Laurels...

I have the greatest calling in the entire world! Granted it can be stressful at times but the rewards far outweigh the stress. We have 6 of the most darling girls in our class and the most incredible Laurel advisor. It really can't get any better than that. All of the YW in our ward are fabulous but this post is about the Laurels.

We have a very diverse group of girls, 4 of the 6 go to the same high school, 1 goes to another high school and 1 goes to Utah Valley University in Orem, UT taking college level classes.
Victoria is on the debate team, plays the violin and just started this year on the drums! Janneka takes college level classes, wants to be a doctor, takes piano and just started taking ballet this year and is now teaching a class of 3-5 yr old girls. Kinsey is our oldest and works at the Buckle in the mall, is excited to graduate this year and go to Utah Valley in the fall. Audrey plays the clarinet in the band at school, had a part in the Nutcracker as the Mouse Queen (first time doing ballet!) and also graduates this year. Suzy is on the swim team at school, loves to travel and is a friend to everyone. Kacey is Kinsey's younger sister and the youngest in the class. She is a cheerleader one minute, plays softball the next and loves being unique.

Yet even with all this diversity they get along! They don't always hang out - outside of class on Sunday or activities. But when they are together, they care about each other and want to see each other succeed! They are all very reliable in fact, they planned our most recent New Beginnings program and it was such a fabulous evening. We were all so impressed with the time and dedication they put into that night.

Victoria and Audrey wrote a poem about the YW for New Beginnings this year. The poem was to illustrate how each girl lives the doctrines and commandments on a daily basis. They did a great job so I thought I would share it....

Princesses~

In the XXXX ward,
In the North most Stake,
Lives 23 princess,
Of exceedingly great faith.

The Beehives came first
The Miamaids next
And finally the Laurels,
Who all love to text

There’s Princesses McKennly and Lizzy
The first to remember family prayer
They came into young women’s
Both with their own little flair

Following them are Princesses Ellie and Nicole
Who willingly attend family scripture study
These girls are simply amazing
And are both a good buddy

Princess Julie is kind
She includes everyone
Princess Rachel P does also
These girl’s hearts must weigh a ton

Princess McKenzie
Stands up for what she believes
She sets a great example
No wonder this girl achieves

Princesses Aimee and Krystlynn
Love Family Home Evening
Teaching lessons, sharing comments
They know what to believe in

Princess Janneka comes next
A strong testimony she bears
Wherever this girl goes
She always cares

Our own Princess Hillary
Loves to attend seminary
Spunky and Cute
This girl is extraordinary

Princess Mel is kind to everyone
A loving example of service
This girl gives time out of her schedule
And she never seems nervous

Princesses Melissa and Camilla
Make scripture study personal
What better way to prove
That these girls are both phenomenal

Then the loving Princess Emily
Who loves to serve and volunteer
Serving special needs with horses
This girl is always smiling with cheer

The little, adorable Princess Sam
So courageous and so honest
A swim suit was too small for her
So she wore something a bit more modest

McKinsey is the oldest Princess in our group
A teacher and a friend
A Sunday lesson that she gave
Gave new depth to “Footprints in the Sand”

Princess Rachel L
An example of obedience
With friends and family all around
She shows unlimited patience

Princess Suzy is next
She studies scriptures every day
A good example of leadership
On the gospel’s path she will stay

Princess Kacey follows after
A friend to all around
And much like her the Princess Heather
These girls wear a proud crown

There’s Princess Audrey Aka Audz
Who studies diligently
She loves to make people laugh
But still manages to do her biology

Lastly, Princess Victoria
Who recently received
An award so valuable and silvery
Her family is so relieved

In the XXXXX ward
In the North most stake
Lives 23 princesses
Of exceedingly great faith

They stick to their doctorial covenants
Each with their own special flair
Their parents love them just so much
And a love like that is rare.

Kacey - being Kacey!

Audrey - in the middle @ girls camp.

Below is a picture from an activity we had with a professional photographer (Adilfa- check out her website http://www.donpolo.com/ she was our photographer for our wedding) We were sad Audrey wasn't at this activity. (Kacey was not a laurel yet)

L-R top Kinsey, Me, Hilary L- R bottom Victoria, Janneka & Suzy

I feel lucky to serve such a wonderful group of girls and couldn't do it all without such a faithful, supportive advisor.. Thanks Hilary!

Jackson Hole

It has been a crazy last few weeks I have been out of town 2 of the last 3 weekends, its no wonder that I feel a little overwhelmed and can't wait for this weekend to get caught up on all that I am behind on. I can't complain though.. I love spending time with my family and friends! It was well worth it!

This past weekend, as I mentioned before, was the first family vacation with our entire family in many years. We had a great time overall! Our trip usually consists of snowmobiling on Saturday and Monday, resting on Sunday (playing games or sight seeing) and on Tuesday we usually get up, go to breakfast at Jedediah's, do some shopping and then head home.

Well this trip was a bit different.. Since Brad's accident in Dec (see post in Dec) his back is still not completely healed. In fact, he went to get an MRI a couple weeks ago and found that he has two bulging discs and some separation between 2 of them. The good news is he will heal completely after some physical therapy, the bad news is he was not able to go snowmobiling in order to keep from further injuring his back and he is still in a lot of pain.

Until 5 days before we left I hadn't decided if we would even go. I felt bad that Brad would have to sit in the car for 5 1/2 hours there and back, then would have to stay behind at the condo to (work, relax his back, or drive around looking for animals) while we all went snowmobiling. After some great advice from a friend and discussing with Brad -we made a compromise. We decided to go but come home a day early. I have a wonderful husband!

We had a great time, although Brad wishes he would have brought his fishing gear. Saturday while we were snowmobiling he kept thinking.."I am stuck here and they are all out there in the fresh powder having fun without me!" He was such a good sport!

Yes this is me jumping whoo hoo!!!

We enjoyed time with family, great restaurants and no vacation would be complete without playing a little Rock band on PlayStation 2...right? It was so funny watching my mom rock out to bands like Bon Jovi, Aerosmith, Creed, Ozzy Osborne, among others. I wanted to take pictures of this hilarious display but no one would let me. I am also bummed I didn't get many pics of us without helmets etc..Lame! I will need to get more from my sister and mom.

My cute mom and I!

Here are a few of us playing around...

Girls Weekend!

I love GNO (Girls' Night Out) for those not familiar with the acronym. I have a group of girls from my mission, 5 of us to be exact (3 of the 4 were my companions). We try to stay in touch by having GNO every 6-8 weeks (more frequently if we can pull it off)! We usually start or end with dinner/lunch because.. what girls event isn't going to include food?! Then we try to do a fun activity like clothes shopping, pedicures, furniture/decor shopping, visiting the Temple or just more shopping. We use it as a time to catch up and for my friends that are married w/kids a break from being a mom for a night.

Well, recently we decided it was time to have a Girls' weekend. We hadn't really had a girls' trip since before they were married. So it was time! We decided to go to St. George for the weekend and if we were traveling that far we may as well travel the extra 2 1/2 hours to Primm, Nevada. Primm is located about 45min outside Las Vegas just on the border of California and Nevada. Primm has an amazing outlet mall that anytime we are close to I have to stop by. I always find the greatest deals!

We all headed out Friday morning, well all of us but LeAnn. LeAnn is still single and was planning to go until Thursday night when she got a call from a really cute guy in her ward that asked her out on a date for Friday night. LeAnn was torn and called me to see what she should do.. I still remember being single and told her to of course go on the date! We really missed her this trip but she will be along for our next adventure!

Once we arrived in St. George we stopped at the condo where we were staying. Then started the weekend with dinner at a fabulous Italian restaurant in St. George, then in true GNO fashion we went to see a chick flick, 27 dresses. It was really cute and perfect to go see with the girls. We then came back to the condo chatted some more and watched another movie. Crazy!

Saturday we got up and went to breakast at the neatest little cafe on St. George Blvd. This is the one and only picture we took of all of us after breakfast. Usually I am the designated picture taker but totally failed on this adventure.. sorry gals!

Left to right: Kim, Becky, Nikie and Me

Then we headed to Primm, NV. During the 2 1/2 hour drive, we listened to President Hinckley's funeral on the radio. After the funeral was over we discussed our memories of him. What a neat experience it was to share our feelings of such a great man.

We arrived in Primm at 1pm, a little later than we had hoped but definitely shopped 'til we dropped, literally! We shopped for 7 hours straight! We stopped for about 30min to grab additional food and to sit down for a bit. My friend Becky is 4 1/2 months pregnant and was such a trooper. We found some great deals but were a bit dissapointed in the shoe selection. oh well.. next GNO we will go shoe shopping!

Here is a picture of all of our bags.. keep in mind this is after we pulled everything out to show to each other and consolidated to have less bags to carry home.

Of course we hit Outback Steakhouse on the way back to the condo ...at 9pm! Which means we didn't get back until close to 2am the next morning, then got up at 8am to head home. That was the day of the HUGE snowstorm and made for a fun drive home. We made it back safely and quicker than we thought we would.

It was a whirlwind trip but soooo much FUN! We all get a long so well and no one ever complained it was fabulous! Looking forward to the next girls' trip!

Remembering a great example to us all..

This past Monday night, I stopped by Hilary's house to drop off some items for our young women activity last night. Brad was still working so she invited me to stay for dinner and FHE. The lesson she taught was a review of the talks by President Hinckley at our last general conference. It was a perfect way to celebrate his life while at the same time mourning his departure.

She started with a review from his talk at the General Priesthood Meeting about being "Slow to anger"
(http://lds.org/conference/talk/display/0,5232,23-1-775-23,00.html)

In that talk President Hinckley spoke of a a proverb in the Old Testament that states: “He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city” (Proverbs 16:32).

He also spoke about how anger contributes to divorce or separation.. I found this quote interesting..


“More than half the Americans who might have celebrated their 25th wedding anniversaries since 2000 were divorced, separated or widowed before reaching that milestone” (Sam Roberts, “Most U.S. Marriages Don’t Get to Silver,” Deseret Morning News, Sept. 20, 2007, p. A1).

"Widowhood of course is beyond the control of the parties, but divorce and separation are not."

"I think of my own marriage. My eternal companion passed away three and a half years ago. But we lived together for 67 years. I have no recollection of ever having a quarrel with her. She traveled with me and spoke on every continent, pleading for the exercise of restraint, kindness, and love."


I love the way he spoke about his dear wife and can only imagine the joyous reunion they had on Sunday night. I pray that I can equally be as kind and loving - as a wife and one day a mother.

He goes on to say that sometimes...

"Anger may be justified in some circumstances. The scriptures tell us that Jesus drove the moneychangers from the temple, saying, “My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves” (Matthew 21:13). But even this was spoken more as a rebuke than as an outburst of uncontrolled anger."


Hilary also reviewed his talk about the First Vision, the growth of the church, the power of the Book of Mormon and the promise in Moroni to all who read it. I have always been touched by the way President Hinckley bore witness of the Restoration and the the boy Joseph - his mission and vision. His testimony of the Restoration was always so powerful!


"The Bible had stood for centuries. It is a precious and wonderful book. Now there was a second witness declaring the divinity of Christ. The Book of Mormon is the only book ever published, of which I know, that carries in it a promise that one who reads it prayerfully and asks concerning it in prayer will have revealed to him by the power of the Holy Ghost a knowledge that it is true (see Moroni 10:4).

Since its first publication in a rural print shop in Palmyra, New York, there have been more than 133 million copies produced. It has been translated into 105 languages. Not long ago it was named one of the 20 most influential books ever published in North America.

Recently a first edition sold for $105,000. But the cheapest paperback edition is as valuable to the reader who loves its language and message."


She ended with reading President Hinckley's closing remarks - that is when the tears started to flow..


"My beloved brothers and sisters, we now conclude a great conference. We have been edified, uplifted. We have been inspired and lifted to a higher appreciation of this wonderful gospel. The music, the spoken word, and the prayers have all been magnificent.

We now return to our homes. If we are driving, let us be careful. Let no tragedy mar the experience we have enjoyed.

All of the proceedings of this conference will appear in a subsequent issue of the Ensign and Liahona. We encourage you again to read the talks in your family home evenings and discuss them together as families. They are the products of much prayer and meditation and are well worthy of careful consideration.

Now the conference is adjourned for six months. We look forward to seeing you again next April. I’m 97, but I hope I’m going to make it. May the blessings of heaven attend you in the meantime is our humble and sincere prayer in the name of our Redeemer, even the Lord Jesus Christ, amen. "


When he finished his remarks, I remember thinking that he would not make it to the next conference. I guess it was the Lord's way of preparing and comforting us, as members, that his time was short with us. I am so grateful that I had the opportunity to live at the time when this great man served so valiantly as our dear Prophet. I am also grateful I had the opportunity to shake his hand and feel of his sweet spirit face to face. I will never forget that experience.

Thanks to Hilary and her family for allowing me to participate in their Family Home Evening to celebrate the life of our beloved Prophet.

Tagged......

Ok. I've been tagged. I guess it was just a matter of time.

A: The rules of the game are posted at the beginning.
B: Each player answers the questions about themselves.
C: At the end of the post, the player then tags 3 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

10 years ago: I had returned home from my mission in San Antonio Texas 6 months prior, I was working at Advanta Financial, and had just moved into my first apartment with my mission companion Kimmy Sue! Good times...

5 things on my to-do list today: Pay bills, talk to accountant, talk to Hilary re: activity tomorrow, pick up package from DHL office, update my blog.

5 Snacks I enjoy: this changes all the time.. ummm ..Mauna Loa chocolate covered macadamia nuts (recent favorite Yum!), fruit, popcorn, cheese & triscuits, and yogurt covered pretzels.

What I would do if I were suddenly made a billionaire: Pay tithing of course, quit my job (yippee), give to charity, and travel the world.

5 places I have lived: Smithfield, UT (by Logan) - Germantown, TN (near Memphis) - Sandy, UT - San Antonio, TX - Lehi, UT.

5 jobs that I have had: bagger at a grocery store, travel agent, mortgage processor, loan officer, financial advisor.

5 Things people don't know about me: This is hard... I hate to clean bathrooms or mop floors, I built a church for the 7th day Adventists in Nicaragua, I took Latin in High School, I am very timid when making new friends, and I talk in my sleep (at least that's what I have been told! :) )

Ok I tag 1.Nikie 2. Linda 3. Julie ... sorry guys!

Anyone want to add a comment with one or more of your "TOP 5"?

Welcome home.....

Some of you know I have a brother who has been in and out of prison for the past 10 yrs (and if you didn't- now you know!) and this most recent visit was 2 1/2 or 3 yrs..I can't remember but it has been a long time! Well, good news is he got released on parole this past week! I was only able to see him for about 20 min on Tuesday but it was sooooo good to see him. He gives the best hugs!

Lance has struggled with drug addiction over the past 10 yrs and is something he will be dealing with his entire life. When he is not on drugs he is such a fun loving person that always knows how to make you laugh and is so fun to be around. During this most recent sentence, he completed a drug rehab program. We have seen some real improvement in his attitude and in his confidence that he can stay clean. I know he still worries that he will make mistakes again or disappoint my parents but I know he has that inner strength to overcome anything - if HE chooses too! He is so talented and has the ability to accomplish so many great things... I know I, along with my family pray daily that he will be strong enough to make the right decisions and start a new life for himself.

My mom just shared this experience with me and I thought I would include it in this post.

"I wanted to share with you some comments Lance's friend Nick shared with us the other night. He told us how Lance shared the gospel with him in Prison and the great example he has been to him. How Lance helped him recognize there is a God who loves him and watches over him, that God is someone he can turn to, that he is of worth and his life does have meaning and direction. He also told us there are several guys in Prison that Lance has shared his religion with that didn't understand or believe in a God. Nick finished by telling us the values that we taught Lance at a young age is who Lance is and how he has helped a lot of guys find a relationship with their Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. It was so touching and really what we needed to hear."

Lance has always had a deep testimony of his Heavenly Father and has never been shy to share his feelings with others.

It has been long time since Lance has been on a vacation with us and I am excited that we will be going on our first family vacation in several years to Jackson Hole in February.

Here is a cute picture of Lance and my mom.

Lance we are glad you are home!

Two weeks off.....Christmas vacation

It has been a while since I posted.. I have lots ideas in my head lets just hope they come out sooner rather than later. At least it has only been a couple weeks instead of almost 2 months (Patch family! ha ha)

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas Holiday and a Happy New Year.. I know we did!

Just wanted to give a run down of some of the activities we did during the 2 weeks off both Brad and I had from work. Brad's accident happened just before the holidays so he was not up for to many activities... especially anything that involved a lot of sitting or moving around. So we watched some movies both at home and in the theater. We attended the Temple, had dinner with family and hit a movie.. all in one night.. Brad's back did not like that! Did some shopping... ok a lot of shopping! Brad was a good sport, it was good for his back to walk around right?

Of course spent time together just enjoying family on Christmas and New Year's. Here are some fun photos of family during the holidays.

Weeks family! (Jamie (sister), Dad in his favorite chair! )

Travis (bro) & Carly (girlfriend) Brad with his favorite gift a Cabella's gift card! See the excitement! Mom happy with the firepit!

Our cute dog Abby (left) and her best friend Kona (Travis' dog)

Bennett family! Long awaited family portrait gift to Karen and Paul (Brad's parents) Pictures of Karen and Paul didn't turn out.. sorry guys! :(

Megan(Brad's sis) & Dave, Nicole (Brad's sis) & Neil , Monica (sis) & Chris







Grandma Mary (Karen's mom), Emma and Alison on the guitar! (Monica's girls)

William (Monica's son) Lily (Monica's daughter) and Me!

Sorry if the pictures are all over the place.. I am still learning this blogging stuff!

All in all lots of fun memories... stay tuned for New Years day pics of us shooting!!!!