Happy New Year!!! I agree with Jenn - this year has flown by! I truly have no idea where it went...
Christmas was pleasant, cozy, quiet and truly wonderful. We had a slow morning, waiting for Emma to come upstairs. Thank you all for your very kind, thoughtful gifts! We were terribly spoiled and are so grateful. We were delighted when the Mannings came around lunch time, and Thomas and Victoria came a little later. The Bellistons were thrilled with the Wackee Six game they got, so we had to play several rounds of that before the end of the day! We enjoyed watching Wesley on his new bike. He wasn't sure whether or not he liked sledding down our hill outside. It was quite an emotional thing for me to have music again in our home! Lauren played and Thomas and Emma and Dad sang around the piano. What a refreshing Christmas Day! We finished off the day watching "It's a Wonderful Life," which is such a great show.
(We tried to insert a video here, but it didn't work. We will try to get that figured out and get it posted sometime...)
It's a blessing that Thomas has his birthday right after Christmas, because that brought Harts from Idaho and Bellistons from Provo! We missed the Flakes and Nilssons terribly for a fettucini alfredo lunch, complete with ice cream cakes made especially for Thomas by Emma. All of the Bellistons (Joe's and T's families) left in the afternoon, but Harts stayed and played for a couple of days. Elise helped me re-hang family photos, for which I was extremely grateful.
Dad and I are back to just us and Chester at home. Dad finished organizing his stuff in the office and we hung the large world map he bought. We delivered more Christmas bread, attended a wedding reception for Brad Ashcroft, and Dad went to a YSA multi-stake New Year's dance on Saturday.
My dad seemed to quite enjoy the pictures and videos that we sent for the 12 days of Christmas. Thank you for your contributions - I really appreciate it! I plan to stay in more frequent contact with him in the coming year.
We are making plans for what to put on our Vision Boards :) This coming year promises to be a great one! I'm excited to see what it brings... Any predictions??!!
Sunday, December 31, 2017
Flake Fun
31 Dec 2017 - Can you believe this year is already over? It sure has sped by. In looking back, it has been a pretty good year with a couple of job changes, some neat trips, and lots of happy memories.
We had a great Christmas and spent most of the day at Randy and Dona's with the family. The weather was gorgeous and fairly warm. (As nice as it was, we need moisture so I keep hoping for some snow soon). The weekend before we were down in the Mesa at a family Christmas party. We also went to a professional hockey game which was quite the experience. I've never had much interest but it was an opportunity and we took it. The funny thing about hockey is that it is just a bunch of chaos! The Arizona Coyotes ended up winning 2-3 in overtime.
We lost another fish (Arthur) so we are down to 5 inside fish. It looks like one of our molly fish could be pregnant so we might have baby fish soon. All 5 of our outside fish seem to be fine. They only come out when it is nice and sunny and all of the ice on the tank melts.
Hope that everyone has a great new year celebration and that this week is the best yet! Love you all and can't wait to see you sometime soon!
We had a great Christmas and spent most of the day at Randy and Dona's with the family. The weather was gorgeous and fairly warm. (As nice as it was, we need moisture so I keep hoping for some snow soon). The weekend before we were down in the Mesa at a family Christmas party. We also went to a professional hockey game which was quite the experience. I've never had much interest but it was an opportunity and we took it. The funny thing about hockey is that it is just a bunch of chaos! The Arizona Coyotes ended up winning 2-3 in overtime.
We lost another fish (Arthur) so we are down to 5 inside fish. It looks like one of our molly fish could be pregnant so we might have baby fish soon. All 5 of our outside fish seem to be fine. They only come out when it is nice and sunny and all of the ice on the tank melts.
Hope that everyone has a great new year celebration and that this week is the best yet! Love you all and can't wait to see you sometime soon!
Sunday, December 17, 2017
Hart Happenings
It seemed like a really short week up here! Peter is so excited for Christmas and keeps a careful countdown with our various advent calendars.
We enjoyed a ward party, the premier of the new Star Wars movie, Ian went sledding with some friends, we helped the young men and women stock the Bishop's storehouse shelves, and did a lot of shoveling due to the recent snowfall.
The most exciting thing to happen was the collapse of our Christmas tree. Saturday morning we were all engaged in various projects throughout the house when all of a sudden here was a tremendous crash! Our 15 foot tree had tipped over! Ornaments went flying, our presents got soaked, it was a big mess. We got everything mopped up and the tree stable again, but we are all still holding our breaths and tip-toeing around it.
We have enjoyed our new challenge. We've replaced one meal every day with a salad. There have been some truly delicious ones. Here is a link to our favorite:
https://www.onceuponachef.com/recipes/thai-quinoa-salad.html
I decreased the amount of quinoa because I wanted to have lettuce be the base for the salad, so I added some romaine lettuce and didn't use basil because I didn't have any fresh stuff, but YUMMY!
Ruth has been really nice to let me come over and work on some Christmas surprises at her house. She talked Alex into doing a presentation about Christmas in Canada for the kiddos, which was really fun. Afterward we all enjoyed some delicious poutine (of course)! The kids did a fun Christmas tree craft and then Ruth and I cut some evergreen out of the yard and made beautiful wreaths. Very festive!
We made Christmas bread and delivered it all day on Friday. Such a fun tradition!
The boys also made cute bookmarks to give to their favorite librarians. We love those ladies!
It was a great week!
We enjoyed a ward party, the premier of the new Star Wars movie, Ian went sledding with some friends, we helped the young men and women stock the Bishop's storehouse shelves, and did a lot of shoveling due to the recent snowfall.
The most exciting thing to happen was the collapse of our Christmas tree. Saturday morning we were all engaged in various projects throughout the house when all of a sudden here was a tremendous crash! Our 15 foot tree had tipped over! Ornaments went flying, our presents got soaked, it was a big mess. We got everything mopped up and the tree stable again, but we are all still holding our breaths and tip-toeing around it.
We have enjoyed our new challenge. We've replaced one meal every day with a salad. There have been some truly delicious ones. Here is a link to our favorite:
https://www.onceuponachef.com/recipes/thai-quinoa-salad.html
I decreased the amount of quinoa because I wanted to have lettuce be the base for the salad, so I added some romaine lettuce and didn't use basil because I didn't have any fresh stuff, but YUMMY!
Ruth has been really nice to let me come over and work on some Christmas surprises at her house. She talked Alex into doing a presentation about Christmas in Canada for the kiddos, which was really fun. Afterward we all enjoyed some delicious poutine (of course)! The kids did a fun Christmas tree craft and then Ruth and I cut some evergreen out of the yard and made beautiful wreaths. Very festive!
We made Christmas bread and delivered it all day on Friday. Such a fun tradition!
The boys also made cute bookmarks to give to their favorite librarians. We love those ladies!
It was a great week!
Hyde Park Highlights
Greetings from the Land of the Great Inversion.... It has been a gray few weeks, but the sun actually shone yesterday and today, which really lifts the spirits and gives hope! I can see the mountains this afternoon - a great blessing!
In an effort to enjoy the Christmas season, which we are finding is a little more difficult without excited, happy little ones about, we have been attending community events. We have seen the Four Seasons production of White Christmas, Craig Jessop's choir and orchestra Christmas concert, with the trio, Gentri, and several of the concert series at the Logan Tabernacle. They have all been very good, especially the Westminster Bell Choir, which was exceptional! We took Emma and her roommate with us and we all enjoyed it, then went to Aggie Ice Cream for hot chocolate afterward. The tuba fest that we attended last night was rather painful. We couldn't make it through to the end. They confessed to having practiced just once, at 4:00 p.m. the day of the concert. We did learn some interesting things about the instruments, however, the tuba, euphonium and baritone...
Since our last post, Dad has changed a bishopric, hosted a Stake Christmas concert (at which we both spoke and Emma sang with her ward choir), attended the funeral for a previous bishop he released due to cancer and the needed treatments, and made several trips to Springville to work with Grandpa to get some old family slides labeled. We enjoyed reading the book Jacob T. Marley while driving back and forth. It's a great read if you need another Christmas book!
I have thoroughly enjoyed sending my dad the 12 days of Christmas with information and pictures/videos of your families. He seems to like getting them and especially likes all of the blonde hair. I think he has absolutely no idea how many descendants he has. Thank you for making the effort to get those sent to me. It means a lot to me even if my dad isn't as excited about it as I am.
Tonight we are off to visit some ailing neighbors and then to the Messiah at the Tabernacle. We hope to see some of you in the next week or two. If anyone wants to come celebrate Thomas' birthday, they will be in town from the 23rd to the 29th. Let us know if you happen to be in the area so we can have food and lodging ready for you! Love you all and Merry Christmas!!
In an effort to enjoy the Christmas season, which we are finding is a little more difficult without excited, happy little ones about, we have been attending community events. We have seen the Four Seasons production of White Christmas, Craig Jessop's choir and orchestra Christmas concert, with the trio, Gentri, and several of the concert series at the Logan Tabernacle. They have all been very good, especially the Westminster Bell Choir, which was exceptional! We took Emma and her roommate with us and we all enjoyed it, then went to Aggie Ice Cream for hot chocolate afterward. The tuba fest that we attended last night was rather painful. We couldn't make it through to the end. They confessed to having practiced just once, at 4:00 p.m. the day of the concert. We did learn some interesting things about the instruments, however, the tuba, euphonium and baritone...
Since our last post, Dad has changed a bishopric, hosted a Stake Christmas concert (at which we both spoke and Emma sang with her ward choir), attended the funeral for a previous bishop he released due to cancer and the needed treatments, and made several trips to Springville to work with Grandpa to get some old family slides labeled. We enjoyed reading the book Jacob T. Marley while driving back and forth. It's a great read if you need another Christmas book!
I have thoroughly enjoyed sending my dad the 12 days of Christmas with information and pictures/videos of your families. He seems to like getting them and especially likes all of the blonde hair. I think he has absolutely no idea how many descendants he has. Thank you for making the effort to get those sent to me. It means a lot to me even if my dad isn't as excited about it as I am.
Tonight we are off to visit some ailing neighbors and then to the Messiah at the Tabernacle. We hope to see some of you in the next week or two. If anyone wants to come celebrate Thomas' birthday, they will be in town from the 23rd to the 29th. Let us know if you happen to be in the area so we can have food and lodging ready for you! Love you all and Merry Christmas!!
Sunday, December 10, 2017
Hart Happenings
Feliz Navidad! I have that song stuck in my head right now. Ian learned that song on the ukulele and has been playing that and Mele Kalikimaka all day long. They are lovely, but I could use some good 'ol english Christmas!
I met with my book club for our annual Christmas breakfast this week. We were discussing a Tale of Two Cities. Guys! If you are looking for a book, try that one. It is so worth reading. One of those that I was kind of ambivalent about all the way through and then at the end I just lost my mind and loved everything about it. SOOOO GOOD!
We also attended the glass blowing open house that Ruth mentioned. We look forward to that every year. We watched him make globes with glass shards inside, and some miniature teardrop ornaments, and the kids got to pick some new ornaments for our tree. We took a couple of friends with us and had a really great time.
You have all heard about the falconer that comes and stays in one of our rental houses. Well, this year his wife spent some time out here too and we got to get to know her. They like to go out for pizza with us and we also went to see the light show they put up at one of the parks in town. They are such fun people and have really adopted our kids. They boys adore Fayed and Katie. They are from Florida and the way they rave about how beautiful the snow makes everything has really changed my perspective about it. It is quite lovely. We went on a little walk around the property a couple of days ago to check out all the tracks and to take stock of our yard in the winter. Jack noticed that the cold temperatures had cause the upper layer of snow to form some really good crystal formations. We taste tested it and it was super crunchy.
Oh! And we finally decided on a name for our property. We have been working on one since we moved in and never could quite settle on one. Well, Alex has been getting a word a day on his phone to try and improve his vocabulary. The other day he asked me if I had ever heard of the word Xanadu. I had, actually, because I am a word nerd, and plus I had just read Samuel Taylor Coleridge's poem Kubla Kahn (it's a lovely poem) a few days prior and the opening line is:
In Xanadu did Kubla Kahn
A stately pleasure dome decree,
Where Alf, the sacred river, ran
Through caverns measureless to man
Down to a sunless sea.
While we were discussing the definition of the word, Alex said, "hey, that would be a cool name for our property!" And I said, "you're so right!" And that was that. So, look up the definition and come visit Xanadu!
We participated in a fun community event on Thursday. One of the guys who runs the local bike and running shop here is a huge fan of Christmas and organizes this night light run. So people don all kinds of festive paraphernalia and run through one of the neighborhoods in town with the best Christmas lights. So we bundled up all the boys and went out in the 14 degree weather and ran/walked through this course that had been designated. It was so fun! Jack took off with his cousin and totally beat the rest of us. Peter got too cold and had to be rescued by Grandpa Hart in the van. It was so invigorating! And the boys all appreciated the hot chocolate at the end. So, we may have a new tradition!
I feel like I'm rambling. And it is getting late.
Sure love you all. Hope all is well!
I met with my book club for our annual Christmas breakfast this week. We were discussing a Tale of Two Cities. Guys! If you are looking for a book, try that one. It is so worth reading. One of those that I was kind of ambivalent about all the way through and then at the end I just lost my mind and loved everything about it. SOOOO GOOD!
We also attended the glass blowing open house that Ruth mentioned. We look forward to that every year. We watched him make globes with glass shards inside, and some miniature teardrop ornaments, and the kids got to pick some new ornaments for our tree. We took a couple of friends with us and had a really great time.
You have all heard about the falconer that comes and stays in one of our rental houses. Well, this year his wife spent some time out here too and we got to get to know her. They like to go out for pizza with us and we also went to see the light show they put up at one of the parks in town. They are such fun people and have really adopted our kids. They boys adore Fayed and Katie. They are from Florida and the way they rave about how beautiful the snow makes everything has really changed my perspective about it. It is quite lovely. We went on a little walk around the property a couple of days ago to check out all the tracks and to take stock of our yard in the winter. Jack noticed that the cold temperatures had cause the upper layer of snow to form some really good crystal formations. We taste tested it and it was super crunchy.
Oh! And we finally decided on a name for our property. We have been working on one since we moved in and never could quite settle on one. Well, Alex has been getting a word a day on his phone to try and improve his vocabulary. The other day he asked me if I had ever heard of the word Xanadu. I had, actually, because I am a word nerd, and plus I had just read Samuel Taylor Coleridge's poem Kubla Kahn (it's a lovely poem) a few days prior and the opening line is:
In Xanadu did Kubla Kahn
A stately pleasure dome decree,
Where Alf, the sacred river, ran
Through caverns measureless to man
Down to a sunless sea.
While we were discussing the definition of the word, Alex said, "hey, that would be a cool name for our property!" And I said, "you're so right!" And that was that. So, look up the definition and come visit Xanadu!
We participated in a fun community event on Thursday. One of the guys who runs the local bike and running shop here is a huge fan of Christmas and organizes this night light run. So people don all kinds of festive paraphernalia and run through one of the neighborhoods in town with the best Christmas lights. So we bundled up all the boys and went out in the 14 degree weather and ran/walked through this course that had been designated. It was so fun! Jack took off with his cousin and totally beat the rest of us. Peter got too cold and had to be rescued by Grandpa Hart in the van. It was so invigorating! And the boys all appreciated the hot chocolate at the end. So, we may have a new tradition!
I feel like I'm rambling. And it is getting late.
Sure love you all. Hope all is well!
Flake Fun
The weather in Snowflake has turned cold, but usually only after the sun has gone down. Otherwise it is normally nice and sunny.
Scott is liking his new job and he is working with some great people. It is a much smaller office so he is getting to do a little bit of everything. It keeps things interesting.
We have spent the last several weekends helping another cousin build her house. Yesterday was spent putting up the roof trusses.
Let's see, what else...that is about all that I can think of. Hope everyone has a great week! Love you all!
Scott is liking his new job and he is working with some great people. It is a much smaller office so he is getting to do a little bit of everything. It keeps things interesting.
We have spent the last several weekends helping another cousin build her house. Yesterday was spent putting up the roof trusses.
Let's see, what else...that is about all that I can think of. Hope everyone has a great week! Love you all!
...And Loving It
K so this week was dead week at the university. I nailed my philosophy comprehensive final with a 30/30 or 100%. Killing it. I just hope I manage to scrape by with at least a C in Chemistry.......
So yesterday was pretty much the funnest day of the year so far. Nicole (Collie), my roommate, and I decided to go to SLC with some friends to see the lights. We rounded up Alex, Zac, Zack, Landon, Loren, Romney, Tess, and Cambria. It was a blast. Alex, Zac, Romney, Cambria, Collie and I all stuffed ourselves into Alex's car and belted good ol' 2000 songs on the way down. We met the rest of them down there. Collie and I made up a fun game called PDA punch. Basically whenever we saw anyone holding hands or kissing, we'd yell "they're in love" and whack each other in the arm. Not even kidding she's got bruises and my right arm is dead. College does things to people, everybody. We really went ham when we saw a proposal in front of the Temple. It was actually the cutest thing I've ever seen. Then we went back to our apartment and watched a movie. Zac fell asleep on one of our kitchen stools, lost his balance and was launched headfirst into our couch. We laughed for a solid ten minutes! I felt kinda bad because he had a headache after but he was a good sport and just kinda fell asleep on the floor after.... poor guy ;) Collie, Cambria and I were just laughing our heads off at him.
Other than that, not much going on. Cross your fingers for my final for Chem tomorrow....... I'd love to just pass the class at this point.... But as my very good friend and brother in law has said, "chemistry is for the dogs."
None of us have boyfriends or girlfriends, so Romney, Collie and I decided to take a "couple" picture with three of us.
Girls from Left to right: Cambria, me, Collie. Boys left to right: Alex, Loren, Landon, Zac, and Romney.
.... I didn't know my phone was going to flash... but Romney and Collie look good!
Collie has this toothpaste charcoal stuff. It's chalky but doesn't taste like anything. We scared the ever living tar out of Elise when we walked into her room at midnight with black mouths. Apparently it whitens teeth but it only made my gums bleed so I'm not doing that again.....
So yesterday was pretty much the funnest day of the year so far. Nicole (Collie), my roommate, and I decided to go to SLC with some friends to see the lights. We rounded up Alex, Zac, Zack, Landon, Loren, Romney, Tess, and Cambria. It was a blast. Alex, Zac, Romney, Cambria, Collie and I all stuffed ourselves into Alex's car and belted good ol' 2000 songs on the way down. We met the rest of them down there. Collie and I made up a fun game called PDA punch. Basically whenever we saw anyone holding hands or kissing, we'd yell "they're in love" and whack each other in the arm. Not even kidding she's got bruises and my right arm is dead. College does things to people, everybody. We really went ham when we saw a proposal in front of the Temple. It was actually the cutest thing I've ever seen. Then we went back to our apartment and watched a movie. Zac fell asleep on one of our kitchen stools, lost his balance and was launched headfirst into our couch. We laughed for a solid ten minutes! I felt kinda bad because he had a headache after but he was a good sport and just kinda fell asleep on the floor after.... poor guy ;) Collie, Cambria and I were just laughing our heads off at him.
Other than that, not much going on. Cross your fingers for my final for Chem tomorrow....... I'd love to just pass the class at this point.... But as my very good friend and brother in law has said, "chemistry is for the dogs."
Nilsson News
Yes, I've been a blogger slacker. First of all, Emma my recommendation would be to make your mama happy. You'll get to be all grown up and independent for the rest of your life and it isn't always everything it's cracked up to be. Keep up is the loop though because we definitely want to be there for your call!!! It's so close!
I've been feeling so bad about sharing our germs with the little Belliston clan and I hope that we can still be on talking terms. I honestly had no idea that our kiddos were very sick, but I woke up to reality as soon as we got home. Everyone got sick and it stuck around forever! I think we are free and clear of germs for now. We've turned on hibernation mode since the temps have plummeted. Our donkeys are surviving but they look mighty cold with frosted whiskers and manes. Our thermometer this morning read -3 degrees when I went out to feed the animals. The frost makes the landscape look lovely and so winter wonderlandy! The other day when we were driving, the frost crystals were abundant and they must have been the cause for the huge rainbow halo we saw around the sun. It was incredible!
This week we had our ward Christmas party and it was very fun. Addy made some sugar cookies to take and ended up making about 90 of them! We will be decorating cookies for the next while I think. The primary kids sang and Emerson got to be a bell player. Our accompanist didn't show up so Addy stepped in and did a terrific job! Garrett wooed the crowd with his Bing Crosby "White Christmas." He got an applause mid song and was even able to add a little whistling. It was great! My kids seem to have an aversion to meeting Santa Clause and Eliza was especially a wreck and would not even go to the side of the room where he was sitting. It must be genetic because I think I had that same condition when I was little. Do you remember when he burst into our house saying ho, ho, ho without even knocking?! I think it was Dan Balls, but I remember being quite terrified of the jolly giant.
The kids are very excited about Christmas (minus the Santa Claus) and have been faithfully doing their advent calendar countdowns. We have been reading the Forgotten Carols each night while our candle burns down to a new dot. Yesterday, we went to visit the glass blower and each of the kids got to choose a unique ornament. Thank you Elise for introducing us to this new tradition. So fun!
I hope you are all enjoying your lovely seasonal traditions. Keep drinking the hot cocoa and keep the music playing! Love you all!
I've been feeling so bad about sharing our germs with the little Belliston clan and I hope that we can still be on talking terms. I honestly had no idea that our kiddos were very sick, but I woke up to reality as soon as we got home. Everyone got sick and it stuck around forever! I think we are free and clear of germs for now. We've turned on hibernation mode since the temps have plummeted. Our donkeys are surviving but they look mighty cold with frosted whiskers and manes. Our thermometer this morning read -3 degrees when I went out to feed the animals. The frost makes the landscape look lovely and so winter wonderlandy! The other day when we were driving, the frost crystals were abundant and they must have been the cause for the huge rainbow halo we saw around the sun. It was incredible!
This week we had our ward Christmas party and it was very fun. Addy made some sugar cookies to take and ended up making about 90 of them! We will be decorating cookies for the next while I think. The primary kids sang and Emerson got to be a bell player. Our accompanist didn't show up so Addy stepped in and did a terrific job! Garrett wooed the crowd with his Bing Crosby "White Christmas." He got an applause mid song and was even able to add a little whistling. It was great! My kids seem to have an aversion to meeting Santa Clause and Eliza was especially a wreck and would not even go to the side of the room where he was sitting. It must be genetic because I think I had that same condition when I was little. Do you remember when he burst into our house saying ho, ho, ho without even knocking?! I think it was Dan Balls, but I remember being quite terrified of the jolly giant.
The kids are very excited about Christmas (minus the Santa Claus) and have been faithfully doing their advent calendar countdowns. We have been reading the Forgotten Carols each night while our candle burns down to a new dot. Yesterday, we went to visit the glass blower and each of the kids got to choose a unique ornament. Thank you Elise for introducing us to this new tradition. So fun!
I hope you are all enjoying your lovely seasonal traditions. Keep drinking the hot cocoa and keep the music playing! Love you all!
Sunday, December 3, 2017
...And Loving It
Hey familia. Not much going on here. Lots of tender mercies but not enough time to tell y'all about them. Mom and I are still in a tiff about my mission call. It's still coming to my apartment though ;) dad threatened to change it when he sent it out and I threatened him with the silent treatment. Probably not gonna work... Just one thing. My mission call will probably come around the 17 or the 22 of January and it'd be awesome if some of you could be here. Not necessary, but it's gonna be kind of boring with just dad, mom and I, so it would be fun to see you guys. We'd face time all of you, but only mom has the capacity to do that so we'd have to pick the favorite child here... Sounds intimidating doesn't it?? ;) haha jk jk. Hope you all have a great week. Love you guys.
Hart Happenings
Sitting here in front of a roaring fire while it gears up for snow outside, relaxing with a sick Ian and listening to Kurt Bestor. It must be Christmas time!
We were so sad to hear about the baptism postponement due to sickness at the Belliston residence. Hopefully everyone is on the mend. Keep us posted on the rescheduling! Also can't wait to hear about Joe's concert. Hooray for the euphonium! Makes me think of Annie Laurie.......
Speaking of concerts, Ian spent Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday rehearsing for his Christmas concert that took place on Saturday. Unfortunately, he lost his voice Friday morning, so he actually lip-synced everything at the concert. He probably would have been better at home in bed, but he was part of a small dance number that would have really been messed up by his absence so he stuck it out until the end and came home and collapsed. What a trooper!
Funny thing about Peter. Our favorite show is on again, so we have been watching Fixer Upper as a family on Tuesday nights and then we do it all over again when Ruth comes over on Wednesdays. So Peter has taken it into his bright little mind that our house needs some Fixer Upper love. He periodically will kick Jack, Ian, or myself out of our rooms, takes a before picture, proceed to "fixer-upper" things, and then has us come back for the big reveal and some after pictures. He is really good at tidying things up, but I have a hard time finding things after one of his episodes. I didn't respond really well yesterday when he decided to "fixer upper" the entryway coat closet. He managed to get everything out of the closet, but then found that he couldn't get it all back in by himself. I discovered him at the point of this realization, my way to the front door completely blocked by coats, shoes, boots, gloves, hats, etc....I might have yelled a little. He wanted me to take a picture anyway.
We went with some of our homeschool friends on a field trip to the local power plant. It was absolutely fascinating! They have this really great hands on room where kids can try to ride a bike and pedal fast enough to generate the amount of electricity it takes to power a light bulb or charge and cell phone, they could play with snap circuits or identify electrical hazards in a rooms. The tour guide was really engaging and good at explaining something that is pretty much like magic to me and I really had no idea about. They also took us on a tour of the plant and we got to see the big turbine they have underneath the river that generates the electricity we use in Idaho Falls. The boys thought that was pretty awesome.
The Family History Center here is hosting culture nights this month where they highlight the Christmas traditions from a few countries. We went on Thursday night and we heard from a lady from Moldova, one from Venezuela, and a gal who brought stuff to share from New Zealand. We then got to sample traditional foods from those countries and look at some of the items they brought to show. Jack had a hard time understanding the thick accents but it was really interesting and fun.
It was fun to have mom come up unexpectedly for Ian's concert. We got to go to the mall with them and the Nilssons which was an adventure. We sure appreciate all the effort that Mom and Dad go to to support their rapidly expanding family! I know it keeps you guys busy and it means a lot to us!
We've had a good time recently raiding our yard for greenery, pinecones, and pretty red branches to decorate the house with. We found our Christmas tree in our front yard and cut it down last Sunday. It looked a lot smaller outside! Thank goodness for a vaulted ceiling!
Hope you're all staying cozy and warm these days and enjoying the Light the World campaign. Christmas is wonderful!
We were so sad to hear about the baptism postponement due to sickness at the Belliston residence. Hopefully everyone is on the mend. Keep us posted on the rescheduling! Also can't wait to hear about Joe's concert. Hooray for the euphonium! Makes me think of Annie Laurie.......
Speaking of concerts, Ian spent Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday rehearsing for his Christmas concert that took place on Saturday. Unfortunately, he lost his voice Friday morning, so he actually lip-synced everything at the concert. He probably would have been better at home in bed, but he was part of a small dance number that would have really been messed up by his absence so he stuck it out until the end and came home and collapsed. What a trooper!
Funny thing about Peter. Our favorite show is on again, so we have been watching Fixer Upper as a family on Tuesday nights and then we do it all over again when Ruth comes over on Wednesdays. So Peter has taken it into his bright little mind that our house needs some Fixer Upper love. He periodically will kick Jack, Ian, or myself out of our rooms, takes a before picture, proceed to "fixer-upper" things, and then has us come back for the big reveal and some after pictures. He is really good at tidying things up, but I have a hard time finding things after one of his episodes. I didn't respond really well yesterday when he decided to "fixer upper" the entryway coat closet. He managed to get everything out of the closet, but then found that he couldn't get it all back in by himself. I discovered him at the point of this realization, my way to the front door completely blocked by coats, shoes, boots, gloves, hats, etc....I might have yelled a little. He wanted me to take a picture anyway.
We went with some of our homeschool friends on a field trip to the local power plant. It was absolutely fascinating! They have this really great hands on room where kids can try to ride a bike and pedal fast enough to generate the amount of electricity it takes to power a light bulb or charge and cell phone, they could play with snap circuits or identify electrical hazards in a rooms. The tour guide was really engaging and good at explaining something that is pretty much like magic to me and I really had no idea about. They also took us on a tour of the plant and we got to see the big turbine they have underneath the river that generates the electricity we use in Idaho Falls. The boys thought that was pretty awesome.
The Family History Center here is hosting culture nights this month where they highlight the Christmas traditions from a few countries. We went on Thursday night and we heard from a lady from Moldova, one from Venezuela, and a gal who brought stuff to share from New Zealand. We then got to sample traditional foods from those countries and look at some of the items they brought to show. Jack had a hard time understanding the thick accents but it was really interesting and fun.
It was fun to have mom come up unexpectedly for Ian's concert. We got to go to the mall with them and the Nilssons which was an adventure. We sure appreciate all the effort that Mom and Dad go to to support their rapidly expanding family! I know it keeps you guys busy and it means a lot to us!
We've had a good time recently raiding our yard for greenery, pinecones, and pretty red branches to decorate the house with. We found our Christmas tree in our front yard and cut it down last Sunday. It looked a lot smaller outside! Thank goodness for a vaulted ceiling!
Hope you're all staying cozy and warm these days and enjoying the Light the World campaign. Christmas is wonderful!
Sunday, November 26, 2017
...And Loving It!
Hope you all know that when you guys come, it's actually the best thing ever! I love it when everybody is home. Thanks for the good times!
You all basically know what I did this week and it was freaking awesome! I love you guys. Mostly I just wanted to post some of my favorite pictures from the week. Hope you have a great week!
You all basically know what I did this week and it was freaking awesome! I love you guys. Mostly I just wanted to post some of my favorite pictures from the week. Hope you have a great week!
Hyde Park Highlights
What a great family we have! I can't think of anything more delightful than the noise, mess and constant motion we experience when we have everyone here! Well, almost everyone... We were very sorry that T&T were too far away and that 2/3 of the Mannings were too sick to come for Thanksgiving. Other than that, the holiday celebration was perfectly wonderful.
Ruth and Garrett truly saved our lives - well, at least our sanity - by coming last Sunday and spending all day Monday installing our baseboards. Ruth worked her head off on Tuesday and Wednesday touching up paint, caulking every place a spider would even consider coming in, getting our mound in the front winter-ready, and every other thing she could do to help. We are very, very grateful!
Jenn and Scott pulled in Tuesday evening and also helped us get things put together on Wednesday - getting food purchased and prepared, changing the kitchen light fixture and helping me simplify and not stress about things.
Harts arrived on Wednesday and, as usual, brought the party! We are still scolding them for waiting until they were in Smithfield to eat dinner, at the exact time we were eating at our house. They brought the finishing touches for our Thanksgiving dinner, which made it extra-special.
Emma spent several days making delicious pies and came on Thursday to help put things all together. We enjoyed visiting in the morning, playing football at the park to build up an appetite for a lovely meal in the early afternoon. It was fun to FaceTime with Joe and Thomas on Thanksgiving day and see Thomas' new hair color (hope it helps make him millions!).
The ladies bravely ventured out early on Friday morning to see what deals they could help each other find. They had great success and were glad they went. Elise went with Emma to offer support and encouragement when she had her hair cut short (which is very cute). We were overjoyed when Joe and Lori's family arrived on Friday morning.
Playing games, visiting, eating, holding Millie, shopping for Christmas books, holding Hope, watching the epoch 4th Annual Cousins Christmas Concert, the darling Nativity program and Christmas games, watching Mr. Kruger's Christmas... I just can't choose what my favorite part of our time together was! It was all so wonderful and joyous. Too good to be true! Dad continues making notes and putting together the thoughts generated by lively conversations with Alex and Garrett about ways to help struggling members of his stake. That was a bonus for him.
Then... everyone went home. Nilssons left Saturday morning when more of their children woke up sick. Emma, Bellistons and Harts left Saturday night. It was eerily quiet and still. Jenn and Scott left this afternoon. It was so lonesome after they took off that I went up to our church to sign up for tithing settlement and see if anyone was there that I could talk to! I visited with a few ward members, then drove around looking at building lots before finally going home to keep Chester company. I know I will eventually get used to this stage of life, but it may take me more time than most folks.
Thanks for making the effort to come and to connect with each other. There isn't much that is more important in this world than family and building those sweet relationships. Thanks for the pains you take in order for that to happen! You are the best family around and I love you all!
Special thanks to:
Emma for getting off work early to be with us!
Menfolk for visiting with Dad and giving him some great ideas to implement!
Womenfolk for helping prepare, serve and clean up meal after meal after meal after.....!
Addy for cleaning up the basement and organizing the toy closet - over and over again!
Grant for the wonderful hugs you always give me!
Joy for letting me hold you at the book store!
Hope for smiling at me whenever I talk to you!
Eliza for doing your best to not touch the babies so they wouldn't get sick!
Jack for willingly participating in whatever is planned without complaining at all!
Henry for figuring out how to open the gate by yourself!
Ian for producing the Cousins Christmas Concert and including all of the cousins!
Jake for making me laugh and always liking the food!
Millie for sleeping so well at our house!
Peter for reminding me to make second food so no one would be hungry!
Emerson for hanging in there when you felt so sick!
Grace for inviting Grandpa to speak at your baptism - he's very excited!
Ruth and Garrett truly saved our lives - well, at least our sanity - by coming last Sunday and spending all day Monday installing our baseboards. Ruth worked her head off on Tuesday and Wednesday touching up paint, caulking every place a spider would even consider coming in, getting our mound in the front winter-ready, and every other thing she could do to help. We are very, very grateful!
Jenn and Scott pulled in Tuesday evening and also helped us get things put together on Wednesday - getting food purchased and prepared, changing the kitchen light fixture and helping me simplify and not stress about things.
Harts arrived on Wednesday and, as usual, brought the party! We are still scolding them for waiting until they were in Smithfield to eat dinner, at the exact time we were eating at our house. They brought the finishing touches for our Thanksgiving dinner, which made it extra-special.
Emma spent several days making delicious pies and came on Thursday to help put things all together. We enjoyed visiting in the morning, playing football at the park to build up an appetite for a lovely meal in the early afternoon. It was fun to FaceTime with Joe and Thomas on Thanksgiving day and see Thomas' new hair color (hope it helps make him millions!).
The ladies bravely ventured out early on Friday morning to see what deals they could help each other find. They had great success and were glad they went. Elise went with Emma to offer support and encouragement when she had her hair cut short (which is very cute). We were overjoyed when Joe and Lori's family arrived on Friday morning.
Playing games, visiting, eating, holding Millie, shopping for Christmas books, holding Hope, watching the epoch 4th Annual Cousins Christmas Concert, the darling Nativity program and Christmas games, watching Mr. Kruger's Christmas... I just can't choose what my favorite part of our time together was! It was all so wonderful and joyous. Too good to be true! Dad continues making notes and putting together the thoughts generated by lively conversations with Alex and Garrett about ways to help struggling members of his stake. That was a bonus for him.
Then... everyone went home. Nilssons left Saturday morning when more of their children woke up sick. Emma, Bellistons and Harts left Saturday night. It was eerily quiet and still. Jenn and Scott left this afternoon. It was so lonesome after they took off that I went up to our church to sign up for tithing settlement and see if anyone was there that I could talk to! I visited with a few ward members, then drove around looking at building lots before finally going home to keep Chester company. I know I will eventually get used to this stage of life, but it may take me more time than most folks.
Thanks for making the effort to come and to connect with each other. There isn't much that is more important in this world than family and building those sweet relationships. Thanks for the pains you take in order for that to happen! You are the best family around and I love you all!
Special thanks to:
Emma for getting off work early to be with us!
Menfolk for visiting with Dad and giving him some great ideas to implement!
Womenfolk for helping prepare, serve and clean up meal after meal after meal after.....!
Addy for cleaning up the basement and organizing the toy closet - over and over again!
Grant for the wonderful hugs you always give me!
Joy for letting me hold you at the book store!
Hope for smiling at me whenever I talk to you!
Eliza for doing your best to not touch the babies so they wouldn't get sick!
Jack for willingly participating in whatever is planned without complaining at all!
Henry for figuring out how to open the gate by yourself!
Ian for producing the Cousins Christmas Concert and including all of the cousins!
Jake for making me laugh and always liking the food!
Millie for sleeping so well at our house!
Peter for reminding me to make second food so no one would be hungry!
Emerson for hanging in there when you felt so sick!
Grace for inviting Grandpa to speak at your baptism - he's very excited!
Sunday, November 19, 2017
Birthdays and Ferrari's
Today during the sacrament Jake shouted "that bread was good!!" I think he was feeling the spirit. Tonight we had tithing settlement which went really well except for the kids jumping off the chairs in the bishops office. We have clearly taught them so well.
Grace had a great birthday that's lasted about the whole month. I took her to see Aida at the new Hale Center Theater in Sandy yesterday for her birthday present, so I think that wrapped up her birthday celebrations. By the way, the show was absolutely stunning. If anybody has an interest in going, I wouldn't mind seeing it again...
Grace also got some great birthday notes from her classmates at school. Here are a couple samples:
"Dear Gras, I hop you have a good birthday if you don't i'm sorry."
"Grace you are speshl. I like you."
"Dear Grace you are a good friend to me you are my 2't Bff I know that Abby is your 1st Bff. Happy Birthday."
Grant comes to work with me every morning and then I take him over to the BYU Kindergarten at 8:30. It has been a great time and we have fun conversations every morning. Last week I told Grant that the next time we buy a car I think it will be a truck. He said he would rather buy a Ferrari because they're faster. He's probably right.
Hope rolled over for the first time and is endlessly patient with all the love and affection she receives from her siblings.
We can't wait to see everybody over Thanksgiving! Love you all!
Grace had a great birthday that's lasted about the whole month. I took her to see Aida at the new Hale Center Theater in Sandy yesterday for her birthday present, so I think that wrapped up her birthday celebrations. By the way, the show was absolutely stunning. If anybody has an interest in going, I wouldn't mind seeing it again...
Grace also got some great birthday notes from her classmates at school. Here are a couple samples:
"Dear Gras, I hop you have a good birthday if you don't i'm sorry."
"Grace you are speshl. I like you."
"Dear Grace you are a good friend to me you are my 2't Bff I know that Abby is your 1st Bff. Happy Birthday."
Grant comes to work with me every morning and then I take him over to the BYU Kindergarten at 8:30. It has been a great time and we have fun conversations every morning. Last week I told Grant that the next time we buy a car I think it will be a truck. He said he would rather buy a Ferrari because they're faster. He's probably right.
Hope rolled over for the first time and is endlessly patient with all the love and affection she receives from her siblings.
We can't wait to see everybody over Thanksgiving! Love you all!
Hart Happenings
Can I just put it out there how entertaining and bossy 5 year-olds are? Peter has kept us in stitches and doing his bidding all week. We sure are glad he is part of our family!
Life is beyond good up here in Idaho. We are sitting here in front of the fireplace, laughing at everyone else's blog posts, and feeling cozy beyond belief.
We spent the week recovering from last week's illness but it is believed that we are all in the clear now. Hooray! We also got to do science with Ruth's kids, learned some crazy stuff about this planet that we live on, did some fall yard tidying, went to a housewarming party for some friends of ours in their new house, made some fun decorations for our Thanksgiving weekend, and enjoyed a family outing to the local Festival of Trees. The festival is where different local companies donate beautifully decorated, themed trees and the community turns out and can look at and/or buy them and all the proceeds go to The Development Workshop, a company in town that works with disabled adults. Ian's choir performed there on Thursday night and it was so fun to listen to him and wander around looking at the trees. They are all so different and absolutely spectacular!
Another embarrassing story from the annals of Elise Hart's personal history:
The Mia Maids and I decided to buy Thanksgiving for a family in the ward for our activity on Tuesday. We chose the family, went and bought the food, decided who would ring the doorbell and run. We were set. When we arrived though, we had so many bags that each of us had to carry one or two to the door. No sooner had I set the first one down than the porch light goes on and the door starts to open. Well, I promptly dropped my bags and bolted! Leaving my girls stranded on the front porch in this super shady trailer park! Not my finest moment. The girls were actually hot on my heels, but I had no idea of that when I lit out initially! Que verguenza!
The boys are all doing well. Excellent actually. They are great kids. It's such a treat to watch them do their things.
Alex has been busy making the magic happen. He takes good care of this family. We finished the painting project in Jack and Peter's room and now we just have to resolve the conflict between Jack and Peter when it comes to decor. Jack wants to put up the art that was on the walls before but Peter apparently likes the minimalist approach to decor and doesn't want anything on the walls.
See y'all next week!
Life is beyond good up here in Idaho. We are sitting here in front of the fireplace, laughing at everyone else's blog posts, and feeling cozy beyond belief.
We spent the week recovering from last week's illness but it is believed that we are all in the clear now. Hooray! We also got to do science with Ruth's kids, learned some crazy stuff about this planet that we live on, did some fall yard tidying, went to a housewarming party for some friends of ours in their new house, made some fun decorations for our Thanksgiving weekend, and enjoyed a family outing to the local Festival of Trees. The festival is where different local companies donate beautifully decorated, themed trees and the community turns out and can look at and/or buy them and all the proceeds go to The Development Workshop, a company in town that works with disabled adults. Ian's choir performed there on Thursday night and it was so fun to listen to him and wander around looking at the trees. They are all so different and absolutely spectacular!
Another embarrassing story from the annals of Elise Hart's personal history:
The Mia Maids and I decided to buy Thanksgiving for a family in the ward for our activity on Tuesday. We chose the family, went and bought the food, decided who would ring the doorbell and run. We were set. When we arrived though, we had so many bags that each of us had to carry one or two to the door. No sooner had I set the first one down than the porch light goes on and the door starts to open. Well, I promptly dropped my bags and bolted! Leaving my girls stranded on the front porch in this super shady trailer park! Not my finest moment. The girls were actually hot on my heels, but I had no idea of that when I lit out initially! Que verguenza!
The boys are all doing well. Excellent actually. They are great kids. It's such a treat to watch them do their things.
Alex has been busy making the magic happen. He takes good care of this family. We finished the painting project in Jack and Peter's room and now we just have to resolve the conflict between Jack and Peter when it comes to decor. Jack wants to put up the art that was on the walls before but Peter apparently likes the minimalist approach to decor and doesn't want anything on the walls.
See y'all next week!
Tuesday, November 14, 2017
T&T Times
So things are pretty good here. The ward is awesome! We had dinner the other night with the Harris', a couple who reminded us a lot of Elise and Alex, so it was fun to hang out with them and their 3 little ones. We unfortunately can't make the cub scout calling work, so we are waiting to see what the bishop wants us to do!
I heard that there was a study done that dark haired males tend to make more money/live more successful lives, so I did something I haven't done in 17 years and dyed my hair. Yes it's red again. Just kidding its dark brown. At least it was supposed to be dark brown, but since my hair was so light and I hadn't died it for so long, it went REALLY dark. So it looks like I have black hair. So yea, that happened...... Looks like I'm going to be REALLY successful; I better be...
Victoria is enjoying her job, she actually is up in North Dakota right now climbing and testing wind turbines to make sure they are up to safety codes. She's getting to do lots of exciting things and learning a lot! Its taxing work, and a lot of time spent doing paper work, but it's a good job for now. I however am still trying to get someone to pay me money.
We decided we are going to start a lifestyle and healthy living blog called Tom & Tori, so I'll keep you posted on how that goes, and when it's going to drop! Hopefully it takes off and we are able to make some extra money with it! I'm also going to be starting a few websites along the same lines, so we'll see how those endeavors turn out!
Well things are great here, I laid out by the pool today and listened to some of my favorite podcasts. They were discussing sports science and how and why different athletes succeed while others struggle, and it was so fascinating! They talked about how abilities and talents vary, but the mindset is and mental stability is what separates the legends from the masses. We often underestimate the power of the mind and what it can help us accomplish. We sometimes get caught up in comparing what we can't do which makes us feel inadequate, but what are we comparing it to? Turns out, the reason we can't do them is because we are comparing ourselves to people who do those things really well. Here's the bottom line of this rant folks; if you compare yourself to yourself, there is literally nothing you can't accomplish. Things you "can't do" become things that you just haven't done YET, not things you can't do. So, go out and do anything and everything you want, because you literally have the ability to allow your mind to train your body to do them.
'mic drop.'
Manning Moments
Hi Familia!
We are alive and I've been wanting to post on the blog for a long time but I was having difficulty doing it technologically. No, actually I just forgot how to do it because it's been so long and then I remembered this morning! I live in the dark ages when it comes to technology.
Lots and lots of things have happened in Utah County but to put it in a nutshell; life is good.
Wesley gets cuter every day. How, you ask? I have no idea but he does. Every time mom has seen him she can't stop laughing. He is a very funny boy. His vocabulary has exploded and he enjoys bossing the rest of us around. He tells us to put things back and when to give him a hug. His favorite words are No and Owie. Yesterday I was trying to play the piano a little and he was playing with his train. He repeatedly was saying Owie Owie Owie and so I finally looked at him and asked, "Is there an owie?" With his still distraught face he said, "No." We like to go to story time at the library and he is now very comfortable with the library and walks around like he owns the place. He has a very manly little strut. The best thing of all is that little Wesley is now sleeping like a baby! He gets 10-12 hours a night and he takes a longer nap too. It is a miracle and we are so grateful. He sleeps in the family bed and gets the most sleep out of all of us since he somehow manages to sleep amid all the antics he does during the night.
Nick is enjoying work. He laughs and laughs at his coworkers. They are all very funny people and just down to earth folks. I am so glad he gets to work with them. He is amazed sometimes at the teenage species but he is learning ways to connect and get them into the scriptures. Some of them have really tough things they're going through. A funny story though was a sophmore girl that came to his office in tears. "Brother Manning, my parents and I got in an argument this morning because I had to walk to school because my mom is having a baby and my sister is going to college and so I will be responsible for everything now..." Nick was very kind and sympathetic as she expressed all of her troubles. Then she said, "Well, I better get to class now since I'm late for it." "Ok. What class do you have?" (sniff,sniff) "Drama." Nick is pretty sure she getting an A in the class! Nick was just called to be the Sunday School president in the ward and he is enjoying that so far.
I have been enjoying the homemaking life. We got our garden hibernating for the winter. So excited to try some new things next year. We have also learned how to make some killer protein bars, bread (thanks to mom's expertise) and soap. It has been fun.
My testimony of service has been strengthened this past week. We had many opportunities to serve in our ward and it was such a great thing. I am so grateful for your examples of service. Can't wait to see you all over Thanksgiving weekend!
We are alive and I've been wanting to post on the blog for a long time but I was having difficulty doing it technologically. No, actually I just forgot how to do it because it's been so long and then I remembered this morning! I live in the dark ages when it comes to technology.
Lots and lots of things have happened in Utah County but to put it in a nutshell; life is good.
Wesley gets cuter every day. How, you ask? I have no idea but he does. Every time mom has seen him she can't stop laughing. He is a very funny boy. His vocabulary has exploded and he enjoys bossing the rest of us around. He tells us to put things back and when to give him a hug. His favorite words are No and Owie. Yesterday I was trying to play the piano a little and he was playing with his train. He repeatedly was saying Owie Owie Owie and so I finally looked at him and asked, "Is there an owie?" With his still distraught face he said, "No." We like to go to story time at the library and he is now very comfortable with the library and walks around like he owns the place. He has a very manly little strut. The best thing of all is that little Wesley is now sleeping like a baby! He gets 10-12 hours a night and he takes a longer nap too. It is a miracle and we are so grateful. He sleeps in the family bed and gets the most sleep out of all of us since he somehow manages to sleep amid all the antics he does during the night.
Nick is enjoying work. He laughs and laughs at his coworkers. They are all very funny people and just down to earth folks. I am so glad he gets to work with them. He is amazed sometimes at the teenage species but he is learning ways to connect and get them into the scriptures. Some of them have really tough things they're going through. A funny story though was a sophmore girl that came to his office in tears. "Brother Manning, my parents and I got in an argument this morning because I had to walk to school because my mom is having a baby and my sister is going to college and so I will be responsible for everything now..." Nick was very kind and sympathetic as she expressed all of her troubles. Then she said, "Well, I better get to class now since I'm late for it." "Ok. What class do you have?" (sniff,sniff) "Drama." Nick is pretty sure she getting an A in the class! Nick was just called to be the Sunday School president in the ward and he is enjoying that so far.
I have been enjoying the homemaking life. We got our garden hibernating for the winter. So excited to try some new things next year. We have also learned how to make some killer protein bars, bread (thanks to mom's expertise) and soap. It has been fun.
My testimony of service has been strengthened this past week. We had many opportunities to serve in our ward and it was such a great thing. I am so grateful for your examples of service. Can't wait to see you all over Thanksgiving weekend!
Sunday, November 12, 2017
Hart Happenings
So this is the land of the sick right now. Jack has had the Wog for the past couple of days and completely lost his voice yesterday. As of this post it has still not returned. Ian is curled up in a blanket after only being able to eat one crepe (you know things are dire), and Peter's cough can be heard around the world, I'm certain. Alex and I are hanging in there, unaffected so far.
This week was one of those lovely, ordinary weeks. Did some homeschool, had play dates, did science with Ruth's kids, went to the temple, played outside (courtesy of the sunshine), collected eggs, worked on some house projects, cleaned out the cars, etc....I love ordinary days and weeks!
Alex, Jack, Peter, and I all enjoyed going to mutual this week. Ian was at his 11-year-old scouts. I just got put in the Young Women's presidency so now Alex and I get to hang out on Tuesday nights sometimes. Party!
We enjoyed a visit from Alex's siblings and their family who came into town for his nephew's baptism. It was a fun day. The kids always enjoy playing with their cousins.
I had to teach the Gospel Doctrine class today and really enjoyed exploring my Gospel Library app a little more in preparation. Their temple and family history section is superb! They have an activity section with some really great ideas that could easily be adapted for FHE, and their inspirational resources section has some super thought provoking videos. The ones I particularly enjoyed and used in my lesson were Redeeming the Dead Redeemed Me and The River Will Grow. Check them out!
Counting down the days until Thanksgiving! Can't wait to see you guys!
This week was one of those lovely, ordinary weeks. Did some homeschool, had play dates, did science with Ruth's kids, went to the temple, played outside (courtesy of the sunshine), collected eggs, worked on some house projects, cleaned out the cars, etc....I love ordinary days and weeks!
Alex, Jack, Peter, and I all enjoyed going to mutual this week. Ian was at his 11-year-old scouts. I just got put in the Young Women's presidency so now Alex and I get to hang out on Tuesday nights sometimes. Party!
We enjoyed a visit from Alex's siblings and their family who came into town for his nephew's baptism. It was a fun day. The kids always enjoy playing with their cousins.
I had to teach the Gospel Doctrine class today and really enjoyed exploring my Gospel Library app a little more in preparation. Their temple and family history section is superb! They have an activity section with some really great ideas that could easily be adapted for FHE, and their inspirational resources section has some super thought provoking videos. The ones I particularly enjoyed and used in my lesson were Redeeming the Dead Redeemed Me and The River Will Grow. Check them out!
Counting down the days until Thanksgiving! Can't wait to see you guys!
Flake Fun
12 Nov 2017 - We had a super long weekend which was really nice. Since Veteran's Day was this week, we got Friday as our holiday. And since I don't normally work on Friday and Scott had his flex day on Friday, we got Thursday!! The "weekend" was spent tilling the garden, helping another cousin on their new house, changing the oil and air flow hose on the car, transplanting some of our black walnut trees, playing the piano for a baptism and the other normal weekend stuff.
The weather is still really nice during the day and gets pretty cold at night. We have a roadrunner that shows up in the yard from time to time and a squirrel that is living in our wood pile.
Scott accepted a new job which will start the week after Thanksgiving. He will be working for the Town of Pinetop-Lakeside. We are both pretty excited about the new opportunity.
We are looking forward to Thanksgiving and can't wait to see you all!
The weather is still really nice during the day and gets pretty cold at night. We have a roadrunner that shows up in the yard from time to time and a squirrel that is living in our wood pile.
Scott accepted a new job which will start the week after Thanksgiving. He will be working for the Town of Pinetop-Lakeside. We are both pretty excited about the new opportunity.
We are looking forward to Thanksgiving and can't wait to see you all!
...And Loving It
Pretty much literally nothing happened this week.... I feel like I'm slowly failing college so that's always a party, but as Mr. Nick Manning said, chemistry is for the dogs. I couldn't agree more.
So Mom got kind of huffy when I told her I'm having my mission call sent to my apartment instead of our house. My reasoning is because I want to be the first one to touch and hold it :) call me petty. I know I'm thinking WAY in advance, but it's gonna be the best thing ever so I can't help it. I promised mom that I wouldn't open it if any of you wanted to be here in person to see me open it, but if nobody is gonna be here, I'm just gonna open it the second I get it ;) So yep. That's the master plan. Give me two months!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
But yeah, that's all I got. Hope everyone has a great week. Hyde Park may be Zion, but I wouldn't recommend the winters. They're actually the worst up on campus. Love you.
So Mom got kind of huffy when I told her I'm having my mission call sent to my apartment instead of our house. My reasoning is because I want to be the first one to touch and hold it :) call me petty. I know I'm thinking WAY in advance, but it's gonna be the best thing ever so I can't help it. I promised mom that I wouldn't open it if any of you wanted to be here in person to see me open it, but if nobody is gonna be here, I'm just gonna open it the second I get it ;) So yep. That's the master plan. Give me two months!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
But yeah, that's all I got. Hope everyone has a great week. Hyde Park may be Zion, but I wouldn't recommend the winters. They're actually the worst up on campus. Love you.
Hyde Park Highlights
Since I have a few minutes before our YSA Stake Conference, I thought I'd sit and let Chester lick my skirt (urrrrgggghh!!) while I recount the events of our week. We worked on our house projects when we were home, which wasn't a whole lot, therefore we didn't get a whole lot done - but we are making slow progress with painting and organizing. We went to Salt Lake to talk to the folks in charge of Utah Retirement Systems to get the final scoop on what is needed to begin that process. It feels very strange... We drove to Provo after finishing in Salt Lake, stopped for a moment at Lauren's, then Dad helped Grandpa with some bank stuff, then we finished up with a late birthday celebration for Grace. It is always a party at the Bellistons! We have a delightful time whenever we get to be with any of the grandchildren - thanks for always making us feel welcome!
Speaking of parties, we went to a Stake High Priest social in Hyde Park and Dad was able to see some people he doesn't often get to see, now that he is less active in our local ward. We had a nice dinner and the stake president gave a "State of the Stake" address: We have 92 missionaries serving from our stake, which includes 10 couples who are scattered all over the world! I think he said there are more than 60 high priests serving in wards and stakes outside of Hyde Park (Dad sank low in his chair at this announcement because he has about half of them in his stake as bishops, counselors and high councilmen!). There are well over a hundred who are serving in the temple. One statistic caught my attention - 16% of the members of the stake are actively doing family history work and submitting names to the temple, or printing names to take. The church average is 4%. So, as you can see from this information, Hyde Park is truly Zion and you should all move back here!! 😇
Yesterday I had a very humbling experience. Because of all that's been happening here - travels, projects, weather, a few sick days in bed - we haven't gotten around to doing some things. Specifically, raking our deep carpet of leaves off the grass. We were just getting ready to start on some inside projects when an army of young men and young women from our ward, and their leaders, appeared in our back yard with rakes, tarps and leaf blowers! I felt a flood of changing emotions in quick succession. At first I was completely mortified! No one had ever raked our leaves except us and our children! Sometimes friends had helped, but this was something WE did for ourselves - and we helped OTHER people rake THEIR leaves. Then the feeling lessened to just embarrassment. I wanted to find something to give them for their effort, but I truly had nothing! I hadn't been feeling well enough to bake so there were no cookies, no leftover Halloween candy, the apples were all too soft to enjoy eating - nothing to share. Then I experienced an overwhelming feeling of gratitude. I was so grateful that youth would be willing to spend a few hours on a Saturday morning to provide service for their neighbors, without any expectation of payment of any kind. As soon as I got over myself and my pride, I went out and grabbed a rake and visited and laughed and had a great time enjoying my neighbors. They were here for less than 20 minutes and did what it would have taken Dad and me all day, and then some, to accomplish. Hyde Park is truly Zion and you should all move back here!! 😁
The theme for Dad's stake conference this weekend is "Becoming" and the meeting last night was amazing. You should ask him for the C. S. Lewis quote he read. I don't think anyone went away from that meeting just thinking, "That was a great meeting." I feel confident that most were inspired to do something about what they heard and felt. It really was quite powerful. I don't think I've heard Dad speak with such power for a long time. He is at their leadership meeting right now, where he will speak again. He will also speak at the general session in the Tabernacle this afternoon. There will only be 2 or 3 more stake conferences before he is released from his calling, so you'd better hurry and move back here so you can hear him speak while you can!! 😉
We are getting very excited for our Thanksgiving gathering! It will be so great! Can't wait to see you all there (we will be Face Timing with Thomas and Victoria so it will be like having them there)! Have a delightful week of anticipation!!
Speaking of parties, we went to a Stake High Priest social in Hyde Park and Dad was able to see some people he doesn't often get to see, now that he is less active in our local ward. We had a nice dinner and the stake president gave a "State of the Stake" address: We have 92 missionaries serving from our stake, which includes 10 couples who are scattered all over the world! I think he said there are more than 60 high priests serving in wards and stakes outside of Hyde Park (Dad sank low in his chair at this announcement because he has about half of them in his stake as bishops, counselors and high councilmen!). There are well over a hundred who are serving in the temple. One statistic caught my attention - 16% of the members of the stake are actively doing family history work and submitting names to the temple, or printing names to take. The church average is 4%. So, as you can see from this information, Hyde Park is truly Zion and you should all move back here!! 😇
Yesterday I had a very humbling experience. Because of all that's been happening here - travels, projects, weather, a few sick days in bed - we haven't gotten around to doing some things. Specifically, raking our deep carpet of leaves off the grass. We were just getting ready to start on some inside projects when an army of young men and young women from our ward, and their leaders, appeared in our back yard with rakes, tarps and leaf blowers! I felt a flood of changing emotions in quick succession. At first I was completely mortified! No one had ever raked our leaves except us and our children! Sometimes friends had helped, but this was something WE did for ourselves - and we helped OTHER people rake THEIR leaves. Then the feeling lessened to just embarrassment. I wanted to find something to give them for their effort, but I truly had nothing! I hadn't been feeling well enough to bake so there were no cookies, no leftover Halloween candy, the apples were all too soft to enjoy eating - nothing to share. Then I experienced an overwhelming feeling of gratitude. I was so grateful that youth would be willing to spend a few hours on a Saturday morning to provide service for their neighbors, without any expectation of payment of any kind. As soon as I got over myself and my pride, I went out and grabbed a rake and visited and laughed and had a great time enjoying my neighbors. They were here for less than 20 minutes and did what it would have taken Dad and me all day, and then some, to accomplish. Hyde Park is truly Zion and you should all move back here!! 😁
The theme for Dad's stake conference this weekend is "Becoming" and the meeting last night was amazing. You should ask him for the C. S. Lewis quote he read. I don't think anyone went away from that meeting just thinking, "That was a great meeting." I feel confident that most were inspired to do something about what they heard and felt. It really was quite powerful. I don't think I've heard Dad speak with such power for a long time. He is at their leadership meeting right now, where he will speak again. He will also speak at the general session in the Tabernacle this afternoon. There will only be 2 or 3 more stake conferences before he is released from his calling, so you'd better hurry and move back here so you can hear him speak while you can!! 😉
We are getting very excited for our Thanksgiving gathering! It will be so great! Can't wait to see you all there (we will be Face Timing with Thomas and Victoria so it will be like having them there)! Have a delightful week of anticipation!!
Sunday, November 5, 2017
...And Loving It!
Hey fam. So our big final band competition was this weekend. SUPER FUN. Being on staff is actually 10,000 times better than being in the band, despite my pay (which I still haven't received). We didn't make top ten, but the staff was super grateful because that meant we could go home and it was great. So... funny story with that. The buses leave at 5 AM Friday morning to get to St. George in time to get ready to perform. I got all ready and mom helped me get some groceries that I could take with me. I took a shower, packed my bags, set two alarms, and instantly fell asleep. Oh, did I mention I felt like I was gonna die? yeah. I was SUPER sick. So I got in bed around ten, and set my alarm for three and another for four. I was set. At promptly 6:36 AM I flew out of bed in a panic. I hadn't even looked at my phone to see the time, but I knew it wasn't right because I felt rested and it was too light outside to be 5 AM. I absolutely panicked and just cried for a minute. I looked at my phone to see six missed calls, two voicemails, three snapchats, and two text messages. Yep. I was so angry. Like legitimately so mad. so I called mom and she did some quick problem solving, rushed to pick me up, and we were on the road, trying to beat the band (hehe) to Lehi where they were going to take a rest stop. We got there fifteen minutes before they were leaving. I felt like an absolute idiot, and Mom is the real MVP everyone. So yeah, if you're ever in a pinch, call mom. She got you. Pretty much always. That was definitely exciting. All is well.
Not much to say about anything else. College is fine. I love it a whole heck of a lot more than high school, but I actually hated high school so IDK how great that is..... Jk, it's great.
EVERYONE! I get to turn my papers in in like, two months!!! YAYAYAYAYAYAY. Ask me if I'm excited. I am. Wahoo!!!!!! lil sis is just growin' up so fast *wipes away tear* Yes. I am so pumped.
I decided I write way too much on the blog, but it's whatever. Hey, when y'all come for Thanksgiving, we should go Ice Skating because I've learned a lot in my class at USU and it's so fun and I'll teach you all the things.
I miss you guys. Have a great week fam.
Not much to say about anything else. College is fine. I love it a whole heck of a lot more than high school, but I actually hated high school so IDK how great that is..... Jk, it's great.
EVERYONE! I get to turn my papers in in like, two months!!! YAYAYAYAYAYAY. Ask me if I'm excited. I am. Wahoo!!!!!! lil sis is just growin' up so fast *wipes away tear* Yes. I am so pumped.
I decided I write way too much on the blog, but it's whatever. Hey, when y'all come for Thanksgiving, we should go Ice Skating because I've learned a lot in my class at USU and it's so fun and I'll teach you all the things.
I miss you guys. Have a great week fam.
Nilsson News
I never thought I would ever say this but our house is way too quiet! Elise has been so kind and allowed Millie and myself to hang out with them. Garrett took all the four older children down to Provo to see his parents and brother Quinn, who was visiting from California. I decided to stay home with Millie because we got two new donkeys and we didn't want to desert them already! They are both brown but still look completely different from any of our others. Inigo is our jack and is such a little guy but he definitely knows how to bray and I think it helps him feel kind of tough! Lolli is such a cute, furry, mellow gal and has such beautiful color markings. When I can figure it out, I will post pictures of them. Starting in the spring, we are going to try our hand at this breeding thing and if all goes well, we will have five or six little donkey foals! Addy is really excited because we are going to take in her doe, Nibbles to be bred the middle of this month. Baby donkeys are pretty cute, but I will have to say that baby goats take the grand prize in the cuteness realm. They should arrive sometime in April so you will need to plan a trip up this way around that time!
Garrett got our garden tilled and now it is just leaf raking that is left. The kids have been enjoying that and I have enjoyed them doing it! Now that the outside projects are ending, we are already talking about what we want to do inside during the winter months! The kids really had a great Halloween and like always got way too many sweet treats. Addy was Belle, Emerson was the blue ninja from Ninjago (I've never seen it so it was a challenge to make a costume of something I've never seen), Eliza was Batgirl, and Henry was the sherriff. Millie didn't ask for a costume and I was content with letting her remain as her cute, crazy hair self. We enjoyed the evening with the Hart's and that is always delightful!
We have been listening to Christmas music and getting into that lovely holiday spirit. My goal is to have everyone's gifts done by December 1st so I can enjoy the month and focus on the season more fully. I felt like last year it just disappeared without much enjoyment and really the whole key is in the eager anticipation and slowing things down. We are looking forward to Thanksgiving with all you wonderful people! Enjoy your Sabbath!
Garrett got our garden tilled and now it is just leaf raking that is left. The kids have been enjoying that and I have enjoyed them doing it! Now that the outside projects are ending, we are already talking about what we want to do inside during the winter months! The kids really had a great Halloween and like always got way too many sweet treats. Addy was Belle, Emerson was the blue ninja from Ninjago (I've never seen it so it was a challenge to make a costume of something I've never seen), Eliza was Batgirl, and Henry was the sherriff. Millie didn't ask for a costume and I was content with letting her remain as her cute, crazy hair self. We enjoyed the evening with the Hart's and that is always delightful!
We have been listening to Christmas music and getting into that lovely holiday spirit. My goal is to have everyone's gifts done by December 1st so I can enjoy the month and focus on the season more fully. I felt like last year it just disappeared without much enjoyment and really the whole key is in the eager anticipation and slowing things down. We are looking forward to Thanksgiving with all you wonderful people! Enjoy your Sabbath!
Hyde Park Highlights
We had quite an eventful week... I had the blessing of taking lunch to Ruth Ann Clark and staying with her for a few hours while Dennis was at work. She has been quite ill and he doesn't like to leave her alone. We visited and ate and then she showed me around her house that has recently been remodeled. Wow! It is a masterpiece with lots of hidden wonders, including an elevator! I made a valiant effort to not covet! That same night we had a fall festival party with the YSA stake. Some of the members dressed up and Emma and her roommate even came as old ladies! We ate chili inside and had a trunk or treat and dance in the parking lot. It was cold, but very well attended and all had a good time.
Dad and I took off Tuesday to the thriving metropolis of Ely, Nevada to visit Uncle Larry and Aunt Wilma. It's quite the place! We thought the Denny's restaurant might be a safe place to eat but we really had to really hunt for it and finally found it hiding inside a hotel and casino. Uncle Larry is very thin and weak, but is up and around and feisty as ever! He laughed and talked and seemed very glad for our visit. He is 82 and can't see or hear well any more. Their daughter, Stacy, is living with them this year and teaching school in Ely so that she can spend time with her dad since they really don't know what is going to happen. He refuses to go back to any more doctors because he doesn't feel they have helped him in any way.
We drove from Ely to Delta, Utah, another thriving metropolis. It was delightful to drive through all the small towns on our way to Springville. We visited with Lori and the children for a little bit, but sadly missed seeing Joe. Things are lively at that house and we were treated with lots of smiles from everyone, including little Hope! We spent some time with Grandpa and Christi and arrived just as word came from the doctor that Grandpa had a "raging UTI." He is now on some antibiotics for that. Hopefully that will help him feel better for a while. We enjoyed having dinner with the Mannings and being entertained by Wesley before heading back home. It was a fun, quick trip.
I went back to Ogden the next day for some appointments and Dad had a meeting in Salt Lake all day on Friday - lots of back and forth! I ended up driving with Emma to Lehi on Friday morning, but that's her story....
We were glad to stay home on Saturday and get some work done in our house and go to the temple together. Because we were gone so much this week, the rain and snow got here before the leaves got off the lawn. The front leaves are in piles, but they totally blanket the back yard! Hopefully the sun will shine long enough in the coming week for us to get them off the grass.
Have a lovely week, all! And the Happiest of Birthdays to Grace today!! 8 years old already!!
Dad and I took off Tuesday to the thriving metropolis of Ely, Nevada to visit Uncle Larry and Aunt Wilma. It's quite the place! We thought the Denny's restaurant might be a safe place to eat but we really had to really hunt for it and finally found it hiding inside a hotel and casino. Uncle Larry is very thin and weak, but is up and around and feisty as ever! He laughed and talked and seemed very glad for our visit. He is 82 and can't see or hear well any more. Their daughter, Stacy, is living with them this year and teaching school in Ely so that she can spend time with her dad since they really don't know what is going to happen. He refuses to go back to any more doctors because he doesn't feel they have helped him in any way.
We drove from Ely to Delta, Utah, another thriving metropolis. It was delightful to drive through all the small towns on our way to Springville. We visited with Lori and the children for a little bit, but sadly missed seeing Joe. Things are lively at that house and we were treated with lots of smiles from everyone, including little Hope! We spent some time with Grandpa and Christi and arrived just as word came from the doctor that Grandpa had a "raging UTI." He is now on some antibiotics for that. Hopefully that will help him feel better for a while. We enjoyed having dinner with the Mannings and being entertained by Wesley before heading back home. It was a fun, quick trip.
I went back to Ogden the next day for some appointments and Dad had a meeting in Salt Lake all day on Friday - lots of back and forth! I ended up driving with Emma to Lehi on Friday morning, but that's her story....
We were glad to stay home on Saturday and get some work done in our house and go to the temple together. Because we were gone so much this week, the rain and snow got here before the leaves got off the lawn. The front leaves are in piles, but they totally blanket the back yard! Hopefully the sun will shine long enough in the coming week for us to get them off the grass.
Have a lovely week, all! And the Happiest of Birthdays to Grace today!! 8 years old already!!
Sunday, October 29, 2017
T&T Times
So Texas..... it's definitely Texas. Haha Texas is great! Gas is $2.00, steak is amazing, all the stores are huge, getting anywhere takes forever because this city in ENORMOUS. Anyway, we found a gym so everything is solid. Our apartment is an adjustment, but it's pretty good. The weather is amazing! Victoria is doing great at her job, she gets to travel which she loves, so that's good too! I am currently looking for a bunch of different positions, mostly with coaching and paralegal stuff, so if that stuff pans out, I'll let y'all know. I'm also staying open to the possibility of joining the air force in the intelligence field. So things are kind of up in the air for me, but life is an unplanned party and we love it!
So there's this big renaissance fair that they do here, like it's so so big. Imagine a medieval Disneyland and you've got this fair. They had jousting, jesters, pirates, ale, magicians, Celtic music and dancing, etc. Hopefully the pictures will post on the blog, but we'll see!
Church is great, the ward is pretty big actually. We got asked to work with the cub scouts, so that'll be fun! The people are great and super friendly, and Texas pride is real!
Well, hopefully when we're more organized, these blog postings will be more organized too! Love you all!
So there's this big renaissance fair that they do here, like it's so so big. Imagine a medieval Disneyland and you've got this fair. They had jousting, jesters, pirates, ale, magicians, Celtic music and dancing, etc. Hopefully the pictures will post on the blog, but we'll see!
Church is great, the ward is pretty big actually. We got asked to work with the cub scouts, so that'll be fun! The people are great and super friendly, and Texas pride is real!
Well, hopefully when we're more organized, these blog postings will be more organized too! Love you all!
Hyde Park Highlights
We are doing our best to get used to this "empty nest" situation. I have been surprised at how it has changed our lives. For instance, there are some nights that I haven't even made dinner and Dad has eaten a bowl of cold cereal! So weird. No motivation to cook. Other things I've noticed include:
* All of the piles around here now are of our own making. No one else to blame for those.
* It takes us about 3 1/2 days to fill the dishwasher - so we'll probably go back to washing by hand.
* We can eat oatmeal every morning for breakfast if we want.
* Talking with Chester is quite therapeutic. He doesn't interrupt or offer advice or criticism. He likes to just sit by me and listen.
* Raking leaves takes much longer and is much less fun all by myself.
* We still go to bed too late and have even slept in too late in the mornings and have no one to blame but ourselves.
* We're not sure we are completely in this stage yet. We are still somewhat in denial.
News for the last couple of weeks: We bought a car - 2011 Toyota Camry. It runs nicely and we hope it will last a good, long time. Our latest endeavor was replacing the flooring in the office, kitchen, dining room and hall. It will be a nice change, especially after we get the baseboards on and get everything back where it belongs. We are trying to share our apple cider with everyone we can think of so there will be room in our freezer for Thanksgiving fixings. No one has refused our offer yet!
We are enjoying the weather and hope to get all of our outside things done before winter hits in full force. Dad brought in a strange egg from the chicken coop yesterday. I sent photos to some of you already, but thought the rest of you might like to see it. It was a perfectly formed egg without a shell! It was very soft and had a long "umbilical cord" on it, as you can see. The yolk was visible inside the egg. We didn't have any way to crack it open. I have no idea what that was all about. Dad has been involved in ward conferences for the past few weeks. He'll do one more in November, then take a break for the rest of the semester. Those conferences will start up again next year. He gets a bit stressed because he tries to prepare messages designed specifically for the ward he is attending - not just write one talk for all wards. He does a tremendous job, but it is very demanding a exhausting.
In this big valley, with its thousands of people, things have seemed a bit lonesome since Thomas and Victoria left. We didn't even see them much while they were here, but just knowing that they are not here makes the valley seem quite empty! But we are excited for their adventure and hope they are adjusting and learning and having great experiences. We can't wait to get down there to visit!
We hope all is well in your neck of the woods, wherever that neck is. Have a fun week, everyone. Happy Halloween! Send photos of the adventures and costumes!
P.S. I don't know if you are all aware that Emma has a different email address, but I noticed that when a group message was emailed to our family, Emma's didn't go through. Her new address is
ebelliston99@gmail.com
* All of the piles around here now are of our own making. No one else to blame for those.
* It takes us about 3 1/2 days to fill the dishwasher - so we'll probably go back to washing by hand.
* We can eat oatmeal every morning for breakfast if we want.
* Talking with Chester is quite therapeutic. He doesn't interrupt or offer advice or criticism. He likes to just sit by me and listen.
* Raking leaves takes much longer and is much less fun all by myself.
* We still go to bed too late and have even slept in too late in the mornings and have no one to blame but ourselves.
* We're not sure we are completely in this stage yet. We are still somewhat in denial.
News for the last couple of weeks: We bought a car - 2011 Toyota Camry. It runs nicely and we hope it will last a good, long time. Our latest endeavor was replacing the flooring in the office, kitchen, dining room and hall. It will be a nice change, especially after we get the baseboards on and get everything back where it belongs. We are trying to share our apple cider with everyone we can think of so there will be room in our freezer for Thanksgiving fixings. No one has refused our offer yet!
We are enjoying the weather and hope to get all of our outside things done before winter hits in full force. Dad brought in a strange egg from the chicken coop yesterday. I sent photos to some of you already, but thought the rest of you might like to see it. It was a perfectly formed egg without a shell! It was very soft and had a long "umbilical cord" on it, as you can see. The yolk was visible inside the egg. We didn't have any way to crack it open. I have no idea what that was all about. Dad has been involved in ward conferences for the past few weeks. He'll do one more in November, then take a break for the rest of the semester. Those conferences will start up again next year. He gets a bit stressed because he tries to prepare messages designed specifically for the ward he is attending - not just write one talk for all wards. He does a tremendous job, but it is very demanding a exhausting.
In this big valley, with its thousands of people, things have seemed a bit lonesome since Thomas and Victoria left. We didn't even see them much while they were here, but just knowing that they are not here makes the valley seem quite empty! But we are excited for their adventure and hope they are adjusting and learning and having great experiences. We can't wait to get down there to visit!
We hope all is well in your neck of the woods, wherever that neck is. Have a fun week, everyone. Happy Halloween! Send photos of the adventures and costumes!
P.S. I don't know if you are all aware that Emma has a different email address, but I noticed that when a group message was emailed to our family, Emma's didn't go through. Her new address is
ebelliston99@gmail.com
Hart Happenings
Trunk or treat, scouting for food, and beautiful weather made for quite an eventful week. I feel like we are getting the fall that we've missed so far. Hooray!
Ian has been taking care of our neighbor's little 5 acre farm while they are visiting family in New York so we have been getting all kinds of ideas from there. She is an excellent gardener and they have the best rope swing I have ever seen! Now if we could only find a tree around here......
We did a spur of the moment refresh of Peter and Jack's bedroom yesterday. I walked in there and was afraid for my life, but a couple of bins, lamps and nightstands later and all is well.
Great Brains have started again and this week we enjoyed hearing about Australia, the man who invented Legos, badgers, the Revolutionary War, Alexander Hamilton, balloon animals, and bicycles. I always learn a ton at these evenings and am always so impressed by our kids and the others.
It's weird to think that at this time last year we were waiting with baited breath to see if our loan and everything would go through to buy this house. Looking back on the last almost year, it is really profound to see how the Lord has guided our path and all the things that have happened. We are really feeling at home here and marvel at the blessings that are ours.
So, these are the weeks of the leaves here. The boys have had some epic leaf battles and we have raked and blown and mowed the leaves. Our friends the Martins came over on Saturday and hauled away 56 big black garbage bags of leaves, which sounds like a lot, but looks like so little considering how much we have left! I think they got those 56 bags from 4 big piles we had raked up. There were probably 30+ piles like that scattered all over our yard. Thank goodness for the lawn mower!
Ruth and I took the kids to the NASA space exhibit at the museum on Wednesday which was a big hit. Jack and Emerson were the only ones brave enough to ride the exercise machine they had that the astronauts worked out on. We got to see how much we would weigh on the moon and Mars, see and touch some meteorites, tour the inside of a space shuttle, design a Mars community, pack for an excursion into space, and see the heat patterns in our bodies with the heat detector thingy. They had so much stuff to see and experiment with and we had a blast!
We are counting down the days until Thanksgiving. Can't wait to be with you all. I will be bringing an apple slab pie and some cranberry sauce and maybe some other stuff. We'll see what happens.
Ian has been taking care of our neighbor's little 5 acre farm while they are visiting family in New York so we have been getting all kinds of ideas from there. She is an excellent gardener and they have the best rope swing I have ever seen! Now if we could only find a tree around here......
We did a spur of the moment refresh of Peter and Jack's bedroom yesterday. I walked in there and was afraid for my life, but a couple of bins, lamps and nightstands later and all is well.
Great Brains have started again and this week we enjoyed hearing about Australia, the man who invented Legos, badgers, the Revolutionary War, Alexander Hamilton, balloon animals, and bicycles. I always learn a ton at these evenings and am always so impressed by our kids and the others.
It's weird to think that at this time last year we were waiting with baited breath to see if our loan and everything would go through to buy this house. Looking back on the last almost year, it is really profound to see how the Lord has guided our path and all the things that have happened. We are really feeling at home here and marvel at the blessings that are ours.
So, these are the weeks of the leaves here. The boys have had some epic leaf battles and we have raked and blown and mowed the leaves. Our friends the Martins came over on Saturday and hauled away 56 big black garbage bags of leaves, which sounds like a lot, but looks like so little considering how much we have left! I think they got those 56 bags from 4 big piles we had raked up. There were probably 30+ piles like that scattered all over our yard. Thank goodness for the lawn mower!
Ruth and I took the kids to the NASA space exhibit at the museum on Wednesday which was a big hit. Jack and Emerson were the only ones brave enough to ride the exercise machine they had that the astronauts worked out on. We got to see how much we would weigh on the moon and Mars, see and touch some meteorites, tour the inside of a space shuttle, design a Mars community, pack for an excursion into space, and see the heat patterns in our bodies with the heat detector thingy. They had so much stuff to see and experiment with and we had a blast!
We are counting down the days until Thanksgiving. Can't wait to be with you all. I will be bringing an apple slab pie and some cranberry sauce and maybe some other stuff. We'll see what happens.
Flake Fun
This week was pretty good but this weekend was fantastic! Scott took me to Sedona for a birthday weekend getaway which was awesome! We stayed at a cute little place called the Baby Quail Inn. The first morning we went over to breakfast and there was a cute little man there who looked just like Dick Van Dyke! He is the owner and he spent the whole time telling us stories about his time in Hollywood working with people like Carol Burnette, Lucille Ball, James Garner and others! Such a crack up!
We went on some hikes and showed up at the art village just in time for the Dia de los Muertos celebration. If you haven't been to Sedona, I would highly recommend it. It is a neat little town with lots of trails and shops.
We bought bikes a couple of weeks ago and are trying out the bike slime that keeps your tires from going flat. After one ride it looks like it might work...
The weather is turning cold in the evenings but the days are beautiful. Happily our outdoor goldfish are still alive and doing great!
We're looking forward to Thanksgiving. We'll plan to do a veggie tray if that is okay! See you soon!
We went on some hikes and showed up at the art village just in time for the Dia de los Muertos celebration. If you haven't been to Sedona, I would highly recommend it. It is a neat little town with lots of trails and shops.
We bought bikes a couple of weeks ago and are trying out the bike slime that keeps your tires from going flat. After one ride it looks like it might work...
The weather is turning cold in the evenings but the days are beautiful. Happily our outdoor goldfish are still alive and doing great!
We're looking forward to Thanksgiving. We'll plan to do a veggie tray if that is okay! See you soon!
...And LOVING It!!
Okay familia, lets take a moment and just acknowledge that I have the greatest siblings in the entire universe. Holy cow I'm so blessed. I was gone at band all day yesterday, and it was rough. We took third (by like, a HUGE margin: 16 points. That NEVER happens. Unless you're us) after a phenomenal performance, I spilled soda all over my khaki pants and all over the bus seat so it was sticky for the full two and a half hours back home, a few of the kids got sick and someone on our bus threw up so it smelled awful, and we didn't get back until ten thirty. Talk about quite the day. And that's not to mention failing a chemistry test, not getting the host position for the Face to Face, and also not getting a job I had applied for. Anyway, that makes for a great week, right? RIGHT! Ruth and her awesome kids sent me a box of sunshine yesterday which I didn't open until just now because I was soooo tired yesterday. I'm a little bit of a mess so I started to cry and laugh and just be super happy! It's so awesome! there's a candle, some treats, a note from Eliza, a funny picture of Millie, some chapstick, balloons, and some mixes for cookies and muffins! I'm so excited! Ya know, even if everything seems to be going wrong 1) something can always make us smile and 2) Heavenly Father will always be watching out for us and sending little tender mercies that will help us through the rough spots. I wish everyone had siblings as great as mine. Really I'm the luckiest person on the planet. #blessed
Yeah, so I was thinking about what I was going to post today, and it was all about the not-so-great stuff mentioned in the first paragraph, but that doesn't really matter anymore :) Life is good everybody. It's that kind of weather where it's frigid in the morning with the wind blowing up on campus, then about 3 o'clock, it's WAY too warm for long pants and sweatshirts, so that's obnoxious. But it is better than just being cold all the time. Fun fact: we still haven't turned on our heat in our apartment yet because the laundry room keeps us nice and warm ;) Our utilities are only like $20 a month so far so that's super great. I'm getting very excited for Christmas (mostly so my roommates will take down the creepy stuff in our apartment) but Ruth mentioned that she's excited to go Black Friday shopping and I was like, oh yeah, start saving now! I'm pumped for that! I love our Black Friday-ness. Y'all ready, sistas?
So this is a very long post, hopefully it wasn't too boring for anybody. Just wanted to say I love you guys and think you are the best ever. If any of you spot an upright piano that's like, ya know, $10 or cheaper, let us know. We need to get one in mom and dad's house before Thanksgiving so we can sing! Love you all soooo much. Have a great week and a Happy Halloween :)
Yeah, so I was thinking about what I was going to post today, and it was all about the not-so-great stuff mentioned in the first paragraph, but that doesn't really matter anymore :) Life is good everybody. It's that kind of weather where it's frigid in the morning with the wind blowing up on campus, then about 3 o'clock, it's WAY too warm for long pants and sweatshirts, so that's obnoxious. But it is better than just being cold all the time. Fun fact: we still haven't turned on our heat in our apartment yet because the laundry room keeps us nice and warm ;) Our utilities are only like $20 a month so far so that's super great. I'm getting very excited for Christmas (mostly so my roommates will take down the creepy stuff in our apartment) but Ruth mentioned that she's excited to go Black Friday shopping and I was like, oh yeah, start saving now! I'm pumped for that! I love our Black Friday-ness. Y'all ready, sistas?
So this is a very long post, hopefully it wasn't too boring for anybody. Just wanted to say I love you guys and think you are the best ever. If any of you spot an upright piano that's like, ya know, $10 or cheaper, let us know. We need to get one in mom and dad's house before Thanksgiving so we can sing! Love you all soooo much. Have a great week and a Happy Halloween :)
Sunday, October 22, 2017
Hart Happenings
This week has been fun! See you all later!
Just kidding. (The boys made me do that)
For real now:
We spent the beginning of the week finishing up the basement for Alex's parents with a lot of help from Alex's brother and Ruthie. It looks so amazing! Unfortunately for Alex, it left me all too excited to get started on updating the upstairs now!
Tuesday, Alex's parents returned and we have enjoyed visits from more of his siblings coming to say hi to the folks. It is always fun to have family around.
Alex and his dad finished putting up the chicken run. Yay! That has been a long time coming. We are now getting 3 eggs a day. Peter is in heaven but won't let us eat the eggs until we fill up an entire carton. We have 2 empty slots to go.
Mom and Dad stopped by briefly on Friday like angels from heaven bringing nectar from the Gods. I have already almost single-handedly drunk the entire gallon of apple cider I stuck in my fridge. Good thing it takes a while to thaw the frozen ones. It might help keep my consumption under control.
Alex and Ian had fun camping in the snow on Friday night. Alex is the assistant scoutmaster and he and the scout master are really good friends but they are not very much alike. Mark (scout master) loves camping and is planning on going every month all throughout the winter. Alex doesn't really love that idea as you can well imagine. Poor guy. They survived though and will live to camp another month. And he actually tented it! I will see if I can send you pictures of their set-up but he didn't sleep in the car this time around. I think it is because Ian was there and the other boys were saying stuff like, "if you can't sleep in a tent, you're not really a man" and all sorts of other smack-talk. Ah peer pressure, it never really goes away, does it?
Jack played his last soccer game. It was such a great season! It was nice that the last game they played was actually in nice weather, some of the others were more on the miserable side of things. Jack did really well and learned a lot.
Ian got a special part in his choir's Christmas program that he is pretty excited about.
The boys sang in church today as a special musical number. They did a great job. Peter wasn't nervous at all but told me that he couldn't sing the opening hymn in sacrament meeting because he needed to "save his voice for later".
We have so many leaves all over our yard! Jack and Peter and I spent a good time raking and jumping in leaves on Saturday. We did so much jumping though that our piles got re-distributed on the lawn. Oh well.
We are all super excited for Thanksgiving. I will be bringing an apple slab pie, which is so much tastier than it sounds and also some cranberry sauce, and maybe my favorite pie from Kneaders.
See you in a few weeks!
Just kidding. (The boys made me do that)
For real now:
We spent the beginning of the week finishing up the basement for Alex's parents with a lot of help from Alex's brother and Ruthie. It looks so amazing! Unfortunately for Alex, it left me all too excited to get started on updating the upstairs now!
Tuesday, Alex's parents returned and we have enjoyed visits from more of his siblings coming to say hi to the folks. It is always fun to have family around.
Alex and his dad finished putting up the chicken run. Yay! That has been a long time coming. We are now getting 3 eggs a day. Peter is in heaven but won't let us eat the eggs until we fill up an entire carton. We have 2 empty slots to go.
Mom and Dad stopped by briefly on Friday like angels from heaven bringing nectar from the Gods. I have already almost single-handedly drunk the entire gallon of apple cider I stuck in my fridge. Good thing it takes a while to thaw the frozen ones. It might help keep my consumption under control.
Alex and Ian had fun camping in the snow on Friday night. Alex is the assistant scoutmaster and he and the scout master are really good friends but they are not very much alike. Mark (scout master) loves camping and is planning on going every month all throughout the winter. Alex doesn't really love that idea as you can well imagine. Poor guy. They survived though and will live to camp another month. And he actually tented it! I will see if I can send you pictures of their set-up but he didn't sleep in the car this time around. I think it is because Ian was there and the other boys were saying stuff like, "if you can't sleep in a tent, you're not really a man" and all sorts of other smack-talk. Ah peer pressure, it never really goes away, does it?
Jack played his last soccer game. It was such a great season! It was nice that the last game they played was actually in nice weather, some of the others were more on the miserable side of things. Jack did really well and learned a lot.
Ian got a special part in his choir's Christmas program that he is pretty excited about.
The boys sang in church today as a special musical number. They did a great job. Peter wasn't nervous at all but told me that he couldn't sing the opening hymn in sacrament meeting because he needed to "save his voice for later".
We have so many leaves all over our yard! Jack and Peter and I spent a good time raking and jumping in leaves on Saturday. We did so much jumping though that our piles got re-distributed on the lawn. Oh well.
We are all super excited for Thanksgiving. I will be bringing an apple slab pie, which is so much tastier than it sounds and also some cranberry sauce, and maybe my favorite pie from Kneaders.
See you in a few weeks!
Nilsson News
Hey all! We are back in internet business. Actually, the internet business is back with our business, but you know what I mean. I really didn't think I used the internet all that often but then we went without it for a week and it was quite pathetic. We live in a tech filled world I'm sad to admit so I guess I'm not as old fashioned as I thought I was.
I'm not going to try to recap everything I missed writing about but just a few things. Our garden and canning season has come to an end (yay!) and we had a wonderful harvest. I love gardening but I love the seasons which make the gardening come to a close. We are having trouble trying to find a place to put all the plant material from our garden. I mean, what do you do with ten 15 foot mammoth sunflower plants? They don't fit in the garbage can just so you know.
The biggest project we have been working on has been a new pen and shelter for the jack donkey we are getting in two weeks. He is the other half of the breeding element that we need and we are pretty excited about it. His name is Inigo and I think he and Wesley should be friends. Garrett has outdone himself in his fence building and shed construction skills. I think deep down he was always meant to be a farmer.
We are looking forward to Christmas but have two other holidays to make it through first! The kids have had fun raking leaves and are really looking forward to dressing up for Halloween. Their mom has not been very prompt in getting around to sewing said costumes, but somehow I'm sure they will get done.
We are super excited for Thanksgiving and Addy is going to be the one to make rolls. So don't worry about that Mom! She learned how to make them at Activity Days and has been begging to make them ever since. We look forward to seeing you all soon!
Good luck Emma with your call backs! Can't wait to hear about it!
I'm not going to try to recap everything I missed writing about but just a few things. Our garden and canning season has come to an end (yay!) and we had a wonderful harvest. I love gardening but I love the seasons which make the gardening come to a close. We are having trouble trying to find a place to put all the plant material from our garden. I mean, what do you do with ten 15 foot mammoth sunflower plants? They don't fit in the garbage can just so you know.
The biggest project we have been working on has been a new pen and shelter for the jack donkey we are getting in two weeks. He is the other half of the breeding element that we need and we are pretty excited about it. His name is Inigo and I think he and Wesley should be friends. Garrett has outdone himself in his fence building and shed construction skills. I think deep down he was always meant to be a farmer.
We are looking forward to Christmas but have two other holidays to make it through first! The kids have had fun raking leaves and are really looking forward to dressing up for Halloween. Their mom has not been very prompt in getting around to sewing said costumes, but somehow I'm sure they will get done.
We are super excited for Thanksgiving and Addy is going to be the one to make rolls. So don't worry about that Mom! She learned how to make them at Activity Days and has been begging to make them ever since. We look forward to seeing you all soon!
Good luck Emma with your call backs! Can't wait to hear about it!
...And Loving It
Hey fam. Not surprisingly, I didn't really do anything fun this week except study and work and get shot. So that was great. Actually no, shots aren't that bad but for some reason I was SUPER tired and that was obnoxious.
I'm going stir crazy with college. We just passed midterm so it's kind of like there's a light at the end of the tunnel, but I really just can't wait until Christmas. I really have to focus on not listening to Christmas music and putting up a tree. So far I've done a pretty good job. I did go to a friends house on Saturday and watch Elf and drink hot chocolate and listen to Christmas music..... and all that did was get me more hyped for Christmas. So yeah, when I wrote this post, as of now there is 63 days, 9 hours, 2 minutes and 45 seconds until Christmas. In case you were wondering.
Anyway, mostly I'm just excited to see any or all of you when you come. Hope you have a good week :)
I'm going stir crazy with college. We just passed midterm so it's kind of like there's a light at the end of the tunnel, but I really just can't wait until Christmas. I really have to focus on not listening to Christmas music and putting up a tree. So far I've done a pretty good job. I did go to a friends house on Saturday and watch Elf and drink hot chocolate and listen to Christmas music..... and all that did was get me more hyped for Christmas. So yeah, when I wrote this post, as of now there is 63 days, 9 hours, 2 minutes and 45 seconds until Christmas. In case you were wondering.
Anyway, mostly I'm just excited to see any or all of you when you come. Hope you have a good week :)
Sunday, October 15, 2017
Flake Fun
15 Oct 2017 - Every time I sit down to think about what we have done this week, I realize how boring our lives are! We bought 3 more fish and some aquatic plans on Friday which was really fun. Then on Saturday we helped set up a new corral set up which was exhausting but satisfying. My fingers are doing much better from the burn.
Today in church was quite interesting. It was high council Sunday and the companion speaker went off on some interesting tangents. Honestly, I had a hard time following where he was going and some of his statements were...questionable. Then the high councilor got up and said something to the effect of, "There are groups of people who look beyond the mark and I hope that Bro. X (the companion speaker) was speaking from his heart but we'll be having a conversation about what he has taught." I've never heard someone do that from the pulpit. It was just a strange meeting all around.
I hope that you all have a great week!
Today in church was quite interesting. It was high council Sunday and the companion speaker went off on some interesting tangents. Honestly, I had a hard time following where he was going and some of his statements were...questionable. Then the high councilor got up and said something to the effect of, "There are groups of people who look beyond the mark and I hope that Bro. X (the companion speaker) was speaking from his heart but we'll be having a conversation about what he has taught." I've never heard someone do that from the pulpit. It was just a strange meeting all around.
I hope that you all have a great week!
Sunday, October 8, 2017
Hart Happenings
We had so much fun last weekend at Mom and Dad's house watching conference with everyone and celebrating Dad's 60th birthday. He is seriously the youngest 60-year-old that I have every met! Thanks for everyone for the participation and ideas, it came together even better than I had it in my head. We have a wonderful dad. The best really.
We came home for a couple of days and then headed back down for a Marriage Relationship conference, which was excellent. The boys stayed with Mom and Dad and were spoiled by them and Emma. We were joking with them that next time we'll send the boys to Salt Lake and we'll come home and have the grandparents entertain us!
We woke up to snow this morning. None of it stayed around. I think it sensed the unwelcoming vibes we were all sending out. I love the snow, but I'm not quite ready for it yet! So, our garden, like the Flake's, is toast.
We wrapped things up at the kids' youth garden with our annual Fall Clean-up. It's nice to have that all done.
Alex has been watching college football on the weekends which makes him very happy. We got a new light to put in our entryway which makes me very happy. So we're all very happy.
We went out with some friends today to glean potatoes from a field not far from our house. We had never done that before and it was really fun. We donated the potatoes to St. Vincent's pantry. They boys had a ball. I think potatoes are the most fun thing to harvest in a garden, it's like a treasure hunt.
The basement is getting a complete overhaul after the flood and in preparation for Alex's parents to return. They come home in just over a week. Hopefully we can get everything ready.
I'm rambling. Life is good. Really good. Love you all. Lauren I want to see pictures of your rugs! Where did you find them? Maybe I'll just swing down and see them in person.
Flake Fun
So it has been about a month since we last posted. Sorry about that! Not a whole lot has happened of great consequence.
Things keep going at work. I was named Acting Health Director for about a week while my boss was out of town. It was a crazy experience that made me appreciate more the directors and administrators. In the time that he was gone walls had to be torn down for a remodel, a staff member quit without notice, another staff accepted another position and we had a manager's meeting. It was nuts but I survived and was very glad when the Health Director returned.
One of our fish died so we are down to 4 little Tetras but they have a really cool tank. Scott created a "bog" that is growing plants! There is a little waterfall and some other neat features. Our outdoor goldfish are looking great and keep growing!
Our island is really coming together. We have sifted all of the dirt (and used to rocks we sifted to fill the potholes in our lane) and now just have to put the finishing stones on. We are contemplating doing one section in a water plant feature. We'll see how that turns out. Oh, one evening we were finishing up some stuff on the island and turned to walk in the house and nearly stepped on a toad that hopped onto our door step and would have invited himself in if I hadn't gotten in front of him. Lots of fun with the wildlife!
We have a large compost pile in our garden area. The frost came and our garden is toast but it was nice while it lasted. We also got some soil amendments to increase the acidity of our soil so hopefully the plants will be happier next year.
Yesterday we were cooking and I burned 3 of my fingers pretty bad. No fear, they are better now but there was quite a blister (or 4) this morning when I woke up. Scott is taking very good care of me.
Emma, as far as mission and temple prep, keep doing what you are doing. I think that living with roommates was one of the best mission preps you can have! Glad you are enjoying it!
Well, that is about all I can think of right now. I hope that you all have a great week! Love you all and can't wait to see you for Thanksgiving.
Things keep going at work. I was named Acting Health Director for about a week while my boss was out of town. It was a crazy experience that made me appreciate more the directors and administrators. In the time that he was gone walls had to be torn down for a remodel, a staff member quit without notice, another staff accepted another position and we had a manager's meeting. It was nuts but I survived and was very glad when the Health Director returned.
One of our fish died so we are down to 4 little Tetras but they have a really cool tank. Scott created a "bog" that is growing plants! There is a little waterfall and some other neat features. Our outdoor goldfish are looking great and keep growing!
Our island is really coming together. We have sifted all of the dirt (and used to rocks we sifted to fill the potholes in our lane) and now just have to put the finishing stones on. We are contemplating doing one section in a water plant feature. We'll see how that turns out. Oh, one evening we were finishing up some stuff on the island and turned to walk in the house and nearly stepped on a toad that hopped onto our door step and would have invited himself in if I hadn't gotten in front of him. Lots of fun with the wildlife!
We have a large compost pile in our garden area. The frost came and our garden is toast but it was nice while it lasted. We also got some soil amendments to increase the acidity of our soil so hopefully the plants will be happier next year.
Yesterday we were cooking and I burned 3 of my fingers pretty bad. No fear, they are better now but there was quite a blister (or 4) this morning when I woke up. Scott is taking very good care of me.
Emma, as far as mission and temple prep, keep doing what you are doing. I think that living with roommates was one of the best mission preps you can have! Glad you are enjoying it!
Well, that is about all I can think of right now. I hope that you all have a great week! Love you all and can't wait to see you for Thanksgiving.
Hyde Park Highlights
Ruth called this morning and said they are currently internet-less. She can't seem to get her phone to connect either, so she is not able to post but wanted everyone to know she's not on the blog because she's not interested, but will be back on as soon as technology can help her out a little bit.
I keep reflecting on such a wonderful weekend last week. It was absolutely heavenly to have most everyone here for conference and for Dad's surprise birthday party. Thanks for making that effort and making it so special. We hope to see you again in a couple of months for Thanksgiving!!
We had a choice experience with the Special Stake Conference that was held in Dad's stake today. Elder Uceda of the presidency of the Seventy presided and Elder Laing, our Area Authority Seventy, attended and spoke as well. Dad gave an amazing talk about repentance and totally set the stage for Elder Uceda's talk on the same subject. Elder Uceda is the most sincerely humble person I've ever met. It was truly an incredible experience to talk with him and listen to him speak. There was a tremendous spirit in the tabernacle, that was completely filled with young single adults who seemed to hang on every word he said. The meeting lasted only an hour and a half, which many people commented on and were grateful for! Dad will still have his regular stake conference in November. I guess the brethren are just trying to get out more among the saints, or maybe just among the YSA folks. Dad had a special 5 hour meeting yesterday with Elder Cook, Elder Uceda, Bishop Causse and several stake presidencies and bishoprics in our area. It would be worth your time to talk with him about that experience.
We've had several frosty mornings recently, but covered our tomatoes, so they are still ripening. I'm not quite ready to let go of the garden yet! (I'm a little tired of letting go...) The Hart boys were here for a couple of days and helped pick some tomatoes and peppers. I guess I'll do one more batch of salsa or spaghetti sauce.
Our search for the right car at the right price continues. We are not extremely fond of dealerships and were reminded why yesterday when we went to look and test drive some cars. The price was right on one vehicle and I started to get a little excited until they tacked on $2,000+ in fees!! If you hear of any great cars for sale at a great price, let us know. We'd be happy to travel to Utah county or Idaho or even Arizona if we have to! We aren't too desperate yet, but we have to return Elise and Alex's car soon....
Thanks for keeping in touch. I'm grateful for the time you take to write on the blog! Can't wait to see you all again. Have a lovely week, wearing coats, carving pumpkins, eating apples.....
I keep reflecting on such a wonderful weekend last week. It was absolutely heavenly to have most everyone here for conference and for Dad's surprise birthday party. Thanks for making that effort and making it so special. We hope to see you again in a couple of months for Thanksgiving!!
We had a choice experience with the Special Stake Conference that was held in Dad's stake today. Elder Uceda of the presidency of the Seventy presided and Elder Laing, our Area Authority Seventy, attended and spoke as well. Dad gave an amazing talk about repentance and totally set the stage for Elder Uceda's talk on the same subject. Elder Uceda is the most sincerely humble person I've ever met. It was truly an incredible experience to talk with him and listen to him speak. There was a tremendous spirit in the tabernacle, that was completely filled with young single adults who seemed to hang on every word he said. The meeting lasted only an hour and a half, which many people commented on and were grateful for! Dad will still have his regular stake conference in November. I guess the brethren are just trying to get out more among the saints, or maybe just among the YSA folks. Dad had a special 5 hour meeting yesterday with Elder Cook, Elder Uceda, Bishop Causse and several stake presidencies and bishoprics in our area. It would be worth your time to talk with him about that experience.
We've had several frosty mornings recently, but covered our tomatoes, so they are still ripening. I'm not quite ready to let go of the garden yet! (I'm a little tired of letting go...) The Hart boys were here for a couple of days and helped pick some tomatoes and peppers. I guess I'll do one more batch of salsa or spaghetti sauce.
Our search for the right car at the right price continues. We are not extremely fond of dealerships and were reminded why yesterday when we went to look and test drive some cars. The price was right on one vehicle and I started to get a little excited until they tacked on $2,000+ in fees!! If you hear of any great cars for sale at a great price, let us know. We'd be happy to travel to Utah county or Idaho or even Arizona if we have to! We aren't too desperate yet, but we have to return Elise and Alex's car soon....
Thanks for keeping in touch. I'm grateful for the time you take to write on the blog! Can't wait to see you all again. Have a lovely week, wearing coats, carving pumpkins, eating apples.....
...And Loving It!
Hey familia. What's the deal with all the skimpy posting, huh?? C'mon, I need to hear all the things that're going on!
SO. Y'all might be wondering what's up with my mission and stuffs. Even if you aren't wondering, I'm going to tell you anyway ;) I'm officially starting my papers on the 18th of this month (so like, a week from this coming Wednesday). I'm putting my availability date for May 12th, so I can turn my papers in on January 12th. Sometime in January I'll be going to the temple (not November like I thought originally) so when we get that sorted out I'll let you know! I'm very excited. Also, if you have any tips for prepping for mission or temple, let me know cuz I need all the help I can get!
My roommates and I piled into my roommates car today to go to stake conference (dad did a great job, BTW), and CHRISTMAS MUSIC STARTED PLAYING!!!!! the time has come everybody. I flipped out. We turned it off of course, but not before listening to O Come O Come Emmanuel. Good times. How come nobody told me roommates were the greatest thing ever?? It's actually a party all the time. And when it's not a party, we're probably sleeping.
Looks like that's all I got for today. Thanks all for coming down/up for conference. It was a great time and I love it when everybody comes. Pretty much the best ever.
Have a great week!
SO. Y'all might be wondering what's up with my mission and stuffs. Even if you aren't wondering, I'm going to tell you anyway ;) I'm officially starting my papers on the 18th of this month (so like, a week from this coming Wednesday). I'm putting my availability date for May 12th, so I can turn my papers in on January 12th. Sometime in January I'll be going to the temple (not November like I thought originally) so when we get that sorted out I'll let you know! I'm very excited. Also, if you have any tips for prepping for mission or temple, let me know cuz I need all the help I can get!
My roommates and I piled into my roommates car today to go to stake conference (dad did a great job, BTW), and CHRISTMAS MUSIC STARTED PLAYING!!!!! the time has come everybody. I flipped out. We turned it off of course, but not before listening to O Come O Come Emmanuel. Good times. How come nobody told me roommates were the greatest thing ever?? It's actually a party all the time. And when it's not a party, we're probably sleeping.
Looks like that's all I got for today. Thanks all for coming down/up for conference. It was a great time and I love it when everybody comes. Pretty much the best ever.
Have a great week!
Monday, September 25, 2017
Manning Mania
Things are fun and busy here in Utah County. I am trying to repent of my lack of blogging but Sundays slip by quickly so I might just have to choose a different day to post!
We are loving our little house and have been slowly adding finishing touches. We finally put up some pictures and got some large rugs. Our garden went crazy this year which has been so great! We have been experimenting with beets, beans, tomatoes, jalapenos, and corn. The squash will be coming on soon so we are excited about that!
It is great living next to Nick's sister Lindsay and to Joe. I started teaching Grace and two of Linsday's kids piano this month and I am excited to start that up again.
Nick loves seminary and has a great faculty to work with who keep him laughing. You'll have to ask him for stories.
Wesley keeps getting cuter if that's even possible. He is starting to talk and understand a lot! He loves garbage anything, garbage cans, garbage trucks, garbage you name it! He likes all machines and noise making devices. He likes to look in the mirror and watch a cute person in there!
We are having a great time getting to know wonderful people and learning self reliance skills: making soap, canning, finances, home repair. Stuff you are all pros at!
That was a lot of rambling so I'll sign off and Wesley's trying to break the computer! Have a great conference weekend!
We are loving our little house and have been slowly adding finishing touches. We finally put up some pictures and got some large rugs. Our garden went crazy this year which has been so great! We have been experimenting with beets, beans, tomatoes, jalapenos, and corn. The squash will be coming on soon so we are excited about that!
It is great living next to Nick's sister Lindsay and to Joe. I started teaching Grace and two of Linsday's kids piano this month and I am excited to start that up again.
Nick loves seminary and has a great faculty to work with who keep him laughing. You'll have to ask him for stories.
Wesley keeps getting cuter if that's even possible. He is starting to talk and understand a lot! He loves garbage anything, garbage cans, garbage trucks, garbage you name it! He likes all machines and noise making devices. He likes to look in the mirror and watch a cute person in there!
We are having a great time getting to know wonderful people and learning self reliance skills: making soap, canning, finances, home repair. Stuff you are all pros at!
That was a lot of rambling so I'll sign off and Wesley's trying to break the computer! Have a great conference weekend!
Sunday, September 24, 2017
Hart Happenings
Greetings all!
This week was marked by some fun events. Jack and Peter both had soccer games. Jack's team is undefeated and Peter pulled out some signature moves during his game that had us rolling on the sidelines.
We had a great Family Home Evening with Ruthie's family to kick the week off. Dinner was delicious. We helped make a dent in their potato harvest by feasting on dutch oven potatoes and then had a great lesson about making sure we are charged and powered up, courtesy of Peter.
Ian has started Tavaci (his choir class) again and is thrilled to be preparing for his Christmas concert.
Alex made a trip to D.I. (there is a reason I rarely take him shopping) and came home with an air hockey table. We have already more that recouped the cost in good times and listening to the boys laugh and play together ALL. DAY. LONG.
The frost came and hit all of our plants. So the season is over for us! It is a little earlier than usual but what do you do?
The big news of the week: Alex came in with 3 eggs this morning! They are the first we have gotten from our chickens. It is very exciting!
Ruth, Addy, Ian, and I went out Saturday afternoon to tour the houses of the Parade of Homes. We had so much fun! Ian and Addy were so excited about every element and Ruth and I came home inspired and full of ideas. Watch out Alex and Garrett! There was one that we called the playhouse that had a slide embedded in the walls that shot you out into a foam pit right next a floor to ceiling rock climbing wall and deluxe indoor playhouse. The owners of this house had quite the imagination! But we also came home pretty content with our own cozy, quirky houses.
Can't wait for Conference! Hope all is well with everyone!
This week was marked by some fun events. Jack and Peter both had soccer games. Jack's team is undefeated and Peter pulled out some signature moves during his game that had us rolling on the sidelines.
We had a great Family Home Evening with Ruthie's family to kick the week off. Dinner was delicious. We helped make a dent in their potato harvest by feasting on dutch oven potatoes and then had a great lesson about making sure we are charged and powered up, courtesy of Peter.
Ian has started Tavaci (his choir class) again and is thrilled to be preparing for his Christmas concert.
Alex made a trip to D.I. (there is a reason I rarely take him shopping) and came home with an air hockey table. We have already more that recouped the cost in good times and listening to the boys laugh and play together ALL. DAY. LONG.
The frost came and hit all of our plants. So the season is over for us! It is a little earlier than usual but what do you do?
The big news of the week: Alex came in with 3 eggs this morning! They are the first we have gotten from our chickens. It is very exciting!
Ruth, Addy, Ian, and I went out Saturday afternoon to tour the houses of the Parade of Homes. We had so much fun! Ian and Addy were so excited about every element and Ruth and I came home inspired and full of ideas. Watch out Alex and Garrett! There was one that we called the playhouse that had a slide embedded in the walls that shot you out into a foam pit right next a floor to ceiling rock climbing wall and deluxe indoor playhouse. The owners of this house had quite the imagination! But we also came home pretty content with our own cozy, quirky houses.
Can't wait for Conference! Hope all is well with everyone!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)