General Conference in St. George

This year we went to St. George for General Conference weekend.  Sadly, Katie couldn't join us this time.  It was such a nice thing to get away from regular old life and relax and be spiritually fed.  

I really enjoyed conference this year.  Maybe it was because I have never listened to every session from a hot tub!  No, it was just great because it was.  There was an historic announcement changing the age young men and women can choose to serve a mission now.  It is now 18 for young men and 19 for young women.  Katie and a group of girls from her dorm were at our house watching and they went crazy when the announcement was made Saturday morning.  They were jumping up and down, running all around, screaming, crying, carrying on.  They actually paused the broadcast for an hour because they were so excited, couldn't stop talking and were missing all of the other talks.  Katie has always wanted to serve a mission but wondered if she would go since the age girls used to serve was 21 and who knows what life would bring that many years down the road.  She is planning on going now!  She could go as early as March but will finish next semester and wait a month or so after Michael gets home so they can spend some time together before she leaves.

 We had dinner with Grandpa Lorin, Nana Kathy, and Jeramy and Cheryl even came!  We had a great BBQ and played some ping pong.

 This weekend was just what we needed!

Homecoming for Caroline!

Homecoming at Orem High is Caroline's first formal dance.  She was asked to the dance by a friend named Cameron Hernandez.  Side note...Nelson and Cameron's dad went to law school together and his mom and I had a sewing class together at BYU.  This was before either of us had any kids, a LONG time ago....now back to Caroline's story.... Cameron knows how much Caroline loves all things to do with Mountain Man Rendezvous so he asked her in a very unique way.  He made this bracelet that she is wearing that says HOMECOMING spelled out in leatherwork with a bead and leather lacing to tie it together.  Here she is wearing her bracelet in all of her rendezvous finery.  Sorry it is so hard to see in the picture but I promise that's what it says!

 Caroline answered Cameron with a bag of goldfish crackers that said "Of all the fish in the sea, I am so glad you picked me!  YES!"

 Here they are as Cameron picked her up for the day date.  They had a picnic lunch with another couple in their group.

 Here is Caroline all ready to go!

 You are so pretty Caroline!

 I love the dress Caroline picked.  It is very sophisticated and so Caroline!  She isn't into the big poofy, lacy, princess like dresses.  It is such a pretty color and very unique.

 We love shoes, how could we have a post about a formal dance without showing you the shoes?

 Here is Caroline pinning on the boutineer.

 They look so great!  Awesome tie to match her shoes Cameron!

 One more thumbs up...and they're off!

Here's the crowd that were here to see Caroline off on her date.  We are so lucky to have such a great family!  They come when they can to see the girls all dressed up and send them on their way.  Thanks everybody!

45th Birthday...really??

My sweet niece texted me first thing in the morning of my birthday with wishes for my day celebrating my 29th birthday.  She is so cute.  Yeah, I can't believe it either.  No, I am not sure I even remember 29.  That's right, I am 45.  For some reason this was a hard birthday.  Maybe because it's closer to 50 than 40.  Maybe it's because my dad is 25 years older than me and there is no way he could be 70.  No way.  Do you even have any gray hairs, Dad?  I don't think so.  My mom was younger than I am now when I got married.  I can't see the computer screen with the font on HUGE without my reading glasses.  I like afternoon naps.  Ok, that's not a valid point, I have always liked afternoon naps.  I probably have bunions or something!  Someone help!  Ok, calm down, it's ok, lots of people are this old.  

 Maybe because of my joy in having to claim this year I was not really super excited to make a big deal about my birthday.  It was a Thursday.  I had regular mom duties to perform.  We really didn't need a lot of pomp and circumstance.  However, my family decided I did and I guess after all is said and done I am grateful.  It is always nice to be remembered and have people express love for you.  Yeah, it was nice.  The kids were SO busy today so Nelson baked a cake for me.  Isn't that just so sweet?  He is really the best husband ever, really.  I like to think this cake is a tribute to my roots in a representation of the great Alaskan earthquake....or maybe it's just that Nelson didn't realize you are supposed to cut the bump off of the bottom layer of a stacked cake or this happens.

 45 candles

 taking forever to light all of them

 Finally all lit.  See the green one on the left?  wax running down the cake, the pink one next to it almost burned to the bottom it took so long to get them all lit.  

 Whoa, so bright!

 Caroline was so fun to bring me balloons after school.  Her gift to me is a pedicure.  That girl really knows what a girl loves, huh?  I am so looking forward to that.

 Even though Katie is at BYU with no car she managed to bring me some fun balloons, flowers and a nice card.  It was such a fun surprise for her to come visit!  Nelson and David gave me a nice shirt and sweater, I love them!

After a lot of dread about being ....45......the day turned out very nice and I feel very loved.  Thanks family!

HUGE Labor Day extravaganza family vacation

We decided to splurge and take 20 hours for a family vacation.  When you are short on time your choices of destination are limited so we chose to visit Provo.  That's right, Provo.  We took the motorhome and the boat to an RV park right outside Utah Lake for a night.  The next morning we went boating for a couple of hours and then headed home.  We really like to spend time with just us and the kids, even if it's for less than a day. 

 Caroline and David went wakeboarding.  I love how pictures of boating on Utah Lake have the Y in the background.  The rest of us were babies thinking it was too cold.  It really was, though.  

We really do need a longer vacation.  We got to go to California for a week before Michael left on his mission but that was 16 months ago.  Since he has left we have had 3 other less than 24 hour little trips, two of which were the same weekend with a return home for church in the middle, and that's it.  Can it be that we just need him home to have a real vacation?  Maybe so.

David gets braces

David has waited a long time to get braces.  Life gets busy and I should have had him in to get this done at least a year or two ago.  Oh well, better late than never.  He is actually pretty excited, I guess because he has been waiting.  Also, the Dr. said he should have them off before school starts next year.  Quick!

Isn't he adorable?

Fiddler on the Roof!

Katie has been busy this summer with rehearsals for Fiddler on the Roof.  It is at the Scera Shell, an outdoor theater here in Orem.  She has had a wonderful time.  The director is awesome and the cast is very talented and some of them well known so it's been a great experience for her.  She was cast as Hodel, the 2nd daughter.  We went to the dress rehearsal to take some pictures so the set isn't quite what it really is now but you get the idea.  Sorry but my pictures aren't so great, a bit washed out and a little blurry.

 This is from Tevya's dream.  It is one of my favorites in the play.  The characters are so fun to watch!

 Here's Katie during the wedding and one of her solos.  She has such a beautiful voice and does a great job in front of a couple of thousand people in the audience.

 This is from the wedding scene also when Perchik breaks with tradition and asks which girl will dance with him.  Hodel steps forward to be his dance partner.

 Intermission is pretty laid back with no audience.  Katie came out front to visit us.  Jerry Elison is the director and Katie had been telling us how nice he is.  When we arrived at dress rehearsal there was an older man sitting in the center of the hill, not far from the stage.  I guessed he was the director as he had a pad of paper and other items around him.  There were chairs about 5 feet in front of him and off to the right slightly. Nelson went and sat in the chairs and I sat in the grass a little behind who I was guessing was the director.  Soon, I noticed my phone ringing (on silent) and I ran up the hill to talk to Caroline.  She was going to call me back so I stayed a ways back for a few minutes.  Nelson got up from his chair and walked almost right up to the front of the stage, snapping pictures, standing right there in front, walking back and forth, getting a better vantage point, then he sat back in the chair on the hill.  Then I saw Jerry leading forward, gesturing to Nelson and I thought, Oh no, is he bothered that he sat almost in front of him and then was right up front taking pictures?  When I went back down Nelson said he had told him when Katie would be on stage next and that he should go right up and get some pictures, you have to be really close!  Whew, and Wow!  He also said if anyone was bothered or wondering why he was doing that Jerry would just tell them he said it's ok.  Seriously a nice guy.

 Katie in the middle of the hill and the stage in the background.

 Katie and Perchik discussing politics...and affection.

 Papa says "NO!" to the engagement!  Neal Barth first played Tevya 40 years ago and has given over 300 individual performances.  Jerry Elison alone has cast him 4 times in this role.  He was magnificent!

 Hodel is so happy that her papa gave his blessing.

 Katie gets a solo as Hodel where she sings "Far from the home I love".  SO cool for her.  She does a great job.  This play has a lot of upcoming events in Katie's life such as meeting a man to marry, getting engaged, moving away from her parents and it was a bit surreal watching her act them all out.  She is moving to the dorms in 2 weeks and so her future is right there in my mind lately.  She is leaving!  I will miss her more than she knows, she is an amazing person.

 These next few pictures were taken for publicity a few weeks ago so I can't take credit but they are so fun.  What is really fun for Katie is that the other 2 older daughters are her dear friends from Orem High.  Hannah plays Tzeitel and Emily plays Chava.  This has been so fun for these cute girls!

Singing "Matchmaker".  You just gotta love this song.  They did such a fabulous job!  The play runs until August 18th so I am glad I get to go see it a few more times!