Hannay Halloween

Happy Halloween from the North Pole!

Calendar

I added a calendar to the front page. Hopefully it will be filled with all the upcoming birthdays, anniversaries, and other family events. You must have a gmail account to add stuff to the calendar. If you want me to add you to the calendar so you can add items (which I'd love!), just send me an email. For those of you without a gmail account, let me know if you want one. If you don't want one (they are handy for sending photos and stuff) then just send me an email with any dates you want me to add. And thanks to Google Calendar for making it all work! Man, I love free stuff.

Last game

The high school volleyball season is over.
Lauren played her last game Thursday night. She had a great season!

Now she can get back to schoolwork. She is taking some tough classes, including concurrent enrollment for college/high school credit, so she will enjoy the extra study time.

She is also looking forward to "Bingham Ball" her first formal dance in Nov. photos to be posted soon ;)


HAPPY FALL TO ALL

Couldn't resist

I just couldn't resist posting this picture. I mean, have you ever seen a cuter little girl?

Wrestling

I watched the cutest wrestling match today. You can see it for yourself here if you have a recent version of QuickTime. If you don't watch the video, trust me; my kids are cute.

Of course, the whole scene ended in tears moments after the video clip ends, but that's about par for the course, right?

Happy Birthday Elise!

(This is the easiest birthday for me to remember, since it's our anniversary too.)

I hope you are having a WONDERFUL birthday, Elise! We love you very much.

re: Quotable Quotes

When Michelle put up her post soliciting great quotes, Keryn and I both thought of the same thing. James Taranto, of the Wall Street Journal editorial page, likes to rib Democrats with his "Great Orators of the Democratic Party" item in his column Best of the Web Today. Here is a sample:

Great Orators of the Democratic Party

• "One man with courage makes a majority."--Andrew Jackson
  
  
• "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself."--Franklin D. Roosevelt
  
  
• "The buck stops here."--Harry S. Truman
  
  
• "Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country."--John F. Kennedy
  
  
• "It is long past time to change course in Iraq and start to end the president's open-ended commitment."--Harry Reid

Great movie

The kids are out of school for UEA weekend and we have been enjoying hanging out together. Our family watched an amazing movie last night. Akeela & the Bee. It is rated PG (the story is set in a rough part of LA and they do swear 3-4 times). Michelle if you want a life changing quote... then watch this movie. One of the best and most inspirational quotes I have ever heard is in this movie. The man who coaches Akeela in her preparation for the spelling bee shares a quote with her that is life changing.
We loved it!! I would suggest parents watch it first... then judge if kids are old enough. I think it is a must see family movie for families with middle school kids! It is more inspirational than many sports movies I have seen.

A great quote

Michelle,

I have a great quote for you.

True happiness comes not in seeking to be appreciated by others, rather it comes in seeking to appreciate others.

Published in the "soon to win Pulitzer," Forever Resorts E-Newsletter, Arpil, 2006. Author: Michelle Gilleland

Here's another:

The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

And another:

Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity.

George Patton

quotable quotes

I am looking for some good quotes-preferably one liners. Life, love, family, character, joy, faith, home. What have you got for me?
Here's one: 'Circumstance doesn't make the man, it reveals him to himself'
You get the idea! : )

Brad-don't tell anyone in Durango that we are related to Bush because they would not want to give me gifts....

Hanging With the Bushes

I just posted an item over at my political blog that explains that I'm related to George W. Bush. I thought that maybe all of you would appreciate knowing so that you can send me better Christmas gifts this year. ;-)

For the curious, the relationship is:
George W. BUSH's FFMMFMMMMFMFMF = Brad's FMMFMMFFMMFF = C. DAMEN (1585,NY)
(F=father, M=mother)

Apparently, at least one line of our geneaology on FamilySearch has been tied into some other work so that it goes way back. Originally, I think mom only submitted the four generation charts for her and dad.

Of course, the downside of my extensive research is that I now know that I'm also related to Martin van Buren, the president that didn't help Joseph Smith when he asked.

Martin VanBuren's FMFF = Brad's FMMFMMFMFF = J. VAN ALSTYNE (1623,)

Conference tradition

Each fall, on Conference Sunday, we head up the canyon to our favorite campground. We listen to the first session as we drive up and then cook a yummy dutch oven lunch between sessions. We walk and talk and then listen to the second session under the beautiful pines. It is something we do each fall and we LOVE it.


PS....

Happy 13th Eric!

I now have 3 teenagers !!! (They're not as bad as everyone says:)