Boo!

Hope everyone had a fun Halloween! We sure did. Molly loved getting candy! She couldn't quite figure out "Trick or Treat" and would say "candy please" instead. We went to Nicks work on Friday for the residents to give out candy and to the ward party on Saturday. Last night after Molly went to bed our neighbors the Anderson's came over and we watched a Halloween movie.

I made Molly's costume. Everyone in the ward and friends kept telling us that she looks like Boo on Monsters Inc. and since that is her favorite show and she does have a Boo doll it was too tempting not to make it. She was so cute!!

I am excited to report that we are finally getting our fence in. It took about all summer to save for it and then when we were finally ready to put it in we had trouble with the city. They wanted us to put it in 12 feet from the sidewalk to create a more pedestrian friendly appearance. (not a boxed in look) So much for living in a private subdivision and for being able to do what you want with your own yard. We ended up negotiating 6 more feet, so we only have to loose 6 feet of yard instead of 12. We are just going to put our fruit trees on the outside on the fence. Hopefully all the pedestrians enjoy than. :) They should be putting it in tomorrow, so pictures to come.

Book Review

I honestly haven't had time to read much lately. I haven't even tried to pick up a book, knowing that if I started reading, life would be put on hold while I escaped in a good book. I have avoided all books that looks good, or had been recommended, but I couldn't hold myself back when I came across Chords of Strength: A Memoir of Soul, Song and the Power of Perseverance by David Archuleta.

I have always been a fan of music and singing. My sister used to teach us choreography, songs and parts and we would put on plays on the "stage" whenever we had a chance. I never considered myself very good at singing, but I still enjoyed it. I tried out for choirs in Jr. High and High School and usually made a highest choir group. (Although I am convinced that the only reason I made Vocal Jazz my Senior year was because they wanted my little brother and felt bad accepting him in the choir but not me.) I was in a singing group with 3 other friends in choir and we would sing at many church events, nursing homes and community events.

Music hasn't been "my life," but something I have always enjoyed. So when I first heard of American Idol, I was hooked. (I don't like to admit this, but it's true) I never really liked the first part: Auditions, but liked when they got to the top 24. So in Season 7 of the show, I was especially hooked when I first heard David Archuleta and then realized that he was from Utah. I LOVED his voice and thought he was so talented. I watched the whole season and especially loved the night before the finale. I was pretty sad that he came in 2nd place, but thought he just seemed to have a great personality and character. So I have liked to hear on the news when they mention anything about him.

Anyway, I was excited to read his book, and just as I knew would happen, I was completely enthralled in the book until I finished it last night. I was super impressed at the young man that he is. Heis also a member of the LDS church and I hoped that he would stay pure in his fame...which I feel he has. There were so many things in his book that showed how committed to God he truly is. That was refreshing to me. I love having a good role model for youth. I his book he basically bore his testimony several times. I thought it was cool. He talked a lot about how it was through a sincere prayer that got him to try out for American Idol and he often said that he found it important to constantly remember the original purpose in being there. He talked about making sure he prayed and read his scriptures everyday to not get lost in everything that was going on. He talked about his ability to sing as a gift from God, and often said that his goal was to always stay close to God.

Needless to say I was impressed. I believe that he is now 19 and I do wish that he would serve a mission. I don't think he has said one way or the other. Either way, I was inspired by his book and hope that if you love music and the gospel you will check out his book too.

Time

I have found recently that time is even more precious than it used to be. This new calling, summer vacations and trips, the yard and house, and family have all kept me so busy lately. I was starting to feel anxious, like there was too much to do and not enough time to do it. Last month in RS, my counselor gave a lesson on Sister Beck's Women's Conference address. She talked about the essential things that you should do daily, then the necessary things, and last the nice things. Under the essential list was scripture study. I have always studied my scriptures, but more often than not it was right before I stumbled into bed and had little energy to get through a few verses before falling asleep.

After reading and studying this talk, I decided to put it to the test. I would do the essential things FIRST and then pray for time to accomplish all the rest. I have been doing my scriptures and prayers first thing in the morning. I am even getting up before Molly to do it and I haven't been tired...another blessing of doing the essential. The Lord has kept his promise. I have had plenty of time to accomplish all the things that I need to do and have found even a few spare moments. (Not long enough to turn on the TV, but I haven't missed the influence of the world.)

You should put it to the test! Read the article and see what the Lord wants you to do.

Keeping Up

I can hardly keep up with life lately. It is already the middle of August and I feel like time is flying by. The last 2 weeks have been a lot of fun for us. We were out of town or had company almost everyday. In between we squeezed in 4 new babies in the ward, a sick sister, a few presidency meetings, a trip to the temple, a little yard work a new patio and a new shed built from scratch by Nick. (pictures of the completed project to come...)

First was our great friends the Mickels coming to visit. They just moved up to Ogden so it was a great time to get together. We mostly just enjoyed good food and visiting, but we did take the kids to the splash park and to the zoo. The Mickels are college friends. I love how even with years gone by we can still get together and feel just as close.

Second was the celebration of our 7th anniversary. Nick and I left Molly with my sister and went early Thursday morning to Heber where we went on the Heber Creeper Railroad to a stop up provo canyon where we got off and went rafting. After rafting we went to Sundance for the afternoon and rode the lift and soaked in the beauty. Thatnight we ate dinner at a Southern BBQ place and relaxed at Johnson Mill bed and breakfast in Midway. It was beautiful there! They have like 26 acres of land, a waterfall, pond and trails to walk on. We were in theWaterfall room above the waterfall. We had a wonderful breakfast there the next day and then headed to Park City. When we got there we went to historic Main St. and walked around. I tried on a $14,900 fur coat and then off we went to Olympic park. Nick and I watched skiers andsnowboarders practicing. Then we went on the Extreme Zipline. Wow what a rush! After lunch and some shopping we headed home to our little one. That weekend my mom and dad came up for a wonderful, relaxing weekend. We went to Toy Story 3 with them, ate yummy food and visited. On Sunday my mom came to RS with me.

The next day the Sidwell's came and stayed with us Monday and Tuesday night. We went to Lagoon with them on Tuesday. Molly really loved the marry-go-round and the train. We all had a super fun time!

Then Wednesday night my sister Sherstin and her family came and stayed until Sunday. We played video games, shopped, went in the swimming pool, took some fun pictures, went to the fair and rodeo and had a great time.

Needless to say after two weeks of fun...I have a house to clean and a lot to catch up on. My vacation plans aren't quite over yet. I am going to Price this weekend.

PS- Molly is doing so many new things right now. She says so many words. She is famous now for her "ninja" and her "bunny face." She has gone potty a few times on her own. I haven't officially started potty training, but she asks once in a while. Maybe soon. She is loving nursery which is a huge blessing because Nick and I are pretty busy during church.

Girls Weekend

Last weekend my brother John invited Nick and all the brother-in-laws and boys that were old enough backpacking for 3 days. It left the perfect opportunity to spend time with my sisters. We spent time visiting, watching a movie, shopping, playing at the park, exercising, and going to a water park. Here are a few pictures of our 24th. We sure missed Mom and Dad and Joseph and Jessie, but they were together in Iowa.

Molly at 18 Months

We had Molly's well baby yesterday and thought I would share the results...

Weight: 19lbs. 9oz. (2nd percentile)

Height: 31inches (30th percentile)

The doctor told us the same thing he always says, "She can afford to gain a little weight." I can't believe how small she is for how she eats. I hope she keeps her metabolism later in life because that is all I can contribute her smallness to. She is such a great eater and is not picky. She eats whatever we eat with little or no complaining. I am thankful for that!

Molly says so many words now it is hard to even list them all. She is really good at holing a pencil and scribbling. She uses a spoon/fork to eat most of the time. She loves to be outside. I can't wait until we get the rest of the fence up so we can spend more time outside in the back. She loves to give cuddles, makes a "silly face" when we say the word, dances, hums, and continues to bring us joy everyday!

These are some pictures of Molly and Nick in the kiddie pool we got.

Nick has been busy working on a shed for us. I am getting antsy to get the whole yard done. We are getting concrete poured on Monday to extend our porch, the fence soon after that, curbing and then some bushes and trees. It makes me excited to think about.

It's been a while

I guess I can say that life as an RS pres. is even more busy than I expected. I feel like I usually don't have time to sit and think let alone blog, but this morning the construction work me up before Molly so I thought I would play catch up.

About 2 weeks ago we went down to Manti to camp with Nick's family. We always have a good time there. I felt a little stressed out because Molly never napped while we were there, but other than that it was nice. We even took Molly out on the lake in the canoe for the first time.

Nick was out of town Thurs-Sat. last week at PUSH training. He has them once a month for 3 long days. In October he should be a certified PUSH therapist. PUSH is a muscle work therapy, similar to massage but it is systematic in the order you work the muscle. It is SO nice to be his practice.

Another milestone the last few weeks is that Molly turned 18 months and went to her first week of nursery. I honestly think it was harder on me than her! She loved it. How is my baby growing so fast?!? We have her well baby check today, so we will see how much she has grown.