Coming and Going

It seems like the last couple of months have been filled with comings and goings.  So here are the noteworthy events from the Lloyd home in March and April....


Nathanael and Lindsay Ann had their Spring break during March.  They came down and visited for part of that time.  They were also able to come with us to East Canyon.  This was the first time that Lindsay Ann had come to East Canyon.  Our trip to East Canyon included the wonderful traditions that we do in March.  We had a treasure hunt, Irish feast, played games, and watched movies.  One of my favorite times at East Canyon was listening to Lindsay Ann play hymns before church on her violin.  After church, we had a little impromptu concert which included Lindsay Ann playing a composition of Nathanael's- and him playing his bagpipes. On the second Sunday in April, Nathanael's choir performed a concert in the Cathderal of the Madeleine  It was a gorgeous Spring Sabbath Day.  Our family all went to support him.  The concert was absolutely magnificent!  It was truly a joy to be there.  The next weekend, we celebrated Nathanael's twenty-second birthday.  We all went to dinner at his favorite restaurant-Settebello's.  There was quite a wait that night-which was unusual.  However, we were able to finally get a table and eat.  It was delicious as always.  After dinner, we came back to our house and had cake and ice cream.  Lindsay Ann had made a delicious strawberry cake with the best cream cheese frosting I have had.  Nat then opened his presents.  On Sunday, they came again to extended FHE and it was nice to visit with them for a while before they had to go back to school.  Lindsay Ann just finished her final projects and papers and finals this last week.  Nat will finish this week.  They came down last weekend to watch Clarissa perform in her school play.  I was so grateful that they were able to come and support her.  I am so grateful for the good relationships that my children have with each other and that Lindsay Ann fits right in with loving and supporting each other.

Lindsay Kaye has just finished eight months of being on her mission.  She spent most of March in Chula Vista.  While she was in that area, she was able to participate in a double baptism, a single baptism, and attend with the new members to do baptisms for the dead in the San Diego temple.  We missed her for the holidays and General Conference.  However, she is so happy and doing well.  She was transferred in April to La Jolla.  She is in another trio.  Lindsay Kaye told us that her first week in this new area went really well and that the area is beautiful- but there is a lot of work to do.  One exciting thing was that Alex Boye came to her mission and did a special fireside.  She said that he is quite intense and that it was a really good night.  Lindsay Kaye is allowed to post on Facebook on her missionary account and I love to see what she posts because it is always so inspirational. 

Ethan was constantly coming and going.  We went to East Canyon.  The next weekend, he went on tour with the Chamber choir to New York.  He was able to perform in Carnegie Hall just as Nat and Lindsay Kaye had done.  He was able to go see a Broadway show, visit Ellis island, and see the 9/11 memorial.  He had a wonderful time.  Then the next weekend, he went to California on tour with the A'ccappella choir.  They were able to go to some workshops, have fun at Disneyland, and perform in an inspirational fireside.  Their choir also placed in the competition at the Festival.  Ethan again had a great time- but was exhausted. Also during March and April, soccer season started and Ethan was busy working, playing games, and getting caught up in school.  He also asked a young lady to Prom.  She had not been asked to a big dance at school before and so he really wanted to make it "epic".  He loves the movie, "Up" and used that as his theme.  He gets home an hour earlier every other day from school because of how his schedule was set up this year.  He came home one afternoon and we went over to decorate her car in the school parking lot.  We tied about 20 different colored balloons on her car and he put sticky notes on the window spelling Prom.  I then wrote on the back window with window markers, "Would you be UP to going to Prom with me?".  He then put some chocolate chip cookies on a plate on top of the car that had a note attached to the bottom that said, "If you come with me to Prom, I am sure that we will have an ADVENTURE, Ethan.  It was so cute!  So last weekend, Prom finally arrived.  They did their "day date" on Friday night and then went to dinner and the dance on Saturday night.  Ethan came home singing and so I knew that he had had fun.  The young lady's mom also texted me to thank him for taking her and showing her such a wonderful time.  I am so grateful that he is such a kind and thoughtful young man.

Clarissa has spent the last couple of months getting ready for her performance as Babette in "Beauty and the Beast" in her school's show.  The performance was this last weekend.  Opening show was Thursday and last night was their final performance.  Ethan and I were able to go see her opening night.  Her character is very flirtatious and sassy.  Clarissa is not a flirt and is very conservative and sweet at school.  When she finished her first scene, Ethan and I looked at each other and laughed because it was shocking to see her be so good portraying a character who is the opposite of her personality!  She also had a couple of little singing solo parts.  Her voice is amazing.  I think that Clarissa is very talented because I am her mother, however, during intermission, I had four people make their way down to my seat to tell me how wonderful and talented Clarissa is in this role.  It is nice to hear that she really does have great talent in this area and that it is not just me being an overly proud mama.  The next two nights, Friday and Saturday, I was once again sought out by others to tell me how great Clarissa was in the show.  She even had a woman want to take a picture of her and Lumiere (who was amazing himself) and neither one of them knew her.  She was thrilled with their performance.  One of Clarissa's teachers also kept mentioning her excellent performance in class and asked if she does community theater because she would like to come see her.  Last night was bittersweet for her.  Clarissa was so grateful that the show was over and so sad that it was over.  I am so grateful that she was able to have such a wonderful experience doing something she loves.

Zachary has been "going with the flow" with all the comings and goings.  He loved going to East Canyon and cried when we came home.  He loved spending time with everyone.  He loved the Easter egg hunts and the family get togethers.  Over Spring break, Zachary took some of his own money and purchased items for hygiene kits to give to refugees.  He put together 10 of them.  Zachary has a very generous heart.  Zachary also earned his Bobcat rank in Cub scouts.  Then this last week was his first Pinewood Derby.  He worked really hard on sanding and painting the car himself and actually got 2nd place!  He was so excited!  I was surprised that it did so well because it was such a uniquely shaped and painted car.  Also, during one of Zachary's Cub scout activites, his group put on a little campfire program.  One of the things they did was to tell stories.  He chose to tell the story of how he went to go find his sisters at McDonald's and got picked up by the police and brought home.  It was the first time that I had heard him tell that story from his perspective.  It was funny!  Zachary's soccer season has also started and last week, he came so close to scoring a few times-which is great because he likes to play defender most of the time. Zachary made a blanket fort hotel in our basement recently.  There were different rooms and he also provided room service.  I am grateful that I have Zachary to keep me young.

My "moment of joy" during these last couple of months was reading a post from Lindsay Kaye on National Sibling Day.  She wrote,

"I honestly could not have asked for better siblings.  Making memories while watching them grow up has brought ma a joy I can't explain.  Leaving them to be out here on a mission was the hardest thing I have ever done.  But it is so worth it because I get to help others understand that they can be with their families forever as well.  Each and every one of my siblings has changed my life and made me who I am today.  I know my Heavenly Father loves me because he sent me these angels to love and support me.  and that includes my new sister -in- law as well as my little brother up in Heaven.  Thankfully, I have the knowledge that families can be together forever and I get to spend forever with the most amazing people!!!  The blessings of an eternal family is available to all of God's children!"

I know that Lindsay has also been a great influence on each of her siblings and that we are so blessed to know her and have her as our daughter, sister, and friend.

Apples and Onions

So our family has a little tradition that we do at dinner.  Each child takes turns telling his/her "apple" or "onion" for the day.  As you can imagine, the apples are the good things that happened during the day- and the onions are the not so great things that happened during the day.  This post is about our family's "apples" and "onions" for the month of February.  Thankfully, there are definitely more noteworthy apples than onions from the Lloyds...


Nathanael and Lindsay Ann continue to go to school and work hard.  One apple for our family is that they were able to come down to be here for Zachary's baptism at the beginning of February.  I was so grateful for their help in getting the January decorations down and putting up the Valentine's decorations.  A couple of weeks later, they came down for the long weekend so that Nat could have his eyes checked and order new glasses.  Another apple was that we decided to go see a movie while Nat and Lindsay were here.  It was basically about soccer- and so all the boys loved it.  We always enjoy having them come visit.

Lindsay Kaye has been very busy in her new area.  One of my apples for the month was seeing a post that she and her companions did.  They sang, "Love at Home" in harmony to a ukele for Valentine's Day.  It was really cute.  I was also pleased that she finally received her Valentine package.  I do candy bar posters for the kids each year and I do a smaller version for the missionaries.  I also included a few Valentine treats for her companions.  Lindsay Kaye continues to work hard and enjoy her mission.

Ethan had a couple of apples and onions this last month.  His first apple was celebrating his birthday with his friends.  It was a couple of weeks after his actual birthday, however, he planned a fun late night with a lot of his friends.  We had a lot of kids come and everyone seemed to really enjoy themselves.  Travis and I were impressed that most of the activities and games planned were interactive.  They were able to visit and connect with one another.  Another huge apple for Ethan was that his 5 v 5 soccer team took first place as the season champions. The other team he was on as placed second. (He double rostered.) He was so excited!  Travis told me that one night, Ethan kicked a volley into the upper corner to score and helped his team win.  His soccer skills have been improving even more this year.  Ethan still loves soccer, but one of the onions this month was that he decided to not try out for the high school soccer team.  He is so busy with Chamber choir and work and school that he decided that the pressure of high school soccer and even the pressure of just doing what needs to be done to try out was too much.  Another onion that Ethan would say he had was taking the ACT test.  For some reason, he was really worried about it.  The test ended up not being as bad as he thought it would be-  he actually felt pretty good about it.  We'll see.  Ethan also had a choir concert that was amazing.  His Chamber choir really is very good.  I have heard many Chamber choirs over the years and Travis and I have agreed that this is probably the best high school Chamber choir we have heard.  After the concert, Ethan said that he felt really good  about this performance.  He said that all the kids seemed to really put their hearts into doing their best and performing well.

One apple for Clarissa was that she participated quite a bit in our Young Women's New Beginnings night.  She loved singing with a group of girls and introducing a new Beehive.  Clarissa loves to help and be involved. Another apple for Clarissa is that she was "Student of the Day" this last month.  She got a treat and was nominated by her teachers. Clarissa's onion was that her science project lost in the district competition.  She seems to always move on in the science competitions, but her projects never get past district.  Oh well!  She was not really surprised.  She laughed because she was listening to some of the other projects-one of which was a studentwho had built a working satellite.  She thought it was funny that she was competing with students who put their heart and soul into these projects and have done some incredible things!  I am so grateful that she can win gracefully and that she can also lose gracefully. She is genuinely happy for others when they are successful.

Zachary had the biggest apple of all this month!  He was baptized on February 3, 2018.  It was a beautiful day.  He had asked Clarissa and I to speak.  Clarissa gave a wonderful talk on the Holy Ghost and my talk was on baptism and the covenants that we make when we are baptized.  I also had asked Lindsay Kaye to write a note to him that I read at the end of my talk.  Travis, Nat, Lindsay Ann, Ethan, Clarissa, and Zachary sang, "He Sent His Son" while I accompanied.  Zachary had asked Travis to baptize and confirm him and he asked Nathanael and Ethan to be the witnesses.  It was such a wonderful privilege that all of our family were able to participate in this special ordinance-even Lindsay Kaye serving a mission.  After his baptism and confirmation, we invited the extended family over for soups, fruit, and cake and ice cream to celebrate his 8th birthday.  We ate and visited and just enjoyed the day.  The weather was gorgeous and everyone seemed to get along so well.  Another apple Zachary had this month was that he got the Bronze metal in his class for all the minutes that he read in the reading contest at school.  That was a big surprise to me!  He felt very pleased.  Zachary also got to attend his first Cub Scout Blue and Gold banquet.  It was a carnival theme and Travis said that he seemed to have a lot of fun!  So Zachary had a pretty great month full of apples.

I have two "moments of joy" this last month.  The first one was that I felt such overwhelming joy to have my two oldest sons, Nathanael and Ethan, be worthy and willing to be witnesses at Zachary's baptism.  The other "moment of joy" was overhearing a conversation between Ethan and Travis about him not trying out for high school soccer.  Travis had hoped that Ethan would at least try- but Ethan had decided that he had made up his mind to spend most of his time doing things that bring him a lot of joy.  Travis told Ethan that he understood why he made his decision and told him that he wanted Ethan to know that Travis was not disappointed in him and that he loved him so very much.  I am so grateful and blessed to have Travis as my eternal companion.  Our children are so blessed to call him father.  He supports his kids with the apples and onions of their lives.   

Those that Came Before

Lots going on in the house of Lloyd...January was a full and busy month with lots of good things happening.  Here are the noteworthy events from the happy new year 2018....


Nathanael and Lindsay Ann were able to stay with us for part of the Christmas vacation which included New Year's Eve and New Year's Day.  New Year's Eve was a Sunday this year and so we went to church and that night, Nat and Lindsay came over as well as my parents.  We played games and had snacks.  It was really fun to be together and enjoy each other's company.  We were able to ring in the new year with bagpipes, pots and pans, a guitar....It was awesome!  Our tradition on the first day of the new year is to go sledding and then have hot chocolate or go see a movie as a family.  It was not a difficult choice because we did not have snow this year.  We decided to go see the popular Disney movie, "Coco".  We first decided to go to lunch.  I was in the mood for hamburgers and so we went to a family favorite restaurant but  they were closed.  So....we tried a new burger place out-Habits and it was delicious!  We then rushed to the movie.  I really did not know what to expect with this movie and I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would.  I love the theme of  families and remembering our ancestors.  I was also surprised to see Nathanael get emotional during the movie.  The movie reminded me of our own heritage and how important traditions are in keeping our connections with each other strong.  Nat and Lindsay then headed back up to school and got ready for the new semester.


Lindsay Kaye was transferred for the first time in her mission.  She is now in a town called Chula Vista.  It is very close to the Mexican border.  She describes the area as beautiful and breathtaking.  Lindsay Kaye is now in a trio companionship.  One of her companions is a bit autistic.  Lindsay will be perfect for showing love and compassion for her.  Also, I am sure all three of them working together will be very successful.  I know that it was hard to leave her first district as she has become close to those she works with-but she has a testimony that she is where she is supposed to be in this new area.  One thing she noticed is that some of the elders in her district are not as obedient as they should be.  She has expressed some frustration with one in particular.  He made her so mad that she "roasted" him is (how she put it) . She told us that this week she is going to be doing a training on being obedient.  I know that this will be a challenge for her- but I also know that she is really good at kindly helping people to do what they are supposed to do.  I am so grateful for her example.  Lindsay Kaye is honoring those that have gone before her in striving to be obedient in all things.

My oldest boy at home right now just turned 17!!!  What???  Ethan is continuing to work really hard and is very busy.  He still works at Little Caesar's Pizza to earn money for tour.  He loves singing with the Chamber choir and has really enjoyed getting to know the other members of the group and making new friends.  One highlight for him this month was the Chamber choir singing in the district's Masterworks concert.  The chamber choirs from the district all learn and perform a major work.  For example, Nathanael got to sing Faure's Requiem, Lindsay Kaye performed Rutter's Requiem, and Ethan sang Bach's, "Magnificat".  I love to go to these concerts because I love how my children have the opportunity to learn amazing classical works.  They learn to appreciate the work and the musicality of these great pieces.  It also reminds me of when I was in high school because these are the pieces that we learned and performed at our concerts.  One that really stands out was "The Chichester Psalms" in Hebrew.  It was extremely difficult to learn but so satisfying and delightful to perform.  As I mentioned, Ethan turned 17 in January.  For his birthday, we had birthday crepes of course- and the went to Black Bear's Diner for dinner.  Afterward, we came home and we had cheesecake (his favorite) and ice cream. Then he opened his presents.  He did not ask for a lot this year- but I think he was pleased with his gifts.   Ethan also got invited to the Girls Preference dance.  He went with a really good friend.  They did their day date on Friday night and then had dinner and went to the dance on Saturday night.  He had a blast!  He also went down to Mesquite to a soccer tournament with his friends.  They had a tough group but they are such a neat group of young men.  They always have a good time no matter the outcome of the games.  One of the highlights was going to the St. George temple to do baptisms.  Travis said it was such a powerful experience.  I am so grateful for the good friends that Ethan has and the good influence that they have on one another.  One goal Ethan had for 2018 is to learn to play the guitar.  He has been practicing and watching videos etc. and he has learned two songs already!  He has such a great voice that it is really fun to listen to him sing and play.  It seems that he has inherited an aptitude of music from those who came before.

Our Miss Clarissa has been working really hard this month as well.  She is in musical theater this semester and has been taking voice lessons to help her gain confidence in her voice and help it to become stronger.  She practices every single day.  It has made a huge difference.  Clarissa had her voice teacher help her choose a song that would be the best for her to use for her audition.  She sang, "My House", from Matilda.  She was so excited and pleased to get the part of Babette in the musical "Beauty and the Beast".  Clarissa's science project also went onto the District competition for the third year in a row!  She was excited!  I think it is because she has such a talent for presenting in front of people. Clarissa.  She is honoring those who have gone before by working hard and doing her best even in adversity and disappointment.


So now we come to my baby, Zachary.  He turned 8 years old this month.  He had been counting down the days for a long time to his birthday.  On his special day, we had our birthday crepes, and he took donuts to share for his treat at school.  That night, we went to Zupa's for dinner and then he got to play in the bounce house at Classic Skating for a school kick off for a reading contest.  We then came home and he opened presents.  Once again, he did not ask for much- but he was very happy for what he got.  That Saturday, we had invited his friends over for a Minions birthday party.  We did minute to win it games as part of the boys (Minions) helping Gru steal the "best candy in the world!" by accomplishing certain tasks.  Ethan wrote a little note describing the activity as if he were Gru.  He was very clever and the boys had a great time!  I was excited because I had to run errands before the party and everyone else at home got the house ready.  It was wonderful!  We got everything done in two hours.  I guess we know what we are doing now that we have had a few birthday parties over the years:)  One thing that stood out in my mind about the party was that after Zachary opened up his presents, he wanted a picture taken with each one of his guests with the gift that each gave him.  Zachary was so happy!  Because Zachary turned 8, he now is part of the cub scouts.  He was able to go to his first pack meeting.  He had a really good time with his friends.  Zachary also had ancestor day at school.  He chose his ancestor, William Lindsay, who was born in Scotland.  William came to Utah with his family after joining the LDS church.  He settled in Heber.  He was an amazing example of strength, courage, and faith.  Zachary brought a picture to show of him as well as the Lindsay kilt, and he also wore a child-size Lindsay kilt that Travis and I bought in England years ago. It took a bit for me to convince him that it was not a skirt and that it is cool to wear a kilt.  He did a great job on his presentation and learned more about those who have gone before him.

I think my "moment of joy" was just after the movie, "Coco", ended.  We were all very touched and I had such a feeling of gratitude for our family chain-all those who came before and my children continuing that chain.  We had a wonderful conversation about the importance of knowing our family history and how important it is to continue that legacy that they left us.  We can honor them by continuing to make right choices and keeping our covenants no matter what trials we face in life.

Awesome Year!!!

There is a reason that I have not posted for a few months.  A lot happened in the last few months and I have just been trying to survive and adjust.  And yet, it has been an awesome year.  Here are the noteworthy events from October, November, and December....


The biggest noteworthy event for Nathanael is that he got married!!!!  On October 19th, Nathanael and Lindsay Ann were married in the Salt Lake Temple.  The weather was absolutely perfect!  Who knew that it would be in the low 70's on that day.  Gorgeous.  Travis went with Nat earlier and then I came up with the kids a bit later.  For some reason, the place we were going to park had just been filled.  I don't know what else was going on that morning because that was unusual.  I drove around trying to find a parking spot.  I found a parking spot in a little parking lot but the credit card machine would not work and time was ticking.  I decided to leave the vehicle and run.  The temple workers were so sweet and told me that it was all right and to just take a deep breath.  The sealing was short and sweet.  After the sealing, Travis and I moved the van to a spot that was free.  We then went back and waited for the newlyweds to come out for pictures.  After taking pictures, we headed to Michelangelo's Italian restaurant for the wedding luncheon.  The food was amazing.  We had a nice time just visiting with guests and enjoying the delicious food.  After the luncheon, we were waiting for Travis to come bring the van and we had a chance to chat with the owner.  He is a temple worker and was there at the groom's desk and helped Nat that morning.  It was a neat connection.  We then headed back to change and decorate for the reception.  They had the reception at the Vista in Cedar Hills.  When we got there, I had a couple of friends who were already setting up.  We had a lot of the decorations- but Lindsay's family was bringing the food and the rest.  We had done as much as we could do and found out that Lindsay's family was stuck on the freeway.  There had been a huge accident involving multiple vehicles etc.  It was time for me to go back home and change for the reception and her family came just before we left.  I didn't think they would be able to get everything finished.  However, when I got back, it was pretty much done.  We were ready when the reception started and the sunset was awesome!!!  We had a good turn out despite that it was Fall break.  Lindsay and Nat had taken a dance class to learn how to waltz for their first dance.  It was so cute because you could tell that he was really counting in his mind and concentrating.  Zachary was running behind the refreshment table when he tripped on the plug and pulled it out right in the middle of the dance-so the music stopped playing! Travis hurried and plugged it back in.  Ha!  Ha!  They cut the cake and left for their weekend together.  It was a beautiful day and I was so grateful for all those friends and family who helped us.  Lindsay Ann's family and friends helped to clean up.  We were done in no time at all.  One thing that impressed me was that Lindsay Ann did not get flustered or upset when her family was stuck on the freeway.  She was anxious and concerned, but she showed a great deal of maturity and handled herself extremely well.  Honestly though, the most important thing of the day is the sealing in the temple.  That is all that really matters.  You want the reception to be nice and go well, but that is not the most important thing.  I am so grateful that they both live worthily so that they could go to the temple and be sealed.  We are thrilled to have Lindsay Ann as part of our family!!

Our sweet missionary Lindsay Kaye has adjusted really well.  She has been gone for four months now. One noteworthy event for her was that she was able to work with a young man who got baptized on the last day of the year.  It was pretty awesome!  We also were able to Skype with her on Christmas Day for a couple of hours.  It was such a treat to be able to see her and talk to her.  She looks so healthy and happy.  She has told us that serving a mission was the best decision that she has ever made.  I am so grateful for the woman that she has become.  Lindsay Kaye is such a great example to me.

Ethan has been extremely busy and had some awesome experiences the last few months.  He first took a sweet young lady to Homecoming.  They seemed to have a really good time.  Then he sang in the Disney concert at the high school.  He was Mickey Mouse.  He also played soccer and their team did really well.  He also participated in the Madrigal Feaste where he was one of the Royal court. Ethan continues to work at Little Caesar's Pizza.  One noteworthy event for Ethan was in October when he got to go with the rest of the youth in our ward to a special dinner at the Governor's mansion for reading the Book of Mormon by a certain date.  Elder Rasband and his wife were also invited.  He was able to speak to the youth and he asked them some questions.  He called on Ethan to answer a question and I guess that Ethan gave a really great answer -so Elder Rasband continued to call on him.  When they were leaving, Elder Rasband told him that he was very impressed with him.  That was just what Ethan needed to hear.  An apostle of the Lord told him personally how impressed he was with him.  It was awesome!

Clarissa has enjoyed voice lessons and was able to participate in the fall musical at school.  It was "Legally Blonde Jr.".  She was able to be a girl in the salon and Chutney-the villain!  She was awesome! Her teacher told her that she needed a great character actress to play that part.  As a Mom, it is so wonderful when your child finds his/her passion.  I love watching Clarissa's shows.  She seems to just light up when she is on stage.

Zachary has had some noteworthy things the last few months as well.  He played soccer of course- and also got to play flag football for the first time.  He absolutely loved it!  He would come home and practice catching a football.  During one of his games, he lost a tooth while running down the field.  (It was really, really loose).  Then on another game, Travis was able to come for the first part but had to leave to run Ethan's soccer practice.  He handed me the video camera and just after he left, I looked up to see Zachary running down the field and scoring a touchdown-his first one!  It was awesome!  However, the video camera was having problems and I was not able to catch it on camera.  Rats!  So with his new found love of football, Zachary has become a big fan of BYU sports and has become Travis' sports buddy.  Zachary has kept busy playing futsal with his little soccer team.  He always has a positive attitude no matter the outcome of the game.  I love that about him!  Zachary was also picked as the Eagle of the Month at school for being optimistic and positive.  Right on!

I had been asked by my mother-in-law to make a calendar for her Christmas gift.  As I went through the year pulling out pictures, I felt overwhelmed with gratitude.  Our year was wonderful.  We were able to do some fun things as a family.  We had some big changes that were awesome-Nat getting married and Lindsay Kaye serving a mission.  I could not be more pleased with the choices my children are making and the people that they are becoming.  I will look back at 2017 as an awesome year.