One of those losing my mind moments

That's what happened to me today at work.

I was at my desk and needed to take a bag of samples into the lab to pack them in a box. Lab coat, check. Pen and marker in the pocket of the lab coat, check. (And by pocket I mean the upper left pocket, hooked to the pocket, just like a nerd but without the pocket protector. ha ha). Packing tape gun, check. Paperwork for shipping the samples, check. Safety glasses...hum.

My safety glasses were no where to be found. This was very strange. They are always either on my desk or on my face because I have to wear them into the lab. I searched everywhere; my desk, the pockets of my labcoat, my head, the rest of the office, the lunchroom. No where. This bugs me because I hate losing stuff.

I go up front to get a new pair from the secretary. There are two other people up front who I explain my dilema to as she gets the new pair. She hands me the new pair and I put down the tape gun and my safety glasses to open the new package....wait a minute. There they were. In my hand with the tape gun the entire time!

Instead of just going back to my desk I tell the secretary and two other people that I found my glasses, they were in my hand the whole time. They laugh at me and say I shouldn't have confessed to them. Oh well, at least I was being honest. But I felt like I had completely lost my mind. It happens.

What's best about a reunion in Park City?

Pretty much everything. All of the family was there, we had tons of fun, and the mountain weather was perfect. The condo (compliments of my mom's aunt and uncle) made for a very homey feel.

We made some crafts...cards and flowers and played tons of games and tons of bocce. David won the bocce tournament; maybe because he had the best focus (bottom left) or the best skill. We also had family pictures, visited Grandma and Grandpa G. and Aunt Shirley's family in Logan and read plenty of books. Caitlin and Bailey both love books so much, it's fitting that they are sitting on the stairs together and reading.

We had great food. Despite what a couple of the pictures portray, Katie and Ryan did not have to do all of the cooking. Our food included tons of sweets: roasted marshmallows, Katie's fabulous birthday cake, cookies, ice cream sandwich cake, homemade ice cream, candy, cookies and other things that I'm sure I'm missing. We did also eat a lot of great home cooked and nutritious meals.

We took some time to rest. Although the condo had plenty of rooms and beds for everyone, sometimes people needed extra naps. It was pretty funny when Ashlee fell asleep at the table...she was already so worn out and it was only the second day.

We played. The swing set and slide at Grandma and Grandpa's house in Logan were a big hit for the little girls. We also went to Jordanelle Reservoir one day for some fun in the sun, sand, and water. One night my parents had Grandparents Night so all of the "adults" could go out and do something. We called it date night...I even had a date :) I planned that we would go mini-golfing and found the 1 coarse in Park City. Upon arriving we discovered that maybe it would be fun for children under the age of 8, but not so much for us. We ended up playing volleyball at the park and then Battle of the Sexes. No pictures of this outing, but it was fun and worth mentioning.

We went to the Salt Lake Temple. On the way there Ashlee got car sick, which altered the master plan a bit but everything ended up working out fine. We also got to go to Music and the Spoken Word in the Conference Center on Temple Square on Sunday. It was very good and we got to see Gwen, one of our friends from our Laramie days. It looks a bit like we posed in front of a mural of the temple...no, it is the real thing.

That was our reunion in a nut shell. It is so great to get together with family.

Hiking the Y

About 1 week ago my family had a reunion in Park City. It was a great time with lots of fantastic pictures, however they are all on Beth's camera. Needless to say, I can talk about the reunion in more colorful and picturesque detail when I have the pictures so I'll wait until then.

I will tell about hiking the Y. After the reunion, Katie, Ryan and I went to Provo to spend some time with our friend Tisha. We decided the best use of the morning would be a nice, relaxing, perhaps slightly aerobic hike. Tish decided we would hike the Y (that's the "Y" on the mountain). We were excited; after all we hadn't done this before.

At the beginning of the hike there is a sign showing the trail and the different options...the top or the bottom of the Y. Tish said, "we better decide now which way we'll go because otherwise at the top we'll just go to the bottom". We decided on the top, but we didn't know yet how true her comment was.

We started walking/hiking...and it was very steep. I love hiking and am in good shape, but it was still very steep. When you factor in the altitude, it was a difficult, tiring and a very much aerobic hike. Katie and I were feelin' it, but nothing that a few stops to rest didn't fix. And, in the end, we made it to the top of the Y.

After lunch and some "take in the view" time, we walked back down (it was equally as steep going down) and headed back to Tish and Chris's (her husband) apartment for some quality Canasta and Rock Star time. It was a fun day and a great hike.

The 4th of July...one of my favorites

Back in the Laramie days, the 4th would have meant BBQ-ing with our “family”; aka some awesome families whom we got together with often.

In AZ it is not quite so fun to have an outside BBQ in the middle of the summer, but the 4th of July is still one of my favs.

I can’t lie, part of the beauty is the day off from work that it offers. But, I really like the history and pride that comes with this holiday. It’s great thinking back on the founding fathers and the inspired and awe-inspiring men they were.

I also love the patriotic songs playing on the radio, sung in church, etc. This morning I played The Star-Spangled Banner on the piano and, like always, as I got to the middle of the song I sang the words to the 3rd verse in my mind (yes there are three verses to this song).

Praise the Pow'r that hath made and preserved us a nation!

Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,

And this be our motto: "In God is our trust!"

I wish that we could sing these words more often, but sadly if most of the country knew of this verse it would probably be changed or banned. On second thought, I’m okay leaving this verse a secret. It will, however, always be the best part of the song in my mind and the best reminder of why the 4th of July is one of my favorites.

Temple Dedication

Last weekend was full of events tied with the dedication of The Gila Valley Temple. At the beginning of the week I expected to be, for the most part, an active participant in all the festivities at the Stake Center, watching broadcasts of the different events. I was okay with this. A temple dedication is a rare occasion. A temple dedication in the area you live is even rarer. So, even participating through the broadcasts was going to be great. Early in the week however I was given a ticket to the Saturday night Temple Cultural Celebration (TCC). YES! Only 3500 people got tickets, so I was one of the lucky. Then on Saturday my Bishop called to see if I wanted a ticket for the 3rd dedication on Sunday, inside the temple. Double YES! A temple dedication in your area where you get to be an active participitant at the actual events is the rarest of all and I was very excited and thankful.

Saturday night we filed into the college stadium very early to get great seats for the TCC. [I should explain the TCC. With each temple dedication, there is a cultural celebration held where the youth (boys and girls ages 12-18) in that temple district do a program for the Prophet, President Monson - and people in the community also get to come]. We had to wait for a loooong while before the program started, but there was too much anticipation to be bored.

As it was getting close to the time that President Monson would arrive, all of the youth came out and sat on the field. There were 1600 of them! It was an amazing site.

When the first golf carts rode out carrying President Eyring (of the First Presidency) and his wife, Elder Holland (of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles) and his wife, along with Elder Costa (of the Presidency of the Seventy) and his wife, Elder Walker (of the First Quorum of the Seventy) and his wife along with a few other people, an amazing thing happened. Everyone in the stadium stood up and were quiet within a matter of 5 seconds. We all expected that President Monson would be coming out, which is why everyone stood up, but he didn't come out for about 10 more minutes. None the less, it was nice stand for the other general authorities. And the greatest thing I thought was the spirit of reverence and respect that everyone showed and felt for the oppurtunity to see and be in the presence of these great men, especially the prophet. When President Monson came out, he was so fun. He cracked jokes, told stories, and even got President Eyring to sing with him.

He also gave a short address to the youth and then it was time for the program to start. At the beginning, all of the youth marched onto the field. They kept coming and coming and coming and coming. Wow! There are a lot of youth and they are a strong force. The TCC was really well done; fun, spiritual, uplifting and entertaining. It told the story of the history of this area in singing, dancing and some short video clips. I was especially proud of the youth that I know from my old ward (my parents ward), they did an awesome job. Here are two links to the TCC thanks to the local newspaper: part 1 and part 2. Each video clip is about 9 minutes long, but they are worth watching in my opinion. Note, my dad arranged some of the music and most of the singing was recorded by students in his choirs.

Sunday, May 23 was the dedication, which was held in three sessions. The first session also included the cornerstone ceremony. I was lucky enough to be selected as one of the members of the cornerstone choir and my dad got to direct the choir (but he wasn't the one who selected the members of the choir). You may be wondering what the cornerstone choir means? It is the choir that stands outside of the temple and sings for the cornerstone part of the dedication. It was a great experience to be in the choir and sing so closely to President Monson. Again, thanks to the local paper, here is a video clip of the cornerstone ceremony. If you look carefully at the end of the first song, you can see me in the back. And, even if you don't look carefully you will see my dad directing the choir. Also, the young woman who goes up to do some of the mortar for the cornerstone was one of my laurels when I was Young Women's president. Way to go Kayla!

It was a bright and sunny day, but thankfully not as hot as it could have been. In the afternoon I attended the 3rd dedication with my parents, who also had tickets inside the temple. Now, I am looking forward to being able attend the temple very often as it it so close. I am truly grateful that I was able to participate in this once-in-a-lifetime event.

Arboretum and Wyoming...

...better late then never.

Over Easter weekend my sister Katie came to visit. After getting to the airport a little late to pick her up (oops, but by late I mean 35 minutes) we headed off to go hiking. We opted for a nice, pretty, relaxing hike rather then climbing a mountain...so we went to Boyce Thompson Arboretum. I see the entrance for this place every time I go to Phoenix, but have never stopped. Katie and my mom had been before, but they wanted to go again. I am glad we decided to go there because it was a fabulous time/day to go! The weather was beautiful and there were flowers everywhere. I took pictures of some of my favorite flowers and, while I'm not photographer, they turned out quite nice in my opinion.

It was nice to walk around enjoying nature and talking.

Now that I look at this picture I am thinking, those sunglasses are kind of atrocious and too big for my face. Hmm.

On to last weekend, April 16-18. I decided to take a trip to Wyoming to see the show that Chris directed, The Music Man. Although my rental car did not have cruise control, gasp, I made it to Beth and Chris's without mishap, only major cramps in my legs. It was a fast weekend, but fun filled. I had time to play with Caitlin and Ashlee, go on a walk, visit with Taffy (who was is RS for the day), go to the show, see Chris's parents, and eat yummy food. The show was very good, Chris did a great job of putting it together.

This week I have been back at home and the everydayness of my life. It's pretty exciting here in our little valley though with the open house of The Gila Valley Temple underway.

Rockies spring training game

A couple of weeks ago Beth, Chris, Caitlin and Ashlee came to visit for their spring break and one day we went over to Tucson. My parents took the girls to the zoo while Beth, Chris and I went to a Rockies spring training game. Which they won and we had prime seats (tickets compliments of Chris's dad...thanks Doug) on the second row to the left of home plate. The weather was perfect, high 60's, and it was a fun time.

Let me rewind to the morning of the game. I'm in the kitchen cleaning up breakfast and Chris comes in to ask, "where is your Rockies shirt?" Side note - I don't have a Rockies shirt and had opted to wear a t-shirt, and it happened to by a Wyoming t-shirt. Chris some more, "why are you wearing a Wyoming shirt? Don't you know we're going to a baseball game?" So, I respond with, "this is just what I decided to wear" and leave it at that. But, for all you Wyomingites out there, I ask, "Is there ever a bad time to wear a Wyoming shirt?" I think not (ok maybe not to church, the temple, a wedding...that's about it).

Back to the game. Before we went to our seats we headed for the bathrooms. On the way and in the bathroom 2 different people commented about Wyoming, like go Pokes or something. Once we were in the stands, an usher stopped us to talk about Wyoming. This continued throughout the entire day...before, during and after the game. Oh, and I almost forgot, Beth and I ran into one of our friends from high school at the game because her brother had seen someone wearing a Wyoming shirt from afar. While I had a good 10 "shout outs" and 5 full-blown converstations about Wyoming from my shirt, guess how many new friends Chris made. 0. That's right, he and Beth were just part of the crowd in their Rockies shirts.

As we walked away from the stadium Chris admitted it, the Wyoming shirt was a good choice. I rest my case. It's never a bad time to let people know you are part of the Wyoming family.