Times of Trouble

Lately my life has been a little hard.
Things are happening that are out of my control.
It is stressful, financially challenging and depressing.

But then I see something inspiring like this My New Life,
a video about blogger Stephanie Nielson.




Hers was one of the first blogs I ever read
and couldn't stop reading.
She is inspiring.
And to see her trials makes mine seem so miniscule.
She reminds me that I need to trust more and come closer to
my Father in Heaven.

O Canada

A few Highlights from our trip to Canada

This is the city of NELSON
where my Dad served part of his mission
over 44 years ago.
It is nestled between mountains
and surrounds this gorgeous, very long lake.

It is also the place where my oldest got to attend
his very first Priesthood Session of Conference;
with his Papa, in the place his Papa had served his mission
so many years before.
Pretty cool.

Another favorite city we visited was WHITE ROCK.
It is near the border and sits on the coast
where when you go out to the beach and look over the bay
you can see Vancouver to the north
and the State of Washington to the south.

Here the kids got to explore outside the car.

We went through Banff National Park
and drove between lots of TALL mountain ranges
and even saw a few glaciers.

And the kids were HAPPY to see
that even in Canada there was McD's.

In Vancouver we...

took a beautiful scenic drive up to Whistler Mountain,

tried to get in to see a few of the Olympic Venues
but we were denied because they were ALL shut down,

walked around Stanley Park
where we found this familiar sight and got rained on,

and attended the open house of the new Vancouver Temple

that was built in Langley.

This is the monument we saw at the border heading back into the US.
Engraved on this side was,
"Brethren.Dwelling.Together.In.Unity"
and on the other side it said,
"Children.Of.A.Common.Mother"
Love that saying.

On the way home we stayed in Seattle.
First time I had been there.
We went to Pikes Place Fish Market.
They sold fresh fish there of course
but also fresh flowers and all sorts of other crafty things.


Despite the Hours and Hours of driving,
it was interesting to travel to where I had never been before
and to see the different cities where my Dad
had spent two years of his life serving the Lord.

When I asked the kids what their favorite part of the trip was
guess what they said...

Yep, it was the water slides at the Hotels we stayed in.

4 Years

Has it really been that long
since this fun, full of life (and now
all things Star Wars),
little man came into our lives?

You started out so small,
but you are a feisty boy and
that has served you well.

Here are FOUR things I Love about you right now:

1 - Whenever you smile your whole face smiles,
especially your eyes and one cannot help but smile back.

2 - You are becoming more and more responsible
and that is a big help to me.

3 - You love to put puzzles together and since I do too
it has become a favorite pastime.

4 - You enjoy listening to music, not so much my music but
your music and it is fun to hear you sing along.


Happy Birthday
to my favorite four year old.

MARCH in Utah

March in Utah can be very confusing.
One day it so beautiful it seems like summer is almost here,
The next day it is storming like it is January.

Back and forth, back and forth.
It can be frustrating.
But it can also be FUN.

This year a few days into March it snowed.
It snowed a good 3 inches.
Mind you we hadn't had a good snow fall since December.
So we took the opportunity to try out that SNOWMAN kit.
You know the one he got for CHRISTMAS in hopes of building many snowmen.





Of course you can't be out in the fresh snowfall and not taste of its goodness. It was a nice morning snack.
And there was plenty to go around.



The best part of March snow,
It is usually melted by the evening or the next day.
This is how Mr. Snowman looked the day after his creation.