2013 April General Conference

One of the best weekends of the year - GENERAL CONFERENCE!  You can watch all of the talks online by clicking here.   I promise that it is worth it.

 Wonderful talk by Elder L. Whitney Clayton about marriage.  Best quote ever:   "Marriage is God's gift to us, a quality marriage is our gift to Him."  Another favorite:  "Terrific marriages are completely respectful, transparent and loyal." 

Other fave speakers - Elder Bednar and Elder Uchdorf. 

 I'm still hoping that Elder Holland will speak as he is my favorite.  One of the best General Conference  talks ever was by Elder Holland.  You can watch that talk by clicking here.  My favorite wisdom from Elder Holland during that talk was "Trumpeted from the summit of Calvary is the truth that we will never be left alone nor unaided, even if sometimes we may feel that we are."

 After Elder Clayton's talk, I turned to Mr. Wonderful and commented that I thought we were doing great in that department.  He agreed.

 We stay in pajamas to watch conference, pass copious amounts of salt water taffy, and try to make it a fun, peaceful, family tradition.

And doggie girl makes her circuit to get attention from every family member.

We sure miss Firstborn.  It is our first General Conference without him.  But we are grateful that he is serving his mission and wouldn't change a thing.  It is our understanding that he is able to watch conference online from his area, by streaming the conference online. 

Thanksgiving

27 lb turkey plus........ 

veggies and dippy dip, traditional stuffing, wild rice stuffing with dried cherries and pecans, gravy, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, au gratin potatoes, homemade rolls with butter and jam, brie and baguette,  plus....... 

hungry people, plus.... 

more hungry people, plus.... 

more hungry people, plus.... 

plenty of food for seconds, the most amazing apple pie on the planet, pumpking and sourcream lemon and pecan pie, plus.... 

gratitude for friends who are like family.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Going to the MTC

I was told that the drive to Utah to take my son to the MTC would be the most emotional drive ever.  I did not cry once.  I was excited for my son.

 After taking care of banking, buying a backpack last minute, and lunch at the Brick Oven (where, we didn't know until we got there, that missionaries entering the MTC that day eat free), we stopped by the Provo LDS Temple for pictures.  It seemed that everyone else taking a son or daughter into the MTC decided to do the same thing.

 The kids were tired and not looking forward to the hours long drive home.  Firstborn was just excited.

 The day was bright and mild.  Still no tears from mom.

 As we left to get back into the car to head to the MTC across the street.....

 Firstborn couldn't resist teasing Thirdborn one last time.  I think he was theatening to throw his little brother into a snow bank.

 At the MTC, there is no lollygagging.  The luggage is removed quickly and goodbyes are even quicker.  The tears (mine) started to come.

It was a lot like the first day of kindergarten.  All smiles, no tears, quick lean instead of a real hug (all the while talking to the missionary over my shoulder) and then off into the doors of the MTC without even a glance back.  He was ready.

On the way to the freeway, as I dried my tears, The Love Magnet started to cry.  Mr. Wonderful and I tried to console her, telling her that Firstborn was safe and she could email him and that he would email her back.  She replied "I'm not sad about him!  I MISS MY PUPPY!"  We couldn't help but burst out laughing.  It was too funny!  Later that night, The Love Magnet was in her bed and I heard her crying.  I went into her room and wrapped my arms around her.  "Honey, look it is okay.  Doggie Girl can sleep in your room tonight.  Look how happy she is to see you."  My duaghter looked up at me with tears on her cheeks.  "I'm not crying about her.  I miss my brother!"

Yeah.  We all miss him, sweetheart.

Camping at Horsethief Reservoir

We went camping up at Horsethief Reservoir. It was too overcrowded. We were lucky to get the last spot available. Since Mr. Wonderful and Firstborn were coming up later, Uncle Nate supervised Secondborn and Thirdborn in the making of fire. They tried flint and steel. Then they tried matches. Thirdborn spilled matches everywhere. It took a lot of tries but they finally got a decent fire burning.

Uncle Nate was so patient with the young pyromaniacs. He deserved a gold medal.

The boys ran to the lake to try to catch fish for dinner while Nate, Eliza, The Love Magnet and I waited back at camp.

Thirdborn came running back to camp with a huge fish. We were surprised he caught one so quickly. He told us he did not catch it, but that he found it. He thought a boat must have hit it. He wanted so badly to cook it for dinner. Mr. Wonderful and Uncle Nate had to point out that the coloring was off and that it would probably make him very sick if he tried eating it. Thirdborn was so disappointed. He really wanted to have trout for dinner. No way. Not this fish.

Finally it was time to cook brats (my back-up plan for dinner) and s'mores for dessert.

Thirdborn LOVED s'mores!

The Love Magnet loved s'mores!

Did Secondborn like s'mores? Not sure.

We kept the fire going pretty late. It was fun to sit around, watching the stars.

Three of the four tents we had between the eight of us. Plenty of room.

The morning was cold. Good thing we had three Eagle Scouts (Mr. Wonderful, Uncle Nate, and Firstborn) who knew how to build fires.

No, Thirdborn did not have a black eye. That was dirt all over his face. He slept with that all night and claimed he had just washed it.

After Mr. Wonderful's fabulous dutch oven Mountain Man breakfast, it was time to go fishing.

Mr. Wonderful bought a pink and yellow little kid's tube for The Love Magnet to play with. Secondborn decided to commandeer the apparatus for the more worthy pursuit of fishing.

Secondborn got pretty far out on that little tube. No fish were biting, though.

Thirdborn had great fun rescuing dragonflies from the water. When I asked him why he was doing that, he replied so he could use them to bait his fishhook. No fish were caught and we had to head home.

We stopped at Fisher Park in Cascade to see if we could catch something. By this time most of the campers looked like they were ready to head home to hot showers.

I just had to compare height between Firstborn and Secondborn. Yep, Secondborn has almost completely caught up to his bigger brother.

The Love Magnet fully monopolized Aunt Eliza. Poor Uncle Nate was trumped by his more popular wife.

Thirdborn had to try one last time. No fish were biting, not even in a small, fully stocked pond. *sigh* Maybe next time.

Father's Day 2011

The Father of my home

leads my family

with wisdom's light in all that's right;

my father's good to me.

Father's are so special

with a very special love.

They watch us and protect us,

guide us and direct us

back to our home above.

Today I led 175+ Primary kids in singing the song above. As a surprise, each child brought a 5x7 or 8x10 picture of their dad which they proudly held as high as they could. I was overwhelmed with tears as I tried to direct these sweet kids who were grinning from ear to ear at their own dads.

I held my own picture, too. Maybe that is why the tears came so readily. I miss my daddy, I miss being able to sing to him the same primary song I've sung to him for years (even though it might be silly for a 42 yr old daughter to sing that. It probably drives him nuts, but he only has to put up with it once a year.) I am so incredibly proud of him for the hard work he's put into his mission. A lot of good work is being done in Uganda.

Then there is the father of my four children. The man who teaches my kids how to build things, how to problem-solve, math tutor (mine, too!). He shows by example the proper way to treat women, especially moms and wives. He insists that his children learn how to work hard and how to keep their word. He goes to games, concerts, doctor appointments, scout pack meetings, IEP meetings, and parent-teacher conferences. He plans fishing trips, camping trips, skiing trips, hiking trips, and rafting trips. He arranges basketball in the front yard and volleyball in the backyard. He reads them books at night, listens to prayers, and tucks them in bed. He is MegaDad and heavily involved in his children's lives. They have no question of his love for them.

Huge thanks and much love for the dads in my life. Happy Father's Day!

Christmas 2010

The pure joy of opening a Pillow Pet.

The Love Magnet wanted to help everyone open their gifts.

Seriously, she insisted on helping EVERYONE.

Auntie, Uncle, and Cousins came to dinner after which everyone competed on Rock BAnd Wii. I think Thirdborn won.

Relaxing and watching new movies.

Hanging out and enjoying each other's company.