Mozart in the Making

Jenna had her Christmas Recital tonight. She did great. I am so proud of her.

Day #30: Last day & Light up the tree

Well, today is day 30 and the last of my blogging challenge. It is hard to believe it is the last day of November. We put the lights and decorations on our Christmas tree. It is the biggest tree we have ever had. It is about 16 feet tall. I am not sure what we were thinking. They tend to look smaller outside. It is a little quirky and definitely a "country" Christmas Tree but it has character. Let the holidays begin!

Day #29: Game Night

It seems like life moves so fast that there isn't time for game nights anymore for our family. However, we were able to slow down a little bit on Sunday night and had a game of Monopoly. It was a lot of fun. I was definitely the loser of the evening but enjoyed every minute of it.

Day #28: Blind Side

We went to the movie "Blind Side" today as a family. Loved it. What an inspiring story. I would highly recommend it. It is amazing the hard circumstances that many people are raised in. I am so grateful for the wonderful parents that raised me and for their great examples of goodness. They taught me the gospel and their actions were reflections of their beliefs. They quietly serve those around them. They taught me hard work and integrity. They taught me to think of others and to always try. I love you mom and dad!

Day #27: Kids Say and Do the Darnedest Things

Jenna and her friend were talking about movies they have recently seen. Jenna began talking about "The Christmas Carol" starring Jim Carrey. She told her it was kind of freaky and then says, "That wasn't his best work. Jim Carrey usually does so much better than that." I tried so hard to keep a straight face. She was totally serious. It sounded like she was a guest critic on Siskel and Ebert instead of a 2nd grader.

Robbie just reminded of another funny quote by Jenna. We were on a family trip last year to Nauvoo. We drove there and had spent a long time in the car. Robbie said that he liked burritos and Jenna says, "you are what you eat."

On the same trip, we stopped at a gas station in Nebraska. It was very late on a Sunday evening. Phil describes the attendant as a night shift grease ball for lack of a better description. Jenna told the gas station attendant, "I live in Mendon and we are going to Nauvoo and it is going to take us until Tuesday. And the gas station guy says, "yeah".

About a month ago, I got a phone call from the elementary school. The secretary told me that I needed to come and get Robbie because he had just thrown up. I hurried to the school and there lay Rob in the sick room. It turned out that another 5th grade boy had had some hot peppers at school and at recess was asking others if they wanted to eat them. Rob said he would eat one. He promptly drank a lot of water because they were so hot. He had art and then library after recess. As time went by his stomach began to cramp and he didn't feel so well. Then it was time for lunch. Just as he had gotten his lunch tray he threw up all the water he had drank earlier. Poor Rob was not feeling well. I took him home. His stomach hurt and was in a lot of pain. I called the doctor to see if there was anything I could do for him. As I was talking with the nurse she could hear Rob in the background moaning. Turns out there is not much you can do. We gave him some food because he had eaten the pepper on an empty stomach. But basically that pepper had to work its way out before he would feel better. The time of reckoning came. Rob's moaning could be heard from the bathroom. He came out and said, "that hurt more coming out than going in." I don't think he will be eating another hot pepper any time soon.

Day #26: Happy Thanksgiving & Birthday!

This 30 days of posting is harder than I thought it would be. But I am almost there. This year my birthday was on Thanksgiving. We had about 30 people here for Thanksgiving. It was a great day with family. I am so grateful for family and the opportunities we have to spend time together. I am so grateful for my many blessings....family, friends, home, community, freedom, gospel, health, and love.

Day #25: For me?

Today Phil came home with these beautiful flowers for me. My birthday is on Thanksgiving this year and everyone is coming to our house for dinner so he knew it would be a crazy birthday. Thank you Phil. I love you!

Day #24: Say Cheese!

Alycia got her braces off today! She was so excited for this day. Can you tell? I remember the feeling too when I was her age. I would run my tongue along my teeth and couldn't believe how smooth they were. Congratulations Alycia!

Day #23: Good news...we can flush!

This weekend we had a surprise in our backyard where have recently put in a outbuilding. Apparently, the excavator that graded the ground cut the line from our septic tank to the drain field and didn't tell us. I won't go into the yucky details but Phil spent many hours knee deep in muck and there were a few hours we couldn't use the water system at all. Our friend, Brian, helped Phil come up with a temporary fix though and we were back in business until Rotor Rooter could come today. Good news. We are going to be able to repair the line and we won't have to put in a whole new drain field. Yah! I am very grateful for indoor plumbing!

Day #20, #21, #22: Testimony

I am behind on my daily blog. But I thought this would cover three days worth. This last week some friends of ours had their baby prematurely and he passed away. Our friend wrote such a beautiful testimony about eternal families and where they are finding comfort. I wanted to share their link. I am so grateful for the peace and comfort found through my Savior, Jesus Christ.

http://skye-l.blogspot.com/

Day #19: Yummy Bread Recipe

Here is the bread recipe that I made the other day. I got the majority of it from my friend Kari Rich who said her's is the Kitchen Knead's recipe tweaked a little. Well, I tweaked Kari's a little. Here it is:

Homemade Bread:

Combine: 1 cup warm water
3 T. yeast
1 T. brown sugar
Let sit until bubbly.

Combine in a mixer: 4 cups warm water
6 T. butter
4 t. salt
12 cups flour*
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup potatoe flakes
1 T. of wheat gluten for every cup of wheat flour
3 T. of white vinegar


Add yeast mixture and knead for 10 minutes. Put in 4 loaf pans and let rise for 30 minutes. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until golden brown.

*I ground some wheat that day and didn't quite have enough so I had 9 cups wheat flour and 3 cups white flour. You could do it half and half or all wheat and I think it would work great.

I would love to hear back from people that try this out and what results they had!

Day #18: Lehi's Dream

My sister decided to present Lehi's Dream for her ward's Young Women in Excellence. She wanted it to be a hands on experience with the iron rod, the great and spacious building, and the Tree of Life with it's "fruit". This began her journey in creating a Tree of Life. The picture is very cool but doesn't give it justice. I know this project took more time and effort than I can even imagine. Along with her husband, who is an engineer, they created this amazing tree. I couldn't believe she was actually doing this and going to all the effort. She had a lot of women on her committee and they helped her pull this off. I went over yesterday to help because last night was the big night and I was able to see how her idea had taken shape. But more than creating the tree, favors, and fruit shaped cookies she wanted her young women to take the meaning of the dream deep inside themselves so that will have the desire to receive the "fruit" of the tree. She is not one to be in the lime light and receive the praise of others. Her motivation was to help these young women internalize what my sister believes so deeply and to help these girls strengthen their testimonies. The Savior is the center of my sister's life. Anyone who knows her would agree. The young women followed an iron rod which eventually led them to the tree at the end of the evening. What isn't shown in this picture is the picture of Christ in front of the beautiful Salt Lake Temple that my sister printed off. It was brought out and placed at the base of the tree. Her message was that Christ is the tree and the temple is where we can fully partake of the love of God which is the fruit. I admire my dear, sweet sister for following her heart and sacrificing for the benefit of those young women.

Day #17: Peaceful Mornings

I love mornings that I wake up before anyone. The house is quiet and I am unrushed. I can sit, ponder, and pray. The hard things of life don't seem quite as hard and the blessings of life are at the front of my mind. They don't happen probably as much as they should (that darn snooze button). But, when I do have a morning like this I am grateful. :)

Day #16: Homemade Bread

Over the years I have tried to make homemade bread. I would get a new recipe that was sure to work and I would end up with bricks. I had begun to think that I would never be able to make yummy homemade bread. Well, today was a good day. I think I have figured it out! My friend gave me a good recipe and I tweaked it a little and.....

Day #15: Favorite Running Shoes

My feet are at the bottom of the picture. A few months ago I bought some new running shoes. I absolutely love them. There is nothing quite like a comfortable running shoe. They make me smile.

Day #14: I love to see the Temple

I am so grateful for the temple.

Day #13: Religion in Life

I was able to go USU Institute's Religion Life yesterday. Bruce C. Hafen, a Seventy, was the guest speaker. It was so good. I have so many of his books and I love every one of them.

He talked about the American Fork Band assistant director, Heather Christensen, who was killed a month or so ago when the bus she was in crashed. She was the only fatality. The bus driver had an unexpected medical condition that caused her to pass out. Heather jumped to the steering wheel and many believe she saved many lives because of her actions. However, she lost her life.

Elder Hafen has a granddaughter who was on that bus. He touched on some lessons that he has learned through this experience.

Quick summary:
*What do we give our lives for? Give it to those you love one hour at a time. Don't waste it. The only mistake that is dumb is the one we don't learn from.
*Develop righteous habits before hard times come. Make up your mind what you will NEVER do.
*One person makes a difference.
*Be like a shepherd not like a hired hand.
*Develop humility and unselfishness in the success of others.
*Heather's family are great examples of forgiveness. They have shown love and concern for the bus driver.
*We can have eternal life only if we don't want something else more.
*Atonement is a process. It will heal ANY separation from God. Nobody is so "damaged" that there is no way back. Let's not judge each other because of the "damage".
*Live for tomorrow.

Day #12: Snow?

I have to say I am not so sure I am ready for the snow. It sure is beautiful though. I am very grateful to live in a place that has all four seasons (most of the time and some are longer than others). This is looking out of my front door. Wow!

Day #11: Freedom

Today is Veterans Day. I am so thankful for the men and women who have served in the armed forces. I am so grateful for the freedom that we have because of their sacrifice dedication to our country. Thank you!

Day #10: Look Who's 14!

I can't believe that my little Alycia Rae is now 14. I love her outgoing personality. She is so fun to have in our family! Happy Birthday Alycia! We love you!

Alycia age 4

Alycia (center) age 13

Day #9: Dehydrated Celery?

Went to Honeyville Farms today for the first time. Very cool food storage items. This was one of my purchases. I am anxious to try dehydrated celery.

Day #8: Sunday Dinners

I am so grateful for Sunday dinners. The hectic and crazy schedule of the week slows a little and we can be all together and enjoy one another.

Day #7: Proverbs 3:5-6

This the new vinyl lettering that I put in my bathroom. I love this quote and thought it would be good to see it everyday.

Day #6: Mustang Football

We have had so much fun watching football this fall. We have especially enjoyed cheering that left offensive tackle on. Tonight was the quarter finals and MC came out on top. That means we are headed to Rice Eccles Stadium next week for the semifinals. (Frank is in the middle of the picture on the field. #75)

Day #5: Autumn Bike Rides

I absolutely love the autumn season especially when I get a bike ride in. I just got back from a beautiful ride with a friend. Enjoyed the sunshine, the refreshing crispness in the air, and the good conversation. I am going to be happy all day now. :)

Day #4: Oatmeal Cake

Oh, how I love oatmeal cake. Yum! My dear friend made me this cake for an early birthday gift. It is delicious but very nutritious. It is definitely healthy because of the oatmeal thereby balancing out the cup of butter that goes into it. Mm mmm good!

Day #3: 1st Graders

First graders are adorable. That is all there is to it. Today, I substituted at our elementary school for a first grade class. If you ever need a boost to your self-esteem just go spend some time with a 6 year old. They think you are cool no matter what. They love routines, nothing gets past them, and they want to please you. I had a great day with some adorable first graders.

Day #2: Dancing Shoes

Today was my tap class. I absolutely love it! I have been taking tap for the last couple of years with a few friends. Tapping just makes me smile. We call ourselves "Housewives Gone Wild."

Day #1: Challenge

Today is the first day of my personal challenge. I am going to post everyday for 30 days. I got this idea from a friend and I thought I would try it. Hopefully, focusing on things that I am thankful for since November is the month of Thanksgiving.
Today, we went and took some pictures up in the foothills above our house. They didn't turn out the greatest and hopefully we will get another chance before the month is over. But I am going to post my favorites. Definitely thankful for the beautiful place we live and my family!

Pumpkin Carving Party

We a fun time we had this week. We got together with some other families and had a pumpkin carving party. The kids came up with some great jack-o-lanterns. Fun memories. (Thanks Shaleace for the great pictures.)

Costumes, Awards, and Haunted Houses

Alycia Witchy-poo.

Jenna & Rob getting ready for a big night of trick-or-treating. Jenna is a witch and we aren't really sure what Rob is. .....Perhaps a scary santa thief?


At Pack Night this week, Rob recieved his Arrow of Light. It was a costume party too. We still aren't sure what Rob is. ..... Perhaps a very scary pumpkin man?

Rob built a haunted house at school. They had to design it and they learned how to make a circuit so that a light would turn on inside.

No longer insured with Farm Bureau (Complete)

Recently, my husband told me that my status on facebook might lead people to think that life was a bummer and that I was not happy very often. Food for thought. With facebook we put one word or a small sentence to express what we are doing or feeling at that moment. Sometimes it can paint a distorted picture. Just for the record, life is good and I am happy but sometimes, like all of you, there are moments that I am disappointed, frustrated, sad, or angry. The status updates for the last month or so have reflected some of those times. The following is a story that has been so frustrating to me that I have updated my status reflecting my feelings. This has caused some of you to worry.
A couple of months ago, I was pulled over for speeding in Mendon. :( I knew I was and I had all my information ready when the policeman came to my car window. He looked at the insurance card and asked me if I had a updated card. I looked at it confused. Sure enough it had expired. I just figured that my new card hadn't come yet. He told me that he was going to have to impound my car because the state didn't had record of me having insurance. Then he went back to his car. What? We have always had insurance and we have been with Farm Bureau for 20+ years. We have had our monthy payment automatically withdrawn for as long as I can remember. I called my agent that very minute and the secretary told me that sometimes the state's records are behind and that I was probably fine. The officer then came back asking me if I had a preference on a towing company. I couldn't believe this was happening. I begged the policeman not to impound my car since I was a mile from my house and my car was full of groceries. He wouldn't listen and told me I would need to call someone to come and pick me up. He went back to his car to call the towing company. I called my insurance company again and the secretary told me that we actually didn't have insurance and a payment hadn't been withdrawn for two months. They had dropped all of our vehicles because of Reggie's driving record. Unbelievable. The ironic part of it all is our agent had contacted Phil quite a few times over the last 6 months about selling us life insurance and our vehicles being dropped from our policy never came up. Hmmm. We don't sit around wondering if we are insured. We just are. That is why we had it automatically withdrawn. It never crossed my mind that we wouldn't be insured. They told me that they mailed a letter informing us of the change. I found the letter which said "review at renewal". When I finally was able to talk with my agent, he wasn't even aware that we had been dropped. He just knew there was some changes. Are you kidding me? Isn't that why we have agents? So in summary, this is what it has cost me:

*Impounded Vehicle - $187
*MVD Fine - $30
*No Insurance Fine - $250 (normally $400 -waived $150 because I hadn't had a ticket in 3 years)
*DLD Fine - $30
*Mandatory Court Appearance (2 times)
*Suspension of driving privileges for 1 week
*Suspension of vehicle registration for 1 week
*Mandatory High Risk Insurance

Needless to say, Farm Bureau Insurance Company is not my friend. I would not recommend them to anyone. It has been such a frustrating experience. I wish they had cared about us as people not just some name on a paper that the underwriting department decides has one too many claims or has teenage drivers with tickets. Couldn't they have gone out of their way to make sure we knew that our vehicles were in danger of being dropped? An actual verbal conversation? We have switched companies now with our teenage drivers, high risk insurance and all.

Reggie's First Day of College

Reggie is at the beginning of his college career. He will be attending Utah State University. Go Aggies! What a way to start. It looks like he put on his finest clothes to impress his professors with. I hope it works.

Lost and Found - Backpack Trip Part 3

The ridge we climbed to get our barings.

Me and Jenna kissing the trail.

Jenna kissing the tent back at camp after hiking in the wilderness for 6 hours!

Realizing we were going the wrong way.

One of the mornings, everyone hiked to another lake about 20 minutes from our camp to go fishing. We didn’t follow a trail to get there. We bush wacked. After we were there for awhile, no one was catching anything so they decided they were going to start up to another lake they had planned to go to fish. I had decided that I would take Jenna back to camp because the hike was going to be pretty difficult. My sister-in-law, Sandy, was planning to go back to camp as well. So we started back. You know I hadn’t really paid attention on how we got to the lake but figured we hadn’t gone that far and Sandy probably knew the way. After awhile, both of us weren’t sure where we were. Neither one of us really knew the way. After about a half hour or so we did hit a trail and a lake. It said, First Lieutenant Lake. We didn’t have a map. We really had no idea where this lake was in relation to the lake we were camping by. We headed the direction we thought we needed to go following the trail. Pretty soon the trail ended. But we had decided that we had bush wacked earlier so we probably just needed to follow the river and we would pop out by the next lake. Well, we hiked and hike…..and hiked. The brush started getting thicker and thicker. The flies were swarming our sweaty heads. Jenna was carrying her fish and crying about the bugs and about being lost and about wanting her dad. She was so upset and it lasted for quite some time. Eventually the fish came off the stick because the jaw bone it was hanging from broke. So, I carried the fish in my hand. After a couple of hours, the fish’s skin was getting brittle and I knew it wouldn’t be any good to eat. I told Jenna we needed to leave the fish behind. I really needed both hands to get through what we were climbing through. Jenna was a good sport. About this same time, I had to stop hiking and just hug Jenna. She was so upset and I had tried to comfort her with words but she was tired and scared. We hugged tightly for a couple of minutes and I told her that I would not let anything bad happen to her and things were going to be okay. She relaxed and was amazing from that time on. We decided we really needed to say a prayer to help us all feel better. We hiked through some hard terrain. I actually was more worried that Sandy or I would fall before Jenna. We did have water and food. It is such a scary and uneasy feeling to be lost. For a long time, I would tell Jenna that we were almost there. But as hours went by, I didn’t know anymore. I couldn’t tell her that. I told her we were lost but it was going to be okay. We would be going along and a hopeless feeling would come and Sandy or I would say, “I don’t know where to go” or “I don’t know where we are.” We were waiting for our inspiration I guess. And Jenna would tell us that we reminded her that we were lost and that made her scared and if we didn’t talk about it that was better. We hiked for a long time. We hiked up to a ridge so we could get our bearings. We climbed some hard stuff and Jenna did so well. There was a saddle in the mountain I remembered that Dave had told me that they hike over that to get to Iris Lake where they were fishing which was right above our camp. We had been hiking the wrong way! We stayed up high on the ridge and started heading towards the saddle. We began to hook candy wrappers to the trees to leave evidence we had been there. Our biggest worry was that the others really had no idea we were lost yet. They had planned on fishing for a long time and getting back to camp around 7 p.m. If we weren’t there when they got back to camp they might think we had just gone on a little walk. They really wouldn’t know until it started getting dark and then there would be nothing they could do until morning and then they would worry all night about us. We were getting tired. We had begun hiking at 11:30 a.m. and at about 4:30 p.m. we were still lost. We were going in the right direction though. We decided to start down the mountain. The surroundings were looking a little more familiar. We had a feeling to keep heading down and we came to a river. We decided to cross it and climb up the other side. We hiked up about 30 feet and we hit a trail. I was in shock. I couldn’t believe it. I was ahead of Jenna and Sandy so I saw it first and I started screaming, “a trail, a trail, there is a trail!” We couldn’t believe it. Jenna and I got on all fours and pretended to kiss the ground and Sandy took our picture. The ironic thing is it was the trail by the lake that we had come to 5 ½ hours earlier! Ugh! We were not leaving the trail this time. So we headed down the trail. Well it didn’t take long to realize we were going the wrong direction on the trail because we came to a place we recognized from our initial hike in. So we changed directions and started hiking the other direction. Pretty soon we came to lakes we knew and then back to our camp. We ended up in camp at 5:30 p.m. 6 hours after we started hiking. We basically did a great big huge circle through the wilderness. When we first hit the trail in the beginning, if we had known where we were it would have taken us 20 minutes to get back to camp. We were so excited to have made it back. We were exhausted but the adrenalin was still high. We washed our feet in the river and then went and sat on the grassy hill where we had had church. We left a note at camp telling them where we were and that we had quite a story to tell them. At 6:30 they came looking for us. We had beat them back to camp by only 1 hour. They couldn’t believe the story. I still can’t believe it myself. It was truly a miracle. I truly believe that there really is not explanation why we made it back to camp that day other than divine intervention. Heavenly Father helped us. There is no other way.

First Day of School 2009

It is hard to believe summer is over and school has begun. The only one missing is Reg. He is off to Utah State University. Hard to believe he is in college. It can't be. Can it? I remember college. Anyway, Rob is in the 5th grade. Alyica is in 8th grade. Jenna is in 3rd grade. And Frank is a Junior in High School. As you can see by the pictures. The older two are beyond first day of school picutres.

Temple Blessings

This year we have been blessed to have 2 new temples dedicated in Utah. It is amazing how far we have come over the years. I remember as a young girl attending the dedication of the Jordan River Temple. I still have my ticket and hanky. I remember as a young girl the feeling I had there being in the temple. Now we can go to our own Stake Centers and participate in a temple's dedication. The special thing about today is that all my children were able to attend. I loved the talks and the spirit that was felt there. We were able to participate in the 9 a.m. session.

I really enjoyed the first speaker. I can't remember her name but she is from the General Primary Presidency. She gave a great analogy. She told of her grandson who aften asks his mother "why" when she tells him what to do. If the explaination isn't understandable to this young boy his mom will say "because I am the mom." I have said that myself so many times. We start out thinking that obedience is something we give our parents but we soon learn that it is a gift to us. That they love us more and want us to experience the joy that obedience can bring us. She compared this to our Father in Heaven. We may not always understand but we can experience that joy if will be obedient because he loves us more.

The Hosannah Shout and the singing of The Spirit of God were amazing. I am so greatful for the blessing of temples because He loves us more.

Lunch with the Family

We had a great lunch together celebrating Lynda's birthday. I love my family!

Pack Family Backpack Continued....

Meal time was definitely a treat. What we carried in is what we ate....granola bars, Laffy Taffy, crackers, nuts, trailmix, dried fruit, oatmeal, hot chocolate, fruit snacks, backpacking dinners just add water. There were a few treats: freeze-dried ice-cream, bacon, and fresh fish. Our cousins were cooking brownies in an Outback Oven. Didn't quite work out for them. It exploded. The gas canister, burner and brownies. The pan survived but a little dented. It sounded like a shotgun going off. Very lucky no one was hurt. One of a few miracles on the trip.

Campfires were so much fun. Just being together laughing and being together. The skits the kids did were awesome! I haven't laughed that hard for a long time. Having a lot of scouters makes for some entertainment.

We hiked up to a place in the mountains where there was still snow. It made for fun skiing.

These are fun radom pictures. Alycia was awesome. The last time we went as a family she was about 6 years old. On the way out, we hadn't gone very far before she decided to complain she was tired and her pack was heavy. We couldn't believe it because her back was basically empty. Uncle Dave looked in her back and it was full of rocks. She thought they were pretty and wanted to take them home. She definitely didn't have room for rocks this time. Jenna was our family's water pumper. She loved it and we let her. There was so many wildflowers it was amazing. Reggie decided to do some wood carving of a rose. It is a work in progress. Frank brought Harry Potter 6 to read (actually I carried it my pack because his was so huge). Rob found a scarey looking bug while we were fishing. Rob. Yuck! We moved campsites after the first night to a better one. We just picked up the tents and moved them. Quite interesting. We had church together on a grassy hill near a beautiful lake. Very cool. I am so glad that we were able to go on this trip. Phil has been in Young Men's so long we really haven't had many chances to do this. There is something about carrying in all you need on your back and being away from the world. I love my family and I am glad we could spend time with extended family. My kids have been so blessed to have cousins that are close. Thanks to the Packs!

Pack Family Backpack 2009

We went backing in the Sawtooth Mountains to the Soldier Lakes. What fun memories we will have. We went with two of Phil's brothers and some of their families.

Back Row: Jill, Phil, Josh, Dave, Nate, Reggie, Kevin, Frank
Middle Row: Sandy, Stephanie, Mandy, Alycia, Sue, Rob
Front Row: Sam, Jenna

We hiked in about 4 1/2 miles into the beautiful lakes. The packs were heavy but the scenery was beautiful. We saw so many beautiful wildflowers and lakes - even a knotted tree. The kids did amazing. This was Jenna's first trip. The hike in was a little rough. Phil carried her pack most of the way in.

Jenna's First Fish!!!

Jenna caught her first fish last week on our Pack Family Backpack. She was so excited she could hardly contain herself. No else caught a fish in that lake. One of the pictures shows Jenna's surprise as the fish wiggles out of her dad's hands. They did get it back though. We weren't able to eat the fish for dinner because of a story I will tell in a future blog. What a fun memory for Jenna.

Weeblos Camp 2009

Rob and his friends had a great time with their dads at the Weblos Overnighter.