TAKE THEM TO THE STOCKS!!!

Thanks Jana for another fun night!

We hiked up to the Y today. It was a pretty steep hike but even the little girls made it without being carried and we had a good time.
The gate to the trail

Sitting by the Y

Looking over Provo from the Y

This is one of my favorite pictures from our trip. You can tell by how happy Mom & Dad are that they just love us so much!

If you want to see more pictures, then click the link to our blog!

Branson

Mom and I went to Branson the last of May with Rosalie and Tom Scholes. Our flights didn't look good on Saturday, so we went to SLC on Friday the 28th and stayed with Teri. Teri thought we needed to be picked up, so she sent Scott to the airport. We had rented a car and were to Teri's while Scott was at the airport (sorry Scott). We didn't get on our flight to Memphis on Friday, but found one to Atlanta, so we went there and got a hotel for the night. Sunday morning we flew to Springfield, got our car and went on to Branson. We didn't get to the resort until noon and church was at 1:00 and about 30 miles away. We made it. Church was very enjoyable. The people were very friendly. The gospel doctrine teacher was one of the Duttons who perform in Branson.

Our resort is just a 100 yards from a huge Lake (740 mile shoreline). We can see it out our window. It is beautiful. We drove part way around it. The resort is OK, but not a real nice one. It doesn't even compare to Worlmark.

We went to several shows: Twelve Irish Tenors, Six, Noah, a dance show, a Chinese acrobat show, and on a riverboat for a show. They were all good, but the best was Noah. I was hesitant to go as I thought it would be a spoof. It was the real story of Noah. They built the ark and gathered the animals (many live ones). When the 2nd half began after intermission, we were sitting in the ark. There were cages and animals on three sides of us. It was about 60 feet high. It is impossible to describe, but was utterly fantastic. We liked it so much, we paid to go on the backstage tour. It was fun. My legs hurt so much, I finally asked for a wheel chair. Mom pushed me around in it.

We also went to Silver Dollar City. It is kind of like Lagoon, but much more on historical things like the blacksmith, glass blowing, woodcarving and turning, etc. It was good. My legs gave out again, but I made it. They had a country music concert that evening that we went to. It was good also. We only went on two rides, a water raft one that soaked us and the train. While on the train, we got robbed by two Missouri hill billies. It was fun.

In between the shows and the sight seeing, Mom and Rosalie just happened to get in a lot of shopping. We went to the outlets and other shopping venues.

We left Saturday morning.

Love, Dad

In May, we went on a 4 wheeler ride out to Hole in the Rock. We drove to Escalante on Thursday and checked into a motel. They gathered for dinner, but we were late so we didn't go. We were invited out to a brothers home for a little dialogue about the trip. He has a place in a canyon that is very nice and sheltered. We enjoyed his talk as he told us about the settlement of Escalante and the Hole in the Rock expedition. We even had smores afterward.

Friday morning we drove out on the road to the hole. The road goes all the way out, but this was a 4 wheeler activity, so we went in pickups for about 20 miles and then on 4 wheelers for the other 25. It was about a 50 mile round trip on wheelers.

Our first stop was at Dancehall Rock. We had a guide who talked to us about their experience there. Here's a picture of Mom and Dad dancing at Dancehall Rock.

These next pictures are from the backside of Dancehall Rock. They are huge depressions that you can only get into and out of with a rope. We were told that sometimes the parents would lower the kids down in and then go party and dance. They wouldn't have to worry about their children running away or getting lost.

From there, we drove on out to the "hole." It was awesome. I can't imagine taking wagons down there. They did some blasting and they drilled large holes to put cedar posts in to expand the shelf to drive on. I don't know how they did it. I don't understand how they even thought they could go down it. Not only did they go down, but I am told they came back up it for over a year in going back and forth. I am totally amazed.

From there we went up on top of 50 mile ridge. We rode along it for awhile and then down to the trucks and back to Escalante.

On Saturday we chose to go in trucks up to "The Devil's Backbone." It is a ridge at the top of the mountain north of Escalante, that is very narrow and falls off in deep straight down canyons on either side. It is so narrow, they built a bridge to get vehicles from one sid to the other. It was awesome.

Saturday morning we drove up to the "Devil's Backbone" which is a ridge that falls off in steep canyons on either side. The ridge is so narrow, they have put a bridge across it. These photos show the steep fall off on either side. We were going to go to some falls, but they weren't signed very good and we missed them. We decided that was good as I am still having big problems with my legs.

We drove on home. As always, it was good to be home.

Love, Dad

P.S. Thanks to Bonnie and Dave for the blogs they posted. If you haven't read them, they are on the side of the Moss Family Blog. Bonnies is the "3 girls + 2 boys" and David has the other two.

Mom's Surprise Party

Thanks to everyone for helping to celebrate Mom's birthday. It was a great success.

Happy Birthday Mom!

You've had a birthday shout hooray! We want to sing to you today! One year older & wiser too! Happy Birthday to YOU!

We hope you have a wonderful birthday! We love you & are so blessed to have you in our lives. You are a wonderful Mother & Grandmother and a great example for all of us. We love you!

Love,

Trent, Bonnie, Lainee, Olivia, & Rigby

I have really appreciated those who have written in the blog. It's good to know what you are doing.
I haven’t written for 1 whole month. Not a lot has happened. Mom is ecstatic about her new drapes. She took a week off school and had Rosalie Scholes come down and help her. They really do look nice. They match the new paint job on the fireplace too. I'm still trying to get used to that.
I have been going to physical therapy. They screwed up my appointment. I went in to physical therapy on the day they said to come and I wasn’t scheduled for another week. I wanted to get it going, so I went to Dr. Howard, a chiropractor. I had four session on the DRX with him and then the next week started at the doctors office. I also was advised to walk in a swimming pool, so I bought a membership for three months at Sand Hollow and try to be there 4 or 5 times a week. I have had 15 sessions on the DRX. Last week my legs started to hurt-hips, thighs, and calves. They were very painful to walk or even to just stand. I went in to Dr. Root yesterday and he took me off the DRX for now. He also gave me shots in my hips as they have been very sore for a month or so.
After successfully doing a reverse mortgage on our home, I have been advertising and trying to sell some reverse mortgages. I have only had appointments with 1 couple and they found another company that had less fees, so they went with them. I was sure I was going to get it and it was really disappointing.
My garden is in and doing well. We have been eating radishes and beet greens. Our peas are just about on.
We are looking forward to being in Vegas for Mom’s birthday and our anniversary, and seeing Kenzi’s play. We will be back for Braden’s baptism.
It was nice to have Jeff's kids here for a weekend and we have enjoyed Chase, Brayden, Olivia and Lainee's ball games.
We had Jeff's family and the locals over for dinner before Jeff went home. It was fun to be together.
That’s not very much for a month, but that’s all folks.

Yea!! Pajama Game is over. Pajama Game is the musical Kelsey's school did this year. She drove us all crazy. She already had a busy schedule and to add all the practices was just too much. We took the family Wednesday to the opening show and it was alright. Saturday Mom and Dad came down and went with Shawn and I for the closing show and wow what a difference. The Saturday show was so much better and a lot of fun. Kelsey really enjoyed it of course as this is totally her element. This week she is also super busy with all-state practices. She performs her solo on Thursday for competition and if she wins will sing at a concert that day. Just her school sent 10 girls so for the whole state there must be quite a lot of girls trying out. The allstate choir will be performing on saturday at 2pm. It is a great choir to listen to (at least last years was incredible).

Kenzie is very excited about her school musical. It will be at the end of this month. Shawn and I have been learning dances for Cinderella and I must say Shawn is getting to be quite the dancer. You may all want to come to this show just to see him in a male kick line. It is a sight to see. Kiki's arm is healing well and though she is tired of the cast she loves that it is pink. Everyone is doing well and loving life.

April Fool's Pranks

I love April Fools! I added Facutly Drug Testing to our faculty meeting agenda, which was so funny! Then I wrote fake announcements about various club meetings at lunch and fake birthday congratulations for the students to read. Some of them were: I invited everyone who needed tax help to see Mr. Duston at lunch; All of Mr. Hunsakers students, remember that today is absolutely the last day to turn in your Shakespeare report, etc. I pranked Megan by sneaking in her car and turning everything on, windshield wipers, radio full blast, emergency brake, blinkers, etc and rearranged her seat and mirrors. Of course, she pranked me by short-sheeting my bed! (Oh, and the announcement on our blog about the Jello contest is an April Fool's too.)

Coloring Easter Eggs!

had to eat pasta with strange utinsels for April Fools dinner

Congratulations!!

...to Judy for being a finalist in the Spring Jello Dessert contest! Be sure to watch her on Good Morning America next Tuesday. She and the other 4 finalist will be demonstrating how to make their Jello dessert. Wahoo! Way to go Judy!!

A Trip Down Memory Lane

I just realized that tomorrow is April Fool's Day. In thinking of April Fool's pranks, my first thought was when dad got a cast on his arm so everyone thought he had broken it. And then who could forget the pancakes with paper in them? I did that one year to Megan, and she still has a hard time eating pancakes! Two years ago on April Fool's day I realized that our sweet kitty, Holly was actually a boy, so when I told Megan, she didn't believe me! So, what do you remember about April Fool's Day? And what are you going to do this year?

See Moss Mob

I took Dad's subtle hint and put a new post on the Moss Mob blog. I agree, we all need to post, even if your on facebook. I am more willing to share more intimate things with you all then with the facebook friends, and that is what we should be sharing here.

Mom and Dad

Mar. 25 I went in yesterday at 7 am and had an MRI. It cost about $4000. My part is $685. I also had some xrays. The MRI is really enclosing. I don’t know how anyone much heavier than me could do it. My hands were on my belly and were touching the top of the opening. My face was about 2 inches from the top. It lasted 40 minutes with a few minute break inbetween. It was very very noisy. I wore earplugs. Anyway its done.
I went in to see Dr. Root again this morning and he went over the MRI. He said I have three herniated disks that are causing my back pain. I am scheduled to go to the hospital and get shots of cortisone in my back Friday and then start physical therapy next week. They have a machine that stretches the spine and gives the disk room to retract back into place. It’s called decompression. It’s the same machine that you see chiropractors advertise, the TRX 9000 or something like that.
I didn’t go to the temple this week as I am on medical leave until my back is better.
Mar. 27
Scott and the girls arrived last night. We were in the middle of dinner with some of our friends. The Degens are going on a mission to Nauvoo and we invited some of the friends that have been getting together for a few years, the Carlsons, and the Wilburs. We have also had the Elmers, but Lane died and Deanna and her new husband have only joined us once since then. Anyway, Janiel fixed a lovely dinner which we all enjoyed and then sat around and visited for a couple of hours.
It was good to see the Fosters again and enjoy them.
Today Scott went to Vegas to make a presentation to the shop buy convention. We took the girls to Washington to watch Olivia play soccer. Olivia played well.
Afterwards we went to Costco and got some milk and some other things. Abby and Mikell went with Trents family. We also bought pizza and they all came home to eat tonight.
After Scott got home, he told us about his experience in Vegas and then talked to us about the business.

Chanieca and I celebrated our anniversary this weekend. Teri took our kids Friday night, so we went to Sundance Resort and tried snowboarding for the first time. Chanieca was pretty aprehensive about it, and it took a while with a lot of falls to get used to it but we ended up getting the hang of it pretty well and had a great time. We started by just walking up the hill a ways and practicing, then we went to the beginner tow rope where one of the workers gave us a few tips, and finally we went on the big lift and had a blast. We came back and had a really good burger at Five Guys burger and Fries then went to Iceberg for a shake. We just slept back at our house then Saturday morning we went to pick up our kids and help Teri with her house. After snowboarding and demolishing a tile floor I am really sore today. Last night I took Chanieca for a steak dinner. Today, which is our actual anniversary we just went to church and spent the day with the kids. It was a nice day so I took the kids on motorcycle rides and we went for a walk. Now its time for bed. The end.

4 Wheelin

Again, this is from my journal.
Mar. 13
Today we went 4 wheeling. We were told if it was raining not to come. There was a forecast of rain, but we went anyway. There were 16 vehicles in the group. Some are 4 wheelers and some are razors and rangers. We met at the chapel downtown at 9 am for prayer (we always have prayer before going and each day of the ride). We went out to the Joshua forest on the west side of Utah Summit about 8 miles past Castle Cliffs. We unloaded the vehicles and headed west to the Beaver Dam Wash. I was surprised at the amount of water. We had to raise our feet to keep them from getting wet. Most of the ride was on dirt roads. There were a few rough places, but it was the kind of ride Mom likes. Well, that is until it started raining. When we stopped for lunch, it was pretty nice, with a cold breeze blowing. That didn’t last long. It started to snow, then got quite hard. We weren’t through eating, but cleaned up and got on the road. Then a blizzard set in. It was freezing cold and the snow bit when it hit the skin. We weren’t at the end of where we were going, but we turned back toward the trucks. We were in blizzard conditions for about a half hour and then just a very strong, cold wind. We certainly did think of the pioneers coming across the plains in handcarts. They didn’t have pickups with heaters waiting for them. It was nice to get back to the truck and get the heater going. We were cold, but not wet. It was a …memorable ride.
We called Doug and Jill and went to dinner with them at Ruby Tuesdays and then stopped at their home for a game called Sequence. It is fun. We had played it with them once before.
Love, Dad

Las Vegas

Thanks to all who have shared what is happening in your lives.
Mom and I went down to Vegas last a week ago Friday. I am going to put in part of what I wrote in my journal. We have a studio at Royal Resorts. When we checked in I asked them if we could get a one bedroom as Trent had called and asked if they could stay here tonight on their way to Hawaii. Anyway we got a one bedroom that has 2 sleeper beds. It was perfect for their family. Before they came we walked around and ended up signing up for a timeshare presentation at the Grandview. It is supposed to take 2 hours and we get a buffet at the Ex Caliber and a show. Trent's family got here around 10 pm and settled in.
Mar. 6
Trent got me up at 5 am to drive them to the airport. I was able to get him a parking pass so he is leaving his car here. He took his whole family to Hawaii for 3 days. We also got them a bonus time 2 bedroom in Hawaii through Worldmark (they paid) We went to our appointment at 8:45. We didn’t get back until around 2. It was supposed to be 2 hours and ended up being almost 5 hours. We were really disgusted. They showed us a wonderful plan. We were half tempted to buy, but we have too much already.
We spent the afternoon watching TV.
We went to the Excaliber Buffet for dinner. It was awful. The salad was good, and I liked the prime rib (Janiel didn’t). There wasn’t anything else except for the cookies that we liked. They charge $20 for the buffet. We gave 5 hours for it.
We then went to planet Hollywood for the Variety Show we had earned at Grandview. It was good. It was just that, a variety show. We had tickets for a hypnotist also at the same place. There were long lines to both shows. The hypnotist show seemed like a sham to me. I couldn’t see how he could hypnotize over 10 people in a group of 30, but he said he did. The show was funny until the last 2 things he did. They were sick We got up and left before it was out. We had also walked the mile of shops which was quite interesting. It was amazing that after midnight there were tons of people there and there was a line as long as the one we had stood in for the next show.
Mar. 7
We went over to Judy’s ward for church, We enjoyed the testimonies and then other meetings. We had dinner with the Lee’s. We spent the rest of the day with them. We enjoyed our visit.
Mar. 8
We just watched TV this morning and read our scriptures. This afternoon we went shopping for fabric for the curtains in our new home. I mainly sat in the car as my back has been bad for the whole time we have been down here. She did find the fabric she wanted in the 3rd store. It was also about half the cost of what she had seen in the other stores.
We invited the Lees over for a swim and pizza. I got in my swimsuit and sat in the Jacuzzi with Shawn. The jacuzzi felt real good on my back. We also swam the length of the pool 3 times. It is a big pool and a really nice pool area with 4 cabanas. Everyone enjoyed the swim. Janiel and Judy didn’t swim. Afterwards Janiel had bought pizza for all of us. It was a good night.
We were going to stay until Wed. and then travel home for our temple assignment. My back was still bothering me and we couldn't do much because of it, so we packed up and came home Tuesday. We gave the key to Judy and Shawn for them and their family to use. We had lunch at Terrible's buffet. It was better than Ex Calibur's, but nothing to write home about.
The next installment will be about our 4 wheeling ride on Saturday the 13th.
Hope the rest of you will jump in and tell us what is happening.
Love, Dad

Spring Break @ Disneyland!!

Our Disneyland trip was so much fun! We (Megan, Katelynn and I) left on Sunday afternoon. We stopped in Las Vegas and picked up our 4th partner in fun, Kenzie. We headed out for California and realized that Sunday afternoon is verrrrrry busy on that highway! We had hoped to get there in time to see that fireworks, but that totally didn't happen.

We stayed at the Grand California Hotel, and oh wow! It was amazing. Such a beautiful hotel. Monday morning, we went to California Adventure and had fun fun fun! I think everyone's favorite ride was the Toy Story Midway Madness. It was also the longest line we waited in. We did Soaring over California, California Screaming, Tower of Terror and saw lots of characters.

We ate a late lunch/early dinner at Ariel's Grotto. We saw many of the princesses starting with Ariel, then Cinderella, Aurora, and Mulan. We really had a super time!

We walked over to Disneyland and rode the rides until the park closed. It wasn't too busy, so we hardly had to wait in line at all. It rained a little bit, but overall it was a great day.

Tuesday morning was our "Magic Morning" where we got into Disneyland an hour before it opened. Since it was such an early morning, we ordered Room Service for breakfast. The best part was the yummy hot chocolate - almost as good as Joni's. At the park, we had a blast all day! The weather was really nice - sunny but not hot. We really liked the Temple of Doom, Pirates, and the Haunted Mansion (of course!) We ate at the Blue Bayou and were lucky enough to get a table right by the water. That evening we went on Splash Mountain, except Katelynn who was the only one sane enough to realize that getting wet after the sun went down was a bad idea! So Megan, Kenzie and I went, and when the ride was over, the operater asked us if we wanted to go again - without getting out and getting back in line! That's never happened to me at Disneyland before. Since we were already wet, we went again. We were pretty cold after that, so we rode Mr. Toad's Wild Ride since part of the ride is in "Hell" and it is really warm in there! When the park closed we walked back to the hotel - Megan and I warmed ourselved at the huge fireplace in the lobby for awhile.

Wednesday was our last day and we started with breakfast at the Storyteller's cafe with Chip and Dale and Brother Bear, Turk and Meeko. We then went to Toontown and saw Goofy, Minnie, Mickey and Donald. It was fun to see their cute houses and Chip and Dale's treehouse. We spent time back at California Adventure (more Midway Madness!) before leaving for home.

It was a super trip! I'm so glad I was able to spend time with three of the greatest girls on the planet!

Well nothing much has changed in my life. I work, work, work and then more work. It has been a crazy month there, but really whats new about that. I do love my job and the people I work with, so it works out. I have two events this month and I'm short handed on staff already. Therefore I'm in for another crazy month, possibly a little more crazy than usual crazy.
Things are good at home, Chad, Karen, Liz and I have a fun time together. Last week I taught them how to play five crowns. It got a little lonely while they were going for a week in February, but I did have the cat to keep me company. It is nice to have my own space, but also to have others here too.
Like I said things are pretty much the same with me, but thats okay by me. I love my job and friends so what more could I want.

We are doing well. Still trying to organize our house and settle in. I am almost done with Caysen's room - just have a few finishing touches left. We're very happy with how it turned out. I'm also working on putting some shelves in the garage and getting it organized - right now you can't even walk through our garage.
The kids are doing well in school and seem to enjoy it. Caysen just finished his basketball season - his team did pretty good but due to a couple ball hogs, he didn't see the ball a whole lot. He just finished the requirements for his arrow of light and will earn 20 badges. Elia is in headstart and really likes that. Ashlin is still wild as ever. Caysen and Jayli are doing good with piano and are putting up with their impatient new teacher (their dad).
On Monday we were invited by a mortgage company to go to a customer party at an ice rink (it's the company that declined our loan, but the loan officer is the dad of some friends in St. George) and we had a great time.
Chanieca is teaching Relief Society and doing a great job. I get to go babysit a bunch of weird 11 yr olds once a week.
Thats all I have to say right now

Snow day! 2/20/10

We had a fun snow day at Pine Valley. When we got there it was stormy but warm & we stayed at the tubing hill in town. We paved a trail with our tubes on the side of the road. Soon the sun came out & we were really warm & enjoying ourselves.

My little ANGELS!

Of course the kids made their snow angels & Lainee attempted a snow cave but decided it was good enough as a chair! Rigby enjoyed kicking back & eating snow (not the yellow kind!) & looking at the clouds!



Soon about 30 people showed up to our hill so we left! We didn't want to share! So we went up to the reservoir dam & scored the best spot before another 5 groups showed up there! I was amazed at how brave my 2 youngest were! Going down that steep hill! And climbing the steep hill! In fact, it was so steep that they were able to slide down it on their bums & they went pretty fast!


In the previous pictures you can see blue skies but that didn't last long! It quickly turned into a blizzard but it didn't seem to phase the kids! They loved it! We figured that they would be done after a few hours but it turned into a full day activity! It was a lot of fun!