Valentines Day 2009

Okay, I'm determined to post about Valentines Day before February is over.  And as it looks now it will be the last day of the month by the time this is posted, ugh!  How dare life get in the way of blogging!

It seemed more like Valentines Weekend this year.  With the big day falling on Saturday the kids all had parties at school on Friday so I kept thinking Friday was the actual day.  The kids of course came home with lots of notes and candy, but the cutest one was this one

My real live Valentines Card.  And he had me do a video and read the poem so you could all share in the love too!  But it is too late and I've never embedded a video before and of course it is not working.  Sorry folks, the poem is really cute and he gives me a kiss at the end.

As soon as the kids came home from school we headed up to "The Cabin".  My mom's boss has a couple of cabins up above Sundance just 20 minutes away.  We get to go to the small one (can you really call something with an underground heated garage and elevator small??) two or three times a year to make sure everything is functioning and nothing is damaged and we were lucky enough to get Presidents Weekend for our turn.

I had made it to the store before leaving and put together a few trinkets for the kids and my mom.  And Mark picked up some yummy cookies at Thanksgiving Point before joining us that night.

So Saturday morning the kids found these on the table LONG before we got up.

And Mark did some fancy shopping too in between working crazy hours and moving ward members with his new calling as Elders Quorum Pres so I was greeted with these

He knows I love tulips and he doesn't always have the best luck with roses on Valentines Day (it began the year we got engaged on the big day) so he strayed from the norm and I loved them.  And please note sitting next to the flowers is the BBC versions of Jane Austen movies.  I proceeded to have a Pride & Prejudice weekend after that! (That reminds me, I really need to return Sense & Sensibility to Lori soon, oops)

The kids were excited to find out what Mark was getting because I would not tell them and it was wrapped in a BIG box.  At least big for what was inside.  I hinted that he would always be able to find his way home to my heart with it.  And so Tom Tom was adopted into our family.  Mark has wanted a GPS for a LONG time.  And this year the pricing finally came down low enough and with a coupon and a sale I splurged.  This was after he had gotten lost on several Pampered Chef errands for me so I think it counts as a business expense (bonus!)

Saturday night Mom kept the kids at the cabin and Mark and I headed up to Midway.  Word to the wise, don't call the fanciest places in town five days before a big day and expect to get a table.  On my third call I finally got reservations at Mountain House Grill.  We hit my FaVoRiTe bakery in Midway before dinner so we could take dessert back to the cabin with us and then headed over for dinner.  Tom Tom even directed us so we didn't have to make a left turn into the parking lot!  Dinner was awesome (thank you to Christy for the recommendation)  And then headed back to the cabin for a cozy evening.

Now the cabin is not so romantic with 3 kids and your mom there.  But it is such a nice place I hated every minute we spent away from it that weekend.  The kids had so much fun.  The view out the back windows was this

And yes, that is pretty much almost 5 FeeT of snow she is standing in.  The girls made a sledding hill.

And it was amazing we didn't loose any of them in the snow.

Monday morning we headed down to Sundance.  Now before you think we were taking advantage of all the fresh powder that had happened that weekend, let me show you a picture.

Do those kids look like they are dressed for skiing?  I don't think so.  We trudged into the Sundance Grill looking very out of place in our street clothes.  But we still enjoyed a delicious breakfast.  At least some of us did.  If you think Ashley looks in pain in the picture above, you are correct.  Later that afternoon the Doctor confirmed she had come down with Strep Throat.  And it took about 24 hours after that before she could finally swallow again.

Despite Ashley getting sick and having to come down on Sunday for too many church meetings we had an awesome weekend at the cabin.  And we were just lucky enough it fell on VDay.

Quilting 101

Grandma Pat decided it was time to teach her eldest grandchild her obsession.  So for Jessica's birthday Grandma got her a sewing machine with the promise of teaching her how to sew by making a quilt.  They went shopping together and picked out all the fabrics.  Then spent hours working on this project.  After 3 months of working the first project is finished.

And here are the proud workers!

Grandma has a very fancy sewing machine that does embroidery so she taught Jessica how to make these on every square.

I think this will be a much cherished heirloom!

Temple Open Houses

I vaguely remember as a small girl attending the St. George Temple Open House when it was rededicated.  In fact I probably remember it more because I've been told I went not because I remember the event.  But in the last 13 years we've had the opportunity to attend 4 Temple Open Houses.

To members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the temple is the "House of the Lord." It is a sacred building, and after its dedication only faithful members of the Church may enter. Inside, members learn more about the purpose of life and make covenants to serve Jesus Christ and their fellow man. In addition, they participate in religious ceremonies that reach beyond mortality, such as baptisms on behalf of deceased ancestors and eternal marriage.

But before a Temple is dedicated they have an Open House so anyone who wants to can see the inside of the Temple.

In 1997 we gathered Mark's family together and all went to the Mount Timpanogos Open House .  This is now the Temple we are assigned to attend.  We also got to participate and help with the Open House.

In September of 2000 we got the opportunity to go back to where I served my mission and take my mom, my husband, Jessica (then 3) and Ashley (then 6 months) to the Boston Massachusetts Temple Open House and Dedication.

This was an amazing two week trip that included a trip to the Sacred Grove. But of course the girls don't remember much of this event.

So we were excited when in January 2008 we were able to take the kids up to Rexburg for the Rexburg Idaho Temple Open House.

We went up with my Mom and visited with my brother, Brent and his family.  Their little girl, Hailey, joined our family for this picture.

When we went to dinner that night a local restaurant had an ice sculpture of the Temple.  It was cold enough I'm sure it lasted through the whole month of the Open Houses.  This was again a fun trip for me because I spent two years in Rexburg from 1983 - 1985 going to Ricks College.  It has changed a lot now that it is a 4 year university.

And now on Jan 30, 2009 we got to take our kids to another Temple Open House for the Draper Temple .

They are planning on over 1 million people to tour the Temple before it is dedicated.  In order to handle this kind of people flow they had to adjust how the open house was handled.  Our tickets "assigned" us a church to park at.  We watched a video and then loaded buses to drive us up to the Temple.

Our group was Grandma Neva, Grandpa Jim, Ashley, Christine (me), John, Mark, Jessica and Grandma Pat.
We were able to walk through the beautiful Temple.  The stain glass windows were made by my friend's husband, Tom Holdman  His work is always inspiring.

After the tour they had a gathering room at the Church building next to the Temple where we could visit and take pictures.

Then we loaded back on the bus heading to the "red" parking where they dropped us back to our cars.  We are so grateful our children have been able to see the inside to two temples in one year.  They will be able to remember these experiences so much better than I did as a child.  And we will have the opportunity to go to one more before the year is done when the Oquirrah Temple has its open house latter this year.

The Temple is a wonderful blessing in my life.  Because of the Temple I was married for time and ALL eternity to my wonderful husband and sealed to my children.  So that after this life I know we will be able to be together again as a family unit.

Ballroom 2009

Saturday, Jan 24, 2009 was the first Ballroom Competition of 2009.  This competition was about 300 elementary school children competing.  

The boys escort all the girls in to the gym.  I don't know why Jessica was the only girl in the correct position.

I think she looks a little nervous in this picture.  Next year I need to remember not to cut her hair short in December.  They are supposed to wear it in a pony tail.  We had to do a lot of little pony tails to get it all in.

Jessica and her partner did great!  They compete against everyone who has done ballroom for more than one year.  This year she did  Cha Cha first. And then their Surprise Dance was Tango.

They get the audience cheering for them.  John is screaming T A N G O at the top of his lungs.  And believe me, his lungs are loud!  Grandma Pat came along and so did Mark and Ashley is hiding beside him.

At the very end they have all the kids come out on the dance floor and they have to dance with someone from a different school they don't know.  It is cute seeing the beginnings of awkward dances.

Jessica's team took home a Bronze Ribbon and the whole school received the Spirit Trophy.  They were really excited about that.  The school gets to display the Trophy for the next year.

Great job kids!

Train Show 2009

My kids have one of two responses these days when I'm taking pictures.  First one is "This isn't going on the blog, IS IT???" or response number two is "Why haven't you blogged about MY event YET???"  So in response to the later, I'm trying to catch up.

January 23, 2009 I surprised the kids after school and took them to the Model Train Show at Thanksgiving Point (our favorite place to go).  Bonus of course is that Mark can meet us at any event!

You can tell the kids came straight from school because Friday they can wear their school t-shirts instead of collared shirts to school.  And of course John had to ham it up for the picture.  It is tough getting a good face out of him!

The very first train was the "Harry Potter" train.  It was definitely my favorite.  Amazing detail.  And the woman didn't make this out of a kit.  She had to create this on her own.  The details were incredible.

The Lego train was definitely impressive.

And here the kids are waiting to see the miniature train come around the mountain.  It was so small, I can't imagine how hard it is to work on it.

Proof the children were accompanied by an adult.

This shows the miniature train on a better scale.  They are so small they can fit in a suite case!

I think Ashley enjoyed the Train Show the most.

But we all enjoyed dinner at Chilli's afterwards.  Thanks Kim and Tom for the Christmas Gift Certificate!

Remembering

Today is a day that is engraved in my brain.  It is interesting how one single day can have such a  significance in ones life.  I remember it like I remember my own birthday.  But I do not expect others to remember it like I do.  28 years ago today I woke up in my bedroom that I shared with my older sister and could hear voices talking in the living and I just knew.  I knew it in my heart.  The Holy Ghost prepared me for what I was to find out in my mind a few minutes later.  It was the day my father passed away.  The day his spirit was finally released from the body that no longer functioned properly.  The day he left a 36 year old wife, a 15 year old, 13 year old (me), a 6 year old and an 18 month old.  He had spent several days in a coma and we knew the end was near, we just didn't know which day it would be.  It was the day that cancer took him away from us.

Every year on this day I shed a few tears.  The days of crying every day because he is gone are long past.  But today I remember.  I also wonder.  I wonder what my life would have been like if he had not died.  But I know everything happens for a reason.  I know I am the woman I am today because I watched a young independent woman raise four children alone.

This year brings new significance in my life.  This year, I'm the age my father was when he died.  I've now lived more time on this earth than my father lived.  To a 13 year old 41 seemed old.  Now I realize just how short his life was on this earth.  I realize just how unfair life can be some times.  But again, I know everything happens for a reason and he was needed beyond the veil for greater purposes.  I know if I continue to live my life like I have I will be able to return and live with him again someday.  I just hope that someday is not too soon.

I wish I remembered more about him.  I remember him as a tall handsome man.  He loved playing tennis and enjoyed jogging.  He was an entrepreneur.  He worked for JBL for years.  Now a days they are well known for their speakers and home audio.  Back then not a lot of people knew the company.  When I would share at school where he worked the teachers all assumed I was saying it wrong and he worked for JPL (Jet Propulsion Laboratory) because we lived near there and everyone know what that was.

He left JBL to start his own company, Quantum Audio Labs.  He made these 

Sound Boards for recording studios.  I just did a Google search on them and apparently they are a collectors items now for sound geeks.  We spent HOURS at the business in Glendale, CA (near LA).  Inventory was always the funnest.  All those little knobs were big compared to some of the parts we would have to count.

He loved a good road trip.  Here we are!  Grandma Pritchett, Dad, me and Kim.  I think we are in Seattle.  Or maybe we are on the Queen Mary.  He was usually the one behind the camera taking the pictures.

And he loved to camp.  I have to post this picture just to remember that tent and the station wagon.  I remember setting up that tent many times late at night in the dark.  For you who know me well, you know camping is no longer one of my favorite things.  Probably because of all those late nights.  In the picture is Mom, Melissa in the stroller, Kim and me.

He knew how to work hard.  Here he is on Great Uncle Jay's ranch splitting wood.

He upheld his Priesthood and blessed us as a family because of it.  This is Kim and Dad right before her baptism.  I was often his Home Teaching Companion and gained a testimony of Home and Visiting Teaching because of him.

He loved his Mustang.  And I'm not sure Kim has ever forgiven my mom for selling it after he died.  I hear it is worth a lot more now than it was then.

He was not afraid of heights, and liked to scare Mom.  I remember her being nervous about us all standing out on this ledge at the Grand Canyon (I think).  Melissa is the baby in his arms.

We are at Grandma Pritchett's in Provo for Christmas one year.  And last I checked the house was still green.  He loved the sweater he is wearing.  A member on his mission knitted it for him.  He served in the Toronto Canada mission and his mission president was the young Thomas S Monson .  I wish he were alive just to tell us of the stories from his mission.  I'm sure they are amazing.  Thomas S Monson is now the Prophet of our church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

This was the 70s, but really, what was he thinking mixing those two plaids.  Even scarrier, I think my Mom sewed him that suit.

For those who are still reading, thank you for walking down memory lane with me today.  I wanted to document my thoughts and feelings for my children to read some day.

Dad, I love you and miss you!  Thank You for being the wonderful man you were.

Surprise!

Can you believe it, a new post and a new look all in the same day.  Okay, the post took me a couple of days to write.  And the 'bee in my bonnet' forced me to figure out how to tweak the code so the new look would be wide screen just like I like it.  Don't ask me what to change, it was really hit and miss until I got it.  But I think it is dang cute.  Thanks Leelou Blogs for having such cute backgrounds!  Enjoy!

Colorado

**Warning, this is long.  I should have made it multiple posts, but I didn't, so deal with it.**

For those who know me well, they know I take a Pampered Chef trip twice a year.  Every July we go to Chicago for National Conference with all Consultants that want to come.  In January we go to Leadership Summit for any Consultant that is in a leadership position and it changes location every year.  We have always gone someplace warm, or at least warmer than Utah, I know that isn't hard.  I've traveled to St. Louis, Miami, Long Beach, San Antonio (twice), Dallas, Atlanta, and Cincinnati.  When they announced last year we would be heading to Denver Colorado for Leadership 2009 my first thought was, oh no, it is going to be cold.  We all remember the "Big Storm" two years ago that stopped our shipments from making it in time for Christmas.  Well . . . here is our story from this year.

The first full week of January we saw an amazing snow storm in Utah County.  In fact there were times I started to worry we would never shovel out.  After a foot and a half in two days along with some bitter cold I was ready to escape.  The storm was kind enough to stop the day we had to fly out, thank you!  I was really rushed trying to get packed and out the door.  As we hit the freeway I realized my feet were cold because my socks were wet from running errands in the snow that morning.  That is when I remembered the one thing I did not pack, socks, dang it all!  With no time to stop on the way to the airport we continued on.  That is when I had the thought (or prompting from the Holy Ghost) to call my friend Cynthia who had flown in the day before to spend time with her sister.  BINGO!  They were shopping AT Wal-mart when I called.  Thanks for saving me girlfriend!  Socks were purchased for me before I even left Utah!

Christy and I were flying together in a very small plane.  It was just 18 rows with only 4 seats across.  As we came over the Rocky Mountains and started descending into Colorado we flew right by the big Boulder fire that had started that day.  Because of the small plane we were lower than usual and had an even better view.  Yes, there were some big flames and a lot of smoke.

After getting settled in our Downtown Denver hotel we met up with some of the other Utah gals we would spend the rest of the weekend with.   Now I have to mention how much I love these women.  My Pampered Chef "Sister" Directors are amazing.  We all have the same upline Director, so we consider ourselves sisters and aunts and nieces to eachother.  We are all really close and have heard from many that our tight group is really unusual.  We have laughed, cried, traveled, mourned and loved together.  I know I could turn to any of them for anything and they would be there for me.  Thanks ladies!

Then the festivities began.  As I look over my pictures it looks like all we did was hop from restaurant to restaurant.  And pretty much, that is all we care about ;)  The first night we headed to Hard Rock Cafe.  Everyone enjoyed some fun fruity drinks.

Please note, the cheap one is drinking water.  Don't worry, I made up for it the next night.  We had this amazing waiter.  After dinner he gave us a tour of the restaurant and showed us all the important pieces they had hanging on the walls.

And he could not stop talking about this one

It is the most valuable piece they had.  He even took the time to let us all pose and take a group picture.

And here we all are gathered around the guitar.

Once again, please note the cheap one does not have a shopping bag and is hiding in the back.

Thursday morning was our "free" morning for those of us who came in a day early.  Those Who Do Not Like Sleep got up way too early and went to the US Mint to see how our money is made.  Those Who Love Sleep stayed in bed until Those Who Do Not Like Sleep returned.  Yes, Julie and I were really that lazy and enjoyed every minute of it.  If only those text messages would not keep waking us up.

Our Conference started at Noon.  Our hotel was directly across the street from the Convention Center, which was great.  The first two and a half days were actually warm.  I mean, really warm.  Denver was having a heat wave even for them in the middle of January and we LOVED it!  On the first day we found out all the great new products that will be added to our line in March.  I'm very excited about the new Pineapple Wedger and Corn Cutter.   Had some smaller training and got oriented to our new surroundings.

Thursday night found us at Bubba Gumps Shrimp Co for dinner.  We had eight of us that night so table one was LeeAnn, Nicole, Shelly, Margie and not pictured was Heather and her cute baby that Nicole babysat for her while we were in meetings.

And table two was Cheryl, Christine, Julie and Carol.

Once again we had an amazing waiter.

You just could not say no to that face.  He took good care of us . . . until Dessert.  As you looked around the restaurant it was obvious there was some kind of women event going on.  Almost every table was Pampered Chef Consultants.  At the end of the evening some of the girls ordered dessert.  Chris returned with sad news that they had run out of almost every dessert!  Apparently they had not planned on 3000 women on vacation eating there that night and there was no chocolate to be found.  But he did mention a few other restaurants that were close by that may have something.  So after a 15 minute walk down the street we landed here . . .

Christine, Carol, Julie and Shelly began a bad bad tradition that night.  Restaurant hopping.  Now at the end of dinner I was stuffed and had not ordered dessert.  But after a nice brisk walk and promise of cheesecake I was ready and willing.  Three out of the four of us ordered cheesecake, but the fourth one went with the chocolate, ice cream dessert. 

Does that look sinful, or what!  I am proud to say none of us finished our desserts.  We all had to leave a few bites because we were stuffed.

Friday was a full day of meetings and trainings.  We went into the General Session wondering what they could possibly announce.  They began by talking about the economy and how rocky so many business were and assured us Pampered Chef was stable.  They then shocked us all by announcing a new Career Path that will reward us even more.  We had just been hoping they would not take anything away from us.  Instead they are giving us more???  What a great company.  And they have made it easier to promote to a higher level.

For the last year I have been wanting to promote to Advanced Director, but have not seen much progress towards that goal.  I've had posted on my desk this

Because a goal unwritten is only a wish.  But that goal seemed farther away than it did a year ago.  After announcing the new Career Plan, I realized there is a good chance come May (when the new plan goes into affect) that I will promote to this new level.  Amazing how goals can be reached in a totally different path than you originally set out on.

After so much excitement they felt we needed a break.  So they sent out snacks for everyone

Cheryl, Carol, Cynthia, Cass and Shelly were showing great restraint with theirs.

Surprise, the chocolate lovers on the other side were not waiting.  Tonya held back, but Christy and Christine dug in immediately.

Friday Evening our Director (Mother of us all) Shauna had us in her Hotel room for some recognition.  How many PC Consultants fit in one room at once???  That night was 14 I think.

Julie once again took the Top Sales for who knows how many years in a row.  But I'll toot my own horn and mention that I was the #3 recruiter out of all these lovely ladies.  I may not be the top, but I'm consistent and steady every year.  Shauna was kind enough to treat us to pizza in her room.

But did I mention we started a tradition?  You can't eat a meal from just one restaurant, now can you?  So some of us trudged out in the cold (and yes, by now it was cold) to head to Chilli's for chips and salsa and a little dessert.

Nicole, Shelly, Julie and Carol shared one table.

While Tonya, Cass, Cynthia and Christine shared the other table.

Saturday brought the end of our Conference.  This year we shook up room assignments a little.  Now keep in mind we were not in a suite.  This was your normal hotel room with two double beds.  But for two of the four nights we may have squished 5 of us in our room.  Don't tell the Hyatt!  And we did amazingly well getting all five of us ready be 7:30am each morning.  Now do you know why we are a close group.  Kind of hard to keep secrets in such a small space!

Here is our Fab Five!  Christine, Julie, Cynthia on the back row, Carol and Cheryl on the front.

Saturday afternoon some flew home, some continued the restaurant hoping tradition without me, and I got my treat of the year.

My dear dear friend from Jr High drove up from Colorado Springs and picked me up.  Kerri and I met while living in La Canada when she moved in with her sister up the street from me.  We had never had anyone close to my age live near by us and I was excited.  Kerri and I became best friends.  She moved to Huntington Beach and I spent many a days on the beach with her when we were freshmen in High School.  Then I moved  far far away to Utah the month after I turned 16.  Somehow (and I don't know how) I convinced her to move to Idaho to go to Ricks College with me and we were roommates our first year.  It was a great year, but one year of the frozen tundra was enough for her and she stayed in sunny California while I froze the rest of college.  The last time I had seen Kerri was six years ago and that was for a really short visit while we were at Disneyland.  This time we had almost 24 hours of undivided time together and it was awesome.

Carroll and Michael (her sister and brother-in-law she lived with in Calif) drove up to Denver with her and picked me up.  It was great driving back and having dinner with the four of us.  And I can't believe we didn't take any pictures.  We then went back to Kerri's house and spent the rest of the night talking.  I'm sure her 15 year old daughter, Emily, really thinks we were crazy.  It was so fun catching up with each other.  I wanted to stay up all night, but too many nights of not enough sleep caught up with me and I could not make it past midnight.

Sunday Kerri's husband, Dave, made it home from his 24 hour work shift.  After an incredible breakfast we headed off to see some sites.  We first went to the Air Force Academy and toured the chapel.

What a beautiful amazing piece of architecture that is.  But it was just high enough on the mountain that it was BITTER cold.

We then went over to Garden of the Gods

And saw some amazing scenery.

Then down to Manitou to see the cute little tourist town at the base of Pike's Peak

Wow!  I'm really strong, aren't I!!!  But finally our fun had to end and they dropped me at the airport in Colorado Springs.  What a tiny little airport.  I boarded me even smaller plane (only 13 rows this time) and headed back to Utah to a crazy busy week.  Thanks Kerri, Dave & Emily for hosting me for the night, it was great!  I hope to see you in Utah soon!