Medsker Family

22 and counting ...

2010-06-17T13:39:00.003-06:00

::: A caution to Michelle ~~~ read at your own risk :::

Congratulations to my wonderful and handsome husband for surviving 22 years with me! Thank you for being such an amazing husband and father. You have enriched and blessed my life in countless ways. I love and appreciate you and your example so very much! I love you!
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!!! :D

Funnies ...

2010-06-17T13:16:00.003-06:00

My kids say the funniest things! Here are just a few:

The other day I overheard Joshua say, "You can never have enough flashlights. End quote." So I'm thinking, who is he quoting. So I asked him, and he said, "Grandpa Medsker!"

Just about every weekend, the youth have been practicing for the Youth Spectacular. Mike has been helping with the Sound System since he is totally equipped for that. And since Mike is involved that means the girls are involved. So we load the Suburban on Friday night so it's ready because they have to leave at like 6:30 a.m. to set up (yes, that's not a misprint ... 6:30 a.m. on a Saturday morning) So this weekend the practice is at Weber State. Mike was somewhat relieved because he figured they wouldn't need his sound equipment expertise, but that wasn't to be. He received a call and they need his help. So, of course, he told Syd she needed to be ready on Saturday morning to go early. They were supposed to meet at the church at 7:30 a.m. to carpool up to WSU. When she heard about going early, she thought they would have to leave at like 5:30 a.m. and she would have to get up at like 4 a.m. to be ready because she likes to look perfect. So I told her the other day that Dad said she needed to be ready at 6:00 a.m. and she said, "Whoo, only 6 a.m., OK, that's not too bad!" LOL! What teenager is relieved to be ready at 6 a.m. on a Saturday morning?! I thought it was cute! Love ya, Syd!

OK, last thing. Yesterday we had the great fun of going to Em and Mike's for a while in the afternoon. We saw their new garden and stawberry patch which both look great! We also saw Em's new game (Little Big Planet) and the new level she made for the boys. We played it for a while and it was a lot of fun. Mike and Em also made us a yummy, yummy dinner. It was wonderful! So inbetween all of this fun time, we watched the video our Bishop made of Em and Mike's wedding/reception, etc. It turned out great and our Bishop did a wonderful job! The very last thing we watched were the comments made by people at the wedding. They were great! One of the best was by Brandon. He said,"I hope you both kill each other ... then he paused for like a second and I like take a silent breath ... then he finished ... with love!" It was the cutest thing!

Hope you all are enjoying your summer as much as we are!!!

He Lives

2010-04-04T22:35:00.001-06:00

He Lives

Happy Easter, everyone!
I love the renewal of Spring. The beautiful flowers, trees, colors, warmth of Spring. I love to see the buds on the trees, the tulips popping up, the crocus blooming, the yellow forsythia bushes, the florescent green of my neighbors tree that is proof there will soon be leaves, the bright daffodils that have waited so long to show their beautiful color. It all reminds me of Spring! New and wonderful! It reminds me of our Savior, Jesus Christ ... His life, his love, his example, his Atonement, his death ... and the glory that it didn't stop there. He was resurrected! He was alive. He is alive! He lives! How wonderful it is to know that Jesus Christ lives! We will be resurrected just as He was. Although we may face death ourselves, or our loves ones, or those around us, we can have hope in Jesus Christ that we will live again just as He did. How greatful I am for such a wonderful gift! He lives!

Conference Highlights!

2009-10-04T19:03:00.006-06:00

General Conference was this weekend and it was great! We are able to get tickets for the Saturday morning session. It was Joshua's first time going to General Conference. He was pretty excited about it! I was telling him how we were planning on riding the Frontrunner down and back and we would be home to quickly have lunch and then watch the afternoon session. He then asked, "But aren't we going to watch all of it down there?" He thought we were going to watch all of Conference in the Conference Center. I thought it was so cute! What a little sweetie.

Sydney:

The boys having some fun:

Aimee's self portrait:

Me and my handsome man:

So every year for General Conference we make a list of things that some of the speakers will most likely talk about and then we assign a treat to go with each thing. The boys love it and look so forward to it. (I do have to note that this year I forgot to get the treats and Brandon gave me the third degree .. he was mad about that. We did make cookies, though ... it helped a little.) Anyway, Mike came up his own list of things. Here it is:

General Conference Snack Schedule:

If someone talks about this ----------You get this:
Jedi Knight -------------------------------Pizza
Iron Man ----------------------------------Ice Cream
Flying Dragon -----------------------------Gummy Worms
Pumpernickel Bread ------------------------Pudding Cup
Motorcycle Cop ----------------------------Apple Sauce
Hook Hand ---------------------------------Frosting Scoop
Bob the Slime Man -------------------------Stick of Butter
Purple People Eater -----------------------PB & J
Blimp Pilot -------------------------------M&Ms
Indiana Jones -----------------------------Giant Candy Bar

You should have seen Brandon's face light up when he saw the list. He was so excited about it. He said, "Wow! We get pizza!" I said, "Yeah, if one of the General Authorities talk about a Jedi Knight!" We got a good laugh out of Mike's list.

My Conference Highlights:
1. I love everything about General Conference. I love the talks, the music, the amazing Spirit I feel. I love the hope, stength, encouragement I feel and know that what I have just heard and witnessed is truly revelation from God. It is evidence of God's love for His children. I can't wait for the Ensign so I can re-read my favorite parts over and over again. I get excited about the work of the Lord moving forward. It makes me want to try harder and to be more diligent and to live more righteously. I love it!

2. Being in the same room as the Prophet and seeing him and feeling his spirit is one of the most amazing things ever. It was awesome that we were there as a family to witness it. Last weekend I was able to attend the General Relief Society Meeting in the Conference Center. It was amazing! At the end, President Monson waved to everyone in the congregation. Really ... he waved to every section and it seemed like every sister that was there had their eyes on him and we all waved back. It was great!

3. My wonderful in-laws, Medsker and Brenda serve in the Conference Center. It is always a great treat to see them there. We always make a point to seek them out if we are there when they are. It was no exception this time. It's just a special feeling to see them there. Medsker was helping in the section just above where we were sitting on Sunday morning. We were on Plaza level, he was on Terrace level. I kept watching him hoping he would catch a glimpse of us sitting below. He did such a great job sitting people and taking their pictures! (Yes, I was watching you Medsker) When it was getting close to starting time he came down to the front of where he was helping and looked in our direction. He saw us and we all waved! It was great! After conference was over, we saw him again as we were waiting our turn to exit. We were looking up at him and he was there again. He signed to us, "I love you!" Yes, the tears came. It was a sweet moment in time. I think I was standing there stunned just because the moment touched me so much. Sydney then blew him a kiss. That moment and thought of Medsker signing "I love you" will be etched in my memory forever.

4. We took a couple of our neighbors with us to General Conference. Kylie and Jordyn Stott. They are the cutest girls. Kylie is Sydney's age and Jordyn is Nate's age. Jordyn was just baptized a couple weeks ago. I don't think they have ever been to General Conference. When we got to the Conference Center, Jordyn said "Wow! Look at all the Mormons!"

Road Trip to Portland!

2009-09-08T13:51:00.020-06:00

Mike and I took a road trip to Portland, Oregon. We had a great time! Here is a picture of a boat on the Columbia River and some bridges.

A nice picnic was held for Emily and Mike at the church bowery. There were a lot of nice people to meet, yummy food, and fun!

We stayed in a hotel on the Columbia River. Right near our hotel was this cool bridge. The top picture is with the draw bridge up and following is the draw bridge down.

My handsome man!

The happy couple:

There was a lot of moss on the rocks and trees. It was cool! Lower Punch Bowl Falls in background:

Some gals playing their instruments above the falls. The hike in was probably 3-4 miles. They hiked in all their instruments. They had a camera guy there taking their pictures and doing some video. I don't think the girls were used to being outdoors. It took them a while to get over to the falls ... it really wasn't that bad and one gal didn't even make it over. They had a little raft to float their instruments over in the water. It was fun!

Upper Punch Bowl Falls:

Multnomah Falls and Portland Temple:

My handsome man at the Portland Temple!

We stopped in Twin Falls on the way home and saw my sister and her family. We had lunch together and had a nice visit. We stopped by the Twin Falls Temple on our way out of town. It's cool because there is a Stake Center right behind the temple. They share the same parking lot. That's got to be a good reminder for Stake Temple Night. ;)

I love these flowers!

Cute Cub Scouts!

2009-09-08T13:44:00.003-06:00

Joshua is now a Cub Scout! He has waited for this day since Nate started his first day of Cub Scouts! It's finally arrived! AND ... he gets to bring the treat bucket this week! Yay!

Cute Cub Scout brothers:

Joshua's Star Wars Cake

2009-09-08T13:24:00.005-06:00

Joshua wanted a Star Wars cake for his birthday. He wanted Anakin and Obi Wan fighting with their light sabers with the volcanos and lava all around. So we went to work and this is what we came up with:

While we were decorating the cake, I added a small bowl in the top of the volcano. I told Joshua it was a surprise. Just before he blew out the candles, I added some dry ice and water to give it the full volcano erupting effect. You can see it a little in this picture:

Joshua had a fun time helping me decorate the cake and it turned out really great!

It's great to be 8!

2009-08-27T14:04:00.003-06:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JOSHUA!
We love you!

A day in SLC!

2009-07-17T23:27:00.008-06:00

The boys and I went to Salt Lake to hang out for a day. We had so much fun!
Here are some of my favorite pictures on temple square:

Can you tell how much they loved the water at Gateway?

It's been 22 years ...

2009-07-16T22:19:00.015-06:00

since I met the man of my dreams ...

We met 22 years ago this very day. Little did I know I would fall in love and marry Michael Medsker. Oh yes, he'll tell you ... that I chased him and I was everywhere he was that night. Hey, he was cute! (not that I'm confirming his side of the story!) But it just sorta ended up that way! I'm glad ... I don't know what my life would be like with out him. On our first date, we saw fireworks ... really ... it makes me think of that Brady Bunch episode where Peter falls for this gal and he sees fireworks. lol! It was great! Mike has always been quite a gentleman ... and still is as a matter of fact! I love that about him! He always makes me feel special. When we were dating and going to Weber State, he would carry my art portfolio for me and that thing was huge! He would also write me cute love notes in the Signpost when we passed before our next class began. I still remember seeing him walking to meet me ... bright sunny morning, handsome guy, the sun coming up ... he just seemed to glow!
I guess I was in love!

He has always been handsome! I don't see that ever changing! He has a great smile that I love!

He is also very adventurous and likes to include me on those adventures; sometimes to my dismay! But I can say, I've seen some beautiful places that I would have never experienced otherwise.

Mike has a great sense of humor. Like the time when Sydney and I went outside for a minute and when we came back in, he had dressed the Guinea Pig in this cute outfit! I was dying laughing!

And believe it or not, he does like to put his feet up once in a while. Mike is a hard worker and does his best in every aspect of his life.

Mike, you are amazing!
You are a great husband and father!
I LOVE YOU!

Fruits & Veggies, Yum!

2009-07-11T22:27:00.002-06:00

This week I tried something new! It's called Bountiful Baskets Food Co-op. I heard about it from our Bishop's wife (Thanks, Mary!). I thought I would give it a try so I ordered a basket of fruit/veggies. It was great and I ended up getting lots of yummy things ... lettuce, bananas, cantelope, broccoli, 6 nectarines, 5 tomatoes, 5 apricots, 14 plums, potatoes, 3 bags cherries, carrots, 5 white onions. I thought it was well worth the cost of $15. You can also order bread. I was excited about it! When I came home with my basket of stuff, the boys were just starting to look for some breakfast. Nate ended up eating a carrot and some other fruit. Josh went straight for the apricot (although he keeps calling them avacados), then plum, then cherries. Brandon wasn't all that thrilled about it because I didn't get any strawberries. lol! Josh has kept eating fruit throughout the day which I am excited about! :D Yay for healthy eating!

Mom, when I grow up ...

2009-07-07T14:17:00.002-06:00

I want to be ...

A wood carver, a pilot, or a blimp driver.

By Joshua Medsker

PS A blimp driver is someone who pilots a blimp like in the movie "Up"

Oquirrh Mountain Temple

2009-07-06T15:11:00.005-06:00

On Friday we went to see the Oquirrh Mountain Temple Open House. We were able to see a short movie about temples and why they are so important. There were a lot of poeple visiting and we were able to enjoy the surrounding beauty of the temple grounds for a while. The boys were very patient as we inched closer and closer to the entrance. The inside of the temple was amazing! Not only because of how beautiful it was, but because of the peaceful beautiful spirit that was so abundant. The temple has such an amazing spirit there ... even when you are walking through sharing the moment with hundreds of other people. It's a feeling of warmth and goodness, love, gratitude, holiness, and peace all wrapped into one. It's hard to describe with words. The temple is a place you have to experience yourself and then you will know. I am so grateful for temples! I know it is the House of the Lord. I'm grateful to enter there and make sacred covenants and participate in sacred ordinances. I know these things are eternal in nature. I know that the family is central to our Heavenly Father's Plan of Happiness ... because of the temple, I can have my family forever. What a great blessing in my life!

Golfing Anyone?

2009-07-06T14:56:00.007-06:00

Mike signed the boys up for some golf lessons. They were so excited! On the way to the first lesson, Josh said, "So, how do I hold the golf club?" I told him that is what he is going to learn. They had a great time!

Initial instruction with the group:

Nate taking a swing:

Nice one Brandon!

Josh getting a little help:

Love and Cherish ...

2009-06-15T23:28:00.005-06:00

Last week at Family Home Evening we talked about "The Family: A Proclamation to the World." We talked about how families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activites. We talked and discussed for a while. Then I passed around a hat with everyone's name on a piece of paper. We each drew a name and during the week we had to do something for the person whose name we drew out focusing on the 'love' that needs to be shown in our family. One day, Sydney mentioned that we needed to 'love and cherish' our special person for the week and from then on that's what it was called. When there was a disagreement I just mentioned 'love and cherish' ... not that it solved the problem, but at least it caused a moment of thought and for the most part actions were changed for the better. Then one day, Josh said it was 'love and charity' ... by the end of the week ... it was 'charity'. It was fun to see what each person would do for another. Some did simple things and acts of service, others went to greater lengths to find a treat at the store or to decorate with blue crape paper. (Nate called it getting toilet papered in my room ... lol!) My little person gave me the cutest notes. One day there was a little monkey sitting on my bed with the note: "Mom, I am glad that you do not eat sugar and don't swing like a monkey and that's what happens when you eat to much sugar." From: ? Then today another note taped to a deck of cards that had 'Safety First' on the box ... with a bear Valentine and a red heart sucker taped to the deck of cards. It read: "Bears are not safe but you are and sweet like a love pop." From: ? I guess that's what being a mom is all about ... being sweet like a love pop! I thought it was the cutest thing ever. It was a fun week of love, cherish, and charity.

Kudos to Mike!

2009-05-24T22:00:00.002-06:00

What a sweetie he is. This past week Sydney and I have been hiking down in Southern Utah with students, teachers, and parents in her 8th grade class. We had a great time! Mike and the boys came and picked us up at Highland on Friday. When we came home there were 'Welcome Home' signs hanging everywhere from the garage to all over the house. It was so much fun! Then we went into the kitchen where Mike had picked up some chocolate covered strawberries and raspberries for Sydney and I. We both sat down to have some while he poured us some sparkling white grape juice. Oh ... they were breathtaking after spending a week eating backpacking food. Then he took us all out to dinner! What an amazing man! Thanks honey! You made our homecoming a sweet one! :D

Happy Birthday, Nate!

2009-05-15T23:30:00.003-06:00

"Mom, I'll be fine!" is what I heard at least a dozen times today as Nate was getting ready for his first scout campout. But ... but ... but ... don't you need another jacket? ... what about long pants ... do you need other pair? ... what about a hat? ... I know you have one, but do you need another one? ... what about long socks? ... are you sure you have enough to eat? ... let's see what else we can find for you to eat ... be sure to zip your sleeping bag ... don't lose your gear ... do you have a water bottle? ... are you going to be OK? ... listen to your leaders ... use the buddy system ... "Mom, I'll be fine!" ... "Mom, I said ... I'LL BE FINE!" I know you will son. It's just hard to believe you are already eleven! Happy Birthday, Nate! We love you!

FAMILY UPDATE!

2009-05-10T22:36:00.002-06:00

Emily is engaged! :D
She came in the house and was smiling her face off. Of course I knew something was up and sure enough ... as she held her Jamba cup (this could be a good commercial)a beautiful ring was on her finger!
We are so excited for her!
Congratulations Emily and Mike!

Happy Birthday, Sydney!

2009-04-22T22:39:00.002-06:00

Pink little girl with ash color hair ...
Running on tippy toes with quite a flair ...

Fun little giggle ...
Cute little smile ...
Lists and lists as long as a mile ...

Zoom you're here ...
Zoom you're there ...
Zoom you're everywhere ...

Cousins ...
Hugging ...
Brothers ...
Barbies ...
Monkeys all around ...

No treats are safe if the bag is open ...
No, there is none to be found ...

Singing high ...
Singing low ...
Morn until sunset glow ...

High School Musical ...
Connie ? Starfish ? Bugly ? Bundt ?
Nails ...
Hiking ...
Biking ...
So many stunts ...

Syd, your years have gone by fast.
We hope the next 14 will be such a blast!
You are amazing! We love you!!!

2009-04-19T17:15:00.003-06:00

Here is a video I wanted to share. It is by Jon Schmidt, a local pianist and composer. He does "Love Story" by Taylor Swift meets "Viva La Vida" by Cold Play. He does a Christmas concert every year which is just plain amazing. Enjoy.

Happy Birthday, Brandon!

2009-04-03T08:57:00.003-06:00

Brandon Medsker

Boy of many tools

Really cares about others

Amazing

Nice

Downright handsome

Outrageously good at playing tether ball

Noteworthy character

Many talents

Especially cute

Daring and brave

Sensitive

Kind

Everyones friend

Rockin' dance moves

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BRANDON!!!

We love you!

Brandon, at 6:30 a.m. this morning when it was time to get up:

"I want to give myself a birthday gift of sleeping in"

Happy Birthday, Aimee!

2009-03-17T22:39:00.002-06:00

I still remember the first day you were born with all your dark, brown hair! What a cutie pie! Emily was so excited to have her sister here because she poked you and said, "talk!". You grew so fast through the crawling, walking, teething stages ... it seemed like all I did was blink and poof I was looking up at you and you were looking down at me. :D I remember the cute little doll you had that you named 'Angel' and the way you loved to eat jello with a straw. I remember how we could always count on you to break a bone in the Spring, but luckily you grew out of that stage! ;-) You have always had a kind, tender heart. You do extra chores, make yummy brownies, and do things no one else would ever think of to show your love. Like the one time when the Activity Girls were going to Krispy Kreme Doughnuts. You were talking with one of the leaders before they left, which I really didn't think anything about because you were in Young Women and I thought you were just having a friendly conversation. Well, I soon found out when they returned. You had given the leader some money to buy a doughnut ... not for yourself, but for your mother. You presented me with a yummy doughnut and an "I love you, Mom!" How sweet is that! Those acts of kindness are typical of your caring nature. You are an amazing Daughter of God! We have loved watching you grow into a beautiful Young Woman! Thank you for who you are! We are fortunate to have you in our family! We love you, Aimee! Happy 17th Birthday!

2009-03-14T09:37:00.006-06:00

Here is a beautiful video about why the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints builds temples.

Throughout history, the Lord has commanded His people to build temples. Temples are literally houses of the Lord. They are holy places of worship where individuals make sacred promises with God.

-www.lds.org

Live Snakes!

2009-02-27T23:09:00.002-07:00

by Joshua Medsker

I find snakes super, here are some facts.
Snakes have fancy designs on their back.
Snakes live in Egypt and other places.
Snakes eat sloppy and messy.
Snakes give birth in ditches and messy logs.
I like that snakes poop but not pee.
I love snakes!

Boys 'n' Bunkbeds

2009-02-23T21:39:00.005-07:00

I just recently found out that my boys would take turns wiggling their bunk beds back and forth to see who could get it to shake the most. Yes, shocking ... I'm just glad they didn't end up getting hurt. Mike took them out shopping a couple weeks ago to find some new bunkbeds. Brandon and Josh agreed on a nice looking bed. Brandon wanted to stay in the top bunk, and Josh didn't have a problem with it once he saw all the cool features the bottom bunk had ... 2 shelves, drawers, bed that slides in and out. Pretty cool stuff! It was delivered on Saturday and we spent several hours putting it together. The boys seemed to have a lot of fun helping to put their bed together. One nice thing is it has a desk and drawers so it takes up less space in their room. They also had to get a clip on lamp so they could read before bed. The first night I peeked in and Josh was reading his scriptures. How sweet is that?! Anyway, here are some pictures of their new non-shaking bunkbeds:

Brandon and Josh in their new bed!

The desk:

Exciting Trip to Mexico (or should it be called "The Day Julia Got Even!").

2009-02-16T12:41:00.003-07:00

Julia and I have just returned from a week in Mexico. Not a bad place to be during a snowy week in February. If I do a certain level of mortgages in the year we get to go on an all expense paid trip with my boss and the others who reached the goal. We had a total of 8 couples this year. They are all fun people and we have a great time with them. We went to a resort called the El Dorado Royale. It is about 45 minutes south of Cancun near the fishing village of Puerto Morales. It is an all inclusive resort with amazing food, pools, beaches, activities, etc.

The travel day on Saturday was pretty uneventful. It was nice to get off the plane to a warm sunny day. It didn't take long to get the shorts on. Sunday we went to church in the LDS Branch in Puerto Morales. It is a small branch that is held in two adjoining apartments. I didn't understand much they said but the Spirit is amazingly strong. After we just hung around at the resort. Monday we did about the same, riding bikes, walking on the beach, playing chess with a giant chess set, etc. Tuesday we went with 2 other couples over to Cozumel. It is about a 45 minute ferry ride to the island. We drove Jeeps around the island to go snorkeling and site seeing. We did a little shopping. One store owner was trying to sell Julia a ring with a total of 1.75 carats worth of diamonds.

Come to Tuesday. I found a trip on the Internet where you ride 4 wheelers about 45 -60 minutes into the jungle. You then go on 3 zip lines and swim in a Cenote that is about 40 feet under ground. The 4 wheeler ride was fun and Julia did great. We have went on zip lines before but these were a little rickety which added to the adventure. Julia was first up and climbed a 18 foot ladder strapped to a tree. She got on the platform on top and away she went. I followed. The next zip line was about the same. Then comes the big one. About 30 feet in the air and 75-100 feet long. I went first so I can get some photos of Julia coming down. I make it to the platform at the bottom that is about 8 feel off the ground. I went 2 steps down the ladder and stopped to take a couple photos of Julia. I watched her through the camera and next thing I know I am flying through the air. I hit the ground stunned, dazed, and bleeding from my chin and a couple other spots. It felt like I got hit by a truck. My little wife can really move! She says she realized that she was going to hit me and tried to avoid but I think maybe she stretched to take out the frustrations with me. :-) Actually there was nothing she could have done to avoid hitting me. I thought she would go over my head but was wrong. I got up to my hands and knees and stayed that way for a few minutes. I was finally able to sit on a stump and fully access the damage. A split chin that would require stitches, torn muscles in my right ride, and various bruises, bumps and scrapes. There were a couple of the guides and 3 couples that stayed to help us. One of the couples came with us, another we had met from Virginia, and one that spoke French and no English. I asked the friend that came with me to give me a blessing. After that we started working me towards the 4 wheelers. I would go for a little bit and then sit and rest. I had a guy under each arm helping. I was still pretty dizzy and hurt to move at all. Once we made it to the 4 wheelers I got on behind one on the guides and we started out to where they could get a Jeep to me. I had to have him stop a couple times because the pain got to be too much. After the Jeep ride we made it to the shop where we started. The owner checked me out and said he had a friend down the road that could stitch up my chin. I decided to get back to our resort first and see the EMT there. I was a little worried about getting stitched up in the middle of Mexico. The EMT used strips and taped my chin. I then took it real easy around the room and resort until we came home Saturday.

We got to our house around 6:00 PM. We then ate, changed and ran over to the church. They had asked me to DJ the Stake Sweetheart Ball. I didn't dance much as it still hurts to use the muscles in my side at all or just to move. I spoke Sunday morning and then went to our meetings. After church we went to InstaCare to get me checked out. Everything looks good. Chin is staying closed, tore and strained muscle will take a while to heal, but no breaks or major internal damage. I will just be moving tenderly for a couple weeks.

Julia did get to go shopping and hang out on the beach for the last few days of our vacation so everything worked out good. If she would have just asked though I would have let her hang out on the beach with out taking me out first. :-)

And no, I did not get the picture!

A Voice of Warning ...

2009-01-28T14:37:00.002-07:00

On Sunday, our wonderful Home Teacher and his son came for their monthly visit. The lesson was from the January 2009 Ensign "A Voice of Warning" by President Henry B. Eyring. He always does a great job of adapting the lesson just for our family to fit our needs just right. He started out the lesson by asking the kids what a voice of warning was. Nate immediately raised his hand and said "Is it when you tell everyone that their TV won't work in February because it is switching to digital?" I thought I was going to die laughing, but somehow I managed to stifle it.

Also, I found out a bit of interesting information. It seems that James Bond and John Wayne are things my husband ranks pretty high on his list of "things to know". Luckily, during our courtship, we were both so twitterpated, the thought of asking if I knew much of either of these things never crossed his mind. And so ... I won his heart. Fast forward to 20 years later ... and we are sitting watching TV and some guy in a blue coat and sun glasses appears with skis and there are people with guns. The guy in blue anxiously anticipating his next move skis down the luge, with no prior experience, mind you, landing perfectly while fighting off the bad guys with their motorcycles and their automatic guns that aim and shoot, but never hit. Who is this guy? I don't know?! Come on! It's JAMES BOND! LOL! And so ... another voice of warning ... "Ya know ... I don't know if I would have married you if I would have realized you didn't know who James Bond and John Wayne were?" LOL!

Sydney's Dream

2008-11-20T22:51:00.000-07:00

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My Dancing Elvin Hoties

2008-11-20T22:30:00.002-07:00

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The Dancing Elf Boys

2008-11-20T18:29:00.001-07:00

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Happy Birthday, Emily!

2008-11-11T21:42:00.003-07:00

It's hard to realize that 19 years has passed. Thinking through the years and all that has happened ... dark brown hair, little goat cry, smiling, waiting for her to grow to fit into all those cute outfits I got at the baby shower, long nights, rocking back and forth on hands and knees knowing that it would soon turn into a crawl, teething, walking, running, holding her bottle in her mouth as she would run and play, hot dogs and cheese, talking, putting grasshoppers into her mouth and freaking her mother out, mischevious little smiles, sleeping in the laundry basket, first talk in primary, bunkbeds, preschool, projects, fun songs, long brown hair, kindergarten, reading, flirting with cute boys at such a young age, adored by teachers, baptism, braces, loving outdoors, climbing, hiking, middle school, saxophone, friends, young women, girls camp, activities, growing up, jazz band, "organized mess", high school, dances, dating, taller than mom, high jump, Aspen Ridge, Young Womanhood, blessings, driving, job, football games, track, grades, leadership opportunities, beautiful young woman, graduation, college ... yes, it really does seem that fast. Thank you for all the good times, Emily! You add so much to our lives and our family! You are beautiful! We love you!

4th Folder ... 4th Picture ...

2008-10-20T22:29:00.003-06:00

This is what you do…..You go to your pictures area on your computer and pick the 4th folder and 4th picture and then explain it!

This picture was taken in February 2006.

Mike and I were on a cruise ship leaving for the Eastern Caribbean.

This is looking at Miami. Fun times!

Fall Break!

2008-10-20T13:02:00.002-06:00

It was so nice to be out for Fall Break! We worked so much outside and got a lot done. I think our yard is just about winterized. I still need to get rid of our junk pile on the side of the house and the pile of stuff in the garden and then it will be ready. The kids were great and helped so much! We were able to get the garden all cleaned out. They pulled out all the tomato plants and raked and picked up tomatoes. It was a big job. We also pulled out some bushes and a tree. One of the bushes was pretty big and the kids had fun jumping on it trying to get the branches to break. The funny thing was Joshua thought he saw a snake and wouldn't go near it after that. The kids thought it was fun to put the branches in the junk pile. When I finally got the trunk dug up from the big bush, they all gave me a cheer! I couldn't believe how hard that thing was to get out, but I finally conquered it after a lot of ax swinging and digging. It made me think about our testimonies and how they should be anchored in Christ. That bush always had water because it was right by the sprinkler and from where it was planted it always had light. Both light and water have reference to Christ and it just made me think we should be that firm in our testimonies. It took a lot of effort to get it out and hopefully if our testimonies are secure and we keep drinking from the well of living water and seeking the light, our roots will continue to grow even deeper so Satan will have no power to uproot or sever. :::my deep thought for the day::: We also did various othe things over the weekend, but the yard was the main focus. Thanks to my kids for all their hard work! Next weekend I think we'll play!!

31 Questions

2008-10-20T12:48:00.002-06:00

Here are the rules:
I have to answer the following questions with one word answers and one word only!
Then I must pass it on to seven others.
Here are the questions:

1. Where is your cell phone? Purse
2. Where is your significant other? Work
3. Your hair color? Brown
4. Your mother? Loving
5. Your father? Heaven
6. Your favorite thing? Family
7. Your dream last night? Mike
8. Your dream/goal? Exaltation
9. The room you're in? Kitchen
10. Your hobby? Kids
11. Your fear? Heights
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Progressing
13. Where were you last night? Sleeping
14. What you're not? Fancy
15. One of your wish-list items? ?
16. Where you grew up? Ogden
17. The last thing you did? Eat
18. What are you wearing? Jeans
19. Your TV? Works
20. Your pet? None
21. Your computer? Works
22. Your mood? Mello
23. Missing someone? Dad
24. Your car? Burb
25. Something you're not wearing? Hat
26. Favorite store? Macey's
27. Your summer? Amazing
28. Love someone? Mike
29. Your favorite color? Purple
30. When is the last time you laughed? Today
31. Last time you cried? Morning

TAGGING:Whoever wants to give it a try!

More about me!

2008-09-21T21:05:00.006-06:00

Here goes...

JOYS:

1. Being with my family!!

2. The Gospel

3. Date night

FEARS:

1. The woods at night by myself without a flashlight

2. Driving off the edge of a road into water with all my kids in the car and not be able to get out

3. Heights

GOALS:

1. Getting our yard ready for winter/ finish painting what we started 3 years ago. lol!

2. Read Book of Mormon by the end of the year

3. Cleaning out my filing cabinet/downstairs/closets

CURRENT OBSESSIONS/COLLECTIONS:

1. I love eating my oatmeal cereal every morning.

2. I love to collect recipes and recipe books

3. Water! It will fix what ails you. lol!

FACTS:

1. Mike has asked me twice now if I have messed up his computer. lol!

2. The roast, potatoes and gravy we ate after church today was out of this world!!!

3. I have an opened bag of chocolate chips in the kitchen closet that I'm dying to eat, but I'm trying to have some sort of self control.

~Julia~

Tagging: Aimee, KoriAnn & Mary

This past week ...

2008-08-25T21:58:00.000-06:00

First of all, the kids started school today. I'm so sad to see summer come to an end. I missed them all so much while they were at school. They all seemed to like their teachers and classes. Here is a picture of my handsome boys this morning. The girl's escaped before I could take their picture!

Last week we got our apricot leather done. I did it a little different this year. When we picked the apricots, the weather wasn't all that good. So, the boys helped me get all the apricots cleaned, pitted, and ground up. At this point, I usually set it out on the tables to dry, but because of the weather, I froze it. A couple weeks later, I let it thaw and put it out to dry. It turned out great! Here are some pictures of the leather. I actually got 4 tables full of the stuff! After all that hard work ... a week later, it's just about gone!

Here is Nate with a sheet of it!

And the boys rolling it up and putting in bags.

My beautiful girls decided to have a play day in Salt Lake. They had so much fun shopping and hanging out together. They wanted to do one big sister thing before Em left for school.

Happy Tagging!

2008-08-13T22:29:00.000-06:00

Thanks Emily!!

The Rules:
• Link the person(s) who tagged you.
• Mention the rules on your blog.
• Tell about 6 unspectacular quirks of yours.
• Tag 6 fellow bloggers by linking them.
• Leave a comment on each of the tagged blogger’s blogs letting them know they’ve been tagged!

- I love to vacuum! It's my favorite household chore!

- When I start a project, I like to finish it! I like to get things done in one sitting. If I'm doing something and have to stop or put away my project to finish later. It really bugs!

- I'm somewhat of a germ freak! I'm always telling my kids to wash their hands and it's the first thing I do when I walk into the house from going somewhere.

- Oatmeal is my comfort food!

- I love chunky sandals/shoes! I wish I had 50 pair! I'm always looking through the Sierra Trading Post catalog to see if there are any good deals on Keen.

- I like to work outside in the garden and flower beds. I like to weed and beautify my surroundings and make sure my flower friends are all happy. Most of the time they are. Sometimes, I don't get to them like I should and they start to droop ... like the three plants I have sitting under my deck. They have been sitting there since the beginning of June ... just waiting for a home. My tub in the front yard is waiting too. I'm going to plant flowers in it after I pull out the tree in the flower bed. Also, I'm planning to pull out a couple big bushes, but haven't done it yet. Funny thing about me and plants/flowers. Whenever Mike gives me flowers, I keep them until they are absolutely and positively dead. I feel bad throwing them away. So, I keep them until almost all the pedals have fallen off. I had a couple potted plants downstairs ... I had these things for years and they were starting to get buggy and not look well. So, I still kept them because they were plants and all and I just couldn't throw them out. Well, one day I had it ... and I tossed them. It was in the winter so the poor things went into the freezing garbage can. No joke ... the next day we watched Mythbusters and it was about how plants have feelings. I just about cried!

~Julia~

I tag Emily S, Mayme, and Jenn N!

2008-08-10T18:59:00.000-06:00

Well this has been a pretty uneventful week. We are looking forward to Aimee coming back home from Aspen Ridge on Saturday. It will be fun to have a full house for a week or so and then Emily is off to college.

We have been watching the Olympics the last few days. Julia's favorite event is Syncronized Swimming. She was trying to convince Sydney that it is a cool sport but Sydney just giggled and said that it was goofy. It was much easier for Mike to convert the kids to the sport of Beach Volleyball.

Sydney went on a backpacking trip Wednesday to Saturday with her grandfather, uncle, aunt, a couple cousins and another family. They were going to go to the Windrivers but there was a fire in the area they were going to go to so they changed to the Sawtooth Mountains. It was either raining or swarms of mosquitos were attacking so they came home a day early. She did have a great time though.

Julia went to a Relief Society activity on Friday and Saturday. We gathered at Sister Taylor's in-laws home and camped in their backyard. It was a great location! Thank you Taylor's for being so hospitable and allowing us to campout in your backyard and use your flushable toilet! We had a wonderful speaker, Bishop McKay. He was my Seminary teacher back in the day. It was great to see him and his wife! We had a delicious dutch oven dinner. We also brought white elephant gifts. Holy cow! That was fun! We laughed and laughed and Sister LaRose kept trying to make everyone steal someone elses gift. Luckily, Jamie got her paint! ;-) We then played games until late in the night. It was so much fun and we learned some fun things about some of the sisters in our ward. We also roasted marshmellows! Yum! After that I went to bed. I couldn't find a spot in a tent so I slept under the stars on my matress. Thank heavens for air bed matresses. Sister West and Sister Higgs joined me a couple hours later. We had a delicious Mountain Man Dutch Oven Breakfast. Thank you Schroeder's! Then we made some fun necklaces out of dried up potatoes. lol! I can just see Ali and Britt reading this and thinking ... dried up potatoes?! lol! It was a great time and all of our sisters are just so much fun to be around. Thank you everyone for a wonderful time!

2008-08-03T17:49:00.000-06:00

Being some of the older folks in our LDS Ward we have been harassed, cajoled, encouraged, made fun of, felt bad for, etc., because we did not have a blog. We have taken a large leap and finally are ‘Bloggers’. We are not sure our life is exciting enough to warrant a blog, but here we go.

This year marks 20 years of wedded bliss for us. We also have the milepost of our oldest daughter Emily heading off to BYU this fall. It seems like just yesterday Julia was saying ‘no’ when Mike asked her to marry him and yet here we are. (Obviously he was able to change her mind with his suave wit.) Someday we might bring you up to speed on the last 20 years but for now here are the last few days.

Friday was Mike’s Client Appreciation Pool Party. It’s in its third year with much success! We had a lot of fun visiting with family, friends, people we don’t know very much (except Mike … he knows them pretty well since he did their loans) and eating lots of food and snow cones. The little kids loved the Rubber Ducky Derby (little rubber duckies float around the lazy river … the first one around wins!) and the older kids loved the Twinkie Eating Contest! I think Jeremiah West still holds the top Twinkie eating count at 15! We all had a great time! And … if you’re thinking this sounds fun and want to come next year, talk to Mike about a mortgage or a re-fi, he’d be glad to help you and we’d be glad to see you at next year’s pool party!!

Saturday was spent putting things away and cleaning. The boys have recently got into Pokémon. Brandon got a deck of Pokémon cards for his birthday awhile ago. They have been playing non-stop for the past couple of days so we went to Target and found another deck. They were so excited!

Today being Sunday; it is the lovely day of rest. Emily takes that literally! She sleeps all day long. The Bishop came into Relief Society today and commanded us to start a blog. Ha! Ha! Just kidding, Bishop! Although, Elder Ballard did mention it in last month’s Ensign. So, we are doing our part to share the gospel with our family and friends via the Internet.

Also, a dear, dear friend of ours passed away this week. Our dear friend and sister, Barbara Cozort. She was in the Mount Lewis 5th Ward. She was our sacrament Grandma when Mike was Bishop in that ward when all my kids were little. She helped when Nate spilled water all down the front of me while Mike just laughed from the stand. She helped bounce Brandon on her knee when he was fussy. She brought quiet toys for the kids to play with. She made the girls gifts. Every week she was there. She was amazing! We will miss her sweet, loving example. For now, we know her spirit is in heaven and look forward to the day when we will meet again.