Simmons family reunion at Yellowstone

Janelle's baptism

What a great day!  Janelle was baptized by her dad on the Sunday after her baptism.  Her birthday was on a Wed but gpa and gma Asay faithfully serve those in the Basin jail every Wed so we changed it to Sunday.  Bishop Mayes conducted, his wife Lesa (Janelle's activity day leader) led the music and I played the piano.  Janelle chose her gma and Cheri Hoffman (activity day leader) to give the talks and it meant so much to me.  I wasn't surprised she picked Jan but the fact she would choose her activity day leaders says a lot about how they have magnified their callings and genuinely loved these little girls.  Stetson played the piano for me while I was helping Janelle get dressed back in her clothes after the baptism and directly following the baptism while I went to prepare the refreshments.  We are grateful for our family who came to support Janelle and continue to support and love her every day!

Happy 8th birthday, Janelle!

 We had a Cafe Rio birthday party for the birthday girl on her actual birthday.  Janelle is a tender heart.  She is sensitive and is ALWAYS ready and willing to give her old mom 'hug
and loves.'  She is a great reader, almost the best in her class, with a chapter book open at every meal and all over her top bunk in her bedroom.  Her favorite is probably Junie B. as she's probably ready every one.  She loves to play with her friend and neighbor, Kenna Bowers.  She went on bike rides with me almost every night last summer because she was the only one who would.  She scares easily and is a little timid.  She does pretty good with piano, but its definitely a labor of love to encourage her and keep her working on it.  We are smitten by this beauty!  Happy birthday, Janelle!

Janelle's baptism pictures

 We ordered this cute dress on Amazon last minute, curled Janelle's hair and waited for just the right lighting to capture pictures of this beautiful girl for her baptism invitations.  It was sure fun for her amateur mom to take these pictures.  June 2019

softball

Kandace loves sports!  She was excited to play softball this year for the firestix with Jen Hessenthaler.  She did a great job as pitcher and catcher and took her jobs seriously!  I hope she always works hard and sports and enjoys them.  She is very aggressive and  competitive.

Mildred Stahle Asay

Our wonderful grandma, Mildred Stahle Asay passed away May 29, 2019 in Provo where she was staying at an assisted living center close to her daughter.  I count it a huge blessing to have known this lady.  My first memories of her are going to see her with Michael when we were dating when she was having some problems with her sprinklers or something.  She'd joked that she'd probably have more problems with her house if she'd known she'd get visitors.  After we were married, she'd always have Stan, us and the boys over for dinner if Jan was out of town and that was such a treat.  Fabulous food but most importantly, there was a special spirit in her home I always felt.  I always felt important and peaceful at her house.
She taught me how to can beets (I was terrible and the worse canning companion ever) and she was so patient with me and my young children I had in tow.  We went and saw her in Provo summer of 2018 and I was still impressed by her desire to never give up on doing her best in every season of her life.  We named Stahle after her because she is such a great legacy for our little Stahle to pattern her life after.

Kandace's spring music program

I am a sucker for music programs.  Our music teacher does a really fun spring program utilizing all sorts of instruments including a May Pole dance that looks super fun.  AND Kandace let me curl her hair! I love this fiesty diva.

Easter

We had a fun Easter egg hunt at Grandma Asay's this year

New Orleans!

For some reason I deleted most of my NOLA pictures off my phone but here's some favorites.  Prior to our trip I had researched some of the best things to do while in NOLA and one was to see the St. Luis cathedral, eat beingets, eat at the Commanders Palace and see the French Quarter.  We pretty much did everything we'd set out to do.  I was definitely more excited about doing "all the things" than my traveling companion.  I remember putting the St. Luis Cathedral on my phone and it will tell you how to get there if you're walking, and luckily it was just like a 10 minute walk from my hotel and when the beautiful, historic cathedral came into sight, it was like magic for me.  I  was surprised they let the public go in.  Such a reverent feeling to be in that place and seeing others worship in their own way.  I did lots of walking around and later took Michael there that night and we did the Missouri River walk and had beingets.  The next day I wasn't afraid at all to walk the 7 (?) miles to the graden district which is where all the historic mansions are, including LaFayette cemetary and the famous Commander's Palace restaraunt.  I was wishing I'd signed up for a walking tour to get more info but it was fun to be on my own time schedule.  I don't mind being alone and loved taking in all the sights, sounds and smells of such a charming city.  That night we at the Commander's Palace.  It was good but expensive!  Michael's parents honeymooned in NOLA almost 40 years ago and they went to the Preservation Hall where you have to wait in line for hours to hear legitimate jazz music.  Michael was at CME conferences most of the day, every day we were there so I headed that direction early evening hoping to get a spot in line.  Some parts of NOLA are sketchy.  I feared for my life at times.  I did make it to the preservation hall only to find out the line was already really long.  We missed getting into the early show by like 5 people so we could forget it or wait for 3 HOURS for the next show, and we decided to wait in line.  We did get great seats, though and the music was awesome.  The last day I wasn't going to do anything but decided kind of at the last minute to do a plantation tour.  I REALLY wanted to do the Oak Alley house but it was sold out so I did the Humous house and it was my favorite part of the entire trip.  Fun to just ride on the bus and see the sights (water everywhere) and then to have the tour.  The grounds were stunning with all the oak trees (my favorite) and immaculate landscaping.  The home started as a small house where the humous Indians worked and the home gradually enlarged over the years through remodeling and different owners.  I love a good history lesson and a beautiful, new exciting place.  I'm grateful to Michael for letting me tag along.

4th grade play and science fair

4th grade is a big deal here because the students get to participate in the 4th grade play on Wyoming history and enter the science fair!  Kandace borrowed her Pioneer costume from CaMee Nicholls.  I can't remember the name of her character but she did a great job memorizing her lines and it was fun to watch her on stage.  Her science project was determining which cooling environment cooled a pop at the fastest rate.  It was my idea to come up with 'Freeing fiasco.'  Michael and I kind of got her started with the experiment which was pretty involved since it had to be ran multiple days ahead of time but she quickly took charge and did things herself.  She took 3rd place in her class.  We are always glad to cross off another science fair project off our bucket list!   Pictured above are her good friends, Jenna Hessenthaler, Kindle Collins, Kandace and Kira Collins.