May Murmurings

 I called this month May Murmurings because it started out cold. We had snow, and quite a bit of rain throughout the month, but the sun did shine off and on. I think everyone is just ready for summer to be here already, but I have to keep reminding myself that we do need the moisture so we can have fun in the sun on the lakes this summer, so no more murmuring because we are being blessed with what we all so desperately need.... Moisture in all forms and we live in a beautiful world.

We had a lunar eclipse happen in our area that was visible to those that remembered about it (which I didn't). I did get some pictures though from those that did. The beauty of our skies always amazes me.

Dad was called to serve in the Logan Temple as an ordinance worker. It came as a surprise, but he's learning fast, and I think enjoys it.  He has the 5:00am-11:00am shift, on Wednesdays, so it works and doesn't interfere much with plans during the day. We already had our summer planned out so he will have to get a sub a few times but so far, it's working out. 

We did an endowment session the day before he started to help Dale get a feel for what lies ahead for him. We also did sealings with our friends, Floyd and Alison Griffiths, and then went to dinner after. I served in the Youth Center too. A 13 yr. old was able to witness her 26 yr. old brother be sealed to his parents. That was a rare opportunity for someone that young, and to see the family do a group hug at the altar brought tears to my eyes, the spirit was strongly felt in the room.

I kept busy by ushering at the Eccles for a fun show: Popovich Comedy Pet Theater, and a local modern dance companys review shows: The Magic Hat and I am Woman. It's so good seeing the theater getting used more. 

Since we got the back porch, all looking nice I got busy and found some new pillows and some fun chairs to add to the new look. I love how it turned out. I'm looking forward to having many gatherings out there.

We hosted a Mother's Day dinner here with the kids. I was hoping to do it on the back porch, but the weather didn't cooperate for us. We had Dutch Oven potatoes, Steak, or chicken rolls, rolls, salads, and rhubarb crunch for dessert to honor my mom because she made that for us a lot growing up. The food was great, but the company was better. Happy Mother's Day to some pretty awesome women that have been and are in my life. I am beyond grateful for all you did and have done for us and our family.

Dale and Garrett were able to go on their dream fishing trip by hooking up with our neighbor, Dave Rayfield, his son, Cole, and a friend of Dave's, Marlo Stevens. They were able to stay at a real fishing lodge and use their boat and equipment and loved every minute of each day. They were located in Petersburg, Alaska and fished their hearts out. They stayed into next month, so more pictures will come, but here's a sample of their trip so far. They've seen a few whales and eagles too. Looks like fun, huh? 

Nate and Diana flew into Salt Lake for the Memorial Day Weekend hoping to get in some rock and trail climbing in Logan Canyon, as well as see the family. Uncle Nate wanted to meet June too. 

The weather ended up not working out with rain most of the time they'd be here, so we pulled those that could meet together for a picnic in a park in South Weber. We ate and visited and then after a night's stay in Salt Lake they headed to Moab, UT to get in the climbing and trails. Luckily the weather worked for them while they were there. 

Even though it was a quick visit, we're glad we got to see them.

With Dale being gone, I tagged up with the Mallory's for some Memorial weekend fun. We went to a Lazar Tag place in Brigham City, got in some miniature golfing, and went to a Grizzly Hockey play-off game. The Grizzlies lost, but we had fun watching all the excitement from the game.

I pulled those that could come together for dinner the day before Memorial Day. We made paper pinwheels and were going to visit the graves after dinner, but the weather went bad again, so we put them on the graves later. Amie and Matt were sports and helped me on their way home. Luckily, I had gone earlier in the week and put flowers on all the other graves when it was better weather.

Some of the Mallory's have had a reason to murmur, but not for too long. Jaxson got his first job as a sweeper for Heritage Elementary and a side job to mow a guy in their ward's lawn on top of seeing some action on the soccer field as a referee to earn some money. He's learning the art of managing his time I'd say. 

He did learn a lesson on what not to do the hard way with his mowing job, and that is to stop the trimmer before going through the gate on the fence. He ended up getting 4 fancy stitches on his ankle due to backing into the metal trimmer while it was running. He's lucky it wasn't worse and that Amie was home and could get him to Instacare. 

It caused a bit of a problem for soccer, but he just wrapped his ankle and played on and luckily didn't pop open any of the stiches. His soccer season ended with the Ridgeline Riverhawks taking 1st in Region play, and 2nd in the State play-offs. He also ended the season lettering in soccer, and ended the school year with a pretty good GPA because he was on the Honor Roll every trimester with a 4.0. Way to go Jaxson!!

Kennlyn also ended up with a 4.0 every trimester, and received six other awards. For her final project for Honors Math class she made up a model of a candy box to scale (with Amie's help) which was pretty cool too. 

Her soccer team took 1st place for the season and next year she'll be playing in a higher level league.

Way to go Kennlyn!!

Langston did well in soccer. We were able to go watch him play and saw improvement in each game. He started playing baseball and ended up pitching for the team at times. 

He also had his first piano recital and did well there too. For a school field trip he went ice skating at the Eccles Ice Arena in the valley, and is improving there too. 

What an all-around, well balanced, kid he is! Way to go Langston!

Amie and Matt worked with a group of kids Mazins age in a soccer developmental program. Mazin is quite to goer and loves to be out on the field. He was able to go with Amie, Matt, Kennlyn and Langston to watch a REAL soccer game on REAL'S home field with the teams they worked with. All had a good time.

Matt was recognized during Teather Appreciation week, at the school he works at, by the PTA decorating the door to his office. He worked with the PTA to do a Kindness Week and also agreed to sleep on the roof of the school because the kids raised $1,500 to go towards PTA activities throughout the year. Luckily they found a night that it wasn't raining and wasn't way cold to do it.

Way to Go Matt! 

Andrew and Lindsay recruited Dale to help them put some tile down in their new house, and what they didn't get done before Andrew had to leave for his work tour, Lindsay finished up.  Teamwork pays off. 

They also got the brick work done and were starting to paint inside. The stucco on the outside is also starting too. It's really coming along for them now.

You can't have all work and no play, right? Andrew took Titan and went to the Box Elder County Fairgrounds to see a Monster Truck Mania with his friends Josh Nuckles and J.J. Hansen and their boys. Lindsay and the girls weren't invited, so they made their own fun.

Garrett got busy and built some boxes for a raised garden, and a fence to go around it so that the deer won't get in and eat the fruits of their labors. I'd say he did a pretty good job. He's going to put lights above it to help keep the deer away as well. I hope it works for them. 

With Luke turning five on his birthday. Garrett and Zandra threw a Mario Bro. party for him. They had fun games, made cars out of boxes and Zandra made a fun cake to match the theme of the party. Luckily the day of the party the weather held out well and all had a good time. 

They invited the family to dinner and we celebrated with him again. Fun times!!

Happy Birthday Luke!!

He also graduated from Pre-school and so will officially be moving onto Kindergarten next year. Way to go Luke!!

Zandra also celebrated her birthday this month. For her birthday she flew to Washington with some of her friends and spent some time with one of her Washington friends in Seabrook, WA. They went biking and saw the beauty of the area and sights. It looked like a heavenly trip for all. Happy Birthday Zandra! She got home and Garrett left two days later for his trip to Alaska with Dale. They know the meaning of fun.

Danica celebrated her 1st official Mother's Day! June entered the family and both Jason and Danica totally adore her. She posted this on Facebook: My first Mother’s Day and I can’t stop grinning from ear to ear!

June had a few firsts too. She flew on an airplane to Las Vegas with Jason and Danica so that Jason and his mom could be recognized as the top loan mortgage associates for Guild Mortgage at a conference they went to. Danica and June enjoyed the life of leisure by the pool and attended some of the happenings that the conference held. 

They all had some firsts too....Jason finally got their boat that they bought last fall out on the water. They took advantage of a nice day and made it happen. I have a feeling that June's going to be water skiing at an early age if Jason gets his way. 

• 2 M O N T H S •

Our little bug is growing so strong and so curious! Love watching her learn new things and hearing more and more of her sweet little sounds. Seeing her smile and her cute little wiggles are our favorite things! The way she just melts our hearts by even just a sneeze…this girl has got us totally smitten!

And they all got to meet Joe Ingles and his wife in person at an event held by a bike shop. They sat and talked to them for a bit and they are excited that Joe will be back in his Jazz jersey next season. He's been out for awhile because of an injury. 

Having June join the family definitely hasn't slowed them down too much, for only being a couple of months this girl has gotten around!

For news in the Country and Nation: The number of mass shootings has gone up in our country from a grocery store in Buffalo, NY, to outside the Milwaukie Bucks basketball arena in WI, to an elementary school in Uvalde, TX and more. It definitely makes you wonder what this world is coming to.

From a news article: On May 24, an 18-year-old gunman stormed the Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, fatally shooting 19 children and two teachers, before being shot dead by police, casting a spotlight on gun violence in the United States. The massacre is the latest in a years-long series of mass shootings in the US, which according to a tally by the non-profit Gun Violence Archive was the 213th such incident of 2022 in which four or more people were shot or killed – not including the attacker – in a single incident.

Also, the COVID death toll in the United States hit 1,000,000 this month. The new Omicron, Delta, and Alpha variants seem to not be as violent, but they are still bad enough that people are getting COVID.  

From USA TODAY: COVID death toll in US reaches 1 million

On Thursday, as the U.S. closed with 1,000 deaths of the inevitable landmark, President Joe Biden ordered flags in public buildings flown at half-staff and issued a statement saying: "As a nation, we must not grow numb to such sorrow. To heal, we must remember. We must remain vigilant against this pandemic and do everything we can to save as many lives as possible.'' 

All of the news of death, war, and uncertainty can get one down, but we need to not let it and realize that we can control our thoughts and actions, in the way we think because murmuring isn't going to do anything. Finding the good will.