2020 from Facebook

Dear Diary 2020 Edition,

In January, Australia caught on fire. I don’t even know if that fire was put out, because we straight up almost went to war with Iran . We might actually still be almost at war with them . I don’t know, because Jen Aniston and Brad Pitt spoke to one another at an awards show and everyone flipped the crap out , but then there was this thing happening in China, then Prince Harry and Megan peaced out of the Royal family, and there was the whole impeachment trial , and then corona virus showed up in the US “officially,” but then Kobe died and UK peaced out of the European Union.

In February, Iowa crapped itself with the caucus results and the president was acquitted and the Speaker of the House took ten. Whole. years. to rip up a speech , but then The WHO decided to give this virus a name COVID-19, which confused some really important people in charge of, like, our lives, into thinking there were 18 other versions before it, but then Harvey Weinstein was found guilty, and Americans started asking if Corona beer was safe to drink, and everyone on Facebook became a doctor who just knew the flu like killed way more people than COVID 1 through 18.

In March, stuff hit the fan. Warren dropped out of the presidential race and Sanders was like Bernie or bust , but then Italy shut its whole country down , and then COVID Not 1 through 18 officially become what everyone already realized, a pandemic and then a nationwide state of emergency was declared in US , but it didn’t really change anything, so everyone was confused or thought it was still just a flu , but then COVID Not 18 was like ya’ll not taking me seriously? I’m gonna infect the one celebrity everyone loves and totally infected Tom Hanks, get y’all to close all of the schools so y’all can appreciate teachers for once (because you can’t teach them anything other than how to use a touch screen ) close down all of salons so you can’t get your hair or your nails done , we couldn’t find toilet paper anywhere! And everyone had to work from home and attend Zoom meetings in their underwear. The DOW took a crap on itself, and most of us still don’t understand why the stock market is so important or even a thing , We were then all introduced to Tiger King and the ONE thing we can all agree on this year , Carol totally killed her husband ..... whacked him! And then Netflix was like you’re welcome, and we all realized there was no way we were washing our hands enough in the first place because all of our hands are now dry and gross and were all searching for lotion now.

And in Utah we can’t forget the earthquakes and all the aftershocks.

In April, Bernie finally busted himself out of the presidential race , but then NYC became the set of The Walking Dead and we learned that no one has face masks , ventilators, or toilet paper, or THE FREAKING SWIFFER WET JET LIQUID , and by now our outgrowth is showing, so there’s a shortage on box hair dye and all of our hair dressers are like , NO DONT DO IT!!! But, then Kim Jong-Un died, but then he came back to life … or did he? Who knows, because then the Pentagon released videos of UFOs and nobody cared, and we were like man, it’s only April….

In May, the biblical end times kicked off , historical locust swarms, we learned of murder hornets and realized that 2020 was the start of the Hunger Games however people forgot to let us know. people legit started to protest lockdown measures with AR-15s, sports events were cancelled everywhere. But then people all over America finally reached a breaking point with race issues and violence. There were protests in every city ,which was confusing to some of us because people were definitely gathering in crowds of more than 10 and for sure closer than 6 foot away from each other . Those people must have forgotten about the pandemic called COVID Not One Through 18. Media struggled with how to focus on two important things at once, people in general struggle to focus on more than one important thing. A dead whale was found in the middle of the Amazon rain forest after monkeys stole COVID 1 Through 19 from a lab and ran off with them, and either in May or April (no one is keeping track of time now) that a giant asteroid narrowly missed the Earth.

In June, science and common sense just got thrown straight out the window and somehow wearing masks became a political thing, but then everyone sort of remembered there was a pandemic. then scientists announced they found a mysterious undiscovered mass at the center of the earth, and everyone was like DON’T YOU DARE TOUCH IT, but then everyone took a pause to realize that people actually believed Gone With The Wind was like non-fiction, but then it was also announced that there is a strange radio signal coming from somewhere in the universe that repeats itself every so many days , and everyone was like DON’T YOU DARE ATTEMPT TO COMMUNICATE WITH IT but then America reopened from the shut down that actually wasn’t even a shut down, and so far, things have gone spectacularly .... not that great . All of the Karen’s came out at once, and people started tearing down statues. Everyone is on Facebook arguing that masks kill because no one knows how breathing works , but then Florida was like hold my beer and let me show you how we’re number one in all things, including new Not Corona Beer Coronavirus. Trump decides now is a good time to ask the Supreme Court to shut down Obama Care because what better time to do so than in the middle of a pandemic , but then we learned there was a massive dust cloud coming straight at us from the Sahara Desert , which is totally normal, but this is 2020, so the ghost mummy thing is most likely in that dust cloud. We then learned of meth-gators , and I'm like that is so not on my flipping 2020 Bingo card can we use it as the free space?? Then we learned that the Congo's worst ever Ebola outbreak is over , and we were all like, there was an Ebola outbreak that was the worse ever? ....... and don’t forget we just discovered FLYING SNAKES! , seriously! FLYING SNAKES!!!!

So here comes July…. at this point we are over it , just tell us what’s next .... Aliens? Zeus? Asteroids? Artificial Intelligence becomes self aware? Can it just be something cool or fun for once? Maybe even a good laugh , like hahaha April Fools! We all actually wouldn’t mind that joke at this point.

I have no idea who wrote this.

Also, why didn't I know about the whale in the Amazon? Or a few other things because I just can’t keep up anymore!

WE LOVE OUR FAMILY!!!

Trevor and Kylee keep us entertained with their couples yoga.

Someday one of the other couples will join them.

Mia wanted to get involved!!

Sydnee & Parker's BreakUp

We had Parker and Sydnee over for the weekend and we got to meet his family for the first time. They came over on the 4th of July and swam and BBQ'd with us. We felt like it was a great visit and it was fun to meet them. It made everything more real with the 2 of them getting married in 6 weeks or so. We ended up meeting them at Dixie Middle School to watch the Big City Fireworks and it was a lot of fun, since they are from California they don't get to see these kind of Fireworks. We felt like it was a great day.

Sunday morning we took Parker and Sydnee to look at wedding venue's. So we went to Snow Canyon Park and checked out the 2 areas that interested them. The only thing is that one only allowed 40 and the other only allowed 25. So we didn't really like that, and also everyone would have to pay $10 per car to come to the wedding and it's St. George so it's blazing HOT and not much shade. But this was what both of them wanted. So Bryan suggested that we drive around and take a look at other options. We went to Tuacahn, Mathis Park, Tonaquint Nature Park, church - but none of those were what they wanted. As we were checking all of these places out, Parker was sending pictures to his mom and he kept saying, "My MOM doesn't think that will be a good place, MY MOM said ...." I was starting to get annoyed, but let it go and wanted to make Sydnee happy. So we got home and later on went to check out Cambria's backyard and this was where Sydnee wanted to do it, but Parker kept saying, "I just don't see your vision" to Cambria and Sydnee. We then took a drive over to Tiffany's backyard and that was Gorgeous!!! But not a lot of space to have a lot of people.  But Parker LOVED it and wanted it there. So we could never agree on the same thing. We decided to go home and let them think about it. Then we got to thinking about the dates. What if we do the whole day on Friday instead of Saturday then we can spend Saturday with Trevor and Kylee before they leave for 3 years to Conneticut? Well Parker had a problem with that too. He said his family has to work, but we said, "You were suppose to get married on Friday and reception on Saturday, what's wrong with that?" He then said, "I told my family not to worry about coming until Saturday since the temple is closed" OH MY GOODNESS THIS GUY IS DRIVING ME CRAZY!!!!! So we asked him to please talk to his family to see if they can move the date to Friday. So I told him that I would call them Monday evening and see what he finds out.

Monday night comes and I call (7:00pm) and Sydnee says he doesn't know yet. About a few hours later  (10:00pm) Sydnee calls and says, "Mom Parker said that he wants to push the wedding back a few months because he isn't ready yet to get married" We agreed and said that's fine. Then she called back a few minutes later (10:50pm)crying and said before he left he said, "Sydnee I don't think that I can be 100% committed to you right now". Did you give him the ring back? No he said he still wants to marry me, but not right now.  "WHAT!!!!! ARE YOU SERIOUS! Wasn't he the one that proposed and put a ring on your finger?"  I asked if Macie was at the apartment and she said she called her but her grandma just died and was at home with her family. (If she called Macie, then I know she didn't want to be alone) So I called Trevor and Kylee and told them what happened. Trevor was mad and both he and Kylee got out of bed and said we need to go be with her. Kylee was planning on sleeping over with her but Sydnee texted them and told them not to worry about coming over after all. They went over anyways with Sushi and hugs!!! They spent time with her and gave her hugs and laughs. Poor Sydnee is broken hearted. 

Tuesday morning we call Sydnee to check in and she is bawling. I asked her if she wanted us to come and pick her up to come home for a few days. She said NO I have to work today. Then we told her to just keep us posted and we will do whatever we need to do. She said she has been trying to call Parker all morning to talk to him and keeps getting NO ANSWER or REPLY.  So Cecilee calls Sydnee and tells her, "You need to find him and take him the ring back" so Sydnee looks on FIND MY FRIEND and see's he's at the BYU Library. She heads over is so brave and walks into the Library and walks over to him and hands him the ring. All he says is, "Okay". she turns around and walks away. He doesn't try to stop her or say anything. She was bawling when she got to her car. She called us and said, "I did it" she was a mess. This was about 11:30am and she worked at 2:30pm so she went home to try and sleep but of course all she did was cry. She said ," Mom I will call you later and let you know if I want you and dad to come pick me up" So 3:00pm comes and she said she was leaving work, they sent her home because she was a mess. She asked for Bryan and I to come and get her. Bryan got home at 3:45pm and we were in the car by 4:00pm and there by 7:30pm. Picked her up and met Trevor at her apartment and took the 2 of them to get dinner and run by and say HI to my little sister Tia. I caught her at her LIVE time at 8:30pm so I got to say Hi to her followers. We arrived home at 12:15am and got her into her own bed and it felt so good to have my baby in her own bed under our roof. 

Wednesday morning came and of course the girls came over with Donuts and Chocolate milk to see Sydnee and spend time with her and give her hugs and love. They all bombarded her in her bed. (I just love my girls and how they love each other so much and always there for each other, my mama heart was exploding). We then went swimming in the backyard and just relaxed and played with the babies. Later on we went to Cecilee's to visit and as we were sitting there, Sydnee kept saying that it was her fault because of her communication skills. That's what Parker told her. Sydnee then received a text from a girl named Isabel. And she forwarded her a text from Parker that she had just received, "It said, Hey this is Parker, I'm sorry about my last text to you the last time and how inappropriate I was. I want to know if we can get together tonight and talk because the relationship that I was in, is OVER". Sydnee just started crying, we all hovered around her and read the text and hugged her. Then we told her, Sydnee it needs to be OVER. As we watched her, we saw this weight lifted from her and she stood and said, "I need to talk to him NOW" She called and he said I will come by later but I can't stay long. She then told him, "I'm in St. George" He said ," I will call you in a few minutes." A few hours later still nothing. I think he knew something was UP. She finally got a hold of him and I was so proud of her. She went into Mia's room and Cecilee turned on the camera and speaker so we could watch it unfold. MY BABY GIRL WAS AMAZING!!!! So STRONG and So COURAGEOUS. She let him have it and in such a calm and strong way. How in the world could he say, "She didn't know how to communicate?" She was doing a dang good job communicating her feelings RIGHT NOW!!! I was so proud of her. 

After she was done, she looked like she felt ACCOMPLISHED!!! I know it's going to take a little while before she can feel like she is ready to move on. I just told her, "Sydnee you now have gained more KNOWLEDGE through this experience" Just like the scripture says, "All these things shall give thee experience and shall be for thy good"

HAPPY 4th of JULY!!!

Our Family Tradition for the 4th of July is attending the city Parade. 

Even with COVID and the supposed restrictions we still went and so did everyone else.

We saw very few masks.

It was so nice to be together as a family celebrating our freedom.

We went to breakfast at Black Bear after the parade and then went home to swim and 

wait to meet Parker's family.

TENDER MERCY (Durangos Salad)

Today my sister Irene and I were planning on going to mom's house to clean out and prepare for a yard sale of her earthly treasures. I got there and had been there for a while when Irene called and said that she was going to pick up some salads from Durangos. I said perfect I will wait till you are closer to send my order. About an hour goes by and she arrived and said she was going to have Hannemann pick up the food. She ordered me a pork salad.  I said OK never had that before but sounds great. She ordered 2 pork salads and 1 fajita salad. Hannemann brought me my salad and I went to eat it and it was a marinated chicken salad exactly how I always order it. I went out and asked Irene if she was sure she ordered a pork salad and she said yes I ordered 2. Then she asked Hannemann if his was a pork salad and it was. I just looked up at the sky and said, "Thanks mom for correcting my order"

Celebration of Mom's Life

Saturday is here and it's time to have Mom's Celebration of Life.

I am so heartbroken and can't believe we are doing this and that she is really gone. 

She looked beautiful and I know she was so ready to move onto the next stage of her life with our dad doing work on the other side as a missionary companionship. 

She knew that she could do so much more for her family on the other side of the veil.

 This was before the Celebration meeting started and we were there seeing mom just with our family.

 

ALL Of Mom and Dad's Posterity

7 original Ah Quin's: Tonya, Clayton, Max, Joe, Irene, Adam & Tia

Spouses: Bryan, Julee, Sunshine, Janette, Rebecca, Andy

41 Grandkids and 5 Great Grandkids

60 TOTAL

ALL BECAUSE 2 PEOPLE FELL IN LOVE

All 7 of us as Clay gives the dedication of the grave.

7 STRONG

My Eternal Family

It was such a beautiful day!!!

Real life calamity hits home for Kalamity and Kaos dance team founder diagnosed with cancer

ST. GEORGE — Walk into The Vault dance studio in St. George on any given day and you will likely hear the teachers leading their students in cheers of affirmations.

“Say, ‘I’ve got this!'” “Say, ‘I can do hard things!'” “Say, ‘I’m awesome,'” the cheers go.

And the students respond.

The affirmations are part of a culture of positivity that studio owner Tia Stokes has instilled in her teachers and students, as they all strive to use dance for a bigger purpose.

In addition to the dance studio, Stokes is the founder of hip hop dance groups Kalamity and Kaos, which for 13 years have been helping families going through real life calamities by putting on benefit concerts and donating all of the proceeds.

The Stokes family poses for a photo on their porch, Orem, Utah, date not specified | Photo courtesy of the Together for Tia GoFundMe page, St. George News

Now dancers, along with family members and friends, are rallying around a new cause … Stokes herself.

Stokes was recently diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia.

“We never thought it would come full circle, when a ‘kalamity’ would hit home with our beloved Tia,” part of a message on the #togetherfortia GoFundMe page, said.

Since founding Kalamity and Kaos, Stokes and her dancers, who live by the slogan “dance for a cause, not for applause,” have helped over 50 families and raised nearly $600,000.

Kalamity dancer Jori Christensen, a family nurse practitioner, said Stokes had been complaining of upper respiratory infections that had been dragging on for months.

“They seemed to come right after the other.” Christensen said. “I think everyone, including herself, just shrugged it off as her working too hard and her immune system being down because of it.”

Stokes was being treated for pneumonia and would seemingly get better only to have it come back worse, so she was advised to go to a clinic, Christensen said.

“I don’t think anybody was expecting that this would be her diagnosis, especially for how energetic and physically active she can be while being sick. It is quite a shock,” Christensen said.

In fact, just days prior to her diagnosis, Stokes was busy planning a virtual concert for the two causes that Kalamity and Kaos are supporting this year.

Christensen reflected on some advice that she said Stokes always gave during their rehearsals which seems to confirm how Stokes lives her life:

At our dance practice, she always said that ‘nothing is guaranteed, you never know when your life can change. You never know if it’s the last time you are going to hug someone, have a picture with them or dance together. So make it count. Dance like it’s your last time because you don’t know…’

Living Legacy

As family and friends prepare to support Stokes through her cancer journey, they shared some of the lasting impacts that Stokes has had on their lives, and the lives of others, so far.

A collage of Kalamity and Kaos performances created by Jori Christensen, St. George, Utah, dates not specified | Photos courtesy of Jori Christensen, St. George News

“Tia has been serving families facing their own personal life ‘Kalamitys’ since 2007. She has raised over half a million for people in need, most of them she hadn’t ever met before,” Kalamity dancer Holly Axtell, said.

Axtell added she feels blessed to have served alongside Stokes for five of those years.

“Tia goes above and beyond for anyone in any situation: Family, friend or stranger,” Axtell said.

Kalamity dancer and Vault dance teacher Chelsea Judd agreed.

Judd was on the receiving end of Stokes’s generosity in a unique way, when Stokes donated her eggs so that Judd was able to carry children and become a mother.

Judd’s two girls and Stokes’s four boys and one girl have a unique bond, as do the two mothers.

“I love her like a sister because of our strong bond,” Judd said. “I know after Tia beats this cancer, she will continue blessing lives, complimenting strangers, dancing and loving our girls.”

Stokes is starting treatments Sunday, and because of visitor restrictions surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic she will be going through tests and treatment alone at LDS Hospital in Salt Lake City for at least 30 days, Axtell said.

“Imagine going through all of these scary things physically alone. Tia would have been by anyone’s side in a heartbeat if roles were reversed and it breaks my heart that we cannot physically be there with her,” Axtell added.

Stokes’s sister, Irene Ah Quin said that the family has been checking in on her often through the Zoom app and keeping her spirits up. Ah Quin, who runs the Main Ohana Movement dance studio in Hurricane, also called on the Southern Utah community to rally behind her sister who has had such a positive impact here.

“Tia has always been a great server to the community of Southern Utah in helping those struggling with their very own personal life calamities,” Ah Quin said. “Now is that time to come together and unite one big Southern Utah family and be ‘Together for Tia’ and do for her what she’s taught all of us for the last 13 years.”

Members of the Kalamity dance team including founder Tia Stokes (center) pose for a promotional photo, St. George, Utah, date not specified | Photo courtesy of Tia Stokes’s Facebook page, St. George News

And Christensen is positive the community will respond.

“I know that the generosity and love she has given will come full circle back to her 100-fold,” she said.

Despite the diagnosis and the isolation, Stokes posted on social media that she plans to fight the cancer and that she doesn’t feel alone.

In a post to her Instagram, she said though she is physically alone in the room, she feels the love and prayers being sent her way.

“We got this,” Stokes said in the post.

Stokes is able to receive letters and packages as long as they don’t contain homemade food or living things (plants, flowers, etc…)

Letters can be sent to the following address:

LDS Hospital
C/O Tia Stokes
8th Avenue, C Street
Room #E-803
Salt Lake City, Utah
84143

“If Tia has made you smile, inspired you, or impacted your life in any way, I encourage you to reach out and send your love,” Axtell said.

Devastating News about Tia

It was a Thursday evening and we had been praying for Tia because she had been so sick for months and had some tests done. She first was tested for COVID and it came back negative. Then they did some blood work on her and we were waiting for the results.

We received a text from Tia and it said, "I just received the results and they said that I have AML-Acute Myeloid Leukemia and I am being admitted into the hospital immediately. Please pray for me"
We were swimming as a family and I happened to look at my phone and I freaked out and read the text to the family.  Cambria, Cecilee and I immediately ran into the house and started crying and hugging each other. We gathered our family and had a prayer for Tia and the Dr;s and started our fast right then!!!

Tia shared with us how it all happened. She said that the Dr. came to their home. The Dr. is a guy who coaches with Andy for Timpview Football, Dr. Josh Arnold. He came over with tears in his eyes, and Tia told him, "Do NOT sugar coat it, I already know it's bad, so give it to me". He said, "Tia it's bad, you have AML and that's the worst Leukemia. We need you to be admitted to the hospital within the hour at LDS Hospital". Tia said that earlier before they got home they were at the store and she was waiting for Andy in the car, she heard my dad's voice say, "Tia, WE GOT THIS" that was when she knew she had bad news coming.

Dr. Arnold continued with the bad news and looked at Andy and said, "You are not going to like what I am going to say, you CANNOT go into the hospital with her. You need to drop her off at the door and she has to be there by herself for the next 30 days because of the COVID 19 Restrictions". Andy was NOT HAPPY and started crying and was pissed off. He took her to the hospital and called his friend Chaz to come and meet him in the parking lot to help him give Tia a blessing before she went into the hospital. She wanted one picture with her family before she left and this was the one. Her kids did not know what had just happened they just thought mom had COVID and was going to the hospital to get medicine. But Andy and Tia were crushed and not wanting to let each other go.

She got to the hospital and Andy was able to walk her into the hospital after the nurse took his temperature. He hugged and kissed her goodbye for 30 days.

Tia is now going to fight this battle alone in a hospital room for 30 days, but she will have an army outside all around the world fighting with her. The news spread quickly that the owner and founder of the Vault dance studio who danced for a cause for over 50 families in the last 12 years and raised $650,000 for them is now fighting for her life and her cause has come FULL CIRCLE.

Sydnee got engaged!!!!

Sydnee was suppose to be proposed to at Laguna Beach on our family vacation.

Due to the COVID 19 drama we ended up at Snow Canyon State Park in the sand dunes.

We planned on having family pictures and then when Sydnee and Parker were to have their picture taken he was going to get on one knee and pop the question.

  We ended up having all of the grandkids give Sydnee a rose and then Parker came with the rest of the flowers and got down on one knee. 

We were all in the distance and watched the proposal. 

Happy Birthday Syd!!! 21 years old

 Our beautiful Sydnee turned 21!!!!

ARE YOU SERIOUS the baby of our family is 21???

She is so beautiful and has totally impressed us in this adulthood phase of her life!!

She is beautiful on the inside as well as the outside.

She is the best little aunty!!!

She is a hard worker and responsible adult!!!

We love her and are so happy she is part of our family!!!!

She's been dating a boy named Parker Zerilli.