The Groke Family

Meet Steve & Angela Groke!

We moved down from North Salt where Steve attended med school.  He is now at UMC in his Emergency Medicine residency.  Before Salt Lake we did four years in Las Vegas with the air force, and before that we were in Portland, OR for Steve's undergrad while I worked in catering. 

I am originally from Carlsbad, CA.  Steve grew up in the air force, but mostly claims Spokanne, WA as his point of origin. 

I was an art major. I graduated from Dixie College and then did a year at BYU before my mission to Puerto Rico.

I enjoy all things artsy/ craftsy as well as volleyball, singing, reading, and getting breaks from the kids :D.

We have three kidos.  Alexis will be 8 in August.  Micaela is 5.5 and Skylar is 2. 

Sabrina Millar - Delivers ;)

Parker Millar was punctual,right on his due date!

 Born August 8th @ at 4 pm

9 lbs even & 22 inches!! 

Baby Girl Daisy Jones

Daisy Ann Jones

Born at 12:01pm * May 9, 2011

7lbs 3oz  & 20 inches long-  She's our biggest by about a half a pound!

I woke up at 3am to go to the bathroom and a couple minutes after getting back in bed, my water broke but no contractions.  After calling my midwife and telling my mom to get Clark off to school in the morning, we headed to the hospital.  By this point, I was starting to feel contractions, but none of them were very strong or uncomfortable.  After confirming that my water had indeed broken, they admitted me to labor and delivery around 5am.  My contractions continued to come more regularly and pick up in strength/intensity although I could still talk through them just fine.  I got hungry around 8am and called my mom to bring us (David and I) some breakfast.  I also told my midwife and she promised to step outside when the food arrived since it's against hospital rules to eat in labor.  My mom and 2 younger boys (Parker and Tingen) showed up about an hour later with food which I was really grateful for.  Popsicles will only get you so far!  Around 10am, my boys' noisiness was starting to get on my nerves since my contractions had gotten a lot stronger by then.  I preferred quiet so I could concentrate on my contractions and work with them.  After my kids left, our room was pretty silent; it was really nice. Around 11:30am, I felt that I needed to go to the bathroom.  After convincing the nurse that I was not really needing to push yet, she and David helped me to the toilet.  After going, I started having involuntary pushing contractions and couldn't get up without a lot of help.  I had David get the midwife, who saw me pushing and immediately helped me get back to the bed.  Laying on my back hurt, so I got into a squatting position and eventually ended up on my hands and knees with David sitting on the end of the bed helping support my arms.  I probably pushed for about 20 minutes or so before getting her out.  The midwife slid her between my knees and I picked her up and laid back on the bed.  A few minutes passed before the midwife clamped the cord and let me cut it.  Hers was the most calm and relaxing birth I've had yet. It was wonderful! 

My boys have really enjoyed having a sister and she has been a sweet addition to our family.  

Cake Decorating with Jennifer Spaulding

Reminder...Cake Decorating with tips is this Thursday at Jennifer Spalding's home (14334 Camino Rio Abajo). Starts at 6:30 and bring your supplies. If you need a frosting recipe here is one that Jennifer recommends: 5 sticks real butter (unsalted) at room temp. 9-10 C powdered sugar (depending on desired consitency) 1 tsp vanilla (or any flavoring) 2 Tblsp water 1/4 tsp fine salt Cream butter about 1-2 mins. Add salt and flavoring. Mix for approx 1 addl min. Add in PS 1C at a time. After each addition mix for approx 1 min and stop mixer to add next cup. Ensure you scrape the sides of your bowl to get all ingredients mixed well. After last addition mix 1 min and add water. Mix a bit longer to ensure everything is smoothed together. Can be stored in fridge approx 1 week and frozen for 2 months. Can be left out on counter 1-2 days but not recommended due to the possibility of it melting or becoming too soft to work with.

Baby Leallifano!

 Lalelei Tausala Lealiifano

Born May 21st, 2011

  

Well, where to start...I woke up on Friday morning and said, "today is the day!" I took a shower, did my hair, and made sure I looked good. I did things around the house and just sort of waited for contractions to start. My husband came home around five and I was starting to feel contractions. I took a walk with Kylie and made it down the street before my contractions started to hurt. I set the clock and timed the contractions for an hour. They were still going strong so we packed the bags and dropped the girls off at a friend's house. We checked in the hospital around 8:30pm and just waited.....the Dr came in, popped my water and they gave me my epideral. It felt wonderful :) The nurse told us it would probably take a while so Atu and I drifted off. I got about twenty minutes of sleep before I called the nurse to check me. She said you are totally ready. She called the Dr.....and BOY did he take his time. I was trying to hold this girlie in. He happened to see the head and then started rushing to put his gown on.... I thought, FINALLY. I pushed for a contraction and she slid right out. Apparently, the pressure had build up behind her because the remaining fluids came out like a a fountain and the Dr almost dropped my baby. It even made Atu jump out of the way but, at least the baby didn't land on the floor :) She came out a healthy 7lbs 1 oz and 19 inches long. She had a little bit of dark hair. We are still watching to see her eye color, right now it's slate.

July Mini-Classes

7/7   6:30pm Bow Making w/ Michelle Husted @ Janeen Eldredge's

7/14   6:30pm  Cake Decorating with Tips w/ Jennifer Spaulding @ her home (14334 Camino Rio Abajo)

7/21  6:30  Cake Decorating with Fondant w/ Kristy Harris @ ranch community center (follow signs from McGee Ranch Rd)

7/28  6:30pm  Photo Shop (Cards/Announcements/etc) w/ Jessica Brunetti @ her home (310 W Calle Fraje Verde)

BLOCKS!!

Thanks so much to the ladies that painted over 1000 blocks!!!  Salt Lake will be sending these to orphanages around the world!  And a big thanks to Jenni Johansen & the enrichment committee & those that donated supplies & cut out the blocks!   So nice to be able to do something for those so much less fortunate and so far away.  We are lucky to have the opportunity to do Christlike service for those truly needy kids.