~BODY BY PRICE~

For a little over a year now I have been training with this beautiful young lady which by the way I have adopted. Every Thursday morning she works me until I am ready to drop and then, I return and we do it again the next week. It takes my body that long to recover after each session! I love it! It's not just that my body feels stronger but it is good for my head too! (THE MENTAL PART)! It just makes me feel good! The handsome guy in the picture is Kami's husband Zac...we sometimes refer to him as "Edward" I have also adopted him...They are the proud owners of ENERGY EXPLOSION an up and coming gym in Springville. It truly is the place to be for fitness! They are so busy with their clients that they seldom get a chance to get away and do something fun on their own so, when I saw this picture on Kami's blog I had to steal it and put it on mine too, just to celebrate the fact that once in awhile even Kami and Zac can get some much needed time away together...and the picture is terrific. Total fitness! I love these guys!

~HAPPY BIRTHDAY STEVE~

Tomorrow is Steve's birthday and although he hates every one making a BIG deal out of his birthday we're going to anyway. All of our family that can would like to get together and have a big "old" BBQ to celebrate. It's about the only thing we can get him to come to because we will have it here, at HIS house!!!

He has always wanted a "Little Giant Ladder" but has never gotten himself one so, because Garett works for "Little Giant" we thought that NOW would be a good time to surprise him with one. I wish everyone could be here but I know that it is impossible. Dad knows that if you could be here you would and he knows that you love him if your here or not. We will miss all of you that can't make it and will have another BBQ when everyone can be here or, we will just keep having them until we have included all of you. How's that?

~BORING-MUNDANE-UNREMARKABLE~

Okay, when I added the picture to this post I deleted the post itself. It is probably for the best because I was feeling a little sorry for myself. I was trying to figure out a NICE way to let my girls know how extremely cruel it is for them to read my blog and NEVER comment on ANYTHING!!! I know that compared to other people my life is pretty boring, mundane and unremarkable but, come on...throw me a bone now and then! It is nice to hear from you once in awhile! I think that I have posted at least 7 or 8 times and nothing, nada, zilch! RUDE! I'm just asking you to look at my posts and ask yourself how YOU would feel if you had big fat "O" comments on every post...like a DOG! And yes, my feelings are ALMOST hurt!

~HAPPY TRAILS~

I consider myself very blest when it comes to back yards...this is my back yard/running trail. Once the snow melts, away I go. I have decided to take pictures of the season changes this year because it is just SO beautiful and everyone should be able to see what motivates me each day! I really do run over rocks, roots and ruts but, I enjoy it and it makes for VERY strong ankles! Poor Steve can't even "walk" this trail let alone run it. His ankles are THAT bad. It makes me sad for him because it really is beautiful ): I have been making this canyon my home away from home for the last 23 years. If my family comes home and finds the car in the garauge, the music on in the house and mom missing they know that I am up the canyon and that I will be home eventually or if for some reason I don't come home, ( which has never happened) they know where to find me. I have slowed down a little over the years but, I have found that it isn't a bad thing. I actually see things now that Iv'e missed all these years.



I love the different flowers that bloom at the biginning of the seasons. I have been so intent on time and endurence in the past that I haven't even noticed them. I do now.

It is a lot harder coming down than it used to be but still so much fun! I wonder if the pain in my knees will ever make me stop or if someday the pain in my knees will stop. I hope for the latter. Every now and then I can talk somebody into taking the trip up the canyon with me but nobody seems to enjoy it quite as much as I do. I quess it has to grow on you for 20 years or so!

~THANKS TO MY GIRLS~

First off, let me say that I LOVE MY GIRLS!!! They put up with all kinds of stuff from me when it comes to teaching me new things...I am not the fastest learner, and I am constantly on the phone asking the same questions over and over again. I have VERY patient daughters!

I just have to say, blogging has become sort of an obsession with me. It is better than writing in a journal any day and so much more fun. I have to give credit for my new found hobby to my girls. They are the ones who got me started and have kept me going. Thanks to them I am becoming computer savvy and a little bit better at writing down what is happening in my life however boring that might be...I really love it! It gives me something to look forward to everyday not just because of the things that I write but because of the blogs that I follow. What fun it is to keep up with family and friends in such a unique and wonderful way! EVERYONE should have a blog. It's easy, if I can do it anyone can...just ask my girls!

~THE WORD SPOKEN~

Well, I have to say that after all is said and done. It wasn't THAT bad. Of coarse I was over prepared and that always helps. I learned to over prepare in college. It gives you a little more self confidence going in than being merely somewhat prepared does. And who doesn't like feeling confident? I really thought that if I could talk for 7-8 minutes I would be doing well. I spoke for 18 minutes! Somebody should have drug me off of the pulpit, I had NO idea my talk would take that long. Good glory...not only am I getting old but I must also be starting to think that what I have to say is terribly IMPORTANT! I am pretty sure that I didn't even give the second speaker enough time to get through everything that he had prepared. People like me make me crazy...I hope the Bishop realizes that he should never, EVER, ask me to speak again!

~CALLER ID'S~

Just what exactly is a caller ID for if it is not to ignore or, put a little more mildly to choose which calls we want to take and which calls we want the machine to pick up...right? So why would anybody in their right mind ( there is a clue there) pick up the phone when clearly there is hidden danger in doing so? Danger so great that it could cause mental turmoil, even nausea and vomiting...

My phone rang around 9:00 Wednesday night...late for me because I get up so blasted EARLY but, since I usually have Thursday's off I was still semi conscious. I glanced at the caller ID and it did register somewhere in the dark, sleepy recesses of my brain that the name held reason for panic. But, being friends and also a visiting teacher for the "name" I felt undue pressure to answer so, like an IDIOT I did. Now, I am speaking in church on Sunday. Yes, it was my Bishop. You can't really NOT answer when he calls can you? I am convinced that my Bishop knows when you ignore him...The guy has a 6th sense...sort of like he knows what you've done even before you've done it! Drives me nuts...keeps me humble but DRIVES ME NUTS! Seriously, he is a good guy, a great guy...but the scale may be tipping more from inspiration towards desperation when from all the wonderfully intelligent, scripture savvy members we have in our ward to choose from, he comes up with... me? Unbelievable!

~THURSDAYS~

Sometimes I feel so small, like I'm not really even here. After all where is "here" anyway. I get up, I go to work, I come home, I go to bed and then I do it all over again the next day. It is just so mundane, boring and tedious. I've lost me. I'm out there somewhere just ahead of Monday but falling behind Tuesday and reaching out for Wednesday...not sure if I will ever even make it to Friday. I had friends once. I spent hours with them on almost a daily basis. Now, I work. I used to ride a bike everyday for one or two hours. Now, I'm too tired. Running was a ritual. Now, my knees KILL me if I even try...Where am I? I get that things change, I get that I'm older, I get that I'm sort of trapped in the "menopausal stage" of life...but, I also get that I have lost important things in my life and dang it, I WANT THEM BACK. I am not ready to give them up yet. Do I have to? Can I still ride and run and be social even when my body and my spirit are screaming "NO" ? How do I get back what I no longer seem to have? Is it just desire or does it go deeper than that? Maybe the answers lie in the "Thursdays" of my life...Awe yes, there I am. I guess that one day a week will have to do for now and how grateful I am to have that day! Hooray for THURSDAY! For the ski days, the bike rides, the swims, the hikes, the runs the walks the lunches the talks and most of all thank you Thursday for keeping both my feet solidly on the ground safely away from the edge where sadly some of us think that if we just step carefully off maybe just maybe we will be able to fly.

~What Matters Most~

I was up early again the Saturday before Easter. It is always a time when I can really think therefore study the best. As I sat at my computer I started writing down some things...then one thing led to another and before I knew it I had my whole thought process right in front of my eyes. I know, I know, amazing isn't it...a whole thought process. I really hesitate putting things like this on my blog because it makes me feel so vulnerable but, I like to write and sometimes I like to share...sometimes... Anyway, here is what I came up with. ( This was supposed to be posted last Sunday...something happened to my thought process)!

What Matters Most

It is not so much about who you are,
but what you bring to the people around you.

It's not so much about what you believe in but what effect your
beliefs will have on the future generations.

It is not always so much about the things you do as a family but,
more about what your family has done for others.

It's not so much about being friendly as much as it is about time itself.
Friendship requires time.

It is not so much the phone call
as much as it is the follow through.

It is not so much the kind words
as much as it is the action shown after the words are spoken.

It is not so much to be a part of something
as it is to truly feel like you belong.

It is not so much to stand at the front of the line
if you haven't experienced being last.

And, it is not so much about being last
if you haven't given up just about everything to be first.

It is not so much about the things that you have but
more about what you do with the things that you have.

It is not so much about how you feel about a situation but
how you make others feel in that situation.

It is not so much about letting it all out,
as much as it is about keeping it all in.

It is not so much about learning all there is to know but
knowing what is important enough to learn.

It is not so much about making mistakes but
more about learning to forgive

It is not so much about how long He was here but,
that He came at all.

And it is not so much that He came but,
that He will come again.

~Africa 2008~

~Manta Rays, Kona, Hawaii~

I have had so many people ask me about diving with the Manta's that I decided to blog about it. Perhaps that way I won't forget either how wonderfully terrifying the experience was. I really do have to say that it was one of the best and worst experiences of my diving career and can honestly say now that I would do it again but, at the time I was not sure if I would EVER want to dive with those "things" again! They are amazing creatures. HUGE amazing creatures! The big ones have a wing span of about 30 feet and can weigh close to 1500 lbs. They are very gentle and eat only very tiny sea life. NO humans...although you could swim right through them if they didn't have a tiny little tail! They swim right at you with their mouth wide open and you can look right at their rib cage and into their bellies!

Because I have a hard time with one of my ears when I dive the Dive Master sent me down before everyone else to try and equalize...This particular dive is a "night dive" so all I had with me was a rather large light. I dove down under the boat and stayed there with my light shinning up at the bottom just like the idiot dive master told me to do...paying little attention to the turbulence in the water all around me I wasn't all that worried until there was a sudden disappearance of the bottom of the boat as a very large object glided just above my head inches above my light and the bottom of the boat...all you divers out there... have you ever hyperventilated with a regulator on? Dry compressed air through a small round tube under several feet of ocean. NOT GOOD! My light was reflecting off the bottom of the boat attracting the Manta's right in to ME!

The Dive Master and the rest of the divers finally after what seemed like an eternity made it to my rescue and because hand gestures are all that you can communicate with underwater, I gave him a couple! I think I made his night, he didn't leave my side the entire dive, can you say "BARNACLE". Honestly, I was annoyed, a babysitter...PLEASE!

~PROVO TEMPLE~

On Wednesday I usually try to spend some time in the temple but, for the last little while it has been impossible because of my work schedule. This week however was different. Spring break gives me a break because the doctors all leave! Well, most of them...I was off by noon almost everyday this week. It was glorious! So, Wednesday I made my trek to the temple but, it was raining and the thought ran through my mind that I really didn't need to go out in the "rain" after all I could come back anytime. Then I started thinking about all the people who save, and sacrifice just to make one trip a year or a lifetime to attend the temple...it's sort of the same feeling I used to get when my mom would say "clean your plate there are starving children in China". I pulled into the parking lot and there was not one parking place available! Truly a test! Overflow parking was my only other option, a very long way from the front doors of the temple. Good thing I had my umbrella! I made my way up the hill to the doors and inside before becoming totally drenched. For some odd reason I had not felt the need to wear my boots that morning...just little black flats now completely full of water. Still I thought about the starving children and those who save and sacrifice and it was good...thoroughly soaked from about the waist down and chilled to the bone I changed and went up to the session. Now, let me explain. I get up EVERY morning at 3:00. I tend to forget that until I sit down quietly for 5-10 minutes...let me just say; that was the shortest session I have ever participated in! I don't recall having to be nudged or prodded but, I am pretty sure that I slept through most of it! I will have to sincerely apologize to the sweet lady I did work for when and if I get the chance to meet her someday! I think for people like me there should be a place to stand and move around just a little bit...to sit is to lay, to lay is to sleep and to sleep is to...actually I am not sure, I don't do much of that...just little cat naps at inappropriate times of the day! After the unusually short time spent inside the temple I ventured out into rain that had turned to snow! I thought it was spring. My calendar clearly said "April 15th" when I went in...Just how long had I been asleep?

~I DID IT~

I really thought that I had run out of time this year for the cookies and as disappointed as I know that makes most of you I was just sure that I could not fit it in but...I DID IT! This morning early I found the energy...and the time to "get er done" so, come on over and have at them. FIRST COME FIRST SERVE!

EASTER EGGS!!!

I love Easter! I think it goes back to when I was a girl and we would pack up the car and go out to the desert for a picnic with my cousins for the day. What treasures we could find out there. Sometimes it was topaz sometimes trilobites or arrowheads but always something! We would run and play all day long and never get tired. I think about some of the things that we did and it scares me, how did we ever survive without getting seriously HURT? I have to say my childhood was just about perfect! So, in trying to recreate that for my children and grandchildren when Easter rolls around I have always tried to make it memorable for them. One of my favorite things to do is make cookies and do a Easter Egg hunt but this year we traded all of that for coloring Easter Eggs. The weather has not been so wonderful so we sort of moved everything inside...Cambria and Sky have had Gage and AliAnah staying with them for a few days so they were the brains behind the whole adventure...John brought Cole and Maddie over also. Things got pretty messy...sorry about the clothes mom's and dad's grandma will replace them! The little ones had so much fun and I think Sky and Cambria had a lot of fun too! I think that we colored 3 dozen eggs, ate 1 dozen, broke at least 5 maybe 6 and the rest went in the Easter Baskets!! All in all a GREAT afternoon! Thanks Sky and Cambria for your help. xoxo

CONFERENCE WEEKEND AT THE CABIN...

It still looks like December in Scofield as of April 5, 2009. The lake is still frozen over and the little fishies are safe for now from most of the fishermen and their wormy little hooks...ick!

There are a few "die hards" including my dad who will actually go out there and drill a hole in the ice and sit there all day with their line in the hole and wait for a fish to bite. I find this behavior disturbing but, my dad thinks that it is somehow exhilarating so, to each his own. I guess with the right company ANYTHING can be fun! Sunday morning we woke to 19 degrees. I think that the lake could stay frozen for some time still with weather like that.

We had such a great weekend with most of the grandkids at the cabin for at least some of the time. I just had to take some pictures. They get a little tired of me chasing them around with a camera but stop once in awhile just long enough for me go get a cute pose. Abbie was determined to dodge the camera as much as possible but we were able to get a couple of darling pictures of her...it's not hard, we could take a picture of the back of her head and it would be adorable!

Cole and Maddie got used to me last week when I got to babysit them while Mom and Dad were on a cruise. So although they didn't like it all that much they let me take all the pictures that I wanted to. What little cuties they are. They are growing up WAY to fast! I can't wait for little sister in June!

We missed having Gage and Ali this weekend with the rest of the kids. They always add so much fun to the group. The little ones look up to them so much. They are the "big kids" even though they are only 7 and 5! We missed Stephanie and Jon too...

Garett has a job that keeps him traveling a lot and this is one of the weeks that he is out of town so we missed him and Lisa also. It is always fun to have everyone there but I realize how impossible it is to make that happen all the time.

If you notice down in the corner of the picture of Cole you will see Sky and Cambria's little one...Shelby! My how she is growing. She is just about as spoiled as Shatze...give her 7 more years.

I loved listening to conference. Our new Apostle Elder Anderson was one of my favorite speakers because he spoke about how important it is to remember that every faith is good and that there are wonderful people and beautiful families everywhere in the world who are striving to do what Heavenly Father wants us to do. That we need to be okay with their beliefs and okay with their friendships regardless of how different they may be from us. Good is good and there is where it all begins...

EXHAUSTED!

Have you ever had one of those days when you just thought that it was never going to end. Seriously, I started the day at 3:00 am and I am just getting home, it is now 5:00 pm and as I walk through the door and sit down for the first time today I am so glad that it is the weekend and I get to be home with my family for the next couple of days. I love my job and the people I work with but "there's no place like home".

I am looking so forward to conference this weekend. I think it is because I am not just tired physically but my spirit needs a bit of a boost also. It is nice to just sit and listen to those who know so much more than me and learn how to try and do things a little better, and in some cases a LOT better. I hope that I can take that very attitude with me to work on Monday morning because it is going to be another grueling day and I know that my family is getting awfully tired of my complaints so, here's to the weekend...conference weekend, home and family. Does it get any better than that? I personally don't think so and I'm pretty sure that anyone reading this feels very much the same way. I just wish the weekends could last indefinitely!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GARETT!

I do have other pictures of Garett but, I LOVE this one taken in Guatemala with one of his favorite little ones! Garett is our APRIL FOOLS baby. I really didn't want to have him on April Fools day but, when you say something like that you are just setting yourself up for the inevitable...I just knew that he would hate having a birthday on April Fools day but, I think that he actually likes it. He has always been a little bit of a jokester so perhaps it is the perfect day for his birthday.

Gar had to be in Pennsylvania today and for the next 10 days will be gone with his job. He will also miss his missionary reunion. For most that wouldn't be a huge sacrifice but, I know that Garett feels terrible that he will not be able to see his mission president and his wife and many of the young men and women that he served with in Guatemala. I know that one day he and his cute wife Lisa will visit Guatemala and make up for not being able to see everyone here this time. In the meantime...Happy Birthday Garett! Be safe and enjoy our nations 1st capitol!!!