The Tanners

Eternal Division

2009-07-06T23:01:00.004-06:00

I asked my niece Emma, what she likes to do in her free time, she said "math". I said "Oh, really? You should be a computer programmer" she said "No, I'm going to be a lawyer". (I didn't know that lawyers were that "mathy"). Anyway, she went to get her "blue binder" to show me some of her made up math problems. Take a look for yourself! Rather than "long division" we call it "eternal division". Good luck correcting that baby!

"Renember last year when I made that snail crap?"

2009-07-06T22:50:00.005-06:00

Tonight I spent 2-3 hours with family. I don't get to see my nieces and nephew very often, but when I do, we have a blast. Non-stop laughing, usually at someone elses' expense.

This was a favorite line from my nephew Adrien. He's 10. He asked if we renembered last year, when he visited grandma's house, and he picked up a snail in the front yard and it crapped all over the place?" Unfortunately.. we did remember!

You are a murderer of.. grapes!

2009-07-06T22:35:00.006-06:00

As a combined activity, we did service at the LDS Church's Sandy Garden last week. I'm not a huge gardener, but I had a couple of tasks while I was there. First, I was asked to prune the grape leaves. The instructions were for me to cut the leaves back to the part on the branch where the grapes were growing (leaving the bunch of grapes on the vine) . It was a giant entanglement of vines, and I did an ok job, but every once in awhile, I would trim too far up on the vine, and a bunch of grapes would be pruned along with the excess vine. I did this 2-3 times, and each time, I felt as though I was killing grapes. They'll never have a chance to fully prosper because of me!

My second task was to thin out the cabbage sprouts. Someone had gone crazy in the greenhouse, and each little planter had 3-4 or even 6 little cabbage sprouts coming out of the dirt. My job was to leave the strongest sprout in the dirt, and to pull the rest of the sprouts out. Again.. with the killing. Everytime I did it, I felt horrible, as if it was a selective pregnancy reduction, and their little lives were in my hands. How could I decide the strong vs. the weak? It was extremely dramatic for me, but a good "growing" experience. Here is some of the beautiful full grown cabbage, and the grapes who's lives were spared!

Who's the marketing genius?

2009-07-06T22:25:00.005-06:00

I was at the store tonight and walked by the freezer section when I "thought" I saw "Bryers Double Chin Ice Cream". Turns out, it's actually "Double Churn".. totally different ice cream!

Movin' In, and Movin' On

2009-06-30T22:05:00.007-06:00

This little girl came to live with me, which made me very, very happy!

These little girls moved away, which made me very, very sad! Ouch!

I love you all to pieces! xoxo

I have swine flu?

2009-06-30T21:50:00.003-06:00

ok - Don't be alarmed... I really don't have swine flu, but I learned today that one symptom of swine flu is "worsening confusion". Based on this new information, I believe I have officially had the swine flu for approximately 5 years. Just ask Jessie! (or anyone else that knows me)

Check on me.. K Mom?

2009-06-29T23:05:00.004-06:00

I've been thinking a lot about Alex lately, and thinking about some of my favorite things about his childhood, that at the time, seemed like a pain. This habit started when he was tiny and we lived in Boutiful, and continued, even when we moved into our house in Midvale. Alex's bedroom was right across the hall from mine, and when I tucked him in, we left the hall light on and his bedroom door cracked. Every night he would ask me to check on him. I would say "ok!" Then... if I wasn't back to peek into the door to check within just a few minutes, he would shout.. "Check on me, k Mom?" and he would wait for a response. This would continue until he finally drifted off to sleep.

At the time.. all I wanted was for him to go to sleep, but now I look back and just wish, for one night.. I could check on him. I wonder if that will be super annoying when he comes home, and I insist on checking on him.

I wonder if, when he gets married, and moves out.. his wife will think it's weird that I still come over to "check on him". Oh well, she'll probably just have to get used to it!

Zone Council starring Elder Petersen

2009-06-29T22:35:00.004-06:00

Ok - Maybe he's not "starring", but I see him (bottom row, 3rd from the left).. .and that is all that really matters! I love that face!

I love fruit!

2009-06-29T22:31:00.002-06:00

Who knew??

Tonight I went to Red Mango with Kenyon, Melina and Melisa. I had a small original with blueberries. I was freaking out because it was so good! All these years I thought I hated fruit, but apparently I'm addicted to it! I wanna go again tomorrow!

I have webbed feet!

2009-06-13T13:51:00.004-06:00

YW Wilderness camp was Tuesday thru Friday. I got home yesterday, so I've had a full 24 hours to dry out. We had a great time which included.. walking the plank, girl drama, spoon puppets, flour fights, a birthday barbed wire accident and lots of bathroom incidents with Potty Pants Dancer Nana and Watering Wilson McKenzie. We even read our favorite story... "Pee -ew is that you Bertie?"

Here is a rundown of the week.

Tuesday: Arrival and camp set up. McGuyver came and built us a cabin of rope and tarps (sort of like the 3 little pigs).. We made spoon puppets, played games and did skits. It rained.
Wednesday: Hiked 4 miles. Had a surprise birthday party for Jessie, walked the plank (my personal favorite version of "Tower of Terror"), had a lesson on Individual Worth, had a flour fight, and got caught in the "Wall of Water" It was scary. Oh.. and it rained and hailed. That night we did circle of light and sang our song "Beautiful to Him". The girls did great - there was a great spirit present. Lu and I made a fire with wet wood that was about as warm as a flashlight. Did I mention the rain?
Thursday: Got a shower.. It was so awesome! Had a lesson on the beauty of nature and feeling the spirit while at camp. Played games for hours under our "canopy" because of the rain. Stayed under the canopy for the craft because of the rain. Then had visit from the Bishopric and Stake Presidency. Played more games then had testimony meeting. It stopped raining and the stars came out just long enough for us to have a fire and testimony meeting. However, it was so cold, I thought the girls would turn into life-size popsicles.
Friday: No rain.. We packed and came home.

Overall a good experience, but extremely soggy and cold. It's hard to believe it was a summer camp. The girls never complained though. I think that although they were cold and wet, many of them were able to feel the spirit and enjoyed being away from the world. Enjoy slideshow below.

Mexico City East Mission Photo

2009-06-08T22:16:00.002-06:00

Mission Photo - Mexico City East Mission!Elder Petersen is top row.. 2nd from the left! He's the skinny one! :)

I am a very tall white dude!

2009-06-07T23:10:00.005-06:00

What the random? Tonight I was on Alex's mission website and I ended up linking to one of his former companions. I viewed photos' and whadda ya know! There is my kid, with random photo's floating around the internet. This was by far my favorite. I love how he towers over everyone by a full head! These guys must be about as tall as me!

When I spoke to him on Mothers Day he said that he is still getting a lot of persecution from drunk Mexican's and they try to speak to him in English. He decided his new approach to cutting the conversation short is to tell them that he is German. In this photo.. I can see how that might work!

p.s. for anyone that is wondering.. 258 days!

Daylight Savings..

2009-03-01T23:09:00.002-07:00

What the heck? We have to get up even earlier next week?
Plus.. if they are saving the daylight.. what are they saving it in? And.. where is it stored while it's being saved?
I'm so over the idea of Daylight Savings. Is this a "tradition' that can be done away with! Any fans of sleeping will agree with me! However, Kenyon will be up with the roosters, happy, bright and cheerful.. ready for the challenges of a new day! ZZZZzzzzZZZZzz

Please leave the lights off, and shower in the dark! Love you!!

A shoe girl!!

2009-03-01T22:59:00.004-07:00

I liked these.. when I was a little girl..

and now I like these.. EVEN Betta!!

When I was little, my mom used to drop me off in the shoe department at the department store, and then she'd go do her shopping while I looked at every shoe in the store. Eventually she would come back and get me, and I'd have all of my favorites saved in my memory bank. Even thinking about going to the toy aisle was nonsense. My first love was a green pair of patent leather mary jane's that went with my easter dress and easter purse. It was a hot ensemble.. you'll have to trust me! I also remember a sweet pair of black boots that my mom got me with just a little fur on the top - I remember waking up in the night, to peek over the side of my bed to make sure they were still where I left them Yep - there they were, waiting for morning, for me to love them!

I'm not sure why you need to know this about me.. but now you do!

Cheers to cute shoes!

I love sharing...

2009-02-08T22:52:00.004-07:00

I just want to say that I love people that share their kids with me! I have several friends that allow me to be a "fake mom" (as I like to call it), to their kids. I babysit for the weekend, sit with them at Sacrament Meeting and Stake Conference, help Christmas shop for clothes for a teenager, take them to Jackson Hole for a weekend, and take 'em to see Santa! I feel really lucky and blessed that people are so willing to let me share in the lives of their "babies".

I also get to spend A LOT of time with 16 amazing girls and even though I'm not technically their "mom", I get to give advice, have sleepovers, teach them things, love them and watch them change and grow! It's the best "fake mom" job ever, because I don't have to clean up their messes... well - unless it's powdered sugar!

This time is fleeting, and I'm in love with it!

Back.. by popular demand..

2009-02-08T22:30:00.004-07:00

So I lied.. It was really just two people, but I'm back! I read my blog tonight (after trying to remember how to actually log in to my blog) and I couldn't believe how long it's been! October??

Then I tried to remember what I've been doing since October, and I realized I didn't have much to report on. No wonda!

For those needing an update on Alex - His hump-day is Friday, February 20th. Yep - that's right. He's been gone nearly 1 year. (It's way under 400 days now). Miraculously, I've survived. As much as I want him to be there, I honestly don't think I've ever done something this difficult in my life. I especially miss him when I need to debrief on my day, or to tell a long story. Oh wait - I think I said, "for those needing an update on Alex".. sorry - here goes.

Alex is still serving in Mexico City. His last area was more remote and was an area that he describes as "straight out of Nacho Libre - the main traffic was goats and donkey's".

He's had many baptisms and has helped many people. He helps a lot of people get divorced, so they can get re-married, so... they can get baptized. He loves his misison and has already said he does not want to come home. He's making a huge difference in his mission - and at home. He is currently serving as a District Leader and a Zone Leader. I got to talk to him for an hour on Christmas Day, and in his following e-mail he said "Thank you for not crying on the phone - it made it easier for me to not cry". Yep - that's right - I didn't cry when I talked to him.. well, at least not so he could notice.

I was at my friend Kathy's tonight and her son came to hug her before he went to bed. I wanted to cry at that. Actually - I wanted to reach out and grab him and hug him too! But I refrained, since he would think that I'm a freak!

Mom's enjoy your little boys! Eventually, they become big boys and get dates and leave home! It's an annoying pattern I've noticed with almost every boy that I've ever known!

I'm so glad you got sick!!!

2008-10-23T21:22:00.007-06:00

This experience happened a few days ago, but for purposes of family in the West Indies, China and across the United States, I wanted to share this story.

Kenyon rode in the Tour of St. George last Saturday, October 18th. This tour is a Century ride which means it’s a 100 mile bike race. He had trained for a couple of months, and although he never feels like he has trained enough, he was ready for a good ride. The weather was perfect for a bike ride and the route was very scenic.

My friend Marie and I, and her 5 boys were following the race, as Marie’s son Tory and his friend Taylor were also riding. The cheerleaders would typically pull ahead of the cyclists, cheer them on as they rode by, and then drove ahead again, to wait and cheer (or heckle) other riders during our stops.

When Kenyon arrived at the 40 mile mark –he wasn’t feeling great. It was the lunch break for the ride, and his stomach was hurting. He didn’t feel like eating, which means he didn’t energize his body.

He rode several more hours, another 35 miles and was ascending up the steepest grade of the race. He still was not feeling well. At 75’ish miles, he pulled under an underpass and stopped his bike. It wasn’t a planned stop, nor did he see the underpass coming and say to himself “I’ll go to the underpass then stop”.. rather he rode under the underpass and essentially just stopped his bike. He got off his bike and called me to say that he wanted us to come and pick him up. He had decided he would ride in the car to the top of the hill, see if he could shake off the stomach ache, and then enjoy the fun part down snow canyon, which is the steepest descent of the race. Marie turned the car around to go back to get him, and just then, Tory and Taylor were approaching the car, so we waited a moment or two, to cheer them on, then we were headed back to pick up Kenyon. I would guess it took us 10 minutes or so to reach him.

During these 10 minutes, Kenyon got off his bike and was waiting for us. As he stood there, he started examining his bike, and he noticed a bulge in his tire, along with a tiny crack in the rubber. When Marie and I arrived, Kenyon loaded his bike onto the bike rack on the back of the car. As he loaded it, he showed us the bulge in the tire and we both said that it wasn’t a good idea to ride on that tire. He didn’t have a spare with him, so he was pretty bummed that his ride for the day was over.. especially, because he was excited to “haul” down Snow Canyon.. what he anticipated to be the best part of the ride. As we passed cyclists coming down the canyon, we tracked them at about 35-40 miles per hour.

At the final rest stop, we were pulled over, waiting for Tory and Taylor to arrive, when we heard what sounded like a gun shot! We turned around to see Kenyons back tire spinning. Jace (one of our cheerleaders) said “I think your tire just blew”. We all scrambled out of the car to check it out, and sure enough – that bulge and crack in the tire had blown and the tire was shredded.

I’m grateful that my husband felt the prompting of the spirit to stop his bike and get off. And I’m grateful that he had a stomach ache. I know that sounds weird, but – remember my entry from the Lotoja (204 miles, 15 ½ hours)? He doesn’t give up a bike race.

Everyone in our group that day realized the impact of what would have happened if Kenyon had been flying down Snow Canyon and the tire had blown.

I’m a lucky girl!

Welcome to the world baby Vivi!

2008-10-23T18:20:00.003-06:00

Can I have her? Pleeaasseeee!!!!

I'm a "Loser"

2008-10-23T18:10:00.000-06:00

Don't worry, you don't have to respond and tell me "no your not, your a winner!" I'm totally talking about the real "losing".

I think I'm losing my short term memory.. is it an over 40 thing?

I keep losing my car. Like - I park in the parking lot at the mall, and when it's time for me to leave.. I have no idea where I parked, or what door I came in. NOTHING looks familiar to me!

Yesterday I went to Zupa with friends for lunch. I parked the car, ate lunch and when walking out of Zupa, I walk in the opposite direction of the car. How sweet is Nicole to say "hey Kris, I think we parked over here!" Like.. in a totally sweet and patient way, not like I would have said as I'm thinking.. Duh dork! You don't even know where you parked your car?

Finally tonight -I'm pulling out of the parking lot at the church to take Jessie home, and I turned the wrong direction. I only have ONE GIRL in my car and I don't know which direction to turn. Jessie's response.. "Um - I live the other way!"

I'm old! Maybe this is what I get for making fun of my mom... who's like 100!

Way, way less than 500 days

2008-10-22T21:46:00.005-06:00

A good friend of mine brought to my attention today that I suck at blogging! She said "you haven't blogged for 2 months".. Wow! Someone noticed?
Don't worry - I still have plenty to say, but I guess I've been busy river rafting, camping, going to the beach, bear watching, lying in the sun, wake surfing, pretending to be someone elses mom, and cheering for my husband. I know.. it's quite a life!
As for Al P. He's at 485 days and counting. Time is flying.. remember my blog when I was in the 700's?
At 8 + months he's a full time door knockin', BOM carryin', service doin' taco eatin', divorcin' and marryin', baptizn' Elder. He's happy - therefore, I'm happy! He also gets to work at the Mexico City Temple Re-Dedication starting next week, and it's rumored that President Monson will be there!
He's got 15 of his group of 17 friends that are in the mission field. They are serving from the Phillipines to Hawaii. How can 19 year olds be so amazing! I'm a proud mom of all 15 of them.. whether they belong to me or not!
Today's motto.. "my life is happy, even when the world is crumbling"..

Still too many...

2008-09-06T05:18:00.000-06:00

Alex's number of days is till in the 500's.. what the heck.. is he EVER coming home?

The burning of the tie..

2008-08-25T22:23:00.005-06:00

Wednesday, August 20 was Alex's 6 month missionary anniversary! I really never thought I'd say it's gone fast, but I have survived the summer without him, and we are on our way into the holidays.. so maybe fast is a good description.

A normal missionary tradition is to burn a tie at 6 months, so here is the "burning of the tie" ceremony on Wednesday!

Also- in his e-mail today, he said he is being transferred tomorrow (Tuesday, August 26). He has also been called as District Leader! Go Hijo!

Also - Congratulations to Mom and Dad who have been in Guyana for a year! We love all our missionaries and are so proud of you!

Family Resemblence?

2008-08-10T20:44:00.007-06:00

My sister Donell was in town for a few days last weekend with her daughter Betsi and Betsi's kids! It was so fun to spend time with them! They are such fun kids and so entertaining. Both Adrian and Emma are always looking for an audience - and we were happy to be so entertained. In the meantime, Ty was following in her mothers, and grandmother's artistic footsteps and drew pictures for everyone! I miss you guys so much and I'm so glad I got to see you!

When I looked at this picture, I couldn't believe all those brown eyes! :) Cute girls... Oh and Adri!

"How I spent my Summer Vacation".. by Kris Tanner

2008-08-07T21:25:00.007-06:00

Just wanted to give you all a flava for my summer vacation! We went to Cancun, "Meheeco" (as Dustin would say), with our friends Clay and Marie! Super blue water, nice hotel on the beach and very relaxing.. by the time Thursday rolled around I had forgotten that I had a job, a calling, or any other responsibilities.

Favorite moments... in no particular order

"Beargin" Pina' Colada's every day

Restaurante Margarita (chips and salsa to be specific)

Cold Diet Coke by the pool

Not dying

Parasailing / jetskiing

Attending the Branch on Sunday in Playa Del Carmen

Yummy "Boofay with the feesh, and the cheekin"

Our cool matchy handmade bracelets

Shopping and Haagen Daz

Marie eating those apple pie things at McDonalds

Missing the whole Mariachi thing because I visited the ladies room.. (ok not my favorite part, but it happened)

Tulum - "The Father, The Son and Nobody"

Clay and Kenyon "watching and warning"

Birthing and holding hands with Marie

That's "how I spent my summer vacation"!!

"I miss carpet"

2008-07-22T19:48:00.003-06:00

Just an exerpt from Al P's e-mail this week! He got a new comp- they are getting along well! He said he's a dancer, so occassionally there is a random pirrouette in the kitchen, but other than that - they are doing great and working hard!

Two things he misses this week:
1- carpet
2- driving a car

Funny - I don't miss either of those things this week!

What's the difference?

2008-07-20T09:42:00.001-06:00

Conversation that Kenyon and I had in the car yesterday while driving past a big farm..

Kris: "Wow - Look at that!"
Kenyon: "Oh - those are Elk, for a second I thought they were Reindeer"
Kris: "Aren't Elk and Reindeer the same thing"?
Kenyon: "No!"
Kris: "What's the difference?"
Kenyon: "Elk are wild"

Voices in Kris' head: "Oh and Reindeer live at the North Pole with Santa, so they are not wild."

Hmmmm...

Shiny, Happy People

2008-07-15T19:32:00.003-06:00

I got home from Camp on Saturday afternoon! Good to be home, but SO FUN at camp!
Our Camp Theme this year was "Anchor Yourself to Christ" which worked out perfectly, because we had started our year with New Beginnings at the beginning of the year and our theme was "Steadfast in Him" and we did a nautical theme as well! This camp tied together perfectly.
My friend Wendy was called as the Stake Camp Director and there could NOT have been a better director for this year. Some of my favorite things about Wendy are.. She's fun, dramatic, creative, artsy, introduces me to new things that I don't get, super spiritual, a great mom, and she's one of my dearest friends.. (plus she helped me with my mailbags totally last minute - as if she didn't have anything else to do).

On our first day we were given sailor hats, and each girl, prior to camp had made 15 individual pins that were to be traded with other girls, to make new friends at camp. When I first heard this idea, I was like - wow - that sounds like a pain, and a lot of work, but they turned out SO cute.. I totally get it now! It was super fun to see all the girls with their hats on and their cute collection of pins! I LOVED IT!

The second day was the hike - which I usually hate, but this year, I got to hike with my new 2nd counselor, and new BF for Life.. Melonie! She was so super fun to hike with, and I feel lucky to be able to work with her! We spent a lot of time getting to know each other and she now knows a lot about me like, what a smart mouth I have, how I mock the girls, and that I'm not as cool as I try to pretend!

Third day was a highlight this year.. for one reason - it's testimony meeting, and that is always the best part of camp - but the 2nd best part was that we had the MOTHER OF ALL WATERFIGHTS!! So fun - the leaders snuck squirt guns to the creek, but they were kind of leaking and not very powerful - so the girls pretty much just laughed at us and said "next year, you might want to buy more powerful guns".. but little did they know - that in the trees was a giant pail of water! I went up and got it and doused the same 2 girls 3 different times. The best part was they totally saw it coming, but were in the creek with croc's and couldn't move, so they pretty much had to stand there and take it ALL THREE TIMES! They got me back though.. I can't explain how - but let's just say my clothes were soaked to the skin when the bishop got there.. I mean ALL of my clothes!! I had to make sure not to hug anyone too tight! If you were there - you know what I'm talking about.. If you weren't - sorry! But it's dang funny!

Why do I love camp so much? Maybe it's permission to act like a 15 year old! Maybe it's staying up in the leader tent making Julie laugh ALL NIGHT, or maybe it's that there is such a great spirit - that going home to a clean bed and shower, just feels wrong! I LOVE CAMP! Every last yellow inch of it!

A perfecto combinacion

2008-07-14T20:37:00.005-06:00

Two of his favorites (not together).. Cholula and Ben and Jerrys - Courtesy of Walmart!!

Just an update from Alex today, Monday, July 14th. His e-mail sounded great! He said that there are some changes coming and he'll be getting a new companion on Tuesday. Elder Polendo has been a great companion for him - I'll be forever grateful to him for showing Alex the way for the first 2 1/2 months.

Al's spirits are great, he had another baptism - a woman who he has been working with for several weeks. Actually, he and Elder Polendo taught her, but her son was able to baptize her. Very cool!

One great quote in this weeks e-mail "You will never see a homesick missionary in the baptismal font". As usual he is looking on the bright side and as always - it's all in the attitude! He's working hard and say's that time is flying - before you know it he'll be burning a tie!

I love you Elder! Keep up the good work!

My District

It's a bit too much Yellow!!

2008-07-07T22:26:00.004-06:00

I walked by my dining room table tonight and it was covered with stuff for camp! I realized that my camp is a little too happy! At this point, it kinda makes me want to throw up! So... I wanted you to have the same experience!

No - Your eyes do not decieve you... you DO see a yellow cowbell! It's a long story!!

Baby Fat!

2008-07-07T22:03:00.007-06:00

Meet the squishiest baby ever! This is my nephew Elliot! He is the sweetest thing you've ever seen!

This is my nephew Ezra and his Daddy Shane! They live in China.. Ezra and his big brother Jonas (elected not to be on camera) both speak Chinese! Yeah - they have to "dumb it down" for Kenyon and I.

The only baby fat missing was Naomi.. who slept the whole time I was there! How convenient.. well at least she won't have squish bruises, and sore cheeks from too much lovin'.. I will admit thought that Elliot flirted with me all night and at the end - I even got the sloppiest tounge kiss ever! Good stuff!

These two scary guys are making a baby sandwhich with Elliot!

Stage 1 - Valverde (Spain) in Yellow

2008-07-05T22:20:00.012-06:00

Happy Stage 1 of the "Tour de France" everyone! Day one, Stage one goes to Alejandro Valverde!

I have no one to cheer for this year since Tom Boonen got booted for recreational cocaine use! He was my front-runner this year! :(

I guess I can always go back to my standard "big George".

Kenyon is cheering for the Slip Stream Garmin Chipotle Team and his front runner is Christian Vande Velde. (thus the argyle blog page - in case you've been wondering)!

A birthday with 5,000 of his closest friends...

2008-07-04T22:11:00.008-06:00

Clay's Birthday is on July 3rd and we celebrated with he and 5,000 of his closest friends at the fireworks at Eaglewood Golf Course! Here are some snapshots of our party! Happy Birthday Clay!

Clay gets cuffed at booked by Henry!!

Oliver

May the fourth be with you!!

A Smoke Bomb Tradition

2008-07-04T21:51:00.002-06:00

For the 4th of July - we have a tradition! We bring Duncan smoke bombs and he lights them all in a bucket and jumps over the bucket, say about 1,000 times! Tonight the entire backyard smelled like smoke bombs and I'm sure we ruined a neighborhood 4th of July BBQ or two, with the cloud of smoke as thick as the atomic bomb floating over Midvale.

Chicken Feet - The other white meat!

2008-06-30T22:21:00.005-06:00

Alex has had a few experiences with chicken feet... "here a claw, there a claw, everywhere a claw claw".. I guess he's learned to like them "knuckles, bones and all".

The rainy season in Mexico City.. He's never dry!

Turtle Power..

Some things never change.. and then again..

2008-06-22T20:06:00.005-06:00

I love this picture of Alex. It reminds me that some things never change.
First - He loves taking pictures of himself with camera's.
Second - He loves KISS
Third - He's obviously ok.. you can tell by the fact that he is making a weird face
(I'd say it's the perfect shirt for a missionary! Wouldn't you?)

Then again.. look at the picture below! Some things never change - except your weight, and the size of doors - when you are in a 3rd world country. I wish I knew how much weight he has lost, but I don't think he has access to a scale.. he barely has access to a toilet seat!

I Love You!

2008-06-20T22:17:00.002-06:00

Me and my little boy!

Like a Rock!

2008-06-19T21:49:00.009-06:00

We had a fun Youth Conference last week - our ward combined with the 1st ward - and we headed to Moab! We had a great Youth Committee and an even better food committee.. Thanks RaNae- the 5 additional pounds looks great on me!

Day one - we drove from SLC to Moab and hiked Double Arch and Delicate Arch. At the top of delicate arch, our youth leaders conducted a devotional and we sand "High on the Mountain Top". Wow- it was so great! That night we pretty much hung out together.

Day Two - A day on the river - we had rafts and duckies and both youth and leaders had a lot of fun! Everyone got wet!

That evening we had a super spiritual testimony meeting and it was amazing to see those kids bear testimony of the gospel and of their experiences. A lot of new friendships were formed on this trip and it was a great experience to be able to be part of it.

Day Three - We headed to the Monticello Temple where the youth did Baptisms for the Dead. Another great and spiritual experience... then home!

The car I rode in was BY FAR the best - we had an 8 person sing-a-long from Price to SLC.. lots of hugs when we parted ways! I'm grateful for the experience and grateful for my association with such great kids!

Things like Wal-Mart and marriages...

2008-06-03T21:12:00.004-06:00

Alex's e-mail this week sounded great! He had 2 baptisms on Sunday - A woman named Teresa and her son Benjamin. When I asked Alex if there was a "Dad" he said "there is now, I had to pay for their wedding, in order for them to get baptized". He said "keep an eye on my pre-paid card.. I've been trying to be careful, but with things like Wal-Mart and marriages, money seems to go fast!"

You might ask.. well, what did he buy at Wal-Mart? All the comforts of home, like.. A TOILET SEAT! He didn't have one prior to last week. Yikes...

P-Day Monday was spent at Zocalo which is a big city center tourist area with a large Catholic Church, he said "we even went to Burger King"... Boy, he's livin' the life..

Finally, he said that he taught the whole first discussion "all by myself" today. He taught it to the guy that was shining his shoes! Go Get "Em Elder!

Alex at Zocalo... must have been prior to the shoe shine!!

thinner and tanner...

2008-05-26T21:27:00.007-06:00

I recieved more pictures from Alex yesterday! It makes me so happy when I see a photo with him in it! He said that he had a zone activity today, where his entire zone gathered and he got to see his "MTC generation'". He described them all as thinner and tanner.

Luckily he hasn't been stomach sick, but he has had some body aches and misses crashing on my king size bed! He described pocco a pocco... good days and bad. He said that the name calling has begun and that one guy yelled "arriba satanas, arriba satanas" (hail satan, hail satan). I think that sounds super scary!

He's eaten some pretty scary food, and has been offered "tongue taco's" more than once. The meal below is his favorite thus far and is called a Torta! He said " it's delicious".

I'm just glad to see that he has a washing maching (look closely).

Stairway to Heaven..

2008-05-12T21:30:00.006-06:00

Here are a few key pionts from my Mothers Day conversation with Elder Al P.

He's having a pretty hard time with the language - he say's he doesn't mind the "rathole" he lives in, "la cucaracha" as his roommates, or his room that is a "toilet / sink / shower" - but he does mind that he can't understand anything that is being said to him. He said he doesn't talk to people because he's afraid they'll talk back!

He had a baptism on Sunday - he said it was a miracle!

Although his spirits are a little low, he seems to be smiling and hasn't lost his sense of humor, as depicted in the pictures below!

This is the stairway to his apartment on the 3rd floor! Looks a tiny bit like a war zone!

Don't leave your car unattended in Mexico City!

Ghetto boy!
I think he's on his last belt loop! Wow- so skinny!
Still Smilin'!

12 weeks? May as well be 12 minutes...

2008-05-08T21:22:00.002-06:00

Everyone - "Wow, he's been gone 12 weeks, hasn't it gone by so fast?"
Me - "No"
Only 652 more days... Yeah, it's flying alright!

Now boarding, all seats, all rows...

2008-05-04T08:37:00.012-06:00

Alex called again on Thursday, May 1st to let me know that VISA's were approved and he was leaving first thing Friday, May 2nd for Mexico City. He was kinda freaked because he had just the afternoon and evening to get everything packed and ready (and to decide what to do with the 8 packages of girl scout thin mints that had been sent to him while at the MTC). He also let me know that he had received approval to call me from the airport, since families don't really do the "airport thing" anymore.. More on this later...

Friday morning came and sure enough at 7:30 a.m. we got the call... He was through security and waiting at the gate. He had about 2 hours before he had to board.

Kenyon was able to talk to him for a few minutes about really important stuff like the Jazz vs. Houston series and the NFL draft, then it was my turn.

Here are my top 10 favorite things about the call:

10 - He didn't want to hang up to eat breakfast with the other boys - his comment was "I can eat anyday"

9 - He passed the phone to Elder Hugely to talk to me when he had to go to the gate to check in

8 - Hearing him talk about listening to Elder Holland and other General Authorities speak to them

7 - Hearing him say that "no other mom, wrote to their son's about tender mercies"

6 - Telling me that he was confident in his language skills until he got to the airport and 2 janitors were speaking in spanish to one another and he couldn't understand anything they were saying

5 - When I asked if all the missionaries were on the phones surrounding him he said "no - they were all done awhile ago"

4 - Hearing "Now boarding all seats, all rows" in the background (not that it was good, but knowing he wanted to talk up until the last moment - felt great)

3 - Him reminding me that he gets to call me again in on Mothers Day

2 - Overhearing the "I love you's" between he and Kenyon

1 - "Mom - if I never got a letter from anyone else but you for the rest of my mission, I'd be fine"
So what if I know it's not true!!!! Just hearing him say it brought me to tears and I could barely hold it together.

I don't think I could have done the airport thing.. I'm so glad I got to talk to him, and that we had that personal 1 on 1 time together before he left and I am even more happy that his last memory of me at the airport is not clinging to his leg and trying to beat me off with a BOM.

Look Out Mexico City East Mission - Here they come!!

A delay...

2008-04-23T21:14:00.003-06:00

For those of you scolding me for not updating Alex's address with his new Mexico address as of 4/21/08, please be advised that he is still delayed. Feel free to keep sending his letters / cards and care packages to the MTC! When I asked him in e-mail if there have been any updates on his travel to Mexico City he replied "nada"... seems he's picking up the spanish! :)

"Hi Mom"

2008-04-17T19:11:00.002-06:00

Today I had a small miracle happen, or as Wendy would call it "A Father in Heaven story". Let me start by saying... I get calls to my cell phone all the time with unknown numbers and I NEVER answer them. I figure, whoever it is, can leave a message, and when I get around to checking voicemail, I'll call 'em back...
Let me also say that I am horrible at answering my cell when I'm at work! Unless it's a work call, and a known person - I'm pretty lame at it. I'm just super busy, so anyone that knows me knows that it's hard to reach me during the day WHILE I'm at work..
OK - here is the miracle... and how it all comes together!
My washer broke on Saturday, so the GE Repairman had to come to fix it today. Once he came, and left, I was on my way to work. I'm driving in my car, and my phone rings. I look at the number, and don't recognize it, but.. I'm driving.. so I figure, I'll just see who it is.. As I pick it up - my finger hits the little button on the side that sends it directly to voicemail. For a split second I think - I'll just find out who it is later... then - I hit re-dial and dial the number back.. I have no idea who it is....
Mystery Person = "Hello?"
Me - "Uh, Hi" (I still have no idea who it is)
Mystery Person - "Hi Mom"
Me - (screech my car to the side of the road) "Alex - what are you doing?" (giant lump in my throat).
Alex - "Our VISA's were delayed so I get a 5 minute pass to call and let you know that we are not leaving on Monday as planned"
Ahhhhh - Pure Heaven!!!
The best part of the story is - a few minutes into the call "Hey mom, there is no timer on this phone, so I don't know how long we've been on - can you check your phone and see?" I check - "ah oh - 8:04"... Alex said "well it's an honor system thing, so I gotta go". Again... best, most obedient boy ever!
Everything lined up in my favor today:
#1 - I wasn't at work and crazily distracted
#2 - I called the number back
Now I understand even better Elder Benar's talk about "Tender Mercies".

A striking similarity!

2008-04-17T19:08:00.003-06:00

If Alex had stepped back just one step, you would also have been able to see the fabric softener in Josephs' pack!

"My Life"

2008-04-15T22:01:00.005-06:00

Alex sent a box home with a bunch of stuff he didn't want to "haul to Mexico". He also sent the memory card for his camera so I could empty it and send it back. He calls the pictures and video "my life". These are my two favorite pictures.

This is his desk... I love how important his family and friends are. He has surrounded himself with the people he loves, even though he is far away from them.

He sleeps on the bottom bunk, and calls this his "sweet fort". Some things never change and I am so glad!

I just wish he could have more "FUN"!!

2008-04-15T21:49:00.002-06:00

Some recent photo's that Alex sent home from the MTC! I'm sure he's getting a lot out of all his hard work!! I'm so proud of him!

Is it weird? version 2

2008-04-13T20:48:00.001-06:00

Is it weird if I see Alex's long time friend Jake in the grocery store with his mom, and walk up and ask him to hold me?
Thought so! Dang it... I'm missing 19 year old boy hugs!

It's ALL in the attitude! II

2008-04-09T21:04:00.005-06:00

I got a letter from Alex today.. This portion of the letter was written after the 2nd session of conference on Saturday. Keep in mind - they are all gathered in an auditorium in full suit and tie for all 5 sessions:
"I think attitude is the most important thing on a mission - for example, a kid a row behind me said "this sucks, I would rather be on my couch at home for conference", and all I could think was... that is completely the wrong attitude. I looked at it as how grateful I am that I have the opportunity to be on a mission and to even have the priviledge to be able to watch this conference and receive the counsel we receive from the apostles. I'm just grateful for everything I have and that God has blessed me with. I think it's all about attitude."

Oh brother!!

2008-04-06T12:05:00.012-06:00

Of all the things that I'm bad at... Birthdays are my worst! Typically, I completely forget, but if I remember, I generally remember on the wrong day!
My brothers birthday (50+) was on April 4th - what could be a better gift than having your photograph splashed across the internet.. You can't put a price on that!!
Here are my top ten favorite memories of my brother! Some will only have meaning to the two of us! I love you DKM - Happy Birthday!
10-Striped Carpet and a sweet bunkbed
9-Elton John's - Crocodile Rock
8-You hated the song "Afternoon Delight", so I did too
7-Taking me to "Grease
6-The Utah Stars and Red White and Blue Basketball's
5-Your Boy Band
4-Holding my ankles next to my ears....
3-Bogart
2-Clothespins
1-Your Example - (never underestimate)

Two of my Favorite "Dad's"

It's ALL in the attitude!

2008-04-02T21:40:00.002-06:00

I got a letter from Alex today and I noticed, in reading this letter and others that he's written, that he has never said anything negative since he left home. The following example is an exerpt from today's letter and shows you that it's all about your attitude...
"I'm really grateful for Elder Berry in my room. He has the worst gas I've ever smelled. Sometimes it actually makes my stomach hurt. But I'm grateful because nothing will smell bad to me anymore - because nothing is worse than a "Ber Bomb".

Duncan's Big News

2008-04-01T19:34:00.002-06:00

My friend Wendy's little boy Duncan had big news when we were over there last week! News that he couldn't tell - he actually had to draw it out! It took him about 1/2 hour because you can see the level of detail, especially in Slash's cool shades!!

Just me and my boys!

2008-03-30T20:05:00.003-06:00

My friend Sue did a photo shoot of my family the Saturday before Alex left for the MTC! The photo's turned out so good! Take a sneak peak for yourself at http://www.suerichardsonphotography.blogspot.com/
Thanks Sue-bee - you are a master.. and yes - I needed a tissue!

"Don't feed the animals"

2008-03-27T19:08:00.006-06:00

I know my India posts are sort of random at this point. I've been home for a week now, but I had to share another story. The last night we were in India, we went sightseeing to "the Shore Temple". This is not an LDS temple, but rather, many ancient temples that are carved out of a mountain. They were carved in the 7th Century under the reign of Rajasimha. It is really beautiful and quite remarkable to see the amount of detail in these carvings. Each is an individual masterpiece.

The temples are located right near the Indian Ocean, so we made a stop at the beach before heading back to our hotel. As we were driving to the beach, we spotted a monkey sitting on a wall. It was our first "wild animal" (alive) so we decided to get out and see it. Jim had a small package of crackers, so he opened it and walked to the wall to give a cracker to the monkey, which the monkey was glad to accept. At the same time - he felt the tug of a hand on his shirt, and this girl was pointing to her mouth.. essentially saying "don't feed the monkey - feed me".

This was one of the many times in India that I felt a giant sob inside. Look at her - she is so beautiful. We obviously gave her the remaining crackers, and she, in turn, gave us a smile. Oh how I wish I could have brought her home with me to live. She will be carved in my memory forever.

Not to be rude, but..

2008-03-27T19:04:00.005-06:00

Can you tell what this woman does for a living? I'll give you a hint.. it's not Human Resources!

"Your Little Boy"

2008-03-25T21:16:00.003-06:00

I am lucky enough to get an e-mail from Alex each Tuesday, but I'm telling you - this kid really knows how to "work it" with his mom. Here are two examples:

1- every e-mail has the same sign off that says "Love, your little boy"
2- In my letter this week, Alex had drawn an outline of his hand

I'm sure he knew that the minute I opened it, I would put my hand on it... which is exactly what I did. He's really got me figured out! If you are a mom, reading this entry, and NOT crying... you have a heart of stone!

Here are the photo's included in my letter last night. It's so good to see his face, and he looks so happy! One other piece of good news - he was called to be a District Leader on Sunday. Go get 'em Elder!

Great Aunt Me

2008-03-22T10:03:00.003-06:00

Hello World! Meet my nephew. Porter J. Munson arrived on Wednesday, March 19th. He was born to my nephew Patrick and his wife Skye. He weighed in at a whopping 7 lbs and is a 19 pounder. We are so happy to have a new baby in our family! Lucky us and congratulations Grandpa Kurt and Grandma Lori!

Click here to see more... http://www.patrickandskye.blogspot.com/

No "Naan" sense

2008-03-22T06:52:00.009-06:00

Indian's make this bread called Naan (pronounced Non), that I fell in love with. It's sort of a flat bread, almost tortilla or pita style. I wasn't so much diggin' the other Indian food, so I have had Naan just about every day.

Here is a guy that is making Naan in his "restaurant"...

Here is why I didn't buy any Naan, from this vendor.... reason? You have to walk the plank over the river of garbage to get to his Naan... Suddenly... I'm not feelin' so hungry!!

I'm thinking of starting a carpool... any takers?

2008-03-22T06:51:00.003-06:00

Now this is living...

2008-03-22T06:46:00.002-06:00

My adventures at the "Snake Park"

2008-03-22T06:14:00.008-06:00

We went to the Chennai Snake Park while in India, but I will admit - it wasn't exactly what I was hoping for. This is more like what I thought it would be... yeah.... not so much...

One intereting thing, that you don't really deal with in the US is - you have to pay money to take a camera in. Jim and I both had camera's in our hands when we went in, so they told us we had to pay extra to take a camera in.

Here is a sign of important information about the snake park. Hopefully, I didn't break any rules, but I'm really not sure. My tamil is not fluent... (ok you busted me, - I don't know any tamil)

We saw a lot of what appeard to be "reptiles" in zoo-like conditions, however, I'll be honest with you - I don't think they were alive. I watched the alligators very, very closely, and none of them moved for like 10 minutes... Even I can't hold my breath that long.. This guy with his mouth open, didn't close it ONCE, when I was watching... Sorry, Snake Park owners... I'm not buying it!It was an intereting snake park experience - we did see some snakes, but my favorite part of the Snake Park was the bathrooms.. why... you ask?

I didn't go, because I didn't have a big bun and bindi, nor did I have a cool 70's moustache, so I really wasn't sure which one was right for me!

Boys will be Boys!

2008-03-18T11:54:00.020-06:00

The children here love to see me aim my camera at them! Unfortunately, most of the time, I'm in a car, going about 40, so it makes it difficult to get really good shots. But here are a few of the friendly faces of the boys in India. Tonight - Jim and I decided to go for a walk. We walked just outside the fence of our hotel and there were two boys walking our direction- holding their pet duck. These boys live just about 30 yards behind our 5 star hotel in a shack with a thatch roof.In fact- when I walk into the hall - I can look out the window of the hotel into their tiny little village. They were so excited to have their picture taken with their duck and they loved being able to see it on the screen of the digital camera.

The children here are beautiful!

Beautiful Girls!

2008-03-15T11:22:00.003-06:00

The women and young girls here are fascinating to me! I've never seen so many beautiful girls!

"You have the courage of a man and the intellect of a woman!"

2008-03-15T10:26:00.004-06:00

Huh? Is that a compliment? This "fortune" was told to me by a card reading parrot at the beach on the Indian Ocean.

We went to the Bay of Bengal tonight and it was a very interesting experience. As we walked around, we decided to "partake" of the good times.. First we shot BB guns at balloons! I was a sharpshooter, then we got our fortune told by a parrot. First rule - you have to tell the parrot your name and age... The parrot comes out of his cage and starts drawing cards with it's beak - once the parrot finds the card he wants (in other words gets bored with this trick) he hands it to the card reader (the guy in orange), who opens the card and then tells your fortune.

One of the first things that the parrot fortune teller told me was "you are stressed about your son or daughter"... hmmm-- maybe we are on to something.. next - "if you open a business in your own name, it will be very successful" well - we've been trying to get approval on "Galileo - India... maybe we should change it to "Kris Tanner - India"... finally, he said "you have the courage of a man and the intellect of a woman." What the heck does that mean? I think it may somehow be a insult, but I'm not sure!

Here are some of the other sites from our Bay of Bengal adventure... Trust me - these are not the same beaches that we long for on vacation.

Fresh Corn Games and Beach toys!

Pharaoh's dream!

2008-03-13T09:05:00.002-06:00

Remember in the story Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, when Pharaoh has a dream about the "7 skinny cows all skinny and vile"? I found those cows! They live in India.

Some residents say they belong to someone, and some say that they are just wandering cows.

My two favorite things about these cows are:

1- They walk on the side of the road (in US they are called sidewalks, but in India that hasn't been invented yet). They have acclimated to the traffic because otherwise the crazy honking drivers will just run 'em over, and the cows know it.

2 - They are always on the move - but my question is... where are they going? It's not as if they are on they are headed to the green pasture around the bend.. however, there is a delicious smelling pile of garbage just a 1/2 block away.

Same diff to a skinny vile cow!

What do I love most about India?

2008-03-12T20:11:00.003-06:00

Well- so far - it's my luggage... Why? Because if you read my prior post, you noticed that I traveled for 4 days.. and all my bags were checked. I had nothin'... no deoderant, no fresh undies, etc. not even a comb.

The guy that I'm traveling with - said "oh, my step dad always told me to make sure I packed a set of clean clothes and all my toiletries in my carry on?" I was like - "I don't have a step-dad, I just have a plain, regular old dad" you know - the kind that doesn't give you important travel tips. All I had in my carry on was 18 hard back books, 27 movies, my laptop and my blankie...

Anyway - When I saw my big old giant blue bag on the luggage carousel - I shouted "come to Mama!" My luggage looked as happy to see me, as I was to see it!

Also - there were lots of lost luggage as well - but mine was safe and sound, undies and all!

Whew!

Hello and Dubai

2008-03-12T10:25:00.007-06:00

I've had an interesting travel itinerary to get to India. I left the SL International Airport on Saturday morning at 10:05 a.m. and arrived at the Chennai Airport on Wednesday at 2:15 a.m. Yep! That's right - nearly 4 entire days to get to India.

The first leg of my trip was SLC to JFK - I arrived at JFK and had about a 4 hour layover. My boss had told me "you have to go to China Grille while you are in NYC". Why not - I have 4 hours to blow! So - I took a cab $60 each way ($45 +tolls and tips) into Manhattan and ate at the China Grille! It was awesome! I arrived back at JFK about 2 hours later -and much to my surprise the Departure board on the flight to Dubai said "Delayed - Next Day".

I had to check into a hotel that night - which was 1000x better than sleeping on the floor in the airport (which many many other people did).

I got back to the airport at 5:00 the next morning, and my flight left about 8:30 a.m. Unfortunately tho - this little delay meant that I could not leave Dubai for Chennai until 9:00 p.m. the next night, which meant I had an 18 hour layover in Dubai.

The trip from JFK to Dubai was a 12 hour plane ride... Luckily I slept for the first 6, then watched "Enchanted and Juno" and about 6 episodes of friends, ate dinner (gross) read two

people magazines, fell back asleep, woke up and it was time to land.

(BTW - I had a mom and her 3 year old daughter sitting next to me... let me just say this..

Moms - if you are taking your 3 year old child on a 12.5 hour plane ride... bring a freakin' book, puzzle, toy, whateva".)

Arrival in Dubai - again another check in at a hotel - but now I'm in the Middle East! How exotic. So many Shieks - so little time! I LOVED THE SHIEKS! I saw about a million of them! It's illegal to take their picture, so I had to sort of pretend I was taking a picture of something else and they just happened to be in the way.

After we checked in - we went to the mall. (we in this story = me and a guy I work with) The best part of this trip was coming back from the mall (not the mall itself). We had to take a taxi to and from the mall, and when we went to catch a taxi to take us back to our hotel they told us that we had to go inside and there is an area where you pick up the taxi. So - we got to the "taxi area" and we saw a line. We were like "dang it" because there were about 15 people in line ahead of us. What we didn't know was at the end of the line - the line turned... This picture is the "actual line" - not the fake 15 people line. There were about 400 people (not an exaggeration) in the taxi line. We waited exactly 1 hour and 15 minutes to catch a cab for a taxi.

Hello, Hello... I don't know why you say Dubai - I say Hello!

Super Duper Models

2008-03-06T23:28:00.003-07:00

These girls will do anything for me... even wear what they would call "dorky" and what I would call "totally cute" sailor hats.

New Beginnings was held on Sunday, March 2, and our theme this year for New Beginnings was "Steadfast in Him". We had a nautical theme, with anchor's, life preservers, etc. and as you can see... sailor hats! I could not resist posting this picture of a few of my beautiful girls in their value colored sailor hats!

I love these girls so much, they make life completely worth it!

I have an owie!!

2008-02-27T04:16:00.001-07:00

I miss him so much!

Funny girl!

2008-02-23T22:35:00.004-07:00

My friends created a great "distraction" for me on Friday night. We went to dinner and then to a hotel for "girls night"! It's pretty hard to be sad and lonely with these girls around! We started the night by listening to "Ladies Night" by Cool and the Gang. Davey burned it for us and we listened to it and car danced all the way!

These are the kind of friends to have when you need 'em! We seriously laughed for about 5 hours straight!

We played Mad Gab and approximately 200 rounds of Apples to Apples. It was so fun - we had pedicures and just about as much junk food as 5 girls can eat!

Thanks G-friends for all the love, laughs and support! Let's do it again soon!

XOXO

Hi, I'm Elder Petersen!

2008-02-21T08:50:00.006-07:00

As hard as it was to let my boy leave for 2 years, our day at the MTC was the best!

Alex smiled from the time he got up yesterday morning to the time he turned around and waved his last good-bye!

We just had a great day.. no stress, no anxiety, just enjoying each others company.

We took some photo's at home, and then headed to breakfast at one of our favorite places - Johanna's. We'd gone there a lot on Satuday mornings, and it was great just to sit and talk in anticipation of a special day.

The MTC is extremely organized and they really have a smooth process for on-boarding approximately 250 missionaries each week. When we arrived, we were instructed where to park and where to take our luggage. As we dropped off our luggage, Al was instructed to remember the number where his luggage could be located. It was number 23 - this was a great start to his stay at the MTC, because 23 is his lucky number... Why 23? Anyone that is a basketball fan knows that this was Michael Jordan's jersey number when he was on the Bulls. And for a kid who hopes someday to work for ESPN - this was a great start!

Next you are instructed to enter separate doors, elders through one door, family & friends through another. However, you do meet inside again.. whew!

After a few more photo's we entered the chapel were the boys and parents are both given counsel and instruction. The congregation also sings "Called to Serve" and the spirit is so strong. It was so amazing to look around and see all those clean cut, happy boys that had prepared themselves to be there! They show a couple of video's, say a few words, then a quick hug and good bye - Elders to the right, families to the left.

As I watched him walk off to the right after we had said our good-bye's, he was in line behind another elder and started up a conversation with him. I watched him extend his hand to this other boy, and say "Hi, I'm Elder Petersen"...

I could not help but think, that was the first of many, many times to come over the next two years that he will make that introduction to a stranger.

I'm so proud of him!

My husband is a freak!

2008-02-21T08:41:00.002-07:00

Yesterday when we were getting ready to leave for the MTC, I wanted to take a couple of photo's before we left. I told Kenyon to come downstairs so I could take some pictures, and he said "ok, hang on". This is what he looked like when he came down the stairs.

He's so great to make an emotional moment funny! Alex and I both loved it and we got a good laugh.

731 more days

2008-02-20T06:07:00.003-07:00

In 6 and 1/2 hours I'll do one of the hardest things I've ever done! Drop Alex off at the MTC.

He was set apart as a full-time missionary last night and so far we all seem to be hangin' in there!

It makes it a lot easier on mom's when the boy is so excited to go! There has hardly even been a moment of anxiety with him - HE'S READY!!

I woke up at 4 a.m. (hmmm, wonder why) and laid in bed for an hour, trying to get a grasp on what I was feeling - finally I got up, and as I was making little notes to hide inside his shoes, journal etc. at 5:30 a.m. I decided to check his mission website.

It's no longer counting down the days til he goes to the MTC, now it says... "There are 731 days until Elder Petersen returns home." yeesh! That seems like alotta days!!

Can I count today as day 1 - even if he is still asleep in his bed at home?

Can I have a little cheese with my Gladiator?

2008-02-18T21:20:00.004-07:00

So - I'm one of those people who said "I hate reality tv" and every advertisement for reality tv, i'd say "that looks like the stupidest show ever", or "who would do that?" or "yeah, that's not staged!". I never watched shows like "American Idol" or anything of the sort - and to be honest, when friends were all hooked on it I was like "hmmm, weird waste of time".... until now!

I now realize that it is not a waste of time AT ALL, but totally mind numbing fun! There is nothing better on a high-stress day than coming home to the "reality zone".

I have four favorites, but only 3 of them are on during this time of the season - so I'm really only wasting 3 hours a week! I'm not sure what the national average of time wasted in front of tv - but I'm gonna guess it's higher, especially because 1/2 the population are male, and MOST (not all) waste countless hours a week on sports, and when not watching sporting events, they are tuned in to ESPN to hear a summary of every sport ever invented.

Here are my fav's - important to note that they in order by weeknight, NOT by favorite:

Monday - Fall - Dancing with the Stars
Monday - Spring - American Gladiators (no, I'm not joking..here is my favorite intro from last night "You've heard of Heaven, but what about "Hell-ga".
Tuesday - The Biggest Loser - I don't care what they say - it's totally a game of strategy.. I'm cheering for Jillian's team!
Thursday - Celebrity Apprentice - Holy cow, did you see last week? BTW, I don't love Omarosa... git already! But I luuuuu..huvvvvv Trace!

As embarrasing as it is to say - these are my fav's! Tune in and you'll see why!

This entry sponsored by NBC, ABC.

"Adios" Elder Al P.

2008-02-13T21:47:00.002-07:00

Alex's farewell was on Sunday, February 10th. What a great day! So many friends and family came to support him. It was unbelievable to see the building so full of familiar faces and so many people that we love and that love Alex.

Here are my top ten favorites from the day!

1- Jordan's non stop grazing for 12 hours straight
2- Wendy and I shoving stuffed mushrooms as hot as lava into our mouths
3- Seeing my boss and his family
4- Kenyon's hospitality... he's such a good person he blows me away
5- Being only one of two people that know that the "lil smokies" recipe calls for grape jelly...
6 - Listening to Alex talk about his buddies and what an influence they have been in his life
7 - Alex's friends that are girls
8 - RaNae and Lauren's song
9 - Sitting on my bed talking to Kenyon and Alex about the day til 11:30 p.m.
10- Having Al P. call me his best friend

I love you Al - you are my favorite missionary!

Sweethearts...

2008-02-09T21:07:00.000-07:00

A couple of photo's of Al P. and Lu on their way to the "Sweethearts Dance" tonight
Happy Valentines you little sweethearts! I love you both!

Is it weird?

2008-02-06T21:54:00.001-07:00

A few weeks before Christmas I asked Alex what he wanted, and considering the circumstances he didn't have a long list of wants... So... I decided to take him to Disneyland for a few days... just the two of us!

Now you... like some people at my work might think that is weird.. But... when I asked Alex, 2 days before we left if he thought it was weird he said "no, if it was just any mom - it would be weird, but your cool"... Good answer bud! Plus, it's not unusual for us, because we've done it before!

We had so much fun! It was still January, so the park was relatively quiet on Thursday and Friday, but when Saturday came, it might as well have been June.. it was really busy.

We skipped most of the lame-o rides, and went on our favorites Over, and Over, and Over for 3 days.

One of Alex and my favorite things to do together is people watch.. ok, and "people mock". Besides Lagoon, and Dr's offices, there is no better place for this activity. These were some of our highlights

- 2 nerds on DDR, and the one nerdy guy almost falling... he was like "whoa" but caught himself at the last minute.

- the tough guy playing boxing on a video game.. oh my did he look lame in front of that girl.

- The "heavy set" guy in the floody, tight jeans.

- The super tall cowboy bobbing his head back and forth to the yodeling music at the Materhorn.

- The super tall cowboy's super tall sister! She was him, but her.

And finally, Al P's favorite... the macho guy sitting on the curb after the parade... so picture this.. he is sitting on the curb as if he has a skirt on.. like both legs tucked to the side, feet together.. Tell Al to show you... it's so funny! We went walking by - saw him and both burst out laughing.

Enjoy the slideshow, but don't be mad if you don't get it! We do!

It's a "Non-Party" for the "Non-Farewell"

2008-02-02T22:07:00.000-07:00

She's like 100

2008-01-31T20:39:00.000-07:00

Ok.. ok, she's not really 100, she's ONLY 76!! But I tell her all the time "your like 100", so I knew she'd appreciate it! I'm talking about my mom! My mom turned 76 on Tuesday, so this entry is a tribute to her! She's fu-nny!

I've been trying to think of the words to describe my mom... smart, and smart-A**, airheaded, competetive, bossy, patient, funny, athletic (i know, and she's like 100), opinionated, a survivor, loving, listener, a good friend... I mean like a really, really good friend, an amazing grandma, curious, worried, and spoiled.

Some of my favorite things about my mom are the following:

1) She text's (I know, and she's like 100). My mom texts her kids and grandkids all the time! It's the best. I love watching her text and reading (or maybe I should say interpreting) her texts too! For example:

- "hi"

- "I didn't get the C"

She's my favorite texter ever! People that are under the age of 76 and say they can't text should be ashamed!!

2) She's a crazy fiend of a game player... super competitive and ALWAYS wins.. ok, so sometimes in a friendly little game of "Hand and Foot"she "accidentally" forgets to play her foot, but remember, shes' like 100! She also plays domino's, phase 10, and I don't know what else - like 50 other card games.. I think she was quite possibly a dealer in Vegas in another life!

3) She was the most amazing mom, when I had Alex, I can remember thinking "I have no idea what I'm doing" and even when I did stuff wrong, she was so nice to me! She never once told me what to do or made me feel like I didn't know what I was doing, I think she was just so glad to have another little grandbaby all she could think about was being a good grandma!

Alex has tons of great memories too like.. Big Bear, Banana pie with foam, golfing and mini pancakes!

Happy "100" birthday Mom! I love you!

Eat your heart out girls!!!

2008-01-28T20:13:00.000-07:00

Check him out - This is one of many stunning photos' taken of Alex by my good friend Sue Richardson.. If you ever run across an amazing photograph on my blog, and think "wow - that's a great photo", its a Sue photo.. you should also check out her website at http://www.suerichardsonphotography.com/
What can I say... apparently I make good looking children... ok child, but whatever!

The mis-adventures of ME!

2008-01-28T20:00:00.001-07:00

How many guys does it take to push my car out of the parking lot? FOUR.... 3 big burly guys, and one old skinny guy! However many, I'm grateful for the help!

Tonight, I left work late, as usual and when I got to my car, I knew I was in trouble... 1) because there was only one other car in the parking lot, 2) my tires are bald and there was massive snow in front, in back and on top of my car.

I tried for about 20 minutes to budge me, but no luck... keep in mind, I'm dressed in work clothes, and I don't mean work boots, coveralls and flannel, I mean MY work clothes, ya know - black pants, high boots and a flimsy sweater... After no luck - a guy came to help me! He and I tried for another 10 miutes until he was overcome with fumes, and I sent him on his way!

Finally, while waiting for my knight in shining armor to leave the gym and come rescue me, this old skinny guy came to help me! He was so nice, and he had a blanket, which he used to look underneath the car, but there was really nothing he could do either... Finally - the 3 burly's drove up in a big ole "getcha unstuck truck". They all got out of the truck, geared in full coveralls and beanie's, and pushed my car until I was free as a bird! Thanks heavens for Burly's!!

This is not exactly what they looked like... but kinda!

Scuse me, Mr. President..

2008-01-28T19:47:00.000-07:00

I don't mean this entry with any dis-respect, but I have a few questions about tonights State of the Union address...

1- Rather than 1 hour and 30 minutes, why not reduce it to 30 minutes and ask people to not stand and clap every 10-12 words?
2- Why is Nancy Pelosi reading what looks to me like a copy of "Tuesdays' with Morrie" right behind the President?
3- Why do they always zoom in the camera and freeze on the chubby old guy who accidentally fell asleep? Is it a subliminal message for the rest of us?
4- Why doesn't everyone stand and clap? What happens to the "non-standers and non-clappers"? Do they get in trouble later for lack of enthusiasm? Or, perhaps they don't speak english? Or maybe they are seat fillers, like at the Oscars?
5- How do you know when to stand and clap and when to sit quietly? There seemed to be some confusion amongst the crowd on this particular item. For example, sometimes Condoleeza stood and sometimes not, but she should probably always be a stander / clapper, in my opinion.
6- and finally... why would they zoom in on a Latin guy who is laughing when no one else in the audience is laughing? And when what was said, wasn't funny! That seems inappropriate to me too... but not sure who is "out of line"... they latin guy, or the cameraman / producer for that particular shot.

I guess that's it for now! I tried to watch it for awhile, but then Kenyon came home, asked why President Bush was on T.V., and promptly turned it over to the Jazz game! Hopefully, whatever was said, was for the best.

I love you much!

2008-01-27T21:07:00.000-07:00

We heard the news tonight of President Hinckley's passing. Happy for him, sad for us! Even though we knew it must happen, it certainly doesn't make the day any easier! Today feels emptier! Today I was even looking through Alex's mission papers, and I thought how cool it was that he has an original signature on his mission call!

Think of the welcome he will receive from Heavenly Father and from his dear wife who has waited patiently for him.

I'm grateful for the many opportunities that I have had to hear him speak, I'm grateful for the opportunity to be in his presence at General Conference and the Day of Celebration! He was called to be the Prophet when Alex was just 7 years old - so for Al, he's really the only prophet he can remember.

One of my favorite memories of him, was the footage of him waving has cane, rather than using it to walk! I can't believe that he was 97 years old and still as sharp and wise as can be! Just goes to show what the Word of Wisdom can do! What is your "Favorite President Hinckley'ism"?

He makes me want to "BE" better! I love you President Hinckley!

Oh Happy Day!

2008-01-21T21:30:00.001-07:00

On Saturday, January 19th, Alex went to the Bountiful, Utah Temple for the first time. It was a great day, and we had a lot of support from friends and family!

Alex is 30 days away, and just one step closer to his mission! It was such a blessing to see so many people that have supported Alex and helped him get to this point, in the temple with us. Grandparents, Scott and RaNae, Mike and Megan, Bishop, Lela. We dearly missed our "Tanner Family" who is spread all over the globe!

We had a great experience in the temple - we met some very dear friends of Alex's Mission President - President Bulloch! They were in the same session with their daughter, who is soon to be married. They were able to tell us about President Bulloch's personality, style and how well Alex will be cared for! It sounds like it'll be a match made in heaven. Sister Davies, the woman we met said that she would write to President and Sister Bulloch right away and tell them that "Elder Petersen is on his way!"

A special thanks to Alex's two Grandmas! We weren't expecting to see Grandma Petersen as she had a heart attack on Monday, January 14th. But she was there and we were so happy that she could share in this special day. Also, Grandma Dixie drove up from St. George for just one day, to be in the temple with Alex.

We had a great day! Thanks to all of you who were able to be there with us! We love you!

Flippin' Funny!

2008-01-12T21:36:00.000-07:00

Why, oh why do I love this movie so much! I watched it 2-3 years ago and remember it being pretty funny - but no where near as funny as it was last night when Kenyon and I watched it with Elder Al P., Mitch, Ben and Mac.

There are so many funny parts to this movie and now that Elder Al P. is super close to being one of these guys - it's just that much funnier...

Will Al P. follow in the footsteps of...

Elder Rogers - The senior companion, who ran out of testimony after his girlfriend ran off with his former companion, but then finds it at the end of the movie (his testimony... not his girlfriend)

Elder Van Pelt - the obnoxious guy with all the hot girls writing to him, but can't really look away from the "flippin"mirror? And has an issue with the way his companion says "book of mormons" rather than "books of mormon"

Elder Johnson - the District Leader and stalwart elder and his never ending antics with the audio cassette player.... Oh that Elder...

or...

Elder Calhoun - The nerdy yet loveable greenie..

Can't wait to get all of your opinions about our very own Elder Al P. and who you think he'll most resemble in the mission field...

Dude, we miss you already!

2008-01-09T21:41:00.001-07:00

Alex's BFF Chris entered the MTC 8 hours and 46 minutes ago! He is headed for the Oakland California Mission, spanish speaking! Chris and his family have been so good to Al and he's feelin' a little lost today!

We love Chris, and are so proud of him, but today is emptier!

I am Cool!

2008-01-05T21:36:00.001-07:00

Never.. ever am I the coolest person in my family.... until today!!

So - Alex has had an i-pod since, oh I don't know.. he was like 7 and he's on #2, because first he had the regular old i-pod - you know the ancient white one... and now he has a video i-pod.. pretty cool!

I bought Kenyon a mini i-pod a few years ago and then last year, replaced it with a video i-pod too... but all this time - I've never had one! I think I'm about the only person on the planet that doesn't have one! I even had the following conversations with my friend one day...

Kris... "Do you have an i-pod"

Jenny.... "yea"

Kris...... "Gosh, your daughters and I are probably the only 3 on the planet that don't have i-pods!"

Jenny... "They both have one"

Kris.... "Oh"

Now keep in mind that her daughters are 5 and 8... Wow - even a 5 year old has one.. I'm super lame!

Well you can probably guess my news... In early December, we went to the Galileo Christmas Party.. It was amazing and although, I would have loved to win the trip to Africa, or one of the $1,000 gift cards, I won an i-pod shuffle! That was exciting because I finally had an i-pod, but I didn't know if I really wanted it to shuffle - that seems weird to me, so I decided I'd go trade it for a Nano!

When I went to the Apple store today, I looked at the Nano, and then found the I-Pod Touch! Yep - I bought it and officially launched myself into lead contender for the title of "Coolest Person In My Family"! Uh huh? Uh huh!

Warmed by the Spirit!

2007-12-30T14:27:00.000-07:00

On Friday night at the temple, I snapped this picture of Meagan and I just love how her spirit shines in this picture! To me it just looks like she's saying "hey everyone- look at me, I am a child of God!"

I hope everyone had a great Christmas and we wish you a wonderful New Year!

Baby it's cold outside!

2007-12-30T13:59:00.000-07:00

Our friends the Douglas's were in town from sunny Arizona this week and we were lucky to be able to spend some time with them. We had fun taking Cole sledding at Flatiron and everyone just about froze.. especially those warm weather friends!

You may remember from our October blog, Jay was a good friend of Kenyon's way back in Texas about 25 years ago. They lost touch for many years, but recently re-connected and it has been so fun getting reacquinted! I can't even begin to tell you how many things we have in common! Kenyon and Jay have so many great memories of their time together in Houston. They spent most of the time just talking, laughing and reminiscing.

They also brought Meagan and Cole along with them, so it was fun getting to know the entire family! Here is a list of our action packed 22 hour visit...

Noon - Douglas Family arrives

1:00 - 3:00 p.m. hit the slopes (with the sleds)

3:30 p.m.- Scoopology

4:00 - 5:30 Guitar Hero and good long talks

6:00 - 8:00 Dinner at Buca

8:00 - 10:00 Lights at temple square

10:30 - midnight - more talking and laughing

8:00 a.m. Kenyon and Cole hit the boards again
10:00 departure back to Arizona

As you can see - we didn't waste a moment, and had tons of fun! This visit went by WAY to fast! We love you guys and can't wait for our next visit!

Gingerbread House?

2007-12-26T14:52:00.000-07:00

If you've ever been to my sister-in-law Amy's blog, you've seen her amazing gingerbread houses.. Well, I've got some competition for her!

Last Sunday evening, some of my YW had a stayover at one of the girls houses, so they could all attend an early morning devotional on Christmas eve! To keep busy and out of trouble, they made ME a gingerbread house. See my ginger bread house below... hmmmm?!??!

Click here to see Amy's gingerbread house! http://tannerjia.blogspot.com/

They almost look identical, don't they? Yes, this is the "finished product" exactly how they delivered it to me..

Christmas with Cousin Eddy!

2007-12-26T14:35:00.000-07:00

Remember that movie Christmas Vacation, when cousin Eddy shows up at Clarks in what looks similar to a motor home? Well - this year, he showed up at our house!

On Christmas morning, we had a serious case of mis-matching going on... you've got your red and green Christmas pj's (no it is not knickers, or a kilt like skirt) with snow boots, vikings hat's and a U of U Hoodie! The only thing missing from this photo is one of those cool "dickies" that Eddy wore when Christmas shopping with Clark.

Prepare your eyes for our Christmas morning... your fashion sense may never be the same!

Strangely Similar!

Baby Alex

2007-12-22T04:46:00.000-07:00

As the days get closer to Al P. leaving, I keep thinking about baby Alex, big boy Alex and not as much about grown-up Alex. Maybe it's because I miss him already! He's so busy and the days are counting down - according to his mission website, as of today, he has 60 days until he leaves for the MTC. I guess in some ways it's a good thing I never see him, maybe it helps me prepare?!??! Plus - when I do see him - he's so nice to me! On Tuesday night he was here for about 15 minutes and our paths crossed in the hallway, and he grabbed me and gave me the biggest hug ever! As I was enjoying - a thought came to my mind... I wish he were a brat- then maybe I'd be glad to see him "git". Not the case though - I still cling to every moment...

I love this picture of Baby Alex at Christmas. He was probably around 3 or 4.

An overwhelming urge to iron!

2007-12-10T21:14:00.000-07:00

Tonight Alex came home and he had purchased a giant, enormous Mexican Flag to hang in our house! Where, you ask? In our dining room of course!

So - He gets it home, and takes it out of the package and it is folded into a million parts, so it's pretty wrinkly. He said - "i'm going to go iron this" and headed upstairs! First of all - I was shocked that he headed in the right direction - I didn't know he even knew where the iron was kept! When he got upstairs - I remembered that I had put the ironing board and the iron away for the housekeeper, so I said "I'll come up and set it up in just a minute", to which he replied... "can't I just set it up?" I was like "ummm sure". So he set up the ironing board, and even plugged the iron in! He turned the temperature to synthetics and was on his way to his first "ironing event". I should have taken a picture. Anyway - as he was ironing, I was thinking "I should be ironing it for him!" Can you believe that? I'm still over-indulging and he leaves in only 72 days. He was almost done, when he dropped the water bottle on the floor - he looked at me and said "I guess I'm still a rookie". I'll have you know that I resisted the urge to take over and I let him finish the entire job all by himself! I'm such a proud Ma!

Soy un hijo de Dios

2007-12-10T17:55:00.000-07:00

Be prepared.. this story is both sad AND pathetic.
On Saturday, I went to Missionary Emporium. I needed to pick up some "flags" for the cool little flag stand that Alex has all of his friends state and country flags in. 7 of his 10 friends have their calls so this is our little way of paying tribute and remembering where they are.

Anway - I went into the store, sort of browsed through some Christmas books and then was walking toward the "flag section" of the store, when a plaque caught my eye. This was a painted wooden plaque with vinyl lettering on it. The lettering said "Soy un Hijo de Dios". I, of course, had no idea what it said, but earlier in the day - I rememberd that I had seen the word Hijo and I thought I remembered it meant "son" or something. So I walked up to the clerk at the store and pointed at it and said "what does that say?" She looked at it and said "it says I am a Child of God". In my head I was like "oh my gosh, oh my gosh, here come the tears" but my mouth just said "ok thanks" and I walked away. By the time I turned around I was bawling - you know - the type of tears that just pour and get your shirt and coat all wet in like 30 seconds!

I walked toward the back of the store without making direct eye contact with anything in the store, for fear of making it worse. Which, was a bad idea - the entire back of the store is where the keep all the mission stuff - the "Mexico Flags", "Mexico Shirts", "Mexico Key Chains", "Mexico tie tacks", the Spanish Hymnal... well you get my point.

I basically went running out of the store - crying for my big sister - I called her when I got to the car, and we agreed that me going into those stores unsupervised for the next 6 months is probably not a good idea!

Kenyon gave me a big hug (and condolences) when I got home and when Alex came home 1/2 hour later -he was none the wiser! I'm so brave!

Billy the Kid

2007-12-01T04:29:00.000-07:00

Kenyon, Alex and I went to the Billy Joel concert on Thursday, November 29th. It was so good! Alex got a ticket to the concert for his birthday, so his seats were on the floor, but we didn't get tickets in time to go - but luckily, the day of the show, Kenyon got an e-mail from someone on his Porcurpine Cycling team asking if anyone was interested in the tickets. The guy that bought them had to work that night, and he was selling them buy one, get one free! Our seats were great!

The first hour of the concert, he played some of his more obscure hits, going way, way back, but the last 90 minutes of the show - he seriously just rocked out with all of his big hits! He ended the show with both mine and Kenyon's favorites.. "Only The Good Die Young" and "Piano Man".

Mission Call Details...

2007-11-25T21:47:00.001-07:00

We are now home from St. George and can provide a little more detail on the opening of Alex's mission call. We had about 40 people in our family / kitchen area for the opening of Alex's mission call.

I sort of interevened a little in this entire process.. here is why! We had heard that the call could come as early as Wednesday, November 21st which was a surprise, because the papers were only delivered to Church Headquarters on Tuesday, November 13th - so we sort of expected the call to come on Wednesday, November 28th. Because we were planning our thanksgiving trip to St. George, our Bishop was kind enough to call the Missionary office and ask if Alex's papers were in process. He found out that they were being mailed. Wow - that was the first rush of adrenaline for all of us.

On Wednesday morning, around 9:15 a.m. I headed to the Midvale post office to check and see if they had arrived - luckily our postman is late to get on the road (we generally get our mail delivered between 4-5 in the afternoon). Sure enough, a kindly gentleman in the post office walked to the back room and walked back out with our daily mail. He looked me in the eye and said "fun times ahead"... there it was - a 9x11 envelope from "The Office of the First Presidency" addressed to Elder Alex Todd Petersen. Holy cow! It was real!

We made phone calls and were able to get most of our loved ones together for the opening. We had lots of interesting guesses from Zimbabwe, to Belize.. 2 friends in the group guessed Mexico. I didn't even end up guessing.... it was just way to stressful for me!

Anyway - it was a great night, and so much fun to see so many people gather around with love and support for Alex. Feel free to check out Al's Mission website at: http://www.missionsite.net/elderpetersen

We have much to be thankful for!

Drum Roll Please...

2007-11-21T17:50:00.000-07:00

Elder Alex Todd Petersen has been called to serve in the Mexico City, Mexico Mission. (Spanish speaking.. not Mandarin - Sorry Trav!)

He will report to the MTC on February 20, 2007.

Mexico City Temple

We are so happy for him!

Alex's friend Chris Warden also received his call today! He will be serving in the Oakland California Mission - spanish speaking. Chris enters the MTC on January 9th..

We had about 50 people in our family room / kitchen area! It was so much fun to see all the love and support of Alex's friends and family!

What are you Thankful for?

2007-11-21T13:36:00.000-07:00

Besides shoes and lipstick, here is my list... in no particular order..
- my son and husband
- the gospel
- my sister (you know who you are)
- my in-laws
- my extended family
- my BFF's (you know who you are)
- my other friends
- my skin (it's waterproof)
- make-up
- my girls, my calling, my presidency
- hand sanitizer
- my dryer
- laughter
- people who make me laugh (you know who you are)
- prayer
- distractions
- my job
- photographs
- grandma's
- eyesite
- ability to read
- music
- baby fat
- chips and salsa
- grass (fresh cut)
- heat
- massage therapy
- blue eyes (not mine) but I love looking at them
- outside & shelter

What are you thankful for?

I'm all grow'd up!

2007-11-09T20:03:00.000-07:00

Yes sir... that's my baby!

19 years and 1 day ago, was the happiest day of my life! That is when I recieved the best give I've ever been given. Alex celebrated his 19th birthday yesterday and I wanted to share some photo's of him growing up! Awwww... Isn't he cute? Alex was born at 1:23 a.m. on "Election Day" 1988. He was born at Cottonwood Hospital and weigh 8 lbs 1 oz. He was such a good baby - happy from the moment he was born.

For his birthday, we had a surprise visit from Grandpa and Grandma Munson, and Aunt Karel and Uncle Gary Robinson who live in Nevada. We went to dinner, with all of them AND of course his "other parent" Deb to the new Cheesecake Factory. A dream dinner! It was so much fun!
Then Deb, Kenyon, Alex and I went to see "The Bee Movie". It's a cute animated film. We liked it! It's actually an animated film with an actual story line.. go figure!

I'll share a couple of my favorite Alex stories...
First, on a warm summers day when Alex was about 2 years old - I told him to go get his clothes, so that he could get dressed. He went into his room, and came back with a turtleneck shirt and a pair of shorts. I took the shirt from him and said "no, you can't wear this!" Of course, his response was "why?", to which I replied "it's too hot!". Alex looked at me confused for a minute, and then walked over to me and held his pointer finger out to the shirt I was holding in my hand and touched it with one tiny finger and said "it's not hot!". It made me realize how literal children are. It was one of the cutest days ever!

Second - when Alex was about 4 years old - a couple of weeks before Halloween, I asked him what he wanted to be for Halloween. He said he wanted to be a "spatula". I was completely confused and could not figure out how in the world I was going to pull that off. I asked him to tell me about the spatula costume.. like "what does it look like?" His response was "you know, like a spatula with sharp fangs and a cape". I then replied "oh, Dracula?" and he said "yeah, Dracula". He knew all along exactly what he was talking about.. I was the one with the problem. He was a cute little "spatula" that year, and by the way, he still has cousins that always call him "spatch" whenever he see's them!

A final story was just a year or so ago. Alex decided that he was going to save time in his life and rather than calling me "mom" he was going to shave some time off his communication timing and shorten me to just "Ma". He was sure that if he did this consistently for the rest of his life, he'd probably shave a good 8 minutes or so off of his "talk time".

I love that boy! Happy birfday Al P. Thanks for being my best gift ever!
Love,
"Ma"

Daffodil Girls

2007-11-04T22:42:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we went to "Fiddlefest" at the Tahitian Noni in Provo. Two of my young women - Lauren and Lex are in a Bluegrass band - Daffodil Ridge, and they performed at this festival. There are three of them in the band, Lauren, Lex and their friend Hannah. All are in their junior year at Hillcrest, and all play more than one instrument. Although they were nervous, they did so good - in their first ever public performance. They also have a great manager.. one of the best girls, I've ever met.. Kim - I hope your reading this and weeping a tiny bit... You know it's true - I love you! We all know how amazing you are!

Anyway - check out their website at www.daffodilridge.com
Coming soon to a city near you!

P.S. My favorite song that they sing is "I'll Fly Away". Nice job girls! Al P. Melisa and I are your biggest fans!