A Thankful Mum!

I was out watering the yard on a Tuesday evening late in July, when the phone rang. It was Marlon who asked me if I could do him a huge favor! A little hesitant, I asked what that might be? He proceeded to tell me that he needed me to fly to London to represent the Paralympics at a press conference where Procter and Gamble would be announcing that they were going to be a sponsor of the Olympics for the next 10 years. Since the 2012 Olympics will be in London they thought that would be an appropriate place to make the announcement. In conjunction with the press conference, they were flying in 7 moms from around the world to receive a special award and to help them kick of a continuation of their "thank you mom program" started in the winter Olympics. What an honor! I was allowed to invite a guest to go so obviously I invited my husband and best friend! We were both in shock.

It was kind of crazy getting ready to go as we didn't end up getting our reservation until Sunday and we left Monday afternoon. The only thing I was concerned about was that my dad and Shirley were at our house visiting and all of our children were coming home for our annual family vacation that week. Fortunately we were only going to the cabin and could catch up with them after we arrived home. I left Keri Beth in charge of taking care of Shirley and my dad, and of getting everyone picked up from the airport. Unfortunately, she ended up with an abscessed tonsil and after we arrived home she had to have a tonsillectomy! (It's a long story that I will have to finish on another post.)

It was a fast trip, but the flight and accommodations were amazing. They flew us first class...now I know what I have been missing! There are times when ignorance is bliss!!! I didn't know traveling could be so comfortable, it was unbelievable. We arrive in London on Tuesday afternoon and were met by a driver who took us to hotel. Or I should say attempted to take us to our hotel. There was an accident on Westminster Bridge leading to where we were staying, so after driving around for nearly a couple of hours I suggested that he drop us off and we would just walk a mile or so to our hotel, which we did. Wouldn't you know that it would start raining, but it just added to the memories.

The press conference was the next day on Wednesday. What an amazing experience to be recognized with mother's of Olympians from around the world, then to be on stage with so many important people was humbling! My heart was especially touched that P&G is so dedicated in recognizing and honoring mothers. Nothing in this world brings me more joy and happiness than my children, so to be honored as a mother was a moment I will cherish forever.

The people from P&G were very gracious and treated us like royalty which meaningful considering that we were in a town where the presence of royalty was so obvious. They allowed us to stay an extra day so we could spend an entire day touring the city. We didn't really have time to do much more than take a fast trip via tour bus and experience a great deal of walking, but we had a wonderful time.

Below are just a few pictures that hold special memories! We are so grateful to P&G for the amazing experience and to the USOC for allowing us to represent the Paralympic movement! It was a privilege and honor!!!

We didn't get to spend much time with my Dad and Shirley who drove up to visit with us and all of our children who were scheduled to arrive later on in the week. We are grateful for their willingness to make the drive to Utah, we love them both so much.

We couldn't believe our first class accommodations! We felt like a king and queen. Here we were just settling in for our mid-night dinner!

Our greeter and driver who met us at the London airport. I could get used to this kind of a life very easy! It was nice being in a country where we spoke the same language. Our driver was able to give us some pointers and tips on sightseeing in London.

After trying several different routes to get us to our hotel due to an accident, we finally had our driver drop us off and we walked the remainder of the way to our hotel.

Our first view of Big Ben as we headed across the river, down to the Westminster bridge where our hotel was. Our hotel actually looked straight at "Big Ben".

Our first meal in London was at Subway. As you can see the eating area was basically right on the sidewalk. We weren't very adventurous when it came to trying new eating establishments. The money exchange was terrible which made everything very expensive. It probably cost us the equivalent of about $20.00 to eat Subway sandwiches.

After a breakfast with the "Mums" and P&G people, they sent us to our "green room" for makeup and hair!

Receiving my "thank you Mom" gift from Mark Pritchard of P&G, Jacque Rogge, IOC President and Gerhard Heiberg, from the IOC also.

On stage with the other Olympic mums! You can probably recognize a few from seeing them on TV.

We very rarely eat at McDonald's at home, but it has become tradition that we always have to try McDonald when in a foreign country, for some reason it always tastes better.

Kerry and I visiting a London Bridge, however not "the London Bridge" which we saw down the river on our boat tour. This one was much more impressive. The real "London Bridge" looks like a cement bridge, something like what you would see on an freeway overpass.

Kerry and I in front of Buckingham Palace. Imagine 775 rooms! The Queen lives in 9 of them. I just can't imagine what's in the other 766 rooms. Too big of a house for me. I have a hard time cleaning the one I have.

The one place I really wanted to go into was Westminster Abby. We arrived at 3:30 p.m. and the last tour was at 3:00. If only walls could talk, can you imagine the amazing stories! I think this beautiful edifice was built in the early 1500!

As you can see, we weren't the only one's out for a stroll. The streets were very crowded, especially on Thursday. I think it would drive me crazy to drive around this town. The traffic always seemed bumper to bumper.

A typical London street. We walked down many of these. Kerry took me on a "walking tour" trying to find the original Hard Rock Cafe. I know we had to walked at least 5 miles and I don't think we were anywhere close. However, we did find a fire department and Kerry took the time to go inside and visit with a couple of the firefighters.

Kerry and I went out to enjoy the evening lights which were beautiful.

Our last evening in London we headed out to take some sunset pictures and just enjoy the

amazing opportunity to sit and look at "Big Ben" and other the other wonderful sights.

We had to leave very early for the airport, about 5:15 a.m. but we had another wonderful driver who picked us up and safely arrived us at our destination. Once again we feel so blessed. Who would have ever dreamed we would be having these kinds of experiences when we adopted a 9 year old boy named Marlon!

Pioneer Trek-2010

Kerry and I have had the privilege of participating in 2 previous pioneer treks with our church's youth group. I have had some sacred experiences and always prayed to be able to go again. They only go every 4 years and in the previous treks we went as "Ma's and Pa's" to a group of teenagers. This time we went as support staff for the medical and special activities committees.

One might wonder why I would pray to go on such an adventure. Only if you have been, would you understand. While I can't claim to have any Mormon pioneer ancestors who traveled by handcart across the plains, I am so grateful to all of my ancestors who came before me from so far away. I can't even begin to imagine the hardships that they endured to get to this country. Even for those born here, life was hard. As I witness the political/economical trials that we are currently facing, I pray to God with all of my might that we who have been so richly blessed to grow up in the United States of America, can remember why our ancestors sacrificed so much to get here.

Kerry tells me that I would have been a great pioneer. Maybe in spirit, but I would have frozen the first night out. On this trip we slept in a tent, with sleeping bags rated for zero degrees, on an air mattress, in 30 degree temperatures, and I still froze. I borrowed a quilt from a friend the last night and stayed somewhat comfortable. Does that tell you how wimpy I am. However, I did endure the blistered lips and feet and walked the entire 28 miles. It's a good thing our group didn't go earlier in the year, as was originally planned, as those who did truly had a pioneer experience with snow. We were so grateful that the temperatures and overall weather were ideal for our trek. I bear testimony that my prayers were answered!

There were approximately 450 people involved in this trek which was held at Deseret Land and Livestock which is owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day-Saints on the Utah/Wyoming boarder. The land serves the dual purpose of providing trekking opportunities for thousands of youth every year, and is home to several thousand heads of cattle being raised on the property. The above picture might look like it was pretty chaotic, but actually it was one of the most organized events one could ever participate in. The handcarts used are built to represent the actual handcarts that the Mormon pioneers used.
Kerry and I wore traditional pioneer clothing, although I took some razing about my cute aprons, which by the way I made myself. Kerry's red arm band denoted that he was a medical person although I packed his big red "fanny pack" the entire trip. It kept pulling on his pants so I traded him my back pack. Because we were not in a family, we did not have a handcart to pack our personal belonging in. Most of things were in a truck but anything we were going to need along the trail had to be carried by us personally.
We stopped every couple of miles or so to make a potty stop. Pick ups with trailers on the back pulled porta potty's for us. Our support people who had that job were fantastic. They were the cleanest porta pottly's I have ever use! Kerry got so dark from being in the sun, that one night I started laughing as he looked like he had changed nationalities.
Here I was checking with one of the families to make sure they were doing okay. This was actually a family from our own Thatcher ward. Brother and Sister Mortimer were the Ma and Pa.
These ladies were all support people like myself. Since we weren't grouped in with the families, we walked along the trail together. How blessed I felt to be surrounded by such wonderful, strong and courageous women.
Some of the great support brethren. Dr. Chad on the left is one of the doctors that I work for at the clinic and of course was our doctor on the trek. Kirt Rees and Mike Harris had porta potty duty. Brother Dennis Christensen was the chairman of the special activities committee that I was on.
During each trek they have what is referred to as the "women's pull". The men are all taken off of the handcarts and the women are required to pull the handcarts alone up a very steep hill. Those of us who didn't have handcarts stepped in to help, representing angels that God sends into our lives to help us though trials. This is always a very sacred time. The purpose is not to teach young women that they don't need men, but to teach them that they can do hard things. On this particular trek, after helping several handcarts up the hill, I literally felt like my heart was going to fly out of my chest and I thought I was going to throw up. I have never felt that way from exertion before. For a few moments I thought I might actually die on the trail.
Each family had a baby that they carried with them. On the second day we had what is called the "black arm band" experience. Black arm bands are tied around specific people's arm which signifies that they have now died. It is an emotional experience as the families have to deal with the death of their loved one. I adopted a baby from a family who had lost their mother and carried her with me.
This picture was taken probably about an hour before we arrived back at the base camp. What you can't see is that my hands were so swollen they looked like they were going to pop, my lips were blistered and so swollen it hurt to smile, and my toes were duct tape to help keep my blisters from getting worse. As I run into others who went on trek, there are many whose lips are still healing. Fortunately I found some good salve that I have which I think helped a lot. I have a couple of toes that are purple under the nail, and one toe that feels a little numb whenever I step on it.

I am so grateful to my Heavenly Father for allowing me to have this experience. I pray that I will never go to bed without offering a prayer of thanksgiving for all that we have been blessed with. My heart is filled with gratitude for the early saints who with unwavering faith were strong and of good courage.

A Catch Up Post!

I promised myself that I was going to do at least one post a month. I'm already behind. Life is so busy and I don't think it is going to slow down any time soon. I'm not sure where I ever came up with the notion that the older your got the simpler life would become. WRONG!!! Now I know why one has to retire.....there just isn't time to work! Kerry and I are counting down the years but I saw a newspaper article today that said they may move the age for social security to 70! Oh well, at the moment we are both so grateful to have jobs. Below are a few pictures from the last few month's. I kind of got out of order when I posted our Florida trip first. I don't even think I have these pictures in order but at least they will be posted.

Every year I wait for the tulips to bloom. It seems like if the weather doesn't wipe them out that the deer eat them. I am going to have to do some transplanting this fall to see if I can put the ones up by the road a little closer to the house to protect them from life's hazards.

Kerry turned 60 on May 19th. I don't know what happened to all of the pictures, but we had a little surprise party for him along with 2 of our other friends who were also turning 60 . This was our family party. It's still hard to imagine where the years have gone.

Addison and Marlie find enjoyment in popping the bubble wrap.

Tim and Drew playing a duet for everyone.

These pictures are out of order. It was so chilly outside on Easter that we had to have our Easter egg hunts inside. Here Addison is trying to hide an egg on grandpa's head!

I don't even remember what this get together was for, but for whatever the reason we always enjoy the opportunity to see our Lehi grand kids.

I know the grand kids love me, but there is something special between them and their "poppa". They can probably tell that he is just a big kid in disguise.

A Perfect Ending To A Perfect Vacation!

Oh my, I'm not sure my heart can handle doing this post right now but we will see how it goes. You see, we are back in Utah as I write this, so far away from where we were just 24 hours ago. When I leave children and grandchildren I take the memories with me but I leave part of my heart with them. I am feeling the pain of that separation as I sit here reflecting on the beautiful vacation just experienced.

We had sooooooooo much fun. We could not have enjoyed ourselves more. In planning our last night there we had talked about finding a place on the beach to eat and then decided to pick up some food and literally have dinner on the beach. It was a beautiful evening, the sunset was so pretty, but it was being with Mary, Cam, Hudson, and Miss Kennady that we will cherish the most. I'm grateful to have these pictures, but I'm even more grateful for the memories engraved in my heart!

One last look down the beach. The city you see in the background is Destin.

It was a beautiful evening for a walk on the beach.

I never tire of feeling sand between my toes, of hearing the sound of waves or feeling the warmth of the sun on my face.

As we were walking down the beach Hudson ran up and took our hands. He learned quickly that if he ever wanted to go with us that it was necessary to hold our hands. We are grateful that he is so anxious to spend time with grandpa and grandma.

I am so grateful that Kerry allowed me to plan this trip and that we can share these wonderful memories.

What a life, sitting on a beautiful beach were I was WARM, holding two of our grandchildren! The only thing that could have made the experience any better would have been to have all of our children and grandchildren there to share the moment. That is my dream! I hope I don't have to wait until we are all in heaven. It's getting harder and harder to get everyone together.

I keep telling Mary that the reason she has had to move around so much is that she is helping me mark things off of my "bucket list". There were 3 places I told her that I wanted to go....Nauvoo, New Orleans, and Florida. Because of Cam's employment, I have been to all three places in the last 2 years. It's now my prayer that they can move back closer to family. We are grateful that Cam has employment during these challenging times, but Florida is just way to far away!

Hudson, Mary, Cam and Miss Kennady enjoying our last evening together on the beach. Hudson and Cam went swimming even though Hudson didn't have his swimming trunks on. He loves his daddy so much and just wants to be wherever he is. I actually sat on the beach and rocked Miss Kennady to sleep, another "blessed moment".

We thank you for your wonderful hospitality and willingness to let us share this time in your lives with us. Until we are together again, Mary, Cam, Hudson and Miss Kennady, know how much we love you and miss you!

Enjoying The Sun, Surf, And Sand On Florida's Beautiful Beaches!

Pictures don't begin to describe how beautiful the Santa Rosa and Destin beaches are or how much fun we had! The sand is so white and a different texture then what we are used to, and the water is so pretty and warm. Hudson has learned at an early age to love the beach and it is so much fun to play with him in the sand and water. All of this can be found less than 10 minutes from Mary and Cam's front door. After our long Utah winter, I felt like I had died and gone to heaven.

As I write this, there are news reports that the oil from the terrible oil leak off the coast of Louisiana will be arriving to the Florida beaches within days. Equipment has been placed on the beaches to try and help control the damage when that happens. It is probable that the beaches will have to be closed, which will be devastating to the people who live and work there. They rely so much on tourism and can use our prayers in their behalf. Below are just a glimpse of our wonderful memories.

Hudson love to make castles in the sand and then smash them. Mary had just finished her part in the castle making process but as you can see it didn't stand for very long.

Miss Kennady was such a good sport to let us drag her around in and out of the van. We put up the Pack and Play under an umbrella where she would nap while we were at the beach. Every now and then she would get hungry so Mary would take a break from the fun to feed her.

The water in the Gulf is so much warmer than what I was used to swimming in as a child in the Pacific Ocean. Hudson loves the water as much as we did and would come and take our hand as a way of telling us that he was ready for another swim.

The only problem with being a surfer on this beach is that the waves break close to shore. Once you get out a short ways it is pretty calm and is just fun to float around.

I brought my beach chair out and sat at the water's edge while Hudson just stood next to me jumping over the waves as they reached the shore.

Speaking of floating, someone created a new kind of board. The goal is to be standing and then paddle yourself around,which Kerry did but he accidently deleted the other pictures. To me it looks like a lot of work but it seems to be the new thing on the beaches in Florida.

I actually think the kids have a better idea. Just sit on the board and let someone push you around. Mary's friends invited us to spend Memorial Day in Destin with them and their families, which was so fun. Hudson enjoyed having playmates and we enjoyed the opportunity to visit.

Kerry, Mary, Hudson and myself loving the sun and surf in Destin. We missed Cam not being with us as he was at work. We appreciate how dedicated he is to taking care of Mary and their 2 beautiful children.

We are going to miss those little legs and feet following us around. Mary and Cam very recently purchased a new Odyssey van and I felt bad that as hard as we tried to wash off before we got in, it didn't take long to break the van into life at the beach with all of the sand. Mary was a good sport about it however, and it sure was nice to travel in such comfort.

Taking The Long Way To Birmingham!

Just a quick post to make mention of our trip to Birmingham. Mary and Cam wanted to go to the Temple and the closest one is in Birmingham, Alabama, about a 4 1/2 hour drive away. Mary wanted us to see where they filmed "Sweet Home Alabama" so she took us the back way to the small town of Greensville where she thought we were going to find this film sight. We are not sure how she got so confussed but after about 2 hours out of our way we were not anywhere close to where we were supposed to be. Oh well, we had a good laugh over its and saw some beautiful country side. We took the kids and played at the park across the street while Cam and Mary went to the Temple. By 8:00 p.m. we were back in the van on our way back to Santa Rose. It was a long day, but well worth the trip!

A Birthday For Hudson-He's Turning TWO!

Hudson loves Elmo so Mary had a vision of making him an Elmo birthday cake. Kerry and I brought the cake pan with us all the way from Utah. However, as Mary and I took the cake out of the pan it developed several large cracks. Mary wanted to throw it in the garbage but I convinced her to at least let me try to mend it. So, she went to work making the icing and I said a silent prayer that we could save Elmo!

I didn't realize when I started how long the process would take. Several hours later, a kitchen covered with icing, and a back ache, I was finally done.

I wasn't sure at first if Elmo really looked liked Elmo, but the kids all thought he did and that's what mattered.

Mary had a few families in their ward over on Sunday night for an early celebration. As you can tell, everyone was having fun.

On Tuesday morning, June 1st, Hudson's actual birthday, Mary started the celebration with making Hudson a special waffle.

Later in the day, we all headed to Gulfarium to watch the dolphin show.

Cam wasn't able to get the day off of work and we missed having him with us to celebrate. We took a break from the heat to enjoy the nice cold drinks that Mary bought for us. As usual, Miss Kennady was so patient as she was carried around from one show to another.

We ended the day with one more singing of "happy birthday" and we finished off the last of the cake and cupcakes.

We love you Hudson.....thanks for letting us share your 2nd birthday with you. We pray everyday for you that you will be watched over and protected as you grow and mature.