1st Grade Musical

Elephants, Lions, Zebras, Monkeys and a Giraffe and Cricket, Oh My!

What a fun and wonderful Musical I created using the book, "Giraffes Can't Dance." I added dance music to the different styles of music and to the background. Read the book and th ekids acted and danced without hesitation in front of a humongous audience. Snapshots were going constantly and the smiles on parents and friends was fun to watch. Here is just the tip of the ice berg that I have in pictures. Enjoy, although some are blurry.

Zebra Scottish Reel.. excellent group of Zebras

Center Stage

Gerald the Giraffe

The Little cricket who said her lines like a pro...

Monkey business

Elephants dancing with bearsAgain the Zebras and one little Lion.

Lions taking a bow.

Another Sunset ...

Dr. Larry McBiles

Learning to catch bugs on the farm. (not me of course)

He liked to wear his glasses on his head...lol!

So, here I am Friday night preparing music for a funeral tomorrow for a funeral for a young girl in our ward, Kelsey Preston who passed away this Monday morning probably from complications from her Diabetes and that is already pretty sad.
Then taking a break I go back to AOL to check my emails and there is an announcement that my favorite non-music College Professor, Larry McBiles who hooded me with my Master's degree passed away and his funeral is this next Tuesday morning. What a way to start Spring Break!
He was a real pleasure to learn from. He made classes exciting and he treated me with respect and never acted like he was better than everyone. He just knew his stuff and he shared so much! He gave us so much insight into bringing up the teacher quality. He lead us in teaching of life, for instance I took the Copper Class from him for a week and I learned so much. I went to classes where we went to farms and dairies, learned about Bees and electricity which gave me many ways of connecting teaching to real life.
Then I took the master's classes which he made us all real up to a better and higher learning style than we ever have before. I am glad that I knew him!

Two team mates working on the Copper Connection Projects. The beginning of working together for our Master's Degrees. We had a lot of fun learning ..
The young and the old made a good team!

The "monster truck" we stood by at the copper mine!

I am thankful for the gospel and the knowledge that we believe that there is a life hereafter and I know Our Heavenly Father loves us and he knows better than us all. He has a master plan and we need to have faith in him. I cannot believe I cried over this, but he was an awesome person!

On a side note ♪.... He loved music and he loved MusicK8 songs about education.."Never Stop Learning" it became his theme song.


Here I am sharing the email I got.......

It is with profound sorrow that the Center for Teacher Success announces the passing of our friend and colleague, Dr. Larry McBiles. He passed away on Sunday, March 6^th at the age of 54 after suffering a brief illness. Larry led the Center for Teacher Success as President and Chief Learning Officer.

Arrangements have been made for Larry’s memorial service and we wanted to share details with you as soon as possible. The McBiles family invites you to attend his memorial service Tuesday, March 15^th at 10 AM at St. Francis Xavier on North Central Avenue in Phoenix. We encourage you to invite others in the education community to attend his service.

The Center has received calls from friends and colleagues reaching back 20+ years. Connections run deep; the sheer number of people who know and love Larry is astounding. Their stories of Larry’s leadership, his humor, compassion and wisdom reflect the magnitude of his influence in our community and across Arizona.

An obituary will run this weekend in the Arizona Republic. The Tucson and Flagstaff newspapers will also post Larry’s obituary on Sunday.

Slushing ... Sunday after church...

So we get out of church and there are drops of rain and then it gets harder. Oh I'll just wait it out I thought ... but Curtis Chipman insisted he should go my car. It was far back in the back parking lot, because I had gone home to find the key to the family history room and had to park in the back parking lot because everything up close was full. So there was an empty spot right by the back door. Thanks to Curtis I got just a little tiny bit wet and then when I started coming home it started to come down hard. After parking in the garage I went and got my camera and this is what I shot looking out from the garage.If you enlarge this you can see the streaks.

My sleeve

Lucy's car.

Now I moved to the backyard...

Interesting ... looks like the streaks are going backwards

looking up ... looks like rocks coming from heaven

The garden... I was actually think of planting something yesterday .... I'll wait a bit.

This picture says it all to me ...
Even when there is turmoil, there is some peace of heaven shining through! I needed to have a little change of venue today... too long and personal to discuss here.
As Bach says... "Live Life in Passion"...
(well at least he did in the "Bach" Movie I showed at school a couple of weeks ago.

January and February randomness...

Jonathan at the Regional Orchestra Concert at Camelback High School.

setting up....
I enjoyed helping with Leslie's Ward Cub Scout Blue and Gold Banquet
I loaned hats, maracas, guiros and poster board flags from around the world
I made for school musicals years ago.... plus
I arranged Mariachi music and played it with Bryan, Jon, Robert and Landon.
It was fun!

Nathan doing his stuff! hiyah!

Landon being his goofy self!

Our Mariachi Music Group.... we should have put Landon in black too!!!

At Jenna's Baptism.. She was soooo beautiful that day!

She really had such a spiritual glow about her.

At the grave site of "little" Brigham Justin Greer an almost 3 week old infant who fought a brave battle to live here on this earth, but his call was to go back into the presence of Our Father in Heaven. His parents had so much faith through out the whole thing and kept a public blog. I am sure that Brigham's story may have had some powerful missionary and faith experiences for those who followed this sweet story. He sure did touch my soul!

This is Kenyon, what a fun experience!
Giving my first "real piano" lessons to someone outside of my family.
I always knew I could teach beginning Piano not just strings.

School
Kindergarten Here is the Tree! Isn't she cute..

Here is the Cuckoo!
Actually he is a little cuckoo! lol!
The kindergarten classes were doing actions to the Music from Camille Saint Sains' Carnival of the Animals "Cuckoo". There was a forest of trees (KIDS) and every time the kids (cuckoos behind the trees) heard the sound of the clarinet playing "Cuckoo" they would peek from behind their tree .... it was so cute!

The "Frozen Pond" I saw the day of Brigham's funeral.
It was one of those super freeze days in January 2011! ooooohh,,, brrrr
it was down to lower than 20 degrees and my trees have suffered from it this year.

2nd Grade Musical February 17th

The story of the Kudu

The story of the Lion and animals digging for water

Substitute lion and narrator in the evening were just as good as the day time students.

teaching kids to bow......

Abiyoyo story from South Africa

The Story of Ayelivi ...
who is lost in the jungle and trusts the animals to find her way back home.

Accepting a flower for the program....

The Stage set created and done by members of the 5th and 6th grade General Music classes.

I realize when I start adding all these pictures that I have been super busy.
Life is good and I do "Find Joy in the Journey"!

Even though there were fun times these past two months, there were sad and hard times, like when the Greer baby passed away and when Nick Parker was hit by a truck when he was driving to school on his motorized scooter. He was hurt pretty bad and had to be hospitalized. I am sure faith and prayer and Priesthood blessings where there to help all those who needed it.
That is What I Like About our Church...
We believe that the Priesthood has been restored and that every worthy male who holds the Melchizedek Priesthood has the right and privilege to give blessings in behalf of us when we have the faith, and the desire and need of a Priesthood blessing.
In the middle of January I could hardly walk. It was painful just to get up and walk the shortest distance, but I would put on a fake smile and went to work and just kept on going with the thought in my mind that surely "I can do hard things." But as the pain progressed my students noticed and I was sometimes asked by the sweet kids at school if I was OK? What can they do to help. I said a prayer for strength to just keep going and when I came home one Wednesday evening there was an email from my home teacher asking how I was doing and if he could do anything for me?
OK folks, was the spirit whispering to him? Yes I say!
So I asked him if he wouldn't mind to giving me a Priesthood blessing. So he and his young home teaching companion, who is now a new elder getting ready to go on a mission, came and gave me a blessing. The pain did not disappear, the problem is not gone, but it subsided enough so that I could function with greater ease.
I can bear the pain and I can keep going .

This reminds me of what Elder Dallin H. Oaks said in a talk in October 2006,
"Healing blessings come in many ways,
each suited to our individual needs,
as known to Him who loves us best.
Sometimes a 'healing' cures our illness or lifts our burden.
But sometimes we are 'healed' by being given strength or understanding
or patience to bear the burdens placed upon us. "

I am not sharing this to boast or say that I am so spiritual, but I know that we are all loved by our Heavenly Father and our Savior Jesus Christ and that we should not hesitate when we need help. A lot of times I do hesitate, because I don't want to bother someone else with my problems and pains, but I feel that we are all blessed when we properly use the healing powers of the Priesthood. I am thankful for the worthy Priesthood holders that are in my life. I know I could have called my family members too, but for this time my home teacher was in tune with the spirit and came to my aid.
OK..... Now onward, press onward on this journey of life.