She Did It.

This is a year of finish lines for Beth. 
Senior year with a girl who has had Senioritis 
since Junior year has been awesome.
Some of the finish lines, we are dragging her over :)
This one she did on her own.
Well, with lots of help from women she loves 
and a friend who jump started her "stalled engine"...
We are happy, grateful, and proud.

Love you Beth.

The End. A post about finishing the Book of Mormon again as a family.

As I have been pondering what that means, I am feeling a little emotional.
Not because we have amazing scripture reading sessions together, because most of the time,
it's kind of the opposite :)
But to me, that's where the power is.
I have been thinking a lot about faith lately.
I remember as a youth and a teenager not having a lot of it.
And I prayed for it.
I prayed haphazardly for a testimony of the Book of Mormon, and of Joseph Smith.
I felt nothing. It didn't really bother me too much-it just wasn't there.
As I have thought lately about why I never received an immediate response when I asked for it,
the answer is kind of obvious.
The thing I value most right now in my life is my relationship with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.
It's powerful and life sustaining. It fuels me with hope and strength and the desire to endure.
But I worked for that relationship.
Lots of tears and pleading in dark moments.
And lots of joy as light has filled those dark voids.
And now that testimony is priceless to me.
What value would there be in it if I hadn't had to struggle?
What is easily given, is rarely treasured.
And so, reading the Book of Mormon as a family has been as much of a trial as it has been a joy.
But for all of it's challenges, we have had many sweet moments discussing its truths and our struggles to live in world where so many jump at the chance to ridicule and criticize it.
My heart pounds as I think about how much I love The Book of Mormon.
And I am grateful that it comes so easily now.

Moroni 10:4

Yesterday in the Garden.

 My Aunt Janis came and spent the greater part of the day with me, prepping my garden to be planted. 
Last year's garden was pretty much a failure. 
Though the plants grew, there was not a whole lot to harvest. 
Janis gave me some great insights as to why. 
We'll see how it goes this year (:

Last month, she came and pruned my apple trees for the first time ever in their existence. After a terrible crop last year, look at them at this moment...

Seriously the happiest they have ever been.

Funny what a little nurturing will do...

Thank you Janis.
Happy Spring planting.

On April 18th, 1964...

...my older sister Kathleen was born. If you do the math, that means she is 50. 
Which also means I am a year away from that age myself.
Fun. 
She is amazing, this lady. 
At 23, she married a widowed father of 5, 
and then proceeded to have 4 more. 
She was a Grandma in her 30's, and I have lost count at how many grandchildren they have now-
and they just keep coming.(:

On Friday, we celebrated by seeing this magnificent show. This was number 5 for me in live performances, and vocally, it was hands down the best. (I get teary eyed just thinking about it.)
What a great redemption story to kick off Easter weekend.

If I am doing the math right, Bob and Kathleen will have been married for 27 years this December.

Somehow, we always seem to get 4 out of 5 of us girls together.

We ate at a fabulous restaurant... 

...with fabulous food,

and a fabulous 7 week old granddaughter.

Happy Birthday Kathleen.

Thanks for always doing the hard things first!

Easter Sunday.

Because of Him-

Families are Forever.

A Tale Of Two Proms.

Okay, it's not really a tale because I have no details other than tonight was Prom for both Bethany at Timpview High...

...and Jordan at Springville High.

Mighty fine looking cousins, don't you think?

We Have A Volleyball Player.

Will decided to give the sport of volleyball

 a shot this season.

With absolutely zero previous experience he has surprised us

with some great natural ability.

His team is co-ed :)

And actually he and his two friends are the only boys.

Not bad odds for a sixth grader, right?

 

So fun to see our "book nerd" enjoying a sport.

Go Will!

4-14-14.

Yesterday my husband turned 47. 

That means for a few short months 

we are only 1 year apart instead of 2. 

That also means that in a few short months I will be turning 49. And really, I am actually kind of looking forward to a new decade.

 My forties have not been that awesome to me. 

It was the decade of the dog biting my face 

and Rheumatoid Arthritis so I'm good. 

(How did this become about me?)

 So anywho-

we celebrated on Sunday with the Cook family, where we dined on Taco Salad and a German Chocolate Cake, courtesy of 

Kathleen's recipe that was to die for. 

So our celebration on his actual birthday 

was a little bit low key...

...as you can see by the birthday "cake".

We decorated in honor of Michael's favorite team.

(Somebody, somewhere still needs to celebrate the Raiders,right?)

This chart was easily filled.

Because of the aforementioned cake, we ate Skinny Cow Ice Cream Sandwiches to counter balance the decadence  :)

And so there you have it. 

A birthday celebration for the books :)

I can truly say that this man just gets better with age.
I'm blessed to be his wife.

Happy Birthday !

Goblin Valley.

Day Two of our Spring Break adventure

 was spent at Goblin Valley.  

 

 It's called Goblin Valley because apparently these little creations look like goblins...

I don't really see it but I will go along with the crowd on that one  
(they look more like mushrooms to me but "Mushroom Valley" probably wouldn't have the same tourist appeal- am I right?).

We turned the children loose 

and they disappeared immediately.

It's like the greatest playground ever created.

Elijah and Kyle just climbed straight up (duh).

Will weaved in and out, and up and down,

pausing to pose for pictures every once in awhile.

And really, there is little something for everyone!

Seriously, nature is absolutely awesome.

And so, our mini-road trip was 

exactly what we hoped it would be:

Great fun,

with a little adventure thrown in,

and lot's of love.

Happy Spring !

A Break To Celebrate Spring.... Part One.

A long, long time ago, we moved our little family back to Utah after almost 5 years in Hawaii. And though I'd lived here before, this time I could not reconcile the contrast in beauty. Utah seemed so barren and deserty to me, and, dare I say, ugly.

Until we headed south and spent a few days at Zion National Park. There I realized that Utah had its own claim on beauty-in the form of red rock. 
It wasn't anything like a tropical paradise, but I could deal with it. It was stunning and breathtaking in its own way.

We headed down south again this week. Two short days, but worth it.

 

Day 1 was spent at Capitol Reef.

 Elijah and Kyle spent most of their time climbing to the highest peaks possible.

Wish pictures could do the beauty justice.

Honest to goodness petroglyph's...

We did a medium "hard" hike to Hickman's bridge. 

This is not the bridge, just the half-way mark.

Hickman's Bridge.

Absolutely gorgeous...

...and he's pretty cute too.

Apparently he hikes better in his poncho.

And all great days end in a swimming pool 

don't you think?