Thursday, November 30, 2017

Thanksgiving 2017

My favorite holiday! It's a time to give thanks for all the blessings we have and to spend time with family and loved ones. There are so many things I am grateful for! I think the quote I will share and Josh Groban's song say it beautifully. We really do have a lot to make us joyful and there is much to be grateful for!





The next few pictures are from around my house and Thanksgiving in Green River. Once again it was a great dinner and party. We started around 1 pm and no one left until a little after midnight. It's a good thing we like each other.

Our Thankful Tree
(Roommates and Me)

Place Settings. This year I graduated to the "adult" table. Not sure if I'm ready for that, and some of my cousins that are older than me were still sitting at the other table.


Corn Tournament
What great weather we had!





1st Place

2nd Place

3rd Place

4th Place

5th Place

Uncle Stan and Aunt Jerilyn had to leave early because they were flying to Hawaii the next morning. So they started on pies early.

Games
We played several rounds of What If. Then we just chatted and had a good time!



Monday, October 23, 2017

Book Club: Blue Castle

It was my family's turn for book club. We choose to read Blue Castle by L. M. Montgomery. This was such a fun read. I think we all had good time reading it. My cousin Avan said that it was like a Hallmark movie, but better.

"Valancy lives a drab life with her overbearing mother and prying aunt. Then a shocking diagnosis from Dr. Trent prompts her to make a fresh start. For the first time, she does and says exactly what she feels. As she expands her limited horizons, Valancy undergoes a transformation, discovering a new world of love and happiness. One of Lucy Maud Montgomery's only novels intended for an adult audience, The Blue Castle is filled with humor and romance."


We also decided to eat Canadian food in honor of the book taking place in Ontario and L. M. Montgomery is from Canada. We had poutine and tourtière. The book, the food, and the company were great and a much needed break!








Thursday, October 12, 2017

Cali's Wedding

One of my sister's best friends got married and I was able to attend the actual wedding. They were married in the Oquirrh Mountain Temple. It was a nice ceremony. Congratulations Cali and Zach!







Monday, September 4, 2017

Labor Day Weekend 2017

What a busy weekend. I feel like I have been on the road a lot. I think I have traveled at least an hour more like 2 each day. Lots of driving time for me. Even though I don't like driving it was all worth it.

Cali had her bridal shower this weekend. I'm excited for her and Zach. They met in her singles ward up North. She had gone it for a temple recommend (I think) and her bishop told her that if she would do family history work she would meet the man she was suppose to marry. A few weeks later she met Zach and now they are engaged to be married.

After that mom and I had the opportunity to go see the Utah Symphony. What was fun, besides the fact that it was the Utah Symphony, was it was outdoors at Split Rock in Dinosaur National Monument. This was incredible and I'm so glad Mom and I got to go. Thanks Charla for finding the tickets!




I had to come back to Provo to work on Sunday. That evening we had a mini Canada Montreal Mission Reunion to say goodbye to summer. It was fun, but I did not know very many people there. It was fun to catch up with those I did know! The Hatfield's were kind enough to let us use the backyard and we had 2 fire pits and she made the best S'more bar I have ever seen. That is something I have wanted to do for a long time.




The next day was Labor Day so I drove up to Price Rec. for the annual Mathis party. I love the Mountains and I love the time we have together! I'm so lucky to have the family that I do!











Thursday, August 31, 2017

August 2017

Wow what a month it has been. I have done a lot and experienced some things that were shall we say that weren't the most pleasant. But more on that later. Some of the fun things I did, but I don't have any pictures are going to visit my Grandma with my sisters. The first day I went down with Dad and John and we just visited with my sisters (who were already there) and whoever else stopped by. The next day I felt guilty for not staying down there, so I went back. Mandy had gotten a new toy that can convert negative film strips and slides to digital. It also could be used for 8 m films. Although those take forever to do. She also go a portable scanner. So we went to Grandma's to start working on converting some of her photos. We also had Grandma talk about some of her memories of her childhood and life up to now. It was really fun to listen to her reminisce about her past.

Before going back to Provo I had the opportunity to go sailing. Originally the plan was to go kayaking, but that didn't work our for the day. Instead we went up to Scofield and I went sailing for the first time. It was fun, I just wish I didn't get motion sickness. Aunt Mary and Uncle Boyd came up as well. Millie went with us sailing. We all had dinner back at Bel's family's cabin with her Grandma. We had some grilled chicken and hotdogs, corn on the cob, carrots and chips. It was yummy!

I finally got to go kayaking! This is one of my favorite things to do and I would do it more often if I had a kayak. Meg came down to come with us (David, Aunt Mary, and Uncle Boyd). We went to our usual spot in Green River. It was a really nice day. It wasn't too hot and when we got done it wasn't cold either. I know it sounds funny to say cold but when you're all wet and waiting for cars it gets chilly. David insisted on having water fights while we were going down the river. At one point he sprayed sand all over Meg and I. He kept going after his parents and Aunt Mary did not like it. Uncle Boyd would get him back as Aunt Mary would try to get away. I wish I could remember how exactly the conversation went but at one point Aunt Mary told David she had to defend her honor and Uncle Boyd then said, "Ya, I have to defend her honor!" It was funny! After we went back to Aunt Ann and Uncle Lee and partied with the Green River crew. Meg and I went back and stayed the night with Aunt Mary and Uncle Boyd before heading home the next day.

Now for the not so fun part. Although what preceded it was a lot of fun. My ward had a "camping" trip this summer. Not that there was much camping. We stayed at Bro. Horn's cabin in Sundance and that thing is massive! It has 4 levels, a hot tub, a BBQ, decks, a garage, a racket ball court and a rock wall. Bishop and Sister Greves even came up (they were released 1-2 weeks prior). Someone said that we were "glamping" or glamorous camping. I would have to agree. We make hamburgers, sang songs, played games and watched a movie. The next day we went on a hike to Stewart Falls. What a beautiful hike and area. I had never been up there before and I hope I get to go back one day!














One my way home from the camp out is when the not so fun thing happened. So I had 4 other people in my car and we were coming to the stop where the road up to Sundance meets back up with Provo Canyon. I had slowed down to start preparing for our stop. There was a white truck in front and he had gotten to the stop sign. Well, as I tried to press on my breaks so that I could stop behind him, my breaks failed. They just suddenly quite working, so I ran into the truck. Talk about one of the scariest things I have ever had happen! Luckily I wasn't on the freeway or going over Daniels/Strawberry, Indian or Spanish Fork Canyon because on all those roads I'm going between 60-75 mph. A blessing in disguise is what it was. No one was hurt except my car. When I took it in to have my breaks looked over they said that they could have failed at anytime. Count my blessings it happened where it did.


To end my August, besides the kayaking trip mentioned above, some friends from my YSA ward got married. Sabrina and Gabe make a cute couple. He served as a ward missionary with me and she was one of the first people I met in the ward. I wish them the best of luck for the many years to come!