Mish Mash

Here are some shots of a few things that were picture worthy the last little while... and probably a few that weren't! (I collaged them to save space so in order to see better just click to enlarge)


Taylor's track meets...

Taylor did well at region clearing 5'8" on the high jump. He was in 1st place for his age division. It was the first time he participated in that event this year.

Total random...

Skyler left to work in Philadelphia for FOUR LONG months...it was really hard to say goodbye....again! :(

I spoke at a local women's conference on BLOGGING trying to recruit more of us crazies!!!! Hope it worked! lol

More total random...

McKay's last TaVaCi concert...boy was he glad! The last few years he has HATED this with a passion but I wouldn't let him quit because I have learned the power music has in allowing both sides of the brain to work. I firmly believe (AND it has been proven) that it helps with math and other school subjects. Besides, the concerts are fun even for him I think! They make it "cool" for the boys. They receive a trophy on their last concert and the size of it is determined by how many years they took. His was huge!

Bryce's 18th birthday

Bryce's birthday dinner at Tempanyaki's

~Mother's Day~

























The things I can get them to do in the name of Mother's Day! ☺






































Ardeth Kapp came and spoke at our Stake for a Relief Society meeting. She was EXCELLENT!

This is Bonnie ~ Ardeth Kapp ~ and yours truly after the meeting.

For those of you who don't know who she is, she is a former General Young Women's President. In our church that is one of the most important callings a woman can receive. She worked directly with the Prophet and Apostles. She served (without pay) from 1984 to 1992 over several thousand young women ages 12-18. She has authored over 20 books and is an incredible speaker! What an honor to meet her.

Actually I had met her before only not formerly. When she had just been released from her calling we were eating in a restaurant in Bountiful. I had three very active and lively boys at the time and I remember Bryce was about two years old and a handful. Dave and I were trying to keep them well behaved and well mannered, but as restless boys tend to be, they were a little noisy and wild. Bryce was throwing the crackers I had given him off his high-chair and one of them spilled their water and on and on! I remember being embarrassed because of the older couple that was seated behind us a bit, and feeling like we were upsetting them due to the chaos at our table.

As they got up to leave they walked over to us and the woman gently put her hand on my shoulder and said, "I just have to tell you how much my husband and I have enjoyed watching your darling little family. They are just a joy to watch." When I turned to look at her face, I realized it was ARDETH KAPP!!! What a sweet woman to take the time to make a young mother who was feeling inadequate feel better about herself! I'm sure she sensed my embarrassment. I will always remember that. She was never able to have children of her own and I believe she honestly meant what she said to me.

Bonnie had emailed her this story as they were corresponding about the details of the night (she was in charge of the event) and so when Bonnie introduced me to her, she told her who I was and she gave me a squeeze and just chuckled! Great lady!

Me "coveting" my brother's new HUMMER....

Well...

That's all folks...at least for now!!! :D

Aaaaaa!!!! (that was a scream!) I am in the top FIVE!!!! Sego Lily Day Spa Blogger Contest!

Yesterday on a very difficult part of my run (a very enormous steep hill where I was losing steam) my cell phone rang. I debated whether or not to answer it since I was huffing and puffing pretty intensely, but my desperate need to breath got the best of me and I DID answer. I am soooo glad I did!!

It was a very nice person at the Sego Lily Day Spa informing me that I, yes ME, had been chosen as one of the top FIVE FINALISTS in the search for the Sego Lily Blogger!!!

I nearly dropped the phone! The excitement was so powerful that I was able to push it and nearly fly to the top of that hill! I felt like Rocky (only with less biceps.)

I am still somewhat in shock! WHAT???? ME???? I was told I get an amazing treatment called the Body Butter Drench that I will need to blog about for my final entry! I am going to go have that lavish little procedure on Friday! My body is already drooling for that butter drench...

I am posting an email I got today that explains how the contest works and the links to my fellow competitors.

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Sego Lily Day Spa (click for a link to their website)

Announcing the Finalists! Congratulations to the Five Finalists! First off, we want to thank ALL of the wonderful bloggers that entered. We could only select five but way more than five of you won our hearts and smiles with your fabulous entries. Thanks so much! After an INTENSE selection process we are very excited to announce the five finalists in the Search for the Sego Lily Blogger! And without further delay, here are your five finalists! Angie Lucas - link Heather Herbert - link Jodi (that's me!) - link Amanda Calton - link Robin Konie - link How the Judging Process Worked? Narrowing down so many great entries required a bit more time and brainstorming than we originally anticipated. Here are some details on the selection process we used. To select these finalists we assembled all of the entries and distributed them to our five-person management team at Sego Lily. Each person on the team could nominate any entry as a "semi-finalist" which gave us a list of 14 of our favorite entries. From that list each Sego Lily Manager was asked to rank them in order, 1 being their favorite and 14 being their least favorite. These five scores were averaged together giving each blogger a final score. The top five scores were selected as finalists. The voting was EXTREMELY close, there was a .75 point difference between 6th and 5th place. Everyone that entered should be very proud of the wonderful work and we hope to see you next year when the contest begins again! What Happens Next? All of our finalists have been contacted by phone and have a treatment scheduled, once the treatments are finished they will all have an opportunity to write a post on this, the OFFICIAL Sego Lily Blog about their experience and then the public will help us choose by voting (using the comment section of each blog post) for their favorite. The top vote getters will be ranked in order and this number will be averaged with a separate ranking by the Sego Lily Management team. The blogger with the top average score will win the title of Sego Lily Blogger and the dream year will begin. That Won't Be the End! Be sure to subscribe to our blog for entertaing and informative information, stories, as well as special news, announcements and our monthly newsletter as well! ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ Holy Sego Lily Batman I am pumped!!! Now if I can just relax enough to enjoy that wonderful, pampering Body Parkay (I mean Butter) Drench!!! Cross your fingers for me my peeps!!! As you can see I am really going to need your help to pull this off! Winning means $3000 worth of spa treatments for an entire year! WOW!!! I know you will come through for me, and in return I promise I will blog in such a way that you will feel like you are actually experiencing the same thing I am (in a virtual kind of way)....exquisite domestic tranquility in the purest form of the word!!! ☺ Ahh....Sego Lily take me (take us all) away!

Memorial Day 09

Is it a cardinal sin to re-post something you have posted before even if it is perfect? I hope not, but if it is...then start throwing stones!

I am reposting my last year's (or part of it) Memorial Day post because what I wrote is exactly how I feel today and besides I have many new readers and so I decided instead of re-writing the exact thing, I would do it this way. I will have more to add later, but for now....this says what is in my heart today.

♥Tyson♥

Memorial Day was never more to me than just a day off of school and work, a three day weekend, or the sign that school was almost out and summer was near. Growing up I remember going to the cemeteries and taking flowers (always peonies) to set on the graves of those who had passed on. But it has taken on a whole new meaning in the past two years and a half (now three and a half) years for me. Since losing our son Tyson, it has become a day of many mixed emotions. It is a day to remember. Remembering is a good thing. Even though at times it can come with a little bit of pain, and some days a whole lot of it. But the ability to remember is a great gift. I treasure each and every memory I have of that boy. What if I didn't have that? That would be tough. When I remember all the great moments we shared and his upbeat and comical personality, and that signature smile of his, I am overcome with joy. Sometimes remembering can also be painful. When I remember how much he suffered and endured, and how he did it with the most amazing dignity and strength, the sorrow creeps in. Sometimes the only thing I can remember is how much I miss him. Each and every day I remember how much I love him.♥ Remembering those who have passed on blesses us with the ability to treasure those moments even more because it makes us realize that life really is short and we must cherish each and every second of each and every moment we have been so abundantly blessed with. So on this day as you remember those you loved that have passed on, and those who have sacrificed their lives to preserve our freedoms, also remember that there are no guarantees in this life and so be sure to hold tight to those you do have near. ♥ Life is a gift... Cherish it...

♥♥♥♥♥

Happy Memorial Day All!

At the cemetery this year...

Click to see the balloons...↓




























Tyson LOVED movies and so we went to see one in his honor. This year we went to Night of the Museum Battle of the Smithsonian. He loved Owen Wilson and Ben Stiller and I am sure he would have loved this one. It was GREAT!!!
























Then Dave and I and some friends went to see Donny Osmond in concert at USU! What a great show. Not sure Tyson was a fan, but he would be happy that I was! I will do a post on this later!!!















We love and miss you Tyson!!! ♥♥♥

Serenity Sunday ~ Hope ya know, we had a hard time...

I personally know that Memorial Day can be a very hard day. Today's post is to help lift your spirit if you are struggling because you have lost a loved one and are missing them even more because of the focus of this day. Take heart...He knows your pain and suffering.

He IS there to comfort.

Be sure and PAUSE my PLAYLIST at the bottom of my blog...

Saturday 9

Saturday 9: Hot Fun in the Summertime

1. Is summer your favorite season? Why?
I do love summer though Spring has always been my favorite season. I love the newness of spring and the lucious smells in the air after a long winter. But nothing beats summer when it comes to having lots of time to spend with my boys which I love and lots more kick back time without a schedule which I also LOVE! You can't beat the warmth and all the fun things to do outdoors.


2. Do you exercise more in the summer because you wear less clothing?
I definitely feel like running more when it's warm (though not hot!) than I do in the winter. But if I am training for something I run no matter what the weather is.


3. Do you enjoy tanning or are you more concerned about the dangers of basking in the sun?
I'm married to a doctor and so lots of tanning and tanning beds are no-no's around here. I have very fair skin and I don't tan easily, but do burn fast! I worry about skin cancer because I had many sun-burns growing up.


4. You are on the beach when a waiter appears for your drink order. What do you ask for?
A virgin pina~colada. And here I am doing just that in Puerto Rico about five years ago. Albino - yes...it was February! At least I'm not burnt!



























5. Do you camp in the summertime?
I love to go camping. I am not a fan of tents and really roughing it, though I get the opportunity to do that at girl's camp this year. Aaaa! I love the smells of camping ~ the pine trees, the bonfires, and food cooking outdoors. We have a really old motorhome that I wish was nicer so we would go more often. It's such a great way to bond with your family.


6. What was your favorite summer vacation as a kid?
We had a camper when I was growing up and so we went camping almost every weekend it seems. I have lots of good memories of that. I also got to go to San Diego to visit my cousin Shelley nearly every year and also to Sacramento to visit my cousin's Mike and Bill. Those were always my favorite vacations just being able to spend time with my cousins and grandparents Mae and Ed. The day I got my drivers license, I went to California with them and my grandpa Ed insisted I drive almost the entire way in his snazzy Cad. He also insisted I go at least 80 mph on all the desert roads! Old habits die hard! lol


7. Do you enjoy sleeping outdoors?
Only if I am not out in the open where lots of bugs and snakes and other critters can get to me. AND if it's not cold! I love looking at the stars and hearing the sounds of nature. When we went to Lake Powell, I loved sleeping out on top of the houseboat under the stars.

8. Do you throw a summer barbecue every year?
We BBQ a lot in the summer. Nothing tastes or smells as good as burgers grilling on the barb! Mmm....♥


9. Have you ever been to a nude beach? If yes, what did you think?
Can't say I have!




To play go HERE

Friday Memes

SORRY so late this week! Internet Explorer had problems and I couldn't get on my blog for THREE days!!! Hope someone will STILL at least play!!! So sorry!!

Food 4 Thought Friday

Feel free to play along for some yummy fun! I will post a new one each Thursday night for those that are on a different time zone. JOIN IN!!!


Food 4 Thought Friday ~ This week's questions

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

Breakfast

What activities make you lose track of time?

Lunch
What did you imagine yourself being the most when you were little?

Dinner

If you could jump into any book what would it be and why?

Midnight Snack

What is your favorite thing to fix for dinner?

Recipe of the Week (instead of your recipe for life what is it just for the week?)

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MY ANSWERS

Breakfast

What activities make you lose track of time?Being with my family and friends♥. Blogging and web-surfing.

Lunch
What did you imagine yourself being the most when you were little?
I always pretended that I was a dental assistant. I would play for hours pretending I ran the office. I had a list of patients and a daily schedule and used my stuffed animals as the patients.

Dinner

If you could jump into any book what would it be and why?

Twilight of course! I would love to be a character with Edward! =)

Midnight Snack

What is your favorite thing to make for dinner?

Reservations! Seriously I guess it would be spaghetti because it's so easy but so yummy!

Recipe of the Week (instead of your recipe for life what is it just for the week?)

Have faith...all things will eventually work together for your good.

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

1. Moving really is one of the worst things of life!

2. Freedom is not free.

3. My best quality is focusing on the good in the bad.

4. I am ALL about the details.

5. In nearly 10 years, I better have lots of cute little grand-kiddos!

6. A serious nap is what I need right now!

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to going to dinner and then to see Angels and Demons with some friends, tomorrow my plans include taking some grad pix of Bryce, getting in my long run, preparing my young women lesson, and cleaning and organizing! and Sunday, I want to do a good job on my lesson, attend all my many meetings, and chillix a bit!!!!

To play go here

Food 4 Thought Friday

Food 4 Thought Friday will be late this week! Internet Explorer had problems and I haven't been able to get on my blog for THREE days. I know those of you who use IE as your server were not able to either. They just fixed the problem and so I will get this posted later tonight IF you still want to play! I hope you do!!!! Please come back!!! SORRY!!!!

Planting Flowers at the Temple...

Sorry to those who commented on this post. I had to remove it because I was having problems with my blog. Fixed now.... but I had to copy and paste them all in one comment. SORRY!



Our church youth group had the opportunity to plant flowers at the Ogden Temple. It was a gorgeous day and a great day of service!

Instead of planting flowers like we thought we were going to do, we ended up pulling the dead ones out and weeding the area. It was FUN !

No we are not praying ↓ (though heaven knows we should be!)....just pulling bulbs off the dead plants. Not sure we did much good because the temple grounds are always kept meticulously well-groomed and sooooo beautiful. But hopefully we did help just a bit.

We spent lots of time on our knees....well, we WERE at the temple afterall! lol

The girls and leaders who were able to go.



Just being girls!

Stephanie trying to take down her leader! I won.....ha ha HA!!!

It was the temple gardener's birthday and so we had cake and ice-cream even though he wasn't able to make it! We had fun celebrating without him anyway!

Bryce and Brad having a good laugh...

Me and my boys! Yummy cake!!!

The end.... :D

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Posted By Jodi to Beacon of Hope at 5/18/2009 03:38:00 PM

Sorry I had to delete all your comments - but I copied and pasted them all into one...