A good Family day!! Memorial Day weekend....

Today was a good day! My Uncle Shelton, and all his kids came to visit Aunt Marsha's grave and decorate it for Memorial Day. They were all here. It was fun to see them all and visit! Kim, Gary, Brian, and me were there from Dad and Mom's side of the family. Aunt Carolyn, Cloedene, and their brother Robert were there too.Jill came with her two cute girls too. It was nice to have everyone that could make it be there. Oh, and Angela's parents, Charlotte and Jessie were there too.
I cooked Pulled Pork Sandwiches with Coleslaw, and made dessert. Carol, Ang, and Jennifer brought salads, and Mom made baked beans. It was soooo fun!!! All the food turned out great and it was way fun to visit with everyone. We all had to introduce ourselves and say what we were up to and introduce our families. It was fun to hear about what everyone was doing, where they lived and how many kids they had. We haven't had a family reunion on that side of the family for a long time. When it was my turn though they all started clapping, and some even stood up, I was slightly embarrassed.... but I guess that's how it feels when you get an oscar or something and get a standing ovation. I was just glad they liked the food, and that it turned out. My dream job would be to be a caterer.....
I love to cook, and make people happy with the food I cook. Isn't that what most families get together's are? Sitting around and eating and enjoying each other's company... That would be my most fun job ever to cook food, and enjoy watching people enjoy it and being happy being together. Those are some of my most favorite memories of growing up... spending time with family, summer BBQ's around Mom and Dad's firepit, telling stories, sharing memories, and laughing.. I remember laughing alot in my family, especially when my dad and his brother get together, and then my brother's and brother's in-law.... Those are the best times.
The rain let up a little so that Uncle Shelton and his family could go decorate Aunt Marsha's grave... I had prayed earlier in the morning that it would, I think a lot of people did. The sun even came out at moments. I was glad that they could have some time together at the cemetary. And glad that my brother and his wife could decorate their daughters grave, and my Mom and Dad decorated their parents and other loved ones graves.
This time of year when people are rememebering their loved ones that have past, and this summertime when there are family reunions, and family get togethers just made me wonder... think of the reunion we'll all have in heaven... How wonderful that will be to see those that we have loved here on earth again.... Do you think we'll all share stories, and memories? I know we'll all hug, and laugh and cry to be together again. I am soooo glad that we have that hope and knowledge that we'll all be together again. I'm thankful for a loving Heavenly Father and brother Jesus Christ who gave us that hope....
I was also wondering.... do you think we'll eat after we're resurrected? I love cooking and you're supposed to develop your talents while on earth... and if that's one of my talents... do you think that will be something I will do for family get together's there?? Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm....
HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY! :O)

My Morning.....

Well this morning was a weird morning. Usually on the 4th Sunday of the month, we have correlation meeting. So I got up and went over to the church by 7:00 am, and walked in and they had changed it to the welfare meeting cuz of Stake Conference last week. Ugh..... I had gotten up early to ... get the worm? you know "the early bird gets the worm"? I kind of felt like I'd gotten the worm....So I came home and got on FB, then got some dinner preparations out of the way. It wasn't so bad, and later in the day the bishop apologized for not calling me....
When I get on my blog and I go to other people's recipe blogs and wonder if I should do something different on mine.. and wonder if my recipes are good to other people like how I think of other peoples blogs and recipes.. I guess I was hoping I'd go to church and hear compliments about it or something. But anyway, I walked in to church to go down the stairs to the YW's room, and I don't know what happened, if I was tired from being up early that I felt like I was in a fog? or my heel got caught on the steps or what? But I fell down the first 3 steps, and it made a loud noise, and I think I gave Austin Williams a heart attack... good grief.. and it was 5 to 9, so all the men were in the priesthood room. (no one came out to see if I'd killed myself) but I was sooooo embarrassed I hurried and got up and walked to the YW's room with nothing hurt but my pride. I guess when you go to church hoping for compliments, the Lord finds a way to humble you a little, and bring you down to earth. (I'm mean really down to earth :o) ). Then my daughter (who seems wise for her years at times) after laughing with me as I told her what happened, said I should go to church to give praises to others and the Lord, and not seek them for myself. So true, so true. After laughing with Sarah and the YW after I told them what happened, (I laughed so hard I cried,) I felt better and had a better time at church. I will have to remember what I learned today.
Sarah and I got to hold Katy's baby Max and feed him. He's sooo cute and makes the cutest noises! Jim got called to be the Young Men's President of our ward. He'd only been released from being the 2nd counselor in the Stake Young Men's Presidency for only 5 days, and he had received this other calling. He'll do good, he has a way with relating to the young kids in the ward, even though he feels a bit over whelmed.
We had a good weekend... Sarah came home and we had a good time Friday watching "Kate and Leopold" and just being together.
The weather has been odd.... We'll have warm sunshine, wind, hail, and yes, even snow yesterday. It froze last night and my poor tulips were hanging their heads this morning in despair from the cold.
My onions are doing okay, and my peas are starting to grow in the garden. Hopefully when all the other veggies start to grow the weather will stay warm. I also need/want to get some flowers and plant around to brighten up the yard.
I do love rainbows though and after the rain I always go out and look for a rainbow. I took this picture a week or two ago after a really hard rain storm. Guess it's appropriate after my little calmity this morning (which was like a rain storm) that I learned a lesson and had a good laugh with my girls (which in a way is like a rainbow...........

Our weekend getaway to Salt Lake City

Around my birthday last month, Jim called me at work and said since it was Stake Conference weekend and we wouldn't have to teach a class on Sunday, why not get away to Salt Lake City for a little shopping, eating out and a walk through Temple Square. Sounded good to me!! So that's what we did. We got up early Saturday morning and packed and off we went. Our first stop was to the LDS Church Distribution Center where Jim got a new Scripture bag, a few books, and we got a starter kit of food storage (I have some at home, just not wheat, so we thought it might be good to get) Then I just had to let Jim experience The Quilted Bear, I love the place!! It's huge!! Bought a few things for a niece that is graduating this year, and looked at most everything. And yes, Jim was a good sport about it. Then we went to the fashion place mall where we ate at the Cheesecake Factory!! Oh my goodness, if you haven't eaten there I highly recommend it. We both got lunch salads, but their portions are huge!!

We couldn't even finish it, we had to save room for cheesecake.


We got the lemon raspberry cheesecake,and man oh man was it delish!! (I think I ate half of it while Jim was sidetracked paying the bill) Then we were so full we had to walk around the mall to wear off what we just ate.
We went into downeast outfitters and I got a couple of shirts. I tried on a swimsuit and scared myself.... eeekkk!!!
I did find a pair of black jean capri's in Sears of all places... Can never find anything in the stores we don't have here at home for some reason....


Next, we checked into our Hotel which was the Hilton in downtown SLC. (We price lined it, I love getting motels that way) We got sidetracked by Ice Age 3 which was on HBO, and watched that. Then we went to Temple Square. We toured the beehive house which I hadn't done since I think I was in Primary and Jim's never been in there. It was interesting and there are some neat things to see in there.



I loved the old fashioned beds and quilts....


The kids rooms were cute with cute toys... except some of the dolls were scary... don't think I'd like to be in there by myself at night...





When we were walking from the beehive house to the Visitor's Center we passed this itty bitty car parked on the street..... Cute!!
We went inside the tabernacle and there was a girl practing in there on the organ... sounded way neat!!


Also the flowers were blooming and so pretty all around temple square. We spent some time chatting with different Sister Missionaries who seemed to be drawn to Jim, they were all interested in his conversion story. We talked to 3, no actually 4 different sets of companions, who just looked and talked to Jim, (I felt like chopped liver) but then Jim is really charming, and his conversion story is interesting.
Then after all that, we decided we were kind of hungry and thought we'd get soup and salad at Olive Garden. Big mistake...... I had to have some of their fried lasagna appetizer's, then we thought we'd split a chicken Alfredo pizza which comes with a salad. Good heavens we were sooooo full!! and worn out. So we walked back to our hotel, and I passed out on the bed. (we each had our own double bed by the way, LOL) I had weird dreams all night long and since we were up on the 15th floor and I have an extreme scaredness of heights, one of my dreams was that I would go running and jump out the window.... ewwwwwww.

This is our view out the window of our motel room at night.... we were way up high!!
So the next morning I felt like I had been run over by a truck. We rested and finally got up and checked out of the hotel.
Our next destination was Cabela's. We browsed around and thought we'd try their restaurant out. We both got Buffalo burgers and fries and onion rings. It was pretty good, but I don't' think it was good enough to eat there again. There are other places in SLC I like better.
Then we continued to browse around the store, Jim got some shirts. We had to take our pictures by the fish,

We tried to look like the fish, notice there aren't any fish behind us... I think we scared them away!!
and then we were off. We went to the West Valley Mall and wandered around there for a few hours, then decided we would head for home so we could relax a bit before we had to go back to work the next day.... We were kind of sad to leave so to prolong our trip we went home through Logan... kind of a boring drive that way.
But all in all we had a fun time running away together if only for a couple of days. I love my hubby.....
But I have a question... why is it when we age, men just get more distinguished looking... and women.. well we just look old???? and tired????

Another "Booty Butt Sisterhood (and Moms) of the Traveling Crafts" Day

Well, Sarah and I started our Booty days last summer, and we've been wanting to get together for another one since last fall. But it seemed none of us had time.... and then surgeries came up and finally we did it. And since it was Mother's day weekend we invited Mom and Charlotte to join us! We had lots of finger foods, and Marilyn provided the craft!! We had it at Marilyn's house in Rexburg. Marilyn, Em, and Lincoln, Ang, Jill, and baby Whitney, Charlotte, Mom, Nancy, Sarah and me, were all there. We visited while listening to a CD I made of lovely tunes, and then munched out on Vegi pizza, Bruschetta, spinach dip, crackers, vegis and dip, fruit, cheese, and nuts. Then we had lemon bars, M&M's , and Peppermint patties after... Yumm!! Then Marilyn had bought little bird houses that we all had a great time painting and visiting... but time sure flies when your having fun!! and before we all new it it was time to go home.... We need to have these days more often I think.. Here are some pics of our fun filled day!!

Mom and 3 of her daughters!

a Cute mother and son photo!!

3 Booty sisters!!! We missed the other 3!!

a nice grand mother grand daughter moment

A nice mother daughter photo

Mom, Em and Lincoln playing with Mel's cars and ramp!! Lincoln is such a cute little fellow! He talks so cute!!

Sarah had to try out the Bruschetta! it turned out yummo!!

Sarah wanted to take Whitney home with her!! She's way fun to hold,and makes cute noises while she's sleeping (I'm talking about Whitney, but Sarah makes cute noises while sleeping too! :o)

another nice mother daughter pic!

4 generations!!

Whitney just wanted to sleep... even though Mom sure tried to wake her up so we could get a picture of her with her eyes open!!

Just getting started at painting our bird houses

Sarah and Mom both did pink birdhouses they kind of matched!!

Everyone holding up their birdhouses They all turned out cute!!!

Sarah and me with our birdhouses!!
It was a nice day, I hated to have to come home. We all need a "Booty Butt Sisterhood of the Traveling Crafts" day once in a while.. just to get away for a while is nice..

A neat experience

Today after going to our ward, I went with my mom to Jill and Jared's ward in Pocatello to be with them for their new baby, Whitney's blessing. It was a nice drive, I haven't gotten to drive a long distance with my mom in a while and we had a nice visit. The day was beautiful, and we had a few chuckles along the way with our nice map my dad drew for us and trying to find the church. But we didn't' get lost. We were one of the first ones in the meeting. It was a brand new building, and this was the first time the new ward held a meeting there, and Jill's baby was the first to be blessed in it. Whitney looked beautiful in her blessing dress, and it was nice. Jared gave a nice blessing.
There was a deacon up where all the deacon's sit before the meeting starts and he was in an electric wheelchair. I kind of watched here and there a little, and all the other boys would talk and whisper to each other and they'd all smile and it made you smile back.
Then when it was time for the sacrament, the boy in the wheelchair went up and they handed him a tray, and he drove his wheel chair all the way across the front of the chapel to the wheel chair ramp, and up he went and all the way across the front to where the Bishop sat and gave him the Sacrament. Then the rest of the boys did their part and the sacrament continued. But what struck me was the big smile on the boys face as he drove his wheelchair up to the podium where the Bishop sat. I couldn't help but cry.... he was so happy to be able to serve our Savior, and the feeling there was so neat, even with all the crying babies and such. I learned later he had just been ordained a deacon a couple of weeks earlier, and in the old building they used to be in , he'd have to be lifted up to pass the sacrament to the Bishop because their wasn't a ramp for his wheelchair, he has muscular dystrophy. And he and the other boys were all smiling before because he was going to be able to do it by himself.

And I was reminded of another time I went to a farewell for my nephew Michael, there was an older boy, that sat up by the boys that prepare the Sacrament while we sing the hymn.... and they lifted him up from sitting to stand by them, and gave him a piece of bread to break, he had one hand that stayed up by his shoulder and the fingers couldn't grasp very well, but he helped those boys prepare the Sacrament and again I couldn't help but cry. To think of the trials these boys go through in their everyday lifes and there they were with smiles on their faces and willing to serve their Savior. It made the Sacrament hit home to me, and feel the spirit during that quiet time so much more so than usual... and I realized that no matter what, we should always have a smile on our faces while we serve the Lord or act in his stead. I'm so thankful that I got to be there at those two instances, and I thank those boys and their families and the friends around them for being an example to me of how the Savior would be. I love the Sacrament song of "In Humility, Our Savior" and everytime I hear it, I'm going to try to think of these two special young men, and remember the spirit I felt today.
Thanks for letting me share that moment and feeling I had today...

We had a nice day at Jill's eating sandwiches with family and friends, and I can't imagine ever being without family, friends, babies, and toddlers, and grand parents, that's all that matters in this life, and the memories we share together.
I love Sundays.......

Happy May Day!!

Can't believe it's May first and so windy and cold! I need to start planting my garden but it's soooooo cold and windy I can seem to get my husband to till the ground!! Hopefully we'll get it done this week sometime.
Okay... I was going to go private, but I've had so many people that want invites I think I'll just stay like I'm am. Easier that way. :o) I didn't realize I had so many readers!!
I was looking through my photos and ran across some when my hair was a little longer... so should I keep it like it is...



or grow it out to how it is here???
Oh decisions, decisions...... I hate making decisions!!
I have a frame full of pics above my computer of my kids when they were small. Is it just me? or is it hard for other mom's to look at pics of when their babies were small.

I get really homesick for my little guys, although now that they're grown they're my best friends along with my husband... but i still miss my little guys.
Thought it would be fun to post a pic of me and Jim when we were little too! Not sure of our ages....

I always thought my little girl would have curls like me... I hated them when I was older though.... Sarah has just enough body in hers that she can do what she wants with it!

I think Jim looks a lot like Andy. I think he was 3 in this picture from the date on the back of it.
Well, I"m off to get ready to go to I.F. We get to go to the temple to be with my Y.W's advisor Katy Murdock. They got to adopt a baby boy and get to have him sealed to them today. I'm sooooo happy for them, what an answer to all of our prayers. I'm happy I get to share in this with them. He's such a cute little guy, I got to take care of him during Young Women's last Sunday cuz Katy had to teach the combined lesson. He is a cutie and cuddly too! I just love the little noises baby's make..