Ringing or Singing?

On our way to sound check we said "Hello" to Donna, Lori, Sandra, Cindy, Helen and Sherry. It's really fun to get to know some of you and to be able to remember your names. Let me know if I got them wrong.

We all enjoyed listening to Sherry and Wayne's hearing aids ringing or singing in unison!

Sound check at the Quad City Waterfront Convention Center.

What did you think about the show tonight?

Mississippi River Front

My favorite part of traveling is discovering the area and exploring. Since I could see the Mississippi River from our hotel window I talked Wayne into walking along the path of the water front this afternoon. If you are here in Bettendorf this weekend, make sure you take this fabulous walk along the Mississippi River. If you walk down the path by the river for about 1 1/2 miles from the hotel toward the bridge, there is a nice park on the other side of the bridge.

In the two photos above you can see the hotel on the left side and a walkway on the far right that takes you to the casino area that is located in the ship on the water. The South tower of the hotel is closest to the ship and the North Tower is on left side of the South Tower. The convention center where The Brothers will be performing is on the far left hand side of the North Tower. There are air-conditioned walkways that connect all the buildings. Finding your way along the walkways are a little like exploring a maze.

If you keep walking along the path toward the bridge and go under the bridge there is a beautiful park to enjoy with historical markers that give you interesting information about the Quad Cities area.

We enjoyed our feathered friends in the park.

These two friends gave a couple honks to warn me not to get any closer, then turned around quickly and went the opposite direction. 

Wayne and I enjoyed the scenery together and rested on the benches and rocks shaded by beautiful trees.

We found Huck Finn down by the Mississippi fishing. He actually caught two catfish while we were resting in the shade under a big tree.

The evening sun started going down, so we started strolling back toward the bridge.

Wayne and I  had an enjoyable time in Bettendorf on the River Way. As we entered the hotel, Sandra from Georgia was leaving with a full bucket of ice. It was refreshing to see a familiar face here in a new place. Hope to see many more friends tomorrow and at the evening show!

Quad Cities

We flew into the Moline, Illinois airport and a driver was waiting to take us to the Isle Casino and Hotel in Bettendorf, Iowa. The Quad Cities Waterfront Convention Center is right next door. We can view the Mississippi River from our hotel room window.

We're going out to explore the area in a few minutes. The Osmond Brothers show is Friday night so we'll be able to have some fun today.

We're looking forward to seeing Sherry and some of her friends tomorrow.

Click to learn more about the Quad Cities Area.

Celebrating at TGI Fridays

Wayne loves his new hearing aids! He spent most of the day at Starkey getting his hearing aids fit and programed, talking to the employees, eating lunch, etc. Tonight we walked from the Fairfield Inn under the freeway over to the mall and had dinner together at TGI Friday's. Wayne became so engrossed in looking at tools in Sears that I thought he got lost again. Why is it that I'm always looking for him and he's not spending his time looking for me? 

Starkey Headquarters in Minneapolis

This afternoon we flew into the Minneapolis airport. Justin picked us up and we drove straight to the Starkey headquarters. Wayne is really excited to be fit with new hearing aids.

Wayne just finished getting his ears cleaned and is going to be tested next. There is a huge screen that amplifies the ear canal 40 times so we can watch the specialist clean Wayne's ears. On our way in we met the fellow that plays the "Big Hulk" - he had just finished and was leaving the facility.

Justin is so great to take care of us! I don't know what we would do without him. He's been such a blessing in our lives!

"The Wii Fitters"

If I use the Wii Fit today I will have accomplished my goal. I don't know if I'll get around to it though, because Wayne and I are leaving tomorrow for Minnesota and I have a lot to do before we leave. I'm doing a lot of housework today so that might be my exercise for today.

I noticed that there are black Wii Fit systems instead of the white ones. Which one would be the best to purchase before we leave for Branson? I'm still in the catch up phase from traveling. Maybe when we get to Branson I can be a little more regular on the exercise.

By the way, Merrill has started a blog if you haven't heard yet. I can't wait to hear his perspective on everything. It's so interesting how we can all live the same show business life and have such different experiences and opinions. I'm also looking forward to reading Jay's book to see what his perspective has been.

"An Apple a Day Bunch"

Vacation is over - I'm ready to get serious about watching what I eat closer. It is definitely easier to stick on a healthy diet when I'm home. How are you all doing with your healthy diets? Please report here. Any tips for us?

"Wonky's Book Worms"

The Lord appeared to Solomon and asked him what gift that he desired. The desire of Solomon's heart was to receive wisdom and knowledge so he could judge his people in righteousness. I really admire that he desired an unselfish gift that he could use in serving and judging others.

Because Solomon asked for such a good gift the Lord blessed him with riches, wealth and honor greater than any of the other Kings before or after him. I wonder if I had been in Solomon's situation if I would have asked for such an honorable gift?

Next week's reading is II Chronicles Chapters 3 - 17.

Practicing

In the beginning Wayne really didn't care if the children were involved in music or not. He was sick of practicing! In fact Wayne and I used to sing in Church together but it was really frustrating for me because he didn't want to practice. It was even stressing me out, so I decided that if he wouldn't practice with me then I didn't want to sing with him. Ha! After that we compromised and only sang together if it was a hymn that we already knew and didn't have to practice more than a couple of times together.

I started all the kids in some kind of musical training at an early age. I read a study that said the children that took music lessons did better in school than those that didn't take music lessons. I could probably write a book about all the different methods I used to get them to practice - variety being the best weapon. Most of our children liked to perform so they could see the value of practicing - not that they always wanted to practice. At some point they all wanted to take piano lessons and for some of them it was mostly during the summers months. 

My rule was if I was paying for them to take music lessons then they had to practice, because I wasn't wasting my money. I didn't have the philosophy like some parents - "You only have to practice on the days you want to eat." They just needed to practice something that had to do with music so they could check music practice off of their chore chart. The amount of time was usually related to whether I was paying a teacher or not and what the teacher's requirements were for them.

One time there was a definite power struggle starting with Steve and I over his practicing the piano and I could tell it was hurting our relationship, so I let him quit. I told him he had to practice something and he decided it was going to be the guitar. I became his teacher and taught him to play the guitar after Wayne taught me a few basic things.  I followed some book that showed how to play the chords on the guitar and Wayne would make sure that he was strumming it correctly every once in awhile. Steve practiced the guitar and later wanted to take piano lessons again, just during the summer months. In Jr. High he signed up for band and learned to play the drums and percussion instruments. Steve continued to practice the guitar and would sing along as he played. I guess he still likes to sing because he told me he was singing in church this week.

All our children could sing at an early age and had opportunities at church and school. Sarah started singing the earliest of all our children. She sang "Happy Birthday" to herself right on pitch for her 2 year old birthday, but later decided that she wanted to be known as the ONLY Osmond that DIDN'T sing. It wasn't that she couldn't. Ha! Sarah took piano lessons for a few years and then decided to drop that and practiced the violin for awhile but that wasn't her thing either. She learned to play the recorder in school one year and really enjoyed it, so she began studying the flute in the 5th grade and continued through high school and plays beautifully.

At one point we decided to start a Bluegrass band as a family for a little variety. Amy was getting a little burned out with the strict Suzuki violin teacher, skipping a grade in school and having her tonsils removed that year. The music man come to our house once a week to teach us. He taught Amy to fiddle and even taught me to play the big stand up bass so we were all learning and practicing together. We all seemed to enjoy practicing together as a family. I don't remember having any resistance from anyone except Wayne. Some of you may remember us playing at a fan gathering together as a family right before Michelle was born. After a couple of years the novelty wore off and Amy realized that she missed playing classical music and wanted to start traditional violin lessons. 

Greg seemed to love music the most of all our children. Whenever he walked into the house he'd turn on some music and still does. He played the piano for a few years, but didn't want to practice anymore - so that ended. He continued playing the electric bass in our family band. In Junior High School he decided he wanted to start taking piano lessons again and really worked hard for a few years just because he wanted to - that was refreshing. In high school he was involved in the vocal groups and played the keyboards in a band with Steve and his friends. After Steve graduated from high school, Greg started his own band with some friends, became the lead singer and worked hard to accomplish the guitar. Sometimes I felt like telling him to quit practicing so much. One of the first things he still does when he comes to visit is he sits down and plays the piano.

When we lived in Provo, playing the violin or a musical instrument was what everyone wanted to do. Amy really enjoyed the social aspect of playing in the orchestra with her friends and they had an amazing orchestra at Timpview High School so it was cool to be a part of it. The vocal groups didn't seem as popular. When we moved back to Utah from Branson, choir and vocal groups were the cool thing. All the boys wanted to get into the elite vocal groups so Steve and Greg were always involved with their friends in musical groups in Jr. High and High School. Band and orchestra weren't popular at all at their high school.

Michelle wanted to play the violin like Amy. In 1st grade she started with Suzuki violin lessons. Eventually in her early teens, her teacher suggested that she move on to a more traditional violin teacher that would put more emphasis on technique and reading music. After a few more years Michelle took a break from the violin to spend more time singing. She was involved with many of the musical groups and productions in high school, playing the lead in the school musical one year. It wasn't until high school that she discovered she loved to sing. When we're in town, I still enjoy listening to her play the violin and sing as she accompanies herself on the piano.

Well, I could go on and on, but I'm sure everyone is bored enough. For my children the secret to practicing was using variety and finding their own special niche in music that they really enjoyed. For some of them it took trying many different aspects of music before they found what they loved. It would be interesting to hear my children's view of their practicing years now that they are adults. 

Encouraging Education

Someone asked me a question in a former post about how we motivated and encouraged our children to get a good education. I'm sure the fact that Wayne always wanted to get a college education had a lot to do with it. He was always telling them how fortunate they were to be able to go to school since he left public school in the eighth grade and finished high school doing correspondence with the American School system.

Education was always emphasized in my family. My mom has 5 sisters (no brothers) and my grandfather continually reminded them that they had to finish college before they got married. After announcing my  engagement to Wayne, I remember my grandfather telling me that he was really excited but wished I would graduate from college first. I promised him that I would finish my degree in Elementary Education. I did graduate from Brigham Young University about 6 months before Amy was born.

My mother taught 3rd grade for many years and always encouraged my children to do their best in school. She taught Amy to read when she was three years old. By the time Amy started 1st grade she was reading at a 12th grade level. Now my mom is encouraging her great-grandchildren with their reading and math.


Mom always supplied me with word lists, reading books, workbooks, math games, drills, etc. and I tried to be consistent with helping my children every day and making sure there were job charts that included reading, writing and math chores along with household chores and practicing a musical instrument. In the summer and after school they weren't allowed to play with their friends or go fun places until all their work was done.


At report card time my mom would ask them if they tried their very best that term and would give them a monetary reward if they felt they had done their best. My mother always helped them with their school work and played games with the kids when we visited. Wayne always enjoyed helping the kids with their school projects and was happy to support them in attending school functions and programs whenever he was home.


My mom stressed how important it was for us, the students' parents, to be involved with their children's school work, school activities, volunteering to help in the classroom and attending all the parent-teacher conferences, etc. I made a conscious effort to become a room mother in each one of my children's classes and to be involved with the PTA. Wayne even went on some of our kid's field trips with the other mothers. It's important for the teacher to realize the children's parents are supporting them and are very interested in everything their children are doing.


Wayne never was a boy scout so he really got involved with the boys' scouting program. He helped Steve and Greg complete their requirements to advance quickly. Helping the boys make their cars for the pinewood derby was taken seriously every year.  Whenever he was in town, he always got involved with whatever the children were interested in and encouraged them to explore a wide variety of activities. He would always go and watch them participate in everything from karate to soccer.  He also took the time to teach them how to fix things around the house and build projects together. One of the children's favorite bonding experiences that they remember doing with their dad was reloading bullets.


Vacations were also planned around some of their school studies. For example, we all went to Dinosaurland in Vernal when Greg was studying dinosaurs in school. As a family we all supported each other by attending each family members events and activities. When one of the girls had a dance recital we would all be there to support her - including her brothers. When one of the boys advanced in scouting the whole family would attend - even his sisters. My parents always attended their grandchildren's important events and my dad would stand in for Wayne when a dad was needed and Wayne was touring.


There isn't one right way to encourage your children or grandchildren's education because every child is different and what motivates them. Every family is also different. I'd be really interested in hearing how each of you encourage your children's educations and if you are grandparents, what you do to encourage your grandchildren's educations. What did your parents and grandparents do to help motivate you to do your best?

Love a deal!

Have any of you found that you don't enjoy shopping like you used to? Purchasing clothes, which was my favorite thing to buy years ago, isn't fun anymore, unless I can get an amazing deal. It's the deal that makes it fun now! I'm sure it would be more enjoyable if I dropped a couple of dress sizes though.

Wayne has always loved to go grocery shopping! He'll buy a new fruit or vegetable that he hasn't ever tried before, a new kitchen gadget that he'll never use and he loves kitchen knives and pans. He usually can control himself now and not buy the knives and pans. It must be hereditary - Mother Osmond loved kitchen gadgets and would usually give us several for Christmas every year.

Wayne just loves to spend money! I'm glad he likes to grocery shop because he can spend money and it's for something that we need and will use. He loves to buy groceries for the married kids and their families. He has fond memories of his Grandpa and Grandma Davis bringing groceries with them when they would come to visit. He remembers how excited he was anticipating and watching as every item came out of the grocery bags.

This afternoon we were up in South Ogden getting our hair trimmed and I spotted a new Dollar Store. Wayne really doesn't care for shopping at the Dollar Store and will complain when I want to stop at every one. Today, he was really surprised at the name brands and quality of the $1.00 items. It was fun to tell him to buy whatever he wanted in the Dollar Store because I'm usually trying to restrain him from making purchases.

He was really excited to find his reading glasses for $1.00 each and bought 6, since he is always losing them. He purchased some Souper Meals, industrial rags and huge containers with spring water for our food storage, etc. all for $1.00 each. After we got home he wanted to go back again to buy more water to fill up his food storage shelves.

I bought cleaning supplies, microfiber dishrags, gardening gloves to pull the weeds, gift wrapping items and 2 night lights. The past couple of years, Wayne and I have been stumbling around in the dark in the middle of the night. I'm planning on keeping one in my suitcase at all times to take with us when we travel. I wake up in the middle of the night and don't have any idea where I am - even sometimes when we are home.

I've discovered that I'm just not into buying things as much anymore - even if I had unlimited funds.   Have you found the same thing? Does it come with aging? Any good deals that you would like to share with us?

Chuck E "CHEESE" for the camera!

Wayne needed some dental work done so we drove down to Provo early this morning to have Steve work on him. It looks like we will be making many more drives to Provo for dental work because Steve discovered another back molar that needs a root canal and he hasn't completed the work he started in June because it's taking Wayne so long to heal from an extracted molar.

While Wayne was under the drill, I was playing with four of my darling grandchildren. After Wayne was finished, we took whomever wanted to go with us to Chuck E Cheese's. I asked my grandchildren where they would like to go and that was Paul and Aili's immediate response. After we arrived, I had them pose so I could take their photo. Aili said, Chuck E "CHEESE" just as I snapped the photo. So funny!!!

Baskin Robbins was next on the list because Wayne is affectionately known as the "Ice Cream Grandpa." We had such a fun day with the grandkiddies!

"The Wii Fitters"

How are your exercise goals coming? I hope you are doing better than I did this week. I'm going to adjust my fitness goals to 45 minutes doing Wii Fit or other exercise when I'm out of town, for a minimum of  3 times a week. 

I think I'm also going to purchase a Wii Fit Plus to take to Branson since we'll be driving.  I really enjoyed and missed the Wii Fit the past few months and think I will use it more than going to Curves, at least for now, while I'm traveling with Wayne. 

Is there anyone that has used the Wii Fit and Curves together or different years and what did you conclude? I'm curious to hear your responses and which investment you think is the best. 

"An Apple A Day Bunch"

Yesterday was the first time that I have used Wii Fit since we went to Branson the end of April. It said that I have gained 6 pounds since then, so I'm really off the bandwagon. It's time to get serious again before I gain back all 18 pounds that I lost from January to the end of April.

Do you think it's harder to watch what you eat in the summer than the winter or harder in the winter than the summer? 

"Wonky's Book Worms"

Our reading for this coming week is I Chronicles Chapter 18 through Chapter 29 (the end of the book) and II Chronicles Chapters 1 & 2.

1st Chronicles stressed to us how important it is to know and keep a record of the genealogies of our families.

It was shocking when David was having the ark of the covenant moved and Uzza was killed immediately when he touched the ark to steady it. David wasn't following the directions of the Lord. The Lord had chosen the Levites to carry the ark and later David did follow the Lord's commandment and had the ark of the covenant moved by the Levites.  How important it is that we follow the Lord's commandments strictly.

Let us know if you are reading with us and we'd love to read your comments.

TODAY IS WAYNE'S 16th cancer FREE anniversary. He is a modern day miracle! Sarah messaged me tonight and said, "Tell Dad I love him and am grateful for the past 16 years." What a blessing Wayne has been in all of our lives! We have all been so blessed.

Paul Bunyon

Just in case you are wondering how Wayne is spending his time off this summer.

In 7th grade Wayne really wanted to take a shop class when they were living in California. School had already started for the fall when they registered and the only elective class he could add was gardening. At first he was really disappointed, but as the semester went on he developed a love for gardening. He never got to taste his corn because they left school early to tour with Andy Williams, but everyone told him later that his corn was the tallest and the best of the crop.

We have scrub oak covering the majority of our back yard. Wayne has wanted to cut it all down for years and plant a garden. The first and last time he planted a garden was when we were living in Provo. He planted a nice garden, then left to go on tour for most of the summer, so guess who took care of his garden? We agreed to wait and plant another garden when he will be home for most of the summer and won't miss out on the enjoyment of taking care of it. 

This week Wayne has been using his axe and saw to butcher the shrubs and trees in our backyard. He wants to clear out all the scrub oak. I finally talked him into pulling some weeds in the front and side of the house. At first he said it was my job to pull all the weeds outside. I'm sure he got that idea because I usually do pull all the weeds. He had to be reminded that this summer my eyes have been bright red from hay fever so my job needs to be inside the house with the air conditioner. Ha! Who wants to guess how long before he's back to his axe and saw and I'm pulling the weeds?

I love our beautiful back yard the way it is. What's your opinion?

Peter Cottontail

Greg and Kaylynn put their kiddies down for a nap and escaped to see a movie together this afternoon. After a couple of hours I heard Adelaide crying. She was really happy to see me and gave me the cutest smiles and hugs. We had a fun time playing together until we heard some stirring in the other bedroom and Oscar wanted to get out of his crib.

After scoping out the house, I saw the saddest eyes as Oscar started asking for his daddy. In order to avoid an unhappy little boy, I put on his sandals and we went outside for an adventure. Oscar enjoyed pushing his baby Addie in the stroller.

Then here came Peter Cottontail! I have never seen a bunny in our yard before and he was just in time to entertain Oscar and Adelaide. We live in a suburb outside of Salt Lake City, not on a ranch or farm so this was a real treat for us all. Peter even stayed so Michelle, Kaylynn and Greg could meet him.

Curves

My daughter Michelle has been working at Curves the past couple of months on Wednesdays, helping them with marketing. The dentist that she works for takes every Wednesday off so she was getting bored on Wednesdays and decided to get a second job.

Today I went down to Curves with Michelle to try out their circuit training workout. It wasn't too hard and I enjoyed talking to the other ladies that were working out. Do you have a membership or have you ever had a membership with Curves? I'm trying to decide if I want to join. 

Michelle is also my visiting teaching partner so we went and visited one of our ladies after the workout. Michelle is starting an MBA program at the U of U in a month and wanted to go check out the campus and pick up a book at their library that Amy wanted mailed to her.

Since she was driving into Salt Lake City I talked her into dropping me off at the Family History Library (photo above) on her way. After she finished all her errands she came back to the library to help me do some research. We didn't make any big discoveries today but eliminated some possibilities.

Please leave your comments about Curves so I can make an educated decision. Tonight I can feel muscles that I didn't know existed. I hope I can get out of bed tomorrow morning. Ugh! Should I sign up to get more curves?

Strawberries For Uncle Wonk

Some of you have asked how Wayne met Beth and I didn't know, so her mother, Josie, has written all the details for us. The photo to the left is the first time that they met.


"Here is the story...
Beth and my other two children had grown up aware of The Osmonds. They would look through my record collection mainly to laugh, I think at the size of the LPs! Also they were amazed to see how many things I still had from the 70s!

Beth would read through my Osmond World magazines and name all the family. At one point Beth came across Wayne and his page of jokes. Now if there is one thing Beth loved and still does - it's jokes. That's when it started for Beth. She was always reading my old articles on him.

25th March 2005 in York, Wayne joined Merrill. Beth was almost 8 years. Each day for a week Beth looked for jokes and wrote them all down into a notebook which she hoped to give Wayne. At a guess, she must have had over a hundred! The day came and Beth was soo excited. She wanted to wear her leather jacket which at the time she thought was like Merrill's and take her guitar like Wayne's! Beth looked so sweet.

We met Wayne very quickly coming off the coach but he was loaded up with guitars and luggage so just said a brief hello. We chatted awhile to friends - meanwhile Wayne came out. Beth went straight to him with the book (Beth is quite shy so i was amazed). Wayne read some of the jokes out and said he would read the rest and may use them in future shows! It was Beth's birthday a few days later and Merrill and Wayne sang "Happy Birthday" to her. So that's how it all started!! 


The next time would be Blackpool UK. IN TOTAL WE DID 32 SHOWS!! Beth had seen the other Brothers getting gifts but not many for Wayne. She heard him telling one girl that he tried not to eat sweets or chocolate.

"Mum can I get Wayne some strawberries next time I see him?" Beth asked. He gave her the biggest hug the next day and asked all about her - saying strawberries were his favorite. Even to this day whenever we do a show Beth says, "Dont forget Wayne's strawberries!"

Beth was at the front one particular show in Blackpool. "Having a Party" had just started.  Wayne put his arms out and Beth put hers up to him...next thing she was on the stage with Wayne, showing her the steps! What a memory and we managed to get a fantastic photo too.

Wayne told Beth a few years later to call him Uncle Wonk as he would prefer that to Wayne. He said only people close to him called him that. Beth has met Wayne on numorous occasions and we have lost count of the amount of strawberries!

Wayne has brought so much joy and happiness to Beth's life and he keeps telling her when she is 19 she will be living with you both for a while. He has told her this since the age of 10. Beth hasn't forgotten either! I was looking at Beth's facebook and if you go look at the bottom of her page there is a list of people she loves...."

This is the first time that I met Beth. She gave Wayne a gift of strawberries and I was so touched by Beth's sweetness.

"The Wii Fitters"

It looks like I'm taking the summer off from all the healthy habits. It should be me pushing the stroller instead of taking the photos. My exercise this week has been cleaning and keeping up with the grandkids. One of my very favorite things to do in the whole world is playing with the grandchildren and we had a great time this weekend! I hope they had as much fun as I did.

The grandkids found these in a cupboard and were watching their grandpa when I came downstairs. Do you remember these viewers? 

I probably got a lot of exercise playing pool, dress-up and Clue Jr. Don't you think? I didn't reach my weekly goal though. I hope your reports are better than mine this week. Can't wait to hear how you have been doing! I need some inspiration.

"An Apple a Day Bunch"

How are "An Apple a Day Bunch" doing? I hope you are doing better than I am. I've gained at least a pound enjoying all the family treats this weekend.

I'd rather talk about what a fun weekend we've had with the family than how I ignored my diet.  I still want you to tell me all about your progress because I need to get back on track tomorrow before I'm back to where I started in January.

For some reason I'm lacking motivation right now. Oh, no!

"Wonky's Book Worms"

Wayne and I will be caught up in our reading by tomorrow. We're on 2 Kings Chapter 23. I was impressed that King Josiah read the Book of the Covenant to all the people and "they made a covenant before the Lord, to walk after the Lord, and to keep his commandments and his testimonies and his statutes with all their heart and all their soul, to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people stood to the covenant."

"There was no king before him, that turned to the Lord with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his might, according to all the law of Moses; neither after him arose there any like him." What a beautiful tribute to King Josiah. King Josiah and his people not only read the law but they corrected and cleaned up all the evils practices that were in the land. The king got rid of the idolatrous priests, wizards, idols "and all the abominations did Josiah put away, that he might perform the words of the law which were written in the book that Hilkiah the priest found in the house of the Lord."

If all the Kings had read the Book of the Covenant themselves and to their people then maybe the people wouldn't have forgotten the Lord so quickly. The people didn't have their own scriptures. What a great blessing that I have and take for granted. I  am really blessed that I can read and study God's word every day in my life if I choose.

I Chronicles Chapter 4 thru Chapter 17 is the reading for this week.

Do you ever feel totally out of it?

The Osmond family is so big now that it is really hard to keep up with everyone, all the time - especially because I don't live in the Osmond mecca of Utah County anymore. Do any of you have the same problem with keeping up with your families?

Today when I printed off the updated Osmond family address list that Tina had emailed me I was so excited that it said that Don was engaged! That made sense why Tina was making sure she had every one's current address, but it didn't even dawn on me that she might be gathering the current addresses because someone was sending out announcements? Now I'm wondering how long he's been engaged and in what zone I have been in lately? I mentioned this to one of my children and they said, "Oh, I knew that!" Why don't they inform me?

It's hard enough to stay informed and current with my own 5 children, their spouses and 11 grandchildren. By the way I found out that number 12 grandchild is on the way in March. I'm not sure if they are ready to announce it to everyone yet because it's so early, but we're really excited! 

Several years ago, I set up a family site on Myfamily.com. Everyone was excited about keeping it updated, posting pictures, writing posts, making family polls and all getting on to message each other every Sunday night at a certain time, etc. It seemed to really help us stay in contact and keep up with each other - especially since most of my children were living out of state at the time.

I just recently renewed the site and still maintain it. I seem to be the main one that posts most of the time now. With my blog and Wayne's website, I really don't like to repeat myself every day on every site with the same information. It's been many years since I started the site. The newness and excitement has gone, but I still really like the site to announce birthdays and other family activities, keep updated contact information and a current calendar so everyone will know which state or country we are in that day if they want to look.

My frustration is that hardly anyone else posts anymore. Some of the family members haven't even looked on the site for months. I try to remind them when they ask where we'll be on a particular date that all they would have to do is look on the family site, hoping that they'll get the hint, but that doesn't seem to help. In all fairness there are a couple of them that look on the site regularly and will post occasionally, but not like in the beginning. I know they are all really busy with their own families so it's difficult to make the time.

I'd love to have your ideas of how you keep up with your families and extended families. It seems I  learn more from the media and others about the Osmond family than I usually hear from them personally - especially since we moved from Provo.

At church early one Sunday morning someone came up and asked me about the fire at Marie's home that had happened the evening before. I had heard about it briefly at the end of the 10:00 news and was relieved that no one was harmed, but I couldn't tell them any details. "It really hurt when they said sarcastically, "And I thought the Osmonds were supposed to be a really close family!" 

Whenever there is a real emergency or tragedy, someone will call and inform us before we hear it on the news. The family members will drop whatever they are doing to really support and help whoever is in need. They sincerely do really love and care about each other which is a testament to what a great family George and Olive Osmond have.

Do you have any ideas of ways that you keep informed and in contact with your families without being an annoying, nosy, obnoxious mother, mother-in-law or grandmother? I'd love to hear your concerns and  suggestions!

Did you hear Brandon and Shelby are parents?

You have probably already heard that Donny's son, Brandon and his sweetheart, Shelby, are new parents to a beautiful son, Daxton Michael Osmond. He's adorable! He was born June 28th but I didn't hear that Daxton was born until I returned to the US. I wonder why no one told me? How many grandchildren does that make for Donny and Debbie? I can't wait to see little Daxton!

Now that I'm thinking about it I might have heard that Daxton was born before I returned home. Boy, I hope that's not a senior moment again.

To see photos and read all the details you can go to their blog http://brandonandshelby.blogspot.com/

Carol's Wii Fit Success

I started WII FIT on January 2.....yesterday was my 6 month progress....32 pounds......I am sooooo proud. Today...... I did my 40 minute work out with the Osmonds......I popped in a DVD and did my aerobic step.....40 minutes later....220 calories, I have to tell you I wish I had thought of it sooner.....singing laughing a memories along the way......Wayne you and your brothers were with me all the way......now you will be an every day part of the program......WII-FIT was always great.....but WII-FIT OSMOND STYLE =even better....


Thanks Carol for your report! You're an inspiration to us all. Now, where can I find an Osmond DVD?

"The Wii Fitters"

As most of you know I haven't been keeping track of my exercise lately so I'm starting up again this week. We did a lot of walking the past couple of weeks while touring but probably not as much as I set my goal for in January. I'm going back to a minimum of 1/2 hour, five times a week. For me that seems attainable and I can always add more than the minimum. The hardest part for me is just to push myself to get started. Once I'm exercising it is easy to keep going.

Now is a good time for anyone interested in beginning, continuing or starting over with your exercise goals. You all give me the incentive I need to get going. Exercising regularly is one thing that is very easy for me to overlook. Ha! Thanks to you all! We all want to know who is working on their exercise goals, so please post.

"An Apple a Day Bunch"

I finally got enough courage to step on the scales this afternoon. Sure enough - I gained weight. I knew I would because in order to keep up my energy level for the hectic schedule the past 2 weeks I ate a lot. It sure was fantastic tasting all the British dishes and not worrying about calorie counting. The English chocolate is out of this world. Had a great time! Today I'm starting back on my healthy eating diet. It's going to take awhile to get back down to where I was before but I'm not back up where I started in January so that makes me feel like I've still accomplished something.

Now is the time for anyone that wants to begin dieting with our group, start up again dieting or continuing your dieting. It has been so inspirational to hear how many pounds many of you have lost since we began our journey in January. You give me the inspiration and determination to keep it up! Thanks for sharing your stories and photos with me in our travels. It's amazing!

"Wonky's Book Worms"

Wayne and I are going to read twice as much this week to catch up on our reading. This week we should be starting in II Kings Chapter 15 and finish the book and begin reading 1 Chronicles through Chapter 3. We'd love to read your comments from last week's reading. We could have done the reading individually, but Wayne wants us to read it together and it's too noisy on the bus and airplane to read out loud. Whenever we were at the hotels Wayne really needed to spend the time resting and catching up on his sleep so he'd have the energy to rock out on the next show. We're glad to have you all to help us keep our goal of reading all the way through the Old Testament together.

Great Way to Celebrate the 4th of July!

Coming back to the USA today was a great way to
celebrate the 4th of July! We left the hotel in Cardiff, Wales at 3:30 a.m. to drive to the Heathrow airport in London.  This photo was taken from the window seat in the airplane right before we landed at JFK airport.

The security seemed extra tight at both of the airports and I wondered if it was related to the holiday. We went through several security checks - it seemed like more than the standard precedure. After getting off the plane at JFK, picking up our luggage, going through customs and immigrations, we left the building and walked outside with our luggage to terminal 2.

After arriving at terminal 2, the security personel diverted us from going through security at terminal 2 and we were led outside with all our carry-on luggage, playing follow the leader to terminal 3, before being allowed to go through a security check. I heard the security guard say that they needed to take more time to check the computer of the cute Indian family that I was behind. I was stopped completely from allowing my carry-on items to go through the scanner until the security had finished completely checking all the family's luggage that was waiting in the line before Wayne and I. That was a first!

After getting through security we sat around the airport for a couple of hours. We were all loaded on the airplane for SLC on time but then had to wait for at least a hot, half hour while we were waiting for the Delta flight attendants to board, before finally taking off. After taking off to Salt Lake City and about 45 minutes in the air, we were watching TV, and a special news report came on CNN.

There had been a bomb threat and a suspicious package found in terminal one at the JFK airport. They closed down terminal one and everyone had to evacuate the building. After many hours it was concluded that the package wasn't dangerous but we were really thankful to be already heading home and not still waiting around for the plane to take off.

It was a beautiful flight. As we approached the mountains in Utah they were so green because we haven't had much of a spring and just went from winter into summer with more water than usual this year. Wayne and I couldn't figure out where we were as we flew over the Utah mountains because everything looked so different - everything looked so green. Don't you love the Utah mountains?

Joe and Michelle picked us up at the airport and we're a little tired so I'll have to write more tomorrow when I'm more alert. I'm afraid I might offend someone. Ha! Hope everyone had a great and safe weekend!

A Fun Day in Birmingham

Dinner at the venue after sound check