Fancy Toes

On Monday, May 11th, Barbara, Courtney, and I went and got our toenails painted fancy by some talented lady. You can't see the details all too well, but they sure are cute and fun. Summertime and flip flops go hand-in-hand and now we have unique toenails to show off when we wear our flip flops and to add to summer fun. Thanks Barbara for hooking us up!

Nick & Lizzy

Courtney & Judy at the Salt Lake Temple
Nick & Lizzy as they exit the temple to greet family and friends.

• On Saturday, May 9th Hyrum's high school buddy, Nick, married Lizzy in the Salt Lake City Temple! Hyrum was out of town in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, but Courtney and I were able to attend their sealing ceremony.

• While we were in the marriage waiting room Courtney leaned over to me and said, "I think that's Hyrum's mission president standing over there." Courtney had met him in the autumn at Hyrum's mission reunion. He was with his wife and they were busy talking to another couple. We watched him for a few minutes and then I got brave and went over and stood by them, waiting for a break in their conversation to ask them their names. Finally there was a break in his wife's conversation, so I asked her what her name was. I can't pronounce it, but I knew it was her, especially with her accent. Yes, Courtney was right, it was Hyrum's mission president! I introduced myself and then they introduced me to whom they were busy talking to. It was Hyrum's first mission president, President Debry! I started to cry...I was so thrilled to meet them both together with their wives and in the temple of all places. At this point Courtney came over and I introduced her. I was so sad that Hyrum wasn't there. He LOVES and ADMIRES President Teixeira. It was a memorable experience. We are so blessed to be members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints!

• At Nick and Lizzy's outdoor reception later that evening they had a mariachi band come and play. Everyone was having so much fun, either dancing or just watching others dance. It was so fun! Hyrum has such GOOD friends.

• P.S. Hyrum's mission president (Elder Jose Teixeira) spoke in April General Conference (he is now a Seventy). His talk is on pages 104-106 in the May 2009 Ensign.

Busy, busy, busy!

WARNING: This is a LONG journal entry for my sake. I just wanted to document a few real busy days in my life.

Busy, busy, busy…whew!

Saturday, April 25
To start the morning off, Russell and I taught a class at our Stake Emergency Preparedness Fair. We taught it on Alternative Cooking - Cooking Without Power. This was the second time that we have taught this class for this event. Of course, when you teach something you learn the most and benefit the most from the preparing. Hopefully our family will be prepared in the event of an emergency.

Russell had to leave early from this class to head to work at Cabela’s. He and his brother, Bert, were doing a Dutch Oven demonstration. Russell was cooking Chicken Enchiladas. Yummy!

I came home for about a half hour and took care of a few things and then headed off to Russell’s nieces (Kiersten) bridal shower. I left the bridal shower a little early to get back home to help Lacey get ready for prom. After I came home I dashed to the store, twice, once to get a little clutch purse and then another time to get shoes…both for Prom.

After Lacey left for prom, I really needed to go get gas in automobiles and go to the grocery store, but instead I stayed home to finalize my talk for the following day.

Sunday, April 26
Russell and I spoke in Sacrament meeting. I was asked to speak on “being forgiving” and Russell was asked to speak on “the value of work.” Once again we benefited the most from studying and preparing our talks. I think the bishop thought we, along with the rest of the Ward needed to learn a few things. Lots of people have told us how much they needed to hear the messages in our talks.

Right after sacrament meeting, Russell and I had to dash down to Provo to meet with the BYU 12th Stake Presidency. We didn’t know why, but we were asked to be there at 11:15 a.m. Upon arrival, we were given a piece of paper to fill out (like an application) and they took our pictures. Weird! Then we were called into the Stake Presidents office to meet with the presidency. We were asked to tell about ourselves. When we were done the Stake President said, “Thank you for meeting with us today. We have some callings to fill and you may be called back for another interview or you may get a letter in the mail that basically will say, thanks but no thanks.” Weird! After we left we felt like we were at a job interview. We totally understand that they have no clue who we are and they needed to find out a little about us, but still it was weird.

Russell once again needed to dash off to work at Cabela’s. I went home and took a nap.

At 6:00 p.m. our Stake was having an Adult Fireside on finances. I went by myself (because Russell was still at work) and I really enjoyed listening and learning. I had to leave the fireside early because our home teachers were coming at 7:00 p.m.

Monday, April 27
I had errands that I needed to run for Russell, house cleaning to do, and bills to pay.

Tuesday, April 28
I had a Stake camp meeting at 10:00 a.m., then I went with Kyle to mow a few lawns, then I picked Lacey up from school, came home, and then took her to a food handlers permit class for one of her summer jobs (Summer Sno). While she was in class I ran some errands in the area, then I dashed home to fix dinner, then I dashed back to pick Lacey up.

Russell and I had another appointment down at BYU at 6:30 p.m. At this time Russell was asked to serve on the High Counsel in the BYU 12th Stake. This will be a new experience for him/us. I look forward to supporting him in this calling.

Then we dashed home to have dinner with Hyrum and Courtney, as Hyrum was leaving the next morning for the summer to work in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Courtney leaves two weeks after him.

Wednesday, April 29
A full day of mowing! Kyle and I mowed eleven lawns and I mowed three by myself. That’s fourteen lawns in one day! When Russell got home from work at BYU, he and I worked three more hours, pulling out some pine shrubs for a customer and hauling them away.

My brother, Ernie’s birthday was this day and with being so busy, I forgot. Sorry. It’s a good thing that I sent him a card earlier.

All I have to say is life is busy, busy, busy.

D&C 60:13 Thou shalt not idle away thy time, neither shalt thou bury thy talent that it may not be known.”
D&C 75:3 “Neither be idle, but labor with your might.“
D&C “Cease to be idle.“
It’s been said, “Idleness is of the devil.” Well, the devil isn’t going to catch me, I’m too busy for him.

Forest Service

September 2006

Gratefully Kyle got hired at the Forest Service again! He (we) have been waiting (what seemed like forever) to get "the phone call." Kyle applied online on January 29th and he just heard back on April 30th That's three months! Can I just say that it's a pain applying online and having no one to talk to if you have questions and to see how things are going! Well, he did talk to several local people during the wait, but their hands were tied until they received his application from a hiring source in Albuquerque. It was a pain and a hassle, but since he is now hired, we can say that it was worth it.

Kyle worked for the Pleasant Grove District on the maintenance crew before his mission and this summer he will be working for the Spanish Fork District. He will be working on the trail crew, of which is the crew that he really wanted to work on. He is looking forward to the "Spike Outs."

Wrestling

Kyle and Lacey wrestling.
Timeout for a picture.
Doesn't it look like Lacey is having so much fun?

Kyle and Lacey were having fun wrestling one day (okay, maybe only Kyle was having fun). Watching them brought back memories of when I was young and my three older brothers, Ernie, Joe, and Sam, wrestled in high school and I was ALWAYS their guinea pig. They ALWAYS practiced on me. It seemed like a daily event. I knew the names of all the moves. Of course, I always got pinned. Sibling love...isn't it great!

My Seamstress

I tell everyone that Tyler and Kyle have been my best seamstress. Both Tyler and Kyle took a sewing class at school and from then on, whenever they needed something mended, they would sit down and mend it. My girls (Lindsey and Lacey) also took sewing classes at school, but whenever they need anything mended they ask me to do it for them. In this picture, Kyle is repairing a crash pad for rock climbing. He is too cool!

Shotgun Prom

Courtney so kindly helped Lacey with her makeup for prom.

(Don't they look like sisters?)
Gorgeous!
Jace was surprised with what he saw when he walked inside our house.
Russell and Tyson were ready with their shotguns! Ya, better treat Lacey with respect Jace or these hicks will hunt you down.

Jace didn't know what to think at this point.

Boutonniere pinning time.

Good looking prom couple!

Little did Lacey's date know what was waiting inside our door for him. Russell and Tyson were dressed in their "Sunday Best" and were shinning their shotguns just waiting for him to arrive. Hank Williams Senior was playing "Hey, Hey, Good Lookin" on the CD player to set the mood. Gratefully Jace knows our family and he wasn't too intimidated. When Jace, so gentleman-like, asked, "What time do I need to have Lacey home?" Russell said, as he was holding his shotgun, "9:30." We all laughed and then I said, "We trust your judgment." Lacey was home shortly before midnight and she had a great time. We all got a kick out of the event. This will be remembered for quite a while. April 25, 2009

Spring has Sprung

This is a Flowering Pear Tree in our front yard. We call this tree our "Tyler Tree," because several people in our Ward gave this to us when Tyler passed away. Because of the strong winds that comes from the canyon, all the trees in our neighborhood lean towards the south. Well, the funny thing about this tree is that it leans towards the north, which is the opposite direction of all the other trees in our neighborhood. Sort of like Tyler had a mind of his own and he did the opposite of others. Russell and I even put stakes up to try to get this tree to stand straight, but it wouldn't move, so we eventually took the stakes out. Russell and I smile when we look at this tree. We love you Tyler! Happy Spring!

Flowering Plum Tree, also in our front yard.

Pretty purple pansies.

Blooming tulips.

Apple tree in our backyard.

Mrs. Robin in her nest by our front door.

Four robin eggs in the nest.

Spring has sprung in our yard! With the beautiful blossoming trees and flowers, the lush green grass, the birds singing, and the garden growing, how could you not love Spring! It is a time for new birth and new beginnings. I love it! As, do I love all the seasons. As you can see from the photos, our yard is gorgeous, if I do say so myself. Russell has worked hard over the years, so that we can enjoy this beauty and appreciate the Lords creations.

This year we have a new friend in our yard. Mrs. Robin has made a nest right by our front door. She has four beautiful blue eggs in her nest. About three years ago Kyle found this sparrows nest and he put it above our front light fixture. Well, a few weeks ago we watched Mrs. Robin fly back and forth from our house to the neighbors rain gutter to get supplies (mud) to build this nest into a robins nest and not a sparrows nest. It was so exciting to watch this nest transpire. We now go in and out the back door more, so we won't disturb Mrs. Robin and her eggs.

Scary Face

Lacey came downstairs one day looking like this. I thought it was a face mask (ya know, to clean your face). Well, it wasn't a cleansing face mask, it was PAINT! She was painting some shelves in her bedroom and she got carried away and decided to have fun and paint her face too. Silly girl!