What are you doing right now?

 Truman threw this question out there on March 30th and we  answered...

Markus, Laila and Jet making dinner

Monson, Lexi and the girls in Oregon with friends.

Addison working out at the gym

Truman at the dog park with Callum

Wayne and Melinda on a freezing cold walk

Landon at rehearsal for "Company"

Silver platter of beliefs

If I was presented with a silver platter of beliefs to enhance my earth life, what beliefs would I choose?

I would want to believe that I will see my parents and relatives again one day. That they are working, progressing and waiting for me.  I would want to believe in a beautiful afterlife.

I would want to believe in angels, that I can call up on them, and they help and support and have my back.

I would want to believe in a higher power...in a God that loves and heals and helps and loves me and wants the best for me. Who wants me to become like them.

I would want to believe in prophets who continue to work with God and help me along my earth path with messages and revelation.

I would want to believe in agency, and that everyone gets to make choices for their lives.

I would want to believe that all things that happen to me are actually happening for me, and I can find lessons and growth in them.

I would want to believe in scriptures and their truthfulness and teachings.

I would want to believe in forever families, and that my earth relationships are important.

I would want to believe in the power of repentance and the joy that comes from turning back to God again and again. 

I would want to believe in an atonement that grows me, and applies to me, and helps me.

I would want to believe in all of the gospel principles and doctrines that are laid out by Jesus in the New Testament of love and law and mercy and justice. 

I would want to believe in people and their goodness.

I would want to believe in the power of love and inclusiveness.

I would want to be a believer.

I get all of these things by being a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints.  So I stay..and I'm happy about it. 

My church

What change do I want?

 I would like "Heavenly parents" and "Heavenly mother" to just roll off people's tongues and not be so weird and hesitant about it because we know that’s the truth. We know that’s what we are preparing ourselves for because we go to the temple and learn this.

I would like the general women presidents. ( or presidencies) - to speak at every General Conference, not just one or two women.  I think that’s a sad message to send about women’s voices and men not needing to hear them.  (We have our own Women's meeting...isn't that good enough?). I just think it’s funny that the powers that be think the men of the 70s who preside over regions, have more important messages than the General Women leaders of the entire church.  

I would like the word preside to be out of the sealing ceremony. I think preside is an outdated word. I appreciate the added gentleness and meekness to it, but I still don’t understand why we continue to have that word preside in our vernacular when we are equal partners.  I don’t feel God in this. 

Yes there are things in my church that I want changed…and I trust God will make those happen, since I have had a heart-held list of changes that I wanted and one by one these changes HAVE happened.  I trust more are coming.  I’m not sad or mad about the slowness of it, I know this is a church of continuing revelation and continued restoration.  (I lean heavily on the 11th article of faith) I know we are flawed, fallen humans including our leaders and we are trying to do what we believe God wants us to do..and I know change will come….because…GOD!  

41st and 10th Anniversary

 We celebrated our 41st anniversary with a Burley Burger dinner and a Nielsen's custard for dessert.. and writing down 41 random memories...

1. I took my temple endowments out on St Patrick’s day 1983. I smiled when I put a green apron on. 

2. Climbed to the top of everything in Paris  for  our anniversary of 2018

3. Anniversary 2012 in Manchester, England picking up T

4. Wayne’s pink tux jacket

5. Having to go back and get Wayne's wallet for honeymoon

6. Trying out every bed in Park City condo on our honeymoon

7. Falling asleep to Chariots Fire every time we tried to watch it

8. Sleeping in 1st apartment with no air because too much $

9. 2nd hand black vinyl furniture  that we stuck to when we sat down. 

10. Our first car had a smashed in drivers door Chevy impala

11. Having our first sex before our reception at our apartment then we walked across street to reception at Canterbury hall.

12. Cruising with cousins and siblings and we all wore Grandma Butters Sweet Adeline dresses

13. Cruising with our kids. Singing karaoke - and everyone was clapping and hollering.

14. Painting kitchen cupboards red

15. Stephi dog - going away and coming back 

16. Taking up biking at 50 years old

17. Moving to Layton at 61 years old 

18. Learning canasta at Webster's cabin

19. Snowmobiling in Yellowstone with West Bountiful people.  

20. Sign up across our garage for Melinda’s 40th. She's so hot!!

21. Bountiful temple dedication with Addison in attendance at corner room in the temple.

22. Wayne getting raccoons out of our chimney.  "Santa Claus"

23. Flying to Philadelphia to pick up Laila and home with a gorgeous baby that everyone stopped us and wanted to see and goo at.

24. Wayne getting a ticket driving to pick me and baby Addison up at the Lakeview Hospital. He was too excited. 

25. Landon tieing his blanket on body and  praying like a nun

26. Monson winning in football.  So many fun games to attend.

27. Tru walking into barbershop with long hair to get a trim, and coming out buzzed in JR. High.

28. Wayne standing on a bar stool in our front yard cutting down the willow tree- I made a ton of willow chairs 

29. Boys fighting. We get phone calls about Monson with a knife

30. Sitting in choir concerts at Bountiful High

31. China trips. Wayne got BlackBerry device he wore on his belt pickpocketed on the subway 

32. Finishing basement in West Bountiful house - and our first home computer.

33. Baseball bat for a home intruder in West Bountiful

34. Hot air balloon rides for Bash family reunion

35. Chasing Hot air Balloons at balloon festival in Albuquerque with all the Coles in a motorhome.

36. Saluting Wayne’s dad at the cemetery when we motorcycle by. 

37. Bear lake walks, beach and shakes. 

38. YSA bishoping activities 

39. Performing in Guys and Dolls and My Fair Lady at Terrace Plaza

40. Swim parties and holidays at Grandma Butters pool

41. Flying to Orlando to hold our first grand baby 2014 

 I found what I wrote in a journal about our 10th anniversary on March 21, 1993

10 years with Wayne-- it's hard to believe as I look around and see how far we've come.

We got married 10 years ago on $400 a month and a prayer.  We lived in Dad's apartment, and we drove Dad's car because we couldn't afford one.  Wayne was home from his mission for just 3 months and I was finishing my last quarter in college.  We lived on Top Ramen noodles and macaroni and cheese and anything cheap.  We longed for offers from our parents to eat at their houses which they did offer us frequently.

Wayne was working with Joel LaSalle in a new sign company and Nine years later after they went their separate ways they are working together again in a new sign co. Glifx. 

We had no t.v..  Mom's next-door neighbor gave us an old microwave that we fixed for $40. We had hand me down everything- bed, couches, table etc.  

We turned on the air conditioner in the apartment for one month and our bill was so high we decided we would just have to be hot and sweaty instead.  The apartment was upstairs and we opened all the windows and even slept right by the sliding glass door when we pend..and boy was it hot.  That was the spring and summer of the incredible floods of 1983-- mudslides, river down State Street, and tons of water everywhere. 

NOw 4 children and 2 houses and 9 cars later...10 years have definitely happened.

Wayne has gone from $400 a month to over $50,000 a year.  We started a sewing business 5 years ago- Sew Perfect- and make pizza delivery bags.  I taught at Bountiful High School for 4 1/2 years.  

We've been to New York, San Francisco, San Diego, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Albuquerque, West Yellowstone, Denver, Orlando, Portland, Phoenix- all over on vacations.

And best of all we still love each other!  I love Wayne!

Preston one year later

 We heart attacked Angela and Guy's home on Monday night..so they would wake up on March 19th- and know they are loved. It's been a hard, difficult, loving, tear-filled year, since Preston died by suicide, for all of us, but more so for Guy and Angela. 

Monson and Landon joined me in the quiet service.  Monson's girls wrote and colored on the cutest hearts. We didn't know the Browns had a ring camera until it was too late, and I covered it up with a heart...but the next day Guy watched the video and found us doing our heart thing.  We were found out.  

Guy and Angela took the day off of work, so they could sleep in, cry, go for a walk, go to the temple, and the cemetery and watch a mindless movie and just be together.  I'm glad they did. 

Grandkid Game night for March

Grandkid Game night!  This was our third try at this…and I just love it.  We have them all come for 4 hours on a Friday night and we do a lot of things.  This Month we focused on St. Patricks day and Green.   We were sad that Sophia couldn’t join us… she had a rehearsal, but our other 7 came!   

  We gathered and had rainbow pages to color, while I made little hot glue pom-pom Leprechauns for the kids and talked about Lucky vs. Blessed…and what that means.  We decided that we are both lucky and blessed.

We had chicken nuggets and papa’s sour dough bread - as per usual- the kids all love these. Then  we played bingo for candy.  I ran the bingo game with a giant leprechaun hat on and then passed this on when Alfie ran it. 

We went outside for roasted marshmallows around the pit.  It's kind of a dangerous prospect to do this. Fire and kids aren't a great mix, but they are getting safer every time we try it. Alfie likes his marshmallows burned-- I think he likes blowing out the fire. George likes his marshmallows raw-- but he wants you to put them on a stick and then hand them back to him. Everyone else likes the golden brown melty marshmallow. Poppy got marshmallow all over Papa's pants.

Then back inside for the hot and cold game hiding gold coins around the living room. They are so funny hiding and then finding the coins for each other.

We also did the upside-down person where you draw eyes on your chin and cover nose and hair with clothing - and we sang and laugh a ton. 

We had Lucky Charms cereal for a dessert break– it’s the kind where you add milk and it turns green.  It was magical.  

George was kept busy with papa’s remote car and playing with marbles.     The rest of us played card games- Sleeping queens, Trash and Cards & Marbles… and then we put the Wonka movie on for those who were sleepy.  It was a good time.  I love spending time with my grandkids.

We got FROGGED!

We got "frogged" this week!
We came home from our New York trip and discovered little green frogs hidden all over our house.  Our kids and grandkids had a riot hiding 200+ frogs.

We found the obvious ones easily... and counted up to 80 frogs, then the search had to really begin.  We looked inside cupboards, under beds, in our bed, in pockets, in fridge and freezer,  in plants, on top of shelves, picture and door frames. 

So many FROGS! We found 100 more frogs after two days of searching, but we still had over 20 to find and we couldn't see any more. 

Then one by one they would come into view in places we had already searched.  It was wild to notice another frog on the chandelier four days after I had taken a frog off of the chandelier, or a frog still snuggled on top of the Chinese dragon on our travel shelf after 3 other frogs had been found there. 

We love our kids and grandkids and the fun, crazy things they do.  Elsie went around and told us exactly where she hid all of her frogs.  She's a hoot.

NYC and BelWels

Wayne and I  just got back from NYC for a teaching conference with Laura and Eric Belnap.  We love these friends of ours so much.  We have traveled a lot together, but this is the first for all of us in this city. Laura and I had an Innovative Shools Summit at the Marriott Marquis on Times Square that our school paid for so we invited our boyfriends to tag along.  

Here is a rundown of what we did:

We got there Wednesday went to Joe’s Pizza for a late night snack, then to sleep for the Thursday conference. Thursday morning we went to the Edge which is a tall building with a view and an outdoor deck with a glass floor on some of it.  Perfect view of the Hudson River and The Empire State Building.  Plus there was a Magnolia Bakery right there-- so we got our Banana Pudding.

Then we Uber’d down to Chinatown. We had massages at Kimberly Spa. They were delightful.  My Chinese grandpa worked me over GOOD!  We ate lunch at Joe’s Shanghai- it was a recommendation and it was only fair food- so not going back.  But then we had ice cream at the Chinese ice cream shop - so fun! The flavors are Asian…. Taro, black sesame, kochi, green seaweed, red bean, durian fruit etc..…. All really, surprisingly tasty– we would go back here.  We walked the streets of Chinatown and went to see the start of the Manhattan Bridge. 

Thursday night we saw The Notebook the Musical — it was really good. This is such a sweet story that had me sobbing by the end. Alzheimer's is a cruel fate. Interesting casting too –they play Noah and Ali as teens, in their late twenties, and then in 70’s— none of these couples looked alike in size, shape, or race.  Fascinating. 

Got me some milk cake and a german chocolate brownie from the Cake Boss. Both incredible

The Naked cowboy is still in Times Square....weird

Friday we had our teacher conference all day. The boys went to the 911 museum then they went to Chelsea Market for lunch at Los Tacos. They rented bikes and went on the bike lane expressway along the Hudson River up to 72nd St., and they walked their bikes in towards Central Park and stopped at Levaine Cookies and bought a big thing of cookies.  Then they biked back down Broadway to our hotel. We met them and had a delicious dinner at Carmine's a ton of Italian food - huge family-size portions. Then we played games in our hotel Suite.  

Saturday: Such a rainy day. We attended more of the conference. We were done by 12:15. The boys went walking up to Central Park and back in the rain with umbrellas, and then we decided to get show tickets because it was so rainy.  We couldn’t do anything else so we went to the Neil Diamond- A Beautiful NOise show at 2 o’clock. We loved it.  There were times when the entire audience was singing along– I love these moments of community connection. Sweet Caroline was a riot. The head actor sounded just like Neil Diamond. Such an interesting story and the price of fame on family and mental health.

We went to Shake Shack for dinner - burgers and shakes then back to our hotel for games. (The boys keep beating the girls at Skipbo.  We also play Yahtzee, and 10, 2, Oh Crap!) At 8 o’clock we walked across the street to see Kimberly Akimbo.   A story about a 16-year-old girl who has an aging disease so she looks 64 (and is played on stage by a 64-year-old woman)…. and her dysfunctional family.  We saw Victoria Clark play this part… she was amazing, and all of the original cast members.   Then New York cheesecake from Juniors.  

Sunday. Breakfast and a big walk to St Patrick’s Cathedral for Mass and a walk through Central Park. Laura’s body is killing her so she’s moving very slowly. She stayed at the hotel with her bad back and hips.  She really is a trooper and never complains, but we know she is hurting. We spent the rest of the day traveling back home.