Weekend Getaway

Thursday night as we were falling asleep my hubby asked me what we should do this weekend to celebrate our anniversary. We discussed going to dinner and perhaps to a movie, but decided to sleep on it. When I woke up this morning I had a plan in my head. I wanted to go somewhere cooler, so my plan was that we could go to Snowflake, Arizona and spend the night and go a session at the Snowflake temple. Luckily I have an agreeable husband who thought that sounded like a good idea. Well, the idea kind of evolved and we ended up spending 2 nights in Payson, Arizona. We stayed at the Best Western Payson Inn and I thought it was a really good choice. Our motel room was on the second floor and had a small balcony that we enjoyed sitting on to watch the sunsets and the squirrels playing in the trees while a cool breeze swirled around us. It was wonderful!

This is the view from our balcony of the other group of motel rooms across the way.

The cool hubby.

The sunset.

The squirrel trying to hide on the branch.

The squirrel again.

Our room had a king size bed that I think would have fit us and our boys just fine. We kept losing each other.
On Saturday morning we got up and went to breakfast at a very small, very popular, cafe. The food was yummy, fast and inexpensive. Then we drove around Payson for awhile and then headed to Snowflake, which was a little over an hour away. We were planning on going to the 2:00 session at the temple (which was the one you don't need to have reservations for) so we had a little time to kill when we got to Snowflake. We went to Ed's IGA because this was the one thing the roommate/adopted daughter said we shouldn't miss in Snowflake. It was definitely one of the highlights of the town. Then we drove North, South, East and West checking out the neighborhood. We went to the Senior Citizen's Thrift Store, to the LDS Bookstore, and the Maverick Gas Station. Then we went to the temple and took some pictures.

Our oldest son likes to take pictures of temples and whenever we travel anywhere, if there is a temple in the area, we make a point of locating it so that he can get some pictures. It was after he started this practice, and after he had pictures from 5 or 6 different temples, that I learned something new. I always thought that all the Angel Moroni statues on the temples were the same, made from the same mold, but that is not true. There are a lot of different Angel Moroni poses. Someday I'm going to make a collection of pictures of all the different Angel Moroni statues and perhaps I'll post it right here on my blog. This is what the Snowflake Temple Angel Moroni looks like.

We had a wonderful temple session and felt very welcomed and needed. It was a very small session (just like the very small temple), but the spirit was there in abundance. It is always interesting to visit other temples and discover what is different in the layout, the decor, and the way things get done, but so very similar in the presentations and feelings that are there. I'll say it again - I love the temple!
After the temple we drove back to Payson and took a quick trip out to visit some nearby Indian ruins and get a little exercise after all the sitting we had done. Then we opted for some fast food for dinner which we took back to the motel and ate on the balcony and then we watched some cable TV.
This morning I enjoyed sitting on the balcony while I read my scriptures. Then we checked out the continental breakfast and headed home so we could get back in time for our church.
This was a great weekend. I loved spending time with my sweetheart, as well as getting away from the heat and the routine of daily life. It was a good celebration!

Today I am grateful for

a daughter that decided what was for dinner and contributions from everyone.
Sunday dinner with my family.
the chance to get away for awhile and children who are old enough to take care of themselves.

One year ago today - The Curse of Party Food.

Pillowcase Project

The oldest daughter and I have been frequenting a lot of fabric stores lately looking for cute fabric to make fun baby projects. Today the youngest son decided he was going to go to the cloth store with us. He decided a few days ago that he wanted to sew himself a pillow case and so he wanted to come and pick out some material. We looked and looked and looked at fabric for him - fabric with basketballs, skulls, phoenix suns logos, pirates, patriotic, tie-dyed - all sorts of fabric and finally he made his choice.

We came home and got busy at the sewing machine.

He was a little nervous that he was going to sew over his finger, but he managed to finish unscathed and he sewed it all himself.

The finished product.


Testing it out.

Do you think someone might be a little worried about losing his place as the baby of the family?
He says he'll give the pillowcase to Elmo (the grand baby) when he leaves to go on his mission in two years.
Today I'm grateful for

a son who's not afraid to be a kid.
laughter.
a mom who taught me how to sew.

One year ago today - The Sudoku sickness has spread.

Happy Anniversary

Today the hubby and I have been married for 26 years and guess what we did tonight to commemorate the occasion? Well, I went to Relief Society Enrichment night with my oldest daughter and the hubby finished up his home teaching with our youngest son. When I found out that Enrichment night was on our anniversary I was a little sad. It seems like getting together with my sisters in the Relief Society is such a rare occurrence anymore. I don't get to meet with them in Relief Society on Sunday and our ward seems to be a little light on having mid week activities. I really miss monthly enrichment meetings and the opportunity to socialize with the women in my ward (although I definitely don't miss planning those meetings and then executing the plan on a monthly basis). I asked my oldest son if it was wrong of me to want to go to Enrichment rather than to go out with my sweetheart. He seemed to be appalled that I would even consider the idea, but the more I thought about it, the more I really wanted to attend Enrichment. I discussed it with the hubby and he said whatever I wanted to do would be fine. He made the decision a little easier when he inadvertently scheduled a home teaching appointment on that night as well. I am pretty sure that I may be weird, but having my husband and son fulfill their home teaching responsibilities means a lot more to me than going out to dinner to celebrate my anniversary. One of the reasons I fell in love with my husband,way back when, was because I strongly believed that he was the kind of man who could get me and my children back to live with our Heavenly Father again some day. When I see him serving the Lord by serving others and magnifying his church callings I am reminded of why I married him in the first place. Oh, and by the way, I believe that I made the right decision 26 years ago and tonight as well.

Today I am thankful for

a husband who still loves me after 26 years.
the ability to look at the eternal perspective of life.
my Relief Society sisters.

One year ago today - Poopy little Poky, 25 years!

Code of Honor

Yesterday my oldest daughter informed me that the final installment of Betsy Brannon Green's Duty book series Code of Honor was on sale at Deseret Book and that she was on her way to buy it. I am a fan of most of this author's books and really liked the new direction she headed with this series, but I was a little bent out of shape at the way the second book ended - can you say cliffhanger? It seems like I have been waiting for a long, long time to find out what happens to Savannah. Well, last night the daughter handed the book off to me and today I finally got to see how all the loose ends were neatly tied up. Now that I have read the entire series I can honestly say that I enjoyed all 3 books a lot.

I am a fan of books that come in a series. I like the chance they provide for me to really get to know the characters. However, I prefer it when I discover a series where all the books have already been written and I can just check them all out at once and read to my hearts content. As soon as I am done with one installment I move right into the next one. I am definitely not patient when it comes to reading. I want to know what happens next and I want to know NOW! Do you hear me Suzanne Collins? NOW, not September 1st.

Today I am thankful for
a hubby that cooks be breakfast.
a daughter that buys books for me to read.
grocery stores.

One year ago today - Froggie Pajama Pants

Today I am grateful for

prizes for reading.
kids that try to get along with each other and with me.
family togetherness in the son's truck.

One year ago today - Hot and bothered, I love a bargain!

Mormon Channel

I made a fun discovery this morning while I was working on the Ward Bulletin. There is a 24 hour Mormon radio channel that can be heard on the web. It appears to have a wide variety of talks, news, music, and conversation. I have listened to it as I have worked on the computer for about an hour and have really enjoyed it. You can go to the Mormon Channel Home Page or I have added a link to the audio feed in my side bar. Check it out! Another radio/audio feed I like listening to is Soft Sunday Sounds. This station plays religious music with a few conversation segments thrown in. Scroll down to about the middle of the FM 100 page and click the listen link. You might like it too.

Kitchen Help

Tonight some of my friends and I helped in the kitchen at the wedding reception of another friend's daughter. It was a fun reception with good food and lots of yummy, yummy homemade cakes. The Hawaiian wedding cake with pineapple, coconut and nuts was my favorite. I know that because I sampled a few of the other ones too. A daughter of one of the friends came into the kitchen at one point, stood there for a few minutes and then said, "This is where the party is!" I hope word doesn't get out that the kitchen is the place to be at weddings, because then I might not get to hang out there as often. It is actually a lot of fun!
They had rented a photo booth for the wedding and all the guests could get their pictures taken. Then they cut the set of 6 pictures in half and you got to keep 3 and the strip with the other 3 were mounted in a wedding album where you could write messages to the newlyweds. It was a fun idea and the scrapbook turned out really cute. If any of you have a whole lot of extra money in the budget for your upcoming wedding you might want to consider it.
The kitchen help decided we needed to get our picture taken together. We gave the really cute pictures to the bride and groom and this is what we were left with. As you can see, we really had to squeeze into that photo booth.

Today I am grateful for

a daughter who makes me crepes for breakfast
another daughter and son-in-law who provided the fillings.
Good friends to help and hang out with.

One year ago today - The daughter's dolphin calling ability, Thursday night at the San Diego Temple

The View

The hubby has had several evening meetings this week so I decided this was a good time to put a puzzle together. I love to do puzzles. There is something so intriguing about looking at the small details of a puzzle piece and figuring out where it belongs in the larger picture. Tiny color variations or subtle patterns, that you hardly notice at first glance, become so apparent when you really look at each individual piece. I am always so excited to watch the complete picture come together.

I bought this puzzle at a thrift store. I chose it because it reminded me of my home. I grew up on the outskirts of a small Utah community nestled in the Wasatch Valley. The home that I lived in for most of my childhood was located on the crest of a hill looking out over this valley. My front porch had a wonderful view that extended all the way to Mt. Timpanogos and Deer Creek Reservoir. Although there were a few homes and buildings to be seen dotting the landscape here and there, the majority of what we could see from this vantage point were fields. Lots and lots of fields containing various crops and livestock dissected by dirt roads and fences and streams. Depending on the season these fields would be green or gold or brown or white or a mixture of many different hues. They often resembled a huge patchwork quilt just as this puzzle depicts. What beautiful and precious memories this puzzle brings to mind.

Today I am grateful for

thrift store puzzles that end up still having all the pieces.
the opportunity to grow up in the country.
memories.

One year ago today - Crying on the beach

Personal Shopper

The youngest son decided that he wanted clothes from us for his birthday this year. Since he has gotten taller and also thinned out I wasn't too sure what size clothes he really wears anymore so I determined that he needed to be included in the shopping experience. However, this son and I don't necessarily see eye to eye on what looks nice and I wasn't looking forward to this event. I was very happy to give his sister some cash and let her take him to the stores. They did a good job purchasing items that met my criteria and came home with quite a few bags of clothes for him.


He was so excited to model for those of us that didn't get to go on the shopping excursion, that he dropped his pants right away when he got home(or so it appears in this picture).
They discovered today that the son is apparently a "pants square". He wears size 34X34 jeans. The most exciting purchase of the day, in the son's opinion at least, were a pair of LeBron James shoes. He bought those with his own birthday money.

Today I am grateful for

a daughter that is willing to take my son shopping and has good taste as well.
Ross - where you can dress for less.
peach shakes from Chik-fil-a.

One year ago today - Boogie Boarding at the Beach

Good Night

We have Sunday Dinner with the in-laws quite a few Sundays during the month. Sometimes I am content to sit there for hours and visit and some weeks I am ready to eat and go home. Tonight was one of those very pleasant evenings where I was happy to sit and relax and just enjoy my family. All of our kids came and it seemed like they were each in a sociable mood and quite good company.


The youngest son entertained the littlest cousins (and next generation cousins) with horsey rides.


We all enjoyed watching him try to run and keep his pants up at the same time. I also think the flower behind his ear is a nice touch.

We had birthday cake for the youngest son and the roommate.


I think I should have paid better attention during our cake decorating classes. My cakes leave a little bit to be desired and yes, this son also chose cherry chip cake with cherry frosting. Not too masculine, but a delicious choice.


The son has done a good job of stretching out his birthday celebration this year. He gets to open a present a day. You know what they say about kids - they usually enjoy the wrapping as much as the gift.
Today I am thankful for

cooler weather.
sons who harmonize in the van.
watermelon.
the fact that the 2 inches on water on the bathroom floor came from the toilet tank and not the toilet bowl.

One year ago today - Died and gone to Heaven, Baby Blankie has seen better days

Seventeen

Why does 17 sound so much older to me than 16?

Tonight we went out to eat to celebrate the youngest son's birthday. We went to Cafe Laguna for Indian Tacos and they were good. They had a soccer match showing on the TV so we hung around for a while watching it.

I think the restaurant workers were happy to see us go.
This picture reminds me of the cell phone commercial where the people represent the bars - shortest to tallest, almost.

And yup, I was there too!

Today I am thankful for

excuses to eat out with my family.
the safe arrival home of my son. He was in one piece and his scout pants were too.
any day in June that is cooler than 100.

One year ago today - Toe Surgery, National Doughnut Day!

Twins

I've heard that in interracial families when fraternal twins are born one can resemble one race and the other one can resemble the other. I guess this is what happened in this case. The youngest daughter has the light toned phone and the youngest son has the darker one.

I guess it's nice that this son has an older brother who believes him when he says he needs a new phone. I personally think his old phone was just fine. Ditto on the daughter's new phone.

Here the two of them are texting each other with the other one's phone. I think they could have just talked since they are sitting across the table from each other, but once again, I'm just the mom and what do I know?

Tongue Rolling

My kids like to make fun of me because I can't roll my tongue (bring the sides up toward the middle - see the son's example below).

They like to have me try to do it and then all laugh because I can't. I think it was in a biology class in college where I first learned that this is a hereditary trait. (There is some question as to whether or not this is true, but true or not it's fun to see who can and can't do it.) We traced my inability to perform this supposedly simple trick to my Grandma Christiansen on my mom's side. She couldn't do it either. We would both try and try. It just doesn't happen. Since this is a recessive trait, there has to be someone on my dad's side who couldn't do it as well. We never discovered who that was.

My kids like to show off their tongue rolling ability. Even the son-in-law was trying to get into the act.

So, can you roll your tongue?

Bishop's Night Skit

The other day I got a phone call from the bishop. He was working on the bishopric skit for bishop's night at girl's camp and wasn't having too much success. I guess he asked his wife for help and she suggested that he call me to see if I could be of assistance. Well, he called me and asked me to write a skit for them (his wife insists this isn't what she meant). Since I have always been told to say yes to the bishop, I said, "of course I would do that for you". The idea they had was the bishopric get together in 25 years and talk about what happened to members of the ward, specifically this group of young women. Along with the idea, they gave me a list of 5 things about each girl. The list was brief and pretty general ie. her favorite color is blue and she likes Rocky Road ice cream or extremely vague ie. she owns a peg-o-corn trophy. I think the least they could have done was ask what each girl wanted to be when she grew up to give me an idea of a direction to go. I ended up having one counselor be deaf and hear everything wrong and respond to what he thought he heard, the other counselor was blind but had a great memory and the bishop was senile and thought it was still 2009 instead of 25 years later. I am glad that this was a relatively small group of girls because it took me quite a while to come up with a future for each of them. It ended up being a lot of fun to put together though. One of the counselors called me after he had read through the completed project and told me that he felt I had missed my calling in life. I should have been a writer. I wanted to tell him that if I didn't have so many church callings (that he had personally called me to) I would have the time and energy to pursue my true life's calling, but I didn't. Actually, I am a writer. I write on my blog. I got a box of chocolate covered macadamia nuts for my efforts. That might entice me to keep writing.

Four Birthdays at Geronimo

Today my youngest son turns 17 and he is not even here to celebrate with. He is spending his 4th birthday in the last 6 years at Scout Camp.

He was at Camp Geronimo when he turned 12, 13 and 14 as well. Although he has sometimes complained ahead of time that he is going to miss his birthday, usually he comes home feeling like it was OK. The cooks always bake him a cake to make his day special. This is this year's cake.

Happy Birthday Dear Son. I hope you're having a wonderful day!

Today I am grateful for

kids to go to the temple with me.

my youngest son. He makes my life more exciting.

word processing programs, much easier than using a typewriter or writing things out by hand.

One year ago today - My baby is 16, A Cell Phone - Finally!

Temple Miracle Grow

Back in the middle of April I went and helped plant flowers at the Mesa Temple as a stake service project. I took a picture of the flowers a week after they were planted.

They weren't looking quite like temple flowers. They were kind of tiny.

Today the oldest son, oldest daughter, son-in-law and I went to the temple and this is what the flowers are looking like just less than 2 months later.

(I think this is kind of a funny picture. The siblings look like they are trying to hold hands and the son-in-law is alone in front.)

Here's another shot of the flowers.
Before

and now.

and one more, before

and today. Where did the little purple and white flowers go?

The temple must use some great Miracle Grow, or perhaps it's their temple-made mulch. I'm wondering if my spiritual growth is that impressive when I hang out at the temple? Imagine how spiritual I could be if I lived there 24/7.

Blue Hair - Take 2

I guess there is just something about summer that entices my sons to dye their hair blue.

I don't mind the blue hair, but I can definitely live without the make up.

Today I am grateful

that my son doesn't usually wear make up.
for a daughter that bought me lunch.
for Pork Barbacoa salad from Cafe Rio.

One year ago today - Blue hair, 40th birthday, The Errand of Angels

One Down!

If you are a reader of my blog, by now you probably know that I have been reading the Old Testament for awhile. One of my goals this year, before I turn 50, is to read all of the standard works. Well, I am happy to announce that I have finished - the Old Testament that is. All 1184 pages. Done!
Hooray for me!
Now if I could just remember and apply all the important things I read. Oh well, that's for my next visit with the Old Testament.
I asked my oldest son what he thought would be a good celebration for completing the entire Old Testament. He told me I should participate in some begatting - lots and lots of begatting. I was shocked. Hopefully my begatting years are behind me. Now, I know that Sarah was blessed to be able to conceive Isaac at a ripe, old age, but I don't need a baby in my old age. I need grown up children to take care of me and be a comfort to me. At least that's my plan.
Maybe to celebrate my accomplishment I will partake of some of those Bible wonder foods. Now if I could just remember what they are. I think maybe honey is one of them.
I now have just under 3 months to complete the rest of the standard works. The hubby and I are reading the Book of Mormon together every night, so I think that one is covered. I'm starting on the New Testament tomorrow so that sounds doable also. The trouble is with the Doctrine and Covenants. We are suppose to be reading it as a family, but we are not making too much progress. We decided to read it at dinner every night, but for some reason we don't seem to eat dinner together that often and when we do we usually have company or don't remember we are suppose to read. I may be in for an all night reading of the D&C on my birthday eve. Oh, and lest you be concerned about the Pearl of Great Price, I read it when I was reading Genesis because that is where it seems to fit in to me.

Today I am grateful for

a fun lunch outing with my friends.
libraries.
ancient prophets who wrote in their journals.

One year ago today - Glasses, Happy Hour(s)