June Misc

Nathan stayed in Provo for the summer, working full time with his campus job (cybersecurity).  He really enjoys his job and being around a lot of college students.  He still has a couple of roommates there for the summer, although his good friend Devan isn't there for the summer.  Nathan sees my sister Alison and her family occasionally since they live about an hour away.  My niece Hailey, daughter of my sister Ashley, came out for a visit one week in June.  Nathan did a campus tour with Hailey and one of the campus tour guides.  They were chatting and found out that the tour guide served her mission in Paraguay with Jared for a little bit.  Sister Dalling (in the blue shirt) said she loved Elder Simms! 😊  We were joking with Nathan that he should have got her phone number.

Weston has been doing summer running with the cross country team.  I don't have a picture of him running, but I have pics with both Owen and Savannah who ran with me a few times while Weston was running with the team.  We've done some 4-5 mile jogs.  I'm still amazed that the kids come back to running.  Neither Owen nor Savannah really enjoyed our early morning runs back when they were in elementary school, but now both of them ask me to wake them up some mornings to run with me.  I think maybe it's just the social part of it they like, and it's an easy jog for them.  I'm running about 9.5-10 minute miles now, so it's just an easy pace.  

I've been playing volleyball on Tuesday nights at church with Owen for the past year.  It's been really fun.  However, the third week of June, I broke my finger while playing. It wasn't even a hard hit that did it.  I was the setter at the time, and the ball just hit off my finger completely wrong.  I instantly felt some pain but thought I jammed it. I even played nearly one more game until sitting it out for the night.  The next few days, it didn't get any better, looked a little off, and caused pain in even trying to pull socks on.  By Friday, I got it checked out and the x-ray showed that I had broken a little bone in that last joint of my finger.  The next Monday, I went in to figure out the treatment plan.  Luckily I didn't need surgery, but I did have to wear a splint for 2 months.  The splint looks a little cheap to me.  Alex said it looks like stuff he'd find in the recycle bin... I hope the splint works.  It's a little daunting to me that my recovery relies on my ability to replace and wear this splint every day.  I've gotten used to replacing the tape every day on my own with one hand.  It's been a little frustrating not being able to do everything that I used to be able to do with 2 normally functioning hands.  I didn't realize how much I needed all my fingers and joints for grip.  

It didn't stop me from painting Savannah's room and my bedroom.  Savannah wanted a different color in her room.  The ceiling in my bedroom was peeling and needed re-painted.  It had been 14 years since we had painted my bedroom, so I decided to refresh the whole room.  I went from a light cream to a darker color (sage green) for my walls. Savannah went from bright turquoise to a light gray.  Both of them turned out nice.  We painted Savannah's room the day after she got back from girls camp.  Savannah did most of the main painting while I did all the cutting in / trim work. We painted my bedroom after our San Diego trip.  Savannah also did quite a bit of moving the furniture and things in and out of the room.  We did this all while Alex was gone (and didn't tell him what we were doing), so it was a surprise for him when he got back.  He doesn't care though - just happy that he didn't have to do any of the work!  

I didn't quite finish getting everything back together in my room but I took a picture of one side of it. I did end up doing some extra work that I didn't plan on.  I had planned on putting up some pictures that Alex and I had found a little while back once we got a headboard for our bed in place. However, once I painted the room a different color, the paintings didn't look as good with the new green paint color. It did look great with the yellow walls in the dining room.  I decided to take down our England pictures (from 8 years ago).  It wasn't an easy switch.  The paint behind the pictures had faded and I could see the outline of where each frame had been.  It couldn't be wiped down - it needed a paint touch-up.  I headed to the garage to see if I had that paint.  The can was there, with some paint in it, but it had rusted through and was completely unusable.  So then I had to make a trip to Home Depot to see if they still had that same paint color.  They did, and I came home with a little bit of paint to touch up that wall.  

It was a lot of work, but we like the results.  In between the projects, I watched a lot of World Cup soccer.  The first game I watched was USA vs Paraguay.  I recorded some of the pre-game ceremony for Jared.  That game was 4-1, which was disappointing for Paraguay.  I did root for Paraguay in this tournament, as I knew Jared would be as well.  He ended up getting to watch 2 Paraguay games, with an exciting win against Germany that went to penalty kicks.  I really enjoyed watching as many games as I could - some great games were played!  Alex and the kids didn't enjoy giving up the TV for all the soccer games... but they allowed me to watch. 

 

My Heart Sings

I posted this video on Facebook for Mother's Day with this message: 

"I got a tribute put together for some special moms in my life. I know Heavenly Father loves me because He put these beautiful and amazing people in my life. My heart sings when I think of all of them and where we started and where our journey is taking us!"

I got a lot of chocolate for Mother's Day. Nathan even sent some via Instacart delivery.  Owen bought Legos for me.  Alex did the meals - German pancakes, BLT's, sweet potato fries, and cake.  We had lunch during the 2nd hour at church and ice cream with the whole ward after church.  I got to chat with Jared for about 15 minutes.

April Activities

We had a lot of stuff going on in April. The kids had spring break the first week, followed by Easter. The second weekend was Brad Wilcox events - one night for the young single adults (18-35) and the next night for the youth (11-18).  I helped plan and advertise the YSA night, since part of my job involves that age group.  I made several cookies to contribute towards dessert for both nights.  I helped with clean up on both nights, picking up tiny pieces of popped balloons from the youth dance that followed the devotional.  Alex and Owen put up and took down all the lights for the dance.

Brad Wilcox is a religion professor at BYU and a well-known motivational speaker for our church. He was also in the Young Men's General presidency for 2 years (2023-2025).  Nathan took one of his classes last semester and loved it.  I loved his messages about grace, merits, and mercy (same message both nights).  He also was very personable - he greeted and talked to as many people as possible.  Owen was the chorister for the youth night.  After the closing song, Owen headed over to give Brother Wilcox a hug.  It was the biggest bear hug I've seen.  He grabbed Owen and held on tight!  This was the weekend that Weston was in New Orleans, so he missed out.

We had swimming, volleyball, and track meets (later posts). I also had my first Activity Days night, which involves activities twice a month for girls 8-11 years old.  I got called as an Activity Days leader in March, but I didn't have my first activity until April because of track and Spring Break. (I'm also still a youth Sunday School teacher - doubling up on callings.)  It was a little bit of a rough introduction. I thought our activity was already planned and organized - a pinewood derby.  They had made cars at a previous activity.  I checked in with the other girl's activity day leader the day before the pinewood derby to see if there was anything I could help with.  She said, "I'm not in charge of it. Check with the Primary president."  When I did that, I got the same response, except it was "I'm not in charge of it. Check with the other activity days leaders."  There are 4 leaders - 2 for the boys and 2 for the girls.  When I mentioned that I had already checked in with an activity day leader and directed to her, she sent out a group chat, asking how everything was going for the pinewood derby.  No one had done ANYTHING except announce that it was happening (with dinner before the pinewood derby).  No one arranged for the cars track to be set up, for the computer program to be organized, for tables and chairs to be set up, for plates and utensils, etc.  It was the day before and no one had organized anything.  When I asked about awards, I got the response, "Good idea!"   Oh boy... what's a race without any prizes or awards?  Guess who made awards??  I put together some certificates that I could fill in and attached Kit Kat bars to them.  I found some printable paper ribbons online that I could make to attach to some soda bottles.  I had things that day before all the way until 9:30pm, so I didn't get started until about 9:45pm on making the awards.  Owen and I helped set up the track, tables, and chairs after volleyball that night with one of the boys' leaders.  Luckily, it was a potluck dinner, so everyone brought food to share.  The other girl's activity leader took care of the tablecloths, plates, and utensils. It actually turned out to be a successful activity, but I wasn't sure if we were going to pull it off. 

Guess what stopped working in March and April?  The used washer and used fridge that we bought back in September last year... The dryer still worked, but we couldn't get an installment for a new washer without also replacing the dryer, so we bought a new set at Home Depot.  The fridge also wasn't working well, so we bought a new fridge too.  Sigh... We got through 6 months on the cheap used appliances.  The fridge is nothing fancy, because we were limited to options due to the space. We do have functional appliances again. 

There were lots of baby showers in April and May.  I made it to 4 of the 5 baby showers. One of the pregnant moms was not in this photo of 4 moms (the one in the pink dress in another photo).  She actually had her baby 3 days after this photo was taken of the other ladies.  Four baby girls and 1 baby boy on the way!  Savannah came with me to 2 of the showers to see all the cute stuff. 

Just some other random photos - a nice walk one evening, Kai, a date night, the temple, Savannah biking during her spring break since she was bored, Savannah's friends, and a youth activity.  They did a fun night where the youth chatted and got to know the older folks in our ward.  They only had a couple minutes with each person and then moved to the next seat, until they had chatted with everyone.

I don't have any pictures, but Alex, Savannah, and Weston went to a service project - an annual project packing meals that go to Ecuador and Uganda.

The fourth weekend in April, we got a visit from Nathan!  He was in between terms, so he and his roommate made the drive home.  His roommate Devan stayed with us a couple nights and then joined his family later in the week when they got into town.  Most of us were still busy with work, school, and all the normal stuff, so we didn't get to hang out with Nathan very much.  We did watch Owen's volleyball game, played 4-person volleyball, went out to eat, played some games, watched a Thunder basketball game on TV, had some good food and apple pie, watched a movie, planned Jared's BYU classes for the fall, went to an event to celebrate our friend Julie, and went to church. Nathan sang in our ward choir without having practiced (we were short on singers).  He also replaced our broken screen doors while he was here.  He visited me at work a couple days (coming for "waffle Wednesday"), did a little shopping on his own, took the dog for a walk, and went to the beach. Hopefully he had a decent week.  The highlight may have been playing Ticket to Ride Asia, which is played in teams. Nathan and Weston finally beat Owen and me (previously unbeaten in our team Asia games).  They had a depressing first game but then had sweet redemption when they smoked us in the second game!  Savannah and Alex are usually teammates for this game and should have won the first game, if not for one mistake at the end.  It's a pretty fun game, but the challenge is you can't communicate with your teammate during the game.  Some people (ahem... Weston!) are not the most observant players as to what's going on!  Ha ha.  They still won by a lot the second round.

February

Alex got home from New Zealand just in time for dinner on Valentine's Day.  We had roast, potatoes, carrots, rolls, jello with strawberries and whipped cream, lemonade raspberry sherbet drinks, and chocolate pie.  I gave the kids some of their favorite candy.  Alex brought back a pearl necklace that he gave to me.  

I taught youth Sunday School on the 15th, which was on Noah's ark.  I thought it would be nice to take treats that also coordinated with the lesson theme.  I found some cool looking rainbow jello cookies online and thought they'd be fun.  However... they didn't turn out anything like the online photos!  We had a good laugh about it.  Nailed it... I made some other cookies but let them try the rainbow ones if they wanted to.  The jello gave them a tangy flavor, which reminded me of Nerds candy or those sugar straws.  

I went to an activity with the church ladies, a "Galentines" dinner, which was fun.

Owen, Weston, and Savannah went to a church dance on the 7th of February.  It was Savannah's first dance (since she needed to be turning 14 this year to go).  She had her brothers watching her closely.  They snapped a couple pictures of her.    

The random photos:  Savannah made pie and Weston had "a little bit" of ice cream with it.  He also was being silly with his glasses.  I made cinnamon rolls, eggs, and bacon for a birthday breakfast for one of our friends, Becca, who comes over on Tuesday and Thursday mornings after seminary.  Owen did "valograms" one day at school, singing in small groups with other members of the choir.  They sang to people who had been gifted a song and treat, paid for by family or friends.  In this photo, they sang to one of the teachers.

Alex and I got our monthly temple visit in.  I helped decorate and make a cake for an Institute night celebrating 100 years of the program.  We had pizza and salad, along with cake, and listened to a broadcast of Elder Kearon (Quorum of the 12) and his wife.

I've been enjoying my Saturday morning jogs along the coast. I've been jogging about 4-5 miles (walking a little bit).  I took a few pics one morning.

Nathan has been having fun, enjoying sports and a little more social this semester.  His roommate Devan posted an Instagram photo with them and a group of girls.  I don't know what a Roblox Meet up is... I think they were just going out for dinner / ice cream though. We spotted Nathan at a BYU volleyball game and a basketball game.  He had pretty good seats for a couple games, thanks to one of his friends inviting him to use one of their "VIP" seats.

New Job

Our financial situation was looking bleak, mostly due to our Utah housing situation.  I had already been looking for a part-time job occasionally over the past year, but I hadn't found the right one yet.  This fall, I knew that I needed to step up my search.  I finally found the right position and started my new job the second week of December.  Here's the story, since it was a long process. (I had to go back and check the timeline on this process to remember the details.)

 Every month, we participate in fasting (and prayer) with our church, usually on the first Sunday of the month.  Because General Conference was the first weekend in October, fast Sunday was moved to the last Sunday in September.  So I actually fasted twice in September (on the 7th and 28th), and both times were in regard to our financial situation and finding a job.  On September 24th, I saw a position listed on the Simply Hired website for a paid position within my church.  Most of our church positions are not paid positions - all the callings are volunteer, from Bishop, Stake President, Young Women President, to Nursery / Primary / Seminary teachers.  They're all volunteer positions.  However, in the church departments that don't work directly within a ward, there are several paid positions.  I was surprised to find out how many various church departments there are - Auditing, Communications, Church History, Information & Communication Services, Materials Management, Meetinghouse Facilities, Security, Correlation, Deseret Trust, Missionary, Office of General Counsel, Philanthropies, Directors for Temporal Affairs, Family History, Finance and Records, Priesthood and Family, Publishing Services, Global Services, Headquarters Facilities, Human Resource, Special Projects, Tabernacle Choir, Temple, Welfare & Self-Reliance Services, and Seminaries and Institutes.  I have a friend that works for the Church History department, so I knew there were some paid positions.  

This position was for an administrative assistant in Seminaries and Institutes.  I thought I knew exactly what position was being advertised, because one of the ladies in my ward worked as the secretary of the Institute here.  On Sunday, I decided to ask if she was retiring from her position, and she said, "Yes. My last day was on Thursday." (She worked there for about 30 years.) I told her I'd seen an advertisement for her job. I still was unsure if it would work for me, because I didn't know the hours or if I had the qualifications to be an administrative assistant.  On Monday, I decided to do one last search online for part-time jobs.  Again, I landed right on this position, in a random search for any part-time jobs available.  I felt like that wasn't a coincidence and the push I needed to apply, so I put in an application the next day (Tuesday September 30th).  

I didn't hear anything back very soon about my application.  On October 11th, Alex forwarded me an email that he received from the Institute Coordinator, asking Alex (as a Bishop) to pass along the job posting to anyone he knew who might be interested.  That was a little odd, because I didn't really want to compete with a lot of other applicants. Anyway, I understood that he had to send it out. The email went out to all the Bishops in the area. What I did get from that was someone I could contact.  Applying through the website, there was no contact information, so I wasn't sure where or who to follow up with.  I emailed the coordinator just to confirm that he had received my application.  He responded that he had received it, but they were still in the gathering process of applicants. I wasn't sure if that meant they had to leave it open for a certain time or if maybe they saw my resume and were hoping for more choices...  Anyway, I had to be really patient with the process.  

On October 21st, I finally got a phone call, but I was disappointed to learn they were looking for someone to work 1-5pm and be there on Tuesday and Thursday evenings.  I had thought it was a morning / daytime position, with no evenings.  I told him I couldn't commit to those hours since I still had 3 kids at home, with lots of sports and activities during the afternoon and evening.  I had really been hoping this job would work out, so it was a letdown after our conversation.  However, about 30 minutes later, I got a call back, in which the coordinator said they might be able to work around my schedule.  He realized they had a senior missionary couple who could be there in the afternoons and evenings.  He was asking what my ideal hours would be, so my hope was renewed.  

Well, it was still almost another 2 weeks before I got a call to come in for an interview.  I was pretty relaxed for the interview.  I thought it might be more of a formality than of competing with other applicants since it seemed like they were tailoring the position to fit my schedule.  I got a tour of the institute building and then had the interview, which was a little different than I've ever done before.  The coordinator was obviously there in-person, but we were also on a zoom call with 2 other ladies.  I didn't really understand who they were, which was probably a good thing, since later I realized they were secretaries to my boss's boss.  I was talking to the regional administrative assistants for the CA South Region!  They were very nice though, so I felt pretty comfortable during the interview.  However, at the end, the coordinator said they had some other interviews, but I should know by the end of the next week about the position.  Hearing "other interviews" worried me a little bit.  I wondered if others would have a lot more work experience or be much more qualified than me.  (I never asked if they actually had other applicants for the job.)

Well, the interview was on November 4th and then the "end of next week" came and went with no word.  And then another week went by, so I thought maybe I didn't get the position.  Then on November 24th, I got a quick update that they were still in the process of evaluations, clearances, and such.  Finally, on December 1st (another week later), I got offered the job.  Basically, the whole process took 2 months.  It was worth the wait though.  I'm just glad I didn't have to start at square one with the job search after waiting around for a couple months with no job.  

My technical title is an Administrative Assistant for Seminaries and Institutes, but more simply, I'm the Secretary of our local Institute, which serves the college aged young adults.  My first day was on Tuesday, December 9th and worked the 2 weeks before Christmas.  I mostly worked on cleaning out and organizing my office the first week. It had several years' worth of stuff we didn't need and not much organization. I did some training the next week with the Regional Administrative Assistants. We also had a Christmas party luncheon with other area secretaries and spouses and a few regional people.  One of my first big tasks was to help with set up and decorations for the luncheon.  The senior missionary couple did a lot to help with that too.  Alex got invited to this luncheon as well, so he got to meet some of the people I work with and have a nice lunch.  

This has been the perfect job for me.  I have Mondays off, which is great since that's my day to chat with Jared.  I usually work Tuesday-Friday from 10-2.  Sometimes it's a little more, and twice a month I have a 9:30 zoom meeting with other secretaries.  That just means that another day I finish at 1:30 on those weeks.  It seems pretty flexible.  The hours are great, and I have all the normal holidays off, weekends off, 2 weeks for Christmas break, and a week off for spring break. I'm not sure what the summer hours will look like yet, but it will be less hours.  I'm really glad that I'm not going to miss any of the kids' events in the evenings and still be fully there for them in the mornings and afternoons.  

While my office is at the local institute building, my job also involves working with the seminary teachers (who teach the scripture study classes for 9th-12th graders) for 3 different stakes.  There are 14 seminary classes that I cover, plus attendance for 4 institute classes. I attend the seminary teacher training meetings and then help track attendance and prepare reports for seminary students.  I don't attend the evening institute classes, but I'm on a committee to plan and coordinate institute events and such.  I head up the service committee to help plan quarterly service projects.  We see the full-time missionaries a lot and they're part of the weekly committee meetings.  I also do the "waffle Wednesdays," making waffles for whoever comes in during 12-2 on Wednesdays.  We haven't had more than about 5 or 6 people for that yet.  I also have a financial component to the job, but it's pretty easy.  I scan receipts, code them to the correct account, and prepare the expenses to be submitted or reimbursed.  I really like doing the paperwork, the quiet environment, and all the independent work. The meetings and social part aren't my favorite, but the people are great to work with. 

I do have some weekend training meetings and occasional regional meetings to attend.  I recently had my first work trip ever.  The regional meeting started early on a Friday morning and would have been a really early start to drive there that morning.  So I got to stay at a motel overnight. We had a nice meeting with brunch and lunch included.  I also got an official name tag for my job.  I probably won't wear it very often, but it looks pretty cool.  

Mama Bear

I got to be "Mama Bear" again this fall.  I had to contact Weston's English teacher about the 9th grade reading material.  Weston came home one day disgusted with the book he was reading - "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian."  He showed me the passage he had read, and I was shocked to see it was on masturbation.  Another chapter talked about "metaphorical boners."  I contacted Weston's teacher to get him a different book to read and inquire about the book choices.  His teacher was helpful and provided the 10 books they got to choose from, along with the descriptions as given by the school.  I was disappointed to find that 8 of the 10 books had content warnings.  He chose a different book without a content warning, but it wasn't a great book either (about a white cop that killed a black teenager).  Weston's teacher hadn't even read the first book and thus wasn't aware of the content.  He also said he didn't choose the books.  All the book selections were chosen and approved by a district committee.  He said I could discuss concerns with the assistant principal.  I got essentially the same thing from the assistant principal, but he also gave a district contact.  I tried to contact her, but she never responded back to me at all.  I spent a couple of days collecting online reviews and additional content warnings for all 10 of the books for 9th grade English classes.  All 10 books needed content warnings.  They all had profanity.  Several had violence and sexual content.  The books that were supposed to raise cultural awareness were given negative reviews from members of those particular communities saying they weren't a good representation of their community.  It was all garbage reading material.  I sent my "book reports" to Weston's teacher, the assistant principal, and district administrator.  I also emailed several friends to warn them of the reading material for 9th grade.  At least I could raise awareness among other parents of what their kids are reading if the district won't do anything about it. We also realized (according to Owen) that it's better to take the separate Ethnic Studies class instead of the English / Ethnic Studies combo class because the combo class just has to read garbage YA modern novels that supposedly raise cultural awareness.  The separate Ethnic Studies class actually focuses on the history of racism and oppression of other groups in society.  

Here are the book selections for 9th Grade English

I also had to help Owen get into National Honor Society.  He had applied the end of October and then got a rejection letter in November.  We were shocked that he didn't get in and wondered how it was possible that he didn't qualify.  He has a 4.3 GPA, taking AP classes, has lots of service and leadership, along with glowing character reviews from his coaches and teachers.  He excels in all 4 areas of NHS - character, leadership, service, and scholarship.  He wrote his essay, got the required teacher letters, and turned in everything by the deadline.  I told him to follow up with the NHS adviser, inquiring why he didn't qualify.  At first, the adviser responded that the committee used a "holistic approach" to selection and he wasn't chosen.  She also said he didn't get one his teacher recommendations.  The teacher letters were actually in, so that wasn't the reason.  Owen had personally spoken with the teachers and had verified those were turned in.  Then the adviser said it came down to Owen not sending an email confirmation to her after moving his 20 service hours from his general hours to donate to NHS.  She mentioned in the email to let her know if Owen needed help moving those hours and then letting her know when the hours had been moved.  Well, Owen didn't need help going to the career center to complete that task.  He did that on his own, but he didn't know he was required to send confirmation to the NHS adviser after doing so.  Since he had failed to do that, she wouldn't re-consider him for NHS this year.  She simply told him to apply again next year.  After a couple of failed attempts by Owen to be re-considered, I asked him for her contact info - my turn.  She tried to tell me the same thing.  I pointed out that Owen is known for his good communication with his coaches and teachers.  Owen's volleyball coach actually gave him a shout out in the parent meeting as being great at communicating.  I also told her that communication wasn't one of the measured areas of excellence for NHS and how she could have communicated a little better by letting Owen know that he wouldn't be admitted if he didn't confirm moving his service hours.  I also pointed out that simply telling juniors to re-apply the next year was a disservice to their college success, since some applications for college have to be turned in before acceptance is given for NHS.  They needed the participation their JUNIOR year to be included on their college applications.  I further pointed out that Owen seemed to be held to a higher standard or targeted for one lapse in communication, disregarding his grades, character, references, and everything else.  It wasn't a "holistic approach" that was used for selection.  The NHS adviser admitted that there were other students who didn't send a confirmation email and didn't get in either.  She said that ALL students who didn't complete that task were rejected.  That was really sad to hear, and I knew it wasn't right.  She was worried that the students wouldn't communicate with her about attendance at NHS meetings.  It seemed to be a hidden communication test as part of the application process.  I pointed out that Owen took the initiative to reach out to her, to follow up and communicate - the very quality she was looking for.  Anyway, she didn't want to accept Owen into NHS, but in her last email, she reluctantly said that if I still believed Owen should participate this year, she could try to skirt the rules on requirements for getting in.  I thought that was great and said, "Let's move forward."  

She sent an acceptance email the next morning, so he did get in this year.  I felt bad for the other students who also got rejected for not sending an email, so I again contacted the assistant principal to make him aware of the application / admittance process for NHS.  He replied back that he spoke with the NHS adviser and they agreed to change the process a bit next year, with a check list and google form to confirm service hours.  That was good, although he didn't mention if the other students affected this year were offered admittance.  I did my part to be the parent advocate that these students didn't know they needed.

We learned from this experience:

1.  Don't give up when you feel like you've earned something.

2.  Follow up on all tasks and communication.

3.  Sometimes you need an advocate to help.

4.   It doesn't hurt to ask for what you want.

Book of Mormon Analysis

The end of September, I finished my Book of Mormon analysis, where I had searched for action phrases.  I was looking for things we were invited to do, not just any verbs throughout the book.  Repent is used the most times (94), followed by the invitation to come unto Christ (58), believe (56), remember (44), and hearken (30).  When combining some words into categories, it's repent (132), keep the commandments (78), be (73), pray (68), serve / do good works (65), come (65), believe (56), search the word of God (49), hear and hearken (48), remember (47), look to God / seek Him (43), love and interacting with others (38), exercise faith / trust in God (37), baptized / born again (36), do / act / work (31), praise and worship God (27), preach the gospel (26), rejoice / lift up (26).  I went all the way down to unique phrases said only once (over 100).  I wasn't surprised that God asks us over and over again to repent.  We need that constant reminder of things we shouldn't do or should be doing.  It's all about change and striving to be a little better each day.  We're asked several times to simply remember, such as "remember that God is merciful".  I was pleasantly surprised with how many times God tells us to rejoice, lift up our eyes or heads, cheer up our hearts, break forth into joy, or be of good comfort.  There is so much to rejoice and delight in despite these challenging times.  We can't keep our heads down or wallow away in despair.  We're meant to have and find joy in the journey and see that the Lord brings us joy.  Some of my favorite phrases are "press forward with a steadfastness in Christ", "stand as witnesses of God," "reconcile yourselves to the will of God," and "come with full purpose of heart and cleave unto God."  I enjoyed doing the analysis.  

The day after I finished my scripture analysis, President Nelson passed away.  As I woke up on Sunday morning, I had the hymn "We Thank Thee Oh God for a Prophet" in my head.  I realized the song intersected with my scripture analysis.  We rejoice in a prophet, the gospel, every blessing.  We find it a pleasure to serve and obey.  When "dark clouds of trouble hang o'er us... there is hope smiling brightly before us... we doubt not the Lord nor His goodness... we'll sing of his goodness and mercy, we'll praise him by day and by night, rejoice in His glorious gospel, and bask in its life-giving light."  We have light in these dark times because of Jesus Christ, and we can repent because of God's grace.  Savannah was singing "Amazing Grace" in the shower after she learned of President Nelson's passing.  I think the Lord speaks to her though music, among other ways.  It was sweet to hear her expressing thoughts through song.  

It was interesting to listen and watch General Conference the next weekend.  President Dallin Oaks wasn't sustained yet as prophet, a new apostle wasn't named, and no new temples were announced.  The talks were good though.  We always enjoy relaxing at home for conference weekend and eating crumb cake.  

Savannah got to go on a youth temple trip the end of October. 

September Birthdays

Birthdays seemed a little weird this year.  Alex's birthday started the night before with Alex's requested dinner (sweet and sour chicken).  Then some friends from church stopped by with a lemon cake, singing to me, thinking it was my birthday.  We still popped a couple candles in the cake and sang to Alex. I had already made his requested Twix cheesecake bars for dessert.  On his birthday, I made omelets for breakfast.  Then we started to head out to Weston's cross country meet, but the car had a flat tire.  We didn't have time to put on a new tire, so we had to go switch out for the truck (which Owen had taken to work).  Owen ended up having to walk home because he couldn't drive the manual car we left there.  We went to Weston's meet and then the temple.  We ended up driving all around Beverly Hills trying to find a ramp that was open to get back on the freeway.  We made it back just in time to go to a dinner birthday party for one of Alex's colleagues (not ever mentioning it was Alex's birthday while there). One of Alex's friends dropped by with some fancy cookies.  

On my birthday, Alex made German pancakes for breakfast and baked a cake to frost later.  I talked to Jared, since it was his normal day to call.  He didn't know it was my birthday though, even though a friend (Carrie) dropped by with a gift during our call that I showed to him.  He still didn't pick up on that it was my birthday. When it came time for dinner, Alex realized he forgot to get sweet potato fries (which I had requested).  He ran to the store to get those, along with some chocolate and popcorn.  Savannah frosted my cake while he was at the store.  As soon as he got back, we popped the candles on the cake and they sang to me right before Owen and Weston had to run out the door for band and basketball.  They didn't even have time to eat dinner or cake with me.  Nathan did remember my birthday and called me.  A friend (Ashlynn) dropped by with some flowers after dinner.  Savannah wrote me a nice card, and she and I watched a Hallmark movie.  It was a decent day, although I don't think anyone put much thought into it (if they even remembered). Oh well - just another birthday, another year older. 

I did go out to eat a couple weeks later with some friends and my friend Heidi paid for my "birthday lunch" (even though it wasn't my birthday anymore).  

 

July Misc

 Over spring break, we saw this artwork of Gandalf at a shop.  Our friend Jack really liked it, but it was horribly expensive.  I snapped a photo of it because Savannah said she could paint it.  She did that this summer and gave it to Jack, sort of as a graduation gift, since he just graduated high school.  I think she did a really good job on it. 

Owen and I have still been playing volleyball at the church once a week.  It's pretty fun, but I do get bruised up sometimes.  This one was pretty bad, but not enough to keep from getting back out there the next week.  

I saw a butterfly on my bedroom window one night, and I was surprised to see it still there in the morning.  I always think of my grandma when I see butterflies now, so maybe it was a sign she was near.  We did a lot of fruit harvesting this summer.  The random lemon picked for lemonade was just funny.  We actually got several plums this year, along with peaches, apricots, and grapes.  

The kids were pretty bored this summer.  They didn't really do many fun things.  They had to just hang out for 2 weeks at home while Alex and I were on our trip.  They did a couple of camps and sports.  Other than that, they were mostly at home.  Savannah hung out with friends one day and got free slurpees.  We did a beach day with friends.  The kids mostly played the board games, but we did a family Ticket to Ride one evening that was pretty fun.  Savannah continued with twice a week swimming, which was summer conditioning.  Weston ran with the school cross country team this summer, as he decided to join the cross country team in the fall.  

Along with summer league basketball, Owen did a couple weeks of volunteer work, helping kindergarteners learn safety skills.  They actually had a film crew there during the 1st week, filming for a documentary, so maybe Owen will show up in that.  Owen enjoyed singing songs and helping the kids.  He met a little kid named Billy who just liked to laugh a lot.  One of the girls the second week really liked Owen.  Apparently the girl went home talking to her mom about "the boy".  The mom was curious what boy she had met, but she realized who that was the next morning as her daughter ran up and hugged Owen's leg.  "Oh, you're the BOY she was talking about." This little girl clung to Owen all week. Owen discovered that he really enjoys working with kids.  Owen also started a part-time job towards the end of the summer.  He plans to continue doing that throughout the school year, working Saturdays when he can. 

We went to a pioneer day celebration.  We had great food, hanging out, and activities for the kids.  They had a little obstacle course race, which was hilarious to see Weston and Owen doing with their friends.  I guess I cut the video off too early, but Owen did pull out the win in the end. He was really flying with his friend Aubree in the cart!

Alex spent a week in Oklahoma with his parents, helping out as his dad went in for knee surgery.  Alex did some yardwork and chores around the house.  He sent one picture of him all sweaty from working outside.  It's a little bit hotter there in the summer than here in CA...  His parents got to briefly chat with Jared on his weekly mission call, and I snapped a screenshot. 

Here are a few of the youth activities for the summer - the girls sewed their own purses.  There was a combined activity night with minute-to-win-it games.  Owen and Jack were determined to finish this puzzle they started in one of the challenges.  The youth did a sunset hike one night. 

It was nice to have Nathan home for the summer.  He got a full-time job (8am-4pm) so we didn't see a lot of him.  He didn't necessarily like the manual labor that he was doing, but he did learn some maintenance skills and enjoyed doing things with his hands.  He now wants to find a job that isn't just behind a computer all day.  Nathan was also involved this summer in all the singles ward activities and scripture study nights, so he kept pretty busy.  He bought a car this summer too, a 2013 Honda Civic.  He's pretty excited to have his own car to drive around.  He went on a hike before he left and snapped a few pictures.  I think he liked being home for a few months.

Alex and I did our monthly temple visit.  Savannah and I sang a duet in church, which was a little nerve-wracking, but we did it.  We sang "My Shepherd Will Supply My Need".  Savannah sang the alto part and did a good job. We had a special day one Sunday when Weston received his patriarchal blessing.  Savannah wasn't able to attend with us, so we dropped her off at our friend's house.  Our good friends just moved to the same town as the Stake Patriarch so it worked out pretty well to have dinner with them and then go to Weston's blessing.  Alex, Nathan, Owen, and I had a very spiritual experience being there with Weston.  Some amazing promises and gifts were mentioned depending on his faithfulness.  Some things were similar to his brothers, with a mission, family, and leadership in his future.  Gifts of kindness and love were mentioned, with the ability to develop many gifts through service.  It was just really spirit-filled experience and we felt close to family that had already passed on to the other side.  

The last picture was actually after the blessing.  On the way back to pick up Savannah, we saw someone having car trouble.  Our boys jumped out, along with some other guys, to help push the car into the gas station.  I liked how it didn't matter that they were in the church clothes.  They were quick to lend a hand regardless, and I like to think that it's those small acts of service that help these kids develop the attributes they need to succeed in life. 

Italy-Georgia Trip, Day 14-15

 Our last day was spent in Milan, Italy.  We had a 6:15am flight from Kutaisi to Milan, so it was an early start.  We got to the airport around 4:00am and met a guy there to return the rental car.  Our flight was fine, but we wasted most of the morning trying to get through the airport and waiting for trains that were cancelled. We made it to our hotel around noon and they let us check in early, so we were able to drop all our luggage.  We headed out in the heat of the afternoon, in our long pants (since we knew there was a dress code at the Cathedral).  It was SO hot though.  We tried to see the Last Supper Painting, but the tours were sold out.  That's what we get for not planning ahead. We went to the Cathedral and walked several steps to get to a rooftop view of the Piazza del Duomo.  After more gelato, we went over to a small aquarium, which was a nice air-conditioned break for the day.  We had Italian dinner in the Navigli District, along the canal.  

Early Saturday morning, we headed out.  We walked about a 1/2 mile to the train station.  We took a 6:45am train from Milan to Venice, where we arrived around 9:00am.  From there, we took a 20-minute bus ride to the airport.  Our flight was supposed to leave at 12:40pm from Venice to London, but we didn't actually leave on time.  With a short delay and being on the very back of the plane, we only had about 30-40 minutes to make our connecting flight in London.  It seemed impossible as we waited for a bus to take us to a different terminal and then had to go through security again.  Thankfully we didn't wait in the security line more than a couple minutes. We took off running for the gate.  Luckily it wasn't boarding on time and we made the long flight.  We flew from London to Phoenix and then home.  We also had to go through security, customs, and get a bag re-checked in Phoenix.  Luckily that flight was delayed a little bit and we didn't have to run to make that connection.  We made it home around 10:30pm.  

It was a great trip, but also very tiring.  I calculated that we did at least 72 miles walking throughout our trip (according to the health app).  We sort of had a system.  We'd wake up early, drive to our destination and see the sites, get cleaned up for the day, and then head back out to walk around the city and have dinner.  Long days, but it was fun to spend it together.  

Italy-Georgia Trip, Day 12-13

 On Wednesday the 25th, we set out to see some canyons and waterfalls.  We went to Martvili Canyon, which had some amazing green water.  We did the 15-minute boat tour, which was cool, but obviously short.  We found one small waterfall nearby.  We tried to find a couple of waterfalls but didn't have any luck.  

We had a 5-hour drive up to Mestia, which was slow and painful.  The road was horrible, with lots of rough, bumpy, and narrow places.  We went 25 mph many places along that road.  We got into Mestia and explored the city.  I was dreading driving back on the same road the next day, but our host let us in on a huge tip that saved us a lot of time.  Instead of driving back the same road, we were able to drive to Ushguli (our planned destination for Thursday) and then drive back to Kutaisi on a newly paved road.  Google Maps doesn't even have the road on the map.  It was funny to see the navigation map with just a dot in the middle of nowhere.  After Ushguli, we were able to drive on the new road (known to the locals) and make it to Kutaisi in about 3.5 hours on smooth road.  The scenery on the drive was so impressive!

Alex's favorite of the trip was Ushguli, with the mountainous scenery and the old towers throughout the city.  We were there by 9:00am and wandered around for 2-2.5 hours.  A dog followed us up the hill and I snapped a selfie with the dog.  There were lots of wildflowers there too.  We had lunch at a little cafe - we had meat pies and homemade yogurt with raspberry jam (as recommended on a blog).  We were headed out just before noon.  We tried to find a couple more waterfalls on the way back to Kutaisi, but some mean dogs were an obstacle for one. The other could only be seen by swimming to it, which we didn't really have time for.  We stayed in a hotel close to the airport in Kutaisi.

Why Georgia?  Even the locals there asked why we chose to come there... it was just a country on Alex's bucket list.  I didn't even know where it was before this trip.  But I'm glad we went because it was a very beautiful country.  I wouldn't recommend driving there... but it was amazing to see another country on the other side of the world from us. 

Here is some video highlights from Georgia: