Being Ernest

22 days after my fathers passing, 17 days after being laid to rest,
my mother is celebrating their wedding anniversary…
53 years ago today.

These two worked side by side all of their married life.
As parents.
As business owners.
As missionaries.
As eternal companions.

They are two of my greatest examples in love and charity.
My father cared for my mother as long as he was able.
She then took care of him when he was incapable.

Happy Anniversary Mom.
I am certain dad remembers and is blowing you kisses from heaven!

3 things 2015

January
Consuelo passed away from complications that followed a fall that broke her hip.
Her three children put together a beautiful tribute to her life.
With President Cooke’s permission, we were able to place a special call to Kylee just after Consuelo passed.

February
The reality of Kylee returning home set in.
We received the travel itinerary from the Mission Home.
We made plans for her arrival and homecoming.

March
Kylee’s return date finally arrived.
Taylor went through the temple to receive her endowment.
As a family, we returned to Washington DC for a memorable visit.

April
General Conference and wonderful food.
Dad fell and became a member of the assisted walker club
We tore down the big tree in the front yard

May
Payson Temple open house
Warming up enough for morning walks outside
Memorial Day rock climbing

June
Sat with Dad so Mom could attend a granddaughters High School graduation
Payson Temple was dedicated
Got the boat out early this year

July
Fireworks at home on the 4th
Started a project in the backyard that is still incomplete
Fireworks and mishaps on the 24th

August
Newport Beach temple with the family
Disneyland
Taylor was in a car accident on the first day of school

September
Shrimp Boil for Labor day… a new tradition
Road trip to Afton, WY for nephews Eagle Court of Honor
Sang Nearer My God to Thee in the Paris, Idaho tabernacle

October
General Conference again… always uplifting!
Sunday drives to see the changing of the leaves
Thriller with the girls

November
28 year wedding anniversary
Thanksgiving with family… always a favorite time
Chester raided the pantry (again)

December
We moved dad into a Memory Care Center
Hot Chocolate Bar…Neighborhood fund raiser for dear friends
100 Enchiladas on Christmas Day

22

It started with an order from the doctor to stay in bed.
I was to follow up a week later.
I obeyed, knowing that a week in bed would drive me crazy.

Hardly no time at all passed before the doctor called me at home.
He told me that he consulted with a colleague and they both agreed…
We should not wait any longer.
Delivery was scheduled for the next morning.

We had to deliver Taylor one week early to save her life.
I think, however, she just couldn’t wait any longer.
We have felt the power of her unconditional and powerful love for us ever since!

             

Happy Birthday to our sweet Taylor.
You complete our little family!!

I became a mother…

Today is the anniversary of the day I became a mother.
25 years ago today, to be exact.
I remember it as if it were yesterday.
I’m pretty sure it was.

She arrived…wide eyed and curious.
She has always been open and honest.
She is adventurous.
She is head strong but obedient.
She makes me proud.

She is a dancer.
She is a photographer.
She is a blogger.
She is a returned missionary.
She is one of my most precious treasures.
She is my daughter.

Happy Birthday Kylee!

 

coming home

Yesterday, our Sister Missionary came home.
I have been anxious about this moment for weeks!
It was all that I hoped for.
The best part, was being able to hug her!!!

For 18 months, we have emailed weekly.
Skyped 3 1/2 times
(2 Christmases, 1 mothers day, and during a surprise visit from Uncle Eric and family)
Seen photos on Facebook and even in the newspaper.
She was near, visually and vocally,
but she was missed physically.

Last night at the airport, I got a taste of what our Heavenly Father wants most…
for us to return home

While we are here on Earth
we worship Him weekly on the Sabbath.
We communicate with Him daily trough prayer.
He guides us through the Holy Ghost and his living prophets.
He is anxiously awaiting our return. It is all that He hopes for.
I suspect His arms will be open for a hug too!

Best Plans

The original plan was to coordinate an event.
A hall reserving,
food catering
invitation sending
kind of event.
It was decided upon years in advance.

Through the course of these years
my father was diagnosed with Alzheimer's.
His memory diminished quickly.
First it was events, then friends
and now, occasionally, family.

While an occasional “good” day occurred,
it was evident that such an event would
be a great source of frustration for him
as well as my mother.

An evening of reminding my father of who
he was visiting with and constantly explaining
to guests the current status of his condition
was not an evening anyone would look forward to.

So, the plans changed.
Instead of a grand party,
we celebrated my parents golden anniversary in,
what turned out to be, the perfect way.
A small intimate dinner for 8.

We booked reservations at The Roof,
a restaurant stilling on the top floor of
the Joseph Smith Memorial Building with
a perfect view the the Salt Lake Temple,
the place they were married 50 years ago.

The cherry on top…
a little unknown fact, later revealed
they had their wedding breakfast in that
very same building when it was the Hotel Utah.

(Thanks again to Kylee for documenting the event so well!)

Extraordinary

Looking for the extraordinary in today was easy.

23 years ago today, I became a mother for the first time.
My life has not been the same, and richly blessed ever since.

We celebrated in our usual style…
Traditional roses from dad,
and dinner out with the family.
This year we kept it simple and
enjoyed the evening with just the four of us.

We topped it off with dad running off to the BYU basketball game
and the girls running off for shopping spree.
Everyone wins.

Happy Birthday dear Kylee.
I love you more than words can express.

2013

This year started off without much hoopla,
yet it was one of the most memorable New Years Eve
we have had in a long time.

1] the whole family was together
2] we were home from the festivities before 10PM
3] we spent the evening playing with 4 nieces and a nephew

Here is a taste of one of the most exciting moments of the night…

Christmas joys

1. Shopping online and avoiding the lines. (Not so joyous, the 2 shipments that are yet to be received.)
2. San Diego with the family. ( Evan wanted to go to the Poinsettia Bowl and bribed his girls with Disneyland if we tag along.
3. Disneyland at Christmas time. (We avoided the lines at the mall, but found them here…. 10 fold!)
4. Disney food, treats, holiday lights, music and snow. (Painful knees and hips to boot.)
5. Home in time for Christmas Eve Dinner, Sister In-Law as the great hostess. (A family tradition we refused to miss. We all got up at 4:30 AM to make an early flight home.)
6. Candlelight dinner. Remembering the Savior, highlighting the past year. (More traditions we look forward too!)
7. Home to prepare for Christmas day. (Traditional breakfast, another must.)
8. Sleeping until 9, waking up the family. (Lets get this party started!)
9. Family prayer before opening our gifts. (Chester finds joy in shredding the discarded wrapping paper.)
10. Christmas music in the background. (Hardly noticeable with the excitement of a few surprises.)
11. Family arrivals for dinner. (We moved the location from my parents home to our home for the first time this year. I still let mom do most of the work, I just put out the paper dishes and set a table or two.)
12. Gag gifts for nieces. (This time we threw Rachel and Becca in the mix with their Uncle Ev.)

Gadgets are a girls best friend

I am not a big “bling” kinda gal.
Multipack earrings from Claire’s are right down my alley.
When asked, I can never think of a want.
It is easy to understand why my family names me as
the person most difficult to gift.

We all shout for joy when a new (affordable) gadget
catches my eye and peaks my interest.
This year, was such a year.

Thanks to Kylee’s great editing skills,
she put together the great video from a
recent outing to see the lights at the SLC Temple,
where we had the opportunity to put this
great gadget to the test.

HERE is a link to her great video.
(Thanks to Neale for letting us tag along!)

50-25-40 something

What a whirlwind of events over the last 50 days…
Evan turned 50 in October.
We gave thanks with family in November.
A couple of days later, we celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary.
We could not imagine celebrating this milestone without our daughters.
Dinner at The Roof, overlooking the Temple where we were married.
Followed by lights on temple square until the extreme crowds
overpowered the Christmas spirit.
(Thank you Kylee for the photos!)





I celebrated my birthday with the same great crew, minus one.
Once again, dinner out... a small and quite affair.
(Miss you Tay!)
(Thanks again for the photo Ky.)


In a weeks time, we will all be together again,
preparing to celebrate a wonderful Christmas Season.
I am so blessed to have such a wonderful family.
I cannot imagine life without them.
I love and cherish every celebration, event, MOMENT with them.

Abundance

I cannot remember a time when we had a small crowd for Thanksgiving dinner.
This year however, marked such a day.

No out of town guests.
Extended family scheduled visits in the other directions.
Our total number was 8 for the day.

As usual. I carefully planned what to prepare,
when to prepare it, and how to present it.

A month of planning, two days of cooking.
It was going to be as perfect as it could be
with 20 missing family members.

We ordered a turkey 10 pounds lighter
and scaled down the size of remaining entree's.

Then, the winds changed.
Two unexpected phone calls made me a very happy hostess.
1] My brother in law and his family had to cancel their travel plans &
2] My husbands cousin Sip, needed a party to crash.

My 8 quickly became 15!

Fortunately, I am an over-planner,
and a recipient of a tender mercy.
Our 15 pound pre-ordered turkey
was 20 pounds when the butcher handed it over.

Needless to say…
We had an abundance of food
and a house full of loved ones.
Just the way we like it!

Today

This morning, Evan got up as he usually does on Sunday,
and went to his early morning meetings.

It was a slower day than usual, so he had time to come home for breakfast before Church.
He fixed pancakes, one of his favorites.

I spent the morning baking an Apple Pie.
Another favorite.

After church, He grilled up some steaks and asparagus.
Favorites, again.

Must have been someone’s birthday!!
Happy Birthday sweetie!
I couldn’t have pulled it off without you.

Kicking off a 3 day weekend…

After a spontaneous decision, Kylee packed her bags
and took off to Portland with some friends.
Determined to have some fun of our own,
the rest of us kicked off the weekend with a bang.
(Literally!)

We started our day with a movie…
Transformers at the new Cinemark down the street.
Followed by few errands that we had to get out of the way,
especially if we wanted to eat!

Later, we threw some chairs in the back of the truck,
packed a small cooler with some water,
grabbed the camera and the dog,
and headed west to Riverton for some fireworks!

Congrats to the Grad!!

Class of 2011…
The 100th graduating class of Jordan High School!

Jr. Prom

Tonight is JHS’s Jr. Prom.
After an afternoon of hiking,
(followed by a panic stricken father-moment when the thunderstorm hit the valley)
Taylor transformed herself into a beauty!!

She has always loved her sister’s Jr. Prom dress,
and a quick trip to the tailor earlier this week was all that was needed.
A little pampering at the beauty salon saved me from an afternoon of frustration.
Here are the results.

She practiced pinning the boutonniere on dad,

then on her date. She received her corsage and off they went.

Call us crazy…
curfew is left to her own discretion.

Mothers Day

Saturday
Non-Stop Gardening.
(Hoping we don’t kill this one off… green thumbs we have NOT!)
Phase I of feast prep.

Sunday
5:30 Wake up to start Phase II of feast prep.
(I know, I should not be working so hard, but I have a Mom too!)
Public declarations of gratitude from my daughters … posted on their Blogs.
The creating of Mother’s Day Cards to place on the framed photo for Mom/Grandma.
A break to play Dutch Blitz with my youngest.

A house full of family and chaos.
(One of my favorite things!)
An awesome card from a Nephew
(who may know me a little too well)

Forks flying on the floor.
Blaming Rachel.
(because she is so cute, and such a good sport)
Believing it was her Dad!!

Eating until our tummies burst.
Spilt punch in the fridge.
(Which led to a top to bottom scrubbing…Thanks Evan!!)
An awesome husband.
Terrific daughters.
A perfect day!
(weekend)

Teighteen

I have been blessed with 2 wonderful daughters.
Both have grown into beautiful young women!
They are two of my greatest examples.
I love learning from them.

Today, my baby becomes an adult.
A young adult of 18, that is.

She is one who has endured more in her 18 years of life
than anyone would ever care to endure.

She is long suffering, brave and strong.
Most of all…. she is faithful.

Happy Birthday Tay!!

Thank you for teaching me so much!

A day in the “Week of Taylor”

Start with multiple toppings
(Chicken, Pepperoni, Ham, Peppers, Onions, Mushrooms, Olives, Pineapple,
Mozzarella Cheese, BBQ Sauce, Pizza Sauce, Ranch Dressing)
and many loaves of french bread…

and top it off with awesome friends…

and you’ve got yourself a pizza/movie watching/game playing

Birthday week (a variation)

Traditionally, my daughter’s birthdays are a week-long event.
On Sunday we kick off birthday-week.
But wait…. Taylor gets a bonus:
we are starting a day early this year!

Her awesome friend Raven has volunteered
to put together one of the Birthday Week events.
Since the Saturday AFTER her birthday is
right before Spring Break…
and many other awesome friends want to help celebrate…
we are kicking off birthday week on Saturday.

Stay tuned for a pictorial of the upcoming events
as my baby turns 18 (ugh)!