The Truth Comes Out

Meeting Marc Brown

As several of you know, Marc Brown, author of the Arthur books, came to Columbus last week. He is celebrating thirty-five years of Arthur. We went to the library to listen to him speak and get a book signed.

It was so fun! He was funny, told great stories, and talked about where the characters and stories came from and who he based some of them on. I happen to have one Arthur book (DW Needs Glasses: fitting for our family, no?) and got it signed.

If any of you ever have a chance to meet him or listen to him speak, I highly recommend it. The Arthur show is the longest running animated series to date. And in case you wanted to know, he just signed on two more years of new Arthur episodes!

Also, he has two new books out that he illustrated for other children's authors: If All the Animals Came Inside by Eric Pinder and Farmyard Beat by Lindsay Craig. He read them, and they were both so cute! You should check them out from the library.

Happy Halloween!

Marcus was the Man in the Yellow Hat and Alexander was Curious George.

the SunSplash of Salt Lake

Well...maybe I should say IceSplash. That's what it feels like. But it sure is fun.
The river goes underneath the freeway through a pipe. So we put our tubes inside the pipe, use boards to build a dam, blocking the waterflow through the pipe, the water builds up, we pull the boards away, and the water shoots our tubes through the pipe at super-high speed.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=20DGB6TRPbs

#youshouldbejealous

I think i'm the luckiest Toone child because I get to be with siblings more than anyone else -- pretty sure. so HA! 

K well I had to take a test on Friday so I was late to the game against UCF so when I finished I walked to Aaron's dorm, dropped my stuff off and we walked to the game together. There were 4 minutes left until half-time so he came and hung out with me! and we took a pic :) Love us. P.S. the game was AWESOME!!! I mean we still had some really really dumb embarrassing moments but also some really stellar moments! Geezzzzz... why couldn't we have done that last week?!

 On Saturday there was a luncheon for the Arizona chapter Alumni something-or-other... meaning FREE LUNCH! So we went of course--- why pass up free food?! There was a raffle for free garb and my name got picked! i got a towel and a candy bar. And we took a picture. of course :) Look how cute and happy we are!!

Finally Saturday night was the RS Broadcast. I really wanted to go to it in SLC so I asked Kathryn if she wanted to come with! We went and it was great -- minus the parts we were trying so hard to stay awake during! And we were photographed at least three times --- by different photographers. Sooo I'm pretty sure you should look for us in the November Ensign. We'll be there.

P.S. I'm so glad I'm the only one in our family with a life -- according to this blog.

Our annual excercise

Well a record was broken this weekend. We had three Toone kids hike Mt. Timp! In fact --- I think this is the first time we've had 3 Toone kids all in Utah! Go us! Well, the hike was great! Aaron turned into Mr. mountain goat and scaled the mountain without even stopping to breathe. Kathryn and I on the other hand...... we had a bit more trouble. :) We took it nice and slow. We would separate sometimes but we'd always end up back together. Luanne and Scott did great too! Scott settled in at the back of the pack but he made it! Three Banzai's for Scott! Banzai! Banzai! Banzai! 

There were times that is was pretty chilly but for the most part it was a beautiful day and a great day for a hike! It started to get cloudy and a few sprinkles hit us on the way down but a great hike nonetheless. There was quite a bit of snow/glaciers that we had to walk over, and that included slipping on most of them. ahem, Kathryn. We also parked 0.7 miles away....crowded. Which made the total hike 15.4 miles. We started a little after 7 and finished a little after 4. 

Kathryn Aaron and I did hike all the way to the top! We called the sisters and Dad for his birthday :) 

Kathryn hasn't been to the top since 1999... that's a loooooong time. But she did it! Yay! This was a first for Aaron! Go brother!!  

Fall 2011: ready or not, here I come!

Hey Fam. Just wanted to let you know I still take first day of school pics --- even in college :)

School is good. I'm a little overwhelmed and unorganized. But i'll get the hang of it. hopefully. I like my nursing instructors so far. They all seem really great! But my pathophysiology class seems like a beast. But one of my best friends and best study partners is in the class so hopefully we'll kick it in the pants! (That's the plan at least). (She's the one I got an A in physiology with! woot woot!)

Oh yeah, the new calling is good. I met with my counselors on Sunday and just went over everything and that relieved a lot of pressure and stress I was having. Am i allowed to have a testimony of counselors? Because i think i do.  It should be a good semester. Things are clearing up as the days go on. Which is always a good thing.

Let's see... I've managed to see Aaron everyday since Wednesday -- except for on Sunday and... yup! that's it! Dang I'm good! I've seen him 6 of the 7 days he's been here! I love seeing him and being with him :) It still doesn't feel real to me --- i mean, he's really here at BYU with me! crazy. We love our dance class :) We're kind of goofs in it though which makes it fun for us. We studied together on Monday and we met for lunch on Tuesday and he paid. What a gentleman! (thanks Mom and Dad for lunch!) But I'm sure we'll have many more adventures as the semester continues.

Love you all! Miss you! And I'll see you in October!

Aaron and Karen have been in the musical Camelot this weekend.  It has been an excellent production.
I have attached the clip of Aaron's main dancing part.  Just think of Karen as you hear the music!  There is a black screen leading to the scene and then my poor videography.  Aaron has a puffy beret on in back.  I will find some photos.  I can't seem to down load a video.

Honorary Toilet Paper Job

We got toilet papered last night.  It was a really great job which included around 92 rolls!  Karen and her friends have been having TP wars with other kids.  I guess it was our turn.  We didn't intend to clean it all up last night, but we're sure glad we did because it rained all night. Hopefully you can see the video.

First Quarter of 2011

The new year got started right away with 2 Australian exchange students.  We had a great time. We hiked to wind cave and did lots of other fun things for the 10 days.

Aaron had his 18th birthday on January 12th.  He received the traditional checking account or should I say, he got an account with a debit card.  He is an outstanding young man.  He decided to work very hard the 3 weeks before his birthday to complete the last four merit badges for his 3rd Palm (bronze) that he received at  the end of the month.  Only one other boy in our Ward has ever received 3 palms that I remember. It means he did 15 extra merit badges beyond what he needed for his Eagle.  A remarkable feat.  We are proud of him. He will receive his Duty to God award in the next month.  He has been accepted to BYU and will go there in the fall.  He is very excited.

This is Aaron and his date, Sharol Evans, for the Sadie Hawkins dance.    The theme was famous couples so they dressed up as Alice in Wonderland and the Mad Hatter.  He had fun.

Karen played on the Mtn View JV Basketball team.  She had fun. They were 15-2 for the season.

She continued her trademark sweatband.  For the last game, the whole team wore one.

Aaron and Karen both made the Central Region Band and Orchestra in February.  It was an excellent concert that was made even better with Kathryn, Alyson and Alexander there to cheer them on.

For Spring break we decided to go over to California to visit family and a few sites.  Saturday afternoon we stopped at the Nixon Presidential Library in Yorba Linda.  It was very nice and peaceful there.  We learned a lot about him so it was interesting.  We then spent the evening with the Luymes'.  It is always fun to visit them. Good conversation and the best food always!  Sunday afternoon we went to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.  It was so worth it.  What a varied life he had and just a really exceptional person.  We are really glad we went.  Then we drove to San Luis Obispo for the night.  On our way there we stopped at a very quaint danish town called Solvang.  There were windmills and other fun things.  We bought danish pastries to enjoy.  The vineyards, strawberry fields and flower gardens along the drive up the coast were so beautiful.

The reason we wanted to go to San Luis Obispo was to reconnect with Michael's Aunt Marjorie and his cousin Michelle that he has not seen for over 40 years. Marjorie's husband was Harmon Toone, Grandpa Toone's younger brother.  We had such an enjoyable visit and lunch on Monday.  We're very glad we went.

Another reason we went to SLO was to go to nearby Morro Bay were Carol and her family lived for the summer of 1971. We went to the beach where the fog had come in at 1:00 in the afternoon. Strange! At the beach were some very friendly squirrels. We went to the Mission were Aaron had his very own reserved parking space.

It was our 33rd wedding anniversary on March 14 so we took a token picture at the riverwalk. We enjoyed spending our day with Aaron and Karen.  Our marriage has be blessed with a great family that we love.

We ate at a hot dog place recommended by Jon that he would eat at with his relatives. Here's to you Jon!

Tuesday we went to the William Randolph Hearst Castle in San Simeon.  It was an amazing tour.  We went on the 1st tour.  There are 4 separate tours to see the entire estate each one two hours long.  It was worth it. This is the outdoor pool that is 10 ft deep for the entire length of it. Such opulence.

We then drove the 4 hours back to LA.  Aaron and Karen wanted to see "Hollywood", so we went to the Chinese theatre to see the hand prints and sidewalk stars, then Sunset Blvd and Rodeo Drive.  Karen took a picture with George Clooney's hand print.

We went to the LA temple which is so enormous.  Someday I will go inside it. We spent the night across from Disneyland to just get the congested traffic feel of it all.  Then we drove home on Wednesday. A great trip!

Adventures in Utah!!

  Don't worry, being couped up here in Utah isn't as drab as it sounds! Kathryn and I have had some fun adventures lately! Kathryn came down to Provo and we went to a BYU basketball game and watched the infamous Jimmer in action! It was awesome! We had a lot of fun together!

We also both ran the Rex Lee Run!! It's a 5k that raises money to help fund cancer research on campus. Rex Lee was a former BYU President and he died of cancer, thus the Rex Lee Run!  Neither of us had run since Christmas... But we finished hard and strong! Last year I ran it in 43 minutes and this year Kathryn and I crossed the finish line at the same time at 36 minutes! We rocked it! :) 

This is what I've been up to:  

Nursing School!!! :) I start Geriatrics next semester as well as clinicals! I'm going to a nursing home in Springville -- 5:45am to 12 noon. Fun... 

I also went Cross Country Skiing with my Outdoor Skills Leadership class. Do you like my outfit? It was Grandma Karens... at least the coat was. and it still has tags on it from 1999 and 2000... sooo 80's! Can you say moon boots?!  :) I got lots of comments on my outfit

 Finally, I went Snow shoeing with some friends of mine to Stuart Falls! It was my first time going to Stuart Falls as well as snow shoeing!  There wasn't a trail formed yet, so we trailblazed our own way... it was quite the feat! We were 'stair stepping' in snow up to our waists! Very tiring but very rewarding. We all took turns going first.

 My friend Rico.  He organized the trip.

13-mile Club

Welcome to the 13-mile club, Mom!!
If I had a picture of you, I'd post it. But I only have one of me...

Maybe it makes up for my lack of posts & pictures over the last year?

Where is everyone?

What's a family blog without the family posts? Do you have any news? Let's hear it!

Hawaii December 2010

These are some of my favorite photos. I can't wait to get together again. I miss the fun times already!