Five For Fighting

I won tickets to a concert at The Depot in Salt Lake. It was to a band called 'Five For Fighting'. Bryan and I were able to go and enjoy his music. We had a great time (besides the fact that we stood for three hours). The name of the singer/songwriter is John Ondrasik and he is amazing. I loved listing to my favorite song of his called 'Superman'. It always makes me wish that I could play the piano!

Thanks to Elisa for watching our kids so we could go. I won the tickets yesterday and so it was SHORT notice. It was a fun night out!

The Smell of Sunday

Before I went to church yesterday I put a roast in the oven so that we could eat as soon as we came home. As I walked in the door the smell of the cooking roast washed over me. My first thought, 'It smells like my Grandma and Grandpa Garner's home on Sunday.' My second thought, 'Wouldn't they be proud of me that I made that smell for my family.'

Some smells you never forget. I will always remember walking into my grandparents home and smelling the roast cooking. The potatoes would be boiling and when they were done grandma would mash them and grandpa would make the gravy. Now I mash the potatoes and make the gravy the same way grandpa did.

Whenever we sit down to eat a roast beef dinner with mashed potatoes I think of Grandma and Grandpa Garner and wish they could be here to eat it with me. After a few years it now smells and tastes just like theirs.

Side note: When we walked in the house yesterday Bryan was the first one to speak and he said, 'It smells just like Grandma and Grandpa Foote's home.' Bryan and his family would visit his grandparents in Brigham City and while at church Grandpa Foote would cook a roast in a toaster oven on the back porch. When they would walk home from church they would turn a corner and the smell would hit them. Isn't it funny how smells take us back to great memories in our lives!

That Time of the Year

Lucas is once again playing baseball this year.



Bryan has even volunteered to coach. I hope they have fun! It is the first year where things start to get really serious. There are try outs (Lucas doesn't have to do because he is automatically on Bryan's team) and everything.

Baseball in Riverton is big deal. They take it VERY seriously. Last year the Pee Wee all stars, which is what Lucas is, even won state. Like I said, they are serious about baseball.

This may be his last year playing. Lucas' true love is football and he has been waiting and waiting to play tackle football. In the fall he will have one more year of flag football and then next year is tackle. I refuse to pay for baseball and tackle football and if you knew the fees you'd understand why. We warned Lucas of this and I think next year he'll choose football over baseball. I just wanted him to have a chance to try out different sports and now that he has he can start playing the one or two that he really loves.

I do love going to the games and watching all those little boys do their best. They try so hard and I love seeing how happy the kids and parents get when a ball is hit or caught.

Official

Yesterday I was released as the Relief Society president of my ward. I always knew I would feel sad but I was taken back by how sad I was all last week. I spent much of the week on the verge of tears and at night I couldn't sleep and would cry as I thought about everything. There are things to feel relieved about because it is a time consuming calling, but in truth it has been my favorite calling ever. I love the Relief Society program and the sisters in it.

I'm so grateful I was able to bear my testimony yesterday in Sacrament meeting. After that I felt better--until the Stake Relief Society president came up to me and told me she'd heard about the change. I could tell she knew exactly what I was feeling and that helped me more than anything.

Today I'm feeling much better. I'm sure it will still take some getting used to and I still feel I need to be doing something. I'm excited to serve with the Activity Day girls (8 to 11 year old girls), and I feel like I can serve the sisters in my ward in a way I couldn't before.

I'm just so grateful to Heavenly Father to have been given the opportunity to serve the women in my ward. I've learned and grown so much!

The Harlem Globetrotters

Bryan and Lucas had a fun boys night out Monday night. They went to see the Harlem Globetrotters in Salt Lake.
They had so much fun being together and watching the antics of the Globetrotters. Lucas can't stop talking about it. He wants to see them again next year but we told him he'll have to wait a few years so that Ty can go with them next time!

A Sleeping Ty

Ty isn't really a baby anymore, more of a toddler.
But don't you just love sleeping babies? I do.

Brick Oven, Basketball, and Missionary Grandma and Grandpa Jeppsen

We went down to Provo last weekend for some family fun. First Bryan dropped off Ty and me at the Brick Oven so we could get our name on the waiting list. Then he went and picked up Grandma and Grandpa Jeppsen from the MTC.
We all love the Brick Oven--Lucas likes the garlic bread best! Grandma and Grandpa Jeppsen used to eat there as students when it was known as 'Heaps of Pizza'. We have lots of great memories there. Bryan and Rob both went and ate pizza there before going into the MTC. My family has similar memories of the Brick Oven as well. I wonder what Lucas and Ty will remember about eating pizza at the Brick Oven?
Ty loves to use silverware. I'm not sure what he was doing here but he was happy and sat most of the time! I think it helped he was sitting in between Bryan and I.
After dinner we took Madre and Padre back to the MTC. We don't know if we'll get to see them again before their Visas come and they leave for Brazil. It was so much fun being with them and getting to visit with them again before they go.
We have no pictures of us at the basketball game (I forgot my camera in the car). BYU beat Utah and it was so much fun. Jimmer Fredette had 36 points! Ty did amazingly well at the game. He was nervous at first but clapped and smiled when everyone cheered, and he didn't cry at all. A much improved experience from last year. He stayed awake the whole way home even though it was after 10 P.M. He was so tired but instead of being grumpy became a loopy, happy boy when we got home.
Lucas did not make it home without falling asleep. He had so much fun at the game and cheered and yelled with everyone else. He was fascinated with all the Utah fans in the section next to us, and watched them through the night. He loved being there and if we lived in Provo I'm sure we would go to more games than we do. It is nights like this that make great family memories.