*Monday Memos*

*MONDAY MEMOS*

   

 (If pictures are too small, just click to enlarge) 
Weekly recap of my rather crazy, insane, but fun and rewarding life!

dear long run, today I had to get in my long run since I couldn't do it at the cabin.  Unfortunately, Robin was gone.  Fortunately it was only a 13 miler.  I had to get out really early because I had to be showered and dressed and at a breakfast by 9:30 a.m.  I can't really say I enjoyed it.  I was extremely happy once it was done and out of the way.  I keep thinking I have a 19 miler on Saturday and so 13 doesn't seem so bad.  At least until you are at mile 10 and still have 3 to go.  When I was done, I couldn't even tell myself I will have to go 6 more on Saturday.  Sometimes you just have to not think about it.  Marathon training always starts to wear on me when I start into the real long miles.  But, it's a necessary evil if you want to survive on race day.  And trust me, I DO want to survive!  Sometimes I just want to be done with marathons.  They are very time consuming training wise and the body starts to feel it about 8 weeks out. But, I keep telling myself BOSTON is worth every ache and pain and every early morning and every missed hour of sleep and free time.  That experience is worth it all!  I have to keep that at the forefront of my mind!  And, I found a penny!  Yay!

dear birthday breakfast,  I love that I get to keep celebrating my  birthday for more than just one day!  I had to rush and get ready fast so I could meet the sister-in-laws at Corbin's for a birthday breakfast for me and Linda.  I thought I was going to be late but I was the first one there.   

 It was great to have all of us there with the exception of Tori.  That was a first in a while!  

 We had a lot of fun and I got some fun presents.  The waitress even gave us birthday girls cheesecake!  Cheesecake for breakfast!  hah  We shared with everyone.  I joked with her about free cake and then she came out with the cheesecake.  I was totally joking since it was breakfast time!  But hey, no one complained!  LOL 

I sure do love these women.  They are the sisters I never had.  I have a special bond with each one of them.  I feel so blessed and grateful that I got my sisters...just in a different way.   I headed over to Dave's parent's house to take Julie her b-day present because she was heading back home to Vegas soon.  It was a lot of fun chatting with Dave's parents and Julie and Karen.  I stayed a long time even though I was supposed to be in Logan to an AMI planning meeting for Diane's mini conference. But that's okay.  This was more important.

dear skype with carson, when I got home from the cabin there was a package waiting for me from Carson!  I was so excited to open it but I had to wait until we skyped. When we connected to him, he was squealing!  It was so cute. Mirinda was with him and she was so excited as well because she also made me a card.  She's a cute little girl. She is Carson's Aunt but she's only eight.

 My package was awesomely purple!  All things purple!  How cute is that?  Sarah said he picked everything out himself AND she had to take him to five stores to find the purple panda!  It was SO sweet!  I have NO idea HOW he ever found a purple panda!  But he did.  He was so excited to see how excited I was.  He made me a cute card that he worked for hours making and gave me a purple zebra card as well.  I got some purple sixlets and purple coins in a purple bag with a purple sucker.  It was too cute.  And I got THEE CUTEST picture of little Carson. It makes me smile when I look at it.  I need to get a cute frame for it.  Sarah also sent me the sweetest card.  That girl is amazing.  She is really a good mom and the most thoughtful person.  Her card made cry.  I sure do love these peeps!  I think I have to say this was my favorite birthday gift of all!

dear birthday lunch,  yay! More birthday celebrating!  After I ran 5 miles, I got ready and headed to Ogden to meet Dawn for our birthday lunch.  We always go to lunch to celebrate our birthdays together.  This year we met at the a place called The Bickering Sisters.  It was a quaint little place in Ogden. We love trying new places and this was really good.  I had the orange crusted French Toast.  It was yummy! We caught up and had so much fun talking about our ideas and dreams of things we would like to do.  We have a lot of the same dreams.  Writing a children's book, doing seminars, speaking about gratitude and how to have happiness in life. Life coaching kind of stuff.  We have big plans!  We opened our gifts and then talked some more.  I love spending time with Dawn.  She is so down to earth but also so above the earth as far as she is truly an angel.  I feel so blessed to have her as a friend.  We call each other Twinsee because we have SO much in common.  If you are blessed with a friend like her, count your blessings!  I do!  She makes things happen like no one else I know.  She is an amazing woman.

We traditionally pass out chocolate and ice cream sandwiches (explanation in her FB post below) but today we spent so much time talking and we both had other things we had to get to and so we decided to make it simple this year and just buy cookies from the restaurant and pass them out to just a couple people this year.  It worked out just fine.  She is always doing random acts of kindness to others.  I need to be more like her and do more.  

The photo on the right is with one of the peeps we gave a treat to.

Sharing what Dawn posted on Facebook: 

Celebrating Our Birthdays! 🎈🛍One thing I love is giving to others when we celebrate us. We usually share chocolate and ice cream sandwiches since we are born on those National Holidays. However, today we got big cookies and found people to share them with! I ❤️ Jodi...we dream alike 😊 

dear wednesday, hot morning.  I got out later than I hoped, but I got rained on.  It was great!  I love hot summer rain!  I found a penny again!

I made lots of brownies for tonight's Stake Pool party.  Dave was on call and so I went alone.  I talked to lots of peeps.  I sat with Sharon K and Linda and we had a good chat. Sharon wanted to know how it felt when I crossed the finish line at Boston.  I asked her how much time she had.  Hah  Then Dave arrived.  We made the rounds around the pool chatting with lots of peeps.  

dear thursday, got up at 5:30 a.m. and headed to SLC to pick up Taylor and CJ at airport.  It was so good to see him.  I think it was hard for him to leave paradise and come back home.  I took them to Einstien's bagels for breakfast.  It was fun hearing of their adventures on the way home.  They dropped me off at home so I could get out on my run while Taylor took CJ to Tremonton.  It's a good thing because it was already hot.  I did hill repeats.  15 repeats.  9 miles.  Brutally hot.  

It so good to have Taylor home.  I cleaned out his luggage in the laundry room making sure no little stowaways hitched a ride.  I made homemade bread basically so we could take some to our new neighbors and another new family in the ward.  We tried to take it around but none of them were home.  Oh well.  The fam enjoyed it!  

I watched the Diana documentary.  It's been 20 years since she was killed in a car accident.  Hard to believe.  We were the exact same age.  She was born in July and I in August.  I have always felt a bond with her because of that though half the entire free world does as well.  hah   Dave made a yummy beef with green beans with beans from garden. No pix.  :(

dear friday, I only got in five miles this morning.  I ran to the high school.  I do run by some pretty scenery.  Yes, I think trains are pretty.  They are pretty in a historical sort of way.

I also ran past this ↓.  The things you see while running!  SMH

Found another penny!

When I got home I had a request from Taylor to cut his hair.  He needed a haircut in the worst way!  He was starting to look like a Hawaiian beach bum! Then him and McKay headed to volunteer at a MDA Camp for a whole week! I just got him home and he's gone again just like that! But I am very proud of both of them for doing this.  It will be a great experience for them.  

I headed to O town to Bella Me for the last day of their big sale and used the gift card my parents gave me for my b-day.  I did a bit more shopping at Sams, Ross, TJ Maxx etc.

Gotta love this!

I met Dave at Wingers for date night and some carb loading for my 19 miler tomorrow. I watched the second half of the  Diana movie.  Such a sad and tragic story.

dear saturday, I got up at 5:15 for our 19 miler.  Robin picked me up.  I was not really feeling like doing it. I am getting SO burned out on these long runs. They take so much time and wear me out.  But it must be done!  We drove to Mantua and parked and then ran to Sherwood Hills UP-hill 8 miles! It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.  I was a little leery of running the canyon though (especially since Clark's bad bike accident in Honeyville this week). I know it's not the safest thing to do running on a highway, but it's the only place to get the downhill training we need.   We then ran back to the dam and around the dam.  We got in 19.  I ran ahead a bit the last mile and up the hills.  We stopped and got an ice cream at the little Mantua store.  That tasted SO good!  I'm so glad to have that over with.  But I still have three more 20 milers to do!   

Not the best time but considering we did almost 9 miles of hard uphill, it was acceptable.

This hangs in the bathroom at Sherwood Hills.  I LOVE reading these great ideas to be a better person.  I need one in my bathroom!

It felt so good to shower!  I stayed home the rest of day.  I wanted a nap but never got one.  I worked on my SS lesson.  It's on Family History.  And I even found a story of an ancestor!  Finally!  William Poppleton.  It's the coolest story!  He was born in England and then migrated to St. Louis and eventually settled in Wellsville.  The coolest thing is he helped build the Logan temple.  His journal entry he said:

September 17 lade the corner stone of the temple

William Poppleton

So cool!  I was so excited!  The coolest part is Dave and I were married in the Logan Temple on September 17th!  What?!  YES!  Of course it was 100 years later, but still!  

I feel connected to him!  He is my great, great, grandpa.  Now I want to find more! 

After taking the Family History class, I felt like I was hopeless to this family history stuff because it appeared everything I checked was mostly done.  I was pretty discouraged because I had to miss so many classes and felt like I was kind of lost. Then this week I ended up curious about a story, any story, from my history of pioneers coming over because I have never in my entire life heard a single one.  I remembered how easy it was to check to see if there was a story on these people and so I delved into every ancestor several lines back to check to see if I could fine one anywhere. I was coming up empty and was about to give up until I had to prepare for my SS class on family history and I really needed a story for the class and so I kept searching.  Gratefully, I then found this great story- quite amazing actually - on my great, great grandpa on my maternal side. To think he actually laid (lade according to his spelling) the corner stone of the Logan Temple on September 17th.  Like I said, Dave and I were married in the Logan Temple on September 17,1982 about 100 years later!  I am curious if the year was 1882 because his last journal entry was 1877 and the next one was 1888 and so I wonder. That would make it even cooler.  I need to research that. Anyway, I kept going back to see if I could find more stories and I ended up at my great, great, great, great, great grandpa (also a William Poppleton - in fact there is four of them in a row) and discovered he has no parents listed.  His birth is only listed as 1739 (no month or day) and only England, United Kingdom.  So there is zero info on this line after him.  Not exactly sure where I go from here.  I feel like I am supposed to go this route, but honestly I haven't the first idea as to where to start.  It would be this person's great grandpa where it all stops.  So, as you hear all the time in family history work, I felt I was led to this to try and find the missing link.  I am curious to see how it will all turn out, or if I will even get anywhere because I am surprised someone else hasn't already.  Sorry for the long explanation but I am excited I finally got something!!! I may end up at a dead end, but if not, it will be a pretty cool story.  I have added the stories at the end of this post for future reference for myself.

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dear sunday, I went to Carson's homecoming.  He gave one amazing talk. Too bad McKay couldn't be there.  He talked about how he wanted to come home for the first six months and how he was ready to do it and then he got an email from some stranger that told him he went through the exact same thing and he read the letter this man sent him and it changed his heart and he stayed all because of that one email.  We just never know the influence we might have on someone.  It was fun to see lots of McKay's friends and their parents.  I wish Dave could have gone but he had to attend another sacrament.  I headed to ours.  Jen stopped me and gave me a big hug.  I am so glad we worked out the craziness.  I am so happy it was all a big misunderstanding on both our parts.  Life can be very crazy at times.   Makes me sad to think of all the wasted time and missing out.  Our sacrament was on Family History same as my lesson.  I loved all the speakers.  My class went great too. I haven't taught for a few months and it was fun to be back.  I do enjoy it. I attended our SS Teacher Development class.  We had a roast for dinner and then I made the copycat Levain cookies but they weren't as good as last time. 

I hurried and did some cleaning because the Garrett's were coming over to have their family pictures in our backyard and they asked if I would take them for them and I was too beat to clean yesterday after my long run.  I guess the Ox was in the mire? Hmm...probably not, but...  ;)   Dave's parents stopped by for a long visit and it was fun to chat.  I am so grateful to have them still here.  They are they best.  We should go visit my parents on Sundays but Dave is always tied down with something it seems.

The Garrett's arrived and it was fun taking the photos and watching the little girls personalities.  Kimberly was so patient with them.  They were not really cooperating (just being little kids) but she didn't get upset at all.  I remember how much family pictures used to stress me out!  They still do!  It's so hard to get the perfect shot after working so hard to get everyone ready and all dressed to match and then to pay lots of money to someone for doing it.  I gave them a pretty good deal though I think.  FREE!  haha 

 Candid shots are ALWAYS my favorites!  I was reliving and laughing my early days trying to get five boys holding still and smiling.  No wonder family pix have always been one of the most stressful things in life for me!  hah  I used to take my Mom with me and she would be jumping and trying to get them to smile and I was usually tucking in a shirt or fixing their hair and then I would go back and start jumping with her.  Oh my!  I was laughing at all of Kimber's girls because they were so not wanting to pose and hold still.  I have to say my boys all in all were pretty dang good!  We took advantage and had them take a couple of us since everything was already set up.

 I'm not sure which one I like best so I am adding my two faves:

Linda and I then exchanged gifts.  It was fun.  Trevor brought over a cheesecake he had made.  It was a carrot and raisin one.  Not my fave, but it was nice of him to share.  

We both had twinner sacks!  Crazy!  We were born on the same day.  I always thank her for always being one year older!  hehe She always gives me too much!  I love all of my gifts!  Man, I have been spoiled this year for sure!

After they left, I stayed up late and got my blog caught up a bit. I wonder if I will ever get it fully caught up!  I still haven't posted my Sista Boston post!  Or my Alaska post!


dear taylor's spartan challenge, I am so proud of this boy!  He and his roommate CJ signed up for the Hawaiian Spartan Challenge.  When I heard it was a 15 mile race course on the mountain and mud along with obstacle courses and very difficult strength challenges and that they signed up for the most difficult level, I was worried sick about him.  I was afraid to call him after the race and see how he did because I was sure he would be injured for life because his training was ZERO!  ZIP!  NADA!  But.....I was happy and relieved to hear not only did he survive and did great, but they came in 2nd in their age division out of 55 and 16th and 17th in the male age division out of 326 and 21st and 22nd out of 466!!! You've got to be kidding me!!! I was shocked! They KILLED IT!  Oh, to be young and strong again!   They would have come in 1st in their AD but they got stuck in line at the part where they have to climb over some huge wall and the ones who got it didn't have to wait in line.   I am so hoping this is my son that will become a runner!  My dream is that someday we will run a marathon together! 

I'm so proud of him!!!

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Family History Stories:
Biography of William Poppleton

Contributed By: karenchapman · 13 February 2014 ·

THIS IS A COOL STORY!  

William Poppleton was born October 15, 1823, at Moulton, Lincolnshire, England. His father was a farmer. William grew up assisting his father on the farm. William’s father was also a cordwainer or shoemaker. William Poppleton and Sarah Stennett were married on 5 August 1844 at Great Hale, Lincolnshire, England. Their first child, William Stennett was born there. William and Sarah returned to Moulton where their next three children were born. On April 12, 1849 they joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They were the only members of both families to do so. This was very much against the wishes of their people. William and Sarah’s only desire now was to come to America and join the Saints in Zion. Because William was a common laborer and with six in the family to support, it was impossible to save money for their desired journey. He talked it over with his wife and they decided to make it appear that he had deserted his family. He would then try to secure passage on a ship by working his way to America. He sailed on the ship “Joseph Badger” which left Liverpool on October 17, 1850. He was given the job of swabbing the deck and keeping it clean, and also other duties. As soon as it became known that he had deserted his family, the officers were sent to bring him back, but they reached the dock too late. The ship had already set sail. Sarah and the four children were then thrown on the mercy of their friends, for none of the relatives were in a position to take the entire family and support them. Sarah, rather than have her children separated from her decided to take the children and go to the poor house. So strong was her faith in the gospel and in her husband. While at the poor house her fifth child was born. After William arrived in America his first thought was of work. He secured a job at St. Louis working in a sewer for fifty cents per day. So anxious was he to have his family with him that he went without the comforts of life in order that he might save money to send at once to England. It seemed so wonderful to the minister and neighbors, that they secured by contribution $100 more and the family were soon on their journey across the ocean. They landed in New Orleans in February 1852. The Mississippi River was frozen over, and William was still at St. Louis. It was impossible to reach him until the river became safe for travel. Thus Sarah and her children were thrown upon the mercy of strangers. The two boys went out each and begged from door to door. They took whatever was given them to their mother. They were given the use of a room with just a bed and small stove. Here they almost starved. After ten weeks of suffering, while waiting for the ice to break, they arrived at St. Luis. By this time William was almost wild with grief and upon seeing his family was overcome with relief. He had a house prepared for them on a farm five miles from St. Luis. The family was just beginning to enjoy life when typhoid fever struck them. William first contracted the disease. Just as he was recovering, his wife Sarah was stricken. She died October 14, l855. Her baby, born just four months earlier, died an hour after his mother. They were buried twelve miles west of St. Louis. William was at a loss to know what to do. He was fortunate to get a good woman, Annie Hayes, to come and look after his children and the home. He later married her and she was a good wife and mother in every respect. In May l857, a temporary settlement called Genoa was located for the benefit of emigrating Saints. It was on Beaver Creek near Loup Fork, Nebraska, about one hundred miles west of Omaha. Apostle Erastus Snow appointed William and one hundred other families to found this settlement. Joel H. Johnson was President, Nathan David First Counselor, and William Poppleton Second Counselor. William Poppleton built a house in the settlement and also operated a farm. He labored in Genoa until 1859. This settlement, at that time was far on the frontier on land claimed by the Pawnee Indians. They had to endure many hardships while there. In the fall of 1859 they were ordered to leave by an Indian agent. The Indians had sold their land to the government with the right to select a reservation. The result was that the Indians, 4900 strong, came and selected a square of twenty miles which took in the entire settlement of Genoa. This was in October and the corn and vegetables were not gathered. As fast as they matured that had to be hauled outside of the reservation and stacked together. William and others dug holes in the ground to live in. In November the prairie was set on fire, and all the year’s crop was burned to ashes. William lost all he raised. He returned to Omaha for the winter. The next year he came to Utah. William Poppleton with his wife Annie and four children, Thomas, Sarah, Martha and George, were members of Captain John Smith’s ox train company which arrived in Salt Lake City September 1, 1860. They settled in Bountiful during the winter. At that time it was called Sessions Settlement. It was while there on November 8, 1860 William Poppleton received his patriarchal blessing. It was given by Patriarch G. John Young. William and his family came to Wellsville in April 1861. He homesteaded 160 acres of land northeast of Wellsville. This grant was given to William Poppleton from the United States of America by Pres. U.S. Grant through the General Land Office. At this time polygamy was practiced in the Church. The more faithful members were allowed this doctrine. William Poppleton was one of these good and faithful men. On October 3, 1863, he married Leah Perkes in the endowment house in Salt Lake City. Then on November 10, 1866, he married his fourth wife, Mary Ann Hatchard Jeffs. William Poppleton, with his three living wives and their children lived together in a six room house located at what is now Greens Corner. He lived here until the time of his death on the 16th of August 1883. His death was caused by dropsy. He was the father of twenty-three children, one being born after his death. He was steady, honest, and faithful, and for several years he worked on the temple at Logan under Superintendent C.O.Card, where he made a host of friends. William Poppleton has helped to give us our heritage in this nation and the Gospel. The one great desire of his heart was to live the life of a true Latter-day Saint, and in that he was eminently successful. In all his trials, he was faithful and true to the Kingdom of God.

His third wife Leah Perkes is the line through which my grandfather Edward Castle Poppleton came.

Leah Perkes

Contributed By: davidlneil · 6 August 2015 ·

Leah was the fifth of eight children born 1 November 1848 at Freebodies in Dudley, Worchester, England to James and Eliza Rollinson Perkes.

Her parents had been baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints soon after the birth of thier 1st child and tried for years to work out a plan where they could immigrate to Utah. Her father was a coal miner and made very little money for his long hours of hard work. As his family increased it became more and more difficult to care for them, let alone save enough to bring the whole family at once to America. When Leah was 5 yrs old her father did come to America bringing Leah and two of her older brothers, John 11, Reuben 8 with him. The plan being that he would be able to send for Eliza and the other four living children later. But things did not work out that way. James Perkes married a second wife in December of 1854. This woman brought several children into the marriage and there never seemed to be enough money to send home for the rest of his family. When Leah was 13 yrs old the family made the trek across the plains to Utah. The Perkes family immediately settled in Cache Valley choosing Hyde Park, a settlement just north of Logan for their home. William Poppleton was one of the most faithful members of the Church allowed to practice the doctrine of plural marriage. He married Leah Perkes in the Endowment House (Salt Lake City) by the Apostle Wilford Woodruff as a plural wife 31 October 1863 just one day before Leah's fifteenth birthday. Willam was 40 yrs old and this was his third marriage. After Leah had been married for six years and she was 21 yrs old her mother and some of her brothers and sisters that were left behind in England were finally able to come to America. Leah never saw the others again. Leah and William had nine children; James Perkes, John Perkes, Eliza Perkes, Mary Perkes, Rachel Perkes, Edward Perkes, Albert Perkes, Louisia Perkes, and Kate Perkes Poppleton. Taken from the book: Our Ancestors The Poppletons and the Petersen Families

William Poppleton's Home in Green's Corner (N.E. Wellsville)