Jessica's Party

We were invited to Jessica's 21st birthday party this afternoon. Paul barbequed ribs and corn on the cobb, and Char made delicious fried potatoes and baked a chocolate cake. Jessica planned to go to a movie with friends later on tonight.

Happy Birthday, Jessica

Jessica Nancy Moore turns the big "21" today. Happy Birthday to a wonderful granddaughter. We love you.

The Beauty of Oregon in the Spring

As you can see, I went crazy with my camera trying to capture every blooming thing in Oregon! The beauty of spring in Oregon really is amazing.

A Trip to Oregon

The weather during our stay in Oregon was perfect. We spent some time in the Oregon Gardens.
We took this photo just before we left on Monday morning.

Mike entertained Sully during a preschool graduation for Keaton.
Sully and Keaton love to be silly!
This is a favorite Monster face.
Mommy and Sully enjoy a quiet moment.Keaton loves to color with markers and cut paper into various shapes.

We had a wonderful time in Oregon this weekend visiting with Mike, Patti, Keaton and Sully. It was fun to interact with the kids. Sully can now speak in sentences. We saw Keaton graduate on Thursday evening from his preschool; he will start kindergarten in the fall. They are growing up too fast!

Bryce's Last Game of the Season

The team played well together this afternoon. Bryce did a great job on defense, and his team easily won their game. We celebrated afterwards at Iggy's.

It was fun to use my new camera. I could zoom in to get the close-up shots during the game.

The McKell Family - 1964

I think I am a college freshman in this old family photo--thus the year 1964. Our family only had a couple of family photos taken during our growing up years. Every time I try to organize a family picture in recent years and experience all the hassles of trying to get everyone together at the same time, I look at something like this. Hey, it is definitely worth the bother to preserve family memories!

The Lazy Days of Summer

The end of another school year is fast approaching. I always used to gage my time by the calendar of Jordan School District. By this time of year, I was doggedly counting each day until the last day of school when the students and I could be free!

It has been nine years since I have retired from teaching. The time since then has flown by (unlike the last days of each school year where time dragged by interminably.) I don't miss teaching even one little tiny bit. I don't miss being regulated by a bell during the day. I don't miss trying to interact with 40 students at a time in one class or correcting essays from my 200+ students each year.

I remember the incredible feeling on the last day of school as I walked out of the double doors of Alta High School. Anticipating the long, lazy days of summer always put an extra spring to my steps. As I attended the graduation excercises each year, I felt that I was graduating also, graduating to the summer life that I loved so much.

Rosalie and Connie

These two ladies are my good friends. Their names are Connie Mayer and Rosalie Hunt. Our history together goes back a long way. We met as we moved into our newly-built homes in Sandy 31 years ago. We still stay in touch with each other and so do our oldest daughters (Natalie Peterson, Michele Gledhill, and Marci Leishman).

Two of us no longer live in those same houses, and two of us don't even have the same husbands we had back then! When we get together, however, we still have lots to talk about and remember from days gone by.

I love these ladies and feel very fortunate to have them as my forever friends. I can't think of two nicer people in the whole world than these two.

View From Our Deck

We are happy to have warm weather again so we can spend more time on our back deck. The views are unbelievable!

Mother's Day - 2009

We were lucky to have my nephew Mark and his wife Jami come and eat dinner with us today. They brought my dad up from Spanish Fork. Melanie, Wally, Megan, and Jake were here as well.

We missed Derek (and his mom and dad too). Derek has been sick; we hope he will get better soon.

Nicole Dances

Our talented granddaughter, Nicole, danced today in a stunning performance at Taylorsville High School. She keeps getting better and better every year!

Driggs Moore - Bountiful High School Graduation

Our grandson, Driggs Paul Moore, is graduating from Bountiful High School on June 5th. He is excited about the opportunities ahead for him when he graduates. Next year he will attend Snow College on a scholarship, and then he will serve an LDS mission after that. Life is full of promise for this impressive young man.

Keaton and Sully Having Fun

As you can see, Keaton and Sully are always on the move. Sometimes they stay upright, and other times there is an "oops" and they are down on the ground. They get right up, however, ready for the next adventure. Patti makes sure they are padded well!

My New Camera

I am just showing off here with my new camera. It has a fantastic zoom to it that let me get this photo of the LDS Temple through the window of our bedroom.

I wanted a camera that can zoom in on sports activities, dance recitals, etc. of the grandchildren. It has lots of other advantages over my other camera, and I am going to take some classes to help me figure them out.

I am definitely "impaired " when it comes to learning how to use computers, cameras, etc. This impairment helps me understand students who were in my high school classes who had a hard time understanding some rules of the English language (for instance, how to use apostrophes correctly). I would think to myself, "I don't know why they can't learn this simple concept!" I now understand better that we are all talented in different ways. Most of those same students could easily outperform me with computer ability.

In spite of all my frustrations with technology, I am determined to keep plodding along and trying to make sense of technology.

Childhood Photo of My Mother

My mother's family were lucky to have a professional photographer as a close relative. Otherwise, I wouldn't have this wonderful picture of my mother and her two sisters. Mother is the one on the right.

Mom and Me

A week from today is Mother's Day, and my thoughts recently have been a lot about my mom. The first photo displayed is of my mom and me in 1997 before she had dementia. The second photo is of me at around age three. When I look at this photo of me, I think about my mom.

My mother made the dress I am wearing in the picture. That is impressive to me because it is a beautiful dress with lovely detail. My mother fixed my hair with the curls and braids. She would periodically give me a home permanent to make my straight hair curley.

I think what I am trying to say here is that my mother put forth a lot of effort to make me look nice. I appreciate that, along with a million other things my sweet mother did for me.

I am still missing my mom; it has been one and one-half years since she passed away. Before that, she lived with dementia for ten years. If I go back before my mother's dementia, then I can remmeber her at her best.

My mother gave everything she had to her children. I love and appreciate her more and more with the passing years.