Bob and Sue's news

A Quilt for Grace

2012-01-25T15:03:00.000-08:00

As many people know I love snowmen! Have you ever seen a sad snowman? They always have a smile on their face! Several years ago, I found cute snowman fabric in lots of different colors and bought some to make a quilt. Since our granddaughter, Grace, is born in January, I thought this would be a perfect birthday quilt for her. As purple is her favorite color, it is backed in purple "minky". It's so cute and so cozy!

A New Year and A New Resolution

2011-01-23T19:08:00.000-08:00

Despite January's cold temperatures and all it's snow, I love the fact that a new year motivates me to make changes and redirect my life. I am resolved to blog regularly, at least every Sunday, and hopefully more than that. I know it is a valuable way to stay in touch and also a great way to journal the events of one's life. I know that this will make Janie especially happy, as she has been a great encourager for me to get back to blogging. So here is my first post for January 2011!

Our stay in the Nueroscience/trauma unit.

2010-08-01T18:17:00.000-07:00

This is Jane Anne, I have been given the assignment to blog about Josh's surgery.
This past week has been a rough one. Josh went into surgery for his scoliosis on Wednesday, and 5 hours and 11 fused vertebrae later his back was fixed. It is a pretty major surgery and so he stayed from wednesday to sunday at Primary Childrens hospital in salt lake. Friday was his 17th birthday, and the hospital was nice enough to celebrate . He is doing well now and is on the (long) road to recovery.We are very thankful for all the prayers and support that we were given.

Oh, and he would like everyone to know that he is now an inch taller! Coming in at a whopping 6'2 3/4 "before the surgerySitting up for the first time. What an incision!
Up and walking!Giving the birthday boy some love :)
Finally coming home!!!!

Bob's Birthday WEEK!!!

2010-04-19T12:32:00.000-07:00

Having a birthday is especially nice when you can celebrate for a whole week! We did just that for Bob's birthday this year. We started out the week by flying to LA to stay at the Ritz for two nights. Then on Thursday night, Bob and I went out to the Grill Room in Sundance for dinner (the Tree Room was closed). Friday night we went out to dinner and a movie with our married kids while Josh went to a party with his friends.

On Saturday night, we went to Outback Steak House and then the play, "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" with all the kids at the Hale Center Theater. Bob and I had already seen the play once, but it was so delightful and funny that Bob wanted to see it again with the kids! Our toughest play critic, Josh, loved it!

Sunday we had our traditional birthday dinner complete with the chocolate cake! It was quite a week!

Golfing prize!!!

2010-04-19T12:04:00.000-07:00

The view from the back of the Ritz! We loved the warm weather, the ocean and flowers!

From our balcony, we watched this amazing kite surfer! It was awesome how he jumped in the air and criss-crossed along the waves!

The view out of our balcony. The hotel sits on a cliff overlooking the ocean!

Having a husband who is passionate about golf sometimes has it's perks. Last year, while playing in his favorite, most sacred of all tournaments, the Riverside Country Club Mulligan, Bob scored closest to the hole on #11. The prize was a two night stay at the Ritz Carleton Laguna Nigel Hotel in California with $250 to boot! Well, through all of our long snowy cold months, Bob has been dreaming of warm weather and going to Laguna to stay at the Ritz. This month, for Spring Break, that's what we did! We flew with Josh to LA and then stayed for two glorious days. We ate some wonderful meals, went to Disney's California Adventure Theme Park and relaxed by the pool all the while it was a blizzard here in Provo! Can't wait for this year's tourney... I won't even mind all the "practice" rounds of golf leading up to it!

Relief Society General Board Meetings

2010-04-01T20:02:00.000-07:00

One of the perks of being in a Stake calling is attending the training meetings held by the auxiliary's General Board the week before General Conference. Our presidency went to Salt Lake yesterday (in the blizzard) to the tabernacle where our meeting was held. It was fun to be together and to also see the General Relief Society Presidency in action. They are wonderful women with such spiritual insight, strength and humor, too!

THE STARS ALIGN !!!!

2010-03-28T16:28:00.000-07:00

The newest member of the Timpview JV tennis team, just after winning his first match!!

This is the cool (or should I say HOT?) logo for the team's sweatshirt. Don't you just love the flaming tennis ball?

(I could only get a picture of him through the chain link fence!)

Sometimes the stars align and dreams really do come true. For the last several years, Josh has taken tennis lessons in hopes of being able to play on the Timpview tennis team. He tried out as a freshman and didn't make it. He tried out this year and made the first and second cuts but, sadly, not the last. The coach told him that he wanted him to try out again next year and that his sons, the assistant coaches, had wanted to keep him. Josh took all this well and when I asked if he wanted to continue taking lessons he said "Yes" and that he wanted to try again next year. Well, this week-end, there was a message left on our message machine from the Timpview tennis coach, Rob Sperry. He had seen Josh last week-end at Matt Jackson's farewell. Josh talked with him and didn't think much about it. But, the next Saturday, there was a message from Rob. He told Josh that he had made a mistake and wanted to invite Josh to join the tennis team!!! We were thrilled and shocked! We had never heard of anything like this happening! Well, today Josh played his first match and won!!! 8 to 6! Afterwards, we went out to dinner to celebrate and Ryan and Becca joined us. We are so excited for Josh! Lots of exciting times ahead!

Grandma Jackson's 89th Birthday!

2010-03-28T16:16:00.000-07:00

Grandma Jackson just turned 29 for the 61st time on Friday, March 26th! We had a wonderful dinner for her at her daughter Susie's home with just her children and spouses. It was amazing with all the doctors in the family, that everyone was able to come! Then, Friday, her actual birthday, Jamestown, where she lives had a little party for her. Instead of the grandchildren talent show that we have had in the past, we had a great video that Stefanie Jackson had put together. The high light was seeing pictures of her and Bud on their wedding day! What a treasure to have! We love you, Mary Ellen!

Disney vouchers!!!

2010-03-23T06:54:00.000-07:00

Wow!! Our Disney vouchers have come. We got the much anticipated email this week end! We are hoping to use them at Walt Disney World over Thanksgiving break!

Women's Conference

2010-03-21T19:13:00.000-07:00

On Friday of this week, our stake Relief Society Presidency met at our Stake Center to get ready for our BIG event of the year: Women's Conference!!! We had planned for the better part of a year for this event and we were so excited!! We got tables set for approximately four hundred and made "snacks" of trail mix and pretzels so our sisters wouldn't get too hungry while they were at class! Our theme for the conference was "Enjoy the Journey".
Our luncheon, which took place after the classes, was prepared by Donna Kelly from my ward. She made a fabulous oriental chicken salad that was served in a "Chinese take-out" box. We even had specially made fortune cookies that had Pres. Monson's quote inside about "enjoying the journey"!We had a humanitarian project going on where women could come and tie quilts if they wanted during class time. Three twin bed size quilts were done and six baby quilts completed!
My favorite class, the one I had been waiting for, was on the joy of being a grandmother. Sister Connie Boshard, grandma and woman extraordinaire taught the class. She had so many fun themes and ideas for family reunions, activities, and gifts for your grandchildren!!! You can see her enthusiasm and spirit in the picture below! In all, nine different classes were taught, and everyone was wonderful! We felt so blessed and so happy that the conference went so well!

Give a day, Get a free Disney Day!

2010-03-17T18:44:00.000-07:00

My favorite one!

Ryan and Becca told us about a program that Disney was doing where they were offering one million free tickets into Disneyland or Walt Disney World to people who signed up to do a service project in their community! After hearing about their experience and how easy it was, I decided to sign me, Bob, Josh, Janie and Colby up. I was able to choose from 10-12 pages of service projects and chose the United Way's "Welcome Baby" program. For each ticket we had to either buy 10 receiving blankets or make 3. Well, we bought thirty at 6/$10 and so spent $50. Then I had quite a bit of baby flannel that I decided to make into blankets. I figure we will get $450 worth of tickets for about $75! That's $15 a ticket! The only problem...I got carried away and instead of making six blankets, I made fourteen! I just really enjoyed sewing again and found I could make a blanket in about 20 minutes. (I figure I can use the extra blankets for gifts.) I took our finished project to United Way today and they said to watch for our ticket voucher within the next two weeks. We are really excited!

Bob's perfect day!

2010-03-16T16:20:00.001-07:00

If you are a busy orthopedic doctor who goes to work before the sun is up and comes home many nights after the sun has set, you dream of being outside doing something you love that is not related to work. Well, our son James, who lives in Boston came this week-end for a visit! He really wanted to ski and so Bob took off yesterday ( a rarity) and they went to Deer Valley early in the morning. They skiied HARD (doing all the mogels and double black diamond runs) and then came home about 2:00 p.m. At 3:00 p.m. they had a Tee-time at Riverside to go GOLFING with Ryan and Josh! Skiing and golfing in the same day---only in Utah in the spring!!!

After nine holes, we all piled in the trusty suburban and drove to Salt Lake where James wanted to go to Hires Big "H" restaurant (a drive-in hamburger place that I used to go to when I was a young girl). We met Janie and Colby and the whole family threw cholesterol worries to the wind and had onion rings, cheese fries, and hamburgers. It was a heart attack waiting to happen! Afterwards, we went to a fantastic gelato place and had scrumptious gelato like you would find in Europe. I had Nutella chocolate and Cookies and Cream and it was SO GOOD! I tasted Becca's strawberry and I am dreaming of that right now. Seriously, I will seek out this place the next trip to Salt Lake and try some of the other flavors. It was to die for!

Timpview Basketball State Champs!!!!

2010-03-07T21:53:00.000-08:00

Josh, Jacob, and Cindy

Ahh! Those lovely Weber State Wildcat PURPLE seats!

Last weekend, we went for a trip down memory lane...we went to Weber State University in Ogden to the High School 4A Basketball finals! We have been to Weber State many times in the past when our basketball playing children were also in state games. We love the excitement and thrill of the games!! This year, Timpview won the championship again!!! The last time they won was when Ryan's team won in 2002. We took Josh and two of his friends (this made for a very loud car ride) and then met Janie who had come down from Logan. After the game we went to Wingers for some dinner. (We opted for a separate table from Josh and friends as we wanted some quiet!!!) It was great fun.

The friends that came to play!

2010-03-01T15:40:00.000-08:00

Friends come in all shapes and sizes! How wonderful that we can be friends with anyone and how enriching they are to our lives. Last Tuesday, my dear friend, Tiffany, who lives across the street, needed someone to watch her two youngest children, Mark and Katie. When they arrived, I got out our large bin of duplos. We set up a zoo and, of course, a long train! Now, knowing Mark a little bit, I knew Mark was a train man and understood EVERY aspect of trains, particularly anything Thomas. What I didn't know was that his vocabulary extends way beyond the train yard. I was "blown away" when Mark asked me, "Hey, Sister Jackson, how do work this hydraulic wench, anyway?"
The "Hydraulic wench!"

Mark ready to lift a tiger from the train with his hydraulic wench in hand!

Grandma Mimi turns 29 again!

2010-02-28T16:45:00.001-08:00

Last Saturday night, we celebrated my mom turning 29 again! (She is timeless!) She and Jane Anne share the same birthday, Feb. 24th! A very good day as far as I am concerned! We got together at my brother's home where we had a tasty dinner and enjoyed visiting with each other. For birthday cake we had apple torte with lemon sauce. Yum! Happy Birthday, Mom!

My baby girl is 21!

2010-02-25T15:35:00.000-08:00

Jane Anne's birthday celebrating lasted a whole week!! I guess that's what happens when your birthday falls on a Wed. and you can only get together with the rest of your family on the week-ends. Last Saturday night, Feb. 20th, we went to Chef's Table for dinner. We had a wonderful time and wonderful food!

Then the following day, we had our traditional Sunday birthday dinner. Janie chose fried chicken with country cream gravy and mashed potatoes for her menu. We finished with our traditional yummy homemade chocolate cake. It's similar to Magleby's chocolate cake but way, way better!
Then this last week-end she got all her presents. I think one of the favorites is this print of
Timpanogos with the leaves and snow. Janie knows that she and Colby will be leaving these
beloved mountains and Utah in the not too distant future to pursue his medical school career.
She wants to take a little of our spectacular scenery with her!

I can't believe my baby girl is 21! I am so grateful that the Lord in his goodness (and should I say mercy?) saw fit to bless me with at least one daughter! She is my dear friend and someone that I love and admire! Happy Birthday, Jane Anne!

The Circle of Life

2010-02-25T14:59:00.000-08:00

Back row: Diane and Carolyn, Lael's daughters
Front row: Monica, Lael and me

I went to visit my great aunt, Lael Creer, today and on Tuesday. She is 93 and has decided that maybe she would like to relocate to Heaven. She has been a widow for 37 years now and thinks its time to see her sweetheart, Paul, again. Her family has been very dear to my family. Her grand daughter, Monica, worked for me for many years as my "right-hand" gal. She helped me in a thousand different ways when I had six children at home and life was crazy. Her mom, Carolyn, was a favorite cousin of my dad and she used to tend me and my siblings when my parents went on trips. Her mom, Lael, my great aunt, was mother to my dad when he went to live with them on their dairy farm in Spanish Fork. He lived with them for a year when he was in Jr. High. He helped out with milking the cows because all the other young men just older than he was had gone off to fight in WWII. As I sat visiting with all of them, all these different ways that we are tied together came to my mind. I am the privileged one to watch as Diane, Carolyn and Monica get ready to say "Good-bye" to their mom and grandma. My heart aches as I see Lael hoping the end will come soon---and it rejoices in the reunion that is to be on the "other side of the veil". My dad will be there and I know after she greets her husband, and siblings that he will be in line to give her a great big "Welcome Home" hug. "God be with you til we meet again" Aunt Lael, we love you.

Special Valentine's Dinner

2010-02-12T19:14:00.000-08:00

Still Valentine's after 34 years!
The Tree Room graciously substituted fries for mashed potatoes for Josh. They had to go to the restaurant next door, the Foundry Grill, to get them for him---the Tree Room is a little "too stuffy" to have fries on their menu!
Umm!!! Filet Mignon covered in Mango Chutney...

Thursday night, Bob, Josh and I went to the Tree Room at Sundance for a Valentine's Dinner Date. (We had a fantastic gift certificate that Bob had won in a golf contest at his summer office party.) We celebrated Valentine's Day early because Bob flew to Phoenix Friday morning for a knee lab and got home late Saturday night. (He really just wanted to get out of the cold and play golf---the fact that the implant company paid for his flights and for his hotel room sealed the deal! ) One of our very favorite meals is the Pepper Steak with Mango Chutney and Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes. It is Divine!!! (Being the youngest child and the only child at home, really has its perks sometimes!)

Be my Valentine!

2010-02-12T18:59:00.000-08:00

This is the Valentine I am giving to my Visiting Teaching Ladies today. I found the cute mail box in the dollar isle at Target. My children who live here, and don't need their Valentines mailed, are also getting one. Inside they are filled with English Toffee, homemade caramels, Dove chocolate hearts, Reese's peanut butter hearts, and Hershey Cherry Cordial Kisses. Yum!

To celebrate this special day, I love to make cards to send to my loved ones. Here are some of this years creations. Inside, I included a gift certificate to Cold Stone for a family home evening treat. I was pretty happy to find an ice cream store that has franchises in Ypsilanti, MI; Boston, MA; and Coralville, IA! Not to mention Provo, Utah!

A BIG, HUGELY SATISFYING DAY!!!

2010-02-12T18:34:00.000-08:00

Ready to pack up the quilts to take to Primary Chilren's Medical Center.
Josh with Marie, the director of Charitable Donations at Primary Children's.

Being the mother of FIVE sons has it's priviledges. One of the first thoughts I had when we had the ultrasound almost 17 years ago, and found out that we were having another boy, was "Another Eagle Scout....". Now, I must admit, this was not an overly joyful thought---I had helped two sons by this time achieve their Eagle. I knew what the scouting program entailed. I knew the years of cub scouts and pack meetings,of boy scouts and merit badges and Eagle projects! Even thinking about it now, makes me tired. But today, Josh dropped off his four twin-bed size quilts to Primary Children's Medical Center in Salt Lake. The last Eagle project is done...finished...complete! If you listen carefully, you may here my huge satisfying sigh of relief! Now on to the Eagle Scout paper work...

Baby Quilt for Mary

2010-02-09T08:05:00.000-08:00

One of the things I have always wanted to do was to have enough time to make baby quilts for special people. I am just now at that point in my life! I was able to make this quilt and burpees for Mary Holmes, a darling girl from our ward that is one of Janie's friends and someone I had taught for several years in Young Women's. (Hard to believe these girls that were my MIA Maids are now old enough to be married and beginning their families!) I loved this quilt because I was able to figure out how to use big ric rack for the edging! Now, on to quilt #2, for Jared and Jen's little son expected in June!

JOSH'S FIRST DATE DANCE!!!

2010-02-09T07:39:00.000-08:00

The big day arrived, Friday, Feb. 5th---the day of the Sweetheart Dance at Timpview! Josh somehow found himself in charge of the entire event for his group and coordinating and arranging everything was a great experience for him. Because no one was able to drive anyone but themselves or a licensed driver yet, figuring out the transportation was the biggest challenge! The group went bowling right after school at BYU with homemade oreos to snack on. Bowling scores for Josh and his date were respectable--Josh--109 and Aubrey--99. (Good for the manly esteem to just barely beat your date!) Then everyone met together again for dinner at our house. Master griller, Bob, cooked teriyaki chicken to perfection and it was served by catering experienced Jane Anne and Colby. Then it was off to the dance and then to the Moneys for dessert and hot tubbing and games. Josh had a great time! (That was about all the detail I could squeeze out of him---this overly-talkative child of mine! He did say he would definitely want to do it again!)

Asking to the Sweetheart Dance!

2010-02-09T07:20:00.000-08:00

OK, I have recommitted myself to blogging! Having my last child go on his first dance date is quite an event! Definitely deserving of a blog! Josh and his group of friends decided the Sweetheart Ball at Timpview was a must do! Five of them braved the task of asking a girl out and waiting for her "answer". Being the mother of four olders sons and one daughter, all trying to think of cute ways to ask to dances, has taught me that when you see something that lends itself to date asking---YOU BUY IT!! So in my stash of possibilities, we found a fun heart shaped pinata that was perfect for Josh to use. He filled it with all sorts of Valentine candies and then wrote each letter of his name on individual candy packages. His date had to find all the letters and then figure out his name. On the outside, Bob suggested we write "It would be a big hit if you would go to the Sweetheart Dance with me!" He asked a darling long-time friend, Aubrey Money to go with him. Happily, "YES" was her answer!

Munich at night

2010-01-07T19:11:00.000-08:00

After our tour, we went out and walked the streets of Munich at night. It was SO crowded that you could hardly move. It was quite an adventure trying to stay together and not get lost. One of the fun things we stumbled upon was a creche exhibit. I took a picture of my favorite---look closely---it's the boyscouts!

Germany 2009 Day 5---Benediktbeuren

2010-01-07T18:36:00.000-08:00

Lael and Jackie bought a fresh bouquet of Christmas greens!

By mid morning it was very crowded and there was no place to park. Swiss Days, anyone?

The live nativity---the shepherds are roasting hot dogs for their lunch!

Today we were picked up very early at our hotel by John, a 60-ish ex-pat American guide who took us to a non-tourist Christmas market out in the country. We drove for about 1 1/2 hours and came to a small village that reminded me alot of Midway and Swiss Days. Most of the booths were set up local clubs or groups. There was a wonderful live nativity, complete with all the animals! There were lots of homemade jams and candy, socks, scarfs and mittens. There were ornaments and decorations and different foods to eat. The local boy scouts had one of the most popular booths, selling pizza cooked in small wood ovens. We found an incredible bakery booth and everyone indulged in a yummy dessert. I had a plum tart that was so good! After we had had our fill of the market, we went and toured the local monastery. Then he took us to a lovely restaurant located on Lake Kochelsee where we had a leisurely lunch overlooking the lake. It was a wonderful day!

Germany 2009 Day 4---GARMISH

2010-01-07T15:48:00.000-08:00

Outside Simon's shop

Wrapping up a nativity

This is how alot of the Bavarian homes are decorated on the outside, usually the pictures are a Biblical story.

Today we took the train to Garmish to visit the wood carver, Simon. He started carving when he was three! He does the most beautiful nativity scenes with a million different pieces and all sorts of other things! We met him at his Christmas market booth and then he drove us over the border into Austria to his main shop. We had so much fun there! When we were done, he took us back to Garmish and we had lunch and then discovered another fantastic clothing store!!!
I couldn't resist and bought another wool jacket! This one is navy blue also with dark green applique. It's really cute with jeans!

Pfistermuhler and our crazy waiter!

2010-01-07T15:39:00.000-08:00

Tonight we went to a lovely German restaurant called Pfistermuhler (what a mouthful!). It was very festively decorated for Christmas and Jackie said the food was fantastic and different every night depending upon the chef's whim for that day. The food was in indeed scrumptious but what was memorable was our teasing, crazy waiter who spoke English! (A great bonus for us!!!)

Germany 2009---Day 3 and the German Jacket

2010-01-07T15:05:00.000-08:00

We spent today in Munich again with much of our emphasis on German clothing. I have a passion for German clothing---it is so well made and so well styled and so...so...so... German!!! I have loved this type of clothing since I was a teenager and a very stylish young German woman lived in our ward. She would come to church in the most fantastic suits and dresses! I just loved to look at them and of course, back then you couldn't find anything like them unless you went to Germany! Well, about ten years after I was married, my German missionary husband and I stumbled upon Utah Woolen Mills. They carry German clothing! I was thrilled!!! So, every year for the next few years, my sweet husband would get me a German made suit for Christmas! I loved them and still have them all in my upstairs cedar closet. Well, here I was in Germany again, and of course, they just happened to have lots and lots of beautiful woolen jackets and skirts, etc... My wonderful friends indulged me and we went to several stores looking. I fell in love with a brown jacket with green applique but wouldn't you know it we found a size 4, 6 and two 10s---but NO 8! So, I did the next best thing and found another jacket that was similar but grey. I love it, too!

The Hedgehog and the Nutcracker

2010-01-07T14:59:00.001-08:00

Here are pictures of my cute little hedgehog that I nestle in my Christmas tree branches and my little Santa Claus. Aren't they so cute?

Germany 2009---Day two!

2010-01-07T12:05:00.000-08:00

Lael and I at the Nurnberg train station. Lael and Jackie were pros when it came to getting us on the right train!

The main street of Nurnberg with the booths on the right and lots of shoppers!

Dogs are everywhere and go everywhere---into stores and restaurants!

Today we took the train to Nurnberg, the city famous for the trying of WWII criminals. It was a charming city, smaller than Munich with a great Christmas market. These markets are all different types of vendors set up in booths in the city square. You will find all sorts of tree ornaments, Nutcrackers, toys, candy, all different kinds of wursts (sausages), mulled wine (the most popular of all the booths!), and hand made items to name a few. One big decoration for the local people is tiny figures made out of dried prunes!!! Honestly! They make all different sorts of people in various occupations. Judging from the number of booths we saw selling these "treasures" they must be quite a desirable item. (I thought they were a little strange myself!) Another thing we noticed is that the German people love hedgehogs. They have lots of little stuffed ones in window displays and as ornaments. I bought one for my Christmas tree. We went to two "Kathie Wolfhart" stores---wonderful stores dedicated just to Christmas decorations. There I fell in love with a small Nutcracker Santa and hoped that I would find another nutcracker just as cute for my friend.

Germany 2009---My first purchase!

2010-01-07T11:37:00.000-08:00

Our very first night in Germany, we went into a store looking for Nutcrackers. (A friend asked me to buy one for her and this became a quest--- trying to find just the perfect one.) While I didn't find a nutcracker, what I did find that night was this amazing Nativity! I collect Nativities and loved this one for its simple lines and sweet feeling. I haven't seen anything quite like it! It has become one of my favorites!!!

DECEMBER 2009!!!

2010-01-07T11:03:00.000-08:00

The Munich Christmas tree in the main square, the Marienplatz.
The famous "Glockenspiele" clock tower dancing figures. Every day at 11:00 a.m. the clock bells ring and the figures begin to dance around. There are even Knights on horses!

Some of the cute store windows!

My cohorts in shopping crime: Jackie Coleman, Lael Ruffner, Natalie Burr and me just after finishing dinner. Do we look sleep deprived or what?

December 1st, I left on a BIG adventure! I went to Munich, Germany with three friends to go to the Christmas markets! It was amazing! After arriving in Munich and checking into our hotel, we did what any woman would do!!! We went out to the main plaza, the Marienplatz, and went shopping! Surprisingly, even though it was sunny, it was very cold. That night, I wore wool pants, a wool sweater, a fleece jacket, my parka, Ugg boots, down mittens and ear muffs! We went to dinner at the Spatenhaus restaurant and I had wienerschnittzel and apfel strudel---delicious!

"Giving Thanks!"

2009-11-10T14:21:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays! I love decorating for "turkey day" and have been glad to see Thanksgiving decorations catching on. This year, with the help of my neighbor and crafting "sister", Tiffany, I made a cute block "thanks" for me and a wooden sign that said "Give Thanks" for Jane Anne's apartment in Logan. Then, Janie and I both made a really cute turkey from a class held at a scrapbooking store we discovered in Bountiful called "Heartland". We are having way too much fun!

Halloween Night

2009-11-03T08:54:00.000-08:00

Such Halloween Fashionistas! Check out my cute scarf!

Navajo Tacos with all the fixings!

Doctor with an attitude!

Halloween has taken on a different feel since we no longer have anyone that goes "Trick or Treating" at our house! (I NEED my grandchildren to move to Utah so I can enjoy the excitement that Halloween brings to little people!! Rob, James, and Jared please take note!!) We did, however, do our best to have fun! Janie and Colby came down from Logan and offered to make us "Navajo Tacos" which are scones with chili on the top! They were fantastic! And then, since lemon is one of Colby's favorite flavors, and since I had found an ice cream maker when I cleaned out my pantry, they made us homemade lemon ice cream. It took most of the night to freeze but was still delicious! Ryan and Becca came over, too, along with Janie's close friend, Aubrey Reeves and her date and they played "Settlers of Zarahemla". While Josh went to a costume party at his friends, we all watched the Will Smith movie, "I am Legend". We were wanting a creepy, scary movie and that definitely fit the bill!

Dinner Divas!

2009-10-29T16:31:00.000-07:00

A wonderful cook in our ward started a cooking group that she affectionately named, "Dinner Divas". We meet once a month and usually make three things---two are usually entrees, while the third is some sort of bread/pancake mix. This was our second time together and we had lots of fun making Chicken Tetrazzini. We also got to take home Chicken Tortilla Soup and Whole Wheat Mix that you use for quick breads, pancakes and biscuits. It's a fun, nutritous, inexpensive way to serve your family great quick meals!!

Pumpkin Carving

2009-10-28T16:13:00.000-07:00

There are a few things in life that I realized I didn't have to do any more once I had "grown up". One of these was riding roller coasters. (I do not enjoy the feeling of dropping---which is why airplane turbulence and I are not friends!) I also really don't like the slimy feel of pumpkin "insides" on my hands---and I have dealt with lots of gross things in my life as a mother and a nurse. But, since I don't like digging out pumpkins, I got to be the cleaner-upper and the "turn on the movie" (Indiana Jones) person while Bob, Janie, Colby, Ryan and Becca cleaned out and carved our Halloween Jack-o-Lanterns. (Josh was a birthday party for one of his friends.) They turned out great---especially since I got to enjoy the finished product without touching the mess!

Fun Week-end!

2009-10-25T18:06:00.000-07:00

Our fun-filled week-end started off Friday night when we decided to do a "Game Night". We invited five other couples to come over and have a casual dinner and then play "Catch Phrase"!
We had such a great time that I forgot to take pictures! We really had alot of fun---it's great to see how people respond to a timer when it is about ready to ring! Bytheway, the women came from behind and beat the men!

Saturday, Janie and I went to a class at Archiver's, the scrapbook store, and we each made a cute, retro-looking recipe holder!

Later that day, we went to the BYU-TCU ball game! Don't fall over dead---I did say "we". I went to a game! Even though it was cold, rainy, windy, and BYU was pretty bad---I still had a great time with Bob, Janie and Colby. We left after the third quarter and came back and carved pumpkins---that's the subject of tomorrow's blog!

"Texas Reds" and "the Swing Girl"

2009-10-22T16:48:00.000-07:00

This blog is about some of our food experiences while on our recent trip. We had some great steak dinners---I'm told the beef must be bigger in Texas! Both nights we just picked a restaurant from the list on our GPS system in the rental car. The first night, we ended up at "Texas Reds" which ended up being a family owned business with a real "down home feel". We met the owners, a husband and wife team and he was in his jeans, cowboy shirt, hat and boots---like any self-respecting Texan should be. The walls of the bar were covered with all sorts of animal heads that people had shot with a big buffalo head front and center. They brought unshelled peanuts to our table for us to snack on while we waited for our food. We carefully piled the shells on the table top but looked in horror at the mess that the table across the way had left---they had just dumped all the shells on the floor. I couldn't believe any one could be so rude!!! Little did I know that this is custom in some parts of the country!

The next night, after going to the temple, we went to the "Old San Francisco Steak House". We were greeted at the door by a pretty blonde girl in a red satin dress that ended at the top of her legs which were covered in black fish net stockings. She had a flouncy little walk that even Josh commented on and I wondered, "Oh, no, what have we gotten ourselves into?" The dining room was a huge big room done in rustic wood with metal signs everywhere (like the baking powder ad signs from the early 1920's). Then there was a stage with a grand piano and a swing hanging from the ceiling. (There really are such places in the world?!) Apparently, the regular hostess was sick and so we were greeted at the door by the "Swing Girl". We were not able to see her in action as she had finished her routine for the night. I didn't know whether to be disappointed or relieved since I had my teen age son sitting next to me and was across the table from my Stake President brother-in-law. The recorded music was WWII era which was fun and the live music was a old woman belting out different random songs in a deep throaty voice. She even dedicated Kermit the Frog's song, "It's Not Easy Being Green" to Josh who was wearing a lime green tie. (See what I mean about random?) Suffice it to say, it was an experience we will long remember!

"Temple Envy"

2009-10-21T21:29:00.000-07:00

Friday night while we were in San Antonio, we all went to the temple. Bob's twin, Dick, also came with us. Our neighbors, the Hopkinsons, who lived in San Antonio for several years, told us we HAD to go to the San Antonio temple---that it was one of the five "destination" temples in the world. (We figured that Salt Lake and Nauvoo must be two of the five with San Antonio being the third---but the other two???) Suzy Hopkinson told us we would have "Temple Envy" after seeing this temple. Anyway, we brought some family names for Josh to do baptisms and the rest of us did sealings. The temple inside is GORGEOUS!!!! There are many beautiful full length stained glass windows of different trees from the Garden of Eden. The most prominent being the "Tree of Life". The front doors to the temple are just such windows and the celestial room has three walls totally in stained glass. It really is amazing! Our Provo temple, which I dearly love, is nothing like this!

"Only in Texas"

2009-10-20T16:50:00.000-07:00

After a crazy night at the hotel, where our smoke alarm decided to "chirp" in the middle of the night, two "engineers" and two trips to our room couldn't figure it out, and a hurried move in our pajamas with everything flung into our suit cases, the hotel graciously gave us all a free buffet breakfast. (It was the least they could do, we really wanted a free steak and everything dinner!)
Imagine my surprise when I went to get a waffle and found it was in the shape of Texas! I feel safe in saying that I don't think any other state in the union has waffle irons made in the shape of their state! I would wager that probably some enterprising person is now much wealthier for coming up with this idea and that every hotel in this fair state has one! And we know by the size of Texas that that must be lots!!! P.S. It was a delicious waffle!

"In the Hall of the Mountain King"

2009-10-19T14:17:00.000-07:00

"Emerald Lake"

"Nativity"

"In the Hall of the Mountain King"

On Thursday afternoon after Bob finished with his medical meetings, we all went to Natural Bridge Caverns. This is a huge underground cavern that has amazing stalactites and stalagmites and other rock formations. The portion we toured was about two miles long and we wound our way down narrow tunnels deep into the earth. All the while we were walking, water was dripping from overhead and it is this water that has formed these amazing caves. It was awesome to experience and not nearly as strenuous as hiking Timp caves!

San Antonio and "Remember the Alamo!"

2009-10-18T17:52:00.000-07:00

Lucky us!!! Bob had medical meetings in San Antonio exactly the same time as Provo School District's Fall Break! So, Josh, Colby, Jane Anne, and I flew with him to Texas on Wed. afternoon. We were struck by the humidity as we exited the plane. The next day was almost 100 degrees and very humid! So much for a good hair day!!!

The first thing we did while Bob was in meetings was to go literally across the street to the Alamo. For those of you who aren't really up on Texas history like me, this is the site of 180 brave men trying to fight off dictator Santa Ana's 1000 Mexican troops and defend their right to liberty. They all met their death with the cry of "Victory or Death" on their lips. Davey Crockett and Jim Bowie were two of the famous men who died there. Just a few weeks after this defeat, General Sam Houston was able to crush Santa Ana in a battle at the Rio Grande river with the rallying cry of "Remember the Alamo".

BOO!

2009-10-12T07:00:00.000-07:00

I love decorating for Halloween and love making things. This week-end I tried decorating wood blocks with scrapbook paper and embellishments and had so much fun. Jane Anne and I are really enjoying this craft---more cute holiday sayings are planned!

Quilt #3!

2009-10-10T06:57:00.000-07:00

Last night we invited two of our favorite families over for dinner and to help Josh tie another of his Eagle Scout Project quilts. The Willeys and Harmons came and we barbecued hamburgers and hotdogs, had corn on the cob and home grown tomatoes, and chocolate cake for dessert. After dinner was through, everyone helped on the quilt. It seemed like it was completed in no time! This is my favorite of the quilts so far. The flannel print will be so fun for some young child and it is so soft and cuddly. Sammy really LOVED quilting and already has plans to make a quilt for his new room when his family moves to Midway! The kids had lots of time for other fun and the adults sat around and laughed at Jeff Harmon's jokes. (In his former life, he must have been a stand-up comic!) Take it from a mother of five boys and five Eagle Scout projects---this is a FUN way to do a service project!!!

Check out these moves!

2009-10-08T11:39:00.000-07:00

Josh, Carl, and Braydon syncing away!
Jeff Hill, Bob and Aaron Stewart with canes and a crutch!

Becky, Suzy, Barbara, Linda, and Chris get into the swing of things!

Last night, Bob and Josh were in a lipsync program for YMYW. Neither were very excited to have to perform in front of people, but good sports that they were, they were amazing. Josh and two other priest age boys performed to Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen and Josh really got rockin with his Wii guitar. Bob's group chose "Twist and Shout" and pretended to be really old men dancing in slow motion. Both numbers had lots of laughs and applause. The YW leaders did "Leader of the Pack" and it was hilarious, too. What a fun activity!

Conference Eagle Scout Quilt

2009-10-06T20:40:00.000-07:00

We are working on Josh's Eagle project again---tying quilts for Primary Children's Medical Center. Quilt number two is almost finished. We worked on it during the Saturday conference sessions. Ryan, Becca, Bob, Jane Anne, Colby and I all helped Josh. As you can see, the fabric has some sort of Golden Lab or Golden Retriever on it. We hope that some child who has just such a dog will get this quilt by "divine design" and love it even more because it reminds them of their cherished pet! We ended up tying lots of ties, and ran out of yarn. So getting creative, we tied the outer edges with cream, the middle section with navy blue, and the center with white yarn. It actually looks kind of cool!!!

Love that Priesthood Session of conference!

2009-10-05T20:31:00.000-07:00

When the men all go to Priesthood meeting, we women make cards!!! This October conference we had Janie, my niece, Amy, Becca, her mom, Debbie, and Becca's two sisters-in-law, Shanna and Crissy come to create cards! We had so much fun! Amy, Becca and I had both designed some cards for everyone to make but the real kudos go to Tiffany, my neighbor and dear friend, who gave us all the supplies to make several cards she had designed. Afterwards, when the men came home, we had dessert with home made oreos and Grandma Jackson's apple torte cake.
What a great tradition!!!

"How about dem apples?"

2009-10-04T08:03:00.000-07:00

This is one of the Jonagolds next to a regular sized apple!

For our applesauce and apple pie filling project, we got Jonagold apples from Allred's orchards.
Some are the size of grapefruits---these are apples on steroids!!! One sliced up will feed the whole family! We have also used them to make Grandma Jackson's apple torte cake which is delicious! Here is her highly sought after recipe:
2 c. sugar
1/4 c. butter
1/4 c. applesauce
2 eggs
2 t. soda
2 c. flour
1/2 t. salt
2 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. nutmeg
4 c. grated apples
1/2 c. chopped nuts (optional)
2 t. vanilla

Cream sugar and butter. Add applesauce, eggs and vanilla. Mix well. Sift all dry ingredients and add to creamed mixture. Then add the apples and nuts. Pour into a greased and floured 9x13 pan. (We use cinnamon and sugar to coat the pan after greasing it instead of flour.) Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes. Test with tooth pick to see if done. Top with lemon sauce and whipped cream.

Lemon sauce:
1 c. sugar
2 T. cornstarch
dash salt
dash nutmeg
Mix all ingredients together and gradually add 2 c. boiling water and 1/4 c. butter. Stir constantly on low heat until thick and clear. Then blend in 3 T. lemon juice.

Enjoy!!!

"By their fruits..."

2009-10-03T19:54:00.000-07:00

September is fall leaves and cooler temperatures. It is shorts and sandals being traded for sweaters and long pants. It is school time and somewhat of a return to normalcy. For us at the Jackson house, September also means bottling with a capital "B". This year with Jane Anne's and Becca's help we bottled over 100 quarts of peaches! Pears,tomatoes, and several batches of peach raspberry jam were done. Applesauce and apple pie filling are our next project. I feel like a mother squirrel getting ready for winter!!!

A tribute to AWESOME Uncle Josh

2009-09-22T06:00:00.000-07:00

An added blessing of a wedding is all the family that comes home to celebrate with you! During the weeks we had all of our kids here and their little ones, Josh was the best uncle imaginable. He played with and entertained everyone. He helped when ever and how ever he could. He was amazing! Grace, Vivian, Sam, Juliana, Ella and Tanner think he is the BEST uncle ever!

The Perfect Wedding Reception

2009-09-21T08:30:00.000-07:00

The evening of the wedding, we had a reception in Bob's twin brother Dick's yard. It was the PERFECT place! The whole yard was spectacular! The weather was perfect, also! Not too hot, cool and pleasant---and most importantly---NO RAIN! We had the line with the parents and Janie and Colby in the upper corner of the yard in the Gazebo. We LOVED seeing family and friends! It means so much to share these special times with loved ones. After talking with us, the guests then went down some stairs to the main body of the yard and had their choice of ice cream, toppings, and just made waffle cones. The line never seemed to get long even though they estimated about 500 people were served. For music, we had a harpist playing in the background. It truly was a perfect night!

Mrs. Colby Neville!!!!

2009-09-20T10:14:00.000-07:00

Jane Anne became Mrs. Colby Neville on Aug. 15, at the Draper Temple. Despite the dark and stormy beginning to the day, the weather began to clear just as we pulled into the Draper Temple parking lot. It was so fun for me to be the "Mother of the Bride" this time! Always before, I had to go to the temple waiting room alone, while Bob went with our sons when they were to be married. The brides' room was gorgeous and the workers twinkling with delight at helping these brides get ready for their sealing ceremonies. They raise kindness and helpfulness to a new level! After Janie was ready, we went into the sealing room which was so beautiful! It is a large spacious room seating around 80. The whole wall across from where the engaged couple sits is done in a white stained glass. It was so wonderful to look out across the room and see all of our loved ones---even Grandma Jackson came, missing her sister's funeral! What a pay back day for Bob and me to look out and see all of Janie's older brothers and spouses sitting in the temple with us. Elder Craig Christensen performed the sealing---he was our next door neighbor when Janie was growing up. She was good friends with his son, Ben. The ceremony was short with him focusing on the ordinance to be performed and it was perfect. Just as he was talking, the sun must have burst forth from the storm clouds and the whole room lit up with light. It was awesome! It was such a happy, happy time!

WE'RE BACK!!!

2009-09-10T09:26:00.000-07:00

We're back! I haven't blogged for more than two months and what an adventure those two months have been!!! We had a trip to Lake Powell with the Willey family, Josh's sixteenth birthday, BYU graduation for Ryan and Becca, Janie's wedding and all the details that involves, and family staying with us for almost the entire time. At one point we had thirteen extra people (Colby, Rob, Julie, Grace, Vivian, Sam, James, Angela, Juliana, Ella, Jared, Jennifer, and Tanner) in the house, six of them four and under. We had three different "pack and plays" and three different forms of high chairs (thanks to neighbors and family who were willing to share), not to mention strollers, diapers, varying forms of baby foods and treats and all the activity that goes along with it. We were also blessed what we termed the "cousins malady" of GI upset that went through almost the entire family. Despite the choas that sometimes reined, we had a wonderful time with everyone here---it was very fulfilling to be the parent watching all your children enjoying each others company and laughing and playing games and just being together. It was really fun to see how much Grace and Juliana enjoyed each other. Another awesome thing that was SO wonderful for me was that all the married children took turns cooking the dinners. IT WAS FANTASTIC! Pictures of our life for the past two months and the last of our trip to Europe will be following. It's great to blog again! I've really missed it!

Home and the Fourth of July

2009-07-03T17:53:00.000-07:00

We are home from our wonderful trip to Europe and back in the USA! This Fourth of July holds extra meaning as we reflect upon the blessings of living in this great country and being home in Provo. We are loving being able to eat our own foods, sleep in our own beds, and see our dear friends and family once again. We love the flowers blooming everywhere in our courtyard and seeing the pool house take shape. We love access to friends without worrying about what a phone call costs overseas. We are thankful for a dryer that dries even the heaviest of items in a short time without wrinkles set in. We love ice in our drinks and water that's free instead of 7 euros a bottle!

But most of all we love our freedom---something that has taken on new meaning as we learned about and explored the Normandy beaches of France and D-Day. One can not stand at the American Cemetery and not feel an overwhelming sense of gratitude and reverence for the lives of these brave young men---most just a few years older than my son Josh. I think of how scared and terrifying it must have been for them as they boarded the landing crafts and knew that their chances for dying were so high. I think about their mothers and fathers and how they must have mourned---not only for the loss of their son, but for the loss of his future---his potential for growth, marriage, and children that was now gone. I think of my blessings because of their sacrifice and how my children have not had to go to war and I am profoundly thankful and grateful for all those 1000's of young men who gave their lives for people they didn't even know.
Truly, we are in their debt. We can repay a small portion of this debt by remembering them and all who have served and by living in such a way as to bless those around us and our nation.

Happy Fourth of July!!!

A New Perspective

2009-07-03T07:39:00.000-07:00

It has been a week since I had my carry-on bag stolen in the Paris Gare du Nord train station. I knew immediately when I didn't see the bag that that was what had happened. I think the most troubling thing for me was not what I had lost (some things of great personal value to me) but that someone would calculatingly hurt someone else. Call me naive---I knew thieves were out there---I just never thought something like this would really happen. After two emotional days, I could begin to look at this loss with some perspective. The fact that we had just been to the D-day beaches and the American Cemetery in Normandy the day before, had me thinking about the loss suffered by the families of these soldiers. I knew my hurt---it was infinitesmally small compared to theirs---what must they have felt? Then, as the week has gone by, and I have reflected on other kinds of loss---so much of it not caused by the innocent person who is suffering---I marvel at how they carry on and forgive and choose to make their life good even when it is painfully difficult. While I wish my bag had never been stolen, it has given me a new perspective on loss and appreciation for the courage all around me of loved ones and friends and how they deal with the challenges of life. As Elfaba says in "Wicked", "I have been changed for the better."

London Adventures: Thurday, June 20th

2009-06-30T11:19:00.000-07:00

Today we set out to see the Imperial War Museum which is a little ways outside of main London. It has lots of war memorabilia from World War I and II. There were several different sections and displays and the one Janie and I were most interested in was called "The Children's War". It was an exhibit chronically what it was like for the children of Britain during World War II. The pictures of mothers sending their children out to the countryside or to other countries for safe keeping were heart wrenching. I don't know if I could have done it. Some of them didn't see their children for five years by the time the war was over. We had a unique and special opportunity of visiting with a guide, a distinguished older gentleman, in the exhibit who was 9 at the time his entire school was sent on a ship to Canada to get out of the bombing. His parents chose not to send him and this was a miracle as the ship his friends were on was bombed and sank and only a few children survived. After this incident, the children were no longer sent abroad but housed in the English countryside. He told us what it was like to have the American soldiers there and how they loved to party. As we finished our chat with him, he told us "thank you" to America---we were so touched! After, we had lunch at "Nandos", a favorite rotisserie chicken place and then went to Burough Market where all kinds of food is sold in two big warehouses and on the street. We bought a special treat--chocolate almonds dusted with cinnamon---a favorite find of Janie's. The late afternoon found us shopping and then going home for a breakfast dinner of eggs and crepes.

London Adventures: Wednesday, June 17

2009-06-28T14:00:00.000-07:00

Tea at Polly's with our guide, David StubbsThe treats at Polly's!A windy day at StonehengeAnyone for Bath?Oldest pub in LayCock after dinner

Today we had a guided tour through the south of England with a wonderful guide that has become our friend, David Stubbs. He took us to Polly's Tea House in Marlborough where we had scones and hot chocolate. The countryside was green and lush and we looked for "crop circles" along our way to Stonehenge. Just before visiting the Roman baths in "Bath" we had a "pasty" for lunch, a pocket meat pie that you eat in your hands. Then we visited "Pride and Prejudice" country, the little town of Laycock, that looks just like it did 200 years ago. This is where alot of the PBS version of the movie was filmed. It was charming! We had dinner at a local pub there---the best place to find great food at reasonable prices. It was such a wonderful day!

London Adventures: Tuesday, June 16

2009-06-27T13:00:00.000-07:00

With the "eye" and Big Ben in the background
Inside the "eye"
Off to Hogwarts!Bob and Josh outside the "Treasures" room at the British Library

Today we went to Hogwarts via the 9 ¾ platform at the Kings Cross Station in London. It was magical! After our quick trip to Harry Potter land, we went to the British Library where we saw their literary treasures: a Gutenberg Bible, the Magna Carta, the original Alice and Wonderland and several other original works by British authors. They had an early religious text from every major world religion on display---except the truth! I found myself thinking they’re missing the most important book of all---the Book of Mormon! After a quick pizza lunch, we went to the National Portrait Gallery which was a bit of a disappointment. Later that night we rode the London Eye, the largest Ferris Wheel in the world. The views were amazing!

London Adventures: Monday, June 15

2009-06-27T11:30:00.000-07:00

We were stylin in our 3D bug-eye glasses
Science MuseumDedicated to Ryan Jackson
Wicked! Best play EVER!

The first item on our agenda today was to go to the "Wicked" box office and get tickets for tonight's performance. Every morning 25 front row seats are released at less than half price. When we "queued up" we could see that we were about #17 in line---our chances didn't look good. But, when it was our turn, Janie knew to ask for "concessions" or discounts for students and seniors and so we ended up with fifth row seats, smack in the center for less than half price for three of them. The seats were fantastic!

The rest of the morning was spent at the Science Museum where we also saw an IMAX movie on sea monsters. Lunch was had at "Nandos", a restaurant that Janie loved that served rotisserie type chicken that is marinated for 24 hours. It quickly became one of our favorites, too!

That night, we had dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, "Pizza on the Park" and then went to Wicked. It was the best productions I've ever seen! We all LOVED it. The ending song where they sing, "I have been changed for good" held alot of meaning. I think about my own experiences and realize just how much my family and friends have helped me grow and added meaning to my life. Thanks, everyone!

Surprise!

2009-06-18T22:45:00.000-07:00

Some London surprises:

1-Pink is the new black!

2-A shocking surprise happened when we had just left our flat to go to Peter Pan. Just up the road from us is a popular pub called the "Nag's Head". There were about 30 young people having drinks and chatting---a usual occurrence. Then, we glanced across the street and there were four old men, around 80 years old, standing STARK NAKED chatting in the street. Needless to say, we all did a double take, looked at our feet, and hurried as fast as we could right out of there!

3-On our London Eye ride, a young Oriental couple got engaged. The boy asked Bob to take a picture for him and then he knelt right down and opened up a ring box and popped the question!
She said "Yes"!

4-When we were getting ready to go to the London Eye, we found the Piccadilly Line of the tube was closed because there was a body under the train. We were horrified thinking someone had accidentally fallen onto the tracks. Our guide the next day, David Stubbs, said that it was probably a suicide and that this happened quite often. We never found any news of the event.

Mecca

2009-06-18T11:30:00.000-07:00

These pictures are dedicated to those of us who love shoes and purses and a bargain! Shown here are just part of the offerings at TKMaxx .

London Adventures: Sunday

2009-06-17T23:16:00.000-07:00

Isn't this a fabulous wedding gown?

Today was quite quiet. We went to church at the Hyde Park Ward and then came home and fixed lunch and waited for Bob to arrive. He got here safely, ate and settled in with a nap. Janie and I decided to go to the Victoria and Albert Museum and see the "Fashion Through the Ages" collection and the jewelry. Josh, who was absorbed in an exciting book, decided he had seen enough of this type of girl stuff and stayed home with Bob. So, off we went for mother and daughter bonding time in London. We loved looking at the fashions and jewelry and how things have changed over the last 200 years.

London Adventure: Saturday

2009-06-16T23:21:00.000-07:00

Tea
Treats at the Orangerie
One of the debutante dresses. My favorite!
Baby Grand at McDonalds
One of the fun windows at the Harvey Nichols, a store in London

Today we had a taste of what it must have been like to live in "High Society" in London. We first went to one end of Hyde Park (it is HUGE!) and bought tickets for that evenings preformance of Peter Pan. Then we walked to the other end of the park to where Kensington Palace is. Before going on a tour of the palace, we went to the "Orangerie" a small tea house next to the palace set in what used to be a little orange grove. Although we didn't have tea, (juices instead) we had scones and felt very dignified during the whole experience. It is a fairly fancy place decorated in white with statues and miniature orange trees on each table. A scone here is more like a bisquit and I had one with fruit and the kids had one with cheese. They came with "clotted cream" which is more like butter than cream. They were very good. Next, we went to tour the palace. We saw some of the apartments but what really interested Janie and me were the gowns belonging to Princess Diana that were on display. Several of them we recognized from pictures of events she had gone to. Then we toured the exhibit, "The Last Debutantes", very interesting and fun! If you were of the "Upper Crust" in British Society you were "presented to the Queen" when you were 17. This meant you had an audience before her royalness and gave her a curtsey when your name was read. Then you had officially "come out" into society and so spent the following year going to all sorts of social engagements, teas, dinners, balls, etc... We read that it cost around 130,000 pounds to outfit a girl for "the season". (No small change in 1957!) But, 1957 was the last year for the 200 year old custom---the British people thought that it served no real purpose and that is was too elitist. How would you have liked to have been 16 that year and had this all taken away? We couldn't decide if you'd be sad or relieved! Anyway, the exhibit showed their invitations, their manners, their outfits and accessories and those of the young men. It was really fascinating!

After we then walked up to High Street where we had lunch at a Mc Donald's with a baby grand piano inside! They even have a Mickey D's for high society! From here, we walked up the street and did a little shopping at H&M, a wonderful store with low prices, and then TKMaxx (the same as our TJMaxx only with 10x the selection).

Peter Pan that evening was great! It is staged in a big tent that is like a theater only outdoors. It is significant that is being held in the very park where J.M. Barry first met the Darling boys and conceived the story. The flying episodes were fantastic and the scenery projected on the upper circle of the tent was amazing. You could see the London skyline and all the sites "in the round". "Nana", the nurse maid dog was done by a puppeteer and she was so lifelike. The crocodile, however, stole the show. The body was made of a bamboo-like frame with two men inside that drove it like a child's car, and the head was large and menancing but not scary. It had terrifically loud burps every now and again. The kids in the audience were half the fun! Their reactions were priceless.

Home Sweet Home in London

2009-06-14T03:32:00.000-07:00

Our cute front doorThe living/dining roomOur tiny master bed
Kitchen

We are staying at #6 Kinnerton Street in Knightsbridge, London in a charming little flat. We walk down a narrow street lined with flats and a few shops and enter into a "mew" which is like a little secluded alcove off the street which has the entry doors for several more flats. We go through a narrow wrought iron gate to enter the mew and then it seems you are stepping into an entirely different world. We have a fairly good sized main room with two couches and a TV and then a large dining table that could seat 8 if needed. Our kitchen is the size of a large bathroom---but has every thing we need. The one bathroom here is actually larger than the kitchen! The kitchen doesn't have a disposal---which means you scrape your plates and throw the remains in the garbage or "rubbish" as a Brit would say. Hence, you take your kitchen rubbish out often.
Our flat has a neat washer and dryer---it's all one machine! You put your clothes into wash and set the drying time and when you come back you have a load of finished laundry! It's so convenient---you don't have to remember to put the wet clothes in the dryer!!! You wake up in the morning to a clean load or go off to see something and come back and its done. I am really liking this way of doing the wash! Fridges are small and so you go to the market often---but it's just two minutes away and so we don't mind. King size beds are a rarity---Bob and I will have to feel squished in our double bed. Most places don't have air conditioning but, fortunately, we are in such a pleasant time of year we don't need it. There are two water taps---hot and cold---but you adjust the temperature by adjusting each nob. Some times it takes awhile to get the temperature just right to take a shower! We are loving our flat and its central location and we would highly recommend staying this way in London!

London Adventures: Arrival and Day 1

2009-06-12T13:08:00.000-07:00

I am pinching myself as I write this. Josh, Janie and I are together in LONDON! Josh and I arrived yesterday after our flight on Virgin Atlantic was delayed two and a half hours. This turned out to be a blessing because the flight didn't leave until 7:00 p.m. and so by the time we had our dinner and watched the movie it was our normal bedtime and we actually slept some on the plane. (Thanks in part to Ambien and an empty seat next to us!) We arrived in London around 12:30 p.m. and were met by a driver who then went to Jane Anne's apartment, picked her and her luggage up and then took us to the flat we are renting for a week.

Our flat is wonderful! It is in Knightsbridge, just a short walk from the tube, a grocery store just around the corner, and 2 minutes walk from the bus stop. It is close to Hyde Park and Herrod's---a nice part of town! We have two bedrooms, just one big bath, a nice living/dining room and a full (although tiny) kitchen with a washer and dryer. In short, a home away from home!

The afternoon we arrived, we felt good enough to go for a walk and to the grocery store. We went to the "WaitRose" market and stocked up. They have great homemade soups for sale and prepared entrees. Their produce is beautiful! After a short lunch, we went to the Science Museum for just a short time before it closed. Everything (including stores, close at 6:00 in London) and then we went to a creperie that Jane loved. We had the most delicious crepes---one made of a whole grain flour with applesauce, blueberries, strawberries, bananas and cinnamon! Yum!! The other crepe was milk chocloate with bananas---good, too! Then we came back to the flat and just started talking. Before I knew it, Josh had disappeared and I found him conked in his bed with all his clothes on, including his coat---I think he took off his shoes before he dived in. I managed to stay up until about 8:00p.m. and then slept for 12 hours and time adjusting is history!

The first thing we did today was to buy our "Oyster" card---our tube and bus pass that lets us travel for an entire week as much as we want on the tube and any nof the buses. Then we went to the British Museum and looked at the mummies and artifacts. After we went to Camden Market---a big flea market where you can barter. Janie bought the cutest purse and I got some earrings. We had lunch at a Subway---I know we should be eating at an authentic British cafe---but all around the market was Indian, Chinese and other ehtic foods being cooked in big pots and we just weren't sure we wanted to risk food poisoning. A turkey sandwich at Subway seemed comfortingly safe and satisfying. Afterwards we rode the tube and a double decker bus to get home. We cooked our own chicken dinner and had a feast. We are now just chilling in the flat enjoying reading books, talking and relaxing. It was a fun first day!

Pool House Project #3

2009-06-10T19:10:00.000-07:00

The framing is going up!!! It's really on it's way!

"Betcha can't make just one"

2009-06-09T19:00:00.000-07:00

A few days ago, I went to my friend Tiffany's house and we made the cutest magnet boards ever! All it takes is some cute papers, the board, and some modge podge. Tiffany got the idea at Swiss Days last summer. I love mine so much I think I'm going to have to make another.

Eagle Project Extraordinaire

2009-06-07T10:09:00.000-07:00

Yes, alas, it is time for the fifth son's Eagle Scout Project. (When I was sent the fourth son in a row, I knew the Lord had a sense of humor! I can just imagine Him smiling and saying, "Just for fun, let's send her another one!") Seriously, I love all the men in my life---and their cute spouses and children. But, when we found out that our sixth child was a boy I came home from the ultra sound and my conversation with Bob went something like this:
Sue: Honey, it's a boy!
Bob: Do you know what this means... it means a mission, college, graduate school...
Sue: Honey, your daughter can do all those things!!! I'll tell you what it means... another Eagle Scout!
In contemplating another scouting career with another son, I consoled myself by immediately going to a wonderful fabric store and buying the cutest boy fabric I could find to make a smocked outfit for this new baby.

So, here we are... that baby, Josh, is now 15 almost 16, is a Life Scout with his remaining two merit badges almost complete and the much anticipated Eagle Scout project to do. Well, by the time you are my age, 53, and helping with your fifth Eagle Scout project, you are TIRED! So in contemplating Eagle projects, we needed something that wasn't too physically hard and that could be relatively easy and fun. Do such projects even exist? Yes, we found one! Josh is making quilts for Primary Children's Medical Center. They have a tradition of having a homemade quilt on every bed. Josh needs to make at least four quilts and get eighty hours of service. He completed the first quilt this week-end. He got the fabric ready and then had his friends come over to tie the quilt and had a party afterwards. It was awesome!!!

Homemade Oreos

2009-06-03T18:29:00.000-07:00

I love Homemade Oreos just as much as Smart Cookies! (Blogging must bring out my snacking side!) These cookies are so easy to make and seem to be the favorite at any gathering. Everyone seems to want the recipe, so here it is:

1 box of Devil's Food Cake Mix
2 eggs
1/3 c. oil
1 t. vanilla
can of cream cheese frosting

Mix the wet ingredients. Add the cake mix and stir until blended. Roll and shape dough into small balls and place on cookie sheet. Bake at 350 until cracks start to dry---about 9 minutes.
When cool frost the bottom of one cookie and then place another cookie on the top. Voila!
Homemade Oreos! ENJOY!!!

"Cookie Fix"

2009-06-02T12:00:00.000-07:00

There are days and moments when I just need a cookie! When Janie was here, I used to use my best "Cookie Monster" voice and tell her "I need coooookkiiees". Being the sweet daughter that she is, she would usually oblige me and make some. Umm! After my friend, Sherry Hurdle, introduced me to "Smart Cookie" sugar cookies, I WAS HOOKED! They make the most delectable sugar cookie with cream cheese frosting! Well, when I could, I would buy some and savor each one making it last as long as possible. I would eat one petal at a time! Friends gave them to me as gifts. They are heavenly! About a month ago, Janie called me to say that the Provo store was going out of business. Sad news to be sure! So, on the last day of business I ordered a dozen and a half and came home and promptly froze all of them but one. Now, I still have about 8 left and when I just have to have my "cookie fix" I take one out of the freezer and enjoy! (Most times I eat my first petal frozen--I can't wait for it to thaw!) They still have a store in American Fork---I'll have to replenish my stash from there. Now, I think I get one out of the freezer...I can't wait!

A Rose in Bloom

2009-05-30T21:15:00.000-07:00

Summer is here! Our rose bushes in the front of our house are just beginning to bloom. I can't see these beautiful, delicate pink flowers without thinking about Grandpa Jackson. Bob's dad was a gardener extraordinaire! He knew all the names of things and what to do to make things grow and thrive. He ordered all the rose bushes in this flower bed and gave them as a gift to us. If they have gardens in Heaven, and I think they must, Bob's dad is happily "taking time to smell the roses"!

Pool House Project-update #2

2009-05-27T17:12:00.000-07:00

Today we had BIG trucks at our house to pour the footings for our new pool house! (It made me wish for the days when my boys were little and loved to see construction vehicles!) We are so excited to see things take shape!

Memorial Day Weekend

2009-05-26T10:44:00.000-07:00

We really enjoyed our Memorial Day Weekend! Early Sunday morning, Josh drove us to Salt Lake to visit my father's grave. This was Josh's first freeway driving and he did great! When we left it was barely sprinkling and by the time we got to American Fork it was a downpour! Despite the limited visability, he was calm and didn't seem nervous. He did a great job! Later Sunday evening, we went to visit Grandpa Jackson's grave---he is buried almost next door at the cemetary just across the hillside. We also saw our nephew-in-law's grave, Kimball Herrod. The rain had stopped earlier and it was so beautiful and peaceful to see all the flowers, flags, and people remembering their loved ones. I'm grateful for this holiday to help us remember those dear to us and the sacrifice of those who lost their lives while serving in the military. Monday, Grandma Mimi and John came down and we went to the movie, "Night at the Museum 2" and then had a BBQ with salmon and chicken. Fun!!!

"We love to see the temple"

2009-05-23T08:29:00.000-07:00

Lots of Saturday mornings, Bob and I go to the temple early and do initiatories. I love to see the sun coming up and the beauty of the temple. It's a great way to start your Saturday!

Lunch with the "Has Beens"

2009-05-22T07:30:00.000-07:00

Left to right: Tiffany Vincent, Chris Cannon, me, and Sherry Hurdle

Our old Relief Society Presidency loves to get together! We are trying to go to lunch at least once a quarter, but today we all voted to get together more often. I have affectionately dubbed us "The Has Beens". We had so much fun catching up on each other's lives, we could sit and chat all afternoon. We have decided that the "Olive Garden" is our spot for lunch on Thursdays at 11:30.

Pool House Project

2009-05-21T16:14:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, our pool house project began! We have been wanting to have an area close to the pool where you can use the bathroom and change or rinse off. (This desire came after years of mothers frantically carrying their younger offspring through our kitchen to the nearest bathroom dripping water---I optimistically told myself that was what it was---all over the wood floor.) The sad part of this project is that we had to have two lovely big trees cut down. They are no more and we feel their loss---really! The landscaping next to the accessory driveway is being torn up today. Hopefully, in about a month we will have you all over for cool drinks at the wet bar and maybe a hotdog hot off the grill and a quick short trip to the potty if you need it!

NCAA Volleyball Championships

2009-05-10T08:03:00.000-07:00

Last night, we went to the NCAA Mens Volleyball Championship game at BYU! It was in the Joseph Smith Memorial Fieldhouse. It was a fun, exciting event with the teams tied going into the last set! USC and UC Irvine were competing and we chose to route for the UC Irvine "Anteaters" (who came up with that mascot?). The games were all so close with USC winning the first and third sets, and UC Irvine answering back by winning the second and fourth sets. The final fifth set was so exciting and the Anteaters were victorious over the Trojans!Talk about high jumpers! It was amazing to watch these athletes! Volleyball is so fun because something is happening almost every second! (unlike football...)
When they serve they start way back and toss the ball high, high into the air and then run and leap up and smash it! (I was used to how we played in high school standing at the line and just hoping it went over the net.)Bob and I went in search of sustenance (hot cinnamon sugar almonds and a pretzel for Josh) and found that we could look in on the ground level at the game. It was incredible to watch it up close and see how really tall these players are!

Tuesday morning religion class

2009-05-05T17:00:00.000-07:00

Every Tuesday through out the school year, our Stake Relief Society sponsors a religion class with Brother Thomas Tyler teaching. He is Amazing with a capital "A"! We all love listening to his sensitive and spiritual lessons and Liz, Donna and I don't even mind setting up 100+ chairs every time before the class!

"You've had an another birthday..."

2009-04-30T19:04:00.000-07:00

L to R: Lael Ruffner, Jackie Coleman, Stefanie Cusick, me, and Cynthia Gaufin at CPK

For years now, the women in our dinner group get together to celebrate each other's birthdays at a restaurant of the birthday girl's choosing. This is such a great group of friends and it is surprising how our busy lives keep us from seeing each other very often. We are always glad for a chance to visit and catch up on what is happening in each others lives!

Mother of the Bride

2009-04-29T18:48:00.000-07:00

Jane Anne recently got engaged and now I am "Mother of the Bride-to-be"!!! Imagine my delight at having a chance to go with a beloved daughter and shop for the wedding dress and discuss the plans for her special day. This is something that every mother of a daughter dreams of!!
When Janie and her boyfriend, Colby Neville, decided to get engaged, they only got to go ring shopping once. He goes to school in Logan at Utah State and she is here in Provo at BYU and week-ends are the only time they can see each other. (I think both sets of parents were so glad when these two decided to get married---this long distance relationship meant lots of driving for one or the other or both of them---and most of the commuting was done late at night during the winter months adding worry at least for me!) Anyway, as their schedules worked out, they were not able to see each other for two weeks after the initial trip to a jewelry store. So, Jane Anne asked me to come along and go ring shopping with her! We looked at the mall and didn't find the right one, so we decided to go to the store where Jared and Ryan both had found rings for their wives. Janie carefully looked at all the rings and found one she really liked! It has filligree work up the sides of the ring with a leaf design in tiny diamonds. A round diamond is in the center and it is bordered on either side with two plain silver bands. It is so pretty! Another surprising thing is that the design is similar to my own wedding ring! She officially got engaged Friday, April 17th!

We found the perfect wedding dress! Janie had been several places and tried on some dresses that she liked but we just weren't sure if we had found "the one". The wedding planner that she works for, Kimberly Roy, told her that she should feel like a princess in her wedding dress. So we were looking for that special dress. We were on our way to Salt Lake to check out all the bridal stores, when we decided to stop in Lehi at a shop recommended by some of our friends. It is called the "Bridal Center" and is in a little old building that Bob would describe as "a ruby in the rough". We were met by a wonderful woman, Julie, who asked Jane Anne some questions about what styles she liked, etc... and then Julie picked out four dresses for her to try. She picked her favorite and when she put it on, she knew it was "the dress"! It fit perfectly and is absolutely gorgeous!!! I have pictures of her in the dress but she requested that I not use those on this blog because Colby isn't supposed to see her in the dress until the big day. I feel so lucky and so relieved that we found the dress---what was anticipated as being a long day of shopping in Salt Lake turned out to be a short morning of success in Lehi!

The adventure begins after the week from "Outer Space and Beyond"

2009-04-29T17:30:00.000-07:00

Jane Anne is off to London! This picture is taken outside of our garage just before we loaded the car with her luggage to head to the airport. We have had an amazing, hectic week trying to do all we could for her wedding, get her ready to go to London, move her out of her apartment and back home, and have her finish finals. We did find the wedding dress (details in an upcoming blog), she chose Bridesmaid dresses, visited with the wedding planner, went to lunch with the inlaws and got the engagement pictures taken. WHEW!!! Also this week, Josh had to go to school at 5:50 a.m. for Driver's Ed! and had lots of late nights trying to catch up on the assignments he missed for school. I had two major events with my church calling---speaking at Leadership meeting for TEN minutes and a Stake Relief Society/Young Women's open house at our house for 60 people on Sunday night. It's been quite a week!

At the airport, we met one of the girls who was also going to London and her family and there were two other girls from the program on her flight. It was a little teary when we said "Good-bye" and we will be so excited to see her in six weeks when we go with Josh to pick her up! When she boarded the flight from Chicago to London, Janie found the seat next her was vacant. She was able to sleep about 5 and 1/2 hours on the way there! What a blessing for a girl who is trying to take it a little easy after having mono!

Jackson Sibling dinner

2009-04-28T19:18:00.000-07:00

Bob's brother, Steve, arranged for us all to meet at the Harvest Restaurant at Thanksgiving Point for dinner last Saturday. We were supposed to see their Tulip Festival before, but as luck would have it, a terrible storm came in and the rain poured. So, we just met for dinner and had a wonderful time visiting. Several jokes were shared and this is Grandma Jackson's:
A very optimistic woman came down with cancer. After chemo therapy, she woke up one morning and found that she had only three hairs left. "I've always wanted to try braiding my hair!" she said. The next day, she found she only had two hairs left. "Oh, I always wondered what I would look like with my hair parted down middle" she exclaimed. The next day, only one hair remained. "Oh, good", she said, "Now I can wear a pony tail!"

Hawaii Spring Break!

2009-04-27T10:04:00.000-07:00

Imagine our surprise and good fortune when we called at almost the last minute and the Westin Maui Vacation Condos had a two bedroom unit free over Easter week-end! We had not planned on going to Hawaii this year, but since we had already paid the maintenance fees and they wouldn't let us trade the condo for points this year, we decided to see if Spring Break had any available condos! Janie decided that even though it was the reading days before finals, she could study at the pool in Maui as just as well as at the library on Campus. (Hmm---difficult choice, I think!) So we packed our bags and flew on Delta's direct flight to Maui on April 10th. The beauty, the warm, moist air, the usually gentle breezes, pineapple, guava drinks, NO SNOW OR FREEZING TEMPERATURES, sunsets and the laid-back pace, made it truly a relaxing paradise for us!

We have favorite things that we love to do while in Maui. Some of these include going out to dinner, relaxing at the pool for hours with a cooler of drinks, books, and Scrabble, going to Haagen Daz in Whaler's village for ice cream and going to see the Olivine Pools. Because of the weather this time, we didn't make the Olivine pool trek and we didn't go to the top of Haaleakala because the volcano was "socked-in" with clouds. We did, however, go on a whale watch which
we hadn't done for years because we are usually in Hawaii in June when the whales have gone.

Sunset in Paradise!

2009-04-27T08:24:00.001-07:00

Haagen Daz!

2009-04-27T08:17:00.000-07:00

This post is mostly for our married children that didn't get to come with us to Hawaii. Their favorite place for ice cream is Haggen Daz at Whaler's Village. Lots of times when we have been staying at the Marriott Condos, everyone would walk over at night and have an ice cream treat.
This trip, we discovered that they now make a sorbet, fat-free yogurt smoothie with fruit that is delicious. Taste with no guilt! As you can see from the picture, however, most choose the real thing! Who cares about fat when you can have Haagan Daz?

Nothing quite like a good read!

2009-04-27T07:40:00.000-07:00

We all love to stretch out somewhere and read a good book. You are truly on vacation when you can just read for as long as you want with nothing nagging at you to get done. No laundry, no meals to fix, no carpools to pick up---in short---RELAXATION! (Notice the eyewear Bob has on---he decided he needed some sunglasses so he borrowed Janie's. Nice rhinestone embellishment! What every fashion conscious man is sporting these days!)

Whale Watch!

2009-04-27T07:32:00.001-07:00

Monday morning while we were in Hawaii, we went on a whale watch. It was really fun!! We left at 7:00 a.m. (which isn't early if you haven't time adjusted yet) from the Lahiana Pier. Our boat was skippered by a woman and we had a woman marine guide helping us know where to look. We saw numerous dolphins swimming right next to the boat and several whales (a little more distant) that were breaching or showing their tail fins. The morning was beautiful and we felt really lucky to see so much! The boat was not crowded---their were only about 30 of us and it was just fantastic!The black thing in the distance that looks like a submarine is, you guessed it!, a whale!

Kobe steak house

2009-04-27T07:25:00.000-07:00

One of our favorite restaurants in downtown Lahaina is Kobe Steak House. (Rumor has it Kobe Bryant, the basketball star, got his name because his mother ate Kobe beef when she was pregnant with him.) Anyway, we love to go to this tepanyaki steak house and be entertained by our chef and his flaming volcano, knife twirling display and his ability to shoot a shrimp off his knife into peoples mouths. This is Josh's number one favorite place to eat. He adores Japanese food and eats everything from the broth soup with one item floating in it to the mound of veggies and sprouts cooked on the grill. Of course, the meat is always the high light with steak and chicken being the usual choice, although shrimp is popular,too.

Scrabble in Hawaii

2009-04-27T07:17:00.000-07:00

Playing Scrabble in our family has become a favorite past time. It is really fun now because Josh has bitten by the "scrabble bug". He LOVES to play and is very competitive. The only problem we all have is trying to beat Jane Anne. She almost NEVER loses and has a uncanny knack of making words on the triple word score, or triple letter score, or making two words at once that score mucho, mucho points. Well, as luck and skill would have it, Josh did beat all of us once! I don't think Bob and I ever won. Bob is hilarious to play with because he takes FOREVER considering every possible option over and over again (it's the competitive nature in him trying to beat his children). You could make a trip to the restroom or go get drinks, take a dip in the pool, and return and he would still be thinking things over as to which tile to place where. Every once in awhile all this thinking pays off and he has some brilliant move---mostly, though, we just have to wait a long time!

Our fond farewell!

2009-04-27T07:00:00.000-07:00

We have had a new tradition evolve over the last few years. We always eat at "Mama's Fish House" on our way to the airport to fly home. Since the flight home is a "red-eye" we have plenty of time to enjoy the beautiful setting and wonderful food at this restaurant. Bob always gets a reservation just before the sunset. It's a beautiful way to end your time in Hawaii!

Family Home Evening Treats

2009-04-06T20:30:00.000-07:00

The past two Monday nights, we have gone to "YoZone" for a yummy Family Night treat. We have Josh drive us, and he is being very patient with two parents in the car telling him what to do. It only gets a little scary when I say "Go now" and Bob says, "No, wait!" Poor child! Anyway, at YoZone you choose from about six flavors of soft frozen yogurt and then choose from a myriad of toppings---all sorts of candy, fruit, syrups, nuts, granola, etc.... Then they weigh your cup and you pay by the ounce. On Monday nights, it's only 30 cents an ounce. (Lots cheaper than Baskin Robbins and healthier, too!)

Breakfast of Champions

2009-04-06T20:19:00.000-07:00

The purpose of this blog is to document what we eat for breakfast almost every day of the year. It has to be Christmas or another holiday for Bob and I to break our routine. Here's the recipe:
Start with your favorite instant oatmeal and add fresh blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, sliced apples and bananas. There is almost as much fruit as there is cereal! It's so delicious and we never get tired of it!

Conference Week-end

2009-04-05T20:03:00.000-07:00

Our family really enjoyed this past conference week-end. While the boys (Bob, Ryan, Josh and Janie's boyfriend, Colby) went to the Priesthood session, the girls had a great time making cards. One of the fun things that we did was to make "designer envelopes" out of coordinating paper for our cards. It really makes the cards so cute! My sister, Karen, her daughter, Meggie, and her daugher-in-law, Mikel and her baby, Lily came along with my niece, Amy Lambert. They joined Janie, Becca and me in making some darling cards! My absolute favorite was a card designed by Meggie of a birthday cup-cake complete with sprinkles. We had a really fun time visiting and creating and I hope this can become a tradition. Afterwards, we had a pizza party with all the men.

We all enjoyed listening to conference together in our family room. I especially loved Elders Holland, Scott, Bednar and Uchtdorf. There were some really powerful speakers! After the Sunday afternoon session, we had an Easter/birthday dinner for Bob.

An Awesome Discovery

2009-04-03T19:53:00.000-07:00

The other day I went into Day's Market and just inside the store was a bread rack advertising Day's bread---when I looked at it I was surprised to find it looked exactly like the bread from a well known bread store in town. There were many of the same kinds---cinnamon chip, whole wheat, cracked wheat, and cranberry orange. It looked exactly like the bread I had been buying for $4 a loaf but was only $2.59! I decided to try the cinnamon chip and we found you couldn't tell the difference between the two kinds of bread. (Josh is a cinnamon chip bread expert and it passed his taste test with flying colors.) Since then, we have bought another loaf of cinnamon chip and the wheat. What a great find! No more having to make a special trip to the bread store---I can get the same great taste at Days and for cheaper, too. Saving time and money while getting the same great quality---that makes me happy!

"Brain Candy"

2009-04-02T17:21:00.000-07:00

You will find Josh several times each day stretched out on the couch with some new book of fantasy fiction. (Colby, Janie's boyfriend, calls these books "Brain Candy". If this is true, Josh really has a "brain sweet tooth"!) One of my challenges is to keep him supplied with reading material. Two things we are very grateful for: a wonderful saleswoman at Border's who knows the latest in teen fiction, and Border's computer coupons! In this picture, you will also see something else very characteristic of Josh---he loves to cuddle up in his flannel quilt! Like Linus from Charlie Brown, he carries it everywhere. (Maybe that's because our house is always cold---the kids call me the "Heat Nazi", I prefer to think of myself as an economically thrifty woman instead!)

Crock Pot Challenge!

2009-04-02T17:07:00.000-07:00

This week I decided that I wanted to try and cook our whole week's worth of dinners in the crock pot! So far, so good---so yummy, yummy good! On Sunday, we had pot roast with my Mom's special gravy and baked potatoes. (The crock pot is a life saver on Fast Sunday when you don't get out of church until 4:00 p.m.) Monday we had a Creamy Italian Chicken with pasta and Tuesday was Orange Glazed pork roast. Both were tasty! Wednesday we had stew and cornbread and tonight was Oriental lemonade chicken with rice. Tomorrow will be pulled pork sandwiches using the left over pork from Tuesday. This crock pot (which has to be one of the first models made) is my absolute favorite (we have three) not only because it cooks so well, but because it was my Grandma Nana's. When she passed away, no one else wanted the crock pot and my aunt asked me if I would like it. I'm so grateful I said "Yes!" It has blessed my life in two special ways: with warm, delicious food at a time when I am usually tired and not excited to cook, and with warm, loving memories of my Grandma Parkinson and her funny, loving personality. I often think of her when I retrieve the crock pot out of my pantry! Love you, Grandma!

Party Animals!!!!

2009-03-30T15:53:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure most Stake Relief Society Presidencies fit the description of "Party Animals" but that is what Justine, Liz and I feel like! At least one of our presidency and usually all of us will have gone to all ten ward Relief Society Birthday parties this month! Last week, we went to three---one Tuesday night, one Wednesday night, and one Thursday night. We have another one tomorrow night! It will be party #9! They have all been very different and fun---some have had classes and others have guest speakers. One motivational speaker took off her business suit (pants and all) to reveal a full body girdle (she was not a Barbie shape, either!) and then proceeded to pull her hair off at one point. Needless to say, Bob got an ear-full when I got home! This woman definitely made a lasting impression! Anyway, I love my calling, the women I work with, the people I get to meet, and the things I'm learning. I guess Bob and Josh can stand pizza for more night tomorrow!

Learner's Permit

2009-03-23T18:58:00.001-07:00

Today was a monumental day for Josh and for me! Josh got his "learner's permit" so he can start driving on the road and not just in parking lots! He studied hard and passed the test and now the necessary six months of driving practice can begin. He is so excited to actually drive---and I'm excited for the day when he will be able to drive himself. I will miss our chats as we drive around, though! It seems like the car is always a place where talking with each other is easier and enhanced. I did learn something interesting while waiting for Josh to finish the test. Some strange man sat in front of me and started up a conversation. He began with complaints about having to get another license and then said something about 3.2 beer here in the state of Utah. Apparently because of our unique liquor laws, our beer isn't as strong as the rest of the country. According to him, you can get 5.0 beer other places outside of Utah. He was from Idaho and not LDS and said something about these Mormons not knowing much about alcohol. (Judging from talking with me, he was right!)

Weekly lunch

2009-03-20T19:16:00.000-07:00

Almost every week, my mom comes down to Provo and we go to lunch, my sister, Karen, and brother, Alan, and I. Just a few weeks ago, I got the idea to ask my mom questions about her life and herself. So far, this has been the perfect solution to getting her history. It's been so fun to listen to her memories! My sister in law, Cynthia, had been given a neat Christmas gift, "Personal History in a Bottle". It was a quart canning jar filled with typed questions to get you thinking about your life. I figure if we just keep asking one or two questions each week, we will have a wonderful bunch of memories for posterity!

Sunday Dinner with Grandma Jackson

2009-03-15T20:10:00.000-07:00

Every fifth Sunday, we have the privilege of hosting Grandma Jackson for Sunday dinner. We take turns with all of the Jackson siblings who live in Provo. Today was our turn and we had fun asking Mary Ellen details of her childhood. She was delivered at home at the little house she grew up in across from University of Utah. She told us alot about her grandmother, Julina, who was a midwife and delivered close to 1000 babies and didn't lose a single one! She also delivered her own babies, telling her sister and husband what to do! WHAT A WOMAN! I can't imagine having to give instructions while in labor to deliver your own child. I don't imagine in those days they had any anesthetic either! I'm grateful I was pregnant in the days of hospitals and epidurals etc... She also told us about her brother , Le Roy who died of polio ten days after arriving home from his mission to Australia! Can you imagine! We're grateful for these stories and the time we get to spend with Mary Ellen!