Updates

1- Brighton turned 23! 23! Can you believe it? I cant! She was just getting her pop bottle glasses for the first time just the other day! For her birthday she wanted a girls night out. So we (Me, Brighton, Darci & Dakota) went to the temple and did baptisms. I haven't done that in I don't even know how long! It was really nice being there in the temple with my 3 beautiful daughters. They are all so beautiful not just on the outside but on the inside where it is even more important. Then we went to Red Robin for dinner. I think we were all starving because we ordered their tower of onion rings and when it came it was devoured in 30 seconds flat! Pretty delicious if I do say so! It was a really great night and we need to do it more often.
2- Thanksgiving. It was kind of a weird day. It didn't feel like Thanksgiving. No one went and played in the Turkey Bowl. No Slurpees. I didn't really even have a food assignment- I was making Katies yummy dip and a spinach salad. That's all. There weren't even any good movies out that I wanted to see so we didn't go see a movie either. It was just a weird day. Yummy and delicious (Julia made some yummy sweet potatoes, 2 different kinds in fact. And I don't even like sweet potatoes) but weird.
3- Jacksons baby blessing. It was really amazing! There was so much family and friends there. Our house was packed. (And I was excited that our yard was clean and beautiful so that we could have the food outside! Thanks Brittany for having your wedding over here!) It was pretty awesome! Juston did a really good job on the blessing! One of my favorite things was that Gaylynn, Jodi, my Dad and their families came. I have the best family in the world! I hope they know I love them so much! It really meant a lot to me that they came! And we were able to start Gaylynn on a new addiction- Pinterest! She was on from the moment she woke up until dragged away kicking and screaming as they were leaving! I don't know how she managed the drive home for 6 hours with out it!
4- We got the Christmas decorations out last night! Yay!!!! I am really excited this year! Last year I was in a total funk and didn't want to do anything. This year---- I AM SO EXCITED!!!! I love Christmas!!!!
5-I have been working in Tevins school class. I test the kids on their reading. I have been trying to get to know the kids better so I will ask them questions. It has been fun and yet eye opening for me. One girl was wearing a Susan B. Komen sweatshirt and I asked her if she ran in the race. She told me no but her family was involved in it because her mom had died from breast cancer. I realized yet once again that even when you think life is hard, there is someone out there worse off than you. I wont forget her name any time soon! One kid was also from Riverton! I bet I went to school with his aunts or uncles. That was fun to make that connection! I really enjoy going and seeing these kids. And it is fun to see Tevin at school. It is fun to do the testing with him and see how well he is progressing!
6- Dakota got her braces OFF!!!! Yay for her! She looks beautiful! She looks so different! I am so excited for her! The ortho (Carey Noorda) gave her a big bag of all the junk food she wasn't supposed to eat while she had her braces. (we all know that she may or may not have broken those food rules a few times!) I thought that was a really fun surprise! She had braces for 2 1/2 years! Finally over!!!! She's gorgeous!

Time Out For Women speaker highlights

These are some of the highlights of the speakers for Time Out For Women---
Jason Wright-
Author of The 17 Second Miracle.
 He was really super funny. His talk was to open your eyes to see the opportunities that are all around us for service. You don't need those big life changing things, those are good. But take time to hold the door for someone or just smile at them. He challenged us to- Do something for someone you wouldn't normally serve. Hmmm- who should it be today?

Heidi Swinton-
Author of President Monsons biography- To the Rescue.
Hers was just a really great "feel good" talk. She gave lots of insights about Pres. Monson. Mostly about how he NEVER loses an opportunity to serve someone. I loved this quote she gave by Pres. Monson, "When you share the love in your heart. You can become the conduit of love and the Spirit for others" and "The sweetest experience you could have is when you become the answer to someone elses prayer".
And lastly- We are the angels for those around us. For those we know and those we don't.

Mariama Kallon-
Lost her family in a terrible civil war in her country.
She spoke on asking for help from Heavenly Father and then getting up and DOING!!! Her example was of her asking Heavenly Father to send her a black person from Africa for her to teach on her mission at Temple Square. Then she got up and RAN to the So. Gate of the grounds where she had told Heavenly Father she would be waiting. She didn't have to wait very long for someone to come. She asked and then did. I especially loved that she got up and RAN. She didn't sit around and wait. She RAN! That is how I want to be..... RUNNING.

Hillary Weeks-
Musician and song writer.
She did a positive thinking experiment. She bought a # clicker and started counting her negative thoughts. By the end of 1 week she was very depressed and frustrated and realized the only thing that had changed in her life was the counting of negative things. She then decided to count all of her positive thoughts. In 1 week it had more than tripled her negative thoughts. She was happier and excited about the things she was doing in her life. She wrote the song- I danced in the rain because of that experience.

DeAnne Flynn-
She spoke on helping those around us.
*Become more aware of the people around us.
*Look them in the eye and really take notice of them.
She talked about a mom whose son was going down a very dangerous path and that she didn't know what to do. She was inspired to just tell him she loved him. So she would sneak down into his room at night after he was asleep and say I love you. She did it every night for a long time. Eventually he started to turn his life around. But it wasn't until years later that it was because of her doing that every night. He was awake, she just didn't know it.

Brad Wilcox-
Author.
The thing I loved the most about him was that he spoke about that the Savior absolutely, positively does love you. He spoke with such conviction. It just made you feel even if for just a brief moment that you are not alone. Jesus really is there for you. He loves you no matter what. It felt really good. He also talked about that God doesn't just give you what you want, when you want it. Sometimes he gives you trials to help you grow and learn. You wouldn't progress if everything was just handed to you. You wouldn't gain a testimony or anything.

It was an awesome conference. I was lifted and my cup was filled again. I am so thankful for my friend Cara Clay that she invited me to come and join their group. It was a really great weekend!

Time Out For Women part 2

So here is the lovely account of Cara and I dressing in such lovely outfits! I woke up the next morning and was having 2nd thoughts about this plan. Really? Why would I do this? Why would I attract attention to myself like this? But then I thought- I spent $13.00 on her outfit! She IS going to wear it! She wont were it if I don't wear hers! RRRR! And, she will never let me hear the end of it if I back out now. RRRR! So I got all ready. I looked H.O.T!!! Seriously? Why would I do that to myself? Why?

So we go. We get out of the car and I am thinking- if we walk in together, everyone will know this is a joke, right? I had to get something out of the back of the car. They totally left me. I had to walk in by myself. Do you know how long of a walk that was. ALL BY MYSELF? I could see people looking at me like- whats up with the crazy lunatic girl? Nice outfit! L.O.N.G walk! After what seemed like hours I finally made it into the building. I stopped at the bathroom before entering the hall. I did find Cara so we were able to walk in together. Yes, stares, pointing and snickering all the way to our seats.

Before we went in we gave each other a pep talk-
We are strong.
We are confident.
This is fun!
Also the rule was that we couldn't say one word about it to anyone. We just had to act normal like we dressed like that all the time.

Ya, not so much.

I decided to do an experiment with it. I decided to really watch and see how people responded to us. This is what I found-
When you are "different" people don't make eye contact with you. They look away or they simply wont look at you. They cover their mouths so you wont know they are talking about you. Some even outright laugh at you. People are not friendly to you. They give you a wide berth. Sometimes they even are rude. We went to Jimmy Johns sandwich shop for lunch which by the way is super delicious! I was the last of the 4 in our group to order. The cashier was really nice to everyone but when I got up there she was suddenly very cool to me. Not rude but there was a definite difference in the way she treated me than the way she had treated the others in the group. Maybe I was just being over sensitive, maybe not.
At the conference I saw people that I knew. Their reactions were interesting. They came and talked to us but not one asked about our clothes. Not one. They definitely noticed but no comments. So politeness was a response also. Looking back, I loved the response of one friend, Linda Covey. I truly don't think she even noticed what Cara and I were wearing. Her focus was on our faces. I tried drawing attention to my clothes, I kept adjusting my sweater, I pointed out Cara's earrings, I pulled up my pants a few times, I took steps back so she would have a better view of my outfit and she never looked. If she noticed I couldn't tell. It was a good feeling to realize she was interested in me, not what I was wearing. She looked in our faces and listened to what we were saying.

I learned a lot from this experience. I wondered at how I treat people who are different than myself. I realized that I have been one of those people that makes comments with my mouth hidden behind my hand. (on Friday we had gone to Costco and there was a group of polygamists there. We did the same thing people were doing to us) I learned that some people just aren't very nice. I learned that I have more confidence in myself that I thought because you know what? Even though it was hard to be in that room or out in public dressed like that with all those people staring, by the end, I didn't really care about that. If people thought I was crazy, who cares? I learned that I will be better at making people who are different than me feel comfortable when I am around them. I will be making eye contact and conversation with them. I will be interested in them.

It was an interesting experience. One that I would not like to repeat anytime soon but interesting none the less.
Highlights of this experience-
 I am pretty sure I haven't laughed that hard about anything for a really long time. Cara and I were rolling most of the day! Everytime we looked at each other. She totally rocks!
Lolly wanted to go meet Hillary Weeks so I went with her. She just looked me up and down and shook my hand. Lolly couldn't stand it so she told Hillary why I was dressed like that. She laughed and said it was the best thing she had seen at this conference. She totally wanted a picture but didn't have her camera. She also said the sweater was cute and that I should wear it again.

And baby- I couldn't get those pants off fast enough!

Time Out For Women

Over the weekend I was able to attend Time Out For Women in St. George, Utah with some friends, Cara Clay, Darci Larson and Lolly Scott. I was so excited to go. Go get a giant spiritual up lift? I think yes. No responsibility other than myself? Yes! Yes! Laugh my head off with friends? YES! YES! And YES! We left Friday morning at 7:00 am. I went and picked everyone up and after a prayer, we hit the road. We laughed and chatted all the way there. Our first stop? Deseret Industries of course! We were all hoping to score something incredible. No luck on that however. But...... Cara had this super fabulous idea (she thought) of everyone picking out an outfit for someone else to wear. We all said no. She started looking for stuff anyway. And somehow, I said yes to her plan. But only if I got to pick out her outfit. (I think I must've secretly wanted to do something crazy like that. You know, break out of my secure comfort zone) Oh baby! The outfit she came up with was horrendous! Red, pink and tan floral capri pants (which the waist was to small so they wouldn't zip up! Isn't that a great visual!). A blue, yellow and pink floral print shirt and a yellow sweater (the sweater was actually kind of cute) and keep in mind I was wearing orange converse type shoes. I looked AWESOME!!!! Her outfit was turquoise blue polyester pants with an elastic waistband (my grandma wore those kind of pants her whole life) a bright orange Sponge Bob t-shirt that said "that makes me feel all wiggly" an old grandma cardigan sweater that had beaded turtles embroidered all over it, front and back, complete with turtle buttons! Her always lovely brown tennis shoes. And don't forget- the hugest silver and turquoise jewel earrings on the planet! She looked like she shouldve been in a special assistance home. More on this adventure later!

Our next stop was Tai Pan Trading. It is the most wonderful store. It is a home decorating store and it is HUGE! It is so fun to go there and just get ideas. I am pretty sure I want all of their gazebos in my yard! I love that store! I collect white dishes and they have so many to choose from. I could stay in that area for hours! Love it! After that we just went to different places. We even ended up at Wal-mart! (someone forgot their toothbrush!) We also went and dropped our stuff off at Darci's uncles house where we were staying. You should see the view from their house! It was pretty spectacular! They live up on the hill that overlooks both side of St. George. Their view was over the northish side of the valley.

We got to the conference about 6:00ish and found our seats. I love to people watch so it was really fun to see all of the different people. Lots of babies. Friends chatting and laughing. Cute clothes and hair styles. Very busy people, people just relaxing. But I think my favorite thing was just sitting there and feeling that spirit that was there. We were all in a huge room filled to the brim with women. Good women. Women who were all there to be uplifted. It was just a really good feeling.

The highlights of the evening were-
Presenter- Jason Wright. He is the author of the book Christmas Jars and another favorite of mine- The 17 Second Miracle. He was a very funny and energetic speaker. The point of his talk was that we need to keep our eyes WIDE open for opportunities to serve others. Not just big "billboard" moments but tiny everyday ways. His talk was fun.
Then Jenny Oaks Baker played her violin. Oh baby! That girl is seriously incredible! I think we all could have sat and listened to her the entire evening. The spirit and feeling she brought to that room was amazing. I loved listening to her.
Then Heidi Swinton spoke. She is the author of President Monsons biography. To the rescue. I loved hearing about her personal experiences with the prophet. She helped you come to know him just a little bit better and also to feel the love that he has for each of us. She talked about how he (Pres. Monson) is always serving others. And that one of the sweetest feelings we can ever experience is to be the answer to someone elses prayer. She said this- (I think she was quoting the prophet) When we share the love in our hearts, we can become the conduit of the Saviors love and the Spirit for others. I loved that. It makes me want to go out and be better. To help others more.

It was a great evening. I left there feeling uplifted and good. We ended the evening by going back to the house and making bracelets (I had taken my beads so we could make a bracelet that each time we wore it we would think of our fun weekend) We laughed and told stories til about 2 am. I LOVED IT! How often do you just get to laugh and laugh with girlfriends?

I have this phobia of sharing a bed with someone other than Lorin (Don't ask) anyway- I slept on the love seat in their family room. Now, I'm short but I"m not as short as that piece of furniture. I think I may have woken up with a permanent kink in my entire body. Although that might not be a bad thing- Maybe I will turn into a Slinky or something!

Next adventure coming soon!

Yard work

So my niece Brittany is getting married on Friday in the LV Temple. She asked if she could have her reception in our backyard. I told her yes of course, are you sure???? Then I took her out to the yard and showed her how spectacularly hideous it was.

We have a giant yard. Seriously, GIANT!!! It is really hard to keep up on all that needs to be done out there. So for the most part, it just doesn't happen. There were motorcycle parts and pieces everywhere, there were dead plants, bushes etc. There is an old dead truck out there. Weeds. Trash, overgrown shrubbery. It seriously was hideous! She still wanted to. OK! Let the yard work begin!

The kids loved me! They begged to go out and work in the yard! They wanted to stay out there working for hours on end! They never took 75 potty/ water breaks per hour. It was great fun! They were sad when it finally came to a close!

Sarcasm! Did you catch that? Hmmmm! I am pretty sure it wasn't the most fun experience for anyone. Me included. I think they all think that I love doing yard work. I HATE it. I hate the clean up and crappy stuff you have to do. I do love fun stuff like planting flowers or building fun things out there. The other stuff---- not so much.

But HOLY MOLY! They all worked hard! V.E.R.Y. hard! I was so proud of them. And it turned out so wonderful! I love going out there. It is so beautiful. Even though there is nothing blooming or sprouting. It is a beautiful yard. I hope we can keep it looking so nice. It will be fun to start having parties out there again. There are so many fun projects that I would like to do. A secret garden, a roofed cover on the sandbox, a tree house, and a fence by the leach field to name just a few.

Thanks everyone who helped with it. I know it wasn't your first choice of weekend activities, but thank you! I would never have been able to do it all myself!

Oreo

(I stole this picture from Darci's blog)

Oreo-
Oreo was our dalmatian. We had her it seems like forever. We got her as a puppy from my sister in law Katrina who was living in Logan, Ut at the time. She called me one day and asked if I would like to get a dalmatian for Lorin- you know all firemen have to have a dalmatian, its standard. I thought it would be a really great idea. I told Katrina I wanted a female with the very most spots possible. Dalmatians are beautiful. Oreo was no exception. And so Oreo came into our lives.

She chewed on everything in sight. Sprinklers, shoes, rocks, did I mention sprinklers, she pooped all over and oh ya- SPRINKLERS!!! She barked at everything. She was very territorial, she would fight any other dog that even approached our yard. She pooped on the neighbors yard 24/7.

And yet- I would secretly pet her. Even when I whined about what a stupid dog she was. I do have to say that she did let the kids crawl all over her and didn't mind it.

The night she died (Oct. 20, 2011). Jamen came in the house acting all weird. He was asking for some old towels. He wouldn't tell me why he needed them, all he would say was that I wouldn't get them back. I told him to go get some old, crappy, yucky ones. He came and asked me if the 2 he brought out were OK. I made him go back and get some even nastier ones. I wish I would've known. She could've had the best ones we had.

It was horrible, looking out the window and seeing her dead. We think she ate a poisoned rat. (How gross is that!) I feel bad I wasn't as nice to her as I should have been. I feel bad that I may or may not have kicked her a few times. I will miss her. She was actually a good dog. (I am excited we wont have to replace our sprinklers every 5 minutes though!) She has left a hole in our family. Its weird to look outside and her not be there.

I really did love you Oreo.

Brighton & Juston

Brighton and Juston have been living here since they graduated from school. I was a little worried about it. You know- they didn't have their own space, they were cramped into 1 tiny bedroom. They would be bringing a baby home here and not their own place. I was just worried. And you know- it was worry for nothing. It has been really nice to have them here. It has been fun getting to know Juston better. (and he has big muscles and carries heavy things out to the garage for me) It has been fun watching them be first time parents. It was super exciting when Brighton came running in and saying her water had broken. I was so glad I got to share that moment!  It has been so great to be able to hold Jackson and smooch on him. I feel bad that Justons mom isn't here to see him and hold him. It is just nice to be able to talk to them and see my beautiful daughter become a good mom. I am really glad they are here. And they will be going their own way one of these days. I am just going to enjoy the moment while I can because it will be gone far to fast.