Garfield County Outstanding Teen - 1st Attendant

Last night McKenna competed for Garfield County Outstanding Teen and received the title of 1st attendant! I am constantly amazed at this young woman, all her accomplishments, her attitude and her growing independence! Congratulations McKenna, you are beautiful, inside and out! For her talent, McKenna sang "Wouldn't It Be Lovely" from My Fair Lady. She tried to find a time period costume and thought it looked a little too elegant for Eliza Doolittle. So she modernized her wardrobe but kept the English accent. So cute!

She had to answer 2 onstage questions. The first one was about her platform issue. She is going to have a big fundraiser in all the Panguitch schools for Primary Children's Hospital. It really impacted her being up there for her surgery a couple of years ago. She roomed in the ICU with a little 18 month old boy who had basically lived in PCMC all his life. He was suffering from a degenerative disease. She wants to give to all those she saw that were in more medical need than herself.

Her next question was about a role model and why. She said her "awesome mother and grandmother". I agree her grandmother is amazing, but I wondered about the mother part. She just probably wants to gain brownie points for when she gets her license!

Instead of swimsuit competition, they have fitness lifestyle competition. Garrett scrubbed up his bike and let McKenna use it to show the judges. She also tried to brown nose the judges by saying that biking is her way of "going green"!

At the end of the night, Kenzy Veater of Panguitch took second attendant, Alexis Tebbs of Bryce Valley took Miss Garfield County, Outstanding Teen, and McKenna took first attendant! I would not have wanted to be a judge, all the girls did an incredible job. Congratulations!

For evening wear, the girls all had escorts. McKenna asked Garrett to be hers. After a promise of a dozen doughnuts, he finally agreed, and showed up at the competition dressed to the nines just to show off his sister! I think he looks pretty impressive myself!

McKenna and Garrett just after the competition. My photo of him escorting her onstage didn't turn out.

However hard we try, Garrett still shies away from kisses. We still try anyways! A great night!

Chicago!

So after waiting for McKenna to post her Chicago trip, I decided to do it. I am still missing my camera and school clothes for 4 children outweighed my need for a new one, I am stealing her pics and posting. I hope I get it right!
In her behalf, I would just like to thank everyone for all their support, she had an incredible time, was able to experience a once in a life time trip and came home with a gold medal from the national competition!

Baylee Palmer, McKenna, Katelyn Parkin, Frecia Houston

Baylee and McKenna competed together with their project of strengthening mother/daughter relationships by hosting a tea party for the cheer squad and their moms. They had a nationally recognized motivational speaker talk and we all had a great evening of bonding with each other. Katelyn and Frecia taught hygiene to 4th, 5th, and 6th graders in Panguitch and handed them out all a personal hygiene kit. All of these girls received a gold medal at the national convention! Great job. Also attending the convention from Panguitch were 3 other girls who received a silver medal for their book drive project and the solo young man who received a gold for his project in career choice developement.
McKenna and Baylee holding their poster for their competitive division.

Now that I got the proud mom stuff out of the way, here is the trip from start to finish.

Leaving from Panguitch - Dallin Bennett, Frecia Houston, McKenna, and Katelyn Parkin

After leaving from Panguitch late on July 2nd, arriving in Cedar to see the new Eclipse movie, and then staying overnight in St. George, the crew all arose early - around 5 am to catch the shuttle to Las Vegas for their morning flight to Chicago!

McKenna and Baylee in awe over their first airplane trip.

The Chicago River runs 156 miles through Chicago and is also know as the Chicago Loop. The river flows south away from Lake Michigan and towards the Mississippi River. The river is know for it's blue/green color and is dyed every year for St. Patricks Day.

Baylee, Katelyn and McKenna at the wonderful lobby of the Hyatt Motel.

Skyline view of Chicago.

Katelyn, McKenna, Dallin, Baylee, and Frecia at the Navy Pier

Lighthouse as seen from Navy Pier.

Navy Pier. It was build in 1916, it is one of Chicago's main attractions.

I love this photo of McKenna. I believe she is on a ferris wheel found at Millenium Park.

The Bean at Millenium Park. Actually it's real name is Cloud Gate, but has been dubbed the Bean because of it's shape. It is compsed of 168 stainless steel plates welded together and is so highly polished that it's exterior has no visible seams. It is 33 feet by 66 feet by 42 feet and weighs 110 tons. Cloud Gate is inspired by liquid mercury. You can walk all the way underneath it and around it and the crew had alot of fun with pics beneath it's mirror-like surface.

This is a view from under the Jay Pritzker Pavilion. The Pritzker Pavilion is the home of the Grant Park Symphony Orchestra and Chorus and the Grant Park Music Festival. The Pavilion also is home to many musical and performing arts events.

I wish I knew the name of this fountain, I tried to google it, but came up empty handed. It is also in Millenium Park and in my opinion, these 5 great youth are even more amazing the fountain behind them.

When McKenna showed us this picture I commented that it was odd, that in such a large city, there is not one car visible. I didn't even see the few people walking in the lower right corner until much later. Just an eerie pic considering the size and population of the city!

When McKenna got home, one of her impressions she shared with us was all the different architectural styles she saw.

A chapel, it looks like build more up than anything, I am guessing because of space constraints.

Another impressive building that caught McKenna's eye.

A view of the Chicago skyline from the vantage of a double decker bus.

Baylee, Frecia, McKenna and Katelyn on their whilwind (sp?) double decker bus tour.

One of their sight seeing stops was the Shedd Aquarium. The Aquarium opened in 1930 and contains over 25,000 fish, and was for some time the largest indoor aquarium in the world with 5,000,000 gallons of water. The Shedd Aquarium was the first inland aquarium with a permanent saltwater fish collection. I think McKenna took more pics here that anywhere else she visited in Chicago!

I guess even the fish have experience posing with the tourists who visit the aquarium!

Certainly the scuba divers cleaning the tanks like to get in on the photo action too!

Katelyn, McKenna and Baylee

Another way these guys experienced city transportation - a trolley ride!

When I first saw this picture, I was sure glad I wasn't there in person. This is from the Sears tower! She certainly doesn't have her dad's phobia of heights!

View of Chicago from the Sears Tower.

Yet another form of city transportation - Subway!

What trip to Chicago wouldn't be complete without a baseball game! This one at the US Cellular Field.

It rained quite a bit on the fans, and the game was delayed for a while until the boys could play without getting their uniforms all muddy!

Perhaps the highlight of the trip for the girls was their brunch at the American Girl Doll store. Dallin was patient enough with the tea party, knowing soon he would be visiting Wrigley Field!

Each girl was able to pick a "date" to brunch with. Dallin decided to forego this invitation however and just became the official photo taker for all the girls!

Mmmm, looks good! McKenna said this was one of the best meal she ate in Chicago. It rivaled the stadium style hot dog at the White Socks game and the Chicago pizza they enjoyed their last night there.

OK, so this picture got posted a little out of order, so bear with me. These girls attended a semi formal gala their last night in Chicago. This is so typical of these girls - strike a pose. It is just so them!

Back to the brunch - McKenna posing with her "date"!

Now back to the gala. There were 4 different dance genre floors, different bands, different refreshments. One big national teenage dance-off!

Finally, Dallin got his time too. Fan day at Wrigley Field!

McKenna picking a leaf from the Ivy Wall!

Besides getting to enjoy the sun on the outfield, the kids got to stand on the pictures mound, see the view from the dug out, and visit the locker room!

McKenna said Garrett Popcorn was all over Chicago. I think it made her miss her wonderful, sweet brother, just a little! She also said it was pretty good popcorn!

All in all, McKenna had a great trip. We were so grateful for her wonderful advisors who brought her home safely to us! She had an incredible time sight seeing, gaining cultural experiences that will last a lifetime, and learning with equally talented youth from all over the nation. We are so proud of you McKenna and love the beautiful young woman you are becoming!

Oh The Places You'll Go!

So without any pictures to show off (because of lost camera), girls camp this year went wonderfully! The theme was Dr. Seuss's "Oh The Places You'll Go". Each ward picked a Dr. Seuss book and played up the rhyming fun. Wednesday night they all had the wonderful experience on a walk of Places Where the Savior Went. As they walked in small groups, they listened to 5 women who were a part of Christ’s life. They learned about repentance and the power of the atonement from the woman who committed adultery and was about to be stoned. They were taught by Mary Magdalene and about her experience seeing the Resurrected Christ. They felt faith through the woman who had a long term illness and was healed by touching the hem of Jesus’ robe. They learned that through a quiet voice, a woman in ancient America heard our Heavenly Father announce the coming of the Resurrected Savior’s. But as Mary told the girls of her experience as the mother of the Savior of the world, giving birth, raising him and ultimately witnessing his crucifixion, I was impressed with how much our Father in Heaven loved us to send His Son. Our Heavenly Father shared His Son with each one of us and by divine design; He let Him suffer so that we could return to live with Him again. After they Young Women met these incredible women from the Savior's life, they listened to the Savior talk to them as He quoted scripture and told them personally His divine plan for each one of them. It was an impressive and incredible night.
Thursday after their hike, we were taught by Brother Bliss Roberts (an EFY speaker). The girls memorized 10 essential scriptures in 8 minutes! It was incredible to listen to him teach and show the girls how exciting and fun the scriptures are (Oh the Places You'll Go In the Scriptures.) That night was Bishops night. All the girls especially look forward to Bishops night when they Bishops bring up dinner and have a personal testimony meeting with their Young Women.
Friday morning the Stake Presidency fixed breakfast - eggs, bacon, pancakes, dutch oven potatoes - yummm!!! After all this, ward broke camp and left for home. All in all I think it was an incredible camp with lots to do and learn. I am so grateful for the opportunity girls camp gives us to teach the girls, not only skills for the outdoors, but hopefully to teach them of the gospel, their Savior, and their divine nature.
I definately can say that Girls Camp is my favorite part of my calling! These girls are amazing and wonderful!

4th Year Overnighter

July 14th and 15th, the Stake Camp Director and I took a group of 11 YW from Panguitch and Circleville area to St. George for an overnight activity. The young women were all 4th year girls at camp this year and we let them plan their adventure activity. And what an adventure it turned out to be!
We left Panguitch and headed to St. George to do baptisms for the dead. Here's where the miracles begin. A couple of weeks before we left, we made reservations with the temple. They let us know we would be needing to bring our own names for baptisms. I felt my heart drop! How on earth would we enough names for our girls to have a temple experience? After many (really) phone calls, I secured about 4 names while the other leader from Circleville secured 25 names. I thought how would we ever get enough names for the girls to do? Our prayers were finally answered when a woman here in Panguitch called me and said she heard we needed names. We ended up with 65 names! Enough to do the baptisms!
After the temple, we headed to the Washington Rec Center to swim. Needless to say, my AC went out and the temp was 117 degrees! Dropping the girls off to swim, I went to find a shop that could fix my van and was just able to find a spot right before 5 pm! Another miracle. They were able to get me on my way by the next day. Nancy was generous enough to bring me over her van to shuttle girls around for the rest of our trip.
We were able to spend a comfortable night in my nephew's wife's sister's house (got that?) in St. George. A really beautiful home that the girls really felt pampered in!
Later that night after dinner Sherida and I treated the girls to a pedicure night, visited with them about Christ's service in washing the disciples feet and then walked around the temple. Here another miracle, or just a wonderful experience. We were there so late that a gentleman was closing the gates. He visited with our Young Women and let them ask him questions about the temple and it's history. A really nice ending to our night. Well almost... I guess the girls really didn't end their night until about 2 am!
The next morning, to thank the sisters from our stake who helped provide us with names, Sherida and I headed back to the temple the next morning to do the initiatory for as many names as we could do in 2 hours. We were able to do 28 of the names.
We headed back to our little homes happy, fulfilled in our service, and grateful for the fun time we had! Needless to say, my camera was missing. Please fill in the narrative with your own imagination! We have a great time!

Where is my brain!!!

So after the 4th of July fireworks here in Panguitch (which I might add are pretty darn good for a little town!), I lost my camera! I can remember it in the chair and the next day when I was looking for it, it was gone! I can't really blame it on my neighbors, they don't really say much except "Moo" and I can't blame it on McKenna - she was in Chicago. I could try to blame it on my Garrett but he was busy picking up the spent fireworks. Kimber and Addison ran inside and straight to bed and little Leighton - well, she missed the show entirely preferring her bed to the screaming and booming of the fireworks display. Jeff is always on top of everything that is his, so my loss is entirely my own fault to which I will place upon my absentminded brain! Hopefully, my absentmindedness will lead me to where my camera is hiding!

The Ant and the Grasshopper

So I must be feeling just a little political right now working in the health care field and all the changes that are starting. This was at work the others day and I just wonder if this is where we are headed. Happier postings to come!

The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter. The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away.
Come winter, the shivering grasshopper calls a press conference and demands to know why the ant should be WARM AND WELL-FED while others are COLD AND STARVING. CBS, NBC, PBS, CNN, and ABC shows up to provide pictures of the shivering grasshopper next to a video of the ant in his comfortable home with a table filled with food. America is stunned by the sharp contrast.
How can this be, that in acountry of such wealth, this poor grasshopper is allowed to suffer so? Kermit the Frog appears on Oprah with the grasshopper, and everybody cries when they sing, ‘It’s Not Easy Being Green.’ Jesse Jackson and Barach Obama stage a demonstration in front of the ant’s house where the news stations film the group singing, ‘We shall overcome”.
Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer & Harry Reid exclaim in an interview with Larry King that the ant has gotten rich off the back of the grasshopper, and both call for an immediate tax hike on the ant to make him pay his fair share. Finally, the EEOC drafts the Economic Equity and Anti-Grasshopper Act retroactive to the beginning of the summer!
The ant is fined for failing to hire a proportionate number of green bugs and, having nothing left to pay his retroactive taxes, his home is confiscated by the government. Hillary Clinton gets her old law firm to represent the grasshopper in a defamation suit against the ant, and the case is tried before a panel of federal judges that Bill Clinton appointed from a list of single-parent welfare recipients.
The ant loses the case. The story ends as we see the grasshopper finishing up the last bits of the ant’s food while the government house he is in, which just happens to be the ant’s old house, crumbles around him because he doesn’t maintain it.
The ant has disappeared in the snow. The grasshopper is found dead in a drug related incident; and the house, now abandoned, is taken over by a gang of spiders who terrorize the once peaceful neighborhood.

Please don't missunderstand me, I love our country, it is a choice land. I love the opportunities we enjoy here and I know that we are blessed to be living here. I just can see the similarities between this parable and how I see our Emergency Room used.

Whew, now that that's off my chest.....

Free Fish Day 2010

The first Saturday in June finds kids and parents out at Tropic Reservoir for Free Fish Day. They stock the reservoir for the occasion and although I am sure there were plenty of fish hanging around, Addison was the only member of our family who got in on the act! Here she is with her dad showing off her catch of the day! Way to go Addison! Hats off to Jeff for having the patience to keep 3 kids with lines cast and untangled, happy for the morning!

Lost Tooth!

So Saturday when we were on our way to Moccasin, Addison exclaimed "Mom, Mom! I'm scared! My tooth is loose!" Sure enough, it was so loose we thought it would be out by the end of the day. Alas, it finally broke free 3 days later and much to Addison's relief. I thought it might be just a little more traumatic when it finally fell out, seeing how upset she was when she found it to be loose. However, when she pulled it out today we only saw smiles! She is all ready for the tooth fairy tonight!