Temple

Draper Temple Open House

Markus had a great time tonight at the Draper Temple tour, thanks to Morgen turning it into a "Star Tours" ride. He was cracking me up with all of his commentary to Markus on the bus ride and even inside the temple waiting in line. He kept calling Markus his young padawan. I think Markus' favorite part of the temple tour were the cookies afterwards.

Winter Games Competition

Max and Markus had early day today so they came with me to Ogden for the Winter Games Competition. They were so cute and just played and watched the skaters.


Callie skated in Basic 2

Stretching before the event

Cathryn was in Basic Skills level 3

Amanda was in Freestyle 5

Sophia skated in Basic Skills level 4

Emails

from my friend Kathy...

FATE DECIDES WHO ENTERS YOUR LIFE, BUT ACTIONS DECIDE WHO STAYS IN YOUR LIFE.

This should probably be taped to your bathroom mirror where one could read it every day. You may not realize it, but it's 100% true.

1. There are at least two people in this world that you would die for.
2. At least 15 people in this world love you in some way.
3. The only reason anyone would ever hate you is because they want to be just like you.
4. A smile from you can bring happiness to anyone, even if they don't like you.
5. Every night, SOMEONE thinks about you before they go to sleep.
6. You mean the world to someone.
7. You are special and unique.
8. Someone that you don't even know exists loves you.
9. When you make the biggest mistake ever, something good comes from it.
10. When you think the world has turned its back on you, take another look.
11. Always remember the compliments you received. Forget about the rude remarks.

Good friends are like stars.....You don't always see them, But you know they are always there.

'Whenever God Closes One Door He Always Opens Another, Even Though Sometimes It's Hell in the Hallway.'

I would rather have one rose and a kind word from a friend while I'm here than a whole truck load when I'm gone.

Happiness keeps You Sweet, Trials keep You Strong, Sorrows keep You Human, Failures keep You Humble, Success keeps You Glowing, But Only God keeps You Going

'Worry looks around, sorry looks back, Faith looks up.'

Another One

This email was from my cousin Vickie who happens to be the mother of twins.



How Twins Are Made



Hope it's not to graphic for you -------

Funny Story

I don't know what it is lately but I have been getting a ton of funny emails from my friends. This one was from Jessika.

One day, long, long ago, there lived a woman who did not whine, nag, or b@#*&.











































But it was a long time ago, & it was just that one day.
The End

Magical

My yard looks like a magical snow filled wonder land. What a beautiful night!!!

Northern Lights

My friend Kathy sent me these amazing photos of the Northern Lights over Teepees. Very cool.

Tie

Max had another game out in W. Valley today. The hockey team that he played scored first but the Bulldogs didn't let it stay that way for long. Max had a great assist and they ended up tying the game 5 -5. It was a very exciting game.

My sister Monet

...got married today! She married Rocco at the County courthouse at 4:00 today and she called to let me know and sounded very happy.

One great night

Tonight I went to book club at my friend Tristin's house as well as the Bride Wars movie afterwards, with my girl night friends.

The girls: Kelli, B, Heidi, Nicole, Laurie

The movie wasn't great, but we stayed after and talked until they turned the lights out on us and kicked us out. Talking - my favorite part of girl's night out!!!

Book club: Tyra, Ginger, Ali, Sarah, Lindsey, Shawna

Tristin & Ronda actually talking about the book, which doesn't usually happen. We usually just get together and talk and some people don't even read the book at all. It really is a great way to have a book club!

My friend Maryellen actually fell asleep during the discussion of the book "The Arena" while she was sitting next to Laura.

2 fun events = 1 great night

Girl Night

I am going to see this movie tomorrow night with the girls.

Obama Day

I was listening to President Obama's inauguration speech today at the rink while I was teaching the Murray classes. I was also racing some of these little hockey players from one of the schools that also happen to be on the Lightning hockey team, I beat them across the rink and was skating pretty dang fast to do so, when I caught an edge right as I stopped at the wall. I went down so hard I don't even remember hitting the ice. The next thing I knew I was standing up again and all my students were around me saying, "Are you OK?" I hit and scraped my head on the ice or the wall I am not really sure, as well as my elbow, knee and hurt my neck somehow too. I was totally embarrassed and dizzy but I still kept teaching my class. As soon as it was over I went to put some ice on my head which was throbbing by then. I haven't hit my head while I was skating since I was 10. So crazy! That is how I will remember this important day in history.

Classes

I am going to have to start working out early again this week. I didn't have to teach the Murray classes today since it was a holiday - Happy MLK day! So I went to the Weight it up class instead. It was a very challenging core workout with a lot of things on the Bosu ball. Markus had his friends birthday party after at Nickelmania and then Max went swimming with his friend Lucas before we went skating, I taught three lessons, then Markus had start smart and Max had his hockey practice.

New photos of Jackson

Sheri, Josslyn, Jackson & Jen (my brother Adam's wife)

Adam's son Jackson is getting so big. Sheri sent me these photos of him and I thought they were so cute I would share.

Hockey

Max's game today - final score 1-1. One of his friends, Jake, scored a goal at the buzzer but they didn't count it, or else the Bulldogs would have won. My parents came to watch and we went to dinner afterwards at Mimi's Cafe.

Rub-a-dub-dub

Josslyn is in the tub...

Yoshi's

Sheri came down to spend the night before she flies out tomorrow, so we decided to go to dinner at Yoshi's. They have really great sushi there for a reasonable price. We had a great time and the kids loved it as well. Afterwards we rented a movie from Blockbuster. Since the kids are all out of school tomorrow it felt like a Friday night rather than a Thursday. Max and Markus are excited to have Whitney stay with us again and Morgen is loving having Josslyn around. He just holds her and plays with her, and tries to make her smile. It really is so cute to watch him with her.

Tooth Doctor

Markus had a filling done today at the dentist. He was telling me afterwards that he knows another name for the dentist- a tooth doctor.

Idol

Season 8 started tonight... in case you didn't know (or didn't care).

School classes

I started teaching ice skating lessons to the schools in our district today. The program started today and continues until mid April. The classes are for all fifth and sixth graders, the buses bring the students from a different school every morning. It is kind of fun to see so many children learning how to skate.

Little Wieners

Markus was cracking me up today as usual. He had this idea for opening up a hot dog stand when he grows up and calling it 'Little Wieners' and having for it's slogan, "Wiener, Wiener" with a little guy with curly hair holding a hot dog. He also wants to sell cheese bagels there and he wants to be a paleontologist.

Hockey & Boarding

Max scored another goal at his hockey game today and had two assists. The bulldogs won 6 -2 and they were excited. Right after his game ended, I took him up snowboarding at Brighton. Morgen and his friend Austin were already there and Max just used Austin's pass to go on a couple of runs. He just barely learned how to board and already is doing so well and loves it. I went back down the canyon to teach skating at the rink. It was a beautiful drive.

P.S. I Love You

I rented this movie tonight and loved it. I didn't even know that it was filmed partly in Ireland.

Energizers

Here is a list of the top ten belief energizers from C. Tuttle's book:

1. Reduce negativity
2. Ask your angels. If there is anything you are to "do" in the process, you will receive inspiration to do it.
3. Play the "Act as if" game. Act as if you already have what you want and notice how good it feels.
4. Play "The something exciting is about to happen to me" game. You will be amazed at what shows up for you!
5. Practice energy circles
6. Go on a creation run
7. Stop talking about what you don't want and talk more about what you do want-with enthusiasm.
8. Imagine more and observe less. If your life were ideal, what would it look like? How would it feel?
9. Choose to be happy rather than right
10. Pray. Ask God to energize your belief. It is the most powerful energy we have available to us and it is free. Ask away!

Create

So you know how I was talking about the book that I am reading right now, Remembering Wholeness? Well, I was creating what I wanted to put into the "energy circle" just to kind of try it out and see what happened. I said, "I am creating that money flows easily into my life" and the very next day two new students called me for lessons. Some other things that I had been "creating" happened as well. I have to say that there might be something to it.

Letter to my little boy

When I was reading through my journals I came across this letter that I wrote to Morgen when I brought him home to our condo at Aix La Chapelle:

To my sweet little Morgen,

I am writing this to you when you are only three days old but I hope that you will read it when you are older one day. The reason I wanted to write you this letter is to welcome you into the world, and to tell you that I’ve been eagerly waiting for you. I have prepared a special place for you in our home and in my heart.

All of your needs are important to me, from feeding and changing you to holding and loving you, I will provide for you willingly. You can be touched and held whenever you want to. You are more important than anything else I could ever do. I love you just the way you are, from the top of your little bald head to your ten tiny little toes. There is nothing you have to do to be loved. I love feeding you, bathing you, changing you, and spending time with you. I want to take care of you and I am so prepared to do that.

I want you to know that you are a gift to the world. In this world there has never been another baby boy like you. Heavenly Father smiled the day you were born.

As you grow I want you to know that it is okay to be curious, to want, to look, to touch, and to taste things. I will make it safe for you to explore your world. It’s okay to feel your emotions and your emotions are important to me. You can be you, and I will always love you.

I will love to watch you grow and learn to walk and talk, and start separating from me. I love you and value you more than you will know. Maybe someday you'll learn to play the piano, or soccer, or hockey. I bet you'll be a little bit serious like your dad and a little bit silly like your mom. And just maybe you'll want to be a dad when you grow up and have kids of your own someday. I wonder if you'll like music or sports or a little bit of both. I wonder if you'll want to be a businessman or a teacher or an artist. (Probably not an artist if you really do take after me) If you like to watch TV, I hope you always pick good things to watch. Maybe you'll love Mexican food like I do and we can have tacos for dinner together and sit on the couch and talk about our day.

My favorite color is periwinkle blue, so I hope you like blue too. But not in the BYU Cougars sort of way. I just like blue because it's calm and sincere and maybe that's why you'll like it too. When you are born, you'll have 11 cousins, 4 of them born this year. They are all really fun and I hope that you can be great friends. They will be friends you can look up to and share your secrets with. (But you have to share some of your secrets with me) Maybe someday you'll go to college and go on a mission and fall in love with someone.And probably someday you'll fall and scrape your knee or lose your favorite toy car in the backyard. And maybe be sick, or sad, or hurt by something someone did or said. I wonder if you will ever have a broken heart or just need someone to talk to and I wonder where you will turn.

When all the good and the bad things happen in your life and no matter what you choose to be, I hope you will always know I love you. And no matter what you look like and no matter who hurts you along the way, I hope you know I will always be here for you. And no matter how many friends you have or mistake’s you make, I hope you know you can always trust me. And I want you to know that on your best days and even on your worst days, God knows and understands how you feel. And more than anything in the entire world, He wants you to be happy - just like I want you to be.

I won't be a perfect mom. But – I will certainly try. Please forgive me when I make mistakes or when I forget something important. Please be patient with me when I don't always know what to do. Please ignore me when I say something bad about someone else. Know that I was just like you once before and that even when I’m not very cool and may be embarrassing sometimes, that I am doing my best to be a good mom. And when I sing "Happy Birthday" to you over the phone or cry at your wedding, remember that my mom did those things to me one day. And even though I was mad at her for it then, I love her for it now.

You can be your own unique self and there is no one you have to please. My love is always with you. I approve of you 100%. I love you.

Mom

What have you done?

I copied this from my friend Karen - thanks.

What Have You Done? To participate, just copy and paste in your own blog, and bold all of the things you have done. It's kind of fun!!

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Seen Mount Rushmore in person
101. Learned to play an instrument

After completing this, I realized there are a lot of things I haven't done. Here are few I have that weren't on the list...

102. Ran a stop light
103. Kept a journal
104. Shopped the Magnificent Mile
105. Experienced natural childbirth
106. Closed my eyes during a movie
107. Shot a gun

Remembering Wholeness

I am reading this book right now, Remembering Wholeness. I read it a few months ago when Monet gave it to me and I decided to read it again when a friend of mine recommended it to me. So the concept is really good I think, I just don't know about using the format for my new year's resolutions. As I read mine from yesterday, it makes it sound like I already am doing all of those things. When in actuality, I am not.

But the point of view of the author of this book, Carol Tuttle is that if you want something, you have to imagine yourself as already having it. She says to always use "I am" statements and in so doing we create our reality. I have to say that I am not completely convinced of the usefulness of this, I mean where is the doing part of it? If you just sit around imagining the way you want your life to be, how does it become a reality? Obviously I have some more reading to do, but I do question some of her practices for sure. Like the "Energy Circle" she says to draw and then throw I am statements into it, hmmm... like that can really do something? She does have some good statements, like:

I am grateful for my healthy body
I am experiencing my body as balanced and free of all disease
I am experiencing lots of energy and vitality
I am sleeping easily and I awake feeling refreshed and ready for a new day
I am thin and fit
I am grateful for the feelings of peace and well-being that abound in me
I am seeing the good in all of the events and details of my life
I am a positive person who enjoys the adventure of this life
I am creating more and more experiences that generate feelings of joy
I am attracting like-minded people with whom I love to interact
I am attracting people who are safe and respectful
I share myself easily and I am understood
I am free of all debt
I am wealthy
I am successful
I am comfortable with money, I spend it in integrity and have fun with it
I am always on time for my commitments
I am grateful to be alive
I am creating more and more of what I want effortlessly
etc.
(She has a two page list of these types of statements)

Don't get me wrong, I do believe in the power of the mind and positive thoughts, I just think that there needs to be more action. But that is just me, I probably need to keep reading the book, as maybe the next chapters talk about acting on these statements, I don't really remember from when I read it before. So I will let you know what I find out.

Resolutions

As promised I am posting my new year's resolutions.

But while I was thinking about them I decided to look through my old journals and find my previous year's resolutions. I was able to find all of the years since I was married, and I had a good laugh reading my journals. If anyone needs to see the journals for authenticity, you are welcome to them. I stayed up way too late last night reading them, and reminiscing.

1993

1. Always tell Ben everything I think
2. Take better care of Ben
3. Workout 4 times a week
4. Skate more
5. Do not eat candy or cookies
6. Read 1 chapter @ day in scriptures
7. Save money
8. To be out of debt by June
9. Pay a full tithe
10. Be totally honest
11. Visit temple @ month
12. Spend more time with my extended family
13. Not bounce a check

1994

1. Be totally honest
2. Still workout at least 4 times @ week
3. Pass Gold dance test
4. Eat nutritious food
5. Read scriptures @ day
6. Be early
7. Do 1 thing for someone else daily
8. Value family time

1995

1. Pay full tithe
2. Attend temple 1 @ month
3. Complete Genealogy
4. Live and love life each day
5. Workout 3 times a week
6. Complete German class
7. Read scriptures @ day
8. Work on Gold Dance test
9. Learn to sew baby clothes
10. Activities outdoors with Ben

1996

1. Read scriptures
2. Full tithe
3. workout 4 times a week
4. Complete Genealogy
5. Complete Gold Dance Test
6. Monthly temple night
7. Monthly date night with Ben
8. Become a better wife and mother
9. Prepare more nutritious meals
10. Travel
11. Save money for a house
12. Plan and organize time more wisely
13. Respect others, present or absent

1997

1. Be a better wife
2. Take more time for Morgen
3. Complete Genealogy
4. Work on Gold Dance Test
5. Run a marathon
6. Work on school degree
7. Monthly temple night
8. House
9. Care for others more than self
10. Don't over schedule

1998

1. Put family first
2. Genealogy - temple work
3. Work on Gold Ice Dances

1999

1. More time on family
2. Genealogy
3. School
4. Ice Dances - Gold

2000

1. More caring & forgiving heart
2. More consistent scripture study
3. Finish Gold level ice dance tests
4. Be a better homemaker for my family

2001

1. Importance on Family
2. Finish Book of Mormon
3. Ice dances

2002

1. Family my # 1 priority

2003

1. Have a more thankful heart
2. Read scriptures every night
3. Enjoy Life

2004

1. Increase my patience & love for my children
2. Increase my knowledge & faith by studying the scriptures consistently
3. Work on my degree

2005

1. Increase my faith in the Savior
2. Learn new things:
How to make french chocolate cake
Sew baby blankets
Paint rooms
Refinish furniture

2006

1. I hope to be a better wife
2. I hope to be a better mom
3. Say no to everything else
4. Simplify

2007

1. Be a more loving wife (so Ben will want to be with me!)
2. Be a more caring mom (so my boys will still like me when they are grown)
3. Sweat less about the small stuff

2008

1. I hope that I can keep doing the best things for my family
Some things I do are good:
Clean the house, pay bills, buy groceries, wash clothes
Some things I do are better:
Drive to good schools, scouts, achievements, sports, activities
Some are the best:
Attending church as a family, talking about our day @ dinner, enjoying each others company, listening, playing, being present in our lives

2009

1. I am living my life the way that God intended - a life of joy, happiness, good-health, wealth and loving relationships. A life filled with gratitude and a pure heart.

The Mom Song

My friend Kathy sent me this video and I thought it was really funny. See if it sounds like a mom you know...

New Year's Eve Party Photos

Out with the old, in with the new