Oquirrh Mountain Temple Open House

We have been blessed to live where there have been several temple open houses lately. I missed Twin Falls' and Draper's open house, I didn't want to miss taking the kids through to see a temple "in real life" so we drove down on Thursday to go through the Oquirrh Mountain temple.

Ben and Kelly met us there but Peyton was ready to go home before we were ready for pictures. I brought Chris and Jaycee home though and the kids loved seeing the temple.

My favorite picture was of all the kids looking up at the Angel Moroni from the fountain.

I loved watching the kids walk through and point out things that they liked seeing, (their favorite being the chandeliers). All too soon though the tour was over and we were back on the road headed home.

I'm glad we got to go. I'm grateful too for open houses that allow our children a glimpse of the most wonderful places on earth, and a small taste of what is waiting in a few years.

Memory Monday- Meri B. Conroy

I met my friend Meri in our driver's ed. class at age 15 and 3/4. I had brought a notebook to keep notes in and she asked if she could doodle on it for me, and the rest is history. We were very close friends throughout all of high school. Most of our dates were double dates, and usually when I got in any trouble,(which wasn't too often) she was right there with me. We even became hair sisters at one of our sleep overs.

Most of the things I did with Meri were wild and crazy, just like she was.

Meri liked to write notes. (Remember those days?) But not just normal notes, they were always written on funny things, like toilet paper. :) And they always had the cutest doodles and drawings on them. I found this box of notes in my cedar chest the other day and laughed, there were over a hundred notes that I can't throw away because they're just too dang cute.

These are just some of the drawings that Meri did for me. I have had them hanging on the back of my bedroom door in several houses throughout the years.

I abandoned Meri in our senior year when my family moved to Wyoming. We tried to keep in touch but sort of lost contact over the years. Thanks to Facebook though, I have found my wild and crazy friend again. She has married what looks to be a wonderful man and has the most beautiful little girl in the world. Funny, she loves to do graphic art on the computer and is the one responsible for the darling background on my blog right now.

I'm so happy to get to share in Meri's life again. She will always have a place in some of my best high school memories, and now, through the Internet, maybe some new cyber memories :)

Voice Male Concert- Front Row-Center-Yeah!

Voice Male came to Montpelier this weekend for two showings. (If you've never heard of Voice Male, look em up. They're an a Capella group that sings mostly spiritual music but also puts on a hilarious stage show with all types of music.)
I didn't know about the concerts in time to get the dinner tickets for Friday night, but mom and I made plans to go and see the Saturday night performance at the Montpelier Tabernacle.

I like to get front and center so I can see all the action so we got there early enough to watch them rehearse.

I know the bass singer from way back when we were growing up together in Ferron. He told me that the last time he remembers seeing me I was Jaycee's age.

It was so fun to visit and catch up on all that Mike's been up to all these years.

The concert was fabulous. Mom and I laughed and smiled so much our cheeks hurt. As the guys were singing one of their last songs, I got my camera ready to take a picture. Somehow, they all grouped together, STOPPED singing, and posed-just for me. (Top photo)

I'm definitely going to see them the next time I get a chance. The only difference being that I'm taking my whole family with me.

The right way to host a bridal shower

Brittany and I got together in April to plan a bridal shower for Candice. We didn't want the traditional kind where people come, eat white cake and play little party games, we wanted something different. After some thinking, Brit suggested Lava Hot Springs.
Little did we know when we picked the date that we had chosen the best day possible for this kind of adventure-overcast, with just a little rain.

As bridemaids, our gift to Candice was an hour massage at the little parlor there. We hung out in the pools for a few hours and when our feet looked like little prunes we walked down main street and got ice cream.
It was my favorite bridal shower by far. Thanks girls!!

This rainy day was two thumbs UP!!

Today was rainy, just like the last few days. It hasn't bothered me too bad except that Cody and Britnee are going crazy.(Jaycee jumped ship last week and went to stay with Aunt Kelly in Delta.)
So after gymnastics we got Grandma Sony and Grandpa Rusty and headed to Logan where "UP" was playing in 3D.
We've never been to anything 3D before and this was the perfect first experience. Not only was 3D really cool but it went along with a great movie that we liked as well as the kids did.

The best part for Britnee and Cody was that they got to keep their glasses. Way fun rain day!

Memory Monday-Locks of Love

Three years ago this summer Jaycee had really long hair. For her birthday that year she decided to cut all that beautiful hair off and donate it to Locks of Love. I had her think about it for awhile but she was determined so we drove to Pocatello to Kelly's cosmetology school. One of the teachers cut 11 inches of her blond locks off in a pony tail. They gave us an envelope and we sent it off to be made into wigs for cancer victims.

I was sad when she first wanted to cut off all of her hair, but then I saw how it made her feel and how selfish I had been. Jaycee is healthy and her hair can grow back. I'm so proud of Jaycee's eagerness to give at such a young age and how she continues to be an example now. I love you Jaycee :)

Relaxin' in Rock Springs

Okay so it's not the vacation destination capitol of the world or anything but Matt had to go take a week of classes for work and asked way back in April if I wanted to go hang out with him. Mom said she would watch the kids and on Sunday night we drove to Rock Springs.

Our reservations were made for The Hampton Inn there and we were exceptionally pleased with our stay. I ate breakfast every morning in their dining room and they even served a bar-b-cue dinner on Wednesday night.

We got a king size business suite that was cozy and comfy. I walked down the hall each morning after breakfast to the fitness room and worked out. While I was gone, the maids would come in and clean the room. I could definitely get used to this kind of life :)
I didn't want to get bored and we haven't found a lap top yet so I packed up my whole computer and took it with me. Most of my time in the room was spent making my blog for 2008 into a book. A lot more time consuming than one would think. I also spent some time chatting with friends on-line, something I don't normally take time to do.

For lunch I found a little restaurant that served a salad and a Pepsi in a little out of the way booth cuz I really don't love to eat alone but the drinks are really little for take out.

Matt was adorable. He would call and check up on me during each break and we had a date night when his class was over, sometimes going out to eat and sometimes ordering in.

We drove home last night and I must say that I was a little sad checking out of the hotel. It was a delightful little getaway. Matt said that he will have to go back a couple more times in the next two years for more classes. I think I could handle making this little trip a tradition :)

Dedication to Dinner

Saturday was a big work day for us. Yard work mostly, but I was not wanting to to cook much for dinner. So we decided to grill hamburgers and hot dogs. About the time we got the grill started, the wind started blowing and the rain came down. That didn't stop Matt though, he grabbed my heavy duty :) umbrella and cooked our dinner. Thanks babe for your dedication to dinner.

Memory Monday-Temples

We are so lucky to live close to quite a few temples. The kids are good at picking them out when we drive by and if we have time I try to stop and take a picture of the kids so that they remember the feeling of these beautiful buildings.

Salt Lake temple in 2007.


Jordan River Temple in 2006. Cody was home with dad but the girls still wanted to stop.



Boise Temple in 2007. We went to visit with our good friends in Boise and stopped to show the kids the temple.

Hopefully these are the first of many such pictures that I will collect over the years.