"You Are The Reason" - Prom 2018

This weekend, our girlie had her last High School Prom.
She graduates in just 2 weeks!

They had so much fun!

Their group was at our house for a little bit of the day date 

and you could hear the laughter come rolling up the stairs. 

How I love that sound!!! 

=D

How grateful we are 

that the twigs have had 

such hard-working, fun-loving, kind, 

good friends through High School!

“Walk with the dreamers, the believers, the courageous, the cheerful, 

the planners, the doers, the successful people 

with their heads in the clouds 

and their feet on the ground.” 

-Wilfred Peterson

“Surround yourself with people who have 

dreams, desire, and ambition; 

they’ll help you push for, and realize your own.” 

-Anonymous

"Add to brotherly kindness charity,"

-2 Peter 1:7

When Bison are on the trail...

Friday night, after work, 

we had just enough time before sunset 

to enjoy a little hike on Antelope Island. 

We weren't far down the trail when we saw this guy. 

We hoped he'd head up hill 

but he was liking the trail 

so we 

 bushwhacked down to the lake. 

Suddenly, Rascal's ears shot up 

and he whirled around toward the Bison. 

All we can figure is he must have caught the Bison's scent 

in the air. 

He took some persuading to forget about that big guy.

Skipping stones in the lake did the trick!

He was ready to go right in after them!

Man am I ever grateful for these sweet people 

who will go on rambles out yonder with me.

Do you do Dabke?

Our girlie is taking an Intro to Dance 1010

class this semester and that tickles me because
 she might ask me to attend some dance performances with her!

I got lucky this weekend as she asked me to go with her to 

the Repertory Dance Theatre performance of Dabke.

The music was an interesting Middle Eastern Folk and Arab Pop blend 

and was my favorite part of the evening.

Our girlie is the dancer in the family so she could appreciate

the modern dance more than I could. 

A side note - it's been many years

 since we've paid for parking in a SLC lot 

and they've made the best changes

 with these handy dandy little machines! 

They're genius!

"Everything in the universe has a rhythm, everything dances."

-Maya Angelou

Spring break in the nighttime...

This week was the twigs' spring break from school. 

Zac needed to work so we couldn't go south to our beloved redrock.

We decided to make the best of it and play in the evenings.

(photo credit - Jason Carlton) 

We went to the temple 

(all except our poor Paul who had phlebitis 

and was stuck on the couch at home with his leg elevated). 

I went in to do initiatory work 

while the twigs and Meg'n went to do baptisms and confirmations. 

When I came out they looked surprisingly dry...

yup, the baptistry was super packed 

so they hadn't been able to get in. Oops! 

Another night, Paul and I were going to the Layton High School production 

of the Wizard of Oz for the Stake Single Adult group activity 

so we got tickets for the twigs and Meg'n to come along. 

It was a treat to see so many kids we know perform!

In between these activities, 

there was some board game playing and video watching. 

Another evening, our local missionaries came by for a visit.

Sister Christensen is an artist 

and painted this beautiful picture 

that they've made into a card with Elder Eyring's great quote. 

The week's activities ended with 4 hours of laser tag 

and some very sore thighs haha!

We'd like to do it all again tomorrow! 

So grateful for this precious little family.

<3

Easter tradition...

A few days ago we got this facebook message 

from our missionary and his companion.

We've loved this Easter tradition in our family

but we can't remember who we got it from.

Was it Darla or Stephanie?

Thanks, whoever you are!

<3

Like Hunter often says,

we all need Jesus. 

Happy Easter

"He is not here: for he is risen"

"Havana nights" dance...

These fun High School kids 

had a great time together 
at their day date, 

yummy dinner

(Thanks, David, for the pictures above!  =D)

and "Havana Nights" Dance!

"Show us your smolder, guys!"

Such amazing and totally on the ball kids!

For three of them, it's their Senior year.

They'll soon be off to college

and on missions

with lots of great memories
of these years.

"We'll be Friends Forever, won't we, Pooh?' asked Piglet.

Even longer,' Pooh answered.” 

-Winnie-the-Pooh" 

They've shared lots of great times together

and have a future

as bright as the sun!

Dr. Seuss says it so well! 

"And will you succeed?

Yes! You will, indeed!

(98 and 3/4 percent guaranteed.)

KID, YOU'LL MOVE MOUNTAINS!

Dr. Seuss and Valentines...

Two things combined this week that were lots of fun.

Valentines Day and Dr. Seuss!

Sheila was asked by her friend 

to make a Dr. Seuss picture for an upcoming Young Women's Activity.

She whipped this up in less than 2 hours.

The girl is amazing!!

This was pretty amazing too!

On Valentines Day, our sweet girlie got up early 

and decorated for us all.

Then she made yummy 

heart-shaped french toast for everyone to boot!

Which all reminds me of some great Dr. Seuss quotes....

“To the world you may be one person; 

but to one person you may be the world.”   

- Dr. Seuss

“Today I shall behave, as if this is the day I will be remembered.” 

-Dr. Seuss

Our girlie and her brother Zac 

have been working on living that last quote. 

Every day or two another cute saying appears 

on Zac's wall above his light switch....

After a while, these hearts all appeared in her room. 

It's not always sunshine and roses at our house

but I'm grateful that these dear people

are working on being more Christlike.

A facebook stranger, little boys, a policeman, and have you ever tried a frosted lemonade?

What do you think a facebook stranger, 

little boys playing on the sidewalk, 

a policeman, 

and frosted lemonade have in common?

This!

It started with a facebook stranger in New Hampshire 

who messaged us that he had our son's wallet. 

The message just popped up and I only caught a glimpse of it right then. 

To be honest, I thought, that's weird, 

I don't have a son in New Hampshire - 

haha - umm - oh yah, actually I do!

The next day, when I thought about it again 

the message was gone 

but we got this in an email from Hunter 

on his mission in New Hampshire.

"I lost my wallet and someone returned it! 

I'd had $65 cash in it, because they encourage us to carry cash, 

which was stolen. :( 

That was a pretty big bummer, 

but I guess I'll just try to save up again! 

And hey, at least they left the change! ;)"

We're sure grateful a kind facebook stranger 

took the time to pick up the wallet 

and go out of his way to get it back to Hunter!

A few weeks later, a policeman knocked on our door. 

He had a brown paper bag and asked for Zac. 

Two little boys had been on the sidewalk near 

where Zac had been playing basketball the night before. 

They found Zac's wallet laying in the road 

and flagged down a passing policeman 

who kindly returned the wallet. 

We're so grateful for those boys and that policeman!

If you've tried a frosted lemonade, 

chances are you've been to Chick-fil-a 

which is where our girlie forgot her wallet just last week.

We're so grateful nothing was missing!

David A. Bednar calls these "tender mercies."

He says "the Lord's tender mercies 

do not occur randomly or merely by coincidence...

frequently the Lord's timing helps us to recognize them. 

We should not underestimate or overlook 

the power of the Lord's tender mercies."

I'm afraid we've been keeping 

our guardian angels hopping lately. 

Hope we can give them a little rest for a while. ;)

Love this picture that says it all!!!!