Musical Performance

Last night Eliza's little signing group performed at a local nursing home. They did such a good job singing and entertaining. The residents, parents and others who watched thoroughly enjoyed their performance. And their little costumes were adorable. I'm hoping Eliza will volunteer to be our family's "talent" for our family reunion this summer.

Healing Hand

Today was bread baking day at Erin's house. We both enjoy those fun days....and her girls love snitching the unbaked dough! Today was no different. And we have to keep reminding ourselves that we're being productive and not just having a fun time.
It's been almost two weeks since Ellie's fingers were smashed in the door, and as you can tell from the picture, they're healing very nicely. Thank goodness! She still likes to wear a band-aid on them, but I think they're still tender and sore and the band-aid helps protect them a bit. She still won't use them...just holds them out as she plays.

Opening Day of Baseball

Monday night was the opening day for Diamondbacks baseball....and also for our grandson, Matthew. He plays on the Defenders team. This is his first year playing on a "kid" pitch team. In the past, he's played t-ball and coach pitch. So this year is a learning year for sure. He did great, though. He started off playing center field, but there wasn't a lot of action there. The coach later brought him in to play third base...and lots more action there! Most of the runs on both teams were scored as players "stole" bases when the opposing team would overthrow the ball to another base. And there games are LONG. They play for a full two hours. Whew! But it was fun to watch Matt and we look forward to seeing the improvement of all the players.


Emma enjoyed being silly, visiting the snack bar and cheering on Matt's team!

Luncheon

On Monday, my friend, Jan, invited me to a luncheon with her scrapbooking group in Sun City Grand. It was delightful! Each table was hosted by a member of the group and it was up to the hostess to determine the theme of her table. I have to tell you....there were some very creative ladies there. Jan chose to do her table using Mother Goose and Little Golden Books. She recruited me and Gwen ahead of time to alter a few Little Golden Books. What fun that was! And Jan acquired lots of stuffed animals, beautiful dolls and other Mother Goose items to embellish her table. It was gorgeous. They served chicken and ham salad for lunch. And each hostess was also responsible for the dessert at her table. Jan recruited her daughter, Kirsten Mor, who has a restaurant in Surprise with her husband, Snir. It is a wonderful place to eat, by the way! Their restaurant is called Amuse Bouche and is located just west of the 101 freeway and Bell Road. Kirsten made a dessert called Mille-feuille, which in French means a thousand leaves. Basically, it's layers and layers of delicate pastry with a rich cream filling between the larger layers. YUM!!! Jan provided each of her guests with a favor bag which consisted of a Little Golden Book suited to each person and a bag full of ephemera to use as they construct their own altered book. What a fun day!! Thanks, Jan!
There were at least twice as many tables as shown here, but unfortunately, my camera battery died!! Oops!
I made the "We Help Mommy", "We Help Daddy", and one of the Mother Goose books. I have a feeling we'll be teaching a class soon!

Catching Up

I'll try to get caught up with this post. We had our taxes done (finally) last week. It is always such a relief to have them done. I stress over them way more than I should, but I can't help it. We always get a refund, so I'm not sure why the worry. But it's done for another year.
Saturday morning was soccer games. Dallin was the only one who ended up playing this week. Abby had her hurt toe and Eliza came down with strep. Hopefully, next week will be better. I'm thinking Abby may be out for a couple of weeks....at least until her stitches come out.
This weekend was general conference. It was fun to see who the new general authority would be. It's Elder Neil Andersen, but I'd never heard of him before. He'll be great, I'm sure. I always enjoy listening to the talks and the directives given by our church leaders. It seemed that there were three general themes this year--strengthening our faith and resolve to live the gospel, serving others and always being worthy to attend the temple...and then going!!
President Monson's advice at the end of the last session was good. It was about the internet and cell phones. Basically he said that technology is a good thing when it is used for the right purposes, but people oftentimes use them for such things as pornography. It's sad that he even has to mention that. It's something I just don't understand (why people do it) and he made special emphasis on the youth and their use of technology. Personally, I feel that parents should be more involved in their kids' lives and play a bigger role as their parents instead of always wanting to be their "friend". For instance, parents have the capability to totally block the sending and receiving of pictures on their cell phones, but they not only don't block it, but allow their kids to have internet access even on their cell phones. Kids just don't need that access anyway. Ok, off my soapbox.
Have a great week....it's Easter week. Time to focus on the Savior...President Uchtdorf and Elder Holland gave especially good talks about Christ. I can't wait to read them when them come out.

Yum!

Erin and I had a fun morning/day today. We decided to make cinnamon rolls for breakfast during General Conference. We made a total of six dozen....three dozen each. Erin shared some of hers with the families she visit teaches. I shared mine with Dan and Brian and their families. I have to say, those are delicious cinnamon rolls. Of course, Mark and I had to sample one tonight....we couldn't wait for breakfast! We did our usual recipe, but decided to make the icing with cream cheese. Yum! That will become our "new" icing for cinnamon rolls. We spent the morning and part of the afternoon finishing up. Then Mark and I spent the rest of the day making our deliveries. I hope the boys and their families enjoy them.
Tomorrow is week two of soccer games. Poor Abby....won't be able to play for at least a couple of weeks. I have to say, though, she has had a terrific attitude about the whole injured toe situation. Way to go, Abby.
I got to see Ellie's fingers today and they're REALLY getting better. I think that by this time next week, she won't have any bandages anymore and she'll be pretty much back to normal.
Next week starts Matt's baseball games. We're excited to be able to go down to watch as many games as we can. Go, Matthew!!
This weekend is General Conference. I always look forward to conference weekend and it's always a let down when it's over. I'm sure this one will be no different. I got me a notebook to take some notes. And I plan to attend Ladies' Night at least for a little while.

Another Sad Accident

Lest you think we are an accident prone family....let me assure you, we aren't. But this past week has had its share of accidents. Today while at school, Abby was the victim. Brian had just picked her up from the after school program and he sent her back to his room to wait while he did his afternoon duty. He was in the front of the school and she was going in the side door to the office. Just as she was opening the door to go in, another young lady was opening the door to come out. Abby's big toe on her left foot caught the wrath of the big metal door. It tore back her toenail. Abby immediately let out quite a scream and started crying....LOTS! I'm sure the poor girl who opened the door felt horrible. When she saw the great amount of blood and the state of Abby's toe, she immediately picked her up and transported Abby to the nurse's office. I think the girl must have been in 7th or 8th grade. She did the right thing. The nurse went right to work and as she was trying to get the bleeding to stop, her nail fell totally off. They called Brian to the office and he was met with a very unhappy daughter. They rushed off the their pediatrician's office and he sent them to an pediatric urgent care center. They said that she needed stitches, so they sent them on to the hospital. There she was washed up and stitched up. She was VERY brave during the whole ordeal. She was to have a field trip to the zoo tomorrow, but she won't be going. Too much on her feet. I'm grateful that we had recently made a trip to the zoo, so it won't be quite so painful for Abby to miss.