9/11 Commemoration

Today was the 20th anniversary of 9/11. It was designated a day of service. Janelle, Jenna, and I went to join our ward in picking up garbage along Santa Clara Drive, but we were late and it was finished by the time we arrived. Then Janelle and I went to listen to Jenna's Choir sing "We Remember" at the commemoration ceremony at town square. They had a prayer by a Jewish Rabbi (who I believe was in New York at the time of 9/11) and a moment of silence and also a talk by someone in the police force who was also there. It was a touching service. I can't believe that it has been 20 years. I will never forget where I was and what I was doing when I heard about the horrific events of 9/11. 

Here is Jenna's Choir. I am off to the side and so at a terrible angle for filming. Jenna is on the front row, right next to the boys. Jaiden spent the morning taking the ACT again and Josh had a soccer game.

Janika and Brandon invited Landon and Sol over for a service project -- making a blanket for refugees. 

9-11 Memorial Concert

I went to Janika's High School 9-11 Memorial Concert tonight.  I got a lump in my throat and tears in my eyes as I listened to the music, watched the slide show, and stood for our National Anthem and clapped for those who had served in the armed forces.  Yesterday was the 10th Anniversary of 9-11.  I remember it well.   We lived in Ivins at the time and Janika (5) was in kindergarten.  I had Jase (3) and Jared (1) in the double jogger stroller as we Janika her to the bus stop.  My friend was there with her daughter and asked if I had seen the news.  I hadn't.  She told me what had happened and I just couldn't believe it.  I was on my way to our local park and I sat there at the park pushing the kids in their swings.  It was so quiet and peaceful.  I tried to wrap my head around all of the chaos and tragedy that was going on at the other end of our nation.  I didn't fully realize the extent of the destruction and loss until I went home and started watching the news.  It was so devastatingly shocking and tragic and affected all of us. I can't imagine what it must still be like for those who were directly impacted.  It is truly an experience that none of us will forget!

9-11 Flooding in Santa Clara

We had our own 9-11 catastrophe today.  A dike near our home broke, sending a raging river right through our neighborhood.   We were evacuated from our homes, but I was off on an interpreting appointment and missed all of the excitement!  I had dropped Jenna off at my friend, Allison’s house, a few houses away at 12:30 and told her that there must be a car accident right by my house because on that exit from my house to Santa Clara Drive there were tons of police cars and police directing traffic.  If I had known what was going on, I wouldn’t have gone to my appointment.  There was no car accident – they were directing traffic because of the dike.  When I got out from my interpreting job two hours later there were 8 missed calls on my phone and so I knew something was wrong. 

Right then Rick called and said he had received an emergency call at work and was on his way home.   Allison had tried to call me a few times while I was gone and so I called her back and she said that while I was gone were there fire trucks going through the neighborhood with sirens on and they were banging on the doors telling everyone to evacuate immediately.  Allison said she ran down to my house to check on it and there was a huge river running right next to our backyard!  She said that tons of homes had been flooded but that ours looked okay.  Then Jared called me from school on my cell phone and said that the busses were not going to be able to take them home and could I come pick him up.  So I went to pick him up and then picked Janika up from Tuacahn.  I also got a call from the elementary school asking me to come pick up my kids early.   Jase had walked home (through water).  It took a while to get home with all of the detours and we had to park up the street and walk to our house.  By the time I got home the river was gone.  So I missed the whole thing!

It was truly a miracle that our house was completely spared – not one drop of water got inside.  Meanwhile, the Phillips (our neighbors just East of the empty lot adjacent to our backyard) received terrible damage in their house as well as their three rental houses on our street.  The water crashed right through the windows of their daughter’s house (across the street from their house).   The damage continued up the street for about 8 or 9 houses (each of them receiving several feet of water in their houses) and all of the houses below them on the street to the South (Vineyard Drive).  All of the houses are in our ward except for about three.   I walked through the neighborhood tonight and couldn’t believe the destruction to houses and property. There was mud everywhere, yards completely gone, several feet of water in basements, stuff all over.   It was SO sad!  But it was also really awe inspiring to see so many people answer the call for help.  There were hundreds of people walking the streets and working to remove water and belongings from the houses. 

Jaiden had come with me on the walk and I was nervous because it was so unsafe with service cars everywhere and so many people and people  getting around on four wheelers and SO much mud.  Rick, Janika, Jase, and Jared had immediately gone to help neighbors shovel water and mud and they all worked about six hours straight (Jared ended a little sooner because he was having allergies so bad).  All of them came home covered with mud.   We received so many calls and texts from friends asking us if we were okay and if our house was okay. 

This is what Rick posted on Facebook:

Thank you for all of your concern about the recent flooding damage in Santa Clara. It hit right next to our house, and miraculously went around it. I still can't believe it. I was first to arrive home and see the river bursting through our neighbors field. She told me she had 2 feet in her basement and I wasn't sure what to expect when I walked into my home. To my amazement, we were completely protected, however our neighbors were not!

I want to share with all of my close friends that Miracles do happen! Either they happen for our protection or they happen when disaster hits. The miracles I witnessed tonight while I was shoveling mud out of neighbor’s homes were enough to tell me that we are all being watched over by a loving Heavenly Father - whether your house was hit or not. Thank heavens for the Sons and Daughters of God, who were, in my mind, a manifestation of miracles tonight! You, my dear friends of Washington County, are absolutely AMAZING!

 

 

 

 Next:  My girls playing in the mud in our driveway between my garage and my neighbor's garage.

 

 (Below) Our piano teacher (Lisa Dunkley's) house -- there is water inside too. My kids were asking, do we have piano lessons today? Ummm...that would be a no.

Beginning our Trip

We had originally planned on leaving very early Monday morning and driving straight to the ship.  This way we wouldn't have to travel on Sunday and would save money by not having to get a hotel.  Then we talked to our neighbor who works in California and does this commute all of the time.  He said that there is usually heavy traffic along the way Monday morning and that we would really be pushing it to get there on time.

So we decided to get a hotel after all and leave on Sunday.  I much preferred this anyway, because you just never know what could happen that could delay your trip -- traffic, car breaking down, accidents, or whatever.  Plus I liked the idea of going to bed early and getting a good night's sleep and be able to wake up at a reasonable time.  Getting enough sleep is very important to me, ha ha!! 

So we went to another ward's sacrament meeting and then headed out.  We brought enough food with us so that we wouldn't have to go out to eat on Sunday.  We made excellent time (it is a six hour drive) and didn't run in to any traffic problems.  When we got to the hotel we decided to go take a walk on the beach.  Before long all of the kids were running and jumping and were soon soaked to the skin and covered in sand.

 They also kept handing wet, stinky sea shells to me.  I finally started collecting them in Jenna's dress that we had taken off by this time.   We returned to the hotel and bathed the kids and had to wash out all of their clothes and hang them up to dry.  Unfortunately the hotel was a bit of a dump and the service was not very good -- but at least the trip down went smoothly.

Monday morning we ate the continental breakfast.  When we went to breakfast they were already out of fruit and there wasn't much that was gluten free.  Luckily Rick had brought some honey nut chex with us yesterday and so Jenna and I ate that along with boiled eggs.  The rest of the kids were able to have french toast.

We were able to leave our van at the hotel for the week and take a shuttle to the ship.  We arrived early and got checked in with all of our paper work (photo ID's, birth certificates etc.)  Luckily that went quickly and there were no problems.  We took a little self guided tour around the Queen Mary Ship (transformed into a hotel) which is supposedly haunted.

 

We were supposed to board the ship around 11:30 and Rick had purchased a priority fun-pass which would move us to the beginning of the line every time we got on and off the ship and had some other nice benefits, like being the first group to receive our luggage.  With a family our size, the priority pass was definitely worth it.

We planned to eat lunch as soon as we arrived on the ship.  Unfortunately, there were some "incidents" with the cruise before us and they were two hours late in starting the boarding process.  So by this time the kids (mostly the youngest three) were whiny and hungry and complaining.  We ran into another family we know from St. George (The Cox's).  Janika is friends with Tommy Cox and so that was nice that she had someone to hang out with some of the evenings.  They said they had driven up that morning and had no problems with traffic and so Rick wished we had done that too. 

 We finally got to board and then the excitement was back.  The kids all got to fill their stomachs and then run around and explore the ship.  The kids changed into their swim suits and tried out the water-slide and hot tub.  The pool wasn't filled yet and wouldn't be until the next day.

We went to dinner and it was very good but very slow!  It took about two hours every night for dinner.  This would have been fine if it were just me and Rick, but it was hard on the younger kids. But it was the perfect place for the kids to practice proper etiquette for a fancy restaurant though.  Even better, if they didn't like the fancy food on the regular menu, there was also a "kid's menu" with kid-friendly food such as chicken noodle soup, chicken nuggets, vegetables with ranch dip, pizza, french fries, hamburgers, hot-dogs, and so forth.  So everyone was happy!  We could get our steak and salmon and the kids could get food they were happy with as well. 

This ship left while we were at dinner and as soon as the rocking started Jared said, "I don't like this!"  None of us got sick the whole week though and I was very grateful for that!   After dinner we brought the kids to Camp Carnival.  Jenna was in the 2-5 age group, Josh was in the 6-8 age group, and Jaiden and Janelle were in the 9-11 age group.  Before the cruise I didn't know what to expect and was worried about dropping off Jenna in a group without a sibling with her.  I needn't have worried though -- she is outgoing and makes friends easily and had no problems.

Josh's group was combined with Jaiden and Janelle's group tonight.  They played dodge ball.  We picked up the kids at 9:45 p.m. and then headed to bed.  The boys had a room and the girls had a room.  I wish I had taken a picture of how crowded our room was with five beds!  There were two twin beds on the floor and then two twin beds that pulled down from the wall to make bunk beds and then a small bed that pulled out from underneath one of the twin beds.  Jaiden and Jenna were arguing over who got the high bed. Everyone went right to sleep and slept through the night without a peep.  I slept really good too.  I was surprised how well everyone slept each night!  I guess Rick was right when he said that the ship would rock you right to sleep! 

Sept. 7-13

Sun. 8:   After Day Camp yesterday Rick and I had the opportunity to witness a lovely baptism in the Deaf Branch.  What a wonderful experience that was!  After church in our hearing ward we dropped off the kids and then headed to the Sacrament meeting in the Deaf Branch to witness the confirmations.  I love visiting the Deaf Branch and getting so many hugs.  I am not really a "huggy" person, generally speaking, but that is Deaf Culture and I've learned to really love and appreciate all of the hugs and "I Love You's" that we get when visiting the Branch.

I was asked to sing in a small women's choir for our Stake showing of the General Women's Broadcast that is coming up the end of the month and tonight was our first rehearsal.  It was fun to sing with such talented ladies!  

Mon. 10: Today the kids all got out of school early for some teacher thing.  A month or so ago we had new neighbors move in next door.  They have two little kids -- a boy who turns four tomorrow and a little girl who turned two on Saturday.  My kids have been in heaven having these little kids next door.  They come over and play and Jaiden is a total little mother to little Emmie whenever they come over and even loves to go over to their house to play with them. Jenna loves having new friends and they play together almost everyday.

Tonight the had a pinata' at their house to celebrate the two birthdays and invited our kids.  Our kids were SO excited!  I had gotten a little present for each of the kids but our kids wanted to each give them one of their own toys and so they spent time looking for the perfect one to give them!

Tues. 10:  Rain, rain, and more rain!  Jaiden had piano lessons before school.  I tended my friend's kids in the morning, had my ASL class in the late afternoon and went to Pack Planning meeting in the evening.

Wed. 11:  Today is the one year anniversary from the horrible flood that through our city into turmoil after the dike broke.  And just to make sure none of us forgot what that day was like it rained and rained all day long -- in fact it has been raining on and off for the past couple of weeks -- much like last year at this time.  I ended up working all day today.  I interpreted from 9-1 at Dixie University, came home and picked up Jenna from my friend's house and dropped her off to pre-school, and then headed out for more interpreting at 2:30.  I didn't get home in time to take the kids to piano or dance and so luckily Rick was home in time to run them to their various lessons.  He even made the salad for our ward party tonight and I was so grateful!

Tonight was a ward party at Blackrock Park to commemorate the year Anniversary of the flood.  It was still sprinkling, but let up enough for the kids to play on the playground and grass.  Water games were planned anyway and so the kids got completely soaked and started complaining that they were cold. The ward provided hamburgers, corn-dogs, chips and dessert (rootbeer floats and mud pies) and everyone else brought salads.

Thurs. 12:  Janika had a fieldtrip to Snow Canyon High School to visit with all of the Utah Colleges and Universities who were there to recruit students.  Janika wasn't feeling well and came home from school early.  I had class tonight and then went straight to an interpreting appointment from 6:30 to 8:00.  Rick and the kids had carolers from 7:00 to 9:00.  Jared went to Parkour and won the $5.00 challenge for creativity and flow.  I picked him and his friends up afterwards at 9:00. 

Friday 13:  I interpreted from 9:00 to 1:00 and then went to Scouts at 3:00 and then interpreted again tonight from 7:30 to 10:45.  Rick had a party with the kids playing games and the kids watched a movie. 




 

September 11th Flags

For school Jenna interviewed me about my memories of 9-11. I had shared some of those memories in a previous post HERE.

This morning we woke up early and put up flags around the neighborhood with the Young Women.

Later on as I drove through the neighborhood to pick up Jenna from school I felt touched to see all of the flags waving in the breeze, lining every street in between our house and the school. It was an inspiring sight!

Today there was only a handful of students in each of Josh's classes at the Middle School. The reason for this is that a threatening note was found written on a calculator case at the school a few days ago saying something about a school shooting on September 11th. Later on someone sent a text, which was later posted on Instagram, saying that everyone should stay home because there was going to be a school shooting.

The school sent out e-mails to parents about this probable hoax/threat and upped security. Because of all this the school said parents could decide what was best for their students and that students who stayed home would not be penalized. The police did an investigation and found the student who sent the original text that was spread around social media and the student was arrested the evening of September 10th. We sent Josh to school. He said that his classes only had 5 or 6 students. Apparently the student thought the text would be "funny." The whole situation made me really sad. There is already so much heartache surrounding the memories of this day. It is a day to remember and honor those who lost their lives, not a day to cause trouble and stir up fear in others!

Jaiden and Jason's Wedding!!!

May 9: Today Jaiden and Jason were sealed for time and all eternity in the St. George Temple!!

The sealing was at 10:15. Jaiden and Jason (and we as escorts) were supposed to be there at 9:00. Rick's sister, Julie Yearsley, came over to our house at 7:45 to do Jaiden’s hair. She did a fantastic job, as usual, and Jaiden looked absolutely beautiful! 

Rick, Jaiden, and I were soon on our way to the temple. Jason was staying with the Marks family at their Airbnb and would meet us there. As soon as we were in the car on our way to the temple the magnitude of what was about to happen finally hit me. I started feeling so many emotions and was soon wiping tears away. We arrived at the temple and went into the recording room where we were helped by our neighbor, and ward member, Shan Gubler. Brother and Sister Tew, who used to live in our ward, were our helpers for the day, and so it was fun to have people we know taking care of us!  

We got the bride and groom situated where they needed to be and then Rick and I went to the marriage waiting room. Jenna had left at 9:30 to pick up Audrey Williams (her best friend, Clarissa Williams, had to work) and go to the visitor’s center to watch the grandchildren during the sealing. Jenna's boyfriend, Ethan, also met them there to help. Karla Seamons made the bridal bouquet and bridesmaids’ bouquets. They looked beautiful! She arranged for them to be delivered to the visitor’s center at 10:45. 

Family and friends started arriving at the temple. We were grateful that we were able to meet Jason’s immediate family yesterday. Today we were able to meet more of his extended family. Jaiden had six bridesmaids. Three were friends that she has had for years, and three were former missionary companions. So we were able to meet the missionary companions in the waiting room too. (Jaiden and Jason both went to Mongolia on their missions, which is where they met!)

All of our extended family lives in Northern Utah, and the only ones who were able to come were my brother Chris, and his wife, Kim, and Rick’s sister Julie, and her husband, Scott. I was grateful that they could come. I loved that all of our children could be there in the temple with us (except for our missionary, Josh, and Jenna, who isn’t old enough). We also had invited our good friends, the Williams, to come. Emily Williams has been Jaiden’s best friend since first grade and was her maid of honor. 

When everyone arrived they brought us to the sealing room. They had reserved the biggest one to accommodate everyone. As I looked around the beautiful sealing room I had to smile when I noticed that the colors of the sealing room were light blue and light yellow – Jaiden’s wedding colors! There was such a special spirit there in the sealing room. 

We waited for the bride and groom and then we all stood up as they entered. We had asked President Jim Ence to seal them. He is our Stake Patriarch and also a temple sealer. He and his wife are in our ward and we have known them for many years. Their grandchildren are good friends with our children. President Ence and his wife were mission presidents in Nebraska, which is where Janika also served. When Janika’s mission president and his wife finished their service, the Ences were the ones who took their place.  

He kept it short and sweet. He said that he wasn’t going to give marriage advice, but he did talk about the ordinance. Then he began and soon they were sealed as husband and wife!! Such a beautiful moment! I am crying just thinking about it! They did a brief exchange of rings and then he had everyone go up row by row to give Jaiden and Jason a hug and then sit back down. After the sealing Jaiden, Julie, and I went back to the bridal room so that Julie could touch up her hair. Then Julie and I went around to where Jaiden and Jason would be making their entrance to waiting family and friends. 

Around 11:00 they walked out of the temple amongst cheers from the group. Then we took a big group picture with everyone on the temple stairs. It was forecast to get up to 96 degrees that day and it was already very hot. So we were all sweating and trying not to squint during that first group picture. But then we went to the temple grounds where there was a big tree and lots of shade. So it was quite comfortable there in the shade for the rest of the pictures. I wish I had thought to snap some pictures of each of the kids and their families while we were waiting our turn for pictures. 

The bride and groom were the last ones to leave the temple grounds since they were still getting their pictures taken. They had taken some of their bridals at the temple, but we still wanted a few more. Rick and I had stayed with them also since I had Jaiden’s recommend and we had left some of our things in the bridal room. Then she headed to the luncheon with Jason, and Rick and I headed over to meet everyone! (The pictures at the temple and reception were done by my friend, Julie Freeman. She did an amazing job!)

And a few pics from our phones...