Thanksgiving Travelblog

This is truly going to be a travelblog. Just a warning...there are SO many pictures.

I had to start with a picture of the good ol' reliable suburban. She's 11 years old but still taking care of us. We had planned to take the van, but at the last minute we felt we should take her. It was a good choice because we used the four wheel drive several times on the snowy roads.

We began our week by driving after sacrament meeting on Sunday. As we drove into St. George, there was a traffic alert sign that said the I-15 was closed at Beaver due to weather. Beaver was still 100+ miles away and we wanted to cover as much road as possible. We had to make a decision whether to chance it and try to keep going as planned all the way to Provo, or play it safe and stop for the night in Cedar City. After talking to some other drivers who had come BACK from Beaver after waiting on the highway for two hours, we decided it would be best to stop. The weather had passed, but apparently there were several accidents and the road was closed as they worked to clear them. We had a fun time hunkering down in the hotel while watching a movie. And then breakfast is always fun with all the hotel food choices.

We arrived in Provo by noon on Monday, just in time to meet up with Caitlin on campus. After grocery shopping and errands, we headed up to Park City. Billy had to work, go to class, and take a test, so we didn't get to have him with us on Monday.

This is the view from the window from our condo, as we watched the impending storm arrive.

Jayce had the right idea...sitting in front of the fireplace while we were making hot chocolate!

Tuesday morning felt like the beginning of a real vacation as I snuggled with Jayce in his bed! There is nothing better than seeing his little face in the morning!

We went down to Provo on Tuesday to go to Costco for Thanksgiving groceries, do a little mall shopping with Caitlin, and to buy tire chains at Walmart. Billy got off work early and because of the coming storm, the BYU campus was closed and his test was postponed. So we got to take Billy and Caitlin up to Park City with us. The weather was getting worse as we got closer to Park City and the drive was a little treacherous. We were grateful we had the suburban and we got back to the hotel safely.

Wednesday was Steven and Katie's sealing in the Oquirrh Mountain temple. It was super cold, like 10 degrees, and we were grateful to have an uneventful drive down from Park City. The temple was actually closed except for two sealings. And it couldn't have been sweeter. The sealer said there was nowhere he'd rather be, and nothing he'd rather be doing than to be in the temple with them. He said this is the purpose of life, to join two people as they begin their life together. As I looked around the room, I felt such a love for my family. And I was especially grateful to have Billy and Caitlin there with us.

Billy and Caitlin waiting for Steven and Katie to emerge.

Love this picture of Katie and her dad.

Ken & Di hugging the newlyweds. We headed over to the reception home. It was absolutely beautiful.

A perfect setting for pictures. What a beautiful couple :).Here is Ken and then Dad speaking after the lunch. I love my family :). (Please note Bekah Morton, Ken & Di's wonderful friend from Sugarland, beautifying the cake table. She did ALL the flowers.)

The boys tolerated the day...luckily there was a basement room with video games.

Happy happy day for the Barrow family. Love them!

All the Barrow cousins that could make it to the wedding. What great kids!!My mom and three of her siblings, Uncle Martin, Aunt Linda, and Aunt Ann. It was fun to have them together them all in one place.

Cutting the cake! Those Magleby's cakes are so yummy!

Steven and Katie's big send off!

On the drive back to Park City, the thermometer in the car read -5, but it got even lower to -11!

On Thursday morning we got up super early and drove down to Provo to run in an "Earn Your Turkey" fun run. I think it was 7 degrees when we were running, and not particularly "fun". That was the coldest weather I have ever run in and it was hard. We bundled up the best we could. It was fun to do it all together though!

Diane pinning on Ben's race bib.

Ken and KenzieMark and Derek

The representatives from the Sutherland and Barnes families.Ken and Nikki. She was slated to win the race...but...you'll have to ask her. It's a funny story :).

We were quite the formidable force, all braving the cold!After the race we went over to Bill and Cait's for breakfast. Muffins, bagels, sweet rolls, hot chocolate, juice, and milk. Yummy!

On our drive back up to Park City, we stopped to take pictures of the beautiful trees with frost on them.

We joined John and Barbara's family for Thanksgiving dinner at their Park City house.

Jayce and Johnny playin in the bathtub after dinner.

On Friday, Mark and I took a walk in Park City. These icicles were amazing!This is where we were staying.

The downtown area was so fun! The art galleries were my favorite. I wish we would've had time to go inside some of them. On Friday night we went to Salt Lake to see the play "The Savior of the World". It was in a small theater inside the Conference Center. We wanted to walk around temple square afterward, but decided it was too late and too cold. Besides, we had pie waiting for us back at the condo! On the drive back, I loved how we discussed the play, the scriptures, and the way the Savior's birth and life were portrayed.

On Saturday morning it was time to head for home, but Cody and Jayce had other ideas.

After tons of traffic and a grueling drive, we decided to stop at Chick-Fil-A for dinner in Rancho Cucamonga. The bad news was we still had 100 miles to go. (Notice Mark had to try ALL of the dipping sauces :).)

Well, that's it. We had looked forward to this week for months, and it was everything we hoped it would be. We enjoyed some down time, the wedding was wonderful, Thanksgiving was family-filled, and we got to spend fun time with Caitlin and Billy. I have much to be grateful for!

Gratitude

This week I've been reflecting on all the things I'm grateful for. More than anything, right now I'm grateful for my children who are building their lives. I was reveling in that, actually, when Dallin called. Every time I talk to him, I realize it could be the last time I ever do, because of the lifestyle he is choosing to live. I have had the gift of sweet spiritual confirmations that everything will be alright, that God is aware and He has a plan. I know that God knows the end from the beginning, so I trust. But sometimes it gets hard to not know how it's going to work out. And so, I plead in my heart for strength and patience to wait.

In general conference President Monson said, "Sincerely giving thanks not only helps us recognize our blessings, but it also unlocks the doors of heaven and helps us feel God's love." I need to feel God's love more than ever to soften this ache I feel inside.

Cody's Birthday Week!

The missionaries came over for dinner on Thursday, and they always bring something new and interesting. These first two pictures are the boys using a thin pencil lead to make these laser type images. The missionaries said they learned it in the MTC when they were playing with their digital cameras. The boys thought it was very cool!

Now on to the birthday week...Cody had planned multiple days of activities. He informed me that his friend Keanan had never seen the Bourne movies. Cody felt Keanan needed to enjoy all three of them, so they planned to watch one on Wednesday night, one on Thursday night, and one on Friday night. And that's just what they did.

Keanan made it super fun by bringing a present (or presents) every time he came. And they each came with a little poem:

On the first day of Cody's birthday

Keanan gave to him...

A bunch of stinkin' candy

That will not keep him trim!

On the second day of Cody's birthday

Keanan gave to him

One box of popcorn

Seasoning for the top

Lots of birthday wishes

And a jug of soda pop!

On the last day of Cody's birthday

Keanan's gift was this...

Many Happy Birthdays

And A little something

To bring a little bliss...

(it was an itunes gift card :))

Cody asked Keanan how long it took him to come up with all the rhymes. Keanan said, "No time at all...my mom did them all!" What a cute mom! Thanks Keanan and Sarah!

And then, of course, was Cody's request that we go to Pump It Up, where they have tons of jumpy things. Here are the boys posing for a quick picture. Yes, I crawled in there to get the picture. I'll never be the same!

Cody's real birthday (today) began with a waffle breakfast with homemade syrup! (Recipe to follow, Jess :).)

Syrup

2 c. sugar

1 c. water

1/3 c. karo syrup

boil til clear, then add

1/2 t. maple flavoring

Here is the STACK of presents! We had fun with this. One of the boxes contained slippers. The second box had only a gift card in it... Oh, Pennie helping with the paper...

And the big box was actually three wrapped presents in one. Please notice that Pennie is ALWAYS in the middle of unwrapping! Box one...

Box two...

Box three... And Cody's dream come true! An Ipod Touch!! (I'm so bummed the picture was blurry! Too much excitement!) Followed by the traditional cake, singing, and...

blowing out the candles!!! Happy Birthday, Cody!!

Family Funnies

"Today is gone. Today was fun.

Tomorrow is another one.

Every day, from here to there,

funny things are everywhere."

Dr. Seuss

I imagine every household has funny things. It just seems we have more than our share. There are lots of things to laugh about at our house.

This first picture is Pennie and her bowl. Several times a day she brings me her bowl. Wherever I am in the house, she will carry it in her mouth and drop it at my feet, signifying she'd like to be fed. She only needs food twice a day, so this gets a little annoying, but we think it is pretty cute and funny. This is Pennie's "perch". She can see all around her "kingdom" from up here, both outside and inside. A few years ago we had this chair reupholstered and the change threw her for a loop for several months because the pillow was stiffer and she couldn't get up on top. But she eventually figured it out and she perches there several times a day.

I don't know exactly how this came to be, but Jayce is terrified of flushing the toilet. Well, I kind of know what happened, but I didn't know it would have such an effect on him. Over the last couple of months our downstairs toilet has overflowed a couple of times, sending all of us scurrying to stop the overflow while grabbing for towels. At the time, it may have seemed overly stressful. Since the overflows, Jayce won't flush. He comes to get me and insists that I come in the bathroom and flush it for him, but we must have a plunger nearby, just in case. One day a couple weeks ago he came home from school and said he had needed to use the bathroom all day, but wouldn't because he was afraid he'd have to flush. This was a problem. So, the next day I went with him into the school bathroom to have him face his fear. Phew, now he'll go to the bathroom at school. But he still won't flush at home. He still comes to get me. This is Dakota, Jayce's fish. He got it for his birthday from his friend Meghan. Dakota is the most interesting fish we've ever had. Most fish are not interactive in any way. Well, Dakota is. When you put your hand near the glass, he comes and swims right next to it, as if we were petting him. I now talk to the fish and Cody thinks it's weird. Well, it is, but the fish likes it.

My boys are creatures of habit, especially Derek. He gets up in the morning at exactly 5:41 a.m. He has every school morning for the last four years. Since Cody gets up for seminary now, Cody had to work around this schedule. So, Cody gets up at 5:30, to be done with his shower by 5:41. Since Cody has a few extra minutes to wait for Derek, he goes downstairs and snuggles on the couch with a blanket until they leave for seminary at exactly 5:53 a.m. Every day. And the picture below depicts what happens from 7:05-7:20 every morning. Derek has to read the sports section while eating Frosted Flakes, and Cody reads the comics while eating his cereal (which varies). Derek also has taken the same exact brown bag lunch every day for the past four years (probably longer than that). PB&J, chips, an apple, a gatorade, and a kit kat bar. He's a funny kid, but his stubborness has mostly served him well.

So, there you go. These are just some of the funny things that go on around here. And I wouldn't change any of them (okay, maybe one or two). I wonder if anyone else has these types of things in their family.... I'm sure Dr. Seuss did, and he could write funny rhymes about it. I'll have to work on that....

Quick trip to Arizona!

Mark and I just got back from a quick weekend trip to Arizona. We had the wonderful honor of attending Taylor and Chelsea's sealing in the Mesa Temple. It was a very busy day at the temple. It was way busier than I expected it to be in November.

It was also pretty hot (for us). This is some of us huddled in the shade. I think it was in the high 80's, but my wimpy San Diego body thought is was HOT. So, we grabbed some shade while waiting for the bride and groom to emerge.

And, oh, it was worth the wait. Chelsea is so beautiful and they both looked so, so happy. The sealing was so sweet. After the sealing, I sat down and wrote down notes because I didn't want to forget the counsel the Sealer gave to them. It really applies to all of us. One of the things he said was as we keep our temple covenants we will be better people, and better husbands and wives. He also said as beautiful as they look today, they will look even more beautiful to each other by returning to the temple often, and applying the learning they (and we) recieve there.

After the temple, we all were hungry (and couldn't wait to get out of the heat). We all went to a place called Jason's Deli. It was super yum! (I discovered the Phoenix area has super good restaurant choices. We ate at Abuelo's later :)) It was fun to visit with Chuck, Jean, Bill, and Katie.

I asked Ben and Shar to pose for a picture. They are so dang cute!!

After a quick trip to the mall, we headed over to the reception. They chose a darling carnival theme. This was the cake table - cute!!!

My favorite shot of the night! I am so happy for Taylor!

Cross Country is Coming to an End

This week is Derek's last week to run on the cross country team. It's been a great four years. These are pictures from last week's race.

On Westview's team, the races always begin like this: And all the runners chant, really loud, "HARD WORK, PAYS OFF", several times. It's gets them all pumped and ready to run. (It actually gets me pretty pumped, too!)

Coach Colson is an amazing coach and we are grateful for our association with him for the past four years.

But, for Derek, running has been mostly a lonely sport. He picks his pace...and simply runs. The pack is usually pretty far ahead, but that doesn't bother him, he just runs.

And runs...

We're pretty darn proud of him sticking with it and running all four years of high school. He is a dedicated young man.

Hills are hard...just like in life.

And he has prepared himself well. No matter how hard it got, he just kept running. Congrats, Derek, on a great four years of running, but more than that, on showing all of us how not to quit.