The party continues!

After the spiritual feasting was over, it was time for packing up and heading over to my sister in laws for the night. First we had to take some more pictures. I realized that I had not taken many pictures with my sister Amie and my mom. This was due to the fact that we went to different classes. And look at the amazing back drop for our picture. This is what the view is like out of the front door of the house we stayed at. Talk about beautiful.

After we managed to get everything loaded up, we headed to a great Mexican restaurant and met up with my sister in law, Jessica. I was still so full from lunch, that all I ordered was some guacamole. This was quite delicious. Of course we had to take more pictures. I am not quite sure why I am on the phone with my eyes closed. I think I am trying to check some messages from home. All in all I was pleasantly surprised at how infrequently I received calls from home. Of course there was the call from Jared on Thursday afternoon: "Hey I just found out I have to play at a concert tonight, where are my church pants?" But that is to be expected, right? And at least it was not my worry about getting him there on time at about the same time Diana had to be at her choir concert. So glad I missed that crisis. After dinner, we headed back to my brother's house. He was out of town, so we moved the party there so my sister law could join in. My other sister in law, Lisa also joined us at

this point of the festivities. Here is a picture of me with all of the goodies I had left for our final slumber party. I brought way to much junk, due to the fact that I made too many trips to the store and each time I kept thinking of new things that sounded good. Needless to say we had a lot of fun that evening. We laughed so hard, I almost peed my pants. That has to be a sign of a good time, right? We had fun reliving memories looking at a scrapbook that I made for my mom. We tried to date some of the pictures using the time tested technique of clothing identification. For those of you unaware of the procedure, let me enlighten you. See if the person in the picture can remember when they bought what they are wearing, you can precisely pin down the date of the picture. Apparently this actually can happen, as several of those present used this technique to help determine when certain things happened. We really have shared some special times. I should have taken more pictures of this mirth filled event, but I think I forgot. So basically what you had was nine women, lots of goodies, and a couple of hours. You do the math, any way to put it, it adds up to more fun than a barrel of monkeys.

We Thank Thee O God for a Prophet!

So finally the moment we had all been waiting for had arrived. We did not get there early enough to get close seats, but that was OK. It turns out the spirit is in the top of the building as well as down close. It is so cool to be in the presence of a man of God. I love it, when everyone stands up and sings "We thank Thee O God, for a Prophet." just as the Prophet walks up to the stand. His wife was with him, although she did not speak. This may have been due to her recent back surgery and coma. It was nice to see her nonetheless. So even though I wasn't up close, I took these two pictures of the big screen. I think they turned out reasonably well. Probably better than what I would have gotten of him walking out. They did not allow him to shake any hands. He gave a wonderful talk, much like he always does. There is something so lyrical about his talks. Perhaps it is all the poetry he always quotes. And did you realize that his daughter Ann is the new counselor in the general YW presidency. I had not made that connection. The Prophet told us that "We are everything described by sensitive good hearts. Each of us is living a life with much to do, don't let important things pass us by. Do not procrastinate those things that matter most. Every day in your life is a special occasion. Keep the list of things you miss as short as possible. One day we will run out of tomorrows. Our mortal life was never meant to be easy. Each of us experience dark days. Shall I falter or finish? No pain that we suffer is wasted, it adds to our education, faith, and patience. We cannot avoid all the storms. Only the master knows our pain and trials. Weave in deeds of service into our daily lives." There was a wonderful spirit there, and I feel truly blessed to have been present for such an occasion. That is actually the third time I have heard President Monson speak in person. Here is a picture of him as he is leaving. Always ministering to the one, he stopped to shake hands with a woman in a wheel chair. Then he walked off the stand and stopped to wave to all of us. He turned in a circle so that he faced and waved to everyone there. After he finished the circle, he gave the thumbs up sign. It was so cute and memorable. The Prophet of the Lord gave me the thumbs up, telling me that things are going well and everything will be OK. What a tender mercy.

Waiting for the Prophet.

After John Bytheway, we hiked back up to the Marriot Center and got in line to get a fabulous Chicken Taco salad. We felt lucky because they ran out of food soon after we got ours. Here again, I failed to document with a picture the yummy food. You will just have to take my word for it. We also filled the time by taking pictures. So there is one with me and my sister Jen. Then there is one with us two and my sister Kris once she got there. I then left trying to get toasted almonds. I wish I had never tried those darn things. By then they had closed down all the food things inside the Center. I had to go out side. There were two lines and one seemed to be going pretty fast. So I thought good and got in that line. It was only a few minutes later when we were told that you had to stand in the fast line just to pay, then go over to the next slow line and wait for our nuts. When I say slow, imagine a snails pace and then take it down a notch. Sheesh louise. I took a picture of the view from the back of the line. Happily the girl in front of me said "here I'll pay for you and you go get in the other line for me." This was a brilliant plan, as it cut our time down drastically. We tried to laugh and joke while we were waiting, but time was ticking by. Were we prepared to miss the Prophet in order to get the nummy nuts? My new found friend said we should listen to Sheri Dew and just walk away from the world, but it smelled so good, we couldn't make ourselves leave. (I am sure this is a parable involving Satan's tactics or something.) And we had paid by then. So we watched the clock and prayed. Once we got close enough, we could see the problem. There was just one olderish lady sloooooowly filling each cone with nuts. Then she would have to weigh it and put a few more in or take a few out. Oh mylanta! It was torture to watch. We all kept saying, we could we just serve our selv

es or at the very least lend her a hand. Surely we could get the job done faster. Finally after standing there so long, I needed to trim my nails, I got to the front and left with my precious cargo. I am still not sure if I made the right choice, but those cinamon toasted almonds were scrumptious. And I did make it back in time. Here are some other random pictures. My sister Jen showing us her handiwork. She, my mom, and my sister Amie all crocheted a scarf for the Humanitarian center during the two days they were in classes. You go girls. My crocheting skills leave a lot to be desired, so I remained on the cheerleading team for mission Warm Neck. Sorry Mom and Amie, I did not get pictures of your handiwork.

Then I had to snap a shot of this cool Cosmo van. My football scrapbook will not be complete without it. So go Cougars! Finally it was time for the closing session to begin. What a fun way to spend the time waiting.

Bytheway, did I mention I'm a stalker.

Friday morning came much too quickly. I slept better in part, due to the fact that I chose to sleep on my camp cot that I brought from home, instead of the slanty air mattress I had the night before. Also my sister Kris bought everyone ear plugs. This was to combat the few people who snore in our group. The snoring did not bother me very much, but the earplugs helped me sleep through most of everyone getting ready in the morning. Thankfully my sister shook me and woke me up or I think I would have slept through the morning session.

Sister Beck was the speaker Friday morning. She is great and I love to hear her speak. She said that sometimes we complicate the gospel while forgetting what it is all about - a testimony. Also sometimes we think only about the big events. She said we are accountable for our half of the plan and how will we account for what we did. She talked about thinking about nurturing as influencing. That seemed like a different way of thinking about nurturing than I had thought about it before. She said that influencing is more lasting than managing. Another thing she said is that there is no "they" only "you" to get things done. We can't just hope that "they" will do it. We need to daily do the things that show we know who we are. Also we should put our greatest resources where we are weakest. That is interesting to think about. This one was good for me - she said our own life should be our favorite reality TV show. All in all it was a great talk. I'm glad I got to hear it.

After the morning session my sister and I went down to the Smith field house with my Aunt Shauna. We went and heard a talk about strengthening marriage. This was also good because we got a seat for the next class that would be taught by John Bytheway. The marriage class was taught by a husband and wife who were both excellent speakers. The wife told a story about when she left her nine year old son to babysit her two year daughter as she went next door for a short meeting. She gave her son two rules, 1. he could not play video games and 2. he had to include his sister in his play. She left and when she came home twenty minutes later, there were several nine year old boys running out of her house. She came in and found that her son had turned his two year old sister into a video game. He did this by taking a permanent marker and drawing a round target on her diaper. Then he found all the toy dart guns in the house and charged his friends for the chance to shoot his sister and try to hit the bulls eye. Aside from being an entertaining story, she compared this to what Satan is doing to marriages today. He is shooting marriages with every weapon in his arsenal. So we have to battle to defend our marriages. Here is a picture of my two sisters and my aunt and cousin. We were kept busy during this class by winding yarn onto tongue depressors. This yarn will be used for service at EFY.

Like I said, aside from being interested in the class, I really wanted to be there to hear John Bytheway speak. He came in and started setting up for his class a half hour early. I recognized him and was astonished that no one mobbed the stage. I went down to get a close up picture from the stands. Then I dared to step down onto the floor in order to get just a few feet from the stand. When no one stopped me or even seemed to care, I got real brave. I thought "he doesn't seem to busy, so why not just see if he would take a picture with me." And guess what, he did. So yay for courage. I of course thought this was a very cool feather in my stalker's cap. He He He. John Bytheway spoke with his mother and they both spoke about the scripture "They that be with us, are more than they that be with them." Us being the Lord's people and them being Satan's team or the world as it were. I love that story in the old testament. This class was very good. He said that FEAR stands for:False Expectations Appearing Real. Faith and fear can not coexist. The only thing we have to fear is sin, and even that the Savior will save us from. Faith is not turning what we want into reality. We can not say "I only have faith, if it happens on my timetable." He shared with us the concept of having a "Hope Page" He started this when he was discouraged about not being married. His started with "What more can he say, than to you he hath said?" He then filled the page with scriptures that would strengthen his faith. Whenever he was discouraged he would read this page and never failed to have his faith strengthened. Funny how faith and hope are so intertwined. You can't really have one with out the other. This was a great talk to prepare to hear the prophet speak.

You can make the pathway bright!

After the classes, we went back to the Marriot Center and listened to Bro and Sis Bateman give a talk. It was very good. Brother Bateman talked about making our homes a temple. He talked about how orderly the temple is and how everything is done with exactness. I think I have a long way to go before my home could measure up to that standard, but it was good to think about.
Next we moved on to dinner at La Dolce Vita. It is our favorite Italian place in Provo. The food was so yummy. And we didn't even have to wait to be seated.
After this we split into two group. My sisters and I went back to the evening of service titled "You can make the pathway bright!" We got a great parking space and went into the Smith field house. It was amazing how many people were working like crazy. You had to stand in a line and then they would say "We need two people over here" Then you would be sent to the assembly line that was putting together kits for the Humanitarian center. We ended up at the newborn kits. So we were in a line putting diapers, onsies, soap, pins, and a hat into zip lock bags. This was so much fun. Different tables would cheer when they finished a box of something. I guess all together we did like 9,000 newborn kits, 7,000 hygeine kits, and 12,000 school kits. How cool is that? So here are pictures of all of us in a service frenzy. I have a very strange look on my face in the closeup picture. I think I am feeling the pressure to keep up. The whole thing was kind of like that "I love Lucy" episode in the candy factory. It is amazing what mormon women can do when they put their minds and hands to work. I am so proud to belong to this sisterhood of service called Relief Society. My sister Amie is in the green sweatshirt next to me in line. Once we were done and needed to go, there were others waiting in line to take our places.
After serving we headed back up to the Marriot Center for an evening of entertainment. This was really good. Hilary Weeks was the MC and she is hilarious, if you didn't know. We heard Kenneth Cope, Eclipse, and Michael McClain along with others. It was a lot of fun and included in the price of our ticket. What a deal. The first year I went to Women's Conference, I didn't go to this part, but I am glad that I tried it last year. The only bad thing about it is that it doesn't end until 10 pm. That meant that we left the house at 8 that morning and didn't get home until 10:30 at night. Needless to say we all just fell into bed, so as to be ready to party for one more day. Hurray for exhaustion born of learning, service, and fun.

Next Installment

After the morning session was done and I had completed my mission to stalk, it was time to move on to the classes. My sister Jen and I decided to go to a class on balancing extracurricular activities for families. This was in a building right next to the Marriot Center. On our way out, we got some lunch. It was a yummy chicken salad on croissant. I also finally had one of the famous BYU mint brownies. For the past two years I heard the virtues of these confections extolled, but had resisted. Now I have gone over to the dark side. My only sadness is that I did not think to snap a picture of the delicious delicacy. Let me just say that it was perfectly fudgey and chewy, with a layer of minty, creamy frosting, topped by second frosting of chocolaty goodness. Ok enough about the food, onto the class.

This class was a little disappointing. I wanted to be told that it was OK to just sit at home instead of running around like a crazy women on a hamster wheel. Instead the speaker quoted from studies showing that children involved in extracurricular activities do better in school. Shucks. They did however caution that balance was needed. I suppose when you get right down to it, no one, not even a study, can make this choice but me. There are several factors that need to be evaluated. How my kids are doing with their act ivies, how our family is handling things both financially and time wise, and least of all how my own sanity is faring. My institute teacher is always saying that it doesn't really matter how many talents we develop in our kids, if they don't have a number 10 testimony. So I guess this was a good class because it made me think about those things. I still don't have all the answers but maybe thinking about a problem is the first step to solving it.

After that class we joined up with my sister Kris and listened to a talk while we sewed a blanket stitch around a fleece blanket for a baby. This is one of my favorite things to do. Here is a picture of us modeling our finished products. It is not very crowded and there is a lovely view outside the window. We even watched it snow for a few minutes, knowing we were dry and warm and serving. The class we listened to was about scripture study. The thing I remember from this class, is that we could text our children during the day and remind them about something we learned in scripture study that morning. I thought that was a good idea. Maybe I could even do that with my Laurels and our lesson from Sunday. The other good thing about this building is that you can go to the bathroom without waiting in line for 20 minutes. Not always a given in the Marriot Center.

After this class, my sister Jen and I met up with my mom for a family history class. This class was inspiring. One of the speakers was Julie Beck's mother, and another was Sis. Beck's daughter. This class was held in the new Hinckley Alumni building. This is a beautiful building. We took some pictures of us in front of the huge fireplace. Then there is a cute picture of Sister Hinkley and President Hinkley and it is next to Sister Hinkley's chair. So of course it was necessary to pose next to this chair. Then I took a picture of the building from the outside. My mom said it looks just like President Hinkley, and I have to agree. I think there is something kind of English about it. Anyway it was fun to be able to see this nice building that was still under construction last year.

To Dew, or not to do, that is the question

On the Thursday morning of Women's Conference, we all arose bright eyed and bushy tailed. Well kind of. It is always hard to sleep in a strange place the first night. We were very blessed to be able to stay with the family of a friend from Seattle. They have a large family room downstairs and were able to make beds up for all six of us. This was fun to all be together. Sadly for me I was on an air mattress that had an attached pillow and I could not lay flat. Luckily I was exhausted from the drive up there and so I slept anyway. And it is always easier to wake up for something you are very excited about. So here is a picture of all of us in our seats waiting to hear Sheri Dew's talk. Sheri Dew is one of my favorite speakers to listen to. She is so inspiring. After listening to her, I feel as though I could slay a lion, build a ship, or maybe just be a good mom for one more day. You get the feeling you really can Go and Do. She is awesome. Her talk was about "Awake, arise, and come unto Christ." She talked about how we must wake up and do the things that the Lord needs us to do. I hope I can keep the feeling of optimism and encouragement with me for a while. If you can catch her talk on BYU tv, it is truly a must see. I managed to snap this shot of her after the talks. I also got a nice shot of Sister Thompson. Sadly the one I took of Sister Tanner is not very good. Then Sister Dalton was so cute. I took a picture of her and Sister Cook as they were walking in. Sister Dalton noticed me and asked if I got a good shot. She then posed for a better picture for me. How fun! Also as I was taking pictures of Sheri Dew, Mary Ellen Edmonds stopped right next to me. I congratulated her on her etiquette movie that they showed at the beginning of the conference. I was having fun talking to her and I didn't even think to snap her picture. Goodness I am falling down on my stalking job. So the super stalker or paparazzi pat strikes again! Let's just say that it is so fun to see these great women of faith up close and personal. I love all these women and all they do for Relief Society and Young Women's. So hurray for Women's Conference and the chance to hear these wonderful women.

Happpy Birthday Trent!

So this is the very special day that Trent turns seventeen. Where has the time gone? It doesn't seem possible that many years have gone by so quickly. Trent and I went to Qdoba for lunch today and tonight he went to see a concert with some friends. I hope it was a good day. He is saving for a new bass amp and so we are contributing towards that, a rather boring birthday present. And so I have started this tradition of making videos, so here is what I could come up with for Trent. I used the same music as Jared's, but I think it is a great song that is fits well with a life history.

Joy in the Journey

I can't believe that I have been home for almost 3 days and I haven't managed to post anything. Well get ready, because there is a plethora of posts to come. As I wrote last week, I was a bit late getting out of town. In the end I just kept taking things to my car and throwing them in. This was not an organized way to pack, but it did the job. In the end the only thing I forgot was one bag of goodies/snacks. Dang, no Pringles for me in the car.

The trip up was very uneventful. I listened to a Sue Grafton mystery. One of my first. It was entertaining enough to make the time go by pretty fast. I stopped in Cedar City and ate lunch at Applebee's. Did I mention how much I love their Chinese Chicken Salad? Yummy. There was a table of five ladies eating lunch there, and I am pretty sure I recognized one of them. They were probably on their way to Provo from Vegas as well.

I can't understand why, but the trip TO Utah always seems longer than the trip BACK. Theoretically, it should be the same both ways. But I think because of the time change, it feels like it takes an hour longer to get there. There is something quite nice about being by yourself in the car. Everything is on your schedule. You get to eat when and where you want. If you don't want to stop for a bathroom break, you don't. It's a good thing.

Once I made it there, I met up with my 3 sisters and mom at my brother's house. It turns out that my other brother lives there also and he came over. Happy coincidence. That meant that 6 out of 8 of my siblings were together. That doesn't happen very often. So of course a photo shoot was in order. We had fabulous Mexican food compliments of Jessica's House of Tacos. Thanks Jess. And way yummy salsa, thanks to Andrew. This was the beginning of the five pounds I was to gain over the weekend. Yikes. What is it about family get togethers that spells weight gain? Oh it must be all the snacking. And maybe the 2 pound bag of peanut M&M's I brought had something to do with it as well. We all had a great time catching up on things and just generally being together. I suppose one of the benefits of living so far apart is that you get along really well on the few occasions that you get to be together. So we had the picture of the six siblings, one with my mom, and one of just the girls, including my two sisters in law. They have been in the family so long that they are really just one of us by now, whether they like it or not. All in all, it was the perfect start to a wonderful, fun filled, conference. Stay tuned for part two of my women's conference adventures.

Mom, has left the building!

Yay, the long awaited for day is here. I am on my way to Provo for Women's conference. Of course I am only about an hour and a half later than I wanted to leave. That is not so bad, considering the things the hamster wheel required of me this morning. So my family will have to muddle through without me. Really all they need me for is food and transportation and the occasional funds. A big thank you to my sweet husband for manning the fort while I am gone. I know they will be fine, no one can starve to death in just four days, right? I hope I have everything. I was just double checking my list and realized I had not put my camera in. Yikes, what kind of stalker can I be without my camera? So yes Super Stalker is back in business and it will be fun to see just whose pictures I can get this time. Elder Holland is probably still blinded from my flash last year. I am very excited that my three sisters and mom are coming, but I am a little bit worried that so many people will cramp my stalking style. We will see. So look forward to a fun filled post when I get back next week. :)

Generations

Going through some pictures, I found these two and couldn't resist a post about the blessing of family. Of course the older picture is me as a baby, my mom holding me, with my grandma and great grandma looking on. I love how everyone in this picture are looking at me as if I hold the future in my hands. My Great Grandma died when I was in kindergarten so I don't really remember her. But I love this picture anyway.

Then there is the picture of Diana as a baby, with me, my mom, and my Grandma Tanner. I know that I am very blessed to have had my grandparents alive for as long as I did. I was well into my thirties before they died. And I feel blessed that Diana was able to get a picture with my Grandma. One of my favorite things about my Grandma was her love of reading. I treasure my set of Anne of Green Gables books that she gave me when I turned twelve. Also she always smelled of lemons because of a lemon scented oil she would always use for dry skin. There was mint growing outside of her back door. I have too many wonderful memories to mention. So hurray for the blessing of belonging to a family.

The Harmonizer

I got one of those e-mails containing horoscopes that promises me bad luck if I do not pass it on to those in my address book. Well, I hate those things and hence I am not doing it. However, I read my horoscope and it fits me to a tee. How does that work? So I thought I would post it here and maybe it will ward off the demons of bad luck.



LIBRA - The Harmonizer (Sept 23 - Oct 22) Nice to everyone they meet. Can't make up their mind. Have own unique appeal. Creative, energetic, and very social. Hates to be alone. Peaceful, generous. Very loving and beautiful. Flirtatious. Give in too easily. Procrastinators. Very gullible. 9 years of bad luck if you do not forward.



So what do you think? Creepy, huh.

Seven Facts about Me!

I have been tagged by my friend Elizabeth (http://loveitorleavitt.blogspot.com/), so now I will have to rack my brain to come up with 7 unique and interesting things about my self.

Here are the rules: 1) Link to your tagger and post these rules on your blog 2) Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird. 3) Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs. 4) Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

1. I am a Broadway musical geek. Yes, I can sing the words to almost any Broadway musical, especially the old ones. I get this from my mom, thanks Mom. When I was growing up, we always did housework while listening to Camelot, South Pacific, or Oklahoma or some other musical. To this day I still do this. My favorite house cleaning musical is Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. It is so upbeat and fast paced that it helps you work faster. My first date was to see Okalahoma at the Fifth Avenue in Seattle. When we first got a VCR, the first movie we ever taped was Brigadoon. Last year I was able to see Suessical and Wicked, two recent musicals that I have been dying to see. Truly a dream come true. I loved that last week's American Idol was Andrew Lloyd Webber. I knew all but one of the songs they sang. So if I could find my ipod, you could see that it is filled with musical soundtracks. Another great one is a Year in the Life of Frog and Toad. If you like that kind of stuff, check it out. If I divulged my secret dream, it would be to star in a Broadway musical. HeHeHe

2. I don't like breakfast foods for breakfast. Leftover dinner is my favorite thing to eat in the morning. Actually I don't really like to eat breakfast. This is a terrible life long habit that started in High School. With early morning seminary, I always liked to sleep until the last possible minute. So sleeping was more important than eating to me, and to this day it is the same way. I am trying to change this bad habit, as I know that it will improve my well being. But it is hard to teach an old dog new tricks.

3. I ordered my first pair of bi-focals last week. This was a day of joy and happiness for me. Two years ago I went to the eye doctor and said that I thought I needed bi-focals. He agreed, but told me that if I wanted a cheaper option, I could just lift my current glasses off my eyes and then I could see up close. Of course I went with that option and was grateful he would suggest it, instead of just collecting the money from me for the more expensive option. But this has become beyond annoying. Of course it only matters if I want to be able to read the directions on medicine bottles or things like that. I have been counting the days until April when my insurance would cover new frames and lenses. So Wednesday was the much awaited day. I wondered to myself what does this say about my life, when getting old people glasses is so exhilarating. Boy, it is sad to be old. So next week I will be able to post a picture of my new stylish look.

4. I love Almond Roca. But I like to eat in in a strange way. First I eat all the chocolate and nuts off the outside and then I can eat the yummy toffee all by itself.

5. My favorite food would have to be salads. I love any kind of salad and would rather order a salad at a restaurant most of the time. One of my favorites would have to be Chinese Chicken Salad. I love this at most any restaurant. Applebees has a great one. When we went to the Springs Preserve recently, I got one at the cafe there. It was a Wolfgang Puck place and the salad had fresh pieces of ginger and candied cashews. Way yum. If I am trying to be frugal, Wendy's asian salad is not bad. Of course I could always make my own, as I have a fairly, fabulous recipe for the stuff.

6. I am the queen of procrastination. Recently I read something that said that procrastination is a sign of perfectionism. I suppose that could be true. Although, I really would not consider myself a perfectionist. For whatever reason, there are some things that are almost impossible for me to do. These include returning library books on time, in fact returning borrowed things from anyone, not good. Consider yourself warned, do not lend me things. Also I am horrible at mailing things. I am not quite sure why, but if you ever come to my house and leave something here, just kiss it good bye. It is highly unlikely that I will mail it to you. Sorry, but that is the way it is. Perhaps I have a secret phobia of the post office. Hopefully my many other endearing qualities make up for this gaping deficiency.

7. I love Avocado sandwiches, Artichokes, alliteration, Anne of Green Gables, Amazing Mrs. Polifax, and anticipating good things to come.

Ok there you go. That is the best that I can come up with on such a crazy Saturday. Diana had to be at the church at 8:00 am to go on a hike with the activity girls. Marion had a 8:00 am soccer game and a service project at 10:00. I had to be at the church at 10:00 to set up for the girls camp fund raiser dinner tonight. There is also the ward talent show after the dinner. I signed up to do a lip sinc and I am not even sure what I am going to do. I have to make some food for the dinner tonight and I need to prepare my lesson for tomorrow. Then there is the normal Saturday jobs like laundry and house cleaning. So I tag Jennifer, Amie, Jessica, Karianne, Susan, Lisa, Bailey, Stephanie, Emily, Leticia, and Jen. Have fun girls.

Oh Dear

Which Movie Mom Are You?

My Result: My Big Fat Greek Wedding's Maria Portokalos

Maria Portokalos may not have been the focus of the movie, but that's the only way she would have had it. You, like Maria, are the backbone of your family, but you do it without ever wanting to be the center of attention. You know what we're talking about — your kids always seek out your well-thought-out and sincere advice, and your husband knows who really wears the pants in your house.


You consider motherhood a delicate balancing act — you're strong and tough when necessary, but it's tempered with love and respect. Fiercely loyal, you always act with your family's best interest at heart. And that's just the way you want it.

What are you?
http://web.tickle.com/jumpto?test=moviemomogt&c=50652

Adventures is Swimming Pools

So this winter we turned the pump to our pool off in order to conserve electricity and our check book balance. Because of this, our pool transformed into a slimy, swampy marsh, that Shrek would have been proud to call his own. I did not even take a picture of it at its worst. Lets just say that there was a brown, foamy growth on the top of it. Yikes! Not very sanitary for swimming. And there was a lovely mosquitoe population growing as well, complete with little swimming larve. I was a bit concerned that I would not be able to get it back.

But I am happy to report that after just a week of working on it, it is back to being sparkling clear water again. I am sure that there is a parable for repentance in this, but I don't have to time to elaborate on it at this time. As I was working on it Monday afternoon, Diana decided that she should swim. I advised against this, as it was only about 80 degrees in the air and the pool was only 65 degrees. But she was undaunted. Needless to say this swimming session was not very long.She was determined to retrieve one of Jared's lacrosse balls that had fallen to the bottom of the pool. I think that it was just too cold for her to stay under long enough to get it. Eventually she did get it, but I ran out of memory card space before she did. At least it is going to be ready for the hot weather that should be coming our way.

Trip to Salt Lake City

Friday morning about nine o'clock, my friend Elizabeth picked me up and we headed up to Utah. She has been training for the past 3 months to run the Salt Lake City half marathon. Her husband stayed home with her two small children and so she needed someone to keep her company and help her drive home. I was glad to take a little trip out of town. So off we went on our little adventure. We had fun on Friday stopping in Saint George at a kitchen store. I bought some powdered eggs and margarine for my food storage. Once we got to Provo, we went out to eat with her parents and Aunts. It was lots of fun and I had a chance to show off my football stalker pictures.

Saturday morning we got up at 4:30 am so we could be on our way. We went and picked up her brother and headed up to the tracks where we dropped the runners off. Then her parents, sister-in-law and I went out to breakfast. After that we drove over to the middle of the race just in time to cheer as they ran by. And then we drove down to the Gateway where the race ended. I was very proud of my friend, she finished in 2 hours and 32 minutes. She did great especially considering the fact that she had a horrible cold. It was fun and exciting to see everyone at the finish line. I have never been a runner my whole life, but I could almost see how it might be fun. So a great big congratulations and good job to my friend Elizabeth! You go girl!

We then went out to lunch in Bountiful and then my friend had a hair appointment. While she got her hair done, I ran over to my aunt and uncle's house in Centerville. I was able to see some cousins as well. Even though it was not very long, it was good to see them. After her hair was done, we drove back down to Salt Lake. I wanted to see if we could see President Hinkley's grave. Neither of us was quite sure where his grave would be, but we ended up driving right to it. It looks just like it did at the funeral on TV. I loved this part of the trip. As I watched the funeral, I wished I could be there, and this was the next best thing. After this we drove back down to American Fork where we spent the night with Elizabeth's aunt. Today we drove home. It was a nice trip and it felt good to get away even if it was just for a few days. Now I just have to wait 10 days until I drive back up for Women's Conference. Yay. And everyone survived just fine without me. So hurray for a great husband who sent me off for a fun girls weekend.

What's your sign

See if this fits you. I am a Libra and I think this fits me to a tee, although it is hard to decide.
How many members of your astrological sign does it take to change a light bulb?
Aries: Just one. You want to make something of it?
Taurus: One, but just "try" to convince them that the burned-out bulb is useless and should be thrown away.
Gemini: Two, but the job never gets done--they just keep arguing about who is supposed to do it and how it's supposed to be done.
Cancer: Just one. But it takes a therapist three years to help them through the grief process.
Leo: Leos don't change light bulbs, although sometimes their agent will get a Virgo to do the job for them while they're out.
Virgo: Approximately 1.0000000 with an error of +/- 1 millionth.
Libra: Er, two. Or maybe one. No - on second thought, make that two. Is that okay with you?
Scorpio: That information is strictly secret and shared only with the Enlightened Ones in the Star Chamber of the Ancient Hierarchical Order.
Sagittarius: The sun is shining, the day is young and we've got our whole lives ahead of us, and you're inside worrying about a stupid light bulb?
Capricorn: I don't waste my time with these childish jokes.
Aquarius: Well, you have to remember that everything is energy, so...
Pisces: Light bulb? What light bulb?

Clark County Fair

Well I think it is certain, I am a city girl. Much as I love the country and loved every vacation spent at my grandfather's farm, I just don't quite fit in completely. Last Friday, the choir that Diana sings in performed at the Clark County Fair. I went with a friend and her two small children. We got there early so we could see the animals and ride some rides before the performance. Here is a picture of the butter carving contest. You don't see that in the city. And what's not to love about sculptures carved in luscious butter?

Other than the singing, the highlight of the trip was when we discovered that Diana has finally reached a huge milestone in her life -- she is 48 inches tall. Woo hoo!!! This means that she can ride all kinds of rides that used to discriminate against her for her lacking verticalness. You know like rides at Disneyland and best of all our local swimming pool. They have a fun water slide and you guessed it, you can not ride it unless you are 48 inches tall. This has been a source of life long sorrow for Diana, well maybe just 3 year sorrow. Never mind that 5 year olds who happened to have the luck to have tall genes could go down the slide. Never mind that she could swim well enough to get out of the exit pool. No due to some fun sucking liability lawyers, those afflicted with shortness are denied the joy of going down the slide. Well those days of deprivation are over. Now she will just be denied because her mom will say, "Why should we go and pay money to the public pool when we have a pool in our back yard?" Which really means I would rather sit in my air conditioned house and watch out the window while she swims. But I digress. Back to the topic at hand, the fair. So Diana got to go on some rides that she couldn't do last year. Actually she was a really good sport and went on little kids ride with our friend Eliza.

We had a great time seeing the animals. My favorite as usual was the baby pigs. They are just so cute. We also got to witness a goat judging contest. Now I have to admit to knowing absolutely nothing about goats and I am very content to leave it that way. But it was interesting to watch none the less. A young girl won, and from the smile on her face and the way her mom hugged her, you would have thought she won a million dollars. I myself don't get that excited about goats, but I am glad that goat judging exists for those who do find it something to jump up and down about.

After the animals and the rides and the obligatory snow cone, it was time for the choir to sing. Sadly the acoustics there were not very good and so it was extremely difficult to hear the kids singing. Diana actually gets to do a duet for part of one of her songs. I am excited to hear it better at her actual concert. Well actually I will be at Women's Conference, so I will have to see it on video after that. Here is a short slide show of the days experiences.

Amnesty Now!

Yes this week is one of my favorites weeks of the year. Amnesty week at the library. This is a glorious event that happens once a year. It is a pitiful commentary on my sad life that this is such a joyful occasion for me. For the past few months, I have been waiting for this week to come because we lost the case to a Lizzie McGuire DVD. So happily today, I went in, and they said "No problem" and waived the fine off my account. Also there was a CD that we checked out on Jared's card that is now lost. I know that I will find it later today now that it is removed from my account. In fact, I told the librarian just that, but she did not even blink an eye and just removed that from Jared's card as well. Oh happy day! I saw one of the librarians there that I know. She helped me when our house was broken into and my wallet was stolen. I don't know why, but she remembers that and asks me about it from time to time. She said to me "Hey, I haven't seen you for a while, maybe since amnesty week last year". I am slightly amazed that warning alarms don't go off when they pull my account up and that they don't just cut up my card. But that is the beauty of the library, they seem to be inclined to forgive seventy time seven. I hope that is enough. Now for at least three weeks, until the books I checked out today are due, my account is all clean and shows a zero balance.

A few more things

I was in such a rush yesterday when I posted about the stratosphere that I realized that I missed posting some pictures. This t-shirt was hanging up in a window of the gift shop at the stratosphere. I thought it was pretty funny. What do you think?





Then I thought it would be funny to get my picture taken with this cut out advertisement for a concert. Sadly now I do not remember the name of this country star. Anyone recognize him? Not taking my stalker responsibilities seriously enough, am I ?

Good Morning!

I found this article, with video included and it made me smile, so I thought I would share it with all of you. I love this clip from Singing in the Rain. And I think it is impossible to sing along without embracing the sentiment of the song. So good morning to you and you and you!

Ten Sunny Ways to Make Your Day a Good One!

A good day is when I wake up remembering that a good day happens by CHOICE not chance!

A good day is when I live the day in the present, being grateful for the little things in life.

A good day is a day that I look back on and smile, because I allowed myself to be open to something new without realizing it at the time.

A good day is when I can feel anger, pain, sadness, etc. but not let it take over.

A good day is when I relax and go with the flow.

A good day is drama free. (My choice, again.)

A good day is when I'm aware that I'm a kind and compassionate person and treat myself that way.

A good day is when I don't use excuses to paralyze my thoughts and dreams or allow fear to keep me from stepping out and doing something I believe in.

A good day is connecting with people who are on the same self exploration journey as I am.

A good day is the realization that EVERY DAY IS A GOOD DAY no matter what happens.

The top of the world

So as promised, here is some video of Jared's birthday adventures on top of the stratosphere. He has been looking forward to this for a very long time. I told him he could bring one friend with him. He went through many, many kids before Andrew on our soccer team agreed to go with him. I called and found out that you have to be sixteen in order to go up there all by yourself. Bad news for me, as I had hoped to just drop them off. Marion said he would rather stay home with Diana and her two friends, so I was the lucky parent elected to go. For any of you unaware, I do not like heights. I was fairly sure that I did not want to go up to the top, but it is amazing what a mother will do for her child. So I went. The other good thing was that I was reading a great book and knew that I would have something to keep me busy. Here is a picture of me right before we made our way to the elevator. There was a rather long line to the elevator. While waiting in this line, there was a video playing telling us about the rides at the top. This video assured me not to worry there was a comprehensive safety plan in place and that emergency professionals were on duty 24 hours a day. Instead of reassuring me, this did just the opposite. If there was nothing to worry about, why have all these precautions. My stomach was beginning to do somersaults.

Finally it was our turn. I liked the elevator because we could not see out the windows when we went up. Much to my surprise, it was not nearly as bad as I thought it would be. Maybe I am not as afraid of heights anymore. Its either that, or I was distracted by my desire to take pictures and videos to properly document the festivities for my blog. I'm thinking this is a good thing. There are three different rides. The big shot, which shoots you up 160 ft in the air. The x-scream which is a teeter totter thing. And Lastly Insanity (here's a ride name to inspire confidence) where you sit in a seat and are swung out over the ground and spun around. You will be able to see it better in the video. I was extremely happy that they did not try to insist that I had to ride the rides. That would have been a deal breaker for me. No way, no how would I have gone on any of those rides. Not even for a million dollars. This is keeping me from going on the Amazing Race, that my lack of physical stamina. Jared loved all the rides and since he had an unlimited pass, he went on each ride about seven times. It was actually very pretty up there. I guess anything can look pretty from a far enough distance. So it was a good birthday celebration for him. I liked this better than taking seven 13 year old boys bowling, which is what we did last year. So now I can say that I have actually participated in some of the Vegas life.

Happy Fourteenth Birthday, Jared!

Yes, in honor of this special day, I have made a slide show of Jared's life. Lest you think this was prepared for his funeral, let me assure you he is still alive and kicking. In the very short future I will post about his birthday adventures atop the Stratosphere. They were very exciting and blog worthy. But for now, this tribute to my sweet, second son will have to suffice.
Jared, I am so pleased with the fine young man you are growing up to be. I admire the fact that you are a good student, dedicated musician, and great sportsman. A true triple threat. Any mother would count herself lucky to have you as a son, and that is exactly how I feel. I am so grateful you are a part of our family. So here is to you--hip, hip, hooray! And a very Happy Birthday!