They'll Never Forget Us!

We went to Monmouth last Sunday to attend a baby blessing (Eden - my brother Todd's new baby daughter). It was a very nice Sacrament meeting, and it will be one that we remember for years to come. In fact, I am sure there are members of Todd's ward who will never forget us. As Sacrament meeting ended, we stood up to take the kids to primary. We were close to the front, so we had to wait for people to clear out before we could move anywhere. As we were standing there, Elisabeth turned to me and said, "I'm going to throw up." I took her by the shoulder and tried to steer her through people, but it was all to no avail. She started throwing up right there (and everywhere). There were people blocking us on all sides and there was literally no where to go. To make matters worse, she was trying to hold her hand over her mouth so it was spraying everywhere. We got the Bishop's wife, the back of some poor man in front of us, etc. Some lady standing near me said, "oh my, you need help...I'll get some paper towels," and she took off. I finally got Elisabeth out a side door near the sacrament table and she finished up on the lawn outside (luckily it was raining). A teenage boy came out and gave me a huge wad of paper towels, so the unknown lady came through for me (thank you whoever you are). I cleaned us up the best that I could, and went back inside. My poor husband and a family friend (thank you, David) were scrubbing the chapel the best they could. Alli gave me the key to her house so we could go home and get cleaned up. Everything turned out fine, and we didn't have anymore problems, but it certainly made church a little bit more of an adventure than usual! My poor little girl was mortified, and didn't want to face anyone, but she managed. People were nice to her instead of making fun of her. I feel sorry for all those people who were around us, but at least it will give them something to talk about for a while. :)

Benjamin is 4 !!

I have some catching up to do on my blog, so we will go back to January when Benjamin turned 4 years old.

We had a nice get together for his birthday. It will be the last time I get out of throwing him a friend party, though, because he has figured out that he is missing out on that celebration.
He loved all his presents. (He would wear that motorcycle jacket everyday if I let him)
He even got a coupon to go get a free Build-a-Bear in the mail. So he got a bear with a guitar.

But the present that was the biggest hit was the guitar that HE got. He had been asking for a green guitar. Well, the one Grandma found wasn't green, but that didn't matter a bit.
He loved it!!
And so did everyone else...
it got passed around...
and round...
and round...
and round!
Leilani made a nice cake with cars racing around a licorice race track.
Benjamin loved it!
I think the kids liked licking the frosting off the cars as much as they liked eating the cake :)

This is a picture of Grandpa with Benjamin and his friend Lilly. They were born a day apart at the same hospital, so it makes her his "oldest" friend. They had their first "play date" while still at the hospital, LOL.

Gymnastics 2010 - A New Level

We have started the gymnastic competition season, and Leilani has moved up to Level 6 this season. These videos are not very good quality, since I was so far away, but you can see that she has increased the difficulty of the skills she is doing.


bars


beam


floor


These are from her second meet as a Level 6 (first time performing the bar routine), so there is room for improvement, but she did tie for 3rd with the beam routine. We are very proud of her!

Dress Rehearsal - Annie

The girls had dress rehearsal for the play Annie on Monday night. My dad was nice enough to come and take pictures for us, since there isn't any flash photography allowed during the real performance.
Emily and Elisabeth are orphans. Emily is the red shirt sleeping on the floor at the right, and you can just see Elisabeth's hair on the right side of the platform (next to the kid on the steps).
Emily is just behind Elisabeth in this picture (red shirt).
Lelani is a servant in this scene, but her costume wasn't ready yet, so she is in her cabinet member suit instead (back on the platform in pink)
What a nicely dressed servant :)
They have entractes to entertain during the scenery/costume changes. Emily is in one called "Little Girls"

Elisabeth is in one called "Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile."

Leilani plays President Roosevelt's cabinet member, Perkins.
She gets to sing...
and speak several lines. She even gets a small solo. Nothing major, but she is happy!
Leilani is the maid standing next to the maid in the black dress. (Lani is wearing a necklace) She switches back and forth several times.
If you are interested in watching the play, the link below takes you to the ticket website. It is playing this weekend and next. The tickets this weekend are actually $2 cheaper, because they are doing the play at the studio. The next weekend is at the Wildish Theater in Springfield.

http://www.upstartcrowstudios.com/schedules/upcoming_events.php

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day (belated) from the Walker Family
I decided that if Valentine's Day was on Sunday this year that my girls ought to have something matching to wear to church. So, I made them matching skirts.
They had a good time at school with their crafts and valentines
Leilani took a cookie decorating class at school and made some pretty cookies
We had a good time, and I was feeling proud of myself for completing a sewing project. We hope you all had a good day too.

Preparing for "Annie"

The Eugene weekly is following the production of Annie that my girls are participating in (My girls are on the right in this photo taken at the first practice). They posted this short video clip a couple weeks ago. If you are interested (I think it is 2 minutes long) Elisabeth is in the "Never Fully Dressed" segment. She is in a red shirt, 3rd from the right.




They sure are having a good time! Upstart Crow is a community theater that only uses kids in their productions - ages 5-18 - but they sure put their heart and soul into it. We are looking forward to seeing the final product in March. My younger girls are looking forward to the teaser they are doing for Corridor and YG next week. I guess it is always fun to perform in front of your friends! :)

Somebody's Family Photos...

We have some old pictures lying around that are not of any of our relatives. They are old pictures that have been handed down from somebody's misson, school days or travels. So what do I do with them? I can't throw them away! They are somebody's family. I am sure someone would be thrilled to find them. We lost a lot of photos when my parents' house burned down, and I am sure any of us would be glad to get pictures people might have of our family. But how do I get the pictures to those people? I did a search of the internet, and there are photo sharing websites, but I didn't find exactly what I was looking for. So, if you know of any websites set up for this kind of information - please let me know. If not, maybe I will set up my own little site for that purpose. Anyone besides me have these kind of photos sitting around? (I got them from my parents) In the meantime, I will post a few of these pictures and the information I have. Maybe someone will come across it in Google. LOL
I am guessing this is an old mission photo. It is a postcard. It is stamped "From Burkey Bro's Studios, 106 1-2 E. Main St., Muncie, Ind. 108 1-2 (I can't read the whole name of the street) Elwood (I can't make out the state). This photo is labeled on the back as follows: 1913 1) Elder John E. Danielson Heber, Utah 2) Elder John T (I can't tell if the T is a middle initial or the first letter of the last name) (and actually, I am not sure of the next letter so I will leave a space - maybe someone else can read it below) _ raner Oakley, Idaho 3) Elder Nels Butter Santaquin, Utah 4) Elder John (not sure of the middle letter - maybe a G?) Bybee Ucon, Idaho
This one is another mission photo. It is also labeled Muncie, Indiana. The back says: Sis Johnson, Elder Nielsen, Sis Capson (I think that is a "p") At the dore (?) of the red _____ ? (I have no idea what that word says - onons is what it looks like to me - see below) hall where we hold meetings. Sunday Oct. 31 1915

This picture is also a postcard. It seems to be a mission photo too. It has the date 1911 ? on the back (the question mark is written next to the date). It has a note written on the back : Bro & Sister Shackley how ar you all. I hope you ar all well. I will be in Crowfsville (totally guessing on some of those letters - see below) this weak hope to hear from you. I will say God Bless you all Elder Pope (I think that third letter is a "p")