Blessings of Families

Today in Relief Society the lesson was Family: The Sweetest Union for Time and Eternity. I am so thankful for this lesson. I have always loved my family, but this lesson reminded me just how much. I have been blessed with two great parents who taught me so many things. Who not only told me they loved me, but showed me in so many different ways that they loved me.


I have also been blessed with wonderful siblings(and I include my sister, and brothers in law) who I have counted on for so many things. They have throughout my life great examples for me. We have had so much fun over the years and it has only become more fun as grand kids have come into the picture.


I just really wanted my family to know how much I love them, and how I wish we all lived closer, but that makes the times we do get together all the more special and precious to me!

Freedom

It has been a long time since I have blogged, time has just gotten away from me. I was able to be in Washington DC over September 11th. It was a really neat experience to be able to walk and to see all the memorials of those who have fought for our freedom. It reminded me of just how lucky I am to live in United State of America, but how I should never forget all those who have sacrificed and are still sacrificing so I can have those freedoms.
That city is so full of history and I needed more time to be able to see everything. We must have walked for miles and miles but it was worth it. Another thing I can check off my bucket list! I will have to post some pictures as soon as I can get them downloaded onto my computer.

More Fun

Here are a few more pictures from out trip to Oregon. On Tuesday we took family pictures on the beach. Here are my wonderful parents who next month will celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary!
The water was freezing, but I had to try and get in. I could only stand it up to my knees! The kids thought it was great and loved to be in the water.

Here are all the kids outside one of the lighthouses that we toured.

The scenery was so pretty. This is picture by another lighthouse. We actually had go on a little hike to get to it.

There are so many chances to see sea lions. This was taken near some sea lion caves. We had so much fun, I would love to go back!

Vacation

I was able to spend this past week with my family in Lincoln City, Oregon. It was really beautiful and the weather was really good. We even had sun for one day with only one day of a little rain. It was so wonderful to be together.

Decisions

I don't know about everyone else, but I have a hard time making decisions. I go over things in my mind so many times and it can get to that point where I just fill this weight on my shoulders because of it. For the past couple of months I have been praying about something and have just felt I wasn't getting an answer.

I had heard a talk in church a couple of weeks ago about being willing to submit your will with the Lord's will, and that is something that I have really tried to focus on, and wouldn't you know it the answer I got wasn't what I wanted! Apparently the Lord has something else in mind for me. I do know that the Lord knows best and that I only need the faith to move forward. The topics in church today reminded me just how thankful I am for revelation that I know Heavenly Father loves me and wants what is best for me even though I wanted something different.

Family Part 2

This past weekend I was able to spend time with Amy and her family while they were visiting in Utah. Here are some pictures from the Oquirrh Mountain Temple Open House.

Family

I met up with Sarah and David for a few days while they were visiting in UT for the 4th of July.

Here is a cute picture of Reed Cook. This was the first time that I met him. He wasn't too thrilled about me, but I got this cute picture of him playing peek a boo with the door.


Here is Sarah and I at Stadium of Fire for the 4th of the July in Provo, UT. I was so glad that I was able to visit with Sarah and her family for a couple of days.

Birthday

I know that my birthday was a week ago, but I am sometimes very slow to blog. This is the yummy dessert that Sandra made for Nikki and I for our birthdays. It was sooooo good!!!! The pictures should be switched but oh well you get the idea.

Four Things

FOUR THINGS...
1. Four places that I go to over and over?
1. Church
2. Work
3. Macey's
4. Walmart

2. Four people who e-mail me regularly?
1. Shelley
2. LDS Living
3. Target.com
4. Wells Fargo

3. Four of my favorite places to eat?
1. Macayos
2. Texas Roadhouse (they need one in Logan!)
3. Firehouse Pizza
4. Costa Vida

4. Four other places I would like to be?
1. Disneyland
2. On the beach
3. Traveling around Europe
4. Close to family!

5. Four people I think will do this too?
1. Mom (aka Terry)
2. Sandra
3. Sarah
4. Amy

6. Four TV shows I watch
1. Lost
2. The Office
3. Chuck
4. Medium

Relaxing afternoon

Yesterday Nikki and I decided that for our birthdays we would go and get a pedicure. It was so nice! I do really love to get my foot massaged, but I have to admit that sometimes it really tickles me so I have to concentrate on not having my whole leg jerk!

I love to laugh

While at work this past week I laughed like I haven't laughed in awhile! A couple of people were trying to make a video for a team building training, and I of course resisted I really hate being videotaped. But they were persistent so I agreed. My part of the video was taking a lie detector or polygraph test. I looked pretty ridiculous with extension cords wrapped around my arms and neck! I felt like I was being tortured instead. Well then they started asking the questions and we all lost it. One of the questions was "are you related to Old McDonald?" The girl couldn't even ask the questions with a serious face, and it was all down here from there.

I love a really good laugh, it is such good medicine.

Thunder and Rain

I really love thunder and rain, especially in the summertime. And right now it is raining and I can hear the thunder which doesn't happen very much in Utah I have come to find out. I love it!

Together

Yesterday I had the opportunity to go to the Logan Temple where Kelli (the one in green) went through the Temple for the first time. She is going on a mission in July. She has become a good friend along with Jessica (black) and Katie (pink). We have for the past 9 months been able to serve as a relief society presidency together. It was so great for all of us to be in the Temple together!

What a Fun Weekend I Had

This weekend Sandra and I went to Salt Lake to meet up with two of Sandra's aunts. The weather was rainy on and off, but it turned out to be a nice day. Here we are in front of the Salt Lake Temple.

The flowers at Temple square were really pretty.

After spending a couple of hours in Salt Lake, we continued onto Thanksgiving Point where they were having a tulip festival. There was a little pond that had a ton of fish just waiting for people to feed them. They would literally fight over the food, it was entertaining!

Sandra and I met Ranae there. I had no idea the gardens were so big!

Another view of the gardens

80's Party

This post is a little old, but time has really gotten away from me. A couple of weeks ago two girls in my ward had an 80's themed birthday party. Here I am with Katie in our 80's outfits. I don't know if you can tell but I teased my hair, and I felt like it was really sticking out! I had to get some help with my clothes, I kinda waited until the last minute. Thanks Sarah, Amy, and Sandra for all your help!

Spring in Utah

I watched in awe today as the rain turned into snow! I should not be surprised at this, people have told me welcome to spring in Utah, one minute it is sunny the next it is raining/snowing! This normally would make me a little frustrated, but not today. I know it is only a matter of time before the sunny weather will be here to stay.

However, I did want to take sometime to reflect on the good things about this past winter.

1. I got to go sledding several times

2. I went cross country skiing for the first time

3. Tried down hill skiing for the first time and I didn't break any bones!

4. I was able to use my new winter jacket I got on sale over Thanksgiving

5. I didn't get into any accidents this winter

So there are a few things to be grateful for!

March Madness

I have to admit I love March Madness!! I love to fill out the bracket and see how well I did. So far so good. My two remaining teams are still in! Anyone else love it as much as me?

Has This Ever Happened To You?

Well yesterday Sandra and I decided we would go to this little sandwich shop for lunch. We wanted to eat outside and it was a pretty day, the sun was out, but the wind was blowing so it was still a little cold. So we go to Logan's Heros and ordered our lunch only to found out they do not accept debit only cash or check! I should back up because there is another little bit to the story. While we were in line there was a tin with money for this lady who had no insurance and who was injured really bad and they were collecting money. So Sandra and I dumped all of our change into this tin, only to find out we could have used that change to help pay for our lunch! We ended up running to the Wells Fargo which was not very far away but they didn't have an ATM. I had to use the ATM one usually usually drives through to get some cash. We got back just as our sandwiches were ready. I was so embarrassed, that had never happened to me before. I have learned my lesson, always carry some cash with you, or ask before you order do you take debit?

Sixth Picture

Okay so I don't have six files of pictures I have I think only two. But this is the sixth picture out of one of my files. It was taken a couple of weeks ago when Sandra, Nikki, and I went sledding at night. It was such a fun night! Now who to tag...I tag Sandra, Nikki, Sarah C., Kat, Holly, and Amy H.

Church Basektball

For those of you who know me, know that I love sports. My stake has really great stake sports and right now we are playing basketball. Last Thursday I just had a feeling the night would not go so well. Our team had only three players so we had to forfeit, but three very nice sisters offered to play on our team so we began the game anyway.

We were not even halfway through the first half when I injured myself. I jumped up to get the ball and when I landed it was like I had slipped on something and down I went. I rolled my ankle and I felt kinda stupid for several reasons. One I did not step on someone's foot, I was all by myself, and second I couldn't get up. My ankle really hurt! We ended up calling the game and went home early, which I didn't really mind because it wasn't like I was going to be going in anytime soon! It didn't bruise just swelled and was sore for a couple of days. But I noticed last night that I have a little bruising on the side of my foot. So I had to ice, elevate, and then wrap it again. We start regionals this Thursday so I hopefully should be good and ready for that!

Good Quote

I heard a really good quote in church today. The speaker was talking about love and one of the things that she said was that we should never look down on someone unless we are bending down to help them up. I just thought that was a really good quote.

More Pictures

Here are some more pictures from my trip to CA. This one if you can't tell the Hollywood sign is in the background. We drove around Hollywood before I had to get on the plane back to UT.

Lost

I love the TV show Lost, and guess what it is starting up again tomorrow night!

Dancing Princesses

I went to CA for a few days to visit the Phippen family. I think that it had been over a year since I had seen their girls. The girls love to dress up and dance, so one night they did just that. The girls had such a good time. Too bad Darin was still at work



Here I am with Abby, Sarah, and Kate...

Amy and I decided the girls were having too much fun, so we joined them

Snow Adventures

Today there was group of us that decided to go cross county skiing. I had heard what a good work out that it is so I thought why not. That was my first time on skis so I wasn't sure what to expect. I can tell that I am going to be so sore, my arms and legs, and probably my shoulders. It wasn't so bad once I could keep my skis parallel, but when I didn't down I would go. I wish that we could have taped us it was hilarious to watch as someone would fall and then try and get back up. I fell twice once just trying to get back up. I thought it was a lot of fun, and I do believe I set the record for who fell the most. I am not sure of how good my balance is at times.
Last night Nikki, Sandra, and I went sledding near Nikki's house. We each went down separately and then did a couple of runs together. On our first one we hit a bump and really got some air! I don't have to tell you that doesn't really feel good on your back when you land back on the ground, but adds to the excitement of the ride! I have noticed yesterday and today how pretty it can be when it snows. There was a full moon out last night when we were sledding and it looked really cool. I will have to post some pictures of our snow adventures later.

Thankful

I just wanted to express how thankful I am for kind people in the world. I returned to Utah on Saturday and my car didn't want to start at first. II tried again and it started, however I didn't drive very far and my car sat the rest of the night. I didn't think too much of it until I got in my car on Sunday morning and my car wouldn't start again, only this time I knew it wasn't going to start. We then had to scrape Sandra's car because there was ice all over her car and try not to be late for ward council meeting. My bishopric found out and quickly offered to help me. He jump started my car and then tried to charge my battery, but unfortunately the charge didn't take. My car would not start again later that night. Sandra was very kind and dropped me off and work early this morning and was going to pick me up as well. Brother Smith ended up taking my battery to Checker, had it tested, and then replaced it for me. He even cleaned off my old battery because it didn't look so good! He even dropped off my car to me at work after he installed my battery. I hope that in my life that I am as generous with my time towards others, and that I am willing to take the time to go out of my way to help others who are in need. What a blessing to have such people in my life!