Winners, Birthdays and Pioneers . . . Or in other words, My Week!

CONGRATULATIONS TO CHELSEA DALTON, the third and final winner of my give-away. She was the first person to correctly identify NEW ZEALAND as our vacation destination on Wednesday, after I posted the clues.

I am very excited about the trip. I have never been to New Zealand before and have always wanted to go. And since the temperatures here in AZ are now up to 110, winter and snow are sounding pretty nice.

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THANK YOU, THANK YOU to Lisa, Jenny, Donise and Viki for taking me to lunch last week for my birthday! And Thanks to Susan for arranging it all, even though she wasn't able to come due to her son breaking his arm and being in the hospial. You are all such sweethearts!

I had so much fun!! I loved the lotions, potions, boxes, plant, gift card and beautiful scarf--and of course, the yummy food. And my favorite card came from Donise. On the outside it said, "You will always be my friend," and on the inside it read, "You know too much." That made me laugh. But, I think just being able to spend time with such very fun, sweet ladies, is the best gift of all!! Thank you so very much for your friendship!

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Lastly . . . I had such a fun day on Thursday when I was able to go up near Flagstaff for our stake's pioneer trek. This was the third time I have helped with a trek. The past two times I did candle making, but this time I got to help with the shampooing of the hair. I traveled up with Jenny and my friend Michelle. My favorite part of the trip was stopping at McDonald's for a bathroom break when we were all dressed in our pioneer clothes. Ohhh, the stares. :-)

The whole day was SO MUCH FUN!! There was such a sweet spirit in the camp and almost everyone was having a good time. (There were a few grumpy trekkers, but out of 200 kids, that is not too bad! :-) We stayed through the evening to watch the skits which were a riot. It was such a fun, spiritual, and enjoyable activity. I am so glad I was able to participate in even just a small way.

I don't have pictures of the hair washing, but I do have pictures of the pioneers coming into "The Valley". All three times I have been there to see them come in, it has made me cry. What great kids we have in the youth today!! And what valiant leaders!!

The banner they are carrying in the picture below has the names of the people in our stake who memorized the Family Proclamation. Signing and carrying the banner was compared to Moroni's Title of Liberty and taking a stand for the family. The banner was carried at the front of the company the entire length of the trek.

I bet you can't guess which daughter is mine in this picture. :-)

Or my other daughter in this one. (I think they both enjoy posing for pictures.:-)

I am so thankful they were able to go. We spent hours last night visiting with them about the experiences they had. I was so touched by the fact that this is just a re-enactment, and yet Heavenly Father blessed them all with so many lessons and experiences, answered so many prayers and bestowed so many miracles. I am so grateful for that.

And we all have such a greater appreciation for the pioneers. The journey they traveled has helped bring joy to ours.