A tribute to Gordon B. Hinckley

http://www.glennbeck.com/content/articles/article/200/5127/?ck=1

We are going to two funerals tomorrow. Grampa Owen (My aunt Marge's father), a great man who fought bravely with cancer, and GBH, another great man who lived to a ripe old age and never stopped working and laboring for what he believed in. They passed away on the same day. What great examples we have around us. In an age where the world seems to be falling apart around us, we tend to overlook the millions of great people who lead "simple" lives, full of faith and ethics. We will head downtown to the churchwide viewing at the Conference Center. We are going to take Trax (the train) down with the kids. I hope they will feel the love and comfort that he has brought to so many. He is the only living prophet they have known- I hope they will remember him fondly as I do the LDS prophets of my childhood.

Passing of a great man

This past weekend was a good one. Jenn and I looked at carpet and furniture. We both are very excited to do something with our dated home. It is a good house with a lot of love but blue carpet is so last century. We have big plans and have spent the last several weeks cleaning and clearing. Well Jenn has done most of the hard stuff.

Speaking of hard stuff the President of the LDS church died last night. We got the news at about 8:00pm and it hit me pretty hard. I am not an active member of the LDS church but I have always admired President Hinkley. We all know he is with his lovely wife now and was welcomed into heaven with many glad hearts.

Regardless of your religious beliefs, you must look up to a person who spent his or her life with unwavering faith. Always sticking to what they believe in. How many times would it have been easier just to say "I give up" and take the "easy road". In his 97 year life I am sure there were times that he asked "Why". he was able to turn to god or creator or what ever. President Hinkley was a great man. My hope is that people will put aside their feelings for all different faiths and will see President Hinkley for the strong, loving, caring, faithful man he was.

Anyway, work should be interesting in the coming months. I may be going back to Europe next month but I don't know for sure yet. My projects will soon be put in to high gear so my workload will very quickly be at capacity. I will keep you in the loop as things develop.

Another Spa Day

Yay! I went back to the spa to redeem my Christmas present from my sweet husband. 3 hours of pampering and relaxation- you can't beat that! If anyone can spend time at the Kura Door- I would highly recommend it. It is the neatest place. It feels like you are on vacation in the Orient. I did the Ofura Bath, Massage, and Pedicure. I still think the facial that I did a few weeks ago was the best part- but it was all heavenly. Thanks hon!

http://www.thekuradoor.com/

GO! GO! GO!

It's been a weekend of soccer games for the kids and football games on TV. We were rooting for the Packers- but, it wasn't meant to be. Watching games with my dad is always fun. We scream and yell and occasionally cuss (don't tell the kids), and it is a fun time to be together. Can't wait for the Superbowl- guess we will root for the Patriots now.

Montana had her best soccer game ever. She was in the mix the whole time, chasing the ball, blocking, kicking, and really going for it. It was so exciting. I wish she would have kicked it into gear about 10 games ago. But only one more game for the season and we will take a break. She spent three days with her friend Madyson- sleep over at her house, then ours, then ours again. They just don't get tired of each other. She even went to a family baby shower with us. I guess she is our new child. She's a good kid.

Justice bummed out of his game this week, he wasn't feeling well. Oh well. He is helping me get organized, he has started organizing cupboards and closets on his own. It is pretty funny. He will wake up and say "what are we going to clean today mom!" He is keeping me motivated. Mostly because his idea of "organizing" is just spreading things out- and whatever doesn't fit just goes in a pile on the floor. Ya gotta love it.

My cousin Aaron and his wife Misty are having their first baby. It's a boy! They are going to name it Austin. So we have two Austin's in the family now, as well as two Skyler's. It is getting a bit confusing. Mom threw a shower for Misty this past weekend and her house was completely packed with well wishers. I saw Vonnie, Jason's wife for the first time in a long time. She had a tummy tuck, lipo, and has additionally lost about 40 pounds. She looks amazing! Also her girls Rebecca and Rochelle I haven't seen for many years- I didn't even recognize them when they came in. They are all grown up and beautiful. It was so good to see them. Misty got showered with baby clothes, and all manner of baby things. They will definitely be ready for that sweet one now!

Sierra spent the day at dance on Saturday. A 5 hour practice. Poor kid- but she loves it. She has started her solo competition rehearsals as well and that is shaping up to be a fantastic routine. I don't know how so much talent got packed into one kid! Her (girl) cousin Skylar asked her to choreograph a routine for her dance studio recital. I thought that was so nice. She will do a great job and they can get to know each other better.

We had a snow storm last night and it looks like about 18 inches!! Sierra was going snowboarding today with her dad- so it looks like a perfect day for it. We were hoping to go to the children's museum downtown- but I don't know if it is a good day for driving. Maybe later today when the roads are plowed and salted. Anyhoo- happy Martin Luther King Day!

Finally

Finally the Envoy is out of the repair shop. But now Eric is so use to the little Malibu that he is thinking of trading it in for a smaller car for better gas mileage. Driving one hour to work, and one hour back takes a lot of gas. I have been trying to convince him to get a smaller car for a while- so we will see what happens.

The organization frenzy continues. We are excited about getting things in order, but it has been a lot of work. The honey do list grows by the minute. I guess that is the way it should be.

The kids seem to be on autopilot. They come and go and do their thing with little help needed from mom and dad. Except their chores. We continue to argue daily about getting them done. I know this is normal- but it drives me completely up the wall. I am trying to keep things in focus "Will this really matter in 10 years?- YES!". I don't want my kids to grow up thinking that mom does everything for them Then they move out and don't even know how to dust, vacuum, or clean a toilet. But it doesn't seem to be helping my sanity. I know I was the same way when I was a kid, and yet somehow, I grew up and knew how. I always remember my brothers famous saying "Jenn, you exaggerate so bad!". I know I do- relax already- or as the kids say nowadays "Chillax mom!"

Ciao!

The Week in Review

Hey all.

Eric is STILL waiting for his car to be finished. Apparently there was more internal damage than they previously thought. So, we are happily driving the rental car until further notice. He and George (his dad) went to the gun show yesterday. That's a topic they can talk about for hours with mutual excitement. Eric bought a new handgun, even though he just bought a new rifle for himself for Christmas. I guess a man can never have too many. I relate it to shoes for myself, that's the only way I can make sense of it. They had a great time and met up with Shaun, Steve and Skyler there. So it was a day of testosterone. Good for them.

Sierra had a busy week of dance. Tuesday she performed at the Jazz Game. It was a lot of fun and they did a great job. Her dad, Grama Judy and Grampa Fred, Eric and I, Grama Laura, Grampa Dave, and Grama Dodie all went to watch her and enjoy the game. We had fun yelling the cheers and shouting at the players and refs. After the performance she went off with her friends to enjoy the game sans adults. She had a fun time being silly and I suspect scouting for boys. It's an ongoing skill. She also went to a workshop on Thursday with Sabra , the winner from So You Think You Can Dance. She said it was really hard, and that her style was different from anything she has done before. I am glad that she can see that there is still a lot she can learn.

Tana has been hanging out with her new friend Maddy. They are pretty much inseparable. They are very cute together and we love seeing her happy and smiling. She decided to skip her soccer game yesterday as she has completely lost her love of the game. We have made her go the last couple of games, but it is painful to watch her lumbering through the game and not having any fun. She got a guitar for Christmas and she and Eric are going to take lessons together. So we will get her going on that and back in her art classes.

Justice, on the other hand, had a fantastic soccer game yesterday. He ran the whole time and was so close to scoring a goal a couple of times. He was goalie for a while and blocked 12 shots! It was so exciting.

I have been in an organizing frenzy. We are putting the Christmas away, rearranging furniture, cleaning out closets and drawers, purging the old for donation, and throwing away the really old. I've bought a gazillion container type things that will hopefully help us find a home for everything. We have also been having a moth problem in our laundry room. So we are washing clothes, walls, shelves, floors, etc- Trying to find the root of the problem. It's a fun time to be at our house. But we are making the best of it. We bought some moth ball type things that smell like lavender and have hung them in all the closets. If you have better suggestions- let me know. In the meantime- the house looks like a bomb went off- but we are focused on the end result and I know we will be glad we did it.

Glowing

I love my husband. For Christmas he gave me a days retreat at a local spa. Well I went today for a portion of it- just the facial. I will go back for the rest when my foot is stronger. It was my very first facial and I TOTALLY LOVED IT!! Anyhoo- I come home and Eric and Sierra both said "Wow you are glowing!" Justice said "Wow mom! You glow in the dark?" Then he went and turned the lights off to look at me. We had a good laugh.

Back to Normal- Sort of

Well the kids are back in school -YES!!- Eric is back to work, and I have started my new job. It is weird to be home and not running around all morning like we usually do. I will have some training to do with the new teachers that are taking over my classes- but then I am done with preschool. It is bittersweet. I will probably cry- but it will be fine. Skyler has been such a little sweetpea. He is so mellow. Nothing at all like my kids were. I am sure that won't last- but it has been an easy start.

Sierra is performing next week at the Jazz Game with her Stars team. GO STARS - GO JAZZ. So she has some rehearsals this week and next. She will even get out of school early on Tuesday for a rehearsal on the floor of the Arena (Energy Solutions) and then we will be screaming till we are hoarse at the game. We bought the "good" seats- so we hope to be as close as we have ever been. You would think I have some connections working for Larry Miller- but, no. I think we are way more excited than she is. Kids.

Thing 2 and Thing 3 (as we lovingly call them) will start soccer again this weekend. And last but not least- the Envoy should be ready to pick up tomorrow. Then all will be right with the world. I love normal.

Happy New Year

2008! Wow- it is hard to believe. It seems like we were just preparing for Y2K just a few days ago and here we are 8 years later. We have had a fantastic year and are excited about the new one. We had a very different celebration this year- everyone had to work- so the annual "fry party" at moms was held on Sunday (the 30th). Eric was sick so he couldn't come. I started my diet early so we baked everything- it just didn't have the same cachet! We did have a fun time sledding down their driveway. We had planned to go somewhere to go sledding- but the kids piled the snow into a hill and just started having too much fun-so we didn't have to go anywhere. New Years Eve I had to work. So Eric and the kids stayed home and watched movies, baked lots of fattening yummies. They called me at midnight for the countdown, then they they went outside with their noise makers and confetti/fireworks. Then they had the traditional apple cider in the champagne glasses. They love that. It sounded like fun. Justice fell asleep too early for the celebration, what a party pooper! Happy New Year to you all.