Well, today was an unusually crazy day! Daniel missed the bus so Brad took him on his way to work at the Mesa Arts Center. I had to drive Marlee since she had a large science-project board to carry. Then I stopped at the grocery store because we were out of milk (and ended up spending $50.00 on groceries). Miranda had late-start-days yesterday and today since the upper-classmen are taking the AIMS test. So I took Miranda to school around 10:00, then dropped Erin off at the bus stop at 10:15. Wednesdays are also short days so the kids get out early at 12:45. Lela and Amelia came to play with Erin while Jen worked at the cannery (while they kept Erin busy I snuck in and took a shower). Brad got home from MAC around 2:00, then went to work at ASU around 4:00. I took Erin to dance class from 5:00-6:00. Miranda had a band concert, so she had to be at the school at 6:15. Tonight was the Girls Camp Kick-off Night from 6:30-8:30 (Miranda had to miss it), Marlee went without a parent since I had to go back to watch the band concert (with Daniel and Erin). The concert was really good! Miranda hates wearing her band concert dress, she says it looks like she's wearing a black garbage bag! NOT! Anyways, we went back to the church to get Marlee, they weren't quite done, so her leader offered to bring her home. We finally got home and had dinner at 8:45 and now it's already bedtime! I'm taping LOST for Brad since he's always working nights. Ugh! Now I just want to collapse. but if I don't "officially" tuck the kids into bed, they won't go to bed. Little turkies! Tomarrow I will go and train for my new job (where am I going to find the time for a job??! Am I just plain CRAZY??!). The computer guy came out yesterday and set up the computer and foot pedal for me. No time for second thoughts!! Wish me luck! I think I'm going to need it!

Myers Family

It was a beautiful day in Provo, Utah. The funeral service for John Atkinson, Sr. was truly one of the best I have ever been to. The four Atkinson children each spoke about their dad's life and the special things they remembered. It was very meaningful. It was all done "Joanna Style" for those of you who know her, which means perfect in every way. No detail was left behind. The pall bearers had boutonniere's and the girls in the family had corsages. The flowers were beautiful, and the luncheon afterwards (put on by the ward Relief Society) was amazing.

True-Blue BYU Fan

Dad, I think we'll need one of these at your funeral someday! John Sr. was the biggest BYU fan ever. The Provo Cemetery is located just below Y Mount. We could even see the Y on the mountain from his plot. I am sure he is happy about that!

The Atkinson Family
From left:

Alan (holding baby Court), John Jr., Jessica, Ana, Robert, Melissa, Sandra, Kim, Joanna, Billy, Kassi, Mallory, Jake and Alex.

Bagpipes

The graveside service was really extraordinary. This man played the song "Praise to the Man" on the bagpipes. John Sr. had served in the Marines so they did a rifle solute (not sure if that's what it's called), there was a bugler and flag ceremony. It was really special.

Atkinson's & Myers at the Provo Temple

We had the priviledge of joining the Atkinson Family the next day at the Provo, Utah temple. Families Can Be Together Forever . . . That's what it's all about! What a great group of people. We love you guys!

John & Ana

We miss you guys already! Yes, Ana is still in her pajamas, but she's one of those natural beauties that doesn't need hair and make-up and she's sooo photogenic!

Miranda, Jessica, Sandra, Marlee and Erin
Can I just tell you how much fun these girls all had while in Utah? SO MUCH FUN! It was so good to see the Atkinson Cousins again. The kids just played, danced, ran around and had a good 'ol time. Brad took all the kids bowling up at BYU while Ana and I had time to do some shopping (yes, just like in the old days!).

Silly Girls

Alex & Erin

Alex and Erin were good buddies when we lived in Provo. They had fun playing "pet-shop" and flying their paper airplanes. Alex showed us his special talent - breakdancing! It was a riot!

Sandra and Jessica

Marlee, Mrs. Epping (Choir Teacher) & Xan
The choir sang some pretty cool songs tonight. One of them, "Listen to the Rain," even had some cool percussion and shaker accompaniment that actually sounded like rain.

Aprende Junior High 7th Grade Choir

The choir put on an amazing performance tonight! These girls can really sing!

Marlee and Best Friend, Xan

Marlee, Alicia & Xan at the choir concert

Well, I am officially a working mother again. I took a job as a medical transcriptionist for a busy hematology & oncology group. They have three offices out in Scottsdale and Glendale. The best part is that I can just do it all right here at home on my own computer! They even pay by the hour which is rare for medical transcription. It sounds like there will be a good 8-hours-a-day workload. I can pick and choose when I want to sit down and work, but they ideally want to have a 24-hour turn around. So there will be some pressure, but I can handle it! And I will be here for the kids when they need me. I will just have to figure out a way to get the rest of the family to help out more around the house! :) We are going to purchase a new computer, any tips from you computer geniuses out there?

Okay, I forgot to tell you one funny thing that happened at that orthodontist visit yesterday! The assistant took the X-ray and brought the picture up on the computer in the room where we were waiting. So Marlee, Daniel and I were examining the x-ray while waiting for the doc to come in. We noticed the missing tooth, we counted all the other teeth, I even went so far as to explain to Daniel that he didn't really have two spinal columns, just that the panoramic x-ray goes AROUND your mouth so it gets a picture of each side of the spine, that's why it looks like there are two. Anyways, the doc comes in and we hear all his diagnostic stuff, he checks Daniel over and then sits down and very seriously says "You know, it is VERY rare, but Daniel has two spinal cords." I'm looking at him in disbelief, thinking to myself, "Wow, I've gotta get this kid to the pediatrician quick!" I really believed him (for like 5 whole seconds)! Daniel has a shocked look . . . then Marlee starts laughing! Marlee was the only one who caught on that he was JOKING! That doc is normally so serious! Sheesh, I left the office feeling pretty blonde!

Well, today I took Daniel and Marlee to the orthodontist. Marlee's was a routine visit, Daniel's was a Complimentary New Patient Exam. They took a panoramic x-ray of his mouth and guess what? He's missing a lateral incisor (on the right). We have this crazy family history of teeth problems so I knew he needed to get seen sooner or later. Brad was missing some teeth, and Miranda had one malformed lateral incisor. The good news is that his baby tooth has a nice long root on it and the ortho says that we should just leave it there as long as possible. He said that since there was no other tooth pushing down on the roots that it should stay put for quite a few years. Might look funny, but less expensive than an implant! The other good news is that his canines are coming straight down in the right positions! Marlee and Miranda both had their canines going sideways which requires surgery to expose the tooth and anchor it with a chain to another molar to guide it down in the right direction. Marlee will be having that surgery in the next couple of months (just waiting for a molar to grow in). The orthodontist was impressed with the rest of Daniel's STRAIGHT teeth and will recheck him again in a year! :)

Erin's Class At the Stuffington Bear Factory Yep, another fieldtrip! This time we headed to this build-a-bear-type factory called Stuffington Bear Factory. It was a huge place where they make all sorts of stuffed animals. Each kindergarten class got to make a class bear. The guide we had was really awesome and even gave them a history lesson on teddy bears! Did you know that they were first invented when Theodore Roosevelt was president? I guess he went to visit one of the states (can't remember which one) and they took him hunting. He never saw any animals, so the guides that were with him spotted a little bear cub. They tied a rope around its neck and brought it to him and told him to shoot it! He refused, and apparantly the story of this experience reached a couple that owned a candy shop. They decided to make 10 bears and stuff them to put on display in the shop window in President Roosevelt's honor. They called them "Teddy Bears." They sold all the bears within an hour, so they eventually decided to close the candy shop and open a Teddy Bear shop instead!