Eagle Court of Honor

If you haven't taken us off your places to check... It's only been a month (okay, almost 2)David has now received his Eagle Scout award. The ceremony was great. The Gwilliam relatives were represented by Chris and Bob, Anne and Kevin, and Grandma Gloria. The Wallet relatives were represented by Grandma Rhoda, and she came the farthest. Glad to have everyone who came and made the day more special for David.

We also had many friends and neighbors join us. The high school drumline played for us and the program went smoothly.

When it was all over, there was a surprise for David arranged by his father. David's cousin, Justin Gwilliam is a pilot and set up with a friend to meet Bruce and David at the Ogden airport for a flight. The surprise was on Bruce though because Murphy's law took effect so the flight didn't happen until the next Saturday. It was great fun and huge thanks to Justin and friend.

Homecoming!

The Marching Band led the Homecoming Parade! If you look carefully after the saxophones, as the snare drums come past, David is closest to me.

The parade was on Thursday and the dance was on Saturday. David and his buddy Connor (who goes to the rival H.S. took Melissa (blonde, from Connor's school) and Kelly (from David's school)

Vacation, Part 2

One of my favorite things to do is watch wild critters. I went on a little boat to see the seals at Catalina Island. There were several "rafts" of them. They tie into kelp beds to sleep and raise their flippers to keep cool. One came to the boat to sight see back at us.

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Our ship "Monarch of the Seas". The black rectangle is a tarp that protects the ship from the fumes of the ferry boats that we rode in to the island

In Ensenada, Mexico...
This is "La Bufadora" which the guide told us means, Buffalo Snort. Cute, huh! Chelley and Lorraine saw it from the top, Bruce and David kayaked to it and enjoyed that very much. It sprayed way high to us at the top so it must have seemed way huge from sea level.

Chelley and Lorraine enjoying the Pacific Ocean at La Bufadora.

Chelley's Photos

Our hotel room veiw. It's Disney's California Adventure.
The movie/t.v. studio
Park jumper pass Big bear rock in California Adventure
Mommy and Chelley talked to Crush!
Shamu rocks in San DiegoCatalina Island 1

Catalina Island 2

Catalina Island 3

towel Elephant

Bunny Rabbit

Vacation Part 1

Well, we've been home long enough for me to get my pictures on the computer. Now let's see if I can get them here. We went to California, driving all night so that we got there too early to check into our room so we took a little L.A. tour. Chelley got some good pictures of the studios we passed. They sure looked fun with murals and giant posters of their t.v. shows and movie characters. Our main goal on this sight-seeing expedition was to find the Hollywood sign. Success! This was the closest we could get to it. Went back to the hotel, but on the way we found this...

It's our Tiffy! Missed you Tiff.

Anyhow, our room was great and looked out over "California Adventure" park. We didn't spend a lot of time there, tho. Too much else to see and do. Disney World was great and we had lots of time to see everything we wanted to.

In TomorrowLand, David and I both got to try the Segway.

David also got to play with the electric instruments in the idea house.

Memories

I got this from my cute niece Katy. I love how creative she is and when I grow up I want to be just like her.

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you.It's actually pretty cool (and funny) to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you.

Time

Well, it's finally here! Within moments (okay a couple of hours) we'll be piling into the car, destination Disney. When we get back, I'll have lots of stories and pictures to share. Until then; take care, be good, and remember we love you :-)

2 Weeks and Counting!

Just 2 weeks from now, Bruce and Lorraine and Chelley and David will be on their adventure! We've been shopping, planning, and getting just a little excited and impatient. 14 days from right now we'll be at Disney. Woo Hoo!

While we're waiting.... Chelley and David are both working their legs off. David has progressed to 4 to 5 shifts at the movie theater and getting in good with the manager :-) . Chelley has been working 6 days per week because even tho the salon where she works is understaffed, they are still expected to help the other understaffed salons in the chain. She doesn't love that policy. Oh well.

Bruce had his annual trip to Lockport, NY for the company golf outing. Hot and humid as usual. I have started a new quilt project. I learned a little about it in a Relief Society "special interest group". We met for just over a year and made some little wall hangings and then 2 real quilts. This is my first without an instructor helping so I picked a simple pattern. I enjoy choosing the different colors and patterns. This one has 22 different fabrics. I'll post a picture when I get the top assembled. Right now I have 7 strips of blocks completed. Aren't I talented? I bake and sew, but I don't run.

What Am I Doing? (again)

Well, Bruce's family blogs and my family facebooks so now I have access to both. Ha ha! I'm figuring out blogging, but I can't really do anything with the facebook yet. Chelley has been handling it for me and I just read what comes. Oh well. :-) I do like scrabble and cocoa.

My Week

Tiffany complained that I don't update often enough. I'll try to do better, but no promises. BTW this is Lorraine again.

You already know we were in Florida this month. We've been thinking and speaking of my long-time friend Cheri who lives in the Orlando area with her husband, 5 kids, and menagerie. Cheri and I have been good friends since 1973. Yes we're old. We met the first day of 9th grade and have been friends ever since, even though years often pass between visits. My most recent visit with Cheri was last summer when she came here to bring her 2nd son to the M.T.C. Anyhow, Cheri called me on Tuesday because she had been thinking of me :-). Her oldest son was in Utah last week. We had a very fun conversation for an hour and 10 minutes. TGI unlimited cell phone time!

Today, I had lunch with another friend I hadn't visited with for 2 years. We met at a restaurant and talked long after we were done with our meals. We outlasted the "lunch" crowd and were the only ones there (that don't work there) by the time we separated. We talked about kids, church, books, work.....
How thankful I am for people who care about me, and enjoy things I enjoy, and are interesting and interested. I have all of that with my sweetheart of course, but I'm definitely a girly girl and need friend connections as well.

Look What My Mommy Can Do!

By the way this is Chelley...

I just made Mommy a Facebook! Now my Mommy can fit in. If you have a Facebook you should add her so she can have tons of friends and be Awesome!
Thanks A Ton~ Chelley G.

Home at Last!

So glad to finally be home. It was good to be with my Florida family, but I missed my home family, especially my honey.

Florida: I was glad to have some time with my"sister" Linda who was there from San Diego to be with Mom and Bill after he was put in hospice care. Here are the two of us in the family room.

After Bill passed from this life we gathered at mother's house for a celebration of our life with him.
On the couch are my neice Jessica, her dad - my brother Rich, and my sister Linda. In the mirror are me in the pink shirt and Colleen (brother Mike's wife)in the chair. We enjoyed good company, good food, and good music. Mother played Bill's jazz recordings.

When I got home, after unpacking and recovering a little, I made bread. I really do make it from scratch. My Florida family seemed to have a hard time picturing it so I decided to help....

This is the wheat that gets ground in the grinder

( the round white thing), then gets mixed with other stuff in the mixer - except for what jumps out onto me - for a long noisy time,

then gets put in the pans, baked and comes out like this.

Good News and Sad News

The good news first: David is now the proud owner of a new Old car.

He saved and payed $800 for it. All His! It even passed safety and emissions inspections. Now all he needs is his full license.

Sad news. My dad is going into Hospice Care. He has pancreatic cancer. I'm leaving tomorrow morning to be with my mom . Please keep my family in your prayers. Thanks.

Well, Rats!

Well, rats! I got a new camera so I could take pictures and put them here, but unfortuately, the learning curve is slow. I got wonderful pictures of our Mother's Day visits with Gloria and Anne at their house and with Tiff and Ty at my house. I took video of David playing in his percussion ensemble concert. Then I downloaded them. Now I can't find them. I can find the pictures I just put on this morning though. Here's David's eagle project site:

The project will be done tomorrow morning. David and his group will be cleaning and painting this bridge and gates at a fishing pond.

Bruce will help me later to see if we can retrieve the missing stuff.

LHS Band

Exciting stuff! David is a percussionist with our High School Band and last week was regional festival. The band went, played well, and qualified for State Festival for the first time EVER! It's not a young school so that's big! I got a c.d. that has a song done by the percussion ensemble on it (with David playing the marimba) and it's fun stuff. As Tiffany says, "a shout out" to David and the school band.

Look at this!

Look what I can do! This picture came from my phone and for the record, the date is 31 March and spring started over a week ago! Who lives here in Utah and isn't tired of the snow this year? On the other hand, we need it, but it's still gotten tiresome.

Tagged

I got tagged by eldest daughter Tiffany and that means I'm supposed to say 6 things about me? Okay, here goes:

1. I've been ward choir director for FOREVER! I'm about to lose my 4th accompanist but not until after our Easter non-program. We're only doing 3 songs because I was too busy teaching a hard song for ward conference last month to think about a program.

2. I am a graduate of North Miami Beach High School in south Florida class of 1978. That means I'm really old compared to most of my friends here.

3. Bruce and I are enjoying 27th anniversaries this year. 15 February was our first date, and 16 March was our engagement. On July 17 we'll be married 27 years. As a favorite comic strip says, "22 wonderful years and 5 that were just okay."
--- Coming up with 6 things about me is hard -----

4. My neighbors were discussing concerts they had been to as kids/teens and I realized that my first concert wasn't until I was 20. My mom didn't allow concerts of the pop/ rock variety (they were very dangerous in Miami). I went to symphony, ballet, even opera, but never a concert.

5. Like my oldest daughter, I too cry at american idol. I also cry for hallmark commercials.

and finally,
6. Despite being terrified of public speaking, I love being a substitute teacher for the Jr. and High schools in our area. I tell the kids it's because I live to torture teenagers. I do generally only teach classes I can help so that means music and art, Language arts and social studies. I never teach math and seldom science. If a subject uses numbers, all I'm good for is crowd control.

Okay, I'm done! Now I get to tag someone else..... how about my cute niece Katy Forsberg. Remember, you have to tell about you, not your kids.

By the way, I finished this on 27 March but the post date is the day I started it.

We're productive

Well, we're all productive members of society now. I'm still working as a substitute teacher at the local jr. high and high schools, Bruce has his work that takes him on the road rarely now, Chelley is settled in at SuperCuts and getting good tips in addition to her hourly pay, and David has a job at the local movie theater currently in concessions. By the way, the caption on this picture is "working hard?"

David is still enjoying his percussion lessons and getting ready for his first band trip. They're going (big time) to Idaho for a 3 day trip the end of the month. Chelley is working full time and dating a cute boy named Landon.

With all this productivity, we are planning a fun vacation for this summer. Bruce and Lorraine will be going to Ft. Lauderdale for our niece Stephanie's Bat Mitzvah the end of August but school will already be started so we can't take the kids, so we decided that we will all go to California on August 1st. We'll start with Disney Land and then go on a little cruise. We're all really excited and just wish we didn't have to wait so long.

Happy Valentine's Day

Well, Tiffany said I should open this to anyone so you can get it from her links. (Is that right?) I can't figure out yet how to see who's been looking at it so if someone will take pity on me and clue me in, I'd appreciate it.
Chelley's almost done with her training for her new job. Learning about cutting hair the "SuperCuts" way as well as commuting through rush hour traffic in bad weather.
David is almost done with basketball season. No he doesn't play basketball, he's in the pep band. Last week he got to participate in a 3 school band concert with his school, Syracuse High (a new school just opened this year), and Jordan High. Each group played 3 songs then everyone played one together. Over 150 instruments on stage at once. The music was awsome.
I had a new adventure last week, "babysitting" a math class. The students were good natured about my inabilities and worked well together. Bruce has been in California this week enjoying the sun while we froze.

bits and pieces

Chelley just finished her last day at her old salon. Monday she starts at a salon that will actually pay her for being there. In 2007 our ward had no funerals, realized and commented on by our bishop when preparing for his "State of the Ward" talk. So it's his fault we've already had 2 this year. Last week my visiting teaching companion passed away unexpectedly. Her funeral was on Wednesday and was very nice, but her husband (our home teacher and choir president) still seems somewhat stunned. Love your loved ones.

What are we doing?????

We have no idea what we're doing here. Chelley and I were told that we need a family blog so just do it. So, here we are for what it's worth. Some time, we'll find pictures and stuff to add but right now I don't have anything on this computer and don't know how to put them on. Wait, Chelley found the digital camera. Wonder if there's anything on it?