How Cute!!

I just wanted to put in a couple of pictures that I got this week end. I couldn't resist how cute.

First I took Lady (my mom's dog) to the groomers on Friday. She always looks so pretty when I pick her up. She was all decked out in red, white and blue ribbons. I was excited because she never leaves them in her hair very long, and as soon as they drop out of her hair, I snatch them up to use in Natalie's hair. I mentioned this to Aunt Ernie (the groomer) and she decided to give me a pair for Natalie, so they wouldn't have to share!!

Little Critter

The other night the "boys" consisting of Doug, Jon, Shawn & Ben found a little critter running down our driveway. They decided to catch it. It seems to be quite tame, they thought he must be someones pet, so they put him in a hamster cage and thought they would get the word out in the neighborhood, in case someone lost their pet. Well, I heard about it the next morning, yesterday, so when I went to wake up Shawn I wanted a peek at our little visitor...I couldn't find him in the cage. I asked Shawn (he was in Shawn's room, because Shawn took responsibility for him) "so where is he?"

He said "he's in there."

"Are you sure? I don't see him."

He had escaped! He popped the top off and was loose in my house! Needless to say, I was not very happy. We, mostly Shawn and Ben, spent most of the day looking all over the place for him. Shawn literally tore apart his room looking for him. No luck, I was very upset about it. They kept saying well, it's a good thing he's not a wild animal. I was saying how do you know? He was too easy to catch and he didn't really try to bite when he was caught. I prayed very hard last night as I went to bed that he would be found very soon.

Anyway, as Shawn was going to bed he heard him in the storage room and had a hard time catching him this time. He said he was very cunning and sly, trying to get away. Then when he did catch him he was very carefully checking all the escape routes again, and then settled down and waited for Shawn to go to sleep. Then tried to escape again, but to no avail, Shawn made sure the cage was secure this time. Thank you Heavenly Father for helping Shawn find the little critter!!

So this morning, I took some pictures and sent them to Doug at work who did some research on the internet. It looks as if our little friend is a pocket gopher! He's a wild animal after all!! So now what do we do with him???

Gina is One AWESOME CHICK!!

I was so impressed with my niece's (Gina, she's the one on the left) blog entries today on her blog that I wanted to mention them and put a link so anyone who might read my blog would hopefully go see hers. She talked about attending a workshop about being a TRP, which means Totally Responsible Person. Then her next entry behind that was about how she applied what she had learned with a situation with her kids. I love it. Here's the link, if you haven't seen it yet, go see. I think it's a totally awesome concept...

http://ewelltidegreetings.blogspot.com/2008/06/trp.html

I also wanted to mention how much I appreciate Gina for her support and love. She comes over almost every Sunday to help take care of my mom so I can go to church without having to come home in between classes to check on her. She comes to all our "stuff", like baptisms, talks, etc. I know she doesn't think it's much, but I know she is busy taking care of her own stuff, work and her cute little family, and yet, she still makes such a valiant effort. She tries so hard to help whomever, whenever she can.

Thanks, Gina, for all you do...You really are one AWESOME CHICK!!!

Antigua

After the village we went to the city of Antigua, where we did some sightseeing and some shopping. It’s pretty funny now, but wasn’t at the time. I had just spent 3 days and 4 nights in a remote village in the jungle and did just fine. We got to the hotel in Antigua, looking so forward to a nice shower and comfortable bed. And what do you think we find? A huge cock roach in the bathroom! Thankfully he was dead, but that blew the whole thing for me , I wanted to go back to the jungle. I made Doug sleep with the light on! I don’t know if that would have kept them from coming out, but I was so glad we were only there one night!

Anyway, the next morning we got up early and hiked Mount Pacaya. It is a live active volcano. There were only 4 of us going, and we had our own personal guide. I was again nervous if I could keep up. Well, I couldn’t but the guide was very kind. Our friends said no problem, they just went ahead. So there I was bringing up the rear. It was quite the climb, but I made it to the overview of the side to the mountain. Our guide, Pablo, said they used to take us all the way to the top, but it wasn’t safe anymore, and the activity is on the side now. Apparently not all volcanoes spew lava out the top, this one was out the bottom and side. Anyway, we are overlooking the different degrees of lava, some black, some white, and yes, some red hot flowing lava from this crest. I was taking pictures and thinking wow, this is great. Then he turns to me and says “I get you closer”. What?, closer,? how are we going to get any closer? He took us right down the side of this mountain, I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to get back up it was so straight down. Then we came right to the edge of the black lava and he walked right out onto it! I was in shock. I just stood there and watched Doug and Pablo go. I was trying to be brave and adventurous this whole trip, and I thought I was doing a good job. But when I was faced with this, I really wanted to turn around and go right back up where I came from, I’ll wait for you up there. But on the other hand, I really wanted Doug to be impressed with my bravery. I didn’t want to go home and tell the kids I chickened out. I guess if they are doing it, it must be okay. So there I went onto the black “cooled” lava. Although it was cool to the touch, the heat coming from underneath, was incredible. It was difficult to walk on, like walking on charcoal briquettes. Some of it was sturdy, but some of it was brittle and would break away. I can’t tell you how nervous and uncomfortable I was. Pablo kept saying, I get you closer. I kept saying, closer? Aren’t we close enough? No, I get you closer! As we were walking around looking for a good route to the lava river, we realized we needed to stay away from the white stuff, that was hot to the touch. At one point my feet were really starting to feel the heat. I kept telling the men folk, my feet are really starting to burn; I think we need to be done. No, come over here, it’s cooler over here. Your feet are fine, Don’t worry, we’re fine. No really, I think my little toes are burning. Pablo kept going, it’s cooler over here. Then Doug would follow, and confirm, so I would trudge out there with them. We came to within about 12 feet of a semi small red hot lava river, and of course took pictures. As we were looking around, a brand new, not so small red hot lava river formed and came over a crest to one side of us. As we were standing there watching it flow, Pablo mentioned that this was kind of neat because they don’t usually get one so big. I’m standing there watching them watch it, and come to the realization that we are in its path. So I mention, it kind of looks like it’s coming this way, shouldn’t we be moving off the lava by now? Oh, yeah, it is, let’s go. Finally, I was happy to be heading towards more sturdy ground. We finally make it back to the little over look, yes, I did make it back up with some help. I sat down on the overlook, very grateful, (no doubt said a heartfelt prayer that all was well). I lifted up my shoe to check the bottom of my shoes and sure enough I had actually melted the soles of my shoes. I had lava rock imbedded and melted into the bottom of my shoes. I showed the guys, look, see my feet were baking! They checked their own shoes and didn’t have the same melting issues. Doug decided he was going to go back out and get a better picture of the bigger river, I decided to stay where it was safe. I thought he was going to take the guide back out with him, but I guess he was taking a nap. So he went out by himself. After he got back, it was interesting that we both had the same thoughts while he was out there, that at any point he could break through what seemed to be safe on top, to what would be lethal underneath. It didn’t take him long to think he was better off to come back. For two days, both of us felt the effects of that, our feet felt like they were literally baked!

My analogy to this story is this…I think it is important to trust in our conscience and the promptings of the Holy Ghost. We have to not be afraid to be different, we are a peculiar people, we are supposed to stand out for good and righteousness. We should not be afraid to go against, or refuse to do what everyone else is doing. We should be close enough to the spirit to be able to discern, the warnings of Holy Ghost, and the feelings of being uncomfortable by having to step outside of our comfort zone and grow. I was not comfortable out on that lava, and for the sake of what I might look like or what I wanted to be thought of, I followed “the crowd”. While there were no major repercussions, we didn’t fall through, we were not scared and marred for life, we did have some minor consequences. Our feet felt the effects for a couple of days. It’s important that we don’t underestimate the adversary. It never ceases to amaze me how he can weasel his way into our lives, and how much we justify what we’re doing. It’s ever so important to pray for that discernment to be able to tell the difference between promptings from the spirit and promptings from the adversary. And then pray for the courage to follow through with what we need to do, or not do, what ever the case may be.

Dental Clinic in Village

I was fortunate enough to be able to work in the dental clinic rather than having to do some of the manual labor that some of the other women had to do. I learned how to load anesthetic syringes. Clean the instruments and help the dentist when needed. I was thoroughly amazed at the strength of these people. From little children to the adults, they were so grateful for an opportunity to get some relief. They probably didn’t even know about fixing cavities. They were coming to get teeth pulled, and they were happy to have this opportunity.

Brian, let who ever wanted to, pull the easy teeth. Most of us took turns.

It really was incredible, we ended up working at night as well, because the men wouldn't come during the day because they had to work. But there wasn't any electricity in the clinic. So a couple of the nights we were pulling teeth by head lamps. We had people come just to hold the lights so the dentist could work. One night Brian had to pull a really bad impacted wisom tooth. It took him an hour to get it out. We ended up holding the poor guys head up after a while because he couldn't hold it up anymore. Brian said that was the second hardest tooth he ever had to pull and he did it by flashlight in the jungle of Guatemala!!

There was this one little girl who was having some trouble with the anesthetic shot. I’m not sure if she had an abscess or what, just that she was being a little emotional about the situation. My heart went out to her, and I reached out to hold her hands and comfort her, as I did so she broke down more and started to cry. The dentist, Brian, stopped and nonchalantly asked me to back off a bit. As I did so, he went in and finished numbing her. As I stood back and watched, my heart going out to her, sending my vibes to let her know she wasn’t alone. I watched her toughen up. She stopped crying, and just did what was expected of her. When he was done, he then motioned for me to go ahead. But as I did so, I realized she was stronger now. She had actually grown. While we were waiting for the anesthetic to take affect. Brian explained to me, that by coddling her at that moment I was enabling her or giving her permission to cry and be weak. When I backed off, she had to rely on herself to get through it and actually found strength she didn’t know she had. Had I not actually witnessed it, I wouldn’t have believed him. It wasn’t till later, as I was talking on the phone with my sister, that something we were talking about sparked this analogy…

Here we are on Earth working through our own trials and problems. And here is Heavenly Father standing back in the wings so to speak, just itching, dieing to put his arms around us, but has the wisdom to know when to wait and give us the chance to find our own inner strength and grow. Recently I’ve had a couple of things really jump out at me, you know those aha moments. I think I knew this, but I don’t know if I knew it in this actual sense. It was first brought to my attention by my visiting teachers, when they came earlier this month and gave me the VT message. Elder Richard G. Scott in talking about the premortal existence said “We lived in the presence of God our Holy Father and His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ, in a premortal existence…We were told: “’We will make an earth whereon these may dwell; “’And we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them; “’And they who keep their first estate (that is, to be obedient in the premortal existence) shall be added upon;…and they who keep their second estate (that is, to be obedient during mortal life) shall have glory added upon their heads for ever and ever’ “You were taught and prepared for the circumstances you would personally encounter in mortality…Your memory of premortal life would be kept from you to assure that it would be a valid test, but there would be guidance given to show you how to live. Our Father’s plan for salvation in this life with the opportunity of returning to Him would be called the gospel of Jesus Christ.” (Ensign Nov 2005) Then just the other day I came across this quote from Elder Neal A. Maxwell: “I don’t think God is too interested in real estate. He owns it all anyway. He does seem to be incredibly interested in what happens to us individually and will place us in those circumstances where we have the most opportune chances to grow and to carry out our purposes” In the Lord’s loving and omnipotent micromanaging of our lives, we each have been given customized challenges and opportunities that can prepare our souls for eternity. All our trials, problems, experiences are to help us grow, I knew that… I have a testimony that Heavenly wants so very badly for us to succeed and won’t give us anything that we can’t handle or would make us fail. He has provided us a way through every one of them. As hard as it seems at the time we are facing some of these things, if we hold onto that promise, we will come through it. And if we have the attitude of, what can I learn from this, we will actually become better people. The thought that each of these trials, problems, experiences was customized for my individual growth and I actually agreed to them. Somehow gives me more strength to keep plugging on, and even helps me to overcome the thoughts of feeling sorry for myself.

Projects In Village in Guatemala

There were about 40 people in the expedition group, so we had a few different projects we were working on. We were working on their school house; we had to chisel out some of the cement floor and walls to inset cinderblock walls to separate the classrooms. Before this they were using bamboo lashed together walls.

Another group was bringing down all the supplies needed for the schoolhouse. The sand and mortar, and cinder blocks all had to be carried down the trails to where they needed them. They carried all of it on their backs and heads.

Another group was digging trenches to pour a foundation for another smaller building just outside the schoolhouse. Another group was reinforcing trails in preparation for the rainy season.

And yet another group was in the medical clinic. We brought both a doctor and a dentist as well.

Guatemala Temple & Sacrament Meeting

When we first got to the Hotel Princess in Guatemala City, our room wasn't quite ready. So we changed into church clothes in the bathroom and hailed a taxi to the Guatemala Temple. We knew we didn't have time for an endowment session, but we were hoping for initiatories or sealings. We had one other couple interested in coming with us and fortuneately he (David) spoke a little bit of Spanish. It still took a bit to actually get across what we wanted to do, and to get it organized to be able to do it. They were very accommodating. We ended up doing sealings in Spanish. Even though we didn't fully understand all the words, we had a good idea of what they were saying.

On our way to the village we were also able to attend sacrament meeting in a little branch in the middle of the jungle. We totally disrupted Primary when we got there. They knew we were coming and as soon as we got there they came out to greet us. We tried to sing some of the primary songs we thought they would know, but none of them would sing with us.

It was fun to hear some of our Hymns in Q'eqchi' and even sing along in English. It was neat to feel of the spirit as we listened to the sacrament prayers in Q'eqchi' . Just to see the little building they had, with the satellite dish. To think about them sitting there and listening to conference just like I do here at home. Sacrament Meeting was incredible in that we had a missionary from Idaho who had only been out for 10 months do all the translating. He translated from Q'eqchi' to Spanish to English, back and forth depending on what the speaker spoke. He had more trouble with the English than with the other two languages. It was amazing. When it was over, they all came outside and stood around to say good bye and watch us leave.

It was really neat to experience, first hand, that the church and the Spirit really are the same all over the world!!

Miracles Still Happen...

Doug and I won a Service Expedition Trip to Guatemala from his work in December. When I first heard about the trip I thought it was for him to go. I was very excited for him to go. When I found out that it was a trip for two, I had a lot of inner struggles. I was worried about leaving the country, before this I had only ever been to Canada and to me Canada isn’t really that different. I was concerned about leaving my kids, and even more about leaving my mother. To make a long story short, my mom is dieing from Diabetes. It’s attacking all her vital organs. Her biggest, but not only threat, right now is kidney failure. She has opted to deny dialysis for lots of reasons.

When we were planning this trip for April in Jan we had no idea she would still be with us when the time came for us to go. We had a couple of times we thought okay, this is it, but then she would always pull out. March came and we all started to worry about the possibility of her still being here when I left and who was going to take care of her while I was gone. At Easter time is when things started to get bad, mentally for her. She was showing signs of dementia setting in. She was hallucinating, seeing people that weren’t there, having some terrible dreams of terrorism, people breaking into our home to kill us all. These people would speak in Spanish. She said her bedroom would change all the time, she didn’t know where she was half the time. She sometimes didn’t know who we were. She even told me she knew what I was doing , she knew I was sacrificing her life to safe the children of Guatemala, and it was okay, she was willing to die for the children. She kept asking me things like did the bishop know what I was doing? Anyway, as you can imagine, this was getting more and more distressing for me to have to leave her. I started to pray as to whether I should bow out of the trip and have Doug take someone else in my place. At this point, I kind of wanted to go for the experience, but I was nervous about how I would do. At the same time I didn’t think the experience was worth having to leave mom and put my kids in a position to have to care for a mentally unstable, dieing grandma. As bad as this sounds, I even went so far as to pray for her death so she would be put out of her misery. There’s so much more to that part of the story. Her suffering, and paranoia was getting bad enough, it was affecting not only my family, but some of our extended family as well. The answer came very clearly that I needed to trust in the Lord’s timing and go. We tried taking her off some of her pain meds thinking this would help, but after two weeks it just wasn’t getting better. We decided this was just how life was going to be until the end. And really there was a good chance she could actually pass away while I was gone. So that’s how I had to leave her. My kids, while I was worried about them, I felt confident enough in my older kids to take care of them. I feel very blessed to have them be so willing to do so. Jon moved back in for those two weeks. He took PTO so he could be there the whole time and be our main person while everyone else went to school and work. I prayed so hard for all of us, I even cried as each plane took off and took me farther away from my family.

Everything went so well in Guatemala, it was amazing, there really were no hang ups. Everything worked like clockwork the whole time. I remember as we were leaving the village I was thanking HF for all the little blessing that came our way to make living in the jungle for 3days and 4 nights, really enjoyable. It was hard to leave. Someone came up to me and handed me a phone and said here, there’s a few minutes on this international phone for you to call home. I was crying before the phone was ringing. I was feeling somewhat guilty for having such a good time when potentially they might not be doing as well at home. Anyway, you can imagine how elated I was to find out that not only were things going well at home, but mom’s delusions had completely cleared up! She not only wasn’t having the hallucinations, but she knew who everyone was, where she was and was very clear minded. When I got home she was in better shape physically as well as mentally than when I left. We figured it was the medication after all, and since her kidneys weren’t filtering as they should, it just took longer to get it all out of her system, I don't think it was coincidental that it cleared up the day after I left.

I really feel I needed to remember to trust that things happen in His time frame, not mine. I have to remember to submit my will to the Father’s, in all I do. If I would have done that sooner, I could have bypassed a lot of fretting and worrying, because I knew I was supposed to go, and even if she would have passed away while I was gone it would have been His will, and we would have figured it out.

Sacrament Meeting Talks!

So I don't know why I was so surprised they asked us to speak in Sacrament Meeting about our Guatemala trip, but I was. I was actually a little nervous about it because I had gone up and bore my testimony in May and briefly told a couple of stories and experiences that really touched me about it. What more could I talk about? The butterflies and nervous feeling didn't get really bad until I walked into the Chapel and saw the Stake President up on the stand! I was crying just sitting on the stand waiting for it to be my turn. Doug had to lean over to me and talk me down, it pretty much worked and, boy, I just went for it. I guess!! I took 35 minutes and only left Doug with 10!!! In my own defense, he did tell me to take all the time I wanted, that I told the stories better (I'm not so sure of that), but I didn't think I could actually talk that long!! **Well, over the pulpit, anyway. You all know I sure can be a talker, but that's on a much smaller group level. :)

I thought I would put on the blog my talk, since it mostly was stories from my trip and I won't have to write them out again. I decided to separate them in different posts by story so any one post wouldn't be too long.

I didn't leave Doug much time and then they had an intermediate hymn in between. I was surprised she had the congregation sing all the verses seeing that we were so short on time for Doug. I guess she thought if I didn't care, she didn't!! :) Anyway, He did a good job, even though he had to really butcher his notes to make it fit in the time I left him. He finished with his poem that he wrote (refer to his earlier post on Guatemala) and then bore a sweet testimony.

Steven Left for Scout Camp This Morning...

...and what a morning it was. He was so excited to be going to Scout Camp. They are headed to Bear Lake Aquatics. I am quite nervous because it's been a while since I've sent a young one to camp without Doug. He's not the scoutmaster so, he didn't go. He might go on Thursday night if it works out he can take Friday off from work. I am very hopeful, but we'll have to wait and see.

Anyway, this morning was not a good way to send him off. He's actually been putting together his stuff and "packing" since Friday afternoon. So last night I asked him if he was ready and I got the traditional answer from him which was "almost". It was late and he'd been asking where things were and we even went to the store for his treats, so I told him to go to bed. I usually run from 6-7am, so I got up an extra 15 minutes early this morning so I could be back earlier to help him finish get ready and give him a hair cut before he left. (I really should have thought about it earlier and done it during the week, at the very least on Saturday) Anyway, I got him up before I left and told him to finish packing his bag, get his stuff upstairs, and eat. I would cut his hair when I got back. He got up and started to get dressed and I left. When I got back his stuff wasn't upstairs, so I went looking for him. I found him sound asleep in his bed. Apparently, he got dressed and promptly went back to bed! I then found out that his stuff was all over his room, not in his bag, and he didn't even have it all together yet. This was 6:35am and he was supposed to be at his leaders home at 7am. Needless to say he didn't get his hair cut. He was whining about that, but what could I do??? I, of course, over reacted and too noisily got him moving. We got him there, but 20 minutes late (I hate that) . I had to stop and give him a big hug and tell him that I loved him and I'm sorry things didn't work out better this morning, because I realized it really wasn't a nice way to send him off, especially when I wasn't going to see him until Saturday.

I did sneak some pictures before they left, here he is with his Scoutmaster, Trent; then one with the whole group.

So, What's Jon Doing???

I thought I would take a few minutes and talk a little bit about Jon. He is 19 almost 20 years old and is truly enjoying being out on his own and totally responsible for himself. I too, am happy he's finally out of Wade's parents house and taking responsibility for himself. He really has risen to the challenge and gets himself up and to work everyday. He told me he really doesn't know why he hears his alarm now, but he does.


He took paid time off to be here for the two weeks we were in Guatemala. He was truly a lifesaver at that point. He and Melanie really worked well together.


Anyway, he is now working as a teller at Salt Lake Credit Union. Where he has to wear a shirt and tie every day and he gets paid to read a lot! He also works 2 to 3 nights a week and weekends at Blockbuster. So he is a very busy fellow.

He is buying himself a truck, and and is renting himself a little two bedroom townhouse apartment here in Bountiful. Here he is at his front door. He thought I was pretty silly to be taking this picture, he was laughing at me the whole time! The first picture shows his truck and the outside of his apartment.



He also is buying himself a whopping 65 inch flat screen TV and surround sound home theatre system. He has made himself a little theatre room in his apartment. He loves it.

He says his truck is a gas hog and so he is looking to buy himself a motorcycle, too. He doesn't even know how to ride one! He says he will have to learn. I suggested trading in his truck for a more gas economical car, he says, "but I love my truck". I know, I know it was a silly suggestion!! :)

We get to see him 2 to 3 times a week, sometimes more. It's nice when he drops by or calls just to let me know he's alright. It doesn't look like a mission is likely at this point, he's not that interested in the church, but we remain hopeful that one day he'll have a change of heart.

Boy, Do I have Great Kids!!

I just wanted to take a minute and thank my kids for all they do for me. I've reached a point in my life where they help me so much with all I have to do and they "for the most part" don't begrudge it.

I've had a few trips I would have never been able to take without their willingness to "hold down the fort". In February, Doug, Natalie and I went to California for my Grandpa's 90th Birthday Bash. We also did some genealogy research while we were there. In April, of course was the big one where Doug and I went to Guatemala. Then just recently, we went to Spokane & Canada to see the wedding and Grandpa.

They are so willing too, I'm not sure if it's because they're glad that I'm not around to boss them and keep them working!!

They also help me with the day to day babysitting & all that goes with having younger kids in the house. They help with the chores and house work (that one not as willing as the rest!!) But they do it none the less. I don't think I could accomplish nearly what I do because they help me so much. I love summer vacation mostly because they are all home and we do a lot of spring cleaning. If they are not actually spring cleaning with me, then they are babysitting so I can get the work done! I am missing Jon not being here, it will get harder as they all start to get old enough and grown up enough to "leave the nest". But the younger ones get older and they learn to help better each year.

Anyway, I feel like I'm jabbering now and should probably quit while I'm ahead. I just wanted to give credit where credit is due. People ask me all the time how do I "do it" with 11 kids. Well, I certainly don't do it alone. I have a great family (don't want to leave out my husband, he's pretty great too!) that really help me out, as well as a Wonderful Father in Heaven who helps to keep me sane on those days when I think I just can't do it anymore!! He reminds me that I can't fail, if I keep trying and never give up!!

Thanks, guys!!!

14 Months, Already???

I can't believe my baby girl is 14 months today!!

Where has the time gone??? It's just amazing at how fast the time goes.

She is walking all over the place. She is doing an awful lot of jabbering now. I'm sure some of that will turn into words soon. She is actually starting to refuse baby food. It's funny that once they start to get a taste of table food, it sure doesn't take them long to prefer it. She really likes it when she can feed herself.

It's funny but Natalie and Lady do the same thing that Ciara and Shiloh do. It sure doesn't take long for the dog to figure out where to hang out, and likewise it sure doesn't take long for the baby to figure out that it's quite entertaining to drop food off the side of the highchair for the dog to eat! I really should get a picture!

Scrapbooking Class

So last night I was able to attend the first of two scrapbooking classes to help me be able to use my Photoshop Elements program like I want to. I am so excited, it looks good. I actually learned some stuff last night. Now the trick will be to take the time to practise and get good at it. What will probably happen, is I will get "sucked in" and actually stop doing the things I'm supposed to be doing and spend all my time on that! That's more like me. I guess I have to control myself and find the happy medium.

We'll see how it goes!! The next class is next Wednesday, I can't wait to see what else I can learn!

World's Largest Truck!

On our way to Cardston we drove through Sparwood, British Columbia, where they have the Word's Largest Truck. It is amazing just how big this thing is!!!

It was fun to hear Doug ask me, "are you gonna blog this?" Gotta take pictures for the blog!!

Road Trip!

Thought I would post some fun pictures of our road trip this last weekend.

This is the Spokane, Washington Temple. Very small, but very beautiful.

This is always been fun, I'm not sure how many pictures of this we have, the road goes right through the mountain. This is in British Columbia, Canada on our way to Cardston.

Beautiful snow capped mountains, just awesomely beautiful!!

Gotta have a picture of Old Chief! It's so beautiful with snow all over it.

We were very fortuneate to have such good weather the whole time. We are also very blessed with the beauties of the Earth. Although it was long, I am very grateful for the opportunity I had to go.

Thanks, to my kids who held down the fort.