San Diego - May 08

Universal Studio's

ANNIVERSARY/BIRTHDAY GETAWAY!

Hi Everyone!

I thought the little blogger in our family would have posted about our trip by now. He hasn't so I'll post a couple of thoughts until he gets the time to do it up right!

Our May getaway was a lot of fun. We spent Saturday and Sunday in San Diego. We love to go to Old Town to have dinner and take pictures of all the beautiful flowers there. It was wonderful to have a great dinner as we listened to the mariachi band go from table to table. And on Sunday morning we went out to Coronado Island and put our feet in the ocean, wishing that Allie were there with us since she loves the ocean so much! We could have spent all day there but it was hot and Poppy was turning a pretty color of red, so we decided to move on.

Monday was our 31st anniversary and we enjoyed the day at the "Happiest Place on Earth" (yes, again). We make our own fun...as we sat on a bench we looked for celebrities.

We found Angelina Jolie (OK, it was some lady with a pack of kids), Arnold Swarzenegger and a few others.

The rides were as fun, as usual, and we also went to Golden Horseshoe a couple of times. We were happy to catch the shuttle back to Ayres after a long, fun day.

Tuesday we spent the day at Universal Studios. Boy, has it changed. We seen a lot of celebrities here too. Besides Jay Leno, dad kept me guessing as he yelled out "Look it's cheesy pants" (AKA Sponge Bob) and "There's Snoop Dog" (Scooby-Doo). In his defense, he said Snoop Dog is an honest mistake since Scooby-Doo wears a dog tag with "SD" on it!

We have a lot of fun when and wherever we go, but we spend a lot of our time saying how much we wish our family were with us because they would love it. Maybe next time?! I'm sure dad will post more pic's later.

Can you pass this test? I Can't

You know anyone that could pass this test????

wow.....
Imagine this...

Hey guys, how smart are we?
What it took to get an 8th grade education in 1895...
Remember when grandparents and great-grandparents stated that they only had an 8th grade education? Well, check this out. Could any of us have passed the 8th grade in 1895?
This is the eighth-grade final exam from 1895 in Salina , Kansas , USA It was taken from the original document on file at the Smokey Valley Genealogical Society and Library in Salina , and reprinted by the Salina Journal.

8th Grade Final Exam: Salina , KS - 1895
Grammar (Time, one hour)

1. Give nine rules for the use of capital letters.
2. Name the parts of speech and define those that have no modifications.
3. Define verse, stanza and paragraph
4. What are the principal parts of a verb? Give principal parts of 'lie,''play,' and 'run.'
5. Define case; illustrate each case.
6 What is punctuation? Give rules for principal marks of punctuation.
7 - 10. Write a composition of about 150 words and show therein that you understand the practical use of the rules of grammar.

Arithmetic (Time,1 hour 15 minutes)

1. Name and define the Fundamental Rules of Arithmetic.
2. A wagon box is 2 ft. Deep, 10 feet long, and 3 ft. Wide. How many bushels of wheat will it hold?
3. If a load of wheat weighs 3,942 lbs., what is it worth at 50cts/bushel, deducting 1,050 lbs. For tare?
4. District No 33 has a valuation of $35,000. What is the necessary levy to carry on a school seven months at $50 per month, and have $104 for incidentals?
5. Find the cost of 6,720 lbs. Coal at $6.00 per ton.
6. Find the interest of $512.60 for 8 months and 18 days at 7 percent.
7. What is the cost of 40 boards 12 inches wide and 16 ft. Long at $20 per metre?
8. Find bank discount on $300 for 90 days (no grace) at 10 percent.
9. What is the cost of a square farm at $15 per acre, the distance of which is 640 rods?
10. Write a Bank Check, a Promissory Note, and a Receipt

U.S. History (Time, 45 minutes)

1. Give the epochs into which U.S. History is divided
2. Give an account of the discovery of America by Columbus
3. Relate the causes and results of the Revolutionary War.
4. Show the territorial growth of the United States
5. Tell what you can of the history of Kansas ...
6. Describe three of the most prominent b attles of the Rebellion.
7. Who were the following: Morse, Whitney, Fulton , Bell , Lincoln , Penn, and Howe?
8. Name event s connected with the following dates: 1607, 1620, 1800, 1849, 1865.

Orthography (Time, one hour)
[Do we even know what this is??]

1. What is meant by the following: alphabet, phonetic, orthography, etymology, syllabication
2. What are elementary sounds? How classified?
3. What are the following, and give examples of each: trigraph, subvocals, diphthong, cognate letters, linguals
4. Give four substitutes for caret 'u.' (HUH?)
5. Give two rules for spelling words with final 'e.' Name two exceptions under each rule.
6. Give two uses of silent letters in spelling. Illustrate each.
7. Define the following prefixes and use in connection with a word: bi, dis-mis, pre, semi, post, non, inter, mono, sup.
8. Mark diacritically and divide into syllables the following, and name the sign that indicates the sound: card, ball, mercy, sir, odd, cell, rise, blood, fare, last.
9. Use the following correctly in sentences: cite, site, sight, fane, fain, feign, vane , vain, vein, raze, raise, rays.
10. Write 10 words fr equently mispronounced and indicate pronunciation by use of diacritical marks and by syllabication.

Geography (Time, one hour)

1 What is climate? Upon what does climate depend?
2. How do you account for the extremes of climate in Kansas ?
3. Of what use are rivers? Of what use is the ocean?
4. Describe the mountains of North America
5. Name and describe the following: Monrovia , Odessa , Denver , Manitoba , Hecla , Yukon , St. Helena, Juan Fernandez, Aspinwall and Orinoco .
6. Name and locate the principal trade centers of the U.S.
7. Name all the republics of Europe and give the capital of each.
8. Why is the Atlantic Coast colder than the Pacific in the same latitude?
9. Describe the process by which the water of the ocean returns to the sources of rivers.
10. Describe the movements of the earth. Give the inclination of the earth.
Notice that the exam took FIVE HOURS to complete.
Gives the saying 'he only had an 8th grade education' a whole new meaning, doesn't it?!
Also shows you how poor our education system has become! and, NO! I don't have the answers!

BELATED HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ROBERT!

Happy 56th Birthday to Robert! I think I threw him a pretty good birthday party at Universal Studios. I just felt bad he had to deal with a dead battery in the parking lot after such a great day. Did you know there are no jumper cables in car rentals and everyone at Universal Studios was in a car rental! After a phone call or two Alamo sent someone to jump the vehicle! I'm sure Robert will be posting more on our trip before too long.

Happy Mother's day

Nancy, Stacie, Angie, Marci and Jenn

have a great day.

Happy Mother's Day

From Poppy

Happy Mother's Day - Mom. You are the best. You are the light of my life. Thank you for all you have done for me. You are such a wonderful person. Here is something for our familyto remember about you.

Some of the great things you have done. When we were first married and we had very little money. You helped make the money go further to provide for our family. When our dryer went out and we were unable to fix it. You never complained, you hung ropes in the basement and after washing cloths you would hang out the clothes to dry. You never complained, you just did what had to be done. When the kids needed to go to bed, you would never let them go in to bed screaming. We were able to hold the children or let them fall asleep watching tv with us. You allowed them to stay up with us until they fell asleep on there own. We would then carry them to there beds. Over the years you made sure the kids were all able to do things that they wanted to do. We took them on nice vacations. We had many special times as a family over the years. You always took care of the family first before you thought of your self. You became a great example for us all.

For me - you supported me when I was working. Many times I would stay late or do other things and you supported me. Many times I was also working 6 days a week. When I was serving as Bishop - you always allowed me to take care of my responsibilities and I needed to. You never complained, but you understood. When I was finishing up my Master's program, you were there to help me to make sure my work was in great shape. You would offer to help me when I needed that extra help. When my mother needed me during the last years of her life, you were always willing to go when I need to go to visit, or help bring her to our home. We would go up there to help clean her home, run errands, have family activities with my mom. The holidays were always including my mom as a member of our family. Over the years I have learned a lot from you. Thank you for being my better half. May the next 31 years be as great as the last. Thank you for being you. Thank you, for making me a better person. Thank you for your sacrifices for me and our family.

Happy Mother's Day!

new addition to our family

Grandma Toone - for Mother's Day