Family Friday: Featuring My Nephew (by marriage) Adam

When you decide to highlight 47 family members of assorted ages, longevity in the family, and their personal relationship with you, there are going to be some of them that you haven't known as long or as well as some of the others. Adam falls into this category as one of the newer members of our family.

The first time I met Adam was at my nephew Sean's Eagle Court of Honor. I remember thinking that he looked just like one of the Osmond's (only Adam has whiter and straighter teeth). A few months after I met Adam he and my niece Melissa became engaged; and shortly after they became engaged Melissa went to Russia to teach kindergarten for several months.

While Melissa was gone Adam continued his education at BYU-I where he was studying to become an elementary school teacher. Melissa returned home just weeks before the wedding, which was in August of 2006 in the Bountiful Temple.

Shortly after they were married, Adam and Melissa moved to Las Vegas where Adam did his student teaching; currently he is an elementary school teacher (can you imagine all of the little crushes on handsome Mr. Turney?), and last week Adam graduated with his Masters Degree in Education Leadership.

Adam and Melissa are anxiously awaiting the birth of their first child; a daughter who is expected this August. They are also in the process of buying their first home and should be moving a few weeks before the baby comes.

I don't know very much about Adam, but here are a few things that I do know and that I've observed: He loves and takes care of my niece, he is motivated and hardworking in his education and his career, he is a good son, he is a cancer survivor, he served a mission in Australia, he has come into a pretty loud and fun loving family and he sits back and observes...respectfully, and I'm sure with a bit of amusement/confusion. We love you Adam and are happy that you are one of us.

Adam and Melissa on a recent trip to New York

Happy Birthday To My Ashleigh

Isn't this cute!! My daughter-in-law Emily made this for me for Mother's Day. It is to be displayed whenever there is a birthday and today is Ashleigh's birthday.

It was my wish to have a baby girl and I am so grateful that my Heavenly Father sent Ashleigh to me. I love her and miss her with all of my heart. Today there won't be any cake or candles, there won't be any singing or gifts; but I will display my letters W*I*S*H and I'll remember one of the happiest days of my life, and contemplate an even happier day in the future.

"O that I were an angel, and could have the wish of mine heart..." Alma 29:1

Egypt's Pharaoh, Orthodontics, and....Chartreuse?

Recently I was playing "I spy" with Adam and Zach. I started the game with "I spy, with mmmyyyyy little eye, something that is.....RED." (Why do we always start with red?) Adam quickly guessed that it was my red jacket and it was his turn next.

"I spy, with my little eye, something that is.....chartreuse." Chartreuse!?! WHAT!! I mean I've heard of it, but what color is it? And how does my 7 year old grandson know about chartreuse? What happened to blue and green and yellow?

While I am on the subject of colors I have to write about Caitlin's recent news. She auditioned for and earned a part in RMT's production of Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. She is going to play the part of one of the wives (all those years of dance class is paying off).

She has been rehearsing for a couple of weeks now and is loving it, but this morning at rehearsal she had a funny and awkward experience. All of the girls in the cast were gathered together and the group was introduced to "Pharaoh". Caitlin thought he looked very familiar and as soon as they said his name she knew for sure....it was her orthodontist Dr. Brown, and just as she came to that realization she was one of a few girls called down to rehearse with "the King". So there was Caitlin, flirting and shimmying with her orthodontist "Mr. Pharaoh man" (and she has an appointment in 2 weeks).

So if you're into "red (even the song starts with red) and yellow and green and brown and".....(sorry, there isn't any chartreuse in this song) you might want to go see Joseph... at RMT this summer.

Family Friday: Featuring My Grandson William

Throughout my life I have known a handful of people that have a smile "that cannot be wiped off their face" that smile is a gift and my grandson William is one of those people. When he looks at me and that beautiful smile breaks out it makes my heart just burst.

William came into the world 7 weeks early on November 26, 2006. I had the privilege of being in the delivery room when he was born, it was truly a miracle and I will be forever grateful that I had that experience. William spent the first 4 weeks of his life in the NICU and was able to come home on Christmas Eve, that was truly the best Christmas present.

As a two-year-old, William is so full of energy and has such a zest for life, it sometimes wears me out just watching him move. He loves to go, go, go....

It is so fun seeing the new things that William learns as he is getting older. His excitement as the "choo-choo" goes by the back of his house, when he sings "e-i-e-i-o", and when I say to him, "one" and he replies, "doo" it is so cute. If we are tending him, as soon as his parents return he looks at us with his big smile and says, "bye". I can only assume that he has just dismissed us.

At a recent family dinner at Uncle Jeff and Aunt Melissa's home, it was fun to watch as William kept coming to get his Grandpa Bear (Mike) by the hand to go play "Wheeeee". Not the "Wii" that everybody else likes to play, this game is different. William sat on the gliding ottoman while Grandpa gave a little push to make it move and then William would jump off while saying, "wheeeee." A few minutes later he came looking for Grandpa, then he led his Grandpa by the hand to the ottoman, and the whole procedure began again.

I shared a "tender moment" with William when he was just a year old. I was staying with the boys at their home one Sunday morning and William was supposed to be napping. He was crying in his bed so I went into his room and picked him up. I went over to the rocking chair where I sat down and began to rock him as I sang primary songs softly into his ear. He just laid his head on my shoulder and listened, but every couple of minutes he would pull away and look at me, smile, and then lay his head back on my shoulder. This went on for several minutes until he fell asleep. I loved those moments that we spent together and I think William did too.

I am so grateful for William, he is one of our precious "Little Guys" and he is loved so much.

William's family: Daddy, Mommy, Adam, Zachary, and William

It's My 100th Post

The first time I saw someone's blog commemorating their 100th post, I remember thinking that I would never make it to 100 posts. But 14 months and 17 days after my 1st post, here is my 100th. In honor of one of my favorite places (which I will be visiting very soon) I give you 100 memories of my trips to the beach. Oh, and...click on the pictures to enlarge.

1. Waking up each morning to the sound of the waves, and realizing that I'm still at the beach

2. Mikee and I going on our walk down Beach Road every morning (except Disnneyland day)

3. Granma's Ulster Fry

4. Driving down I-5 and getting my first glimpse of t'ocean

5. Lots of palm trees

6. Pick Up Stix

7. Family talent show

8. Mr. Roboto

9. "We're here for the week!"

10. Buying ice-cream cones and walking on the pier

11. Jeremy's strangulated two wood

12. Eating at the Fisherman Restaurant on the pier

13. Lilian sharing her favorite ice-cream with us (and serving it to us while we're sitting lazily on the beach)

14. Buying Michael Teryle a treat one year, and being reminded of it every year ever since (I think it is a tradition now)

15. Lying on my stomach on my beach towel, and feeling the ocean breeze move over my back

16. Glimpses of Catalina Island

17. Looking for Grunions at midnight

18. The hokey pokey

19. Dutch oven dinners, BBQ's, and bon fires

20. Going to Disneyland

21. David missing the Disneyland parking lot tram as he ran while pushing Emily in the stroller, the rest of the family were on the tram ("we'll wait for you!")

22. Walking as far down the beach as possible and then back

23. Rocks

24. Gathering seashells

25. Jeremy telling his big brothers that he couldn't go swimming in t'ocean because "...shark's are attracted to yellow." He was 5 years old and wearing a yellow swimsuit.

26. peanut butter..."and jelly?"

27. Kids buried up to their necks in the sand

28. The big log that washed ashore and kept the kids occupied all week long

29. KFC on the beach

30. Going to the movies in San Clemente

31. Dolphins

32. Toe rings (not for me) and ankle bracelets (for me)

33. "When are we going to the store Trix?"

34. Eating Lilian's famous salad while sitting on a beach chair looking out at t'ocean

35. Being called to "come on down..." on The Price Is Right (a future post)

36. Our Ditty cousins on occasional years

37. Zach throwing his binky off of the pier

38. Lots and lots of Marsden, Leger, and Nielsen cousins

39. Lip-sync

40. Going to LA to see Wicked

41. San Clemente K-Mart

42. Grocery shopping at Ralph's

43. Washing the clothes (I love doing my laundry at the beach house....seriously)

44. Going to Dana Point Harbor

45. In-N-Out Burger

46. The Pacific Coast Highway

47. The broken stairs on the mountain

48. The railroad tracks and the trains

49. Visiting The Best of Britain to buy chocolate

50. Beach toys strewn all over the beach, all week long

51. Parking our cars and making sure that they all fit in the carport

52. Going over to San Clemente to swim and play for a day

53. Beach umbrellas

54. My Dad periodically asking me if I have plenty of lotion (sunscreen) on

55. Going to a Dodger's game (which I've never done, just Mike and the kids)

56. The Japanese people in Disneyland that wanted to get their picture taken with David; he was wearing his Dodger jersey and they thought that he was an LA Dodger, so he complied ("you play for Doja?")

57. Dancing in the parking lot of Capistrano Realty while our car radio blasted away

58. Meeting Uncle Joe and his family at Barstow Station

59. Walking to Circus Circus

60. Triple odds on craps

61. Mike winning $600 in Mesquite with two $5 coins, and one pull of the lever

62. The Roller Coaster at Buffalo Bill's

63. Everyone waving their arms out of the car windows and cheering at the first glimpse of t'ocean

64. Snow on the tops of the school buses (in So Cal?)

65. Watching the fishermen on the pier reeling in their fish

66. Watching the sunset while standing at the end of San Clemente pier

67. Del Mar

68. While shopping in the Thrifty store we saw Anthony Edwards (ER) buying a kite for his son

69. Sharing the beach with Lavell Edwards and his family

70. Uncle Roy singing Ashleigh-O

71. We Didn't Start The Fire "ahh", "ahh", "ahh", "ohh"

72. Lily

73. Fixing the screen door

74. Sweeping up sand

75. Oreo cookie ice-cream sandwiches (mmmmmmmm!!)

76. Cruise ships and boats on the horizon, lit up at night

77. Airplanes with advertising banners in tow

78. Chris's sunscreen

79. Church basketball

80. Playing games

81. Watching the movie Jaws

82. Sunday night testimony meeting

83. "Pay the rent..." in assorted languages and accents

84. Boogie boarding and body surfing

85. Never, ever stopping at the Roy Rogers museum in Victorville

86. The pelicans

87. Jet skis jumping over the waves

88. Tim closing the curtains so that the neighbors wouldn't see him playing the broom while he performed his talent

89. The toll roads

90. Jeff and Jeremy singing in the bathroom at the Jack-In-The-Box on Coronado Island and everyone in the restaurant hearing them

91. Seeing the people way out on t'ocean passing our beach on their paddle boards at dusk and wondering if they would make it to Dana Point before dark

92. Pearl divers diving for pearls for me, at Sea World

93. The big white house at the end of Beach Road

94. Passing Zzyzx Road, my 3rd (soon to be 4th) favorite street in the USA

95. One year on our way to the beach we stopped to visit Uncle Roy's grave, as we stood at his grave I could tell that my Mother was on the verge of tears so I decided to lighten the moment by saying, "in all of these years that we've been coming to the beach we never once stopped to visit Uncle Roy at his house...but now that he's dead we're stopping to visit his grave." Mother started to laugh and all was well.
Disclaimer to # 95...Uncle Roy did rent the beach house next to us for a few years, so we did see him

96. We can't mention going to the cemetery without being reminded of a big gulp cup

97. Water shoes

98. Margie calling Archie on the phone to tell him about Tim winning everything (showcase included) on The Price Is Right and saying..."Arch I'm as serious as hell." I think Arch believed her then.

99. Mike's waffle cone (and his white pants) at Sea World

100. The rules of the beach house (and we know who breaks them)


Where do you go on vacation? What do you LOVE about it?

BYU Women's Conference 2009

I just returned from a wonderful two days at BYU Women's Conference. I had the opportunity to attend several uplifting and motivating classes as well as opening and closing sessions each day. I attended classes about finances, going back to college, self worth, fearing God and not man, faith and sacrifice...

A big highlight for me was attending a class presented by Lynne Sybrowsky who is the wife of Jeremy's mission president. I made sure that I got there early so that I could speak to her before the class started. It was a double bonus when I saw that Elder Sybrowsky (of the seventy) was there as well. We had the opportunity to visit before the class began. There was a mother of another missionary there as well as a sister missionary from Jeremy's mission (she told me that Jeremy had been her Zone Leader). The other mother invited me to sit with her group and we quickly became acquainted. Sister Sybrowsky was an amazing teacher. After the class we visited some more and took some pictures with the Sybrowky's. This was the final class before the closing session on Friday. As I walked alone to the Marriott Center I was overcome with emotion as I felt the spirit of all that had occurred during the two days that I was there. The opportunity to spend those moments with the Sybrowsky's were the icing on the cake, and as I called Jeremy to report I again was overcome with emotion wishing that he had had that experience instead of me.

It is an amazing experience to spend two days at a conference such as this and to feel the spirit which is there constantly. Here are just a few of my favorite quotes throughout the conference:

From my class titled: Man Looketh On the Outward Appearance, but the Lord Looketh On the Heart

"We're all perfectly imperfect human beings"

"Only speak well of yourself"

From Sister Dibb's class: You've Seen Our Sacrifice; Come After Us

"A pioneer is one who goes before, showing others the way to follow." President Monson

From the Friday morning general session where Sister Beck spoke:

In reference to those who say that they have family night on Sunday, Sister Beck said this..."why wouldn't we want Monday in addition to Sunday for family night."

A mother said to her daughter before her wedding day..."it's okay to cook for your husband."

From my class titled: "Fret Not Thyself Because of Evildoers": Fearing God, Not Man

When in conversation with someone who is criticizing or doesn't understand our beliefs..."address the 'light of Christ' in another person."

"We are given the gift of the Holy Ghost to travel 1st class everyday"

"It is a 'joyful burden' to stand as witnesses"

It truly was an incredible two days. I'm grateful to Mike and Caitlin for taking care of things on the homefront so that I could attend, to my Mother for going with me, being able to spend time with Margie and Melissa and some of Margie's family, for wonderful classes, beautiful music, smiling faces, and so much more....

Starting at the right; Phyllis, Suzie, Margie, Melissa, Bea (my mom), Me, and Karen

Family Friday: Featuring My Brother Alan

I am the oldest of my parents six children; I have four brothers and a favorite sister. The first of my siblings to be featured on Family Friday is Alan.

Alan is the 4th child in our family, and the first to be born in America. He is just 5 years younger than me and is the first child in the family that I can actually remember as a baby. He is also named after my Dad. He isn't "officially" a Jr. but when you have two Alan's in the family (especially during the years when they both lived in the same house) there are times when they need to be clarified as Sr. and Jr.; case in point: When Alan was in high school a teenage girl called on the phone one day and asked for Alan. As was our families practice the girl was asked, "Sr. or Jr.?" makes sense, right? The girls response (giggle, giggle), "sophomore."

Shortly after I became engaged to Mike I started a new job at the Church Office Building. I would often tell my family stories of seeing the general authorities and even the Prophet in the building or on the grounds. When Alan was in Jr. High on school holidays he would often ride the bus to Salt Lake and come to visit me at my office. He was hoping that he would see the Prophet; Spencer W. Kimball. That hope was finally realized when he did see the Prophet and the Prophet spoke to him. As I think about that now it impresses me to think of the faith of such a young boy and his desire to see Gods Prophet. I am so glad that he had that experience.

Alan served a mission to the Philippines, it was there that he met his future wife Marivic. They were married in the Salt Lake Temple on April 26, 1985; one year after Alan returned from his mission.

Alan has always been an excellent brother and Uncle. He was always willing to tend my kids for me whenever I needed him. He and Marivic stayed with the boys for two weeks when Mike and I went to England in 1992. Many times he took my boys on adventures. One that I particularly remember was when the Utah Jazz were coming home one night after a big game, many fans were congregating at the airport to greet the team and Alan called to see if the boys would like to go. They were all very excited to go and Jeremy (he was only 4 or 5) took his basketball with him so that he could get the teams autographs. At some point in the evening Alan couldn't find Jeremy (it was only a minute but if you knew Jeremy back then you'd understand). It was just a few moments later that Alan heard his name called over the PA system asking him to report to one of the counters. There was Jeremy sitting on top of the counter holding his basketball which was filled with autographs, and airport personnel standing by to make sure that he was "found".

My three boys weren't the only ones who enjoyed Uncle Alan's adventures; on our last trip to the beach house he took Caitlin to Disneyland along with his children Tara and AJ. Here are just a few of the adventures that I've been on with Alan: Sea World, Disneyland (with and without kids), 17-mile Drive, Pebble Beach, Monterey Bay, San Francisco, Reno, Lake Tahoe (when I visited Alan in Reno he said let's go to dinner, but we didn't just go to dinner in Reno, we drove to the California side of Lake Tahoe so that we could say that we ate dinner in California), Mexico (when Alan lived in Yuma he was just minutes away from the Mexican border, we drove to the border and then walked into the town of Algodones for a few minutes and then walked out and drove home). I've had opportunities to visit Alan and his family in every town that they have lived in. Alan always makes sure that we have a good time. He is always interested in going places and seeing new things. I am sure that taking a ride down the Legacy Highway is on the top of Alan's things-to-do list on his next trip to Utah.

Alan is an amazingly motivated and talented man. He worked at both KTVX and KSL television stations (not at the same time) while attending high school and then the U of U. He wanted to someday become an anchorman. After graduating from the U of U, his young families adventures began in Reno where he was a news reporter; then they went to Yuma, AZ.; Salinas, CA; and now they live in Rocklin, CA. Alan is currently an anchorman in Chico, California.

I cannot write about Alan without mentioning the significant life altering experience that he and I have both had, and that is of the death of a child. Our children were born just a few months apart, were playmates as well as cousins, and died within two years of each other. I know that one day during the millenium when all of our other siblings will be empty nesters, Alan and I will once again be raising pre-schoolers and trading baby sitting just as we did twenty years ago.

I love my brother Alan and I'm so grateful that he is in our family. If anyone has had an adventure with Alan or just wants to say how great he is....thanks for sharing!

Alan, Marivic, Tara, and AJ