Back to having 5, at least for tonight

Tonight we ended up with 3 extra young men at FHE. It was great. For this mama that keeps loosing kids, it was great to have so many with us. Last night we had one extra friend, Jenner, for "spiritual time". David taught the boys how to consecrate oil for the healing of the sick. It was a great discussion and Joseph was able to consecrate some oil. That event lead to some great questions so tonight we watched a conference talk from last fall by Elder Oaks. One of these visitors is one month behind Joseph in preparing for the mission. I'm not sure what the other guys plans are but either way they were all attentive and respectful during our FHE. It was just 25-30 minutes king, but it was a great FHE!!

for my next lesson- mute the music on the right side first

Should we come to Hawaii again

Mornings are very slow. You'll want to wake up at 4:30 am for the day but you can sleep in until 9. That's 1:00 pm Utah time

If you don't want to sleep in, hit
the beach early like by 7 or 8. The crowds are non existent so parking is a breeze. The sun isn't too intense so the whole sunscreen issue is relaxed as well. You'll be done after an hour so you can go back as sleep or just start your other adventures after that.

It's not like So Cal with a jack in the box across the street, so you have to bring your own snacks and drinks.

Sunsets are not to be missed, but for me, bedtime soon followed. Even though it's only 7 at night the Utah time factor is very real.

Good water shoes are so awesome, as well as a good effective sun hat.

Have mac-nuts and pineapple everyday in some form, not too much. Just some.

Our busy summer-

May 12-15 
       19-21
Two weekends of wood badge camp- David
May 22-Mission farewell, open house 
May 23- Houston miracle (David could be in town for Aubrey's leaving on the 25)
May 25- departure to MTC 
June 2- Joseph graduation
June 2- grandbaby #2 announced
June 9- Jacobs license 
June 10 Jacobs first date
June 16-18 Youth conference
June 20-22 Girls camp
           Jacob ordained a priest
June 28- July 5 Virginia reunion/ DC 
July 14-16 Solo idaho trip Idaho reunion
July 15-Harry Potter 7.2 in Idaho opening day
July- Read "learned optimism"- I'm a pessimist. Bummer
July 26- August 13  
3 weeks in a row of scout camp for Jacob
July 30- Sundance outdoor theater. Sound of music 
July 31- Joseph ordained an Elder 
August 4-Wedding shower- Sara
August 6-Wedding & then reception at my house
August 10 The Help opening day
August 11 & 12 Kim graduation 
August 12 scera shell outdoor theater-  Aida
Aug 15-23 Hawaii

A great break

After a good and busy summer we have been fortunate to run off to Hawaii for a few days. Two years ago we bought a voucher for a vacation in hawaii on a really great deal. It would have expired in October. So we decided to use them this month. It's been a super good summer and this get away is perfect for us. We've been so involved in different things that to stop everything is very relaxing. We've been staying in Kona but we have not even taken a picture of the coffee everyone wants us to drink. We do love the "ah sigh ee" bowls though. Sorbet type smooth berry at the bottom, granola and fresh fruit drizzled with honey is great. We also had alcohol free peenya coladas. I know. Such a non islander to not know how to spell those words. Ah well. I did buy a Hawaiian blouse so I fit in better and now David and I are a match! It's been a great break but when it's over I'll be happy to be home. This is a great time!

A very good day

Today Kimmie graduated from BYU. It's been such a hard road for her. Dancing has taken it's toll on my girl. With all the bumps and bruises and disappointments and the surgeries on her feet, and crutches in the winter weather, the schooling was rougher than anyone predicted. But she did it! So proud of my girl. All her set backs and her perseverance and determination adds more to the fact that she graduated. I couldn't help but get all teary and emotional as the music started. Then every blond girl that came in fooled me and I thought they were her. Joseph was able to come but Laura and Steve were working and Jacob is at timberline scout camp but we still had a nice time. More ceremony tomorrow- it's a good day!

Picture of the day yesterday

found this and it made me so happy,

I was blog hopping, and found this site http://idoparties.blogspot.com/
this picture makes me so happy even thought I have no clue who these guys are. Had to share

a fun little something for nine bucks

When I cant sleep at night I sometimes read blogs on my bloglist. I found this great lead for a little journal. It costs about $9 for shipping, but the book is free. how ever that works out--- books only "cost 3.99" to ship from amazon...what ever. I figure its a good deal for the customized journal cover. Heres the link
https://www.papercoterie.com/promo/journals/
see what fun you can have
the promo only goes till the 20 of this month, so ya gotta get a move on if you want to cash in on this deal.
Ill post a picture when I get the one I made.

Much to catch up on

I've taken a few pictures to blog about but this one takes front and center now. Last night Jacob and friends were playing night games ad there was a running head on collision of two young men. Jacob took it in the knee. He texted me about 10 pm saying he had "busted up" his knee but he was staying at his buddies house for awhile longer. I figured he wasn't hurt to badly if he wasn't headed home. Some time later as I dozed, I heard him say goodnight to David then heard him painfully going down the stairs. About 3 am I woke with that feeling that someone was watching me. I looked over and Jacob was on Davids side of the bed crying in pain. He asked for a blessing and we contemplated taking him to the ER. Jacob wanted to try to get some sleep and wanted to wait for an e r visit. Today he missed church and we went to the hospital this afternoon. Thankfully there is no bone involvement bit possible cartilage or ligament problems. They put him in a brace, gave us some pain meds, and instructions to see an orthopedic doctor. So there it is. I did snap a picture in the ER an Jacob played it up with a little drama. Enjoy ;)

Youth conference

Graduation day! YES its official

all around, a great day

Today we dropped Aubrey off at the MTC. It was the day we have waited for since January 4. It was time to get this thing going!!
I started a blog for my missionary girl and posted pictures of her day on that blog.

Here are a few pictures of how I calmed down from a first kinda nervous, excited, sad, happy and monumental day.

Tender mercies

Saturday Aubrey and I set out early to get food and items. Our first stop we saw Brother Packer from our Lehi ward. We talked about the mission and he wished her well. I started having nagging thoughts about how we should be having the farewell with people that know and love Aubrey, people that have seen her grow up. I was kinda bummed about that. But then some angels got to work and we ended up running into many Lehi loved ones. We saw Sister Ball, Pres and Sister Raines, and one of Aubs HS buds (pictured) then later some more Raines. I think a few more. Awesome!! How often does that happen in one day? It did my heart so !good! to see familiar faces while AJ and I ran around. Familiar! As in family. Tonight the bishop and stake president came over to set Aubrey apart. I partially wished it was Bishop Bailey and Pres Raines. I still long for our Lehi family.
Our current ward and stake are great though and maybe it is the right time for us to be here. I have to believe that. I gotta. Pres. Anderson and bishop Johnson are great and so kind to us.
Being surrounded by so many loving kind people of God is a huge tender mercy.

A new yummy treat

A new friend in my Highland ward told me about a new little snack. The basic ideas is to put about 1/2 c of the frozen berries in a cereal bowl and defrost in the microwave. When it is warm-ish pour on 1-2 tablespoons of the French vanilla creamer. All amounts are really as much as you want, and you can even keep the berries frozen if you want, and you can use any kind of fruit too. Its pretty yummy. It was Ginas idea, but now it's Connie's. ;)

The new water fun

Today the water feature really took shape. The water even flowed for a little while. I was so excited when I heard the water. Dave is going to really be stoked. The water was about 8 inches deep when I saw it but I was told they still had to put more rocks in to cover the liner. The finished depth will only be about 3 inches.

Looking south

Let the water flow

what we have been up to

We are in the heat of May. Don’t worry, it’s not literally hot—Its barely even warm actually. We are in the heat of the end of the school year, and the ever hovering question as to how the grades will pan out. Joseph got a new job that he is training for 7 hours a day for the next 2 weeks! I hardly see him. Kimmie is busy with school, (she graduates in August) Kneaders, and an internship she has with a physical therapist office near our home. Dave is going to be out of town much of the month, and we are of course closing in on the missionary preparation. Oddly, the bishopric hasn’t mentioned a farewell talk for Aubrey yet. I’m not sure what to do about it. We are new here…. It’s not my place….. 8)
We are also fulfilling a commitment on one of the negotiation points of moving to this home. A part of the lot was kind of wilderness area, and not really usable. The boys wanted a place for the trampoline, and we told them we could clear out the wilderness area to give our yard some romping space. We have a few machines out there and the work is progressing even though there is a lot of rain. There was a water feature started out in the yard, which we are going to fully finish and hopefully not regret 
It will be beautiful. I always thought the previous owner, Laurie did a great job with her choices on the plants in the yard. But this spring there is a lot of maintenance that needs to be done. I’m not a plant person. I am not a sun person, and I’m not a mud, bugs, or grime person. But, David is out of town, so I am tackling it myself. Thankfully Aubrey is more than happy to help and she is brilliant. (I do get a little aggression out with the clippers its true) I fear that because I’ve done it once, the job will now be mine……. Oh please no. So here’s a few pictures of my work. I really should have taken before pictures, but please know it was a nightmare before Aub and I took care of it!

A sister missionary shower

Last week my family, my big family honored Aubrey with the very first ever Sister Missionary Shower. We have had several Shirt and Tie parties for the Elders leaving from our family, but AJ is the first Sister representing us. It was such a fun time with yummy food and plenty of Sister Missionary type gifts. Here’s a few pictures for ya.