Two of a Kind

Sweepstakes Cruise - Allure of the Seas

2010-11-30T22:49:00.007-06:00

**** WARNING - This post is really, REALLY long!
Jez was even teasing me that it took longer
to blog it than it did to actually go on the trip.

You are welcome to stay and read it all,
or just skim through. It is more of a travel journal
for us and a way for me to share our pictures
with my family. ****

Back in July Jez met a chef in the Twin Cities.
Soon after he met her she decided to enter a
competition to become the chef for the
signature restaurant aboard the new
Royal Caribbean ship - Allure of the Seas
called 150 Central Park.

After making it through the first round of the
competition they asked the chefs to create a video
which the public could vote for in a popularity poll.
The top 5 or 6 would be able to continue on
and compete in New York for the final round.

The chef was Maureen (Molly) Brandt
and she sent emails asking people she knew to vote
for her. Jez voted for her once each day when the
email came, and about a month later we were notified
that Jez had won the Sweepstakes prize for voting!

The prize included a 3-day, 2 night cruise on the
Allure of the Seas in November with
airfare and all food/beverages/gratuities and
entertainment included!!

We were so excited. We had never been to Florida
or on a cruise, so we couldn't wait to go. We also found
out that same day that Molly was the winner
of the competition so we would see her on the ship!

We were able to have a friend of ours here watch our
kids so we could get away and enjoy some time together.
They have 4 kids of their own, so it was a full house for
them... and I found out she was called to be the new
Relief Society President that same week! (A very busy
church responsibility overseeing all the women of our
congregation.) Talk about charity!! :) We owe them a lot.

So our cruise was for November 21 (Sunday) and
there was the craziest storm I had ever seen
Saturday night/Sunday morning.

It was so cold, but it was raining which made
for freezing rain and roads made of black ice.
The rain was hitting the windshield and then
turning to ice before the wipers could get it off.
It was crazy!!

We were supposed to get to their house at
5a.m. Sunday morning. We left the house a little early,
but still got to their house late. I was just happy to get there safe.

I told Jez when we were leaving our driveway
to check how slick it was... when he hit the brakes the van
slid the rest of the way down the driveway.
We drove about 20 mph the whole way to their house
(we take 2 freeways to get there).

On the interstate there were cars off the road
all over the place. I grew up in Northern Utah and
I have seen a lot of black ice before, but never anything
like that. We passed multiple accidents and
ambulances. At one point when we needed to turn
off the road we were on our van slid sideways and
went up on the cement divider which
was scary, but I was glad it helped us stop as there
were other cars around and it could have been
much worse. We finally got to their house
and we could not even pull up in the driveway.

Thankfully we had taken the kids the night before since
we were leaving so early, and we were going to their house
so they could drop us off at the airport. Monte
(the guy who was taking us) slid down his driveway to
get to the van. I am so glad we were all safe and that
he made it back ok.

Then once we got to the airport and through security we
boarded the plane and found out we would need to
wait for them to de-ice the plane. I know this is a fairly routine
procedure... but I was a little freaked out! I have never
had to wait in a plane as they sprayed chemicals all over it
in hopes that the ice will stay off and the plane can fly!
I kept thinking of that plane that crashed in
New York because it had ice on the wings.

Anyway, after the pilot announced that it would take
an extra 20 minutes or so we found out that it
was too slick for the plane to get pushed off out of the
gate and that we would need to wait for a bigger truck
with chains on the tires to get us out. Our flight left about
30 minutes late which wouldn't be a huge deal
except for the fact that our layover in Memphis
was only 40 minutes!

I knew if we missed that flight we would not
be on the ship in time before it left. I was hoping we
would make up some time in the air. We finally took off
and I held my breath as the plane soared into the
freezing rain and bumped around in the clouds.

When we finally broke through the storm, the sun
was just coming up over the clouds and it was bright
and sunny with beautiful rays beaming into the blue sky.
It brought tears to my eyes as I thought of President Uchtdorf
(a leader from our church) and his talk about the blue horizon.
He is a pilot and he talked about the fact that no matter
how bad the storm may be, there is always a blue horizon
waiting just beyond. He likened that to our lives
and that we should never give up, and to look for that horizon.
I love him! Anyway, it was a peaceful and gentle reminder
that God is always there and I was grateful for it.

My hopes of catching up in the air were soon dashed as we
hit another storm system and the turbulence was as bad as before.
The pilot came on again apologizing for the weather and that
we were falling further behind because of the windy conditions.
The flight attendants assured everyone that they had contacted
the connecting flights to let them know we were coming and to
hold the flights if possible. We finally landed just as our next
plane was making their final boarding call. We ran to the gate
and were able to get our seats together even though the plane
was full and we were late. There was a pilot sitting next to my
seat who offered to trade with Jez. I was happy about that. :)

Then, we landed in Florida right on time. It was 79 degrees
out and it was absolutely beautiful! It was a little cloudy and was
pouring rain as we got to our shuttle bus, but we didn't even care.
We couldn't wait to get to the ship. It was a little windy and did
rain off and on until we left the port that night, but it was warm
so the other didn't matter so much. We were just ecstatic to have
made it there and to be having 3 whole days to ourselves!!!
(The last real vacation we had with just us was about 12 years
ago when we went to San Francisco for Jez's 21st birthday)

The security check and check in process for the ship went
pretty quick and finally, we were all checked in and ready to
explore our first cruise ship, which was HUGE!
(I believe it is officially the largest cruise ship in the world)

Everyone is given a SeaPass to use for getting on/off
the ship and also for any purchases while on the cruise.
It also has your picture attached to it so when they
scan your card they can see that it is really yours.
We were in room #12678

I loved that the elevator told us what day we were on.
I guess too many days at sea could do that to you.

Our stateroom was perfect... and the amenities were
amazing. I haven't slept that well in a really long time.

Jez couldn't wait to check out the balcony.

He was happy with the results. :)

The TV has an interactive menu that shows what is
going on around the ship and in the restaurants.
You can always tell which ones are open and how busy
they are. We hadn't had anything to eat yet all day
so we decided to go check out the Windjammer Cafe
on the 16th deck... it was the only thing open and since
it's a buffet we knew it would be pretty quick.

While we were on board they were filming the new
movie Jack & Jill with Adam Sandler, Al Pacino, and
Katie Holmes. The dressing rooms for the extras
were right across from our room. We also saw the
other dressing and hair/makeup rooms later on.

This isn't a great picture, but they have sparkly beaded
dresses hanging in a display by the elevators. Our
little Josie would have LOVED them! This is looking
out towards the Central Park neighborhood.

Looking out at Port Everglades.
It had been a little rainy and windy, but it was still
in the high 70's. It was so nice after being in the cold.

This is the H2O Zone for the kids.
The pool closest to us was like a whirlpool that would
send the kids around in circles. It looked fun.

Then we went to check out Central Park.
It was one of my most favorite places on the ship.
There are a lot of live trees and plants and
cute little bistro type tables along the path.
They also had a trellis and vines growing over things.
It was peaceful and beautiful.

150 Central Park is the specialty restaurant that had the
culinary chef contest. As part of the sweepstakes prize
we were supposed to have dinner there and also a cooking
demonstration with Chef Brandt (Molly). We got to see
her for two seconds on the way to get pictures of the
restaurant, but other than that we didn't have any luck.
The reservations were already full before we even had
our trip finalized, so they couldn't get us in. We tried to
call our contact person at the corporate office while we
were on the ship, but we just got her voice mail. I know
Jez was a little disappointed, but we were just happy to
be there. Maybe we will catch her on another cruise.

Check out the size of those chairs! :)
I don't know why but every time I see them it reminds
me of the Mad Hatter... like the table at the tea party.

My camera doesn't take great pictures, but the colors
were really pretty. It was like an eggplant.
Dark wine, plum and olive-y gold-ish green.
(Not sure what that color is called)

Back out to Central Park.
The bubbles on the ceiling changed colors.

Next we went to check out the Royal Promenade.
This is actually where we boarded the ship, but we were
just trying to find our room at that point so we didn't
really see what was there.

This is by the elevators. The blue stairs were a nice touch.

Jez on the blue stairs. :)

This picture is by the Schooner Bar. We didn't hang
out there because we don't drink, but it looked like
an old European tavern with heavy black iron and
candles in the windows. It reminded me of a place in
a book I read once. I liked the look of it.

These are the fountains that are underneath the
Rising Tide Bar. The bar moves up and down from
Decks 5-8. You can sit in the bar and see Central Park
and then the Royal Promenade. When the bar is up
these fountains play below it.

And a video for a more full effect...

Then we saw the main dining room that is on
Decks 3, 4 and 5. We always ate on Deck 4, but these
photos were from Deck 5.

This is the carpet underneath that chandelier above.

On Monday night they were filming for the movie at that
table right next to the piano. We were at dinner on the deck
above them, but I didn't get a picture.

Jez by the ship replica/map.
The TV screen behind him is an interactive screen
that you can check out schedules of activities or
restaurants. They had them throughout the ship.

Checking out the emergency vessels. I was surprised
at how big they are. They look tiny next to the huge
ships. These were just off of the running track.

Looking out to Ft. Lauderdale... we also caught glimpses
of Miami. I have never been to Florida so it was fun to
see the cities I always hear so much about.

Our response area for the emergency drill was to be
at section G1, which was at the Aqua Theater.
We decided to head there a little early, and we found
them practicing for their water show, OceanAria.
It was amazing to watch. I was literally holding my
breath on some of those dives. I took a few videos
but they don't do it justice. Those divers are serious
athletes. I couldn't believe their skills (and guts).

There's Jez sitting at the top in the green chair.
I went to get pictures of the city/port when the
sun came out for a minute.

See the guy about to dive off the platform
into the fountains?!

Not sure why it's sideways, but it's a great video anyway.

They have two rock climbing walls by the theater.
We were lining up for our emergency drill when it
started to rain. We had to move into the Boardwalk
where it was covered.

We ended up next to the carousel.

Once the drill was completed they were having a
"Sail Away" party at the theater so we went back
and Jez got us some non-alcoholic Pina Coladas.
For this preview cruise the entire ship had open
bars and all of our gratuities were paid for us so it
didn't cost anything for all of our food/beverages.

I tried to get a video of the fountain show that was
playing while we were waiting for the show to start.

They had the DreamWorks characters on stage with
them and if you look closely you can see Adam Sandler
on the right side of the stage in the white T-shirt.

Madagascar

Shrek and Fiona

The sparkly dresses at night...

We went to watch the ship leave the port.
It was a little windy and rained for a minute,
but it was fun to see the top deck anyway.

This part of the ship was by the Solarium and they
had multiple hot tubs. We didn't try them but
heard they were great.

It was fun watching the ship leave from the port.
A bunch of people were outside their houses waving,
screaming, whistling, cheering, flashing lights and
blowing air horns. The houses along there are huge
and they all have beautiful pools. I don't know how
I would like living right there, but they must love
seeing the ships coming in and out.

Out in the ocean looking back at the port...

Going back to our room to get ready for dinner.

There was a map by each elevator to show you where
you were and where you wanted to go.

Dinner in the Main Dining Room...

I had a Caesar Salad.

Jez had a crab cake.

I had a steak and potato.

Jez had pork loin with asparagus.

And for dessert we both had this pineapple
and pina colada cream pie.

It was a great dinner. Jez was a little more adventurous
than I, but that is usually the case. :)

We also got to see Al Pacino while we were at dinner.
He came into our dining room. Jez is much better
at spotting stars than I am... haha. I pointed out
the camera crew... he pointed out the celebrity. :)

I think he also spotted Katie Holmes and Suri when
we were leaving. They were about 10 feet away from
us in the hall. I just saw a pretty lady with a little girl...

Anyway, after dinner we walked around for awhile
and stopped by this Coke machine on the way
back to our room. It has 106 different flavors.
You touch the screen for Sprite and it comes up with
a whole bunch of flavors of Sprite... and Hi-C and Coke, etc.
I got an orange Hi-C... Jez got a Caffeine Free Vanilla Coke.

We had a fun day, but we were so exhausted!
We went to bed and this is what we woke up to!

It was a bright sunny day with a beautiful
view of the Ocean.

We decided to go to breakfast at the Main Dining Room
and then come back and get ready for the day.

Monday :)

Just in case you forget where you are going in the elevator...

Breakfast was great. We got sat by a couple of other
guests so I didn't get pictures, but we had a lovely chat.
They were both from Canada and had been on many
cruises so it was fun to hear their comparisons.

The menu offered a "Chocolate Buffet" where they
brought out chocolate covered pastries, chocolate
banana bread, chocolate mousse, and a few other
chocolate items. We didn't try any because we
left them for the other guests at the table, but
I am sure they were delicious. I love chocolate!

After breakfast we walked up to see what was on
the breakfast buffet. It was a lot of the same things
but some different. They had tons of fresh fruit
and everything we love for breakfast, so we decided
to eat there on Tuesday morning.

Jez posing by some glass jellybeans...

Then we went back to the room to get
ready for the day. Jez was in peaceful
contemplation most of the time I was
getting ready. The ocean is beautiful. :)

Then we decided to tour some of the rooms they had
open for the travel agents to look at. We started
with the biggest ones and worked our way backwards...
maybe that wasn't the best idea... ;)

I am not positive, but I think this one is the
Owner's Suite. It was beautiful.
This is the view from the bedroom!
(It was a two level suite)

and it had an elevator...

This next one is the Royal Loft Suite.
It is one of a kind!

Personal library and baby grand...

private hot tub...

telescope and patio furniture...

balcony overlooking the sport court and FlowRiders...

and mini-golf...

jacuzzi tub...

view from the bedroom...

and I didn't get a picture, but behind me is the bed
and over my head is a retractable screen for watching
movies on a projector. It was a HUGE suite!

Then we decided to take a break from the tour and
go see where the ice skating rink was.
It was on Deck 4 with the Comedy Live...

and the Jazz on 4...

and the Amber Theater.

This is the theater where they have the Broadway
Show CHICAGO, the Blue Planet acrobatics show,
and any headliner shows.

Advertising for the Disco Party

This is up at the Solarium Bar. It was closed on
Sunday night for a Private Event, so we wanted to
walk through today since Jez was curious to see out
from the front of the ship.

Then we went back to touring rooms...
I don't know for sure what this one is called but
it was nice. I believe it was one of the family suites.

All the stairs were so shiny!
It was fun to see all the different art throughout the ship.

Another family suite (I think) with a balcony.

This is another one of the lounges along the
Royal Promenade. I love how everything is lit up
and sparkles. I would love to live in a house
that is lit up and sparkly! Maybe that is why I love
the holidays so much. All the pretty twinkling lights...

We passed clowns in the elevator...

Then we decided to try out the Solarium Bistro.
It is up by the Solarium Bar we saw earlier.
They have a buffet that is all healthy (Vitality) food.
It was so peaceful and beautiful up there!
I could sit there all day and read. They had these
awesome round loungers with built in shades.

We had fresh broccoli, grapes, carrots, salad,
tofu wraps, pitas and hummus and flavored waters.
Oh, and for dessert I had a fruit bowl with melons,
papaya, and fresh pineapple. It was fantastic!

Then we decided to go to the ice show and on the way
we passed the Amber Theater...
(I love the frosted glass)

and I couldn't resist taking a picture of the sinks
in the ladies restroom. I loved how the sinks
were shaped like leaves.

The ice show was "How to Train Your Dragon"
I didn't get any videos because I don't think it was
allowed, but I wasn't sure about photos. I hope it's
ok that I took these ones...

I have never seen the movie, but their skating was phenomenal!
We really enjoyed the show and think it would be fun to take
our kids. So we decided to go check out some more suites.

This was by far my favorite one...

The Aqua Theater Suite!

Kids' bathroom

Master bedroom which had it's own bath, but I didn't
get a picture. There were a lot of people touring the rooms.

Kids' room... had a queen bed and then two fold out
Twin size beds. Our girls would take the big one
and the boys the fold out ones. It would be perfect.

It had a dining and sitting area

And a huge deck with one side that is peaceful/quiet
views of the ocean...

and wraps around with patio furniture...

to views of the rock climbing walls and the Aqua Theater!

It was amazing! You could watch the fountain and
water shows from the balcony and if you wanted
a more quiet/peaceful view you could go around to the
other side. I would love to take my family there for
a week. I think the kids would have a lot of fun!

Then after our healthy lunch at the Solarium Bistro
we decided to get some mid-afternoon shakes from
Johnny Rockets. :) From our table we could see
the zip line so we watched people go across while
we ate and visited for a minute.

Jez: Cheeseburger and Chocolate Malt
Trina: Grilled Cheese and Chocolate Shake
mmmmm....

Then we checked out the arcade and kids areas

and went to the top deck to check out the FlowRiders.

They were filming the movie at one of them so it was all
blocked off and we had to go around the other way.
We got to see all their props and equipment. We also
got to see into the main dressing room where they had all
the clothing racks. It is incredible the amount of stuff
they need to film! I had no idea. I tried to get a picture
but I didn't get a very good one. They were filming just
on the other side of the mini-golf course.

The setting of the movie must be around Christmas time
because they have everything decorated with garland
and Christmas trees.

all the sound equipment was under those tents
and there was a clothing tent behind them so we
could see people coming back and forth to those.
Like I mentioned above, I don't know if I saw any
celebrities. Jez was watching the zip line and
the FlowRider.

FlowRider is a simulated wave pool where people
try to surf. I tried to get a picture, but I was too short
to get any good ones. This person had just wiped out
and was in the middle of the wave.

Here was more of the filming equipment...

Then we decided to go back to our room to watch the
sunset and get ready for dinner.

This is a picture looking straight down from our balcony.

And here is a picture of the sunset. Since our cruise
was so short, it was the only one we got to see
out on the water.

We read for a minute and then got ready to go down
to dinner. It was a more formal night so I wore my
black dress and Jez wore his suit.

This is a picture of us in front of the picture in our room.
I loved the colors of it.

It is called the Adagio Dining Room on Deck 4.

We had a lovely dinner. This was the night they were
filming at the restaurant so they had live piano music
playing and everyone was dressed up. I enjoyed it.

I didn't get any photos of dinner, but Jez got a pasta
dish and I went for the steak again. I am not a huge
seafood fan and the other option was lamb...
I think our server was disappointed that we were not
more adventurous. He kept asking if we were sure
that that's what we wanted. :)

I did go for his recommendation for dessert though.
It was a molten chocolate cake with caramelized pears on top.
It was pretty good, but super rich. I shared with Jez and we
still couldn't finish it. Jez got a mango sherbet and
angel food cake with strawberries. It was good too.

After dinner we went to the Royal Promenade for the
Parade. We had great seats next to Sorrento's Pizza.
They have pizza slices on hand til 3 a.m. and it is the
place with the coke machine. We got late night pizza
the first night and we got drinks again for the parade.
(Yes it feels like we ate non-stop for 2 days!)

Anyway, these are pictures before/during the parade...

The round sphere at the top opens up and this
catwalk extends out of it. They had characters and
dancers up there as well as on the ground.

At the end of the parade they had confetti and started
getting ready for their disco party.

We went down to the Amber Theater for the headliner
show, which was Ronn Lucas... a very talented,
and funny ventriloquist. We had a great time. There
were kids in the showtime we were at so it was great,
he kept it pretty clean. We laughed a lot, but didn't get
photos or videos because they asked us not to...
Here are some of the theater before the show started.

I liked the carpet

After the show we headed back up to the disco party
where the cruise director was dressed as John Travolta
and dancing to "Stayin Alive"

We stayed for a few minutes and then headed up to
our room. I had brought a new book I wanted to read
so I decided to spend some down time just reading.

When we got to our room they had come to
turn down the bed and we found this towel dog
with my glasses on it. :)

After we read for awhile we decided to try out their
24 hour room service (I know, more food!)

It was really good. We ordered some chips with
spinach artichoke dip, a turkey panini (YUM!),
and a fresh fruit plate. They had all kinds of things
you could order on the menu... and it is all at no charge!

Can you even imagine what it feels like having a break
from feeding 7 people at every meal to having all of your
food brought to you for two days??!! It was fantastic!

We read for a little longer and then went to bed.
Tuesday morning we woke up just as the ship was
getting back to the port.

It was so quiet still and we sat out on the balcony
and watched for awhile.

I realized I hadn't gotten a photo of some of the amenities

the ice tray...
(sorry I should've straightened the glass cover)

and the ipod dock...

our bathroom...

brand new top of the line bath robes...

100% Egyptian Cotton towels!...
(they were so soft and fluffy)

shampoo, etc... we never used cause we brought
our own, but we brought them home so I can try them.

Then we went to the breakfast buffet for something to
eat quick before it got too busy. We all had to be out
of our rooms by 8 and off the ship by 9.

We got a window seat. While out at sea it had beautiful
views, but this morning it was of the dock. I wasn't
ready to leave yet, but I was excited to see the kids.

It's a pretty big buffet. They had all kinds of eggs,
omelets, fruit, potatoes, hash browns, bacon, sausage,
turkey sausage, pancakes, pastries, french toast,
ham, Asian stir fry and juices. We liked their
croissants. They were so yummy!

After breakfast we went back to the room to finish packing
up and got this picture of people leaving the ship.

The big blue building is a customs/security check in
and all the buses lining up to the building were chartered
to take us all back to the airport.

After getting off the ship...

on the bus ride...

We got to the airport at 8:30 a.m. and our flight was
boarding at 12:40 p.m. That normally wouldn't be
that big of a deal because I like to find a quiet place
and read, but this airport was tiny! They only had
two sitting areas in our entire terminal for 9 different
gates! The first hour went by so slow I decided to go
get some trivia puzzle books. We sat and did Sudoku,
word searches, crosswords, etc. for the next 3 hours!
But it was fun, and I was most excited when Jez's
status went from Standby to a confirmed ticket!
AND we even got to rearrange our seats to sit by each
other for the 4 hour flight AND we got our own row
so I got the window and Jez sat in the middle. It was a
good flight home.

Last look at the ocean...

flying over the East side of Lake Michigan towards Chicago...
(we waved to Trinette and Landon)

Home to frozen Minnesota!!

We had so much fun! Thanks to Royal Caribbean for the
great trip, Molly for entering a contest and asking us to
vote, Mickalene and Monte for watching our kids,
and Desiree who gave me a lot of great tips to save
money. We spent a total of $40 since they even paid
all of our gratuities for us.

It was great and I can't wait to plan our next vacation!!
Who's coming with us?? :)

Beautiful Day!

2010-09-26T17:26:00.003-05:00

I know I haven't blogged in almost a year now, and I am busy planning my next post which will include a massive update of all the highlights... but today I wanted to remember what a great day we have had. Talden received the priesthood last week and today was his first Sunday passing the sacrament. He did a great job. I love to watch him grow and mature into such a great young man. He has a huge heart and a wonderful testimony of Jesus Christ. He is an amazing brother and brings so much joy to our family. I feel so blessed to be called his mother.

Jez and I got to give talks in Sacrament Meeting and Josie gave a scripture in primary. It was a busy Sunday, but I am grateful for it. Our talks were on Trusting in God and I loved reading, praying and pondering about my life and the tender mercies of the Lord. I can't wait for conference next weekend.

Anyway, it is a beautiful sunny day in Minnesota with blue skies and vibrant colors of leaves reflecting in the lakes. It is a cool 65 degrees and I am so content to call this my life.

Catch up with you all soon.
Trina :)

Halloween 2009

2009-11-07T19:07:00.009-06:00

Jez got these pumpkins from his work...

I think it is the first year all of our kids got to
carve a pumpkin. They had so much fun!

Josie's

Treven's

Jacie's

Talden's

Treven as Captain Hook

Talden as a Vampire

Jacie as an Ice Queen

Josie as Princess Aurora

Julia as a Fairy

Silly Kids :)

The damage...
(Talden was still at his party, but he had at
least this much on his own...)

Jez's boss at work sewed these cute, cute pillowcases
for our kids to trick-or-treat with. We loved them!

There... I am all caught up!

2009-11-06T21:17:00.005-06:00

CrAzY HaIr DaY

Treven

Jacie

Talden was in his run club at school.
On his last day they did a fun run.

(Talden is just in front of these three girls...
his school teacher is the one in the black jacket)

Talden looking at the beautiful trees next to the
running trail... we were walking back to the
parking lot and stopped to take pictures.

Oh, and he is in band now and this was the first day he
got to bring home his trombone. :)

Jez bought me some beautiful flowers.

We drove up to Duluth to visit his brother Jade.
It was cold and windy.

Boys at Lake Superior

Jez and I at Lake Superior

Jade

Now I need to update our Halloween pictures and I will
be all caught up! Yay!!

Jacie's Golden Birthday

2009-11-05T11:03:00.004-06:00

Jacie's Birthday

Disney MP3 Player from Grandma & Grandpa

The Castle Cake
We made hers from Strawberry Cake
and then added lots of pink frosting
and sprinkles... then we decorated it
with glitter cake gel and plastic princess rings
from the $1 aisle. Jacie decorated most of the
cake all by herself!

We used ice cream cones dipped in white chocolate
(turned purple chocolate) for the turrets.

Finished product...
(yes the star candles are secured only by cooled chocolate...)

The grass was made from white (green) chocolate
with green sugar crystals sprinkled on top.

They liked it!

Happy Birthday Jacie!!
We love you!

Talden's Birthday

2009-11-04T17:12:00.005-06:00

Talden's Birthday

Volcano Cake!
It is kind of hard to see but the volcano is made
out of Devil's Food cake and then we covered it with
melted chocolate and drizzled it with Hershey's syrup.
The rocks are made from chocolate covered cookie
dough bites and crushed Oreos. The light red lava,
river and grass are made from white chocolate with
food coloring and the animals are plastic.
The hot lava is from cherry pie filling...
Talden's favorite! :)
(And we lit it with sparklers/candles)

Happy Birthday Talden!
We love you.

August & September Updates

2009-11-02T12:56:00.006-06:00

Enjoying the warm summer days. :)

Kids playing outside by "The Forest" or so they call it. :)

First Day of School
Talden & his friend waiting for the bus.

Julia wanted to go on the big yellow bus too.
She went and found her own backpack. :)

Talden finished up his Cub Scouts at the end of
summer too. Here are some things he did for art.

And he learned how to row a boat...

Talden receiving his Duty to God - Religious Knot

Receiving his Arrow of Light
Crossing over to Boy Scouts
Display of his Cub Scout awards... I know we are
missing a bag of event patches and also his
red and yellow beads on his placard. But he was
excited to see all his hard work displayed that night. :)

July Updates

2009-10-26T10:18:00.003-05:00

Our cute kids. :)

More fun at the man made lake.

Balloon People

July went by pretty fast.
These are all I have to document it. :)

Day 9,10,11 - Trip to Utah

2009-10-23T12:32:00.006-05:00

Day 9 - Trip to Utah
July 4th, 2009

The last day in Logan we were able to visit with my
Grandma and take a four generation picture.

We also visited friends at the park.
This is my best friend from High School, Janiel.

Our last night we stayed out at the Inn so we could
leave really, really early in the morning.

Day 10 - Trip to Utah
July 5th, 2009

We got to Yellowstone at 7 am and had breakfast
at the Pancake House.

Yellowstone National Park

This one was the Beehive and we could see it and
Old Faithful at the same time.

Treven by Old Faithful

We decided to drive through the East Entrance
and through Wyoming to get home.
It was a long, long, long, did I mention LONG
drive home! We drove from 4am to 10pm that
day and finally stopped in the Black Hills for the night.

Yellowstone Lake

We took a little detour to go see Devil's Tower.
None of us had seen it before, but by the time we
got there it was getting dark and it was hard to see.

Day 11 - Trip to Utah
July 6th, 2009

We drove through South Dakota and Minnesota
and finally made it HOME!! It was so nice to be
back and sleep in our own beds. :)

Day 6, 7, 8 - Trip to Utah

2009-10-20T16:35:00.012-05:00

Day 6 - Trip to Utah

July 1st, 2009

We started the day by visiting Jacie's tree that is
planted at my parent's house. :)

Then we went to the aquatic center and let the
kids have fun in the sun.

I forgot my camera, but for dinner we went to the
park with our friends in Logan. We had a great
time seeing them and getting a chance to visit. We
sure miss them a lot!

Then I went out with my girlfriends to Casper's
ice cream at 9 pm... we stayed until they kicked us out
and then we sat in the car and visited until 4 or 5 a.m.
I can't remember now what time it was... I just know
it was early morning and we were joking about still
being there when they came to re-open in the morning,
and the cops had to check on us a couple times. :)

I LOVE these girls. They are women of great strength
to me. We have had so many conversations that
could never exist in normal life. We have talked
about our greatest trials, triumphs and joys in life.
They have been there for me through all the ups
and downs and I miss them more than I can express.
I didn't get a picture that night, but I have one
from a couple years ago that we had taken before
we all started moving in different directions in the
world. :) Love you grrls!!!
(And yes, I know it is mis-spelled. It is a joke
we have between us... long story) :)

While at my Girls Night it turned to
Day 7 - Trip to Utah
July 2nd, 2009

For my birthday my friends got me the cutest
decorator plate that says...
"FRIENDS... We're not sisters by birth but
we knew from the start... God put us
together to be sisters at heart..."

And they gave me a tile picture that says
"Learn from the past,
Prepare for the future,
Live for the present"
Thomas S. Monson

After 2 hours of sleep I got up and got ready for
my birthday lunch with my mom & another best
friend Kristi. We went to Olive Garden with
just the three of us. It was so much fun!
Love you Kristi... and mom! :)

(I didn't have my camera to get a picture, but this is a
picture off of her blog... I hope you don't mind Kristi)

After lunch we visited with family and then
Jez and I were able to go out on a date!
Yes, with no kids for a whole night!!
(Thanks mom & dad)

We went to dinner at Hamilton's
and then stayed up at Sherwood Hills.

We had a lot of fun. It was really nice to get out.

Then it was:
Day 8 - Trip to Utah
July 3rd, 2009

When we got back to my parent's we saw little
Treven's poor nose. He scratched it on a plastic
lawn chair. It looks worse than it was. He just
has a little scar left. My brother-in-law had
his doctor bag with him so he glued it together for us.
(Thanks Landon)

The kids played outside all day.

Then we got dressed in our Red, White, and Blue for
the firework show that night.

We had a BBQ in the backyard and our own firework
show while waiting for the city fireworks.

My parents deck has a perfect view of the stadium
so we sat there to watch the fireworks.

Day 5 - Trip to Utah

2009-10-15T14:02:00.009-05:00

Day 5 - Trip to Utah
June 30th, 2009

Today was my dad's birthday. It was so fun to be
all together as a family to celebrate!

We stayed at the Providence Inn while we were there.
They have done a lot to fix up the place and the
grounds look better than they ever have!
Here are some pics of us exploring.

My mom and dad.

There was a new monument built and dedicated
just a couple of weeks before we visited.

Here is part of the article about it.

Somewhere along the way, the pioneer monument
was lost. The foundation deteriorated; the time capsule
inside was apparently so damaged that the only thing
worth saving was some old coins; it was all taken apart
and taken away.

But for the 150th anniversary of the founding
of Providence, that monument is being rebuilt.

"For those of use who grew up in Providence,"
says former mayor and current member of
the Providence Historical Committee Alma Leonhardt,
"it's like a lost child coming home."

The monument, which will now sit at the
corner of the property, will be dedicated
on Saturday, June 6, by
President Boyd K. Packer
of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles of
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

"The first monument was dedicated by
George Albert Smith, so we're thrilled that
(President) Packer will do the honors this time,"
says Dale Astle, chairman of the monument committee.

Anyway, here is the monument and Karl surprised
us by having our names engraved among those
who have made a "significant contribution" to the
history of the Providence Inn & Old Rock Church.

Then we went go-karting and mini-golfing.
We had fun and the kids loved seeing their cousins.

(No, these two did not really drive this together!)

Julia before the ride...

Julia after the ride...

She fell asleep out on the track!!
Nice driving Jez. :)

After we went to the Park and had a picnic
complete with AGGIE ICE CREAM!!! My favorite.

Jez playing ball with Treven. So cute. :)

Day 4 - Trip to Utah

2009-10-14T12:21:00.004-05:00

Day 4 - Trip to Utah
June 29th, 2009

On Monday morning we woke up and were deciding on
what to do in SLC for the morning. I got on the church
website to see about the Joseph Smith movie because
our kids wanted to go to the Legacy Theater. While I
was on the site I was reminded of the Oquirrh Mountain
Temple open house. They still had tickets so we got
ready and drove to South Jordan. We made it with
about 3 minutes to spare, but it was amazing and the
kids really enjoyed getting to be inside the temple. It is
such a beautiful place. Here is an article that shows
pictures from inside the temple for any of you that didn't
get a chance to go. I love the beautiful windows and
crystal chandeliers. I love the sparkles and the white.
It is a little piece of heaven on earth.

http://www.ldschurchnews.com/articles/57353/Media-tour-Oquirrh-Mountain-Utah-Temple.html

Then we stopped at Marianne's and got to visit and see
her cute new house. I loved it! And this awesome
picture above her fireplace. :)

Kids making snow cones.

Marianne and I :) (Love you!)

Then we went to see Ty & Nicole's apartment and
went to dinner with them at Red Robin.
(Love you guys too!!)

Jacie in the Parking Lot

Attempt at getting a picture of the mountains.

And the sunset in the canyon.

We got to Logan pretty late so we went to the Inn
where we were staying for a few days and met my
parents there. We had a fun day and the kids all
went straight to bed that night. :)

Day 3 - Trip to Utah

2009-10-13T09:08:00.010-05:00

Day 3 - Trip to Utah
June 28th, 2009

After a great night's sleep we woke to a beautiful
Sunday morning in Vernal.

We went to church with Jeff and Dana before
heading to Salt Lake City.

When we got to SLC we checked in to the
Plaza Hotel across from Temple Square.

Then we headed over to Temple Square. My brother
Tyler and his wife Nicole came to meet us and take
some pictures. I love, Love, LOVE Temple Square.
There is no place on earth quite like it. It is so
beautiful and serene. We spent as long as the kids
would let us there. Here are some of our pictures...

Meeting my brother and sister-in-law.

Inside the North Visitors Center
I love this one... you should click on it to see it bigger. :)

By the reflecting pool in front of the temple.

Amazing

Angel Moroni

The House of the Lord

Beautiful

Brothers having a contemplative moment...

Josie by the Joseph Smith Memorial Building.

Girls

Julia

Josie

Treven

Jacie

Talden

All of us by the Relief Society Building

Another great one Ty

Our Eternal Family

Attempt to get one by the fountains... the kids were
getting tired... Julia kept trying to lay down on the
cement to take a nap. So we went back to the hotel
and visited for awhile before going to bed.

Day 2 - Trip to Utah

2009-10-12T12:27:00.008-05:00

Day 2 - Trip to Utah
June 27th, 2009

Getting a family picture at 3:30 in the morning. :)
(BTW Amme, we had all the kids shower the night before and get in their
PJ's... then we packed everything out to the van so when we woke up
they just got dressed and everyone grabbed their own blanket
and we left with one bag in hand! It works great. Our kids were troopers!
They were all half asleep and they slept for 3-4 hours as soon as we hit the road.)

My attempt to get a picture of Mt. Rushmore
as we drove by... The video worked a little better.

Driving across Wyoming. Yes, I always think of the
Pioneers the entire time we are driving across the
long, long state of Wyoming.

Stopping for breakfast at Perkins. We love that place!
I love any place with all day breakfast!

Finally in Utah! Driving South from Wyoming
to see Flaming Gorge and our friends in Vernal!

Who drives a $250,000 Ferrari down Main Street
in Vernal?! Who drives a $250k car period?
(I for one have way too many things I
would rather do with that money!)
But it was a fancy car and it was brand new.

We made it! Talden and Dakota playing Risk.

Cute, cute house! Loved it!

Jez visiting while our hosts were busy cooking us
dinner... which was fantastic. They spoiled us!
Thanks Jeff & Dana!! We love you guys!

Josie cooking Nemo for dinner...

After dinner our kids played until we made them sleep
then we stayed up and had Root Beer Floats and
visited until we could no longer keep our eyes open.
We are so grateful for good friends!

Day 1 - Trip to Utah

2009-10-11T12:24:00.001-05:00

June 26th, 2009
Day 1 - Trip to Utah

We spent two weeks on vacation this summer!
We left at 5 am so we could get in a full day.
The kids were so excited!

This is the highway that takes us from our house
to Southern Minnesota. It is so beautiful here.
These pictures don't do it justice.

Leaving Minnesota...

Driving across South Dakota...
yep, it looks like this the whole way!

Passing the Badlands. Jez loves this place.
We didn't take the time to do the scenic loop, but
we got to see them a little bit from the interstate.

Driving into the Black Hills of South Dakota.
They are beautiful too. Both times I have been there
there were thunderstorms. There was a severe
thunderstorm alert as we were pulling in to Keystone.
It is crazy... the thunder is so loud and you can hear/feel it
as it crackles and ricochets through the rock.
Our family will remember when it did that while we were
there for the family reunion a few years ago.
It is amazing and makes you feel so small
against the power of the elements.

We stopped at the Cosmos Mystery Area on the way
to check in to our hotel even though it was pouring rain!
Jez and Josie waiting for the tour to start.

Watching a ball & water run uphill.

Talden standing straight...
while leaning about 45 degrees.
Jez hanging on to Josie.

Us falling over outside of the barn. :)
(Notice the tricky camera work... you can see
how straight the photograph is by looking at our feet)

Josie taking a break from all the crazy gravity.

Supposedly the left side makes you short and the
right makes you tall... what do you think?

After Cosmos we went to check in to our hotel.
We found this awesome one a few weeks before we left.
Everything was either booked or super expensive
($240 for 1 room at the Super 8)...
this hotel was a best kept secret for sure.
I came across it on a tourist site for the area and
they had a "Family Suite" which slept 8!! And it was
under $200 for the night. That is not easy to find,
especially there! We loved it and highly recommend it
if you are ever in the area. It is the Rushmore Express.

Note the dining table that seats 8! We ordered pizza!
I know it seems silly to be so excited over a hotel room,
but seriously it is so hard to travel with our family.

View of the President's Alpine slides & Helicopter Tours.

We walked over and took our kids down the slides.
They had a blast. Jez and the kids had never been so they
were nervous/excited, but it was fun. They all wanted to
go again, but it is too expensive to do more than once!

The helicopter pad for the tours was between our
hotel and the slides. Our hotel is the lodge in the
background. It was a perfect evening.

My attempt to get a photo of all my kids
together at Mount Rushmore.

Ha! This was the only picture I got of Josie's
face the entire time and it was because I
tricked her! Oh well, what can you do?

It was a really fun (and long) day.
After Mount Rushmore we went back to the hotel,
had pizza, got ready for bed and slept until 3 am...
then we got up and hit the road by 3:45.

Random Updates...

2009-05-11T12:45:00.012-05:00

It's been awhile since I have blogged so these go back a ways. I was looking through my pictures deciding what to post and here's what I came up with...

Valentines (told you it's been awhile)

My Visiting Teacher brought this very cute bread to us with some other festive Valentine's.

Talden made a "shark box" for his valentines.
The shark ate them all. :)

Jacie made a Bear Bag, but wanted to show her
TeePee project instead.

Josie's 3rd Birthday!!
She's so cute... and now fully potty trained. (Yay!!)

Josie with her new haircut.
Little Julia running at the park.

Jez's 30-Something Birthday! :)
Yes, his cake is a store bought brownie with M&M's.
Tells you what kind of days we've had around here.

Happy Birthday Present...

it has heated leather seats, sunroof, 6 disc CD changer,
drives safely down the interstate, cannot seat 7,
and is the first car that Jez has ever shopped for
and purchased for himself in his life...

Last Sunday we drove both vehicles down to see Jez's
family and then took his brother out to see his kids.
We took them to lunch and the park and then went
back and grilled out/made dinner for everyone
(his mom, dad, and two of his brothers).

Sound of Severe Weather/Tornado Siren

Just in case you've ever wondered what it might sound
like when the sky turns green and things are flying outside
your window. (You don't get the full effect because it is
sunny and bright in the video, but I'm not sure I will ever
get it in it's true form... this is on testing day.)
***Make sure to pause the music at the top of the page
so you can hear it better.***

Jez had his Regional Rock Star competition
last week in Minneapolis. We were hoping he would
get to go to Chicago for it, but they flew everyone
else here instead. They only selected the top 3 to
move on to the national and he didn't make it
to that one, but I am proud of him for
making it as far as he did and for all of his hard work.
He is always trying to work hard to take care of our
family and I appreciate all he does for us.
(Love you sweetie)
We collect keychains from places we've been and
things we do so he got one to add to our collection. :)

The kids made dinner Saturday night

Pigs in a blanket and fruit pizza...

(Not so healthy, but lots of fun...)

Jez worked all day yesterday so we celebrated
Mother's Day a day early. :)

Our trip to Michigan

2009-04-01T11:17:00.008-05:00

We were so excited to see my family for Spring Break. We got up early (4 a.m.) on Friday and drove to Michigan to see my sister and her family, and my parents who flew in from Utah. We had a great time and loved spending time with everyone. We got home yesterday after spending FIVE whole days together as a family!

I didn't get a lot of pictures, but here are a few.

Driving into Chicago
I would love to spend a few days here with Jez as tourists. I was able to go with my mom about 12 years ago and it was so much fun. We were VIP's on the trolley tours and got to go to the top of the Sear's Tower, to the Pier, Grant Park and Buckingham Fountain, the Art Institute of Chicago, UNO pizzeria, the Cheesecake Factory, Miracle Mile and everything else in between. We even road the L-Train at midnight.... but that is another story. :)

Cute little Julia
She was so good on the 12 hour drive.
We were surprised at how well she did.

Sweet little Josie
This is at my sister's house. It was cold, but nice for
the most part. We loved their house and all the big
trees everywhere. It is very beautiful there. We will
have to visit again in the summertime when everything
is green and leafy. :)

Our Jacie
Jacie excited to play with her cousins and see
grandma and grandpa.

Snow's Sugarbush Maple Syrup Festival
Saturday morning we ate breakfast at a farm where
they had all you can eat pancakes, french toast, waffles,
eggs, three different kinds of sausage, fresh apple cider,
and FRESH MAPLE SYRUP!
It was so yummy. They had the buckets on the trees
collecting maple and they did tours of how the syrup is
made. We all had fun and were stuffed full for the day.

We also got to go to an indoor soccer game and to church with everyone. On Monday night my family watched the kids so Jez and I could go to dinner. We went to P.F. Chang's. It was really good (I normally don't eat Chinese Food). I am glad we went to try it. We will definitely be back!

My attempt at getting a picture of
the Sear's Tower at night.

Yesterday we left the hotel at 3:30 a.m. so we would miss the Chicago rush hour traffic. We made it all the way to Madison before the kids woke up and wanted breakfast. It was perfect. After breakfast we only had about 4 hours left of the drive. We were happy to be home again. :)

My Rock Star :)

2009-04-01T10:51:00.002-05:00

Verizon has been having a "Rock Star" Contest for their sales reps. Jez was the one chosen out of his store to compete at the district level. Before we left on our trip he had to do a sales presentation at the district headquarters. We found out while we were at Trinette's that he won that round too. He will now go on to compete in the regional which I think is in Chicago. The winner of that round goes to Nashville. I am proud of him for all his hard work. I love you Jez. You Rock!

Hola Amigos

2009-02-24T20:24:00.004-06:00

So Jez has officially gone back to school. He is at Spanish class right now. We have decided that it would be a good life skill to be bi (or tri) lingual. Spanish seemed the obvious choice right now, but also on the list is Mandarin Chinese. I would love to know Italian for when the day comes that I get to take that dream vacation of mine. ;) But Spanish is great because we could use it everyday and I would love to visit Spain, and Puerto Vallarta wouldn't be too bad either. Jez wants to know Chinese purely for business/economical reasons. I hope that someday we can travel the world and see all the great places we've learned about in our textbooks! Where is your dream vacation?? Mine is definitely Italy. I want to see it all... Rome, vineyards, countryside, Trevi fountain, etc. But a close second would be just about anywhere in Europe or England. I would also love to see the castles of Ireland, the Great Wall of China, and the pyramids in Egypt... ok, now I am getting carried away. Seriously, where would you like to go and have you ever been outside of the country?? I would love to hear. :)

Never Give Up

2009-02-22T18:08:00.005-06:00

It has been another very long, very exhausting, very draining, very embarrassing Sunday once again. I really try hard not to complain about taking my five beautiful blessings to three hours of church every Sunday, but since I have decided journaling (or in this case, blogging) is my form of therapy, here is my constructive analysis of my day.
It's Sunday morning, Jez is getting ready to go to work and I am standing at the dining table watching 5 kids in their pajamas eating cold cereal. Milk dripping on the table, down chins and tummies, and of course stuck in dangling blond hair. I am asking myself "do I really want to do this today???" I go through a round of excuses followed by a round of guilt and end up with the final decision that yes, I need to be there... in 20 minutes! Cereal goes down the drain, quick bath for the little ones, scurrying around finding clothes, socks/nylons and shoes and we are ready to go out the door except that no one can find Josie's shoes... No time to waste (it's our ward conference and our bishop lovingly asked that everyone be 10 minutes early to promote the reverence in the chapel...) We have exactly 9 minutes to do the 11 minute drive... so she wears FLIP FLOPS! Don't get me wrong, they are cute (shiny black that match her dress) but it is 28 degrees out and SNOWING... let's not forget she has soaking wet hair, and already a runny nose to match. Julia and Josie have been sick this last week and have been SO horribly crabby. Already I am second guessing my decision... but to the van we go and make the drive as quickly as possible. Alas after fighting over getting seat belts on, and off, we arrive at the chapel precisely as the bishop stands. We scurry into the only bench available and I pray for the best. Obviously I need to learn a lesson in time management, not to mention preparedness and patience.
We made it relatively quietly until the sacrament, the most quiet, reverent time of all and what do my kids do??? Treven decides to take Julia's toy, Julia screams - I steal the toy from Trev to give back to her and then Trev starts yelling, meanwhile Josie decides she wants Julia's milk and starts trying to take her cup out of her hand... of course Julia is pulling back on the cup and Josie's hand slips which in turn makes the cup go flying towards Julia's face and hits her tooth. Just to sum it up... Treven yelling, Julia crying, Josie throwing a high pitch tantrum... What do I do??? My dilemma... do I try to pacify everyone until the sacrament is over? or do I haul out three screaming kids with my two arms in the middle of it? I opted for the first trying to keep everyone quiet and quickly left as soon as the sacrament was over. One great thing about sitting so close to the front is that you get to see the array of looks from everyone in the congregation on your way out... who knew there were so many different opinions of a situation? I just try not to look anymore as I get out to the hall and see more people with the "I'm sorry" look on their faces. Our ward is great. Sometimes though I just feel completely and totally isolated, like my kids are the only ones that act this way. Surely other families must go through it too?!?
Anyway, after listening to the first two speakers in the mother's lounge I realize that it is a musical number next and maybe we could sneak back in when they sit down and no one would notice... haha... We did get to sneak back into the overflow area where no one noticed until Josie starts walking up the aisle to sit by Jacie. She's quiet, she knows where they are... ok, no problem until Treven decides to call her to come back. Treven calls "Josie" and she turns around... I point to Talden to tell her to go sit down at the same time Treven motions for her to come back... she's torn. Looks at us, Looks at Talden, back at us... Primary President stands up from her seat and goes and GETS HER to take her to Talden. I'm in the back looking at the ceiling and taking a deep breath. Song gets over and I go to sit with them. Five minutes go by and the whole drama starts all over again! I swear Treven does it on purpose and he thinks it is funny. I try my best to keep them separated and quiet until it is over, which thankfully was only about 10 minutes. Sigh.
Then the kids go to class, but I debate over whether to send Josie to nursery because of her runny nose. Her teacher convinces me she's fine and I decide to let her go. Then I feel guilty because I do not want other kids to get sick. Do I get her out or go to Sunday School?? I decide to try Sunday School. Julia sat on my lap for about 10 minutes just fine and then once they actually started the lesson she decided she wanted to get down. We were in the gym because it was Ward Conference and we were all together. She decides she wants her cup again and goes to get it out of the side of the diaper bag but when it finally came out she dropped it and it landed on the gym floor with a loud thud and started rolling away. One of our ward members was standing a ways behind us and came over and asked for a burp rag so he could help clean it up. Such a nice gesture, but I didn't have a burp rag (and haven't carried one around for quite some time). I did however have toilet paper in the diaper bag because of the girls' runny noses so I gave him some TP to clean up the spilled milk! Then I decided our time there was up so we went to the hall. Later I passed him in the hall and he said "Trina, I've never known anyone who uses toilet paper for a burp cloth." I told him I didn't have any and that I just happened to have the toilet paper. He then told me that they would look around their house and gather some up for us. So nice of him, but I am feeling worse by the second. Seriously I question myself not only as a mother, but a mother of FIVE children. You'd think I'd have it down by now and I just don't. Most days we exist just to get through our day. I have realized that I am completely drained and I need some me time. (Watch for another "day off" post in the near future.)
So now it's time to try Relief Society. Julia has ran around and can't stop yawning... maybe I could be so lucky... I find a seat on the end, at the back near the door, and sit her on my lap. So far so good. We get through the opening song and practice hymn. She loves the music and hasn't moved a muscle. She might actually be asleep! The stake R.S. President stands up and says "Our lesson today is on our respsadofinwleialkng"..... what??? Exactly. Not a chance. She is crying again and I'm getting "the look." Back to the halls. I know it's really not that big of a deal, but have you ever really, really, really felt like you need the lessons more than anyone in the room, but you're the one in the hall?? My eyes were burning with tears as I sat in the chair outside the door. I watched the time until there was about 15 minutes left of church. I was just about to take her to the van to wait when I saw the Jr. Primary going back in for closing exercises. And I remember... Talden has a talk today! I go to the Primary door and there he is sitting in the front smiling at me. When it was his turn he stood up and read the scripture about how if you teach a child they way they should go they will not depart from it and then bore his testimony about our family and how grateful he is for the things we teach him. I was so proud of him. Seriously, he is such a good kid. I guess that is the lesson I needed today.
I then decided to go get Josie from nursery and take the two girls out and wait for the other three to get done in Primary. I struggled getting them in the van and seat belts. I pulled a muscle in my back so I have been in a lot of pain today... and Julia grabbed my hair which was in a ponytail and I could feel her pulling it out of place. I just sighed and figured I'd fix it before I went back in to get the other kids.... I forgot. So I was parked right by the door and opened it to motion for the kids to come on. One of my friends in the ward walked by and said "Take a Deep Breath." I said "I need it" and she said.... "I know that look" with a smile. I realized I was a mess... I had squished cheerios on my black skirt and snot on my shirt from Julia, not to mention my crazy hair, and I had just fought with Josie over her seat belt. I was done. More than done... but I realized at that moment that I was not the only mother who feels this way sometimes.
Then the kids came out and got in the van and we started home. The whole time home Treven was singing a song from one of our Living Scriputres videos that was stuck in his head. Why do I write about this? Because the chorus line is "Never give up, Never give up, No, No, Never give up."
So what did I learn today at church?
1 - If we are prepared we don't need to fear. :) (aka clothes out on Saturday - including shoes, a decision to go to church more than 20 minutes before takeoff time, diaper bag packed full of enough toys to go around, lots of Tylenol...j/k, etc.)
2 - If we are diligent in teaching our children they will always remember it. And they can do an awesome job of impromtu talks in Primary.
3- We are never alone. Seriously. God and Christ are always with us and they know what we need. That doesn't mean we won't struggle sometimes, but there is always a lesson to be learned. And on top of that there are friends, family members, and neighbors all around us that understand what we're going through.
And last but not least...
4 - Never Give Up, Never Give Up :)

Amazon Kindle... Wireless Book Reader

2009-02-09T14:56:00.004-06:00

So I was watching Oprah back in October when she had her Favorite Gadgets show and she was talking about the Amazon Kindle. I decided to get one for Jez for Christmas because he saw the show and really wanted one. They were having a coupon sale if you ordered within so many hours. Needless to say it became a $300 impulse buy. Jez found out before Christmas that I had gotten him one and he was excited, but as it got closer to Christmas we realized that we didn't have the money to keep it and decided to send it back. After Christmas I opened the box to find the return label and it was past when I could send it back so I decided to sell it on Ebay. Lucky for us Amazon had run out of them and they were on backorder until March so people were selling them for more than they had bought them for because they were such a "hot item." So I actually made $79 off of the impulse buy. (That's a definite FIRST!) Anyways, also lucky for us I sold it just in time because this morning I got an email from Amazon letting me know they had the Kindle 2 coming out in a couple of weeks and it is a better version of the first one (7 times the memory, faster, smaller, etc) and it is selling for less than I sold our original Kindle for. Needless to say the Kindles on Ebay are selling for a lot less this week than they were a few weeks ago. Here is the link if you want to check it out.

Birthday, Singing, and Pinewood Derby...

2009-02-09T08:17:00.009-06:00

Yes, we are still alive and well. :) It has been over a month since I have updated our blog (gasp!) and now I have some quick catching up to do.

Our little Treven had his 5th Birthday in January. He is getting so grown up and is such a handsome little guy. We love him and his spark for life. He teaches me so much about love (and patience). He is so excited about starting school in the fall. He is trying so hard to learn his numbers, colors, letters, etc. He wants to be sure he is ready for school. Now my job is to make sure the school is ready for him. :) We love you little Trevie.

Jacie had her music performances in January. Their whole grade sang for the school and then did a "concert night" where the parents could come. Jacie was asked to sing a solo part (1 of only 4). She was so nervous for a week before. She could hardly eat. She did a great job though. And she informed me that it was good practice since she wanted to be a singer/dancer when she grows up. :) Good job Jacie on your singing!

Talden had his first Pinewood Derby in January too. He has been in scouts for a couple of years now, but we have always had something going on and he has never done a derby car. He had a great time making it and racing it. I am still in scouts so it was fun to see my other "boys" race their cars too. It was a good night and I never realized how serious some people are about their Pinewood Derby cars!

The rest of my pictures from January are from other scouts meetings, a Kindle we sold on Ebay, and my attempt at getting a cute picture of all my kids together...

..........
.....
.....

Haha... Maybe next time...
We hope you are all doing well. We miss seeing all of our friends and family in Utah. I was thinking about you all the other day and thinking about all the wonderful, amazing things I have learned from each of you and how my life is better because you have all been a part of it. Love you!

I'm so tired, but I can't sleep...

2009-01-08T23:33:00.003-06:00

Do you ever just feel exhausted at the end of a day and so tired you can't sleep?? That's me tonight. Jez went to play basketball and so I decided to create a new playlist of music from one of my favorite stations here. I like the music, but realized that there were a few that I had never really listened to the lyrics so sorry if they are inappropriate, but sometimes this just suits my mood. (I have since moved the playlist to the bottom of the page and reverted back to my original one.)

Anyway, I tried to get caught up on some blogs yesterday, but I didn't get to all of them. I will soon. Hope you are all doing well. We sure don't feel sad about not getting to shovel all that snow you're getting. :) I think it's too cold here to snow...

So Many Blessings

2008-12-27T13:18:00.005-06:00

My friend Shauntae made a post about the blessings she was grateful for and it made me think of how many, many blessings my family has received at this time of year. We are so grateful to have finally sold our house in Logan. It closed on Christmas Eve. It is a very much needed Christmas gift. We are grateful for my parents and their love and help. They sent a great package of gifts for our family and some Christmas money, which is also very helpful at this time. We are also grateful for an amazing family in our ward, the Hickens (it is our bishop's family). They are so generous and thoughtful. They brought our family gifts and some groceries. We are also grateful for our ward and their concern for our family. Our family had an amazing and humbling Christmas thanks to so many people's generosity and love at this very special time of year. Shauntae had mentioned the blessings of paying tithing and we too have seen those blessings.
We are also grateful that our Heavenly Father loves us so much and blesses us with the things we need, right when we need them. Sometimes it is in material blessings, sometimes Spiritual blessings, and sometimes it is just those "Ah Ha" moments that show us that we are not, and will never be, alone. I hope you all had a Merry Christmas and are looking forward to the New Year!

Christmas Eve the kids always get new PJ's

- Kids' Christmas Gifts -
(The blankets in the background are from my parents)

(I think it loaded Josie's sideways because she was laying down??)

This is an ornament of the St. Paul Temple
that the Hicken's gave to us.

We made breakfast after we opened gifts.

Julia had so much fun she couldn't even stay awake
during Christmas Dinner. :)

-25 Are you kidding me??

2008-12-21T11:14:00.004-06:00

It is SO cold. Our church was canceled today because of the weather conditions so we are home and just wishing Jez's work would've been as generous. :) Our high today is supposed to be zero degrees and with the wind chill the temp is -25! We went out to Wal-Mart last night and I think it was the first time in my life that I have felt -25 degree weather. It isn't too bad when you don't have to be out in it, but let's just say I'm grateful for a heater in my van, house, etc. I took these pictures today. The first is the window in my bedroom. The window is frozen with a layer of ice on the INSIDE of the double pane glass. The second is the air conditioning unit in our room with ice growing inside of it. The whole side of the unit has a layer of ice (on the wall) and the unit has ice coming out of the vents. :) I guess it's time to dig out the cover to put over it.

Yesterday day it snowed most of the day. It wasn't as cold and I let the kids go out and play for a minute. Now I'm just hoping they aren't sick for Christmas.

We hope you are all doing well... and in spite of the weather, we still love it here. :)

Choir Concert and Holidazzle Parade

2008-12-18T20:54:00.015-06:00

This week has been really fun. I am feeling better and we finally got our Christmas tree and a few decorations. The kids had fun and our tree turned out really cute. The family picture was taken on Sunday after church.

Cute little Julia is starting to walk. :)

Talden had a field trip singing at different places with his
class choir. He had fun, but was shy in the video. :)

Tonight we went into downtown Minneapolis for
the Holidazzle Parade.
It is a parade of lights - My camera didn't get great
pictures, but it was fun and wasn't too cold.
(It was about 18 degrees out which is about 20 degrees warmer than it has been)

Julia wasn't sure what to think.

She was much happier back in the parking garage.

Celebrating our 10 Year Anniversary

2008-12-11T23:47:00.012-06:00

Today was our 10th Anniversary. It is crazy to look back on the last 10 years and see how it has gone by so fast, yet we have so many memories. We have experienced highs and lows and have shed tears of joy and pain. We have 5 beautiful children that we love so much and they have taught us more than we could have ever imagined. We have worked hard to get Jez through school and we have learned many life lessons just through our experiences outside of the classroom. It has been a challenging ten years for us, but we are so excited about our next 10 years and what they will bring. :)

I am so grateful to be married to my best friend. I am grateful for all the times we have spent together and the memories we have made. I know that we are meant to be together and I love the saying "grow old along with me, the best is yet to be." I love you Jez.

Wedding Day December 11, 1998

(If there is anything I would change about the day it would be to have had a photographer. We only have a few pictures and as you can see the quality isn't so great.)

Little Talden sleeping.... :)

1 Year Anniversary - We were sealed together and to our son Talden in the Logan, Utah LDS temple for time and all eternity.
(We don't have pictures of that day either... it was cloudy and rainy and all of our film was double exposed with Christmas pictures...)

2 Year Anniversary - I'm not sure, but I bet it was great. :)
3 Year Anniversary - Diddo
4 Year Anniversary - I think we might have gone to dinner at the Copper Mill, not sure - but I do think we had a great Valentine activity earlier this year. (Some of my GF buddies might remember)

5 and 6 Year Anniversary - Don't remember, sorry sweetie (but you don't remember either so I guess it's ok)

7 Year Anniversary - This one I remember! Thanks to my amazing, wonderful, totally UNFORGETABLE friends, Jez and I got to spend two nights in SLC with no kids! :) We had so much fun eating at fancy restaurants and Christmas shopping. It was such a great anniversary. :)
8 Year Anniversary - Once again, thanks to amazing friends, we were able to spend a night in SLC and got to go to a Jazz game.

9 Year Anniversary - This one I also remember. It was definitely one of the best ones we've had. We didn't have babysitters so we decided to feed the kids pizza and put them to bed early and then Jez and I cooked a fantastic dinner together. It was so fancy and yummy and we love to cook together. It is usually crazy at dinnertime with the kids, but it was nice with just us. We had music and conversation without being interrupted. It was great. Then we ate it by candlelight at our table which had a white linen, candles, and roses. After dinner we opened a gift basket from Wine Country Gift Baskets that was a Rocky Mountain tower with all kinds of goodies and we watched a movie. It was great. :)

Above: Jez chopping artichoke hearts....mmmm.

Below: The finished product. :)

10 Year Anniversary - This one probably won't top the charts for best Anniversary ideas, but it is the most profound for me. In the last couple of months our marriage has been tried and tested and through it all ultimately strengthened. I feel like this Anniversary is a turning point for us and I am excited about that. That being said... I have had strep throat since last Saturday and I'm still recovering so I am grateful I could even eat today, and Jez got a root canal this morning, so he is grateful he could eat too. :) He had the day off work and we spent most of it cleaning up our house because after 4 days of wanting to do nothing, it needed it bad. I feel so much better with it clean and we finally decided to decorate for Christmas. :) I will post pictures of that tomorrow... but other than that, I did get a chance to make this tile I had been wanting to make.

Happy Anniversary Jez.
Here's to the next 10 years.

I Love Christmas

2008-11-28T06:49:00.003-06:00

I hope everyone had a happy and safe Thanksgiving. Jez and I went to spend the day with his family. We got to see his grandma, aunts and cousins while we were there. It was good to see everyone. My camera is still broken (I have ordered a new one that should be here today) so all of my pictures are on Jez's cell phone, which isn't very good. I need to get a USB cable to get all the photos off and then I will post pictures of Julia's first birthday, Halloween, and Thanksgiving. I never realized how much I used my camera until it was gone.

Anyway, I love the fall, but I am always excited for the Christmas season. It is getting really cold here so it is fun to see the bright colors and lights of the holidays. I love the sounds, smells, and tastes of Christmastime. I love reflecting on our Savior's birth and the deep gratitude I feel. And Shauntae please excuse the Kenny G in the playlist ;) ... but seriously, I love it. I close my eyes and picture myself at a fancy Christmas party on a high floor with the lights of the city twinkling out of every floor-to-ceiling window and everyone dressed in their beautiful sparkling dresses and crisp tuxedos with soft lights radiating from crystal chandeliers reflecting off the creamy marble floors. I picture the tall Christmas tree decorated in white lights with glass icicles and shiny gold ornaments and Kenny G playing the sax accompanied by the concert pianist in the corner playing Christmas arrangements on the glossy grand piano. I see the smiles and quiet laughter of the crowd and the delicate hors d'oeuvres passed on shiny gold trays... Or it may be a quiet evening at home snuggling by the fire with Stephen's Mint Hot Chocolate and Raspberry sticks with a fuzzy flannel blanket... I know I'm a hopeless romantic and dreamer, but go ahead and click on the last song in my playlist and give it a try. :) What do you love about Christmastime?

School Carnival

2008-11-24T11:48:00.003-06:00

Ok so this post is older than Halloween, but I wanted to write about the kids' school carnival. PTA veterans brace yourselves. :)

The kids' school has a PTO instead of a PTA. This has many advantages including flexibility and ability to select your activities and not having to pay to a national or state PTA.

This carnival was back in October. They had been asking for volunteers since the back to school night in September. Two weeks before the carnival we received a packet (14 pages!!) explaining the events. They had over 200 volunteers to help, not including teachers and vendors. We even had parking lot attendants. (They had parking out on the fields as well as at a church down the street with a shuttle running every 8 minutes). Or you could pay money for reserved parking in the parking lot.

Some of the Events Included:

Silent Auction with over 500 items in the library. (They were all lined on top of the shelves.)

There were gift certificates to spas and restaurants, George Foreman grills,
tickets to sporting events, year's supply of Wheaties...
and everything in between.

Live Auction in the cafeteria. (Hosted by two teachers)

Signed sports memorabilia

Lunch with the Vikings QB

Cosmic Bowling night at the Brunswick -

entire facility for up to 40 guests w/ food

Etc. (I saw a football auctioned for $360)

Food in the cafeteria - popcorn, pizza, ice cream, etc.

Games in the gym - typical carnival games

And an Underwater world jumping castle

and a blow up maze. The Underwater

world also had a table set up with baby

sharks for the kids to touch.

Each classroom had activities ranging from Guitar Hero and Dance, Dance Revolution to cake, candy and soda walks, to a kids' store. They had a "Beauty Salon" set up in the art room where they had girls from a local salon doing the kids' hair.

They also had a local photographer there taking photos of the kids.

They also had an "ER" where they were treating "injuries." Talden got a black eye, Jacie cut open her finger, and Treven had stitches in his forehead and arm.

On top of all that they also had a raffle with prizes such as a Wii bundle worth $600. You could purchase tickets for $1 and place them in specific prize buckets.

They also had two rooms full of gift baskets. Each classroom had parents donate items to a specific theme for their room. Before the night began I thought it would be fun to support the school and bid on one of the kids' baskets. That's what I thought until I saw the bid sheet. Each basket was going for around $500!!! There were baskets for family night outs, family night ins, date nights, kids in the kitchen, gourmet kitchen, coffee & chocolate (complete with fondue sets and cappuccino machine), family sports, mother's day, father's day, girls only, all about sports, etc... It was quite amazing. They had over 30 baskets.

They had a room where you could make and take Tye-died shirts and winter hats with your name on them. And a gift store by the office selling official school district clothing. Everything from hoodies, to sweats and tees. It was crazy!

Anyway, you could purchase tickets for .25 each and each activity was 3-7 tickets, or you could purchase a wristband for $25. Since we hadn't volunteered, or donated anything we decided to get our three older kids a wristband to support the school. We also bought $5 in tickets for Josie to do a couple of things. They had a lot of fun and I wasn't sorry that they had the wristbands. It makes everything so much easier.

All in all the carnival raised: $42,000!!!!! And that is just one of 6 fundraisers they do at this school. It is craziness. Who wants to volunteer for PTO??

A Mother's Famous Words

2008-11-22T22:36:00.005-06:00

I want to say thank you to everyone who commented on my last post. I am so grateful that you are all in my life. I realize now that I am not alone and that no matter where we come from, where we are, or where we are going in life, we all go through tough times. That's why we're here... and that's why we need each other. I feel so blessed to have the organization of the Relief Society too. That's where I have gotten to know most of you and it is so great to have friends who understand my trials, but also understand and share my beliefs and values.

On a lighter note...

I got this in an email from my good friend Dana. The email said most people had probably seen it already, but I hadn't. I thought it was funny so I wanted to share it in case you hadn't seen it either. :)

Trina's Day Off

2008-11-20T21:29:00.006-06:00

(Sorry, this post is really long)
As most of you know I have mostly been a working mom, but since we have moved I have been very fortunate to stay at home with my amazing kids. I love it. I love them. However, I do have to admit it gets really hard for me day after day to take care of so many little people that are totally dependent on me. I am not complaining, but a few days ago I absolutely hit a bottom. I don't know if other parents have those times too, but I was just drained to the point where I was no good to anyone including myself.
So... I decided to take a day off. Yesterday Jez didn't have to work so he came home around 7:15 am from Seminary. I was packed and ready to go. Much to his surprise I was leaving for the day. He asked where I was going. I said I didn't know but I would be back at 5:30. (That's about when he gets home from his job when he works days). He looked a little concerned and was eying my pillow, but he was good to just let me go.
What did I do with myself for an entire 10 HOURS??? I will tell you. I brought a pillow and blanket (the high for the day was about 25 degrees). I hadn't slept well the night before. Jez and I had argued on the way home from pack meeting about our children's lack of caring for the homeless shelter project we were working on, and our inability to control 5 young children in a church gym. We went to bed tired and weary and I cried missing my good friends (yes all of you) back home. I have so missed my grrls' night outs. We talked about anything and everything! (Seriously, some people would probably be really embarrassed or uncomfortable about some of our topics, but it's so great to have honest friends.) We laughed, we cried, we complained, we bragged... you get the point. I haven't had that since I left there. I also miss our babysitting swaps, girls' lunches, and yes even PTA. I miss seeing my mom every day at work and laughing so hard that we were crying. People must've wondered what was wrong with us. :) That doesn't mean I'm not happy here. I just miss my family and friends. I don't have close friends here yet, and I know that I am to blame. I have purposely isolated myself.
Anyway... back to my story. My first stop was at BK for a bacon, egg and cheese croissanwich. I know, real healthy. But it was hot and the cheese was gooey and it was good. I also got a cold OJ which I don't usually buy for home. I sat in a mostly empty parking lot and ate my breakfast while I watched the sun coming up. The trees are mostly bare and the day was bleak and cold, but I found so much hope in that sunrise. Quickly after the sun was up it was clouded by an overcast sky, but that was ok. It sort of matched my mood.
I had not only packed my pillow and blanket but also a tote bag full of books that have been begging to be read, my scouts bag, and my scripture bag. I LOVE to read and I started with the R.S. lesson that I missed on Sunday because I was in the hall with Julia... and Treven. (Another quick side story... when you are walking in the halls at church and you see your son come out of the classroom with his teacher... it is usually not a good sign. I saw her before she saw me... and the only thing I heard her say is "Treven.... It's not funny!" Ok... not a good idea for mom to burst into a smile. I walk over and she explains to me that "it's just not working today." I just have to mention that she is a really soft spoken older lady in our ward. She asked if I could have a talk with him and then bring him back.... smile even bigger.... sure no problem, but if my mother-son talks were working we probably wouldn't be in this predicament. :) ... Too bad Jez was working and I was there alone with them... the father-son talk just might have worked. Anyway, I missed the lesson) I really enjoyed reading it. What I got out of it is this. Knowlege is power. Christ wants us to gain as much knowledge in this life as possible. Satan wants to take all knowledge from us. Very insightful. I love learning.
I decided to write in my journal about my thoughts and it was good to put some of my feelings on paper. I hold in so much of my emotions that I just end up feeling numb. So I wrote and as I did I began to understand that I need to make a change. I have a need and deep desire to learn. Since I don't do that very well on a regular basis I decided I am going to get up a half hour earlier every day and read my scriptures. I also realized I need to write my thoughts more often. Just getting them out is therapy for me.
The next thing I did was read D&C 138. This taught me about the time between the Crucifixion and the Resurrection where Christ had ascended to heaven and taught the people in the Spirit World. The question asked was how did he teach so many so fast. The answer... He didn't. He was with the choice Spirits and taught them and organized them to go teach the gospel to those in darkness. It reminded me that our work will not end when we leave this mortal life. Sometimes it is hard or scary to find people to share the gospel with, but when we realize that we will be doing that very thing even after we die it makes it seem a little easier. Kind of like if we get a lot of practice here then we should be ready for our responsibility to teach when we get there. I made a goal to pray every day for opportunities to share the gospel. (I still feel a little reluctant, but with practice I'm sure it will get easier.)
After that I decided to go drive around for awhile. I drove through parts of the city where we live that I have never been. I was amazed and slightly appalled at the mansions I discovered. Do people really need a house that big??? I for one, do not. I wouldn't want to clean it, or pay for it, and I would be scared... but that's beside the point.
I ended up in the mall parking lot. (Yes I sort of had a plan for the day, but I was also flexible in case I decided on something different.) I climbed in the backseat of the van with my pillow and blanket and I read for just over 2 hours. I read a couple chapters in a book I'm reading. (Wake Up to a Happier Life - Amanda Dickson). It is a good, tell-it-like-it-is book and I have enjoyed it. It always seems to be that whatever place I leave off is exactly where I need to pick up the next time I read. A lot of what she said hit home for me. I cried, and prayed, and cried. It was so good to let those emotions out. I just sat listening to the wind and finally the peace I had been searching for came. I journaled about it and set some more goals for myself. One being that I needed to get out more often and do something for myself. Another that I needed to find babysitters so Jez and I could spend some time away too. And most of all I came to the realization that I needed to truly let go of things from my past that have been holding me back for so many years. My book talks about dead horses and that when you are on a horse and it dies and you're stuck... GET OFF the horse. I thought about my dead horses and what I needed in order to let go. I am grateful for the Atonement and I have felt the cleansing power. I have had experiences since I have been here that have once again changed my life and who I am. I have let go of hurt and forgiven the people who have hurt me, but when I get so stuck in the daily grind I allow the voices of the world to creep back in. I had let that hurt find a place in me again, and as I sat in the backseat crying that hurt began to fade away once more. She talked in her book about endless forgiveness and to cherish the precious moments we have with our loved ones. It was then that I really knew, and felt in my heart that I absolutely love being a wife and a mother. I knew that Jez and I are supposed to be together and that it doesn't mean chocolate kisses and roses all the time, but that we would also have hard times and it's ok. Maybe it's those times mixed with the good times that makes the journey worthwhile. I have taken my blessings for granted and it felt good to feel alive again. I knew that I could be the wife and mother I need to be. And I missed my family, but I wasn't ready to go home yet.
It was almost noon and I decided to take a walk in the mall. The walk to the front door was SO cold and bleak... but as soon as I walked in the doors everything changed. I was greeted by a blast of warmth and the smells of comfort foods coming from the restaurants. (Homemade breads and soups and steak...mmmm) As I got past the food I could hear Christmas music playing and could see and smell Christmas. There were bright sparkly colors everywhere I looked and I could smell the perfume samples and candles. I passed the Hickory Farms stand and the toys and calendars lining the center of the aisle. I spent over an hour walking into fancy stores filled with beautiful, fragile trinkets lined on glass shelving and smelling countless varieties of candles. I walked past the jewelry counters and looked at the twinkling diamonds. And not once did I have to say "Don't touch anything." It felt good to be a fully functional adult for just that small moment. I walked up and down the creamy marble floors that shimmered with lights from above and the dark rich mahogany wood accents. The mall is beautiful, especially at Christmastime. I didn't buy anything but a Turtle Pecan Blizzard on the way out. :) I was quickly reminded that it was a little cold to be eating ice cream, but I didn't care. I sat in the van with the heater blowing while I ate every single drop of it. It was yummy and I got to reflect some more on my role as a mother. I realized that I don't have to feel guilty about wanting some time away. That in fact, I really need it once in awhile. I also was reflecting on the difference in the atmosphere from the parking lot to the inside of the mall. It is kind of a weird analogy, but it reminded me that we live in the lone and dreary world, but in time we will find the beautiful warmth that comes from righteous living. It also reminded me that there are times and places where we can experience that little bit of heaven on earth.
I read for a little while in my book "The Coming of the Lord" by Gerald Lund. It was thought provoking as I read the prophecies of our time and thought of them being fulfilled. It is comforting to know that we live in the darkest time on the face of the earth, but that we can find peace and joy because our Heavenly Father loves us so much. I also know that the peace and joy come from our righteous living and being able to push aside the ways of the world.
After that I decided to get a Beef n'Cheddar from Arby's on my way out of the parking lot. Once again it was warm and the cheese was gooey. I definitely splurged, but it was ok. After the mall, and lunch I went to the library. I had to return a couple of Jacie's books and decided to go inside. I found a few books that looked good and I found a comfy chair and read for an hour. The book was perfect to fit my mood and pondering for the day. I even snickered a few times reading it, because of the "coincidence." I checked out four books and went back to the van. (Yes, I went home with more books than I left with.) It was about 3:30 and I needed to still go grocery shopping before heading home.
I sat in the van looking through cookbooks and made a meal plan complete with shopping list. I turned on the radio for the first time that day and it was Christmas music. It was perfect. Our Wal-Mart is about 15 minutes away so I enjoyed my drive (yes it was even on the freeway). I did my grocery shopping and Jez texted me to see how my day off was going. I told him "fantastic." I was home at exactly 5:30 and I was so excited to see my beautiful family.
Jez had already made dinner and it was on the table so we hurried to put away what was necessary and then sat down to eat. He was so glad to see me (maybe relieved is more the word). I am so blessed to have him in my life. As we ate dinner I apologized to my family for yelling at them the night before. I told them how much I love and appreciate all of them, and of course told them about my day. Jez was happy I was doing better and the kids just thought it sounded like so much fun they wondered when it was their turn. :)
I know this is really long, and if anyone is still reading... Thank you for being my friend. For being there for me when I have needed you. My life is good. It is so good to feel alive and well again. I have felt deep emotions the last couple of days and it feels great. I don't know if you have ever experienced the "numb" feeling I was talking about, but it's hard. It is no way to live. I know that my prayers have been heard and answered in the way that I needed. I also went to the temple here last week and it was very peaceful and serene, but yesterday I got to really search deep into my heart and soul for the hard answers I was looking for. So if you've been feeling this way... do what I did, and take a day off. :)

Vote, Vote, Vote

2008-11-04T09:30:00.004-06:00

I am so excited for this election to be over! Jez and I voted this morning before he went to work. Today was the first time I have voted in a state where the majority is Democratic and I feel like I am fighting for the Republican. I voted for McCain/Palin and a Republican senator. I am actually anxious to see how our state polls end up. I know a lot of people in our ward are voting for McCain, but there are a lot of Obama stickers in the parking lot... we will see. I hope everyone gets out to vote. (And my sister-in-law had a funny campaign button on her blog. It said "I will hold my nose while I vote for John McCain)... hahaha

Quirks Tag

2008-11-03T11:15:00.003-06:00

I was tagged by Amme to share 6 quirks.

1. I can't stand drinking the end of the milk in the carton, or the cereal in the box, etc. Jez usually gets the end of the bread, crumbs in the cereal box, etc. If he doesn't eat/drink it, the kids will have to. (I can't stand drinking milk at restaurants either. I have to know it is a fresh, full gallon.)

2. I hate to drive our minivan (especially on busy roads or the freeway), but I am a very diligent backseat driver. (I am getting better though)

3. I don't like sleeping with sheets that are tucked in. It drives me crazy and makes me feel claustrophobic. I usually sleep with one leg out of the covers. And I have to sleep in the same position every night to fall asleep.

4. I get so tired of repeating myself. If you want to irritate me quickly just nonchalantly say "what?" after I say something.

5. I have to vacuum my floors at least once a day. I feel like the house isn't clean unless I can see the vacuum lines in the carpet. And if I vacuum before someone is coming over, don't walk through the house because I will have to vacuum again to get rid of the footprints. (It drives Jez crazy!)

6. My mood is subconsciously tied to the state of my house. The cleaner it is the better I feel (even if I'm not at home). If you ever notice I'm anti-social/irritable you can offer to wash my dishes, or clean the bathrooms. :)

I tag anyone who hasn't done it yet, sorry I don't remember all the ones who have. (Jessica?, Shauntae?, Sandra?, Nicole?, Felicia?)