Prom

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

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!

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 :)

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

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

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

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.