...and the joys of an early retirement!
Melody flashing her pearly whites!
Thursday, September 18, 2008
September Catch-up Continues....
Mark and his brother, Steve discussing childhood memories, grievances, and other interesting past-times.
...and the joys of an early retirement!
Melody flashing her pearly whites!
...and the joys of an early retirement!
Melody flashing her pearly whites!
September Catch-Up Continues...
Mark's brother, Steve giving the hula hoop a go.
Now Ressa's turn to get in the action!
September Catch-Up!
Edmee', our former foster child, Katie; Mark's mom, and me.
Melody warming up the hula hoop.
You can tell she's been watching the Olympics lately...
Ressa and Austin casing the yard for something...Friday, September 05, 2008
Fun Times at EFY!
Joey and Austin had a great time flying up to Especially For Youth (EFY) at BYU this past July. They had spent the night with Barbie just before and then left early on a Monday morning. Austin really felt more comfortable having Joey nearby at the dances and banquets. One funny incident Austin told me was about talking a couple guys into approaching a few girls and asking them to dance. There were 3 guys and they were eyeing a group of 3 girls (from behind). Austin said he wanted to ask the one in the middle with the pretty, long wavy hair.
So the other guys proceeded to step up and ask the girls on either side. That left the one girl for Austin. When he walked around in front of her he told me, "Oh my gosh Mom!!! She was so...um....well, let's just say I'll never ask a girl to dance again unless I see her from the front......Well, uhhh, she just wasn't MY kind of pretty." Hahaha! That was too much!!! Joey responded to this with, "Well, you know what they tell the guys at church dances, Austin: Dance with as many pretty girls as you want, but be sure and dance with at least ONE sweet spirit." :D
Then there's Joey---can never get too many pictures of himself with enough pretty girls! I couldn't put all of them on here...
Austin in the middle of his group in the black shirt.
The group of girls that Austin's group paired up with for the week.
Joey with his counselor and buddy, Zach from here at home who he was roommates with.
Playing rollercoaster fake-out ride on the grass...
Joey's group. Joey's over on the right, 2nd one in.
Pizza night for Joey's group...Look like enough for 6 guys??
On the last day, my dad's sister and her husband (Aunt Marilyn and Uncle Dale) picked them up in their Porche Cayenne and a Ford "Harley" pickup truck. Marilyn and Dale were letting them into the Raging Waters water park free----and as you can imagine, some other boys had gotten word about this and were tagging along. They wound up picking up Joey, Austin, a couple of their friends from down here, and about 4 other guys. They took them to Mc Donalds first and went inside for breakfast. Uncle Dale was really cracking them up as he watched them eating and said, "Does that really look like a 'big breakfast' to you? Can a big guy like yourself really go all morning on THAT? I don't call that a big breakfast! Here, take this and go get some real breakfast!!" Dale then passed out $20 bills and insisted they go buy more than one breakfast meal. The boys were in heaven. Hahaha!!! At one point, they were still in the restaurant and some people came in and were trying to hold a meeting in the McDonald's talking about Primary stuff. Dale turned to the boys and said, "Those Mormons are kinda wierd, huh?" They laughed and then the boys later asked Austin and Joey, "Are your aunt and uncle Mormon?" Yes, and they all laughed some more!
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Ressa Introducing Herself to Her Teacher...
(Ressa's new 4th grade teacher requested on the 2nd day that each child write her a letter telling about themselves. This was her letter... )
August 26, 2008
Dear Mrs. Geschwind,I was a bit nervous at first, but then when my brother told me that you are the coolest teacher ever, my mind turned to the opposite. So I am going to tell a little about myself. Well, I am eight years old, I have six people in my family, and I have two cats. One of them is a kitten. The cats’ names are Sandy and Coco. My family’s names are: April, Mark, Joey, Austin, Melody, and … ME!!! Moving on, just to tell you, I am a decorating, organizing, artistic type of girl. So whenever you need help passing out papers and nobody else wants to do it, you will see my hand up, pointing in the air, saying, “Pick me! Pick me! Pick me!” I like to go swimming, bike riding, and especially going to the mall to walk around. My favorite subject in school is grammar/English. I also love music and my favorite type of music is: Rock n’ Roll, Classical, and I like children’s songs like “Pink Panther” and “The Wizard of Oz.” I go to church every Sunday. The church I go to is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. And I have never, ever eaten a snail. My favorite animals are monkeys, kittens, cats, and dogs.
Love, Ressa
Friday, August 29, 2008
Austin's English Assignment...
Where I Am From
I come from a big family.
My mother and my father,
Two sisters and two step-sisters,
One brother and one step-brother,
A half-brother and a foster sister complete my family.
The streets are sometimes quiet and sometimes noisy.
As you enter my home, you will find many pictures
Of different shapes, sizes, and features.
Music, voices, and the purring of my two cats will stir
All throughout the house.
Your tastebuds will go wild for a new, gourmet feast
Each night during dinner.
The pleasant aroma of melting chocolate chips,
On the soft dough of the cookies,
Will rise and spread through the rooms of my home.
The tangy and spicy barbeque sauce smothering the chicken,
And the A-1 sauce on the ribs and steak
Will be floating through the air.
Finally, you will feel the soft, smooth fur
Of my calico cat and four month old kitten.
The carpet upstairs will slip through your toes
And you will walk on the hard, bur smooth
Wood floor of the Moss family home.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Monday, July 21, 2008
Friday, July 11, 2008
JULY ENRICHMENT NIGHT A BIG SUCCESS!
The Relief Society Enrichment Night was a total success last night. We had a great turn out with about 40 ladies and about 10 kids in the nursery. Austin and a couple of his friends provided the babysitting services in the nursery which went smooth as silk. I had asked the ladies to bring a potluck item that was a favorite from their childhood. We had a big variety of dishes. All were great! From the homemade eggrolls to the rice & pepper steak, to the mac salad with home-grown tomatoes, to the brownie dessert topped with a minty gelatin layer. We played People Bingo which was great fun. Ladies were roaming around trying to find someone to initial their page who: played sports in high school, married their high school sweetheart, broke a bone, jumped off a diving board recently, could whistle the YMCA song, etc. It was fun. Then we did a project creating a page about ourselves to share with children or grandchildren. It was an "All About Me" page that we could go home and do with our children. I was excited to hear one lady was going to go home and do it for family night. I had about 100 magazines out that the ladies went through searching for pictures of things that represented themselves. They glued them onto cardstock and then stuck them into a plastic sheet cover. My mom and grandma came too. Grammy, who's 87 made a great friend with Nettie who is 82. They sat together and both cut out pictures and did a great job. Grammy's page was so cute... She cut out: the word Wal-Mart because she loves that store, a picture of a glass ball Christmas ornament because she loves Christmas, a diamond ring because she loves diamonds and jewelry, an angel figurine praying, an order form for custom checks because she loves to have beautiful, flowery checks, a backyard garden, and a set of collectible wizard of oz dolls. The lady next to her wrote her a note at the end like this: "To dear Rosalie, my friend, I love you, Nettie, and her phone number." Ressa and her friend sneaked in and also made these pages as well. Here's Ressa's down below...I love it!
SIDE 1
SIDE 2
Heard Around the House...
- While looking at the available kittens at the local animal shelter's website, Ressa and Melody had a pretty funny interaction:
- Ressa: Oh, that one's kinda ugly. I don't want that one!
- Melody: That's not very nice, Ressa. 'Cause Jesus tried his best on all of 'em! ----------------------------
- (6:00am this morning)
- Melody: "Dad, is our cat going to meow in English or Spanish?"
- April: What does it sound like in English?
- Melody: Me-ow
- April: How would it sound in Spanish?
- Melody: Mee-YOW-wuhh
Friday, June 20, 2008
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Joey Graduates! Class of 2008!
It was a great day indeed! We invited the five over that we had tickets for to eat with us at 5pm, then we would go to the Epicenter where they held the graduation. I was rushing around all morning getting all the last minute items and then got out of here at 3pm to head over to D'Elia's Grinders, our famous favorites in Riverside where 12 sandwiches were waiting. Then I got a call that Barbie was carpooling with Mike, Danny, and they brought Chad along. Then I heard Marilyn was trying to make it up here after all. So 12 sandwiches quickly became 13, and my good friend was able to watch Ressa and Melody for me to free up enough tickets for all who wanted to attend. I don't think the girls missed going. It would have been difficult to sit through the hour and a half of 700 names being read off.
There were barely enough seats. We got the first row on the 1st base side foul line. We watched so many kids begin walking in as the music played. Austin played pomp and circumstance over and over with the band. Several friends of Joey's passed and we waved and shouted. Then Joey came in and as soon as we saw him, we all stood up and began shouting/waving/ clapping/ squealing. He looked so confident. His cap was on just right and he tried to keep staring straight ahead as if he'd been strictly instructed to do so. Just before he passed us by, he turned and gave us a big wave and smile.
Though we heard so many, many names read we all cheered and made noise when they read, "Joseph Mark Moss." It was a great moment hearing his name read by his English teacher and seeing him shake hands with him, who we had been working so closely with in recent months. I'm so proud of Joey. He has worked hard and filled so many requirements to get to this point. Sometimes, I'd just go through his backpack and it would amaze me to see binders full of corrected papers...zillions of assignments, diagrams, study guides that he had done on his own without me ever being aware of the assignments. He's a very independent person and I know he will do well in whatever he chooses to do. Watch the "scrapbook video" and you can see the thrill of reaching the goal in his face as he walks out of the stadium at the end. It was awesome! And thanks to all the family for your love and support and prayers for Joey (and all the kids). We've come over some rough obstacles over the years, but there is nothing that can't be overcome with our Heavenly Father, our Savior, and our families!
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| Make a Smilebox scrapbook |
Saturday, June 07, 2008
Tuesday, June 03, 2008
Pectus carinatum, School Daze, and More...
Just when you thought you were having a bad week, come on over and read about mine...you just might feel better. I got Austin out of school early this morning to go get a physical at the pediatrician's office in time for scout camp in August. Things went well, but I remembered Austin showing me a couple weeks ago how his chest "sticks out more on the left than the right". We came up with all sorts of possible answers for it ourselves. You can's really see it so much as feel it if you place the open palm of your hand right smack in the center of his chest then move it to the left vs. moving to the right. Moving to the right, your hand goes up over a little ridge (not on the other side) and it just protrudes outward a little more. The doctor said it is "pectus carinatum" and is an abnormal growth of the bone in one place in the chest wall. It is more common in boys than girls and does not become visible until between 11 and 15. It may continue to grow improperly until he is finished growing. Only if it interfered with breathing or was a cosmetic problem, would it be corrected by surgery.
The girls are having lots of fun with a spirit event at school every day: camp day, pajama day, mismatch day (tomorrow), spirit day, park day with banana splits, movie day, and the BBQ lunch day is Friday. I promised to go to that. Mark went and served up the banana splits at the park today for Ressa's class. She said the kids thought she had a "really cool dad" because he gave all the kids a huge mound of whipped cream on top of their banana splits.
Now's also the annual event when the school "nickels and dimes" every parent to death and to top it off it must be "CASH ONLY". The elementary school yearbooks are up to $25 each and are now digital and colorized this year. The high school year book remains pricey right up their with the price of a prom ticket at $80 each. And of course, one child is bound to have misplaced some book or other prized possession that their respective school library comes hunting down around this time of year. This time it's Ressa and a Science CD companion to her text book they claim she had with a bright toucan bird on front.... Never seen it in my life, but they're demanding $60 if we don't find it! We had the Social Studies CD, but this toucan one.....nope, never heard of it. We'll have to call it a donation in the end, I'm sure.
Got a real shock working down at the nearby elementary school this week. A lady walking her child to afternoon kindergarten around 11:45 noticed two kids in pajamas, about 3 and 4 yrs. old, one holding a stuffed animal--just standing around outside the school. She walked them into the office where they described their dad as being "asleep and we want some breakfast." These kids had went out into their backyard, climbed up over a fence, went out a neighbor's gate and walked about four blocks. The principal called the police and six police cars were there shortly. The principal got the kids to describe the house and say "we KNOW what it looks like." So the kids led the principal on a walk back to find their house, while the police cars followed close behind. They found the house, and the dad had been asleep after working the night shift. How lucky the kids didn't get picked up by the wrong person! SCARY. Didn't hear anymore about it.
I taught Ressa how to iron yesterday and she is absolutely LOVING the concept. She's got it down how to refill the water and "dress" the item onto the ironing board. She was so excited, Mark caught her in there last night ironing her pajamas before bed. (Little overboard, I'd say, but she's moving in a good idrection :D) Then she started doing the math by bedtime and asked how much she could make "per item" if she did all the ironing for everybody. A classic case of "Selective Hearing" immediately caught up with Austin and he responded:shouting Austin was immediately heard from afar saying, "HEY THAT'S MY JOB! SHE CAN'T TAKE MY JOB! JUST CUZ I HAVEN'T DONE IT LATELY....THAT'S MY JOB!!!" Well, if they have to fight about something, I'd just as well have it be the ironing. I had to chuckle.
Joey's graduation ceremony is on Wednesday night, June 11th, 6:30pm, just a couple blocks south of the Spaghetti Factory at the Epicenter Quakes Stadium. Each family is given 10 tickets to hand out. Our immediate family will use 5, so we'll have 5 left. If anybody would like to attend, please email me and let me know.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
The Report That Held Up Graduation....IS FINISHED!
Joey did a terrific job on this. Finally it's done and getting turned in tomorrow! The teacher required one sentence onto the fifth page and he wound up with six pages. Here are my favorite paragraphs, the 2nd and last...
The Lord of the Rings: Corruption, Triumph, and Redemption
Throughout history, there have been many corrupt leaders or dictators. Sauron in The Lord of the Rings is the perfect example of a corrupt leader. Sauron creates a ring whose power and influence is so great and so corrupting that it cannot be safely used (F2). Alexander Pope once said, “Vice is a monster of so frightful mien, as to be hated needs but to be seen; Yet seen too oft, familiar with her face, we first endure, then pity, then embrace.” Sauron’s ring proves this because regardless of the wearer’s initial intentions, whether good or evil, the ring’s power always turns the wearer evil. Examples include Sméagol becoming Gollum and the kings becoming Ring wraiths (B2). Following Pope’s quote, Frodo tells Gandalf, “I wish the ring had never come to me, I wish it had not happened in my time.” To which Gandalf replies, “So do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide; all you need to decide is what to do with the time that is given to you.”(A7) Frodo struggles to perform the task, (destroying the ring) while slowly being devoured by the power of the ring until at the edge of the volcano’s crater. At the edge, he chooses to claim the ring for himself (F3). At first, Frodo did not want the ring, but then in the end, he did not want to give it up. Frodo followed what Pope said: first he hated it, then felt pity, and then embraced it. The same idea could be applied to how Frodo treats Gollum. First, Frodo does not like Gollum, and then he feels bad for him and allows Gollum to lead himself and Sam to Mordor. Then, after he allows Gollum to lead he usually takes Gollum’s side in an argument between Sam and Gollum, until he eventually tells Sam to go back home. The reason Gollum wants to help is half out of a pathetic desire for friendship and half out of an addiction to the ring (F4).
In the world today, men will do almost anything to gain wealth or power. In The Lord of the Rings, Frodo is tempted all the way, until in the end, when the ring is finally destroyed. Frodo, unlike many, was able to withstand the temptations. Others fell in to the ring within a few days, hours, even minutes. The difference with each person who encountered the ring was the influence they received from either the good or the evil side. Tolkien provides a good sense of good versus evil in The Lord of the Rings. What we have here is an imaginative imbalance; good is supposed to overcome evil, but since it is less read to us, its victory does not convince (E6). But in the triumph of good over evil, physical and intellectual power must be shown as what we know them to be, morally neutral and effectively real; battles are won by the stronger side, be it good or evil (E5). Today many people believe that good always triumphs, but that is not always the case. Some examples in today’s world where evil triumphs could be: unsolved murders, drug lords-at-large, the mafia, and the list goes on. Through all these distractions that threaten to tempt and destroy, it is important that people keep their minds focused on their mission in life so they can complete it with pride and honor, ultimately choosing the good over the evil.
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