I'm on Facebook!

Well, I have done it! I have finally caved in to the peer pressure and now have a Facebook Page. For months I have felt left out, out of the loop, ostracized, etc. hearing everyone talk about what they learned or saw on Facebook. I wanted all my friends to get blogs, but instead they just got Facebook pages. I got to be too much for me so I took a deep breath and jumped in with both feet. I admit it is pretty fun, and not as complicated as I thought it would be. I still wish all my friends, sister in laws, nieces would get blogs. (The backgrounds are so pretty) I also wish the friends that have blogs would update them (Shauna R.) At least now I can feel cool along with all you other Facebookers. Thank you for adding me as your friend. You can never have too many friends!

My New Scanner

I have been working on a photo book project involving hundreds of pictures from both past and present. I needed to scan the pictures into my computer and did not have the capability with the equipment we have at home. I have been wanting my own scanner hooked up to my own computer for quite some time and this did it. Val bought me this awesome new scanner!

It is a Fujitsu Scansnap S1500 and it is the most awesome thing I have ever seen. It scans photos (or documents) directly into a jpeg format - none of that pdf crap. You can save your pictures right into a file folder. It is so EASY and fun. I have been scanning like mad since yesterday afternoon when Val hooked it up. I am telling you, this little machine is going to change my life!

Anyone who knows me knows how important pictures are to me. I love to scrapbook, make photo books, play around with pictures, etc. (why aren't I a photographer?) I seriously cannot tell you how excited and happy I am about my scanner!!!!! I would recommend this machine to anyone.

Ten Days of Shauna

May is an awesome month for me because I get to celebrate Mothers' Day, my wedding anniversary, and my birthday all within the space of a couple of weeks depending on the calendar. My kids usually call it "Shauna Week". This year because Mothers' Day fell on the 10th, it was "Ten Days of Shauna".

I began my month on May 10th, celebrating Mothers' Day with my family. All I ever wanted to be was a mother. It has been one of the most rewarding, experiences I have ever had. I can hardly believe that I have held this title for almost 28 years! I want my children to know how much I love them and how proud I am of the men and women they have become and the wise choices they have made. It hasn't been easy - we have had some challenging times - but it has definitely been worth it! Here are my babies in their one-year pictures. . .

Travis Wayne Steed

October 28, 1981

Wade David Steed

July 30, 1983

Tara Dawn Steed
August 22, 1986

Kelsey Ann Steed

October 12, 1990

After Mothers' Day, Val and I celebrate our wedding anniversary on May 17. This year was 29 years for us! It has been an incredible journey together. Thanks, honey, for our four wonderful children. Thanks for working so hard to support our family. I love you and would marry you again. I love the fact that we are growing old(er) together. Tara says we are an example of love and endurance. I guess that is a compliment. . .

Val and Shauna Steed

May 17, 1980

Three days after my anniversary, on May 20, it's HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME! Yes, today is my birthday. I am not going to say how old I am, but it's not too hard to figure out. I really can't believe I am this old!!!! I still feel like a young mother inside and I definitely don't act my age, just ask my girls and their friends. Oh well . . . wasn't I a cute baby, though?

Shauna Kaye Dalton

May 20

COMING FULL CIRCLE

At the end of April, we had our last Viewmont Dance Concert. The theme was Coming Full Circle II. The girls performed favorite pieces from previous concerts. There two alumni pieces which Tara and Shayla were able to perform in. It was an amazing concert and such a fun one for our family to finish up with. We have been involved in the dance program at Viewmont for the past six years. It has been an incredible experience for our family and we have such special memories. We are grateful to Bon Pierce, the director, for creating such a wonderful, worthwhile experience for the girls and their families. Below are pictures from each of the pieces Kelsey, Tara and Shayla performed in. Enjoy! Opener


"Origination"
Kelsey is the one hanging from the harness!


Alumni Jazz
Go Tara and Shayla!

"Respect"

Presidency Dance

Kailey, Kelsey & Whitney

"After the Outing"
I loved everything about

this piece!

Hip Hop

"Beatles"

Couples Dance

Kelsey & Mason

"Genesis"

Advanced

"Angel"

Dance Company

Alumni Modern

"High Scoring Games"

Lifting

Kelsey is flying!

"1984"

Advanced

"All That Jazz"

Officers' Piece

"Daddy Daughter Dance"

Always a classic

African Finale

Lakeview Open Champs!

Yesterday Val, Travis, Wade and Dan (team Steed) participated in our annual ward golf tournament, the Lakeview Open. They have come so close to winning several times and this year were out to take home the top prize. Apparently they were on their game and golfing out of their heads because they beat several good teams and were victorious. Congratulations to our guys! We are proud of you. They are already looking to defending their title next year! This is Dan's awesome tee shot. Look how close he is to the pin!

Too bad it wasn't a hole in one!

Disneyland

For Spring Break Val, Kelsey, Travis, Liz, Baylee and I all went to Disneyland. Once we got our car trouble fixed (see earlier post) we arrived in California and were ready to see Mickey. It was Baylee's first trip and we couldn't wait to see her reaction. On the shuttle ride to and from the hotel, all she could say was "Mickey - Donald - Pluto - Daisy - Minnie" as she would see pictures of the characters along the way. At one point, she grabbed Travis's face, got as close as she could, and yelled "Mickey Mickey Mickey" right at him. It was the cutest thing ever! We had a great time at the park. Baylee has a new love - Nemo! Only she calls him "Meno". He is a close second to Ariel. Why is it she likes fish so much ? . ? . ?

Kelsey and I on Dumbo.

Can you believe this is my first

time ever to ride this ride?

The lines were always so long before .

With Mickey in his house

Baylee wasn't too sure about Pluto.
After this, she saw Goofy and
punched him in the nose. Too
bad we don't have a picture
of that!

Sunglasses and a sucker.
Can't beat that!

Baylee loves Buzz. She rode the

Buzz Lightyear ride with Papa

about five times.

We had dinner at the Blue Bayou. The

idiot who took this picture cut Baylee

out. She is in her stroller at the bottom.

Goodbye for now. . .

We'll be back!



After our two days at the park, we went to Angel Stadium to see a Red Sox Angels game.
Travis says that is HIS Disneyland. We had a great time at the game. The Red Sox won, it was a sunny day, and Baylee slept from the 5th inning on.

The girls before the game.

After the game Travis and Baylee went

swimming. The rest of us were in

the hot tub!

On the way home. The trip was a success.

Everyone was pooped!

CAR TROUBLE !!!!

In April, we took a fun Spring Break trip to California to visit Disneyland with Baylee for the first time and to see the Red Sox play the Angels. We planned to drive because there were six of us going - Val, me, Kelsey, Travis, Liz and Baylee. We prepared for the trip as usual, with Val going over the Suburban with a fine tooth comb. He had it serviced, checked everything out. I even drove it to Tremonton the day before and everything seemed fine.

Well, we got on the road and things were going great for 200 miles until we were just outside of Beaver. Then the car started making a terrible noise and the engine started losing power. We pulled over and Val checked things out and decided we needed to be towed into Beaver. He pulled out his AAA auto card and made the call. Now I have had a AAA auto card for years but never once have carried it in my wallet. Boy was I glad he carried his!

The man (Rick) and his flatbed tow truck arrived quickly and Rick (who is also a skilled AAA mechanic) listened to our engine and determined that it was shot and we needed a total engine replacement. He told us that he could do the repairs while we were in California and have the car ready for us to pick up on our way home. Yay, Rick! He loaded the car onto the flatbed and because of space, Val rode in the cab with him and the rest of us rode in the suburban on the flatbed, securely buckled in, of course.

While being towed, Val got on the phone and made arrangements for a rental car. We were towed 100 miles, all the way to St. George where we picked up our lovely new suburban. Our car was then taken back to Beaver to be repaired.

We enjoyed a wonderful trip (more about that in a future post) and then made our way back to St. George, where Rick had driven our car and left it at the airport for us to pick up. We dropped off the rental picked up our car and drove home. Rick is now my new best friend. We only had a 2 hour delay on the way down and a very brief delay on the way home. The only drawback was the rather large expense of PUTTING A NEW ENGINE IN OUR SUBURBAN.

We feel so fortunate, though, to have had the entire situation turn out so well. I can tell you one thing - I came right home and put my AAA auto card in my wallet. Those people are lifesavers. They will tow you from anywhere! Below are some lovely photos of our great adventure.