Coin Quilt Finished

One major perk of road trips when you don't have to drive: you get to finish hand-stitching the binding of a quilt, which is the last step before completing it.

Quickie Trip to Boise

This past weekend, my niece (Jen) and nephew (Spencer) and I took a quickie trip to Boise to go to the Boise Temple Open House. They recently renovated it and so it's having an open house before the church rededicates it on November 18. The weekend ended up being a very busy weekend since Jill and Mike decided this would be a good time for Spencer to receive his endowments in the temple. So Jen, Spence, and I drove up to Twin Falls Friday afternoon where we met Jill, Mike, Mom, and Wayne and Marsha. We all went to dinner at Sizzler beforehand and then Jen left to finish the drive to Boise when we went to the temple. It was a wonderful experience, of course, to be there with Spencer and everyone else.

Then on Saturday, I did some homework in the morning while Mom helped out at a funeral for one of her ward members. Then we met up with Jill and Mike and family to go to the Boise Temple open house. The open house was wonderful and beautiful. Mom and I were dressed in blue jeans while Jill and Mike and family were in Sunday best! We laughed that Mom and I would be their "investigators". Ha ha! While there, I ran into Barbara Dopp who was the wife of a bishop of mine and my seminary teacher from high school. It was so fun to see her and catch up. And then I ran into Sandy Embry, an old young women's leader of mine! She was so darling - hugging me and asking me what I've been up to. She also offered to set me up with some guy she knows that is moving to Utah. She got my phone number and email address ... so we'll see if anything comes of it.

I went to Mom's ward on Sunday, and her ward had a primary program in Sacrament! I so loved it. Afterward we met up with Jill and Mike and family again because Parker was receiving his Patriarchal Blessing and invited us to come along. It was such a great weekend.

First Snowfall in the Valley!

Outside my house. 

Looking out my office window. 

Houston, You've Got My Sister

This past summer, my sister, Joni, and her family moved to Houston and I promptly bought my plane ticket to come visit them this month. I flew in on Thursday night and they took me to their favorite restaurant for dinner, which was very yummy.  When they picked me up at the airport, Ethan was all decked out in his cowboy boots and plaid western shirt, which is apparently his normal attire now! He offered to carry my backpack like a true gentleman, but I had to laugh when I saw that he was carrying it in his hand by the handle and not slung over his shoulder. That's when Joni laughed and informed me that my backpack was too girly for him to carry normally. Ha ha! Ethan has definitely become a man's man or maybe more aptly a firearm's man as you will see below.

Friday morning, Joni and I sat around and talked for hours: catching up, decompressing, and all that good sisterly conversation stuff. Then we jumped up and went shopping. She was so excited to help me pick out and buy my outfit for the New Year's Eve Gala that I'm going to this year. We found a turquoisey lace shirt with sequins on it, a matching necklace, and these awesome glittery heels. You'll have to wait until New Year's Eve to see my full outfit.

Then that night Adam and Ethan took Joni and I to the gun range in Katy - where they used to live 15 years ago! We bought the most hideous zombie and hogzilla targets, and Joni showed us how it was done with the 357 revolver by hitting the zombie in the head repeatedly. The range worker told Adam he had better watch his back with her in the house! :) I shot the 357 too, as well as the 9 mm, but only a couple of times. I've decided I'm content to let the menfolk shoot the big, loud, kicking guns. Give me a field, some clay pigeons, and a 22 and I'll play along a little longer. But it was fun to see Adam and Ethan having such a ball.

Saturday, we all packed up and went to the Natural Bridge Caverns near San Antonio and toured them. They were really cool! And it was really hot - although not as hot as it could be for sure. The weather was supposedly pretty decent while I was there: 80s and humid. But it was hot to me! Then after that, Ethan and I went on the zip line outside of the caverns. We wrapped up the day by going to Cabela's. The guys checked out the guns and cross-bows while Joni and I roamed around the home decor, clothes, and candy. :)

Sunday was church, a nap, a video tour of their house, family home evening brought to you by me, and a very adventurous trip to the wildlife reserve. We waited until dusk to go check out the reserve thinking we might see animals - and we did! As soon as we crossed the bridge, we saw an armadillo cross the sidewalk and start digging into the ground. Ethan, and even Joni, took off running to get a closer look at it before it disappeared into the bushes. So I took off running too all while trying to follow Adam's mandate of keeping the flashlight on it so it will be paralyzed by the light. We got up within a few feet of it and just as I was about to take its picture, it jumped into the bushes. :( It was so cool and cute! Then we continued our walk for a while without flashlights and all the while it was getting creepier by the minute because I had visions of hogzilla (a wild hog as big as one ton) chasing after me or me stepping on a fire ant hill since we were on a dirt-packed path by then. We finally turned around and when we did, we think we saw a coyote on the path ahead of us, but we weren't sure since we only saw its eyes in the reflection of the flashlight.

On Monday, Joni and I went to Galveston and did a little shopping and went to the beach. Joni found the cutest little tea towels that had "Sisters make the best friends" stitched on them. She got one for all of us sisters since, truly, all of us are best friends. Then the beach was awesome! We basically had it all to ourselves since there was only one other family on it. The air and water temperatures were perfect! Not too hot and not at all cold. I never got goose bumps - even when wet and out of the water. I tried out Ethan's skim board - unsuccessfully. And Joni and I body-surfed or boogie boarded in the waves. It was such a pleasure to be there and just enjoy each other's company and not have to worry about anyone else being there and feeling self-conscious of what we look like in our swimsuits. Then that night was another adventure: Joni cooked up some of their alligator for me and the guys for dinner!! It was quite delicious! She cooked it up like chicken nuggets.

Overall, the weekend was lovely. I love visiting Joni and Adam!!

Time to Go Private

I've kept this blog open for ease of access, however, I think it is time to go private .... as in require my readers to enter a password in order to read my blog. The purpose of my blog is to chronicle my life .... kind of like a journal or personal history - for my friends and family and for my future posterity. I struggle to do that and keep my anonymity in order to ensure my safety. And apparently I have some readers from Russia and I don't know who they are. So, I've decided to go private on October 24.

Here is the good news: For those of you that follow my blog and I know you, please leave a comment, email me, or send me a Facebook message. Be sure to leave your email address so I can add you to my list of readers. For those few of you that receive my blog posts via email, you don't need to do anything - you'll continue to receive my blog posts via email.

Cheers!

A New Kitchen Faucet

It's kind of funny to me that the builders that built my condo gave it so many upgrades (granite countertops, knotty Alder cupboards, tile floors, 9-foot ceilings, brushed-nickel hardware) but then put in the cheapest chrome faucets they could find. Good grief. My kitchen faucet has been leaking a little and to shut it off you had to put the handle in just exactly the right spot. So I enlisted Mom's help while she was in town to pick out a new one and I installed it this weekend! I think I really like it. It just feels a little big for my shallow sink and in comparison to my old one, but I think I'll get used to it. It was a bit of an adventure to install it since I have a water filter system at my kitchen sink.... I still have to do a little bit more work to get my water filter system working again, but at least I have a working faucet. And... while removing my old one, I kind of destroyed it because of corroded nuts and screws and it being very cheap - so I was committed to installing my new one. There was no turning back! What do you think?

The old faucet

The new faucet close up

The new faucet, further away

Two More Nephews Married

These last two weekends have been filled with family, weddings, receptions, food, and traveling. They've been wonderful! First was Nick and Sierrah's dinner and s'mores bar open house in Teri's backyard in Logan. It was so fun. Spencer and I came up early to go mountain biking up Green Canyon. He was a riot: he was full on squeaking like a deacon because he was having so much fun. We had a blast. Robyn, Jill and Mike and their kids, Mom, and I went to the Willow Park zoo to pass the time until the dinner and to keep out of Teri's hair until she was ready. But we had too much fun because we ended up being a bit late for the dinner! Mom didn't have the primp time she needed and she swears it shows in the pictures - of how bad her hair looks. But honestly, I can't tell the difference when she's having a "bad hair day".

The next morning was the Brigham City Temple dedication that Mom, Jill and Mike and their kids, and I attended. It was wonderful. And while there, I got another strong impression that I need to get Great-Grandma Brooks and her husband, Johnny Butler, sealed and soon!  I was balling terribly as I told Jill about it.

Then came Adam and Whitney's marriage in the Salt Lake Temple and a reception afterwards in Lindon. Robyn, Mom, and I went to dinner at Em's in Salt Lake City behind the conference center and it was quite yummy! And a fun atmosphere. We did that while Jill and Mike were still driving down from Idaho and while Joni and Adam were at dinner with the bride's family. But after that was a grand reunion and a late night of talking and laughing. But the morning came quickly and we had to be at the temple early for Adam and Whitney's sealing ceremony. After the ceremony, we waited outside on the temple grounds for Adam and Whitney to come out. We were laughing how we were Team Coral (since that was one of the colors) and that Team Purple, from another wedding party, had crowded in front of us - but rightfully so. Their married couple came up first.

Then we all drove down to Lindon for the reception that followed. They had a nice lunch, but I think the bacon-wrapped steak pieces were my undoing because I started feeling gross pretty quick after the reception and ended up getting really sick that night and the next day. Joni even took a picture of me feeling gross in my bed the next morning! Mom had to drive my car and the both of us back to Springville after everyone had left. That's how sick I was. Yuck. But the reception was lovely. We were all pleasantly surprised by the appearance of Uncle Earl and Aunt Sterla! It was such a pleasure to see them and visit with them for the few minutes they were there.

Afterwards, all of us partied after the reception by going to Snowbird's Oktoberfest. Most of us rode up the tram to the top of Hidden Peak, took pictures, and watched the Hansen boys run all over the mountain. It was a shame we didn't get a sisters picture when all of us were together!