This Weekend:

* The "Ladies" spontaneously put together a breakfast on the spot Friday morning; 

 we went to Sill's Cafe. 

(home of the scones as big as your face)

By the time we left there, they were serving lunch to all the tables around us!  :)

* I was planning on going to the temple afterwards - I'd gone to breakfast dressed for it...

But, first I went to a store,

then to get gas,

then to a grocery store,

then to drop off two garbage bags full of stuff at the D.I. from our closet clean-out.

And by that time, the kids who'd gotten home from school were calling me.....

So, I returned home.

* I sent Kyle off on a group date he had planned with his friends.

The went to the Ice Castles up in Midway, UT.

(sidenote: this girl's mom was one of Kyle's preschool teachers!)

* Matt & I had date night at Sizzler.

We were seated in THE SMALLEST booth ever!

There was NOT enough room for me, my coat, AND my purse.

* On Saturday morning, I took Kyle and Katelyn to go audition for 

the Farmington Youth Theatre upcoming production of... 

There was quite a long wait to get in to audition,

and some good silly, young teenager watching in the meantime, too!  ;)

The fact that Kyle is a 16 yr. old MALE auditioning, made him very noticeable to the directors!

Not a bad position to be in at auditions!  :) 

* My official [write-on] calendar was finally delivered,

so I spent the afternoon filling it in with all the things we have going on this month/year.

It felt so good - I've been a bit unsettled without my "brain."

* Matt & I went on a group date of our own - I think you'd call it a quintuple date.

Our friends had reserved a court at the Rec Center and we played wallyball.

We first did girls vs. guys - I was told that it was so the girls

would actually get a chance to touch the ball!  ;)  haha.

After that, we mixed it up - and I quickly learned it was very 

advantageous to be on Matt's team!

We were reaching/lunging/jumping/hustling in ways we

are not accustomed to.....and boy, have we felt it in our bodies ever since!!!

#gettingoldstinks

Two of the couples had to return home to their young babies/toddlers,

but the rest of us went to Dairy Queen for "cool treats" 

and visited for another hour - or two....

* Church-y Church on Sunday.

This year we changed to the 9:00 a.m. time block - my favorite [at this season in my life]!

* We watched our 2015 Year-in-Review 

slideshow that Matt makes for us every year.

Always fun to reminisce!

(BUT do I REALLY look like that lady in some of the photos???)

* Brookelle got on a crazy-hair kick,

and did her own hair first....

...and then she moved on to Kyle!

* We got a surprise visit from Grandma/pa.

* I ended the day by writing my weekly email to our missionary.

This [UEA] Weekend:

Every year, the second week of October, we get Thursday & Friday off school for U.E.A. (it means Utah Education Association, and there's a 2-day convention for educators).  But, working in the airline industry, we know U.E.A. actually stands for: Utah Escapes to Anaheim!

Although, many Utahns do go to Disneyland over this long weekend, we do not. (the crowds!)  We usually go somewhere, but this year, we stayed right in Utah.

We:

* Celebrated "Wingtoberfest," and got half-price boneless wings at Sonic for lunch.

* Went to the WitchFest at Gardner Village

And, while there, we HAD to go to the Chocolate Covered Wagon (a sweets shop) for caramel apples, Utah shaped chocolate dipped Rice Krispie treats on a stick,
old-fashioned candy sticks, etc. (of course!)

We did the "Witch Scavenger Hunt" and we were on a mission to find them all, so we could take our completed list to the Naborhood Bakery to get our cookies for $0.50!
(We did it, getting "help" on just the last [elusive] one).

* That evening, Haylee & Brookelle went to play night games and have a sleepover with their cousins.  Katelyn went for a late-night at her friend's house.

* Matt & I picked up our Bountiful Basket, went to donate plasma, and then to Station Park to do some birthday shopping
for a couple of our children in between taking our kids places.

* On Friday, I took Katelyn out to her favorite smoothie joint: Roxberry's. 

(since she was the only girl at home - the others were still at their cousins, 

and Kyle just wanted to hang out at home and rest for once, after so much XC running/practice!)

* Matt & I had date night at Joy Luck Restaurant.

(It seems they "replaced" some of the shrimp in our Walnut Shrimp dish with broccoli florets - pretty disappointed!)

* We went over to Matt's brother's house to catch the last half of the USU vs. Boise State football game.

It was a great day to be an Aggie!  :)

52-26!  

* On Saturday, Matt & I went out to breakfast at a new place I've been wanting to try, Criddles Cafe.

It seemed their menu was very close to our favorites; the former Doug & Emmy's, and Sill's Cafe.

I had a cinnamon roll the SIZE OF MY PLATE 

(I only could eat a couple of bites, and took the rest home to my kids - they didn't mind at all!)

* We took the family up to the Ogden Temple

Matt, Kyle, and Haylee went in and did Baptisms for the Dead.

I walked around the temple block with Katelyn & Brookelle (too young to go in still) while we waited.

 Katelyn was excited to be almost as tall as one of the stop signs we passed!

We also thought we could take a tour at the nearby D.U.P. while we were killing time....

but it's only open Memorial Day to Labor Day - too late!

So, we found somewhere else to go!  ;)

* We finally helped the kids with one of the "bucket list" items, by taking them 

shopping at Smith & Edwards - the Country Boys Store.

Ya know, the one with the slogan, “We’ve got anything you need....IF we can find it!” 

To say the girls were THRILLED about the largest Schleich toy inventory at a store they've ever seen, would be an understatement!

From Schleich to saddles....this store has it ALL!

*  Then we had dinner at the Burger Bar on our way home.  It’s been featured on the Food Network’s show, “Diners, Drive Ins, and Dive’s.”
Even though their specialty meat they were highlighting that week was ALLIGATOR....none of us opted for it!  ;)
(But we did get deferred when trying to donate plasma later, due to us being lipemic = fat levels in blood too high) I wonder why?  ;)

* Churchy-Church on Sunday 

* Third Sunday dinner/FHE over at the Brenchley's.
Haylee commented on our way home, "That was SO MUCH FUN tonight with the cousins!"  

*  I wrote my weekly novel letter to our missionary son.

This Weekend

* On Friday, we went to a new place at Station Park, Brixton's (a baked potato restaurant!), for my birthday lunch out with 'The Girls.'
I didn't realize S.P. was such a happening place in the middle of the day - I saw several other people I knew there.
I guess I'll have to 'make an appearance' there more often!  ;)

* The afternoon was spent carting my daughters to and from friends'/parties.

* We went to The Roof with Matt's parents for our "anniversary dinner" on Friday night.

 (they want to take out each of their kids/spouse on an annual basis, so they use their
anniversary date to keep track of who they've taken out and whose turn is next)

* After returning home (and consuming much food & dessert), we thought it prudent to go out in our neighborhood in an attempt to WALK OFF dinner.

* Saturday morning, I did my first (of the required five) turn of being the chaperon/volunteer at the Bye Bye Birdie rehearsal that Katelyn is a part of (and will be performing in November).
Side Note: it was an interesting "study" in human behavior.
Each participant is suppose to sign in with their name and time of arrival prior to each rehearsal.
As background information, there has been a lot of emphasis put on the importance of being at and ON TIME to every rehearsal.  The directors have said that they will be giving out additional parts to those who do well in this area, and taking away from those who do not demonstrate dependability in this area.
One of my jobs is to check in all the kids.  So, when not everyone was there by the starting time, I wondered what those other kids would write down when they finally did arrive....
AND I observed that the majority of the kids (who were anywhere from 1 to 15 minutes late) STILL wrote down the time that the rehearsal started (when they were suppose to be there by) on the sign in sheet.
Hmmmm....See?  Interesting, huh?

* Matt & I took a jaunt up to Snowbasin...

for a Gondola ride and afternoon mountaintop dining,

followed by some hiking.

Apparently, we didn't get the memo about the XTERRA Utah off-road triathlon that was going on up there Saturday!
(notice all those cars down in the parking lot?  Normally, you wouldn't expect to see that AT A SKI RESORT in late Summer/early Fall)
So, we shared the area and our lunch table with that crowd!  (talk about some amazing athletes!)

* I attempted to go donate plasma....and was rejected. :(
The snag? Low protein.  I guess I better start eating more liver and tofu!  Yippee! (not.)

* Matt & I went up to the Bountiful Temple to do a session.

(I did pretty good staying awake this time!)  ;)

* We made sure to end the evening with a treat at Dairy Queen.
A Cherry float always hits the spot.

* Since we have afternoon church, I like to spend the morning reading/viewing things on www.lds.org.

I first read this blog post.

Which led to/referenced this article.
Valuable things to ponder. 

* We did our "yearly measurements" on the kids (height, weight, shoe size, waist/inseam).
It was only about 2 months late, I usually like to get to it in the Summer PRIOR TO going school shopping, but oh well.....
I write these all down and keep it in my purse, so I don't have to keep it all in my brain,
and I can look at it when I'm out shopping.
It's also fun to see how much they've grown from the year before!
Although everyone has grown and gained weight, the most unanticipated are:
Kyle now sports the same size shoe as his dad - a size 12!
Katelyn is just 4 inches away from being taller than I am!  She is only 10 yrs. old!

* Churchy-Church

In Sacrament meeting, we heard from a returned missionary who'd served in New Zealand.
THAT'S where I dreamed of going on my mission back in my youth!

While sitting there, I tuned-in to the fact that Matt needed me to rub his neck - he was not exactly
displaying a great deal of calmness at the moment - because of his first Gospel Doctrine lesson he had to teach in Adult Sunday School the next hour.
He prepared A TON on this lesson - and only taught a small portion of it before time ran out.
(Ya never know how it'll go with the class participation factor)

* After church, I made squash casserole.
(we've still got an overabundance from our garden!)

* We had dinner and FHE at Brenchley's

While talking together afterwards, we had an intriguing conversation about the lesson many of us had had in our Relief Society/Priesthood classes today titled,
 "Beware of Pride."

Bottom Line:  We ALL have it in some form.
(withholding gratitude and praise that might lift another, won't change our mind to accept truth, comparison, fault finding, jealousy, love the praise of man, don't receive correction easily, rebellion, puffed up,  defensiveness, not happy for another's acheivement, etc., etc.)

AND we all need to overcome/repent of this sin!

* I started my [Sunday night ritual] weekly letter to Ryan out on his mission.

Compelled to Spill the Beans

TONIGHT (just ONE DAY AFTER last night's "closed lip" incident, mind you) while I was in my office working, I heard my son come in for the evening and say to his dad, "So, about tonight..."  

My first thought was, No way!  Was he involved in another accident tonight?  (I hadn't even had a chance to tell my husband about the first accident!)  Sometimes, it's like that, ya know?  For y'all, too, right?!?  Hello?
So, I took a break from work at my next opportunity and came out and asked my husband, "Did Kyle have another incident tonight?"
To which he replied, "Another???  When was the other?"  hahaha.  So, I filled him in on the one from yesterday, then he called Kyle up to fill me in on tonight's.

It turns out, it was NOT another car accident.  As in a crash, but.....

Kyle and his friends went to McDonald's.  As they were leaving McDonald's, the car Kyle was in drove by "Female friend 1" [same one from yesterday], who was walking out in the parking lot, so Kyle threw his drink cup, that had water/ice in it, out the window at her.  (I don't know WHY???  To be funny?  'Cause it's not funny.)

WELL......there just happened to be a cop behind them who saw this and he immediately turned on his flashing lights and pulled over their car.  The cop asked WHAT HE WAS DOING.  He told him he was just messing around with his friend back there, SIR.  Then the cop gave him a lecture about littering and respecting women/girls.  He then asked for Kyle's name and phone number, then asked for his dad's name and phone number!


The news spread like wild fire through texts/social media and Kyle started getting all these texts with people commenting and asking questions!  ;)

And here's the kicker: it was the SAME COP from the night before at the accident!  Kyle is not sure if the cop recognized him since he didn't say anything, though.

Kyle did come home and immediately told his dad about this one, and then later me - better for us to hear it from him since he knew we'd find out anyway since the cop had his dad's contact info!  (BTW, Matt never got a phone call!)  So, we've figured out how to make Kyle start yakkety-yak-ing: a cop's scare tactics!  ;)

Close Lipped Kyle

Last night, Kyle went out with some friends.  I knew he got picked up from our house by his two friends, "Friend 1" and "Friend 2."  But, then later, at the end of the night, when he texted asking if I could come pick him up, he was at "Friend 3's" house.
While I was driving him home, I was asking questions about his evening, curious as to why he was no longer with "Friend 1" and "Friend 2" who he started off with, and how he ended up at someone else's house.

Me: "So, you guys just decided to go over to 'Friend 3's' house?"
Him: "Ya."
Me:  "All three of you?  'Friend 1,' 'Friend 2,' and you?"
Him: "Well, I think 'Friend 1' went home."
Me: "And 'Friend 2?'"
Him: "He must've walked home." (he lives closer to this kid)
Me: "Just now or earlier in the evening?"
Him: "Just a little earlier."
Me: "So, did 'Friend 3' call you and invite you over, or did you guys just show up?"
Him: "We just decided to go over there."
Me: "Did you go there right after they picked you up, or did you do something else first?"
Him: "Almost right after."
Me: "So, what did you do when your friends very first picked you up from our home?"
Him: "Well, first we went driving around."
Me: "Driving around where?"
Him: "Well, we were going over to see 'Female Friend 1' at her house."
Me: "And, did you?"
 
We talked for about 5 whole minutes about what happened (which wasn't totally making sense to me, thus, LOTS of questions) BEFORE he finally [and casually] mentioned that "Friend 1," the driver of the car he was in, got into an accident while they were on their way to "Female Friend 1's" house - towards the beginning of the night!!! 

(Everyone was OKAY).
Did he just experience a "slip of the mind" about the accident during my previous 20 QUESTIONS, or what?!?  ;) 
The cops came to the scene to fill out an accident report and everything.  (And they did test "Female Friend 1" to come outside...to see them, BTW.) Then, "Friend 1" had to go home to face "the wrath of his mother" whose nice car he happened to be driving.  And, that's why Kyle was no longer with him, and was at "Friend 3's" house instead - "Friend 1's" evening out with friends was over, and he had to drop them off somewhere else.

Had I not had an "inquiring mind," he maybe wouldn't have even "disclosed" that slight, little detail of the evening!  It's just one of my many roles in my "job description" as a Mom: INVESTIGATOR.

What a contrast, though, he is to his older brother who, at times, was too much of a chatterbox - in fact, we actually have had to say, "Stop talking" to him sometimes in the past.  Whereas, Kyle tries to get away with as few words as possible - as if he believes he only has a limited number of words in his lifetime, and he doesn't want to use them all up too early!  ;) 

Old Girlfriends

I have a group of girlfriends who have been going out to lunch together consistently for many years - maybe 7-ish+ years?  We go out for all our birthdays, or in "someone needs cheering up" circumstances, or because some eating establishment is having a "freebie" deal.  Do we really need an excuse?  But, regrettable (and unacceptably), we don't have any photos of these occasions!

Well, most recently, we went to a restaurant for one of our friend's July birthdays and we got seated close by another table full of elderly ladies who caught my attention.  (As always, that's the observant, people-watcher in me!)

 

{Note: not the actual group, but very similar to this.}

I turned to my own group of ladies whom I was with, motioned my head in their direction, and said, "Look!  That will be us in 30 years!"

We all smiled, and chuckled, and stared at them for a moment. (I hope they didn't notice and think we were rude....ah, who am I kidding?  They were too involved with each other, gabbing away, having a delightful time!)

We all said, "I hope so!"  

At least none of them informed me, "Uh, Suzanne....that is a mirror!"  ;) haha.   

This Weekend:

* I was home in the afternoon on Friday (good thing!) and my doorbell rang.
My girls answered it and called to me, saying it was for me.  

My visiting teachers were there.  (I'd totally forgot they were coming!)

But, luckily, I was here so we got to visit.
It was also lucky I'd changed out of the muumuu I had been hanging out in earlier in the day!
 (THAT would've been a sure giveaway that I'd forgotten!)

(Except my family room was a mess with kids' games, back packs, papers, clothes, scriptures, etc. strewn on the floor & chairs.
One of the ladies literally had to pick up
stuff off the couch and move it first before she was able to sit down!  Aaugh!
So, maybe they figured out my forgetfulness anyway?)

* Before going out on our date in the evening, we had to play "taxi service" for

Kyle, taking him to his social events/party.

* We went out to dinner at Sonora Grill in Ogden.

Matt had received a birthday "free entree" coupon already,

so that helped us choose the place tonight.

(I'm on this no-white-flour challenge, so I had to order my meal with corn tortillas......tonight was just not as yummy as their flour tortillas entrees I've had there in the past.)

* After dinner, it was still early enough that we figured our children would

still be up, so we stopped at Ross to kill some time go shopping.

We had to get some pool & beach essentials for the fam in preparation for our upcoming vacation.

* On Saturday morning, I walked to the library to return and pick up some books.
AND to get my fitbit steps in.  As I was out & about, I saw a couple of friends
who were outside, so I stopped to visit.  My 40 min. walk/errand turned into TWICE that long! :)

* We spent some time out in the yard.  Matt set up a pump to pump out the water
that is in our trampoline hole (a natural spring?)  The water was coming
out a hose - and it was crystal clear - so I took the hose up to the
garden we planted last week and watered the whole thing with the "good" water.
{I think we've got our emergency water situation taken care of!}
I cut up a watermelon and it tasted SO GOOD coming in from the warm outdoors.

* I went through the pile of clothes that has somehow ended up on my laundry room counter.
For some reason, the kids were putting clothes they didn't want to wear anymore there.
WHY?
I separated and organized them all into Put Away/Give Away/Throw Away piles
and now we can see the counter top again!

* Matt & I went to the plasma donation center.
I started a new book to read while I layed there donating:

(I haven't decided if it's good or not, yet.)

* We were driving towards an eating establishment, and right before we got there,
we got a text from Matt's brother inviting us to go to Sushi Monster with them.
Well, of course!  So, we switched gears and headed to meet them.
Except, I needed to eat one more vegetable for the day with this challenge I'm on,
and I wasn't sure I could get a whole serving from just sushi, so we
stopped at a grocery store to buy some carrot chips.
While we were in there, my flip flop straps totally came out and the foot-bed cracked
and was dangling on a thread, just seconds from breaking into two pieces.
I knew I couldn't go to Sushi Monster without any shoes on,
so we swung by our house to get new flip flops for me.
(Sidenote: I had a feeling that this 2nd pair of flip flops might fail me, too,
so I put a "replacement" pair in purse just in case.....and guess what?
I DID need them when my 2nd pair also broke.  Two in one night?!?  Wow! I'm talented!)

* Sushi Monster was good, and the company was great.
My recommendation: the Las Vegas roll.
Delish.

* Afterwards, we went to six stores looking for a new light blue purse for me.
My current one (in my beloved color, red, but I thought I venture out to a new color) is kinda hammered.

 (Yes, this is the same purse that Kohl's replaced for me last year.  I didn't have the gall to ask them for a new one AGAIN - it's tearing because I put the whole kitchen sink in it!)
Kohl's is ONE of the stores I went to, but in the end, I found my purse at Target (on clearance even!)

* On Sunday morning, I slept in until 9:30 a.m.!!!
This has just become a luxury in recent years.
Our kids have [finally]  figured it out that IF they wake us up,
we put them to work/tell them to get dressed/make them eat REAL, healthy food,
so it's so much better, in their minds, to let us sleep! ;)
Smart kids!

* I went out visiting teaching with my companion on Sunday,
then I came home, and our home teachers came to my family.
(Was it the last day of the month, or something?!?)  ;)

* Churchy-Church
It was the missionary farewell of one of my former young women!
They're growing up! {sniff, sniff}  She did a great job!
She shared an awesome quote from a Elder Holland talk he delivered at the MTC back in 2000.
Read it HERE.

 * Because it was the 5th Sunday, we had a combined meeting with the
Priesthood men and Relief Society women the last hour of our church block.
The theme of the meeting was "Family Home Evening" and we had been
asked to speak about our experience, representing a "family with children at home."
(There was also a newlywed couple and an Empty Nester couple who spoke.)
The thing about this "assignment" was, last Sunday Matt had mentioned to me, in passing, that
the Elder's Quorum President had talked to him about something and that he'd have to tell me about it later......
Well, that "later" happened to be last night around 10:00 p.m.!
(Ya gotta love it, baby!)

* I had a meeting after church, so I gave Matt instructions on everything
he needed to do to get dinner ready.
He owed it to me after the lack of notice he gave me on my speaking assignment in church, don't ya think?!?  ;)
We had Ranch Chicken.  It was a new recipe (found HERE) and I approved.

* We went on a family walk on the Lagoon Trail up to Farmington Pond
with grandma/pa and Matt's brother, wife, & kids.

A lot of other people had the same idea...and somehow some people
had confused our quiet Farmington Pond for a swimming hole that day.
There were a ton a people jumping off the fishing docks, splashing around,
and wearing skimpy suits - I'd never seen THAT up there.
Needless to say, we didn't stay long at all.

* Wrote my weekly letter to our missionary

* I quit eating before 9:00 p.m. (another part of this blasted challenge I'm on),
while Matt baked up some cookies for himself from the cookie
dough I'd made (but I didn't eat any!) for the missionary farewell/lunch.
 Only one week left of the challenge!  Yay!  ;)

In Case I Want to Hang Out on My Porch All the Time....

I'm all equipped with a microwave out there....

...ya know, for popping my popcorn, making hot pockets, melting cheese, and heating water for my cocoa.

Heck!  I'd never have to leave the porch!

But, wait!  WHY is there a microwave on my porch?!?
The truth is....it just randomly appeared there this afternoon.

At first I thought, Oh no!  Is Kyle getting asked to a dance?  He's not 16 yet - he won't be able to go!  (We don't date until age 16).  No, that's not right - the next High School dance is PROM, and that's boy's choice....

But then I saw the tag was addressed to, "Kevin" and I was like, Oh...they got the wrong house!

But then Kyle informed me that he goes by that name sometimes.  WHAT?!?  Well, that's news to me!

So, I'm standing there looking out onto our porch in utter dumbfoundedness, and Kyle is completely amused by it.

He said this microwave was definitely for him.  (Apparently, it's a inside joke.)

It looked all clean and new, though - doesn't somebody need this?  Is some teenager's parent wondering at this very second, as they're trying to make some cup-o-noodles, Hey, what happened to our microwave?

So, Kyle attempted to explain.....it has something to do with him wearing yellow jeans and a whale tie to school, a fictitious business he owns selling microwaves (with a partner), discussions about the proper name to call your boss, and another family renovating their kitchen due to a short in their [faulty] microwave.

{Huh???}
CLEAR AS MUD, right?!?

Anyway, I guess it doesn't need to be returned (he figured out the 3 girls who did it, and they said they don't need it) - so we're now officially the proud owners of a porch microwave to make our house look REAL NICE (said in Cousin Eddie's [from Christmas Vacation] accent/voice!) and white trashy.  ;)

This Weekend:

* Katelyn went to her Annual Valentine's Tea Party with her friends.

(Her friend's grandma, who lives about 50 miles away, has them over every year for this event.

They go in their "Sunday Best,", use REAL porcelain tea cups/dishes to eat/drink from, 

make big hats to wear, do a craft, pamper & primp, 

and come home with a "goodie bag" of sorts!)

Katelyn feels so lucky to always be invited since it is limited to just the # of friends who can fit into their car!

This year, her friend's grandma had made them all CUTE pillow cases!

Do you like how Katelyn was "Valentine-ing it Up" with her heart night gown & heart jammie pants that match so well?  ;)

* We went to the big "RIVALRY GAME" for Kyle's [rec] basketball team.

It was the "Bearcats" vs. the "Rejects" (kids all from the same High School, but on different teams).

It was very serious.  The Bearcats (Kyle's team) put in an extra practice during the week PLUS a "team bonding" hanging out session to get ready for the game.

The Sophomore class was divided; picking sides, either for the Bearcats or for the Rejects

The Bearcats called for a "blackout" game - all their fans were suppose to wear black.

(which was easy enough for me, I have lots of black in my wardrobe!)

 In addition to us parents, their following of "Bearkittens" (girls their age) and the "Bearcubs" (boys their age) turned out in droves to support the Bearcats in the big game.

We're talking posters, painted faces, standing for the whole game, Bearcat "growls," and lots of cheering!

In the end, I think the Bearcats expending all their energy get psyched up (or psyched out?) for the game, and 

didn't have enough left to actually play the game.

The "Rejects" crashed the boards like crazy, and were able to score from their third & fourth chance shots.

The Bearcats lost.

But, they went out together to celebrate - or commiserate - afterwards anyway!

* Matt & I went out to Ruby River Steakhouse afterwards. (we had a coupon!)

There was a wait, but it was OK.  I still needed to get some Fitbit steps in for the day,

so we went walking around the parking lot and neighboring businesses in the meantime.

We were at the restaurant for a while......I ate veeeerrry slowly.  You see, I may or may not 

have been eating cinnamon lips candy lately, and there's an ingredient in 

cinnamon candy/gum that makes my tongue swell, which in turn makes me talk funny and it's hard to move it/eat. ;)

* My sister-in-law invited me to her stake's Women's Conference, so I went.

The guest speaker was Wendy Watson Nelson, wife of Elder Russell M. Nelson.

There were a few things that were impressionable to me that I have already shared many times with others.

She is the author of a book, What Would a Holy Woman Do?

(I'm going to check out the "book on CD" from the library!)

She also had us all stand up and recite, out loud, a portion from Elder Holland's General Conference talk he gave in October 2012.  She had us insert our own name instead of the name, “Peter,” who Christ was responding to, in Elder Holland’s nonscriptural elaboration.)

“What I need, Peter (your name), are disciples—and I need them forever. I need someone to feed my sheep and save my lambs. I need someone to preach my gospel and defend my faith. I need someone who loves me, truly, truly loves me, and loves what our Father in Heaven has commissioned me to do. Ours is not a feeble message. It is not a fleeting task. It is not hapless; it is not hopeless; it is not to be consigned to the ash heap of history. It is the work of Almighty God, and it is to change the world. So, Peter (your name), for the second and presumably the last time, I am asking you to leave all this and to go teach and testify, labor and serve loyally...”

It really was impactful to me.  And it was inspiration for a Relief Society presentation that I am currently preparing for.  I have been asked to speak on the topic of "Hastening the Work of the Lord" in an upcoming meeting, and I just think I might use this little bit!!  ;)

* Matt & I had a "date" at the plasma donation center.  Matt & I ended up on the same row, but a few beds down from each other, and the phlebotomis saw me wave & talk to him a bit.  

He asked me if I knew him, and I replied, "Ya, and I kinda LIKE him, too!"  ;)  

Then we went out to lunch at Nielsen's Frozen Custard. (we had a coupon!)

* After a break (3 months) due to the holidays of not doing private dates with our children,

we finally started up again and it was Haylee's turn.

She chose her favorite Gluten Free pizza - David's Pizza.

But, there's no seating there (it's just pick up & delivery), so we got hers from there,

and then went down a few doors to Big Daddy's Pizza (where they do have seating AND we had a coupon!) and

ordered mine & Matt's pizza, so we'd be able to eat at their tables.

Then she wanted to go shopping at the D.I.  - don't be jealous!  ;)

 She LOVES finding $0.50 treasures!

AND we found some brand new, with-the-store-tags-still-on clothes for all of us!

We finished off by going to Menchies. (we had a coupon!)

* Churchy-Church on Sunday.

We had a Missionary Homecoming, which was great.  The returned missionary

was someone who was in Young Men's when I was serving in Young Women's.

He's gone and come home already?  Wasn't that just the other day? 

Time flies......when it's someone else's child!  :)  haha.

*  We had our New Beginnings in the evening for Haylee & all the Young Women.

They did such a good job!  It's so different (& nice!) to just be part of the audience and not

be in charge of it.  I thought it was way better and cuter than the ones we did....probably because I could really sit back and enjoy it - unlike the last three years when I was IN YW!  ;)

Look how adorable our "cruise ticket" (program for the evening) was:

 {front}

{back}

The mutual theme for this year is D & C 4:2, "Oh, ye that EMBARK in the service of God...."

so they pretended we were aboard a "ship" for the evening.

That video presentation can be viewed HERE.

There are GREAT YW leaders now, it's good for everyone to change it up!  

* Finished the weekend (like I always do these days) by writing my letter to Ryan on his mission,

while "Talkin' Sports" was on T.V. in the next room.

It Owns Me

Ever since I started wearing my new Fitbit (first full day was Dec. 26) I HAVE to get my 10,000 steps a day.
 
If it is 11:00 p.m. and I haven't yet achieved my steps, I will "sneak out" to go walking around the neighborhood to get them.  Apparently, the first time I did this, someone at home "needed" me (WHEN don't they need me?) and they couldn't find me, and no one knew where I was, and mayhem broke loose.  When I returned, Matt requested I please inform them in the future if I am going out.....ya know, in case something happens to me.  Like what?!?  Get abducted by aliens up the street?!?
If the day is almost over, and I don't have my steps AND we're experiencing inclement weather, I will pace back & forth on our covered porch.  Or run up & down the stairs.  Or do laps in our garage.
If I'm thirsty and need a drink of water, I STOP myself from asking someone else to get it for me......because if I get up and get it myself, that tacks on several extra steps.
If I need something while I'm making dinner from the cold storage room in the basement,  I don't call for Kyle anymore like I always used to......I want the steps myself!
It's no longer one of my kid's jobs to go and get the mail.....because if I get it, I know that's another 250 steps!

I'm telling you - I'm a SLAVE to this Fitbit.
I WILL NOT let myself NOT get my 10,000 steps a day.
EVERY day.
EVEN on the weekend.
If I let myself go just one day without getting my steps, then it'll just be easier to go another day, and then another, and another.....and I DON'T want that to happen!

 (BTW, it says 0 on the water because I would have to manually enter it in....and I don't.  I just like the Fitbit to crunch all the numbers for me.)  

I mostly wanted to start doing it for health & fitness, but ya know what's ALSO happened?  That was a pleasant surprise? 

I'm spending MORE TIME with my family and children!  The kind of TIME where I'm really WITH them.

Because I'll ask if anyone wants to go out and walk with me - and someone usually does.  Katelyn & I just walk & talk about her favorite subject - The Pioneer Woman (she's the one who "introduced" me to the Fitbit in the first place).....and then Katelyn asks when we can do that again!  ;)

Matt has decided he has to protect me against those "aliens," so he'll come out walking with me at night and we walk & talk.

One day, I needed a bunch of steps, so Brookelle, Katelyn, & I went up to our church.  I thought we'd just do laps around the church, but, NO, they had a grand idea to play "Tag."  So I obliged.  We were up there all night.....or at least an hour!  And I was "It" the majority of the time! (Because I kept getting caught!)  They LOVED it and didn't want to quit, even though I kept "suggesting" we did. (my bladder can only take so much "Tag!")  Again, Katelyn repeatedly asks when we can do that again! 

I ask her, "WHY?" 

And she tells me, "It was so fun." 

And I say, "Really?!?  'Cause I totally stunk at it."  

And she says, "No, you didn't.  You were really good.  You can run fast.....for a Mom your age!" 

And I say, "No......you always tagged me, and I couldn't catch you very much."

And she said, "THAT'S why it was so fun!"

Instead of driving my child to her friend's house to play, I walk her over there......and then I walk back when it's time to come home.  And Brookelle talks my ear off the whole way.

Same goes for getting Katelyn to Activity Days.

I'm also walking to the school after school to meet my girls and walk home with them (& their friends - gotta take advantage of that while it's still happening).  I heard Katelyn explaining to one of her friends, "Ya know how some moms pick their kids up from school and give them a ride home?  Well, our mom picks us up from school and then makes us walk home!"



I'm liking this "by-product" of my Fitbit (more time spent together with my fam) that I didn't realize would be one of the results.  My family is all on board with the idea.  They will frequently ask where I'm at for the day - and WANT me to accomplish my 10,000 every day.  Good thing, because my obsession dedication would exist with or without their support. ;)  I love it!

I ALSO overheard Katelyn tell one of her friends, "My mom has a Fitbit, and she HAS to get 10,000 steps a day.  She's going to do that EVERY day until my brother gets home from his mission, and then she's going to be SKINNY!"

Oh, WOW!  The pressure's ON!

These are a Few of my Favorite things -- THIS Christmas

My favorite "Neighbor Gift" we received:

It's Rudolph the Red-Nosed [E.O.S. lip balm] Reindeer!

The Christensens are always so clever/cute with their gift & "packaging."

My favorite reaction to a gift I gave:

Haylee was SOOO happy (like jumping around & talking giddily) about her PJ's this year!  Namely, she loved the hood, the pockets, & the owl print.

She opened them on Christmas Eve and actually said that she'd be JUST FINE if that was her whole Christmas!  She was fulfilled!

It reminded me of a Christmas several years ago when she had a very emotional reaction to a ROBE she received.

{She doesn't have extravagent wants!  I LOVE it!}

This is not MY favorite, BUT the kids' favorite Christmas wish came true:

The kids were having a hard time FEELING like it was the Christmas season because we hadn't had any snow in December - AND it had been in the 40's & 50's (no coat weather!)

But, THEN they got a WHITE CHRISTMAS.  

It literally started snowing late Christmas Eve, and we woke up to a blanket of snow everywhere. 

THEY thought it was the best thing ever!

My favorite part about Christmas 2014:

Talking to/Seeing Ryan (Elder Brenchley) via Skype!!!

We waited forever - he'd told us it would be in between 3-3:00p.m.......we finally heard from him at 6:05p.m.

BUT, it was worth the wait!

It was so fun to talk to him - we got to be reminded of his playful, amusing personality, but also got to see HOW WELL HE IS DOING and how mature and solid in the gospel he is becoming! 

He absolutely loved the #sharethegift focus this Christmas season.

He testified again & again to us that HE IS THE GIFT.
We got about an hour with him, and 10 min. with his companion (he talked to us while Ryan HAD to go to the bathroom - some things never change! ;) haha. 
We didn't want to hang up and have him call us back because it took SO LONG for him to do it the first time!!)
He also witnessed Haylee smack Kyle while we were skyping....he laughed his head off about that!
Like I said, some things never change!  ;)

**********

What were your "favorite things" about Christmas this year?

This Weekend:

YES!  I am actually going to write a post that is not about Elder Brenchley!  ;)

THIS WEEKEND:
*Matt & I were in charge of our ward Christmas party this year.

It was on Friday night, the 12th.

But, I worked on getting it ready all day Friday.

And Thursday.

And Wednesday.

And the whole month before.

We had an awesome committee, though, who contributed a TON!

{Thanks Christensen's, Derrick's, Evans', Floyd's, Becky & Gina}

Some of the HIGHLIGHTS:

  ~"Neighborhood Trivia" was projected up on a movie screen up front as people arrived.

First, the "clue" would come up on the screen for people to read, and then a while later, the answer (person's name) would go up on the screen.
(THINK: movie theater before the movie starts.)

It was a great "mixer" to get people talking to start the party!
The ones from our family were:

This woman had a leg hair growing contest with a guy – and WON!

This person drove 140 m.p.h. in a blue Mustang GT – and lived to tell about it.

This [non-native Japanese] married couple both know how to speak Japanese. 

This person played on an ALL-GIRL baseball team (with pink uniforms) in a BOYS’ league.

This person has a purple belt in Karate.

This person cracked his head open doing a flip off the couch. 

This 6 YR. OLD likes to eat tomatoes, green peppers, avocado, cauliflower, & green salad! 

This missionary has now picked up the “Southern” patterns of speech. 

(Can you guess them all?!?)
~A "Green Screen" Photo Op

(THINK: weatherman on the news)

People literally just posed in front of a green screen......THEN......

it turned into THIS:

~Dinner with food from Mo' Bettah Steaks

I broke tradition and did away with the chili & soup (not my favorite) they'd done in the past!  I'm such a rebel!  But, that's one of the perks of being in charge!  

PLUS, this menu had the "gluten free" crowd in mind.

~Entertainment/Musical Program

{The Primary sang, "Stars Were Gleaming"}

Katelyn is 3rd from the left (fuchsia pants, turquoise vest).  Brookelle is 5th from the right (pink camo pants, navy shirt).

We also have this TREMENDOUSLY talented Sister Missionary serving in our area - she plays the ukelele, she sings, she plays the piano, she does it all together!
(Too bad [for us] she is returning home this week.)

She performed, "A Hallelujah Christmas."  Have you seen/heard this song?!!?

I've been watching/listening to it on YouTube ever since the party!
 

 You won't be able to get it out of your mind, I tell ya!

*On Saturday, we spent the whole day in bed recovering from the ward party.

HA!

NOT!

I WISH!

But, we had the Fowers Christmas party at our home that night.

We barely got all the dishes & small appliances from the night before washed up & returned, then started cleaning up our house before the people started to come!

{Scenes from the evening}

One of the highlights from the evening was when my Aunt Louise shared experiences

from her mission to Australia back in the late 60's and her news reporting career at KSL television.

(She started at age 22 and was the 1st and ONLY woman reporter at that time in the Salt Lake area!  She was just the 2nd woman in the nation to do it, and the ONLY woman on the air at that particular time.)

Many of the youngest generation did not know any of this family history, so it was great to have her share it!

She brought a few clips of her news stories she reported on from the past, too.  They were fun to watch!

She is also a talented musician, and we always gather around the piano and sing a Christmas song that she wrote, "Waiting for the Child."

She's written other songs, too.  You can see one of her pieces on YouTube here:

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsWIvnQHEa8

and here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9cZm8Ny0CoI

(That's my cousin singing the song!)

*On Sunday, we finally rested & recuperated all day.

(HA! again.....In my dreams)

Our darling niece, Megan, recently returned from her mission to Madrid, Spain on 12/9....

 YES!  I cried at the sight of the reunion between missionary & parents - THIS one AND strangers I don't even know!

 {COUSINS!}

Megan had her "Homecoming" (reported on her mission at church) on Sunday - at 9:00 in the morning!!

We got to attend that and hear her testimony (in Spanish - don't know what she said!) and her contagious enthusiasm for the Gospel!

We went to my brother's house afterwards for food and visiting and stayed well into the afternoon.

*We had Tithing Settlement with the Bishop later Sunday evening.

GOOD THING we discovered those missing checks so everything really could be "settled." ;)

*I realized I have 9 days to get ALL the Christmas stuff done, now!

THE LIST for this week started rolling through my mind at extraordinary speeds!