Hannah turns 16

On May 11, 2010 Hannah turned 16. She always likes to go out to Azteca for dinner. (Maybe it is because they let her wear this sombrero :))
She had a birthday party on May 14. The kids roasted marshmallows (huge ones) at our fire pit. One friend covered Hannah in silly string.

The next weekend, Hannah's friend Clayton flew here from Boise to take Hannah on her first date. Here they are at the gum wall at Pike Place Market.

Visiting Mr. McRoberts

When Rachel and family were living with us November 2008 to February 2009, Rachel requested several people to be friends with me on facebook. I didn't even have a facebook account. Since I didn't want to be unfriendly, I signed up and became friends with my children, my nieces and nephews, ward members, etc. A few months later, I was happily surprised when my high school choir teacher friend requested me. I had not seen him in over 30 years! He now lives in Washington, so we arranged for a time to get together. On May 4, 2010, I drove to Port Angeles to visit Gary McRoberts and his wonderful wife Valerie. I spent about 4 hours there. I really enjoyed the day!!! Mr. McRoberts was the only teacher I had for all 4 years of high school. I learned so much from him about music and about how to survive and enjoy high school. We sang some challenging and incredible music. Our Chamber Chorale won several competitions. I have a lot of fond memories of being in PVHS choirs!Sue and Gary looking at Palos Verdes High School yearbooks 1975-78

Valerie & Gary Harmony & Missy

Flowers/Our Garden

I love that we have flowers in our yard. It has been very sunny recently, so I went outside and took some pictures.

Last year, after my mother passed away, my friends from book club gave me this beautiful bench and book to put in our garden. Thank you to my wonderful friends!

Dancesport

Two weeks ago, on March 11 & 12, Hannah and her dance partner Cameron competed at the Marriott Center in Provo, Utah. On Thursday, they competed in the High School ISTD Syllabus Standard (waltz and quickstep). They start out with several heats in round 1. After a little while you look up at the basketball scoreboard area, and the numbers of the couples who are going on to round 2 are listed. Their number was 352. They danced in round 2 (4 heats), then round 3 (3 heats), then the quarterfinals (2 heats) and the semifinals. They were in the top 14 couples out of 88 couples. Hannah is a sophomore, and Cameron is a junior. On Friday morning, 106 couples started out in the High School ISTD Syllabus Latin (samba and rumba). Hannah and Cameron danced in rounds 1, 2, 3, quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals! We were so excited to see their number on the screen for the finals! They finished in 5th place!!!! It turned out that Hannah was in a lot of pain (she has costochondritis) and crying just before they went out for the finals. Cameron told her to wipe her eyes on her skirt since it is black and no one would be able to tell. (Go Cameron--good advice) I wouldn't have known she was hurting because they danced very well.

It was a lot of fun, and we were so pleased they did so well. We also had a lot of family to come watch them. Grandma & Grandpa Smith, Aunt Susie & her family, and Nadine and Brady were all there to watch the competition. It is nice that we had an excuse to go to Provo and stay with Nadine, Scott & Brady. Brady is 6 months old and is such a cutie!

Garrett and Miriam visit

Garrett and Miriam came to visit last weekend. They brought Ruby along too.

Sadie is not very happy to share her home with any other dogs, but she got used to Ruby. I think she misses her now.

Miriam is taking a picture (with Mike's camera) of Garrett and Ruby while Sadie sleeps a few feet away. I'm not sure how many pictures Miriam took with Mike's camera--it was a lot. (I wonder if he has noticed yet.)

For more pictures and news about their weekend here, check out their blog by clicking here.

My Dad and the Morrills visit

In December, I found a $50 fare from LAX to Seattle, so I told my dad he needed to come visit. He bought a ticket for the last weekend of January. He came on Thursday and left on Saturday--quick trip. Mahana made friends with Grandpa right away. My mom loved Mahana too. She is a very cuddly cat. Mahana & Grandpa

Friday morning, my dad and I went to the Seattle Temple. It was nice to go there together. After the temple, Dad took me out to lunch :)

Hannah and Grandpa

Our friends the Toring family from the Marshall Islands wanted to meet my dad, so they came by Friday night. They gave him a beautiful shell necklace from the Marshall Islands.

The day my dad was coming, I was talking to Rachel and told her he would be coming that day. I don't know why I didn't tell her sooner. Anyway, she said, "Maybe the kids and I can come." (It is nice they live close enough to come for a day or two.) Friday evening, Rachel, David, Ryan, & Katy came to visit us and Great-grandpa Maughan.

Also, on that Friday night, Hannah and her dance competition partner, Cameron, had a private lesson with Ashly DelGrosso Costa! Pretty exciting!!

On Saturday, Hannah had a performance at Bena Roya Hall. We all went to see it.

Great-grandpa Maughan with Ryan, Katy, and David after Hannah's performance.

Sue, Dad, and Mike

My dad gave me beautiful flowers.

After the performance was over, I took my dad to the airport. It was a fast but fun trip.

Katy, Rachel, David, Mike and Ryan enjoying some time in the hot tub.

Recovery BLOG from November

I am the worst at blogging. I created the following blog as a Word Doc way back in November and am just now getting around to posting. Miriam says my injury has made me too touchy feely. She will not like this blog. Sorry Mia!

Yah know, this whole recovery thing is beginning to drag on way to long.
On the bright side, it has given me chances to count my many blessings, which has lifted my spirits to places I like to go. Let me mention a few:
My love and eternal dependency for Sue is stronger now than ever. We have been blessed with incredible children and three great sons in law. I am amazed to see how my three sons in law are so uniquely qualified to make their respective brides as happy as can be. To have all my children faithfully trying to live Christ-like lives does my heart a mountain of good.
I love and admire Dan and Rachel Morrill. It strengthens me to see and feel the love they have for each other. My heart soars when I consider the secure, loving, gospel centered life they are providing for their three wonderful children (David, Ryan and Katy). I was touched to hear that Dan was asking about my latest surgery.
I love and admire Scott and Nadine Sundblom. Their love for one another seems stronger every time I see them. I enjoy seeing how tender Scott is with Nadine. I am so happy that cute little Brady has joined their family. He is such an angel. As I observe them experiencing life I am assured they are building a loving comfortable life together. I know success will be theirs as they continue to work and put their trust in the Lord.
I love and admire Garrett and Miriam Kellams. Their loving life together seems poised and ready to transition from the life of being students (sort of) to wherever they end up. My confidence is that their path will lead to a wonderful life, together. I know their love for each other will bring them happiness and joy. I will eternally be grateful for Miriam’s weeklong role in my early recovery process (Garrett was there too).
I love and admire Elder Danny Smith. I am so pleased to read about the excitement he has for his mission. His letters are always so positive. I know the Lord is blessing him and I trust that his testimony is a blessing the lives of all with whom he comes in contact.
I love and admire Hannah. Having her home alone has allowed me to know her better than I otherwise would have. I am so pleased to see her making good choices with her life. She has shown me that she has a healthy balance of love for family and for the Lord while still finding plenty of room to have her own wonderful interests. She certainly is a talented young lady.
I love knowing that my parents and father in law are faithful examples of living the gospel. You would think that at my age, my parents would not have had to play such a big role in my recovery but they did and I love them for it. My time alone in thoughts has also done wonderful things for my relationship with my father in law.
I could go on but this is already too long so let me close by mentioning the greatest feelings of all. I am so grateful for a loving Heavenly Father and His Son Jesus Christ. My Savior has played a role in my recovery that has carried me through when I could do it myself. I will be eternally grateful for the closeness I have felt for Him and look forward to using it to guide me through the rest of my life.