Welcome home, Elder Noorda!

 Welcome home, Elder Noorda!

It was Thursday evening, April 19th, 2018.  We waited anxiously for what seemed like hours for Jason to descend on the escalator.  Finally after hundreds of regular passengers, the first Elder appeared prompting shouts of approval from his waiting family.  Then another missionary appeared, then another.  Then toward the end of the line, came our Elder.  

The Salt Lake International Airport was buzzing with activity.  Some people without any family connections were standing around enjoying the excitement.  Homemade signs were the norm as each group had at least one.  Not to be outdone, Sherry & Katie, with the help of family members, came prepared with "works of art."  Below Matt and Rachel model them.

I don't know who the gentleman is next to Mike, but he seemed to be quite interested in what was about to take place.  Maybe he is one of the three Nephites?

True brothers are always there for each other.  Such was the case for Sam, Nick, and Greg.  

Rachel, bless her heart, give Sherry a big hug of support.  

Sherry had gone to a lot of work to create this candy necklace lea.  The necklace was gladly accepted by her favorite missionary.

Eldery Meyers was Jason's first companion / trainer.  Meyers returned home shortly afterwards and got married.   Looks to me as if he made a good choice for an eternal companion.  

Brothers together for ever.  

Mom, Dad and son pose for us.

Group picture.  I believe Myers took the photo, or was it the Nephite?

Fifty and Fabulous

Not everything was decorated in black.  There were black napkins and only one black balloon.  Sherry got off easy as she celebrated the dreaded 50th birthday.   

Roses were great.

Texting was great.

The presents were great.

Grandma & Sam.

The bearded one.


Beautiful Sherry loved opening her presents.

In a jar were 50 individually wrapped one dollar bills.  She was absolutely delighted with this gift.  

The cake was awesome.  After lighting, all the candles settled down except for one.  It flared up as if just for Sherry's delight.  

After.

Before.

Matt looks on with anticipation as Jenna put the finishing touches on the cake.

What a life

What a life, and what a wonderful time of year with so many birthdays happening.  Many decades ago, who would have ever thought that a little handheld device would bring such pure delight to someone's face?

Grandma displays her new smart phone.



Of course, being of the more mature generation, she has to have a little help to "rev it up."  

Jeff is more that willing to assist in this task.

Rachel is definitely up to something.

Erin

Matt

Jeff and Sherry

And last but not least, Grandpa and hugging bear Julie.

Last week Julie's mom Tammy, sent me a weed digger for my birthday.  I have used it several times already.

And it works great.  No more bending over - Yea!

A breakout season

This season was a "breakout one" for Rachel.  Her dominance at the center position was evident from day one, as was her shooting and ball handling skills.  She played in two leagues at the same time, often playing two games the same day.  One day she played in three games.

The girl with bun, shown below,  played guard.  She played with a lot of confidence.  I don't know her name but 8 was her number.  This particular team was dominate in the Jazz league, as all the girls were taller and stronger than all their opponents.     

I also enjoyed the team coach.  He was always friendly, never yelling at the girls.  He rotated them in and out of the game, giving each one of his players a fair opportunity to play.  

Rachel with her parents.

I was also impressed with how the coach taught his team some basic basketball strategies, like passing the ball five times, looking for the open player for the easy shot.

Such play will help the girls prepare for high school basketball.

Rachel holding her certificate.  

Like a lot of kids, Matt made his way onto the court during breaks.  At the penultimate game, I challenged him to start from half court, dribble the ball twice between his legs at full speed, and make a layup.  He could only make one pass between his legs.   

He must have practiced during the week, because at the final game, he completed his challenge.  He gave me a confident look and smiled for grandma. 

One of my all-time favorites

Me, Bev, Sherry, Sam, Jeff & Greg

On Christmas Day, we ventured to Springville for a dinner and movie.  We saw the new Star Wars film.  Of all the sequels I enjoyed this one most.

Notice on the wall behind us is the ad for The Greatest Showman.  I have since seen this and can recommend it as one of my all-time favorites.   

The sunrise over Lone Peak was spectacular from our deck.  Over the next couple of days our deck accumulated 20+ inches of snow.  

You will enjoy the following:

  A new driver got lost in her car in a snow storm. She remembered what her dad had once told her. "If you ever get stuck in a snow storm, wait for a snow plow and follow it." Pretty soon a snow plow came by, and she started to follow it. She followed the plow for about forty five minutes. Finally the driver of the truck got out and asked her what she was doing. She explained that her dad had told her if she ever got stuck in the snow, to follow a plow.The driver nodded and said, "Well, I'm done with the Wal-Mart parking lot, now you can follow me over to K-Mart."

The highlight of my Christmas season

On January 15th,Grandma Zucc held a piano recital where her students showed off their various skills.   I was very impressed with Erin's near perfect performance of "A Melody," a delightful song written in the classical style.  

Just a couple weeks earlier she and Bev performed "Oh Holy Night" as an organ/piano duet in church worship services.  This along with the other performances by grandchildren was the highlight of my Christmas season.  

I think that I can say in behalf of all grandparents, "We love to see our offspring excel."   

To perform successfully, one must first acquire skills.  This seems like an obvious concept, but is more difficult that one may believe.  It doesn't happen overnight, and may take years.  It involves moving from simple theory to total apprehension, and hopefully a sense of enjoyment develops along the way.  It is the price we pay for success in anything we attempt to accomplish in life.

The students seated in the next pic are unconsciously learning the lesson of life.  Seated quietly they listen to each other perform, and by doing so they not only give honor to each player, but also mentally ready themselves for personal engagement.  

Afterwards there is a sense of relief, but it is a good feeling, knowing that something great has been achieved.  It is a feeling that brings smiles to their faces.

Rachel, Jenna, Erin & Matty

You will be pleasantly surprised

This year Xmas eve fell on Sunday, so after a busy day of church service, Grandma and I were more that delighted to be invited to Dan's place for a glorious smoked ham and brisket dinner.  

After scrumptious meal, everyone gathered in the family room for some entertainment.  Anna, on the right looks somber but is excited to be leaving soon for Navy Basic Training.  

The singing is about ready to begin.

We all anxiously wait.

Precious time is never wasted when you have a tablet.

Only Jim knows that I have a camera pointed his way.

We put on our best smiles for this selfie.

Sidney as always is the center of attention.

Allie appears serene, and Jenna is so serious. 

Dan provides the music.  To hear it click on the link below.  You will be pleasantly surprised. 

https://www.facebook.com/john.mckea/videos/pcb.1791555460863724/1791552014197402/?type=3&theater