2011 Memory Lane photo scan

2011 Lagoon with Anthony

Anthony surprised me early yesterday morning with "want to go with me to Lagoon?" He had a free ticket that Salina would not use as she is not a fan of Lagoon not pregnant so with baby on board no way. I love being with my brother and I enjoy Lagoon so it was perfect. I hurried to rrearrange my schedule and I treated him to a yummy Jimmy Johns sandwich (the food in the park is and always has been gross). Then Teri dropped us off like we were kids telling us to have fun and not to talk to strangers and to yell loud. I knew Scott would want to pick us up as he believes Lagoons twist cones to be creamy deliciousness far superior to cones outside the park. He is right, they are yummy. It was Anthony work Lagoon Day and we had fun. We spent some time with a coworkers family so it slowed us down a little as far as number of rides but they were very pleasant people with a cute little daughter. Stand out is the personal favorite Tilt A Whirl where I have had a life long quest to make it spin so fast I can't breath. IT WORKED. I sat still in the middle of the golf ball and Anth and I span around we could hardly laugh or breathe. My mom got us hooked on that ride as kids. Usually we try to lean left or right and slide along the ball but this time a guy said try not forcing it just sit back. WOW. We were so dizzy. We could only ride once. Keep in mind I usually ride 15 times a visit because I love it and for the challenge of spin fast. The brand new ride I LOVED was Bombora- it is so smooth like you are riding a wave.

Growing up in Utah meant summers spent at Lagoon. It is not Disneyland but I know it has never tried to be that. It is cotton candy, memories, 80 music from the flying carpet, fun house, moms laugh on tilt a whirl fun. I guess my memories fit into the different yearly repeating visits.

1. We always had my dads company party there. It was very much anticipated and enjoyed by all. We would stop and pick up the Meyers chicken and get there right as the park opened. Anth and I would then start to beg my folks if we could stay till closing even before the first thrilling ride. I remember digging in the ice chest for non carbonated drinks through lots of beer his fellow workers may have had a tiny problem with drinking. My mom and dad rode all the rides loved the scary ones I was chicken to ride I have rode the white roller coaster and colossus but twice in my life was enough.

2. My cousins Anne and Amy and I thought that we were lost daughters of Dracula and hung out at the castle. This was before vampires were in. All three of us would huddle int he dark ride and it use to be very cool. People would jump on your car and the tiny foil room and the tunnels that rolled this way and that.

3. Dance performances. I would dance out there and we would hang out with the Butterfileds whos daughter also was on my dance team. Razz ma tazz. Once I threw my retainer int eh garbage and my dad drove back out there went through the garbage and found it.

4. Neighborhood friends and stake lagoon day. You would get tickets to ride rides and free snow cones.

5. High School friends- fun.

Baby sitters

Lucky for me I have the best ever baby sitters. That's right I have to have a baby sitter for myself every time Scott has a business trip. The latest was over the Valentines week holiday and I got three of the cutest ever girls ever to come watch me. We had a wonderful time looking at treasure from my childhood, playing house, making Valentines, watching movies and talking. I love love love to hold little Sarah on my lap and then she falls asleep. We went to bed fairly early as Erin and Jami had school. Bella was a show off climbing anything she could but she loved sleeping with the girls all piled in my bed. It was neat to help Jami with spelling and see how different the girls are. Erin told me all about her life and goals and dreams and Jami kept us on schedule with brushing teeth and bed times. Anthony and Salina came up 2 nights later on and we all had a blast. The girls want to know when I Scott leaving next?

Kauai Marriott

Lynda and Neal are the best in laws in the whole world. They are so kind to us and we cry each time we have to say goodbye. I wish we lived closer to his parents. Any chance we get to spend time together is a real treat. Neal does not like to travel. He says he can sit by the pool or avoid the sun at home. I say but you can't be with us! He did not comment:) I know he loves us, especially Scott. Neal and Lynda are good moral people. They are honest, hard working, charitable, smart and classy. Here are some photos of where we stayed on Kauai. If you ever have the change to stay there on Poi Pou Marriott vacation club-- do it. We could have spent the whole week and never left and been in heaven. The ocean was like an aquarium right in front of our resort. We snorkeled almost every single day. I was thinking that it is one of my very most enjoyable things in the whole world to snorkel. Lynda and I swam in the salt water pools that were heavenly. I always pretend that I am in the Olympics in the pool. I started this as a young child with my little brother at a condo we had growing up. I do gymnastics, ice skating and synchronized swimming. Anth would be the judge and we had such fun. I missed him. I had a very nice bar routine this trip he would have been impressed with the tricks I picked up from Nastia and Shawn. To swim at night and see the bright stars and tiny half moon was breath taking. It is not as fun to do my routines with out judges but I sure did enjoy the water. My dad always called me a mermaid and had a hard time getting me out of the water. Now it is Scott who has to drag me out. Lynda and Neal watched the Republican convention with us. I really enjoyed Sarah and wish she was running for President. It distracted everyone which helped me get in extra pool time to work on my floor routine and triple lutz.

I LOVE to camp (kind of)

As a day or two has passed I am becoming scared at the thought I was so excited to be outside. I did really love it but now that I am back in the comfort of home once again I think-- was I nuts? The dirt, spiders, bugs, extreme temp, lack of shelter, scary toilet hole, no sink, no flush toilet, no shower, I think I must have been crazy to think I was so happy there. Or maybe I am losing my mind. Because I did love to make smores with Maddy who got them just right as they were extremely messy. I loved how she and Taylor waited for turns on my lap. How it was so quite before everyone else arrived and Scott and I just reveled in our alone quite time. Mason jumped in to the fire pit before the fire was roaring and got filthy and Sarah jumped into save him and then sat in the dirt and seemed just happy being totally dirty. Part of me thought good for her- dirt it up and the other part was thinking get this girl a hose and some soap. My parents forbid me to get dirty or even sweat as a child. Really it was more my mom who had the hang up about sweat and dirty. My dad just liked things clean and perfect. Our neighbors use to tease my mom incessantly about us sweating or getting dirty. I am not saying I had a bad childhood and that it ruined my love for dirt. I embarrassed my parents love for clean. One of the main reason I do not like to camp is hygiene or lack there of because usually it leads to illness and a trip to the hospital which I really do not like. OK why am I back pedaling? It could be that from Sat. morning I have been running a high fever with no reason to have a high fever. My best guess is maybe it is from the pesticides I lathered on or the heat from the fire or the freezing cold. I did not get bitten by anything. Maybe it is like I believed when I was young and I am allergic to the outside?? NO I think I had a good time. OH- at least I have some cute photos. You the weird part about my mom is that she grew up at a cabin every summer in Island Park. They must have had dirt and bugs up there back then right? Maybe she was just nervous because of my JRA and other health issues and the doctors scaring her? I need to ask her about all this. The kids all loved it. Backy had all these fun things to do like make bird feeders and giant bubbles. I think I really liked it. No I am sure I did I am just a littel freaked out by the fever.

Erin and the Police

Our little Erin was sad she didn't get to be Miss Scarlet while the family played clue in St. George so she went into the garage and phoned 911. This little first grader was horrified when the police showed up at the door. She was just screaming which made the police suspisous. It is hard when you are little and learning things the hard way and you think the police have just arrived to take your little self into a big jail. She will not be calling into 911 again. It reminded me of this time when my dad ws in the hospital and I was about 6 or 7 and I pused the nurse button. My uncle got so mad at me and I didn't meant o do anything bad it was just shiney. Sometimes little people need extra attention and love and forgiviness. Aunt Marianne was sad to have missed the police- we all know how she loves uniforms.

Grandapa's gifts

My sweet Grandfather was a gem. When I was little I was in the hospital often with JRA and Lupus. I had to have shots and tests and my cute grandpa would drive up to Primary Children's Hospital in the Avenues and sit with me while I was poked and prodded as I hated needles. I think about that now as an adult and see the love and sacrifice. I now know what it is to get out of a warm bed in the winter while it is still dark outside, and he was in his 70s. He was a widow by then and he had started into the early stages of Alzheimer's. I see him so often in my brother and cousin. They are both tall and thin like he was. They have the posture and walk he had. They even have some of his kind temperament and soft spoken humor. He was so fun. I remember one time when he let me eat whipped cream for dinner, Grandma was not happy. He used to blow straws at us in public. He had these incredible journals where he poured his heart out and talked about how much he loved us and worried for us and prayed for us. He leaves a written testimony of his believe in Jesus as the Christ and in the Gospel being restored to the earth. He talks of his love of fishing and the deep pain he felt at losing his sweetheart. I have never heard of a man so in love as he was with her. He would buy 2 Christmas trees and saw one apart to make her dream tree. He tenderly cared for her. We all adored him, we still do. I can't wait for him to meet Scott. They will be great friends, with so much in common. As I watch my friends bury their grandparents (poor Sonya had both hers die within a week of each other) I wonder what it would be like to have an adult relationship with mine. They were all dead by the time I was 10. What is it like to have family all around? There is something magic in the whole generation gap. Like Rita says "Grandparents and grandkids are such great friends because they share a common enemy." Grandpa really left us some many wonderful gifts and examples. My little brother (who I miss so much it still hurts) reminds me of my grandpa.

Individual Worth

Last night I went to help my friend who's father in law had passed away and babysat overnight. I could not sleep but she has this totally cool record live TV thingy. Remember I don't get much TV since Scott is anti. So we don't have any bells or whistles with our TV. Natalie had recorded the

Osmond's on Oprah and on Larry King. I was very

impressed with how much this family loves each other. They really seem to enjoy and appreciate everyone. I was Marie for 3 years as a child for Halloween. I even cut off my long blond locks while my mom slept because Marie got a hair cut. It was Maire and Dorthy Hamill. I was more into Marie than I was into Donny. Scott met one of Merrill Osmond's sons named Justin who does awesome missions around the world to help children afford hearing aids. He also suffered a hearing loss. http://justinosmond.com/ Read more about his amazing life and spirit http://justinosmond.com/about_justin.htm. The thing I really like about the Osmond's is how down to earth they are. Sure Maire is way over the top and they are cheesy but they just seem so nice. I read where Robert Redford said all Mormons are trained from birth to be plastic, that all Mormons serve missions, where they are trained to deflect. I think that it is funny that Redford has to come up with some sort of excuse for the fact that some Mormons are great public speakers and that we don't have anything to hide. I think that in the world today people are not quite sure what to make of us Latter Day Saints. We are weird and very different from the world. We believe in being modest and that love can last forever. That is far off from the enticements in ads saying to do whatever makes you feel good in the moment, despite who may get hurt. I know that we are far from perfect- that is after all why have a Savior. I guess right now people will make judgments about who I am based on Mitt and the Osmund's, I'm OK with that. After all the world makes judgement's on who I am as an American off of Brittney Spears and Bush. I hope that I can be better at not grouping people but really recognizing that we each have individual worth, that each is special in the eyes of God no matter who are what they are. We are all miracles as I was reminded last night for 2 reasons. 1. I watched the show about the human body from the inside WOW! 2. Emily's little one might have died from a bad fall. Really every minute is a gift. I'm glad for the example of love the Osmond's have for each other, I know I could be far better at being a family member to my family.

Seeing the space shuttle

When I was young I loved the movie Space Camp. It is about a group of teens who get to go to NASA and somehow end up launched into space... very realistic. At that age I decided I want to see a shuttle launched. I was riveted in the 6th grade to the T.V. when the challenger exploded. I still am in awe of space travel. I love the images of the earth from space, so quite and peaceful looking. Well I had a treat in 2000. I was on a business trip with Scott in

Orlando. We had just stepped into a building when everyone started to come outside.

You could see the shuttle, that is I could see the shuttle. It was beautiful. it seemed to stay in the same direction for

the longest time. Not like a balloon that will rise until it is a tiny speck. This stayed on the same spot on the horizon. I imagined the feeling of thrust and adrenalin they were feeling on board. I wasn't even aware there was a mission planned. Just lucky I guess to be in the right place at the right time. I have since enjoyed Mission Space at Disneyworld. Where I got to become an astronaut with an important mission to mars. I felt like I was at space camp and got to be in hyper-sleep and everything. I don't want to go to space anymore but I am still thrilled to have seen a launch and the amazing images they send back.

Hart to Hart

After a few days in bed I go a little nuts. Scott got me something to watch from the library I have been really wanting to see for years. Hart to Hart. Not to be confused with the remake from the 90's. This is the good old 1979- 1983 run. I LOVE IT!!! Remember-- I was a TV junkie growing up. Our TV was on 24/7. I can sing the beginning credits to most 80's TV shows. This drives my husband a little bonkers. He was outside working with his dad chopping wood up hill both ways in a storm his whole childhood; while I sat with my dad and brother in front of a TV. My mom thought TV was a waste and only watched Hill Street Blues, MASH and LA Law. The rest of us loved these great old shows. Jonathon Hart reminds me of Scott. You will have to watch an episode and tell me if you can see it too. They don't look alike but their manners are similar. How can you not adore Max and Freeway? Plus the billionaire lifestyle is great with the cars and trips. I think it is fantastic how in love these two are on the show and they are happily married. It is still romance and fun yet married. What a great concept for TV and real life:) It reminds me of some of my other favorites like Remington Steele, Scarecrow and Mrs. King, and Murder She Wrote. Scott and I also watched this old episode of the Beverly Hillbillies at Christmas- we were rolling on the bed laughing so hard. It reminds us of Scott's dads long lost family in the hills of West Virginia. We have never meet some of his relations and so we imagine that they live in the hills frozen in time when in truth they probably all are smart and have degrees from Harvard or they invented the Internet or something. I just wish I could hug and kiss Scott- I don't want to get him sick but I love him so much and watching these old episodes makes me think he is my Jonathon. My mom in law broke my heart by pointing out that Robert Wagner is 78! I saw a photo and he is old. Guess what that means I am older and will be older still. But I am still darling and will just get darlinger-- hee hee.

Too Cool (Towne)

My genius hubby found these cool shot awhile ago and I just stumbled over them again. This is a satellite shot of where I spent the largest portion of my life. In it is can see all the major places that the big events of my childhood took place. It is simple to do you just go to google maps and type in your address. We had a blast looking at friends houses, old houses, vacation spots. It seems to us to be about 6 months old kind of freaky as you can zoom in very tight and see amazing detail. A fun glance down memory lane:) It made me think about the walk to and from school or the different church buildings my family attended. It reminded me of summers where we would ride our bikes to the 7-11 for slurpys and how in the winter we had a wicked sledding hill. I remembered my dads amazing garden and all the night we slept under the stars in the back yard. I loved the BBQ's we had on our deck with this beautiful mountain in the background. I always wish I could go back there for one day-- back in time that is, I did not appreciate what I had-- but I do now.

Close Call

Aunt Sue almost died on Thursday. She is still in the hospital-- going on a week. They are trying to get her well enough to operate. I have been staying with her as much as they will let me. I was sitting there and they had given her some pain meds by IV. They had been giving the same med to her all week. I had not eaten and was going to go get a sandwich but for some reason I waited for awhile. She was sleeping, very peacefully. Then I thought we were having an earthquake. The bed was shaking violently. She was rigid, her eyes wide open and rolled back in her head. I was shaking her and screaming for a nurse. They had taken her oxygen off and her monitor was not hooked up. They threw me out in the hall and I just stood there in a daze. 30 minutes before she had been laughing and happy and then out of nowhere she had stopped breathing. I thought about how lonely it was without her around the house when I go home to shower. She has a huge personality and makes us laugh. She is amazing at loving unconditionally and encouraging me. She has been a huge part of my life. So much of sho I am and all of me is tied to her. She brought sanity to my childhood (which is funny because she suffers from mental illness-- you have to know my family to really appreciate the humor.) Aunt Sue has been doing really well for the months mentally while physically she is falling apart. After what seemed like days they let me back in her room. She looks like an aviator with a big oxygen mask. She looks so very tiny with all the bright lights and equipment. They think she got so relaxed from the meds that she just quit breathing. She is doing fine again. We still wait at the hospital for surgery-- we had fun yesterday reading to each other. I'm so glad I waited to go get that sandwich. I'm so glad they were able to get her breathing again. I'm glad that close call is over.

Little things... thanks

I was thinking about how important little things are. Aunt Sue is in the hospital again. This time is easier on me because Scott is in town to help make decisions. Last time he was off in the wilderness back country back packing. I was reflecting on how little kindnesses make life bearable sometimes. I love how Megan always is encouraging by blog, how Laurie is sweet and listens, how Kaden gave me my first blow kiss on the arm. I have been re reading the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe. My favorite book of the series is The Horse and His Boy. The whole Chronicle makes me think about the day when my life is done and I look back to realize how often God was by my side. Kind of like the foot print poem. I feel like Christ is guiding me but it doesn't always look like that from my limited view. I think that is one of the reasons I love C.S. Lewis-- there is more to his stories then meet the eye just like life. Thank you C.S. Lewis and everyone one who does little things to make the way easier.

Can Ghosts send messages?

These last months have been some of the very hardest of my entire life. It seems each time I turned around another avalanche of pain or stress was crashing around me. I really believe if I could have just laid the burdens at Gods feet and humbled myself to his will I would have had an easier time lifting the loads. But I am stubborn and have a hard time trusting. I like to fool myself into thinking I am in control- ha ha. Like any of us is in control. We are all totally dependant on God. The helping hand we seek is most often at the end of our own wrist so I don't say just sit back and wait for God to do for you what you can do for yourself. I just wonder if I made the year worse by not really trusting in God. I know he is aware of my little triumphs which are very small in the whole scheme of life but very big to my development as a daughter of God on this earth.

Here I am as a little baby. I look happy, I always love a photo shoot. I know that I have always been overly sensitive and too tender hearted. I even have a letter from my dad dated 1986 stating this fact. I don't like it-- so over the last years I have been working on a hard heart. One of the mistakes of a hard heart is you don't see blessing and miracles as easy that are surrounding you.

For example while I sat at the hospital with Aunt Sue I would hear this lullaby playing. This would not have been a big deal except it has big significance to me. Before my grandma died the last gift she gave to me was a little white wind up cat that plays this same tune. So as I would hear this I would look around and no one else would react. I started to think the 7 days of no sleep was driving me mad. I asked Aunt Sue and she could not hear it. It would play at random times through out the day. I found out later they play it when a baby is born. Then at shift change a new nurse came in and said "Hi my name is Sylvia". Not to strange-- then the nurse aid came in "Hi my name is Rose," and the music played on. Sylvia and Rose are not common names you hear everyday. They especially are not heard together-- by me at least. My grandma (who gave me the cat) name was Sylvia Rose. So when Aunt Sue heard the Rose and Sylvia she was sure that my grandma was talking to me beyond the veil. The only question is... what was she saying?

Happy 20 year anniversary to The Princess Bride. Karin pointed out to me they have a fun time line of then and now photos from the cast. What a memorable film, one of my all time favorites. I can't believe it is 20 years old. I remember the book being 100 times better than the movie which I adored so I may revisit it, if I can ever find some time-- make some time. I guess I am getting old too. I ran into a childhood friend I have not seen in 20 years and I almost cried because he looked like an adult and we are the same age. I even said if you look so grown up what do I look like? He agreed that yes we are adults. I don't mind getting old, especially with Scott. Check out the site at ABC... http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/popup?id=3370726&contentIndex=1&page=2

Sapphire water, Red Cliffs and burned skin

Today I am feeling a little sorry for myself. It is nice every so often to have a little pity party. In fact I sometimes ask Scott to say over and over to me... "Poor Missy" because it ends up making me laugh because I have so many blessings and really no complaints. I am in a great deal of pain. I got sever burns on my face, neck, arms and feet at Lake Powell. I am overly cautious in the sun. I always take tons of precaution. So what went wrong? Well I had to stay cool, it was over 100 degrees with no wind. I thought OK I will stay wet on top of the house boat under cover of complete shade. I did not think about the reflection of the harmful rays bouncing off the lake water or the top of the painted white house boat. Guess what? You can get a sever burn from a reflection. The kids helped me all day by dumping buckets of water on top of me or hosing me with squirt guns. It wasn't until late in the day when I noticed a bad heat rash all over my body and I started to feel ill. Up to that point it had been a little slice of heaven. I think being in water is the best thing in the entire world. Not pool water with chemicals nor ocean water with sticky salt but clean lake water. I thrill at the thought of jumping into the deep blue water and looking into the depths of 100s of feet. I love the towering cliffs above my head and floating with the gentle waves. My dad used to call me his little fish, his little mermaid. It was always next to impossible to get me out of the water. I would always swim in the cover of shade from the boat or the cliffs with long sleeves, sunglasses, and sun screen. The stars are absolutely amazing out there. We slept on top of the boat with the sky as our cover. It is out of this world bliss. I grew up going to Lake Powell. I was always careful to stay cool and stay out of the sun. This is my first burn from the Lake I love so much. When the doctor saw me he yelled at me... "what were you thinking going to Lake Powell?" Aunt Sue yelled at me "I told you, you had no business going to that Lake, I hope you have learned your lesson." What lesson is that? That I am a freak? That I am different? That I can't do normal things? That I can't enjoy life when sun or heat in involved? That I have Lupus. I guess I knew these thing already. But Scott makes me feel like living. Like trying new things. Like forgetting my body is sick and can't do normal things. I felt awful for the family who had to drive me 2 hours back to the marina ($526.00 of extra gas) so I could get to a doctor. The stress of all of it left Scott with a bad case of shingles. I also burned my eyes. You see the first time I jumped into the water I forgot I had my sunglasses on. They sank into the icy blue. So now we wait and see what damage I have done. My kidneys are iffy, my skin is damaged very bad. So now I wait, while I toss and turn with the imagined waves that I had loved over the last 4 days. I wonder what they are all up to at this moment while I sit in bed far away from the lake I love. Plus I miss Evan my swim buddy. He was the only one brave enough to jump in with me. The water was cold.

Where has all the water gone?

When I was little we could swim under the bridge. It almost seems impossible now as the water levels are so low. It is sad to see the bleached white rock where water used to live. If someone is in doubt of a draught... visit Lake Powell and see the effects of a drought up close and personal. It really changes the look of the entire lake. Canyons once explored are no longer present. It creates more dangers on the water as land pokes up and trees reach out of the once deep water. I wonder if it will ever be filled up high again. I hope so.

China, weapons and boyfriends

Friday night two of our friends came up to meet us at Snowbird, Candice and Sonya. Candice stayed over night. We talked about everything from China to how knowing who we are can make a difference in the world. Sonya just returned from a 14 day trip to see her parents over in China. I think I would like to see China but who wants to fly for 15 hours? I don't really like flying for 1 hour. (In fact I don't even want to do anything that feels good for mare than an hour.) I am getting ready for Scott's family reunion of his moms side. It makes me excited to think of being together again. We so rarely get to be together. Sometimes years can pass by with out a visit so that is why I started the "every other year force Scott's family to get together" reunion. I believe nothing is more important than family, it is one of the two things I believe to take with you into the next life. The second thing is knowledge and who better to learn with or from than family?
Scott had an excellent Sat. night as he took a concealed weapon permit class. It was kind of scary as the men were so enthralled it reminded me of a bunch a women at a... a... well I can't even think what a bunch of women would get that excited about. Karson was almost jumping up and down and strutting around the house all night packing heat. I had an enormous headache/ nosebleed so I think it made me a little more sensitive/ frightened.
I even cried at the McDonald's play land where we took the kids to get them out of the house during the class. We were talking about one of my parents friends who had died and for some reason I just broke into tears. I think they were happy tears, glad to have known him. But it did not help my headache. His name was L.D. and he loved life and lived big. He always saw the greatness in everything and I mean everything. It was L.D. that married Scott and I (one of the times... long story). Every Valentines Day I call his widow, Norda. They were one of the most amazing couples I have ever known, such love. I think they were sent to earth to be an example of love and service. One of my dearest friends is their daughter and many of my happy childhood memories are with them. We owned a condo together up Ogden canyon-- good times:) We got to see Chad and Ulma and Tyson and Jody. Kaden made me laugh. He told the neighbor boy that, I was his girlfriend. The neighbor boy did not like this and insisted I quit calling Kaden handsome and call him just Kaden instead. I told Kaden I wouldn't tell Scott about my "just starting kindergarten" boyfriend. As soon as we hit McDonald's he was flirting with a little girl on the slide-- so I think he may have dumped me. It's hard to tell in these situations. Four year olds can be so fickle.

Marianne my Mom-- thoughts on Mothers Day

My mom has never been what I thought of as a "mom". She was and is a really fun friend/mom. I always thought of moms as being serious, scheduled, organized, curfew, concerned, and not very approachable. My mom was more like a wonderful friend. She was amazing at taking care of us and made many sacrifices. She never missed any event, and cared for us to the extreme. At times it seemed like she was a single mother. My dad was always working or watching T.V. so she had to do most of the parenting. She would try to guilt him in to coming to see us perform but it didn't always work. I remember her trying to do things like family home evenings-- dad didn't support those much. (He got better with age.) My mom made things fun. Our house was always very clean and she made yummy meals. She really loved to be a mom. I remember thinking that she took being a mom serious but was not serious. We stayed up late laughing. You could talk to her about anything. She never judged anyone. She loved to help others and has many friends. No one can do laundry like my mom. She is great at expressing herself and making us feel guilty. All my friends loved to be around her and talk to her about anything. I loved how special she made all the holidays, her love of music and family. I hope if she were to read this she would not think I don't love her as a mom-- I do. I just think that there are many ways to be a mom and she took a different path. She is much like a teenager now. I feel like I am the mom. I hear this can happen as parents age. We start worrying about them. I think she wishes I would be a mom like her and be more relaxed. Aren't we supposed to end up like our parents? I look like my mom and sound like her but we are very different. I am more about the rules than my mom ever has been. I don't like to flirt like my mom does. I can't spell like she can. She has the best nose and I can't smell a thing. I'm really glad that she was able to be an at home mom and was always there for us. She loves life and loves to be her-- that we do have in common.

Lagoon 2007

Today we had a much needed break at Lagoon Park. It is a spot from my childhood memories. We would go and it was a real treat. We would count down the days until we went and begged my dad to let us stay until midnight. It always seemed more magic at night with all the carnival lights on. It is here that I used to perform with Razz-Ma-Tazz, here where I lost my retainer (dad fished it out of the trash), here where I broke the record with Katie for 44 consecutive rides on the Tidal Wave. I have so many memories. The thing is all the rides are mostly the same. The fun house is gone, the tri-star gone, gravatron gone but my favorites... tilt a whirl and Tidal Wave-- still there:) I love going with Marlene and kids. They hang on me kissing me and love to ride with me. Now I have an excuse to not ride the ones I don't care for because baby MK is too tiny. I was sad to see the missing pirates on my favorite. I hope they are undergoing some rehab of some sort and will reappear later in the season. We attempted to go last week but the church ran into a few snags and it took Scott's attention for the day. But today I got him all day. We had Arbonne Region meeting in the morning and then off we went. This time we did all get a tad dizzy. But it was still great to be together. It was fun. LOVE the kids and Marlene... and Karson for the hour we saw him. Tomorrow we get to have Elder Teran's homecoming:) Yipee. He is home!!! Homecoming are the BEST!!!