An amazing country this is... America...

No matter what your political persuasion is... or if you're like me, and didn't really care for either candidate, I can't help but think that this is an amazing time in our country.

The first African American to be elected President of the United States inherits (from not only Republicans and Democrats, but "Main Street America" as well) two wars, a planet in peril and the worst financial crisis in a century.

Yet the changing of the guard goes smoothly. "If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where anything is possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive; who still questions the power of our democracy... this... is your answer."

God Bless the Civility of America

Goodbye old shoes

Goodbye Old Shoes
You’ve served me well
I’ve worn you out
As you can tell.

Hello New Shoes
It’s plain to see
You are the perfect
Shoes for me!

Yea for comfortable shoes!

I can walk in them, work in them, and my feet are still happy!

Stella is so glad it's November 5th.

Today while Abby was getting ready for work, Stella (age 2 years and 4 months) told her, "Mom, I wanna watch CARS. Not John McCain."

(Thanks Ky, for the adorable photo!)

One more reason why I love Rexburg

My friend Travis Ball took this photo Friday night. Isn't it spectacular? Travis, you're amazing.

Emergency Preparedness... ARE YOU READY?

In my Persuasion class we are writing a Community Action Project. Our group has chosen to encourage BYU-Idaho students to compile a personal 72 hour kit. We've done some research and learned that although most students feel it is important, very few have actually done anything about it.

Many of you know that my husband is the king of 72 hour kits. We have two of the most extensive (and expensive) 72 hour kits around. :)

But...

Did you know that a very basic 72 hour 'student kit' can be prepared for under $20? In fact, our student stake (BYU-I 1st Stake) is helping students gather the food portion of their kits for only $5! For a list of what our university recommends to include in a student 72 hour kit, click here.

Here's a shout out to you all who have started. And for the rest of us...

Just Do It!

Why aren't you in law school?

I love school. I love learning. I love pretending that I'm smart enough to be in college. This week, my favorite school moment was reading what my Media Law professor (and Stake President) wrote on my paper. Thanks President Moeller. You totally made my day.

There is nothing quite like a fall day.

On Saturday we hopped in our new Honda, grabbed our friends, Bart and Sandra, and went on a fun fall drive. We live in such a beautiful part of our world. The leaves were changing and the colors were spectacular!

We played on the dock at Palasades Lake and decided it was almost as much fun as having a boat... and way less expensive.

We had a yummy, fancy picnic complete with Sandra's baked beans that we cooked on Bart's three dollar, garage sale, camp stove. Why does he always find all the best deals? :0)

Of course, a beautiful fall drive isn't complete without the Tetons, so we drove over to Jackson Hole and into the park to visit Jenny Lake. It was nice to take a break from our busy lives. There is just nothing quite like a beautiful fall day!

Thanks Bart and Sandra, for being our friends!

Thirty years... the beginning of eternity.

As a little girl, I dreamed of the day when I would marry

And I knew that somewhere in the world,

There was a little boy who would grow to be the man

Who would take my hand and walk with me

Through time and all eternity.

September 23, 2008

Thirty years on the way to forever.....

"The summer night is like a perfection of thought." ~Wallace Stevens

Roger and I just returned from spending a wonderful fews days camping in Teton Canyon. I'm still the camp director for our ward and we took 21 beautiful girls and several leaders with us. Despite one quick trip to the hospital, everything went well.

We realized much too late that our Aero bed no longer holds air... Roger is so inventive. He took the battery out of our car and left it just outside the tent. We pumped up our bed, slept for a few hours while the air leaked out, pumped it up and tried again. We managed to get in a few hours of sleep. We have decided we are much too old to sleep on the hard ground.

We live in such a beautiful part of this world. The night sky was spectacular! The stars were brilliant white and our view of the Milky Way was magnificent. It reminded us of our nights in South Dakota when we lived far away from the lights of the city.

I'm sad that I left my camera at home. We had great fun and the girls were amazing.

We had a fun family vacation in Salmon, Idaho. Thanks to those who came, especially my girls, Abby and Kylie, who are always so supportive of our family activities.

Here is Stella going for a ride in "Kapa Jack's" walker.

This photo is of me and my adventurous sisters after a fun day on the Salmon River.

Roger and Stella - hanging loose!

There's no place like home???

We love living in Rexburg. It's a delightful mix of small town hospitality and college town fun. We have very busy lives and never run out of things to do here.
But...

Although our home is our favorite place to be, we sure spend a lot of time visiting other places!

December - Roger and I spent a week on Maui in a hurricane

January - We celebrated "Second Christmas" in Utah with the kids

February - Rexburg was the place to be in February. It was wonderful to participate in the dedication of the Rexburg temple. We had many people visit us! We feel so blessed to have a temple a block from our house.

March - We were in Jackson Hole, WY on Easter weekend with Abby, Nick, Stella, Kylie and Landon

April - We had a blast at our "girls getaway" at Bear Lake

May - Roger had a conference at Opryland in Nashville, Tennessee. I skipped school and tagged along.

June - We had a fun few days at Belagio in Las Vegas. Abby and Stella came too!

July - A quick trip to visit the kids in Utah, a family reunion in Salmon, Idaho, and then Roger and I will head up to girls camp in Teton Canyon.

There were also a few more weekends in Utah thrown in there... Do you think we'll stay home in August?

I'm learning....

Under construction. I suppose when school is out, the family reunion is over, and I'm home from camp... I'll have some time to learn the ins and outs of blogging!