Kipper the dog...

When the twigs were just little sprouts, their pleas for a new family member were finally entertained. We searched the dog pound and rescue shelters till we found just the right guy, then we brought him home and named him "Kipper" after the cartoon "Kipper the Dog."

Kipper the Dog Theme Song

He was a crazy guy for the first couple years and could hardly contain himself if we pet him, he just had to shake it all off the second we were done. He grew to tolerate us and our affectionate ways, then he grew to love us.
And oh, how we loved him!

He also loved cats, chasing cats! He didn't know what to do with them once he got close so he'd just stand there and wait for them to start running again so he could chase them again. haha

He was always up for some garbage...

...and a friend...

...and a ramble out yonder.

...and a ride back to the car when slickrock made his feet hurt.

Our buddy, Kipper, got terribly sick last week and on Saturday morning left us to go chase cats in that big field in the sky.

Do you think dogs go to heaven?

They must 'cause it wouldn't be heaven without them.

We love you Kipper!!!

She is glorious...

We rarely get to the movies so I don't know when we'll see this one but boy howdy do I love this cover of the song Glorious! Have you seen it yet?

I love the way he sings this song AND I love the message because I totally believe it's true. I see it in the awesome people I work with, my neighbors, my kids teachers, our friends & family, and even drivers on my commute to work.
 

I saw it in my first college roommate. I was assigned a dorm room and when I got there the girl in the room had designated the entire closet, desk, shelf, window, doorway, and "air" in the room to be hers! My mom saw the fear on my face and she mentioned a friendly brunette girl named Laurie I'd waved to in the court yard, a friend of my cousins', and said maybe I could switch and room with her? We made tracks and I mean FAST to Laurie's room. Her roommate hadn't showed up yet so Laurie, mom, and I took off for the RA's office to ask for a switch. The RA said yes we could make the change (I've wondered if mom slipped her a few bucks haha) and quick as a rabbit we had my stuff out of that first dorm room and in with Laurie. I always felt a little bad for the poor girl that ended up in that first dorm room with the "air" girl.

Laurie must have had three hearts cause she was totally full of love. She ended up marrying one of my cousins (she always thought he was so cute) and lately has been writing me about our oldest twig, Zac, on his mission. She's been so supportive and helpful, totally glorious!

My brother and sister-in-law called Monday night to let me know Laurie had passed away suddenly Saturday night. I can't stop the flood of tears...for her...for her family...for her missionary who just left on his mission less than two months ago.

If you get the chance will you please include Laurie's family in your prayers?

Thank you for being glorious.    xoxo

Shine the light...

The twigs had the opportunity of a life time this summer to participate in the cultural celebration called "Shine the Light" and the open house of a Holy Temple of God.

At the "Shine the Light" Cultural Celebration they sang and performed with 16,000 youth from Utah and Wyoming. I keep hoping the songs will show up on the Internet but so far no luck. Fingers crossed 'cause they were fantastic!!!!

There were only so many seats available in the Dee Events Center so youth and the people who drove them to the facility got to be seated inside. The celebration was then broadcast to hundreds of Stake Centers throughout Utah and Wyoming for everyone else to enjoy.
(Never been more happy to be a driver!)

At the Open House, the twigs put booties on people's feet as they entered the temple and cleaned wheelchairs for use by the next visitors to the temple in need of some wheels.

We also got to go through the temple ourselves. These pictures are from the LDS Church and they're beautiful, the temple is beautiful, but it's not about the magnificent architecture or the exquisite furnishings.

It's all about God the Father and Jesus Christ. It's about being Their child and following Their examples. Like following Christ's example of being baptized by immersion, like He was baptized in the River Jordan. Love these murals of that place!

 It's about Their love and Their sweet peace and Their work.

We're excited to do Their work in this temple.     :)

I'm grateful for all of YOU who "Shine the Light" of Christ in the way you live and love!       :)

Ramble out yonder...

A friend posted a note (thanks Deena!) on facebook about a pretty little hike she and her family loved and it was close by so one night when the twigs were working an overnighter at Camp Kiesel, the Mr. and I took the dog and headed out to partake.   :)

It's the Green Pond hike by Snowbasin. Our friend was so right - it's beautiful!! The first chance we got we took the twigs and went again.

No dog this time as the "pretty little hike" is also a totally popular single track bike trail and the dog was completely put off that he should have to, at any instant and in many instances, bail off the trail into the bushes to avoid getting bike tracks up his back!

Another hike another day for him. That's okay because as much as he loves hikes and all the fascinating smells they bestow for his pleasure, he loves sun puddles just as much.

Our girlie loved the hike too! In fact she says it's her favorite hike ever in Utah! We've done a lot of hiking in Utah so that's saying something. One thing it says is that as much as the Mr. and I love slickrock, she, like her oldest bro, prefers green trees and water. It's all good!    :)

 

We enjoyed the beautiful fall colors...

...and skipped stones...

but mostly enjoyed being together.

The interesting fellow, Edward Abbey, wrote..."While you can. While it's still here...get out there...ramble out yonder and explore the forests, climb the mountains, bag the peaks, run the rivers, breathe deep of that yet sweet and lucid air, sit quietly for a while and contemplate the precious stillness, the lovely, mysterious, and awesome space."

Come stop by and let's go for a "ramble out yonder."    :)

At least six pair of ears...

My mom was never a "you shoulda'...you oughta" kind of mom, never saying you oughta' do this or you shoulda' done that. It boggles my mind how a person, let alone a MOM, could be so accepting and nonjudgmental.

It wasn't that she was unattached or disinterested. The woman was totally engaged and had at least 6 pair of ears. She was a listener!

She remembered every word I ever said. I could mention a college roommate's name years after I'd graduated college and she'd bring up where their parents lived and the name of their dog!

When the Mr. and I learned we were going to have a baby girl, that beautiful little blue-eyed Mom of mine asked what we were going to name our girlie. We excitedly told her our short list, Madison...Lauren...Sarah...which were good names and had links to ancestors but mom was quiet for just a minute and then in a gentle, soft voice said "You should name her Emily."

The Mr. and I about fell right off our chairs. Mom just said..."you SHOULD"! We were speechless, wide-eyed and in shock when we nodded our heads and said "okay".

Mom's grandmother had been named Emily. My mom was born after her grandmother died and never knew her. I don't know why Mom felt so strongly about the name but I believe there are ties that bind families together, real ties, eternal ties, important ties that I don't understand but I feel their importance in the center of my being.

My mom named our one and only little girl and she named her Emily. Then just to put the icing on the cake, Emily was born on Mom's birthday.    :)

Today is their birthday! Happy birthday girls!! We love you and are blessed by your sweetness.    :) xoxo

The little birdhouse by the garden...

We had chicks last May in the little birdhouse by the garden here.  Just after the two hatchlings flew away it appeared the parents laid more eggs and indeed they had. A few weeks later we saw these bright yellow beaks peaking out the tiny opening of the birdhouse.

The parents were just as stellar this time at tending to the incessant cheeping for food.

 

Then, faster than a prairie fire with a tail wind, they were flying through the trees, eating our juicy raspberries, and in a blink they were gone...

...until next year.   :)

The magical game...

It's been said that soccer is a magical game. Maybe that's why we so totally love to watch our twigs play. Maybe it's just that they love it so much and their enthusiasm bubbles up and out and all over.      :)

Our missionary twig sent this picture the other day. We haven't yet heard the back story or why he's holding a football but his hairy smile makes me giggle! We do know it was their "p-day" or "preparation day" and that between grocery shopping and doing laundry, they played chair soccer. Zac says chair soccer is a blast!

Our blonde twig is using a soccer ball in his soccer games.    :)

He had his first bad case of leg cramps. Ouch!!

He'd try to run but just couldn't so he hobbled out of the game to stretch. A teammate's great dad helped him out.

He misses his bro playing along side him but is loving his team. Any day is a good day to play the magical game!

Labor day...because of him

Our Labor Day weekend itinerary was all because of Zac (aka. Zac Man, Zacaroni and Cheese, Zacharias, Zac Attack, Snacks, Greyson, and most recently Elder Branch.)

Ever since his bunches and bunches of friends came to visit just prior to his departure to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ in North Carolina, our 14 year old white carpet hasn't looked the same. We decided it just wouldn't get clean by vacuuming, so we'd better shampoo it. That brought the next choice...either pay someone to clean the carpets OR use our good ol' 1987 Kirby carpet cleaner attachment on our vacuum and do it ourselves for three hours WHICH would leave our carpet clean but sopping wet for the night WHICH would of course mean we'd have to sleep somewhere else, like Snowbird.   :)
You with me?    :)

That means, because of Mr. Zacaroni and Cheese, we got to stay the night at Snowbird. Thanks Zac Man!!
We gathered things along the way and sent our favorite missionary a "Because of You" package.  :)

The next day, while our carpets were drying, we enjoyed the beautiful mountains...

 
...played around...

...and stalked the wildlife...

...until they decided to stalk us back!

We'd worn out our welcome so we headed down to City Creek Center in SLC.

This guy is so nice to his little sister. He's totally a keeper!

The icing on the cake was ending the night at the Assembly Hall...

...listening to Paul Cardall tickle the ivory in a piano concert.

And all because of our Zachary Greyson. Love that boy!