Two thirds of the way through! Everybody says this is where the days start flying by, until the last week, which they say is unbearably slow. We'll see what happens. Thursday: Had a great TRC today. My companion and I are still working a bit on understanding people, but our... Continue reading

After visiting Ketchikan we made our way to Victoria, British Columbia -- the last stop on our Alaskan cruise. This one was short (8pm - 11:30pm) but very, very sweet. As always, cruising into port was one of my favorite parts -- the new scenery & sights to take in, and the excitement over what we might find when we get off the ship. Once off the boat we grabbed a taxi to take us downtown. Let me just say that we loved Victoria! We only got a small taste but we could tell this is our kind of place.... Continue reading

Another day, another port! After sailing through Glacier Bay we found ourselves in . . . But let's back up for a second and admire the beautiful sunrise we were treated to this morning We made zero plans for Ketchikan. Our schedule allowed us to be there 7am - 1:15pm and we knew it would be a chill day of wandering the town and just checking things out. Right off the boat we stopped at the Visitors Center and picked up a map for a walking tour of the city. It was the perfect activity as it wove us through... Continue reading

After spending the entire day in Skagway, we woke up Thursday morning to find ourselves in Glacier Bay National Park. This is what an Alaskan cruise is all about! Getting up close to these magnificent glaciers! The waterways and shores are protected and there was a special kind of calm and stillness that permeated the entire area. It really felt like a privilege to be there. The main glacier viewing times were 8am - 1pm so we were up and ready with our hot chocolate in hand! Again, having a balcony made this whole day just so wonderful. We could... Continue reading

Stop #2 on our Alaskan Cruise . . . Skagway! It was also our longest port of the week (7am - 8:15pm) which gave us plenty of time to explore. This town is super adorable. Just take a look! That building on the left -- the Arctic Brotherhood Hall -- is covered in over 8000 pieces of driftwood. Wow! Give me all of the cute window boxes ... ... old-timey cars .... restaurant gardens .... hints of gold rush days ... and totem poles. The most popular attraction in Skagway is a ride on the Yukon Pass Railroad. And while... Continue reading

Over halfway through the MTC and the Temple is finally open! So glad we were able to go this morning, so glad my district got up at the butt-crack of dawn, and so happy that the laundry room is practically empty! Here's my report: Thursday: another TRC today. Was able... Continue reading

After a full day at sea (Monday), we awoke Tuesday morning to find ourselves cruising through the Inside Passage of Alaska. This route is one of the things that made this cruise so enjoyable! With bays & inlets, islands, mountains, endless coastline . . . there was always something new and beautiful to see. And having the protection of land on either side meant that the swells were kept low and we never felt the boat rocking. This morning was also the one and only time we had rain. And very little at that. But it was fun to wake... Continue reading

Scott and I love to vacation together and Hawaii has been our go-to destination for the past 13 years. But then he started working with a new company that offers trip incentives (in lieu of bonuses) and he earned one of those trips in his first year. Yay! The catalog of trips to choose from had quite the variety and in the end we picked . . . . . ALASKA! The idea of an Alaskan cruise actually popped up on my radar in the last year, so when we saw it was one of the options (and a cruise... Continue reading

Hey guys! Almost halfway to getting into the field, so pressure's on to master this language. Here's the weekly report: Thursday: Had another set of member TRCs. I thought they went way better than last week's. The language is definitely getting a little smoother. I just need to give myself... Continue reading

Here's the weekly report: Thursday: Had my first member TRC. A TRC is where my companion and I talk with a volunteer in Japanese, in this case a returned missionary, and talked about what they were going through and how the gospel can help them. It was a pretty cool... Continue reading

Hey guys, I'm back with my report for week 2! Let's see... Last Thursday: Had an epic experience teaching in Japanese. My teacher was pretending to be one of his investigators from when he was on a mission. He was just pretending, but I could still feel the spirit so... Continue reading

Hey guys! So excited to be sending my first email ... Continue reading

On June 23rd Conner was invited to speak in sacrament meeting, in preparation for his mission departure. His mission farewell was an absolutely beautiful meeting. I can’t quite express just how wonderful it was .... my heart was floating with SO MUCH love for this family. Conner gave a fabulous talk on the love that Jesus Christ has for us, the youth speaker (Pierce Hill) and concluding speaker (Linda Grondel) were SO wonderful as they also spoke of Christ’s love, and Payton and Anna played a piano/flute duet of “Nearer My God to Thee” that brought it all home. I... Continue reading

The big day. We had several hours before Conner had to report to the MTC so we tried to spend the time as best we could. First, games. Before we checked out of the hotel Scott took the opportunity to give Conner a father's blessing. Definitely a special moment for Scott. He loved his mission and has talked about it on repeat with our kids over the years. And now to see his son taking that big step, going into a mission prepared with a righteous heart ... huge pay day. But also as a dad, hard to watch your... Continue reading

Tuesday was wonderful. Just a great, great family day. After taking Cooper to a sitter, we hopped the car and started our drive north to Provo, Utah. Now, this drive was going to be a little different than our typical road trips because we had a missionary in the car which meant no popular music and no video games. Sooooo, we had to change up our entertainment a bit! We ..... listened to the Tabernacle Choir listened to a BYU devotional from Elder Uchtdorf made origami creatures (Conner received an origami book from a sweet lady in our ward) talked... Continue reading

More posts about Conner's mission prep Click the date to go to a post. This will be updated as I write more posts! March 12 - Receiving the mission call May 5 - Melchizedek Priesthood Ordination May 30 - Temple Endowment June 22 - Farewell Open House June 23 -... Continue reading

After months of planning -- well, actually years of preparing a little boy for this day -- it was finally here. Conner is going on a mission. The last couple months have been incredibly busy - eagle court of honor, Melchizedek priesthood ordination, graduation, temple endowment, farewell party & sacrament meeting talk, shopping for mission supplies - and that's just the stuff that involves Conner! One day I came up with the phrase "happy exhaustion." Everything we were experiencing was good! And things we really enjoyed and looked forward too! It was just a lot all squished together and many... Continue reading

Our family took Conner to the Provo, Utah Missionary Training Center on July 10th. He checked in at 12:30pm. Immediately after the drop-off we turned around to drive back home to Las Vegas (but first, stopping to pick up a box of chocolate chip cookies from Chip for the drive... Continue reading

My mom was and continues to be a wonderful example to me. Her light and the lessons she taught by word & example, are still things that I draw upon daily to guide me through my own motherhood and womanhood. When I approach tough situations or I'm dealing with an internal struggle my mind turns to think of what my mom would do. And usually that is exactly the answer, comfort, or support I need to move forward. I know that my angel mother is still guiding me. I've been gathering these thoughts & experiences in my head since her... Continue reading

My one little word for 2019 is . . . . L O V E. As it often happens, this word came to me late in the year and rested on my heart saying, "pick me." But . . . I resisted. Because, Love is at the core of our youth mutual theme for 2019 - "If ye love me keep my commandments" - and I thought it just might be overkill if I also chose Love as my personal focus for the year. I'm weird like that. In my opinion, a lot of "lovey" stuff is kind of cheesy.... Continue reading

Just look at these cute boys. This was taken on Payton's 16th birthday last week. You know what he chose to do on this milestone birthday? Go on his first date! Yep, he asked a girl out and with Conner's help he organized a group date of 3 couples. They met at our house for dinner - a taco bar! - played games, watched Groundhog's Day (because it happened to be actual Groundhog Day, February 2nd), and went out for shakes at Steak & Shake. When the boys walked in the door after taking the girls home, I couldn't believe... Continue reading

Last Sunday I had the opportunity to give a talk in church on the topic of Obedience. Thought I would share that message here because it includes a cute story about Conner from my pre-blogging days. :) ****** When I was a young mom with a toddler and a baby in my house, all of my time & energy was spent on keeping these little people fed, bathed, changed, entertained, and happy. Some came with a happy disposition, some did not. Through many, many tears & tantrums we worked through habits, routines, and rules in our home until there was... Continue reading

It has been a few years since I have done a Christmas home tour (2013 to be exact), and after a few requests, I decided to go for it! Much of my Christmas decor has stayed the same over the years. A few addition here and there. Some slight variations in how I display it. This year I pulled out my Christmas tubs and began decorating with the intention to set aside any unused Christmas decor in a donation pile. If I wasn't loving it, it was probably time for it to go. And so in the end, everything that... Continue reading

This year we have decided to incorporate some of the Christmas traditions of Denmark into our festivities. Why Denmark? Many of my ancestors came from Denmark, and surprisingly, Scott has a family line that also originates from Denmark! Our hope is to pick one country of our ancestry each year and learn a little more about them as we celebrate Christmas. I love family history and this is just another way to feel connected to those who have gone before us. Saint Lucia Day originated in Sweden but has been adopted by many Scandinavian countries, including Denmark. I also have... Continue reading

If you're anything like me, online shopping is your dear dear friend at Christmas time. Aside from socks, underwear, and candy for the stockings this year I have done ALL of our Christmas shopping online. This means that our UPS/Fedex/USPS delivery friends are visiting us on a near daily basis. And I know how long and busy these December days can be for them. My uncle is a UPS driver in rural central Utah and often shares pictures of the load of packages he picks up for the day, his mileage & delivery stats (sometimes totaling over 300 miles in... Continue reading