Sam's trip to Italy (and other events)

Hey everyone, this is Sam here to tell you all about my  tour to Italy this past week with the Phoenix Children’s Choir. As no one else in the family has done anything very interesting (Mom’s words not mine) I am writing this month.

Monday-Tuesday: Dad drove me bright and early (3:30 AM) to the Phoenix Center for the Arts where I met up with my choir and boarded a bus for a 9 hour ride to Los Angeles. (we needed to go to LA because in order to get everyone on the same plane we had to fly Berlin Air which doesn’t fly from Sky Harbor). Once we arrived at LAX we checked our luggage and went through security where I lost my watch (don’t ask) and ate in the gate where I almost suffered food poisoning from undercooked chicken (don’t ask) and boarded the plane. 11 hours later and our plane landed in Berlin where we waited 3 hours for our flight into Rome. We arrived in Rome, checked into our hotel, and enjoyed a 4 course meal with lasagna, salad, some turkey with a gravy of sorts, and tiramisu. 

Wednesday: Toured Castel St. Angelo and walking tour of Rome. After a lunch of spaghetti and strawberry gelato (amazing btw) we toured the Vatican Museum which concluded with walking through the Sistine Chapel, which is BEAUTIFUL. Once we returned to the hotel our group decided to take a nap then go eat at this Italian seafood place (name escapes me) where on the way I almost got ran over by a car on the way there (not my fault I promise). Once there I dined on a whole fresh crab with pasta. (my friend got the same thing but with bass and ate the head as a dare. Not gonna lie, it was pretty awesome).

Thursday: Toured Colosseum and Roman Forum. In free time my group went to Trevii Fountain where we all threw coins in (the story goes that if you toss a coin in the fountain, you will return to Rome someday). We then had a concert in St. Peter’s Basilica for a Mass. Having never been to a Catholic Mass before it was something new and different for me. We then boarded a sleeper train for Catania.

Friday: Once we settled in to the hotel we hung out with a bunch of students of a Catanian school of language. We then went to the beach where I got sunburned (ouch!). Soon after, we went to the mayors residence for a welcoming speech and dinner with the mayor.

Saturday: We went up to Mt. Etna where we were given time to explore, eat lunch, and buy souvenirs. That night we visited an opera house and walked to a theater for a concert. Unfortunately, the building had no AC so at least 5 or 6 people in the choir either got sick or passed out on stage. Because of this and because of the concert ending late, we were allowed to sleep in on...

Sunday: After enjoying a couple more hours of sleep, we got on tour busses for some sightseeing in Catania. Afterwords, my group went Geocaching (look it up for I lack the knowledge to explain it in detail), and found a bread store where for 1 Euro we could get an entire loaf of fresh baked bread (delicious). We then found a group of girls from our choir who had the dilemma of ordering more Pizza than they could eat. Being the gentlemen that we are we decided to help them with their predicament. The choir then went to the US Naval base where we performed for our military servicemen. They then treated us to an amazing BBQ ( a hamburger has never tasted so good in my life).

Monday: We visited tourist central, Taormina, to see the Greeco-Roman theater and do what else, tourist shopping. That night we had our final concert with 2 other Catanian choirs.

Tuesday: Almost missed our flight to Berlin due to the system for baggage check going down for a good hour. Arrived in Berlin and ate some German food and did some tourist shopping.

Wednesday: Got held up in baggage check AGAIN because the Air Berlin staff in Catania accidentally DELETED OUR FLIGHTS. Thankfully it all got sorted out and before too long we were boarded and off on another 11 hour flight back to LAX. 9 hours of bus ride with a stop at Taco Bell in between (Taco Bell never tasted so good!) and we were back in Phoenix at about 10 P.M.

In short it was an amazing experience and I am so grateful that I was able to visit Italy. I now turn the Newsletter over to Mom for any other family information.

Meanwhile back at the ranch. . .School ended and Sam and I were both very glad.  Gary and I went to his firm retreat in Tubac, which doesn’t look like the deserts of Arizona.  I quite enjoyed it.  The weather was hot during the day, but at night and in the morning it was very nice.  We were all together (except Sam) for Father’s Day.  Chris gave Gary a remote control helicopter for Father’s Day.  We figure that Lily will really like it.   I’ve been to doctors for my yearly checkups.  That took up the first two weeks of the month.  My back has been driving me crazy since January.  After three cortisone shots and some physical therapy, it is feeling better.

I have been reading books and staying cool in the house.  Sam has an online biology class that he needs to work on now.  Gary works, counts money and teaches Sunday School.

June Fun

The thing I love about summer, that if done correctly, there isn’t a whole lot to do. Except, of course, for those lovely vacations we all enjoy. So, pretty much I am loving summer. Well, except it has been over 110 degrees for the last couple of days.

Last week, Gary, Sam and I went to St. George to attend the plays at Tuacahn--The Little Mermaid and Grease. We loved both of them. Jeff, Debby and Neal joined Mom and Dad and us for The Little Mermaid. We dined at Chuck-a-Rama before the show. Ursula’s death scene was stupendous, Scuttle was hilarious, and Ariel had a beautiful voice.






The next day Gary, Sam and I visited the home of Jacob Hamblin. His job was to work with the Native Americans and help keep the peace. We also toured the St. George tabernacle, a beautiful old building, in which all of the presidents of the church (except Joseph Smith) have spoken. I had to go shopping so I dropped the other two off at the hotel. I found some cute clothes for Lily.





Tuacahn procured some great old cars for Grease. But why oh why is Sandy the one who has to change. I guess it wouldn’t be “cool” otherwise. As an added bonus, it started to sprinkle during intermission, which made the song “It’s Raining on Prom Night” even more fun for the audience. We were all sweating during The Little Mermaid; the weather during Grease was much more pleasant. I’m sure glad it didn’t really RAIN or we wouldn’t have gotten to see the rest of the play.

On the way back, just east of Kingman, there was a car fire. We were stopped for awhile, Thank goodness it was only about 84 degrees so it wasn’t to bad to sit there on the freeway. The truck, that I assume ran into the gas tanker, was toast. The only thing left was black metal. There was also a fire along the side of the road, which firefighters put out quickly. It did make our trip seem much longer.

All of our kids and Lily were here for Father’s Day which made it a lot of fun. Chris gave Gary a Diamondback’s cover for his Iphone and April made him a excellent memory book.

I am now helping to teach the 11-year-old Primary class as well as doing Activity Day for the girls. This month we held a recognition night for the girls. Their favorite thing we did seemed to be the scripture plaques they made. I purchased a sheet of fake wood and Sam S. cut it into pieces. The girls painted them. They each picked their favorite scripture and we put that with a picture of the temple and a picture of Jesus and mod podged the whole thing. I was a little worried about how a few of them would turn out, but they all did. Gary is going to be teaching Gospel Doctrine along with his clerking duties. Sam is the secretary in the Teacher’s Quorum.


We have had our old living room couch in the kitchen for the past few months. We finally got rid of it. Yahoo! Someone in our ward needed a couch so they hauled it away last night, now maybe I can restore a bit of order in the midst of chaos. I always envy RaKay and Stacie because the houses are in such good order. Mine, it seems, never is.

Last, but not least here are some pictures of Lily's favorite activity--unloading my purse of all its contents. I couldn't get her to smile either.

The month of March

So, March is almost over. I’m not too excited about it because the heat is just around the corner. March has been a very nice and friendly month except for the days during spring break when it got a little warm.

I decided I would paint the kitchen during spring break. Surely with five days, I would be able to complete the job. Ha, ha the joke was on me--didn’t happen Now it could be that on that Tuesday I spent the whole day reading a book and on Friday I spent a chunk of the day at IKEA with Stephen, Lily and April, but still. . . So all this past week I have been working after school to get most of it done because yesterday I had a Mother/Daughter Activity here. The girls and their moms brought their favorite dish to share and then they made menus for a week’s worth of cooking. I like doing Activity Day very much. Whatever we do the girls think is fun and there is hardly any drama at all.



New kitchen color.



Table decorations for Mother/Daughter Activity

Thursday night we went to the Poston Jr High choir concert at Mountain View. Sam got the big solo. He did a great job!! What a wonderful voice he has. Sam had a successful quarter at school also.

Of course, Gary is busy working on taxes. April 15th is not too far away. I don’t think that is any consolation to him because he still has a whole lot to do. But, baseball season will soon be here.

Stephen loves teaching Sunday School in his ward. I have enjoyed having him work at Lowe’s as I have gotten some good deals on my home remodeling projects.

Chris came to Sam’s concert and then borrowed my car so he could haul around some sound equipment for a wedding. So, very reluctantly, he had to let me use his car. I don’t know what it is about guys and standard transmissions, but I didn’t enjoy it very much. Too much shifting and my left leg isn’t used to driving with a clutch.

At school, we are trying to get the kids ready for all their standardized testing. It isn’t really very much fun for either me or the kids, but only two more months in school. Starting in August, Sam will be attending Mountain View as the first 9th grade class there. Don’t even get me started on that. I wish that he would spend his 9th grade year at Poston.

We are all glad that General Conference is this week. Love to go to church at home!

I'm Grateful

We’re looking forward to a wonderful Thanksgiving week. The weather will be in the 60’s and the food and the company will be grand.

“Gratitude not expressed is no good to anyone.” Bishop Burton quoted this in our stake conference last week. So here goes. . .

I’m grateful for my family. . .both the family I grew up in and my family now. We’re all healthy and happy (well, most of the time). We all have our challenges, but the Lord has blessed us so very much. What we did without Lily is a mystery to me. The world is a much more fun place since she came along. She is smart, funny and gives great kisses.

I’m grateful for music (and ipods). Music cheers and calms my soul. I’m grateful for my musical children. I absolutely can’t wait for Sam’s concert at the temple and his school concerts (both choir and orchestra).

I’m grateful for the holiday season where we have a chance to give thanks to Heavenly Father and celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ, who took upon himself, in a way we cannot understand, all of our sins, pains, and inadequacies. That because of this, if we will repent, we will be able to return to our Heavenly Father.

I’m grateful for the blessings of the temple that we can be with our families forever with no fighting. How could we stand to be separated from family members without this assurance.

I’m grateful for books! All kinds of books! Books can take us anywhere and oh, all the things we can learn from them--both temporal and spiritual.

Oh yes, of course, I’m grateful that it is now cool here. The best time of the year. In September, I was sure I would survive until now.

When we first moved down here, there were just the five of us for Thanksgiving most of the time. I spent a lot of time feeling sorry for myself. I’m grateful that we will have 20 family members gathered at our house on Thanksgiving day.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Fall Fun

The weather is now perfect here. I was wondering if it would ever happen. I feel so much better now that it has cooled off. Heat makes me feel hot and grouchy.

I liked general conference a lot. Especially the talks given by Elder Holland and President Uchdorf. We all met at Rakay and Claye’s after the last session of conference for dinner.

Sam, Stephen, April, Lily and I went to Utah for Fall Break. Stephen, Sam and I drove and April and Lily flew (on an airplane). The S’s and I arrived in Price so we could attend Whitney’s and Dexter’s wedding reception. Caryl Tatton did a beautiful job of feeding everyone and decorating. Whitney looked beautiful. I especially liked her shoes.

We enjoyed seeing everyone there--especially the part where we all stayed up until 1:00 a.m. talking. Fun times.

We drove to SLC on Monday to pick up Lily and April at the airport. Lily was really good for the whole trip and we drug here around a lot. April and I had a great time boutique shopping. Stephen avoided this activity by having dates and Sam sat in the car mainly because Lily had fallen asleep.

We went to all our favorite places to eat: Magleby’s Fresh, The Brick Oven, Dairy Keen and the Lion House. Stephen introduced us to a new place called Zupas. It serves soup, salads and sandwiches. Yummy.

While in SLC visiting Kirk we went to temple square to see the model of the Salt Lake temple. Very cool. We also showed Lily and Christus statue and went to the new Deseret Book Store.

People were just moving out of my family’s old house. The door wasn’t locked so we went in to take a look. The remodeled kitchen was wonderful. My mom would have loved it. They uncovered the wood floor and refinished them. Some of the paint colors I didn’t really like, but it looked really good. I wish that a nice family would move in.

The weather was pretty wonderful there which was good because one day we walked all over the BYU campus. Can I just say how different it all is from when I went there. Who would have thought? New buildings, new technology, and really young looking kids. Sam’s goal is to attend there someday.

A missionary from our ward died of an aneurysm last week. He had only been out for three months. His funeral was yesterday. Our ward had a rather sad week.

Sam had his first orchestra and choir concerts. They were excellent. His choir is going to be singing at the temple on December 8. I’m sure Sam doesn’t remember how rotten he was when we went to go hear April sing there during the Christmas season. I told him he was never coming to the temple again and he told everyone in Primary that I told him that. He was probably about 3 or 4. The adults in Primary got a good laugh.

The first quarter of school if over already. A big shout out to Sam for getting straight A’s. I’ve been working hard at school also. Lots of kids to see.

I taught Primary today. It was pretty fun. It’s amazing what 7 year olds will do for stickers--things like being quiet and sitting in their seats--magical things like that. We talked about service.

Our back yard is all dug up because Salt River Project is putting in some new electrical lines. Our neighbor is very upset because he just finished landscaping his back yard. They have made a big mess.

Happy fall everyone!

Our Hawaiian Vacation

Day 1, Thursday, July 16--We arrived at Sky Harbor airport at 11:45 a.m. Is there anything more annoying these days than getting through an airport to get to the airplane? First, drag luggage through the airport, show ID to check bags. Second, walk to security and show ID and boarding pass, take of shoes, put carry-on bags and shoes and all other junk through the x-ray machine, and put shoes back on. Third, walk to the gate and wait and wait until it is time to board. Fourth, sit in the hot airplane for who-knows-how-long until the plane finally takes off.

The plane ride to Hawaii is about 6 hours. Gary, Sam and I were sitting together so if we slopped over on to each other's seats it didn't matter. I listened to a book on my ipod, Sam and Chris played video games, and everyone else read.

We landed, picked up our rental car, a Kia mini-van. Chris sat in the front to help with navigation, Stephen and I sat in the middle and Sam, Sam and April sat in the back. They said they liked it back there (I don't think so) because when Stephen and I rode back there we complained too much. We finally found Teddy's Better Burgers where we had supper. It was hot and humid. The only two days it was hot and humid were the first day and the last day. We stayed on the 12th floor of a condo at Waikiki.





Day 2--Friday, July 17--We had to be up bright and early to meet our tour bus at 6:00 a.m. for our 11-hour tour of the island. It was 9:00 Arizona time so it wasn't difficult to get up. Our tour driver informed us that the "w" in Hawaii is pronounced like a "v". In Arizona everything is in English and Spanish, in Hawaii, everything is in English and Japanese.

First on the agenda was the Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor. Before we went over to the memorial on the boat, we met a Pearl Harbor survivor. He is 92 years old. The Arizona sank in about 10 minutes because the Japanese used a special armor piercing bomb. All hands were buried with the ship. They asked us to speak quietly at the memorial, but it wasn't hard, when we thought about what happened there.


Our next stop was the Dole Plantation where we purchased a yummy pineapple whip.


We visited some beautiful beaches on the North Shore. Sam almost fell in. Laie Point has to be one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. I can't imagine how much houses by the beach cost. They have a magnificent view, but one wonders what are these places like during a bad storm.




There is an island off the North Shore called "Chinaman's Hat" because it looks like he fell into the ocean and all that is left is his hat. I did not make up the name. We also stopped at a macadamia nut farm, where, of course, we bought macadamia nuts. We then ate lunch at a place called "Honey's" named after Don Ho's mother. A koi pond was just outside the dining room. We fed them; they went nuts. We also saw a Hawaiian cardinal which only has a red head.





Next was one of my favorite stops of the day--Pali Point where the wind always blows. A huge battle was fought here when the king was trying to unite the islands. The other side was backed up at this cliff and 400 of them were pushed off the cliff in the ensuing battle.




We ended the tour at a place called "Sandy Beach." Does this look sandy to you?




Where did we eat out first night in Hawaii? Chili's of course. After stopping at a Korean Barbecue place and deciding that some of us really didn't want to eat things we couldn't identify (even if the place did come highly recommended), Stephen decided that we needed to go with the familiar. He says he really wanted to eat at the Korean Barbecue, but why did he keep saying "Chili's"? The world may never know.

Day 3-- Saturday, July 18-- Having the need for souvenirs, we decided to hit the flea market at the football stadium. After a while, the guys were bored with shopping and left April and I. They found coconuts for sale that had the coconut water still in them. Stephen found a hat. April and I bought t-shirts for people. Some things were good deals and some things weren't. I found I needed a professional bargainer with me because I didn't do such a good job.

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Where should you eat lunch in Hawaii? McDonald's of course. Sam felt the need for some familiar food. Nothing in Hawaii is very big or has very much parking. McDonald's was no different. Chris was led to believe that McDonald's had teriyaki burgers. It wasn't true. He was very disappointed. We were going to Hawaii's famous Bishop Museum, but they were having a special "farm day" and there were no parking places to be had, so we decided to visit downtown Honolulu, home of Iolani Palace.

The Iolani Palace was the home of the last king and queen of Hawaii. It is the only royal palace in the United States. The furnishings are mostly missing because when the United States got rid of the last queen, Queen Liluokalani, they were all sold. Too bad people don't have foresight. Anyway, Queen Liluokalani was convicted of treason for not giving up her throne in a timely manner. She was imprisoned in the bedroom at the palace for 8 months and not allowed to leave. While there, she spent her time composing music and making a beautiful quilt that is on display in the palace. Across the street is the statue of King Kamehameha, the first king of Hawaii.




While in downtown Honolulu, we drove through Chinatown. I have to say, we were not that impressed, so we did not stop. Our next stop was the Punchbowl National Cemetery. The cemetery was built in the crater of an old volcano, hence the name. I thought the way there was rather odd. We drove on a narrow road through a crowded neighborhood. The monument is very impressive. Shoot, the whole cemetery is very impressive. The monument includes a small chapel and maps of all the Pacific battles during WWII.




Day 4--Sunday, July 19--Sunday we attended the McCully Ward in the Honolulu Hawaii Stake. This building was constructed in 1961. It has a reflecting pool in front and a courtyard with lovely green plants. The chapel is shaped like a "T" with the podium being at the top of the T. I've never seen one like it. Gospel Doctrine was taught in 6 different languages--English, Spanish, Japanese, Chuukese, Marshallese, and Pohnpeian. The Relief Society met all together though. This ward was huge, compared to our small ward.

After lunch, we headed to Laie to see the temple. It is currently undergoing an extensive remodel and won't be completed until a year from now. The visitor's center was displaying the Mark Mabry photos of Christ. The sisters who work in the visitor's center have a unique uniform. The Laie temple has friezes around the top of the temple like the Mesa temple does. Each side represents a different dispensation. A smaller version of all the friezes is displayed in the visitor's center garden. I wish the Mesa temple had the same thing. It was really interesting to give them a closer look. Flowers in Hawaii are so beautiful, especially at the temple.






Day 5--Monday, July 20-- Monday morning we started off by visiting a Buddhist temple that is an exact replica of one in Japan. We all got to ring the bell of peace. It wasn't as peaceful as it could have been, however, some ground's keeper was using a leaf blower. The grounds were beautiful and the birds there would come right up to take food. We didn't burn any incense since we couldn't figure out how. A huge statue of Buddha resided inside of the temple.a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpi2UpSPzIYfaT05DnphGTskkutFSZKSJTm8exy-F_jhqYWdHts7sk0nfWw6GeHnoj8evPUfQaf2XZnwX6khkVHnjIUEXX6cmR0ehAtoSd_Pc5YXstlCxiCkh5xMfSoKBA7b0Uvb0uzFI/s1600-h/IMG_0165.JPG">




Next on our agenda was the Polynesian Cultural Center. I didn't know what to expect, but it was really cool, kind of like a Polynesian Disneyland. We ate a delicious lunch of barbecued chicken and ribs. Houses from each island are displayed and there are also demonstrations of island life. Our favorite demonstration was from Samoa. A native showed us how to husk a coconut and get the meat out. He did this in a very amusing way, rather like a stand-up comic. We even saw a man climb a coconut tree. It was all very entertaining. At 5:30 we enjoyed a luau with a whole roasted pig and poi (which is like cold oatmeal). We enjoyed other native Hawaiian dishes and a show. After the luau was the BIG show. We enjoyed dances from every island and everyone's favorite were the fire dancers from Samoa.





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Day 6--Tuesday, July 21--We were all exhausted (except Gary and Sam S.) the next day. What would be next on our list? We chose Sea Life Park. It's a really, really small Sea World. We watched the dolphin show. Sea Life Park is the only place in the world with a whaphin (the child of a whale and a dolphin). The penguins were cute and the sea lions put on a good show. That was it. They have different animal encounters there like swimming with the dolphins and feeding the sea lions, but we didn't get reservations soon enough. It was okay, but not our favorite thing.





The Waikiki area at night is quite the happening place. There are street vendors and people who pretend they are statues. It is pretty amazing that they stay perfectly still and hardly breath.

Day 7--Wednesday, July 22--Thank goodness there is no photographic evidence this day ever happened. It started out well. Chris suggested that we go kayaking. A plan that Sam S. hardily agreed with. So at 8:10 we took a tour bus to Kailua Beach. April couldn't go kayaking and Sam didn't want to. The rest of us were shown how to paddle, hauled our kayaks down to the beach and put life jackets on. First of all, Stephen and Chris tipped their kayak over getting in. A big brown man who was standing beside me said he was scared. Gary and I got in our kayak and I tipped it over. Note: You have to sit very still and not lean either way. Sam was the expert since he had been kayaking many times before, so off he went.

Once Gary and I started paddling to our destination--Flat Island, a bird sanctuary--I started feeling really funny. Wait-- I knew that feeling--motion sickness. I barely made it over to the island and didn't see any birds because I was sitting on a rock trying to recover. One of the guides said to look at something stationary on the way back, like a mountain. Unfortunately, it didn't work, Gary was doing almost all the paddling and I was feeling miserable! Now I know a little bit how the Lehites felt when Laman and Lemuel took over the boat. It was only a 15 minute trip back, but it felt like forever. I almost made it. As we were approaching the beach, I lost my breakfast. As soon as we hit the beach I just sat there for a long time. I did manage to walk back to the kayak rental place and after a while could eat some pizza.

For the next couple of hours, we played on the beach. Up until this time, we all managed, with the help of tons of sunscreen, to avoid getting sunburned. Our lucky streak came to an end, even with sunscreen. Everyone but Sam S. got sunburned. He was smart and kept his shirt on. We got back to the condo and all hit the showers. I think perhaps that the reason the bathtub drained so slowly was because of all the sand that has built up over the months. Sam and Stephen tried to go on a hike to see a waterfall, but it rained so there was a flash flood warning and so no waterfall hike.

Day 8--Thursday, July 23--Our last day in paradise. We all wanted to return to Pearl Harbor and see the rest. The submarine Bowfin is docked at Pearl. It is a WWII submarine, and was the one that picked up George H.W. Bush after he was shot down. I admire the men who sailed on subs--cramped quarters underwater and no air conditioning so it was HOT. Showers every couple of weeks and tiny bunks, with some men even sleeping by the torpedos. The Bowfin was the only sub that lost no men.




Our next stop was the USS Missouri, the ship where the Japanese surrendered. A marker on the ship indicates the exact spot where the table sat. The Missouri was put back into action during the gulf war because of its accurate guns. It could sit off shore and hammer targets 300 miles away with pinpoint accuracy. The Missouri and the Arizona are docked bow to bow to represent the beginning and the end of the war.



Our final stop was the Pacific Air museum. There we found a Japanese zero (the kind of plane used to bomb Pearl Harbor). Other WWII era planes were displayed. We even saw the bi-wing plane that George H.W. Bush trained in.


After a dinner at Jimmy Buffet's (which, by the way, was really good), we did a little more shopping. Stephen, Sam, Chris and I walked across the street to the Apple store so Chris could say he had been in the one in New York City and Honolulu.

Our flight left at 10:55 p.m. Hawaiian time and landed in Phoenix at 7:55 a.m. I couldn't sleep in the airplane very well, so I went back to bed after we arrived home. I'm still a little discombobulated over the experience.

A FUN TIME WAS HAD BY ALL!!!