Finally.....a blog post!

Yes, it's been a while since the last post. I was called to be Relief Society President in March, and my free time has changed significantly. I'm definitely much busier, but all in all it is a good thing for me. I just spent Memorial weekend with the kids, and we had a lot of fun. We all went up to Island Park to the cabin that Brent worked on last year (hence the new picture on the blog). It was great to all be together and we found lots to do in spite of the cold snowy weather. I have to say, it was hard to believe we were wearing our winter clothes and Brent was getting out the snow mobiles at the end of May, but that's what happened. Thanks for the fun time. I love you all.

Oh the surprises of life!

The last month has been full of unplanned construction ... all because I opened my laundry room blind one day at the end of January, saw water dripping and sagging dry wall at the top of the window. That led to insurance calls and a restoration company coming to my house. They explored further and discovered that the roof had been built wrong and water had been finding its way into the outside wall of my laundry room and leaking for quite a while. As a result it was a mess. The dry wall, wood under the siding, floor and roof had to be removed, rebuilt and replaced with all new stuff. So my washer and drier were sitting in my dining room for 3 weeks while they built me a new laundry room. They finished it last Saturday, and it is a joy to wash again and not have construction workers at my house most days! Even though it was pretty disruptive for the month, I do feel grateful to have found the leak and a good restoration company, and to have it all fixed! Oh the surprises of life!!!

One last Christmas Post

I thought I'd better post this before it is June. This picture is from Christmas Eve, and here's the fun story. Shauna, Janet, Patrick and I decided to go shopping for new PJ's on Christmas Eve. We went with the idea of getting footy pajamas, but considering it was the afternoon before Christmas, the town was sold out of those. Thanks to ShopKo, we were lucky enough to find these matching pj's on sale. So this was our attire Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. We had a great time and LOTS of laughs ... and boy I needed that! Who says you need to grow up?? Thanks kids!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Merry Christmas everyone. I'm posting a link to a great video and song that can be downloaded. I send my wishes for a wonderful holiday, and don't forget to remember Christ and how truly blessed we are because He lives! Here's the link. The website is appropriately called: Joy to Everyone

For all you singers out there .....

Ok, so I don't usually recommend television shows, but I have been watching a show this week that has been so much fun. It's called "The Sing-off," and it's on Mon. & Wed. nights on NBC (or whenever you want to stream it with that magical internet connection). It's a singing competition of a cappella groups, which sounds kind of dull, but it's not because they are so good! So check it out if you're in the mood for something entertaining ... especially you singers out there. I think it only runs for a couple of weeks.

Fireworks in the Winter???

Pocatello has a really fun annual tradition. On the Saturday after Thanksgiving they hold "Christmas in the Night Time Skies" at the fairgrounds close to my house. They have bonfires, serve chili and hot dogs, and have a firework show. The cost of admission is a wrapped toy that the Salvation Army distributes to kids for Christmas. It's a pretty cool idea, and even more amazing to watch fireworks in the sky when it is freezing cold outside and the ground is covered with snow. I love it! I can see the fireworks from my house, so this year I watched them from my window, all warm and toasty inside. The temperature was in the single digits outside! I took some pictures - not very good ones because they were through the window - but it might give you the idea, and anyway what's a blog post without a picture!!!

Of Birthdays and Other Things ...

It's Chuck's birthday today, and I'm feeling a bit reflective. Sometimes I wonder if they still celebrate birthdays in Heaven. After all, it is a pretty significant event to be born into this earth life. So ... Happy Birthday to Chuck, whatever he's doing in Heaven today!!!

I also wanted to post some pictures of a trip I took in October to a great little Bed and Breakfast in Leavenworth, Washington. It was the place that Chuck and I used to go whenever we wanted an escape from life and a great, relaxing mountain get-a-way, so it holds a lot of good memories for me. I was pretty nervous going, not knowing if it would be a relaxing, healing sort of trip or a lonely disaster. Thankfully, it turned out to be a sweet, peaceful, healing experience where I met many kind, generous people, relaxed, and rejuvenated my spirit. I did shed some tears, but also enjoyed wonderful memories of our time together there. And it turned out to be quite empowering as I conquered my first trip alone, driving, flying, renting a car, etc ... and learned that I could actually enjoy doing it. So here is Run of the River in the fall.

The fall decorations were great. There were pumpkins and these scarecrow guys everywhere, even lining the driveway up to the B & B.

When I wasn't inside by my toasty warm fireplace, I was relaxing on the deck off of my room looking at this beautiful scenery, feeding birds, watching Canadian Geese fly by in formation, watching the deer come up the creek and onto the grass, or just listening to the serene sounds of nature. Ahhhhhh!

And finally, a nice couple took a picture of me by my scarecrow friend that was sitting below my deck. Who says I wasn't with someone!