Audrey in Finding Nemo

 Audrey recently played the part of Mr. Ray in Finding Nemo at her school.  She loved being in this play.  We got to watch her via video stream.  

Audrey with two friends from the play.  They were carpool buddies.

Pictures from the video.  They look a bit watery, but we actually could see and hear it really well.

She had a couple of solos and did great.

Great job Audrey!!

The Joke is On You

 Blake recently took his dental team to a convention.  At the concluding black-tie dinner, he wore his swimming suit with his tuxedo top to play a joke on his team.  But the joke backfired when he was called up to win a special but unexpected award.  Oops!

Kristen and Sara Meet

 Kristen and her cousin have lived about 45 minutes from each other for the last few years, but both are busy with big families and just haven't got together until recently.  Kristen drove down and they went to lunch together and got caught up.  They, along with Shonna, were roommates at BYU many years ago.  They figured it had been 20 years since they had seen each other!  They vowed to not let it be that long again and set a date for a cousin reunion in the summer.

March Family Book club

 We met online for our March family book club.  We discussed the book The Lost Year by Katherine Marsh.  It is a powerful book about a part of history I knew nothing about.  We all really appreciated this book and had a great discussion about it.

We so enjoy this special time with our daughters.  Our next book is Crucial Conversations by Kerry Patterson.

Spring Has Sprung

 The other evening, Ken took me downtown to introduce me to two almond trees that are over 100 years old.  He told me that they were on his way to work and in the spring he would stop and get out of the car just to smell them before going on to work.  That is what we did:  Got out and smelled that beautiful scent and took a few pictures.  I wish I could post the smell!  

We Begin at the End

 

We Begin at the End by Chris Whitaker
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Fiction. Physical Book.
I’m missing this beautiful book on my TBR shelf. Let me just tell you that my TBR shelf (holds about 50 books) is my happy place. I smile every time I walk by it. And I’m missing seeing this beautiful cover on there. But that’s neither here nor there; let’s talk about the book.
Chris Whitaker has a very different and interesting writing style. He presents situations and then goes back and explains them. Like me, just now, that’s hard to explain. But you’ll see what I mean when you read this book. This is a sad story of a 13-year-old girl, Duchess Day Radley, outlaw, who pretends to be tough and who suffers great loss. She is a fierce and loving protector of her little brother. She cares for him as a mother would. But to everyone else she puts on a tough face. She is a powerful and unforgettable character. The other characters in the book are also so real and so well-written. The gripping plot keeps you turning the pages. Language is an issue, bringing my rating down to 3 stars.


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My Teacher Says I Need to Take a Shower

Now those are words no parent wants to hear!  Lisi announced that the second she got home from Kindergarten one day. Then she went on to explain that many children had the "Kindergarten flu" and so all of the children should shower as soon as they got home from school to wash off any virus that may be clinging to their skin or clothes.  Later, Kristen got an email from the school saying that the flu was hitting the school hard and everyone should take precautions and monitor their children carefully before sending them to school.

Luckily Lisi didn't get sick.

This is a picture of Lisi recently on her sixth birthday.

Miss Benson's Beetle

 

Miss Benson's Beetle by Rachel Joyce
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Historical Fiction. Physical Book.
This book was not what I expected when I picked it up to read it. I thought it would be about two women going on an adventure and becoming the best of friends. I guess that is what it is, but it SO much more. I learned to love both women and appreciate the horrific backgrounds they were trying to overcome. Though complete opposites, I loved how they came to appreciate, support, and love each other. This was a well-written memorable novel. 4 stars from me.


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Happy Birthday Grandpa!

 William sent this darling birthday card to Ken.  He is seven years old.

The Flu Took Us Out

Ken came home from our cruise with what we thought was just a cold.  But then I came down with it and got really sick.  I had fever and chills as well as the classic symptoms.  We were both sick the whole next week, taking us out of a lot of things that we love and hated to miss:

Tuesday:  We had to get substitutes for our temple sealing assignments.  We hate to miss that.

Wednesday:  I couldn't go to Keynote rehearsal which I love.  

We were supposed to leave after Keynotes to go to Salt Lake City.  We were going to watch Jaron play in his ballgame that evening. 

Friday:  We had tickets to attend Beauty and the Beast that evening.  Gabbi was playing the part of the Enchantress, as well as several other parts.  We were so excited to see her.

Saturday:  We were planning to leave Salt Lake Saturday morning to get home in time to attend my sister Pam's 80th birhtday party here in St. George.  Man, we hated to miss that.  It would have been so fun to see all of her family and be part of that big celebration.

Sunday:  Our primary was singing in sacrament meeting.  I play the piano for the Primary.  I had to get a substitute.

That afternoon, we had an appointment with the couple that we  ministers to.  We LOVE to go to their home each month.  They are working so hard to get active in the church and to go to the temple.  Ken was feeling better enough to keep the appointment and teach the last preparation lesson on the Melchizedek priesthood (we had already cancelled the Sunday before because Ken was sick and hated to hold up their progress.)  Our friend Dean went with him.  I felt so sad to miss it!

I started going out a bit on Tuesday and Wednesday, but still was quite congested and coughing.  But, as you can see, that mean old flu or Covid or whatever it was took us out of some very special important things.😢   I have a few pictures of the above events that others sent me:

Gabbi in Beauty and the Beast:

When we saw this picture, both of us thought our Gabbi looked so much like our Michelle.  This was her role as the Enchantress.

She had several roles- as a townsperson

And dancer.

And she was a dancing napkin.

Dang she's cute.  We sure hated to miss this.

 

Be our guest!

After play hugs from her brother.

It was hard to get a picture of her beautiful Enchantress costume, so they got it after.

We were grateful Pam and Roger posted some pictures of Pam's big bash.  How we hated to miss it!

Pam and Roger's family.

I love my sister Pam.  She has always been one of my heroes.  She certainly doesn't look 80 years old!