School Spirit

How far would you go to show your school spirit? Would you go to school dressed like this?

I think some of us would; after all, many of those 60's styles are back in fashion. However, I'd bet that few of us would dare to go looking like THIS:

This was for crazy hair day - and yes, that is a flower pot (styrofoam) that is under Krissia's hair. She paid one of the students from CEU's cosmetology program to come and do it for her. It worked - she won the overall prize for the day :)

This is what her hair looked like when she took everything out

Afterwards, Krissia's hair was so stiff with paint and hairspray that it felt like you could take a strand and snap it right off. It took just as long to "undo" the hairdo as it did to put it together!

Prom Pics

I've had several inquiries about prom pictures; Bronson's group wanted to save money, so they went over to Rachel's house after the promenade and had her dad snap some photos. The pictures aren't professional, but they sure are fun. The theme was "Viva Las Vegas" and the kids had a great time playing the part.


Here's the official group photo


Viva Las Vegas gangsta style


The boys are showing off Rachel's father's firearm collection


Doesn't Bronson look happy!

Mother's Day

Let me begin by saying I absolutely LOVE being a mother. There is a depth to my soul and facets to my life that have been added to by my experiences as a mother, and I have gained a greater appreciation for and understanding of my Heavenly Father and his love for me. I feel that I have been doubly blessed, as I have been sent wonderful children to guide, love, and care for.



I have to admit that I always didn't feel this way; enjoying motherhood was something I had to grow into. Luckily, I've had several wonderful role models to help me along the way. My own mother and DEl's mother are both incredible women who have successfully raised large families and still show their love and devotion to their loved ones through constant service to their children and grandchildren. My grandmothers have also provided positive examples for me; I am so grateful for the amazing heritage I've had and can only hope that I will continue the wonderful tradition of maintaining a strong family.

I just wanted to leave you with something I wrote for my mother several years ago; may the Lord bless all of you in your endeavors on this very special day.

A MOTHER'S PRAYER

Lord, may my home be full of light and love
Where harmony unfurls its wings, I pray;
And souls express the teachings from above
Reflected through my actions day by day.

And let this home withstand the Tempter's lies -
A shelter from the world's stormy seas.
For as I gaze into my newborn's eyes,
Revealed are echoes of eternity.

And if that child walks through a darkened hour -
especially should they stray, or even fall;
Help, guide, protect that spirit mine through birth!
Please be there, Lord, through inspiration's power
As I perform the greatest work of all -
The duty of an angel here on earth.

Putting My Best Foot Forward

That's what I would be doing right now if I HAD a best foot.

I visited a podiatrist in Utah County yesterday, and it appears that I have two bum feet. I've had a bunion on my right foot since high school and it's been giving me some trouble lately, which prompted the doctor's appointment. It's going to require surgery in the next year or two; I was okay with that diagnosis because I had pretty much figured that out on my own.

My left heel has really been bothering me the past few weeks, so I decided to have the doctor take a look at it since I was already at the office. He decided to take X-rays "just in case". Surprise!! I have a bone chip the size of a large fingernail floating around in there. Apparently, I broke my heel at some point (the doctor said it's been at least 5 years ago) and since I didn't get it treated, it didn't heal (or should I say heel, lol) right. He thinks that some scar tissue formed around the bone chip, anchoring it in place, and that I've done something recently that caused the tissue to detach and allow the bone chip to begin moving around again. This is something that will need to be fixed pretty soon; we're looking at the beginning of next month, when the kids are out of school and can help me with Mathison.

As we were discussing surgery options, Del suggested that I get BOTH feet operated on at the same time and "just get it over with". He changed his mind when I pointed out that he'd have to take at least a couple of weeks off of work to push me around in a wheelchair - not to mention run the household as I would be basically bedridden until both feet healed :)

Bronson's Big Day

I received a HUGE surprise 11 days ago when I received a text from Bronson at school telling me that he was going to ask a girl to Prom. A couple of hours later, he sent another text with the exclamation, "She said YES!" You can imagine how eager I was to ask Bronson who he was taking to Prom and how he'd asked her. It turns out that she likes to read, and he slipped her a book with a note inside. That was so Bronson! The girl's name is Rachel, and Bronson met her in Debate class.

We decided to buy Bronson his first suit instead of renting a tux. He and Del made a trip into Provo and found an awesome suit. We already had a tux shirt and ended up renting a vest and tie that matched Rachel's dress.

Bronson pulled another surprise on me by announcing that he offered our house as the meeting spot for the group day date! This is only the second time this year that he's invited anyone over to our house, and this is quite a milestone for his improvement in his social skills.

The day before Prom, Bronson drove Rachel home to see where she lived and to meet her parents. Rachel's dad ended up showing Bronson his firearm collection :) I guess that Rachel is the youngest of 5 girls, and their father has the tradition of showing all the girls' dates his guns! Luckily, Bronson thought it was funny.

Last Saturday afternoon, 5 couples showed up (all from the debate team) to hang out downstairs. They played pool, air hockey, and all sorts of video games. Judging from the sound level, they had a great time! After the girls went home to get in their dresses, two of the guys stayed here to get ready.

Doesn't Bronson look handsome? I don't have any pictures of Bronson and Rachel; we didn't see her again after she'd left to get ready, and it was all I could do to get Bronson to let me take these pictures :)

At 5 p.m. Bronson picked Rachel up for dinner and was reminded by Rachel's father that he keeps his guns fully loaded. After dinner, the kids participated in the promenade (Bronson wouldn't let us come), had pictures, then went back to the dance. When Prom was over, Bronson took Rachel to Sonic for some ice cream.

When Del asked Bronson the next morning if he'd kissed Rachel, Bronson said no. However, he did admit to holding her hand :)

Way to go, Bronson!

A Popular Guy

This past week has been rather busy as it was finals and graduation for CEU. There seemed to be banquets every night, and on the occasions I was able to attend it was fun to see Del interact with his co-workers and students. It was obvious that he has made a positive impact on those around him in his short time on the CEU campus.

My observation proved correct during the Honors Banquet held Friday night, where Del won a special award. The Student Association gives out two special awards each year: one to an outstanding professor, the other to an outstanding staff member. The students chose Del as the outstanding staff member this year! This is quite an accomplishment, especially since it is only his first year at this campus. Del was quite surprised and pleased to be singled out for this honor.