Returning to My Roots - Piano, That is!

Can you imagine playing a baby grand for church services after a 30+ year hiatus? It's happened to me - with God's help (and He had everything to do with it every step of the way) as today was my first day tickling the ivories at Calvary Chapel. I played MANY years ago for my small church in LeMars, Iowa where I grew up, and then for several years in a large church in Los Angeles. Once I moved away from SoCal, I attended churches already set up with organists and/or pianists and orchestras, so I've had quite the vacation. I no longer have my piano since it was loaned out once we downsized, so I've been alternating between the SunRiver community center ballroom's grand piano and the church's baby grand, recently loaned by a very generous person, for my practice time. I must admit, I love every minute of the practice and the playing. It shows me how much I've missed my piano for worshiping in hymns and gospel songs.

Grandgirls Jenna and Juliette

Dear Grammy and Boppa: We miss you a lot so we are going to send you this picture. We love you!
Love, Jenna and Juliette

Who wouldn't love a card like that???

Tooles and the Military

Bill formed the Utah Dixie Marine Corps League Detachment in St. George. There are many retired Marines who live here and we've made some wonderful friends from that Marine Corps community. He's also involved with the Veterans Coalition of Southern Utah and very much enjoys his military contacts. We've also been involved with the Devil Pups program which Bill has brought to the Southern Utah community. Here we are at a Dixie State College ROTC program at the Courtyard by Marriott Convention Center Spring of 2009.

Utah Dixie Marine Corps League Blog

Grand Girl Visit June 2009

My daughter and two grand girls (Grace, 12, and Claire, 8) were here for four days for a little vacation time for them and to help me celebrate my 39th birthday. I'm officially older now than both my children! Gracie's only request, other than going to Tuacahn Theater to see Footloose, was one or two trips to one of our favorite restaurants, Chuck-a-Rama. The reason it's a favorite?? The home made yeast rolls. This photo says it all.

We took in a bread baking class at Leavitt's kitchen shop, shopped the mall and the outlets (scoring big at Eddie Bauer), made sure we hit all the best restaurants, swam at Sand Hollow Aquatic Center, got Claire's car sickness tendency eliminated by the local NAET doctor, Dr. Pinkston, took in the dinosaur museum (real footprints and impressions of dinosaurs found here in St. George), and saw the most awesome production of Footloose. Thayne Jasperson (So You Think You Can Dance, High School Musical, etc.) played the lead. What an incredible dancer and entertainer. There was even a surprise puff of smoke during the song I Need a Hero when Superman flew across the stage on the high wire. The girls were thrilled with the production and we felt it was the best we've seen yet at Tuacahn, the most gorgeous outdoor theater in the country, tucked into a natural setting of red rock cliffs. The girls are now in SoCal visiting some friends before heading home this weekend to Auburn, California. It was good to have them visit in June. In past years, they have only been free to visit in August - a very ugly hot and humid month for St. George.

I can assure you that it's easier to have kids in your 20's and 30's than it is to have grandkids in your . . . ummm . . . late 30's, so I'm off now to rest.

Photos from Footloose

Claire and Grace with "Urleen" and "Wendy Jo." Incredible singers and dancers!

"Willard" was one of our favorites.
His personality popped on stage
and he was delightful to talk
to after the show.

Burrill Relatives

While searching for Burrill ancestors, I came across the website of Dan, a third cousin. On his website were photos of my great grandfather and his siblings. Dan’s ancestor, Sadie Burrill, was my great grandfather’s sister. I was able to locate Dan in Washington state and eventually made contact with him and his sister, Leslie, and more cousins, Sally Jean and Margaret Ann. What a wealth of information went flying back and forth!! Thanks to them I have much more of a background on the Burrill descendants. One of the joys of genealogy is locating cousins and then finding out what great people they are. :)))

Sadie's 75th birthday. (She looks so
much like my Grandma Faye!)

Northern California

During our last trip to NoCal, we had some family time with my two kids' families. We met on a rainy, windy night in Davis, California at Bistro 33 located in the old City Hall building.

Here we are. Front row, L to R:
Claire and Grace Breckenridge (Shannon & Paul's girls)
Juliette and Jenna Ingram (Jay & Jill's girls)
Boppa (aka Bill Toole) in the middle.
Back row. L to R: Shannon, me, Jay, Jay's wife Jill and Shannon's husband Paul Breckenridge.