Changes Anyone?

The new school year always makes me feel like I want to change some things. It feels like the beginning of a brand new year, even though it is not January. I always feel like the weather is going to suddenly get cooler (no luck there)....that never happens! I want to do yard work, but I can't! Aside from that, with the change of daily life, meaning kids are in school, I always feel like I need to change something, or organize something, or add something to my life.

This year, I gave it some intense thought. No matter what I do, my days are so full. Even if I think I have a free day....it always fills up on its own! I can't figure that out! So, I decided to take a little control this year. Here is what I came up with.......

Attend Institute
Our Stake always has a dynamite Institute Class. I have never gone because it seems I have been too busy. This year our Stake was divided and the wonderful Institute teacher is in the other Stake. Dang! They called another teacher for our new Stake. He is a former Mission President and former President of the Brazil MTC. He is in our ward...so that make it a little more personal.

The first class was Tuesday. I can honestly say I was excited to go. This year we will be studying out of Preach My Gospel. That was interesting to me. Lately we have been encouraged to learn from this manual and use it as a companion when studying the scriptures.

It is not only for the missionaries, but for us as well. I have heard many a testimony about the wonderful content of this book. So here goes! I will be going every Tuesday.

Tutoring
We have a program in our stake where we support the local elementary schools by way of tutoring. All you have to do is sign up and spend 1 hour a week helping elementary school children learn to read better. You have to be fingerprinted for safety purposes and then commit to that hour a week for a specific classroom. I decided I would give it a chance this year.

I was fingerprinted down at the City of Mesa and filled out the necessary documents. Yes, it took some time, but I was pretty determined to do it. I received my call this morning and was given and assignment to a specific teacher's classroom. So there! I am committed! I am sure I can give an hour a week to help a child. It might be kinda fun!

Exercising
This has always been a part of my life. I do enjoy it! Lately though, due to summer vacations and too many temptations I have let it go just a little. If there just wasn't ice cream and M & M's in this world! Those are my weaknesses! I went back to the gym seriously on Monday morning. I have a trainer and I hate the fact that I pay someone to help me and then don't follow through sometimes.

Believe it or not.....I can already see the results since Monday. Quit eating that junk!

Apple One to One
I am one of those clueless mac computer owners. No more! I am totally committed to learning about this dang computer. I have already been to 3 classes and I can see an improvement. There now children....what do you think of that? Talk to me in six months and I will design your website! hehehehe

Food Storage
This is a tough one! I am working on it, but expect to do much better! I need to get a handle on this. I have already begun. We have a woman in our Ward that owns a Bosch dealership. She always has several classes going that would be a huge help to me. In September she is teaching some interesting canning classes. I have signed up to go and see what I can do better.

I just bought a bunch of wheat....now what???? A friend of mine came over and cooked her bread recipe for me. It was delicious! Now I have to perfect it! This will be a constant concern for me. Julie has a great idea on rotating food that I need to put it into practice. Stay tuned for my success stories! Hmmmmmm

Quilting
My family teases me about this one. The thing is.....I enjoy it so much! Soooo, my goal is to finish as least 3 projects that I have already started. I have so much fabric and so little time! I have my eye on some classes to learn a few new things.

Mom can vouch for me on this one. Once you start sewing quilts together you are hooked!

I don't expect to be perfect in all of these new ventures....but it feels good that I did something about them!

Just A Little Quilt Talk

I have 5 sisters.....4 of whom love quilts as much as I do (maybe.!) For some reason we started up a little tradition of making quilts together once or twice a year, depending on available time and our different schedules. My sister, Linda, has a cabin up in Kamas, Utah. It seemed like the perfect place to get away and sew our quilts. It is so peaceful and quiet....away from phones, kids, husbands, meal planning, responsibilites and our hectic lives. I always look forward to these little trips. They are so relaxing! Not only do I get to visit with my family (I am the only one that lives away), but I get to make a new quilt! Of course, we are always jealous of each other's quilt. My mom has decided to join the quilt group just lately! It is so much fun. We get up early and stay up late, eat, sew and watch movies. We have such a good time!

To date we have made five or six quilts together. (I will be posting my quilt collection later) Of course, not all of them are completely finished, but I am working on it! This is our latest quilt project.....and I have to say not my favorite, although I may change my mine when it is all quilted and finished. For some reason, this one gave me a little trouble. But I am posting this on my blog so my sisters can see that I did finish the top! I have purchased the fabric for the back and it WILL be finished.

Flutterby....by Moda

I have to come up with something "cute" for my back!

In October I am going to get together again with my sisters. It is my turn to pick the pattern....so I hear? I am having a little trouble, because I want to do something different. Maybe learn to do something different. Hmmmmmm haven't quite got a handle on it. I am still looking! Can't wait for October

What's Next For Bella?

Okay, I have been caught up in the Twilight Series like everyone else. My trainer at the gym was finally the one who twisted my arm.......starting me off on this vampire love story. I have to admit it, I went from the first to the third book pretty quickly. Who doesn't love Edward? Why am I reading about vampires? It is intriguing I must say and a little far fetched. Once in a while though, it is nice to escape into a fantasy world... right? Like everyone else I was kind of looking forward to the 4th book, "Breaking Dawn." And yes, I bought it a few days after it came out.

I started reading it about a week ago. I have seen everybody reading it. I called my daughter, not realizing it had come out and she was already just about finished with the book! My daughter-in-law is reading it, my neighbors are reading it, who isn't??? Anticipation! I am a slow reader.....and I will not give anything away......all I can say is REALLY???? Who will win out...Edward or Jacob? Is Bella really going to become a vampire? The million dollar questions? When I am finished I will have to give my opinion (I have to wait on Amy.....she doesn't want me to spoil anything!) Feel free to comment!

Can You Believe It?

All I can say is WOW! I have been watching the Olympics religiously......largely because I have been following Michael Phelps and his quest for the record-breaking gold medals. I have never been so entertained! I have lost so much sleep this week trying to stay up....trying not to miss anything....especially Michael Phelps. I am always on the edge of my seat!

Who can possibly believe what this fabulous young man has done! Is he Super-Human? The 400 freestyle medley (with the French talking trash) was enough excitement....but last night???? WOW, amazing, that was unbelievable! I think he is unforgettable. He has taken his place in history.....Michael's surge in the last 50 meters of the 100 meter butterly and the quick 1/100th of a second touch is hard to believe! How did he get in there??? He seems to just be able to win no matter what the odds! The winning touch was really not apparent to the naked eye. Slow motion had to play a part for me to believe it and I still had to look hard!

One more race to go tonight.....it is intriguing..... Michael has to depend on his teammates to help him win his 8th Gold Medal. That is the perfect ending for Michael's quest.....team work!

I love the fact that he loves his mother and she is such a big part of his life.....best of all....he is not embarassed about it. What's not to love about a kid like that????

Happy Birthday Kate!

Is this the most beautiful little girl you have ever seen? Kate is my 4th granddaughter and is absolutely full of enthusiasm. Kate is now 5 years old and started kindergarten last Monday. It is hard to believe these grandchildren of mine are growing up so fast!

Kate is the 2nd child in her family and has shown a bit of a stubborn streak. When Kate was a little younger she would hold out for quite sometime trying to get her way. That was a battle for Lindsey. I think with a little age, Kate has grown out of that a little bit. Just a year ago Kate still needed her blanket at bedtime. The blanket had a little bow on the corner that she would tickle her face with to go to sleep. The blanket was a bit ragged and I think it has since disappeared.

Kate loves to choose her clothes that she is going to wear. You might call her fussy. She is very feminine and loves to wear skirts or comfy dresses. She will definitely cost her parents some money when she is older. She is always open to wearing the funky stuff and she can pull it off. Lindsey dresses her so cute!


Kate is always Lindsey's prime model for picture taking. She is always willing to pose. Yesterday when I took her to get ice cream she was more than willing to pose and had several suggestions for possible camera shots. She wanted to take my picture as well....so we traded off. Lindsey is rubbing off on her!

Kate loved the sprinkles!

Kate is very social and does not have a problem making friends. She is very friendly and talkative. She loves to play outside, swim and ride her bike. At night she cannot go to bed without Lindsey singing her a song and tickling her back. She loves to cuddle. She loves her mom. Oh Kate, she is so sweet. Happy Birthday!

Kevin!!! You're In High School!!!

Mountain View Toros

Kev headed for wrestling practice...finally got a smile!

I'm a day late on this post.......not because I wasn't going to do it (I know Julie is laughing at me!) but because the subject of my post was unwilling to pose properly (yes, you Kevin). He thinks he is too cool now since he has hit High School to have photos of the first day of school....oh how cute! Amy tried to snap some photos on the first day, but yikes! they were not acceptable. Sooooo, today I took it upon myself to embarass Kevin and snap some photos as I picked him up from wrestling practice. So read on to get the full scoop on Kev's first day in the halls of High School.


Kevin is going to Mountain View. A huge school!!! GO TOROS!! It has been so long since I have had a child in High School I have forgotten everything that goes along with it. Kevin registered early with everyone.....and of course, nothing was right when his schedule came. We made a change just before school started....easy. On the first day, Kevin came home and had a few complaints......you know what his main complaint was????? There are no cute girls in my classes! Plus....he attended his first class....college prep chemistry....Oh No!!! too many brains in the class for him to survive! He wants out!



All kidding aside Kevin has got to tow the line this year. School is now pretty important for him and he needs to do well. He has decided to go for the wrestling team this year. Mountain View is extremely competitive and they demand time, time, time, from the students who decide to do sports. Wrestling workouts started today and Kevin has already spent four hours today working out. Up tomorrow morning at 5:45 for conditioning! I'm not sure I'm signed up for this! Wrestlemania!

He's already doing homework and going to bed earlier. I kinda like this school thing. Friends, late nights, sleeping in, hanging out, wasting time, spending money, Sonic runs and eating because you are bored have all come to a screeching halt! School's On!!!! Kev, You're in High School!

Just A Little Quilt Talk

"The Group"

It's that time of year! Back to school means back to serious quilting with my friends. I have a quilt group that I just LOVE. There are about 12 of us that share the same love of quilting. They are seriously the funnest group of ladies....we have so much fun together. We are always trying to come up with reasons to get together to sew because we love each other's company.

Food a plenty

We try and meet once a month just to work on the various quilts we are trying to finish. All of us have a number of quilts that we have started, but have not finished. We all have too much fabric and too many patterns and not enough time. But then.....that's the point.

Marae

Today was our first get together since last June. We met at Debbie Jensen's house......we all were excited to preview her new kitchen. We were not disappointed. It was a fabulous re-model. Good job Deb. This get-together was especially fun because everybody worked hard over the summer to finish up some of the quilt projects they have been working on. We all kind of anticipated the "show and tell." We have some really talented ladies in our group. We are all jealous of each other's quilts and end up copying each other all the time. Of course we all gave each other the ooooo's and ahhhh's that were so deserving! Some great quilts were shown.

Kim

Michelle

Kendall, one of the ladies in our group moved to Highland, Utah a year ago. She happened to be visiting in Mesa this week and came to visit with us for a little while. It was so fun to catch up on her life and have a few laughs. She had finished a "hand pieced" star quilt that a few of us are still working on. She is always a step ahead of all of us!

Kendall

I have been getting together with these ladies for the last 2 or 3 years. Sewing, laughing, eating, traveling and a little gossip.....this quilt thing has become an addiction for all of us. I love the tedious work of piecing a quilt top. For some reason it is the most relaxing activity I can think of. It is satisfying when you start to sew your quilt together and it fits together perfectly! Hmmmmm there is nothing better. Following is a little quilt show!

Carol

Val

Marene

"Me"

Becky

Debbie can't find her glasses!

Kevin....aka Jimmy Hendrix wanna be

Kev....Kev....Kev....What's the deal with this Jimmy Hendrix fascination? Isn't it crazy that when your kids get a certain age they start to appreciate the music that you listened to when you were young! Who would have thought? Read on..........

We bought Kevin an acoustic guitar for Christmas last year. We thought...this will be great! Max was constantly begging me to find Kevin a piano teacher. I was luke warm. Chalk that up to experience with three other kids. I just didn't want to fight the practice thing and Kevin thought it was so un-cool!

Max came up with this bright idea......a guitar! I kind of jumped on the band wagon because it got me off the hook....no piano lessons. When Kevin saw his guitar at Christmas he thought it was pretty cool. I immediately found him a guitar teacher who is fabulous at letting him play the music he loves and that is how he teaches Kevin to play the guitar. No boring stuff! I like that. Well, long story short.....Kevin jumped into it. All of a sudden he loved the Beatles, James Taylor and The Red Hot Chili Peppers. Wow, I was happy. In fact, he played his guitar regularly for hours. He found music on the computer and would listen to music on his I-Pod and try and duplicate it. It was fun to watch him be so excited about playing. He was trying so hard.

Well at some point he discovered Jimmy Hendrix and became fascinated. I remember listening to him (not liking it) when I was young. What is so great about Jimmy Hendrix, except he was considered a fabulous guitar player. This leads me to the next part of the story......read on.

Kevin took his acoustic guitar to Montana and would just not put it down. He was always strummin' (so his friends say). In the little town of Polson, Montana, Kevin found a guitar store while they were on a break during their 3 on 3 basketball tournament. Of course, he found the perfect electric guitar. That was all it took. He would not take NO for an answer. He wanted that guitar. Ryan and Julie had given him a Jimmy Hendrix guitar book for Christmas and he was just itchin' to get started. You can't play Jimmy on a regular guitar!

Tryin' out the guitar

Kevin's in heaven...you wouldn't know it by the look on his face!

Max gave in (what a good dad) and let Kevin buy the guitar (with his own money). Max chipped in to buy a small amplifier. Let the noise begin. Oh my gosh! He is playing......I try not to say anything because he is constantly practicing. He needs more practice. He is now even open to singing lessons....I am surprised.....lessons are questionable. His friends are thumbs down on that.....Kevin has a terrible voice.....they all laugh and say good luck! Kevin just smiles and walks around in his Jimmy Hendrix T-shirt.....he is not easily discouraged! There may be some concerts coming up. (Bring your ear plugs)

Just a side note: We talked Kevin into playing for us (and friends) in Montana around a campfire beside the lake. Kevin was willing. He and Beau had worked up a number, Collide, which is a popular Pop song. Evidently they had been practicing at Beau's cabin. After much coaxing we talked Beau into singing while Kevin played. Oh my gosh....my jaw dropped. Beau has the most beautiful voice. I mean it is really good. Who would have guessed? I am going to have them work up a number they can do together.....I need a good bribe!

I'm Tired.........

I'm Tired!....Tired of living in a world of new technology with no clue of what is going on. Tired of begging my girls to help me figure out things on my computer.....tired of asking Kevin to help me with my I-Tunes, tired of my husband asking me what is wrong with the printer.....tired of not being able to set up a simple blog and change it if I want to without help.....I am simply frustrated!

Something just hit me yesterday......I am done being clueless! For whatever reason my generation for the most part is computer illiterate. It is a little intimidating to think I have to learn all that computer wordy stuff......but I am not stupid! Can you tell I am a little crazy about this stuff? It seems most everyone can do it...so why not me? I love my Mac computer and there is so much to learn.

So.........my goal for this school year is to learn everything I can about my Mac! I am really serious here. So serious that I went down to the Apple Store today and signed up for One to One instruction with the Apple Techs. I now have a year of one on one tutoring once a week to learn computer stuff. I start on Tuesday. I don't even know what to tell them I want to learn.....I am lame! I am willing to wait a few months before I pass judgement on myself. Time will tell......stick with me here! You never know what a little knowledge will do to me!



By the way.......no harrassment from the Fam.....you know who you are!

School "Daze" Are Upon Us!

Summer's End!

Is summer over already? In the old days it seemed like summer went on forever....I remember the smell of summer in Utah, something like freshly mowed grass. Playing kickball or kick the can in the street and swimming at Scera P00l. Going to Bible School and Recreation Days.....making things with boondoggle. I think my mom sent us to Bible School with the neighbors so she could have some peace and quiet! I rememeber the 50 cent movies at the Scera Theatre every Saturday and floating down the canal on inner tubes with the neighborhood kids (there is no way I would have let my kids do that!) My mom would give me a "pixie haircut" every summer! Wish I could find some pictures for that swell look. Okay, I sound like a geek....but truly summer is not the same as when I was a kid.

Two of my grandkids start school tomorrow (Emma and Kate).....August 6th! Just so you out-of-towners are aware, it is about 108 degrees during the day and it really doesn't cool off much at night. It is still, technically, the middle of summer. My heart goes out to the little girls coming home on the bus in that heat....little, or no air conditioning. When they get off the bus their faces are RED! (If I remember correctly from my younger days with small children!)


This calls for some type of celebration! Tonight Emma picked the place (coincidentally it was my favorite!) Nielsen's Frozen Custard....dinner, ice cream and quarters for the prize machine for all those un-lucky kids that start school in the next week........believe it or not that includes everyone in Mesa. Riley and Maddie start on Monday along with Kev-Bo. What happened to 3 full months of glorious summer? These kids are getting jipped (spelling?)

"The Girls"

It's good my grandkids do not read by blog because in reality they are all sooooo excited to begin the new school year. They love to meet their new teachers and see all their friends again! So what do I know???????

I did get the chance to eavesdrop on their conversations in the car. Below are some pretty tell-tale conversations!!!!

Riley to Emma: We will be best friends until we are nineteen years old and then we will call each other and find out where each other is going to live. Won't that be cool?

Emma: I don't want to be an old lady when I go to heaven.

Maddie: I don't want to look at a bald grandpa when I get old.

Riley to Kevin: Sweet dude! (We all knew that was Ryan coming out in her)

Riley and Emma: Discussing that they are for sure going to live in California when they get married. They are sure their husbands will want to do that. Then they can go to the beach all the time.

Maddie and Kate: We can live next door to each other when we get married. That will be fun!

Riley: In the Restaurant....with attitude like I have never seen......"I keep bleedin'....keep keep bleedin' in love!"

Kevin came just to tease the girls!

These kids are really growing up on me!!!!

Montana....It's the BEST!

We always had to eat on the balcony because the view is so beautiful!

Our second vacation to Montana was absolutely the Best! We flew up on Allegiant Airlines out of Williams/Gateway Airport. It's such a small airport....you just walk right out on the tarmac and get on the plane.....kind of old school! The great thing is that it is a non-stop flight to Missoula Montana and then an hour drive to our destination. This year Amy, Scot and Zack came with us. Unfortunately, Scot had to leave on Monday.

Leaving for Montana

Our family is so fortunate to have good friends that invite us to spend some fabulous time staying in their cabin at Finley Point right on Flathead Lake. This year it was much cooler and the weather was perfect for bike riding in the pines, surfing on the lake, and just relaxing with a good book! This year was probably the best vacation I have ever been on because we did absolutely nothing but relax and enjoy the lake activities. The scenery was absolutely beautiful.

Let the relaxation begin!

On Saturday we spent the day in the small town of Polson watching Kevin, Beau, Alex and Jake playing in a 3 on 3 basketball tournament. You know those little quaint towns that seem like they were created way back when.....that is what Polson is like. They shut down main street and set up about 20 half-court basketball courts. So many kids participated! They had the tournament set up by age group. Kevin and his friends did really well! They wore tye-dyed shirts and called themselves "Purple Haze" (who came up with that???) Long story short.....they kept winning and got tired! They deliberately lost a game so they could be out of the tournament! They wanted to go cool off in the lake. They were so fun to watch!

A close game!

Kev takin' the shot

"Purple Haze" in their glory

Zack dressed for the occasion

The best thing about Montana is the beautiful scenery and the peaceful surroundings. It stays light outside until about 9:30 p.m., so you just keep going and going and lose track of the time. You end up going to bed every night about 12:30 a.m. The Tanner's have two places on Flathead Lake. The cabin we stayed in is on a beautiful piece of property. It has a wide expanse of grass and pine trees.....beautiful surroundings. They have a huge cherry orchard in the back and the cherries were ripe and ready to harvest when we were there. So....needless to say we had all the cherries we could eat. That was good and bad. I felt like I had eaten a cow everyday. Zack loved the cherries. Maury would keep bringing over cherries and we couldn't eat them fast enough. It was fun to walk up into the orchards and pick cherries off the trees and eat them. It reminded me of when I was little in Orem, Utah and I picked cherries in the orchard by my house to earn money. I think I got paid 25 cents a pound! I remeber not loving it that much!

A fresh load of cherries

These cherries were so delicious!

Zack was a cherry lover!

Behind the cabin

Scenery from the cabin balcony

There are always beautiful sunsets!

Just scenery

Lunch on the balcony

The deer just come up onto the property and roam around. Yesterday Zack and I saw one in the yard and followed it for a bit. Zack was so excited! He thought it was a dog. Darn...I didn't have my camera! While driving to Tanner's house I also saw a little bear cub dashing through the trees. We were always on the lookout for a bear or deer. I guess the deer get a little pesky because they eat the flowers and fruit down to nothing. We were excited to see them!



On Tuesday it was a bit cloudy and windy so we decided to drive to Big Fork. It is about 30 miles away and the road follows the lake for awhile. That makes for quite a scenic drive! Big Fork is a little tourist town with all kinds of fun shops. Right before you drive into Big Fork there is the cutest little quilt shop. Stopping in is a Must! Everyone had to wait on me while I bought a few fun pieces of fabric, of course! Big Fork has fun little restaurants and flowers everywhere and a great cookie shop that Max loves called Brookie's Cookies. I have to say they are yummy! We spent a couple of hours strolling through the stores and then had a fun lunch outside on the patio of a deli. The weather was perfect.....cloudy and cool.

So quaint!

Max was a good sport

Fun shopping in Big Fork

The rest of the days were spent sunning on the lawn, riding the jet skis, eating, boating on the lake, reading, eating some more and watching the sun sets. Kevin and his friends did offer some entertainment. They were into "tube wars." They hooked up two tubs on the back of the boat and the wars began. Of course there was tough talk among the boys, oh and of course, Amy. She thought she would be the champ! It was fun to watch them throw each other off the tubes trying to be "champ." I'm not sure who was driving the boat! I think in the end, anyone that was teamed up with Jake was the champ.

The Guys

The Tube Champ

The tube wars begin

The best activity...relaxation!

I think water skiing on Flathead Lake is old school with this group. All they do is surf. It is so strange to watch. They load one side of the boat with huge bags of water so the boat tilts. Then everyone has to sit in the back of the boat on the side that has the water bags. When you look from afar....you see a boat totally running on its side. Kinda weird! The person surfing is pulled up with a very short rope. They are very close to the back of the boat. They only go about 9-10 miles an hour. The tilt of the boat causes a pretty big wave on the heavy side. Beginners keep hold of the rope and try to stay up on a special surfboard. Experienced surfers are pulled up with the rope and then throw it into the boat and then they surf the wave.....it is tricky because you have to keep up.....meaning pretty close to the back of the boat....or you just lose the wave! The boys got the hang of it pretty well. Beau, of course, is a natural. All that practice you know.

Beau had "boat duty"

Every morning was "bike ride" time. I only made it twice and Amy made it once. Max was game for every day. He wanted to ride the "Loop." It is quite a bike ride with beautiful scenery. It certainly delivers the exercise. I should have gone more often to off-set the junk food eating! I am paying for that now!






I hated to see the end of my vacation. I could get use to the relaxation and beautiful surroundings without much effort. It is always hard to come home from such a great week...you get kinda spoiled....no kids, no work! We did have a fun ending to our vacation. The Whiteman Family also have a beautiful cabin on the lake. He is Max's 2nd Counselor in the Bishopric. He invited us to fly home with him on his private jet. It only seats 8 people. I was very nervous and am not a fan of small aircraft! We cancelled our commercial flight and I flew home with my eyes closed! (not really!) It turned out to be so enjoyable....he was so generous. It was pretty awesome.




The cool, nice, relaxing vacations are done for this summer! We are home and it is still the middle of a very hot summer. We are thankful for good and generous friends who invited us to experience the best vacation ever!