San Diego - Day 1

We were all excited when the day for our San Diego trip finally arrived.  We were up early and on our plane at 8:15.  The flight is pretty short so we had a full day ahead of us when we arrived in San Diego.

The forecast predicted rain that day but when we landed and checked again, the rain wasn't expected to start until 2pm, so we decided to go ahead and see the Zoo.  First we stopped at the hotel to meet up with Andy and Amy and Sawyer, and drop off our bags.  When we arrived at the zoo a little before 11 it was overcast but very comfortable outside.  The first thing we did (after taking a few pictures) was get on the bus that goes around the zoo and lets you see a lot of animals in a short amount of time.  It was about 30 seconds into our bus ride that the rain started, and it didn't stop for the rest of the day.  It was really just a constant drizzle, but still.

Even though we were all cold and wet, the rain had two major benefits.  First, the animals were very active and we were able to see just about all of them (instead of having lots of animals hiding in the backs of their enclosures, napping).  Second, there were no crowds to deal with.  In fact, we practically had the whole place to ourselves.  I really appreciated this when we arrived at the Panda area.  There was a long queue that we just breezed through, and even felt comfortable lingering for a moment to take a few pictures before letting the people behind us have their turn.  AND Bai Yun, the mama Panda, was very close to the observation area.  She was maybe 6 feet away from us.  Very cool.

It's hard to see in this picture, but the mama gorilla is actually nursing the baby.
The baby would nurse with the mother, then the father would come break up the
party and the baby would walk away, then the baby would wander back
to the mother to nurse again.  It was really neat to watch.

Another mama and baby.
The picture doesn't do it justice - the hippos are HUGE.  The video below might help.

This guy came over to us to say hello.

  

Rain-soaked but happy about our day at the zoo!

We left the zoo in the mid-afternoon and went back to the hotel.  I took Cat to the San Diego LDS Temple to do baptisms there while the rest of the crew went swimming at the hotel.  Last spring when Pres. Durrant spoke in General Conference about his wife wanting to go to temples while on vacation (read it HERE) I thought I should do a better job of that myself.  And after the experience Cat and I had in San Diego, I am even more convinced that it's a good idea.  It was so special to show up at our appointed time and have a small group of temple workers man the baptistry just for us.  The matron came and talked just to us, giving us a beautiful devotional that made the experience even more meaningful.  I hated the thought of the workers coming to the baptistry just to do the few names we brought for Cat, so I ended up being baptized also, thinking that would make it more worth their while.  (This meant that I did the family names and Cat did temple file names, but that was fine.)  It really was a wonderful experience for both Cat and me, and gave us an excuse to talk about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and the purpose of temples to a couple of Lyft drivers.

Once Cat and I battled the evening traffic and made it back to the hotel, we all left together to eat at a restaurant someone recommended called "Mona Lisa" in Little Italy.  We didn't think the food was that remarkable but I had to appreciate the atmosphere, and the coloring pages the kids received.  

By the time we left the restaurant, the kids were so tired they were falling asleep in their seats, even though it was only about 8:30 Utah time.  I guess we wore them out.  Day 1?  Success.

Looking Back at 2018

NOTICE: I realized after finishing this video that I mislabeled the pizza celebration as "Luke Kindergarten Graduation" when it should have been "Luke Preschool Graduation."  Oops.

This video is such a project each year but I'm always glad when I do it!  I wanted to share it as soon as I finished it since I've been working on it so much that I haven't published any other posts in a few days.  But I'll have to come back and update this one with everyone's favorite things from 2018, as has become tradition.

UPDATE on 4/12/19:
A few weeks ago I finally asked everyone what their favorite things were from 2018.  Here are the answers I got, though it was kind of a distracted conversation, and over 2 months since 2018 had ended, so I don't think it's the most accurate list.  But it's better than nothing:

Ben
Disney World surprise trip

Me
Utah Olympic Park
Family canyon walks
St. George trip with Ben for our 15th anniversary
Choir tour (and meeting up with Ben AND Suz's family)
TWO trips to Orlando!
Megan's visit during Spring Break
Learning about the Civil War through my itty bitty book club
The Pioneer Days Rodeo with the family

Cat
Disney World surprise trip
Hawaii trip (soccer tournament)
San Francisco trip
Christmas with Suz's family here
January Florida trip
Arizona soccer trip
Birthday at Jordanelle State Park

Jack
Disney World surprise trip
San Francisco trip
Blizard Beach (DW surprise)
Birthday
Wizarding World of Harry Potter
Toy Story Land (DW surprise)
Zerin's house
Uncle John scaring us (technically Dec. 2017 but oh well)
Blue Man Group (DW surprise)
New Year's Eve Party with cousins
Christmas Santa tracker
Tom Sawyer play at school
Pioneer Days Rodeo

Eliza
Disney World surprise trip
Blizard Beach (DW surprise)
San Francisco trip
Starting gymnastics & passing Level 1
Christmas with Suz's family here
Zerin's house
Beginning a Pokemon card collection
Mutton Bustin' at Lindon Days Kids' Rodeo

Luke
Preschool graduation
Luke Mountain (at Pops's new house, also technically Dec. 2017)

Eliza's Special Date Night

We're trying to do a better job of having one-on-one (or two-on-one) dates with the kids.  We let the kids decide what they want to do, so already this has included such activities playing Nintendo Classic at home, eating ice cream before dinner, pizza at Costco, going out to a movie, shopping, the nickel arcade, and for Eliza... a trip to see No. 3 Utah and No. 14 BYU gymnastics teams battle it out at the Marriott Center.  (Admittedly, this activity was my idea but she was thrilled about it.)  Both teams were amazing, but Utah ended up winning - by less than a point! - with a final score of 196.475-197.25.  I just chose to bring Eliza to that meet because it worked best in our calendar, but I'm glad we attended because it was really exciting to see both of these teams.

"Mom, hurry and take the picture!  They're about to start!"

While other kids and parents flocked to Cosmo for pictures, Eliza was much
more interested in watching the gymnasts than in hugging a man in a cougar suit.

I think both of these pictures are of Abbey Miner.  We were excited to see her because she
and her sister, also on the BYU team, trained at Eliza's gym when they were younger.

When the meet was over Eliza did NOT want to leave.  She wanted to hang out and dance
to the music on the loudspeakers.  We stayed so long that the only people left were the gymnasts
and their friends and family.  I asked Eliza if she wanted to go say hi to one of them.

So she introduced herself to this woman, who turned out to be Brittney Vitkauskas.
Brittney asked what level class Eliza is taking and Eliza asked Brittney what the hardest thing
she did during the meet was.  Brittney was very sweet and encouraging.

Below is the full coverage from the meet but I have it cued to start at the end with Shannon Evans' "Mario Brothers" floor routine.  She scored a very impressive 9.9 for this cool routine.  Also, I loved watching the teammates dancing along with the competitors since they all know eachother's routines so well.

Read BYU's Recap here.

The leaderboard after each event:



Such a fun date!  I hope we will continue to find fun, affordable, and personalized things to do with the kids to help make memories and build relationships.  I hope this isn't a fleeting thing.  It's definitely challenging to add a few more things to the calendar, but I think it's worth it.

Our New Year's Celebration

We had a really fun time celebrating New Year's.  The main event was a cousin celebration that included dinner and festive desserts, courtesy of Lindsey, fun and games and play time, and a countdown with balloon drop.  We had decorations (which my kids put up by themselves while I cooked and prepped - Cat even assembled the balloon drop) and noise makers and Mardi Gras beads and headbands and so much sparkling cider, wich Cat acting as bartender.  It was wonderful.

  

Once the cousins left, we had the kids put on pajamas in preparation for a movie before real midnight.  It's the first time we let the kids stay up to celebrate actual New Year's and they did great!  Luke was the most tired, but we managed to ring in the New Year together.  They chose to watch Disney's "Descendants" (I was hoping for "The Greatest Showman," since that movie and soundtrack played such a big part in our year in 2018 but I was outvoted).  We weren't finished with the movie when midnight came, so we paused it, watched the ball drop (2 hours later than it actually had), lit sparklers and did our "fill it up" tradition (which Ben insists is ridiculous) in the back yard, drank bubbly, took a few more pictures, then finished the movie before crawling into bed around 1:00.

Happy New Year!

President Nelson's Book of Mormon Challenge

My girls and I were watching the General Women's Session on my bed Saturday, October 6th, 2018 when President Nelson issued four challenges to the girls over 8 and women of the Church, one of which was to read the entire Book of Mormon by the end of the year.  I felt like our days were full enough and knew it would truly be a challenge to accomplish that task, but I also knew that if the Prophet had asked me to move my family to Darkest Peru (I don't know why a Paddington Bear reference is coming to mind as I'm writing this, but I'm going with it) then I would do it.  So why wouldn't I make the time to read this book?

I decided that I wanted to do my best to help the girls complete the challenge too, so we started the following week getting up extra-early before school started, usually around 6:00, so that we could have 20-30 minutes to read before going about our daily routine.  In order to add an element of fun to this ritual, I made hot drinks every morning.  Eliza always wanted hot chocolate but Cat usually chose herbal tea.

I figured if we read about 7 pages a day, which seemed manageable, we'd be sure to finish even if we missed a few days.  So we started.  But it was slow-going.  We tried taking turns reading but soon discovered we covered a lot more material if I just read the whole time.  All of the marking Pres. Nelson asked us to do, underlining or bracketing references to Jesus Christ, took additional time too.  Sometimes it took one of us a little longer to get out of bed.  And then we'd take a break when someone needed to use the bathroom.  And so on.  We got farther and farther behind and I tried not to be frustrated that I could have read faster on my own, but continued on reading with the girls.  We intended to make up for lost pages by reading extra on the weekends or while in the car driving to and from California for Thanksgiving, but those things didn't help us gain extra ground.

So though we chiseled away at it for a couple of months, we efinally decided to read separately for the last month or so.  I felt like trying to do it with the girls might keep me from finishing on my own (though I suppose I could have read on my own simultaneously) and they thought they'd be able to read faster on their own too.  I decided that they're old enough to be accountable, so why not give them the chance.

As the end of the year approached, it seemed we were all close enough to accomplish the goal, and I thought a little extra incentive/reward was in order.  So I told the girls that whoever finished before New Year's would get a smoothie from Jamba Juice (which they both LOVE).  Well, I ended up being the last one to finish, reading the last few pages of the BoM on the evening of New Year's Eve.

And Cat and Eliza thoroughly enjoyed their smoothies.

But more importantly, we enjoyed the experience.  I kept thinking back to the challenge President Hinckley issued to complete the Book of Mormon in a matter of months back in 2005.  I remember distinctly doing most of my reading while nursing a special baby girl named Cat as I sat on our blue couch, in our little house in Florida.  I was glad I could share the experience with her again, in a different way this time.

I usually read the Book of Mormon rather slowly - about once through each year - which is great for digesting small bits at a time.  But I really appreciated reading it quickly because it helped me appreciate more of the recurring themes and get a broader, more comprehensive perspective.  Marking the passages referring to and about Jesus Christ was eye-opening.  The book truly is a testament of Him!  He's everywhere!  It contains such varied and beautiful teachings and truths and I truly gained a stronger testimony through this process.  I was buoyed by the experiences of other women completing the challenge too.  What a wonderful opportunity.

When I asked Eliza about her experience, the first things she said were that it was fun and nice, then she told me that she thinks it's cool that she can say she read the whole Book of Mormon last year, and that she felt peaceful when reading.

And Cat had this to say... When I finished it it was so amazing seeing/reading the BoM from a different perspective. I loved it and it was so nice to be able to see how many times my Savior was referenced in the book. It really is a truth to me that he leads this curch, and that was apparent through the reading that I was doing when I marked it. I will say, I felt extremely relieved and satisfied with myself after I finished on December 31st. But also as I finished, I had this very strong thought and feeling that what I had done was the right thing. Heavenly Father was proud of me and I was doing what I needed to do to prepare for the coming of his son. I know the church is true and I testify that I have read and KNOW that the Book of Mormon is true. I have found it out for myself. If you find your testimony wavering, are having a bad day, or don't have a testimony yet, I invite you to re-read the book. Open it to a random page and just read for a bit. I promise that if you read the BoM every day, it will improve your life, strengthen your testimony, and you will be able to see God's hand in your life more.


Below is an excerpt from President Nelson's message of gratitude.  I was one of the 10,000 responses he received.  I sure do love and sustain President Nelson as a Prophet of God.

My dear and precious sisters, four months have now passed since I extended my invitation to you to help gather scattered Israel. Do you recall how I told you that gathering Israel is “the greatest challenge, the greatest cause, and the greatest work on earth today”? Many of you have seized this challenge with great vigor. I wish to tell you that the Lord loves you and is pleased with every effort you make.

Since last October, I have heard from women all over the world about how they have responded to my four invitations to help gather scattered Israel. You will remember that the four invitations included:

1. Participate in a 10-day fast from social media and any other media that bring negative and impure thoughts to your mind.
2. Read the Book of Mormon by the end of 2018.
3. Establish a pattern of regular temple attendance.
4. Participate fully in Relief Society.

If you participated in any of these challenges, I want you to know that you are helping to gather scattered Israel. No matter how much time you spend on them, please know that the Lord is mindful and pleased with every effort you make.

On my Instagram and Facebook accounts, I asked to hear about your experiences. I was overwhelmed to see that more than 10,000 women responded! My heart was touched by what you shared. As we shift to a more home-centered, Church-supported curriculum, please remember that we need you. You are a key to the success of this new, balanced, and coordinated gospel-teaching effort.

Sisters, I love you and thank you. As a result of your efforts, I promise that the heavens will open for you. The Lord will bless you with increased inspiration and revelation. Together we can do all that our Heavenly Father needs us to do to prepare the world for the Second Coming of His Beloved Son.