Richard Henry Dana Jr. High

Ellary promoted recently from Dana Middle School, aka Richard Henry Dana Jr. High. This is the school we went to as kids, so returning for the promotion exercises once again caught me in a nostalgic mood. The ceremony was set up on the field, on a very hot morning. As I looked for a seat with a good camera angle, I noticed the school band playing "I'm a Believer" by The Monkees. Now, if you had told me when I was in Jr. High that 40 years in the future the school band would be playing a Monkee song as a prelude to commencement I would have thought you were crazy! Monkee muzak! The whole thing took me back to the terrors and high jinx of Jr. High, so I stopped off after the exercises to peek into Mrs. Erber's old room. The grand dame is long gone, but I thought I heard her ghost clicking her teeth in disgust at the decline of civilization as verified by the outrageous selections of the school band.

Photo Safari

The Photo Safari through Africa (at the Wild Animal Park) was a blast! Jana and Mike bought us the package for Mother's Day, and we took the safari last week. It is the best way to really get to see and interact with the animals. They put 8-10 people in the back of an open bed truck and cruise through the exhibit, stopping for photo ops and to feed the giraffes that come around. Here are a few of the pictures we took. I especially like the close-up of a very friendly (hungry?) giraffe.

Pirates and Princesses

Here is a small sampling from the birthday pictures - juxtaposed to emphasize the difference between the Princess party and the Pirate party. Both had lots of fun. Hard to believe they are three!

Capt'n Gavin

Gavin and Lynlee turned three this weekend. While Lynlee was entertaining princesses in West Jordan, Gavin had a swashbuckling time in Ramona. Pictures have yet to arrive from the princess party (ahem) but we have the pirates covered. Capt'n Gavin hauled in sufficient booty to last him another year. Yo ho! More pictures to follow - but here is the good captain himself - courtesy of Photoshop, of course.