Bert News

Christmas letter 2011

2011-12-21T13:55:00.000-08:00

For the first time we are "cyberizing" our not-so-consistent annual letter. Just looking to save a few bucks in printing, postage, etc.

As of October of this year Dave quit working at Dillard's department store as a second job. We were able to reduce some expenses and are now empty-nesters so the need for the additional income is not as great. In February we went on our second Carnival cruise with our cruise buddies, Pat's twin Pam and her husband Jeff. We went to the Mexican Riviera and had a fantastic time. In the summer we flew to Champaign, IL to visit the grandkids. We went to Nauvoo (including a visit to the temple) and to Springfield to the museum, library, birthplace, home and all things Lincoln. In the fall we went with all the kids to Disneyland (see previous post). That was also a fantastic time.

Pat has 14 years as a kindergarten teacher and I about 11 teaching Spanish. We are looking down the road (still a ways off) at dare I say... retirement. Not sure when that will happen. It has great to be together nights and weekends which hasn't been possible in recent years because of my second job. We are enjoying it.

Our kids continue to be doing well in school and jobs. Scott has accepted a job with Intel in Chandler, AZ and he and Sarah will be moving there after he graduates from the U of A in May. Carlie's husband Trevor is working towards getting into PA school. Rachel is looking at studying to be a veterinarian's tech. Tina's husband Jon continues his studies at the U of I. Wendy and Chad are working and remodeling their house. We try to lure as many of them as possible over to the house for Sunday dinner! And Tina is expecting grandchild number 6 in February and we are very excited. Pat already has her plane ticket in hand to go be grandma! This Christmas finds all our kids and grandkids home for fun, food and family pictures.

We are so very blessed and are very grateful. We are strengthened by you our friends and family. Aside from the normal aches and pains that are coming with age, things are great and we look forward to the future with great anticipation. We wish all our friends and family much happiness during this wonderful season and all good things in the new year. We would love to hear from you. daveandpatb@cox.net

Best Family Disney Trip Ever!

2011-10-25T20:00:00.000-07:00

Now, I know I have probably said this before but this definitely WAS the best one.

Three of my children purchases Disneyland annual passes which were going to expire sometime in November. So everyone wanted to go just one more time, so we planned a family trip. Because it was going to be our three kids, their spouses, two grandkids and Pat and me, our Wendy suggested we make matching t-shirts (I know it's quaint). She bought the white tees and the iron-on transfer computer paper. She then went to the Internet and designed a logo for us (see above). We also made shirts for my brother Doug and his wife and family who unfailingly accompany us on these Magic Kingdom junkets and make them much more fun!

The eight of us (plus 2 grandkids) drove over in three cars and stayed at the Lemon Tree Hotel. In the morning we put on our t shirts and made our way to the park. I had contacted a friend from high school who works at Disneyland and she graciously and generously agreed to "sign us in" for free "park hopper" passes. She came into the park and visited with us, met my family, and listened to our 4 year old do her renditions of "Mother Know Best" from the Disney movie "Tangled" and a song or two she learned from pre-school. I say my friend was gracious because she drove to Disneyland from her home in West Covina and she was not feeling well either! What a trooper!

The park was very crowded but with the help of "fast passes" (I'd like to shake the hand of the person who invented those!) we were able to ride all the rides we wanted. Because it is close to Halloween the place was decorated. The also altered the "Space Mountain" ride and called it "Haunted Universe". Now normally the 4 year old loves that ride but NOT this time with the projected screaming and clawing monsters. In the picture they take at the end of the ride our poor girl's face was red and frozen in a scream! She said she liked the ride "a little bit". She did report that her favorite ride was "Pooh". Her least favorite? Star Tours. I think she is not thrilled with the 3-D effects.

Saturday night found us at the Tomorrowland Terrace for an Elvis tribute show which we really enjoyed. after 15 hours of walking, we headed back to the hotel.

We got over to California Adventure our second day and rode Pat's favorite ride, "California Screamin'" three times in a row and I have to admit I got a little queasy afterward. We saw the World of Color show there and rode the new "Goofy's Flying School". It is a small, very high coaster that rides only 4 people at a time. The turns are tight and our son-in-law Chad was terrified, sure that he was doomed to fall right off at the highest point. But, ever the trooper, he went on twice with us first-timers.

We headed up to visit my dad Monday morning and he took us to lunch with his lady friend, June. We got on the freeway about 2 for the long drive home. On I-8 nearing the I-10 a coyote suddenly stepped out on the road in front of our car. I gritted my teeth and hit him (not wanting to swerve and kill us!). It startled and shook us up and Pat texted the kids about 50 miles behind us: "Dad just hit and killed a coyote." My son Scott texted back asking if the coyote had those rocket roller skates on at the time. I responded that it happened so fast that I couldn't tell but he appeared to be pouring the contents of a box of birdseed on the road at the time. We told them which milepost the accident occurred and as they passed they said they had taken a picture of the coyote and were sending it to us over the phone. Ew! I didn't want to see it but this is what they sent. We laughed all the way home. At a truck stop I borrowed Pat's makeup mirror to look under the car... everything ship shape.

We got home about 9:30 and just smiled about the fun-filled weekend and laughs we had with the people we care about the most.

Car wreck buddies

2011-10-25T19:37:00.000-07:00

Fever seizures are hereditary and not uncommon among toddlers. My wife had them, I think her mom had them, one of two of our daughters had them and now one of our granddaughters too. The kids grow out of them but they are scary to witness (I about lost it the first time I saw one of my girls in seizure). Last Friday, Carlie said she was taking her 4-year old to the doctor because of a high fever. She seized on the examination table and the doctor sent her to the hospital in an ambulance. So Carlie called and asked if I could go to her house and stay with her 2-year old boy while she was gone. I went to her house and Pat called from her classroom and said why didn't i bring the boy to her classroom to play as she had some work to do there. I nearly said no, I would just stay with him at their house but I thought it would be fun for him so I packed him up in my 98 Nissan Frontier pickup and headed down 22nd avenue towards Pat's school. As I was stopped at an intersection, a primer-gray small Ford pickup came barreling up behind me and, BAM! Rear-ended. The boy was fine, didn't make a peep (thank you safety car seats). I did go forward and bump the Cadillac SUV ahead of me enough to crack my grill and bend up the front but only enough to scuff up his bumper. So he left, no hard feelings. My rear bumper, however is bent under.

Turns out that the guy who hits me has no insurance and no job. And I have no comprehensive and collision coverage on my car as it is paid for. Urrrgh! So now I will be working with my insurance company regarding my un and under-insured coverage to get some medical care. That weekend I was holding my boy while we stood in line for a ride at Disneyland and I said, "Hey, you and I are car wreck buddies" to which he responded, "Car wreck buddies!"

Goodbye, little guy...

2010-10-24T19:47:00.000-07:00

About ten years ago our black cocker Licorice developed a tumor. She was an old dog and we decided to put her down. And as "Dad" it fell to me to make the arrangements and carry them out. We had originally gotten her for Scott with the idea that "every boy needs a dog!" Well ,their relationship was cordial but it never really went anywhere. When Rachel came along, she bonded immediately with Licorice. So, she was understandably distressed when the end came. To address her grief and sadness we went to Pima County Animal Control and adopted Jaxx, a 2-3 year old Cairn terrier mix. He was a nice little dog but when left unattended in the house would proceed to mark (urinate on)nearly every piece of furniture and door in the house. This caused me to have little affection for him over the years. Rachel however, loved him!

He developed some back problems over the 10 years we had Jaxx and recently had an infected tooth that started swelling behind one eye. The fix for hem at the vet was to be over $600 not to mention the over $100 for the office visit and medication. So we decided to take him to the Humane Society and put him down. It was interesting that this time it was so much more difficult for me! I cried on my lunch hour knowing that 3:00 would be here soon. I drove home and took him for one last walk to get the mail. I loaded him into the cab of my little truck and petted him the whole way just repeating "I'm so sorry. Jaxx"

At the Humane Society, the young man was very kind and asked me some questions, had me sign some papers and then asked if I wanted to go back and hold him. I said that I couldn't. I took off his collar and leash and petted him one last time as the attendant placed a red leash around his neck and led him into the back room. I cried as I donated the rest of his food and got back in the truck. I'm sure I didn't pet him, play with him, or walk him enough. Taking him in was much harder than I thought it would be. So goodbye, little Jaxx. You were a good boy.

Not-so-empty nest after all

2010-09-17T13:37:00.000-07:00

Our daughter Wendy and her husband of 1 1/2 years, Chad have moved into our house. In the first place, we are thrilled that they have "come home" to Tucson after a stint in Seattle (yes, we know it's hot here!). They are here while they look for a house to buy and they have been searching dilligently. They both found good full-time jobs within about a week of arriving. One good thing about their being in the house is that Wendy likes to cook (which Pat and I don't do much of these days) so we have had some pretty great meals. Also, she has pushed me into improving my backyard grilling skills. When there is meat in her recipe, she will just tell me that this needs to be cooked on the grill, etc. And that is a good thing. So we are not really sure when or if we will ever really have the house to ourselves but it's OK. It's just what you do and we are happy to do what little we can to help the kids along. Now the question is... will they take Jaxx the dog with them when they move into a house?

Reflections on the "Empty Nest"

2010-03-27T19:46:00.000-07:00

So it has finally happened. Our daughter Carlie, her husband Trevor and their two kids moved out of our house a week or so ago after about an 8 month stay. Our youngest, Rachel moved out a month or so before so now we are officially alone. This is the first time since August 10, 1979 when we welcomed our first child, Tina into our family and the world. I never thought much about what "empty-nesting" would be like, probably because there have always been kids here. But I'm thinking... it's not too bad. Of course, a lot of that feeling probably stems from the fact that 3 of our 5 kids live in our area code. It is tough having Wendy and Tina and their families so far away but being able to stay close to the others is great. It would be way different and more difficult if all our kids lived far away.

I am finding that I really enjoy the time I get to be alone with Pat. We are and have always been best friends and there is no one I'd rather hang out with. We still share lots of the same interests (although she likes TV crime shows way more than I). I kind of like the quiet (but I still love it when the house is full of "kid noise"). Obviously, the house stays neater and relatively uncluttered which is also nice. Of course, we still are the repository of stacks of the kids' boxes of junk in various closets and corners but I guess that comes from having the biggest house, modest though it is! I'm sure they'll pick them up by and by!

So, I think I am going to get used to this. We love our kids and grand-kids. They are everything to us. We so look forward to visiting with them at every opportunity but after years of late nights with sick kids and other minor catastrophes, maybe it's time for us to put our feet up for a few minutes. Aaaahhh!

Goodbye...for good.

2009-11-23T20:57:00.000-08:00

The man in this picture is world-famous guitarist Joe Satriani. Mr. Satriani is, as of today, the proud owner of my vintage 1960 Fender Stratocaster.

I got an email this afternoon from Chris, the owner of Real Guitars in San Francisco where my Strat has been residing on consignment for about 2 months. He told me that he had received a serious offer on the guitar and did I want to accept it. "By the way, it's a famous person." "Am I allowed to know who it is?" "Yeah, it's Joe Satriani". It was a couple of thousand less than I had hoped for so I called my little brother Rob for his opinion. He echoed what Chris had said... that with the economy and specifically the vintage guitar market down, it would probably be good to take the deal. So I did... and I am glad.

Rob headed over to Real and was there while Satriani was paying for my guitar and two others. He told Joe, "Take care of that guitar... I learned to play on it!" "Oh, this is your guitar?", Satriani asked. "No, it's my brother's. He let me use it when I was in high school." "Well," Joe said, "I will only play good notes on it!" Rob does big time audio-visual for events, conventions, concerts, etc. in the bay area so he is used to hanging with celebrities. So when I asked if he had gotten his autograph, he said, "No, I'm not like that!" "Well, I AM like that!", I said. I would have loved to have had an autograph with a nice note like, "Thanks for the great guitar... Joe Satriani". Oh, well.

I thought I would be sort of melancholy when the sale was eventually made but knowing that it went to a guy like that, I'm OK. Now, will I see my Strat on stage in Satriani concert footage in the future? Not likely. He has a contract with Ibanez to promote his "Joe Satriani Signature Model" so I think that will always be in his hands when the cameras are on. Maybe he will record with my guitar, display it, who knows? All the same, you can bet that I will look carefully at every inch of Satriani concert video I come across from now on, just in case.

Thanks again to my brother Rob for his freely-given help, advice and support. And now, goodbye for good, old girl. You are in good hands.

Goodbye old friend

2009-09-02T14:42:00.000-07:00

Here is the best way I can describe the feeling I had yesterday as my workday was ending... Do you remember when you were a teenager and were out way after curfew? You couldn't go home because you know it would be very unpleasant. But you couldn't stay out either and you were kind of sick to your stomach. I didn't want to come home because the night before I had packed my old friend, a 1961 Fender Stratocaster to ship it to a guitar store in San Francisco. It is going there to be consigned and eventually, sold. It is a valuable instrument and we are in a position to have to liquidate an asset or two to address some debt. Life happens.

I got home, looked at the box, puttered around the house, looked at the box, played with Ellena, looked at the box, got something to eat, looked at the box... You get the idea. So finally I put it in the back of the pickup and drove it to the UPS store.

I bought it at Whittier Music in California for $275. I have been telling myself ever since I decided to sell it, "It's just a thing..." But it was much tougher than I realized it would be to let it go after 34 years. I really very seldom played it and I have always said that it is way too good a guitar for my skill level. I felt OK when I got home though. I am sure I'll feel another twinge of pain when SF calls to say they have an offer. But I know that ultimately I will be grateful for the cash the sale will bring in to be able to do what we need to do.

My kids overall have been pretty supportive. They had hoped that I would keep it until my death at which time they could fight over who gets or sell it and split the proceeds. But they understand that things change. And at some point in the future, I can easily buy another electric guitar for a few hundred bucks if needs be.

My bay-area brother Rob has been great as a middle man facilitating this project, partly in just helping me stay calm!

So, goodbye old friend. Thanks for providing so much pleasure, fun and a little income over the years. I hope you find a home where someone will appreciate you and enjoy playing music with you. I will miss you.

"... on the shoulders of giants..."

2009-07-07T21:51:00.000-07:00

I have some thoughts today after watching the Michael Jackson memorial on TV this morning. Overall I thought it was well and tastefully done. The tributes were touching, sweet and appropriate. The one low point in my opinion was the speech given by the Reverend Al Sharpton, self-appointed, self-anointed blowhard. He claimed that Michael was "... the Jackie Robinson of entertainment" and that Michael had opened the doors of the entertainment world for African-Americans. Hogwash. He also intimated that because of MJ, Barack Obama was able to be elected president! Outrageous!

As I have said many times, I was, am, and will always be a fan of Michael. He was twice inducted in the the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He was a brilliant writer, arranger, singer, dancer, producer. He was an innovator and his influence on popular music is undeniable. He was a generous philanthropist. Yes, he was strange, eccentric even a little weird. He was acquitted of every child abuse/molestation charge ever brought against him. And the family that he "paid off" rather than go to court already had a history of trying to extort celebrities.

So back to Sharpton's claim... Here are the names of only a few black pioneers who I believe really did open the doors he spoke of: Billie Holliday, Count Basie, Louie Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Lena Horne, Richard Pryor, Bill Cosby, Wilson Pickett, Jackie Wilson, Otis Redding, Marvin Gaye, James Brown (whose dance moves Michael nicked in great detail when he was a little boy), Aretha Franklin, Gladys Knight, Diana Ross, even Stevie Wonder and Smokey Robinson. I believe Michael himself would agree and freely admit that he stood on the shoulders of these greats and that perhaps rather they opened the doors for him! I will miss him; all music lovers will.

Language acquisition

2009-06-27T22:51:00.000-07:00

As a language guy I love to observe all types of language acquisition, especially our beautiful granddaughter, Ellena. The other day at our house she wanted something. She took me into the kitchen and said she wanted a "pockable". I told her I didn't know what that was and asked her to repeat it. She said again, "pockable". I still didn't get it so she tried a new tactic. She said, "Pockable, up high, Papa's house!" She wanted a Popsicle from our freezer. I was amazed at how she persisted to make me understand by expanding her pronunciation of the word to including specific location. You can't tell me this girl is not very bright!

Papa's birthday

2009-06-17T13:15:00.000-07:00

I had a great birthday on June 5th. It happened that Wendy's husband Chad had a business meeting in Tucson and Wendy was able to come visit also. It was fun to have them in town. We went over to Carlie and Trevor's for a BBQ on Saturday and on Sunday I invited everybody over for dinner (thank you, Costco lasagna!). Pat was already at Tina's but Carlie and Trevor with Ellena, Scott and Sarah (and her step-dad Gordon), friends Brandy and David and their 2 boys, and of course Rachel and I were all there. We had cake and ice cream and they all chipped in and got me a new Ipod! I was surprised. Mine was stolen in February when we were burglarized. So I took it to Illinois and Jon helped me download a bunch of songs (now I have nearly 800). Rachel and I pulled out to head for the airport in Mesa the next morning at 3AM! Fun and busy weekend.

Illinois

2009-06-17T13:07:00.000-07:00

Pat, Rachel and I just returned from a wonderful visit to Illinois to see Tina, Jon and our grandkids. We did so many activities. Some highlights were a trip to a FABULOUS children's museum in Normal, Ill. A day trip to Arthur (Amish country) where we saw horse-drawn buggies, had a cherry phosphate and got drenched in the rain (the weather while we were there was very mild if a bit humid). We saw the movie "Up" (I recommend it). We spent an afternoon at their local water park complete with water slide and lazy river. We played board games, cards, Wii, rode bikes, saw fireflies, read books, ate frozen custard, barbecued, shopped... In fact, we had to pack light to be able to fit all the material (for quilts and blankets) and the clothes for Ellena that we had to bring back. It was ver fun. And they will be coming out to visit this Christmas. Hooray!

Old school phone use...

2009-06-17T12:55:00.000-07:00

Here are some of my musings about current cellular communication as compared to what my generation grew up with...
These are phrases that you never overheard someone say while on the phone back in the strictly "land line" days: 1. "I'll just text you." 2. "I'll look it up on the web." 3. (From the person dialing to the person answering): "Where are you?" 4. (Heard after dialing a local number): "Oh, I'm on vacation in Florida." 4. "Hold it, someone's clicking in." 5. "Oh, it's Mike. I'll call you back." 6. "I'm over on my minutes." 7. "Just send me the picture." 8. "Smile..!" And finally, 10. "I gotta go. I'm down to one bar."
Feel free to add any of your own!

Geckos

2009-06-17T12:50:00.000-07:00

On summer nights at our house, we see a LOT of geckos. Mostly they hang out on the outside of our kitchen window screen (also the ceiling of our entryway). They wait for the bugs to light that are attracted by the light from the inside and then POUNCE! The amazing things are how many bugs they can eat at a "sitting" and how fast they can move.

"Huh?"

2009-04-06T14:32:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a long, lazy day and it was great! We had no church meetings to attend as it was our churches annual General Conference which can be seen on cable and satellite channels. Pat made cinnamon rolls and Scott and Sarah came over (twice!) and also Carlie, Trevor and baby Ellena. We laid around and nibbled on stuff all day while we watched conference, movies and played the Wii. I never even took a shower, just laid around in sweats.
I was feeling full and sort of gross. And guys my age many times have the problem of a slowly-expanding waistline anyway. So I commented to no one in particular, "Man, I have seen Big and Tall shops. Pretty soon I will have to start shopping at the "Short and Fat" stores. To which Rachel replied, "You're not that short..."

Hot Air Balloons

2009-03-23T18:03:00.000-07:00

My little writer is at it again... (Lest you think he is the class clown, he isn't, he just has an incredible funny bone!) I asked the class to write about what they would see if they were up in a hot air balloon. I got "I see a bird, cat, dog, car, pool" the usual stuff. I.H. cracked me up again. He wrote:

If I went in a hot air balloon I wod (would) see a pawr (power) lin (line). I wod (would) get elechcuoodid (electrocuted) woch (which) I loct (looked) like this moning (morning).

I complimented him on being such a good writer. He said he likes to write funny things. I told him I like to read his funny things. Stay tuned, more to come!!!

Leprechaun Wishes

2009-03-17T18:15:00.000-07:00

I had my Kindergartners write today if they caught a leprechaun, what would they ask him for? A wish or a pot of gold and how they would use it. One boy with a 4th grade sister, said: "If I caught a leprechaun I would ask for a wish. I would say, Leprechaun, can you make my sister play with me?" If that wasn't enough, his picture showed him asking the question, and the leprechaun and his sister both saying NO!

A calcium-rich couplet

2009-02-17T20:59:00.000-08:00

Most of us have seen the little sentimental sayings written on the inside of Dove chocolate foil wrappers. To me they are syrupy at best and insipid at worst (I know I should try to be more sensitive and less cynical!). So yesterday I read one and a line came to me to make it into a couplet. You will have to indulge me but I made myself laugh with this one. Here is the Dove line: "Laugh until your heart overflows." to which I add: "...Or until the milk comes out your nose!" Maybe I read too much Dave Barry.

"...in Camelot"

2009-02-11T16:50:00.000-08:00

There is a line from the title song of the wonderful Broadway show. "Camelot" that says, "The rain may never fall till after sundown..." And so it was last Saturday, February 7th for our daughter Wendy's wedding here in Tucson. The ceremony and reception were held in the backyard of our dear friends Tracey and Susan Collett. A winter storm complete with cold temperatures, wind and rain was predicted for Saturday afternoon/evening. But still we dutifully set up tables, tablecloths, chairs, centerpieces and everything and the day turned out to be beautiful and almost balmy. The short ceremony conducted by our bishop Blake Isaacson was sweet and touching. The food arrived on time and was plentiful. Lots of friends and family were there including all five of our children. The payoff was that Wendy commented to her mom that everything was "just perfect" several times during and after the event. That made all the work from hauling and setting up chairs and tables, setting them, mixing lemon and limeade, washing dishes and more worthwhile. Wendy seemed very happy as did Chad, her new husband. They are honeymooning in Tulum, Mexico and will head back home soon to start their life together in Seattle. A royal wedding indeed, worthy of Camelot!

Out of the Mouths of Sunbeams part ll

2009-01-25T14:18:00.000-08:00

Today in our Sunbeam class (4 year olds) at church Pat was teaching a lesson about prayer. To begin she showed the class a picture of a little girl, eyes closed, hands folded kneeling by her bed. Wanting to illustrate where we can pray, she asked, "What is this little girl doing?" A chorus of voices answered, "She is saying a prayer!" "And where is she?", Pat asked. One of our twins looked at the picture then at Pat and said, "She's right there!" Well, she was right there... I love this calling!

Our New President

2009-01-20T14:49:00.000-08:00

As everyone knows, this is a historic day. Barack Obama, our first president of African-American ancestry has been sworn in. It is no secret to friends and family that I did not support nor vote for Mr. Obama. I do not believe he is the right man for the job nor do I think he is ready or experienced enough. But none of that matters now. He has the job, ready or not! And unlike many opponents to George W. Bush, I will not say, "He's not MY president." He is my president, duly elected and I sincerely wish him all the best... for the sake of my children and grandchildren and for the sake of all Americans. He is coming into this position in a troubled time and he will need support to help meet the challenges. So I will support him in the areas where I agree and oppose him in those where I don't. How marvelous to live in this fine and free country and to presence the peaceful transfer of power. Godspeed to you sir. -David Bertoglio

Out of the Mouths of Sunbeams

2008-12-21T19:27:00.000-08:00

Pat and I were recently called to teach the "Sunbeam" class (age four) at church. Today during "sharing time" one of our Primary leaders was teaching a short lesson to the whole group about the Nativity. She had placed an empty stable on the table and the scene figurines in a basket. The idea was to invite a child up one at a time and have him choose a figurine, identify it and place it in the stable. When our Nephi Butt (yes, that is his name) came up, he chose a female figure with wings. When he was asked who it was he looked at it, thought for a moment and announced, "It's a mom!" Do you hear that all you mothers out there?

Nice Christmas-themed experience

2008-12-12T21:37:00.000-08:00

Today I stopped at Walgreen's to buy some batteries for my guitar tuner. They are button-type and I had bought and returned two packages previously that had apparently expired because they did not work. So to be sure, I brought the tuner in and moved away from the cash register to a waist-high display of boxes and put the batteries in. They worked! I should also mention that I had also gotten $20 (in two 10s)as my change. I had plunked all my stuff down when I began to work with the tuner. Then an old friend and colleague from Santa Rita High School came in the store and we visited for a while. So with that distraction and me excited that the batteries were good, I gathered up my stuff and went to the car leaving the two ten dollar bills on the box.

When I got home and did not find the money, I was pretty sure what had happened. So I got ready for work and stopped at the store. The manager said that, yes a customer had found the bills and turned them in. The customer asked that if no one claimed the money, would the manager put it in the Salvation Army kettle at the front door. I was so impressed at the anonymous person's honesty that I asked for a five and five ones and placed a dollar in the kettle myself as I left. I guess I wanted to keep the karma cycle going!

Wedding bells for Scotty!

2008-11-22T21:21:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was an important day for our son Scott. He proposed to Miss Sarah Washburn! Scott and Sarah haven't been dating long (about 8 weeks) but have "hit it off" wonderfully. He met her for a picnic lunch near the Park Place Mall where we all work and when she came back from changing into her work clothes, Scott got down on one knee and proposed with a beautiful ring. She was very surprised because she did not know that he had gotten the ring. Their wedding will be in the Mesa, Arizona temple on January 2nd.

Sarah is a beautiful girl (see Halloween post below for her picture) and we love her. She attends the U of A majoring in psychology. She also plays the viola. None of us has ever seen Scott so twitterpated and it is cute. They seem to be a great match. Pat and I are going over to her parents' house tomorrow night to do some wedding brainstorming. Sarah has passed the "sister test" (meaning they all approve) and even Carlie's daughter Ellena runs to her when she comes over. We are all thrilled to see her become a member of our family.

What an honor, Your Honor!

2008-11-22T21:01:00.000-08:00

Last Tuesday my group, the Due West Trio performed at the Westin La Paloma resort here in Tucson for a convention for U.S. Appeals Court judges. The event was outside on a patio and the night was beautiful. The guests ate, drank and mingled while we played western music. Then a little old woman walked over to us and gave us the thumbs up and stage-whispered, "You're great! I love your music!" We nodded in acknowledgment and I leaned over to my partner Rena and asked, "Do you know who that is? That's Sandra Day O'Connor!" Wow. At our break Tim O'Connor, Rena and I made a beeline over to meet Justice O'Connor. For those of you who may not know, she was the first woman ever to be appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court and she is quite the historical figure. I told her that I knew that she surely had heard this many times before but that I was a teacher as is my wife and that many thousands of us all over the world had used her example to teach young girls that they can accomplish great things. She responded that it was nice to hear and, "Look at me now. I'm just an unemployed old cowgirl!" The judge who was escorting her then said, "You should see her (daily) schedule. She is very busy." So we made her a gift of our three CDs and went back to performing. She was gracious and friendly and I count myself fortunate to have met her (plus, she is now a Due West Trio fan!).

A Veritable Hive of Activity...

2008-11-16T15:27:00.000-08:00

Here are Pat and I in our Halloween costumes. She as a cute 50's poodle skirt girl and me as an aging Indiana Jones (I held in my gut until the picture was snapped!). Also pictured are Scott as Dagobah Luke Skywalker and his intended, the beautiful Sarah Washburn as Barbie.

One week from now our house will be filled with kids, grandkids and lots of noise, and we can't wait! Tina and Jon and their three kids will arrive in Arizona this Friday and drive down to Tucson to stay with us Sunday the 23rd. Wendy also flies in to Tucson on Sunday and everyone will be here for the entire Thanksgiving week. We are trying to figure out how to squeeze in as much fun and visiting as we can in those days.

Among other things Wendy will be consulting with her mom and sisters about her upcoming wedding to Chad Adams. They originally thought they would plan it for November, 2009. Then after considering how long a 1 year engagement would really be, they decided on June. THEN, the date changed to the first week in February. That is the latest news so far. Stay tuned...

And now, elsewhere in the family rumor mill... It appears that Scott and the lovely Sarah are also considering tying the knot. We obtained this information about our son who currently lives in our house, from his sisters who don't. Well, at least we found out. Apparently, they have been ring shopping and are looking at a late winter, early spring event. A parents, we are pretty chill about the whole thing because in Wendy's case, she is handling most of the planning herself and in Scott's, we are the parents of the groom. Sarah also told Pat that her mom already has 3 of her sisters' weddings under her belt.

News flash!!! Scott just called from Sarah's house where he officially talked to her father (just the two of them alone). Apparently, her folks were a little surprised (of course, they are not in Scott's sisters' network) that they are planning a wedding so soon (maybe January). They are not opposed to it as I'm sure they are fond of Scott (who wouldn't be?).

So a lot remains to be seen but it is exciting. We are proud of all our kids and are thrilled with the wonderful mates they are choosing!

overheard conversation.... again

2008-10-10T10:20:00.000-07:00

i was talking to tina on the phone yesterday while the kids were coloring. this is about how the conversation went:

tina- you know what would work best on that, maryn? markers. (pause) hmm...
seth- mom, you put them on top of the fridge because you said we weren't going to use them again.

you can't get away with anything.

Unpaid Speech Writers

2008-09-29T20:50:00.000-07:00

It seems Dave and I will do just about anything for a free haircut! CC has called us to help with homework, watch the girls, make apricot and strawberry jam, design birthday party treasure hunts but this last request was new! McKenna is running for student body treasurer and needed a speech written by tomorrow! Dave and I put our heads together and came up with this Pulitzer winning masterpeice!

Hi, my name is McKenna Thompson. I am running for student body treasurer. You should vote for me because I KNOW how to keep track of money! Right now I have $5.35 in my pocket (slap your pocket). My sister has $4.10 in her pocket and Mr. Holmes (principal) won’t tell me how much he has but if you elect me treasurer, I promise you I will know exactly how much money student council has and I will keep very good track of it. Vote for McKenna Thompson for treasurer! (I told her she should throw the $5.35 in pennies in her pocket out to the crowd!)

Good luck McKenna in your campaign! Come on crowd... don't you think it is worth a couple of haircuts???

cue the theme music- indiana! dr.jones

2008-08-05T21:59:00.000-07:00

this last week ellena started saying Papa, which is what she calls dad. dad, of course, is just eating it all up.
today i took her to dollar movie day at the cheap theaters where we saw indiana jones. when indie first appeared on the screen, ellena looked and said "papa!". when i asked her, "is that your papa?" she wasn't too sure anymore. she looked very confused.
reference below post of daddy, dressed in his dr. jones' best. you definitely won ellena over.

Viva Differentiated Instruction!!

2008-07-27T21:46:00.001-07:00

Last Saturday morning Pat and I packed up the RAV4 and drove to Las Vegas for a 4 day national teacher's seminar on D.I. My school picked up the tab for my transportation, room at the Riviera and a per diem for food. Pat enrolled and paid tuition on her own because the classes and workshops they offered looked very interesting.

We had hoped to get there in time to get in a session at the L.V. temple the first night (more on that later) but it took us about 30 minutes to get across Hoover Dam , crawling behind a line of cars. We did see the enormous bridge under construction there which will bypass the dam someday. So we got to the hotel and took a walk down the strip. It was about 114 degrees as we walked about a mile to the beautiful Palazzo hotel, next to the Venetian where we bought tickets for the Broadway show "Jersey Boys" for Monday night. It would be our one splurge (about $70 a ticket). After buying the tickets we crossed the street to a food court and had a burger and cheese steak at Johnny Rocket's.

Each day we each attended four 70 minute sessions given by expert presenters who were former teachers, administrators, etc. relating to about every topic you can think of in education. Most were very good, informative and full of practical ideas, only a couple were not that great. Our lunch break on Sunday found us waiting in line at the hotel's food court with thousands of other teachers. There was also a trade show in the ballroom with many vendor booths offering tons of teacher stuff. Pat found some treasures.

That night we decided to get tickets to a Neil Diamond tribute show there at the Riviera ( we got a big discount because we were with the teacher group). The performer was Jay White and he did a show (about 1 1/2 hours) performing the hits with a four piece band. It was a great show and we were all singing and clapping along. After the show we walked across the street to Circus Circus and spent too much money (but had a lot of fun) winning some stuffed animals for granddaughter Ellena at the midway games. We also watched a couple of the trapeze and other circus acts.

At lunch Monday, as we sat at a much coveted table, Pat spotted a young couple (teachers) who had brought their cute little chubby baby to the conference. She went up and told them they could have our place. She is such a grandma! After a short nap we boarded the "Deuce", a double decker bus that moves up and down the strip for $2 a ride and got off at the Palazzo for our show. "Jersey Boys" was so good, great music and story about the Four Seasons, the 1960's pop harmony group featuring Frankie Valli. It did however have its share of rough "Jersey language"! After the show we ate at the Italian restaurant there called "Carnevino". It was wonderful (the overhead music was "The White Album", no kidding). We split a salad, some bow tie pasta and a New York strip steak along with some veggies and risotto cakes. It was pretty elegant (and delicious) and rounded out our splurge evening at about $300 (dinner and show) and it was worth it.

On Tuesday after our classes we hoped to go to the temple but Pat suggested we call first just in case. Sure enough, it was closed for cleaning and maintenance. Too bad. We decided to try the hotel's buffet for dinner. Years ago Las Vegas was known for cheap (maybe $3.99) buffets all over town. No more. Our meal was $16.99 each. It was pretty good but nothing to write home about. After dinner we got back on the Deuce and headed down the strip again. We saw the dancing waters show outside of the Bellagio and wandered through New York New York. It is a fun place with an interior that looked like NY streets with corner deli's, street lamps, Central Park, etc. We got in line for their roller coaster but changed our minds when we saw that it cost $14 apiece! We crossed over to the MGM and started walking again. We visited the 4 story M&M store and the Coke store and headed back to the Riviera. After our classes Wednesday, we headed home most of the was talking about ideas we had learned that we can use in the classroom. It was a very fun time together.

So, some thoughts on the famous Sin City... There is lots to do and see, it is very bright and flashy but it still has a very dark side. Everyone is solicited at some point on the street for some decidedly non-family activities. It is VERY expensive to eat and stay. We are not gamblers (not a penny on this trip) but I can see where that could be fun for those folks I don't know... strictly from a vacation standpoint, I think I'll take San Diego anytime.

Lost and found... with a happy ending

2008-07-25T21:37:00.000-07:00

Fourth of July and nobody was home at our house. Rachel and Scott were both out and Pat and I were in Taylor, AZ where the Due West Trio was performing. Our little terrier, Jaxx was locked in the backyard as usual. The sun went down, the fireworks started popping in the neighborhood and Jaxx began to get nervous.

We have a heavy wrought iron gate which closes in the yard but it has been off a hinge and in need of repair for some time now. A non-panicked Jaxx would not normally be able to budge it. So after surely scratching at the Arcadia door to no avail he began to shoulder his way out the gate and off he ran. The kids really did not notice him missing until the next day and everybody started looking. Pat and I got home late afternoon Saturday and Wendy, her boyfriend Chad, Scott and I all went in separate cars and combed the neighborhood searching and calling his name. Rachel was at work and said she was going to cruise the Nielson's neighborhood. No luck.

We called Pima County Animal Control, the City Pound (because they typically pick up a number of scared strays every Fourth) and went on the websites to check and report him missing. In short, we did everything we knew to do.

Then, Sunday afternoon we got a call from a woman who said she had found him. We were all very happy with the news! She lived at Houghton and Camino Quince. Jaxx had run there (crossing Houghton and Broadway, both very busy streets) and scratched on her door. So he must have spent at least one night alone and a mile from home.

Rachel and I drove to the corner and Jaxx seemed pretty happy to see us. Of course, I offered to reward the lady but she refused and was very gracious.

So there was a happy ending to what could have been a very sad story!

Indy for a day

2008-05-25T15:00:00.000-07:00

Anyone who knows me knows that I am an incurable ham (although I have heard of cured hams!). And my children will remember many Halloweens that I dressed in costume to take them trick-or-treating or to go to a Halloween party. I just find it fun.

So yesterday, in keeping with a sort of personal tradition Pat and I have, we met to see a movie on Grading Day after we finished our school stuff. And the movie was, of course, the new "Indiana Jones and Kingdom of the Crystal Skull". So, I naturally decided to dress as Indiana Jones to attend the movie. To Pat's credit, she walked next to me the whole time. What a good sport.

Since I was running a little late and we wanted to get good seats, Pat went ahead to the theater and bought the tickets. She gave mine to Scott who was working at Dillard's and got in line. While she was waiting, Pat struck up a conversation with some folks. They asked if she thought I was going to be able to find her in line. She replied, "Don't worry. You'll know who he is. He's dressed like Indiana Jones"! I came along later to pick up my ticket (and embarrass Scott in front of his co-workers) and walked through the food court to the theater. I got lots of smiles and comments (and some parents pointing me out to their little kids). I had not shaved since the previous Sunday to help complete the image and of course ran into our stake president and his wife! He was not surprised in the least to see me like that. He knows me pretty well!

We saw the film and enjoyed it. It is a little short on plot but the special effects , fight scenes, car chases and explosions pretty much made up for it for us. After the movie, I was in the hallway waiting for Pat come out of the restroom when I noticed a young family standing nearby with a couple of boys that had just seen the movie too. The five year old was looking over at me and whispering to his mom. She was saying, "It's OK. Go ahead!" So he came up to me and timidly reached out his hand for me to shake. It was sweet and made my day.

Yay for Chipotle!

2008-05-06T19:15:00.000-07:00

I received an email from a colleague today at school that Chipotle was serving free burritos, salads, etc to Arizona teachers for Teacher Appreciation Day! I told Pat and Carlie (and Ellena)and I met her there and Rachel was close behind. I was the only one who really had my required TUSD ID but Pat showed her state-required fingerprint card and we got our free stuff! It was delicious as usual and very nice of Chipotle. We thanked them.

Generous gift from Beatle-phile brother

2008-05-04T19:25:00.000-07:00

On my day off this week (Thursday)a large box arrived at my house. Actually, guitar-sized! I opened it and it was indeed a beautiful new guitar . The guitar pictured in the link is actually an Epiphone model but it is identical to mine. It is a Tokai copy of the Gibson J160E that John Lennon used to play on stage.

The story is that when my brothers and I went to West Covina over Easter to help Dad move to his new place, Robert brought this and another acoustic so he and I could jam which we did! I called him when I opened the box to thank him and he said that he had seen the picture he took of me posing with the Tokai with a mile-wide grin and thought that I should have it! He said that he had too many guitars and I didn't have enough! So he sent it along with a hard-shell case. Well, I was speechless (for once in my life). That night I headed right over to my friend Jerry Figuiera's house (another Beatle fan) and showed him and we also jammed a bit. I love it and have already played many Beatle songs on it. Thanks, Rob!

It was thirty years ago today...

2008-05-04T12:03:00.000-07:00

Today is Pat's and my 30th wedding anniversary. Here some things we have done together over those years: Bought three new cars and a half dozen used ones. Bought two houses, rented two and rented an apartment and the upstairs of a house. Received four college degrees. Traveled through twelve states and two countries (Mexico and Italy). Served in many church callings. Bought a used dryer, a new washer and dryer and a new water heater. Put on an entire new roof on our house. Hiked to Havasupai Falls in the Grand Canyon. Spent many summer weekends camping during family reunions. Seen James Taylor (3 times) Neil Diamond, Allison Krauss and Union Station, The Four Tops, The Temptations, Huey Lewis and the News, and The Jetts in concert. Laughed a lot, cried a little, fought even less. Buried three of our parents. Been to Disneyland a couple dozen times, Kartchner Caverns twice and Sea World, San Diego Wild Animal Park, Knott's Berry Farm, Old Tucson Studios, The Arizona Sonora Desert Museum (where we lost Wendy and found her again), the Grand Canyon and Colossal Cave once each. Owned two dogs. Made and served hundreds (maybe thousands) of snow cones. Hosted about 50 kids' birthday parties. Bought about 25 live Christmas trees. Been to about ten Arizona Diamondback games. Put in and maintained a large vegetable garden. Attended many school plays, musicals and singers' shows. Walked out of a show in Las Vegas. Been teachers for about 20 combined years. Attended the temple weddings of two of our daughters. And most importantly, welcomed into our family five beautiful, talented and precious children... and (so far) four sweet-beyond-description grandchildren.

In the future we plan to... Serve a full-time mission for the Church. Go on a cruise to the western Caribbean (February of 2009). Visit Hawaii and return to Europe some day. Attend the temple weddings of our other three children. Hopefully welcome yet more grandchildren into our family. Wear out our lives in the service of others!

It has been a fun run so far and we look forward to many more years ahead.

Very Pun-ny

2008-04-27T20:16:00.000-07:00

Dad and I were attending the mandatory camp meeting after church last Sunday. The leaders were introducing the new theme for camp as B.L.I.S.S. (being linked in the strength of sisterhood). They were explaining the stake had first chosen BLING and had even written a rap to go with it but President Alston KO'd it as too worldly. He wanted them to chose something that had a scripture reference, so they chose 'bliss' instead. I saw President Nielsen after the meeting and said there was a scripture reference for 'bling'! It is "Bling your tithes and offerings to the storehouse..." He told me I had been hanging around Dad too long!

To the Bat Cave..!

2008-04-23T21:53:00.000-07:00

Last Friday night we had some overnight guests at the old Bertoglio hacienda. Pat's twin Pam and her husband Jeff came in from Pennsylvania. Also billeted with us were Pat's sister Sharon, brother Bob and his wife Karen and sister-in-law Jane who was accompanied by her 8 year old grandson, Dylan. Dylan's grandma had taken him to the toy store where he bought (with his own money) an Lego Star Wars spaceship which he and I began to work on right away. I'm not as good at these new-fangled Legos as with the old-school ones!

Pat whipped up some of her famous and delicious tortilla soup and we all ate. That night we got out the Wii video game and made our arms sore playing sports; bowling, tennis, and baseball. We also introduced Jeff to "Guitar Hero". We sat around and watched old 16mm home movies of Pat's folks' trip to Hawaii and second generation "hot rod" races.

In the morning after a hearty breakfast of scrambled eggs, bacon, pancakes and waffles we all piled into cars and after the arrival of yet another sister, Diana and her husband Lou, and caravaned 45 miles and minutes east to tour the famous Kartchner Caverns. You may not know that Pat's family is related to the Kartchners, the original owners of the land where the caves are located. Lois Martineau Kartchner was Pat's dad's oldest sister. There are two caves to visit but one closes down for a few weeks every year as it turns into a "bat nursery" which cannot be disturbed. So we went through the other tour (the second time for Pat and me) and everyone seemed to really enjoy it. The ranger did require that all the contents of Dylan's jean pockets be carried by an adult (which turned out to be me). They keep a strict control of what could possibly be left in the cave. So I carried Lego R2D2 and Luke (and his light saber) along with a marble egg and stand and two sea shells. Pat says that the ranger (a lady) had to have been a former schoolteacher to know that if and 8-year-old boy had something in his hands, he had stuff in his pockets that could be potentially permanently installed among the wonders of the cave.

After the tour we watched the visitors center movie and got back into our cars. Jane and Sharon and Dylan drove on to Tombstone to tourist around and the rest of us headed back to Tucson. There, Bob and Karen and Diana and Lou headed back to Phoenix and points north leaving Pam and Jeff with us. We persuaded them to stay the night and took them to Midtown Molina's for some good Mexican food (what you have to do in Tucson with out-of-town guests.

When we got home we played Mexican train (a domino game... not really a must with out-of-town guests) with Scott when he came home from work, ate ice cream and generally stayed up too late and laughed a lot. It was very fun visiting with all the relatives. And Pam and Jeff talked us into going on a cruise with them next year! They have been a couple of times and have raved (like every other cruiser anybody has ever talked to) about the experience. We are going to the western Carribean. We are very excited and told Pam to pay the deposit when they got home before we changed our minds! Please come back for more visits, you family folks! It was such fun and too short!

to my darlings

2008-04-22T15:08:00.000-07:00

i just saw this on my news feed for the "funny quote of the day":

"Happiness is having a large, loving, caring, close-knit family in another city."

Love you all! :)

w

we love papa

2008-04-04T16:56:00.000-07:00

yesterday trevor and i were working on our taxes in the office, and took turns distracting ellena from wanting to 'help'. i gave her dad's newest cd, '10 winters and 10 springs' to look at. she kept pointing to her papa and smiling, laughing and kissing the picture.

loves her papa so good!

The End of the Grovecenter Era

2008-03-28T21:38:00.000-07:00

A couple of days ago escrow closed on the home my siblings and I grew up in on Grovecenter St. in West Covina, California. My parents bought it is May of 1955, the only house they ever bought. They paid $14,700 and struggled with that high initial monthly mortgage payment of $85. It sold for $430,000.

Pat, Rachel and I drove over to California along with my brothers and their wives to help clear out the house for the sale. My sister Tricia had been down a couple of times prior and had gone through a lot of Mom and Dad's things. In fact, she told me as we planned our trip there that she was surprised that they had not accumulated more stuff over their 53 years there. But as it turned out, we filled at least 8 large plastic leaf bags with all manner of stuff not to mention many items for Goodwill or Salvation Army to pick up. Pat sat with Dad at his desk for a pretty long time and helped consolidate his enormous collection of paperwork (spread over his desk in the den, his desk in the back bedroom and the kitchen table). We shredded LOTS of documents and he got organized!

Dad had told us that a neighbor (who works for U-Haul) had promised to have a truck at his house for us to use to move Dad and his furniture to his new place, a retirement center in San Dimas called Atria. But Friday night came and went, no truck. So first thing Saturday morning I rented a 17 foot truck and we started loading. By now my brother Doug had arrived with his large son Nicholas and another large friend and they started in. We made two trips, the first with furniture and the second with boxes. Everybody pitched in and things went amazingly smooth. We had cleaned out the cupboards of dishes, small appliances, silverware, etc. Most of that was taken by my brother Robert and he was very happy to have it! There were other knickknacks we all sort of gleaned. Mom had some antique teacups and saucers and other such stuff and we picked them up for the granddaughters.

When we got to Dad's new place, "job one" was to set up his new apartment. We arranged furniture and lamps a couple of times, got his beds set up and made and stocked his closets and bathrooms. We wanted to make it seem "like home" as soon as possible.

Dad put us up in the Radisson (formerly Embassy) Suites and it was very comfortable. Robert brought two acoustic guitars and we stayed up late a couple of nights singing Beatles, Buddy Holly and Merle Haggard songs. It was SO fun. We also all went out to BJ's Brewery for a big family dinner which was also fun. My brother John stayed on a few days to arrange the cancellation of the utilities in Dad's name, transfer his phone number, and arrange for a dumpster to be delivered to the house. I think this weekend, Doug and Nicholas are going over to fill it with all the leftover junk and trash.

In all the hubbub, We all noticed that Dad seemed a little detached. Well, who can blame him? So many years in the same place and then to be shuffled, perhaps a little hastily to a two-room apartment. We didn't mean for it to be hasty. I just think we wanted to take advantage of everyone there and available to help. When we finally left him on the fifth floor Sunday, Pat started to get teary and said, "I hate to leave him alone!" But after all he is only 10 minutes from his old house, all his friends including Betty are close by and we know he will be checked on and will have three decent meals a day. Betty has since been there to visit him at least once.

So, the Grovecenter days are over but life is change, isn't it?. I know that Pat and I and our kids have great memories of visiting Grandma and Grandpa Bertoglio in that house (they have all told me that recently). We do and will continue to worry about Dad. My sister-in-law Janice, who is a nurse and has worked with older folks, thinks that he may be suffering with TEA or TIA (I didn't catch the acronym) which apparently are small strokes which may explain his rather passive demeanor through all this. Maybe or maybe not. But I believe we can help keep his spirits high by being in touch. I know he loves to send and receive letters and get phone calls. Please email or call me or Pat for his new address. His phone number is the same. Thanks, props and muchas smooches to all my sibs and their wives and sig others for their tireless work, love and concern for Dad. Y'all did a yeoman's job. And thank goodness for Doug and Pat both being such organized types ("type A"?). They really helped keep us and the move in line. Rachel also pitched in during this project even though she had hoped to meet a friend there in SoCal and head off to Magic Mountain. It didn't work out though. Still I think it was fun for her to see her uncles, aunts and cousins.

If this experience has done anything for me, it is to reinforce my belief that family is of the utmost importance in this life.

Books, books, and more books!

2008-03-25T21:31:00.000-07:00

Mark you calendars... Mom is blogging!

I read 3 books on the road trip to California this weekend and no they weren't picture books! I finished The Gift by Richard Paul Evans just before Casa Grande. I had started it while still at home. I was bawling like a baby at the end! It also had a great quote that made me laugh out loud and I had to read it to Dave. Einstein said insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result! I'm sure he was thinking about the laws of physics and such and how they don't change. But in the book, it was about the relationship with the character's mother and no matter how much he tried, he was never going to change her! Reminded me of a certain person I work with!

I then started A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks and finished it in bed that night! It was good and I didn't figure it out until the very end. I should have seen it coming though... Always great love stories!

On the way home I read The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. I had read A Thousand Splendid Suns by the same author last summer. They were both very riveting and dark yet informative. Neither one of them had a 'happily ever after' ending. I suppose since they are both set in Afghanistan, that whole country still does not have a happily ever after ending yet. There is resolution but maybe it is just resignation to the circumstances that exist as the story ends. The writer is very clever with his humorous side stories.

The week before that I read 3 more books! It is my escape from the stress of work! Now I have 3 more books to return and check out some new ones! Any good suggestions??? I will pretty much read anything! Scott just gave me Cat's Cradle by Vonnegut. Isn't that a song by Harry Chapin???

Mission Anniverssary

2008-03-16T21:29:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, March 15 was my "mission anniversary", the day I left home in 1975 to fly to Salt Lake City to the then-mission home for the three day stay to begin my mission. It was a very stressful morning as my parents got up early to drive me to LAX to catch my flight. I said goodbye to my younger brother Doug who was still in bed. Mom later told me that he cried as he lay there for some time that morning. My parents were upset and confused at my leaving for two years. It happened that a general authority, a member of the Quorum of the Seventy, Elder Rex D. Pinegar was in the airport with his wife about to board the same flight. They spoke briefly with my parents and tried to comfort them somewhat. Especially Sister Pinegar tried to relate to Mom as a mother herself since she had a son going into the mission field (to Hungary, I think) at the same time. They were very sweet to my folks and corresponded by letter with them a few times while I was out.

I thought about all this on my "anniversary" because this week all my siblings are converging on the now-sold family home to help move Dad into an assisted living facility in nearby San Dimas. It is a major transition for him and on a lesser scale for me as this was our family home. Mom has been gone now for three years and my joining the church was always hard for her to accept which I always wished wasn't the case. But I also had lots of support in my ward there on the corner of Badillo and Lark Ellen. The ward members there encouraged me and when it came time to go, donated a substantial amount of money toward my support in the mission field. The Elder's quorum there also supported me the entire two years with monthly donations.

I am so grateful to all those who helped me during this stage. The recently-deceased president of our church, Gordon B. Hinckley often said that everything good that came to him in life came because of his choosing to serve a mission. Well, I won't say that everything good in my life came from that experience. I had hard-working, devoted parents who taught me work ethic, honesty, manners and etiquette (thanks, Mom!) and many other great qualities. My membership in the church and my subsequent mission experience taught me the truths of the gospel, people skills, patience, the Spanish language which has provided me with lots of opportunities, both job-related and otherwise and many other valuable things. It led me to attend Brigham Young University where I found the love of my life and the future mother of my beautiful children. It brought me direction and purpose.

So it will be great to visit with my sibs and Dad and reminisce a bit this week. Toward the end of her life and even just before her passing Mom always encouraged us, her children to get together more. She hoped we would draw together as family.

Fun and noise with the girls and boys in Illinois

2008-03-01T19:36:00.000-08:00

Pat, Scott, Rachel and I all took a half-day on Wednesday, February 20, left the car in the Park-n-Save and flew to the Indianapolis airport by way of Dallas/Fort Worth. We arrived at 11:00 PM local time and asked the Enterprise clerk if our rented Chevy Cobalt would be big enough for four of us with baggage. No. Could he find us a bigger car for maybe the same price? Yes. A Kia mini-van. It turned out to be the perfect size. He said the shuttle would be waiting outside to take us to the lot. So we wheeled our bags outside to wait and it was FREEZING! It seemed that every other company's shuttle passed us twice before ours arrived.

After two hours on the freeway we arrived at the Stone house about 1AM to hugs and kisses from Tina and Jon (she had not seen Scott since he returned from his mission). They even woke up Seth to take him potty and he gave us sleepy hugs. Finally we got our sleeping arrangements made and went to sleep after a long day!

The next two days it snowed constantly (more than T & J remembered it snowing that whole winter thus far) day and night so we stayed pretty close to home. We had ordered Seth's birthday presents online and had them delivered to Champaign. They were Star Wars Transformers! Darth Vader/Death Star and the Millennium (Seth pronounced it "Milliken") Falcon/Han Solo and Chewie. Scott, Jon and I could not wait for Saturday so we prevailed on the moms to have his birthday on Friday. Grandma made Mickey Mouse pancakes, went to Chipotle for dinner, had cake and ice cream and finally opened presents! Seth loved them! We determined that not counting the time he was asleep (when the adult boys played) Seth always had a transformer in his hands. And so Maryn would not feel left out, Grandma made her a Care Bear rag quilt and two matching throw pillows. She loved them and carried them around too. Jonas got new jammies but did not seem overly excited about them.

On Saturday morning we took the boogie board-style sled to the local park and and went sliding on the one hill in town! It was the dirt mound left over when the city dug the community swimming pool. Go to Tina's blog for the video. Back at the house we built a snowman (also on the video). Nights found us staying up way too late playing Settlers of Catan and Mexican Train. Jonas took more and more steps and was very cute. One night Jon made us a delicious chicken pasta dish and also sushi. Tina made some wonderful chicken chili on Sunday (just right for cold days!).

With hugs and tears we left for the airport after lunch arriving in Tucson at about 1:30AM which made for a pretty droopy work and school day Monday. But it was a wonderful time. We so love all our wonderful children and grandchildren and miss those who are far away (looking at you too, Wendy!) We are grateful and pray for them every day!

One more thing... We can't visit Tina and Jon without reporting a "Seth-ism" or two, or in this case, a "Maryn-ism" The kids were dressed and ready to leave for church and when Maryn saw Seth, she said, "Seth, you look pretty!" Seth replied, "No, Maryn. I'm a boy!" "Well," says Maryn, "You are 'boy-pretty'".

Snow joke!

2008-02-15T15:12:00.000-08:00

After several days of beautiful low 70's weather here in Tucson, a winter storm moved in today and we got some snow even in the lower elevations! It didn't stick but it was fun to watch. Pat and I along with Scott and Rachel will be winging our way to Illinois next Wednesday to spend our "Rodeo" vacation long weekend visiting Tina, Jon and the kids. The weather there according to the reports has been COLD! Well, we will stay warm it by holding the grandkids close the whole time! We are so excited to see them!

Sour Cream Sugar Cookies

2008-02-13T20:39:00.000-08:00

Who knows who I got this recipe from but it is great! Request from Tina, Wendy already called for it. What better place to share it!
Sour Cream Sugar Cookies
1/2 c. shortening
1 c. sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
2 2/3 c. flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 c. sour cream
It isn't necessary to chill. Roll out on floured surface. Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes.

Enjoy!

subbing in Primary

2008-02-10T19:44:00.000-08:00

Everyone tells me I need to post something. I say "like what happened to me in Primary today???" I have been subbing in Sunbeams the last 3 weeks because the old teacher was called to Young Womens. These 4 children were with me in nursery all last year. I was holding a little girl on my lap (she shall remain anonymous)and noticed she was digging for gold. She struck it rich! I caught her hand just as she was trying to flick it off. I fished in my bag for a tissue and remedied the situation. At least I though I did, she found another one on the other side! At least she didn't try to eat it!

thanks for the fire truck!

2008-02-10T19:22:00.001-08:00

and jammies (not pictured)

happy birthday ellena!

2008-02-07T21:17:00.001-08:00

Ellena turned 1 today! We had blueberry pancakes for breakfast, and had a cake smashing. Don't let this picture fool you-- it took her a while, and some help from daddy, to really get into this cake. She just kept sticking in her fingers and licking the frosting. Check our Thompson Family blog for more pictures.

Happy Homecoming!

2008-01-29T14:45:00.000-08:00

On Thursday, January 10th, Pat, Rachel, Wendy and I took a half-day off school (not Wendy; she took a half-day off from sleeping in... she was on vacation!) to go to Tucson International Airport and pick up our son Scott. He returned from Oklahoma after serving an honorable two year mission there for our church. We stopped on the way at a store to get balloons, markers and poster board for the big welcome. Carlie and Trevor (and baby Ellena) had gone ahead in their car. As we were pulling into the airport parking lot, Carlie called to say that Scott was already at the baggage carousel with Trevor. His flight had arrived early! We hurried in and there he was. There were kisses and hugs all around. As with all missionary families, we had spoken to him by phone only twice a year, received weekly emails and seen snapshots for the duration of his service (two years) but had had no face-to-face visits.
One of Scott's companions from the mission field, Robert Caranza, who is from nearby Marana, Arizona and had returned some time before was also there with another friend. Scott had already told us that the first thing he wanted to do was to have lunch at In-and-Out Burger so away we went.
That evening at 6, Scott had an appointment with the Stake Presidency to be officially released (meaning that his tenure as a missionary with all the attendant rules and responsibilities had officially ended). He received some counsel and a blessing from President Ric Nielsen. He went home to change into some "civilian" clothes and we all went out to dinner at Midtown Molina's, an old and popular Mexican restaurant.
Now, he is home and settled in to his new room. Wendy took off for the Sundance Film Festival and then home to Seattle and it was fun having her visit. I think it was also fun for Scott to have her here during the day to do stuff with. He is closing in on a job and plans to take some Pima Community College on-line courses. He reported his mission in our ward's sacrament meeting on January 20th. He gave a fine talk and we were so happy that several of our dearest friends and family members were able to be here. We are proud of him and are so pleased to have him among us again.

Wendy's Last Night in Town

2008-01-23T20:58:00.000-08:00

Daughter #3 Wendy, resident of Seattle has been home with us in Tucson since January 6th. She came for the occasion of our son Scott's return from his mission. She has kept us entertained and Scott occupied these last weeks. So tomorrow she heads back to Seattle by way of the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. She and Scott have been renting a couple of movies per night (Scott needs to catch up after his two year movie dearth) and tonight she asked him to go to the video store and get two more. Scott said no, partly because the store was to close in 10 minutes and also because he had TIVO'd Mel Gibson's "When We Were Soldiers" and they could watch that. Wendy protested and asked, "Is that a Viet Nam movie? I don't like those movies; everybody is so...sweaty."

Marray Kreemmay!

2008-01-04T21:06:00.000-08:00

We had a great family Christmas, although small in number. It was nice to have present opening at about 10-ish, so we could all look our best... maybe. Here is Grandma opening 1 of 2 presents that she didn't hand pick herself (the rest she already knew!). Dad calls me his "shopping service"... Mom tells me what she wants, I go buy it and wrap it, and Dad gives me the money. I think it's a great system. I am quite skilled at spending other people's money.

Here is Papa opening just what he wanted.... Graham Crackers. To his surprise, the cookies had been removed and replaced with Hairspray. The movie, not the beauty essential.

Rach is uber excited about her hoodie that she had to wait forever for. Seriously, 3 weeks is an eternity in teen-years.

Ellena loved her books. I sometimes have to hide a few so she doesn't ask for the same book all day long.

Yay for water toys!

We loved being able to talk to Elder Scotty too, and can't wait for him to get home!

Musings on language...

2007-12-25T09:21:00.000-08:00

I know I am not the first person to comment on this but, please people! Start saying "you're welcome" again! As most of you know, I am a language teacher (Spanish) as well as an erstwhile writer so you will understand my annoyance and some obsession. It drives me nuts that the response to "thank you" these days is nearly always, "No problem". It would seem that saying "thank you" to someone presupposes that the person being thanked is somehow "put out" or bothered by providing the thanker with whatever item or service and requires an implied apology. Not true! Saying "you're welcome" is a gracious way of acknowledging the person's thanks while at the same time expressing that it is a pleasure to provide said item or service.
Also, note to all you 30 and unders... Lose the word "suck". It is tired, overused, coarse and unbecoming. As to an alternative... well, be creative but civil.
So, I am henceforth smugly and pretentiously calling myself "Mr. Grammar Guy". Why? Because Dave Barry already uses "Mr. Language Person".

2007-12-20T22:10:00.000-08:00

Here's how frustrating a little miscommunication can be! Last night Carlie was at our house changing Ellena'a diaper and had run our of wet wipes. She had already asked Rachel to get her a napkin, which she did. Then she asked Rachel for another and Rachel asked, "Wet?" and Carlie repeated the request. Again Rachel said, "Wet?" By now Carlie was tired of Rachel's poor hearing! We all got a good laugh from it.

2007-12-20T22:00:00.000-08:00

Since Scott has been on his mission in Oklahoma City (he returns home to Tucson January 10th!)Rachel has been driving the Nissan Pathfinder. some time ago I spelled out "www.duewesttrio.com" in white vinyl letters on its rear window. The License plate also reads, "DUWEST3". So as Rachel was stopped at a light an older woman pulled up beside her, rolled down her window, gave Rachel the "thumbs up" and said, "Yeah, Due West Trio! Great music!". Rachel just smiled.

new hat!

2007-12-17T14:43:00.001-08:00

We got Ellena's hat in the mail today from Aunt Tina. As soon as I got it out of the envelope, she wanted to see it. She didn't want me to put it on her since she wasn't done playing with it.
Love love love it Tina!

it's always time to eat

2007-12-13T07:09:00.000-08:00

We are a bit behind on our daily pictures of Ellena. Wendy says she is really busy, so I will post a few. My comments will not be quite as funny, but bear with me.
Whenever anyone eats anything, Ellena thinks it is time for her to eat too. These pictures were taken yesterday morning, showing Daddy and Ellena sharing a blueberry muffin.

We (I) Are (am) The Champion(s)

2007-12-07T16:22:00.000-08:00

Today at school we had the Fall Sports Assembly. The student council voted to ask me and Cathy Patterson, the Ag teacher to do "The Singing Bee" for the student body. They chose Beatles songs (heh, heh, heh). Cathy's was "Hard Day's Night" and she did really well, stayed in key, etc. My song was "Can't Buy Me Love". Yeah, I nailed it (one of my kids said he couldn't tell when the song stopped!). Then they did the hand over the head to let the audience cheer volume determine the winner. What can I say? It sounded like a 747 taking off (all modesty aside). They even gave me a "loving cup" trophy. It was fun AND it was Beatles songs!

A Month of Ellena- December 7th (or) Shrouded in RED.

2007-12-07T15:01:00.000-08:00

We didn't have the heart to tell her that it wasn't a real molotov cocktail. She was just so adorable trying to land it in a cracked passenger-side window and yelling, "Our ends can be attained only by the forcible overthrow of all existing social conditions!"

A Month of Ellena- Day 6

2007-12-06T23:44:00.000-08:00

Trevor has trained her to not respond to any external stimuli until the commercial break.

A month of Ellena- December 5th

2007-12-05T18:35:00.000-08:00

A real Angel. EH? EH (pronounced A...get it?!?!)

A Month of Ellena, December 4th

2007-12-04T23:16:00.000-08:00

Through several rudamentary hand signs and simple phrases, Carlie has been able to communicate to Ellena that her brains will spew forth through her mouth if she does not constantly keep her finger in the cavity next to her front tooth. Poor Ellena's unrealized dream to be a concert pianist will remain just that. She'll be resigned to playing "Little Indian Lance" with her one free hand.

A Month of Ellena-December 3rd (or) "The police protected you and there were courts of law. And you didn't need a friend like me."

2007-12-03T21:08:00.001-08:00

Bonasera, Bonasera. What have I ever done to make you treat me so disrespectfully?

Accent

2007-12-02T20:43:00.000-08:00

Last night a lady from our apartment complex was having an "Open House" Mary Kay party and invited us to stop by. Her name is Gigi, and she is eastern Indian. After saying less than 20 words to her, she asked me, in her thick Indian accent, where my accent was from. ?? I told her I was from here. About 15 minutes later, she asked me if I really grew up here since I had such a beautiful way of speaking. The way I made my words, she said, was beautiful, and she was convinced I lived somewhere where I would pick up an accent.
Who knew?

And..... cue the music..... we started our own blog! Check us out at: http://tucsonthompsons.blogspot.com/

A Month of Ellena, December 2nd

2007-12-02T18:23:00.000-08:00

Day 2- Ellena shows her instinctive ability to retrieve her stored provisions in the winter months. An impressive specimen, indeed.

A month of Ellena. December 1st

2007-12-01T12:29:00.000-08:00

Carlie has a bad habit of NEVER TAKING PICTURES of baby Ellena, so in an effort to help her step up her frequency of photographing and posting, I've decided to sponsor "A Month of Ellena", where you can visit for a new picture of Ellena every day this month! Here she is, ringing in the holiday season with a well placed piece of trimming.

Feel free to comment if you have a request for a specific type of picture. I'd like to see her in reindeer antlers. Anyone? Anyone?

ouchies

2007-11-21T19:20:00.000-08:00

Today Ellena had a doctor's appointment where I knew she had to have blood work. I thought it would be a little foot prick, but this was an IV-type blood draw! She was very sad to say the least. She cried as it went in, stopped for a bit, then cried when they took it out. I got to pick her up and snuggle her for a minute, then back down she went for a flu shot. She held very still and looking trustingly at the nurse, then unleashed when her trust was betrayed by another needle. Sweet baby girl. How can you not want to kiss those cheeks? She weighed in at 19 1/2 pounds.
I took this picture a couple days ago when she was having a nap. I believe her foot is tucked under so she can quickly sit up when she's done sleeping. Napping is only a short necessity to her- she has so many other things she needs to get done.

Italy Pictures

2007-11-12T17:24:00.000-08:00

We just returned from our 2 week trip to Italy. Click here to view the pictures.

this is halloween

2007-11-05T21:28:00.000-08:00

Cute chicks at the Trunk or Treat. This is Regan's smile... really!
The pictures are a bit out of order.. this one is Ellena checking out her loot. Did I have some trouble taking it away from her!!
I had to wait for Trevor to get home so I could take this picture. She was much happier here.
This was when we just barely got home, and she was so hungry. This chick waits for no one!

tag

2007-11-01T20:05:00.000-07:00

Both Sarah and Tina have "tagged" me recently, strange to me since I didn't think you could tag someone that didn't have their own blog page. So, I will post on here, and quickly post pictures of Halloween so many won't feel too obligated to enter into my secret world. Apparently, I am supposed to say 7 things about me. After I read Tina's, she commented that she would be interested in reading mine since she knows everything about me. My challenge the last few days was to come up with ones I don't think she knows. My goal is majority-- she won't know at least 4 of the 7. Let's give it a go!

1. I love cooking, although I don't have really any special skill at it. (unless you count having the brownie recipe memorized since I was 14!) Whenever I start making a good dinner with fresh ingredients, I find myself narrating my own cooking show. I figure if annoying Rachel Ray can have a cooking show, I can do it too!

2. When I put Ellena to sleep, I always sing "Goodnight My Angel" by Billy Joel and "Molly Bloom" from Dad's new CD. As soon as I start with Billy Joel, she immediately lays her head down and relaxes for sleep.

3. I also love Disneyland. I've been there so many times I've lost count. Since Trevor and I have been married, we buy a trading pin each trip we take. We have been about a dozen times in the 3 1/2 years we've been married. Even then, I can honestly say I haven't ridden or seen everything there is to see! There's probably only a few I've missed, but it's interesting to think about.

4. I have an uncanny knack for remembering things, especially song lyrics. After hearing a song a couple of times, I can usually remember all the words. This is especially true for Broadway Musicals. In my mental list, I can think of about 14 shows that I could sing you the entire soundtrack from beginning to end. Dad always said he wished we knew scripture passages as well- I say make it into a musical and I am set!

5. My closet is organized by style and 'colorized'. I had to do this often while working at Dillards, thus, my clothes are the same. I can't help myself and often organize Trevor's in the same way. I don't think he has noticed.

6. I once sang "Sin Wagon" by the Dixie Chicks in a karaoke restaurant/bar. As much as I love singing and preforming, this really scared me- I was so nervous. On stage, you usually can't see the faces of the audience, but all my pals and total strangers were staring at me. Yikes.

7. And finally, I have this obsession with numbers. If I am driving down the street, for example, and see a string of numbers, I start dissecting it. When adding all the numbers, is it divisible by three? If not, what number can I change for it to be? Is it even or odd? What's its lowest divisible number? What are it's lowest prime numbers it can be broken into? Have I ever had that amount of anything?

So, there you have it. I now see after writing this that I have a bit of OCD. Actually, I told Trevor my list earlier today, and while I was cooking dinner, he asked how my show was going. I was temporarily in a commercial break.

angry and beautiful

2007-10-26T16:21:00.001-07:00

Ellena got 2 packages in the mail this week. One was from Aunt Wendy- she sent her air freshener Halloween costume. She is one angry yellow tree!
The second was a beautiful quilt from Aunt Marcelle. We look forward to hanging it in her room.

Vacation Proxy

2007-10-25T15:59:00.000-07:00

In lieu of going to Disneyland this week, we decided to avoid the fiery inferno and vacation at home instead. On this, the last day of our 'vacation' we got up early and spent some time on Mount Lemon. We stopped at General Hitchcock camping ground and built a little fire and enjoyed the mountain air. Ellena loved it! She was so giggley and happy. If you look closely, you can see her 2 top teeth coming in-- before the bottom ones!
The top picture was taken from Windy Point.
We miss you Grandma and Papa! I am sure Italy has some spectacular views too!

all the new tricks

2007-10-13T22:52:00.000-07:00

I would imagine with anyone's first baby, any new sound or movement must mean their baby is a genius. That's how I feel all the time. I think there must not be any baby in the world that does this many adorable things already. Here are the newest tricks within the last week or so:

1. She has been saying, "Hi Dada" for a while now. When I try to tell her to say "Mama", she always answers, "Dada".

2. We must have oo-ed and ahh-ed too many times after she coughed or sneezed because she will immediately follow up with a smile that seems to say, "Did you see that? It was very adorable." She will sometimes squeeze out a few extra cough noises for a captive audience.

3. Either on my lap or in my arms, she will start bouncing herself up and down. I think she loves the new control she is having over her body. She is still trying to crawl, and can reach or stretch to get what she wants, which is everything.

4. Peek-a-boo. There's not much more to say. She loves to play it, and has learned how to lift her dress up for it. I'm not sure, but this may be problematic in the future. She must not to able to stand the suspense because she goes very quickly.

5. When Dad leaves in the morning, we send him off at the door, and she will patiently wait for her kisses. Most other times, she shies away and won't let you kiss her, but she knows this morning ritual.

6. When I ask her if she wants to sing "Patty-Cake" she starts clapping. She claps through the whole song and will sometimes throw her hands in the air at the end. Even when she is wailing in the backseat on the way home, I'll ask her if she wants to sing, and I hear little pitter-claps while she briefly pauses for a musical number.

7. Lastly, just today she started waving. She will raise one hand and squeeze her fingers in and out of a fist. The best part is the same action is going on with the other hand, just not up in the air.

It is amazing to see how much she learns and absorbs every day. The time she spends on the floor playing with her toys is amazing to watch. She is so meticulous. To me, she looks like she is losing the 'baby' look and really starting to grow up. We love every minute!

My Guilty Secret

2007-10-09T12:32:00.000-07:00

I feel that I must confess something I did last weekend for the first time. I am not proud of it. But confession is a cleansing activity and is the first step to course corrections and efforts to change and improve. It was something I have for many years warned my children not to get involved in. I was talked into it by others (including peers) and I was , well, weak and gave in. Worst of all, I dragged Pat into it.

"It" is... Guitar Hero. While we attended Cort Nielsen's wedding reception Saturday night we ran into Deniese Beam. The kids from our church youth group had been to her house a few times and played. Our Rachel loves the game and talked Pat and me into going to Beam's house to try it out. It is SO FUN! For you uninitiated, it is a video game where you have a miniature plastic guitar with 4 or five colored buttons on the "fretboard" and a toggle-like deal where you "strum". As the colored notes come down the fretboard on the video screen, you have to press the right button and "strum" at the same time. The more notes you hit properly, the more points you accumulate. Pat did very well and I did pretty well too although being a real-life guitar player is no real advantage.

There, I did it. I confessed to a newly-acquired vice. We are seriously considering buying a Wii system when its GH version comes out. And I have always been the one to decry video games as a monumental waste of time. Maybe that was because one had not come out yet that I really liked and could get REALLY good at! Who knows but I do feel better getting this off my chest. Time, prepare to be wasted! Just so you know,I am looking for a good 12 step program. -Dave

keep those babies rollin'

2007-09-24T20:29:00.000-07:00

Just an update on Ellena. She is nearing 8 months old, and is trying so hard to start crawling. She gets on all fours and rocks back and forth. She can push herself backwards, but can't quite get the forward motion down. I gave her a sippy cup for the first time last week. She mostly rolled it around in her mouth, until something sweet and yummy came out! She has the right idea, but doesn't quite understand it has to be tilted for it to come out.

Ellena loves to watch her Daddy play guitar. She likes the noise she can make with it.

Here is a picture of Saoirse (pronounced Seer-shuh). She is 4 months older than Ellena. We have her over 3 days a week. They are beginning to really interact and play with each other.

September 11th remembrance

2007-09-11T21:42:00.000-07:00

The following is a poem I wrote one year after the September 11, 2001 attacks.

OFFICE WORKER, NEW YORK SEPT 11, 2001

She crossed the wide Manhattan street
Like every other day
Into the tower's lobby
For another eight hour stay
The elevator opened, she pushed button 7-5
Never dreaming that this day
Would be the last she'd see alive

She heard the roar, she raised her head
And saw the plane right there
She opened up her mouth to scream
But could draw in no air
Her thoughts were filled with family;
Sweet memories gone by
The impact came, but she was surprised
That it did not hurt to die
(c) 2002 - David L. Bertoglio

My intent was in some impossible way to imagine the horror felt by these innocent folks and hoping that death came so fast for at least some that they may not have had time to suffer. Rest in peace.

2007-09-07T10:52:00.000-07:00

sorry for the cleavage shot pops. but there's your daughter looking tough (note the matching red grip tape and tires, hot!)

family photos

2007-09-06T14:43:00.000-07:00

Today we took our first official family portrait. Ellena was a doll, but we learned on picture day, she only gets to eat cereal, no veggies. Picture time was cut short by Ellena showing everyone what she had for breakfast. Carrots. Now that's a great picture.
We love our baby girl.

Celebrity Status

2007-08-30T20:13:00.000-07:00

Well, I may be 50 years old but I have finally had my 15 minutes of fame! My name was mentioned on the radio show at Mix FM 94.9 this morning. Mrs. Grant (AKA Lisa Zimprich, I have had both of her kids in Kindergarten) told Bobby and Brad that her son Jeremy had lost a tooth. He was so proud because he pulled it himself instead of letting Mrs. Bertoglio pull it at school. You know she is the tooth puller at Lineweaver! How is that for my flash in the pan???

splish splash

2007-08-30T19:43:00.000-07:00

The water was the perfect temperature today, so we had a family swim. It took Ellena a bit to get used to the idea, but she immediately hammed it up for the camera.

Birthday Boy

2007-08-29T06:24:00.000-07:00

Sister Ivy sent this photo of Scott yesterday. She is making brownies, without nuts, at his request for his birthday treat! I will forward the email of other pictures to everyone.

sounds good to me

2007-08-27T08:03:00.001-07:00

"Mom, when I'm big like you and Dad, will I still get to be with you?"
"Seth, when you're an adult, you'll have your own family that you'll live with."
"But Mom! I want to stay with you and Dad!"
"You don't want to grow up and live with your own family?"
"Well, yes...I want to grow up but I want to stay with you and Dad."
"Okay Seth, that sounds good to me."

(Rather than argue, I decided to just agree with him. I'll bring this up when he's a teenager and anxious to move out and be on his own.)

papa

2007-08-25T08:32:00.000-07:00

While I was perusing my pictures on my camera to be ready to print some to send to Scotty, I came across this one. I believe this was taken in the last few weeks before the Illinois Exodus. This was the pre-bedtime story with Papa in his chair bought especially for grandbaby purposes. We love you so Papa.

just in case you wanted a better view of that combover...

2007-08-23T14:53:00.000-07:00

this little darling can get you into a '98 camry for under 5k today!

months in the making....

2007-08-22T21:05:00.001-07:00

Today at the grocery store with Grandma as witness, Ellena was able to suck on her own toes! After months of cousin Jonas observations and daily baby yoga, she was able to accomplish this milestone in her life. That means no more fat jokes Aunt Tina. Ellena weighed in today at 17 lbs. 12 oz. She is in the 50-60th percentile for height and weight, but still the 95th percentile for head size. She loves to smile and laugh at everyone... she must understand it when people say she is so cute. Comb-over included.

disco ball

2007-08-20T17:55:00.000-07:00

As my Kindergarteners were doing the Bean Bag Boogie, one of my boys said we really needed a disco ball for our dance!

a tribute to...(you know who you are)

2007-08-20T10:50:00.000-07:00

Last night during the bedtime routine, Jon told Maryn it was time to get her teeth brushed. (She hates this.) She proceeded to walk over to the full length mirror we have hanging in our hallway and watch herself cry.

Maryn-isms

2007-08-19T16:04:00.000-07:00

I have been thinking a lot lately about language acquisition as I have been a first-hand witness over these past several months. It fascinates me that little toddlers learn how to conjugate verbs and create sentences simply by listening to others.Maryn has been speaking in full coherent sentences for quite a few months now, which is both to her advantage and my detriment. She is a feisty little girl who knows what she wants and doesn’t let herself be pushed around by anyone, including her older brother and me. She is also very, very sweet and a true girly-girl. Even before I had Jonas, she loved to wrap her “babies” (any stuffed animal) in “blankets” (any piece of fabric). She has more recently been very vocal about her preference for all things pink, Care Bears, Tinker Bell and wearing her pretty hair bows. Her absolute favorite song is “Twinkle, twinkle little star”. She sings this song to herself all the time when she thinks no one else is listening. When she hears the song played, either by a toy or by someone singing it, she immediately shrieks, “It’s my twinkle star!”

The following are some examples of Maryn’s adorable language.
- In general, she has a very pronounced lisp when she says words with “s” in the end: Sefferths (her brother’s nickname- Seffers), Care Bearsh (which actually ends up sounding like an “sh” sound rather than a “th” sound)
- She never says the “s” sound on words that begin with “sn”: 'nake (snake), 'now (snow), 'poon (spoon), and our favorite: 'nuggle (snuggle)
- She can identify all colors: wed, ornedge, yayo, geen, boo, puple, peenk, wipe (white- I think you can guess all of the others). She also loves to color pictures (I'm pretty sure this is how she learned all her colors).
- Since moving to Champain-Urbana (and even before!), whenever she sees the orange and blue University of Illinois "I" she says, "Oh-noy!" (Illinois).
- She calls her brothers Sefferths (as I mentioned before) and Bebe Donis (baby Jonas)
- She loves singing. Besides “Twinkle Star” she knows: “I Love You” (the Barney song), “The Wise Man and the Foolish Man” (with actions), “ABCs”, “I am a Child of God” among others. During our summer in Tucson, Jon noticed that if you sang the words to “Camptown Races”, at the end of the phrase, she would sing “Do-Da, Do-Da”. So cute. It would sound something like this:Me: Maryn is our favorite girlMaryn: Do-Da, Do-DaMe: She’s the best girl in the worldMaryn: Do-Da, Do-Da day
- Also, you can catch her singing the Star Wars theme song. Star Wars (and Lego Star Wars videogame), as you will read in Jon's recent post, are on at our house a lot lately. Jon is particularly proud of this one.
- If you call her anything: pretty, sweet, little, etc., she says, “I not a pretty (or sweet or little) girl, I "Meh-win".
- She is intrigued by bugs. When she finds one in the house, she tries to smack it with her hand and says “Got you bug!” (meanwhile Seth is running away screaming in terror). She makes no discrepancies between butterflies and fireflies and calls them both “fie-fies”.

I love my beautiful little girl.

p.s. Seth still has his moments too: He and Jon are watching Empire Strikes Back right now. When Luke first arrives in Dagobah, he tells Yoda that he is looking for a great warrior, Seth turned to Jon and said, "Dad, what is a great Oreo?" (Jon helped me with the SW details here.)

Theme song for Ellena!

2007-08-17T22:13:00.000-07:00

Carlie and Trevor's girl and our granddaughter Ellena is just starting on solid food. Carlie and Ellena were over at the house today and we just started singing about this new stage in her life. So, I sat down and wrote some new words to an old song. Carlie gave it her seal of approval. Here it is:

“CEREAL GIRL”
(with apologies to Madonna)
Lyrics by David L. Bertoglio aka: “Papa”

(Sung to the tune of “Material Girl”)

My mom feeds me milk each morning, I guess that’s OK
But there’s a different kind of food, I just found out today

It is such a new sensation, don’t know what to think
You kind of chew, swirl it ‘round, it’s not something you drink

CHORUS: Now I am living in a solid food world
And I am such a cereal girl
Yes, I am living in a solid food world
And I am just a cereal girl

I can’t wait ‘til my nap’s over ‘cause I know there’ll be
A nice warm bowl of gooey rice meal waiting there for me

Mom can’t spoon it fast enough, my patience running thin
When she pulls the clean spoon out, a full one must go in!

CHORUS

They tell me that there’s more flavors; carrots, peas and beets
But just be careful, if I don’t like it, I’ll spit it on your feet!

CHORUS

6 months old

2007-08-16T15:45:00.001-07:00

I took Ellena today to get her 6 months pictures. We stopped by Dillards first and got this exceptionally cute dress. She was a reluctant smiler at first, but got going when the flashes started coming! She is so proud of herself when she rolls over that is was tricky to get her to stay on her tummy.

not to be outdone...

2007-08-16T07:35:00.000-07:00

After I heard that cousin Ellena was sitting up on her own, I thought I should be practicing with Jonas. So I sat him up yesterday and surprise! He can sit up on his own! Of course anytime he reaches for anything, he falls, so we're still in the beginning stages. I also love these pitcures because they show what a smiler he is! Jonas smiles at everyone!

The surprise photographer behind the camera for this picture was Seth (he was very pleased with himself).

i don't want to eat it.... i just want to taste it

2007-08-15T21:44:00.000-07:00

ellena is very ready for the eating stage of her life. she watches us drink, and wants to try it herself. unlike her cousin jonas, she loves her cereal. no matter how much she eats, she will always cry when it's gone. (why is the milk always gone?)

sitting up

2007-08-15T21:28:00.000-07:00

Here is the new trick- sitting all by herself! I have to help set her legs to balance her, but she is a champ. She will sit until she sees something she wants, then she face-plants and wiggles and rolls until she gets it. What a bug.

2007-08-15T20:11:00.000-07:00

After the 2nd full day of school, I can confidently say I am going to like my small class of 14 children! Even though a few kids may be spinning on the carpet, they are still sitting. A colleague has a little girl who has cried for a solid 2 days! I am blessed!

Funny story today from a former student's dad. Kenzie is in 2nd grade and I have her little sister this year. Mom was telling the girls they were born at St. Joseph's Hospital when they were driving by one day. Kenzie said, "First I lived in your tummy, then the hospital, then our house." Mom said, "You were in my uterus. Do you know what that is?" Kenzie said "Yes! And I know about Jupiter and Saturn too!" Her first grade teacher is so proud!

Mom

First Foods

2007-08-13T19:56:00.000-07:00

I tried to give Jonas rice cereal for the first time last night (August 12). He didn't seem to like it very much. He would hold it in his mouth for a while and then spit it back at me "raspberry style". I tried again tonight, this time mixing it with applesauce, and he actually swallowed some (big suprise!).

Starlight...

2007-08-13T15:58:00.000-07:00

You probably heard on the news about the Perseids meteor shower which took place over the weekend. Since Tucson is a light pollution ordinance controlled town, it is a pretty good place to star-gaze. We had a tough time convincing Rachel to join us since she had to be to work this morning at 5:30! But she came like a good soldier.

So we tossed some beach towels in the Pathfinder and headed east on Speedway a mile or so past Wentworth and pulled over to watch. Trouble is that the meteors were not supposed to be visible until after 10PM (we later found out that after 11 would have been better). We laid the towels out over the hood and all lay down to watch. It was a good while before we saw any action but finally did see a good number of shooting stars. After about 45 minutes Rachel was antsy to get home and Pat kept saying, "Just one more, just one more!"

As we looked into the heavens, the scripture came to me, "...worlds without number have I created".

vegan

2007-08-11T22:36:00.000-07:00

I am a vegan who eats meat. My friend brought me some treats yesterday from Trader Joe's that are non-dairy and non-egg, making them vegan. I love them since they are the only treat I can have in this no-milk phase in my life. Even the cherry chunk ice-cream tastes great. Although my taste buds could be tainted for not having real ice-cream in 4 months.

Egg Volcanoes

2007-08-11T10:58:00.000-07:00

Seth loves eggs. He especially loves eggs that have a runny yolk. When we first started feeding them to him, I coined the name "egg volcano" to get him excited about the yummy yellow ooze that would come out of the egg when poked.

Since then, we have a ritual for eating them--a song really. Everyone in our family knows it. It's to the tune of "Woody's Roundup" from Toy Story 2:

Egg Volcanoes
Come on and eat some eggs
Egg Volcanoes
They're so good for your legs
Oh well, it's time for egg volcanoes
They're the very best
They're the rootin'-est tootin'-est 'canoes
In the Wild Wild West
Egg Volcanoooes.

It's a cute song. We all love to sing it. We've noticed, actually, that Maryn likes to sing it as well. We'll be driving along in the car and we'll hear her little voice in the back singing "egg bolcanoes..." it's cute.

You should sing it too.

Illinois odyssey

2007-08-07T10:57:00.000-07:00

Our journey began last Wednesday morning as we left our house in Tucson a little after 7AM. Tina and Pat were in the minivan and Jon and I were in the big Penske truck towing his Honda Civic. We were in for a 11+ hour drive to Vega, Texas. In New Mexico, I told Jon that I wanted to stop and buy some Albuquerque Turkey jerky. He laughed but I told him not to because it only encouraged me! We had a great time listening to satellite radio as we drove. I was at the wheel and Jon was channel-surfing for good songs.

We got to Vega late and just wanted to get to bed. It rained that night which was a harbinger of future weather. It rained nearly our whole time in Texas which made freeway driving very nerve-wracking. On day 2 we were on the way to Springfield, MO by way of Oklahoma City. We were all very excited to stop for lunch at Toby Keith's "I Love This Bar And Grill" located in the "Bricktown" area of OKC. The food was good and we took lots of pictures (baby Jonas tried to eat his first French fry).

While there we discovered that the Murrah Building Memorial was just a mile away so we decided to go and were glad we did. It is a beautiful place, somber and serene. We came into a guided tour which had just begun and were amazed at the details of that horrendous attack on innocent men, women and children and the wonderful efforts and sacrifices of the rescue workers. While on the OKC freeway, we looked longing and lovingly at the Lawton exit knowing that is where our son Scott is faithfully serving his mission.

It seemed that almost as soon as we crossed the state line from Texas to Oklahoma, the rain stopped and the scenery turned green and lush. We noticed something there we will never see in Tucson, AZ; enormous lawnmowers cutting the grass which naturally grows in the median and along the sides of the road.

One of the challenges of driving such a long truck and trailer is that it is very difficult at times to negotiate turns, especially in close quarters. So when we arrived at the Springfield Comfort Inn (located, no kidding, on Evergreen St. fr all you Simpsons fans), I tried to circle the neighboring hotel to get back on the street but the lot did not go all the way around. I attempted to back up... well, suffice it to say that I sort of jackknifed and bent a piece of metal on the trailer. Not too serious but a lady who had just parked her car nearby and walked into the hotel came running back out when she heard the noise thinking I may have hit her car! So I just put it in drive and pulled out onto a lawn between the buildings and turned there. We had been about 10 hours on the road on day two.

The instructions for the truck said that we should only go 55 top speed. We maintained a pretty consistent speed of 63-64 MPH. But, of course, the van could travel upwards of 75-80 so we thought we would have to play catch-up most of the time but with their stops, we played passing leap-frog most of the time. Once, we had passed the van and soon it came up in the lane to our left. We look over and saw grandma Pat shooting us a fully-clothed "moon" against her passenger side window! As Jon and I laughed about it, I commented that it was a good thing it hadn't been a traditional "mooning" as poor Seth would have been scarred for life. Jon said Seth would not have been the only one scarred for life! I must say that Seth (4), Maryn (2) and baby Jonas did amazingly well on the whole 30 or so hours they were in their car seats. Just stops for potty, diaper changes and nursing. They did have their two-screen DVD movies running most of the time which kept their interest but still... Great kids!

We left Springfield heading toward Illinois and stopped in St. Louis to visit the Arch. In the first place, it is very hard finding a parking place not to mention driving a truck and trailer around streets originally designed for two-way buckboard traffic But we finally did park and hurried over to the arch with its air conditioning and restrooms! It is breathtaking but tickets for the trams which go to the top were not available for over two hours and we just couldn't wait that long. So we toured the very nice museum there and headed back to the vehicles. There and pretty much everywhere we stopped in the Midwest was hot and humid! Of course, this is not news to those familiar with that part of the country but we certainly weren't used to it! On Sunday Tina commented that she had always heard that Arizona was a "dry heat" and that now she understood what that meant!

We stopped for lunch at a unique McDonald's. It was built in an arch over the whole freeway. Pat was a little disconcerted eating while 18-wheelers rumbled under her feet! And to add to the discomfort, No A/C in the place! Ick.

On the last leg of our trip, Jon and I had a terrifying experience. We call it "the flying freeway tire of death". There was an older couple in a pickup towing a fifth-wheel. Now, this trailer had two axles and four tires. All of a sudden, the left rear trailer tire flies off and starts bouncing first onto the median and then into oncoming traffic. It bounced right near a car and mercifully, bounced over it and into the woods. It could have been bad! It did not appear that the driver knew anything was wrong and a car ahead of us rolled his passenger side window down and motioned to the driver of the pickup. Then an 18-wheeler that had seen everything, pulled in front of the pickup, put on its emergency flashers and started slowing. By now we were alongside the truck and I was going to try to box him in with the big rig but he indicated that he knew what had happened and began to pull over. As we passed, I saw the extra weight on the now one tire on the left and thought that he still might have trouble if the hub scraped the ground or the other tire blew... who knows? We were just glad to be in front of the guy and not behind anymore.

We finally arrived in Champaign in the late afternoon. We drove to the kids' new place and the landlady met us there with the keys. They live in a beautiful green, tree-lined neighborhood within sight of the playground of the local elementary school. We looked the place over, kind of wondering where we were going to fit all the stuff the next day. It is a type of a row house, four or five 3-level units in one building built maybe in the 1950's. There is a kind of small common back yard that slopes up to a back fence. At dusk, we saw something there that none of us except Pat had ever seen before... Fireflies! They were so cool! Jon said that it was a good omen! Well, except for later when we tried to turn the truck/trailer around in the cul-de-sac. There was one car in the way which prevented me from making the turn. So we had to back the Honda off the trailer, swing the trailer around, move the truck and reconnect the trailer empty. We then unhooked it in the corner of the Catholic church parking lot across the street where it stayed until Monday when Jon took the rig back.

The next morning, we headed over to the house early and got ready to unload. At 9AM the first ward member, an older brother, arrived to help us unpack. We got a bit worried hoping that someone else would show up! Of course, they did; 10 brothers including two missionaries. These two were a kind of unlikely pair. One was way over 6 feet tall and the other was a short redhead who did not look nearly old enough to be serving a mission! But we were glad for the help! Especially when they did not seem to mind carrying boxes up and down stairs.

After about 1 1/2 hours, all the stuff was inside and we set about putting it away! Pat noticed right away that in order to use the bathroom, you had to either go upstairs to the bedroom level or downstairs to the basement. She suggested to Tina a chamber pot for the main level! The rooms are small, there is no outlet in the upstairs bathroom, the lever in the tub that drains the water and lets it fill up creeps up during your shower and fills the tub, some of the outlets are not three-pronged. Just a few of the minor irritations of an older house. That night Tina's visiting teachers brought over dinner (soft tacos) and pie and ice cream for dessert! Yum!

Their ward is very friendly. Tina was a little disconcerted that everybody already seemed to know her name! Seth did great in Primary, Maryn not so great in Nursery, at least for now. After church and a delicious chicken cacciatore dinner, we drove over to the campus and walked around. It is gorgeous! Lots of green grass, old, established trees and stately buildings with white trimmed and paned windows.

At last, it was time for Jon to drive us to the Indianapolis airport for our flight home. It was a very teary scene for Pat and me. Tina held on till the end and cried a little. The kids really don't understand. I wish we had called the airline because our flight was delayed an hour, which we could have spent with the kids! Before we left, I found myself alone downstairs and I said a quick prayer to this effect: "Heavenly Father, please watch over our kids, especially now that they are so far from home." Then a thought occurred to me, they ARE home. This is their time and their adventure. Before they left we bought webcams so we can stay in visual touch.

Here is a postscript. We sat next to a clean cut young man on the plane from Indy. In conversation we found out that he was a soldier had just ended an 18 day furlough and was headed back to Ft. Riley in Kansas to return to duty in Iraq. He explained that he was stationed in a FOB (forward operations base) pretty much in the middle of the action. He had already lost 4 friends in combat. We expressed our support and admiration for his service. Pat noticed he was a little teary-eyed at one point and was looking at photos of home on his cell phone. She also got emotional thinking we had just left our kids in Illinois but that they would be safe there. She felt a great empathy for the mother of this boy (he was a boy to us). It sort of put our puny-in-comparison "trials" in perspective.

Our Grandbabies

2007-07-30T07:58:00.000-07:00

After multiple tries, this was the best picture we could get. The babies didn't like it because it was too close to "tummy time". L-R: Jonas, Maryn, Seth Stone and Ellena Thompson.

2007-07-25T11:16:00.000-07:00

pictures of babies and such can be found here : http://jonstone.com. more (mine) are here: http://picasaweb.google.com/michenka