Happenings in my life and in my heart.
I love these people more than any others in the world!!! I am so grateful for them. We've been through a lot together, and we continue to go through a lot together!!
So many of the trials we are experiencing, I never dreamed we would be experiencing. But here we are, in the middle of some heavy stuff that I won't go into!! I know The Lord is helping to make my burdens lighter. I know that He helps me when I turn to Him, and when I position myself to receive His help by choosing the right. If I don't make good choices, He can't help me as much, even though He wants to.
I'm Back!
Our puppy Molly, who is now caught up on her immunizations until she is a year old! She has brought a refreshing joy to our family!!
Laren and I at the "Y" on Y Mountain a few weeks ago.
The kids and I resting on the "Y", the kids eating their donuts and me, my rice crispy treats. (Love those Creamery Rice Crispy Treats!)
At the top of the hike to Timp Cave with my hiking buddies!
Laren finally replaced his wrecked Camry with a Nissan Maxima.
Alyssa and Tyler at Temple Square this summer.
Kyle, Rilyn and Kayla at the airport headed to Grandma and Grandpa's!
Alyssa returning from Summer Camp at Clear Creek.
Citrus Chicken Teriyaki, a newfound dinner. Our dinner Sunday night. 
Smothered Chicken, a dinner we had last week.
Me going to get my Utah Drivers License. 
Most of the kids and I attempting to hike to the Timpangogos Cave, but we were too early - the trail doesn't open on the weekend until 7:30 am. It opens during the weekdays by 6:00 am. So this is us about 1/4 of the way up, before the gate.
(Front-Back, l-r) Alyssa, Rilyn, Cara, Kayla My daughters and a friend at Mutual Dell a couple of weeks ago.
And finally me helping Rilyn to paint her block up at Mutual Dell. 
Our new little Shih Tzu pooch.
My second oldest daughter Alyssa and I were going to the store to get a few essentials for our Fourth of July festivities the next day and took the opportunity to peer at the pooches for sale. We shouldn't have because we fell instantly in love. Alyssa called Laren pleading. He asked me what I thought, of course my opinion was biased toward the dog. (Which is unusual because I am not a huge animal person.) Then we decided no. We hung up and started to do the shopping. Alyssa was in tears. Laren called back, back peddaling. Even he was thinking twice and he had not seen her. That was all it took. We went in the store and bought a can of pet food, got some cash back and went to see about getting us a new puppy!Now my house is filled with all the neighbor kids on our cul-d-sac, all wanting to hold and play with her. We are trying to potty train her and train her to her kennel at night - doing all those things that dog owners have to go through to have the joyful, cute little pet! We really think pink is Molly's color! After waiting quite a few years, my kids finally have a pet other than a bunny and fish.
The temple where Laren took out his endowments. Right before Laren's mission he lived in Nibley, UT - just outside of Logan, with his Mom. He got a job there working for a farmer. And so he took us around to where he lived and worked at that time in his life. It was interesting to see where he'd been. And I had only been to Logan once before, but wow! what a beautiful place and surrounding area that is!!
Our family in front of the Idaho Falls, Idaho Temple (acrossed the river from it, actually). We took this picture on Saturday Morning, just after the evening part of his Reunion. We stayed the night at the Red Lion Inn since that is where the Reunion was the night before and it is just right next to the river and the temple in Idaho Falls. So when we checked out of the hotel, we got a photo op, with all of the ducks, in front of the temple.
What a special place this is for me because when I was a student at Ricks College (back when it was called that), I would go up to a church building not far from the temple and sit in my car overlooking all of Rexburg and pray. It was my "secret" place of prayer. And this temple is just acrossed the street and up the hill a little from the apartments (Hillcrest) that I lived in at Ricks College/BYU Idaho.
There is a picture somewhere of my Mom and Dad in front of this temple, close to the time I was born (early 1970's). So I had an interest in seeing this temple. My parents were never sealed in the Temple, they had just stopped to visit the grounds and pose for a picture. I was quite surprised by this temple, as it is in the middle of downtown Ogden (or so it seemed) and the area around it was deteriorating with some newer buildings there. The temple has a fence that goes all the way around it and busy streets on every side except for one, where a church building stands. Because of that, we took this picture in the parking lot of a vacant building across the street.
Us in front of the Bountiful Utah TempleThe last temple on our way home (before we got to the Salt Lake Temple) was the Bountiful, Utah Temple. I see it from the freeway as I go and visit my sister in Kaysville. It has the same outside architecture as the Mount Timpanogos Temple (our temple, now). But the Bountiful Temple sits high on the hillside/mountainside in Bountiful. And you will notice, it even sits pretty high above this sidewalk that runs in front of it. As we pulled up to get this picture, a man dressed in a suit approached us and told us they were doing a fireside for the primary children but that we were more than welcome to stay. I think it was his kind way of letting us know they wanted us to park elsewhere or something like that. :) Our kids kind of wanted to stay, after they heard they were serving refreshments, but we got our picture and headed for home.
Laren (in the striped shirt on the right) and some of his old high school buddies at the park in Sugar City yesterday. Not too surprising to learn that many of them became engineers like him.
Laren and I at the reunion yesterday.
While I was in town I got in touch with one of my dear friends, Kris, and we had a nice little visit! (Thanks, Kris, for obliging me and my girls!)
Kris brought her 2 daughters and I brought my 3 and the 5 of them became fast friends playing hide and seek and sardines at the BYU-Idaho Botanical Gardens while us moms visited!
Us in front of the Rexburg, Idaho Temple. I cannot believe there is a temple there now, just a short distance (literally) from where I lived when I was a student there 16 years ago! It is a beautiful temple, I'm bummed we didn't have time to do a session there!
And Jaci, this is for you! This is Brother Mike Rasmussen, a counselor from our Bishopric in the student ward when we were students there. (Jaci and I were roommates.) I did not know this, but he is from Laren's home ward in Plano. So when we went to Church today and I saw him, even after all these years I knew it was him. We had a nice conversation. Our old Bishop, Bishop Puzey is a mission president in the Phillipines now. And I specifically asked Brother Rasmussen if he remembered you Jaci and he did! He said he remembered going with his wife and taking you to the doctor and hospital in Idaho Falls. Such a fun reunion!! 
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