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!

The End of my YW Era

I got released from my church calling as 1st Counselor in the Young Womens' Presidency.

Siiiiggghhhhhhhhhh.

Such mixed emotions about all of this.

I've been serving in that position for going on 3 years now.

THREE!
That's 130 mutual activities, 75 meetings, Three Young Women in Excellence events, Three New Beginnings events, Three Girl's Camps (1 with my daughter, Haylee, in attendance!), three youth conference (attended one, helped/supported on the other two), a few culminating events and dinners for all the youth, dozens of hours on the phone and visiting homes, and on & on.....

I have come to love "my girls".  I thought about them and worried about them all the time.  I considered them an extension of my own children who live in my home with me.  Whenever I referred to them in conversation, I called them, "My young women....."

This calling, and each young woman, has been such a HUGE part of my life for the past few years.

I SO SO wanted each girl to have their testimonies strengthened during this very important & amazing time of THEIR life.   AND on various occasions, THEY shared an experience or scripture in class, or gave a talk in a meeting, or bore their testimony at camp & youth conference, and it strengthened MY testimony.

They will forever be apart of me.....I swear, when I am in my 80's, and if I run into one of them, I will hug them, then still call them, "my girl" (even thought they will be in their 50's!!!)

I am incredibly BLESSED to have had this opportunity!

I knew though...with serving for that amount of time...that this day would someday come.

Being in a Young Women's Presidency is A LOT of work.

It consumes MOST {if not ALL} of your extra time.

Mutual, lessons, firesides, Girls Camp, tending to the girls' needs, supporting the president & making sure she doesn't take on too much work....it is CONSTANT.
And, THAT SERVICE I gave is WHY I ended up loving them.....You LOVE who you SERVE!

And while I have {honestly} had some frustrations & heartbreak along the way (they are ATTACHED to their cell phones a little TOO MUCH!, they are, at times, persuaded by the ways of the world more than the church standards, and sometimes they chose not to join us in our mid-week & summer activities or at church on Sunday) but for the majority of the time, I LOVED it.....

I knew ahead of time I was being released.  My Bishop came to my home last week to extended a release - and thanked me profusely.  But, when it was officially announced in Sacrament meeting before the congregation, it became "official" to me - and I am sad.
I think I'll go into "mourning" - I can joke about that because I'll actually be gone for a couple of Sundays in July due to traveling....but it's kinda true.
I knew I'd be sad, but I also thought I would be relieved.  It was a LOT of work and there were so many other things on my plate that I could not keep up with for the life of me.

But man, I miss those girls already - more than I could have ever realized I would.  I'm thinking about them all individually and am going to write them all a letter letting them know of my feelings.  The relief I expected has not come yet.  It will take a little while to find peace with this big change in my life right now.

Good thing I sobbed my way through my final YW lesson -- NOT!  (little did I know, at the time, it was THE LAST)

I still need to pass off all my stuff to the new Young Women's 1st Counselor, but I might drag my feet a little bit - because maybe I won't be able to bear it?!?

I'll probably linger outside their classroom on Sundays and it'll feel so weird to send off Kyle and Haylee to their activities on Wednesday nights and not go, too.

Gradually I will start to feel how nice it is not to have to worry about all the logistics that went into every activity, every meeting, every group text, everything I was SUPPOSE TO be doing and couldn't quite get to.

Of course, other things will pile into my life and fill up every nook and cranny the Young Women things left behind (like getting Ryan ready to leave on his mission in 5 1/2 weeks!!), but oh, how grateful I am for that experience with those girls and I will always have a special spot in my heart for them and all the wonderful things I learned as their leader.

YES.......

Life goes on.

{We don't get to choose what church calling we will be given, but IF I COULD, I'd want to be the primary pianist for my next calling!  How could I NOT LOVE doing that?  Gosh, ANYTHING after being in the Young Women's presidency should seem like a walk in the park, right?  I would want the piano calling .....IF I could even play the piano well enough!!!  haha!  I don't know how to sight read!  Is that unusual?  I took piano lessons for 8 years - how long do you have to take to actually get good at it???  It maybe has something more to do with HOW MUCH I practiced - or how effectively/consistently I practiced (or didn't) during those years!!}

My faith is a HUGE part of who I am.

I thank my lucky stars each day for the knowledge of the Gospel that I have.

I look forward to what the future has in store for me now.

I hope you'll enjoy the ride with me!!

This Weekend:

*Friday Night was Katelyn's turn for her DATE with Mom & Dad!

She picked everything we did.

We went out to dinner at The Nacho House and

then went to Get Air trampoline park.

* Saturday was Farmington Festival Days!

We started by going to the breakfast in the park.

Still the best city "chuckwagon" style breakfast we've encountered:

French Toast on thick bread, with your choice of maple or vanilla syrup

Bacon AND sausage

Hashbrown patties

Cup of fruit (watermelon, canteloupe, grapes, blueberries)

Orange Juice

Milk

Chocolate Milk

*After that the girls and I like to browse the booths.

There's always this "bag" booth that has some cute stuff,

but this year we actually made our purchase at 

a maxi skirt booth - the girls each got one - very darling!

*We went to the parade.

The other people beat us to putting out chairs and roping off sections,

(It's getting earlier & earlier every year!  Aaugh!) so we were only partially shaded.

 As always, GOOD "candy" (not taffy) was given/thrown out including:  sliced watermelon

from Harmon's grocery, otter pops, gobstoppers, Reeses PB cups, Mrs. Cavanaugh's

Mindy Mints, balls, fans, water bottles, smarties, skittles, etc. etc.

*We came home in the middle of the day to COOL off!

I read a bit & cleaned a bit.

Matt got the garden weed-free.

Katelyn went to the movie with her cousin.

Then we decided we "needed" some Costa Vida for supper.

I first tried to call in the order, but they didn't answer, so Matt just drove over.

After a little while, I tried to call again, and was able to order.  Great!  Matt won't have to stand in line.

I texted Matt, I called it in, it's under 'Suzanne'

4 minutes went by and I didn't hear from him, so I texted again, 

Did you get my message?  No need to stand in line, it's ready for pickup at the checkout counter.

And then 1 minute later, he called me.  He hadn't gotten my text.  He'd ordered on his own and was driving home with our food.
Ooops!  My called-in order was still there waiting...

(I tried calling back, but no answer.  I called again, and they guy who finally answered couldn't hear me even though I repeated myself 3 times.  Oh well....)

*We returned to the park for the music performances (singers/bands)

as we sat on our camp chairs in the shade.

 The girls spent time on the playground, too.

*While there, we got word that Ryan & Kyle had returned home from their 

4-day high adventure camp to the Wind Rivers (13 mile/way backpacking trip) with the 14-18 yr. old scouts!!
(I've never really worried about the boys going on scout camps before, but THIS TIME I did a bit.
Ryan has his mission call.  He has to go on his mission!  Please don't let him get lost, or sick, or hurt, or worse! 

*They cleaned themselves up and met us just in time for the fireworks to start.

(And Yes! It was a respectable showing, so it help in satisfying my craving.)

But, I'll tell ya - the crowd for that is growing every year, too - not so small town anymore?

*On Sunday, Matt & I were able to go to the Missionary homecoming church service

of the West Virginia Charleston Mission president & his wife who just returned.

Fun Fact: He also used to be Matt's Bishop & Stake President.  In fact, he was the

Stake President who interviewed Matt & I when we were to be married.

(Ryan will obviously have the new mission president when he is out there in a couple months, but we wanted to attend to see if there was anything we could learn.)

We learned there will be:

Squirral gravy

Windy, curvy roads

Missionary-minded local members of the church who make it their life to help the missionaries.

Miracles following a missionary's faith

*Went to our own church, too.

I taught a combo of this lesson and this lesson to my Young Women class.

And I couldn't get through this [true] story without crying.

(Try as I might.  Geez.)

*I cooked a whole chicken (with various seasonings) in the crock pot for dinner.

It was "Haylee approved" - that's always a very GOOD THING.

*I made chocolate chip cookies for Sunday night treat.

*Ryan had a girl FRIEND (two separate words) come over to watch 

the replay of the World Cup final game with us...because she LOVES soccer and missed it during church, too. 

(We hadn't watched it live, nor had we spoken to anyone to find out the results.)

*I worked on my Personal Progress program - I am SO SO close to completing it 

as a Young Woman Leader! (I already did it the first time as a young woman back in the 80's)

I've Got a John Denver Song Playing in my Mind

The song's been with me ever since Sunday evening when Ryan opened his mission call (which one out of the 407 possible places would it be?!!?) 

in front of....Oh, I don't know how many....

a wall-to-wall multitude of his favorite peeps - family, friends, neighbors & church leaders.
(And family who are also some of his best friends, and friends who are also neighbors, and church leaders who are also friends!) 

{with Jaden - one of his best friends}

The song that's been on my mind is "Take Me Home, Country Roads"

Do you have a guess where he got called, now?

The song introduces this place with it's very first words, "ALMOST HEAVEN".

It continues by singing about it's BLUE RIDGE MOUNTAINS and SHENANDOAH RIVER.

Any guesses now?

John Denver pays tribute to it with the lyrics, "Take me home, to the place I BELONG...."
He reminisces about it with a "teardrop in my eye." 

Doesn't it sound like a MAGNIFICENT place?
Sentimental.  Dreamy.  Impressionable. Touching.

(Oh....John Denver evokes fond memories for me, too.  I hear his songs, and all of a sudden, I'm riding in my dad's Peugeot, listening to his 8-Tracks!!  
So, Matt bought me John Denver's 4-disc set several years ago as a gift!)

 He didn’t get to choose where he'd go. It could be anywhere from Boise, Idaho (very close to us), Florida, Greece, or Japan (where Matt & I served) or many, many other places.

 We had many guesses.

**One last chance to guess!**  ;)
(Matt put the video on facebook a couple days ago, so maybe it's no surprise, now!  haha)

OK.  Drumroll, please....

Ryan has been called to serve as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

He has been assigned to labor in the West Virginia Charleston Mission!!!
(He will serve for 2 years, starting August 27, 2014.)

He didn’t get to choose where he'd go. It could've been anywhere from Boise, Idaho (very close to us), Florida, Greece, or Japan (where Matt & I served) or many, many other places,  

but the second he found out where he was called, it was perfect!


We've been in celebratory mode around here ever since - it's SO VERY exciting!!

 A lifetime of waiting, and now we know!

Pick Your Pain

This is what I did this morning......because who can think of ANYTHING MORE FUN to do on a Friday morning?!?

I hurt my back two weeks ago and I have been in pain ever since, so WHAT'S A LITTLE MORE PAIN, right?  ;)

I actually took the liberty to interpret the "Annual" recommendation for mammograms pretty loosely!  Like almost two years liberty.  BUT, I figured since I had FOUR (4!) in one year between 2011-12 (while they figured out I just have "junk in my ducts"), then that still averages out to be one a year since I turned 40!  ;)

When I finally decided to call in to make the appointment last Monday, it shocked me that they could see me in 4 days time!!!

I wasn't ready for that....what about mental preparation?

At first, I thought I could excuse myself out of it because Kindergarten gets out early on Fridays and I wouldn't be back in time, so I asked how long it would take.  The receptionist said 45 minutes --  from arrival to departure.  45 minutes?  WHAT medical related appointment ever takes just 45 minutes??

But, I went - and she was TRUE TO HER WORD!  I walked in at 9:25 and walked out at 10:10.

Here's some observations I had in those 45 minutes:

~We (myself & other ladies) waited in a waiting room (duh!) but were then, individually, called back to some desks on one side of the room, that were kind of separated from the waiting area by a half wall.  There, we would officially "check in" with a secretary type person.  I THINK this part is suppose to be private - they were asking us questions and such - BUT I COULD TOTALLY HEAR EACH & EVERY QUESTION THEY ASKED ALL THE PATIENTS THEY CALLED OVER while I sat waiting several feet away!!!

~To the office's credit, they do have an awesome flat screen TV on the wall of the waiting area that shows kind of like a scenery movie.  There are peaceful and beautiful scenes of waterfalls, and trees with really green foliage, and flowing streams, etc. all playing to the background music of soothing piano melodies.

*I MAY have closed my eyes while I was sitting there!*  ;)

It's a good idea to have it in their clinic -- maybe it's an attempt to get people's minds off what is about to happen to them!?  OR to distract us from hearing the other patients discussion with the secretaries about their previous "emergency contact" is now their ex-husband, whether or not they can speak English, if they are an organ donor, the details of their boob history, and their financial situation.

Which reminds me, one of my "favorites" I have saved on AccuRadio is called "Romantic Piano" - it's the beautiful sounds of the world's most versatile instrument.  That station is for when things get too crazy around here - like during the "witching hours"  (weekdays 4-6 p.m.)

~In the locker room, there were a bunch of robes monogrammed with their clinic's name & logo (Think what you see in nice hotels or spas).  But, the technician who took me back said that they were all the same size -- AND they were TOO SMALL in the shoulders to fit....so just put on the cape thing.  SO, WHAT'S THE POINT?!?  Don't tease us like that!

~While the technician was positioning me on the "smash machine," she informed me she's done a previous mammogram of mine.  Based on WHEN she made the comment, I thought she had said that because she recognized my breasts as ones she's handled before!  I was kind of stunned (freaked out) UNTIL I realized, she had just looked at my history on the computer in the room and it showed all the dates and people who had performed the tests.  whew! 
But, ya know what?!?  I'm pretty good at remembering details, but I DID NOT recognize her at all, let alone recall having her as my mammogram technician in the past!  Just goes to show that I must have blocked my previous experiences due to the high level of stress/discomfort - Repressed Memory is real!  (Even though it's controversial in the psychology world!)

~Considering the state of my aching back, it was even more difficult to follow all her instructions of:
Lean in
Put your other foot forward
Look the other way
Relax your arm
Pull your stomach back out of the way
Bring your armpit down to the plate
Chin up
Hair out of the way
Hold your breath
Don't Move
Do the Hokey Pokey and turn yourself about

My back has been hurting pretty bad in a NORMAL POSITION, but it hurt even worse GETTING INTO [the correct] POSITION there!

BUT, for the actual SMASH moments for the four different images they took.....Guess What?!?.....I did not notice the pain in my back!
It was trumped by the pain in my boobs!

All it Takes is 1 Song to Bring Back 1,000 Memories

There was once a magical time, when no one knew what song they would be listening to next. We got our music from the radio.  (I still do!)  Songs are like sign posts in our memory. They point us back to particular points in our lives.  When I tune into "80's night" on the radio, within the first strain of the song, I think of, or remember, a specific time/place/person associated with that song.  And in that spirit, with a Christmas twist, I'm going to fire up FM100 this afternoon and play you the next ten songs (so to speak).  There used to be a time when this station played Christmas songs sporadically in between their regular music in December, and it was just  the 100 hours (get it?  FM100) leading up to Christmas that they played continuous Christmas songs, NOT the TWO MONTHS leading up to it.  (My pet peeve.  It's not allowed until after Thanksgiving in my home/car.)  But, I digress.  Back to my experiment: listen while I spin the Christmas hits....and I'll see what comes to mind.

1.  Angels Among Us

I first heard this song performed at a Homemaking Night I attended in my ward when I lived in North Salt Lake.  (1995-96)  A lady who lived in my same apartment complex was one of the singers, along with a bunch of kids singing with her.  I can still see them standing together on the stage.  It wasn't at Christmastime, but the message of that evening was, "THERE ARE ANGELS AMONG US" helping us, serving us, being [sometimes unknown] answers to our prayers - which is a wonderful Christmas message, too.

2.  Frosty the Snowman

This takes me back to another magical time when all the Christmas TV specials were actually on NETWORK TV (as opposed to cable).  At the beginning of the season, the TV schedule would be printed in the newspaper and we would cut it out and hang it on our fridge, underlining the "must sees" in our opinion.  Frosty the Snowman came on every year - it was one of those underlined ones we made sure to watch.

3.  Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

This has "Elementary School" written all over it.  I sang this during music time at school.  It's where I learned all the great "echos" such as:
"Like a light bulb"
"Like a flash light"
"Like Pinocchio"
"Like Monopoly"
"Ho Ho Ho"
"Yippee"
"Like Columbus"
How FUN it was to sing it with all my other classmates!

4.  Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree

I'm sitting in the multi-purpose room, as a 3rd Grader, at Valley View Elementary watching the 6th Grade Christmas program. (1978)  With Dr. Tak (pronounced "talk") at the piano, the [big, cool, head-honchos-of-the-school] 6th graders started singing this song.....AND THEN started "rockin' out" up on stage, too, while they acted out the song.  And I sit there thinking, They are SOOO cool!

5.  You Make it Feel Like Christmas by Neil Diamond

Honestly, I don't know if I've ever heard this song, but I HAVE heard Neil Diamond.  And whenever I hear ANY Neil Diamond song, I'm taken back to my childhood home.  My dad was a fan of Neil Diamond and we for sure played his cassette tapes (remember those?) on our family room stereo.  The most well-loved song of Neil's (we're on a first name basis!) has to be "America" which leads me to remember my first nephew.  Nick was just a tot - maybe 2 yrs. old - and we'd give him all these miniature American flags to hold in his hands, then turn on "America."  He would just stand there waving the flags enthusiastically the whole song through, with a smile on his face.  "Nick-a-roonie" is now 22 yrs. old.  My dad also gave me two tickets to a Neil Diamond concert after my mission - in hopes that I would invite a date, and get onto the next step in life, but I was too chicken to ask anyone out, so I took my brother, Mike.  Other songs I can't forget are, "Forever in Blue Jeans," "Heartlight," "Love on the Rocks," "September Morn," and "Sweet Caroline" which I saw him perform at a real baseball game this summer -- and it was AWESOME!!!

 6.  Sleigh Ride

I did hear this song when I was younger, but a more recent memory has taken over whenever I hear this song.  Ryan played percussion in the Jr. High band for three years (2008-11) and they would perform this song for their Christmas concert.  The percussion section worked extra hard adding all the special sound effects with their various instruments (glockenspeil, sleigh bells, xylophone, temple blocks, triangle, slap stick, timpani, snare drum).  Whenever I hear the "horse whinny" (courtesy of a solo trumpet player) and the "whip cracks" part of the song now, I think of Ryan's band group at FJH and I can see the view I saw from my seat in the venue of their performance.

7.  Have Yourself a Merry Christmas

For some reason, my oldest brother, David, sang this around the house.....not in a festive kind of way, but an "In-Your-Face, invasion-of-your-space" kind of way - just to bug us, and provoke us to start swinging punches at or shoving him.

8.  Bring a Torch, Jeanette Isabella

I think of the Kurt Bestor.  Back when I was pregnant with Haylee, my OB asked me if we had any Christmas traditions at one of my monthly appointments.  He shared with me that his family always went to the Kurt Bestor Christmas concert - and he raved about it.  From that moment on, I wanted to go, also.  It took several years, but one December, Matt informed me to "clear my schedule" one Saturday.  I didn't know what we were doing, but he arranged a babysitter for our kids, I got in the car and he just started driving me somewhere.  We ended up at Abravanal Hall in Salt Lake City for the Kurt Bestor Christmas concert -- it did NOT disappoint!  (Why my husband is awesome reason #148).  Kurt Bestor's percussion group were amazing!  During the concert, I remember thinking I hoped Ryan would continue on to that level, but then it turns out, he quit after Jr. High.

9.  Let it Snow

When I heard this song as a boy-crazy teenager (1982-1989), my daydreaming would kick in.  How could it not with lyrics that conjure up images of delightful fires, lights being turned down low, and being "stuck" inside with that special someone?!?  I would fantasize about whichever boy was on the top of my list at the moment and picture me in an actual future scene with him that involved "As long as you love me so" and "When we finally kiss goodnight" and "If you'll really hold me tight."  How romantic?  No?

10.  Up on the Housetop

Back in the day, as part of our family Christmas Eve traditions, we had a talent show.  One year (1978), my little sister, Michelle, and I made up a dance to perform to this song.  I dressed in a red leotard and we wore matching Christmas aprons and tights.  As part of our dance routine, we'd snap our fingers to the "click, click, click" part, and we'd "shimmy" on down to the "down through the chimney" part of the song.  We played the song on a RECORD PLAYER - yes, as in a vinyl record, on a turntable, and a stylus with a needle on it to run around the grooves.  (Any other "mature" adults know what I'm talking/writing about?)

I think I may have a photo in my archives......of us AND the record player......

 {Hey!  I want that red rocking chair in my home, now!}

Simple Surprises

I went on a trip last week, and I had quite the streak of Good Luck.  Or maybe more than luck - just a bunch of happy things that happened.....which left me pleasantly surprised.  They weren't HUGE events, necessarily, so I'll call them "Simple Surprises."

1. Southwest Airlines has Diet Dr. Pepper as a drink choice on their flights!
2. There are GAMES like Connect 4 and Solitaire on the treadmill - it really HELPS the workout go by faster!
3. The "mystery guest artists" at The Grand Ol' Opry didn't end up being a mystery....it turns out Mark Wills sings "19 Somethin',"  "And the Crowd Goes Wild," and "Don't laugh at Me."   And Brett Eldridge sings, "Don't Ya"...all of which I knew!
4. The operator politely called me by name when I called to ask a question!
5. The factory outlet mall was actually pretty close to our hotel (within walking distance) instead of far away like we'd thought it looked from the taxi!
6. I didn't throw up the raw oyster I ate, right out of the shell, at THIS restaurant, in the presence of 5 people who were egging encouraging me on.
7. I was ID'd - that means the "bouncer" COULDN'T TELL IF I was over 21 or not, right?!?  And it has nothing to do with it being policy or anything.....  ;)
8. The Nashville airport provided foot covers (like the ones you'd wear in open houses) for us to go through security - I always think it is gross to walk on the floor in my bare feet when I have to take off my flip flops!
9. When I got done eating my Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory apple pie flavored apple, there were moist towelettes in the bottom of the bag - just what I needed!
10. There was Dish TV access on my iPad on one of the flights I took - I finally watched several of the episodes from season 8 of The Office for the first time.  I'm only 2 years being the times!
11. My girls GOT ON (standby) a "100% booked" flight....and we're able to sit by their Dad!
12. My Jamba Juice gift card money had NOT expired even after a couple years of non-use!
13. I came upon a "test" security checkpoint, where we didn't have to take off our shoes, remove our liquids from our bag, unload our laptops, or any of the usual things except pretty much walk through - that's as EXPEDITED as security can be!

The Gift that Keeps on Giving

 And No.  I'm NOT talking about the "Jelly of the Month Club" (from Christmas Vacation).  :)

About 10 days ago, Matt & I finished our "Year of Dates".   I gave this to Matt as a gift for Christmas 2011.  I tried to think of all the things that we have always talked about doing, "We should do THAT sometime!" BUT never have.  Our "date bucket list" so to speak.

He was nice and told me it was "The Best present EVER!" (In his opinion, even better than the iPad HE gave to ME last year!) There were 12 pre-planned, [mostly] pre-paid dates in the basket, one for each month of the year. Shortly after Christmas, we sat down with our new 2012 calendar and decided all the dates and WROTE IT IN PEN (that makes if official, ya know! :) We really looked forward to it all year. Here's what we did.....

JANUARY

Utah State University Basketball Game.

We went back to our Alma Mater dressed in our Aggie fan duds for a basketball game and went to some of our old stompin' grounds: dinner at The Factory Pizzeria & ice cream at Charlie's.  (We're so sentimental.)  We were a bit disappointed that our names we had carved into one of the tables [Matt + Suz w/ a heart around it] all those years ago wasn't even detectable anymore - too many more carvings on top of it, I guess.  :(

FEBRUARY

A horse 'n' carriage ride around downtown Salt Lake City.  

It just so happened that the city was celebrating the 10 year anniversary of the SLC 2002 Olympics that night (with Mitt Romney present) so fireworks started going off while we were on our ride.....COOL!  Except, the downside to that was that it scared the horse and our driver had to turn it around and take a detour.  (but we scored a coupon for a future ride due to the unusual circumstances!)  We dined at P.F. Changs afterwards.

MARCH

A Spa Date Night

Massages, pedicures, hot wax treatments, and spa treats.

APRIL

Oquirrh Mountain Temple Session

We had never been to this temple before.  It's a cute, small one.  Then I got to experience Lamb's Grill - somewhere Matt has gone with work a lot and had talked about, saying he'd have to take me sometime, but it hadn't happened yet.  (He says it's better for breakfast than lunch.)

MAY

Brian Regan concert at Tuacahn

What an enjoyable time.  We laughed so hard!   The opening act was great, too.

JUNE

Picnic in the Park

We went to Sugarhouse Park in SLC and had Subway on a blanket and played cards -- until the breeze blew them away.  This was really relaxing and was kind of in honor of our college days when we hung out at the park quite a bit...to escape homework, roommates, or to just soak in the sun & fresh air.

JULY

Utah Shakespeare Festival in Cedar City

We had tickets to "The Merry Wives of Windsor".  We had to concentrate SO HARD to understand/translate the lines they were saying.  How many years has it been since we studied Shakespeare in school?!?  We were kinda rusty on those language skills.  ;) haha.

AUGUST

I had a date planned to go to Snowbird and ride the tram, then go hiking around.......BUT on the day we had it on the calendar was the day we were moving OUT of our old house, so we postponed it to the next weekend.....BUT on that day, we were moving IN to our new house, so we rescheduled it to the next week...BUT on that day, we were still unpacking....you get the picture.  Snowbird never happened, but the last week of August we.....

Took a trip to San Diego instead - just the 2 of us!  

That counts as a substitute August date, right?  We got to finally relax after several weeks of WORK!  We (among other things) rode in a cycle rickshaw, took in a Padres game, lots of good restaurants, and attended a "60's Party."  (can you see the "SF {heart's} MB" I wrote on the VW bug?)    :)

SEPTEMBER

Cooking School

I was the "chef's assistant" during the demo portion of the class.  The class was "Mainland Chinese" themed.  We made Spring Rolls, Egg Drop Soup, Lemongrass Chicken, and Ham-Fried Rice with Bok Choy.  It also happened to be my birthday that day, so afterwards, the chef let me keep the apron (as a gift) and then took us downstairs to the bakery and let us each pick out any dessert we wanted!  woo hoo!

OCTOBER

We went to the Draper Temple and did sealings.....

then to dinner at Kobe Restaurant.  Doesn't the sight of this Udon bowl make you feel like saying,  

"FEE-FI-FO-FUM!"?  :)  

If you ever go there, Remember this:  SUNSHINE ROLL.  yum.

NOVEMBER

A "Slumber Party" at The Eliza Court Inn....sans children, of course.

DECEMBER

Holiday POPS Concert with Paul Cardall 

Hosted by KUTV ch. 2 Newsanchors, Mark Koelbel & Shauna Lake & directed by meteorologist, Sterling Poulsen (who knew?  a man of many talents).  We wished we could've heard from Paul Cardall even more - Matt really likes his music.

And now the "Year of Dates" is over.  (boo hoo)  Don't ya think Matt should reciprocate the idea for me in 2013, now?  Christmas is in a week, I guess we'll find out then......  :)

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

From our Family to Yours.....

Since Christmas was on a Sunday this year, we went to church as part of our Christmas Day festivities. It only seems appropriate since CHRIST IS THE REASON FOR THE SEASON.

I had actually wondered if we would have a very full congregation since it would be hard for people to start, then stop the gift opening on Christmas morning to get ready and go to church. But, I walked into the chapel and it was packed with people - fuller than normal - with lots of visiting family & friends! That made me so happy right from the beginning!

AND THEN.....for the opening hymn, "JOY TO THE WORLD" had been chosen. Instead of just the organ for accompaniment as we normally have in church, another sister joined in on the piano for a duet, playing a different arrangement than is in the regular hymnal. YOU SHOULD'VE HEARD THE FIRST NOTES OF THE INTRODUCTION!!! It was so lively, robust, energetic, dynamic.....POWERFUL!!! Immediately, the Spirit of the Holy Ghost surged through my body and my eyes teared up. I doubted I'd be able to even sing when the Chorister directed us to start. But, YOU SHOULD'VE HEARD THE VOLUME THAT CAME FROM THE CONGREGATION!!! EVERYONE (and then some!) must've been singing in their fullest, most impressive voices. I'd never heard (& felt) the music just enveloping me like that in our chapel. (It gave new meaning to "Angels We Have Heard on High!") It was the most exciting and fitting way to begin our Christmas Day church services.


P.S. I can't turn off the italics for this post! (???)