Jenna's fourth grade class performance!

Here it is, Halloween eve!  I was invited to attend Jenna's fourth grade class performance, and I must say to my delight, that I was thoroughly entertained.  Representing the family was Jim & Rhonda, Katie, Matty, and myself.  Jenna was an outstanding performer, showing off her dancing, speaking, and acting skills.

Jenna speaks

I got "quite a kick" (enjoyment), from the variety of costumes the kids wore.  After each number one group would exit the door and do a quick costume change, while another group performed, and this pattern keep the show exciting from beginning to ending.

Jenna with friends on her right.

Jenna with friends on her left.

Jenna in the above pics is wearing Mike's pajamas and Erin's Steven Tyler Hat.  I was so proud of her, so tall, beautiful and talented.  Of course I am her grandpa, and even so, I am entitled to bust my button when grand-kids do a great job!   Right?

Three witches!

A ghost appears!

Let's dance!

"Help, I can't see!"

Which one is the most beautiful? 

Five lovely performers!

Dancers huddle under the scary pumpkin face! 

I was very impressed by the talents of one particular girl - I don't know her name.  But she showed exceptional talent and enthusiastic ability, so I wanted to include her in this posting, just because!

Fourth grader shows exceptional talent!

I believe she will excel in the entertainment business   

Last but no least, Mrs. Stockman put this program together, so I must include in this posting, a thanks to her.  I understand that Andy, my daughter-in-law, once had Mrs. Stockman as one of her elementary school teachers.  My, how time marches on!

Halloween is fast approaching

Halloween is fast approaching, and being on the alert for interesting pics, I happened to find this wonderful witch, gracefully wrapped around a telephone poll, as if she had a crash.  My guess she was trying to text a message while in flight.  Ha ha.  

Witch crashes into pole on 13th East!

I have to hand it to people who have great imaginations, who come up with these types of displays.  They keep the rest of us with little or no imagination, entertained.

Talk about entertainment, I got quite a kick out of Rachel as she opened her traditional Grandpa Zucc birthday cereal present, at her 8th birthday party.  She received a lot of great presents, and I enjoy watching a happy, enthusiastic kid.  

Rachel has a twinkle in her eye

   
It is fortunate for everyone that her birthday is in October, as Halloween provides a plethora of opportunity for buying cheap gifts that thrill a kid.  One was a flashing mouth light.  "Hey, how could I resist."  "It was on sale at Shopko."  The best thing about this contraption is that after it dies, according to the instructions, you can just throw it away.

At each and every birthday party I attend, at Mike's house, are these two lovely blondes.  Both are looking forward to becoming not only teenagers in the near future, but also to the excitement of entering middle school.  So are their parents!  Ha ha.    

Erin (11) & Anna (12)

To finish off this posting, I want to record that last Wednesday, Matty and I went fishing, and had a great time.  This was strictly a man to man trip, but you have to realize that it was not too difficult to bring myself to his level of understanding in both word and deed.  Katie fixed us a lunch that we enjoyed - peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, cheetoes, apples, and drink.  What could be better?  And, on they way home, we stopped at Wendy's for a couple of Frostys!  

As we drove from the pond, I pointed out the ancient shoreline of Lake Bonneville.  Not sure that he grasped the concept of such a large lake, I decided to tell him the story of Noah and the Ark.  He loved this story, especially how God told Noah to "Shut the door!"  For a 6 year old, Matty really has a developed sense of humor, and he is a joy to be around.  Thank you Mike and Katie for bringing him into my life!     

Fish in the pan

Fish on the plate

Mother nature delivers

 If I were an alien from outer space, I would be totally amazed at the variety of things that make up the planet earth.  In mid-evil times, earth, wind, fire, and water were believed to be earth's basic elements.   Today we know that subatomic particles are the building blocks of everything.  It is baffling to my mind how atoms, seemingly identical, know how to bind together to create different objects like grass, apples, an arm, a rock etc.

  If anyone has any ideas please leave a comment because I, Grandpa Zucc, would like to know before leaving this life.  At any rate, all things seem to have an esoteric sort of beauty.  Things that are considered unattractive, like spiders for example, have in their own way, beauty.  I guess it all not only depends on how one views beauty, but also on one's experience.  

Anyway, no one can deny the beauty found occasionally in the skies, either night or day.  Sometimes mother nature absolutely delivers a beautiful array of patterns and colors in the form of clouds. 

Looking west from my house

I took the photo below several years ago.  It was in the afternoon, and a storm was moving in.  Many other persons in the valley must have taken pics of this spectacular cloud formation over the Wasatch range, as a similar pic made it into the morning newspaper.

Looking east

It seems that the many varied forces of nature are continually competing for our attention, and they do get it.

Then - Now

THEN!

NOW!

1. 
   
   

   

Maytag washer woman

Ol' fashioned?  If you can remember your mother doing the washing this way, you are definitely a senior citizen.  Actually I remember my mother having an electric washing machine.  Attached to a double sink was a scrub board and a handle to draw the clothes through a wringer.  When finished wringing, she hung the clothes on two clothes lines to dry.  They were attached to the back of the house and extended to the back shed.  She used wooden clothes pins to attached each item to the line.

I found this billboard in Boise, Idaho.  It was recently restored and is functional, meaning the lady actually moves up and down, turning her head.  The lady is the Maytag washer woman; however the Maytag store is long gone, being replaced by Cucina Di Paola, known to locals as a great place to by fresh Gourmet Take-n-Bake Lasagne.

Maytag washer woman

Okay, the beautiful young woman is Sable Tannahill.  She is my First Cousin, twice removed.  I believe we resemble each other especially from the eyes down through the smile.  I told her that she reminded me of my Mother when she was a young lady.  

Sable - 22 & Grandpa Zucc - 71

Sable is the granddaughter of Jean & John Foster, seated at the table.  It was for their daughter, Adora Lee that a memorial in Boise was held.  It is unfortunate that such services have to be held, but occasionally they do, and we as mortals have to adjust our lives and try to make the best of this mortality. 

After leaving Boise the next day,  we noticed the beautiful Brigham City temple.  We decided drive by, as it is just off the freeway in Utah.

Old Glory waves in front of the angel.  The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints teaches that the Constitution of the United States is divinely inspired.  The Church was founded in 1830 in the United States.  














Across the street from this new temple is the Box Elder Tabernacle.  In many respects this building is just as interesting as the temple, if not more.  It was finished and dedicated in 1890.  I love the architecture, as it represents 19th century religious society.

 


It is interesting how much one can see and do in a day and a half.  Such was the case with us as we arrived arrived home, tired but satisfied with our short trip to Boise.   It is always good to be back home!

Rachel does it again!

Rachel does it again!  Only this time she is really the center of the picture.  Last Monday the granddaughters came over for their weekly piano lessons from Grandma Zucc.  Erin always goes first, as afterwards she gets to mow the lawn while the other two get their instructions.

Jenna and Rachel wanted to help out Erin by raking the leaves on the front lawn so that it would be easier for her to mow.  I gave the "Okay," and they began to rake.  Later I came to find out that they really wanted to make a big pile of leaves  in which to play.

Jenna came to get me on the pretense that Rachel was missing, so I joined in with the fun and found our "Bells" lying ever so still, but very happy in a huge pile with only her face showing.  She was loving it!





Autumn is such a great time of year, and I must say it is my favorite season.  The warm days and cool nights are wonderful, as are the fall colors.  It seems that the trees and bushes all seem to delight in "showing off their stuff."  In addition I love the fresh vegetables from the garden.  One of my favorite things to do is to visit McDonalds, order a McDouble, add a slice or two of home grown, vine-ripened tomato, and then comes the good part - and you can guess what that is, as if you don't know!  

Good food, good friends, and great family!  It doesn't get any better than this!