McGary Year in Review 2016

McGary Year in Review 2015

McGary Christmas Newsletter 2013

McGary Year In Review Video - 2013

Semi-Annual Update

It seems that I only get on here once or twice a year lately.  Most of you know this, but I do more regular posts on my facebook page.  So, if you want to see what we've been doing, that's a good place to start.  That being said, I did want to update our blog, as it allows us to do a few more things.

Since our last post, which was the year end review video, quite a few things have happened.  First of all, Brianna turned 4, Rebecca turned one, and I turned...older (ok, 36 - who's counting?).  Dan, Jacob and Crystal's birthdays are all coming in the second half of the year.  It was especially fun to celebrate Rebecca's first birthday, she "dove" right into her cake.  We have the frosted pictures to prove it!

I also finished my first year teaching at Lava Ridge Intermediate School.  It was a good experience, and I learned a lot.  They have a great staff and I enjoyed working with them and the students.  I learned a lot and have many ideas that I want to try and implement next year.

Near the end of the school year, Dan had quite the "exciting" experience!  He fell from a playground zip line (about 6-8 feet above the ground) and broke his upper left arm, right below the shoulder.  Because of the nature of the break, and where it was located, they couldn't cast it.  So, he had surgery and had 4 pins inserted into the bone!  Neither Crystal nor I have had either a broken bone or surgery, so it was a new experience for all of us.  Now, over two months later the bone is mended, the pins are out, and all that remains visually are four mending battle scars!

I have also started yet another season playing in the pit orchestra at Tuacahn Ampitheater.  This season I'm playing for Mary Poppins and Thoroughly Modern Mille.  The music is challenging and fun.

Finally, the three older kids just completed a round of swimming lessons.  It was Brianna's first time taking lessons, and she loved it!  They all passed and are moving on to the next level.  They'll take those lessons later this month.

Well, that sort of brings us up to date.  We'll see if I can do a little better keeping things updated.  If I do what I normally do, however, be sure to check my facebook page for more regular updates.

Year in Review Video - 2012

Still Here...

Hello Cyberworld.  We're still here!  It's been a busy summer and transition to a new school.  To get you caught up, here's the Reader's Digest version.  I left Enterprise High School after seven years there and took a job at Lava Ridge Intermediate School, teaching 6th and 7th grade band.  It's been an adjustment, but I'm slowly getting more used to it.  Check out my band page, here.  The summer was mostly spent getting our house ready to put on the market, which we did at the beginning of July.  We had one offer right out of the gate, but nothing since.  With the market slowly recovering, we expect a long time trying to sell.  We'll see what happens.  In the meantime, we're still living in Enterprise, while I commute to St. George to work.  It's okay right now, but we'll see how we feel during the winter months!  Dan's now in 3rd grade, Jake's in Kindergarten, Brianna's going to Montessouri preschool, and Rebecca's starting to roll around a bit!  In the midst of all of this, our washer had a part break, so we're finding friends and family to do our laundry at while we try to get it fixed.  If I get a chance, I'll try and post a bit more of some specific things that have happened.  Until then - happy surfing!

Rebecca's Here!

Here's a collage of pictures that Crystal put together from the big day!

McGary Year In Review Video - 2011

Back in School

Well...just like that, we are done with summer and back in school. So much has happened since our last post. Here's a quick summary:

• Richards Family Reunion in Prosser, Washington (including a jaunt up to Seattle to visit Ben and Shara) - July (see pics on Nate's Facebook page)
• McGary Reunion at Bear Lake, Utah (see pics on Nate's Facebook page) - July/August
• Started playing "Crazy For You" show at Tuacahn - August
• Jazz Band played at Enterprise Cornfest - August
• Re-shingled roof!!!!! - August
• Dan turned 7 yrs old! - August 25th
• Jacob turned 4 yrs old! - September 8th
• Pep Band played at Homecoming FB Game - September

If I get the time, maybe I'll go back and share more details about some of those events. As of now, Dan is 7 yrs old, and in 1st Grade. His teacher is Mrs. Clove, and he has to be in school "all day," five days a week! Jacob is 4 yrs old, and going to Mrs. Bollinger's "Montessouri" Pre-school. Brianna is 19 months old and cute as ever! Crystal is helping me with the 6th grade percussionists two days a week and keeping the home in good shape. Me (Nate), I'm in my 9th year teaching music (6th year in Enterprise) and playing at Tuacahn three nights a week. We're both still in the cub scouts and Crystal and Dan are going to a Scouting Centennial Celebration in St. George this Saturday. Hopefully they'll report on that.

Life is good and busy. More later!

Summertime...!

Ahh, summertime! I've been done with school since May 27th and it's been nice to feel like I can sleep in a little. However, it seems like I've been pretty busy at the beginning of the summer, so I hope it slows down a little!

Part of the reason it has seemed busy is because it has been! I've started another season playing in the pit orchestra at Tuacahn. I'm playing for "Cats" this year. The other show they're doing is Disney's "Tarzan." It means late nights and lots of driving, but I enjoy doing it.

We also had our district's Cub Scout Day Camp last Saturday (June 5th). This is the first one Crystal and I had been involved in as leaders. It was interesting and fun to be a part of.

We've also been trying to get a handle on our yard. Crystal's done a ton with our gardens and other shrubery! I've tried to get our pile of gravel spread out, behind the house. My biggest hinderance (besides sheer laziness) has been my allergies. I didn't have any problem with allergies until we moved to Enterprise! It must be something blowing in from the surrounding farms, or something, but it makes me go crazy! I have to come inside after only a few minutes, because my eyes are itching and watering so bad I can hardly see! Well, okay, it might not be quite that bad, but it feels like it.

So, now we're plodding along into the hot months of the year and doing pretty well. I'll share more when something newsworthy happens.

March Madness

Yes it's that time of year. The time when all sense goes out the window. When anything can and will happen. Where there's huge upsets, and monumental statements. When some lose their nerves, and others have icewater running through their veins. Yep it's March, and that means...Music Festival season at high school.

Had you going there, didn't I? Actually, I have to make a quick shoutout to BYU - 1st NCAA Tournament win since 1993! Yeah, Cougs! Ok, now back to this post. The spring season at the high school is always a busy one for me. We just had our region solo & ensemble festival at Beaver last Thursday and the students did a good job. We had 5 performances qualify for state (I rating) and just as many near misses (I- rating). Next up will be region large group, which is for the advanced band and choir, at Millard HS (in Fillmore) on April 14th. Then state solo & ensemble the last Saturday in April, a few more possible state events the beginning of May, and finally our end of the year concerts! Somehow in between all that I'm also fitting in a gig or two with the jazz group I play with, plus a few concerts with the Southwest Symphony. Busy, busy, busy! The good news is that when it's all over, I get a 2 month break from work!

Crystal is great to be patient with me during this time. Maybe I'll even get her to post about it here...maybe. All is well in Enterprise and we're definitely looking forward to spring and summer!

It's Been a While!

Apparently I'm as good at this blogging thing as I am at keeping a journal...not very! I thought maybe I'd provide a quick summary, and then perhaps give a few more details later.


Since our last post we've gone all the way through fall and into winter. Daniel has started Kindergarten and is loving it. He still doesn't sit still, but he's learning something. The teacher is having a difficult time finding books that are challenging enough for him, and he's starting to really enjoy the math thing! Mom and Dad are probably struggling the most, making sure he gets his homework done (ok, it's mostly Mom, but I help sometimes!).




Jacob has turned into our emotional drama king! He's happy and carefree one minute, and unconsolable the next. He's smart, too, though. He's starting to recognize certain words, numbers, etc. In fact, he always asks to do his "homework" whenever Dan is doing his.

Brianna is growing by leaps and bounds - sometimes literally! She's gone from scooting, to crawling, to - yes, she's even walking a little! It's almost a nightly ritual now to let her walk back and forth from mommy to daddy.
As for us older folks, we're just trying to make it through the Holiday season without hitting Rudolph or his pals along the highway! We had our first major snowstorm of the season, so of course today was the day I decided to put the christmas lights up outside. Note to everyone else - try not to get on your roof when there is still snow on it!
So,that's a really quick recap. Hopefully we'll post some more as the holidays progress and the new year comes.

How our garden does grow...!

This year we decided to start a vegetable garden. We didn't really know what we were doing so we asked for a little help, and just plunged in. So here are a few pics of our progress and enjoyment.

Dan helped us plant the garden, along with "Papa Kery."

The boys got some "early pickins."




And here's where we stand halfway through the summer - lots of leaves, and lots of radishes!

Salt Lake City Half Marathon!

Ok, it took me a while to get this up, but here is the post about the marathon. My siblings and I(pictured above) decided to all run in the Salt Lake City Half Marathon on April 18, 2009. I trained (as much as an old fat guy can!) for a few months in the snow and wind of Enterprise. On the morning of the marathon we all drove from Provo to Salt Lake at about 5:30 am! After squishing on a Trax train from the Gateway to the Starting Line we all rushed for the...potty! I really think that at least half of the runners were in line for a port-a-potty just before the race started! So when the gun went off I was...well...I'll let you figure it out! We finally got running (without stretching, which would later prove fatal for Jae!) and were having a blast. It is a lot more fun to run with other people than by yourself in the cold! We made pretty good time for the first few miles - at 4 miles we were at about 40 minutes. Then we started to walk a little more. About 7 or 8 miles in, Janae really started to have severe pain in her legs and it was hard for her to walk, let alone run. We had all decided that we were going to finish together, so we walked most of the last 4-5 miles. It was worth it as we all crossed the finish line together! I neve thought I would run 13.1 miles, so I was pleased. We clocked in at about 3 hours 16 minutes and 49 seconds, despite all of the walking. Not bad, huh? If you want to see some of the photos Crystal and I took, click on the picture above.

Dan The Photographer

Hey Everybody! It's been a while since we posted anything. Several people were asking about the pictures that Dan took at Janae and Zach's wedding, so I've posted them in our web album.

Pictures of Brianna

I've just uploaded a few pictures of Brianna for your viewing pleasure. This link should take you to our picasa web album, and from there you can watch a slideshow of these pictures. Please let me know if this doesn't work.

She's Here!

Brianna Nieline McGary!

Brianna was born on February 2, 2009 at 4:06 pm. She weighed 7 lbs. 15 oz. and was 20 1/2" long. And...yes, she has red hair! We are very excited to have her in our family. We'll have more info and pictures coming soon!

Accident Video

This is a favorite video of ours that I made a few years ago.

-Nate

Our "Baby" before the Baby!

Check out our new "baby!" Since our family is growing, we needed more room to transport them so we bought a minivan! As my family has put it, I'm now a "Van-Man." That's okay by me. We searched around and even checked various vehicles out on Consumer Reports. After much searching we found an '05 Honda Odyssey and fell in love! We were able to make it fit our budget and took the plunge. We are having fun learning how it works and what all of the buttons do. Now we can take our real baby home, when she comes, without strapping her to the hood of our car!

-Nate