Meg's Birthday

Happy Birthday Meg! I hope that this upcoming year is a good one for you!

We celebrated Meg's birthday a week late when we could all get together. I went home on the 28 first to my eye appointment (which went well and my eyes haven't changed. First time that's happened!). Then I stopped by the quilt shop (Miss Annie's Quilt Shoppe) where Mom was working that day. When I got there Charla was there too. I got to visit with her for a few minutes before she had to take off. Meg also stopped by later.

After that I went home and made Evil Chicken Dinner. I have been craving that for several weeks now. Carol stayed for dinner. We all just visited and I played the piano. It was a nice evening.

The next day mom had a funeral. She had joked to the Rudy and Julia Monsen (Home ward bishop and wife/neighbors) that I would play the organ for the funeral. I declined that invitation from Mom and let her play. I did make the salad we took for the dinner. On a side note, Julia asked me at church the next day why I didn't play. I told her I told Mom that she can't sign me up for things without me knowing about it ahead of time.

That evening we all came together for a dinner of homemade Cafe Rio and chocolate cheesecake. Meg opened her gifts and she got photography items and quilting items. We had lots of laughs and a great time with each other.

The next day I was able to attend my home ward. It was nice to be home. I was able to visit with Kent and Gwen Remington, see but not  really talk to Mindy and Greg Remington and their kids (they were visiting the ward), Olie Olsen, and Jackie Tucker. I said hello to several others.

My favorite part of testimony meeting is when Gavin Remington shared his testimony. He said something along the lines of, "Hi, my family use to live here. One day my mom and dad told us we were moving. That night I said a prayer and asked if it was a good thing that Dad got this new job. I got the answer yes, it is a good thing and good job." He said one more thing, but I can't remember it. It was sweet and I can't believe how much he has grown.

All too soon it was time to come back to Ogden. I have a Rec Therapy Conference the next two days. I hope it's a good one!

RT Month

February is National Recreation Therapy month. So in honor of that I thought I would share some photos that share what Recreation Therapy is and some products of my interventions. 

Photo Curtesy of URTA and Myself

Distress Tolerance Skill ACCEPTS
Activity/Leisure Education

Mindfulness Word Cloud

A-Z Coping Skills

Petersen Homecoming

They are back in U.S. Welcome Home!

I was able to attend the Petersen Homecoming on Sunday Feb. 16. It was so good to see them. A few days before I got a text from the Hatfield's asking if I was still in the Provo area, and if so they were going to offer me a ride. Very sweet of them! I told them I was not, but I would see them later that day. 

On Sunday I drove to South Weber and originally I was going to sit with the Hatfield's. I couldn't find them before the meeting started. I sat in the back and just listened to the Petersen's. It sounds like this mission was a wonderful experience for them. They were able to draw closer to our Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and each other. 

We stand for Sunday School and I sat with Debbie Hatfield through it. It was an interesting lesson. Too bad I'm writing this after it happened, because I don't remember everything discussed. 

After the meetings we went over their house. It was an adventure getting there. I didn't get directions or an address because when they said it was going to be at their house, I thought they meant their old house. Nope, it was at their daughter Kim's house, which the Petersen's are staying in her basement for now. I went to the old house and luckily another daughter Dani (I think that's her name), came to grab some food and I was able to follow her to new house. 

It was a lovely afternoon spent catching up with some amazing people! 

Living Legends

On Feb. 15 I had the opportunity to go to Provo and watch Leiema perform with Living Legends. She did such an amazing job! Thanks for a fun evening JaNae, Helena, Carly, and Leiema!

Grandma Mathis and the Iron Lung

I've been working on creating a shadow box of my Grandma Mathis' nursing things. I have been collecting them since Thanksgiving. I remember everyone telling me about a picture of my grandmother with the first (or one of the first) Iron Lung that came to Utah. I found a website called newspapers.com and I decided to do a search. After some digging I came across this news clipping from The Salt Lake Tribune September 6, 1937. My grandma is the nurse standing next to the Iron Lung in the bottom left picture. I am excited to finally see this picture I have heard of all my life and to be able to put it in the shadow box!

Book Club Book:The Chesty Oak by Kate Seredy

As he watches his homeland of Hungary being taken over and run by invaders from Nazi Germany, young Prince Michael of Chestry strives to retain his identity and integrity during one of the most dangerous seasons in human history. Michael carries an acorn all the way from his castle home in Chestry Valley to the warm soil of the Hudson Valley farm in the USA where he makes a new home after WWII. It is difficult to decide which are the most unforgettable; the scenes in Hungary, Michael's proud, valiant father and his beloved Nana, or the friendly young GI and his family who take Michael to their hearts and make him their own. Perhaps the most compelling character of all is Midnight, the dancing black stallion, full of fire and beauty, and trained to perform before princes. Kate Seredy's drawings make this a book to treasure.

Super Bowl Weekend Jan. 31 - Feb. 3

What a great weekend it has been! Meg and I decided to make a Carbon/Emery County Trip of the weekend, since we both had it off and wanted a break.

On Friday I traveled too Wellington to Aunt Mary and Uncle Boyd's with a stop in Provo first. I was able to meet up and have lunch with Helena, meet with Dr. Z for some advice for work and help with a presentation for work as well, and do some shopping at the book store. They had some fun decorations.

Then I drove to Price and met Meg at Walmart were she was talking with our cousin Amy. We chatted in there for over an hour. I think they may have already been there for like an hour before I even got there. After chatting with Amy, I ran to the Animal Hospital to pick up Rozy's dog food, prescription, and to chat with Ron about cars. They were finishing up late so I was able to see Christy, Lindsey Pugh (they recently hired her) and Stephanie too. It was fun talking with them all.

Then I went to Wellington to meet up with Meg again and we headed over to Emery High School to watch the Carbon and Emery basketball game. Jared was made an assistant couch of Carbon High School (D'Lee's husband's dad is one of the couches). Jared was so fun to watch and I think he absolutely enjoyed the experience.

After the game, we went to Eric and Melissa's house and played 5 Crowns and Nertz with Mellissa and Molly. It was a lot of fun. I don't think we left their house until after midnight. Good times!

The night we went back to Aunt Mary and Uncle Boyd's to sleep. The next morning we had breakfast with Aunt Mary and Uncle Boyd and I played the piano until Meg and I went to Orangeville to visit Grandma. She's doing okay. She slept most of the time we were there. I played the piano for her and she seemed to enjoy it. For some reason she thought I had lost my job and that I had gone to a wedding. Not sure who's weeding I apparently went to, but my congratulations to the Bride and Groom. When Meg and I had to leave, Grandma was so disappointed we were not staying. It made it even more hard to leave. I can't describe it well with words. The feeling in Grandma's voice... it was heartbreaking.

After getting out things from Aunt Mary and Uncle Boyd's we made our way to Green River to Aunt Ann and Uncle Lee's house. We were having a Super Bowl party on Sunday.  We visited with Anna, Avan, Aunt Ann and Uncle Lee.

The next day we went to church and even stayed for Sunday School. We sat with Nathan and Amy. Then it was time to prepare for bookclub of The Chesty Oak by Kate Seredy and the Super Bowl party. We finished preparing the food and waited for the family to come.

Bookclub was pretty small. I didn't think we would get too many people, but we needed to have it so we could move on to the next book. At book club we had Aunt Ann, Uncle Lee, Avan, Anna, Aunt Mary, Uncle Boyd, Meg, and I. We had a good discussion.

Aunt Diann, Uncle Wayne, Nathan, Amy, Easton, Paul, Bel, Millie, and Evie, joined us later in the evening for the Super Bowl party. It was the San Fransisco 49ers vs. the Kansas City Chiefs with a halftime show from Jennifer Lopez and Shakira. The final score was 20-31 with the Chiefs coming out at the top.

My favorite commercials were the Cool Ranch Doritos featuring Lil Nas X and Sam Ellliot, Jason Momoa's, Alexa featuring Ellen DeGeneres, and the Ground Hog's Day one. I thought each of them were funny! If you read this blog, you'll have to Youtube them sometime.

All too soon the weekend came to an end. Thanks for wonderful memories family! You made this a weekend for the books!