A Celebration of 40 years of Marriage!

WOW! What an accomplishment. In a day and age where the divorce rate has now exceeded 50% it is amazing that two people can committ to share their lives together and make it last for 40 years, and beyond. My mother and father-in-law, Dan & Rosemary Armstrong, celebrated 40 years on June 7th. They've made it through good times and bad and still have a relationship worth admiring (and maybe a little envy there too!).

I pray that Nate and I have what it takes to make it. I think we're on the right path as we work out the kinks along the way.

Saturday night their family threw them a big bash. We had a great time setting up and being able to visit. We made it a surprise for them and I think they really loved every second of it. We invited long-time friends and family. We put on a yummy spread of snack foods and cake.

Rosemary's sister, Judy, was so happy to provide the decorations and she did a fabulous job. I was so amazed at everything she brought, it was beautiful and perfect for a couple so deserving of the honor.

We planned on having some dancing but the "dance floor" ended up being great play area for the kids. They had lots of fun running around and spending time with each other. Dan and Rosemary were having a great time chatting with everyone so it didn't matter we didn't dance. Bret took some time to play the piano and did a great job. He played some Yanni and music from some popular movies. I enjoyed hearing him play and appreciate his talents. We put up a fun display of original wedding and family photos. I think everyone had a good time looking at them.

What a great night! And I spent a lot of it with my own sweetheart, chatting and laughing and enjoying each others company--I guess that's a good sign!

Congratulations, Dan and Rosemary, for 40 years of making it work! You are examples to many and I love you both!

Elise's last day of Kindergarten

May 30th--Elise's last day of school began at an early 8:00 am. I went over at 9:00 am to see how things were going and noticed they were having some activities on the field. My camera wasn't working outside due to the bright sun so I got some pics inside their classroom as everyone was saying good-bye. Miss Anstead had a special visitor come and help entertain the children--her new boyfriend Cameron (sorry Kip, ya snooze ya lose, ha ha ha j/k). I don't think Elise quite understood it was the last day till the next day. She was kind of cranky due to getting up so early so she wasn't too happy to take photos. She better get use to it though, 1st grade will bring A-track and she'll start at 8:00 am everyday. I guess that's a sacrifice for me too, neither of us are morning peeps.

I'm proud of her achievements this year. She's done very well and has gone above and beyond our expectations. Miss Anstead is a wonderful teacher and I love that she encourages the children to develop their talents. We will miss her very much! Now we have almost three months before the new school year begins. Wow, that's a long time!

A pic of Elise with her friend, Sage.

A GREAT Memorial Day!

May 26th--Yes, even on this incredibly wet, rainy day we had a wonderful time doing what we planned to do. Months ago, Nate and I decided not to go down to Palisades State Park (near Ephraim/Manti) to camp over Memorial Day weekend, like usual. We'll be going for the Manti Pageant, in mid-June, instead. Since we had the weekend available we agreed it would be a fun experience to travel to Shelley, Idaho with Nate's parents, Dan and Rosemary to visit the graves of Dan's family. Dan and Rosemary make this 3-hour trip, each way, every Memorial Day and they usually go alone but we asked if we could tag along this time and they were happy at the thought. We set out at 9:00 am, along with us all we took our niece, Kayla, along to pal around with Brady and Elise. The drive took a lot longer than expected with the heavy rains so we stopped in Pocatello for lunch. I was pleasantly pleased we stopped at a Jack-In-the-Box for lunch (my favorite fast-food place, why won't they come back to Utah? so sad). After eating a super-yummy Sourdough Jack combo and the rest with what they ordered, we were back on the road. As we were leaving Pocatello we passed a "Holiday Inn". Dan and Rosemary got a little giggly and mentioned that was where they spent their wedding night. Ooooh la la!

Shelley is quite sparse, full of crops and farms as far as the eye can see. From the stories Dan told, not much of it has changed. We made it to the cemetary and were amazed at all the Armstrong's buried there. We were blessed to have the rain stop the whole time we were at the cemetary. Dan made for a very informative and wonderful "tour/family history guide". He showed us several other graves of family members on his moms side. You could say much of the small cemetary was comprised of Nathan's family. Quite a fascinating site! I couldn't help but be very touched with Elise and Kayla picking dandelions for the graves of infants. They would pick the yellow "flowers" and place them next to the head stones of the little ones. They cared so much to make sure the little babies were acknowledged. Those dandelions weren't weeds to them but, instead, beautiful tributes to the sweet little babies that were only on this earth for a short while then returned to our Father in Heaven---and they both understood that. I get a little teary-eyed thinking about it again.

After our visit to the cemetary we traveled around the neighborhood Dan grew up in. We saw the house he grew up in and the houses of many other relatives that have long moved away or passed on. He showed us areas he use to play at. He also showed us the vast acreage his family used to own and talked about the farm they ran and all the many things he used to do to help out. I hope he enjoyed taking us down "Memory Lane" because I sure enjoyed it. I think Nate was really happy to come back to Shelley. He hadn't been for many, many years.

Our last stop was to see the Idaho Falls Temple. This is the temple Dan and Rosemary were married in, almost 40 years ago! Happy Anniversary on June 7th! I had never seen it before. We stopped at the look-out point along the falls and the temple was on the other side. The view was spectacular! The kids were amazed and, of course, we took photos.

After our visit to the falls it was time to go home. The drive was quite long and we tried to fill the time with good music and Mad Libs. Elise became a "peeing machine" so we had to stop every 1/2 hour to take her to a bathroom--twice, she didn't make it! (thank heavens for a mom who always packs extra clothes because she knows her children ALL too well!) **On a side note--with all the bathroom breaks for Elise, Nate and I got a little scared this could be a symptom of diabetes, we tested her when we got home and her blood sugar was perfect---a HUGE breath of relief! While driving pass Brigham City, Grandma Rosemary kind of got a little goofy and asked Brady if he would smell her sock for 5 cents. He said "no". She persisted and upped the amount to 25 cents. He still wasn't a taker. I was laughing pretty hard (we all were!) and told her to offer him a dollar. He was not going to smell her sock! She was about to give up when I suggested she offer a dollar to Kayla and Elise. As she was asking them she could hardly control her laughter!At first they said "No way!" but then thought about it and said "sure". She got a dollar out for each of them and they both proceeded to smell her sock. I don't think it smelled all that much but the two of them made it as dramatic as possible! However, they were both quite happy to get their dollar. And at our next stop for Elise to use the bathroom she tried to spend it. Crazy! It sure was an out-of-the-ordinary thing for Rosemary to do but we all enjoyed the laugh, it was quite hilarious.

We made it back to Dan and Rosemary's house where we enjoyed pizza and pasta from Pizza Hut then off to get home for bed.

What a LONG day but I had a great time visiting with my mother and father-in-law. I'm very blessed to have them in my life. I'll always wish my parents lived close to us but I enjoy my relationship with Nate's parents and appreciate all they do for us. They are wonderful people and deserve all the happiness in the world. I look forward to my children growing up and having some of their main examples be their grandparents. They have a lot of wonderful qualities I would love to see my own children develop, some are already there including compassion, kindness, sincere love and devotion, mixed all together with plenty of humor and laughter.
I hope to go with them again someday

Elise 2-wheelin'!

May 5th--Elise decided to recruit one of our neighbor friends to help her learn how to ride a 2-wheel bike. Tianna Carmon is older than most of the kids on our street and she's been known to teach other kids how to ride without training wheels so, naturally, Elise trusted her over mom and dad---since, you know, we wouldn't have a clue how to teach her, right? (note the sarcasm!) Anyhoo, Tianna did a wonderful job helping Elise out. She didn't quite figure it out today but we'll keep working with her and I know Tianna will love to continue helping her.

Songs that trigger emotions....

This isn't the typical family update. I recently added a music playlist to our family blog. It's at the bottom of the page and automatically plays when you come to our blog. I added songs that have many memory attachments to them. I'll keep adding more as I think of them. The first song I added is "Standing Right Next To Me" by Karla Bonoff. You can find her song on the "8 Seconds" soundtrack--starring Luke Perry. Not-so-great movie but amazing song. The music and words are just incredibly touching to me. Whenever I hear this song emotions come rushing back to the time Nate and I were dating and when we got married. We included this song on our wedding video. It's so perfect for the video footage shot on that wonderful and crazy day. Every time I hear this song my heart starts pounding with excitement and that "choked-up" feeling. It's a really good feeling and I love that our special wedding day is what I'm reminded of. The only other thing I can compare this feeling to is when Nate is driving and he takes my hand in his and just holds on for a while. I don't know why I feel this way just when we're in the car and he's driving, since he holds my hand all the time. It amazes me I still feel this kind of joy simply because he holds my hand. The first time he did that was when we were dating. He had picked me up from the airport and was taking me to my sisters house. He was driving me in his Toyota Paseo (kind of a sporty car), he took my hand and held it in his. I remember feeling just an immense joy and happiness that this wonderful man loves ME and wants to be with ME. I don't know that I've ever told Nate this before. Maybe it's because I still want him to take my hand just because. Well now he'll know because he'll read this, but I'm okay with that. I know not all songs have wonderful memories attached to them but I know many songs that do and I'm so thankful for music for that very reason. I look forward to hearing many more songs and having many more wonderful memories associated with them.

TOO FUNNY!!!

Tonight, Sunday, May 4th--We're getting ready for bedtime and part of our nightime ritual is scripture reading. Since this is a fairly new thing for our family (we started in January) we notice there is much trial and error in figuring out the best possible way to help the children gain an understanding of the scriptures. Tonight, as I was reading, I decided to break down each verse and explain to the children what that verse is saying. We read 1 Nephi chapter 13. This chapter talks about another book, the Bible, and mentions the "Lamb of God" who is the son of the eternal father. We asked Brady and Elise who they think the "Lamb of God" is and Brady spoke up and said, "OH!.......it's, uh, Jesus." The way he said it made us all laugh so much! Then we began talking more about Jesus and Elise said, "When I was 5, Jesus was born." Again, we laughed. We had to explain to both of them that Jesus was born 2008 years ago and he died but then he was resurrected and lives in heaven with Heavenly Father now. We also explained that someday, we'll get to see Jesus again. Brady, being the most hilarious, without even trying, 3 year old ever, said, "When I see Jesus again I will give him a.......high five!" We thought for sure he would say "hug" but no, he wants to give Jesus a high five! Too funny!!!

April 17th--Day Five, Our Final Day!

Sadly, our last day.......well kind of sad but I think we were all ready to go home. We only were here today till 3:00 pm and then it was time to hit the road to make it to Las Vegas to spend the night. We decided to pick our favorite rides in Disneyland and make them the last. Elise insisted on riding "Indiana Jones" one last time. She rode it a total of 5 times! Then off to "Haunted Mansion". While waiting in line we were happy to get a phone call from a friend who was in the park with her family. Tiffany, Mark, Rebecca and Thor had just got there that day and wanted to hang out with us till we left. We met up with them after "Haunted Mansion". From there we decided to break from Tiffany and her family so they could ride "Splash Mountain" and Nate and Elise could ride "Space Mountain". Brady and I would wait near the "Jedi Training" show so we could eat lunch and then participate in the show once everyone met up again. The show was awesome! Unfortunately, Elise, Brady, Rebecca and Thor did not get picked to be a Jedi and be able to fight Darth Vader or Darth Maul. Perhaps, next time. After lunch we all went to ride the "Matterhorn". Nate and the kids must have rode this 5 times as well! Since I get sick on dip-type rides I stay off and wait and that's what I did this time too. They all had a great time and, by looking at the watch, it was just about time to go. We said good-bye to Tiffany and her family so they could go on more rides. For our last ride we chose "Storybook Canal Boats". We love this ride a lot! On our way out we stopped in a few shops to get some yummy Disneyland treats to take on the road and a few coloring books to give the kids something to do on the long drive home. So ends another fun-filled Disneyland vacation. Will we go again next year? We don't know yet but we're always open to the option. The magic and wonder never seems to disappoint!

April 16th--Day Four

We started the day out in California Adventure. It was getting warmer today--blech! We started out riding "Monsters Inc." and then did the Muppet 3-D show. Then we got on one of our favorite rides, "Soarin' Over California". This is an awesome ride! From there we headed over to Paradise Pier to watch a great film on the history of California. It was time for lunch after the film and so we found a nice, shaded place along the pier to eat our sandwiches. Along the way, I found a fruit and veggies stand that was also selling these adorable loaves of Mickey Mouse-shaped sourdough bread. I had to get it! Almost too cute to eat! There is a sourdough bread factory just next to the pier that makes these loaves.
After lunch we headed back to Disneyland where we enjoyed Frontierland. The kids and Nate went on "Thunder Mountain Railroad" and then we headed over to "Thunder Mountain Ranch" where they had a petting area filled with goats. The kids loved that! By then it was getting late so we found a spot by "Small World" to watch the parade. I love this parade! The kids were happy to get a bucket of popcorn while they enjoyed the parade as well. A very long day and I think we were all happy that the next day was the last day too.

April 15th--Day Three

Today we started out in Fantasyland again. We love the Peter Pan ride and so we started out there. The morning was a little chilly and overcast. We were pretty happy about that! The line for "Peter Pan" takes a while but it's so worth it. After a few rides in Fantasyland we went over to "Minnie and Friends Character Breakfast". This is a family tradition of ours. We pick one morning of our trip and go there. The food is so yummy (Even down to the Mickey Mouse shaped waffles!) and there are several characters that come up to your table for photos and autographs. It beats standing in long lines around the park to do the same thing! The weather seemed to get cooler and cooler. I didn't bring my jacket, thinking it would warm up, so I was freezing! Instead of going back to the hotel for my jacket I bought one. It's so cute! It's brown with a kind of tropical pattern with hidden Minnie Mouse's and tiki's throughout. And of course, shortly after I paid for the expensive jacket (everything in Disneyland is expensive!) it started warming up. After our yummy breakfast we went over to Toontown. Nate took the kids on the roller coaster and we walked around looking at the sights. Never to far from our minds is always Brady's diabetes care and we were quite impressed with his glucose levels on this trip. After Toontown we took the Monorail to Downtown Disney to look at all the fun shops. We had never done this before and I enjoyed it--Nate, not so much. We went to the Lego store, Build-A-Bear, a super-yummy bakery called Marceline's Confectionary, and World of Disney store. I bought the kids our traditional year shirts for 2008 and they put them on after our naps to be worn the rest of the day. By the end of this day Brady was getting kind of cranky and wanting to go home.