from the Old North Church where they hung two lanterns. "Two if by sea!"

And a quick trip to Paul Revere's house. We also visited the Longfellow home in Cambridge where George Washington lived during the Revolutionary War.

Isabelle requested a trip to the Boston Public Gardens to see the "Make Way for Ducklings" statue. Here Scott and I are with all our little ducklings (except Anne who was taking the picture!)

Then off to a tour of the Freedom Trail. This was the third time Elizabeth and I have done this tour. We learned something new every time. As we would walk along the tour guide held this flag so we could easily follow him. When he would stop to talk he kept asking Izzie to hold it for him. This picture is taken in the Granary Burying Ground where Paul Revere, Sam Adams, John Hancock, and the people slain in the Boston Massacre were all buried.

The North End of Boston has the BEST Italian food. My sister Laura and her husband Dan came down from New Hampshire to dine with us. We stopped at Mike's pastries for cannolis afterwards. Yum! (We also tried Modern pastries a few days later. I like that one even better!)

We planned our trip because of MIT's family weekend! We spent much of the weekend on campus following Elizabeth to classes (Cosmology, Physics, Western Music). We were amazed at the things she was learning! During her cosmology class the professor would write long equations on the board, and then turn and say, "This is pretty straightforward." Charlie got to attend a class with Elizabeth's friend. It was all about creating droid apps. Apparently, he cornered the professor afterwards with all sorts of questions. :) We also had lunch with a Nobel Laureate....

juggled with the MIT juggling club....

went to a magic show performed by a Chemistry professor...

and went to a concert with all 10 of MIT's acapella groups. Fantastic!

We promised our kids a lobster dinner!

And best of all, we met many of Elizabeth's friends. This is Ami! She sang with one of the acapella groups

We were invited to one of Elizabeth's famous game nights while we were there. We had so much fun playing Nertz, Bang, and May I with many of Elizabeth's friends. We lost track of the time and played games until 2:00 in the morning.

It was a trip we will never forget! These last two pictures are inside a brand new statue on MIT called the Alchemist. Seems fitting for our adventures at MIT!

Utah Travels

2011-10-20T22:04:00.006-07:00

With Scott working in Salt Lake these past few months, we decided to go up there and spend some time with him over the fall break. Here are some (a lot) pictures from our travels.
Gardner village is always a fun place to stop. The kids love the witch displays during October. These are my two sisters. They are due within two weeks of each other.

My ADORABLE nephews Calvin and Simon!

Another adorable nephew, Brandon.

Anne made baby quilts for my sisters.

We were able to spend the weekend in Logan. Annie would like to attend Utah State University next fall. So, we did all the campus tours, and talked to an advisor. And of course we had a lot of family fun.

Up through Logan Canyon on a cold rainy day.

Higher up to Tony's grove where there was SNOW!

And then on to Bear Lake. Look at the beautiful clouds settling in on the lake!

This church building is affectionately called "The Golden Toaster". It is where Scott and I met for the first time. Sadly, it will be torn down this year.

No trip would be complete without an Aggie sports event. Here we are cheering the Aggies on against the Wyoming Cowboys. (We won!)

GO AGGIES!!

First Day of School 2011

2011-07-29T20:08:00.004-07:00

Isabelle is in 4th Grade this year! She has been looking forward to having Mrs. Samuelsen as her teacher. Mrs. Samuelsen has a book club for her classroom. Izzie will fit right in!
Charlie is in 7th Grade. He is excited to be in the Hawk Pride Band. He claims his favorite class is Algebra!

This was Janet's first day of high school. As a freshman at Cienega, she will be part of the Copper Thunder Marching Band, and is also taking Concert Band. Marching band means early morning seminary. (Do you think that hair will be curled every morning by 5:30?)

Annie's Senior year...bittersweet. She is such a great kid! I hope she enjoys every last minute of this year. (On a side note, she has decided to play flute in marching band, but in symphonic band she has taken up the oboe! Good luck Annie!)

Of course I took lots of pictures the first day of school. So here are some of my favorites. Izzie and Charlie had their first day July 18th. Anne and Janet's first day was the 22nd. So unfortunately, there aren't any pictures of everyone together.

We tried to do the jump picture with Anne and Janet, but my timing was never right. I thought this picture was pretty funny though!

Anne and Janet just LOVE their wheels!
They insisted they have a picture with the VAN!

Saguaro Lake

2011-06-07T22:05:00.007-07:00

Last weekend we made a quick trip up to Saguaro Lake. We stopped by Mesa to pick up our nephew Jake. Jake helped encourage Charlie to tube. He started out slow, but by the end of the ride was going full force and loving it!
Janet made it up on water skis!

Love the saguaros in the background!

Izzie tried her hand at driving the boat!

What a ham!
Three cousins!

Go Izzie!

Family Pictures

2011-01-17T21:46:00.007-07:00

Shouldn't every family hurry and do a family picture over the holidays? When Elizabeth came home, we figured we needed an updated picture to send out with our Christmas cards. So I made all the kids dress in nice clothes for a "quick" pic in the backyard. They were THRILLED! You can tell by this next picture!I believed that with my nice camera we could just set it up on a chair, set the timer, and come out with a beautiful picture in a few short moments.
Sure!!! "Just a minute kids...."

I can almost figure out the timer....

Wait just a minute....

Found the timer...can't get the camera to balance right....and it needs to be closer to you.....

Too close...but a beautiful picture of Annie!

And a cute one of Elizabeth and Anne..

All right, lets try a different pose....should we let Dad be in the picture. Maybe not, by the look on their faces!

New outfits (and a couple hours later). We are still snapping photos.

The kids are getting tired and a little slap happy!

Pose!

Oh no! Off center!

Finally! This is the picture that went out with the Christmas card. It took 96 pictures to get to this one. With a little photo shop, and two trips to Walgreens (they cut off my head in the first batch) we finally had our pictures ready to mail. Picture Perfect!

MY SISTER IS HOME!!!

2010-12-16T21:47:00.001-07:00

:)

that is all.
annie.

This is the Place

2010-10-28T22:12:00.005-07:00

Second day of picture logs: My sister, Melissa, my Mom and I went to This is the Place with the kids. We went late and found they shut most things down by 2:00. This kids were a little disappointed. But we did get to see quite a bit still.
Everyone got to ride ponies! (Except Charlie. He wasn't interested. He wanted to get to the blacksmith shop before they closed it down.)

The school house is always a fun place to visit!

How many pioneers drew aliens on their slates?

Annie is the best helper with all the small kiddos! (And they love her for it!)

My Mom and Isabelle.

We rode the train around the whole village.

Annie and Missy picked the back seat because it was shady. (It was over 90 degrees that day.) Unfortunately, as soon as the train started, it turned so Missy and Anne were in the sun most of the trip. -- tee hee. :)

Wheeler Farm

2010-10-27T22:00:00.010-07:00

I'm a little embarrassed....I took over 500 pictures on our trip to Utah. So this is a picture log of our day at Wheeler Farm. (A small pioneer farm in Salt Lake City). I will follow with other posts on the rest of our trip. This dog is Copper. Izzie is so attached to him. She goes everywhere with him!
My nephews William and Calvin "fishing".

What a Calvin face!

My Mom and Annie....two of my favorite women!

Sweet Janet!

Simon trying to head up to the tree house.

William

This tree house was there when I was a little girl. I remember climbing up and peeking out of that same window.

Hmmm does your dress taste good Izzie?

This goat really wanted the cookies we were eating!

"Please, Calvin, give me your cookie!"

"NOPE!"

My nephew Brandon loves his sunglasses!

Calvin's feet after a day on the farm!

MaryBeth and Janet. Cousins!

We also fed the swans and ducks.

This picture of Brandon makes me think of his dad, Trent when he was a little boy. See that impish grin. I have seen that before! My brother Trent had the nickname "Trent trouble". Brandon seems to be a little more quiet. Love the kid!

Elizabeth's Summer

2010-09-13T21:08:00.007-07:00

Elizabeth interned with NASA over the summer in Palmdale, CA. She worked on a droid airplane calculating drag! Scott and I were able to go for her final presentation.

Doesn't she look spiffy?

Elizabeth had special clearance to go into classified areas. Scott and I had badges (see the orange thingy pinned to me..) that said we had to be escorted by someone with red clearance (Elizabeth). Elizabeth took us to the space shuttle hanger where we saw an escape pod (above) and cone for the space shuttle when it flies on the back of the airplane. (below)
We loved being in California with Elizabeth.

For two weeks, Elizabeth stayed here in Tucson. She had her 18th birthday party in our backyard with 40 teenagers! Crazy times!

Scott set up a movie in the backyard by the pool.

Then it was off to Boston to take Elizabeth to MIT! Here she and Scott are with one of the Freedom Trail guides.

The North End is always fun. You can see Paul Revere's house just down the street behind Elizabeth. This was our last night with Elizabeth. We told her we would do anything she wanted. She picked Italian food! So we tromped over to the North End, only to find they were having a huge street festival. After looking into several eating establishments, we almost gave up. But luckily we were able to score a table at Cantina Italiano. (Recommended by our tour guide.) We had a wonderful dinner, followed with cannolis from Mike's Bakery!

Scott calling in vain for a dinner reservation!

Night in downtown Boston.

MIT is just a crazy place! East dorm builds a roller coaster from scratch every year during the week of orientation. They try to attract all the freshman to their dorm this way. You can see the roller coaster behind Elizabeth. You actually rode this thing standing up!

Elizabeth chose McCormick House. It is an all girl dorm that backs up to the Charles River. This is the view out of her bedroom window. Her roommates are fabulous. She couldn't be happier with her living situation.

Here are Elizabeth and Scott in front of the famous MIT dome. We couldn't get a very good picture, but I wanted one anyway. It was only a short hour later that we said goodbye to Elizabeth. (I cried all the way to the subway station!) It is hard to let her go; but I know she is having a blast there at MIT! For a detailed description of her activities, just look up her blog on our list "Reflections of a Nerd!"

Annie's a Junior!

2010-07-24T21:12:00.003-07:00

Anne can be a little wacko at times. It is so fun! We love it when she teases Dad, or dances to crazy music, or when she sings out every single road sign on the road.

I just love this kid!

Anne has a way of making everyone smile! She is always looking for the best in other people. I love how she looks for ways to help out her friends and family!

Annie will have a great Junior year. Marching band, driving, good friends, being a Laurel! All wonderful things. We love you Annie!

First Day of School

2010-07-21T21:59:00.005-07:00

Off to school these two go. Charlie is now in 6th grade, and goes to Old Vail Middle School with Janet.
Janet has a great sense of style. She loves bright colors! This next picture is my favorite of her. What a personality!

Janet is in 8th grade. She loves band, and looks forward to some challenging math and history classes.

Handsome kid!

Charlie will also play in the band. (Percussion for him.) He seemed to have enjoyed his first couple of days without any major drama. The one downer in his mind was that he had to get a tetanus booster. His arm is still sore almost a week later.

Isabelle is in 3rd grade this year. She has Mrs. Shechter. Janet and Charlie both had her previously. We just love her. Isabelle is excited to be in a room with so many class pets. (And they get to hatch chicken eggs!)

I think everyone should have a great year!

Elizabeth's Graduation

2010-05-27T20:38:00.006-07:00

Elizabeth graduated from Empire High School last night, May 26, 2010.

Elizabeth was the Salutatorian for her class!

Here she is giving her speech. Click on the video below to see and hear the whole thing!

The celebratory dance!

You made it Elizabeth!

The Henderson clan came to help us celebrate!

The tears here in Anne's eyes broke my heart. What close sisters these two have been. From teasing each other, singing together, translating hilarious Spanish stories, and of course the occasional fight, they have always been right there for each other. It will be hard for them to be apart!

Charlie and Izzie got tired of the hugging, picture taking, crying etc. They decided to have a little race around the track!

Elizabeth, as a mom I am soooo proud of you! You have done great things so far in your life. I'm excited to see what comes next. California and Boston seem so far away..... I will miss you terribly. Always remember how much your family loves you! We will miss you at every dinner, family scripture, and Family Home Evening. We will also miss your piano playing, your crazy driving, and help when it comes time for everyone's math homework. We will pray for you every day. Keep up the good work. You are a beautiful young woman!

Prom

2010-05-18T13:16:00.006-07:00

Jr. Prom was May 8th. I know I'm a little late getting these pictures up...but I have been rather busy! Doesn't Elizabeth look beautiful? These are just a few of my favorite pictures.

Elizabeth went with Jon Stephens. (I think they had fun!) :)

LOVE this one! (Photo credit on many of these goes to Annie.) When I sent these to Walgreens to have them developed they asked me to sign a copyright release. They thought they were professional pictures. Way to go Annie!

A special thanks for all of you who supported Elizabeth in "Project Prom". She helped these special needs kids get to prom. Your donations helped pay their way, and provided transportation. (See below.) I can't tell you how excited these kids were. We were able to go see them get dressed up, and do their hair and make up. What fun!

Everyone had a great time!

Houses for Haiti

2010-05-08T12:04:00.003-07:00

Our family went to Spring Fling yesterday. We had so much fun! While we were there, we saw a booth called Houses for Haiti. I made these in art class and, I bought mine. Here's what it looks like.

Wow!
See that glassy surface people!
That is colored pencil and high gloss coating!
I have an awesome art teacher!
~Charlie

Boston or Bust!

2010-05-01T16:50:00.006-07:00

Elizabeth and I travelled to Boston a couple of weeks ago to visit MIT. This was the last school Elizabeth needed to visit before making her decision on where to go to college. Unfortunately, it started off rather bleakly when our plane out of Tucson had mechanical problems! We thought we wouldn't get to Boston, until Friday night. Too late for the tour, classes, Institute, etc. After talking, and talking, and talking to several ticketing agents, and then going on standby on one plane, we arrived in Boston at 9:30 Friday morning, with only 3 hours sleep! Whew! We were able to make the 11:00 tour, and let Elizabeth go to an Astrophysics class. (She loved that class! Crazy Woman!) We also went an LDS Institute class. It was phenomenal! (Cute boys too.) Overall Elizabeth's impressions were favorable. The biggest problem was finding your way around campus where the buildings all run into one another. They are all named by numerals (Building 6, Building 22, etc.) but they aren't all in numerical order! HUH?!? We wandered around for a while trying to find the Institute class in Building 11, only to find out there are two Building 11's. How confusing! The picture above is of the famous MIT dome. This grassy area is where many activities are held, including graduation.
Elizabeth wasn't sure she liked the subways at first...but she seemed to get used to them by the end of our trip.

Saturday we set out to see the sights of Boston. It was COLD! and RAINY! Here we are in front of Paul Revere's house.

A bell made by Paul Revere.

If you look towards the back of this picture you can see the North Church where the lanterns were placed at the start of the Revolutionary War. The steeple blends in with the clouds.

Elizabeth by the Boston Harbor. It was sooo cold, right after we took this picture we headed right for Starbucks for some hot chocolate.

We had to stop by Boston Commons to see the "Make Way for Ducklings" statue! Unfortunately, the swan boats were not running because of the weather.

We took a tour of the Freedom Trail. I learned so much about American History. Its fun to walk the places you have only read about in history books.

We stopped by Quincey Market for dinner. Yummy clam chowder. These street performers outside of Faneuil Hall were so fun. They juggled knives, hats, juggling pins....everything.

Here are Elizabeth and I in Cambridge where we spent most of the day Sunday.

In front of the Stata Center at MIT. (Looks like Dr. Seuss designed it.)

The view of downtown Boston from MIT.

Several LDS students get together on Sunday afternoons to make dinner for each other. They invited Elizabeth. What fun! We were able to see some the dorms, and Elizabeth was able to ask all the questions she wanted about life at MIT.

So what was the final outcome of all of this? .....

Elizabeth has chosen to go to MIT!

Hello There :)

2010-04-15T17:27:00.003-07:00

For anyone who even looks at this blog anymore, I would like to let you know that the Tollers are still alive! Shocker. Anyway It'sbeen a busy couple months filled with college, scholarships, Disneyland, musical concerts, family, and who knows what else. So I promise we will get around to putting up pictures soon. Have a wonderful day!

-Anne :)

Pinewood Derby

2010-02-01T20:50:00.005-07:00

Ah...Pinewood Derby time. Time for sanding, graphiting, painting, and giggling from my son because he named his car, "The Whale". After four pinewood derbies, Scott and Charlie seem to have the formula down. (With a lot of help from our friends the Hancocks.) Charlie was so excited about his car that was painted dark gray, and had eyes on the side.

Upon arrival, Don Hancock, (who ran a spectacular derby) asked if a couple of moms, including me, could be the judges. Hmmm...why not. Life got a little tough when Charlie started to win a lot of the races. I really didn't want to look biased.
Charlie won the award for the "Sleekest Paint Job."

Neck and Neck! One of those cars is Charlie's in one of the final races. I'm pretty sure I made the other two mothers call this one!

But after 16 races, Charlie came out on top. Here he is getting a round of applause!

Look at that 1st place medal. Looks great Charlie! Nice work. Now on to 11 Year Old Scouts in just about a month!

"The Whale!"

On the Road Again

2010-01-17T17:23:00.003-07:00

A new road was just opened connecting Ocotillo Ridge Elementary school to the Del Lago neighborhood. Previously, there was only one road leading to the school, which made for huge traffic congestion, and a dangerous commute for students. Last Friday there was a ribbon cutting opening the new road. Principal Chesebrough invited the whole school to come. As a member of Site Council, I was invited to help cut the ribbon. It was a great celebration for everyone! I love the picture above of all the kids walking back up to the school.
After watching the huge fight with developers, the county and the school district, I was excited to see this road finally go through. (A great big pat on the back to Tony LoMonaco. It's due to him that we have a road!)

Of course, Scott couldn't help but get his word in that morning. As we arrived, Mr. Chesebrough had speakers blasting the song "On the Road Again." Scott just had to tease him about Willie Nelson being a good role model for the kids. (Long Hair, Drugs, Tax Evasion). We all got a good laugh. Overall it was just a great morning!

Isabelle's Baptism

2010-01-04T21:24:00.004-07:00

Isabelle was baptized on December 5, 2009. It was a wonderful day! She looked absolutely beautiful in her dress.
I was overwhelmed by different feelings. First of all my baby was getting baptized. This is a big step for a mom. But I also felt many feelings of gratitude. As we sat together for lunch, after the baptism, I looked around the table at my children, all who are following the commandments. How lucky can a mom get? Then I looked at my extended family...my mom and dad....Scott's mom and her husband...my brother-in-law and his family. I felt so fortunate to have such a great heritage. I have so many great examples to base my life on. I know I have been blessed. I felt so much love in that room that day. May I never forget the blessings I have!

Dad and Daughter!

Toller cousins with Grandma.

Our fun family!

Isabelle with Grandpa Gordon and Grandma Carol.

Isabelle with Grandma and Grandpa Baggaley.

Daniel is my youngest brother. (I'm first of 12.) Daniel is younger than Elizabeth! I'm so glad he could be here for the baptism.

Video of Elizabeth's Steel Band Concert

2009-12-10T22:12:00.003-07:00

I love this picture! It just shows how much fun Elizabeth has playing the steel pan! Her concert tonight was so much fun. Bravo Elizabeth!

Thanksgiving at Todd and Lindsay's

2009-12-01T19:39:00.006-07:00

We all traveled to Las Vegas to spend Thanksgiving with Todd (my brother) and Lindsay. My Mom and Dad and Daniel came down from Salt Lake to be there too. I took a ton of pictures....so you will just have to muddle through. I tried to narrow it down to my favorites, but there are still a lot!
Todd took all the kids to the park Thanksgiving afternoon, while Lindsay and Mom cooked, baked etc. We joined him a little later.

This is one of my favorites. Keller looks so excited to be at the park!

Anne and MacKay

Izzie decided she wanted to go back to the park for her birthday. (It was the day after Thanksgiving.)

Izzie turned 8!

She made her own chocolate cream pie for her birthday. Aunt Lindsay didn't help at all! :)

Keller had to have a turn blowing out the candles. He and Izzie developed quite a friendship while we were there. He would walk around the house saying, "Where is my friend?" They built forts together, played games, rode bikes, and watched movies.

I just love Mac-A-Do! (MacKay)

MacKay was so sad we were leaving! It broke my heart.

When Keller heard we were leaving he hurried to get dressed, so he could, "Go live with us." It was so sad to drive away without him.

Glow Sticks + Crazy Kids = .....

2009-11-09T20:31:00.002-07:00

Who says Family Home Evenings are boring?!

Pancakes!

2009-10-18T10:33:00.007-07:00

Daddy made some scrumptious pancakes this morning! He made Pumpkin and Honey Oat. There was just a little bit of pumpkin batter left so I decided I would make a Mickey Mouse pancake. Whenever I make a Mickey Mouse pancake I always have one problem. The Ears! They always break of when I try to flip it. Luckly, this time they didn't. They stayed on! I was so excited. So then I decided to go a little crazy and put a face on it. So I took some of the other batter and with a spoon I made a face! It was had to do and his face ended up lopsided but I did it. It might be kinda hard to see but:

Here is the stack of Pumpkin:

Here is the stack of Honey Oat:

My daddy feeds me well!

-Janet

College Hunting in California

2009-10-10T20:51:00.002-07:00

Last week Elizabeth and I took a short jaunt to California to check out a couple of colleges. We started out at California Institute of Technology, and then went on to Harvey Mudd. Both of these are excellent schools. We enjoyed comparing each on: types of classes, dorm rooms, types of internships available, Institutes, campus atmosphere, fatness of squirrels (LOL), and of course the food! (We ate at both college cafeterias. Sorry Caltech, Harvey Mudd beat you there fair and square!)

Before this trip, I had been to Caltech, and Elizabeth had been to Harvey Mudd. I think we both enjoyed showing each other our discoveries.

As a Mom, it is so hard to be objective. You just want the best for your child. I don't want to influence her too much. I kept bugging Elizabeth to tell me which way she was leaning, but she wouldn't give me an answer. So I try to keep my opinions out of the equation. But I have to say, I was honestly excited about both of these schools. I told Elizabeth she would have to make the decision. Hopefully we can get her to Boston to see MIT before she has to make a decision next spring. These are her top three choices.

She has some excellent opportunities. It will be interesting to see what the next year brings!

Fall Break!

2009-10-08T11:26:00.005-07:00

As many of you know, Vail School District gives kids a three week break during fall. We are in the middle of the second week right now. Unfortunately, the high schoolers only get two weeks this time around. They will go back next week, while Charlie, Isabelle, and I stay home. During this three week break, we have done many thing so far. We have had cousins come, saw new movies, and gone swimming.
Cousins came down on the September 30th but sadly had to leave the 4th. While cousins were here we went swimming, went to the zoo, and watched conference. It was very exciting to have them come here and spend time with us. While Liz and Mom were gone at California looking at colleges, the rest of us saw Monsters vs. Aliens. It was very funny. My dad really liked the part were Bob says, "Suuusaann! Wow that is scary! I just scared myself!" It was just very funny! My Mom and Liz got back from California on Tuesday.
Yesterday we went to the mall to see Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. I was also a very funny movie. It had all the science stuff in it that just made Charlie laugh. He also told us a science joke on the way there: Atom 1 said to the other, "I think I am missing some electrons!" Atom 2 said, "Are you sure?" Atom 1 said, "Yes! I am positive! Hahaha! It made me laugh so hard. Izzie was just staring at us cause she has not learned this yet. Anyway, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs is a great movie that is appropriate for both kids and adults.
I am not sure what we are doing today, but we are going to have fun!
~Janet

Computer Tabs

2009-09-16T21:01:00.003-07:00

After a long day, I decided to have a little down time....check my facebook, catch up on some blogs, and return some email. Charlie has just gone to bed leaving me an open computer. As I sit down at the computer, Charlie yells to me, "Don't close my computer tabs!" Out of curiosity, I check up on these web pages to see what he has been up to. Hmmm.... Here is the list:

Invisibility-Cloak Materials
Making a wormhole just got easier
Google Image Result for time machines
Gamestop.com --Travel games for dummies

So any idea what Charlie's plans are? Should I be worried?

Piccolo Solo

2009-09-15T21:07:00.004-07:00

Have you ever seen the end of the musical "Music Man"? All the boys show up with their instruments, and play a horrible rendition of Minuet in G. But the parents get so excited about their boys. One parent yells, "That's my Johnny!" Their pride drowns out the squeaks and bad notes coming from the band.

Well tonight, I felt like yelling,"That's my Annie!" This evening the Cienega band played their fall concert. During the first number, The Invincible Eagle by John Phillip Sousa, Anne played the most awesome piccolo solo. I had not heard her practice this solo at all, and was amazed at the difficulty of the passage, and at how well Anne played it. I was bursting with pride.

Now, I hope I'm not like those mothers from "Music Man". I thought the band sounded excellent. But, maybe I'm prejudice. But then maybe, I might just know a little about how music should sound. :)

Copper Thunder Marching Band + Old Vail Middle School Band!

2009-09-08T20:44:00.003-07:00

Anne's first official home game this year. She was lucky enough to try out for piccolo and made it! Doesn't she look cute in her uniform?
Anne and Lydia. (Both flute players.)

Anne plays the national anthem.

That night the high school band invited the middle school band to join them on the field. So both Janet and Anne were out there! Janet really had fun.

Here is the whole group together.

Here is Janet waiting to enter the field at half time.

The middle school kids also got to sit in the bleachers and play stand tunes with the high school kids. (Does Janet look like she is happy? I wonder why?) The advantages of a girl playing the trumpet!

Playing Band Yell!

Anne and Lydia were playing stand tunes too! Here they are cheering C ! H! S!

Isabelle sat in the stands with me and helped cheer everyone on. It was a great game. Unfortunately, we lost by one point!
We will get them next time!

Fun, fun, video! Who has more rhythm? Janet or those high school boys?

Sisters in Balmy California

2009-08-23T20:51:00.004-07:00

Every couple of years, the girls from the Baggaley family go out together on a little get away. This year we all went to visit Laura while she spent the summer in LA. We had so much fun. I love hanging out with my sisters, and just doing sister stuff! We crammed as much sight seeing in as we could. But probably the funnest times were just spent laughing and teasing each other late into the night while we all camped out in Laura's living room. (Notice the license plate of our rental car. "6 Hot". We thought it was very fitting.)
The first day we spent at Sea World. (Look at the shark swimming above us.) It was a hot day, and several of us got sunburned. But not Laura. She had been spending every day this summer at the pool or the beach, developing her tan. We got a kick out of her sun tanned leg compared to Ellen's (below).

Fantastic acrobats at Sea World!

We all went to Medieval Times. (A dinner theater with knights fighting!) Look at this silly picture. I'm the only normal sister!

Here is the second go around after I told my sisters to get it together!

Venice Beach! Okay since we were staying with Laura, we let her husband Dan come to the beach, even though this was a girls trip. Venice beach is a hoot! There all all sorts of interesting shops along the shore. We also went to Newport Beach the next day, which was a little more quiet. Laura and MaryAlice went boogie boarding.

Melissa was a real trooper. With only four weeks left of her pregnancy, she went everywhere we did, and kept up with us all. (No boogie boarding for her!) We kept hoping she would come home and have the baby after all that excitement. But she is still waiting!

My sister-in-law Ellen.

The whole clan. From left to right: Melissa (sister), MaryAlice (sister-in-law), Ellen (Mom), Ellen the younger (sister-in-law), Janelle, Laura (sister).
We had a great time! Lets do it again soon!

Happy Birthday Elizabeth!

2009-08-15T20:17:00.005-07:00

Elizabeth turned seventeen yesterday! She spent most of the day at school and then with her friends. She showed up at about 8:30 at night to have cake and ice cream with her family. I guess that proves she is really a teenager!
Elizabeth is sooooo special to our family. She is a bright light in our life! We love being involved in all her academic adventures. But more than that, she is just fun to be around. Have you ever heard her laugh. It is very contagious. As a mom, I love to have her near in the kitchen (cooking pasta, her favorite) or helping me do laundry, or just laying on my bed chatting to me about her "horrible day." As a family, we are very proud of her, and all her accomplishments.

Elizabeth received 47 candy bars from her friends! Ridiculous!

Happy Birthday Elizabeth!

Okay! Sorry about the sideways video. I always forget you can't turn the camera when filming a movie! This is Erin and Kelsey. They are Elizabeth's fun and crazy friends.

Super Elizabeth!

2009-08-04T19:41:00.009-07:00

It's Spirit Week at Empire High School. Today was Super Hero Day. So Elizabeth dressed up as ???? (She wants everyone to know: She knows she looked like a dork!)

Here are a few of Elizabeth's friends:

Tal as "Jessica"

Michael as "Chemistry Super Safety Man"

Kyle as ?

Athena as "Robin"

Makes you wonder what tomorrow will bring.

First Day of School (Take Two)

2009-07-26T20:02:00.004-07:00

Elizabeth and Anne had their first day of school on Friday. Take two for me, because the other kids had gone on Monday. We had a fun week together, shopping, seeing movies, going to lunch and boating. Anne is a Sophomore at Cienega High School.

Elizabeth is a Senior at Empire High School.

Aren't they sweet! Actually, Elizabeth and Anne are my best friends. I really enjoy being their mom! It's really hard to see them grow up--I wish I could keep them forever. :)

Patagonia Lake Meets a Few Band Geeks!

2009-07-22T22:44:00.006-07:00

We took Anne and a few of her band friends to Patagonia lake this morning. They had a blast! The day started out with them being a little cautious. But by the end of the day, they were jumping tubes, trying hands free, and kneeling up on the tubes.

Anne, Lydia, Mariah, and Carly

Lydia was probably the most cautious at first. So this was a real triumph when she went up on her knees!

A little bumpy! Thanks to boat driver Scott!

Faster!

First Day of School

2009-07-20T21:46:00.002-07:00

Today was the first day of school for Janet, Charlie, and Isabelle. They were all excited. Janet is going into 7th grade. Charlie started 5th grade. And Isabelle started 2nd grade. Isabelle has been looking forward to this day for weeks. Yesterday, she was singing, "Tomorrow is school...tomorrow is school." Then I would hear her saying to herself, "Why can't it be tomorrow? I wish it was tomorrow."
Don't you love Janet's bright yellow shirt! She also had a sunburn from water skiing with the Young Women. So she was glowing from every angle.

I'm happy to say, everyone came home smiling. Although it was terribly hot. (108 degrees!) It wasn't long before we were all in the pool cooling off. Of course we waited until everyone had their homework done.

Goings and Comings

2009-07-02T10:32:00.004-07:00

My brother James left for the MTC yesterday! He is going to the Buenos Aires, Argentina mission.
The proud parents!

Some of the Baggaley clan.

I'm the oldest of 12 children. James is number 11!

My kids will sure miss Uncle James. I think James and Isabelle look a lot alike!

Goodbye James!

Mom and Dad took James to the MTC one day, and the next picked up Richard from the airport. What a week! Richard returned home from the Ft. Lauderdale, Florida Spanish speaking mission.

Some of the 12 siblings with Mom and Dad. Richard is number 10!

Welcome home Richard!

Boating

2009-06-15T22:00:00.002-07:00

The Toller family boat was handed over to our family about a month ago. Ever since it has arrived at our house, Scott and Charlie have been feverishly working on it. They have really had some great father-son time making everything just perfect. So last Friday, the day finally arrived to take the boat out on the lake. We had so much fun. With borrowed tubes, we headed out. Unfortunately, when we got there, we realized that we had borrowed tubes without plugs. Luckily, Scott engineered a plug right there on the boat so we could have a great day.

Anne learned how to drive the boat!

I love this picture of Anne and Janet. They had so much fun out there on the tubes. They really loved going fast and bumping over the wake. They said the best part was getting thrown off the tube.

The Hancock and Tegeder families were also out on the lake that day. This is Nate Hancock showing off his skiing abilities.

Crazy May!

2009-06-02T20:30:00.010-07:00

May was a crazy month at the Toller house. We had concerts, award ceremonies, dinners....and on and on. Because of our crazy schedule, I hardly blogged during the month of May. (My sister has reprimanded me. Sorry Laura!) But I will try and catch you up on just a few of the happenings during the month!

Our backyard bloomed this month! I just love it. We have roses, tomatoes, zucchini, strawberries, artichokes, carrots, radishes, peaches, cilantro, and BASIL!

There was a strings concert for all the string players in the Vail School District K-8. A first at our district. Here are a few of my favorite violinists at the dress rehearsal, Janet, and two of my students Alicia, and Cicely.

Izzie's First Grade Program! "A Year With Frog and Toad." I wish everyone could see it. She was so cute singing "Cookies, Cookies." By the way, Janet had her National Junior Honor Society Induction the same night. I don't have any pictures, because Scott and I had to split up, and he took pictures on his camera!

Spring Fling! Crazy Charlie with bright orange hair. Spring Fling is our elementary schools annual Spring fair. I was on the board to put it together this year. It was one crazy day. (Luckily Charlie didn't dye his hair until after the choir had sung that evening.) Below you see Isabelle when she played at the Talent Show that same evening.

The Toller Cousins came to visit at the end of the month. Unfortunately, it rained for several days! What a welcome to a family from Chicago. The kids swam anyway, and by Saturday it was sunny again.

This is Angie with Annie. She became very attached to Anne and Janet while she was here. It was so sad to say goodbye. Angie clung to Annie and didn't want to let go. We miss her and her family!

Of course, what is the end of school without a party. Anne invited several of her friends over for swimming and hot dogs. And can you believe it.....It RAINED AGAIN! But after about an hour, the sun came out, and they were all able to swim. Fun stuff!

Other exciting things that happened during May (but no pictures!)

1. Choir Field trip to Retirement Homes (Charlie was given a half eaten grilled cheese sandwich by one of the grateful residents!)

2. Mother's Day Breakfast at the Seminary, where I got to eat breakfast with my two beautiful girls.

3. Camp Kickoff. Janet's first experience with Girl's Camp. I help teach first aid to several 12 year old's.

4. Janet solo's on the piano for a Tri-M (Honor's music club) dinner.

5. Janet has a band concert and wails out the solo for Peter Gunn on her trumpet. She wins Most Outstanding 6th Grade Band Student.

6. Elizabeth receives and award for 1st in class for the Juniors.

7. Awesome Steel Band Concert--Elizabeth solos.

8. I have a student recital for all my piano and violin students. They did awesome.

What a month. Needless to say, we have declared June a month of down time.

Naps, Swimming, Reading and Relaxation!

Charlie's first fish on a fly

2009-05-10T21:39:00.004-07:00

Charlie and I went to the Black River on Saturday with Uncle Dan. Charlie usually spin fishes but wanted to try some fly fishing later in the day. After reeling in several I hooked, he started casting and doing it all by himself. Caught his first fish without any help from Dad (except cheering). It was a smallmouth bass on a diver type fly tied by his dad.

Didn't see a lot of my fly rod after that - he's hooked.

-Scott

Video is of Charlie fishing the diver and I captured his first backcast snag!

Jr. Prom

2009-05-05T21:56:00.007-07:00

Elizabeth went to Jr. Prom last Saturday!

Here she is with her date Reid Knight.

This is the whole gang before they went to pizza and video games for dinner!

One of Elizabeth's great friends is Nush. They did all their hair and make up at her house right after Elizabeth took the SAT. What a big day.

Anne and I escorted Elizabeth into the backyard for a photo shoot with her prom dress. Here are some of my favorites.

Grand Canyon

2009-05-02T19:33:00.005-07:00

Charlie and I went to the Grand Canyon on a field trip with his 4th grade class. We loaded busses at the school at 9:00 at night. After "sleeping" all night on the bus we unloaded to see the sun rise over the Grand Canyon.

It was absolutely beautiful!

Charlie took this picture. Pretty impressive huh?!?

Back on the bus, the kids were introduced to native Arizona wildlife. This is a rosie boa.

Then we drove to the Wupatki Indian Ruins. Very Cool!

Last stop of the day was at Sunset Crater. ( I was exhausted and didn't want to get off the bus!) It is a volcano that exploded about 1000 years ago. We hiked a mile through the lava. It is really interesting landscape.

Charlie had a blast. I think he would love to go back and do it all over again.

LOBSTERS!

2009-04-29T21:18:00.006-07:00

The Priests invited the Laurels over to our house for a "game" night. Little did the girls know it was really "wild game" night. They released lobsters into our pool! (I know my pool....how could I let them do this? Can I ever swim in it again?)

Did I mention they put lobsters in our pool!

Here Brother Henderson is demonstrating how to catch a lobster while it is swimming (IN OUR POOL!)

Oh by the way....Nathan cut off the bands on the claws...makes for fun catching!

Cute little critters!

Can you believe Elizabeth actually caught one? Way to go Elizabeth!

Of course they cooked them up after they caught it. Along with the lobster they also cooked elk, reindeer sausage, and quail. What a feast!

And they got all the lobsters out of the pool!

Mom's Easter Visit

2009-04-14T19:29:00.008-07:00

Janelle's mom came down from Utah for the Easter weekend. We had so much fun. Here are some of the highlights.

Dying Easter Eggs!

Easter Baskets!

Easter Egg Hunt!

And of course, lots of pictures to remember Easter with. Here are a few of my favorites!

Traditional....

For the front of the CD album someday....

Yes!!!! Mom is almost done taking pictures!

Thanks Mom for coming. You are wonderful! PS. All that practicing you did with the kids really paid off. Anne really did well at flute lessons today. And Elizabeth sounds wonderful on the piano. You are the best.

My New Look

2009-04-10T11:34:00.007-07:00

So, I, Elizabeth, thought I should inform the world who does not see me regularly of my new look. It is a type of dress called scene, and I have just fallen in love with it. (Type it in on google images, there are some really cool kids there).

JUST KIDDING!

Lol. So This is the outfit I wore on April Fools. It was tons of fun to go to school and watch as people stared at the girl who usually dresses like a nerd show up as a scene kid. And that makeup is intense, let me tell you. The night before I practiced putting in on a couple times, and it still took me an hour to put it on that morning. And it still wasn't half as pretty as some of the girls who do it regularly. The white tie is from my percussion outfit, and unfortunately it was the most 'scene' thing I had in my closet.

I really do like liquid eyeliner though . . it is fun to put on.

Elizabeth

Dilemma

2009-04-07T08:22:00.003-07:00

Okay...so last night Anne informs me of the night of her high school band concert. Wouldn't you know it....I have an elementary concert that same night. What to do? I have been late to or missed every single one of Anne's concerts this year.

The elementary concert is one have played for three years in a row. The written music is only a melody line. I have made up all the accompaniment, and of course have never written it down. So finding another accompanist at this late date is out of the question. (This teacher asked me to play this concert in November.)

So do I miss another one of Anne's concerts, or leave 200 kids singing a cappella?

Happy Birthday Charlie!

2009-03-24T09:33:00.003-07:00

Charlie had his 10th birthday yesterday!
Waffles with strawberries for breakfast!

Lots of presents!

Charlie got water noodles that squirt for his birthday. Uncle Bryce wanted to just see how far they would squirt. Of course that turned into a full blown water fight! "Get him Charlie!"

Charlie is such a great guy. We are so lucky to have him in our family. We can't believe he is ten already. Happy Birthday Charlie!

I will Huff, and I will Puff...the Huffs come to visit

2009-03-20T18:06:00.005-07:00

Calvin and Melissa (Janelle's sister) came to visit this week. Unfortunately, we have been attacked by the flu bug. So our visit has been filled with comforting kids, watching videos, playing games, and when Janelle and Melissa caught it, just huddling under blankets on the couch. We did recover enough to make it to the park..... Charlie is one cool dude!

And the kids decided just today to try out the pool for the first time this season. (The water was 65 degrees.) When I say kids I include Melissa's husband Bryce. The rest of us just opted for the hot tub.

Calvin has been a hoot. He really is quite a character. Whenever Janelle walks into the pantry he runs over to close the door to lock her in. He also calls for his dog Milo all the time. (I'm sure Milo misses him too.) We hope we all get feeling better so we can enjoy the last few days of their visit!

Highlights of Grandpa and Grandma Johnson's Visit

2009-03-04T22:17:00.005-07:00

Grandma and Grandpa Johnson came for a visit for the last week. We crammed as much fun as we could into a few short days. Here are some highlights of their fun filled visit.....

A picnic at the park was Isabelle's one request. Charlie, Janet and Izzie rode bikes....

....while Anne, Grandma, Grandpa, Scott and Janelle had a long visit......

.....of course, Elizabeth read her books!

We all went to the Tucson rodeo. (A first for Janelle.) We all enjoyed the crazy fun, although it was a HOT day. (Close to 90 degrees.) Earlier that day we went to Kartchner Caverns. (No cameras allowed.) They were amazing!

Dan's family came down for the rodeo and pizza at our home. It's always great to see the cousins.

Grandpa Gordon gave us a country western concert. Charlie plays the air guitar.

Every night Grandma read Isabelle her bedtime stories.

We saved the best for last. Tuesday night both Janet and Elizabeth had concerts. Janet's Jazz Band was fantastic. Janet just wailed out her solo.

Elizabeth's Steel Band concert was awesome. Elizabeth had two solos. If you have never seen a steel band concert, you are missing out. It's hard to hold still. It just makes you want to dance. (If you would like to hear a steel band play...go to the playlist at the bottom of the page and click on #1 Pan in A Minor. Elizabeth's band has played this song.)

Thanks Grandma and Grandpa for coming! We had so much fun. Come again soon!

Ugh.... Socks

2009-02-26T11:12:00.003-07:00

So, this is what I did for an hour and a half today. Find the matches to all these socks! Let me tell you... it was soooooooooooo boring. Plus, there is nothing interesting on TV on a Thursday morning so I ended up watching PBSkids. It was an interesting morning.......

*ANNE*

Science Olympiad---Gold Winner!

2009-02-25T19:30:00.004-07:00

Elizabeth attended Science Olympiad last weekend....and look what she came back with! Gold medal for Math. Bronze Medal for Astronomy. 6th place in Remote Sensing (the study of satellites orbiting earth.) 6th place in Experimental Design (Basically doing a science fair in an hour.) She can now officially be called a "Clinker" (Someone who clinks when they walk because of multiple medals. She is the first ever at Empire High School.) We are sooooo proud of her.
Okay....So this needs some explanation. This is a picture of Dr. Frank, Empire's Biology teacher. He heads up the Science Club. He couldn't go to the Olympiad because of Vail Pride Day. So the kids made this t-shirt to honor him at the competition. He loved it.

Vail Pride Day

2009-02-22T18:50:00.001-07:00

Yesterday was Vail Pride Day. This is a festival that our school district puts on at the County Fairgrounds. It is so fun. There are art shows, writing displays, science projects, Academic Jeopardy, Math Bowls, and lots of performances. This picture above is Charlie with his art project. (It is the vase on the top right.)

Izzie with her Giraffe writing and picture!

Charlie's Academic Jeopardy team.

Janet's Math Bowl team. Janet had quite a reputation to live up to. Elizabeth competed in this competition every year for Old Vail Middle School. Brent Edwards introduced this event. He is also one of the coaches at another middle school. He went through each team and had them test their buzzers to make sure they were working. When he got to Janet's team and the buzzer worked he said, "I wish YOUR'S didn't work, Toller!"

Charlie sang with his choir.

Janet plays her trumpet.

As you can see, it was a busy day. But so much fun. Anne was also there but mainly participated by turning Mom's pages in the music performances, and cheering everyone else on. Elizabeth spent the day in Phoenix at the State Science Olympiad. (I will blog about that later this week.)

Dead Lizards Don't Blink

2009-02-16T19:13:00.000-07:00

For Family Home Evening tonight we decided to prepare the garden for planting. We had a lot of fun weeding, shoveling, and raking. While Anne was raking she found a lizard that she thought was dead. But as we picked it up and looked at it, he blinked. We realized he was just hibernating. We all debated what to do with him. But after a little "googling" we decided it was best to put him back in the dirt and bury all but his head. We hope he has a good nap by our strawberry plants! Anne named him "Rooty", because he came from the roots. She seems to think that they are now best friends.

There weren't enough rakes to go around. Elizabeth and Anne argued over this one.

They learn sharing is much better than fighting!

Janet wasn't sure she wanted her picture taken.

No Toller family activity would be complete without Morgan (Isabelle's friend) helping out.

Charlie digs up weeds.

Here is Anne explaining how they found the lizard "Rooty". She is a little crazy tonight. But we still love her...

Ready, Aim, Fire....Explode

2009-02-13T19:27:00.000-07:00

Scott and Charlie have an annual tradition of burning all the dead plants from the previous years garden each Spring. Today was the day. Last year we had a jungle of tomato plants, so there was a lot to burn. They have looked forward to burning stuff and acting like "real men." (See the picture.) Upon clearing the garden, they found a lone yellow squash hiding under all the tomato plants. Scott told Charlie to throw it in the fire and we would have cooked squash for dinner. Well.....it didn't quite happen like that. Two hours later, there was quite an explosion. We literally have squash seeds stuck all over our back yard. They also covered Scott. Hmm...very manly. :)

Janet Turns Twelve!

2009-02-09T19:52:00.000-07:00

Janet had a great birthday party on Saturday. Just imagine a bunch of twelve year olds watching and singing Enchanted. (Very loudly!) Can you say Advil? Actually, we had a lot of fun. Janet is excited to be a Beehive and go to Young Women's. She is a great kid! Love you Janet!

Christmas Traditions

2008-12-14T20:13:00.001-07:00

Painting Christmas cookies is one of our family's favorite Christmas traditions.

Anne made a Buddy the Elf and Christmas Ninja

2008-12-14T20:06:00.000-07:00

This year we had our fourth annual Neighborhood Nativity. It was a huge success! We had more people then ever show and up. We all had a great time!

Smiling Kids (Big Happenings!)

2008-11-26T10:07:00.000-07:00

Elizabeth got her drivers license last week. Look out world! She is excited to have her freedom. Mom and Dad are excited to let her drive herself to her many activities. (Check out those COOL wheels!)

Elizabeth was one of eight students that qualified for the AMA's math contest "Who Wants to be a Mathematician." At the competition she took 2nd place. The whole Empire High School Math Club showed up to cheer for her. She truly is a MATH DEMON.

Charlie has discovered electricity. After learning about circuits in school, he told us he wanted to build one. Scott gave him a little direction and the materials. Before we knew it Charlie was in the backyard building a circuit. After some trial and error, he got it to work!

Halloween Costumes

2008-11-02T19:36:00.000-07:00

Anne offered to sew Isabelle a dalmation costume this year. She did a great job! Janet made her own costume! Anne made one for herself. Mom sewed Charlie's Voldemort costume.

That left Elizabeth....She wanted to be Giselle from Enchanted. But I wasn't really sure I was up to that much sewing. So I put her off for quite a while. Finally a week before Halloween everyone had a costume but her, and the "Mom guilt" set in. So off we went to the fabric store. Each day I worked on the costume a little knowing that the night of October 30th I would probably have a lot of work to do. Well that was an underestimation on my part. Thursday night I got the kids to bed and really dug in. I thought I would probably be done between midnight and 1:00 AM. Well, at 6:30 in the morning when Elizabeth was supposed to leave for Seminary I was STILL sewing. I didn't finish until 7:30 when we took a few quick pictures and sent her off to school. I was exhausted.

Was it worth it? Absolutely! The smile on Elizabeth's face made every stitch worth all the time and effort. Some times you just have to sacrifice a little time and sleep as a Mom. It was a morning I will always remember.

One last thing. This was Charlie's program from October 30th. His part was so adorable. The video was taken from behind the piano, where I was, but is still so cute. Right after he said his part they sang "Do You Love Me"!

A Mother/Daughter Trip to Mesa

2008-10-02T09:48:00.000-07:00

Anne and I took a trip to Mesa yesterday. We had so much fun. Unfortunately I forgot my camera! We went to the Mesa Temple, where Annie and I got to do temple work for an ancestor, Christina Levingston. Then we met Cynthia at Joe's BBQ for a great lunch. Lastly, we went and saw Annie's favorite teacher at her old elementary school, Mrs. Montgomery. It was such a great day. I just love having daughters that are my best friends!

Silly Bryan!

2008-09-28T15:08:00.000-07:00

On our last day with cousins. The kids decided it was time to gang up on Uncle Bryan. They jumped on him, dunked him in the pool, tickled him, and did almost anyother thing to wear him out. After a while, everyone calmed down and was just swimming around. However, the little boys decided that we need to have a competition to see who could do the coolest trick off the diving board. Bryan saw Jacob do his backflip and decided that he was going to do one too. Here are the pictures. They are proof that Bryan can't do a backflip!

Cousins: Day 3

2008-09-27T11:50:00.000-07:00

We went to the zoo! Every year we go with Bryan and MaryAlice and have a great time! Our family just seems to fit in there!

Izzie being a monkey!

Rachels bear face!

We were just an inch away from huge Phiranas!

Cousins: Day 2

2008-09-27T11:04:00.000-07:00

We went to Colossal Cave with our cousins. Benjamin made sure to point out every rock formation and tell us all what it looked like to him. We explored the surrounding area and searched for arrowheads and gem stones. We are having lots of fun!

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Rachel and Izzie in front of the cave

Anna loved exploring!

Janet deep down in the Cave!

Anne and Janet in the Cave.

Rachel and Izzie looking for gemstones.

This is Anne with the "only stick with eyeballs!"

Charlie and his treasures!

Cousins: Day 1

2008-09-24T14:10:00.001-07:00

Bryan and MaryAlice got here today. We are having lots of fun with our cousins. They have been driving all night so today is just a hang out/nap day. We went swimming, played some games and watched a movie. Having Fun!

Scrimmage

2008-09-22T13:51:00.001-07:00

Janet played her first soccer scrimmage last Saturday. She plays keeper and forward for the Vail Pumas. Notice that she is wearing her goalie gloves while playing out on the field. We played Ft. Lowell Soccer Club and won!

FOOTBALL!!!

2008-09-22T13:36:00.001-07:00

Izzie and Morgan with the Bobcat.

Diana and Anne during warm-ups.

Cienega's first home game was last Friday. We played Douglas and won 51 to 0! Go Cats! The Copper Thunder Marching Band performed. The show is on youtube, but there was a cross country race going on during the performance and there is a lot of times when people are cheering and you can't hear the band. Here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOUsLKtwf8E

Elizabeth's Surprise "Sweet Sixteen"

2008-08-09T18:32:00.000-07:00

We had a surprise party for Elizabeth. She had been at NASA all morning and came home to a house full of friends. They went swimming, ate hot dogs, cake and ice cream. They played spoons and watched movies. Oh and in case you were wondering... that is a Mars Lander Pinata!

Jazz Band!

2008-08-08T18:37:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone, this is Janet! Just wanted to let you know that I made jazz band! I worked hard on my music and my tone and I made it. I will try to post more about it later but now I am going to watch the Olympics. Bye!

BBQ at the Gambles

2008-08-07T14:27:00.000-07:00

Some people from our stake had a barbeque at their house. They were nice enough to let us ride their horses.

Calvin at the Pool (and Missy)

2008-08-07T14:12:00.000-07:00

Melissa and Calvin came to Tucson. Calvin loved to splash in the pool! We'd love to kidnap him!