I am a little behind everyone else in posting about conference weekend but as they say . . . better late than never, right?

First off I LOVED conference. I think I was touched by many of the same talks and quotes that others were. I really enjoyed Sister Dalton's talk, although it made me cry for all the young women who don't have a worthy father at home to love their mother and show them the way.

I also loved Elder Cook's talk about President Monson telling him it is better to look up. And Elder Callister's talk on the Book of Mormon was superb. I was also very touched by Elder Hales talk on trials and tribulations as he was trying to comfort others who were suffering as he is. Ahhh so many good things. So much to study and ponder in the next six months.

In addition to conference, however, my weekend was brightened and made special by three events.

1. The first was being able to spend time with my mother who is not doing very well, and all four of my daughters. We sent the men off to priesthood meeting and then stayed home and ate yummy food, watched a movie, made cinnamon rolls for Sunday morning and visited. My sister Becky came over as well with her four youngest children. What a sweet night that was.

Left to Right

My two SIL, my husband, nephew, brother and father

All the girls hanging out on the bed with Grandma (my mother)

2. Next I was thrilled and touched by the enthusiasm my 2 1/2 year old granddaughter has for the temple. Carly truly believes she is a princess and deserves to be married in a castle. But her mother explained that the best place for any princess to marry is in the temple and so Carly was so excited to see a real, live temple right outside my parent's front door!!

Don't you just love all the flowers!!

We went to the Salt Lake Temple grounds as well and were overwhelmed by the beautiful colors!

A close up

Between sessions on Sunday we took her up to walk around the grounds. She was very disappointed it was not open so she could go inside, but she still found joy in roaming the walk ways and telling us about how she was going to get married there. We asked who she would marry and she said, "I don't know, but he is my friend." Later when Wes pointed out to Carly the statue of the Angel Moroni, she said she would marry him. At least she has good taste in men.:-)

I tried to get her to let me take her picture but she said, "I can't. I have to spin." We laughed at that. Imagine giving that answer next time someone asks you to do something.

And third--the very best of all was being able to be there when my wonderful, sweet, handsome son in law gave his new little son a name and a blessing. In the circle was little Camden's father, grandfather and great grandfather-- three generations of faithful priesthood holders, all coming together to bless this new little boy. And my favorite part of the blessing was hearing Dave bless Camden to serve a mission and be married in the temple. How I look forward to the day this boy will continue the tradition of faithful missionary service and help bring others to the gospel in some part of the world.

Just before the blessing (which was given at my parent's house)

I appreciate they were willing to go there since there is no way my parents could travel to Colorado.

And a close up of our little man.

So for the grandmother in me this weekend was special, for the mother in me it was joyful, and for the daughter in me, it was tender.

How blessed I am to be surrounded by such honorable sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father. Just that thought brings great . . . joy to my journey.

Guess Who Has Been At My House?

Too. Much. Fun.

Nearly Worldless Wednesday . . . How Can Anyone Be So Cute?!

I just love this little girl!!

And I am missing her terribly.

Thankfully we will see her again in a couple weeks!

And isn't this the saddest face?

She was wanting me to pick her up

So she reached out her hands and said, "Up".

This is why family vacations are hazardous to your health.

My girls made this dessert on our last night together.

Two chocolate chip cookies filled with ice cream and a brownie,

and topped with a mini drum stick!!

Now we are all on diets. :-)

May your day be a great one and may you find . . . joy in your journey.

So, It Started On Our Honeymoon . . .

Twenty eight years ago this July, my husband and I were married. The day after the wedding, we packed up all our belongings and moved south to Mexico City. I had only recently returned from my mission and did not feel ready to leave my family in Utah for another foreign land, but, knowing that living a part after the wedding day was not good for a marriage, :-) I went a long--crying all the way.

One bright spot in that week of travel, however, was our two night stay just north of Durango, Colorado at the Tamarron Resort. Wes' friend's family owned a condo there and offered to let us use it. We were too poor to visit the many paid tourist attractions around town, but even in our poverty we were warmly welcomed by the green San Juan Mountains.

We had no way of knowing then how much this place would become a part of our lives. Two years later, and after completing graduate school, Wes took a job with the father of his friend and Tamarron became a nearly annual event. Here we have enjoyed vacations with friends, had a family reunion and it also became the honeymoon destination of both our daughter and our son.

And this is where we have been spending this past week.

We were actually hoping for a little cooler weather. With temperatures as high as 98 degrees, it is only ten degrees cooler than our home in Arizona, but we have still had a lot of fun. Camille and her little family drove down from Colorado Springs to join us. We are just sad that Kristen, Ryan and Kali are not also here. School has kept them both at home.

One of our favorite activities is to drive ten minutes north to Purgatory Ski Resort and ride the alpine slide. Here everyone is waiting in line for the ski lift up the mountain.

Wes barely beat Michelle in the first race down. I creamed Camille!! (I will be bragging about that one for a long time!!) However, I also lost to Wes in the first race and won the second, but he insisted on giving me a head start so it was a shallow victory.

After the slide lost our interest, we moved on to the bungee pit. Here they strapped you in to a harness attached to two bungee chords, which were held in place by two tall poles. They would get you bouncing and then let you soar!! Here Michelle is receiving her instructions.

She screamed the entire time and had some moves that looked rather painful.

Kathryn followed Michelle and added a few flips.

That was a fun day, but I must say, the most fun I have had is playing with Carly. What a cutie!! She is so happy (most of the time:-) and loves to jibber jabber. Here Wes took her up to the pool to cool off.

I have also enjoyed the flora. There are such beautiful flowers everywhere. We are enjoying the fauna as well. The other morning while walking up to the lodge we saw a doe and her fawn on the golf course. It was so fun to see the fawn leaping across the grass. Unfortunately I didn't have my camera with me.

I am going to be so sad tomorrow when everyone goes home.

Fun, fun, fun!!

Life has been busy, but also filled with a lot of fun.

Last night for family night we invited our friends the Holmes family to share the evening with us. We had yummy Chinese/Japanese food for dinner (complete with chop sticks) and then a lesson on the Family Proclamation.

Following the lesson, the Holmes' put on a very cute musical performance for us. They had put a shortened version of the proclamation to song and choreographed a dance to go with it. It was such a riot to see them all marching/dancing across our back porch with their plastic guitars and microphones singing their hearts out.

We loved it!!



And Wes couldn't help but be caught up in the excitement. He started "rock'n out" to the music as well.

Another fun part of the evening was the readiness activity for the lesson. Kristen wrote a skit that was so cute! She told the story of Nephi building the ship and how his brothers called him a fool and didn't want to help out. Then the story was redone--applying the proclamation, and this time his brothers offered their help. (All of this was acted out by all the kids)

But what was so cute is she did it like a news broadcast. The news network was called "ABC" which stood for "Another Brother Conflict" She had very cute lines like when the reporter commented to Nephi how he quickly got to building after being commanded by the Lord and Nephi responded, "I never wait before I go and do." (1 Nephi 3:7)

And when the reporters signed off they said, "Stay tuned for our story on Able's trek through Cain's Canyon." Of course we know that one isn't going to end very well. :-)

If anyone wants a really cute skit for FHE or for anything else--email me and I will send you her script.

IN OTHER NEWS . . .

Last Saturday was also the wedding of my very darling and talented niece Ronilyn to her high school sweetheart, Justin. She is pictured below with all of her cousins who were there to celebrate with her. We had so much fun at her wedding, luncheon and the reception at the Wright House in Mesa that night. It was all very beautiful--and I really need to get the recipe for her wedding cake. The lemon raspberry layer was delicious!!

And continuing with my update . . .

Michelle has discovered that having both of her older sisters home has been hazardous to the health of her gas tank. So she is trying to rectify that with the jar below. So far I think Wes and I have been the major contributors however, so I am not sure how well it is working. :-)

And lastly . . . Anyone have a clever caption for the picture below? I think it is begging for one.

(And I promise she was not left unattended.)

We are taking care of our sweet little grand baby, Carly, while her parents are having some much needed time alone in California.

We have had a lot of fun with her, but I have also realized that babies are SO MUCH WORK!! How do mothers do it? How did I do it? She seems to keep all of us hopping at all times.

One cute story. In church my husband sits on the stand. When Carly saw him sitting there, she wanted to be with him. About half way through the meeting she escaped and started running up the aisle as quickly as she could towards him, waving the entire time.

It was so funny to see Wes up there--a very proud grandpa, but also trying to be discreet while waving back.

We grabbed her and took her out--screaming. We thought that was preferable to having her up there with him, all eyes on them, and no one listening to the poor high councilor who was speaking.

So that is some of what has been happening with us.

Many good and fun things that are all bringing great . . . joy to our journey!

Have You Ever Been This Tired??

This is how I have been feeling today.
Time for a nap.

All About Carly

We have had the most fun this past week with my daughter Camille, her husband Dave and their daughter Carly at our house.

Not only did we get to celebrate Christmas with them,

but it was also

Carly's First Birthday!!

And her first time eating chocolate cake!

She wasn't too thrilled with the clothes, but she did like the toys.

Christmas morning with a baby was also a fun experience.

By now she had gotten the hang of opening gifts.

And this picture is my absolutely most favorite.

It was taken by my daughter Kristen one morning just as the light came through the

kitchen window.

What a sweet baby!!

I am going to miss giving her hugs and kisses

Oh, and thanks to Kristin Klein, I have also been introduced to picnik

which you can see I have been having a lot of fun with. :-)

Halloween, Watches and Hair Bands, Oh My!!

While Carly, our one and only grandbaby who is visiting from Colorado this week, was busy visiting her great-grandmother in Mesa . . .

And out in the pool swimming with her very handsome grandpa . . .

Her mother, (my oldest child), and I dusted off our craft genes and made an attempt to be creative. (I promise, Camille was having much more fun than this picture indicates.) We turned the kitchen table in to "craft central" for a two day craft bonanza.

My friend Jenny had given me a lavender watch face several months ago so I decided to make a band to go with it. (Watch on the right) It actually has dark lavender stones on it. I then decided to make a band for a watch face Camille had as well. Hers is black and silver. I thought both turned out really cute, so now we can't wait to wear them!

We then pulled out the scrapbook paper, paint and Modge Podge and made this cute little Halloween decoration. I am going to hang mine on a dowel attached to wire and tie a big bow on the top, but I haven't gotten that far yet.

And lastly, we made cute little head bands and clips for our respective "babies" Here is my baby, Michelle, with a pink flower in her hair, made to match Carly's head band. Luckily Michelle didn't mind playing along and dressing in pink.

Camille and Carly return to Colorado tomorrow and we are so very sad!! (Although we know Dave the Dad is very much looking forward to their return.) It has been such a great week having them here to play with. It has also been fun to see what a good mom Camille is! It just makes me smile every time I see her changing a diaper or making a new batch of baby food!!

Thanks for coming and spending this time with us. Dave--thanks for letting them come!! We are now counting down the days until you come back!

We have a visitor!! And dumb state laws.

It has been very hard to find time to blog lately

because. . .

we have a visitor!!

Our daughter Camille is in town with her baby Carly and we are having a very good time!!

When your only grandchild lives in another state, you have to take advantage of every minute you get. So this week we have been enjoying our baby time.

Here Michelle (my youngest) is holding Carly after a long day at church.

Sorry, the color is so bad in this one but my flash wasn't working. Here Carly and Grandpa were having some fun playtime together before Grandpa had to run off to another meeting.

Oh, but look how happy she is to see Grandma!!

We have a couple more days, and I don't have to prepare a seminary lesson for Friday so the next two days will be action packed!! :-)

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Now a couple fun things I came across on AOL the other day. Dumb state laws. Probably none of these are enforced, but that they were ever signed into law is pretty funny.

An anti-crime law in Texas requires criminals to give their victims notice, oral or written, 24 hours in advance of the the crime they're planning to commit and the nature of that crime. So how likely do you think it is that someone will send a letter, "Dear Miss Smith, I would like to break into your house Friday night and steal your jewelry."

It is mandatory for a motorist with criminal intentions driving around the state of Washington to stop at city limits and telephone the local chief of police before entering town. Obviously those who wrote this law have relatives in Texas.

Chicago forbids fishing while sitting on a giraffe's neck. While we can't imagine why someone would be riding on a giraffe's neck in Chicago, let alone fishing, it does make sense why it isn't a good idea.

No one may cross Minnesota state lines with a duck on top of their head. Is this really a problem?

In Waynesboro, Virginia, it was once illegal for a woman to drive a car up Main Street unless her husband walks in front of the car waving a red flag. Personally I think this one was put into law by a beauty queen who just wanted her own parade.

Next door neighbors may not lend each other vacuum cleaners in Denver, Colorado. Word of warning . . . if you ever move to Denver, be sure and bring your own vacuum!

Have a great week!!

Carly's Very Fun Trip to the Outrageously Priced Zoo

This past week our grandbaby came from Colorado for a visit. Her mother, (our daughter Camille) came too, but let's be honest, the real excitement was getting to spend time with Carly, and for her aunts to see her for the very first time.

Although she is only three months old, since our time with her is so rare, we wanted it to be memorable. So, Grandpa donned his real life Crocodile Dundee hat--complete with real crocodile teeth--and headed to the outback for a dangerous animal adventure!

Okay, so it was only the Wildlife Zoo in Surprise, AZ, but at $26.00 a person (when did zoo prices become so exorbitant?!!) it would definitely be memorable!

Carly looked intently at the miniature deer.

She admired the rare (and rather lazy) white tiger.

She peered at the tired tortoise.

And got rather up close and personal with a curious giraffe.

Going to the zoo with Grandpa was sooo much fun!

And so exhausting! After about an hour she was done. So we got her out of the stoller and gave her a hug (how could you NOT want to hug this very sweet thing!) and took her home to bed.

I know she won't remember a thing about her big day in the wild, but that is what online books are for! :-) I am going to compile a book with all the pictures of the animals along with these pictures of Carly, and for years to come she can read about her first trip to the zoo!

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And for those of you who read my last post . . . No sooner had I published it when I received an email from the ward music chairman (my good friend) asking me to sing in a ladies double quartet on Easter Sunday. And my response??? Was I brave and willing to do something new? Did I follow my own challenge and say, "Yes, although I can't sing at all, I am refusing to limit myself by my fears, and I will be there to do it?" NO! I wrote back and said, "Ha Ha. You know I can't sing, [therefore] I won't be doing it. " So I have thought about this. Am I just being a coward? Perhaps. Am I being hypocritical? Maybe. BUT I REALLY, REALLY CAN'T SING! I would sound like the croaking frog in the pond of melodic voices.

So apparently change comes slowly. I will try to do better, I just don't think I am ready to have my first time to venture out of my comfort zone and overcome self-imposed curses, be a public event. :-)

Now the baby is escaping too!

When my daughter, Camille, puts her three-month-old baby to bed, she swaddles her tight as shown in the picture below. I admit she does sleep well that way, but I like to tease Camille about putting her poor baby in blanket prison.

Well, this morning I think Carly felt the same way and did her best to orchestrate a prison break. See how proud she looked when her mother discovered her! She not only managed to slip out of the blanket, but she got out of the top of her jammies as well!

Sure can't wait to see them both later tonight! We are going to have so much fun this week!

AND---HAPPY BIRTHDAY TODAY TO MY SISTER RUTH!!! I HOPE YOU HAVE A WONDERFUL DAY.

While in Utah I was able to have lunch with all four of my sisters. Three recently had birthdays so it was a big birthday celebration with a very lively political discussion. Ahhhh, the good things in life!!