22 and counting ...

::: 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 ...

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

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!

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!

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!

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

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!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JOSHUA!
We love you!

A day in SLC!

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 ...

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!

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 ...

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

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?

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 ...

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!

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!

"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!

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!

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!!!

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.