DHMS 1st Quarter Band Concert

First quarter came to an end before they had a chance to perform.  What a better time than Halloween to have the first concert of the year.

Finding their seats

Leader of the group

Snapping a picture before the other kids sit down.

I can no longer see him.

8th Grade Concert Band

They sounded pretty good after only a couple of months of working together.  2 songs were all they played for this concert.  The percussion group played next with a couple of numbers.  It was a short & sweet time together to enjoy the music.  Next concert is scheduled for December.

Happy Creepy Birthday

Dave's big day arrived bright and early on a Saturday morning.  He is not one for much celebrating but we force him to each year.  Today was no exception...

Checking out the car show at Dixie Tech.

Not many cars this year.

COVID strikes again.

How about a scary drive through the car wash.  Checking out Tag-n-Go for a spooky time.

Just waiting for us to arrive.

Oops they forgot to 

lock their doors.

DAD!!! are ours locked?

Money Please

Creepy Clown

Mimicking all your movements.

Zombie mom with baby.

Does she look familiar?

Everyone was a little scared or maybe more creeped out by the zombie creatures prowling around.  It was a good way to have some Halloween fun.

The tallest Rylee will ever be.

Blake & Julie visiting

for Dave's birthday.

Of course Dave showing off his latest joke or meme on his iPad.

It was a good day to have a break and try to celebrate the great guy in our family.  We look forward to another year full of crazy ideas and adventures.

Snap Shots of the Week

 This week has been another busy and challenging one.  Monday dawned bright and early first day back from vacation.  No school for Ryder & Reganne the rest of us were back to work.  

Picture courtesy of Ryder

He loves trying different menu items at Culver's.

The cheese curds were really good.

Courtesy of Grandma JeanAnn

Grandpa Chris is still in the hospital and not doing very well.  He is not improving from COVID pneumonia and maybe time for family decisions.  Grandpa didn't make it through the day.   He is now free from pain and many issues of dementia.  Grandma came home to treats and a heart attack on her doorstep.  Her neighbors and ward members have been wonderful to her.  All the phone calls, visits, and treats have made this a little easier.

We have another busy week ahead of us.  We are excited to get together with everyone in the coming weeks.

Fall Break: Day 4 Hollywood Blvd

 We can't leave Los Angeles with a trip to Hollywood Blvd and the BT21 Store.  Rylee & Ruston found an easier way home with one of the pilots Rylee works with.  Everyone could spread out and get comfortable as we made our way to Hollywood.

oWe always get here too early and have to wait.

Checking out the different stuff we could possibly buy or not.

Hollywood Walk of Fame

It looks really empty for a weekend.

Reganne is in heaven!!

We made it to her favorite store.

Ryder even found something 

interesting to look at.

Woman on a mission!!

She found what she wanted on this trip. 

Paid for it and was ready to head home.

Begging for a new picture.

Maybe a selfie + masks 

could become my new wallpaper.

Getting ready for the Eternal's premier

that would be held later this week.

The crowds are still really light and it is really clean.

Even the mall was really quiet.

I do believe that Dave is ready to head towards home.

Exhausted!!

WAIT a minute!!!

That foot came out of nowhere.

Thankfully, this missed my head.

We headed towards home with a stop in Barstow Raisin Cains for lunch.  Thank goodness we no longer had to wear masks and breath fresh air.   Reganne woke up briefly to ask if we were still in California.  Yes we are.  She went back to sleep.

We made it home, unpacked, and cleaned up.  I believe everyone had a great time but glad to be home.   It's back to school and work for everyone.

Fall Break: Day 3 Universal Studios

 We are ready for another day at the park.  We had all our documents loaded and ready to show for entrance.  The employees were also prepared and ready to quiz everyone coming into the park.  Judging by the crowds it was going to be a packed day.  Lucky for us we were prepared and sailed through.  We headed in the opposite direction from yesterday.  Let's try A Pet's Life.

Is this all there is?

Mask in the upright position.

Today you must have one on at all times.  If eating or drinking you allowed one bite, pull up your mask.

Trying for a cute picture.

Dave just had to photo bomb it.

We missed this ride the first go around.

Or so we thought.

Once we were seated the memories came flooding back.

No drops for Reganne but lots of motion.

I don't like drops or fast movements.

She stuck it out and tried to have fun.

We had a fun day along with the hundreds of other visitors.  Disneyland maxed out this weekend so everyone without a reservation headed over.  Everyone was tired and a little hungry.  Tomorrow we are headed back home.

The view from out window

Looked quiet and peaceful oh how wrong it was.

Fall Break Day 2 Universal Studios

Everyone was up early and ready to head to the park.  We weren't sure of what to expect in getting inside the park.  We were however, prepared!!!

Follow the people

They surely knew where they were headed.

We made inside!!

The gates didn't give much attention to all the paperwork.  If it looked like you

had everything they pushed you through.

Wearing masks inside, outside, vaccinated or not were required.  They were no joking matter with the employees inside the park.

Taking a break in a quiet spot.

It took me a few minutes to find her.  I wasn't looking down.

The Harry Potter ride did her in for awhile.

Me too, if only I could stop spinning.

Studio Tours

Everyone was in line as well as most of the park.

Reganne even joined us on this one.

No Drops!!

Lunch at Johnny Rockets

Good hamburgers, yummy shakes, and a place to sit.

Time for the afternoon of rides.

Jurassic Part

Dave, Ryder, and Ruston

Rylee found a shady spot.

Pulled up a piece of cement by a planter to wait.

 It was a good day with only a few rides left for tomorrow.   It's dark, we are tired, and need some food.  Everyone was ready to go to be bed early.

Hopefully tomorrow will be as much fun as today.

Fall Break Day One

Beverly Hills Sign

As show on TV.

Well there was another wrinkle in our travel plans.  One more test required to cover Saturday's visit to the park.  After multiple transfer I finally made it to the business offices at Universal Studios to promptly being told that yes another test was required for all non vaccinated guests.  Also reservations were required for the Costco Tickets we had.  Lucky for me there was space available for both days.  I am positive my family would have killed me at this point if we couldn't go.

9:30 we were ready to hit the road.  Everyone was negative that needed to be.  We had gas, goodies, vaccine cards, and tickets to the park.  We all found our seats and settled in for a 7 hour drive.

One minor problem the address they sent me which I promptly programmed into Google Maps. It was the business office not the condo.  I quickly found the correct address and programmed it into the ap.  It was another hour before we found our place.  The detour took us thru some rough areas of LA with more homeless tents in every direction.  

We made it, unloaded, and ready to find dinner.  We went for a walk and discovered not much around.  No large grocery stores but corner markets instead.  The clerk told us not to give money to homeless milling around outside.  Please don't encourage them we don't want them in this area.  Lucky for us we didn't see anyone on the walk back.

Time to get some rest so the fun could begin in the morning.

New Normal Vacation Prep

 Two years since our last vacation and all the reasons for not traveling are still in place.  We decided to give it a chance and travel to California.  We still have 2 days on our Universal Studio Passes from 2019 and only 2 months left to use them.

Taking a deep breath and moving forward with packing.  One week before the website informs us that a negative test or vaccine card is required for entry.  What type of test will they accept?  What if they don't pass?  Many phone calls to customer service gave a few answers but more were soon to follow.  Ryder wasn't considered fully vaccinated since it had only been a week since the final dose.

Tuesday morning bright and early we headed to the TestUtah site at Tech Ridge (the old airport parking lot).  It is a very dark parking lot with a faint light glowing in the distance.  Trying to make our way slowly through the orange cones winding us around until the light got brighter.  I didn't flatten any of the cones thankfully.

Just like in a movie out comes a person in full PPI towards the car asking for the code and name.

It's for me!!

He isn't that sure of what they are going to do.

Nightmares from the news flash before us.

Testing

The rapid test with a swab to your nose.

Not the brain cleaner from last year.  A whole lot of tickling followed by few sneezes.

He is done!!!

He survived & smiling

Breakfast at Kneaders which he quickly devoured.

We had to wait for the 30 minutes before the text ding sounded.

NEGATIVE!!!

Breathing a sigh of relief we headed off to school and finally to work.  2 more days before we leave.

WAIT!!! Ryder started figuring out the time frame and this test was only good for Friday.  What about Saturday?  My job tomorrow call Universal Studios again to clarify.  Some days I hate being responsible.

Snap Shot Number 2

It's another busy week in October.  We survived Reganne's birthday, homecoming, marathon, and general conference.  This week has been full of crazy work schedules, some weather, and even putting on sweaters.

Rain Puddles

First picture from my new work phone the iPhone 12.

We got a good couple of inches for the past few days.  We really need it but per the lovely news report it won't help with the drought.  My report says it can't hurt.

Working Boy!!!

Ryder was determined to get a job now that he is 14.

There are so many Help Wanted signs around town that he had to give it a try.

Doing all applications on line makes the process a whole lot easier.

Companies are getting competitive with the younger group.

Chick Fil A was the lead contender but had to cancel their interview and reschedule.

Culver's came in with an interview, orientation, and set your own schedule.  The winner was Culver's

What is this for?

Cleaning up the basement and came across this hangar.  I believe this is my last one of this style.

The kids wondered what is was for.  I gave them a quick lesson on hanging up pants.  Dave & Ryder took it part to use the wire while working on the car.

It could have been worth some money if they hadn't destroyed it.  I am sure that there are not many still left out there.

iPhone Lock Screen Picture

Changing my phone I lost this picture.  Ryder quickly found a new one for me.  The next morning I found this picture back in its spot on my phone.  Ryder gave up the fight without much of a fight.  I will need to take an update picture next week on vacation.

 This next week will not be a quiet one with Fall Break breathing down our necks.  I got my nap in on Sunday to prepare myself.

Happy Birthday Reganne!!!

How is it possible that another year has gone by and Reganne turned 17?  I need another pause button to slow this girl down.  I never found one for Rylee so I am sure there isn't one for her either.  Watching her grow this year has been amazing.  Celebrating a 17 year old comes with a new bunch of challenges her schedule being the main one.  She is always busy with work, school, and friends.  The order varies from day to day.

Let's Party....

Birthday Selfie

Approved and taken by her.

The young woman sign

A whole lot of honking going on.

Personality +

She loves her Comfy.

Brownie Cake + M&M's

All that fire!!

No trick candles today.

Strawberry Short Cake

Birthday gift from a friend.

Her friends spoiled her with treats, lunch out, a few presents, and dinner out.  We had to fit out celebrating in between her craziness.  We love her and are so glad that she is part of our family for eternity.  

Here's to another year and hope she finds time to enjoy each day.