28 February, 2011

February news

First on the February news agenda is that BYU moved into the #3 spot in the National ranking for college basketball which of COURSE constitutes Ro shaving his head with the BYU letters and spray painting it. Also My mom had her 64th birthday.
She shares a birthday with Eleisha, aka her adopted granddaughter, aka my harp student.
So the family went up to a cabin and took a snowmobile trip for the day. It was grande!


Then we hit up the ice castles in Midway. They are a real gem.
My mom LOVING her birthday!
Then my dad dared us to lick the ice "The Christmas story" style.
So we did.

Beautiful times and beautiful memories. Now welcome MARCH!!

22 February, 2011

Family in town

Instead of the annual ski pictures I put up every year when Brian and his family come into town, I'll put up some of the new family pics!
We haven't had an updated picture of the family since the one where I am holding Norman the cat. Oh you know the one!
LOVING Hillary and can't believe she is 16! She is such a fun girl and I just want to hang out with her all the time. One night after skiing we sat up giggling until all hours of the night and fell asleep on the floor by the fire. That's my kind of camping.
We took a shot of the WHOLE family but I believe that it is under construction at the moment (photoshop). Coming soon...
Mom and dad so cute. I like that saying
"All because two people fell in love."

16 February, 2011

I'll go with it




















Oh it was a blizzard out there tonight. That is not news to anyone. I'll tell you what is news though....FREE movie and popcorn AND drinks.





Conversation driving over in the snow:

Vicki Tracy: "Uh, is this really a good idea?"

Me: "Oh it'll be a good idea alright! We'll love the movie."

As we arrived at the window to buy our tickets the lady asked us if we had cash. Interestingly enough, their credit card system was down. Like we carry cash with us on snowy nights. If ever. I said "Can we go in anyways?" She printed our tickets and we were in! "It's not your fault our system is down." You are right sister.

Popcorn and drinks? I'm sure you can guess the rest of the story.

Happy as larks we sat down to watch the movie and .....it was stupendous! I highly recommend it. We were laughing and giggling and dying at Jen Aniston's hair and 'sneaky hot body' (funny line from the movie) the whole time.
I wanted to jot this down tonight because I've been reading this book that talks about recognizing small miracles in our lives, showing gratitude and happiness that things are 'just working out for you'. Ok ok I know you may be laughing because this was just a free movie, but that is the point. Many times we discount the small sweet things that go well for us and chalk them up to coincidence.
If we recognize and are grateful for small touches of happiness that we get and we look forward to them, they will come to us more easily. I'll keep trying this theory on for size! So far so good. Whew.

08 February, 2011

Black eye beauty

Look what I have been sporting the last few days.
(the night it happened...much worse now)
Conversation of the day:

Grammy: "Do you have a black eye?"

Me: Yes

Grams: Concerned she grabs my hand "Leave him."


That made me laugh. Apparently people's first instincts are to associate black eyes with domestic abuse because I have gotten many similar half joking remarks.


My 2 black eyes to this day have been from a wave runner and now a snowboarding accident. Who else has a black eye story of their own? Come on, I want to hear it!


03 February, 2011

A few more things on LoVe

Here are a few things that caught my eye so far this month while we are celebrating LOVE.

TRUE LOVE
Thou shalt live together in love.
-Doctrine and Covenants 42:45
True love is not so much a matter of romance as it is a matter of anxious concern for the well-being of one's companion.
I read this article today and liked it. I should do a click HERE thing in case you want to read it. I don't really know how to do that so...I'll just put the article below and you can read it if you want. It's pretty good I think. Happy February!


Relationships are easy

Editor’s note: This is a guest post from Corey Allan of Simple Marriage.

Relationships are easy.

You may have read or heard the opposite, that relationships are hard work. I used to believe that was true. Not anymore.

Relationships are easy.

I understand that making time for someone else or giving up some of the things you love or getting your own way create some struggles in life – but once again, relationships are easy.

Perhaps what people who believe relationships are hard work are actually referring to the difficulty of interacting and living with an immature, childish human.

Why would it be hard work to be in relationship with a mature, caring grown up?

Here’s a couple of other questions to ponder:

Why is it that we are sometimes nicer to strangers than we are to loved ones?

Shouldn’t marriage and relationships lighten our load, not add to our burden? Because if it were the latter, why in the world would any of us sign up for something like this?

Perhaps the problem is that many times we get bogged down in a lot of the unnecessary parts of relationships and lose focus on the essential parts. Or we lose sight of the fact that our significant other is a separate being who is capable of making their own decisions and charting their own path in life.

But this fact isn’t a bad thing at all as it frees you up to do the same! And it also frees you both to choose each other – not feel like you’re stuck in a monotonous existence together.

Why relationships are easy

It all boils down to how you view what goes on within your relationships, specifically your significant ones.

First and foremost, marriage is designed to help you grow up. It’s not about happiness. It’s not about becoming more complete, despite what Hollywood and popular press would like you to believe. Marriage is about growing. Happiness will accompany you at times along the way, but it’s not the ultimate goal.

And second: your growth – your responsibility; your spouse’s – theirs. When you keep this in mind you realize that all you can control in a relationship is yourself.

Many times couples have sought my help in working on their marriage. They come in thinking their relationship is an outside entity that can be fixed. The problem with this is they’ve got it backwards – the relationship is working on them! That’s the way relationships are designed.

When you acknowledge this and live accordingly, relationships are easy.

Here’s how.

How many times has something about your spouse’s behavior driven you crazy? Or how many heated discussions have come from your differences in beliefs?

The best way to combat this is found in this phrase: Rather than trying to adjust the wind, adjust your sails.

Focus on what you can control – and this begins and ends with you!

Simplify things in life so you can savor more of the goodness. This same idea can be applied to relationships.

And it starts by slowing down.

Do you have trouble remembering names when meeting someone new? Do you know why? Most of the time you’re too busy talking or thinking about what to say that you don’t even hear their name.

This happens in regular conversations as well. You’re busy or rushed thinking about something else and you miss the goodness of the moment with your spouse, or kids, or friends.

Slow down. Let their be pauses in the conversation while you think and respond. There doesn’t have to be a banter or speedy exchange of ideas in conversation.

Breathe. Listen. Breathe. Connect.

This will open you both up to more with each other.

Leo’s favorite guide works for most every aspect of relationships as well:“Smile, breathe, and go slowly.”

Just think how much better everything, and I mean everything (wink wink), will be when you follow this guide in your relationship.