Piano Recital for my students

December 6, 2008 was the first time I have held a recital for my piano students. Together with another piano teacher in my area, we presented our students in recital at a very nice skilled nursing facility. Four of my eight students played pieces in the recital. The categories were: General Music, Classical and Religious Music, and Christmas Carols and Songs. My two intermediate students played three pieces each. The other two played two numbers each. Overall, all the students did well. We had a very appreciative audience who were especially
enamored with the four youngest girls. They are so short that they could be heard, but not seen while playing their recital pieces. This was a very enjoyable experience, and I plan on having another recital sometime in Spring of 2009.

Day tripping can be fun!

On Thursday November 20th, we decided it was time to take a trip to Julian for their famous apple pies. We had a fun time - and some unexpected adventures too!

We drove out of San Diego via the I-8 and our first stop along the way was in the little town/village called Descanso. There's not much in Descanso - we needed and bathroom break and found the necessary facilies inside a roadside restaurant. Next door we found a fascinating Antique store/Craft store. My sisters love shopping at little places like this. We found and purchased aprons for Thanksgiving Day cooking, fascinating Fire-Ware Lusterware Bowls and dessert bowls, and a few other treasures. The lusterware reminded us of plates and bowls that belonged to my Grandma Martha Baker Monroe. I remember seeing them at her home as I was growing up and the late 1950's and throughout the 1960's.

We drove the remaining distance to Julian, and enjoyed walking around and visiting different shops and stores. We found a great place to have different types of fresh baked apple pies! YUM YUM! After a few hours, we headed for home through Ramona and Poway. We all decided that the route home was more beautiful that the route we took through Descanso, but we definitely were glad we found the Antique store in Descanso.

After a lunch at El Torito!

MY SISTERS ARE IN TOWN!

It's so much fun when my two sisters come to town. Our family consists of four boys (all of us live in San Diego County) and two sisters who live in Washington state and Montana.

When they come to town, we love to get together and do many fun things - but mostly we love to get together and eat!

The day after they arrived, "the boys" all went to lunch with our sisters and our wonderful mother.

During the next two weeks there will be two very special family events: A wedding and reception for my niece Melanie Monroe and her intended Daniel Burk (they are being married at the beautiful San Diego Temple), and then my nephew Ryan Gray is being sealed to his beautiful bride Staci at the same temple.

I'm hoping all my children will be able to visit with my sisters, and then mom and I will be hosting Thanksgiving Dinner for Karen and her daughter Jenni Russell, Jan and her husband Bob, and their son Zane Gray from Idaho.

My youngest son is part of a rock band!

I'm very proud of my youngest son, Jason. He has worked hard to develop his musical talents. Besides singing, he has taught himself to play Bass Guitar. He also helps write music and lyrics for the songs his band plays. Their name is: Hooligan J and they are pretty good!

I've seen them perform a couple of times now and they sing some nice mellow rock music with a bit of Christian inspiration in the lyrics.

I'm taking my two sisters to see Jason and his band play Friday November 21st in Hemet. If you're interested, check out their my space page: http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=302429408

Halloween with my grandchildren!

I delivered t-shirts from Great Grandma Monroe to Bruin, Capri and Hudson!

Julia as Tinkerbell


Lauren (Fairy) with her loving parents

Trey, Trent, Lauren, Julia, Capri, Bruin, and Hudson

they look pretty good at the end of the night!

I had lots of fun joining Janell and Joanna's family for their Halloween celebration. We went to a Halloween Carnival at the church. The kids loved the games and prizes, everyone enjoyed the Chili cookoff and the Cup Cake Walk. Then we helped the children go "trunk or treating" around the parking lot - where over 50 cars with candy awaited them. What a fun evening!

MONTANA & GLACIER PARK - AS BEAUTIFUL AS I REMEMBERED!

CATCHING UP ON THIS PAST SUMMER:

I was born in Great Falls, Montana. At age 3 my family moved to Cut Bank, Montana. We went to church as a family in Cut Bank. I attended elementary school in Cut Bank. I attended Jr High School in Cut Bank. I attended High School for 2 and a half years in Cut Bank. I broke my leg at age 16 riding a motorcycle in Cut Bank. I swam, played tennis, played baseball, ran track, learned to drive, and learned to work and earn money in Cut Bank. I learned to sing, I learned to play the piano and the trumpet in Cut Bank. I had newspaper delivery routes in Cut Bank. I went on my first date in Cut Bank. My life truly started in Cut Bank.

The last time I visited Montana was in 1987 - twenty-one years without going back "home". For two weeks in August, my wonderful mother and I went "home" to Montana. We stayed with my sister Jan Gray in her beautiful ranch home in the middle of nowhere. And it felt wonderful to be back in Montana.

Montana is called Big Sky Country - and for all the right reason. It seems like you can see forever in Montana. The skies are big and beautiful in Montana with blue skies much of the time. One of the pictures is looking west from my sister's back deck. We visited family and friends. We drove around the neighborhood where we had once lived...and where my grandparents had lived. We went to the cemetary where all of my grandparents are burried and we cleaned and decorated their graves. I had very tender thoughts and feelings as I thought about each one of them and the many ways they had contributed to my life and who I am today. I was very moved at the grave of my maternal grandmother Anna Maude Williams Serdahl. Anna Maude died at the young age of 38. She died when my mother was only 7 months old. I never knew my Grandma Serdahl, I know a lot about her through my mother. I feel such deep love and gratitude for Grandma Serdahl - she didn't live an easy life, and she died young. But she brought my mother into this world. For that I will be eternally greatful. Another picture is of Grandma Serdahl's headstone.

We took five days and visited our family's favorite vacation spot: Glacier National Park. It is one of the most beautiful mountainous areas in the world. The mountains are tall and magestic, the lakes are deep, cold, and blue. Wildlife is abundant and the "Going to the Sun Highway" is an amazing road that takes visitors over the continental divide and connects the rugged and windy east side of the Park/Mountains with the beautiful, warmer and calmer west side of the Park. Our favorite location is Lake McDonald on the western side of the park. One of the pictures shows my mom in front of the Lake McDonald boat launch (which we took on her birthday) with the clear blue lake, blue skies, and the towering mountains in the background. It was a treat to visit Glacier Park and Lake McDonald.

The first and second pictures were taken near the summit of Logan's Pass - the highest place that the road passes over. If you look closely you can see the 2-lane road winding it's way down the western side of this mountain pass. This area is completely covered with snow during the winter and spring, and the road over the pass normally opens around July 1st when they are finally able to plow all of the snow off the roadway. This will end this post from the past. I could have included another 40 pictures and not repeated any of the awesome scenes....but I need to get some sleep before church meetings which start in less than 8 hours. I hope you've enjoyed reading about Montana, and looking at these beautiful pictures.

SEAWORLD WITH MY DAUGHTER JOYLYNN

Hey all of you! I'm sorry that I fell behind on posts. I've decided to post the current, and with each current post, I'll include one or two things from June-September 2008.

For the new:

My youngest daughter Joylynn called me on Friday afternoon and asked me what I was doing on Saturday. I told her that I was working on a "honey-do" list from my mom, but basically I had no plans except to work in the house and yard. Then she asked, "Do you want to go to SeaWorld with me?" Well, of course I said yes! The last time I went was in July of 2007, when Kirk, Joanna, Bruin & Capri went (prior to Hudson) and also my big sister Karen was there along with her granddaughter Morgan from Virginia.

This was the excuse I had been waiting for - an actual reason to purchase my Annual Silver Passport for Seaworld (silver means discount because I'm over 50....yeah.....so what?) I can have just as much fun now at 54 as I could when I was younger than 50. I saved nearly enough money on the first day to pay the extra $30 for the annual pass (first there was FREE parking, and then there was 10% every food & merchandise purchase made by Joy & I).

Original plans were delayed a few hours, but we finally arrived at SeaWorld before 3pm, just in time for the "Pets Rule" show. I couldn't believe how much I enjoyed this show with dogs, cats, birds, pigs, and ducks! The tricks were impressive, and it was quite funny, but best of all I learned that nearly half the animals in this show were rescued animals! It's just amazing what loving and caring animal lovers can do with pets that were either abandoned, mistreated, abused, lost, or somehow found themselves at a local animal shelter. In 2003, I co-owned a rescued puppy named "BearDoggy", and he brought me great joy at that time of my life!

Moving on............Next was the Dolphin & Pilot Whale Show. The dolphins are fun and very entertaining because of their swimming speed and their ability to jump quite high. This show was great until the trainers signalled the 2 Pilot Whales to use their large tails to soak everyone sitting in the first 20 rows of the audience. Guess where we were seated? Ummmmmmm........the 3rd or 4th row......how brainless was that? Both of us got quite wet.....at least I held the backpack in front of me - so I only got about 70% wet. We both enjoyed this show a lot.

We took the time to go on a couple of rides I hadn't ever ridden before: Journey to the Lost City of Atlantis and the Shipwreck Rapids. Question for you, "What do these two rides have in common?" Answer: EVERYONE GETS WET! I normally love to get wet - just ask my other two daughters and my grandson Trent - we've been to Disneyland/California Adventure twice in the past month and I love to go on the rides where everyone get wet.....except at nighttime when it's getting cool - under 70 degrees........and when it's cloudy/overcast and cool.....like it was today at SeaWorld from around 4pm on. But Joy and I had fun, even though we got quite wet!

We took time, of course, to eat some carnival/fair food.......I mean SeaWorld specialties like funnel cakes covered with soft ice cream, sweet apple slices, and caramel topping........along with churros and popcorn. Can you believe that SeaWorld has the audacity to charge more for churros than Disneyland does? I guess it's because SeaWorld is CLOSER to Mexico.....where churros originated.....(allegedly)! We were smart enough to bring our own drinking water, along with our own cameras so we didn't have to pay $3 for a 15 cent bottle of water, or anywhere from $12-$25 for a picture that SeaWorld takes for you. By the way, did you know that if you're careful and turn off the flash on your personal digital camera - you can actually take a good picture of the SeaWorld/Disneyland picture as it's displayed on the screen after you rides? I had to experiment to find the right combination of flash/closeup....but there's a little tip so you can have the so called "Professional " amusement park pictures for absolutely nothing. I love to save money, especially when someone is trying to rip me off.

Anyways.......(as Sister Melanie Monroe said in all of her missionary blogs).......our final entertainment of the day/night was the nightime SHAMU ROCKS show. This was the first time EVER that I had been to a Shamu show after dark, and I definately want to do it again. Yes....the daytime Believe show is great....the trainers explain things to you and the music and pictures that play on the BIG SCREEN behind the trainers and the whales can really touch you emotionally if you open your heart and mind. BUT.....what the Nighttime show has is: 5 trainers, 1 guitar player (real or fake I don't know for sure), and many whales swimming around the tank, interacting with the trainers and with the audience (here comes the word WET again). BUT what only the Nighttime show has is lights, special effects lighting, fun but loud ROCK MUSIC, and great ever changing visuals on the BIG SCREEN. I loved this show. It's not necessarily better...but it's different in a good way.

Now...my final observation of the night....how crazy is the Exit setup at SeaWorld? From our experience tonight trying the leave the park after 7:30pm (that's the time the park closes and all the rides, exhibits and food concessions have been closed down)....or at least all the the concessions except those located right at the Exit.....so that every single person who wants to go home has to pass through this tiny square area along with people who are trying to stop and buy more souvenirs....and they only have like 5 narrow aisles that everyone must go through....one person at a time, including strollers and wheelchairs. It's absolute one of the most messed up exit systems I've ever experienced, and it's also potentially the most unsafe exit systems due to the huge crush of people trying to leave at the same time. I was so enraged by this experience that I'm going to write a letter to SeaWorld and complain about it.....for real. I might even call the fire marshall and have them investigate the situation. (For real - this is something I'm going to follow up and do.)

It's just about midnight.....and I still need to add some pictures.....but I need to put this in writing: I love spending time with my children and grandchildren. For the six and a half hours I was with Joylynn, I was in heaven. I feel so very blessed to be the father of six wonderful adults/young adults - each of them an exceptional person in their own right. Spending time with them brings me true joy and happiness. After spending time with any or all of my children, I feel like I can take on whatever life throws at me....and I can win. Why? Because I try to express my love and admiration to my children, and they in return share their love with me. Family relationships can bring us our greatest moments of happiness if we invest our time nourishing and enriching these relationships. I can't make time wasted in the PAST.....but I can seize the opportunities TODAY and improve the prospects of happy TOMORROWS. It's all up to me...and I try to live the present so that I will have no regrets in the days to come.

Life is good...Love makes every day go better...and Laughter helps put the tough times into perspective.

Visiting Grandchildren!

I love visiting my grandchildren in their own homes! They tend to be more relaxed, and they want to include me in things they are doing. These pictures are of my three grandchildren who live in Chino, California with their mom and dad. Their mom happens to be my third child, second daughter Joanna. Bruin is the oldest - he's a very, very good big brother to Hudson, and to his sister Capri! Doesn't it look like they have fun? I think so!

Just Getting Started

Since most of my children now have either blogs or "MySpace" accounts, I've decided to start a blog. I guess it's time to join the New Generation of communication!

I love reading posts from Janell & Darin's family, Jon & Briana's family, as well as Joanna & Kirk's family. I love seeing the pictures and knowing what they've been doing as a family. My life is not as busy, but I think it's important for me to post my activities and meaningful experiences, as well as pictures (that mostly include children, grandchildren and other family members.) Hopefully my children and grandchildren will be able to feel like they are even more a part of my life than they already are!

It's coming up on three years that I've been living back in San Diego, CA. It seems like San Diego is now more "home" to me than another other place except for my childhood home in Cut Bank, Montana where I lived for 13 years from age 3 to age 16, and Riverside, California where our family had a home built and where I lived from 1987 until 2001. I've now lived in San Diego, Calfornia for a grand total of 9 years (1971-1972, 1975-1980, and 2005-2008.) In between all these dates I've lived in Great Falls, Montana (1954-1957), Salt Lake City, Utah (1970-1971), Provo, Utah (1972-1973), Various locations in France and Switzerland (1973-1975), Chino, California (1980-1987), and Palm Springs, California (2001-2005).

Although I loved growing up in Montana, I feel that Southern California is my home. My mother lives in San Diego, my three brothers live in Poway and Escondido, and all six of my children and all eight of my grandchildren live in Chino, Ontario and Corona. I feel very blessed to have so much of my family living within 100 miles of where I live. I do miss my two sisters, but they have lived far away ever since they got married. Fortunately I do get to see my sisters and their families every year or two. In fact last year I saw both of my sisters multiple times, and again this year I will visit with both of them again.

I love living with my mom. She is one of my best friends and she is also a wonderful role model. She has shown me through example how to love my children unconditionally. She is a fabulous grandmother (30 grandchildren), and great-grandmother (22 great-grandchildren). She maintains many close friendships, and she lives a dignified life full of love and service to others who are in her circle of influence. She has been and continues to be a strong influence to me in living life as a disciple of Jesus Christ and trying my best to follow His teachings and example. She is also the source and inspiration of my musical talents and abilities. It brings me great joy to sing with her in our Church Choir and at home. We both enjoy all kinds of good and uplifting music. So far this year, we have attend a presentation by the San Diego Opera, a San Diego Symphony Orchestra Concert, and other local choral and band/orchestra concerts. I've been to two Musicals this year with my daughters, as well as a Country Western concert with my youngest daughter Joylynn just a few days ago. I hope to take my mother to a Musical later this year.

I enjoy the opportunity to be a Piano Teacher to children and adults in my community. It is rewarding to help eager students learn to play and to appreciate good music. I have fond memories of teaching at least 2-3 years of Piano to all six of my children. Although none of them have followed in my footsteps of playing the piano and organ, all of them have participated in vocal music, and all of them share a great love of good music. I'm proud that one of my sons is self-taught on the guitar and plays and sings in a band.

I'm so very proud of all my children. I love and admire them so much for all the good they do, and how they live their lives. I feel that each and every one of them makes a positive difference in this challenging world in which we all live.