"5 Minute Luau"

Friday night was the annual ward luau at 6:30.
The only problem was that we also had a wedding
reception to go to at 7 pm. Since the luau's are
almost always late starting, we decided to go to
the reception first. By the time we went home &
changed our clothes & got to the Church, there
were some "volunteers" on the stage doing the
hula and then there was the closing prayer- Dad
called it the "5 Minute Luau" !! We did get a little
to eat though and did get to visit with a few
people. This is a picture of dad & me with the
Samoan beads that Mark had given us for
Christmas (he got them while serving in the
Northern Lights Samoan Ward). We were
"brave" to wear them since our ward has Tongans
and the 2 cultures do NOT mix well! I had asked
a Tongan Bishopric member how you can tell the
difference in the beads & he said that the Tongan
beads are plain while the Samoan beads have flowers.












We also got a picture of Sister Johnson,
Bishop Johnson, & Chris. It was a
fun SHORT luau.

Oh, Baby! Samuel, that is!

Saturday night we went over to the hospital to see
Samuel Blaine- just a couple hours after he was born.
Adrianne looks great- and the baby is gorgeous!











Here's Don, Samuel, & Dad.











Dad, Mom, Samuel- it is so fun to see a
new baby & get to hold him.











Does Don look proud/happy or what!?!
It looks like Samuel is looking back
at his dad!

F..U..N in Utah! BABIES!!

We got to Parowan on Friday- May 1st
and enjoyed their home & hospitality.
Saturday was a busy day at Mike & Alissa's
house. First was to tackle the shelf under
the kitchen sink (lots of helpers)...











Next...Vespa rides. Michael
L....U.....V.....S
the Vespa!















Dad talks mom into going on
a short ride!











There's time for being silly-
"carrots & tomatoes"!











A great family picture. On Sunday
Joseph Donald was blessed by
his dad! Nice blessing outfit!!















After a delicious brunch, we took a
short drive to Hurricane for Sophie's
blessing (Alissa & her sister Leslie both
had babies blessed that day- how fun
is that??? They were born within days
of each other).











Crockett Guys-
Dad, Michael, Mike, and Joseph.
What a picture!











Michael is ready to J U M P off
this huuuuuge rock!














Dad & I drove up to Provo on Monday
night just after little Amelia Rae Smith
joined her proud parents. What do
you think- do Ben & Rachel look happy??
A little Cinco de Mayo baby on May 5th!
There was some discussion about the
name Juanita (but not much)!











Of course, we are very proud
grandparents! We get to see & hold
Amelia when she is not even an
hour old!!











But then reality sets in as Amelia has
her days & nights mixed up. She ends
up under the "ultra bili lights" to help
her jaundice. Luckily this can be
done at home. Where are these
lights from...outer space??? Or
just modern flashy neon lights???











Friday night we drove to Murray to
celebrate Nathan's birthday with the
Taylors. Boy, this is a big group.











Here is happy, happy Alice!











We stayed at Tyler & Ruth's house
in Provo during our stay. On Sunday
we traveled back up to Murray when
Nathan was ordained a Deacon. We
enjoyed the Taylors hospitality and
also their PHONE for the Mother's Day
call from Elder Mark Crockett!
We got a great group picture as we
were leaving.











On Monday we saw the project that
Rachel has been working on for the
past 4 months. It is a great exhibit
on education in the Church. This is
one part that she especially did a
lot of work on! (and I do mean the
exhibit but I guess it also applies to
Amelia- a great project that Rachel
has been working on for a few months!)











Time for one last picture of
Mom, Rachel & beautiful Amelia before
we head back to Phoenix on Monday.