Here comes December....

Oh man this month has gone quick. Can you believe December will be here tomorrow? Man, the fall is going so quickly winter will be here before we know it......officially that is. Well let me do my best to do a quick update of the past 2 weeks.

I've been busy enough w/ Relief Society things. On the 15th I met w/ the Elder's Quorum President, one of his counselors and my VT Coordinator to go over the December HT/VT assignments. Surprisingly we didn't have too many move in our outs so it went pretty quickly. We then had President Thorup ok our changes and we were out in record time per say:) We've also been working on getting the Branch Christmas Party stuff together. We bought the food we're going to have branch members make and even had a RS Meeting on how to make rolls, so there's no excuse not to know how to make them for the dinner ;) Sister Thorup taught us how to make these really yummy rolls using potato pearls/flakes. You can use the dough to make cinnamon rolls, orange rolls, Parmesan garlic or regular rolls. I've made them twice already, and let me tell you....they're YUMMY! I'll have to send the recipe out soon.

On Friday the 18th we had a fun date night. After work we went over to Cafe Rio for dinner and ironically Steve and I both had the punch cards so together we got a FREE MEAL!!!! So we only paid for one, then went to Redbox and got a free movie rental, Thor. We then went up to Dave/Joann's and watched the movie w/ them. Dave also made popcorn in his fun theater popcorn maker. It was a very fun evening!

On Sunday the 20th I had several meetings, as usual on 3rd Sundays. We had branch council in the morning, then a quick meeting w/ my presidency, church, the munch and mingle, then tithing settlement. We then went over to LuDean's for dinner. It was our annual "honoree dinner" and this year we honored Phil. So, after dinner we each took a turn and said what we like/love about Phil. A common trend was that we all enjoy his sense of humor and spirituality. This is a neat "tradition" as it's a way to show appreciate and love to family members, one year at a time ;) We then sang Steve happy birthday. I made a chocolate cake and some cupcakes.

One of Steve's birthday cakes. This one is homemade chocolate cake w/ English toffee on top, in the middle, and all around. :)

Cute cupcakes....I love sprinkles!

On Tuesday the 22nd we went over to Dave/Joann's and had dinner w/ them and Duane and Wendy Bates. Duane is a PA and a really good friend of Dave's. Steve has actually worked w/ Duane at the clinic when he was doing his MA and he's also shadowed him several times for classes and whatnot. Dave made his famous yummy Dave's BBQ ribs. We also had yummy funeral potatoes, rolls, and salad. We brought my mom's grape juice to go w/ it. It was an excellent dinner. Afterwards we hurried over to Walmart and price matched their turkey breasts, bought them, then brought them back up to Dave/Joann's to store them in their outdoor freezer. We wanted to make sure we had turkeys for the Christmas Party, and before prices go up after Thanksgiving.

Wednesday after work, I made the potato rolls and pumpkin ginger bread for Thanksgiving the next day. Steve had class unfortunately, but thankfully he didn't have it on Thanksgiving day (he usually has his EMT class on both Wed and Thur nights).

Thursday we got up and went down to Highland to help my mom peel potatoes and set up. Fortunately the chairs/tables were set up this time, and my mom had most of the potatoes done by the time we got there. We then helped out where we could. We stayed just long enough to eat and chit chat, then headed out. We then went up to Steve's parent's place for their Thanksgiving dinner. 2 yrs ago we tried the same thing but ended up missing his family's dinner; they were all done by the time we got there or had left. We had great fun w/ both families. My rolls and pumpkin bread seemed like they were a hit!

Pumpkin ginger bread....yummm ;)
After dinner w/ Steve's family we headed home, as my parents were coming to stay w/ us. After they got there we chatted a little, then decided to watch "Unstoppable." Since it was a true story we even got my mom to sit down and watch it ;) I went over to Walmart for 45 minutes for Black Friday at 10pm and made it out w/ a little 3 in 1 vacuum and some socks. It was pretty crazy in there so I was in and out as quick as I could.

The next morning I made hash-browns, cheesy eggs, and toast (from my honey wheat bread) for breakfast for my parents and Steve. We then went out shopping. We dropped off Steve and my dad at Sportsman's warehouse while we went to Winco for groceries. Surprisingly Winco was rather empty, which I loved. Mom picked up some nuts and I got some groceries, including more spices for more pumpkin ginger bread and carol syrup to make carmel popcorn. We picked up the boys then went home. Dad got a knife for Steve's bday. We then went home and made carmel popcorn and watched "Secretariat." Mom liked that movie also since it's a true story. Mom and dad then headed out after a quick sandwich.

We ended up taking a quick nap, then got ready to go to the temple. Steve had the privilege of taking Ryan Millward through the temple, he was his escort that is. Ryan was baptized last November the 20th, the same day I was put in as RS President. Steve left a little before me to help him w/ his endowments, then I showed up for the session. It was a full session, but really neat. We were glad to be there w/ Ryan. He's an incredible person. Such a spiritual giant. He actually in the Elder's Quorum already, and will be getting married January 12th in the SLC Temple to the girl who introduced him to the Gospel per say. They started dating sometime after he was baptized. We're excited for him!

Saturday we went w/ Dave, Joann and Rob to a matinee to celebrate Steve's birthday. We went and watched "In Time" then went to Red Robin for his free birthday burger. The movie was great, the food was great, and the company was excellent!

Sunday I had meetings, then after church I made a coconut cake. It's a white cake, then punch holes in it and pour coconut milk, then put whip topping w/ coconut shavings on top. It's so yummy! Sister Ferre taught us that one on the mission. We then drove down to Provo to have dinner w/ Carrie and Ryan. Carrie made some yummy Asian chicken called Speedy-stir fry noodles. We then played Ticket to Ride and had the coconut cake. It was a fun evening!

Monday the 28th after work I made some cheesy potato soup and breadsticks. We also worked on making these things for our Christmas Party. It will be a smaller version of the Living Christ w/ a picture of Christ on the back, then we'll laminate them. This way you can put them in your scriptures and remember the true meaning of Christmas.

Tuesday after work I walked over to Temple Square to meet Steve. We wanted to walk around and see the lights for his 26th birthday. We invited Dave/Joann to come also so while we were waiting we went into the assembly hall and listened to some high school choirs sing carols; it was nice. We then met up w/ Dave/Joann and walked around and saw the pretty lights.

Here are some pics from Temple Square....sorry not the best, taken from my camera phone.

Salt Lake City Temple w/ lights

Nativity at Temple Square

"Light" in Slovene....yeah!!!!

After Temple Square we went back to Dave/Joanns and had Little Caesars pizza w/ bread-sticks. They gave him his birthday presents, leather gloves and Gators, which unfortunately were too small for his calves. He loved the gloves though let me tell you. It was a fun evening!
When we got home I gave him

Steve w/ his birthday gifts I gave him....new shirt, tie, Xbox live subscription, and a book I made called "The top 10 things I love about Stevie." I also made him a card ;)

Well things are going well here. Steve has a couple more weeks of class, then finals. He's also planning to have his knee surgery in between his break before school starts again in January. I'll have 2 classes to take next yr also, then I'll be done w/ my MBA...yeah!!!

We love you all lots! Have a great week.....It's December now ! ;)

November Times

These last two weeks have been somewhat busy but not bad. It's nice having some time off school in order to get other things done.

The last 2 weeks I've had 2 different Relief Society trainings. The first was on the 3rd, a Regional RS training, and the second one was on the 10th, a stake RS training. They were both really good. They really focused on sticking to the basics. We need to throw out all the old manuals and traditions and stick to the new manuals. They also focused on the 3 goals of Relief Society 1-increase faith, 2-strengthen home and families, 3-provide relief. By sticking to the goals of Relief Society we are better helping the sisters in all aspect of their lives. We need to increase spirituality amongst the sisters so they are better able to cope with what comes their way. Satan is real and is very good at what he does. They mentioned how many families are broken apart from addictions; how true that is. We all need to continue to work on our spirituality in order to receive personal revelation for ourselves.

Friday the 4th after work Steve picked me up and we went out to watch Rose's girls so she could go to the temple. It was blowing really hard as we drove to Rose's place but we made it there ok. After we got there Rose left and headed to the temple. Somehow after she left the house and got to the temple her temple recommend disappeared, but luckily they still let her in. Summer went to a birthday party most of the night so we just had Ava, Ali and Sophia. We put Sophia to bed shortly after then played some games w/ Ava and Ali. Rose went out to dinner with a friend afterwards, so didn't come home until 11pm. It was snowing really hard as we were leaving but thankfully Steve has good eyesight and is used to driving in the crazy snow and we made it home safely, though it took a little longer. We would have stayed the night but Steve had to get back for a CPR class the next morning at the U.

Saturday Steve went to his CPR training to get re-certified while I stayed home, slept in a while, then cleaned the house. That night we invited Zach and Rob over and grilled hot dogs for dinner, then went to the dollar store and got some candy. We then played "Ticket to Ride" together; it was a lot of fun.

Sunday I had a lot of meetings, then I made bread bowls and we went over to LuDeans for dinner. Joann made two soups, potato and a broccoli; they were good and worked perfect in the bread bowls. We then played "Phase Ten Twist." It was also a lot of fun also.

Steve has been trying to get everything done for school as it's getting closer and closer to finals. We finally got him registered for his Spring 2012 classes as well. The U put a hold on his account until we went in another transcript (lame I know). Luckily I happened to see it on his record and we requested another one. Thankfully we were then able to get him into all his classes and he's got a pretty sweet schedule if you ask me. ;)

We're finishing a campaign at work and so far so good. I also received an "Excellence in Action" award at work for Q3 on my team. This is the 2nd one I've received. I was really surprised when then they delivered balloons w/ candy and the award. I also got a little extra in my paycheck, which was excellent as well. It made my day!

We've had a lot of visits to RS sisters lately, which has been good. Another sister had a baby 2 weeks ago. We're going to have a new baby in the branch every month from now until May now. Fun, Fun!!!

Friday the 11th was Veterans Day. It was 11/11/11. After I got home from work we decided to go home from work we decided to go out to eat. We invited Zach to come with us. It was fun. We then came back, Zach and Steve played XBox while I worked on RS stuff, then we went to the hot tub. Oh we like the hot tub ;)

A salute to all the Veterans out there, at Red Robin......yummm ;)


Saturday morning Steve got up early to go pheasant hunting w/ the boys. They went up to Benson, UT (by Logan) on a private ranch and each had opportunities to shoot the birds. Steve came home with 2 birds. I was able to sleep in again (yeah), and then cleaned up. After he got home Eve and Darrell Flake came up to hang out. We decided to celebrate since we've both been working for 4 yrs at Fidelity (we were hired 11/12/07). That was the first day we met each other and have been great friends ever since. We've gone through a lot together and have both gotten married in the mean time. I'm excited for what the future holds for us. Eve is such a great friend. So down to earth and I can depend on her for anything. She's like another sister to me. Thank for everything Evie; love ya lots! :)

We made pizza together. I put some wheat flour in the dough again and it turned out really well I think. I also made some breadsticks w/ some of the dough, all of which on the pizza stone's which make them sooo yummy! Afterwards Eve and I went and picked up a Redbox and got some candy at the dollar store. We then hurried home and watched the movie w/ Steve and Darrell. It was a lot of fun. They had to leave after the movie though, so Eve could finish up her young women's lesson. Next time we'll have to head down to Provo to their house for games or whatnot.

The mighty hunters.....Dave, Rob, Brandon, Phil, and Steve after pheasant hunting (Jeff not pictured since he left to go take pics at the U football game). Ryan wasn't' able to make it due to work, so Rob gladly filled in for him. :)

We cooked up the meat last night after church. Steve put them on the grill w/ BBQ sauce. They were better than I thought. I made potatoes and gravy, stuffing and cheese breadsticks to go w/ it. We're prepping for Thanksgiving next week :)

The grilled pheasants.

We also had our home teachers over yesterday afternoon (our first actual home teachers since moving in 2 years ago). We also went home teaching tonight. I can't believe how quickly this month is going. We'll almost to Thanksgiving already, then Steve's birthday on the 29th, then our Christmas Party on the 9th, then Christmas, then New Years, then our 3rd anniversary!!!! Ok, I'd better stop...........let's not forget to enjoy the moments and take one day at a time. Have a great week! We love you all so much ;)

Month of October Recap

Happy Halloween! Wow I can’t believe October has come and gone already. This month has literally flown by! It’s been quite an eventful month so I’d better get caught up on what’s been happening. Let me start from the where I left off after Conference Weekend this month. This might be a LONG post....sorry, just wanted to warn you.

So Sunday the 9th was Fast Sunday. We were all fasting especially for Rose and Jared. Well after church and all my meetings I came home and started making wheat bread. I was planning to call Rose to see how she was doing but wanted to wait until Jared left (he was leaving on a business trip that afternoon). Well I had my phone still on silent so I didn't hear it ring but I happened to see the screen light up showing there was a voicemail. I checked the message and it was Rose. I called her back and she asked us to come out. I grabbed the dough and we left. I called Pauline and she was on her way as well.

When we got there we tried to help w/ the kids and comfort Rose. While Rose was at church w/ 2 of the kids Jared basically packed up his stuff and left. He had his step father come over until Rose came home to stay w/ the other 2 girls but still. Pauline got there shortly after and we all helped w/ the girls, I baked the bread, helped get them dinner, and get them ready for bed later. Rose then let us know what was going on. We decided to stay the night w/ her and Pauline to make sure she'd be safe. Steve gave her a blessing and later rededicated the house. After hearing what's been going on we let her know our thoughts on the situation and after the blessing it was clear that she needed to file for a divorce.

The next day we helped her get some things done and help w/ the girls. Luckily Sophia had warmed up to Steve from times before as we've tended them so she was his best friend and loved to play with him :) I called work and took the day off so I could be there to help. Luckily they were really understanding of the situation. My mom showed up Monday night as well so we headed out since we had work and school the next day.

Steve putting some clothes on the doll w/ Summer (it's tape actually)


Good uncle Steve w/ Sophia

That week was pretty chaotic for us; I can only imagine what it was like for Rose. I was somehow able to finish my project during the week, then that weekend we went back to Rose's to stay w/ her. We went up Friday after work and stayed over night, then hurried back down Saturday for Carrie's wedding. The weather was beautiful for an outdoor wedding thankfully. It was held in Melanie's backyard. We helped get the last minute things set up and ready. The whole afternoon/evening turned out fantastic! It was a beautiful wedding/reception.

Carrie walking down the isle w/ Dave

All the siblings: Jeff, Stacie, Carrie, Melanie and Steve....so cute ;)

Steve and I at Carrie's wedding

Right after the wedding we came home, grabbed a couple more things, then headed out to Rose's again to be w/ her. We tried to help w/ meals, keeping the girls entertained and trying to let Rose sleep. Her neighbors and friends in the ward were helpful as well and very willing to help out. Sunday night we had planned to go to LuDean's for the family get together. Dave invited Rose, my mom and the girls to come out also. It was our Halloween party so they all dressed up.

Rose and the girls dressed up in their Halloween costumes

We had dinner and played Halloween bingo and got LOTS of goodies. I think we all had a GREAT time! Thanks ;)

The next week I took my final and finished up my Event Planning class; that felt good to get done! We also had a RS activity of candy making. We had a really good turn out and I think all who came enjoyed themselves. I also went over home/visiting teaching w/ my VT Coordinator and the Elders. It went really well.

The weekend of the 22nd-23rd we went back up to the cabin to finish staining the deck. Steve picked me up after work and we headed up through Parley's Canyon. We stopped in Heber to get some gas a quick bite to eat then were one our way. Dave wasn't too far behind us so after we got the fire going, water turned on and unpacked he was there. We watched a movie that night then went to bed.

Fire going at the cabin

The next morning Steve and Dave went out on the boat fishing, and I slept in of course. I then worked on getting some things started for our branch Christmas Party. I then made some lunch for them (Stuffed Peppers) when the got back.

Such a hard life fishing


After lunch we went out and stained the deck. Dave/Brandon had done the outer part several weeks before but had never finished. Steve and I weren't able to make it up that time so we wanted to be able to help out.

Looks so much better!!!


Hoping it drys quickly.....


Steve and Dave having so much fun....almost done ;)


See the difference between the newly stained deck and the old deck?


This last week of the month has been so cold!!! And since it was cold I caught a little cold. So, Monday, the 24th, after work I decided it was time to make soup. We had some broccoli and potatoes, so I decided to make cheesy broccoli potato soup. I added some celery too; it was yummy! Steve picked up some bread bowls after fishing w/ his cousin Greg. It was pleasantly surprised how well the soup turned out!

Steve and Greg fishing up Big Cottonwood Canyon

Tuesday Steve went back up to the cabin w/ Dave to winterize it. Since the weather was getting a LOT colder he figured he couldn’t wait for the weekend so they’d better go up. They left in the morning and were able to get back in the afternoon. It worked out well since Steve doesn’t have class on Tuesdays.

Steve doing homework w/ Bailey and his knee brace on. He's going to have surgery on his knee ligaments in December btw. We're praying it fixes his knee problems, specifically from his knee popping out all the time.

After work I decided to make pumpkin gingerbread. It turned out really well also. I also had my 2 counselors over to discuss the Branch Christmas Party. We got a lot done and decided to do a theme from the Primary song “Picture a Christmas.” We decided to focus more on the Savior instead of Santa and gifts. I think it’s going to turn out really well. I’ve got great counselors helping out so I know it’ll turn out great! We have a great start and are on our way. The class I just took, event planning, is going to come in handy. It’s helped me organize the different pieces of an event and make sure you don’t miss something important.

Speaking of my Event Planning class, I finished that last week and got my grades this week. I somehow finished my course project paper the day before Carrie’s wedding, the 14th, with everything going on. I got an A on my paper. I also took my final the week after I turned in my paper and got an A on that too. So, overall I got an A in the class; yeah!!! I have only 2 more classes to go. Since I wouldn’t get a full refund for my 5th class this yr I’ve decided to wait til January to take my next class. I figured I my as well as wait and get full reimbursement and enjoy the holidays too! Plus I’ll be busy with planning the Christmas Party and whatnot so the break from school will be nice.

Wednesday after work I did some grocery shopping then met w/ President Thorup and the Elder’s Quorum to go over new home and visiting teaching assignments for November. Things went well and we were done in about 1 hr; record time!

Thursday I made biscuits and gravy since I was craving sausage and I know Steve loves it. I then decided to go play volleyball at the stake one more time. It was a lot of fun. I got my knees skinned up again but it was worth it. I miss playing volleyball.

Friday the 28th, we had a casual day at work so I decided to organize a team potluck. I made mom's sugar cookies and even had orange Koolaid frosting to put on top. They turned out great! We had everyone bring different things (hot dogs, pulled pork sandwiches, veggies, fruit, cake, cookies, pop, chips, etc). It turned out really well actually. A lot of people said it was the best they’d ever had. Steve picked me up after work and we went to the SLC Temple and did initiatories. It was a really neat experience.

After the temple we met Carrie at our place, jumped in her car, then went to Red Robin’s where we met Dave and Joann. It was Dave’s birthday so we decided to go eat out and celebrate. It was fun just talking and relaxing. It was good to hear about Carrie’s honeymoon adventures in Jamaica too. They went scuba diving! For Dave’s birthday we had them bring sing to him and they brought him out apple crisp and ice cream; yumm. We then went back to Dave’s place and watched his new movie “Captain America” with Dave, Joann and Rob. It was pretty good actually. I think you’d love it Dad. :)

Saturday I got to sleep in while Steve went w/ Dave and Rob back up to the cabin to get the other boat. They decided by bringing it down here it would create more room in the garage up at the cabin and they could go fishing down here if they really wanted to. While he was gone I ended up cleaning and doing laundry. Not the most fun thing in the world but it’s got to be done. After he got back we went to Ross to return a shirt for me and ended up finding some black boots that I really like. We then went back home and I made homemade pizza w/ wheat dough. I made enough dough to make breadsticks too. They all turned out really good. The wheat was definitely more filling than white bread. We watched a movie and went to bed.

Sunday I had meetings like usual and church. After church we took a short nap, then I made more sugar cookie dough. We then went up to Dave/Joann's for dinner. Carrie and Ryan had made turkey burgers for dinner and invited us up too. They were great! After dinner I rolled out the dough and made pumpkin shaped cookies then we decorated them w/ orange Koolaid frosting, candy corn and sprinkles. It was a lot of fun.

Steve's sugar cookie he decorated

Well Steve is at the ER tonight for his EMT class so I'm just home taking it easy. I made some sweet and sour chicken and am trying to get caught up on this blog. Wow!!! What an eventful month. Bring on November.... Less than a month away til Steve's 26th birthday now. Yeah :)

Conference Weekend

Over Conference weekend we decided to go up to the cabin. Steve picket me up after work and we headed up. Rob came with us too. We stopped in Heber to get a few more groceries, then continued on up. Dave and Joann weren't able to make it up since they were busy getting things done for the wedding. I made dinner after we got up there, then we watched "Did you hear about the Morgans?" on tv w/ popcorn.


Beautiful sunset in the car as we were going up to the cabin


The next morning I made crepes for breakfast then we watched General Conference.

Crepes!!!!


After the morning session we did a few things around the cabin. Steve and robbed down a couple of dead trees in front of the kitchen, and chopped more wood, cleaned out the wood box, then filled it with new wood (getting ready for winter).

Steve chopping down a dead tree






Reorganized wood pile (done by Rob and Steve)


I made lunch during the afternoon session of conference, then Steve and Rob got ready for priesthood. They went down to Heber to listen to the Priesthood session, and I stayed at the cabin working on my school project. I also put a roast in the crockpot that morning, so I finished getting it ready to eat by the time they got home. I made rolls and gravy to go with the roast, potatoes, and carrots. It actually turned out REALLY good. Steve and Rob really liked it. I was still working on my project after dinner so they watched "True Grit."

The next morning I made cinnamon rolls for breakfast; yumm! We watched the morning session of conference, then went for a short ride to the creek behind the dam.

Yummy Cinnamon Rolls!


Beautiful landscape w/ all the fall colors






Strawberry Lake



Almost a Forget Me Not Flower :)








It was a nice relaxing weekend. Most importantly it was great to hear all the conference talks. There was a lot of good advice; something for everyone to learn. It seemed they talked a lot about readying the scriptures, in particular the Book of Mormon. No matter how many times you read that book, you can always read it again and again and still learn something from it everytime. I also liked President Packer's talk about not being afraid to live you life. We don't know when the second coming will be so we should live of life to its fullest, plan accordingly, and find joy in the journey. I'm looking forward to rereading them all :)

School has been going well for us. Steve has been busy keeping up with his homework and tests. I'm getting closer to finishing this class then only 2 more to go!

On Thursday I went and played volleyball. My 1st and 2nd counselor came also. It was a lot of fun. It was supposed to be co-ed against other wards, but we basically just mixed everyone and played for fun. I really enjoyed it other than I really beat up my knees. They're pretty bruised but they'll get better ;)


Cute Steve sewing his pants ;)

Last week of September already

This past week has flown by so I'm going to give a quick update. I'll try and pick up where I left off last week.

Last Tuesday we had a Relief Society Activity. We had 3 different classes to go to. One was on making photo books and preserving your memories that one, one was on journaling, and one was on using the new website www.new.familysearch.org. They were all excellent; I learned a lot and I think so did the sisters who attended.

Wednesday Steve had class all day, I had work, then visits afterwords. I then went over to the church w/ my 2nd counselor and met w/ the Elder's Quorum President and his 1st counselor and went over Home and Visiting Teaching assignments for October. It went really well and I felt we were efficient too. I had gone over the VT side w/ my Coordinator the Saturday before so I felt more prepared and ready for the meeting. President Thorup commented to me that he felt I was well prepared for it, which of course helps to rely on the Spirit even moreso when making the changes.

Thursday I mainly did homework after school and Steve had his EMT class again.

Friday Steve went to help Carrie move her stuff out of her apartment and I had to take my midterm. Not our ideal Friday night, but you do what you have to do sometimes. Steve got home before I finished so he just played a game on the computer for the last 1 hour while I finished it. He then went and got some ice cream for us and we watched a little TV together then went to bed.

Saturday I slept in til 11; I was tired needless to say. We then went out and shopped for a dress for me for Carrie's wedding. We found a pretty cute one at Ross, hopefully it'll work. We looked at suits a little for Steve, but then after we got home he decided he could just wear one he already had. I then got ready for my sisters Rose and Pauline to come over so we could go to the Relief Society Conference downtown together. Steve went w/ Greg Morris from our branch and his friend Zach Hanney up the canyon to go fly fishing.

I drove downtown and parked in the parking lot they assigned us. Traffic was a little busy getting there but we made it just in time. The talks were really good. Of course I really enjoyed President Uchtdorf's the most; it had the most meaning to me at this time in my life. You can read it here if you haven't already, or watch it. http://lds.org/general-conference/2011/10/forget-me-not?lang=eng It was excellent!

Here are the 5 Forget Me Nots
1. Forget not to be patient with yourself.
2. Forget not the difference between a good sacrifice and a foolish sacrifice.
3. Forget not to be happy now.
4. Forget not the “why” of the gospel.
5. Forget not that the Lord loves you.

When he was bearing his testimony about the 5th one that God loves us the Conference Center went completely silent. You could FEEL the power of his message and testimony. It was incredible; the Spirit was so strong! You KNEW that he knew what he was saying was the truth! I love the power of a testimony. Nothing can restrain the Spirit from bearing truthfulness when a testimony is born. Love it!

Afterwards we walked over to Olive Garden and had dinner together. We then came back to my place where we chatted some more. I also made copies of 2 Wheat Bread recipes I've used recently and LOVED! It was really fun to hang out w/ them and share the experience of the RS Conference together. It would be great if next time our Mom, Barbara, Anna, Kristi, and Michelle could be there too. :)


Rose and Pauline w/ me at the Relief Society Conference. (I finally found my camera battery charger yeah!)


Sunday I had a lot of meetings from 9am - 6pm. Afterwards Steve and I got to relax and spend time together.

My left wrist has been bothering me and we figured its carpal tunnel. We went and got a wrist brace to wear at work which seems to be helping. I'm also wearing it at night. I also asked that they order my an ergonomic keyboard. Here is a pic of it.

My new ergonomic keyboard at work


This Tuesday night Steve met me at the trax station and we went to the temple. It was closed Saturday after Noon, so we slept too long to make it in time. The session was really good and it was definitely needed. It's crazy how quickly the month passes when you've got a million things to do during the week.

Looking back at the Jordan River Temple from the parking lot.
I love how it "shines."


We're excited for General Conference this weekend. We're planning to go up to the cabin to watch it. Can't wait!!! :)

Getting busy again....

I need to update really quick before I forget what's been going on the last couple weeks. Steve decided to head up to the cabin today to help Dave prep the deck to be painted. So after class he packed up his stuff and drove up. Steve doesn't have school on Tuesdays so it worked out perfectly. I did some grocery shopping tonight and plus I have work and a have a Relief Society Activity tomorrow so I couldn't go. I'm glad he could go up and help though.

Steve helping to prep the deck at the cabin, scraping old paint off


Last week Steve and I were both sick with the stomach flu. It wasn't very fun. It hit Steve the hardest last Sunday during sacrament meeting. He started feeling nauseous so I encouraged him to go to the restroom just in case. Well he ended up throwing up, so I took him home. I then went back for Sunday School and Relief Society plus meetings and more meetings, so I didn't get home until 5pm. Well by this time Steve was not doing very well. He said he had been either throwing up or having it come out the other end pretty much nonstop. It kept getting worse and worse and he of course couldn't keep anything down, not even water, without throwing it up. He was getting pretty dehydrated and started to get really bad stomach cramps, so we decided to take him into the instacare. Well, by the time we got in it was a little after 8pm and they said they couldn't start IV's after 8pm so we needed to go to the ER. We went home for a bit to see if the cramps would stop but they didn't, so we went to the ER at about 8:30pm. They then got an IV started for him and eventually gave him morphine to help w/ the pain. He then started doing much better. His heart rate was pretty high though so we had to stay til about 1:30 am as they were monitoring it. When we left Steve was doing 100 times better than when we got in. We were both REALLY tired by the time we got home and into bed.

Steve at the ER just enjoying life....now that he has morphine ;)



Steve getting some fluids after being so dehydrated all day


I stayed home Monday, mainly since I was exhausted and to take care of Steve. My stomach started hurting that night so I ended up staying home Tuesday also, just in case I got it. It was more of my stomach cramping and grumpling more than anything, but it was nice to be home taking it easy since I didn't feel too good either.

Wednesday I went to work and Steve had class all day. After work I went to visit new sisters from 6-8:30pm, then I had a meeting w/ President Thorup from 8:30-11:30pm. I know it was a LONG night, but I got a lot accomplished. We went over a lot of things about our branch RS.

Thursday after work I went to Carrie's bridal shower (Steve's older sister) while Steve went to his EMT class. It was a fun shower. She gets married in less than a month on October 15th in Melanie's backyard.

Friday at work I organized a potluck for my team. It was a fun and there was plenty of food. After work I wasn't feeling the best (no correlation w/ the potluck), so we decided to take it easy. Since we hadn't been to the new In-N-Out Burger right here by our place we decided to go. As we pulled up another couple and their 5 yr old daughter Riley who lives in our same complex pulled up. We ended up sitting w/ them as we ate and visited. It was nice to enjoy their company. We then went to Target to use the $10 giftcard we had. We decided we could each get something for $5. We ended up in the games section and found 2 $5 games! I got Mancala and Steve got a chess/checkers/backgammon set. Score! We only payed like 66 cents for the 2 of them! We then came home and played them, then watched a movie and went to bed.

That night the stomach flu finally got me! I went to the bathroom 3 times w/in a couple hours so I had Steve go pick me up some Imodium. That helped w/ it coming out, but I still had stomach cramps all day. Even though I wasn't feeling too well I was still able to meet w/ my VT Coordinator to go over some things, and Steve and I went to a funeral. A couple in our ward lost their baby. She was only 18 weeks along, but they decided to go a funeral service anyway. We decided to go and support them. Afterwards I worked on my homework assignments and lesson for RS the next day. We watched a little of the U vs BYU game; the U killed BYU 54 to 10!!!!

My lesson for RS went well I think. I decided to do a lesson using the new RS book "Daughters of my Kingdom." We passed them out and I used Sister Beck's talk called "Fulling the Purpose of Relief Society" from October 2008. Here's a link if you want to read it; it's great! The new books are beautiful to the eye and to the soul as you read them. Here is a quote from her talk, "To summarize, the purpose of Relief Society, as established by the Lord, is to organize, teach, and inspire His daughters to prepare them for the blessings of eternal life.'

https://lds.org/general-conference/2008/10/fulfilling-the-purpose-of-relief-society?lang=eng&query=fulfilling+our+responsibility,%28+name%3a%22Julie+B.+Beck%22+OR++name%3a%22David+L.+Beck%22%29

After church I made some rolls and we went over to LuDean's for our family get together. We had dinner, then we all helped make things for Carrie's wedding (since it will be in the backyard). I helped make the signs and got to use Diane's cricket machine; it was really fun! We got a lot done but there are still a lot more things that they need done before the wedding. I also made 2 loaves of wheat bread while we were there. I had the dough ready to go so I just baked it while we were there. Half of one loaf got eaten before we left (and all the rolls), then we left half for LuDean, we took half of one and gave Dave the other half. These 2 loaves turned out really well. They were really soft, moist and yummy. I think I'm getting better at it....hopefully anyway ;)

Ok one more thing. We went to my parent's house over Labor Day (2 weeks ago I know). We took Zach Hanney up w/ us (Steve's friend), since Rob Daniels got to go up once it was his turn. They went shopping, just about anything they could, while I had to work on homework unfortunately. We got to visit w/ Daron and his family though so that was a lot of fun. While over at Daron's Zach and Steve even got to rope the goat. It was pretty funny to watch let me tell you. The weekends always go too quickly.

The next day after work Steve picked me up and we headed to Rose's place to watch the girls so they could go to the temple. We had a good time watching them and no one fell and hit their head this time. Yeah hopefully doing better ;)

Well I hope all is well. Keep us posted. We love you all!!!! ;)

Back to School.....

I finished with my capstone class last Thursday, August 25th, and let me tell you….it feels GREAT to get that out of the way! We presented our project to the staff of Devry and also to some of our teacher Matt’s friends who are in the business field. There were only 4 (myself, 1 guy and 2 other girls) of us in the group and in our class, so we all had to give 100% in order for it to work and to get it done in time. Unfortunately the guy in our group had to leave right as we were starting to give our presentation. He got a call just before saying his wife was in labor and going to the hospital, 7 weeks early. He went first but was kind of frazzled by the circumstances so I had to regroup and almost start us over again. After presenting they drilled us w/ questions, but overall I felt it went really well. We ended up getting an A in the class. I’m really glad I’m done it that class. It was a lot of work! I now have 3 more electives. I’m taking an online class called Event Planning and Management. It’s something I’m interested it; it should be fun!

Steve started classes at the University of Utah on the 22nd. He’s now taking his major classes so they should be more enjoyable for him. We decided to pick up another class so now he’s at 18 credits, 9 of which are for an EMT evening class which last 8 hours total. He really likes the class so far and is thankful he did medical assisting before, which is giving him a head start on a lot of things. We also found a bus route which picks Steve up just outside our place, takes him straight up to the U and drops him off about the same spot. So this will save him time traveling up (faster then the train) and he doesn’t have to drive anywhere so hopefully it will help us save money on gas. Saving some can definitely help especially since tuition costs are SOOO expensive at the U, seriously, over $4000 for one semester in state tuition, sheesh! Thankfully my job is allowing us to save for tuition costs and is still paying 90% of my schooling. We are blessed! I have nothing to complain about. ;)

Last Friday the 26th, Steve picked me up from work and we went to the Salt Lake Temple and did initiatories. I got to do 6 names, but unfortunately the men’s side was REALLY understaffed and Steve wasn’t able to do any. We were glad to make it to the temple though to feel the Spirit and peace. Afterwards we went home, changed, and then went to Red Robin for dinner. We then came home swam and watched a movie. It was an excellent date night!

The next day, Saturday, we had a branch BBQ at the church pavilion. It was fun! We had a pretty good turn out. We had hot dogs and chili and had everyone bring side dishes and desserts. We then played water balloon volleyball and had a slip and slide. Steve got a lot of the men to do the slip and slide w/ him while I played volleyball. After that we then went on a hike up to Donut Falls and invited a couple from the branch to go w/ us. We had a good time. Jana and I walked a little faster then Jon and Steve so we got there before they did. It was a nice enjoyable hike; so pretty. We then made a quick dinner than had them back over to go swimming and use the hot tub. It was a lot of fun!

This Tuesday we went w/ Ashley and James Dunkelberger to Thanksgiving Point's Garden, since it was $2 Tuesdays. We drove w/ them down then met another couple there and walked around looking at the beautiful flowers, ponds, and landscaping. My camera battery was dead from Yellowstone, and I haven't found my charger, so took these pics from my camera phone (not bad).


A pond w/ lots of lilly pads


On the other side of the ponds were LOTS of hungry fish!


Pretty flowers


The falls at the end of the gardens


After we got to the gardens we noticed their front right tire was bulging. They decided to drive home on it anyway. We told him to drive slow because it could blow anytime, but he wanted to get home so he was going about 60 mph. Well we got to about Sandy then it blew. It was lucky that no one hit us from behind or anything and we were able to get over to the right lane edge. When the tire blew it rubbed on the fender bender and actually tore it up also which made it rip up all the way to the window. It also hit the washer fluid so it was leaking all over the road. We then helped him change the tire to the spare and we lipped our way home w/ Steve holding the "wing" down and making sure we didn't get anyone. Thankfully they called their insurance the next day and since the damage was caused by the tire and the car didn't technically touch the ground, they covered it 100% w/ only a $100 deductible. It was an adventure, and definitely not something I'd like to do again. It was kinda scary. I guess Ashley has been asking James to get the tires changed for sometime now but obviously hadn't gotten around to it. Moral of the story is change your tires when they tell you to.....they're not kidding when they say your tires are bad and need to be replaced.